WSU Basketball | Cougs will focus on two areas to improve their record

Pullman, WA – With the Pac-10 regular season at the halfway point, Washington State men’s basketball head man Coach Ken Bone fielded questions from reporters Tuesday morning. He talked about two areas of focus for his team heading toward the second half of the conference schedule.

The Cougs find themselves right in the mix of things in the Pac-10. Up to this point, it's been a season that has been very predictable only in the fact it’s been unpredictable.

A glance at the conference standings reveals something amazing. Any team could put together a nice run over the final nine games and earn a Pac-10 Championship.

Cal and Arizona sit atop the standings with identical records of 6-3. But the Beavers of Oregon State aren’t out of anything though they are in last place at 3-6.

Five teams in the conference are mired in the middle with records of 4-5. Count Washington State in that group.

Coach Bone was clear about where his team needs to improve to enjoy a measure of success over the remaining nine games.

Transition defense and rebounding are the keys to success for the Cougs.

When it comes to executing better in those key areas, WSU needs, “…to stay locked in mentally and understand what our principles and concepts are in both areas,” said Coach Bone.

For his younger players, this is the time of year where they are being put to the test because they haven’t experienced playing at this level for this length of time. “…there are times where we have to dig deep and sprint our shifts and sprint back on defense better than what we did at Washington,” Coach Bone explained. ”There were a few possessions in the second half where it felt like we just hit the wall.”

In looking for an answer to why things fell apart in the second half against the Huskies last Saturday, Coach Bone was clear there is room for improvement in how he rotates his players before they get to the point of “hitting the wall”.

As for improving on rebounding, Coach Bone actually was referring to when Washington State is on defense. ”Actually putting your body on someone else and keeping them off the glass,” he mentioned as a point of emphasis.

Coach Bone was asked if he’d consider putting two post players in the game at the same time as a method to control the boards. If it were that simple, he’d do it. But in so doing, Bone pointed out the trade off of losing a skilled “4” player who helps bring the ball in play, break half-court traps, help with on-ball situations and even uses quickness for pick and pop plays would be a huge sacrifice.

Exchanging players with different skill sets has consequences. Coach Bone pointed out that, “…what it does is interrupts and affects other parts of our game.”

Tomorrow we'll take a look at two key players and the next opponent for Washington State, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

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