Washington State head coach Ernie Kent was on the Cougars' IMG Radio Network for the Coaches Show with Ernie Kent on Monday from Zeppoz in Pullman. I listened in and here's the things that I heard in bullet form.
Notes from Ernie Kent's radio show
-Kent said Washington State handled the Idaho State zone pretty well. He thought they moved the ball well and shot the ball well in the second half. He also said that he challenged DaVonte Lacy at halftime and he responded well in the second half.
-Kent said that in the second half the team played with a lot more fire, energy and confidence in the second half, which helped the team shoot the ball better.
-As for Lacy, Kent said great players, at some point in time, have to be selfish, take over a game and look to score more. He wanted him to have the green light and Lacy did just that.
-On Josh Hawkinson's monster game, Kent says he's enjoying the process and as his body is getting right, the confidence and overall game is coming around. "He's growing up in front of your eyes," Kent said. "He's a very smart basketball player. I was very proud of him."
-The basketball version of The Drive on Pac-12 Networks spent a large majority of last Friday in Pullman following the team around as the prepared to face Idaho State and during the game, too. They turn the mics off at halftime, which Kent says was nice because it's tough to have a mic on you at all times.
He says there was some cool stuff in the heat of the moment, but also some special moments that fans will like. They'll also follow the Cougars during an Oregon game and Washington game this season.
-The Cougars head to Alaska this weekend, beginning tomorrow, and Kent says that this trip will be a little different than the first road trip because there won't be a lot of academics, which should free them up more. They didn't practice on Saturday and Sunday, practiced hard today, will travel tomorrow and have a light workout on Wednesday before Thursday night's game against UCSB.
-Kent talked about the Gauchos of Santa Barbara and says they're similiar to the Cougars, as are, Rice, Mercer and Colorado State, whom they'll face likely. They have a low post guy and play with four guards, spread the floor, are patient, smart and he says the biggest challenge of the game will be to shut down their big man Allen Williams (21 points per game) inside.
-The game the Guachos played at Kansas, Kent says, was big for them because they were able to slow the game down and keep the game somewhat close. He says UCSB is a very disciplined team.
-Kent says that most of the teams in the eight team tournament are similar to the Cougars and that a neutral floor helps. He hopes that they'll be in the right state of mind and ready to play. Also, he doesn't see why they can't win a championship up there.
-As for Thanksgiving, they'll eat after the game on Thursday. There won't be much sight seeing because they're playing three games in three days. He then talked about Lil Wayne, Lil Boosie and Beyonce about something, but I got lost.
-How big will it be to have some success in Alaska? Kent says it's going to be huge if they can go into a challenge like this. It can boost their confidence for the rest of the season. They're not going to beat them up and so they're going to look for any kind of success on a small scale so they can boost that confidence on a bigger scale down the road.
-Kent talked about his new signing class a little more, beginning with Renard Suggs, who he says is an excellent scorer and will help replace Lacy's scoring next season. Derrien King is also a scorer that can shoot it from the perimeter, much like Suggs. They'll both come in the door as junior college transfers that will have familiarity with the college lifestyle.
-On Robert Franks, Kent says he's the skilled four-man that he wanted to get. He didn't know what they were going to get out of Hawkinson, so they wanted to add something there. Franks is more athletic than Hawkinson and Kent expects Franks to play in the front court with him next year.
-On Jeff Pollard, Kent says that it was important for his family to send Pollard to prep school for a year, much like his older brother, who is now at Rice. He's a smart kid, too.
-Kent says that Valentine Izundu, who transferred in from Houston, is a guy that can dominate in the post. He also thinks it's good that he'll be able to sit out this year to develop his skills a little more. There's a lot of pressure on huge players like Izundu because he's tall and people think he should be dominant right away, which isn't the case.
Kent wants him to develop this year and game confidence. He's coming into his body right now and he'll get there, he says.
-Hawkinson and Railey both started against Idaho State, but then went to a four guard rotation around Hawkinson. Kent says that he's still calculating what "seven or best eight players he has and adapt his offense that fits them." Right now he's trying to get the most productive players in the rotation but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll have big guys in together.
"We have to score better," Kent says. He says that he's going to tinker with things, play with things differently and isn't afraid to play a bunch of small guys to manufacture more points.
-On Ny Redding, who had 10 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds on Friday, Kent says the biggest thing that he does is that he creates accountability. As a freshman, he struggled coming into practice scoring the ball, but then got in the gym every night, battled through some adversity and has bought in.
"He's going to make other players better on this team because his play is going to hold others accountable," Kent said. "He takes basketball very seriously. If a freshman comes in and outworks everyone else, he's going to play."
-Kent wants Ike Iroegbu and Dexter Kernich-Drew to be more aggressive and be on their "a-game." They need to be consistent knowing their jobs and doing their jobs. He thinks all of the guys are buying in, but now it's a matter of having the accountability in place to be successful. He sees that happening on a daily basis.
-On Que Johnson, Kent says that he doesn't envision him coming off the bench. He wants him to continue to understand the speed of the game and focus on the defensive end. "His game is going to demand a starting job sooner rather than later," Kent said. "I need about two or three guys to do that and then we have something special."
-Kent says that Lacy and Que are similar in that they shoot the ball well, but Que brings an added dimension to rebounding. Lacy is better at getting into the lane better. For them to have success this year, Kent says they have to play at a high level together.
-On trying to get Cheatum, Longrus and Railey consistent, he says that's been a big challenge. "We're going to need them," Kent says. "I look at their numbers combined and if their numbers combined give us great contributions, we'll be fine." Kent says they aren't doing that and since they're going to be a "three-headed monster," they'll need to play better rotationally.
-On Longrus, he says he loves his screens, his rebounding and vocality on defense, but he "really loves scoring." He needs Longrus to score more and understand that that's also one of his responsibilities.
