COUGARS RETURN HOME TO CONCLUDE REGULAR SEASON: Washington State men's basketball (11-17, 3-13) returns to Pullman to host the Oregon schools, beginning with Oregon (19-10, 9-7), Thursday, March 1 at 6 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum.
• Thursday's game can be seen on ESPN2 as Kanoa Leahey (play-by-play) and PJ Carlesimo (analyst) have the call.
• Following that game, WSU will host Oregon State (14-14, 6-10) for 'Senior Day', Saturday, March 3 at 3:30 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum.
• Saturday's game can be seen on the Pac-12 Network as Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) and Eldridge Recasner (analyst) have the call.
• All season long, Cougar basketball can be heard on the Cougar IMG Sports Radio Network as the voice of the Cougars, Matt Chazanow will have the call.
• Please see page one of today's notes for the list of affiliates.
• Live stats are also available at www.wsucougars.com.
COUGARS VERSUS DUCKS:
• Thursday marks the 293rd all-time meeting between Washington State and Oregon, as the Ducks hold a 168-124 advantage in the series.
• Each of the last two seasons, Washington State and Oregon met just once, as 2015-16 was the first time since 1922 that the Cougars and Ducks didn't meet at least twice in the regular season.
• Oregon has won 11 of the last 12 meetings in the series, but WSU's win in that span came in Pullman as it put up its most points in the series with 108 in an overtime win, Jan. 15, 2015.
• WSU fell at Oregon, 84-57, in the first meeting of the season, Feb. 11...WSU hasn't won at Eugene since a 74-62 victory, Jan. 17, 2009 when
Ernie Kent was head coach at Oregon...the Cougars have lost seven-straight at Oregon.
• The Cougars lead the series, 75-62 at home.
•
Ernie Kent coached at Oregon for 13 seasons, but he holds a 1-6 record against the Ducks from his time as head coach at Saint Mary's and WSU.
• In the series between WSU and Oregon, Kent holds a 23-9 record, as he defeated the Cougars 22 times in his time as head coach for the Ducks and defeated the Ducks once as head coach of the Cougars.
COUGARS VERSUS BEAVERS
• Saturday marks the 296th meeting between Washington State and Oregon State, as the Beavers hold a 170-125 advantage in the all-time series.
• Last season WSU snapped a six-game losing streak to OSU, including a three-game home losing streak, as the Cougars prevailed, 75-62, in their home game played at Spokane, Jan. 4.
• Oregon State won the first meeting this season, 94-62 at Corvallis., Feb. 8.
• The two teams met just once each of the last two seasons, as they last met in Corvallis, Feb. 28, 2016, resulting in a 69-49 Beaver victory…the 2015-16 season marked the first time since 1917 that WSU and OSU didn't meet at least twice.
• The Cougars hold a 78-63 advantage in the series at home and but have won just one of the last four home games against the Beavers.
• WSU head coach
Ernie Kent is 20-11 all-time against Oregon State as a head coach, including his 13 years at Oregon.
OLD RIVALS:
• Washington State and Oregon State are meeting for the 110th-consecutive men's basketball season.
• The two schools have the third-oldest continuous rivalry west of the Mississippi River.
• It is the eighth-longest continuous rivalry nationally behind Columbia/Yale (118th season), Princeton/Yale (118th season), Pennsylvania/Princeton (117th season), Columbia/Pennsylvania (116th season) and Cornell/Pennsylvania (116th season).
• The Cougars also hold the sixth-oldest continuous rivalry, as they faced Idaho for the 113th-straight basketball season this year.
COUGARS SET WSU SINGLE-SEASON 3-POINT RECORDS:
• This season's WSU men's basketball team is on pace to crush the former school record for single-season 3-pointers by the team, which was 240 in 34 games by the Klay Thompson-led 2010-11 squad.
• The team bettered the record, Jan. 31, ending that game with 241 3-pointers in just 21 games.
• The Cougars currently have 313 3-pointers and are on pace to finish with 346 3-pointers in a 31-game season, which would account for the regular season and one game in the Pac-12 tournament.
• WSU also set the school 3-point record for conference games only and now has 170.
• The previous mark was 144 set in 2002-03.
WSU EYES PAC-12 3-POINT RECORD:
• The 2017-18 Cougars have 313 3-pointers this season, becoming just the seventh team in conference history to make 300 3s in a season.
• WSU's 313 currently ranks fifth in the league's history…UCLA set the record last season with 354, while
Ernie Kent's 2001-02 Oregon team is second with 350, Arizona State (2016-17) is third with 328 and Oregon (2016-17) is fourth with 327.
• The Cougars are on pace to finish with 346, which would put them third on the list.
• The other two teams to reach 300 3s are the 2010-11 Washington team (305) and Kent's 2001-02 Oregon squad (304).
COUGARS' 3-POINTERS IN NATIONAL & PAC-12 RANKINGS:
• WSU is sixth in the nation and leads the Pac-12 with 11.2 made 3-pointers per game.
• The Cougars also rank fourth in the Pac-12 and 60th in the country with a .377 3-point field goal percentage.
• Four Cougars rank individually in the top-11 of the Pac-12 for 3-pointers made per game...
Malachi Flynn is third and 124th in the nation with 2.50,
Viont'e Daniels is eighth in the league and 177th nationally with 2.36,
Carter Skaggs is ninth in the conference and 189th in the nation with 2.32, and
Robert Franks is 11th in the Pac-12 and 213th in the nation with 2.23 3-pointers made per game.
•
Viont'e Daniels leads the league with a .465 3-point field goal percentage, while Skaggs is tied for seventh with a .414 clip and
Robert Franks is 12th in the Pac-12 at .401.
MORE ON WSU 3-POINTERS:
• As a team, 51 percent of WSU's shots have come from 3-point range, while 46 percent of its points (939) are off 3-pointers...WSU opponents are getting 32.7 percent of their points off of 3-pointers.
• The Cougars have made 12 or more 3's in 15 of their 28 games this season; 15 3's in the season opener, 12 against Seattle U, 15 again against Idaho State, 16 against Saint Joseph's, 13 against San Diego State, 12 against UC Davis, 12 at UTEP, 15 against Bethune-Cookman, 14 at UCLA, 13 at USC, 15 vs California,15 at Colorado, 12 vs Arizona State and 15 against Utah...WSU had 11 against Kansas State.
• The WSU record for 3's made in a game by the team is 18 done three times, last, against UTSA, Dec. 6, 2014.
• Last season WSU made 10 or more 3-pointers in a single game just five times, and only once made at least 12 in a game
• In Washington State's previous five seasons, the Cougars made 12 or more 3-pointers in a single game 9 times total, once last season, none in 2015-16, once in 2014-15, five times in 2013-14 and twice in 2012-13.
THE LET IT FLY GUYS:
• WSU has four players with 61 or more 3-pointers this season (
Malachi Flynn – 70,
Viont'e Daniels – 66,
Carter Skaggs – 65,
Robert Franks – 61).
• With at least three games remaining, all four are on pace to finish with at least 70 3-pointers made.
• Over the last 20 seasons, there have been eight times when a WSU men's basketball student-athlete finished the season with at least 70 3-pointers, and none of them did it in the same season.
• The last time a Cougar made 70 or more 3-pointers in a season was 2013-14 when DaVonté Lacy finished with 76.
• No other Pac-12 school has had at least 3 members of the team finish with at least 70 3-pointers in a season…last season, UCLA had two reach 70 as the Bruins set the Pac-12 record for single-season 3-pointers.
• The Cougars have a good chance to get at least three members of the team on the individual single-season top-10 for 3s made, which would make them the first conference school to have three from the same season on their current top-10 list.
• Eighty-six percent of
Carter Skaggs' shots are 3-pointers, while 81.6 percent of his points (195) have come off of 3-pointers.
• Forty-nine percent of
Malachi Flynn's points (210) are off 3-pointers, while 77.0 percent (198) of
Viont'e Daniels' points are off 3-pointers.
FRANKS BREAKS SINGLE-GAME 3-POINT RECORD:
• Junior
Robert Franks broke the WSU single-game 3-point record and tied the Pac-12 mark with 10 3-pointers against California (10-for-13), Saturday, Jan. 13.
• The previous record of nine was held by four different Cougars; current WSU assistant coach
Bennie Seltzer (1992-93), Chris Crosby (1998-99), Marcus Moore (2002-03) and Derrick Low (2006-07).
• Franks is the third Cougar this season to threaten the record, as both
Carter Skaggs and
Malachi Flynn have each had 7 3-pointers in a game this season.
• Franks had a career-high 34 points in that game, 25 in the second half and made 7 of his 3's in the second half as well.
• Franks' 10 3-pointers made in a game are tied for the fifth-most made in a game this season in the entire NCAA with 12 other people.
MORE ON INDIVIDUAL 3-POINT RECORDS:
• Cougar great Klay Thompson holds the WSU single-season 3-point record with 98 which he accomplished in 33 games in 2010-11.
•
Malachi Flynn is on pace to finish with 78 3-pointers in 31 games, which would account for the regular season and one game in the Pac-12 tournament.
•
Carter Skaggs is on pace to make 72...
Robert Franks is on pace to make 68 and
Viont'e Daniels on pace to make 73.
• Flynn's 78 would put him tied for sixth in WSU's single-season record books (behind Thompson, Derrick Low, Jan-Michael Thomas, Eddie Hill).
• Through 28 games, Flynn has 70 made 3-pointers, Skaggs has 65,
Viont'e Daniels 66 and Franks 61 (through 27); Thompson had 84 through 28 games.
• With 58 3-pointers as a freshman to add to his 70 as a sophomore, Flynn already ranks tied for 13th in WSU's career 3-point record books with 128 made...if he continues at his career pace of 2.2 3-pointers per game, Flynn would finish his four-year career with at least 272 3-pointers, which would surpass DaVonté Lacy's record of 249 set from 2012-15.
• Flynn is on pace to end the season 12th on the WSU career list for made 3-pointers with 136.
BENNIE SELTZER'S CONFERENCE 3-POINT RECORD:
• Current WSU assistant coach and former Cougar standout (1990-93),
Bennie Seltzer, holds the WSU single-season record for 3-pointers made in conference games only with 53 set in 1993.
• Currently
Carter Skaggs and
Viont'e Daniels lead the Cougars with 37 3-pointers in 16 league games, as they on pace to finish with 44, 9 behind Seltzer.
THREE VERSUS FREE:
• Through 28 games, WSU has 313 3-pointers made compared to 294 free throws.
• If this were to keep up through the end of the season, it would mark the first time a Cougar team made more 3-pointers than free throws in a season.
WSU'S SECOND WIND:
• The Cougars are getting a late-season second wind, having gone 2-2 over the last four games.
• In those games, WSU picked up its first road win of the season and first season sweep with a victory at Cal.
• Those four games were decided by an average of 3.8 points, including a 2-point victory and a 2-point loss.
• The two wins in four games are more than the one win in the previous 12 games.
LINEUP SHAKEUP:
• The Cougars have used 11 different lineups in 28 games this season.
• Over the last three games, the Cougars have used the same lineup:
Robert Franks,
Viont'e Daniels,
Malachi Flynn,
Carter Skaggs and
Drick Bernstine.
•
Viont'e Daniels is the only Cougar to start all 28 games this season…Franks has started all 27 he's played, Flynn has started 27 of 28 played.
DANIELS HITS STRIDE:
• Junior
Viont'e Daniels has been big for the Cougars as of late.
• In the first eight games of the season, Daniels reached double figures just twice, averaging 7.6 points per game in those games.
• In the last eight games, Daniels has reached double figures six times for an average of 11.5 points per game.
• Daniels has made a WSU high of 24 3-pointers in the last eight games, having made at least two 3-pointers in all eight games and at least 3 in five of them.
• With 257 points this season, Daniels has double his point total from his first two seasons of 49 his freshman year and 79 his sophomore for a total of 128 points in 47 games.
• He's also more than doubled his 3-point total for those two seasons with 66 this season and 30 his first two years.
BAY AREA BERNSTINE:
• Graduate transfer,
Drick Bernstine, had a huge weekend in the Bay Area for the Cougars with WSU career highs at both California (Feb. 22) and at Stanford (Feb. 24).
• Bernstine had a personal WSU high 16 points in WSU's two-point loss at Stanford…his career high is 20 done twice while playing at North Dakota.
• He also had a WSU high for points in a half with 12 in the first half…he had 10 in the first half at Cal in WSU's last game.
• Bernstine's previous high for points in a half was 11 in the second half at Washington, Jan. 28.
• One game prior, in WSU's win at Cal, Bernstine had a then-personal WSU high, 14 points, including the game-winning layup with 2 seconds to play.
• He added 7 rebounds in each of the two games for a weekend average of 15 points and 7 rebounds while shooting .750 (15-for-20) from the field.
COMEBACK COUGS:
• WSU has trailed at halftime in 16 of its games this season, as well as its exhibition game, and was tied at the half once, coming back from five of them for the wins.
• The Cougars trailed Saint Martin's, 44-41, at the half in exhibition action, Nov. 5.
• They were behind, 42-24, to Texas Southern at halftime in their season opener, Nov. 12.
• Against Seattle U, Nov. 15, the Redhawks led the Cougars, 31-26.
• WSU trailed Saint Joseph's by 14 (38-24) at halftime, after the Hawks used a 23-0 run, Nov. 23.
• WSU was tied with Bethune-Cookman, 40-40 at the half, Dec. 22.
• Washington State trailed by as many as 13 to Saint Martin's, 22 against Texas Southern, 10 against Seattle U, 20 against Saint Joseph's, 6 to Saint Mary's (Nov. 24) and 9 with 8 minutes left to San Diego State (Nov. 26), overcoming all the deficits for victories.
MORE ON COUGAR COMEBACKS:
• The Cougars have overcome two 20-point deficits in their regular season games this season, marking the two largest comebacks for WSU since at least the 1992-93 season (research ongoing).
• WSU erased a 22-point first-half deficit to defeat Texas Southern, 86-84, Nov. 12, in WSU's season opener at Beasley Coliseum.
• Junior
Robert Franks scored a career-high 25 points, grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds and had his first career double-double.
• Franks scored just 3 points in the first half and had 22 in the second before fouling out in the second half.
• At the Wooden Legacy against Saint Joseph's, WSU trailed by 20 points with 3:30 left in the first and was able to come back for the 75-71 victory, Nov. 23 at Fullerton.
• Franks scored 15 of his WSU-high 19 points in the second half, while his classmate
Viont'e Daniels had 11 of his 17 in the second period.
• After Saint Joseph turned the ball over just once in the first half, WSU forced 6 second-half turnovers.
• Prior to this season, Washington State's largest deficit overcome for a victory since 1992-93 was also 20 points, Jan. 30, 1993 at California.
• In that game, current WSU assistant coach,
Bennie Seltzer scored 20 points and dished out 7 assists, as Cal's Jason Kidd put up a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists.
• The Cougars' next-largest comeback was 16 points, also at California, two seasons later, March 11, 1995...the 16-point lead occurred with 9:45 to go in the game.
• In 2009-10 WSU overcame a 15 point USC lead with 17:26 left for a 67-60 victory at Los Angeles.
• Prior to this season, the largest lead overcome in the
Ernie Kent era was 14 done twice in 2014-15, first against Missouri State at the Great Alaska Shootout and then again a 1-point victory over Stanford, Jan. 31, 2015.
• See page four of today's notes for more on the comebacks.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A HALF MAKES:
• Washington State is a different team in the second half compared to the first.
• It is averaging 40.4 points per game this season in the second half, compared to just 32.8 in the first.
• On top of that, WSU is shooting .475 (388-817) from the field and .423 (177-418) from 3-point range in the second half, compared to .414 (336-811) from the field and .327 (133-407) from 3-point in the first half.
•
Robert Franks is the team's second-half scoring leader at 9.4 and the first half leading scorer with 8.3 first-half points a game.
GIVING THE HELPING HAND:
• Sophomore
Malachi Flynn has been a solid ball handler for the Cougars this season.
• He leads the team and ranks eighth in the Pac-12 and 132nd in the nation with 4.3 assists per game.
• He has 120 total assists and 59 turnovers in 28 games this season, ranking 128th in the country and sixth in the Pac-12 in assist/turnover ratio with a 2.03 mark.
LET'S BE FRANK(S):
•
Robert Franks is off to a hot start in his junior season, averaging 17.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while shooting .472 from the field and .401 from 3-point range.
• Last year Franks averaged 6.3 points and had 3.3 rebounds per game...with 459 points, he has nearly doubled his total points from his first two seasons (245).
• With 61 3-pointers in 27 games this year, Franks has more than doubled his number of 3-pointers made from the 54 games his first two seasons, 25.
• Franks currently ranks seventh in the Pac-12 and 121st in the nation in scoring and 14th in rebounds per game while he's sixth in the league with a .846 free throw percentage.
COUGAR BIG MEN TURNAROUNDS:
•
Robert Franks' drastic improvement from his sophomore to junior year mimics similar jumps done by former WSU forwards Brock Motum (2010-13) and
Josh Hawkinson (2014-17).
• Motum's jump occurred between his sophomore and junior seasons, going from 7.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, to 18.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 2011-12.
• Hawkinson's jump occurred between his freshman and sophomore seasons, going from 1.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in 2013-14 to 14.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in 2014-15.
• Motum was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year in 2012 and Hawkinson in 2015.
SKAGGS' LONG BALL:
• Sophomore
Carter Skaggs had the half of his career, as he scored all 26 of his points in the second period on 7 3-pointers as WSU defeated Seattle U, 75-59, Nov. 15.
• At one point in the second half, Skaggs accounted for 17-straight WSU points, as he made 7-consecutive 3-pointers in the period.
• Skaggs nearly duplicated that performance Dec. 20 against Kansas State as he finished with 24 points on 6-for-10 from 3-point range and 9-for-14 from the field.
• Although Skaggs is 3-for-19 from 3-point range in the last three games, over the last 18 games, Skaggs is averaging 9.6 points per game in just 23.1 minutes per game, while going 47-119 (.395) from 3-point range, the most 3s by a Cougar over that span.
• Against Colorado, Feb. 15, Skaggs had his first game without a point since Jan. 11 against Stanford...he continued his scoring drought without a basket made against Utah, Feb. 17.
CLOSING GAMES:
• In the final five minutes of WSU's 10 wins this season, the Cougars have averaged 14.1 points, shooting .556 (45-81) from the field and .605 (23-38) from 3-point range.
• In those wins, WSU allowed 9.3 points while holding its opponent to .330 (30-97) from the field and .200 (8-40) from 3-point range.
SHPREYREGIN GETS SCHOLARSHIP:
• Former walk-on, senior
Steven Shpreyregin was awarded a scholarship by head coach
Ernie Kent, Dec. 28.
• He is in his second season with the Cougars after starting his career at Skagit Valley College.
• Dating back to Feb. 8 at Oregon State, Shpreyregin is averaging 4.3 points on 5 total 3-pointers in the last four games.
WSU GETS FIRST WIN AGAINST RANKED OPPONENT SINCE 2015-16:
• WSU defeated No. 21 Saint Mary's, 84-79, Friday, Nov. 24 in the semifinals of the Wooden Legacy.
• The win marked the first over an Associated Press Top-25 team since defeating then-No. 25 UCLA, Jan. 3, 2016.
• The win over No. 21 Saint Mary's marks its highest-ranked victory since defeating then-No. 18 Washington, Jan. 30, 2011.
• The win over Saint Mary's snapped an eight-game losing streak to opponents ranked in the AP Top-25.
• Since that game, WSU has lost two-straight to ranked opponents after falling to No. 9 Arizona Jan. 31 and No. 25 Arizona State Feb. 4.
COUGARS CROWNED 2017 WOODEN LEGACY CHAMPIONS:
•
Malachi Flynn averaged 19.7 points, 4.0 assists per game and shot .500 (12-for-24) from 3-point range as he was named the 2017 Wooden Legacy Most Outstanding Player as WSU captured the tournament championship at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Gym, Nov. 26.
•
Robert Franks joined Flynn on the all-tournament team as he averaged 18.7 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting .528 (19-for-36) from the field.
• WSU came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat Saint John's in the opening round.
• The Cougs then led at halftime in their next two games to upset both No. 21 Saint Mary's and San Diego State to capture the title.
•
Viont'e Daniels chipped in 9.3 ppg on 8-for-13 (.615) from 3-point, while
Jeff Pollard averaged 9.0 ppg to go along with .556 (10-for-18) shooting from the field.
• As a team the Cougars shot .497 (87-for-175) from the field and .439 (36-for-82) from 3-point range along with .808 (42-for-52) from the free throw line.
TOP OF THE TOURNAMENT:
• WSU captured the 2017 Wooden Legacy Championship over Thanksgiving weekend, marking its first tournament win since the 2009 Great Alaska Shootout.
• Then-WSU sophomore Klay Thompson was named the Great Alaska Shootout Most Outstanding Player after setting a tournament record with 8 3-pointers made on his way to 43 points in the championship game against San Diego.
• WSU's appearance in Wooden Legacy championship game marked its first appearance in a tournament championship game since falling in the finals of the 2010 Diamond Head Classic.
STRONG START TO SEASON:
• WSU got off to a 6-0 start to the 2017-18 season.
• It marked the Cougars' first 6-0 start since the 2009-10 squad started 6-0.
• This season's 6-1 start was the best since the 2010-11 squad went 6-1, as they went on to a 10-1 start before losing their second game of the season, Dec. 25 in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic.
• The Cougars' 6-0 mark in November this season, marks its first undefeated November since going 4-0 in 2015-16.
KENT IN FOURTH YEAR:
• Veteran head coach and former Fox Sports and Pac-12 Networks basketball analyst was named the 18th head coach in WSU men's basketball history, March 31, 2014.
• Kent came to Pullman with a 325-254 (.561) mark as a head coach, having spent six seasons at the helm for Saint Mary's in Moraga, Calif., and 13 at Oregon.
• In his 13 years at Oregon, Kent compiled a 235-174 (.575) record and a 109-125 (.466) conference mark.
• His 125 conference wins rank him 15th-best in Pac-12 history (including Pacific-8 and Pacific-10 Conferences).
• His win, Feb. 18, 2017 over Arizona State moved him out of a tie for 15th with former UCLA coach Ben Howland.
• While at Oregon, Kent led the Ducks to seven postseason appearances, including five NCAA Tournament Appearances (2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008) as well as a Pac-10 regular-season (2002) and two conference tournament (2003, 2007) titles.
• Kent's first season with the Cougars wasn't much different than his first with the Ducks, as he led Oregon to a 13-14 overall record and 8-10 league mark as Oregon finished sixth in the then-Pacific-10 Conference...he led WSU to a 13-18 overall record and 7-11 league mark.
• WSU's 13 wins in his first season tied him for third-best in Washington State history for wins by a men's basketball coach in his first season…he's tied with Kelvin Sampson (1987-88) and Dick Bennett (2003-04), as both of those were also improvements from the previous season.
• Kent has 371 career wins, as he got his 350th win Nov. 19 against Montana at the Paradise Jam.
KENT NAMED TO NCAA COMMITTEE:
• WSU Head Coach
Ernie Kent was chosen to serve on the newly created Division I Men's Basketball Competition Committee last season, which reports directly to the Division I Men's Basketball Oversight Committee in an advisory role.
• One student-athlete, two current head coaches, four Division I staff members and three members of the public with significant men's basketball experience form the committee.
• The committee also has regular communication with the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee and will review student-athlete health and safety, sportsmanship and integrity, game operations and presentation, technology, and statistical trends.
• The group will develop strategic principles in these areas, subject to the approval of the Men's Basketball Oversight Committee.
• This committee was announced Dec. 2, 2016.
WSU SIGNS ELLEBY DURING EARLY PERIOD:
• Charles 'CJ' Elleby (6-6, 195, Forward, Seattle Wash./Cleveland High School) signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at WSU beginning in the fall of 2018.
• As a junior at Cleveland HS in 2016-17, Elleby averaged 23.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game en route to being named to the All-Metro League team for the third-straight season.
• As a sophomore, Elleby averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds while helping lead Cleveland HS to the 3A state tournament...heading into his senior season, Elleby has scored a total of 1,055 career points.
FLYNN AND FRANKS SPEND SUMMERS PLAYING BALL:
• Sophomore
Malachi Flynn was chosen as one of 28 of the nation's top 19-and-unders and was invited to attend the 2017 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Cup Team training camp, June 18-25 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Flynn did not qualify for the team, but spent several days training with team coaches, Kentucky head coach John Calipari, Colorado head coach Tad Boyle and Wake Forest head coach, Danny Manning.
• Franks spent part of his summer in China as part of the USA Eagles' summer tour.
• Other former Cougars to compete in the China with the USA Eagles include Valentine Izundu (2015),
Josh Hawkinson (2014) and DaVonté Lacy (2012).
NEW SEASON, NEW LOOK STAFF:
• Fourth Year WSU head coach,
Ernie Kent, has a new look to his coaching staff for the 2017-18 season.
• With the departure of veteran assistant coaches, Greg Graham and Silvey Dominguez, Kent added former WSU standout and veteran coach,
Bennie Seltzer (WSU, 1990-93) and well-known high school coach,
Ed Haskins...Haskins' late-brother, Aaron Haskins, played basketball for the Cougars from 1980-83.
• Seltzer still holds the WSU career assists record (473) and ranks ninth in scoring (1,423).