USD Men's Basketball 1998-1999

TORERO OUTLOOK

Page2 TRIO OF SENIORS TO

LEAD YOUTHFUL TOREROS The upcom ing 1998-99 season wi ll be head coach Brad Hol land's fifth at the helm of the USO basketba ll program. The 41-year-o ld Ho ll and return s two starters and six lettermen from last year's team that fi ni shed 14-1 4 overall and 5-9 in the West Coast Conference. Last season marked the third straight season that the Toreros fi ni shed w ith a .500 record or better and also advanced to the semi fina ls of th e West Coast Conference Tournament. W ith three of the top four scorers gone from last yea r's squad, including two– time team MVP Brian Mil es (16.3 ppg), coac h Ho ll and w ill look to a trio of seniors to lead thi s yea r's youth movement that features eleven underclassemen. Leading the way is 6-6 seni or fo rward Ryan Williams (Seattl e, WA) w ho is the team's top returning scorer (15.1) and rebounder (6.3) - he fini shed in the top-ten in four WCC categori es: scoring, rebounding, field goa l percentage (. 527) and free throw accuracy (.779). He enter's the 1998-99 season w ith 894 ca reer po ints, good fo r the 24th spot on USD's all -time scoring list. Guard Brock Jacobsen (Glendora, CA) return s for hi s final season after averaging 7.3 ppg a yea r ago. The WCC Freshman of the Yea r in 1996, Broc k is one of the team' smore versatil e pl ayers that can play both guard spots as well as the small

'98-99 TORERO SENIORS (l-r):

Lamont Smith, Ryan Williams, Brock Jacobsen

forwa rd pos ition. The third sen ior is guard Lamont Smith (The Co lony, Texas), the team' s defensive spec iali st who usuall y gets the assignment of stopp ing the opponent's top gun . Hi s enthusiasm and hustl e for the game, at both ends of the fl oor, shoul d rub off in a pos itive manner on the rest of the Torero squad. Thi s yea r's group of seniors pl ayed a key ro le on last yea r's team that ea rned key W est Coast Conference vi ctori es over first pl ace Gonzaga; over runner-up Pepperdine tw ice; and over Santa Clara on the road. Although the Toreros fini shed j ust 5-9 in the WCC, they lost their fi rst four contests by a combined ten points - 3 po ints to San Francisco in overt ime; 2 po ints to Santa Clara and Gonzaga; and 3 po ints to Portl and. They went on to finish the season strong, winning five of the final eight contests to finish the season at 14-1 4. The Toreros onl y oth er returning upperclassman is 7-0, 285 lb . center Jeff Knoll (Mercer Island, WA). Voted the team's Most Improved Pl ayer the past two seasons, he w ill compete fo r th e starting position at center. Last season he averaged 4.0 ppg and 3.2 rpg whil e shooting 57 .5 percent from the fi eld. Other returning pl ayers expected to pl ay signifi ca nt minutes and key ro les include sophomore guard Dana White (Phoenix, AZ) - he ea rned four starts as a freshman and averaged 5.5 ppg in WCC pl ay with a personal high of 17 poi nts in a win over Pepperdine; sophomore forward Cameron Rigby (Melbourne, Australi a) will pl ay at strong fo rwa rd for the Toreros after sitting out a year ago - he transferred from Bradl ey Un iversi ty w here he earned 9 starts as a freshman; and redshirt freshman fo rwa rd Tom Lippold (Huntington Beach, CA) returns after mi ssing last season due to a broken foot he suffe red in game one at Stanfo rd - he is a solid pl ayer at both ends of the floo r and can shoot the three-pointer. Sophomore fo rward Michael Blackmon (Hayward, CA), who pl ayed in 22 games as a freshman, inju red hi s knee in the off- season and had reconstructive ACL surgery - he will probab ly sit out the upcoming season. Al so return ing is 6-9 redshirt freshman forward/center Jason Powell (San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines HS) - he worked hard in the off-season and has ga ined an additi onal 40 pounds of muscl e and strength to hi s frame. Two newcomers that will compete for pl aying time ri ght away include 6- 1 freshman guard Andre Laws (Anchorage, AK) and 6-6 swingman Steve Ross (Vi ctori a, British Co lumbia). Laws helped lead East HS to a 21-6 mark and league championship whi le averaging 20.0 ppg and being name_d First Team All-State. Ross averaged 33. 0 ppg and 14.0 rpg fo r Lambrick Park High Schoo l and was named Mr. Basketball in Bri tish Columbia and earned Canadi an Junior National Pl ayer of the Yea r honors . Additional newcomers to the Toreros this season include 6-10 freshman forward/center Kevin Hanson (Huntington Beach, CNOcean Vi ew HS); 6-0 j uni or guard Sam Scholl (G ig Harbor, WA/Tacoma Comm . Co ll ege); 6-5 sophomore guard James Borrego (Albuquerque, NM), a transfer from Northeastern JC in Co lorado; 6-0 freshman guard Diron Mobley (Mercer Island, WN Mercer Isl and HS); and 6-9 sophomore transfer Tyler Field (Sebastopo l, CNUCSD) - Fi eld will sit out thi s season due to the NCAA transfer rul e. After exhibition openers aga inst the Ca lifo rni a A ll-Stars (Nov. 2) and High-Five Ameri ca (Nov. 7), the Toreros will open their regular-season schedul e at home on Nov. 17th w ith Concordia. O ther nonconference home til ts include Northern Arizona (Dec. 3), Texas (Dec. 5 at S.D . Sports Arena in Chevron Torero Ti p-Off), Monta na State (Dec. 12), Occ i.dental (Dec. 30) and UC Irvine Uan. 2). The nonconference road schedule wil l be highlighted wi th games at San D iego State (Dec. 19) and a trip to the Fresno State Tournament (Dec. 22 -23 ) where the Toreros will open aga inst Mi ami-Ohio. The Toreros will open WCC pl ay with three straight bay area road games at USF, Santa Clara and Saint Mary' s. USD' s first home conference game w ill be aga inst Saint Mary's on Jan. 16th . The WCC Tournament is back at Santa Clara' s Toso Pavili on, February 27th through March 1st.