College Hoops Top 50

Last Year: 25-10; 14-6, second in the Pac-12, lost in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament

Head Coach: David Riley (First Year; had gone 62-38 in 3 years at Eastern Washington, with no NCAA Tournament appearances)

Projected Starting Lineup

PG Nate Calmese – 6’2″, 175 Junior

G Isaiah Watts – 6’3″, 170 Sophomore

W Cedric Coward – 6’6″, 206 Senior

F LeJuan Watts – 6’6″, 233 Sophomore

F Ethan Price – 6’10”, 230 Senior

Experienced Reserves

W Rihards Vāvers – 6’7″, 195 Sophomore

F/C Dane Erikstrup – 6’11”, 226 Senior

F/C ND Okafor – 6’9″, 235 Junior

Freshmen

G Marcus Wilson – 6’3″, 180

G Parker Gerrits – 6’1″, 190 (Redshirt)

W Tomas Þrastarson – 6’6″, 190

W Kase Wynott – 6’6″, 190

C Dimitrije Vukićević – 7’0″, 240

Say hello to the Cheney Cougars. Wazzu Eagles? The Wheatfield Underdogs have got a whole new look.

There have been some changes in and around Pullman, WA, over the past year-plus. It all started when Kyle Smith, Washington State’s head coach the last few years, had to replace virtually his whole team last spring after the ravages of portal, draft, and graduation. So successfully did Smith pull together a squad that the Cougars had their best season in more than 15 years. It all led to Smith being offered and accepting the head gig at Stanford…a program which now competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now, some new form of Pac-12 zombie has risen.

When viewed through a lens like that, Wazzu’s decisions to join the West Coast Conference – for now – and hire a promising coach from within the state seem positively conventional in these crazy days of college athletics. The past few months have been a wild but not altogether unenjoyable time for the team from the Palouse. First, they exacted more than a bit of revenge on their former Pac-12 fellows during the league’s final turn around the sun, won 25 games, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Now, with a two-year pivot (or shorter?) to the WCC on the horizon, many Cougars fans feel like the program has solidified itself a bit. Hiring a familiar face who’s done nothing but win the past few years doesn’t hurt, either. 

David Riley, whose father is an anesthesiologist at Stanford, grew up in Palo Alto, but was born in Washington and has spent the past three years leading an already-successful Eastern Washington team to 62 wins and back-to-back Big Sky regular season titles. Upon taking the job in Pullman, Riley got right to work on his first roster, because for the second year in a row, the Cougars are going to feature a whole bunch of guys who are new to the program. They won’t be new to Riley, though. Cedric Coward, Ethan Price, Dane Erikstrup, and LeJuan Watts are all former Eagles who played for Riley last year, and they are ready to help their latest red-clad team get off to a flying start. 

Coward will give Wazzu an explosive and versatile standout to build around. An exceptionally efficient scorer, the 6’6″ Coward is a career 60.0% shooter from the floor

A first-team All-Big Sky pick last season, Coward was EWU’s breakout star last winter. He nearly turned pro this past spring, but in choosing to play another year for Riley, Coward will give Wazzu an explosive and versatile standout to build around. An exceptionally efficient scorer, the 6’6″ Coward is a career 60.0% shooter from the floor, and he needed barely more than ten shot attempts per game last year to finish sixth in the Big Sky in scoring. Able to slash to the bucket or post up a variety of defenders for a score, Coward made an excellent 72.0% of his shots near the rim last year, per Bart Torvik. His jumper has improved hugely over the last couple of years, and last season, Coward added a genuine threat from beyond the arc to his repertoire. He hit 51 triples at a 38.3% clip, and Coward was even better if opponents allowed him to get to the foul line: he cashed in 89.5% of his freebies as a junior. On a team which featured (and will feature) shooting bigs who aren’t the world’s most voracious rebounders, Coward’s work on the glass is also extremely valuable. He posted a half dozen double-doubles a year ago – scoring 20+ points in five of those contests – and Coward’s physical style around the lane makes him a matchup problem. 

The aforementioned shooting bigs that Riley has brought down I-195 from Cheney, WA, are Price and Erikstrup. Bookend 6’10” face-up threats who combined to average 23 points and sink 79 triples at a 36% rate, Erikstrup and Price will continue to be featured standouts for Riley’s next squad. 

“I think for us, we’re a little bit unique, where we’ll start off in the five-out, but we’ll find mismatches and post guys up and run a lot of four-out, one-in,” Riley explained this spring. By adding familiar players whose aptitudes and tendencies he knows deeply, the pieces on Wazzu’s board fit the scheme. 

Price, who is from England, has put together a trio of highly productive campaigns under Riley’s leadership. Last season was his best as a scorer, and like Coward, Price picks up his points just as tidily as a coach could hope for. A 51.5% career shooter, Price is becoming a three-level threat. His post game is built upon a foundation of finesse, yet Price’s fluidity and quick, clever moves around the painted area are enough to keep defenders guessing when he’s not launching jumpers. A skilled ballhandler and dangerous passer, Price is a great fit for Riley’s well-spaced offensive sets. He coordinates the action with passes out of the lane or pulls his man out to the wing to open up gaps for his teammates to fill, and Price has great awareness of where his guys are moving without the ball. Genuine Euro-style big man, innit?

Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks)

66.7 Opponent Points Per Game (30th)

12.4 – Assists Per Game (209th)

47.2 – Opponent FG Percentage (30th)

6.4 – Made 3FG’s Per Game (273rd)

78.6% – Defensive Rebounding Rate (11th)

After beginning his career at Division II Cal Poly Pomona, Erikstrup steadily improved as an Eagle and should continue to be on the floor often in Pullman. He’s also a capable passer, and along with Price, Erikstrup allows Riley to truly invert his offense. A savvy big who chooses his spots well, Erikstrup is a reliable 1-B to Price’s 1-A up front. He also has a bit more of a dribble-drive game than his counterpart, and Riley wants Erikstrup to lean into that this year. With passes or shots likely to come from anyone, anytime, anywhere inside the halfcourt, the Cougars should have myriad options to drive in for easy looks or slip to the rim behind a befuddled defense. He was a super-sub at EWU, and it’s likely that Price will continue in that role this winter. 

He’ll have to beat out ND Okafor for the best minutes, though. A transfer from Cal (by way of Nigeria, Ireland, Canada, and the NBA Latin America Academy in Mexico), the well-traveled Okafor is a big, strong fella who should offer some contrast to the frontcourt rotation. He showed real potential as a rebounder and defensive presence in his debut two years ago, but Okafor’s second season was cut short by a right knee injury after just nine games. As of August, Okafor was looking on track to start the season healthy, and in doing so, he will bring a valuable low-post game to the Cougs as a compliment to Erikstrup and Price. If he can bring some of the rebounding tenacity that Wazzu came to so enjoy last year, Okafor will play regularly on Pullman. 

What Riley will need more than ever from his talented big men is tough defense and tireless effort on the glass. Last year, Wazzu was an outstanding rebounding team, ranking top 20 nationally in rebounding rate; but all of the key pieces up front have gone. Eastern Washington wasn’t bad on the boards, but they weren’t great, either, ranking about 150th in both defensive and total rebounding percentage – and a hundred spots lower on the offensive glass. Having to face the Gonzaga’s and Saint Mary’s of their new league, Wazzu’s big men will have to bring it on the boards like never before. 

Joining Coward as an athletic guy who can make plays all over the floor, LeJuan Watts enjoyed a big, fun, noisy debut in Cheney last year. Last season’s Big Sky Rookie of the Year, he has yet to start a collegiate game, but that didn’t stop Watts from scoring in double figures 14 times during his debut campaign. A powerfully-built wing who can help his team in all sorts of ways, Watts also grabbed the second-most rebounds of any Eagle, and he finished four steals off of the team lead. He’s a smooth passer – of course – and though he didn’t attempt as many jumpers as he did tougher buckets around the lane, Watts was money in the bank from wherever he fired as a freshman. Taking advantage of the great passing and spacing presented by his veteran teammates, Watts scorched the nets for a 66.7% mark in close, 54.5% rate from mid-range, and a 40.5% clip from deep, per Bart Torvik. That type of efficiency combined with his frame and attack-mode attitude make Watts a serious breakout candidate now that he’s added experience to his repertoire. 

LeJuan Watts won’t be the only new youngster arriving in Pullman who has won a Rookie of the Year award. Nate Calmese was voted the Southland’s top newcomer after starting every game and averaging 17.6 points for Lamar two years ago. He transferred up to Washington as a sophomore, but Calmese saw inconsistent minutes on an inconsistent Husky team. Now he’s hoping to find just the right fit with the Cougars, and Riley is hoping that the young scorer can become this group’s point guard. He’s fast with the ball in his hands and has great functional quickness getting from the top of the key to just about anywhere in the halfcourt, and Calmese’s vision and passing skills seem to fit the new Cougs. After playing with guys like Sahvir Wheeler and Pat Mulcahy as a Husky, Calmese may well have picked up a thing or two about creating opportunities for his buddies. 

One of the only guys back from last year’s Wazzu squad, Isaiah Watts is going to have his share of the backcourt playing time, as well. Though he didn’t play a big role from game to game as a freshman, Isaiah Watts came up big on occasion, and he was at his best during Washington State’s stretch run. Over the Cougars ‘ final eight games, Watts averaged 6.9 points and 1.3 steals per game on 44.8% shooting from downtown. He’s not afraid to let it rip from the outside, and Watts is already a clever defender who will take some risks but also makes momentum-turning plays. He’s not the most natural playmaker on the roster, but Watts passes the ball well, and if he can take a turn bringing the ball up and help to coordinate the Cougs’ many-faceted halfcourt offense, his value will increase considerably. 

In his own rookie campaign at Quinnipiac, Rihards Vāvers proved that he can bomb away from deep, too. The long, lean second-year guard from Latvia is helpful all over the perimeter, but never more than when his jumper is hot. He’s not an extraordinary athlete, but the 6’7″ Vāvers is a tough matchup for guards so long as he can keep up with them, and he showed good reactions as a perimeter shot blocker last year. If Vāvers can grow as a defender and play the more rugged game that WCC competition will demand, he could be a very solid addition on a team which loves to flood the floor with big, skilled guys. 

Four new freshmen are coming aboard, and each should get the chance to contribute in their own ways. While he’s considered the least-ready of the four, Serbian seven-footer Dimitrije Vukićević nonetheless projects as a quality rim protector who can hold things down in the lane. If he can defend without fouling and help on the boards, he could see some minutes this year. Icelandic wing Tomas Þrastarson is also a bit of an unknown, but he put up big numbers playing against professionals in his home country last winter. A slashing wing who can finish powerfully around the rim, Þrastarson may find a home in Riley’s spread-out attack. A fifth rookie, Parker Gerrits took a redshirt on last year’s team, and he can really shoot the rock. If a guy can make three’s, he can play for Riley, and Gerrits stuck around through the coaching change to show what he’s got. 

The two freshmen most likely to contribute immediately look like great fits in Riley’s scheme, and have the size to handle the rigors of WCC play. Though he didn’t exactly play against the strongest prep programs in America during his high school career, Kase Wynott put up absurd, video game-esque numbers last year in Lapwai, ID. The state’s Gatorade Player of the Year, Wynott is also the leading scorer in Idaho history. On a go-go team, he averaged more than 36 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists last year, and he even had a quadruple-double. At 6’6″, he can play on the wing or cruise the lane, and Wynott’s high-level playmaking vision will translate to Wazzu. Meanwhile, the Cougars’ highest-rated signee is Marcus Wilson, who has family on the academic staff at Washington State. A strong two-way prospect, Wilson has also shown three-level scoring capability. He’s a youngster who knows how to create for others, too, and former coach Kyle Smith had been excited to add him. 

Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on

@ Boise State – December 7

@ Nevada – December 2

@ Washington – December 18

N Iowa – November 15

vs Bradley – November 8

“He’s a guard that can play on and off the ball with really good speed,” Smith said last year. “Marcus has excellent range and is a great decision maker.” With the Cougars looking to play four and five-out regularly, Wilson should get a chance to play right away in mix-and-match sets. 

The Cougs are going to look pretty different this season, but with so many existing relationships to build upon, Riley’s crew will be ready to roll together. With that in his back pocket, Riley is expecting this group to emulate a couple of the best qualities of the guys that were here before, too. 

“The #1 thing is we’re going to be fighters,” Riley told CougFan.com this September. “Every single time teams play us we want them to feel us, that they need to know next time they’re playing Washington State, next time they’re playing the Cougars, they’re going to be facing a physical opponent.”

It’s a bold goal, but as one of the new kids on the WCC block, Washington State must re-establish themselves. A solid non-conference slate will prepare them for the rodeo in their new league, and state bragging rights will, in some ways, be worth even more now that the Cougars’ coach is a two-time Washington boss. With so much upheaval, there is a bit of a wait-and-see feel about this squad. Even so, Wazzu isn’t about to fade back out of contention without a serious fight.