It is no secret that the WSU men’s basketball team has suffered from numerous injuries this year, but it has also opened up opportunities for younger players to make an impact and grow in their development.
With Cedric Coward and Marcus Jones out for the season, Rihard Vavers also likely out for the season and Isaiah Watts missing the past month with a left-hand injury, the Cougs have been shorthanded for pretty much the whole season.
With only eight healthy scholarship players still on the team, it has been an ‘all hands on deck’ sort of feeling. Freshman Parker Gerrits, Tomas Thrastarson and Kase Wynott have been asked to step up and play a much larger role than they were expected to this year, and the team has had to get used to their next man-up mentality.
For Thrastarson, it has been an especially wild ride. The freshman, who is six-foot-six and comes from Thorlakshofn, Iceland was barely playing at the beginning of the season. He played four minutes in the Cougs home opener, then played only two minutes against Idaho and one minute against Eastern Washington. From there, his playing time began to steadily increase, as he moved up the depth chart. After Isaiah Watts’ injury against Washington, Thrastarson stepped into the starting lineup, and he has started the past eight games.
He recently scored a career-high 17 points in the Cougars win over Loyola Marymount and logged a career-high 35 minutes against Pacific.
“Get the call when you get the call, just stay ready,” said Thrastarson on his mentality early in the season. He kept himself ready and it has paid off.
Thrastarson’s biggest impact has not been his scoring, it has been his defensive presence. He has 14 blocks, and is quickly climbing the West Coast Conference leaderboard, now ranked 11th in blocks on the season.
Isaiah Watts called him the “freshman of the year,” and for good reason. His contributions continue to grow, and his impact has been crucial for the Cougs to keep up their success even without Coward, Vavers and Watts.
The freshman gave credit to his veteran mentors when speaking to the media this week, saying both Coward and Watts have helped him throughout the season.
“They’ve been great for me,” said Thrastarson. “They help me run through plays, where to be and stand to always be ready on the court.”
Also making an impact from the bench is junior ND Okafor. The Cal transfer averaged 3.7 points and 13.3 minutes as a freshman in 2022, but last year he was limited to just nine games due to injuries.
This year he has been able to unlock more of the potential he showed as a freshman. Okafor is averaging 5.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. He ranks second in the WCC with 26 blocks. His presence in the paint has helped the Cougs defense, as opposing guards have struggled to get past the six-foot-nine forward.
Last Saturday during the Cougs 92-70 win against Portland, Okafor played a season-high 19 minutes and scored a career-high 12 points, while adding six rebounds.
“I feel like when I roll deep and seal, that’s where I’m at my best,” said Okafor. “Just trying to be more of a paint presence.”
Freshman Parker Gerrits and Kase Wynott have also been developing as they have moved from the end of the bench to serve as the team’s seventh and eighth men off the bench.
Gerrits, an Olympia, WA native, has been described by head coach David Riley as the hardest worker on the team. He redshirted last year and was one of just two scholarship players to return to WSU for this season.
So far, Gerrits is averaging 8.9 minutes, 1.9 points, 0.5 steals, 0.9 assists, and 0.8 rebounds. However, since December 18th, those numbers have taken a big leap. In the past eight games, he is averaging 11.1 minutes, 3.6 points, 1.1 steals, 1.4 assists and 1 rebound. He scored a career-high seven points during the Cougars loss at Gonzaga and played a career-high 16 minutes during the Cougs win over San Francisco.
Wynott, a true freshman and Idaho native, has also stepped up, averaging 16 minutes a game, while also contributing 1.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.5 points.
“Parker’s had three or four games where he’s really impacted…winning,” said Riley. “Kase is starting to come into his own, it was good to see him knock down some shots.”
He acknowledged that the two have played the fewest minutes on the team, but are growing quickly, and said he expects to see them continue to get more comfortable in the system.
What the Cougs may have lost in terms of offensive production with Coward and Watts being out, they have made up for in defense, as players like Thrastarson, Okafor, Gerrits and Wynott have stepped into larger roles.
It has changed the trajectory of the team. Until Watts’ injury, the team was rated higher on offense than on defense. Now that has flipped. For the first time, the NET rankings have WSU ranked higher defensively. They now have the No. 86 defense and the No. 98 offense.
Although Watts is scheduled to return soon, all four players have proved they can step up and help the Cougs win games when needed.
