Gaucho Hoops ("GH"): Thanks for taking this interview Coach. Can we go over the make up of the team, including new incoming transfers and freshmen? Also, how is this year's team different from last year's team?
Joe Pasternack ("JP"): At the end of the day, we retained a lot of guys and we're really excited about the guys we retained. I'll start with the freshmen. We have Luke Zuffelato who is from Santa Barbara High. I'm so excited about him. He's done an awesome job this summer and fall. He's gotten so much stronger, he's athletic, he can shoot the ball, he's tough, he can take charges. I'm really excited about him and this whole freshmen class.
CJ Shaw, who is from Vegas, and was the Gatorade Nevada Player of the Year. CJ can really score and can push the ball fast. He can defend and as a freshman, I think he'll play for us. He'll be one of the first guards off the bench. Mike Simcoe has done a great job, coming out of Phoenix, Arizona. Heavily recruited kid, recruited by Northwestern, Cal and Washington. He's one of the toughest players we've ever coached. He's had a broken nose, busted head, 8 staples, and he keeps grinding. I think the fans will really like watching him.
GH: Wait, Those injuries occurred while at UCSB or previously?
JP: The last 2 weeks.
GH: Wow. In practice.
JP: But they're all freshmen. It just takes time to develop. The best days are ahead for them.
GH: Right. I recall CJ was practicing over the summer.
JP: Yes, he was practicing over the summer. Those are the high school kids. The transfer portal guys, Aidan Mahaney from UConn, transferred from St. Mary's to UConn, a lot has been written about him. Aidan has been to 3 NCAA tournaments in a row. He's the leader of our team, and he's a vocal leader. We're very fortunate to have him. He's going to be playing both guard positions, and will really be able to score the ball for us. But he has leadership.
Marvin McGhee from Bakersfield. Broke his foot this summer. He's coming off that injury. We expect to have him back shortly, practicing every day, and he's doing a great job. He's one of the top 3 point shooters in the country. He's 6'6" with a 6'10" wingspan. He's versatile and can play multiple positions. We're excited about him.
Then we got Hosana Kitenge from Louisiana-Lafayette coming off an an Achilles tear last year. He's fully healthy. He's been practicing and played in our scrimmage. He's got a great, great motor. He can score inside/outside, can shoot 3's. So we're excited about him.
Then finally, Miro Little is a point guard from Utah. Miro is really big and strong.
GH: You scrimmaged earlier against UOP.
JP: Yeah, we scrimmaged against Pacific and Fresno State. The Pacific game, believe it or not, Zion Sensley had to play center because all 6 centers were out. We didn't even get to finish the game; it was like a 30 minute practice. We've got more guys back since. We've been banged up this fall. Now, hopefully we can have everybody back by November. We have to survive November.
GH: About Miro, didn't he play in Europe over the summer?
JP: He played on the Finnish team and they got 4th place, the best finish in the history of the country. He did a great job.
GH: That's impressive for a college player. Those are the freshmen and incoming transfers.
JP: Yep. We start Tuesday against San Francisco State at home at 6 pm. We have the games at 6 now, because we're trying to get the community involved. The older generation likes earlier games, and parents want to get their kids to the games, so we play at 6. On Saturday, we play San Jose State at 1 pm.
GH: Can you comment on the returnees and any improvements they've made since last year?
JP: Yeah, I think Jason Fontenet and Colin Smith, both have improved significantly. I'm excited about them. They're the two cornerstones from our team last year, 2 returning starters. Zion has had a really great summer and I'm really excited about him. I think he's going to have a really big year. ZZ Clark can really shoot the ball, didn't play last year. KK and Evans Kipruto, are two older guys who know our culture. Those two guys have been banged up this summer and fall. This fall, but they'll be back, nothing serious. We'll intermix those guys with who we have and get started on this journey.
GH: Jason was an all round player, both on offense and defense, and rebounding. Where has he improved? Has he worked on his perimeter shooting?
JP: Jason can really shoot the ball. He didn't really have a high percentage last year, 30% from 3's, up and down, but he's a really good 3 point shooter. He's a 40% shooter, at least 37% from 3, and hopefully we'll see that this year.
GH: Awesome and how about Colin? He's fully healthy this year, right?
JP: Yep, Colin is fully healthy and ready to go.
GH: He could always rebound and was a good shooter from the perimeter, too. You said Zion has improved a lot. In what areas has he improved?
JP: He's rebounding the ball at a much better rate. Defending better, competing harder. And he can really score the ball.
GH: And ZZ redshirted, right?
JP: Yeah.
GH: And he'll be in the rotation as a playmaker?
JP: Yes.
GH: ZZ is super strong as a point guard, right?
JP: Yeah.
GH: So he's tough on defense and has worked on his shooting as well?
JP: Yes.
GH: Overall, the schedule looks tougher.
JP: Like I told you guys all the time. You guys can kill me on scheduling. It's tougher to schedule than you think. The average fan might think it's easy, but my job is to educate y'all. You guys can kill me on the message board on coaching, but I have to educate you on how scheduling works. And what you have to put in here and it's simple, with the NET. The Power conferences (Big 10, SEC, ACC, etc.) are being told only play teams in Quadrants 1 and 4, and not Quadrants 2 and 3. We're not Quadrant 1 (top 25) or Quadrant 4 (300+). We're probably in Quadrant 2 or 3. It does them no good to play us. Power conferences are telling their schools to only play Quad 1 or 4. UCLA's goal is to only play Quad 1 or 4. Because that helps their NET. So that would be a really good education for your readers.
GH: Look, I think the scheduling--that's been beaten to death. Some fans will never change their minds, and actually, this year's schedule is actually stronger. Can you comment on any future conference realignments? Because rumor has it that UCSB is looking to join the WCC.
JP: As for as conference realignment, our AD Kelly Barsky is dealing with that. That's out of my hands. It's above my pay grade.
GH: That might be the new Chancellor's decision, in addition to Kelly's, right?
JP: Yeah.
GH: To summarize, the Power conferences schedule quads 1 and 4, plus they have more conference games, which means there are fewer opportunities to schedule mid majors in Quads 2 and 3. Any other comments on Tuesday's and Saturday's games?
JP: We are really trying to get the community involved to come to the games and get the Thunderdome packed We're really involved with the students. We're going to have a white out Saturday for the game against San Jose State.
We're gonna give all the students movie theater tickets Tuesday A donor owns Metropolitan theaters and has donated movie theater tickets for all the students for Tuesday's game against San Jose State.
GH: Plus, you put out a good product and with success, you shouldn't have a problem filling up seats for the rest of the season. I'll probably make the Vegas tournament after Thanksgiving. Thanks Coach!
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