The NEW Team for 2021-22

Thanks for that ray of sunshine this morning, DD!

Dean Murdoch wrote:Thanks for that ray of sunshine this morning, DD!

Yeah, sorry about that...I will post something a little more positive about Robin in a few days...

But in addition to the recollection of the losses to PSU and Idaho, which none of us who were there will ever forget, I was also alluding to how good those early Reveno teams were...#79 from KenPom!!

This past season the Pilots were #321, and half of the team's 6 wins were against non-D1 teams.

StudentPilot wrote:It turns out that after reading a few comments in the twittershpere (it is Saturday and too early in the day for a lot of comments), "Portland stole Vucinic from some much larger and more successful programs."

As I have written before, it is difficult to determine what schools might have recruited Vucinic as there is so little social media recruiting chatter regarding international players, but it appears St. Mary’s, New Mexico, Weber St., UTEP, Butler and four or five East Coast schools were after him. I heard Stanford had interest him too but do not think they offered him a scholarship.

bdaddy wrote:  I wanted to give a shout-out to one of my favorite players from the Rev era. Robin Smeulders was probably the best pure post player I’ve personally watched play at UP. I believe he was listed at 6-9 while on the bluff. I wouldn’t describe Robin as agile or mobile, but he was super skilled. In only 3 years on the bluff, he accumulated 1000 points in his career.

Robin was a wonderful player while at UP, and although he did score 1,036 pts, averaged over 6 rebounds per game, and shot close to 75% from the line, perhaps his biggest contribution to college basketball was a rule change that allows student-athletes four years of eligibility to play college ball after they’ve played for professional basketball teams and maintained their amateur status.

Robin played three seasons at UP, 2007-2010, but was denied a fourth season (he sat his freshman year) by the NCAA because although he maintained his amateur status, he played for a German professional team before coming to The Bluff. (While at UP, Robin was an All WCC First-Team selection his senior year and was on the WCC All-Academic Team three years in a row).

UP fought to get Robin his fourth year and lost, but as I result of that fight future players such as current UP players Vasilije Vucinic, Matheus Silveira, Matija Svetozarevic, and Nikola Milosevic will have four years of eligibility.  Some still call the rule the “Robin Smeulders Rule.”

Due to a bad back, Robin retired from professional basketball in 2016 after playing six years for EWE Baskets Oldenburg in the Bundesliga and playing for five years on the Dutch National team.

With players like Luke, Nem, Taishi, Ethan, Nik, Jared, Kramer, Jasonn, T.J. and Robin, the 2009-10 Pilots are probably still remembered by many as the most fun and talented team this century.  Heck, even the cheer girls were wonderful that year!  

In this video, the Pilots defeated USD 70-56.  #44 (he always considered himself a running back) T.J. scored a game-high 18 points and #12 Robin added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The 2021-22 18-man roster, including pictures, has been posted:

https://portlandpilots.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

Of the three returning players from last season (all walk-ons), Griffith and Turner have different jersey numbers and Watson has put on 15 pounds of muscle!

First thing that jumps out at me is Svetozarevic listed at 6-8, 215.

That's 35 pounds more than he was billed at earlier in this thread

Dean Murdoch wrote:First thing that jumps out at me is Svetozarevic listed at 6-8, 215.

That's 35 pounds more than he was billed at earlier in this thread

Lots of players have growth spurts.

There was Coky Rochin, for instance.

Assuming its a good 35 that's big news! Lord knows we have had some players in the past who would've killed to be able to do that

In addition to a student-athlete's academic year, I think fans want to know a player's remaining eligibility too. Here is a rundown of the current roster with eligibility remaining:

Player/Academic Year/Remaining Eligibility/Previous School(s)
1. #0 Yaru Harvey 6-3 PG Sacramento, CA (Freshman/4 years)
2. #1 Moses Wood 6-8 PF Reno, NV (Grad Student/3 years) Tulane/UNLV
3. #2 Tyler Robertson 6-6 SF Australia (Junior/3 Years) Eastern Washington
4. #3 Skylar Wilson 6-7 SF Aurora, CO (Freshman/4 years)
5. #4 Nikola Milošević 6-5 SG Montenegro (Freshman/4 years)
6. #5 Chris Austin 6-4 SG Pasadena, CA (RS Junior/3 years) Fordham
7. #11 Jack Perry 6-3 PG Australia (Grad Student/1 year) Eastern Washington
8. #12 Kristian Sjølund 6-9 SF Norway (Junior/3 years) Georgia Tech/UTEP
9. #13 Matija Svetozarević 6-8 SF Serbia (Freshman/4 years)
10. #23 Vasilije Vučinić 6-10 C Montenegro (Freshman/4 years)
11. #24 Matheus Silveira 7-0 C Brazil (RS Junior/3 years) Austin Peay/Pensacola St.
12. #25 Mike Meadows 6-2 PG Hollywood, CA (Junior/3 years) Eastern Washington
13.

Non-scholarship walk-ons:
14. #10 Coleman Lemke 6-8 SF Las Vegas, NV (Freshman/4 years)
15. #15 Chika Nduka 6-5 SF Seattle, WA (Freshman/4 years)
16. #21 Miles Turner 6-3 SG Tracy, CA (RS Junior/3 years) UP
17. #22 Liam Faler 5-10 PG Santa Monica, CA (Freshman/4 years)
18. #31 Cly Griffith, Jr. 6-2 G Canada (Senior/2 years) Monroe CC, NY/SW Tennessee CC/UP
19. #34 Wyatt Watson 6-9 PF Bellingham, WA (RS Junior/3 years) UP

Wow, if everyone sticks around until the end of their eligibility quite a team could develop, but the recruiting class of 2024 will be very important.

I haven't looked at the rosters of the other WCC teams, but with the only 3 returners being walk-ons, and having 5 freshmen and 7 new transfers as the only scholarship players has got to be different, eh?

StudentPilot wrote:I haven't looked at the rosters of the other WCC teams, but with the only 3 returners being walk-ons, and having 5 freshmen and 7 new transfers as the only scholarship players has got to be different, eh?

Yes, it is different, eh, but UP’s loss of 12 players from last year’s roster is almost matched by SCU with 11, USD and UOP each lost 9, and BYU lost 8 players…so there are quite a few new players in the WCC this coming season.  

Of the 152 players on this year’s WCC rosters, only 76 were on the team’s roster last season, and by my unofficial count, there are 40 new freshmen and 33 new transfers…plus 3 transfers that stayed in the WCC, now that it is “legal” to do so.  

The most stable team is certainly SMC with zero players leaving the team after last season, and GU just reloaded after losing Corey Kispert, Jalen Suggs, and Joel Ayayl to the pros, and losing three very good players, who would likely have been starters at UP, to the transfer portal.

Feels like that amount of turnover around the league levels things a bit for the Pilots! Can't help but feel like there's an opportunity to rise faster than we expect them to.

With that kind of player turnover now becoming common across the land, it is hard to say we are rooting for the men, we're just rooting for the jerseys. We hardly learn the names before they enter the portal and move on.

up7587 wrote:With that kind of player turnover now becoming common across the land, it is hard to say we are rooting for the men, we're just rooting for the jerseys.  We hardly learn the names before they enter the portal and move on.  

Or, hear me out, Coach Legans rebuilds a culture strong enough to keep at least a core of players together and that changes, at least to the point where 70% of the roster sticks!

GoPilots19 wrote:Feels like that amount of turnover around the league levels things a bit for the Pilots! Can't help but feel like there's an opportunity to rise faster than we expect them to.

While I think you are correct, the numbers I gave earlier are raw numbers and may not tell the entire story as many of those who disappeared from their teams may have been walk-ons or players who saw very little action.

Whereas the only scholarship player UP brings back is Griffith (he’s now a walk-on), SCU loses 11 total players but brings back 6 scholarship players.  BYU, LMU, USF, and GU all bring back 7 scholarship players.

Besides UP, probably the hardest hit are UOP and USD, both teams losing 9 and bringing back 4. PU brings back 6 and SMC, the team that lost no one, brings back everyone and adds 2 freshmen.

GoPilots19 wrote:Or, hear me out, Coach Legans rebuilds a culture strong enough to keep at least a core of players together and that changes, at least to the point where 70% of the roster sticks!

UP was picked to come in last in the WCC in the spring, and they will be picked to come in last next month, but you are correct, the culture will be much stronger under Legans.

GoPilots19 wrote:Or, hear me out, Coach Legans rebuilds a culture strong enough to keep at least a core of players together and that changes, at least to the point where 70% of the roster sticks!

Coach Legans had a history of keeping his teams together at EWU, and I am told that Coach Reveno, in contrast to Coach Porter, also did a very good job at keeping his players until graduation.  

I think you are right, the culture disappeared under Porter, and now it is up to Coach Legans and his staff to make UP a destination for players and fans alike.

StudentPilot wrote:Coach Legans had a history of keeping his teams together at EWU, and I am told that Coach Reveno, in contrast to Coach Porter, also did a very good job at keeping his players until graduation.  

Rev made a commitment to the players and their parents that everyone on the team would get their UP degree. Education and commitment from the coach outweighed attempts to make up for poor recruiting, but you are correct, Porter had very few players finish out their eligibility when he was coach.

In no particular order:

Theo Akwuba … sat 1 year, played half a year after missing half of season due to academics.  Now at Louisiana.
Taki Fahrensohn … sat 1 year and played 3, and graduated with one year of eligibility remaining. Now playing professionally in New Zealand.
Alec Monson … recruited by Reveno and returned from his LDS mission to play 1 year for Porter, and then transferred to a JUCO before transferring to D2 Westminster College in Salt Lake City.
Hugh Hogland … sat 1 year, played 2.  Grad-transferred to UC Davis but was injured for all but two games this past season.  Has signed to play professionally in Japan.
Josh Phillips … played 1 year and sat 1 year at his insistence, then transferred to a JUCO in LA.
Tahirou Diabate … played 3 years and sat out his senior year before graduating. Now at San Diego St.
Malcolm Porter … sat 1 year and played 3 before transferring to Northern Arizona but was deemed not a “good fit” by the coach there and left the team.
Marcus Shaver … played 2 years, transferred to Boise St. where he sat a year and is now a senior.
Jacob Tryon … played 2 years, transferred to New Mexico St. but was denied a waiver.  Playing at Stamford.
JoJo Walker … played 3 years, dismissed from school, now playing professionally in Northern Macedonia.
Crisshawn Clark … sat a season and a half due to redshirt and injury, played half a season, and then left the team.
Ty Glover … signed with Porter, but instead played at D2 Alaska-Fairbanks, then transferred to UT-Tyler. Last I heard he was playing professionally in The Basketball League (TBL)…an American professional league made up of something like 20 teams across the country.  
Josh McSwiggan … played 1 season at a JUCO and 2 years at UP but was denied a 3rd by the NCAA.  Playing professionally in France.
Franklin Porter …  transferred from SMC after 1 year.  Sat a year, played 2 and left team after graduation with 1 year of eligibility remaining.
Brian Smith … walked-on for a year, got a partial scholarship next year, then transferred to Lewis & Clark.
Austin Stone … played 1 year and was dismissed from team.
Cody Collinsworth … played 1 year and half of another before transferring to a JUCO.
Andre Ferguson … played 1 year before transferring to a JUCO.
Lavar Harewood … played 1 season as a grad-transfer and earned his MBA.
Isaiah White … played 1 season as a grad-transfer and earned his MBA before signing to play professionally in Slovenia.

The following played for Reveno and were on the roster when Porter took over:

Jazz Johnson … played 1 season for Porter and transferred to Nevada.  Last season played professionally in Italy.
Jason Todd … after 2 years playing for Reveno, transferred to Cal Baptist when Porter took over.  Last I heard, he was the Assistant Director of Development for Athletics at CBU after graduating there.  
Rashad Jackson … played 1 season for Porter and the left team before his senior year but graduated.
Joseph Smoyer … played 1 year for Porter and transferred to Columbia and then grad transferred to Chaminade.
Chier Maker … played part of 1 season for Porter before transferring to a JUCO and then to Idaho St and is now playing professionally in Australia.  
Gabe Taylor … played 1 season for Porter, starting every game, before transferring to Cal Baptist as a senior.
Ray Barreno … played 1 year for Porter and graduated and is playing professionally in Mexico.
Phil Hartwich … played 2 years for Porter and graduated and is playing professionally in Germany.
Jarrel Marshall … played 1 year for Porter and graduated.
D’Marques Tyson … played 2 years for Porter and graduated before playing one year in Portugal.  He is now an assistant coach at Seattle U. where he will coach his brother, Cameron.

Holy crap, that is an embarrassingly terrible record of continuity and shows a complete dismantling of the program.

There is no doubt in my mind that Porter and UP owe many of these young men an apology for their treatment, and Porter owes UP a total and complete refund of the salary he was paid.  

We all knew his won/loss record was terrible but seeing in writing how many players left the team early while Porter was “coach” is not only disheartening, it is disgusting!

Who owes the apology for hiring Porter?

GoPilots19 wrote:Or, hear me out, Coach Legans rebuilds a culture strong enough to keep at least a core of players together and that changes, at least to the point where 70% of the roster sticks!

"16 coaches on the rise entering the 21-22 season"

College Hoops Today wrote:Shantay Legans, Portland: Eastern Washington battled Kansas for 40 minutes last March in the NCAA Tournament and that’s a credit to Legans. The boisterous head coach was a combined 75-49 in four years with the Eagles, which was highlighted by an impressive 53-20 mark in conference play. He’s got his work cut out moving forward at Portland, but this guy showed last March that he isn’t afraid to trade jabs with the big boys.

Also included are Mark Pope (BYU) and Stan Johnson (LMU).

https://collegehoopstoday.com/index.php/rothstein-files/16-coaches-on-the-rise-entering-the-21-22-season/

Here's your official team photo...



1. #0 Yaru Harvey 6-3 PG Sacramento, CA (Freshman/4 years)
2. #1 Moses Wood 6-8 PF Reno, NV (Grad Student/3 years) Tulane/UNLV
3. #2 Tyler Robertson 6-6 SF Australia (Junior/3 Years) Eastern Washington
4. #3 Skylar Wilson 6-7 SF Aurora, CO (Freshman/4 years)
5. #4 Nikola Milošević 6-5 SG Montenegro (Freshman/4 years)
6. #5 Chris Austin 6-4 SG Pasadena, CA (RS Junior/3 years) Fordham
7. #11 Jack Perry 6-3 PG Australia (Grad Student/1 year) Eastern Washington
8. #12 Kristian Sjølund 6-9 SF Norway (Junior/3 years) Georgia Tech/UTEP
9. #13 Matija Svetozarević 6-8 SF Serbia (Freshman/4 years)
10. #23 Vasilije Vučinić 6-10 C Montenegro (Freshman/4 years)
11. #24 Matheus Silveira 7-0 C Brazil (RS Junior/3 years) Austin Peay/Pensacola JUCO
12. #25 Mike Meadows 6-2 PG Hollywood, CA (Junior/3 years) Eastern Washington
13.
14. #10 Coleman Lemke 6-8 SF Las Vegas, NV (Freshman/4 years)
15. #15 Chika Nduka 6-5 SF Seattle, WA (Freshman/4 years)
16. #21 Miles Turner 6-3 SG Tracy, CA (RS Junior/3 years) UP
17. #22 Clythus Griffith, Jr. 6-2 G Canada (Senior/2 years) JUCO/UP
18. #34 Wyatt Watson 6-9 PF Bellingham, WA (RS Junior/3 years) UP

Cly Griffith has transferred to NAIA Westmont in Santa Barbara.

A walk-on this year after playing the role of "6th man" last season as a scholarship player, Cly redshirted this season to maintain his eligibility status and help the Pilots as a practice player.

Cly's personality and VERY hard work will be missed, but the UP-coaching staff helped him become a scholarship player at Westmont which will allow him to pursue his basketball dreams while getting a good education.