Three Key Players Returning for WSU Cougars
By Ben Renner
The WSU Cougars will get Conor Clifford, Josh Hawkinson, and Ike Iroegbu back for next season after all after the trio withdrew their names from the NBA Draft.
Ernie Kent and the WSU Cougars didn’t have much go right last season. They won one conference game all year in the Pac-12 and couldn’t keep from getting blown out of most of their games. When redshirt junior center Conor Clifford, forward Josh Hawkinson, and guard Ike Iroegbu all declared for the NBA Draft, the outlook for the WSU Cougars appeared bleak.
But they all recently withdrew their names from the NBA Draft to return to college.
Clifford, a 7’ center, averaged 6.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 14.1 minutes a game for the WSU Cougars last year in his first season with the team. Hawkinson led the WSU Cougars last season in scoring and rebounding. The Shoreline native was 11th in the nation with 11.1 rebounds per game and was an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention last season and in the 2014-2015 season. Iroegbu started all 31 games for the WSU Cougars for Ernie Kent last season and was an effective scorer and distributor for the team.
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Clifford should see more minutes next season, his second with the WSU Cougars, because of his size. Hawkinson and Iroegbu figure to have large roles for Kent’s squad next season as well. All three of these players declared for the NBA Draft in early April but kept their options open by not hiring agents. Kent encouraged them to go through the draft combine, saying:
I’m happy that Josh, Ike, and Conor all had the opportunity to explore the NBA and the draft process. I think it’s going to not only give them, but also their teammate, Charles Callison, an excellent feel for what they need to do during the off-season and this upcoming basketball season, that’ll put them in the best position to play at the next level.
I’m sure he’s happy all three are returning for the WSU Cougars next year. They might have a chance of winning more than one game in-conference next season with the trio coming back into the fold.
The WSU Cougars didn’t have a chance most of the time against a more athletic Pac-12 last season, but maybe they can build on the return of Clifford, Hawkinson, and Iroegbu and add some talent to the roster so they can find themselves in contention again. I don’t think an effort to dress Klay Thompson up as a freshman will work, so Ernie Kent has his work cut out for him to field a respectable team.
Next: The Mariners Roll over the A's
We’ll take a look at the WSU Cougars roster more as we get closer to college basketball season.