Washington State is in the middle of a huge transition. Head Coach Ernie Kent is gone, after never finishing above 13 wins in his five seasons. In his place the Cougars have hired Kyle Smith. Smith has had solid tenures at Columbia and San Francisco, winning the CIT with the former and getting to the CBI a couple times with the latter.
He’s got a big rebuild ahead of him. Most of Washington State’s top scorers from last season are gone, including Forward Robert Franks, who led the team. Also gone are Ahmed Ali and Viont’e Daniels, meaning the Cougars have lost 3 of there top five performers in minutes and scoring.