|
Post by motorcitysam on Apr 10, 2021 8:53:41 GMT -5
I've mentioned before that I feel a kinship towards the University of San Francisco, as they are an urban Catholic university that has a glorious past that is getting to be a long time ago. (Sound familiar?) The Dons fell short of their own expectations this season but have added some talent that should put them in a better position. Besides incoming freshman seven-foot center Mor Seck, the program added a couple of transfers yesterday, both from Columbia.
Guard Gabe Stefanini hasn't played in two years; he missed 2019-20 to injury and sat out this season with the rest of the Ivy League. In 2018-19 however, he scored 14 points per game and averaged four assists, making second team all-conference. Known as a good long-distance shooter and passer, he should be a solid contributor once he knocks the rust off. Forward Patrick Tape last played for Columbia in 2018-19, when he averaged 11 points and six rebounds per game while shooting 67% from the floor. He transferred to Duke and saw action in ten games this past season, totaling less than 50 minutes. At 6-9, 233, he should get a lot of time for the Dons.
Edit: Late yesterday, San Francisco added another transfer, 6-10, 245 center/power forward Yauhen Massalski. YM played at San Diego last year and put up impressive big man averages of 10/8/2 while shooting 59% from the floor.
That's three potentially high impact transfers joining the team on the same day. Good haul.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Apr 13, 2021 14:52:45 GMT -5
I've mentioned before that I feel a kinship towards the University of San Francisco, as they are an urban Catholic university that has a glorious past that is getting to be a long time ago. (Sound familiar?) The Dons fell short of their own expectations this season but have added some talent that should put them in a better position. Besides incoming freshman seven-foot center Mor Seck, the program added a couple of transfers yesterday, both from Columbia. Guard Gabe Stefanini hasn't played in two years; he missed 2019-20 to injury and sat out this season with the rest of the Ivy League. In 2018-19 however, he scored 14 points per game and averaged four assists, making second team all-conference. Known as a good long-distance shooter and passer, he should be a solid contributor once he knocks the rust off. Forward Patrick Tape last played for Columbia in 2018-19, when he averaged 11 points and six rebounds per game while shooting 67% from the floor. He transferred to Duke and saw action in ten games this past season, totaling less than 50 minutes. At 6-9, 233, he should get a lot of time for the Dons. Edit: Late yesterday, San Francisco added another transfer, 6-10, 245 center/power forward Yauhen Massalski. YM played at San Diego last year and put up impressive big man averages of 10/8/2 while shooting 59% from the floor. That's three potentially high impact transfers joining the team on the same day. Good haul. Mor Seck announced on Twitter that he has decommitted from San Francisco. Something tells me that this wasn't a surprise to the Dons, maybe accounting for their push to add a couple of transfer big men in recent days. My totally speculative guess is that someone got in Seck's ear and asked, "Why are you committing to a mid major like San Francisco? I know the staff at (some Power Five) school. Let's give them a chance."
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Apr 24, 2021 10:04:41 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on May 15, 2021 19:54:30 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Jun 9, 2021 16:44:06 GMT -5
Pepperdine takes a hit as senior guard Colbey Ross decided that he would stay in the NBA draft rather than come back for his additional year. Kind of expected, but I'm sure the fans were hoping to get another year out of the 18 ppg scorer.
Junior Kessler Edwards, who averaged 17 ppg from the forward spot, also entered the draft and is still in as of now.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Aug 18, 2021 10:52:03 GMT -5
Lorenzo Romar at Pepperdine is a fantastic recruiter, and it seems to be that his strength is his ability to quickly build relationships. He gets more than his share of early commitments, and he just recently got another, landing class of 2023 shooting guard Ariik Mawien. The rising junior's recruitment was on the way up. We'll see if the commitment sticks, but if it does, Romar might have found a hidden gem.
Also in the West Coast Conference, San Francisco got a commitment from class of 2022 guard Broyce "BJ" Batchen, Jr. BJ had offers from San Jose State, Portland State and Montana.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Sept 8, 2021 20:13:09 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Oct 10, 2021 15:27:47 GMT -5
Mark Few was suspended for three games following his drunk driving arrest. Here's the interesting thing. In the original schedule, Few would have missed the Gonzaga's early season showdown with Texas. So what they did was add an exhibition game so the games Few will miss are exhibitions against Eastern Oregon and Lewis & Clark College, as well as a game against Dixie State. Few will be back just in time for Texas. Call me cynical. Gonzaga hasn't played more than one exhibition game in a decade. www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/gonzaga-suspends-coach-mark-few-for-season-opener-after-dui-arrest-in-september/
|
|
|
Post by titansforever on Oct 10, 2021 22:10:38 GMT -5
Mark Few was suspended for three games following his drunk driving arrest. Here's the interesting thing. In the original schedule, Few would have missed the Gonzaga's early season showdown with Texas. So what they did was add an exhibition game so the games Few will miss are exhibitions against Eastern Oregon and Lewis & Clark College, as well as a game against Dixie State. Few will be back just in time for Texas. Call me cynical. Gonzaga hasn't played more than one exhibition game in a decade. www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/gonzaga-suspends-coach-mark-few-for-season-opener-after-dui-arrest-in-september/No one who lives out here on the West Coast who follows basketball thought Few would get more than a slap on the wrist. Which this is. Miss a made-for-media practice event, two meaningless exhibitions, and a walkover against Dixie State. There is no way he was going to get serious punishment.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Oct 20, 2021 19:15:54 GMT -5
Mark Few gets a $1,000.00 fine and community service after pleading guilty to DUI.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Nov 9, 2021 15:02:11 GMT -5
WCC prediction per Blue Ribbon. No surprise, Gonzaga is on top. Two programs I follow, Pepperdine and San Francisco, both add a bunch of new players and can potentially have really good years if they gel.
1. Gonzaga 2. BYU 3. Saint Mary's 4. Loyola Marymount 5. San Francisco 6. Pepperdine 7. Santa Clara 8. Pacific 9. San Diego 10. Portland
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Dec 8, 2021 11:17:51 GMT -5
San Francisco is 9-0 and benefiting from the return of super senior Jamaree Bouyea, who spurned high major offers to come back to the Dons for his Covid granted extra season.
Jon Rothstein on Bouyea:
"If San Francisco makes the NCAA Tournament, whoever scouts the Dons will have nightmares of Jamaree Bouyea. 19.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 54.3% from the field, 46.7% from 3-point range."
|
|
|
Post by Rogobob77 on Dec 8, 2021 12:20:53 GMT -5
San Francisco is 9-0 and benefiting from the return of super senior Jamaree Bouyea, who spurned high major offers to come back to the Dons for his Covid granted extra season. Jon Rothstein on Bouyea: "If San Francisco makes the NCAA Tournament, whoever scouts the Dons will have nightmares of Jamaree Bouyea. 19.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 54.3% from the field, 46.7% from 3-point range." San Francisco’s 9-0 start shows added depth of WCC - Mid-Major Madness www.midmajormadness.com/2021/12/6/22821475/san-franciscos-9-0-start-shows-added-depth-of-west-coast-conference
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Dec 8, 2021 13:03:33 GMT -5
San Francisco is 9-0 and benefiting from the return of super senior Jamaree Bouyea, who spurned high major offers to come back to the Dons for his Covid granted extra season. Jon Rothstein on Bouyea: "If San Francisco makes the NCAA Tournament, whoever scouts the Dons will have nightmares of Jamaree Bouyea. 19.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 54.3% from the field, 46.7% from 3-point range." San Francisco’s 9-0 start shows added depth of WCC - Mid-Major Madness www.midmajormadness.com/2021/12/6/22821475/san-franciscos-9-0-start-shows-added-depth-of-west-coast-conferenceGood read. Thank you for posting it.
|
|
|
Post by Commissioner on Dec 8, 2021 14:52:33 GMT -5
I remember when Butler left the Horizon there was lots of brave talk about how the league was bigger than Butler, other schools were doing well, etc. All of that missed the extent to which Butler drove the Horizon to the edge of the top 10 conferences. With the possible exception of the Milwaukee-Green Bay rivalry, they were every other school's biggest home draw; they boosted the conference RPI directly by their own success, and indirectly because everbody else's RPI because playing Butler always helped. Having them in the conference had to help directly with recruiting, both because kids knew of Butler and because you could invite recruits to your home game with Butler, always the best atmosphere of the year. It would be interesting to see where the HL would be had Butler stayed.
Gonzaga stayed in the WCC because it had no place to go. The WAC, Big West, and Big Sky would not have been improvements, and the Pac 12, MWC, and even (stretching the geography a bit) Big 12 were football conferences. So Gonzaga stayed, and others devoted resources to keep up. St. Mary's became a consistent top 50 team; then BYU joined because they needed a hoops home; slowly the Dons have been creeping up--this year's success is several years in the making. Santa Clara, Pepperdine, and even Loyola all have lovely campuses with lots of palms and open air, and all have some hoops tradition to build on.
Gonzaga is a tribute to stability. Mark Few stayed, and it's worked out pretty well for him. One can imagine an alternate universe where he took the big bucks and soon disappeared from the limelight, a la his predecessor Dan Monson, or Stan Heath, or countless other hot young coaches, many of whom stayed in good jobs for years, but never had the type of success or reputation of Few at Gonzaga. Gonzaga stayed in its conference, rejecting absurd talk of the Big East and such, and has become basketball royalty. It hasn't built a new 20,000 or even 12,000 seat arena, and instead sells out its 6000 seat McCarthy Center every game. It hasn't decided it had to field a D-1 football team.
It's a great success story.
|
|