Pilots vs. Santa Clara, Saturday 2:00 p.m. Root Sports

Tough game coming up. The Broncos have only lost to GU, SMC and BYU in league. Oh yeah, they are also the only team LMU beat. And our last game with them, at their place, was not pretty. It is best forgotten, never happened, wasn't there, etc. SCU comes in with an extra day of rest, after playing in Spokane Wednesday. The Pilots have a short break, being an early game on Saturday afternoon. (TV, I suppose) And we, at least I, don't know if Riley Barker will be recovered, or Oskars reinstated.

Broncos are lead by Srs Foster and Trasolini. Glad they'll be graduating. Next two top players are Evan Roquemore, a Jr, and Sr Raymond Cowels, so they are an experienced team. Foster puts up most of their 3pt attempts, and makes 1/3 of them. He's bigger than Johnny Dee, at 6'2", so Derrick and Bryce are going to have to stay on him to limit his shots. Trasolini is their main big, but SOs Atanga at 6'8" and Garrett at 7'0" come off the bench with size, and contribute blocks and rebounding, not so much scoring. And Trasolini is very active, and draws a lot of fouls. Sure hope Barker can play, because Thomas might run out of gas if not.

Senior night for Derrick Rodgers. He said on the post-game last night that this will be the first time his family will be at the Chiles Center to see him play. Here's hoping he has a great game to finish his Pilot carreer in style.

up7587 wrote:Senior night for Derrick Rodgers. He said on the post-game last night that this will be the first time his family will be at the Chiles Center to see him play. Here's hoping he has a great game to finish his Pilot career in style.

It is so obvious how much Derrick's teammates are playing for HIM right now....it's a young team and he's their mentor....it's really good to see.

We may hear carping about this and that of Derrick’s on-court style and his need to shoot more, but I challenge anyone to point out a time he hasn’t given every ounce of his fiber and soul toward helping his team and his teammates.

I too heard this will be Derrick's parents first time to see him in Portland. It's a shame, but I've seen it time and time again where the economics of the trip make it impossible for some families to see their kids play. Many of us could easily help.....but of course it would be a very big violation of NCAA rules!!

Easy way around the rule, DD. just pay for a non athlete's parents to come as well. Then the athlete's parents aren't getting any compensation the rest of the student body can't get.

( you might have to pay for a half dozen to make the numbers pan out..)

PurpleGeezer wrote:Easy way around the rule, DD. just pay for a non athlete's parents to come as well. Then the athlete's parents aren't getting any compensation the rest of the student body can't get.

( you might have to pay for a half dozen to make the numbers pan out..)

Attempted a variation of that once for Pooh and Carmelita Jeter that included five other non-student athlete's families; it didn't work out so well.

Just fly in the parents of EVERY student who signs up. The NCAA can't say everyone didn't have a chance right?

DoubleDipper wrote:We may hear carping about this and that of Derrick’s on-court style and his need to shoot more, but I challenge anyone to point out a time he hasn’t given every ounce of his fiber and soul toward helping his team and his teammates.

Maybe not so much carping so much as the fact that certain posters on here (me included) are confident he can hit that open outside jumper! Not often you're imploring people to be more selfish, basketball or otherwise. And you're right...Rodgers is a guy that can bring a ton without even taking a shot.

He should take the 3. Riley Barker should not...

SCU will be aiming for their 20th win of the season today at the Chiles Center; quite a turnaround from last year’s disastrous season when Traolini went down and Foster went “out.”

I know everyone wants to forget the last game against SCU, but it would seem some sort of retribution is in order after the Broncos coasted to a 70-46 victory over Portland on Jan. 31.

In that game, the Pilots were not able to sink their first field goal until 8:33 remained in the opening half and finished the contest 13-of-52 from the floor. SCU coasted by connecting on 50 percent of its field goal tries.

This game could come down to how well Thomas can do against Trasolini, who is one of the main reasons why the Broncos have been the comeback team of year in the WCC

Pomeroy is favoring SCU today, 70-62 with a 77% probability.
Las Vegas is also favoring SCU; 7.5 points with a 132 o/u.
RealTimeRPI has it a little closer; SCU winning 71-69.

Pilots go on a 15-2 run....and still trail by 7! Argh.

Still no Reinfelds?? I thought he was just missing the one game.

Oskars was on the bench in street clothes again today.

SCU opened up the game red hot from 3pt range. Many of them were well defended, there was nothing to be done about it. The Pilots hustled hard all game. There was a lot of clutching, grabbing, jumping over, etc., and the refs were letting most of it go. I think it affected Ryan; he just had a poor game.

This one could have easily developed into another blow out loss, but the guys didn't let it happen. They closed it down to 5 points with the ball, but a poor pass, a couple easy SCU breakaway baskets, and the Broncos held on. The final margin of 12 reflects a lot of fouls and SCU FTs to close it out, as we tried to press and hope they'd turn it over or miss a FT.

Another exciting game this afternoon. I was impressed with the Pilots' new-found ability to keep games close down the stretch. There is, however, one coaching decision that I am baffled by.

I hope I am remembering this correctly... After the Pilots got the margin down to 5 points on Tanner Riley's three-point play with 6:25 to go, Rev made several substitutions in the line-up. To the best of my recollection, this is who was on the floor: Rodgers, T. Riley, John Bailey, Ehlers and Thieleke. With all of the momentum on our side, and the clear need to keep scoring points, how could the coaches possibly put that line-up out on the floor? No Nicholas, no K. Bailey, no van der Mars, no Pressley. In other words, no offense. After two turnovers by Rodgers and a missed three-pointer by Riley (along with two easy buckets on the other end by Trassolini), Ehlers made a heroic three-pointer. However, the moment of opportunity had passed, as SCU made another 3 only ten seconds later. That was it. Game over.

I hate to say it, but I think the coaches cost us the chance to complete the comeback. What were they thinking?

When that group came in the score was was 57-49. When they left it was 61-52. Compare that to the group you named.

Maybe coaches were thinking they needed to have somebody on the floor besides the guys that got them down 28-13 to begin with.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Another exciting game this afternoon. I was impressed with the Pilots' new-found ability to keep games close down the stretch. There is, however, one coaching decision that I am baffled by.

I hope I am remembering this correctly... After the Pilots got the margin down to 5 points on Tanner Riley's three-point play with 6:25 to go, Rev made several substitutions in the line-up. To the best of my recollection, this is who was on the floor: Rodgers, T. Riley, John Bailey, Ehlers and Thieleke. With all of the momentum on our side, and the clear need to keep scoring points, how could the coaches possibly put that line-up out on the floor? No Nicholas, no K. Bailey, no van der Mars, no Pressley. In other words, no offense. After two turnovers by Rodgers and a missed three-pointer by Riley (along with two easy buckets on the other end by Trassolini), Ehlers made a heroic three-pointer. However, the moment of opportunity had passed, as SCU made another 3 only ten seconds later. That was it. Game over.

I hate to say it, but I think the coaches cost us the chance to complete the comeback. What were they thinking?

Just watching my recording. Bailey, Riley and Thieleke were on the floor when the run was made to get it to 5 points, and Ehlers subbed in at 6:56, just before the Riley lay-up and free throw. So those were the guys who got it close. Unfortunately, they weren't able to sustain it. Rodgers tried a tough dropoff pass in traffic to Bailey that didn't work, and then the zone defense lost track of Trasolini when he floated off a high screen into the key for a good pass and a dunk. Then Riley missed a 3pt shot (he wasn't "on" today). The teams exchanged TOs, with Derrick losing the ball on his dribble when he tried to crossover in front of Foster, and Trasolini was open for a cherry pick basket since he hadn't hustled down dourt after the SCU TO.

So I don't think the coaches can be blamed for bad subbing; they did not make any substitutions when the game closed to 5 points. They left the guys on the floor who had closed the gap. The turnovers were by the starting PG. And the missed shot was by a player who's job is to shoot 3's. Pressley, Bailey and van der Mars were all subbed in at a timeout at 4:19 after the cherry pick basket, and the team down 9. The turnovers were extremely bad timing, but it is what it is, we don't have any superior ball handlers on the team. The bench guys did not come in at the critical juncture and blow the game. It was their intense defense that got it close.

I think any Pilots fan who witnessed the game will have to come away feeling positive about the direction this team is going. How far in the right direction is hard to predict, but certainly more competitive next year than this with the right additions and continued development of the current players.

Re: the coaching decisions....I too looked at the tape of the game and thought, if anything, maybe a couple of players could have come OUT of the game sooner because they were totally gassed. But who do the coaches bring in? I looked at the bench, as I’m sure the coaches did, and couldn’t find any suitable substitutes for the situation expect Jake, but then I discovered he was already on the floor. The comeback just took too much out of the guys…..and the crowd noise was not enough to sustain them.

Many fans, coaches, and players didn't sleep the night of the USF loss at home; many will sleep just fine tonight knowing how well the Pilots played. The lights-out scoring by SCU in the first half was not because of UP's lack of defense or SCU's coaching....three SCU seniors just couldn't miss.

The second half was a great display of ball movement and tenacious defense by UP....a few breaks, a few whistles, and a few made free throws were all that separated the teams toward the end.

Well played Pilots.....and well coached too!

The crowd saluted the four graduating dance team members during the game Saturday after the four performed a very well done dance routine. And the 15 member dance team also easily won a dance-off against about 10 mascots on “Mascot Day” at the Chiles Center. The ladies have some very good moves….the mascots…not so much!

I know many PN readers are NOT going to Las Vegas for the WCC Tournament….but he Pilots Dance Team assured me today they WILL be there!!

I would imagine some of the Purple Pride Pep Band will be going too, but we’ll have to confirm that with PPT.

Finally, the young lad selected through “an online contest?” came close to making the $10,000 (before taxes) half court shot….but not near close enough. The airplane toss on Thursday was much more fun and fan interactive….if anyone from marketing is reading this.

DoubleDipper wrote:

I would imagine some of the Purple Pride Pep Band will be going too, but we’ll have to confirm that with PPT.

The athletic department has paid for a group of students to go every year it's been in Las Vegas. Community members who make their way down on their own are welcome to play with the band. I haven't made it down there yet. I've been to two WCC Tournaments: Santa Clara in 2000 (not as cool as it sounds when the team hotel is not within walking distance of anything), and the one Portland hosted.

In the past some other schools have asked our band to cover their tournament games, and last year they played a kids clinic event the conference put on. I'm really happy to see we've gotten a reputation around the conference.

I can recall a number of times the UP band has been asked to stick around at the WCC Tournament after the UP basketball teams have gone home......just a shirt change to another school's colors and, voilá, there's still great music in the arena/gym and the games go on.

It was rumored it the past that each band member was paid a fee of $25-50 or so plus food if they'd stick around.....that was a big incentive for a college kid. I haven't seen that since the venue changed to Las Vegas....more bands now make the trip.