Weber State University Athletics
Weber State Hits The Road To Face UC Santa Barbara Tuesday
11/17/2009 4:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME #2 at UC SANTA BARBARA
WHEN Tuesday, November 17, 2009 SITE The Thunderdome
WHERE Santa Barbara, California TIME 8:05 (MST)
UC SANTA BARBARA “Gauchos”
HEAD COACH
BOB WILLIAMS begins his 12th season as head coach of the Gauchos. ... Coming into Tuesday's game with Weber State, Williams is 180-146 (.553) at UCSB. ... His 2001-02 team won the Big West Conference and his 2007-08 squad posted a 23-9 record. ... Before coming to UCSB, Williams spent eight years as the head coach at UC Davis where his teams were 158-76 (.675). ... He also spent two season at Menlo College where he was 31-24. ... Overall, Williams is 369-246 in 21 seasons as a head coach. ... He is 0-3 vs. Weber State. He was 0-1 vs. the Wildcats while at UC Davis and is 0-2 vs. the Wildcats while at UCSB.
SERIES HISTORY
This is just the 3rd meeting between the two teams. ... The first meeting came in the first round of the 2002-03 Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Wildcats won that one 91-82. ... Last year in Ogden, the Wildcats pulled out a 70-63 win.
LAST YEAR IN OGDEN, UTAH -
STEVE PANOS scored a career high 21 points, leading the Wildcats to a 70-63 win inside the Dee Events Center. ... WSU's defense held the Gauchos to just 22-57 (.386) shooting from the field. NICK HANSEN and DAVIIN DAVIS each added 13 points. ... CHRIS DEVINE led the Gauchos with 17 points while JESSE BYRD had 12 points and a game high 14 rebounds including NINE on the offensive end.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
UCSB was 16-15 overall last season and 8-8 in Big West Conference play. ... The Gauchos have been picked to finish 2nd in the Big West Conference this season behind Long Beach State. ... The Gaucho's opened the 2009-10 season with an 85-57 home court win over Cal State Los Angeles. ... UCSB lost its top scorer, Chris Devine (15.5) from last season. Top returnees include guard JAMES POWELL (6-2, 185 Sr.) who averaged 9.0 points last season and JAMES NUNNALLY (6-5, 205 Soph. Forward) who averaged 7.9 points and 3.3 rebounds. ... Coach Bob Williams is looking for big things out of transfers ORLANDO JOHNSON (6-5, 205 Soph. Forward / Loyola-Marymount) and JON PASTOREK (6-10, 210 Jr. Forward / San Diego State). ... Johnson, who scored 19 points in the win last Saturday over Cal State LA, was picked to the 2009-10 Big West Conference Pre-Season All-Conference team. Johnson was 7-7 from the field vs. CSLA. ... Johnson is they younger brother of former Weber State standout guard Robbie Johnson who played one season under Coach Denny Huston (1990-91) and three under Coach Ron Abegglen. Robbie's senior season (1993-94), he was named First Team All-Big Sky and led the Wildcats in scoring at 15.8 ppg.
WSU vs. The Big West
Weber State is a collective 27-19 (.587) against teams from the current Big West Conference. Twenty-one of the of those 46 games came against Cal State Northridge which was a Big Sky Conference member for five seasons. WSU was 13-8 against the Matadors. The only Big West team with a winning record vs. Weber State is Long Beach State. The 49ers are 8-3 overall vs. the Wildcats. ... Weber State has never played Cal Poly.
WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY “Wildcats”
HEAD COACH
Weber State's RANDY RAHE, begins his 4th season at the Wildcat helm. ... In his three short seasons, Rahe's teams have captured two Big Sky Conferenc regulars season championships (06-07, 08-09), the Big Sky Post-Season Tournament championship (06-07), and an NCAA post-season berth in 2006-07. ... Rahe was named Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in both 06-07 and 08-09. ... Rahe is 57-37 (.609) overall in his three seasons as Weber State, and 36-12 (.750) in Big Sky Conference games. ... Rahe's teams have posted a HOME COURT record of 34-8 (.809) during his tenure.
2006-07 20-12 overall 11-5 Big Sky
2007-08 16-14 overall 10-6 Big Sky
2008-09 21-10 overall 15-1 Big Sky.
WILDCATS PICKED TO REPEAT IN THE 'SKY
Weber State has been picked by both the coaches and media in the Big Sky Conference to repeat as champions. ... They received four first place votes from the coaches and had 60 points. Montana was second with three first place votes and 57 points. ... In the media poll, the Wildcats garnered 23 of the 25 votes cast and had 251 points. Portland State was picked second by the voices and scribes with two first place votes and 202 points. ... Idaho State and Portland State each had one first place vote in the coaches poll and Montana had two in the media poll.
48TH SEASON OF DIVISION I BASKETBALL
Weber State begins its 48TH season playing men's basketball on the NCAA Division I level. ... In 1962-63, Weber State became the first junior college in the country to move from the juco ranks directly into Division I basketball. ... This will be WSU's 47th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. Weber State became a charter member of the league formed in 1963-64. ... The Wildcats have won 18 Big Sky Conference titles and made 15 appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship. ... WSU has also made two NIT Post-Season Tournaments and two pre-season NIT's.
ALL - TIME RECORD
Weber State has an overall record in 47 seasons of 853-496 (.632). ... In those 47 seasons, the Wildcats have had just EIGHT LOSING campaigns! ... The Wildcats have won 20 OR MORE games in 22 of those 47 seasons.
HOME UNDER THE DOME OF THE DEE
The 2009-10 season marks the 31st season of Wildcat basketball inside the 12,000 seat Dee Events Center which opened on Nov. 1, 1977. ... WSU defeated Long Beach State, 99-96 OT in the first game ever played under the dome. ... The Wildcats are 352-97 (.784) playing in the Dee Events Center. . . . Weber State's overall home court record, counting the 15 seasons in the old Swenson Gym is a solid 532-114 (.823)!
STAFF RETURNS
Head Coach Randy Rahe has his current staff back for a second season. Last Spring, Rahe elevated Coach Eric Duft to Associate Head Coach. Duft has been with Rahe all four seasons at WSU as has Tim Gardner. ... Charles Harral is back for his 2nd season as is Director of Basketball Operations, Phil Beckner.
WHO IS BACK?
The Wildcats return six lettermen and four starters off of last year's team which posted a 21-10 record overall and had a near perfect 15-1 mark in Big Sky Conference regular season play. ... Gone are Kellen McCoy (5-6, 180 Sr. Guard) who was the 2009-09 Big Sky Conference MVP. McCoy averaged 14.0 points and 2.7 assists per game last season. ... Also gone is Daviin Davis (6-4, 200 Sr. Forward) who was named the 2008-09 Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Davis averaged 9.5 points a game. ... DAMIAN LILLARD (6-2, 185 Soph. Guard) is WSU's top returning scorer. Lillard became the first TRUE FRESHMAN in Big Sky Conference history to earn First Team All-Big Sky Conference honors. He also was named the 2008-00 Big Sky Conference Freshman of they Year. ... Lillard started in 26 of WSU's 31 games, averaging 11.5 points a game and shooting 84 percent from the free throw line. ...STEVE PANOS (6-8, 245 Sr. Center) is the only player on the team with three varsity letters, and joins NICK HANSEN (6-4, 205 Sr. Guard) as one of only two seniors on the team. Panos started all 31 games in the post last season averaging 9.4 points and 4.4 rebounds, while Hansen averaged 8.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game knocking down 67-175 three-pointers (.383). ... KYLE BULLINGER (6-6, 215 Soph. Forward) is the other returning starter. Like Panos, he started in all 31 games averaging 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds a contest.
SHOOTING STOCK CRASH
In the opening exhibition game of the 2009-10 season, the Wildcats knocked down 19-26 from the three-point line and made the first 13 they attempted. Had it been a regular season game, both would have been school records. ... But last Friday night the bottom fell out of the trey market as the Wildcats managed just 2-20 (.100) from beyond the arc and still, only lost to the Utah State Aggies by six (66-60).
SPEAKING OF THE THREE BALL...
Weber State has attempted AT LEAST 10 THREE-POINT shots in its last 59 games. The last time WSU failed to attempt at least 10 treys came on March 15, 2007 vs. UCLA in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The 'Cats were just 1-6 from the arc vs. the Bruins. ... WSU was 4-6 from the arc vs. Northern Arizona in the championship game of the Big Sky Conference Tournament a week before the UCLA game. ... In 94 games under Coach Randy Rahe the Wildcats have attempted 10 or less three-pointers in just five games. . . . In its last three regular season games of the 2008-09 season, the Wildcats were 37-69 (.536) from the arc including a 14-21 (.667) performance AT MONTANA STATE on March 3, 2009. ... A week later, the Wildcats were just 4-26 (.153) vs. Montana State in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament, and were 3-21 (.142) a week after that vs. at San Diego State in the opening round of the NIT. ... That puts the Wildcats at 9-67 (.134) from the arc in their last three regular season games. ... Weber State tied the school record for Three-Pointers (15) last season in the stirring comeback win at home over Northern Colorado. The 'Cats were 15-32 from the arc that game.
LILLARD HAS A GOOD START
DAMIAN LILLARD (6-2, 185 Soph. Guard) hit 8-17 shots from the field (1-5 from the arc), scoring 20 points in 38 minutes last Friday vs. Utah State. ... Lillard was named the 2008-09 Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year and became the first TRUE FRESHMAN in the history of the Big Sky Conference to earn FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE honors
COURT IS IN SESSION
WSU newcomer FRANKLIN SESSION (6-3, 175 Jr. Forward) started for the Wildcats last Friday vs. Utah State. After a slow start, Session became more at ease in the second half and helped lead a Wildcat charge in the last five minutes, cutting USU's lead to four. ... In 28 minutes, Session had 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots and 3 steals.
CROWDED HOUSE
The 9,272 who showed up for last Friday's game with Utah State was the largest REGULAR SEASON crowd for the Wildcats since Feb. 22, 2003 when 10,210 came vs. Northern Arizona.
NEXT GAME
The Wildcats renew an old rivalry with Seattle University. On Sunday, November 22 the Wildcats and Red Hawks (formerly the Chieftains) meet for the first time since the 1979-80 season. ... Tipoff in Key Arena is set for 2:00 p.m. (PST) / 3:05 (MST).
RANDY RAHE QUOTES
ON UCSB “They lost their best scorer from last season, but they picked up a tremendous athlete in Orlando Johnson who sat out last season. He's a very good player at the three spot. They are big up front. I have a lot of respect for Coach Williams. His teams are always prepared and play hard. The Thunderdome is loud, really loud, and it gives them tremendous home court advantage.”
ON THE WILDCATS: “We haven't had time to dwell on the Utah State game and frankly, that game is over and our focus is on Santa Barbara. We did a lot of good things Friday but obviously we didn't shoot the ball very well and that disappointed me. Utah State's defense had a lot to do with that and I give them credit. I thought our defense for the most part was good and our hustle and desire were there which I liked. We need to keep our chins up, eyes and mind focused and get ready for the next one.”
HEAD COACH
BOB WILLIAMS begins his 12th season as head coach of the Gauchos. ... Coming into Tuesday's game with Weber State, Williams is 180-146 (.553) at UCSB. ... His 2001-02 team won the Big West Conference and his 2007-08 squad posted a 23-9 record. ... Before coming to UCSB, Williams spent eight years as the head coach at UC Davis where his teams were 158-76 (.675). ... He also spent two season at Menlo College where he was 31-24. ... Overall, Williams is 369-246 in 21 seasons as a head coach. ... He is 0-3 vs. Weber State. He was 0-1 vs. the Wildcats while at UC Davis and is 0-2 vs. the Wildcats while at UCSB.
SERIES HISTORY
This is just the 3rd meeting between the two teams. ... The first meeting came in the first round of the 2002-03 Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Wildcats won that one 91-82. ... Last year in Ogden, the Wildcats pulled out a 70-63 win.
LAST YEAR IN OGDEN, UTAH -
STEVE PANOS scored a career high 21 points, leading the Wildcats to a 70-63 win inside the Dee Events Center. ... WSU's defense held the Gauchos to just 22-57 (.386) shooting from the field. NICK HANSEN and DAVIIN DAVIS each added 13 points. ... CHRIS DEVINE led the Gauchos with 17 points while JESSE BYRD had 12 points and a game high 14 rebounds including NINE on the offensive end.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
UCSB was 16-15 overall last season and 8-8 in Big West Conference play. ... The Gauchos have been picked to finish 2nd in the Big West Conference this season behind Long Beach State. ... The Gaucho's opened the 2009-10 season with an 85-57 home court win over Cal State Los Angeles. ... UCSB lost its top scorer, Chris Devine (15.5) from last season. Top returnees include guard JAMES POWELL (6-2, 185 Sr.) who averaged 9.0 points last season and JAMES NUNNALLY (6-5, 205 Soph. Forward) who averaged 7.9 points and 3.3 rebounds. ... Coach Bob Williams is looking for big things out of transfers ORLANDO JOHNSON (6-5, 205 Soph. Forward / Loyola-Marymount) and JON PASTOREK (6-10, 210 Jr. Forward / San Diego State). ... Johnson, who scored 19 points in the win last Saturday over Cal State LA, was picked to the 2009-10 Big West Conference Pre-Season All-Conference team. Johnson was 7-7 from the field vs. CSLA. ... Johnson is they younger brother of former Weber State standout guard Robbie Johnson who played one season under Coach Denny Huston (1990-91) and three under Coach Ron Abegglen. Robbie's senior season (1993-94), he was named First Team All-Big Sky and led the Wildcats in scoring at 15.8 ppg.
WSU vs. The Big West
Weber State is a collective 27-19 (.587) against teams from the current Big West Conference. Twenty-one of the of those 46 games came against Cal State Northridge which was a Big Sky Conference member for five seasons. WSU was 13-8 against the Matadors. The only Big West team with a winning record vs. Weber State is Long Beach State. The 49ers are 8-3 overall vs. the Wildcats. ... Weber State has never played Cal Poly.
WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY “Wildcats”
HEAD COACH
Weber State's RANDY RAHE, begins his 4th season at the Wildcat helm. ... In his three short seasons, Rahe's teams have captured two Big Sky Conferenc regulars season championships (06-07, 08-09), the Big Sky Post-Season Tournament championship (06-07), and an NCAA post-season berth in 2006-07. ... Rahe was named Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in both 06-07 and 08-09. ... Rahe is 57-37 (.609) overall in his three seasons as Weber State, and 36-12 (.750) in Big Sky Conference games. ... Rahe's teams have posted a HOME COURT record of 34-8 (.809) during his tenure.
2006-07 20-12 overall 11-5 Big Sky
2007-08 16-14 overall 10-6 Big Sky
2008-09 21-10 overall 15-1 Big Sky.
WILDCATS PICKED TO REPEAT IN THE 'SKY
Weber State has been picked by both the coaches and media in the Big Sky Conference to repeat as champions. ... They received four first place votes from the coaches and had 60 points. Montana was second with three first place votes and 57 points. ... In the media poll, the Wildcats garnered 23 of the 25 votes cast and had 251 points. Portland State was picked second by the voices and scribes with two first place votes and 202 points. ... Idaho State and Portland State each had one first place vote in the coaches poll and Montana had two in the media poll.
48TH SEASON OF DIVISION I BASKETBALL
Weber State begins its 48TH season playing men's basketball on the NCAA Division I level. ... In 1962-63, Weber State became the first junior college in the country to move from the juco ranks directly into Division I basketball. ... This will be WSU's 47th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. Weber State became a charter member of the league formed in 1963-64. ... The Wildcats have won 18 Big Sky Conference titles and made 15 appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship. ... WSU has also made two NIT Post-Season Tournaments and two pre-season NIT's.
ALL - TIME RECORD
Weber State has an overall record in 47 seasons of 853-496 (.632). ... In those 47 seasons, the Wildcats have had just EIGHT LOSING campaigns! ... The Wildcats have won 20 OR MORE games in 22 of those 47 seasons.
HOME UNDER THE DOME OF THE DEE
The 2009-10 season marks the 31st season of Wildcat basketball inside the 12,000 seat Dee Events Center which opened on Nov. 1, 1977. ... WSU defeated Long Beach State, 99-96 OT in the first game ever played under the dome. ... The Wildcats are 352-97 (.784) playing in the Dee Events Center. . . . Weber State's overall home court record, counting the 15 seasons in the old Swenson Gym is a solid 532-114 (.823)!
STAFF RETURNS
Head Coach Randy Rahe has his current staff back for a second season. Last Spring, Rahe elevated Coach Eric Duft to Associate Head Coach. Duft has been with Rahe all four seasons at WSU as has Tim Gardner. ... Charles Harral is back for his 2nd season as is Director of Basketball Operations, Phil Beckner.
WHO IS BACK?
The Wildcats return six lettermen and four starters off of last year's team which posted a 21-10 record overall and had a near perfect 15-1 mark in Big Sky Conference regular season play. ... Gone are Kellen McCoy (5-6, 180 Sr. Guard) who was the 2009-09 Big Sky Conference MVP. McCoy averaged 14.0 points and 2.7 assists per game last season. ... Also gone is Daviin Davis (6-4, 200 Sr. Forward) who was named the 2008-09 Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Davis averaged 9.5 points a game. ... DAMIAN LILLARD (6-2, 185 Soph. Guard) is WSU's top returning scorer. Lillard became the first TRUE FRESHMAN in Big Sky Conference history to earn First Team All-Big Sky Conference honors. He also was named the 2008-00 Big Sky Conference Freshman of they Year. ... Lillard started in 26 of WSU's 31 games, averaging 11.5 points a game and shooting 84 percent from the free throw line. ...STEVE PANOS (6-8, 245 Sr. Center) is the only player on the team with three varsity letters, and joins NICK HANSEN (6-4, 205 Sr. Guard) as one of only two seniors on the team. Panos started all 31 games in the post last season averaging 9.4 points and 4.4 rebounds, while Hansen averaged 8.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game knocking down 67-175 three-pointers (.383). ... KYLE BULLINGER (6-6, 215 Soph. Forward) is the other returning starter. Like Panos, he started in all 31 games averaging 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds a contest.
SHOOTING STOCK CRASH
In the opening exhibition game of the 2009-10 season, the Wildcats knocked down 19-26 from the three-point line and made the first 13 they attempted. Had it been a regular season game, both would have been school records. ... But last Friday night the bottom fell out of the trey market as the Wildcats managed just 2-20 (.100) from beyond the arc and still, only lost to the Utah State Aggies by six (66-60).
SPEAKING OF THE THREE BALL...
Weber State has attempted AT LEAST 10 THREE-POINT shots in its last 59 games. The last time WSU failed to attempt at least 10 treys came on March 15, 2007 vs. UCLA in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The 'Cats were just 1-6 from the arc vs. the Bruins. ... WSU was 4-6 from the arc vs. Northern Arizona in the championship game of the Big Sky Conference Tournament a week before the UCLA game. ... In 94 games under Coach Randy Rahe the Wildcats have attempted 10 or less three-pointers in just five games. . . . In its last three regular season games of the 2008-09 season, the Wildcats were 37-69 (.536) from the arc including a 14-21 (.667) performance AT MONTANA STATE on March 3, 2009. ... A week later, the Wildcats were just 4-26 (.153) vs. Montana State in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament, and were 3-21 (.142) a week after that vs. at San Diego State in the opening round of the NIT. ... That puts the Wildcats at 9-67 (.134) from the arc in their last three regular season games. ... Weber State tied the school record for Three-Pointers (15) last season in the stirring comeback win at home over Northern Colorado. The 'Cats were 15-32 from the arc that game.
LILLARD HAS A GOOD START
DAMIAN LILLARD (6-2, 185 Soph. Guard) hit 8-17 shots from the field (1-5 from the arc), scoring 20 points in 38 minutes last Friday vs. Utah State. ... Lillard was named the 2008-09 Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year and became the first TRUE FRESHMAN in the history of the Big Sky Conference to earn FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE honors
COURT IS IN SESSION
WSU newcomer FRANKLIN SESSION (6-3, 175 Jr. Forward) started for the Wildcats last Friday vs. Utah State. After a slow start, Session became more at ease in the second half and helped lead a Wildcat charge in the last five minutes, cutting USU's lead to four. ... In 28 minutes, Session had 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots and 3 steals.
CROWDED HOUSE
The 9,272 who showed up for last Friday's game with Utah State was the largest REGULAR SEASON crowd for the Wildcats since Feb. 22, 2003 when 10,210 came vs. Northern Arizona.
NEXT GAME
The Wildcats renew an old rivalry with Seattle University. On Sunday, November 22 the Wildcats and Red Hawks (formerly the Chieftains) meet for the first time since the 1979-80 season. ... Tipoff in Key Arena is set for 2:00 p.m. (PST) / 3:05 (MST).
RANDY RAHE QUOTES
ON UCSB “They lost their best scorer from last season, but they picked up a tremendous athlete in Orlando Johnson who sat out last season. He's a very good player at the three spot. They are big up front. I have a lot of respect for Coach Williams. His teams are always prepared and play hard. The Thunderdome is loud, really loud, and it gives them tremendous home court advantage.”
ON THE WILDCATS: “We haven't had time to dwell on the Utah State game and frankly, that game is over and our focus is on Santa Barbara. We did a lot of good things Friday but obviously we didn't shoot the ball very well and that disappointed me. Utah State's defense had a lot to do with that and I give them credit. I thought our defense for the most part was good and our hustle and desire were there which I liked. We need to keep our chins up, eyes and mind focused and get ready for the next one.”
Players Mentioned
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