Updating the NBA Entry List and Honoring a Maryland Legend

BASELINE TO BASELINE

Go coast to coast with a roundup of news from across the nation.

Here’s a quick recap of all the major NBA decisions from the past week. The NCAA’s deadline for early entrants to remain eligible required players to decide by May 8 if they wanted to remain in the NBA Draft or return to school.

Remaining in the draft:

• Boston College’s Reggie Jackson
• Butler’s Shelvin Mack
• Georgia Tech’s Iman Shumpert
• Kentucky’s Brandon Knight
• Kentucky’s DeAndre Liggins
• Louisville’s Terrence Jennings
• Maryland’s Jordan Williams
• Michigan’s Darius Morris
• Stanford’s Jeremy Green
• Tennessee’s Tobias Harris
• Tennessee’s Scotty Hopson
• Texas’ Cory Joseph
• Texas’ Tristan Thompson

Returning to school:

• Kentucky’s Terrence Jones
• Miami’s Reggie Johnson
• Missouri’s Laurence Bowers
• Missouri’s Kim English
• Northwestern’s John Shurna
• Pittsburgh’s Ashton Gibbs
• West Virginia’s Kevin Jones
• Xavier’s Tu Holloway

1. The biggest news of the past few days is Gary Williams’ retirement at Maryland. The Terrapins’ coach unexpectedly decided to call it a career at age 66 after working at his alma mater since 1989. Maryland moved quickly to court Arizona’s Sean Miller, who passed on the the offer by signing an extension with the Wildcats, according to John Marshall of the Associated Press. That makes Notre Dame’s Mike Brey one of the top choices right now, according to the Washington Post.
2. In other Washington, D.C., area coaching news, George Washington picked Mike Lonergan to be the Colonials’ next coach, according to the Associated Press. Lonergan comes back to D.C. after working at Vermont for five seasons, compiling a 126-68 record. Lonergan coached Catholic University to a Division III title in 2001 and worked with Gary Williams as an assistant at Maryland for a few years.
3. Gonzaga needs to find a new starting point guard after Demetri Goodson announced that he’s leaving the team to play football, according to the Associated Press. Goodson averaged 5.2 points and 2.6 assists per game for the Bulldogs this past season.
4. Michigan State Tom Izzo returned the favor for Spartan fans last week. To help boost student morale during final exams week, Izzo joined other Spartan coaches in serving food at the university’s dining hall, according to Diamond Leung of ESPN.com’s ìCollege Basketball Nation.î That’s a nice way to thank the Izzone fans who help give Michigan State one of the toughest home court advantages in the nation.
5. Speaking of Izzo, the Spartans’ coach might be getting some much-needed backcourt help in Valparaiso transfer Brandon Wood, according to the Associated Press.. The Horizon League’s No. 3 scorer is transferring to Michigan State after completing his undergraduate degree. Because of NCAA rules for graduate transfers, Wood might be eligible to play immediately for a team losing Kalin Lucas to graduation.
6. Jeff Capel has returned to a familiar sideline. The former Oklahoma coach, who was fired after this past season, accepted an offer to become an assistant coach on coach Mike Krzyzewski’s staff at Duke, according to the Associated Press. Capel played four years in Durham and put up more than 1,600 points.
7. The Pac-10 can’t complain about an East Coast bias for much longer. The conference soon to be known as the Pac-12 signed an agreement with ESPN and Fox Sports worth $250 million per season, tops in men’s basketball, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press.
8. Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt has recruited his first big name as the Cowboys’ new coach. Larry Nance Jr., son of longtime NBA player Larry Nance, will arrive in Laramie this fall after averaging about a double double as a senior in Ohio this past season.
9. Looking ahead to 2012, Louisville might not have the services of Rodney Purvis, a top-rated shooting guard in the class of rising high school seniors who reopened his recruitment, according to Eamonn Brennan of ESPN.com’s ìCollege Basketball Nation.î Louisville had received a verbal commitment from Purvis, partially thanks to the hard work of assistant Tom Fuller, who left Pitino’s staff recently to work for Frank Haith at Missouri.
10. Former Cyclone John Lamb, a walk-on who left Iowa State mid-season, was arrested last week and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and a violation of Drug Tax Stamp Act, according to the Associated Press.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

This section is aptly titled for a Washington, D.C., area writer looking to write a column honoring the importance of recently retired Maryland coach Gary Williams.

In his 22 years at Maryland, Williams helped craft the Terrapins into a perennial ACC contender. His continued success eased the path to the construction of the Comcast Center, which is one of the largest arenas in the conference and has one of the best home court advantages. The 20,000-plus fans who fill the Comcast Center haven’t always approved of the quality of the home team, but they consistently fill the arena with rowdy fans, giving Maryland one of the best home court advantages in the country.

After the turmoil of the late 1980s, it’s amazing that Williams was able to get this program back to the top of the ACC so quickly. Trouble started in 1986 with the death of Terrapin hero Len Bias, who seemed destined to become a national hero as a possible heir apparent to Larry Bird in Boston. However, his cocaine-induced death and the subsequent brouhaha in College Park derailed the program, leading to the ouster of coach Lefty Driesell.

Without Driesell, the team fell into mediocrity — and NCAA violations — during the tenure of Bob Wade. With the program on probation and lackluster performance on the court, Williams returned to his alma mater with a tough task at hand.

It took Williams five seasons, but once he got the Terrapins into the NCAA Tournament, they remained fixtures of March Madness until 2005. That includes a Final Four run in 2001 that ended mercilessly with the team’s fourth loss of the season to eventual national champion Duke. But Williams and Maryland vanquished those demons the next season when the Terrapins won the 2002 title.

The championship title was a turning point for Williams’ tenure at Maryland. Until then, the critics liked to talk about Williams as one of the greatest coaches to have never won a title — a fraternity no coach enjoys being part of. With that monkey off his back, Williams then had to deal with detractors who bemoaned that Williams failed to use the program’s success to attract the top recruits to College Park.

Recruiting is a touchy subject for Maryland fans. On the plus side, no one has even sniffed an NCAA violation during Williams’ years. But on the other hand, Williams drew the ire of many fans because he couldn’t keep a lot of the talented kids in Prince George’s County, Md., and Baltimore in-state. Highly touted recruits like Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Ty Lawson, Rudy Gay, Nolan Smith and seemingly half of Georgetown’s starting lineup each season are all locals. That would be acceptable if Williams had a slew of talented recruits on a conveyor belt to College Park from across the country.

But after three NIT appearances in four seasons, the natives became restless. Williams had the misfortune of dealing with a few disastrous recruits, including the much-maligned post-championship class of Chris McCray, John Gilchrist, Travis Garrison and Nik Caner-Medley. That core failed to meet lofty expectations, and the fans nearly revolted at the perceived inability of Williams to coach a great class. But the players just didn’t work out. It happens.

Williams got Maryland back on track with Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes. He helped Vasquez mature from a sloppy point guard and nearly out of control hothead to a dominant ACC player who was a threat to post a triple double nearly any night. The Terrapins returned to the NCAA Tournament three out of four seasons but never advanced further than the second round.

Heading into this off-seaosn, Maryland was at a cross-roads as another disappointing recruiting class — Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker and Dino Gregory — finished their collegiate careers. Jordan Williams, one of the top recruits in recent years to come to Maryland, figured to be the linchpin of next season’s team, but he is heading to the NBA instead.

At age 66, Williams was staring at a complete rebuilding project in an era that makes it increasingly difficult to run a clean and successful program. Williams refused to sacrifice one for the other. That makes now a great time for Williams to step down. To rebuild the Terrapins, Williams would need at least a couple of years to get the right guys around solid building blocks like Pe’Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin. Williams might be pushing 70 before the Terrapins have another legitimate shot at a deep run.

When I’m pushing 70, I hope have the energy to work more than 60 hours a week recruiting, strategizing and representing a major college program. After such a remarkable, program-defining coaching career, Williams has earned this respite.

Globetrotters’ Basketball Soul Outshines Rash of Rough News

BASELINE TO BASELINE

Go coast to coast with a round up of the nation’s top stories.

1. Although Phil Jackson seems pretty convinced that there won’t be a next season for the NBA next season, several college players are gambling that they’ll still be making NBA money within a few months. Here are a few of the players who announced during the past few days that they’ll be entering the NBA Draft.

• Arizona’s Derrick Williams, with agent
• Butler’s Shelvin Mack, no agent
• Connecticut’s Kemba Walker, with agent
• Florida State’s Chris Singleton, with agent
• Kansas’ Josh Selby, with agent
• San Diego State’s Kawhi Leonard, with agent
• UCLA’s Malcolm Lee, with agent

2. ESPN.com’s Andy Katz breaks down the NCAA Legislative Committee’s proposal to move up the deadline for declaring for the draft. If the Board of Directors approves the measure, players will need to decide by April 10 whether they intend to declare for the draft — and they can’t turn back. It essentially ends the test-the-waters approach, which isn’t good for the kids, Katz writes.

3. One player who won’t be testing the waters this season is Baylor’s Perry Jones, ESPN.com’s Andy Katz writes. Somewhat surprisingly, Jones will return to the Bears, who had a disappointing season but will return a start-studded team, anchored by Jones.

4. Despite the uproar about the early entry deadline, that’s small change compared to the fiasco in San Diego. The Associated Press reported this week that the FBI is investigating former members of the Toreros program for running a sports betting business, and 10 people have been charged in the case, including the team’s all-time leading scorer, Brandon Johnson. In addition to Johnson, former player Brandon Dowdy is accused of fixing games.

5. Jorts-mania could be coming to a town near you. Kentucky’s Josh Harrellson will be launching a Jorts Tour — after his now-famous nickname — to sign autographs and hawk his clothing line, according to Diamond Leung of ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nation” blog.

6. As Nebraska prepares to move to the Big 10 next season, the Huskers have reworked coach Doc Sadler’s deal to pay him an extra $100,000 per year, making his salary $900,000 per year through 2015-16, according to a CBS Sports.com wire report.

7. One of Nebraska’s former Big 12 rivals, Iowa State, is dealing with some drama after police arrested freshman center Jordan Railey for punching a man late Wednesday night along a hot spot for Ames restaurants and bars, according to the Associated Press. Coach Fred Hoiberg has suspended Railey while gathering more information about the incident.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

Man, what a rough week for news in the world of college basketball.

Several players landed in trouble with the law (Nebraska, Florida). An NBA-minded freshman skipped his team’s season-closing banquet to work out in Vegas (Kansas). And speaking of Sin City, the gambling bug apparently migrated south to San Diego, where the very integrity of the game is in question after the FBI unearthed a supposed sports business ring that included former Torero players who are accused of fixing games.

And just to pile on, the NCAA looks pretty selfish and uninterested in the welfare of student-athletes after moving forward with a proposal to give players until about a week after the championship game to decide whether they want to return to school or enter the NBA Draft. Needing only an affirmative vote by the NCAA’s Board of Directors to become official, the proposal applies tortured logic that benefits schools and coaches but not players. And the players already are limited because the NCAA won’t let them profit from their name or likeness in commercial products, such as video games. However, the NCAA is happy to take its cut from those sales.

That’s enough to get you pretty down about the game.

Thankfully, I watched the Harlem Globetrotters play tonight on ESPN. And that evaporated my creeping cynicism. The figure-eight weaves, between-the-legs passes and crowd-pleasing interludes don’t look like traditional basketball. All those fancy moves make for great entertainment, and everyone in the arena is having fun — even the tough-luck Generals.

Basketball is supposed to be fun. Yes, the game can be a means to a career — and a small fortune — for the most talented players. But for the 99 percent of players who don’t come within sniffing distance of an NBA pay check, the game needs to be fun. If it’s not, why play? The Globetrotters take fun to an extreme, but they embody the soul of the game.

Despite the spate of bad news, the game goes on. By November, optimism will be the mood du jour as nearly 350 Division I teams embark on the journey toward a 2012 championship. And with any luck, most of them will have plenty of fun along the way.

Giving Thanks to Hoops!

Scary Good

Bracket Breakdown: Pac-10, Mid-Majors Show the Big East the Door

It all started with some kid from a Kentucky school not named Kentucky stunning the college basketball world with an odds-defying, game-winning jumper at the buzzer. Thanks to forward Danero Thomas, 13th-seeded Murray State shocked No. 4-seed Vanderbilt, 66-65, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last Thursday.

Racers’ fans went into a frenzy. Many people who had never even heard of the school before celebrated the feel-good upset just because of its own strange nature. Even more people, however, kicked at the ground and muttered curse words because the unexpected result shook up their brackets.

That was just the beginning. Perhaps inspired by the Racers’ Day 1 shocker, a No. 12 seed, Cornell, decided it would ride hot-shooting all the way into the Sweet 16, a similar case to that of No. 10 St. Mary’s, which unleashed its beast of a center, 6-11 Omar Samhan, in the South Region and knocked out second-seeded Villanova to also join the field of 16.

And after No. 9 Northern Iowa’s Ali Farokhmanesh made the most cold-blooded crunch-time 3-pointer in recent tournament memory to cement his team’s Sweet 16 ticket while taking down overall-top-seeded Kansas on Saturday, it was official that at least 90 percent of the country’s brackets had gone more busted than a piñata on Cinco de Mayo.

Putting aside the almighty custom of wagering on tournament predictions, however, March Madness has been splendid so far. Down-to-the-wire games have been numerous, as have been upsets. High seeds Kansas, Villanova, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin and Temple all got axed, but their executioners gave the competition parity and diversity. Entering the Sweet 16, 11 conferences will be represented.

Out of all surprise teams, Cornell has been the most pleasant one. The Big Red’s wins made it the first Ivy League team to make it this far in more than 30 years, and it did so with authority. Cornell smacked around No. 5 Temple in the first round and then did the same to No. 4 Wisconsin in the second while shooting a combined 58.6 percent in the games.

Even better than that, though, has been the performance of St. Mary’s Samhan, who has totaled 61 points through two games while making 24 of 32 field goal attempts. His supremacy has been the reason the Gaels are enjoying the best season in their history while Villanova is already home, lamenting its collapse.

Speaking of failure, that’s been the theme of the postseason for Nova’s conference. The Big East, widely regarded as the best league in college basketball, had a tournament-best eight entrants, but half were done by the end of the first round, and two more followed soon after in the second. Only No. 1-seed Syracuse in the West Region and No. 2-seed West Virginia in the East remain.

First-round meat: No. 6 Marquette, which blew a 15-point lead in the second half and lost to an out-to-prove-the-Pac-10-is-not-that-weak No. 11-seed Washington; No. 3-seed Georgetown, which was blasted by Ohio, a team that had a losing record in the MAC and got into the Dance only after winning its conference’s tournament; Notre Dame, which was zoned out of the tournament by No. 11-seed Old Dominion; and No. 9-seed Louisville, which also got embarrassed by the Pac-10, by Cal.

No. 3-seed Pittsburgh made the second round, but the Panthers couldn’t hang with No. 6-seed Xavier on Sunday and were ousted.

With so many high seeds gone so early, thanks in big part to the Big East, it’d clearly be silly to count any team out. In the East, No. 1-seed Kentucky will have the challenge to cool down the Big Red’s red-hot shooting, and West Virginia will have to remain impressive to get past an also-remarkable Washington. In the South, No. 1-seed Duke, which has made quick work of its rivals so far, will face a Purdue team missing Robbie Hummel, and No. 3-seed Baylor will deal with Samhan, St. Mary’s scary big man.

In the Midwest, Cinderella Northern Iowa will face No. 5-seed Michigan State, ecstatic after its buzzer-beating win over Maryland Sunday, and No. 2-seed Ohio State, the favorite to win the section now that Kansas is gone, will take on No. 6-seed Tennessee. In the West, No. 5-seed Butler, which got a scare from Murray State before advancing via a 54-52 win Saturday, will meet with Syracuse. The winner will play the winner of the Kansas State-Xavier game.

Predictions? We’re not too big on them these days, but the solid candidates to advance are Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke, West Virginia and Ohio State. These teams have been imposing through their first two games. They’re as dependable picks as Kansas was before Saturday.

Willard Speaks on Siena-Holy Cross Game

Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard was hoping to hear from Siena head coach Fran McCaffery to talk about what happened last week when the two teams met and had an ending that surprised just about everyone there. His preference was, understandably, to keep things in-house on the matter.

Since that has not happened, and McCaffery continued to hammer the Crusaders last week in published reports, Willard reluctantly took things to a public forum on his blog. You can read it in its entirety at the link, but here’s one noteworthy excerpt:

“(Fran McCaffery’s) reaction after the game this year shocked me. I have coached over 500 games at the college level, and many more at the high school level, and have never had a coach not have his student athletes shake the hands of an opponent after a game. I knew he had to play Fairfield in less than 48 hrs and had St Peters and Kansas, right after that, and just assumed he was upset about the two injuries happening in a game he probably thought would be a blowout. I saw the game as hard fought, by both teams. I assume, as my mother said, he has a different perspective. That’s fine, and if he wanted to convey that to me that’s fine also. What is not fine is his pronouncements to the media that he knew the intentions of our players, and the characterization of the way we play as being “dirty”, without ever having the professionalism of discussing it with me. The fact that it went on for three days after the game is incredulous to me. I’m not sure what he was trying to accomplish, other than justifying his actions.”

Other Notes

As the Patriot League heads into league play this weekend, the Rookie of the Year race looks to be R.J. Evans’ to lose. The Holy Cross guard has been named Rookie of the Week five times, including four of the last five weeks, and leads all freshmen in the league in scoring and steals and is second in rebounding. He figures to continue playing a significant role for the Crusaders the rest of the way.

Santa Clara came to New England for two games and came away with two losses. Both games highlighted issues Kerry Keating has seen with his team all season long: turnovers and defense. The Broncos turned the ball over 39 times in the two games, forced just six Harvard turnovers. They were better at New Hampshire defensively, but the Wildcats were 5-9 from behind the arc in the second half to pull out the win. Their 19 turnovers in the game hurt even more.

“If we don’t turn the ball over, we usually win, and if we do turn the ball over, it makes it very difficult,” said Keating. “That’s indicative of a young team, an inexperienced team that we have right now that needs to understand that little bit better.”

The Broncos are inexperienced in the backcourt, and that’s showing up at both ends of the floor. Perry Petty was a non-factor Sunday, while Kevin Foster continued to show some promise offensively but also some defensive struggles.

The Broncos begin West Coast Conference play with a bang: at Saint Mary’s, home against Gonzaga and at San Diego for their first three games.

Hofstra head coach Tom Pecora didn’t seem overly concerned about his team following Monday night’s 73-50 blowout loss at Northeastern. He gave the sense that his team gets it, understanding that there are plenty of games left and this can be seen as just an aberration.

“The good thing about college basketball, it’s not college football,” said Pecora. “If you lose one game, your season’s not over. You’ve just got to get yourselves right at the right time. I’ve been down this road before, we’ll keep grinding it out, and we’ll fix things.

“I have no doubt that they’ll be able to do it.”

The struggles have been largely with the guards, who still comprise most of the team’s scoring. Charles Jenkins hasn’t been making shots of late, which is also the case with Cornelius Vines. Tony Dennison has seen his minutes take a dip in the last two games after starting the first 11. The bright spot Monday night came from a promising place, as senior point guard Greg Johnson – their only true point guard – showed some good signs.

“I think he did a pretty good job of getting us into our offense tonight and making some plays,” said Pecora.

Who would have imagined that Arkansas would be in the position it’s in right now? When Patrick Beverly left after being declared academically ineligible, the Razorbacks certainly didn’t look like an NCAA Tournament team. But after Tuesday night’s win over a solid Texas team, they’re well-positioned to be just that as SEC play beckons.

And how many thought California would sweep the Arizona schools, albeit at home? Getting back Theo Robertson after he missed all of last season has been a big addition, but Jerome Randle’s play suggests he should be in the discussion for the conference Player of the Year honors when we get to late February and March. He flat-out knows how to play, and not only has he jumped up his scoring, assists and shooting percentages, but he’s also cut down on his turnovers.

West Coast Conference: WCC Suspends 3 Officials

The West Coast Conference suspended officials Bruce Hicks, Alan Pierce and Thomas Wood for one game after they allowed improper substitutions at the end of Santa Clara’s 89-88 win against UTEP. Hicks, Pierce and Wood allowed the substitutions with 2.9 seconds remaining in overtime following an inadvertent whistle. According to NCAA rules, teams cannot make substitutions in that situation if there is less than a minute remaining in the second half or overtime. The officials will miss their first regularly scheduled WCC assignment Jan. 8.

San Francisco Finally Comes Home

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – It’s not often a long flight is a relief.  But for San Francisco, their flight home after two games in Massachusetts is exactly that, and not just because they came away with losses in both.

December saw the Dons log some serious road time.  They were at home for just one game, and even that was no picnic as they needed double overtime to knock off Long Beach State.  They went 2-6 in the month, winning only at Boise State among their road games.  And while four of the road games in the month were played in the state of California, two were not close by, and they ended the month more than 2,900 miles away from home.

“It’s tough, and I know it’s tough for our guys, because they’re away from home, they’re away from family,” said head coach Rex Walters.  “They got to spend Christmas morning with their families, then we’re on a late flight to get out here for Holy Cross.”

If there are bright spots after the month-long struggle on the road, one is that the Dons are still 7-7 after Monday’s loss to Boston College.  One win is against a transitional Division II school, but they can still finish non-conference play with a winning overall record as they have one game left against another non-Division I school on Saturday.  Then they begin West Coast Conference play with two straight home games, but neither will be easy as San Diego and Saint Mary’s visit.

“It’s been a long month.  We’ve done some good things, we have a chance to finish with a winning record in the non-conference schedule, and hopefully we’ll be able to do that,” said Walters.  “It will be good to get back home, get on our practice floor, work on some things, and try to make a run.”

The Dons’ game at Holy Cross was a return game from last season, and Monday’s game came about in part from a desire to get another game while in the area.  Additionally, Walters went up against Boston College last season when he was the head coach at Florida Atlantic.

While the Dons clearly have talent, a lot of it is at the offensive end.  The Dons have four players who average in double figures, led by Dior Lowhorn, and they shoot over 38 percent from three-point range and average over 71 points per game.  But they are allowing slightly more at the defensive end, and opponents are shooting close to 45 percent from the field against them.

Even more troublesome is that the Dons are outscoring teams in the first half, but being outscored more in the second half.  They are also being out-rebounded, something Walters wants to see change, in large part by his team being tougher.

“I don’t know if we’ve out-rebounded any Division I team yet, and we don’t have great size,” said Walters.  (The Dons have actually out-rebounded four Division I schools in 13 games.)  “Coach Wooden, I remember listening to him talk, and he never talked about rebounding.  We’ve got to be a great box-out team, physical and tough.  It can be done; Coach Wooden’s first team didn’t have a guy over 6’6″.”

That, in short, is what he wants in the grand scheme of things.

“It’s got to be a mentality change, a culture change in terms of how we persist,” he added.  “When the ball goes up in the air, tough kids look for someone to hit.  You’re going to figure out a reason not to do it, or you’re going to figure out a reason to do it.  We’ve got to figure out a reason to do it.”

Walters is big on toughness, and knowing that he inherited this team from a prior staff, realizes that this can’t change all at once.  As much as he wants to win now, a little patience is probably necessary.  That was perhaps evident in the loss at Holy Cross, where the Crusaders’ 97 points was the most they have scored since 2002 and the most against a Division I school in almost 13 years.

“We made it too complicated for them,” Walters reflected.  “We’re in a first-year program; I kind of equate it to I was teaching a 400 level class and we’re a 100 level freshman team in terms of experience.”

While the Dons have a three-game road stretch coming up in the middle of January, they are first happy to be heading home.  They won just two games in December, but are still at .500 overall, and are hopeful of making a run in the West Coast Conference.  That won’t be easy, but with more time at home, they’ll be on better footing.

West Cost Preview

West Coast Conference 2008-09 Preview

by Phil Kasiecki

The 2007-08 season was a historic one for the West Coast Conference, as three teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in its 56-year history. On nine other occasions, two teams from the conference received bids, four of them coming since 2000.

When a conference like the WCC has such a season, one naturally wonders if it can at least repeat that the following season. The answer is a resounding yes. Gonzaga, while the team to beat, won’t be the only reason, as they’ll have plenty of competition. But the big reason to think this season should be better is that eight of the ten all-conference selections from a year ago return, which is a WCC record.

One can also expect the conference to have strength at the top, and a familiar look there as well. The top three teams last season return 12 of their 15 starters and all three return at least 77.2 percent of their scoring and 72 percent of their rebounding, meaning the conference will still be strong at the top. It will be tough for any team to break through those three this season, and adding to it is that a few of the bottom teams are in a rebuilding year.

Besides the great achievements the conference had last season, another hot topic was the coaching ranks. All of a sudden, the conference is full of relative newcomers, as only Mark Few (Gonzaga) and Randy Bennett (Saint Mary’s) have been in their current job for more than two seasons. Three programs have new head coaches this season, and the stories surrounding the departures of the prior coaches all had question marks.

After Eddie Sutton served as an interim head coach for the last two months of the season to get his 800th win, San Francisco hired former Florida Atlantic head coach Rex Walters to lead the program. The school essentially fired Jessie Evans during the season, but didn’t say that was what happened. Before the season was over, Vance Walberg resigned from Pepperdine amidst reports about poor treatment of his players, and the school brought back Tom Asbury as their new head man. Asbury once spent 15 years at the school, nine as an assistant and six as the head coach. Loyola Marymount forced out Rodney Tention after just three seasons at the helm, replacing him with former UNLV head coach Bill Bayno.

It’s clear that programs in the WCC feel more of a sense of urgency to compete for the top consistently. While no coach appears to be on the hot seat because only the most secure ones have been in their jobs for very long, it seems no coach is safe now. And if the young talent on some of the teams projected to finish near the bottom of the conference is any indication, winning is only going to get tougher.

Preseason Awards
Player of the Year: Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga
Top Newcomer: Decensae White, Santa Clara
Top Freshman: LaRon Armstead, Loyola Marymount
Defensive Player of the Year: Diamon Simpson, Saint Mary’s
Best NBA Prospect: Austin Daye, Gonzaga

All-West Coast Team
John Bryant, Sr. C, Santa Clara
Brandon Johnson, Sr. G, San Diego
Patrick Mills, So. G, Saint Mary’s
Jeremy Pargo, Sr. G, Gonzaga
Diamon Simpson, Sr. F, Saint Mary’s

Gonzaga Bulldogs (25-8, 13-1 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Jeremy Pargo (12.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 6.0 apg, 1.4 spg)
Jr. G Matt Bouldin (12.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.4 spg)
So. G Steven Gray (8.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.5 apg)
Sr. G-F Micah Downs (7.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.4 apg)
Sr. C Josh Heytvelt (10.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: This year’s non-conference schedule is exactly what we’ve come to expect from the Bulldogs: no shortage of challenges. Six games are at home in addition to playing Connecticut at Key Arena in Seattle, and they include Memphis (Spokane Arena) and Big Sky favorite Portland. They’ll head to Orlando for the Old Spice Classic, where they open with Oklahoma State and follow with either Maryland or Michigan State, then later play Indiana in the Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge, at Washington State, Arizona, Utah and Tennessee. In WCC play, they open with three straight at home, and at the end of January have a key home weekend with Saint Mary’s and San Diego.
Outlook: The Bulldogs are again favorites, but they’ll get stiff competition from Saint Mary’s and San Diego just like last season. There’s still an abundance of talent, especially on the perimeter as Pargo makes the team go, Gray could become one of the best shooters in the nation and Bouldin has a multitude of talents. Freshman Grant Gibbs gives them another solid body there, and classmate Demetri Goodson is likely to see time spelling Pargo. The frontcourt has plenty of talent, but also some questions. Downs has never lived up to his billing coming out of high school, Heytvelt has been slowed by injuries and an arrest over the last couple of seasons and Austin Daye suffered a knee injury in July that might limit him early on. Sophomore Robert Sacre, who will likely miss some early games with an injury, will need to give them more off the bench, and they could look to get more from senior Ira Brown. In light of that, whether they can repeat their conference-best rebounding margin is a question, and as good as the guards are, the Bulldogs only had six more assists than turnovers last season.

Saint Mary’s Gaels (25-7, 12-2 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
So. G Patrick Mills (14.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.8 spg)
Jr. G Wayne Hunter (redshirt)
Sr. F Ian O’Leary (7.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
Sr. F Diamon Simpson (13.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 1.2 spg)
Jr. C Omar Samhan (10.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.3 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Gaels will hit the road often in non-conference play, as their tough schedule has just five home games. They will host Fresno State, a BracketBusters game and two games in the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic. Notable games away from home begin with the 76 Classic in Anaheim, where they open with Wake Forest and then get either UTEP or Cal State Fullerton, then likely a high-major opponent in their last game. They also head to Kent State, play San Diego State in the John Wooden Classic, travel to Oregon, and play Southern Illinois in the John Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis. Three of the first four WCC games are at home, and they could easily be 4-0 before heading to San Diego and Gonzaga to begin a three-game road stretch.
Outlook: Hopes are high for the senior-laden Gaels after a banner year last season, and Mills’ performance in the Olympics for his native Australia only adds to that. Mills is one of four starters who return, and Hunter started 24 games in 2006-07 before having to redshirt last season. The frontcourt is anchored by Simpson, an excellent player who might now be a bit overshadowed by Mills but hasn’t become any less effective, especially on defense. Samhan is a fine complement to Simpson and one of the conference’s most underrated players, while O’Leary is the other returning starter. There is better depth up front with Indiana transfer Ben Allen and senior Yusef Smith, as senior Carlin Hughes is the best backup guard. All in all, the Gaels have enough to challenge for the top spot in the conference once again, and they’ll have enough chances in non-conference play to get a couple of quality wins to be in play for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as well.

San Diego Toreros (22-14, 11-3 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Brandon Johnson (16.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.2 spg)
So. G Trumaine Johnson (5.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 2.7 apg)
Jr. G De’Jon Jackson (7.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.3 apg)
So. F Rob Jones (9.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.3 apg)
Sr. F Gyno Pomare (14.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Toreros’ non-conference schedule is challenging and features eight home games. They open up at UNLV, then host Nevada, and a trip to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam follows. Once they return, notable home games include New Mexico, Boise State, Marshall and a BracketBusters game. Road games of note are at Oregon (at the Rose Garden in Portland) and Mississippi State. In WCC play, they have a three-game homestand in mid-January balanced out by three straight on the road in mid-February.
Outlook: With all five starters back from last season’s team, expectations are naturally high for the Toreros. There’s plenty of experience up and down the roster and no freshmen on the team, but don’t expect much change in the starting lineup. The perimeter of Johnson and Johnson as well as Jackson, who hit the game-winner against Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, will be deep and supported well by senior Danny Brown, sophomore Devin Ginty and junior swingman Chris Lewis. Pomare is a solid post player, and the hope is that the one newcomer, junior college transfer Roberto Mafra, will help inside. Jones had a nice freshman season complementing Pomare, and classmates Clinton Houston and Nathan Lozeau should be in the mix as well. One area for improvement is taking care of the ball, as the Toreros had more turnovers than assists on the season but improved in conference play to have more assists. It would help if they continued that trend into this season.

Santa Clara Broncos (15-16, 6-8 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Perry Petty (junior college transfer)
Sr. G Calvin Johnson (4.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.0 apg)
Jr. F Decensae White (transfer from Texas Tech)
So. F Ben Dowdell (8.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.9 apg)
Sr. C John Bryant (18.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.5 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Broncos will play seven home games in non-conference play, including two in the longest-running in-season tournament, the Cable Car Classic, against Belmont and either UTEP or James Madison. Right before that, they host Stanford. The Broncos will also play in the NIT Season Tip-Off against UAB and either Arizona (regional host) or Florida Atlantic, and also hits the road for a game at UNLV and makes a northeast swing to start 2009. The conference schedule starts with a bang: the first three games are at Saint Mary’s, home against San Diego and at Gonzaga.
Outlook: With big personnel losses on the perimeter, the Broncos may take a step back this season, especially with the top three teams all returning most of their starters. The frontcourt doesn’t figure to have issues, although Bryant was stabbed in September but should be ready to go by the beginning of the season. Dowdell and White should complement him well, and redshirt freshman Scott Thompson and sophomore Andrew Zimmerman make this a fine unit. Thompson could one day be a star in this conference. Johnson figures to be one starter, while Petty is the most likely to replace departed Brody Angley. Little-used sophomore Michael Santos is the only other experienced guard on the team, which doesn’t bode well for a team that last season had the worst turnover margin in the conference.

Portland Pilots (9-22, 3-11 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Nik Raivio (12.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.1 apg)
Jr. G Taishi Ito (5.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.2 apg)
So. F Luke Sikma (6.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.1 apg)
Jr. F Robin Smeulders (9.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg)
So. F-C Kramer Knutson (4.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Pilots will play seven home games in non-conference play, including three straight early on. They open with Washington visiting the Chiles Center, then later host Nevada and Idaho of the WAC. Road dates include Big Sky favorite Portland State, Brigham Young and Oregon, and they will play in the Golden Bear Classic against Air Force and either Dartmouth or California (host). In conference play, the highlight is a three-game homestand starting late in January against the three powers: San Diego, Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga all visit the Chiles Center in that stretch.
Outlook: The Pilots look like a sleeper team with four returning starters, but they also have no seniors, which will make moving up a challenge in this conference. Size will be on their side, as the addition of freshman John Hegarty gives them five players who stand 6’8″ or taller and all three frontcourt starters will be at least 6’8″. Sikma, the son of a former NBA player, had a nice freshman season and should anchor the frontcourt, while Smeulders and Knutson complement him. The big question is in the backcourt, where Raivio can’t shoot like his brother but is their best scorer, and Ito could be pushed by junior college transfer T.J. Campbell. The Pilots had over 100 more turnovers than assists last season, a stat made more problematic by the fact that they forced the fewest turnovers in the conference. The Pilots look to be a year away from making a serious bid at the first division.

San Francisco Dons (10-21, 5-9 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Dontae Bryant (junior college transfer)
Sr. G Manny Quezada (13.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.5 spg)
Jr. F Blake Wallace (junior college transfer)
Jr. F Dior Lowhorn (20.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
Jr. C Hyman Taylor (3.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: Five home games are on tap in non-conference play, including a three-game homestand to close out November. The Dons will head to Hawaii for the Verizon Wireless Tip-Off Classic against the host Rainbows and Texas State, then head to California, USC, Big West contender Pacific, Boise State, and cross the country to close out December with games at Holy Cross and Boston College. The Dons begin WCC play at home, but with tough ones as San Diego and Saint Mary’s visit.
Outlook: The Dons aren’t lacking talent, especially on the offensive end as their inside-outside attack of Lowhorn and Quezada should only be better this season. Not only are both better, but Quezada should be able to move off the ball with the addition of Bryant to run the show. Junior Christian Hernandez is the only other experienced guard on the team. Up front, Lowhorn will be complemented by Taylor and Wallace, the latter of whom played his freshman season at Pepperdine. James Morgan, who is one of two seniors on the team (Quezada is the other) should also be in the mix after starting six games last season. The Dons must improve defensively if they are to move up in the standings, as opponents shot over 47 percent from the field against them last season, and they were out-rebounded as well. The former was more pronounced in conference play, as WCC opponents shot over 48 percent against them.

Loyola Marymount Lions (5-26, 2-12 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
So. G Vernon Teel (junior college transfer)
Sr. G Corey Counts (6.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.8 apg)
Fr. F Ashley Hamilton
Fr. F Kevin Young
So. F Tim Diederichs (8.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Schedule Highlights: The Lions managed to get six home games in non-conference play, including a couple of good ones. First, they head on the road for three games in the World Vision Classic at Iowa State. Then they get Notre Dame at home, and later host Wyoming and Tulsa. Notable road games include Arizona, UCLA and New Mexico State. Conference play starts out with the challenge of three straight games on the road, including Saint Mary’s and San Diego.
Outlook: New head coach Bill Bayno has quickly moved to raise the talent level of this team, and while they’ll be young this season, some pieces will be in place to contend before long. Diedrichs and Counts are likely to be the only holdovers to start this season, and LaRon Armstead could push Counts out of the starting lineup at some point this season. Hamilton and Young are promising freshmen in the frontcourt, and Marko Deric is a role player who will be in the mix there as well. Two good transfers are sitting out this season, and the Lions already have two solid commitments for next year, so this year will give fans an idea of what to expect going forward.

Pepperdine Waves (11-21, 4-10 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Rico Tucker (10.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.2 spg)
Sr. G Ryan Holmes (6.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.1 apg)
So. F Mychel Thompson (8.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.6 spg)
Fr. F Taylor Darby
Fr. C Andy Shannon
Schedule Highlights: Eight home games are on tap in non-conference play, a very good number for a school in this conference. They open with three straight at home, ending with Brigham Young, then later host Big West contender Pacific and Georgia Tech. Notable road games are at New Mexico State, Arizona State and USC, and they will also play in the Rainbow Classic. Conference play starts with a bang: after hosting Loyola Marymount, they play at San Diego and Saint Mary’s, then host Gonzaga. A three-game road swing is also in the mix.
Outlook: The Waves are in full rebuilding mode after a coaching change and the roster being gutted by transfers, notably of their top two scorers last season. New head coach Tom Asbury has a tough job in front of him, but will at least have some experience in the backcourt with two seniors starting and a promising sophomore in Thompson to build around. The Waves will be young up front, which isn’t necessarily bad since last season’s team was next-to-last in rebounding margin. There are many areas for improvement, with defense being one of them as opponents shot over 48 percent against the Waves last season. They could also take better care of the ball after giving it away 17 times a game last season.

Conference Outlook

The 2008-09 season figures to be a case of the haves and have-nots in this conference. The top three teams will battle for supremacy right down to the wire, while the other five teams are either rebuilding or a year away from possibly contending. In particular, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount are basically starting from scratch. The top three could go any which way, and teams four through six could as well. This doesn’t figure to hold for long, as the bottom teams are already taking steps to get better, and the conference as a whole looks like it’s only going up.

West Coast Preview

West Coast Conference 2007-08 Preview

by Phil Kasiecki

The West Coast Conference has basically been Gonzaga’s to lose for a while now. Yes, the conference has had seasons with other NCAA Tournament teams, and they’ve gotten an occasional push either during the season or in the final (as Loyola Marymount can attest), but at the end of the day, was there ever any doubt about the Zags? They were going to the NCAA Tournament anyway just about every year, but they also rolled through the West Coast Conference most of those years.

Don’t expect much to change in 2007-08, at least at the top. The Bulldogs are again an easy pick to win, and again have too much talent and experience for the rest of the conference. They even have the conference’s top freshman, although other freshmen in the conference will probably get more playing time and a bigger role on their teams than Austin Daye will get on the Bulldogs.

That leads into one area of note this season: freshmen. A few teams have freshmen coming in who are very good recruits for them and should be impact players right away. Daye is one, while several other teams are likely to turn to a freshman in their starting lineup right away. Scott Thompson can run the floor and may one day be the best big man in the conference at Santa Clara, while Luke Sikma (son of former NBA star Jack Sikma) should start right away for Portland and Tyrone Shelley leads a good group at Pepperdine. Daye’s teammates Stephen Gray and Robert Sacre should also give Gonzaga added depth.

Two schools changed head coaches this past off-season. Santa Clara was one as Dick Davey retired amidst conflicting reports over whether he was forced into it or did so voluntarily, and the school hired former UCLA assistant Kerry Keating to replace him. San Diego fired Brad Holland and decided to go with someone who has had some success in the conference as they hired former Gonzaga assistant Bill Grier. With those changes, half of the conference head coaches are in their first or second season with their current team.

Preseason Awards
Player of the Year: Josh Heytvelt, Gonzaga
Top Newcomer: Dior Lowhorn, San Francisco
Top Freshman: Scott Thompson, Santa Clara
Defensive Player of the Year: Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga
Best NBA Prospect: Josh Heytvelt, Gonzaga

All-West Coast Team
Josh Heytvelt, Jr. C, Gonzaga
Manny Quezada, Jr. G, San Franciso
Jeremy Pargo, Jr. G, Gonzaga
Gyno Pomare, Jr. F, San Diego
Diamon Simpson, Jr. F, St. Mary’s

Gonzaga Bulldogs (23-11, 11-3 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Jeremy Pargo (12.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.4 spg)
So. G Matt Bouldin (8.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.1 apg)
Sr. G-F David Pendergraft (7.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
Jr. F Micah Downs (8.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
Jr. C Josh Heytvelt (15.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.7 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The non-conference schedule is the kind we’ve come to expect for this team: full of challenges. After three straight home games to open, highlighted by Big Sky favorite Montana, the Bulldogs head to the Great Alaska Shootout, where they open with Sun Belt favorite Western Kentucky. They then head east to play at Saint Joseph’s and against Connecticut in the Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge in Boston. Three straight home games follow, including Washington State, then they’re at Oklahoma, play Tennessee at Key Arena in Seattle, then they play Utah and Georgia in Spokane and head to Memphis in late January.
Outlook: The Bulldogs should again be the class of the WCC, and talent-wise this team looks excellent. Pargo and Bouldin form an excellent backcourt, with Pargo being a dark horse Player of the Year candidate and Bouldin ready to build off his nice freshman season. Downs and Pendergraft give them four perimeter players, while Heytvelt’s return is just one more big boost that will further push them ahead, as they would be the class of the conference without him. There’s no shortage of talent all over, with Pendergraft able to shift to a guard spot and Steven Gray available in the backcourt, Ira Brown, a healthy Larry Gurganious, and a plethora of inside bodies that include junior college transfer Abdullahi Kuso and freshmen Austin Daye and Robert Sacre. Daye could get a lot of the minutes off the bench and even start before the season is over.

St. Mary’s Gaels (17-15, 8-6 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Todd Golden (5.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.2 apg)
Jr. G Wayne Hunter (8.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Jr. F Ian O’Leary (7.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Jr. F Diamon Simpson (14.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 1.4 spg)
So. C Omar Samhan (9.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.5 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Gaels host two in-season tournaments, starting with the St. Mary’s Tip-Off Classic, then they close out 2007 with the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic. They are also in the Rainbow Classic, where they open with Tulane and could play Georgia in the second game. They host Oregon and Seton Hall, as well as a BracketBusters game among their nine home games. Road highlights include Southern Illinois, Texas and Fresno State, and they also play San Diego State in Anaheim at the John R. Wooden Classic. In West Coast play, they have two three-game homestands and have one three-game road trip.
Outlook: The Gaels bring a good deal of size to the table and can at least match up with Gonzaga on that front. They’re also a fine defensive team, in part because Simpson and Samhan form an excellent interior that can thwart penetrators who get inside. Samhan has plenty of upside and might be the best big man in the conference before his career is over. The backcourt isn’t spectacular, but Golden and Hunter have to improve offensively for this team to have a chance to win. The Gaels’ defense will give them a chance to win, but they had more turnovers than assists and shot just 43 percent from the field, so they’ll need to improve in that area.

Santa Clara Broncos (21-10, 10-4 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Brody Angley (8.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.0 apg)
Jr. G Calvin Johnson (2.5 ppg)
Sr. F Mitch Henke (6.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.4 apg)
Fr. F Scott Thompson
Jr. C John Bryant (10.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: Six home games are on tap in non-conference play, including two in the Cable Car Classic. Included is a game against Big Sky favorite Montana, as well as part of an in-season home-and-home with nearby San Jose State. They have plenty of challenging road games, especially early on when they play seven straight on the road. Included are trips to Nevada, Utah and Utah State, and they later play at Stanford and Minnesota.
Outlook: New head coach Kerry Keating inherits a team that could contend right away, as they have some good returning talent and newcomers like Thompson who are capable of making an instant impact. Angley is a steady floor leader and Henke, if healthy, is a solid wing at both ends of the floor. Bryant is the go-to guy, and his heft would be nicely complemented by Thompson, who is skilled and can run the floor for a big man and would give them a frontcourt with a lot of height. Senior Josh Higgins is another big body inside, and with Thompson added in they would have three regulars who are 6’10″ or taller. There isn’t much proven depth, so they’ll be looking to other freshmen to help pick up the slack. The Broncos got where they did last season largely on the strength of the conference’s best defense and rebounding margin, so if they can repeat that and cut down on turnovers, they’ll be in the hunt once again.

San Diego Toreros (18-14, 6-8 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Brandon Johnson (12.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.8 apg, 1.9 spg)
Jr. G Ray Murdock (5.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.4 apg)
Fr. G-F Chris Lewis
Jr. F Daniel Fleming (3.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
Jr. F Gyno Pomare (14.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Toreros have ten home games in non-conference play, including half of an in-season home-and-home with Hawai’i. They also host UNLV and cross-town rival San Diego State. The demanding road slate includes trips to New Mexico, Nevada, Kentucky and improved Marshall. The Toreros will also play in the Anaheim Classic against USC, then either MAC contender Miami (Ohio) or South Alabama in the second game.
Outlook: New head coach Bill Grier has been a key to Gonzaga’s success over the past decade, and now he tries his hand at leading a program of his own in the same conference. He inherits a team with some good parts, although there are no seniors. Leading the way are two of the conference’s best with the inside-outside combination of Johnson and Pomare. Johnson led the conference in assists last season, while Pomare should put up several double-doubles with his ability to score and rebound inside. Murdock is a capable sniper from long range, while the wing looks to be an open spot that could go to Lewis or junior Danny Brown. Fleming started much of last season but didn’t put up good numbers. The Toreros might be a year away from being a serious contender with their five juniors, and might go as far as Johnson and Pomare will take them this season. An improvement at the defensive end is in order, as the Toreros allowed opponents to shoot 47 percent from the field last season.

San Francisco Dons (13-18, 8-6 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Manny Quezada (13.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.2 spg)
Sr. G-F Danny Cavic (6.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
So. F Jay Watkins (6.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
So. F Dior Lowhorn (transfer from Texas Tech)
So. C Hyman Taylor
Schedule Highlights: The Dons have just five home games in non-conference play, including four straight. They open at Oklahoma in the 2K Sports Classic, then later have several tough road games: Big West favorite UC Santa Barbara, Oregon and Notre Dame. They also have an in-season home-and-home with both Utah Valley State and Weber State. West Coast play starts with three straight road games, then February brings three more consecutive road games followed by three straight at home.
Outlook: If the Dons had a little more continuity with their personnel, they might be a contender, but Antonio Kellogg (pro) and Jesse Byrd (transferred to UC Santa Barbara) left early and two good prospects they signed didn’t get admitted, meaning that this team will have to get by with less depth. Quezada leads the way and should score in the high teens, although he will likely be counted on to run the show as well. Watkins has some potential and could jump into double figures this season, while transfers Lowhorn and Taylor should start immediately and hold down the fort inside. Lowhorn should be an all-conference player before long. Depth will have to come from sophomore Jared Casey and junior James Morgan, the latter of whom played limited minutes last year. Lowhorn and Taylor have an immediate mission as they start their careers with the Dons, and that is helping a team that had the second-worst rebounding margin in the conference last season.

Loyola Marymount Lions (13-18, 5-9 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Corey Counts (2.6 ppg, 1.6 apg)
Sr. G Jon Ziri (5.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.1 spg)
Jr. F Marko Deric (5.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
So. F Mason Maynard (2.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
So. C Max Craig (1.8 ppg, 1.2 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The non-conference slate is manageable for this young team, featuring six home games. A few home games are good ones: San Diego State, Big West favorite UC Santa Barbara, Mississippi State and Southland contender Sam Houston State. The Lions will play in the BTI Invitational in New Mexico and also travel to Brigham Young.
Outlook: Ziri is the team’s only senior and only four juniors are on the roster, and the Lions lost their top four scorers, so it’s safe to say that they’re basically starting over this season. Counts and Deric need to give them more in larger roles, while Maynard and Craig have some potential and will need to grow up quickly now that they’ll be counted on for a lot inside. Four true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen will need to help right away and will surely get plenty of opportunities. With the scoring punch they lost, finishing at or near the bottom of the conference in scoring again seems a good possibility, so the quick path to winning might come by improving on last season’s defensive showing as opponents shot over 47 percent from the field against the Lions.

Portland Pilots (9-23, 4-10 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
So. G Taishi Ito (7.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.3 apg)
Jr. G Walter Thompson (4.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg)
Sr. F Sherrard Watson (9.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Fr. F Luke Sikma
So. F Robin Smeulders
Schedule Highlights: The non-conference slate has plenty of challenges, with their six home games featuring visits from Oregon and Brigham Young. They open up at the Fresno State World Vision Invitational, then later travel to Oregon State, Big Sky favorite Montana, Washington and Ivy League favorite Yale. In West Coast play, they get two very difficult three-game stretches, one of them with all three on the road and the other all at home: Gonzaga, Santa Clara and St. Mary’s right in a row.
Outlook: Second-year coach Eric Reveno will be looking at a youthful team this season, as Watson is the only senior and Thompson has just one classmate. Ito had a promising freshman season and will run the team for the next three years, while Thompson is the only other backcourt holdover with much experience. Watson is the team leader in the frontcourt, and he’ll have some young talent to help nurture, especially Sikma, who has a good feel for the game as one would expect the son of a former NBA star to have. Nik Raivio, Derek’s younger brother, is also a newcomer who could get some minutes right away in the backcourt, along with freshmen like Jared Stohl and B.J. Porter. The Pilots were last in the conference in scoring last season, and unless a couple of scorers develop quickly, that could happen again this season.

Pepperdine Waves (8-23, 4-10 West Coast)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Rico Tucker (transfer from Minnesota)
Sr. G Jason Walberg (14.0 ppg, 3.0 apg in five games)
Fr. G-F Tyrone Shelley
Fr. F Malcolm Thomas
Sr. C Jarrad Henry (3.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.2 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Waves have a difficult non-conference schedule, and it starts out that way at the Oregon World Vision Invitational as they take on host Oregon, MAC favorite Western Michigan and Big West contender Pacific. Only three home games are on tap, and after playing at Northern Arizona and in the Montana State GranTree Inn Classic, they have a murderous stretch of road games: Big West favorite UC Santa Barbara, Pacific, Brigham Young, then a couple of games later play at Memphis. As if that’s not enough, early in West Coast play it gets tough: Gonzaga at home, then on the road at St. Mary’s and Santa Clara.
Outlook: The rebuilding continues in Vance Walberg’s second year, and it got a little more difficult in the immediate when leading returning scorer Kingsley Costain was kicked off the team in October for a violation of team rules. That thins out the proven talent even more, so the Waves will be relying even more on newcomers right away. Walberg got off to a good start, while Henry proved he can defend inside and must become an offensive threat. Tucker is a good talent who should start right away, while Shelley heads a good group of freshmen and Thomas should play right away as well. Matt Hornbuckle is another freshman who could get a lot of minutes right away as well at shooting guard. It’s another rebuilding year, but there’s talent among their young players and from that comes reason for optimism.

Conference Outlook

Once again, the West Coast Conference is Gonzaga’s to lose. The Bulldogs have too many pieces and too many interchangeable parts for others to keep up with. St. Mary’s and two schools with new coaches but a stable of talent, Santa Clara and San Diego, come next. San Francisco is a wild card as they have talent but also some question marks, and they’ve had some unexpected departures that have slowed their attempted ascent.

After the top five, there is a steep drop-off and a noticeable rebuilding theme. Loyola Marymount, Portland and Pepperdine are all thin on proven Division I talent, but each has some young players that have a chance to develop. They’ll be in the hunt one day, but not this season.

West Coast Notebook

West Coast Conference Notebook

by Gregg Lavoie

Player of the week: Though Loyola Marymount’s Brandon Worthy struggled against an athletic Mississippi State team, he led the Lions to a big two-point victory over New Mexico State later in the week. The senior guard averaged 19.5 points over the two games. He also averaged five rebounds for LMU.

Team Capsules

Gonzaga Bulldogs (3-0, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: vs. UNC (11/22), vs. Idaho (11/26)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Josh Heytvelt, 20.0 ppg
Rebounds: Josh Heytvelt, 6.7 rpg
Assists: Matt Bouldin, 4.0 apg

The Bulldogs continue to look very impressive early on, but we must remember the caliber of teams they are playing. Gonzaga trounced Rice 88-50 on Nov. 14 and then defeated Baylor 78-69 in the quarterfinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Sophomore Josh Heytvelt appears to be on the verge of a breakout season for the Zags. The 6-11 forward scored 25 points and grabbed 11 boards in the 38-point blowout of Rice. He followed that up with 13 points and four rebounds against Baylor.

The victory over Baylor means the Bulldogs will have yet another chance to prove their status among the nation’s elite when they tip off against UNC, the No. 2 team in the nation, in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

Loyola Marymount Lions (2-1, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: at Alaska-Anchorage (11/22)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Brandon Worthy, 19.3 ppg
Rebounds: Matthew Knight, 6.7 rpg
Assists: Damian Martin, 5.7 apg

After a season-opening victory over Oral Roberts (later the David to the Goliath Kansas), the Lions struggled mightily against Mississippi State, losing 61-37. LMU hit just 12 of 58 shots, for a dreadful 20.7 percent. But the Lions got back on the right track following the miserable performance with a 71-69 win over New Mexico State.

Brandon Worthy had a huge game for the Lions with 28 points and eight rebounds. Derrick Grubb chipped in with 14 points while Matthew Knight had 13.

LMU has a fairly easy non-conference schedule this season, so look for the team to enter conference play with a very impressive record.

Pepperdine Waves (1-3, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: vs. UC Santa Barbara (11/21), at UC Irvine (11/25)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Marvin Lea, 20.0 ppg
Rebounds: Marvin Lea, 5.3 rpg
Assists: Gregg Barlow, 3.7 apg

The good news for the Waves is that the offense looks to be firing on all cylinders in the early going – averaging 84.8 points per game. The bad news is that the defense is allowing 90 a game.

Pepperdine’s only bright spot thus far was a 98-83 victory over Nicholls State. The Waves dropped games to Northern Iowa (83-58) and Cal State Northridge (95-92) last week.

Marvin Lea is playing great for Pepperdine. The senior guard is averaging 20 points, 5.3 rebounds and three assists a game. But, as mentioned, the defense needs to start playing better if the Waves hope to turn things around.

Portland Pilots (2-3, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: at BYU (11/22), vs. UC Davis (11/19)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Jamie Jones, 12.3 ppg
Rebounds: Ben Sullivan, 6.5 rpg
Assists: Taishi Ito, 2.3 apg

After losing its first three games, Portland righted the ship this week with back-to-back victories. The Pilots defeated Montana State 59-53 on Nov. 17 and beat UC Davis 76-72 on Sunday.

The Pilots’ defense continues to suffocate opponents, allowing just 61.8 points per game. But the offense is still struggling.

Portland has a tough test this week when the team travels to Brigham Young University on Wednesday.

Saint Mary’s Gaels (3-2, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (11/15), at USC (11/18)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Brett Collins, 12.2 ppg
Rebounds: Diamon Simpson, 7.0 rpg
Assists: Todd Golden, 3.4 apg

The Gaels almost pulled out a big win Saturday but came up just short against the Trojans of USC, falling 69-63. Earlier in the week, Saint Mary’s toppled a bad Cal State Monterey Bay team 89-41.

Saint Mary’s is very talented this season with seven players averaging over seven points per game. But the Gaels need somebody to step up and show some leadership, or the team will struggle come conference play.

San Diego Toreros (2-1, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: at Loyola-Chicago (11/20, at Texas-San Antonio (11/26)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Gyno Pomare, 15.0 ppg
Rebounds: Gyno Pomare, 7.3 rpg
Assists: Nir Cohen, 2.5 apg

San Diego defeated two inferior teams this past week, nothing much to brag about. The Toreros defeated UC San Diego 74-69 and cruised by Point Loma Nazarene 74-51.

The good news for the Toreros is that the offense is slowly coming around. San Diego now has four players scoring in double figures – Gyno Pomare (15.0 ppg), Nir Cohen (14.5 ppg), Brandon Johnson (13.3 ppg) and Ross DeRogatis (12.0 ppg). But the Toreros have connected on just nine of 37 3-point attempts, a 24.3 percent clip.

San Diego must shoot better if it hopes to succeed.

San Francisco Dons (2-1, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: at Ohio State (11/20), at UNLV (11/25)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Manny Quezada, 17.3 ppg
Rebounds: Alan Wiggins Jr.,11.7 rpg
Assists: Manny Quezada, 6.7 apg

San Francisco split its two games this past week, crushing Sacramento State 89-64 and then got crushed by Fresno State 86-66.

Things still look promising for the Dons, with consistently solid play from Manny Quezada, Armondo Surratt, Antonio Kellogg and Alan Wiggins Jr. Jay Watkins has also proved his worth to the team, averaging 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds an outing.

San Francisco has an enormous game this week when it travels to Ohio State to take on the fourth-ranked Buckeyes.

Santa Clara Broncos (2-0, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: at California (11/20), vs. Nevada (11/25)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Sean Denison, 16.0 ppg
Rebounds: Mitch Henke, 7.0 rpg
Assists: Danny Pariseau, 7.5 apg

Santa Clara opened up the season strong, winning games against Holy Names and Utah. The Broncos scored 83 points in both outings while allowing an average of 62.3.

We’ll see if the Broncos are for real this week when they travel to Berkeley to take on Cal on Monday, then host No. 23 Nevada on Saturday.

West Coast Notebook

West Coast Conference Notebook

by Gregg Lavoie

Player of the week: After sitting out last season due to transfer rules, San Francisco’s Antonio Kellogg proved he still has some game left. The sophomore guard led the Dons to a season-opening 87-73 win over Sonoma State. Kellogg finished the game with 22 points, five rebounds and six assists. He also added two steals.

Team Capsules

Gonzaga Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: vs. Rice (11/15), vs. Texas-San Antonio (11/19)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Josh Heytvelt, 22.0 ppg
Rebounds: David Pendergraft, 7.0 rpg
Assists: Jeremy Pargo, 5.0 apg

The defending WCC champs got off on the right foot on Nov. 10 by defeating a pesky Eastern Washington team 90-75. The Eagles of the Big Sky Conference return four of their top five scorers from last season’s team that went 15-15 overall and 9-5 in Big Sky play.
The highlight of the Eagles’ roster is sophomore guard Rodney Stuckey, a collegeinsider.com pre-season All-American pick.
For Gonzaga, it seems that Josh Heytvelt is going to have a bigger impact than anybody could have imagined. The 6’11″ sophomore forward led the Bulldogs with 22 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block.
Stuckey had 18 points for the Eagles.

Loyola Marymount Lions (1-0, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: at Mississippi State (11/13), vs. New Mexico State (11/17), vs. Cal State Bakersfield (11/19)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Matthew Knight, 23.0 ppg
Rebounds: Matthew Knight, 9.0 rpg
Assists: Brandon Worthy, 7.0 apg

The Lions opened up their season with a nice 68-65 win over an always-tough Oral Roberts team. Oral Roberts made the NCAA Tournament last season and return many of the key players from that team.
Loyola Marymount got a huge game from forward Matthew Knight. Knight had 23 points to go along with nine rebounds for the Lions. Brandon Worthy, the pre-season favorite for conference player of the year, also had a solid game for the Lions. Worthy had 19 points and led the team with seven assists.
The problem for Loyola Marymount appears to be where the rest of the points are going to come from. Knight and Worthy combined for 42 of the Lions 65 points against Oral Roberts – 65 percent. If a third, and even fourth, player can’t step up and produce some points, the LMU offense could be in for a long season.

Pepperdine Waves (0-1, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: vs. Northern Iowa (11/13), at Nicholls State (11/14), at Cal State Northridge (11/18)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Jason Walberg, 18.0 ppg
Rebounds: Chris Oakes, 7.0 rpg
Assists: Gregg Barlow, 6.0 apg

The Waves played extremely well in their upset bid against No. 17 Washington but came up just short, losing 99-91. This has to be an encouraging sign for both Pepperdine players and fans.
First-year head coach Vance Walberg seems to have implemented a new offensive system for the Waves. Looking back at the 2005-06 season, Pepperdine scored 90 points just once in 27 games – a 92-86 victory over Long Beach State.
Pepperdine had five players score in double-figures, led by Jason Walberg with 18. Marvin Lea had 16, Chase Griffin had 15 and Tomas Pranciliaukas and Chris Oakes each had 12. Oakes also had seven rebounds for Pepperdine.

Portland Pilots (0-3, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: vs. Montana State (11/17), vs. UC Davis (11/19)

Team Leaders
Scoring: James Jones, 14.0 ppg
Rebounds: James Jones, 7.3 rpg
Assists: Taishi Ito, 2.3 apg

Things started off just about as expected for the Pilots.
Portland lost all three of its games during the opening week of the season – 65-48 to Oregon State, 56-53 to Cal Poly and 63-55 to Southeasten Louisiana.
The one bright spot for the Pilots may be the play of the defense. It will take some time for the offense to get in gear, but if the defense holds up, the Pilots may be able to right the ship before things get even uglier.
James Jones played well over the three-game span, averaging 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The sophomore forward is shooting an impressive 63 percent from the field thus far.

Saint Mary’s Gaels (2-1, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (11/15), at USC (11/18)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Brett Collins, 12.3 ppg
Rebounds: Diamon Simpson, 7.3 rpg
Assists: Todd Golden, 4.0 apg

Saint Mary’s looked good over the first week of the season, with the exception of a bad 74-73 loss to a sub-par San Diego State team.
It looks as though the youthful Gaels have the talent to do some damage this season, but will have to play better against inferior teams.
Three players are scoring in double-figures so far. Senior Brett Collins leads the team with 12.3 points per game. Sophomores Ian O’Leary (11.3 ppg) and Diamon Simpson (11.0 ppg) are also playing well. The Gaels are averaging 40.3 rebounds per game, a very impressive number.
Saint Mary’s victories came against Seattle, 71-60 and Murray State, an NCAA Tournament team last season, 62-44.

San Diego Toreros (0-1, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: vs. UC San Diego (11/13), vs. Point Loma Nazarene (11/16)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Brandon Johnson, 18.0 ppg
Rebounds: Gyno Pomare, 9.0 rpg
Assists: Brandon Johnson, 3.0 apg

The Toreros opened up the season with a tough 71-62 loss on the road against Stephen F. Austin.
Brandon Johnson and Gyno Pomare both played very well for San Diego in the loss. Johnson led the team in scoring with 18 points and in assists with three. Pomare led in the rebounding category with nine and chipped in with 11 points.
As they say, teams live and die by the 3-pointer. The Toreros died by it against Stephen F. Austin, connecting on just one of 13 attempts. They will have to improve on that stat drastically as the season progresses.

Santa Clara Broncos (0-0, 0-0 WCC)
This week’s games: vs. Holy Names (11/14), vs. Utah (11/18)

The Broncos have not opened the season yet.

West Coast Preview

West Coast Conference 2006-07 Preview

by Gregg Lavoie

Some things just never change on the west coast. Like the sun’s daily setting over the Pacific and the Oakland A’s inevitable second-half hot streak, so too is the story in college basketball’s West Coast Conference (WCC). Some claim that repetition is boring, but the Bulldogs of Gonzaga would probably argue that point.

After capturing its sixth consecutive WCC regular season title in 2005-06, expect Gonzaga to win its seventh straight this season despite the loss of All-American Adam Morrison and First Team All-WCC center J.P. Batista.

The WCC continues to improve every season, becoming stronger and more talented from top to bottom. Coming into the 2006-07 season, the WCC is ranked as the 12th-best conference in the nation. That’s saying a lot for a conference that nobody had heard about a decade ago.

The Bulldogs of Gonzaga continue to face the toughest non-conference schedule of any team in the WCC. This season, Gonzaga has scheduled five teams ranked in the pre-season Top 25 – Duke, Memphis, Nevada, Texas and Washington. Pepperdine and Saint Mary’s will both play Connecticut and Washington, Santa Clara has scheduled Kentucky and Nevada and San Francisco will face off against Ohio State. Other than the Zags, the WCC struggled last season against non-conference opponents. Ignore Gonzaga’s 15-4 non-conference record, and the WCC compiled just a 37-57 non-conference mark. This season should see major improvements in that statistic.

Look for both Loyola Marymount and San Francisco to make a strong push for NIT bids, if not NCAA at-large bids, this season. The Lions took some bumps and bruises last season under first-year coach Rodney Tention, but by the end of the year they were playing as well as any team in the WCC, as was evident by their 68-67 gut-wrenching loss to Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament championship. The Dons had a rough go of it last season, finishing 11-17 overall and 7-7 in WCC play, but third-year coach Jessie Evans seems to have them on the right track. San Francisco returns the top two scorers from last year’s team, and adds some very talented fresh faces that will look to form a solid supporting cast.

Santa Clara, Saint Mary’s and San Diego could surprise a few people during conference play, but don’t look for them to do anything special enough to warrant a post-season bid. And for Pepperdine and Portland, things won’t improve much from last year. The two will remain locked in the WCC cellar, only to appear for a short stint in the conference tournament before bowing out with losing records, both overall and in conference play.

Speaking of Pepperdine and Portland, both teams will feature first-year coaches. After hitting rock bottom last season by going 7-20, Waves coach Paul Westphal resigned. Vance Walberg, a California junior-college coaching legend, will fill Westphal’s shoes and. Walberg compiled an incredible 133-11 record in four years at Fresno City College. Portland hired former Stanford aide Eric Reveno in hopes of turning around a team that allowed 74.7 points per game.

All-WCC First Team
Matthew Knight, Sr. C, Loyola Marymount
Derek Raivio, Sr. G, Gonzaga
Armondo Surratt, Sr. G, San Francisco
Alan Wiggins, Sr. F, San Francisco
Brandon Worthy, Sr. G, Loyola Marymount

Honorable Mentions: John Bryant, Santa Clara; Brody Angley, Santa Clara; Michael Gerrity, Pepperdine; Darren Cooper, Portland; Diamon Collins, Saint Mary’s, Sean Mallon, Gonzaga

Conference MVP
Brandon Worthy, Loyola Marymount

Freshman of the Year
Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga

Newcomer of the Year
Antonio Kellogg, San Francisco

Defensive Player of the Year
Alan Wiggins, San Francisco

1. Gonzaga Bulldogs
2005-06 record: 29-4, 14-0 WCC (1st place)
Projected starting five:
Derek Raivio, Sr. G (11.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.8 apg)
Jeremy Pargo, So. G (2.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.0 apg)
Abdullahi Kuso, Jr. F (transfer from Tallahassee Community College)
Sean Mallon, Sr. F (6.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
Josh Heytvelt, So. F (3.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg)

The Bulldogs have been able to cope with major losses in the past (i.e. Cory Violette, Blake Stepp, Casey Calvary, Ronny Turiaf, Richie Frahm, etc.), but the loss of Player of the Year Adam Morrison and All-WCC First Teamer J.P. Batista leaves a hole that will be incredibly hard for coach Mark Few to fill. The two stars combined to average 47 points and 15 rebounds a game, accounting for over half the team’s points per game (80.4) as well as nearly half its rebounds (37.6 per game).

But, as the past has a resounding way of showing, Few has done just fine in the years after he loses his major stars. Few, who will be entering his eighth year at the reins, has compiled a 188-41 record and has led his Bulldogs to seven NCAA Tournament appearances in his first seven years (Gonzaga has made eight straight). So why would this season prove to be any different? Few has always done a magnificent job of meshing role players with up and coming stars to produce solid teams that dominate the WCC.

Few has a slew of young talent at his disposal. Juniors Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, David Pendergraft and Kuso and sophomore Pargo will be looked upon to play older than their age. Freshman guard Matt Bouldin was Colorado’s Mr. Basketball his junior and senior years and Few expects great things from him in due time. In December, all depth problems should be solved when forward Micah Downs, a transfer from Kansas, and center David Burgee, a transfer from BYU, become eligible.

Schedule
Key non-conference games:
Dec. 2 vs. Texas (in Phoenix, Ariz.)
Dec. 9 vs. Washington
Dec. 21 vs. Duke (at Madison Square Garden)
Dec. 30 vs. Nevada
Feb. 17 vs. Memphis

2. Loyola Marymount Lions
2005-06 record: 12-18, 8-6 WCC (2nd place tie)
Projected starting five:
Brandon Worthy, Sr. G (15.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.3 apg)
Jon Ziri, Jr. G (5.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
Matthew Knight, Sr. F (16.2 ppg, 10.0 rpg)
Marko Deric, So. F (0.8 ppg, 0.6 rpg)
Max Craig, Fr. C (redshirt)

The Lions have arguably two of the top five players in the WCC. Knight, a 6-8 forward, led the conference in rebounding while averaging a double-double last season. He should benefit from another year of progression and the emergence of seven-foot freshman Max Craig, who is expected to see a lot of minutes. Senior guard Brandon Worthy will probably win WCC Player of the Year this season. Worthy is a great penetrator who will either take it hard to the hoop or dish it to one of his talented big men.

Loyola Marymount coach Rodney Tention has a roster full of backups other than Worthy, Knight and guard Jon Ziri. Look for freshmen Mason Maynard, Terron Sutton and Brad Sweezy all to make big contributions to the Lions’ cause. Marko Deric, a sophomore who played just five minutes a game last season, will also be asked to do more.

With just four seniors on the team, Tention will have to rely heavily on his young players. This will likely mean that the Lions will take their lumps over the first course of the season, but be seasoned and ready to go by the time conference play rolls around. Fortunately, Tention was clever enough to realize that getting trounced by powerhouses at the beginning of the season does nothing for the confidence of a young player, so he eased up on the non-conference schedule. The Lions don’t have a pre-season Top 25 team on their schedule, other than Gonzaga of course.

Schedule
Key non-conference games:
Nov. 13 at Mississippi State
Nov. 23-25 Great Alaska Shootout
Dec. 2 at USC
Dec. 19 vs. Boise State
Dec. 29 at Akron

3. San Francisco Dons
2005-06 record: 11-17, 7-7 WCC (4th place)
Projected starting five:
Antonio Kellogg, So. G (transfer from Connecticut)
Armondo Surratt, Sr. G (14.2 ppg, 5.1 apg, 1.75 spg)
Alan Wiggins, Jr. F (14.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.1 bpg)
Johnny Dukes, Sr. F (3.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
Danny Cavic, Jr. F (5.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg)

Like Loyola Marymount, San Francisco has two of the best players in the WCC. Senior guard Armondo Surratt and junior forward Alan Wiggins will be relied on to carry the load for the Dons this season. Surratt blossomed as a point guard last year, averaging 14.2 points per game and 5.1 assists, which led the WCC. Wiggins is one of the best two-way players in the conference, and his stock keeps rising with every game he plays. The 6-9 forward averaged 14.1 points a contest last year and led the team with 8.3 rebounds a game. Wiggins also averaged 1.1 steals a game, not to mention his conference-leading 2.1 blocks per outing.

The problem for the Dons is that, after Surratt and Wiggins, it’s a crapshoot. Sophomore transfers Antonio Kellogg (Connecticut) and Manny Quezada (Rutgers) will give coach Jessie Evans a lot of depth at the guard position. Kellogg was a highly-touted recruit for the Huskies, but never got the playing time he felt he deserved. Evans will try and resolve that issue.

Forwards Danny Cavic (6-6) and Johnny Dukes (6-8) will team up with Wiggins (6-9) to form a very athletic, but undersized front line for the Dons.

A tough non-conference schedule (road games at Pacific, UNLV, Ohio State, Hawaii and Louisville) will surely give San Francisco everything it bargained for, but should help the youthful team come time for conference play.

Schedule
Key non-conference games:
Nov. 20 at Ohio State
Nov. 25 at UNLV
Nov. 28 at Pacific
Dec. 28 at Louisville

4. Santa Clara Broncos
2005-06 record: 13-16, 5-9 WCC (6th place tie)
Projected starting five:
Brody Angley, Jr. G (10.1 ppg, 4.9 apg, 1.9 spg)
Calvin Johnson, So. G (6.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
Josh Higgins, Jr. F (transfer from Western Kentucky)
John Bryant, So. F (6.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg)
Sean Denison, Sr. F (8.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg)

The Broncos return four starters from last year’s team that won 13 games and are still a very young squad. Junior point guard Brody Angley will look to turn around an offense that averaged just 68.4 points per game last season. Like former Santa Clara point guard Steve Nash, Angley is an extremely smart and efficient leader. Last season, Angley was second on the team in points per game (10.1) and first in assists (4.9) and steals (1.9).

Santa Clara’s strength this season will be its size in the frontcourt. Seven-foot Western Kentucky transfer Josh Higgins will be complemented by 6-11 senior Sean Denison (8.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and 6-10 sophomore John Bryant (6.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg). The formidable threesome presents a great opportunity for the clever Angley to penetrate and dish time and time again.

Because of the size inside, things should open up for shooting guard Calvin Johnson. Johnson, a sophomore, averaged 6.4 points a contest last season, and will hope to improve on his 33.6 three-point percentage. Johnson attempted 122 threes last season, but that number should see an increase this season.

Schedule
Key non-conference games:
Nov. 18 vs. Utah
Nov. 20 at California
Nov. 25 vs. Nevada
Dec. 19 at Kentucky

5. Saint Mary’s Gaels
2005-06 record: 17-12, 8-6 WCC (2nd place tie)
Projected starting five:
Jason Walberg, Sr. G (4.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
John Winston, Jr. G (transfer from UNLV)
Brett Collins, Jr. F (6.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
Daniel Kickert, Sr. F (16.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
Blake Sholberg, Jr. C (3.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg)

The loss of go-to guy Daniel Kickert is going to have a major affect on the Gaels this season. Kickert led the team in scoring (16.7 ppg) last season and accounted for nearly a quarter of the team’s total offense. He was also second on the squad in rebounds (5.6). With the loss of Kickert, coach Randy Bennett will look to senior forward Brett Collins to take on the leadership role. Collins was second on the team in scoring last season, averaging 11.6 points per game.

The one thing Bennett has going for him is that the Gaels are set with their starting lineup. He has Collins and Ian O’Leary (6.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg) surrounding center Blake Sholberg (4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg), while Todd Golden (6.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and John Winston (8.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.7 apg) will form the backcourt. The problem for Saint Mary’s will be depth.

Sophomore forward Diamon Simpson could be poised for a breakout year if he can work hard enough to crack the starting lineup. As a freshman, Simpson averaged 8.2 points per game and led the Gaels with 6.9 rebounds per contest. He also led the team with 45 blocked shots. But Simpson will have to greatly improve his free throw shooting after he shot just 56.4 percent from the stripe last season, not a good statistic for an athletic wingman who is going to drive hard to the hoop. The only other bright spot off the bench for the Gaels could be JUCO transfer Tron Smith, who averaged 25 points a game at Citrus College last season. Bennett hopes he can do the same at the Division I level.

Schedule
Key non-conference games:
Nov. 12 vs. Murray State
Dec. 2 at Seton Hall
Dec. 12 at Nevada
Dec. 17 at Connecticut
Dec. 19 at St. Joseph’s

6. San Diego Toreros
2005-06 record: 18-12, 6-8 WCC (5th place)
Projected starting five:
Ross DeRogatis, Sr. G (12.0 ppg, 3.8 apg)
Brandon Johnson, So. G (9.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
Ray Murdock, So. G (5.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
Gyno Pomare, So. F (10.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
Nir Cohen, Sr. C (7.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

It won’t be easy for coach Brad Holland to replace his two best players from last year’s squad, Nick Lewis and Corey Belser. But luckily for Holland, he does have some options to turn to. Sophomores Brandon Johnson and Gyno Pomare are coming off great first-year campaigns in which both earned WCC All-Freshman Team honors. Johnson averaged 9.3 points per game and led the Toreros with 122 assists (4.1 per game) and Pomare averaged 10.4 points and five rebounds a game.

San Diego also returns senior guard Ross DeRogatis, who led the WCC in three-pointers last season with 82. He was also second on the team in scoring, averaging 12 points a contest.

But after those three, the pickins’ are slim for the Toreros. Senior center Nir Cohen and sophomore guard Ray Murdock will be asked to expand their roles.

Incoming freshman DeJon Jackson may just be the key to the puzzle for 13th-year coach Holland. Jackson was named Fresno’s Player of the Year during his senior season and may get thrown into the mix right away.

Don’t expect much from San Diego this season. It is most certainly a team in transition with an eye on the future. Bright lights may flash every now and then this season, but with youth comes inconsistency and inconsistency always shadows raw talent.

Schedule
Key non-conference games:
Nov. 29 at San Diego State
Dec. 2 at Central Michigan
Dec. 8 vs. Eastern Michigan
Dec. 16 vs. Furman

7. Portland Pilots
2005-06 record: 11-18, 5-9 WCC (6th place tie)
Projected starting five:
Walter Thompson, So. G (transfer from Williston (ND) State Junior College)
Darren Cooper, Sr. G (14.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
Ethan Niedermeyer, Fr. F (redshirt)
Ben Sullivan, Sr. F (7.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
Kevin Field, Sr. C (4.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

About the only good news first-year coach Eric Reveno had for motivation this off-season was that the NCAA granted senior Darren Cooper an extra year of eligibility due to personal hardships, a rare ruling. Cooper averaged 14.9 points a game last season and connected on 45 percent of his three-point attempts.

Unfortunately for the Pilots and Reveno, the loss of All-WCC guard Pooh Jeter will be devastating. Jeter led Portland in scoring (18.5 ppg), assists (3.0 per game) and steals (1.21 per game).

Other than Cooper, the team is mostly a work in progress. Just two other starters return from last year’s team that won 11 games. Senior Ben Sullivan averaged just over seven points per game last season and fellow big man Kevin Field averaged four points and four boards per contest.

Freshman forward Ethan Niedermeyer and transfer Walter Thompson will be looked at to step right in and contribute immediately for the Pilots. But let’s face it; things don’t look very promising for Portland this season.

Schedule
Key non-conference games:
Nov. 10 at Oregon State
Nov. 29 at Washington State
Dec. 19 at Notre Dame
Dec. 28 at Oregon

8. Pepperdine Waves
2005-06 record: 7-20, 3-11 WCC (8th place)
Projected starting five:
Michael Gerrity, So. G (14.1 ppg, 3.2 apg)
Chase Griffin, Sr. G (6.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
Willie Galick, So. F (7.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
Chris Oakes, So. F (5.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
Jarrad Henry, Jr. C (3.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

Things should improve for the Waves this season, but that isn’t saying a whole lot coming off a season in which they won just seven times. New coach Vance Walberg should have an immediate impact on his players, but it won’t be nearly enough to displace his Waves as the doormat of the WCC.

Pepperdine will be led by sophomore Michael Gerrity, one of the better point guards in the conference. Gerrity averaged 14.1 points per game last season and led the Waves with 3.2 assists an outing. Senior shooting guard Chase Griffin will need to step up his game big time after averaging just 6.4 points per game last year.

The young frontcourt of Pepperdine does present Walberg with some promise. Sophomores Willie Galick and Chris Oakes grew by leaps and bounds last season, and combined to average 13.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Those numbers don’t leap off the page, but it certainly seems that there is some raw talent off which to build.

Time and patience, Pepperdine faithful. Time and patience. It’s going to be another long season.

Schedule
Key non-conference games:
Nov. 12 at Washington
Nov. 13 at Northern Iowa
Dec. 2 at Oklahoma State
Dec. 4 at Colorado
Dec. 20 at Connecticut

WCC Summary

Gonzaga should continue its supreme rule over the WCC, but with a cast of unproven players, things could get a little tight for the Bulldogs. Loyola Marymount and San Francisco have just as much, if not more, talent than Gonzaga this season. But, as we all know, Gonzaga knows how to win, and its players understand how to do it. The other two teams aren’t quite at that point yet, but a few big non-conference victories could make them believers instantly.

Look for the WCC to garner three post-season tournament bids this year. With the automatic bid that is given to the conference winner, there could be one other NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but two NIT bids is much more likely. The WCC becomes stronger every season, but unless Gonzaga gets upset in the conference tournament, there will probably be just one WCC team in the NCAA field this season.

West Coast Recap

West Coast Conference 2005-06 Recap

by Brad Best

Once again the Gonzaga Bulldogs took care of business in the West Coast Conference, earning its sixth straight conference title. Led in scoring and spirit by All-American Adam Morrison, the Bulldogs went on to record a perfect 14-0 conference record. Loyola Marymount had an awful non-conference record (3-11), although they had some heart-breaking losses in the mix, but they started buying into first-year coach Rodney Tention’s system by the start of conference and their 8-6 record was good enough for a second place tie.

San Diego was the biggest disappointment. Following a 10-3 non-conference record, the Toreros could only manage a 6-8 conference record and a fifth place finish. Santa Clara was a disappointment as well. Travis Niesen finished third in WCC scoring but overall team play from night to night was too inconsistent to produce wins.

The two bottom teams in the league have both replaced their coaches. Pepperdine’s Paul Westphal has been replaced by Vance Walberg, who has experienced success in the high school and college ranks in the Fresno, Calif. area. Eric Reveno takes over the coaching reins at Portland. He served as an assistant coach at Stanford for the past nine seasons.

With Gonzaga and first place out of reach early, four teams battled it out for second place. Loyola Marymount was the front-runner. San Francisco and San Diego had flashes of being contenders but ultimately faded. So it was St. Mary’s that turned around a lackluster season and nabbed a share of second place with Loyola Marymount.

Conference Tournament

No upsets occurred in the first round of the WCC tournament. No. 5 San Diego ousted No. 8 Pepperdine, while No. 6 Santa Clara took care of No. 7 Portland. San Diego earned a hard-fought victory over No. 4 USF in the quarterfinals. San Diego was led by senior Nick Lewis. In the other quarterfinal game, No. 3 St. Mary’s held off Santa Clara in overtime to move on to the next round.

After two byes, Gonzaga finally got to take the court, their home court actually, and faced off against San Diego. The Torero’s Corey Belser has proven to be one of the most effective defenders against Morrison in three year’s worth of match-ups. But Morrison and the Bulldogs prevailed in overtime to move on to the finals. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Loyola Marymount took on St. Mary’s. Matthew Knight produced 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Lions over the Gaels.

In the championship game, Gonzaga continued to dodge bullets from their opponent, as they have done all year, and were fortunate that a lay-up opportunity by Loyola Marymount missed the mark and preserved their victory. This also ensured that Gonzaga would be the only team representing the WCC in the NCAA tournament.

NCAA Tournament

Gonzaga entered the tournament as a No. 3 seed and faced off against No. 14 Xavier in Salt Lake City. Xavier held the lead for much of the contest, but Adam Morrison and his much maligned mustache would not be denied. Morrison knocked down a three, battled for a defensive rebound and sunk his free throw shots in the final moments to give the Bulldogs a lead that they would not relinquish. J.P. Batista was the only other Bulldog to score in double figures.

The second round match-up pitted Gonzaga against No. 6 Indiana. Gonzaga didn’t need another 35 point performance from Morrison to defeat the Hoosiers. The Bulldogs had a more balanced scoring attack on this night and handed Coach Mike Davis his final loss as a Hoosier.

Billed as a west coast showdown, Gonzaga took on No. 2 UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen. UCLA came out flat and Gonzaga was able to build an early led and were ahead 42-29 at the half. But UCLA, despite their poor shooting, did not give up or go away. Still down by nine points with 3:26 to play, the Bruins mustered an improbable comeback and dealt Gonzaga a stunning loss in the final seconds.

Hoopville All-Conference Team Awards

All WCC First Team
Brandon Worthy, G, Loyola Marymount
Pooh Jeter, G, Portland
Nick Lewis, F, San Diego
Adam Morrison, F, Gonzaga
J.P. Batista, C, Gonzaga

Conference MVP
Adam Morrison, Gonzaga

Freshman of the Year
Diamon Simpson, St. Mary’s

Newcomer of the Year
Armondo Surratt, San Francisco

Defensive Player of the Year
Corey Belser, San Diego

Gonzaga Bulldogs
2005-06 record: 29-4, 14-0 WCC

While Gonzaga had an outstanding season, Adam Morrison’s emotions said it all as UCLA knocked them out in their Sweet Sixteen finale. Gonzaga had hoped for, expected and thought they had more than a Sweet Sixteen appearance. This team wanted a Final Four opportunity.

Team MVP – Adam Morrison 28.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.7 apg
Top Scorer – Adam Morrison 28.4 ppg
Top Rebounder – J.P. Batista 9.5 rpg
Top Assists – Pierre Altidor-Cespedes 2.8 apg

Starters Leaving
Adam Morrison (NBA)
J.P. Batista (Graduation/NBA)

Key Returning Players
Derek Raivio, Jr. G, 10.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.6 apg
Sean Mallon, Jr. F, 6.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Josh Heytvelt, Fr. F 4.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg

Outlook: The team will be back, but its two top players are moving on. Coach Mark Few is a terrific recruiter and will not doubt reload and have the Bulldogs back as the team to beat in the WCC.

Loyola Marymount Lions
2005-06 record: 12-18, 8-6 WCC

They started the season like lambs but lived up to their lion namesake by finishing in second place in the WCC. Chris Ayer and Wes Wardrop stepped up and were major contributors in their senior seasons.

Team MVP – Matthew Knight 16.3 ppg, 10 rpg
Top Scorer – Matthew Knight 16.3 ppg
Top Rebounder – Matthew Knight 10 rpg
Top Assists – Brandon Worthy 4.3 apg

Starters Leaving
Wes Wardrop (Graduation)
Chris Ayer (Graduation)

Key Returning Players
Matthew Knight, Jr. F, 16.3 ppg, 10 rpg
Brandon Worthy, Jr. G, 15 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.3 apg

Outlook: With Knight and Worthy returning, the Lions still have a potent inside-outside game. Look for a much better non-conference record next season and a team that will compete for the top of the conference.

Saint Mary’s Gaels
2005-06 record: 17-12, 8-6 WCC

The nucleus of the team came together late in the season, and the Gaels put together a string of victories down the stretch to claw their way into second place. But due to their slow start, their only hope of postseason play was to win the conference tournament.

Team MVP – Daniel Kickert 16.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1 apg
Top Scorer – Daniel Kickert 16.7 ppg
Top Rebounder – Diamon Simpson 6.9 rpg
Top Assists – John Winston 3.7 apg

Starters Leaving
Daniel Kickert (Graduation)

Key Returning Players
John Winston, Jr. G, 8.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.7 apg
Brett Collins, Jr. F, 11.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Diamon Simpson, Fr. F, 8.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg

Outlook: With momentum from this season and a core group of talented players, look for the Gaels to at least make the NIT next season.

San Francisco Dons
2005-06 record: 11-17, 7-7 WCC

The addition of transfer Armondo Surratt was just what the Dons needed. He can score and make the rest of the team better. The Dons were in the hunt for second until the last week and appear to be a program on the rise.

Team MVP – Armondo Surratt 14.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 5.1 apg
Top Scorer – Armondo Surratt 14.2 ppg
Top Rebounder – Alan Wiggins 8.3 rpg
Top Assists – Armondo Surratt 5.1 apg

Starters Leaving
Jerome Gumbs (Graduation)
Jason Carter (Graduation)

Key Returning Players
Armondo Surratt, Jr. G, 14.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 5.1 apg
Alan Wiggins, Jr. F, 14.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg

Outlook: With juniors Surratt and Wiggins set to return for their senior seasons, don’t count out the Dons. They should be among the scoring leaders next year and propel their team into the top half of the conference.

San Diego Toreros
2005-06 record: 18-12, 6-8 WCC

The Toreros posted a surprisingly good non-conference record despite having lost two of their best players from the previous year. But hopes were dashed when they dropped their first two conference games and then could only beat the bottom teams in conference. Seniors Nick Lewis and Corey Belser had solid years.

Team MVP – Nick Lewis 18 ppg, 4.9 rpg
Top Scorer – Nick Lewis 18 ppg
Top Rebounder – Corey Belser 6.9 rpg
Top Assists – Brandon Johnson 4.1 apg

Starters Leaving
Nick Lewis (Graduation)
Corey Belser (Graduation)

Key Returning Players
Ross DeRogatis, Jr. G, 12 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.7 apg
Gyno Pomare, Fr. F, 10.4 ppg, 5 rpg
Brandon Johnson, Fr. G, 9.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.1 apg

Outlook: Even though the Toreros lose their leading scorer and best defender, there’s a lot to like about the young Toreros going into next season. Their four freshmen saw lots of minutes and we’ll be ready from the start next year.

Santa Clara Broncos
2005-06 record: 13-16, 5-9 WCC

Travis Niesen and Brody Angley were officially co-MVPs of the team. Niesen had a standout senior season and Angley continued to impress as a sophomore. But this was a team that couldn’t win when it was supposed to and could never put a real winning streak together.

Team MVP – Travis Niesen 18.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg
Top Scorer – Travis Niesen 18.9 ppg
Top Rebounder – Travis Niesen 6.6 rpg
Top Assists – Brody Angley 4.9 apg

Starters Leaving
Travis Niesen (Graduation)

Key Returning Players
Brody Angley, So. G, 10.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.9 apg
John Bryant, Fr. C, 6.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg
Sean Denison, Jr. C, 8.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg

Outlook: It’s hard to tell how this time will fare without Niesen in the lineup. But with Angley still onboard and Bryant clogging up the middle, the Broncos will have their share of opportunities to show their mettle.

Portland Pilots
2005-06 record: 11-18, 5-9 WCC

Good guard play wasn’t enough to earn a winning season for the Pilots. Pooh Jeter and Darren Cooper were a lethal tandem but rebounding and defending was a problem.

Team MVP – Pooh Jeter 18.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3 apg
Top Scorer – Pooh Jeter 18.6 ppg
Top Rebounder – Marcus Lewis 5.8 rpg
Top Assists – Pooh Jeter 3 apg

Starters Leaving
Pooh Jeter (Graduation)
Donald Wilson (Graduation)

Key Returning Players
Darren Cooper, Sr. G, 14.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.2 apg
Marcus Lewis, So. F, 10.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg

Outlook: Darren Cooper was granted a season-of-competition waiver and eligibility to come back and play next season. That’s great news for the Pilots who will be under a new coach and a new system next year and be fighting to stay out of the cellar.

Pepperdine Waves
2005-06 record: 7-20, 3-11 WCC

The Waves were ill served by youth and injuries this year. Injuries down the stretch to Michael Gerrity really sunk this team. They lost their final eight games and won only one game away from home all season.

Team MVP – Tashaan Forehan-Kelly 15.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg
Top Scorer – Tashaan Forehan-Kelly 15.5 ppg
Top Rebounder – Tashaan Forehan-Kelly 5.8 rpg
Top Assists – Michael Gerrity 3.3 apg

Starters Leaving
Tashaan Forehan-Kelly (Graduation)

Key Returning Players
Michael Gerrity, Fr. G, 14.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.3 apg
Willie Galick, Fr. F, 7.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg

Outlook: Paul Westphal’s young team couldn’t save his job. Hopefully a year of growing pains will translate into more success for incoming coach Vance Walberg who will try to get the program back on track.

2006-07 WCC Outlook

Gonzaga did what good teams do: they found a way to win a lot of close games. Morrison and Batista had the skill and the will to win that may be tough to replace next year. Look for Gonzaga to have a few blemishes on its conference record next season but still come out on top.

For the rest of the teams in the WCC, look for more success in the 2006-07 season than they experienced this year. Loyola Marymount, St. Mary’s, San Diego and San Francisco will all retain a core compliment of players that should help them knock off a few high profile opponents and have a shot at postseason play.

West Coast Notebook

West Coast Conference Notebook

by Brad Best

Very few surprises down the stretch in the West Coast Conference this season. Gonzaga continues to solidify its position for March Madness and has maintained its perfect conference record. Loyola Marymount held onto its two-game lead in the battle for second place. Saint Mary’s continues a late charge to get to the top half of the conference. Having won five of its last six, the Gaels are challenging San Diego and San Francisco, who are currently tied for third in conference. With only three games remaining for most teams, Gonzaga has clinched at least a share of the conference title. This appears to be a year in which only Gonzaga will emerge from the WCC to go to the Big Dance, while San Diego and maybe one other team should end up in the NIT.

Gonzaga (22-3 overall, 11-0 WCC) Last week, 2-0.
After easily defeating Portland earlier in the week, the Bulldogs went on the road to face second place Loyola Marymount. This looked to be one of their toughest conference games, and it was. The Lions posted a four point led at halftime and held Adam Morrison to just 7 points in the first half. But since they still play two halves and each one counts just as much as the other, the Bulldogs showed what they were made of in the second half. Morrison himself outscored the Lions 37-33 in the second period as Gonzaga went on to defeat LMU 79-70.

Loyola Marymount (11-14, 8-3) Last week, 0-1.
The hard-fought loss against Gonzaga will help prepare the Lions for the WCC tournament. If they can hang on to second place, they would not have to face Gonzaga again until the conference tournament, should both teams make it that far. That would appear to be the only hope for post-season play. Their dreadful non-conference record nearly buried them before they turned things around under first-year head coach Rodney Tention,

San Diego (16-8, 6-5) Last week, 0-1.
The Toreros missed an opportunity to claim third place as their own when they dropped a game at San Francisco after beating them at home just two days earlier. Seniors Nick Lewis and Corey Belser will play their final home game on Monday against an improving Saint Mary’s team. The Toreros finish on the road against Gonzaga and Portland, so they’ll have to rise to the occasion if they want to hold off San Francisco for third.

San Francisco (10-14, 6-5) Last week, 1-0.
The Dons regained their winning form against San Diego at home and get to face lowly Santa Clara on Monday. They should be able to take care of Portland on the road before heading up to Gonzaga for their final game of the season. They have a slightly easier schedule than the Toreros down the stretch, but both teams will likely go 2-1 and finish tied for third.

Saint Mary’s (13-11, 5-6) Last week, 2-0.
The Gaels are working their way into contention for a run in the WCC tournament. They did what they were supposed to do last week and need to finish strong against a couple of tough opponents. They lead the WCC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 65 points per game. This tenacity, along with the emergence of an improved supporting cast to go along with Daniel Kickert, has helped the Gaels develop into a formidable conference opponent in the second half of the season.

Portland (9-16, 3-8) Last week, 1-1.
Earning a split in last week’s games won’t be enough to help the struggling Pilots. A strong backcourt of Pooh Jeter and Darren Cooper has not been enough to keep pace with the bigger, stronger frontcourt dominance of other teams. Four of their last five opponents have put up 80 points or more on the Pilots. With three tough games left on the schedule, it will be next to impossible for Portland to move up in the standings or have much hope of doing any damage in the conference tournament.

Pepperdine (7-16, 3-8) Last week, 0-1.
With Michael Gerrity still sidelined by an injury, the Waves were defeated at home by Portland. Things won’t get any easier as they head up to Gonzaga on Monday. Without Gerrity’s scoring ability in the lineup, the Waves find it difficult to put up enough points to have a chance to win.

Santa Clara (9-15, 2-9) Last week, 0-2.
Back to their losing ways, the Broncos couldn’t avenge their loss to Saint Mary’s or defeat Hawaii. With San Francisco next up, followed by games against Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine, the Broncos may be fortunate to just win one of their final three. When you’re in last place, you’re looking at every opponent as an uphill battle. Senior Travis Niesen has been a one-man warrior this season. Without him, the Broncos may be in even worse shape at this time next year.

West Coast Notebook

West Coast Conference Notebook

by Brad Best

With very little changes in the standings, the West Coast Conference is separating the contenders from the pretenders. Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount continue to anchor the top two spots, while San Diego and San Francisco duke it out for third. Saint Mary’s is starting to make a little noise, having won three of its last four and taking Gonzaga to the final buzzer in Spokane. Gonzaga and San Diego are the only two teams with winning overall records and conference records in the WCC.

Gonzaga (20-3 overall, 9-0 WCC) Last week, 2-0.
Gonzaga survived the week with two wins, but were tested in both games. The Saint Mary’s Gaels gave Gonzaga all it could handle and are starting to hit their stride. On Saturday, a hungry Stanford team came in looking for a big win over a ranked opponent. Gonzaga overcame a five-point halftime deficit and outplayed the Cardinal down the stretch. Adam Morrison scored 13 of Gonzaga’s final 14 points. He did it all on both sides of the ball, getting a key block on the defensive end and knocking down three-pointers and free throws to secure the victory.

Loyola Marymount (11-13, 8-2) Last week, 2-0.
In what appeared to be a battle for second place, the Lions blew traveled to San Diego and blew out the Toreros 94-76. This was their most impressive conference victory and gave them some much need separation from the pack. On Saturday, they needed an overtime period to get revenge over Pepperdine, who handed them their only non-Gonzaga conference loss of the season. Gonzaga has looked a little vulnerable lately, especially on the defensive end, so look for the Lions to take a hard run at them in Spokane on Friday, February 17.

San Diego (16-7, 6-4) Last week, 1-1.
Winners of five of their last six, the Toreros bounced back from an embarrassing home loss to Loyola Marymount to beat San Francisco on Saturday afternoon. Senior Nick Lewis, who averages 17 points per game, managed just 8 points against LMU and was held scoreless against San Francisco. His disappearing act has to have Coach Brad Holland concerned. The Toreros continue to get good bench production from big men Nir Cohen and Gyno Pomare, who have helped to fill the scoring void. The Toreros may have to settle for a split in their final four games, which would open the door for San Francisco to finish ahead of them in third place.

San Francisco (9-14, 5-5) Last week, 1-1.
The Dons have picked a bad time to go cold. Having dropped three of their last four, the Dons need to turn things around quickly to secure a seed in the top half of the conference tournament. Their next two homes games should be winnable. They’ll have a chance to revenge their Saturday night loss to San Diego on Monday in front of their home crowd. Then they’ll rest up before taking on Santa Clara the following week.

Saint Mary’s (11-11, 4-6) Last week, 1-1.
The Gaels have made a nice turnaround of late, posting three victories in their last three games. They had Gonzaga on the ropes but couldn’t deliver the knock-out blow. That said, they appear to be hitting their stride and this young team could be a tough out during the conference tournament. Their remaining schedule should set up pretty well for them, so with any luck they should finish above .500 overall and right at the .500 mark in conference.

Pepperdine (7-15, 3-7) Last week, 0-2.
Just when you think the Waves are getting on a roll, they drop two in a row and fall back into the bottom ranks of the conference. Both games were on the road and both were close, but losses are losses at this point. The Waves will continue to fight hard under Coach Paul Westphal. With only a home game against Portland on the schedule for this week, the Waves should be able to start a new winning streak. The bad news is they still have to contend with Gonzaga once more and they need to win out if they want to salvage a .500 season.

Portland (8-15, 2-7) Last week, 0-1.
The Pilots only had one game on their schedule last week, and it was an 80-56 pummeling at the hands of last place Santa Clara. So they kept alive their five-game losing streak in bold fashion. Darren Cooper is back from injury and in the lineup, but his 20 points weren’t enough to stop Travis Neisen and the Broncos from having a brief moment in the sun.

Santa Clara (9-13, 2-8) Last week, 1-1.
Except for looking really good against Portland, the Broncos have looked pretty bad for quite some time. But now their seven-game losing streak has come to an end, let’s see if they can finish the season on a high note. They have a chance to avenge their Saturday night loss to Saint Mary’s on Monday. After that, they have two road games before finishing the season at home. Don’t look for any miracles here.

West Coast Notebook

West Coast Conference Notebook

by Brad Best

With six of the eight teams in conference sweeping their opponents or getting swept, there is a little more separation from top to bottom in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga continues to power its way through the conference schedule as Adam Morrison and J.P. Batista unleash a combined total of nearly 50 points a night on their foes. San Diego evened up its conference record and Pepperdine came away with two surprising victories. Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara are competing for the biggest disappointment award as both have just one victory in conference.

Gonzaga (17-3 overall, 7-0 WCC) Last week, 2-0.
The only real question is whether Gonzaga will go undefeated in the West Coast Conference. They had a scare down in San Diego recently but other than that they have handled the rest of the field in short order. Maybe someone will catch them on an off night when they see them for a second time this season. A top-ranked Gonzaga is good for the WCC, but it is discouraging for the remainder of the pack.

Loyola Marymount (8-13, 5-2) Last week, 1-1.
After beating up on St. Mary’s, the Lions were tamed by Pepperdine on Saturday. So how good are these Lions? Certainly they’ve shown themselves to be more formidable than their 3-11 non-conference record would indicate. All indications are that they are for real and will finish in the top half of the conference. How they do this week will be telling as they must go on the road to face San Francisco and San Diego.

San Francisco (8-11, 4-2) Last week, 1-1.
As expected the Dons lost to Gonzaga but managed to beat Santa Clara last week. This team should do no worse than 1-1 this week with an away game at Saint Mary’s followed by a home game against Loyola Marymount. If they can continue to play .500 or better, they should set themselves up for a decent run in the conference tournament. Considering that they started the year 4-9, they’ve had a nice turnaround and come together just in time for conference play.

San Diego (13-6, 3-3) Last week, 2-0.
Winning one at home and notching their first conference road win of the season, the Toreros are back to .500 in conference. If they go and do likewise this week, they’ll be back in the hunt for second place. Ross DeRogatis has 10 three pointers in the last two games and freshman Gyno Pomare has made big contributions from the bench. This helps ease the burden of team scoring leader Nick Lewis.

Pepperdine (7-12, 3-4) Last week, 2-0.
With two solid wins last week, the Waves lifted themselves out of the conference cellar and moved ahead of three teams that went 0-2 for the week. Not bad. Tashaan Forehan-Kelly scored a career-high 35 points to lead the Waves to victory over Loyola Marymount. But Forehand-Kelly and Michael Gerrity can’t do all the work. Someone else will need to join them in double figures for them to continue their winning ways. Let’s see if last week was the start of something special or merely one good week.

Portland (8-11, 2-5) Last week, 0-2.
With their second-leading scorer, Darren Cooper, sidelined with an injury, the Pilots came up a little short against San Diego and were overmatched by Gonzaga. Pooh Jetter is a scoring machine, but the Pilots need to find more ways to slow down the competition. Marcus Lewis came off the bench against San Diego and proved to be a good scoring option down low. He posted 15 points against San Diego and 16 against Gonzaga. Only one game this week, and it’s at home against lowly Saint Mary’s, so the Waves will have a good opportunity to inch their way away forward.

Saint Mary’s (8-10, 1-5) Last week, 0-2.
The expectations were high for the Gaels this season following their impressive run a year ago, but this is largely a new crop of players and they haven’t found ways to win the games that are within their grasp. They couldn’t hold the lead at home against San Diego last week and now the future looks dim. Daniel Kickert continues to post solid numbers every night and is the lone bright spot in a tough season.

Santa Clara (8-10, 1-5) Last week, 0-2.
Having dropped their last five games and with two tough foes on this week’s schedule, the Broncos appear to be down for the count. They did battle mightily against USF last week and could prove to be a spoiler down the stretch if other teams look past them. The Broncos will likely be 1-7 and have the cellar all to themselves by the end of the week.

West Coast Notebook

West Coast Conference Notebook

by Brad Best

Gonzaga (15-3 overall, 5-0 WCC) Last week, 2-0
Gonzaga did what good teams do this week: they found a way to take the lead with nine seconds to go in San Diego and hung on for a one-point victory. They looked shaky at times. Adam Morrison was held in check, scoring 12 below his average. But they came away with a victory nonetheless. Someone in conference will likely put a blemish on their perfect conference record, but it didn’t happen last week.

Loyola Marymount (7-12, 4-1) Last week, 1-1
The Lions continue to surprise their foes in conference play. They’ve turned around a miserable non-conference season and are sitting alone in second place in the WCC. They bounced back from a loss at Gonzaga to defeat Santa Clara by 10 points. Wes Wardrop continues to spark the offense from the perimeter and Michael Knight and Chris Ayer are a tough tandem down low.

San Francisco (7-10, 3-1) Last week, 2-0
After a 4-9 run in non-conference games, most would not have expected the Dons to be 3-1 and sitting third in conference. And there only conference loss was in double overtime. But they have feasted on WCC teams that are just 4-10 in conference so they haven’t truly been tested. We’ll know more next week after they’ve played Gonzaga and Santa Clara.

Portland (8-11, 2-3) Last week, 1-1
The Pilots squeaked by Pepperdine at home and then lose by double digits on the road at USF. Pooh Jeter scored 22 against USF, which equaled the Pilots second half scoring total. Guard Darren Cooper left early in second half with a toe injury. Portland needs to get more production out of its big men if they are going to put wins on the board.

San Diego (11-6, 1-3) Last week, 1-1
Just a rebound away from knocking off Gonzaga on Saturday night, the Toreros showed that they have the skill and the spirit to play with the best in the conference. But with the 1-3 start, they have an uphill battle ahead. The next four games are against the bottom tier of the conference, so this would be a good time to start a fresh winning streak.

Santa Clara (8-8, 1-3) Last week, 0-2
Travis Niesen needs more help. He’s the only Bronco averaging in double figures, so his 20 ppg is lapping his teammates. After losing to Gonzaga and then dropping two on the road to LMU and San Diego, the Broncos have yet another road game before coming home. It’s been a rough start to conference but don’t count them out.

Saint Mary’s (8-8, 1-3) Last week, 1-1
The Gaels are coming up just a little short this year. Their last two losses were by a combined three points. Now they just need to figure out how to win the close ones like they did last season. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier as they face Loyola Marymount and San Diego this week. If they could get a sweep, they’d be right in the thick of things. If they get swept, they’ll be on life support.

Pepperdine (5-12, 1-4) Last week, 0-2
Having lost five of their last six, the Waves will see if they can turn things around in their next two home games. They were blown out at home by St. Mary’s on Saturday and only made one-third of their shots. The WCC is a fairly high-scoring league, and so the Waves will need to rejuvenate their offense if they are going to be competitive.

West Coast Notebook

West Coast Conference Notebook

by Brad Best

Conference Play Begins

It feels as if there is a little Jekyll and Hyde going on in the West Coast Conference. Maybe a couple of these teams had us fooled with their non-conference performance. Most notably, what happened to San Diego? The Toreros rattled off an impressive 10-3 start only to lose their first two conference games. Albeit they were both on the road, but Pepperdine hasn’t looked good all season and Loyola Marymount was just 3-11 going into that game. Speaking of Loyola Marymount, they’ve switched places with San Diego and with their 3-0 conference start are tied with Gonzaga atop the WCC.

Gonzaga (13-3, 3-0 Conf.)
Preseason ranking: 1
Conference Play: So far, so good for the Bulldogs. They have won comfortably over St. Mary’s, Santa Clara and Pepperdine.
Surprise Factor: Mild surprise that J.P. Batista is averaging 19 points and 8 rebounds per game, up from 12 points and 6 rebounds last season, while Derek Raivio’s numbers haven’t gone up at all.
Comment: They help sell out the home courts of their conference opponents when they come to town. The added pressure of being Goliath to the rest of the Davids in the league will help prepare them for the Big Dance.

Loyola Marymount (6-11, 3-0 Conf.)
Preseason ranking: 4
Conference Play: Hard to explain their undefeated start in conference play other than to say they weren’t as bad as their record indicated. They’re sure to be taken seriously by their conference foes now.
Surprise Factor: From worst in non-conference to tied for first in conference with their great start. It will really be surprising if they knock off Gonzaga in their next game.
Comment: With Matthew Knight on the inside and Wes Wardrop on the outside, they have a nice combo attack.

Santa Clara (8-6, 1-1 Conf.)
Preseason ranking: 5
Conference Play: With a win over Portland and a hard-fought loss against Gonzaga, the Broncos will be competitive this year. Next up is a tough match-up against a hungry San Diego team.
Surprise Factor: Kudos for winning the Cable Car Classic. Now let’s see what they can do in the rest of their conference games.
Comment: Big man John Bryant must stay out of foul trouble and become a defensive stopper so Travis Niesen can focus his energy on the offensive end.

San Francisco (5-10, 1-1 Conf.)
Preseason ranking: 6
Conference Play: Win over Pepperdine and a double overtime loss to Loyola Marymount suggest that the Dons will not be an easy out.
Surprise Factor: Newcomer Guard Armondo Surratt leads the team in both scoring and assists.
Comments: Need to do a better job of finding ways to win the close ones.

Portland (7-10, 1-2 Conf)
Preseason ranking: 3
Conference Play: Getting blown out at home by Loyola Marymount in their most recent game doesn’t bode well.
Surprise Factor: Why is this team so inconsistent? Usually good guard play translates into wins and guard Pooh Jeter is the leader of this team.
Comments: Maybe they’ll get their confidence back against Pepperdine.

Pepperdine (5-10, 1-2 Conf.)
Preseason ranking: 8
Conference Play: Haven’t been impressive yet and things don’t look optimistic this year.
Surprise Factor: Held off San Diego to walk away with a one point victory.
Comment: Will be interesting to see how they rebound from a 29 point defeat at the hands of Gonzaga.

San Diego (10-5, 0-2 Conf)
Preseason ranking: 7
Conference Play: Have played down to the level of their competition so far, and it has resulted in two loses on the road.
Surprise: The Toreros were favored to win and should have won their two opening games in the WCC.
Comment: Rough start to conference play already and they’re hosting Gonzaga on Saturday.

Saint Mary’s (7-7, 0-2 Conf.)
Preseason ranking: 2
Conference Play: With a loss to Gonzaga and then a double overtime loss to Portland, the 0-2 record isn’t quite as bad as it looks.
Surprise Factor: Everyone expected a much better start. Did they simply lose too much talent and experience from last year’s squad?
Comment: Two winnable road games are up next so look for the Gaels to post their first conference win this week.

West Coast Notebook

West Coast Conference Notebook

by Brad Best

Non-Conference Summary

Gonzaga (10-3)
Preseason ranking: 1
Best win: Heroic effort by Adam Morrison in a triple overtime 109-106 victory over Michigan State in the semi-finals of the Maui Invitational.
Worst loss: 99-95 at Washington. Lost their in-state bragging rights against a tough Huskies team.
Comment: Gonzaga has largely lived up to their reputation and currently holds the longest home game winning streak at 30 games. Morrison leads the nation in scoring average at 27 ppg. J.P. Batista is a bit of a surprise, averaging 19 points and 8 rebounds per game.
Outlook: The Bulldogs are as dangerous as ever. They won’t sneak up on anyone anymore, but they have the firepower and the passion to dominate their conference and go deep in the NCAA Tournament.

San Diego (10-3)
Preseason ranking: 7
Best win: 63-56 vs. New Mexico. USD big men dominated the action.
Worst loss: 94-91 vs. Texas Arlington. In the midst of a six-game winning streak, the Toreros let this one get away from them at home.
Comment: The Toreros have played good team basketball so far. Nick Lewis is averaging 20 ppg, third-best in the WCC.
Outlook: Brad Holland’s combination of seniors and freshmen will continue their winning ways and finish near the top of the conference.

Saint Mary’s (7-5)
Preseason ranking: 2
Best win: 89-80 vs. Nevada. Only their second win over a ranked opponent in 30 years.
Worst loss: 73-54 at Colorado. Only two Gaels scored more than 3 points in that one.
Comment: Daniel Kickert and Brett Collins are the only players averaging in double figures in points per game.
Outlook: The young supporting cast will need to step up if this team wants to see any postseason play.

Santa Clara (7-5)
Preseason ranking: 5
Best win: 77-68 vs. Bucknell. Knocked off top Patriot conference team to win the Cable Car Classic.
Worst loss: 67-56 vs. Montana. These are ones you have to win, especially at home.
Comment: They have a decent nucleus anchored by Travis Niesen, who is averaging 20 ppg. Three other players contributing at least 9 ppg. Freshman John Bryant is holding his own in the middle.
Outlook: Could big a factor in the race for second place.

Portland (6-8)
Preseason ranking: 3
Best win: 80-72 vs. Oregon. Bragging rights in the state as they also knocked off Oregon State.
Worst loss: Following the win over Oregon, they lose 76-53 to UC Santa Barbara.
Comment: Beat two Pac-10 teams so far but play has been very inconsistent from game to game. Underperforming when you consider they returned four starters and their top five scorers.
Outlook: If they can bring the same intensity each night, they could be competitive in conference.

Pepperdine (4-8)
Preseason ranking: 8
Best win: 75-61 at UNLV. Big edge in shooting percentage and rebounding spelled the difference.
Worst loss: 63-45 at Dayton. Not their biggest loss in a tough schedule but should have been more competitive here.
Comment: A very young team that has yet to put things together.
Outlook: Hopefully the experience they’re getting will make them more competitive next season.

San Francisco (4-9)
Preseason ranking: 6
Best win: 90-72 vs. Texas Tech. Huge game (31 points) for Jerome Gumbs, who averages 10 ppg.
Worst loss: 82-59 at UCSB. Started the season out on a bad note and haven’t got much better.
Comment: With four players scoring in double figures, you’d think they’d be more consistent and win some close ones.
Outlook: A four-game losing streak going into conference play does not bode well for the Dons.

Loyola Marymount (3-11)
Preseason ranking: 4
Best win: 83-71 at BYU. Unfortunately, they haven’t looked that good since then.
Worst loss: 79-60 at UNLV. They’ve lost some close ones this year, but this one wasn’t close.
Comment: Seemed a little overrated in the preseason. They do have some fight in them and coach Rodney Tention should have them pulling off some upsets in conference.
Outlook: Not as bad as they seem on paper. Could be a spoiler.

Non-conference First Team
Adam Morrison – Gonzaga
J.P. Batista – Gonzaga
Nick Lewis – San Diego
Pooh Jeter – Portland
Wes Wardrop – Loyola Marymount