WSU Cougar Basketball Opens With Midnight Mayhem

by Brian Floyd on Oct 15, 2010 10:11 PM PDT

Basketball finally arrived on the Palouse with Midnight Mayhem in Bohler Gym. In front of a packed house, the men's and women's basketball teams put on a show tonight and gave us a glimpse of things to come.

The format consisted of a men's and women's three point contest, an eight minute scrimmage and dunk contest to cap the night off. It was entertaining from start to finish and well worth the time.

The women get top billing tonight. They put on a show and deserve some love for the work they put in.
The ladies have some shooters this year. Shooting from the men's three-point line, freshman Sage Romberg showed-off a sweet stroke and was raining threes. That continued in the scrimmage later in the night.
The size June Daugherty recruited up front was evident in the scimmage. 6'8 Jessica Oestreicher is healthy and used her exception size as an advantage. Her footwork may need some work, but simply having that size down low can't hurt. Carly Noles and Hana Potter also played in the low-post and did well.
Jazmine Perkins can flat play. Shes quick, smooth and can drive to the hole and finish. Perkins was fun to watch run the point and strung together some effortless passes that were right on the money.
I watched Katie Grad play in high school and came away impressed. Tonight, she showed an ability to slash, pass and finish in traffic. A back-court of Grad and Perkins should be a fun one to watch.
Daughtery's girls can get out and run. They were up and down the court in the scrimmage and showed no hesitation driving the lane. They all showed off excellent vision and passing in transition, making for an exciting game
Want to know about the men? Read on after the jump.

So, about that men's team. It sure looks like this is the squad Ken Bone wanted. Athleticism? Check. Willing and able to run the floor? Double check. Ability to jump out of the gym? You have no idea.

Patrick Simon won the three-point contest, taking down fellow newcomer Faisel Aden. Simon has a nice stroke and showed off the range we all expected in the contest. Aden has a bit of a funky stroke that creates some side-spin, but it works for him.

The best leaper on the team is still Marcus Capers. The best dunker on the team might surprise you. You winner of the dunk contest tonight was freshman Dexter Kernich-Drew. The kid looks goofy and unathletic on the surface, but man can he jump. Using a minimal amount of effort, Kernich-Drew was getting head-high with the rim. His winning dunk was a sweet one-handed 360, the second he pulled off on the day.

The funniest moment came during the first round of dunks. Kernich-Drew brought out a short kid -- maybe 5'6 -- and dunked over him with ease. Capers, up right after Kernich-Drew, brought his own prop to the party -- 6'11 Steven Bjornstand. Capers got up and over him with ease, one-upper the freshman.

You other finalist in the dunk contest? None other than freshman Dre Winston Jr. Like I said, this team is athletic and bouncy. All of them, with the exception of walk-on Ben Loewen, can dunk with ease and put on a show.

Brock Motum, DeAngelo Casto and Steven Bjornstad all put on some noticeable weight -- in a good way. If he gets healthy, Bjornstad gives the Cougs another body to bang around in the low post.

Casto also hit a three. It looked about a million times more natural than Aron Baynes' three a few years ago.

Aden looks so smooth handing the ball. His passes were on point and he can get to the bucket or show-off a nice mid-range jumper. Look for him to run the point at times, giving the Cougs another capable ball handler. He also has the smallest ankles/legs I've ever seen. I'm scared they're going to break.

Speaker of guys that can run the point, hello Dre Winston Jr. He's small, both in height and weight, but my goodness is he quick. Winston showed off a quick first step in the scrimmage, showing off the ability to change gears at the drop of a hat when need. Backup point guards do grow on trees.

Simon is bigger than you think. Listen at 215, he actually holds his weight better than Motum and looks built enough to handle a bit of a pounding. He looks like a face-up guy, but he also looks mature enough to come in and compete right now.

Kernich-Drew is my new favorite player.

Klay Thompson -- remember him? -- opened the scimmage with a Capers (tm) tip-dunk, threw down an alley-oop a few possession later and ended his night stroller down the court and hitting a pull-up 30 footer. Ho-hum a typical Klay Thompson night.

Reggie Moore clanked back-to-back dunks on alternating possession. Still, he looks like he added weight that should help him with the rigors of the Pac-10 season.

Abe Lodwick: Also bigger. He also added a Lincoln-esque beard. Whatever works for him.

Casto almost brought down the backboard on a reverse dunk. Catching the ball in step, his momentum carried him past the hoop, forcing him to throw it down behind his head, causing the backboard to shake back-and-forth. It's gonna happen.

If you want to know if they can play defense, tonight isn't the night to ask. After a few possession of All-Star game defense, Ken Bone stopped the game and reminded them there's a defensive aspect to basketball. Still, it's a scrimmage and it was a glorified dunk contest.

I forgot one last note on uniforms. The women's are new this year and there's one subtle change you'll notice if you look closely at the white uniforms. On the back, in a faint silver/gray, the uniforms have the Coug logo laid under the numbers. It's large, but it's subtle enough that it doesn't dominate the uniform. Very cool.

That's it from Pullman. If nothing else, these guys -- and gals -- will be fun to watch. The athleticism is apparent right from the start, even though some of these kids may not look the part -- I'm looking at you Dexter. One month til real basketball!

Remember you can find anything we do here and various other news at notes at our WSU basketball preseason StoryStream at SB Nation Seattle.

Edit: Highlights via the WSUAthletics Youtube Channel!

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Comments

Even our scrimmages have Capers tip-dunks (TM)

UW/WSU games are going to be a lot more interesting now that we’re essentially the exact same style of basketball team.

Motum put on weight? That’s as unbelievable as Cowgill gaining 20.

Writer: CougCenter Twitterer: @GradyClapp

by Grady Clapp on Oct 15, 2010 10:17 PM PDT reply actions

Bjornstad looks like he put on 50

Casto also looks built. Motum finally got the sandwich we were hoping he’d get.

CougCenter, SBNation Seattle, @FloydCoug

by Brian Floyd on Oct 15, 2010 10:21 PM PDT up reply actions

Motum also did his patented rim pull-up tonight

Kinda like this.

CougCenter, SBNation Seattle, @FloydCoug

by Brian Floyd on Oct 15, 2010 10:22 PM PDT up reply actions

That is awkward

As it appears he is attempting to do dirty, possibly illegal, things to the backboard.

by 02Coug on Oct 16, 2010 12:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Look at those pythons...

The K is special

by J.J. FeKl on Oct 17, 2010 3:23 PM PDT up reply actions

The ability to "jump out of the jump" is very underrated :)

Klay Thompson is my man crush

by crimson and gray on Oct 15, 2010 10:19 PM PDT via mobile reply actions

Gym! I totally meant gym!

CougCenter, SBNation Seattle, @FloydCoug

by Brian Floyd on Oct 15, 2010 10:26 PM PDT up reply actions

Also

Anyone know if they’re recording video again and putting it up online?

Writer: CougCenter Twitterer: @GradyClapp

by Grady Clapp on Oct 15, 2010 10:20 PM PDT reply actions

I know they had cameras there

If that doesn’t work, a guy I was with recorded the last half of the dunk contest, so I should be able to snag that at least.

CougCenter, SBNation Seattle, @FloydCoug

by Brian Floyd on Oct 15, 2010 10:21 PM PDT up reply actions

No

There the sports video crew did not tape this. WSU athletic dept. taped parts of it and will probably put it on the Basketball blog or something, but we didn’t tape the complete show.

Cougar Football 2010: *FOCUSTENSITY!*
@JeffDCollier - PSN-Colltrain

by GoCougs on Oct 15, 2010 10:22 PM PDT up reply actions

In fact...

They already posted some of it on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4NuswZFgTs
That’s the most video you’re going to get.

Cougar Football 2010: *FOCUSTENSITY!*
@JeffDCollier - PSN-Colltrain

by GoCougs on Oct 15, 2010 10:27 PM PDT up reply actions

Embeded!

CougCenter, SBNation Seattle, @FloydCoug

by Brian Floyd on Oct 15, 2010 10:28 PM PDT up reply actions

why all the undershirts?

by dflynnwsu on Oct 15, 2010 10:37 PM PDT up reply actions

Awesome

DKD can get up… I had no idea he was going to be that athletic. What a find by Ben Johnson.

I’m fairly convinced there’s no player in college basketball who can make that dunk look as easy as Klay Thompson did. I’m excited to see Simon has put on some size from his time in Ephrata… we should be incredibly hard to match up with on the perimeter. Motum, Lodwick, Klay and Simon are all upper 6’ guys who have the ability to drain threes.

Also, congrats to Nike for giving us women’s jerseys that have the right shades of crimson and gray.

Writer: CougCenter Twitterer: @GradyClapp

by Grady Clapp on Oct 16, 2010 10:15 AM PDT up reply actions

I really like the women's jerseys

And Kernich-Drew was a pleasant surprise. Watching him warm-up, I was thinking there’s no way this kid can compete. Then, out of nowhere, he sprung up and flushed a dunk, making it look easy. You could hear the rumblings starting in the gym. Next time up: windmill. Last time: 360. All in the layup lines.

CougCenter, SBNation Seattle, @FloydCoug

by Brian Floyd on Oct 16, 2010 10:19 AM PDT up reply actions

That was a ton of fun!

Crowd was fantastic – Great atmosphere! This team is athletic and going to put on a bunch or exciting games. I can’t wait to see how high this team can go this season.

Cougar Football 2010: *FOCUSTENSITY!*
@JeffDCollier - PSN-Colltrain

by GoCougs on Oct 15, 2010 10:23 PM PDT reply actions

I was impressed with the crowd

They packed the place. And the athleticism, like you said, was very impressive. This isn’t a Bennett team by any means.

CougCenter, SBNation Seattle, @FloydCoug

by Brian Floyd on Oct 15, 2010 10:24 PM PDT up reply actions

Finally I will be able to break out a couple of basketball GIF's.

I wasn’t around last basketball season so ideas are welcomed.

by Mark Sandritter on Oct 15, 2010 10:29 PM PDT reply actions

Slam Dunk Contest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEq5Vg3RIro

scrimmage to follow…

by cordodor on Oct 15, 2010 11:12 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miCkR9FC2iE

by cordodor on Oct 16, 2010 7:49 AM PDT up reply actions

Excited for this season to start

Both the mens and women’s teams should be fun to watch.

Have a feeling this is going to be a very very good season for our women’s team. Coach Daughtery has put together some amazing recruiting classes since she got here and just feels like they are about to break though and pay off this season.

by spokanecougar on Oct 15, 2010 11:15 PM PDT reply actions

I think Macus Capers described his dunk the best over Twitter...

MarcusCapers0 – Marcus Capers
“cant believe i jump ove steve”
24 minutes ago

Cougar Football 2010: *FOCUSTENSITY!*
@JeffDCollier - PSN-Colltrain

by GoCougs on Oct 16, 2010 12:21 AM PDT reply actions

cant believe jump ove steve indeed

Writer: CougCenter Twitterer: @GradyClapp

by Grady Clapp on Oct 16, 2010 10:18 AM PDT up reply actions

At a former workplace, a buddy came in wearing shorts on casual day...

the manager and I were out front shooting the bull while he had a smoke. He stops mid sentence as the buddy’s strolling up, lifts his glasses with a squinty look on his face and says, “Are those your legs or are you riding a chicken?”

This

Aden looks so smooth handing the ball. His passes were on point and he can get to the bucket or show-off a nice mid-range jumper. Look for him to run the point at times, giving the Cougs another capable ball handler. He also has the smallest ankles/legs I’ve ever seen. I’m scared they’re going to break.

reminds me of that story.

by TiltingRight on Oct 16, 2010 12:32 AM PDT reply actions

Is DKD the Carlton from Down Under?

"I've choked bigger men than you! Goulet!" Robert Goulet aka Will Ferrell

by SoCalCoug on Oct 16, 2010 9:42 AM PDT reply actions

Love Abe's new beard, every team needs one.

-Love Casto & the new size. Animal.
-Dre looks quick. I was surprised by his hops.
-Klay will have a great year.
-Motum put on size. Check.
-Simon may surprise some people.
-Didn’t see enough of Aden to know.

"I've choked bigger men than you! Goulet!" Robert Goulet aka Will Ferrell

by SoCalCoug on Oct 16, 2010 9:52 AM PDT reply actions

Re: Abe

Do pictures of him wearing a stovepipe hat exist?

The K is special

by J.J. FeKl on Oct 17, 2010 4:01 PM PDT up reply actions

Wow!

"I've choked bigger men than you! Goulet!" Robert Goulet aka Will Ferrell

by SoCalCoug on Oct 16, 2010 9:54 AM PDT reply actions

Thoughts on the scrimmage

-I’m going to use the “it’s just a scrimmage” explanation for that awful display of jump-shooting. I believe Casto was the first player to hit a three… that’s not a great sign.

-At the start of last season, Brock Motum fell down on a breakaway layup against LCSC. Start of this season? He’s throwing it down with authority. Offseason work in the gym pays off, folks.

-It kind of creeps me out Aden is wearing #11. I don’t think a Coug has worn that number since Thomas Kelati.

-DKD and Lodwick were impressive. Based on Bone’s habits last year I’d guess that Dexter won’t be redshirting.

-Klay and Casto are still phenomenal. Reggie would’ve looked better had he been able to finish a dunk. Dre Winston Jr. was a nice find. This team has some depth… it’s going to be very interesting to see what they do with it.

Writer: CougCenter Twitterer: @GradyClapp

by Grady Clapp on Oct 16, 2010 10:56 AM PDT reply actions

Xavier Thames wore it last year.

The K is special

by J.J. FeKl on Oct 17, 2010 2:09 PM PDT up reply actions

here’s a stat for you, Klay thompson shot 35% from the field in pac-10 play, he is the most overrated player in the pac-10. also he looks like he is going to cry at all times. and did you also realize that klay thompson in 4 games against the dawgs has never scored in double figures and he has shot 10-47. that guys legit!! against top competition he doesn’t even bother to show up, his stats are inflated by scoring against a bunch of cupcakes, name 1 game against a good team that klay thompson won for you, yeah you can’t do it because it hasn’t happened. it must be real nice to have such a great player who chokes in tough games. and don’t say youth is an excuse, in college BB youth is not really a factor like you go to excuse for your pathetic football team

by grubes on Oct 16, 2010 11:40 AM PDT reply actions

That's nice.

Would you like a cracker?

by Aaron Whiteman on Oct 16, 2010 11:51 AM PDT up reply actions

Your my favorite new Husky Troll

And you bring much to the table.

by 02Coug on Oct 16, 2010 12:17 PM PDT up reply actions

Please, use the subject line next time. It is status quo around here.

Thanks, for bringing your in depth expertise. Capitalization and proper writing is always appreciate. Please, read our mission statement before posting.

"I've choked bigger men than you! Goulet!" Robert Goulet aka Will Ferrell

by SoCalCoug on Oct 16, 2010 12:28 PM PDT up reply actions