Maybe WSU’s basketball roster isn’t settled after all?

Roughly a month ago, 7-foot Ukrainian center Volodymyr Markovetskyy popped up in the NCAA’s transfer portal, and with that, it seemed that the roster squeeze faced by Washington State basketball after recruiting Kim Aiken Jr. and Mouhamed Gueye finally had been alleviated.

This morning, though, comes a surprising report: Aiken is looking around again, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello:

This is an extremely odd and confusing report, to say the least. Even if Aiken hasn’t enrolled, he signed with the Cougs and has been practicing with the team on campus for a while. It was widely assumed that he’d be the starter at the 3, most likely alongside Michael Flowers (another transfer), Noah Williams, Efe Abogidi, and Dishon Jackson, supercharging a defense that finished 24th in kenpom.com’s adjusted defensive efficiency.

Speculation immediately centered around the availability of minutes — specifically, whether Gueye (the No. 39 recruit in 2021 according to 247 Sports) was much better than anyone realized. But a source close to the program told me “it’s not a basketball/team issue,” and KREM-TV’s Brenna Greene has reported that a return to WSU is still possible.

On a purely selfish level, I hope he ends up sticking around Pullman. Most important, though, is that whatever is driving this for Aiken gets resolved in a way that works out best for him.

Here’s how the roster currently stands, pending a resolution with Aiken:

Are beer sales finally coming to Martin Stadium?

Hmmmmmmm .......

If it’s happening at one school, it’s hard to imagine that it’s not happening at the other ...

UPDATE: Ok, never mind, I guess.

LINKS

Former Eastern Washington forward Kim Aiken Jr. now mulling transfer from Washington State | The Spokesman-Review
Four months ago, Kim Aiken Jr. was wearing an Eastern Washington uniform, leading the Big Sky Eagles to a near-upset of Kansas in the NCAA Tournament.

This technology could give Bills QB Josh Allen and Bengals QB Joe Burrow a big boost in their NFL careers – The Athletic ($)
An hour after the NFL quarterbacks and the JSerra high schoolers are gone, Palmer and White are training three college quarterbacks: Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Washington State’s Jarrett Guarantano, all of whom came here for the week to sharpen their skills.

Shawn Vestal: WSU should stick to its guns on Rolovich's shots | The Spokesman-Review
Maybe Wazzu ought to make Nick Rolovich do all of his coaching remotely.

Hold WSU coach accountable for refusal to vaccinate | The Seattle Times
WSU football coach Nick Rolovich is behaving selfishly and irresponsibly by refusing to take a COVID-19 vaccine.

Shawn Vestal: WSU should stick to its guns on Rolovich's shots | The Spokesman-Review
Maybe Wazzu ought to make Nick Rolovich do all of his coaching remotely.

WSU Quarterback Jayden de Laura Set to Stand Trial For DUI Thursday | Local | bigcountrynewsconnection.com
PULLMAN - Washington State University quarterback Jayden de Laura will stand trial Thursday on a misdemeanor DUI charge.

NCAA's COVID season gives top seniors bonus year of basketball - Sports Illustrated
Michael Flowers, Washington State - Flowers poured in buckets in his lone season at South Alabama and now will use his extra season of eligibility for a Washington State team positioned for a breakthrough year.

College football 2021 stability rankings -- Rating all 130 FBS teams by coaches, roster and performance
72. Washington State: 25.8 (10.0 coach stability, 9.1 roster stability, 6.7 performance stability)

Women's Basketball Headed Back to Caribbean - Washington State University Athletics

Wrapping up sights and sounds from Washington State's 2021 Pac-12 Football Media Day visit | Pac-12