Dane Erikstrup to return for CBC tournament, plus other nuggets

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PULLMAN – As it turns out, Dane Erikstrup has not played his final game at Washington State.

The senior forward is expected to return from injury for WSU’s College Basketball Crown opener against Georgetown, set for 8 p.m. Monday in Las Vegas, coach David Riley said this week.

“That’s the plan,” Riley said.

In his final season of eligibility, Erikstrup played only nine minutes in WSU’s loss to San Francisco in the West Coast Conference Tournament earlier this month before exiting with what appeared to be a head injury. Erikstrup, who is averaging 12.1 points and 4.3 rebounds on 49% shooting from the field, will get at least one more game at the college level.

It’s a welcome development for WSU, especially considering that Georgetown will be shorthanded for Monday’s first-round game. Freshman big man Thomas Sorber started 23 games for the Hoyas before going down with a season-ending foot injury. Also, 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Drew Fielder has entered the transfer portal.

With the absence of that pair, the Hoyas will be down 21.6 points and 13.9 rebounds for the matchup with Washington State, which has often struggled with rebounding this season. It creates a void the Cougars could exploit – but with the transfer portal opening Monday, Riley is are taking a cautious approach to gameplanning.

“We’re kind out waiting and seeing,” Riley said. “I’m gonna give it a few days before we really dive into the exact game plan, because the fluidity of all this. There’s, like, 1,000 people in the portal already, so we’ll see what that looks like. I’m sure there’ll be pros and cons to that. We better get ready for some presses in different ways. They’re gonna try to pressure us. Think it’ll be a fun game.”

The two Cougars who have entered the portal, guards Nate Calmese and Isaiah Watts, will not play in the tournament. Asked about their decisions to enter the portal, Riley wished them well, saying he “loves the hell out of…

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Source link : http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/mar/27/wsu-hoops-notebook-dane-erikstrup-to-return-for-cb/

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Publish date : 2025-03-28 02:03:00

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