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WSU Basketball | Patrick Simon goes crimson and gray

Lew Wright's photo
Washington State Cougars Examiner

The youngest student/athlete ever to verbally commit to play for Washington State University officially signed on today.

Wednesday afternoon, Coach Ken Bone was clearly pleased to announce that Patrick Simon, the young man from Ephrata, WA, is now the newest member of the WSU men's basketball program.

Originally recruited and verbally committing to former WSU Coach Tony Bennett, Simon considered taking a look at other basketball programs when Bennett left Pullman for Virginia. Almost as soon as he took on the job at Washington State, Coach Bone made certain Simon knew he wanted him to become a Coug.

Two years ago the 6'8" 205 pound Simon was named to the 2-A first-team All-State and All-Central Washington Athletic Conference honors as a sophomore. That season he led Ephrata HS to a 25-2 record and the 2A State Championship while being named to the all-tournament team. He was forced to miss last season while recovering from a broken foot. Going into this season, Simon was named Third Team Best in the West by the Long Beach Press Telegram. Heady stuff for a young man who wasn't able to compete his junior year.

Coach Bone had this to say about Simon:

"He knows how to play. He’s unselfish. He’s also a great shooter. I think he’s going to bring a lot to the table and we’re excited to have him in the program."

"We think there’ll be times where he can go inside and post up a little bit. He does have a nice post up game. But I foresee him more on the perimeter."  - WSU Coach Ken Bone

As for his fit into the Cougar hoops program, Simon's strength at the college level may prove to be his shooting touch. His offensive skills should compliment the team.

"We have a team of good shooters, but not a lot of great 3-point shooters. The other night Klay Thompson was 4-4 from the 3-point line and the rest of the team was 1-9. Now I don’t think that will always be the case, but we would love to add a few more shooters to the program." - Coach Bone

This weekend one more student/athlete is expected to sign a Letter of Intent to play basketball for WSU.

 

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, Washington State Cougars Examiner

A graduate of Washington State University, Lew Wright has covered Cougar athletics for over a decade. His work has been published in a number of national and local print and online media including: New York Times, Washington Post, Business Week, LA Business Journal and a number of Southern...

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