SB Nation - Portland St. Vikings

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 19

Nuss — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:50:17 -0000

One topic on the podcast? Moore of this, please. (Get it? MOORE of this?)

Back at it again, a little later in the week than usual. Just Craig and I, as Grady is traveling for the holidays. I apologize in advance for some of our audio difficulties; for some reason, Craig's audio quality just drops dramatically early in the podcast, then pops back in later. We still have no idea what that was about.

Topics covered include breaking down the victories over Idaho and Air Force, some striking individual statistics, whether the defense is really improving and what to expect in upcoming games against Portland State and LSU.

As usual you can listen to the audio via the player below, or visit our podcast page for myriad subscription options. You can also find us in the iTunes directory under keyword "CougCenter." The advantage of subscribing? Besides having the audio directly delivered to your player of choice, I often upload the audio to the podcast site before posting it here.

November 14 Recap, November 15 TV Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:06:56 -0000

by AJ Mast - AP

about 1 month ago: Butler's Willie Veasley, left, shoots a three-point shot in front of Davidson defender Bryant Barr in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Indianapolis, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Butler won 73-62. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

View full size photo »

There was quite a bit of action on the first Saturday of the season, a day that will always have an uphill fight against football for media attention.

The two biggest matchups featured four of the best mid-major programs in the country. In Indianapolis, No. 11 Butler pulled away late to beat Davidson 73-62. It was basically the same story for No. 21 Dayton, as they beat Creighton 90-80. And after a night when Rider won at Mississippi State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beat Oregon State in a tourament in Lubbock, and San Diego beat Stanford, the mid-majors pulled two more upsets. Ivy League favorite Cornell ruined Anthony Grant's Alabama debut.and Kent State defeated UAB. A&M-CC couldn't repeat their feat from Friday, as they lost to Texas Tech by 7.

Most major programs were a bit more lucky yesterday. Gonzaga, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State won their openers, while 14th-ranked Washington won their second straight in the round-robin event they're hosting.

A few more teams get started today, as yet another hybrid multi-team event gets started. More on today's action after the jump.

The CBE Classic opens up today, and it has the same format as its corporate sibling, the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Instead of traveling to New York for the semifinals, the four host schools will visit the very underrated Kansas City, which hosts the CBE--or College Basketball Experience, the home of the sport's Hall of Fame. The building is conveniently a part of the Sprint Center, which hosts the final rounds. Three games from this event will be on ESPNU today, starting at 2. (All times are Eastern.)

Texas hosts UC Irvine in the tournament opener.
At 4, Wichita State opens up at home agains Fairleigh Dickinson.
At 6, Iowa faces Texas-San Antonio from the Southland Conference.

In other televised action today,

Wake Forest opens up their season in the Greensboro Coliseum against East Carolina. (MASN, 2)
Stetson, who's never made the tournaments, visits Florida, who looks to return after a two-year absence. (Select FSN and CSN Networks/Full Court, 4)
No. 6 North Carolina gets another tuneup in before they travel to New York for the Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals. They host Valparaiso today at 4 (FS South/FS Florida/NESN).
Kansas State hosts Western Illinois. (FS Kansas City/Full Court, 4)
IPFW takes on Wisconsin in Madison. (Big Ten, 5)
Sean Miller makes his official debut at Arizona when the Wildcats host Northern Arizona. (FS Arizona/FCS Pacific, 5)
Oregon looks to go 3 for 3 in the round-robin they're hosting. They face Colorado State at 6:30. (OSN/CSN Northwest)
Washington looks to do the same in their tournament, against defending Big Sky champ Portland State. (10 FSN Northwest/FCS Pacific)

TV info, as always, is from Matt Sarz's College Sports on TV site.

BtB 2009-10 Big Sky Conference Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:00:29 -0000

With their second consecutive Big Sky crown last year, Portland State joined Weber State (2 titles) and Montana (3 titles) as the only teams to win multiple conference titles in the first decade of the 21st century. Northern Arizona in 2000, former league member Cal State-Northridge in 2001, and Eastern Washington in 2004 were the only squads able to break that triumvirate during the decade.

Given that the Vikings and Wildcats will be strong again this season and the Grizzlies are resurgent, the odds are against another team crashing the party this time around. However, that's not going to stop last season's surprise Big Sky finalist, Montana State, a team that returns four starters from the team that claimed road wins over Montana and regular season champ Weber before falling to Portland State in the final. Eastern Washington and Idaho State, two squads that feature three returning starters bolstered by junior college transfers, also bear watching as the league race unfolds.

More on these teams, along with the Big Sky squads who are in a rebuilding mode, after the jump.

Let's start with a look at the final Big Sky standings for 2008-09.

Big Sky Conference Standings

(updated 3.20.2009 at 11:52 PM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Weber St. Wildcats	15	1	21	10
Portland St. Vikings	11	5	23	10
Montana Grizzlies	11	5	17	12
Idaho St. Bengals	9	7	13	19
Northern Colorado Bears	8	8	14	18
Montana St. Bobcats	6	10	14	17
Eastern Washington Eagles	6	10	12	18
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks	5	11	8	19
Sacramento St. Hornets	1	15	2	27

Now here are my picks for the 2009-10 season, presented in reverse order.

Sacramento State (last NCAA: None) Since the 2004-05 season, when the Hornets finished with an 8-6 Big Sky mark, the conference win totals have consistently shrunk, even dropping from 2 league wins to 1 in Brian Katz's first season. Things may not improve that much thanks to the departure of leading scorer Loren Heath, a 6-2 guard who averaged nearly 16 points a game. 6-8 center Justin Eller (10 ppg, 6.7 rpg) is back, giving Katz a force in the middle, but a flood of JC transfers will have to gel for the Hornets to avoid the wooden spoon. Sacramento State will travel to Houston to take on host Rice, South Alabama, and Houston Baptist in a round-robin. The game against the Huskies is a chance for a rare Hornets' win.

Northern Arizona (last NCAA: 2000) The Lumberjacks will struggle to improve on last year's eighth place finish, thanks to the departure of three starters, all of whom averaged more than 9 points per contest. But Mike Adras does have two players back who can provide offense--6-4 junior guard Cameron Jones (12.7 ppg) and 6-7 forward Shane Johannsen, a junior who averaged nearly 10 points a game while shooting almost 73 percent from the floor, all while grabbing over 5 boards a game. 6-10 C Joshua Lapley was also a key frontcourt contributor as a reserve, and he should improve on his 5.9 points and 3 rebounds a game with more minutes this year. The arrival of 6-5 DeAngelo Jones, a JC transfer who started at New Mexico State, means NAU should have another frontcourt weapon. Point guard is a major question mark after the graduation of Josh Wilson, but 5-9 Julian Olubuyi, another JC transfer, may be called on to fill that role. The Lumberjacks will participate in the first ever West Coast Classic, a unique round-robin event in which NAU will host Fresno State and Pacific and visit Santa Clara and San Diego State.

Northern Colorado (last NCAA: None) The strength of the Bears will be backcourt, as both senior PG Will Figures (12.1 ppg, 2.3 apg) and junior SG Devon Beitzel (11.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg) return. The frontcourt could be an issue, despite all of the returning personnel head coach Ted Boyle has at his disposal. The problem is that none of the returnees, led by 6-7 junior Taylor Montgomery (3.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg), has been able to show they can consistently match the performances put up by the departed Jabril Banks (12.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg). The Bears will open their season with back-to-back tournaments, heading to Hawai'i to take on the Warriors, McNeese State, and Southern Utah in the scaled-down Rainbow Classic, then returning to the mainland to play Texas Southern and either Air Force or Dickinson State in the Reggie Minton Classic.

Eastern Washington (last NCAA: 2004) Kirk Earlywine returns three senior starters from a team that won only 12 games last season. The Eagles' key man is in the backcourt, as 5-7 PG Benny Valentine averaged 15+ points alongside 3 assists per contest. The frontcourt features EWU's only other returning double-digit scorer, 6-9 Brandon Moore (11.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and 6-8 Mark Dunn (5.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg). The Eagles should get a lot of help from four transfers-6-6 F P.J. Bolte (Rice), 6-3 Alden Gibbs, 6-8 Laron Griffin, and 6-7 Morgan Hislop (all JC). The Eagles will participate in the low/mid-major bracket of the Las Vegas Classic after they visit Nevada and BYU in the same event.

Idaho State (last NCAA: 1987) The Bengals take on a difficult non-conference schedule, featuring road contests at Bradley, BYU, Iowa State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Utah, and Utah State, and a home game with in-state rivals Boise State. Like EWU, Idaho State also returns three senior starters, led by leading scorer Amorrow Morgan (13.6 ppg, 3.7 apg), a 6-5 senior PG who is one of five players on the roster who's from Memphis. That number includes 6-0 JC transfer Broderick Gilchrist, who could replace the team's second leading scorer from last season, Matt Stucki (12 ppg), who graduated. Expect to see 6-8 Demetrius Monroe, who averaged 6.5 points and over 5 boards a game off the bench, get more playing time this year.

Montana State (last NCAA: 1996) Brad Huse's Bobcats hope to build on the end of last season, when they claimed road wins over third-seeded Montana and top-seeded Weber State to make the Big Sky final, where they fell two points short of claiming a surprise NCAA bid. Montana State returns the bulk of that team, except for C Divaldo Mbunga (10.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.8 bpg), leaving a huge void in the middle that Huse hopes a combination of 7-foot French C Michel Swita and 6-9 F Brandon Johnson (6 ppg, 3.5 rpg) can fill. If they can, the frontcourt could be among the best in the league, as 6-7 junior Bobby Howard (10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and 6-6 Danny Piepoli (7.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg) are already key contributors. The backcourt is also loaded, thanks to the presence of shooting guards Will Bynum (10.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Erik Rush (9.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and senior PG Marquis Navarre (5.7 ppg, 2.8 apg). To prepare for a conference run, the Bobcats will travel to Boise State, Memphis, Nevada, and Oregon during the early part of the season.

Portland State (last NCAA: 2009) The Vikings will try to reach the NCAAs for the third straight seaon, but they'll have to do it without two of the men most responsible for their recent success. Former head coach Ken Bone has moved onto the BCS level and Washington State, while 5-6 guard Jeremiah Dominguez (12.9 ppg) graduated. Bone's former assistant Tyler Geving will try to keep things going with a team that returns three starters: 6-1 senior G Dominic Waters (11.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg), and 6-7 Fs Phil Nelson (10.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Jamie Jones (9.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg). 6-5 F Julius Thomas, who averaged almost 7 points and over 5 boards a game coming off the bench last season is due for a bigger role, while two JC transfers will see significant time. 6-8 F Phillip Thomas, who started during his time at Idaho, is another body for an undersized frontcourt, while 5-10 guard Melvin Jones will be called on to replace Dominguez. Portland State will open their season in a tournament in Seattle, where they'll take on hosts Washington, Belmont, and Wright State. They'll also face their former coach's team in a neutral site game in Kennewick, Washington.

Montana (last NCAA: 2006) Fresh off finishing in a second-place tie, the Grizzlies should contend again, especially as last season's Big Sky Newcomer of the Year, point guard Anthony Johnson (17.6 ppg, 3 apg), should be even better as a sophomore. He'll be joined in the backcourt by Ryan Staudacher, who shot over 45 percent from three-point land while averaging nearly 8 points a game. Head coach Wayne Tinkle does have a major hole to fill in the frontcourt, thanks to the graduation of 6-9 Jordan Hasquet (11 ppg, 6 rpg). The Griz will need 6-11 junior C Brian Qvale to improve upon his 5.6 points and 5 boards a game to make up for his production. Positively, Qvale was a defensive force last season, averaging nearly 2 blocks per contest. Montana heads to Oregon and Washington during their non-conference season, while Boise State visits Missoula this season.

Weber State (last NCAA: 2007) The Wildcats stormed to a 15-1 league mark, which ultimately resulted in an NIT bid (and first round loss to San Diego State) thanks to their Big Sky semifinal loss to Cinderella Montana State. The frontcourt should be a strength for the Wildcats, thanks to the return of starters Steve Panos, a 6-8 C who averaged 9.4 points and 4.4 boards a game, and Kyle Bullinger, a 6-6 sophomore who added almost 9 points and 4.4 rebounds a contest himself, and key reserve Trevor Morris, a 6-9 junior C who scored almost 5 and grabbed nearly 4 boards a game off the bench. He may have to increase his production thanks to the departure of Davlin Davis, who scored almost 10 a game for Weber State last season. Sophomore Damian Lillard (11.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg) will run the offense, and 6-4 senior Nick Hansen who averaged nearly 9 points a game in a reserve role last year, should slide into the 2 guard spot after the graduation of leading scorer Kellen McCoy (14.1 ppg). Three JC transfers, swingmen Josh Noble and Franklin Session and guard Lindsey Hughey, should see significant minutes for Randy Rahe's team. Weber hosts Utah and visits UNLV and BYU. They also face Utah State in a home-and-home. The trip to Logan will be one of the Wildcats' three games at a pre-Christmas round-robin event that also features Cal State-Fullerton and Morehead State.

Weber State is my pick to claim the Big Sky's auto bid for this season. They'll appear in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9.

To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-Big Sky team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-Big Sky Team

Player of the Year: Anthony Johnson, 6-3 G, Sr. (Montana)

Remainder of the Team
Bobby Howard, 6-7 F, Jr. (Montana State)
Damian Lillard, 6-2 G, So. (Weber State)
Brandon Moore, 6-9 C, Sr. (Eastern Washington)
Benny Valentine, 5-7 G, Sr. (Eastern Washington)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Big Sky this season?

Eastern Washington

0 votes

Idaho State

2 votes

Montana

3 votes

Montana State

3 votes

Northern Arizona

0 votes

Northern Colorado

0 votes

Portland State

1 votes

Sacramento State

1 votes

Weber State

3 votes

13 votes | Poll has closed

The 2009-10 Coaching Carousel Recap

Chris Dobbertean — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Dusty Compton - AP

(Yes, it's a column about coaching changes that doesn't feature a picture of either John Calipari, Josh Pastner, or Sean Miller.) Former Florida assistant Anthony Grant left VCU during this offseason to return to the SEC, taking over at Alabama. (AP Photo/Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)

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As I posted last Monday, everyone knows that John Calipari is Billy Gillispie's replacement at Kentucky, and that Josh Pastner now has to try to keep Memphis at the top of Conference USA. It's also no secret that Sean Miller left Xavier to become Lute Olson's permanent replacement at Arizona, and that the Musketeers promoted assistant Chris Mack to the head job.

But there were 24 other coaching changes in Division I after the 2008-09 season. Some of these were the result of the domino effect that happens when a school in a power conference hires someone who was successful at a lower level, a decision that often leads to multiple jobs opening up. Others were cases where athletic directors felt that they needed to make changes, but stayed within the current staff.

This year's coaching carousel was a pretty lengthy one. Proving that the pressure is getting a bit ridiculous, even at lower levels of Division I, John Cooper (No, not THAT John Cooper.) replaces Cy Alexander at Tennessee State, which is a noteworthy story because Alexander was fired back on Feburary 9. Cooper was previously Jeff Lebo's associate head coach at Auburn. The final change of the offseason (I say that now like it's a certainty.) was finalized late Thursday when Cornell assistant Zach Spiker was hired at Army to replace Jim Crews.

While that's a start, it's certainly not everything that happened in the world of coaching during the spring and summer. After the jump, I'll run through the rest of the coaching changes made this offseason.

At one point, Kevin O'Neill was the interim coach in Tucson and the replacement in waiting for Lute Olson. That obviously didn't happen, so now the former Northwestern and Tennessee head coach has replaced Tim Floyd at USC.

Alabama hired Anthony Grant to replace Mark Gottfried. VCU then followed its own playbook by replacing Grant with another Florida assistant, Shaka Smart.

Georgia hired Mark Fox to do what Dennis Felton failed to do, rebuild the program. Nevada promoted assistant David Carter to replace Fox with the hopes he'll have the Wolf Pack ready to challenge Utah State and Idaho at the top of the league this year.

Tony Bennett left Washington State to replace Dave Leitao at Virginia. Former Portland State coach Ken Bone heads to the Palouse to replace him, with Vikings assistant Tyler Geving taking over the head job there.

Buzz Peterson left his job as Director of Player Personnel with the Charlotte Bobcats to return to Appalachian State. He left the Mountaineers to take the Tulsa job in 2000, leaving there for an average four seasons at Tennessee. After being forced out in Knoxville, Peterson coached Coastal Carolina for two years before heading to Charlotte. Elon will also have a new coach. Ernie Nestor was fired, and the school looked to tap into a winning formula in hiring his replacement. The Phoenix will now be led by former Davidson assistant Matt Matheny.

Isiah Thomas will now attempt to not ruin Florida International's program like he ruined the CBA and the New York Knicks. He's off to a great start at earning friends and influencing people.

Holy Cross hired Notre Dame assistant Sean Kearney to replace Ralph Willard, who left to be an assistant for Rick Pitino at Louisville.

Ritchie McKay left Liberty to be one of Bennett's assistants. Another former Colorado State head man, Marquette assistant Dale Layer is his replacement. Former South Carolina assistant Scott Cherry is the other new hire in the Big South, he replaces the fired Bart Lundy at High Point.

Dennis Wolff couldn't bring America East glory to Boston University, so he was fired and replaced with Villanova assistant Patrick Chambers.

Tom Green (not the "funny" Canadian) had significant success at Fairleigh Dickinson, just not over the past couple of years. He was fired and the Knights will be led by his former assistant, Greg Vetrone, at least on an interim basis.

Washington assistant Cameron Dollar, a star player on UCLA's 1995 National Championship team will lead Seattle through their Division I transition period, replacing Joe Callero, who took the job at Cal Poly in the Big West. North Carolina Central is the other Independent with a new coach for 2009-10. Henry Dickerson wasn't rehired, and he will be replaced by one of his assistants, LeVelle Morton.

Kevin Nickelberry resigned at Hampton, where Edward Joyner, Jr., one of Nickelberry's assistants will lead the team on at least an interim basis.

At Grambling, a tragic incident led to the end of Rick Duckett's tenure. Henry White, a transfer from Hill (Tex.) Junior College, died after an offseason workout on a 104 degree day at the Louisiana school. The school says Duckett resigned, but the coach says he was fired via a letter from the school. Assistant Robert Washington, Jr. will be the interim coach.

Tom Schuberth was fired at Texas-Pan American, where winning will always be tough because of the slim chance at making the NCAAs (something that won't change with Great West membership). St. Edward's coach Ryan Marks is the new head man in Edinboro.

There were two other changes in the Ohio Valley this offseason besides the Tennessee State switch I mentioned before the jump. Former Arkansas State head man Dickie Nutt is back in the business, taking over a Southeast Missouri State program that spent most of last season in turmoil after the Scot Edgar regime. Bret Campbell resigned at Tennessee-Martin. His replacement is former assistant Jason James.

At the end of the season, I'll come back and look at how each of these coaches did in filling their new jobs. On Tuesday, however, I turn my attention back to the players with my first ever preseason All-America teams.

A Game (or Two) a Night: November 2009

Chris Dobbertean — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:50:00 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Corey Stokes and the Villanova Wildcats will be in Puerto Rico this November, while Ed Davis' Tar Heels will be in New York. Both events feature in the November games to watch. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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November, the time of year when the air is crisp (well, at least in places in the Northern Hemisphere where there are actual seasons) and everyone is unbeaten. Unfortunately, that second fact can't last forever, as a proper college basketball game requires a winner and loser.

And, indeed, that's what all college basketball fans wait for, the action and the subsequent result, be it a blowout win for your favorite team or a potential BracketBuster pulling an upset that captures the country's imagination. November is the time for us to start on our collective road to March and April. Casual fans often dismiss the early season, saying that the Tournament is the only thing that matters, and that there are too many meaningless regular season games. (I wonder how many of these critics are NBA fans.)

But without the bumps in the road and potholes teams face in the early season, the finish line of March wouldn't just be unsatisfying, it would be an impossibility. Not only do college basketball fans learn more about the hoops landscape in the early season, teams really learn about themselves and their capabilities, especially when faced with the rigors of playing three games in three or four nights on a neutral floor.

Those early-season tournaments are a big part of this first month of the season, so on a few nights this month, you'll see more than one game listed, usually a semifinal doubleheader of some sort. Join me after the jump for my thoughts on the creme de la creme of games for the opening month of the 2009-10 season. TV information, as always, can be found at MattSarzSports.com.

Monday, November 9
Florida International at North Carolina (Coaches vs. Cancer Classic) (ESPNU, 7 ET)
Remember when Isiah Thomas said he didn't want his Golden Panthers to play UNC in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic? Do you think the Tar Heels are going to remember that?

Tuesday, November 10
There are no TV games listed for this night. Maybe colleges anticipated bad weather and hired the MLB scheduling department to plan out the first week of the season. Oh wait...

Wednesday, November 11
Robert Morris at Syracuse (Coaches vs. Cancer Classic) (ESPNU, 7 ET)
These two teams met at the Carrier Dome in the first round of the NIT in 2007, and both made the NCAAs in 2008. In fact, this is the only meeting of two 2008 NCAA teams in the opening rounds of the Coaches vs. Cancer event. The rosters will just be a tad different, however.

Thursday, November 12
James Madison at Ohio State (Coaches vs. Cancer Classic) (Big Ten, 7 ET)
This is the only TV game listed for this night, so it wins by default.

Friday, November 13
Bradley at BYU (Missouri Valley/Mountain West Challenge) (the mtn, 9:30 ET)
Last March, the Cougars found themselves a first round victim in the NCAAs, while the Braves finished as runners-up in the first ever College Insider Tournament.

Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15
Portland State at Washington (Athletes in Action Basketball Classic) (FSN NW, 10 ET Sunday)
Thanks to football, there's a small group of games to choose this weekend. The best matchup appears to be the last one of the group to tip. While Ken Bone has moved on (coincidentally, to UW's archrival), his top assistant, Tyler Geving, will attempt to keep the program's momentum going. The homestanding Huskies, one of the favorites in the Pac-10, will serve as a stern test for the Vikings.

Monday, November 16
Miami (OH) at Kentucky (FSN South, 7 ET)
If Billy Gillispie was coaching the Wildcats, you could watch this one half expecting Charlie Coles' Redhawks to pull the upset. However, John Calipari was hired to make these sorts of games a formality.

Tuesday, November 17
Memphis at Kansas (Hall of Fame Classic, St. Louis) (ESPN, 10 ET)
With ESPN running hoops for 24-plus hours, you have a lot of options on this particular day. Watching the near consensus preseason number one open up their season with a rematch that's not really a rematch of a game the NCAA says now didn't happen back in 2008 would be a nice way to end the marathon.

Wednesday, November 18
Butler at Northwestern (Big Ten, 8 ET)
The Wildcats have a legitimate shot at finally making the NCAAs this year. Beating a very strong Bulldog team in Evanston would provide a nice win for the resume.
Honorable mention goes to an Interesting doubleheader of intrastate battles on the mtn, Utah State at Utah and Nevada at UNLV.

Thursday, November 19
Coaches vs. Cancer Semifinals--California vs Syracuse and North Carolina vs. Ohio State (ESPN2, 7 ET)
Even if one of these teams were to lose during the on-campus opening rounds, they'd still make it to New York to battle with the other BCS schools in the field.

Friday, November 20
Coaches vs. Cancer 3rd Place Game and Final (ESPN2, 5 ET)
No matter who wins and loses on Thursday, both these game will deserve your attention.

Saturday, November 21
Rider at Kentucky (FSN South, 1 ET)
Again, not a great slate of games because of football. This game deserves special mention because it's one of the few chances you'l have to see Rider G Ryan Thompson, younger brother of the Sacramento Kings' Jason, (18 ppg. 6.5 rpg in 2008-09) on TV before the MAAC season.

Sunday, November 22
Puerto Rico Tip-Off Final (ESPN2, 8 ET)
This bracket appears a bit unbalanced, with A-10 favorite Dayton, rising ACC club Georgia Tech, and Big East favorite Villanova all featuring in the top half of the bracket (and don't sleep on George Mason either. Indiana, Kansas State, and Mississippi are the three power teams in the bottom half, with America East favorite Boston U capable of pulling a shock.

Monday, November 23
Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt (Maui Invitational First Round) (ESPN2, 5:30 ET)
The Bearcats and Commodores are two teams who look like they're ready to make up for disappointing 2008-2009 seasons.

Tuesday, November 24
Florida State at Florida (FS Florida, 7 ET)
The Seminoles are looking to build on last year's return to the NCAAs, while the Gators are looking to get back themselves after an unexpected two year absence following two consecutive titles.

Wednesday, November 25
Maui Invitational Championship (ESPN, 10 ET)
While Gonzaga and Maryland would have to be considered the favorites here. Arizona and Wisconsin hope to stand in the way of the Bulldogs, while the aforementioned Bearcats and Commodores will hope to stop the Terps.

Thursday, November 26
Minnesota vs. Butler (76 Classic First Round) (ESPN2, 8:30 ET)
I'm traveling clear across country for this tournament because when I saw the field for the first time last November, I knew it was going to be a classic. While all four quarterfinals are intriguing, this one stands out to me because it matches up a Gopher team that should really be clicking in the third year of Tubby Smith's tenure with a Bulldog squad that could really shock the public (but not those of us in the know) with a good run through this event. Winner faces either Portland or UCLA in Friday's semifinals.

Friday, November 27
76 Classic Semifinals (ESPN2, 2:30 and 5 ET)
While I've already mentioned the potential second semifinal matchups, the first semifinal should be just as entertaining, as it will feature the winner of Long Beach State (the Big West favorite)-West Virginia and either Clemson or Texas A&M.

Saturday, November 28
Louisville at UNLV (Versus, 4 ET)
This is a rematch of the Rebels upset win at Freedom Hall last New Year's Day. At that point, it looked like the Rebels were well on their way to the Tournament and the Cards were reeling.

See, this is why every game is important.

Sunday, November 29
76 Classic Final (ESPN2, 10 ET)
I think the organizers are hoping UCLA will be involved in this one, but as I've shown you, the Bruins won't have an easy time getting here.

Monday, November 30
Penn State at Virginia (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) (ESPN2, 7 ET)
The month closes with a quiet Monday night slate. After playing Stanford and either Kentucky or Cleveland State in a ballroom in Cancun, Tony Bennett's squad must host the defending NIT champions.

That should get you started for the season. My games for December will follow tomorrow evening.

Get excited, Central Washington Coug fans!

Dancing Football — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:07:55 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

Ken Bone ponders which local wineries he will visit when his team travels to the Tri-Cities on December 19th. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

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Washington State Cougar head basketball coach Ken Bone announced yesterday at the Cougar Tailgate Party in Pasco that the men's basketball team will be playing a non-conference game against Portland State on Saturday, December 19th at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.

Yes, that Portland State! Nice to see there are no hard feelings between Bone and PSU. I'm sure Ken will appreciate the chance to get to see his old players, and the players will relish the opportunity to prove that they can play just fine without him.

I love this idea. The Tri-Cities and Yakima (just a 90 minute drive up I-82) are most definitely Cougar territory and it is nice to see the basketball program "throw them a bone."

Some fun facts:

The Toyota Center holds 5,970 screaming hockey fans when the Tri-City Americans of the WHL are in town. I'm guessing the Coug basketball game there will feature a similar capacity.
The time it takes for the two schools to travel to the game site is virtually the same. Portland State will have a 3 hour and 32 minute journey, while WSU will be on the bus for approximately 3 hours and 21 minutes. In these rough economic times however, WSU will have the advantage when it comes to saving gas, as they only have to travel 143 miles as compared to PSU's 217.

Bone still mum on PSU's APR woes as Geving speaks out

Nuss — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:52:34 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

New WSU coach Ken Bone, shown here coaching at Portland State last year, still hasn't said much about the APR mess he left behind at PSU. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

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Like me, I know a lot of you are interested to learn more about the APR mess at Portland State left behind by new WSU coach Ken Bone.

It's kind of the giant pink elephant in the room in what has been an otherwise amazing first month on the job for Bone. We've come to take pride in our basketball team's ability to not just play great, but perform in the classroom as well. And, to be frank, after what we went through with the football team last year, the academic trends at PSU are a little scary.

So, do we have reason to be scared? Is there reason to think that Bone might be bringing a philosophy that's destined to cause problems?

While Bone has been relatively mum on the issue so far, new PSU coach Tyler Geving -- Bone's top assistant for all four years -- is speaking out for the first time, telling The Oregonian that there is plenty of blame to go around for the mess the Vikings are in:

"We as coaches need to do a better job of evaluating who we're bringing in and making sure that academics are a priority to them," Geving said. "I don't think that you can point the finger at just one person or thing for this whole situation.

"The coaches have to hold the players more accountable, and the players have to want to get their degree. It has to mean something to them. And our academic support group has to do a better job. ... There's a lot of blame to go around, but we also have an opportunity to fix it."

In one sense, this ought to be just a little scary -- Bone bears some responsibility for the poor evaluations that led to bringing in players for whom making progress towards a degree was not a priority. Some of that is chalked up in the story to Bone trying to get the program off the ground, presumably because getting talented players to come to Portland State proved to be a challenge. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence that this is more of a PSU issue than a Bone issue, as WSU suffers from many of the same challenges as Portland State. Will he be tempted to take the same risks to add talent here?

Later in the story, Geving reiterates his point that much of the responsibility rests with the players, saying that the coaching staff was doing plenty to try and make sure the players were making academic progress:

"I think the perception is that we've sitting around as coaches and we don't care if the guys go to class or not. That's not the case," Geving said. "I don't think people realize sometimes how many hours we spend with our guys on their academics, but maybe what we were doing wasn't enough."

The story is a nice mea culpa, but this is precisely the kind of lazy journalism that drives me absolutely bananas.

The reporter states that the APR problems are due to "the departure of several stars and scrubs alike before they got within shouting distance of a diploma." No kidding! Anyone who is familiar with the APR formula knows that. Now, how about being a good journalist and documenting who these players are and try to find out how and why it happened? It wouldn't even take that much effort. Because Portland State is a public institution, most of that kind of information would absolutely be available under the Freedom of Information Act. And even if some of the names would be redacted under FERPA, the mathematics of the APR are simple enough that it wouldn't be difficult to figure out how the NCAA arrived at its score.

Later in the story, Geving implies that part of the issue is that the APR is flawed, lamenting that they're going to take a hit next year from a player who's leaving right now in good academic standing. While that's technically true, you don't get 78 points below the NCAA's minimum threshold from players like that. Allowing a statement like that to go unchecked is irresponsible by the writer. Yet, it happens over and over again in the story. Geving says the coaches are spending "hours" with guys on their acadmics. No verification. Geving says they're going to "clean up this mess." No follow up question on how.

Rather than just taking what the coach says at face value, why not do a little digging to try and find out just what kinds of academic development tools were in place, and compare those with the resources at other schools? And then, how about getting some specifics on how exactly Portland State plans on righting this ship -- especially when you consider that their football team, men's track team, and now-defunct wrestling team also incurred penalties over the past two years. Yet, there's no mention in the story of the potential institutional issues that could be behind this.

Is Jim Beseda a bad journalist? Probably not (although his bio page doesn't exactly help us answer the question). More than likely, he doesn't want to dig too much so as to piss off a new coach and risk losing access. I'm going to choose to believe that, rather than the alternative, because the alternative is awful to think about.

But if I'm a Portland State fan, that's just not good enough. I want to know why this happened and how it's not going to happen again. If I'm a WSU fan -- which I am -- I want to know whether I have to worry about a similar fate at my school. This story, which is little more than a public relations piece on behalf of Geving, does nothing to answer the real issues.

So, here we wait, hoping somebody finally asks the right questions. Until then, we're left to just wonder.

Cougs escape APR penalties this year

Nuss — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:23:37 -0000

One year ago, the release of the NCAA's academic progress rate findings sent WSU fans into a tailspin. We got our first public look into just how out of hand things had gotten in the Bill Doba era, and it wasn't pretty -- a score below the NCAA's 925-point threshhold combined with players leaving the program while not on track to graduate resulted in the loss of eight scholarships.

Jim Sterk and Paul Wulff both stated publicly that they didn't think it would be a problem again, and they were right: Today, the NCAA released its most recent APR findings, and the Cougs have made substantial enough progress that the NCAA has decided not to penalize the program further.

While the Cougs' four-year rolling score in football is just 918 -- still seven points below the NCAA's standard of 925 -- the NCAA accepted WSU's appeal of penalties thanks to the positive gains the program has made since Wulff arrived on campus. Last year, the score was 874, so it's clear Wulff is doing some positive things off the field, even though the jury's still out with regards to the on-field performance.

Hoops continued its upward trend, now up to 946, which is a surprise to no one who has seen all the guys we've put on the all-academic team the past couple of years. Last year, hoops posted one of the school's lower scores at 903, but that was largely due to the mess that Paul Graham left behind. His numbers have now (finally) come off the books.

One basketball program of note that did receive penalties? Portland State. While one of those years doesn't belong to Bone, he can't pawn off the results on someone else the way the Bennetts did -- Portland State's APR actually declined in Bone's first three years, from 897 to 894 to an abysmal 867 this year. I sure hope this is a case of numbers not telling the whole story of what was going on there, because that is downright scary. Hopefully someone asks Bone about it.

No other WSU program fell below the 925 threshhold of the APR, which measures both retention and progress toward graduation. The highest number in the department? Women's cross country, checking in at 995 -- good enough to be among the top 20 percent of cross country programs and top 10 percent of all sports programs.

There still were plenty of schools who received penalties, though. Among BCS conference schools, Minnesota and Ole Miss each received penalites in football, while Auburn, Indiana, Purdue, Colorado, South Carolina and Ohio State each received penalties in men's basketball.

One final thought. This is a drum I banged on my blog last year, and I'll say it again: BCS schools make up roughly 20 percent of Division I basketball schools, yet they only account for 14 percent of schools receiving penalties; in football, they make up 54 percent of FBS schools, yet account for only 18 percent of penalties.

Is it because BCS schools have a premium on academically committed athletes? Or could it be because they generally have far more resources at their disposal, such as small armies of tutors and counselors, to “ensure” students stay on track for graduation?

I'll go ahead and go with the latter.

Report: Sterk interviewed Bone, Morrill today

Nuss — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 02:33:34 -0000

Bud Withers at the Seattle Times is reporting that AD Jim Sterk interviewed both Portland State coach Ken Bone and Utah State head coach Stew Morrill today in the Seattle area, leading to the logical conclusion that this coaching search is drawing to a close.

I'd be pretty surprised at this point if there were more candidates to interview; the only way I see this thing dragging out is if Sterk and President Floyd are undecided and want to do a second round of interviews. But I'd bet against that.

Did Sterk save the best for last? I sure hope so -- you know about our feelings for Bone, but I have virtually the same feelings for Morrill. What he's been able to accomplish in Logan, Utah is nothing short of remarkable, and I have no doubt that he'd do a fantastic job at WSU.

Withers notes that luring Bone may prove easier than luring Morrill. Honestly, I don't care which one of these two guys we get -- both are excellent coaches, and either one would make me happy. Porter would still intrigue me, but I'm wary of the boom or bust factor.

Let's just hope, above all else, Sterk isn't setting us up for the Mike Davis or Mark Gottfried fall.

Grady's thoughts (7:45 p.m.)

So now we know why Sterk left the Final Four so early:

Sunday, WSU interviewed both Portland State coach Ken Bone and Utah State coach Stew Morrill in Seattle, and those two appear to be among the top choices to succeed Tony Bennett, who abruptly left for Virginia last Monday.

What does this mean?

One: it means the favorite, Ken Bone, is likely still the favorite.

Two: it means that Stew Morrill could be a viable option for WSU after all. The biggest question mark with Morrill was always whether he'd be willing to to leave Logan in the first place. Now, it appears, he's actually considering it. Morrill's resume is impressive - he's made it to the NCAA or NIT in each of the last ten seasons. All at Utah State - a program with little history and resources to match.

Morrill could find the WSU job intriguing - he's actually one of the few coaches out there who prefers to avoid the bright lights. This may be the only candidate who views Pullman's location as an attraction instead of a detraction. Would he be successful in the Pac-10? Only one way to find out.

Regarding the other candidates, I'm starting to feel much better about the possibility of Terry Porter. Mainly in the fact that he was a player under Dick Bennett, and could be the most likely candidate to mesh with our current players and our slow-tempo system. The question mark that remains would be whether he could keep the momentum rolling through recruiting. That area would be foreign to Porter, but he'd get some help if he could keep Johnson and Woodley around as assistants.

Finally, I'm feeling even less enthralled with Mike Davis than I was when I first heard his name as a possibility. Things have fallen apart of late at UAB, and his players have been less than stellar on and off the court. Academics seem to be a secondary concern to Davis, and that's a problem. The Blazers were cut down to only six scholarship players in December after two left school and two were found to be academically ineligible. And they were already shorthanded from NCAA academic progress penalties. Star player Robert Vaden got a public intoxication charge and five (count 'em, five) players got arrested after an incident at a dance club.

At this point, I feel the Mike Davis interview was nothing more than a waste of Jim Sterk's time.

Don't hire Mike Davis.

USC maintains momemtum, Xavier cruises

SFBE.NF — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:09:46 -0000

#10 USC - #7 Boston College: Taj Gibson is perfect. Not really, but he was perfect last night, going 10-for-10 from the floor as the Trojans kicked off a brutal night for the ACC with a 72-55 victory. Eagle studs Tyrese Rice and Rakim Sanders were held to 18 total points and committed 18 turnovers. Proof that the Boston Globe is an endangered newspaper, Dan Shaugnessey, of all columnists, covered the game and simply tagged USC as the better team. He was right, as the Trojan Horse marches on to face the Spartans of Michigan State. There's some history here right?
#14 Portland State - #3 Xavier: "I watched Xavier this year, and I think Portland State will be the upset of the night." -- said the not-so-venerable Greg Anderson. Who the hell at CBS thinks it's a good idea to put Anderson and Seth Davis at the desk for the NCAA Tournament? Xavier never really had a chance of losing, as they handeld the Vikings 77-59. The Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Daugherty said that it's a thankless win for the Musketeers, as they survive and advance. Xavier only committed seven turnovers and looked like a team focused on their third Sweet 16 berth in six seasons.
#16 Morehead St. - #1 Louisville: Cards coach Rick Pitino put it best after the game. He wasn't peeved at a two point halftime lead, or the fact that his team only out rebounded the Eagles by one. He was just happy that his opponent competed and exuded what March Madness was all about. The Louisville Courier Journal's Rick Bozich says that Morehead St. should of held off on their first half rendition of "Gonna Fly Now," because it was quite presumptuous. UL asserted themselves in the second 20 minutes of play, shooting an impressive 58 percent. They move on with a 74-54 win.
#12 Arizona - #5 Utah: An upset? Not in Vegas. Zona was actually the favorites in this game, and made the selection committee look good with an 84-71 win over the Utes. Zona's point guard Nic Wise led all with 29, as the Utes center Luke Nevill was limited with foul trouble. Wise slashed his way to the basket on a number of occasions, going 7-7 from the free throw line. A bubble team, the Wildcats now face Cleveland State in the second round, suddenly giving them a clear shot at the Sweet 16.