The season starts with a bang in the 2k College Sports Classic benefiting Coaches Versus Cancer, (Region & opponent to be announced but rumor has it UC Davis will be heading to Lexington, KY or Storrs, CT, with the Wildcats of Kentucky or the Huskies of UConn awaiting the Aggies).
UC Davis faces two Pac 10 teams - hosting the Beavers of Oregon State on December 7th (Get your tickets now as The Pavilion is certain to sell out & be rocking on a Friday night!) and visiting venerable Pauley Pavilion and the UCLA Bruins on December 29th.
The Aggies will also participate in ESPNU's Bracket Busters on February 23rd. Of course, the opponent will be determined but this certainly will be a road game for UC Davis.
After the foliage has faded, UC Davis also will spend a long weekend in New England hooking up with Ivy League foes, Brown & Dartmouth, December 1st & 3rd, respectively. The Brown Bears will want to avenge Vince Oliver's buzzer beater that propelled UC Davis to victory last season.
The Aggies return the favor & visit SWAC member Jackson State sans Trey Johnson on December 20th. The Aggies defeated the Tigers last season in Davis, CA.
A late season get together on March 1st is on tap at the Pavilion with local bragging rights at stake as the Aggies host the Hornets of Sacramento State of The Big Sky.
The crescendo or "creme de la creme" of the season & please do not wait until the last minute - make your reservations now, is the Big West Tourney in Anaheim, CA, March 12-15, as UC Davis will be eyeing participating with a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the survivor! Can you wait for Billy Packer & Jim Nantz's take on the nascent Division I Aggies?
Here is a link to the official UC Davis press release on the 2007-08 campaign:
http://ucdavisaggies.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/080207aaa.html
Here are a few of the highlights:
Signing of Adam Malik, an all state product out of La Canada High School.
Announced transfer of Todd Lowenthal out of the WAC from Hawaii.
We all know that Horace Greeley adopted John B.L. Soule's quote, "Go west young man!" And Notre Dame transfer Joe Harden took heed of this advice and is heading to the Big West from the Big East where he'll be "reunited" with high school teammate, Mark Payne. Of course, as is the case with Lowenthal as well, we'll have to wait a year before the Peaches & Herb version of "Reunited" will permeate the Pavilion!
Former assistant Ron DuBois was added to Mark Iavaroni's staff of the Memphis Grizzlies.
And finally the NCAA has certified UC Davis as a full fledged DI institution and eligible for the post season! Hard to recall a summer where UC Davis basketball has made more noise!
]]>A la Larry Brown turned things around at Elgin CC last season and is poised to get Cabrini back on track in the tough PCA conference.
Here's a nice article on the hiring from the Daily Times:
By TERRY TOOHEY
ttoohey@delcotimes.com
As Greg Herenda drove onto the Cabrini College campus Monday to interview for the vacant men’s basketball coaching position, the first building he saw was Grace Hall, which houses the faculty and administrative offices.
Any nervousness the 46-year-old basketball lifer from Jersey City, N.J. had about the interview quickly disappeared.
“My mother’s name was Grace Herenda,” Herenda said. “She died last week and the interview came two days after we buried her. It was like she was talking to me.”
That drive and subsequent interview proved fruitful Thursday when Herenda was selected as the fourth men’s basketball coach in Cabrini history.
Herenda replaces Matt Macciocca, who was dismissed as the Cavaliers coach following the 2006-07 season after two years as the Cavaliers coach.
“You think I would have cried when I saw that name on the building, but I laughed,” Herenda said of his emotional drive onto the campus. “My mother had a great sense of humor and she would have enjoyed the irony of it. Here she was, telling me what to do from heaven. I knew immediately that I was in the right place. Sometimes, you just have to follow your gut and that’s what I did. I knew that my mom was looking down on me.”
Herenda, a graduate of Merrimack College, brings more than 20 years of college coaching experience with him to Cabrini. He spent the 2006-07 season as the head coach at Elgin Community College in Elgin, Ill., where he guided the Spartans to an 18-11 record and the first appearance in the Region IV District B championship game in school history.
Prior to Elgin, Herenda served as the associate head coach at East Carolina (2000-2005), where he was the right-hand man of former Drexel coach Bill Herrion. Herenda also was an assistant at Yale (1997-99), Seton Hall (1994-97), Holy Cross (1989-94), Merrimack (1985-89) and Massachusetts-Lowell (1983-85).
At Lowell, Herenda helped recruit the core of a team that went on to win the 1988 NCAA Division II championship.
“I’m excited,” Herenda said. “I know of Cabrini’s tradition and I was even more impressed when I got on campus. It’s a gorgeous campus, the facilities are unbelievable and the people are even better. I’m very excited and honored to be the next basketball coach at Cabrini College.”
Herenda takes over a team that struggled the past two seasons. The Cavaliers went 11-14 in 2005-06 and 5-20 last season and failed to qualify for the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference tournament both years. The good news is that there were no seniors on the roster.
The top returnees are forward Randy Reid from Monsignor Bonner, who averaged 17 points and eight rebounds a game, guard Greg Clifton (11.0 ppg.) and center Bruce MacLelland (8.6 ppg., 10.3 rpg.). Reid was a second-team All-PAC selection and was the team’s sportsmanship winner in the league.
“Everything we do will be taken from a defensive standpoint,” Herenda said. “We’re going to play extremely hard and get up and defend you. I’m not a 94-foot kind of guy. We’ll press three-quarter court, but I’m a firm believer that offense starts with good defense. We’re going to rebound and run and get the best shots available.”
Terry Toohey is the assistant sports editor of the Daily Times.
More musings - got to love Ron Artest playing in the summer league in Vegas, doing some rapping coast to coast and predicting a championship for the Kings! He's definitely old school! Brad Miller looks like he's refining his game with USA Basketball who cruised past Pueto Rico in an exhibition game this evening! Miller is in fine company with Lebron, Carmelo, Dwayne et al plus Coach K at the reins! World Championships coming up in Japan later this month should be exciting and worth tuning in to NBA TV to check out!
And finally, the arena deal! The County Board of Supervisors and the Maloofs negotiating to bring a plan to the voting booth in November! The Maloofs will be like the Doobie Brothers - "Taking It To The Streets" - selling the deal in a PR blitz that will be interesting to watch. With the Maloofian sales skills, reminiscent of the Sponge Bob Square Pants episode - "Chocolate and Nuts" - if they knock on my door a la Patrick, I'll exclaim, "I'll take twenty!" (If I've lost you - you've got to TiVo the episode! It's a classic!
Sacramento is at a cross roads and this ballot measure is sure to be a watershed moment regardless of the outcome. Like the deal or not, there is no doubt that the city, county and the region will be much better off with the sports and entertainment district than without it! The part of the deal which is perfect is where the arena is to be located. The UP Railyards represent the largest piece of undeveloped urban land in the US and the scale of this project is prodigious. It's only fitting that that the arena goes there - redefining the dowtown Sacramento landscape!
Morrison’s numbers are as prodigious. He led Gonzaga to a 29-4 record, a West Coast Conference championship while averaging 28 points per game before the Zags fell to the UCLA Bruins in the sweet sixteen. Only a junior, Morrison is expected to leave college and enter the NBA draft. Morrison is projected as a better pro prospect and concern in the “Association” (another moniker for the NBA) is that Redick will have difficulty creating shots off the dribble at the next level. However, the award is given for the top collegiate player not the nation’s best professional prospect so taking the literal definition of the award, Redick is deserving but it’s so close it could have gone either way. My vote would have gone to Morrison but then again, I can understand someone ordering a different entree off of the same menu!
Joakim Noah continued his stellar effort in the NCAA tourney with 16 points, 9 rebounds or caroms as they're called back in Jersey and six blocked shots, an NCAA championship game record. What doesn't necessarily show up in the box score was his ability to alter UCLA's shots and effect the Bruins decision making.
]]> Florida limited UCLA to 36.1% field goal percentage for the game. Al Horford was also solid scoring 14 and securing seven rebounds. Rounding out the balanced offensive attack was Lee Humphrey, who again came through with timely three pointers, with 15 points and senior Adrian Moss chipped in with 9 off the bench top propel the Gators.Florida was loose, played aggressively and kept UCLA at bay. Although they were out rebounded by the Bruins 38-35 they absolutely dominated their opponent from the PAC 10 in the paint - blocking 10 shots - 6 by Noah and altered many more.
Florida’s ability to dictate tempo, to control the paint and to score – getting into the seventies, lead to victory and a national championship. When UCLA applied pressure defense, they had the answer – Florida was strong with the basketball and scored. Frequently it was Taurean Green, who finished with eight assists dishing to his teammates for dunks. The Gators reminded everyone that when you are pressed, “It is an invitation to a lay-up or a dunk.”
Florida did not lose a game outside of the SEC all season.
Hats off to Coach Ben Howland. Like the Vickie Sue Robinson classic disco tune "Turn The Beat Around," he has resurrected the Bruins program making it to the championship game exactly three years after being hired by UCLA. He certainly has the Bruins on the right track and is a class act and a gentleman. Jordan Farmar lead the Bruins with 18 points and backcourt mate Arron Afflalo chipped in with Ryan Hollins secured a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds
Florida’s Billy Donovan became the second coach to win a national championship at age 40 – Bobby Knight won it at 35 and 40. Donovan along with Dean Smith is the only other coach to play in a final four and win the national championship as a coach. Pretty nice company indeed.
Perhaps the definition of success that all should reflect on after this season, is that of Head Basketball Coach Emeritus at UCLA, the great John Wooden, who was hospitalized on Sunday:
"Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
Wooden is expected to be out of the hospital this week. Get well Coach!
]]>For the Bruins it's "dance with who brung you" - defend, rebound and score.
]]> UCLA is 32-5 when limiting their opponents to less than 80 points, 16-1 when keeping their opponents shooting percentage under 40%, 13-2 when their opponents shoot between 40% and 50%. Also when they shoot 50% or better they’re 17-1. Therefore, the keys for the Bruins are to defend, rebound, convert shots and control tempo. They will want to the score to be in the neighborhood of the temperature in LA these days – in the 60s.Taurean Green may have something to say about the tempo of tonight’s game. The Gators average 78.4 points per game and have a balanced scoring attack with all five starters averaging in double figures. They also shoot the 3 reasonably well as a team at 39.4% and no doubt Lee Humphrey sent the UCLA coaching staff scrambling for red markers for their scouting report when he unleashed a few threes to start the second half single-handedly in effect striking the clock at midnight for the Cinderella –like George Mason Patriots.
Up front will be a battle of wills as Joakim Noah has been sensational in the NCAA tourney averaging 16.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game. Al Horford is averaging a double double in the tourney – 11.4 points and 10.6 rebounds. Want to double down on Noah or Horford? Oops! Corey Brewer is shooting 50% from behind the arc and we know Humphrey (45.8% for the season) can shoot it and don't forget Green is crafty from the perimeter as a shooter, penetrator and assist man!
The Bruins held LSU to 32% from the field and out rebounded the Tigers 42-33. Luc Richard Umbah a Moute is simply getting it done in the NCAA tourney, rising to the occasion averaging 11.8 points in addition to his team leading 8 rebounds per game. Senior Ryan Hollins is also embracing the spotlight going for 11.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest. The sophomore backcourt duo of Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar will be fun to watch tonight matching wits with Green and Humphrey. Both teams are deep in the frontcourt as the Bruins will send in Alfred Aboya and Lorenzo Matta and the Gators will counter with Chris Richard and Adrian Moss off the bench.
Head Coach Billy Donovan is attempting to become only the second active coach to win a national championship by 40. Bobby Knight won it at 35 and 40. It would be ironic if his youthful Gators starting four sophomores and one junior delivered it. In what could be a meaningless stat, Florida has not lost a game outside of the SEC all season. If the Gators can control tempo and score, perhaps they’ll be celebrating in Gainesville their first national championship!
Coach Ben Howland is after his first NCAA championship and is also trying to prove the age old adage – “defense wins championships.”
What are we going to do after the champagne has been uncorked and we're without college basketball until next November? Oh, thank goodness, we’ve got the NBA playoff run to look forward to!
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Scions of tennis great Yannick Noah and Miami star Tito Horford, along with Taurean Green son of Sidney Green, I’d take the Gators in a father son game but in the final four anything can happen!
1. Are they fearless?
2. Do the play with mental toughness or an edge?
3. Do they have the killer instinct? In other words, do they specifically have players that will refuse to be in the passenger seat and will take the steering wheel at crunch time?
]]> Watching LSU this year the answers are 1. Yes, 2. Yes and 3. Yes. Even though LSU is extremely young - made up predominantly of freshmen and sophomores and in contrast to young similarly talented teams like Kansas and North Carolina, Kansas and North Carolina do not warrant yes answers to the aforementioned questions.Also not lost on me or on the LSU players is that you can be sure that Duke may have passed on Tyrus Thomas, Darrel Mitchell, Tasmin Mitchell & "Big Baby" Glen Davis et al .
Tyrus Thomas embodies the mental toughness necessary to succeed in the tourney and says it best:
"My mindset is to take my opponent's heart and take his soul," Thomas added. "That's what I try to do night in and night out. Get the best of my opponent and make him quit before I do. I never quit." After blocking a shot by Duke freshman big man Josh McRoberts, Thomas stared down the former McDonald's All-American." When he stops making eye contact, I know I'm in him," Thomas said. "I don't do it in an arrogant way, but I just let him know that he was a McDonald's All-American and I wasn't. He goes to Duke. I didn't get recruited by them. He's known as one of the premier players in America. I'm not."
LSU was one of my final four picks along with “sleeper” Nevada which was never awake in the tourney, UConn who fell to an incredible George Mason team and UCLA, who also made it to Indianapolis in dramatic fashion. OK, I’m human but 2 for 4 – respectable especially compared to other analysts final four picks this year.
It is really anyone’s championship to win and congratulations to each team for making it to the final four! You’ve all passed my championship litmus test!!!