Re: Next Season. What, already?

by DoubleDipper Wed Oct 17, 2012 11:03 am

From our friend Zack Farmer at Examiner.com:

Predicted 2012-13 WCC Finish: 8th
Head coach: Eric Reveno, 7th season
2011-12 record: 7-24, 3-13 WCC
WCC regular season finish: 8th

Key returners: Ryan Nicholas, Thomas van der Mars, Riley Barker, Kevin Bailey
Newcomers: Jake Ehlers, Bryce Pressley, David Ahern, Oskars Reinfelds

Projected starting lineup:
Kevin Bailey, G
Derrick Rodgers, G
David Carr, G
Ryan Nicholas, F
Thomas van der Mars, C

Outlook
Head coach Eric Reveno has had good success with the program but after the graduation of a number of key players two seasons ago, the Pilots have fallen on hard times in the win column. His team is young but forward Ryan Nicholas brings a steadying presence to the team.

Now if only they could find some shooters. Portland went from one of the league’s best from three-point range in 2010-11 to one of the worst in 2011-12. That is the key for the Pilots.

Backcourt
The backcourt returns Kevin Bailey, Derrick Rodgers, and David Carr and a slew of freshmen led by Bryce Pressley and Oskars Reinfelds. The Pilots went from shooting a WCC-best 41 percent from three in 2010-2011 to shooting 32 percent, good for eighth place, last season. This is a critical key to the Portland puzzle but it was more than just that.

“In order to improve our offensive efficiency, we had to do a lot of things better,” Reveno said. “Shooting the perimeter shot is one of them and taking care of the basketball is the other one. They all come hand in hand. We got to execute offense, find the open shooter when they’re open.”

According to Reveno, Bailey has worked at improving his shot. Also Pressley and Reinfelds have been impressive early on and could end up contributing early in the preseason.

Pressley is the son of Harold Pressley, who played four seasons in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings.

“Pressley has been very impressive just in terms of his overall balance in his game, offensively and defensively, his ability to pick things up and to make good basketball plays,” Reveno said.

Frontcourt
Ryan Nicholas is going to anchor the frontcourt but won’t have to do it alone. Thomas van der Mars and a healthy Riley Barker also return and the three should play off each other very well.

“Ryan’s going to be tremendous for us,” Reveno said. “His attitude and approach every day first and foremost sets the tempo for the younger guys in terms of what it takes to be successful. From a basketball standpoint, his versatility is where he’s going to improve in doing different things. In posting up, and rebounding, and making those hustle plays but also shooting the ball a little bit.”

Barker and van der Mars enter their sophomore seasons and Reveno said they have shaken some of the freshmen mistakes and should be very well prepared for this season. This should also open the post so Nicholas can do more.

“They’re both more consistent,” Reveno said. “Their bad plays or their plays where they struggle, they don’t exist as much… I think that’s from an increased skill level around the basket. Their job is to make plays around the basket, give the defensive presence, block shots, make it difficult to score inside, and to score themselves inside.”

Notes
Portland, despite shooting only 32 percent from three last season, is still the best three-point shooting team over the last four seasons.

“It’s funny we were such a good three-point shooting team the three years previously that we’re still the number 1 three-point shooting team over the last four years,” Reveno said. “So as bad as we were last year, it didn’t knock us off of number 1… I take some solace in that.”

by NoPoNeighbor Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:27 pm

What is everyone's take on Farmer's projected starting lineup?

Projected starting lineup:
Kevin Bailey, G
Derrick Rodgers, G
David Carr, G
Ryan Nicholas, F
Thomas van der Mars, C

The glaring omission (and someone who isn't mentioned even once in the Farmer piece) is Tanner Riley. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the starting lineup as the shooting guard, in place of either Rodgers or Carr (depending upon which of those two can be most productive and least turnover-prone at the point).

by Guest Wed Oct 17, 2012 2:03 pm

I will be interested in how Riley Barker comes back from missing a season, and if he pushes VDM for the starting center spot. I also want to see how Dorian Cason has progressed.

I still like starting a bigger line-up instead of three guards. Such as:
Kevin Bailey, G
David Carr, G
Ryan Nicholas, F
Dorian Cason, F
Thomas van ser Mars, C

by NoPoNeighbor Wed Oct 17, 2012 2:20 pm

Another question raised by the Farmer article is that of potential redshirts. Based on Reveno's comments in the article, sounds like Pressley and Reinfelds are expected to make key contributions, indicating that they are not redshirt candidates. What about Ahern and Ehlers?

Can players make an appearance in the two exhibition games and still preserve their redshirt eligibility?

by DoubleDipper Wed Oct 17, 2012 3:45 pm

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Another question raised by the Farmer article is that of potential redshirts. Based on Reveno's comments in the article, sounds like Pressley and Reinfelds are expected to make key contributions, indicating that they are not redshirt candidates. What about Ahern and Ehlers?

Can players make an appearance in the two exhibition games and still preserve their redshirt eligibility?

The great thing about Fall Break from school is it's been like a basketball camp with two-a-days every day. Drills, shooting, teaching in the morning, scrimmages and teaching in the afternoon.

It's really difficult to say who will play and who will redshirt at this point, but yes, I think you’re on to something…….it could very well be that Ahern and Ehlers will redshirt....they were my choices to redshirt when they arrived on campus just based upon their comparative physical maturity. (Remember, Ahern is a walk-on, and there is no scholarship for him next year….so his status may not be as critical. Ahern is also one of the most mature acting freshmen I have seen....very savvy with the basketball).

Pressley has been very impressive, but it doesn’t mean he can’t be even more impressive next year after sitting a year…..just saying.

Yes, our guys can play in the exhibition games and still redshirt. Smile

by DoubleDipper Wed Oct 17, 2012 3:52 pm

up7587 wrote:I will be interested in how Riley Barker comes back from missing a season, and if he pushes VDM for the starting center spot. I also want to see how Dorian Cason has progressed.

I still like starting a bigger line-up instead of three guards. Such as:
Kevin Bailey, G
David Carr, G
Ryan Nicholas, F
Dorian Cason, F
Thomas van ser Mars, C

Ha ha, it's always difficult to tell how Dorian has progressed because he can be really good one day, and almost disinterested the next. The team leader now is clearly Nicholas; I believe Ryan needs to take Dorian under his wing and mentor him...I know he can.

I like your lineup up7587, but I it would appear there will be a lot of experimenting and substituting between now and January. I'll go with your starting line-up with one exception, I see Reinfelds taking over at the PG.

by DoubleDipper Wed Oct 17, 2012 3:57 pm

NoPoNeighbor wrote:The glaring omission (and someone who isn't mentioned even once in the Farmer piece) is Tanner Riley. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the starting lineup as the shooting guard, in place of either Rodgers or Carr (depending upon which of those two can be most productive and least turnover-prone at the point).

Tanner has really matured physically over the summer, and he's shooting better than ever. He can still be streaky, but if can get hot, get even more confidence, and stay hot.....it will be hard to keep him out of the lineup.

From what I've seen so far, there are going to be a lot of shared minutes this preseason.

by oh brody Wed Oct 17, 2012 5:30 pm

I see Reinfelds taking over at the PG

Double D, you appear to be knowledgeable of our 2012-13 team and their practices so far. I am wondering what your thoughts are regarding Reinfelds' play and your scouting report of him. He appears to have good size, does he have the quickness and savvy to be our starting PG?

by DoubleDipper Thu Oct 18, 2012 10:20 am

oh brody wrote:
I see Reinfelds taking over at the PG
Double D, you appear to be knowledgeable of our 2012-13 team and their practices so far. I am wondering what your thoughts are regarding Reinfelds' play and your scouting report of him. He appears to have good size, does he have the quickness and savvy to be our starting PG?

At 6’4” 210 lbs, Oskars is not particularly fast, but because he is very physical, he IS able to create his own shot and go to the rim. He CAN back down his defender and work his way into the paint for the short shots.

He’s not as quick or athletic as Kevin Bailey, but I look forward to seeing them in the backcourt together. They should have some size, speed, and range advantage against some of teams we play this year. I believe Oskars needs to work some on his maturity (who doesn’t?) but he just turned 18 years-old last March....so he's got a lot of potential for physical growth and more strength; let's hope with work his quickness and on court maturity will develop.

He tends to turn the ball over and could probably have better court vision, but face it; he's still to settle-in with the system and his teammates. It seems clear defense has not been a priority with him to this point, but HE's LEARNING!! We'll just have to see if Derrick has developed any kind of shot, or David develops into a PG, or Tanner gets so hot he can't be kept out of the lineup.

At the moment it's almost as if we have an offensive team and a defensive team.....great for football. It's early, Oskars will do fine, and should be close to starting by January.....but that's a long way off, and anything can happen.

by The Real O-H-I-O Thu Oct 18, 2012 11:11 am

Anyone planning on making the trip to middle of nowhere Athens, Ohio?

We are not like most MAC schools, we actually have a very very strong fanbase in basketball and a nice arena. The Sweet 16 banners from last year are going up against Portland and we are expecting a sellout crowd. 13,000+... Shocking for a school in our conference, I know. Should be a great college basketball environment to be a part of.

As mentioned, we return the entire team that played in the Sweet 16, but did lose our head coach. Still, we are expecting big things this season. Even in down years, we hardly ever lose in home OOC games. If you guys were able to come into this atmosphere and win you would impress and anger many Bobcat fans.

by Guest Thu Oct 18, 2012 1:04 pm

Welcome to PN, TRO. I would think basketball would be pretty low on the radar right now, given your Bobcats are 7 - 0 and already bowl eligible in football. Is the Miami game a big rivalry?

by oh brody Thu Oct 18, 2012 3:23 pm

At 6’4” 210 lbs, Oskars is not particularly fast, but because he is very physical, he IS able to create his own shot and go to the rim. He CAN back down his defender and work his way into the paint for the short shots.

He’s not as quick or athletic as Kevin Bailey, but I look forward to seeing them in the backcourt together. They should have some size, speed, and range advantage against some of teams we play this year. I believe Oskars needs to work some on his maturity (who doesn’t?) but he just turned 18 years-old last March....so he's got a lot of potential for physical growth and more strength; let's hope with work his quickness and on court maturity will develop.

He tends to turn the ball over and could probably have better court vision, but face it; he's still to settle-in with the system and his teammates. It seems clear defense has not been a priority with him to this point, but HE's LEARNING!! We'll just have to see if Derrick has developed any kind of shot, or David develops into a PG, or Tanner gets so hot he can't be kept out of the lineup.

At the moment it's almost as if we have an offensive team and a defensive team.....great for football. It's early, Oskars will do fine, and should be close to starting by January.....but that's a long way off, and anything can happen.

DD, Thanks for your assessment of Oskars. With his size and some of the recruitment hype, I couldn't help from thinking (maybe it was more hoping) that he could be a Dellavedova-esq player for us right from the get-go. Based on your assessment perhaps I should temper my expectations a bit. It does sound like Oskars has a lot potential - it may just take a bit of time for the reasons you described. I'm still hyped for the season to get started.

by The Real O-H-I-O Thu Oct 18, 2012 6:26 pm

up7587 wrote:Welcome to PN, TRO. I would think basketball would be pretty low on the radar right now, given your Bobcats are 7 - 0 and already bowl eligible in football. Is the Miami game a big rivalry?

Miami is our archrival to put it lightly. Sunday was also our first AP top 25 ranking since 1968.

I am absolutely full go for Bobcats football. One reason I have time to care about basketball early is because I am a Cleveland pro fan.. The last couple years I've just moved all my time caring about professional sports over to bonus time for the Bobcats. The other reason is how excited most Bobcats are for this basketball season. My expectations are higher than where our football team is right now, if that is believable.

by Rochin54 Thu Oct 18, 2012 11:22 pm

up7587 wrote:Welcome to PN, TRO. I would think basketball would be pretty low on the radar right now, given your Bobcats are 7 - 0 and already bowl eligible in football. Is the Miami game a big rivalry?

Now hold on Mr. or Ms. "Ohio." I'm questioning your authenticity here. I thought it was "O-H!!" - "I-O!!" Sloopy would would want you to hang on and represent for us northwest folks! Very Happy

by DoubleDipper Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:12 pm

As most pundits are predicting the Pilots will finish 8th in the WCC this season, I thought I'd take a look at who the newcomers are that are making each team better this year:

(Notes: 1) There is a larger presence of players from outside the US lead by GU's Karnowski (who's VERY large), 2) there's a very familiar Portland name coming to LMU, and 3) I'm thinking it's going to be quite entertaining watching the two Dutchmen, and Canarius grads, Kok of USD van der Mars from UP go against each other).

Brigham Young Cougars
Agustin Ambrosino PF 6-8/225 JR Cordoba, Argentina (San Jose/Salt Lake City (UT) CC/Gulf Coast (FL) JC)
Cory Calvert SG 6-3/185 FR Parker, CO (Chaparral)
Raul Delgado SG 6-2/195 JR Chihuahua, Mexico (Springville/Western Nebraska JC)

Gonzaga Bulldogs
Drew Barham SF 6-6/195 JR Memphis, TN (Christian Brothers/Memphis)
Przemek Karnowski C 7-1/305 FR Torun, Poland (Nicolaus Copernicus)

Loyola Marymount Lions
Taj Adams SF 6-7/180 FR Los Angeles, CA (Fairfax)
Adam Drexler SF 6-5/185 FR Houston, TX (Northland Christian)
Chase Flint PG 6-1/180 SO Kaysville, UT (Davis/College of Eastern Utah)
Marin Mornar PF 6-9/185 FR Croatia (Consortium College Prep)
Nick Stover SF 6-6/200 FR Los Angeles, CA (Windward)

Pepperdine Waves
Stacy Davis PF 6-6/240 FR Tolleson, AZ (Tolleson/Fairfax)
Malte Kramer SG 6-6/215 JR Frieburg, Germany (Droste-Huelshoff Gum/Cuesta (CA) CC)
Brendan Lane PF 6-9/225 SR Rocklin, CA (Rocklin/UCLA)
Jett Raines SF 6-7/195 FR Coppell, TX (Coppell)
Atif Russell SG 6-4/200 FR Katy, TX (Seven Lakes)

Portland Pilots
David Ahern PG 6-0/180 FR Novato, CA (Marin Catholic)
Jake Ehlers SF 6-7/200 FR Corvallis, OR (Corvallis)
Bryce Pressley SG 6-4/190 FR Sacramento, CA (Jesuit)
Oskars Reinfelds SG 6-4/205 FR Riga, Latvia (Oakley/Canarias Basketball Academy)

St. Mary's Gaels
Matt Hodgson C 6-11/255 JR Booval, Australia (Ipswich Grammar/Southern Utah)
Chris Reyes PF 6-7/205 FR LaVerne, CA (Damien)
James Walker SG 6-3/185 JR Long Beach, CA (Los Alamitos/Citrus (CA) CC/Utah State)

San Diego Toreros
Mike Davis SG 6-2/200 JR Houston, TX (St. Piux X/Phillis Wheatley/West Texas JC/Texas Tech)
Trey Guidry SF 6-6/215 FR Houston, TX (St. Pius X)
Jito Kok PF 6-9/230 FR Wageningen, Netherlands (Canarias Basketball Academy)
Duda Sanadze SG 6-5/185 FR Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia

San Francisco Dons
Matt Christiansen PF 6-9/235 FR Oklahoma City, OK (Bishop McGuinness)
Tim Derksen SG 6-3/185 FR Tucson, AZ (Amphitheater)
Joe Edmonds SG 6-5/195 FR Oklahoma City, OK (Bishop McGuinness)
Avry Holmes SG 6-2/170 FR Salem, OR (North Salem)
De'End Parker SG 6-6/215 JR San Francisco, CA (Lincoln/City College of San Francisco/UCLA)
Frank Rogers PF 6-9/210 SO Salinas, CA (Salinas/Cabrillo (CA) CC)
Tao Xu C 6-11/260 FR Qingdao City, China (Haverford School)

Santa Clara Broncos
Nate Kratch PF 6-6/215 FR Watertown, MN (Watertown-Mayer)

by NoPoNeighbor Fri Oct 19, 2012 1:39 pm

At some point I saw a post somewhere (I think on Pilot Nation) about an African player who had signed with LMU. What happened there?

by Guest Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:06 pm

Argentina, Mexico, Poland, Croatia, Germany, Latvia, Australia, The Netherlands, Georgia, and China. Only Santa Clara fails to add a foreign player. Truly an international approach by the WCC teams.

Doing the jobs Americans won't do? Razz

by DoubleDipper Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:09 pm

NoPoNeighbor wrote:At some point I saw a post somewhere (I think on Pilot Nation) about an African player who had signed with LMU. What happened there?

Good memory. Shocked

Patson Siame, a native of Zambia, did make a verbal commitment to LMU for this coming season, but has now made a verbal for the 2013-14 season after deciding to spend another year playing at the Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas to improve his classroom and court skills. Already at 6'11'' and 225lbs, Siame is apparently still growing and learning in Las Vegas.

Mike LaPlante of ESPN says, “Although he still has work to do, Patson is more advanced offensively and has a better feel for the game than the usual young African big men that come to play in the States.” In a statement that might be a little over-the-top, LaPlante also wrote, "He has he potential to be the biggest impact for the school's basketball program since Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble arrived on campus."

Stayed tuned!

by DoubleDipper Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:15 pm

up7587 wrote:Argentina, Mexico, Poland, Croatia, Germany, Latvia, Australia, The Netherlands, Georgia, and China. Only Santa Clara fails to add a foreign player. Truly an international approach by the WCC teams.

Doing the jobs Americans won't do?

However, SCU does have a player from the Cameroon and two Canadians on the roster, including potenital All-WCC Marc Trasolini, returning for his senior year.

by onetouchfutbol Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:40 pm

Yeeks! So, Adam Drexler coming to LMU really is the son of Clyde. Not bad bloodlines... The future of shooting guards in the WCC looks darn good... Our guys are going to have to continue to improve.

by DoubleDipper Sat Oct 20, 2012 3:11 pm

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Another question raised by the Farmer article is that of potential redshirts. Based on Reveno's comments in the article, sounds like Pressley and Reinfelds are expected to make key contributions, indicating that they are not redshirt candidates. What about Ahern and Ehlers?

Spoke briefly with Pressley this morning...he likely will see very limited action or not play at all in this afternoon's US Bank Puruple and White game due to a "strained groin."

He's anxious to show his stuff, but knows the long term is more important than a scrimmage.

by RiseUP Thu Oct 25, 2012 6:10 pm

The Real O-H-I-O wrote:Anyone planning on making the trip to middle of nowhere Athens, Ohio?

We are not like most MAC schools, we actually have a very very strong fanbase in basketball and a nice arena. The Sweet 16 banners from last year are going up against Portland and we are expecting a sellout crowd. 13,000+... Shocking for a school in our conference, I know. Should be a great college basketball environment to be a part of.

As mentioned, we return the entire team that played in the Sweet 16, but did lose our head coach. Still, we are expecting big things this season. Even in down years, we hardly ever lose in home OOC games. If you guys were able to come into this atmosphere and win you would impress and anger many Bobcat fans.

I will be there but that's because I live in Cleveland.

by The Real O-H-I-O Mon Nov 05, 2012 8:58 am

RiseUP wrote:
The Real O-H-I-O wrote:Anyone planning on making the trip to middle of nowhere Athens, Ohio?

We are not like most MAC schools, we actually have a very very strong fanbase in basketball and a nice arena. The Sweet 16 banners from last year are going up against Portland and we are expecting a sellout crowd. 13,000+... Shocking for a school in our conference, I know. Should be a great college basketball environment to be a part of.

As mentioned, we return the entire team that played in the Sweet 16, but did lose our head coach. Still, we are expecting big things this season. Even in down years, we hardly ever lose in home OOC games. If you guys were able to come into this atmosphere and win you would impress and anger many Bobcat fans.

I will be there but that's because I live in Cleveland.

To be safe, you may want to get tickets early. According to our athletic department only 1700 remain as of yesterday. Very Happy

by oldtimer Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:15 am

Ohio- I was looking on your teams website and did not see any link that would indicate that the game would be streamed (video). Do you guys not do that within your program or am I just not looking in the right place?

by DoubleDipper Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:59 am

oldtimer wrote:Ohio- I was looking on your teams website and did not see any link that would indicate that the game would be streamed (video). Do you guys not do that within your program or am I just not looking in the right place?

oldtimer, I just checked with the Ohio U Athletic Department. They have "no plans to stream the game on their website." You can listen to the game on their website, but you can also hear Bill Johnson on 800 AM.

Ha, ha, "You're calling all the way from Portland?” the lady from Ohio U asked. Caught a little flat-footed, I told her "yea, we don't need satellites out here; we bounce the signal off the tree tops" rimshot