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 10/29

11 days remain...

There are days left? I've watched a few exhibition games already and just today was at the WCC Men's Basketball Tip-Off event so it really feels like hoops season. Alas, there are still 11 days until the first WCC action that the NCAA selection committee cares about. 11 days until San Francisco faces off against Stanford.

Unfortunately my video camera, which by the way is now well over a decade old, went down with a case of something Sony helpfully calls "C:32:30". Hopefully I can get that fixed upon return to Chicago tomorrow. Also, hopefully I can return to Chicago tomorrow... stay safe East Coast people, Sandy is raw. 

Good news: I will have internet at my apartment after over one year without a personal internet connection. So, expect more updates and expect them to be more in depth. No more feeling weird for watching a few games at a cafe then writing about them for a couple hours and only spending a dollar or two.

Anyways, I'll be posting a real fancy all done up article tomorrow when I can get all the multimedia content up and worked. Get ready for more than text and Youtube videos people! Until then, here are three main stories from today's event.

• The WCC partners with Time Warner Cable SportsNet.
  At least 15 WCC men's basketball games will be produced by Time Warner Cable SportsNet in 2013. There will now be a "West Coast Conference Game of the Week" aired by Time Warner Cable SportsNet every Saturday during conference play. This is on top of the existing partnerships with ESPN and BYUtv. Over 85% of the conference games will be televised either nationally and regionally thanks to this new partnership.
  
• Preseason All-WCC selections:Gary Bell Jr., So. G, Gonzaga.
  Brandon Davies, Sr. F, BYU.
  Johnny Dee, So. G, San Diego.
  Matthew Dellavedova, Sr. G. Saint Mary's.
  Sam Dower, Jr. C, Gonzaga.
  Kevin Foster, Sr. G, Santa Clara.
  Elias Harris, Sr. F, Gonzaga.
  Stephen Holt, Jr. G, Saint Mary's.
  Anthony Ireland, Jr. G, Loyola Marymount.
  Kevin Pangos, So. G, Gonzaga.
  
• WCC Coaches Poll:
  
  #1 Gonzaga: 63 points, 7 first place votes.
  #2 BYU: 55 points, 1 first place vote.
  #3 Saint Mary's: 52 points, 1 first place vote.
  #4 Loyola Marymount: 37 points.
  #5 San Diego 36 points.
  #6 Santa Clara: 35 points.
  #7 San Francisco: 19 points.
  #8 Portland: 15 points.
  #9 Pepperdine: 12 points.

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).

Countdown 10/25

15 days remain...

Today the WCC publicly announced the 2012 Men's Basketball Tip Off event that will take place on Monday, October 29th. The event is being held in El Segundo, CA but a live stream on youtube will allow fans from all over the country to interact with the coaches and players.

More info here.

More info here as well.

Countdown 10/24

16 days remain...

Today's countdown is a check up on the WCC players fighting for roster spots on NBA teams. This year's journey to the association began with 14 former WCC stand-outs playing in the NBA Summer League. From there some were invited to training camps while the rest were packing up and heading overseas.

Most Recent Cuts

• Micah Downs, Gonzaga 2009: Played for Dallas in the Summer League, signed by Boston in September, waived in the Celtics' final roster cuts yesterday.
• Diamon Simpson, Saint Mary's 2009: Played (but never actually played) for Houston last season and during the Summer League but was cut by the Rockets in September. 

Still on a Roster

• Mychel Thompson, Pepperdine 2011: Played for Cleveland and in the D-League last season and New York in the Summer League. At the time of this post Thompson is still on the Kicks roster and has seen playing time in the preseason.
• Steven Gray, Gonzaga 2011: Played for Washington in the Summer League and earned a spot at Wizards training camp. Still on the team, thanks mostly to injuries, but seen as a longshot to make the final roster. Gray is fighting against Jannero Pargo, the older brother of Gray's former Gonzaga teammate Jeremy Pargo, for a spot on the team.
• Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga 2009: Played for Memphis last season and during the Summer League before being traded to Cleveland. The former Zag seems to, for the first time in his professional career, have a better shot at the NBA than his older brother. Jeremy Pargo has a one year, one million dollar guaranteed contract with the Cavaliers this season.
• Jimmer Fredette, Brigham Young 2011: Though he spent his entire career at BYU playing in the Mountain West I'm including him because he's BYU's lone representative at this time. Played for Sacramento last season, during the Summer League, and will once again this season.
• Robert Sacre, Gonzaga 2012: Drafted by the Lakers, played on their summer league team and looks to be a lock for the final roster. Sacre has been playing with the Lakers' starters in the preseason due to Dwight Howard being out recovering from an injury.
• Adam Morrison, Gonzaga 2006: Played for the Brooklyn Nets (he scored the first points in NBA play for the "Brooklyn" version of the Nets during the Summer League) and Los Angeles Clippers in the Summer League before being signed by Portland. Still on the roster and hopefully sticks because Morrison has said he will retire if he doesn't make the team.
• Austin Daye, Gonzaga 2009: Played for Detroit since being drafted in 2009. Daye absolutely dominated in the Summer League for the Pistons but hasn't managed to be effective in regular season play. This is looking to be a make or break season for Daye and his spot on the Pistons roster.

Doron Perkins, Rob Jones, Mickey McConnell, Drew Viney, T.J. Campbell and Luke Sikma also played in the Summer League but none of them made it farther than that.

For more info on the WCC players on a quest to the NBA Here is my article on their Summer League performances.

Countdown 10/23

17 days remain...

With each passing day not only does the season get closer but the hype gets bigger. Today ESPN published a whole mountain of articles on the WCC. Previews, predictions, team overviews, rankings, lists etc. Many of these require a subscription to ESPN.com Insider to view like the team overviews, but the Gaels' is free for all to see. Fill your brain with this and be satisfied for a day.

Here's the main page on ESPN.com for the WCC content.

Countdown 10/22

17 days remain...

LMU two days in a row. Here's video of the first scrimmage of the year and an interview with Max Good.

Link to the LMU Video site.

Countdown 10/21

18 days remain...

A promotional video from the beginning of the 2010-11 LMU Season.