‘It’s a great foundation’: Although disappointed after Monday’s loss, Washington State coach David Riley excited about Cougs’ future
LAS VEGAS – Washington State coach David Riley beamed with pride Monday night, listening to seniors Cedric Coward, Ethan Price and Dane Erikstrup in the postgame news conference.
After all three followed Riley from Eastern Washington to play for him in his first year in charge of the Cougars, they credited him for their personal growth and development, instilling a never-give-up attitude, and teaching them how to dedicate themselves to improvement.
“And not only as a basketball player, but also as a man, too,” Coward said.
Although the Cougars’ season came to a crashing halt when Georgetown erased a double-digit lead to win 85-82 in the opening round of the College Basketball Crown, the Riley era seems to have started on the right foot.
After bolting to a 13-3 start, the Cougars closed their season with losses in 12 of their last 18 to finish 19-15. But that won’t take away from the culture Riley built, and the competitive drive he demands – and got – from his team.
“It’s hard to find that line,” Riley said, when asked to grade his first year in Pullman. “What we do, it’s competitive. It’s not easy to go win one single game at the Division I level. And so for us to go and win 19 of them our first year is a lot to be proud of.
“At the same time, we have much higher expectations as a group, as individuals. And so I think it’s a great foundation. I think there are a lot of things that we learn from, and if we can build on this, and this is something that we take and grow from next year, then it’s an ‘A’. But it’s got to be something that all our guys understand the good and the bad from.”
The Cougars, who ranked ninth nationally with their 49.1% field-goal percentage and 13th with an effective field-goal percentage of 56.6%, became an efficient basketball team on the offensive end of the floor. They also ranked seventh nationally with their 58.2% shooting inside the arc, and did a good job in sharing the ball, ranking 19th with 16.9 assists per contest.
“It’s been a game of runs all season,” Riley said. “Basketball is a game of runs, but I feel like we were on the extreme end of that for a lot of this season. I think there are some weaknesses that stood out. We weren’t a great rebounding team this year, and that hurt us down the stretch.”
Add to that scoring defense, as the Cougars ranked 326th nationally in allowing 78.6 points per game.
Perhaps an improvement on the defensive glass would help, as Wazzu tied for 219th in the nation with 24.2 defensive rebounds per game. Overall, their 34.2 rebounds per game were 234th.
Nevertheless, as a work in progress before the new-look Pac-12 takes shape on July 1, 2026, including Gonzaga and Mountain West defectors Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State, the Cougars have another year to build under Riley.
The first step is to recruit and replace the likes of Coward, Price and Erikstrup, not to mention Nate Calmese, Isaiah Watts and Marcus Wilson, who entered the transfer portal.
Rising junior LeJuan Watts will be a key piece if he decides to return.
Considering the pressure put on student-athletes, coaches and programs in the transfer portal era, Riley said the past three weeks have been refreshing to coach the players who stuck around, giving them a chance to bond and further solidify the established chemistry.
“We lost our last game (to) USF, we got reporters asking if they’re gonna stay at Washington State next year,” Riley said. “And it’s just part of the deal now. And I think our guys were really mature to be able to step away, take a couple days, evaluate the good and the bad from the season, and just appreciate what we had here.
“Obviously, it’s a hectic time for a coaching staff to be dealing with the portal and everything going on. But the joy that these guys bring every day, it was just a pleasure to coach them. (I) was just grateful to be able to push them on for 22 more days.”