TDCB: Return to Eastern Washington [Archive] - Front Office Football Central

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:02 PM

Stats Dump

We finish the 2002-2003 season 23-9.
CRI
58th Eastern Washington .5267 CRI Value, 0.719 Win%, 301 Schedule Rank, .4627 Schedule Strength 55th IP Poll, 51 .400 Poll

Final IP Top 25 Poll
<pre>
1. Arizona 33-6
2. Cincinnati 33-3
3. Florida 33-6
4. Connecticut 32-4
5. Kansas 29-6
6. Michigan State 29-7
7. Kentucky 29-8
8. Texas Tech 27-7
9. Syracuse 27-6
10. Georgia Tech 28-5
11. Illinois 25-9
12. Ohio State 27-6
13. USC 26-10
14. Virginia 27-10
15. Mississippi State 25-8
16. Stanford 25-10
17. Temple 25-7
18. Duke 23-11
19. Wake Forest 26-8
20. Indiana 23-10
21. Providence 26-10
22. Mississippi 24-11
23. UCLA 23-13
24. Fresno State 27-6
25. Iowa 22-10
</pre>

2002-2003 Eagles Final Roster
<pre>
Name Pos G MPG PPG RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG
Ben Cooper SF 32 32.0 18.2 6.1 1.3 1.2 0.7 0.0
Kevin Cockle SG 32 30.0 14.5 2.7 2.7 1.6 1.2 0.0
Hilton PiatowskiC 26 29.5 8.6 9.6 0.8 1.5 0.6 1.0
Rob Rein PG 31 29.6 8.1 2.7 5.8 2.6 1.5 0.0
Josh Johnson PF 29 30.2 7.7 2.9 0.6 1.3 0.7 0.3
Sharone Jones PG 32 11.2 4.0 0.4 1.5 0.8 0.1 0.0
Lindsey Brown C 28 16.2 3.9 4.0 0.6 0.8 0.5 0.5
Chevlier King SF 24 8.3 3.7 0.7 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.0
Ezra Harthaway PG 26 12.7 3.1 1.1 2.4 1.1 0.4 0.0
Delvin Friend PF 32 11.3 2.3 1.8 0.3 0.7 0.1 0.2
Lucas Cooper SF 19 5.2 1.7 1.0 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0
Jonathan Wesby PG 3 1.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Jamal RichardsnSG 1 4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
</pre>

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:02 PM

Departing Seniors

Ben Cooper. Cooper’s 18.2 PPG was a huge reason we made it to the NCT. Although I gave him the starting position by default, he made every effort to prove my initial evaluation of him wrong, His 28.7 PPG during the Big Sky Conference Tournament will forever be remembered by EWU fans.

Hilton Piatowski. Arguably the most talented player on the team, Piatowski’s true worth came to light when the Eagles went 3-3 in Big Sky Conference games with him out with an injury. He shot over 50% during his career at Eastern, and his great play pushed the Eagles into the 2003 NCT, and was rewarded by being named to the Big Sky All Conference team.

Rob Rein. Rein was the central figure in the Eagles offence, controlling the play when they went to a one guard set, or dictating the action from the motion offence. Calm and cool on the court, he set a season high mark of 21 points with 11-11 free throws vs Montana. His season 79.1 free throw % led the team.

Sharone Jones. Jones saw very little playing time in 2003. He scored a career high 12 points against San Francisco, and finished his collegiate career with a 3 point basket in the NCT against Duke.

No Eagles get drafted, which isn’t a surprise. I get offered 10 jobs during the off-season. Two of them, Oregon State, and Long Beach have higher prestige, but I’m sticking around for a while. My reputation is Established, which I hope helps me land some big time recruits this year.

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:04 PM

We welcome in a new trainer, Ricky Hill. He has better conditioning at a lower cost for us.

Missouri grabs the top recruiting class of 2003, while runner up Arizona gets the 5th class. No surprise here, no Big Sky teams are in the top 20.

We stick with Sid Nyquist’s Hoopz Galore for our scouting service. We did land Roy Bailey with the service last year, and initial reports say they were pretty much on the money with him. Oh, plus the fact that we can’t afford any other service, kind of ties our hands :)

We settle on a little tougher non-conference schedule this year. Our recruiting class is listed as Average, and our composite talent level is listed as Below Average, both improvements from last year. So, a little tougher schedule won’t hurt any. Our fellow Big Sky Conference teams had awful freshman classes, except for Northern Arizona and Montana, but only Northern Arizona is expected to compete with us this year.

Eastern Washington Eagles Non-Conference Schedule

St. Francis (NY)
Arkansas LR
@ LSU
Lehigh
@ South Florida
Alcorn State
@ #2 Michigan State
Mercer
Wichita State
@ Loyola Maryland
Wagner
High Point
@ Southern Utah
Navy
Pepperdine

IP Top 25 Initial Poll

1. Arizona
2. Michigan State
3. Florida
4. Duke
5. Iowa State
6. Kansas
7. UCLA
8. Virginia
9. Illinois
10. Texas Tech
11. Connecticut
12. Kentucky
13. Cincinnati
14. Texas
15. Mississippi
16. USC
17. North Carolina
18. Providence
19. Boston College
20. Maryland
21. Wake Forest
22. Tennessee
23. Alabama
24. Wisconsin
25. California

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:05 PM

Meet the 2003-2004 Eastern Washington Eagles

SG – Kevin Cockle. SR (6-3, 184) Cockle returns to the starting lineup this year after an impressive junior campaign. He played 32 games for the Eagles last year, collecting 14.5 PPG, 2.7 APG, and 61 +/- rating. He worked very hard in the offseason, and has vastly improved his shooting and passing game.

PG – Ezra Hathaway SO (6-2, 160) Hathaway had a difficult camp, and didn’t improve as much as the coaches would have liked. Still, we have very little options with guards this year, and Hathaway will get the starting spot. In 26 games, Hathaway grabbed 3.1 PPG, 2.4 APG, and 0.4 APG in just over 12 mins/game playing time, and was named to the Big Sky All-Freshmen team.

SF – Delvin Friend SR (6-7, 272) With Bailey committing last year and the departure of Cooper, Friend knew he would have to improve his skills if he wanted any playing time in his final year. He did just that, improving his offensive game greatly, and allowing the coaches to pencil him in as the starting small forward. His stats off the bench last year, 32 Games, 11.3 MPG, 2.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG.

C – Lindsey Brown SR (6-11, 243) Brown, used sparingly last year, worked hard during the offseason to capture the starting center spot. The best pure athlete on the team, Brown worked intensively on his defense and rebounding, and the coaches now feel confident in his basketball abilities.

PF – Roy Bailey FR (6-8, 242) Believe the hype. Bailey is the best player Coach klayman has had at EWU, and possibly the best to ever play there. The Freshman out of Graettinger, IA has all the tools, and will be a key part in the Eagles plans. And he can only get better.

Bench:

F – Josh Johnson SO (6-9, 225) A difficult off season hampered Johnson, and his skills deteriorated quite a bit. Last years Big Sky All-Freshmen PF, the coaches expected Johnson to take the SF from departing Ben Cooper, but with Friend having an excellent camp, Johnson was edged out for the starting spot. Last years numbers 29 Games, 30.2 MPG, 7.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG.

F – Chevalier King JR (6-3, 173) King had an excellent off season, and although listed as a forward, should see a lot time on the floor in a guard spot. He was used sparingly last year, posting 3.7 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.2 APG in 24 games.

F – Eddie Anderson FR (6-6, 241) Talented young freshman out of Shiprock, NM. Unfortunately for Eddie, the Eagles are forward heavy this year, but he could see some time at SF or SG this year.

C – Jeff Bullock FR (6-10, 254) Bullock was the first player to commit last year, and unfortunately is a disappointment. He’ll need a lot of work to get into the starting lineup, but might see some playing time being the only other natural center on the team.

SG – Joey Zinn FR (6-5, 169) Joey is an above average SG out of Butte Falls, OR. He’s redshirting this season to give him some more development time.

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:06 PM

Recruits:

Ok, so somewhere I messed up and miscalculated how much money I had. We probably could have afforded the next level in scouting service, since we have over a $5,000 weekly budget for recruiting. With 3 scholarships, that means we should be able to go after all our main targets aggressively, and still have some light effort available for fringe targets. Obviously we’re looking for guards, although I’d like to pick up another center since Bullock was a disappointment. Unfortunately, this year’s class doesn’t hold many promising guards.

1. Linton Mullahon PG (6-2, 156, ****) Linton has Eastern Washington on his shortlist, and after initial conversations with him, we’ve decided he is our number one target. His highschool stats are low, but he has a high potential. Out of Valdez, AK.#17 PG, #107 Nationally, #31 West

2. Marc Dye SF (6-7, 209, ****) Yes, I know we’re forward laden, but Dye looks too good to pass up. Initial conversations go well, but he already looks like he about to commit to Northern Arizona. And we can’t let that happen! Out El Dorado HS in Chandler, AZ. #27 SF, #121 Overall, #35 West

3. Jamar Richardson SF (6-6, 160, ****) Did I mention there wasn’t many good guards to pick? Richardson is another good looking player with lots of potential, but he looks ready to sign with Washington. He has moderate interest in EWU, but for now we’ll just keep an eye on him. Out of Piano West HS, TX. #44 SF, #173 Overall, #45 West

4. Juan Calton C (6-11, 278, ***) Average center with excellent potential. He’s pulling down 11.5 RPG in high school. Initial conversations go well, but he’s not in any rush to commit, and we’re not in any rush to offer. Out of South Oak Cliff HS in Dallas, TX. Not Rated

5. Odell Mapp SG (6-3, 161, **) Talented guard who looks underrated by the scouting services. He’s got 20.0 PPG in high school, and has moderate interest in EWU. Right now he’s a late back up. Out of Maryvale HS in Phoenix, AZ. Not rated.

6. Matt Winn PG (5-11, 148, ***) Talented guard, but doesn’t have a lot of potential. Still he’d be a very successful guard in the Big Sky. He’s looking at USC though. Out of Westview HS in Portland, OR. #34 PG, #51 West. Not rated nationally.

7. Josh Brown PG (6-1, 151, *) Not very talented, but has Eastern Washington on his shortlist. I need a guard though, and if I can’t get anybody else, he seems like a sure thing. Out of Jesuit HS in Portland, OR. Not rated.

8. Victor Hill SF (6-7, 189, *****) Talented forward with excellent potential who is just too good to pass up. I’ve run over my phone bill expenses, so I don’t get a chance to gauge his interest, but I’ll assume it’s pretty low. Out of Lake Oswego HS, OR. #14 SF, #57 Overall, #16 West.

9. Correy Cabrera C (6-9, 201 ***) Above average center who might consider EWU a good place to come. He’s a step up from Bullock, so he’d be worth the effort. Out of Elgin HS, OR. #87 West.

The coaching staff decides that Mullahon and Calton will be the initial targets. We’ll go after everybody we can, as hard as we can (since we have lots of money), but we’ll hold off on the 3rd scholarship offer to see if we can find a late uncommitted recruit (much like we found Bailey). It’s a gamble, but there’s just not much there unless we add another forward to our team.

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:07 PM

Actually, it costs almost $5k to aggressively recruit Mullahon and Calton, plus offer them both 1st week visits. So they’re the only recruits that get attention.

Week 2 (0-0)
Mullahon’s interest quickly dies when bigger schools come calling for him. However, I’m not about to give up, and will keep perusing him aggressively until he commits somewhere. Calton’s interest lies elsewhere as well, but we’ll cut the rope with him and go after Cabrera instead, who gives us a warmer reception. Mullahon and Cabrera get aggressive effort, and Cabrera gets a week 2 visit which he accepts. With still over 3 grand to spend we go after Matt Winn aggressively, but he refuses a visit. We go aggressively after Victor Hill as well, but he’s likely out of our reach now. We spend our last $600 dollars offering Josh Brown a bone in case we can’t get any guards to commit to EWU.

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:08 PM

St. Francis (NY) Terriers (0-0) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (0-0)
We’re the favorites and own a 3-2 starter advantage as well. We have quite a size mismatch in our advantage on the post as well.

Bailey opens the game 0:07 in with his first basket for EWU, and the home crowd go nuts. So do the rest of the starters, and led surprisingly by Hathaway’s 15 first half points, we ease to the 48-24 half time lead. Both Hathaway and Bailey are 5-5 from the line.

The starters play very little in the 2nd half, but all manage to hit double digits by the end of the game. Our defense was just too much for the Terriers, and we cruise to an easy 79-44 opening win. Hathaway led all Eagles with 17 points, while Cockle grabbed 14. We shot an impressive 24 for 30 from the line. Bailey finished with 12 points, 6 blocks and 9 boards.

Arkansas LR Trojans (1-0) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (1-0)
We once again get the nod as the favorites, with a 3-2 edge in starters.

Some horrible shooting sees the teams play the first 5 mins without a basket between them. It improves quite a bit after that, and Chevalier King nails the buzzer beater to give us a 33-32 half time lead. King comes off the bench for 10 points, while Bailey leads all starters with 9.

The game remains close through most of the 2nd half. With 5 mins left to play, and the score tied up at 53, we proceed to miss our next 8 shots, and hand the Trojans the victory 63-74, however. King finishes the game with 20 while Cockle grabbed 18. Bailey had another strong game with 9 points, 4 blocks and 8 boards.

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:09 PM

Week 3 (1-1)
Linton Mullahon is still not interested in Eastern Washington. We continue to aggressively chase him, however. Even at $1500/week. What the hell are we buying these kids to get them to come to EWU?

Cabrera now has us as his number one choice, and some more aggressive effort on our part is topped with a scholarship offer. Winn’s resistence has died, and he’s now not only willing to visit EW in week 3, but he also has us on his short list. That’s good news in case Mullahon can’t be turned to the dark side. Hill has no interest in EWU at all, but gets an aggressive effort nonetheless.

King’s 20 points earns him a starting position this week. We’ll slot him into SF and see how he handles it.

IP Top 5: Michigan State (4-1), Florida (3-1), Iowa State (5-0), Arizona (3-2), and Kansas (2-0)

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:09 PM

Eastern Washington Eagles (1-1) @ LSU Tigers (1-1)
Tigers are of course the favorites, with a 4-1 starter advantage, Bailey being that lone starter for us. LSU is 0-1 at home so far.

We build up an impressive 11-3 run to start the game, Cockle leading the way with 3 points. We build up a 15 point lead with 5 mins remaining, but then let LSU go on a 15-2 run, and we squeak out of the half up by 1, 34-33.

We open the 2nd half, 7 for 7 with 4 threes, and by midway open a 20 point lead against the Tigers. The Tigers pretty much give up after that, and we cruise to the nice 89-68 upset. King rewards his start, by hitting 33 points including 6-9 from long range. Cockle and Bailey add 20 and 15 each, while Hathaway puts up 10 points with 14 assists.

Lehigh Engineers (2-1) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (2-1)
We get the nod as the favorites, with a 3-2 starter advantage. Lehigh beat us opening day last year, and we’re looking to avenge the loss.

We start out hot, led by none other than Chevalier King, and grab a 15-6 run to start the game. King had 8 of those 15. We continue to pound the Engineers, shooting 75% on the half, and go into the break up 52-34. King continues to impress, grabbing 14 points despite only playing 12 mins in the first half.

Lehigh manage to close down King in the 2nd half, but the game is never in contention and we easily win 86-68. King finishes with 18, leading all scorers, while Bailey matches his career high 15 points, with 8 boards and 5 blocks.

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:10 PM

Week 4 (3-1)
All our players remain academically eligible to play. In fact, all but four players are over 3.00 GPA, and only redshirted Joey Zinn is below 2.00 GPA.

King has pretty much earned the starting SF the rest of the way. Sorry, Delvin.

Victor Hill gets tired of the phone calls and visits by Eastern Washington staff, and commits to Tennessee. Mullahon is still not interested in any thing we say, so we continue with our $1500/week habit of trying to get him interested, but it doesn’t look to promising. On the other hand, Matt Winn looks ready to commit, so we offer him our last scholarship. Both Winn and Cabrera get aggressive effort again this week, while Josh Brown gets a visit along with some aggressive recruiting. Most likely, Mullahon won’t commit to us, so I’ll still have that extra scholarship. We might be able to grab a late 5 star recruit again like with Bailey last year.

Brent Page, one of last years recruiting targets who said he didn’t want to sign with a Big Sky team when we talked to him, and then promptly committed to Montana, wins the Freshman player of the week. :mad:

IP Top 5: Michigan State (6-1), Florida (5-1), Arizona (5-2), Iowa State (7-0), and Kansas (4-0).

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:11 PM

Eastern Washington Eagles (3-1) @ South Florida Bulls (1-3)
The Bulls get overall favorite distinction, but we grab a 3-2 starter advantage including a huge post height mismatch.

This game we start cold, which you wouldn’t expect to be in southern Florida. Maybe it’s the heat, but the team misses goes 0-5 from the field in the first 10 mins, and the only points we do get is our 5-6 off the line. Luckily, the Bulls can’t handle the heat as well, and only hold a 9-5 lead at this point. Things don’t get much better, but at least we start making some baskets, and go into the half tied at 28. King is 0-7 so far today, but the whole team is in the dumps.

We wake up in the 2nd half, but cannot gain any separation from the Bulls. With 1:23 left to play, they pull within 2. But Cockle replies with his 23 point, giving us our 4 point cushion back. We need a miss, and we get it as Brown grabs the defensive rebound with 1:03 left. Eddie Anderson hits 2 of 2 to put us up by 6, and steal the game away from South Florida. We finish with a 70-64 win. Cockle led all scorers with 23, while King rebounded back in the 2nd half to finish with 14 points.

Alcorn State Braves (2-2) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (4-1)
We’re back to playing the favorites role, with a 3-2 starter edge as well. We’re 2-1 at home this year, while Alcorn State is 0-1 on the road.

Bailey’s 11 1st half points lead us to a 38-34 half time advantage. Little used sophomore guard Jamal Richardson comes off the bench for 7 points in 3 mins.

The Braves keep things close for a bit, but run into foul trouble and we open a 10 point lead by the midway point. We manage to keep that pace to take the comfortable 78-66 win. Bailey finishes with a career high 17, while King grabbed 13.

klayman

01-25-2003, 08:11 PM

Week 5 (5-1)
We run with much the same recruiting options. Mullahon, Cabrera, and Winn all get aggressive efforts. We add a moderate effort to Marc Dye, but he has no interest. We also add another player, Ramond Dement to our watch list, and give him light recruiting effort. He looks to be a bit underrated by the service, so he might be a good backup plan. Right now, I’d be happy if both Mullahon and Winn committed, but as long as I get one of them things will be ok.

IP Top 5: Virginia (8-0), Maryland (5-0), Iowa State (9-0), Kansas (6-0), and Michigan State (8-1).

Our CRI ranking comes out. We sit 76th which is a hell of lot higher than we started last year. Our schedule rank is 227, and that should rise considerably after next week’s match-ups (only to drop again when we go into conference play).

Of course, our next game is against Michigan State who sit ranked 5th right now. It’s our first Top 25 regular season meeting since I took control of the school.

klayman

01-26-2003, 07:05 PM

Note: At this point I've upgraded to v1.19

Eastern Washington Eagles (5-1) @ #5 Michigan State Spartans (8-1)
The Spartans are clearly favorites with a 5-0 starter advantage. MSU is 6-1 at home, while we are 2-0 on the road. Both teams strength is defense, as the Spartans have allowed only a 30.1% so far this year, while we are averaging 15 turnovers created per game.

The Spartans are just too good for us to handle, and take an easy 44-24 lead at the break. King leads us with 9 points.

Things don’t improve much during the 2nd. We don’t play horribly, but nowhere near a level we would need to play to win, and lose 47-74. Hathaway ignites in the 2nd and finishes with 17. The Spartans finished with 15-1 steal advantage.

Mercer Bears (3-4) @ Eastern Washington Eagles(5-2)
We’re back to being the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. We are 3-1 at home, while the Bears are 1-4 on the road.

We start off well, but the Bears become hot, and we’re forced to come from behind to draw even at 30 at the half.

We pull away in the second, thanks to 16 points from Eddie Anderson in 11 mins and a strong game from Bailey, and hold on to win 69-63. Hathaway finishes with 22, Anderson with 16 and 6 boards, while Bailey had 10 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks.

klayman

01-26-2003, 07:54 PM

Week 6 (6-2)
No EWU underclassmen declare for the draft, which is not surprising. #22 Cincinnati is hit the hardest, with 3 juniors declaring for the draft, 2 of them starters.

We solve our guard shortage when both Linton Mullahon and Matt Winn verbally commit to EWU. Correy Cabrera knows a good thing when he sees it, and declares with them as well, and our recruiting season comes to a quick end.

Committed: Linton Mullahon PG 6-2 156lbs (****) Valdez HS, AK
Offensive: Good, Defense: Good, Handling: Excellent, Rebounding: Poor, Athleticism: Below Average, Potential: Good. High School Stats (10.2 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 6.0 APG) #17 PG, #107 Overall, #31 West

Committed: Correy Cabrera Center 6-9 201lbs (***) Elgin HS, OR
Offensive: Good, Defense: Good, Handling: Avg, Rebounding: Avg, Athleticism: Avg, Potential: Good. High School Stats (10.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 3.9 APG) #87 West

Committed: Matt Winn PG 5-11 148lbs (****) Westview HS, Portland, OR
Offensive: Excellent, Defense: Excellent, Handling: Excellent, Rebounding: Poor, Athleticism: Good, Potential: Below Avg. High School Stats (14.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.8 APG) #34 PG, #51 West.

IP Top 5: Maryland (7-0), Iowa State (10-0), Kansas (7-0), Michigan State (10-1), and Florida (9-1).

We drop to 100 in the CRI and our schedule rank takes a beating jumping to 272.

klayman

01-26-2003, 10:20 PM

Wichita State Shockers (3-5) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (6-2)
We’re the favorites again with a 3-2 starter advantage. We’re 4-1 at home this season, while WSU is currently 1-3 on the road. We’re currently shooting 49.2% as a team, and out rebounding opponents by 5 per game.

We find ourselves down 22-9 by the mid point of the first half, but manage to fight back to tie it at 33 a piece at the break. Cockle leads the way with 21 points and 3 steals in the half.

We quickly fall 10 points back, and WSU holds it through most of the 2nd half. With 2 mins left, however, we fight back to within 6. Cockle off a pick, good for 2, 62-58. Foul and miss, gets us the ball back. Bailey with the 3, 62-61, WSU, just over 1 min left. Shockers miss the three, Cockle grabs the rebound, feeds to Bailey, misses the short jumper but grabs the rebound and a one handed slam gives us a 63-62 lead. We need a stop, less then 35 secs left. WSU with the easy two…BLOCKED by Bailey, Cockle with the rebound, gets the basket and the foul…hits the free throw for a 66-62 lead. WSU hit a last second shot, but it’s not enough and we get the nice come from behind win 66-64. Cockle finished with an incredible 37 points. Bailey finished with 7, 8 boards, and 4 blocks.

Eastern Washington Eagles (7-2) @ Loyola Maryland (2-7)
We’re favorites over the Greyhounds, with a 4-1 starter advantage. They are 1-0 at home, while we are 2-1 on the road so far this season. The Greyhounds are allowing opponents a +11 rebounds per game.

Both teams play well early on, but we turn the ball over constantly, and the ‘Hounds pull 10 points up. We fight back and only trail by 4 points, 34-30 at the break. Cockle is hot again with 14 points in the half.

We build an early lead in the 2nd half, but the Greyhounds fight back and hold a slight lead. With 1:17 left, down by 2, King hits the three to give us a 59-58 lead. Hounds get a traveling call, to give us the ball back, and Hathaway draws the foul and hits 2 for a 61-58 lead with :49 seconds left. Hounds once again with a traveling call, but Cockle loses the ball out of bounds. 21 seconds, Hounds ball, but they throw the ball out of bounds! Hathaway draws another foul and gets both with 11 seconds left and go on to win 65-58.

klayman

01-28-2003, 10:41 PM

Week 7 (8-2)
Our CRI moves back up to 76th, with a 263 schedule rank.

IP Top 5: Iowa State (12-0), Michigan State (12-1), Maryland (9-0), Kansas (9-0), and Florida (11-1).

Cockle’s 37 against Wichita State is tied for the 3rd as the highest individual points scored in EWU history.

klayman

01-30-2003, 09:59 PM

Wagner Seahawks (4-6) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (8-2)
We are listed as the favorites although Wagner holds a 3-2 starter advantage. Wagner comes into Reese stadium, 3-3 on the road, while we are 5-1 and playing great.

The Seahawks start off hot, but we match them basket for basket, and keep the game close. By the end of the half, we pull away to a 47-42 lead at the break, due to 22 of 31 shooting.

We continue playing well in the 2nd half, and open an early 10 point lead. We finish shooting 67.2%, and win easily 86-71. King finishes with 20, and Hathaway grabs 18 points as well.

High Point Panthers (5-6) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (9-2)
We’re clearly the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. HPU is 4-5 on the road while we are 6-1 at home.

King continues his great play, and hits 14 1st half points leading us to a 37-30 lead at the break.

We lose Bailey to injury early in the 2nd half, but the outcome is never in doubt as we open up a 20 point lead, and finish with a 77-60 win. King finishes with 21, while Anderson grabbed 13 points off the bench.

Bailey is out a month with a Peritonsillar Abscess. :(

klayman

01-30-2003, 10:40 PM

Week 8 (10-2)
We enter conference play riding a 5 game winning streak and playing very well, but it remains to be seen if we can continue to dominate with out Bailey’s presence on the court. Delvin Friend will get the start in place of Bailey.

Our CRI is ranked 72nd with our schedule rank sitting at 244.

IP Top 5: Iowa State (14-0), Kansas (11-0), Florida (13-1), Texas Tech (12-1), and Michigan State (13-2)

klayman

01-31-2003, 04:02 PM

Montana Grizzlies (5-7, 0-0) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (10-2, 0-0)
We’re the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. We’re riding a 7-1 home record, while Montana is 3-5 on the road. Freshman PF Brent Page, who was one of recruiting targets last year, leads the Grizzlies.

We come out flat against the Grizzlies, but a nice 18-5 run towards the end of the half, gets us back into the game, and we take the break with a 35-30 lead. The starters are contributing with Hathaway and Cockle grabbing 9 each, while Friend makes the most of his start with 8 1st half points.

We quickly add to our lead in the 2nd half, and with Eddie Anderson’s 20 2nd half points and foul trouble by Montana, we easily pull out the 84-67 win. Anderson grabbed 27, 20 in the 2nd half replacing an ineffective Chevalier King, and was a perfect 10-10 (5-5 from 3) and 2-2 from the line on the night. Cockle, Hathaway, and Friend all finished with double digits in points as well.

Montana State Bobcats (6-7, 0-1) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (11-2, 1-0)
We continue to be the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. MSU is 5-4 on the road this year, while we are 8-1 at home and on a current 6 game winning streak. Anderson gets the start for his 27 point performance against the Grizzlies over King.

Anderson continues to have the hot hand, and hits 19 1st half points against MSU. But some solid shooting by the Bobcats, keeps the game close, and we hold a slight 37-36 point advantage at the half.

The Bobcats work an early lead in the 2nd half, and hold a 9 point advantage with 2 mins remaining. Some costly misses and more clutch shooting bring us to within 2 with :52 seconds left. Cockle hits 2 frees to tie the game at 65 with :39 seconds left. We need a huge stop, but don’t get it as MSU hit 2 frees off a foul to regain the 2 point lead. But Anderson takes a Hathaway skip pass with 9 seconds remaining, and sinks the three to give us a 68-67 lead. MSU’s reply is off the mark, and Anderson adds two more for the very nice 70-67 win. The freshman Anderson finishes with 31 points and 10 rebounds, while Cockle added 14.

klayman

01-31-2003, 04:20 PM

Week 9 (12-2)
Eddie Anderson wins both Big Sky Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors with a 29.0 PPG, 2.0 APG, 8.0 RPG, shooting 19-25, 7-10 from 3, and 13-14 from the line. :)

The bubble watch shows us entrenched in 52nd in the IP, while we’re 50th in the .400 poll, with a CRI of 66 and a 251 schedule rank.

IP Top 5: Iowa State (16-0), Texas Tech (14-1), Kansas (12-1), Florida (14-2), and Maryland (11-1)

Big Sky Conference Standings
<pre>Team W L Overall
Eastern Wash. 2 0 12-2
Idaho State 2 0 7-7
Portland State 1 1 7-7
Montana 1 1 6-8
N. Arizona 1 1 5-9
Montana St 0 2 6-8
CS Sacramento 0 1 5-8
Weber State 0 1 4-9
</pre>

klayman

01-31-2003, 06:35 PM

Eastern Washington Eagles (12-2, 2-0) @ Idaho State Bengals (7-7, 2-0)
Once again the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. We’re 3-1 on the road so far this year, while ISU is 5-4 at home.

We start off with a 7-0 run, and never look back, as Cockle’s 16 lead us to a 44-32 lead at the break.

We let the Bengals back into the game however, and they control most of the half, until a Eddie Anderson 3 with 48 seconds left to play finishes them off, and we go on to win 82-72. Cockle finished with 29, while Hathaway grabbed 19 as well. Chevalier King comes off the bench for 11.

Eastern Washington Eagles (13-2, 3-0) @ Weber State Wildcats (4-10, 0-2)
Weber State gave us fits last year, but clearly they are not the same team as they were. We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage and an 8 game winning streak. We’re 4-1 on the road, while the Wildcats are an appalling 2-8 at home this year.

The Wildcats are cold, and a 17-3 run off the start by the Eagles puts them on their heels. We cruise into the break up 45-27 with Cockle and Anderson both grabbing double digit 1st half points.

The game is never in contention, the only question is if we can hit the century mark, but heavy foul trouble by the starters leaves us short, but an easy 90-56 win, nonetheless. Cockle finished with 31, while King once again off the bench with 19 points.

klayman

01-31-2003, 06:46 PM

Week 10 (14-2, 4-0)
Kevin Cockle wins the Big Sky player of the Week award with a 30.0 PPG and shooting 22-31 for the week. :)

Our solid play grabs a vote in the .400 Poll. Our bubble watch puts us at 52nd in the IP Poll, while we jump to 48th in the .400 Poll. Our CRI sits at 62, while our schedule rank is a low 276.

IP Top 5: Iowa State (17-0), Texas Tech (14-2), Kansas (13-2), Seton Hall (15-1), and Florida (14-3).

Big Sky Conference Standings
<pre>Team W L Overall
Eastern Wash. 4 0 14-2
Idaho State 3 1 8-8
Montana State 2 2 8-8
Portland State 2 2 8-8
CS Sacramento 1 2 6-9
Montana 1 2 6-9
N. Arizona 1 2 5-10
Weber State 0 3 4-11
</pre>

klayman

02-01-2003, 12:33 AM

CS Sacramento Hornets (6-9, 1-2) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (14-2, 4-0)
We are clearly the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. The Hornets are 5-7 on the road this year, while we are 9-1 at home.

Cockle’s 19 and Anderson’s 12 lead us to a 49-31 half time score. We are clearly outmatching the Hornets in every area.

The 2nd half is much of a contest either as we cruise our way through the Hornets on way to a 90-66 victory, our 10th straight win. Cockle led all scorers with 26, while Anderson grabbed 20 along with 10 boards.

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (6-10, 2-2) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (15-2, 5-0)
NAU is probably the only competition in the Big Sky for us this year. We’re the slight favorites heading into the game, although NAU has a 3-2 starter advantage. They are a disappointing 2-4 on the road, while we are 10-1 at home this year.

Both teams are evenly matched, but the Lumberjacks make better use of their opportunities to pull to an early lead. An 11-0 run by the Eagles with 3 mins left in the half, gives us the advantage however, and we take a 36-29 lead at the break. Anderson and Cockle lead the way once again with 16 and 10 respectively.

We build on the lead in the 2nd, but with Anderson on the bench, NAU is able to close the gap to 6 with 2 mins left to play. A three quickly cuts that lead in half, and Josh Johnson has a chance to put us up by 5, but misses the 2 frees with 1 min remaining. NAU cut our lead to 1, before Hathaway goes to line…and misses with 39 secs left. 23 seconds, another chance, this time for Cockle…miss. 12 seconds left NAU go up by one. Time for one shot…Hathaway feeds Cockle…top of the key, last second jumper….GOOD. Eagles squeak out a 68-67 win. Anderson finishes with 26, while Cockle grabs 17.

klayman

02-01-2003, 12:56 AM

Week 11 (16-2, 6-0)
Eddie Anderson wins the Big Sky Freshman of the Week, with a 23.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 14-15 FT shooting. :)

We still nail one vote on the .400 Sports Poll. Our CRI climbs to 58 with a 285 schedule rank, while our bubble watch has us listed at 48th in the IP, and 45th in the .400.

IP Top 5: Iowa State (19-0), Kansas (15-2), Michigan State (17-4), Seton Hall (17-1), and Temple (17-1)

Big Sky Conference Standings
<pre>Team W L Overall
Eastern Wash. 6 0 16-2
Montana State 4 2 10-8
Idaho State 4 2 9-9
Portland State 3 3 9-9
N. Arizona 2 3 6-11
CS Sacramento 1 4 6-11
Montana 1 4 6-11
Weber State 1 4 5-12
</pre>

klayman

02-03-2003, 07:25 PM

Eastern Washington Eagles (16-2) @ Southern Utah Thunderbirds (10-8)
We take a break from conference play, and are the underdogs against Southern Utah, who also hold a 3-2 starter advantage. They are currently 4-3 at home, while we are 5-1 on the road.

We come out flat, and it takes awhile before either team gets going, but soon the Thunderbirds pull ahead of us. We can’t penetrate their defense, and head into the half down 35-26.

The 2nd half is much the same, our poor shooting kills us, and we never get closer than 10 points back, and lose 60-71. King led the team with 15 while Anderson got 13, and that’s about all on the night.

klayman

02-03-2003, 07:34 PM

Week 12 (16-3, 6-0)
We welcome Roy Bailey back to the starting lineup, in time to finish off our conference schedule. Despite our winning, I’m moving Bailey to the small forward position in hopes of getting him more involved in the offence. Anderson will take the PF, while King is back on the bench again.

Despite the loss, we still nab a vote in the .400 Poll. Our CRI sits 54th with a 282 schedule rank, while the IP lists us at 51st, .400 Poll at 47th.

Big Sky Conference Standings
<pre>Team W L Overall
Eastern Wash. 6 0 16-3
Idaho State 5 2 10-10
Montana State 4 3 10-10
Portland State 3 3 10-9
N. Arizona 3 3 8-11
Montana 2 4 8-11
CS Sacramento 1 5 6-12
Weber State 1 5 5-14
</pre>

klayman

02-03-2003, 08:32 PM

Eastern Washington Eagles (16-3, 6-0) @ Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (8-11, 3-3)
We beat the Lumberjacks back in Cheney by a last second basket. For this game, they hold the favorite nod, with a 3-2 starter advantage as well. We’re 5-2 on the road this year, while NAU is 5-6 at home.

We grab an early advantage, but can’t hold it against a skilled Lumberjack team. Cockle’s 20 1st half points thankfully give us a 41-39 half time advantage, however.

We hold a slight 2 point lead for most of the 2nd half, until a three from Cockle gives us a 9 point lead with 1:12 left in the game. It’s Cockle’s first points of the 2nd half. We finish with a 75-65 win. NAU shut down Cockle as he finished with only 23. Hathaway grabbed 21, while Bailey got 12 points and 6 boards in his new role.

Eastern Washington Eagles (17-3, 7-0) @ CS Sacramento Hornets (6-13, 1-6)
We crushed the Hornets 90-66 back in week 10. We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. We are 6-2 on the road this year, while Sacramento is 1-4 at home.

We take an early 11-3 run and don’t look back as Bailey’s 17 lead us to a 44-29 1st half lead. Cockle continues his strong play with 15 1st half points as well.

The Hornets close the gap in the 2nd, and some poor play by us brings them within 9 in the last minute, but some steady free throwing by Hathaway kills the comeback, and we take the 74-66 road win. Bailey lead all scorers with a career high 24 and 10 boards, while Cockle finished with 18.

klayman

02-03-2003, 08:35 PM

Week 13 (18-3, 8-0)
Bailey’s new offensive output is rewarded with the Big Sky Freshman of the Week award. He grabbed 18.0 PPG, 1.5 APG, 8.0 RPG, and 1.5 BPG for the week. :)

We now have votes in both the IP and .400 Polls. Our bubble watch shows us 45 in the IP, 42nd in the .400, with a 50 CRI and a 289 Schedule rank.

IP Top 5: Iowa State (22-1), Michigan State (20-4), Temple (21-1), Florida (19-4), and Arizona (19-5)

Big Sky Conference Standings
<pre>Team W L Overall
Eastern Wash. 8 0 18-3
Portland State 5 3 12-9
Montana State 5 3 11-10
Idaho State 5 3 10-11
Montana 3 5 9-12
N. Arizona 3 5 8-13
Weber State 2 5 6-15
CS Sacramento 1 7 6-14
</pre>

klayman

02-05-2003, 06:06 PM

Eastern Washington Eagles (18-3, 8-0) @ Montana Grizzlies (9-12, 3-5)
This is the first meeting between Brent Page (the player we wanted), and Roy Bailey (the star player we got). We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. Bailey, back in the PF spot, has the advantage over Page. Montana is 4-4 at home this year, while we are 7-2 on the road. We beat the Grizzles without Bailey back in week 8, 84-67.

The Grizzlies keep the score close, but some poor shooting and horrible turnovers towards the end of the half, give them the 35-27 lead at the break. Cockle’s time is limited due to 3 early fouls, and that is hurting our scoring ability.

The Grizzlies light us up in the 2nd, and we never come close to closing the gap, and drop our first conference game 65-78. Cockle finishes with 16, while Bailey outscores Page 10 to 6.

Eastern Washington Eagles (18-4, 8-1) @ Montana State Bobcats (11-11, 5-4)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. We are 7-3 on the road while MSU is 3-4 at home. We beat the Bobcats 70-67 in week 8.

We come out with a good game, but the Bobcats are unstoppable offensively. We fight on, however, and grab a 46-43 half time lead, despite their 75% shooting in the half. Cockle leads the way once again with 23 points.

The Bobcat’s leave their NBA talent in the locker room in the 2nd half, and we slowly build up a comfortable 10 point lead, which we hold on to for a 85-72 win. Cockle once again disappeared in the 2nd half, finishing with only 25 points. Anderson and Bailey contributed with 21 and 12 respectively.

klayman

02-05-2003, 07:47 PM

Quick break while I run the SDSU Village Challenge.

klayman

02-10-2003, 07:41 PM

Week 14 (19-4, 9-1)

Our CRI is 51st with a 292 Schedule Rank. We’re 45th in the IP and 43rd in the .400 Polls.

IP Top 5: Iowa State (24-1), Temple (24-1), Cincinnati (23-4), Seton Hall (21-2), and Michigan State (20-6)

Big Sky Conference Standings
<pre>Team W L Overall
Eastern Wash. 9 1 19-4
Portland State 7 3 14-9
Montana State 5 5 11-12
Idaho State 5 5 10-13
N. Arizona 5 6 10-14
Montana 4 6 10-13
CS Sacramento 4 7 9-14
Weber State 2 8 6-17
</pre>

klayman

02-10-2003, 08:12 PM

Eastern Washington Eagles (19-4, 9-1) @ Portland State Vikings (14-9, 7-3)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. We’re currently 8-3 on the road, while the Vikings are 6-5 at home. We have a huge talent and height advantage in the post, and will have to take advantage of it.

We jump to an early 13-2 lead, and off of Cockle’s 12 1st half points, we lead by 10 36-26 going into the 2nd half.

The Vikings close the gap in the 2nd, but Anderson and Hathaway penetrate their defense, to keep us in front. PSU lose by 6, 70-64, and that’s as close as they came on the night. Anderson lead all scorers with 15, while Hathaway grabbed 13 with 6 assists. Cockle finished the night with 14. The guy would be amazing if he would play 40 mins.

Idaho State Bengals (11-13, 6-5) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (20-4, 10-1)
We’re the favorites again with a 3-2 starter advantage. ISU is 4-6 on the road, while we hold a 11-1 record at Reese Stadium. Our win over Portland pretty much guaranteed another Big Sky Title for us this year, but a win here would clinch it for sure.

The Bengals come out on fire, and finish the half with 60% shooting. Our starters on the other hand, are dead cold, and only Bailey keeps the team in the game with 13 1st half points, for a 37-32 1st half deficit.

We fail to pick up the pace in the 2nd half, and inexplicitly come out dead flat, as ISU build an insurmountable lead. We get embarrassed in our own building 52-76. Only Bailey showed up for this one, as he gets 16 with 8 boards. We shot less then 25% in the 2nd half, while ISU killed us from 3pt range.

klayman

02-15-2003, 07:46 AM

at this point I've upgraded to 1.21. I'm also going to change the format of the dynasty a bit, so I can go through season a little quicker like in the SDSU VC Challenge.

Weber State Wildcats (7-18, 3-9) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (20-5, 10-2)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. WSU is 4-7 on the road, while we are 11-2 at home. Portland State lost both of their games last week, so we have clinched our second straight Big Sky Title.

WSU has the distinction of being the last ranked team in the CRI, but they keep the first half close until an 11-3 run gives us the 40-33 half time lead. Anderson (10) and Bailey (8) lead the way.

The Wildcats close the gap, and it’s a back and forth game for most of the 2nd half. Bailey hits 2 from the line to give us a 73-72 lead with 32 seconds remaining, but Hathaway draws a foul on WSU’s possession, and they sink both for a 74-73 lead. Anderson has a chance to win it in the dying seconds from 15 feet out…but rattles it in and out, and we get upset by WSU 73-74. Cockle finished with 21 after a strong 2nd half, and Anderson grabbed 14.

Portland State Vikings (15-11, 8-5) @ Eastern Washington Eagles (20-6, 10-3)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage and a 2 game losing streak. The Vikings are 8-4 on the road this year, while our home record has dropped to 11-3.

The Vikings play horrible, but heavy turnovers and lots of foul trouble gives PSU the 36-34 half time lead. We change up our gameplan for the 2nd half, slowing down the tempo, relaxing our pressing, and moving to a motion offence. That calms the turnovers and fouls, and we open an early 11 point lead, and finish with the nice 79-58 win. Hathaway had a strong 2nd half and finished with 26, while Cockle (20) and Anderson (15) also contributed.

Final Big Sky Conference Standings
<pre>Team W L Overall
Eastern Wash. 11 3 21-6
Montana State 9 5 15-12
Portland State 8 6 15-12
Montana 7 7 13-14
Idaho State 7 7 12-15
CS Sacramento 5 9 10-16
N. Arizona 5 9 10-17
Weber State 4 10 8-19
</pre>

klayman

02-15-2003, 08:28 AM

Navy Midshipmen (8-19) @ EWU Eagles (21-6)
We're favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. We’re here to avenge a loss last year that put an end to our 10 game winning streak. Navy is 4-10 on the road, while we have a 12-3 home record this year.

But that’s not going to happen. Navy shot 75% from the field in the 1st half, and we’re down by 13, 40-27 at the break. Things only get worse, as we can’t play defense against a 8-19 team, and Navy trounce us 73-92 at our home court. We outplayed them in every area, except for their 38-52 shooting, and 8-12 from long range. We’re definitely not heading into the conference tournament on a good note.

Pepperdine Waves (10-17) @ EWU Eagles (21-7)
We are once again the favorites, with a 3-2 starter advantage. Pepperdine is 6-8 on the road, while we are 12-4 at home, but only 1-3 in our last 4.

Pepperdine come out hard, and run a 12-4 opening lead, until we wake up and join the game. A last second three gives them the 32-28 half time lead. Our zone defense silences the Waves’ shooters, and our offence comes alive to take a 70-58 win to end the regular season. Cockle lead all scorers on the night with 24, while Anderson grabbed 12 and 11 boards.

We finish up the regular season 22-7 with a 11-3 conference record, most likely good enough for at least a ACT bid if we lose in the first round of the tournament.

Roy Bailey wins Big Sky Freshman of the Year, with a 10.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.5 BPG, and +81 regular season totals. :) He is also voted to the Big Sky All Freshman Team.

Kevin Cockle ends his collegiate career with his first nod to the Big Sky All Conference Team. He finished 2nd in the conference in just about every offensive category.

Next up Big Sky Conference Tournament

klayman

02-15-2003, 09:27 AM

Big Sky 1st Round Matchups

Weber State Wildcats (8-21, 4-10) vs EWU Eagles (22-7, 11-3)
Weber is ranked #315 in the CRI. A first round loss could be devastating for us. Of course, we can’t forget that Weber beat us at home just 2 weeks ago.

The Wildcats keep the game close for most of the 1st half, until a 10-2 run opens it up for us, and we take a 42-33 lead in the break. Cockle leads the way with 12, but Brown sees his playing time cut with 3 early fouls. Brown picks up his 4th early in the 2nd, but by then we have increased the gap to 17, and cruise the rest of the way with a 87-59 win. Anderson led the way with 22, while Cockle (20), Hathaway (15), and Bailey (12) also had strong games.

In other Big Sky Championship Action
Montana State (2) over CS Sacramento (7)
N. Arizona (6) over Portland State (3)
Montana (4) over Idaho State (5)

Montana Grizzlies (15-15, 8-7) vs EWU Eagles (23-7, 12-3)
We were 1-1 against the Grizzlies this year.

The Grizzlies first 5 shots…all threes…all good. Doesn’t get any better from there, they shoot 83% from the field in the 1st half, and we find ourselves down 40-29 at the break. Unfortunately that’s as close as we get, as Montana finishes with 10-17 from 3 point range, and an 87-70 upset. Anderson led the team with 13.

Montana St (2) over N. Arizona (6) to face Montana in the final

klayman

02-15-2003, 09:56 AM

Montana State takes the tournament, 91-66 over Montana, and gets the automatic nod to the NCT. They are, unfortunately the only Big Sky Conference team going this year, as we fail to return to the NCT. We do however get an ACT bid, with a 4th seed in the West.

Texas A&M Aggies (15-14) vs EWU Eagles (23-8) First round ACT West
We’re the underdogs for the first time in awhile, and the Aggies hold a 3-2 starter advantage. An early 12-2 run gives us a 34-27 half time advantage, with Anderson leading the way with 12 points. A 10 point lead in the 2nd is quickly eliminated, and the Aggies go on to cruise by us 70-64, thanks in part to awful shooting and brutal late turnovers. And just like that our promising season is over.

Montana State’s season doesn’t last much longer either, as they’re eliminated in the first round by 10th ranked USC, 97-55, ending all of the Big Sky’s postseason games.

North Carolina goes on to win the ACT.

The NCT final four:
Virginia (2) 65 over Florida (2) 64
USC (3) 61 loses to Texas Tech (1) 70

NCT Championship:
Texas Tech 66 over Virginia 55
Finals MVP: Donte Lang

Next up...stat dump.

klayman

02-15-2003, 10:15 AM

Final IP Top 25
1. Texas Tech 34-5
2. Temple 34-2
3. Iowa State 32-5
4. Michigan State 29-9
5. Virginia 32-8
6. Cincinnati 32-6
7. Florida 30-8
8. Arizona 26-9
9. Connecticut 25-9
10. USC 28-8
11. UCLA 26-10
12. Seton Hall 28-7
13. Kansas 23-10
14. Syracuse 26-8
15. Alabama 26-9
16. Duke 23-11
17. Georgetown 28-8
18. Wisconsin 24-9
19. Wake Forest 25-9
20. Oklahoma 23-8
21. Providence 23-10
22. Illinois 21-13
23. Iowa 23-11
24. Michigan 23-9
25. Maryland 22-11

Final EWU stats: 23-9, 12-4

MPG
32.3 – Bailey
32.2 – Hathaway
31.4 – Cockle

PPG
17.2 – Cockle
11.7 – Anderson
11.2 – Hathaway

RPG
6.7 – Bailey
5.6 – Brown
5.0 – Anderson

APG
4.9 – Hathaway
2.7 – Cockle
1.7 – King

SPG
1.3 – Cockle
1.1 – Hathaway
0.7 – Brown

BPG
2.6 – Bailey
0.6 – Brown
0.3 – Friend

FG%
62.8 – Bullock
59.3 – Friend
57.9 – Brown

3P%
38.8 – Cockle
38.2 – Anderson
38.2 – King

FT%
85.6 – Anderson
71.4 – Hathaway
71.2 – Bailey

Departing seniors:
Delvin Friend (F) 63 Gms, 13.1 Mpg, 3.7 Ppg, 1.9 Rpg, -23.
Lindsey Brown (C) 60 Gms, 21.8 Mpg, 4.4 Ppg, 4.8 Rpg, 0.7 Apg, 0.6 Bpg, +33
Kevin Cockle (G) 64 Gms, 30.7 Mpg, 15.8 Ppg, 3.1 Rpg, 2.7 Apg, 1.3 Spg, +194

Sporkimata

02-17-2003, 08:41 PM

I actually lived in Cheney for a couple of years. Good to see the team doing so well. :)

klayman

02-19-2003, 03:41 AM

Coach Report Card:
Overall: A

Season Performance: A
Overall Regular Season Performance: A
Overall Post Season Performance: A
Recruiting: B
Fan & Alumni Support: A
Academics: A
Player Development: C

Overall Record: 46-18 .719
Conference Record: 15-8 .652
NCT Appearances (Record): 1 (0-1)
ACT Appearances (Record): 1 (0-1)
Pro Draft Picks (1st Rounders): 0 (0)
Average Recruiting Class Rank: 77
Conference Championships: 1
Conference Titles: 2
Academic Suspensions: 0

klayman

02-19-2003, 05:33 AM

No Eagles are taken in the draft. Michigan State sees two juniors taken in the first 5 picks, while all 5 starters from Cincinnati (2 juniors and 3 seniors) are drafted by the NBA.

I get 10 job offers, with Colorado, Washington State, Wyoming, Southern Utah, and Pepperdine all being higher prestige schools. I also get an offer from Arizona State, which I have to consider for quite some time. But in the end, I refuse them all.

We make no coaching staff changes. My reputation as a head coach has gone up to Respected, probably the reason why I got the surprise Arizona State job offer.

Indiana grabs the number 1 recruiting class in the country, while it’s no surprise that no Big Sky Conference teams crack the top 20. We stick with Sid Nyquist’s Hoopz Galore as our scouting service. We could move up, but the 2* service has poor scouting of fringe and west region players, which is mostly what we’ll be after.

The computer gives us a horrible schedule, with 3 top ranked teams, and 10 away matches for the year. I spend a busy scheduling process making changes. Our Freshman class is listed as Below Average, one level lower than last year, while our composite talent level stays even at Below Average. I do the best to lower the difficulty of the schedule, but still get stuck with 3 or 4 games I didn’t want.

Eastern Washington Eagles Non-Conference Schedule

Valparaiso
San Francisco
New Mexico State
@ Utah
@St. Mary’s
@ #9 Iowa State
Binghamton
@ Minnesota
@ UT-Chattanooga
San Diego
Holy Cross
@ Texas A&M
American
UTEP

IP Top 25 Initial Poll
1. Florida
2. Kansas
3. Arizona
4. Duke
5. Michigan State
6. Kentucky
7. UCLA
8. Illinois
9. Iowa State
10. Texas Tech
11. Mississippi
12. Connecticut
13. Texas
14. North Carolina
15. Virginia
16. Indiana
17. Tennessee
18. Wake Forest
19. Maryland
20. Wisconsin
21. Alabama
22. Boston College
23. California
24. USC
25. Stanford

klayman

02-19-2003, 06:53 AM

Meet the 2004-2005 Eastern Washington Eagles

SG – Joey Zinn FR(rs) (6-5, 169lbs) The departure of Kevin Cockle leaves a big hole on an already weak guard team. Zinn redshirtted last year for development, but didn’t develop as well as anticipated, leaving SG our weakest area. Assistant Head Coach Reggie Fox says “…Joey looks lost on the floor…appears to be a role player…do not see him getting to the point where he can be a starter.”

PG – Chevalier King Sr (6-3, 173) King was a major player last year, starting a handful of games, and playing an important 6th man of the bench. He had a tremendous off season, improving he’s skills considerably, and gets the starting nod at PG. Last year’s stats (32 Gms, 22.0 Mpg, 10.0 Ppg, 2.3 Rpg, 1.7 Apg, -17). AHC Reggie Fox says “…King shows signs of being a good passer and is a capable ball handler…needs more seasoning from an awareness standpoint…decision making not where it should be…crumbles a bit when spotlight is on him…one of the better players on this team…entering his final season as an overachiever.”

SF – Roy Bailey So (6-8, 242) Last year’s Big Sky Conference freshman of the year, moves to SF. He’s clearly our best player, and others have stepped up to fill the PF he held down last year. 03-04 Stats (25 Gms, 32.3 Mpg, 10.6 Ppg, 6.7 Rpg, 0.7 Apg, 2.6 Bpg, +91) AHC Reggie Fox says “…can be a nice offensive threat…one of the top defenders in the league…can dominate the glass…crumbles with the spotlight…better players on this team…loads of potential and talent….should be a real breakout season for him.” There’s a small chance that Bailey might go pro.

PF – Josh Johnson Jr (6-9, 225) Johnson lost his starting job last year due to a poor off season. This season he vastly improved in several areas to retake the starting PF role. He was a member of the Big Sky All-Freshman team in 02-03. 03-04 Stats (26 Gms, 7.7 Mpg, 2.0 Ppg, 0.8 Rpg, -18). AHC Reggie Fox says “…has good inside moves…can hit the jumper to keep teams honest…nice footwork as a post defender…lacks strength…lost on the floor…looks to be a starter…good skills and a valuable member on the team…joy to coach and a fan favorite.”

C – Jeff Bullock So (6-10, 254) Bullock filled in for Brown last year, and did a respectable job. Although initially considered a disappointment by me, Bullock had an incredible off season, significantly raising his value on the team. 03-04 Stats (30 Gms, 13.5 Mpg, 2.3 Ppg, 2.3 Rpg, +2) AHC Reggie Fox says “…unknown offensively…nice footwork for a post defender…improved effort and consistency on hitting the boards…right positioning most of the time…shaky on moving without the ball on offense…eager to see how Jeff does this season…might be peaking from an ability standpoint.”

Bench:

F – Eddie Anderson So (6-6, 241) Anderson had a great year last year, and was named to the 02-03 Big Sky all-freshman team. He had a good camp, but regressed defensively, and lost his starting job. However, he will be an important player off the bench and will continue to see plenty of mins this year. 02-03 Stats (32 Gms, 24.1 Mpg, 11.7 Ppg, 5.0 Rpg, 1.2 Apg, -38) AHC Reggie Fox says "…shown signs of breaking through offensively…nice footwork for a post defender…improved effort and consistency on hitting the boards…decision making and defensive positioning is not where it should be…should vie for a starting spot…continued to improve better than we expected.”

G – Ezra Hathaway Jr (6-2, 160) Hathaway has continued to regress since being named to the Big Sky All Freshman team in 01-02. A starter last year simply because of lack of options, he played reasonably well, but continued to depreciate talent wise in the off season. This year, we have several more options at guards, and Hathaway will start the games on the bench. 02-03 Stats (32 Gms, 32.2 Mpg, 11.2 Ppg, 2.2 Rpg, 4.9 Apg, 3.4 TO, +34) AHC Reggie Fox says “…raw from a playmaking standpoint…signs of being a good defender…lost a lot on the floor…injury prone…good skills and should be a valuable member of the team…has peaked as a player.”

F – Lucas Cooper Sr (6-7, 203) Seldom used Cooper had a very impressive camp, and will compete for minutes with the starters. He only saw action in 1 game last year. AHC Reggie Fox says “…shows signs of being a good passer and is a capable ball handler. Not a big defensive liability at this point…not a top rebounder, yet…would want to have the ball late in the game…un-phased in pressure situations…his hard work has allowed him more minutes that his talent would allow…joy to coach and is a fan favorite.”

Our three recruits were disappointing to say the least. Matt Winn has the most potential and will redshirt this season. Correy Cabrera might improve, while Linton Mullahon has no talent or potential to improve (despite being a 4* recruit). Jamal Richardson is another guard that might see some minutes, but we’ll be in serious trouble if we have to go any deeper on the bench.

klayman

02-19-2003, 07:17 AM

Recruiting targets: Once again we have 3 graduating seniors (King, Cooper, and little used Jonathan Wesby) and get 3 scholarships to hand out (assuming Bailey doesn’t go pro, which I’m confident he won’t). Our priorities have to be guards and centers at this point with Bailey, Anderson, and Johnson holding down the forward positions.

1- Gary Holiday SG (6-2, 152) 5* out of Anchorage, AK. Ranked #6 in the West, Holiday would be a valuable member to the squad. He naturally has little interest in EWU, but we’ll continue to pursue him.
2- Trenton Lofton C (6-11, 195) 3* out of Santa Clara, CA. Ranked #65 in the West, Lofton has us on his shortlist. He has excellent offensive skills, and we’re weak at center.
3- Terry Riley SF (6-4, 175) 3* out of Yuma, AZ. Ranked #39 in the West, Riley has moderate interest in attending EWU, despite us having a forward heavy team. His high school numbers (5.2 Ppg, 4.7 Apg, 2.3 Rpg) are not impressive at all, however
4- Jack Reed SG (6-5, 177) 3* out of Anchorage, AK. Ranked #74 in the West. Reed has moderate interest in EWU, but isn’t going to solve our problems at the guard position.
5- BJ Kurtz C (6-9, 271) 3* out of Mercer Island, WA. Ranked #27 in the west, he has very little interest in EWU. He’s a better player than Lofton, but I think he’s out of our reach. We’ll keep an eye on him however.
6- Kevin Gipson SF (6-6, 169) 4* out of Ashland, OR. Ranked #16 in the West. Has very little interest in EWU, but doesn’t have big aspirations of attending high prestige ranking schools. We might be able to sway him.
7- Damon Anderson C (7-1, 208) 1* out of San Antonio, TX. Backup to Lofton and Kurtz with Center being a priority for us. Ran out of cell phone money before I could gauge his interest, but we are on his shortlist, so it must be high. Despite his 1* rating, he is putting up respectable HS numbers (14.3 Ppg, 3.0 Apg, 7.5 Rpg).

klayman

02-19-2003, 07:17 AM

Originally posted by Sporkimata
I actually lived in Cheney for a couple of years. Good to see the team doing so well. :)

Glad you are enjoying it! :)

klayman

02-19-2003, 07:54 AM

Season Outlook: Only Idaho has a better team then us in the conference. Everybody else is generally equal or less talent wise, so we look to have good odds of capturing our 3 straight Big Sky Conference title.

We’ll run a motion offense this year, considering most of our players are rated B or above with their handling skills. We’ll throw some looks at the one-guard front we ran last year, and an isolation offense if Bailey is hot. Our defense is definitely weaker than it has been in previous years. We’ll run a help man, with a 3-2 zone if we’re getting beat outside.

Our goal is of course to make it back to the NCT, which will likely only happen if we win the conference tournament this year. Our AD's goal remains to avoid embarrassment, which we've done effectively for the last two years.

klayman

02-19-2003, 11:12 AM

We spend our first week recruiting Holiday (light), Lofton (aggressive), and Gipson (moderate). Lofton informs me his injury prone, and my attention quickly diverts to BJ Kurtz for next week. Holiday still has no interest in EWU, but gets an aggressive recruiting action and scholarship in week 2, as does Kurtz. Both recruits eat up our available funds for the week, and it completes our 2nd week recruiting.

Game 1: Valparaiso Crusaders @ Eastern Wash. Eagles
Crusaders are the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage, but we have a definite height advantage in the game. We start the year by hitting our first 7 shots, and continue finishing the first half with a 16-21 mark. Zinn (13) and Johnson (11) lead the way for a 43-28 half time lead. The Crusaders never get closer than 10 and we steal the victory with a 79-67 final. We end the game 30-47 from the field, and Zinn led the team with 18, while King had 17 points and 9 assists. Bailey (15 points, 7 boards, 5 blocks) and Johnson (13 points, 8 boards) had strong games as well.

Game 2: San Francisco Dons (1-0) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (1-0)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage Once again we hit our first 7 shots and build up to a 15 point lead before leading the Dons back into the game, and closing out the half only up 39-31. Zinn (10) and Bailey (8) lead the way. The Dons keep things close, and only trail by 6 with 1:12 remaining, but some clutch free throws puts the game away for a 74-64 victory. All starters hit double digits with Zinn (19) and Johnson (16) leading the pack.

Holiday (moderate) and Kurtz continue to get our recruiting attention, while Gipson gets an aggressive visit with our final scholarship offer. Odds are I’ll get one of these guys.

Game 3: New Mexico State Aggies (0-2) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (2-0)
NMSU are the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. We continue with our strong starts, grabbing an 8-0 run out of the block, and hold a 38-25 lead at the break. Bailey (12) and Zinn (10) are our 1st half leaders. The Aggies have a slow 2nd half start, and never recover, and we take the easy 72-59 win. Bailey was offensive spark with 21 and 12. Zinn(15) and King (13 and 8 assists) also contributed.

Game 4: Eastern Wash. Eagles (3-0) @ Utah Utes (2-1)
Utah takes the favorite nod with a 3-2 starter advantage. We continue to play well, and hit 14-23 in the first half for a 33-31 halftime lead. Bailey holds 16 and 6 at the break. We continue our solid shooting in the 2nd half and pull away from Utah for a comfortable 69-57 win. Bailey finishes with 22 and 10 and Anderson grabbed 13 important points off the bench.

Linton Mullahon becomes our first academic suspension in three years of my academic first program. Holiday (aggressive), Gipson (aggressive), and Kurtz (light) remain our recruiting targets. Which takes us to the end of November with a perfect 4-0 record.

klayman

02-21-2003, 12:20 PM

Our 4-0 record earns us 2 votes on the .400 poll, the most votes we’ve received since I’ve taken over the program.

Game 5: Eastern Wash. Eagles (4-0) @ St. Mary’s Gaels (2-2)
We’re the underdogs for this game, but hold a 3-2 starter advantage. St. Mary’s has very weak guards so I’ll switch to a 1-2-2 zone and dare their guards to beat me. That works for the most part, but the offense is nowhere to be found in the first half, and we trail 35-27 at the break. Bailey continues to lead the team, collecting 8 points and 4 boards in the first half. We can’t get on track offensively until late in the 2nd but by then it’s much too late, and we lose easily 60-82. Bailey finishes with 19 while Zinn contributed 14 in a losing effort.

Game 6: Eastern Wash. Eagles (4-1) @ #3 Iowa State Cyclones (7-1)
The Cyclones are clearly the favorites with a 5-0 starter advantage as well. I have a 0-2 record all time against ranked opponents. We should get killed by this team, but shoot an unbelievable 15-20 in the first half to only trail 47-43. Not surprisingly we can’t continue that pace, and Iowa State walks all over us in the 2nd half, taking the game 61-85. We shoot 7-26 in the 2nd half. Zinn leads all scorers with 20.

Kurtz commits, but to Stanford, so our attention falls back to Lofton. Holiday (aggressive) and Gibson (aggressive) continue to get our attention, but still show little interest in EWU.

Game 7: Binghamton Bearcats (1-5) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (4-2)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage as we look to put the stop to a 2 game losing skid. We start the game with a 28-4 run, and it’s pretty much a laugher from there. A 49-18 half time lead turns into a 79-52 win, as the bench takes us through most of the 2nd half. Bailey led all scorers with 17, while Johnson (14) and King (11 and 9 assists) contributed despite only playing half the game.

Game 8: Eastern Wash. Eagles (5-2) @ Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-4)
The Gophers are favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. Both teams start out strong offensively but the Gophers are a bit stronger and take the 36-31 half time lead. We keep pace with the Gophers, but fade towards the end, and drop the game 53-61. Zinn (14) and King (10 and 6 assists) were the leaders.

klayman

02-21-2003, 02:46 PM

Holiday commits to Tennessee and we’re 0-2 on the recruiting trail this year. Lofton (light), Gibson (aggressive) and Reed (aggressive) are our targets for this week.

Game 9: Eastern Wash. Eagles (5-3) @ UT-Chattanooga Mocs (3-5)
We’re back to being the favorites, but the Mocs hold a 3-2 starter advantage. We’re very flat, and despite shooting well, turnovers and foul trouble lead us to a 38-32 deficit. We continue to throw the ball away but the Mocs fail to take advantage, and only lead by two with 1:56 left to go. Zinn draws the foul, but only hits 1, for a 60-59 Mocs lead. UTC reply with 2 to take the 3 point lead with 1:09 remaining. King find Zinn alone on the perimeter…good for three…it’s tied at 62. 47 seconds remaining…we need a stop! And get it as UTC loses the ball out of bounds. Zinn goes to the line to shoot 3 with 7 seconds left. Good! Good! And Good for a 65-62 Eagles lead. UTC with the prayer…no good! We squeak out a 65-62 win. Zinn lead all scorers with 21 and Bailey grabbed 14 and 13 boards.

Game 10: San Diego Toreros (6-3) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (6-3)
We’re the favorites despite the fact that the Toreros have a 4-1 starter advantage. We start off strong, and Joey Zinn’s 11 points give us a 38-26 half time lead. We quickly build a 20 point lead in the 2nd half, and the bench takes us the rest of the way for the 79-50 win. Zinn finishes the night with 22, while Bailey grabs another double-double with 13 and 10.

Nobody commits to EWU yet, but we look to have Reed and Lofton in the bag. Gibson is still very far away, so we decide to take a gamble on 5* Jean Francois Zupic, a PF out of Endeavour Hills, Australia. He’s ranked 5th overall but hasn’t received an offer yet, most likely due to his borderline GPA. It takes our entire budget to give him aggressive attention and offer him a scholarship, so it’s our only activity for the week.

Game 11: Holy Cross Crusaders (3-6) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (7-3)
We’re the favorites once again, despite the Crusaders having a 3-2 starter advantage. We are 5-0 at home so far this year, however. HC look to beat us from long range, and although a switch to a 3-2 zone hampers those plans, it’s not enough to prevent us being down 10 at the half, 42-32. HC continue to hit everything in the 2nd half, while we however cannot, and the Crusaders win easily 65-78. Bailey and Zinn both finish with 17 in a losing cause.

Game 12: Eastern Wash. Eagles (7-4) @ Texas A&M Aggies (9-2)
The rematch of our ACT 1st round matchup last year, the Aggies own the favorites tag with a 5-0 starter advantage. The Aggies start the game with a 28-4 run, and never look back on their way to a crushing 57-101 blow out. It is safe to say this is the worse defeat of my coaching career.

Zupic gets an offer from hated Gonzaga. But his interest in us has gone up considerably, so he gets another week of aggressive effort, leaving us no money to do anything else. I’m resigned to losing him to the Zags, however. And that takes into conference play with a 7-5 record, but having only won 3 of our last 8.

klayman

02-22-2003, 05:14 AM

Game 13: Montana Grizzlies (7-5) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (7-5)
We start off our conference play, favorites over Montana with a 5-0 starter advantage. We outshoot, outboard, outplay the Grizzlies in the first half, yet for some unexplainable reason only lead by 4 at the break, 40-36. Bailey (12) is outscoring and outplaying Big Sky Conference Point leader Brent Page. We miss our first 9 possessions of the 2nd half, and have to fight to get back into the game. Page lights us up for 16 in the 2nd half, including a 3 with under a min to play, and we suffer a horrible 67-71 defeat. Bailey gets stuffed in the 2nd half, and finishes with only 14. One of those games where there is just nothing you can do to win.

Game 14: Montana State Bobcats (6-7, 1-0) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (7-6, 0-1)
Another favorite tag with a 5-0 starter advantage for us…guess this means another loss? Sure enough, against teams that shouldn’t be able to compete against us, the Bobcats own a 38-30 half time lead, simply because we can no longer defend in our home building. That and 10 fouls in the 1st half leading to 22 foul shots for the Bobcats. Hmm…We come out with a slim one point win, 69-68, despite that trend continuing into the 2nd half, and I being completely powerless to prevent it. Bailey and King both had 15 as they were the only players not to run into foul trouble.

Not a good start to conference play, teams we should be absolutely destroying are beating us in our own building. Trenton Lofton (3* C) commits to EWU. We continue to chase Zupic aggressively taking all our available funds.

klayman

02-22-2003, 04:10 PM

Game 15: Eastern Wash. Eagles (8-6, 1-1) @ Idaho State Bengals (2-12, 2-0)
ISU are the favorites but we hold a 3-2 starter advantage. We go with a 3-2 zone and dare ISU’s weak post game to beat us. That seems to do the trick, and we take a 38-28 lead at the break, thanks to Bailey’s 8 points. We relax a bit in the 2nd but hold the 10 point cushion through the half, and pull away to a 77-60 win. Bailey finished with 16, while Johnson and Bullock each had 12.

Game 16: Eastern Wash. Eagle (9-6, 2-1) @ Weber State Wildcats (7-7, 1-1)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. Ratings wise, this team is no where near us. Game wise, it’s a completely different story as we cannot stop the Wildcats defensively at all. Luckily we’re able to hit the basket as well, and own a slight 40-37 half time lead. Weber State keeps pace with us throughout the 2nd half, until we finally pull away in the final min to take a 76-69 win. Bailey led the pack with 19, while Zinn and Bullock both added 18.

Zupic commits to Gonzaga, expectedly, however we do lock up Jack Reed (3* SG). We put some effort back into Kevin Gipson, offering him a scholarship as well. He is unlikely to commit to us however, and we’ll take a look at Bret Cornell, a 3* PG out of Phoenix, AZ. His interest in us is high, and he has decent HS stats.

Game 17: CS Sacramento Hornets (7-8, 2-1) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (10-6, 3-1)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. The only thing that saves us from embarrassment in the first half is 20 trips to the charity stripe, and the 14 points we get from it, to take a 34-29 lead at the break. The Hornets foul trouble continues into the 2nd and we slowly open up a 20 point lead and finish the game with a 76-52 win. Zinn lead the way with 17, while Anderson grabbed 10 off the bench.

Game 18: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (4-12, 1-3) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (11-6, 4-1)
We’re the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. A solid first half sees us grab an early 10 point lead and hold it for the 44-33 half time advantage. Bailey closes out a strong first half with 14 points. The Lumberjacks never get closer than 10, and we pull away to the 83-66 win, with Bailey collecting 24 on the night.

So after a shaky start, we put together some solid performances to jump into control on top of the Big Sky Conference.

klayman

03-03-2003, 02:42 PM

At this point I have upgraded to the 1.28 beta patch.

Gibson commits to Oregon, and Cornell commits to CS Northridge leaving us with walkon C Marquis Brownlee 3* (6-10, 209) from Bronx, NY. Brownlee has average skills and decent high school stats for a late round walk on player.

<code>Big Sky Standings

Team Conf. Wins Conf. Losses Pct. Total Wins Total Losses Pct. PF PA

Eastern Wash. 5 1 .833 12 6 .667 1261 1204
Idaho State 4 2 .667 4 14 .222 1155 1305
Montana 3 2 .600 10 7 .588 1219 1193
Montana State 3 3 .500 8 10 .444 1273 1373
Weber State 2 3 .400 8 9 .471 1200 1198
CS Sacramento 2 3 .400 7 10 .412 1121 1256
Portland State 2 4 .333 8 10 .444 1214 1172
Northern Arizona 1 4 .200 4 13 .235 1058 1273
</code>
<code>
IP Top 25 Poll

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Illinois 17-0 2,035 1
2. Florida 16-1 1,898 2
3. Texas Tech 19-2 1,766 3
4. Texas 18-2 1,628 5
5. Syracuse 16-1 1,486 7
6. Iowa State 17-4 1,386 14
7. Iowa 15-2 1,315 4
8. USC 14-2 1,217 15
9. Arizona 13-3 1,165 6
10. Wake Forest 17-3 1,090 9
11. Cincinnati 15-2 1,018 10
12. Alabama 16-3 971 18
13. Kentucky 14-4 922 11
14. Missouri 14-3 849 12
15. Boston College 15-4 780 13
16. Virginia 13-3 733 19
17. Seton Hall 15-2 685 20
18. Oklahoma 15-3 566 16
19. Maryland 13-3 497 8
20. California 15-4 406 23
21. Kansas 14-6 339 17
22. North Carolina 14-5 267 26
23. Temple 12-3 222 27
24. Memphis 15-2 200 30
25. Duke 12-5 177 21

Others Receiving Votes: Connecticut 165, Wisconsin 154, UCLA 132, Notre
Dame 109, Stanford 87, Indiana 65, Texas A&M 42, Tennessee 21, Michigan
10, Georgetown 6, Providence 2, Mississippi 2, Auburn 1, Mississippi St.
1, Ohio State 1, Massachusetts 1, Fresno State 1, Michigan State 1,
Arkansas 1, Georgia Tech 1, Villanova 1.

Dropped out of Top 25: No. 22 Wisconsin, No. 24 Stanford, No. 25
Georgetown
</code>

klayman

03-03-2003, 03:56 PM

Game 19: American Eagles (7-10) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (12-6)
We’re the favorites for our mid conference break, with a 3-2 starter advantage as well. Despite a 14-1 start, we only hit 6 for 19 in the half, and trail the Eagles 31-28 at the break. Our shooting woes continue into the second, and with 5 mins left, we find ourselves down by 11. Cue the comeback, though, and with 1:51 left to go, Bailey ties it at 58 with two free throws. Zinn then puts us on top to stay with a midrange jumper, and we go on to win 65-58. Zinn finishes with 26 points, a career high, while Bullock contributed with 13 and 8 boards.

The win puts on the bubble watch, while we crack the top 100 CRI for the first time this season, coming in at 90.

Game 20: Eastern Wash. Eagles (13-6, 5-1) @ Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (6-13, 2-4)
Back to conference play, and the Lumberjacks are the overall favorites despite us owning a 4-1 starter advantage. We continue with the cold shooting we showed against American, and quickly fall behind the Lumberjacks, but a 12-3 run late in the half, gives us a slim 39-37 advantage. We run into some foul trouble, with both Bailey and Zinn drawing early 4, but the bench comes alive and keeps us ahead of NAU, and we win 74-67. Bailey finishes with 22 and 9 but gets injured late in the game. Eddie Anderson (13) and Ezra Hathaway (10) have big contributions off the bench.

Bailey, our leading scorer, is only listed as day-to-day with sore ribs. Phew!

Game 21: Eastern Wash. Eagles (14-6, 6-1) @ CS Sacramento Hornets (9-11, 3-4)
We’re the favorites although Cal State has a 3-2 starter advantage. Bailey is out, and Anderson takes his spot in the starting lineup. A fairly good half sees Anderson’s 14 points guide us to a 31-28 half time lead. The Hornets have no answer in the 2nd half and we shoot 29-47 for the game to win easily 73-58. Anderson finishes with 18, while Zinn (13) and Bullock (12 and 8) both put up respectable numbers.

So after losing 3 straight, we’ve put up 8 straight wins as we head into February with a 15-6 record.

klayman

03-03-2003, 05:49 PM

Game 22: Eastern Wash. Eagles (15-6, 7-1) @ Montana Grizzlies (12-9, 5-3)
We’re the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage as well. Bailey is back in the lineup to matchup against rival Brent Page. The Grizzlies are of course the only team in the Big Sky that has defeated us this year. A 3-2 zone shuts down Page, but we still trail the Grizzlies 37-36 at the half. Montana has our number this year, and although we shut down their best player and shoot over 60% on the night, we still lose by 11, 63-74. Bailey led the way with 15, while Johnson grabbed 11. King left the game with an injury in the 2nd half.

King is gone for a month with a pulled hamstring, so unless we do well in the tournament, his career is over.

Game 23: Eastern Wash. Eagles (15-7, 7-2) @ Montana State Bobcats (9-13, 4-5)
We’re still the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage, but we saw how our coaches’ evaluations helped us last game. The Bobcats take a 37-32 half time lead, thanks to heavy foul trouble by us, letting them grab 14 point from the stripe. There’s nothing we can do in the 2nd half. We play very well offensively, but any change I make to the defensive produces zero effect, and the Bobcats match us basket for basket handing us a 66-69 loss. Bailey once again led the way with 15 in another losing effort, while Jamal Richardson came off the bench for 12, a career high.

The Bobcats do us a favor however, by beating the Grizzlies later in the week, giving us a one game lead over Montana with a game in hand.

Game 24: Eastern Wash. Eagles (15-8, 7-3) @ Portland State Vikings (11-12, 5-5)
PSU are the favorites although we own a 3-2 starter advantage. Hathaway shows some flair, and his 10 points lead us to a 38-32 half time lead. We continue to add to the lead, and as we work up a 12 point lead early in the 2nd half, the bench takes us the rest of the way for the 71-57 win. Bailey finishes with a career high 26 points and 8 boards, while Hathaway gets 14 and 7 assists.

klayman

03-03-2003, 05:51 PM

<code>
Big Sky Standings

Team Conf. Wins Conf. Losses Pct. Total Wins Total Losses Pct. PF PA

Eastern Wash. 8 3 .727 16 8 .667 1673 1587 
Montana 6 5 .545 13 11 .542 1737 1721
Montana State 6 5 .545 11 13 .458 1718 1837
Idaho State 6 5 .545 6 18 .250 1563 1775
Weber State 5 6 .455 12 12 .500 1764 1727
Portland State 5 6 .455 11 13 .458 1648 1610
CS Sacramento 4 7 .364 10 14 .417 1606 1789
Northern Arizona 4 7 .364 8 16 .333 1585 1765
</code>

klayman

03-08-2003, 02:29 AM

Heading into the final three conference games and a win would almost all but secure our third straight Big Sky Conference Title.

Game 25: Idaho State Bengals (6-18, 6-5) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (16-8, 8-3)
We’re the favorites at home with a 9-2 record and a 4-1 starter advantage. ISU received the kiss of death on their season when I said they would be the only team challenging us in the pre-season. A rough first half with 24 fouls, 14 by us, but we hold a 38-26 lead at the break. In the 2nd, it’s all Roy Bailey as he finishes with 30 and 12 boards on route to an easy 79-55 win. Anderson filled in with 13 off the bench. Only Montana State keep pace, but we’ve taken the Conference Title with an overall better record. It’s our third straight!!

Bailey gets robbed of the player of the week award, who’s been on fire since return from injury with 21.5 PPG in four games.

Game 26: Weber State Wildcats (13-12, 6-6) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (17-8, 9-3)
We remain the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. We come out cold and give the Wildcats a 11 point cushion to start the game, but we fight back, and Bailey (11) and Anderson (10) combine for 21 points to give us a commanding 45-30 lead. The subs take us through most of the 2nd, as we cruise to the 74-53 win. Bailey finishes with another double-double with 23 and 10, while Anderson responds again off the bench with 12.

Game 27: Portland State Vikings (11-15, 5-8) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (18-8, 10-3)
We close out our conference schedule favorites against the Vikings with a 3-2 starter advantage. The 1st half is back and forth and the Vikings hold a slight 32-31 lead at the break. Bailey (26) and Zinn (15) explode in the 2nd half to wrestle control of the game, and take a comfortable 75-63 win from the Vikings.

klayman

03-08-2003, 02:32 AM

<code>Big Sky Standings

Team Conf. Wins Conf. Losses Pct. Total Wins Total Losses Pct. PF PA

Eastern Wash. 11 3 .786 19 8 .704 1901 1758 
Montana State 9 5 .643 14 13 .519 1979 2034
Montana 7 7 .500 14 13 .519 1970 1966
Idaho State 7 7 .500 7 20 .259 1785 2003
Weber State 6 8 .429 13 14 .481 1963 1993
CS Sacramento 6 8 .429 12 15 .444 1892 2032
Portland State 5 9 .357 11 16 .407 1844 1866
Northern Arizona 5 9 .357 9 18 .333 1795 1994
</code>

klayman

03-08-2003, 03:01 AM

With one final game, we are barely holding on in the bubble, sitting 63rd. A win would help push for a ACT bid should we lose in the Tournament, but we don’t really want to think about that possibility. We’re gunning to get back into the NCT.

Game 28: UTEP Miners (14-14) @ Eastern Wash. Eagles (19-8)
Texas El Paso are the favorites for this game, and hold a 3-2 starter advantage. We do manage to keep pace with the Miners, but some late turnovers prove costly, and we find ourselves down 6, 36-30 at the half. The Miners shut us down in the 2nd half, and we cede the game by going with the bench for most of the 2nd, not wanting to risk a late injury, and are defeated 60-73. Zinn (12) and Bailey (11) were the leading scorers in the losing effort.

We catch a break as King returns from injury a week early and will be able to start in the Tournament for us.

Roy Bailey captures the Big Sky Player of the Year Award with a 16.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 62.5% FG% and a +148 rating. Bailey is also named to the All-Conference Team, while Linton Mullahon makes the All-Freshman team (obviously a weak year for guards, as Linton only played in 5 games) Bailey finished 2nd in conference scoring behind Montana Grizzlies forward Brent Page.

klayman

03-08-2003, 04:01 AM

Big Sky Tournament 1st Round

Game 29: NAU Lumberjacks (9-19, 5-9) vs EWU Eagles (19-9, 11-3)
We’re the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. We beat NAU in both games this season. We’re gun shy to start the tourney, and the Lumberjacks build an early 10 point lead. A time out convinces the guys that maybe Bailey should get the ball, and we fight back with his 14 points to grab a 39-23 1st half advantage. Bailey and Zinn continue to respond in the 2nd half, and we never led by less than 10 to take the 1st round game 74-63. Bailey finishes with 20 while freshman Zinn grabs 18 in his first conference tournament game. King in his first game in a month gets 9 points and 6 assists.

The rest of the 1st round:
Portland State (7) upsets Montana State (2) :)
Montana (3) over CS Sacramento (6)
Weber State (5) over Idaho State (4)

Game 30: Weber State Wildcats (16-14, 7-8) vs EWU Eagles (20-9, 12-3)
We’re still the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. We went 2-0 against WSU this year, but they have historically given me problems in the past. The players once again have to be reminded to get the ball to Bailey after a quick start by WSU. Bailey is up to the task, and grabs 16 points leading us to a 42-27 half time lead. The Wildcats close the gap to within 4 in the 2nd before Bailey and Zinn take over, and we finish with a comfortable 75-64 win. Bailey gets 22, Zinn gets 15, and Jeff Bullock steps his game up with 9 points and 12 boards.

Montana (3) crushes Portland State (7) to set up the final.

Game 31: Montana Grizzlies (17-14, 9-7) vs EWU Eagles (21-9, 13-3)
We’re the favorites with a 5-0 starter advantage. We were of course favorites in both our conference matches against the Grizzlies but were defeated by them both times. We’re not fooling around this game, and take the early lead thanks to none other than Josh Johnson?!? The Grizzlies fight back, but Johnson’s 13 points give us a 33-30 lead going into the break. Despite Johnson’s effort and despite putting up a 11 point cushion, the Grizzlies fight back and tie the game at 64 with 1:44 left to play. Bailey gets called on a questionable double dribble, and Montana respond with a deuce a 66-64 lead with 44 seconds left. Johnson ties it up with 27 seconds left… We need a stop, and get it as Montana miss the open jumper…but grab the rebound and sink the basket. Down 68-66 with 6 seconds left…one last chance…Johnson, the man of the hour with the buzzer beater…no good. And we drop the Conference title game 66-68. Johnson finishes with 20 and 13 boards, while Bailey got 18.

Disappointing, but Montana has had our number all year. We do manage to get another ACT bid, though. Hopefully this will be the year we win a Tournament game.

Montana gets the 14th seed in the East and faces UCLA in the NCT. We get the 6th seed in the west, and face Auburn in the ACT.

klayman

03-08-2003, 04:29 AM

Game 32: EWU Eagles (21-10) vs Auburn Tigers (16-15)
Auburn is the favorite with a 4-1 starter advantage. The first half is not pretty by any standards and our season looks to be over, as we are down 23-38 at the break. The second half is no better, and Auburn goes on to advance with an easy 48-67 win. Johnson was the only player with double digits, as he hit 12 points.

Montana’s season ends soon after with a defeat by UCLA finishing all Big Sky games for the season.

Michigan finishes the season winning the ACT.

The NCT final four:
Syracuse over Missouri
Illinois over Texas

NCT Championship:
Illinois 61 over Syracuse 60
Finals MVP: T.J Herr

Next up…stat dump.

klayman

03-08-2003, 06:51 PM

<code>
Final IP Top 25 Poll

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Illinois 34-3 1,938 1
2. Texas 32-6 1,744 2
3. Florida 27-7 1,670 3
4. North Carolina 29-7 1,523 4
5. Texas Tech 31-9 1,401 5
6. Wisconsin 31-7 1,330 6
7. Syracuse 31-7 1,253 7
8. Cincinnati 26-6 1,158 8
9. UCLA 25-10 1,107 9
10. Seton Hall 28-5 1,040 10
11. California 28-8 971 13
12. Temple 27-7 927 12
13. Kansas 25-11 883 11
14. Boston College 25-9 812 14
15. Kentucky 25-10 745 15
16. USC 26-8 698 16
17. Duke 22-9 653 17
18. Virginia 23-8 543 18
19. Notre Dame 27-8 477 20
20. Iowa State 23-11 387 21
21. Wake Forest 25-9 323 22
22. Iowa 24-9 257 23
23. Missouri 28-10 215 19
24. Alabama 25-9 193 24
25. Connecticut 24-10 171 25

Others Receiving Votes: Stanford 161, Memphis 149, Tennessee 125, Indiana
104, Arizona 83, Oklahoma 62, Mississippi 41, Mississippi St. 20, Maryland
10, Providence 6, Michigan 2, Fresno State 2, Massachusetts 1, Michigan
State 1, Georgetown 1, Texas A&M 1, Georgia Tech 1, Louisville 1, Ohio
State 1, Purdue 1, Vanderbilt 1.
</code>

<code>
Eastern Wash. Stats

Name Pos Games MPG PPG RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
C. King SF 26 30.6 8.1 3.2 6.7 2.9 0.7 0.1 46.4% 37.1% 56.9%
Joey Zinn SG 32 28.1 13.0 1.3 2.2 1.6 0.4 0.0 51.0% 23.5% 77.3%
Roy Bailey PF 31 32.0 16.9 7.2 1.2 1.4 0.6 2.1 60.1% 34.3% 72.5%
J. Johnson PF 32 29.2 8.6 3.5 0.7 1.0 0.7 1.2 57.1% 35.7% 57.0%
Jeff Bullock C 32 29.9 6.9 6.0 0.6 0.9 0.5 0.3 54.1% 0.0% 68.5%
E. Anderson PF 32 17.0 7.3 3.3 0.6 0.8 0.0 0.2 49.4% 28.1% 74.0%
E. Hathaway PG 32 17.4 5.2 0.9 2.6 1.7 0.4 0.0 41.8% 19.0% 74.3%
Lucas Cooper SF 32 8.9 2.7 1.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 58.5% 0.0% 55.6%
J. Richardson SG 17 8.5 3.5 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.2 0.1 37.7% 12.5% 94.4%
Correy Cabrera C 23 7.0 0.8 0.6 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 31.3% 0.0% 66.7%
Jonathan Wesby PG 1 5.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Linton Mullahon PG 8 7.9 2.0 0.0 1.1 0.9 0.1 0.0 42.9% 50.0% 75.0%
Matt Winn PG 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
</code>

klayman

03-08-2003, 07:10 PM

Departing Seniors:

Chevalier King (F) 82 Gms, 20.7 Mpg, 7.5 Ppg, 2.1 Rpg, 2.9 Apg, 47.3 Fg%, 52.5 Ft%, 38.4 3p%, -53

Jonathan Wesby (G) 11 Gms, 5.3 Mpg, 1.4 Ppg, -9

Lucas Cooper (F) 52 Gms, 7.4 Mpg, 2.3 Ppg, 51.4 Fg%, -3

MylesKnight

03-11-2003, 02:04 PM

This is great Klayman.. I need to pick this game up myself, and reading through your EWU Campaign has made more that more psyched to get TDCB..

Unfortunately it looks as if the best team in the Big Sky the past couple of seasons hasn't been the Conference Rep in the Big Dance..

One question, I've noticed EWU seems to struggle at times against inferior Non-Conference opponents, especially games that are scheduled in the middle of or after the Conference Season. Is there something in the game that has the team just a bit less focused for those games or am I looking into it too much?

Check out Idaho State as another example. They finished tied for 4th this past season in the Big Sky at 7-7, but were only 7-20 overall... The Bengals went 0 for 13 in non-Big Sky Games.. Did they beef up the schedule or what??

Anyhow, again great read.. Keep it up my friend!!

klayman

03-11-2003, 04:19 PM

Originally posted by MylesKnight
This is great Klayman.. I need to pick this game up myself, and reading through your EWU Campaign has made more that more psyched to get TDCB..

Unfortunately it looks as if the best team in the Big Sky the past couple of seasons hasn't been the Conference Rep in the Big Dance..

One question, I've noticed EWU seems to struggle at times against inferior Non-Conference opponents, especially games that are scheduled in the middle of or after the Conference Season. Is there something in the game that has the team just a bit less focused for those games or am I looking into it too much?

Check out Idaho State as another example. They finished tied for 4th this past season in the Big Sky at 7-7, but were only 7-20 overall... The Bengals went 0 for 13 in non-Big Sky Games.. Did they beef up the schedule or what??

Anyhow, again great read.. Keep it up my friend!!

Thanks, glad you are enjoying it, Myles. Interesting points you brought up.

I think the talent level between the Big Sky is pretty even. Even if we had the best talent level (which we never have), I still think you'd see a lot of disparity between the ranks. The gap between the haves and have-nots is just not that great to make a difference, which is why we've seen 3 different Big Sky reps in the NCT.

Idaho State (they beat Harvard in one of their last two OOC games, and finished 8-22) played 8 Top 100 CRI games (including 2 against us) compared to 4 by EWU, so they had a more difficult schedule. They also had the misfortune of being touted by me to challenge for the title, which of course is the kiss of death for any team. I did the same thing to NAU the season before :)

As for the mid season slumps, I really don't think the game models that, I think you are just seeing poor coaching on my part. Sometimes the guys just come out flat, and I'm not a good enough coach to overcome it.

klayman

03-11-2003, 10:07 PM

Coach Report Card:
Overall: A

Season Performance: A
Overall Regular Season Performance: A
Overall Post Season Performance: B
Recruiting: B
Fan & Alumni Support: A
Academics: A
Player Development: F

Overall Record: 67-29 .698
Conference Record: 38-12 .760
NCT Appearances (Record): 1 (0-1)
ACT Appearances (Record): 2 (0-2)
Pro Draft Picks (1st Rounders): 0 (0)
Average Recruiting Class Rank: 145
Conference Championships: 1
Conference Titles: 3
Academic Suspensions: 1

klayman

03-11-2003, 10:18 PM

No Eagles or Big Sky players get drafted in the entry draft. I get some more job offers again this year, with Washington St, Colorado, and Arizona State the standouts. They are all declined.

We make some coaching changes this year, with Assistant Coach Brian Crispin departing and being replaced by Wendel Bolton. Bolton has better skills and is $200 cheaper.

USC grabs the #1 recruiting class for 2005. No Big Sky Conference team is close to cracking the top 20, as usual. We stick with 1* Sid Nyquist’s Hoops Galore for our scouting service, and I don’t imagine we’ll be changing anytime soon.

The big news of the offseason is that our national prestige going up 1 point to 27!!! Pretty soon, when people think college basketball, EWU will be the first team they think of. :rolleyes:

Our recruiting class is listed as Poor and our composite talent level is Poor as well, both decreases from last year. Despite that, I’m confident in winning the conference, and schedule a much tougher non conference schedule than we are used to.

Eastern Washington Eagles Non-Conference Schedule

San Jose State
New Mexico State
SW Missouri State
Texas Southern
@ Alabama State
@ #2 Kansas
@ Towson
@ Arkansas LR
@ #3 Florida
Boise State
MD Eastern Shore
@ San Diego State
@ Washington
LMU
Dortmouth


IP Top 25 Initial Poll
Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Arizona 0-0 1,332 0
2. Kansas 0-0 1,229 0
3. Florida 0-0 1,177 0
4. Connecticut 0-0 1,094 0
5. UCLA 0-0 1,011 0
6. Duke 0-0 956 0
7. Michigan State 0-0 901 0
8. Illinois 0-0 831 0
9. Iowa State 0-0 798 0
10. Kentucky 0-0 749 0
11. Tennessee 0-0 697 0
12. Boston College 0-0 661 0
13. Alabama 0-0 626 0
14. Texas 0-0 578 0
15. Providence 0-0 529 0
16. Cincinnati 0-0 498 0
17. Indiana 0-0 467 0
18. Mississippi 0-0 388 0
19. Virginia 0-0 339 0
20. Maryland 0-0 277 0
21. Wake Forest 0-0 231 0
22. Texas Tech 0-0 184 0
23. Wisconsin 0-0 154 0
24. USC 0-0 137 0
25. Notre Dame 0-0 122 0

Others Receiving Votes: North Carolina 114, Georgetown 106, Syracuse 91,
Temple 75, Missouri 60, Iowa 44, California 30, Mississippi St. 15, Seton
Hall 10, Stanford 7, Ohio State 4, Georgia Tech 4, Michigan 3, Georgia 3,
Oklahoma 2, Memphis 2, Arkansas 1, Auburn 1, Purdue 1, Vanderbilt 1,
Louisville 1.

klayman

03-12-2003, 12:05 AM

Meet the 2005-2006 Eastern Washington Eagles

SG – Joey Zinn So(rs) (6-5, 169lbs) Zinn surprised the coaching staff last year by placing 2nd in scoring on the team in his freshman season. He improved both his shooting and defense during the off season. Last season stats (32 Gms, 28.1 Mpg, 13.0 Ppg, 1.3 Rpg, 2.2 Apg, 51.0 Fg%, -22). AHC Reggie Fox says "...good passer and can often break down opposing defenses off the dribble...scores in bunches, his lack of consistency could make it hard to really depend on him...not a big liability on defence...should vie for a starting spot...continued to improve better than we expected."

PG – Ezra Hathaway SR (6-2, 160) The departure of King grants Hathaway another shot at starting this year. Hathaway has continued to decline in ability since being named to the Big Sky All Freshman team, this season being no different. However, neither Mullahon or Winn are ready to go, and we have no other real options. Last season's stats (32 Gms, 17.4 Mpg, 5.2 Ppg, 0.9 Apg, -17) AHC Reggie Fox says "...needs to improve his decision making to be a top guard in this league...shows signs of being a good defender...lost on the floor...injury prone...looks to be a starter...final season as an overachiever...never had much potential or talent, but he looks to have earned some time this season."

SF – Roy Bailey Jr (6-8, 242) What more can I say? Last year's Big Sky Player of the year, Big Sky Freshman of the year the year before that. Bailey is the EWU program right now. Amazingly, he greatly improved over the off season, making him a even more valuable member of the team. Last season's stats (31 Gms, 32.0 Mpg, 16.9 Ppg, 7.2 Rpg, 1.2 Apg, 2.1 Bpg, 60.1 Fg%, +159) AHC Reggie Fox says “…one of the tougher guys to defend...very good team player...makes good decisions with the ball...good defender and can contain both post and perimeter offensive threats...can really clear the glass...great positioning...crumbles a bit when the spotlight is on him...one of the better players on this team...come into his own...should be a banner year and it may be his last here..."

PF – Josh Johnson Sr (6-9, 225) Johnson regained his starting spot, and responded with season highs in every category. He improved his defense over the off season and will be an important starter this year. Last season's stats (32 Gms, 29.2 Mpg, 8.6 Ppg, 3.5 Rpg, 1.2 Bpg, 57.1 Fg%, +65). AHC Reggie Fox says “…can be a nice offensive threat...real tough inside defender. Most teams will stay away from him as he can really bother a shot with his presence...improved his effort and consistency on hitting the boards...a guy I would want to have the ball late in the game...ice in his veins and is un-phased in pressure situations...valuable member on the team this season...joy to coach and is a fan favorite..."

C – Jeff Bullock Jr (6-10, 254) Bullock continued to improve during the off-season after having a respectable season for us last year. He has improved both his defensive play and rebounding, making him one of the better centers in the conference. Last year's stats (32 Gms, 29.9 Mpg, 6.9 Ppg, 6.0 Rpg, 54.1 Fg%, +15) AHC Reggie Fox says “…good inside moves and can even step back and hit the jumper...real tough inside defender. Most teams will stay away from him...can dominate the glass when hi is motivated...one of the top rebounders on the team...needs some work on making good decisions on and off the ball...Players tend to really listen to Jeff when he talks...one of the better players on this team..."

Bench:

F – Eddie Anderson Jr (6-6, 241) Anderson was an important player off the bench last season. He improved defensively and should battle Johnson for mins this year as well. Last season stats(32 Gms, 17.0 Mpg, 7.3 Ppg, 3.3 Rpg, -10) AHC Reggie Fox says "…a little inconsistent from a scoring perspective...a decent defender, but he needs some more practice...improved his effort and consistency on hitting the boards...needs some more seasoning from an awareness standpoint...appears to be a role player..."

G - Matt Winn Fs (rs) (5-11, 148) Winn did not improve as much as I would have liked. I was hoping he would be able to start this year, but he regressed significantly in the off season. He has however, improved his defensive play, and will steal some mins from Hathaway. AHC Reggie Fox says "...shows signs of being a good passer...he is not going to worry too many opponents from the outside...shows signs of being a good defender...lost a lot on the floor...always seems to have some kind of nagging injury...potential to be a good player on this team...Should see some time this year."

G - Jamal Richardson Sr (6-4, 180) Seldom used Richardson had a great senior camp, and would be starting if not for the impressive year Zinn had last year. However, if Zinn shows any Sophomore let down, I'm confident to turn to Richardson as my everyday SG. Last season's stats (17 Gms, 8.5 Mpg, 3.5 Ppg, 94.4 Ft%, -6) AHC Reggie Fox says "...a little streaky from the outside...not a big liability on defence...lost a lot on the floor...players tend to really listen to Jamal when he talks...key player off the bench...final season as an overachiever."

C - Correy Cabrera So (6-9, 201) Correy is at the point where Bullock was last year, a bit too raw but with potential to improve. While Bullock was able to gain experience starting, Cabrera will have to improve off limited mins as Bullock's back up this season, a role he played adequately last season. Last season's stats (23 Gms, 7.0 Mpg, 0.8 Ppg, 0.6 Rpg, -18) AHC Reggie Fox says "...unknown offensively...shown signs of breaking through...not a good defender...improved his effort and consistency on hitting the boards...needs some more seasoning...crumbles a bit when the spotlight is one him...role player..."

Our three freshman are nothing to write home about, and will see very limited time. Of them, only SG Jack Reed seems to be a contributer down the road. Mullahon, despite making the all freshman team last year, is still not talented enough to play everyday, but might see some more mins this season as well, depending on injuries and Winn's performance off the bench.

We have Bailey for at least one more season (please don't go pro!), so he will continue to be the primary focus of this team. Hopefully I can say the same thing next year as well.

MylesKnight

03-12-2003, 12:19 AM

Klayman, by the way, if you want to make those Statistics line up right and easier to read, use the Code Option..

That is.. {code} before & {/code} after, but replace the {}'s with []'s.

I wasn't sure if you were aware of this or not..

Here's an example...

ACC W L PF PA W L PF PA Streak

x-Florida State 7 1 307 103 8 3 377 194 Won 1
Clemson 7 1 199 111 8 3 245 186 Lost 2
Georgia Tech 6 2 190 116 9 2 319 168 Won 1
North Carolina 5 3 200 154 5 6 238 278 Won 1
Maryland 4 4 208 124 6 5 314 173 Won 2
Virginia 3 5 152 166 5 6 277 221 Lost 1
N.C. State 3 5 134 148 5 6 199 228 Won 1
Wake Forest 1 7 75 267 1 10 113 373 Lost 2
Duke 0 8 36 312 2 9 84 394 Lost 8

Sorry if you already knew about this, just giving you a head's up.. ;)

klayman

03-12-2003, 12:50 AM

Actually code doesn't quite work properly. I used it above, only I used the html version instead of the Vb version (no code lines that way). It still doesn't line up, so the text from the game output isn't spaced properly (it's html output, converted to text, so there probably is no spacing at all). I was formatting the text properly before, but I got lazy, and decided to just use the text output from the game (which is new in v1.28). It might be the font, but I don't think the text output is spacing correctly, meaning I either have to type it all in instead of cutting and pasting, or try to line it up. I didn't think it was worth the effort I was putting into before, but if you disagree, I can put more effort in a better presentation.

klayman

03-12-2003, 01:17 AM

Recruiting Targets:
We have 3 graduating seniors (Johnson, Hathaway, Richardson) so 3 scholarships to hand out, providing Bailey doesn't go pro (I'm hoping if I write about the possibility enough here, it won't happen :) ). We're in the same boat as we were in my first year, with 3 impact players leaving. We're still having a poor time with guards and with Johnson leaving, and Anderson and Bailey entering their Jr years, we need to look at forwards again, something we haven't looked at for awhile. With that in mind, here are our top targets.

1. Brian Marquardt C (6-6. 222) 4* out of Stanwood, WA. Brian is a JC player from John Wood JC. He is ranked #26 for Centers, #109 Overall, and #24 in the West. We're soild at center and he's too small, but should be a good forward behind Bailey and Anderson next year. HS stats 18.0 Ppg, 9.7 Rpg, 4.3 Apg.

2. Tim Williams PF (6-8, 225) 3* out of Las Vegas, NV. Ranked #30 PF, #34 in the west, #170 overall, Tim has good skills and should be a valuable player in the Big Sky. HS Stats 10.6 Ppg, 11.5 Rpg, 2.8 Apg.

3. Starzee Honeycutt SF (6-3, 173) 3* out of Roswell, NM. How can you not like a guy named Starzee out of Roswell? Ranked #24 SF, #26 in the West, #133 Overall, I see Starzee possibly solving our guard problem next year. He's a little small to play forward for my preferences, but should be a good Big Sky player nonetheless. HS Stats (9.5 Ppg, 4.7 Rpg, 2.4 Apg)

4. Jarvis Benoit PG (6-2, 159) 3* out of Dayton, OR. Jarvis is not rated, but looks to be one of the better guards coming out of the west, that would be interested in going to EWU. He's is evaluated higher than his HS stats are showing, which isn't a good thing at all. HS Stats 5.5 Ppg, 2.5 Rpg, 3.0 Apg.

Instead of grabbing 7 or 8 targets like I've done previously, I'm sticking this year with 3-4 I know I can get. Last year we lost a lot of ground early cause we chased after guys we didn't get, and the result was a very poor recruiting class. As long as Bailey doesn't turn pro, I'll stick with these targets.

Our first week recruiting sees Marquardt, Williams and Honeycutt get Aggressive efforts, with both Marquardt and Williams getting offers and visits. Benoit gets a light effort as well. All four players have moderate interest in EWU, while Marquardt has us shortlisted.

klayman

03-12-2003, 02:00 AM

Season outlook: Once again we should vie for the conference title, making it our 4th straight. With a more difficult schedule, we will concentrate more on winning the Big Sky Tournament to get into the NCT. Both Portland State and Northern Arizona have better talent levels than us, and should compete. You can’t rule out Montana either, as we’ve lost our last 5 straight against them.

The motion is out this year, as our handling has taken a beating in the off season. Instead will run an isolation offence against man coverage, and throw looks to a Swing offense and a One-guard Front against zones. Defensively we remain the same, employing a Help Man or specific zones to combat problem areas. We’ll toy a little with straight man coverage, but only when Zinn is not on the floor.

klayman

03-12-2003, 03:43 AM

Very little changes on the recruiting front for week 2. All 4 targets interest levels stay the same, and Marquardt, Williams, and Honeycutt grab Aggressive effort with Honeycutt getting a visit and offer. Benoit once again gets Light effort.

Game 1: San Jose State Spartans @ EWU Eagles
We open the season favorites against SJSU despite them having a 3-2 starter advantage. The isolation nets Bailey a goose egg in the first half, but Bullock and Anderson combine with 6 each to give us a slim 28-27 half time lead. The 2nd half shows an improvement on our part, as we shut the Spartans down offensively and Zinn ignites to lead us to a 68-57 win. Zinn finishes with 22, while Anderson grabbed 11 off the bench. Hathaway picked up 8 assists against 2 turnovers, which would be very good numbers if he keeps it up.

Game 2: New Mexico State Aggies (1-0) @ EWU Eagles (1-0)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. I’ve thrown out the isolation, because it just didn’t feel right. We’ll go with a one-guard front and swing offensive, and fall back on the motion if things are not working out. We jump to an early 11 point lead and hold it through the half, thanks to Bailey’s 15 points, and enter the break with a 40-30 advantage. We lose Bailey early in the 2nd half when he picks up 3 quick fouls and fouls out before I can sub him. Missing their star player, the rest of the team rallies, and despite heavy foul trouble we stay ahead of the Aggies and take the 78-70 victory. Anderson grabs 19 off the bench, while Bullock got 11 and 11 boards, Richardson scored 11 off the bench, and Hathaway got 11 assists against 4 turnovers. Bailey finishes the game 2nd in scoring with 15, despite only playing 15 mins.

Marquardt looks a lock to commit, but for some reason both Williams and Honeycutt’s interest drop off the board in the 3rd week!?! Our efforts remain the same, but we add 2* Stephen Hill, a PG out of Corning, CA with a moderate effort. He has decent HS stats and a high GPA, and might fill the role better than Benoit could.

Game 3: SW Missouri State Bears (2-0) @ EWU Eagles (2-0)
We are the underdogs as the Bears hold a 4-1 starter advantage. We hold the Bears scoreless for the first 10 mins, but are only able to put 11 points up on the board ourselves. With Bailey’s 15, however, we take a 14 point lead, 30-16, into the break. Incredibly we give the Bears every opportunity to win the game. Luckily for us, they don’t take advantage, thanks in large to a dominating Roy Bailey, and we win by 10, 54-44. Great defensive game as we held the Bears to 17-50 from the field, but only shot 18-55 ourselves. Bailey was the difference with 24 points and a career high 17 rebounds. Anderson once again proving his worth off the bench with 11.

Game 4: Texas Southern Tigers (2-1) @ EWU Eagles (3-0)
We the favorites despite the Tigers holding a 3-2 starter advantage. We start off playing well, especially defensively, and jump to an early lead. But our game quickly falls apart, and we let the Tigers back into the game, and trail 30-40 at the half. Zinn leads the team with 9, but is -3 on the night. Richardson replaces Zinn in the 2nd half, and his quick 7 points closes the gap along with his better defensive play, and eventually we regain the lead with 5 mins remaining. Bailey gives us a 4 point lead with 2:16 left. Hathaway makes an important steal, and Bailey goes to the line for 2, making both, and giving us a 66-60 lead with 1:42 remaining. The Tigers get a basket and foul to cut the lead to 3…Johnson takes a tough shot, gets only air, and it is the Tigers ball with less than 50 seconds remaining. They get the basket to make it a one point game. Bailey goes to the line again…but misses, Tigers get the rebound. Johnson fouls on the shot with 18 seconds left…which they make both shots. 66-67…time running down…Hathaway finds a cutting Bailey…the last second shot…NO GOOD! But he’s FOULED! Bailey to the line for 2 with 1 second left…GOOD…GOOD…Eagles squeak out a 68-67 win! Phew! Bailey is the hero with 18 and 7, while both Richardson and Zinn grabbed 11 sharing time.

klayman

03-12-2003, 05:07 AM

Recruiting takes a turn for the worse, as Marquardt is now looking at hated Gonzaga. Williams and Honeycutt still show no interest. Our efforts remain the same, regardless. It is shaping up to be a horrible recruiting year though.

Our 4-0 start gets us 3 votes in the IP poll and 5 in the .400 Sports poll, the most since I took over the program.

Game 5: EWU Eagles (4-0) @ Alabama State Hornets (4-0)
ASU are the favorites, with a 3-2 starter advantage as well. Once again we start off great, but are unable to keep it up, and ASU take advantage for the 28-34 point lead at the break. Zinn leads the team with 9 but is a horrid -7 so far. A Richardson for Zinn swap again does the trick and we pull to within 1 point, but are unable to take advantage of several ASU miscues. With 2:45 Bailey closes the gab to 5 points, 57-62. ASU hit there next shot before Richardson hits 2 frees, and Anderson sinks an off balance shot after a jump ball to close the gap to 64-61 with 1:01 to go. The Hornets make 2 frees, before Bullock puts us with 3 again with a quick jumper. 27 seconds left, ASU go to the line again with 2…they get only one, it’s a four point game…Bailey grabs a deuce with 12 seconds left, 65-67…we need the ball back, but for some reason our players refuse to foul and ASU kill the clock and hand us a 65-67 loss. Zinn lead the team with 13 but finished -9. Bailey and Johnson both had 12 in the losing effort. Tough loss, but we threw away several chances to win the game in the 2nd half.

Game 6: EWU Eagles (4-1) @ #6 Kansas Jayhawks (6-2)
KU are the favorites of course and hold a 4-1 starter advantage, Bailey being that sole player for us. He’s so turning pro this year :( I have yet to beat a ranked team in 4 years. Bullock hits the first shot, most likely giving us our only lead of the game. The Jayhawks are way too good defensively for us, but we’re actually holding our own through out the first half, and manage to tie the game several times, until Zinn hits a three giving us our 2nd lead of the game with 2:48 left in the first half. That’s short lived however, and Kansas holds the 38-34 half time lead. Despite being out shot, we’re not turning over the ball and out rebound the Jayhawks. Only real problem is foul trouble, sending them to the line 18 times in the first half. Things stay close through the 2nd and with 7 mins remaining, Anderson drains a three that hands us a 57-54 lead!!! Once again short lived however, and with 2:25 left KU leads 70-66. KU hit all their free-throws down the stretch however, and we lose a tough one 73-80. We played very well despite the loss, with Bailey grabbing 21 and 11 boards against a tough Jayhawk defense. Zinn finishes with 18, Anderson with 14, and Hathaway grabs 11 assists in the loss.

We get some good news in recruiting as Gonzaga rescind their scholarship offer to Marquardt, and we’re back to being his number one choice. No change anywhere else however, and our efforts remain the same as the previous week.

Our two tough losses take away our votes in the polls, but we grab the 68th CRI ranking with a 72nd schedule rank. We’re behind #44 Montana, #53 Cal State Sacramento, #57 Montana State, and #66 Idaho State however. Sigh. Looks like a tough year in the Big Sky. :eek:

Edit: I change my mind about the recruiting. It's obvious that Honeycutt is not going to commit to us, with higher prestige teams offering him scholarships, so I drop him from our radar and rescind the scholarship. Williams still has no interest as well, but at least no higher prestige ranking teams are offering him a scholarship. I'll hold out for him. So this week Marquardt and Williams both get aggressive efforts. I also find a 5* recruit without any offers. SG Earl Holly out of Hamlet, IN. No idea why he hasn't been offered. He's #3 SG, #18 overall, #5 in the midwest and a 3.05 GPA. His HS stats are a little low, but still better than anything we're looking at. He understandably has no interest, but we bite anyway, and offer him Honeycutt's scholarship and give him aggressive effort...we'll see what happens.

klayman

03-13-2003, 01:28 AM

Game 7: EWU Eagles (4-2) @ Towson Tigers (4-2)
We’re the favorites on the road despite Towson holding a 3-2 starter advantage. Despite playing very poorly in the first half, and shooting 12 for 31, we’re able to take a 36-34 advantage into the break thanks to Zinn (13) and Bailey (10). We run an early lead in the 2nd only to watch it quickly disappear, and find ourselves struggling to get back in the game. We turn to the three in desperation, and hit 6-9 in the half to push us into an 8 point lead with 5 mins left. We take advantage of some poor Tiger shooting down the stretch, to walk away with a 79-65 win. Zinn finished the game with 23 points, despite picking up an early 4th foul. Bailey grabbed 18 and 6 while Anderson was 10 and 8 off the bench.

We lost Cabrera early in the 2nd half to injury, but he is only listed day-to-day with migraines.

Game 8: EWU Eagles (5-2) @ Arkansas LR Trojans (2-5)
We’re the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. I have a lifetime 1-1 record against the Trojans in my coaching career. Turnovers are the name of the game in the 1st half, as we play well, the Trojans don’t, but we constantly give them 2nd and 3rd chances. Somehow, we only find ourselves down by 1, 35-36 at the break. It should be more. The second half is much the same. Jim Varley, the Trojans Junior SG, ignites for 18 points to go with his 17 1st half points, and I cannot do anything about it. After a Hathaway basket with under 2 mins left, we find ourselves with a slim 69-67 lead. Varley gets the ball, but Hathaway quickly steals it, one of the few stops on Varley all night, and then throws the ball out of bounds…seems like the sensible thing to do. 1: 51 left…Varley…net…69-69…Bailey answers with a 16 footer, but Varley gets the quick jumper on the next possession…71-71, 58 seconds left. Johnson takes the inbound pass…throws it out of bounds. Great basketball we are playing. Varley lines up the three with 38 seconds remaining and it goes in…and back out. Hathaway gets the foul and goes to the line. Good. Miss…72-71 EWU. Varley quickly down the court for the Trojans, but his shot is blocked by Johnson. Hathaway goes back to line with 9 seconds left in the game. Miss. For crying out loud. Last possession of the game…Varley all alone of the wing…the guy has 35 points in the game…I have my best defender on him…I’m running a pressure man to prevent him from shooting …and in the dying seconds he is ALL ALONE to measure up the game winner…that hits the rim and stays out. EWU 72 -71. A game we shouldn’t have won. Bailey lead the team as usual, with 20 and 10 boards, while Hathaway surprised with 15 points and 8 assists.

klayman

03-13-2003, 04:34 AM

I get an early Christmas present when Bailey decides to stay in school for one more year. I guess the lack of exposure in the Big Sky paid off in this case. I’ve done some quick checks and he would have been in the top 5 forwards entering the draft this year, IMO. Of course, I’m biased. :)

Our recruiting looks a lot better this week as well, since Earl Holley gives us a much warmer reception. He, along with Marquardt and Williams, get aggressive efforts again this week. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about Bailey leaving anymore, so I can fully concentrate on these three guys.

Game 9: EWU Eagles (6-2) @ #1 Florida Gators (8-0)
Yikes…the #1 team in the country. They are, not surprisingly, the favorites with a 5-0 starter advantage as well. We play a solid first half, but even at our best I don’t think we could beat the Gators at their worst. We’re dictating the pace, and forcing turnovers, but some poor shooting see us down 30-33 at half. Still better than I thought we would be. We keep pace with the Gators throughout the 2nd, but they hold the lead the entire game. With 1 min left, it’s 50-54 Florida. Bailey makes it a 1 point game with a long 3, but that’s as close as we can get, and lose 55-59. Despite losing, we played very well against the top team in the country. Bailey finished with 13 and 8, while Hathaway, Johnson and Bullock all had 10. I’ll take losing by 4 to the #1 team any day.

Game 10: Boise State Broncos (2-7) @ EWU Eagles (6-3)
We come back home after a difficult 5 game road trip. We’re the favorites, but Boise State holds the 3-2 starter advantage. Off the confidence we gained against Florida, we come out flying turning an 8-1 start to a quick 15 point lead. We’re unable to sustain our offensive prowess, and the Broncos answer with 4 threes to close out the half, to cut our lead to 39-36 at the break. Zinn is on fire with 17 1st half points. It’s all Zinn and Bailey in the second half, which is good because our defense that shut down the Gators, is nowhere to be found. We win 83-72 thanks to Zinn with 30 and Bailey with 24 and 12.

Tim Williams commits to EWU, not surprisingly since we were the highest prestige ranking team offering him a scholarship. Marquardt is still on the fence, but we’re his number one choice right now. He continues to get an aggressive effort from us. Holley is still reluctant to commit to EWU, understandably, but takes an aggressive effort and a week 7 visit to the campus anyway. I’m sure he’s holding out for a top tier school to offer, but I’m praying that none will.

Committed: Tim Williams PF (***, 6-8, 225) Silverado HS Las Vegas, NV PF: #30, National: #170, Regional: #34 West. Offense: Average, Defense: Good, Handling: Good, Rebound: Good, Athleticism: Average, Potential: Poor HS Stats 6.7 Ppg, 4.4 Rpg, 3.6 Apg 3.37 GPA

klayman

03-13-2003, 06:38 AM

Game 11: MD Eastern Shore Hawks (3-7) @ EWU Eagles (7-3)
We’re the favorites but the Hawks hold a 3-2 starter advantage. As goes Roy Bailey, so go the Eagles, and it’s never more apparent as Bailey goes 3-13 in the half. He still manages to lead the team with 9 points, thanks to the team shooting a dreadful 9-32. Somehow, we’re only down 29-23 at the break. It gets no better in the 2nd half. Somehow we fight the mediocrity to tie up the game, but the Hawks finish with a 7-1 steal advantage and a 15-5 turnover advantage to keep things close. With 1:26, Hathaway hits a 3 to give us a 58-56 lead. Hawks get only iron on their possession and Zinn hits 2 from the line to give us a 4 point lead with 56 seconds left. Hawks respond with a deuce, and Hathaway responds by turning it over for his 9th time this game. 28 seconds left…The Hawks get a questionable traveling call, and Hathaway goes to the line with 11 seconds left. MISS. Apparently Hathaway doesn’t want to play anymore…luckily Bullock picks up the rebound, and time runs out for the brutal 60-58 win. Bailey leads with 13 despite a 5 for 17 night. Anderson came off the bench for 12 much needed points, the only player who could shoot this game.

Game 12: EWU Eagles (8-3) @ San Diego State Aztecs (6-5)
We close out our last game before conference play on Christmas and with SDSU holding the favorites as well as holding a 3-2 starter advantage. We’re here to avenge SirFozzie beating the hapless Eagles in the SDSU VC dynasty :) No repeat of last game, as Bailey hits his first 5 shots, finishing the half with 15 points and giving us a nice 37-27 half time lead. The Aztecs fight back, and we find ourselves down by 2 with under 2 mins to go. Hathaway and Anderson combine to put us up 66-64 with a min left, and some good defending forces late turnovers by SDSU. Bullock can put the game away with 28 seconds, but misses both frees. The Aztecs miss on a long three with 5 seconds left, and Bailey goes to line to shoot 2. Miss…Miss. Nice, Aztecs with the buzzer beater…no good. We win, barely 66-64. Bailey had a disappointing 2nd half, and finished with only 17, while Hathaway picked up his game and also got 17. Richardson came off the bench for an ineffective Zinn, and grabbed 13.

Marquardt commits to Oregon State, leaving me up the creek late in week 8. I turn to 4* Kevan Price, a PG out of Jopin, MO. He’s not interested, but he’s one of the few players left uncommitted. He only gets a moderate effort with a scholarship offer though, as we’re still after Holley with an aggressive effort, and cannot afford both.

Game 13: EWU Eagles (9-3) @ Montana Grizzlies (6-6)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. The Grizzlies have been a thorn in my side, defeating us 5 straight including the Big Sky Championship game last year. How I would love to blow them out. That’s not going to happen though, as we have another one of offensive lapses and shoot horribly to start the game. Luckily, the Grizzlies can’t take advantage and it’s Linton Mullahon, controlling the game from the one-guard set, who leads the Eagles back into the game. Yes, Linton Mullahon! He orchestrates an 8-0 run that leads us to a 30-25 half time advantage. As we all know, no lead is safe against the Grizzlies, specially a measly 5 point lead, and they take advantage during the 2nd half. We play catch up for the most part and find ourselves down by 2 with 1:36 left in the game. That means a loss of course, as I won’t be able to stop them at all. Johnson’s shot is blocked by Page, the Grizzlies 12th block of the game, but Anderson takes a foul off the loose ball and sinks both to tie the game at 55. The Grizzlies only get 1 of 2 from the line on their next possession and Mullahon makes them pay with a basket for the 57-56 lead, 39 seconds to go. Montana is called for the walk on the restart, and Anderson hits 2 after drawing the foul for a 3 point lead. The Grizzlies reply with 2 with 7 seconds left, and Bailey has a chance to put the game away, but misses the free. Thankfully, they miss the prayer, and we squeak away with a 59-58 win. Anderson lead all scorers with 11 on the night (in only 18 mins) while Bailey grabbed 10 and Mullahon got 9 off the bench.

Yikes we've had a lot of close games this year. My poor heart cannot take much more. We close out 2005 10-3 with a CRI rank of 59.

klayman

03-14-2003, 04:41 AM

Neither Holley nor Price commit. Something tells me they’re both going to hold out until week 11. Our recruiting options remain the same with Holley getting an aggressive effort and Price a moderate one.

Game 14: Idaho State Bengals (8-6, 2-0) @ EWU Eagles (10-3, 1-0)
We are the favorites although ISU have a 3-2 starter advantage. They’re definitely having a better year than last year. We dominate on the floor, but are unable to capitalize on our stellar play due to poor shooting. Bailey picks up an early 3 foul, and his limited mins don’t help much either. Nonetheless we squeak out a 34-31 1st half lead. Our offensive doldrums continue into the 2nd half and the Bengals keep the game close until the subs ignite to pull away a 10 point lead. The bench takes us the rest of the way for the 62-49 win. Anderson led with 13, while Mullahon again rallied the team with 8 points and 2 assists off the bench.

Game 15: Weber State Wildcats (4-11, 2-1) @ EWU Eagles (11-3, 2-0)
We’re the favorites undefeated at Reese Court this year, and hold a 4-1 starter advantage. We always seem to have trouble against Weber St. This game is no different, as we just can’t seem to get our offense and defense clicking at the same time. One thing becomes apparent however, and that we are a completely different team with Mullahon in at PG, as his solid play eats up mins in the 1st half. Regardless, we hold a slight 32-31 lead at the break. A great start to the 2nd is followed by Hathaway igniting off the bench after his short benching, and grabbing 9 assists in the 2nd half, most of them off Zinn’s 24 points, and we win easily 76-60. Zinn (24) was the leader, while Anderson (13) and Bullock (12 and 11 boards) both had great games.

Mullahon’s increased mins gives me hope for some major improvement over the offseason for his abilities. However, with one recruiting week left, I go hard after PG Kevan Price, giving him a moderate effort with a late week 10 campus visit. That pretty much breaks the bank, and we can only offer Holley a light effort in the last week. Hopefully we’ve already put in enough effort for him.

klayman

03-14-2003, 06:44 AM

Game 16: EWU Eagles (12-3, 3-0) @ CS Sacramento Hornets (7-9, 0-4)
Off a 6 game winning streak, we’re the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. We hit our first 6 shots and grab a quick 12-1 lead. We then proceed to shoot 7-31 the rest of the half. Thankfully, the Hornets don’t shot any better and we hold a 41-28 half time advantage. Bailey has 11 and 12 boards already in the half. Cal State fly in the second half and close the gap. With 3 mins remaining we hold a 69-68 lead. Bailey makes a free throw to give us a 70-68 advantage…it’s the only scoring in the final 3 mins, and we win 70-68. Bailey finishes with 21 and 18 boards, while Zinn had 14.

We are extremely inconsistent this year, especially offensively. But at least we are pulling out the wins, even if they’re not pretty.

Game 17: EWU Eagles (13-3, 4-0) @ N. Arizona Lumberjacks (10-7, 2-3)
NAU has a 9.6 more points per game average than we do. They’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage as well. Turnovers kill us in the 1st half, giving NAU control of the game and a 33-31 lead. The good news is that the turnovers stop in the 2nd half, the bad news is it comes at the cost of the defense. Poor shot selection doesn’t help as well, and NAU hold the lead throughout the entire 2nd half. We show brief signs of lucidity, and close the gap to 1 point 3 times, but eventually fall back on our lapses to let NAU control the game. With 1:01 left, we’re down 61-63. Bailey’s prayer gets blocked, but NAU return the ball to us with a shot clock violation. :27 seconds left, Bullock draws a foul, hits the first but misses the 2nd. Anderson grabs the rebound, sinks the basket, and we have our only lead of the game with 7 seconds left. NAU miss the buzzer beater, and we steal yet another close one, 64-63, Zinn leads the team with 18 points, while Bailey had 12, but only shot 35%, well below his career 56%. Ugly, but we'll take it.

What looked like a disastrous recruiting season turns into our best as we get both Holley and Price committing in week 11. I really don’t know why neither player was not picked up by even a mid major school, but I’m not going to complain. Holley is our 2nd 5 star player, and our highest ranked recruit, ever.

Committed: Earl Holley SG (*****), 6-4, 161) Oregon-Davis HS Hamlet, IN SG: #3, National: #18, Regional: #5 MidWest. Offense: Excellent, Defense: Excellent, Handling: Good, Rebound: Average, Athleticism: Good, Potential: Excellent HS Stats 22.0 Ppg, 5.7 Rpg, 1.4 Apg 3.05 GPA

Committed: Kevan Price PG (****, 6-1, 166) Joplin HS Joplin, MO PG: #14, National: #60, Regional: #10 MidWest. Offense: Average, Defense: Excellent, Handling: Excellent, Rebound: Below Average, Athleticism: Average, Potential: Good HS Stats 10.5 Ppg, 2.4 Rpg, 7.8 Apg 2.47 GPA

Nyarlahotep

03-18-2003, 04:52 AM

Loving the dynasty, can't wait to see how the new crop of recruits do.

klayman

03-18-2003, 07:54 PM

Originally posted by Nyarlahotep
Loving the dynasty, can't wait to see how the new crop of recruits do.

Thanks Nyarlahotep, glad you are enjoying it. The new recruits do look awesome, next year could be a historic year for EWU. :)

Btw, I sent you a PM that answered the questions you sent me, but I noticed you still haven't read it.

Nyarlahotep

03-18-2003, 10:34 PM

Oops, sorry. I figured it out that later that same day. Unfortunately I can't play because my computer is cursed and doesn't want to go above 800X600.

klayman

03-25-2003, 01:22 PM

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been in the hospital the last while getting my gallbladder removed. The good news is that I'm now off for awhile with nothing much to do but play :)

At this point I've upgraded to the v1.30 patch.

Game 18: Portland State Vikings (7-10, 2-3) @ EWU Eagles (14-3, 5-0)
PSU get the favorite tag with a 3-2 starter advantage. A poor first half by our standards sees us turnover the ball more than we have possession of it. We’re redeemed only by Bailey and Bullock who combine for 16 points and 14 boards between them (against PSU’s 1st half 7 boards) and we only trail by one, 35-34 at the break. A 15-3 run to start off the 2nd half puts us in control and never look back for the easy 76-59 win. Bailey was the star with 24 points, while Bullock (13) and Bailey (15) each had individually more rebounds than PSU had as a team (12).

That game closes out our first half of the conference schedule at an impressive 6-0.

Big Sky Standings

Team W L Overall
EWU 6 0 15-3
Montana State 5 0 12-5
Montana 3 3 9-9
Idaho State 2 3 8-9
N.Arizona 2 4 10-8
Portland State 2 4 7-11
Weber State 2 4 4-14
Cal State Sac 1 5 8-10

klayman

03-26-2003, 07:14 PM

Game 19: EWU Eagles (15-3) @ Washington Huskies (10-9)
Huskies are the overall favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage. Our first 10 possessions: 1 basket, 5 turnovers, and 4 steals. However, it’s freshman Linton Mullahon leading off the bench once again, as we ignite a 17-4 run to steal a 36-32 1st half lead. We build on the lead early, but the Huskies rough up the team with the subs on the floor and quickly close the gap, tying the game at 53 with 5 mins left. With 1:04 left, Anderson drains his 9 point to tie the game at 61. Huskies ball…they draw the foul and sink both for the 63-61 lead. 36 seconds left. Mullahon to Zinn, nothing but net…63-63. 18 seconds left…we need a stop. But time runs out and we head to OT, where we fail to make any kind of impact and lose 70-78. Bailey lead the way with 17 and 11, while Mullahon had 16 and 5 assists, and Bullock finished with 7 and 10 boards.

Game 20: N. Arizona Lumberjacks (11-8, 2-4) @ EWU Eagles (15-4, 6-0)
NAU are still the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage, despite our 9-0 record at home this year. NAU play well, except for a bad case of turnoveridis, and we take a 39-22 advantage into the break. Despite our best efforts to throw away the game in the second half, including watching a 24 point lead disappear in 3 mins, we hold on for the 71-60 win. Bailey led with 22 and 9 boards despite fouling out, while Zinn (13) and Johnson (13) both contributed to the win.

Game 21: CS Sacramento Hornets (9-11, 1-6) @ EWU Eagles (16-4, 7-0)
We are the clear favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. I am lifetime 7-0 against Cal State Sac. We build an early lead thanks to Zinn’s 17 1st half points, but suffer a terrible defensive lapse late in the 1st half, as the Hornets storm back from 20 down to cut our lead to 5, 42-37 at the break. We run into foul trouble in the 2nd, with both Johnson and Zinn picking up early 4’s, and turnovers continue to dog us keeping the Hornets in the game. However, Roy Bailey steps up at finishes with 27 giving us the 78-65 win. Bailey grabbed 8 boards along with his 27 points, while Zinn finished with 20 and Hathaway grabbed 10 assists in the win.

tucker342

03-26-2003, 11:18 PM

Loving the dynasty. Keep it up!!!

klayman

03-26-2003, 11:40 PM

Bailey’s heroics earn him the Big Sky Player of the Week for week 12, with 24.0 PPG, 1.0 APG, 8.5 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 1.5 BPG, +27, 51.4 FG%, 50.0% 3P%, 71.4 FT% stats.

Our CRI is at 39, the highest I have ever seen it, although our weak 2-4 record against Top 100 teams is troubling.

Game 22: Montana Grizzlies (11-10, 4-4) @ EWU Eagles (17-4, 8-0)
We are the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage and an 11-0 record at home. The Grizzlies have historically given us problems, and we beat them by just one point in the first meeting between the two clubs early this season. Both teams are evenly matched regardless what the assistant coaches think. Bailey and Bullock combine for 20 points and 8 boards in the first half to push us ahead 37-30. The Grizzlies go to the 3 point play in the 2nd, and although have initial success, we eventually pull away and win comfortably 80-62. Zinn lead all scorers with 16, while Bullock and Anderson both got 15.

Game 23: Montana State Bobcats (16-6, 9-0) @ EWU Eagles (18-4, 9-0)
We’re the favorites but the Bobcats hold a 3-2 starter advantage. This game could well determine the Big Sky Conference Title champion this year. We play very well, but an awful 10-22 at the stripe leaves us with only a 38-33 half time lead. Our free throw shooting improves marginally in the 2nd half, and although the Bobcats make things close, we never relinquish the lead and win 79-72. Zinn leads again with 23, while Bailey grabbed 13 and 12 boards.

klayman

03-27-2003, 04:09 PM

Game 24: EWU Eagles (19-4, 10-0) @ Portland State Vikings (10-13, 4-6)
PSU gets the favorite tag at home with a 3-2 starter advantage as well. Bailey and Bullock out-rebounded PSU to win our first meeting. We play very poorly in the first half, including another disappointing 4-12 from the line. The Vikings play worse, if that is possible, and we escape the 1st half with a slim 25-23 lead. We continue to play very poorly in the 2nd half but never give up the lead, and win a stinker of a game 55-50. Bailey, Zinn, and Hathaway all had 12 points, while Bailey also grabbed a double-double with 18 rebounds. We finished a horrible 19-40 from the line.

Game 25: EWU Eagles (20-4, 11-0) @ Idaho State Bengals (9-15, 3-8)
We are the favorites as we cruise to an undefeated conference schedule, but ISU have a 3-2 starter advantage. The subs came off the bench to lead us to victory in our other meeting this year. We play very well and build an early lead to hold a 38-33 half time advantage. Bailey comes alive in the 2nd half to steal the game, shooting 13-14 and grabbing 28 points and 10 boards on way to an 81-68 win. Zinn finished with 16 while Hathaway had 14 assists.

We’ve pushed all the way up to 27th in the CRI, and have 1 vote on both IP and .400 Polls. As well, with only 2 conference games left, Montana State has dropped 3 straight, handing us our 4th straight Big Sky Conference Title.

klayman

03-27-2003, 04:56 PM

Game 26: EWU Eagles (21-4, 12-0) @ Weber State Wildcats (8-17, 5-7)
We’re the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage as well. We beat the Wildcats by 16 earlier in the season. We capitalize early, and build an early 10 point lead and hold a 40-28 advantage at the break. The 2nd half is all defense as we hold the Wildcats to only 16 points and win easily 68-44. Zinn (17) and Bailey (15) are the leaders, while Hathaway had another strong game with 13 points and 10 assists.

Game 27: EWU Eagles (22-4, 13-0) @ Montana State Bobcats (16-10, 9-4)
The Bobcats are the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage, but have dropped 3 straight games since we beat them in our first meeting. A strong 1st half by Hathaway and Zinn keeps us in the game, and grant us a slim 36-33 1st half advantage. The 2nd half is all Roy Bailey and he sparks the team to a late rally to grab an 8 point lead, and we hold it for a 74-65 win and an undefeated conference schedule. Bailey finished with 16 and 8, while Hathaway grabbed 15 and 8 assists.

We have moved up to 25th in the CRI, and barring a total disaster we should make it back to the NCT this year.

Game 28: LMU Lions (8-19) @ EWU Eagles (23-4)
We’re favorites over the Lions although they have a 3-2 starter advantage. Hathaway again leads the team with 13 points en route to a 38-32 half time lead. We build up an early 15 point lead in the 2nd half, and the subs take us the rest of the way for the 78-61 win. Hathaway finishes with 17 points, while Bailey had a strong 2nd half to finish with 15 points and 8 boards.

klayman

03-29-2003, 04:49 AM

Game 29: Dartmouth Big Green (12-14) @ EWU Eagles (24-4)
We are clearly the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage. We lose Zinn to an injury early in the game, but Richardson steps off the bench for 11 leading us to a 35-32 half time lead. The team responds with Zinn’s injury as Bullock and Bailey step up in the 2nd half to give us an early lead. The bench takes us most of the way in the 2nd half, but we fail to score in the final 5 mins and luckily just hold on for the 68-65 win. Bailey led all scorers with 21 and 9 boards, while Richardson finished with 13 and Bullock had 12 and 7 boards.

Zinn is gone for 4 months with a Torn Posterior Cruciate ligament, meaning the senior Richardson will have to step up for him for the tournament.

Bailey gets jobbed in the awards. Despite leading the conference in scoring and placing in the top 5 in all offensive categories, he doesn’t get Big Sky Player of the Year, or even voted to the All-Conference team. Obviously a glaring oversight!

Nonetheless we finish the season a remarkable 25-4, with a CRI of 21, and I’d say a good shot at an at-large bid if we don’t win the conference tournament. Of course, why take any chances?

Big Sky Standings
Team
Conf. Wins Conf. Losses Pct. Total Wins Total Losses Pct. PF PA
Eastern Wash.
14 0 1.000 25 4 .862 2030 1821
Montana State
9 5 .643 17 12 .586 2168 2008
Montana
8 6 .571 15 14 .517 2081 2082
Northern Arizona
6 8 .429 15 14 .517 2214 2210
CS Sacramento
5 9 .357 13 16 .448 2001 2109
Portland State
5 9 .357 12 17 .414 1945 2083
Weber State
5 9 .357 10 19 .345 1974 2287
Idaho State
4 10 .286 11 18 .379 2054 2188

klayman

03-29-2003, 05:56 AM

Big Sky Conference Tournament

Game 30: (8) Idaho State Bengals (11-18, 4-10) vs (1) EWU Eagles (25-4, 14-0)
We’re the favorites although the Bengals do hold a 3-2 starter advantage. The Bengals were having a good start to the season, but finished 3-12 on the year. A first round loss would be devastating to us. So how surprising is it we play the worse first half we have all year. ISU start the game with a 15-2 run, and never look back on way to a 39-26 half time lead. Early foul trouble by Bailey and Richardson limit their playing time, but thankfully, Eddie Anderson comes off the bench in the 2nd for 21 points, and leads the Eagles back into the game, stealing a 70-59 win in the 2nd half.

Other first round matchups:
(7) Weber State upsets (2) Montana State
(3) Montana over (6) Portland State
(4) N. Arizona over (5) Cal State Sac

2nd round matchups
Game 31: (4) N. Arizona Lumberjacks (16-14, 7-8) vs (1) EWU Eagles (26-4, 15-0)
Despite a 15-0 conference record, NAU are the favorites with a 3-2 starter advantage as well. Both NAU games were tough battles for us this year, so we have to be careful. A 3-2 zone effectively cuts NAU’s offensive threat however, and Richardson and Anderson both combine for 21 points en route to a 40-28 half time advantage. We stay away from the foul trouble of last game, and quickly build a 20 point lead which we never give up and win easily 76-57. Richardson finishes with 20 and 6 assists after only grabbing 2 points last game. Anderson grabs 19 while Bailey finishes with 12 and 11 boards.

(3) Montana over (7) Weber State in the other matchup.

Game 32: (3) Montana Grizzlies (17-14, 10-6) vs (1) EWU Eagles (27-4, 16-0)
We are the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage in the rematch of last year’s tournament final. Of course, Montana beat us last year, but we managed to win both games over them this year. We flirt with the lead all half, but are reluctant to take it away from the Grizzlies and they close out the break up 35-27. We come out hard in the 2nd, and play great defensive basketball as we hold the Grizzlies to only 10 points. Johnson lights up in the 2nd, grabbing 18 of his 21 points and leading us to another come from behind win, 56-45. Johnson finished with 11 boards along with his 21 points, while Bailey had 16 and 12 boards, and Richardson another strong 18 point game.

And with that, we’re back to the big dance!!!

Nyarlahotep

03-29-2003, 09:52 AM

Go Eagles!!!

klayman

03-30-2003, 12:44 AM

We grab the 9th seed in the East. No other Big Sky team is involved in the NCT or ACT tournaments. We’ll face Michigan State in the first round. Your #1 seeds: Virginia (East), Texas (MidWest), Kentucky (South), UCLA (West).

Game 33: EWU Eagles (28-4) vs Michigan State Spartans (18-12)
MSU are the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage, Bailey being that lone player for us. The Spartans crushed us a few years ago, and looks like they’ll do the same here. However, the players have no intention of leaving the tournament early this year, and Richardson hits 6 for 6 from the field for 15 points in the first half as we climb to a 43-33 point lead. In the 2nd, the offense continues its high gear as we finish a 36 of 58 from the field, and never give up the lead for a comfortable 81-69 win. Richardson finishes the game with 27, while Hathaway put home 19, and Bailey had 16 and 12 boards in the programs first ever NCT win!!!

Game 33: EWU Eagles (29-4) vs #6 Virginia Cavaliers (28-4)
The Cavaliers are the favorites with a 5-0 starter advantage as well. They are a much better team then us, in every way, so we have to play well above our heads to keep pace with them. Although we let them control the floor in the first half, however, we do manage to keep things close, due to excellent shooting and only trail by 9 at the break, 39-30. However, the Cavaliers are too strong, and pull away in the 2nd half, never looking back on way to a 63-77 win. Bailey led the way with 17 and 5 boards, while Richardson grabbed 16 in his final game, and Hathaway had 12 and 6 in his final game as well.

Georgia finishes their season beating Missouri 82-63 to win the ACT Championship.

NCT Final Four:
(2) Duke over (2) Connecticut
(3) Michigan over (1) UCLA

NCT Championship:
Michigan Wolverines 78 over Duke Blue Devils 64
Finals MVP: Davey Robinson

Next up…stats dump

klayman

03-30-2003, 01:09 AM

Final IP Top 25 Poll

Rank School Record Points Previous
1. UCLA 32-5 1,913 1
2. Duke 33-7 1,764 2
3. Kentucky 29-6 1,691 3
4. Texas 31-5 1,562 5
5. Connecticut 30-8 1,437 4
6. Iowa State 27-6 1,362 6
7. Virginia 29-5 1,291 7
8. Florida 26-9 1,185 8
9. USC 28-7 1,120 9
10. Syracuse 26-6 1,051 10
11. Michigan 31-6 982 12
12. Boston College 29-9 935 11
13. Kansas 26-12 885 13
14. Cincinnati 29-9 815 15
15. Providence 28-10 749 14
16. Illinois 23-9 701 16
17. California 26-8 656 17
18. Arizona 24-11 546 18
19. Alabama 25-10 481 19
20. Indiana 28-10 391 20
21. Notre Dame 28-9 323 21
22. Temple 22-7 258 22
23. Mississippi St. 24-8 215 23
24. North Carolina 23-9 193 24
25. Seton Hall 24-8 169 25

Others Receiving Votes: Maryland 158, Louisville 145, Wisconsin 124, Texas
A&M 103, Michigan State 83, Utah 61, Mississippi 41, Memphis 20, Tennessee
10, Purdue 6, Georgia 2, Missouri 2, Ohio State 1, Georgetown 1, Wake
Forest 1, Oklahoma 1, Eastern Wash. 1, Georgia Tech 1, Vanderbilt 1,
Xavier 1, Stanford 1.

Eastern Wash. Stats
Name Pos Gms MPG PPG RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
Ezra Hathaway PG 34 30.1 7.7 1.1 6.4 3.3 1.2 0.1 43.9% 31.9% 53.7%
Jamal Richardson SG 34 14.6 6.5 1.5 1.6 1.2 0.2 0.0 46.6% 41.7% 81.8%
Roy Bailey SF 34 30.9 16.4 9.7 1.3 1.7 0.8 2.4 51.9% 25.7% 68.8%
Josh Johnson PF 34 27.1 6.9 3.5 0.9 0.8 0.6 1.0 48.3% 33.3% 54.3%
Jeff Bullock C 34 31.0 6.8 7.3 0.7 1.0 0.6 0.8 52.3% 0.0% 57.6%
Eddie Anderson SF 34 18.9 9.0 4.4 0.5 0.9 0.3 0.0 50.4% 36.6% 76.3%
Matt Winn PG 21 7.2 1.1 0.1 1.9 1.4 0.2 0.0 33.3% 0.0% 77.8%
Correy Cabrera C 29 9.3 1.6 1.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 47.6% 33.3% 35.3%
Linton Mullahon PG 18 10.8 3.4 0.2 2.2 0.9 0.0 0.1 43.2% 44.4% 65.5%
Jack Reed SG 12 5.4 1.9 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 41.7% 50.0% 100.0%
Marquis Brownlee C 8 7.0 1.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 60.0% 0.0% 100.0%
Trenton Lofton C 15 3.8 0.6 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 40.0% 0.0% 50.0%
Joey Zinn SG 29 27.1 13.4 2.0 2.9 1.6 0.5 0.0 43.8% 39.8% 75.0%

klayman

03-30-2003, 01:41 AM

Departing seniors:

Ezra Hathaway G – Hathaway was voted to the Big Sky All Freshman Team for 02-03. Although he started 2 out of his 4 years at EW, he’s skills continually decreased each year erasing any high expectations that I might have had of him. He holds the single game assists record with 14 against Portland State in his final year, and also holds the single game records for 3PFG Made (4) and Steals (5). He holds the EW single season Assists record with 218. He also holds the EW Career records for Assists (522), FT Made (168), FT Attempted (263), Steals (100), and APG Average (4.2). Career Stats 124 Gms, 23.7 Mpg, 7.0 Ppg, 1.3 Rpg, 4.2 Apg, 2.5 TO, 1.72 A/T, 0.8 Spg, 0.0 Bpg, 45.6 FG%, 63.9 FT%, 30.4 3P%, +5

Josh Johnson – F – Johnson was another player voted to the Big Sky All Freshman team in 02-03. He started 3 out of 4 years at EW, posting his best season in his junior campaign. A fan favorite, he was a steady defender and a locker room leader on the clubs that saw 2 NCT appearances. He holds the Career Records in Rebounds (337), Blocked Shots (83), BPG Average (0.7), and FG% 51.5%. Career Stats 121 Gms, 24.2 Mpg, 6.5 Ppg, 2.8 Rpg, 0.6 Apg, 0.9 TO, 0.68 A/T, 0.6 Spg, 0.7 Bpg, 51.5 FG%, 55.2 FT%, 29.9 3P%, +32.

Jamal Richardson – G – Jamal was a bench player in his 4 years at EW, but progressively improved his skills every year. He had his most productive season in his senior year, and played remarkably through both the Big Sky Conference Tournament and NCT Tournament where he started for an injured Joey Zinn. Career Stats 65 Gms, 11.0 Mpg, 4.9 Ppg, 1.0 Rpg, 1.1 Apg, 0.9 TO, 1.20 A/T, 0.2 Spg, 0.0 Bpg, 44.9 FG%, 86.8 FT%, 33.8 3P%, -1.

tucker342

03-30-2003, 10:33 AM

Awesome season!!!

Tough loss against Virginia:(
By the way, how were they only a sixth seed!?!?!?!?

MylesKnight

03-30-2003, 01:05 PM

Great Season Klay!!

29-5, including an undefeated 14-0 Big Sky record and Conference Tourney Title.. WOW!!

That #9 Seed was a bit of a tough break... I'd rather have had a #10-#13 personally, so that you could avoid the #1 Seed in Round 2, but hey it happens sometimes, what are you gonna do.

Also, Congrats on receiving a vote in the Final IP Poll. It's a shame to see Michigan State that far ahead of EWU though... Apparently the Voters missed that 1st Round Tourney Game.

Good Luck and continued success..

klayman

03-31-2003, 08:00 AM

Nyarlahotep, tucker342, MylesKnight: Thanks for the support! :)

tucker342: Yeah, Virgina was ranked 6th, not a 6th seed. They were actually the 1st seed in the east, although Connecticut was ranked higher and received a lower seed...go figure.

MylesKnight: #9 seed was tough. I would have rather had the 10, but would have probably lost to Connecticut in the 2nd round anyway. 11th might have been the best, but I still have to be happy with the 1st ever NCT win. As far as MSU goes, well lets just say we get no respect out here in the Big Sky. :)

Nyarlahotep

03-31-2003, 11:30 AM

Hopefully that will change next year with your bumper crop of recruits. Also hope your recovery is going well.

klayman

04-02-2003, 01:53 AM

Originally posted by Nyarlahotep
Hopefully that will change next year with your bumper crop of recruits. Also hope your recovery is going well.

Hehe...I think it would take more than just one bumper crop of recruits to gain some respect for the Big Sky. :)

My recovery is going well, thanks for asking, Nyarlahotep. In fact, I now have to get caught up on the last couple of weeks, so the updates to the dynasty might be very infrequent.

klayman

04-03-2003, 04:44 PM

Coach Report Card:
Overall: A

Season Performance: A
Overall Regular Season Performance: A
Overall Post Season Performance: A
Recruiting: B
Fan & Alumni Support: A
Academics: A
Player Development: F

Overall Record: 96-34 .738
Conference Record: 55-12 .821
NCT Appearances (Record): 2 (1-2)
ACT Appearances (Record): 2 (0-2)
Pro Draft Picks (1st Rounders): 0 (0)
Average Recruiting Class Rank: 126
Conference Championships: 2
Conference Titles: 4
Academic Suspensions: 1

klayman

04-03-2003, 04:56 PM

No Eagles are taken in the draft. Hopefully that will change this year. More job offers roll in, including another offer from Arizona State. I might take a serious look at it next year, but I’ll finish Bailey’s last year with Eastern Washington at the very least.

We make one change to the coaching staff again this year, firing trainer Rickey Hill and hiring Jean Babul. Babul is rated excellent over Hill’s good rating, but comes at a higher cost.

Our Freshman class is ranked solid, while our composite talent level is Below Average. Both are the highest rankings in the conference, and both are improvements from last year. Our national prestige has also jumped 2 points to 29 now, 2nd highest in the conference (behind NAU). I'm handed an extremely easy schedule this year to start. I attemt to schedule some more difficult opponents for us, since I consider this year's club the best at EWU I've had, but those attempts mostly fail.

Eastern Washington Eagles Non-Conference Schedule

Wichita State
@ Miami
Texas San Antonio
@ Oklahoma State
UTEP
Pacific
@ Gonzaga
@ Oregon State
@ Pacific
@ California
@ UNLV
Georgia State
New Mexico State
Western Kentucky
@ SW Missouri State


IP Top 25 Initial Poll
Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Florida 0-0 1,350 0
2. Duke 0-0 1,258 0
3. Iowa State 0-0 1,196 0
4. Arizona 0-0 1,111 0
5. Illinois 0-0 1,026 0
6. UCLA 0-0 970 0
7. Connecticut 0-0 919 0
8. Kansas 0-0 847 0
9. Virginia 0-0 811 0
10. Kentucky 0-0 760 0
11. Michigan State 0-0 710 0
12. Tennessee 0-0 672 0
13. Texas 0-0 638 0
14. Indiana 0-0 588 0
15. Wake Forest 0-0 539 0
16. Boston College 0-0 501 0
17. Syracuse 0-0 469 0
18. Maryland 0-0 391 0
19. USC 0-0 343 0
20. Alabama 0-0 280 0
21. Cincinnati 0-0 233 0
22. Providence 0-0 185 0
23. North Carolina 0-0 154 0
24. Texas Tech 0-0 137 0
25. Mississippi 0-0 122 0

Others Receiving Votes: Mississippi St. 114, Iowa 107, Seton Hall 91,
Notre Dame 76, Stanford 61, Wisconsin 45, Temple 30, Georgetown 15,
Missouri 10, Georgia Tech 7, Michigan 4, California 4, Ohio State 3,
Auburn 3, Arkansas 2, Oklahoma 2, Vanderbilt 1, Georgia 1, Purdue 1,
Memphis 1, Texas A&M 1.

klayman

04-03-2003, 06:02 PM

Meet the 2006-2007 Eastern Washington Eagles

SG – Joey Zinn Jr(rs) (6-5, 169lbs) Zinn continued his over-achievements last year, posting solid numbers once again in his Sophomore year. He had another impressive camp, and improved his defense dramatically. Last season stats (29 Gms, 27.1 Mpg, 13.4 Ppg, 2.0 Rpg, 2.9 Apg, 43.8 Fg%, +52). AHC Reggie Fox says "...good passer and can often break down opposing defenses off the dribble...a very good outsider shooter...shows signs of being a good defender...needs more seasoning from an awareness standpoint...looks to be a starter...valuable member on the team...continued to improve each season...joy to coach and is a fan favorite."

PG – Matt Winn So(rs) (5-11, 148) We have yet to have a dominating PG, and this year is no exception. Winn improved a lot more than Mullahon did, and Price has disappointing skills, so Matt finds himself the starter. I never though I'd say this, but I sure could of used another year out of Ezra Hathaway. Last season's stats (21 Gms, 7.2 Mpg, 1.1 Ppg, 1.9 Apg, -14) AHC Reggie Fox says "...developed into a very good quarterback of the offense...makes good decisions with the ball...lack of consistency...shows signs of being a good defender...looks lost on the floor...always seems to have some kind of nagging injury...looks to be a starter...has the potential to be a good player and has really improved since last season...excited to see how he does this year."

SF – Roy Bailey Sr (6-8, 242) If it is at all possible, Bailey improved over camp this year. He has turned from very good, to scary good. With a doubt, THE BEST player in the Big Sky Conference, with no rating less than a B. His only fault is this will be his last year with us :( Last season's stats (34 Gms, 30.9 Mpg, 16.4 Ppg, 9.7 Rpg, 1.3 Apg, 2.4 Bpg, 51.9 Fg%, +141) AHC Reggie Fox says “…one of the tougher guys to defend...very good team player...makes good decisions with the ball...good defender and can contain both post and perimeter offensive threats...can really clear the glass...great positioning...can sense the flow of the game and find the open player...naturally blessed with good court vision...one of the better players on this team...come into his own...should be a banner year and he may go down as one of the better players at EWU when it is all said and done..."

PF – Eddie Anderson Sr (6-6, 241) Anderson has always been a huge contributor off the bench. In his final year at EWU, he'll get the starting spot at PF. Anderson has improved both his defense and rebounding, as well as strength during the off season in preparation for his senior year. Last season's stats (34 Gms, 18.9 Mpg, 9.0 Ppg, 4.4 Rpg, 50.4 Fg%, +28). AHC Reggie Fox says “…has some good inside moves...tough inside defender...most teams will stay away from him...can dominate the glass...one of the top rebounders on the team, maybe even in the conference...needs some more seasoning...looks to be a starter...continued to improve each season...a joy to coach and a fan favorite..."

C – Jeff Bullock Sr (6-10, 254) Bullock has continued to improve and prove my initial impressions of him wrong. He is the conference's best center, without a doubt, and could very well be the best defensive center in the nation. He was one of our steadiest and most important players last year, and will continue to be heading into his final season. Last year's stats (34 Gms, 31.0 Mpg, 6.8 Ppg, 7.3 Rpg, 52.3 Fg%, +54) AHC Reggie Fox says “…good inside moves and can even step back and hit the jumper...real tough inside defender. Most teams will stay away from him...can dominate the glass when he is motivated...one of the top rebounders on the team...can sense the flow of the game and find the open player...Players tend to really listen to Jeff when he talks...will make a good coach some day...one of the better players on this team..."

Bench:

C – Correy Cabrera Jr (6-9, 201) Cabrera is the heir apparent to Bullock. Despite limited mins last season behind workhorse Bullock, Cabrera showed lots of improvement, and with more involvement this year, he should round out his skills nicely. Last season stats(29 Gms, 9.3 Mpg, 1.6 Ppg, 1.3 Rpg, -18) AHC Reggie Fox says "…has some good inside moves and can step back and hit the jumper to keep teams honest...capable on defense, but he has not shown the desire or consistency needed to be a quality post defender...can dominate the glass...needs more seasoning from an awareness standpoint...should vie for a starting spot, but may end up as a key player off the bench...continued to improve...a joy to coach and is a fan favorite..."

G - Kevan Price Fr (6-1, 166) Price is not as talented as we would have liked, but has the potential to improve none the less. He is in a better spot than starting PG Matt Winn was in, and hopefully with continued improvement, will step up and be a future contributor on the team. Of course, if Winn isn't able to hold the floor (and I am unsure if he can right now), Price will see lots of mins filling in. AHC Reggie Fox says "...shows signs of being a good passer...lack of consistency...shows signs of being a good defender...needs more seasoning...his decision making and defensive positioning is not where it should be...a money player...count on him in late-game situations...key player off the bench...has the potential to be a good player on this team...should see some time this year as a freshman..."

G - Earl Holley Fr (6-4, 161) The biggest disappointment of the off season, we can plainly see why no other schools offered Holley a scholarship. Still, the base skills are there, and with a little luck, he might reach my lofty expectations, but I won't count on it. AHC Reggie Fox says "...raw from a playmaking standpoint...will need to improve...a little streaky from the outside...shows signs of being a good defender...needs some more seasoning...decision making not where it should be...crumbles with the spotlight...appears to be a role player...not at the level to where he can play for us right now...does not seem to have a big upside..."

C - Trenton Lofton So (6-11, 195) Lofton seemed to grab the most benefit from his limited mins last year, and should see some spot duty as a forward this year. He's really rough around the edges, but if he continues to improve could become a valuable member of this club. Last season's stats (15 Gms, 3.8 Mpg, 0.6 Ppg, 0.3 Rpg, -4) AHC Reggie Fox says "...has some good inside moves...has nice footwork as a post defender...lacks strength to matchup against top inside scorers...is not a good rebounder at this point...tends to be in the right position on defense...has a presence in the lockerroom...appears to be a role player...at best he will be depth off the bench in seasons to come..."

The rest of the bench won't really contribute this year. Mullahon stayed relatively the same player, despite his increased mins last season, and is outclassed by both Winn and Price. He won't see much of the floor unless we're hit by injuries. Williams was a pleasant surprise for a 3*, but really doesn't have the skill to compete this year. Reed and Brownlee did not improve and really have no realistic chance of getting very many mins for this team.

klayman

04-03-2003, 06:33 PM

Recruiting Targets:
We have 3 graduating seniors (Bailey, Anderson, Bullock) so 3 scholarships to hand out. After years of looking for guards, we're very desperate for forwards this year. Very desperate. Without Bailey or Anderson next year, we might very well have to run a three guard set. Unless we find some gems in recruiting, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. Last year's recruiting class, while solid, was a major disappointment to me. I'll need another Bailey-type recruit to keep up our success. For 2006-07 our initial targets are:

1. Keith Clemmons SF (6-3. 171) 4* out of Seattle, WA. He is ranked #9 for SF, #71 Overall, and #22 in the West. He won't make you forget the name Roy Bailey, but he could be a starter here next year. No interest in us however. HS stats 15.0 Ppg, 9.9 Rpg, 2.7 Apg.

2. John McCrary SF (6-6, 166) 3* out of Cody, WY. Ranked #35 SF, #48 in the west, #171 overall, John has good skills, but isn't really on the same level as Clemmons. No interest in us, again. HS Stats 14.3 Ppg, 2.8 Rpg, 3.4 Apg.

3. Marcus Williams PF (6-5, 179) 3* out of Honolulu, HI. Ranked #41 PF, #51 in the West, #183 Overall, Marcus has very good HS stats. With his size he might make a better SF for us, but recruiting to Hawaii is expensive, I'd hate to waste all the money if he doesn't commit. He has pretty high initial interest, however. HS Stats ( 28.7 Ppg, 1.4 Rpg, 5.2 Apg)

4. Martin Palmore PF (6-7, 206) 4* out of Adams, ND. Ranked #24 PF, #34 in the West, #106 Overall. A very smart kid with tons of potential, and has already shortlisted EWU. He would fit in very nicely here. HS Stats 13.7 Ppg, 7.0 Rpg, 4.2 Apg.

5. Lee Black PG (6-1, 173) 3* out of Madison, SD. Ranked #98 in the West, Black is a 4.00 Gpa student with some nice HS stats. We're guard heavy, and will be for a couple of years, but he might be able to make an impact at EWU. He has a high initial interest. HS Stats 20.5 Ppg, 1.7 Rpg, 3.4 Apg.

What I would like is to get Palmore and Williams (convert to SF) on board early, and then go after Clemmons. Failing to land Clemmons, I'd pick up Black. It might be difficult to go after all four of them though, which is why I'd need Palmore and Williams to commit early. I'd be very happy with Clemmons, Palmore, and Williams as my commitments this year.

I decide that's the strategy I'll go for, and Clemmons, Palmore, and Williams all get aggressive efforts. I also offer a light effort to a local PF, Dusty Griffin, since I was left with $400 and unable to spend it on any of my initial targets. I also offer Palmore and Williams scholarships, in a hope to get them to commit early. I'll have to lessen the efforts in the comming weeks to offer visits to Palmore and Williams, however.

klayman

04-03-2003, 06:45 PM

Season Outlook: We've dominated the Big Sky for the last four years, and we have increased the gap between us and the other contenders this year so much that another Big Sky Title is the most likely conclusion. Anything less than our 5th straight title and 2nd straight Tournament win would be disappointing for this squad.

With Anderson in the back court, and the continued improvement of Bullock, I'll confidently go with a High Post offense this year, and with an increase in our offensive skill rely on the motion in times of trouble. We will generally run a quicker tempo as well as looking to the outside for more shots then we've done in previous years. The best defensive team in the Big Sky Conference last year, we've greatly improved in that area as well, and will likely use straight man against conference and weaker opponents, showing looks at specific zones to counter any problem areas.

This is the first team that is entirely my own, and the best team we have ever fielded. However, with the loss of Bailey and Bullock, and with no foreseeable replacements, this is probably our last year of Big Sky dominance.

klayman

04-04-2003, 05:00 PM

We offer Palmore a visit in Week 2 along with aggressive effort, and continue our aggressive effort with Willaims. Both players continue to have high interest in EWU, and Palmore looks close to making a decision. That takes up most of our funds for the week however, and Clemmons only gets a light effort, which probably puts us out of the running with him. We offer him a scholarship nevertheless.

Game 1: Wichita State Shockers (0-0) @ EWU Eagles (0-0)
We are the favorites with a 4-1 starter advantage as well. We start off on a 19-4 run, before losing our offensive momentum and leading WSU back in the game. We due keep up enough pressure to gain a 10 point lead at the break however, with a 42-32 advantage. Both Zinn and Bailey pick up early 4th fouls, so we’re forced to go to the bench for most of the 2nd. The bench does surprisingly well, led by Kevan Price’s 16 points, and we cruise to the easy 91-71 win. Anderson led the starters with 20 and 11 boards, while Price, Zinn, and Bullock all hit double digits in scoring.

Game 2: EWU Eagles (1-0) @ Miami Hurricanes (0-1)
Miami is the favorites although we hold a 3-2 starter advantage. The Hurricanes run out to a quick lead, and thanks to a 7-15 from 3pt range in the half, hold it comfortable throughout the 1st half. Bailey and Price combine for a 20 points, most late in the half to close the gap to 7, 46-39 at the break. Zinn and Winn (hehe) both find themselves in foul trouble early, so Holley and Price eat up valuable mins in the 2nd half. We narrow the difference to 3 points early in the 2nd half, but it is as close as we come on the night, as Miami just teases us into a 75-83 defeat. Bailey and Price led the Eagles with 17 each, while Eddie Anderson had another strong game with 16 in the losing effort.