The Big West men's basketball summer preview offers up capsules on all nine conference teams as the 2011-12 season approaches.
CAL POLY
• Cal Poly returns four starters from the 2010-11 squad that finished 15-15 overall and 10-6 in conference play. The 10 conference victories and second place finish matched Cal Poly bests for a single-season, and the 15 wins was three better than the 2009-10 squad.
• The Mustangs concluded last season ranked third nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense (.287) and sixth in scoring defense (58.9 ppg).
• Senior David Hanson earned All-Big West Second Team honors after ranking eighth in the conference in scoring (15.2 ppg) and ninth in rebounding (6.1 rpg). He also finished second among conference players with 73 three-pointers. Hanson, a 6-5 forward, enters the 2011-12 season just 121 points shy of the 1,000-point career mark.
• Senior center Will Donahue gives the Mustangs a strong rebounding presence on the frontline. He grabbed 8.9 caroms per game to rank fourth in the Big West and had a total of 13 games with 10 or more rebounds.
• Maliik Love, the 2010-11 Big West Co-Freshman of the Year, combined with junior Chris O’Brien for 54 starts in the backcourt. O’Brien and Love dished out 52 and 48 assists, respectively. The two may be pushed for starters minutes this season by sophomore Kyle Odister. Odister was a member of the Big West All-Freshman Team in 2009-10 after averaging 7.8 points per game, but redshirted last season after suffering a season-ending injury in October.
CAL STATE FULLERTON
• Cal State Fullerton lost its top two scorers in Devon Peltier (14.5 ppg) and Jer’Vaughn Johnson (14.3) from an 11-20 team, but returns 59 percent of its total scoring from last season.
• The Titans welcome back three senior starters in Andre Hardy, Orane Chin and Perry Webster. Hardy claimed the Big West’s inaugural Newcomer of the Year award with averages of 10.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game after transferring from Oral Roberts. Chin, who has scored 608 points in two seasons as a Titan, posted 10.6 points per contest in 2010-11. Webster led the Big West in assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.7) with only 58 giveaways against 155 helpers.
• A total of five players on this year’s active CSF roster played ball at a previous Division I school. Expected to make significant contributions this season is a trio of transfers – Kwame Vaughn (San Francisco), Omondi Amoke (California) and D.J. Seeley (California). Vaughn might be the best of the bunch after he was the Dons’ No. 2 scorer in 2009-10 at 12.6 points per game. He scored 703 points in two seasons on The Hilltop. Omoke started 14 of 33 games in 2009-10 with the Bears, averaging 4.8 points and 4.6 rebounds. Seeley played in 51 games during his two seasons as a reserve at Cal.
• The Titans look for defensive improvements as an indicator of success in 2011-12. They struggled to protect the basket and keep opponents off the scoreboard, ranking eighth among Big West teams in scoring defense (75.0 ppg) and last in blocked shots (1.4) in 2010-11.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
• Cal State Northridge lost five of its top seven scorers from a year ago. The Matadors posted a 14-18 record utilizing a young roster that included seven freshmen. The 2011-12 edition is comprised of five freshmen, six sophomores and two seniors.
• The Matadors won eight of their last 12 league games in a furious finish, completing the league slate 9-7 and in third place after being picked eighth in the media preseason poll.
• Senior Vinnie McGhee is the only returning starter and player with more than one year of experience in the program. The 5-10 guard has hit 104 three-pointers in two seasons as a Matador. He ranked third on the team with 6.7 points per game and drained a team-high 51 threes.
• Sophomore Josh Greene enjoyed a productive initial season in the CSUN program, averaging 6.5 points in 17.2 minutes per game while appearing in all 32 contests. The 6-0 guard was third on the team with 30 three-pointers. Greene scored in double figures in five of the last nine games.
LONG BEACH STATE
• The defending Big West regular season champions are loaded, returning four starters and 81 percent of their scoring from a 22-12 squad which participated in the National Invitation Tournament. It is the final opportunity for seniors Casper Ware, T.J. Robinson, Larry Anderson and Eugene Phelps to lead Long Beach State to its first NCAA Tournament since the 2006-07 season.
• LBSU dominated the Big West circuit in 2010-11, winning the regular season crown by a whopping four games with a 14-2 league record. Eight of those wins were by double-digit margins.
• Ware, the Big West Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, also earned Associated Press honorable mention All-American recognition as a junior. He was No. 2 in the conference in scoring (17.2 ppg) and assists (4.4 apg) while ranking No. 4 in steals (1.6 spg). The 5-10 guard also improved tremendously on his perimeter shot, knocking down 75 three-pointers after making just 29 the previous year. Ware enters the season with 431 career assists, needing 76 more to join the Big West top 10 list. He is also the Big West’s No. 2 active career scorer with 1,250 points.
• Anderson earned first team all-conference accolades his freshman and junior seasons. He averaged a career-best 14.3 points per game, 14th in the Big West, and shot an impressive 52.0% (144 of 277) from the field. Named second team All-District 9 by the NABC, he ranked among the Big West leaders in 10 of 13 statistical categories. He ranks in the Big West’s top five active career leaders in points (1,114), rebounds (440), assists (270), steals (149) and blocked shots (40).
• Robinson begins his senior season No. 10 in the Big West record book with 861 career rebounds. After averaging 10.1 boards per game in back-to-back seasons, Robinson is well within range of eclipsing the league’s career rebounding record of 1,115 held by Cal State Fullerton’s Tony Neal (1981-85). The 6-8 forward is only 36 rebounds shy from becoming LBSU’s all-time leader. Robinson also stands No. 1 among active Big West players with 1,310 career points.
• LBSU plays another formidable non-conference schedule, challenging the likes of Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Louisville, Kansas and North Carolina on the road while drawing Xavier in the opening game of the Diamond Head Classic. The key difference in this year’s team compared to those in previous Dan Monson squads is depth. Ware, Anderson and Robinson all averaged 33 minutes per game in 2010-11. Newcomers Michael Caffey, Shaquille Hunter, James Ennis, Kris Gulley and redshirt Nick Shepherd hope to reduce some of the workload of the key 49er contributors.
UC DAVIS
• UC Davis begins the first year of the Jim Les era. Les was hired on May 6, 2011, replacing Gary Stewart, who went 10-20 overall and 4-12 in the Big West in his final season.
• Les became the Aggies’ 23rd head coach in the 100 year history of the program. He also will have the opportunity to coach his son, Tyler, who played in 25 games as a freshman and shot 50 percent (17-of-34) from three-point territory. Les previously was the head coach at Bradley for nine seasons, accumulating a 154-140 (.524) record from 2002-11. He posted four consecutive 20-win seasons at one point and led the Braves into the Sweet Sixteen of the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
• The Aggies lost their top two scorers to graduation and over 30 points of production per night in Mark Payne and Joe Harden. However, the team returns eight letterwinners to soften that impact and senior Eddie Miller averaged double-digits in scoring (12.5 ppg) after starting all 30 games as a junior.
• Big West Co-Freshman of the Year Josh Ritchart also gives the Aggies reason for optimism going into a new era. The 6-9 guard/forward ranked fifth on the team in scoring (7.9 ppg) and canned 47 three-pointers. Ritchart showed his scoring explosiveness early on in the season with 23 points off the bench against UCLA. He hit 5 of 6 threes versus the Bruins.
• Junior Ryan Sypkens and Ritchart were ranked No. 1 and 2 on the conference three-point field goal percentage list, respectively. Sypkens hit 42.0% (66-of-157) of his attempts from distance while Ritchart connected at a 40.9% (47-of-115) clip.
UC IRVINE
• UC Irvine concluded the 2010-11 campaign with a 13-19 record under first-year head coach Russell Turner. Turner brought an up-tempo offense that resulted in a Big West-leading 75.3 points per game and conference victories over regular season champion Long Beach State and tournament titlist UC Santa Barbara.
• A number of new faces inhabit the UCI roster for 2011-12, including seven freshmen. The Anteaters do not have a single senior and must deal with the loss of their top three scorers.
• Junior Mike Wilder is UCI’s top returning scorer (9.5 ppg) and rebounder (5.7 rpg). The 6-2 guard/forward was pressed into service at power forward for much of last season due to injuries along the frontline, and he responded by ranking No. 11 in the conference in rebounding. Wilder also doubled as the top perimeter threat for the Anteaters, sinking a team-best 53 treys.
• Junior Daman Starring joins Wilder as the two returning UCI starters. Starring, a 6-3 guard who transferred from Centenary College, started 30 of 32 games in 2010-11. He averaged 7.4 points per game and tied for second on the team with 30 steals.
UC RIVERSIDE
• UC Riverside brings back four starters and eight letterwinners from a 12-19 squad that reached the semifinals of the Big West Tournament last season. The Highlanders welcome six of their top seven scorers back.
• Senior Phil Martin led the Highlanders and ranked 15th in the Big West in scoring at 14.2 points per game. His .856 free throw percentage also ranked second among Big West players. Martin posted seven games of 20 points or more, including a career-high 29 points at SMU on November 20, 2010.
• Senior Kareem Nitoto made 25 starts in his first season after transferring from Hawai’i. The 6-1 guard contributed 9.8 points per game and placed fifth in the Big West in assists (3.6 apg).
• A pair of junior transfers could chip in for the Highlander fortunes in 2011-12. Robert Smith (Santa Clara) and Chris Harriel (Portland State) have Division I playing experience. Smith, a 5-11 guard, started 10 games for the Broncos last season, averaging 5.5 points per game. As a freshman in 2009-10, Smith started 30 of 33 contests and had averages of 12.1 points and 3.0 assists. He must sit out at least the first seven games for UCR. Harriel can step in immediately after sitting out last season. The 6-4 forward shot 35.7 percent from three-point range for the Vikings and played in 31 of 32 games during his last action in 2009-10.
• BJ Shearry, a 6-7 senior forward, ranked second in the Big West in blocked shots at 1.5 per game. He had 48 of the Highlanders’ 119 rejections last season.
UC SANTA BARBARA
• UC Santa Barbara won its second straight Big West Tournament title and reached the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. The Gauchos went 18-14 overall and tied for fourth in the Big West with an 8-8 mark. Four starters return, including the top three scorers and rebounders.
• Two-time All-Big West First Team selection Orlando Johnson spearheads UCSB’s quest for a third straight NCAA bid. Johnson, the Big West scoring champion in each of the last two seasons, poured in 21.1 points per game and led all conference players with 17 games of 20 points or more and six with 30 or more. The senior guard was ranked in nine of 13 Big West statistical categories, including fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.405), eighth in rebounding (6.2 rpg) and ninth in field goal percentage (.475). He has scored 1,214 points in just two seasons as a Gaucho.
• Johnson’s list of laurels is extensive. The 2009-10 Big West Player of the Year has been selected the Big West Tournament Most Valuable Player for two straight years. In addition, he was named first team NABC All-District 9 and a CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-American in 2010-11. However, he is experiencing his biggest honor of all this summer representing the United States on the World University Games team in China. Johnson was the USA flag bearer for the opening ceremonies.
• Senior James Nunnally forms with Johnson a lethal one-two punch. The 6-6 forward/guard has compiled 1,190 career points, fourth-most among active Big West players, and ranked No. 5 in the league in scoring at 16.3 points per game in 2010-11. Nunnally also leads all active players with 130 career three-pointers. He scored 23 points in a win at nationally ranked UNLV, which was UCSB’s first road win against a top 25 team in over 20 years.
• Vital to UCSB’s success is another senior leader in 6-9 forward Jaimé Serna. The Gauchos struggled while he was sidelined for six games mid-season with a strained groin. He peaked and so did the team in the 2011 Big West Tournament when he averaged 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 68.4% in UCSB’s three tournament victories. Serna owns a career mark of 54.2% (235-of-434) from the field.
• Senior Greg Somogyi is the second UCSB player to represent his country at the World University Games as the 7-3 center is playing for his native Hungary. Somogyi seeks a breakout year in his final Gaucho go-around. He led the Big West with 61 blocked shots in 2010-11 and enters this season with 136 career swats, most among active players.
• UCSB expects to start a new point guard in 2011-12 with transfer Nate Garth the leading candidate. As a sophomore at New Mexico in 2009-10, Garth averaged 4.1 points and 1.6 assists for a team ranked in the top 20 for most of the season.
PACIFIC
• Pacific features a completely revamped roster for the 2011-12 season. The Tigers lost all but 39 points of their entire offensive output from last season. They dipped heavily into the junior college ranks during the recruiting periods and starting spots are up for grabs.
• Pacific’s Bob Thomason finished the 2010-11 season with a career record of 403-290. The 403 victories puts him second all-time among Big West head coaches, leaving him just three short of record holder Jerry Tarkanian’s 405. The Tigers posted a 16-15 record in 2010-11 to secure a winning season for the seventh time in the last eight years. Thomason already is the Big West record holder for most conference victories (229) and tournament games coached (27).
• Sophomore guard Andrew Bock is acclimated to Thomason’s system, having practiced with the program last season as a redshirt after transferring from Creighton. He played in 21 games as a freshman in 2009-10 and averaged 2.1 points per game.
• The Tigers drew upon talent from near and afar. In addition to eight players from California, the roster also features players from Maryland, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Pacific also has an international flair with representatives from Australia, Brazil and Trinidad.