Portsmouth Invitational Tournament 2013

This year's edition of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament will feature two of  Kevin Foster and Brandon Davies will be in Portsmouth, part of Virginia's Hampton Roads, along with 62 of the best seniors from across the nation.

The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, or PIT as it will be henceforth referred to, is a 60 year old showcase for the best of college hoops' senior class. 64 players are spread among eight teams that battle it out over four days for the tournament championship.

This year's field includes some high profile players, including recently crowned National Champion Peyton Siva of Louisville, along with the two aforementioned WCC stars and Kenny Boynton of Florida, Durand Scott of Miami, Abdul Gaddy of Washington, Anthony Marshall of UNLV, Rotnei Clark of Butler, D.J. Cooper of Ohio and Mark Lyons of Arizona.

The PIT, though not necessarily a big event for fans, is a major part of the transition to the NBA for college players. None of the players I listed above are high on any draft boards but, thanks to the PIT, they could well get there. Last season 15 seed Norfolk State went from unknown to March darling with a round of 64 upset of 2 seed Missouri. Kyle O'Quinn, the star for the Spartans of Norfolk State, went from unknown to PIT MVP to playing in 53 NBA games this season for the Orlando Magic.

In the past players like John Stockton, John Lucas, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Tim Hardaway  have made their way from the NCAA to NBA stardom and the journey has gone through Portsmouth Virginia.

Brandon Davies' team, K & D Round's Landscaping, plays its first game at 4:00 PM PDT on Wednesday. Kevin Foster's team, Portsmouth Sports Club, plays its first game at 4:00 PM PDT on Thursday.

There will be live streaming for all PIT games this year. For more information on the PIT as well as streaming information click here.

Countdown 11/6

THREE DAYS REMAIN!!!

It's election day! Washington, Oregon and California are solid blue while Utah is solid red. Are we a conference divided? Nah, the WCC unites us! THREE MORE DAYS, THREE MORE DAYS, THREE MORE DAYS! Okay that's enough of that.

Last night San Francisco handed UNC-Pembroke a 94-57 loss at War Memorial in the Dons' final exhibition game of the year. 11 Dons scored in the rout, led by junior forward Cole Dickerson's 27 points and 10 rebounds. The only other returning Don from who made much of an impact on last year's 20 win team, Cody Doolin, pitched in 10 points, passed out five assists and pulled down five rebounds. Impact transfer from UCLA, junior wing De'End Parker contributed 18 points in only 23 minutes of action. The Dons look much better than they should after losing nine players in the offseason. I for one don't expect to see them finish as low as the 7th like the coaches expect.

I hope you all voted! USA USA USA

Countdown 11/4

FIVE DAYS REMAIN!!!

It's down to one hand people, only one hand to count the days.

 

Last night three WCC teams played exhibition games and all three came out victorious.

 

• BYU 90 - Findlay 61
  Tyler Haws, playing his second game after returning from his mission, had 19 points. Brandon Davies recorded a double-double and had the Cougars' only dunk of the game.
• Portland 79 - Concordia Irvine 66
  A thirteen point victory is a pretty small margin for an exhibition game however the Pilots opponent is the reigning NAIA national champion. Tanner Riley led all scorers with 27 points.
• Pepperdine 81 - Cal Lutheran 49
  Ten Waves saw the floor in the game and all of them found the bottom of the net. Freshman Stacy Davis led the Waves with 21 points. Four others Waves saw their first D-1 playing time.

Countdown 10/31

(Whoops, for some reason this did not get posted yesterday, sorry.)

NINE DAYS REMAIN!

Yesterday's Exhibition Scores:

Santa Clara 64 - Hawaii Pacific 63.

Last night the Broncos picked up their first win since December 29, 2011 though it was just an exhibition game against a D-2 school. Actually, thank goodness it was just an exhibition game. The Broncos had to come from behind to get the win. This is the same Broncos squad that has been pegged to finish sixth by the WCC coaches after a disastrous 0-16 WCC campaign last season. Like I said, it's just an exhibition, so I won't jump to any conclusions, but this is a horrible way for the Broncos to start their bounce-back season. The only real good news was that senior Marc Trasolini was back in action after missing all of last season with a knee injury.

Trasolini led the Broncos by putting up 22 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Overall the Broncos shot like a team of Kevin Fosters, going 21 of 67 for 31.8%. The three point shooting was even more atrocious as they made only 20.7% from deep. The charity stripe, where the Broncos hit 51.6% of attempts, was no more friendly than the rest of the court. What's more, the Sea Wolves turned the ball over 20 times but managed to hold a lead until nearly the final buzzer.

Loyola Marymount 75 - Point Loma Nazarene 52.

The Lions lost Drew Viney to graduation but don't look like they'll stop being the team that hassles the big three teams in conference play. Newcomer sophomore Chase Flint and second year Lion Bruce English don't replace Viney's size or skill set but they bring a new dimension to the Lions, steals. The two sophomore guards combined for 12 steals on the night helping the team rack up 21 in the win. Ashley Hamilton and Godwin Okonji both picked up double-doubles for the Lions. Okonji was 9-10 from the free throw line, which helped the Lions to a 27 for 32 night overall. LMU was the conference's best free throw shooting team last season.

Countdown 10/30

TEN DAYS REMAIN!

For real, only ten? I have that many fingers, I can count the days with them!

Today's Exhibition Games:

Santa Clara Broncos vs. Hawaii Pacific Sea Warriors, 7:00 PM PDT.

Leavey Center, Santa Clara, CA.

Loyola Marymount Lions vs. Point Loma Nazarene Crusaders, 7:00 PM PDT.

Gersten Pavillion, Los Angeles, CA. Radio: KXLU 88.9 FM in Los Angeles and streaming online at www.kxlu.com.

Countdown 10/28

12 days remain...

Tomorrow is the West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tip Off Event in El Segundo. I'll be there covering it for all of you dedicated followers. Until tomorrow's overload of information there is a little bit to keep us all occupied.

Gonzaga beat Northwestern Nazarene at the McCarthey Athletic Center in exhibition play 93-45 behind strong performances from senior wing Guy Landry-Edi and true freshman center Przemek Karnowski.

Portland beat Concordia-Portland 87-67 at The Chiles Center thanks in part to junior forward Ryan Nicholas' double-double.

San Francisco beat San Francisco State 93-77 in the "Battle for San Francisco" at War Memorial Gymnasium. The embattled Dons' start 2012-13 on the right foot.

Countdown 10/27

13 days remain...

13 days remain yet I am posting a brief game recap and information on another game set for tonight... welcome to exhibition games.

Last night BYU beat Southeastern Oklahoma State 103-57 in an exhibition game at the Marriott Center. Senior Brandon Davies made it clear that this is his BYU Cougars' team by posting 25 points in only 18 minutes of play. The Cougars hit 51% of their field goals and 44% of their three point attempts in the victory. Notably left out of the lineup due to an ankle injury was, last season's 15 game starter, sophomore guard Anson Winder. The Cougars' starters for the game were guards Matt Carlino and Craig Cusick, forwards Tyler Haws and Josh Sharp and center Brandon Davies. The Cougars host Findlay in another exhibition game on November 3rd before opening the season with Tennessee State in Provo on November 9th.

Tonight #21 Gonzaga hosts Northwest Nazarene at 5:00 PM PDT in the Zags' first and only exhibition game of the season. Gonzaga redshirt freshman Kyle Dranginis hails from Nampa, Idaho, the location of Northwest Nazarene. TV: KHQ (Inland Northwest). Radio: 1510 AM KGA (Inland Northwest) also streaming free online at www.1510kga.com.

Also tonight Portland will host Concordia-Portland at 7:00 PM PDT in their first exhibition game of the season. The Pilots other exhibition comes against the other Concordia, Concordia-Irvine. Radio: 800 FM KPDQ (Portland area) and online at www.kpdq.com.

Also tonight San Francisco will host San Francisco State at 7:00 PM PDT in their first exhibition game of the season. Radio: www.kusf.org.

Countdown 10/26

14 days remain...

14 days until the start of the season or less than one, depending on your perspective. Tonight BYU will host Southeastern Oklahoma State in an exhibition game. Exhibition games are always anticlimactic for me. Excitement overload followed by about 35 minutes of watching players usually glued to the bench mop the floor with the opposition. 

Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm at Brigham Young Cougars: Friday, October 26th, 2012 7:00 PM MDT.  TV: BYUtv. Online: www.byutvsports.com (free).