2011 Washington State Basketball

Written by Jack Jones - Google +

2010-11 Results

Overall: 22-13
Conference Tournament: 9-9 (6th)

Roster

Seniors

Faisal Aden
Marcus Capers
Charlie Enquist
Abe Lodwick

Juniors

Mike Ladd
Reggie Moore
Brock Motum

Sophomores

Will Dilorio
Patrick Simon
D.J. Shelton
Royce Woolridge

Freshmen

Dominic Ballard
Chuks Iroegbu
Dexter Kernich-Drew
DaVonte Lacy

Head Coach

Ken Bone

Key Losses

Klay Thompson left Washington State for the NBA last spring and DeAngelo Casto eventually secured a pro deal in Turkey. Thompson and Casto, along with returning guard Reggie Moore, all faced marijuana charges last season, a cause of great embarrassment to the Cougars who were famously labelled “Team Spliff” by Spokane columnist John Blanchette. The charge against Casto was subsequently dismissed.

Bone is adamant that the Cougars have put their off-court problems behind them but the loss of their two anchor players will make it difficult for the Cougars this season. They are also without freshman guard Andre Winston, Jr., who opted to transfer after limited appearances in 26 games.

Schedule

Date	Opponent / Event
11/5/2011	vs. Lewis-Clark State
11/14/2011	@ Gonzaga
11/17/2011	vs. Sacramento State
11/20/2011	@ Portland
76 Classic
11/24/2011	vs. Oklahoma
11/25/2011	New Mexico/Santa Clara
11/27/2011	TBD
11/30/2011	vs. Grambling St.
12/3/2011	vs. Eastern Washington
12/7/2011	@ Idaho
12/11/2011	vs. Santa Clara
12/18/2011	vs. Western Oregon
Cougar Hardwood Classic
12/22/2011	vs. Pepperdine
Regular Season
12/29/2011	vs. Oregon *
12/31/2011	vs. Oregon State *
1/5/2012	@ Utah *
1/7/2012	@ Colorado *
1/15/2012	@ Washington *
1/19/2012	vs. Stanford *
1/21/2012	vs. California *
1/26/2012	@ Arizona *
1/28/2012	@ Arizona State
2/2/2012	vs. USC *
2/4/2012	vs. UCLA *
2/9/2012	@ Oregon State *
2/11/2012	@ Oregon *
2/16/2012	vs. Arizona *
2/18/2012	vs. Arizona State
2/25/2012	vs. Washington *
3/1/2012	@ UCLA *
3/3/2012	@ USC *
Pac-12 Tournament
3/7/2012	Pac-12 Tournament
*Conference Game

2011-12 Preview

Losing your best talent is part of life in the Pac-12, but Washington State are really going to struggle without Thompson and Casto. The Cougars have plenty of good team players this season but no obvious stars.

Reggie Moore needs a strong junior season after he struggled with injury and personal problems last season. The Cougars will have to figure out a way to survive without Thompson and, perhaps more significantly, decide what to do with a hole underneath the basket. They have nobody in the mold of Casto who could eat space, play with his back to the basket and make a nuisance of himself.

The Cougars held opponents to 40.9 percent shooting from the field in Pac-10 conference games, but without Casto around to deter opponents inside, it will be really tough to repeat that defensive success this season. They will need a wider band of contributions and some very strong just to be competitive and it’s hard to see them improving on last season’s sixth-place finish.

Washington State returns 6-4 senior Faisal Aden (12.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg), the Cougars’ second-leading scorer last season. Last year, Aden became an explosive scorer on the wing who kept opponents from putting too much emphasis on Thompson. Now Aden will be the main focus, with his ability to create his own shot and hit it just about anywhere on the court.

Guard Mike Ladd (10.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg at Fresno State in 2009-10), a 6-5 junior and former high school teammate of Moore’s at talent-rich Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, adds a bit of much-needed depth to Bone’s restructuring efforts. Ladd rejoined him at WSU in 2010, and was willing to sit out the 2010-11 season as a redshirt. Ladd will definitely be a factor, whether starting or from off the bench or starts.

The Cougars also have 6-3, 200-pound combo guard DaVonte Lacy (19.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 3.3 spg) who will be required to assist Moore at point guard and play some off the ball. In order to wade through the restructuring, Bone picked two veteran captains, 6-4 senior wing Marcus and 6-7 senior forward Abe Lodwick (3.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg).

In 6-4 Marcus Capers Capers (5.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, .529 FG), the Cougars have a good defender and a versatile, athletic wing who can and will probably be needed at point guard, shooting guard and small forward. Capers played the point for five games early last season while Moore was out with a wrist injury.

WSU may need to push Abe Lodwick over from small forward to power forward and go with 6-10 Brock Motum (7.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .599 FG) at “center.” Lodwick was recruited as a strong shooter from the wing but has played out of position when required and will probably do so again.

Bone will also look to 6-10 D.J. Shelton (12.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg.), 6-8 sophomore Patrick Simon (3.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg) and 6-8 freshman Greg Sequele. 6-11 Junior Steven Bjornstad played three in 2010-11 but has been struggling with a series of injuries.

While Sequele and Shelton are raw offensively, they are athletic players who can help keep the Cougars’ up-tempo system going and will need to help offset the lack of force they will have underneath. Simon didn’t shoot it as well as he might have done as a freshman (30.6 percent from three-point range) and will have to be more productive this season, largely at power forward.

Meanwhile, Reggie Moore will be asked to build from his 2009-10 performances, when he made the Pac-10′s all-freshman team. Moore set a WSU freshman record for assists (131) and free-throw percentage (.794). He under-achieved last season due to a combination of a fractured wrist and his off-court tribulations.

More Pac 12 Basketball Predictions

Washington Huskies	Oregon Ducks	California Golden Bears
Arizona Wildcats	Colorado Buffaloes	UCLA Bruins
Stanford Cardinal	Oregon State Beavers	Washington State Cougars
Arizona State Sun Devils	Utah Utes	USC Trojans

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