Valentine Izundu 6-10 215 C Transfer from Houston has been added to the roster and is enrolled.

Ranked #25 Center in 2012. Had a big Freshman year with 20 blocks. Didn't play but 4 games last year and none past the December 14th cutoff.

With the transfer that evidently ate the 2014 extra scholarship there are 12 open offers for the two 2015 positions. Looks like Tony Anderson 2015 SF who is visiting in September will more than likely take one of these spots.

Looks like another PF would be the most important need.

This post was edited on 8/6 8:52 AM by 7ICoug

Nm

Motum talks Jazz, FIBA

Many of you have been around since Raveling, so you will remember Kelvin's time well.

I never really saw much of him while he was Len Steven's assistant, but it became clear once he was HC that he possessed:

- lots of energy.
- lots of enthusiasm, which in his case was contagious.
- a very good basketball mind.
- and excellent face to face recruiting skills. The man is a salesman.

When he bailed out for OU, he left a bad taste when he tried to poach one of our players (the name escapes me at the moment).

By the time he finished his run at OU he had again put together a great string of teams, and had further provided the impression that he was willing to cut corners with the rules. Odd, given his time on the NCAA rules committee (I think that was while he was at OU). At the time that he went to Indiana I wondered how a high energy but rules-challenged guy would do at a school that considers themselves to be the Notre Dame of basketball. IU had (and to a great extent, still has) a very rigid view of its role in the basketball universe, and it expects a HC to perform without cheating.

When the NCAA cited Kelvin for multiple violations that he knew full well he was committing at the time he committed them (if I remember correctly, they had to do with contacting recruits in a way he had previously been warned was a violation), the university dumped him like spoiled milk.

The list of productive coaches who have gotten a second chance, particularly at mid-major schools, is long. Look at that slime, Petrino, and how quickly he got another job after his Arkansas fiasco. Or look at Mike Price and his sojourn in El Paso. So I'm not surprised that Kelvin is again working. He is only 58, and he has had a few years to reflect upon his sins.

Now we've just picked up the 3rd person to be run off his Houston team since he took the job at the end of last season. Looks like he is clearing the decks to build another team. You know the NCAA will be watching closely, so you have to assume that he will do his best to stay on the straight and narrow this time around.

I hope our new project is willing to put in the time in the weight room that he needs and has the attitude that is required to get to where he needs to be from both a conditioning and weights perspective. Also that he is coachable. Sometimes you get a much more committed attitude from a kid who tried and didn't make it elsewhere…that can be kind of a "forced maturity" sort of experience. I guess we'll see.

And I'll be interested to see what Kelvin Sampson does with his second chance.

Former Washington State men's basketball players Aaron Baynes and Brock Motum will share the court for the first time this summer as the pair were selected to the Airbnb Australian Boomers Team that will compete in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, Aug. 30 through Sept. 14, the school announced on Monday.

Baynes, who competed with the Boomers at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, was a member of the NBA-Champion San Antonio Spurs for the better part of the last two seasons. Baynes earned a roster spot on the Boomers for the 2010 FIBA World Championships, as well.

For Motum, it will be the first appearance on the Boomers' squad after being selected to the team for the World Cup in late July following training camp. Motum was recently invited to the Utah Jazz training camp after an impressive performance in the 2014 NBA Summer League earlier this month.

The Airbnb Boomers open their 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Gran Canaria against Slovenia on Aug. 30. Based in the Canary Island city of Gran Canaria, the Boomes will also face Angola, Korea, Lithuania and Meixco, playing five games in six days prior to the knockout stage.

(via WSU Athletics Communications)

He is fully qualified according to a ESPN tweet. He is of course a former OSU commit and is 2014 there are lots of schools in the hunt for this big and many speculate that Coach Kent is one of them.

The Washington State men's basketball roster has been updated on the official website and includes one unfamiliar name, Marcus Graham out of Boise (ID) Lincoln Land Community College.

Graham, a 6-foot-3 junior guard originally from Boise (ID) Timberline, was selected to the NJCAA All-American Third Team as a sophomore for Lincoln Land in 2013-14. Graham was a two year starter for the Loggers and averaged 19.2 points per game last season while shooting 43.8 percent from three and 82.1 percent from the charity stripe.

Additionally, Graham was a two time All Mid-West Athletic Conference selection, including a first team selection last season, and a two time All Region 24 selection.

"Marcus has been wonderful to coach. His ability to shoot the basketball was awesome," Coach Chad Jones said of Graham in a press release from the school. "Marcus puts the time in the gym working on his own. He will be next to impossible to replace next season."

LINK: http://www.wsucougars.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=30400&SPID=126828&SPSID=749796

Update: Graham is Washington State assistant coach Greg Graham's son. (H/T CougDave)



This post was edited on 7/16 10:25 PM by Britton Ransford

Cougs offer a 2015 Center.

worth a minute of your time.

Now if Baynes would just get re-signed....

Baynesie - swoon

For those of you interested, the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is truly a good experience. It costs $28 to get in and for that you get to see all the games that day(there are about 8 games a day). Seating is on a first come bases (except for the front row seats). The Cox Pavillion is adjoined to the Thomas and Mack so you can walk between the two games going on. The Cox Pavillion seats 3,000, and will fill up for the "big" games. The players do walk around on the concourse, and you see kids getting lots of autographs.

Go Cougs!!!

LAS VEGAS -- Former Washington State forwards D.J. Shelton (Atlanta Hawks) and Brock Motum (Utah Jazz) both made summer league rosters. WazzuWatch.com will have game-by-game updates on how the pair are faring in Las Vegas below.

Saturday, July, 12 - Hawks vs. Wizards; Jazz vs. 76ers

-D.J. Shelton, in his NBA summer league debut, scores five points and adds six rebounds in 10 minutes of action for Atlanta on Saturday. Shelton, who came off the bench, was 3-of-6 from the floor and 0-for-1 from behind the arc. He was tagged with two personal fouls and had a shot blocked. The Hawks fell to the Wizards, 90-74.

-including this putback slam (video).


Monday, July, 14 - Utah vs. Milwaukee

-Brock Motum turned heads in his second game of the summer league season on Monday night as the Australian scored 16 points and added six rebounds in just 19 minutes of action for the Utah Jazz. Motum, who had just four points in the opener, was 7-of-9 from the field and 1-of-2 from behind the arc while adding two steals to his stat line.

Tuesday, July 15 - Utah vs. Denver; Atlanta vs. Portland

-Brock Motum registered his most playing time of the summer league slate thus far, however he finishes with just six points and five rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Motum was 3-of-6 from the floor and added one assist against two turnovers. In three games, Motum is averaging 8.6 points, 5 rebounds and is shooting at a 63 percent clip.

-D.J. Shelton played just over one minute for the Hawks on Tuesday night against the Trailblazers. He did not take a shot or record a rebound and turned the ball over once. In 11 minutes of action through two games, Shelton is averaging 3 points and three rebounds per game.

Wednesday, July 16 - Atlanta vs. Golden State

-D.J. Shelton scored two points and added one rebound for the Hawks in a win over the Warriors on Wednesday night. Shelton was 1-of-1 from the floor and added a steal and a turnover to his stat line. He's averaging 2.7 points and 2 rebounds per game.

Thursday, July 17 - Atlanta vs. Portland; Utah vs. San Antonio

-D.J. Shelton scored one point in just over five minutes of action for the Hawks on Thursday night. The forward was 0-for-1 from the floor, 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, recorded one assist, a steal and zero rebounds in the win. Shelton, who had four fouls in his limited floor time, has played just 13 minutes in his last three outings. He's now averaging 1.7 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.

-Brock Motum continued to make his case for a roster spot on Thursday night as the Aussie scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 21 minutes for the Jazz against the Spurs. Motum was 6-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free throw line. The former Washington State star also had one assist and a block. He's now averaging 10 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.



This post was edited on 7/17 8:03 PM by Britton Ransford

PULLMAN, Wash. -- The Ernie Kent Era of Washington State University men's basketball begins with five home nonconference games, as well as the return of the Cougar Hardwood Classic, a trip to the Great Alaska Shootout and a solid Pac-12 schedule, as announced by Kent in the release of the 2014-15 schedule, Wednesday.

The Cougars' nonconference schedule is set, as well as all home opponents. The Pac-12 will announce the completed conference schedule in conjunction with the Pac-12 Networks following television selections by the networks. The completed schedule with dates, opponents and times is expected to be released in late August.

Washington State's home nonconference schedule will include; Idaho State, Idaho, UTSA, San Jose State and UC Davis, while its Pac-12 home schedule includes: Oregon State, Oregon, California, Stanford, Arizona State, Arizona, Washington, Colorado and Utah. The home schedule includes eight teams that appeared in the postseason last season, including five NCAA-Tournament teams.

"With the opportunity to play a variety of different opponents during the nonconference season, we will see several different styles of play that will have us ready for another competitive Pac-12 race," Kent said.

For the first time since 2006-07, the Cougars will open the season outside of the state of Washington, as they head to Texas to take on UTEP at El Paso, Friday, Nov. 14. WSU will remain in Texas as it travels to Fort Worth to take on TCU, Monday, Nov. 17. The Cougars hosted both the Horned Frogs and Miners last season as they fell to TCU, 64-62, and to UTEP, 64-51. The Miners went on to compete in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), falling in the first round.

WSU will open its home season, Friday, Nov. 21, as it hosts Idaho State. Following a trip to the Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 26-29) where they will face a field featuring; 2014 NCAA Tournament-participant Mercer, CollegeInsider.com participants Missouri State and Pacific, Alaska Anchorage, Colorado State, Rice and UC Santa Barbara, the Cougars will return home for two-straight home games against Idaho (Dec. 3) and UTSA (Dec. 6).

Washington State will take a 15-day break away from Pullman as it heads to Spokane for a neutral-site game against Gonzaga at Spokane Arena, Dec. 10, and takes on Hawaii in the return of the Cougar Hardwood Classic, Dec. 13 at Seattle's KeyArena.

The Cougars will close their nonconference season hosting San Jose State, Sunday, Dec. 21 and UC Davis, Sunday, Dec. 28, at Beasley Coliseum.

Although the Pac-12 schedule won't be set until August, when television selections are made, WSU will open the Pac-12 season with three-straight road games. First off will be a trip to the Bay Area as it takes on Stanford and California the week of Dec. 29-Jan. 4, at Berkeley and Stanford, respectively. The Cougars will then cross the mountains to take on cross-state rival, Washington at Seattle, the week of Jan. 5-11.

The Cougars open their home Pac-12 season hosting Oregon and Oregon State the week of Jan. 12-18, before heading to Boulder and Salt Lake to face Colorado and Utah, respectively, the week of Jan. 19-25. California and Stanford make their return trips to Pullman the last week of January (Jan. 26-Feb. 1), as the Cougars make their return trips to Oregon and Oregon State, Feb. 2-8.

For the second-straight season, WSU will face the Arizona and Los Angeles schools just once apiece as it will host Arizona and Arizona State the week of Feb. 9-15 and head to L.A. to take on UCLA and USC the week of Feb. 23 through March 1. Sandwiched between those two weeks is WSU's second meeting with Washington on the season as the Huskies make the trip to Pullman the week of Feb. 16-22.

The Cougars host Colorado and Utah in their final Pac-12 series of the season the week of March 2-8, before heading to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament slated for March 11-14 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

(via WSU Athletics Communications)

SCHEDULE LINK: http://www.wsucougars.com/pdf9/2757312.pdf




This post was edited on 7/9 4:30 PM by Britton Ransford

Former Washington State star Klay Thompson has been named one of 19 players competing to play for the United States in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain later this fall, the organization announced on Monday.

The full-squad, which includes Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, James Harden, Paul George, Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose and several others, will compete in a Las Vegas mini-camp from July 28 to August 1 as head coach Mike Krzyzewski determines a final roster of 12 spots.

Thompson was named to the national roster last season and the Golden State star was also part of a team that helped prepare the 2012 USA team for the Olympics.


(H/T CougCenter)
This post was edited on 7/14 10:30 AM by Britton Ransford

Roy Ward of TheAge.com is reporting that former Washington State forward Brock Motum will play with the Utah Jazz in the Las Vegas summer league after a mini-camp tryout over the last week.

Motum signed a two-year deal with Virtus Bologna in Italy prior to last season where he averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in his first season, though as Jeff Nusser of CougCenter.com notes, the deal has an out if he is picked up by an NBA team. Motum played for the Philadelphia 76ers in the Orlando summer league in 2013.

As previously reported, former Washington State forward D.J. Shelton was picked up to play for the Atlanta Hawks in the Orlando summer league earlier this summer.


(Photo credit: Utah Jazz)


This post was edited on 7/11 2:08 PM by Britton Ransford

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Washington State University men's basketball team will face UC Santa Barbara on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27, in the opening round of the 2014 GCI Great Alaska Shootout at Anchorage's Alaska Airlines Center.

The Cougars will meet the Gauchos at 9 p.m. PST (8 p.m. AKST), Thursday, in the final game of the opening round, which will air on CBS Sports Network (CBSSN). The winner of the game between WSU and UCSB will face the winner of Rice versus Mercer in semifinal #2, which will take place at 9 p.m. PST (8 p.m. AKST), Friday, Nov. 28, also on CBSSN. The Bears and the Owls face each other in the opening round Thursday at 6:30 p.m. PST, the only other game of the day. The other side of the bracket has Pacific taking on host Alaska Anchorage at 8:30 p.m. PST Wednesday, Nov. 26, followed by Missouri State against Colorado State at 11 p.m. PST. All games in the opening round will air on CBSSN.

The winners of the games on Wednesday will meet in semifinal #1 prior to semifinal #2, at 6:30 p.m. PST, Friday, Nov. 28. The winners of each of the semifinals will play for the championship, Saturday, Nov. 29 at 8:30 p.m. PST (7:30 p.m. AKST), while the others will play for third and fifth, Saturday at 6 p.m. PST. The losers of all the first round games move into the consolation bracket. Consolation semifinal #1 is set for 1 p.m. PST (Noon AKST), while the second is set for 3 p.m. PST (2 p.m. AKST), Friday. The winners move on to play for fourth and sixth at 3 p.m. PST, Saturday, while the others play for seventh and eighth in the first game of the day at 1 p.m. PST, Saturday.

WSU is 1-1 all-time against UC Santa Barbara, as the two teams last met Dec. 6, 1985, resulting in a 73-70 Cougar loss at Santa Barbara. The first game of the season occurred just a year prior, Dec. 20, 1984, at Pullman, an 80-69 WSU win. Washington State has not faced Mercer, a Cinderella team of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, but lost to Rice, 64-49, Nov. 23, 2003, in Fairbanks, Alaska, as part of the Top of the World Classic, in the two schools' only meeting.

The Cougars last appeared in the Great Alaska Shootout in 2009, capturing the tournament championship with wins over Alaska Anchorage, Nicholls State and San Diego. Then-sophomore Klay Thompson set single-game and championship-game records with 43 points in the championship game on his way to being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. WSU also appeared in the 1981 Great Alaska Shootout as it defeated Alaska Anchorage in the opening round before falling to Southwestern Louisiana and Iona.

The GCI Great Alaska Shootout is the longest-running regular-season college basketball tournament in the nation, taking place every Thanksgiving in Anchorage since 1978. This will be the inaugural tournament held at UAA's brand-new, 5,000-seat Alaska Airlines Center.



2014 Great Alaska Shootout Men's Schedule
(all times Pacific Standard, one hour ahead of local)

Wednesday, Nov. 26 - First Round
8:30 p.m. (Game 1) - Pacific vs. Alaska Anchorage (CBSSN)
11 p.m. (Game 2) - Missouri State vs. Colorado State (CBSSN)

Thursday, Nov. 27 - First Round
6:30 p.m. (Game 3) - Rice vs. Mercer (CBSSN)
9 p.m. (Game 4) - Washington State vs. UC Santa Barbara (CBSSN)

Friday, Nov. 28 - Consolation Semifinals & Semifinals
1 p.m. (Game 5) - Pacific/UAA loser vs. Mo. St./CSU loser
3 p.m. (Game 6) - Rice/Mercer loser vs. WSU/UCSB loser
6:30 p.m. (Game 7) - Pacific/UAA winner vs. Mo. St./CSU winner (CBSSN*)
9 p.m. (Game 8) - Rice/Mercer winner vs. WSU/UCSB winner (CBSSN*)

Saturday, Nov. 29
1 p.m. (Game 9) - Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser (7th/8th place)
3 p.m. (Game 10) - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner (4th/6th place)
6 p.m. (Game 11) - Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser (3rd/5th place)
8:30 p.m. (Game 12) - Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (Championship ? CBSSN)

*will air tape-delayed at 9 p.m. & 11 p.m. PST

(Via WSU Athletics Communications)

This post was edited on 7/10 12:48 PM by Britton Ransford

Wednesday marks the start of the July recruiting period where basketball coaches can go on the road and visit recruits at camp etc. It is an important recruiting period. It is a chance to reach out to 201 and 2016 potential recruits.I am also wondering if there has been any news on the last remaining scholarship for 2014.? There does not seem to be much out there. Perhaps Kent can poach a couple of OSU big men recruits who can still change their minds?

The Hardwood Classic is returning to Seattle's very own KeyArena on Dec. 13th.

Hardwood classic 2014

ESPN's Andy Katz spoke briefly about Washington State and Ernie Kent in his 3-point shot blog video on Tuesday. You can see that video at the link below, but I would suggest ignoring the "Washington State Huskies" tag at the bottom of the video.

LINK: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/99506/3-point-shot-memphis-young-backcourt

http://jwrisingstars.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=193887088

Great news for E Kent and the Cougs.

According to Roy Ward of Australia's TheAge.com, former Washington State forward Brock Motum has been invited to pre-summer league camp with the Utah Jazz. He has not been invited to participate on the Jazz summer league team.

Here's a junior season mixtape of Washington State freshman Trevor Dunbar that has over 1.5 million views on YouTube. I'm particularly excited to watch him suit up for the Cougars over the next four years. Human highlight reel.

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciHgBnOqdFs

Dunbar also has a seven episode YouTube series that's worth a watch, if you haven't seen it already.

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=A+season%27s+worth


This post was edited on 6/30 11:52 PM by Britton Ransford

DATES[/B]
-April 15 through May 31 -- Evaluation Period
-June 1 through July 31 -- Quiet Period
-August 1 through November 24 -- 42 declared evaluation days, all others Quiet Period*
-November 25 through December 15 -- Contact Period
-December 16 through January 15, 2015 -- Dead Period
-January 16 through February 2 -- Contact Period
-February 3 -- Quiet Period
-February 4 - February 7 -- Dead Period
-February 5 -- National Letter of Intent Signing Day
-February 8 - April 14 -- Quiet Period

* Exceptions
-December 16, 2013 -- Quiet Period
-December 17 through January 3, 2014 -- Dead Period (exceptions for JUCO, Mid-Year prospects)
-January 6, 2014 -- Quiet Period
-January 9 through January 12, 2014 -- Dead Period (exceptions for JUCO, Mid-Year prospects)

TERMS[/B]
Contact Period -- It's permissible for authorized athletic department staff members to make in-person and off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations. College coaches are allowed to visit recruits off?campus (at their high school or home). Coaches can make only one visit per week to individual recruits and are permitted to make one phone call per week to a recruit during this period.

Quiet Period -- Recruits can visit with college coaches but only at those college campuses. Also, during the month of September, October or November coaches are permitted to make one in-person off-campus visit to a recruit (at their high schools or at an athletic event) (colleges are allowed a total of 42 days of evaluation time during this period).

Dead Period -- Coaches are not permitted to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off-campus or to permit official or unofficial visits by recruits or to make phone calls to recruits.

Evaluation Period [/I]-- It's permissible for authorized athletics department staff to be involved in off-campus activities to assess academic qualifications and playing abilities. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts with a prospect are permitted during these evaluations: the college coaches are only allowed to attend athletic events and/or the prospect's school and talk to the high school coaches and school administrators but they are not allowed to speak to the recruit during one of the visits except to say "hello." Colleges are allowed a total of approximately 168 days each year to conduct evaluations for all of their prospective recruits.

LINK: http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/FCS_13-14.pdf


This post was edited on 1/5 9:14 PM by Britton Ransford

D.J. Shelton has been added to the Atlanta Hawks summer league team. Shelton previously worked out for the Sacramento Kings prior to the NBA Draft, per several reports.

In three seasons at Washington State, Shelton averaged 6.9 points and six rebounds per game over 98 games. As a senior, Shelton posted career-highs and nearly averaged a double-double with 10.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

The Rialto, Calif., native arrived at Washington State for the 2011-12 season after redshirting for a year at Cal State Fullerton (2009-10) and one season at Citrus College (2010-11) in California.



This post was edited on 6/30 5:56 PM by Britton Ransford

According to Gabe DeArmond of PowerMizzou.com, the Missouri Rivals website, former Washington State signee Tramaine Isabell has committed and signed with Missouri.

It appears the Seattle, Wash., point guard, who committed to the Cougars about a year ago under then-head coach Ken Bone, has qualified academically and could be in line for early playing time with the Tigers. Isabell was also considering Providence but a recent visit to Missouri sealed the deal for the three-star guard.

LINK: https://washingtonstate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1654180