Coming into the season, Long Beach State was expected to be part of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which kicks off with Tuesday’s opening round game.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the Anaheim Convention Center, the site of the Big West tournament.
The 49ers’ NCAA hopes were dashed on Saturday with a 69-64 loss to UC Santa Barbara in the Big West championship game. Despite being picked as the runaway Big West preseason favorite by the media, the 49ers finished third in the nine-team league after playing .500-level ball for the better part of the season.
The setback put an end to a once-promising season that saw the program collect its first-ever win over UCLA, notch a victory over NCAA tournament team Utah State, and face arguably the nation’s toughest nonconference schedule, which included NCAA No. 1-seeds Kentucky and Duke, along with West Virginia, Notre Dame, Clemson and Texas.
While Larry Anderson grabbed all the preseason accolades and T.J. Robinson provided consistency during the regular season, it was point guard Casper Ware’s postseason play that nearly singlehandedly propelled the 49ers into the field of 65.
The 5-foot-10 point guard disrupted passing lanes and came away with momentum-shifting steals that led to layups in the 49ers’ second-half spurt against UCSB.
Ware virtually had to do it all for an LBSU squad that lacked a viable backup point guard all season long, and it took its toll as he suffered cramps late in the game.
The Cerritos native played out of his mind and almost made everyone forget about LBSU’s 8-8 mark in Big West play.
Give the team credit for not quitting on the season. The 49ers shot free throws efficiently and created tough shots for opponents during those three days.
But, had the 49ers defeated the Gauchos to earn the NCAA automatic bid, they wouldn’t have deserved it.
They’d merely be the beneficiaries of a conference tournament system that gives teams that were up and down all year a second chance to make the NCAAs. The Beach did not piece together a three-game winning streak all season until its semifinal win over Pacific.
Coming up short of the Big West crown could help the team mature down the road. It shows how difficult it is to suddenly flip the switch during a three-game stretch in March after coasting through an uninspiring regular season.
If the ‘Niners displayed all season long the same defensive intensity they had against Pacific, when they held the Tigers to 5-of-22 from 3-point range, they’d probably receive a bye into the semis and wouldn’t have to play in the quarterfinal round against Cal Poly.
With the extra day off, The Beach wouldn’t have to expend so much energy trying to reel off three wins in three days, a daunting challenge thanks to its thin bench.
The Big West may have altered its tournament format for next season to eliminate byes for top seeds, but that change came one year too late for the ‘Niners.
Ware, along with fellow sophomores Anderson, Robinson and Eugene Phelps, and junior Greg Plater, should give LBSU the most talented returning core in the Big West for next season, but they can’t be expected to go all 40 minutes.
The lack of depth became a greater concern after the 49ers’ 2009 recruiting class produced players who were either sidelined with injuries (Jules Montgomery and Tristan Wilson) or simply weren’t ready for the moment (Lin Chang and Kyle Richardson).
LBSU’s 2010 incoming class figures to be even more highly touted, consisting of players who could help the team address weaknesses in key areas, namely, perimeter shooting and interior depth.
Jacob Thomas, whose 3-point shooting prowess has drawn comparisons to Stephen Curry, could provide the 49ers with another long-range gunner. The departure of senior Stephan Gilling will open another two-guard spot on the depth chart.
The double-double machine that he is, Robinson won’t always get quality looks at the basket if defenses key in on him, something the Gauchos did on Saturday. LBSU’s shooters will have to sink outside shots when this happens, and a 6-for-25 performance from behind the arc like the one against UCSB will not get the job done.
Another incoming player, 6-foot-9 forward Nick Shepherd, provides an athletic long body in the post to compliment Robinson and could see minutes with seniors Arturas Lazdauskas and Andrew Fleming on their way out.
Long Beach Poly High School standout Shelton Boykin gives LBSU another wing player to work into its thin rotation. Throw Montgomery and Wilson in with the latest batch of recruits and that gives The Beach a total of five added pieces it didn’t have this past season.
But as this year has proven, recruiting classes don’t always pan out. While teams can appear strong on paper, they still need to perform on a night-to-night basis and not just simply hope to get hot during three days in Anaheim.