Washington State Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

Shortly after being given the coaching job at Washington State, Ken Bone provided this hint as to how he might tinker with the formula the Cougars have used the previous six seasons.

“I’m intrigued with the way the Bennetts got the job done,” Bone said, “but I’m not so sure that’s the only way you can win at Washington State.”

Translation: Don’t expect a lot of 50-49 games.

The Cougars led the conference in scoring defense in six consecutive seasons under Dick Bennett, then his son and successor Tony, who now is coaching at Virginia.

Bone won’t abandon playing defense at WSU, but his record at Portland State suggests a more wide-open approach to offense.

The Vikings averaged 73.4 points per game last year, hoisting up 835 3-point attempts. By comparison, WSU scored at 59.2 points per game and attempted 310 fewer 3-pointers in the same number of games.

Bone has indicated there will be considerably more freedom offensively, and he will encourage players to take open shots early in the shot clock, something that was not favored by the previous regime.

Defensively, WSU may not pack in its defense so tightly in the key, but things won’t change drastically with assistant coach Ben Johnson back as the lead man on defense.

The Cougars will be one of the country’s younger teams, with 13 freshmen and sophomores on the roster, and just one upperclassmen. “It’s the youngest team I’ve ever coached,” said Bone, whose starting five could include two true freshmen and two sophomores.

Those two second-year players will provide excellent building blocks for Bone’s program.

Wing Klay Thompson, the son of former NBA standout Mychal Thompson, figures to see his scoring average of 12.2 points climb as he becomes more of the offensive focal point and the Cougars loosen the reins a bit.

Forward DeAngelo Casto, a sturdy 6-8 athlete, came on strong late in the second half of the season and joined Thompson on the Pac-10’s All-Freshman squad. Casto averaged 7.0 points in the Cougars’ final seven games.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Wing Klay Thompson and F DeAngelo Casto played on the U.S. squad that went 9-0 and won the gold medal at the Under-19 World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand. Thompson averaged 7.8 points and 4.4 rebounds, and had 10 points in the championship game. Casto had his knee scoped after the event, but has been cleared to play.

• G Nikola Koprivica (3.1 ppg) played on the Serbian team that won the gold medal last summer at the World University Games.

• Freshman PF/C Brock Motum spent last summer playing for his native Australia in the Under-19 World Championships.

• Only four players who averaged as many as 6.5 minutes per game return from a year ago.

Last Year:   17-16 overall, 8-10 in Pac-10; lost in first round of the NIT.

Head Coach:   Ken Bone (career 335-167); first year at Washington State.

Quote To Note:   “Even when he was an assistant, you speak with certain athletic directors about jobs and I always felt it was just a matter of time. I just knew he was the type of superstar coach that could end up in our league. He’s a good one.”—Washington coach Lorenzo Romar on new WSU coach Ken Bone, a one-time UW assistant.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   At least three of the Cougars’ seven freshmen (and redshirt freshmen) figure to play substantial roles from the start. Aussie Brock Motum, a 6-9, 215-pound left-hander, likely will be needed at center, while freshman Reggie Moore is favored to win the starting point guard job. Moore, at 6-1, arrives as the most heralded member of Ken Bone’s first recruiting class. He was the Washington Class 3A player of the year two seasons ago, then spent a year at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. Xavier Thames figures to back up Moore, while redshirt freshman F James Watson could emerge as a contributor up front.

Key Early-season Games:   The Cougars test their road readiness with a trek north to the Great Alaska Shootout, where the field includes Oklahoma. But WSU will have its hands full Dec. 2 at Gonzaga, then visits Kansas State on Dec. 5 for the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. The final pre-conference test is a Dec. 22 matchup with LSU at Seattle. It’s a fair schedule for new coach Ken Bone’s young club.

Program Direction:   Ken Bone has a tough act to follow. Dick Bennett got the program on solid footing, and then son Tony took the Cougars to new heights. Bone is greeted by a young roster, but he has some talent and far better momentum than Dick Bennett inherited in the fall of 2003. Tracking WSU’s progress will be interesting.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Reggie Moore, SG Klay Thompson, SF Nikola Koprivica, PF DeAngelo Casto, C Brock Motum.

Roster Report:  

• Sophomore SG Klay Thompson is the Cougars’ top returnee in scoring (12.2 ppg) and rebounding (4.2 rpg). He made 68 3-point baskets, converting 41.2 percent from beyond the arc.

• Sophomore PF DeAngelo Casto had a WSU freshman-record 39 blocked shots last year and is the Pac-10’s top returning player in that category. He also shot 55.8 percent from the field.

• Sophomore Marcus Capers has been moved from point guard, where he is in the mix with Michael Harthun and Nikola Koprivica for the wing spot opposite Thompson.

• Ken Bone’s first 2010 recruit is 6-7 SF Patrick Simon of Ephrata, Wash., who is expected to sign in November. Unless other current players depart early, Simon may be the Cougars’ only signee this year.