Ken Bone reflects on Cougars' last place finish

It didn't seem like it, but the Cougars finished last in Pac-10 for men's basketball. Not something you want to happen when your football team is also a doormat as well. However, despite the supposed disappointing season, the Cougs still finished 16-15. Good sign for the future?

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Coach Ken Bone didn't expect to finish last in his first season at Washington State, but he says a couple of breaks in close games would have lifted the Cougars into the thick of the Pac-10 race.

"It hurts to look at the standings and see we finished 10th," Bone said this week. "That stings me a little bit."

Washington State (16-15, 6-12 Pac-10) could have finished in the middle of the muddled Pac-10 most of the season. Their six conference wins were the most ever for a last-place team in the league.

"It just doesn't seem like we were that far off," Bone said. "We win two more games, and there were at least a couple games we definitely could have won, and now, all of a sudden, we finish in the middle of the pack."

The Cougars were one of the youngest teams in the nation, featuring only one senior in Nik Koprivica, and no juniors.

Two teams that are going to be much improved next year in the Northwest is the Eastern Washington Eagles and WAZZU. You have two super-young squads with legit stars on the team. All it takes is some reps and they'll get their feet under them.