Well, that was a fun day at the Diamond Head Classic, wasn't it? Washington State wins in gut-check game and the night is capped by a battle royale in the stands (we'll get to that in a moment). Here's a few of the notes on another fantastic day for the Cougars.
- Ken Bone is a terrible coach. What's our offense? Do we just dribble around and try to beat people one-on-one? Yesterday, Ken Bone's genius was on display. The Cougs absolutely murdered Baylor's zone -- coming in with a plan and executing it to near perfection. It was a clinical display that should simply make you tip your cap to Bone.
- And how bout Klay Thompson's shot? Listen to the video closely and notice what happened just before the shot. Klay caught his man on a switch, the team, and Bone, recognized it as it happened and an adjustment was made. On the video, you can hear Bone screaming, apparently for an iso. The ball comes to Klay, guarded by 6-foot-1 A.J. Walton, everyone clears out and Klay goes over the top of him. This, my friends, is creating and exploiting mismatches.
- Remember how Renardo Sidney was suspended for Wednesday's game against the Cougs? Well, now you can probably add suspended forever to that list. During the Hawaii-Utah game, ESPN played this video, shot just before the two teams took the court. That's Sidney throwing blows with teammate Elgin Bailey. What a waste of talent.
- WSU will face Butler in the Diamond Head Classic finals on Saturday. Butler held off a barrage of Florida State threes down the stretch, 67-64. It was also just a terrible, terrible game to watch. Butler can play ugly, and they did just that against FSU. We'll get to the match-up sometime before the game, but I'm not too worried about the Bulldogs.
- Win or lose, WSU has made a statement in Hawaii. The Cougs resume is solid either way and I'm not sure Saturday's game means a whole heck of a lot. It would be great to walk away with a win, but it wouldn't be the end of the world to drop the championship game. Either way, it's been a dang good trip.
- Keep in mind WSU won that game with only 27 minutes from Klay Thompson while he dealt with foul trouble. This team isn't Klay Thompson and a bunch of other dudes. It's a team with guys that can, and will, step up at a moment's notice. That's huge for the Cougs.