NBA draft
Wazzu keeps NBA draft in one place: 3 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Cedric Coward's Summer League debut was worth the year-long wait”, “Mouhamed Gueye traded buckets for defense, and it's working”, and “Wazzu's newest Coug comes from D-II, and he can fill it up”. CEDRIC COWARD FINALLY PLAYED Summer League basketball, and he looked like a guy who's been doing this at a higher level for a year. Mouhamed Gueye walked into the NBA as a scorer. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every NBA draft story on Wazzu, newest first.
Cedric Coward's Summer League debut was worth the year-long wait
CEDRIC COWARD FINALLY PLAYED Summer League basketball, and he looked like a guy who's been doing this at a higher level for a year. The former Washington State wing dropped 17 and 10 in Memphis' one-point win over Chicago, and that stat line undersells it. He was the only double-double on the floor in a game featuring the No. 3 and No. 4 picks. That's the kind of night you wait a year for. Coward missed last summer recovering from the shoulder injury that limited his senior season in Pullman. He spent the actual NBA season finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting, starting 47 games for the Grizzlies. Now he's back in Vegas telling reporters the math is simple: six wins for a Summer League title. He wants the whole thing. Jaylen Wells was watching courtside, which is a nice visual for Coug fans who remember when those two were in the same uniform. For a deeper look at how another former Coug is finding his way in the league, check out our piece on Isaac Jones landing in Detroit after a mid-flight cut. Coward's got the confidence of a guy who's already proven it. He called his rookie teammate Cam Boozer 18 and said he's glad Boozer's on his side. That's the kind of veteran energy Memphis wants from him. The Grizzlies are running their Summer League defense through him, and he's responding. One game down. Five to go. Go Cougs.
Mouhamed Gueye traded buckets for defense, and it's working
Mouhamed Gueye walked into the NBA as a scorer. He's making his money as a stopper. That's the kind of pivot that keeps a second-round pick in the league, and after watching him play 77 games this season for Atlanta, it's working. Gueye averaged 14.3 and 8.4 at WSU. He was the guy. Then he got to the Hawks and realized everybody in the building can put the ball in the basket. So he figured out the other end. At 6-11 with a 7-3 wingspan, he can guard one through five. That's not a throwaway line. That's how you go from six games as a rookie to a rotation guy on a playoff team. The numbers won't jump off your phone screen, 4.4 points, 3.6 boards, but the Hawks don't need him to score. They need him to make life miserable for whoever he's guarding. He did that all season, and now Atlanta is the fifth seed in the East, headed to New York to open the playoffs Saturday. Gueye also keeps an eye on the Coug pipeline. Klay Thompson is still the standard, and Gueye says every time they see each other it's "Go Cougs." Jaylen Wells and Cedric Coward are in Memphis. Isaac Jones is in Detroit. The fraternity is small, but it's growing. If you're tracking how WSU hoops is rebuilding, our story on the Cougs adding a big body from Northwestern is worth a read.
Wazzu's newest Coug comes from D-II, and he can fill it up
Pullman just watched its backcourt get a whole lot more interesting. Washington State landed Central Missouri transfer Lazerek Houston on Tuesday, and if you haven't seen the numbers yet, strap in. The 6-foot, 155-pound guard averaged 20.8 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists as a true freshman, shooting 46.2% from the floor and 37% from deep. That's not just filling it up; that's a full-blown breakout. Houston's debut was a 35-point eruption against Colorado School of Mines, and he added 11 assists and 4 steals for good measure. He cleared 30 points six more times, including a 34-point night against Northwest Missouri State. He's also a willing passer, dishing 12 dimes against Emporia State and 10 against Drury. The MIAA Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors are nice, but the fact that DraftExpress's D2 model ranked him as the top Division II player in the portal? That's the kind of résumé that travels. Can he make the leap? Wazzu has seen this movie before. Jaylen Wells came from Division II and turned into the No. 39 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Houston doesn't need to be that, but if he's half as productive, Riley's got something. He's the second addition of the offseason, joining Manhattan transfer Fraser Roxburgh, and with 12 players gone from last year's roster, the Cougars need every bucket they can get.