Moore Catches Up With Bennett

Jim Moore got a chance to catch up with Tony Bennett at the King County Cougar Golf Classic last week. Cougar fans should love this quote from Bennett when talking about WSU. "I'm where I'm supposed to be. I love being a Coug." Coach Bennett sounds pretty excited about next years team and his recruiting class.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/moore/365320_moore31.html

Hendrickson Hammered In Loss

Mark Hendrickson went 3.2 innings, giving up 10 runs on 7 hits in a 12-3 loss to the red hot Philadelphia Phillies Friday night. The loss moves Hendrickson to 7-3 with a 5.26 ERA.

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=280530122

Weaver Not At Camp

DraftExpress mentioned Kyle Weaver as one of two people who surprisingly turned down their NBA pre draft camp invite. From the article, " This speaks volumes about the depth of this draft, as a large number of quality NCAA players need to work their way into the first round or the top half of the second round, unlike anything we’ve seen in years past. A few eyebrows were raised by players like Jamont Gordon and Kyle Weaver shockingly deciding to pass up their invites to the pre-draft camp, but very few people wanted to dwell on it besides saying that they are clearly digging their own grave, Weaver especially, who can’t go back to school like Gordon can once he realizes that there is a strong possibility he will go undrafted." I am still confused why Weaver would turn down the invite. He needed to show the scouts that he has a solid offensive game. His defense is proven but the offense is questionable.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA-Pre-Draft-Camp,-Day-One-2899/

UPDATE: You can count on Vince Grippi from The SpokesmanReview to find all the info you need. Weaver and his agent decided that attending the camp would not help Weaver's draft status even with a stellar camp. I guess it makes sense but I imagine the scouts still want to see him play against top competition.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/sportslink/archive/?postID=7826#more

Wulff Tells Incoming QB, See Ya

Incoming Cougar QB, Calvin Schmidtke, who was a Seattle Times First Teamer as well as the Tacoma News Tribune's All Area Player Of The Year has been released from his scholarship at WSU following his latest arrest. Schmidtke is being charged with DUI, marijuana possesion, MIP, reckless driving and public disturbance. It is a good sign that Coach Wulff will not put up with players who act like this but it does put even more question marks on this recruiting class.

http://washingtonstate.scout.com/2/757793.html

Low Working Towards NBA

Thanks to Cougfan.com for linking up this article from The Honolulu Advertiser on Derrick Low. D-Low is in San Francisco training for individual workouts, with the Suns, Warriors, Nets, Sonics and Lakers showing interest. Of all these teams I think Low would fit the best in Golden State or Phoenix if they run a similar offense as D'Antoni did. The Sonics could also use a spot up 3 point shooter. From the article regarding D-Low's daily workouts, "After completing requirements for his bachelor's degree in communications, Low headed to San Francisco on April 29 to prepare for the draft under the watch of former University of Hawai'i standout Phil Handy and personal trainer Frank Matrisciano. The daily routine includes a two-hour morning workout concentrating on basketball skills, a late afternoon session outdoors either running on the beach or up San Francisco's steep hills, then late-night shooting in a gym — including up to 500 3-pointers." Hopefully it all pays off and Derrick Low's name will be called on June 26th.

Weaver Attending Pre Draft Camp

The official NBA Pre Draft camp gets underway tomorrow in Orlando, Florida. 70 players will be in attendance and among them is Kyle Weaver. Throughout the camp players will run through drills, scrimmages and official games. Kyle Weaver is expected to be on Team 5 which includes Brandon Rush, Ryan Anderson, Luc Richard Mbah A Moute and Sasha Kaun. The projected rosters are not official so we will find out tomorrow who Weaver is surrounded by. Derrick Low will not be attending the camp. I will have updates as I find them tomorrow.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA-Pre-Draft-Camp-Preview,-Projected-Rosters-2688/

UPDATE: The "official" list put up today on the camp attendees does not list Kyle Weaver. He was on there yesterday but is not today. It could be a misprint or he may have decided not to participate. I will look for more info today.

Hendrickson Is Now 7-2

Mark Hendrickson didn't have his best performance of the season, but got some help from his offense in a 8-6 win over the Giants on Sunday. Hendrickson went 5 innings giving up 5 runs on 9 hits while striking out 5. He also got a double at the plate and continues to hit well with a .348 average. If Hendrickson continues at this pace he may end up being an All-Star this year. The Marlins come to Seattle, June 16-18 so local Cougs may get the opportunity to see Hendrickson pitch in person.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=280525228

Baseball Ends Season With Loss

The WSU Baseball team concluded their season with a 8-7 loss to USC in Pullman on Sunday. This marked the 5th time the Cougs lost by 1 run in Pac-10 play this season. Coach Donny Marbut summed up the season saying, "It was a season of a lot of near misses and today was no exception." WSU finished the season with a 30-26 overall record while going 8-16 in Pac-10 play. Progress is being made by Coach Marbut and I am sure he will emphasize the one run losses coming into next season.

http://wsucougars.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/052508aaa.html

Cougar Hoops playing....Montana State in Seattle

Coming off the best season in WSU Basketball history, one would think a big time opponent would be available for the annual Cougar Hardwood Classic. However, according to the Seattle PI, WSU will be playing Montana State at Key Arena on December 13th. Montana State? Really? Of the 300 and something D1 basketball teams the best the promoters can get is MSU? Here is a quote from the man in charge of getting the opponents, John Hines. "I talked to every big school in the country, and nobody wants to play Washington State," said Northwest Sports and Entertainment promoter John Hines. "If there was one or two with a sliver of hope, the dates just didn't work out." I have a hard time believing this but it is something we are going to have to live with. By the way, the following Saturday, Gonzaga will play expected top 5 ranked Uconn at Key Arena.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/collegesports/2004430627_hoopnotes22.html

Hendrickson Wins Again

Mark Hendrickson continues to impress picking up win number 6 against the Arizona Diamondbacks Tuesday. Hendrickson went 5 innings, struck out 7 and gave up 1 run on 4 hits. The former Coug also picked up a hit and now has an average of 333.

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=280520128

Casto Good To Go

Cougfan.com is reporting that 2 time state player of the year, DeAngelo Casto has qualified to play hoops for the Cougs next season. Rumors were swirling that Casto was going to have a tough time qualifing but he came through when it mattered most.

A Look At 2 Future WSU Baseball Players

Darren Fessenden has an article for the Seattle PI going over the top baseball players in the greater Seattle area. Of these players, two of them, Kyle Buchanan and Derek Jones are headed to WSU to play baseball for Donny Marbut.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/preps/363317_baseball16.html

Abercrombie Has Left WSU

Thomas Abercrombie has left the WSU Basketball team and will head back to his native homeland of New Zealand. This had been rumored for awhile and is now official. With the new recruiting class coming in it did not appear there was going to be any playing time available for Abercrombie over the next couple of seasons. Good luck to him.

http://wsucougars.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/051408aaa.html

Xavier Hicks To Miss 3 Games

In more Cougar legal news, Xavier Hicks, the starting Safety from last year's team will miss the first 3 games of next season as continued punishment for his arrest. He will also serve 45 days in the Whitman County Jail. From the article, "Coach Paul Wulff decided on the punishment in consultation with the players council he formed after being named coach, Stevens said." Seems like an appropriate punishment and hopefully this is the end of Cougs getting into legal trouble.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2004415337_coug15.html

Hendrickson Falls To 5-2

Mark Hendrickson went 5 innings, gave up 4 runs on 5 hits in a 5-3 loss to the Reds Tuesday night. The loss moves Hendrickson's record to 5-2. The former Coug continues to impress at the plate going 2-2 with a run and is now hitting .316 on the season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=280513117

Latest NBA Mock Draft

The latest mock draft on NBAdraft.net has Kyle Weaver going #31 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves. This may be good as far as playing time goes for Weaver, but horrible in the sense that the T-Wolves are currently one of the worst teams in the NBA. Derrick Low currently shows as being undrafted on this mock draft. Chances are that Low will have to earn his way onto a team after the draft unless he really turns some heads at workouts.

http://www.nbadraft.net/

Back In Rainy Seattle

Back from vacation. Got a few "Go Cougs" in Scottsdale and Phoenix and even more in Vegas while walking the strip. Good to see Cougar fans in different parts of the country. Not much in the name of news right now but I will try to find something this evening.

On Vacation

Not much updating going on here because I am currently in Scottsdale AZ on vacation. I saw that UW beat WSU in the first game of the 3 game series at Husky Ballpark Friday. Other than that I am going to enjoy the sun and update when possible.

http://wsucougars.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/051008aaa.html

Baseball Updates

The WSU Baseball team (24-20, 5-10 Pac-10) lost the last game of the series against 2 time defending National Champion, Oregon State on Monday. The Beavers pounded out 17 hits and took the game 19-9. However, WSU won the series 2-1 and has to build on the series win as a positive for the future. The Cougs have been close in almost every game against the top teams in the Pac-10 this season. They now have to find a way to finish off these games and get some more conference W's.

http://wsucougars.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/050508aaa.html

More Bad News

Pullman Police have recommended that Cougar football player Andy Roof be charged with one count of second degree felony assault and five counts of fourth degree gross misdemeanor assault. His future at WSU as an athlete and a student look pretty bleak now.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cougars/361888_coug06.html

WSU Football To Lose 8 Scholarships

A report from the Seattle Times is stating that WSU Football will be losing 8 scholarships next fall. The next recruiting class will only have 22 full scholarships available, which will have negative effects for years to come. Coach Wulff will now have another obstacle to overcome in his first couple of seasons at WSU. I hate to trash Bill Doba, as he is a good man but this shows that he was not qualified whatsoever to be a head football coach. He couldn't recruit, win games or hold players academically responsible for themselves. Now Wulff is cleaning up the mess.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2004395694_webcoug06.html

Bumps Makes Impression At Camp

From the Everett Herald, "Wide receivers coach Keith Gilbertson said he was impressed with two undrafted rookie receivers: Washington State's Michael Bumpus and New Mexico's Travis Brown." If Bumpus can make his mark as a slot receiver, a la Bobby Engram and show he can be used as a punt and kick returner I think he has a descent shot of making the practice squad his first year.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080505/SPORTS/410157282/1004#SEAHAWKS.Minicamp.ends.another.begins

News Updates

Ropati Pitoitua has been picked up by the New York Jets. The chances of him making the team are pretty slim but maybe he can impress them with his size.
http://www.thejetsblog.com/?p=4169

Cougar Baseball Up 2-0 On Oregon State

After some recent struggles in Pac-10 play the Cougs came out and beat No.23 Oregon State on Saturday and Sunday to win the series. WSU will go for the sweep today in Pullman.
http://wsucougars.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/050408aab.html

Rueben Mayes Is A Hall Of Famer

Former Coug star and current assistant coach Rueben Mayes has been elected to the College Football Hall Of Fame. "Mayes, from North Battleford, Saskatchewan, was an All-American for the Cougars. He held the WSU season rushing record of 1,632 yards that stood from 1984 until Jerome Harrison rushed for 1,900 yards in 2005. Mayes set an NCAA record for most rushing yards in a game when he ran for 357 yards against Oregon in 1984."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2004387202_mayes020.html