2009-2010 Team Preview: Washington State Cougars

2008-2009 Record: 17-16, 8-10 Pac-10 (7th)

Key Losses: Taylor Rochestie (13.2 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.6 rpg), Aron Baynes (12.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg)

Key Returners: Klay Thompson (12.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg), DeAngelo Casto (4.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

Newcomers: Steven Bjornstad, Austin Bragg, Anthony Brown, Reggie Moore, Brock Motum, Xavier Thames, RS John Allen, RS James Watson

Klay Thompson will carry the Cougars in his sophomore season.
(photo credit: daylife)

Washington State lost a lot last season, as seniors Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes graduated and head coach Tony Bennett moved to Virginia. While Wazzu may have some issues replacing the seniors they lost, the biggest change for the Cougars is going to be playing style. By bringing in Ken Bone to replace Bennett, the Cougars will play at a much faster tempo than Bennett did, as Bone's Portland State squad averaged 73.4 ppg on 67.4 possessions (as opposed to 59.2 and 59.6 for Bennett's Cougars last year).

Sophomore Klay Thompson will be the Cougars best player this season. Thompson's game is based almost entirely around his jump shot. His biggest strength is his three-point shooting ability, where he knocked down an impressive 42.1% of his attempts. Thompson is not the best athlete in the world, but standing 6'6" with good length allows him to get his shot up against most defenders on the perimeter.

As I said before, Thompson is not a great athlete - he is slender, has a below-average first step, and is not a great leaper. But with that in mind, Thompson's second biggest attribute as a basketball player is his court sense. As is typical of the son of an NBA player (former Laker star Mychal Thompson), Klay really has a feel for the game on the offensive end; he knows how to score. Thompson has an effective pull-up jumper and can drive going either direction, but he is not yet strong enough to be a consistent finisher around the rim. He's also a bit of a shaky ball handler, especially when driving to the basket, but that should develop with time. With the amount of offense the Cougars graduated and a new, faster paced system, don't be surprised if Thompson puts up 18-20 ppg this year, especially if he is able to develop his ability to drive the ball.

Bone is going to have his work cut out for him with the rest of this Cougar team, which has just one upper classmen on the roster in senior guard Nikola Koprivica. Koprivica started 18 games as a junior. He isn't a big scorer (3.1 ppg in over 20 mpg), but Koprivica is a decent defender that provides Wazzu with experience - he will be the only guy on the roster that has made an NCAA Tournament.

The rest of the Cougars are freshman and sophomores. The only two guys that saw significant playing time last season were guard Marcus Capers and forward DeAngelo Casto. Casto is a big body, standing 6'8", 231lb. He had a solid freshman campaign, averaging 4.4 ppg and 4.0 rpg. With most of the Cougars front court graduating, Bone is going to rely pretty heavily on Casto in the paint. His development will go a long way towards determining how successful Bone's first season is. Capers is a lithe, 6'4" wing. He seemed a bit out of control at times his freshman season, as he shot just 29% from the floor and grabbed more rebounds than he did score points. But in a new, uptempo system, Capers might be able to find success by getting out and running on the wings.

Once you get past those four players, it is going to be wide open in terms of who gets playing time for the Cougars. Between the new system and the inexperience of the roster, my bet would be that Bone starts the season out with a large rotation, and the guys that prove themselves early on in the season will be the ones playing the majority of the minutes by the end of the year. The two most promising players will be two freshmen, forward James Watson and point guard Reggie Moore. Watson is an athletic, 6'7" big man that red-shirted last season. Where Casto is more of a land warrior, Watson will be able to provide the Cougars with energy, athleticism, and an above-the-rim player along their front line. Moore is a bit of a combo-guard coming out of Seattle's famed Rainier Beach high school (he also spent a year at Brewster Academy). He's quick, he's a solid ball handler, and he can knock down an open three. With a young team, having a savvy and poised point guard is extremely important. The Cougars are going to be relying pretty heavily on the freshman to lead their team.

Another kid that will provide some minutes in the back court is freshman Xavier Thames. Thames, who is listed as a point guard on most recruiting websites, is taller (6'3") and a bit more dynamic than Moore. I would expect them to share the back court quite a bit, with Thames spending more time playing off the ball. The rest of the Cougars back court will be filled out by sophomore Michael Harthun and freshmen John Allen and Anthony Brown. The rest of their front court rotation will be filled out by freshman - Brock Motum, Austin Bragg, and Steven Bjornstad.

Outlook: Wazzu is young, inexperienced, and has a new head coach. That is never a good combination. But they return Klay Thompson, who may end up being the Pac-10 player of the year. There is some depth to this team, however, and while they are young, these Cougar's may be able to sneak up on some people playing in Ken Bone's more open offense. If Casto and Watson can prove to be a solid front court tandem, and one of the two talented freshman PG's (Moore and Thames) steps up to run this team, Wazzu has an outside chance of making a run to the NCAA Tournament playing in a weak Pac-10.