2011 Hoops Time
Washington State Men’s basketball coach Ken Bone finds himself sitting on the cusp of an odd season. Although the bulk of his roster is comprised of nearly all of his recruits, questions still surround his teams’ ability to not only stay consistent on the court, but off the court as well.
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As with most young teams, the term “transition” seems to get thrown around loosly.
In Washington State’s case, it seems to hold some truth. Of Ken Bone’s 15 players, only 4 of those are seniors.
Three are juniors, while the remaining 9 are underclassmen. If leadership wasn’t an issue with previous Cougars teams, it certainly could be a problem as the non-conference gives way to the very talented Pac-12.
Here are five things to keep your eye on moving forward
Scoring: Replacing Klay Thompson
Replacing 21.6 ppg is no small task. The problem for the Cougs is they do not have a man on their roster capable enough to step in to that roll a give the Cougs what Klay provided.
It will not come from one single player, but will be a total group effort on offense.
PG Play: Can Reggie Moore get back to form
For a bulk of last season Reggie Moore was playing with a small fracture in his wrist that not only effected the way he shot the ball, but also effected the way he distributed the ball as well.
The Cougars will need Moore to be healthy this season. If he is, it will be huge.
Heavy Lifting: Replacing DeAngelo Casto
The loss of DeAngelo Casto in the interior is problematic to the 2011-12 Cougs. WSU can stave off the issue for time being with D.J. Shelton and Brock Motum, but there really is not one clear cut answer to this question.
Which means the Cougars will be in a world of trouble come conference play.
The Cougars will need Moore to be healthy this season.
Consistency: Continuous effort
This is what plagued Washington State all of last year, and was the main reason why they were left out of the NCAA tournament with 22 wins.
Once the conference portion of the schedule approached the Cougars weren’t able to string together consistent efforts more frequently for the selection committee to warrant their selection.
Add in the off-court issues and Washington State appeared to be a mini train wreck.
Coaching: Ken Bone’s hold on the team
There is no question that Ken bone is a fine coach, but with last years off-court mess, some were wondering if Bone is too much of a players coach, or whether he has no control over his locker room all together.
It will be interesting to see if that was just an isolated incident. Because if it isn’t, that lack of discipline will have a major effect on the on-court product.
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