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USF Tangles With Cleveland State on Wednesday

USF Tangles With Cleveland State on Wednesday
Cody Doolin made his 100th consecutive start vs. Notre Dame de Namur.
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Game #2
USF Dons (1-0, 0-0 WCC) vs. Cleveland State Vikings (1-0, 0-0 Horizon League)
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013 • 8:00 p.m. PT
Memorial Gymnasium • San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting
Audio/Video Streaming: USFDons.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: None

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons
  • Play host to Cleveland State of the Horizon League Wednesday night at Memorial Gymnasium...first-ever meeting between the Dons and Vikings...marks the second of four consecutive home games to open the season.
  • Opened the season with a 95-57 victory over Notre Dame de Namur last Friday in Memorial Gymnasium...Kruize Pinkins came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points while Cole Dickerson (15), Mark Tollefsen (15) and Matt Glover (12) also reached double figures.
  • The 95 points was the sixth-highest total scored by USF in a season-opener.
  • Made 13-of-34 three-pointers on vs. Notre Dame de Namur, including six treys in the first 4:27 of the game...led the WCC and finished fifth nationally in three-point percentage last year at .401 (249-for-621).
  • Senior point guard Cody Doolin made his 100th consecutive start last Friday vs. Notre Dame de Namur...he needs 28 more games to tie Angelo Caloiaro's (2008-12) all-time school record for games played at 128.
  • Head coach Rex Walters has guided the Dons to a 78-82 record in his previous five-plus seasons on the Hilltop...his seven-year career record, which includes two seasons at Florida Atlantic, stands at 109-115.
  • Return nine letterwinners including five players who started more than half of the team's 31 games from a year ago...eight of the nine returning letterwinners logged 11.0 or more minutes a game.
  • Welcome back three of its top four scorers from a year ago in forward Cole Dickerson (15.2), point guard Cody Doolin (12.2) and forward Tim Derksen (7.4)...Dickerson also led the team and WCC in rebounding with a 9.8 per game mark.
  • Two newcomers expected to play significant roles this season include junior forward Kruize Pinkins (Marianna, FL / Chipola College) and guard Corey Hilliard (Kansas City, MO / Midland JC)...Hilliard gained Division I experience as a freshman at Nebraska in 2011-12...junior forward Matt Glover who redshirted last season after transferring from Penn State, will also make an immediate impact.
  • Dickerson earned first team All-WCC honors a year ago after ranking in the top-10 in eight conference statistical categories, including scoring (9th; 15.2), rebounding (1st; 9.8), defensive rebound average (1st; 7.2), offensive rebound average (3rd; 2.6), minutes played per game (5th; 33.0), three-point field goal percentage (9th; .410), field goal percentage (10th; .474) and three-pointers made per game (10th; 1.5)...his rebound total of 304 ranks 18th on the school's all-time single-season list.
  • Led the WCC and ranked fifth nationally last season in three-point field goal percentage (40.1; 249-for-621)...have set school records each of the last three seasons for three-pointers made.
  • Holmes, along with Chris Adams (39-for-91; 42.9), Dickerson (48-for-117), Mark Tollefsen (32-for-76) and Tim Derksen (29-for-69) combined to shoot .429 (189-for-440) from three-point range last season.
  • Play host to Nevada on Friday night and Idaho State on Monday.

THIS WEEK: After posting a 95-57 victory over Notre Dame de Namur last Friday in its season opener, USF (1-0, 70-0 WCC) will play host to Cleveland State (1-0, 0-0 Horizon League) on Wednesday and Nevada (0-1, 0-0 XX) on Friday. Cleveland State is coming off a 73-69 won over Iona while Nevada dropped its season opener to Pacific, 70-68.

SERIES HISTORY WITH CLEVELAND ST.: Wednesday night's game marks the first ever meeting between USF and Cleveland State. The game is the first of a home-and-home series with the return game scheduled for next year in Cleveland.

THE OPENER: USF opened its season with a 95-57 victory over Notre Dame de Namur last Friday night in Memorial Gymnasium. Junior Kruize Pinkins came off the bench to score 19 points while Cole Dickerson and Mark Tollefsen added 14. Matt Glover also reached double digits with 12 points. The Dons nailed 11 of their 13 three-pointers in the first half to race to 61-25 lead at intermission. The 95 points were the sixth-highest total scored by the Dons in a season opener. High-scoring openers:

THE THREE-BALL: USF made 13-of-34 of its three-point attempts in the season-opener against Notre Dame de Namur, including six three balls in the first 4:27 of the game. The 13 three-pointers were one shy of the school's single game record of 14, set last year in back-to-back road games at Pepperdine and BYU. Six different players made a three-pointer against Notre Dame de Namur, including three each my Matt Glover and Mark Tollefsen.

USF led the West Coast Conference and ranked fifth nationally in three-point field goal percentage a year ago, connecting on .401 percent (249-for-621) of its long distance attempts. For the third consecutive season, the Dons set a single-season record or most three-pointers made while its percentage ranked second on the school's all-time list.

SUCCESSFUL DEBUTS: Juniors Kruize Pinkins and Matt Glover made successful USF debuts last Friday. Pinkins, a junior college transfer from Chiploa College in Florida, came off the bench to score a game high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, while Glover, who redshirted last year after transferring from Penn State, scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Glover also drilled three 3-pointers in four attempts.

TOLLEFSEN'S TALLY: Dating back to last season, sophomore Mark Tollefsen has averaged 16.2 points and while shooting 74 percent (37-for-50) from the field over his last six games. The Danville, Calif. native started the last five games of last season and averaged 17.6 points while shooting 73.8 percent (31-for-42) from the field during that stretch. In Friday night's opener against Notre Dame de Namur, he scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 from long distance.
DEPTH: In the season opener against Notre Dame de Namur, nine players logged 16 or more minutes, but not player saw the court for more than 22 minutes.

BENCH SCORING: Led by Kruize Pinkins game-high 19 points, USF's reserves outscored Notre Dame de Namur's bench, 44-8 last Friday night. Corey Hilliard and Chris Adams chipped in with eight points, Tim Derksen added six while Gavin Hoffmann (2) and Matt Christiansen (1) also got into the scoring column.

DOOLIN MAKES 100th CONSECUTIVE START: Senior point guard Cody Doolin made his 100th consecutive start on Friday against Notre Dame de Namur. The Austin, Texas native has started every game at the point guard position since arriving on the Hilltop in 2010-11. He needs 28 more games to tie Angelo Caloiaro's (2008-12) all-time school record for games played at 128.

DOOLIN's DIMES: With seven assists against Notre Dame de Namur, Cody Doolin ran his career assist total to 430 assists, which ranks second on USF's all-time career list behind Orlando Smart, who totaled 902 assists from 1990-94. His assist average of 5.6 a year ago ranked third in the WCC and 34th nationally. His 2012-13 assist total of 174 ranked fifth on USF's all-time single-season charts.

USF's All-Time Career Assist Leaders
1. Orlando Smart (1990-94) 902
2. Cody Doolin (2010-Present) 430
3. Gerald Walker (1992-96) 400
4. LyRyan Russell (1997-02) 350
5. Jason Gaines (2000-05) 349

HOME EARLY AND OFTEN: The Dons will open the season with four consecutive home games in historical Memorial Gymnasium. Following the opener against Notre Dame de Namur, USF will welcome Cleveland State (Nov. 13), Nevada (Nov. 15) and Idaho State (Nov. 18) to the Hilltop before playing its first road game at Montana on Nov. 22. USF will also serve as host of the Golden Gate Challenge, featuring Sonoma State, Vermont and Illinois State. A road game at St. John's on Dec. 18 is bookend with home games vs. Nicholls State (Dec. 14) and American (Dec. 22). USF will open WCC play on Dec. 28 at Portland. Last season, USF posted an 8-7 record in Memorial Gym, but were just 2-6 on its home floor against WCC foes.

THE RETURNEES: USF returns nine letterwinners from last year's team that finished 15-16 overall and 7-9 in the West Coast Conference, including five players who started more than half of the team's games a year ago. The Dons return 81 percent of its scoring and 88 percent of its rebounding production from a year ago. Forward Cole Dickerson (15.2 ppg., 9.8 rpg), the WCC's top rebounder and team's leading scorer from a year ago, along with point guard Cody Doolin, who has started all 99 games since arriving on the Hilltop as a freshman, give the Dons a healthy dose of senior leadership. Other returning letterwinners include junior guard Chris Adams (4.7, 1.3), sophomore forward-center Matt Christiansen (2.1, 1.8), sophomore forward Tim Derksen (7.4, 3.8), junior guard Gavin Hoffmann (0.0, 0.3), guard sophomore Avry Holmes (6.7, 1.7), sophomore forward-center Mark Tollefsen (7.2, 3.0) and sophomore center Tao Xu (3.3, 1.3).

THE NEWCOMERS: Four new faces dot USF's 2013-14 roster, including juniors Kruize Pinkins (6-7, 240) and Corey Hilliard (6-1, 175), who are expected to see immediate court time after transferring from Chipola College and Midland (Texas) Junior College. Two other players - sophomore Uche Ofoegbu (6-4, 240) and junior Derrell Roberston (6-10, 270) - will redshirt this season after transferring from SMU and DePaul, respectively. Penn State transfer Matt Glover (6-5, 212) is eligible after redshirting last season.

THE LOSSES: USF lost just two letterwinners off last year's roster -- junior swingman De'End Parker (11.7, 3.0) and sophomore center Frank Rogers (1.8, 1.8).

THE ROSTER: USF's roster is made up of two seniors, six juniors, six sophomores and two freshmen. Included among the list of juniors is Derrell Robertson, who will sit out this season after transferring from DePaul. Sophomore Uche Ofoegbu will also sit out this season after transferring from SMU. Both freshmen - Dominique Williams and David Irby - are walk-ons.

WCC PRESEASON POLL: USF was picked to finish fourth in this year's WCC Preseason Poll, which was voted upon by the 10 conference head coaches. USF received 51 votes, one more than San Diego, which was picked fifth. Gonzaga was picked to repeat as conference champions, followed by BYU and Saint Mary's. The Cougars and Gaels each received one first place vote. Here's a look at the WCC Preseason Poll...

1. Gonzaga (8) 80
2. BYU (1) 72
3. Saint Mary's (1) 66
4. USF 51
5. San Diego 50
6. Loyola Marymount 44
7. Pacific 28
8. Santa Clara 25
9. Portland 24
10. Pepperdine 10

PRESEASON HONORS: USF seniors Cole Dickerson and Cody Doolin were each named to the WCC's Preseason All-Conference team. Dickerson led the Dons in both scoring (15.2) and rebounding (9.8) last season and ranked in the top-10 in nine WCC statistical categories. He also had a conference-high 13 double-doubles. Doolin averaged a career-high 12.2 points a game and finished third among WCC playmakers with a 5.6 assist average.

DICKERSON'S DOUBLES: Senior forward Cole Dickerson posted a conference-high 13 double-doubles (points-rebounds) last season, a figure that ranked 24th nationally among Division I players. He was also a point or rebound away from a double-double in five other games. Dickerson pulled down 10 or more rebounds in 14 games, including a career-high 20 boards against Montana on Nov. 30. He now has 14 career double-doubles.

COACHING STAFF ADDITIONS: David Rebibo, who served as the head coach at El Camino High School in Woodland Hills for the last six seasons, was named assistant coach on June 5. In addition, Luke Wicks was promoted to associated head coach on Oct. 2.
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