SB Nation User Blog: Grady.

Washington State 73, LCSC 51: Your exhibition notes

Grady. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:27:54 -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.

PLAYER PROFILE: Michael Harthun

Grady. — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:36:54 -0000

#30 / Guard / Washington St. Cougars

Height: 6-3

Weight: 181

Year: Sophomore

Major: Journalism and/or Sport Management

High School: South Medford HS

You wouldn't think a young player with a career high of three points in a game would have the opportunity to make an impact this season. Mike Harthun does.

Our two Oregonian sophomores, in fact, stand to benefit the most out of anyone from the transition to Ken Bone and the increased reliance on the three-point shot. One is Abe Lodwick, whom I previewed earlier, and the other Harthun, who made almost half of his field goal attempts from behind the arc last winter.

It's debatable whether or not Tony Bennett should have burnt Harthun's redshirt. He only appeared in 14 of the team's games in 2008-09, and only took 18 shot attempts the entire season. Oddly enough, his most prominent appearance came in the Cougars' final game of the season against Saint Mary's, where he logged fourteen minutes. He went 1-for-2 from three-point range and provided a little bit of a spark off the bench.

Harthun's transition to college ball has been a little rougher than the other freshmen from Tony Bennett's final year. He was in the dog house early, earning a three-game suspension for a "violation of team rules". That violation was almost undoubtedly his brush with the law for suspected marijuana possession. Although no formal citation or charges were ever filed, the incident was a setback for both his playing time and development, and it showed as Harthun lurked in the shadows up until the final game.

Nevertheless, there's a lot of potential in Harthun, and all he really has to do is complete that adjustment to the next level. He was already a phenomenal prospect in high school - more impressive than a comparable Oregon player currently starting at Oregon: Garrett Sim. He was part of the South Medford team that defeated Kevin Love's Lake Oswego team for the Oregon 6A championship. Harthun averaged 22.7 points and 5.4 assists per game his senior season, and was rated a Top 100 prospect by espn.com. There was a lot of hype surrounding Harthun, and with Bone at the helm, we may begin to see the 6'3" guard live up to it.

Best Case Scenario: Harthun emerges as a solid role player at guard, with the ability to knock down shots, pass the ball, and take pressure off freshman guards Xavier Thames and Reggie Moore. Mike scores in the five to ten point per game range, and possibly earns a start or two depending on the opposition. He rains threes in Bone's system, giving us a streaky shooter off the bench in the mold of a Josh Akognon.

Worst Case Scenario: Like so many Cougar sophomores, the worst case scenario is a repeat of last year statistically. If Harthun can't continue that adjustment to the speed and skill of the college game, his minutes will suffer and he'll find himself sitting on the pine behind Moore, Thames, Capers, Lodwick and Koprivica.

Likely Scenario: I could honestly see either of the above scenarios playing out for Harthun, who has the skill to be an impact player for WSU in stretches, but also the weaknesses that could keep him on the bench for extended period of time. My belief is that we see the Harthun from the Saint Mary's game: about 15 minutes a night, some helpful threes, improved defense and a few surprise drives to the basket. He looks smaller than he actually is at 6'3" - part of that is due to the fact we've recruited so many tall guards and forwards in the past couple seasons. Harthun has surprising quickness that will almost certainly be an aid in a more up-tempo system. Look for Harthun to make a name for himself this season, and maybe crack the starting lineup if the other young guards struggle.

Poll

How much playing time will Harthun get in 2009-10?

Arizona 48, Washington State 7

Grady. — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:18:27 -0000

More photos » by John Miller - AP

Can't read his, can't read his, no you can't read Wulff's poker face

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In the interest of time, I have decided to make a template for all Cougar football recaps going forward. Just fill in the blanks with the appropriate information:

[Opponent] throttled the Cougars at [Martin Stadium/Opponent's Stadium] Saturday, by a final score of [Opponent 40 or more points] to WSU [14 or less points].

The Cougars got off to a horrific start with [opposing player's name] scoring a touchdown within the first two minutes. The Cougar offense went three-and-out on their first several drives, and couldn't slow down [Opponent] on defense. The result was a score at the end of the first quarter of [Opponent 20 or more points], WSU 0.

WSU suffered even more with [one of our few good player's names] suffering a freak injury in the second quarter. That was added insult to the Cougars who had already lost [key Cougar player 1], [key Cougar player 2] and [key Cougar player 3] prior to the game.

[Opponent's player] had a career [rushing/passing] day, with [250 yards rushing/400 yards passing] and six touchdowns. This was a huge boost to [opponent], who earlier in the season suffered an embarrassing loss to [mediocre Pac-10 team].

By the end of the first half, the game was well in hand for [opponent], leading [30 or more] to [7 or less].

Resting most of their starters after the break, the second half was low scoring, with [opponent] earning two more touchdowns to WSU's one.

WSU had one bright spot - a long passing touchdown reception by [Karstetter/Forzani] late in the second half. Nico Grasu missed the PAT.

The Cougars drop to 1 and [x] overall, and remain winless in conference play.

Next week WSU will play [next opponent]. Vegas has set the early line, with the Cougars as 35 point underdogs.

---

Yep, this is what WSU football has become. Games like this make it very hard to remain a staunch defender of Paul Wulff returning in 2010.

Player of the Game: Marshall Lobbestael. Never thought I'd say that again, but Rock Lobster did a good job filling in for the injured Jeff Tuel: 7 for 11, 103 yards, 9.4 yards per attempt, 1 touchdown and no interceptions.

Unsung Hero: Dwight Tardy. Four carries for 44 yards, an 11 yard/carry average, although 37 of those yards came on one play. He also averaged 19.5 yards per kick return. I still think he deserves more carries.

It was over when... Travis Cobb returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. I'm not sugar coating it this week. This game was over in thirteen seconds. A new record.

Play of the Game: A pretty obvious selection, the 64-yard touchdown pass from Lobbestael to Karstetter with 6:23 to play. Did you know Arizona's within a half game of the Pac-10 conference lead? Yep, doesn't make me feel any better either.

Stat of the Game: 54. As in Arizona's 54 rushing attempts, resulting in 294 yards and a dominating 41:19 time of posession.

PANIC PANIC PANIC PANIC

Grady. — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:14:14 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Paul Wulff clearly isn't as cool as Dennis "I wear sunglasses even on an overcast day" Erickson.

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Every once in a while, there comes a piece of writing across my eyes that is truly worthy of picking apart. Worthy of further breakdown and snide remarks. Worthy of: the FJM treatment. Normally, in Coug Nation, it's a Howie Stalwick piece, as Howie seems to be of the journalistic type that lumps bloggers into one universal category of uninformed, over-emotional losers. OK, we'll give him the "loser" part. That we are. But in the meantime Stalwick has been making quite a lot of sense lately, so it's hard to ridicule that. So who are we going after? Ted Miller? Nick Daschel? Bill "Robbie Cowgill looks like he fell off a Greenpeace boat" Simmons?

Nope. Today's literary gem comes from none other than the Daily Evergreen letters to the editor. And, of course, no one has ever ever ever said anything outlandish or controversial in there. Normally, the flames are fanned by politics, racial issues, politics, religion or (and this may surprise you) politics. Today's subject du jour is Paul Wulff. And a Cougar Alum is not sold on the rebuilding process.

Let's dive in!

It is time for Wulff to leave WSU football

Embarrassing is not a strong enough word to describe the feeling my dad and I had while watching the WSU versus Notre Dame game on Halloween.

Translation: I watched WSU/Notre Dame because it was on NBC, and since I haven't seen the Cougs in person or on TV any other time this year I was not expecting them to get torn apart by a mediocre football team that probably wouldn't even be in the top 25 if they hadn't invented the forward pass and weren't God's gift to football [literally].

And let's rewind to the start. What words are stronger than embarrassed? Let's make a list:

Abashed
Ashamed
Disconcerted
Willingham'd
Flustered
Facepalmed
1998-2003 Apple Cup'd
Sean Salisburied

There was no real reason for doing that. I just wanted to.

Anyhoo, there's a big point I want to make here: This football team was embarrassed Week 1 against Stanford. Week 2 against Hawai'i. During the first half of Week 3 against SMU. Week 4 against USC (not really by the outcome, but by letting the Trojans recover an onside kick, up 13-0). Week 5 against Oregon. Week 6 against Arizona State, where we didn't lose big, but still lost despite forcing six turnovers. Week 8 against Cal.

So... how was Notre Dame the game that burst the dam of embarrassment? Hasn't that already been blown up, with the golden ship that is the U.S.S. Shame sailing down the gorge below on a raging flood of embarrassment water? Why ND? A team, that despite the fact I dissed it earlier, is still a top 25 team with quality recruiting classes and enough prestige to host a home game several states away? I mean, if your program is so big they can still sucker a once-proud network's sports department into becoming their 'official' station, they might also have better players than WSU.

Moving on...

It was certainly a fun evening of trick-or-treating for Notre Dame. There were sweets strewn all over the field in the form of the Cougar defense.

Food metaphors Yeah!

By far the best part of this letter.

Whether passing or running, Notre Dame could do no wrong and chomped off huge amounts of yardage on nearly every play. The Fighting Irish held the football for more than 40 minutes and made 33 first downs.

Teams that have also done this sort of thing to us in the last two years:

Stanford
Hawai'i
Oregon
California
Arizona
Stanford
USC
Oregon State
Oregon
Baylor
California
Oklahoma State

And those are just the big blowouts - I haven't even mentioned the other losses. Granted, this whole list is one of the better arguments against Paul Wulff, and we'll revisit it later. Still, though: can you really be embarrassed when you see the embarrassment coming a mile away? Let's say a friend of yours says he's going to pull down your pants in a crowded restaurant exactly one year from today. Wouldn't you be less shocked when it didn't come out of nowhere? Or at least have the time to prepare, by making sure you don't go commando, or even throw on a second pair of pants underneath to avoid the situation altogether?

Weird example, I know. It's just that we've had time to prep ourselves: joke about our team, take bets on whether or not we cover the spread, and play the whole 'we were worse last year and somehow we still beat you' card to Husky fans. And those Huskies, who are supposed to be embarrassment-free with Sark in the house? Gave up an uncontested 50 yard game winning touchdown pass with time expiring against Arizona State. All teams have embarrassing moments. USC just did against Oregon. It's all about expectations.

The Cougar backfield played just as advertised – one of the worst in the nation.

Wait, what? That has to be the defensive backfield, right? Even though our running backs have struggled this year, they have had absolutely no support from their offensive line - not to mention James Montgomery suffering his freak case of compartment syndrome. And Tardy improbably went for 9 yards per carry Saturday, with a team-high 72 yards over eight attempts. Winston looks promising as back-of-the-future, and Mitz is showing flashes of his 2008 Apple Cup performance.

The defensive backfield certainly did play as advertised, against a marquee quarterback and a receiver that catches just about every single object thrown at him. I'm just not sure what this has to do with Wulff, who was given very little talent or depth to begin with in that unit.

And the offense was not much better. Losing 40-14 exemplifies what we have come to expect under the Paul Wulff regime.

Exactly. We've come to expect blowouts, losing, etc. We've also mostly agreed as a fanbase that Wulff should be given enough time to see if he can make a difference. So why fire him now?

It is time for Wulff to stand up and face the music. He is not cut out to be a head coach.

Whoa whoa whoa. I know it's FCS level stuff, but I think just about anyone at Eastern would disagree with that. Wulff's years at EWU, per Wikipedia (yeah, I know):

2000	Eastern Washington	6–5	5–2	5th
2001	Eastern Washington	7–4	3–4	5th
2002	Eastern Washington	6–5	3–4	4th
2003	Eastern Washington	6–5	3–4	6th
2004	Eastern Washington	9–4	6–1	T–1st	L Division I-AA Quarterfinal
2005	Eastern Washington	7–5	5–2	T–1st	L Division I-AA 1st round
2006	Eastern Washington	3–8	2–5	T–6th
2007	Eastern Washington	9–4	5–2	2nd	L Division I FCS Quarterfinal

He wasn't exactly a world beater, but after four fairly mediocre seasons with the Eagles, Wulff put together a three-out-of-four year stretch that was pretty impressive. Two Big Sky co-championships, a second place finish, and a bad year in 2006 that we'll just write off. Overall, though, it's a solid resume, and proof he can run a football team.

The situation is comparable to WSU, even though Wulff's detractors say it isn't. Cheney is a moderately sized farm city in Eastern Washington. The Big Sky is one of the better conferences in the FCS; the Pac-10 is one of the better in the FBS. The Big Sky is run at the top by perennial national championship contender Montana; the Pac-10 is run by USC. It's not a perfect analogy, and there's a chance Wulff's success doesn't translate to a higher level. Nevertheless, it's a pretty comparable situation in terms of money, fan support, facilities, etc. It's like WSU Jr.

I don't think anyone can deny the fact that Wulff was at least an well-informed hiring decision. Based on the fact he ran a successful program for the better part of a decade, has strong ties to WSU, and knows how to recruit good athletes to Eastern Washington.

He has built a team that most certainly does not belong in the Pac-10. I thought that WSU Athletic Director Jim Sterk was attempting to take the football program in the right direction when he released Bill Doba. But what was Sterk thinking when he hired a replacement who only won half of his games?

If by half, you mean 57% (53-40 overall, 32-20 in conference) of his games, you'd be right. So let me propose you this choice: a successful lower division coach with strong ties to the University, or an unproven defensive coordinator with a worse W/L track record and strong ties to the University.

The latter of course is Robb Akey, whom Idaho took a positive gamble on. While it seems like he would have been the better hire for WSU, he wasn't available at the time (having just gotten off the ground at Idaho), and Wulff was far and away the most obvious selection for the program. That doesn't guarantee success, it just guarantees the best chance at it. Time will tell.

I am a graduate of WSU and proud to be a Cougar.

Cool. So maybe you could not slam our head coach in a publication that players, students and quite possibly even future recruits read?

But it is hard to maintain this Cougar pride in athletics with the direction the football program is headed – a direction that I hope is rectified in the near future.

Yeah, we know. The team is awful. That's not reason alone to fire a coach. When it's obvious the program is better off without the coach than with him, that's when you pull the plug. When you've had enough time to evaluate the recruits, the performance on and off the field and the direction the program is headed.

With two years of experience and only one full recruiting class enrolled, you don't think that there's a least a chance - a slight chance - that Wulff could be the one to rectify it? Or should we blow it up and rebuild it with a brand new coach that has the same odds of success that Wulff had when he took over? It's rough now, but we owe it to ourselves to see it through. Otherwise we turn into just another win-at-all-costs program that can't even attract the kind of coach we really need.

The debate rages on...

Baseball team with money superior to other baseball teams with less money

Grady. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:19:52 -0000

Congratulations, New York.

If this is coupled with a Cowboys Super Bowl, following last spring's Lakers NBA championship, the world will spontaneously burst into flames.

Hey - evil has to win sometimes or else life gets boring. The Empire Strikes Back is still a great movie, right?

PLAYER PROFILE: DeAngelo Casto

Grady. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:19:44 -0000

DeAngelo Casto

#23 / Forward / Washington St. Cougars

Height: 6-8

Weight: 231

Year: Sophomore

Hometown: Spokompton

High School: Ferris

Major: Undecided, as budget cuts forced WSU to drop the shot-blocking major

"He's screaming his own name!"

Those words, spoken by some other fan in my section of the ZZU CRU, told me one thing: DeAngelo Casto had arrived.

And sure enough, Casto was the catalyst for the Cougars' first Pac-10 conference win last winter. To refresh your memory: Stanford came into Pullman somewhat highly touted last January, boasting an 11-2 record that was among the best in the Pac-10 (albeit against a cupcake schedule). The Cougs, meanwhile, had a rough start to the Pac-10 slate, getting bombed by 20 against Washington in an underattended Winter Break rivalry game, then falling to perennial nemesis Patrick Christopher and California. WSU needed a win in the worst way to avoid starting 0-3.

After a rough first half, Tony Bennett decided to go young late in the game. Baynes and Rochestie were unavoidable selections, as they always were last season. But for the other three, Bennett went with Klay Thompson (obvious), Abe Lodwick (less obvious), and a relatively untested DeAngelo Casto. The three were key to the Cougars' second half comeback that erased a deficit that was as large as eleven in the first half. Sure, there was this:

...but as you may also remember, it was Casto that saved the game. After Taylor Rochestie's runner-off-the-glass to give WSU the lead with 17 seconds left, Stanford had plenty of time for their last chance. The always dangerous Anthony Goods drove the lane and went straight to the basket.

Stuffed.

Casto had grabbed his own rebound and snuffed out Stanford's best shot at a win. Sure, he missed the two ensuing free throws and gave Stanford another long shot at a win, but Casto had arrived on the big stage. I'm not really sure he was screaming his own name - it could've been something else - but based on the fact the crowd was doing it, and going crazy in the process, I'm pretty sure he was. Cool moment.

As for the remainder of the year:

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2008 - DeAngelo Casto	33	16.1	1.6	2.9	55.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.2	1.8	64.4	1.3	2.7	4.0	0.5	1.1	0.4	1.2	1.6	4.4

For someone that made such a defensive impact last year, Casto didn't see the floor as much as you'd have thought. In those 16.1 minutes per game, though, he was prominent in a few statistical categories, and anemic in others. We know he's a great shot blocker: Casto was ranked 41st nationally with an 8.9 block%. We also know he's a powerful offensive rebounder: in a Bennett system that de-emphasizes crashing the offensive glass in favor of tranisition, 1.3 of Casto's 4.0 boards per game were of the offensive variety. But he's also an underrated defensive rebounder - ranked 125th nationally in DR%. And while he struggled mightily from the free throw line early on, he gradually improved into 2009, finishing with a decent if not world-beating 64.4%. A far cry from his 0-for-2 in the final moments against Stanford.

A lot of people are mystified by Ken Bone's comments that Casto is a "poor man's Jon Brockman". Count me among them. Sure, the rebounding prowess is comparable, but Brockman finished last season as a far more powerful scorer, while being much better at protecting the ball than Casto. It's not that I think Casto can't someday arrive at Brockman's level offensively - he certainly can - but Brockman has nothing on Casto defensively, and Casto has nothing on Brockman at the other end. Brockman couldn't block shots, and won't ever be the low post defender that we believe Casto will be. Casto goes long stretches without scoring, and needs to be more aggressive getting to the hoop and drawing fouls. Comparing the two isn't an extreme stretch, but it's still a stretch.

Best Case Scenario: DeAngelo Casto: defensive powerhouse and electric low-post scorer. We lose a ton of point production from last season in Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes. Casto picks up a huge chunk of the interior scoring - five to ten points per game - and provides a huge boost to our chances in 2010. Casto becomes a top 25 shot-blocker nationally, dominates the boards, and gives the Cougars 30 minutes or so of strength under the basket. He also becomes the Cougars' most consistent threat for a SportsCenter Top 10 play.

Worst Case Scenario: Casto is limited early on coming back from his knee injury, and then later on by a rough transition to Bone's system. He puts up numbers comparable to last year, and despite getting more minutes and points, his field goal percentage suffers, and he isn't powerful enough on the boards to keep the Cougs from getting demolished by bigger opponents.

Likely Scenario: Casto is still the great defensive player he has been, and becomes more polished on defense. He fills some of the void left behind by Aron Baynes, but still needs help from James Watson and Brock Motum. People start to take Casto seriously as a rebounding threat, he makes the all-conference defensive team and has an outside shot at second team All Pac-10.

Poll time now. Option #4 is for Husky fans.

Poll

Casto in 2009-10 will...

Yep, Jeff Tuel is still awesome

Grady. — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:59:05 -0000

More photos » by BAHRAM MARK SOBHANI - AP

Your leaping does not intimidate Jeff Tuel

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You may be thinking after last night's 40-14 loss and two touchdown, two interception performance: "Nothing's going right!!! Even our savior Jeff Tuel isn't that good!!! What's Robb Akey's cell phone number!?!?!"

Well, hang on.

Tuel is still a big step above our other options at QB. He's no Reid Forrest, but he should still be our starting quarterback the rest of the way. Observe (best viewed in widescreen mode): [h/t cfbstats.com]

	Name	Yr	Pos	G	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Yards/Att	Int	TD
1	Jeff Tuel	FR	QB	5	111	66	59.5	766	6.9	5	6
2	Marshall Lobbestael	SO	QB	6	105	49	46.7	475	4.5	5	2
3	Kevin Lopina	SR	QB	4	48	28	58.3	313	6.5	2	1

Even with a less-than-stellar performance against Notre Dame, Tuel still tops our other quarterbacks in virtually every statistical category you can think of. This, from a true freshman, whom we weren't sure had the size or the capabilities to really do anything this season but gain experience.

Plus, you can see the difference on the field. Tuel's more mobile, more accurate, and seems to have a better command of the offense than the two guys who have more experience. Plus, Tuel's numbers are even more impressive when you consider the teams he's played (USC, Oregon, ASU, Cal, ND) versus those Lopinastael have played (Stanford, Hawai'i, SMU). Seriously, though: four out of the five teams JT's played are currently ranked!

Now, before you get too excited about the final three games, remember that Notre Dame's pass defense is awful (105th coming into last night's game - 8.2 YPA allowed), and one would've hoped that Tuel would've torn it to shreds. Still, Tuel gets to face an even worse Washington pass defense (109th, 8.4 YPA allowed) and a mediocre Oregon State pass defense (58th, 6.8 YPAA) before the season is out. Arizona and UCLA are better (both 34th before yesterday's action), so don't expect a breakout performance in either of those.

Still, Jeff Tuel is a promising young QB. One of the few good reasons left to watch the remainder of the Cougar football season.

Notre Dame 40, Washington State 14

Grady. — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:45:46 -0000

More photos » by BAHRAM MARK SOBHANI - AP

Awwwwwwwww snap, yo! The Cougars got SERVED, 40-14, by Notre Dame in an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 in San Antonio, Texas. (AP Photo/Bahram Mark Sobhani)

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OK, this team is getting a little too predictable.

Last week, I selfishly touted my correct pregame prediction of the Cougars' game against California. The final score was 49-17, which I had accurately predicted on the podcast the Tuesday prior to the game.

This week, I failed. By one point. My prediction was Notre Dame 41, Washington State 14. The final score saw the Irish top the Cougs in San Antonio 40-14.

There's a point here, one that has to do with more than my own gloating. Although, admittedly, the gloating is a lot of fun.

That point is that, for better or worse, we have this Cougar team figured out. We know when they're getting blown out, we know about how much they'll be getting blown out by, and we don't feel the least bit nervous about that projection.

There was a transfer of power in the Pac-10 tonight. Oregon secured the outright conference lead from USC, and has the inside track at the Rose Bowl, or perhaps another BCS game. It's easy to forget as recently as 2002 we were in the same position. Now, instead of having a packed stadium hanging on the emotional ups and downs of every play, we have predictability. A team that is not competitive now and probably won't be competitive until at least next fall. Possibly longer. We start slow, recover slowly, score a touchdown or two along the way and head home trying to find the positives among the multitude of negatives.

The decent Cougar fanbase showing in the 'neutral' Alamodome, and the national broadcast by NBC, still weren't enough to help the Cougars get started off on the right foot. In the first quarter, though, WSU hung tough with the Irish, surrendering only a field goal and touchdown. In fact the PAT on the touchdown was blocked and nearly returned by Chima Nwachukwu for two, making it deep into Notre Dame territory before being caught by a Notre Dame tight end. 9-0 ND after the first.

The second quarter saw momentum swing decidedly in favor of the Irish. Rushing TDs by Golden Tate and Robert Hughes put Notre Dame up 23-0 midway through the period. From there, the Cougars pieced together their best drive of the half, culminating in Jeff Tuel finding Jared Karstetter for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Even that lone bright spot was wiped out, however, on the final play of the half. On a Hail Mary from the fifty yard line, Jimmy Clausen found Golden Tate, who was able to outjump Aire Justin and come down with a spectacular catch, albeit it sharing the ball with the three defenders trying to pry it away. Still, tie goes to the receiver, and Notre Dame went to the intermission up 30-7.

Fewer fireworks were seen in the second half, with an Irish field goal being the only score in the third. Jimmy Clausen appeared to re-aggravate his turf toe, and replacement Dayne Crist struggled before hitting John Goodman (no, not that one) for a 64 yard TD. Crist would suffer a leg injury later in the game getting tangled up with Toby Turpin, but the outcome was decided and Clausen would sit out the remainder of the contest as a precaution. Tuel, who was picked off twice on the evening, did find Karstetter one more time to bring the Cougs to the final score.

Player of the Game: Karstetter. Our #1 receiver only caught two balls, but made the most of them with two touchdowns. He only had 19 receving yards, but that wasn't abnormal for an anemic WSU offense whose longest play from scrimmage was a 20-yard run by Dwight Tardy.

Unsung Hero: Dwight Tardy. Speaking of which, maybe he's not done yet. Tardy notched 72 yards on 8 carries, a 9 yard average making him by far the most consistent Cougar on offense this evening. He also averaged an impressive 25.3 yards on his three kick returns. Perhaps he doesn't have to be just a trick-play quarterback going forward.

It was over when... Golden Tate caught the Hail Mary at the end of the first half. I know it was a spectacular catch, but the Cougar defensive backfield still needs to learn to swat the ball down. Going for the interception makes a team a lot more susceptible to giving up the touchdown. Oh, and any sort of pressure whatsoever on Jimmy Clausen on that play would've been nice.

Stat of the Game: The Cougars were 2 for 11 on third down. Hard to keep the defense rested and off the field when the offense keeps getting forced to the sideline. That stat led almost directly to a 2:1 time of possession advantage for the Irish, with ND controlling the ball for 40:54 compared to Wazzu's 19:06.

OPEN GAME THREAD #2

Grady. — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:36:18 -0000

We are not goode.

PLAYER PROFILE: Abe Lodwick

Grady. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:06:50 -0000

Abe Lodwick
via grfx.cstv.com

#31 / Guard / Washington St. Cougars

Height: 6-7

Weight: 200

Year: Sophomore

Hometown: Bend, Oregon

High School: Mountain View

Major: Communication

Scouting report: One of the things you may remember about the previous coaching era was Tony Bennett's penchant for finding tall, skinny dudes who can flat out shoot. Abe Lodwick is that kind of player. Lodwick turned heads before he was even eligible to play; as a true freshman Lodwick used his picture-perfect form to drain threes from just about any location in shootaround before the games. Lodwick wouldn't play that season - he redshirted - but hopes were high for him going into 2008-09 as a perimeter shooter with the opportunity to take some of the pressure off Taylor Rochestie and Klay Thompson.

Did he do it? No. Lodwick and fellow towering perimeter-shooting specialist Daven Harmeling simultaneously struggled mightily and faded into the background. Have a look at the numbers, compiled over a meager 6.3 minutes per game.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2008 - Abe Lodwick	21	6.3	0.3	1.9	17.9	0.1	1.3	10.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.7	1.0	0.3	0.5	0.1	0.1	1.1	0.8

At first glance... well, really at any glance, these stats are awful. 10.7 3pt% from a three-point shooting specialist? That's enough to drive everyone away from the Abe Lodwick Fan Club I was intent on founding. And it's a shame, too, because we could've worn Abe Lincoln hats to the games and fake beards to match. It would've been so cool.

So what happened? Was I just flat out wrong thinking that Lodwick had a future as a shooter and contributor off the bench?

Two responses: First, I'm never wrong. That goes without saying. Second, I think I have an explanation for why Lodwick was just so spotty with his shooting last season. Take a look at his game log from a pretty representative five game stretch last season:

vs. Pitt: 1 min, 0/1 FG, 0/1 3pt
vs. Idaho State: 6 min, 0/3 FG, 0/1 3pt
vs. Baylor: 3 min, 0/1 FG, 0/1 3pt
vs. Gonzaga: 7 min, 0/2, 0/1 3pt
vs. Montana State: 2 min, 0/0 FG, 0/0 3pt

Wow, that's a lot of zeros, you may be thinking. Yes, but remember that shooters need to get in rhythm. They need attempts, especially from behind the arc, where you're doing well if 2 out of every 5 hit the bottom of the net. If you're a shooting specialist, and I throw you in the game for 5 minutes, and let you take one or two shots before I pull the plug and sit you back on the bench, do you really have a chance to get in rhythm? Doubtful. Tony Bennett would bring in Abe off the bench, let him shoot a three or two, and then when he missed it put him back on the pine. Not exactly the best way to instill confidence in a redshirt freshman.

Maybe it's the adjustment to the speed of the Pac-10 game that threw him off. Maybe it's the lack of meaningful open opportunities provided by his teammates. Maybe - and it kills me to say it - he's just not that great of a shooter.

It's just that I doubt it. I still believe Abe Lodwick can have an impact for the 2009-2010 Cougars.

Best Case Scenario: Under Ken Bone's quickened offense, and with the green light to shoot given more often than under Bennett, Abe lights it up. He comes off the bench to the a Josh Akognon-style three-point threat, and takes a good deal of pressure off Klay Thompson, Reggie Moore and Xavier Thames at the guard positions. Abe also shows off his underrated ability to rebound, giving him the versatility to play the 3 and possibly even the 4 in a smaller lineup. Abe tops 40% from distance, scores 8.9 points per game and has us daydreaming of what he could provide for us in the future.

Worst Case Scenario: 2009-10 Abe Lodwick is 2008-09 Abe Lodwick.

Likely Scenario: Is Klay struggling to find his shooting stroke? Are the Cougs missing threes and falling behind? Are we lacking height in a three-guard lineup? Then Abe Lodwick is your man off the bench, able to provide some decent production just as long as Ken Bone is actually willing to play him in longer stretches and give him 4 to 5 shot attempts instead of the 1 to 2 Tony gave him. Lodwick is likely around a 5 point per game contributor, and shoots threes somewhere in the thirty to forty percent range. Abe can shoot well from inside the arc as well, and provide the occasional putback off an offensive rebound. If the Cougs need some life out of their shooting game, Lodwick is a worthwhile option. And with Ken Bone's looser system, he may turn out to be a perfect role player for his new coach.

SB Nation User Blog: Grady.

Washington State 73, LCSC 51: Your exhibition notes

PLAYER PROFILE: Michael Harthun

#30 / Guard / Washington St. Cougars

How much playing time will Harthun get in 2009-10?

Arizona 48, Washington State 7

PANIC PANIC PANIC PANIC

Baseball team with money superior to other baseball teams with less money

PLAYER PROFILE: DeAngelo Casto

DeAngelo Casto

#23 / Forward / Washington St. Cougars

Casto in 2009-10 will...

Yep, Jeff Tuel is still awesome

Notre Dame 40, Washington State 14

OPEN GAME THREAD #2

PLAYER PROFILE: Abe Lodwick

Abe Lodwick via grfx.cstv.com

#31 / Guard / Washington St. Cougars

Abe Lodwick
via grfx.cstv.com