HOT COUGAR ACTION: Wednesday Morning Links
by Mark Sandritter on Jan 25, 2012 6:01 AM PST
in 2011-2012 WSU Basketball News
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PrintTuesday was a busy day for both current and former Washington State coaches. Ken Bone and June Daugherty held their weekly press conferences while two former coaches on Paul Wulff's staff landed new jobs. Seven coaches from Wulff's staff have new jobs including Jody Sears (Weber State), Chris Ball (Arizona State), Todd Howard (California), Sturdy (Montana State), Niekamp (UL-Monroe), Mike Levenseller (Idaho) and Chris Tormey (Wyoming).
MBB: Ken Bone weekly press conference 1/24 (via WSUCougarAthletics)
June Daugherty Press Conference 1/24 (via WSUCougarAthletics)
Cats hire offensive coordinator, running backs coach | KTVQ.com | Q2 | Billings, Montana
BILLINGS - Montana State football coach Rob Ash isn't wasting any time filling his vacant coaching positions. Todd Sturdy, the former offensive coordinator at Washington State, gets the nod as MSU's new offensive coordinator.
Berry Announces Travis Niekant as Tight Ends Coach
MONROE, La. -- ULM head football coach Todd Berry announced Tuesday the hiring of Travis Niekamp as the new tight ends coach for the Warhawks. His hire is pending final approval by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.
I'm not sure who Travis Niekant is, but I bet he knows Aden Faisal.
USBWA > News > Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week
ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Washington State guard Aden Faisal as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 22. The USBWA's weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 21 this season.
Cougars Travel South to Take on Arizona and Arizona State - The Washington State University Official Athletic Site
COUGARS HIT THE ROAD TO TAKE ON ARIZONA IN A TELEVISED EVENT: The Washington State University men's basketball team (11-8, 3-4) hits the road to face the Arizona Wildcats (13-7, 4-3) Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. PT. (8:30 p.m. MT) at the McKale Center. The game will be nationally televised on FSN/ROOT. Saturday the Cougars travel to Tempe, Ariz. to take on Arizona State (6-13, 2-5) at 2 p.m. PT (3 p.m. MT) at Wells Fargo Arena. Saturday's game can be seen on ROOT. In addition, the games can be heard on the Cougar Radio Network with Bud Nameck's call. Please see the list of affiliates on page one of today's notes for more information.
WSU football assistants highest paid in school history " Kitsap Sun
Washington State athletic director Bill Moos constantly emphasizes that the price of success is not cheap, and Moos backed up his words by approving the highest assistant coach's salary in school history for new football defensive coordinator and secondary coach Mike Breske.
Aden finds a home at Washington State
Looking for a scorer in case Klay Thompson jumped to the NBA after his sophomore season, Washington State coach Ken Bone found Faisal Aden in a camp for junior college players.
Pac-12 football: Hotline projections for the 2012 season | College Hotline
6. Washington State: Just as the middle of the North is muddled with Cal, Stanford and Washington, so to is the bottom. WSU could very well overtake Oregon State — Mike Leach just might have more talent at his disposal than Mike Riley (assuming, for the moment, that QB Jeff Tuel stays healthy). Don’t be surprised to see the Cougars in a bowl game.
Emerick is Leach’s right-hand man - Spokesman.com - Jan. 25, 2012
PULLMAN – Dave Emerick’s explanation of his official title on Washington State’s football staff is fairly simple. It also provides a humorous glimpse of his boss’ personality.
Success at home’s a constant in league
It’s definitely tempting to go overboard about Washington State’s weekend, with wins over two teams that were in first place entering each game, but should we have really been surprised? The games were in Pullman, after all, and doesn’t the home team always win in the Pac-12? Well, almost.
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I don't see any need for Bone to change his starting lineup
I don’t think that iit s exepionally strong in any facet, but it is balanced between scoring, defense, and rebound potential. I like to see that in place for the first 5 minutes of the game. Then, as the game goes along, I like see him juggle personnel and lineups as needed. I think he should have gotten all the credit in the world for his player management during the past two games. He had the right people on the floor at the right time. Now it seems that he wants to start off with the small-offensive heavy lineup by inserting Lodwick and Aden in the starting lineup (seemed to me he’s leanding that way). But I think you lose too much rebounding and defense to start off a game and if we start off a little cold on the shooting end, we could see some early deficits.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
I'd definitely add in lodwick for enquist.
Nothing that charlie gives you that abe doesn’t.
"Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can!" | Herb Brooks
by Coug999 on Jan 25, 2012 9:12 AM PST via Android app up reply actions
Except for Charlieball
Attractive, Intelligent, Smart A**
by Neil Vincent Roberts on Jan 25, 2012 9:28 AM PST up reply actions
Like Bone said.....
Charlie gives you a big presence down low. He can give you some rebounding that Abe cannot, but that is about it. But Charlies minutes have gone way south since Colorado. Like Bone mentioned, starting probably isn’t all that big of an issue in his mind or the players. I’d rather come off the bench and play 25-30 minutes than start and play 10-14, which is what Charlies is doing. But, I think that the Lodwick-Enquist substitution is in the starting lineup is probably about a 50/50. In fact, I agree with you that I would probably make that change myself.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
Never good when someone gets fired, but I was very happy to see Sturdy depart Pullman
Good luck at MSU, maybe your stupid play calling does better in the FCS than in the FBS.
I actually thought Sturdy was getting better
He guided WSU to a top 15 finish in passing offense despite losing his best quarterback in the first game, then shuffling around the other two QBs the rest of the season. His #3 guy threw for 494 yards in one game as a freshman. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he’s Mike Holmgren, but I thought he did ok.
I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of bubble gum.
I think Sturdy will do well with consistancy
All the injuries and rebuilding that his teams went through in Pullman forced him to be conservative just so players could keep up. MSU is a good program, who went to the playoffs last season. He’ll do well.
Twitter: @JeffdCollier | Go Cougs!
"People ask me 'why Washington State'... 'Well that's a stupid question...'" - Mike Leach
I think it's pretty obvious Sturdy did a hell of a job this year
And if you can’t see that, I’m pretty sure that’s your failing and not his.
by Jeff Nusser on Jan 25, 2012 11:34 AM PST up reply actions
Stop giiving Sturdy credit for what Lobbestael did
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
by PullManiac on Jan 25, 2012 11:45 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
And Tuel, and Halliday
It’s a real testament to those guys that not one, not two, but THREE quarterbacks were all able to overcome such ineptitude!
by Jeff Nusser on Jan 25, 2012 11:48 AM PST up reply actions
I'm going to have a lightweight Montana State fan now
He will have a good QB to start wiith in McGhee. I’ll bet he lands a pretty good gig in the next 5-7 years.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
Yes, probably my failings then
But I still stand by what I said. I was never a fan of Sturdy and I think Wulff stood by him to long leading to his downfall, and I say this as a Wulff supporter who wanted to give him one more year.
Oh well though, I am very happy with our new coaching staff and no point to dwell on the past, its time to move forward with Leach and his band of pirates.
by spokanecougar on Jan 25, 2012 12:35 PM PST up reply actions
Red zone execution.
Enough said.
"Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can!" | Herb Brooks
by Coug999 on Jan 25, 2012 3:44 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Backwards visor wearing?
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
by PullManiac on Jan 25, 2012 5:02 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Don't need to.
It was so clear what we were going to call on 2nd and 3rd down in the redzone specifically inside the 10. 2nd down was always a run, then 3rd down was a pass. 4th down was a field goal attempt….
So I was wrong on 2nd down but correct on 3rd down
I compiled all of the plays per down inside the redzone and broke them up by where they were at on the field. (This does not include non conference games or OSU because ESPN does not have the play-by-play for that game and I do not know where else to find play-by-play)
As you can see, I was incorrect about the 2nd down play calling, however you can see a clear difference on first down on where we were inside the redzone. On 3rd down we only ran the ball 3 times all season inside the redzone and that 1 vs 11 is painful to see.
20 to the 11 yard line
Dwn Run Pass
1st – 5 vs 12
2nd – 5 vs 8
3rd – 2 vs 6
4th – 0 vs 1
10 yard line or less
Dwn Run Pass
1st – 10 vs 4
2nd – 5 vs 4
3rd – 1 vs 11
4th – 0 vs 1
And it surprises you that 3rd down tends to be more of a passing down?
If we have 3rd and goal on the 8 yard line, should we run it sometimes in that situation for balance? Or even the 4 or 5. Come on man, you’re better than that.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
It doesn't suprise me
But that goes with my point, it doesn’t surprise them either. My point was more about how predictable we were in situations, yes 3rd down is mainly a passing down especially for a passing team that was behind in quite a few of its games so we were move likely to pass. I think the more surprising number is that we ran the ball 71% of the time on first and goal. and passed the ball 70.5% of the time on the first down we had in the redzone. Those more then any other down should be less predictable.
Distance will dictate what you do on third down (and often what you do on other downs as well)
I don’t think you have made your case for the issue being play calling at all. I would bet that if you look for three teams that had success n the redzone, you would see a similar distribution. Granted, it might be more balanced because they had more opportunities in the red zone.
Lastly, we really only had two games that our red zone production bite us in the rear, UCLA and Oregon. I don’t have an explanation for the UCLA game except for a total meltdown. But the Oregon game, the problem was clear in that our quarterback made poor throwing decisions (one throw was into triple coverage). Red zone cost us the UCLA game and cost a shot to stay close in Oregon, but it isn’t the Achilles Heel that some of you are trying to make it to be. And it certainly is not a reflection on Sturdy.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
UCLA was actually the game I was thinking about when I made the original comment
I don’t think Sturdy was the Achilles Heel but I do feel he was a part of the problem. There were too many things to just blame it on one person, however I did view him as someone that should have been upgraded. He wasn’t necessarily terrible, but I don’t think he was good.
I think that is why is it is important to focus on the big picture
Like Jeff showed you below, statistically we were very good in the red zone. I was also referring to the red zonebeing our Achilles Heel, and as his stats show, it wasn’t. That’’s why I pointed out that it was really only two games. Our red zone performance costs us what would have been a huge win, but it was not a widespread problem. I still think you will be hard pressed to find an argument against Sturdy. We didn’t win a lot of games, but most people when they talked about WSU talked about our offense. That was the case for the last two seasons.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
Yep
And I don’t think it really helps that I was usually hammered during the games. Damn you Fireball!
Weird thing about that UCLA game
Two touchdowns bounced off Karstetter’s hands. And, as we’ve explained many times, UCLA’s bend-but-don’t-break defense lends itself to small windows in the red zone. And small windows combined with Lobbestael’s arm hamstrings everything.
Yeah i would't argue that lack of execution contributed
Especially Karstetter in that game. However…Did you watch the conference championship game lol. I think the defense was broken. but seriously the gave up over 40 points 5 times (that is more then us!) Their defense was just as horrible as ours was and we should have exploited it. Arizona scored 48 on them the week after us.
Using the transitive property is not the way to win arguments around these parts
Just a public service announcement.
by Jeff Nusser on Jan 25, 2012 10:13 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I wasn't saying we should have beat them because arizona did
I was saying their defense wasn’t good and I don’t think they were a bend don’t break defense. I was using other teams and how many points they scored as a reference of why I think that. I guess I kind of jumbled it together now that i reread it. I’ll put it this way, they gave up 31.4 points per game which is 92nd nationally which is pretty bad, I don’t think there is a valid argument to them having a good defense.
by WazzuCrew11 on Jan 25, 2012 10:35 PM PST up reply actions
No, there's not.
But if Karstetter catches those two TDs, and they put up 33 points and win instead of 25 and lose, do you feel differently?
by Jeff Nusser on Jan 25, 2012 10:37 PM PST up reply actions
Probably
But there was a lot more then just the redzone
play calling in that game that I did not like. We were very heavy on the run on first downs(same with Oregon but for reasons I actually agree with). But yes winning tends to cure all negativity or shortcomings that may still be apparent.
by WazzuCrew11 on Jan 25, 2012 11:11 PM PST up reply actions
So, half your argument is completely invalid
And the other half is probably invalid. Thank you for doing the research.
By the way, are you aware that our red zone TD% was 42nd nationally? I’m guessing no.
Oh, and if you want to compile all the red zone numbers
You can find the rest of your missing play-by-play here.
I didn't know the national ranking
But I did know that we were 4th in the Pac-12 and that UW, Stanford and Oregon blow our redzone TD% out of the water.
Sure.
But to compare where we’re at compared to those teams and say we that’s not good enough is a little silly, right? I mean, we were a 4-8 team that had the fourth best red zone TD%. That says we were performing at least in line with expectations.
Personally, I think the fact that we were able to score TDs on that many possessions without any really running game is a testament to his playcalling, not the other way around.
by Jeff Nusser on Jan 25, 2012 9:13 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Somewhat
I think we needed to be as good as them if we wanted to be better then 4-8. We knew our defense was going to be our Achilles Heel and if we wanted wins it was going to be up to the offense.
I can agree with that somewhat, but having MQW lets you get away with a lot of that. It would be like saying how impressive Scott Linehan is because they can score a high TD% without a run game.
I just think we needed way more consistency with our redzone offense, it was there one game and gone the next and we did take advantage of some pretty poor defensive teams.
Well, I don't know what to tell you.
Everything we’ve discussed here has debunked your anecdotal theories. If you insist on clinging to them, I guess that’s your choice. But it’s probably time to close this subthread.
by Jeff Nusser on Jan 25, 2012 10:14 PM PST up reply actions
Trying not to pile on but
Three different starting QB’s (and a single WR pass) compile these stats:
Yards CM % YPP TDs INT Ratings
3867 60.4 7.86 30 12 141.6
Attractive, Intelligent, Smart A**
by Neil Vincent Roberts on Jan 26, 2012 9:32 AM PST up reply actions
Not to pile on here,
but CML is going to sling the rock upwards of 70% on every down regardless of distance. Predictable?
#CougHarmonyOnTwitter #teamnopants
by TiltingRight on Jan 25, 2012 10:16 PM PST up reply actions 7 recs
Sooooo....
We were never allowed to use first down? Or does using first down plays hurt your argument?
I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of bubble gum.
by SpectreFCO on Jan 25, 2012 5:49 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
My point was I saw a trend on 2nd and especially 3rd downs
I don’t remember seeing a trend for first downs, but i could be wrong. I was just going off of what I saw when watching the games. I am going to go look at the play-by-play right now and see if it is true.
I think theres something to be said by the fact that only 2 of the 7 assistants with jobs are in bcs conferences.
"Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can!" | Herb Brooks
by Coug999 on Jan 25, 2012 10:39 AM PST via Android app reply actions
Get smart Bone
Read The Evergreen Free copies everywhere..
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
/facepalm
CougCenter In Reid We Trust, Twitter!
by Craig Powers on Jan 25, 2012 12:54 PM PST up reply actions
That might be the most irresponsible piece of journalism I've read in a very, very long time.
by Jeff Nusser on Jan 25, 2012 12:56 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I think you for got to write, "and I use the term 'journalism' loosely."
What, it’s not normal for a publication to use the phrase “hating on his best player?” That article is about enough to detonate the unintentional comedy scale.
I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of bubble gum.
Sorry, meant "hate on those numbers."
Still, a ridiculous thing to write.
I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of bubble gum.
Except as a former Evergreen editor and high school journalism adviser
I’m not even remotely laughing. I’m embarrassed.
Wasn't a shot at you or the paper in general
More of a shot at the writer, and the editor I guess
I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of bubble gum.
I didn't think it was
Just expressing my personal disappointment. If you want to laugh, be my guest. This kid deserves to be ridiculed for that junk.
It's like the Bleacher Report trolled the Evergreen.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
by kelly20210 on Jan 26, 2012 1:43 AM PST up reply actions 3 recs
One sentence does not a paragraph make.
My high school journalism teacher would red pencil the he** out of this.
"One sentence does not a paragraph make."
Steve Kelley disagrees.
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 25, 2012 5:16 PM PST up reply actions
Are you implying that Steve Kelley has written complete sentences?
by 02Coug on Jan 25, 2012 10:18 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
And that is why I no longer read teh Daily Evergreen......
Sorry Brett
Attractive, Intelligent, Smart A**
by Neil Vincent Roberts on Jan 25, 2012 1:15 PM PST up reply actions
teh, the
same thing
Attractive, Intelligent, Smart A**
by Neil Vincent Roberts on Jan 25, 2012 1:15 PM PST up reply actions
I felt it was more coherent than that article.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
That.... just, wow.
I tried to comment on it, I really did, but I just couldn’t. There is so much wrong there it wouldn’t have done a bit of good to point it out.
by johnnycougar on Jan 25, 2012 1:54 PM PST up reply actions
I Think this is the best part of the whole damn thing
After losing former Cougs Klay Thompson and DeAngelo Casto after last season for greener pastures, it only makes sense that some players on the roster feel resentment towards the head man.
Damn you Ken Bone for having players go to greener pastures! I resent you more then ever!!!
by WazzuCrew11 on Jan 25, 2012 4:02 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
I don't think you can easily choose one statement over another
Even a top 20 list of stupid statements from that article would have to omit some real zingers.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
This was one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever read.
CougCenter OG since 9/2/2008 | @TheSoCalCoug
Does it top all of my statements?
If My Life Is Great, Why Am I Not Happy?
by well you win some and lose others on Jan 25, 2012 7:18 PM PST up reply actions 6 recs
At the rate you're going
You will need to comment a minimum of 30 times daily for the next 38 years to reach a third of the ridiculousness of that article.
Get busy and try no to think to hard.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
i enjoyed this one
The point about Aden’s turnovers and assists brings into question what Bone wants out of his senior guard. Bone replaced Aden in the starting lineup with freshman Davonte Lacy earlier this season, and it begs the question, does Bone have control of his locker room?
Aden turning the ball over = Bone not having control over the locker room.
by BigWood! on Jan 26, 2012 8:12 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Damn you and your inability to click "Open in New Window"
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 25, 2012 5:12 PM PST up reply actions
Haha it's ok.
When you include a link, though, it’s always nice to check the “Open in a New Window” box. Otherwise clicking on the link opens it in this window, taking the user away from whatever post s/he is on, and is kind of a pain. A lot of people mousewheel click or right click, open in new tab regardless, but it’s just a thing to do to make it easier.
Like I said, it’s not really a big deal. A minor annoyance.
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 25, 2012 5:22 PM PST up reply actions
Aha, I have always wondered why some links do that and others don't
I will look to do that in the future.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
I don't trust anyone to check the box.
So I always just click open in new window
"Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can!" | Herb Brooks
I think its just one of Kyles pet peeves
I think most people always right click the links, mainly out of habit, especially since all the main articles don’t open in a new tab!
Kyle's Mouse is a one click
If My Life Is Great, Why Am I Not Happy?
by well you win some and lose others on Jan 25, 2012 7:21 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Does anybody know if Wullf has found a coaching job
Just curious..
nothing reported yet
#CougHarmonyOnTwitter #teamnopants
by TiltingRight on Jan 25, 2012 1:41 PM PST up reply actions
I'd be surprised if he doesn't take a year off.
He’s been grinding, and he’s going to be paid handsomely to do nothing — unlike his assistants, who were all on the standard year-to-year contracts.
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