Conference Preview: Conference USA

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Chad

For the rest of our preseason coverage, CLICK HERE.

CONFERENCE USA

The Conference USA tournament was held in Birmingham, Alabama last season and the hometown UAB Blazers were the story for reasons both on and off the court.  UAB was making Division I headlines for its decision to terminate the FBS football program along with a couple of other athletic programs.  The entire school’s future in Conference USA was up for debate, given that the conference required schools to sponsor football for membership.  In the wake of these questions, UAB’s basketball team came together and proceeded to not only win the CUSA tournament but then pull one of the most shocking round of 64 upsets last season, knocking off a 3 seed Iowa State team that appeared to have Final Four potential.  Although the Blazers fell in the Round of 32 to UCLA, more good news for UAB came after the tournament, when the school chose to reinstate football and was allowed to keep its Conference USA membership.

Although UAB was the only NCAA tournament team from CUSA last season, the conference did place three schools into the NIT — Old Dominion, UTEP and Louisiana Tech, with ODU advancing to the semifinals.  Middle Tennessee, which made a surprising run to the CUSA title game before falling to UAB, represented the conference in the CIT.  This season, UAB and Old Dominion should battle things out for conference supremacy, though all five of last year’s postseason participants should be among the conference’s top teams.  The surprise team for the season may be Marshall, as Dan D’Antoni is coming closer to fully installing his system of play.  As always with this conference, the top couple of teams may merit some at-large consideration — but they will need to make their marks in non-conference play.

Predicted Order of Finish

1.  UAB – The Blazers have plenty of scoring options in the backcourt led by Robert Brown.  William Lee should continue to develop into a force down low.  There is enough depth here to win the conference title.

2.  Old Dominion – Trey Freeman is one of the best guards in the conference and will be helped in the backcourt by the likes of Aaron Bacote and Ambrose Mosley.  Brandan Stith will have a chance to excel down low, but the Monarchs will need to get him help if they want to win the league.

3.  Marshall – Justin Edmonds, Ryan Taylor and Austin Loop all have the talent to star in D’Antoni’s system.  If they get the help they need from newcomers, this could be the surprise team of the conference.

4.  UTEP – The Miners lost a ton of players, but Coach Tim Floyd welcomes in arguably the best recruiting class in the conference and will get help from Oregon transfer Dominic Artis.  If they can gel together, the rest of the league better watch out come February and March.

5.  Louisiana Tech – The Bulldogs return Alex Hamilton outside and Erik McCree down low, but pretty much everyone else is gone and a return to the top of the league seems doubtful.

6.  Middle Tennessee – The Blue Raiders don’t have any true stars, but will possess a balanced attack that, when combined with Kermit Davis on the bench, may be enough to  have them among the league leaders.

7.  North Texas – The Mean Green could be another sleeper team in this league, especially if J’Mychal Reese is as good as advertised and Jeremy Combs continues to develop.

8.  Florida International – Adrian Diaz is a force down low and should have some help, but the backcourt has too many questions for the Panthers to contend.

9.  Western Kentucky – The addition of Illinois transfer Aaron Cosby will help a lot, but it will be too difficult for the Hilltoppers to make up for the losses of T.J. Price and George Fant.

10.  Rice – Although there are some talented veterans in the backcourt, the rest of the team is young and still being built.  Things do appear headed in the right direction, just not this season.

11.  Charlotte – Even though pretty much all of last season’s roster is gone, coach Mark Price has the starting pieces to build a program.  The 49ers could be dangerous — next season.

12.  Florida Atlantic – The Owls return three players that averaged double figures in scoring, but the talent level still is not here to compete for the conference’s upper division.

13.  Southern Mississippi – Doc Sadler’s team should be stronger in the backcourt with the additions of Dayton transfer Khari Price and JC transfer Michael Ramey.  However, the Golden Eagles ranked 317th in the nation in rebounding margin last season and this year may be even worse.  UPDATE 11/8/2015: Southern Miss has self-imposed a postseason ban for the second straight year while an NCAA investigation continues.

14.  Texas-San Antonio – Pretty much every player of note from last season’s sub-.500 team is gone.  This could be a very long year in San Antonio.

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Season preview: ULM coach Keith Richard

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Jon Teitel

For the rest of our Preseason Coverage – CLICK HERE

All this guy does is turn programs right round, baby, right round!  Louisiana Tech was 12-15 in 1998, then Keith Richard shows up and goes 19-9 in 1999.  ULM was 12-19 in 2010, then won only 24 games over the next 4 years due to some NCAA sanctions against the program for problems that occurred prior to Coach Richard’s arrival, and after the sanctions were lifted last year he won 24 games and made it all the way to the CBI championship series.  Some people just throw their alma mater a few bucks around the holidays, but after returning to Monroe he helped rebuild the program from near-scratch, was named 2015 Sun Belt COY, and created a defense that did not allow a single opponent to score 75 PTS all season.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Richard about dealing with sanctions and playing great defense.

keith

As a player at (what was then known as) Northeast Louisiana in the 1982 NCAA tourney (the 1st in school history) you scored 4 PTS in a 7-PT loss to Iowa: what was the mood like in the locker room at halftime when you had a 1-PT lead, and what was the reaction like in the locker room after the final buzzer? I was the starting PG and it was the 1st time that our program had ever made the tourney, so it was obviously a great moment to get there and was a big deal. We played well in the 1st half and felt that we could hang with them, but our starting SG got poked in the eye and never really returned. It was disappointing to lose but still a good feeling to play well on national TV.

In the 1991 NCAA tourney as an assistant at your alma mater you lost to eventual champion Duke: where does that Blue Devils team of Grant Hill/Bobby Hurley/Christian Laettner rank among the best that you have ever seen? They were very good and 1 of the best of all-time, but we played well in that game too. They were very athletic on the wings even though Hurley/Laettner got most of the pub. Our wings were also athletic…but ours were 6’3” and theirs were 6’8”! Our starting PG Casey Jones guarded Hurley all night long, and after the game Hurley said some nice things about the job that Casey did.

In the 2002 NIT as head coach at Louisiana Tech, you had a 67-64 loss at Villanova: after winning your 1st 19 games that year when holding your opponents under 70 points, why were you unable to make it 20 in a row? I do not remember that game in particular, but we might have had a little foul trouble. We stormed back at the end and had a shot at the buzzer to tie it. That was probably my best team at Louisiana Tech, which was our 1st year in the WAC back when it was 1 of the best leagues in the country. Our team could have played in the NCAA tourney.

After winning a total of 24 games during your 1st 4 years as head coach at your alma mater, the NCAA lifted all sanctions against the program (due to previous poor academic scores that occurred prior to your arrival) and you were able to win 24 games last year: how big a deal was it to finally have a full slate of scholarships/practices/etc.? The scholarship reduction was the biggest deal to me: that is why the NCAA handed down such a penalty. Once we were able to get them all back over time it made a big difference. We lost 5 scholarships during my 1st 2 years, and you cannot hit a home run on every single recruit. You have to be almost perfect to succeed: that does not even count injuries/redshirts/etc. The 1st 3 years we would not even find out about how many scholarships we would get until May so we were really stagnant in recruiting, but we did a great job academically.

Your team ranked in the top-15 in the nation by allowing only 29.7 3P% and 38.8 FG%: what is your secret for having such a great defense? Recruit some long/tall players! When we 1st got our scholarships back we were so inept at so many positions and were not tall/athletic. The 1st thing I told my guys is that the only things we had to worry about were length/athleticism because we were getting killed by the other teams in our league. Last year’s team was the result of our recruiting efforts: across the back line we were 6’7”/6’9”/6’10”, which is pretty good for the Sun Belt. That allowed us to alter (even if we did not block) shots and then rebound them, and our guards could chase our opponent’s best perimeter scorer within their half-court offense. We did not make any great change in defensive philosophy: we were just a good defensive team.

You finished the year by being named Sun Belt COY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? The honor was nice but what was most pleasing to me was the fact that we turned it around on the court and our community really supported us. Our attendance improved throughout the year: our program won a lot of games in the 1980s/1990s but had fallen on hard times since then.

In the final game of the 2015 CBI you had a 1-PT loss to Loyola-Chicago: how close did you come to winning the game, and what did your team learn from that game that you think will help them this year? We had a near-capacity crowd in a white-out game, which is something that I have not seen since I was an assistant coach. Loyola is a very good team: we were very close to them in talent and we were both solid teams. Both of the games were close and each team had their moments but we just fell a little short. They had some of the best guard play that we had seen all year, so while I was initially disappointed, I was proud of our run in the CBI and having the 3rd-biggest turnaround in the country. It gave us a tremendous amount of experience and our confidence has really soared during our summer workouts.

You return 4 starters from last year: how crucial is all of that experience going to be to your team’s success? We have 9 guys returning from last year and 4 new guys, but what has stuck out to me is our returning players. In the past our new recruits looked better than our veteran guys, but this year the returning guys look better, which is how a program is supposed to be. They look like they belong and have talent, so they will be critical.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Minnesota/Penn State/West Virginia: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? There is not 1 game that stands out, but we have a 7 or 8-game stretch that includes those 3 teams and several others, mostly on the road, so we will have to be ready to play and do so a little ahead of schedule. We also need to be patient regardless of how those games come out because I like our team and I do not want us to get sideways if that stretch does not go the way we want it to go. We just have to make sure we keep our heads up and keep getting better.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Going into last year we were picked 7th but I wanted to finish in the top half of the league, which I thought was a good goal for us and a good step in the right direction. This year my personal goal is to just have another “good season”, whatever that means, but I do not have a particular number of wins in mind.  Obviously it would be nice to win a conference title but I just want to have back-to-back winning seasons. We have not done that here since 1994, which surprises a lot of people including me. Our program went to the NCAA tourney 5 times from 1984-1991 so I just want to build on what we did last year. We have to develop some winning consistency instead of just being a 1-year wonder and then dropping back into the pack. The players might say different things but I do not have a problem with that.

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Conference Preview: Colonial Athletic Association

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Chad

For the rest of our Preseason Coverage, CLICK HERE.

COLONIAL

There are only five schools that have been men’s basketball playing members of Division I in the NCAA since 1948 and yet failed to place a single team in the NCAA Tournament.  Northwestern is the most well known of this group, but the Wildcats are joined on the list by The Citadel, Army, St. Francis (Brooklyn) and William & Mary.  William & Mary has come close to removing its name from the list in recent years, including losses in the CAA championship game in both 2010 and last season.  Last season, the Tribe also captured a share of the league regular season title for the first time since 1983, but only got an NIT bid out of it.  This season, they will try to take things one step further and make it to the Big Dance.

William & Mary’s path to the Big Dance will not be easy as they will need to make up for the loss of Marcus Thornton to the NBA and get by quite a few teams standing in their way.  This group includes Northeastern, which won the automatic bid last season and played in the NCAA tournament as a 14 seed, falling in a hard-fought Round of 64 game to Notre Dame. James Madison, which appeared in the CIT last season and Hoftsra, which was in the CBI, should also be among the contenders in a deep league, along with both Drexel and Delaware.  UNC Wilmington, which tied William & Mary, Northeastern and James Madison for the regular season title last season and advanced to the CIT, looks like it may fall off the pace a bit this year.

Predicted Order of Finish

1.  James Madison – The Dukes welcome pretty much everyone back from last year’s co-champions, including Ron Curry in the backcourt and Yohanny Dalembert down low.  The team also brings in some talented JC transfers, led by wingman Shakir Brown who averaged a double-double in junior college last season.

2.  Northeastern – The Huskies will have a great chance to defend their regular season co-championship and tournament title due to the return of four starters including guard David Walker.  However, they will need to rely on newcomers to make up for the loss of their top scorer from last season, Scott Eatherton.  Help there could come from freshman power forward Jeremy Miller.

3.  William & Mary – Even with Marcus Thornton now playing in the NBA, the Tribe appear to have enough pieces to challenge for the league title again.  They will be led by Omar Prewitt, Terry Tarpey and Daniel Dixon, all of whom averaged double digits in scoring last season.

4.  Hofstra – Yet another team with four or more starters returning, the Pride have solid depth in the backcourt led by Juan’ya Green and Brian Bernardi, plus wingman Ameen Tanksley.  The biggest problem for Hofstra will be a lack of proven bigs down low.

5.  Delaware – The Fightin’ Blue Hens return 7 of their top 8 players from last season’s squad.  They are led by Kory Holden and Cazmon Hayes in the backcourt and by Marvin King-Davis and Maurice Jeffers down low.  Despite having lost 20 games last season, this team appears ready to make a run at the top of the league standings.

6.  Drexel – The Dragons return the vast majority of their pieces from last season, but the one key loss is a huge one as Damion Lee decided to take his 21.4 points per game to Louisville.  The good news is that Major Canady will be healthy after missing last season with an injury.  The experience and depth on the roster alone should make Bruiser Flint’s squad a factor in the league race all season long.

7.  UNC Wilmington – The Seahawks lost three starters from last season’s team and will need backcourt mates Craig Ponder and Jordon Talley to step up this year.  The team will also need 7 footer C.J. Gettys to develop into a consistent force down low if they want any chance of contending again.

8.  Towson – As with most teams in the CAA this season, the Tigers return four starters.  The one player not back is leading scorer Four McGlynn, who elected to transfer to Rhode Island.  Pat Skerry’s team will have experience this year but everyone above them will as well, and the talent level may not be here to keep pace with the rest of the league.

9.  Elon – The good news is that Luke Eddy is back and healthy for the Phoenix.  The bad news is that CAA Freshman of the Year Elijah Bryant elected to transfer.  His loss may be too much to overcome and this could be a long season.

10.  College of Charleston – Earl Grant is entering his second season of trying to clean up the mess left behind in the wake of Doug Wojcik’s dismissal.  The experience gained last year by guards Canyon Barry and Joe Chealey will help make things a little better this season for a team that lost 24 games, but probably not too much better.

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Season preview: Montana SR PF Martin Breunig

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Jon Teitel

For the rest of our Preseason Coverage – CLICK HERE

According to my English-German dictionary, the phrase “impact transfer” in German is “auswirkungen transfer”; according to last year’s Montana basketball team, the proper translation is “Martin Breunig”.   He was born in Germany, went to high school in Wisconsin, committed to Maryland, began his college career at Washington, and ended up at Montana.  After sitting out 1 season, all he did last year was finish in the top-10 in the Big Sky in PPG/RPG/FG% while helping the team win a conference title in its very 1st year under Coach Travis DeCuire.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Martin about playing for the German national team and being the only senior on the current Griz roster. 

Breunig

You grew up in Germany: how did you 1st get into basketball? I grew up playing soccer, but I got sick of being outside during the cold winters so I switched to an indoor sport. My brother taught me the game a little bit: it was just a hobby at 1st but later became an addiction.

You played for the German U-18 national team at the 2010 FIBA European Championships in Lithuania: which of your opponents impressed you the most (Dario Saric/Bogdan Bogdanovic/Alex Len/other)? I was really impressed by Saric: my coach decided not to play me in the 1st half so I just watched him kill us while I was sitting on the bench. He was unstoppable!

You originally signed with Maryland, but received a release after Coach Gary Williams retired: how surprised were you to learn of Coach Williams’ decision, and what made you choose Washington? I was not surprised: I kind of saw it coming and knew that it would happen eventually. I did not have many options because a lot of schools did not know that I got my release from the Terps, so I eventually chose Washington over Florida.

Why did you decide to transfer in 2013, and what made you choose Montana? I did not get much playing time and my minutes decreased from my freshman to my sophomore year, so I wanted to go somewhere else where I could play more. I had a friend who knew then-assistant coach Kerry Rupp and I just decided to see where it would go.

You play for Coach Travis DeCuire: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? I have learned a lot about confidence: he teaches me to do things that previously caused me to hesitate, like shooting. He really pushes me: I asked him to do so because I want to be the best player that I can be.

In the 2015 NIT you scored 12 PTS in a loss to Texas A&M: what did you learn from that game that you think can help you this year? The Aggies were pretty good but we were not used to playing big-time teams, so the experience helped a lot. It is good to learn from you mistakes.

You are the only senior on the roster: how much pressure is there on you to be a leader this year? There is just the pressure that I put on myself. I just need to let the game come to me and keep pushing myself and my teammates to play our best. I am trying to be a good leader for the team and I hope it works out.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Boise State/Gonzaga/Washington/Kansas: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Kansas: they have won the Big 12 for the past decade so they will be a huge challenge. Gonzaga will also be interesting because we are both in the Northwest.

Your team returns 4 of its top-5 scorers from last year: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success this year? We have some good new guys coming in and some great threats from the 3-PT line, which should give me the space I need to score.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? I would like to make the NCAA tourney this year. It will not be easy because we play some good teams so we just need to get better every day and take it game by game.

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Conference Preview: Big West

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Chad

For the rest of our Preseason Coverage, CLICK HERE.

BIG WEST

For years the UC Irvine Anteaters’ basketball team has been the hard luck story of the Big West conference.  Despite being a member of the league since 1978 (back when it was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference), UCI had never made the NCAA tournament.  Back-to-back conference regular season championships in 2001 and 2002 resulted in a pair of NIT bids when the team got upset in the conference tournament.  Three years ago, the Anteaters fell to Pacific in the Big West championship game.  Two years ago, they won the regular season title but got upset in the semifinals.  And for these reasons, when the Anteaters earned the 3 seed in last year’s tournament, we pretty much wrote them off.  When they knocked off second-seeded UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals and got a matchup with 5th-seeded Hawai’i in the Big West title game, we just knew it would be heartbreak again.  And yet, for the first time in school history, UCI broke through, defeating Hawai’i 67-58 and getting a ticket to the Big Dance.  The team received a 13 seed from the committee and played Louisville tough in the Round of 64, losing by only 2 points.  The Anteaters return their big man this year, 7-6 300 pound Mamadou Ndiaye, and have a great shot at earning a return trip.

While UC Irvine was dancing, UC Davis earned a bid to the NIT as the regular season champions in the Big West.  UC Santa Barbara also received a postseason invite, playing in the CBI.  Davis looks like it will be taking a step back this year with three key starters gone including Big West Player of the Year Corey Hawkins.  UCSB should be in the hunt for the title though, and could be joined by several other schools including Cal Poly, Hawai’i and a team that has never been discussed among the Big West’s upper division, the UC Riverside Highlanders.  In fact, UCR is the second choice in the conference this year, which would be noteworthy given that they have never finished higher than fourth and have only had one winning season in 14 years at the Division I level.

Predicted Order of Finish

1.  UC Irvine – Mamadou Ndiaye’s 7-6 300 pound monster size is back (and he is only a junior).  The addition of freshman Jonathan Galloway will help down low and a pair of veteran guards, Luke Nelson and Alex Young, help round out a roster with a great chance to return to the Dance.

2.  UC Riverside – It may be surprising to pick the Highlanders this high, but they are led by a pair of seniors that both averaged over 15 points per game last season in forward Taylor Johns and guard Jaylen Bland.  They also added size in the offseason, bringing in 7 footer Menno Dijkstra from the Netherlands.

3.  Cal Poly – The Mustangs return their top five scorers from last season led by forward Brian Bennett and guard David Nwaba.  The experience that this senior-laden team has will give them a great shot at the league crown.

4. UC Santa Barbara – The Gauchos return three starters that averaged in double figures as guards Michael Bryson and Gabe Vincent plus forward John Green lead the way.  The problem is that the team will need to find a way to make up for the loss of Alan Williams who averaged a double-double last year.

5.  Hawai’i – Head coach Gib Arnold was terminated on the eve of the season last year and Benjy Taylor took over leading the Rainbow Warriors to 22 victories and a Big West championship game appearance.  It still remains a mystery why Taylor was not retained — but he wasn’t and Eran Ganot takes over this year.  The good news is that five of the top seven players from last year’s team are back and more experienced, giving the team a shot at challenging in a league race that should be fun to watch all season.

6.  Long Beach State – Dan Monson’s squad lost all five starters from last year’s 16-17 squad, but still should be somewhat competitive with the additions of Maryland transfer Nick Faust and USC transfer Roschon Prince.

7.  Cal State Fullerton – Four starters are gone from last season’s 9 win squad.  The good news is that Lanerryl Johnson averaged over 12 points per game last year and will step into a starting role this year.  The Titans also add in Air Force transfer Tre Coggins who averaged over 16 points per game two years ago in Colorado Springs.  Those two players alone should be enough to prevent things from getting any worse.

8.  UC Davis – Corey Hawkins led the Aggies to the regular season title and an NIT berth last season.  He is gone and the team must now rebuild without him, meaning that this year will see them take a major step backwards.  Josh Fox was the team’s top sixth man last season and should become a leader as a starter this year.

9.  Cal State Northridge – It is Reggie Theus’ third year in Northridge and therefore should be the year that his remake of the program begins to show through.  Instead, the Matadors lost their top three starters and will be hard pressed to just match last season’s 9 victories.

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Season preview: Pepperdine JR PG Jeremy Major

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Jon Teitel

For the rest of our Preseason Coverage – CLICK HERE

There is nothing “mid” about this Major.  Entering his junior year Jeremy Major is on pace to become Pepperdine’s all-time leader in career assists, and if he gets hot he might also end up #1 in career steals.  He was named to the WCC All-Freshman team in 2014, and last year he helped the Waves to a winning record and an appearance in the postseason for the 1st time in more than a decade.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Jeremy about starting as a freshman and all the veterans he will have coming back this season. 

major

You grew up in Pasadena: what made you choose Pepperdine? It was in California: most of my family is out here so they can come to my games and can support me. I wanted to be close to my mother and now she is only about a 45-minute drive away. When I took my official visit I felt they were a great group of guys: it is like a brotherhood and we all get along with each other.

You play for Coach Marty Wilson: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? He is very intense and pushes me to do my best. A lot of coaches are content but he expects a lot out of us. He is all about heart and is known as an aggressive guy so he has taught me to never settle for less than my all.

In 2014 you became the 1st Pepperdine freshman to start every game in almost 30 years and finished the year by being named to the WCC All-Freshman team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I came here during the summer and we had a lot of older guys on the team, so I wanted to prove myself at workouts and practice in order to gain their trust as an 18-year old PG. Once my coaches and teammates told me that they had trust in me it made everything much easier, and that year was a big step for us.

Last November you scored a career-high 21 PTS (9-13 FG) in a win over Fresno State: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I had not felt that way since high school, which made it fun. It is hard to have that kind of night in D-1 basketball.  I was having a lot of fun and there were several of us who finished in double figures, and I look forward to having more games like that this year.

As a sophomore you were #3 in the WCC with 1.6 SPG: what is your secret for being a good defender? I am not the biggest guy but I am 1 of the quickest guys so I just try to anticipate. We watch a lot of film and learn a lot of our opponents’ tendencies. Sometimes you get beat so it depends how you adapt to the situation.

In the 2015 CBI you scored a team-high 9 PTS in a loss to Seattle: what did you learn from that game that you think will help you this year? It was a tough game for all of us. We were down in numbers due to some injuries, so while we were happy to make the postseason we let it slip away from us. We will just use it as motivation this year: we have a lot of veteran leaders who know what to expect.  We cannot have games where we slack off and do not give 100%. We do not have time to wait around and let things happen so we will take more initiative and have a lot more passion because we are running out of time.

You are on pace to become the school’s all-time leader in career AST: what is the key to being a good PG? I watch a lot of film. As a freshman I had to react because everything was happening so fast on the court but I have been able to slow things down a lot. I try to see the floor and know when to spoon-feed certain teammates and get the shooters the ball as best I can. My cardio is a lot better this year so I think I can last longer and wear my opponents down: hopefully I can get a lot more assists in transition.

Your non-conference schedule includes a game in November against UCLA: will it be extra-special for you because you will have a lot of family/friends in attendance? UCLA is a local team so I have told my family/friends about it, but they can come catch me at Pepperdine anyway. It is more of a big deal for my teammates because we want to beat a Pac-12 team so we will give it our all. A lot of my friends live out of state so I am sure they will be watching on the Pac-12 Network.

You return each of your top-7 scorers from last year: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success this year? Luckily a lot of us have been playing since we were freshmen, so our coaches expect a lot out of us, as we do of ourselves. It is a long season: everyone is amped up in the beginning, but after your body starts to ache it takes a good team to stick with it and take advantage of their experience. The past 2 years we have dropped a couple of games late in the season, so we will make sure that does not happen this year.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our biggest goal is to win our conference: we were right there last year and we obviously want to get to the Big Dance. We were happy to make the CBI but we have worked hard all summer to get to the NCAA tourney, so now it is time to just go out there and perform.

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