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Men's Basketball:
UC Irvine Hosts Cal Poly Pomona Saturday Night in Exhibition Game
Nov. 4, 2008
UC IRVINE VS. CAL POLY POMONA Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008 - 7:05 p.m. RADIO: KUCI/88.9 FM UC Irvine begins its 2008-09 schedule Saturday night, hosting Cal Poly Pomona in an exhibition game at the Bren Events Center with the tipoff at 7:05 p.m. Coach Pat Douglass' Anteaters were 18-16 overall last season, but lost three of their top four scorers to graduation. UCI was 9-7 in the Big West Conference last season and was the fifth seed in the conference tournament. The 'Eaters defeated Long Beach State, 77-63 in the first round, edged Pacific, 57-56, in the quarterfinals and topped No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara, 55-50, in the semifinals. UCI played in the tournament final for the first time in 14 years and was defeated by Cal State Fullerton, 81-66. UCI's probable starting lineup Saturday features Patrick Rembert and Darren Moore in the backcourt, Chad DeCasas at wing, Kevin Bland at power forward and Zack Atkinson at center. COACH DOUGLASS: Pat Douglass, in his 12th season as head coach at UC Irvine in 2008-09, is the longest-tenured and winningest coach in the 43-year history of the Anteater program. He became the program's all-time leader in wins last season as he has compiled an Anteater record of 171-154 in the past 11 years. Douglass passed previous leader Bill Mulligan (163) in a 74-59 win over Pacific Feb. 14, 2008.
Douglass led UCI to an 18-16 record last season, including wins in nine of the team's last 12 games. He guided the 'Eaters to three straight victories in the Big West Conference Tournament and the university's first appearance in 14 years in the championship game. Over the past eight seasons, Douglass' Anteater teams have won 77 percent (80-24) of their home games and compiled a total of 142 wins for an average of 17.8 per season. Douglass leads all Big West Conference coaches with 547 victories at the four-year collegiate level. In his 27th season in the four-year ranks, he is 547-273. ASSISTANT COACHES: Former UCI standout Tod Murphy is in his sixth season as an Anteater assistant coach while Ross Land and Rhett Soliday are each in their third years on the UCI staff. ABOUT CAL POLY POMONA: Greg Kamansky is in his ninth season as head coach of the Broncos, who were 13-15 overall last season and finished eighth in the CCAA with a 10-10 mark. Senior forward Larry Gordon led Cal Poly Pomona in scoring and rebounding last season at 17.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. The Broncos' roster includes 6-5 freshman Dwayne Fells, the younger brother of former UCI standout Darren Fells. 2008-09 UC IRVINE OUTLOOK A late surge last season carried UC Irvine to the championship game of the Big West Conference Tournament for the first time in 14 years and the Anteaters are looking to capitalize on that momentum in 2008-09. Pat Douglass returns for his 12th season as head coach after becoming the school's career leader in wins last year. The amount of success this season will be based on the blending of six returning players in the program with the influx of eight newcomers. UCI did lose three key players to graduation from last season's 18-16 squad that won nine of its last 12 games. The departed players include forward Patrick Sanders and center Darren Fells, widely considered the top 1-2 punch in the Big West last season. Sanders, an All-Big West first-team selection, led UCI in scoring at 15.1 points per game while Fells, a second-team pick, topped the 'Eaters in rebounding with a 7.2 average, scored at a 14.4 clip and led the conference in field-goal percentage at .569. The third player to graduate was guard Marcus McIntosh, who averaged 7.3 points, including 11.3 in the four league tournament games. Junior guard Michael Hunter is the top returning scorer for UCI after averaging 8.8 points per game last season. He has led the 'Eaters in assists the past two seasons, recording a total of 149 in 65 games. Hunter has 73 steals and has hit 89 threes in his first two years with the program. Senior guard Brett Lauer ranked second on the team last season with 50 three-point field goals and averaged 6.2 points. Senior forward Kevin Bland led UCI with 53 steals last season, ranking fifth in the Big West with a 1.53 average. He was 10th in the league in rebounding (5.4) and averaged 5.8 points per game. Junior wing Chad DeCasas started 17 games last season and averaged 4.9 points while sophomore guard Patrick Rembert averaged 2.8 points and started the last three games of the Big West Tournament. Derrick Strings is a redshirt freshman with the Anteater program and had impressive scoring numbers in high school. Three community-college players and three from the high school ranks are the incoming scholarship recruits for UCI. Junior guard Darren Moore averaged 17.8 points and was first team all-state for Citrus College, which won the state title last season. Ryan Staker, a 6-8 junior, led the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference in rebounding last season with a 12.7 average. He added 15.4 points per game and shot 56.8 percent from the field for Central Arizona College. Zack Atkinson, a 6-9 junior, was a two-time Golden Valley Conference All-Defensive team member and he averaged 4.0 blocked shots per game last season. Freshman forward Eric Wise was the Riverside County Player of the Year at King High School where he averaged 20.4 points and 9.3 rebounds as a senior. He is the son of former Long Beach State All-American Francois Wise. Adam Folker, a 6-8 freshman, averaged 31 points and 12 rebounds at Markham District High in Ontario, Canada. Local product Joe Eberhard, a 6-6 forward, averaged 15.3 points and earned second team All-CIF honors at Corona del Mar High last season. Two walk-ons, 6-5 freshman Jonas Lalehzadeh (Irvine/University HS) and 6-6 freshman Rashaad Ubah (Riverside/King HS), are also members of the UCI program this season. Douglass is optimistic about his current team. "I have been pleased to see the veteran players provide guidance in the preseason to the new guys on what has to take place for us to prepare properly to be successful. This is probably the best group we have had as far as interacting and trying to come to some resolution as to what leads to meaningful play and what might carry over to game action," Douglass said. "I think we have more depth or basketball-ability, but no one has established himself as a marquee or go-to guy, but in time, hopefully certain players will emerge and then we can count on them week to week. I like the group, I think it is a pretty talented group. Until you are given the ball and taking x-number of shots, you can't really judge on who will step up when in the past, it's been other players who were taking those shots," he added. "In the frontcourt, I am pleased with the center position with Zack Atkinson and Ryan Staker in that they are as different as night and day," Douglass said. "Zack is very athletic and a quick jumper whereas Ryan is more of a banger but does have surprising hops at times. "Both players are different in their approach to the game, which I like as far as what we can throw at a team where they don't get a steady dose of one style of play," said Douglass. "Kevin Bland is a versatile forward and it's hard to say if Adam Folker, who seems to be growing and is a skilled player, will be a 3-man or 4. Eric Wise has always been a winner and comes from a basketball-rich family. "Chad DeCasas at the wing position is a much-improved player over last year," Douglass said. "I think now he will have the opportunity to assert himself and become a player that we could see average in double figures. "Derrick Strings, a redshirt last year, can play that position or the 2 and has always been a prolific scorer. I think even at this level, he will score a lot of points, even early in his career. "Joe Eberhard will play a role for us at the wing position. He is a good jumper, offensive rebounder and a steady player who shows potential for the future," Douglass said. "Brett Lauer shot the ball real well last year and will be called upon to do the same this year. He may be able to play the point a bit as well as the 2-guard position. "Patrick Rembert, who was probably our most improved player last year, has been on the weights and is a physical point guard. Blending him with Michael Hunter, who is a little more elusive and can shoot the three a bit better, gives us a nice combination at the point-guard position," said Douglass. "Darren Moore, probably one of our more heralded recruits, is a very high-energy, competitive, lockdown defender who is going to be hard to push out of the lineup," Douglass. UCI's 2008-09 schedule features six opponents that competed in postseason tournaments last March. The Anteaters open the regular season facing 2008 NCAA participant USC Nov. 15 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. UCI hosts Oregon, another NCAA tournament competitor, Nov. 21 at the Bren Center and travels to 2008 NIT participant and former Big West power Utah State Dec. 2. Utah, which competed in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational in 2008, visits the Bren Center Dec. 27. The Utes lost in the quarterfinals of the CBI to eventual champion Tulsa. The Anteaters open Big West Conference play hosting Cal State Fullerton Jan. 3. The Titans defeated UCI in the championship game of last season's Big West tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament. UCI's second league game is Jan. 8 at UC Santa Barbara, which competed in the NIT last March. "The preseason schedule will definitely be challenging again, especially opening up at USC," Douglass said. "It is good to have Oregon and Utah at home for games that the fans have talked about." |
