It sounds as if Washington State players may be dreaming about bumping and banging with Notre Dame’s 6-foot-8, 251-pound sophomore Luke Harangody, the Big East Conference player of the year. If that doesn’t cause some tossing and turning, nothing will.
“Looking at Harangody on film, he’s another animal, he’s a brute,” Washington State forward Daven Harmeling said Friday during interviews for Saturday’s NCAA Tournament second-round game in the Pepsi Center.
Harangody averaged a double-double for the season: 20.7 points and 10.3 rebounds.
He recorded 18 points and 14 boards Thursday night in an 18-point victory over George Mason.
Washington State players said it’s a good thing they have been tested in the Pac-10 by one of the nation’s most talented array of post players. UCLA’s Kevin Love, Stanford’s Brook Lopez, Washington’s Jon Brockman and Southern Cal’s Taj Gibson are a load.
“We just learned that some players like that are relentless,” WSU guard Taylor Rochestie said Friday. “It’s not about just trying to stop their first shot.
“They’re players that are going to put it up and get their own rebound and put it back. It could take five, six times.
“It’s going to take a good team effort to stop such a tremendous big man (like Harangody). They have such a great presence inside.”
The first line of defense will be Aron Baynes, Washington State’s 6-10, 270-pound junior center.
“I’ve just got to stay between (Harangody) and the glass,” said Baynes, an Australian who loves challenges.
Diamonds in the rough. Washington State didn’t exactly have to beat out Big 12 schools for the two Coloradans on the Cougars’ roster.
As an assistant, current WSU head coach Tony Bennett plucked 6-7 Harmeling out of Fruita Monument High School near Grand Junction and 6-10 Caleb Forrest from Pagosa Springs.
Harmeling, a junior, said the University of Denver was the only in-state Division I school to offer a scholarship to him. He also received offers from Indiana State, Long Beach State and Eastern Washington. Colorado State wanted Harmeling to walk on.
“I remember the first time Tony called me and explained what he was trying to do in Pullman with his dad (then head coach Dick Bennett),” Harmeling recalled on Friday. “I was kind of speechless. The first thing he talked about was humility, passion, thankfulness — those being the pillars of the program. That really stuck with me.”
Forrest, also a junior, figured he’d play for either Fort Lewis College in nearby Durango, Mesa State in Grand Junction or Adams State in Alamosa until he received Division I offers from Wyoming and Liberty.
Then Bennett called.
“Honestly, I didn’t know who Washington State was; I didn’t even know they were in the Pac-10,” Forrest said. “Tony told me about playing in the Pac-10 and I said, ‘Really?’
“I was still torn because Washington State is so far away and Wyoming would be closer.
But I really liked the Washington State coaches and the players I met on the recruiting visit. Things worked out great.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
