COUGARS

Just when we thought basketball news was settling down, Washington State goes out and signs another point guard. For the unedited version of our story, read on. There is also a note at the bottom.

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• Here's the story ...

PULLMAN – It was about 10 days ago Washington State University men's basketball coach Ken Bone said the Cougars probably wouldn't sign another incoming freshman for the fall.

"To feel comfortable that we are going to go out and sign somebody no one has signed yet, I don't think it's reality," he said then.

But the reality is Bone found one more player.

Reggie Moore, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Rainier Beach High via Brewster Academy, a prep school in Wolfeboro, N.H., signed a letter-of-intent with WSU on Wednesday, joining three other incoming freshmen that signed in November.

"Reggie is exactly what and who we needed to add to our backcourt," Bone said in a news release. "He's a multidimensional guard that can play a couple of positions. His ability to score in a variety of ways and also deliver the ball to others is what we were looking for.

"With the addition of Reggie, I really like our group of young guards."

Moore, reached by phone, said Bone's offensive philosophy made the choice easy.

"Coach Bone is trying to change to a fast-paced program," said Moore, who first talked with WSU before former coach Tony Bennett left for the University of Virginia. "That's what really attracted me."

Moore has traveled a circuitous route to Pullman. He began his high school career at Seattle's O'Dea High, helping the Irish to a 2006 State 3A runner-up finish. After transferring to Rainier Beach the following year, Moore led the Vikings to State 3A title in 2008 with six points and six assists in a 53-45 win over Lakes High.

He was named the Associated Press' 3A player of the year and was a Seattle Times first-team All-State selection, along with Ferris High's DeAngelo Casto, now at WSU.

The two, who played summers together for the Seattle Rotary AAU program, teamed up to lead the Washington all-stars past their Oregon counterparts in the 2008 Northwest Shootout. Moore scored a game-high 23 points, with six assists, while Casto added 19 points and eight rebounds.

His last year at Rainier Beach, Moore signed a letter-of-intent with Fresno State, but decided he didn't want to head south, saying "It wasn't the place for me."

"I was fine with Fresno State but they wouldn't let me out of my letter-of-intent, so I had to go to prep school for a year," Moore explained.

With Moore, the Cougars incoming class returns to four, with Shadle Park High's Anthony Brown, Australia's Brock Motum and Xavier Thames from Elk Grove, Calif., signing earlier. David Chadwick, from Charlotte, N.C., was released from his LOI earlier this month.

Moore said he planned on taking visits to Memphis and UCLA in the upcoming weekends, but cancelled after visiting Pullman last weekend. He had already visited Oregon and Iowa State.

• Former Washington State assistant coach Matt Woodley on Wednesday was named boys’ basketball coach at Waukee High in Des Moines, Iowa.

Woodley, who grew up in West Des Moines and played for Drake University, told the Des Moines Register "it came down to where do I want to live and where do I want to be."

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• For more on Woodley, check out this Des Moines Register story.

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• That's it for today. We'll be back as events warrant. Until then …

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