Gold Out for St. Mary's: It should be a tremendous atmosphere on Wednesday when the Dons host the Gaels inside War Memorial Gym at 7:00pm. The USF athletic department will be giving out gold t-shirts to all fans as they enter the arena and the students are back from winter break. Last year there were over 1,000 rowdy USF students in attendance when the Dons battled St. Mary's – and I expect more of the same for this season's home match-up. The Dons are hoping to break a 15 game losing streak against the Gaels, and a loud crowd could certainly give USF an advantage. See you Wednesday in your gold t-shirt. I personally don't own any gold dress shirts, but I do have a bright yellow button-up that I'll be donning court side.
Pass the Hot Chocolate: Speaking of rowdy crowds
- the McCarthy Athletic Center in Spokane is one of the loudest college basketball arenas in the country. The student section is a site to see. Tickets are given out free to students on a first come, first serve basis. When the Dons were on campus at 10:30am for their morning shoot around on game day this past Saturday there were already about 40-50 students lined outside for the 5:00pm game. I also noticed two large tents with several sleeping bags, so a good number had spent the night to guarantee themselves seats for the game. They had to deal with some fairly chilly conditions – as it was in the low 20's overnight, so I would imagine hot chocolate was on the menu.
The students fill the entire lower bowl on one side of the arena – and they are on their feet the entire game, jumping up and down and screaming and yelling. Head Coach
Rex Walters told me, “I think it might be the loudest arena on the West Coast.” I have to agree with Walters – and in fact I think it's one of the loudest venues in the country. I have called and attended games in over 120 arenas including Assembly Hall in Indiana, the McKale Center in Arizona and Rupp Arena in Kentucky to name a few. The only place I have seen a game where the fans might be louder and the students might be crazier than Gonzaga is Cameron Indoor Stadium on the Duke University Campus.
Leave Me Some Tickets Please: When the Dons visited Portland this past Thursday three USF players were hounded by relatives and friends to score them some tickets in the Rose City.
Cole Dickerson had a large contingent of family who made the 2 ½ drive from Federal Way, Washington, Avry Holmes hails from Salem – about an hour south of Portland, and Gavin Hoffman prepped at Lincoln High School right in Portland. NCAA rules limit the number of tickets that players can request, so most of the faithful connected to the three Dons from the Northwest had to buy their own tickets. Dickerson had over 30 family members and friend that made the drive – and they were rewarded when he hit the game winning shot.
Finding the Silver Lining: Yes the Dons dropped their 24
th consecutive game in Spokane this past Saturday, falling 66-52 to Gonzaga. But consider these numbers. The Dons held a top-10 team to just 23 points in the second half. The Bulldogs shot just 8-27 from the floor after halftime, and at one point the Bulldogs went six straight possessions without scoring. The Dons also ended the game on a 9-0 run.
Thank You: To Coragene Savio and Barry Kinney. Their generous support and donation once again allowed the team to enjoy a nice dinner out on Wednesday night at Jake's Famous Crawfish in Portland. The team was served several different, flavorful appetizers, followed by clam chowder or salad, and then a choice from one of six different entrees. The specialty at Jake's is crawfish etouffee – and it's served in this massive silver pot. One serving is enough for four people, so no one left hungry. Savio and Kinney have followed the Dons both home and on the road for years. Sometimes I'll look up in the stands and notice they are the only two fans wearing green and gold when we are in arenas in far away cities across the country.
Cody Big in Crunch Time: Dons junior point guard
Cody Doolin made three big plays down the stretch last Thursday to help USF come from behind to defeat the Pilots. With the Dons trailing 72-69 Dollin hit a clutch three-pointer at the 1:05 mark to tie the game at 72-72. On the ensuing Portland possession, Dollin totally locked down the Pilots two-guard Oskars Reinfelds. The Pilots had set up a play for Reinfelds from the left wing, but Doolin was draped all over him – and Reinfelds threw up an ugly air ball. Moments later – it was Doolin – who penetrated underneath the basket – and then when the defense collapsed on him – kicked the ball to the deep left wing for a brilliant assist as Dickerson knocked down the game winning three-pointer with :00.1 on the game clock.
No Need to Call Timeout: I love the fact that Coach Walters elected to bypass the timeout call – and instead just let his offense run with 30 seconds left in Portland and the game deadlocked at 72-72. Yes – there is one school of thought that if you call timeout you can discuss and set up an offensive play, but when you call timeout you also allow the other team to set their defense. USF had possession after a brilliant defensive stop – and the Pilots were scrambling on defense. The move paid off when USF won at the buzzer.
They Said It: “In all honesty I put a lot of pressure on
Cody Doolin,” said Coach Walters following the win over Portland last Thursday as he was discussing team leadership. “Last year I really leaned on
Angelo Caloiaro and
Rashad Green to lead by example. I expected a lot from those guys and they got my rath. This season Cody has been on the receiving end of a lot of my rath.”
