Countdown 8/31/13

70 days remain...

It's a long weekend so you've got some time to kill. If you're not going to watch the BYU football game you might as well watch a BYU basketball game. So, here for your enjoyment, is the first conference game that the Cougars played as members of the WCC.

Countdown 8/30/13

71 days remain...

Pacific's roster is going to look a lot different this season (there were 7 seniors on last year's team). Unfortunately, these sophomores-to-be are not very experienced. Take a look at the stats.

Thomas Peters

Aaron Hendricks

Countdown 8/29/13

72 days remain...

Like Matt Christiansen and Joe Edmonds, this video is a package deal. Edmonds, along with Frank Rogers, are not returning to USF next season.

Countdown 8/28/13

73 days remain...

Here's a long and silent highlight video of Portland's Oskars Reinfelds, the Pilots' leading scorer among freshmen last season.

Countdown 8/27/13

74 days remain...

Here's a video of Gonzaga's Przemek Karnowski from the season before he joined the Zags.

Karnowski led the freshmen in the WCC in points per 40 minutes. His 20.16 points/40 minutes were 5.4 more than the second best freshman in that category, WCC Newcomer of the Year Stacy Davis. Davis played nearly three times as many minutes as Karnowski last season. Don't expect that to happen again this season... with Kelly Olynyk and Elias Harris no longer playing ahead of Karnowski, because both are in the NBA now, Karnowski's minutes should increase dramatically. Should his productivity stay at the same level, with an increase in minutes, then the Zags' frountcourt of 2013-14 should be nearly as dominating as last season's.

Countdown 8/26/13

75 days remain...

Pepperdine's Jett Raines was fifth among freshmen last season with 6.6 points per game.

Countdown 8/25/13

76 days remain...

The Zags' redshirt sophomore Kyle Dranginis has been somewhat lost in the shuffle over his first two seasons on campus. Most of the highlights in the video above are from his 30 point game against LC State, an NAIA team.

Countdown 8/24/13

77 days remain...

Waste some time this weekend with a throwback game from the 1993 NCAA Tournament.

This game comes from the NCAA Vault, so I can't embed it on the page but you can view it here.

Countdown 8/23/13

78 days remain...

Here's a guy that fans, other than BYU fans, may not be aware of. He's going to be a sophomore but he hasn't played since the Jimmermania Cougars' Sweet Sixteen game back in 2011. It's Kyle Collinsworth, a 6' 6" 215lbs Guard who is now back from his mission in Russia.

Countdown 8/22/13

79 days remain...

We're in the seventies now so, of course, I'm going to be alliterative and spend ten days of the countdown on sophomores. The Sophomore Seventies! Since this is a countdown to the upcoming season I will only discuss players who will be sophomores this season.

Let's get started with the sophomore who currently reigns over the rest of his class. Stacy Davis from Pepperdine, the 2013 WCC Newcomer of the Year.

Countdown 8/21/13

80 days remain...

Kevin Foster didn't make it to the NBA this year but he is playing professionally. Foster will be playing professionally in Istanbul with Beşiktaş where he projects to be the starter at shooting guard. Beşiktaş competes in the Turkish Basketball League and the Eurocup, the second tier of basketball in Europe behind the Euroleague. Deron Williams played with Beşiktaş during the 2011 NBA lockout.

Countdown 8/20/13

81 days remain...

I'm a fan of the current logo, though this old one was awesome. Always loved the representation of the West Coast in the logo.

WCC Releases 2013-14 Schedule

Today the West Coast Conference announced its 2013-14 men's basketball schedule. Most schools have yet to formally announce their schedule for the non-conference portion of the season, but that doesn't mean we can't look forward to the games they'll play later in the season.

The season will begin on Saturday, December 28th with four games. Monday, December 30th features ten teams -- for the first time ever -- on the same day with Pacific, in its first conference game as a WCC member since 1971, hosting the other team not scheduled to play on opening day, Saint Mary's. As it has been in recent seasons, games will be mostly confined to Thursday and Saturday, though because of that slate of games on Monday it will seem like the season begins at a full sprint. From Saturday the 28th through Saturday the 4th there will be 18 WCC games. The only other deviation from the Thursday and Saturday schedule comes on Wednesday, February 5th, when Gonzaga hosts Portland.

Saturday, March 1st, will be the final day of the regular season. All ten teams will be in action on that final day, so seeding at the WCC Tournament should come down to the wire. Also, because having a  tournament seed on the line isn't enough pressure, bragging rights will be on the line with Gonzaga playing at Saint Mary's.

The conference tournament begins on Thursday, March 6th. There will no longer be an extended break for the top two seeds between their final conference game and first tournament game, thanks to the elimination of the double-bye. Every team will have played at least one tournament game by the end of Saturday, March 8th. The Semifinals are set for March 10th and the finals for March 11th, with 7th and 9th both being off days for all teams.

Here's the full conference schedule for your viewing pleasure.

Countdown 8/19/13

82 days remain...

We may be counting down to the new season but we can still look back to last season.

Countdown 8/18/13

83 days remain...

I'm still in Portland so here's another for the Pilots. Check out sophomore edition Ryan Nicholas score a then career high 19 points. If the Pilots make a jump this season from their position at or near the bottom of the conference, he's going to be a big reason why, if not the main reason.

Countdown 8/17/13

84 days remain...

It's Saturday so it's time for the weekly weekend waster. Pass some of your free time by watching this full game!

This game is from the NCAA Vault, which does not allow videos to be embedded, so I can only link to it. Don't let that discourage you because this game is nuts! LMU and Michigan combine for 264 points in the 1990 NCAA Tournament. Follow this link to see the game.

Countdown 8/16/13

85 days remain...



I'm currently in Portland so today's countdown features the Pilots. This workout looks really fun.

Countdown 8/15/13

86 days remain...

This image from Dons Athletics on Flickr is the first image to show up on Google if you search "WCC Basketball" and filter the search by only looking for images that are free to use or share.

Countdown 8/14/13

87 days remain...

Seemingly out of nowhere this afternoon, though the ESPN College Game Day press release caused the spark, a firestorm of Gonzaga talk spread through my small section of the twitterverse. It was angry for the most part. It was about how Gonzaga has stalled (because, a stalled program's last game is typically in the same week or two that said program accomplishes three new things at once -- 30+ wins, 1 seed and #1 rank in the polls -- but I digress). Anyways, this talk was mostly focused on Gonzaga' perceived lack of tournament success. I may disagree with much of what was said but I loved that it was being said, especially 87 days away from the first game of the season.

All you die-hard Gonzaga fans who were tearing it up on Twitter today arguing about what needs to happen for the Zags to make it past the Sweet 16, this is for you. We'll see something similar in the near future because, "the slipper still fits!"

Attendance

 
Today the NCAA released the attendance records for men's basketball from last season. In terms of total attendance the WCC is not well represented in the top-100 list. Only BYU (13th) and Gonzaga (94th) make the list. The small gyms in the WCC make it impossible to draw large crowds. Gonzaga sold out every home game last season and still barely made the top-100. Even Duke, one of the sport's best known brands, managed only to reach 47th due to Cameron Indoor Stadium's old-school number of seats.

The conference as a whole ranked 11th when counting home games played by WCC teams as well as the conference tournament. Based on those criteria the WCC totaled 647,789 spectators last season for an average of 4,277 per game. Every conference that drew more spectators than the WCC drew least one million spectators. The conference closest to the WCC is the Mid-American Conference, which trails by more than 94,000.

Countdown 8/13/13

88 days remain...

LMU Head Coach Max Good discusses the upcoming season. Click read more to view the video, it plays automatically so I don't want to have it on the main page. 

Tip-Off Marathon Opponents

3 months remain! Wait, this isn't the countdown.

Starting last night at 8:00 PM Pacific Time, ESPN began announcing the schedule for the annual Tip-Off Marathon. I say "began" because it is still being announced, one game at a time, every two hours, exactly three months in advance of each game's scheduled tip-off.

The WCC will be represented by three teams. Once again Gonzaga will help kick off the event. The Zags face Colorado State in game two of an ESPNU doubleheader. BYU will get in on the action as the follow up to the Zags' game, but the Cougars will be on the more prestigious ESPN2. Following those two games will be a two hour WCC void. As if to make the hours between 10:00 pm and 12:00 am even more excruciating for WCC fans, ESPN has decided to place the Wichita State Shockers in that time slot. Once the Shockers are done playing, Saint Mary's will host Akron at midnight. The Gaels have played an early morning game in four of the previous five Tip-Off Marathons.

Here's a quick look Colorado State, Stanford and Akron.

Countdown 8/12/13

89 days remain...

I hope this year's Tip-Off Marathon brings a performance, or three, like Kevin Pangos' from two years ago.

Countdown 8/11/13

90 days remain...

Spend about 25 minutes watching this special from ESPN Australia on Matthew Dellavedova.

Gonzaga's Growth Spurt

Gonzaga University and it's men's basketball team have been referred to as "Guard U" and "Tiny Gonzaga". While both of those terms are nice, do they really apply anymore?

It is true that many of the guards who have played for Gonzaga have been great. There has been a nearly uninterrupted streak of these guards, starting in the early 1980s when Gonzaga had John Stockton, the greatest point guard to ever play basketball, to the present day with John's son David playing behind Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr.

The 2013 NBA Summer League wrapped up a few weeks ago. Five Gonzaga products participated none of which stand less than 6'8" tall. Of the five only Micah Downs can be called a guard, but he's normally classified as a small forward.

On July 19th, the University of Kentucky's Kyle Wiltjer announced that he would be transferring to Gonzaga. The 6'10" junior big man out of Portland's Jesuit High School is also a Canadian citizen. He referenced a plan brought to prominance by fellow Canadian, and Zag, Kelly Olynyk. In an extended tweet announcing his decision, Wiltjer said "I feel like in my basketball career I'm facing a make it or break it moment and the primary factor in this decision is transforming my body. I'm choosing to transfer to Gonzaga because i feel they have a proven plan in place to help develop players similar to me, which has seen great results."

This is not the same Gonzaga that burst onto the national scene in the 1999 NCAA Tournament.

Countdown 8/10/13

91 days remain...

It's Saturday so kick back and relax with a full game of WCC basketball.
Video courtesy of BYUtv Sports.

Countdown 8/9/13

92 days remain...

Countdown 8/8/13

93 days remain...

This is one of my favorite plays from this past season and it is certainly my all-time favorite play involving Brandon Davies.

Countdown 8/7/13

94 days remain...

A lot has changed since this video was released but the WCC's NCAA tournament auto-bid is still awarded, and will continue to be awarded, at the Orleans Arena.

Countdown 8/6/13

95 days remain...

I have to get this video out of the way before the Harlem Shake becomes even more ancient. Also, posting this video today is appropriate for me because I will be flying Southwest tomorrow. Accompanying me will be all of the clothes I own; if Yannick Atanga can fit in an overhead bin so can my filled-to-the-brim bags.

Countdown 8/5/13

96 days remain...

Work on the new floor at Firestone Fieldhouse has concluded. Today Pepperdine Athletics released a time lapse video of the construction process.

Continue reading to see more photos new floor, the old floor and an even older floor!

Countdown 8/4/13

97 Days Remain.

Let's get caught up with Matthew Dellavedova!

Countdown: Weekend Waster

98 days remain...

It's a Saturday, you've got time to kill and I'm here to help. Every Saturday during the countdown I will post a link to a full game. BYUtv Sports' Film Room and the NCAA Vault are two incredible, free and fully legal resources for this. Today's game comes from the NCAA Vault, which does not allow videos to be embedded on other sites like BYUtv does.

The game that opens up the era of the Weekend Waster is the game that opened up what I consider to be the modern era of the West Coast Conference (though the two games played by this team immediately prior to this game could also lay claim to that title). It was a one point victory in typical March Madness style. The other team featured a couple players that have won a couple NBA Championships over the past couple of years. Any ideas what this game is?

Stop wasting your time trying to figure out what game this is and start wasting your time watching the game, click here!

99 Days Remain

Day two of the countdown comes a bit late in the evening thanks to moving out and driving from Chicago to Ohio for a family reunion. Anyways, here's today's video.

Take a look at Stephen Holt's reaction to Haws' make in the waning seconds. If Holt is going to play up to his potential and be a senior leader for the Gaels, we'll never see him do that again.

Let the Countdown Begin!

There are now only 100 days until WCC teams can take the floor and play basketball games that will be meaningful in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. In other words, we're 100 days away from the start of the season, not counting exhibitions, midnight madness, practices, media days or any other less-than-real-basketball action.

Every day from now until November 9th I will post something WCC hoops related. I will try not to post duplicates from last year's countdown, but with 100 days to fill, I'll probably recycle some of the better photos and videos from last time. Articles that would be written regardless of the countdown will not be included in the countdown, so on some great days you'll get a double-dose of posts.

Also, this 100 day milestone is a big day for me. Today is my last day living in Chicago. A few days from now, after a family reunion in Ohio, I will be back in Spokane. Before this countdown concludes I will be living in Los Angles, just in time to catch some WCC hoops in person.