2018-19 #WCChoops Schedule | What We Learned 1/14/19  |  Crumpacker 2018-19 Archives

By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist

As with all college athletic conferences across the country, the West Coast Conference celebrates its best with such distinctions as All-WCC, All-Academic, Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, among other honors.

In the case of the WCC’s most recognized sport, men’s basketball, the best players are well-known and lauded for their achievements, and their names become familiar in a crowded sports landscape.

Those who follow the sport are well aware of such players as Yoeli Childs and T.J. Haws of BYU, Isaiah Pineiro of San Diego, Jordan Ford of Saint Mary’s, Frankie Ferrari of San Francisco, Colbey Ross of Pepperdine and James Batemon of Loyola Marymount. That doesn’t even include No. 5 Gonzaga, whose frequent appearances on national TV lend a sense of familiarity with its significant contributors: Rui Hachimura, Brandon Clarke, Josh Perkins, Zach Norvell Jr. and Killian Tillie. And you, too, Corey Kispert.

Then there are those players who fly just under the radar, vitally important for their teams but existing in a realm somewhere between obscurity and instant name recognition. While the star players get the headlines, the under-the-radar fellows do the dirty work that gets the job done and often means the difference between winning and losing.

These players include the likes of Anthony Townes of Pacific, a senior forward and four-year player for the Tigers who contributes 5.7 rebounds a game and shoots well when he has the ball; Marcus Shaver Jr. of Portland, who scored a career-high 25 points in a loss to Pacific; Josip Vrankic of Santa Clara, a dependable forward who averages 13.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in workmanlike fashion.

We’re just getting started here.

Continuing, there’s Pacific’s Lafayette Dorsey (more on him on Friday in this space) who scores 12.4 points per game and nails 90 percent of his free throws; Matt McCarthy of USF, who answers the call every game as a post player averaging a complementary 10.2 points; Malik Fitts of Saint Mary’s, a first-year starter energizing the Gaels with 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

The list continues.

When senior K.J. Feagin was lost for the season with injury, Tahj Eaddy stepped in and stepped up and is leading the Broncos with 16.6 points and 3.7 assists per game; Pepperdine freshman Kessler Edwards (the only Kessler in the WCC) joins with older brother Kameron to lend more height, depth and punch for the Waves; Joe Quintana of LMU, a greatly improved player averaging 1.5 steals; and Portland’s Theo Akwuba with his 1.6 blocks per game.

Most certainly we’re leaving out other u-t-r players such as Darnell Dunn of Pepperdine, Keshawn Justice of Santa Clara, Yauhen Massalski of San Diego and Tommy (Bob) Kuhse of Saint Mary’s.

These under-recognized players contribute greatly to their teams and constitute the WCC’s All-Under-the-Radar team.
 
What We Think 

1. In a conference in which the top half of the standings figures to be a season-long scrap, Santa Clara at Saint Mary’s on Thursday night in Moraga might be the best game of the week in the WCC. We’re talking historic Bay Area rivals, one attempting to rebound from an 11-20 season (Santa Clara) and the other trying to stack up victories after a disappointing non-conference (Saint Mary’s). The Gaels are 11-7 overall and 2-1 in conference while the Broncos are 10-8 and 2-2.
2. Of course, the best game of the week could well be BYU at San Francisco on Saturday night on the hoppin’ Hilltop. The Dons want what the Cougars have had for a few years now, a spot in the top three in the conference at the end of the season. After a slow start in non-conference play, BYU is in second place at 3-1 and 11-8 overall while USF is 2-1 and 14-3. With an abundance of BYU fans in the Bay Area, the setting on Saturday night figures to be heated.
3. It would be a mistake to sleep on San Diego and Pacific, both currently near the bottom of the conference standings but with decent overall records. The Toreros (12-6/1-2) have designs on the top half of the league, as do the Tigers (11-8/1-3). Pacific is home for games vs. USF and Santa Clara and surely does not want to fall farther back in the WCC. San Diego should have a good chance to beat Portland at the Chiles Center on Thursday but not so much of a chance at Saint Mary’s on Saturday night.

 
Game of the Week
Pepperdine at Loyola Marymount on Saturday afternoon could be another telling game on the WCC schedule this week. The Lions (13-4/1-2) are looking to get back to the style of play that led to a 12-2 non-conference mark before they lost two of their first three WCC games. Pepperdine, meanwhile, has reason to be optimistic with a 9-9 overall mark and 2-2 in conference, a marked improvement from last year’s dismal 6-26. LMU, powered by Batemon and Mattias Markusson, should be highly motivated to defend home court. Pepperdine has one of the best players in the WCC in sophomore guard Ross (19.0 ppg, 7.2 assists) and the Edwards brothers, Kameron and Kessler Edwards.
 
Follow the three dots
The WCC has a new title sponsor for its conference tournament in March in Los Angeles-based University Credit Union. … As noted in this space on Monday, Gonzaga is first in several categories in the WCC. The Zags are also in the top five nationally in field goal percentage (1^st, .526), scoring margin (1^st, +23.7), scoring (2^nd, 92.2), total blocks (2^nd, 104) and total assists (3^rd, 332). … Pepperdine’s Ross is second in free throws (117), third in total assists (129) and fourth in free throw attempts (142). … Gonzaga’s Clarke is third nationally in both blocked shots per game (3.39) and total blocks (61). … BYU’s Childs is No. 2 nationally in double-doubles with 11. … BYU had 20 assists in an 80-74 win vs. Santa Clara.