With the 2010-11 NCAA men’s basketball season tipping off this weekend, the 49ers are gearing up to take the last step in becoming Big West Conference champions after a heartbreaking finish last year.
Last season’s Big West tournament championship game saw Long Beach State on the wrong end of a close contest (69-64) with UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos took care of business and headed to the NCAA Tournament, while The Beach (17-16, 8-8 Big West) was left wondering what could have been.
This year, the team enters the season right where they left off, projected to finish second in the Big West behind UCSB and just a head of Pacific in a vote by the local media.
LBSU has high hopes with last season’s top players — T.J. Robinson and Casper Ware — both selected to the preseason all-conference team, and Larry Anderson, named first-team All-Big West as a freshman, all returning for their junior season. Head coach Dan Monson, coming off a recently signed three-year contract extension, doesn’t see any added pressure coming from the media’s predictions.
“The pressure of winning league comes from within, it doesn’t come from the outside,” Monson said. “We’ve got more pressure on ourselves this year than even last year.
“Last year we expected to win, but this year we have — not just expectations — but also the frustration that went along with not winning it the last two years.”
Also returning to fill out the starting lineup are forward Eugene Phelps (8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last year) and guard Greg Plater (9.1 ppg and 36.1 percent on 3-pointers).
Newcomers
The 49ers added size in the summer by bringing in junior college transfer Edis Dervisevic (6-8, 245 pounds) and freshman Nick Shepherd (6-9, 215 pounds) to clog up the middle and help fill the void at center.
Dervisevic had a strong freshman year for Western Texas College but struggled with injuries in his sophomore campaign. He gives The Beach an added dimension on offense as he has the ability to stretch the defense with his 3-point shot, hitting an impressive 48.3 percent as a freshman, and move the ball to find an open teammate.
“He is different from Phelps and Robinson in that he is a pass-first guy who makes other players around him better,” Monson said earlier this year. “He is just a different type of player — he isn’t as good of an athlete as those two — but he understands the game of basketball and has a high basketball IQ.”
Shepherd might not be ready to contribute immediately but it is clear that Monson has high expectations from the true freshman, referring to him as the “future of the program” on multiple occasions over the past few months. As a senior at Westbury Christian High School in Missouri City, Texas, Shepherd earned first-team all-state and first-team all-district honors.
Corey Jackson was also brought in this season to ease Ware’s workload as the teams main point guard. Jackson (6-0, 190 pounds) will be called upon to run the offense and shoot the long ball in various stretches this season, especially if Ware finds himself in foul trouble.
Struggles behind the arc
One major area of concern for the 49ers will be shooting from distance. Plater will be the team’s No. 1 option for 3s this year but others must step up if they want to win the Big West. Monson will look to his forwards Phelps (zero 3-point attempts in 2009-10) and Anderson (22.6 percent on 3-point field goals last season) to improve the team’s weakness.
“I think Phelps and Anderson have both dramatically improved their jump shots,” Monson said. “It’s still going to be a concern this season; it’s not a strength of our basketball team.”
Tough schedule
The Beach has a tough nonconference schedule with games against nationally ranked opponents. LBSU opens the season up at home against San Diego State, ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Tipoff at the Walter Pyramid is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
The team will later travel to Chapel Hill to face national powerhouse and current No. 8 North Carolina (Dec. 11). The Tar Heels will undoubtedly be the strongest competition The Beach will go up against this season as their starting lineup features forward Harrison Barnes, the first freshman ever to be chosen to the AP preseason men’s All-American team.
The 49ers open conference play on the road with a rematch of last season’s Big West title game against the Gauchos (Dec. 28).
Health concerns
As the team continues to prepare for opening night, a few familiar faces have been sidelined with injuries. Starters Robinson (heel) and Plater (toe) both sat out multiple practices last week but don’t see the injuries as anything to be concerned about. Junior Lin Chang (foot) has since returned to practice.
“If there are no more setbacks they will all be ready to go,” Monson said. “I think if there was a game today, all three of them could play.”
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