2018-19 #WCChoops Schedule | #WCChoops Non-Conference Wrap | Crumpacker 2018-19 Archives
By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist
Is there about to be a “see’’ change in the ladder that is the West Coast Conference – below the top rung, of course?
Whereas the best basketball teams in the conference in recent years – Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and BYU – are referred to as the Big Three, the Gaels (8-6) and Cougars (8-7) were less than inspiring in this season’s non-conference play as the WCC men’s slate begins on Thursday.
In their stead, San Francisco (12-2), Loyola Marymount (12-2) and San Diego (11-4) all stepped up and presented themselves as worthy of residence in the top half of the conference, along with 10-5 Pacific.
Does this truly represent a change in the top half of the WCC? We’ll see.
No less an authority than Jim Brovelli, who has spent most of his life knocking around the conference as a player (USF), head coach (San Diego, USF) and current radio analyst for the Dons, believes the WCC is indeed poised for a competitive run in January and February leading up to the WCC Tournament in March.
“The conference this year is as good as it’s been,’’ he said. “I think second on down is going to be up forgrabs. Saint Mary’s is going to be very good. BYU will be very good. Now, you have USF in the hunt, LMU is (12-2). San Diego, they’re really good; they’ve played a tough schedule. From two on down to five, it’s going to be really tough.
“It’s going to be a competitive conference. I would not be surprised if someone knocks off Gonzaga. The league has improved. I think the conference is really going to be exciting this year. It’s as competitive as I’ve seen for a number of years.’’
Any assessment of the WCC starts with Gonzaga, currently ranked No. 7 nationally after playing three teams in the AP top 15 in Duke, Tennessee and North Carolina. That the Zags crafted a 13-2 non-conference record without versatile forward Killian Tillie (foot) while top reserve guard Geno Crandall (hand) was limited to the first six games speaks to this team’s enviable depth.
Rui Hachimura averages 21.2 points per game, Brandon Clarke is at 17.1, Zach Norvell Jr. 16.9 and Josh Perkins 10.7. Perkins is second in the WCC in assists (7.1), Clarke leads in blocked shots (3.1) and Norvell knocks down three 3-point shots per game as a streak shooter who can go from cold to red hot in a matter of minutes.
It’s a given that Gonzaga gets every conference opponent’s best shot. Still, coach Mark Few’s battle-tested team will be a tough out, even away from Spokane.
San Francisco is a collection of interesting parts assembled to maximum effect by third-year coach Kyle Smith. Point guard Frankie Ferrari runs the show, as a Ferrari should, and looks to distribute the ball to Charles Minlend (15.3 ppg), Matt McCarthy (10.9) and Jordan Ratinho (10.6) while scoring 13.3 per game himself.
“We’re really excited about the start (we’ve had),’’ Ferrari said. “We’ve been playing really well in all areas, from our bigs to our guards. I’m excited about the future. It’s a veteran group. We’re well-connected and we’re playing well.’’
The same can be said for LMU in coach Mike Dunlap’s fifth season coaching at his alma mater. The Lions should be keen to start WCC play with games against Pepperdine on Thursday and Portland on Saturday and a chance to strike out 2-0. LMU is led by senior guard James Batemon (19.2 ppg) and 7-3 junior Mattias Markusson (11.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg).
San Diego opens at Santa Clara (8-6), winners of five in a row, and return home to face Pacific in a game that could set an early tone for whichever team comes out on top. The top Torero is All-WCC forward Isaiah Pineiro, near the top of the scoring (20.3) and rebounding (8.3) columns. He’s supported by senior guard Olin Carter III (17.4 ppg), guard Isaiah Wright (13.2) and a post player called Squirrel, sophomore Yauhen Massalski (5.3 rpg).
At 10-5, Pacific needs five conference wins to surpass last season’s total of 14 victories. Coach Damon Stoudamire’s Tigers went 9-9 in WCC play a year ago, so that total seems well within reach for a team powered by guards Jahlil Tripp and Roberto Gallinat (14.6 ppg), with support from forward Anthony Townes (10.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg).
After losing an uncharacteristic four in a row to close out November, Saint Mary’s is a bit of a puzzle. The Gaels clearly miss graduated stalwarts Jock Landale, Emmett Naar and Calvin Hermanson but guard Jordan Ford is doing his best to take up the slack. Ford is leading the WCC in scoring at 22.7 per game while forward Malik Fitts is contributing 14.4.
Ford was a role player a year ago, now charged with making the Gaels go. Fitts, along with Elijah Thomas and Kyle Clark, were all redshirted in 2017-18. Maybe it’s just taking coach Randy Bennett’s team a while to integrate new players into the mix.
“We have to make sure we’re dialed-in mentally,’’ Ford said. “We have a lot of upside for this team. Our past teams were a little more methodical and played slower. Now, we play through me a little more. We get up and down in transition more. It’s fun to get out in transition.’’
As noted previously in these entries, Santa Clara’s Herb Sendek is one of those sneaky-good coaches, usually out of the spotlight but nevertheless piling up the wins. Even though the Broncos have been, and will continue to be, without senior guard K.J. Feagin (foot, hand; out for the season), they nevertheless won their final five non-conference games, including two Pac-12 teams in USC at the Leavey Center and at Washington State.
Santa Clara’s top players are guards Tahj Eaddy (15.8 ppg) and Trey Wertz (4.9 assists per game) and forward Josip Vrankic (13.8 ppg).
As with Saint Mary’s, BYU is a little tough to figure out. Coach Dave Rose has one of the two best players in the WCC in forward Yoeli Childs (22.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg), a crafty guard in T.J. Haws (17.3 ppg, 5.0 assists) and another guard, Jashire Hardnett, scoring 11.2. Yet, something is missing. Perhaps it’s taking high-scoring guard Nick Emery some time to re-integrate himself into the team after missing 2017-18.
At 7-7, Pepperdine has already won more games than it did last season (6-26), which isn’t saying much but is still encouraging in coach Lorenzo Romar’s second go-around in Malibu. His best player is sophomore guard Colbey Ross, who is averaging 19.4 points per game while leading the conference in assists at 7.2. Seniors Eric Cooper Jr. (12.7 ppg) and Darnell Dunn (11.1) are also major contributors to the rebuilding project taking place at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Another team looking to surpass its win total from a year ago (10) is Portland, starting out WCC play at 7-8. Coach Terry Porter’s best players are Marcus Shaver Jr. (14.7 ppg), Josh McSwiggan (13.4) and JoJo Walker (13.1 ppg, 3.7 assists). In addition, freshman Theo Akwuba adds 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game.