SB Nation - Garrett Sim

Know Your (Temporary) Rival: Oregon Ducks

Bill C. — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:30:13 -0000

Tajuan Porter leads a banged-up Ducks squad to Columbia tomorrow afternoon.

Oregon: 4-2

	UO	Opp
Points Per Minute	2.01	1.60
Points Per Possession (PPP)	1.18	0.94
Points Per Shot (PPS)	1.32	1.24
2-PT FG%	50.8%	44.4%
3-PT FG%	37.1%	37.5%
FT%	75.8%	64.1%
True Shooting %	57.1%	52.4%

	UO	Opp
Assists/Gm	14.3	11.7
Steals/Gm	8.5	5.7
Turnovers/Gm	13.0	16.7
Ball Control Index (Assists + Steals) / TO	1.76	1.04

	UO	Opp
Expected Offensive Rebounds	74	71
Offensive Rebounds	85	49
Difference	+11	-22

UO's season thus far:

@Oregon 94, Winston-Salem State 43 (W)
@Oregon 95, UC-Davis 64 (W)
@Oregon 68, Colorado State 53 (W)
@Portland 88, Oregon 81 (L)
Montana 68, @Oregon 55 (L)
@Oregon 89, Montana State 66 (W)

Where the Ducks are solid

Hard to tell. While it appears that Portland might be a rather legitimate team, the Ducks' schedule so far has been quite weak, and humongous wins over Winston-Salem State and UC-Davis have made their numbers look artificially great. This does appear to be a rock-solid rebounding team, though huge efforts against the cakiest of cupcakes sways the numbers a bit; they were significantly outplayed down low in the loss to Montana. Meanwhile, their guard play looks quite good if you take out of the equation the fact that Portland's backcourt ran circles around them. In all, if I were to rank the five major categories listed above (FG% offense, FG% defense, BCI offense, BCI defense, and rebounding), I would list their strengths like this, from best to worst:

1. Rebounding
2. BCI offense
3. FG% offense
4. BCI defense
5. FG% defense

This seems like a team with size and decent potential, but their defense has not been great so far, considering the level of competition. If you're allowing a true shooting % of 52.4% against this competition, then at home Mizzou should at least get into the 55%-60% range. Shooting has very much not been Mizzou's strong suit thus far, but this might be a nice slump buster. If the Ducks don't force a turnover (and they'll certainly force some), they're probably giving up a decent look.

Where the Ducks are less than solid

Well, for one thing, chemistry is probably going to be off a bit considering how many injuries and absences they've already had to deal with this season. Five players -- Dajuan Porter (ankle), Joevan Catron (back), Matt Humphrey (knee), Josh Crittle (ankle), and Michael Dunigan (hip) -- have already missed time, which is impressive considering Oregon's only played six games. If they are healthy, they've got a quick backcourt and a big frontcourt, but ... are they healthy? Oregon's press for the most part seems justifiably distracted by the football team and Thursday night's Civil War, but I haven't been able to find out for sure who is supposed to play and who is not. This is their first game in a week, so there's a good chance that everybody will be expected to play. At least that's what I'm going to assume until I hear otherwise.

Anyway, beyond health/chemistry, I guess I covered their main weaknesses above: defense.

Player Stats

NCAA Basketball Stats

Player	*AdjGS/Gm**	GmSc/Min	Line
Teondre Williams (6'4, 199, So.)	13.5	0.53	25.3 MPG, 14.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.7 APG
Tajuan Porter (5'7, 155, Sr.)	12.4	0.47	26.4 MPG, 14.6 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 2.0 SPG, 2.0 TOPG
Malcolm Armstead (6'0, 204, So.)	10.7	0.41	25.8 MPG, 7.5 PPG, 4.5 APG, 2.7 RPG, 2.5 SPG
Michael Dunigan (6'10, 242, So.)	10.0	0.68	14.8 MPG, 8.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.3 BPG
LeKendric Longmire (6'5, 200, Jr.)	9.0	0.41	22.2 MPG, 10.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.2 SPG
Garrett Sim (6'1, 180, So.)	6.8	0.41	16.8 MPG, 7.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1.5 APG
Joevan Catron (6'6, 237, Sr.)	6.4	0.30	21.3 MPG, 5.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.5 TOPG
Jamil Wilson (6'7, 209, Fr.)	6.0	0.36	16.8 MPG, 5.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.2 APG
E.J. Singler (6'6, 210, Fr.)	5.3	0.40	13.2 MPG, 3.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.5 APG
Jeremy Jacob (6'8, 225, So.)	3.4	0.23	15.2 MPG, 4.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Josh Crittle (6'8, 250, So.)	1.5	0.19	7.7 MPG, 2.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG
Drew Wiley (6'7, 215, So.)	0.8	0.10	7.6 MPG, 2.0 PPG
Nicholas Fearn (6'1, 190, So.)	0.7	0.25	6 minutes
John Elorriaga (6'2, 183, So.)	0.6	0.19	6 minutes
Matthew Humphrey (6'5, 185, So.)	0.5	0.07	7.8 MPG, 2.6 PPG

* AdjGS = a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It redistributes a team's points based not only on points scored, but also by giving credit for assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls. It is a stat intended to determine who had the biggest overall impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.

Early-season injuries do funny things to the numbers -- because of the roster shifts, Oregon currently has TEN guys averaging at least 13 minutes per game. That's really tough to do.
Honestly, from Mizzou's perspective the most dangerous player on the court for Oregon could be Michael Dunigan. Vanderbilt used size to extreme advantage against Mizzou, and Dunigan did a nice job in Oregon's last game of banging around, getting to the line and making his free throws. If Dunigan gets hot, either from the field or on the glass (or both), then this game could stay pretty close.
Tajuan Porter has a chance to set the Pac-10's career 3-pointers mark this season. He is a quick guard and good shooter, but I'm curious to see how he handles not only Missouri's bigger guards, but Missouri's much bigger guards. He's giving up eight inches to J.T. Tiller and nine to Zaire Taylor, and while I'm sure he's faced plenty of bigger guards in his day (like, every game of his career), here's where Mizzou's strong defense could take over. If Porter can't really get going, then it's up to younger guys like Teondre Williams and Garrett Sim to knock down outside shots. Both are capable of doing so, but you always want to be able to take away a team's most proven scoring threat, and that's Porter.
Oregon finished with a staggeringly bad 8-23 record last year, but taking a look at the roster, you can kind of see why athletic department may have held onto Ernie Kent for another season. Four of the top six contributors are sophomores this year, with six more at the end of the bench; throw in a couple of freshman contributors (Jamil Wilson and E.J. "Don't Call Me Kyle" Singler), and Oregon's got a ridiculously young team. Porter and Joevan Catron are the only seniors, so this team will be able to continue to grow together for a while.

Keys to the Game

Rebounds. They murdered Missouri in the last game, and if guys like Dunigan and Catron are allowed to not only prevent second chances for Mizzou, but also collect some second chances of their own, then Oregon will stay in this game a lot longer than they should.
The 3-Pointer. Oregon takes 21 3's a game, and Missouri takes 22. Oregon's perimeter defense has been far from amazing in terms of FG% and 3PT%, but you never know who may get hot from one game to another. If the Ducks make over 40% of their 3's and Missouri makes below about 35% of theirs, Oregon could have a chance.
Pace. Oregon likes to play a transition game (though they've only averaged about 68 possessions per game -- Mizzou would prefer closer to 75), with pressure defense and as many fast break opportunities as possible. If they're good at it, they might be able to handle Mizzou's pressure alright and apply some of their own. If they're only decent at it, they will play right into Mizzou's hands and get run off the court. Based on the teams they've played, I can't tell if they're good or only decent ... and I'm leaning toward the latter.

Prediction

I always like Missouri's chances when a team from two time zones away makes a long trip for a game with a weird tip-off time. That's just a really long trip to make for a single basketball game, no? While Oregon could hurt Mizzou on the boards, and while they have a couple of long-distance weapons that could get hot, I can't imagine this game ends up tremendously close. Oregon is still learning how to win again, and Mizzou's ready to take out some frustrations. Mizzou 86, Oregon 67.

MBB Exhibition Game 2 Preview: Lewis and Clark vs. Oregon

dvieira — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:00:29 -0000

A Look at the Pioneers

Lewis and Clark makes the trip down I-5 to clash with the Ducks of Oregon at Mac Court as the men's team looks to tighten up their play in their second and final exhibition game. The Pioneers were 12-6 overall with a respectable 6-3 in the Northwest Conference, a conference that includes George Fox, Linfield, and Willamette. Josh Kollasch will be back at guard who averaged abou 14 points per game last year but did not shoot a high percentage from the field. James Hollins should run the other guard spot and will contribute scoring opportunities to the team as well.

Lewis and Clark provides a different set of challenges for Oregon than their first game against Concordia. While Concordia looked to go inside, the Pioneers will look to score from their perimeter players. Garrett Sim and Tajuan Porter have to step up big time given their performances last Sunday. Oregon will have a significant advantage in the paint which should provide a number of opportunities on the boards. Offensive rebounds shouldn't be a problem but I'll be happy if we don't have very many.

Keys to the Game

1. Get TP, Garrett Sim and LeKendric Longmire involved early and in rhythm. Coming off a tough shooting night for the three of them, it would be great to see some progress shooting the ball and overall fundamental defense. TP, in particular, should look to get some confidence.

2. Continue to refine the offense and develop additional scoring threats. Jamil Wilson had a great first game. No regression. Get him some good looks and let him use his talent to get some good looks. Michael Dunigan needs to dominate down low and look to be a defensive stopper.

Final Thoughts

This game should be just as much of a blowout as Concordia but that doesn't mean we should take this game lightly. We have a lot to work on before we open the season next Friday and we need to refine our play. Having continuing shooting woes from the guard position will only hurt us more as the season drags on and we need to prove to others (and ourselves) that we have a legitimate threat from outside they key. This is the game we need to start refining our strategies with.

MBB Exhibition Game 1 Recap: Ducks 99, Cavaliers 61

dvieira — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:24:44 -0000

The men's basketball team got off to a nice start with an exhibition win on Sunday at Mac Court. 5 players scored in double figures and almost everyone got some meaningful playing time. This game went how it was supposed to. Get the guys in the gym under game-like conditions and see how they respond. How much can you learn from your first game against a vastly inferior opponent? I've got a couple things.

1. Jamil Wilson is going to have an immediate impact this season

2. Our shooting woes haven't gone away during the summer

The Ducks were very active in the hustle department. We won the rebound battle with 62 rebounds. Yes, you read that right. 62 rebounds in the game, 31 offensive and defensive rebounds respectively. Even though our shooting was off, the team was crashing the boards, getting after second chance opportunities. We also caused 22 turnovers, translating those turnovers into a respectable 34 points.

Offensively, I thought we shot ok, just not great. We averaged 43% for the game but most of that game from a bad first half. The second half had a decent field goal percentage at 46% but this is Concordia. We shouldn't be shooting under 40% at any time during the game, let alone for a half. Garrett Sim and Tajuan Porter both had tough nights in the shooting department, teaming up to decrease the overall percentage for the team. Take those two out and the team shot around 48%, even including Lekendric Longmire's 2-8 from the field. Sim and Porter won't have this type of game every night but certainly discouraging against this type of competition.

Player Notes

Jamil Wilson came to play tonight and was certainly the star of the show shooting 7-10 from the field with 17 total points and contributing 4 steals in only 18 minutes on the floor. This guy is a beast at the power forward spot and should provide a great option for the team offensively and defensively.

Malcolm Armstead also had a great night, shooting 50% from the field with 14 points. He also spread the ball around, racking up 4 assists.

Tajuan Porter had 2 points on 1-5 shooting with 3 assists and 4 turnovers in 20 minutes. I'll give him a pass for having a bad night but this is his senior season. It's time to step up.

Joevan Catron appears to have found is groove, throwing down 12 points with 0 turnovers. Remember when he would get the ball in the post last year, take a dribble and promptly travel, turning the ball over? I like this new and improved Catron. Keep it up big man.

Final Thoughts

The Ducks took control of the game early and took care of business in a game that they should have won. I especially liked the defensive intensity on Alex Thiefenthaler who only shot 3-11 from the field and had 8 points in 26 minutes. Great defense in the middle took Alex out of his game. This was the first game of a long season. Don't read too much into the statistics but there is a lot to be encouraged about in Jamil Wilson and Malcom Armstead. There's a lot of time for TP and Sim to get things together.

Cal Coaches Tour 2009 - Pleasant Hill Report Part II

TwistNHook — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:30:10 -0000

ragnarok: When we last left you, Coach Jeff Tedford had given a short talk on the state of the Cal Football program. Nothing earth-shattering, but still some interesting tidbits here and there, and those in attendance would still get a chance to pry a few more bits loose during the Q+A session, still to come.

TwistNHook: But first, Coach Mike Montgomery. He is a straight shooter and LOVES to joke around. He kinda made fun of Coach McKeever. She had made the National Championship out to be this sort of unexpected, humble experience. Like "Hey, y'know, let's just go and swim and see what happens and hey, woah, we won a national championship, that was cool. Go Bears!" Coach Montgomery was all "Hey, let's have some fun and hey maybe we could finish 64th. Y'know if we lose this first one here." Funny stuff.

One interesting point was when Monty compared Randle to Brevin Knight and said that a lot of people had been saying "Whats wrong with Randle? How are you going to fix Randle?" when he got here last year. He said he wanted to give Jerome Randle the chance to be himself out there. Not have a quick hook that might ruin the "Randle-ness." But still let him know that he (Montgomery) knew when Randle was making mistakes, so that they were on the same page. Whatever Monty did, it worked. Randle improved a thousand-fold and was a much different player. He spoke about how Randle had to fight for all his opportunities and had a real toughness.

Monty said he knew Wilkes was leaving before the start of the year, which is why he gave out a scholarship he didn't have at the time.

ragnarok: Indeed, Monty also seemed really pleased that Jordan was finally able to get out there and have a good final year. Not a great year, but he did some nice things, and was able to graduate feeling good about his basketball career, which was apparently something that was in doubt before this past year.

Finding a real presence inside is still the big question with this team. Monty was surprisingly candid, even for him, about the two new bigs coming in: "They're not great."

TwistNHook: HERESY AGAINST BAK BAK!!!!!! PRAISE BE TO BAK BAK!!

ragnarok: Hold up, hold up! He also said they had a lot of room to grow, but could do some nice things, and while they may not push for starter's minutes right away, they will definitely help fill space in the middle, which should hopefully help free up the shooters outside. Still, he did say that if we're going to have a real presence in the middle next season, it's probably going to because Harper Kamp is healthy; he's the key guy for us.

TwistNHook: He said that there was some information to give about health updates. Robertson had surgery on his hip, but his other hip. Kamp has something called a "lateral release" which sounds like something from Cirque du Soleil. And Jorge had meniscus taken out. All surgeries were successful, so that's good.

Monty had some interesting comments about spring practices. He said that there were some kids who didn't play much during the course of the year. They were not happy about it. They had been told a LOT of things during their recruitment about how great they were, and now that they're on campus, it's taken a while for reality to set in. Of course, he's talking about Braun there. He said that these players, who he never named, didn't know what hard work was. But now they seem to get it. So, I'm not sure who, in specific, he is talking about, but you can read between the lines here. Coach Montgomery must REALLY hate Max Zhang. ;)!!!

He then proceeded to use a "Not" joke in a non-ironic sense and get a REALLY solid laugh. I can only assume, because the audience was like 80% old people. Seriously, it was either old people or their kids. The number of 20-somethings was minimal. Not sure what that means.

He had a few funny stories. One was about a player of his who wanted to be an engineer. They took him to the engineering school and the people there were so confused. They'd never had a b-ball player want to be an engineer. That's Berkeley for ya!

He also talked about how they had a recruit on campus. This recruit's parents had had concerns about Berkeley being "too" liberal. So, they had tried to keep this guy from seeing too much insanity. So, of course a HUGE protest meanders right by them. And then some random dude starts screaming about seeing King Kong. It was pretty funny stuff.

He had a funny bit about getting a new practice site. They had looked at a place, but there was a tree there. So, they were moving on. Big laughs. So ya, Monty's a funny guy.

Then it was time for the Q+A:

To be honest, my brain hurt from writing so much and pretending to know what I was talking about. So, I wanted to take a break and go sit down.

HydroTech: Well, then, maybe you can take a break and go sit down right now! I got the information from Tedford from the Q+A.

Regarding a college football playoff system, Tedford said he would be for one if someone could think of a good one. But other than that, he said the BCS was working fine. He suggested if there was a playoff that 8 teams would be the ideal number. Finally, he added nobody is going to be happy with any system.

Tedford described Best as "special."

Tedford said Alex Lagemann was one of the top 5th or 6th guy at WR.

In regards to TEs being covered over the middle (last year), he attributes that to good defense.

In regards to the OL, he hopes we stay healthy this year. Last year we lost 5 scholarship OL players to season ending injuries. Donovan Edwards has a lot more experience this year. In total, we have a lot more depth this year too. Tedford is happy to have Tepper back and reinforced the fact that he was an All-Conference player.

In regards to incoming recruit Iso Sofele, he is 5'7" and "very explosive." Tedford said he will play at RB or slot WR, however, he's unsure if he'll break the starting lineup at those positions this year. Instead, Tedford said you'll probably see him at kick returner. Tedford said he's similar to the San Diego Charger's Darren Sprouls, and like that Oregon State freshman runningback (Tedford couldn't recall the name... must not be that good of a player). Sofele is "physical" player and can "catch the ball."

ragnarok: Indeed. However the Bears end up using Sofele, Tedford did say that "it will be hard to keep him off the field."

Then Tedford was asked about future scheduling. He mentioned the upcoming series with Ohio State, which we've known about for years now. However, he also mentioned that there was something with Texas "down the road". Although not everyone I talked to agreed with me, it sounded to Hydro and me like there was something still in the works, as though this was something that could or will happen.

HydroTech: Perhaps, it was unclear. An attempt to schedule Michigan "fell through." Not sure if that would have been for this year, and that's why we had to scramble to get Eastern Washington. Tedford did say that he doesn't want to play too many good teams and prefers A, B, C scheduling. He stressed he always wants a home-home series, and that they're "not interested" in playing somebody without a return game. In regards to a suggestion that we play Notre Dame, Sandy Barbour, who used to work for Notre Dame, added, "The Irish are afraid."

TwistNHook: Hydro, that's all great stuff, but you missed the best part. Remember when that most luminous, most facially attractive, unbelievably hilarious dude asked this amazingly incredible question about Patrick Christopher's poetry. WHAT A QUESTION! It truly blew my mind.

Monty didn't really answer it specifically, but did explain to the crowd what I, I mean, that really awesome Hebrew meant by the question. Talked about how well-rounded his athletes are. So Berkeley!

There was also that question about Jorge Gutierrez, about what he meant to the team. He talked a bit about Jorge's recruitment. Basically about how Garrett Sim (who he didn't mention by name) had tried to back out when Braun left. As in, the kid committed to Cal in the Fall when the Bears were the only major program to offer him, but in the Spring, his hometown Ducks took another look, and he used Braun's departure as an excuse to get out of his letter of intent. They tried to fight it, but then realized that there wasn't much point if the kid didn't really want to be there. So, they had an extra scholarship to hand out.

And then they scrambled to look to try to find somebody, anybody. Finding Jorge was a diamond in the rough. All of the people he played with or against said the same thing, not the most skilled guy, but he works his ass off. And that's why he was crying after the Maryland game. Because he is so passionate about the game. And also about how he can really change the game by inspiring his teammates.

ragnarok: Yeah, Monty definitely touched on the fact that Jorge took the loss to Maryland the hardest. The key quote that I loved about him was Monty saying "he just doesn't understand why everybody else doesn't play as hard as he does." If he can inspire the rest of the team like this as a true freshman, think what he'll be able to do leading a team as an upperclassman.

TwistNHook: I would like to note that Monty literally said "We got lucky on Jorge." And again implied that there were some people on his team that didn't work hard when he said that Jorge was so confused when he saw people who didn't work as hard as he did. So, interesting stuff. Monty is very open.

ragnarok: That was most of the interesting stuff. Someone asked a question about the baseball facilities, and Sandy said that the baseball facilities were one of a number that Athletics was looking into upgrading down the road. So, nothing going on right now on that front, and I personally wonder how much momentum there is for a baseball program that continues to sort of languish in the middle of the Pac-10.

TwistNHook: With Q+A finished, there was a raffle. A cute kid won the football. I didn't get the best photo, but he high-fived everybody on stage and then yelled GO BEARS!

I saw Tedford laughing with him later (or at least I think it was him, it might have been another cute kid). Tedford has a good way with kids. He also joked to the crowd about "recruting 'em young". He's no Monty, but Tedford has a bit of wit about him, too.

Then, the talking session was over. And the shmoozing began. Lord knows I lurve to shmooze. I first sort of wandered aimlessly towards Coach McKeever. I had no idea what to say to her, so I just congratulated her on her fine accomplishments. Then, some random dude walked up in mid-conversation and told me I had dropped a piece of paper on the ground. I didn't believe I did.

So, after he walked off, I loudly accused him of calling me a lying liar and making up lies about me. It was unclear whether she found it funny. Unclear.

Then, it was my big moment. I was ready to shmooze Sandy. Sandy B! We had planned this moment for months. Time to try to drop some knowledge, drop some names, and maybe, just maybe get a card into her hand. A card? Yes!

Now, I had spoken with OskiWeeWee beforehand and she can make nice nice with Sandy. So, I had asked her to introduce me to Sandy. But she got into this conversation and no amount of screaming "GET OUT OF THE CONVERSATION, OSKIWEEWEE" in my head seemed to get her out.

So, I had to go in cold.

That can be tough sometimes. But I had worked on my spiel. And there is another connection to Sandy B. through my wife, which is somewhat tenuous. But better than nothing, right? I went that route, then started to work the Jewish mother angle. "I'm so happy to know we have an AD who bleeds as much blue and gold as you. And I know that somebody who bleeds as much blue and gold as you would want to take advantage of every opportunity to promote Cal." I came really close to wishing she'd settle down with a nice Jewish doctor. But I managed to hold off.

I assured her that there were a lot of shmucks out there in the new media, but we weren't one of them. Ok, I admitted I was a shmuck, but did try to minimize my shmucktitude online. I predict strongly NONE of this will work. But, hey, gotta hustle, right? I even got one of our new ALL CLASSY AND PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS CARDS into her hands. It was so classy and professional! Notice it is in her hand there.

So, there you go. Hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle.

Then, I accused Coach Montgomery of being a bad Jew for eating pork. OK, so one step forward, one million steps back. I saw Monty scarfing down some of the food and told him to steer clear of the pork. He told me he wasn't Jewish. But he did respond to me later in the night when I yelled "SHABBAT SHALOM" at him on the way out. So, I'm getting conflicting reports here.

YHWH, Montgomery must hate me.

Of course, by now the line for Tedford had calmed down a bit. Hydro had been waiting to chat with him for a while, so I snuck into line with him. Hydro started off with all this serious, important stuff like how "2002 really changed Cal football for him" and stuff like that. So important and serious. Bla! I was hoping Tedford would recognize him, too, but he didn't seem to.

Then, we decided to change the subject and ask if that REALLY was Coach Tedford on the Twitter. He said it was him! Problem solved! But he didn't seem to know what was going on with it. I told him that Pete Carroll did it and that he needed to beat Pete Carroll at Twitter! I came INCREDIBLY close to saying something like "Maybe you can finally beat Carroll at something again." But, stunningly, incredibly, unbelievably, incomprelievably, I managed to somehow not speak something that popped into my head. It took pretty much every muscle in my body going into "STOP IMMEDIATELY" mode and I blacked out for about 35 seconds there, but I managed it. SO PROUD OF MYSELF!

Then, I proceeded to tell Tedford about how important it was to get on Twitter. Because I heard that some people (some people!) had created fake Twitter accounts for other head coaches. What?!??! Like Jim Harbaugh and Rick Neuheezy. He was surprised to hear this, but, unfortunately, I didn't have any other information about these fake head coaches, because certainly it's not me making up these fake Twitter accounts.

Tedford said he'd twitter about meeting HydroTech and myself at the Coaches Tour. I'm pretty sure that's what he meant with this tweet:

Nice turnout in Pleasant Hill last night for the coaches’ tour ... http://www.calbears.com/coa.... Great seeing everyone.

Yes, HydroTech and myself do constitute a nice turnout. And yes, it was great seeing you, too, Coach Tedford!

At least this year I managed not to embarrass myself like last year when I rambled about how I had tried to evict a series of grandmothers. So, that's a step up!

Bee Tee Dubz, on the way out, we saw Monty get into a black Lexus. And he said he couldn't afford a Lexus. Tedford drives a BMW. I wonder if Monty is jealous!

ragnarok: Well, if Monty is jealous, he can at least take comfort in the fact that he doesn't drive a Toyota Avalon, like some former Cal Basketball coaches I could name. I think the cars they drive make a good metaphor for Cal Basketball, as Cal has now upgraded its basketball coach from a sensible mid-size sedan into a cushy luxury car. After just one year, I think we can all say that the ride has improved considerably.

TwistNHook: So, there you go. All the spinsanity from the Pleasant Hill Cal Coaches Tour 2009.

Cougs Fly Past Ducks in Pac-10 Tourney

Grady. — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:14:37 -0000

NCAA Basketball Stats

Some Bullet Points:

Oregon isn't really that bad. Like Nuss alluded to earlier, WSU is an awful matchup for the Ducks. My, how times change. The U of O's once proud 13 game win streak over Wazzu has been shredded into a six game losing skid.
Just playing this game hurts us. Tomorrow we face a rested UCLA team with revenge on their mind. A team that was probably planning on facing the Crimson and Gray anyway, instead of the ten-seed Green and Gold.
Great news to see Stanford took care of OSU. Why? I don't really have a favorite among those teams, but Oregon State makes for a horrific matchup with Washington tomorrow. The Huskies absolutely mopped the floor with the Beavers on the offensive boards in their first two lopsided contests. A third OSU/UW game would've made me throw up in my mouth a little. Now, we have a team actually capable of beating the Huskies meeting up with them in the quarterfinals.
Make no mistake - this is a big win for us. Why? Lose this game and there's a very good chance you can kiss the NIT goodbye in addition to the NCAA tournament. I know it's only a consolation prize, but I would still enjoy seeing another season added to Friel Court's NIT appearance banner. Much better than nothing.
With Marcus Capers showing signs of life on offense, is there any reason left to keep sitting him behind Nikola Koprivica for that final starters' spot?
Why on Earth was Ernie Kent concerned with the Cougs' perimeter game? Oregon got shredded tonight, and all the damage came from inside the half-circle. Baynes: 20. Forrest: 14. Casto: 10. Our frontcourt alone outscored the Ducks 44-40. Not only that, they made an absurd 17 of 20 shots from the floor (and ten of ten free throws!).
Meanwhile, the Cougs won for the first time this year with Klay Thompson being held to less than ten. Not to mention Taylor Rochestie matching Koprivica's point total with four. The backcourt, normally essential to the Cougar offense, were role players tonight.
However, Taylor Rochestie is still the motor that runs this team. Six assists, one turnover. Even two steals and four boards.
This was the kind of game where a win doesn't seem that satisfying, but a loss would have hurt us like crazy. So enjoy the win. It's most likely the last time you'll see this year's Cougar team dismantle their opponent. Savor it.

Player of the Game: My personal pick for second-team All-Pac-10, Mr. Aron Baynes. 20 points on 7 of 8 shooting, 6 of 6 free throws, 8 boards and a block.

Play of the Game: Has to be the Forrest-to-Casto alley-oop. Who knew Caleb had the ability to make that pass cleanly? A close second has to be the Casto drive-and-dunk that really cemented the Cougs' dominance in the first period.

Unsung Hero: Definitely Caleb Forrest. The Fire doesn't have 10+ scoring games often, and he hit just about every mid-range jumper he put up. It's really hard to stop the WSU offense when you allow Caleb to shoot and he knocks 'em down anyway.

It was over when... The Baynes back-to-back dunks put the Cougars up 40-23. 16:44 remained, but this one was all but wrapped up. The Ducks are nothing if not the Fighting Tajuan Porters when they play us. With all due respect, Garrett Sim (a very nice player in his own right) would be sitting behind Mike Harthun on our bench.

Stat of the Game: Let's give it up for that frontcourt dominance. 17 of 20 from the field (85%) between Baynes, Casto and Forrest.

Domination

Grady. — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:46:43 -0000

Stats by StatSheet.com

The Cougars have struggled in close games this season.

Faced with the hungry Oregon Ducks, they went ahead and made it a blowout.

Klay Thompson scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the first half as WSU (13-11, 5-7 Pac-10) thoroughly dismantled Oregon (6-8, 0-12), 67-38.

Defensively, the Cougars were at their finest. Oregon was held to 21 percent shooting on the night, and held 14 points below their previous lowest scoring total of the season.

On offense, the Cougars were firing on all cylinders. Thompson shot 9 of 15 from the floor, including 5 of 6 from three-point range. Taylor Rochestie added 16 points on 4 of 5 from behind the arc, and Aron Baynes chipped in 11.

The Cougars made 9 of 13 three-point attempts as a team, and shot 56.8% overall. WSU annihilated the Ducks in eFG%, with a 68.9% to 25% advantage.

As hot as the Cougars were on offense, the Ducks were as cold. Tajuan Porter and LeKendric Longmire were each held to 2 of 7 shooting, and Garret Sim connected on only 1 of 8. Drew Wiley led the Ducks with 10 points.

The Cougars started the game on a 25-5 run and never looked back. The game was statistically over with 7:34 to play in the second half.

Player of the Game: Thompson. In front of his Dad (as well as Taylor's Dad, and Aron Baynes' parents), Klay was electric with 25 points. He was absolutely unstoppable in both halves.

Play of the Game: This isn't a play, but so what. Kyle Weaver returned to Pullman tonight to spend his free time during the NBA All-Star break. As he quietly made his way into the arena, the ZZU CRU noticed. A Kyle Weaver (clap clap clap-clap-clap) chant started, grew, and ultimately became a standing ovation from the entire crowd. A cool moment - completely unscripted, and a very heartfelt showing of affection from the Cougar faithful.

Apparently just having Kyle in the same building helps our team play better.

Unsung hero: Rochestie. My goodness: 4 of 5 three-point shooting, a superb defensive effort on Tajuan Porter (relieved in stretches by Klay Thompson), and 5 assists. A player of the game-caliber performance on most night. But this wasn't most nights.

It was over when... A Nikola Koprivica free throw capped a 12-4 Cougar run to open the second half. The Cougars led 41-19 at that point and erased any fears of a potential Oregon comeback. This was about as complete an effort as you'll see from any Cougar team - past or present.

Stat of the night - First half scoring: Klay Thompson 15, Oregon 15

Enjoy this one, folks. Oregon has struggled this year, but was still an excellent offensive team up to this point. WSU tore them apart tonight on both ends of the floor.Klay Thompson looked as good as he ever has. Rochestie and DeAngelo Casto fired up the crowd with some key contributions. The Cougars cleared the bench for the first time in conference play. This was fun.

The team we saw tonight played like a Top 25 team. We know this isn't a top 25 team, obviously, because the Cougs haven't been able to perform like this consistently. Nevertheless, you have to enjoy the fact that this team could potentially play like this on any given night. The Cougars are still fighting, and still improving.

It's games like this that make you fall in love with WSU all over again.

Morning Quack Fix: 1.29.09

JConant — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:09:28 -0000

Mmmmm, quack rocks! And quite a few of them considering no hoops tonight.

Bob Clark of the R-G posted a warm fuzzy about the Sim family being divided over the upcoming Civil War. Garrett the Duck faces the Beavs for the first time - Mom and Dad are both OSU alumns and older brother Brennan is an OSU quarterback.
Folks, all is not bleak on the recruiting front. Rob Moseley reminds us that with four scholarships remaining to be offered, Oregon is still in the running for some big-time offensive skill players. BTW - Mike Bellotti visited Bryce Brown in Kansas earlier this week. Let's hope that went well.
Rob Moseley also answers some questions about JC transfers and Oregon's academic standards.
Clark also blogs about what he thinks the Ducks basketball team needs in terms of recruits. With one scholarship left to offer, I vote for anyone who can actually put the ball in the basket from two feet out.
Mike Tokito of The Oregonian posted his preview of the upcoming Civil War along with his notes on this week's Pac-10 matchups.
This is fun... Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (a former journalism colleague of mine in college, BTW) has a nice piece about Dennis Dixon soaking up the Super Bowl experience. I'm not partial toward either team this year, but given what Double-D went through last season, I'd like to see him get a big ring with diamonds.
If you missed it a couple days back the R-G's Greg Bolt wrote an interesting piece on concerns some people have about ticket prices and seating at the new arena. Want great seats? Best cough up some big dough.
Jaison Williams will play in Saturday's Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Classic, in El Paso. Don't miss it! 12:00 noon Pacific Time on CBS.
Around the horn: Oregon Men's and Women's indoor track teams are both top-10 in the initial 2009 rankings released yesterday by the USTFCCCA (10 points for you if you know what that acronym means without cheating...). A rehash of dvieira's fan shot post last night...some UO baseball games to be televised. It appears the Ducks starting lineup for baseball is starting to take shape. Women's tennis player Carmen Seremeta is the GoDucks.com student-athlete of the week.

Recap: At Least We Don't Wear Purple...

dvieira — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:36:50 -0000

I'm not sure how much more we can say the same things about this year's team. Turnovers just absolutely kill us. I know we have a young team but at some point you have to take care of the ball and not beat yourselves and that is what Oregon is doing at this point in the season. No one has stepped up to be "the guy". If it isn't going to be TP or Catron (and it looks more and more like it won't), who will step up as the team leader on the floor? Who is going to step up and say "no more"?

Some thoughts on the game

Kam, Garrett and Tajuan combined for 15 turnovers and let the Washington starting backcourt go for 45 points. Not getting it done
Dunigan actually stayed in a game without getting into foul trouble and you can tell what a difference it makes to have him out on the floor. He was blocking shots, being disruptive but is still a year away from being a monster.
My personal opinion on Ernie is starting to shift from "solidly keep" to "indiferent" on the 'Need a new Coach' scale, not for the record this year, but being put in this position to suck so bad. We should be striving to reload, not rebuild.
Mac Court not sold out for the Huskies. How far have we fallen?
The shots are there to be made. At some point, the team has to make open shots. It isn't Ernie's fault that we can't make layups or open shots or free throws. The offense is putting players in position to knock things down. It just isn't happening.

"Grumpy Ernie smells something... it might be Ducks Men's Basketball"

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