Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Focus on the "Cons" to Get More "Pros"

 

                                                                                                                        

After 14 pre-season games, we've seen what kind of performances our new roster makeover is capable of.  They are capable of four high quality NET ranking wins on the road and capable of two losses to beatable teams outside the top 150.  They are capable of shooting a higher percentage from the three point line than from the free throw line.  They are capable of 20 assist games and 26 turnovers games.   So far, the thing we need to be more capable of is consistency which breeds confidence.  

All things considered, 9-5 is pretty good.  IMHO, 11-4 was probably our best pre-season record.  Our record includes wins and losses due injuries to opponents and to us.  All teams have injuries to starters, but our bench has not been capable enough, in some of the losses, to compensate.  

It's harder to win when you pass the ball more to your opponents than your teammates.  In our last five games, we have 82 turnovers against 72 assists resulting 93 points against us.  In spite of this, we were in position to win two more of those games because we don't give up and can really shoot the ball.  We have six players that shoot better than 50% from the field.  We have three players who shoot over 40% from three point range; including Carlos Marshall with a gaudy 49% from three.  This is an elite level on par with the top five ranked NCAA teams.  

To fans watching, it looks like we try to do too much off the dribble in traffic and get balls knocked away.  One other consequence of dribble, dribble is other players stop cutting and moving to make themselves available for an open shot as our opponents defense collapses to stop drives. We are at our best when the ball moves to quality open shots, which as you can see from above, we are quite capable of knocking down.

Consistency moving the ball many times starts with capable guard play.  This is still a work in process with so many new players.  As an example, we've had different guards each year for the past four seasons that were new to the Sendek system.  Not easy.  Lately we've settled on Brenton Knapper at point with Adama Bal handling late in games.  Knapper has shown so far to be capable in this role with improved shooting and few turnovers.

So, what's the key to this elusive consistency?  Pick your favorite hall of fame basketball coach and you'll read there isn't a secret sauce.  Bulls Coach Phil Jackson's said of the Michael Jordan led teams, "You prepare hard for every game and once it starts you have to let go of the outcome."

In this season, we've certainly seen outcomes that are both exciting and traumatizing.  Sometimes the simplest approach works.  As players do the things they know they are capable of and rely on your teammates for the same.  Don't just fall in love with the three, dribble into traffic, and move the ball to your teammates for their most capable play.  It feels like when we try to do too much we end up with too little.  

This afternoon versus Yale will test all of the above.  They are a St. Mary's style team.  They play slow, play tough on defense, and will try to dissect us in the half court exploiting the mismatches they create.  Good news for us is Tilly will be back and Caffaro is now healthy after nagging injuries.

So to get more Pros, let's focus on the Cons.  Consistency, Confidence in what we are capable of, Connecting with our teammates on the floor and, maybe as a Consequence of that, we'll put ourselves in Consideration for a post season invite!

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Are We On The Rebound?

                                                                                                        

If the Broncos are going to make some noise in the WCC and have any shot at the post season, we need to rebound from our rebounding.  The sordid details are that in our last four games, we've given up 58 offensive rebounds resulting in 54 second chance points.  Add to that 64 turnovers in those four games resulting in 64 point off turnovers.  Huge.

Granted this team is a work in process, but we need to find a Chairman of the Boards.   Someone with a "tude".  We're big enough, but we need to play big enough.   Maybe a guy like Cam Tongue.   He scores tough inside and has half the bigger guys rebounds in one-third of their minutes.  

To be fair, we get a rebound, but don't secure it and have it swatted away.  Opposing coaches are smart learning that officials look up for rebounding fouls, but not down when control is being established.  It's hard to watch small guards slap the ball away from seven footers. 

IMHO, a similar issue with our turnovers.   Feisty defenses hold us and slap at the ball off the dribble where refs won't make that call.  They know we are thin at point guard and totally overplay passing lanes daring us to make the backdoor cut pass which, when we do, is quite successful when our guys keep moving. 

To rebound from our poor rebounding, we need to focus on the power of 10.  Against good teams, when we allow 10 or fewer offensive rebounds and commit 10 or fewer turnovers, we win.   How do we consistently apply the power of 10?   Rebound.  

That's our engine.  Our athletes are really good in the open court from an outlet pass secured by, you guessed it, a rebound.  In our Quad 1 wins, we've pushed the ball up the court and our guys got open lanes to the rim or an uncontested three.  It works.  Open court passes are easier AND prevents us from slogging it away in half court sets where we tend to bog down and turn the ball over. 

 With three games to go before league, we could use three 10's.  We're Hoping for a 11-4 preseason, but 10-5 with our tough schedule gives us the opportunity for a post season nod with 10 or more WCC wins. 

And that's a rebound we are all looking forward to!

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Fall Quarter Examinations

 

                                                                                                            

Fall quarter exams ended and grades are due on December 13th.  With the first quarter of the season over, it's time to review our report card.  Some say the numbers don't lie, but with a record of 7-3 the numbers/grades don't seem to add up.  After the New Mexico blowout in Las Vegas, all bets are off.

In our two quad 1* wins vs Stanford and Oregon, we showed "A" student talent.  We shot well, defended well, rebounded and made free throws.  In our three losses, none of that has happened.  Our numbers vs Ohio State:  38% 2 pt, 30% 3 pt, 50 % FT, 15 TO's.  Versus Cal: 38% 2 pt, 34.5% 3 pt, 50% FT, 10 TO's. Versus New Mexico:  our starters were 28% 2 pt, 20% 3 pt, and committed 18 turnovers!  In those games, we gave up 47 second chance points and had more turnovers than assists.  We flunked.  

Going 2-3 vs a top 25, a Pac-12 team, and Kenpom 33 ranked New Mexico isn't terrible.  More alarming is the dispersion/drop-off from the Stanford and Oregon wins.  When we're off, we're really off.  In our three losses, we were outplayed and out scored 126-84 in the first half.  

Every team has bad nights.  Even a purported deeper bench couldn't keep us in those games.  But it was like we weren't even there.  

Some other numbers from Kenpom rankings:  our 2022-2023 record was 23-10.  Of 363 NCAA teams, we ranked 85th overall.  Offense 84, Defense 94, and Tempo (how fast you play) 46th.  This season to date, of course, on a smaller sample size, we rank Overall 142, Offense 129, Defense 174, and Tempo 89.  

Frankly, with the higher level talent than past years and more depth, fans have witnessed a team that has a similar record at this time last year, but with stats that are well below last season.  The numbers do lie in that we have season to date two higher quality wins with stats that would have suggested losses like Ohio State, Cal, and New Mexico. 

Understandable with eight newcomers.  However, most of them come with D1 creds and some of the lapses are just playing ball: defending key players, rebounding, making free throws, protecting the ball and success in the paint.  That I don't get.  Instead, we looked befuddled and stagnant on offense and defense against these tougher opponents.  Maybe we're not running a scheme that takes advantage of these new players' strengths? 

A big important stretch awaits us and there are no layups here.  I'd love 4-2, but would take 3-3.  Last season we lost 4 of 6 games and then went on to win 7 straight.  We need that resiliency.  I think the capability is there and the coaches need to "unlock" it.  

We've finished our first quarter examinations, but there's a lot more homework and big tests ahead.  Whether you grade us a B, C, or D it doesn't really matter.  What matters is pushing for the "A" as in attitude, aggressiveness, that accelerates our drive for an NCAA bid and "Mission  Accomplished!"

* Quad 1: a win at home against teams ranked 1-30, win at a neutral venue against teams in the top 50, and an away win against teams in the Top 75.

Quad 1 wins count the most towards NET ranking which is used for NCAA seeding.

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - The "Marshall" Plan

 

                                                                                                                    

The Broncos will enter Thanksgiving week at 3-0 after a convincing win over Stanford at Maples Pavilion; who were #50 in the Kenpom ranking.  After the first eight minutes, it would have taken a lot of convincing to get Bronco fans to believe we could/would win this game on the road down 12 so early.   How did we do it?  

We instituted the "Marshall Plan!"  Huh, you say?  For history buffs, the Marshall Plan was a program launched in 1948 to stimulate growth, economic production, and trade.  It was a cornerstone of economic success for many years to come.   

The SCU Marshall Plan has as its cornerstone Carlos Marshall III, AKA, "Chef."  He has been the spark plug and stimulus for our team in our first three wins.  The numbers are eye popping:  22 PPG on 71% two point and 67% three point shooting percentages.  These are not typos.  Add six steals and a dozen rebounds and you get the picture. 

However, our Marshall Plan is having the same effect as the economic plan on our players on the court.  The scenario is Carlos starts hot, defenses try to shut him down which opens the floor for his very talented teammates to flourish.  The ball moves, players cut to their spots and Bal, Bryan, O'Neil, Tilly, Caffaro, Benjamin, and Tongue make them pay.  Pick your poison.  Defenses have nowhere to go.  It is not unrealistic that we could have 5 - 6 players average 10 PPG; not to mention the ability of our deeper bench to each score double digits when needed.  Finally, although Carlos Marshall has kick started the plan, his other teammates are just as capable of hot starts as the season progresses.  

I'm not concerned about our offense.  We can shoot even better than we have in the first three games; especially at the rim and free throw line.  While it's possible to just outscore opponents, that's not going to cut it against tougher teams that we will face in the next two weeks.  Our defense needs to get better.  Don't know the game by game coaching strategy on how we handle the high pick and roll, but it needs work.  

This was one of our Achilles Heels last season and we are gong to see it every game as teams know our tendencies.  We have our on ball player go behind screens opening up too many options for our defense to cover.  There will inevitably be nights where our shots don't fall and the defense needs to keep us in the game. We were very fortunate that Stanford missed at least five wide open looks for three's in the second half.  They shot 14% in the second half vs their team average of 39%.  We can't rely on luck.  

We'll learn a lot about our team late next week as we play Oregon (# 36), Alabama (# 5) or Ohio State (# 49) on the road in Florida.   

There's a lot to like about this team.  Size, talent, depth, grit, and effort.  Down twelve at Stanford, they didn't blink.  There's also trust.  The reason our Marshall Plan has worked is no one cares who scores and there's no hesitation moving the ball to the open player.  An example is Johnny O'Neil.  He was 0-7 from the field in his first game as a Bronco.  Since then he's 12-22 (55%) and was 7-13 vs Stanford.  His teammates got him the ball at key moments and he delivered.  

The point is that everyone on this roster can institute the Marshall Plan; not just our Carlos Marshall III.  That's a huge difference from prior years.  The prep for the Florida road trip starts tonight vs Southeastern Louisiana and Monday vs Mississippi Valley State.  It would be great to be 5-0 as we travel to Florida.  I say the Marshall Plan makes that happen!

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Season Opening "Premiere"

 

                                                                                                              

The Broncos' 2023-24 Men's Basketball debut featured bright lights, loud music, and a crowd of Bronco fans welcoming the new team with warm applause.  It felt like a Hollywood film launch with the new Leavey Center lighting and scoreboard looking like a movie set, setting the stage for a story book five star review as our team took the floor for warmups.  

Then the game started.....

Maybe the lights were too bright, the audio too loud, the excitement too palpable.  From the outset, they were a team amped up to make a statement of what they can achieve this season.  We didn't score for the first two and a half minutes.  After five minutes, the score was 7-6 Utah.  Right about then, we settled in, a little bit.  Our defense sparked the first run of the season.  A strike from Francisco Caffaro to Carlos Marshall for a dunk woke up the crowd.  Four defensive stops, a layup by Caffaro and two more 3 pointers and a layup by Marshall, we were cruising 26-14.  With 2:40 to go, we were up 17 and then Utah finished the half with 5 straight points closing the gap to 12.  

The second half was more of the same.  Build a lead, give it up.  Winning by 7 was mediocre at best, but showed our potential.  Caffaro and Tyree Bryan were saviors off the bench combining for 24 points and looked comfortable in the brighter lights at key moments.  Adama Bal, the transfer from Arizona, had a solid, impactful first game with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Point guard Jalen Benjamin showed flashes of deft passing and scoring with 10 points. 

Carlos Marshall (Chef) was terrific; scoring 22 points in only 22 minutes due to cramps.  Podz type numbers in limited minutes.  His experience showed and he calmy put the team on his back in the first half.  Tyree Bryan had a great debut with 11 points and some lockdown defense. 

All in all, an OK start for so many new players in a new system.  It looked like some of our new guys were trying to do too much; hoisting up long looks in transition and passes into traffic.  There’s is a lot to work on.  20 turnovers and 10 offensive rebounds resulted in 26 Utah Tech points.  Enough said.

It's always a good night when it results in a “W” especially when two starters have off nights.  I like that we can go to the bench and expect production.  There was a time Wednesday when our lineup on the floor was 7’1”, 7’0”, 6’10”, 6’7” and 6’5”.  Now that’s what I call real “horsepower.”

Today, St. Francis is a good chance to get in sync before a big test at Stanford next Tuesday.  Let’s hope the horses are ready to run!

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Are We the Rodney Dangerfield Team of the WCC?

  

                                                                                                           

Respect...Hard to come by...Earned, not just handed out.  In the past three years of the WCC, we have the most total wins with one year cut short due to Covid and, we still, as Rodney Dangerfield said "Don't get no respect!"  

OK, I get it.  This roster is unknown, unproven and, IMHO, underestimated.  No doubt, St. Mary's and Gonzaga have earned their cred with 25 years of consistent NCAA tournament level performances.  Maybe this is exactly where we want to be be this season.  Underrated, underappreciated and under the radar.  If it wasn't for Jalen and Podz we might get no ink at all.  

In the coaches' poll, we are picked fifth in the WCC.  That, most likely, means six of the WCC coaches voted us fifth or worse; assuming coach Sendek picked us third or fourth.  On the surface, easy to conclude we're not supposed to be a big factor when all of your starters are gone along with 80% of your scoring.  Meanwhile, the top four teams have most of their top players back.  Example, LMU who beat both Gonzaga and St. Mary's last season have their core back plus portal adds.  That's a strong resume.  The Zags kept key pieces and raided the portal with some great gets.  SMC, the same story, who are picked to win the WCC this year over Gonzaga. 

Everybody loves an underdog and I think our coaches and players will use our position as afterthoughts this season for motivation.  Particularly to those who came here with the chip of underrated from their previous schools.  

Our season starts with a few gimmies; like many other schools do to get game speed reps before the tougher games in the schedule.  The real pre-season test for the Broncos runs from November 14th at Stanford to December 30th vs Yale; where seven of the twelve opponents are top 100 and most top 60 - Stanford, Oregon, Duquesne, Alabama/Ohio St., and Washington St.  I think it's our toughest schedule yet under Coach Sendek.  Make no mistake, this is an NCAA tournament level schedule and that's what the coaches are hoping comes from this underappreciated roster.  There are four players who want to become the next Jalen or Podz.  They have huge ambitions to show what they can do so what better way than with a schedule that sets up for Quad 1 and 2 upsets in the NCAA NET ranking system.  That's the respect they want.  I love it!

You'll see jaw dropping plays from this team above the rim and in the open court.  Everyone can run, catch, score, and rebound.  To me, the key to this season's success has to be better defense - contesting three's, handle the high pick and roll, and stop the freebie layups in what was an open highway to the basket last year.  Lockdown.  

We do that and I like our chances.  We do that and the ghost of Rodney Dangerfield will be exorcised and we'll not only have an NCAA bid, but even better - RESPECT EARNED.

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - We're Unbelievable

 

                                                                                                    

After three 20 win seasons in the past four years, back to back third place WCC league finishes, two straight N.I.T. bids, and two consecutive NBA first round draft picks, we're unbelievable.  Few (including Mark Few) believe in our chances in 2023-24.  I guess that's  what the hangover of 25+ years with no bids to a post season tourney that begins with an "N" buys you.  

Add to that, all last year's starters are gone along with 80% of your scoring and, well, you can see why we are unbelievable.  The past two years was a fluke, right?  Hold on.

I last wrote about "Who are These Guys."  Let me tell you these guys have the potential to be unbelievable - as in great.  

Our roster is big and deep. Six players are 6'9" or taller including three 7'0" bigs that can actually catch and make shots, not only in the paint, but from distance.  No more fumble-rusky down low.  Christoph Tilly and 7'1" 245 lb transfer Francisco Caffaro from Virginia can defend and score.  Freshman Bukky Oboye and Luke McEldon will add much needed depth.  6'10" shooting forward Johnny O'Neil is a potential breakout player who can do it all.  Shoot it from deep and defend.  Last year he led American University with 51 blocks as a forward.  

Our other shooting wings bring a lot of size and firepower.  Jake Ensminger 6'9", Cam Tongue 6'7", Carlos Marshall 6'6" and Kozy Akametu 6'5" return along with Arizona transfer 6'7" Adama Bal and 6'5" Tyree Bryan will all make defenses pay when getting an open look.

Wait there's more.  Our Guards Brenton Knapper, 6'4" Freshman Christian Hammond, and 5'11" Grad transfer Jalen Benjamin will bring needed scoring and speed.  Benjamin lead his team in scoring last year. He's cat quick and will open the floor for our up tempo game. 

Everyone can play.   In prior seasons, when we had to go deep into the bench, there were a lot of cringes from the season ticket holders and fans as the drop off was sizeable.  Not now.

The Sendek model is you practice as you would play in a real game.  With so much better talent, the battle for minutes is intense.  It's so physical, that Coach Sendek has to remind the players that they would be on the bench with 2 or 3 early fouls unless they clean up their defensive approaches.  The good news is we have players to go to when a starter is having an off game.  

The competition heats up this week as we scrimmage UCLA in Westwood and UCSB at SCU early next week.  The Bruins are as usual, young and talented - picked third in the Pac-12.  These are important minutes for our guys to experience game flow ahead of our home opener November 8th against Utah Tech. 

No matter what, we'll be unbelievable.  Unbelievably great or bad.  I'm taking the over on this one and choose to believe in the unbelievably great.   Believe me, you won't want to miss this action.  We'll get a good look in 17 days.  

Next Up:  The 2023-24 schedule breakdown.