Nov. 7, 2007
USD vs. Hawaii Notes 
GAME #1: The University of San Diego men's basketball team, under the direction of first year head coach Bill Grier, kick off their 2007-08 campaign with a tough road contest at the University of Hawaii this coming Friday, November 9th. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. (9:05 pm PST) at the Stan Sheriff Center.
SERIES RECORD: Friday's contest will be the sixth meeting between USD and Hawaii ... USD leads the overall series 4-1, and in games played in Honolulu, the Toreros own a 3-1 advantage... The teams last met during the 2000 campaign in Honolulu in the United Airlines Tip-off Tournament, and USD came away with a 65-63 victory in the title game... Hawaii will visit San Diego next month at the JCP on Dec. 2nd.
RADIO/INTERNET: The game will be air live on XX Sports Radio (1090 AM & 105.7 FM) with Andy Masur bringing you all the action. Jack Cronin, executive producer, will handle both the pre-game and post-game duties this season. The audio broadcast will also be available at www.usdtoreros.com and www.XXSportsRadio.com.
COACH GRIER (1ST YEAR): Coach Bill Grier (Oregon, 1990) begins his first season at the helm of the USD program, and also his first head coaching position at the NCAA Division I level. He was hired on March 26, 2007, and is USD's 11th head coach overall and just the 4th head coach since the Torero program moved to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1979-80. The 44-year-old Grier spent the past 16 years at Gonzaga University, including the last 8 seasons as Mark Few's top assistant. Over the past eight years Gonzaga compiled a 21-52 record; won the WCC regular-season title seven times; the WCC Tournament title seven times; advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times, including three trips to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Overall with Grier as an assistant coach, the Bulldogs combined for an overall record of 381-126; won 11 regular-season WCC titles; won nine WCC Tournament titles (33-7 WCC Tournament record); advanced to nine consecutive NCAA Tournaments, and ten overall, including four Sweet 16 appearances and the 1999 Elite Eight. Bill and his wife, Nicole, have one daughter, Giselle.
SAN DIEGO WINS BOTH EXHIBITION TUNEUPS: The Toreros played two exhibition contests and came away with wins in both... On October 31st the Toreros dealt Point Loma College a 71-62 defeat... Junior guard Brandon Johnson led four Toreros in double digit scoring with 16 points to go with 6 assists and 2 steals... Danny Brown (12), De'Jon Jackson (11) and Gyno Pomare (10 points, 8 rebounds) also reached double digit marks.. This past Sunday USD took on Occidental College and came away with a 71-62 victory... Gyno Pomare scored a team-best 16 points, while Brandon Johnson (16 points) and Chris Lewis (10 points) also tallied double-digit scoring.
TOREROS PICKED THIRD IN WCC PRESEASON COACHES POLL: The USD men's basketball team has been picked to finish in 3rd place in the WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll. Gonzaga edged out Saint Mary's as the favorite to capture their eighth consecutive regular-season WCC crown. The Zags earned 5 first place votes and 61 points, followed by Saint Mary's with 3 first place votes and 59 points. The Toreros (43 points) were followed by Santa Clara (38), San Francisco (34), Pepperdine (22), Portland (16) and Loyola Marymount (15).
POMARE & JOHNSON AMONG WCC'S BEST: In addition to predicting the 2007-08 West Coast Conference regular-season standings, WCC head coaches were also asked to submit who they thought were the top six returning players from last season. USD has two of the six players in junior center Gyno Pomare and junior point guard Brandon Johnson. The USD junior duo is joined by Josh Heytvelt and Jeremy Pargo of Gonzaga, Diamon Simpson of Saint Mary's College and Manny Quezada of USF. The Toreros have been picked to finish 3rd in the WCC Coaches Preseason poll. USD returns one of the quickest guards in the WCC in Brandon Johnson. The junior point guard is one of the top playmakers in the conference, leading the WCC in assists last season with 4.75 apg, while ranking 12th overall in scoring at 12.8 points per game. While he was making plays on the offensive end for USD, he tormented the Toreros' opponents on the defensive end, ranking fourth in the WCC in steals with 1.94 spg. Johnson needs just 33 more assists to crack into the Toreros' top five career assists chart. Last season, junior forward Gyno Pomare established himself as one of the top frontcourt players in the conference, earning All-WCC first team honors. Pomare teams up with point guard Brandon Johnson to give the Toreros one of the top inside-outside tandems in the league. Pomare was relentless on the boards, averaging a WCC-best 8.3 rpg. He finished the season ranked in the top ten in the WCC in scoring (14.9 ppg-6th), rebounding (1st), field goal % (.538-2nd), and blocks (1.31 bpg-6th).
SEASON OUTLOOK: First year head coach Bill Grier was named USD's 11th head coach back on March 26th, 2007, and he immediately went to work on putting his personal stamp on Torero basketball. After assembling an outstanding staff, and getting acquainted with USD's returning players, he went to work on recruiting and putting together arguably USD's toughest schedule ever. He enters his first head coaching job with four starters and eight players back from last year's 18-14 team. Grier will look to junior center Gyno Pomare (Oceanside, CA) and junior point guard Brandon Johnson (Houston, TX) to supply most of the team leadership. In a vote by WCC head coaches, both of these players were picked among the top-six returning players in the conference. Pomare, a fourth-year junior who had off-season foot surgery, is hoping to work his way back to his All-Conference ways. Last year he was named First Team All-WCC after leading the Toreros in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg). Johnson, one of the top playmakers and quickest guards in the WCC, returns for his junior campaign. Last year he earned WCC honorable mention recognition after leading the league in assists (4.75) and ranking 12th in scoring (12.8 ppg). Joining Pomare and Johnson in the junior class are three players with extensive playing experience. Wing Ray Murdock (Phoenix, AZ) and guard Danny Brown (Olathe, KS) are both third year players, while center Daniel Fleming (Murrieta, CA) is back for his second go around. Murdock is one of the team's top defensive players. Brown appeared in 26 games and ranked fourth on the team in three-pointers made (21). Fleming earned 22 starts in 30 contests in his first year with the Toreros. Completing USD's list of returnees is three sophomores and a red shirt freshman center. Chris Lewis (Bedford, TX) and De'Jon Jackson (Fresno, CA) both made an impact during their freshman campaign as both players were named to the WCC All-Freshman team. The 6-7 Lewis earned 18 starts while appearing in 31 games. He averaged 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds while converting 44.1% of his shots and 70.8% from the free throw line. Jackson turned in a solid first year appearing in 31 games with 3 starts. He averaged 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds while dishing out 44 assists and canning 78.6% of his charity attempts. He turned in an outstanding game in home win over Pepperdine with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Lewis and Jackson are joined by second-year power forward Josh Miller (Chino Hills, CA), who sat out last year as a red-shirt, and sophomore walk-on forward Patrick Lacey (Sacramento, CA) Coach Grier welcomes five freshmen to this year's squad, including three players that he and his staff recruited. The two newcomers that committed prior to his arrival include forwards Rob Jones (San Francisco, CA) and Clinton Houston (Dallas, TX). Grier's recruits include 6-2 point guard Trumaine Johnson (Houston, TX), 6-10 centers Nathan Lozeau (Marysville, WA) and 6-2 guard Devin Ginty (Alta, CA). The entire freshman class will be given a chance to earn playing time this season for first year head coach Bill Grier.
SCOUTING HAWAII: The Rainbow Warriors are under the direction of first-year head coach Bob Nash (Hawaii, 1984)... Nash is no stranger to the program, having spent nearly three decades at UH as a player and coach, the last 20 as an associate coach - he replaces Riley Wallace (program-best 334 wins)... UH returns seven seniors and three starters from last year's 18-13 club... A member of the Western Athletic Conference, they finished 8-8 in league last year, good for 5th place... This season they are picked to finish 6th in a vote by both media and coaches... Senior forward Bobby Nash (11.2 ppg), the son of current head coach Bob Nash, and senior guard Matt Gibson (10.2 ppg) are the team's top two returnees.
THREE GAME HOME STAND UP NEXT: Following a quick trip to Hawaii, the Toreros will return for a three-game home stand beginning on Nov. 12th against Cal State University-Monterey Bay at 7 pm... The UNLV Rebels, a Sweet Sixteen team from a year ago, will visit the JCP on Saturday, Nov. 17th (6 pm), followed by the City Championship against San Diego State on Monday, Nov. 19th (7 pm)... Both the UNLV and SDSU games will be televised locally on Channel 4 San Diego.
ANAHEIM CLASSIC SET FOR THANKSGIVING WEEKEND: The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Toreros following their home stand... USD will take on the USC Trojans on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22nd, in the fourth and final game of opening day of the Anaheim Classic... The eight-team, 12-game, bracketed tournament, which is being co-hosted by ESPN Regional Television, Inc. and the Big West Conference, will take place between Nov. 22, 23, and 25 at the Anaheim Convention Center... USD will face either Miami-Ohio or Southern Alabama on Nov. 23rd... Other participants include Southern Illinois, Tennessee-Chattanooga and Mississippi State. For more information, go to www.AnaheimClassic.com.
TORERO COACHING STAFF: Bill Grier didn't waste anytime in assembling an outstanding staff... Associate Head Coach Bill Carr joins the Torero staff following a three-year stint up the freeway at UC San Diego where he was head coach... He also has WCC ties from his days as a player and assistant coach with the University of San Francisco. Assistant Coach Walter Roese joins USD following a two-year stay at BYU... When he first joined BYU in 2005 he became the first Brazilian full-time assistant coach in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball. Roese coached the Brazilian Junior National Team helping his native country qualify for the 2007 World Cup. This past summer, he was the head coach for the World University games in Thailand for Brazil. Assistant Kyle Bankhead played for coach Grier at Gonzaga and is in his first year as a full-time coach. Booker T. Harris, a former player at San Francisco, is the team's Basketball Operations Director.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO SAN DIEGO: The Jenny Craig Pavilion will be the site for the 2008 West Coast Conference Basketball Championships (Mar. 6-10). San Diego last hosted this event for a three-year run between 2001-03. For the sixth consecutive season, the men's championships will use an 8-team/Play-in format, while the women's championships will use the traditional 1 vs. 8 format with no byes for the fourth straight year. The men's games will begin on March 7th.
ANDY MASUR ON XX SPORTS RADIO: Andy Masur will call all the Torero basketball games, home and away, on XX Sports Radio (1090 AM & 105.7 FM)... He will be joined by color analyst John Kentera for home contests... Masur recently completed his first season with the station announcing San Diego Padres baseball games... Jack Cronin, executive producer at XX Sports Radio, will assist with pre and post games.
