Pacific Northwest Sports: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
Gonzaga Bulldogs
Another year, another West Coast Conference Championship, and another Elite 8. It would have been a great story if Zags could have advanced to their first National Championship.
Center Drew Timme deserved a better end to his college career. He still fished up his four years in Spokane as the Gonzaga Bulldogs all-time leading scorer.
Whether or not he gets drafted is another story. Right now, he’s a mid-to-late second rounder. One guy who should go in the first round is the do-it-all wing, Julian Strawther.
Between graduations and transfers out, head coach Mark Few has his work cut out for him to put a Kennell-worthy team on the court. He and his staff will be working the transfer portal hard this summer.
Washington Huskies
This will be the year of Michael Penix Jr., and the Washington Huskies are ready to ride their quarterback all the way to a Pac-12 title. He has an excellent chance to be the highest Heisman Trophy finalist in program history (Steve Emtman finished fourth in 1991). Currently, the betting odds have him as the third favorite (tied).
Now, if someone could please explain why Mike Hopkins still has a job as Washington’s head basketball coach, I’d appreciate it.
Washington State Cougars
It’s hard to find a school that does more with fewer resources than Wazzu. Both football coach Jake Dickert and basketball coach Kyle Smith are credits to the school.
Washington State Cougars quarterback Cameron Ward will play his college season first season without Eric Morris. Washington State’s 2022 Offensive Coordinator left to become the new headman at North Texas.
Even with Morris out of the picture, Ward could have a great season with new OC Ben Arbuckle, one of the minds behind Western Kentucky’s dynamic offense. The Cougs have some offensive weapons at the skill positions, so scoring shouldn’t be a problem.
Replacing another set of great linebackers will be an issue. There will be a few shootouts on the Palouse next fall.
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