[Izulde]

Florentin Dupretz scores 13 off the bench in a blowout loss to #2 UConn, Angel Moore and Gunther Hasenkopf combine for 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 steals in a surprisingly competitive loss to #4 Oklahoma, but it's only 10 boards and 2 blocks from the Fish Knight in a blowout 48-point loss to #1 Baylor.

vs Eastern Kentucky (0-4)
This will be a tough one. The Colonels are an experienced team, led by the excellent backcourt of Dustin Vasser and Kurt Wood, and Charles Brown is a great defensive rebounder and shotblocker in the paint.

Sure enough, we blow an 11 point lead and are down by 5 at the half. Dustin Vasser has 24 points by himself in 20 minutes. Our perimeter defense is super weak despite our turnover generation machine and he's making us pay. By the end of the night, he has 40 points and our top scorer is Joseph Velarde with 16 points and 2 steals. He's the only one who came ready to play in the 69-88 loss.

On the bright side, we land our first commit:

[coode]
#32 PF Truman Crain
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Height: 6-9
Weight: 253
High School: Shelby High School
Hometown: Shelby, MT
GPA: 3.24
Test Score: 1300
Rating: *

Attributes:
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Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
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Current: 43 1 0 25 28 44 30 16 33 34 7 53 33 66 44 66
Potential: B F F D D C C C D B F A

Season Stats:
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PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS
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13.1 2.7 6.6 1.6 2.6 0.63 0.3 3.3 2.1

Shooting Averages:
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FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P%
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5.8 10.3 .563 1.4 3.2 .438 0.1 0.8 .067

Recruiting Notes:
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Qualified: Yes
Committed to Cal State Northridge
Rankings: West Region #24 PF
High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Montana)
Top 5 Schools: *Cal State Northridge, Washington State[/code]

Sure, it's the remote, sparsely populated state of Montana, but we add our first Mr. Basketball. Smart, smart kid who can block shots already and has an okay inside game for our level. I think he's better than the Red/Yellow he's projected as.

We add SF Earle Owens, a 3* SF from San Diego, CA to our offer list next. Can't steal the ball and is a terrible shooter, but is otherwise a very good defender. And yes, we're starting to break away from our go get turnovers to looking at guys who can actually play defense. We're not seeing success with the pressure system, clearly.

vs Longwood (2-5)
I'm not sure how the Lancers have a 2-5 team. They're really, really bad. But then again, so are we. We need a win to snap us out of the funk we're in. Our RPI has tanked to 250 as a result of the Colonels vassering us in our face at our place.

My instincts are proven correct when we're up by 19 at the half and are in total cruise control mode. Sure enough, we win by 20, finally getting a Player of the Game when Reinaldo Gonzalez rips off 18 points, 6 rebounds, a block, and a steal in just 18 minutes. Adding 14 points and 3 steals is Joseph Velarde, while 10 points each for Rabbithead and Winston Reyes is a nice bonus.

@ Grambling State (1-4)
The Tigers have a diarrhea soft perimeter defense, which bodes well for us. Their post defense might well be even worse, so this is shaping up to be a shootout, as our own defense is not that good.

Yep. 22 point lead at the half, as we score 52 points in 20 minutes. We're just laughing at their toothless efforts. 78-55 final, with Angel Moore scoring 19, Winston Reyes adding 12 with 2 blocks and 3 steals. Player of the Game goes to Florentin Dupretz, who lights them up for 15 points in 16 minutes.

3-5 with our first win streak to speak of, and we're finally looking like a team who might actually meet our AD's increased demands. I sure am tired of coaching a squad that has garbage facilities, though. It's really putting a cap on how successful we can be. By this time, teams like a certain Lafayette Leopards squad are taking conference titles and going dancing. We're out here on that struggle bus just trying to authentically be a mid-tier Big West squad in the same amount of years.