DAILY HOOPS FIX: Midnight Mayhem tonight, Bone with Furness and more

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 16, 2009 2:30 PM PDT in Cougar Basketball Comment 13 comments

With the start of official practices now just a few hours away (they'll have their first real practice at 5 p.m.), we figured this was as good a time as any to start ramping up the basketball coverage.

There's not a whole lot for us to write this time of year, other than our usual preview type stuff -- be looking for that over the next few weeks -- but what we can do is pass along anything we find to hopefully help quench your thirst for "better days ahead." We'll do that with your Daily Hoops Fix.

First of all, don't forget that the start of practices means -- for the first time in a long time -- Midnight Mayhem for the Cougs, tonight around 9:30 p.m. If you're in Pullman, there's no excuse not to be there, since you get the bonus of watching a volleyball match first. If you're not in Pullman, you're still in luck, assuming your life is as uninteresting as mine and you'll be home: You can watch both the volleyball match (which starts at 7 p.m.) and the Midnight Mayhem festivities (starting at 9:30 p.m. or 30 minutes after the volleyball match, whichever is later) for free via webcast at wsucougars.com.

Since we know you'll want to talk about what you see -- including a 3-point contest, a dunk contest and (especially) a scrimmage -- we'll have a volleyball/Midnight Mayhem thread up for you all tonight.

Next, how about hearing directly from the coach himself? Ken Bone was on with 950-AM KJR's Ian Furness in Seattle yesterday, and gave a quick scouting report on how things are going heading into tonight. He sounds cautiously optimistic, but continues to hit on the youth refrain. You can tell he really likes his core of sophomores, just in the way he talks about Klay Thompson (NBA potential as a shooter), DeAngelo Casto (hardest worker on the team), Marcus Capers (special length and quickness) and Mike Harthun (ready to make a serious contribution).

Take the 10 minutes to listen -- it's well worth your time.

Lastly, we've got a couple of links to pass along:

This was up in the FanShots yesterday, but in case you missed it, Daven Harmeling is continuing his excellent work for Cougfan.com, this time giving scouting reports on the newcomers. He also gives scouting reports on the vets today, but that's premium content. (I can only assume that most or all of the Harmeling content will be of the paid variety going forward, now that they've got us hooked.)
The WSU sports information department released its preseason prospectus today, and it's pretty good. It's full of quotes from Bone, and they're actually a little better than the run-of-the-mill variety you generally are used to with these things -- you know, the "we're really counting on _______ to step up this year" kind of quote.

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Read the Harmeling column

Right ouf of the Dick Bennett mold. Really tells ya plainly about a player’s weakness(es). After reading his column, however took a big gulp thinking uh oh we may not be as good as I thought we would be.
I had really high hopes for Motum based upon this summer’s international play. Obviously, we need serious contribution from either Moore or Thames and both sound like they will be able to contribute, but not on a consistent basis this yr.
Give me a few more freshman like Klay was. I wouldn’t say that Klay was outstanding at both ends of the court night in and night out, but was consistently above avg in O and D even if the scoreboard sometimes didn’t show it.

by ptowncoug3012 on Oct 16, 2009 5:21 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I think he was more outstanding at both ends than most people realize

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 16, 2009 6:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Coach Bone's interview

During the interview, he mentioned that Abe Lodwick would be moved to the 4 position this season. I think this is a really interesting move, and am really curious about the rest of your guys’ thoughts on this one. Personally I’m very excited to see him play, his outside shooting touch would definitely be an advantage to stretch out the defense, and with his size he should be able to grab some boards as well.

by crimson coug on Oct 16, 2009 5:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I think it's only going to be an occasional thing

What you have to remember is that Bone’s kind of a mad scientist. He’ll mix and match any way possible to gain an advantage — especially if it gains him an offensive advantage. He’ll sacrifice a little D to make it happen.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 16, 2009 6:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nuss, did you read this?

I agree with you that Thompson was outstanding. This guy thinks Thompson was overrated and that Casto is nowhere near an All Pac 10 player. He may be right about Casto, but I think Casto will be a very highly effective player up near the top of the Pac in rebounds and blocked shots.

Thompson was better than Isaiah Thomas last year and playing in Bones’ system will show it.

The guy doesn’t think much of WSU in the near and distant future.

Read in the comments for his Thompson is overrated remark.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/271666-road-to-the-final-four-whats-wack-with-the-pac-10

by Coug1990 on Oct 17, 2009 8:40 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I set him straight

Although the comment hasn’t shown up yet.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 17, 2009 10:31 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That is incredibly lazy analysis.

If the guy didn’t feel like doing the research, he shouldn’t have wrote that garbage.

CougCenter WSU's second main blog

by Dancing Football on Oct 18, 2009 6:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Still hasn't shown up yet

But, your Duck comment has. I agree about the Ducks, they had already moved backwards last year. This year they are on they’re way back.

by Coug1990 on Oct 17, 2009 11:02 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

It's there now

I think it didn’t like the links.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 17, 2009 11:03 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes it is.

I understand that it is impossible to know a lot about every D1 team. More likely, a national writer will know small amounts about most teams. But, when you make a definitive statement like Thompson is overrated, at least back it up with something.

Great job with explaining to him the error of his beliefs.

by Coug1990 on Oct 17, 2009 11:17 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

It's one of my biggest pet peeves

Spend a little time doing some research. It’s not that tough — all the information is at your fingertips. People get lazy and just spout declarative statements based either on conventional wisdom or extremely small sample sizes of viewing. They need to be reminded every now and again that people really do follow up on the things they say and don’t just believe them because they have a platform.

It’s a lesson I had to learn the hard way, and I’m a better writer for it.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 17, 2009 11:30 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes, people are very lazy at times

You are so right. With the internet, all information is readily available. There should be no excuse, but unless they are held accountable or called out, they do not have to do research.

Look at the national rankings in Women’s volleyball and soccer, there are teams ranked ahead of the Cougars that the Cougars beat. Yes, I know there are other factors involved, but when there are multiple teams, it becomes “other” off-the-field factors more than just on-the-field factors. A little research can can put the emphasis back to where it belongs; the field.

However, while rankings are important, they are not THAT important.

Keep up the interesting work. Thanks

by Coug1990 on Oct 17, 2009 12:00 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs