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| Ben Johnson |
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2012 Men's Basketball Gameday Central |
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Chat with Washington State Men's Basketball Assistant Coach Ben Johnson at 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
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| Moderator: Good morning Cougars and welcome to today's chat with Men's Basketball Assistant Coach Ben Johnson The Cougars begin a three-game homestand at Beasley Coliseum this week against Arizona, Thursday at 6 p.m. and Arizona State, Saturday at 5 p.m. Saturday marks the annual Gray Out game. The first 3,700 fans will receive a Gray Out shirt. For more information click HERE. The homestand ends Saturday, Feb. 25 against Washington at 5 p.m.
Be sure to follow Cougar Me's Hoops at WSUCougars.com HERE, and on Twitter @WSUHoopsBlog.
Okay, let's get to the chat. Coach Johnson, thank you for joining us today. |
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Ben Johnson: Great to be here! Looking forward to answering the fan's questions. |
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| Cougar Lance (Olympia): From your experience, what are the three loudest and/or largest student sections in the Pac-12? |
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Ben Johnson: Cougar Lance, first and foremost you have to give some love to our fans. The way they rally and support our players is tremendous. They are the largest student section in the Pac-12 and they make for a great home-court atmosphere for our players. We're really going to need their support for the three-game homestand, it's a great opportunity for the students and all fans to support the Cougars. I would say second the Arizona Wildcats can get pretty loud at times. My third place vote would have to go to the band at Cal. They sit baseline and there's a tuba player that does a good job of holding a specific note. |
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| Mike (Edmonds): Coach, I love your gameday outfits. Do you have a stylist? |
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Ben Johnson: Mike, thanks for the comment. The fashion cop on our staff is Coach Allen. He polices our entire coaching staff's attire throughout the year. |
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| Neils (Issaquah): Coach, can you talk a little about your Australian recruiting connections? |
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Ben Johnson: Neils, we have a great relationship with a lot of coaches and players from Australia. I played and coached for six years professionally in that part of the world. During that time I was able to build a lot of great recruiting connections. |
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| Pam (Pullman): Coach - 1st & foremost, thanks for the high 5 following DaVonte Lacy's big 3pter at the end of the Cal game, it made my day! I have one quick question for you, what will be the keys to getting a win Thursday night vs. Arizona? |
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Ben Johnson: Pam, thanks for being there to High 5 me back! It was a great moment. One of the main keys to playing competitive basketball on Thursday will be our ability to control the defensive boards. I also think this is a game where our 3-point shooting accuracy will be very important. Lastly, our ability to slow them down defensively will be key. |
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| Steve (Spokane): Coach Johnson, can you talk about the challenges the team has faced this year? |
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Ben Johnson: Steve, like most teams, our team has had to handle adversity at times. We've had a number of injuries to key personnel that our team has had to adjust and adapt to. Obviously, the season-ending knee injury to Faisal Aden was significant. He was our team's leading scorer and best outside threat. From an offensive standpoint, that's something that has hurt our program. In his absence I think it has created an opportunity for players like Mike Ladd, DaVonté Lacy and Dexter Kernich-Drew to step-up and gain valuable experience. I really believe our team has grown and are showing positive signs of becoming a more competitive basketball team. |
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| Mike (Spokane): Coach, like the recruits you have for next season! What do they bring in for the Cougs next year? |
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Ben Johnson: Mike, first, all four kids that we signed are really good people. They are people that the Washington State community will really enjoy being around. From a basketball standpoint, I think they bring an exciting level of skill and talent to the program and they bring a winning attitude as well. With each of the four kids that we signed, they really embraced the Washington State community while on their official visits to campus. They felt that connection to the Cougars and the entire university community. All of them are really excited to be Washington State Cougars and that's the most important piece of the equation. |
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| Moderator: Okay, that's all the questions we have. Coach, thank you for joining us once again. |
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Ben Johnson: Thank you for having me. Our coaching staff is really excited for these last three home games. We really hope we can play in front of packed houses with a great atmosphere. Our fan's support is key for our guys to get over the hump and help us toward getting W's and success in the Pac-12. Look forward to seeing everyone at Beasley! Go Cougs! |
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