LA TECH beats San Jose State on the road

Here's a game we attended last night, hence the long-ish writeup.

Spartans fall 66-61 to Louisiana Tech

San Jose State jumped out to a very early lead but Louisiana Tech countered and the sense set in that the game would be a grinder from then on out. That it became as the Bulldogs crept into the lead and held it at intermission.

With 13:05 remaining in the second half, San Jose State tied it up at 41 apiece. The Spartans inched away to a 48-44 lead at the 10:51 mark.

Then a cold stretch by SJSU, coupled with a Kyle Gibson three, put Tech back in the lead at 52-51 with 6:32 on the clock.

A Justin Graham three-pointer from the top of the circle made it 59-56 in favor of the Ruston-ites with 3:56 remaining. The Techsters missed a shot on the next possession but so did SJSU. After another Bulldog turnover, Tim Pierce hit a trey from the right side to tie the game at 59 with 2:47 remaining.

Tech committed another turnover but Pierce missed on a dribble-drive and the Bulldogs rebounded.

Jamel Guyton was fouled and nailed both free throws, giving Louisiana Tech a two point margin, 61-59. Adrian Oliver countered with an 18-foot jumper to tie it back up.

Then the crucial possessions occurred.

Kenneth Cooper scored on a crossunder layup and Magnum Rolle subsequently blocked Graham's dribble-drive shot in the key.

Tech took a timeout with 44.3 seconds on the clock and possession of the ball.

The Bulldogs' Gibson missed a shot attempt but Cooper rebounded. He was then tied up but the possession arrow favored Tech -- 24.3 seconds remained.

After a timeout, Cooper was intentionally fouled and made one of two free throws with 22.7 seconds left.

At the 13 second mark, Pierce missed a three-point attempt -- back rim -- and James Loe was fouled. He nailed both free throws and that was the game.

Tech's Cooper went to the bench early in the initial half after two too easy C.J. Webster buckets. But the Bulldog center became a force in the remainder of the contest, moving bodies and creating space so much so that Webster and Spartan center Chris Oakes were both saddled with two fouls at the half. Call Cooper the most valuable Bulldog of the night as LAT smartly and proficiently ran offensive sets that often isolated Cooper against a either a smaller or less weighty Spartan.

Adrian Oliver again led San Jose State, this time with 18 points. On a night where his shooting appeared off, he still shot 7-14. Webster added 17 and six boards. Cooper also finished with 17 and Guyton was definitely 'on' tonight with 14 points on with 4-8 shooting overall and an 'en fuego' 4-5 from long distance. Although Gibson entered the game with many 40 assists to 48 turnovers, he enjoyed three assists and zero miscues with the ball on the evening. Guyton also had five assists with but one turnover even though he entered the game with a 33/34 assist to turnover ratio.

As teams, San Jose State shot just below 42% for the game, a paltry 4-17 on three-pointers and earned just 12 free throws, all by Webster and Oliver. But 19 Spartan assists were a bright spot. The Techsters were just above 42% for the game but 7-11 on trey attempts and 21-29 at the charity stripe. Rebounding ended up in SJSU's favor 34-31, with 13 coming at the offensive end..

Louisiana Tech led 33-27 at the half. With 11:18 remaining, the Techsters were up by one 14-13. Jamel Guyton was proficient from outside with three treys. James Loe even got into the act with a three-pointer and another deuce on basket interference.

The Bulldogs then widened the lead to 24-15 at the 8:06 mark.

As we asked in our preview, which Louisiana Tech team appeared Saturday night? Well, Cooper was certainly assertive, Magnum Rolle had his moments especially with help defense on SJSU dribble drives and James Loe contributed five points and notched three assists with nary a turnover in the first half.

NOTES

With the chance to finally see Magnum Rolle in action, our take is that he will be back for his senior season and that any NBA talk is premature. He's a marvelous leaper with arms that go on forever but he needs an upperbody in order to ply his trade in the NBA. Right nbow, there's no 'V' to his upper body -- his waist to his shoulders is a straight up line.

The Spartan Daily features SJSU men's basketball

The Spartan Daily, the San Jose State student newspaper, has a feature on the men's basketball team>

SJSU men's basketball has tournament hopes
Peter Hironaka
The Spartan Daily
11/5/08

The SJSU men's basketball team kicks off the 2008-2009 season this Thursday in an exhibition hosting Menlo College.

Next week, the regular season starts at South Dakota State.

The team brings with it this year great expectations following the team's best season in seven years with a record of 13-19. Wins from the previous two seasons combined for 11.

The Spartans have teams around the Western Athletic Conference impressed, as they are picked to finish third in the coach's poll...

Go here for the remainder.

Chris Murray previews San Jose State

Here's Chris Murray with his take on San Jose State in the upcoming season.

WAC Basketball: All five starters return for San Jose State
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
November 2, 2008

Last season, the San Jose State basketball team was full of Division I novices.

The Spartan roster was talented, but the players weren't fully confident in their ability to win games at the D-I level. Fact was, most players on the team had zero D-I experience.

So, the team went though the season feeling its way through each game -- or as SJSU center C.J. Webster put it, the team "tip-toed around everything last year."

After a year of maturation, don't expect that to be a problem for the Spartans this year...

Go here for the remainder.

Chris Murray knows his way to San Jose (State)

Here's Chris Murray with his continued take on this year's WAC basketball teams.

WAC Basketball: All five starters return for San Jose State
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
November 2, 2008

Last season, the San Jose State basketball team was full of Division I novices.

The Spartan roster was talented, but the players weren't fully confident in their ability to win games at the D-I level. Fact was, most players on the team had zero D-I experience.

So, the team went though the season feeling its way through each game -- or as SJSU center C.J. Webster put it, the team "tip-toed around everything last year."

After a year of maturation, don't expect that to be a problem for the Spartans this year...

Go here for the remainder.

The "Getting No Love' players in the WAC Part Deux

There are a few players in the WAC who aren't getting any love from the media. We're not sure why but it probably has to do with the fact that nobody has seen them play. It's much easier and convenient and certainly understandable to pick returnees to the various pre-season All-WAC teams because they are the familiar.

So the second 'overlooked' player we are featuring is 6-4 Adrian Oliver of San Jose State.

You won't find his name among any of the first or second All-WAC selections from either the media or the league coaches. Yet he went to a top (at least then) PAC-10 program coming out of high school after turning down an offer from Kentucky and declining Kansas and other PAC-10 schools.

So why the omission?

Oliver was the 64th best recruit in the country as a Modesto Christian senior per Bob Gibbons in 2006.

He was the 13th best prospect in Long Beach Press Telegram's "Best In The West" selections as a senior.

Rivals placed him 11th in California during his senior season.

As with Magnum Rolle, nobody in the bevy of WAC beat reporters has seen Oliver play -- that accounts for the media exclusion.

But it seemingly should be a different case for at least a few of the coaches throughout the league. Granted, Oliver was being recruited as a high major as a senior and none of the WAC coaches bothered to pitch any overtures and rightfully so but his talent was still known and there had to be club team games and tournaments where Oliver was seen.

Again, why the omission?

This was Lorenzo Romar on Oliver soon after landing him: “He is an extremely complete guard who can shoot the three and play any position on the perimeter. He brings a high level of toughness and a winning attitude to our program.”

Granted, coaches offer these types of platitudes to every recruit but this actually was the consensus about Oliver as a high school senior.

As a freshman, Oliver played all 32 games for the Huskies, starting 13 while averaging 21 minutes. He scored 4.7 points and grabbed 3.1 rebounds a contest while finishing third on the team in steals. He also posted a 71-47 assist-to-turnover ratio.

But knee, nose and back injuries decimated Oliver's sophomore season early on and that, plus family needs and the sense that Romar wanted him to play more at the point than any other position, lured him back to California.

While Oliver can certainly handle the ball and can create for himself and others, he's more of a scorer and -- very importantly -- one who wants to be scrapping inside for offensive rebounds as often as possible. He jumps very well and physical play is no deterrent to him. Such isn't the mindset of most points so positioning him as such isn't the most proficient use of his talents. Do note his 3.1 rebounding average as a frosh.

Located in the area, we just had the opportunity to see Oliver play in a San Jose State scrimmage -- our first chance to view him on the court since his senior year in high school.

Our observation: He remains a tough, ultra-competitive and strong-willed player.

Call it a high basketball IQ or the ability to discern a play unfold before it takes place -- whatever description fits best -- Oliver possesses it. He best displayed this when situated on the right side of the floor about 15 feet out defending his matchup. Just as an another opposing guard began a dribble-drive from on top, went into the key and neared the basket for a layup attempt, Oliver sprinted towards the basket and, as if out of nowhere, jumped and blocked the shot. The fans certainly didn't see it coming and neither did the player who thought he was in the mist of racking up a basket.

Oliver also managed a number of tips on offensive rebounds, with a couple being attempted slams off the missed shot of others. He's a quick leaper, needing little time to get in the air.

It was clear to us that as a coach you want him in the mix and not outside as a typical point attempting to prevent or slow down fastbreaks and the like. It's not that Oliver couldn't play such a role, more simply a misuse of one of his major abilities.

Granted, his outside shot wasn't particularly on during this particular scrimmage but worry hasn't set in.

Oliver will be teamed up with fellow sophomore Justin Graham in the Spartan backcourt this season, after sitting out the initial six games due to his transfer. This gives San Jose State two talented playmakers, a description in this use meaning players who can creates for themselves and their teammates. Expect the San Jose State players to post both higher shooting percentages because of the Oliver/Graham duo's ability to create and resulting greater assist totals.

Graham played the point last year and will again be charged with bring the ball up the floor, thus allowing Oliver to play the game he's been polishing all his life.

Chris Murray places SJSU

Chris Murray continues his rollout and features San Jose State today:

San Jose State's returning core makes team dangerous
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
10/11/2008

No. 4 SAN JOSE STATE
Coach: George Nessman (fourth year)
Last season: 13-19 overall, 4-12 WAC
Returning starters: Five (PG Justin Graham, SG DaShawn Wright, SF Tim Pierce, PF C.J. Webster, C Chris Oakes)

Player to watch: Justin Graham, so.: There are plenty of returning players to pick from, but we will go with Graham, the team’s shaggy-haired point guard. He averaged 10.7 ppg, 2.9 apg and 1.5 spg while shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range last season. At 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, he has good size for a point guard to blend with a quick first step. But the Spartans need him to improve his assist-to-turnover ratio; he had 76 assists against 117 turnovers last year (which won’t cut it if SJSU wants to contend for a WAC title).

Why the Spartans are No. 4: San Jose State returns its entire starting five, each of whom averaged at least 10 ppg last season. SJSU is the dark horse in this title race, but expecting the Spartans to go from eighth place to a WAC title in one season might be a little too much to expect. The team also adds firepower in Washington transfer Adrian Oliver, a shooting guard who is eligible after six games and has All-WAC kind of talent...

Go here for the remainder.

A San Jose State basketball/football article in the Mercury News!

Where has Mark Emmons been? We're thankful he is still around considering the layoffs at the San Jose Mercury News because he always puts together interesting articles and ones of some depth -- especially for a newspaper. There's a lot of football here but also some basketball.

(photocredit AW Prince)

SJSU: A homecoming destination for NorCal blue-chips
Mark Emmons
San Jose Mercury News
10/10/2008

They never intended to be here. They were blue-chip Northern California recruits, destined for bigger things with their pick of marquee colleges.

Yet now they are at San Jose State, thriving.

The Spartans football team is back in the hunt for a bowl berth and the basketball team appears to be poised for a breakthrough season. And it's the major-college transfers — five in football and three in basketball — who have made the biggest impact on both programs...

Go here for the remainder.

Spartans over the Aggies 70-67

Earlier today, we emailed out a post to our San Jose State fans titled "We have us a race in the WAC" -- well, we had us a game tonight at The Event Center with San Jose State triumphing over Utah State 70-67.

Here's how the last minute or so went down: Chris Oakes put in a layup at the 1:03 mark to make it 70-63 San Jose State. Two Kris Clark free throws then cut the lead to five, 70-65.

With 48.6 remaining, C.J. Webster missed a free throw and Aggie star Jaycee Carroll then hit a driving layup to make the score 70-67 with 38 ticks on the clock.

Jamon Hill was fouled but the Spartans again missed the foul shot and Utah State had the ball with half a minute left.

Clark, Carroll and Gary Wilkinson all fired up three-pointers but each attempt was off target and finally the ball went out of bounds off San Jose State with 3.1 seconds remaining.

After timeouts, Carroll lofted an inbounds pass from the right corner baseline but it was intercepted by Tim Pierce, who was immediately fouled.

Pierce also missed the free throw and a Carroll desperation shot from three quarters court didn't come close.

The Spartans played an efficient and productive first half and led 41-30 after the first 20 minutes. The SJSU frontcourt duo of C.J. Webster and Chris Oakes sliced and diced through, around and over the Aggies, commanding the paint.

Utah State's cause wasn't aided when forward Tai Wesley was ejected from the game at the 18:32 mark for a flagrant foul.

Carroll, who was bothered all night by Tim Pierce's height advantage and defensive play, scored just four points in the opening 11 minutes. He finished with 31 but the previous declaration remains accurate.

To provide a sense of how San Jose State dominated the first half, the Spartans led 16-9 at the 11:54 mark and Utah State had already been whistled for seven fouls up to then to just three for SJSU. A Pierce three-pointer elevated the lead to 30-17 with 7:20 remaining.

Carroll had 13 points at the half but that was matched by Pierce's 13. To his credit, Carroll ended with 31 points on 12-22 shooting. He also led USU with eight rebounds -- quite the telling sign when a 6-2 backcourter tops his team in boardplay.

Junior college transfer Gary Wilkinson played 32 minutes but missed all five of his shots from the floor, two from long range. However, he did grab six rebounds. Wilkinson scored 15 points in the February 9 game between these two teams.

As a team, the Aggies shot an uncharacteristic 24-57 from the floor -- credit the Spartan defensive play but add an assist to Utah State's having to travel from Hawaii. SJSU out-rebounded USU 34-32 but the most telling stat involved free throws. Despite the Spartan inability to make a foul shot towards the end and also somewhat throughout the game, San Jose State went 15-28 to Utah State's 12-14 -- a foul shot differential of 14. The Spartans had earned 21 foul shots by halftime. In the February 9 earlier game between USU and San Jose State, the Aggies were 28-32 from the foul line to SJSU's 10-15.

Chris Oakes led the way for San Jose with a double-double of 21 points and 12 boards. Tim Pierce added 16, including 4-8 from long distance and C.J. Webster contributed 15 points.

Carroll's 31 points was close to half the Aggie total of 67.

Here's Coach George Nessman on the game: "“We really wanted to prove ourselves to the rest of the conference and our fans this year...We knew we were young, we knew were inexperienced and we had a lot of lessons to be learned, but we wanted to have the kind of season that even our biggest doubters would at least have to say, ‘well, they’re better’, and that our supporters could draw real pleasure from our success, and see the promise in our program going forward.”

Amen.

NOTES: Scout Row was filled tonight with Scotty Stirling of the Sacramento Kings, Chico Auerbach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dave Bollwinkel of the Boston Celtics among the evaluators present. Of course, they picked the brains of the SpartanHoops staff for our assortment of insight and knowledge -- the most prominent being 'go down to Fourth Street and make a left' when we were asked how to get back on the freeway.

Reno Gazette-Journal features San Jose State's Justin Graham

It is still a work-in-progress but the transformation, makeover, blow it up and start from scratch revolution in the San Jose State men's basketball program is finally displaying signs of progress, both on and off the court.

The epitome of such is redshirt freshman Justin Graham as you will read below.

Yes, there will be starts and stops, potholes and bumps -- especially this season -- but the academic horrors and the knowing it's going to be a last place finish or close to it, along with zero hope of any betterment, has been put to rest, exorcised if you will.

WAC basketball: Graham's shots, study habits, are tops in WAC
STEVE SNEDDON
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
1/9/2008
Maybe Justin Graham isn't the perfect freshman basketball player, but he's pretty darn close.

As a redshirt freshman point guard, he has made a major impact for the San Jose State Spartans, who host Nevada on Thursday. He's leading the team in scoring, at 13.2 points a game, and has helped them to a 7-7 overall record, after they won all of five games last season.

And he could receive his bachelor's degree by December in his sophomore season. And he is expected to graduate no later than spring 2009. Still, performances like his 29 points in the Spartans' 85-79 home loss to Hawaii last Saturday are catching most of the attention.

"He's going to be one of the bright stars in this league for a while the way he's playing," said Hawaii coach Bob Nash this week. "He's an unbelievable freshman to come in and get 29 points against us."

The 6-foot-4 Graham's statistics for the season are staggering, considering he's averaging only eight shots from the field per game. The kid with the flowing brown hair has hit 56-of-112 shots from the field for 50 percent, including 10-of-22 from 3-point range for 45.5 percent. He's at 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals. Plus, he's managed to keep his humility...

Go here for the remainder.

Boise State starts the WAC strong

Boise State had a couple of momentary lapses but came through like the experienced team that it is once the score got close. Matt Nelson and Reggie Larry provide a frontcourt duo other WAC teams cannot match and Coach Greg Graham has assembled complementary pieces around them.

Bronco veterans combine for 64 points in win over Spartans
NICK JEZIERNY
Idaho Statesman
1/03/08

The Boise State men's basketball team did more than win its WAC opener Wednesday night - the Broncos also showed the rest of the conference that with four senior starters they are going to be tough to rattle.
BSU won for the ninth time in 10 games, riding the performances of its four seniors in taking a 78-63 win over San Jose State in front of 3,984 fans at Taco Bell Arena.

Seniors Matt Bauscher, Reggie Larry, Matt Nelson and Tyler Tiedeman combined for 64 points and made big play after big play to help squash a comeback bid by the improved Spartans (6-6 overall, 0-1 WAC).

"Boise taught us a lesson in experience and hanging in there and making plays," SJSU coach George Nessman said.

The Broncos (10-3, 1-0) led 40-25 early in the second half when the Spartans rallied and eventually cut the deficit to a single point on two occasions, the last at 56-55 with just under 10 minutes to go in the game...

Go here for the remainder.

San Jose State's Pistol Pete

The analogy isn't really accurate other than the floppy hair but here's an informative article on San Jose State redshirt freshman Justin Graham. WAC fans have yet to have the opportunity to see him but that will come in January.

No 'Pistol' Yet, But Kid Can Play
San Jose State basketball player Justin Graham
Ron Agostini
Modesto Bee
December 18, 2007

CUPERTINO -- Not to get carried away, but Justin Graham already has been compared to Pete Maravich.

Graham, the redshirt freshman point guard for San Jose State, understands the lunacy here. He's barely begun his collegiate career, yet his name is mentioned in the same breath with one of the most crowd-pleasing players in hoops history, an icon who averaged an NCAA-record 44.2 points per game for three seasons (1968-70) at LSU.

Which was why Graham was surprised when a fan approached him during the Spartans' season-opening tournament in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

"Before our second game, he came up to me and said he was really impressed and that I reminded him of Pete Maravich," Graham said. "He then asked me if I knew who Pete Maravich was, and I said, 'Of course I know Pistol Pete!' "

Never mind that Graham was born in 1988, the year Maravich died. Fact is, Graham's floppy hair and flair for the audacious already has been noticed at a university anxious to revive its down-and-out basketball program.

The Spartans have kicked off that quest with, of all people, a 19-year-old graduate of Ripon High.

"We took over a program in need of a makeover, one might say an extreme makeover. We targeted Justin," San Jose State coach George Nessman said. "He is going to be a big-time player. He's not there yet, but he is dynamic."

Graham made an immediate impression in his collegiate debut Nov. 15 against Middle Tennessee State, the home team. With the Spartans behind by a point with seconds to go, he launched a perfect pass to back-cutting DaShawn Wright for the winning layup.

The next night -- after Graham heard the Maravich praise -- San Jose State and Appalachian State were tied with the game down to the final possession. Nessman told his team to clear the court and let the mop top do his business. Graham complied by slashing down the key and scoring the winner.

Two games. Two winning plays. Nice start.

Click here for the remainder of the article.