Dam City Classic

Pilots to play So. Dakota Coyotes on Friday at 5:30pm. I wonder if the wintry weather has affected travel plans for the Yotes?

So. Dakota is 8-4. They opened with 5 wins. Their best win is probably Kent St, KenPom #142. Their worst loss is to UMKC, KenPom #210.

They are another balanced team with four players scoring in double figures. They don't have any big men who are key players. A player to watch is 6'7" Fwd Tyler Flack. Good shooter and rebounder.

Will the Pilots come out rusty since not playing a game in 11 days, or rested and well prepared?

up7587 wrote:Will the Pilots come out rusty since not playing a game in 11 days, or rested and well prepared?

The first game after finals is always a crap-shoot because of the player's focus toward studies and a lack of practice...I know the coaches are concerned, and it's why, until the Moda Center games began last season, UP used to play the "Little Sisters of the Poor" on their first game back.

Finals are over, and the team will have a full scrimmage today with referees included.  The plan is to put Chier in various game situations to test his team oriented decisions and bring him up-to-speed.  Chier has struggled with the demands of a structured offense and is attempting to convert from a shooting machine all-star to a very good college player. As of early this morning he still hasn't heard the results from one final exam, but he seemed confident that he did well.  Seeing Jarrel hobbling around on a bad ankle would also suggest the bench will be even shorter than usual and that Chier will be needed.

Are finals for all players completed? It looks like there were finals scheduled for this morning, but the school doesn't open until noon. Hopefully there isn't any delay in making sure Chier and all other player are eligible for Friday's game.

My commute this morning was pretty easy because nobody else was on the road, but the roads were still snow covered. I don't see it melting much before Friday. Hopefully the tournament goes on as planned.

up7587 wrote:They are another balanced team with four players scoring in double figures.  They don't have any big men who are key players.  A player to watch is 6'7" Fwd Tyler Flack.  Good shooter and rebounder.

That is one of the concerns I heard from the staff, the Yotes are very well balanced, well coached, and they are excellent from the perimeter.

It seem the player they are most concerned with, especially driving the lane and picking up fouls, is their point guard, a native of Queens, NY, and a transfer from Iowa, #0 Trey Dickerson. Dickerson reportedly had 17 D1 offers coming out of junior college.

Coach Porter mentioned that these two Moda Center games are really his last chance to work various rotation combinations before deciding on a set lineup and rotation beginning with the PSU game on Tuesday.

I understand what he's saying, but good luck with that....too many things happen during the course of a season to have a "set lineup."

Greetings from the frigid Upper Plains. I don't believe our guys encountered any travel issues. They've posted some pictures to social media practicing in the Trail Blazers' facilities. You may not know that TB Assistant Nate Tibbetts is a South Dakota native and played his college ball at USD.

I'm looking forward to tonight's match up. There was a lot of uncertainty heading into this season provided the influx of JUCO/D-I transfers expected to fill starting roles. I would say the chemistry process is reasonably on schedule. Dickerson is solid if not a bit erratic at times at the point. Kind of a giveth and taketh away type. His backup Simpson, a true freshman, plays with a ton of poise and we lose very little, if anything, when he enters the game. Matt Mooney is a fearless shooter and creator. He's an Air Force transfer who as a freshman was runner-up for sixth man of the year in the Mountain West. Tyler Flack is only 6'7" but can jump through the roof. He can protect the rim and is an effective jump shooter. Unfortunately, we are thin with size after Flack. We've been fortunate to pick up a number of close wins this season. We seem to struggle putting anyone away. "Like the three, love the rim" is a mantra we occasionally get turned around.

What's the season outlook for the Pilots? Best of luck.

Saw the guys leaving campus earlier today....Chier is eligible   , but Jarrel is hurt.

DoubleDipper wrote:It seem the player they are most concerned with, especially driving the lane and picking up fouls, is their point guard, a native of Queens, NY, and a transfer from Iowa, #0 Trey Dickerson.  Dickerson reportedly had 17 D1 offers coming out of junior college.

yotes wrote:Dickerson is solid if not a bit erratic at times at the point. Kind of a giveth and taketh away type. get turned around.

Huh, I thought that name sounded familiar. He's out of Williston State of all places, the closest juco to us in Regina. We played them that year, Dickerson came off the bench and scored 17 with 8 assists in short order. Think he started racking up the D1 offers shortly thereafter. Must be some connection between Williston and Brookings as I see former Teton player Tre Burnett also went to USD.

yotes wrote:What's the season outlook for the Pilots? Best of luck.

It's kind of an exciting time to be a Pilots fan. Team performing at or above expectations under Coach Porter, and the news about UP having the 17th-ranked recruiting class in the country is a good reason for renewed optimism. Tough test tonight though.

Yotes, the Pilots are led by our undersized guards Wintering and Johnson, who both score consistently.  We have a streaky long range shooting swing man in Tyson, and one tough PF in Taylor.  Our bigs do not score well, although we played a true freshman the last game who did OK.  We have a player who is newly eligible, Maker, and none of us know how he'll fit in with the team.

Preseason projections were for a 6th place finish in the WCC.  With no bad losses (one close call) and no really good wins, we are looking at least that good.  We'll see.  Coming of a long lay-off (last week's game cancelled due to travel issues) and finals week, no sure how the team will play.  Hope they are sharp, as there are 3 games in 5 days starting tonight.

So...any guesses as to starting lineup for the Pilots tonight? Alec, Jazz, Gabe...could be any of several combinations that will make up the other two.

Philipp and D'Marques.

Big, big win for the Pilots!!!

Wintering, Johnson, and Taylor all with 20+ points... Taylor played the hero, singing a game-winning three with 2 seconds left to break an 82-82 tie. (He also had 11 rebounds to go with it.)

Maker made his first appearance... a forgettable 0-5 from the field, but he did pull down 8 boards.

Really fun to see this team win games like this!!!!!

Great win! Always happy with a W.

Anyone else worried about this short bench?

Edit: also a little fun fact, part of the recipe for success of the Big East (aside from the startup cable television network ESPN) was playing in big NBA sized arenas in their cities. Personally, I prefer Chiles and I think the vast and empty Moda Center Rose Garden proves that Chiles is the place to be. That being said, I remember the Kentucky game there and it is always interesting to have a game there each season.

It's too bad the obvious thing doesn't happen with this "tournament":

Friday: UP vs OSU, PSU vs UO
Sunday: UP vs UO, PSU vs OSU

Left at halftime of the Beaver game. Their radio guy talked about the good turnout from Beaver Nation. I wondered what crowd he was talking about. Way down from last year.

Regarding the game, wasn't everyone begging for a foul before the last shot? Up 3, 2.2 seconds to go. Their guy got a good shot to tie, but unlike Weber St last year, they didn't hit it to force OT, and the Pilots escaped a close call their second game in a row.

I thought So. Dakota played pretty well, and the Pilots were not their best, especially in the 1st half.

Marshall has a boot on his foot, apparently a practice ankle sprain. Maker will need to settle into his role in a hurry.

In the second game, Long Beach St. beat OSU 71-67. That's LB St's first road win. OSU has lost 8 of their last 9.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:I decided to stick around at the Rose Garden to see this game between OSU and Loyola Marymount.

Payne got 19 and Levin got 13.

I was watching the live streams which just had the in-house announcer feed as audio so no commentary.

Can someone explain that last inbounds play to me? It appeared that the ref gave the ball to a USD player behind the baseline, then that guy passed it to another different guy behind the baseline and the second guy inbounded. Did I see that right? If so, I had no idea that was allowed.

Yes, that is what happened. Porter inserted Philipp during the timeout to guard the inbounds pass. USD called a second timeout when they saw that. They came out with the transfer play. The original inbounder passed to a second player who had stepped out of bounds, and he made the lob pass before Philipp could get over in front of him. I think it is allowed because they were OK to move along the baseline since it followed a made basket.

Thanks UP#. I didn't even know that was a rule. Figured the guy given the ball was the guy that had to inbounds.

up7587 wrote:Regarding the game, wasn't everyone begging for a foul before the last shot?  Up 3, 2.2 seconds to go.  Their guy got a good shot to tie, but unlike Weber St last year, they didn't hit it to force OT, and the Pilots escaped a close call their second game in a row.

Marshall has a boot on his foot, apparently a practice ankle sprain.  Maker will need to settle into his role in a hurry.

Oh yea, you've got to foul in that situation, but you have to have practiced it!   Players are getting too good at just heaving it up and drawing a 3 shot foul.  With under 3 seconds to go you've got to foul on or before the catch....before a shot attempt can be made.  There's not enough time for the other team to get 2 possessions out of it, and it's too tough to intentionally miss and get a good look.  With 4-10 seconds to go it depends on your confidence in rebounding a miss or inbounding against pressure.  If there are more than 10 seconds, you really need to have worked on letting the clock run down to under 4 and then fouling. 

Initial report on Jarrel is a high ankle sprain...out 4 to 6 weeks and in a walking boot.  Talking to him, it would seem he's aiming for no more than 3 weeks so he can play against GU on January 7.

Stonehouse wrote:Maker made his first appearance... a forgettable 0-5 from the field, but he did pull down 8 boards.

Considering Chier had not played a competitive game in two years, he did well....I was proud of him.

I was, however, surprised at his difficulty controlling the ball at times.  Whether he was nervous or trying to do everything too quickly, he seemed a bit "fumbly," except on rebounds.  I expect his shooting will come around with time and game experience....and he should get plenty of the latter with Jarrel out.  Remember, his reputation is as a shooter.

Defense needs a lot of work, IMO, and not just by Chier.  Last night Chier and others were guilty of just reaching for the ball as dribblers were cutting by them to the hoop.....side step and cut them off!   

Based upon Coach Porter's assessment of "he's very, very rusty" a short time ago, I think the coaching staff is impressed with Chier's progress, and had a enough confidence in him to play him during critical situations last night.

When I spent some time with Chier a few weeks ago, I asked him what he thought of, "playing the 4 while Gabe is at the 5," and he was very enthusiastic about the possibility......I think we will continue to see that combo, but it is critical that Gabe gets rest during the game.

We were discussing last night how the Dam City Classic got it's name, and we finally figured it must be something to do with beavers, but we also figured it could have gotten its name from the many drivers who had to abandon their cars in the city last Wednesday.

The OSU Beavers are 0-8 in their last 8 D1 games, last night losing to Long Beach by 4 while Coach Monson picked up another $90,000, or so.  Coach Tinkle keeps telling us his Beavers are hurting, and no one is stepping up for the team, but I can tell you that former UP recruit, 6-10/250 Drew Eubanks, could very well dominate the Pilots inside on Sunday afternoon.  

Other teams have been able to "limit" his numbers to just over 14 points and 9 rebounds per game, but unless he gets in foul trouble, he could get twice his average points against UP.  And, if there is any foul trouble it could easily be with the Pilots three big men as they try to stop him.

On defense we can expect Tinkle to be continually changing his zone looks to keep Jazz and Alec out of the paint...the best offense UP can have, besides shooting over the top of the zone, is to dribble drive and get the hurting Beavers in foul trouble.  

Portland is favored by 3 in this contest, the same as they were favored over South Dakota, and according to my Comcast guide, the game will be telecast on the Pac-12 Network.

Great to see these two former Blazer teammates together last night.....


Once a Pilot, always a Pilot, Michael!

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Anyone else worried about this short bench?

Yes, I'm worried, because our top three guys are playing so many minutes. And because that means there is a significant drop off in talent after those three.

But I think it is the right approach, and a welcome change from Reveno's substitution philosophy. If we only have 7 or 8 guys who can actually compete at the DI level and make this team better, so be it. The coaching staff gave Barreno plenty of opportunities. Now Maker will get a chance. Maybe Ferguson will get some run in these next three games. But after everyone gets an opportunity to prove themselves, the minutes should go to those who give us the best chance to win.