Dons are now 10-0 after defeating a very solid Fresno St. squad. Hopefully, they can defeat the other Bulldogs this season as well.
Upcoming games @GCU, @ASU, vs. Southern Illinois, and then the final pre-conference game is Dec 28 vs…ACADEMY OF ART???
Dons could enter conference play undefeated. Not bad. Reminds me of the 70s when SCU was a very good team, but always in the shadows of some great Dons teams.
The addition of Massalski is as big as I figured it would be. Every time he came in the game for USD he had an impact. Scholl must have not got along with him because he spent a lot of time on the bench and wasn’t featured on offense (and it’s not like USD was stacked with quality ballers). He’s a little bit of a wildcard, but he really can get under the skin of opponents. Would hate to go against him. Reminds me of Drew Zurek.
Dude comes out ready to take on the entire team by himself… always nice to have one of those on your team., and an absolute pain in the ass to go against.
ZUREK! He was the equivalent of the “Enforcer” role (also referred to disparagingly as “Goon”) in hockey. He was also clutch at times on the rebounding side - not necessarily getting the rebound, but boxing out intruders so that one of his SCU teammates could secure the board. I think skills-wise, Massalski is a bit better than Drew was. The great thing about USF, from my distant view, is that the roles on the team are clear, and they have some vocal leadership…something that I don’t see with our squad.
Yes, Massalski is a bit more athletic than Zurek (and certainly gets fewer techinals as well… (senior season Zurek averaged about 0.8 tech’s per contest).
I’d agree that having clear, defined roles are key to success on the floor, and that’s something I haven’t seen at SCU for quite a spell.
You can always tell a team with crystal clear roles when a player goes outside his role and comes to the sideline he gets an angry wtf earful for doing something that he’s not permitted to do. Not having percise directives leads to uncertainty and generally lesser results.
Ha, Zurek! That’s a solid comparison. I like it.
Agree on Massalski. Loved Zurek but Massalski is definitely a better athlete, stronger in the post and very good shot blocker…Drew did have some 3pt shooting ability that Massalski lacks.
And a SCU - Massalski connection…Sendek and staff recruited and offered Massalski out of high school. Obviously chose USD over us (Lamont Smith was probably the HC at that time). Makes me wonder if Sendek pursued him again when he entered the transfer portal??? So far he has made a strong, inside-outside combo with Bouyea and appears he’s providing some interior toughness that was sorely lacking for USF last season.
Have to admit I questioned the hiring of Golden when Smith took the WSU job, hear a factor was USF being financially down at the time as it took only 1.4 mil for WSU to land Smith.
Golden is 3-0 vs. us by average of 17 pts so hopefully that changes this season. Use to refer to it as the top 3 (Zags, BYU, S.M.) Not so sure anymore, USF and LMU have improved and it looks like the “sure” wins of Portland and USD are no longer guaranteed
1995 I believe. SCU vs Illinois State. I was there in Illinois. Zurek provoked the ISU bench player by saying “Look in the mirror… you are nothing… you are not even starting.” The player physically attacked Drew, we got free throws, and won the game. Drew played tough and riled the other team in ways that usually benefited us. Loved to watch him. Nash was in that game.
Nice post Buckets…I remember the game when USF, #1 in the nation, beat SCU at formerly Toso Pavilion 71-70. I believe Chubby Cox hit the game winner for the Dons. The days of Cartwright, Hardy, and Boynes vs Rambis, Theus, and Chavez. SCU did have some good teams during that time, just couldn’t get past USF.
PistolPete, I remember that game as well! That was the ABSOLUTE LOUDEST CROWD that I can ever remember at Toso/Leavey. Ever. The student section was raucous and fun to watch from across the way in the reserved seats. If I remember correctly, “Medical Bill” Cartwright was on that USF squad that season.
I think there is something to be said for going young.
If Herb doesn’t work out, I’d prefer this path for our next coach.
We’re paying big money right now for an average coach. The question remains will Renee pull the trigger if season’ ends a flop?
Perhaps we should get a new AD and let that person decide…
Unfortunately that won’t happen until she resigns for another AD position.