The WSU basketball season begins on Nov. 4, with a home game against Portland State, and the team stays at home for a Nov. 8 matchup against Bradley.
WSU has what should be an easy game to begin their season. Portland State has never beaten WSU in ten matchups, including a 71-61 Wazzu victory a year ago. They are projected to finish fifth in the Big Sky Conference and ranked 229th by the Kenpom rankings.
The PSU Vikings are led by fourth-year head coach Jase Coburn.
“We will be spirited, tough, physical, smart and play with a passion. We need to be the most passionate team on the floor every night,” he said on his expectations for the season.
Last year the Vikings went 17-15, their best record under Coburn’s leadership.
They are led by returners Ismail Habib and Isaiah Johnson. In 2023-24, Johnson averaged 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds, while Habib averaged 9 points and 2.7 assists. They brought back six players, but only Habib started regularly for them last year, meaning there is still competition as to who will be getting playing time this season.
The Vikings also bring in eight new players in 2024, including seniors Terri Miller Jr and Jaylin Henderson, who both come from Louisiana Tech. Among their freshman class includes Washingtonian Tait Spencer, who graduated from Seattle Great Futures Prep.
Their most intriguing new player might be senior guard Shane Nowell. Nowell transferred from UNLV after a disappointing two seasons in which he averaged 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds and ten starts. The former standout at Eastside Catholic in Seattle, WA was once ranked the 69th best player in his high school class and began his collegiate career at Arizona, but he never found his footing there and will now hope to earn more playing time in the Big Sky. His brother Jaylen Nowell was the 2018 Pac-12 player of the year with Washington and currently plays for the Detroit Pistons.
The Cougars’ second game of the week is against Bradley, which figures to be much more challenging. Bradley is ranked No. 92 by Kenpom, 21 spots ahead of the Cougs, who sit at No. 111. Bradley finished 23-12 last year and was the three seed in the Missouri Valley Conference. They advanced to the MVC finals where they lost to Drake, a team that WSU went on to beat in the NCAA tournament. Had Bradley beaten Drake, the Cougars may have played them instead.
Bradley was picked this year to win the MVC in their preseason poll. Senior guard Duke Deen was named MVC preseason player of the year, while senior forward Darius Hannah was also named to the MVC preseason team. Transfer senior guard Zek Montgomery was named to the MVC preseason second team, after last year averaging 9.1 points for Rhode Island.
Deen, who is described by teammates as the leader of the team, led the team with 88 three-pointers and averaged 13.9 points in 2023-24. Hannah led the MVC with a .612 field goal percentage last year. They will play massive roles on the team again in 2024.
The Braves’ slogan for the season is “All We Need,” which is also the title of a docu-series they are producing this season which will follow their team throughout the season.
“I still drive energy every day, I still drive intensity, I think you have to coach that every day,” said head coach Brian Wardle in episode one of “All We Need.” “It’s a whole family type feel.”
Bradley’s strength comes in their strong group of returning players, including eight seniors, seven of whom were with the Braves last year. Because of how long they’ve played together, they will be a tough team to beat, especially for a Wazzu bunch that is still becoming more comfortable with each other.
For WSU, the team will be focused on finding its groove. The team is very new, featuring only one returner who played last season. The biggest question the Cougs need to answer is how long will it take for them to gel. It may not take long, considering four of their transfers and new head coach David Riley come from Eastern Washington. There is already a lot of familiarity there.
“Our players are excited,” said Riley.
The starting five is going to be a “work in progress,” according to Riley. Options include Nate Calmese, Isaiah Watts, LeJuan Watts, Ethan Price, ND Okafor, Cedric Coward, and Dane Erikstrup.
“The chemistry is good,” said Riley. “We’ve done a lot of stuff off the court, we’ve done a lot of stuff making them communicate in practice.”
He noted that the team has yet to face adversity, so that will be their next test. It is quite possible Bradley could be their first experience with diversity.
Both games are at 8 p.m.
