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ON THE RISE


Gonzaga’s dominance of the West Coast Conference has included seven conference tournament championships in eight years. Which team broke that run? Randy Bennett’s St. Mary’s team went to the tournament in 2005, but they were an at-large selection, as was Pepperdine, which was invited to the tournament in 2002. The only other program to receive the league’s automatic bid, in the past eight years, was San Diego in 2003. With a lot of young talent on campus and on the way, Brad Holland’s club figures to challenge again in the next couple of years.

The tremendous success of Gonzaga has overshadowed the success of Holland and others (like Randy Bennett and Santa Clara’s Dick Davey) for that matter. The Toreros don’t figure to replace the ‘Zags as the face of the WCC, but they should figure prominently in the race for the league crown in the next couple of seasons.

Heading into the season Holland knew he had to replace All-WCC performer Nick Lewis and National Defensive Player of the Year Corey Belser, but he didn’t figure on having to redshirt Ray Murdock who showed a lot of promise as a freshman. The 6-foot-3 sophomore just has not fully recovered from an ankle injury. In addition, Nir Cohen was lost for 4-6 weeks, back in November. The 6-foot-7 senior provides USD with some inside muscle.

Those losses contributed to a slow start, but USD fans got a glimpse of what’s to come when the Toreros beat Cal (Dec. 9) to win the Golden Bear Classic. Brandon Johnson, who mirrored the team’s slow start, showed why he was tabbed a Freshman All-American last season, scoring a game-high 23 points against the Bears on a night when he was the best player of the floor.

But the 6-foot sophomore is just one bright spot for the future of a team that has no juniors on its’ roster. Fellow sophomore Gyno Pomare probably wasn’t overly excited about his new role, coming off the bench, but the 6-foot-7 post player has thrived as the sixth man. Holland is also very pleased with the progress of his young guards Danny Brown (6-foot-4, sophomore) and De'Jon Jackson (6-foot-2, freshman). Both are playing significant minutes.

With Cohen sidelined, Holland’s rotation consisted of two freshmen, four sophomores and two seniors. With so many young players gaining valuable experience, USD should be pretty good next season, especially with the addition of redshirt freshman Joshua Miller (6-foot-8), who is going to be a very good post player, and two players that signed early to attend USD.

Clinton Houston (6-foot-6), from Dallas, TX has great all around ability and remember the name Rob Jones, a 6-foot-5 swingman out of San Francisco. Jones was recruited by Arizona State, Cal, Oregon and Notre Dame to play football. His physical abilities will draw comparisons to another more prominent name in the San Diego community, former Kent State star and current San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates.

And don’t forget that Holland will also have a healthy Ray Murdock.

In his twelve seasons at the helm, head coach Brad Holland has averaged over 15 wins per season. Considering that there are no built-in wins in the non-conference, 15 is the equivalent to 20 or more at the major conference level. Over the past twelve seasons Holland has quietly created a program at the University of San Diego. Before his tenure began USD basketball was at a crossroads. That certainly is no longer the case.

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It’s funny how much easier it can be to attract talented players to your program when you have first round draft pick on the roster. Make no mistake about it; Eastern Washington head coach Mike Burns and his staff have worked hard to build a team that they believe can make a run at the NCAA tournament this season, but the process was made easier with two words -- Rodney Stuckey.

Last season a lot of people scoffed at the idea that the Big Sky Player of the Year also being named National Freshman of the Year, but it’s pretty clear now that Stuckey will be taking his talents to the next level, perhaps sooner then later. Sooner would be better for the rest of the league.

EWU was good and average through non-league play, which was to be expected with key new players trying find their way. As JUCO point guard Omar Krayem has gone so have the Eagles, to some extent. The adjustment from a run-and-gun style to the Mike Burns’ system took a little for Krayem to ease into. But with each game he has done a better job of taking care of the basketball and running the offense. With Stuckey in foul trouble at Santa Clara, Krayem had a big first half to carry the Eagles. Unfortunately he wasn’t nearly as effective in the second half.

Consistency is what Burns was looking for from Krayem and others, through November and December. Stuckey was a one-man show at times last season and he delivered, but for the Eagles to make a run at the conference championship, Stuckey would need help.

Another JC product, Marcus Hinton was slowed in early December with a toe injury, but he has made a pretty nice transition to DI. He and Krayem continue to improve defensively and should be even bigger factors on the offensive end by late January, early February.

Freshman shooting guard Michael Taylor, who will also see time at the one, has made nice progress and looks to be a future star for Burns. That’s also the case with 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman Brandon Moore who gives EWU a nice presence in the middle and has the makings of a future All Big Sky performer.

Of course Montana, Northern Arizona and others also have designs on the conference championship and a ticket to the big dance. It should be a great race in the Big Sky.


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Hard to classify Rider’s Jason Thompson as a hidden gem, but despite earning Freshman All-America honors and Mid-Major accolades, the 6-foot-10 junior isn’t a name that comes up in discussions of the best big men in the country. But it should.

Quite often big players at the mid-major level are labeled as being “projects” or “space eaters” but that just isn’t the case with Thompson who burst onto the scene as a freshman, under then head coach Don Harnum and he has continued to develop.

Thompson, who spends time on the floor with his younger brother Ryan, has small forward skills. He can put the ball on the floor and can step out and hit a jump shot, which creates matchup problems and attracts a lot of NBA scouts.

He could play in any league, which can also be said for Marist guard Jared Jordan. The 6-foot-2 lead guard is a big reason why Marist may advance to its first NCAA tournament in twenty years.

The great players can slow everything down and see the game at a different speed. For Jordan’s it’s a super-slow mode. He is as good a point guard as you will find, outside the confines of the big-time conferences. And he could play there as well.