Freshman Randy Green and the rest of the Cougars will play for a new coach next season.
After accumulating just three conference wins in the past two seasons, Paul Graham was fired Monday as head coach of the Washington State men’s basketball team.
Washington State Athletic Director Jim Sterk said at a press conference Monday that he told Graham of his decision a week ago. Graham reportedly told his players Saturday after the Cougars’ season-ending loss to UCLA in Los Angeles.
In four seasons in Pullman, Graham had a 31-79 overall record and was 9-63 in Pacific-10 Conference games. This season, the Cougars finished 2-16 in conference play after going 1-17 last season. The Cougars’ average home attendance was 2,310 this season, just more than the 2,292 average from last year — the worst figure in school history.
“The decision is based upon the last four years … the overall picture of the basketball program,” Sterk said at the press conference.
Graham, who turns 52 today, had one year left on a five-year contract. The school will buy out the final year for $130,000, Sterk said.
Graham’s potential replacements include Eastern Washington’s Ray Giacoletti and former Cougar assistant Don Newman, now an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“We think someone can come in and build upon what has been done in the past, and the players that we have here,” Sterk said. “We want men’s basketball … to be competitive in the Pac-10 and to be competitive nationally.”
All-Pac-10 awards
Oregon point guard Luke Ridnour was named Monday the conference Player of the Year, and nine others, including teammate/roommate Luke Jackson, were selected to the all-conference team.
Joining Ridnour and Jackson are Arizona seniors Jason Gardner and Luke Walton; Arizona State freshman Ike Diogu; Cal’s Joe Shipp and Amit Tamir; Oregon State’s Phillip Ricci; Stanford’s Julius Barnes; and UCLA’s Jason Kapono.
Diogu is the Freshman of the Year, while Stanford’s Mike Montgomery and Arizona’s Lute Olson share the Coach of the Year award.
Tourney time
With Selection Sunday just a few days away, the Pac-10 Tournament, beginning Thursday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, could make or break a team’s season.
Specifically, Oregon and Arizona State need a victory to ensure an invitation to the Big Dance. Otherwise, it might be NIT time.
The No. 4-seed Sun Devils (19-10 overall, 11-7 Pac-10) and the fifth-seeded Ducks (20-9, 10-8 Pac-10) meet at approximately 3:30 p.m. Thursday in a rematch of ASU’s 91-77 win Thursday.
Oregon won the season’s first meeting with Arizona State on Jan. 4, a 94-73 win at McArthur Court.
In other first first-round games, No. 1 Arizona (25-2, 17-1) will face off against No. 8 UCLA (9-18, 6-12) at 1:20 p.m., while No. 2 Stanford (23-7, 14-4) will play No. 7 USC.
No. 3 Cal (20-7, 13-5) will meet No. 6 Oregon State (13-14, 6-12) in the final first-round game at approximately 9:10 p.m. All games will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
The tournament winner will receive the Pac-10’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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