Cougs vs Utes
- Thread starter COUGinNCW
- Start date
Good and much needed win. We were up 19 and Utah was able to get it down under 10. We withstood the shot and managed to get out with a win. Give a lot of credit to Jakimovski. Not only was he 3-5 from 3 but came up with multiple offensive boards late 2nd half to keep the ball when the offense was stagnating again.
Jakimovski is playing good ball. The deer in the headlights look he had last year is gone. I wouldn't mind seeing him start ahead Bamba. Of course Noah takes that spot when he gets back in the swing of things. Gueye is also playing well. He may have the ability to be a difference maker on D ala Robbie Cowgill.
Jakimovski is doing an excellent job on the glass and driving to the bucket. Opening up his 3’s.
Well it's not like we played them THAT many times since 1946, but it sure sounds impressive to Utah fans.
Gueye had his best game but really all he did was make the dunks the defense gave him. Second half adjustments were made and he disappeared. Taking what is given to you is a start, hopefully next year or later this year he will be able to create his own opertunities. A lot has been made of the fact he could still be playing high school ball but I can’t find any information on his actual age.
The hoop at the end by Williams was bush league. Just hold the ball and have some class. A nice win by the Cougs.
He also was good on the boards and blocked a few shots. I dont think Utah has very good bigs but it was good to see after a lot of nothing minutes out if him.
Maybe he disappeared in the second half because he was on the bench. He played nearly the entire first half and only 21 minutes total. I agree he needs to work on creating on his own. If he could develop a serviceable 10-15 foot jumper he'd be unstoppable.
I am happy to have the Utah jinx off our back. Wonder what other jinx's we might get rid of this season?
Utes have been good.
And only 2 WSU teams in that SLC streak were much "good" - one of Harshman's teams and Tony's 1st team played in SLC. (Raveling and Sampson never scheduled a game in SLC)
Only 2 of the SLC losses to the Utes were close and not blow outs. Even the much longer Pauley Pavillion drought had more close losses to point at.
Year Coach WSU Season Record
1952 (twice in 2 days) Jack Friel 7-27
1955 Jack Friel 4-22
1957 (twice in 3 days) Jack Friel 7-19
1959 Marv Harshman 13-13
1963 Marv Harshman 5-20
1967 Marv Harshman 16-9
1971 Marv Harshman 12-14
2000 Paul Graham 12-16
2006 Tony Bennett (lost by 14) 26-8
2012 Ken Bone 19-18 (OT loss)
2014 Ken Bone 10-21
2015 Ernie Kent 13-18
2016 Ernie Kent 9-22
2017 Ernie Kent 13-18 (4 pt loss)
2018 Ernie Kent 12-19
2019 Ernie Kent 11-21
2020 Kyle Smith 16-16
Nice win yesterday, significantly aided by the absence of Utah's best (and biggest) player; but nonetheless a very important win.
You can see how much better we are when the guards are hitting 3s. Adding another shooter or two next season has to be a huge priority. At least one of our bigs needs to develop a couple of goto post moves. I'm very high on Gueye. He's just so young now, but man does he have a high ceiling. He'll add natural strength as he continues to mature, but I don't think he needs to "bulk up." Develop a midrange game and he'll be a handful. Efe is the guy I'd like to see add a reliable hook shot and work on his up and under moves.
But the kid who continues to baffle me if Jakimovski. He seems overdue to blow up. He's got the body, the insticts, and the shot be a really dangerous player. His mental game holds him back. He gets really down on himself if he misses a bunny or turns the ball over. If I were on our coaching staff (God forbid), I would focus the majority of my work on developing a midrange jumper for Jaki. I mean, he commands respect from beyond the 3, and he's good off the dribble. He has open pull up 15-18' shots whenever he wants them. I think he might really take a big step next season.
We're heading into a stretch of games that are going to decide our season. I believe our next 8 are against Stanford, Cal, Oregon, OSU, Utah, Colorado, Stanford, and Cal. Would love to see us reel off 7 of those, as I think it's possible.
You can see how much better we are when the guards are hitting 3s. Adding another shooter or two next season has to be a huge priority. At least one of our bigs needs to develop a couple of goto post moves. I'm very high on Gueye. He's just so young now, but man does he have a high ceiling. He'll add natural strength as he continues to mature, but I don't think he needs to "bulk up." Develop a midrange game and he'll be a handful. Efe is the guy I'd like to see add a reliable hook shot and work on his up and under moves.
But the kid who continues to baffle me if Jakimovski. He seems overdue to blow up. He's got the body, the insticts, and the shot be a really dangerous player. His mental game holds him back. He gets really down on himself if he misses a bunny or turns the ball over. If I were on our coaching staff (God forbid), I would focus the majority of my work on developing a midrange jumper for Jaki. I mean, he commands respect from beyond the 3, and he's good off the dribble. He has open pull up 15-18' shots whenever he wants them. I think he might really take a big step next season.
We're heading into a stretch of games that are going to decide our season. I believe our next 8 are against Stanford, Cal, Oregon, OSU, Utah, Colorado, Stanford, and Cal. Would love to see us reel off 7 of those, as I think it's possible.
Bamba has improved. He is only out of control as he finishes maybe 30-40% of his penetrations. If he could get that down to 10-15%, he would be really dangerous. I suspect that if he can improve this much again next season, he could get there. But we need to see continued progress. He might be the best athlete on the team, but he still has a lot to learn.
Didn’t see the game but the distribution of minutes seems about right.
Noah should be in the same general floor time as Rodman and Andrej (with Andrej earning more minutes). He can’t be on the floor at the same time as Roberts and Flowers. There’s not enough basketballs for all of them.
Hopefully Coach Smith is following Coach Wooden's best friend philosophy.
Noah should be in the same general floor time as Rodman and Andrej (with Andrej earning more minutes). He can’t be on the floor at the same time as Roberts and Flowers. There’s not enough basketballs for all of them.
Hopefully Coach Smith is following Coach Wooden's best friend philosophy.
Good observations but I think Gueye certainly needs to get much stronger....maybe my definition of "bulk up"....as he was pushed around like a rag doll by Evan Battey of Colorado the other night. If he can gain 15-20 pounds without losing quickness and explosiveness, that would be ideal. But right now, his only defensive weapon is the blocked shot, and it becomes difficult to do much when you are continually giving ground to a bulkier opponent. Sure like his potential though.
Glad Cougar
Oh without question he does. My comment on "bulking up" has to do with extreme weight room commitment. I don't think he needs that. The kid is supposed to be a senior in high school this year, and he still has a frame that's developing. He will of course hit the weight room and the training table this offseason, but I want him to maintain his limber flexibility. To me, that's what's going to separate him. He doesn't have frame of a guy who's going to develop shoulders like Bamba, and sometimes overdoing that in the weight room can have negative consequences.
Coach Wooden's best friend was Sam Gilbert whose best friend was Ben Franklin.
In fairness, Battey pushes a lot of folks around. But you are, of course, right about Gueye. If he wants to play at the next level, he probably needs more like 25 pounds by his last year, unless he wants to shift to playing 3. Oddly enough, he might be capable of being a 3, though that is clearly not where he is heading. In looking at him, considering his age and comparing to others I've known, I'd guess that he will add 10 good pounds for next season. After that, it is going to involve a fair amount of work to put on good weight; we'll see how committed he is to a lot of regular hours in the weight room. Assuming his genetics will permit it, 230 + would be a realistic goal, and as long as it is good weight it should not slow his first 3 steps.
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