It’s been a few nights now since Cal Poly alum David Nwaba made his NBA debut. He played some late minutes, some good defense, and missed the only shot he took. 

On Friday night, he did better, scoring 7 points, grabbing a pair of rebounds, and earning a net plus-five rating for the game in 20 minutes.

Some nerves were involved with playing for the first time in front of the Staples Center crowd, but when all is said and done, David Nwaba is getting some time in the league. Nwaba has always had NBA physical ability, but his rise got me thinking — what are some lessons young players can learn from David Nwaba’s D League Tryout-to-NBA story?

David Nwaba drives during a game vs. Texas Southern in the NCAA Tournament. His Cal Poly Mustangs won their first-round game before being ousted by one-seed Wichita State in 2014.

Perseverance

With no Division I offers, Nwaba went to school at Hawaii-Pacific out of high school and redshirted. After a year there, he moved back to Los Angeles to attend Santa Monica Community College. Two years out of high school, Cal Poly and Joe Callero finally got him into a D-I uniform with the Mustangs.

Think about it. Nwaba is a guy who had zero Division I options out of high school. Less than a year after graduating college he’s in the NBA. And it’s not like he got drafted. He had to TRY OUT FOR THE D LEAGUE! 

Young guys — if you’re feeling down about not having offers you think you should have, think about David Nwaba and buck up. 

Playing the role

He was the most athletic player on the court from the time he got to Cal Poly, but Nwaba knew how to play a role. His sophomore season — the one the Mustangs went to the NCAA Tournament, he had to play the role of defensive stopper, guarding the opponents’ best perimeter player. 

Honestly, Nwaba was only more of a “featured” offensive player once his senior year rolled around. 

Flexibility and coachability

In his first two seasons at Cal Poly, Nwaba played as a small forward and shooting guard, in that order. In his senior year, Joe Callero played him as the primary ball handler for much of the year. It was a role that David took-on seemingly seamlessly, while still mostly guarding opponents’ best players. He did what was asked of him and never wavered in his aggression.

Accentuate the positives

David’s athleticism and speed are world-class. Instead of trying to prove he had a 50% jumper when he didn’t, Nwaba quietly worked on the lesser parts of his game while sharpening the edge on his relentless defense and ability to knife inside and get buckets. 

So, I guess what I’m saying is that if you do some things really well and you work hard, are patient, listen to coaches, and sometimes go way outside your comfort zone, that you have a real chance to be successful. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. 

What a story!@dnwaba0 continues to make the most of his @NBA contract w/ the @Lakers! #NBACallUp pic.twitter.com/073bvugZ6Q

— NBA D-League (@nbadleague) March 4, 2017

*****

Cal Poly wins third in a row

On Thursday night, Cal Poly won their third game in a row, with four players scoring in double figures. Donovan Fields led the run when the Mustangs pulled away. He made a few buckets, threw an alley-oop to Hank Hollingsworth:

Ally-Oop! Donovan Fields connects with Hank Hollingsworth in @CPMustangs win over CSUN pic.twitter.com/rJSXBEGEtL

— Derek Opina (@DerekOpinaKSBY) March 3, 2017

the he did this:

Steal + Coast 2 Coast + Juke + Bucket = Cal Poly's Donovan Fields @CPMustangs pic.twitter.com/lhFYOIJUgx

— Derek Opina (@DerekOpinaKSBY) March 3, 2017

Oh dear. The Mustangs are playing great and having fun at the right time. Look at ESPN Radio’s Mike Chellsen calling for the TO at the end of the video too. Classic. 

Fields finished the game with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Senior Ridge Shipley scored 17 points on 8-12 from the free throw line to go with his 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Luke Meikle had 12 points and four boards while Victor Joseph managed 12 points and 6 rebounds on a relatively quiet night for him. Zach Gordon had 8 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. 

Cal Poly can move up one seed if they win against UCSB at home on Saturday night and if Cal State Fullerton can beat CSUN at the Matadome. 

Photos by Owen Main

David Nwaba is a Laker. Photo by Owen Main

People in San Luis Obispo knew that David Nwaba had the physical tools to be an NBA player. Now, less than a year removed from his college graduation in San Luis Obispo, he’s going to the NBA. On Tuesday the former Cal Poly Mustang signed a 10-day contract with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers. 

“David has worked on all parts of his game the last five years,” said Cal Poly coach Joe Callero via text message. “He is the perfect example of hard work and persistence! We are all so proud of him as a person and player… Cal Poly Proud!”

Nwaba, who transferred to Cal Poly as a sophomore in 2013, made an immediate impact. With his high level of intensity and athleticism, Nwaba helped Cal Poly to their first appearance in the NCAA tournament as the Mustangs rolled through the Big West tournament as a 7-seed. Cal Poly won their first round game that year over Texas Southern before losing to one-seed Wichita State. 

Outside shooting will be the thing Nwaba still needs to continue to work on with his game, but his defensive intensity and ability to finish inside make him someone that Magic Johnson and the Lakers think will be able to contribute in the NBA. 

Nwaba is a native of Los Angeles. His sister Barbara is a world-class heptathlete. Other Big West Conference alumni in the NBA are Suns forward Alan Williams (UCSB) and Grizzlies forward James Ennis (Long Beach State). 

Harrison Faigen is a young writer who is getting his reps in. Along with writing about the Lakers and DFenders for Silver Screen and Roll, Faigen is a student at Cal State Fullerton and an editor at the Daily Titan on-campus in Orange County. 

Faigen talked about the DFenders, Cal Poly alum David Nwaba, the Lakers’ situation as it stood a few weeks ago, and Big West basketball.

I’ve been following Cal Poly hoops pretty closely for about six or seven years, but about four years ago, things went up a level. That was the year I started going to pretty much all the games at Mott Athletics Center. It was also Brian Bennett’s and Joel Awich’s freshman season.

Along with David Nwaba and Reese Morgan, Awich and Bennett played their final game in a Cal Poly jersey last Thursday in the first round of the Big West Tournament. Since I’ve watched so many of their games at home, away, in the Big West and NCAA Tournament, etc…, I thought I’d share a lasting memory I have of each of the seniors.

Joel Awich’s athleticism and versatility were always worth the price of admission. By Owen Main

Joel Awich

My best Joel memories are both from games against UCSB. My first is how well he played defensively against UCSB’s Alan Williams on a number of occasions, especially in the 2014 Big West Tournament’s first round. It was kind of sneaky, but instead of going at Al with big bulky guys, Joe Callero tried to use Awich’s length and athleticism as a change of pace on defense.

The other big move was late in a UCSB game at home when Awich took one dribble from 17 feet out and jammed it on two Gauchos. Joel always had that in him, and it was one of the things that always kept Cal Poly games exciting.

Joel ended his career as Cal Poly’s third-leading shot-blocker all-time.

Brian Bennett had four steady seasons in San Luis Obispo and was always fun to chop it up with. By Owen Main

Brian Bennett

In just his fourth game as a Cal Poly Mustang, Brian Bennett’s team beat a ranked UCLA team in Pauley Pavilion. The Mustangs were down by double-digits, but it was Bennett’s steady inside play that kept them even as close as they were. The freshman played the second-most minutes for Cal Poly that night, scoring 16 points, pulling down four rebounds, and dishing three assists.

I have two specific memories of Brian from this game.

1 – The Dunk.

It was I think the only time I saw Brian jam it in a game in his whole career. It was some kind of busted back and forth fast break. He made the shot, and he’ll probably deny it, but I remember he got close to missing it.

2 – The postgame

As the team’s second-leading scorer in the game, Bennett was one of the two players the media interviewed post-game. I Bennett’s exuberant comments after the game. It was something like “This is why I came to Cal Poly.”

Talking to a freshman and seeing the look on his face after his team beat UCLA was something I’ll definitely not forget. I always thought he looked like Ivan Drago when he first came. By the time he left, Brian was second all-time in appearances at Cal Poly and one of only 10 Mustangs with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

The “Threenicorn” got through his entire senior season without a major injury. His shooting was a reason it always seemed Cal Poly had a comeback left in them. By Owen Main

Reese Morgan

Reese was a Parade All-American whose college career was marred by injuries.

After hurting himself his first season, it seemed like Morgan was turning a little bit of a corner in his redshirt freshman year (2012-13). In a double overtime game at UCSB as a freshman, Morgan dropped 26 points, including 7-11 from the three point line.

If you didn’t know that he actually aggravated a prior knee injury during that game, you’d have thought it was a harbinger of things to come. I never saw Reese as that dominant of a player again at Cal Poly. When I think of that night at the Thunderdome when Joe Callero and Bob Williams shouted each other down, I have super mixed feelings. I’m thankful I got to see Reese dominate that game and at the same time super sad that his physical limitations robbed us of what maybe could have been.

The second Reese memory for me is Cal Poly’s only-ever NCAA Tournament victory, when they beat Texas Southern in Dayton. That season was technically Morgan’s sophomore season. He only played nine games that year. His knees were still healing. Joe Callero was trying to take it easy on him.

In front of Reggie Miller and God himself, Morgan came off the bench for just ten minutes that game, but knocked down three three-pointers and contributed to one of the most meaningful wins in Cal Poly history.

After the game, I asked Chris Giovanetti, Cal Poly’s Sports Information Director for basketball, if I could talk to Reese. He said he’d do his best. I caught up to Reese for 3 minutes in the hallway as Cal Poly went to get back and catch a flight for St. Louis. His comments were great.

About a half-hour later, my phone rang. It was Reese calling me because Chris told him to. He knew he’d talked to me but 1) he wanted to make sure, cuz that’s the kind of nice kid he seems like he is and 2) props to Givo for getting me the guy I asked for amidst all that was happening.

The wonderful, joyous, pandemonium and rolling chaos that embroiled that team and that eight-day stretch is something I’ll always cherish being in the middle of, for the small part of it that I was.

David Nwaba’s ability to impact a game with his tenacity at both ends of the floor was a reason to go to Mott Athletics Center. He could give you a generational highlight play any time he touched the ball. By Owen Main

David Nwaba

The first time I saw David Nwaba dunk in a game, I had to think hard. Is this a kind of athlete every Division I team has?

The answer, clearly, was no.

Dave was the kind of player a photographer drools over. Actually, I’ll partially blame him for the escalation of my photography gear during his time at Cal Poly.

One game at Fresno State I traveled to, I got two amazing dunk photos of David within the first eight minutes of the game. They were not photos I could do any better and Cal Poly was getting blown out, so I kind of just stopped that night. That’s the kind of photographic opportunity Mr. Nwaba provided.

When Cal Poly hung with Arizona for a while and Oregon for a bit, early Nwaba dunks were exclamation points that not even the Pac 12 Network could stifle.

I’ll always remember David as being the most soft-spoken college athlete I think I’ve ever interviewed off the court, but was one of the most fierce on the court.

After that game in Fresno, Nwaba was the guy I wanted to talk to. I don’t really remember what he said. I do remember how quiet and determined his answers were. With a player as explosive and determined as Nwaba, Cal Poly fans could always imagine a scenario where the Mustangs could go on a run at any time.

******************

I said this on Twitter, but I literally never had a bad interaction with any of the four seniors this year. David always had a smile. Reese kept a positive attitude in press conference-after-press conference this year. Joel was quiet, but once you got him talking, he was a pretty insightful guy

And Brian. Well, Brian I interacted with the most. In the offseason, he worked security for other kinds of games. At baseball games, shooting the action from the top of the dugout, I got to talk Chicago sports, school, and other non-basketball things. Who better than a guy who looked like a real-life Ivan Drago to try to keep the student section at Cal Poly-UCSB soccer games in line. He wasn’t working it this year and things went haywire. Coincidence? You tell me.

I’m sure they all wish they could have won more games this year, but this group of seniors is cemented in the record books as part of the first Cal Poly team to go to the NCAA Tournament. Congratulations on great careers guys, and on whatever comes next.

An oddity happened in the second half of the close game between Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton last Thursday night. With Cal State Fullerton up by five points with 1:07 to play in the game, Joel Awich was fouled going up for a dunk. The official make a fisted chop signal, that seemed to signal the basket counting. As Awich slammed the ball home, a Fullerton player’s hand/fist came from under the hoop and popped the ball out of the basket. Here’s a photo of the play I took:

By Owen Main

OK, so the ball was completely through the hoop part of the hoop. You can see the Fullerton player’s arm about to hit the ball back out.

After conferring, the officials decided that nobody saw the ball go through the hoop, nobody saw the ball punched out of the hoop, and to top it off, basket interference isn’t reviewable. That’s right, officials cannot apparently even look to see whether the ball went through the hoop, or at least that’s what Joe Callero said he was told.

It brings up a few questions. One is whether there is a need for a specific rule change/modification to allow officials to look explicitly at whether a hand has come up through the cylinder or check to see if the ball went all the way through the hoop, interference or not. I’m not sure how else to think about this one, except a savvy play by Tre Coggins — an all-conference type player — who pulled one over on all three officials. I used to hate when guys like Kevin Garnett would goal tend on shots well after a foul was called. Maybe that type of play is actually a savvy thing to do. At what point is the ball technically through the hoop?

Taking a potential three-point play off the board in favor of two free throws was obviously a big deal in a game that turned out to have a one-point margin.

Close game struggles

Cal Poly has struggled in close games this year. They’ve had eight conference games that have finished with a margin of four points or less. In those games they are 1-7.

Titans get HOT

Cal State Fullerton sported two really tough big men and three guys who can flat-out shoot. Tre Coggins, Malcom Brooks, and Khalil Ahmad combined to go 8-14 from behind the arc and score 49 points. In the second half, the Titans shot 6-7 from three point range. The Titans also became another team to shoot at least 50 percent from the field against Cal Poly (54.7%).

Senior night notes

For Joel Awich, Reese Morgan, Brian Bennett, and David Nwaba, Thursday was their last game at Mott Athletics Center. Nearly 2,500 fans showed up, despite Cal Poly’s record and place in the standings.

All four of this year’s seniors played significant roles on Cal Poly’s first-ever NCAA Tournament team. Awich and Morgan — both of whom have been in the program for five years, have been around for most of Joe Callero’s 100-plus wins at Cal Poly and will be missed.

Morgan led the quartet with 22 points, including 6-12 from three-point range, and all of the seniors scored at least nine points.

Big West Tournament looms

Cal Poly’s record fell to (10-17, 4-10) with the loss. It also clinched Cal Poly’s first losing record at home (5-7) under Joe Callero.

Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton are the two bottom teams in the Big West Conference and Cal Poly would only be a 7-seed as things stand because CSUN is ineligible for the conference tournament. That would, if standings don’t change, match Cal Poly up with UC Irvine in the first round. The Mustangs still have to face the Anteaters in Irvine next week before finishing their road schedule at UCSB.

Two years ago, Cal Poly won the Big West from the seven seed, but it’s definitely something they would have liked to avoid, especially with the relative success they’ve had against Long Beach State, a possible third-seed this season.

To move up to the six seed, the Mustangs would need to win their remaining games and have Davis to lose all three games or get into some sort of tiebreaker with UC Riverside. Both UC Davis an UC Riverside are a game and a half ahead of the Mustangs in the standings.

In the end, it means that UC Irvine is the likely first-round matchup. Cal Poly goes to the Bren Events Center in Irvine to play an 8:30 game on Thursday night on ESPN3. The final regular season game in the Big West will be Saturday afternoon at the Thunderdome at UCSB.

Photos by Owen Main

Cal Poly shot over 40 percent from the field for the first time in five conference games. By Owen Main

Joel Awich had a career-high in points (17) and blocks (4) and three Mustangs scored at least 15 points as Cal Poly beat Cal State Fullerton 66-55 in a Big West game Thursday night.

Juniors David Nwaba and Brian Bennett scored 18 and 15 points respectively in the Cal Poly win. Nwaba led the team with seven rebounds.

Cal Poly, who had lost three consecutive games in conference, was able to hold a second-half lead by shooting over 50 percent (22-40) from inside the three-point line.

Gotta get in it to win it

Perhaps this is a negative thing to write so early in the season, but the Fullerton game meant a lot for Cal Poly for a number of reasons. Yes, they snapped a three-game losing streak, but if the Mustangs want to stay clear of the Big West cellar (remember, only eight of the nine teams make the tournament), they must get wins against teams in the bottom half of the conference.

With the win on Thursday night, Joe Callero’s squad put themselves a game and a half clear of the last-place Titans in the Big West standings. Currently, fourth through eighth place is separated by a half game in the table.

The performance (A)wich we’ve all been waiting for

Joel Awich has the tools. At 6′ 7″, Awich glides through the air and is able to guard any front-court player.

Those tools were on display on Thursday as the junior was aggressive with his shot, taking a career-high 16 and making half of them. When he plays with confidence, Awich’s inside-out play can be a great compliment to David Nwaba’s outside-in, attacking mentality.

There can only be one

I can never get past UCR without a Highlander reference. Sorry.

The Highlanders come to town on Saturday night with an equal 2-3 record in conference play. Led by Trevor Johns, UC Riverside usually plays Cal Poly very tough.

Game time Saturday is 7:00 pm.

Photos by Owen Main. To view on on iPhone or iPad, click here.

With conference play beginning in less than two weeks, the Big West Conference has done a pretty decent job in non-conference.

The Big West is the highest rated conference projected to have 1-bid into NCAA tournament. Only conf in top 12 not proj to have 2+ bids.

— Trent Schlom (@trentschlom) December 29, 2014

Two or three years ago, Joe Callero talked about wanting to help make the conference a two-bid conference. While this year may not be the year they break-through and get a second bid, they’re moving in the right direction.

As far as mid-majors go, the West is mostly strong. Mountain West is 9th, West Coast 11th, Big West 12th. The WAC has struggled (33rd).

— Trent Schlom (@trentschlom) December 29, 2014

I believe that, top to bottom, the conference is as competitive as it’s been in recent memory. I wanted to break-down Cal Poly’s eight remaining home games and give you the reason I will try to make it to all eight.

There are some senior players around the conference who seem like they’ve been there forever. Alex Harris at Cal State Fullerton, Stephan Hicks and Stephen Maxwell at CSUN, Alan Williams at UCSB, Mike Caffey at Long Beach State, and Will Davis II from UC Irvine all fit into this category.

They are all seniors who will be visiting Mott for the last time this season, and they’re all worth going to see.

Saturday, January 10 – UCSB

UCSB senior Alan Williams is the most dominant player in the Big West conference. By Owen Main

The UCSB game is always a fun one. Usually it comes later in the season, but this year, it’s the first conference home game of the year.

The Gauchos have been playing better recently. They took Oregon to overtime the other day and have a game against Oregon State coming up. They are definitely one of the top-3 teams in the conference.

Tables turned

In 2014, Cal Poly rode some hot shooting by Anthony Silvestri to Joe Callero’s first victory at the Thunderdome early in the conference season. In the Mustangs’ final home game of the year, UCSB trounced Cal Poly, winning by 16 points in a game that was never even that close.

A week later, the Mustangs started their improbable tournament run by returning the favor. They beat UCSB 69-38 that day at the Honda Center. They say anything goes in a good rivalry, and the Blue-Green basketball rivalry is as good as it’s ever been. To keep it good, one team can’t dominate.

UCSB was picked in the preseason media poll to finish second in the conference and they are one of three teams I think have the best shot to take the regular season title.

Big Al

If you’re looking for a Big West Player of the Year candidate, you might see him in this game. Alan Williams, a senior from Arizona, is poised to dominate in conference play. 56/25 Last season, Williams averaged 28 points and 12.5 rebounds in the two regular season games against Cal Poly.

As a freshman, Williams had to wait his turn behind Jaime Serna and Greg Somogyi. Even then, his talent, strength and ability to score in the post were all evident. Next season, Williams will definitely get a look by NBA teams. For now, he will have one more year to terrorize Big West post players. January 10th will be SLO fans’ final opportunity to see Big Al in Mott.

Thursday, January 22 – Cal State Fullerton

Second-year head coach Dedrique Taylor has used a wealth of transfers to rebuild the Titan program. By Owen Main

Under second-year head coach Dedrique Taylor, Cal State Fullerton is still in a transitional process. That said, they have managed a 6-7 record through today and seem to be playing well. They picked up a few wins at a tournament in South Carolina and recently beat Nevada in Reno by ten points.

Cal Poly lost to Nevada by 16 in their season-opening game.

Another common opponent this year has been Santa Clara. Both the Mustangs and Titans played at Santa Clara, with Cal Poly picking up the win and Fullerton losing by 17 early in the season. Clearly, Fullerton has improved as the season has gone on. Some fans might see this game as a gimme, but there aren’t any of those in the conference this year. Fullerton will win some games people don’t think they should this season. That’s the way this year’s going to go.

Transfers

One way Taylor has tried to build this team up quickly is with transfers. Currently, 13 of the 16 players on the roster have played college basketball somewhere else (at another four-year school or at a junior college).

Senior Alex Harris,leads the Titans with a 15.8 points per game average. Two newcomers have also contributed significantly thus far.

Forward Moses Morgan, a 6′ 6″ senior, is playing his final collegiate season after transferring from DePaul. Morgan averages 11 points per game. Lanerryl Johnson, a junior transfer from Central Arizona Junior College, pairs with Harris in the back court nicely, averaging almost 12 points per game, while shooting 40 percent from three-point range.

Senior forward Steve McClellan (Louisiana-Monroe) averages seven-plus rebounds to go along with six points per game.

The high player turnover in recent years coupled with an experienced team makes Cal State Fullerton maybe the most volatile team in the conference. No situation is likely to phase them, so expect them to be in a lot of games. If they can continue to make strides over the next few weeks, they’ll be a formidable opponent for any Big West foe.

Alex Harris

Harris has been one of the steadiest guards in the league over the past few years. I really like to see guys who stick with a coaching change reap the benefits of staying the course for themselves. If Fullerton moves forward into the conference tournament or beyond, Harris’ leadership will play a huge role.

He leads the team in points and assists and is third in rebounding. It’s safe to say that as he goes, so go the Titans.

Saturday, January 24- UC Riverside

Taylor Johns is UC Riverside’s go-to guy. The senior will make his final trip to Mott this year. By Owen Main

Cal Poly split last year’s season series with UC Riverside. Games against the Highlanders always seem close, no matter how well Cal Poly or UCR are playing.

UC Riverside was picked to finish ninth in the Big West preseason poll this year. Their 6-5 record includes wins against Portland State and Cal State Bakersfield, which have managed wins this year against USC and Cal respectively.

Like the Mustangs, UCR will have a winning record coming into conference play.

Foreign Influence

This year’s Highlanders boast players from the likes of Mali, Sweeden, the Netherlands, and China. Freshman forward, Alex Larsson (Sweden) is the biggest contributor of the foreign players, averaging about five points and five rebounds.

Using Johns

Junior Taylor Johns is UC Riverside’s best player. A 6′ 7″ forward, Johns presumably played at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco with Cal Poly’s Anthony Silvestri. Cal Poly did a decent job on Johns last season, but he is averaging 15.6 points per game this year. Junior guard Jaylen Bland is also averaging over 13 points to make for a nice inside-out combination.

I’ll reiterate for those of you who might be thinking to blow-off this weekend in conference play. There are no easy games this year in the Big West.

Taylor Johns throws down at UCLA. The Big West has a lot of really good players. http://t.co/ccCzV9zMd9

— fansmanship (@fansmanship) December 30, 2014

Thursday, February 5 – Hawai’i

Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold was fired prior to this season, but the team has really played well during the preseason. By Owen Main

Hawai’i’s season started off in tumultuous fashion. First, their coach Gib Arnold, was fired just days before the season started. Then their best player, Isaac Fotu, left the team.

In my conversation with beat writer Brian McInnis before the season started, we debated whether Hawai’i would actually end up as the ninth (last) place team in the conference. 

Out of the ashes…

Instead of putting their collective heads down, Hawai’i has played really well this preseason. Head coach Benjy Taylor has done a splendid job in leading the Rainbow Warriors to a 10-4 record. Early in the season, they beat Pittsburgh. Last week, they beat both Nebraska and Colorado and finished in third place in their tournament, the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

It also doesn’t hurt that they hired one of my favorite UCLA shooters of the past, Brandon Lloyd, to fill an assistant coaching position.

Valdes and Nevels leading the way

Two guards — sophomore Aaron Valdes and senior Garrett Nevels — have led the charge so far for Hawai’i. The two are leading the team in scoring, with Valdes shooting 38 percent from three-point range. Guards dominate this roster, especially with the loss of Fotu. Only three of 14 players on their roster are listed as something other than a guard.

With so much solid perimeter play, Hawai’i is going to beat some good teams by a fairly wide margin in conference play. Their home-court advantage is unlike anything in the Big West.

If they can get a few breaks, maybe this year’s Hawai’i team is the one that overachieves in the conference tournament instead of making early exits as they have been the past few years.

Thursday, February 12 – Cal State Northridge

Reggie Theus has coached in college and in the pros. His intensity level on the sideline is riveting. It’s one of the reasons playing CSUN is never an easy task. By Owen Main

Cal State Northridge is sure to be one of the most intense teams to come to Mott this season. Their coach, Reggie Theus, exudes intensity and focus. Theus made an early-impact last year when he led the Matadors to the Big West Tournament final, where they lost to Cal Poly.

The Matadors are led by two of the most decorated players in the recent history of the conference in Stephan Hicks (17.6 ppg) and Stephen Maxwell (15.0 ppg).

Saddled with high expectations this season, CSUN hasn’t really had any signature non-conference wins. The Matadors have played three ranked teams though, including two top-10’s, and they will surely be playing at a lot higher level in the middle of the conference season when they arrive in SLO.

Rematch

This is a rematch of last year’s championship game, which was one for the ages. Reggie Theus won’t let his team think about coming into Mott complacent. The Mustangs also beat the Matadors at Mott last year as part of their 3-0 conference start.

More than the dynamic duo

CSUN is led by their dynamic duo in Hicks and Maxwell, but the emerging play of Tre Hale-Edmurson made them a really complete team in last year’s tournament. The 6’9″ junior with good athleticism, shooting range, and rebounding skill should make another big step this season in putting CSUN into the class of Long Beach State, UC Irvine, or UCSB.

Saturday, February 14 – Long Beach State

If Mike Caffey weren’t on the Long Beach State roster, Tyler Lamb would be my sleeper pick to win conference player of the year. By Owen Main

Long Beach State is ALWAYS one of my favorite Big West teams to watch. Dan Monson is really, really intersting to watch in terms of the types of players he recruits, how he motivates his players, and his x’s and o’s.

Monson’s teams have had a little drought in the conference since the likes of Casper Ware and T.J. Robinson left a few years ago, but I think this year’s 49ers are as deadly as ever.

The best backcourt in the conference

Mike Caffey and Tyler Lamb are the best backcourt in the Big West. Caffey is a player of the year candidate who averages 17.6 points and almost 4 assists per game. Lamb, a former highly-touted UCLA recruit, averages 10 points and 4.5 rebounds. Lamb is a matchup nightmare who has the ability to score 20-plus in any game and has been a polished offensive player for years.

The 49ers were picked to finish third this year — behind UC Irvine and UCSB. I think any of those teams could make a run in conference play and earn the 1-seed in the conference tournament.

Trends in college basketball say guard play is crucial. The last time Long Beach State has a senior point guard, Casper Ware was running the show and was the conference’s MVP. Caffey could be primed to follow in Ware’s footsteps.

Mike Caffey scored 23 at No. 9 Texas tonight. Mike Caffey is pretty good in case you haven't heard. ICYMI: http://t.co/2SpExMyfHN

— Abbey Mastracco (@AbbeyMastracco) December 21, 2014

Never count out the 49ers

Long Beach State being picked third is like picking the Patriots not to win the AFC East. Even when there are glaring weaknesses, you just don’t feel good about the pick.

The 49ers have to figure out some things in the front court, but look for senior forward David Samuels to provide some stability up-front. He doesn’t have to be great, but he does need to play well enough against opposing big-men to give Caffey and Lamb a chance.

The one nightmare matchup for Long Beach State seems to be UC Irvine. But, I suppose, UC Irvine is going to be a nightmare matchup for everyone in this conference.

Thursday, February 26 – UC Irvine

Mamadou Ndiaye is the tallest player in the country and he leads UC Irvine in scoring. By Owen Main

For the second consecutive season, UC Irvine was picked as the preseason favorite to win the conference. Russell Turner has done a wonderful job of building-up the program since he arrived. To put it simply, the Anteaters are stacked.

Will Davis II, now a senior, has been a physical beast since he joined UCI three seasons ago. His dunk at the end of a game against Long Beach State in the Honda Center two years ago is in my top-3 I’ve seen since I started covering the Big West. His game has expanded over the past two years, as he’s had to spread the floor while playing with a 7′ 6″ center — sophomore Mamadou Ndiaye.

Surrounding Davis and Ndiaye are a corps of guards who can take over a game on both ends of the floor. Sophomore, Luke Nelson (Worthing, England), torched Cal Poly for 15 points in Mott last season. Junior guard Alex Young is third on the team in scoring and second in assists.

Will Davis II’s nasty dunk on Long Beach State from a few years ago. #InDaFace. By Will Parris

Ndiaye getting better

“I wanted to see the big guy,” a Cal Poly freshman fan told me last season, when explaining that Cal Poly’s “blackout” didn’t bring him to the game. Rather, a 7-foot, six-inch freshman coming to town was the reason he attended.

Ndiaye gave Cal Poly a different look, and he gave Chris Eversley a dunk of the year opportunity, but UCI took the game.

This year, Ndiaye, in only 19 minutes, leads the Anteaters in scoring at over 12 points per game. His free throw shooting has improved and he is no longer a liability on the offensive end. Ndiaye isn’t blocking quite as many shots, but his effect on the entire offensive game plan of other teams can’t be denied.

Still learning the finer points of the game of basketball, Ndiaye has been described as a really great kid. He is a difference-maker on and off the court.

Balance

If all the weapons weren’t enough, this team is incredibly balanced, Nobody scores even 13 points per game, four players average double-figures, and six players average more than six points per game.

Is Ndiaye hurt? No worry. Senior John Ryan is 6′ 10″ and more than capable as a backup. There just aren’t any holes on this team’s roster.

That said, the one that that derailed UCI in their Big West Tournament loss to Cal Poly is the thing that makes them great. They do not have one clear go-to guy. Every team doesn’t necessarily have to have one, but it is helpful.

In his sophomore season, I think a pick and roll between Luke Nelson and Davis II sounds like a pretty good late-game play to me.

Saturday, February 28 – UC Davis

UC Davis has played a spoiler role for Cal Poly in recent seasons. They beat a stale Cal Poly team in the middle of conference play last year at Mott while the Mustangs were in the midst of a four-game conference losing streak.

Coach Jim Les’ team is much-improved this year. They started the season 6-0 and currently stand at 9-2. They’ve played just one “FBS” conference team, losing recently to Washington State in a close game, but they should have a high level of confidence going into league play.

Hawkins as good as they come

Corey Hawkins is the best pure scorer in the conference. The senior, who transferred to UC Davis from Arizona State, scores in just about every way imaginable. His shooting touch shows shades of his father, Hersey, and his game drips of professional class. Hawkins alone would be a reason to come see UC Davis play.

This season, Hawkins is averaging 20.9 points and 5 rebounds per game. He is definitely a top-5 player in the conference and I would have zero surprise if he ended up winning the conference’s MVP award, especially if UC Davis makes it into the top half of the conference standings.

Ernie Kent said last night that UC Davis' Corey Hawkins, formerly of ASU, is "as good as we'll see in the (Pac-12)."

— Jacob Thorpe (@JacobThorpeSR) December 29, 2014

Adenrele is back

I mentioned my top-3 dunks I’ve seen covering the Big West. One of them is the Eversley dunk on Ndiaye. The second is Will Davis II’s nasty dunk on Long Beach State. J.T. Adenrele has the third.

Two years ago, I had to leave Mott Athletics Center to take a phone call at halftime. Upon my return, the second half had just begun and I saw a man amongst boys who attacked the rim with ferocity I hadn’t seen in-person since Shaq Diesel.

OK, I’m probably talking in some hyperbole here, but the impact of Adenrele this season cannot be overlooked.

Depth

Josh Ritchart, averaging 12.5 points per game for the Aggies this season, was headed to an all-Big West selection last year before he got hurt nine games into last season. He is back as well, and he and Adenrele really make for a solid front line.

Also back is Tyler Les, the head coach’s son. The senior point guard redshirted last season and has been coming off the bench to provide some shooting and leadership for the second unit. Josh Fox, a 6′ 6″ forward, transferred in this season from the City College of San Francisco. Fox, who spent his freshman season at UC Riverside, has only started one game and is still the team’s third-leading scorer, averaging 10 points.

The Aggies’ dynamic depth and ability to change lineups will make them difficult to game-plan for. Being that it’s the last home game of the season for Cal Poly, this matchup will probably have Big West Tournament seeding scenarios all over it. The way this season has set-up, the winner might be able to avoid one of the top-3 teams in the first round.

What about Cal Poly?

So, what about the Mustangs. I wrote this about them earlier this week. Things seemed kind of bleak early in the year. Taylor Sutlive and Zach Gordon were lost for the season and David Nwaba was coming off of wrist surgery.

David Nwaba is fast becoming one of the best players in the Big West Conference. By Owen Main

Sutlive’s shooting has been missed as has Gordon’s defense, but somehow Cal Poly has found a way to be decent thus far. A lot of it has been related to Nwaba’s ability to take his game to the next level while his wrist healed. With only one game remaining before conference play, they’ve ensured at least a .500 record going into conference play, something a lot of fans paying attention might not have bet on a few weeks ago.

I could still see Cal Poly finishing anywhere between 3rd and 9th in the Big West’s regular season. There are just so many talented teams in the conference that nothing would surprise me. That said, don’t under-rate a four game run in March and its potential impact on a team’s confidence moving forward.

Have you seen David Nwaba's (@calpolymbb) dunk against Northeastern last Wednesday yet? Boomshakalaka!… http://t.co/7lZtfABtmh #calpoly

— SLO News (@slonews) December 22, 2014

This season will be a fun one at Mott Athletics Center both because of the excitement of last season and because of the top-to-bottom quality of the teams Cal Poly will be playing.

I want to hear which game sounds the most fun to you. Comment below.

Reese Morgan, who scored 17 points on Monday against San Francisco, is Cal Poly’s second-leading scorer. By Owen Main

Last night, Cal Poly men’s basketball got out to a 14-point lead in the second half, lost that lead, and fought-back to beat San Francisco in The City, 78-71.

David Nwaba scored 19 points and Reese Morgan added 17 for Cal Poly, whose record moved to 4-4 on the season.

Scoring in bunches

Cal Poly’s had an outlier offensive night for them, scoring in the high-70’s and turning the ball over 14 times, compared to only 6 assists. Usually, that would be a recipe for disaster for a Joe Callero team, but the Mustangs found ways to get to the free throw line and give themselves extra opportunities on offense.

Nwaba in particular has shows increased ability to put pressure on defenses for whole games instead of just in spurts. Morgan, who was a Parade All-American in high school, might never have the first step he had before his most recent knee surgery. That said, he seems to be moving well-enough on the court to be quite effective.

Windex-men

Cal Poly’s real decisive statistical advantage came in rebounding. The Mustangs out-rebounded the Dons 41-30, and had a double-digit advantage for most of the game.

After losing their top rebounder in Chris Eversley after last season, Cal Poly is using a team approach to secure missed shots on both ends of the court. No Mustang reached double-digits in rebounds, but all 10 guys who played grabbed at least one and seven out of the ten managed three or more.

The development of Brian Bennett

Brian Bennett has been one of Cal Poly’s steadiest players. As a freshman, he led Cal Poly in scoring when they upset UCLA. He had a double-double in his first collegiate game at TCU. His mid-range jumper is one of the most reliable for a post player in the Big West.

Brian Bennett seems to be rounding into form again in his junior season. By Owen Main

But the junior has had a hard time sustaining excellence. After averaging 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as a freshman, his stats regressed in his sophomore season (6.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, while playing about 5 fewer minutes per game).

This year, he seems to have regained some of whatever he had as a freshman. Just as importantly, he’s hitting the glass at a career-high clip, leading the team with a 6.5 rebounds per game average. The center from Illinois is one of three Mustangs averaging in double-digits (Nwaba 14.4 ppg, Morgan 11.6 ppg, Bennett 11.4 ppg). His 14 points and 8 rebounds on Monday were integral in Cal Poly’s win. A consistent inside presence on both ends of the court from Bennett will help to open up the game for everyone else on the floor.

Northeastern looms

Northeastern is Cal Poly’s next opponent. They’ll face off in Santa Clara as part of the Cable Car Classic on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm. The Huskies are 6-2 on the season, having beat the likes of Florida State, Manhattan, Western Michigan, and Navy.

Northeastern hasn’t had a game in over 10 days and, aside from Florida State, hasn’t played a lot of big-name programs. This game will be another of those games where the possible outcome could vary really widely.

The Mustangs will take a quick trip to Seattle and be back in Santa Clara to face the Broncos next week to finish out the Cable Car Classic.

Battle in Seattle

Every year, Gonzaga travels from the eastern part of the state to play in Seattle for a game. This year, the opponent will be Cal Poly. The Mustangs will face a top-10 opponent for the second straight year (they lost to Arizona in their opener last year), and they’ll do it in Joe Callero’s home town.

The game is Saturday night at 7:00 pm at Key Arena in Seattle. Gonzaga is the best team Cal Poly is scheduled to play this season.

Joel Awich throws down a dunk in the second half. By Owen Main

On Tuesday night, playing in Mott Athletics Center for the first time since their NCAA Tournament run a season ago, the Cal Poly men’s basketball team beat Division II San Francisco State 65-44. A trio of juniors scored in double figures for the Mustangs. Brian Bennett and David Nwaba had matching lines of 13 points and seven rebounds each. Joel Awich  dropped-in ten points and grabbed finve rebounds. Reese Morgan came off the bench to play 19 minutes, scoring nine points and grabbing seven rebounds.

The Gators from San Francisco State had their shots in the first half, as offense started slowly for both teams. The score was just 4-0 in Cal Poly’s favor nearly six minutes into the game. Once the teams got going, the Mustangs went on a run and extended the lead to 32-20 at halftime.

The lead was cut down to eight points as SFSU made a run in the middle of the second half, but Cal Poly clamped their defense down and gave up only four points in the final 11:02 to win the game by 21 points.

Gators had opportunities

The Gators, who ran a Princeton-style offense, had their opportunities early. While Cal Poly kept them out of the paint, open three-pointers didn’t fall. Eventually, the Mustangs found their legs and built-up a lead that the Gators had a hard time chipping into.

Derrick Brown led all scorers with 15 points on 5-9 three-point shooting. Brown’s three-pointer in the second half brought San Francisco State to within eight points for the final time.

The health of former Parade High School All American, Reese Morgan, will make a huge impact on the success of this Cal Poly team. By Owen Main

Turn up

When San Francisco State cut Cal Poly’s 17-point second-half lead to eight points, there was a lot of energy from the visitors in purple. It seemed to fuel Cal Poly as well. Team defense turned up a notch, the ball started to really move on offense, and the Mustangs quickly put the game away.

That level of play will keep them competitive all season, but they have to maintain it for whole games. Last year, Chris Eversley and Jamal Johnson didn’t allow other players to lose that focus for long. It remains to be seen who will grab that vocal leadership role this season on the court. There are a lot of upperclassmen on this roster who are pretty soft-spoken.

I’d bet on senior Maliik Love and junior Reese Morgan to grow into being more vocal leaders on this squad over the course of the season.

Student health

Cal Poly’s been dealing with a litany of injuries. With Zach Gordon and Taylor Sutlive out for the season, the Mustangs were already thin. So when David Nwaba rolled his ankle against Nevada on Saturday, coach Joe Callero had to be beside himself.

Callero described the ankle as being softball-sized during the game in Reno. Nwaba worked hard to get the swelling down in the two days between games and didn’t look any worse for the wear on Tuesday night, throwing-down a big alley-oop to cap the first half.

Who’s at the point?

Cal Poly started point guards Ridge Shipley and Maliik Love on Tuesday. Love and Shipley both have significant experience at point guard, and whether Love has to play more at shooting guard will be something to keep track of over the course of the preseason. Love has size and strength advantages over most other point guards and Joe Callero loves an advantage like that. But Love isn’t a prototypical shooting guard and Shipley has some work to do to extend his efficiency over the course of the additional minutes he’s sure to receive this year.

San Francisco State pressed for much of the game, forcing 11 Mustang turnovers despite both guards being on the floor at the same time for a lot of the game.

Bennett on the boards

There is no question that Brian Bennett has great touch from 10-15 feet. His offensive game has always been confident and smooth, but his rebounding numbers over his first two seasons are interesting to look at. Bennett averaged 4.6 rebounds per game as a freshman and just 3.1 per game last season.

Without Chris Eversley around, Bennett may have to be more active in not just engaging the other team’s biggest player, but also ending up with the ball. So far, his numbers reflect that as he is averaging 6.5 rebounds in the two games so far. Whether Cal Poly can maintain their rebounding edge against good teams all season will be a good indicator of how they do. When you don’t score a ton of points — and Cal Poly doesn’t — finishing defensive possessions becomes really important.

Tournament match-up

We all know Cal Poly was an NCAA Tournament team a season ago, but so was their next opponent, Delaware. The Blue Hens blew-out Cal Poly last year in the Diamond State, and the Mustangs are looking for some redemption in that regard at home on Friday night.

This game will be the first time Cal Poly has hosted a match-up of NCAA Tournament teams from the previous year and it’s the only pre-conference home game Cal Poly has against Division I competition this season. With local high school football teams like Arroyo Grande in the CIF playoffs, I will be looking to see how close to packed Mott gets on Friday night at 7pm.

Photos by Owen Main

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It’s been a part of the Cal Poly narrative for the past few months. Sometimes, you just have to make shots. The Cal Poly men’s basketball team did just that, opening up an 18-point first-half lead en-route to a 77-65 victory over Hawai’i in Mott Athletics Center on Thursday night.

Chris Eversley had 17 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and zero turnovers. By Owen Main

“It felt like and intense environment.” said Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero. “It felt like fans were coming to see a big-time men’s college basketball Division 1 game. And we delivered with athleticism, toughness, competitiveness, skill level. I was so proud of our guys because we’ve gone through a lot by the daunting preseason schedule we had but we’ve learned a lot and that’s why I’m proud of what we’re doing.”

Cal Poly shot 51.6 percent in the first half and 50 percent for the game from the field.

“The number one indicator that the NCAA has found for the last ten years to indicate most success is field goal percentage,” said Callero. “We shot 50 percent tonight. Losses that we’ve had on the road, we’ve been lower.”

Senior guard Kyle Odister got the hot shooting started, knocking down a pair of triples within the first three minutes of the game. A Chris Eversley dunk and layup extended the Cal Poly lead to 12-2 just 3:42 into the game. Fellow senior Jamal Johnson also got into the scoring act early and often, scoring a career high 15 points on 4-7 shooting from the field and 5-5 from the free-throw line. Johnson was 2-4 from 3-point range. Prior to the game, Johnson had scored only 5.1 points per game this season. His scoring on Thursday was much more dynamic and included drives to the basket and shots that the Hawai’i defense seemed to be forcing the Mustangs to settle for.

“There were just times in the preseason where we just took bad shots as a team. Personally I did as well… . If we want to win, we have to improve our percentages and improve our shot selection because if we get in the paint and kick out and share with people, we can play with anybody in the country” said Eversley

Eversely tied for the team and game-high in points with 17. Sophomore David Nwaba also notched 17, including an electrifying tip-jam midway through the second half. The dunk and ensuing turnover by the Rainbow Warriors seemed to squash any chance Hawai’i had to come back in Mott Athletics Center.

“There’s nothing like playing at home,” said Eversley. “We’ve been longing for this. We’re on the road, staying at different hotels, sleeping in different beds. We knew once everybody got back in their bed, in their routines with school starting, just mentally it’s a big stability thing. The fans were great tonight, the band was great tonight and we fed off that.”

Nwaba agreed.

“It’s a great atmosphere. I love the crowd here in SLO,” said Nwaba.

Along with a pair of gravity-defying dunks, Nwaba also knocked down a few 17-foot jumpers, something he hasn’t done for much of the year.

“Confidence is key,” said Nwaba. “I’ve been building-up confidence and getting more shots up in the gym. Teams are doing a great job of scouting so I know I need to extend my game just a little bit so [I’m] getting in the gym and getting my shots up.”

With an 8-12 shooting performance, Nwaba ranks 12th in the nation and first in the Big West Conference, shooting 61.3 percent from the field. Nwaba, a sophomore transfer from Santa Monica College, also is second on the team averaging 11.9 points per game.

For Cal Poly, it was their fifth straight win over Hawai’i, 15th consecutive victory at home in the Big West Conference. The team hadn’t played a home game since they hosted Cal State Dominguez Hills on December 14th.

One day contract

Callero often refers to “one-day contracts” each of his players are metaphorically on. For the Big West opener, that meant that Joel Awich and Chris Eversley were the starting forwards. With neither standing over 6’7″, the lineup seemed to present a mismatch down low, where Hawai’i started Christian Standhardinger (6’8″) and Isaac Fotu (6’8″). But the Mustangs came out and outrebounded Hawai’i 12-6 to start the game and never looked back. Brian Bennett played just 17 minutes for the second game in a row and has now come off the bench for two straight games for the first time in his career. In his freshman campaign last season, Bennett started all 32 games. So far this year, he’s started 11 of the team’s first 14 games.

Paying full price

Cal Poly opens their Big West schedule this week by playing the team with the best preseason record (Hawai’i) and the team that is probably the best team in the conference right now, Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos got the opening night bye (there are nine teams in the conference) this week and will open conference play at the Thunderdome. Tip-off on Saturday is at 4:00 pm.

Next week, the Mustangs come back home to face Reggie Theus’ Cal State Northridge Matadors on Thursday and defending regular season conference champion Long Beach State on Saturday. both games are scheduled for 7:00pm.

Women’s team wins a thriller

Taryn Garza’s putback as time expired helped the women take the Rainbow Wahine of Hawai’i into overtime in Honolulu on Wednesday night. Jonae Ervin scored a career-high 37 points as the defending Big West champions won their conference opener. The Mustang women made it back from Honolulu on Thursday in time to see the end of the men’s game at MAC. The Mustangs also face UCSB on Saturday. Their game is at MAC at 4:00 pm.

Photos by Owen Main

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