Another Jeff Portnoy post

Jeff Portnoy is back with his usual insight on Hawaii hoops and, most importantly, the specifics of Coach Bob Nash's contract:

a really stupid game
Jeff Portnoy
Honolulu Advertiser
February 16, 2010

No, not last night's blow-out, although that was nothing to write home about. 28 New Mexico State points off of 18 turnovers ( where have we heard that before?); 39 percent filed goal percentage ( where have we heard that before?); Thompson completely wearing down ( 1 assist, 6 turnovers- a reversal of the t/o to assist ratio we saw all season until a few games ago), Campbell and Balocka continuing their meltdowns once the WAC started; but on the positive side, maybe Xiang"s best game as a Rainbow and Flemings doing all one man can do to keep Hawaii competitive...

Go here for the remainder.

Not WAC-related but we liked this

We thought this was a good read:

The Nature of Being a True Fan
Sam
Tourney Trip
February 15, 2010

There is a certain code to live by that makes being a sports fan a meaningful experience. It can be a difficult code to follow in hard times because it involves making an emotional attachment to a program, and linking your fortunes with theirs. It is because of that attachment and because there is the potential to suffer with your team that makes the enjoyment of winning so much more intense when you are lucky enough to experience it. You have to suffer with something to truly be a fan of it. You have to be tested, and you have to remain loyal when the temptation of being one of the throngs who regardless of geography or alma mater flock to the most successful blue blood program or worse to Kobe or Lebron. If you are ever to earn the right to celebrate a teams accomplishments with pride then you must experience more than just a championship run. You have to be there on cold February days when conference road games take their toll. You might have to sit through an NIT or even CBI game, you have to watch players leave the court in March in tears knowing that they gave you 4 great seasons and you will never get to watch them again. You have to experience all of the highs and the lows to earn a meaningful affiliation...

Go here for the remainder.

A Utah State area to exploit

Yes, maybe this is a grasping of straws but you better believe that other WAC coaches and players are away of this and attempts to exploit this opening will continue.

Shawn Harrison's news and notes article today contained this fascinating item:

Musings from Wesley

We in the media always enjoy interviewing Aggie forward Tai Wesley.

While he likes to have a little fun with us, he also tells it like it is. There is no sugar coating anything.

After the SJSU game — which he fouled out of with 4:10 to play — I asked him why he seems to have foul issues in San Jose? Two years ago he was tossed because of a flagrant foul.

“I don’t know. I don’t like foul trouble, but I seem to get into it quite a bit here,” Wesley answered. “I thought I was doing good the last few games, because I’ve had like one or two the whole game. I think I let my emotions get the best of me a little bit.”

It got physical, and the few Spartan students who were there got on the Aggie big man several times. Then he started jawing a little with some of the Spartan players.

“(Chris) Oakes started to talk to me a little bit, so did Mac (Peterson), so I started talking back and it got a little personal,” Wesley said. “Then I wanted to block their stuff. Maybe I was out of control on offense a couple of times. I let my emotions get the best of me.”

Two of his five fouls came on the offensive end, including No. 5.

Wesley has a great basketball IQ. He's unselfish. His presence is a critical key to the success of the Aggie offense -- make that the entire game plan.

But he must take the next step and be able to trade talk without the resulting emotional energy that produces foul trouble.

Draft Express on Armon Johnson

The Draft Express site offers an evaluation update on Nevada's Armon Johnson:

Armon Johnson, 6’3, Point Guard, Junior, Nevada
15.9 points, 5.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 turnovers, 50% FG, 21% 3PT, 65% FT

Joseph Treutlein
Assistant Director of Scouting
Draft Express
February 16, 2010

Coming off a very strong sophomore season, Armon Johnson has made some strides with his game as a junior, but also has taken a step back in some areas. While his assist numbers have steadily climbed his three years in college, he’s shooting the worst numbers for his career from the three-point and free-throw lines this season, certainly not something you want to see from a player whose biggest question mark coming into the season was his shooting ability.

Looking at his offensive game, it’s quite clear that Johnson has an abundance of talent and skills, but his problem continues to be consistently putting them to good use. As a shooter, the interesting thing about Johnson is he actually appears to have pretty good natural shooting ability, as he is very effective when he’s shooting in rhythm, with his shoulders aligned to the basket, and not moving from side to side, but too often he settles for incredibly ill-advised shots with his body contorted, his momentum going away from the basket, a hand in his face, etc.

According to Synergy Sports Technology, of the plays they’ve logged for Johnson this season, he’s attempted just 13 catch and shoot jumpers as opposed to 54 jumpers off the dribble, an incredible ratio even for a point guard. What Johnson needs to do more than anything is get into a gym with a shooting coach and get all the bad tendencies out of his system, putting a focus on keeping his mechanics consistent and understanding the difference between good and bad shots. Johnson’s decision-making in general is a cause for concern, as he will frequently not only take the aforementioned ill-advised jumpers, but he’ll do it 5 or 10 seconds into the shot clock, settling for a very low percentage shot for no reason...

Go here for the remiander.

The Tuesday a.m. WAC news and link -orama

Jason Groves leads us off here with his game report on New Mexico State's triumph over Hawaii.

Sam Wasson has a dozen photos here from last night's contest.

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Chris Murray has two posts here and here about height in the WAC or, actually, the lack of such.

Okay, all together now with a tip o' the hat to Pete Seeger and a dash of creative license:

Where have all the big men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the big men gone?
Long time ago...

Here is Chris' latest WAC rankings.

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Whi is that masked man?

Well, none other than Brady Jardine as Shawn Harrison reports here.

Shawn has some news and notes here, including some numbers that will astound you.

Back with more later.

New Mexico State beats Hawaii

The bad news for Hawaii? UH lost in Las Cruces to the Aggies 88-64.

The good news? Nobody was injured.

Yes, that's what passes for something celebratory at this point.

Call it a hex, a jinx or whatever but season-ending ailments and a suspension have left Coach Bob Nash with no bench and some starters who wouldn't be in such a capacity elsewhere in the WAC.

The trio of Jahmar Young, Jonathan Gibson and Troy Gillenwater each totaled 18 points, the latter in just 18 minutes of play. Wendell McKines contributed a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards.

Roderick Flemings put up his own double-double of 25 and 11 to lead Hawaii.

New Mexico State led at the half 42-27 and then early in the second half extended the lead to 'game over' status.

Stephen Rogers -- JUCO of interest to many WAC teams

We noticed a young man in the Arizona junior college ranks who is putting up strong numbers and had a hunch that some WAC teams must be involved with him. This turned out to be true.

Stephen Rogers is a 6-foot-8, 195-pound freshman playing at Mesa Community College for Coach Sam Ballard. He played high school ball in Mesa, completed his two year LDS mission and also previously redshirted a season at Arizona State.

As for his numbers: 20.9 points per game (second in the league), 49% overall shooting, 38% shooting on his three attempts (60-158) while grabbing 5.8 rebounds a contest.

According to Coach Ballard, Rogers "shoots with tremendous range stretching defenses, can put the ball on the floor with either hand and also post up inside."

Ballard calls him "a great kid."

Regarding any Western Athletic Conference connections, Utah State, Fresno State, Idaho and Boise State have all expressed interest.

Rogers has three years of eligibility remaining and can depart after this season if he decides the opportunity is right.

Boise State recruit Bryn Prinsloo

Mesa Coach Sam Ballard has another player -- Bryn Prinsloo -- who signed a national letter-of-intent with Boise State back in November. At 6-foot-10 and 230 pounds, the freshman tore a labrum last season and sat out recuperating.

Of his post man, Ballard said "the extra year has actually helped Brynn because he was inexperienced and really raw and now is much stronger and has developed some post moves."

Ballard described Prinsloo as "very athletic and someone who gets up high when jumping." The big man is averaging 5.6 points per game on 53% shooting plus 3.6 boards a contest (almost equally divided between offensive and defensive rebounds).

Besides those on-court attributes, Prinsloo sports a 4.0 grade point average.

Armon Johnson WAC POW

Per Jason Erickson, the WAC Director of Media Relations:

Nevada's Armon Johnson has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 8-14. The honor marks the second career WAC Player of the Week award for Johnson.

Johnson, a junior guard from Reno, Nevada (Hug HS), led Nevada to a pair of wins over Idaho and Boise State last week. At Idaho, Johnson scored a game-high 23 points, including Nevada's last six points with a game-tying three-pointer and game-winning layup and free throw with 2.9 seconds remaining. Johnson also tied a career high with two blocks against the Vandals, along with four assists and one steal. Johnson recorded 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting in the win over Boise State. He also dished out seven assists and collected a steal in the home victory.

On the week, Johnson averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.5 rebounds per game. He also shot 50 percent from the field on 16-of-32 shooting.

Other nominees:

* Boise State senior forward Ike Okoye
* Fresno State sophomore guard/forward Paul George
* Idaho senior guard Mac Hopson
* Louisiana Tech senior forward Magnum Rolle
* Utah State senior guard Jared Quayle

Monday and the WAC

Matters are pretty light today.

Brady Jardine is injured but will play:

USU sophomore Brady Jardine fractures cheek
Jared Eborn
Deseret News
February 14, 2010

Utah State's basketball team got a dose of bad and good news Sunday after the Aggies returned from San Jose State when they won their 10th game in a row.

Sophomore forward Brady Jardine, who dove into a scrum for a loose ball in the second half of Saturday night's game and spent the remainder of the game on the sidelines with an ice pack held to his face, had X-rays taken when the team returned to Logan Sunday and, according to a source close to the team, suffered a fractured cheek bone...

Go here for the remainder.

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Shawn Harrison has a feature today and this line stood out for PTW:

“...We’ve tried to pride ourselves this whole season on D,” [Nate] Bendall said. “I think down the stretch, we made some critical stops..."

We don't see that elsewhere in the WAC -- at least not on a team-wide basis.

Go here for the full article.

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Hawaii has just seven scholarship players available at this point in the season -- amazing! If there could be do-overs in basketball then Bob Nash would be first in line.

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Wednesday's Utah State hosting of Louisiana Tech will be on ESPN2 so let's hope for a quadruple overtime contest won by a last-second shot. We're sure Kerry Rupp and Stew Morrill are not with us on that wish.

The best team in the WAC

We're not bandwagon-ers by any stretch nor do we bleed true blue (actually periwinkle is our favorite color although don't expect any college team to go there) but this must be typed:

Utah State is the best team in the WAC this season.

Not best talent or best athletes -- best squad.

While we don our fire-retardant suits and install our anti-incoming ordnance shield, here's why:

1. Stew Morrill's charges are currently operating like a precise machine, absolutely unselfish, each part accepting and carrying out his role, thereby enabling the sum to be greater than its parts.

2. The physical offensive style Morrill employs wears down opponents who begin thinking about that next screen and how to lessen the impact rather than completely focusing on defending.

3. Each Aggie takes defending seemingly like a blood oath and, again, body-to-body serious.

4. The Utah State players are multi-dimensional -- not just shooters or rebounders or defenders or ballhandlers -- more so than other WAC rosters.

5. USU typically makes the fewest mental errors of all the WAC squads.

There is probably more but this will suffice.

Although it may appear we are attempting to cover our rather prominent behinds, being the best doesn't always translate into winning regular season honors or even the conference tournament.

New Mexico State has the talent to nab one or both.

Louisiana Tech has the tools to get on a roll.

Nevada is a darkhorse that can't be completely counted out.

But all lack the 40-minute consistency USU has demonstrated, which is why we haven't selected any of the trio as the best unit in the 2009-2010 WAC.

A couple more Chris Murray - Nevada basketball links

Chris Murray has a column chock full of notes, including a recruiting prospect at the game last night, here. Plus, a feature here on Ramon Sessions return 'home -- so to speak.

Bill Sproat reaches feature status on ESPN

Cassidy Creech, Bill Sproat's defacto agent (not really), has pointed out to us an ESPN feature on none other than Mr. Bill himself.

It begins:

When It Comes To The Art of Free Throw Distraction, Utah State's Shirtless Bill Sproat Is Without Peers
ESPN
February 13, 2010

As we learned in this past week's Not Top Ten, teams that come into Stew Morrill's House at Utah State have a whole lot more to bargain for than your typical "hostile" home crowd environment. That's because the Aggies (19-6, 9-2) have a not-so-secret (or discrete) weapon in Shirtless Bill Sproat, the undisputed King of Free Throw Distraction. Over the past two seasons, Shirtless Bill has taken the art of Free Throw Distraction to unprecedented heights. In fact, Shirtless Bill's constantly-evolving methods of diversion have proven so successful that the man has become a legitimate threat to opponents during the second-half of games (the time when Bill changes (or should we say “unchanges”) into the Shirtless Wonder...

Go here for the remainder (great photo of Bill in all his glory included).

So what will be next for Sproat?

American Idol?

He already is one in Logan.

It's Sunday: here's your game reports

Daniel Lyght leads us off with Fresno State's fall at home to Idaho. Mac Hopson, plus Luciano de Souza's re-found three-point touch, led the way for the Vandals.

'Dogs men fall flat, lose to Idaho
Daniel Lyght
The Fresno Bee
February. 14, 2010

Two nights after defeating a team that shared first in the Western Athletic Conference men's basketball race, Fresno State fell to seventh-place Idaho in the Save Mart Center on Saturday night 68-59.

Mac Hopson led the way for Idaho, recording 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Vandals beat the Bulldogs for the fifth straight time. The last time the Bulldogs topped Idaho was January 2008...

Go here for the remainder.

Travis Mason-Bushman also reports on the Vandals brooming the Bulldogs here.

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Chris Murray offers his game report of Nevada squaker past Boise State.

Babbitt, Johnson power Pack in OT win
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
February 14, 2010

The second halves of Nevada basketball games are officially becoming Luke Babbitt & Armon Johnson Time. And now you can give overtime periods that moniker as well.

One game after scoring all 25 of the team's second-half points, Babbitt and Johnson combined to score 24 of the team's final 29 points in an 88-80 overtime victory over Boise State on Saturday night...

Go here for the remainder.

Nick Jezierny writes here that it was a night to remember for the BSU frontcourt -- Ike Okoye in particular -- but just the opposite for the backcourt of the Broncos. A major tip o' the hat to the Idaho Statesman management for sending their beat reporter to Reno to cover the game.

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Free is usually a successful promotion but not so at the charity stripe last night for either Louisiana Tech or Hawaii. Here's the Honolulu Advertiser staff report of UH's valiant but losing battle with LT.

Ethan Conley was there and provides his report:

Tech men stop Hawaii's rally
Ethan Conley
The News Star
February 14, 2010

Louisiana Tech led for the entire second half and held off a late Hawaii rally to win 66-60 on Saturday.

Hawaii forward Adhar Mayen buried a turnaround jump shot from the free throw line with 2:38 remaining , cutting Tech’s lead to 55-53. The Bulldogs came up empty on their next possession — forward David Jackson missed a jump shot from the baseline — setting the stage for Hawaii to either tie the score or take the lead on its next trip up the floor...

Go here for the remainder.

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Utah State had no trouble:

Make it 20 wins
Shawn Harrison
Herald Journal
February 14, 2010

SAN JOSE, Calif. — For just the second time this season, Aggie head men’s basketball coach Stew Morrill has had to dance.

But he doesn’t mind, even though he might have abbreviated it somewhat Saturday night. Utah State kept its winning streak alive, reached 20 wins for the 11th straight season and has firmly placed itself atop the Western Athletic Conference standings.

The Aggies used big runs in each half and turned what many thought would be a down-to-the-wire affair into a double-digit victory. USU picked up its 10th win in a row with a 81-65 victory over San Jose State in front of 2,128 fans at The Event Center...

Go here for the remainder.

and

Ags pound Spartans
USU goes inside against shorter San Jose State.
Tony Jones
Salt Lake Tribune
2/13/2010

San Jose, Calif. » Instead of the expected close game, Utah State made it look almost easy.

Instead of a potential loss to a San Jose State team that's been almost unbeatable on its home floor, the Aggies went into THE Event Center and put on a clinic on how to shoot the ball and how to play defense.

Utah State's 81-65 win over Adrian Oliver and Co. was impressive because the Spartans were almost never in the game. Yes, before 2,128, SJSU drew within six points once in the second half, but on Saturday night, the Aggies were too good in almost every facet of the game...

Go here for the remainder.

Here is Tony Jones' post-game analysis.

The scores tonight (Saturday)

Hats off to Hawaii for a very gutty performance in a 66-60 loss to host Louisiana Tech. Hiram Thompson played 40 minutes (14 points), Roderick Flemings 39 (13 and nine) and Adhar Mayen 37. Jonathan Gibson led LT with 15 points.

Both teams shot poorly, especially at the foul line

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Idaho bounced back from the heartbreaker against Nevada and won in Fresno 68-59.

Mac Hopson went for 20 points, eight boards and six assists while Sylvester Seay led the Bulldogs with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.

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Host Nevada took the measure of Boise State in overtime 88-80, behind the tag team tandem of Luke Babbitt's 27 points and 24 from from Armon Johnson.

The most remarkable feat was a double-double from Joey Shaw of 15 markers and 11 boards.

The Broncos were led by 32 points from Ike Okoye. BSU held a six-point lead at halftime, 34-28.

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Utah State had little trouble on the road with SJSU, beating the hosts 81-65 behind red-hot shooting. The Aggies shot 62% overall, 64% from long distance.

Adrian Oliver finished with 28 points to lead the Spartans.