Pepperdine @ Pilots, 1/31, 7PM

The Waves come to Chiles off an OT win over SMC. They are led by 6'1" SO Colbey Ross (19 ppg) and 6'6" JR Kameron Edwards (18 ppg). They have four other guys who average around 10 ppg. They are 3-4 in WCC play, beating LMU, @USD, and SMC, and losing USF, @SCU, BYU, and @LMU. The win at USD is their only road win of the season; they are 1-7 on the road this year, so there is that.

Romar's most recent visit to the Chiles Center:
https://youtu.be/f3-r3Dh_KT8

Pepperdine opened a 5.5 point favorite, but some fools bet it down to 4.5. With an o/u of 145, they're predicting a 75-70 game.

Wow the 145 does seem a bit high. Risky move but I would double down and do a parlay Pilots +4.5 and under 145. This team can't be bad every single game.

Gonna have to waffle after thinking back to the weave. Pepperdine -4.5 and under.

What is the over/under for the row number that bobtcat2 ends up sitting in?

I'll take action at 13.5.

The body language from the start of the game here says it all, honestly.

12 minutes, 2 baskets, 1 ft.

Getting quadrupled doesn’t feel good.

Zero chance that we'll win a conference game.

Row 6, not going to be able to sit through the rest of this one.

The Waves "edged" the Pilots 83-58. They focused on stopping Shaver (1-9). No other Pilot could pick up the slack. 11 Pilots scored, none got into double figures.

bobtcat2 wrote:Row 6, not going to be able to sit through the rest of this one.

Since nobody wants to talk about the game highlights, tell us about the ninja skills it took to get to row 6 with a ga ticket.

Seriously though, this was about as bad a game as I've ever seen and I've watched a lot of Pilot basketball games. I have lots of thoughts to share, but probably shouldn't say them all tonight.

I've typed a lot of posts where I've decided not to click send. So far I've had the sense to delete them, but that may not last much longer!

blacksheep wrote:

bobtcat2 wrote:Row 6, not going to be able to sit through the rest of this one.

Since nobody wants to talk about the game highlights, tell us about the ninja skills it took to get to row 6 with a ga ticket.  

Seriously though, this was about as bad a game as I've ever seen and I've watched a lot of Pilot basketball games. I have lots of thoughts to share, but probably shouldn't say them all tonight.  

I've typed a lot of posts where I've decided not to click send. So far I've had the sense to delete them, but that may not last much longer!

Ended up buying on Stubhub. Spent just a bit less than a GA- but man, brutal!

A PU grad and Peace Corps worker tells me the two former Pac-12 coaches now at Pepperdine, Romar from UW and Bone from WSU, are excellent recruiters and in-game coaches.

I was also told this was PU's first win at UP in six years...wow, big strides in Malibu, and probably a nice place to live too.

I remember one of the PU players from his visit to UP last year, #34, and I'm told #10 was also looking to come to UP until Romar and Bone took over as coaches.

Are Theo and Josh P. hurt? Seems like they could have been some help with their insides athleticism.

StudentPilot wrote:A PU grad and Peace Corps worker tells me the two former Pac-12 coaches now at Pepperdine, Romar from UW and Bone from WSU, are excellent recruiters and in-game coaches.

That was not Romar's reputation at UW. It was great recruiter, poor game coach.

Does anyone have Steve Alford's phone number to pass on to the Athletic Department?

The rapid improvement at Pepperdine is hard to ignore... well done.

up7587 wrote:

StudentPilot wrote:A PU grad and Peace Corps worker tells me the two former Pac-12 coaches now at Pepperdine, Romar from UW and Bone from WSU, are excellent recruiters and in-game coaches.

That was not Romar's reputation at UW. It was great recruiter, poor game coach.

Not (yet) a college grad, and now conversing more in Spanish than English, I screwed-up my syntax.  

What I meant was, Romar, the recruiter, and Bone, the in-game coach, are now an excellent combination in Malibu.

Curious, what is Porter's reputation as a coach?  I'd never heard of him before he came to UP....

PilotNut wrote:Does anyone have Steve Alford's phone number to pass on to the Athletic Department?

The rapid improvement at Pepperdine is hard to ignore... well done.

Alford- Good recruiter, mediocre game coach at best and as anyone from his Iowa days will tell you, a very bad person.

Probably would get some better results if they brought Alford in because he does recruit really well, but not worth it. Anyway, I'm certain this is the last year for Porter, so they surely are already kicking the tires on some candidates.

Agree on Romar, very good recruiter and seems a nice guy as well but not the best tactical coach. Pepperdine has really turned around fast. That Kameron Edwards is a really good player. Big, athetic, and can shoot outside.

StudentPilot wrote:Not (yet) a college grad, and now conversing more in Spanish than English, I screwed-up my syntax.  

no hay problema

Regarding Porter's reputation as a coach. He had two head coaching jobs in the NBA. In Milwaukie, he was let go after his second year when they did not make the playoffs (he was replaced by Terry Stotts, current Blazer coach). In Phoenix, he was let go after 51 games, and replaced by one of his assistants. When he took over, he tried to change the team play from run and gun lead by Steve Nash, to more half court play, with Shaq as the center. I do not know the dynamics between him and his players, and NBA in general is a grinder for coaches. But they went back to run and gun when they fired him.

Wikipedia does note he lead his son's 5th grade team to an undefeated season after the Milwaukie job.