William Jessup here Monday night

We couldn't help it -- there just was no waiting any longer. William Jessup, or rather the basketball team representing WJ University, arrives in San Jose on Monday for a 7 p.m. Walt McPherson Court tussle with San Jose State. Their school sports nickname is the Warriors so let's hope they follow the direction of their professional brethren up in Oakland..

Now this may not mean a heck of a lot to SJSU partisans but these Warrior basketballers just might be carrying a longterm grudge. Here's why: straight from William Jessup Wikipedia entry comes this -- "The University was founded as San Jose Bible College in 1939, in San Jose by William Jessup, the school's first President. By 1951, with the school expanding and the San José State University across the street encroaching, San Jose Bible College moved to a parcel bordered by Coyote Creek, 12th Street and Highway 280. Spanish style classroom buildings and several dormitory buildings made up the small campus."
Encroachment? Well, there's worse things to be accused of committing. Heck, knowing how tales get wilder and wilder with time, the Spartans will probably be charged with running 'em out of town on a rail.

Then WJ moved up to it's present location up in Rocklin. There's no word if SJSU has plans for a satellite campus there nor if it possibly will be located anywhere near WJ's facilities.

Plus there is another factor to consider about Monday's matchup. That is, the William Jessup hoopsters aren't likely to be intimidated. Why, you ask? Well, the Warriors traveled recently and beat a team comprised of San Quentin prisoners -- yes, a ROAD game, let that sink in for a minute -- with the final score being 101-87.

So don't expect William Jessup to fold at the sight of the bigger and better Spartans.

In fact, the league's head coaches recently picked WJ to finish second in the California Pacific Conference this season

Additionally, the Warriors shouldn't have any first-game jitters bcause they have already played a couple of games.

The first was a 72-54 road loss to Northwest Christian University. 6-foot-6 sophomore forward Tevin Hurd led the Warriors with 14 points and 6 rebounds, both team highs. 6-foot-2 junior Kadeem Kirsten added 10 points.

The other was an 86-80 road loss to Concordia where Kirsten led WJ with 20 points while 6-foot senior Jason Washington added 16 points.

This weekend will provide two more opportunities for the Warriors to work out any kinks. There is a rematch with Northwest Christian followed by a contest against Oregon Tech. Both are home games for William Jessup.

As for a brief preview summary, the Warriors return one starter and 6 lettermen from last year's 16-14 club. Jason Washington is the Warrior's leading returning scorer at 12.1 points per game. Washington also led the Warriors with 3.6 assists and 2.5 steals a game. Guard Kadeem Kirsten, who was a part time starter last season. also returns after averaging 9.1 points per game.

Here the complete WJ roster:

Austin Nelson Guard 5-10 SO
Jeremy Devers Guard 5-10 SO
Jason Washington Guard 6-0 SR
Michael Sabosky Guard 6-3 FR
Matt Walker Guard 6-1 SO
Eleazar Jones Guard 6-1 JR
Sterling Shells Guard 6-1 FR
Anthony Parra Forward 6-2 FR
Bobby Cofrances Guard 6-4 FR
Kadeem Kirsten Guard 6-2 JR
Tevin Hurd Forward 6-6 SO
Jordan Wilson Forward 6-4 FR
Zach Bryant Forward 6-4 FR
Damal Neil Forward 6-5 JR
Lucas Domingue Forward 6-3 JR
Marques Rodriguez Forward 6-3 SO
Greg Giron Forward 6-5 FR
Paul Johnson Center 6-7 JR
Dalyn Stram Forward 6-3 FR
Tucker Horwath Forward 6-5 FR
Laurence Donelson Center 6-9 JR

What do we want to witness: The outcome isn't in doubt so we wish to view a search-and-destroy, take-no-prisoners intensity and attitude from the new-look Spartans -- no let-up despite the lead or the score. The SJSU bench is so much better, both in the frontcourt and backcourt, than last season and any dropoff once substitutions begin should be minimal.