The 2010-11 Big West men's basketball prospectus, which highlights the upcoming season, as well as recapping the 2009-10 season, is now available.
CAL POLY MUSTANGS
• The Mustangs posted a 12-19 record to complete Joe Callero’s first season as head coach in 2009-10.
• Six of Cal Poly’s top seven scorers return from a year ago, including senior guard Shawn Lewis (11.8 ppg). He scored in double figures in 18 games. Lewis needs 174 points to reach the 1,000-point point mark for his career.
• Junior David Hanson emerged as one of the team’s top players over the latter half of last season. Hanson cracked the starting lineup for the final 13 games and finished the season with averages of 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds en route to all-conference honorable mention recognition. The 6-5 forward had a career-high 26 points in a win at UC Riverside.
• Sophomore Kyle Odister ranked third in the Big West in three-point field goal percentage (.455), connecting on 45 of 99 attempts. The Big West All-Freshman Team honoree is among a strong stable of Mustang guards.
• Five players who redshirted the 2009-10 season look to make an impact for this year’s squad. Sophomore Chris O’Brien, who started 20 games at San Francisco in 2008-09, is among the incoming crop.
CAL STATE FULLERTON TITANS
• The Titans return just one starter and four letterwinners from last year’s 16-15 squad. Primarily a guard-oriented team, six of the 11 roster players stand 6-4 or smaller.
• Offseason departures of starters Jacques Streeter (transfer) and Bryce Webster (turned professional) left voids at the point guard and center positions, respectively. Streeter was CSF’s second-leading scorer (11.8 ppg) while Webster blocked a team second-best 21 shots last season.
• Senior Jer’Vaughn Johnson is the lone returning starter. The 6-6 forward started all 31 games, averaging 11.3 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds to earn All-Big West Honorable Mention.
• Senior Devon Peltier made 76 three-pointers to rank third in the Big West and ranked fifth in three-point accuracy (.420). He averaged 10.1 points per game despite starting only two of 31 games played.
• Another expected contributor is junior forward Orane Chin. He averaged 7.4 points per game in 2009-10 after transferring from South Florida.
• Head coach Bob Burton has led the Titans to winning records in five of his seven seasons at the helm.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE MATADORS
• The Matadors finished 6-10 and in seventh place in the Big West in 2009-10 after winning the regular season championship in the two previous seasons.
• CSUN’s overall record of 11-21 was somewhat misleading considering eight of those losses came by five points or less. The Matadors lost four games by one point, including an excruciating 113-112 triple OT thriller to Cal State Fullerton.
• The only returning starter going into the 2010-11 campaign is senior Lenny Daniel. He had a school single-season record 44 blocked shots and led the Big West in that category (1.52 bpg). The 6-7 forward also was effective on the glass, ranking third in the Big West with 7.8 rebounds per game.
• The Matadors ranked last in the Big West in 2009-10 in made three-pointers (156 - 4.88 pg). Junior guard Vinnie McGhee accounted for one-third of those three-point makes. His 53 threes (1.66 pg) ranked ninth in the conference.
• Cal State Northridge benefits from the presence of six seniors and two juniors on the 13-man roster. Raymond Cody, a 6-5 guard, picked up 15 starts and produced 20 three-pointers while averaging 4.7 points per game.
LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS
• One of the preseason Big West favorites, Long Beach State returns 80 percent of its offense and 73 percent of its rebounding from last season’s 17-16 club that reached the conference tournament title game.
• Core contributors T.J. Robinson, Casper Ware and Larry Anderson have started 150 games between them in their first two seasons and are now veteran leaders.
• Robinson earned first team all-conference accolades after a monster sophomore campaign in which he posted 15.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He was the first Big West player since Michael Olowokandi of Pacific in 1997-98 to average double figures in boards. Robinson also tied for 13th in the nation with 17 double-doubles.
• Ware led the Big West in assists (4.82 apg) and steals (2.09) in 2009-10 en route to All-Big West Second Team honors. He was the first 49er to lead the league in assists in 37 years. Also, his 159 assist total was the fifth-most in LBSU single-season history.
• Anderson was the team’s third-leading scorer (11.8 ppg). He also finished third in the Big West in steals (1.88 spg) and sixth in assists (2.94 apg). He needs to improve his three-point accuracy after shooting just 22.6% (14-of-62) last season.
UC DAVIS AGGIES
• The Aggies finished in a three-way tie for third in the Big West at 8-8 last season. They also reached the semifinals of the Big West Tournament.
• Four starters return from last year’s 14-18 outfit, including All-Big West Second Team selection senior Joe Harden.
• Harden has racked up 908 points in two seasons as an Aggie. In 2009-10, he averaged 14.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Harden ranked 10th in scoring, fifth in boards and fourth in steals among all Big West players.
• Despite missing eight games last season due to injury, Mark Payne put up impressive numbers. The senior guard was sixth in the conference in scoring at 15.6 points per game. In addition, Payne ranked in the top three in the league in assists (3rd), steals (2nd), field goal percentage (2nd) and free throw percentage (3rd).
• UC Davis is strengthened by the return of backcourt mates Ryan Sypkens and Todd Lowenthal. Sypkens garnered all-conference honorable mention recognition after averaging 5.2 points per game and hitting 34 three-pointers in 21 starts. Lowenthal, one of the top rebounding guards in the Big West, averaged 4.5 caroms per game.
UC IRVINE ANTEATERS
• UC Irvine hired Russell Turner as new head coach on April 9, 2010. Turner spent the previous six seasons as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. He also served stints as an assistant at Stanford University and Wake Forest University. He replaces Pat Douglass, who won 197 games in 13 seasons at the helm.
• Turner inherits a club that finished 14-18 overall last season with 12 letterwinners returning. The centerpiece of the team is two-time All-Big West Second Team pick Eric Wise. The 6-5 forward has scored 955 points in two seasons. He was fourth in scoring (16.3 ppg) and eighth in rebounding (6.5 rpg) on the league circuit in 2009-10.
• Wise is also one of the conference’s best passing frontcourt players. He amassed a team-leading 97 assists and ranked fifth in the Big West (3.03 apg).
• Seniors Darren Moore and Patrick Rembert provide backcourt experience. Moore started all 32 games last year, ranking third on the squad in scoring (11.2 ppg) and tallying a team-high 33 steals. Moore also knocked down 43 three-pointers. Rembert started 15 games in 2009-10. A dependable ball handler, he dished out 81 assists against only 40 turnovers.
UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS
• The Highlanders enter the 2010-11 campaign with an almost completely revamped roster. Only two letterwinners return from last year’s 12-17 team. The rebuilt roster includes seven junior college transfers, two freshmen and two players who redshirted last season after transferring from Division I colleges.
• UC Riverside was dealt a blow when it learned in June that Kyle Austin decided to forego his senior season to pursue a professional career. The two-time first team All-Big West performer averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 2009-10. His scoring average was the highest ever in the Division I history of the program.
• Point guard Javon Borum missed the entire 2009-10 season to recover from an achilles injury. He started 29 games in 2008-09, ranking second on the team in scoring (9.7 ppg). The senior also was third in the Big West in steals (1.48 spg).
• Junior Kareem Nitoto played two seasons at Hawai’i before transferring to UC Riverside. The 6-1 guard could see extended minutes after starting 23 games and leading the Rainbow Warriors with 103 assists in 2008-09.
• UCR ranked second in the Big West last season in scoring defense (64.1 ppg).
UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS
• The Gauchos welcome back all five starters from a team that captured the Big West regular season and tournament championships in 2009-10.
• Head coach Bob Williams enters his 13th season in search of career win No. 200 at UCSB. He is 199-156 at the school, having led the Gauchos to winning records in eight of the last nine seasons.
• Guard Orlando Johnson led the Big West in scoring (18.0 ppg) and notched double-figure points in all 30 games. He was selected 2009-10 Big West Player of the Year. Other awards bestowed on Johnson included First Team All-District, First Team Mid-Major All-American and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American.
• Junior James Nunnally pairs with Johnson to form a lethal offensive combo for UCSB. The 6-5 swingman averaged 14.7 points per game, ninth-best in the league, and topped the squad in rebounding (5.6 rpg). He also hit 45.5% (46-of-101) to rank second in the Big West in three-point field goal accuracy.
• The only Gaucho to start all 30 games last season was point guard Will Brew. The junior paced the team with 40 steals and averaged 2.63 assists per game, ranking him ninth in the Big West.
PACIFIC TIGERS
• The Tigers have racked up 20 or more wins in six of the last seven seasons.
• Pacific went 23-12 overall and shared the Big West regular season championship with UC Santa Barbara at 12-4 in 2009-10. The Tigers return three starters and eight letterwinners from that team.
• Head coach Bob Thomason is in range of two career milestones as he carries a 387-275 record into 23rd year at Pacific. He is 13 wins shy of No. 400. Thomason also is 19 wins away from becoming the all-time winningest coach in Big West history. Former Long Beach State and UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian won 405 games.
• Senior Sam Willard is Pacific top returnee in scoring (11.7 ppg), rebounding (8.4 rpg), and steals (1.06 spg). He ranked second in the Big West in rebounds, and was one of the more accurate shooters from the field and foul line. Willard was fifth in free throw percentage (.786) and sixth in field goal percentage (.485).
• Pacific led the league in scoring defense (60.9 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.408) in 2009-10.
• Point guard Demetrece Young drained 71 three-pointers and his 2.03 threes made per game average ranked fifth in the Big West.
HONDA CENTER NEW HOME OF TOURNAMENT
Honda Center last November announced a five-year partnership with the Big West Conference to host its annual men’s and women’s post-season basketball tournament beginning in 2011. Each year the winner of the three-day single-elimination playoff receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Big West and Honda Center have teamed up for “March Madness” and “The Road To The Final Four” on numerous occasions including men’s basketball regionals in 1998, 2001 and 2003 and first and second round action in 2008. In addition, the Big West and Honda Center was selected as host of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball West Regional.
The Big West Tournament is the oldest NCAA Division I post-season basketball tournament in the west, dating back to 1976 when the conference was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.
All-session tickets for the 2011 Big West Tournament may be purchased at hondacenter.com. For more information, please call (714) 704-2500 or email bigwesttournament@hondacenter.com. Courtside (first 4 rows) all-session tickets cost $144 apiece. All other all-session tickets cost $64 apiece.
BiG WEST TOURNAMENT UNDERGOES FORMAT CHANGE
The move of the Big West Tournament to Honda Center facilitates a change to a more traditionally seeded tournament format the conference last utilized in 2003.
The new tournament format includes the following:
• The 2011 event in Honda Center will be held for three days from March 10-12.
• The top eight men’s and women’s teams in the final regular season standings will compete in a traditionally seeded format (#1 vs. #8, #4 vs. #5, #2 vs. #7, #3 vs. #6).
• The men’s tournament will be contested with four quarterfinal games on Thursday, March 10, two semifinal games on Friday, March 11 and the championship game on Saturday, March 12 at Honda Center.
• The women’s tournament will begin with four quarterfinal games on the campus sites of the top four seeded teams on Tuesday, March 8.
• The four winning women’s quarterfinal teams will advance to the semifinals at Honda Center on Friday, March 11. The championship game will be played on Saturday, March 12.