WCC Calendar

It's August and there's very little to write about concerning college hoops. So I've spent my time looking at schedules and putting them into spreadsheet form. I've done that for every team that has released their schedule so far (I'm looking at you Saint Mary's, hurry up already!). Since I've done the spreadsheets I decided to take my schedule work one step farther. Much like I had hanging on my wall last season, I went to the calendar. Unlike last year when I wrote down the big games that I needed to remember I've put every game on this one.

Thanks to Google Calendar you can easily keep track of WCC action. If you use Google for anything beyond just googling, you can use this calendar. For now it's incomplete, as not every WCC team has released a non-conference schedule (see parenthetical above). Some teams haven't released times yet, and most games don't yet have full information on TV coverage. When that is released, it will be added to the calendar. As for scores, those will go on the spreadsheet schedules for each team, like last year.

Now is the time folks. Read the calendar, find the big games and request a day off so you can watch them.


https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=willswccblog%40gmail.com&ctz=America%2FLos_Angeles

Early Analysis: Gonzaga's Non-Conference Opponents

The non-conference schedule for the Zags was released last week. Once again, as is becoming the trend, big time programs are coming to Spokane and the Zags are playing only two true road games before WCC play. The farthest the Zags will travel is Orlando, for the Old Spice Classic. In mid January the Zags will travel to Butler for the second of a home and home series with the Bulldogs that started last season in Spokane. I'm excited for this year's schedule because it has a lot of big games and a decent (though in my opinion too many) games that should be entertaining blow out home wins for the Zags. The Zags will face three teams that made the NCAA tournament last season and five that made the postseason, potentially six depending on how the Old Spice Classic works out.

Zags' non-conference schedule, click for larger size.

Going Forward and Looking Back: Gaels and the Olympics

Saint Mary's product Patty Mills was the star for Australia in men's basketball competition at the 2012 London Olympics. He ran up a tournament high in points with 39 against Great Britain, slayed then undefeated Russia with a buzzer beating three, and was tied (with two time NBA champion and four time NBA all-star Pau Gasol) for first in scoring during group play at 20.6 points per game. This was Mills' second Olympic games. His first, Beijing 2008, came during the offseason before his last season at Saint Mary's. His Boomers were eliminated by the United States, a team that is for all intents and purposes an NBA all star team, in both 2008 and 2012. The situation in Moraga this offseason is eerily similar to 2008.

Matthew Dellavedova, fresh off his first Olympic Games, will play his last season at Saint Mary's this season... sound familiar? As a Zags fan, I've always been afraid of the awkward but effective Aussie when the Gaels play Gonzaga. Things have changed and now I'll be terrified. Dellavedova, like Mills before him, had his first Olympics end at the hands of the King James, Kobe Bryant, and the rest of Team USA.

WCC and Olympic Basketball

West Coast Conference basketball is represented by three players in the 2012 London Olympics. With the opening ceremonies happening tomorrow it's time to start getting excited. Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova take the Saint Mary's flavored Australian squad into battle against Brazil to start things off on the 29th, later that day Ronny Turiaf and the French squad face what should be a blowout loss to the United States.

All times local (London).

Sunday, July 29th.
Australia vs. Brazil, 11:15 AM.
France vs. USA, 2:30 PM.

Tuesday, July 31st.
Australia vs. Spain, 11:15 AM.
France vs. Argentina 8:00 PM.

Thursday, August 2nd.
France vs. Lithuania, 9:00 AM.
Australia vs. China, 11:15 AM.

Saturday, August 4th.
France vs. Tunisia, 9:00 AM.
Australia vs. Great Britain, 8:00 PM.


Monday, August 6th.
Australia vs. Russia, 9:00 AM.
France vs. Nigeria, 2:30 PM.

The group stage ends on the 6th, if France and/or Australia advance to the quarterfinals I will post an update. The quarterfinals are August 8th, the semis on the 10th and the finals, as well as the bronze medal game, on the 12th.

Summer League Look-Back

The NBA Summer League has now come and gone. For the 13 players from WCC schools who participated in the Summer League, their hopes of landing a job in the association now rest on film, stats, and the memories of NBA coaches and staff. The following is a brief overview of these players 2012 Summer League performances and their statistics, arranged subjectively by me.


1. Austin Daye: Gonzaga 2007-2009, Detroit Pistons 2009-present.

Daye has played for Detroit for the past three years. He's appeared in 182 games for the Pistons, started in 24 of them, and holds a career average of 5.9 points per game. Not bad for a bench player, but not the production the Pistons hoped for from the 15th pick in the 2009 draft. Which is why the Pistons keep sending Daye to the Summer League to work on his game.

Daye's averages, click for larger size.

 

Austin Daye's Summer League highlights.

Early Analysis: BYU's Non-Conference Opponents

Brigham Young University released the out of conference schedule for the Cougars (about a week ago, I got lost in the depths of kenpom.com and similar stat websites so it took a while to get this article finished) and it's a pretty solid one for a mid-major. From extremely elite teams like Baylor and Notre Dame, thru the strong mid-majors of Saint Joe's and Montana and the mid-majors on the rise like Tennessee State to just awful teams like Northern Arizona. Five of the 15 teams are coming off NCAA tournament berths, 10 earned a postseason berth in either the NCAA, NIT, or CIT, and only four finished the season below .500. This schedule looks to provide plenty of exposure for the Cougars, opportunity to knock off top 25 teams, and chances for blowout wins at home. I'm pretty darn excited for it.

I've analyzed every D-1 team on the schedule and now present you with a summary of each team's 2011-12 season, the players they aren't returning, and their key player for next season. This is just a brief overview, I'll revisit each team in the days before the match up for more in depth analysis.

Summer League

The NBA Summer League has been going on for about a week now, but today it starts to pick up with seven games and keeps up at that pace for each of the next seven days. The WCC is well represented in Las Vegas, with over a dozen players participating in the NBA Summer League.

The smaller Orlando Summer League, which ended on the 13th, saw two Zags on the hardwood. Austin Daye, who has been playing for Detroit for the past three seasons, absolutely dominated on the Pistons squad in Orlando. Adam Morrison, who is also playing in Las Vegas, was on the Brooklyn Nets roster. Unfortunately for Morrison his most notable moment was scoring the first points in NBA play for the Nets as the Brooklyn Nets.

Brigham Young, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, and Santa Clara are all represented by former players in Las Vegas. Gonzaga, as expected, leads the way with five former players, followed by Saint Mary's three, and Portland with two, the rest of the schools each have one former player representing them. Brigham Young's representative, Jimmer Fredette, played for the Cougars before they were in the WCC.

The games can be seen on NBA TV as well as streaming online.

The following is a list, organized by school, of the WCC players in the NBA Summer League.

ESPN Tip Off Marathon 2012

Last year's Tip Off Marathon saw Kevin Pangos (right) start his freshman campaign off with a bang, can Przemek Karnowski (left) do so this year?

ESPN has announced the schedule for the 2012 edition of its Tip Off Marathon.  At 9pm local time on November 12th the 24 hours of college hoops will once again begin in Spokane. Last season the Zags, though playing their second game of the season, tipped off the Tip Off Marathon with an 89-81 win over Washington State. That was the game that started Kevin Pangos' fantastic freshman year as he tied a school record (set by Dan Dickau) with nine made three-pointers on his way to 33 total points.

This year the Zags will face a familiar foe in the West Virginia Mountaineers, although it will be only the second meeting between the schools. If this is to be Gonzaga's first game of the season it will be only one game removed from the last Gonzaga vs. West Virginia contest, which took place in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament on March 15th and saw the Zags demolish the Mountaineers 77-54 in Pittsburgh, PA. This is only the second meeting between the two schools, like I said a few lines up, with both of them coming in 2012. Somewhat amazingly, these two squads that had never met before this year could well meet for a THIRD time in 2012 as both are participating in the Old Spice Classic which takes place around Thanksgiving, only 10 days after the Tip Off Marathon.

From Australia to Moraga to London

Matthew Dellavedova (Photo: SD Dirk)

The West Coast Conference's penchant for international recruiting has brought to WCC teams numerous athletes who play for their country's national team. This past season Gonzaga's roster included four players who participated in the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Elias Harris (Germany), Guy Landry-Edi (Ivory Coast), and Kelly Olynyk and Robert Sacre (Canada). Saint Mary's recent graduate, Patty Mills, also represented the WCC in the tourament as he played for Australia. While it's the Zags that travel the world looking for talent it's the Gaels who stick with one foreign land. Just as they did this year in the WCC tournament, they'll beat the Zags when it comes to participation in the 2012 London Olympics.

Gonzaga's Robert Sacre Drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers

It's been a big past few days for Gonzaga's big men of the past. First Ronny Turiaf wins his first NBA Championship with the Heat last Thursday, and today the team that drafted Turiaf decided to pull another Zag big man up to the NBA. Robert Sacre, who played with as big a personality as Turiaf, was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the final pick of the 2012 NBA Draft.

So, congratulations, Big Rob!

Sacre's draftability, if that is a thing, has been on a roller coaster ride over the past year. From peaks like Hawaii coach Gib Arnold's remarks after seeing Sacre dominate his Warriors squad back in November, 2011, "He’s a first-round draft pick, you’ll see him on TNT next year because he plays the game right." to being left off mock draft boards and being ranked well below 60th (there are only 60 draft picks) on prospect lists.

Tonight though, the happy and hard working big man's toils have paid off. I'm in no position to determine how well Sacre will fit into the Lakers rotation, as I pay only fleeting attention the the NBA until mid-way thru the playoffs, but I do see this as a good place for him to land. I mentioned Ronny Turiaf being drafted by the Lakers earlier.

Based on Turiaf's time with L.A., which began as the 37th pick of the 2005 draft and promptly developed into a case of Turiaf's career possibly ending before beginning. A routine physical conducted by Lakers' staff doctors found an enlarged aortic root in Turiaf's heart, which forced the team to void his 2 year, $1 million contract. However, the Lakers also paid all costs relating to his open heart surgery and retained the rights to him, which they would use only half a year later to re-sign the fully recovered big man.

Sacre has no, known, health problems like Ronny Turiaf did upon his being drafted by the Lakers, but similar to Turiaf, Sacre will need some work done before a successful NBA career can be a reality. Sacre has the potential to easily become a solid back-up center, or more but that's a ways away, thanks to his great personality, hard nosed defense, work ethic, and rare trait for a big man in shooting well from the free throw line. However he's not at the physical/athletic level of NBA centers at this point. If the Lakers are serious, which they've proven to be with former Zags, heck they let Adam Morrison ride the pine to two NBA championships, Sacre should be on the path to a long and good NBA career much like his Zag and Laker predecessor (who need I remind you just won a championship) Ronny Turiaf.

Once again, congratulations and best of luck Mr. Sacre! I'm hoping this one draft pick will push me to care about the NBA more than I have before. Go Zags, go Lakers, go Rob!