Showing posts with label men's basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label men's basketball. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Saturday, December 16, 2023
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Monday, November 13, 2023
Sunday, October 1, 2023
UCSB Men's Basketball Practice, 9-27-23
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lyAb1L4OGbA
It was a short practice, but highly intense, more fast-paced than I've ever seen a Gauchos team practice. Not only were the drills intense, but transitioning from drill to drill was very quick.
Ajay looks like a grown man, jacked and with a beard. Heard from a booster he weighs 205 now, and full of muscle. He's more vocal now, and even his voice seems deeper. lol
Fontenot is even more muscular, gaining over 10 pounds when I first saw him a couple months ago. The Gauchos are hitting the weights hard.
The team looks scary good, as in we should dominate teams. Of course, we won't every game, but I'll give you some context. That same booster predicted 26 wins last year, and everybody thought he was polyannish, including Pimm. Well, we got to 27 wins. This year, he is predicting 30 wins, which is significant given our schedule will be tougher. I'm not saying we will win 30 games, but I'm also not betting against it either. Of course, injuries can also play a role, so predictions are inherently dangerous. But the donor did say this is the best team the Gauchos have assembled. Some fans may point to the great teams Pimm had in the late 80's, and the much more potent BW conference. We will see.
The consensus is KKT will take a medical redshirt, with one dissenter. I'll leave that up to you to figure out who that person is. lol
I won't comment on other rumors of injuries, but we should have a strong squad with depth, regardless.
Our bigs (Traore, Belic, Kipruto and Oakman) are all fast, and are athletic, with Traore immovable in the post. Belic looks much more confident and composed, as his Euro experience this summer has obviously paid off. Our perimeter players are experienced, and a year stronger and better. JPL and Ajay really worked on their jumpshots, releasing the ball without using the pinky finger. My guess is that they verticalized their shooting elbow too. Both jumpers looked more efficient with fewer moving parts. Also starting higher in the cocked position rather than starting below was an emphasis.
We are better at every position except at the 4, and that's only because Miles is an NBA talent. Having said that, Belic will be one of the most improved players. Every other player in the starting lineup is either a year better or they are new (Traore). Starting lineup right now looks like Ajay, Traore, JPL, Cole, and Belic. Here's the thing: Fontenot is already Div 1 ready. He can drive, shoot, rebound and defend. Expect 20 mpg if he continues to develop.
All the players are high character kids, including those further away from home, including JPL.
One thing I noticed--these kids are courageous. I don't know who has more fortitude, the walk ons who were beat up, or the rotation players being the aggressors. Unlike previous practices, the first and second teams did not take mercy on the scout teams. They all get along on and off the court, but my god, there was no letting up on defense, if you were on-ball or denying the pass. As much as us fans like to see buckets, watching this team defend will be a treat. Defending was not just a slogan, our wings were very aggressive, and so was Ajay. I guess JPL is rubbing off on all his teammates. I've watched more than a few practices over the years, and this team is different. There's a certain vibe about them, like they are carnivorous. I don't know, I guess we will see.
Jazzman came in as the biggest kid on the block, but in his brief time here, he is acclimating to the culture of stepping up, no matter what physical presence you have. If he bulks up, he will be a monster, cuz he already runs like a deer Traore--he's already a monster. Like I said last time, if he gets the ball in the post, it's an automatic bucket and/or free throws.
Anyway, I have a feeling LB fans feel the same way about their frontcourt, as they will also be improved from last year. UCI keeps getting raw post players who develop into solid BW stars, and lately, their backcourt players are also good. If I were to guess, I could see 26 games again, but against tougher competition, and hopefully, a win in the big dance. We had a shot at Baylor, and look at what SDSU and FAU did last season. One can dream, right?
I also chatted briefly with Coach Howland. The guy is a gym rat, very focused while watching the practice. He's very high on Traore and Fontenot also. So there you have it, coming from someone who kinda knows the game. lol Also had a great chat with Gerry Fall. He will be doing the play by play for MBB again. I hope to interview him next week.
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Friday, July 21, 2023
Monday, July 17, 2023
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
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.
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Sunday, March 12, 2023
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Saturday, March 4, 2023
Saturday, February 4, 2023
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
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!
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