SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

Omari Aura, 3rd Assistant Coach (player development/practice)

We’re ready to begin our season. A few little hiccups during the fall practice period, but all-in-all a successful preparation effort. One thing it didn’t nail down was who ultimately will be our starters. We have probably 10 guys who could start. We’re going to experiment with our lineup as we proceed through our pre-conference games to see which guys do best and play together most effectively.

Our two primary PG’s are both seniors this year. Danny Preston has been the starting PG all 3 years he’s been at Cal Poly. Last season he averaged 9.7 ppg and 4.0 apg and hit 46% of his FGA’s and 37% of his 3PA’s. Scotty Lee was a starter for East Carolina as a freshman but has been our primary backup to Danny the past two years. He averaged 7.3 ppg and 2.6 apg last season while making 48% of his FGA’s, 33% of his 3PA’s and 89% of his FTA’s.

The starting job at SG appears to be coming down to either freshman Jase Carroll or returning senior Damien Harris. Carroll seems to have the edge due to a slight advantage in scoring and defense. But Harris, who was a starter for Coastal Carolina as a freshman and a solid sub for us the past two years (he averaged 2.8 ppg and 1.2 rpg last season) is fighting hard to take over at SG and has the advantage of being more familiar with our sets. Jon Overton, who transferred to us this summer, was a starter for Citadel last season as a freshman and averaged 9.8 ppg, 2.6 apg, and 2.4 rpg. He’s likely to give us solid minutes off the bench but wants as much court time as he can get.

Eddie Erskin, a senior who started for Northern Illinois as a freshman, subbed for us as a sophomore, and started for us last season (averaging 8.0 ppg and 5.2 rpg and connecting on 47% of his FGA’s and 44% of his 3PA’s) returns and has the edge to start again at SF. But sophomore Louis Taylor who averaged 2.7 ppg and 1.8 rpg for us last year, has made big improvement strides and is challenging Eddie to start. Redshirt freshman Kenyon Farrell gained a lot from redshirting here last year and will get some playing time to see how he does.

We have 5 interior players, each of whom could possibly start for us at either C or PF this season make choosing starters difficult at this point. Senior Calvis Barnes is a 3-year starter (as a freshman at Bryant and the past 2 years for us) and averaged 10.9 ppg and 6.3 rpg last season. Sophomore Brandon Bailey was a very good backup primarily at PF last season and averaged 3.9 ppg and 2.4 rpg. Senior Estell Luton was a starter for Chicago State as a freshman and solid backup at both C and PF for us the past two years, averaging 5.1 ppg and 3.3 rpg last season. We picked up transfer junior Steve Hastings this summer. Last season at North Dakota State he averaged 28.4 ppg and 7.3 rpg while hitting on 61% of his FGA’s. We also added freshman DJ Morse who has tremendous potential but we’ll need to build him up slowly to familiarize him with our offensive and defensive sets.

Our strongest players defensively are Preston, Barnes, Bailey and Hastings.

For our first game we’ll be starting Preston, Carroll, Erskin, Barnes, and Hastings. We’ll see how that goes, but I expect we’ll try some other starting combinations as the season progresses.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (0-0) @ Wake Forest Demon Deacons (0-0)

David Williams, 2nd Assistant Coach (scouting)

I think we have the stronger team, but playing before a big crowd on the Demon Deacons home court could make things difficult for us. Wake Forest’s strongest players are SF John Stewart, SG Kevin Pederson, and C Zenon Pieluzek. Stewart in particular can get very hot, so we’ll double team him, at least initially. Wake Forest likes to run a high post offense and work the ball inside. Defensively they’re pretty much man-to-man.

The game began by Wake Forest’s Stewart making a nice cut inside for an easy basket and us turning the ball over on both of our first 2 possessions. But Jase Carroll intercepted a pass and Calvis Barnes worked the ball up the right baseline and put in a 5 foot jumper for our first score of the season with 18:13 on the clock. Carroll had a good start with 6 points, an assist, a steal and a block in his first 6 minutes of college roundball. We were good defensively and working the boards in the first half. So even though we made 8 turnovers we able to gain a 32-25 halftime advantage. Calvis Barnes led our team with 10 points and 5 rebounds in the half.

The Demon Deacons took advantage of our sloppy play, sluggish offense and a series of fouls that sent them to the line to take a 37-36 lead with 14 minutes to play. Two minutes later we were down by 6 points. Coach Aura got on the team during the media timeout and they responded by going on a 16-2 run and retaking the lead at 52-44 with 8 minutes to go. Wake Forest fought back and with 3-1/2 minutes to go we were ahead by just 3 points. Then with 1:20 on the clock, the Demon Deacons went ahead 58-57. Coach Aura set up an isolation play for Calvis Barnes and it worked to perfection to put us back on top by 1 with 30 seconds remaining. Wake Forest worked the ball into the paint to score and reclaim the lead with 19 seconds to go. Jase Carroll was fouled as he drove toward the key and then sank both free throws. We needed to hold on for the final 10 seconds. Our press took 5 seconds off the clock. Wake Forest worked the ball around outside quickly and got off a last second 3 that rimmed around and out. We escaped with a 61-60 victory. We made 6 more turnovers than Wake Forest but pulled down 14 more rebounds.

PF Calvis Barnes—15 points, 7 rebounds; SG Jase Carroll—13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals; PG Danny Preston—9 points, 3 rebounds; PG Scotty Lee—8 points, 3 rebounds.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (1-0) @ Butler Bulldogs (1-0)

Omari Aura, 3rd Assistant Coach (player development/practice)

Our SF’s (Eddie Erskin and Louis Taylor) did a very good job on the boards but scored no points in our game against Wake Forest. We’re starting Taylor in place of Erskin tonight. Steve Hastings played OK at C, but got several shots blocked. I’m hoping he can do better inside tonight. On a positive note, both Calvis Barnes and Jase Carroll looked good in our first game this season. Butler beat Grand Canyon 68-55 in their season opener. Their starting guards combined for 31 points.

Hey! Taylor hit a 3 a couple minutes into the game. Danny Preston scored 12 first half points and our defense was stingy. We came away with a 36-27 halftime lead.

We came out of the locker room sizzling and led by 18 with 14 minutes remaining in the game. We held onto a double digit lead the rest of the way and knocked off Butler by a final score of 76-59.

PG Danny Preston—17 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists; PG Scotty Lee—14 points, 3 rebounds; SF Louis Taylor—11 points, 2 assists, 2 steals; PF Brandon Bailey—8 points; C Estell Luton—7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (2-0) @ Air Force Falcons (0-2)

David Williams, 2nd Assistant Coach (scouting)

Don’t let Air Force’s 0-2 record fool you. Although we’ve won both of our games, the Falcons are favored in this game. Both of their losses have been to very strong teams and on the road: Miami (FL) and #21 Louisville. Last season the Falcons were an NIT Tournament team. And they have 3 of their primary starters back this season: SG Tyran Abrams (15.0 ppg), C Craig Hodge (13.0 ppg and 10 rpg), and PG Tony McMillian (6.5 ppg but he’ll likely jump up to averaging in double figures as the season progresses). PF Quyn Whitfield is averaging 8.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg and SF Donny Fuhs is averaging 6.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg. They haven’t shown too much depth yet (although PF Travis Watson is averaging 9.0 ppg during his 12.5 mpg this season), but maybe that’s because they had to play their starters so extensively against tough competition. I also think we’re a better rebounding team, so we need to take advantage of that and clip the Falcons wings.

Coach Aura has altered the starting lineup. Louis Taylor is starting at SF in place of Eddie Erskin and Brandon Bailey is starting at C in place of Steve Hastings. But both Hastings and Erskin will play a lot.

We had a slow start, missing our first 4 shots, turning the ball over twice, and getting Preston called for a foul as we fell behind 5-0. We quickly got back in the game though as we brought in Steve Hastings and he scored like we had hoped he would. In his first 9 minutes on the court, he had 14 points. We trailed by a small margin for most of the first half, but went on an 11-2 run in the final 4 minutes to take a 38-33 lead to the locker room. Hastings had 16 first half points for us.

Air Force crept up on us and led by Fuhs and Abrams who seemed not to able to miss, the Falcons knotted the score at 49-49 with 14 minutes to go. The lead then was exchanged several times but with 10 minutes to go, the Falcons went on a 9-0 run that put us down 67-58. At that point Calvis Barnes got knocked down as he drove to the hoop. Our athletic trainer advised he was certain that Calvis has a broken finger as a result. We made an effort to close the gap, but were unsuccessful. We dropped this one 79-69.

C Steve Hastings—21 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks; SG Jase Carroll—16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals; C/PF Brandon Bailey—11 points, 4 rebounds. The Falcons’ SG Tyran Abrams and SF Donny Fuhs scored 24 and 21 points, respectively. That Air Force duo shot us down by combining for 28 point s in the 2nd half.

INJURY: Calvis Barnes broken finger is expected to keep him out of action for about 5 weeks. That’s a big loss for our team, but he should be back on the court for us for conference play.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (2-1) @ Towson Tigers (0-3)

Coach Frederick Aura

It’s like coming home to get to Baltimore and come back to the SECU Arena where I coached the Tigers my first 6 years as head coach in Division 1. Those were good years during which we got to the NCAA Tourney the final 4 seasons including making it to the Sweet 16 once. Nate Brown took over as head coach after I left and took the Tigers (with a lot of the players I had recruited) to the Big Dance his first two seasons. Towson had some down seasons after that, but the past 2 years they’ve gotten to the NIT and CIT so they’re on an upward trajectory. So far this season things haven’t gone well for the Tigers, but PG Terence Sarpy has scored 20+ points in two of the Tigers’ 3 games and is averaging 16 ppg. 3 other starters are also averaging in double figures. I’m hoping some pressure D can tire the starters out and keep them from getting hot.

Towson took us to the cleaners early to lead 11-2. We continually tried to catch up, would get close and then fall back again. Finally with 4 minutes left in the half we grabbed our first lead of the game at 29-28. We weren’t successful at holding onto the lead and trailed 37-34 at halftime. Bailey, Hastings, and Carroll scored 28 of our 34 points. Our other guys need to begin putting the ball through the cylinder if we’re going to have a chance of winning this game. I tried lighting a fire under their butts during the halftime intermission.

Hastings scored 2 quick baskets at the beginning of the 2nd half and then picked up his 3rd foul. A couple minutes later we’d fallen behind by 8 points. We scored 11 unanswered points to go ahead 49-46 with 13 minutes to go. The Tigers hit 3 straight 3’s to drop us behind by 6. Steve Hastings fouled out with 10-1/2 minutes remaining. I was surprised the refs didn’t tag me with a technical. We played poorly and Towson took an 11 point lead before Lee energized us and got us within 2 points with 3-1/2 minutes left. The Tigers again stopped our run by hitting back to back 3’s. That seemed to sap the effort we would have needed to make another comeback. Towson beat us 76-70. We simply let Towson outplay us throughout most of the game.

SG Jase Carroll—15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists; PF/C Brandon Bailey—14 points, 9 rebounds; C Steve Hastings—13 points, 4 rebounds; SF Louis Taylor—9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists; PG Scotty Lee—9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists.

For the 2nd straight game, Danny Preston failed to hit a single FG. Danny has had similar lack of focus in the past. I’m going to start Scotty Lee at the point in our next game in the hopes that motivates Preston to get his offense in gear.

Injury Report: SF Eddie Erskin tweaked his hand badly enough that it may take a week for him to fully recover. Erskin has me stymied. He played well for us last year but in his sole start this season he lacked aggressiveness and hasn’t shown aggressiveness in any of the 3 games in which he’s come in off the bench. He’s now played well over a total of 50 minutes and has yet to score and hasn’t done much else on the court either. He simply disappears each time he’s out there. We’ve been working with him, but so far he’s not responded. Louis Taylor has played OK at SF, but not so well that Eddie couldn’t win back the starting role if he would just get his mojo back.

Player Issue: SG Damien Harris didn’t do much in our first two games this season, so I’ve played him just a few minutes in each of the last two games. That, plus tonight’s loss, set him off and he complained to other teammates that I was favoring Jase Carroll and that he (Damien) has more experience and should be starting and playing more. That’s uncharacteristic for Damien. I let him know his comments and attitude were unacceptable and that as a senior he needs to be a good role model. He was apologetic and acknowledged that what he did was wrong.

[PointGuard]

Zahara Carter, Assistant (sports administration)

Jase Carroll was named the Big West Freshman Player of the Week. In our two games this past week he scored 31 points, picked off 9 rebounds, dished out 5 assists, and had 3 steals and 2 blocks. For the season he’s averaging 12.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.8 spg, and 0.8 bpg. He’s hit 42% of his FGA’s, 100% of his FTA’s, and 43% of his 3PA’s.

[PointGuard]

Auburn Tigers (1-2) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (2-2)

Benny Tamago, realtor (fan)

Finally some home-cookin’ for the Mustangs. Maybe it will get them playing better. But Auburn has some very good players and a deep bench, so this likely will be a tough game for the Mustangs.

It looks like Danny Preston’s recent slump has dropped him out of the starting lineup. Scotty Lee is starting at the point.

Man, the Mustangs need to get on Auburn’s SG Rossi…he’s hit all 4 of his shots and scored all 10 of the Tigers’ points in the first 3-1/2 minutes. Auburn is torching the net…they’ve hit 7 of 9 FG’s and 2 of their 3 shots from beyond the arc to take a 16-8 lead. The Mustangs haven’t been able to shut down the hot-shooting Tigers. It’s 30-23 with 5-1/2 minutes left in the half. Cal Poly is within striking distance, trailing by just 5 at the half, 41-36.

The Mustangs catch up and the two teams trade the lead. Nice couple of drives by Luton…he slams it home on the first and is fouled trying to score on the 2nd and makes both foul shots. Cal Poly ahead 47-46 with 16 minutes to go. Luton is on fire and he’s woken up the rest of the Mustangs. They’re ahead 60-49 with 13 minutes left. The Mustangs have really come alive in the 2nd half. It’s 68-52 with 8 minutes to play. Good offense and defense plus a really good team effort. Cal Poly stomps Auburn 88-67. The Mustangs outshot the Tigers 55% to 44% and were +18 for rebounds.

C Steve Hastings—15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals; PG Danny Preston—12 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists; C/PF Estell Luton—12 points; SG Jase Carroll--11 points; PG Scotty Lee—8 points, 2 assists.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (3-2) @ Boston University Terriers (3-1)

Coach Frederick Aura

This has been an unusual schedule for me. Earlier we travelled to take on Towson where I coached previously. It was good to get there…not so good to leave after losing to the Tigers. Now we’re in Boston where I coached for Boston College. But taking on Boston University pits me against their head coach, Kevin Abney, who was my 1st Assistant at Boston College. He’s begun his 5th season with the Terriers. After 3 so-so season, he turned the program around last year…the team went 24-9 and made it to the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament. Kevin’s a good guy and a helluva a coach, so I’m not surprised about how well he’s developed the team.

This season the team’s only loss was to #16 ranked Michigan. Their last game was a great road victory over Notre Dame. So this not only will this be a tough place for us to play, but we’re going up against a very good team that plays well on both ends of the court. SF Scott Holland and PG Todd Carson are shooting well from all over the court. And Derrick Hymes and Boyd Day, their interior starters are very talented and together they’re averaging over 15 rpg.

Danny Preston picked up his game and showed some fire against Auburn, so he’ll be back in the starting lineup at PG. The injury bug has been biting us of late with Calvis Barnes out for a month and now Eddie Erskin available but hampered by an injury to his hand.

Early in the game we were getting some good looks at the basket and hitting some nice shots to go ahead 20-10. Our D was giving the Terriers fits as well. But then the Terriers scored 7 straight points to get back into the game. Our defense allowed us to get out of the half with a 34-29 lead. Preston led us offensively with 10 points in the half.

The Terriers burned up the net in the 2nd half. Our guys didn’t buckle though and maintained a small 1-6 point lead. But we simply couldn’t stop them from hitting their shots and Boston U took a 69-68 lead with 6-1/2 minutes to go. Whatever we tried defensively just couldn’t stop the Terriers from continuing to make baskets. And as the time wound down, we had trouble making our shots. We lost 82-74. It was a disappointing loss after we led for most of the game.

Top players for us: PG Danny Preston—22 points, 3 assists; PF Brandon Bailey—14 points, 11 boards; C Steve Hastings—12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks; C/PF Estell Luton—9 points, 3 rebounds; SG Jase Carroll—8 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (3-3) @ Marshall Thundering Herd (2-3)

Brandon Bailey, PF

Coach Fed told us we’re losing games we should be winning. He said we’re better than we’ve been playing and need to develop an on-court killer instinct. His game plan was for us to beat Marshall by controlling the paint and challenged me and our other interior players to dominate inside. He then gave us a pregame pep talk that got everyone psyched.

And it worked! We immediately jumped ahead and for almost the entire first half we were ahead by 6-12 points and never trailed. At the half we held a 45-35 lead. Then in the 2nd half we built on that double-digit lead to go ahead by as much as 18 points. We clobbered the Thundering Herd 84-71. And how’d we do it? By totally dominating inside. We outscored Marshall 46-20 in the paint and 14-6 on 2nd chance points. We outshot Marshall 53% to 46% and totally owned the boards 37-27. And all of us big guys had awesome games.

I scored 21 points and had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. C Steve Hastings had 20 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists. C/PF Estell Luton scored 10 plus pulled down 6 rebounds and dished out 2 assists. SF Louis Taylor dropped in 10 points and SF Eddie Erskin scored 8 while grabbing 3 rebounds.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (4-3) @ Northwestern Wildcats (3-3)

San Luis Obispo Tribune

MUSTANGS WIN NAIL-BITER

Cal Poly fell behind Big 10 foe Northwestern by 9 points early in the first half but struggled to edge ahead 31-29 at the end of the first half. Then the Mustangs stubbornly held onto a very small lead throughout the final 20 minutes to beat the Wildcats 65-63. The Mustangs were led by C Steve Hastings’ 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. PG Danny Preston added 10 points and 4 assists. PF Brandon Bailey and SG Jase Carroll both scored 9 points with Bailey also taking down 7 rebounds and getting 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Coach Fred Aura said, “We won by outscoring Northwestern in the paint by 12 points and on 2nd chance points by 3 points. Our guys also took care of the ball when on offense and made just 5 turnovers, 10 less than the Wildcats. Northwestern’s C Shy Shuddebrand kept the game close by recording a solid double-double (17 points and 11 rebounds).”