FBCB: University of the Pacific Tigers
 

I think I might of heard of these guys.

Anyway, I have decided to try yet again with this game, taking over a middle ground prestige program and trying to turn them in to a national powerhouse.

either I really stink at this game and will get fired again, or it is that tough of a game.

Anyway, I think I am learning things everytime I start up a new career, and hopefully some of that knowledge will carry over and allow me to succeed this time.


The basics:

Pacific plays in the Big West Conference.
Prestige is 51.
The AD expects me to compete for the conference title.

Conference promotions and demotions are turned on. I like that option a lot.

Not much more to say, if you have been reading my dynasties, you know the drill by now.

We start in the offseason of 2003....

Go for size. Some players are talented-- some aren't. Some players develop-- some don't.

Big guys, though, never shrink.

Rule #1 of building a good basketball team.

[size=small]Someone please forward this to Scott Laydon[/size]

The first thing I have to do is hire my three person staff. We had to overpay for a decent assistant bench coach, but we got a pretty good one. Here are my guys:



Recruiter: 50 year old Andrew King, rated 44

Scout: 44 year old Jarrod Stogner, rated 45

Assistant: 39 year old John Hero, offense 65, defense 49




We are going to have 5 OOC games to schedule every year, and right now, half can be home games. I think as you increase in prestige you get to have a higher percentage of home games. Our prestige is 51, we get 50% home games…makes sense, huh?

Anyway, as is the Marmel way, I schedule a bunch of High School and Div 3 teams, with 1 or 2 decent squads coming to my court.



We start out with a busy recruiting season, having 4 scholarships to offer before I even look at the roster and cut my crappy walk on players.

Recruiting is tough out here in the west, and two of our 4 offers were declined in the early signing period. We have two other offers on the table, and we seem to be in the lead there. We offered two new guys now and will follow them through the upcoming months.

oykib, while I agree with you on that, here is the problem for this season:

I with have 1 player returning at both the SF anf SG spots, combined! So I better hit those areas hard.

and second, Centers seem so damn hard to recruit in this game. I wonder if that is hard coded into the game or something. Maybe it is just bad luck.

Anyway, I am after one pretty good looking Center right now. I hope I can land him.

2003-2004 Pacific Roster

Here are the guys I inherited, and how they will be used:



CENTERS

12 Robert Faust C Sr 6'10" 259 Modesto, CA

The Poet, Robert Faust, would normally start on a team like this, especially in his senior year, but Evans is even better. Anyway, Faust will be the main backup at both the C and PF spots and will see a ton of playing time.

4 Richard Evans C So 6'10" 247 Long Beach, CA

Rich is our starting Center this season. A fierce defender and a great rebounded is what he brings to the table. Faust’s offense is just slighty better, but Evans can still put some shots down for us.

40 Carl Barton C Fr 6'10" 257 Windsor, CO

Carl gets a red shirt this year.







POWER FORWARDS

24 Andrew Charette PF Jr 6'10" 235 Stockton, CA

Andrew has no offensive game at all and his handle on the ball is terrible. He is always turning it over. What he is, is a defensive and rebounding specialist in the paint. He will be our secondary backup at PF and C, but with Faust as our main back up, his minutes will be limited.

3 Brian Phillips PF So 6' 7" 238 Calabasas, CA

Brian is a pretty similar player to Andrew, but Brian is the one who gets the starting PF spot. He is an even better defender and rebounded, but his offense is also pretty bad.

30 Sylvester Ernest PF Fr 6'10" 259 Coolidge, AZ

Ernest gets a red shirt this year.







SMALL FORWARDS

10 James Javier SF Sr 6' 8" 223 Phelan, CA

James really is not that great of a player. This will be his last year here, and I doubt I will miss him very much.

42 Edward Harrington SF Sr 6' 7" 233 San Jose, CA

I am not in love with Edward, but he still gets the start at the SF spot due to a lack of options. He does have a three point shot, but what he really brings to the court is a defensive prowess against guards and big guys like I have never seen. Normally one can only defend inside or out, but he should do a good job at both.







SHOOTING GUARDS

25 Chauncey Seabrook SG Sr 6' 3" 205 Smithers, Canada

It says scholarship under his name, but he MUST have been a walk on. Needless to say, he won’t be walking onto the court.

0 Stanford Hwang SG So 6' 5" 208 San Francisco, CA

Not much to say about Hwang other than he is a three point specialist. Everything else is below average. Still, he is pretty much our best option off the bench as the main backup to SF, SG and PG.






POINT GUARDS

45 Scott Byler PG Jr 6' 2" 184 Tucson, AZ

Byler is an amazing point guard. A great ball handler, along with great passing skills and a deadly three point shot. He also will make a lot of steals for us. I just wish he could play tougher defense. He gets the start at the point.

53 Ned Rood PG Jr 6' 1" 189 Covina, CA

Ned gets the start at SG for us this year. Ned is an OK shooter, better from 3 than 2 point range. His defense is very solid though and he acts like a second point guard on the floor…well, because he is.

50 Bill Iverson PG So 6' 2" 192 Big Bear Lake, CA

Bill “I am not related to Allen” Iverson gets a red shirt this year.






Outlook:

It is so hard to tell how we stack up when I take over a new team. I have no idea how good the other team sin the conference are, and I have no history for these players. I think we are extremely good defensively along the front court, but not as much so in the backcourt. I am also not sure where we are going to get a consistent scoring threat from. Let’s just see how it all plays out.





Top 25

November and December Recap







OK, lets not get too excited about these results yet. I had an extremely soft schedule, and the only good team beat us on our home court. Most importantly though, we are off to a 2-0 start in league play.





Clearly we are a guard oriented team. Byler is our go to guy, and he has not disappointed at all. Rood is playing out of position but still being productive at the SG spot. Harrington and Evans are almost at 10 points per game as well. The rebounding is not quite where I had hoped it would be, but the defense has been phenomenal against these teams so far:




We have the 5th ranked defense in the country, but our RPI of 202 says we are doing it against the worst of the bad teams. The only really truly ugly stat is our free throw shooting.






We picked up our first two recruits this month:


C James Jones, from Fremont, CA, has committed to Pacific. James is a 3 star recruit and is ranked as the #27 Center in the Nation.






PF Brett Ortiz, from Antelope, CA, has committed to Pacific. Brett is a 3 star recruit and is ranked #84 overall in the West Region.








We actually cracked the Top 25, but are sure to fall out when the next polls are released.

January Recap





OK, now we can get excited about this team. Our only two league losses come to powerhouse Utah State. I can accept that. We won some road games by convincing margins, which tells me we are not lucky, but one of the better teams in this league right now.





Well, tonight I learned how to completely eliminate some players from getting on the court. Usually these guys always snuck on for a few minutes, but now they can’t. FYI, in the depth chart, setting the PT to 1 is not enough, you have to clear out all the positions that they can play. If you already knew this then I wish you told me long ago. Just kidding.






That is an embarrassing RPI, but I don’t care right now. We are not a tournament team, I am just trying to establish a winning attitude here in my first year and once I start getting my own recruits in we can start looking ahead.






Top 25

February and March Recap






An amazing regular season run, capped off with a national ranking of 23 to end the season after a 79-27 victory in the regular season finale. Granted, there are some truly awful teams in the league, but there are also some good ones and outside of Utah State, we lost only one game in league play.












We are not an NCAA tournament team, barring an upset of Utah State in the Big West Tournament, but I think we may get an NIT invite.





We got a third recruit this month, and a good one:

SG Whitney Dugger, from Naples, FL, has committed to Pacific. Whitney is a 3 star recruit and ranked #84 overall in the nation.







Top 25

March 11, 2004

(2) #23 Pacific (24-4) vs. (7) Cal Poly (9-19)

We expect to have a showdown with Utah State in the league finals, and the first game goes according to plan as we blow them out 75-54. Harrington was our leading scorer, which was pretty rare during the season. He had 20 today. Evans also scored 18, which he is capable of, but has only done a few times. Byler added a dozen and Faust had a fine game off the bench with 9 points and 10 boards.







March 12, 2004

(2) #23 Pacific (25-4) vs. (3) UC Irvine (17-12)

Well, our plans of meeting Utah State were derailed here with a 70-59 loss. Rood was about the only offense we could muster against their defense and he scored just 12. We did clean up on the boards, but fell way short.



As expected Utah State cruises to the title with a 87-64 victory.

Post Season Recap


For our fine efforts this season we are awarded the 7 seed in the East Region of the NIT tournament! We do not get a bye and play Toledo in the opening round. Win or lose, I am happy.



March 16, 2004

(10) Toledo (22-9) vs. (7) Pacific (25-5)

Our highly touted defense holds Toledo to just 21 second half points and we come away with a victory in our first ever postseason game, 66-61! Byler was hot from the floor, shooting 9 of 13 for 25 points to lead the way for us. Rood added 16 of his own and Phillips had a solid day on the boards with 10.







March 18, 2004

(7) Pacific (26-5) at (2) Colorado (18-11)

So now we are in the First Round of the NIT, playing on the oppositions home court and they are a Major Conference Team. After that first win, everything else is just gravy, so we can go out, play loose and really have nothing to lose….

..and that is just what we did. We only trailed by 3 points at halftime, and late in the game we were finally able to tie the score up at 54-54. Not long after, we nailed a three pointer to take a 57-54 lead with just 2 minutes left in the game. But that was as good as it was going to get. Colorado went on a 5-0 run the final 2 minutes and put us away, 59-57.






FINAL FOUR

#9 Utah State
#2 Oklahoma
#3 Gonzaga
#3 Kentucky

Oklahoma beats Gonzaga for the National Title.

Southern Cal beat Colorado (who beat us by just 2 points) for the NIT title.






AWARDS

PG Scott Byler was named to the Big West Second Team.

I was named Big West Coach of the Year!






Season Stats









SENIORS

James Javier









Edward Harrington









Robert Faust









Chauncey Seabrook





Outlook:

We lose only 1 starter, along with 1 key backup player from this year’s team. Our three leading scorers will be returning along with both of our big men in the paint. We also picked up another recruit to give us 4 pretty solid guys, although I expect three of them will be red shirting.


SG Joshua Beach, from Washington, DC, has committed to Pacific. Josh is a 3 star recruit and ranked #80 overall in the nation.

Off Season Recap

Surprisingly, our prestige level remained at 51. Disappointing.

The AD is delighted with me though and still expects me to compete for the conference title.


Recruiting was a huge success. We had the #21 ranked recruiting class in the land! Michigan State had the #1 ranked class.



All of my coaches stay with me for another year.


As far as scheduling, I wouldn’t say the schedule is tougher, but I did try to get teams that were bad, but not RPI of 300 bad. I also have 2 50+ prestige teams at home this year.




We have 3 scholarships to offer this season, and we get one in the early signing period:

SF David Johnson, from Salome, AZ, has committed to Pacific. He is a 3 star recruit and ranked as the #34 SF overall.

2004-2005 Pacific Roster Report


CENTERS

4 Richard Evans C Jr 6'10" 248 Long Beach, CA

Richard again starts at the Center spot this year. He is a very good player with a solid offensive game, and an even better defensive game. He will block a few shots for us and also grab a few rebounds.

40 Carl Barton C Fr 6'10" 258 Windsor, CO

Carl took the red shirt last year, but still has a ways to go. For now he is our second backup at the Center spot.

10 James Jones C Fr 6'10" 257 Fremont, CA

James gets a red shirt this season.







POWER FORWARDS

24 Andrew Charette PF Sr 6'10" 236 Stockton, CA

Andrew is very solid on defense and a good rebounded. He is not going to score much, but he is a solid backup that won’t hurt us out there. We will have him playing mostly C and PF, but also a little SF.

3 Brian Phillips PF Jr 6' 7" 239 Calabasas, CA

There are not many better defenders around the nation than Phillips. He gets the start for us at PF again this year. His rebounding is also very good, as is his shot blocking ability. He has pretty poor form on offense though and won’t be scoring much for us.

30 Sylvester Ernest PF Fr 6'10" 268 Coolidge, AZ

Sylvester is going to be a very good player for us down the road, but for now he is buried in the depth chart and will only be seeing a few minutes per game right now.

22 Brett Ortiz PF Fr 6' 9" 202 Antelope, CA

Brett gets a red shirt this year.








SHOOTING GUARDS

0 Stanford Hwang SG Jr 6' 5" 209 San Francisco, CA

Stanford is pretty average across the board, although he does have a very nice looking 3 point shot. Due to a lack of option, he gets the start at SF this season.

25 Whitney Dugger SG Fr 6' 3" 172 Naples, FL

Whitney gets a red shirt this year.

20 Joshua Beach SG Fr 6' 4" 204 Washington, DC

Josh is a true freshman, but will be our top backup at both SG and PG. He has very nice form on his jumper and knows how to distribute the ball.






POINT GUARDS

45 Scott Byler PG Sr 6' 2" 185 Tucson, AZ

Scott returns to the starting point guard spot in his final season. He is rated a perfect 100 in both 3 point shooting and handling. He is a very good passer, stealer, and even shot blocker. His only weakness is defense, and it is not all that terrible.

53 Ned Rood PG Sr 6' 1" 190 Covina, CA

Ned gets the starting SG spot again this season. He is solid, but not spectacular on offense and defense. He was our 2nd leading scorer last year and we expect the same out of him again this season.

50 Bill Iverson PG So 6' 2" 196 Big Bear Lake, CA

Bill will see some time backing up both guard positions this year. His game really made some nice improvements this past off season.







Outlook

We return 4 of our starting 5 from last year, so we should have a solid team again this year. The defense looks as good as it was, and the depth of the team seems a bit better to me. With Utah State promoted out of the conference, it is ours for the taking this year.

November and December Recap







Our only loss came to a very good Texas Tech team, but we played them competitively at home. We also opened up the Big West schedule 2-0. All is not good though. Rood was suspended for academic purposes in December and our starting Center, Evans will be suspended for the same reason in January.





Byler has been just as good as last season, but we knew we would be getting that. Evans has had a very solid season at the Center spot this year, and we will miss him this upcoming month. Rood has also been very good and we are happy to have him back this month.

Josh Beach, the true freshman was playing great off the bench and did an even better job as a starter when Nood was out. He is turning out to be a great recruit and we are happy we have him. Huang and Phillips are giving us what we needed solid performances, and not being a liability on the court.







Some of the teams we scheduled turned out to be much worst than we though they were going to be. That’s OK though, because it is nice to have a gaudy 11-1 record. Our defense is just as good as last year and our offense is still very good.





We got one more recruit this month:

SF Malcolm Stokes, from Las Vegas, NV, has committed to Pacific. He is a 3 star recruit and ranked as the #47 SF overall.









Top 25

January Recap





We had a perfect month of January! We won a few shootouts and a few defensive battles, showing we are versatile enough to get it done how ever the game goes. Alcorn state, a newcomer to the conference this year is our only real competition right now, and we have 2 games to play against them.







Byler and Rood have been excellent, teaming up to make a very formidable backcourt combination. Evans comes back this month to take back his starting Center spot, so we should be even better, but in the meantime, Andrew Charette filled in and played brilliantly for us. Huang has upped his scoring average to over 10 as our starting SF, which is a pleasant surprise. Beach has also been doing great for us and we are excited about this freshman.






Our conference is really bad, we seem to be the only legit team in the league and hopefully we get promoted to a more challenging conference next year. Our RPI is pretty decent all things considered. Our defense is ranked #1 in the nation!



We round out our recruiting class with:

SG George Haile, from Sidney, MT, has committed to Pacific. He is a 3 star recruit and is ranked as the #35 SG in the country.







We cracked the Top 25, and have moved all the way up to #17!

February and March Recap





We ran though the conference at a perfect 18-0 record, and only dropped 1 game all season long! It all means nothing if we cannot win our league’s post season tournament though. We are looking a lot like last year’s Utah State team who eventually made a run all the way to the Final Four!











Our RPI is all the way up to 55 which makes us a bubble team even if we don’t win the league tournament. I’d rather not be in that position though. Our defense finished the regular season ranked #1 in the nation!





We have a ton of national respect in the polls:

March 10, 2005

(1) #12 Pacific (27-1) vs. (8) Idaho (11-17)

The 8 seed made us sweat this one out until late in the game. At halftime we were only up 2 points, and they kept it close the whole way, but we eventually pulled it out, 77-68. Evans led us to victory, dominating in the paint with 24 points. Byler was plagued with foul trouble and only played 14 minutes total, scoring 14 points in that time frame. Charette came off the bench to give us 10 points.








March 11, 2005

(1) #12 Pacific (28-1) vs. (4) UC Santa Barbara (14-15)

We almost ran into a buzz saw today, and we trailed this one by 8 points at halftime. We regrouped and stormed back in the second half to tie it, take the lead and eventually pull this one out in the late minutes with a 67-63 victory. Evans again led the way in scoring with 19 points. Byler added 15 and Nood had 10. Beach added 8 off the bench.









March 12, 2005

(1) #12 Pacific (29-1) vs. (3) Long Beach State (18-12)

The finals turned out to be our easiest game of the tournament and we cruised to an easy win, 76-51, to complete the perfect season and win both the regular season and post season Big West! Most importantly, we are in the NCAA Tournament!!!

Post Season


We are ranked #11 in the final polls, but the selection committee didn’t care. While Utah State earned a
9 seed last year, we only get a 13 seed and will face Tulsa in the first round with Oklahoma looming in the second if we can pull off an upset.



March 17, 2005

(4) Tulsa (22-9) vs. (13) #11 Pacific (30-1)

This one was over before halftime. Their defense just completely outclassed our entire team and we had the worst offensive game ever. The final score was 61-33, and we only scored 19 in the first half, which means the second half had us scoring just 14 points. Total domination.







FINAL FOUR

#1 Stanford
#2 Florida
#1 Syracuse
#4 Oklahoma State

Syracuse beats Florida for the National Title!

Santa Clara wins the NIT Title.





AWARDS

Ned Rood was named to the Big West Second Team.

Stanford Huang was named to the Big West Second Team.

Brian Phillips was named to the Big West Second Team.

Josh Beach was named to the Big West Freshman Team.

Scott Byler was named to the Big West First Team. He was also named Big West Player of the Year!


I was named Big West coach of the year for the second consecutive season!






Season Stats







Career Stats








SENIORS

Scott Byler











Ned Rood









Andrew Charette








Outlook:

First, what are we losing? Our two best players in Byler and Rood. I think Josh Beach will step right in and replace one of them with ease. The question is where will he play and who can we get to fill in at the other spot?

Charette is leaving as well, and he proved to be a great backup for us in the paint. Our two starters return though, so that should not hurt us too much. I think Sylvester Earnest is going to step up and be a great player for us, and we also had some good players with a red shirt, and we are bringing in another 3 solid freshman.

NCAA Champs


Oklahoma: 1
Syracuse: 1








NIT Champs








Final Fours


Stanford: 1
Syracuse: 1
Oklahoma State: 1
Florida: 1
Utah State: 1
Gonzaga: 1
Kentucky: 1
Oklahoma: 1

Off Season Recap


Our prestige level went up 3 points, now at 54.

The AD is delighted with me still, and just wants me to compete for the conference title.

Speaking of conferences, we have been promoted to the WCC (West Coast Conference). Here are our new friends:




Our recruiting class was ranked #47 in the nation. Kentucky had the #1 class.


My assistant coach left for the same job at Illinois. We replace him with:

33 year old Chris Brown. He is rated 55 on offense and 59 on defense. He is an upgrade.




We have 13 games to schedule this year, with 7 of them being home games. I am trying to ratchet up the difficulty just a little at a time.




We will have 3 scholarships to offer this year. We were not able to get an early signings, but we are in the lead for two nice looking guards.

2005-2006 Pacific Tigers Roster Report


CENTERS

4 Richard Evans C Sr 6'10" 248 Long Beach, CA

There is no doubt that Rich gets the start at Center again this year, his senior season. His defense is phenomenal in the paint and his offensive game keeps getting better and better. He should also grab a good number of rebounds for us.

40 Carl Barton C So 6'10" 258 Windsor, CO

Carl is really a rebounding specialist, but his other skills are not completely terrible. He will be seeing some time backing up Evans.

10 James Jones C Fr 7' 0" 264 Fremont, CA

James is our only 7 footer, and he has the potential to be a very good player for us, but he is going to need development time. Don’t expect to see much of him this year.






POWER FORWARDS

3 Brian Phillips PF Sr 6' 7" 240 Calabasas, CA

Brian gets the starting PF job for the third straight year. There might not be a better defender in the country than him at the PF spot. He is rated 100. He is also a monster on the boards. The downside is his lack of offense.

30 Sylvester Ernest PF So 6'10" 271 Coolidge, AZ

I decide to go with a huge front line and start Sylvester at the SF spot. He has a nice inside game on offense and is a great defender in the post. He should be able to help out on the boards a little bit as well.

22 Brett Ortiz PF Fr 6' 9" 203 Antelope, CA

Brett is a scoring machine in the paint, but his defense is sorely lacking right now. He shows some potential to imprive it, but until then, his minutes will be very limited.







SMALL FORWARDS

41 Malcolm Stokes SF Fr 6' 7" 225 Las Vegas, NV

Malcolm gets a red shirt this year.

15 David Johnson SF Fr 6' 7" 225 Salome, AZ

David also gets a red shirt this year.








SHOOTIN GUARDS

0 Stanford Hwang SG Sr 6' 5" 210 San Francisco, CA

Hwang is definitely starter material, but I have a great need for him to come off the bench and backup the SF spot with some decent minutes.

20 Joshua Beach SG So 6' 4" 206 Washington, DC

Josh had a very solid year as a freshman and takes over the starting SG spot. His defense is a concern, but he is a very fine shooter, and also has some good point skills. I toyed with the idea of starting him at the point, but decided he would probably play better at his natural position.

25 Whitney Dugger SG Fr 6' 3" 173 Naples, FL

Whitney is a pretty solid back up for both guard positions. It is only a matter of time before he breaks into the starting lineup.

14 George Haile SG Fr 6' 4" 202 Sidney, MT

George gets a red shirt this season.

50 Bill Iverson PG Jr 6' 2" 197 Big Bear Lake, CA

Bill is the only point guard on the roster this year, so he gets the start. He is pretty good though, he has great hands and plays tough defense. He also has a decent jumper.





Outlook:

I really like our front court players, and think they will be the strength of this team. Our guards are a bit of a question mark. Beach will be a starter for the first time as will Iverson. I am more comfortable with Beach on offense and Iverson on defense. It should be interesting see how these guys play. I think our success might hinge on them complimenting our inside game.

Strangely enough, I am very comfortable with our depth at the guard spots, but not as much so in the paint.





Top 25

It looks like you are doing well at the school of the Candy Man.

One thing I've done in my playing is learning to scavenge the recruits. Recruits who don't receive scholarships by January, are qualified, and are 4 star players are often around in positions with too much talent. Even if they aren't at a need position, I always grab them. I usually don't have to take any 3 star recruits after a few years of playing (except at C, where there is often a lack of talent).

Also, I never do my own scheduling (I like thinking that my AD sucks). It makes the game a bit harder, but I'm wondering if the coding actually subscribes to the Temple philosophy of a hard schedule makes a better team. My teams don't always win in the postseason, but given your bad luck in the tourneys, I thought that may be helpful.

I also think going defense first is a good way to win (like you are doing now). I always make myself a D-first coach and pick recruits based on defense and rebounding first). As long as I have 1 or 2 scorers, I can have a good season (and not get fired).

Anyway, glad to see you back in the saddle again.

November and December Recap





Anytime you start the season 10-1, you have to be happy. A few games to note:

Our only loss was a blowout to Nebraska, who are a Big 12 team, but a bad one. The home win against Georgia Tech was just huge, as they are a traditionally solid program. Also, the road win in Akron was nice to see, even if by 1 point. Akron is by no means a power house, but one of the better teams on the schedule.







Beach and Iverson answered my questions early on in the season, they are my 2nd and 3rd leading scorers. Evans is the star of the team though and is just a half a rebound per game away from averaging a double double through the early part of the schedule.

Ernest has been fairly solid playing out of position at SF and Phillips is crashing the boards hard, averaging 10.1 per game. We knew we would not be getting much scoring from him.

Our bench has not been getting a ton of time, and the only thing to really note is Hwang, who, although is averaging 17 minutes a game, has not been producing great numbers so far.






Our RPI is better than it has been in the first two seasons at Pacific. Our defense is still one of the better ones in the country, but our offense has taken a small step back. Everything else looks OK.




We picked up 1 recruit so far:

PG Douglas Hackworth, from Banning, CA, has committed to Pacific. Doug is a 3 star recruit and ranked as the #37 PG overall.








Top 25

January Recap





We started the month with another win against a Big 12 team, Kansas State, then we got into conference play where Santa Clara welcomed us to the WCC with an old fashion beating. Our only other loss in league play came at Pepperdine, who figures to be a decent team in the league this year. I think we have a good enough squad to compete for the title.







Beach has gone on a tear this month, while Evans has slowed down in the scoring column a bit. That makes Beach our leading scorer. Evans picked up his rebounding a bit and is now averaging a double double on the season, making him our team MVP right now.

Iverson, Ernest and Phillips are all playing solid ball and doing exactly what we ask of them.

Dugger and Hwang are the two guys who see good minutes off the bench, and they both have had their good games and bad games. So it goes with backups though.






It all makes sense…we are 16-0 vs. teams ranked 101+ and 0-3 against teams ranked higher than 100, that puts us right where our RPI says: 101.





Top 25: We sneaked into the Top 25, and are just hanging onto a spot.

February and March Recap





An excellent month all things considered. Our only loss was to San Diego, on the road, but it cost us a share of the regular season title with Santa Clara. I hope both teams can get through to the finals of the WCC Tournament.






I am very happy with what I am seeing here. Evans led the team in scoring and also averaged 10 boards a game. We are going to miss him. We are also going to miss Phillips in the paint, who grabbed over 11 boards a game. That is 21 rebounds per game we will have to replace.

Beach and Iverson had great seasons and answered a lot of questions. They will be our team leaders next year for sure.






If we don’t win the WCC Tournament, we are looking at an NIT bid, which is acceptable, I think.




We picked up to recruits (one thanks to Mr. Galt!) to round out our class:

SF Herbert Cain, from Carlin, NV, has committed to Pacific. He is a 3 star recruit and ranked as the #33 SF in the nation.





C Jonathan Smith, from Durham, NC, has committed to Pacific. He is a 4 star recruit and is ranked as the #33 overall prospect!







We remain in the Top 25

March 4, 2006

(2) #18 Pacific (24-4) vs. (7) Portland (10-18)

Our opening round game in the WCC tournament is a big success and we blow by Portland, 80-64. Beach was our leading scorer with 17 points. We got more of the same from our big guys: Evans scored 11 with 10 boards and Phillips scored 8 with 12 boards. Hwang shot 5 of 7 off the bench for a 12 point effort.







March 5, 2006

(2) #18 Pacific (25-4) vs. (3) San Francisco (15-14)

We assure ourselves with a rubber match against Santa Clara for the Title after taking care of the Dons, 81-65. Beach was our leading scorer with 26 points on the day. Evans added 19 of his own along with 9 rebounds. Phillips showed some scoring burst, getting 11 along with his consistent 12 boards.








March 6, 2006

(2) #15 Pacific (26-4) vs. (1) Santa Clara (24-6)

It comes down to the top two teams in the conference, just like it should. Each team blew out the other, winning their home game, so this will decide it once and for all. If that was not enough, an NCAA big is on the line, while the loser will most likely be headed to the NIT.

The first half was ugly. No need to recap it except to say we trailed 54-38 at the half and we felt like the end was already there.

But the second half was a mirror image of the first half and we steadily chipped away at the lead, until finally taking it with under a minute to play. With the score 88-86 in favor of us, Santa Clara had the ball. It only took them 7 seconds to move the ball up court, hit the open man in the corner and drain the three pointer to take a 89-88 lead. There were still 23 seconds left though.

With time running down and their SF fouled out and a scrub in to replace him we decided to clear out for Sylvester Ernest to take him on. He held the ball for the final shot, made a few fakes and had a clear shot from the top of the key. The shot was up, the buzzer sounds, and he back rims it and it falls out. Ball game, we lose 89-88. Tough loss.

Post Season

We turned out to be a bubble team with an RPI of 49, but on Selection Sunday our bubble burst and we had to settle for a #1 seed in the NIT tournament.



March 15, 2006

(1) #17 Pacific (26-5) vs. (8) California (17-13)

We get a bye out of the opening round, while Cal is playing on consecutive nights after winning the 8/9 game in the opening round.

They showed no signs of fatigued and once again we lose to a tough defensive squad in the post season, 67-47.

Still it was another productive and overall successful season.






FINAL FOUR

#2 Oklahoma State
#4 UCLA
#1 Kansas
#5 Florida

Kansas beats Oklahoma State for the National Title.

California goes on after beating us to win the entire NIT Tournament.






AWARDS


Bill Iverson was named to the WCC Second Team.

Whitney Dugger was named to the WCC Freshman Team.

Sylvester Ernest was named to the WCC Second Team.

Brian Phillips was named to the WCC First Team.

Richard Evans was named to the WCC Second Team.

I was named WCC Coach of the Year!





Season Stats






Career Stats









SENIORS

Richard Evans










Brian Phillips









Stanford Hwang








Outlook:

We are losing our starting C and PF along with a main bench player. Ernest will move to his natural position and take over the PF spot, so that means we have to find a new SF. We had a couple red shirt, and hopefully one is ready to step up. The big question is who will fill Evans big shoes? I am not sure yet.

With Beach and Iverson I feel very good at the guard spots.

NCAA Champs


Oklahoma: 1
Syracuse: 1
Kansas: 1








NIT Champs








Final Fours


Oklahoma State: 2
Florida: 2
Stanford: 1
Syracuse: 1
Utah State: 1
Gonzaga: 1
Kentucky: 1
Oklahoma: 1
Kansas: 1
UCLA: 1

Tough loss but great game and season. Good luck in the tourney.

You posted the end of the season as I was typing this. :)

Off Season


Our prestige inched up again and is now at 56.

The AD has not changed his message to me, and expects me to compete for the conference title.


Our recruiting class was ranked #22 in the country. North Carolina had the #1 ranked class.




Our recruiter and scout left for better programs, so we need to replace both of them. Here is who we end up with:

38 year old Charles Sell is our recruiter, he is rated 50.

27 year old Bud Gruber is our scout. He is rated 50.




We schedule a few cupcakes to open the season and then have mostly 40-55 prestige teams coming to our gym in December.



We have just 1 scholarship to offer this year, so we will try to bring in a 4 star recruit.

2006-2007 Pacific Roster Report



CENTERS

40 Carl Barton C Jr 6'10" 258 Windsor, CO

Carl is a perfect fit to backup both the PF and C positions. He is not starter material right now, but has a solid enough game to help us out.

10 James Jones C So 7' 0" 274 Fremont, CA

Our 7 footer gets the call to replace Evans as the starting Center this year. He has a very advanced offensive game for a sophomore. His defense is a bit above average and will continue to get better. He is very good at getting those putback baskets. His weakness is getting on the defensive boards.

32 Jonathan Smith C Fr 6'10" 267 Durham, NC

Smith gets a red shirt this season.







POWER FORWARDS

30 Sylvester Ernest PF Jr 6'10" 271 Coolidge, AZ

Ernest moves to his natural position and gets the start here. He is am excellent defender in the paint and an average rebounded. He has a very good scoring touch inside and nice soft hands for a big guy.

22 Brett Ortiz PF So 6' 9" 203 Antelope, CA

Brett is starting to come around and will probably get to see decent playing time next year. He is a good scoring threat, a decent rebounded, but he needs to work on defense. I will get him a few minutes here and there this year.







SMALL FORWARDS

41 Malcolm Stokes SF Fr 6' 7" 228 Las Vegas, NV

Stokes I not quite ready for prime time, although he has a nicely developing inside game on offense. His perimeter defense is already spectacular, but he needs to work on other facets of his game before he sees the floor.

15 David Johnson SF Fr 6' 7" 237 Salome, AZ

Dave gets the start at SF this year. He has a very nice jumper, and has been know to can a three pointer on occasion. His defense is not quite where I would like it, but his potential to denfed inside and out is sky high, so we go with him and let him learn on the job.

43 Herbert Cain SF Fr 6' 6" 223 Carlin, NV

Herb gets a red shirt this year.







SHOOTING GUARDS

20 Joshua Beach SG Jr 6' 6" 213 Washington, DC

Without question, Josh gets the nod at the starting SG spot. He is a very good player, and shows some good handling and passing skills as well. The one thing that brings him down is defense.

25 Whitney Dugger SG So 6' 3" 175 Naples, FL

Dugger is very very solid and will see plenty of time as a backup to the two guard positions.

14 George Haile SG Fr 6' 4" 203 Sidney, MT

In a surprise move, Haile gets the starting point job spot after red shirting last year. George is simply an amazing player and had to get the start somewhere. I tab Beach as a little better than Iverson so this is where Haile ends up. I don’t know if I ever saw a freshman this developed at both offense and defense. His passing skills are also excellent.






POINT GUARDS

50 Bill Iverson PG Sr 6' 2" 197 Big Bear Lake, CA

Bill is our backup point guard and we will not forget what he means to this team. He will get a lot of playing time.

4 Douglas Hackworth PG Fr 6' 3" 195 Banning, CA

Doug gets the red shirt.







Outlook:

I like the way this team looks on paper. Our big guys are solid, but the weakness down there is rebounding.

Our guards are very good and go very deep. The George Haile situation is odd, and I don’t know if I am making the right move here. We will watch his play, Beachy’s play, Iverson’s play and even Johnson’s play at SF, as that is where Haile may end up, and Iverson can get back to the point. This Haile kid is just too good not to give a shot too.






Top 25

November and December Recap






Another great start to the season as we drop just one game to an overachieving Montana squad. A couple home victories against Michigan and Clemson are pretty big wins.

The George Haile experiment went horribly wrong and he has been demoted to the bench already, with Iverson regaining his starting PG spot.





James Jones has been a huge surprise for us, doing a tremendous job in the paint. He leads the team in scoring and is second in rebounding, grabbing many more than we thought possible.

Beach has been solid as expected and Ernest has been as well.

Iverson was playing great off the bench and has picked it up another notch now that he is a starter again.

Haile just cannot seem to find his shot. I don’t know if my scout is smoking some funny cigarettes or what with him. We’ll use him off the bench but he is not ready right now.







The defensive numbers there concern me a bit right now. We’ll see how things play out with our imprived lineup though.





We pick up our 1 recruit:

PG Michael Jackson (no, not that Michael Jackson) from Lynchburg, VA, has committed to Pacific. He is a 4 star recruit and is ranked #41 overall!








Top 25

January Recap





We hit a couple of bumps in league play, but overall we are looking great, and are in line to challenge for the regular season title.







Beach is really picking up his offense in conference play. Jones is still very solid and Iverson’s stats are looking better now that he is a starter.











Top 25

February and March Recap






We hit a little snag where we dropped 2 out of 3 games in mid February, but overall the season was a tremendous success and we win the regular season conference title. We are, of course, the #1 seed in the tournament.













Once again it looks like we will need to win the WCC Tournament in order to make the NCAA Tournament. Our RPI should get us an NIT big if we fail.







Top 25

March 3, 2007

(1) #20 Pacific (23-5) vs. (8) Washington State (10-18)

Our defense gets the job done for us in the first round here and we take a 64-52 victory. Beach led the team in scoring with 18 points, while Iverson and Jones both scored 14 to help him out. Ernest had a great game as well, scoring 9 points and pulling in 12 rebounds.







March 4, 2007

(1) #20 Pacific (24-5) vs. (5) San Diego (13-16)

This game went the exact opposite of round 1. We needed an explosive offensive showing to get to the finals, but we did with a 93-86 final. Iverson erupted for 29 points and Beach was not far behind with 25. It is because of these two guards that we won. Jones also had a nice game, scoring 17.







March 5, 2007

(1) #18 Pacific (25-5) vs. (2) San Francisco (18-12)

We beat this team at home with ease and got by them on the road as well, so we come in being pretty heavy favorites, but the Dons turn the table on us when it counts the most and knock us off, 87-69. It looks like we are NIT bound again.

Post Season

We have to settle for a 2 seed in the NIT tournament this year.



March 15, 2007

(7) Pepperdine (19-13) vs. (2) #20 Pacific (25-6)

We have to play a conference opponent in the 1st round of the NIT, and one that beat us twice this season as well.

We would like to turn the tables on what happened to us in the WCC tournament, but it is not to be, as Pepperdine is now a perfect 3-0 against us this year after taking us down, 82-72 here.








FINAL FOUR

#2 Arizona
#1 Kentucky
#4 Duke
#9 Maryland


Kentucky beats Duke for the National Title.

Tulsa beats Pepperdine for the NIT title.






AWARDS

James Jones was named to the WCC First Team. He was also named WCC Player of the Year!

Sylvester Ernest was named to the WCC First Team.

David Johnson was named to the WCC Freshman Team. He was also named WCC Freshman of the Year.

Josh Beach was named to the WCC First Team.

Bill Iverson was named to the WCC Second Team.

I was again named WCC Coach of the Year!







Season Stats






Career Stats








SENIORS

Bill Iverson






Outlook:

There is not really much to say, we return every single player except for our starting point guard. We have some options there, plus a 4 star PG recruit coming in. I think we will have another great season.

Off Season

First off, my coaching skills increased and I doled out 5 points to each category.

Our prestige went up again, now it is at 60.

The AD is delighted and now wants me to win the Conference Title.


Our recruiting class was ranked #73. Duke had the #1 ranked class.




Our OOC schedule is again toughened up a bit. We start with some easy teams but then bring in some 50+ prestige programs.




This year we will have 3 scholarships to offer.

We are able to sign one recruit during the early signing period:

PF Napoleon Walters, from Calabasas, CA, has committed to Pacific. He is a 3 star recruit and ranked as the #20 PF in the West Region.

2008-2009 Pacific Tigers Roster Report


CENTERS

40 Carl Barton C Sr 6'10" 260 Windsor, CO

Carl will serve in the same role in which he did last year, namely, our main backup to the C and PF positions. His specialty is rebounding, but he can get it done good enough in most other areas as well.

10 James Jones C Jr 7' 0" 284 Fremont, CA

James is again our starting Center. He is a scoring machine in the paint and should improve upon his 14.4 point per game average of last year. His defense is solid, but his rebounding needs work still.

32 Jonathan Smith C Fr 6'10" 268 Durham, NC

Smith is the heir apparent to James Jones at Center, and is probably good enough to play right now. He has almost the exact same game as Jones. Jones is a better scorer, but Smith is a better defender. He will push Barton for the main backup role.






POWER FORWARDS

30 Sylvester Ernest PF Sr 6'10" 272 Coolidge, AZ

Sylvester is again our starting PF this year. He has a solid offensive game and a dominating defensive game. His rebounding is decent, but could be a lot better.

22 Brett Ortiz PF Jr 6' 9" 204 Antelope, CA

Brett is an offensive guru, but his defense is poor and he is really burried in the depth charts.








SMALL FORWARDS

41 Malcolm Stokes SF So 6' 7" 231 Las Vegas, NV

Not that Malcolm is a bad player, but he seems very inconsistent to me. He is also the worst of the three SF’s that we do have so he probably won’t be seeing the floor at all.

15 David Johnson SF So 6' 7" 240 Salome, AZ

David gets his starting job again this season at SF. He is solid defensively both inside and outside. He has a great looking jumper that I can only hope he will hit it with more consistency this year.

43 Herbert Cain SF Fr 6' 6" 224 Carlin, NV

Herbert might have the best jump shot on the entire team, but his skills are really raw, and he will have to settle for backing up Jones.






SHOOTING GUARDS

20 Joshua Beach SG Sr 6' 6" 213 Washington, DC

Josh is once again our starting SG. I toyed with making him the starting SF since we are so deep at the guard spots, and not so much at SF, but his defense is not so great, and I really want a solid defender at SF. Still, he should score a ton of point for us like he has been doing in previous seasons.

25 Whitney Dugger SG Jr 6' 3" 179 Naples, FL

Whitney is another guy who is good enough to start on this team, but just not quite good enough to get the nod over these other fine players we have. He has the main backup job at SG.

14 George Haile SG So 6' 4" 204 Sidney, MT

George gets the start at the point this year. He failed miserably as a freshman, and we need to hope that he has matured enough to handle the job. Our scout just raves about this guy, and I do in practices, but when it comes to game time, he struggles.








POINT GUARDS

4 Douglas Hackworth PG Fr 6' 4" 204 Banning, CA

Doug is our #1 backup at the point and if Haile fails once again, it is either him or Dugger getting the starting point job. Either way, he will see a lot of time off the bench.

34 Michael Jackson PG Fr 6' 0" 184 Lynchburg, VA

Mike gets a red shirt this year.







Outlook:

I feel a little shaky about this team for some reason. I know Jones and Beach will be good players, and I feel Johnson and Ernest will get the job done. I am really pulling for Haile to succeeed at the point, and we have good depth as well.

Still, something just feels a bit out of whack here. Hopefully, it is nothing.





We are ranked #25 in the preseason:

November and December Recap





Not a bad start to the season. Both losses came against team with a prestige right around our level.






So far, Beach and Jones have been the only dependable players on the team. Ernest has not played bad at the PF spot, but we would like to see a little more out of him. Johnson and Haile have not lived up to expectations so far, and I think we are dangerously close to having Hackworth step in at the point and either Johnson or Haile at the SF spot. I am going to have to tinker around with this and see if I can find something I am more comfortable with.










We round out our recruiting class with 2 solid guys:

PF Cecil Bryant, from Torrance, CA, has committed to Pacific. Cecil is a 3 star recruit and ranked as the #41 PF overall.



SG Ferdinand MacDonald, from Thornton, CO, has committed to Pacific. Ferd is a 4 star recruit and ranked #24 overall in the country!







Top 25

Great job so far!

January Recap





Something is just not quite right here, and I had to juggle the lineup a few times until I finally decided to stick with this:

C Jones
PF Ernest
SF Beach
SG Dugger
PG Hackworth

Bench: Haile, Johnson, Barton

Se two starters are demoted to the bench and we also shorten the bench from 5 to 3 players. For better or wrse I am going to stick with this lineup. Thankfully nobody is dominating the league right now so we are right in the thick of things after two big wins to close out the month.







We are sacrificing Beach’s offense by playing him out of position, but I feel it just makes us a better team overall. Jones is solid at Center which is saving us from a disaster. Everyone else is just trying to figure out where they fit in and what they need to do to contribute.







Our offensive numbers seem OK, but I really would like to see the defense pick it up as we enter the home stretch of the regular season. We have a pretty poor shooting percentage as well, and we need to be more selective with the shots.





Top 25

February and March Recap






A very strong finish to the season once I found a lineup I can live with. We ended up finishing in first place by just 1 game and cracking back into the top 25, barely.







Beach got really comfortable at SF in February and started to get back into form. I really feel how he goes, the team is going to go in the WCC Tournament and beyond.







Our RPI is a respectable 49, but as we have seen before, I am not counting on an at large bid, and if we don’t win the WCC Tourney, we are probably headed back to the NIT.







Top 25

March 8, 2008

(1) #25 Pacific (21-7) vs. (8) San Francisco (13-15)

We split the season series with the Dons, both teams winning at home. There is no way this team dropped so far from last season and I consider them armed and dangerous here in the first round.

OK, maybe I was over reacting. We won this game with ease, 75-55. Jones was a monster, scoring 23 points and grabbing 13 boards. In fact, we owned the paint as Ernest scored 13 of his own and grabbed another 13 boards. Beach added 14 points and Dugger had 11 from the SG spot.







March 9, 2008

(1) #25 Pacific (22-7) vs. (4) Pepperdine (18-11)

We split with these guys this year, but going back a season, they have taken 4 out of 5 from us, and seem to have our number.

But once again, I had no need to worry. We just overwhelmed them today and ran away with a 99-78 victory. Jones and Ernest are making a case for co-tournament MVPs. Jones scored 16 with 15 boards and Ernest had 18 points with 10 boards. Hackworth, our PG was the leading scorer though as he had 23. Beach and Dugger each scored in double figures as well.







March 10, 2008

(1) #17 Pacific (23-7) vs. (3) UC Irvine (18-12)

We also split with these guys this year, each team winning on their home court. This is also our third straight year in the finals, but we have yet to come away with a title…..

…until now! We got our first challenge of the post season but still took an easier win than the score showed. The final was 74-65 and we are going to the NCAA Tournament, Baby! Jones and Ernest continue to dominate the paint. Jones had 14 points and 12 boards while Ernest scored 12 and had 15 points.

Post Season


We get an automatic bid to the NCAA and are seeded all the way out in the East Region as a 10 seed. Our first round opponent is Wisconsin with Virginia looming in the second round if we can pull of the mini-upset.



March 21, 2008

(7) #16 Wisconsin (25-7) vs. (10) #18 Pacific (24-7)

What got us here was the play of our two big men, but if they foul out, they cannot play, and that is exactly what happened. Both Jones and Ernest fouled out of this game, combining for a total of 49 minutes in the game, 7 points and 13 rebounds.

Amazingly we were still able to stick close thanks to Dugger’s 23 points, but it was not enough and we bow out in the first round, 80-72.







FINAL FOUR

#1 Arizona
#5 Indiana
#1 Gonzaga
#1 Oklahoma State

Arizona beats Gonzaga for the National Title.

Nebraska wins the NIT.







AWARDS

James Jones was named to the WCC Second Team.

Josh Beach was named to the WCC First Team. He was also named WCC player of the year!

Doug Hackworth was named to the WCC Freshman team.






Season Stats






Career Stats








SENIORS

Carl Barton










Sylvester Ernest









Joshua Beach




Outlook

We have our terrific Center, James Jones coming back, as well as our guard combo of Duggan and Hackworth. Haile also returns but I have lost faith in him. We have some young guys on the bench ready to step up and another great recruiting class. While losing Ernest and Beach will hurt, I feel our prospects for the future get better and better every year and we will continue to get better. I am half expecting another conference promotion this year.

NCAA Champs


Oklahoma: 1
Syracuse: 1
Kansas: 1
Arizona: 1
Kentucky: 1








NIT Champs








Final Fours


Oklahoma State: 3
Florida: 2
Arizona: 2
Gonzaga: 2
Kentucky: 2
Stanford: 1
Syracuse: 1
Utah State: 1
Oklahoma: 1
Kansas: 1
UCLA: 1
Indiana: 1
Duke: 1
Maryland: 1

Off Season Recap


Our prestige is headed in the right direction, up to 64 now.

No change of attitude from the AD. He is delighted with me and expects us to keep winning the conference title.


Our recruiting class was ranked #22 in the country. Illinois had the #1 ranked class.


Our recruiter has found himself a head coaching job, at Morgan State. We wish him well and replace him with:

72 year old Lauren Obregon. He is rated 50, and is obviously a temporary solution.

In the meantime, our my assistant left and we replace him with:

55 year old Nathan Klein. He is rated 52 on offense and 59 on defense.






We are invited to the San Juan Classic as a 7 seed and decide to accept, giving ourselves a good challenge.

We go lighter than usual in our other 8 OOC games since we are playing some good teams in San Juan, but we still bring a couple quality teams into our gym.




This year we have 3 scholarships to offer. We are able to sign one guy early:

C Michael Rodriguez, from Salt Lake City, UT, has committed to Pacific. He is a 3 star recruit and ranked as the #39 Center overall.

2008-2009 Pacific Tigers Roster Report



CENTERS

10 James Jones C Sr 7' 0" 285 Fremont, CA

It should come as no surprise that Jones gets the start at Center for his senior season. Only the best defenses in the country are going to be able to stop this guy from scoring a lot of points in the paint. His defense is above average and his rebounding is looking better now.

32 Jonathan Smith C So 6'10" 268 Durham, NC

Jon is the main backup at the C and PF positions. He will be starting for us next year as his game is extremely solid.






POWER FORWARDS

22 Brett Ortiz PF Sr 6' 9" 206 Antelope, CA

Brett is a viable option to start, and he may end up being the starter at PF (so may Jon Smith above as well), but for now we are going to give up scoring and go with great defense and solid rebounding. He will be a quality guy off the bench though.

50 Napoleon Walters PF Jr 6' 9" 207 Calabasas, CA

This JUCO transfer gets the starting nod at PF for us. Like I said above, he is a good defender and should do a great job on the boards for us. I won’t hesitate to yank him, but he gets a chance to prove himself.

51 Cecil Bryant PF Fr 6'10" 206 Torrance, CA

Cecil gets a red shirt this year.







SMALL FORWARDS

41 Malcolm Stokes SF Jr 6' 7" 233 Las Vegas, NV

It does not look like Stokes will ever get much of a chance here.

David Johnson SF Jr 6' 7" 240 Salome, AZ

David returns to the starting SF spot this year. His jump shot better start finding the bottom of the net. His defense all over the court is pretty good now, and that is a huge asset for him as a SF.

43 Herbert Cain SF So 6' 7" 226 Carlin, NV

Herb may some day crack the linep, but for now he is going to fill in at SF in a bind.







SHOOTING GUARDS

Whitney Dugger SG Sr 6' 3" 180 Naples, FL

Whitney looks like your typical role player, solid guy, but he plays much better than that, or he did last season at least. He is going to get the start at SG this year even though we have a couple of options that look more appealing. He has earned it based on his play up until now.

14 George Haile SG Jr 6' 4" 209 Sidney, MT

Rating wise, Haile should get the start, but he has been a disaster and will backup the SG and PG spots.

54 Ferdinand Macdonald SG Fr 6' 4" 182 Thornton, CO

Ferd is another legit player who can start at the SG spot as a true freshman. I hesistate due to my bad luck overall with these guys, but I am going to get him good minutes early on and see what he can do.







POINT GUARDS

4 Douglas Hackworth PG So 6' 4" 206 Banning, CA

Doug is solid and did a fine job for us as the starting PG later in the year last season. He is going to be our main backup at the point this year though.

Michael Jackson PG Fr 6' 0" 184 Lynchburg, VA

Mike is a highly touted recruit who got a red shirt last year, but we are asking him to step up and take over the starting PG spot right now. Great point skills and great shooting got him the job. Less than average defense may lose it for him, but it is his to lose.







Outlook:

We are loaded at the two guard spots and who knows if this lineup will look the same come January, but for now I think this is the best. We have a lot of guys I wish I could give a lot of time to, but it won’t work out that way. I like our chances to return to the NCAA Tournament.






We are ranked #20 in the preseason

November and December Recap







Our first loss came when we ran into a red hot Virginia Tech team, who up to that point had not lost a game. We recovered, but when we went down to San Juan we dropped 2 out of 3 games again all solid teams. In all of our losses, Jones got his points, but the rest of the team was shut down. It might be a bit obvious, but we need somebody to compliment Jones if we are to win games, preferably a couple of guys. We will not be able to win many games relying solely on our Center.








Dugger is making the case that he should be our second go to guy, and Hackworst is making a case that he should be starting over the hot shot freshman, Mike Jackson. But Jackson is averaging over 5 assists per game, so that is a tough call.

We simply need a bit more from Johnson and Walters at the PF and SF spots. Smith is chomping at the bit to break the starting lineup, but I am just not sure right now.







If our defense could do just a bit better, I think we would be in great shape. The lack of rebounding is also killing us, but I don’t know if we have anybody else to turn to in that department. We also need to take better care of the ball and not turn it over so much.





We got one more recruit this month:

PG John Russell, from Rexburg, ID, has committed to Pacific. John is a 4 star recruit and ranked #38 overall!







Top 25

January Recap







Well, we took two losses in league play, both on the road against teams in the bottom half of the table. Games we used to find a way to win. This is a bit concerning.






We still have not found a true compliment to Jones’ inside presence. Dugger has been good, but not reliable on a game in and game out basis. We inserted the freshman Ferdinand into the starting SF spot and he seems to be giving us a bit more than Johnson was as a starter. I am not sure if I’ll stick with that, but we’ll see.








I feel our defense should be playing better than this. I cannot figure out why we are not. I knew our rebounding was weak, but we should still be doing a little better there as well. We have imprived our turnover situation though.





Top 25

February and March Recap








We opened the month of February with 2 consecutive victories over Nevada, who at the time were in sole possession of first place. After that series, we never looked back, running the table en route to another regular season title, the #1 seed in the WCC Tournament and our first ever Top 10 ranking!









Not much has changed stat wise, but Dugger has been playing very well as of late and is really becoming that second threat that we need.

The difference maker might be Hackworth being able to come off the bench and give us a boost wherever and whenever we might need one.








Our RPI says we are a NCAA team, but I would rather not leave it up to chance and just run through the WCC Tourney and put another notch in my coaching belt, so to speak.