UCI Basketball: Commentary - 8/19/01
A Rising Tide

It has been a time since I could actually get excited about an upcoming UCI Basketball season.  Typically, I must temper my anticipation with trepidation, fearing once again that my hopes would be dashed just as the season begins.  This year proves to be different.  UCI won the regular season Big West championship, while failing to win the Big West Tournament.

UCI Preseason Prospectus

Gone from last year's 25-5 squad are Ben Jones, Sean Jackson, and Malachi Edmond.  All three of these players started during various parts of the season, though Malachi Edmond eventually lost his starting position to freshman Stanislav Zuzak.  All three of these players will be missed, though I do believe that most outsiders are overestimating our loss.

With Jerry Green returning, we will have one of the league's top scorers, and a potential All-American.  Jerry's natural position is at the off-guard, though interestingly, while he was at the NBA camp last summer, his stock went up when he moved to point-guard.  This seems to imply that his best shot in the NBA is playing point guard.  Because of this, I would not be too surprised if we see Jerry playing a lot at the point.

When Jerry Green is not playing point guard, expect Aras Baskauskas to play that position.  Aras may prove to be the team's overachiever.  As a freshman coming off a redshirt season last year, he showed a lot of poise and maturity.  His main rival will mostly likely be Mike Hood, a junior college transfer who had to redshirt last year due to injuries.  Mike Hood is a versatile player, one who shoots very accurately from the 3-point line and can also play at the off-guard position.

Jordan Harris, a 6-5 forward who transferred from Colgate and redshirted last year, will bring new excitement to the court.  Teams will now have to contain both Jerry Green and Jordan Harris.  He may indeed be the second best player on the team, rivaling Jerry Green.

Adam Parada will become a force next season, now that he has a season under his belt.  With Adam's inside punch and Jerry and Jordan attacking and slashing from the outside, UCI may have a formidable offense.  Stanislav Zuzak will also have a year under his belt and should present matchup problems with his ability to hit 3-pointers.  He reminds me of another sharp shooting 6-10 forward by the name of Johnny Rogers.  Matt Okoro, a sophomore redshirt, has bulked up considerably and may prove to be a pleasant surprise.  Then there is senior J.R. Christ, who will provide a valuable boost as a role player.  Finally, though a bit slow last season, I expect Dave Korfman to improve enough to be somewhat annoying.

The four freshman recruits, DeVaughn Peace, Ross Schraeder, Jeff Gloger, and Ryan Codi, will most likely all redshirt.  Almost certainly, at least three will redshirt.  The coaches say that DeVaughn Peace is probably the most mature, though being a point guard, we probably don't need him this coming season.  With these four players redshirting, UCI will still suit up ten players, one of whom is a walk-on.

The Rest of the Big West

UCI does indeed replace who it loses, and I expect that UCI will be a better team this season that it was last season.  Furthermore, I expect the national press to give UCI the edge to win the Big West, though just an edge.  Still, as it turns out, this coming season may prove to be one of the most competitive and best in the Big West in over ten years.

Utah State loses four starters and normally this would be enough to count them out.  However, the Aggies have showed us two years ago that they are quite adept at replacing players.  Coaching is the X factor and consequently, I expect them to be in contention for the title.  Long Beach State probably has the best talent and should be favored.  Coaching, unfortunately, is usually their undoing, and thus while they probably should win it, they will probably find themselves finishing second or third.

If one is looking for next year's UCI, look no further than UCSB.  Santa Barbara returns all five starters as well as Adama Ndiaye, a full-time starter from the 1999/00 season.  They also have one of the conference's best coaches, and they have a history of surprising people.  Pacific will be the league's most experienced team with nine seniors.  They should prove to be dangerous.

Finally there is Cal State Northridge, a team which made it into the NCAA's by winning the Big Sky Conference championship last year.  Coach Bobby Braswell is good, but he also has to replace his three top scorers.  I expect Northridge to be tough, but not tough enough to finish any higher than fifth.

As for the rest, oh well.  Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly will probably have seasons they would rather forget, and UC Riverside should prove to be quite pesky.  Idaho has a new coach and lots of returning players so look for some improvement there.

Here then are my predictions for next year.  Keep in mind that this is totally preliminary and I will probably change them in a future commentary.

1. UC Santa Barbara
2. UC Irvine
3. Utah State
4. Long Beach State
5. Cal State Northridge
6. Pacific
7. UC Riverside
8. Idaho
9. Cal State Fullerton
10. Cal Poly

Note that UC Riverside is not eligible for the NCAA tournament so they will not be participating in the Big West Tournament.  That means that only one team besides UCR will be left at home and almost certainly that will be Cal Poly.  I expect that the Big West will get a second team into the NCAA's.  Also, look for UCI to win the Big West Tournament this year.  Last season, the team thought that winning the conference would be enough to earn an at-large berth but they discovered they were wrong.  This season, Pat Douglass will groom the team to peak at the end of the season.

Post-Season Prospectus

NCAA automatic: UC Irvine
NCAA at-large: Utah State
NIT: UC Santa Barbara