2017-2018 Conference Schedule

That was a wildly exciting and supremely frustrating game to watch. The Pilots had many, many, many opportunities to win that game -- but shot themselves in the foot time and time again. Yet there were still some great and heroic plays to get the game to OT. Good defensive intensity and some timely big shots by Franklin Porter and McSwiggan.

In the end, they just didn't play well enough to win: So many missed layups, by the usual suspect (Hartwich) and by several of the guards. Smoyer even got in on the act. Terrible free throw shooting. Poor shot selection (e.g. McSwiggan with the fall-away turn-around jumpers). Extended scoring droughts (including the last 3:49 of OT). Dumb turnovers, including multiple offensive fouls away from the ball. Strings of multiple turnovers; we started the second half with 3 turnovers in our first 4 possessions. Failure to secure rebounds; Hartwich gets both hands on the ball and gets it taken away from him multiple times every game. Making the same defensive mistakes over and over (e.g. leaving three-point shooters wide open in the corner). How about learning from mistakes, rather than repeating them?

Why in the world was Hartwich on the floor in the closing minutes, and in OT? San Diego's coach figured out how to do a simple offensive-for-defense substitution with his big guys at the end of the game. How could our brain trust fail to do the same? Hartwich getting fouled and going to the line is the equivalent of a turnover. He missed 5 free throws in the final 6 minutes of the game.

Shaver missing those two FTs on the technical foul with 1:12 left in regulation loomed large. The game never should have gone to OT.

I'm glad to see that the USF experience prompted the coaches to change-up the personnel. Now I think it is time to drastically diminish Franklin Porter's playing time and take him out of the starting lineup. Over the last four games he has taken up a lot of possessions and shot extremely poorly:

vs USD: 3-11 shooting
vs USF: 3-10
vs BYU: 4-14
vs Sac: 2-7

That's good for a combined 28.6% from the field (12-42). He's taking a lot of wild shots, missing layups, and otherwise wasting possessions. And yet he's still getting at least 28 minutes per game. Why?

Let's get Rashad Jackson some more minutes in F. Porter's place. Rashad played very well in his limited minutes in the first half. He provided a good spark and scored 5 points in only 9 minutes. He's also one of the few Pilots who can consistently make free throws. It's got to be discouraging to come in and help the team in the first half, then not be called on at all after halftime when the team is struggling.

Sound Voltex wrote:Coach Cantu's radio post-game thoughts and an interesting perspective into their itinerary for Saturday's game:

https://vocaroo.com/i/s03AfdDHlk38

Thanks for posting these interviews that last few games!

I just wanted to say that I really appreciate reading all of your posts since it is difficult to watch games over here. It sounds like the coaches are switching things up a bit. While I want a consistently good lineup, the inconsistency should keep other coaches guessing a bit, which may or may not favor us.

I love to see that the Pilots put up a good fight and forced OT, but it sounds like a little bit more could have been done. It's a learning experience! Considering they played a team of mostly juniors and seniors, I will take it.

NoPo wrote:Terrible free throw shooting.

Should not be a blanket team condemnation. Hartwich is a special case; how many 7'-2" guys are there? Without Phil's 1 of 6, the team shot 76.9% last night, which is the same as the 24th best team percentage in the country. Yes, Shaver's two misses were untimely and stand out since it was a critical point. He'd made 4 in a row before that. Looked like his legs were dead. The overall FT% was 66%, USD only shot 68%.

The staff has made similar comments, that a Phil FT trip is a turnover. They are well aware of his liability. As for not subbing at the end, Diabate had fouled out (too bad he took that stupid technical), and I guess they weren't confident of another big at that point.

FYI, for the season, team FT% w/o Hartwich is 72.7%, which would be good for 112th ranking in the country. Wish they'd never miss.

Sound Voltex wrote:

Will Maupin @WillsWCCblog wrote:Still marveling at Portland's game plan against San Diego. It takes up the bulk of my #WCChoops thoughts piece, which you can read Friday AM on @mid_madness.

https://twitter.com/WillsWCCblog/status/949185934641123328

Mid-Major Madness wrote:This was supposed to be a clash of styles. Portland came in averaging 9.5 made three pointers per game and shooting 40.2 percent from downtown. San Diego holds opponents below 25 percent from long range and owns the nation’s best three-point defense. Teams don’t get good looks against the Toreros.
But the trigger-happy Pilots were the exact opposite Thursday night. They took just nine threes all game and only made one. But that one make came with 12 seconds to play and forced overtime.
Terry Porter’s team spent the first 40 minutes relentlessly pounding the ball inside. Perhaps Porter saw an Achilles’ heel in the Toreros, because not only did they score 36 points in the paint but they drew fouls at a high rate. USD’s two-point percentage defense ranked No. 14 in the nation per KenPom, which is really good but not quite as daunting as their top-rated three point defense. Even more, star transfers Isaiah Wright (30 points) and Isaiah Pineiro (eight points) have been foul prone all year long. Thursday, both fouled out well before the overtime period. They’ve combined for seven disqualifications this season.
In the end, it wasn’t enough and the Toreros escaped with an 81-74 victory. But give credit to Porter and the Pilots for being fearless enough to abandon their identity and attack the Toreros where they are weakest. You’ve got to imagine teams around the WCC will take note.

Full article: https://www.midmajormadness.com/2018/1/5/16852760/wcc-thursday-west-coast-conference-gonzaga-bulldogs-zags-pepperdine-san-diego-toreros-portland-byu

Yes, Phil's inability at the line and Franklin's inconsistency are concerns (hopefully Franklin has forever abandoned the "stuffed" shorts), but I saw only positives from last night's performance.

During PK-80 the Pilots had to shoot from the outside because of the athleticism and size of their opponents, but in the games after that it was important to establish an inside game to give the outside shooters some breathing room....and last night was a very good beginning towards establishing the inside game.

Hard to say what the outcome would have been had Austin Stone been available, but when Tahirou fouled-out and Phil was in foul trouble, the Pilots fate for the night was hanging by a thread. UP's guard heavy roster is even more imbalanced without Austin.  Whatever the situation is, it better be resolved sooner than later!

Very impressed with the staff being proactive in their game plan, and I know that after the USF debacle each of the coaches did quite a bit of "coaching-up" of a number of individuals about blocking-out, rebounding, and defense.

I agree with the assessment that Marcus' legs were gone when he shot the technical foul balls, but it was also obvious that all the freshmen, who were just high school kids a year ago, have really been put through the meat grinder starting with PK-80. Most freshmen have a year or two of maturing, growing, and getting stronger before so much is expected of them.

After being in such a negative funk for five days after the USF game, the fans leaving the Chiles Center last evening (some left before the Pilots came racing back to take the game into OT) were in a much more positive mood and had a better outlook toward the future of the program.

Hard to say if the young Pilots can sustain the boost last night's game gave the squad and the fans (travel, strange/new gym, mental and physical fatigue), but win or lose going forward, last night the team proved to most of us their potential as winners....let's hope they also proved it to themselves.

up7587 wrote:

NoPo wrote:Terrible free throw shooting.

Should not be a blanket team condemnation. Hartwich is a special case; how many 7'-2" guys are there? Without Phil's 1 of 6, the team shot 76.9% last night, which is the same as the 24th best team percentage in the country.

True. That said... I hate to harp on him because I do very much value the other things he contributes to the team and it has been fun to watch him grow and improve as a player, but Phil's FT shooting has gotten a bit ridiculous.

He's never been a good shooter (under 50% during his first three seasons, I believe), but after last night's 1-6 performance he is now shooting 28% for the season.

What's worse, he also leads the team in FT attempts at 68. (He's 19-68.) Next closest is JoJo with 50.

Fact is, he's a huge liability in late-game situations. It's no mistake that San Diego fouled him twice in the last minute of OT and once with :30 left in regulation.

I'm guessing it's a bit of a mental thing at this point, but if he could hit even 50% the rest of the way it would make me feel a lot better about him being on the court during crunch time.

up7587 wrote:

NoPo wrote:Terrible free throw shooting.

Should not be a blanket team condemnation. Hartwich is a special case; how many 7'-2" guys are there? Without Phil's 1 of 6, the team shot 76.9% last night, which is the same as the 24th best team percentage in the country.

Yet... Hartwich is part of the team, and his missed free throws are real and have cost the Pilots at least two wins this year already. It would be nice if we lived in a fantasy world in which the worst (and most prevalent!) aspect of everything could just be imagined away...

If it weren't for the doughnuts, my diet would be really great. So don't criticize my diet. BTW, I eat more doughnuts than anything else.

If it weren't for Hartwich, we'd be good at free throws. So don't criticize the team's FT shooting. BTW, Hartwich shoots more FTs than anyone else on the team.

Here's my problem:   I went to the game thinking I wouldn't mind losing if we play a halfway decent game.   And in the context of a halfway decent game, I'd be filled with enthusiasm and accolades.  The problem however, is the Pilots did much better than halfway decent.  So, in the middle of the game, I revised my thinking to we could actually win this.   In that context, I'm frustrated in most of the same ways others have been talking about. The second team brought us back into the game in the first half, so why didn't we give them the same chance in the second half?   The last ten minutes of regulation reminded me of the USF game - we caught up but the crispness and fluidity seemed gone.  Why did we leave Phil in at the end of the game when Joseph was available?  Why did Franklin play so many minutes when he seems in a slump?  

My wife and I left consoling ourselves with the thought that this team is so much better than we saw in the previous games.   My frustration is dissipating.  We've got a good team and good coaches and a good future in front of us.

Hartwich's problems at the free throw line are analogous to Rick Ankiel's inability to throw the ball over the plate before he switched to outfield--no switch's available to Phil. Also like the yips in putting, only perhaps worse given his percentage. At this point it is hard to believe that Phil will materially improve while he is a Pilot, coaching or psychological intervention notwithstanding.

At least in the last game, Coach played Franklin at times through a terrible performance, though Franklin made some plays at the end that were instrumental in bringing the Pilots back. Jackson played more productive minutes, not considering those last two buckets by Franklin. And, Shaver and McSwiggan at times languished on the bench while our offense struggled with Franklin. It is arguably past time to sit Franklin more. We may be a better team with MsSwiggan and Shaver playing . . .even Jackson at times.

Offensive rebounds are proving elusive for the team. We hardly hit the boards at all on offense, preferring apparently to retreat to prevent a fast break. We need only look to the example of USF against us to wonder whether putting more effort into offensive rebounding is called for.

Like to see the team pull out a win soon.

One other thing, San Diego's guards are not better than Jojo and Marcus--just saying.

Who is this mysterious "Lewis" player you speak of?

Also will be away from the computer tonight, so no post-game radio recordings from me for this game. Will try to track the game via live stats.

wrv wrote:We hardly hit the boards at all on offense, preferring apparently to retreat to prevent a fast break.

This is a specific strategy of Coach Porter. Get back to stop fast breaks is the priority.

Sound Voltex wrote:Who is this mysterious "Lewis" player you speak of?  

Also will be away from the computer tonight, so no post-game radio recordings from me for this game. Will try to track the game via live stats.

I was wondering who "Lewis" is :scratch:too???....

Thanks for the post game radio recordings that you have provided Sound Voltex.

1st half thought versus Santa Clara: STOP ALLOWING SECOND CHANCE POINTS.

[quote="SouthCarolinaPilot"]1st half thought versus Santa Clara: STOP ALLOWING SECOND CHANCE POINTS.[/quote))

Santa Clara has 9 offensive rebounds to Pilots 2....

Very encouraging to see Diabate playing well.

2nd half thoughts: both disappointing and encouraging performance. Not the outcome I wanted, but the heart was there. We win the rematch in Chiles, I think. Diabate was definitely a highlight.

SCU wins 70-68. Pilots had the ball down 1 with sevens seconds left, but SCU stole a pass to seal the win. Rats.

My compliments to everybody (but the refs).

bullwinkle wrote:My compliments to everybody (but the refs).

Yeah, it's tough to win when the other team takes 18 FTs and you take only 5.

It's nice to be competitive... it will be nicer when this group of young players gels and matures enough to start gutting out W's in these situations.

Sound Voltex wrote:Also will be away from the computer tonight, so no post-game radio recordings from me for this game. Will try to track the game via live stats.

Didn't miss anything, as no coach came out for a post-game radio interview. Tends to happen after tough losses.

Me watching live stats during the second half:

Okay, one-possession game, we can tie or take the le- turnover.
Okay, one-possession game, we can tie or take the le- turnover.
Okay, one-possession game, we can tie or take the le- another turnover.
Okay, one-possession game, we can tie or take the le- stop turn over ball pls
Okay, one-possession game, we can tie or take the le-aaaaaaaghhhhhhh
Last possession, please win, please win, please-asldakj;afjlsjalkj;lkjasfjadfds


Congrats to Diabate on his first double-double. Really great to see his improvement from the off-season.

Sound Voltex wrote:Me watching live stats during the second half:

Okay, one-possession game, we can tie or take the le- turnover.
Okay, one-possession game, we can tie or take the le- turnover.
Okay, one-possession game, we can tie or take the le- another turnover.
Okay, one-possession game, we can tie or take the le- stop turn over ball pls
Okay, one-possession game, we can tie or take the le-aaaaaaaghhhhhhh
Last possession, please win, please win, please-asldakj;afjlsjalkj;lkjasfjadfds

Freshmen guards.  Al McGuire was right.

The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores.

Porter is in his second season with the Pilots, but the team’s low status has let the coach gets his feet underneath him and establish the program:

   “There’s not much expectation on us,” Porter said. “Which is fine. I’m trying to use my name to restart the program. It takes time.”

Porter likens college travel to his old NBA days, without all the glitz and glam, but sees it as an opportunity for his team to bond:

   “We’re not getting on any private planes. No food catered when we get there. No Ritz-Carlton or Four Seasons. It’s Marriotts and Hyatts and stuff. It has a family vibe, too, at times with all the young kids. It’s really rewarding as well.”

https://www.blazersedge.com/2018/1/4/16850764/terry-porter-damon-stoudamire-trail-blazers-portland-pilots-pacific-tigers
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/1/4/16847096/nba-damon-stoudamire-terry-porter-donyell-marshall-dan-majerle

Thought I should mention that I sat with a number of UP Alums (about 50, I'd guess) at last night's game at Santa Clara...and although I'm sure they were disappointed by the 2 point loss, all were talking about how athletic the team was and how fun they were to watch.

Most of these alums only see the Pilots once a year or less, but many said they can't wait to until next year (or the year after, one said) to go to the three (or four counting Stockton) Bay Area WCC gyms to make some noise and watch their team win....something they haven't witnessed for a number of seasons.

I'm guessing everyone on PilotNation shares that sentiment!

The good news:  The Pilots' defense and even a few rebounds down the stretch kept us in it... but we still had way too many empty possessions to win a game that was there for the taking.  

One of these years we will not be the "younger" team against all our opponents, right?