SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

Coach Aura’s Coaching Tree

Kevin Abney, head coach at Boston University (career record of 106-88)
Landon Friel, head coach at Florida International (career record of 61-93)
Jeremy Anderson, 1st Asst at Idaho State
Rashon Richardson, 1st Asst at Columbia
C.J. Costa, 1st Asst at Southern Illinois
Justin Traore, 1st Asst at James Madison
Bryan King, 1st Asst at George Washington
Omari Aura, 1st Asst at Mississippi
Jody Hedde, 2nd Asst at Syracuse
David Williams, 3rd Asst at Milwaukee
Omar McDade (retired as 1st Asst at Towson)
Michael Snoddy (retired as 1st Asst at St. Francis)
Harry Iacona (retired as 2nd Asst at Washington State)
Kenyon Haynes, (retired as head coach at a Division 2 college)
Matt Barnes (retired as 1st Asst at Texas Tech)
Nate Culuko (retired as 1st Asst at Jacksonville)
Adrian Brown (was graduate asst at Towson, presently is a high school head coach in Ohio)
Chris Evans (retired as 1st Asst at Western Carolina)
Robert Wilson (retired as 3rd Asst at Pittsburgh)
Rob Rowland (retired as 3rd Asst at Boston College)
David Woodruff (retired after 20-42 record as head coach at George Mason)
Darrell Montgomery (31-84 record as head coach at Auburn & Tulane and then retired as 1st Asst at Virginia Tech)
Eugene Wallace (retired as 1st Asst at Cal Poly)

[PointGuard]

2041-42 SEASON

Cory McCreight, 1st Assistant Coach (Recruiting)

May 5th:

We were worried about players transferring and one did. Unfortunately it was Jase Carroll, who has started every game for the 3 years he’s been here and has a career average of 10.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, and 3.0 apg. We also had one unfilled scholarship from last season. So we’ll try to pick up 2 transfer players…preferably a SG and SF.

Here’s how we did in the Transfer Portal:

We ended up spending more money than we’d like to have…but got 2 good transfer players:

SF Murray Anthony, a 6-6 sophomore from Franklin, LA who as a freshman averaged 11.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg at Northwestern State.

SG Jamal Charles, a 6-6 sophomore from Vicksburg, MS who averaged 12.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 2.0 apg as a freshman at Jackson State.

I think both players will challenge for starting roles, but we’ll just have to see how things go during the fall practices.

Jase Carroll transferred to Harvard.

[PointGuard]

Cory McCreight, 1st Assistant Coach (Recruiting)

We have 3 scholarships to fill this year. During the fall we filled 2 of those, both of whom will hopefully become solid backup players for us:

PF Brian White, 6’8” from Byron, WY. He’s a beast on the boards. He shoots well from inside and outside, but doesn’t take a lot of shots. He’s also a good passer and shot blocker.

SF Marquis Echols, 6’8” from San Diego, CA. He’s a sweet shooter from outside and works the boards well. He also has good passing skills. He’s a great leader and works hard.

[PointGuard]

Coach Fred Aura

We’ve again put together a pre-conference schedule with some tough opponents this season:

PENN STATE
ST. JOHN’S
IOWA
@ Yale
WASHINGTON STATE
@ San Francisco
VANDERBILT
@ Southern Methodist
UTAH
Bahama Classic Tournament (first game is against Creighton)
@ #8 Brigham Young
NEW MEXICO STATE
UC-IRVINE

Some strong opponents and a good home/away mix. That should be a good test for us and prepare us well for Mountain West play. The new AD seems to know what he's doing! (Heh heh)

[PointGuard]

3rd Assisistant Coach LeBron Baxter

November Results

Nov. 15: Cal Poly Mustangs—66, Penn State Nittany Lions—49 (PF Danny Tolliver-15 pts, 6 reb; PG Robbie Boston-9 pts; C Brandon Bailey-8 pts, 7 reb; C Micah Hannah-8 pts, 5 reb; SF Louis Taylor-7 pts, 5 reb; C Lane Lynch-7 pts, 5 reb. Injury: PG Gary Van Dyke sustained a minor concussion.) [1-0]

Nov. 18: Cal Poly Mustangs—82, St. John’s Red Storm—49 (PF Danny Tolliver-12 pts, 3 reb; SF Louis Taylor-12 pts, 8 reb, 2 blk; C Brandon Bailey-11 pts, 3 blk; PG Robbie Boston-11 pts, 3 reb; C Lane Lynch-8 pts; PG Gary Van Dyke-6 pts, 4 reb; SG Jon Oveton-6 pts. Injury: SG Will Cage came down with an abdominal strain.) [2-0]

Nov. 22: #25 Iowa Hawkeyes—85, Cal Poly Mustangs—83 [OT] (SF Louis Taylor-13 pts, 3 reb, 3 stl; PG Gary Van Dyke-12 pts; C Lane Lynch-11 pts, 2 blk; PG Robbie Boston-10 pts, 3 reb; SG Jase Carroll-10 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl; SG Jon Overton-9 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl; C Brandon Bailey-6 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast.) [2-1]

Nov. 25: Cal Poly Mustangs—77, Yale—54 (C Lane Lynch-19 pts, 4 reb; SG Jase Carroll-12 pts, 2 ast, 3 stl; PF Danny Tolliver-10 pts, 7 reb; SF Kenyon Farrell-7 pts, 3 ast) [3-1]

Nov. 29: Cal Poly Mustangs—77, Washington State Cougars—60 (PG Robbie Boston-19 pts, 3 ast; PF Danny Tolliver-13 pts, 3 reb; C Lane Lynch-12 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl; SG Will Cage-8 pts, 3 reb, 2 stl; SG Jase Carroll-6 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast.) [4-1]

We played very well this month. Strong D in 4 of our 5 games. And in the other, we nearly beat Iowa, a ranked team…being edged in OT. We’re averaging 77.0 ppg (82nd best in Division1) while giving up just 59.4 ppg (8th best in Division 1) to our opponents thus far. The two new guys on our team, Robbie Boston and Danny Tolliver, played great as starters. Boston is averaging 11.0 ppg and Tolliver is averaging 10.6 ppg and 4.8 rpg. Lane Lynch has come in off the bench to average 11.4 ppg and 3.4 rpg. Last year the Mustangs shot poorly, particularly from 3-point distance. But we hit 48% of our FG’s and 38% of our 3’s in our first 5 games. Both of those figures are 75th best in Division 1.

[PointGuard]

LeBron Baxter, 3rd Assistant Coach

December Results

Dec. 2: San Francisco Dons—78, Cal Poly Mustangs—56 (C Lane Lynch-18 pts, 8 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk; SG Jase Carroll-10 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast; SG Jon Overton-7 pts, 2 ast.) [4-2]

Dec. 6: Vanderbilt Commodores—67, Cal Poly Mustangs—58 (PF Danny Tolliver-11 pts; PF Micah Hannah-8 pts, 4 reb; PG Gary Van Dyke-8 pts, 3 reb. Injury: C Brandon Bailey strained his hamstring and is expected to be nursing the injury for 2 weeks.) [4-3]

Dec. 9: Southern Methodist—88, Cal Poly Mustangs—65 (SF Louis Taylor-12 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast; PF Danny Tolliver-9 pts, 5 reb; PF Micah Hannah-8 pts, 3 reb, 2 blk. Injury: SF Kenyon Knee has a sore knee that will hamper him for about a week.) [4-4]

Dec. 13: Utah Utes—70, Cal Poly Mustangs—65 (SF Louis Taylor-18 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl, 4 blk; SG Jase Carroll-10 pts, 4 reb, 3 stl; PG Robbie Boston-9 pts. Injuries: SF Louis Taylor-sore foot; SG Jon Overton-sore wrist; PF DJ Morse-sore back.) [4-5]

Dec. 16: #22 Creighton Blue Jays—77, Cal Poly Mustangs—71 [Bahama Classic Tournament] (SF Louis Taylor-14 pts, 2 ast, 2 stl; PF Danny Tolliver-10 pts, 7 reb, 2 blk; C Lane Lynch-10 pts, 6 reb, 3 blk; PF Micah Hannah-8 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk; SF Kenyon Farrell-7 pts; PG Robbie Boston-6 pts, 5 ast.) [4-6]

Dec. 20: #4 Brigham Young Cougars—58, Cal Poly Mustangs—53 (C Brandon Bailey-12 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast; SG Jase Carroll-11 pts; SF Louis Taylor-9 pts, 8 reb.) [4-7]

Dec. 23: Cal Poly Mustangs—61, New Mexico State Aggies (PF Danny Tolliver-11 pts, 9 reb, 2 blk; SG Jase Carroll-10 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl; SF Louis Taylor-9 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl; C Brandon Bailey-6 pts, 9 reb; C Lane Lynch-6 pts, 5 reb. Injury: C Lane Lynch-strained knee.) [5-7]

Dec. 27: Cal Poly Mustangs—79, UC Irvine Anteaters—61 (SG Jon Overton-14 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl; SG Jase Carroll-11 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast; SF Kenyon Farrell-10 pts; C Brandon Bailey-9 pts, 7 reb; PG Robbie Boston-8 pts; PG Gary Van Dyke-6 pts, 4 ast. Major Injury: PG Robbie Boston suffered a broken hand and will miss over a month of games.) [6-7]

What an ugly month. 6 straight losses before we finally turned things around and won a couple. We were never in the games against San Francisco and Southern Methodist. We lost to two ranked teams (Creighton and BYU) but we gave them a battle. We got bit by the injury bug this past month but that wasn’t the reason for our losses. We just weren’t ready for the competition we came up against this month. To replace Robbie Benson, we’ll move Gary Van Dyke into the starting lineup at PG with Jon Overton as his primary backup. We no longer have anyone averaging in double figures. We’re averaging 68.7 ppg while our opponents have averaged 64.8 ppg. Our shooting percentages from the field are now in the dumper. Time to turn things around.

[PointGuard]

Jack Stevens, neighbor of the Aura’s

People around here are spoiled. They got used to the Mustangs being consistent winners. And now that Cal Poly’s basketball team has a losing record, they’re questioning why Fred Aura is handling two jobs for the college. They’re saying he’s spread himself too thin and that’s left the team adrift. I got into arguments with a few of them, but my wife finally told me to drop it since it was impossible to change their minds. Fred seems unperturbed, but I gotta think it’s eating at him.

[PointGuard]

Cory McCreight, 1st Assistant Coach

January Results:

Jan. 6: Cal Poly Mustangs—68, Nevada—65 (PG Gary Van Dyke-16 pts, 5 ast, 4 stl, 3 blk; SF Louis Taylor-12 pts, 9 reb; C Brandon Bailey-10 pts, 4 reb, 2 blk; PF Danny Tolliver-9 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk; C Lane Lynch-8 pts, 6 reb.) [7-7, 1-0]

Jan. 10: Cal Poly Mustangs—77, #23 Boise State Broncos—72 (PF Danny Tolliver-15 pts, 3 stl, 2 blk; SG Jase Carroll-13 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl; PG Gary Van Dyke-9 pts, 2 ast; C Brandon Bailey-8 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast; C Lane Lynch-8 pts, 3 ast, 2 stl; PG Jon Overton-7 pts. Injury: PF Micah Hannah-sore leg.) [8-7, 2-0]

Jan. 13: Fresno State Bulldogs—77, Cal Poly Mustangs—74 (SG Jase Carroll-23 pts, 3 stl, 2 blk; SF Louis JanTaylor-16 pts, 12 reb,2 ast; C Brandon Bailey-9 pts, 3 reb; PG Gary Van Dyke-6 pts, reb, 3 ast; SF Kenyon Farrell-6 pts, 5 reb.) [8-8, 2-1]

Jan. 17: Cal Poly Mustangs—81, Air Force Falcons—55 (C Lane Lynch-17 pts, 4 reb; SF Louis Taylor-16 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast; PF Danny Tolliver-11 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast; SG Jase Carroll-8 pts, 7 ast, 2 blk; PG Gary Van Dyke-8 pts; PF Micah Hannah-7 pts, 4 reb. Injuries: C Lane Lynch-sprained wrist-two weeks; Jon Overton-sore foot.) [9-8, 3-1]

Jan. 20: Cal Poly Mustangs—60, Colorado State Rams-58 [OT] (SG Jase Carroll-15 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl; SF Louis Taylor-12 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast; C Brandon Bailey-10 pts, 9 reb, 2 stl; PG Gary Van Dyke-10 pts, 4 reb. Injury: SG Jase Carroll-sprained finger.) [10-8, 4-1]

Jan. 24: Cal Poly Mustangs—77, San Diego State Aztecs—66 (SG Jase Carroll-13 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast; SF Louis Taylor-12 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl; PG Gary Van Dyke-10 pts, 4 ast, 2 stl; PF Danny Tolliver-9 pts, 6 reb; C Lane Lynch-8 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk.) [11-8, 5-1]

Jan 27: Cal Poly Mustangs—81, New Mexico Lobos—74 (PF Danny Tolliver-14 pts, 5 reb; PG Jon Overton-12 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl; C Brandon Bailey-9 pts, 4 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk; SG Jase Carroll-8 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast; C Lane Lynch-8 pts, 3 reb, 2 blk; PF DJ Morse-8 pts, 3 reb, 2 blk; PF Micah Hannah-8 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast; SF Louis Taylor-7 pts, 3 stl.) [12-8, 6-1]

Jan. 31: Cal Poly Mustangs—63, #23 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels—58 (SG Jase Carroll-13 pts, 8 reb; PF Danny Tolliver-12 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk; SF Louis Taylor-11 pts; C Lane Lynch-10 pts, 4 reb; PG Jon Overton-6 pts, 2 ast; PG Gary Van Dyke-5 pts, 8 ast, 2 stl. Injury: SF Louis Taylor-sore hand.) [13-8, 7-1]

We were tied for the league lead throughout the month but after beating UNLV, we are now alone in 1st place in the Mountain West, 1 game ahead of 2 other teams. January was a very successful month and included wins over the conference’s two ranked teams. Our top scorers now are SF Louis Taylor with 9.8 ppg and SG Jase Carroll with 9.3 ppg. Two other players (PF Danny Tolliver and C Lane Lynch) are averaging over 8 ppg. SF Louis Taylor and PF Danny Tolliver are both averaging 5.3 rpg. SG Jase Carroll is tops in assists with 3.1 apg. 5 of our 7 wins in the conference have been close games. PG Robbie Boston’s broken hand has now healed and he will return to our lineup in our next game.

[PointGuard]

Head Coach and Athletic Director Frederic Aura

Our team’s pre-conference record was definitely unimpressive. But I wasn’t worried. I felt the competitiveness of our schedule had tested our team under fire. I’d seen some good things come out of it and the team’s chemistry was good…even after sustaining 6 straight losses. What’s more I knew we brought back a very strong core this season. We only had two new players…and both Danny Tolliver and Robbie Boston had stepped into starting roles and fit right in. The injury to Boston was a new challenge for the team, but Gary Van Dyke moved back into a starting role at PG and played extremely well. So now that Boston has healed, we have two excellent PG’s. Things have really gelled during the first half of the conference schedule. Now that we’re on top of the conference standings we will have a target painted on our backs as each team we play during the 2nd half of the conference campaign will want to knock off the top dog. But I welcome that because it will toughen us up and that will be particularly important if we are fortunate enough to get selected for the post-season NCAA or NIT tournaments.

Not being as involved in our team as I have always been in the past has been tough. I have to admit I miss the daily grind of being the full-fledged head coach. Fortunately my assistant coaches have done a great job of taking on their new responsibilities. But it’s still strange not to be at most of our practices and to let 1st Assistant Cory McCreight take most of the lead on game strategy and riding the refs during games.

While I expected the AD functions to take a lot of time, I underestimated. We’ve got a fantastic staff, though, and they’ve done a nice job of handling many aspects of my job. I’ve tried to be careful to equalize my attention to all our sports rather than letting basketball take priority. I’m enjoying gaining familiarity with a lot of sports I previously hadn’t paid much attention to. Of course, I knew all the coaches already, but have got more involved with them the past several months after taking over as AD.

Health-wise, I’m doing OK. Besides lowering my stress, I’m eating better and have changed my exercise regimen to work at lowering my blood pressure and working more on cardio. Janeka has been monitoring all aspects of my activity and nutrition and letting me know when I fail to do the things I should.

Omari is doing fine in his new job as 1st Assistant Coach at the University of Mississippi. Head Coach Nick Miller, who I know very well, has Omari focusing on scouting. Omari’s strengths were on the O and D aspects of the game and dealing with practice and player development. So this is rounding him out. I’d hoped he would do a lot on recruiting, but Ole Miss has a very experienced recruiter in 2nd Assistant Coach Philipp Gely. The Rebels are 11 and 10 this season and 5 and 4 in the SEC. So that’s far better than their identical 11-20 records each of the previous two seasons. I’ve been watching their games whenever I can and am jealous about their two starting guards…both of whom came to Mississippi as highly rated recruits and are living up to those high expectations.

Malik is still the starting SG for the Miami Heat. He’s had his ups and downs this season, but has done well overall. He’s now married and I believe that’s settled him down. He’s taking online courses as well so he’s preparing for his future once he’s done with pro ball.

Devany is a junior in high school. She’s still a main cog on her high school basketball team. But Janeka has ensured that Devany remains focused on academics. Devany has begun exploring colleges. While we’d like to see her attend a university in California, she has an independent streak that is leading her to wanting to be “away” and on her own.

Janeka is continuing with her nursing career and enjoying it. But she’s had to spend more time taking care of Al Miller, her father who is living with us. Al is well into his 80’s and has slowed down a lot the past year. He no longer attends all Mustangs’ home games.

[PointGuard]

LeBron Baxter, 3rd Assistant Coach (scouting)

February Results:

Feb 3: Montana Bobcats—61, Cal Poly Mustangs—58 (PG Robbie Boston-9 pts, 3 reb; PF Danny Tolliver-9 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl; C Brandon Bailey-7 pts, 9 reb, 2 blk; C Lane Lynch-7 pts, 3 reb.) [13-9, 7-2]

Feb. 7: Cal Poly Mustangs—73, Wyoming Cowboys—55 (C Lane Lynch-20 pts, 5 reb; PF DJ Morse-10 pts; C Brandon Bailey-7 pts, 5 reb. Injuries: Jon Overton-sore calf; PF Danny Tolliver-sprained finger; SF Kenyon Farrell-sprained toe.) [14-9, 8-2]

Feb. 10: Utah State Aggies—76, Cal Poly Mustangs—62 (C Brandon Bailey-13 pts, 6 reb; SF Louis Taylor-11 pts, 6 reb, 3 stl; SF Kenyon Farrell-8 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast; PG Gary Van Dyke-7 pts, 3 reb, 7 ast.) [14-10, 8-3]

Feb. 14: Cal Poly Mustangs—73, Nevada Wolfpack—55 (SG Jase Carroll-16 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl; SF Louis Taylor-14 pts, 3 reb, 2 blk; C Lane Lynch-11 pts, 12 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk; PF Danny Tolliver-7 pts, 10 reb. Injury: PF DJ Morse-sore back.) [15-10, 9-3]

Feb. 17: #16 Boise State Broncos—70, Cal Poly Mustangs—55 (C Brandon Bailey-10 pts, 4 reb; PG Robbie Boston-10 pts, 5 reb; SG Jase Carroll-9 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl; PF Danny Tolliver-7 pts, 4 reb.) [15-11, 9-4]

Feb. 21: Cal Poly Mustangs—66, Fresno State Bulldogs—64 (PG Robbie Boston-16 pts; SG Jase Carroll-13 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl; PF Danny Tolliver-9 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast; SF Louis Taylor-8 pts, 7 reb; C Brandon Bailey-6 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast. Injury: PG Robbie Boston-back spasms.) [16-11, 10-4]

Feb. 24: Cal Poly Mustangs—67, Air Force Falcons—64 (SG Jase Carroll-25 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl; C Brandon Bailey-10 pts, 6 reb; SF Louis Taylor-10 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk; PF Danny Tolliver-8 pts, 4 reb. Injury: PG Gary Van Dyke-sore hip.) [17-11, 11-4]

Feb. 28: Cal Poly Mustangs—79, Colorado State Rams—60 (PG Robbie Boston-22 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast; SG Jase Carroll-8 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast; C Lane Lynch-8 pts, 7 reb; PF Danny Tolliver-7 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast; C Brandon Bailey-7 pts, 2 ast.) [18-11, 12-4]

Throughout the entire month our offense failed to ignite until our final game. Fortunately our defense was generally strong. We slipped down to 2nd place before coming back to finish in a tie for 1st place with Montana in the final conference standings. We had a few good single game offensive outputs by players, but there was no consistency. Our top scorer for the entire season was SG Jase Carroll who averaged 9.6 ppg with SF Louis Taylor close behind, averaging 9.3 ppg. As we prepare for the upcoming conference tourney, no players have on-going injuries. We’re having a sustained battle between Jase Carroll and Will Cage…each digging the other about various minor issues. The attitude of the rest of the players on our team is very good.