2009-10 Washigton State Basketball Predictions

Written November 12, 2009 by Rock Henderson

The Bennett family is no longer apart of the Washington State program as Tony Bennett bolted cross country to take the Virginia Cavalier job. In comes Ken Bone to try and build on the success that the Cougars have had the past few seasons. Bone has a ton of experience, but has yet to coach at this level and will most likely learn along with his young team this season. Taking a bit of the pressure off of Bone is their All-American candidate Klay Thompson. His game should expand as Bone prefers a more up tempo pace compared to Bennett’s methodical slow down style. The latest NCAA basketball betting lines show the Cougars at 200-to-1 odds to win the NCAA Tournament this season.

The Cougs were hit pretty hard by graduation. C Aron Baynes was a difference maker in the post with a mean streak to go with his game. He was as dependable as it gets when it came to rebounding the ball and had a sneaky good offensive game. G Taylor Rochestie is the other starter from last year’s team that played a significant role. He was undersized, but had a sweet stroke from beyond the arc and didn’t mind playing the mid range game also. WSU will try to neutralize the loss of these two with the addition of four freshmen, including guards Reggie Moore and Xavier Thames. These young guns will battle it out for the starting point guard position and are capable of filling the void that Rochestie left. Add G Anthony Brown and F Brock Motum to the mix and Cougar Fans have a lot to look forward to in the near future.

Klay Thompson is Mr. Everything for this squad. He can create his own shot and hit on 41% of his three point attempts a year ago. The 6-6 sophomore averaged 12.5 ppg and just over 4 boards. The NBA will be all over this kid when he decides to take his game to the pros, but for now he will have to carry a heavy load for the Cougs. Marcus Capers will most likely get the start at the other F position. He saw action in every game as a freshman and even got nine starts. The scoring doesn’t come as easily for Capersas it does for Thompson, but he has other intangibles that are valuable to this team. Washington State has a ton of question marks in the frontcourt. They could potentially start four guards and F DeAngelo Castro. Castro stands at 6-8 and will have to rebound effectively. He averaged 4.4 ppg and 4 rpg as a freshman and should benefit from the experience gained last season. A freshman will probably get the start at the point and will suffer through growing pains of a long NCAA schedule. Get a $20 free play that you can use to bet NCAA basketball when you open a new account with Sportsbook.com.

This team won’t awe you with its raw talent or athleticism, but they know how to play the game as a group. I love the Thompson kid and he can take over a game offensively at any time. Things get a little foggy after Thompson though. They must find a second scorer and all five will have to hit the glass as they will be undersized in a lot of games. I think they can get into some kind of postseason tournament, but don’t expect immediate results for coach Bone and the Cougs.

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