Countdown

Four days until the WCC media day and six days until the exhibition game!!!

That is all

Someone start a game thread...Pilots were 3-2 when I started the game thread last year and I don't want to use up the magic on Concordia-Irvine!

DeanMurdoch wrote:Someone start a game thread...Pilots were 3-2 when I started the game thread last year and I don't want to use up the magic on Concordia-Irvine!

The NAIA Champs in 2012, the always well coached Eagles have flown pretty high under the tutelage of Stanford grad Ken Ammann.
 
C-I took UP to overtime two years ago, but with a number of their starters graduating after the championship season, the Pilots prevailed 79-66 last year with Tanner Riley going off for 26 points in 31 minutes. David Carr started the game at PG, a position he played pretty well until going down with a torn ACL against LMU….but we won’t see David this week, he’s still trying to overcome the effects of a concussion suffered in practice a few days ago.
 
Concordia-Irvine returns a number of starters from last year’s 23-11 team that won the conference championship, but the guy to watch is former St. Mary’s SG, #22 senior Tim Harris.    The game against UP will be C-I’s first game of the season, so it’s really difficult to tell how some of last year’s reserves and the new guys will fit into their scheme, but they’ll be scrappy and fundamentally sound.
 
If the rebounds don’t bounce all the way out to the perimeter, UP’s height advantage should prove to be too much for C-I to overcome even if the Eagles catch fire from behind the arc.

WCC Media Day today…...the coaches will reveal their predicted order of finish for the men’s and women’s teams.
 
Yesterday Zack Farmer showed us his picks:

1. GU
2. BYU
3. USF/SMC
5. USD
6. UOP
7. LMU
8. PEP
9. SCU
10. POR
This year was one of the toughest to pick after 1-2.

This year was one of the toughest to pick after 1-2.

This seems to be the overall consensus when pundits are looking at the WCC this year. Gonzaga or BYU at 1/2, Saint Mary's no lower than fourth, USF and USD at 3/4/5, and then roll a dice for the spots of the other five teams.

I'm guessing the voting points in the coach poll today will reflect this and won't have much separation from 6 to 10.

DoubleDipper wrote:The NAIA Champs in 2012, the always well coached Eagles have flown pretty high under the tutelage of Stanford grad Ken Ammann.

There's the connection. I was wondering why the Concordia-Irvine exhibition game has become an annual staple.

The Eagles are always a good early-season test for the Pilots....and it's normally a pretty good indication of how UP's rotation will look, at least for the first part of the season. The starting five last year against Concordia was Carr, Riley, Bailey, Nicholas, and van der Mars - the same starting five that was used for the first few games of the regular season until Thieleke started for Riley beginning with the PSU game.

DeanMurdoch wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:The NAIA Champs in 2012, the always well coached Eagles have flown pretty high under the tutelage of Stanford grad Ken Ammann.

There's the connection. I was wondering why the Concordia-Irvine exhibition game has become an annual staple.

From Coach Reveno minutes ago....

The one common theme from fellow coaches at WCC Media day was that we are crazy for playing Concordia- Irvine. Respected top NAIA program.

From the WCC coaches today:

Team (First Place Votes) Points
1. Gonzaga (eight) 80
2. BYU (1) 72
3. Saint Mary's (1) 66
4. San Francisco 51
5. San Diego 50
6. Loyola Marymount 44
7. Pacific 28
8. Santa Clara 25
9. Portland 24
10. Pepperdine 10

 Zero Portland players were selected to the preseason team of 10.

The one common theme from fellow coaches at WCC Media day was that we are crazy for playing Concordia- Irvine. Respected top NAIA program.

Agree with Nick Daschel's take on that - "Why? Best of both worlds. It's an exhibition...a freebie. And a good team, and free lessons to be learned." It's like every NCAA men's hockey team refusing to play the University of Alberta just because they're always so good! Not a lot to be lost by playing quality opposition in non-counting games.

Speaking of non-counting games, looks like audio will be running for tomorrow's exhibition game against CU-Irvine.

http://www.pilotsvideo.com

This is a game that scares me for the big guys. Playing a team that is fairly good with no one taller than Nicholas.  There are mismatches and for the bigs to take advantage they need to be getting the ball 2-4 feet from the basket so they can catch, turn and dunk.  If they catch it far enough from the basket where they bring the ball down and dribble, they are going to get the ball knocked away.  

I am definitely looking forward to see how this team looks.  I have higher expectations than the league coaches.

I will have to be checking in as I will be down in Eugene for the Duck game.  I have checked the schedule and this should be the only home game I miss.

Pilot2002 wrote:This is a game that scares me for the big guys.........

I am definitely looking forward to see how this team looks.  I have higher expectations than the league coaches.

Yes, it's a great time of year for optimism and hope.....but it can be a time of real concern for the players and the program if the team doesn't get off to a fast start.
 
Tomorrow's game against Concordia-Irvine will be a challenge...I know the coaching staff has some concern because they too don't know how the team will perform against good competition.
 
Last year was a "down year" for C-I, but this year Coach Ammann has got a very talented group of guys who could go very deep into the NAIA Tournament.
 
The absence of David Carr from the lineup for the next few weeks will just have to be something the coaches and players will have to overcome....adversity hits all players at one time or another, whether it's a broken nose or strained knee, or stitches in the face, but David's torn ACL, and now his concussion, make me think he's done with injuries for the next two years....
 
There are a couple of state schools playing football at home in Oregon tomorrow, but the Pilots Men's Basketball team and Pilot's Women's Soccer team are playing back-to-back at UP tomorrow.....and since admission to the basketball is FREE......we can only hope there will be a good turnout.

The silver lining of Carr's injury is that it throws Wintering straight into the fire. I think a better-than-expected season from the Pilots depends in large part upon him adapting pretty quickly and seamlessly to D-I ball. It helps the team for him to play as many minutes as possible in the exhibition game.

Wow - I guess a 20-3 run in the second half helps matters a little bit?

That huge run quashed the rally that CU-Irvine had going after halftime. Quite impressive the way the Pilots took control, really.

Anyone that was there have thoughts?

These Pilots are definitely different and better than last year’s model.
 
There was much better communication and much better ball movement than we saw anytime last year.  You don’t have to look at the statistics to know the addition of freshman Alec Wintering and the development of sophomore Bryce Pressley, both playing point guard, makes the team multi-dimensional by having the ball in the hands of guys who can see the whole court, have the speed and passing ability to lead the transition game…..and they both can score.
 
Players of the game were Alec, Bryce, and Riley Barker….with a tip of the cap to Kevin Bailey and his 19 points.
 
Two players who we know can do better than they did tonight…..Voldy and Thomas.  Yes, Thomas had better stats than Riley, but Riley’s energy and intimidation on defense (or should I say defence) were key to the Pilots' comeback.  Voldy, on the other hand, was sleep-walking most of the game and never really adapted to the game’s high tempo before fouling out.
 
Twenty-four turnovers (25% of them by Alec) is obviously enough to drive a coach to drink, but I think their opposition had quite a bit to do with that, and I also think the team will start to tighten it up once Rev decides on his rotations.
 
Of note, Tanner Riley went down hard with what looked to be a badly sprained ankle.  He’s had a chronic ankle problem for about three years, but this is the other ankle.
 
Overall, a very rusty start, but a much better finish……after one exhibition game, the glass is half full!

A few thoughts...

• Wintering looked like a natural leader and playmaker, and had a few very impressive drives to the hoop and assists. However, the turnovers were troubling. Overall, a good performance for his first college game, in very limited minutes due to foul trouble.
• We played much faster than we generally did last year, although part of that is probably due to Concordia's constant pressuring defense.
• The Pilots had a distinct size advantage, but were not able to take advantage of it. I can remember only one basket resulting from a true entry pass to the post. With some skilled big men, we need to develop that aspect of the offense ASAP.
• Bobby Sharp looked like he belonged out there. A better ball handler than our last few three-point specialists (Stohl, Mitrovic, Riley).
• Nicholas wasn't much of a factor. I highly doubt that he will be the team's leading scorer this season. And the team will be better for it.
• Pressley missed some easy shots, but was tenacious in going after his own rebounds and making the follows.
• Looks like my previous post was off-target, and turnovers could well be our downfall for a third straight year.
• Perhaps the biggest story of the game: fouls. The refs called an extremely tight game, in line with the NCAA's new rules this season that restrict what a defender can do to impede a ball handler (I don't pretend to really understand the rule change, but have read a few articles arguing that it will change the face of D-I basketball). I don't know if the NAIA has adopted the same rule change, but Concordia seemed incapable of playing an entire defensive set without committing a foul. They were caught off-guard by the tight officiating. It will be interesting to track this story across the country in the early stages of the season.
• Zubizarreta should redshirt. If Carr comes back healthy, and if Riley is not seriously injured, we have more than enough guards. Zubi has a ways to go. (A player can appear in an exhibition game and still redshirt, right?)
• Something I've wondered about the past few seasons... Reveno seems to take players out of the game immediately after they have made big plays or scored baskets. This happened several times in today's game. I specifically remember VDM and Thieleke being taken out of the game right after making baskets. My instinct is that it would be better to leave guys in once they get on a roll.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:• Zubizarreta should redshirt. If Carr comes back healthy, and if Riley is not seriously injured, we have more than enough guards. Zubi has a ways to go. (A player can appear in an exhibition game and still redshirt, right?)

Yea, I agree he SHOULD redshirt, but I'm doubtful he will....and yes, he can still redshirt after playing in an exhibition game and in the "secret scrimmage" against UW on November 2 on the Nike Campus.

I do not recall a player emerging from a team imposed redshirt year to be a real factor for the Pilots. Generally the consideration to redshirt is some indication that the player may not be quite at the same level as his teammates. I am not sure how the team will benefit from an extra year for Zubi—he will almost certainly have limited minutes, of course, but he can learn the game and system now as well as he might if redshirted. While I appreciate the thought that perhaps fewer players will be in front of him if he waits, I think that redshirting has been a questionable ploy for the team. Will he gain height, gain quickness or grow stronger during the redshirt year?

I like that Reveno does not frequently use the redshirt strategy and hope that he continues not to do so. It should be reserved for transfers and injuries, otherwise . . .just play em.

Thanks NoPo for the insights on the public start to the season.

Zubizarreta has been in town for a couple months, so I think the coaching staff will have a pretty good handle on his potential upside and intangibles. If they think he's got potential as a plus player in the WCC, then with six other guards on the roster maybe this is an opportunity to get the kid another year on the backside of his career - remember, he's a 1995 guy so still only 18.

I don't think you hesitate to play him if you need him at some point, but if he's got potential then don't blaze a year off his eligibility just by tossing him into "game situations" when the team's up or down by 20 with three minutes left - unless that's what he wants!

If you look at it from a wider perspective including recruiting class makeup, you've got only Wintering and Zubizarreta graduating in 2017. You'd think they'd be joined by at least one JUCO guy following their sophomore years because that's when the big Pilots class graduates, but I'm not sure what you'd gain or lose there if you push him back a year - not sure it matters, to be honest.

On an aside, I think a redshirt year is best utilized by skinny posts. Guys that come out of HS at 6-9, 190 and are just too thin to crash around down low. Give them that year to put on 20, 25 pounds to be able to better compete.

No attempts from 3 for Wintering. I'm assuming his three FGs came on drives to the hoop?

15 turnovers in the first half alone for the Pilots but they cut it down to nine in the second half so perhaps (definitely?) that was a point of emphasis at halftime. And a couple of those second-half turnovers were offensive fouls as opposed to just giving the ball away uncontested.

DeanMurdoch wrote:Zubizarreta has been in town for a couple months, so I think the coaching staff will have a pretty good handle on his potential upside and intangibles. If they think he's got potential as a plus player in the WCC, then with six other guards on the roster maybe this is an opportunity to get the kid another year on the backside of his career - remember, he's a 1995 guy so still only 18.

I don't think you hesitate to play him if you need him at some point, but if he's got potential then don't blaze a year off his eligibility just by tossing him into "game situations" when the team's up or down by 20 with three minutes left - unless that's what he wants!

If you look at it from a wider perspective including recruiting class makeup, you've got only Wintering and Zubizarreta graduating in 2017. You'd think they'd be joined by at least one JUCO guy following their sophomore years because that's when the big Pilots class graduates, but I'm not sure what you'd gain or lose there if you push him back a year - not sure it matters, to be honest.

On an aside, I think a redshirt year is best utilized by skinny posts. Guys that come out of HS at 6-9, 190 and are just too thin to crash around down low. Give them that year to put on 20, 25 pounds to be able to better compete.

You guys are good. I'm amazed you see all that after he has played 8 minutes in his career on the bluff.

Geezaldinho wrote:You guys are good. I'm amazed you see all that after he has played 8 minutes in his career on the bluff.

I'm not sure that stating that the coaching staff will make a redshirt decision based on factors including current roster situation and potential upside of a player is exactly ground-breaking material, but I do appreciate your kind words.

To restate the central point, if he is not good enough now, prolonging a stay at the U by redshirting does not benefit the program, only ties up a scholarship, which could be more usefully tendered to another. I certainly do not feign a prediction about whether Zubi should redshirt or suggest anything about his skill level, only, "to be honest," that there is likely to be little benefit to the U in exchange for prolonging the use of a scholarship to a player who may not be able to compete, so play him and let him hurry through the program if it is so.

He likes to be called Xubi (not Zubi), and he pronounces it Shoobee.
 
I've watched Aitor (Xubi) off and on all summer as he’s drilled and practiced......he is very, very sound fundamentally, and is picking up the US game pretty well, IMO.
 
What he's lacking is the experience with the speedier American game.  I think the argument for his redshirting is so he can gain that experience in practice and then take advantage of that experience in games after Korey and Tanner have moved on.....it’s doubtful he’ll get much game experience while buried in the rotation.
 
I will say this though; I believe the new interpretation of the rules regarding hand checking and physical play will benefit a “skill” player such as Xubi.  What impressed me most last night was his demeanor….actually the demeanor of all the players….when fouls were being called, balls were  being turned over, and the team fell behind, everyone took in stride and moved on without visible frustration (well, except for Rev, who was having a bit of a dialogue with the referees). 
 
With that said....I believe the discussion means nothing because I’m 95% certain Xubi will NOT redshirt!!

Any word on Tanner Riley? He went down with an ankle injury in the 1st half against Concordia after playing only 3 minutes, and was not even on the bench after halftime.

West Coast Convo has released its version of the preseason first, second and third all-WCC teams:
 
Second Team....

Ryan Nicholas
The WCC’s most unheralded player. His impact is really hard to gauge considering the team’s struggles the past two seasons, but without Nicholas grabbing boards and making tough shots, Portland’s win-loss record may have been plummeted even further. He’s the type of player that will grab 12 boards to go along with his 13 points, but you would never guess that until you look up the box score at the end of the game. If he gets some consistent help from his teammates this season, and his effort equals more W’s in the win column, he should finally get the respect he deserves from his peers.

Third Team....

Thomas van der Mars
The potential is there for this 6-11 Junior. He has shown flashes of being a creative and effective face up player, but those flashes are here today and gone tomorrow. The next big step for this Dutchman is consistency. If he can push his averages closer to a double-double range he can pair with Ryan Nicolas to form one of the most solid frontcourts in the WCC. Add reserves Riley Barker, and Voldy Gerun, and the depth is there for Portland’s big men to match up with anyone for all 40 minutes. But at this point, the pressure is really on van der Mars to step up to the plate and become a real leader for this team.