A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

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Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy



Published: January 1rst, 2009 11:30 am

Conference Overview

By Dennis Kirkpatrick - Senior Writer

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Big West Conference Standings - Updated: Jan 1, 2009
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	GB
UC Davis	7-3	.700	--	--
Long Beach St.	6-4	.600	--	--
Pacific	5-5	.500	--	--
UC Santa Barbara	5-6	.454	--	--
UC Irvine	4-6	.400	--	--
Cal Poly	4-6	.400	--	--
CS Fullerton	4-6	.400	--	--
CS Northridge	3-8	.272	--	--
UC Riverside	2-10	.167	--	--

Today, marks the start of not just the new year but the start of Big West conference play. This season has some of the most talent the conference has ever seen.


The team with the best out of conference record was UC Davis, the Aggies were by far the worst team in the conference last season and missed the conference tournament. UC Davis's turnaround is highlighted by the addition of four key new players to help conference leading scorer Vince Oliver. They have the number one offense in the entire conference but also the worst defense.

Long Beach State has one of the best defenses in the league, the Miners are only allowing 54ppg this season. Outside of Senior Donovan Morris the Miners are a young team starting three underclassmen. Their out-of-conference slate was highlighted by a win over Northwestern where they held them to 44 points.

UC Santa Barbara is hoping to reach the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. They lost several key players last year but are another young team. The Gauchos are starting four underclassmen who will only get better as the year goes on. They can score the ball but can also play defense.

Pacific is the most talented team in the league, they feature the duo of Steffan Johnson and Anthony Brown. Two seniors who have a chance to play professionally. They haven't had the start to the season they've wanted going 5-5 and shooting a poor 36% as a team. This isn't a team to skip past and should be a favorite to win the conference. When the team has been playing to their abilities they;v challenged USC and San Diego State.

UC Irvine is not the most talented team in the conference but has an experienced team full of upperclassmen. One of their few underclassmen getting minutes, however, is Delvon Coggins who is an absolute stud. The Anteaters are hoping their experience will lead them to their first conference championship.

Cal Poly is similar to UC Davis in many ways, they can score the ball with anybody but struggle on defense. Led by Senior point guard Trae Clark the Mustangs have been able to give some teams a scare. They only lost to 4th ranked UCLA by four points earlier in the season.

Cal State Fullerton similar to Pacific has a roster full of talent but just haven't been able to get it to click. All four of their wins come against teams with losing records and the Titans have struggled on defense.

Cal State Northridge has one of the best backcourts in the entire conference. Led by Seniors Josh Jenkins and Deon Tresvant the Matadors are another great offensive team who just can't seem to play defense.

UC Riverside has struggled to get going this year, with a roster without much talent the Highlands have relied on their experienced wings, Chris Johnson and Aaron Scott. Despite the poor record, however, they did hold Oregon to just 54 points in a close loss.

NCAA Basketball Leaders - Updated: Jan 1, 2009
Points Per Game	PPG	Rebounds Per Game	RPG
1. V.Oliver - UCD	18.5	1. B.Freeman - LBSU	8.5
2. D.Tresvant - CSN	16.1	2. B.Bekono - UCR	7.9
3. J.Akognon - CSF	14.7	3. A.Brown - PAC	7.6
4. T.Clark - CP	14.5	4. J.Smith - CSN	7.4
5. A.Brown - PAC	14.3	5. Q.Lang - UCSB	7.2
Assists Per Game	APG	Blocks Per Game	BPG
1. S.Johnson - PAC	6.5	1. C.Gilbert - UCI	2.1
2. P.Popoola - UCR	4.5	2. T.Shelton - CP	2.0
3. J.Jenkins - CSN	4.3	3. J.Reid - CSF	1.5
4. D.Cuffe - LBSU	3.7	4. P.Hendrix - LBSU	1.4
5. T.Lowenthal - UCD	3.6	5. C.Leavitt - CP	1.3

[RolePlayer]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

Team Stats:Team Comparison

Williams 28 Points, Leads 49ers Over Aggies
January 3rd, 2009

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DAVIS -- Saturday marked the start of conference play for UC Davis. The matchup between UC Davis and Long Beach State was a game between the teams with the two best out-of-conference records in the Big West. The Long Beach State 49ers are the best defensive team in the conference whereas the UC Davis Aggies are the best offensive.

Eleven games into the season teams should expect one thing, for the Aggies to go to their star shooting guard Vince Oliver early. That's exactly what they did, Oliver came out hot out of the gate. However, on the defensive end, UC Davis gave up two quick threes both from Donovan Morris.

Midway through the first half, it was clear to UC Davis's two highly touted freshmen didn't have it. Dedrick Watson who is in the conversation for freshman of the year in the conference struggled to get good position in the post and turned it over twice. Jimmie Harris struggled as well missing several open shots. However, Jesse Lopez-Low had his best game of the season. The Senior played to the level many had hoped he'd of played at last year. Finding buckets in the post and snagging rebounds.

On the opposite side of the court, Cornell Williams was having the game of his life, the Junior small forward was hitting threes left and right with UC Davis not finding a solution to stop it. Coach Keon Reid was irate as somehow Williams seemed to always get open. Williams performance also hid two great games from Long Beach States backcourt duo who would combine for 33 points in the game.

UC Davis Stats:

Long Beach State Stats:

In the second half, UC Davis began to struggle from the line, shooting an abysmal 3/10 in the second half. The Aggies struggles didn't just stay with one player, almost every rotation player missed multiple free throws. The Aggies tried to goto Joe Harden off the bench to combat their offensive struggles but Harden wasn't able to find much offense. Nate Clark did hit two threes, however.

Long Beach State had beat UC Davis at their own game, pouring on buckets at a high rate. Every time the Aggies appeared to have a chance to tie the game or go ahead the 49ers hit a big three. However, with five seconds left in the game, Donovan missed a free throw allowing the Aggies one last shot to tie the game up.

UC Davis called a play that got Vince Oliver open in the corner for a three however, Jerret Huffman came out of nowhere to block the shot just as it left Oliver's fingers.

[RolePlayer]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy



Potential Locker Room Issues at UC Davis

Second year head coach Keon Reid frustrated after missed free throws.

Is Coach Reid Losing the Locker Room?

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An anonymous source reported to CBS sports that multiple veteran players at UC Davis are frustrated with second-year head coach Keon Reid. The dramatic drop in playing time for a large portion of the roster has left a sour taste in the mouths of players.

Last year UC Davis went, 4-24 missing the Big West Conference tournament. Many fans called for Keon Reid to get fired after just his first season. Coming into his second year Reid brought in two transfers and two highly touted recruits. This year he's cut his rotation down to nine players instead of the twelve-man rotation he used last season. This means that nearly half of the rotation is for new players.

Players such as Shane Hanson, Adam Malik, Michael Boone, and Mark Payne amongst others have gone from seeing minutes every night to riding the bench. Malik in particular was voted first-team freshman all-conference last season. Hanson proved to be a sharpshooter who could shoot from just about anywhere on the floor.

To Reid's credit, the Aggies are much improved this season, they just finished an impressive out-of-conference run which saw them win seven games with quality wins over Oregon State and Yale. He's also been shaking the rotation a bit more recently with Hanson getting some burn over Calegari in certain situations.

When asked about the situation Reid said "My players all know my office has an open-door policy and they can talk to me whenever. I don't have a wife and kids so my players are my family. I care about all of them and do my best to help lead them to success on and off the court. I wish I could play them all but this is job is my livelihood and I have to put the players out there that give us the best shot at winning the game."

[studbucket]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

I love the photo for that article. Great work capturing that one

[Careless Whisper]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

I love the photo for that article. Great work capturing that one

Co-signed, that photo is fantastic.

Loving this, RP - glad UC Davis has made some big strides in Year 2 already!

[marshdaddy]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

Damn love the drama already. Hopefully coach sticks to his guns and let’s the wins do the talking

[RolePlayer]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

I love the photo for that article. Great work capturing that one

Yeah, Coach Reid's reaction there is a perfect image for how I felt during the Long Beach State game.

Loving this, RP - glad UC Davis has made some big strides in Year 2 already!

Thanks, always cool to get a compliment from someone who has had multiple great dynasties like yourself.

Yeah, the out-of-conference record was promising, however, conference play will be the biggest indicator. The Big West is looking pretty tough this year, hopefully, we can finish with a winning record.

Damn love the drama already. Hopefully coach sticks to his guns and let’s the wins do the talking

Yeah, I mean the evidence is there for itself the team has already doubled it's win total from last year. It's tough to see a lot of the guys who had playing time last year riding the bench but when your team was as bad as UC Davis was. You're gonna have to make some roster improvements to win which is just gonna inevitably lead to some of the old guys riding the pine.

A few of the players who are frustrated right now are guys who I think have potential especially Adam Malik. Hopefully, Coach Reid can talk him into staying and not transferring out.

[RolePlayer]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

Team Stats:Team Comparison

Hot Start Propels UC Irvine to a win
January 8th, 2009

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IRVINE -- UC Irvine and UC Davis came into this game with something to prove. The Anteaters of UC Irvine are one of the youngest teams in the conference but feel they're talented enough to compete for a conference championship. They had disappointing out of conference play earlier in the year and want to turn around. The Aggies were trying to get their footing after a loss to Long Beach State.

For the first few minutes of the game, there was a back and forth. Dedrick Watson hit a few early shots for the Aggies and Freshman Delvon Coggins hit a few for the Anteaters. However, soo after the threes started to rain down for UC Irvine. Trey Harris had the hot hand knocking down three three-pointers in quick succession. Coggins and Hunter hit their own. Very quickly into the game, UC Davis found themselves down double digits.

The offense for the Aggies seemed to dry up as soon as the Anteaters began to heat up. Everyone including Vince Oliver was missing shots they’d normally make. Whilst UC Irvine was hitting difficult shot after difficult shot. The Aggies turned to their bench, after reports of some lockerroom dissonance Coach Reid opted for Shane Hanson over typical backup four Dominic Calegari. Hanson is the better shooter but a worse rebounder and defender. Hanson did provide a bit of an offensive spark hitting a three right after checking in.

UC Davis Stats:

UC Irvine Stats:

In the second half the shooting for UC Irvine seemed to slow down, they stopped hitting threes at a ridiculous 65% clip. Trey Hunter struggled to get open as UC Davis keyed in on him. However, Michael Hunter picked up the slack though, scoring eight points in the half. Hunter hit a variety of mid-range shots. Several bench players had nice games for the Anteaters as the team got 37 points off the bench.

Dedrick Watson and Vince Oliver began to score for the Aggies but the poor shooting by the rest of the team made that a non-factor. Jimmie Harris in particular had a very poor shooting night. Todd Lowenthal struggled too shooting just 2/7. The Aggies put in their bench the last few minutes with Adam Malik scoring on two nice drives to the hoop.

[Hello2022]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

Ouch, tough game against UC Irvine.

[kibaxx7]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

With their backcourt shooting like that, a win was very, very hard to obtain.

[milldaddy35]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

Tough loss. We've all been there when the CPU refuses to miss.

[RolePlayer]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

Ouch, tough game against UC Irvine.

Yeah, I really did not think this game would be a blowout, especially since UC Irvine is an incredibly young team. Hopefully, we can get some revenge on our floor later in the year.

With their backcourt shooting like that, a win was very, very hard to obtain.

Tough loss. We've all been there when the CPU refuses to miss.

Yeah it was difficult especially in the first half it seemed like even if I had a hand in their face it was going down. In the second we slowed them down a bit shooting wise but we couldn't convert on our end.

[RolePlayer]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy



2008-09 NCAA Rankings

NCAA Hoops Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Jan 12,
RK	LW	TEAM	RECORD
1	01	UCONN	15-1
2	02	North Carolina	15-2
3	05	Michigan St.	13-2
4	06	Providence	11-2
5	09	Georgetown	15-1
6	08	Alabama	16-1
7	10	Memphis	12-3
8	07	UCLA	13-2
9	04	Tennessee	12-2
10	11	Washington	13-3
11	15	Miami	11-2
12	14	Stanford	13-2
13	20	Duke	10-3
14	16	Texas	11-3
15	12	Gonzaga	14-3
16	19	Villanova	12-3
17	03	California	13-2
18	13	Arizona	13-3
19	22	Illinois	14-3
20	17	Louisville	11-5
21	21	NC State	12-2
22	24	Kentucky	11-3
23	18	Vanderbilt	13-1
24	--	Saint Louis	13-2
25	25	Rhode Island	16-2

Michigan State Surging up the Polls

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At the top of polls, there hasn't been any movement the past couple of weeks. North Carolina and UCONN have held steady at 1 and 2 respectively. However, Michigan St has found itself all the way up to number three after beating Indiana. Earlier in the year, I questioned the Spartan's ranking and I still don't trust them. They've had some close wins against bad competition and a bad loss to Morehead State. The Spartans won't have a true challenge until they face Michigan in a couple of weeks.

Providence continues to move up the rankings moving up to fourth. Unlike Michigan State, the Friars have beaten some tough competition. Last week they handed Louisville a loss in convincing fashion beating them by double digits.

Tennessee who once sat atop the rankings has lost two of their last three. Losing by double digits to Gonzaga and Florida. Senior Point Guard J.P Prince has been out with a foot injury and freshman Haminn Mason has had to step in.

Duke moved up seven spots after beating NC State. The Blue Devils got off to a slow start this season losing two early games. However, they've recovered. Led by Greg Paulus and Kyle Singler this isn't the most talented Duke team but they've been one of the best scoring teams in the NCAA.

Down the poll, Cal saw the biggest skid of any team going from number three in the country all the way to seventeenth. After losing two straight to Washington St and Washington. Personally, I think this is a major overreaction, the Golden Bears have wins over two top fifteen teams. This week they face eighteenth ranked Arizona and will have a chance to show they are better than what the AP says.

We saw one new edition his week in Saint Louis, the Billikens have had a good season so far led by Senior point guard Tommie Liddell. Behind them, another A-10 team Rhode Island moved up into the polls last week. Earlier in the year, they played UCONN tough losing by five.

In the Mid Major poll, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's remain at the top. However, Middle Tennessee has jumped VCU after the Rams had two straight losses. Kent State continues to free-fall landing outside the top 10 after losing to Bowling Green. However, they did beat second-ranked North Carolina two weeks ago proving that they're still dangerous even with a poor record. Davidson has climbed back into the top ten, Steph Curry had 32pts in a win over UNC Greensboro last week.

NCAA Hoops Rankings - Mid-Major Rankings - Updated: Jan 12, 2009
RK	TEAM (VOTES)	RECORD
1	Gonzaga	14-3
2	Saint Mary's	11-4
3	Middle Tennessee	11-4
4	VCU	11-4
5	George Mason	11-4
6	W.Michigan	10-5
7	FAU	11-4
8	Davidson	10-4
9	UW-Green Bay	11-4
10	Georgia St.	13-3

[studbucket]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

I'm surprised that a) there are no undefeated teams and b) that Gonzaga has 3 losses.


Also, Vandy has 1 loss!

[RolePlayer]

Re: A West Coast Story - College Hoops 2k8 Legacy

I'm surprised that a) there are no undefeated teams and b) that Gonzaga has 3 losses.


Also, Vandy has 1 loss!

Yeah, it's been a weird year almost all of the top teams have a bad loss or two. In Gonzaga's defense, they've played one of the toughest schedules out of any team I've seen.