WSU head coach Ken Bone in studio
Oct 7, 2010, 6:50 PM | Updated: Apr 4, 2011, 7:55 pm
Washington State head basketball coach Ken Bone joined Kevin and Jim in studio to talk about the program heading into the 2010-2011 season.
Junior guard Klay Thompson leads the Cougars attack, after leading the team in scoring the past two seasons.
“He’s playing with more confidence in a lot of ways and he’s showing it on the court.” said Bone on Thursday’s show. “He’s becoming more of a leader. He has high expectations for himself, he’s a perfectionist.”
Some pro scouts consider Thompson to be the team’s only NBA prospect. Bone said he not only wouldn’t mind if Thompson left Pullman a year early for the pros, he’d actually prefer it.
“I hope it is his last season because I know how bad he would love to be in the NBA, and we would love to see him go to the NBA. It would be great to coach him for two more seasons, but if he can have a great year it says a lot for our program. For him to get to the NBA I believe we’ll need to have a good season. If he can accomplish that, then we all accomplish something.”
Former Rainier Beach standout Reggie Moore was one of the top freshman in the Pac-10 last season, leading the team in assists at 4.2 per game. Bone said he may have asked too much out of Moore last season, which he believes contributed to the young point guard’s struggles down the stretch.
“There were times where he didn’t look as good as he could have, probably because I asked him to be more aggressive, and it ended up making him look more selfish in his play. But he’s a player, and he’s a confident kid. He’s bigger and stronger than he was last year, and we’re excited about Reggie. He’ll have a better season this year.”
DeAngelo Casto, junior forward from Ferris High in Spokane, is one of the most feared defenders in the conference as he led the Pac-10 in blocks last season at 2.2 per game.
Bone is depending on the Thompson, Moore, Casto trifecta to dig out of the conference cellar and compete with Washington for the Pac-10 title.
“I think all three of those kids are really good players, but we did finish 10th. Mentally we’ve got a ways to go to build some confidence that we can really do what we hope to be able to do. I would love to see us go to the NCAA Tournament, and I think Washington is the team to beat in the conference.”
So will WSU enter the upper-echelon of the Pac-10 this season? Your thoughts are welcome below.
