Seen and heard from Pullman, Washington, where the Arizona Wildcats beat Washington State 86-82 in double overtime on Saturday night.
Assist, Zags
Rather than stay in the limited lodgings of the Pullman-Moscow area, the Wildcats have long made a habit of enjoying Spokane’s historic Davenport Hotel before facing the Cougars. They often work out at Gonzaga’s facilities, thanks in part to the friendship between UA coach Sean Miller and Gonzaga coach Mark Few.
But this time the Zags helped even more, in a sort of way that is fitting this season. Not only did UA hold a Friday practice and a Saturday morning shootaround inside Gonzaga’s old “Kennel," but the Wildcats also used Gonzaga’s COVID-19 testing machines to keep in line with Pac-12 daily testing guidelines without having to actually visit a Pac-12 school. After testing negative Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats took a 90-minute bus ride to Pullman.
The Wildcats were actually scheduled to visit Spokane and face the Zags there on Dec. 5, but both sides agreed to push the game into next season. Arizona didn’t want to travel for nonconference play (and probably realized how good the Zags were), while Gonzaga didn’t want to host Arizona without having its intimidating fans after having to deal with McKale Center fans last season.
Back to normal
The Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington.
While the Wildcats were forced to eat boxed meals in their rooms on their Seattle swing, The Davenport offered them a chance to live somewhat normally in Spokane.
The Wildcats ate team meals together inside the hotel's 4,000-square-foot meeting room.
“It’s probably more normal to what we do,” said Ryan Reynolds, UA’s director of basketball operations. “It’s a gigantic room and we had only three guys at each table.”
With no boosters or others added to their core travel party — and with injuries keeping Daniel Batcho (knee, out for at least another month) and walk-on Jordan Mains (who is day-to-day with a foot injury) home — the Wildcats had just 30 people in their traveling party. That meant they could also distance somewhat even on their 50-seat charter jet: There were single seats on one side of the jet, while many of the two-seat rows had just one body in them.
The jet was scheduled to meet the Wildcats in Pullman after Saturday’s game and ferry them directly home for an estimated 2:30 a.m. arrival.
Washed up
It was 40 degrees during the Wildcats’ drive from Spokane to Pullman late Saturday afternoon, with rain washing away much of the half-foot of snow that blanketed the Palouse before New Year’s Day.
That’s too bad for WSU coach Kyle Smith, who, like every Cougars coach, is eager to take advantage of the Pac-12’s most remote and often chilly location. Arizona and some teams base in Spokane and commute to the game, while others stay in the area.
“I don’t know how you play it if you’re coming here on the road,” Smith said Friday. “It’s not an easy trip. We’ve got some snow on the ground, so that’s good. I was hoping for a little wind, maybe 4-6 inches of snow, some black ice, make 'em go about 32 miles an hour. Make it a two and a half hour trip (from Spokane). We need every advantage.”
Remember him?
As a lightly recruited prospect out of the powerhouse Garfield High School program in Seattle, Terrell Brown began his college career by signing with Division II Western Oregon. The team was coached by Jim Shaw, who's now a WSU assistant coach.
Brown didn’t stay long, leaving for Shoreline Community College in Seattle after a few months before moving on to Seattle U and the UA. But Smith made sure to bring it that Western Oregon connection when his staff did a little film review of the Wildcats.
“We were laughing because I said, 'Brown’s really good. I wish we had someone who knew him. Maybe we could have got him?’" Smith said. “I was getting on (Shaw).”
(Cardboard) Coug pride
Normally with more empty seats than occupied ones, Washington State actually may have had just as much of a “fan” presence in cardboard cutouts that wrapped around three-fourths of the middle sections (though only in every other seat)
Making an appearance, of course, was NBA-trophy-hugging former Cougar guard Klay Thompson, as well as a wide variety of students, young fans, older fans and an entire section of dogs.
One of the dogs was appropriately attired, not only with a crimson collar and apron but also with teeth clenching a can of the locally celebrated Cougar Gold cheese, produced across the parking lot at the WSU Creamery.
Signs of the times
Like McKale Center did at the start of the fall semester, Beasley Coliseum has had another purpose these days: It's a COVID-19 testing site.
All around the concourse, there are floor stickers spaced six feet apart for people to wait in, barriers with large red banners directing toward test tables while all seating is similarly spaced in waiting areas.
It’s only on the walls that the place still feels like a basketball arena: WSU still has murals celebrating Cougar teams such as 1941, which finished second nationally under legendary coach Jack Friel, and 1994, which won 20 games under Kelvin Sampson.
Even quieter than normal
While Pullman is always a quiet place when school isn’t in session, it’s been even more so this year, with most classes being held virtually.
On Thursday, many restaurants and businesses were closed, including bowling/arcade/restaurant Zeppoz, which bills itself as “Where the Palouse comes to play.”
A sign at the entrance said "bowling closed until Dec. 14," but on Dec. 8, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee extended the state’s ban on indoor service at restaurants, bars and many places with indoor entertainment, so the place is still dark.
Life goes on
After all the COVID-19 trouble Washington State has run into this season, with both the Cougars and their opponents running into issues, it figured that just as Smith was running the Cougs through some ASU walk-through instruction Tuesday, word came down that the Sun Devils were out for a scheduled Thursday game.
Smith stopped practice and gave his guys the rest of the day off.
“We just kind of shut it down and rebooted the next day,” Smith said, chuckling at the memory. “I’m not sure what day it was — I can’t keep track to be honest — but we had some contact tracing that we were getting through, and then Arizona State said they couldn’t make it.
“We were like, 'OK,'” Smith added, laughing. “It was,'On to Arizona.'"
The Sun Devils initially hoped to still play their scheduled game at Washington on Saturday and then instead play the Cougars on Monday, but the Sun Devils’ issues remained. On Friday, ASU announced it would not play again until Thursday, when they'll take on UCLA.
The big number
Washington State guard Isaac Bonton (10) hits a 3-point shot over Arizona center Christian Koloko , left, in the first half of an NCAA College Basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021, in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)
27.1%
Combined field-goal shooting by Arizona and WSU in Saturday's first half.
He said it
“It’s like (former WSU coach) George Raveling said, `It’s not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.'" — Smith, on Pullman
— Bruce Pascoe
