SB Nation - James Watson

Washington State 93, Portland State 69

Nuss — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:31:46 -0000

SBN RECAP

Well, we didn't quite get to 100, but we got close.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what to make out of this game. On the one hand, it was nice to see us take a lead on a team, extend it, and then not let them shoot their way back into it. We did a lot of good things, there's no doubt about that, and the fact that it came after an entire week off for finals is all the better.

But this game was built on a ridiculous shooting night, one that won't be duplicated all year. And while the defense was decent, it was just pretty much the same thing as usual -- lost track of too many shooters, failed to clean up on the defensive glass effectively.

I guess maybe just the best policy is to not look a gift horse in the mouth, and just be happy that we killed a team that had been playing well as of late. Wins are wins right now -- just ask any other team in the conference. But I'm also ready to see how we stack up against another challenging opponent.

Basically, I'm ready for LSU on Tuesday and Pac-10 play the following week.

Something I noticed that's worth keeping an eye on. James Watson took Charlie Enquist's minutes, and did a good job. He scored six points and grabbed a couple of rebounds and played generally solid defense in 12 minutes. Yeah, I'd like some stronger defensive rebounding out of him, but he's already made some big strides this year. I like it.

Player of the Game: Nikola Koprivica. There are very few things better than a redemption story, and it looks like Koprayitsa is finally writing his. For as much crap as Koprazitsa took from all of us last year, he has found new life under Ken Bone, and tonight was his capstone moment: a career high 23 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field -- including an absurd 5-of-5 from 3 -- and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Kopripizza was the picture of perfection, and it couldn't have happened to a better guy. Even if this is the best it gets for him this year, he'll always have this.

Unsung Hero: Reggie Moore. I talked before the game about needing a big offensive night from him, but that became moot when Nik went off. So, all Moore did was dish out 12 assists against ZERO turnovers. That's some good point guard play right there.

It was over when... Nik hit the second of two 3s in a two minute span to take a lead that had been whittled down to 15 with 9:22 to left and stretch it back out to 24 with 7:27 to go. That was all she wrote.

Stat of the Game: Watching the game on TV, I knew the Cougs had great ball movement, but I had no idea how good. On a typical night, the Cougs assist on 56 percent of their baskets. Tonight? Just 25 assists on their 33 field goals -- 75.8 percent. Wow.

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Quick observations on last night's win

Nuss — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:19:07 -0000

Enough football! Let's talk hoops!

I don't have a lot of time to compose flowery prose, but I did want to pass along some of my initial thoughts after last night. Here you go, bullet style:

Like most of you, last night was the first time I've gotten a chance to watch this team. My initial impression brought to mind a certain former coach of the Arizona Cardinals. We're athletic in the backcourt. We're small up front. We have a new coach, so the offense looks awkward at times. We're young, so the effort is inconsistent. These are all things we expected, and all things we saw last night.

Klay Thompson is a different player than he was last year -- and that is a fantastic thing. You might think I'm talking about that improved free throw rate. I'm not. While that is all well and good, I'm just talking about his attitude. He's got a completely different demeanor than he did last year, when there were times where he had to be begged to shoot instead of deferring to Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes. He's carrying himself like a guy who not only knows he's the team's best scorer, but as a guy who knows he's one of the premier scorers in the conference, if not the country. He looks like a guy who knows he's the best player on the floor. Tremendous confidence. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: This team will go as far as Klay can carry it.

The downside to that, of course, is that there were times last night where I felt like he was taking some rushed shots and forcing things a bit. I'm guessing that's part of Ken Bone's strategy to get Thompson to see himself as a scorer. Once that transformation is complete, expect some of that to get reigned in. Personally, I'd rather have my best scorer shooting too much than too little, and Thompson is far too smart of a player to continue to have such poor shot selection.

Yup, Reggie Moore is good. I think what I liked the most is that he generally wasn't spectacular -- just steady while making the occasional nice play. And oh by the way, he played 36 minutes. If he plays with this kind of a steady hand all year, while blossoming into a reliable scorer, this team could end up being better than I thought.

Speaking of those minutes, count me among those a little perplexed by Bone's rotation last night. I was all set to write a post on Bone's history of minute distribution at PSU, which essentially is that he used a lot of bodies for no more than 65 to 70 percent of the minutes on any given night. That held to form on Friday, but then last night blew that whole thing out of the water. Last night was classic Bennett: Three guys playing high minutes, five guys playing meaningful minutes, and a couple of guys getting token minutes. Perhaps this was just a one-night strategy, but count me among those surprised by how much he relied on Thompson, Moore and DeAngelo Casto last night.

Casto is fantastic. He's definitely beefed up, and has obviously worked to develop some offensive moves. However, I wonder if he can keep up that kind of energy all year long -- only five rebounds last night after a big night on Friday. There's obviously no way to know if there's any kind of causation there, but it sure seemed like he was slowing down on the glass as the game wore on. And, to be honest, it's not the minutes I'm worried about, per se; it's the minutes as the team's primary big man, with the other team's best big man leaning on him night after night.

The rest of the frontcourt is as big of a question mark as I feared. James Watson looked OK I guess, and Abe Lodwick's energy was impressive. But where was Brock Motum? And Charlie Enquist is doing nothing to dispel the idea that he's merely keeping his scholarship warm for someone with more talent. The lack of production out of anyone not named Casto was stunning. Perhaps it had something to do with the matchup that Bone elected to go small almost the entire night, but I fear that it's because our bigs are even worse than we imagined.

Good to see the defense be incredibly effective in spurts. The pack is still in full force, even if it's been modified ever so slightly to increase ball pressure on the perimeter. There were a number of breakdowns along the way, which would probably lead some to question whether the same commitment to defense will be there this year. It's a sound question, but I'll reserve judgment on it until we see some more games. I'll go ahead and chalk up some of those open 3s where they didn't close out to immaturity at this point.

To close, I thought last night was the perfect microcosm of what we're going to see this season. There were spots where they looked really, really good. I was satisfied with the way they were playing early, cold shooting and questionable shot selection notwithstanding. The effort was good, even if the execution wasn't. Soon, they turned up the heat defensively, and closed the first half on a run. They began the second half in much the same way, running the lead to 15 points with 12 minutes to go.

But then ... youth kicked in. The Eags, full of veterans and trying to make a name for themselves, kept chopping wood. The Cougs, full of freshmen and sophomores, started to coast. And it nearly cost them. The great news is that it didn't cost them -- they still won -- but Bone will have plenty of teaching points as ammunition for practice this week. That's really the best of both worlds when you've got a young team.

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 13

Nuss — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:12:26 -0000

Like you, we're pretty tired of football season. So, we spend most of this episode talking about basketball: expectations for the team (with particular attention paid to Ken Bone's comments) and a preview of the backcourt and frontcourt. We also submit predictions for the football game, but I'll bet you can guess how that goes.

As usual you can listen to the audio via the player below, or visit our podcast page for myriad subscription options. You can also find us in the iTunes directory under keyword "CougCenter." The advantage of subscribing? Besides having the audio directly delivered to your player of choice, I often upload the audio to the podcast site before posting it here.

PLAYER PROFILE: Charlie Enquist

Dancing Football — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:05:26 -0000

#40 / Forward / Washington St. Cougars

Height: 6-10

Weight: 222

Year: sophomore

Hometown: Edmonds, WA

High School: Kings HS

Major: Engineering

Charlie Enquist came to the Cougars as a project. He has one of those things that is literally impossible to teach: size. That size earned him a few minutes in some very important Pac 10 games last season. Against Oregon State, with much of the front line in foul trouble, Charlie logged eight minutes. He played another three in the Cougs most memorable win of 2009, the upset of UCLA on the road.

In that short time on the court it was evident that Charlie lacks the strength or speed to consistently go against Pac 10 big men. He had trouble keeping up on defense and was a non-factor on offense. The best thing going for Enquist this season is that, like his own team, much of the Pac 10 is thin up front.

Charlie will get playing time this year. Deangelo Casto is the only returner with significant experience. Charlie's eleven appearances last year puts him second just before a redshirt freshman James Watson and Aussie Brock Motum. Big men rarely play more than thirty minutes a game, so we will see Enquist on the floor.

Best Case Scenario: Charlie is effective when he comes in on both sides of the floor. He is able to use solid fundamentals to secure defensive rebounds and the lack of size and strength around the league masks his own shortcomings. He contributes a few buckets a game on offense, either on mid-range jumpers or put-backs. He is a decent front court sub and plays 10-15 minutes a game.

Worst Case Scenario: Charlie simply cannot keep up with Pac 10 athletes. He struggles mightily and is relegated to the emergency foul trouble role that he had last season. He logs some minutes in the non-conference, but mostly rides the pine in conference play.

Likely Scenario: He is going to play. He'll knock down a few open jumpers, and he will probably get some looks thanks to the ability of Reggie Moore to penetrate. He may struggle to rebound and play defense against elite athletes, but he won't be a great liability. He is still 6'10" and coordinated. He should play anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on the situation of the game.

Poll

How much do you think Charlie will play?

None

1 votes

0-5 minutes/game

27 votes

5-10 minutes/game

36 votes

10-15 minutes/game

13 votes

More!

2 votes

79 votes | Poll has closed

Washington State 73, LCSC 51: Your exhibition notes

Grady. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:12:50 -0000

The first unofficial game of the Ken Bone era is in the books, and so far, so good.

The new edition of the Cougars played as advertised: young, talented, small and more offensive-minded than in the past. What surprised me, pleasantly, was that the tempo wasn't overly fast, and the defense held on to many of the old school Bennett-era principles. That is: man-to-man defense with an emphasis on taking away anything inside.

One big difference, though, was a greater willingness to crash the offensive boards. Unlike Bennett ball, the Cougars weren't content with settling back on D as quickly as possible after a missed bucket. Tonight they were stronger following up on their shots, and while it led to a few fast break opportunities for the Warriors, it more often resulted in a second shot attempt for the Cougs (actually there probably would've been more than 8 offensive boards had the Cougs not made so many shots).

I had the feeling a few times that this should have been a bigger blowout than it was. Actually, it really should have with WSU missing seven of their nine free throw attempts in the second half. Still, the Cougs coasted for the better part of this game, and looked comfortable for the most part in the new system.

The big concern for the Cougs, literally and figuratively, is their size. This team is undersized, especially at the 4, where Bone started Abe Lodwick (!) and played, among others, Nikola Koprivica. Part of that was due to the head injury suffered by James Watson, where we still aren't sure if it is a big deal or not. The other part of it has to do with a lack of effectiveness from our actual "big" players (minus Casto). Regardless, this team gave up ten offensive rebounds to LCSC in the first half, which is just plain unacceptable against a team that small. One can only wonder what struggles this team may have underneath against teams with actually skilled bigs.

Now, some individual player comments:

Klay Thompson: still Klay Thompson. Nothing to worry about here, and he seems to be more aware of getting to the basket and drawing contact. Which, honestly, is really the only thing keeping him from being an elite player nationally.
DeAngelo Casto: Casto is starting to play like a man among boys, which he absolutely should be against lower-tier competition like this. He netted a double-double, with 14 points, 11 boards and 3 blocks. His post moves have improved, he is getting a little better at facing up to the basket, and can get a occasional put-back or two.
Reggie Moore: There is no newcomer I'm more excited about than Moore. He is just phenomenal. The biggest question mark coming into the season was who we could get to replace the outgoing Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes. Baynes doesn't have a replacement on this team, but Moore seems like he could be a perfect fit at point. Especially when this team only needs a distributor to set up our two scorers (Thompson, Casto). He's a brilliant passer, quick and athletic, and seems to already know he's just that good. He had eight assists to six points tonight: that's downright Weaveresque. He managed a couple dunks of the fast break, and assisted on two gorgeous alley-oops: one to Casto on the fast break, and another in traffic to Capers: easily the play of the night.
Marcus Capers: Speaking of #0, he struggled tonight, outside of converting my favorite alley-oop. His shot is still far too flat, and he had a couple uncharacteristic defensive lapses. Still, I think he can be a solid starter for this team, and deserves the opportunity. His offense will come with time; for now we should be able to enjoy his defense and tremendous length (as Jay Bilas would say) in the backcourt.
Nikola Koprivica: Remains one of the more frustrating players on the team, in that one second he's making a beautiful cut to the basket for a lay-in, and the next he's blowing the same type of shot on a 3-on-1 break. Still, his passing is good, his defense is still sound, and his experience will be key at times when we need someone off the bench to settle us down.
Abe Lodwick: Started at the four, which is fine against smaller teams but scares the heck out of me going into Pac-10 play. He hit a three, grabbed a board, but was otherwise unremarkable in his 12 minutes. We'll see what kind of role he develops on this team as the early season wears on.
Xavier Thames: Thames has the potential to be at Reggie Moore's level within a year or so. He's another super-athletic guard who can shoot the ball, run the fast break and make a couple highlight reel plays. However, since he's like a Reggie Moore Lite (TM), I think his best use is off the bench as a more offense-oriented alternative to Capers.
Brock Motum: Yikes. Kind of a rough debut for the Aussie, whom we really do need because of our lack of size in the frontcourt. He was mostly unremarkable, making his only two-point attempt and missing two threes. He reminds me of Fabian Boeke in that he's a Tony Bennett big-man recruit who often seems to play more like a guard than forward/center. We're going to need him as a forward/center, because right now we seem surprisingly stacked at guard.
Mike Harthun: I shouldn't have put him so far down on this list, considering how well he played. In 22 minutes he hit five of six shots, grabbed three boards and never turned it over. More importantly, he looked comfortable doing it - something he rarely did in his limited game action last year. Harthun is another speedy guard that can aid us on the fast break, drain perimeter shots and take some of the pressure off Klay. I feel Harthun and Lodwick are interchangeable from a shooting standpoint - they will both have good nights, and they'll both have off nights. Bone's best bet is to ride the hot hand.
Charlie Enquist: Still the same old Charlie, he's going to be a help this year in that he at least has some experience at the 4. He still doesn't have the size or rebounding prowess of a Casto, but he's still pretty bouncy and brings that whole Caleb Forrest-type skillset to the table.
Reserves: Late in the game Bone put out a lineup of Allen, Loewen, Bragg, Brown and Bjornstad. Of those, Allen is clearly the most likely to have an impact this year. He looks comfortable running the point and taking a shot in rhythm, which is probably how he ended up snatching ten minutes in tonight's game and still having a shot at cracking the rotation. Bjornstad is big, which we really really need. However his skills are still raw so he'd do just as well with a redshirt.

Overall, the 2009-2010 Cougars are young, skinny and a heck of a lot of fun to watch at times. Other times, a little more frustrating, like at the free throw line. Nevertheless the future looks brighter than ever. Bone's recruitment of Moore in particular is going to result in a huge payoff for us.

The regular season is only four days away. I can't wait.

No way - not basketball, too

Nuss — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:02:26 -0000

Howie Stalwick checks in with a Cougar hoops notebook for Cougfan.com, and there's a bit of trepidation heading into the official start of practice next weekend.

It appears DeAngelo Casto has had a little setback with his knee, and James Watson is suffering from the aftereffects of a concussion.

Oh, and then there was this little nugget:

(Xavier Thames) was forced to quit practicing with the Cougars recently after the NCAA Clearinghouse raised questions about his high school transcript. Like Casto and Watson, he continues to attend practices.

Bone told Stalwick he expects all three to be ready when practice starts, but ... sheesh. Do we really have to even entertain this?

The recruiting services probably missed the boat on last year's class

Grady. — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:00:08 -0000

In all fairness, it's hard to be a recruiting evaluator. WIthout the inside information that the division 1 coaches have, you're supposed to evaluate raw high school talent and assign them a value. Stars, usually, but ESPN gives them a little "grade" number and fun things like that. So it's unfair to expect perfection from them on every recruit. It's also hard to evaluate tens of thousands of kids, so the under the radar type players that Tony loves to go after remain, for the most part, under the radar.

Still, I think we've seen surprising results from this year's freshman class. Going in, here's how the three big recruiting services ranked our class:

Player	ESPN	Scout.com	Rivals.com
Klay Thompson	95	4 stars	4 stars
Mike Harthun	91	3 stars	3 stars
James Watson	40	3 stars	3 stars
Nick Witherill	76	2 stars	3 stars
DeAngelo Casto	40	2 stars	3 stars
Marcus Capers	40	2 stars	3 stars

Klay Thompson was a no-brainer. You have the NBA pedigree, the magnifying glass that is prep sports in California, and most importantly, when you watch Klay you just know he's going to be good. It's no longer a shock that he may lead the team in scoring this year. The only thing the recruiting guys might change in retrospect is upping him to a five-star player. Which would be a fair evaluation, in my opinion.

The rest of the class, well, this is where there was considerable disagreement. ESPN gave three of our recruits a "40", also known as "we didn't evaluate these guys". Surprisingly, the worldwide leader evaluated one of our less highly-touted recruits, Nick WItherill, and liked what they saw. 76. They didn't get a good look at Capers, Watson or Casto.

Rivals.com took a more conservative approach, and probably ends up looking the most accurate because of it. Everyone got 3 stars except for Klay. Scout made an interesting decision to give 3 stars to the one guy out of this class who may actually redshirt, James Watson. 2 stars for Witherill, Casto and Capers.

If you had to rank the recruiting class 1-6 in terms of actual value to the team so far, this is how it would look:

Thompson
Casto
Capers
Harthun
Witherill
Watson

Mike Harthun was highly rated in large part because he got some of the spotlight from the Kyle Singler sweepstakes (they were on the same high school team). He was also, as our FSN guys pointed out last night, the MVP of a state championship game that featured Singler and Kevin freaking Love. That's pretty good. He may yet live up to that 91, but it has been a relative surprise how little he's done this year considering the recruiting hype. Part of that is just the adjustment to college, and part of it is the suspension that set him back 3 games. But don't write him off yet - he's still incredibly talented.

Now, how everyone missed out on Casto is beyond me. I said before the Zag game that I had the chance to see Adam Morrison, Josh Heytvelt and Sean Mallon live in high school. All three turned out great. But here's the thing: Casto looked better in high school than all of them. Maybe not a pure scorer like Morrison, but Casto's play screamed high-major recruit. He looked like a men among boys in the strongest league of Washington basketball (4A). I have him ranked second in value to us so far, because of the importance of the position he plays, and the good minutes he's been logging so far. Casto rules.

The big surprise of the class is Marcus Capers. ACC schools are going to kick themselves when they look at the roster and see that a kid from Florida is backing up Taylor Rochestie, and looking pretty good doing it. He's already a fixture of this year's rotation. Not bad for a 2-star, not really evaluated player. Then again, not a lot of people traveled to Beloit, WI to watch Kyle Weaver play either.

Witherill is about what we expected, although I had been higher on him than a lot of people were coming in. It's surprising, but not shocking, that he had his redshirt burned. I am worried that he could've benefited from the extra year - but Tony knows more than I do. Still, you have to wonder why we burned it when he doesn't seem to be in the "fourth guard" competition that Lodwick and Harthun are in right now. Nevertheless, I like Nick. He's a heady, skilled guard who should benefit us in a couple years, if not right now.

James Watson may have been a little overvalued, but I think those ratings were based on potential. Watson has loads of it, but is too raw to play right away. He'll benefit from the redshirt (unless of course Tony burns it, which seems entirely possitble), but it's a bit of surprise he isn't battling with Casto for a rotation spot. That says more about how good DeAngelo has turned out than it does about Watson. James will turn out fine, and heaven knows we'll need him with Baynes on the way out next fall.

PLAYER PROFILE: James Watson

Nuss — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:00:06 -0000

via media.scout.com

James Watson

#14 / Forward / Washington St. Cougars

Height: 6-7

Weight: 210

Year: freshman

Scouting Report: James Watson is long, athletic ... and raw. I suppose that's what you get from a guy who is incredibly gifted, but attended a high school with less than 100 students. (That's total, not just in his senior class.) Now, I'm sure Watson hit the AAU circuit like most guys, but your high school team is where a player cuts his teeth, and small school opposition generally doesn't provide a tall player with the need to develop any kind of polished offensive game.

Grady saw Watson play in the exhibition game, and he said Watson is perhaps the most athletic of all the freshmen. That's pretty high praise, given what we've seen from guys like DeAngelo Casto and Marcus Capers. But the fact that he has yet to leave the bench in two blowout wins for the team -- raising the assumption that the goal is to redshirt Watson this year -- tells you about all you need to know about his offensive game.

Should injuries dictate it, it seems Watson could have an impact defensively. But this looks like a project with upside -- the kind of guy who could pay huge dividends down the road in that fifth year if he works hard on his game. The tools are there; it's going to be up to Watson to develop himself into a legitimate force.

Could he see the floor this year? Sure, if injuries dicatate it. The team is deep up front right now, but we're just one or two injuries away from needing another body. But I'd bet the team tries to redshirt him unless the situation is desperate. Cougfan.com rightly points out that two years ago, the coaches took a wait-and-see approach with Koprivica, who sat out much of the preseason before coming on as something of a revelation. But I think it's not necessarily an apples to apples comparison, given that Watson is much more projectable and is clearly farther from his ceiling than Koprivica ever was.

Best Case Scenario: The frontcourt stays healthy and Watson is allowed to redshirt. It pays off huge dividends down the road, as he grows another inch or two, puts on 30 pounds over the next few years, and becomes a dominant low post presence in the Pac-10.

Worst Case Scenario: Injuries force Bennett's hand, and Watson has to play. He doesn't contribute much, just 5-10 minutes a night. It's necessary, but it feels like a waste. By the time Watson's a senior, he's just starting to scratch the surface of what he could be, but his eligibility is gone. We all sit around wondering what could have been if we had just one more year. (Thomas Kelati, anyone?)

Likely Scenario: Watson gets to preserve his redshirt. If players are banged up, Bennett will turn to Charlie Enquist for those 5-10 minutes a night. But if we have a couple of key injuries up front -- especially during the Pac-10 slate -- all bets are off.

Poll

What's the most likely scenario for James Watson this year?

Redshirt

65 votes

Minimal reserve (5-10 minutes a night)

2 votes

Integral reserve (10-20 minutes a night)

0 votes

67 votes | Poll has closed

It's too early to get excited. But...

Grady. — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:37:45 -0000

Take a look at this roster.

I know, it's the 2003-04 Gonzaga Bulldogs. But look at the names. If you're even remotely familiar with Gonzaga basketball you know how stacked that roster was: Blake Stepp, Ronny Turiaf, Adam Morrison, Cory Violette, Derek Raivio, Sean Mallon, Erroll Knight, etc.

Someday, we're going to look back at this year's roster and say the exact same thing about Washington State.

But here's the catch. That Gonzaga team (although they look like a national title contender) fell flat in the NCAA tournament; blown out in the second round by 10-seed Nevada (in Seattle, no less). Morrison, Raivio and Mallon were too young; Stepp was arguably the worst big-game performer in GU history, and Turiaf drew more phantom fouls than just about anyone I've ever seen, including Baynes. It was a top-heavy and bottom-heavy roster, in terms of the team's experience. Sound familiar?

If it does, it's because I think it's as close a mirror to this year's WSU team as you're going to find. Now, I'm not saying this team is going to the tournament. It's too early, and we haven't seen how this team performs against comparable talent. But the Cougars looked incredibly impressive in a 76-31 dismantling of Lewis-Clark State College, the lone exhibition game for this season.

First, let me credit the opponent: LCSC actually played Dick Bennett's Cougars tight a couple of years back. And they are a NAIA school. That means in addition to playing a "rivalry" game against the nearby Cougars, the game also counts in their win-loss column. So don't think they were underprepared or disinterested in facing WSU. They wanted this one.

And that's partly why it was so darn impressive. And the final score doesn't indicate what a thrashing this was. Freshmen players made up the majority of the lineup for about two-thirds of this game. The benches cleared, right down to Ryan Bailey, who may not even be on the opening day roster (more on that later).

I want to break this down player-by-player, because I was seeing a lot of the freshmen and redshirts for the first time, or at least the first time in a non-practice situation. Let's start at the top and work our way down.

Taylor Rochestie is Taylor Rochesite. He orchestrates the offense as well as any point guard in the nation. Many people expect Taylor to have to shoulder the scoring burden left behind from Weaver and Low. After tonight, I'm not too sure he does. All Taylor has to do is handle the ball, pass, and sink the occasional bucket. He is the best player on the floor at this point. That shouldn't surprise anyone.

Aron Baynes is still getting better, if you can believe it. The big Aussie has improved so much over the past four years it's ridiculous. He will be one of the best centers in the Pac-10 in terms of scoring. But he also looks better in rebounding and defense. He had a double-double tonight (10 points, 12 boards) despite limited playing time. He avoided cheap fouls and played smart. That's encouraging.

Klay Thompson is as advertised. He doesn't play like a freshman and is as close to Kyle Weaver offensively as anyone on this team. In fact, that was an emerging theme tonight. The freshmen, some of them, were playing like seasoned veterans. I'll note the following: Thompson, Capers, Casto, Lodwick and Enquist look more experienced out on the floor than Robbie, Derrick, Kyle and Daven did their freshmen year. I can't even begin to tell you how exciting that is.

One fault with Thompson, at least early on: he tends to be a little too confident in his shot to the point where he made some bad decisions in terms of shot selection tonight. One thing seems to be clear: we will need him to take, and make, some of those shots to help replace last year's scoring leaders. I don't think I'm out on a limb saying that he can break 30 in a game this year. He wants the ball and therefore will be vital to the team's success.

His big aid to the team is his versatility and feel for the game - he threw a beautiful assist to Baynes and has a good handle on the ball. I think he will be a starter when the season officially begins on Saturday. Speaking of that, here's how I think the rotation will pan out for this season:

Starters/key contributors:

G- Rochestie
G/F - 3 of the following 5: Thompson, Koprivica, Harmeling, Forrest, Casto
C - Baynes

Helpful Reserves:

Lodwick, Capers, Harthun, Enquist

Not ready for primetime players:

Watson, Witherill, Boeke (I'm still concerned about his health), Allen, Bailey

Daven Harmeling: Like Nuss said earlier, you know what you're getting from Harmeling. But he's a key to this season and here's why. Bennett started the game with this lineup: Rochestie, Koprivica, Thompson, Harmeling, Baynes. Yep - that means Daven at power forward. If he's going to spend some time in four-land, he will have to be able to defend bigger, more athletic guys while still finding ways to contribute on offense. His three-point shooting can be a huge help, but we may not need him as much as last year. I'll explain as we go on.

Nikola Koprivica: Not only does he finally look healthy, but he even drained a three. Welcome back, Nik. Not a lot of slashing to the basket tonight. He played a lot of minutes with the reserve teams, which I thought was interesting. His defense could help ease the loss of Kyle Weaver.

DeAngelo Casto: Ladies and Gentlemen, the pleasant surprise of the evening. I thought college teams were shy about Casto because his talent was raw and needed some refining for major conference play. Now I'm wondering what the heck teams were thinking when they passed on him. The reigning Washington 4A player of the year is surprisingly polished offensively and will draw instant comparisons to Ivory Clark on defense (and offense). He plays smart, too. Instead of going up to try to dunk on a poor LCSC player, he was often patient and opted for the lay-in or the bounce off the glass. At one point he caught his defender in the air and used the advantage to go right back up for an easy deuce.

Casto is a huge get for us because it means we aren't as thin as I thought at power forward. He looked college-ready in high school, and he is. His 18 points led the way for WSU tonight. Tony's first big recruit from Washington is a great addition for the Cougs.

Caleb Forrest: What can I say that hasn't already been said? He hit a trademark mid-range jumper and plays the role of Robbie Cowgill beautifully in this offense. He may have some of his playing time eaten away by Casto, but probably not too much. He's still fun to watch.

Marcus Capers is the answer to Nuss' poll question. The one about which player will spend the most time backing up Rochestie. At least in my opinion. Capers doesn't get rattled and handles the ball well. Passes well too. At 6'4" he looks like a forward, but plays like a guard. I really like that. It used to be a mid-major team could match up with WSU height-for-height. Not anymore. There's not a single player on this team listed below six feet. Twelve players are 6'3" or taller. Think about that for a second.

I think Klay Thompson may get a good look, occasionally, at point guard. But I like Capers at the moment and think he's a good fit for Taylor's #2.

Abe Lodwick is Chris Matthews. For those of you who don't know, that means he's a lights-out three point shooter who will likely spend more time on the bench than he should. I'm about ready to annoint myself president of the Abe Lodwick fan club. I was wondering if his textbook form would translate to the speed of a real game. It does: he wen't 3 for 3, including one from where the professionals shoot.

I don't know if he can do much else than shoot. I don't care. Abe Lodwick is awesome.

Mike Harthun: Of all the freshmen on the team, I think the most improvement from start to finish of the season will be had by Harthun. He's got tremendous potential, that's for sure. However, of all the big guns of this year's recruiting class, he looked the most nervous out on the floor and was occasionally out of sync with passing in the offense. Having said that, he has a quick release, sweet pull-up jump shot, and will be a star before he's done at WSU. If we had Carolina-type talent I'd redshirt him, but we don't, and we need him. I'm really looking forward to watching this kid play.

Charlie Enquist: And now I know why the coaches are so high on this kid. The redshirt freshman plays like a younger Caleb Forrest, and looks extremely comfortable out on the floor. He still shows some strange posture from time to time, but makes up for it by playing like an upperclassman reserve. One to watch for in the future; he may yet earn that scholarship.

James Watson: He's raw, but he's fun and arguably the most athletic freshman on the team. My feeling is he could use a redshirt. If he polishes up his game, watch out. Possibly the best dunker on the team, but we can't know that if you don't hold a slam dunk contest. Right, Tony???

Regardless, he gets the award for tremendous upside potential. He may not be a contributor this year, but I have no problem with that.

Nick WItherill: Another player who should be redshirted because he will play out of his mind by the time he's a fifth-year senior. He could probably start for Oregon State. For now, he should take the time to develop into the player that I saw glimpses of tonight: a smart, skilled guard with the ability to see lanes and make shots. Like the other freshmen, he doesn't back down from the competition. He's great insurance if (KNOCK ON WOOD) we have a couple injuries at the guard position.

Fabian Boeke/John Allen: Neither played, presumably due to injuries. I'm legitimately worried about Boeke - he could turn out to be the next Chris Henry or Rodney Edgerson, sidelined by back injuries. And back injuries are notoriously tough to come back from. I really, really hope he can do it. Allen falls more under the realm of Nuss' expertise, but I think he'll be a good reserve who should be redshirted for the time being.

Ryan Bailey: Suited up tonight, although I think he could be replaced on the opening-day roster by John Allen. The crowd would have gone nuts if he had scored, but he didn't. Such is the life of Ryan Bailey.

And now, after all that, a statement so bold that I have to make it in bold typefont: This team is deeper than last year's squad. Yep. We've added two great three-point threats, Thompson and Lodwick. We have shot blockers in Forrest, Baynes, Casto, and Watson, to the point where a couple of shots were blocked by two Cougar defenders at the same time. The freshmen are young, and that showed a couple times tonight. But not as much as I thought it would. Some of the reserve-type freshmen showed their age in moments. The ones that will contribute rarely did. This roster, top to bottom, looks stronger than last year's. Not necessarily a better team, not necessarily a more successful one, but deeper. There's all sorts of promise as you head from 1 to 15.

And the team defense: exceptional. WSU opened on a 30-4 run. They allowed 15 in the first, and 16 in the second. Sure, some of it was LCSC, but these Cougars were executing like seasoned vets on both ends of the floor. They shot the lights out, they ran plays to perfection, they held on to the ball. The real test is whether or not they can do those things against Oregon, or Baylor, or Gonzaga.

It is too early to get excited, but this team looks good. And they'll only get better.

Cougar Basketball Fun Fact No. 9

Nuss — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:00:05 -0000

In our continuing effort to look forward to better days, we'll be bringing you one fun fact about the Cougar basketball team each day until the season officially tips off on Nov. 15. Some will be silly, some will be serious, but all will be vital to your knowledge as a Cougar basketball fan.

Did you know ...

... that four of the six scholarship freshmen won at least one state championship in their high school careers?

Klay Thompson won the California state Division III championship at Santa Margarita Catholic HS in 2008
Mike Harthun won the Oregon state 6A division championship at South Medford HS in 2007
James Watson won two Oklahoma state B division championship at Stringtown HS in 2007 and 2008
And, of course, DeAngelo Casto won a pair of Washington state 4A championships at Ferris HS in 2007 and 2008

And to think that I would have settled for just one state championship in high school.

Had Harthun been able to make a buzzer-beating 3 as a sophomore in 2006, he'd have two titles as well. Interestingly, both Harthun's finals loss and championship came against Kevin Love-led Lake Oswego HS.