Half: 46 - 21

[SaveFerris]

Bonton out of the lineup. The Bobcat's aren't exactly GU but Abogidi and Williams have been pretty impressive.

Abogidi w/ 13 points (4-5), 8 boards, and a block. Williams 14 points, 3 assists, 2 steals.

Nobody with more than 1 turnover, 6 total. Shot 62% from the field, 57% from 3.

 

[acgcoug]

Fun watch. Hope they keep it up in the second half.

 

[mikalalas]

Bonton out of the lineup. The Bobcat's aren't exactly GU but Abogidi and Williams have been pretty impressive.

Abogidi w/ 13 points (4-5), 8 boards, and a block. Williams 14 points, 3 assists, 2 steals.

Nobody with more than 1 turnover, 6 total. Shot 62% from the field, 57% from 3.

Montana just did beat UNLV and not only beat them, but scored 91 on them.

Also just barely lost to Pacific by skin of their teeth. Pacific is supposed to be good.

Montana was picked 3,4 in Big Sky. Is 2-1. They are not as good as Gonzaga but then again there are top 25 teams not as good as Gonzaga.

Basically So Far, WSU is SPANKING a pretty ok, good Montana team that Spanked a very good UNLV program, team, and that is 5-0, and will be 6-0, and likely will be 8-0, possibly 9-0, 1-0 in pac 12 vs ASU, and also is receiving top 25 votes

 

[mikalalas]

Also what makes this so impressive is that:

1. LOTS OF INJURED STARTERS/6TH MEN, KEY BENCH PLAYERS, ETC.

2. LOTS of New, Young players

3. Lost a lot from last year(CJ, Jervae Robinson, Pollard, etc

4. Because of above, lack of chemistry, being able to play together as a team

 

[sellas]

O just so much better without a ballhoging chucker in the lineup.

 

[Coug4life34]

O just so much better without a ballhoging chucker in the lineup.

We are blessed to have that young man on this team. I agree he can be frustrating at times, but part of his role has to be to force shots and try to score to take the pressure off of the other players... That obviously leads to a lot of poor shot attempts. I am not obsolving the young man of his overly poor decision making at times, but he doesn’t get enough credit for his value to this team to go along with all of the negative commentary..

 

[SaveFerris]

We are blessed to have that young man on this team. I agree he can be frustrating at times, but part of his role has to be to force shots and try to score to take the pressure off of the other players... That obviously leads to a lot of poor shot attempts. I am not obsolving the young man of his overly poor decision making at times, but he doesn’t get enough credit for his value to this team to go along with all of the negative commentary..

With Williams and Abogidi starting to emerge we need Bonton to play within himself. Really liked what I saw from a lot of different players tonight. There's still bad decisions and we aren't polished but you can see the talent potential.

 

[Coug4life34]

With Williams and Abogidi starting to emerge we need Bonton to play within himself. Really liked what I saw from a lot of different players tonight. There's still bad decisions and we aren't polished but you can see the talent potential.

I agree I can definitely see the talent potential. It feels allot like that first team Tony had with more high end all around talent that could pop. Hopefully, as the other players come into their own and gain confidence his play will become more predictable. Make no mistake however there is a shot clock and a shot has to go up. Some of the others are currently incapable of getting a look. As the competition level increases, I believe we will see even more 4 for 16 performances. If he can keep the turnovers low that will have to be acceptable.. I am a little curious why we don’t see more “Set” plays however that are designed to get specific shots for other players. I think that is a key piece that is missing. Young teams typically require more structure to be successful..

 

[jourdand]

Although I believe the close games we’ve had are going to be of more value in the long run it was nice to have a blow out and get some bench players extended minutes. Surprised we didn’t see Rosario this game. Jackson has down the road potential but is definitely behind the other big men right now. ( same with Chatfield but less potential)

 

[SDCoug]

Anyone know what DJ’s injury is?

 

[SaveFerris]

I agree I can definitely see the talent potential. It feels allot like that first team Tony had with more high end all around talent that could pop.

This group feels similar but agree on the "high end" potential and in year 2 there's more depth as well. Smith had more spots to give on high school players and did a good job. Williams is becoming a huge piece and not just because he's hitting some shots. He has obviously worked on his game and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Not everyone likes Rapp or Vova' but I think they at least have a role down the road if not more. Hopefully Rodman as well.

The freshman class is comparable to the Low class. I actually think Abogidi is potentially a Baynes type of player they signed in the next class in the sense that he gives us a someone that's hard to matchup against. Really liked the Boucher comparison Dickau made tonight. Abogidi's game isn't there yet but he really shows flashes of the kind of potential to leave early. Jakimovski and Bamba are just getting their feet wet and we really haven't seen Jackson or Rosario.

I really enjoyed the early Bennett years and I'm actually more excited with the core of players Smith has put together plus the overall vision and philosophy. Nobody is going to be able to use pace against us in recruiting. Lots of work to do but it's still pretty exciting to watch this "too early" stage.

 

[bogusto]

This group feels similar but agree on the "high end" potential and in year 2 there's more depth as well. Smith had more spots to give on high school players and did a good job. Williams is becoming a huge piece and not just because he's hitting some shots. He has obviously worked on his game and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Not everyone likes Rapp or Vova' but I think they at least have a role down the road if not more. Hopefully Rodman as well.

The freshman class is comparable to the Low class. I actually think Abogidi is potentially a Baynes type of player they signed in the next class in the sense that he gives us a someone that's hard to matchup against. Really liked the Boucher comparison Dickau made tonight. Abogidi's game isn't there yet but he really shows flashes of the kind of potential to leave early. Jakimovski and Bamba are just getting their feet wet and we really haven't seen Jackson or Rosario.

I really enjoyed the early Bennett years and I'm actually more excited with the core of players Smith has put together plus the overall vision and philosophy. Nobody is going to be able to use pace against us in recruiting. Lots of work to do but it's still pretty exciting to watch this "too early" stage.

I like Rapp right now at the '1', with Bonton playing off the ball. The offense flows much better when Rapp is in there and he is starting to gain confidence with his shot. Also, far less off-target, hard-to-manage passes that end up in fruitless possessions or, worse, outright turnovers.

 

[Glad Cougar]

Anyone know what DJ’s injury is?

High ankle sprain. What I don't know is the nature of Bonton's injury.

Really happy with how the team responded with basically nothing but freshmen and sophomores out there (Kunc made a brief appearance last night). I agree with Jourdand that it's nice to have had a blowout game to allow certain players more time on the court, but while many fans were bemoaning the close games against the Idahos, Eastern Washingtons, Texas Southerns, I think those were valuable experiences for this young team. Last night was an example of how the Cougars can play when they shoot decently.

Glad Cougar

 

[7ICoug]

Bonton with a thigh bruise. I really really like moving Efe to the 4 spot.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

A lot of teams aren't going to like seeing the Cougs on the calendar. Efe and Vova at at 4/5 is gonna be tough for teams to mess with on both ends.