Let's not be Vandel-ized Thursday night

Idaho is current sagging with a three-game losing streak, this after earlier winning five consecutive WAC games. So as Willy Shakes might have put it had he been a WAC hoops fan: to Vandal-ize or not to Vandal-ize, that is the question. Of course, SJSU faces the same query, to Spartan-ize or not to Spartan-ize.

Vandal Coach Don Verlin is a Stew Morrill protégé, coming over from USU after 15 years in March 2008 and he utilizes the same flip card system offensively that Utah State employs.

So which and what is Idaho this season? Indications are it's a team still feeling its way and developing an identity -- one that must play together as a team in order to perform well as none of Verlin's players will be earning all-WAC post-season honors.

This is not a team that has players who can create for themselves -- Deremy Geiger can to a degree but most of the outside talent needs screens in order to get clean looks.

In matchups with teams that San Jose State has also played, the Vandals beat host Eastern Washington 70-60, lost to host Seattle 66-56, won at Oregon 69-65 and also beat host Cal State Bakersfield 78-77.

Here's our game report Walt McPherson Court from January 8:

Spartans fall to Idaho 75-67 It was 'Famous Potatoes' times two this week for San Jose State but neither game left a pleasant aftertaste as Idaho also topped the Spartans tonight 75-67. SJSU led 35-27 after the initial 20 minutes, looking in a degree of command if not control, but the Vandals lived up to their forebearers namesake in the second half with a 48-32 rampage. The last eight minutes of the matchup was an Idaho scoring blitz. Adrian Oliver led with 25 points. Justin Graham passed for nine assists while Brylle Kamen topped the Spartans in rebounding with 11, his second straight double figures outing. He played 29 minutes, making his first appearance as a starter. Calvin Douglas contributed 12 on 5-7 shooting from the floor, 2-4 on trey attempts. Deremy Geiger led Don Verlin's squad with 17 points but four other Vandals finished in double figures: Luiz Toledo and Jeff Ledbetter with 13 apiece and Shawn Herson and Kyle Barone each totaling 11. Toledo led the board effort with nine rebounds. Idaho shot 50% for the game to SJSU's 37%. Each of the other statistical categories were either a wash or close to it.


The Vandal Starting Five

These are overall, not WAC, statistics.

* Deremy Geiger 5-11 (on a long day) -- 10.0 ppg., 112 of his 175 shots have been three-pointers, is shooting 34% overall, 35% on treys, has a 52/39 A-to-TO ratio

* Jeff Ledbetter 6-2 -- 11.0 ppg., shooting 47% overall, 46% from long distance, 125 of his 160 shots have been three-pointers, typically needs screens to shoot

* Shawn Henderson 6-3 -- 8.9 ppg., shooting 41% overall, 27% on treys, a very solid 5.1 rpg., 60 assists to 47 turnovers

* Luiz Toledo 6-8 -- 9.6 ppg., shooting 53%, 4.8 rpg., the one big body upfront who plays major minutes

* Kyle Barone 6-10 -- 11.1 ppg., 5.8 rpg., shooting 62% from the floor -- he's slim but long and needs to be kept out of any sort of shooting rhythm in the paint

Barone and Toledo may start upfront or Verlin may go with one or the other plus Brandon Wiley -- all dependent on his desire for certain matchups

Off The Bench

* Brandon Wiley 6-5 -- 7.0 ppg., shooting 50%, 5.3 rpg., team-leading 24blocked shots

* Landon Tatum 5-11 -- 5.2 ppg., shooting 44%, hasn't attempted a three-pointer, his 66-30 assist to turnover numbers is best on the team

* Stephen Madison 6-5 -- a freshman reserve, not shooting particularly well

6-8 junior college transfer Djim Bandoumel, who was the most athletic frontcourter on the squad, was declared academically ineligible a while back. Plus, two players have departed since the beginning of the school year -- forward Renado Parker and guard Gary Winston both departed for Portland State. -- leaving the Vandals a bit shorthanded, especially upfront.


* As a team, the Vandals are shooting 46% to 41% for opposing teams, 37% to 32% from long distance but with 97 less attempts. The rebounding differential is 34-32 per game in favor of Idaho. Verlin's team has 60 more turnovers than opponents and 38 less steals.


The Idaho WAC schedule to date

Dec 29 New Mexico State 69 - 74 (L)

Dec 31 Louisiana Tech 77 - 47 (W)

Jan 6 @ Hawaii 59-44 (W)

Jan 08 @ San Jose State 75 - 67 (W)

Jan 12 Nevada 72 - 67 (W)

Jan 17 @ Fresno State 67 - 57 (W)

Jan 22 Boise State 67 - 70 (L)

Defense was Idaho's calling card during its six-game winning streak, but on Saturday, the Vandal men's basketball team couldn't make the plays it needed to late and fell by a 70-67 score to Boise State at the Cowan Spectrum. Idaho slipped into a second-place tie with the Broncos after the loss, and saw their program-best, five-game WAC winning streak come to an end in front of a crowd of 5,017 - the third-largest in Cowan Spectrum history. "Those are tough ones to swallow, no matter who you play, Idaho head coach Don Verlin said. "You lose to your in-state rival at home, it hurts." The Vandals raced out to a 12-point first-half lead and held the Broncos to just 30 percent shooting overall and 15.4 percent from 3-point range, but Idaho couldn't make the same stops in the second period, where BSU hit 51.7 percent of its attempts and 44.4 percent of its 3-pointers. "We didn't lose this game offensively," Verlin said. "You look at the stat sheet and we shot 51 percent - we had 18 assists, 13 turnovers. We didn't get our job done defensively, and that's what we've been hanging our hat on."

Jan 27 @ Louisiana Tech 56 - 71 (L)

In its previous five-game road win streak, the Idaho men's basketball team made the hustle plays, rebounded well and played efficient offensively - but that wasn't the case on Thursday at Louisiana Tech. Idaho lost its second in a row after giving up 16 second-chance points and sending Louisiana Tech to the free throw line 24 times in a 71-56 loss at Thomas Assembly Center. "For whatever reason, we weren't mentally on our game like we should have been," Idaho head coach Don Verlin said after the game. "I thought we got completely dominated in the post, and when you do that, you're going to lose by 15 on the road, and that's what happened to tonight." The Vandals shot just 38.2 percent for the game, turned the ball over 15 times and shot a season-low 46.2 percent from the free-throw line. Senior guard Jeff Ledbetter went for a career-high-tying 20 points, mostly from a 6-of-10 effort from 3-point range, but no other Idaho player cracked double digits. Aside from Ledbetter's 7-of-12 shooting performance, Idaho went just 14-of-43 (.326) from the floor. The Vandals also tied a season low with just six made free throws on 13 attempts.

Jan 29 @ New Mexico State 65 - 73 (L)

The energy and intensity was there, but the University of Idaho men's basketball team couldn't protect the ball in a 73-65 loss at New Mexico State on Saturday at the Pan American Center. Idaho lost its third in a row and slipped to 12-9 overall and 5-4 in the Western Athletic Conference after turning the ball over a season-high 24 times, which led to 25 points for New Mexico State. "Tonight, we were ready to go, and we played extremely hard," Idaho head coach Don Verlin said. "We did a lot of really, really good things, we just didn't play smart. We got a little sloppy with the ball a few times and had a few defensive lapses." Both teams shot 49 percent from the field and both made six 3-pointers, but the real advantage came at the free throw line, where the Aggies went 19-of-27, while Idaho was just 9-of-11. Rebounds were also identical at 29 each. NMSU turned the ball over 19 times, but Idaho turned those opportunities into just 13 points. "Basically, they win this game at the free throw line, scoring 10 more points than us and that's the difference in the game," Verlin said.


The Vandal roster (alphabetized, by position)

Matt Borton G 6-5 180 Fr
Deremy Geiger G 5-11 170 Jr.
Shawn Henderson G 6-3 178 Sr.
Jeff Ledbetter G 6-2 195 Sr.
Shayne Sheridan G 6-0 170 Jr. (walk-on)
Landon Tatum G 5-11 196 Jr.

Brandon Wiley F 6-5 218 Sr.
Paul Jorg F 6-8 200 Fr. (walk-on)
Stephen Madison F 6-5 215 Fr.
Luiz Toledo F 6-8 225 Jr.

Kyle Barone C 6-10 220 So.
Joe Kammerer C 6-9 241 Fr. (redshirted last year)

The upcoming Rebounder seniors/juniors dinner

Dear Rebounders,

It's time for the second of our annual meet-the-team dinners with the juniors and seniors showing up this time on February 7th at the Bold Knight Bistro at 840 North First Street at 6:00 p.m.

Please note that this is a change from the previously scheduled date.

We'll meet upstairs for refreshments then adjourn to the cozy wine cellar when the student/athletes arrive.

The meal is $25.00 inclusive, which means including tax and tip, for Rebounders and $35.00 for non-members.

As always, we are asking for player sponsors. Players will be seated with their sponsors and sponsors will also receive a ticket for our ever popular raffle.

Be advised, credit cards will not be accepted and that cash is preferred.

This will be our last chance to see seniors Adrian Oliver and Justin Graham during the season.

Please RSVP to me at either 408 531-1063 or sjsubabe@cwnet.com by February 3rd. We look forward to seeing you there.

Gayle Kludt

San Jose State neuters the Dogs 78-66

In reference to the 78-66 San Jose State University victory over Fresno State tonight, it's not quite but let's still call it AO versus KO for literary purposes

That's Adrian Oliver versus Kevin Olekaibe.

AO put together a line of 25 points (five of seven on treys), 10 boards and eight assists. KO, just a freshman, netted 29 markers.

But Oliver had much more help tonight than Olekaibe. Example: nobody other than the latter was able to nail a trey for the Bulldogs. 6-foot-10 Greg Smith was negated in the paint for the most part (just 10 points) and wing Tim Steed just couldn't get started.

Will Carter came back from a disappearance against Utah State with a strong double-double consisting of 11 points and 12 boards. Calvin Douglas was dialed in, sinking 4-6 three-point attempts.(6-10 overall) and finishing with 18 points. Justin Graham added 16 points and seven assists.

SJSU jumped out to an early lead. It was 31-16 at the 7:07 mark. At that point, the Spartans were shooting 60%, 5-6 on trey attempts. In contrast, Fresno State was 1-8 from long distance.

In the second half, an Oliver trey made it 53-34 with 17:45 showing.

But a Tyler Johnson dribble-drive basket made it 59-49 with 13:20 on the clock.

However, a Graham three from the left side upped it to 68-54 and the Spartans maintained enough of a margin to keep matters comfortable.

On the night, SJSU shot 46%, going 10-18 on three-pointers. The Bulldogs tallied a 35% shooting number overall, a paltry 6-28 from long distance.

It was 46-32 at the half. Oliver had 18 points after the initial 20 minutes, with Graham contributing eight.

It's Fresno State here on Saturday night

Fresno State comes to town Saturday evening to battle San Jose State University. Steve Cleveland's squad is coming off a close 79-76 loss in Reno to Nevada and now burdened by a conference game losing streak numbering five.

Here is our game report from the December 29 matchup between Fresno and San Jose:

It was yet another grinder as both teams tossed jab after jab but with neither squad able to sustain a pullaway lead until late and that turned out to be Fresno State. The host Bulldogs topped SJSU 75-62.

With the score 61-56, freshman Kevin Olekaibe hit a floater to make it 63-56 in favor of the Dogs.

Then came a Tim Steed dunk.

Keith Shamburger and Jonathan Wills traded nailing one of two free throws and Steed then flushed his second one.

Subsequently a march to the foul line ensued until the buzzer.

Fresno State's Mr. (Greg) Smith didn't go to Washington but rather to the basket for 16 points. But it was his late second half steal and later a block with resulting passes to Tim Steed for the aforementioned dunks.

The Spartans couldn't get the needed stops in the last five minutes.

For SJSU, Adrian Oliver led with 15 points (6-19 shooting) as the Bulldogs defended he and Justin Graham extremely well. Shamburger totaled 13 points, Wil Carter 11 and Calvin Douglas 10.

Two important figures: the Bulldogs went 14-29 from the foul line and still won by 13, plus Steve Cleveland's squad won the battle of the boards 52-41.

Noteworthy was the effort of Chris Jones. Players want touches which usually means passes to them. In Jones' case, he gets his hand on more basketballs than Mr. Spalding.

At the half, it was Fresno State ahead 33-29.

At that point, the Bulldogs out-boarded San Jose State 26-18 and the Fresno State color announcer (we couldn't pick up the KSJS broadcast) labeled it the hardest working first half for the Bulldogs this season. Oliver totaled 11 points on 13 shot attempts and generated five assists in the initial 20 minutes with Carter scoring 10 points and grabbing nine boards.

Neither team shot well in the first half -- San Jose State at 36% but with 10 turnovers to 35% for the Bulldogs.


Tyler Smith, who may or may not play due to a concussion, is out of St. Francis High in Mountain View. Jerry Brown, who might accompany the team even though redshirting, played high school ball in San Francisco and his family resides in the East Bay. So both players should have family and friends in the stands on Saturday.

Fresno WAC Season-To-Date

12/29/10 vs San Jose State W, 75-62
01/03/11 vs Nevada W, 80-74
01/06/11 at Louisiana Tech W, 63-56
01/08/11 at New Mexico State L, 80-68
01/15/11 vs Utah State L, 52-39
01/17/11 vs Idaho L, 67-57
01/20/11 at Hawai'i L, 62-52
01/24/11 vs Seattle University W, 86-56
01/27/11 at Nevada L, 79-76

The Bulldog Starting Five (stats are for conference play)

* Greg Smith 6-foot-10 sophomore -- 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, shooting 60%, his maneuverability still hampered by inconsistent team outside-shooting (coming off 18 points and 12 boards versus Nevada)

* Nedeljko Golubovic 6-foot-8 senior -- 6.4 ppg. and 4.1 rpg. while shooting 31% and 19% respectively, is tops in steals with 14

* Tim Steed 6-foot-4 junior -- 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, shooting 53% overall and 69% from long distance, a real sparkplug of late (26 points and nine rebounds versus Nevada, 5-6 on three pointers)

* Kevin Olekaibe 6-foot-1 freshman -- 11.3 ppg., shooting 37% overall, 33% from long distance (shot 6-11 versus Nevada so we have him moving into the starting lineup)

* Steven Shepp 6-foot-2 junior -- he is only shooting 29% overall yet 42% on threes, averaging 3.5 ppg. but his assist-to-turnover ratio is 30/10 and he is easily the best ballhandler on the team, especially on any sort of break opportunity (six assists against one turnover at Nevada)

Key Reserves

* Garrett Johnson 6-foot-4 sophomore -- shooting 35% and 33% respectively and 9 ppg. (he started up in Nevada, shot poorly but has the size and strength to better take on Justin Graham or Adrian Oliver)

* Tyler Johnson 6-foot-2 freshman -- suffered a concussion last game so he may be out

* Bracken Funk 6-foot-8 freshman -- not shooting well but is averaging 3.4 rebounds a contest and provides a physical presence inside

* Jonathan Wills 6-foot-6 junior -- is shooting poorly, playing 10 minutes a game

* Bennie Rhodes 6-foot-6 junior -- we're unsure if he is still on the roster

As a team, the Bulldogs are at 39% shooting overall and 29% from three-point range while allowing 46% and 36% to opponents. Something to also keep in mind: Cleveland's squad has attempted 70 more treys than opposing teams. Fresno State was out-rebounded 38-25 in Reno.

On the plus side, Fresno State has a WAC play 64-36 edge in steals


The Fresno State roster (alphabetized, by position)

(Steve Cleveland can't call out the name Johnson during practice since he has three of them)

Garrett Johnson Guard 6-4 195 SO
Justin Johnson Forward 6-6 205 SO
Tyler Johnson Guard 6-2 170 FR
Kevin Olekaibe Guard 6-1 165 FR
Bennie Rhodes Guard 6-6 190 JR
Steven Shepp Guard 6-2 175 JR
Tim Steed Guard 6-4 215 JR
Jonathan Wills Guard 6-6 185 JR

Jerry Brown Forward 6-7 205 SO (redshirting)
Givon Crump Forward 6-7 210 RS SO (redshirting)
Bracken Funk Forward 6-7 240 FR
Nedeljko Golubovic Forward 6-8 240 SR

John Ryan Center 6-10 270 FR
Greg Smith Center 6-10 250 SO

Spartans fall 84-65

Even minus Justin Graham (Achilles strain during warmups) and Brylle Kamen (suspended indefinitely due to conduct detrimental to the team), the fight was present all game. But Utah State was just too much and triumphed 84-65.

The vaunted Utah State inside game surprisingly wasn't much of a factor tonight, especially Nate Bendall who went scoreless. Even Brockeith Pane and his dribble-drive prowess was rarely a factor. But 6-foot-0 (in the eyes of his mother) Brian Green, stocky frame and all, was en fuego and damn near perfect all night.

Early in the second half, Utah State pulled away 41-29 but San Jose State closed it to 41-33 and with 15:41 remaining, it was 45-35.

The Aggies went up 14 at 51-37 on a Green trey with 12:56 on the clock. Then 56-39. With the score 59-42, the Utah State bench had totaled 34 of the team's 58 points.

An Oliver and1 three-point play with 7:33 showing cut the deficit to 11 at 64-53.

At the five minute mark, two Green free throws made it 72-58. It was 76-60 with three minutes remaining and effectively over.

Adrian Oliver paced SJSU with 29 points (10-23 shooting). Keith Shamburger scored 13 and Calvin Douglas added 10.

Green was 5-5 from long distance, sank his initial eight shots and totaled 25 points (a career high). Pooh Williams had 15 and Brockeith Pane 14. Tai Wesley's contribution: nine points and six boards.

At the half, it was 37-27 in favor of the Aggies. It went back and forth with both teams taking leads until a late Aggie spurt boosted the margin to 10.

Utah State comes to town Thursday night

What's new with 18-2/7-0 Utah State besides 13 consecutive wins? Try an entrance into the latest ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches poll at #25.

The Aggies are headed to San Jose for a Thursday night matchup with the Spartans.

Regarding significant numbers, Stew Morrill's team currently leads the WAC with a +11.4 scoring margin and are shooting 49% in conference play while holding collective opponents to 40%. Utah State also is tops in rebounding differential at +11.1. If it is any consolation, USU is last in the conference at 4.3 steals a game and just plus -1.71 in turnover margin.

SJSU and Utah State met December 31 in Logan -- it was 80-71 Aggies -- here's our game report from back then:

"A tug of war? Can that actually be used to describe a basketball game?

We're running with it, plus that point Brockeith Pane with 21 points hurt the Spartans (as he has done to each WAC opponent) all evening via dribble-drive penetration in a Utah State 80-71 victory.

A strong second half by frontcourter Tai Wesley -- because he wasn't burdened by foul trouble -- also aided the Aggie victory. He finished with 16 points, eight boards and just one second half foul. Tyler Newbold just missed a double-double with 11/9.

An under-the-weather Adrian Oliver totaled 18 points. Justin Graham added 15 and Brylle Kamen 13.

Utah State went up 56-50 with 11:03 left. Then Pooh Williams got called for an elbow, subsequently used a variation of the King's English in conversing with the referee and was slapped with a T. Two Oliver free throws and a Graham bucket brought the difference back to two.

The Aggies eventually stretched the lead to seven -- 61 to 54 -- with 8:45 remaining, then 63-54 until Graham nailed a jumper. Stew Morrill's squad then advanced it to 11. It was cut to nine a couple of times but San Jose State couldn't get closer.

Utah State remained relatively foul free in the second half and forced the Spartans into double figure whistles.

Rebounding was even at the half but the Aggies broke out to earn a 14 carom lead in that category come game's end.

Wil Carter fouled out with 8:20 remaining in the game, limited all night by foul difficulties.

It was a most surreal first half, highlighted by 28 foul calls, 15 on USU. For the Aggies, Wesley (both offensive, one an intentional elbow), Morgan Grim, Matt Formisano and Nate Bendall each were whistled for two fouls, with Brady Jardine totaling three.

Oliver had 10 points after the initial 20 minutes (on just six shots), Brylle Kamen nine and Calvin Douglas seven.

Pane owned the first half with 15 points, five boards and a trio of assists.

Utah State rolled out to a 7-0 lead but SJSU came back to tie it at nine apiece on a pair of Oliver free throws. It went back and forth until the Aggies led 39-38 when the clock expired."
___________

As began our December 31 game preview, Utah State is Utah State, year-in and year-out -- Stew Morrill has his offensive system (screen, screen, screen and then screen) until an open shot is accessed or Tai Wesley can muscle inside. It's almost as if who issues the most bruises, wins. Defenders, wishing to escape another collision, start taking shortcuts but the Aggies pick up on this and take advantage when such an opportunity presents.

Defensively, the Aggies play just as physical and boast Pooh Williams, the returning WAC Defensive Player of the Year and Tyler Newbold who is another persistent defender.

It's a squad of talents who play to their strengths, understand their individual and team boundaries and minimize weaknesses.

The closest games this season have taken place when USU doesn't shoot well from outside. Lert's see what happens Thursday.

The WAC coaches selected Tai Wesley as the Pre-Season Player of the year, with Tyler Newbold and Pooh Williams as second-teamers -- almost exclusively for their defensive play. Stew Morrill's squad received eight votes as the top team -- New Mexico State received the other.

In their last game, situated in Logan, Utah State downed New Mexico State. From USU athletics:

A 17-0 first-half run propelled Utah State to a 59-49 win over New Mexico State in a battle of the Aggies Saturday night...

...Senior forward Tai Wesley was the lone USU player in double-digits with 18 points....

...All nine USU players got in the scoring column, as senior guards Brian Green and Pooh Williams tallied nine and eight points, respectively. Senior forward Nate Bendall pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds while junior forward Brady Jardine snared 10, guiding the home Aggies to a 45-30 rebounding advantage, including 15 on the offensive glass which led to a 16-6 second-chance points edge.

NMSU was led by Troy Gillenwater's game-best 20 points while Hernst Laroche added 11 points...


The USU Starting Five

* Nate Bendall 6-foot-9 -- 6.7 ppg., shooting 47% overall, 6.9 rpg., he's coming off a foot injury and now playing about 30 minutes a game

* Tai Wesley 6-foot-7 -- 16.3 ppg., shooting 60% overall, 7.1 rpg., only foul trouble limits his productivity

* Pooh Williams 6-foot-4 -- 7.8 ppg., shooting 40% overall and 40% from three, half of his shot attempts have been treys

* Tyler Newbold 6-foot-5 -- 6.7 ppg., 6.7 rpg., shooting 45% overall, 42% from long distance and these are improved numbers from an earlier,slump

* Brockeith Pane 6-foot-1 & 195-- 12.7 ppg., shooting 54%, 23% from three, is best at driving and penetrating and very hard to stop due to his strength

Off The Bench

* Brady Jardine -- 7.0 ppg., shooting 59% from the floor (and in the paint), 7.1 rpg. leads the team

* Brian Green 6-foot-1 -- 8.7 ppg., shooting 43% overall, 40% on treys, 33 of his 53 shooting attempts have been treys

* Morgan Grim 6-foot-8 -- more inside muscle with limited athletic prowess

* E.J. Farris 6-foot-2 -- He is a walk-on as the backup point and the son of former Spartan Ward Farris, he from back in the Bill Berry-era teams


WAC Schedule to date

In the two games that Utah State has lost this season (each on the road), Tai Wesley went 1-6 from the foul line in the 78-72 loss to BYU plus Nate Bendall didn't play. In the 68-51 loss to Georgetown, Wesley fouled out with 10+ minutes remaining and GT led just 33-29 at the half.

12/29/10 vs. Hawai'i W 74-66
12/31/10 vs. San Jose State W, 80-71
01/08/11 at Nevada W, 81-67
01/13/11 at Boise State W, 68-59
01/15/11 at Fresno State W, 52-39
01/20/11 vs. Louisiana Tech W, 74-57
01/22/11 vs. New Mexico State W, 59-49


The Aggie roster (alphabetized, by position)

Antonio Bumpus 6-3/185 Guard JR (redshirting)
Leon Cooper Jr. 6-1/170 Guard FR
E.J. Farris 6-2/185 Guard SO (walk-on)
Brian Green 6-1/200 Guard SR
Preston Medlin 6-4/175 Guard SO
Tyler Newbold 6-5/210 Guard SR
Brockeith Pane 6-1/195 Guard JR
Steve Thornton 6-5 200 Guard Fr (grayshirting)
James Walker 6-2/180 Guard FR

Pooh Williams 6-4/190 Guard/Forward SR

Nate Bendall 6-9/250 Forward SR
Brad Brown 6-6/190 Forward RS FR
Ben Clifford 6-7/220 Forward FR
Matt Formisano 6-8/240 Forward SR (walk-on)
Morgan Grim 6-8/230 Forward RS JR
Brady Jardine 6-7/220 Forward JR
Tai Wesley 6-7/240 Forward SR

Spartans fall to Hawaii 67-61

The Spartans wore blue and felt that way after giving Hawaii a run on the road before falling 67-61. Elvis was obviously not in the building. Otherwise, it would have been blue Hawaii.

With 11:25 remaining, the score was 47-42, with SJSU down by five.

Later, Justin Graham's jumper at the 6:33 mark cut the deficit to 53-52.

But UH then went on a mini-run, boosting the margin to 61-54 with 4:50 showing.

At that point, Adrian Oliver made one of two free throws but UH's Joston Thomas countered with a pair at the foul line. Hiram Thompson connected on 1 of 2 at the charity line to make it 64-55. An Oliver runner cut the lead to seven.

Bill "Famous" Amis then got free for a dunk and the contest was over minus additional trips to the foul line.

It was inconsistent free-throw shooting hindered SJSU.

Amis totaled 20 points and nine boards. Fellow frontcourter Joston Thomas put up a 14/14 double-double.

Justin Graham led the Spartans with 20 points. He also notched six rebounds and four assists with nary a turnover. Keith Shamburger totaled 12 points with Oliver and Wil Carter contributing 10 apiece. Matt Ballard led in rebounding, corralling 10 boards. SJSU shot 31% overall.

At the half, it was 31-24.

Adrian Oliver returned to the starting lineup tonight. He picked up a pair of somewhat early fouls, thereby missing some of his usual playing time early on. Rebounding totals were fairly even, it seemed like UH big Vander Joaquim was having a block-athon.and the teams went back and forth. Late in the initial 20 minutes, a 9-0 run pushed Hawaii to a 10-point lead until Graham's trey cut it to seven.

C.J. Webster to Australia

Just saw this:

Pioneers signing bigger than Texas
The Border Watch
January 19, 2011

The Mount Gambier Pioneers are taking a punt on American import “CJ” Webster for the 2011 South East Australian Basketball League season.

Webster is somewhat of a man mountain, standing 206cm (6’9”) and weighing 115kg, but will arrive at the Pioneers with strong credentials.

Born in Houston, Texas, the 24-year-old Webster has enjoyed basketball experience with Thurgood Marshall High in Missouri City, a brief stint at Arkansas Fort Smith, then with Texas State (San Marcos) in the National College of America Association and from 2007-10 with San Jose State in the NCAA...

Go here for the remainder.

* Mount Gambier is located in south Australia.

It's Hawaii in Honolulu on Saturday

So who or what is Hawaii basketball this season?

Is it the squad 9-3 in non-conference contests (albeit with but two road games) or the team currently 1-5 in the WAC? (albeit with but two home games).

The answer depends on your perspective, your bias, whatever you wish to label it.

Coming over from an assistant coach spot at USC, Gib Arnold has taken over the reigns and quickly undertook a dramatic roster makeover -- by necessity. Greater talent was needed and there were quite the number of openings to fill. But two newcomers, freshman guard Jordan Coleman and junior college transfer backcourter Anthony Salters, have since departed, leaving the Rainbow Warrior guard depth quite lean. This is also a young and relatively inexperienced Hawaii squad.

Arnold hired one assistant with strong ties to Brazilian basketball so it will be interesting to watch if that connection pays off. He also hired a former D-1 head coach from the Chicago area to beef up the UH recruiting reach in the Midwest.

+++++

A key stat

Do keep in mind that in the last four WAC games, UH is shooting very poorly from three-point range:

* 29% against Nevada
* 17% in the Boise State matchup
* 20% versus New Mexico State
*21% in the Louisiana Tech contest

Will the trend continue, or not?

Plus, in conference play, the Rainbow Warriors are shooting 41% while allowing 43% overall to opponents, 25% to 36% from long range.

Another key numbers ratio in WAC action to date: Arnold's team is scoring 59 points a game but giving up 71.


The Rainbow Warrior Starting Five (numbers are for WAC games)

* 6-foot-10 Vander Joaquim -- progressing as the season goes on, he is scoring and rebounding more at 7.6 points and 7.8 rebounds a game, he is shooting 50% and has six blocked shots in the same number of games

* 6-foot-9 Bill Amis -- he missed a long stretch of games with a broken foot, came back rusty but put up a 22/12 double-double last game versus Louisiana Tech, averaging 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds a game, can face the hoop and play with his back to it

* 6-foot-6 Zane Johnson -- primarily a long-distance shooter, his 15.2 ppg. is tops on the team, shooting 44% and 35% respectively, 40 of his 65 shooting attempts have been three-pointers

* 6-foot-3 Hiram Thompson -- he began the season performing spectacularly but a back injury and major minutes on the court have lessened his numbers, scoring 8.3 ppg., shooting 39% and 29% respectively, he scored10.9 ppg., shooting 45% and 33% respectively in non-conference play, has 16 assists and 16 turnovers in WAC action

* 6-foot-1 Bobby Miles -- The freshman Miles wasn't expected to be playing all that much, let alone be in a starting role, scoring 2.3 ppg., on 43% shooting, with 6 assists to 11 turnovers, posted a 45 assists to 41 turnovers ration in non-conference action

Off The Bench

* 6-foot-7 Joston Thomas -- he has been a starter most of the season and may start on Saturday depending on how Arnold wants to play it, he's strong, physical and athletic plus he loves to attempt dunks, averaging 7.5 ppg. versus 10.7 ppg. in non-league games, shooting 38%, grabbing 5.2 rebounds a WAC contest

* 6-foot-7 Trevor Wiseman -- the freshman very athletic, an energy-type guy whose numbers have reduced of late

* 7-foot-0 Doug Kurtz -- the back-up in the middle, he can score inside, shooting 42% in WAC play versus 55% in non-league action

* 6-foot-4 Bo Barnes -- Another freshman who was banging in treys in the early going but his proficiency has really slowed, shooting 4-21 overall in WAC minutes with 19 of those attempts coming from long distance

Hawaii's bench has not been all that helpful since WAC games began -- is this a trend or an anomaly?


Hawaii's WAC schedule to date

12/29/2010 @ Utah State L 66-74

12/31/2010 @ Nevada L 69-86

1/6/2011 Idaho L 44-59

1/8/2011 Boise State L 55-79

1/13/2011 @ New Mexico State L 64-82

1/15/2011 @ Louisiana Tech W 56-48

1/20/2011 Fresno State


The UH Roster

Bo Barnes G 6-4 190 Fr.Bobby Miles G 6-1 190 Fr.
Zane Johnson G 6-6 210 Jr.
Bobby MIles, G, 6-1 190 Fr.
Pi`i Minns G 6-4 180 So. (walk-on)
Jeremiah Ostrowski G 5-9 175 Jr. (walk-on)
Hiram Thompson G 6-3 175 Sr.

Bill Amis F 6-9 235 Sr.
Dominick Brumfield F 6-8 215 So.
Joston Thomas F 6-7 235 So.
Trevor Wiseman F 6-7 210 Fr.

Vander Joaquim C 6-10 245 So. (Angola)
Douglas Kurtz C 7-0 265 Sr. (Brazil)
Davis Rozitis C 7-0 230 So. (Latvia) (redshirting)

Spartans fall 78-53

It's a super secret program, appropriate for a state featuring Los Alamos and The Manhattan Project.

Regardless, SpartanHoops has stealthingly uncovered the fact that New Mexico State University engineers have developed an invisible lid for placement on the basketball hoop. The evidence? San Jose State went 0-12 from beyond the arc, shooting 23% in the first half against the Aggies tonight. Furthermore, witnesses have told us that a male in his forties, wearing sunglasses, Crocs, a fedora and a leather overcoat was seen furiously working what looked like a blackberry device whenever the Spartans attempted a shot. We are told a YouTube video will soon be available.

Strictly on the court, the final score was 78-53.

It was this kind of night: Aggie freshman backcourter Christian Kabongo, entering the game shooting 6-42 on treys overall, 1-7 in WAC play, made all three of his long distance attempts.

But SJSU did fight back, closing the margin to 12 midway through the second 20 minutes but a trio of Aggie treys boosted the lead back to 18 and that was that.

Leading 35-18 at the half, it was a case of New Mexico State unable to miss, San Jose State unable to make early on and the Aggies cantered to an early 20-point lead. But it was gradual elongation -- NMSU led 8-6 at the 15:58 mark, 17-9 with 13:33 showing but boosted it to 27-11 and then 33-13.

On the game, San Jose State shot 33% to 48% for New Mexico State. The Aggies went 11-27 on three-pointers to just 2-17 for the Spartans. In rebounding, NMSU won by 11, 42-31.

Troy Gillenwater led the Aggies with 18 points, plus six boards. Backcourter Gordo Castillo totaled 17 and Kabongo 13.

Wil Carter's 14 points and seven rebounds topped the Spartans. Justin Graham added 11.

Spartan leading scorer Adrian Oliver again missed the game with concussion-like symptoms. Coach George Nessman started Brylle Kamen, Carter, Calvin Douglas, Keith Shamburger and Graham.