If You Build It They Will Come

About two months ago, I wrote an article on Washington State University’s basketball program. The program was facing a crisis in head basketball coach Ken Bone. The big question that soon became answered was, “Is this the year Bone is fired?” Fast-forward two months later in March, WSU athletic director Bill Moos fires Bone on March 18, 2014 after five years as the head coach posting an 80-86 overall record. About two weeks later, Moos announced the hiring of former University of Oregon basketball coach Ernie Kent. At first glance, this hire is not a surprise. Kent and Moos worked with each other at Oregon, Moos hired Kent to coach at Oregon leading the Oregon Ducks to multiple NCAA tournament appearances and a great level of success in Eugene. Even though WSU basketball is at rock bottom, Moos encourages the Cougar faithful to be excited about the future of WSU hoops. “I have witnessed firsthand his many talents. He has proven that he can win championships in our conference” (wsucougars.com). With hiring Kent comes an established resume filled with a lot of experience and recognition from his tenures at Saint Mary’s University and his alma mater, University of Oregon.

            Ernie Kent began his coaching career in 1980, coaching in Saudi Arabia for the Al-Khaleej Club as a basketball coach. In 1987, Kent became the assistant coach at Colorado State University before taking his assistant coaching duties at Stanford University from 1989-1991. In 1991, Kent would earn his big break becoming the head coach at Saint Mary’s University in Moraga, CA.

            As the new head basketball coach at Saint Mary’s charged with the goal of rebuilding a struggling basketball program, Kent’s first season with the Saint Mary Gael’s would finish 13-17 overall and a 6^th place finish in the West Coast Conference in 1992. Unfortunately for Kent, the next four seasons did not result in a post-season tournament birth. However, in Kent’s fifth year he would coach the Gael’s to a 23-8 record locking up a first place tie in the WCC Conference earning a bid to play in the NCAA tournament in 1997. The Gael’s season would come to a halting stop with a first round elimination to Wake Forest University. Kent would leave the Saint Mary’s basketball program with a 90-80 overall record but only a 40-44 WCC conference record. In 1997, Kent is named the head basketball coach at his alma mater University of Oregon.

            Ernie Kent coached at the University of Oregon from 1997-2010. In thirteen years, Kent took his alma mater to five NCAA tournament appearances, two of those appearances resulting in elite eight finishes (2002 and 2007). Before Kent took over Oregon, the university’s last elite eight appearance was in 1960, forty-two years removed from 2002. That same year in 2002, Oregon won the PAC-10 conference title for the first time since 1944. Kent was named PAC-10 coach of the year in 2002. During Kent’s tenure he would also win two PAC-10 conference tournament championships in 2003 and 2007 and produce four NBA first round draft picks in Fred Jones, Luke Ridnour, Luke Jackson, and Aaron Brooks. Ridnour played on Kent’s elite eight team and conference title team in 2002 and Brooks in 2008 with Kent’s last elite eight appearance at Oregon.  Despite multiple NCAA tournament appearances and taking Oregon to a higher level of achievement, Kent’s last two seasons at Oregon resulted in last place finish in the PAC-10 standings in 2009 and an eighth place tie in 2010. As a result, athletic director Mike Bellotti fired Kent on March 17, 2010.

            Kent leaves Oregon after taking the program to unbelievable success with five NCAA appearances, one conference championship title, two conference tournament championships, and four NBA first round draft picks. “I think the accomplishments that Ernie has done speak for themselves. He’s given his life to the university as a student, a teacher and a coach,” said Bellotti (ESPN.com). Kent leaves his alma mater with the most wins as a basketball coach at Oregon. “You may find a better basketball coach, but I don’t think you’ll find anybody that has the passion and love that I have for this university” said Kent. (ESPN.com)

            After Kent’s dismissal at Oregon, he flirted around as a sports broadcaster with the PAC-12 Network until March of 2014. On March 31, 2014, Moos announced the hiring of Kent to rebuild a struggling basketball program that has not been to the NCAA tournament since 2008. One of the biggest reasons why Moos hired Kent a second time in his career is because Moos knows firsthand that Kent can achieve a level of outstanding success at a program. “Together we saw tremendous success at his alma mater and I have every reason to expect to see the same at mine,” said Moos. (wsucougars.com) Kent brings exciting success to the table as WSU’s new basketball coach. He rebuilt two basketball programs by taking Saint Mary’s to the NCAA tournament and Oregon to the NCAA tournament five times in a 12-year span. “It’s very exciting to see WSU get someone who has had a coach who has previous experience in the conference and knows how to win in the conference,” said WSU student, Ben McEnderfer.

            As Ernie Kent was being introduced as the new Cougar hoops head basketball coach, a meet-and-greet of Ernie Kent organized by the WSU athletic department was held in Bohler Gym on April 2, 2014. This event marked the first time Kent engaged with the WSU student body. During the greet, Kent talked about “The Process” of rebuilding the WSU basketball program by noting how important the student section is to the success of a college basketball program. “No program in the country -- and I’m talking about the tops in the country, like Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky -- can succeed without a standout student section.” (cougcenter.com) Hundreds of students attended the event in anticipation of hearing the new basketball coach’s first words and came away impressed. At the end of the meet and greet, Kent received a standing ovation. Cougar fans are ready to buy into “The Process” and to be excited about the future of Cougar hoops.

            Hiring Ernie Kent without a doubt is a step in the right direction. Kent has proven throughout his coaching career that he can rebuild basketball programs to compete at a high level. His resume is off the charts loaded with sustaining success. “Ernie Kent comes to WSU with sterling credentials and the necessary skill set to take the basketball program to higher levels of achievement,” said former Washington State head basketball coach George Raveling. (wsucougars.com) Kent is confident he can rebuild the WSU basketball team to experience similar success from WSU’s 2007 and 2008 basketball teams resulting in two back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances and a Sweet Sixteen birth in 2008 for just the second time in the school’s history. “Ernie Kent will get WSU back to the tournament by having a high scoring offense that teams will have a difficult time keeping up with,” said WSU student, Bobby Hogle.

References

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5001481

http://www.wsucougars.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209449455

http://www.cougcenter.com/2014/4/2/5576330/wsus-new-basketball-coach-met-the-student-body

Stanford Overpowers Washington State

The Cardinal took care of business at home cruising to a 34-17 victory. A week removed from an explosive offensive performance posting 59 points with a record setting 734 passing yards in a game, Connor Halliday and his offense were flat against Stanford.

            WSU’s offense was subpar at best against the Cardinal, producing just 266 yards of total offense. WSU’s passing numbers held to low standards by the Air Raid formula because the ground attack was nowhere in site; the running game lost the Cougs 26 yards of offense. The only positive take away from WSU was turning the ball over once, via an interception. Halliday completed 42 of his 69 passes for 292 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 INT. Considering WSU was a one-dimensional team, Halliday played spectacular. River Cracraft was the lone receiver for WSU to have 100 receiving yards from 14 catches and 1 TD.

            WSU’s defense did not look much better then the offense. However, the special teams did not yield a touchdown from either a kick or punt return, even when Stanford’s speedster, senior WR, Ty Montgomery received the ball. The defense however did give WSU a chance to beat Stanford and kept the team on the Cardinal’s heels for the majority of the game. Senior QB, Kevin Hogan was efficient, completing 23 of his 35 passes for 284 yards and 3 TD’s. His favorite target, Montgomery, caught the ball 7 times for 72 yards. Senior RB, Remound Wright had 14 carries for 98 yards and 1 TD. Junior RB, Barry Sanders added to the Cardinal’s running game with 7 carries and 68 yards.

            Stanford executed everything correctly and WSU unfortunately could not. The Cardinal’s offense is about as balanced as it gets, 284 passing yards and 193 rushing yards. Stanford mixed and matched their play calling with 35 passing plays and 33 running plays. David Shaw’s play calling was excellent this game, a critical reason why his team pulled away from the Cougars toward the end.

            On the flip side, WSU’s play calling consisted of mainly passing. WSU had 69 passing plays and 11 running plays. However, Leach and company were put in a difficult spot because Stanford snuffed the run from the start of the game. This forced the Cougars to rely solely on the air attack. This game will down as yet another loss for the Cougars, which leaves WSU’s bowl hopes, slim to none at a record of 2-5 overall. If the Cougars want to put on a winning run, a running game needs to be established, this will allow WSU to throw the opposing defense different looks and not operate as a one dimensional offense. A bye week is coming at a good time; the Cougars have a lot of work ahead of them to compete for a bowl game.

WSU Sparks a Stunning Comeback

A week removed from a heartbreaking and controversial officiating game against #2 Oregon resulting in a 38-31 loss at Martin Stadium, WSU mounted an impressive 28-27 comeback victory against the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City. The Cougars got off to a dreadful start down by 21 points after the first quarter highlighted by Connor Halliday throwing a pick six to senior defensive back, Eric Rowe, after his first snap of the game.

            The Utes pounded the Cougars during the first half with a 24-7 lead going into half time. Utah’s playing calling was highlighted by their instrumental running game. Junior running back Devontae Booker finished the game with 24 carries, 178 rushing yards, and 1 TD. The running game was the only edge Utah had over the Cougars. Junior QB Travis Wilson completed 18 of his 38 passes for 165 yards.

            Whatever Mike Leach told his players in locker room clearly motivated the team coming out of the half. The Cougars outscored the Utes 21-3 in the second half. The recipe for success entailed a stout defense with an effective running attack to open the passing lanes. Halliday led the way for the Cougs completing 39 of his 61 passes for 417 yards resulting in 4 TD’s and 2 INT’s. His two favorite targets were sophomore sensation WR River Cracraft and senior WR Vince Mayle, combining for a total of 246 yards and 2 TD’s. Junior WR Dom Williams accounted for the other two passing touchdowns adding 73 yards to the total number of passing yards. WSU’s ground attack prove to be very effective led by a pair of freshmen running backs in Gerard Wicks and Jamal Morrow resulting in 104 rushing yards between the two.

            After five weeks the Cougars will head into Homecoming Week 2-3 overall and 1-1 in PAC-12 play. While fans may be shaking their head wondering why the Cougars performance against Oregon and Utah were not present during the Rutgers and Nevada game, all signs indicate the Cougars are back on track. Heading into the game Utah was 3-0 highlighted by wins against Fresno State at home 59-27 and an impressive road victory against Michigan 26-10. Undoubtedly, given the events that occurred last year between the two teams, Utah was seeking revenge against the Cougars. To recap last year’s game, WSU heading into their game against Utah last year needed one more win to become bowl eligible. Utah heading into the game needed two wins to become bowl eligible, Utah finished last year with five wins. The rest is history. Not only was WSU victorious against a 3-0 impressive Utah team, the Cougars showed tremendous character and exposure leading them to the victory.

            About two weeks, I wrote an article recapping the game against PSU where I stated the Cougars improved in a variety of areas, an established running game to open the passing attack, defensive stops, and a decreased amount of penalties. The Cougars stuck to this formula during the second half to notch their second win of the season. WSU has a long road ahead of them to reach a bowl game but Saturday’s game was a statement. The Cougars could have easily given up after the first quarter. Down by 21 points with the rain coming down hard, the team gathered themselves and shocked the Utah faithful. A win like this should give Cougar fans hope that a bowl game is back in picture if the Cougars can replicate their second half performance toward the rest of their season. It starts next Saturday against CAL in an “Air Raid” offense showdown.

           

WSU Grabs Much Needed Win

After disappointing back-to-back losses to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Nevada Wolf Pack WSU took care of business at home beating Portland State 59-21 in front of an energized crowd at Martin Stadium. Connor Halliday torched the Viking’s defense completing 41 of 62 passes for 544 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions. To be technical, Halliday averaged one interception after 30 passes. Nine receivers accounted for a total of 544 yards through the air; however, senior wide receiver Isiah Myers and junior wide receiver Dom Williams combined for a total of 339 yards and 5 touchdowns.

            The passing game is the primary reason why WSU won. However, the running game kept the defense off balance to open the passing game. A pair of freshmen running backs Gerard Wicks and Jamal Morrow rushed for 88 yards producing a touchdown, Wicks accounted for the touchdown.

            WSU’s defense is a tale of two halves. The first half telling the story of zero points. PSU quarterback Kieran McDonagh had no answer to WSU’s defense. The second half PSU won the battle earning 21 points. McDonagh and senior wide receiver Alex Toureen matched each other for seven catches ending with 100 yards and one touchdown. McDonagh’s final stat line, 31 completed passes in 51 attempts for 269 yards, one touchdown and one interception caused by freshman corner back Charleston White. Senior running back Shaquille Richard ran the ball for 68 yards including one touchdown off of 11 carries.

            Instead of heading into week four against Oregon 3-0 as many cougar fans suspected, the reality is a 1-3 record. Despite having one win, WSU improved in certain areas to pick up not only a much needed win but perhaps optimism heading into the coming weeks of college football. The passing game will receive all of the headlines however; the running game is a huge reason as to why the passing game became effective against Portland State. Through the first two weeks WSU earned a total of 44 rushing yards. No matter the type of quarterback and the arsenal he provides, a running game needs to be present. By not establishing a running game an offense will be predictable and vulnerable. If WSU is to have any chance of upsetting Oregon the running game has to be established.

            WSU’s defense is very young. Viewers may already have observed this due to the amount of penalties caused. The Nevada and Rutgers game resulted in 19 penalties for 149 yards. The Portland State game provided progression of improvement with seven penalties for 70 yards. If WSU keeps the penalties down by not giving up free yards that is a second box to check in preparation for the Oregon game next week. On the subject of free yards, WSU did not provide PSU any second chances in the fumble category. Should WSU keep the momentum in that category a third box is checked for the Oregon game.

            After reading the three areas of improvement: established a running game, cut down on penalties and zero fumbles, readers may wonder, “When is he going to talk about the interceptions?” Interceptions are crucial toward tipping the momentum in a favor of a team. However, interceptions are expected to happen in an Air Raid offense. It is expected for Halliday to throw one or two interceptions a game when he throws the ball sixty or seventy times a game. How do you cut down the interceptions? This goes back to my point of establishing the running game. If the running game is clicking the offense does not become one-dimensional. Doing so, Halliday will be less prone to interceptions and trying to do too much at once.

            If all three areas are checked off next week maybe WSU still ends week four 1-4. When playing the number two team in the country you need a lot of things to go your way and a lot of luck. However, a win against other PAC-12 opponents is not out of the question. Turn back to last year when WSU stunned the city of Los Angeles beating #25 USC 10-7, or wins against Arizona and Utah. If you start to look at the cougar’s situation in this scenario then a bowl game is still possible. Perhaps a game against Oregon is too to a lesser extent.

           

           

           

WSU Basketball Faces Uncertainty Heading into the 2012-2013 Season

            While the Mike Leach era of Cougar football is just a few months away from making it’s debut game on a Thursday night against BYU on ESPN, that does not stop Cougar basketball from getting multiple headlines. Unfortunately most of these headlines are not positive for Cougar fans all over the world. The 2012 basketball signing class was thought to be Ken Bone’s best signing class during his tenure at WSU so far, and the best WSU basketball signing class since the 2008 signing class which featured Klay Thompson, Marcus Capers, and DeAngelo Casto just to name a few. However, recruiting blunders are currently unfolding. It all started with Richard Peters the center from Toronto Canada not being able to qualify for school at Washington State University, which now has Peters looking at junior college options in hopes of working towards playing Division 1 basketball. Although Peters will still be in contact with WSU and will likely have them as one of the top schools to consider when the recruiting process reopens up again, this one really hurts. Richard Peters, despite being listed as 2 star recruit on ESPN.com had attracted a lot of attention throughout the recruiting process grabbing offers from Washington State, Washington, Clemson, Seton Hall, and Auburn most notably.

            While the loss of center Richard Peters was a huge blow to the basketball program, more worries are possibly unfolding to realties. The best-rated recruit in the 2012 class, guard from Phoenix Arizona, Demarquise Johnson faces the same questions that Richard Peters had in academic eligibility for enrolling into Washington State University. Before committing to Washington State University, Demarquise Johnson was listed as a 3 star prospect on ESPN, and Scouts.com listed him as a 4 star prospect and was drawing interest to many schools throughout the nation, however the three schools that made the hardest push were UNLV, Gonzaga, and Washington.

           

            Recruiting changes are not the only things that are taking place. Head coach Ken Bone, who will be entering his fourth season at Washington State made a drastic coaching change in hopes to help strengthen the recruiting process. Jeff Hironaka a close friend of Ken Bone and a three time assistant coach for WSU has been demoted and will no longer be an assistant coach for Washington State University, however Hironaka will still have a role on the team. One of the reasons as to why Hironaka was demoted was because Bone wanted to add a recruiter who has contacts in places that other recruiters at WSU do not currently have. Before Hironka was demoted, WSU had three assistant coaches who essentially recruited most of their players in Australia and Washington; those are the two big pipelines that WSU recruiting feeds off of. While Ken Bone is looking for an assistant coach to fill Hironka’s vacant position, its fair to assume that whoever Ken Bone hires will surely help to diversify WSU basketball in recruiting areas that WSU has not been opened to.

            With recruiting and coaching changes taking place, what does this tell us about the state of the program? What does this tell us about Ken Bone? Is it time to think about cougar basketball without Bone as the head coach? After all Bone has had three full seasons to showcase his coaching abilities and let’s not forget that for two of those seasons he had Klay Thompson at his disposal to help lead the Cougar’s toward the NCAA Tournament and he has fell short all three seasons that has resulted in trips to the NIT and CBI Tournament. With the recent hire of Mike Leach, athletic director Bill Moos is not afraid to go big and make a change and although I personally think Ken Bone has this program heading into the right direction, this upcoming season, given the latest recruiting class blunders and coaching changes will give all Cougar fans a great indication of where the program is headed and if they are heading in the right direction, otherwise Ken Bone may have to be concerned about more then just recruiting changes and assistant coaching changes.

Narrable Story on The Coug Fan Experience

https://narrable.com/app#narrables/jtz64f/coverImage

Current Events in Public Relations

            On March 26, Manhattan College put Steve Masiello on leave for falsifying his resume. On his resume he claimed graduating from the University of Kentucky in 2000. The University of South Florida discovered Masiello with a falsified resume when extending an offer to the Manhattan College coach. Masiello led the Manhattan Jaspers to a 25-8 overall record and a second round elimination of the University of Louisville in the 2014 NCAA Basketball Tournament. According to Maseillo’s bio, he was a student at Kentucky from 1996-2000. He listed his degree as a Bachelor of Arts in communication. However, according to The UK Office of public relations, Masiello never earned his degree from Kentucky. Due to the new findings, South Florida rescinded his contract offer because the university’s policy states, “all full-time coaching hires must have a bachelor’s degree” according to an article released by The Tampa Tribune. Manhattan College released a statement according to NCAA.com “Masiello is currently in the process of reviewing his degree status with the University of Kentucky.” Masiello is placed on leave until the situation is resolved.

            Masiello should release a statement apologizing for his actions and stating he will take the necessary precautions to resolve the crisis and earn his degree. He may need to finish his collegiate degree by enrolling in classes and putting his coaching job on hold until he is done. University of South Florida should issue a statement saying the university is willing to help Masiello through the process of earning his degree, so it can complete the hire. Manhattan College needs take the same actions as South Florida, so it can keep its rising young coach and produce more NCAA Tournament seasons. Masiello is one of the top rising coaches in the country. His mentor, Rick Pitino, who had Masiello as an assistant at Louisville, believes Masiello has a bright coaching future ahead.

            Story sources: (http://tbo.com/sports/colleges/usf-bulls/usf-deal-with-coach-falls-through-20140326/) (http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2014-03-27/steve-masiello-leave-manhattan-degree-status-reviewed)

            On March 18, Washington State University fired Men’s Head Basketball coach Ken Bone after five seasons. WSU Athletic Director Bill Moos informed Bone that he needed to make a change. “I appreciate what Ken has done for Cougar Basketball. But at this point we need to revitalize our fan base, particularly our student body, and position this program to compete for championships.” Bone was fired with two years left on his seven-year contract that includes a $1.7 million buyout. During Bone’s tenure, the Cougars went 80-86 overall including an 11^th place finish in the PAC-12 standings with a 10-21 overall record this past year. “People are disappointed in me? I bet I’m more disappointed than they are. I’m not content with mediocrity,” said Bone according to cbssports.com.

            Moos fired Bone due to the lack of attendance because WSU failed to produce winning basketball seasons. Cougar hoops needs a new shot of energy, especially since the Cougs have experienced winning success in 2008 with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen under former head coach Tony Bennett. Bennett left the program in 2009 to accept the vacant head coaching position at the University of Virginia. Bone replaced Bennett in 2009 only to be fired in March of 2014. On March 31, Moos announced the hiring of Ernie Kent as the new coach. Kent has 19 years of head coaching experience including 13 years at his Alma matter the University of Oregon, where Moos held the athletic director position. Kent led Oregon to five NCAA Tournament appearances including two elite eight appearances. “I have witnessed firsthand his many talents. He has proven that he can win championships in our conference,” said Bill Moos according to wsucougars.com. With 235-174 record at Oregon, Kent won the PAC-10 conference in 2002 and two PAC-10 conference tournament titles in 2003 and 2007. Kent currently has the most amount of victories as a head basketball coach at Oregon. “Ernie Kent comes to WSU with sterling credentials and the necessary skill set to take the basketball program to higher levels of achievement,” said former Washington State head basketball coach George Raveling according to wsucougars.com.

            This is a great hire that pumps new energy into the cougar fan base. Kent experienced tremendous success at Oregon with multiple trips to the NCAA tournament and conference championships. Kent is exactly the coach Washington State needs to turn around the basketball program; he already proved his capability with his results at Oregon. “Getting back into coaching for me has meant finding the right program that matches up with my passion, my vision, my beliefs and my commitment; and I feel Washington State University fits all that criteria for me,” said Kent according to wsucougars.com. Not only is this a great hire to produce winnings seasons but also from an academic perspective this is a homerun hire. “Under Kent’s direction, the Ducks men’s basketball team ranked No.1 amongst PAC-10 schools in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate several times throughout his head coaching career,” according to wsucougars.com.

Story sources: (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24490368/report-ken-bone-out-at-washington-state)  (http://www.wsucougars.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30400&ATCLID=209449455)

            On March 27, Washington State University baseball coach Donnie Marbut was in a car accident. WSU Murrow Cable eight student Brenna Kelly reported the accident. The accident occurred just before the baseball game against San Jose State University. Marbut was taken to the Pullman Regional Hospital before being released that same night according to The Seattle Times. The Times said various reports indicate, “the accident happened 30 minutes before the game and involved three cars at the main intersection leading into the WSU campus. Marbut reportedly was dressed in his Cougars uniform.” The Spokesman Review stated, “police say that Marbut showed no signs of intoxication.” Following these reports, WSU released a statement acknowledging the accident and further stating the absence of Marbut from his baseball duties. According to a twit from CougCenter, Athletic Director, Bill Moos acknowledged on Cougar Calls on March 31 “Donnie Marbut had a medical condition that led to his car accident.”

            Washington State University has done a good job with Marbut’s situation by acknowledging in a statement the accident’s occurrence. However, WSU should issue another statement saying that the university is looking into the situation and will take the appropriate actions as necessary when all information becomes available. Marbut has yet to formally speak about the issue and therefore should issue a statement regarding his actions and is willing to work with the university and legal officials to get everything straightened out.

Story sources: (http://seattletimes.com/html/cougars/2023244526_regional28xml.html)  (http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2014/mar/27/wsu-baseball-coach-donnie-marbut-involved-car-acci/) (https://twitter.com/CougCenter/status/450683264257515520)