I hope you’re taking good notes.
Greeting, Coug fans. The last time we touched base, the WSU men’s basketball roster was depleted and looking for reinforcements. Since then, WSU has hired head coach David Riley and lost some recruits. Suffice to stay, it’s still depleted. Let’s look at where thing stand now:
Evan Stinson, the WSU commit out of Cheney High School, announced he would flip his commitment and instead attend Stanford. This is a bummer but not all that surprising. Stinson committed to Kyle Smith and he will follow Smith to Palo Alto. This isn’t uncommon when a coach leaves for a new school. You can’t blame the kid for his decision, and while it would have been nice to have a local boy at WSU, this is how the world works nowadays.
Another WSU commit—Tallis Toure—also announced he would be following Smith to Stanford. Another bummer, but another common move.
So, who will play for WSU next season? Well, if the pattern follows, some soon-to-be former EWU players could drive about an hour south and suit up for WSU.
Cedric Coward has already named WSU his “frontrunner.” Coward is one of six Eagles to enter the transfer portal, so at least WSU isn’t alone in this dance. As Coward told The Spokesman-Review:
“I believe they will bring in the right person (at EWU),” Coward said, “but at the same time, the people I’ve been with the last two years aren’t with the program anymore. I’d rather stick with the people I’ve been with.”
At this point, “Wazzu is my front-runner,” Coward said, although he intends to listen to his other offers, which at this point he listed at 17 programs and counting.
That “right person” is Dan Monson, the former Long Beach State (and Gonzaga) head coach. We’ll see if Coward’s EWU teammates follow through on their transfer or if Monson can retain them. Of course, some of them could end up at WSU as well.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Wells announced his intention to enter the NBA Draft while keeping his college eligibility intact. This, again, is standard: guys entering the NBA Draft, being evaluated, and then deciding whether to return to school or turn pro.
Lastly, little-used reserve Dylan Darling transferred to Idaho State.
Got all that? Good, because things change rapidly, and Riley has his work cut out for him as he builds his roster at Washington State.