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

The starting lineup this season should be as follows:
Starters Reserves Other Squad members

C 6'11 Railey New Recruit 6'10 Hawkinson
PF 6'7 Cheatum 6'7 Longrus 6'7 Boese
SF 6'5 Que 6'4 Davis 6'6 Drew
SG 6'3 Lacy 6'1 Ike
PG 5'9 Dunbar 6'2 Redding

This line up should give the team more speed ,quickness and athletic ability so sadly lacking on last years' team.If the new recruit is a good frosh then expect him to slide into the starting position. Railey and Longrus then would give about 12-16 minutes of solid backup work as big men.The shooting should be improved as the faster paced game will allow players to be more comfortable and in better position to score with improved PG play..I expect that about 9-10 players will all see time on the court and will play with more entusiasm and energy this season.

Virginia guard Joe Harris, hailing from the greatest small town in the world, Chelan, Wash., was picked with the No. 33 pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014 NBA Draft this evening. One pick later, the New York Knicks selected Wichita State forward Cleanthony Early. With the 59th pick, the Toronto Raptors drafted former Washington State and San Diego State guard Xavier Thames, who ended up getting acquired by the Brooklyn Nets.

So what does this all mean? Well, absolutely nothing at all. However, it's hard not to look at what this Washington State hoops program could have looked like over the last few years had a few dominos fell the right way.

Harris, who followed Bennett to Virginia when he left Pullman, still gave some consideration to Ken Bone and staff, though as a family friend of the Harris', I can tell you the interest level was minimum, at best. Anyways, Early actually took an official visit to Washington State and was thought by many to be a lock to land in Pullman before eventually committing to Wichita State and enjoying quite the run with the Shockers. You also all know how the Thames situation went down -- left due to Reggie Moore's edge on the depth chart, among additional rumors, and, well, that turned out not so good.


This post was edited on 6/26 9:41 PM by Britton Ransford

Here's a great feature on Washington State freshman point guard Trevor Dunbar and his journey to the Pac-12 from Matthew Snyder of SLAM Magazine online.

Excerpt...

"The previous Saturday night, upon returning from Grad Night festivities with his departing St. Ignatius senior class, Dunbar had checked in with the Washington State coaching staff via text message.

Dunbar knew that a scholarship offer had recently opened up after a point guard, once committed to the Cougars, had reneged and opted for a different route. Rumor had it that Dunbar was the next name on the list. The next morning, he woke up, tapped his phone and came across this message, from Wazzu.

If we offer, will you come?

"I was like, Yeah," Dunbar says, laughing. "I had visits set up to St. John's that Monday, and I was ready to look at Maryland and Towson, too, but [Washington State] was just the best fit. This way, I get to stay on the West Coast."

That the reaction to Dunbar's commitment triggered a seismic spike of responses on Twitter should give you a sense of his local celebrity, which has reached the point where his highlight reels on YouTube become hotly anticipated events. (They're worth a gander.)

These vids are a showcase for Shift Team, a movement begun by Dunbar that is dedicated to players who showcase a certain level of on-court swag and smooth. Dunbar was the ringmaster, darting this way and that like a record continually skipping. Defenders never quite seem able to catch his beat.

Despite all the Internet clicks (Kyrie Irving is a frequent collaborator on Twitter, and a member of Shift Team) high-major scholarship offers were slow in coming -- until new Washington State coach Ernie Kent extended his hand to Dunbar."

LINK: http://www.slamonline.com/college-hs/college/trevor-dunbar-washington-state/



This post was edited on 6/27 2:17 PM by Britton Ransford

Today is Mr. Raveling's birthday. SIR! You are a good man and basketball has made you younger as the years progress. Never forgotten how much you meant to WSU. Truly a Coug in every sense.

https://twitter.com/GeorgeRaveling

#CoachingForSuccess

Nice start to 2015 for Coach Kent and his staff

Edit: Now it is the front page story.
This post was edited on 6/25 7:07 PM by Coug1990

WSU offer this evening or yesterday. Check the link for the others.

This post was edited on 6/24 6:54 PM by 7ICoug

WSU Committs

According to his Twitter account, Washington State head coach Ernie Kent is in New York this week as Dick Vitale is honored by the National Basketball Coaches Association.

Kent has been involved with the NABC for quite awhile and served as the president during the 2011-12 season. He's currently the associate executive director of the NABC.

Here's a few pictures of his trip thus far...

Kent's invitation...

Kent with Coach John Calipari and ESPN's John Saunders... He prefaced this picture by saying he's hoping to get a game in Pullman with Kentucky. I'm unable to confirm whether he was serious or not.

Kent with Vitale and Coach K...

Kent with Coach Roy Williams and Coach Tubby Smith...

Here's Kent doing something. He added this comment to this picture... "Hey, Coug fans. One day we ARE GOING to win a Pac-12 Championship. You can BANK on it." Such a clever one, that Coach Kent.

Here's a link to Dickie V giving props to the Kent hire in Pullman... http://instagram.com/p/prQXjjgrXx/



This post was edited on 6/25 4:27 PM by Britton Ransford

Kent -Brand X signed a 5'10 HS prep PG out of San Francisco averaged 22pts and 5 assts. Now for that Big man. There i just changed it . Thanks for the assist 1990!1

This post was edited on 6/1 2:26 PM by ElComanche

2015 offers are flying out of the WSU Elite camp which just concluded. Read about them in the premium section.