Oct. 15, 2003
TOREROS OPEN UP PRACTICE OCTOBER 18TH: Head coach Brad Holland and his staff will have their first official practice this coming Saturday, October 18th, as they prepare for the upcoming 2003-04 campaign. The Toreros will practice twice on both Saturday and Sunday between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in the morning, and 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the afternoon. The Toreros will practice at the USD Sports Center on Saturday, then be back in the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Sunday. The Toreros will then be off on Monday, and follow their usual practice schedule Tuesday through Friday. Tuesday-Thursday practices will be from 4-6:30 p.m., and Wednesday-Friday practices will be from 2-4:15 p.m. USD will play two exhibitions leading up to their opener against Oakland on Nov. 15th at the Dell BCA Classic. On November 2nd the Toreros will host the L.A. Stars at 2:30 p.m., the return on Friday, November 7th to take on Cal Poly Pomona at 7:00 p.m. Both exhibitions are free to the public.
HEAD COACH Brad Holland: Head coach Brad Holland enters his 10th year at the helm of the Torero men's basketball program and his 2003-04 lineup will have quite a different look from the team that won last year's West Coast Conference Basketball Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Gone from last year's 18-12 club are four senior starters that accounted for 73.4% of the team's scoring punch - center Jason Keep (18.0 ppg), forward Jason Blair (17.1 ppg), guard Roy Morris (12.3 ppg) and team captain and point guard Matt Delzell (8.0 ppg). Despite the loss of four starters, Holland has consistently proven over the past decade that he can mold his club into a cohesive group that plays well together as a team, and that will be competitive game in and game out.
THE RETURNING CLASS: USD's lone returning starter is junior wing Corey Belser who was named the team's Best Defensive Player this past year. Look for the athletic Belser, who averaged 4.1 ppg and 4.5 rpg, to be asked to increase his offensive output, something he was not expected to do this past year. Two other returners that were in the team's eight-man rotation include junior guard Mike McGrain and sophomore forward/center Nick Lewis. McGrain was the team's first guard off the bench this past season and is projected as the team's starting point guard. Lewis, who gave the Toreros instant offense off the bench and was named the team's Most Improved Player after averaging 8.6 ppg, will play a key role again in USD's plans at both ends of the floor. Other returners back that will be counted on to produce include senior forward-center Abdou Sane, senior shooting guard Brad Lechtenberg and sophomore guard Travis Smith. The Toreros will also have the luxury of getting the services of junior shooting guard Brett Melton. Melton, a transfer from the University of Illinois who sat out last season, should give the Toreros one of the league's most dangerous three-point threats. He'll be counted on to supply a lot of offense that USD will be missing from the loss of their four seniors.
THE NEWCOMERS: The Torero coaching staff, which has concentrated on getting more athletic through their recruiting efforts, have a trio of incoming recruits who will be expected to contribute immediately - junior foward Brandon Gay (Missouri City, TX), junior forward/center Brice Vounang (Dschang, Cameroon) and freshman guard Michael Hubbard (Los Angeles, CA). Gay, a 6-8 forward from Seward County CC in Kansas, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Jayhawk West Conference after averaging 14.9 ppg and 8.4 rpg; Vounang averaged 18.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg at Eastern Oklahoma State Junior College while earning All-Bi-State Conference honors; and Hubbard, who sat out last season at Fullerton Junior College after he suffered a MCL injury to his right knee, will compete for playing time at the point guard slot. Avi Fogel, a 6-2 point guard out of nearby Torrey Pines High School, will walk-on this year with the Toreros after a stellar high school career with the Falcons.
THE REDSHIRT CLASS: The Torero coaching staff has brought in three players that will sit out the upcoming campaign and won't be eligible until the 2004-05 season. This trio will play a key role in helping USD continue its winning ways with their everyday play in practices. Floyd North, III returns to San Diego after two years with the Oregon State program. He started 33 of 57 games with the Beavers and last year averaged 5.3 ppg and 3.6 rpg. He prepped at Saint Augustine HS where he concluded his prep career with 2,039 points after averaging 23.6 ppg his senior year. He was tabbed the San Diego Union-Tribune Player of the Year. Also joining the Toreros is 6-10 center Andrew Zahn, by way of the University of Arizona and Biola, and 6-1 guard Ross DeRogatis, a transfer from Oklahoma State.
TOUGH SCHEDULE AHEAD: The Toreros will once again play a very demanding and tough schedule with just four nonconference games slated for the friendly confines of the Jenny Craig Pavilion. USD will open their season at the Dell BCA Classic (Nov. 15-17), an 8-team tourney which will be hosted by Xavier University. The Toreros will open with Oakland, and play either UC Irvine or Illinois-Chicago in the second game. They'll follow that up with a trip to Creighton (Nov. 22) before hosting Southern Methodist (Nov. 28) and San Diego State (Dec. 3). Other tough road opponents include trips to Utah, UC Santa Barbara, Northern Arizona, Southwest Missouri State and New Mexico. The Toreros will also compete in the Arizona Holiday Classic (Dec. 29-30) and will face the host Sundevils in the first game. West Coast Conference play begins Jan. 15th at home with LMU and culminates with a tough trip to the Pacific Northwest against Gonzaga (Feb. 26; ESPN2 telecast) and Portland (Feb. 28). This year's WCC Tournament will be played at Santa Clara University (March 5-8, 2004).
