Cougars shoot for talent and get it

This is the first of two stories on WSU’s recruiting, this one focuses on the Cougars’ 2020-21 roster.

It’s been a little bit about filling roster needs during this recruiting offseason for second-year coach Kyle Smith and his Washington State men’s basketball staff.

But then again, why be at all picky in a place like Pullman?

“I tell people, I think with the content of our roster, our approach has been: We just need to sign the best players we can, and we’ll figure it out,” Smith said.

As it turned out, the Cougars got an injection of prep talent — most of which comes in at a level unseen on the Palouse in many, many years. Their 31st-ranked class in the country features five of the school’s top 15 all-time commits, per 247sports.com, and a sixth who might prove necessary to Wazzu’s hopes of building upon last year’s success.

“When you have wants, you have needs,” Smith said, “and it just felt like, you know what, I’ve had to coach a lot of different styles anyway. ... We just wanna get the best guys we can get.”

Smith said “we’re set,” in terms of the roster being complete. And “we’re still good” if star forward CJ Elleby elects to exit the NBA draft waters and return for his junior season.

“Now it’s time to develop these guys, coach them, and hopefully not have to bring in so many if we do our jobs right,” Smith said.

If there was a first priority, it’d be to bolster the backcourt. Senior Portland native Isaac Bonton (15.3 points, four assists per game), a second-year Coug, is expected to shine. Seattle-born Noah Williams (6.2 points, 1.1 steals per game) will be tasked with adding onto his impressive rookie season, particularly on the defensive side — his strong suit.

Otherwise, it’ll be about intrasquad competition, about “finding one stud out of that, or two,” said Smith, who must replace the minutes of graduated workhorse Jervae Robinson.

Smith will be awaiting a breakout from either a 25-minute-per-game player, or two who fare almost equally, earning roughly 17 minutes apiece each contest.

“If one can emerge, that’d be ideal, but with young guys, we might split it up back there,” Smith said. “That’d probably be between TJ, Jefferson and Ryan.”

Smith is respectively referring to versatile incoming freshmen TJ Bamba, a sturdy and athletic combo guard at 6-foot-5, 205 pounds; Canadian stalwart Jefferson Koulibaly, and Australian Ryan Rapp, a high-ceiling sophomore who battled with injuries last year.

Bamba, from Denver, is a three-star prospect who Smith said “is kinda built like Dwyane Wade, with his length and strength.” He’s WSU’s No. 14 all-time recruit. Bamba encapsulates Smith’s preferred “six-tool” recruit — “guys who can dribble, pass, drive, shoot, defend and rebound,” he said. Signing multi-faceted talents has always been an emphasis for Smith’s staffs.

“That’d be wishful thinking that he’s D-Wade, but he’d be one who looks physically ready, and Jefferson’s great there too,” Smith said. Koulibaly was underrated as a prospect because of the guard depth at his first stop. At Lincoln Prep in Hamilton, Ontario, he sprouted up as one of Canada’s best, and the Cougs were quick to make an offer.

“TJ’s gonna be a great player, and Jefferson is probably our lowest rated (per 247Sports), but he might be our most important recruit, just because we’ll hope he can contribute as far as giving us an extra ballhandler,” Smith said.

Next is to untangle depth in the front court. Smith liked the development as last season progressed from Vova Markovetskyy. Perhaps joining the 7-foot Ukrainian underneath will be Montana transfer Tony Miller, a well-rounded defender who impressed in spurts with efficient offensive production.

Smith noted 6-9 center Efe Abogidi — a high-flier who played for the prestigious NBA Global Academy in Australia — as a newcomer who appears college-ball ready, in terms of physicality and hoops IQ.

“His strength and athleticism, he’s such a quick athlete,” Smith said.

Four-star St.-Patrick-St. Vincent (Calif.) alumnus Dishon Jackson, who stands 6-10 and checks in at 240 pounds, is still “just a puppy” at 17 years old, but “he’s got a body, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he kept growing,” Smith said. “He’s skillfull, too.”

Abogidi and Jackson are the Cougs’ 11th and 15th highest-rated recruits.

“But it’s still just so hard to do as a freshman,” Smith added. “You just don’t know how they’ll handle that transition.”

The Cougars boast four players who mostly function as wings, and two are top-six recruits in school history in 6-7 Macedonian Andrej Jakimovski (No. 3) and Dominican Carlos Rosario (sixth). Jakimovski, having played against “grown men” in international competition, appears physically ready. He’s a “four-tool” offensive playmaker, but Smith thinks defending and rebounding in the U.S. will require time to adjust to.

“Usually for the Euro guys, that takes about 18 months,” Smith said. “Offensively, Andrej is ready, though. He’s one of those point-forwards, you know, (Dallas Mavericks superstar) Luka (Doncic) is his idol.”

Rosario’s style wasn’t an exceptional need in recruiting, but his ability made him “too good not to take, kinda like in the NBA draft,” Smith said. Rosario, at 6-7 with a multi-layered skill set, should grow into his rangy body. He might not contribute immediately, but Smith can see him “hopefully as a Kyle Weaver-type guy, a skinny guy who just keeps getting better” — a reference to the explosive former second-round pick in the NBA draft who played at WSU from 2004-08.

“Carlos and Andrej, they have big ceilings,” Smith said. “If they come in here and win the job, they’ll play. They know that. I always tell the returners, ‘It’s our job to bring in the best players possible, and it’s your job to beat them out.’ ”

Returners include lengthy junior Aljaz Kunc and sophomore DJ Rodman, who had bright spots on both ends at times last year.

“DJ played a big part,” Smith said. “... Jaz is a sneaky-good defender, I don’t know if people realize it. He’s super responsible. And I’m sure as a freshman he wasn’t ready, with the strength factor.”

It’ll be a process, what with the battles for time and tough coaching decisions on how to distribute it. But it’s a better problem than being short on talent. Just remember: the Cougs had only three players on their roster before a recruiting surge last May.

“We’re capable, the staff’s constantly working at it,” laughed Smith, who — even without Elleby — returns 47 percent of his scoring from last year’s 16-16 outfit, which snapped an 11-year drought in the Pac-12 tournament. “I think we have good momentum. It’s just been a lot of positive from the guys in the program. We’ve had success building a good culture. They’re not gonna bully these guys, they’re gonna embrace them, and let the best man win.”

Clark may be reached at cclark@lmtribune.com, on Twitter @ClarkTrib or by phone at (208) 627-3209.