Re: 2021-22 Season

by up7587 Sat Feb 26, 2022 10:23 pm

Pilots finish the regular season with a KenPom of 181. I think the majority of PN posters are happy with that. And then there is Dean.

by blacksheep Sat Feb 26, 2022 11:26 pm

I've shared Dean's meme a few times, and I'm on team Deaner! Champagne has been flowing at the blacksheep house!

See ya'all in Vegas!

by up7587 Sat Feb 26, 2022 11:56 pm

Wikipedia says we are a 6 seed, and they never have bad information. confused

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_West_Coast_Conference_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournament#:~:text=The%202022%20West%20Coast%20Conference%20Men%27s%20Basketball%20Tournament,2022%20at%20the%20Orleans%20Arena%20in%20Paradise%2C%20Nevada.

by up7587 Sun Feb 27, 2022 9:13 am

https://portlandpilots.com/news/2022/2/27/mens-basketball-portland-mens-hoops-earns-no-6-seed-for-wcc-tournament.aspx

by Sound Voltex Sun Feb 27, 2022 10:01 am

up7587 wrote:https://portlandpilots.com/news/2022/2/27/mens-basketball-portland-mens-hoops-earns-no-6-seed-for-wcc-tournament.aspx

First time not playing on the first day of the tournament since 2016.

by NoPoNeighbor Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:25 pm

Looks like the only impact of the adjusted seeding formula was to bump LMU above Pacific in the 8/9 spots. They play each other either way, but now LMU can pick it’s jersey first as the “home” team. I hope the WCC didn’t pay Pomeroy too much for this service.

Not surprising to see that the Pilots ended up with the easiest schedule in the conference. The kudos for most wins since whatever year are well-deserved, but touting our .500 winning percentage needs to be qualified with an acknowledgment that our record against a full double-round robin schedule would have likely been 7-11 or 8-10. (And yes, I realize that we were never scheduled to play Gonzaga and SMC twice.)

In any case, this season is already a tremendous success that has far exceeded my expectations. I’d love to see a win next Friday and then a chance to settle the score with Santa Clara the next night on national TV!

by NoPoNeighbor Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:45 pm

https://wccsports.com/documents/2022/2/27//2022_University_Credit_Union_West_Coast_Conference_Men_s_Basketball_Tournament_Bracket.pdf

Next week's tournament will do a lot to determine if the WCC ends up 2, 3 or 4 NCAA bids. Gonzaga and Saint Mary's are locks. The big game is that quarterfinal between and San Francisco and (presumably) BYU.

USF might get in even if it loses to BYU, but it would be dicey. If USF beats BYU, the Dons should be in.

BYU probably needs to beat both USF and Gonzaga in the semi-final, which seems very unlikely.

I'd say the best/safest outcome for the conference is if USF beats BYU and locks up a third NCAA bid for the WCC. Worst outcome is that BYU beats USF (knocking USF out) but then loses to Gonzaga, leaving both USF and BYU on the outside looking in.

by Sound Voltex Sun Feb 27, 2022 3:48 pm

WCC AWARDS TIME: The coaches will soon unveil the official All-WCC awards, but I will present my own honors here. And this is not easy. BYU’s Alex Barcello and Santa Clara’s Lindsey VanAllen could have easily earned first-team status, but I made the hard calls by choosing five-player first and second units.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Shantay Legans, Portland. Mark Few’s Gonzaga team won its 10th straight WCC regular-season title – and certainly Randy Bennett of Saint Mary’s should be in the conversation – but Legans zoomed past all expectations in his debut season with the Pilots. Picked last in the WCC, they finished sixth at 7-7. Their 17 wins matched the program’s most since 2011.

NON-FRESHMAN NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Tyler Robertson, Portland. Pretty much everyone at Portland was a newcomer this season, and Robertson — a sophomore transfer from Eastern Washington who grew up in Melbourne, Australia — leads the Pilots in scoring (15.1), rebounds (6.3) and assists (4.4). He even had a triple-double with 31 points, no less.

https://wccsports.com/news/2022/2/27/mens-basketball-stunner-in-moraga-caps-regular-season.aspx

by Sound Voltex Wed Mar 02, 2022 10:30 am

End of the year honors released.

Robertson made second team.
Wood made honorable mention.
Legans snubbed of COTY.
Nduka snubbed of freshman team.

2021-22 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Major Individual Honors
Player of the Year: Drew Timme, Gonzaga
Coach of the Year: Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s
Newcomer of the Year: Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga
Sixth Man of the Year: Tommy Kuhse, Saint Mary’s
Defensive Player of the Year: Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga

2021-22 All-WCC Men’s Basketball First Team
Name Yr. Pos. School
Alex Barcello Sr. G BYU
Jamaree Bouyea Gr. G San Francisco
Chet Holmgren Fr. F Gonzaga
Tommy Kuhse Gr. G Saint Mary’s
Yauhen Massalski Gr. F San Francisco
Andrew Nembhard Sr. G Gonzaga
Matthias Tass Sr. F/C Saint Mary’s
Drew Timme Jr. F Gonzaga
Josip Vrankic Sr. F Santa Clara
Jalen Williams Jr. G Santa Clara

2021-22 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Second Team
Name Yr. Pos. School
Alex Ducas Jr. G/F Saint Mary’s
Logan Johnson Sr. G Saint Mary’s
Keshawn Justice Sr. F Santa Clara
Tyler Robertson So. G/F Portland
Eli Scott Gr. G/F LMU
Khalil Shabazz Sr. G San Francisco

2021-22 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Freshman Team
Name Pos. School
Nolan Hickman G Gonzaga
Chet Holmgren F Gonzaga
Maxwell Lewis F Pepperdine
Houston Mallette G Pepperdine
Wayne McKinney III G San Diego
Mike Mitchell Jr. G Pepperdine
Fousseyni Traore F BYU

2021-22 WCC Men’s Basketball Honorable Mention Selections
Jeremiah Bailey, Pacific; Rasir Bolton, Gonzaga; Marcellus Earlington, San Diego; Julian Strawther, Gonzaga; Moses Wood, Portland

https://wccsports.com/news/2022/3/2/mens-basketball-timme-tabbed-wcc-player-of-the-year.aspx

by DoubleDipper Wed Mar 02, 2022 10:49 am

Bennett returned ALL of his players from last season, finished the regular season at #19 in the NET, and beat GU in Moraga.

IMO, the brash, fast-talking Coach Legans got a ton of votes from basketball fans and players, but not from the establishment...and that is just the way I like it. bounce

Looking at the Individual Honors for players and the All-WCC First Team, all the players with perhaps the exception for Williams from SCU, will be gone next season.

With success at the Mid-Major level comes expectations and "offers" from schools considered to be Majors...it will be interesting to see which players on the All-WCC Freshman Team test the waters by putting their name in the Portal.

by up7587 Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:49 am

I recognized every name on the list except one.
Compare these stat lines:
27GP 18.2Min 5.8PPG 1.6Reb 1.4Ast 0.7Stl 0.2Blk 0.8TO 45.5FG% 66.7FT% 32.9 3P%
30GP 23.9Min 7.6PPG 5.5Reb 1.3Ast 0.6Stl 0.1Blk 1.0TO 52.2FG% 72.7FT% 23.1 3P%

Which one would you pick for the all-freshman team? The first is Hickman from GU, the player I don't recognize his name. Chika is the second.

In WCC games only, Chika averages 31 Min, 9.8PPG, 53.8 FG%, 6.6 Reb.

by Dean Murdoch Wed Mar 02, 2022 12:14 pm

My take:

1) Holmgren, lock.
2) Traore, lock.
3) Mallette, lock.

4) Hickman, not a lock but he'd be on my team. Didn't put up eye-popping numbers but 18 MPG for the best team in the country should count for a ton.

5) Right here is where I'd put Chika. Played a massive role for the 6th place Pilots this year. Averaged north of 30 MPG in conference and up7587 has his full numbers up there. Excelled in a role that on most nights didn't require him to be one of the featured offensive players.

6) McKinney would go here for me. Same general boat as Chika really, a lower-usage player with starters' minutes on a mid-tier WCC team.

7) Pick one of Lewis, Mitchell, or Nick Blake from Pacific. It's probably Lewis had he not got hurt, but you could make a strong case for any of the three for this final spot.

by NoPoNeighbor Wed Mar 02, 2022 2:23 pm

Bennett over Legans for COTY is not a snub, in my opinion. I would have voted for Bennett, too. I probably would have put Legans third, behind Golden but ahead of Few and Sendek.

But Nduka being left off the Freshman Team is outrageous. Especially considering they included 7 guys. If you're not going to bump Hickman (which would be very justified based on the stats reported by up7587), just make it 8 guys and add Nduka.

by up7587 Wed Mar 02, 2022 2:39 pm

Just ask yourself: where would Gonzaga be without Hickman? And where would the Pilots be without Nduka. Sure GU wouldn't trade straight up, but GU wouldn't have missed a beat without Hickman. Not once was he the leading scorer, rebounder or assist man in a game. Nduka was the leading scorer or rebounder for the Pilots six times, all in WCC games. And often guarded some of the big men on the all-conference list.

by Sound Voltex Wed Mar 02, 2022 3:32 pm

6. PORTLAND (17-13, 7-7)
Tournament debut: Friday second round vs. TBD, 8 p.m.

The skinny: After averaging barely nine wins the previous six seasons, the Pilots have nearly doubled that in their first season under coach Shantay Legans. Portland is balanced and high-scoring and is the nation’s second-best free-throw shooting team at 80.6 percent.

Who’s hot: Sophomore guard Tyler Robertson, a transfer from Eastern Washington who collected second-team All-WCC honors, is averaging 17.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists and shooting 50 percent on threes over the past seven games, six of them victories for the Pilots.

Key stat: Robertson, Chris Austin and Moses Wood — the team’s three leading scorers – have played 693 of a possible 720 minutes in Portland’s past six WCC games, on the floor more than 96 percent of the time.

Title chances: A year after they entered the WCC Tournament on the heels of losing 12 straight games, the Pilots are on a roll right now. Still, Portland might need to be satisfied with baby steps. Maybe win a game here for the first time since 2017.

https://express.adobe.com/page/ROXKA8B38un7L/#6-portland-17-13-7-7

by up7587 Thu Mar 03, 2022 7:07 pm

LMU's Joe Quintana asking why he got zero recognition. First half 5 of 5 from 3P, 7 of 8 overall and 22 points.

by up7587 Thu Mar 03, 2022 8:30 pm

USD had about 30 cheer/dance team members here, and maybe 6 fans.