Pac-10 Conference 2003-04 Season Recap
by Scott Allen
Rice, SMU, Tulsa and UTEP are leaving the WAC at the end of this season for Conference USA, with New Mexico State, Utah State and Idaho set to fill their vacancy.
Reno will host the WAC tournament for the first time this season and will do so again in 2006. Reno has hosted Big West Conference tournament in the past.
The third annual Bracket Buster Saturday on February 19 will feature 11 nationally televised games selected from an expanded pool of 64 teams, including all 10 WAC schools. The 11 match-ups for Bracket Buster Saturday will be determined from the pool of 64 teams by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences approximately three weeks prior to the event.
Boise State Broncos
Despite protests from student and faculty, Boise State’s home court, formerly known as The Pavilion, is now Taco Bell Arena. Activist groups were initially incensed at the announcement, citing the alleged exploitation of Taco Bell’s tomato farm workers in Florida. Boise State officials responded to criticism by explaining that the Boise-area Taco Bell does not use produce from the Florida farms in question. The naming deal included the installation of a new basketball floor at the arena. While not entirely blue like its unique football brethren, the hardwood includes two huge Bronco logos inside each of the three-point arcs.
Head coach Greg Graham signed a five-year contract extension worth more than $1.3 million. Graham led the Broncos to a 23-10 record last season in advancing to the third round of the NIT.
The Broncos incoming class includes several JuCo recruits. Kareem Lloyd, a 6-foot-7 forward, who averaged 13.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game last season at New Mexico Junior College is perhaps the most heralded. The Broncos also signed Seth Robinson, a 6-foot-6 forward, who averaged a true double-double (10.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game) while at Scottsdale Community College. Antonio Fitzgerald, a 6-foot-9 forward from Kilgore College (Tex.), Rob Pankowski, a 6-foot-8 forward from Walla Walla Community College and Tezarray Banks from Cerritos College in Norwalk, California will also suit up for the Broncos this season.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Terry Pettis, who played parts of two seasons for Fresno State before being suspended and ultimately dismissed from the team, was arrested for the deadly shooting of Rene Abbott, 18, on April 27 in Fresno. Pettis was a high school standout in Minnesota, but his adolescence was marked by run-ins with the law, including previous charges for vandalism, battery and substance abuse. Pettis was extradited to California to face murder and robbery charges.
On a lighter and happier note, former Fresno State basketball star Rod Higgins was named general manager of the Golden State Warriors. Higgins played at Fresno State from 1979-82 and averaged 15.1 points per game in leading the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16 his senior year.
Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors
Longtime University of Hawai’i volunteer assistant men’s basketball coach Art Woolaway passed away in his home in Houston on August 21. The 92-year-old had been associated with the men’s basketball program for more than 30 years. His fervor for Hawai’i basketball was slowed for the past few years by the effects of skin cancer, and Woolaway would return to his home during the WAC season. “Art was a supporter of every coach here at UH,” head coach Riley Wallace said. “He was a friend of every player and taught both the coaches and players what Hawai’i was all about. He made sure that we all knew about the aloha spirit.”
The Rainbow Warriors signed Kris Groce, a 5-foot-9 point guard from Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash., who averaged 21.4 points and 7.2 assists per game. The Rainbow Warriors will also welcome Deonte Tatum, a 6-foot-2 point guard from Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa. Tatum averaged 8.4 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.28. Groce and Tatum will join fellow junior college transfers Chris Botez, Matt Gibson and Matt Gipson in Honolulu this fall.
Junior point guard Logan Lee, who started 26 games and averaged 4.2 points and 3.6 assists per game last season, left the Warrior program. Lee wanted to transfer to a school closer to his home in San Antonio.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Louisina Tech inked junior college transfers Daevon Haskins and Michael Wilds, who join early signee Marcus Elliott as head coach Keith Richard’s 2004 recruiting class. Haskins, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard, played the past two seasons at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, where he averaged 10.6 points per game and 5.6 assists per game as a sophomore. He helped lead the team to a 24-9 record and a Final Four berth in the NJCAA Region 5 Tournament. Wilds, a 6-foot-7, 230 pound forward, averaged 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Chipola during the 2002-03 season and was named to the All-Panhandle Conference team. The Los Angeles native is a surprisingly solid outside shooter, as is fellow signee Jason Bray, a 6-foot-4 guard out of Collin County Community College in Plano Texas. There, Bray sunk 108 three-pointers last season and led the Express to back-to-back North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference championships. Bray averaged 15.8 points per game last season and shot 38 percent from long range. Two hours before the deadline for the late signing period, the Bulldogs inked Clarke Hale, a 6-foot-2 guard out of Azle High School in Texas. Hale averaged 27.3 points and 5.3 assists per game.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Already without their three best guards from last season, the Wolf Pack recently lost the services of Marcelus Kemp, who tore his ACL during a pickup game in August. He played every game last season, averaging 4.6 points per game.
After Trent Johnson departed to take over the head coach position at Stanford, Nevada named assistant Mark Fox their new court general. Fox, who was associate head coach under Johnson for the past four seasons, was also an assistant under Johnson at Washington in the early 90’s, and was an assistant at Kansas State for seven seasons until rejoining Johnson in 2000-01. Fox signed Dedrique Taylor as an assistant coach on his staff. Taylor was most recently an assistant coach at Portland State and also worked as an assistant at Loyola Marymount and UC-Davis, his alma mater.
The Wolf Pack also inked forward Mo Charlo, a 6-foot-7 forward from Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif. Charlo averaged 18.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game during his sophomore season at Diablo Valley. Nevada also signed Lyndale Burleson, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Franklin High School in Seattle, Wash., where he averaged 19.1 points, 5.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 3.9 steals per game as a senior.
Rice Owls
After strongly considering moving to D-I AA or even I-AAA with an athletic department deficit of $10 million, Rice will remain D-I for the immediate future.
Shawn Respert was hired as Rice’s Director of Basketball Operations after spending last season as an assistant volunteer coach at Prairie View A&M. Respert replaces Carlin Hartman, who is now an assistant coach at Louisiana Lafayette. The No. 8 overall pick by Portland in the 1995 NBA draft, Respert played for five NBA teams over four-and-a-half years after a decorated career at Michigan State. With the Spartans, Respert scored 2,531 points (21.3 ppg), which ranks second all-time in the Big Ten Conference. He was a unanimous first team all-America as a senior and was named the Big Ten Player of the Year with a 25.6 scoring average.
San Jose State Spartans
The Spartans signed guards Kenny Smith and Alex Elam and forwards Mark Fresby and Menelik Barbary to National Letters of Intent. Smith averaged 16.3 points per game last season at Seminole (Okla.) Junior College.
Elam played two seasons at Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, Kan., where he averaged 12.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Fresby comes to San Jose from Mesa (Ariz.) Community College, while Barbary played two seasons at Bakersfield College.
That group will join guards Eric Bloom and Donta Watson and forward Matt Misko as members of the 2004 Spartan recruiting class. The 6-foot-4 Bloom averaged 18.8 points and 4.9 rebounds a game last season and the 5-foot-10 Watson poured in 21.0 points to go along with 4.4 assists per game. Misko, a 6-foot-10 forward/center, played at College of the Sequoias.
SMU Mustangs
New head coach Jimmy Tubbs, who was hired two seasons after he left to be an assistant at Oklahama, named Dean Christian an assistant coach on his staff. Christian has coached at the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School since 2001 and also served as athletic director at the school. He previously was an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy for four seasons. Tubbs, who spent 12 years on SMU’s staff before leaving to join the Sooners, also named Tim Heskett as his Coordinator of Basketball Operations. Heskett comes to Dallas after two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Clemson, serving under coaches Larry Shyatt and Oliver Purnell.
Tubbs replaces Mike Dement, who poasted a 138-120 record in nine seasons in Dallas. The Mustangs did not make an NCAA Tournament under Dement.
UTEP Miners
Doc Sadler replaced Billy Gilepsie, who took over the coaching vacancy at Texas A&M, as head coach of the Miners. Gillespie left a tough act to follow after guiding UTEP to a 24-8 record, second-place WAC finish and NCAA Tournament appearance. Sadler named David Anwar as the Miners Director of Basketball Operations. Anwar, who spent the past four seasons as an assistant at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, worked with Sadler when Sadler was head coach. UTEP also hired James Holland as an assistant coach. Holland was a scout for the NBA’s Washington Wizards this past year and has previous coaching experience as an assistant at Georgia, South Carolina-Spartanburg, North Carolina-Asheville and San Diego State.
Guard James Fontenet and swingman Shelton Johnson plan to walk on to the Miner basketball program. The 6-2, 180-pound Fontenet played one season at New Mexico State (2002-03) and spent the last year at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College. The 6-3, 200-pound Johnson played at Colorado State for the last two seasons. Both players will have two years of eligibility at UTEP, but Johnson will have to sit out the 2004-05 season. Fontenet averaged 18.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.6 steals at Scottsdale Community College last season. Johnson started 28 games for the Rams, including 15 last season. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Tulsa is set to makes its third appearance in the preseason NIT. The Golden Hurricane stormed through to the semifinals in 1996, knocking off UCLA and Oklahoma State before losing to Duke. Tulsa will face Wright State in the first round of this year’s tournament and will face the winner of Arizona-San Diego.
The Golden Hurricane signed prep star Deion James, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound point guard from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who averaged 17.5 points and four assists per game. James led his Brewster Academy team to a 22-6 record, a runner-up finish in the State Prep Class A Championship and a No. 4 national ranking among prep schools. Tulsa also signed junior college forwards Yusuf Baker and Vernell Davis to National Letters of Intent. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Baker averaged 12.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game at the College of Southern Idaho, where he played for one season after transferring from the University of South Florida. In high school in Orlando, Baker was named the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year, and was a first-team Class 6A all-state selection his senior season. As a senior, he was widely considered the second best big man in Florida behind NBA first-round draft pick Amare Stoudemire. Davis, who is also 6-foot-8, 220 pounds, played at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. A two-year starter, Davis averaged 9.7 points and 6.8 rebounds last season.
Sophomore guards Trevor Meier, a 6-foot-4 guard who played sparingly during his two seasons at Tulsa, and Kenneth Kelley left the program. Kelley played in all 29 games as a freshman and averaged 5.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. The reason for his departure was not disclosed.
