The latest installment of our #BWCWarmUp series features UC Irvine basketball. We caught up with Russell Turner and Doug Oliver to get an overview of the 2014-15 season.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN 2014-15
Dealing With Expectations: Head coach Russell Turner minces no words as he addresses the goals of the 2014-15 UC Irvine Anteaters. Having achieved 44 victories and a Big West regular season championship over the past two seasons, the one lingering void on Turner’s résumé is a trip to the NCAA Tournament. In actuality, the program is seeking its first NCAA appearance since joining the PCAA/Big West for the 1977-78 season. With four returning starters and a host of other contributors back in the fold, there is pressure on UCI to make that elusive Big Dance. But it’s a pressure that Turner says his team willingly embraces.
Mamadou’s Encore: What more can you ask of a 7-6 center that broke the Big West single-season blocked shots record as a freshman? Much more. Mamadou Ndiaye, who was named the conference’s Best Defensive Player last season with 106 blocked shots, is someone who Turner believes “has the potential to be one of the best defensive players in the country this year.” To accomplish that, Turner emphasized that Ndiaye will need to be better at staying out of foul trouble. Turner also stressed that the Anteaters will be more aggressive in getting the Dakar, Senegal native more looks on offense.
The British Backcourt: UCI is home to one of the league’s best backcourts in sophomore Luke Nelson and junior Alex Young. The duo gained additional experience together as teammates on the Great Britain Under-20 team that played in the European U20 Championship over the summer. Nelson, from Worthing, England, led the Anteaters in scoring at 11.8 points per game in 2013-14 en route to Big West Freshman of the Year honors. Young (Phoenix, Ore.), who ranks No. 7 in UCI history with 305 career assists, has dual citizenship as his mother, Louise, is from England. The fulfillment of the team’s overall goals will depend heavily on the continued improvement of these two guards.
Setting The Tone: Defense fueled much of the success of UCI’s 23-12 campaign. The ‘Eaters ranked third nationally in field goal percentage defense at .374, fourth in total blocked shots with a school-record 224 and fifth in blocked shots per game at 6.4. UCI was 16-0 when limiting its opponents to less than 60 points. While Ndiaye grabbed a lot of the headlines for his shot blocking prowess, the ‘Eaters have another solid interior defender in senior forward Will Davis II. Unsung for his contributions, Davis II led UCI in rebounding for the second year in a row at 6.4 boards per game. He’s also UCI’s career blocked shots leader with 174, and most definitely another important piece to the team’s fortunes this year.
Measuring Up: Turner and his staff have drawn up a formidable nonconference schedule that should prepare the Anteaters for the rigors of Big West play. But the continued evolution of the program not only depends on competing well, but winning some of those out-of-conference games. It won’t be easy, as a sampling of UCI road games reveals Arizona, Saint Mary’s, Fresno State, Oregon and New Mexico State as early season opponents.
QUOTABLES – HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
(On the program’s next step): “The next step is real clear for everybody associated with our program. We need to make the NCAA Tournament.”
(On level of play in March): “I think we’ve played well in March since I’ve been at Irvine. We lost in the conference championship two years ago, and then last year Cal Poly beat us. And they played a really good game to beat us. Sports, is about performance. We’ve got to do it. And we haven’t done it. But I think we can.”
(On the pressure to go to the NCAA’s): “Well pressure is good in sports. If you don’t embrace that as a competitor, then you’re doing the wrong thing.”
(On Mamadou Ndiaye): “I think he has the potential to be one of the best defensive players in the country this year. He’s incredibly improved because his experience is growing at a great rate for him.”
(On Luke Nelson): “He’s a really good lockdown defender. He’s going to have an outstanding year, and he’s one of the top players in the conference.”
BY THE NUMBERS
37.4 – The team’s field goal percentage defense in 2013-14, third-best in the nation.
16-0 – Undefeated record when UCI held an opponent to less than 60 points last year
44 – Victories the UC Irvine program has accumulated over the past two seasons.
56 – Points that senior Will Davis II needs to score to become the 24th player in UCI history to reach 1,000.
106 – Big West single-season blocked shots record total for freshman Mamadou Ndiaye last season.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN 2014-15
Name Tags For Everyone: UC Irvine returns just one starter and six letterwinners from last year’s club, led by seniors Methlyn Onogomuho and Madison McKenney. Of the 2,321 points that the Anteaters scored last season, 1,866 (80%) came from the graduated seniors. UCI does regain the services of a pair of players, Mokun Fajemisin and Brittany Glassow who were lost for the season early in the 2013-14 campaign as well as a recruiting haul that includes four freshmen and several transfers.
Swiss Army Methlyn: One of the true x-factors in the league is Onogomuho, a do-it-all forward who will be counted on for increased production this season. She averaged 7.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 27.5 minutes last season. Onogomuho had five games of double digit rebounds, 15 games of two or more steals and seven games of double figure scoring.
Let It Fly: UC Irvine’s shooting range is pretty much when it enters the building, ranking second in the league in field goals made per game (25.2) and attempts per game (66.5) last season. The Anteaters were also fifth in the Big West in threes made per game (6.2) and attempted (19.4). Despite the up-tempo style, UCI also led the league in free throws made per game (16.0), attempts (22.4) and converted at a 71.6% clip which was fourth in the league.
Littles to Bigs: A year after playing mainly a guard-oriented lineup, head coach Doug Oliver has six players listed at 6-0 or taller, with two more listed at 5-11. The diminutive lineup didn’t hurt rebounding a year ago as the Anteaters were second in the league with 41.5 rebounds per game and were nearly even (-0.4) in rebounding margin.
Fundamentals Are Fun (And Help Win): UC Irvine aided its 17-win campaign by taking care of the ball and not giving up free points. The ‘Eaters led the conference with a +3.41 turnover margin and committed the third-fewest turnovers per game at 13.7. UCI also committed the second-fewest fouls per game in the Big West (16.4) and allowed clubs to go to the free throw line just 16.4 times per game.
QUOTABLES – HEAD COACH DOUG OLIVER
(On the transition from a veteran lineup to a younger team): “We have to have a patience that we didn’t need to have last year with a veteran group. Patience is necessary with this group but with that said, we have some good basketball talent so I’m encouraged by that.”
(On Methlyn Onogomuho and Madison McKenney): “They’ve been leaders out there because they know what’s expected. They’ve been able to lead by example and I’ve been happy with them taking over that responsibility. Methlyn has been a starter and played a lot of quality minutes since her freshman year. Maddy is a very capable shooting guard and even though she’s undersized has an ability to score the ball. I feel good that both have experience and have a taste of winning ball games last year.”
(On the playing style for the club this season): “We’re going to continue on with the style we play. We try to play fast but sometimes opponents dictate how fast you can play. We decided that this is going to be our identity and we’re going to recruit to that. I think the kids like to play like that. They’re free to shoot but can only shoot shots they’ve demonstrated they can make in practice.”
(On the non-conference schedule): “I think it’s a fair schedule with some travel in there. There are some good basketball teams and some postseason teams. I tried to pick different styles of basketball that will ‘expose’ us, if you want to call it that. We’re going to get a cross section of styles of play and I’ll get to shuffle the kids out there under fire and see what they can do.”
(On his coaching style): “I’m old now. I don’t move around like I used to but I can still bark and get people’s attention. That just comes with experience.”
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10 – The number of non-conference road games UC Irvine has this season.
31 –Three pointers hit by McKenney last season.
396 – The combined scoring total of McKenney and Onogomuho of the 455 points the team returns from 2013-14.
72.5 – The Anteaters school-record setting points per game average last season, topping the previous mark of 70.1 set in 1983-84.
2003 – The last year that UC Irvine made the Big West Tournament semifinals prior to the 2014 tourney.