WCC Pre-Season Poll

Somehow missed posting this yesterday... the pre-season poll is out:

2008-09 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Gonzaga - 46 (5)
2. Saint Mary's - 44 (2)
3. San Diego - 39 (1)
4. Santa Clara - 30
5. San Francisco - 23
6. Portland - 19
7. Loyola Marymount - 12
8. Pepperdine - 11
(First place votes)

The voting is really interesting... am I crazy, or does the total points seem a bit off? I think they must have done it so you don't even include yourself on the ballot, so you only get seven points for a first place vote, six points for a second place, etc. So the max number of points possible would be 49 instead of 64. Or do they always do it like that? Am I going crazy?

Ha! No, I'm NOT crazy. Look at the vote totals from last year:

1. Gonzaga (5) 61
2. Saint Mary’s (3) 59
3. San Diego 43
4. Santa Clara 38
5. San Francisco 34
6. Pepperdine 22
7. Portland 16
8. Loyola Marymount 15

So I'm right... they changed the format. Interesting...

Its a good sign that we have more points than we did last year even with the new system. And remember, these preseason polls don't mean much, look at drake last year. Picked to finish toward the bottom of the MVC and ended up ranked in the top 10 and the only school in a very tough basketball conference to make it in to the tournament.

I've actually begun to enjoy being picked near the bottom. It means we can exceed our expectations by placing fifth. It's a lot better than when we're picked to finish third . . .

I cant disagree much with this year's poll, other than I would put us at #5, LMU at #6, USF #7.

Do I think we can beat SCU for #4? Absolutely. But we have to prove ourselves on the court before getting the benefit of the doubt... and #6 - #8 is a tossup, IMHO.

Agreed with you, PilotNut. No reason why we can't finish ahead of USF. Lowhorn is a beast and Quezada is solid, but beyond that... eh. I think we could totally dominate them in the paint.

But basically, it's up to our guys to step up. I think 5th is very, very doable. Santa Clara will be tough to get by, but who knows? Their point guard play could be an issue with Angley gone and a JC guy stepping in. So who knows?

Still, for me, I expect at least 5th. The time has come to stop saying wait til next year... the time is NOW to step up.

I'd agree. It would be really awesome to steal one from the top three, we should have last year, so we know we can do it. I'm a junior and have yet to see a marque win for this program. I'm hoping we can get one this year

purplepride13 wrote:I'm a junior and have yet to see a marque win for this program. I'm hoping we can get one this year

Oh padawan. I'm a senior (citizen, that is), and the marque wins have been few and far between! But for a true Pilot, hope springs eternal, and each year brings new dreams of basketball glory. The returning players carry the hope they have improved. The new players bring the promise of fresh stardom. The coaches look enthused. The fans are excited. The students are interested. The popcorn is fresh.

Can't wait for another season to start!

purplepride13 wrote:I'd agree. It would be really awesome to steal one from the top three, we should have last year, so we know we can do it. I'm a junior and have yet to see a marque win for this program. I'm hoping we can get one this year

I keep a copy of the press release from the 2002 win in Spokane in my desk.

PILOTS FINISH 4-5, anything less would be a disapointing season unless their non-conference record is excellent. Like mentioned before, now is the time to perform not "next year". With the depth and more experience it's time for the Pilots to not let other teams catch up after an early lead. Like Rev says it's time to run with TJ pushing it , Kramer beating THEIR 4 (or 5 man) up the court , or a pass to Stohl or Nic for the easy three with THE offensive pressure created by those three.Jasonn or John finishing with a DUNK may even happen occasionally. Nothing against last year, but It got real boring to watch the Pt Guard walk the ball up the court and play 4 on 5 because one of the guards could not shoot causing Stohl ,Nic, or Sherrard to be double teamed. When the other team set's it's defense EVERY play, they would just dominate us athletically and take the ball away from the Pilots unless Stohl, Sikma , or Nic gets a shot off.Hopefully this can happen to just show a posible threat of a "fast breaK".

Good Defense, and Rebounding (which the Pilots displayed) can set up excellent fast break opportunities. I remember the Peperdine game last year it was awful watching us try to walk the ball up court every possesion and all those turnovers with a 18 pt lead so late in the game. It was also sooo BORING.

GO PILOT BASKETBALL

MesaPilot, I couldn't agree with you more. It was the old walk up the court and turn it over. Hopefully, TJ will be an answer for that. His hilite films certainly show that he has the capability to get things running.

I just want wins. After following the Pilots my whole life, I honestly don't really care if we walk, run, skip, or pogo up the court so long as the ball goes in the basket and we come out on top.

Honestly, I don't think we're ever going to be "run 'n' gun" under Coach Rev. That's not Stanford's style, and it's not going to be our style. Would I like to see us consistently score more than 65 points in a game? Absolutely. But as long as the other team scores less, it really makes no difference to me.

Let's win. Go Pilots.

It would be nice to finish at least fourth with a possible NIT invitation if we are a year or two away from the bigger tourney... Man, Pepperdine has really slipped since the Doug Christie days...

Well, they were the second best team behind the Zags for a short time when I was a UP undergrad--Paul Westphal was coaching them. But you're right, they have been down for a while now.