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

San Jose State v UC Riverside in BracketBusters

UC Riverside will be coming to Walt McPherson Court Saturday, February 21 to play San Jose State as part of the BracketBuster event. The AD at Riverside is none other than Stan Morrison, a former Spartan men's basketball coach.

2009 ESPNU BracketBusters Field Announced
Courtesy: WAC
2/02/2009

Pairings for the seventh annual ESPNU BracketBusters – a multi-day men’s basketball event matching NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other on Friday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 21 -- were announced today. There are three WAC teams that will have televised games, including Nevada hosting Virginia Commonwealth on Friday, Feb. 20. On Saturday, Feb. 21, No. 22 Utah State will travel to Saint Mary’s, while Boise State will travel to Portland State.

The field features two ranked, one-loss teams, #11 Butler and #22 Utah State, and the return of last season’s BracketBusters participant Davidson, which made it to the Elite Eight in the 2007-08 NCAA Tournament.

Game times and network assignments for the matchups will be announced Monday, Feb. 9. ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will televise six BracketBusters games, while ESPN360.com, ESPN’s customized broadband service, will offer one. ESPN2 will televise five contests and ESPN will have one game. ESPN360.com will also simulcast the ESPN and ESPN2 telecasts. ESPNU BracketBusters will feature 13 nationally televised games selected from a pool of 102 teams. The matchups are highlighted by #11 Butler against Davidson, both undefeated in conference play, and #22 Utah State against Saint Mary’s, a 2008 NCAA Tournament participant that has been among the nation’s top 25 teams this season as recently as last week.

2009 ESPNU BracketBusters Pairings

Friday, Feb. 20

Virginia Commonwealth at Nevada
Illinois State at Niagara

Saturday, Feb. 21

George Mason at Creighton
#11 Butler at Davidson
Miami (OH) at Evansville
Hofstra at Fairfield
Green Bay at Long Beach State
Liberty at Old Dominion
Boise State at Portland State
#22 Utah State at Saint Mary's
Northern Iowa at Siena
Buffalo at Vermont
Northeastern at Wright State

The ESPNU BracketBusters concept, named because of the success of teams from these conferences in NCAA Tournament play through the years, provides participating programs with an opportunity to play top non-conference opponents about three weeks before Selection Sunday. Each conference selected its participating teams before the season, and the matchups for the event were determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences.

The other six teams of the WAC that were not selected to compete in a BracketBusters television game will play non-conference opponents on Saturday, Feb. 21. Those matchups are as follows:

UC Irvine at Hawai‘i
Cal State Northridge at Idaho
UC Riverside at San Jose State
Cal State Fullerton at New Mexico State
Fresno State at UC Davis
Louisiana Tech at Murray State

More Moor

The top photo is Aalim Moor hitting a three-pointer versus Monte Vista @ The MLK Classic held at Cal Berkeley. Notice the excellent form on his release and how the body is squared up to the basket. St. Mary’s got some payback winning the game 61 to 42.

The second photo is a copy of the St. Mary's High honor roll certificate Aalim Moor referred to in his third and most recent diary.

Aalim Moor Diary #3

(6-3 Aalim Moor, gets a monster slam dunk over Salesian High players during the first half of the annual “Rock Game” @ St. Mary’s College in Moraga. Unfortunately, Salesian got the win 57 to 45 and the Rock)

I feel I'm moving in the right direction and have been playing pretty well but I have to rebound the ball better and get after it every play on defense.

Right now, my personal aim and goal is to stay focused, take care of the ball, work harder, and be ready for every situation I may have to deal with on the floor.

The team has been winning and playing pretty well, but not up to our standards. Our energy level has been a little low at times, and that’s unacceptable. We got some payback from an earlier loss against Monte Vista as we beat them 61 to 42 at the MLK Classic. But we laid an egg and flopped against Salesian. We totally took them too lightly and didn’t have the right mental approach to the game. They beat us, and I give them credit. It was what it was. We will see them again and it’s going to be what it’s going to be! I like our chances and I know for a fact we will be mentally and physically ready...Believe that!

But we have been getting it done since then, beating teams by an average of about 25 points a game. We are 20-3 and gearing up for the playoff run, trying to finish league strong three more games to go.

I just found out I was one of the nominees for the McDonalds All-American Game 2009 from another future Spartan, Anthony Dixon, who was also a nominee!

As far as the classroom, that is going well also. I made the Honor Roll and I'm really enjoying my senior year so far.

I'll write again after the BSAL playoffs.

Go Panthers...Go Spartans!

Aalim III

Here's the list of nominated California prep basketballers:

2009 McDonald's All American Games Boys Nominees

Felix Mapanda Patterson High School
Michael Mayes Long Beach Polytechnic High School
Bobby McCall Newark Memorial High School
Jacob McLemore Scripps Ranch High School
DeAndre Medlock Clovis West High School
Jules Montgomery Chaminade College Preparatory
Aalim Moor St. Mary's College High School
Darius Morris Windward School
Reeves Nelson Modesto Christian High School
Roberto Nelson Santa Barbara High School
Eric Obeysekere Miramonte High School
Dominique O'Connor Westchester High School
Kyle Odister Rio Americano High School
Deend Parker Abraham Lincoln High School
Demetrius Perkins James Monroe High School
Damon Powell McClymonds High School
Ken Rancifer El Cerrito High School
Kyle Richardson Mayfair High School
Zack Robbins Upland High School
D'Angelo Scott Lynwood High School
DeRonn Scott Etiwanda High School
Davon Shelton East Bakersfield High School
Renardo Sidney Fairfax High School
Brandon Smith De La Salle High School
Evan Smith Calabasas High School
Michael Snaer Rancho Verde High School
Anthony Stover Windward School
Ryan Sypkens Franklin High School
Chase Tapley Sacramento High School
Xavier Thames Pleasant Grove High School
Brandan Walton King Drew Medical Magnet High School
David Wear Mater Dei High

Spartan fans in the stands

San Jose State had its own set of fans in the stands Saturday afternoon in Ruston. The collective consisted of C.J. Webster's relatives -- mom, dad, grandmother, grandfather and other kin cheering on Texas' favorite son -- Missouri City specifically -- and San Jose State.

Word has it that mom and grandma provided up a feast -- a big batch of 'down home' cooked food -- for the players, coaches and staff to enjoy after the game.

Imagine what would take place if SJSU scheduled a game against Houston.

So Truthiness has been resurrected

We always find it curious when there is a Truth posting on the 'net. Apparently his latest deems the men's basketball team as gutless and the Spartan head coach as a idiot.

Of course, the namecaller resorts to anonymity because it's just waaaay too difficult to pick up a phone or drive to the SJSU campus to discuss whatever perceptions he possesses. It's well understood that phoning or driving to a destination to talk face-to-face are insurmountable barriers for most -- or at least to those needing to hide who they really are.

Isn't it time, no, make it past time, for this pathetic charade, this I'll-resort-to-anything to drum up interest, to cease operations? It's certainly so for those whose basis is reality.

In defense, the (im)poster also praises Adrian Oliver while simultaneously forgetting this is the same Adrian Oliver said (im)poster previously ripped -- guess it must be more difficult to keep track of one's lies than we think.

We also find it extremely curious that a certain post appeared one night and then was erased the next morning at a certain message board a while back. It, shall we say, was 'along the lines' of:

The Truth...

I have been watching what the truth has been posting on this board, and in retrospect, watching the articles written by the Rebounders.

There are some odd "similarities" between these two seperate ramblings, and also some other interesting discrepancies.

Thus, the Truth will no longer be posting here in the better interests of the fans who post here, and this SJSU fan site.

G-Day....

Huh?

Pitiful.