The question must be asked...

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

You think the kids knew and it affected how they played?

Obviously Smith knew - did it affect his coaching?

It's a shit, shit, shitty world where another team can and is poaching your coach in the midst of a tourney run. F Furd, I hope they rot in the ACC and the P2 never takes them back.

 

[CougEd]

You think the kids knew and it affected how they played?

Obviously Smith knew - did it affect his coaching?

It's a shit, shit, shitty world where another team can and is poaching your coach in the midst of a tourney run. F Furd, I hope they rot in the ACC and the P2 never takes them back.

People can multi task . We played what ciuld be a final four team . Look at their shoulders and biceps. It reminded me of when Baylor beat the crap out of Gonzaga. Older dudes, more mature bodies .

And while people say refs didnt hurt us... i have a pet peeve when they use their off arm to create space.

 

[UberCougars]

You think the kids knew and it affected how they played?

Obviously Smith knew - did it affect his coaching?

It's a shit, shit, shitty world where another team can and is poaching your coach in the midst of a tourney run. F Furd, I hope they rot in the ACC and the P2 never takes them back.

My opinion: of course they knew something was up. They aren’t stupid children.

The players and Smith also knew who on his roster was being actively tampered with throughout the season.

It’s the new reality.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

You think the kids knew and it affected how they played?

Obviously Smith knew - did it affect his coaching?

It's a shit, shit, shitty world where another team can and is poaching your coach in the midst of a tourney run. F Furd, I hope they rot in the ACC and the P2 never takes them back.

Our kids played their asses off on Saturday night and would have won that game if they could have hit from three. There was no sign that people were checking out for next season in the game against Iowa State.

That said, the team definitely was not as focused overall in the games coming up to Saturday night. Who knows if they suspected something but we'll likely never actually know.

 

[walzuu]

I have it on pretty good authority that he began engaging with Staford after the ASU loss. I will leave how that impacted his coaching and the players to you.

 

[UberCougars]

Our kids played their asses off on Saturday night and would have won that game if they could have hit from three. There was no sign that people were checking out for next season in the game against Iowa State.

That said, the team definitely was not as focused overall in the games coming up to Saturday night. Who knows if they suspected something but we'll likely never actually know.

You suspected something.

Your contention is the players in the program who are with him every day, who are being illegally contacted themselves, didn’t?

Ok, sure. 👍

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

You suspected something.

Your contention is the players in the program who are with him every day, who are being illegally contacted themselves, didn’t?

Ok, sure. 👍

To be fair, I would say its highly likely that most kids and coaches at most programs don't expect to see their teammates or coaches the next year any more.

 

[roses04]

First of all, Smith is going to one of the most highly respected academic universities in the world. So, I can't fault him for leaving, I don't have to wish him well, but I get it. Will he win conference championships at Stanford? Highly unlikely, but at long as he puts out a good product and they win more than they lose, he'll keep his job. If he doesn't do that, he probably has 10-15 million or more in his pocket than if he stayed at WSU.

When did he know he was leaving? When he said we will wait to the end of the season to discuss my contract extension. About the same time it was announced the football staff was taking a 10% pay cut. Did the players know? Well, they were a power 5 conference when they signed and now they are going back to the lower level conference Smith just left, do you believe the players thought he was going to take a step back? I would assume many of our players have been contacted about hitting the portal, with promises of 100K to 500K or more if they leave, I would assume some those people told them Smith was leaving even if it wasn't true.

In the bright side, of the 8-9 players deep on the roster this year, only one was on the roster last year, and look what Smith did with this team. Several teams in the tournament had complete roster turnovers and coaching turnover as well. I don't like, in fact I hate it, but it is the way college sports are these days.