WSU Basketball | Coach Ken Bone talks recruiting and more...

Washington State Cougar men's basketball is just about ready for another season to begin.

Exhibition has come and gone.

News conferences with new head man, Coach Ken Bone will be a regular thing beginning this morning. Yes, Coach Bone is definitely a morning person.

National Letter of Intent (NLI) signings should begin pouring through fax machines across the country today. We should have some news on that front for Cougar Nation later today.

In short,  it's time for Cougar Hoops and let the fun begin!

First game on the schedule for WSU will roll around this coming Friday evening. For those of you into superstitions, the Cougs open the Ken Bone era on a Friday the 13th. The opponent will be the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State. During his news conference this morning, Coach Bone had this to say about MVS:

“It’s comforting knowing we’re facing somebody who is probably dealing with the same issues we are and that’s a lot of new kids learning a new system. They can shoot the ball much better than they’ve shot in the past according to their coach and from what we’ve seen statistically. They have great quickness and with that they can present some problems.” - WSU Coach Ken Bone

When the Cougs take to the hardwood Friday evening at 7pm, Coach Bone is hoping to see his team do a better job of rebounding than they did Monday night against Lewis-Clark College. Typical of a head coach, he expects the team to tighten up defensively. After all, LCSC shot nearly 26% from the floor in WSU's exhibition game.

The only certain starters for Washington State's season opener are DeAngelo Casto up front, Klay Thompson and Reggie Moore in the backcourt. Actually it would be more accurate to simply say that Thompson and Moore will be starting guards. Against LCSC Coach Bone started four guards and Casto at forward. Get used to that sort of team lineup Cougar Nation. The roster isn't loaded with true big men this season.

Getting the best matchup with a relatively small roster isn't the only challenge facing Coach Bone this season. This will be the first time he's coached a team with two freshmen point guards in Xavier Thames and Moore. Their development will take time, but the WSU coaching staff is focused on providing the support the young players need. No doubt there will be occasions where patience will be required as well.

The NLI's coming into Pullman today should reflect the type of player Coach Bone and his staff are recruiting to continue building up Cougar men's basketball. Qualities in student/athletes Coach Bone looks for include, "...toughness...guys who value defense...and (are) shooters." There's more to the equation beyond those three specifics.

"You want guys who are doing a great job academically so you don’t have to worry about them there. Guys with great character because you don’t want to worry about them there. That is somewhat a given although it doesn’t always happen that way. It’s pretty sweet if you can find quality kids that are doing the right things the other 21 or 22 hours a day when you’re trying to teach a team concept, which we really are. We’re trying to play as a team on both ends of the court. It’s not about you, it’s about us. Those are the kids that understand that and embrace that philosophy, too. It’s guys like that who understand they have to take care of business because they’re a piece of the puzzle." - Coach Bone

Before determining a starting lineup for Friday and locking down recruit's NLI paperwork, Coach Bone and his staff also have tough decisions to make. The issue of which players will redshirt this season hasn't been finalized. Determining the balance between the development of the team and the development of the individual is a serious issue.

It's possible that a tipping point for redshirting players took place during the exhibition game this past Monday. Coach Bone commented on a couple of players who surprised him with their play against LCSC.

"I was surprised Brock Motum played so nervous. After watching the video I really think that’s what it was. He’s a better player than he showed. I felt bad for him because almost everything he did went wrong. I was surprised he didn’t perform a little bit better than that. His first game. He’s a freshman. He struggled. He’ll have better moments and I’m sure better moments will be Friday night."

"I was a little surprised Mike Harthun came out with such confidence as he did. Although we are very glad he did that because we do think he’s a good shooter. And we do think he can put the ball in the basket. That’s something we need from our perimeter guys. I expected him to be a little more hesitant but we’re very pleased that he wasn’t." - Coach Bone

No question this promises to be another exciting year of Cougar basketball.

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