Questions or comments? Please direct them to Jessica Schmick, Assistant Director, Athletic Media Relations, Washington State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, at jessica_schmick@wsu.edu.
Saturday, Jan. 31 (3:55 p.m. MT)
Good afternoon!
I'm sure most of you were able to catch the Cougars' game at Arizona on CBS this morning or listened to it on the radio or online. It was a disappointing loss for WSU today, falling 66-56 to the Wildcats at the McKale Center. The team is still in Tucson and will bus up to Phoenix in less than an hour to fly back home. Before we take off, I will leave you all with the postgame recap from the Crimson ZZU.
Player of the Game: Aron Baynes. The 6-10 center recorded his fourth double-double of the season and seventh of his career with 12 points and 14 rebounds. His 14 rebounds were a career high, besting his previous high of 12 accomplished three times, the last at Oregon Jan. 17. Baynes is averaging 10.6 rebounds per game in the last seven games, having grabbed 74 boards in the last seven outings. He had nearly half of WSU's 32 rebounds. The Aussie finished the game 5-for-7 from the field and made his first five shots. He added two blocked shots and went 2-for-3 from the free throw line. Baynes was a big reason for WSU's 28-23 halftime lead with 10 first half points and eight first-half rebounds. He was 4-for-4 from the field in the opening period.
Honorable Mention POG: Daven Harmeling. The senior forward played a season-high 32 minutes despite being in foul trouble the majority of the second half. Harmeling finished with nine points, six rebounds and a team-high six assists and scored his most points since putting up 13 against Montana State Dec. 13. His three 3-pointers marked the first time since the Montana State game that he made multiple field goals. Harmeling also did a solid job defending Chase Budinger when in the game, holding Arizona's second-leading scorer to two points and 1-for-8 from the field in the first half. Taylor Rochestie. Rochestie scored his points when the Cougars needed them most, finishing with 22, 14 of them in the second half. The 6-1 point guard scored 14-straight for the Cougars at one point, including the first eight after Arizona's 16-0 run that lasted until the 3:08 mark in the second half. Rochestie added five assists and three rebounds to his 22 points.
Turning Point of the Game: Arizona's 16-0 run in the second half. The Cougars extended their five-point halftime lead to seven at 39-32 with 13:38 to go in the game. At that point, the Wildcats scored 16 unanswered points for a 48-39 lead with 7:37 to go in the half. Chase Budinger had seven points and two assists during the run. The Cougars were unable to recover from the run and never got within seven afterwards.
Stat of the Game: Turnovers. The Cougars had committed 10 or fewer turnovers in the last four games and six of the last seven games, including just seven turnovers at Arizona State Thursday. Saturday the Cougars committed 13 turnovers and forced just eight by the Wildcats. Arizona scored 17 points off of turnovers, compared to just 12 by WSU.
Play of the Game: Aron Baynes' 3-point play. With the game tied at 18 and 6:13 to go in the first half, Taylor Rochestie found an open Baynes down low. Baynes dunked the ball and was fouled by Zane Johnson. He converted his free throw attempt for an old-fashion 3-point play while giving the Cougs a three-point advantage.
That does it for now.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Friday, Jan. 30 (6:15 p.m. MT)
Good Evening!
The Crimson ZZU back for a report from Tucson as the Cougars spent a pretty relaxed Friday as they await Saturday's early game (11 a.m. MT/10 a.m. PT). The team got to sleep in a bit with breakfast at 10:30 a.m. After last night's game and late arrival in Tucson, it was much deserved. At 1:15 p.m. the team headed over to the McKale Center for practice. The Cougs went about an hour and 15 minutes, working mostly on offensive plays and defensive sets, as well as shooting. The team won't get its usual shoot around Saturday with the early start.
Craig Bolerjack and Steve Scheer from CBS were on hand for practice in preparation for the game. As usual, Vince Grippi was also on hand, as he attends the majority of our practices both at home and on the road. The team had to clear the court at 2:30 p.m. so that the Arizona athletics staff could set up for tonight's gymnastics meet.
I always appreciate feedback regarding the content of the blog. I especially want to thank Phil who sent me in his Player of the Game from last night and made me realize my mistake omitting DeAngelo Casto from the list. Although he is Phil's player of the game, I had intended to give Casto honorable mention. So, here is Casto's Honorable Mention POG fact sheet.
Honorable Mention POG: DeAngelo Casto. Casto played as good a second half as any other Cougars, leading the defensive charge on ASU's leading scorer James Harden. After playing five minutes in the first half, Casto checked back into the game at the 15:46 mark of the second half. During his 15-plus minutes of play, Casto held Harden to seven points on 2-for-7 shooting from the field, including 1-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. He was also 2-for-3 from the free throw line. Casto blocked two of Harden's seven shot attempts and grabbed five rebounds, including an offensive board that resulted in a layup and his two points of the game. Harden scored 19 points in the first 25 minutes of the game and just seven in the final 15, finishing with 26.
The team will enjoy dinner at a local restaurant here in Tucson (we're staying near campus), before a film session later tonight. I will be back Saturday following the game with the recap.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Thursday, Jan. 29 (11:55 p.m. MT)
Good Evening Cougs!
Well I'm sure by now you're all aware of the Cougs' big 65-55 win over 14th-ranked Arizona State in Tempe. The team bused to Tucson following the game and now we're settle in and ready to prepare for Saturday's game against Arizona, who had a big win over Washington tonight. Alright, I'll get to the Crimson ZZU Postgame Recap.
Player of the Game: Klay Thompson. The 6-6 freshman had the game of his young career, scoring a career-high 28 points on 8-for-10 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. The guard had the most consistent performance of his career with 13 first-half points and 15 second-half points. He was 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc in the opening period. Thompson set a WSU freshman single-game record with his eight 3-pointers in the game. His 28 points tied for the third-most points by a WSU freshman in a game. Thompson was one 3-pointer shy of the WSU single game 3-point record set four times, most recently by Derrick Low against Oregon, Jan. 27, 2007. Thompson also tied the WSU freshman record with 10 field goals made, finishing 10-for-17 from the field. The Ladera Ranch, Calif. native added seven rebounds and an assist and committed just one turnover. At one point in the second half, the 17:36-9:47 marks, Thompson accounted for all 12 of the Cougs' points as WSU outscored ASU 12-4 and took a 44-43 lead.
Honorable Mention POG: Aron Baynes. For the second-straight game, the 6-10 center came one rebound short of a double-double, finishing with a season-high 22 points and nine boards. Baynes and Thompson became the first WSU duo to score 20-plus games in the same game since Taylor Rochestie (24) and Derrick Low (21) at Oregon State, Feb. 14, 2008. Baynes shot .500 from the floor on 7-for-14 shooting and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. He added an assist and a blocked shot. Baynes has compiled 60 rebounds in the last six games, and is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game in Pac-10 play. Taylor Rochestie. The 6-1 guard had 11 quiet points, but they couldn't have come at better times. Rochestie scored all 11 in the second half and all in the final six and a half minutes. Rochestie's first 3-pointer gave the Cougs a 49-43 lead, and his 5-for-6 shooting from the free throw line down the stretch sealed WSU's victory. Rochestie had four assists and no turnovers on the night and added five rebounds. De Angelo Casto. Casto played as good a second half as any other Cougars, leading the defensive charge on ASU's leading scorer James Harden. After playing five minutes in the first half, Casto checked back into the game at the 15:46 mark of the second half. During his 15-plus minutes of play, Casto held Harden to seven points on 2-for-7 shooting from the field, including 1-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. He was also 2-for-3 from the free throw line. Casto blocked two of Harden's seven shot attempts and grabbed five rebounds, including an offensive board that resulted in a layup and his two points of the game. Harden scored 19 points in the first 25 minutes of the game and just seven in the final 15, finishing with 26.
Turning Point of the Game: Thompson's 3-point show in the second half. After a 9-2 run by ASU to take a 39-32 lead with 15:46 to go in the game, Thompson drained his fifth 3-pointer of the game at the 15:30 mark to cut the lead to four. From that point, Thompson followed with his sixth, seventh and eighth 3-pointers of the game, with just one miss in between. Thompson's 12-5 run gave the Cougars their first lead of the game since leading 5-4 with 15:23 to go in the first half at 44-43 with 9:43 to go in the game. The Cougars didn't let go of the lead the rest of the game, and although Thompson didn't hit another three the rest of the game, his hot streak freed up Rochestie who hit two in the final six and a half minutes.
Stat of the Game: 3-point shooting. The Cougars entered the game without having made double-digit 3-pointers since a season-high 15 against Sacramento State, Nov. 18. On top of that, WSU was shooting just .331 from 3-point range, ranking ninth in the Pacific-10 Conference and 193rd in the nation. The Cougars were also ninth in the league with a .340 3-point field goal percentage defense mark. The Sun Devils entered the game tied for third in the league shooting .370 from 3-point, and first in the conference and 34th in the nation with a .307 3-point field goal percentage defense. Thursday the Cougars not only hit 10 3-pointers, but shot .500 from 3-point range (10-for-20), matching its second-best 3-point field goal percentage of the season. WSU held ASU to just .280 shooting from 3-point range (7-for-25).
Play of the Game: There are several plays of the game to consider, so we're going to go with three-consecutive plays. Right after a great block by DeAngelo Casto to save a bucket by James Harden, the Cougs got the ball with a 51-49 lead and just about four minutes remaining. The Cougs ran their offense, but couldn't get anything going. With the shot clock winding down and Rochestie in possession of the ball, the lefty spotted up with a defender in his face and drained a 23-footer to give WSU a five-point lead. After holding ASU on defense, the Cougars took advantage of some overplaying by the Sun Devils and Aron Baynes dunked the basketball right over ASU's Jeff Pendergraph.
I'll be back with an update tomorrow from Tucson.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Wednesday, Jan. 28 (9:15 p.m.)
Greetings from Phoenix!
The Cougs made it to Phoenix around 7 p.m. MT today after a direct flight from Spokane. The weather here is a much needed change from the cold, wind and snow in Pullman. Right now it's about 55 degrees, which according to the concierge at the hotel, is very cold for them here, as he is bundled up in long sleeves and a fleece and we are all in short sleeves. It's supposed to get better as it's in the mid 70's the rest of the week.
This morning the team practiced before busing up to Spokane to catch the flight. The practice ended with an intense game of 5-on-5 which pitted two evenly matched teams against one another. Taylor Rochestie hit a three for the white team to tie the game 15 seconds to go. The red team patiently ran the offense and Daven Harmeling hit a 3-pointer with seconds remaining to give his team the win.
Tomorrow the Cougs will shoot around at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe in the afternoon before the 7 p.m. local time (MT) tipoff. The game will not be televised, but Bud Nameck's call can be heard on the radio and online. I'll be back Thursday with more from the Crimson ZZU.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Tuesday, Jan. 27 (11:30 p.m.)
Hello, Cougar Faithful. As Jessica already reported, today's practice was long and very focused on live situations. Now you get a chance to see some of what happened in the gym. Click HERE to check out a photo gallery from today.
Keep it crimson,
Mike Walsh
Tuesday, Jan. 27 (6 p.m.)
Welcome back to the Crimson ZZU!
The Cougars were back on the floor this week preparing for their trip to Arizona to take on Arizona State Thursday and Arizona Saturday. The Sun Devils are ranked 14th in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Polls. Thursday's game against ASU will not be televised, but can be heard on the radio and online via wsucougars.com All-Access. Saturday's game will air on CBS at 10 a.m. PT (11 a.m. MT) with Craig Bolerjack and Bill Raftery calling the game.
WSU has been working hard on shooting this week, getting into an offensive flow. The Cougars' offensive struggles was a topic Coach Bennett discussed in his weekly teleconference today. He also talked us through the final play of the UCLA game. You can read what he had to say HERE.
Today at practice the Cougs spent a lot of time working on defense, rightfully so since the Sun Devils are the eight-best shooting team (percentage-wise) in the nation, shooting at a .495 clip from the field. The Cougs still hold the fifth-best field goal percentage defense in the country allowing opponents to shoot at a .369 clip. As usual, one of the focuses was closeouts.
Following a defense-heavy first half of practice, the Cougars worked on their offensive plays, breaking down ASU's defense and shooting. The practice consisted of a lot of 5-on-5 drills and offensive sets. The team ended with some team shooting, pairing up to try and get in an offensive flow.
That's all for today. I will be back from Phoenix tomorrow.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Saturday, Jan. 24 (8:20 p.m.)
Hello again Coug fans!
The Cougars dropped another heartbreaker today, this time at the hands of the USC Trojans. The Cougars got contributions from all nine players that saw action, especially on the defensive end where they held the Trojans to 35 percent shooting, 12 percent below their season average. Before we get to the post game entry, we have a photo gallery from today's game thanks to photographer Jacque Garza. Check out the pictures HERE. Now for the Crimson ZZU post game.
Player of the Game: Klay Thompson. It was a battle of heralded freshman from Southern California today, as Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan faced off for the first time in college. The pair guarded each other for much of the 34 minutes they were on the floor together. Thompson, from Ladera Ranch, Calif., led the Cougars in scoring for the sixth time this season as he poured in 15. DeRozan -who was widely considered the top high school prospect in the country last year -on the other hand, was held to five points, a far cry from his 12.7 average and 14.5 average in conference play. Coming into tonight, DeRozan had scored in double-figures in 13-straight games. Klay scored the final four WSU points of the first half to lead the team with six at the break. His last two came from the free throw line to make him a perfect 20-for-20 on his career. In the second half Thompson stepped back and stepped up his long-range shooting. After going 0-for-2 from beyond the arc before halftime, Klay connected on all three of his 3-point attempts after intermission to give him at least one triple in every conference game this season and improve his 3-point shooting to 41 percent in Pac-10 games.
Honorable Mention POG: Aron Baynes. Once again the Aussie was a force in the middle. Before fouling out with 18 seconds remaining, Baynes was one rebound shy of his fourth-consecutive double-double. In all, he finished with 12 points and nine boards, four of them coming on the offensive glass. Aron was 4-of-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from the stripe as he led the Cougars to their second perfect day at the free throw line in the last three games. In fact, the Cougars have hit 49 of their last 50 free throws. Daven Harmeling. The redshirt senior returned to the Cougar line up today with a defensive mindset. That attitude was apparent early as on his first possession after entering the game he pulled in a rebound. After passing up a few opportunities, Harmeling let fly a 3-pointer from the right wing with 5:41 left in the first half and tied the game at 15. The basket was Daven's first points and field goal at Friel Court since the Gonzaga game Dec. 10. He played so well in his 11 first-half minutes that coach Bennett put him in the line up to start the second half. He played 17 more minutes after halftime. The 29 total minutes was one shy of his season high. Though he didn't score again, he was a large part of Keith Wilkinson getting shut out in 32 minutes for USC. His defense made such an impact that the Cougars held a four-point advantage while Harmeling was on the floor.
Turning Point of the Game: Trojans' 8-0 Spurt. With 6:18 remaining Klay Thompson buried his second 3-pointer of the half to give the Cougs a 38-30 lead. On the next possession, Aron Baynes picked up his third foul and was relegated to the bench. USC took full advantage. After Taj Gibson knocked down 1-of-2 from the line, the Trojans went back inside to him now that Baynes was no longer patrolling the middle. Gibson was fouled again and this time converted both free throws. On the next possession, Gibson rebounded a DeMar DeRozan missed jumper and finished it with an authoritative dunk. The teams traded misses before Marcus Johnson slashed through the lane and finished a shot with contact. The ensuing free throw made it 38-38. Thompson delivered another trey to end the drought, but the USC run continued until the end of the game.
Stat of the Game: Keep Trying. For the second-consecutive game, WSU grabbed more offensive rebounds than its opponent. Also for the second time in as many games, the Cougs had fewer second-chance points than offensive boards. Against UCLA Thursday night, the Cougars converted 10 offensive rebounds into just eight points. The ratio was a little better today as they had 10 second-chance points on 11 offensive boards. USC, though, had 11 second-chance points on just six offensive rebounds.
Play of the Game: Turning `D' into `O'. The Cougars ran the shot clock under 10 seconds on the first possession of the second half, before Caleb Forrest had an open look from near the free throw line. His jumper missed and USC sprinted out the other way. Daniel Hackett found Taj Gibson up ahead, but Daven Harmeling and Taylor Rochestie were back waiting for him. After making a move to get into the paint, Gibson put up a shot. Meanwhile, Forrest hustled back after his miss and got to Gibson just in time to swat his shot off the backboard. Taylor Rochestie grabbed the rebound, raced the other way and pulled up for the transition three to push the Cougs' lead to 22-18. The block was Caleb's second of the game and he would turn back another Gibson attempt for a career-high three rejections.
Thanks for reading. The Cougars will be back on the practice floor Monday, so check back for your daily dose of Cougar Hoops news.
Keep it crimson,
Mike Walsh
Thursday, Jan. 22 (11:45 p.m.)
Good evening Coug fans!
Well, the Cougars rallied tonight from a 15-point second-half deficit but came up just short against the No. 13 UCLA Bruins tonight at Friel Court. There were notable performances on both ends of the floor for a number of Cougars, including a career day from Caleb Forrest. This is your Crimson ZZU post game with one extra category for tonight.
Player of the Game:Caleb Forrest. Without a doubt, the senior from Pagosa Springs, Colo., is today's player of the game as he lit up the Bruins for a career-high 19 points. Forrest scored the Cougars' first basket of the game, and the shots just kept falling. He had eight points on 4-for-4 shooting in the first half to tie Aron Baynes for the team-high. It was no secret that the Cougs were going to have to get production from the big men tonight, but Caleb was not the first on the list, and he didn't just do it from the inside. In the second half he stepped back a little and kept knocking down shots. Forrest hit his first 3-pointer of the season with 16:03 left in the second half and another to tie the game at 53 with 5:12 left. It is the first time he has hit more than one trey in a game and just the second time he has attempted more than one. Forrest is now 2-for-3 this season after going 1-for-6 last season and 0-for-4 as a sophomore. Caleb is now 8-of-21 for his career from beyond the arc after going 5-for-8 his freshman season. Forrest finished 8-for-9 from the floor and hit his only free throw attempt; he also pulled in four rebounds and dished out two assists in 31 minutes.
Honorable Mention POG: Aron Baynes. The man in the middle was the focal point of the Cougar offense today, and he did not disappoint. Baynes notched his third-consecutive double-double with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. He controlled the glass in not allowing any Bruin to grab more than five boards and led the Cougars to a 30-22 rebounding advantage.
Turning Point of the Game: Darren Collison Did What he Does Best. After an 11-0 WSU run tied the game at 53, UCLA's All-American point guard Darren Collison -who the Cougars had held to two points in the first 35 minutes -decided to take the game into his own hands. On the next Bruin possession, he drove the lane and drew the foul on Aron Baynes. The 95 percent free throw shooter calmly sank both to reclaim the lead. Baynes responded with two free throws of his own on the other end. Then, Collison slashed to the basket again, this time scoring the lay-up. The teams went scoreless for the next three possessions before Collison hit a jumper to extend the Bruin lead back to four with 2:41 remaining.
Stat of the Game: Keeping the Stars at Bay. While Nikola Dragovic and his six 3-pointers was enough for UCLA to leave Pullman with a win, the Cougars shut down every other Bruin scoring threat. In fact, today was the first time this season (and perhaps even farther back) that UCLA had just one double-figure scorer. The Bruins' leading scorer, Darren Collison, was held to single-digits for the second time this season and the first time in a Pacific-10 Conference game since last season at Washington, as he went for just eight points. Josh Shipp, UCLA's second-leading scorer, had just four points and it is only the second conference game this season he has failed to reach double-digits. It is the first time since the Bruins' loss to Memphis in the Final Four last season that both Collison and Shipp were held under 10 points.
Play of the Game: The Forrest Gets Deeper. Already off to a career day, Caleb Forrest decided to throw the kitchen sink at UCLA. After Forrest completed a three-point play on the previous possession to set a new career-high with 16 points and bring the Cougars within three points, Caleb took it to the next level. Trailing 50-53, Forrest took a pass from Klay Thompson on the left wing and didn't even hesitate before launching the 3-pointer and he found the bottom of the net. The Friel Court crowd erupted and neon green paper cut-outs of trees were waving like crazy as the student section turned into a forest. The bucket capped an 11-0 Cougar run and gave the game its first tie.
Bizarre Play of the Game: Collison to Keefe...kind of. It looked like UCLA was destined to win the game after this one. Late in the first half Darren Collison came off a high ball screen from James Keefe and flared to the top of the key. Collison then spotted Keefe rolling to the hoop and tossed up a lob pass. The throw was a little too hard as it sailed through Keefe's hands and hit the backboard. Keefe is still gliding through the air, now with his hands in a defensive position as if to protect his head from the aimless pass, but the ball ricochets off of Keefe's hands and into the basket.
Thanks for checking in with the Crimson ZZU tonight. The Cougars will hit the practice floor tomorrow afternoon in preparation for Saturday's game against the USC Trojans. Don't forget Saturday is a bit earlier, that game is a 3 p.m. start. That will do it from Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum tonight.
Keep it crimson,
Mike Walsh
Wednesday, Jan. 21 (9:45 p.m.)
Welcome back to the Crimson ZZU!
We're about 20 hours from the Cougars' game against the 13th/11th-ranked Bruins. With a lot of lineup changes lately, I'm sure there are a lot of questions about who will play, who will start, etc. Coach Bennett addressed the lineup, among many things, in his teleconference Tuesday. To read everything Coach Bennett had to say, click HERE
A note about the starters...this year the Cougars have used five different starting lineups. Last year a total of three different lineups were used, including an all-senior lineup on `Senior Day.' Three different true freshmen have started for the Cougars as well, with Klay Thompson getting 17 starts and Marcus Capers and DeAngelo Casto each getting one start.
Another note from the game notes for Thursday. UCLA is ranked 13th in the nation in the Associated Press Poll. WSU is 42-205 all-time versus top-25 opponents, including 0-4 against the No. 13 team in the country. Three of the four meetings thus far with the No. 13 team have come against UCLA. Coach Bennett, in his third season, is looking for his first win against the Bruins...they are the only Pac-10 team he hasn't defeated as head coach.
To read more of these kinds of notes, click HERE.
I know I repeat myself, but just a reminder that Thursday's game is at 6 p.m. and will be live on FSN. Saturday's game against USC s at 3 p.m. and is on FSN NW. I figure, since I have players and managers asking me when the games are, anyone can use a reminder. Mike will be back with his postgame blog after the game tomorrow.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Wednesday, Jan. 21 (5:25 p.m.)
Good Evening Cougars!
For the second-straight day, the Cougars took to the court for a very focused practice Wednesday. The team is preparing for a big matchup with No. 13/11 UCLA on Thursday. The team spent the majority of the practice working on solid defensive position, transition defense, and being sure with the ball.
I will be back later tonight with Coach Bennett's thoughts from his teleconference, some tidbits about the series with UCLA and a link to the game notes.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Monday, Jan. 19 (4:47 p.m.)
Happy Monday Cougars!
With a day off from classes for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Cougars were able to focus solely on basketball today, preparing for Thursday's game against No. 13/11 UCLA. A reminder that Thursday's game is an early start at 6 p.m. and will be on FSN (nationally) with Ted Robinson and Marques Johnson calling the action once again.
I have a few things for you all today. It's Monday, so I will have Manager Monday here for you at the end of today's post. It features Neil Stover who made his first trip with the team this past weekend to Oregon. First though, I have a photo here of Robert Martin, a 2005 graduate of Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Wash. His aunt and uncle, Clare and Stewart Padelford (Stewart is a 1977 graduate of WSU), had a banner signed by this year's men's basketball team. Robert is standing by the banner on the Cougar that he is a driver and gunner on for the Navy in Afghanistan. Robert has been in Afghanistan since March, 2008. The banner is now hanging in the hallway of the barracks and will come home when he comes home.
Some may wonder what's going on with Kyle Weaver, a rookie for the Oklahoma City Thunder. There was an article recently on newsok.com about Weaver. You can read about him HERE.
That's all I have for you today. Neil's Manager Monday follows.
Hello again Cougar Nation,
Whew! Just back from my first road trip with the team, I am definitely breathing a sigh of relief right now that everything went smoothly.
I hope you all enjoyed the games this past weekend as much as I did. It's always great to come away with two road wins in the Pac-10, as those are difficult to come by. Anyways, seeing as how it was my first road trip, allow me to give a little insight as to what exactly I do on the road. First, before leaving on Wednesday, Ben Cartmell and I got all the gear ready for the trip. That involves washing, folding and packing the players' travel gear, practice jerseys, game jerseys and shooting shirts. On the road, my responsibilities included meal orders, laundry and a variety of other tasks. Fortunately, all of the restaurants did a great job in ensuring the food was delivered correctly and on time.
On the trip I roomed with freshman guard Nick Witherill. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank Nick for not yelling at me when my alarm went off at 7 in the morning Friday to do laundry. Especially since breakfast that morning wasn't until 10:30.
Overall, the trip was a success. To all those who helped me out in one way or another on this trip, I thank you so much. To all the Cougs who came down to Corvallis and Eugene to cheer us on, it was great to see you there! And most of all, thanks to the coaching staff and players for allowing me to have this unforgettable experience. I am thankful every day to have the opportunity to work with a program saturated with such high character individuals.
Go Cougs!
Your long-winded Cougar Basketball manager,
Neil Stover
Saturday, Jan. 17 (5:05 p.m.)
Good afternoon Cougs!
I'm starting this post before we catch our plane, but I have a feeling I won't be able to get this up until we return from Eugene. Hopefully you all were able to catch the Cougars' big 74-62 victory over the Ducks at McArthur Court. Now that we're on the plane and heading back to Pullman, here is the postgame recap from the Crimson ZZU.
Player of the Game: Taylor Rochestie. The redshirt senior didn't stop scoring after he hit the 1,000-career-point plateau Thursday at Oregon State as he had a career day Saturday at McArthur Court. Rochestie scored a career-high 30 points on the day adding seven assists for the second-straight game. Rochestie's 16-for-16 performance from the free throw line tied Marcus Moore's WSU school record as he also went 16-for-16 Jan. 12, 2002, against Arizona State. The 16-for-16 performance helped the Cougars claim the school record for free throw percentage, finishing 28-for-28. On the day Rochestie went 5-for-13 from the field, but 4-for-7 from beyond the 3-point arc. His 3-point performance marks his second 20-plus performance in a week (he scored 21 points against Stanford Jan. 10) and is the first time a Coug has reached the 30-point mark since Derrick Low scored 37 Jan. 27, 2007 vs. Oregon.
Honorable Mention POG: Aron Baynes. The 6-10 center put together his second-consecutive double-double performance with a season-high 19 points, while tying his career high with 12 rebounds. Thursday Baynes had 17 points and 11 boards in the Cougs' overtime win in Corvallis. Adding to his 6-for-10 shooting performance from the field, Baynes hit his first career 3-pointer, putting up the shot just before the shot clock expired. The Aussie was one minute shy of playing his season-high of 35, which he accomplished Thursday. He made a season-high six free throws on a perfect 6-for-6 performance from the line. Four of Baynes' rebounds came on the offensive end. He was also a presence on defense, blocking three shots while tallying a steal. Klay Thompson. Known for his first-half performances, Thompson scored a season-high 11 second-half points to finish with 15. He climbed into the WSU freshman class records in scoring, coming in at 10th with 196 points. He passed Mike Bush who previously held 10th with 191 points in 1999. Thompson went 4-for-4 from the free throw line and had three of the Cougars' four steals on the day. Marcus Capers. The 6-4 freshman played a career-high 31 minutes, clocking five more minutes than he did in the season opener against Mississippi Valley State Nov. 15. Capers also got his first start of the season, becoming the third different freshman to start for the Cougars this season. Capers finished the game with three rebounds and three assists to just one turnover. DeAngelo Casto. The freshman forward clocked a career-high 26 minutes, finishing with six points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots and an assist. Casto shot 2-for-4 from the field, both made baskets being dunks, and made both free throws he attempted.
Turning Point of the Game: Rochestie's back-to-back 3-pointers. After leading by as many as 17 points with about 12 minutes to go in the game, Oregon was able to pull within nine points at 39-48 off of Tajuan Porter's 3-pointer with 6:41 to go. WSU was able to hold Oregon on its next two possessions. Following a 30-second timeout by the Cougars, Rochestie fired from 3-point to give the Cougs the 51-39 lead with 4:49 to go. Porter answered nine seconds later with another three to pull the Ducks back within nine points. On the next Cougar possession, Rochestie, held the ball for a few seconds. When he realized Joevan Catron wasn't playing up on him, he fired a three, putting the Cougs back up by double-digits, 54-42, with 4:03 to go. The Ducks never got closer than nine points after that as the Cougars scored their next 18 points off of free throws, adding a layup by Klay Thompson with 12 seconds to go.
Stat of the Game: Free throws. The Cougars set numerous records with their 28-for-28 performance from the charity stripe. WSU set the Pac-10 record previously held by USC when it went 22-for-22 from the free throw line, March 8, 2002 against Oregon. The Cougs also broke the school record of 19-for-19 set March 1, 1968 against Oregon. The NCAA record for free throw percentage is 34-for-34 set twice. The first time came Feb. 21, 1981 by UC Irvine against Pacific. The second occurrence was Dec. 20, 1990 by Samford against Central Florida. The 28-for-28 performance is the best by a NCAA Division I team this season. Taylor Rochestie also tied the school record with his 16-for-16 outing from the free throw line. Marcus Moore also went 16-for-16 against Arizona State, Jan. 12, 2002. Eighteen of the Cougars' final 20 points came from the free throw line beginning with a pair by Rochestie at the 3:13 mark. Baynes went 6-for-6 from the free throw line, his six free throws were a season high. Klay Thompson was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe and has still not missed a free throw in his WSU career. DeAngelo Casto was 2-for-2 from the free throw line. The last time the Cougars were a perfect 100 percent from the free throw line was when they went 9-for-9 against Arizona, Feb. 1, 2007.
Play of the Game: Aron Baynes' 3-pointer. There were a few dunks that were considered for the play of the game, but the honor had to go to Baynes with his first career 3-pointer. With the shot clock at five seconds in the second half, Rochestie attempted a 3-pointer from the right baseline. The ball never hit the rim. The rebound went long and Baynes chased it down, grabbing it at the top of the 3-point arc. Aware of the shot clock, Baynes shot the three and swished it. The shot clock was inadvertently reset and the play was reviewed, but revealed that Baynes hit the shot before the shot clock would have expired. The 3-point attempt was the third of Baynes' career as he is now 1-for-3 from 3-point.
The team is on its way back from Lewiston where the plan had to land due to fog and should be in Pullman by 5:30 p.m. The Cougars will take Sunday off, but we'll be back Monday with more practice updates. I want to thank Mike Walsh for all his help today, he did a great job of looking up the NCAA, Pac-10 and WSU free throw records, as well as WSU's last 30-point scorer. It's rare I get his help on the road, since he doesn't travel, but he made the trip down, being from the Portland/Vancouver area.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Thursday, Jan. 15 (11:30 p.m.)
Hello Cougs!
It's been a few hours, but the Cougs were able to pull out the 61-57 victory over Oregon State tonight in their first overtime game of the season. The team bussed to Eugene following the game and postgame interviews and after the players got to catch up with their families and friends. Now that I got my postgame duties completed and have taken care of printing out updated WSU and Oregon stats for Saturday's game, I can get to the postgame blog recap.
Player of the Game: Aron Baynes. The 6-10 center came up big for the Cougars Thursday as he recorded his first double-double of the season and the fourth of his career with 17 points and 11 boards. Baynes had a solid night from the floor, converting on 6-for-7 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line. The Aussie had three of the Cougs' five offensive rebounds and added eight on the defensive end. Baynes also dished out an assist and blocked a shot in 35 minutes. During a 13-4 WSU run in the second half which tied the game at 47 with 3:44 to go in the game, Baynes contributed seven of the points, including a 3-point play, another field goal and two more free throws. On defense, Baynes helped hold Oregon State center Roeland Schaftenaar to five points and two boards on 2-for-10 shooting from the field.
Honorable Mention POG: Taylor Rochestie: The senior point guard had a milestone night, scoring the 1,000th points of his collegiate career. He scored 304 at Tulane and after scoring 14 points against Oregon State, has 709 points as a Cougar. Rochestie's 1000th point came on his first bucket of the game with just over 12 minutes to go in the first half as he now has 1,013 career points. Always the iron man for the Cougs, Rochestie played all 45 minutes and went 3-for-5 from 3-point. Rochestie added seven assists and four rebounds, while his 14-point performance marks his seventh-straight game scoring in double figures. Klay Thompson. The freshman had a big first half for the Cougars and finished the game with 12 points. He dished out a career-high five assists and added a blocked shot. Thompson's bucket at the 12:18 mark in the second half became the basket that sparked WSU's 13-4 run. Daven Harmeling. The senior forward played his most minutes since 30 minutes of action at Idaho Dec. 21. Although scoring just five points, Harmeling had a huge impact on the game and broke out of his shooting slump, scoring his first points and hitting his first field goal since Dec. 21. In the four games between Idaho and Oregon State, Harmeling went 0-for-8 from the field and played a combined 38 minutes in those games. Harmeling's first field goal in nearly a month could not have happened at a better time. With 1:51 to go in the game and the Cougars trailing by three, Harmeling spotted up from 3-point land on the left side of the arc and hit, tying the game at 50. Regulation ended with the game tied at 50.
Turning Point of the Game: The Cougars' 6-1 run in the first two minutes of overtime. With the game tied at 50, the Cougars struck first on two free throws by Caleb Forrest, who went to the line after an offensive rebound during the Cougs' first possession in overtime. During the two-minute run, the Cougars went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, including the first two by Forrest and the other two by Baynes. Thompson added a layup off a head's up pass from Rochestie. After the Cougars took the 56-51 lead, Oregon State clawed back and had several chances to tie, but the momentum was on WSU's side, as the Cougars held on for the four-point, 61-57 victory.
Stat of the Game: Shooting slumps. Both Daven Harmeling and Marcus Capers came up with their first points and first field goals since the Cougars' game at Idaho on Dec. 21. Harmeling broke his scoreless streak with 1:28 to go in the first half when he knocked down two free throws to give the Cougars a 30-29 victory. His 0-for-8 field goal drought coming into the game ended with 1:51 to go in regulation when he gave the Cougs their biggest bucket of the night, the 3-pointer that tied the game at 50 apiece and forced overtime. Capers also got his first points, scoring three, since scoring four points on his birthday in WSU's game at Idaho Dec. 21. Like Harmeling, Capers snapped his streak with a free throw at the eight-minute mark in the first half, pulling WSU within one point. The freshman point guard's field goal was one that will be remembered as he got his first career dunk in the second half. Capers played 20 minutes in the game, the second-most of his career and his most Pac-10 minutes, while scoring for the first time in Pac-10 play.
Play of the Game: Capers' First Career Dunk. Marcus Capers, at 6-4, showed just what kind of hops he has Thursday night. Desperately seeking some momentum, down 41-32, Capers took a pass from Klay Thompson and took the ball to the hoop with authority, going up on the right side and throwing the ball down. The air Capers got when he jumped up was so impressive that I overheard OSU staff at the scorers table comment on it, as the Oregon State fans in the front row were in awe of the play.
I will check in with you Friday with some updates. Remember that Saturday's game at Oregon is an early, 11 a.m. start on FSN.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Wednesday, Jan. 14 (11:45 a.m.)
Good morning Cougs!
The Cougs will practice in Pullman before heading to Corvallis via Eugene today around 4 p.m. The team is scheduled to arrive in Corvallis later this evening. Right now I have quotes from Coach Bennett's teleconference Tuesday. He discussed the Stanford win and the upcoming game with Oregon State. To read the quotes, click HERE.
I will be back with more on the trip to Oregon either later tonight or Thursday morning. Just a reminder that Thursday's game is at 6 p.m. and can be seen on FSN. Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini will be calling the game from Gill Coliseum. Saturday's game will also be on FSN for an early 11 a.m. tip. Ted Robinson and Marques Johnson will have the call for that one.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Tuesday, Jan. 13 (5:30 p.m.)
Welcome Back Coug Fans!
Tonight the Cougs enjoyed a long, hard practice. They went for nearly 2 1/2 hours and it was intense the whole way. The guys worked on how to attack the offenses and defenses they will see in Corvallis on Thursday and focused a little on the Ducks' playbook too. Every drill was run until the defense was solid, no matter which squad was on the court. By the end the white, red and black teams were all in high spirits and playing at a high level. Daven Harmeling, Abe Lodwick and Mike Harthun all looked good knocking down the deep shots they got and DeAngelo Casto was a workhorse inside. It was tough to spot too many stellar performances on offense because the focus was on pressure defense. Marcus Capers, Charlie Enquist and Lodwick were all over the place, tipping passes and grabbing loose balls. Caleb Forrest also drew a charge to end one of the drills.
It took an extra day, but since classes just started this week we'll give him a break. Here is Mike Simonson's Manager Monday.
Hey Cougar Fans! Its your friendly neighborhood manager Mike Simonson, again. As you can tell I am currently in a terrific mood, mostly because this past weekend we finally scratched out our first Pac-10 win against Stanford! It was great because we finally were able to taste the sweet success of all of our hard work.
This win came at the perfect time, especially for me, because I was forgetting why I love doing what I do for the Team. This win completely refilled the passion that myself and the rest of the team share for the game of basketball and now I feel that together we will be able to achieve success this season.
Before this past weekend, I completely forgot why the game of basketball is so great and I figured it would be a good exercise for me to share my thoughts on the game and why I want to pursue a career in coaching after my stay here at WSU.
TRUST - The game of basketball is full of trust, you have to trust your teammates to do their job, and, in turn, trust them to catch you during adversity while on the court (ex: getting beat by your man and then having your teammate sacrifice off their own man to help you after you are beat.)
PASSION - To have any success in this sport, especially at this level, you have to have an unexplainable love for the game, that motivates how you play, practice and carry yourself. If you watched our guys play this weekend, I'm sure you saw our guys use every ounce of energy they had to grind out our first Pac-10 win.
FRIENDSHIP - This is the main reason why I love the game of basketball, because without chemistry/friendship within the team, it would be impossible to trust another on the court. Most importantly being around a group of guys continually throughout an entire season creates a bond that is indescribable and when this bond is incorporated with passion and trust, remarkable relationships can form that will continue to stay strong throughout a lifetime.
Now I know many of you hardcore bloggers may be reading this and be thinking, wow this is a lot like the the post that Neil Stover wrote early in the year about the Cougar Principles... But that's my point, our program is imprinted with these values, and that's why we have succeeded and also why we all want to continue with these types of morals for the rest of our lives.
Alright Coug Fans, my fingers are tired and I bet your eyes are too. I'll catch you later and make sure you check us out on the T.V. this weekend as we play Oregon St. and Oregon.
Sincerely,
Mike Simonson
Thanks Mike! Like he said, everybody be sure to tune to FSN this weekend (Thursday evening at 6 and Saturday at 11 a.m.) for the Cougars' games at Oregon State and Oregon. That's all I've got for today. Jessica will post later with highlights from Coach Bennett's teleconference today.
Keep it crimson,
Mike Walsh
Monday, Jan. 12 (6:16 p.m.)
Good Evening Cougs!
Well the Cougs were back at it preparing for the Oregon schools after their big win over Stanford Saturday at Friel Court. WSU takes on Oregon State at 6 p.m. Thursday and Oregon at 11 a.m. Saturday. Both games can be seen live on FSN.
While we wait for another Manager Monday from co-head manager Mike Simonson, I have a few things to link to. First off, a photo gallery from the Stanford basketball game is up on the website. It can be seen by clicking on this PHOTO GALLERY link.
If you were at the game Saturday, you know that Taylor Rochestie is one point shy of scoring 1,000 points in his collegiate basketball career. He scored 304 while a freshman at Tulane and now 695 in two and a half years as a Coug. Rochestie will look for his 1,000th point Thursday in Corvallis. You can read more about Rochestie's pursuit of 1,000 points and other Cougar facts in the game notes which are now up on the web and can be accessed HERE.
I will be back later with Mike's Manager Monday and tomorrow we will have some comments from Coach Bennett following his teleconference.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Sunday, Jan. 11 (12:10 a.m.)
Hello Coug Fans!
Well that was a thriller tonight as the Cougars squeaked out a win against the Stanford Cardinal. In what was probably the most exciting game at Friel Court since last year's regular season finale against the Huskies, the Cougs ended a three-game losing streak to the Cardinal. The tight 55-54 victory was exciting itself, but some of the plays that brought us to the end result was just as memorable. For a closer look at the lasting moments from tonight's game, here is the Crimson ZZU post game.
Player of the Game: Taylor Rochestie. For the third-straight game, the senior from Santa Barbara, Calif. led the Cougars in scoring, this time with 21. It is the first 20-point game of the season for a Cougar and the seventh of his career. He had one such performance during his freshman season at Tulane on his way to 304 points, with tonight's performance he has 695 points as a Coug, so he is just one point shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career. Whenever WSU needed a bucket in the second half, Taylor stepped up. Just as he did Thursday night, Rochestie poured in 15 after the break. During the final 11 minutes, Rochestie took over the game. He scored two straight buckets and assisted the next two, then he made a steal that led to DeAngelo Casto knocking down 1-of-2 free throws to give the Cougs a 48-45 lead. After an Aron Baynes free throw with five minutes left, Taylor became the first and only option. He scored the final six WSU points, four from the foul line and a driving lay-up with 17 seconds left to give the Cougars the lead back and supply the final margin of 55-54. As impressive as he was on the offensive end, Taylor made a huge defensive impact as well. He had a game-high three steals and pulled in six boards. He had four of the Cougars' 12 rebounds in the first half to lead all players.
Honorable Mention POG: Klay Thompson. The freshman supplied the early spark for the Cougs in a slow first half. He was 2-for-2 from the charity stripe and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, for eight points. He was the only Cougar was one of just three Cougars with a field goal in the half, and the only player with more than one. In the second half he did his damage early. Thompson hauled in the first two Stanford misses of the half and assisted on a Taylor Rochestie 3-pointer to start a 10-0 run that ended with Klay scoring five-straight points on a lay-up. First, he scored on the same backdoor cut that he ran on the first play of the game against Washington and then on a ferocious two-handed dunk that turned into a three-point play and the play of the game, possibly the play of the year. In all, Thompson finished with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists. DeAngelo Casto. Another freshman stepped up huge on both ends of the floor tonight. On the offensive side he was more assertive and aggressive as he looked for his shot a lot more. He only gets credited for attempting two shots, but six of his eight free throw attempts were thanks to attacking the rim and drawing contact. He went 50 percent from everywhere today, 1-for-2 from the field and 4-for-8 from the line, for six points. His presence was definitely most felt on the defensive end, though. Less than 20 seconds after entering the game in the first half, Casto threw back a Mitch Johnson baseline jumper. He had another block early in the second half as he started the final 20 minutes for the first time this season. DeAngelo was held relatively quiet until he made a great play to steal a pass from Anthony Goods with just over four minutes left in the game. That effort kept him in the game for 21 minutes, despite having four fouls; and the Cougars are thankful he didn't play a minute less. With the Cougars holding onto a one-point lead in the closing seconds, Anthony Goods drove the lane and Casto rose up to reject the potential game-winning shot. More importantly, he controlled the rebound. His 21 minutes is the most since playing 22 against Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 18.
Turning Point of the Game: Late Defensive Stand...Kind Of. With 1:56 left, the Cardinal took possession with a 54-53 lead. They worked for a good shot that fell off the rim, but retained the offensive rebound. After milking the shot clock down to 10 seconds before looking for another shot, Stanford got another good look as the shot clock was expiring, but again it caromed off the rim and a scramble ensued for the ball. The Cardinal came out with possession again and took a timeout to draw up the right play. The shot clock got down to five seconds and for the third time since the Cougars had the ball, Stanford had a good look at the hoop but the shot didn't fall. The Cougs went to the other end and Taylor Rochestie took it upon himself to walk off Friel Court with a win as he came off an Aron Baynes screen at the top of the key, drove towards the lane and scooped in the game-winning bucket with 17 ticks left on the clock.
Stat of the Game: Field Goals. For the second-consecutive game the Cougars and their opponents took and made the same number of 3-pointers, 4-for-15 today. Further than that, WSU and Stanford took the same amount of shots from the floor (46). The Cardinal converted on 17 of them while the Cougs hit 16. WSU made up the difference at the free throw line where they were 19-of-26. Not far behind, Stanford made 16-of-24 from the line. In fact, before WSU made the game interesting at the end by missing two free throws, each team had 24 attempts from the charity stripe. The 34.8 percent shooting performance makes this the first win for a Cougar team that shot under 40 percent in a game since the last time WSU beat Stanford, Feb. 8, 2007, in Pullman.
Play of the Game: High Flyin' Thompson. There is absolutely no doubt about this one. With the Cougars making a run to open the second half, there was no bigger play than Klay Thompson's monster dunk to take the lead and cap a 9-0 WSU spurt. Taylor Rochestie made a steal and pushed it ahead to Thompson who had Nikola Koprivica flanking him to the left and Caleb Forrest on his right, but this was going to be Klay's play. From the time he was at midcourt, the freshman had a demeanor about him and it was obvious Mitch Johnson, Stanford's last line of defense, was not going to be enough to stop him. Klay took a few more strong dribbles to the middle of the paint and elevated over the outstretched Johnson. Thompson jammed the ball despite the contact and the Beasley Crowd exploded. The usually reserved youngster was bouncing around and chest-bumping his teammates with a smile on his face. The foul brought a media timeout at 15:39 and the fans stayed on their feet until Klay converted the free throw to finish the three-point play. Here's what Klay had to say about the play, "I just saw a fast break opportunity. The Stanford players kept backing up, so I just wanted to finish. I didn't know if he was going to take the charge and he didn't commit to me either. It felt great, obviously. I had a lot of adrenaline after that dunk and I think it was a big momentum shifter too. I've never had a better feeling in a game, other than a game-winning shot or something, but it felt really good." This is my third season of Cougar basketball, and I am certain that is the most exciting play I have seen at WSU. Tune into Sportscenter tonight, because that deserves a spot on the Top 10.
Thanks for checking in tonight. The Cougars are off tomorrow, but hit the court again on Monday as they prepare for the first conference road trip of the season at the Oregon schools. We'll be updating you along the way, so be sure to come back to the Crimson ZZU for all your Cougar basketball news.
Keep it crimson,
Mike Walsh
mwalsh88@wsu.edu
Friday, Jan. 9 (12:30 a.m.)
Good evening/morning Coug fans!
The Cougars played a tough, grind-it-out game against the California Golden Bears tonight and came up just short as they fell 57-50. The loss drops the Cougars to 0-2 in conference play for the first time since 2002-03, but there were plenty of noteworthy performances from the game and the Crimson ZZU post game has you covered.
Player of the Game: Taylor Rochestie. The redshirt senior point guard scored in double figures for the fifth-consecutive game as he poured in a season-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. For the second-straight game he led the Cougars in scoring and is now averaging 15.5 points per game in conference play. Rochestie found his jumper tonight and connected on six outside shots, including a pair of 3-pointers. The Santa Barbara, Calif.-native kept the Cougars close every time it looked like Cal might take the game over. He scored 15 points in the second half and pulled down all four of his rebounds after the break. Taylor's only assist came in a crucial moment too as he found Nikola Koprivica for a jumper on the right wing to bring the Cougs within four points with just under three minutes to play.
Honorable Mention POG: Klay Thompson. Once again the freshman set the pace for the Cougars in the first half as he got off to a hot start. Thompson began the night 4-for-6, including 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point line, and had 10 of WSU's first 17 points. Klay finished the first half with a very complete performance. He had 12 points, two rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. He has now had a block in five-consecutive games. Thompson added another bucket in the second half to finish with 14 points. Abe Lodwick. For the first time on the Crimson ZZU, a player without a shot attempt earns a nod for honorable mention. Lodwick saw his first action in a Pac-10 Conference game tonight when he entered the lineup with just over 10 minutes left in the first half and played for seven minutes. It was the first time he got into a game since the Cougar Hardwood Classic against Montana State, Dec. 13. It was also the first time he played in the first half since logging three minutes against Baylor, Dec. 6. The redshirt freshman played nine minutes in all, the most since playing 18 against Canisius, Nov. 25, as it was the first time he saw action in both halves since the Canisius game. Lodwick played inspired defense against the nation's leading 3-point shooter, Theo Robertson, and did not allow him to attempt a three while he was in the game. Abe had one steal in the first half and assisted a Taylor Rochestie jumper in the second half. Even while he was on the bench, the native of Bend, Ore. played a big part in willing the Cougars back into the game late in the second half as he led the cheers and was always the first to meet the players coming into the huddle during a timeout.
Turning Point of the Game:The media timeout at the 2:23 mark. The Cougars used a 5-0 run to cut the Bears' lead to four points at 51-47 with 2:54 to go. On the next Cal possession, WSU forced a turnover by Jerome Randle, getting the ball back after the under-four-minute media timeout. Then it was Cal's turn to make a defensive stand, the Golden Bears forced WSU to use the majority of the shot clock and a Klay Thompson baseline runner went long. Harper Kamp grabbed the board and Cal went down the court and silenced the Cougar crowd with a back-door alley-oop to Patrick Christopher. The Cougs' missed their next shot and Cal got an easy layup with 1:16 to go, extending its lead to 55-47. WSU turned the ball over on its next two possessions and Cal got a layup on the first TO for a 10-point lead with a minute to go. The Cougars couldn't overcome the 6-0 Cal run, but Rochestie's 3-pointer with six seconds to go cut the final deficit to seven points.
Stat of the Game: Three-Point Shooting. Much was made this week about the 3-point marksmanship of the Golden Bears, so it should come as no surprise that they drained a couple daggers from beyond the arc. However, the Cougars kept themselves in the game with the deep ball. Cal entered the game as the nation's leading 3-point shooting team at 50.1 percent. Needless to say, it was a point of emphasis for the Cougs in practice. Tonight the Bears connected on the second fewest triples this season (5) at the second lowest percentage of the season (35.7) as they went 5-for-14. Two of their best outside shooters were held in check tonight. Theo Robertson had the best 3-point percentage (61.7) in the country among players with at least 1.5 makes per game. On the same list, Jerome Randle was third in the nation, but first according to the NCAA, which requires a minimum of 2.5 makes per game, at 55.9 percent. Robertson went 1-for-2 and Randle was 0-for-5. Patrick Christopher came in as one of Cal's less reliable 3-point shooters, but torched the nets tonight, going 4-for-6 from deep. On the flip side, WSU came into tonight's contest as the least accurate 3-point shooting team in the Pac-10 at 31.8 percent. The Cougs held their own though as they matched the Bears, going 5-for-14 themselves. Klay Thompson went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc to give him a made three in 11 of the 14 games and multiple makes in seven games. Taylor Rochestie hit two as well, going 2-for-5, and raised his season 3-point percentage over 30 percent.
Play of the game: Running the Break. With just over a minute remaning, Taylor Rochestie knocked down a transition jumper from the top of the key to pull the Cougars within two. On the following Cal possession, Jerome Randle drove into the lane out of control with the ball high above his head, as he fell to the ground Taylor took it from him and led the Cougs on a 3-on-2 break. Rochestie made a hesitation move then dished it to Nikola Koprivica on the right wing. Koprivica looked away and delivered a perfect pass through the lane to find Klay Thompson wide open on the baseline for a lay-up to tie the game with 53 seconds left in the first half.
Thanks for staying up late with us here at the Crimson ZZU. The Cougs hit the court again on Saturday to take on the Stanford Cardinal who dropped a nail-biter to the Huskies tonight. Check back tomorrow for a practice recap.
Keep it crimson,
Mike Walsh
Wednesday, Jan. 7 (2:30 p.m.)
Good Afternoon Coug Fans!
The Cougars hit the court today for just over an hour in preparation for tomorrow's game against Cal in which the Cougs will look to avenge last season's home loss to the Golden Bears. The first part of practice was spent on a lot of shooting drills. The team split into two groups, by position, the guards worked on flares off screens and jumpers off the bounce. The bigs caught passes from all angles and finished with an array of post moves. Towards the end of the drill, the post players were attacking the rim and finishing their moves with strong, two-handed dunks.
Once the players had enough individual work, the Cougs got back together to practice against the sets Cal is expected to run tomorrow. Coach Johnson ran the guys through the offensive plays that have helped the Bears to a seven-game winning streak and put them atop the Pac-10 at 2-0 in conference plays after sweeping the Arizona schools last weekend. There was a major emphasis put on staying with perimeter players and not allowing Cal open looks from 3-point land. The Bears lead the country in 3-point shooting at 50.5 percent while they have two players in the top three in the nation in the same category (with a minimum 1.5 made per game). Theo Robertson leads the NCAA and Jerome Randle is third. More such information is available in the game notes HERE.
As promised, excerpts from Coach Bennett's teleconference yesterday are up and can be accessed HERE.
Keep it crimson,
Mike Walsh
Tuesday, Jan. 6 (10:45 p.m.)
Good Evening Cougs!
It's been a windy and wet day on the Palouse. We're just two days away from the Cougs' second Pac-10 game over the season as they host California on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Friel Court. Thursday's game will not be televised, but you can always listen to Bud Nameck on the radio and/or online.
The Cougars had an intense practice Tuesday at Beasley Coliseum. Defensive closeouts and rebounding were two important points of emphasis Tuesday. James Watson kept the defenses honest with his sharp-shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. While working on offense the Cougs focused on taking care of the ball, keeping track of turnovers by removing basketballs from the ball rack.
Coach Tony Bennett held his weekly teleconference today. Bennett addressed the team's offensive struggles, lineup changes and the upcoming games with California and Stanford. More on Bennett's teleconference will be in Wednesday's blog.
The game notes for Thursday's matchup with Cal are up on the web. They are available by clicking HERE.
Mike and I will be back Wednesday with more at the Crimson ZZU.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Sunday, Jan. 4 (2:20 p.m.)
Good Afternoon Cougs!
Despite the Cougars playing just one game this week, today is a busy day in Pac-10 hoops as the other eight teams are in action. WSU will have four days to prepare for Cal as it continues is three-game homestand to open Pac-10 play on Thursday.
For today's entry we have more from last night's game. All-Access video is up from Saturday's post game press conference. You can watch TONY BENNETT, TAYLOR ROCHESTIE and CALEB FORREST by clicking on their names. You can see HIGHLIGHTS here.
The post game notes and quotes are also linked to the recap up on the website. You can check out the NOTES and QUOTES here.
We will be back Monday with an update from practice.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Saturday, Jan. 3 (6:45 p.m.)
Good evening Cougar fans!
Well the Cougars lost a tough one tonight to the Huskies, and with it went the seven-game win streak against Washington. There is still plenty to talk about, though, here on the Crimson ZZU post game.
Player of the Game: Aron Baynes. The senior center played a solid 33 minutes as he locked up in another epic battle against Washington's All Pac-10 center Jon Brockman. The big Aussie more than held his own on the block amidst a furious UW doubleteam on his way to making his first four field goal attempts and first three free throws. He finished with 11 points for his eighth double-figure scoring effort of the season. On the defensive end, Baynes limited Brockman's touches and looks at the basket, forcing him into jump shots away from the paint. In fact, Brockman, who came into the game averaging a team-high 16.5 points per game, did not score in the paint today and was limited to 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Baynes was also an enforcer on the boards. Brockman came into the game averaging more than 10 rebounds per game, third-most in the Pac-10. By game's end, Baynes limited him to just four boards, a season-low. It is also the fewest rebounds Brockman has had against the Cougars in his career. Baynes grabbed four rebounds of his own for a team-high. Aron also recorded a block for the second-straight game, giving him 14 on the season.
Honorable Mention POG: Caleb Forrest. The last time Caleb got a start at Friel Court was his first career start during his freshman season, Jan. 21, 2006, against Oregon State. He did not disappoint the Friel Court faithful who gave him a raucous ovation after Glenn Johnson's enthusiasttic introduction. The senior came out with the same hustle and determination that has made him a fan favorite and has led numerous Cougar fans to make signs honoring the Pagosa Springs, Colo. native. My personal favorite today was, "WSU Forrest Huggers". On his way to scoring nine points, Forrest was again perfect from the free throw stripe (3-for-3) and pushed his season total to 15-for-15. He grabbed three boards, two offensive, and swatted away two Husky shots. Taylor Rochestie. For the fourth-consecutive game, the senior from Santa Barbara, Calif. scored in double figures. Rochestie led the Cougs in scoring with 12, and rebounding with four. Even against the quick Washington guards, Taylor drove the lane and shot 6-of-8 from inside the 3-point arc, most of those buckets coming on slashing layups. DeAngelo Casto. Even though he only played 15 minutes, the freshman brought a spark off the bench for the Cougars and got the Cougar crowd into the game with a huge block in the first half. Casto finished with six points, two boards and two blocks.
Turning Point of the Game: Dentmon's Dagger. With 9:31 left to play the Cougars had reeled off five-straight points to make the score 46-41 in favor of the Huskies. With four-consecutive stops and a new confidence, the Cougars looked to continue their winning streak against the cross-state rivals. Justin Dentmon had different plans as he calmly drained his fourth 3-pointer of the game to stretch the lead back to eight and quiet the crowd. After forcing a turnover the Huskies came right back and worked the ball around their offense for a good shot, it was off but Darnell Gant flew to the glass and got a put-back dunk to rile up the Washington bench. From there the Huskies finished the game on a 22-7 run.
Stat of the Game: Second Chances. Washington beat the Cougars on the glass 36-20 tonight, including a 15-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. Those extra possessions were crucial, especially late in the game. The Huskies pulled in six offensive boards during their decisive run at the end of the game. UW also used the bonus looks to outscore the Cougs 12-4 in second chance points. With 3:36 left in the game and down by 12, the Cougars needed to make a run, but Washington would not allow them to have a chance. For the next 1 1/2 minutes, the Huskies missed three field goals and one free throw, but grabbed all of the rebounds. By the time WSU touched the ball again there was two minutes left in the game and it trailed by 15.
Play of the Game: Starting Strong. The Cougars won the tip today and came out of the gates with a play drawn up to get the winter break crowd into the game. Taylor Rochestie had the ball on the left wing and dribbled as if he was going back out top. Then he quickly turned back to the corner and faked a pass to Klay Thompson. Klay's man bit on the fake and Thompson cut to the basket along the baseline, Rochestie gave him a great feed and Klay did the rest as he went up strong and flushed it with two hands to start the scoring in tonight's rivalry game.
That's going to do it from the Crimson ZZU tonight. We will be back with more updates throughout the week as the Cougs prepare for the Bay Area teams to come to Pullman next week, starting with Cal on Thursday.
Keep it Crimson,
Mike Walsh
Thank you to Richard Kilwien from UW for his game notes today.
Friday, Jan. 2 (11:15 p.m.)
Back by popular demand for Freshman Friday is Charlie Enquist. The 6-10 redshirt freshman from Edmonds, Wash., shares his thoughts for the second-straight week.
Good Evening Cougs,
Yes I almost forgot to do the Freshmen Friday but it is 11:06 so that means its still Friday so it counts. Well the last time I blogged I was in New Orleans and nothing else really happened while on the trip. I just have to say one thing I learned was to pick up the trash around you on the airplane so other people don't have to clean up behind you. That might not make much sense to most of you but to those that were there it makes complete sense.
So tomorrow is the big day for Pac-10 play and the team is pretty excited. We have logged a couple of tough days of practice to prepare for them. Other than the game nothing really new has occurred. It was a blizzard outside this morning and I had to shuttle some people around town because their cars were stuck. Most people get freaked out by the snow and are afraid to drive but I on the other hand love to wake up in the morning to see nothing but white fluffy powder. It gives me a reason to sneak into Taylor's room and take his car keys and drive his 4-wheel drive car around town. Spinning out around every turn is more fun than anything. I probably shouldn't have wrote that for fear of my mother reading it, but oh well.
Ok well its time to get some rest before tomorrows game so everyone take care and enjoy your weekend. Go Cougs!
Charlie Enquist
Friday, Jan. 2 (9:20 p.m.)
Hello Cougs!
It's the day before the Cougars go up against the Huskies at Friel Court. The Cougs started today's practice with some ball handling drills. Following that, Coach Bennett implemented some new passing drills, pitting 4-on-4 in a box formation. The team also worked on dribbling in pressure.
Several times throughout practice the Cougars worked on end-of-the-game scenarios. During the scenarios, Aron Baynes followed his white team's misses strongly, including two impressive dunk put-backs.
Toward the end of practice, the Cougs worked on offensive plays. Mixed up in three groups throughout the majority of the practice, the white team, featuring the top-six players, attached the hoop hard. During one particular play, Klay Thompson took a pass from Baynes at the elbow for a quick jumper to breakdown the defense.
The Cougs ended practice with some live 5-on-5, mixing up the teams. The red and white teams competed hard against each other throughout the 12 minutes, showing their competitiveness. Thompson continued to shine in the scrimmage, driving hard to the hoop.
I was waiting on our Freshman Friday for today, but don't have one for you right now. Mike and I will be back with you tomorrow as the Cougs take on the Huskies.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
Thursday, Jan. 1 (7:15 p.m.)
Happy New Year Cougs!
It's a new year and we're just two days from the Cougs' Pac-10 opener against the Huskies Saturday at Friel Court. The team was on the court for its fourth-straight practice.
In preparation for going against the nation's second-ranked rebounding margin team, the Cougars spent plenty of time at practice working on rebounding and blocking out. This is the second-straight game that WSU will go up against a strong rebounding team, as LSU was leading the nation with a 13.3 rebounding margin going into the game last Saturday. The Cougars ended up out-rebounding the Tigers, 33-28.
During the 2-on-2 block out drill, the white team, consisting of the top players, dominated on the boards, getting all the rebounds on defense for 14 points and outscoring the red squad, 23-5, in the drill, which included a point for a defensive rebound, two points for an offensive rebound and a point for the put back basket.
The Cougs spent the majority of the second half of practice working on offensive plays and defensive sets, as usual, and spent less time than Wednesday going the entire court. Another point of emphasis in practice was transition defense to try and stop fast break buckets. The Cougs ended practice with about 10 minutes of 5-on-5 full court,mixing up the teams.
The game notes for Saturday's matchup with the Huskies are up on the website. You can check them out HERE. The notes detail the Cougars' seven-game winning streak over the Huskies, among other tidbits.
WSU will practice a little shorter than usual as they hit the court on Friday. I will be back with more information then.
Keep it crimson,
Jessica Schmick
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