2017-18 Pre-Season Discussion

Stonehouse wrote:Pre-season poll is out. Pilots clock in at 9th, about where I think we all expected.

http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/10/18/wcc-mens-basketball-preseason-poll-released.aspx

2017-18 WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll
Team (First Place Vote) Pts.
1. Saint Mary's (9) 81
2. Gonzaga (1) 73
3. BYU 62
4. San Francisco 59
5. Santa Clara 44
6. San Diego 37
7. Pepperdine 30
8. Pacific 24
9. Portland 21
10. Loyola Marymount 19  

2017-18 All-WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Team
Name Year Pos. Institution
Olin Carter III Jr. G San Diego
Yoeli Childs So. F BYU
KJ Feagin Jr. G Santa Clara
TJ Haws So. G BYU
Calvin Hermanson Sr. F Saint Mary's
Jock Landale Sr. C Saint Mary's
Charles Minland So. F San Francisco
Emmett Naar Sr. G Saint Mary's
Josh Perkins Jr. G Gonzaga
Johnathan Williams Sr. F Gonzaga

Here is Mid-Major Madness' commentary on the polls: https://www.midmajormadness.com/west-coast-conference-wcc-media-day

Here's the USA Today Coaches Poll

You'll note the only mid-majors listed in the Top-25 are GU (19) and SMU (22).

North Carolina, UP's first opponent during PK-80 is ranked 9th, and UP's second foe during PK-80, Oklahoma (31) or Arkansas (53) both received at least some votes.

Portland State's opening opponent, Duke, is rated #1.

Can someone enlighten me into the NCAA/WCC beer rules? I know that on campus football stadiums are not allowed to sell alcohol, but why are we able to in Chiles and at Merlo?

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Can someone enlighten me into the NCAA/WCC beer rules? I know that on campus football stadiums are not allowed to sell alcohol, but why are we able to in Chiles and at Merlo?

Hmm, I know that they sell beer at the Gophers football games at TCF Bank and that stadium is on the University of Minnesota campus.

I always thought it was up to the individual institution whether or not to sell beer at games. Didn't think there was an NCAA rule about it.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Can someone enlighten me into the NCAA/WCC beer rules? I know that on campus football stadiums are not allowed to sell alcohol, but why are we able to in Chiles and at Merlo?

Your Gamecocks are not allowed to sell beer because of SEC rules, not the NCAA.  I'm certainly not the rules expert, but the only NCAA prohibition of alcohol to the general public I know of is at its championship events...."private party" alcohol at these events is not prohibited.

A number of schools count on their alcohol sales revenue to boost their athletic department budget....I've heard numbers as high as $500K at some schools.

Having lived in South Carolina for four years in the 80's I recall going to a number of USC and Clemson games....no beer sold there, but when living in Texas we always drank beer at Texas and Houston games.  As Dean Murdoch mentioned, sales of alcohol is up to the individual institution, if it's allowed by their conference.

The many Notre Dame games I've attended over the years have been "dry"...no alcohol allowed under penalty of expulsion. But that is not true of the hundreds of tailgate parties that go on.  Some have suggested the reason Notre Dame does not play night games in South Bend is because everyone would be so lubricated from 12 hours of tailgating there'd be carnage on the roads after the game.

DoubleDipper wrote:Here's the USA Today Coaches Poll

You'll note the only mid-majors listed in the Top-25 are GU (19) and SMU (22).

North Carolina, UP's first opponent during PK-80 is ranked 9th, and UP's second foe during PK-80, Oklahoma (31) or Arkansas (53) both received at least some votes.

Portland State's opening opponent, Duke, is rated #1.

I think the poll has been updated since you posted this... it now has GU at 13 and SMC at 19. Rhode Island is the only other mid-major, checking in at 24. (Assuming that we now count Xavier and Creighton as majors, which I do since they are now in the Big East.)

UNC is 6. Duke is still 1.

Thanks! I am now looking forward to my annual once a season Pilot game I am going to be able to attend.

I would like to see the Pilots start out the season 3-0 before going into the North Carolina buzzsaw. If we can at least play a competitive first half, I would consider that to be a huge success. Actually starting out the game better than we did against Kentucky in the Rose Garden would be nice too. That start still haunts me. I still feel somewhat let down by the Michigan State game from a few years ago. We played so well for 30 of 40 minutes in East Lansing.

Anyway, I digress. Depending on how this team looks, it would not be out of the question to play a competitive game against Oklahoma or Arkansas. Our last game, assuming we lose the 2nd one, should be in the realm of winnable. 3-3 is about what I expect. 4-2 and I would be celebrating. Anything above that and I will fly out to Portland and go to the next Mass on campus.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Depending on how this team looks, it would not be out of the question to play a competitive game against Oklahoma or Arkansas. Our last game, assuming we lose the 2nd one, should be in the realm of winnable. 3-3  is about what I expect. 4-2 and I would be celebrating. Anything above that and I will fly out to Portland and go to the next Mass on campus.

Last I spoke to the staff about PK80 they were hoping to get a win over Georgetown to make a bit of a national splash, but after the Hoyas dropped out, it is now likely to be DePaul in Memorial Coliseum on Sunday at 4.

Depending upon how the young Pilots come together, that game is winnable (the first time ever over DePaul), but IMO it's going to be important to bring a lot of players off the bench in the first two games so the guys have their legs at the end of the tournament.  Give everyone some/the experience then play the starters as much as needed in the final game knowing they've got 4 days before playing Multnomah.....

Anyone see the scrimmage and want to share thoughts?

DoubleDipper wrote:Your Gamecocks are not allowed to sell beer because of SEC rules, not the NCAA.  

Before we went  to the Men's Soccer game yesterday, a bunch of us sat in the UCLA student section for the Bruins game against the Ducks....great fun and at 80 degrees plus, it would have been a great venue for a beer....

But, as we found out from a number of disgruntled UCLA fans, no alcohol is sold or allowed to be consumed at UCLA basketball and football games.  When we told them beer, wine and hard cider is sold at UP basketball and football games they couldn't believe it....but when we explained that UP is a Catholic school they seemed to understand.

Until I read this thread, I did not know Notre Dame doesn't allow alcohol either....

Observations from the scrimmage:

• Best players are (still) Franklin Porter and McSwiggan. In addition, these two look like they really enjoy playing together and have good chemistry on the court.

• Diabate was noticeably less wild, and more in control, than when we last saw him over the summer. I'm far from convinced by the hype that others have bandied about (e.g. he will leave school early to turn pro; he will be WCC newcomer of the year; etc), but he does appear to be settling in a bit. His shooting touch from mid-range was mediocre, but he ran the floor well and got a ton of rebounds.

• Rashad Jackson is a dangerous player, in a bad way. He tries to go solo way too much, especially on the fast break, and is pretty bad at finishing close to the basket. A lot of wasted possessions when he takes it upon himself to be the playmaker.

• Fahrensohn was not dressed, giving further evidence that he will redshirt.

• None of the front court guys did anything on offense to inspire much confidence. There was far less pick-and-roll than we saw during the summer action, and far fewer offensive touches for the big guys down low. Stone and Hogland played relatively few minutes.

• Shaver and Walker were impressive. Both made good passes (Walker had a highlight-worthy alley-oop pass to Hartwich from a halfcourt set). Both were effective in driving the lane, getting to the rim, and kicking passes out to the perimeter. I'd give the nod to Shaver because he has a better outside shooting game.

This would be my line-up at this point...

Starters
5  Hartwich
4  Diabate
3  McSwiggan
2  F. Porter
1  M. Porter

Second line
5  Smoyer
4  Stone
3  Jackson
2  Tyson
1  Shaver

Red-shirts
Fahrensohn
Hogland
Walker
Clark (mandatory)

Joe Lunardi at ESPN published a WCC preview today. He writes that Terry Porter has the WCC's toughest job, and includes an ugly statistic:

"Since the conference expanded prior to the 2011-12 season, the University of Portland has won a WCC-worst 29 league games (.279 winning percentage)."

Full article here: http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/21083456/west-coast-conference-preview-gonzaga-bulldogs-saint-mary-gaels

I appreciated Lunardi's point about Gonzaga clogging the path at the top for everyone else. Until someone can unseat the giants, it will remain that way.

This season might be another tough one. I will admit that. But, we shouldn't finish last in conference. Even with that atrocious conference losing streak Porter finished at 11-22. That's better than Reveno (9-23), Holton (6-24), Steele (6-22), and Avina (5-21) did in their first seasons. Porter hit the reset button and I am wearing my purple-tinted glasses.




























Where do I get to complain that Gonzaga's membership in the conference hurts our soccer and cross country programs' success?

I haven't heard any rumors that UP will add another exhibition game (they called their scrimmage an exhibition   ), but the NCAA has made a provision for schools to add an additional exhibition game this season to raise money for the various charities helping with major disaster relief efforts taking place across the country from flooding, hurricanes and wildfires.  

Sure would be nice to get an actual game!

NoPoNeighbor wrote:
• Diabate was noticeably less wild, and more in control, than when we last saw him over the summer. I'm far from convinced by the hype that others have bandied about (e.g. he will leave school early to turn pro; he will be WCC newcomer of the year; etc), but he does appear to be settling in a bit. His shooting touch from mid-range was mediocre, but he ran the floor well and got a ton of rebounds.

Thanks for the observations from the scrimmage....obviously there were very few PilotNation contributors there to observe.

I was one of those "over my skies" in my prediction of Diabate's future as a basketball player....some of that was obviously just my hyping of the recruits, but I also believe that with the proper coaching D has the most upside on the team regarding his future in basketball at any level.

He appears to have physical skills greater than any other Pilot, he can run the court and grab rebounds and loose balls better than most, and he understands the offensive and defensive schemes and plays his role in each....it would seem the missing piece right now is putting the ball in the hoop from mid-range.  I have only seen D in practice, never in a game except on tape, so I'm looking forward to seeing how he stacks up against others when UP plays a D1 team, either in an exhibition or against PSU on Veterans Day.

DoubleDipper wrote:I haven't heard any rumors that UP will add another exhibition game.....Sure would be nice to get an actual game!

Okay, that was quick, there's a rumor of a D1 game in the Chile's Center this coming Sunday,  10/29.

DoubleDipper wrote:I was one of those "over my skies" in my prediction of Diabate's future as a basketball player....

Were you flashing back to your AF pilot days to be "over your skies"?  Or were you just over your skis, like this jumper?  

DoubleDipper wrote:I also believe that with the proper coaching D has the most upside on the team regarding his future in basketball at any level.

He appears to have physical skills greater than any other Pilot, he can run the court and grab rebounds and loose balls better than most, and he understands the offensive and defensive schemes and plays his role in each....it would seem the missing piece right now is putting the ball in the hoop from mid-range.

From the little I have seen of him so far, I 100% agree. He's got the body and the instincts... just needs to learn the game more. I'm excited to watch him develop.

I couldn't make it to the scrimmage last weekend... very grateful for the report, NoPo Neighbor!

DoubleDipper wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:I haven't heard any rumors that UP will add another exhibition game.....Sure would be nice to get an actual game!

Okay, that was quick, there's a rumor of a D1 game in the Chile's Center this coming Sunday,  10/29.

Could we move that DI game into the regular season, in place of one of the THREE non-DI games?

Not only are these three opponents non-DI teams, they are all non-NCAA teams. And not only are they NAIA teams, they are all NAIA DIVISION II. Give me a break. (Still waiting for my season ticket partial refund, after paying full price for these three games, like a chump...)

KenPom's preseason rankings came out (kenpom.com), and UP is last in the WCC at #305. Yikes.

Our non-conference foes
PSU: 246
Walla Walla: 5,012
Oregon Tech: 5,013
North Carolina: 13
Oklahoma: 21
Arkansas: 56
Multnomah: 5,014
Boise: 85
Fullerton: 270
San José: 272
Seattle: 278
Hartford: 314
Sacramento: 301

Interesting that we don't play anyone in the non-conference ranked between 85 and 246. With homecourt advantage we might be even or favored against Fullerton, San José and Hartford. Underdogs for the other games. The NAIA Division II "games" don't count as games.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:KenPom's preseason rankings came out (kenpom.com), and UP is last in the WCC at #305. Yikes.

From the reddits:

How does he even project these before the games begin?

I believe he's explained it in his blog before, but he takes last seasons data and adjusts for returning players and transfers with D1 experience. Then he makes adjustments for Freshman in the top tier of recruits, but otherwise freshman are left out.

It's crude, and he admits as such, but it at least allows him to benchmark teams based on their expected roster.

Our 2017 season-end ranking was #280 so it doesn't come as a huge surprise to me.

DoubleDipper wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:I haven't heard any rumors that UP will add another exhibition game.....Sure would be nice to get an actual game!

Okay, that was quick, there's a rumor of a D1 game in the Chile's Center this coming Sunday,  10/29.

Was browsing the tickets website looking for ones for the Hartford game (my first Pilot game in TWO YEARS but can't find the link) and found out the D1 game DD mentioned will be against Eastern Washington. Proceeds going to the American Red Cross. I think they meant to say that Jojo Walker is from Carolina, Puerto Rico.

https://ev3.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3AUP%3AMBX1718%3AMBX1029%3A&linkID=twup&shopperContext=&pc=&caller=&appCode=&groupCode=MBX&cgc=

Yeah, they changed that, it now reads correctly, Carolina, Puerto Rico.

Game time against Eastern Washington is 5....kind of a sprint from the 3 o'clock men's soccer game.  Hopefully they'll wait for the opening tip until we arrive.

I'm a little surprised that adults are $10 and juniors $5....I would have thought they would have just asked for a "donation." I think most would give more by doing it that way.

BTW, the regular Pilot Club meal will be served at the Men's Soccer game starting at 2, and light snacks and beverages will be served in the HOF Room starting at 4.

For those of you who dont know, Ryan has "retired" from playing overseas and has settled down in Portland. He is already doing great things in his new career which we all knew he would.

The good news is I will be able to catch some games when visiting the big fella. I cant wait to get back in the Chiles Center, so many good memories and good people to see again.

pilotdad1 wrote:For those of you who dont know, Ryan has "retired" from playing overseas and has settled down in Portland. He is already doing great things in his new career which we all knew he would.

Retired!?

As I recall, he's had stops in Lithuania, Germany and Spain, and I'd heard he was headed to Luxemburg.....

Interesting how many UP grads that leave the Portland area after graduation eventually come back to Portland.  

Looking forward to seeing you both at games this season.  Heck, you should come to the Eastern Washington game on Sunday.  The school and their long-time assistant, now head coach Shantay Legans, are almost neighbors of yours.