When one of Washington State’s basketball players make a big play, the most eye-catching thing on the court isn’t the dunk, 3-pointer or block. It’s the choreographed reaction that takes place on the bench next to coach Ernie Kent.
The backups have routines for free throws, for consecutive 3-pointers, for dunks — and they are always adding more.
“We come up with stuff every day. We’ll walk around campus trying out new handshakes and just make stuff up on the spot,” said reserve guard Steven Shpreyregin, who is one of the ringleaders of WSU’s bench mob.
For example, when a teammate lines up to shoot free throws, freshman forward Jeff Pollard will say, “Liquid lollipop,” prompting every player on the WSU bench to stomp twice with their right foot and then cross that foot over their left leg.