SB Nation User Blog: johnnycougar

Jon Brockman drafted in the 2nd round

johnnycougar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:33:35 -0000

Jon Brockman drafted in the 2nd round

Well, I know this isn't strictly Cougar news, but if there has been one Husky in recent years that I really wished was a Coug, it was Brockman. Also, since he's now off to the big leagues, I don't feel like I have any reason to dislike him anymore, and I can admire his work ethic and tenaciousness and so on and so forth. He has been an excellent player the last few years and I am glad to see him drafted. Anyone think he'll be better than Spencer Hawes by the end of the year?

It'll be made official soon that Seattle Pacific coach Jeff Hironaka is leaving to become an...

johnnycougar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:43:17 -0000

It'll be made official soon that Seattle Pacific coach Jeff Hironaka is leaving to become an assistant at Washington State, where he will again work with his former boss, Ken Bone.

Hironaka has been the head coach at SPU since 2002 when Bone left to become an assistant at UW. He is 134-67 at SPU.

Hironaka's hiring fills out the staff at WSU, the others being former UW player Curtis Allen and holdover Ben Johnson, giving the Cougars a strong contingent of coaches with Seattle-area ties.

This could also impact the Huskies as it's possible that assistants Paul Fortier and Jim Shaw could be approached about taking over for Hironaka.

(Bob Condotta, Seattle Times)

Hironaka to WSU

Polling CougCenter's reaction to Qwest Field news

johnnycougar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:49:53 -0000

We've had a lively debate going on in the Apple Cup -> Qwest Field thread and I thought that a poll might enlighten all of us to the various positions of the opining people.

Some are arguing that this move will be bad for local business, while others retort that the usual Seattle Game will move back to Pullman so the effect will be negligible. Some argue that the extra travel for the Cougs will make the game a de facto home game for UW. Some say that it's worth it if the extra money is used to improve our national image.

But what few have said so far is where they are coming from. I am curious what the opinion split is for people from different backgrounds. For example, maybe the majority of the opposition happens to be current WSU students, while the majority of the support is older alumni. I don't know, but I would like to find out - maybe it will help us understand each other's arguments.

Poll

What is your "Cougar Status" and what is your stance on the Apple Cup being played at Qwest Field?

I am a current student (or graduated in last three years) and I'm against it

31 votes

I am a current student (or graduated in last three years) and I'm for it

21 votes

I am a WSU graduate (>3 years) and I'm against it

59 votes

I am a WSU graduate (>3 years) and I'm for it

26 votes

I have not attended WSU and I'm against it

10 votes

I have not attended WSU and I'm for it

11 votes

158 votes | Poll has closed

The NIT Bracket Challenge Winner is....

johnnycougar — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:57:20 -0000

Congratulations to GRADY, our Coug Center NIT predictor extraordinaire. Here are the final results:

Grady - 47 points
DCinSEA - 44
johnnycougar - 42
Nuss - 41
02Coug - 39
SW_WA_Coug - 36

Thanks to everyone for participating, and as our Challenge Winner, Grady receives the grand prize of...

A Medical Degree!

...to be conferred sometime in the next month.

I think we'd all be satisfied with another NIT appearance next year, with of course NCAA aspirations for the years after. But if we do get to the NIT next year I think we'll have to do this again, and hopefully even more people will compete!

As always, GO COUGS!

Baynes to play in Portsmouth Invitational Tournament

johnnycougar — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 23:16:45 -0000

Aron Baynes will be one of five Pac 10 players to compete in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, April 8th - 11th. This presumably is Aron's last chance to impress scouts before (hopefully) working out for individual NBA teams before & after the draft. I think we all would be pleasantly surprised if he gets drafted but the nice thing about the P.I.T is that many international teams send scouts as well.

From the official website:

Each year for 56 years the P.I.T has invited 64 of the best college basketball players (seniors) from across the nation to participate in a four-day, twelve game tournament in front of representatives from every NBA team...scouts from numerous international leagues have joined in on the annual April pilgrimage to Portsmouth. Over the years the P.I.T. has been a showcase for five of the 50 greatest players in NBA History (Rick Barry, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Dave Cowens, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen) and for many others who have gone on to NBA stardom.

Basically, the P.I.T is a tournament for graduating seniors. It doesn't look like it will be televised live, but apparently NBA TV usually does extended highlights / recaps. Also I guess this tournament is sort of important, although I don't know if the "executives" who watch the kids play actually have much say in their respective organizations. It also sounds like a pretty cool tournament in that it gives a bunch of scholarships to local high schoolers, funded by the money it gets from ticket sales and TV rights.

Eight teams play a minimum of two games each, with one consolation game for the four first-round losers. After the initial round it is single elimination. Aron will team up with Robert Dozier (Memphis), Jimmy Baron (Rhode Island), Ronald Steele (Alabama), and Byron Eaton (OK state) (and a couple other guys I've never heard of). Aron's the only listed center on his team so hopefully he'll get a lot of minutes to impress. He's also the only player on his team to shoot 100% from 3 this year!

Other notable players in the tournament: Brockman, Levance Fields, Ben Woodside, Marcus Landry, BJ Raymond, AJ Price, Curtis Jerrells, Lawrence Hill, John Bryant, Josh Akognon, Sam Young, Pendergraph, Diamon Simpson, Kyle McAlarney, Alfred Aboya, and Micah Downs.

Aron will get another battle with Pendergraph and Simpson in his first game, April 8th at 7pm EST.

HT: Bob Condotta

Note: Portsmouth is only a 3 hour drive from Tony's new digs, I wonder if he'll show up to support Aron...

Brooks explained Weaver’s assignment to the Tulsa 66ers Friday by saying it’s simply an opportunity ...

johnnycougar — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 23:07:17 -0000

Brooks explained Weaver’s assignment to the Tulsa 66ers Friday by saying it’s simply an opportunity for the rookie guard to get more playing time. Weaver was averaging 19.6 minutes over his past five games with the Thunder. He figures to be getting twice that in Tulsa while also having an opportunity to have the ball in his hands more, play some minutes at point guard and have more freedom to develop his game.

"He’s going to be able to play there two games and only miss one game here," said Brooks, indicating Weaver is likely to be recalled prior to Sunday’s game against Indiana. "I like what he has done for us, and he will continue to improve because he is a great worker. But he’s getting minutes down there and it helps when you get minutes. I know he was getting 16, 17 minutes up here, but he’s getting 40 minutes down there. I thought he did a good job. He was filling up the stat sheet. They didn’t win the game, but I thought his numbers and his play was pretty good. So he’s just getting an opportunity to play extra minutes."

Aron Baynes will play Friday in NABC All Star Game

johnnycougar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:46:59 -0000

Aron Baynes will play Friday in NABC All Star Game

Aron Baynes gets one more game to impress NBA scouts as part of the Final Four festivities. He's playing on the Hershey's Team, along with such notable seniors as Justin Dentmon, Diamon Simpson (ugh, haven't we seen enough of that guy lately?), and New American Hero Ben Woodside. The opposing team, Reese's Team, features Alfred Aboya, Mendez-Valdez from WKU, Heytvelt and a couple other names I recognize.
The game will be televised at 1:35pm on Friday on CBS College Sports.

Pac 10 Names Larry Scott New Commissioner

johnnycougar — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:44:20 -0000

Pac 10 Names Larry Scott New Commissioner

Well, we have a new commissioner, and he's the former CEO of the Women's Tennis Association. Other than that I have no idea of what to think about this guy.

Cougs Nearly Sweep All-Academic Awards!

johnnycougar — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:36:53 -0000

This could have just been a FanShot but I wanted to elaborate a little bit. Check out the Pac-10 All-Academic Men's Basketball First Team:

First Team, Year, GPA, Major
Aron Baynes, WSU, Sr., 3.24, Movement Studies
Derek Glasser, ASU, Jr., 3.14, Communications
Daven Harmeling, WSU, Sr., 3.54, Health and Fitness Education
Nikola Koprivica, WSU, Jr., 3.39, International Business
Taylor Rochestie, WSU, Sr., 3.37, Communication

from the Pac-10 official site.

Hmmm, no biggy, just four of the five First Team spots are occupied by WSU Cougars!

Now that is what I call upperclassman leadership. Let's hope that in addition to all the basketball knowledge our guys passed on to the freshmen this year, there also were some nuggets regarding study habits and the importance of a college degree.

I don't want to be too cheesy here, but it is good to see that Tony Bennett means what he says about teaching the guys to become men, not just basketball players.

Also, with all of the negative attention the last few years around the football team, it is very refreshing to see a basketball team with good habits, obviously reflecting the personality of the coach. This is what college is truly about for most of these guys, and if / when their basketball careers peter out, whether here or abroad, they will have something to fall back on.

For completeness sake, here is the Second Team:

Second Team, Year, GPA, Major
Nikola Knezevic, CAL, Jr., 3.03, Interdisciplinary Studies
Rihards Kuksiks, ASU, So., 3.07, Business Communications
Roeland Schaftenaar, OSU, Jr., 3.17, Pre-Business
Drew Shiller, STAN, Jr., 3.08, Communication
Jordan Wilkes, CAL, Sr., 3.13, Social Welfare

And don't forget, this was last year's team (emphasis mine):

First Team Year GPA Major
Bret Brielmaier, ARIZ Sr. 3.09 Interdisciplinary Studies
Robbie Cowgill, WSU Sr. 3.36 Management Operations
Taj Finger, STAN Sr. 3.06 Communication
Daven Harmeling, WSU RJr. 3.51 Health and Fitness Education
Taylor Rochestie, WSU RJr. 3.27 Communication

Second Team Year GPA Major
Alfred Aboya, UCLA Jr. 3.06 Political Science
Aron Baynes, WSU Jr. 3.15 Movement Studies
Nikola Knezevic, CAL So. 3.21 Interdisciplinary Studies
Nikola Koprivica, WSU So. 3.31 Undeclared
Roeland Schaftenaar, OSU So. 3.29 Pre-Business

GO COUGS!

Poll

How awesome are the Cougs?

Awesome!

6 votes

Really Awesome!

17 votes

The players would have a more sophisticated word for "awesome!"

51 votes

74 votes | Poll has closed

DJ Gallo psuedo-live blog (funny)

johnnycougar — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:28:41 -0000

DJ Gallo psuedo-live blog (funny)

This is probably funnier to read after he finishes the blog, but DJ Gallo (for ESPN) is live blogging all the games and its pretty funny. I usually enjoy his humor, he's kind of quirky to be writing for ESPN. Here's a sample:

"No. 6 Marquette (24-9) vs. No. 11 Utah State (30-4): This is not your typical No. 6 versus No. 11 game. Both teams are ranked in the top 25 of the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. I think it's clear the selection committee does not respect USA Today."