After experiencing significant turnover, Washington State roster takes shape
PULLMAN – After a chaotic period of the offseason – featuring several additions and a string of departures – Washington State’s 2023-24 basketball roster is taking shape.
It’s been a busy stretch for coach Kyle Smith, whose team lost six players to the transfer portal over the past two months. But WSU addressed some of its needs with four new recruits.
The Cougars are close to completing their squad. They have one scholarship left to give out if Mouhamed Gueye stays in the NBA draft pool.
Update on Gueye
Gueye must make his decision by the end of the month. The All-Pac-12 player declared for the draft in early April and has spent the past month gauging NBA interest. Gueye is participating in the NBA draft combine this week in Chicago. He is the No. 47 draft prospect on ESPN’s mock board – a second-round projection.
Gueye told The Spokesman-Review in March that he’s leaning toward beginning his pro career, especially if he receives a draft guarantee.
“His mind is on the NBA in some capacity,” Smith said last week. “I’m sure he’d be able to get a two-way contract, at least. But I’m not sure if that’s where his mind is, doing that. There are just a lot of variables. He’ll be getting a lot of information over the next few weeks, and that’ll really narrow down where he stands.
“There are certain clubs that really like what he’s about. His agent will probably be asking for some kind of commitment to stay in the draft. It’s just too early to try to guess (what he’ll do). Right now, he’s all focused on that and we’re rooting for him.”
Smith seems convinced that Gueye will head to the pro ranks. That departure opened the door for one of WSU’s top transfer additions – former Idaho player Isaac Jones, a post who averaged 19.4 points and 7.8 rebounds last season and earned All-Big Sky second-team honors.
“We recruited him last year and things didn’t quite fit,” Smith said of Jones, who spent one year at Idaho after transferring in from Wenatchee Valley College. “With Mo leaving and (Jones) being familiar with the area, I think he felt really comfortable.”
Newcomers in the paint
Smith said it’s fair to assume that Jones will be an instant starter for WSU at power forward . The 6-foot-9, 240-pound grad transfer “has a chance to offset (the loss of) Mo’s production” in the frontcourt, Smith said.
In comparing Jones and Gueye, Smith said the Idaho transfer isn’t as athletic or strong on defense. But Jones is “pretty polished on the offensive side.” He’s a skilled scorer in the paint who can also facilitate.
“(Jones) can play inside and out, has great shooting touch, plays unselfish and is easy to play with,” Smith said, quoted in a news release when Jones signed with the program. “Like (Gueye), he is someone you can play through on the offensive end and makes others better.”
Two other new faces will join Jones in the WSU frontcourt next season: prep recruit Rueben Chinyelu and junior college All-American Oscar Cluff.
Chinyelu, a four-star recruit out of the NBA Academy Africa, signed with the program in November. The 6-10, 245-pound Nigeria native is WSU’s No. 5-ranked recruit since 2000, according to 247Sports.com.
Before he comes to WSU, Chinyelu will wrap up his season for Stade Malien, a pro club in the Basketball Africa League. He is averaging 5.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
“He’s young, but really, really talented,” Smith said.
The 6-10 Cluff averaged 18.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game while shooting 64.7% from the field last season at Cochise College.
The Cougars’ frontcourt lost Adrame Diongue, Dishon Jackson and Jack Wilson to the transfer portal after the 2022-23 season.
Diongue played sparingly off the bench as a true freshman last year, averaging 1.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. But the four-star 7-footer – one of the top-rated recruits in WSU program history – was expected to have a bigger role next season.
Jackson started 19 games between 2020-22, then missed last season due to an unspecified medical condition. He recently transferred to Charlotte.
Wilson played just 2.9 minutes per game last season for the Cougars’ basketball team after completing his WSU football career. The 6-11, 325-pounder signed with Minnesota in April.
Despite turnover, Cougars in good shape at guard
TJ Bamba led the Cougars with 15.8 points per game last year, but he bolted for Villanova in April and left WSU without its two best players.
“If Mo and Bamba came back, you could really put us up there,” Smith said. “If either one came back, I really thought we’d be an NCAA Tournament team. We were gonna have a guy that’s a really experienced, NBA-quality player. Without both of them, it gets trickier.”
But a couple of weeks after Bamba’s departure, WSU landed Kansas transfer Joseph Yesufu for its backcourt.
The 6-foot combo guard appeared in 69 games over the past two seasons for the Jayhawks. He made three starts last year and averaged only 4.1 points per game. He didn’t find consistent playing time on the talented roster. Smith sees Yesufu becoming a key player in Pullman.
“We’re definitely counting on him to replace TJ in a sense,” Smith said. “I don’t know if he’ll score quite as much, but he is looking for a bigger role offensively. He’s a really good athlete, a strong, explosive guy that can get paint touches, and he can make 3s. He needed a bigger role. Like most guys, you’ll play better in a bigger role.
“He was at the highest level. Kansas had 17 Quad 1 wins last year and won the national championship the year before.”
Smith expects Yesufu to be the team’s quickest player on the perimeter, and its best on-ball defender.
“He’ll be able to pick up the ball, harass (ball-handlers) and use his strength,” Smith said.
WSU’s backcourt is bringing back a couple of experienced players and several reserves.
Justin Powell, the Cougars’ primary point guard last year, declared for the NBA draft in March, but Smith is confident that the senior will return to WSU.
“For him, I think it’s more about going through the process (and receiving feedback from NBA teams),” Smith said of Powell, who averaged 10.4 points per game and doled out a team-high 96 assists for WSU last season after transferring in from Tennessee. “He’s got a really good agent and a lot of workouts (with NBA teams). It’d be healthy for him to come back and build upon what he did last year. I think he needs it and we need it. It’s a good match.”
Senior Jabe Mullins will return after appearing in 30 games and making eight starts last season. He led the Cougars in 3-point percentage (43%).
Kymany Houinsou and Dylan Darling showed encouraging signs last season as true freshmen. The 6-6 Houinsou is a sharp passer who can drive to the basket. Darling, a Spokane native, has the potential to develop into a standout defender.
“Kymany is going to have a bigger opportunity,” Smith said. “We tried Dylan a little bit, but he just wasn’t quite ready last year.”
Smith has spoken highly of point guard Myles Rice over the past two years. The freshman was in line for a playing role last year, but he missed the season while battling Hodgkin lymphoma. Now cancer-free, Rice is eager to make his collegiate debut.
“Hopefully, we’ll get Myles back to full health, so we’ll have some quicker feet in the backcourt,” Smith said.
The Cougars will add a newcomer to the mix in three-star prep signee Isaiah Watts, a 6-3 combo guard out of Seattle who was previously committed to Seton Hall.
At forward, a veteran and an intriguing recruit
Earlier this month, the Cougars lost forward DJ Rodman, who appeared in 111 games over the past four seasons and had his best season in 2022-23, averaging 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. But he took off to Southern California.
Not long before Rodman’s surprise exit, the Cougars gained a new forward in Sonoma (California) State transfer Jaylen Wells.
The 6-7 Wells scored 22.4 points per game last season – a top-10 mark in Division II – and averaged 8.7 rebounds en route to a D-II All-American third-team nod.
“He passes the eye test,” Smith said of Wells. “He’s good offensively and he’s a good rebounder.”
Wells is a well-rounded scorer, but to compete for playing time at the Pac-12 level, he will need to improve as a defender, and add “strength and lateral quickness,” Smith said.
“That’s why I don’t want to get too far ahead with him,” the coach added. “But he was just too productive at that level (last year) to not be pretty good for us.
“With us losing DJ … hopefully, Jaylen will be there to help. I’m excited about him. He’s a really good kid. He’s focused and hungry, and that’s gotta be our niche.”
Wells could end up starting, but the Cougars might opt to send out a more proven Pac-12 player at the wing position – Andrej Jakimovski, who has appeared in 85 games with 45 starts over the past three seasons. The 6-8 Jakimovski was a regular in the Cougars’ starting lineup last year, and he posted averages of 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Smith said the Cougars will probably ask Houinsou to take some minutes at wing. WSU is still shorthanded at the position – reserve forward/wing Carlos Rosario entered the transfer portal last month – so the team may target another forward or wing to fill its final scholarship slot.