June 26, three years in the past, Cedric Coward of Washington State was a basketball participant in division III. As we speak, it’s a alternative of restoration from the NBA.
With the eleventh alternative of the NBA 2025 draft, COWARD went to Memphis’ grizzlymen by the choice of the Portland Path Blazers.
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With that, Coward joins the previous cougar Jaylen Wells in Memphis. Wells, a alternative in 2024, has simply completed an All-Rookie NBA season with the Grizzlies.
The selection is linked to the legend of the NBA Klay Thompson for probably the most written coug within the historical past of the NBA and marked the primary time since 1970-72 that WSU had gamers chosen in three consecutive NBA sketches.
“Even when it was a brief season and sadly I injured myself, I loved all my time there, all of the battles with my guys,” Coward mentioned about his time in WSU throughout an interview on the purple carpet earlier than the draft. “All that was completely unimaginable. I shall be again to Pullman quickly. I have to at all times have my issues. … Coach (David) Riley and them, they maintained it.”
Coward, who noticed his NBA draft inventory growing daily, got here out of the New York inexperienced room to shake arms with Commissioner Adam Silver when he heard his identify known as.
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His longtime college coach Riley, who additionally skilled him in jap Washington, made the journey to New York to have a good time the manufacturing of Coward.
The 6 -feet 6 -inch goalkeeper / attacker is the fifth former coug energetic within the NBA, becoming a member of the quadruple NBA champion Thompson (Dallas Mavericks), Mouhamed Gueye (Atlanta Hawks) and the 2 important contributors of the Kings of Cougars 2024 NCAA Match, Isaac Jones (Sacramento Kings).
“What the state of Washington has executed within the final three or 4 years is kind of particular,” Riley mentioned at a press convention on Monday. “Actually cool tales and I believe Washington’s state is a spot the place you may make your desires come true.”
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Jones and Wells made their NBA debut final season.
Riley discovered COWARD on the NCAA Division III Willamette whereas he skilled to Ewu and introduced Coward to Cheney. There, Coward impressed in his second season of the bench earlier than beginning the 34 video games of his junior 12 months and successful the honors of the primary All-Massive Sky workforce.
“It is actually cool to be a part of it,” mentioned Riley. “I’m grateful to have a job that permits me to assist individuals notice their desires. I used to be capable of assist him; he did all of the work, he put himself there, it was he who was mentally laborious sufficient to do it.”
Coward joined three of his EWU teammates by following their head coach and his workers 90 minutes within the south to Pullman final season. Coward solely performed six video games as a coug through the 2024-25 marketing campaign earlier than present process a shoulder harm on the finish of the season.
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Earlier than the harm, Coward posted 17.7 factors and seven.0 rebounds per recreation.
After a season in WSU, Coward entered the switch portal and signed up in Duke, clearly indicating that he would proceed to discover the waters of the NBA restoration. What he discovered satisfied him to leap fully within the prospect pool.
Because of a constructive efficiency within the NBA draft, the NBA groups voted Coward among the many 25 finest gamers almost definitely to listen to their names known as within the first spherical and subsequently to win an invite to draft.
Riley mentioned Coward had jumps for every off -season and had a ton of the NBA eyes on him final summer season, within the fall and within the first six video games of the season.
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“Sadly for cougar followers and for us within the workforce final 12 months, it will have been good to have it and would have been good for the world to see the bounce it made,” mentioned Riley. “Happily for him, it didn’t spoil his inventory as a result of these guys from the NBA – they noticed it and did their job.”
Taylor reached 208-848-2268, [email protected]or on x or instagram @Sam_c_taylor.
