Speed is the name of second-year Head Coach Ernie Kent’s game, and after a year of adjustments and a strong recruiting class, the Washington State men’s basketball team has made crucial steps toward becoming the team that can run Coach Kent’s up-tempo system.

The Cougars finished the 2014-15 season with a 13-18 record (7-11 Pac-12), and a first round loss in the Pac-12 Tournament. As Kent heads into his second year with the program, he said this Cougar basketball team is bigger and faster than last year’s. The biggest reasons are the seven returning players who know how to run and operate the system, along with the addition of seven newcomers who bring more size and depth to the unit.

The Cougars have two new centers this year in 6-foot-10-inch, 235-pound redshirt junior Valentine Izundu, and 7-foot, 274-pound junior Conor Clifford. Izundu sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.

“He (Izundu) came here very raw offensively and now all of a sudden he’s making post moves, he’s spinning on people,” Kent said. “He’s always been a big-time dunker where you could throw the ball up because he’s such an athlete and he’s a tremendous shot blocker.”

Kent added Izundu has a standing jump reach of 12-feet, which should change the game defensively for the Cougars this season.

Clifford has size as well as experience in a winning culture. Clifford averaged 14.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks for Saddleback College last year, helping the Gauchos to a state title and a 33-2 record.

“I originally transferred out of a Division-I school (UC Irvine) so I know what Division-I (play) is like,” Clifford said. “Pac-12 is at a higher level (of size) than the Big West so it has been a bit of a jump, but I believe I am ready for it.”

Out of the seven new faces on this year’s roster, Kent pointed out freshman guard Viont’e Daniels as the biggest surprise.

“The consistency of what he’s done from the day one he’s gotten in the door to now he’s been really point on in everything we want him to do,” Kent said of Daniels. “He can shoot it, he can run, he just does everything right.”

Daniels averaged 24 points, six rebounds, and four assists per game last season as a senior at Federal Way High School. The 6-2, 163-pound guard helped Federal Way capture the 2015 State title with a 27-2 overall record, and was named The Tacoma News Tribune, Seattle Times, and Associated Press Washington State 4A Player of the Year for 2015.

“It’s taken me a minute to get in the transition of finding different ways to get open, get my teammates open because everybody’s just so much bigger and athletic (at the collegiate level),” Daniels said. “I’m still working on it and I’m sure I’ll get it though.”

The freshman guard added that junior guard Ike Iroegbu and junior forward Josh Hawkinson have helped Daniels with the transition of playing at the collegiate level.

Iroegbu and Hawkinson return as two of the Cougars’ top-three scorers from last season. Hawkinson finished second on the team in scoring last year, averaging 14.7 points per game. Though Hawkinson tallied high numbers for the Cougars’ last season, he believes anyone on this team is capable of scoring.

“I think I’m pretty consistent, but I think in order to find the most success for the team is more team basketball,” Hawkinson said. “Since we lost DaVonte (Lacy), it’s not just going to be one man running the show. Anyone can score any certain amount of points on any given night. I think that’s what makes our team so dangerous.”

Iroegbu finished third on the team in scoring last season, averaging 8.9 points per game. The former Oak Hill Academy guard spent the early part of last season playing on the wing instead of the point guard position which Kent said helped him learn where the ball needs to be placed in the system.

Toward the end of last season, Kent switched Iroegbu back to the point guard position, where he became more efficient at running the offense. In the last four games of the 2014-2015 season, Iroegbu averaged 6.5 assists.

Sophomore Ny Redding is another returning guard who is expected to have a big role for the Cougs. Redding started 17 of 31 games last season and averaged 4.1 points and 3.3 assists per game. The Cleveland native said he worked on shooting this offseason.

“I spent a lot of my days getting up at least 500 makes a day on the gun,” Redding said. “Shooting game shots and stuff like that.”

The WSU men’s basketball team will play an exhibition against Lewis-Clark State for its first game of the season at 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 in Beasley Coliseum.