2006-07 in review

Cougar 2007-08 61 2006-07 review

COUGARS ENJOY RECORD SETTING SEASON IN 2006-07

Entering the 2006-07 season, the Washington SOLID START FOR WSU State University men’s basketball team looked for a The Cougars started off the season 7-0, including three wins at the John Thompson Foundation Classic fresh start with its new head coach, Tony Bennett. in Milwaukee, Wis. Not only did this mark the start of The squad also yearned for a turnaround year in Bennett’s career in his home state, but also marked the best the record books. Although the Cougars were November in school history. WSU finished behind UCLA for second place in the Pac-10 with a 13-5 conference record. picked to finish last in the Pac-10, perseverance and determination led to one of the most COUGARS MAKE IT FIVE IN A ROW OVER HUSKIES successful seasons in school history. WSU notched three victories over arch-rival University of Washington which extended its streak to five in a row Highlighted by a second round appearance over the Huskies in the last two seasons. The three victories in the NCAA Tournament, the first tournament marked the first time WSU has defeated Washington three appearance for the Cougars since 1994, the times in a season since 1949-50. Other memorable conference games included late season motivational team slogan “Turnaround Year” victories over No. 20 Arizona (Feb. 1) and No. 25 Stanford (T.A.Y.) proved to be true. (Feb. 8). WSU’s five wins over ranked opponents equaled Finishing with a school record tying 26 wins, the the most defeated in one season since 1994-95.

Cougars posted a momentum shifting victory over SEVERAL PLAYERS COME UP BIG FOR WSU No. 18 Gonzaga early in the season and never The young Cougar roster, comprised of only three looked back. WSU also notched thrilling overtime seniors, showed a wealth of talent throughout the entire season. Juniors Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver added to their victories at Friel Court versus No. 7 Arizona and a phenomenal careers and continued to move up the all-time double-overtime victory over No. 23 USC. leader board for WSU.

Aron Baynes set the school record for Tony Bennett earned numerous national awards Ivory Clark tallied his first career double-double percentage after going 10-for-10 from the field after leading WSU to its record-setting season in in the Cougars’ 58-45 win over No. 25 Stanford, in the Cougar’s overtime defeat of USC, March 3. his first year at the helm. Feb. 8.

62 Cougar Basketball 2007-08 2006-07 review

Low started in all 34 games for the Cougars and was with his two 3-pointers late in the game to defeat Boise named to the All-Pacific-10 Conference first team. With his State 65-63 (Nov. 25). Harmeling continued his success dominant season, Low now ranks third on the WSU all- by earning the Pac-10 Player of the Week award with his time list in percentage (.810) and tied for ninth average 15.5 points and five rebounds in nonconference with 3-point field goals (128). Low also ranks in the top 20 games versus No. 18 Gonzaga (Dec. 5) and Idaho (Dec. all-time in steals (95), 3-point field goal percentage (.372), 10). assists (201), steals average (1.23) and assists average Harmeling’s success did not stop as he won another (2.61). Pac-10 Player of the Week award Feb. 5 with his Low had a career-night on Jan. 27 against No. 7 Oregon performances in the sweep over the Arizona schools. as he posted 37 points including nine 3-pointers. His nine Harmeling averaged 14 points and 2.5 rebounds and treys tied the WSU record for most in a game. Showing his shot 10-for-22 (45 percent) from the field, including stamina and endurance, Low set the Cougar single-season 5-for-12 from behind the arc. With his two Pac-10 honors, record with 1,170 minutes played in 34 contests. Harmeling became only the second Cougar to win the Junior Kyle Weaver also posted a career year and was award twice in the same season. named to the All-Pacific-10 first team. He became the first Other spectacular individual performances came student-athlete in Pac-10 history to have at least 300 points throughout the season as junior Robbie Cowgill notched a (382), 125 rebounds (190), 125 assists (157), 50 steals (74) double-double in the Cougars’ 70-55 victory over Oregon and 35 blocks (40) in the same season. State (Jan. 25). Cowgill tallied a career-high 18 points and Weaver now ranks fifth on the WSU all-time list in grabbed 11 rebounds in his only double-double of the average (3.65), seventh in assists (314), eighth in steals season. (128) and 11th in steals average (1.48), blocks (68) and The defensive prowess of senior Ivory Clark was felt in the blocks average (.791). His spectacular season included five 58-45 win over No. 25 Stanford (Feb. 8). Clark tallied his double-doubles, including the first of his career versus San first career double-double with 11 points and a career high Diego State (Dec. 21). Weaver also achieved the first triple- 10 rebounds. double in school history at Stanford, Jan. 13, where he The massive depth of the Cougar roster was also noticed tallied 14 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and 10 assists. as sophomore Aron Baynes produced a career night late in Early in the season, sharp-shooting redshirt sophomore the season in the thrilling double-overtime victory against Daven Harmeling started the trend of clutch performances No. 23 USC (March 3). Baynes scored a career-high 25

Robbie Cowgill (left) and Daven Harmeling Robbie Cowgill and assistant coach Matt Woodley are all smiles after WSU’s 70-54 victory over celebrate WSU’s 88-86 overtime victory over Oral Roberts in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. No. 23 USC at Friel Court, March 3.

Cougar Basketball 2007-08 63 2006-07 review

receiving votes after upsetting then-No. 18 Gonzaga, Dec. 5 and never looked back. The team earned the first AP ranking (No. 22, Jan. 8) since Feb. 1983. At the seasons end, WSU ranked 13th in the AP poll and 17th in the ESPN/ USA Today poll. Besides the impressive rankings and regular season triumphs, the Cougar squad also performed well in the NCAA Tournament. Making their first trip to the “Big Dance” since 1994, the team also posted the first tournament victory since 1983. The 70-54 first round defeat of Oral Roberts, March 15 propelled the team to the second round versus Vanderbilt. The sensational season did however come to an end, March 17, after a heartbreaking double-overtime loss (78-74). Aron Baynes enjoys the moment with fans after the Cougars’ 77-67 upset victory over Gonzaga, Dec. 5. BENNETT EARNS NATIONAL HONORS points to help the Cougars clinch second place in the The amazing success of the 2006-07 season came Pac-10 Tournament. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Rochestie from the helm of first year head coach Tony Bennett. In also produced season highlights against USC as he his fourth year with WSU, Bennett took the reigns from registered season-highs with 21 points and five rebounds. his father Dick Bennett and produced a record-setting He came on strong late in the season, scoring in double- debut. With the vast accomplishments of the team came digits in four of WSU’s final five games. numerous awards for coach Bennett. Besides earning the Naismith award for national coach COUGARS EARN NATIONAL RECOGNITION… of the year, Bennett earned the Associated Press, The GO DANCING Sporting News, United States Basketball Writers Association, As a team, Washington State finished it’s record-setting Basketball Times, CBS/Chevrolet, Collegehoops.net, season in the top 25 of both the Associated Press (No. 13) Collegeinsider.com (Jim Phelan Award) and Rivals.com and ESPN/USA Today (No. 17) polls. The Cougars began National Coach of the Year honors.

Redshirt sophomore Daven Harmeling became the second Cougar to earn two Pac-10 Player of the In his junior season, Derrick Low became Week Awards in the same season, adding All-Academic first team accolades. a quick fan favorite and earned several conference, regional and national honors.

64 Cougar Basketball 2007-08 2006-07 review

The Cougars and fans celebrate after learning they were selected as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In addition to his national honors, coach Bennett was named Pacific-10 Conference, United States Basketball Writers Association District 9, National Association of Basketball Coaches District 14 and Collegeinsider. com Pacific-10 coach of the year. His awards and accomplishments from the 2006-07 season make him the most decorated Pac-10 coach in a single season.

FANS FLOCK TO FRIEL COURT With the success of the 2006-07 season, came mobs of fans to Friel Court. Washington State drew a total of 104,525 fans to its home arena with an average attendance of 7,466, making the highest average attendance since the 1995-96 season. The Cougars sold out games against then No. 18 Gonzaga (Dec. 5), Washington (Jan. 20), No. 2 UCLA (March 1), and No. 23 USC (March 3) and drew 11,092 against No. 7 Oregon (Jan. 27). The Jan. 20 defeat over Washington brought the largest crowd (11,618) to Friel Court since March 7, 1983 when WSU defeated No. 6 UCLA in front of 12,422 fans.

COUGARS RECOGNIZED IN THE CLASSROOM Along with the accolades on the court, several Cougars earned academic awards with their dedicated school work off the court. Sophomore Aron Baynes, junior Robbie Cowgill and redshirt sophomore Daven Harmeling were named to the Pacific-10 All-Academic First Team. This was the first time in school history that three student-athletes earned the honor in the same season.

Kyle Weaver had a breakout season for the Cougars, topping off his season with Pacific-10 Conference first team all-league honors.

Cougar Basketball 2007-08 65 ncaa tournament

Cougars Earn First Trip to the “Big Dance” Since 1994

• Washington State made its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1994.

• The Cougars posted their first NCAA Tournament win since 1983 with a 70-54 defeat of Oral Roberts in the First Round.

• WSU nearly advanced to the regional semifinal, but fell 78-74 in double- overtime to Vanderbilt, March 17.

• Tony Bennett became just the fourth coach in WSU history to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament.

• The Cougars are 4-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

• WSU made its first appearance in the tournament in 1941, falling to Wisconsin, 39-34, in the championship game.

66 Cougar Basketball 2007-08 2006-07 box score

2006-07 statistics – all games

RECORD: OVERALL hOME AWAY NEUTRAL ALL GAMES 26-8 13-2 8-4 5-2 CONFERENCE 13-5 7-2 6-3 0-0 NON-CONFERENCE 13-3 6-0 2-1 5-2

TOTAL 3-PTS REBOUNDS ## Player GP GS Min Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG FGA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg PF FO A TO Blk Stl Pts Avg 02 Low, Derrick 34 34 1170 34.4 166 372 .446 75 188 .399 60 76 .789 8 65 73 2.1 62 0 73 46 5 45 467 13.7 25 Weaver, Kyle 34 33 1152 33.9 133 273 .487 9 38 .237 107 139 .770 56 135 191 5.6 73 1 157 93 40 74 382 11.2 32 Harmeling, Daven 33 21 881 26.7 102 213 .479 55 128 .430 36 49 .735 8 88 96 2.9 58 0 29 22 11 10 295 8.9 33 Clark, Ivory 34 23 818 24.1 117 234 .500 2 16 .125 48 73 .658 49 109 158 4.6 80 4 33 43 53 26 284 8.4 34 Cowgill, Robbie 34 34 983 28.9 110 234 .470 1 7 .143 54 79 .684 53 129 182 5.4 101 2 42 46 29 24 275 8.1 11 Baynes, Aron 26 7 426 16.4 46 93 .495 0 0 .000 42 65 .646 33 47 80 3.1 62 1 3 13 11 4 134 5.2 10 Rochestie, Taylor 34 6 571 16.8 53 116 .457 18 46 .391 34 44 .773 7 40 47 1.4 25 1 66 34 1 14 158 4.6 04 Koprivica, Nikola 15 4 213 14.2 23 56 .411 8 29 .276 15 23 .652 2 21 23 1.5 20 0 12 9 1 5 69 4.6 01 Hopson, Mac 21 7 337 16.0 29 74 .392 13 29 .448 18 24 .750 4 34 38 1.8 28 0 41 26 0 17 89 4.2 05 Matthews, Chris 17 0 195 11.5 23 54 .426 14 41 .341 3 7 .429 2 22 24 1.4 11 0 8 10 1 3 63 3.7 42 Henry, Chris 6 0 28 4.7 5 7 .714 0 0 .000 1 2 .500 0 4 4 0.7 4 0 0 2 0 0 11 1.8 52 Forrest, Caleb 23 0 167 7.3 16 43 .372 0 4 .000 7 12 .583 7 19 26 1.1 22 0 6 8 3 4 39 1.7 23 Chavers, Antonio 3 1 12 4.0 1 5 .200 1 1 1.000 0 0 .000 0 1 1 0.3 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 1.0 21 Cross, Jeremy 7 0 18 2.6 2 3 .667 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 1 1 0.1 5 0 1 0 0 0 4 0.6 24 Bailey, Ryan 2 0 2 1.0 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 1 1 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 50 Plaister, Arlen 1 0 2 2.0 0 1 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 TM TEAM...... 41 58 99 3.0 0 3 Total...... 34 826 1778 .465 196 527 .372 425 593 .717 270 774 1044 30.7 552 9 472 355 155 226 2273 66.9 Opponents...... 34 709 1754 .404 202 611 .331 404 590 .685 358 761 1119 32.9 567 15 326 473 83 156 2024 59.5

SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd OT OT2 Total DEADBALL REBOUNDS: OFF DEF TOTAL Washington State 1047 1160 43 23 2273 Washington State 76 11 87 Opponents 936 1018 45 25 2024 Opponents 88 13 101

2006-07 statistics – pac-10 games TOTAL 3-PTS REBOUNDS ## Player GP GS Min Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG FGA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg PF FO A TO Blk Stl Pts Avg 02 Low, Derrick 18 18 627 34.8 74 188 .394 36 96 .375 34 45 .756 5 34 39 2.2 31 0 47 28 3 20 218 12.1 25 Weaver, Kyle 18 17 650 36.1 75 147 .510 4 20 .200 62 81 .765 28 84 112 6.2 36 0 95 53 23 48 216 12.0 32 Harmeling, Daven 18 16 538 29.9 60 133 .451 36 79 .456 21 28 .750 4 53 57 3.2 32 0 16 10 6 5 177 9.8 34 Cowgill, Robbie 18 18 551 30.6 61 117 .521 0 2 .000 28 40 .700 26 72 98 5.4 54 1 21 21 15 10 150 8.3 33 Clark, Ivory 18 14 447 24.8 59 121 .488 1 6 .167 25 40 .625 23 61 84 4.7 44 3 18 18 31 10 144 8.0 11 Baynes, Aron 15 1 238 15.9 30 54 .556 0 0 .000 20 32 .625 14 30 44 2.9 33 0 2 6 6 2 80 5.3 04 Koprivica, Nikola 9 3 137 15.2 16 40 .400 4 18 .222 7 13 .538 2 11 13 1.4 15 0 10 6 1 3 43 4.8 10 Rochestie, Taylor 18 2 294 16.3 28 49 .571 9 19 .474 20 25 .800 3 20 23 1.3 14 0 32 19 0 3 85 4.7 05 Matthews, Chris 8 0 80 10.0 10 26 .385 6 20 .300 1 2 .500 1 8 9 1.1 2 0 3 2 1 3 27 3.4 01 Hopson, Mac 7 0 67 9.6 5 18 .278 1 7 .143 3 6 .500 1 10 11 1.6 7 0 3 5 0 4 14 2.0 52 Forrest, Caleb 11 0 71 6.5 6 17 .353 0 2 .000 3 3 1.000 1 9 10 0.9 10 0 1 3 0 2 15 1.4 23 Chavers, Antonio 3 1 12 4.0 1 5 .200 1 1 1.000 0 0 .000 0 1 1 0.3 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 1.0 21 Cross, Jeremy 3 0 10 3.3 1 1 1.000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 1 1 0.3 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0.7 24 Bailey, Ryan 1 0 1 1.0 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 1 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 50 Plaister, Arlen 1 0 2 2.0 0 1 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 TM TEAM...... 16 28 44 2.6 0 1 Total...... 18 426 917 .465 98 270 .363 224 315 .711 124 423 547 30.4 282 4 250 172 86 110 1174 65.2 Opponents...... 18 380 959 .396 108 338 .320 198 296 .669 199 416 615 34.2 293 7 196 219 51 76 1066 59.2

SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd OT OT2 Total DEADBALL REBOUNDS: OFF DEF TOTAL Washington State 547 575 34 18 1174 Washington State 38 5 43 Opponents 482 532 36 16 1066 Opponents 50 4 54

category leaders FG PERCENTAGE FG ATT Pct POINTS G Pts Pts/G STEALS G No. S/G Ivory Clark 117 234 .500 Derrick Low 34 467 13.7 Kyle Weaver 34 74 2.2 Aron Baynes 46 93 .495 Kyle Weaver 34 382 11.2 Derrick Low 34 45 1.3 Kyle Weaver 133 273 .487 Daven Harmeling 33 295 8.9 Ivory Clark 34 26 0.8

3-POINT PERCENTAGE 3FG ATT Pct REBOUNDS G Reb Reb/G BLOCKED SHOTS G No. Blk/G Mac Hopson 13 29 .448 Kyle Weaver 34 191 5.6 Ivory Clark 34 53 1.6 Daven Harmeling 55 128 .430 Robbie Cowgill 34 182 5.4 Kyle Weaver 34 40 1.2 Derrick Low 75 188 .399 Ivory Clark 34 158 4.6 Robbie Cowgill 34 29 0.9

FT PERCENTAGE FT ATT Pct ASSISTS G No. A/G Derrick Low 60 76 .789 Kyle Weaver 34 157 4.6 Taylor Rochestie 34 44 .773 Derrick Low 34 73 2.1 Kyle Weaver 107 139 .770 Taylor Rochestie 34 66 1.9

Cougar Basketball 2007-08 67 game-by-game

2006-07 results

DATE TIME OPPONENT W/L SCORE ATTEND OVERALL PAC-10 hIGH POINTS hIGH REBOUNDS 11/10/06 5 p.m. #vs Alabama-Birmingham W 71-60 3154 1-0 0-0 (28)Low, Derrick (7)Weaver, Kyle (7)Clark, Ivory 11/11/06 7:35 p.m. #at UW-Milwaukee W 74-54 3736 2-0 0-0 (20)Clark, Ivory (10)Cowgill, Robbie 11/12/06 3 p.m. #vs Radford W 84-67 2765 3-0 0-0 (14)Low, Derrick (9)Clark, Ivory 11/17/06 8:35 p.m. TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO W 67-44 4755 4-0 0-0 (13)Hopson, Mac (7)Cowgill, Robbie (7)Clark, Ivory 11/21/06 7:05 p.m. IDAHO STATE W 66-60 2732 5-0 0-0 (22)Low, Derrick (8)Weaver, Kyle 11/25/06 1:05 pm &BOISE STATE W 65-63 3128 6-0 0-0 (17)Low, Derrick (6)Clark, Ivory 11/29/06 7:05 p.m. PORTLAND W 62-50 3521 7-0 0-0 (12)Harmeling, Daven (6)Clark, Ivory (12)Clark, Ivory 12/2/06 7:05 PM at Utah L 55-69 9351 7-1 0-0 (16)Cowgill, Robbie (4)Harmeling, Daven (4)Weaver, Kyle (4)Cowgill, Robbie 12/5/06 7:06 p.m. NO. 18 GONZAGA W 77-67 10755 8-1 0-0 (22)Low, Derrick (8)Cowgill, Robbie 12/9/06 9:50 p.m. at Idaho W 66-54 1981 9-1 0-0 (14)Hopson, Mac (8)Baynes, Aron (14)Low, Derrick 12/16/06 2:05 p.m. CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE W 69-50 2938 10-1 0-0 (17)Low, Derrick (6)Clark, Ivory (6)Weaver, Kyle 12/21/06 7:37 p.m. ^vs San Diego State W 64-54 5872 11-1 0-0 (17)Cowgill, Robbie (11)Weaver, Kyle 12/28/06 7:30 p.m. *at No. 1 UCLA L 52-55 11102 11-2 0-1 (14)Low, Derrick (10)Weaver, Kyle 12/30/06 3:00 PM *at USC W 58-55 5924 12-2 1-1 (13)Low, Derrick (6)Harmeling, Daven (6)Cowgill, Robbie 1/4/07 7:05 p.m. *ARIZONA STATE W 75-55 3663 13-2 2-1 (16)Cowgill, Robbie (5)Cowgill, Robbie 1/6/07 7:08 p.m. *NO. 7 ARIZONA WOT 77-73 7181 14-2 3-1 (28)Harmeling, Daven (10)Weaver, Kyle 1/11/07 7:30 p.m. *at California W 73-56 7319 15-2 4-1 (14)Weaver, Kyle (7)Harmeling, Daven (14)Clark, Ivory (14)Harmeling, Daven 1/13/07 4:05 p.m. *at Stanford University LOT 68-71 7283 15-3 4-2 (16)Low, Derrick (13)Weaver, Kyle (16)Clark, Ivory 1/20/07 3:04 p.m. *WASHINGTON W 75-47 11618 16-3 5-2 (20)Low, Derrick (8)Weaver, Kyle 1/25/07 7:05 p.m. *OREGON STATE W 70-55 6816 17-3 6-2 (18)Cowgill, Robbie (11)Cowgill, Robbie 1/27/07 7:08 p.m. *NO. 7 OREGON LOT 74-77 11092 17-4 6-3 (37)Low, Derrick (7)Weaver, Kyle 2/1/07 6:30 p.m. *at No. 20 Arizona W 72-66 13922 18-4 7-3 (18)Clark, Ivory (7)Clark, Ivory 2/3/07 5:30 p.m. *at Arizona State W 48-47 9240 19-4 8-3 (16)Harmeling, Daven (8)Clark, Ivory 2/8/07 7:05 p.m. *NO. 25 STANFORD W 58-45 7456 20-4 9-3 (12)Weaver, Kyle (10)Clark, Ivory (12)Low, Derrick 2/10/07 2:05 p.m. *CALIFORNIA W 59-46 8762 21-4 10-3 (26)Harmeling, Daven (7)Clark, Ivory 2/14/07 7:00 p.m. *at Washington W 65-61 10000 22-4 11-3 (16)Rochestie, Taylor (6)Weaver, Kyle 2/22/07 8:05 p.m. *at No. 23 Oregon L 59-64 9087 22-5 11-4 (15)Harmeling, Daven (6)Hopson, Mac 2/24/07 5:07 p.m. *at Oregon State W 58-54 8082 23-5 12-4 (14)Baynes, Aron (6)Cowgill, Robbie (6)Baynes, Aron 3/1/07 7:34 p.m. *NO. 2 UCLA L 45-53 11618 23-6 12-5 (14)Weaver, Kyle (9)Cowgill, Robbie 3/3/07 4:06 p.m. *NO. 23 USC W2OT 88-86 11618 24-6 13-5 (25)Baynes, Aron (13)Weaver, Kyle 3/8/07 9:15 p.m. +vs Washington W 74-64 16585 25-6 13-5 (20)Rochestie, Taylor (4)Rochestie, Taylor (4)Cowgill, Robbie (4)Weaver, Kyle 3/9/07 8:45 p.m. +vs USC L 61-70 18196 25-7 13-5 (15)Low, Derrick (9)Baynes, Aron 3/15/07 11:30 a.m. !vs Oral Roberts W 70-54 15884 26-7 13-5 (19)Clark, Ivory (8)Weaver, Kyle 3/17/07 2:40 p.m. %vs Vanderbilt L2OT 74-78 16407 26-8 13-5 (21)Low, Derrick (6)Cowgill, Robbie (6)Weaver, Kyle

# - John Thompson Foundation Challenge (Milwaukee, Wis.) & - Played at Spokane Arena ^ - Cougar Hardwood Classic (Seattle) * - Pacific-10 Game + - Pacific-10 Tournament (Los Angeles) ! - NCAA First Round (Sacramento) % - NCAA Second Round (Sacramento)

68 Cougar Basketball 2007-08