rebounds
Wazzu keeps rebounds in one place: 3 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Jaylen Harrell drops 15 a game, Cougs still hungry for that first W”, “Riley's mystery big man is 6-10 and French, welcome Mohamed Sankhe”, and “Cougs add a 6-8 forward who likes to score”. Jaylen Harrell is putting up numbers. David Riley has been hinting at a mystery big man for months. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every rebounds story on Wazzu, newest first.
Jaylen Harrell drops 15 a game, Cougs still hungry for that first W
Jaylen Harrell is putting up numbers. Fifteen and a half a game, shooting 91% from two-point range. That's not a typo. The redshirt freshman wing from Boston earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, and he earned it the old-fashioned way: by being the best thing on the floor for a winless Cougar team. Washington State is 0-2. That stings. But Harrell's emergence is the kind of small victory you grab onto in November. He came over from Providence, played six games last year before an injury shut him down, and now he's the guy making the offense go. Two-way acumen, the release says. That's coach-speak for a kid who plays hard on both ends and doesn't take plays off. The Cougars are on the road again Tuesday at Duquesne. Then they host Division II Northwest on Saturday. That second one is a game you're supposed to win. But the first one? That's a chance to see if Harrell can keep this going against a real test. If you're looking for more on the Cougar week ahead, our piece on the Colorado State matchup, "Saturday night under the lights in Pullman with nothing left to lose", is worth your time. For now, the record says 0-2. The tape says Harrell is real. Go Cougs.
Riley's mystery big man is 6-10 and French, welcome Mohamed Sankhe
David Riley has been hinting at a mystery big man for months. Turns out he's 6-foot-10, French, and his name is Mohamed Sankhe. Welcome to Pullman. Sankhe announced his signing Thursday, and he's the final piece of Riley's 2026-27 roster. Born in Senegal, he most recently played in France's Pro B league, where he put up 5.3 points and 5.5 boards in 18 minutes a game. That 54% shooting from the field? Efficient. This summer at the U20 Euro Championships, he bumped those numbers to 10 points and 6.8 rebounds, shooting 56% and leading France to the semifinals. He dropped a double-double on Croatia: 18 and 11. He went for 11 and nine against Germany. Now, the question. Can he protect the rim? Last season he averaged 0.4 blocks per game. That's guard territory for a guy his size. He did have three games with two blocks, and he was only playing 18 minutes, so maybe there's more there. What he does bring is size the Cougs desperately needed last year. They got bullied by big post players. Sankhe collected four double-digit rebound games last season, including a 13-board night. He's a true post player too, didn't attempt a single three in 41 games. That's a departure from Riley's typical stretch big, but Ladji Dembele can handle that role. Sankhe is the 13th newcomer on this roster. If you want the full nonconference schedule, check out our story on the Cougs and Redhawks at Climate Pledge. Go Cougs.
Cougs add a 6-8 forward who likes to score
The Cougs just added a 6-8 forward who likes to score, and that's a good thing for a roster that lost 12 players. Ronnie Harrison, out of East Texas A&M, put up 14.7 points and 6.1 boards last season, shooting 53% inside the arc. He's not a three-point gunner, 30% from deep, but he gets buckets from everywhere else. He also blocks shots and picks pockets, so the two-way stuff is there. Harrison is the fourth addition this spring for David Riley and his staff. He joins Manhattan's Fraser Roxburgh, TCU's RJ Jones, and Central Missouri's Lazerek Houston, who averaged over 20 points as a true freshman. That's some serious scoring depth. Harrison mostly played power forward and center for the Lions, so he gives Riley flexibility up front. The Cougs are essentially rebuilding. Of last season's team, only Dominik Robinson and walk-on Dio Blakely return. Ace Glass is gone to the SEC, and we wrote about that in "Ace Glass trades Crimson for Gold as fourth Coug exits Pullman." That one stung, but Harrison is the kind of get that helps you move on. He's a Dallas kid who started at Tarleton State before finding his groove at East Texas A&M. He became their top scorer in a hurry. Now he's a Coug. For a team that needed bodies and buckets, this is a solid pickup. Go Cougs.