The End

"What happened to the countdown? Why is there no new content on Will's WCC Blog? Doesn't he know that the season is just around the corner? This time last year there were multiple new articles each day! What in the world is happening here?!" 

- My Readers

First of all, I hope that's what my readers have been saying. Second, I hope I have readers to say things like that. Third, even if nobody has said that, it is a good observation. Why has this site fallen dormant over the past couple of weeks?

There is a very good reason for the lack of updates... I'm done updating this site.

It's been a great two season run of writing about the West Coast Conference, but now, it's time to abandon Will's WCC Blog. Well, actually just abandon the willswccblog.blogspot.com site. I'm moving to a bigger, better site that is all my own. That's right, no more .blogspot.com! No more restrictive publishing ability! No more limited layout options (assuming I learn CSS)!

I've still been writing articles, season previews and analyzing season previews. I just haven't been publishing them, yet. On October 6th my new site, Will's West Coast Hoops Blog, will go live. It's up right now, but there is very little on it. This Wednesday all sorts of content will roll out, all at once, in a grand opening style debut. Just in time for the 2013-2014 season!

Henceforth, Will's WCC Blog (.blogspot.com) will serve as an archive. Anything posted here that pertains to the upcoming season, like the non-conference schedule previews, will be moved to the new site on October 6th.

Thank you to everyone who ever read, commented on or shared one of my articles. It's because of you that I am able to move on up to a real website. Please, keep reading and keep rooting for the WCC.

2013 Non-Conference Schedules: San Diego Toreros

Click for full size view.
All times Pacific.

I like what Bill Grier and his staff have done with this year's schedule. It's very well rounded. First off, over half of the Toreros' games will be played at Jenny Craig Pavilion. Of those seven, two are guaranteed to be blowout victories (two non-D-I teams). The team has a few early season tests on the slate as well. Playing at New Mexico, while almost certainly a loss, will prepare the Toreros for the hostile environments in Provo and Spokane. San Diego State, in Jenny Craig, will provide fans with a great game and (hopefully) a great atmosphere. The atmosphere is up to you, USD fans. Finally, the Gulf Coast Showcase could provide USD with either a few tough games or an easy path to an pretty early-season record, depending on how the bracket shakes out.

My only qualm is the two games against non-D-I teams. Part of the WCC's rationale for adding Pacific was that two additional conference games would make it easier for WCC teams to schedule a non-conference slate of entirely D-I teams. Either San Diego couldn't do that, which I doubt considering the surplus of low quality D-I teams in the state of California. Or, the Toreros's staff wanted to play two games that would be nearly guaranteed victories. All-in-all though, this is a quality schedule for where the Toreros are at this season.

1. November 8th at 7:00 PM in San Diego
South Dakota State Jackrabbits, Summit League
Last Season: 25-10 (13-3), T-1st place Summit. 13 seed NCAA Tournament, lost in Round of 64 to Michigan.

Countdown 10/23/13

16 days remain...

but only one remains before the WCC Tip-Off Event!

Tomorrow's event is more interactive than ever, featuring Google+ Hangouts with the players and commissioner Jamie Zaninovich, question submission for on Twitter and interviews streaming on both TheW.tv and WCC Live.

If you can, you should be planning to catch the whole event on TheW.tv. However, if work gets in the way - good luck taking a break from 10:30 AM until 1:00 in the afternoon - you might want to tune in to see just your team's coach and player take the stage. Here's the schedule for the live video stream on TheW.tv.

Thursday, October 24th, 2013

10:30 - Randy Bennett and Beau Levesque, Saint Mary's

10:45 - Bill Grier and Johnny Dee, San Diego

11:00 - Rex Walters and Chris Adams, San Francisco

11:15 - Kerry Keating and Yannick Atanga, Santa Clara

11:30 - Dave Rose and Matt Carlino, BYU

11:45 - Mark Few and Sam Dower, Gonzaga

12:00 - Max Good and Anthony Ireland, LMU
12:15 - Ron Verlin and Tony Gill, Pacific

12:30 - Marty Wilson and Brendan Lane, Pepperdine

12:45 - Erik Reveno and Ryan Nicholas, Portland

Take a look at the complete release from the WCC for more information. The same format is set up for the women's so check up on them too.

Countdown 10/22/13

17 days remain...

Countdown 10/21/13

18 days remain...

If you ever wondered what Sam Dower's favorite children's book is...

Countdown 10/20/13

19 days remain...

Countdown 10/19/13

20 days remain...

Waste some time tonight by watching this 2011 Sweet Sixteen game. It doesn't end well for the WCC (though they weren't WCC then) team but it sure is exciting.

Countdown 10/18/13

21 days remain...

This guy is going to have a lot to do with how the Tigers' season goes.

Non-Conference Schedule Analysis - Santa Clara

Click for full size view.
All times Pacific.

I'm a big fan of the Broncos' non-conference schedule. For a team that wants to improve upon a CIT Championship last season, ideally by making a better tournament this year, this slate offers a number of chances to pick up good wins. It also provides fans in Santa Clara with seven home games, two of which are almost guaranteed to be blowout victories. Those two games are its only flaw; the Broncos failed to schedule enough D-I teams. No

1. November 8th at 7:00 PM at the Leavey Center
Bethesda Flames, National Christian College Athletic Association

The Broncos' first game of the real season is against a team that isn't in D-I, D-II, D-III or the NAIA so, they'll be 1-0.

2. November 12th at 8:00 PM at the Leavey Center
San Jose State Spartans, Mountain West Conference
Last Season: 9-20 (3-14), T-8th Western Athletic Conference.
Last Season vs. WCC: Loss at home to Santa Clara.

Countdown 10/16/13

23 days remain...