Wooden Legacy - Thanksgiving Weekend

This is a comment from one of the ESPN broadcasters of last night's game.

@SeanFarnham wrote:Impressed last night with @PilotHoops attention to detail and G play...With recruits next year program is on the move under Coach Porter!

Pilots can't finish at the rim in the 2nd half. Dayton not missing.

Proud of our Pilots!  Dayton has at least one, maybe two potential NBA types on their squad and their team is just better balanced, but UP did not give up, even when down by 17 in the first half.

I think only 9 assists and 18 turnovers (8 by Alec) made the difference in the end, but the team's free-throw shooting (23-24) kept them in the game. (As a team, the Pilots are 1st in the nation for free-throw percentage--88.5%).

We knew it would be a very short bench this season, but no way did I expect Alec, Gabe, and Jazz to play 40 minute games....and combined they scored 65 of UP's 74 points.

No Phillip or Ray in the second half with the Pilots going "small," but there was just no fourth or fifth player really showing up on either end of the court. Like so many, I look forward to the addition of 7 new guys on the team next year....Chier's first full year, the addition of the Porter brothers, and the 4 recent signees....too bad Alec will be gone.

Pilots vs. CSUN Sunday at 8pm on ESPNU....

Don't be fooled by CSUN's 2-4 record....their losses have been to UCLA, Stanford, New Mexico, and Texas A&M.

UP is favored by 3 points in this game, but CSUN beat a pretty good Northern Illinois team that was ranked above them in just about the same place the Pilots are now ranked.

BTW, Gonzaga and Iowa St. meet Sunday at 10:30am on ESPN.....should be a good battle in Kissimmee, Florida.

I started to look up CSUN's stats, then realized it doesn't matter. Alec, Jazz and Gabe have been consistent. Either Jarrell or D'Marques is going to have to play well, or the Pilots will struggle.

Love seeing Hartwich take the ball strong to the hole.

This free throw screamer is incredibly annoying.

Announcers said Reveno made a donation to the UP athletic department even after he was let go. Pure class.

Don't have a way to watch this one. Checked the play by play at halftime and noticed we were up 36 at one point in the half. Is CSUN that much worse or did a better Pilot team show up, possibly having learned from playing 2 games against good competition?

dholcombe wrote:Don't have a way to watch this one. Checked the play by play at halftime and noticed we were up 36 at one point in the half. Is CSUN that much worse or did a better Pilot team show up, possibly having learned from playing 2 games against good competition?

25-8 was the largest lead for the Pilots...lead's down to seven now as I type this early in the second half.

AHA....woops typo...I meant 36-20. 16 Points. Didn't notice the 25-8, but I don't put much stock in really early scores as one team may have just come out cold.

The fella wearing #2 for the Pilots has a chance to be a good player at this level.

Dean Murdoch wrote:The fella wearing #2 for the Pilots has a chance to be a good player at this level.

Too bad they voted the all-tournament team before the final game.

Alec and Jazz were so good they didn't need much help, but Jarrell was the player who stepped up, shooting 5-8 from 2P (5-10 overall) and 6-6 on FTs.  Philipp played 25 minutes with 7 points, 9 rebounds and 4 fouls.  Gabe's shot was off, but he also got 9 rebounds, along with 5 points.

Considering Alec played 110 minutes over 4 days (30/40/40), good thing he can rest a little before the next games on Saturday.

I just didn't get enough of it last night (might want to turn down the speakers): http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=18154190

Dean Murdoch wrote:The fella wearing #2 for the Pilots has a chance to be a good player at this level.

Agreed^

This team is so much fun to watch. I like the way the offense flows under coach porter. Don't look now, but KenPom has us ranked as the 4th team in the WCC. This might be the best WCC we've ever seen. St. Mary's is 13 and Gonzaga is 15.

pilotfan4life wrote:Are there any pregame functions tonight?

So we're asked for help finding a party in Orange County, but we get no report on the 4-day experience at the Wooden Legacy?

You're not that screaming lady, are you.

Some thoughts on the Pilots' showing at the tournament:

Good:
Alec Wintering.
Jazz Johnson.
Free throw shooting (mostly by Wintering and Johnson).
The first 15 minutes against UCLA.
Rebounding by Hartwich and Barreno. They played limited minutes, but looked good on the glass.

Mixed-Bag:
Marshall showed flashes of brilliance against CSUN, but was a non-factor in the first two games. We need him as a legitimate scoring threat.

Taylor's shot was off for 2-3 games, but he still found ways to contribute on both ends.

We showed a lot of fight to come back and keep the game close against Dayton. We didn't shoot well enough to win, and the defense wasn't good.

Not too good:
Tyson. Streaky one-dimensional shooter, who is not as consistently good at that one dimension (3 point shooting) as either Wintering or Johnson.

Offense by Hartwich and Barreno. Their combined total output for the three games was 8 points, 2-7 shooting, 0-5 on non-dunks.

blacksheep wrote:Don't look now, but KenPom has us ranked as the 4th team in the WCC.  This might be the best WCC we've ever seen.  St. Mary's is 13 and Gonzaga is 15.  

Pilots at #132. Dayton is #43. UCLA is #19. Pilots got a tough draw in that tourney. Colorado is #44, right behind Dayton.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Announcers said Reveno made a donation to the UP athletic department even after he was let go. Pure class.

I had not heard this before, either. If this is true, it is a very impressive gesture.

It was awesome how ESPN showed the picture in picture with the screamer... early on they were going to track her success rate. She was *right behind* the CSUN bench, so that had to be pleasant for them as well.

The Pilots looked good last night, and I was happy to see them repel the CSUN runs and rebuild the lead. Lets get the guys some home cooking and rest and be ready to take on the Buffs on Saturday!

Stats update:
Alec is scoring 22.8 ppg, tied at #19 in the country.
Jazz is tied for #49 in 3P% at .571.
Jazz is tied for #25 in FT% at .938. Alec is #57 at .909.
Alec is tied for #12 at 6.7 assists per game.
Team is still #1 in FT% at .854.
Team is tied for #18 in 3P% at .414

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics

up7587 wrote:Stats update:
Alec is scoring 22.8 ppg, tied at #19 in the country.
Jazz is tied for #49 in 3P% at .571.
Jazz is tied for #25 in FT% at .938.  Alec is #57 at .909.
Alec is tied for #12 at 6.7 assists per game.
Team is still #1 in FT% at .854.
Team is tied for #18 in 3P% at .414

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics

The team is heavily relying on the backcourt for most of the offense.  While I'd like to see a more will rounded approach, you can't argue with the production!

Shooting .854 from the line makes it much easier to win those close games that come down to making free throws in crunch time.

My concern is still the short bench and the number of minutes played, especially by Jazz, Alec, and Gabe.

They do not yet possess strong NBA-type bodies, and eventually they will develop nagging injuries and fatigue that can get much worse toward the end of the WCC season.  Remember, Alec missed the last four games of the 2013-14 season due to a stressed knee, and all were losses.

Minutes per game in the five D1 games:

Alec: 35/40/30/40/40
Jazz: 32/29/31/40/36
Gabe: 38/40/31/40/33

I've asked Coach Porter to comment about this on his radio show tonight....

DoubleDipper wrote:My concern is still the short bench and the number of minutes played, especially by Jazz, Alec, and Gabe.

They do not yet possess strong NBA-type bodies, and eventually they will develop nagging injuries and fatigue that can get much worse toward the end of the WCC season.  Remember, Alec missed the last four games of the 2013-14 season due to a stressed knee, and all were losses.

Minutes per game in the five D1 games:

Alec: 35/40/30/40/40
Jazz: 32/29/31/40/36
Gabe: 38/40/31/40/33

I've asked Coach Porter to comment about this on his radio show tonight....

While I agree, I think Coach Porter is going with the guys he thinks can get us wins now. Our quality of depth is just not there. There is a huge drop off when Alec isn't in the game. Also significant drop offs for Gabe and Jazz. While I certainly want to build the winning culture, I wonder whether it's smart to push these three guys so hard in the preseason. In WCC play, I don't see much choice.

Until some other players demonstrate that they can perform without hurting the team, I think this is what we're stuck with. I hope the new trainer can help the key guys avoid nagging injuries.

DoubleDipper wrote:They do not yet possess strong NBA-type bodies, and eventually they will develop nagging injuries and fatigue that can get much worse toward the end of the WCC season.  Remember, Alec missed the last four games of the 2013-14 season due to a stressed knee, and all were losses.

They might not possess NBA-type bodies, but college hoops doesn't play an NBA-type schedule...and Alec hasn't missed a game since those four, and he played even more minutes than his rookie year the next two seasons. Averaged 34.2 MPG in WCC play as a sophomore, averaged 32.6 MPG in WCC play last year...and is averaging 34.0 so far this year.

Yeah, this team is asking a ton of Wintering right now and likely will continue to do so. But as a senior and one of the top players in the conference, I think that's exactly the way it should be. Look at Brownridge...he's averaged 34/35 MPG since he stepped onto SCU's campus and he has yet to miss a game for the Broncos.

I know I may differ from the majority of posters on this one, but at this moment I don't put any more or less stock into WCC games than non-conference games. If playing these three guys 40 minutes a night is what'll give you a better chance for a W on the board, go for it! No more back-to-back games until Vegas, and even then there's a day off between the quarters and the semis (thanks BYU).

I will concede that I thought the Pilots could have found a way to get Alec a couple minutes of rest at the end of the Northridge game...but even then, it was still only a 10-point ball game with six minutes to go, and whether or not he played 37 or 40 minutes against CSUN was probably inconsequential with six full days until the Colorado game.

I asked coach Porter about whether he had a plan if Alec went down a couple weeks ago. He admitted that he didn't, but would look into whether he had any eligibility left.


Then he asked about me, and I responded I might, since the sports I played weren't NCAA sports when I played ( Lacrosse, Soccer, wrestling) .

He asked if I could shoot. I had to admit that wasn't a talent I possessed.


He walked away.

DoubleDipper wrote:My concern is still the short bench and the number of minutes played, especially by Jazz, Alec, and Gabe.
. . .
I've asked Coach Porter to comment about this on his radio show tonight....

Discussing playing time, coach said he likes a tight rotation, going no more than 8 or at most 9 players.