The Idaho Statesman has an article up that says Idaho coach Robb Akey is now looking for a tight ends coach. Quarterbacks coach Jonathan Smith left for Montana, but the article says O-coordinator Steve Axman will take over those duties, and Akey will be looking for someone to coach his tight ends.

Here are some quotes after WSU’s 78-60 win against Arizona tonight.

KEN BONE

On early subs…...”It was like I just said. We were trying to make more of an effort to keep guys accountable for doing the right things. So we were quicker to sub some kids out, and the guys that go in, like I’ve mentioned before, there’s some guys on our team that do a good job every day in practice, but we’ve been going with a certain group, and those kids today got an opportunity to play, and they did a nice job.”

On whether concentration/focus has been drifting lately……“I think there has. I think it’s been more we don’t value every possession. And that’s not easy, we understand that. But it can’t be – it’s gotta be better than it’s been. And especially on the defensive end where we are locked in mentally and concentrating on what we’re trying to do to prepare ourselves for the game, depending on what play they’re running, or personnel, who you’re guarding, whatever it is. And tonight did an outstanding job in that area.”

On the win…….”I’m just really really excited the fact that we won in a way that, it was good, solid basketball – the way we’ve been showing at times during games. We’ve had moments where we’ve played really good on both ends of the court, but we haven’t put together 40 minutes or 35 minutes lately, and tonight I thought our kids did a great job defensively and offensively, playing as a team. And it’s nice to see them play so well when they’re trying to play as a group.”

KLAY THOMPSON

On Brock Motum…..“Brock’s, he’s good at cutting, and he’s a big target at 6-9. So he can really do well in this system if he just stays aggressive on his cuts and looks for those opportunities.”

DEANGELO CASTO

On how different WSU is when he gets the low-post touches….“Well I think it’s just all the way across the board, on any team. If you go inside-out, and you have an inside presence, and then an outside presence, any team’s tough to stop.”

PULLMAN – If Washington State was to win on Saturday against the Arizona Wildcats, it seemed the storyline would center on a resurgence from Klay Thompson.

After struggling with his normally consistent shooting stroke, the Cougars’ star sophomore would stumble upon an epiphany with his wrist flick to snap WSU out of its three-game losing streak.

But though the Cougars did indeed get a crucial 78-60 win over the Wildcats at Beasley Coliseum, Thompson was not the story.

He was a part of it, no doubt, with 14 points, a moderate 11 shot attempts and a couple of important jumpers in the second half to help the Cougars (15-8, 5-6) separate themselves. But the theme of the night was more about WSU’s balanced effort, which featured effective inside scoring, unexpected contributions off the bench and an energized defensive effort.

“As far as teamwork and as far as being together, I think we played one of our best games of the season,” forward DeAngelo Casto said.

Casto was one of the most important parts of that performance, starting from the opening tip when he scored WSU’s first four points. He entered the game averaging just eight points in Pac-10 play, but proceeded to put up 10 in the first half with a variety of post moves. That was coupled with six rebounds, as he thoroughly outplayed UA standout freshman Derrick Williams during the first 20 minutes (Williams ended with 16 points and seven boards).

“Part of it has to do with us just doing a better job of getting DeAngelo the ball inside,” WSU coach Ken Bone said. “And I think that helped with his confidence, especially when he converts baskets early in the game.”

Even with that early production from Casto, though, WSU fell behind 12-4 in the first five minutes. And with Abe Lodwick out sick, Nik Koprivica on the bench with foul trouble and some lapses on defense, Bone subbed in a lineup that included little-used subs Brock Motum and Steven Bjornstead.

The mere novelty of the move seemed to pick WSU up initially, but Motum’s early appearance gradually became more important as the Australian freshman hammered home a dunk late in the first half and even knocked down a jumper in the second half on his way to 10 points in 17 minutes – both career-highs.

PULLMAN — Klay Thompson is still struggling from the outside — no change there. But the big difference right now is that WSU is compensating for it much better than against Arizona State on Thursday. Ken Bone did his part by throwing out some bizarre lineups in the first half that included Steven Bjornstad and Brock Motum. Motum ended up playing the most of the two, and he pitched in four points at the end of the first half on two free throws and a powerful lefty dunk off a baseline cut — the nice pass coming from Thompson at the top of the key. WSU clamped down much better on defense after the first few minutes and held Nic Wise to just three shots and five points. Derrick Williams also had just five points.

Thompson just can’t find the range from deep. He was 2-for-8, and both baskets came on drives to the hoop — 0 for 2 from behind the arc. WSU actually seemed hesitant to pull the trigger from outside in general and was just 1 for 7 from behind the arc. The major difference from Thursday, though, has been forward DeAngelo Casto. With 10 points and six rebounds, he’s giving WSU a legitimate post presence on offense who is scoring from the block. He’s definitely outplayed Williams so far. Entertaining half, and it will be interesting to see what lineups WSU puts out on the floor now. Hard to believe we won’t see Motum a little more before the evening is finished.

Here’s a bit of the game story.

PULLMAN – Washington State tried hard Thursday night – there’s no question about that.

They scrapped their way back from a 19-point Arizona State lead early in the second half, and eventually got to within four points with plenty of time left.

But while the effort seemed to be there, certain factors are hard to overcome. The obvious roadblock for the Cougars was an inability to put the ball in the basket, and more specifically, the continued ineffectiveness of their main offensive threat.

With Klay Thompson unable to shake off his recent shooting woes and the whole Cougar team cold from long range (3 for 18 on 3s), WSU failed to overtake the Sun Devils during a 81-70 loss at Beasley Coliseum that dropped the home team to 4-6 in Pac-10 play.

It was the third straight conference defeat for Ken Bone’s squad, which has been struggling to find an offensive identity with its shooter on the fritz.

“There’s one area of the game that … it’s hard to get on guys about. And that’s shooting,” Bone said.

“If a guy doesn’t hustle or screen out … that’s one thing. But guys when they shoot, they try to make it.”

But try as he might, Thompson’s Pac-10 season became even more mystifying on Thursday.

After entering the conference season on a roll and averaging 25 points a game, he has since shot 35.7 percent from the field and 23.6 percent from behind the 3-point line during WSU’s 10 Pac-10 games.

And his final line against the Sun Devils (16-7, 6-4) was right on par with those surprising numbers. The sophomore started off cold, went 2-for-10 in the first half and hit a momentary hot spell in the second half before ending up 6-for-20 for the game and 2-for-10 beyond the arc for 20 points.