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Kent looks to freshman Flynn to bolster Cougs' fast paced style

Malachi Flynn (Tacoma Weekly )

When Washington State men’s basketball head coach Ernie Kent sat back and contemplated what went drastically wrong for his team last season, two key statistics stuck out like a sore thumb.

The Cougars finished last in the Pac-12 in turnover margin (minus-3.29 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (13.5 assists vs. 14.2 turnovers per game). WSU was one of just two Pac-12 teams plagued by more turnovers (440) than assists (419).

Translation: Washington State lacked a reliable ball handler (read: point guard) last season and paid a heavy price as far as wins and losses are concerned.

As a result, Kent searched far and wide for a reliable point guard during the late signing period and inked incoming freshman Malachi Flynn, a 6-foot-1 guard from Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma and the Associated Press's 2015-16 State Player of the Year, to a letter of intent in April after he verbally committed to the Cougars in late March.

Will Flynn cure what ailed the Cougars in 2015-16? Kent hopes the promising freshman is up to the task of playing perhaps the most demanding position in Division I college basketball, harkening back to his days as Oregon coach in best describing Flynn.

“Malachi really reminds me of the guard play I had when we built those really good teams at Oregon,” Kent said recently. “His skill set, feel for the game and his ability to score, his motor and, most importantly, his drive to be successful makes him an incredible get for us. Not only for what he does on the floor, but he’s one of the top students we’ve ever recruited here.”

Kent favorably compared Flynn, who initially committed to Pacific last September until backing out when the Tigers’ head coach and top assistant were suspended for alleged academic misconduct, to former Oregon players Luke Ridnour (12-year NBA veteran), Tajuan Porter and Aaron Brooks (10 years in NBA).

“All of them had their moments as freshmen,” Kent said. “But the impact they had on the game getting 30-plus minutes was huge. I always tell freshmen they will determine (how much they play as freshmen). They can handle what they can handle. If they can handle 30 minutes a game, that’s great. If they can handle only 20 minutes, that’s great too.

“I don’t put a lot of pressure on freshmen. But in this case I feel I have a high caliber player (in Flynn) that really understands the game and can score. As with all freshmen, how quickly we get him stronger so his body can handle practice and handle the pounding is important. I’m hoping he is able to handle enough minutes to certainly make a difference in what we do on the floor.”

Bellarmine coach Bernie Salazar told the Tacoma News-Tribune in March that WSU wants Flynn to be ready to play immediately.

“Listening to the Washington State coaches, they wanted him to come in and play right away,” Salazar said. “From a skill perspective, he’s there. But he’s going to be playing with some men, and that’s always one of the biggest transitions freshmen have to make.”

Flynn averaged 29.7 points, six rebounds and four assists per game during his senior season at Bellarmine Prep, shooting 48.0 percent from the field and 88.0 percent from the free throw line. Besides the statewide AP honor, Flynn was named the News Tribune’s All-Area Player of the Year.

“The point guard position and skill on the floor is so critical,” Kent said. “I saw a player (in Flynn) that emerged throughout his senior year to become of the top point guards in the West. He put up numbers as a junior, but his senior year was special considering he was double and tripled teamed at times. He still played within himself and didn’t force much. He had an ability to score and keep his teammates involved in the game. He played at such a high basketball IQ level.”

Along with seven returning players, Flynn is one of five newcomers for the Cougars next season in the wake of the disastrous 2015-16 campaign, which WSU closed with 17 straight losses. The Cougars seemingly invested new ways to lose each time they took the court.

Prior to Flynn signing a NLI in May, Milan Acquaah (6-2 guard from Pasadena, Calif.) and Jeff Pollard (6-8 forward from Bountiful, Utah) each signed NLIs with the Cougars during the early signing period in November.

“Malachi and Milan give us the one-two punch we needed on the floor in terms of skill, speed, ability to see the game and play the game at a high pace,” said Kent, whose contract was extended through the 2020-21 season by AD Bill Moos shortly after the conclusion of last season. “I’m thrilled to have them.”

Kent wants the Cougars to play at a quicker pace in 2016-017 and he believes having Flynn and Acquaah on the floor will enable WSU to do that successfully to a much greater degree than last season.

“We need to play faster,” Kent said. “To do that, you need more skill, players that can get out in the open court and make the read and react decisions. They must have a tremendous feel for the game and be able to pass, dribble and shoot the basketball.

“These two players (Flynn and Acquaah) are excellent in those areas. They both play fast, see the game and have tremendous feel for the game and both have the ability to score. They are excellent students of the game and will help get us to where we want to go.”

Clearly, Flynn and Acquaah are perfect fits for Washington State's preferred style of play, one that hopefully produces more victories starting in November when the non-conference schedule gets cranked up.

Keith Langston, a 6-5 JUCO guard from Chabot College (redshirted in 2015-16) and Pasadena City College (13.3 ppg in 2014-15) in California, and Jamar Ergas, a freshman from Toronto, Canada, joined the program in June, giving the Cougars 12 scholarship players for Kent’s third season in Pullman.

Besides graduating seniors Junior Longrus (rejoined program as graduate manager) and Brent Boese, four players departed the program, most prominently shot-blocker Valentine Izundu, who graduated from WSU and transferred to San Diego State.

Another graduate transfer, Que Johnson (11.3 ppg; led Cougars in scoring in four of final eight games), took his long-distance shooting skills to Western Kentucky. Rising senior Renard Suggs (5.4 ppg) and sophomore Ny Redding (1.2 ppg) exited the program as well, transferring to Nebraska-Omaha and Wyoming, respectively. Both players must sit out the 2016-17 season pursuant to NCAA rules.

“We’re a program in transition,” Kent said. “But we’re not alone in players leaving. It’s the norm. It’s going on everywhere. The transfer situation was the number one topic of discussion at the Final Four. We just have to deal with it, keep moving on and keep recruiting and keep building our basketball program.”

The Cougars did receive a dose of good news in late May when leading scorer and rebounder Josh Hawkinson (15.4 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 20 double-doubles in 2015-16), 7-foot center Conor Clifford (64.0 field goal pct.) and second leading scorer Ike Iroegbu (12.7 ppg) pulled their names out of the NBA Draft, ensuring their return to WSU for 2016-17.

Hawkinson spent a portion of his summer touring Australia with a Pac-12 All-Star team that faced the Australian Olympic team featuring former Washington State standouts Aron Baynes and Brock Motum.

Four of the Cougars’ top five scorers return from last season – Hawkinson, Iroegbu, Charles Callison (7.9) and Clifford (6.8). Together, they combined for 61 percent of Washington State’s offensive production last season.

More good news: The Cougars will get a jump start on the 2016-17 season with an upcoming 6-game tour of Italy (Aug. 4-14), a trip allowing them to practice for 10 days prior to departure.

“The good thing for all of our incoming players, especially Malachi, is the summer trip,” Kent said. “We have (had) an opportunity to work with these young men during the summer and taking them abroad and playing. They will get a miniature version of a practice season out of the way before the season even starts.”

2016-17 WASHINGTON STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER

0 Derrien King, F (6-6, Jr.)

1 Jamar Ergas, G (6-4, Fr.)

2 Ike Iroegbu, G (6-2, Sr.)

3 Robert Franks, F (6-7, So.)

4 Viont’s Daniels, G (6-2, So.)

5 Milan Acquaah, G (6-3, Fr.)

10 Keith Langston, G (6-5, RSo.)

13 Jeff Pollard, F (6-9, Fr.)

22 Malachi Flynn, G (6-1, Fr.)

23 Charles Callison, G (6-0, Sr.)

24 Josh Hawkinson, F (6-10, SR.)

42 Conor Clifford, C (7-0, RSr.)

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Malachi Flynn signs his LOI to Washignton State in April ()
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