Congrats to Vionte and the Daniels family! WSU Cougs are getting a great student-athlete and an even better person! pic.twitter.com/I3FCRiNzUM

— Team A.C.C.E.S.S. (@ACCESS253) April 15, 2015

The Washington State men's basketball program received letters of intent Wednesday morning from Charles Callison and Viont'e Daniels.

Coach Ernie Kent spoke to the media in the early afternoon and said that they, along with the three players that signed with Washington State during November's early signing period, possess skillsets that will allow the Cougars to better run Kent's system.

Daniels comes to WSU from Federal Way, where he led the FWHS Eagles to 27-2 overall record and was named the state's 4A Player of the Year by the Associated Press after averaging 24 points, six rebounds and four assists per game.

"I don't want to say he's come out of nowhere but I think he probably did shock the basketball world in terms of what he's been able to accomplish this year," Kent said. "What that tells you is he is somebody that's on the rise and I think he has a bright future ahead of him, and to be able to get a player of that kind of character and that type of talent out of one of the most respected programs over in that area, that's a feather in our cap, I believe.  I think when it's all said and done he has a chance to be a really special leader for us over here."

With Callison on board, the Cougars signed three junior college players in the class of 2015. With him they add a 6-foot, 180-pound point guard from San Bernardino Valley College who is expected to contribute immediately. Callison was named the Foothill Conference MVP after averaging 15.4 points, four assists and three boards per game while leading his team to a 29-2 record.

"We felt like we needed to strengthen our point guard position, we felt like we did that with Charles," Kent said. "He can play a couple different positions and, like Viont'e, I feel like he can play a couple different positions, he can move around from off-guard to point guard, back and forth. Charles is a lot more stronger, developed player coming into your program. He's a had a lot of success and I feel like he's a player that will step in right away and be a major factor."

The Cougars still have one scholarship available and Kent said that he hopes WSU will be able to land a post player. For now, Callison and Daniels join Derrien King, Robert Frank and Renard Suggs to form WSU's incoming recruiting class.

WSU also signed forward Jeff Pollard in November, but Kent confirmed on Wednesday that the Bountiful, Utah forward will delay his enrollment by a year to spend next season getting stronger and developing his game at the Impact Academy in Las Vegas.

Here are some highlights from Kent's interview:
 

(Will these guys be able to replace the outside shooting you lose with the graduations of DaVonté Lacy and Dexter Kernich-Drew?)

Yes, I think one thing our team next year – one thing I noticed is we have guys that are skilled and can shoot. Both of these players, along with the players we signed earlier, their skillset is really good. When you look at our team next year, I think people saw where Ike Iroegbu started really coming on strong, athletic, fast, really started to define his game.

Que Johnson, I think everybody knows he can score. He can really shoot the basketball. Brett Boese, I think everybody knows he can really shoot the basketball and then you saw what Josh (Hawkinson) is able to do it terms of his skillset. Along with that, now, we bring in a guard in Daniels who has a tremendous skillset: scoring, shooting, he can run. Charles Callison's another shooter that's big and strong. Darrien King can really score the basketball, he's got great length. Renard Suggs, he's a 3-point shooter with a tremendous feel for the game. And then Robert Franks, he's really skilled at that position, also, one of the toughest positions for us to find in terms of his versatility. And then you throw Jeff Pollard in, also, who has a strong basketball IQ, a very skilled basketball player. And yet, he's going to go to Impact Academy in Las Vegas for a year so he comes in the door bigger, stronger, more skilled so he has a chance to play really an extra year of high school basketball.

I just felt like with DaVonté leaving, with Dex leaving, we needed to continue to get scoring and shooting with the way we paly. I feel like we have a chance to be faster next year, we'll be deeper and I feel really good about the direction we're headed.

We still have one scholarship left. We're actively recruiting that and will continue to do that. It's very important scholarship because we want to get more size in the program.

(Does either guard bring the ability to change the game's tempo off the bench?)

I think after having a year of implementing our system, what I've already noticed about our team, for sure this offseason, we are so much faster across the board. Guys are making more plays because they're used to playing at that tempo.

Viont'e and Callison are both speed guys with the ball. They can get out and run, they can see plays, they can make plays. I feel like with Suggs and King, Callison and Daniels, we just got a lot faster and their skillset's better. Nothing against Trevor (Dunbar) or Jackie (Davis), but (them leaving) gave us a chance to get a little big deeper, a little big bigger, a little bit stronger.

(What do they bring defensively?)

… They're both excellent on-ball defenders, where they can handle their guy. Now,  Viont'e's got to get bigger and stronger, Callison's already there. I think Ike's going to be an improved defensive player, too, and King is long and athletic. We'll be built differently next year with Valentine (Izundu) becoming eligible to play and the next piece we're bringing in with some size. We feel like we got better and are moving in the right direction with all of these guys bringing skill, not only on the offensive side but on the defensive side as well.

(What are you expecting from the three junior college players?)

A couple of things. Number one, sometimes when people think Juco, they think bad academics, and that's not always the case, obviously. We make sure that we have strong academic personnel that can handle the academic rigor and will graduate from Washington State. Number two, we want them more ready to go, more ready to handle stuff at this level because they've already played two years and been away from home, been starters, hit big shots in big games, their teams have had some success along the way against really good competition. All those factors factor into it. So, when you find a junior college player they've got to be able to come in the door and help the program right away. Otherwise, there would be no point in going that route.

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