2017-18 Pre-Season Discussion

8. Portland Pilots

Second-year head coach Terry Porter’s rebuild begins in earnest this season as he brings back just four players from last year’s roster. Of them, only senior guard D’Marques Tyson (8.5 ppg) and junior guard Rashad Jackson (6.4 ppg) accounted for a significant portion of the Pilots’ production. It’s as close to a blank slate as a coach can ask for. And that’s about all that puts Portland above Pacific and Loyola Marymount. We don’t yet know what the Porter Era will be, but this year he can start to show us. That’s more than you can say about the teams below.

Sound Voltex wrote:

https://twitter.com/PilotHoops/status/925497603084521472

Portland Pilots
Coach: Terry Porter (11-22), 2nd year

2016-17 record: 11-22. WCC: 2-16, 10th

Key newcomers: Taki Fahrensohn (6-6, G), Marcus Shaver Jr. (6-2, G) Tahirou Diabate (6-9, F)

Key losses: Alec Wintering, Jazz Johnson, Gabe Taylor

Outlook: Another revolving door in Portland, where there are 11 new faces in a class that got some national buzz, though perhaps for volume. Marcus Shaver Jr., a late pickup after a coaching change at UC Santa Barbara, is a likely standout, with JoJo Walker getting a look at the point. Long Tahirou Diabate grew up in Mali, but became a high school terror in Japan.

10. Portland- The transfers of Gabe Taylor and Jazz Johnson were crushing for Terry Porter’s club. 3-star recruit Marcus Shaver is an interesting piece, but they’ll need a lot of help from their newcomers in order to stay out of the bottom of the conference.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:😳

https://twitter.com/portlandpilots/status/926990025576783874

up7587 wrote:

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:😳

https://twitter.com/portlandpilots/status/926990025576783874

"Make up"

Paul Lukas wrote:No photos yet, but Portland will be playing at the PK80 Invitational in late November, and all participating teams will have special uniform designs.

NoPoNeighbor wrote: ...is this a meeting? A presentation? Is it for all fans? Students only? What is the purpose?

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Just wanted to stop the discussion momentarily to say: happy 1000th post, NoPo! Thanks for contributing. I'm sorry that we missed that a few posts ago.

Back to your regularly scheduled Pilot programing.

10. Portland Pilots

Last season: 11-22 (2-16 WCC)

Year two of the Terry Porter era started bleak.

Two months after upsetting San Diego in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament, Portland’s leading scorer — and onetime Graphic WCC Players to Watch candidate — Jazz Johnson transferred to Nevada. Shortly after his decision, Johnson threw his old team under the bus in an interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal, published May 3:

[Nevada’s program] is a night and day difference,” Johnson said, “Portland has been struggling for the last few years with being successful. [Portland’s] fan base isn’t very high. With Nevada, it’s a community thing. There’s no professional teams. They’re basically the show of the town and the town really supports them. That’s what I love about it.

To be fair, Portland has been struggling with attendance over the past few years. But still: Ouch.

Some of Johnson’s teammates followed suit. When the dust settled, Portland lost six players to transferring, including likely 2017-18 starters Xavier Hallinan and Gabe Taylor.

But Portland’s offseason wasn’t all doom-and-gloom. Former UCSB commit Marcus Shaver flipped to Portland, rounding out what could be the Pilots’ best recruiting class in school history. The three-star guard was a late bloomer in the Arizona ranks, and was one of the best high school prospects available in the offseason.

But to lose six players to the transfer market — not to mention three seniors to graduation — in one season? The lack of continuity could be crippling for such a young, inexperienced team. Yet the Pilots weren’t the worst victims of extreme roster turnover; that honor goes to the next team on the power rankings.

Best case scenario: Portland’s young freshmen gel with the junior college transfers, taking the first steps to create a culture of guys who want to pull Portland out of the bottom of the WCC. Marcus Shaver plays like the guy who turned heads in high school, and becomes one of the WCC’s premier young guards.

Worst-case scenario: Portland’s roster of freshmen and transfers struggles to find consistency. The Pilots’ win total is in the single digits, and more players transfer out of the program.

Stat of note: Last season, the Pilots lost 16 straight games in conference play. This ignominious feat hasn’t been achieved since the 2000-01 Saint Mary’s squad lost all 14 of its WCC games — and that was back when the conference had eight members.

Stat of note: Ten players on the current roster have yet to log one minute in a Pilots uniform.

Player to Watch: Marcus Shaver

Philipp Hartwich – Portland – 2016/17 Averages – 17.3 Minutes – 1.8 Points – 5.0 Rebounds – 1.6 Blocks – 51% FG – 42% FT
Philipp knows his role for the Portland Pilots, get boards and block shots, he had a block in all but 6 games last leason, getting at least 1 block in his 24 other appearances and grabbed a rebound in 28 of those 30 total games. Rarely does he get bucks, he shot a season high 5 field goals against Walla Walla University (yes that is seriously their name). At 7ft 2″ he shouldnt have any problems to put up similar stats next season.

up7587 wrote:
At least I'll recognize the new entrance song.  I've never heard of DJ Snake and Lil Jon.

up7587 wrote:At least I'll recognize the new entrance song.....