UCSB Men's Basketball Preview with Joe Pasternack

UCSB Men's Basketball Gauchos Roster

Gaucho Hoops (“GH”):  Thanks for the interview, Coach.  This is totally unscripted with no preparation.  All topics are open.

Joe Pasternack (“JP”):  Let's talk about the new players.  We just got Loyola Marymount on the schedule.  We're going to play Loyola Marymount starting at LMU with a home and home.

GH:  By the way, that's a continuing subject on the message board, scheduling.  I haven’t been posting on there lately, but it’s a scheduling topic on the message board.

JP:  You’re GauchoFerg, right?

GH:  No, that’s not me.  I’m dakyne62.  No, GauchoFreg is another dedicated fan.

JP:  Yeah, someone told me that’s kind of the deal, the schedule.  Let’s hit that first.  Why don’t we start with that.  If  you're saying that's something you want to know let's tell them.  Let's go right to the nitty gritty here.  So what’s the question?.

GH:  The question is basically the fans feel you're not scheduling up against the power 4 teams, and it would be nice to get some of them at home games as well.

JP:  Did you mean get UCLA at home?

GH:  <laughs>  Exactly.

JP:  So this is the deal.  I know there's a misconception that I do not want to play at power five school.  We called every single power five school.  I don't get to pick my schedule.  I think there's a misconception that I can pick whoever I want to play.  It doesn't work like that.  There's a new thing called the NET spelled NET.

GH:  It's kind of like the RPI.

JP:  Right it used to be RPI, it's called the NET now, so the higher the NET, the higher the seed you get to play in the NCAA tournament for multi-bid leagues.  So in the NET, the more points you score against the margin of victory, you get rewarded for that and you get a higher NET.  Every game matters for the NET.

GH:  Including the scoring margin?

JP:  Including the scoring margin.  So for us, the hardest part of our job at UCSB is not recruiting, it's not coaching, it’s not managing players; it's scheduling.  It's brutal, …excruciating, because nobody will play us.  We want to play a power 5 team, that’s to our advantage to play them and bring in $100K on a contract to come into UCSB.  Schools pay $85K, $90K, $100K.  When I first got here, we were playing these teams,they were paying us this money.  Well now with the NET, they won’t play us.  We’ve called every school, USC, UCLA, Stanford, San Diego State.  I heard someone say, “God, San Diego State has all these games”--it doesn’t work like that. I don’t get to pick.  It is the hardest part of our job I would love to go to UCLA for $100,000  to Stanford for $100,000 to Cal, Gonzaga, San Diego State, North Carolina…These teams will not play us.  

GH:  To be clear, you would be willing to play at these schools, not just at home.  

JP:  Greg, <frustration pause> the problem is people don’t understand.  No team will ever come here.  Ever come here.

GH:  I get that.

JP:  It doesn’t work like that.

GH:  But can you go…

JP:  It’s called a buy game, where teams pay $100,000 for you to play there.  Nobody’s coming to UCSB.  Nobody’s going to UC Irvine. By the way, UCI went to USC last year.  I don't know who they’re playing this year.  But for us, because of our recruiting class this year, they don’t want to play us.

GH:  Period. I knew they wouldn’t want to come to UCSB.  I was just wondering if they were willing to pay UCSB to go there..

JP:  Greg, if you can find me a game, I’ll go.  If anybody can find us a game, we’ll go.

GN:  I might be able to get a game at SEMO.  I actually know him, Brad Korn and he said they have traveled to California.

JP:  We’re going to Missouri State. They're paying us $80,000. To go there.

GH:  Can I quote that?

JP:  Yes.

GH:  Yes, I’m familiar with Missouri State.

JP:  They’re paying us $80K.

GH:  Good for UCSB.  They’re not coming here though, right?

JP:  No, it’s a buy game.  I have to find games where we get bought where we can put it into our budget.  

GH:  That’s a great deal.

JP:  Yeah, no question. So when people say I don’t want to play teams, I’m not sure they know how it really works.  So instead of asking that question, I’m explaining it to you now, I don’t get to pick who we play.  The other team has to pick.  I don't get to just say “I want her to be my wife.  She has to want to marry me.

GH:  Look, I’ve heard you say this before, I believe you.  These fans need to get educated on how scheduling works. This interview will help.  I’ve said this before.  Sometimes it takes hearing it more than once to get it.

JP:  What would really help me is if you give these fans my phone number so we can discuss it. Have ___________  call or text me, so I can explain it to them in detail, and they can get educated on the intricacies of scheduling.  Tell them that “Hey, Joe told me for you to call Joe, and he would love to discuss scheduling with you.”

GH:  I will tell him that.  He’s a good fan and will be an advocate.

JP:  It’s not about advocacy, I want to be able to educate these people that aren’t educated.

GH:  Understood.  It’s loud and clear.  You’re willing to go on the road to play games, obviously.  They just don’t want to play you guys.  If that’s true, there’s nothing you can do.

JP:  Yeah, we thought we had (ACC team) a couple weeks ago for $90K.. They said we want to play you.  We’re about to schedule them.  We said "send the contract”, and they didn't send the contract. They got Sam Houston instead.  We were all set, and I said “send the contract”.  It was going to be December 22, and they took San Houston, instead of us.  People think I get to choose who we play. <laughs> That’s not how it works.  You might as well be educated and then go from there.

GH:  In defense of critics, in the past, we actually got UNC to come to the Thunderdome when they were #1 in the nation.  Actually, they won the NCAA that year.  Well,  you went to Texas A&M one year, Washington St and Oregon St, so the critics would point to that and say “why can’t we do that again?”  

JP:  Again, again, all I can tell you is it’s to my advantage to put big names on our schedule…for recruiting purposes.

GH:  So why wouldn’t you?

JP:  Let me finish.  It’s to my advantage, and you can quote me,  to put UCLA, Texas these names  on our schedule  Not only does it help in recruiting, it also gives us a pay day to go into our budget.  $100k  

So there’s this misconception I’m scared to play people.  In fact, we NEED to be able to get those games.  Right now, we can’t get those games, because of the perception of our program–we’ve gone to two NCAA tournaments in 4 years–never happened before, and that’s the deal.  Editor’s note:  the Gauchos went dancing in 2010 and 2011.

GH:  Context makes all the difference and I’ve heard you say this four times, so I get it.  It’s sinking in.

You have all the incentives to play these big games, money, recruiting, everything, and yet schools don’t want to play UCSB.  Finally we can put this to bed for most people, hopefully.

JP:  Have ______ give me a call so I can answer his questions.  Say, “Hey, give Joe a call.”

GH:  OK, putting that aside, let’s talk about the new players –there are so many it[‘s hard to keep up.

JP:  Yeah, we’ve got Stephan Swenson from Stetson, he’s from Belgium, a 5th senior, he was 18th in the country in assists. He’ll be the leader of our team. He led Stetson to the NCAA tournament last year.   We’re really excited about him.

GH:  Although he’s a senior, and he has shown leadership, is it difficult to transition a new player to be a captain or leader?

JP:  Yeah, it’s really hard in a lot of ways for the whole team, We have all these new guys.  It’s difficult.  He's gonna be a really important part, the heart and soul of our team. 

Deuce Turner is a transfer from San Diego, the  6th man of the year for San Diego, can really shoot the ball. He averaged 16 ppg in the WCC.  

GH:  So those two are starting, right?  They’re about 6’2”.

JP:  I don’t know.  No, no, no.  Starters are wide open.  Cole Anderson could start.  I don’t know who the starters are.. What we have is a very deep team. We have a much deeper team than we’ve had in the past. That'll be a big part of our team..  

Max Murrell is from Stanford,  He made 45% of his 3’s, he led the PAC-12 in 3-point shooting 2 years ago,  is 6’9”, can jump and really shoot the ball.

Colin Smith is a Vanderbilt transfer.  Colin is a young man that started at Vanderbilt as a freshman. Very highly recruited, went to Vanderbilt.  As a sophomore, started, and 5 games in, tore his achilles. He's coming off of an achilles tear, he’s been practicing non contact.  He’ll start practice with contact this week.  Really excited about him.  So I think our forward spots are in a really good place.

GH:  How many years are left for them?

JP:  Colin will be a sophomore this year.  Max is a senior.

GH:  Did Max have injuries at Stanford too?

JP:  No, he had concussions.

GH:  Nothing major then, ok.  Well, they can be major.  I’ve had one.  So we have some length then.  

JP:  Yes.  We have some shooting and that’s what we lacked last year. It really hurt us.  We have shooting and experience, which you need in college basketball.  Our biggest problem last year is we had 8 guys that had never played college basketball in meaningful minutes, and now we’ve really tried in this recruiting class is getting experience and production in college basketball  I think we have that–and depth  

GH:  You named 4 transfers  They all can shoot from the perimeter as well?

JP:  Yes.  Kenny Pohto is a center from Wichita State:  6 '10”, 250, 245 probably now.  He averaged about 8 or 9 a game, 6 rebounds in the American conference,  Big kid, can pass the ball, we’re excited about him.  He will be playing the center position for us. 

GH:  Is he a defensive stopper?

JP:  That’s not the best thing he does.  He’s a great screener, great ball screen defender, and really an experienced guy.

GH:  He can hit the boards obviously with his numbers.

JP:  Yep.

GH:  OK that’s 5 new players  Anybody else?

JP:  Chris Mitchell is a D2 player that will be on our team. He came from San Bernardino.

H:  Wow, because he scored some points there too, right?  He’s a scorer?  

JP:  Yeah, he’s a piece of the puzzle here, and he’ll be a senior, and we’re excited about him

GH:  Sounds like a good get.  That’s 6, anybody else?

JP:  ZZ Clark, point guard, brother of Skyy Clark and a freshman. 

GH:  What's his game like?

JP:  He's a point guard.  He’s a big strong kid.  He’s going to be a good player down the road.

Zion Sensley is a kid from Riordan HIgh school. 

GH:  His dad was pretty good, right?  Julian?

JP:  Yeah, we’re excited about him.  He’s a freshman.

So we have a lot of depth here.  We’ll just have to do a great job of managing all of the players, and it’s going to be a highly competitive environment every single day so it should make it great for everybody.

GH:  What’s the makeup of the team overall?  Obviously, you have some shooters but do they have the defensive mentality as well?  Because defense wins championships.

JP:  Yeah, we’re really trying to build that culture this summer.. That’s what we really are trying to do, that's something we’ve been really, really working hard at.

GH:  How about KKT?  He was out last year. 

JP:  KK is back and he’s been practicing all summer, he's had a really good summer, it’s really nice to have his energy back, and that’s who he is.

GH:  Has he gained some strength?

JP:  Yes, he's gotten a lot stronger.

GH:  I know he’s great on defense and on the boards  but he was kinda skinny. If he's gained strength, that's great.  How about Ben?  Man, you had a lot of injuries last year.  He had a bad shoulder last year.

JP:  Yeah, it was a tough deal, but Ben is healthy now  and that’s exciting  and we’re really excited about him  HIs shot has really improved.

GH:  Can you go into details on what he worked on as far as his shot?  He had good form already.

JP:  Yeah, he’s done a great job.

GH:  What’s changed in his stroke?

JP:  His rotation is much better on his shot  It’s not a screwball anymore  

GH:  How about Cole?  

JP:  Cole is working really hard.  After the season, I asked him what the biggest difference between the 27 win season and last season and Cole said practice wasn[‘t as competitive this past year because we had all these injuries.  So we’ve done a good job of building an unbelievably high depth team so every practice is just so competitive.  

GH:  On the injury front is there anything you’ve done differently?

JP:  No, we have injuries right now. We've had a bunch of sprained ankles. It's all luck, man, that’s going to be the key for us this year–if we stay healthy.  

GH:  What about Jason, coming back as a sophomore?

JP:  He might be our most improved player, and we’re just so excited about him.

GH:  As for improvement, I’m assuming shooting is one area?

JP:  Yeah, his shot is really good. He's really the most improved player we have right now.

GH:  He’s tough on defense.

JP:  Yeah.

GH:  Kipruto is back.  He’s a senior.

JP:  Yeah.  So Evans has experience.  He’s played on a Big West championship team, on an NCAA tournament team.  To have that is really good.

GH:  Ariel is back as well.  He’s a good rebounder and tough defender. Has he worked on his offense?

JP:  Yeah, last year was his first year of really playing college basketball. He got some really meaningful minutes, I think he’s  only going to get better this year.

GH:  Last year’s team had a lot of potential, and Ajay was playing hurt most of last year, right?  

JP:  Yeah, Ajay never practiced. He literally just did walkthroughs before game days.  That's how bad it was.

GH:  Holy ___ !

JP:  It was crazy.

GH:  Yeah, that’s really bad.  Look, it’s paid off for him though as he’s in the NBA.

My comment about last year is that every player had moments where they were “did they just do that, did they just make that shot, that move, or that block?”  But I think consistency was one of the issues.  Is that something you talked about at all in the offseason?  

JP:  Yeah, we were just defensively not very good. We have to be better defensively,  and make that a huge part of us.  

GH:  Was it a scheme thing?

JP:  We just had guys who had never played college basketball before and you can’t win that way.  So it’s all about experience.  You gotta have experience.

GH:  These new players can shoot, but you're focusing on the defense?

JP: Yes.  We have 20 players.

GH:  Wow, again, depth.   So you’ll have plenty of practice players, even when there are injuries.  

GH:  Can you talk about Brandon?

JP:  Brandon Cyrus?  I’m really excited for Brandon, he’s going to be a great addition to our staff. He started on an NCAA tournament team, Big West champion, both regular season and tournament championships, part of the most wins in the history of the school in his period of time.  He was always a leader and sacrificed his minutes for the goodness of the team, and  was an amazing leader every day in practice, and behind the scenes when no one saw it,  He’s been a great addition for us.  I’m really excited about him.

GH:  I never knew him, but I was always impressed about how he was a team-first guy. Which is what you need to win.

Anything else you want to add on where they're at and where you want them to be?

JP:  We’re really excited about the season and we have some really good home games.  UTEP is one of the best teams in Conference USA.  Fresno State is coming to Santa Barbara, Wisconsin-Green Bay. Doug Gottlieb is the coach, and that’ll be a big game.  Dan Monson of Eastern Washington will be coming to the Thunderdome.

GH:  Yes, he’s the former Long beach coach.

JP:  We have a lot of home games.

GH:  Thanks for your time, Coach.  And good luck this season. 

  

Interview with Coach Joe Pasternack, June 28, 2023

Gaucho Hoops ("GH"):  Can you talk about the the new players, incoming transfers as well as freshmen players?

Joe Pasternack ("JP"):  Yes.

GH: And then we can cover the returnees and how they're developing.

JP: Really excited about this upcoming season. All of our players are now back home. They have a break; we don't start up until July 10th. Our new guys are coming in this week, so Yohan Traore, Ben Shtolzberg, Jason Fontenet, and Mezziah Oakman--they're all here this week to get into summer school to get their physicals, and they get a two week head start on the returners. What we're doing now is their physicals, and they start lifting weights, they learn our shooting drills, kind of the details of our system. They're getting acclimated to a college campus. And I'm really, really excited about these 4 new guys that we have coming in so far.

GH: Awesome. Can you break down the freshman first, Fontenet, and his game.

JP: Jason Fontenet is an incredible, young man. He's a 4.0 student from Phoenix, AZ. He went to Bella Vista Prep School. His dad played basketball at Oregon State. He's got great genes. He's about 6'5", really strong college-ready body. Comes from a great, great family. Lives with his mom. He can really shoot the basketball but what I love about him is he's the total package: academics, he fits in at UC Santa Barbara, perfect student athlete. Highest character young man you can meet. That's number two. Number three, he's driven to be a pro, loves the game of basketball, and he's just such a perfect fit for our basketball program, and I expect him to be able to help us this year. He can play multiple positions on the perimeter as a guard.

GH: So 1,2, and 3 basically.

JP: Yep.

GH: So he's a good shooter. How about his defense? Does he use his length at all? Or is that something he has to develop, as most freshmen do?

JP: Yes, he is going to learn all that. He's just learning the details of our system right now.

GH: Let's talk about Ben. He's from southern California originally? He played at Creighton, right?

JP: Yes, Ben Shtolzberg is a young man we recruited out of high school. He chose Creighton. He's a 6'4" guard who plays multiple positions, which I like. He can really score the ball, shoot the ball, make plays off ball screens, has an incredible attitude, loves the game just wants to get better, coachable, from probably an hour and a half from here, in the Valley, and comes from a great family. High character, great student, so really excited about him.

GH: Was he on the team 2 years ago when you played them in the NCAA's?

JP: No. He's a sophomore. He has 3 years to play. Jason has 4 years to play.

GH: And then there's Mezziah Oakman.

JP: Yeah. Mezziah Oakman is a junior college player, and he's got two years left. Played at San Francisco City Junior [City] College where Jalen Canty and Miles Norris went. He's 7'0", 225 pounds, he's an incredible physical specimen, comes from an amazing Junior College. Justin Labagh is the head coach, he's the all-time winningest junior college coach in the state of California over Jerry Tarkanian. He's tied with JerryTarkanian for the most state championships in the history of the state of California. So Mezziah comes from a great, great coach, and so I'm really excited about Mezziah. I think with any new guy, and I just named the three, they have a long, long time...It takes time to get adjusted to college basketball in our system, so we're being very patient with them, but demanding and holding them accountable, and one of the big things we're doing because we have so many new guys. with Andrew Kelly, Miles Norris, Calvin Wishart, and Ajare Sanni gone, is we're going to take our team to Vancouver. It's the first time in six years. We've never gone on a foreign tour, so by going to Vancouver, we get 10 extra real days of practice--unlimited time to practice. To be able to practice those 10 days to be able to get ready to play college basketball games in Vancouver, to be able to install our system to teach these guys, and try to get them up to speed.

GH: Do you have the teams in Vancouver you will be playing?

JP: There will be some teams in Vancouver who we will play.

GH: Exhibition, preseason type games.

JP: Yes.

GH: The next new incoming player is Yohan. How is he coming along?

JP: Yohan Traore is a young man we used to watch. He was on KK's AAU team Dream Vision. We know him very well out of high school. He went to Dream City in Arizona, and Prolific Prep. So we're very familiar with him. He's a transfer from Auburn. With shoes, he's about 6'11" with a 7'3" wingspan. Again, he's only a freshman, he'll be a sophomore next year, so he's got 3 years to play. He has tremendous, tremendous potential. He's from France. He's an incredible young man, who I'm really, really excited about developing him.

GH: So he's another bilingual guy. I think he's our first 5 star recruit at UCSB out of high school, as far as I know.

JP: Yeah, I'm not sure about that.

GH: I think he is, which is kind of amazing. Any news on returnees? I'm sure Ajay comes to mind first for all the fans.

JP: I think Ajay is really locked in to have an incredible season. He had a great spring, working on his body. Again, got a lot stronger, believe it or not. Worked really hard on his entire game, his outside shooting, he's really shooting the ball great in the spring and summer. He's really locked into having the best year he possibly can have. He's had a great, great 2 years, but he's not satisfied which is great. He's another young man who has incredible character, academically does incredible in school and we're really excited.

GH: So wait, he gained about 25 pounds of muscle last year. You're saying he's gotten even stronger this summer?

JP: Yeah, he's over 200 pounds now.

GH: Wow. What about Cole Anderson?

JP: Cole Anderson again, this is their break, they're all off campus. Everybody needs a mental and physical break. And it's great to get them out of here. Cole Anderson is in Fresno right now with family. He loves the game and he's working out and I think he's going to have a huge year, and we're really excited about him. I think if I could describe anything about this team, the character of the individuals are so high, they love the game, they're very driven and motivated to be pros, but also to get back to the NCAA's. They got a taste of it, but want to get back there. But it's a grind. It's not easy. The pressure, the process and honoring the process every single day. When you're a high character individual, you understand that and you honor our process and that's the key for us. We don't talk about championships, we talk about being a champion every single day, and that's why I feel so good about this team.

GH: Having Gabe Vincent as a model of honoring the process certainly helps.

JP: Absolutely, because nobody honored the process every day like he did, being a champion like he did, and bringing up his team is huge.

GH: Yep, that was great, as I was rooting for the Heat the whole playoffs. What about JPL?

JP: Josh Pierre-Louis, this will be the first spring and summer where he's been healthy. The last 3 springs and summers, when he got here, it was during COVID. He wasn't around here, so we didn't get to coach him that spring and summer. Then we played in the NCAA tournament, and he got hurt against Creighton. And he didn't work out in the spring or summer leading up to his junior year. Then in the Irvine game before the Long Beach game, he got hurt. And his hip was out, he was out for the whole spring and summer. And so this is the first spring he's had with our team to work on his game, shooting the basketball, and he's now home in New Jersey with his family, which is great. He's had a great, great spring. He's going to have a great summer. I think it'll be his best year, so I'm really excited about him.

Matija Belic, is on the under 20 Serbian team right now, and all the fans can look him up. He plays on July 8th is when it starts. I think he's going to have a huge year for us. I'm really excited about him.

Then Ariel Bland redshirted, so our fans weren't really able to see him going against Miles Norris every day in practice. A lot of days, he got the better of Miles. He's going to have a great motor, and I think he's going to be a great forward for us, really excited about Ariel.

GH: Real quickly, what are his strengths, because we haven't seen much of him. Defense, rebounding?

JP: Driver, DRIVER...rebound, motor, and really, really plays hard. I'm really excited about him.

And then there is Evans Kipruto. Evans Kipruto came on strong...we don't to the NCAA tournament without Evans and Matija. We got them late. Matija hit huge 3's against UCR. When Andre Kelly got into foul trouble, Evans Kipruto came in and again, another guy that just loves the game. High character, really excited about him.

GH: Yeah I noticed they didn't play much in the beginning and when they stepped in they were ready. They could have been stale, but instead, they came through in the clutch. They really honored the process. That's it for the players, but going forward, you really like the team's chemistry and make up.

JP: We're really excited to get them all together on July 10th, and being able to practice and getting ready for our Vancouver trip. I think it'll be great team building, to integrate the new guys with the returners, and it's all about our returners establishing our culture on a daily basis, and our coaching staff; everybody working together to establish our culture right now.

GH: The schedule is always a topic.

JP: We're working on the schedule right now.

GH: Who can you announce?

JP: It looks like the one game that we're going to play, we're going to the Pit to play New Mexico, which will be a very challenging game, but we're still working on all our schedule. We're playing LMU in the Phoenix Suns Arena. We did it last year. The Basketball Hall of Fame Jerry Colangelo Classic. To be able to play in an NBA arena is huge. And they came up with the opponent, Loyola Marymount. It's a shame we have to go to Phoenix to play LMU, but that's the way it works. To play neutral games, I think it prepares us for the conference tournament. So that's what I'm excited for.

GH: Awesome.

JP: When I was at Arizona, we had a saying to our players. "You don't get to choose the NBA. The NBA has to choose you." You can't just say "I want to go to the NBA." Its the same with scheduling. People want to know why can't we play certain teams. Gonzaga won't play us. UCLA won't play us. Not one PAC-12 team will play us. So I don't get to pick who UCSB plays. They have to want to play us.

When you get married, she has to want to marry you. Not one PAC-12 school will play us. Gonzaga won't play us. And so people say, "Why will they play such and such?" I don't know. But they won't play us, okay? So that's where we're at right now. We're working really hard to finish our schedule. We're going to do the best we can. We'd love to have a big name come into the Thunderdome. Unfortunately, the days of Cal and North Carolina coming to the Thunderdome are not going to happen anymore. 

UCSB’s Joe Pasternack on two players who will play important roles in the NBA Finals

https://denvergazette.com/sports/denver-nuggets/ucsb-s-joe-pasternack-on-two-players-who-will-play-important-roles-in-the-nba/article_09af8d44-ff40-11ed-9e14-8f705297aa24.html?utm_campaign=blox&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Mark Patton: UCSB’s Joe Pasternack Transfers His Attention to Recruiting

https://www.noozhawk.com/mark-patton-ucsbs-joe-pasternack-transfers-his-attention-to-recruiting/

Joe Pasternack Agrees To Five-Year Contract Extension as UCSB Men’s Basketball Coach

https://www.noozhawk.com/pasternack-agrees-to-five-year-contract-extension-as-ucsb-mens-basketball-coach/

UCSB Men's Basketball Coach Joe Pasternack Interview, 1-22-23

Interview with UCSB Men's Basketball Head Coach Joe Pasternack, January 22, 2023

Gaucho Hoops ("GH"):  Hi Coach, can we get an update?  We finished the nonconference and started the conference part of the schedule.  I wanted to get your take.  I've seen improvement in most of the players, and as a team.  The team is getting more cohesive.  Do you have any comments around that?

Joe Pasternack ("JP"):  Every team is a new team.  And the season is a like a lifetime.  That's what it feels like.  We have a lot of new players, and we're getting to know each other early, and as the season goes on, everyone gets more comfortable with each other.  The best teams are the ones that really improve in January and February.  Pete Newell is a mentor of mine.  I was really, really close with him, and he is someone I really respect.  And he used to say:  with basketball, a season is divided into a golf analogy.  In November and December, you're driving for show.  In January, February, March, you're putting for dough.  It's all about chemistry, improving, and team improvement in January, February and March.

GH:  By the way, is that Pete Newell, Sr. or Pete Newell, Jr.?

JP:  Pete Newell, Sr. the coach.

GH:  Wow.

JP:  He was at Indiana, he was coach Bob Knight's best friend.  So I met him when I was at Indiana, and then at Cal.  I was at Cal-Berkeley for 8 years.  The name is Pete Newell Court.  He would come up and spend a lot of time, and I would really spend a lot of time picking his brain and how to teach the game.  He was a huge influence on my career.  He would watch every Cal game when I was at Cal.  We would talk weekly, and I would visit him in San Diego.  He had a big influence on me.

GH:  I wasn't aware of Pete Newell's influence.  I knew you were under Coach Knight.  Between the two of those, that's basketball royalty.  They are icons, definitely.

JP:  Yep.  Hall of Famers.

GH:  To expand on that, most teams do improve, right?

JP:  No, not necessarily.  A lot of teams don't improve, and they'll fizzle out.  And the other things are injuries.  There's so much, it's such a long season.  So much can happen.  And hopefully, we can keep getting better every day.  We haven't practiced in 12 days.  We had 5 games in 11 days, which is unprecedented.  We have to do it twice this year.  The schedule is the way it is, and we don't control it.  All we can do is play the games.  We played 5 games in 11 days, and all we had was walk-throughs.  We did not have one day of real practice in 12 or 13 days.  

GH:  How do the players keep their conditioning up--the players who aren't playing all the time?

JP:  The guys who don't play, we have them playing 3 on 3, and work out.  

GH:  It's visible that the Gauchos are improving, individually and as a team.  Do you have any comments on the players?  Miles, of course, had one of his best games ever.  He's living up to what he was working on, right?  Rebounding, specifically being more aggressive on the offensive boards..

JP:  Miles is one of the best players in our league.  He's becoming a complete player, rebounding the basketball, scoring in the post, driving the ball, and shooting 3's.  And then the second part is playing really hard on defense.  

GH:  Does that include defending the perimeter and the post, and help defense?

JP:  Yes it includes doing everything on defense.  He's really, really improved.  Someone like Jaquori McLaughlin is a great example--someone who wasn't an All-American as a sophomore or a junior.  He was just a good player.  But his game took off as a senior.  And I feel like Miles is doing the same.  

GH:  Was that over the course of the season with Jaquori?  It just seemed like he was getting better and better.  

JP:  He really improved, but it took until his senior year.  It was his 5th year.

GH:  And this will be Miles' 5th year.  Interesting.

JP:  Yes.  The biggest part is in this day and age where everybody is transferring, parents are impatient.  Miles' family, Christina and Fred, believed in us, believed in our system, in our development, and wanted him to stay here.  He could have left.  And he could have taken a lot of NIL money in other places.  But it was a risk that you just don't know what's gonna happen at the next place.  You know what you have here, and so...it's great.  The season is young still, so let's see what happens.  The final chapter hasn't been written.

GH:  On that note, I've seen players transfer even multiple times, and the grass wasn't necessarily greener.  They kinda digressed almost, because they had to learn a new system, had new coaches, new staff, new players, new teammates.

That's great, this is a great example of patience paying off with Miles.  With Ajay, he rocketed up the second half of his freshman season.  It's obvious his game has improved.  Do you have any comments on his play and his leadership?

JP:  Ajay is so wise and mature beyond his years.  He may be the most mature young man, as a freshman and sophomore that I've ever coached.   And poised, really poised, so I think he'll keep improving.  

GH: That poise was tested, because the opponents are getting pretty physical with him.  He bulked up this summer, so that's good.  He needs it.  What about Andre?  How has his transition been, after transferring in from Cal?

JP:  Andre is really doing well.  Everybody's expectations on everything, whether it's our team, or individual players--expectations are always very unrealistic.  You have to understand Andre had 3 coaches in 3 different systems in 5 years.  As a coach, I understand that's really, really hard.  Basketball is a game of habit.  That's a Pete Newell statement.  And when your habits with one coach in year 1 where he is teaching you one thing on defense and offense, then years 2 through 4, it's another thing, and then your last year, you have to learn a totally different scheme and system. It's going to take time.  And I think we'll see Andre just get better and better.  

GH:  It seems like he already has improved.  He had injuries and illnesses, so he's really stepped up.  Plus, his state of mind has to be really good, being on a winning program now. <laughs>.

JP:  Yeah well, he came here to win, so he's really enjoying himself--he loves Santa Barbara.  He's very grateful to be here.

GH:  That's great to hear.  Yeah.  Let's talk about Josh.  Fans call him JPL.  How has he developed?

JP:  Josh got sick--food poisoning before the UCI game, so he didn't play in that game.  We had 7 players out from food poisoning for the UCI game.  Josh is really, really locked in to being the best defender he can possibly be.  Great, great rebounder.  And he just gives us so much energy and toughness.  

GH:  He's a pretty good finisher, too. <laughs>

JP:  He is--I'd like him to finish even more.  

GH:  How about Ajare?

JP:  Ajare has had a lot of injuries--his ankles--obviously, at Hawaii last year.  It was really bad.  And in the tournament.  He's just been through so much, injury-wise.  He's just finally getting really healthy, so I'm expecting him to have a great finish in conference.  

GH:  He seems to be confident on his shot lately.  He seemed more tentative earlier in the year.  Let's talk about the bench.  Let's start with Cole.

JP:  I'm really excited about Cole.  Like all players--he's only a sophomore, and expectations are unrealistic.  Everybody wants it now.  Some players don't play well until their junior or senior year.  That's the way it used to be in college basketball.  Now it's a microwave society.  Everybody wants it now and unfortunately it doesn't work like that.  You have to learn the college game, you have to learn how to defend, you have to learn nuances and how we defend in different ways, and he has just skyrocketed his ability to defend, his position both off the ball and on the ball,   His improvement on defense is as good as any I've seen in a college basketball player.  He was a huge liability last year on defense.  Everybody would say "you're not playing Cole enough, you're not playing Cole enough."  Well, he wasn't very good defensively, and he knew that.  But to his credit, he's worked extremely hard this last summer and all fall, and he's improved tremendously.  And even from the fall to now, it's night and day.  I mean he guarded DJ Davis from UCI, and he just loves the game, works his tail off, and is one of our hardest workers, and again, he's not even halfway through conference season of his sophomore year.  He's going to get better and better.  But he's only a sophomore.  Obviously, he's a weapon offensively, but because everybody just looks at his shooting, they don't notice the defense.

GH:  You gotta play defense in your system.

JP:  Yeah, you can't be a liability on defense.

GH:  With his on ball defense, is it because he has physically improved his quickness?  But you're saying he's learning the system, so his help defense is better.

JP:  Yep, everything.  He can do off-ball, on-ball defense.  He's improved tremendously, and it's great to see.

GH:  This is a really interesting topic on the message boards.  KK?  Can you comment on him?

JP:  I told our team on Friday, after he had 11 rebounds the night before.  In today's world, families, coaches, high school coaches, people, parents, players, they judge all their happiness and success by the jumpshot, scoring, points.  Well, it's really refreshing to have a young man like KK, where he doesn't care if he scores.  All he wants to do is help the team win, in whatever role--and accept his role.  A lot of people know their role--but they don't accept their role.  But KK accepts his role and plays SO hard.  Rebounds, motor, and he's an energy GIVER, not an energy vampire.  You put him in a game, the whole game changes--from an energy level.  I'm just so happy for him--he's just the greatest young man in the world.  Again, in a age where there's so much selfishness in college basketball and sports, he's the most unselfish kid I've coached.  

GH:  That's a big statement.  Coming in from high school, he was a big-time scorer, right?

JP:  He can score.  But the point is, the other night, he effects winning.  He had 11 rebounds and I don't think he scored.  I think he only took 1 shot.  Those guys that effect winning.  How do you guard a ball screen?  People don't even think like that.  How do you block out?  It's the little details of winning.  

GH:  Wow, yeah, he got 11 rebounds in 18 minutes. <laughs>  That's a crazy stat.  So Calvin, I really like his game, 'cuz he's aggressive.  He doesn't just shoot 3's--he takes it to the hole.  He makes things happen.  He's strong to the cup.

JP:  Yeah, Calvin is a rock of our team--he's one of the most competitive players we have.  He's a great young man.  He's another very unselfish player  He's come such an amazing way in the last year.  From last year to this year, he's completely different.  Coachable kid, who has really effected winning with his toughness.  

GH:  That's a great word for him:  toughness.  When you say unselfish, he doesn't care if he comes off the bench or starts?

JP:  Correct.  He just plays hard.  He doesn't care.  He's a senior, could have had an attitude, but he just wants to win.  He's our 6th man, and I think he should be the 6th man of the year in our league.  

GH:  I hope he gets it--he deserves it.  What about Evans?  He's starting to play a little more.

JP:  Yeah, we're getting Evans and Matija into the game.  We want to keep developing our bench.  We're playing right now 8 guys.  People say, "well, there's Joe Pasternack, he only plays 8 guys."  You go look at Arizona who played UCLA, the #4 team in the country--Arizona played 7 players.  Gonzaga plays 7.5 players, meaning one players plays 4 minutes.  So we're playing 8 players right now.  And if we could get a 9th to contribute, that would be terrific. 

GH:  That's great.  They're sophomore and freshman, respectively?

JP.  Yes.  

GH:  If you keep getting convincing wins, they'll get to play more and develop more.  It's a team effort.  Any comments for the rest of the conference season--and the next game against Hawaii on the road?

JP:  They're really, really good.  They're a great defensive team--they're very hard to beat at their place in Hawaii.  Winning on the road in college basketball is just so hard.  I don't care who you're playing.  And to play them is really hard.  It's going to be a tough, tough match up.  Our nonconference schedule--a lot of peopled talked about our schedule being such a bad schedule.  I respectfully disagree.  We played at Stanford and at San Jose State in scrimmages.  Then we had more road games and neutral games than we've ever had--since I've been here.  And we've prepared our team to play and win on the road.  And I think it's really helped us in conference so far.  

GH:  Yep,  Fresno State and Appalachian State were good teams.

JP:  Fresno State beat UNLV, UCI, and Wyoming.  They've had some really good wins recently.  You can't assess a schedule until the season is over.

GH:  Any other comments about the rest of the season?

JP:  My only focus is tomorrow's practice and that we improve.  We finally have a practice.  We haven't had a practice in a while.  

GH:  Ok, thanks for a great interview and quotes.

JP:  Yes, anything you ever need, just call me, ok.?

GH:  Thanks Coach and good luck in Hawaii!