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There is no reason to fret We recently participated in a period of introspective activity vis-a-vis Spartan men's basketball. The result which probably won't surprise anyone: we don't see ourselves as over-the-top enthusiastic... Meet Shari Hernandez Here's an interview with Shari Hernandez, Justin Graham's mother. Shari was kind enough to send along a photo from her playing days. Q - You went through the recruiting 'process' twice as a parent... Rick McCliman's take on Spartan basketball You are in for a treat as here's the first of what we hope are many contributions from Rebounder members. Please think about sharing your input. From Rick McCliman: Recent articles here about S... Meet Darren Coelho Continuing with our series featuring the behind-the-scenes Spartans, here is Darren Coelho. Q - Tell us about your recent promotion and what are your different duties now? DC - I was recently p... Tim Marrion is a star maker! It's an axiom in Hollywood that the best cinematographers, employing lighting, angles and the sort can make the unimaginative look positively dazzling. Little did we know that the San Jose State men'... Transformational change Now this is not a rip of anyone nor an attempt to toss youngsters under the proverbial bus -- least of all any former San Jose State basketballers. The kids did what they could but there was so much ... The WING players for San Jose State Unlike politics, there's thankfully no need to divide the Spartan wings as either left or right. We see three primary candidates -- Tim Pierce, DeShawn Wright and DeVonte Thomas -- although a number ... Re-visiting the center/power forward San Jose State players... Here's our second installment of the SJSU positional preview...and for those whose blood pressure spiked with our Backcourt post, we will have DaShawn Wright detailed in our Wing position preview alt... Unguarded thoughts about SJSU backcourters It wasn't that long ago that we offered some thoughts and notes about the San Jose State 2008-2009 backcourt and, while trying not to be repetitive, we're back with more. (to the right is not the ... Summer basketball recruiting We open with an article about summer basketball recruiting and include an ESPN photo demonstrating how far one assistant coach went in order to be noticed. Following this is a piece we wrote up on wh... A Lance Holloway update Former Spartan Lance Holloway is now playing professionally for UTE (Universidad Technologica Equinoc) in Quito, Ecuador. The league/national tournament there lasts eight weeks and Lance begins p... Bouncebacks are just fine Let's address two 'concerns' that we see posted intermittently on various SJSU sports message boards. One is the lament about not being able to land so-called blue chip recruits. The other dirg... It's finally okay No, the statue makers and ornament designers in the employ of the NCAA are not already inscribing San Jose State as the 2008-2009 national men's basketball champion. Sure, it's fun to dream up a Cali... ESPN & WAC agree on television contract ESPN and the WAC have apparently kissed and made up. The result: more football and basketball games to be televised, plus greater revenues. WAC to get boost from ESPN Proposed deal would increase... It's not April 1, but... BREAKING ... After contentious battling, San Jose State basketball has reached a ground breaking agreement with Santa Clara University. The Spartans will now have exclusive recruiting rights to any b... July is the off-season but it's still basketball-centric The basketball season ended months ago -- at least the playing schedule. But what has taken place and is still to come plays a core role in what actually takes place on the court from November throug... Title IX -- blessing, curse or somehere in between? This is sure to get tongues a-wagging but can that happen without knee-jerk reactions? Can concerns, positions, ideas -- possible solutions -- be laid out without immediate accusations and labels aff... Another sign of progress Just a short note but in yet another sign of the status of the San Jose State men's basketball program, Coach George Nessman and his staff are holding a high school team camp on campus this coming Sa... Louisiana Tech ready for a rebound Call this Louisiana Tech squad 'Team Transformation' as there are more 'newcomers' than actual returnees for the upcoming 2008-2009 season. 'Team Unknown' also applies as probably only the LT coachin... Subtractions and additions dominate New Mexico State Talk about a roster flip/makeover! One that Paige Davis, Kirsten Kemp and even the hard to stomach Montelongo family real estaters could certainly appreciate. Very, very few teams lose nine player... Is Nevada a doughnut? Back with more, this time an preview of Nevada: Coach Mark Fox has in a way been 'victimized' by the success of both the Nevada men's basketball program's record the last 5-6 years and also by the... Idaho seeking respectability Here's another mighty early WAC basketball preview featuring the Idaho Vandals: Getting out of the comfort zone. We think that describes what new Idaho Coach Don Verlin has done, having move... Hula-ing with Hawaii Coach Bob Nash is now in his second year, with a full recruiting season under his belt and he has made the most of it. The Rainbow Warriors nabbed one of the best junior college players in the countr... Going Miss Cleo on Fresno State Continuing with our series of check-ins with the various men's basketball programs in the WAC, here is Fresno State: Most of the time any team losing it's best players will not post an equal or be... An early, early peek at Utah State 2008-2009 will be Coach Stew Morrill's most challenging season in some time. Of course, 'challenging' can be quite the relative term seeing as how successful the Aggies have been for the last decade ... A premature take on the 2008-2009 Boise State men's basketball Here you go with the initial post of our WAC men's basketball rundown regarding next season: Not exactly long-awaited -- so we'll settle for long promised -- here's the opening edition of our very... The Event Center monastery It's the 800-pound gorilla in The Event Center. Check that, the 800-pound mute gorilla residing in The Event Center. Somewhat like the darling photo of Koko the gorilla cuddling a kitten: Wh... Some SJSU basketball and other sightings this weekend Having spent about 15 hours in the Newark Memorial High gymnasium this past weekend covering the Third Annual Sacramento versus Bay Area Basketball Showdown -- feel free to question our judgment -- w... Startin' 'em out young ... a camper double-dribbling ... photo of Coach Marrion instructing ... photo of Coach Davis instructing ... Saturday's basketball camp Coach Nessman and his staff held a basketball instructional camp this past Saturday for 60 or so mostly local and regional prep players. The significance, as we pointed out earlier, is that such e... Talkin' WAC expansion Our buddy Darrell Moody has a column today in The Nevada Appeal and a portion of it deals with expansion of the Western Athletic Conference. WAC Notebook Darrell Moody Nevada Appeal June 3, 2... We go far afield with this one We found parts of the following essay actually riveting -- the human conundrum on full display. Yes, the sporting world is such a fascinating microcosm. There's so much here, covering so many fac... A little note about and to Don Kassing It seems like most everything that can be said about Don Kassing has already been expressed. So at the risk of repeating, what was most remarkable to us about Kassing was not his Solomon-like deci... Kyle Thomas returns Here's an article we did for another site: Thomas returns closer to home May 21, 2008 Chicago was once known as the city of big shoulders but still hosts the Cubbies, along with the Bears, Bul... It's graduation time for Lance Holloway Perusing the recent announcement of SJSU student-athlete graduates, we came across the following name: Lance Holloway Basketball B.S. Business Marketing Spring 2008 Congratulations to Lan... It's graduation time for Joe Udeoji Perusing the recent announcement of SJSU student-athlete graduates, we came across the following: Joe Udeoji Basketball B.S. Health Science Spring 2008 Congratulations to Joe for his acco... It's graduation time for Jared Cozad Perusing the recent announcement of SJSU student-athlete graduates, we came across the following: Jared Cozad Basketball B.A. Sociology Spring 2008 Congratulations to Jared for his accompl... It's graduation time for Kerry Wooldridge Perusing the recent announcement of SJSU student-athlete graduates, we came across the following name: Kerry Wooldridge Basketball B.A. Sociology (Criminology) Spring 2008 Congratulations... Did LA TECH do the right or wrong thing? To fill you in, Lee Fletcher is an LA TECH uber-fan. Our take on his piece will follow: Rupp Did the Right Thing: Tech Basketball Stronger With Changes In Place Lee Fletcher Louisiana Tech repo... Pam DeCosta signs another recruit Coach Pam DeCosta has signed another young woman to a letter-of-intent -- this time going back to the state where she coached previous to coming to SJSU. Two IMG basketball players sign with coll... A very early look at the 2008 SJSU center/power forwards Continuing with our very, very early preview of San Jose State men's basketball in 2008-2009, we look at the center/power forward positions. First, here's a brief generic description -- Many of th... Basketball coach as boxing manager "We're good. We've accomplished like we're really good. But we're like a fighter in a 10-round fight -- we're going to have to dance around the ring, win six or seven rounds. If we knock anybody out,... Now hiring We found the following article fascinating -- there are no guarantees (that is, other than nomadic Larry Brown will move on every 4-5 years to a new position) when hiring. The word 'atmosphere' i... Doing the right thing - doing the thing right Yes, we admit a number of our recent emails have bent towards the dark side, featuring problem areas of prep basketball, club team play and collegiate sports. But as with most things, there is a posi... Your C.J. Webster update Here's another SJSU men's basketball update, this one on a fan favorite, C.J. Webster. He's not majoring in communications but his loquaciousness lends us to believe he could score straight A's if he... A Mac Peterson update With all the hullabaloo, hand-wringing and mis-information splattered about last week regarding the NCAA face savior (pun intended) Academic Progress Rate, here's a dose of down to earth reality: ... A very early look at the 2008 SJSU small forward/wing position Continuing with our very, very early preview of San Jose State men's basketball in 2008-2009, we look at the small forward or wing position. First, here's a brief generic description -- along with... The !%$#& APR We'll say it flat out here and now: no college coach should be fully judged regarding his or her commitment to academics until having sponsorship of a team for at least five years. That and being res... Giving your all, spilling your guts .. no wait, there's more "This is our latest sports post and we intend to give it 110 percent. We're going to bring our 'A' game with every post form now on and we're leaving it all on the field. We're stepping up to the pla... A very early look at the 2008-2009 SJSU backcourt Sometimes you come across an article or an item and think 'that's interesting' and you save it for some unknown-at-the-time purpose. We did just that in this instance. We're unable to recall where th... A repeat headline -- Pam DeCosta signs another This latest recruit appears to have excellent long-distance shooting ability: Women's Basketball Player Signs With San Jose State courtesy of Tyler (TX) Junior College - Tim Drain April 18, 2008... Pam DeCosta signs another As we emailed out earlier, according to Bill Patterson in today's Sacramento Bee, SJSU women's basketball coach Pam DeCosta has signed another student-athlete, again from San Joaquin Delta College. ... A baller as President? No, we did not Photoshop this picture. It is indeed Barack Obama taking it to what appears to be Tyler Hansbrough, who seems to have the opportunity for a shotblock but is politely refraining from do... Some recent WAC additions After all the hoopla and headlines comes the fine print. We have no wish to rain on Bob Nash's parade as his landing of Roderick Flemings is quite the coup. Flemings is a talent Hawaii desperately... Meet Robert Owens The NCAA is moving the three-point line back a foot next season from 19 feet, nine inches to 20 feet, nine inches, thereby increasing the difficulty. This might have come about because the powers-tha... Meet Garrett Ton Just who is Garrett Ton? His name was announced at the San Jose State men's basketball banquet and, as with the other team members, Ton went to the front of the gathering for an acknowledgment fr... SJSU women's basketball lands another player This certainly looks like a very good 'get' for Pam DeCosta -- some upfront/outside firepower and rebounding: Brian Milne SanLuisObispo.com April 25, 2008 Cuesta College forward Kelly Blair,... A challenge -- no -- make that an opportunity Okay, we know you like challenges because being a fan and supporter of SJSU sports during the thin times has given all of you such bona fides. Now that we are rising towards being perennial WAC chall... TRANSFERS -- the good, the bad and the ugly We recently had a couple of people wondering about the viability of having a sizable number transfers entering a basketball program. Those queries spurred this: Players transferring is simply the ... We are going for it Yes, we've done it. We have tossed our name into the NBA draft, the lure of the big bucks and living the high life being too much to withstand. We figured if a wilted Rose can do it, a condimen... Getting better How do we improve? Typically, this is in reference to what we do for a living but it's also applicable to parenting, our hobbies, being a citizen of the world -- you name it. Improvement involv... A little business to take care of Hoopsters, We concluded the Basketball Raffle tonight at the Basketball Banquet at the beautiful Decathlon Club in Santa Clara with the "last chance drawing." All those in attendance were eligible... Is Rex Walters on the no-fly list into the state of Florida? We've been asked by more than a few people about the how-and-why of Rex Walters landing at USF as the new men's basketball coach. We have no special insight to this move of Walters from Florida Atlan... We have Trent Johnson's replacement Who says we have no imagination? We'll douse that charge with the following, a thought that crept into our minds just moments ago when we learned that Larry Krystkowiak has been fired as the coach... Spartans celebrate at end of the season banquet Wasn't that a night! Everything and everyone Spartan basketball were in attendance, on display, acclaimed and extolled Thursday evening at The Decathalon Club as a look back at the 2007-2008 seaso... Spartan women's basketball -- the Ashley Brown signing This week, SJSU Coach Pam DeCosta signed another backcourter, a defensive specialist from the junior college ranks: Guard will play at San Jose State Mark Godi Stockton Record Correspondent Apr... Spartan women's basketball -- the Monique Coble signing In November, SJSU Coach Pam DeCosta signed Vista High's Monique Coble - a 5-8 backcourter who averaged 12.2 ppg in the recently concluded season and was a first-team, all-league selection. (in th... Spartan women's basketball -- the Autumn Spikes signing In November, SJSU Coach Pam DeCosta signed Mount Miguel High's Autumn Spikes - a 6-1 forward/center. Spikes led her team to the highest finish among San Diego County schools competing in the 21st... Spartan women's basketball -- the Brittany Williams signing In November, SJSU Coach Pam DeCosta signed Helix High's Brittany Williams -- She is a 5-8 scoring guard has a very nice perimeter stroke and is very savvy with the ball. Williams was Co-MVP of th... Spartan women's basketball -- the Dominique Hamilton signing Here's another article we sent out in January of this year that we actually wrote for another basketball web site. Remember our earlier post about relationships and how they have been beneficial ... LA TECH making goo goo eyes to C-USA? Maybe we've been in a college basketball cave too long or just riveted solely on college hoops but this is our first inkling that LA TECH is a-courtin' Conference USA. Ruston is one of the most di... Wanting or having the gold... We tried. We really, really tried. We tuned in to the Nike Hoop Summit -- the USA v the World -- Saturday afternoon but had to give up after about ten minutes because it was unwatchable. Remember th... Steve Graham checks in Here's a special treat -- reflection, observation and insight from Steve Graham. Read and re-read the following as it's mighty tasty and will help with any SJSU basketball withdrawal symptoms -- we o... More Marquin Chandler Kites Tie Series Jonathan Sanfilippo The Korea Times 4-08-2008 It may have seemed like the KT&G Kites didn't have much of a chance when they came into the Korean Basketball League (KBL) semifin... If not Mark Few, then who? It's important to begin by stating the following is NOT based upon any details or scoops we have come across so let us begin with this opening: For What It's Worth Do you think Stanford AD Bob ... Meet Ben Cobian You may not be familiar with Ben Cobian but rest assured quite a number of San Jose State student-athletes are, especially those in the men's basketball program. Some of the latter may have actua... An update of sorts on Menelik Barbary - part one We located a couple of articles on Menelik Barbary, who is playing professional ball in Romania, but none of the web-based translation services we utilized did a decent enough job of getting the word... An update of sorts on Menelik Barbary - part two Here's Menelik in his blue CSU Atlassib Sibiu uniform.... Well, wasn't that a game Of course, your feelings might very well depend if you were rooting for Kansas or Memphis State but we couldn't have asked for more excitement and entertainment. Our three dot lounge take on the ... More on Marquin Chandler Ex-Spartan Marquin Chandler remains on a roll although his Korean team dropped its first game... Kim Joo-sung Korea Times 4-6-2008 On the other side of the postseason bracket, Dongbu Promy ha... More of 'we don't know what we don't know' Here are three columns from Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times that detail his analysis of UCLA basketball, Ben Howland, Memphis State basketball, John Calipari and eventually his admission of be... Final Four observations All Truth aside, we wonder if a certain someone is calling for the dismissal of Roy Williams at North Carolina because he obviously can't get his team prepared for a big game? ;-) For that matter... Getting to know the why of the basketball world It's all about relationships. No, we're not going to go all Dr. Phil on you in case you're wondering what the sentence above has to do with Spartan basketball so bear with us. It's just that th... Revisiting Antonio Lawrence "He cares more about winning than anyone I've ever met" -- Phil Johnson on Antonio Lawrence This will bring back memories -- we'll follow the two articles below with our commentary about Antonio L... A Marquin Chandler update First, we came across this with mention of former SJSU great Marquin Chandler: Kites, Knights Collide in Basketball Playoffs Kim Tong-hyung Korea Times 3-28-2008 The three-game Korean Basket... Hats off to seniors & upperclassmen Here's yet another article highlighting how upperclassmen, especially seniors, come to the fore as the primary ingredient to basketball success: This year's tourney is a senior special Mike DeCo... JaVale McGee leaving Nevada for the NBA JaVale McGee, we hardly knew ye. Well, this will certainly roil the good feelings emanating out of Nevada about next season and put the Wolf Pack in a hole at the center position. Only 6-8 Matt La... Stephen Curry humbles us Oh my. Yes, using Dick Enberg's pet exclamation, we are most contrite, wearing sackcloth and ashes this weekend. That is because we wrote these words yesterday in an email to The Rebounders: "...w... Experience is what you get by not having it when you need it -- Author Unknown Here's another brick in the wall -- thank you PF -- in our continuing reality check on how important experience is to succeeding in college basketball. No substitute for experience in NCAA tourna... From our archives, with a few touchups Let's look at SJSU men's basketball recruiting because each class tells a separate and interesting story. Keep in mind that a transformation of the soiled reputation of the San Jose State Univers... Something we didn't know Wow. The Nevada AD basically calls out the New Mexico State AD in the following. of course, NMSU AD McKinley Boston does his see and hear no evil impression yet again. Look for the Nevada Nationa... From the vortex of NCAA mania... Yes, we just may be suffering from an NCAA basketball-induced overdose but let's work through this Mark Fox to Cal possibility scenario, one that popped up in our minds yesterday amidst the various b... SJSU Men's Basketball Season Review -- Final Part A prediction is a claim that an event will occur in the future -- it is not simply a forecast, it is more. Call it a (hopefully) informed guess or better yet an opinion. Come to think of it, prophecy... SJSU Men's Basketball Season Part Three WHAT WE SAW -- WHAT WE WANT TO SEE *** We attribute the close losses towards the end of this season to multiple reasons: among them the law of averages, hitting the proverbial wall and a young-ish... SJSU Men's Basketball Season Review Part Two Here's part two of our season review. SOME NUMBERS Numbers are generally meaningless without actual context so we have selected what we perceive as the most important of team statistics of this... SJSU Men's Basketball Season Review -- Part One We're not sure how many parts we will divide our season review into but most likely three or four. Here is the initial section for your perusal: One of the primary pitfalls in performing any sor... Tim Floyd -- have we hardly known ye? Tim Floyd should call Baton Rouge home next season. Of course, that means for SJSU Coach Phil Johnson would too. Now maybe Floyd loves Los Angeles and his family does likewise. Heck, for all we kn... Fire Randy Bennett...and Coach K while you're at it Whimsy: a fanciful notion, excessively playful Well, using the same ill logic that The Negativist employs elsewhere, it sure seems that St. Mary's Coach Randy Bennett should be fired as he is obvi... It's getting curiouser and curiouser We love it. The play-by-play gets curiouser and curiouser. In the direct words of someone self-aligned with accuracy and authenticity, here goes one of the latest missives from on high: "We... SJSU basketball camp opportunity to sponsor the underprivileged San Jose State men's basketball will again be operating the 2008 Spartan Boys Basketball Camp this summer, providing Spartan Rebounders and other goo citizens an opportunity to sponsor underprivilege... Damn the truth, full speed ahead Here is yet another example of fandom crossing the line -- Agenda Fandom yet again. People with ulterior motives not concerned with the facts or getting the facts. DISCLAIMER: Now we aren't anywh... A couple of interesting items about Nevada's JaVale McGee Let's begin with this: Fox: McGee's mom smarter than NBA scouts re: early exit from Nevada Scott Sonner The Associated Press 3/20/2008 RENO, NV — Nevada coach Mark Fox doesn't know if sopho... About next season...and more We have noticed a degree of false prophetizing already amassing with either-or dictums regarding the next men's basketball season, offerings that 'the team must win such-and-such number of games or' ... Meet Eileen Daley We're back again with our continuing series of interviews with various Spartan Athletics personnel -- today is Eileen Daley. Q - What is the title of your position and your general responsibilitie... The NBA and the NCAA circling around AAU/club team basketball We imagine ESPN will also want a chunk of this. However, we cannot imagine the various corporate shoe companies -- Nike, Adidas, Reebok -- will be sitting idly by if their respective interests aren't... Don't forget to catch this on television If there was ever something called 'don't miss television' then this show is it -- please do spread the word: There was 'Black Magic' before Kobe The ESPN documentary chronicles great players in ... The Inaugural Truth Awards My, my, my. There is actually someone who offers a celebratory WAC Truth Award -- actually make that plural. (photo of Mr. Hylton courtesy of The Nevada Sagebrush) All this time, we thought on... Sometimes the beat reporter blog entries are so much better The newspaper beat reporters based in the various WAC cities and elsewhere certainly lighten up quite a bit on their blogs so keep it coming you WAC beat and assorted other reporters/bloggers. Co... Utah State wins 85-65 Well, it's "Taps" and not "Reveille" for this Spartan men's basketball season as Utah State came out on a mission Thursday afternoon in an attempt to seemingly make every shot attempt and succeeded e... Meet Kellie Elliott We're starting up again with our interviews of various Spartan Athletics personnel, beginning today with Kellie Elliott. Q - Just as a brief introduction, what roles and responsibilities do you ha... SJSU v. Utah State Thursday afternoon Okay, the answer for the Spartans in Thursday's game against Utah State is to shut down high-scoring Jaycee Carroll. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket as the Tommy Flanagan character played by Jon Lo... San Jose State tops LA TECH 64-62 Oh my, if you didn't have a heart condition before this game, you probably do now. San Jose State led 64-62 with 21.8 seconds remaining after Justin Graham hit one of two free throws. The Bulldogs... It's SJSU - LA TECH again Tuesday night Okay what more can be written about Louisiana Tech than has already been done so? So rather than rotely repeat the material we've already presented, some of it just last week, let's take another look... The All-WAC teams are announced Unfortunately, no All--Freshman team was selected -- that would have been very interesting and probably would have created many arguments. These selections are per the league coaches: 2007-08 WAC ... Let the games begin... Now go ahead and call us companions of Little Mary Sunshine but we are going to proceed anyway with our thesis. That being San Jose State is in a good place in the WAC tourney despite having to parti... The WAC tourney seeds are set Courtesy of the official WAC site: The seeds are set in the 2008 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament. Despite a historic four-way tie for first place on the men's, Utah State claimed the top seed in t... It's LA TECH by four, 87-83 San Jose State came out in the second half quickly reducing a 10-point deficit and eventually taking a four point lead. At the 7:04 mark, the game was tied 67 apiece. But Louisiana Tech made the next... SJSU - LA TECH GAME PREVIEW Poor little woebegone Louisiana Tech. All by its lonesome at the bottom of the WAC standings. Just like the proverbial bedraggled, none-to-pretty cur that people choose to ignore, hanging out... Our take on the upcoming ALL-WAC teams The 2007-2008 All-WAC teams are apparently to be announced on Sunday so we wanted to beat the voters who count with our own offerings. As a reminder, here are the pre-season selections by the WAC... New Mexico State romps 88-65 We don't know if it was technical difficulties on our end or out of Las Cruces but we couldn't pick up the radio broadcast of the SJSU - NMSU game tonight. So, rather than any personal touch to the g... New Mexico State game preview Goliath and David. That was the first thought that entered our heads in prepping for a preview of Thursday night's New Mexico State - San Jose State game. But we determined such to be an inappropriat... Catching up with our backlog of Spartan material Menelik Barbary is playing professional basketball in Romania for the CSU Sibiu team. For those of you who fluent in Romainian, here's the link to the web site of Menelik's team: http://www.csusibiu.... a note from one of the Spartan Rebounders Don (Bozar) Starks dropped us a line the other day with some of his thoughts about WAC basketball. More than happy to distribute such to a wider audience, here goes: "I'd like to comment on the te... A note from the newly crowned Queen of Sparta Okay Spartan Fans, A little update on the raffle front; the original plan was sell 100 tickets at $50.00 each. However, Ms. Nancy and myself nixed that ASAP. We thought we would be better off se... An update note from Gayle Kludt I'd like to thank the Spartan faithful who so graciously received my story on Danny Unruh. Most importantly, Danny was delighted to be read the story by mom Audrey who said he diplayed the biggest gr... Lance Holloway & Family on Senior Night ... Jamon Hill & Family on Senior Night ... Kevin Fleming & Family on Senior Night ... Joe Udeoji & Brother on Senior Night ... We're still thinking about it so... We're still thinking about last night's game so in the spirit of magnanimity we decided to share. But first this article which we came across this morning which got us thinking even further: UCLA'... Spartans lose 69-67 A little editorializing to begin with: San Jose State got hosed Saturday night but it shouldn't have come to that. A foul call in favor of the Vandals' Jordan Brooks with 3.3 seconds remaining jux... An editorial that wrote itself First, it was an unremitting message board attack on Coach George Nessman, who couldn't even do one single thing correctly in the eyes of this hater -- remember the charge that Coach Nessman wasn't c... Idaho here Saturday night in a crucial one This is not meant as any form of disparagement for either party but give Coach K's players to Idaho's George Pfeifer and Pfeifer's to Krzyzewski and the results would be fairly similar. Yes, there ab... Boise triumphs at the end 74-68 It was tantalizing. Like the initial part of the fox and the grapes fable, San Jose State found victory just out of reach against Boise State, an elusive goal despite moments and periods of grace and... Boise State here on Thursday 20-game winner Boise State stampedes into The Event Center Thursday night for a rematch with San Jose State. These two teams met on January 2 with the Broncos coming out on top 78-63. (Don Kassin... Our take on Saturday night's game It happens. Sometimes even to the most experienced of teams. But the veteran squads have a greater affinity for 'kicking it in' when their backs hit up against the proverbial wall. They usually... The story behind the story Not that we are going 'AC 360' on you but here's a fuller story to events connected to Saturday's game: We are sending this along because of some unusual actions on the part of Pacific Coach Bob T... Darrell Moody has been thinking Here's some interesting thoughts on expanding the Big Dance, a couple of familiar former Wolf Packers fighting for spots in the NBA and our very own Coach Nessman -- all courtesy of Darrell Moody, on... Pacific tops the Spartans 84-75 The Pacific Tigers -- their bookend mates the lions and bears must have been elsewhere but weren't needed -- used superb long distance shooting and SJSU defensive lapses to power past the Spartans 84... Another Jon Wilner article Jon Wilner has another article, this one in the Mercury News itself rather than at his blog -- http://www.mercextra.com/blogs/collegesports/ -- featuring the San Jose State men's basketball team. We... SJSU heads to Stockton for a Saturday nighter Time was a Pacific-SJSU contest in any of the major sports was a big to-do. But the Tigers retrenched, dropping football, and remained in the Big West Conference while San Jose State moved upward to ... Meet Danny Unruh Danny Unruh, a Spartan Success Story A SpartanHoops exclusive by Gayle Kludt He's up at the crack of dawn, dressed, and out the door before his mom has had her first cup of coffee. Yes, Danny U... Bob Knight to USF? No way Hey, the Mercury News' Jon Wilner is a gem, and we mean that positively. His blog -- http://www.mercextra.com/blogs/collegesports/ -- almost always contains new and good information, along with provo... Great Photo! ... Thoughts and musings from last night's win Thoughts and musings from last night's win over Utah State: We have never witnessed Utah State's interior defense sliced and diced (as we put it last night) so well and so often -- credit the entire ... We have us a race in the WAC Who would have thought that five teams would still be mathematically in the race for the conference crown at this point in the season? We can't raise our hands on that one. But we also want to point ... Spartans over the Aggies 70-67 Earlier today, we emailed out a post to you titled "We have us a race in the WAC" -- well, we had us a game tonight at The Event Center with San Jose State triumphing over Utah State 70-67. Here'... Utah State here Monday night Let's all hope that the Aggies are still filled with visions of sandy beaches, warm water, swaying palm trees and the like after playing Hawaii Saturday evening -- call it an aloha hangover. Actu... Spartans win by ten, 71-61, over Louisiana Tech With past players sprinkled throughout the stands at The Event Center, San Jose State made the return of the alumni to campus a happy one with a 71-61 victory over Louisiana Tech. C.J. Webster pa... Meet Gayle Kludt To establish some balance to the character assassination, deliberate misinformation and blasphemy going on elsewhere -- abominable acts regretfully still available for view spewed by someone with no ... SJSU - LA TECH game preview Louisiana Tech has been an undersized underdog all season long but the Bulldogs have demonstrated one thing above all else -- there is no quit in Coach Kerry Rupp's squad. They battle to the end. ... Meet Scott Shaw (again) With SJSU's recent announcement that former Associate Head Athletic Trainer Scott Shaw is now the Director of Sports Medicine @ SJSU, we thought it appropriate to re-post our earlier interview with h... A good basketball book to read We really enjoyed this book when we read it some years back -- it's probably still in our library. Try it for a good read: Welcome to the BallHype Spotlight Series, Volume 2: Bibilotech, a series ... sports quotes worth reading Not to get all philosophical on you but while looking up something else, we came across the following and just had to pass them along: I think my favorite sport in the Olympics is the one in which... An old-timer remembers The sending out of our memories of SJSU men's basketball through the years brought this response from a longtime fan we shall call old-timer: "Oh boy are you bringing the memories back. I had g... The early coaching carousel Oh my, it's not yet mid-February and various editions of the college basketball coaching carousel have already made an appearance. But first, let's take care of some unfinished business. Despite w... There is no complete team in the WAC There is no 'complete' team in the WAC -- that is for certain at this point. Complete meaning a squad full of both talent and experience that shows up every game, ready to perform its best and the... Would, could Stew Morrill follow his former AD? Disclaimer: this is pure speculation, we repeat, pure speculation. Do not mistake the following as having any basis or foundation or written because of any sort of a tip or inside knowledge. Okay,... Spartans fall to Aggies 78-73 "This might be a team you don't want to see in Las Cruces." We cheated a bit and tuned in the Utah State radio broadcast mid-second half just to check on the 'homer-ism' -- if any -- and the quali... SJSU at Utah State Saturday night What an interesting league schedule, being one that already has San Jose State done this season with Hawaii, Fresno State and Nevada but still yet to play Saturday's opponent Utah State. Speaking ... It's the Wolf Pack early, mid and late 84-46 Well, San Jose State did muster seven touchdowns and extra points, plus two safeties, but host Nevada passed and ran (and shot) for 12 TDs and points after Thursday night in an 84-46 Wolf Pack victor... The state of prep basketball in Santa Clara County Is it the water in Santa Clara County? Is the bountiful bonanza a one-time thing? Just an anomaly? Or will it become the norm? It being the Santa Clara County area churning out seven and possib... Spartans face Nevada Thursday night in Reno Nevada, 13-8 overall and 5-3 in the WAC, will be hosting San Jose State Thursday night, with Hawaii coming into Reno on Saturday and Utah State the following Monday. Now the Wolf Pack has won 32 of i... The ugly, the bad and now the good At the real risk of repetition (but if that's the worst we've done then we'll settle for such), here goes another episode of the touchy-feely in relation to Spartan basketball: The memory of San J... Came across this and had to pass it on While googling for something else, we came across this article and just had to pass it along. The last player you want shooting the ball when down by a deuce at game's end...makes a three-pointer...a... Meet Spartan Rebounder Kevin Finerty We've been negligent in our Rebounder interviews this season so starting that back up, here is Kevin Finerty. Kevin lives in Dublin (in the East Bay, not the capital of Ireland), works in that are... A little something on former Spartan Marquin Chandler We've never been able to get into the tats thing. It's probably for a myriad of reasons but regardless it would be quite the challenge to apply any artistry to our, uh, frame, such as it is... We... The BracketBuster announcement San Jose State will face Pacific in Stockton on February 23 as one of the BracketBuster contersts announced earlier today. 2008 O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters Field Announced Courtesy: WAC 2/0... One person's midseason All-WAC choices Nick Jezierny is an excellent reporter for the Idaho Statesman and, for what it's worth, we tend to agree with him far more than disagree. We're sure that makes him sleep more soundly at night ;-) He... Aggies escape with a two point win -- 83-81 Well, wasn't that a game? We have to admit that a work assignment took us elsewhere -- a high school gymnasium famous (infamous?) for its student section called The Pit -- so we're piecing togeth... SJSU - NMSU game preview The most talented team in the WAC comes to The Event Center on Saturday when the New Mexico State Aggies make their annual appearance. Don't trust our word for it? Allow Hawaii senior guard R... Graham nominated for 2008 McDonald's All-American team Yep, we probably fooled or at least puzzled a few of you with the headline but there is another hoops-playing member of the Graham family -- Jessica Graham -- and has just been honored as you'll read... It's coming up on the Spartan basketball family reunion time again Men's Basketball Reunion Set For February 16 Courtesy: San Jose State Athletics 1/24/2008 Join the Spartan basketball family for the special alumni day and basketball reuinion set for Saturda... Spartans flatten Roadrunners 71-56 It was a re-match tonight between San Jose State and Cal State Bakersfield and the Roadrunners must have felt like the Bill Murray character in the film "Groundhog Day." That's because Bakersfield st... Bakersfield here Tuesday night at The Event Center Don't fret if you're thinking 'didn't San Jose State already play Bakersfield?' because you are absolutely correct. But the re-match, scheduled for Tuesday night at The Event Center, will bring toge... Stew Morrill gets backing in Logan Utah State Coach Stew Morrill sat four of his players down (actually he sent them back to Logan) due to rules violations, leaving his Aggies somewhat short-handed against New Mexico State (the final ... Bulldogs gun past Spartans 75-58 San Jose State needs to check to see if Idaho's Mike Hall and Fresno Stater Eddie Miller exchanged information in the last couple of days. Heck, maybe they're distantly related somehow. Because... Patience In the struggle between the stone and the water, in time, the water wins -- Chinese proverb Youth. Arrgghhh!!! Inexperience. Ggggrrr!!! SJSU fans certainly have familiarity with the words ... It's Fresno State Saturday night in a rematch It won't be the O.K. Corral and Tombstone, Arizona but the Save Mart Center and Fresno, California instead as the site for the rival rematch between San Jose State (the Earp faction, of course) and F... We quote Dylan, Sinatra and yes, Plutarch We are neither related to The Amazing Kreskin nor the unlamented Miss Cleo but we can still forsee the future. As Bob Dylan sang (and we use that term loosely) in "Subterranean Homesick Blues" -- "yo... Idaho too much by 11 -- 74-63 It was 16 degrees in Moscow, Idaho Thursday night. But that didn't stop Vandal backcourter Mike Hall from having 'the fever' -- an unusual condition that makes a rare appearance on the nation's baske... SJSU versus Idaho Thursday night San Jose State hits the road for a Thursday game in Moscow, Idaho (current temperature 19 degrees) before returning to the Golden State this weekend for a re-match against Fresno State at The Save Ma... Getting it In light of the recent advances of the San Jose State men's basketball team, the following came to mind: Getting it. It's when the lightbulb goes on...and stays lit. When things finally ... Dominique Hamilton - coming to SJSU next season We recently had the opportunity to talk with Dominique Hamilton -- one of Coach Pam DeCosta's newly signed batch of 2007-2008 high school recruits -- and wrote this article for a prep basketball web ... Let's get used to it -- let's be a bigger part of it It can't be. Not after all this time. Are we imagining things? Have the ghosts of playing at Independence High or the San Jose Civic Auditorium finally been exorcised from our collective psy... Saturday night WAC-ing Let's begin with the expected but give credit to Idaho for a fighting spirit. The Vandals are definitely better than last season but not 'there' yet. Coach George Pfeifer is still in need of a couple... Being yourself Irreplaceable is defined as it literally means -- incapable of being replaced. Such comes to into play primarily with inanimate objects such as family photos, heirlooms and the like. Now we have a... Spartans muzzle the Bulldogs 69-65 San Jose State caged the curs Thursday night at The Event Center, defeating Fresno State 69-65. SJSU nursed a long second-half lead to the game's conclusion preventing the more experienced Bulldogs f... It's Fresno State Thursday night at The Event Center Yep, them mange-ridden critters from Raisintown -- consider yourself forewarned, get your rabies vaccination now -- will make an appearance Thursday night at The Event Center to challenge San Jose St... We are pretty steamed We don't wish to go overboard but maybe a change is needed. Maybe the referees need to have some sort of electronic connection attached to them so that coaches can buzz all THREE of them when a timeo... Who steps up? Uh oh. This is one thing that really, really hurts. That being the elbow injury to Justin Graham. We have no wish to jump to conclusions plus this is no knock at any of the other team members b... Hawaii pulls it out 65-64 San Jose State had no Elvis -- guess he had already left the building -- so it turned out there was no 'Blue Hawaii' at game's end. The Spartans traded scores and leads with the Rainbow Warriors i... The honor goes to C.J. We gladly present this article from www.sjsuspartans.com that announces a WAC award for C.J. Webster. Isn't it about time we 'ESPN' C.J. and start calling him CWeb? Oh, that's right, it's already... Spartans hula with Hawaii Monday night It's not often that a team adopts a very different persona in mid-season but Hawaii has done just that entering WAC play. An season-ending injury to 6-11 Stephen Verwers took away the one player who ... Will New Mexico State whiff again? We wrote this for our other web site and before Herb Pope was finally cleared by the NCAA to play this season: It's difficult to sum up the various legal transgressions surrounding the New Mexic... A Sunday collection of basketball material Here we go with a potpourri assortment of basketball material: Testing, testing, okay, we're issuing a test to the Rebounders. Who has both an idea for an article about San Jose State men's basket... Trying to be an observer rather than fan. Perspective for a sports fan is about as easy to maintain as when one in is the throes of a relationship with a new paramour. Typically, nothing else matters -- just him or her. Irrationality rules. ... The WAC next season Sometimes we get way ahead of ourselves but every college basketball coaching staff projects its rosters at least two or three, if not more, years out. It's necessary in order to determine what playe... Food Fest One is in the books Well, the first San Jose State players dinner is a wrap and there are numerous people to thank for their efforts and participation. Gayle Kludt was the primo hostess. Gayle was ably assisted and a... It's SJSU by two, 62-60, over Nevada My, my, my. The verbal brickbats offered by some have morphed into velvety bouquets for the San Jose State Spartans as they smartly, efficiently and doggedly took down favored Nevada 62-60 tonight at... Two future NBA-ers coming to the Event Center Thursday night will provide Spartan fans an opportunity to see the two NBA talents on the Nevada Wolf Pack squad. We nosed around some and came up with these analyses on JaVale McGee and Marcelus Kem... Nevada rolls into The Event Center Thursday night From the frying pan into the fire. Yes, after holding wide-load John Bryant in check, here comes long, longer and longest JaVale McGee, aka Spiderman, and his Wolf Pack teammates Mark Fox's Ne... San Jose State handles Santa Clara 62-59 It was a grudge rematch and quite the different game in many ways than the earlier one on December 8 between San Jose State and Santa Clara. First and foremost was that San Jose State won this one 62... A Demetrius Brown sighting Demetrius Brown was playing overseas in Sweden last year, then went to play in Hungary with the Atomeromu team and is now with Darussafaka (Turkey) squad for late 2007 and early 2008. He's playin... A Marquin Chandler sighting Marquin Chandler sightings have been rare of late, more than likely because he is in South Korea playing for a team and translations from the news media there into English seem rare. However, this... Get Stufted before tonight's game Calling all Spartan Rebounders out there, especially those planning to head into enemy territory tonight and be at The Leavey Center for San Jose State's game against Santa Clara. The Rebounders w... SJSU visits Santa Clara Monday night The 8-6 Santa Clara Broncos will receive the San Jose State Spartans into their corral Monday night at the Leavey Center for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff. Or this as an alternative National Enquirer type ra... Spartans fall to Hawaii 85-79 The first thing you should do when you find yourself in a hole, is stop digging. The band of San Jose State first half players needs to memorize this observation and cite and recite such until all... Rebounder Get-Together @ Saturday's Game Yes, the second Rebounder Get-Together of the season will take place prior to Saturday's game against Hawaii. Here's the details: Dear Rebounders: Prior to the game this Saturday against Hawai... Hawaii @ The Event Center Saturday night Coming off a road game at Utah State, one of the toughest places to play -- if not the toughest -- in the WAC, and a close 86-80 loss to the Aggies, Hawaii is now heading west to face San Jose State ... Then and now ... Where we were, where we are 'The easiest thing to create is heat. The hardest thing is light' -- Robert MacNeil What is it with sports fans who come off like they bathe daily in the waters of absolute certitude while simulta... Competitiveness Recently we came across a bit of a Q and A featuring Indiana Coach Kelvin Sampson and a moderator. Sure, he's not one of our 'faves' -- as if that keeps him up at night! -- but a certain question and... Spartans fall to Boise St. 78-63 For the third game in a row -- hey, what constitutes a trend? -- San Jose State started slow and fell behind by double figures in the first half. At the game's beginning, Greg Graham's team jumped ou... It's Boise State Wednesday night In Idaho The Boise State squad is fulfilling its projected promise as its current 9-3 record indicates. But more importantly, the outcome of the season-to-date is stirring up fan interest and finally creating... Calling all Rebounders Spartan Fans, The SJSU Rebounders need your help with two upcoming and in-progress projects. The first is the Rebounders Basketball Raffle. Raffle tickets will be sold before each home basketbal... A few Spartan items Maybe there is a connection, maybe not, but San Jose State posts a stirring comeback win Sunday on Steve Graham's birthday. We aren't typically so superstitious but how about scheduling a game every ... WAC predictions ... but for 2025 We are up for the challenge. However, some like to make predictions in late December about the coming new year and we will stick our necks out and go a few steps further -- such as what we see for th... It's San Jose State again 77-71 We are too old for this -- this being another mercurial second-half comeback by San Jose State leading to a 77-71 victory tonight. However this one took place in The Event Center rather than Portl... About last night... To call something a turning point right or soon after its occurrence requires either going out on the proverbial limb or possessing some sort of divine power to forsee the future. So the use of th... SDSU - SJSU Sunday night at The Event Center Headline: Jackrabbits found at The Event Center! Or at least they will be in a couple of days. Now nobody is burrowing beneath The Event Center and then popping up near The Walt McPherson Court... Spartans catch and pass Portland 76-73 Dickens wrote "The Tale of Two Cities" but somehow missed penning "The Tale of Two Halves." But he might have if he were alive to see or listen to San Jose State's stirring comeback win, 76-73, ov... SJSU faces Portland State Friday night Hey, the Spartans versus the Vikings sure does bring some historical battleground images to the forefront. We're not sure who we would go with in an ancient mano-a-mano clash but the Portland State V... A WAC version of 'The Night Before Christmas' Special thanks to Clement Clarke Moore for the inspiration... Twas the night before Christmas when all through the WAC not a team was a-playin' not even the furriest of gym rats the coaches' sto... Stop the presses, this is big -- Adrian Oliver transferring to SJSU Are you sure it isn't December 25 today? Well, we've double and triple-checked our 2007 calendar and Christmas is still two days away but Coach George Nessman and his staff, the San Jose State Un... SJSU gets by Presbyterian 68-64 A commitment elsewhere forced us to miss the game tonight so here is an early report courtesy of Sports Information Director Lawrence Fan and his staff. Back on Monday as usual with more. Men's Ba... SJSU v. Presbyterian Saturday night OUR NOTE: If at all possible, do get to this game as classes have ended for the semester at SJSU and most, if not all, of the students have headed for home by now. So get to The Event Center on Satur... Spartans win 85-45 We really debated about using the above headline but eventually decided to go for it one last time. The 10-1 Michigan State Spartans cruised past the San Jose State Spartans 85-45 Wednesday night ... San Jose State - Michigan State preview We will boldly go where we have never gone before: the Spartans will win Wednesday night in East Lansing -- no ifs, and or buts. Of course, the Spartans will also lose. Huh? C'mon, you must ... A little editorial about the NCAA Here's a short article -- not SJSU-related -- that we published at our other site. However, it could help explain the period of time it took last season before the statuses of Oliver Caballero and Ke... SJSU falls to NAU 62-57 Northern Arizona made better judgments and produced near the end and the result was a five-point victory over San Jose State tonight 62-57. Minus a home gym, minus a head coach (family emergency) ... SJSU vs. Northern Arizona on Saturday night It has to be tough when your success on the basketball court has been and always will be overshadowed by elephant-in-the-state-living-room Arizona and a resurgent Arizona State. Heck even the State o... You respond, we print Thank you, thank you, thank you for your responses and feedback to date on our various posts. In that spirit, here they are: "Since you solicited input on one of your other pieces...I am stunned t... Dick Vitale -- love him or hate him Okay, here's the companion piece to the Tyler Hansbrough post we sent out earlier: Dickie V -- or for the unfamiliar, Dick Vitale. It's either love him or hate him. There simply isn't any in-b... Our take on NC's Tyler Hansbrough as an NBA prospect The next SJSU game is Saturday so we decided to branch out a bit today with a couple of articles sure to generate some responses. First, we just might be stepping into deep xxxx here but, if so, ... A fantastic photo by you guessed it Below is just a fantastic photo taken by the inimitable Ray Barbour, a shot that we just had to share. From now on, we'll identify Ray's photos thusly: "It's a Barbour" just like "it's a Picasso"... Saturday's game site moved to DeAnza College December 10, 2007 San Jose State-Northern Arizona Men's Basketball Game Moved to De Anza College (photo is of game action in the DeAnza gymnasium) San Jose, Calif.-----The December 15 non-... It's Santa Clara 73-63 It was a case of too much JB tonight at The Event Center but it wasn't anything to do with the bourbon whiskey kind. No, it was Santa Clara's man mountain John Bryant who was just too large for the S... Another SJSU - Santa Clara game preview thought We had thought about this earlier but the subject hid away in our brain. The result is we forgot to include this in our previous preview of tonight's 7 p.m. game at The Event Center. That is, the ... SJSU - Santa Clara pre-game social Dear Rebounders: This Saturday, we kick off our home schedule against cross-town rival Santa Clara University. Prior to the game, the Rebounders Club will be hosting a pre-game social commencing... San Jose State - Santa Clara game preview Big Bad John. The late Johnny Cash sang about him but John was just a wee boy then, only 6-6 and 245. Now, he's 6-10 or so, north of 300 pounds and mans the middle for Kerry Keating's Santa Cla... Get out the mukluks We haven't been able to locate any word on who is going first but here's the forecast for tomorrow in Anchorage: "Snow showers. Snow accumulation up to 2 inches. Temperatures rising from -7 into the ... Spartans fall to San Diego 60-40 San Jose State came out flat and never could get a run going throughout the evening as the Spartans fell to the University of San Diego Toreros 60-40 Wednesday night. It was a case of too much Gyn... |