Re: Pilots vs. Cal State Bakersfield (Monday, Dec. 17 @ 7:00)

by Geezaldinho Mon Dec 17, 2012 10:48 pm

Carr had an easy layup he didn't take. It would have forced CSUB back onto the floor.

by DoubleDipper Mon Dec 17, 2012 10:58 pm

Totally agree with PilotNut (as usual), tonight was probably one of the best TEAM defensive efforts I’ve seen from the Pilots over the last 20 years….and it really helped to have Coaches Reveno and Wolfe at the defensive end of the court in the first half; it was like we had a sixth or seventh man on the court.

I have never seen the team talk so much on defense as they did tonight. Their play was night and day over just a month ago…and it’s so obvious that team-leader Ryan considers everyone to be his boys, and they all appear to enjoy playing together.

by DoubleDipper Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:12 pm

I want to give a shout out to one of the CSUB players. This game would not have been even as close as it was without the angular senior wing out of Jefferson High School, Tyrone White. I imagine he just didn’t have the grades to get into UP, or any other D-1 school, as he went to College of Idaho for two years before ending up in Bakersfield….but that’s only a guess, but why else would someone with his talent go to COI?

I know the coaching staff was concerned about White hurting the Pilots tonight, and he did with 23 points and 8 rebounds, but his supporting group of players did not live up their advance billing.

by DoubleDipper Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:21 pm

I already mentioned the impact players in addition to Rhino and KB, but the player who regressed the most from the game just three days ago is Tanner Riley. Totally lost on defense, he just fouled as Roadrunners whizzed by him, and his only field goal attempt in 6 minutes of play was an absolute brick from beyond the arc. Very disappointing for him I’m sure after playing Europe this summer and starting the exhibition season so strong. Oh, and Oskars was a bit lost again tonight...FRESHMEN!!

by DoubleDipper Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:44 pm

One last thought before calling it quits on this thread tonight:

It seemed like some very spotty officiating tonight….I mean there were some REALLY bad calls, but I think they began to even out in the end. Funny, all the games prior to this, Kevin was being called for offensive fouls virtually every time he went toward the hoop with any athletic move, but not tonight….and he ended up going to the line 12 times because of his aggressive play and the opinion of the officials.

During the UNLV game the WCC head of officials was in attendance; tonight we had the WCC Commissioner sitting in the expensive seat with our AD and his family. Funny thing that; our AD used to work for the commissioner, but now the commissioner really works for the AD, essentially. Very Happy

by Geezaldinho Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:59 pm

I think they both work for the president. The commish just works for more of them.

by **PilotNut** Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:44 am

Nicholas, Bailey Lift Pilots over CSU Bakersfield

PORTLAND, Ore. --- Ryan Nicholas scored 21 points and Kevin Bailey added 18 as the Portland Pilots defeated the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners 69-51 Monday night in the first game of the Continental Tires Classic. Portland improved to 5-1 at the Chiles Center this season with the win.

The Pilots (5-6) put the clamps down defensively and held the Roadrunners to 31 percent shooting for the game. Bakersfield came into the game forcing teams into more than 17 turnovers per game, but the Pilots managed the pressure defense and committed just 10 turnovers on the night.

Portland also gained a 39-31 rebounding advantage and 28-16 edge in points in the paint.

Nicholas finished 8-for-13 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds, just missing his fourth double-double of the season. Bailey scored 11 second half points and made 10-of-12 free throws for the game. Sophomore center Thomas van der Mars also finished in double figures with 12 points.

The Pilots allowed just four points over the first 6:25 of the game to jump out to an 11-4 lead and would never look back. A van der Mars layup with 20 seconds left in the first period gave Portland its first double digit lead, but Tyrone White drilled a three-pointer before the halftime buzzer to make it a 29-22 deficit.

A Nicholas three-point play gave Portland a 40-28 lead, but the Roadrunners (4-7) would briefly pull within five at 51-46 on a layup by Stephon Carter. The Pilots quickly answered with four straight points from Nicholas, and then Bailey stole the ensuing inbounds pass and found van der Mars for a dunk. Bakersfield would not cut the deficit to single digits the rest of the way.

White, who attended Jefferson High School in Portland, finished with a game-high 23 points for the visitors. Carter added 15 points, while only five Roadrunners scored on the night.

Portland will continue the Continental Tires Classic on Wednesday when North Florida (3-7) visits the Chiles Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and tickets are still available through all Ticketmaster outlets. The bracketed portion of the tournament continues this weekend at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, when the Pilots take on Colorado State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The tournament final rounds will be on Sunday with the championship pitting Saturday’s winner against the winner of Virginia Tech and Bradley.

by Geezaldinho Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:19 am

I liked the report from the automated site, Pilotreports.com

StatSmack! Portland is better than Cal State Bakersfield
You'll do better on next semester's exams, right? Portland currently has a higher Academic Progress Rate (990 to 910) than Cal State Bakersfield, per the NCAA.
The Portland rebounding leader (Ryan Nicholas) has more rebounds than the Cal State Bakersfield rebounding leader (Adam Young).
Portland is bigger. The average weight of the top 8 players on Portland is 203 lbs compared to 193 lbs for Cal State Bakersfield.
More violent crime happens per capita in Bakersfield so be careful if you visit (when compared to Portland -- according to the FBI).

910 is below the 930 APR required for tournament play.

by NoPoNeighbor Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:39 am

Good performance all around last night, for all of the reasons mentioned already. Even when Thieleke has an off-night offensively, we are a much better team with him in the starting lineup than we were with T. Riley out there. It was good to see Pressley get some more minutes tonight. I hope that trend continues. Also, it was great to see the starting 5 get a lot of time as a cohesive unit. I was not at all disappointed that J. Bailey didn't get into the game.

As for downsides... obviously the free throw shooting was worrying. Also, the three-point shooting was atrocious. And, yet again, we are missing so many layups.

I loved K. Bailey's aggressive moves to the hoop, which resulted in a lot of free throws. He even had a couple of 'and 1s.' But he should be able to convert a few more of those layups. He only shot 4-11 from the floor.

Thieleke also missed a few easy shots from close in.

My favorite coaching moment was when van der Mars was fouled while going up for a lay-up. He badly missed the shot, and Reveno yelled at him, "Finish that!" That is one of the things we need to see from the TEAM (beyond just Nicholas) if we are going to get to the next level. Strength and commitment to fight all the way through to the end of the play. Don't be content to just get fouled. Fight through the foul and make the basket!

by Geezaldinho Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:44 am

I think Rev wanted a stronger move and dunk.

Thomas went for the soft layup when he was fouled.

by **PilotNut** Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:49 am

NoPoNeighbor wrote:My favorite coaching moment was when van der Mars was fouled while going up for a lay-up. He badly missed the shot, and Reveno yelled at him, "Finish that!" That is one of the things we need to see from the TEAM (beyond just Nicholas) if we are going to get to the next level. Strength and commitment to fight all the way through to the end of the play. Don't be content to just get fouled. Fight through the foul and make the basket!

Absolutely... you could see that Thomas was a little taken back by the passion/volume with which Rev was imploring him... but that is the fire and skill that we now need to see. Thomas has been picking up his game recently, and would love to see him take the next step.

On the post-game show, Coach Jackson assured the listeners that FT's would be a focus of today's practice. Kevin Bailey's interview was entertaining as well... he and Bill were discussing Carr & van der Mars being back on the floor shooting FT's after the game.

3-point shooting... just woeful when Tanner is "off"... and talk about being off last night. His inconsistency is unsettling, for sure.

by DoubleDipper Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:50 am

PurpleGeezer wrote:I think Rev wanted a stronger move and dunk.

Thomas went for the soft layup when he was fouled.

You are correct, Geezer. And did you notice, on the next opportunity Thomas flushed it and gave a swing on the rim for good measure! tongue

by Geezaldinho Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:56 am

DoubleDipper wrote:
PurpleGeezer wrote:I think Rev wanted a stronger move and dunk.

Thomas went for the soft layup when he was fouled.
You are correct, Geezer. And did you notice, on the next opportunity Thomas flushed it and gave a swing on the rim for good measure!

Yeah, and he also made a really strong move to the bucket on a break, was fouled, and hit his free throws.

by Guest Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:11 am

NoPoNeighbor wrote:As for downsides... obviously the free throw shooting was worrying.

I am not so worried about FTs as a team, just for David Carr. He was 3 of 8. If he makes 7 of 8, as a good shooter should, then the team percentage would have been 75%, which is acceptable. Some of David's attempts were not even close, e.g. hitting the underside of the rim.

PilotNut wrote:3-point shooting... just woeful when Tanner is "off"... and talk about being off last night. His inconsistency is unsettling, for sure.

Tanner's first 3pt attempt was badly off target, and he never tried another shot from the floor. What happened to the "shooter's conscience" he used to have?

by NoPoNeighbor Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:58 am

up7587 wrote:Tanner's first 3pt attempt was badly off target, and he never tried another shot from the floor. What happened to the "shooter's conscience" he used to have?

In the Portland Bible game, Tanner's first bucket was a short-range jump shot for 2 points. I thought that helped him gain confidence. More often he does what he did last night: miss his first shot from 3-point range and than play scared and tentative. If it's not falling from outside, he needs to find other ways to create offense.

by DoubleDipper Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:17 pm

NoPoNeighbor wrote: If it's not falling from outside, he needs to find other ways to create offense.

And if its not working on offense, be a great teammate and play DEFENSE! Tanner accounted for a 6-8 swing in CSUB's favor in his 6 minutes of playing time due to his missed shot and ineptitude on defense.

Jeez, I hate picking on the kid, but he just looked so lost last evening....and wasn't playing SMART. It's one thing to make mistakes; mistakes happen, but not DUMB mistakes!

It was mentioned last night that UP just doesn't get polished players; the players need a lot of coaching to get better. But Tanner is a junior, he's been coached, and we've seen him play much better. But in each of his three years at UP, Tanner has started the season hot, and looking solid all around, and then boom....he totally loses it.

No solid evidence here, but it's possible that the academic rigors at UP are such that Tanner has to devote most of his effort towards school, and as a result, his game suffers. If that's true, he's got his priorities right, and it should also mean his game will improve between now and January 14 when classes resume.

by Guest Tue Dec 18, 2012 4:23 pm

Thanks for the takes...ended up basically just listening to the second half due to the airport wireless.

Anyone else want another hack at that Montana State game at this point....

by DoubleDipper Tue Dec 18, 2012 4:46 pm

DeanMurdoch wrote:Thanks for the takes...ended up basically just listening to the second half due to the airport wireless.

Anyone else want another hack at that Montana State game at this point....

Bygones. Over it. All part of the learning process; have moved on. UNF on Wednesday!

by NoPoNeighbor Tue Dec 18, 2012 5:07 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:Bygones. Over it. All part of the learning process; have moved on. UNF on Wednesday!

Yes! Considering the strength of the WCC, this may be one of our best shots for back-to-back wins over D-1 schools this seaon.

by **PilotNut** Tue Dec 18, 2012 5:25 pm

DeanMurdoch wrote:Anyone else want another hack at that Montana State game at this point....

Yes.