Another Joseph Henson update

Pasadena High and 6-8 Spartan signee Joseph Henson won another game last night and the team now heads into the playoffs next week.

Pasadena avoids Muir's upset bid
Miguel A. Melendez
Pasadena Star News
2/12/2009

PASADENA - It didn't matter that the Muir High School boys basketball team wasn't in contention for a CIF-Southern Section playoff berth or that Pasadena had already clinched its fifth straight Pacific League title.

When the `Dogs were in the gym, the battle was on.

For at least one half, the Mustangs hung in there and gave it a good fight.

(Joseph Henson photo by Sarah Reingewirtz)

But almost as if on cue, the Bulldogs snapped back into rhythm to start the second half en route to a 63-51 victory in front of capacity crowd Wednesday night at Muir High in the Pacific League finale...

...Pasadena led by as many as 19 points. They were led by Joseph Henson (18 points), George Toyama (17) and Travis Flye (14).

The Bulldogs will know their opponent Sunday when the CIF-Southern Section releases the playoff pairings...

Go here for the full article.

San Jose State falls 80-68 to Nevada

It was a-l-m-o-s-t a tale of two halves but Dickens would have haltingly penned it something like this if he was covering the contest: "It was the worst of times, it was sort of the best of times...at moments..." as Nevada had it's way the initial 20 minutes and actually put the game away then owning a 42-23 halftime lead.

At the 11:57 mark, Nevada led 23-10. With 7:35 on the clock, San Jose State cut the deficit to 10 at 30-20. But with 3:20 remaining, it was back to 17 at 38-21.

In that opening period, the Wolf Pack's Joey Shaw -- entering the game 4-24 from three-point range in league play -- enjoyed a Shaw-shooting-redemption by nailing 4-5 from long distance. He had 16 points at the half and finished the game with 23 -- a career high. Nevada made two thirds of its shot attempts in the first 20 minutes.

A pair of treys from Robert Owens cut the deficit to 11 -- 46-35 -- at the 17 minute mark but Nevada refused to budge any further.

The Spartans weren't necessarily missing the huge offensive role Adrian Oliver usually plays -- he sat out the game with an ankle injury -- however it certainly was a factor. But it was more the defense again that did SJSU in the most as the Wolf Pack shot 33-53 -- 63% -- as a team.

For the game, Owens led the Spartans with 17 points, buoyed by 5-9 three-point shooting. C.J. Webster added 15 points.

Nevada managed a startling nine blocked shots and rebounding turned out to be about even -- 30 for the Pack and 28 for the Spartans, including 16 offensive boards.

An Anthony Dixon update

As a reminder, San Jose State signed high school recruits 6-8 Joseph Henson, 6-4 Anthony Dixon and 6-4 Aalim Moor in early November. Henson, Dixon and Moor -- doesn't that sound like a law firm?

In Anthony Dixon's most recent game, Hyde Park (HP) traveled to Harlan High and won 82-71. HP now has an eight-game winning streak.

Here's a brief game report: "The No. 8 Thunderbirds had a balanced attack as five players contributed at least 11 points. Hyde Park was led by Fabyon Harris, who had 19 points. San Jose State recruit Anthony Dixon had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Montell Jackson added 14 points and five steals."

Nevada comes to town Thursday night

Who can forget this from the game last season?

Just who and what is Nevada this season? Well according to some, the Pack is an underperforming group of players who have been sabotaged this season by Coach Mark Fox because, of course, he has some evil master plan.

Now back to reality: it's apparent there are those whose living experience is too barren and whose emotional state soars to the heights and sinks to the depths based solely upon Nevada's winning and losing respectively. This group also suffers from short-term memory loss, stuck in what-have-you-done-for-me-lately self-imposed quagmire minus any acknowledgment of the success Nevada has enjoyed this past decade. They recently went ballistic over this Fox quote in the Reno Gazette-Journal game report last Sunday, inundating the newspaper with negative comments:

After the game, Fox said it was part of the growth process for a team that has been starting two freshmen, two sophomores and a senior. "We just have a very young team and this is part of the process that they have to go through," Fox said. "They can't be rushed. We can't stick steroids and stuff it in our team and make it bigger, faster, stronger, older. That just doesn't happen."

We would love to be able to do this: survey these naysayers in order to determine who has actually contributed financially or in any other genuine manner to the Nevada basketball program. We think there is a correlation between the most outlandish critics and their lack of giving of anything. This despite an apparent devotion to Wolf Pack hoops.

But others -- actually the vast majority -- have been eminently reasonable, comprehending the reality of the situation this season in Reno and relishing the tremendous success the Wolf Pack has enjoyed and will again have soon in the future.

Nevada's WAC Schedule This Season

notice the closeness of just about every game

Jan 03 Idaho 73 - 78 (L)
Jan 08 @ New Mexico State 79 - 71 (W) OT
Jan 10 @ Louisiana Tech 67 - 64 (W)
Jan 15 Boise State 77 - 63 (W)
Jan 17 Fresno State 65 - 60 (W)
Jan 22 Hawai'i 74 - 63 (W)
Jan 29 @ Utah State 61 - 72 (L)
Jan 31 @ Idaho 69 - 65 (W)
Feb 05 Louisiana Tech 75 - 78 (L)
Feb 07 New Mexico State 60 - 62 (L)


The Nevada Starting Five

Dario Hunt 6-8, 230 freshman -- He's the team leader in shotblocks with 52 but is more an in-the-paint power forward than a true center and not much of an option offensively at this point.

Luke Babbitt 6-9, 225 freshman -- The heralded freshman leads the team in scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.6) and is shooting 46% from the floor plus 43% on his three-point attempts. He also is tops in three-pointers made on the team with 25. He will pose a problem ibecause he must be guarded when he is stationed in three-point territory as well as when he is in the paint. Open looks for him usually results in points on the scoreboard. Opposing teams need to make him work defensively.

Malik Cooke 6-6, 200 sophomore -- Call him a 'glue guy' with such a description being a salute. Cooke is second on the team in rebounding but first in offensive boards. In fact, his numbers in that category are almost identical -- 68 offensive boards, 78 defensive rebounds so blocking him out will be critical. He is best on the squad with 42 steals. His shooting is progressing but he's still more of a 'garbage guy' in putting points on the board.

Armon Johnson 6-3, 195 sophomore -- Selected by the conference coaches as the expected WAC Player of the Year, Johnson has endured an up-and-down season, possibly due to the adjustment of moving from more of a complementary role to being the #1 option on offense. Teams needed to focus on Marcelus Kemp last season as well as JaVale McGee, who had to be accounted for around the hoop. Johnson is scoring 14.9 ppg. this season but shooting 42% from the floor and 21% on trey attempts. Of late, he has been scoring better.

Lyndale Burleson 6-3, 190 senior -- His primary asset is as a defender -- an All WAC Defensive team member last season -- but his assist-to-turnover ratio is also a very solid 42-19 this go-around. But he's not a creator, more of a getting the ball to the right guy at the right place at the right time. He's shooting 31% from the floor and 27% fron long distance. What's startling though is his actually leading Nevada in three-pointers attempted with 69. That is way too many.

Off The Bench

Brandon Fields 6-4, 185, junior -- Currently at 36% from the floor and 18% from three-point range on the season, he is at 34% and 25% respectively in WAC play. His play has been a major disappointment.

Joey Shaw 6-6, 205, junior -- He transferred in from the junior college ranks after also spending a freshman season at Indiana and carried the rep of being a shooter/scorer. Shaw has enjoyed some good games but hasn't had the impact on the season as a whole that was expected. He is shooting 17% on his trey attempts in league action.

Everyone else on the roster is playing seven minutes a game or less.

As A Team

Nevada's team numbers look fairly solid. There are 30+ more steals and shotblocks than opponents and 30 less turnovers on the year. Within the WAC, most of the numbers tighten. Nevada is out-boarding conference foes by five a game but still dragging in shooting at 42% from the floor and 31% from long distance.

The Wolf Pack roster (alphabetical and by position)

Lyndale Burleson G 6-3 190 senior
Brandon Fields G 6-4 185 junior
London Giles G 6-3 180 freshman
Armon Johnson G 6-3 195 sophomore
Ray Kraemer G 6-4 200 junior

Luke Babbitt F 6-9 225 freshman
Adam Carp F 6-7 200 sophomore
Malik Cooke F 6-6 200 sophomore
Dario Hunt F 6-8 230 freshman
Ahyaro Phillips F 6-8 210 freshman
Richie Phillips F 6-7 220 junior
Joey Shaw F 6-6 205 junior

What Else

One big key is which Wolf Pack team will show up tonight? Will it be the Armon Johnson who shoots and scores well? Will Brandon Fields positively impact the game's outcome? Will Luke Babbitt go off?

More photos from Saturday's get-together

Here are more photos from Saturday's get-together to wish Danny Unruh well.

Bob Hosfeldt memorial service notice

Here is the memorial service notice for the recently departed Spartan great Bob Hosfeldt:

Robert Marshall Hosfeldt

Robert Marshall Hosfeldt passed away December the 15th 2008 in Santa Cruz. There will be a Celebration of Life Service for him on February the 20th, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. at Villa Ragusa in Campbell. The address is 35 South 2nd Street. tel. 408.364.1900

In lieu of flowers, the family would like to suggest that donations be made to one of the following. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Scotts Valley High School, The Brett Hosfeldt Memorial Scholarship at San Jose State University, or Santa Cruz Rotary.

All who knew and loved Bob are welcome to attend.

Spartans fall to Broncos 89-83

Boise State was more efficient down the homestretch and such was the critical factor in the Broncos 89-83 victory over San Jose State at Walt McPherson Court Saturday night. This despite a 37-point outburst by sophomore Adrian Oliver, a total earned during a night of faceguarding by his defender.

San Jose State took its first lead -- 46 to 45 -- on a Justin Graham rebound and lefthanded putback. A Chris Oakes rebound and putback made it 48-45.

But Oliver was fouled on a dribble-drive at the 15:10 mark, tweaked his ankle and his production slowed after that (10 of 14 shooting prior to the injury, 3 of 9 afterwards).

BSU gradually came back and enjoyed a five-to-six-point margin until two Oliver free throws with 42.7 seconds remaining made it 87-83. But San Jose State couldn't get any closer.

Boise led by one point -- 45 to 44 -- at the half, with Oliver totaling 23 in the initial 20 minutes. Graham notched five assists in the opening period. Shooting 6-14 from the foul line prevented the Spartans from owning a lead.

With less than five minutes gone in the game, Boise State had a 19-9 margin. At the 11:33 mark, it was 27-12 in favor of the Broncos. Then, San Jose State began chipping away. A Robert Owens trey made it 30-27 but BSU again extended the lead. At the 3:35 mark, Oliver nailed a three-pointer to make it 39-35. Graham nabbed a steal and fed Tim Pierce for a dunk just before the buzzer.

SJSU shot 51.7% for the game but Boise did even better with 57.1% overall shooting. The Broncos loved the long distance tonight, going 11-22 from three-point range (versus 38% on the season). But BSU's bigs also performed well inside, with Kurt Cunningham shooting 3-3, Zack Moritz 2-2, Mark Sanchez 3-6 and Ike Okoye 8-12. The Spartans won the battle of the boards 35-31.

NOTES: We have an inkling Adrian Oliver will be on Boise Coach Greg Graham's submission of All-WAC players. Speaking of Oliver, Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar -- his team in the Bay Area to take on Cal and Stanford this weekend -- was in the stands tonight to watch his former player.

Spartans face Boise State on Saturday

How does Boise State Coach Greg Graham do it? It being BSU currently in third place in the WAC with a 5-3 record and a chance to be in a tie for second after the weekend. Graham lost a ton of experience to graduation -- four starting seniors, each of whom averaged 30+ minutes a game -- and yet BSU prospers. His recruiting classes never make headlines and yet the Broncos basketball program does just fine.

Actually, up until last season, the pressure was mounting for Graham to get his basketball program to the level of Boise State football -- a strange expectation considering BSU is a mid-major featuring a gridiron program that has succeeded beyond the expectations of almost everyone. The question is begged: why should the Bronco basketball team face a similar presumption? Plus, Bronco football laid at bit of an egg in the Poinsettia Bowl in late December with a one-point loss to close but lower-ranked Texas Christian.

Anyway, a 107-102 triple overtime win in the WAC tournament finals against New Mexico State last season sent BSU into the Big Dance. This after toppling Utah State and Hawaii in earlier games in the tourney. The Broncos finished what was hoped to be a breakthrough year with a 25-8 record.

As for this season, these same two Spartan-Bronco teams met in Boise on January 8 and it proved to be the one conference game for SJSU that ended with a wide disparity in point totals. Here's our writeup:

Broncos stampede over Spartans

It was 46-28 at the end of 20 minutes as Boise State bolted from a 14-14 tie early on to race pass San Jose State. The Spartans missed a number of chippies inside and the result was a 28-6 points-in-the-paint differential favoring the Broncos at halftime.

The game began as an all-offense effort with both teams shooting well. SJSU opened 5-6 from the floor but then entered a dry 0-12 spell, hence the major deficit. The misses extended to 24 of 27.

San Jose made a mid-second half run to close the difference to six, 56-50, but eight unanswered Bronco points extended the lead back to 15, 64-50. BSU then extended it even further to put the contest on ice, finally winning 84-64.

Justin Graham played aggressively offensively but nobody else stepped forward. He finished with 12 points. Tim Pierce led San Jose State with 14, including 4-7 three-point shooting. Chris Oakes led the team in rebounding with eight.

What was remarkable was at the same time that Boise led 49-36, San Jose State had a 31-18 rebounding advantage and was 10-12 from the foul line.

Boise's record since WAC play began (15-6 overall, 5-3 in league play)

Jan 03 @ Hawai'i 70 - 58 (W)
Jan 08 San Jose State 84 - 64 (W)
Jan 10 Hawai'i 54 - 49 (W)
Jan 15 @ Nevada 63 - 77 (L)
Jan 17 @ Utah State 65 - 79 (L)
Jan 22 New Mexico State 87 - 84 (W)
Jan 24 Louisiana Tech 58 - 53 (W)
Jan 29 @ Idaho 59 - 63 (L)
Feb 01 @ Houston Baptist 85 - 64 (W)


The Bronco Starting Five

Kurt Cunningham 6-9, 235 (9.0 ppg., 4.9 rpg.) -- Big and strong, he's shooting 57% from the floor, plays 22 minutes a game, leads the team in personal fouls

Mark Sanchez 6-7, 235 (8.6 ppg., 6.6 rpg.) -- A sprained ankle has redcued his numbers but he is supposedly healthy now

Paul Noonan 6-7, 210 (9.0 ppg., 3.4 rpg.) -- Loves to shoot from outside but is also now taking shots close to the basket.

Aaron Garner 6-3, 175 (5.1 ppg.)

Anthony Thomas 6-0, 205 (10.4, 41 assists) -- The primary engine that makes Boise go, he hurt the Spartans from outside last game.

Top Reserves

Zack Moritz 6-10, 246

Ike Okoye 6-9, 230 (8.8 ppg., 5.8 rpg. plus team leading 18 blocks)

Sean Imadiyi 6-7, 200

La'Shard Anderson 6-0, 160 (6.9 ppg. and is the point off the bench)

Jamal Greene 6-0, 203 (6.0 ppg.)


As A Team

Boise State's collective numbers aren't eye-popping and are generally equal to those put up by their WAC opponents. What jumps out is the Broncos have taken 50 less foul shots than opposing teams. Turnovers are basically equal, with BSU down by just two in the totals.


The Boise State roster (alphabetical, by position)

Sean Imadiyi F 6-7 200 junior
Ike Okoye F 6-9 230 junior
Paul Noonan F 6-7 210 sophomore
Shawn Rouse F 6-6 187 sophomore
Mark Sanchez F 6-7 235 senior
Tyler Young F 6-8 200 freshman

La'Shard Anderson G 6-0 160 sophomore
Aaron Garner G 6-3 175 senior
Jamar Greene G 6-0 203 senior
Anthony Thomas G 6-0 205 junior

Kurt Cunningham C 6-9 235 junior
Zack Moritz C 6-10 246 sophomore


What Else

*** This is way too simplified but it seems the Boise State squad plays better as a collective than the sum of its parts should allow.

*** Also worth noting is a quote from point guard and team leader Anthony Thomas after the Broncos recently fell to now real rival Idaho: "It was horrible, I didn't want to be a part of the first team to lose to them. I heard that they guaranteed victory today, and they did that. They stormed the court, and it hurt. I will never feel like that again. You can quote it or do what you want - Anthony Thomas will never lose to the Idaho Vandals again as long as he plays here." Let's hope a tape recorder is functioning in the neighborhood of Anthony Thomas if Boise State falls to SJSU Saturday night.

Mark your calendar for Saturday

Danny Unruh, who has been associated with San Jose State athletics for 30 years and is a team manager for the men's basketball squad, will be undergoing cancer surgery soon.

SJSU has a 7 p.m. home game this Saturday against Boise State. The Rebounders and other Spartan fans will be getting together between 4:30 and 5 p.m. at Grande Pizzeria on 4th Street and San Carlos to show our appreciation to Danny for his longtime commitment to San Jose State.

The pizza will be hosted, you're on your own with the beverages and there is no need to RSVP. Just show up, wish Danny well and let him know how much his being part of the Spartan Family is appreciated.

New diary entry from Anthony Dixon

(Hyde Park's (Chicago) 6-4 Anthony Dixon is one of three high school players who signed with San Jose State in November. The others are 6-4 Aalim Moor of St. Mary's High in Berkeley and 6-8 Joseph Henson of Pasadena High)

Here is Anthony Dixon's latest diary entry.

I just wanted to give an update from the last time I did my diary. We are now about to enter playoffs and we have an 19-3 record. I have been doing very well, averaging around 19 points and 10 rebounds a game, but in the last few games I have scored over 25 points.

I have made all-conference and all-city, and am now waiting on all state.

My team has been playing well and we are very excited about the playoffs. We have just had our senior game and it was a very emotional one. It hurts me that all of us will be separating and going in different ways but it's all for the best of us. When we got out on the court, all my emotions left and I had 28 points and 8 rebounds. It was a great game.

Tomorrow we play Harlan High school for the first round of playoffs and we are excited.

I will keep everyone posted on the rest of the season during the playoffs.

Anthony Dixon

Go Spartans. God Bless