Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009

Eastern Washington schools start hoops practice

From Herald news services

All three Division I basketball programs in Eastern Washington opened practice Friday.

Washington State and Gonzaga are dealing with major changes. Eastern Washington University is looking to get back into postseason play.

At WSU in Pullman, new coach Ken Bone takes over for Tony Bennett, who left for Virginia after taking the Cougars to three straight postseason appearances. The Cougars have only one senior, Nik Koprivica, returning, along with seven sophomores and eight freshmen.

"It's going to take time to work together and instill our philosophy," Bone said. "But we are a very young team that I see progressing throughout the year."

Gonzaga opened practice for what figured to be the closest to a rebuilding year the Zags get these days.

Four key performers from last year's 28-6 team -- Jeremy Pargo, Austin Daye, Josh Heytvelt and Micah Downs -- are gone.

EWU is seeking to improve from last year's 12-18 record. They were just 6-10 in the Big Sky Conference, missing the league tournament for the third straight year.