Santa Clara

WCC Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:31:23 -0500

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Conference Rank: 10th

All-WCC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Jeremy Pargo	Gonzaga	Sr
G	Patrick Mills	St. Mary's	So
G	Brandon Johnson	San Diego	Sr
F	Diamon Simpson	St. Mary's	Sr
C	John Bryant	Santa Clara	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
High-Major All-Americans Austin Daye Matt Bouldin Josh Hetyvelt Jeremy Pargo Mid-Major All-Americans John Bryant Brandon Johnson Dior Lowhorn Patrick Mills Gyno Pomare Diamon Simpson		Points: Dior Lowhorn 20.5 Rebounds: John Bryant 9.6 Assists: Jeremy Pargo 6.0

WCC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

13	Gonzaga	WCC	1	NCAA
35	St. Mary's	WCC	2	NCAA
61	San Diego	WCC	3	NIT
151	Santa Clara	WCC	4
179	San Francisco	WCC	5
222	Portland	WCC	6
251	Pepperdine	WCC	7
274	Loy Marymount	WCC	8

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the WCC?

Other WCC Content

Conference Media Poll

WCC Poll & All-Conference Team

Other

Rise & Fall: The WCC

WCC Media Poll & All-Conference Team

Press Release — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:25:11 -0400

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - If you remember how the top three finished in the West Coast Conference men's basketball regular-season chase a year ago then you won't see anything out of the ordinary to start the 2008-09 campaign.

Gonzaga University edged Saint Mary's College and the University of San Diego in the 2008-09 WCC men's basketball pre-season poll as selected by the league coaches. The announcement was made at the 2008 WCC Basketball Media Day at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, site of the 2009 WCC Basketball Tournament.

The Bulldogs received five of the eight first-place votes - coaches couldn't vote for their teams - and garnered 46 points. The Gaels had a pair of first-place votes and 44 points and USD received the other first-place nod and 39 points.

Gonzaga, SMC and USD all advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

Rounding out this year's poll is Santa Clara University (30) in fourth, the University of San Francisco (23) picked fifth, followed by the University of Portland (22) in sixth, Loyola Marymount University (12) in seventh and Pepperdine University (11) in eighth.

The WCC Pre-season All-Conference team was also unveiled at the media day, highlighted by eight returning 2008 All-WCC first team members, the most returning all league players in conference history. Headlining the preseason all-conference list was Gonzaga's Jeremy Pargo, the reigning WCC Player of the Year, as well as Saint Mary's Patrick Mills and Diamon Simpson, last season's WCC Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

The Zags return 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from last season's squad that posted a 25-8 overall record, captured its eighth consecutive WCC regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive season. Headlining the list of returners for the Bulldogs is Pargo, the 2008 WCC Player of the Year. Pargo leads a talented backcourt that includes junior guard Matt Bouldin, a 2008 All-WCC first team member, and sophomore Steven Gray, a 2008 All-WCC freshman team selection. Austin Daye, another WCC All-Freshman selection and a WCC honorable mention pick a year ago, also returns to bolster the Gonzaga attack.

Saint Mary's, looking for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, returns four starters and eight letterwinners overall from last season's squad that tied the school record for most wins in a season with a 25-7 overall mark. Mills, a sophomore guard, returns to the Gaels after starring for the Australian National Team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Mills will team with Simpson, a senior forward, to give the Gaels one of the top inside-outside tandems in the league.

Head coach Bill Grier had a successful debut season at San Diego, leading the Toreros to the 2008 WCC Tournament title and their fourth NCAA Tournament bid in program history. Once there, the Toreros pulled off one of the most memorable upsets of the tournament, knocking off No. 4 seeded University of Connecticut 70-69 in overtime in the first round. The Toreros return all five starters and 10 letterwinners overall from last season's squad. Leading the way for the Toreros is the senior duo of guard Brandon Johnson and forward Gyno Pomare, both of whom earned 2008 All-WCC first team honors.

This season, the WCC welcomes three new head coaches to the fold. Bill Bayno takes over at Loyola Marymount, while Pepperdine welcomes back Tom Asbury, who guided the Waves for six successful seasons (1988-94). Rounding out the list of new head coaches is Rex Walters, who is guiding USF.

2008-09 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
(First-Place Votes In Parentheses)

1. Gonzaga (5) 46
2. Saint Mary's (2) 44
3. San Diego (1) 39
4. Santa Clara 30
5. San Francisco 23
6. Portland 19
7. Loyola Marymount 12
8. Pepperdine 11

2008-09 WCC Men's Pre-season All-Conference Team

Matt Bouldin, GON
John Bryant, SCU
Austin Daye, GON
Brandon Johnson, USD
Dior Lowhorn, USF
Patrick Mills, SMC
Jeremy Pargo, GON
Gyno Pomare, USD
Omar Samhan, SMC
Diamon Simpson, SMC

Santa Clara Basketball Schedule: 08-09

Press Release — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:01:39 -0400

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Santa Clara, Calif. – Playing as many as 11 games vs. 2008 post-season tournament teams, including 10 vs. NCAA Tournament teams, Santa Clara University announced its 2008-09 men’s basketball schedule today. The schedule includes the 42nd annual Cable Car Classic – the longest running annual university tournament in the country and at least three appearances on the ESPN network. The Cable Car Classic, Mon, Dec. 28 and Tues., Dec. 29, will include James Madison, Belmont and xx.

“The schedule is a continual effort to achieve balance and competition for our team. That effort has begun with better competition from start to finish as evidenced by a number of games against teams that had successful seasons last year and are expected to have a successful campaign again this year,” said second year head coach Kerry Keating. “Our goal is to annually challenge for a WCC title. The conference will be formidable enough and it’s important that we prepare for that by playing quality pre-conference opponents that will be benefit us in the long run. This schedule is also a step closer towards achieving an exciting home slate for fans.”

2008-09 Santa Clara Men’s Basketball Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time

Fri., Nov. 7 CSU Monterey Bay@ Santa Clara, Calif. 7 p.m.

Fri., Nov. 14 CSU East Bay Santa Clara, Calif. 7 p.m.

Mon., Nov. 17 vs. UAB^ Tucson, Ariz. 5 p.m.

Tues., Nov. 18 vs. Arizona (ESPN2) or Florida Atlantic^ Tucson, Ariz. TBA

Nov. 24-28 NIT Season Tip-Off TBA TBA

Sun., Nov. 30 at Montana Missoula, Mont. 2 p.m.

Wed., Dec. 3 at San Jose State San Jose, Calif. 7 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 6 Sacramento State Santa Clara, Calif. 7 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 13 Notre Dame de Namur Santa Clara, Calif. 7 p.m.

Wed., Dec. 17 at UNLV Las Vegas, Nev. 7 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 20 at Pacific Stockton, Calif. 7 p.m.

Tues., Dec. 23 Stanford (ESPNU) Santa Clara, Calif. 7 p.m.

Mon., Dec. 29 Belmont# Santa Clara, Calif. 8 p.m.

Tues., Dec. 30 JAMES MADISON/XXX# Santa Clara, Calif. TBA

Fri., Jan. 2 at Harvard Boston, Mass. 4 p.m.

Sun., Jan. 4 at New Hampshire Durham, N.H. 10 a.m.

Fri., Jan. 9 • at Saint Mary’s (ESPNU) Moraga, Calif. 7 p.m.

Sun., Jan. 11 • San Diego Santa Clara, Calif. 2 p.m.

Thurs., Jan. 15 • at Gonzaga Spokane, Wash. 7 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 17 • at Portland Portland, Ore. 7 p.m.

Fri., Jan. 23 • San Francisco (ESPNU) Santa Clara, Calif. 8 p.m.

Sun., Jan. 25 Houston Baptist Santa Clara, Calif. 2 p.m.

Thurs., Jan. 29 • Loyola Marymount Santa Clara, Calif. 7 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 31 • Pepperdine Santa Clara, Calif. 7 p.m.

Thurs., Feb. 5 • at San Diego San Diego, Calif. 7 p.m.

Sun., Feb. 8 • Saint Mary’s Santa Clara, Calif. 7 p.m.

Thurs., Feb. 12 • at Pepperdine Malibu, Calif. 7 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 14 • at Loyola Marymount Los Angeles, Calif. 7 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 21 • at San Francisco San Francisco, Calif. 7 p.m.

Thurs., Feb. 26 • Gonzaga (ESPN2) Santa Clara, Calif. 7 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 28 • Portland Santa Clara, Calif. 7 p.m.

Mar. 6-9 WCC Championships Las Vegas, Nev. TBA

All times Pacific; @- Exhibition; ^- NIT Season Tip-Off in Tucson, Ariz.; #- Cable Car Classic; • - WCC contest; Home Games in Bold and played at the Leavey Center

State of '08: California

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:27:44 -0400

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: California. For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

CALIFORNIA

UCLA - Not much "research" required to rank the Bruins. Three Final Fours in a row for one of the game's all-time great programs.

Stanford - Quietly in the middle of an impressive run, Stanford has made the Big Dance in 13 of 14 seasons. The future is a bit unsettled though, with a new coach (Johnny Dawkins) and the Lopez twins off to the NBA.

USC - Tim Floyd's done a nice job getting USC back on track. From 2003 to 2006, the Trojans had a sub-100 RPI every year, but have since made back to back NCAA Tournaments. This year's freshman class is also considered to be one of the Top 5 in the country.

Saint Mary's - Coming off a big 25-win season, fans are expecting the Gaels to return to the NCAA Tournament for the 3rd time in five seasons. While Gonzaga owns the WCC, Saint Mary's has been 2nd in four of the last five tries.

San Diego State - Steve Fisher has done a nice job turning SDSU into a consistent MWC contender, making the postseason 5 times in the last 7 years, and winning 20 games each of the last 3. The Aztecs should once again make a push for 20 wins in 08-09.

6. California - After a surprisingly long 12-year run, Ben Braun is out.. replaced by the man who turned Stanford into a long-time winner (Mike Montgomery). Under Braun, Cal did make five NCAA Tournaments, but just one in the last five seasons.

7. Pacific - The Tigers have found a good groove in recent seasons, winning 20 games in 4 of the last 5 years, and making the Tournament three times. Despite a rough offseason, Pacific should once again be competitive in the Big West.

8. UCSB - Despite an impressive 23 win season, the Gauchos missed out on making the NCAA Tournament. The program has averaged 16 wins over Bob Williams 10-year stint.

9. San Diego - The Toreros surprised many by winning the WCC title last year, and making the Big Dance. This is all the more impressive considering the team won just 4 total games in 2004.

10. Santa Clara - The Broncos parted ways with long-time coach Dick Davey before last season, as he could never reproduce the team's great mid-nineties success. Kerry Keating led his new squad to a mediocre 186 RPI last year, which included just 13 D1 wins.

11. Fresno State - The Bulldogs are coming off a horrible season, with just 12 D1 wins and an RPI of 243. The prior season, they made the postseason for the first time since the Tarkanian era.

12.CS Fullerton - This program has come a long way since 01-02, when the Titans combined to win 7 D1 games. Bob Burton led Fullerton to the Big Dance for the first time in three decades, winning 20 games for the third time in four seasons as well.

13. Pepperdine - Up until the end of Paul Westphal's career in 2006, Pepperdine had been a consistent winner in the 90's and early 00's. Now they've brought back Tom Asbury to try and recreate that former success following three down years.

14. UC Irvine - The Anteaters are consistently solid under Pat Douglass, but have yet to reach the Tourney in his 12 year tenure. 15-16 wins seems to be the norm recently.

15. San Francisco - The Dons had decent results under Jessie Evans (peaking at 86 in the RPI in 2005), before things went sour last year. He was replaced by Eddie Sutton, who turned the program into a circus while trying to win 800 games.

16. CS Northridge - The Matadors have had limited success since joining the Big West in 2002. Last year was one of their best seasons since then, winning 19 D1 games and finishing with an RPI of 110. Some consider Northridge to be the conference favorites in 2009.

17. LBSU - Its amazing the 49ers made the NCAA Tournament in 2007, considering how awful they were last year. Former Minnesota coach Dan Monson took over a program devoid of any returning talent, so we'll give him some time to turn things around. From 2003 to 2005, LBSU was one of the worst teams in the country.

18. LMU - While the legendary Paul Westhead run seems like ancient history, at least the embarrassing winless 2000 season is also moving into the distant past. Bill Bayno has his hands full taking over a team that won 5 games last year.

19. San Jose State - Consistently one of the worst teams in high-major basketball, SJSU hasn't finished above 230 in the RPI since 2001. Last year there were actually signs of progress with wins over WAC foes Nevada and Utah State.

20. Cal Poly - Not the most well-known program, Cal Poly has consistently been competitive in the Big West under coach Kevin Bromley. In 2003 & 2007, the Mustangs were a win away from making the NCAA Tournament.

21. Sacramento State - The Jerome Jenkins era ended on a down note, as the Hornets are coming off one of the all-time bad seasons.. just 2-24 against D1 opponents. From '04 to '06, it looked like Jenkins was making progress, but things regressed quickly.

22. UC Riverside - Since joining college basketball's top flight in 2001, the Highlanders haven't reached impressive heights. But in Jim Wooldridge's first season, there was some hope as UCR won their 2nd ever Big West Tournament game (knocking off Cal Poly).

23. UC Davis - Yet to experience any real success since joining D1 in 2006, the Aggies at least one-up Bakersfield by being full-fledged members of the Big West.

24. CS Bakersfield - Making the move up from D2 without a conference, the Roadrunners 8-21 record isn't half bad. They knocked off Fresno, San Diego, Long Beach State twice, and finished ahead of Sacramento in the RPI. Still, they need another season or two before moving up on this list.

Yesterday: Arkansas

State of '08: The Introduction

2008 CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major All-Freshman Team

CHN — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:56:03 -0400

Awards Week continues on CHN..

CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major Player of the Year: Patrick Mills (Saint Mary’s)

CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major All-Freshman Team

G: Patrick Mills (Saint Mary’s)

G: Marquis Weddle (UT-Martin)

G: Devin Gibson (Texas-San Antonio)

F: Tyrone Shelley (Pepperdine)

F: Matt Howard (Butler)

CollegeHoops.net Second Team Mid-Major All-Freshman

G: Vinnie McGhee (Sacramento State)

G: Darion Anderson (NIU)

G: Josh White (North Texas)

F: Omar Carter (Charleston Southern)

F: Malcolm Thomas (Pepperdine)

CollegeHoops.net Honorable Mention Mid-Major all-Freshman: Alvin Abreu (UNH), Nate Blank (Gardner Webb), Kenneth Faried (Morehead State), Rahmon Fletcher (UWGB), Jay Gavin (Marist), John Holland (Boston U), Rob Jones (San Diego), Mark Payne (UC Davis), Deonte Roberts (Milwaukee), Gerald Robinson Jr. (Tennessee State), Brian Rudolph (Loyola), Cameron Wells (The Citadel)

The CollegeHoops.net All-American teams are voted on by staff writers.

Check out all the: CHN 2007-08 Postseason Awards

All-Americans, All-Rookie, Top Coaches & more!

Fantasy Heroes: Big Men

Jon Teitel — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:20:37 -0500

Today's Fantasy Heroes: Big Men

BIG MEN WHO BLOCK

50+ FG%, 9+ RPG, 2+ BPG	TEAM	FG%	RPG	BPG	PPG
Richard Hendrix	Alabama	62.2	10.2	2.2	18.6
Jason Thompson	Rider	55.6	11.7	2.9	20.3
Marqus Blakely	Vermont	55.3	10.8	2.6	19.8
Kyle Hines	UNCG	56.4	9.5	2.9	19.5
John Bryant	Santa Clara	61.3	9.8	2.3	18.8
Michael Beasley	Kansas St.	54.5	12.5	1.6	25.4


BIG MEN WHO STEAL

50+ FG%, 9+ RPG, 1+ SPG	TEAM	FG%	RPG	SPG	PPG
Tyler Hansbrough	UNC	55.3	10.7	1.5	23.1
Jonathan Rodriguez	Campbell	50.0	9.8	1.5	21.4
Carlos Monroe	FAU	52.4	9.0	1.0	15.6
Arizona 'AZ' Reid	High Point	53.4	11.1	1.8	23.2
Reggie Larry	Boise St.	54.8	9.1	1.5	19.2
Reggie Williams	VMI	53.4	9.5	2.1	27.1

*Stats are full season averages as of today.

Check back tomorrow for impressive fantasy shooters.