Washington State got their 2008-09 basketball season off to a great start with a total domination of the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils.
One game doesn't make a complete season. There are 29 more on the schedule before the NCAA Tournament. But oh, what a beginning for an era of new Cougar players.
The flow of the game was quintessential Coach Tony Bennett basketball.
Defense set up the offense for the Cougs. And we're talking serious defense here. There was only 8:26 left in the first half when the Delta Demons finally scored a bucket. At that point the game was already out of reach following a 28-0 opening run by WSU.
Seniors Caleb Forrest and Aron Baynes led the Cougs in scoring with 15 and 14 respectively.
WSU protected the ball on offense, rarely turning the ball over. That is somewhat unexpected considering Coach Bennett gave five freshmen significant playing time.
When the Cougs were fouled, success followed them to the free throw line where they shot a very nice 75%.
Though you might not be familiar with Mississippi Valley State as a basketball powerhouse, consider this. Friday night the Delta Devils gave Arizona State all they could handle before losing 80-64. Sure there might have been a fatigue factor traveling from Phoenix to Pullman for back-to-back games. Don't kid yourself though. MVS will win their share of games before their season concludes.
DeAngelo Casto lived up to his billing by blocking four shots in the limited time he was on the floor. When Casto wasn't busy blocking shots, he was intimidating Delta Demon players.
If any of the Coug Babes, the five freshmen, were nervous going into their first Division I basketball game their play didn't show it. Coach Bennett and his staff seem to have them ready to compete at the college level.
The key to this season for Washington State is just how quickly the seven freshmen can adjust to Pac-10 basketball. Their debut was sensational.
More of the same Coach Bennett! More of the same.
Seriously.
8 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Tom Livingston 7 months ago
76 to 25-yikes! Is it true that WSU held MVS scoreless for the entire second half? My, oh my! This is welcome news to the Cougar faithful since defense is their game and it looks like the youngin's have learned the system. You can bet that WSU's upcoming opponents-all 28 games worth-are cringing at this news. Like UCLA coach Ben Howland said last year "playing WSU is like having a root canal". Maybe Tony Bennet deserves the nick-name "The Dentist"?
Drill-on Cougs!!
Alaska Coug '72
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Lew Wright 7 months ago
Hey Tom,
The Cougs held MVS scoreless for about the first eleven minutes of the game. I don't recall MVS getting one offensive rebound during that run. Obviously when WSU is rebounding on defense, the offense gets to run wild. Which is what happened.
Don't be surprised if there seems to be a little more spark in the Cougar offense this season. They have the best collection of athletes that I can recall this season. That was apparent Saturday night. Anytime the Coach Bennett's Cougs score 76 points, you raise an eyebrow. But when they score 76 points and have let up on the gas pedal, that's really something. They could have easily score 50 points in each half the way they were shooting. 55% from the floor is pretty impressive, but again that's what comes with plenty of fast break opportunities.
Lew
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Jon Altena 7 months ago
Thats incredible, I dont care who they are playing that defense is solid!
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Lew Wright 7 months ago
If you were to ask Coach Bennett, he'd probably tell you that they really need to put more work in on playing defense. That's just in his blood.
It's just one game, but what a nice start to the season.
Thanks for the comment Jon.
Lew
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Michael Homer 7 months ago
I'm looking forward to see what we're able to do for an encore.
Go Cougs
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Lew Wright 7 months ago
Hey Michael,
After a start like that, can hardly wait for the tipoff tonight at Friel Court. Then again, now that the young guns have had a taste of playing together at this level, you know they're ready to go again.
Lew
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Michael Homer 7 months ago
I read on the ZZU Blog today that Hartun and Watkins (I think it was Watkins) didn't play the other night because Tony's thinking about Red Shirting them... I wonder if it has anything to do with Hartun's struggles of adjusting to the college game. Do you have any comments on that?
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Lew Wright 7 months ago
It is possible that both Harthun and Watson might red shirt this season. Coach Bennett has been quoted as say that very thing.
Obviously that decision doesn't have to be made right away. There's plenty of non-conference games to evaluate what will be best for both the players and the team.
As for Harthun struggling with the college game, just about any high school player is going to work hard to adjust to Coach Bennett's style of play. High school programs rarely build their team around defensive play.
What do you think?
Lew
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