SCU Men's Basketball - The "Heart" of The Matter

                                                                                                  


Las Vegas wasn't built on winners and the Broncos proved that on March 6th.  We had no "pep" versus Pepperdine.  The pride of a 20 win season evaporated quickly.  The eleven point loss belies that we were out of this game early.  We scored five points in the first nine minutes.

For whatever reason, we weren't ready to play.  OK, we were banged up with two starters hobbled and one, a no go.  But after watching the previous game against Portland, Bronco fans were looking for the same type of effort and action. 

I'm sure we had a game plan, but, from the start, we played like it was a pickup game vs a post season game.  We put an "I" in team with a one-on-one display of turnovers and poor shooting.  It was a replay of the loss to LMU at Leavey in front of many SCU basketball alums from the early great years.

Those teams practiced in Seifert Gym, an archaic, iconic building with brick walls, one universal weight machine that was usually broken, a locker room the size of a small conference room and a training staff led by cigar smoking Henry Schmidt.  No frills.  

Play.

Contrast to today, with bigger training, medical and coaching staffs, academic advisers, real weight rooms, nutrition guidelines, individual strength and conditioning plans, and video reviews of everything.  A complete package for players.  Soon the Athletics Excellence Center will open and will be a no compromise facility for our team to rebuild a once storied program.  We will have it all.

Our talent is noticeably better, but with six WCC teams having 20 win seasons, the talent is getting better across the league and we all know talent alone doesn't ensure winning.  Talent got us seventh place in the WCC with a 6-10 record.  Only twice in the past 20 seasons has our team lost six straight games in league.  The worst being the 2011-12 season losing 16 straight.  

The only thing we may be missing is the one thing you can't coach and the fabric of what takes teams to a higher level - Heart.

My simplified definition of Heart is a "refuse to lose" chip on your shoulder.  A visceral, deep in the gut desire to bury opponents.  Wait, there's more.  It's a complete trust in yourself and your teammates to do their job on the court.  A stop when you need it.  Making an important shot to regain momentum.  It's not "hero" time trying to be the man, that's earned, not given.  It's a belief created from the stench of hours of sweat in practice to never let your team down.  

Just reference Mark Purdy's great Mercury News article this past Monday, March 16th, recapping SCU's improbable win over Arizona in the 1993 NCAA tournament.  He quotes Steve Nash's teammate Pete Eisenrich "we don't have anyone 7 feet tall like Arizona, but it has something to do with heart too."

Our coaches have it.  You can see it and hear it as the tempers boil over in timeout huddles.  It's a fervor and a fever that they need to infect this team with.

We did have significant injuries to deal with.  Every team does.  That said, we let at least three get away, with frankly, poor play.  We don't seem to have a reliable "go to" when games start going south.  The top six in the WCC have "go to's."  

Enough ranting...

Add it all up and 20-13 is a step up in wins even though a step down in league standings.  I worry that some feel that we are now back on track to attain bigger things.  IMHO, we've barely laid the  foundation for consistent success in Men's Basketball. 

To get Bronco Basketball to a top tier program in the WCC or NCAA,  everyone - the University, Trustees, Athletic staff, season ticket holders and fans will need to get into the "refuse to lose" mentality and be "go to's" on the way to better.  Either all in or not.

And that's The "Heart of the Matter."

SCU Men's Basketball - Twenty Questions?

Today, the Broncos play Portland in the first round of the WCC tourney.  Under normal circumstances, there is no question we should win and reach a team goal of 20 wins.  

However, with a short roster, it begs the question, if eight is enough?  It won't be until game time if we know we have Trey Wertz who is still "questionable" recovering from a concussion at Pacific.  Caruso and Vrankic are out and if Trey can't go, that's 37 points per game - out.  While eight can be a good number in Las Vegas Craps, it's lousy for a roster.

Portland doesn't have fantastic talent, but they do have depth and experience with six juniors and a graduate transfer in their top scorers.  They'll be eager to avenge on a neutral court since their loss at Leavey last week. 

A major question is, how do you defend aggressively without much backup?  With Jaden Bediako, the last true center standing, rest assured, the Portland quick guards will be attacking the paint.  

The coaches will say they want to shrink the court on defense by packing in the weak side to help.  Hard to do with a shrunken roster.

We may have a roster that's short on players, but we're longer on talent.  Witness last game with DJ Mitchell dropping 25, Tahj Eaddy 15, and Keyshawn Justice 20 on top.  Add the Williams, Jalen and Giordan, and there's more than enough firepower to answer the above questions.  We'll need them to play in the same style to get it done.  Share the ball, exploit mismatches, and feed the hot hands.  

Defense needs to keep us in it, but we'll need to shoot our way out of this to get number 20.  Without question, I like our chances.

If we get by Portland, Pepperdine awaits.  I can't think of a better scenario, our turn to settle the tied season series.  Pepperdine goes as Colby Ross goes and we will need to coral him and rebound to have a good shot to win.  

21 wins is definitely in play.  It will make a strong closing statement to the WCC tournament and answer a lot of questions about our potential heading into next season.