The 2006-07 men's hoop season proved to be so much greater than expected that some of the luster has yet to fade - the list of accomplishments are that bright. They begin with the 26 wins - tying the most victories ever in school history - and is followed by the Cougars' first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 13 years. Those were the most visible but they would not have been possible were it not for a myriad of actions that put them into play, beginning with athletic director Jim Sterk's hiring of retired legendary Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett to work his program rebuilding magic in Pullman and then to, subsequently pass on the head coaching reigns to his son, Tony Bennett. It was the younger Bennett's connection to the players on the team that helped bridge the gap between mediocrity and success that allowed the Cougars to make a shambles of Pac-10 traditional media's prediction that Wazzu would be in last place come the end of the conference season to notice the Cougars last year. In the end, Bennett says, it was all about the experience and depth they were able to produce.


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