I'm back, and out of the desert!

Well, it's time to start blogging again, after a bit of a personal life upheaval.  I hope everybody had a great Xmas holiday (or whatever you've celebrated...even Festivus!). 

Big week for 49er sports, as Monson's Minions wrap up their death-march preseason sked at Duke Tuesday (4pm PST...party down at Boston's to watch the game.).  Men's VB under interim head coach Andy Read warm up for the new year with 3 exhibitions against Canada's #4 ranked team, McMaster University, who have had a month off from their season for finals, and have only one loss on the season at the midway point.  Women's Hoops under new coach Jody Wynn begins conference play Saturday against UCR, while the men do the same on the road in Riverside. 

Happy New Year, and GO BEACH!!

No Foolin'...Knipe to coach Team USA!

Frank Burlison reports in his blog that 49er MVB coach Alan Knipe will be taking over the USA Men's Volleyball squad for the next three years. Due to this commitment, Knipe will be taking a sabbatical from the Long Beach State program effective at the end of this season. Congrats to Coach Knipe, and good luck as he guides USA Volleyball thru the London Olympics in 2012!

In other 49er stuff, the search continues for the next Women's Basketball coach, after Mary Hegarty's contract was not renewed. Is former coach Joan Bonvicini in the mix? Some folks would like to see Margaret Mohr take the helm, or current USC assistan Jody Winn. Could there be an interesting wild-card candidate, a la Paul Westhead taking the women's job at Oregon? Will Journalist Doug E. get his wish with a return of Dallas Bolla? Hopefully, we'll find out within a week or so.

As Men's BB jobs open up around the country, will Dan Monson be pursued for any of them? The rumor mill already has him mentioned (among many others) as a potential candidate at Washington State, although Portland State's Ken Bone appears to be the top man for that gig.

Niner Hoops Gets Televised Bracket Buster

ESPNU's Bracket Buster matchups were announced today, and Monson's Minions will host Wisconsin-Green Bay of the Horizon League, on Saturday, February 21st. The game will be one of the televised matchups, although "televised" could mean over the internet on ESPN360. The TV destination will be announced next Monday. The Phoenix are rated #69 in the latest Sagarain rankings, where The Beach is rated #140. Here are the other BWC matchups, posted on the conference website:

South Dakota State at Cal Poly
Fresno State at UC Davis
Montana State at UC Santa Barbara
Cal State Fullerton at New Mexico State
Cal State Northridge at Idaho
UC Irvine at Hawaii
UC Riverside at San Jose State
Pacific at San Diego

Five of the matchups are Big West vs. WAC.

Big Crowd, Big Heartbreak

A sellout crowd of over 4200 last night at the Walter Pyramid saw Cal State Fullerton star guard Josh Akognon carry his team on his shoulders in the second half, and ultimately hit the game-winning jumper with about four seconds left, as the Titans beat the 49ers, 61-60. Akognon, who scored 31 points, mostly in the second half, had his heroics set up by Stephan Gilling's clutch 3-pointer from the far corner, which put The Beach up by one with about 17 seconds left. Long Beach had a lead as large as 13 points early in the second half before Fullerton clamped down on defense, and started scoring off 49er turnovers, to whittle down the lead. Gilling led the Niners in scoring with 15, followed by struggling Donovan Morris with 10, despite going 0-4 from 3-point range, and not getting to the free throw line. TJ Robinson added nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds. The 49ers, now 5-2 in conference, head down the 405 to take on UC Irvine Saturday at 7pm.

The crowd was supplemented by a good-sized group of Fullerton supporters, along with 49er Greeks, and athletes from other sports. Several ex-49ers were also on hand to honor former coach Tex Winter, who was saluted during the first half. Winter, a college coaching legend, is more recently known for being Phil Jackson's offensive guru during his championship runs with the Lakers and Bulls in the NBA. Also, former 49ers and Bulls star Craig Hodges presented the game ball at center court at tipoff.

There was some good news from last night, and the 49er women finally got a Big West victory at Fullerton, 54-51. Reserve guard Lynea Williams stepped up with 13 points, and Courtney Jacob had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the win. The injury-plagued 49ers got LaTorya Barbee back from a broken foot, as she added 2 points, 3 boards and 2 assists. The ladies return home to take on UCI Saturday at 5pm.

Men's Volleyball is on the road tonight at Stanford. First serve is at 7pm.

Big games ahead for Beach teams

Tonight, 49er Men's Basketball tries to get back on track against their rivals from Cal State Fullerton, one of the hottest road teams in the Big West. Tipoff is at 7pm at the Walter Pyramid. Then on Saturday, the Beach takes on it's "sponsored" rival, UC Irvine, in the immortal battle for the Surfboard, at 7pm in the Bren Center. Women's hoops also plays Saturday at the Pyramid against Irvine, in perhaps their best remaining shot at victory this season, starting at 5pm.

Comment: I don't know about you, but MY rival as a 49er has always been the Titans. The schools even have a rivalry trophy...the Victory Bell, which was competed for in football, and which CSUF own in perpetuity since winning the last FB game between the two teams back in 1991. I've never really considered UCI as a rival, more like an occasionally annoying neighbor down the street. I guess "Black & Blue" sounds better than "Black & Orange", though.

Men's Volleyball has its first MPSF road trip of the season this weekend, playing at Stanford and Pacific. The Cardinal are much improved, and will be a stiff challenge.

Finally, a big "Welcome Back" to Erica Chidester, who returns to 49er Women's Volleyball as a part of Brian Gimmilaro's coaching staff for next season. Erica has been coaching and doing grad work at LaVerne most recently.

What The Pyramid Might Have Been?

With recent debate on the message boards about the build-out of the Walter Pyramid, I thought (with a little prodding from Dansk) i'd post a picture I had on my old site of the original seating plan for the Pyramid. It includes the missing 4th lower cantilever section, the two fixed sets of sideline stands on the upper level, and some unlikely fixed corner seats between the cantilevered sections. These extra seats would bring the Pyramid's seating capacity to somewhere between 7000 and 8000, if they could ever be put in place. Enjoy, keep debating, and keep dreaming! :)

Men's & Women's Hoops Going In Opposite Directions

Monson's Minions now have at least a two-game lead on the rest of the Big West after Saturday's exciting 74-68 win at the Walter Pyramid over CSUN. Donovan Morris led the scoring with 22 points, but little-used reserve center Andrew Fleming helped seal the victory with two big rebounds and a huge putback basket in the final minutes to thwart the Matador comeback. Larry Anderson added 13 points, and Casper Ware had 10 points and seven assists. Free throw shooting was also key, as The Beach shot 77% from the line, compared to CSUN's paltry 50% (12-24). The Niners enjoy another week off before taking on improved UC Riverside, and USC transfer Kyle Austin on Saturday. Tip-off has been moved to 7pm at the Walter Pyramid to accomodate FS Prime Ticket TV.

Meanwhile, the women's team continues to struggle. They may be 3-1 against teams from the WAC, but they still haven't beaten a Big West team, after Saturday's OT loss at Northridge. The CSUN win snapped a 20-game conference losing streak for them. The ladies also get the week off before traveling to UC Riverside for their next game, Saturday at 5pm.

Men's Volleyball is back in action at the Pyramid for two matches this week, Wednesday night vs. UCLA, and Friday night vs. UCI in a "Surfboard" match! Both matches start at 7pm.

BWC Hoops Showdown Saturday at the 'Mid, and more...

49er men's basketball tries to keep it's Big West record unblemished Saturday as they take on embattled pre-sesaon favorites Cal State Northridge. The Matadors are missing top scorer and ex-LBCC star Deon Tresvant indefinitely due to the now-infamous "Best Buy" incident, along with walk-on guard Dallas Rutherford. Despite the recent turmoil and a slow non-conference start, the Mats are 3-1 in the Big West, and look to join The Beach in first place by knocking them off. Tip-off is at 4pm tomorrow.

Frank Burlison has a feature on Long Beach State's "Fab Five" freshmen in today's Press-Telegram:

LONG BEACH - When Long Beach State men's basketball coach Dan Monson and his staff were busy assembling the program's current freshman class over the course of a year or so, they were doing so with the future in mind.

At the approximate mid-point of the group's first season as college players, one of the most memorable sayings of a late and great football coach best sum up the impact those freshmen are having:

"The future is now!" George Allen trumpeted at each of his coaching stops, the last of those at Long Beach State, where he spent a memorable season before dying on the final day of 1990.

Four of the 49ers' freshmen are averaging at least 14 minutes per game for a team that stands 9-7 overall and 4-0 in the Big West Conference heading into its conference showdown with Cal State Northridge Saturday at 4p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.

"All four of them (Larry Anderson, Eugene Phelps, T.J. Robinson and Casper Ware) have certainly lived up to the expectations we had for them," Monson said earlier this week.

Indeed. (more)

Also, #7-ranked 49er men's volleyball hosts UCSD in their MPSF opener at the Walter Pyramid tonight at 7.

MBB Tops BWC After Successful NoCal Trip

49er men's basketball leads the Big West today at 4-0, after two exciting wins at Pacific and UC Davis. They host preseason favorite Northridge Saturday afternoon in the Walter Pyramid, with the BBMM Alumni Band returning to serenade them along the way. :)

Here are the latest ratings from various services, as of today:

Sagarin: #111 (2007 NCAA team finished #101)

TeamRankings.com: #95

KenPom: #117

NCAA RPI: #144 (as of last Tuesday...new one comes out tomorrow)

On the recruiting trail, it looks like The Beach is recruiting a pretty good JC shooting guard, 6-3 Dominique Saunders or Central Arizona JC, originally from Nipomo, CA. He shot a state-leading 57% from 3-point range last season, while averaging 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. UC Riverside is also after him, along with Northern Arizona and Portland State, according to Rivals.com. He was fourth in AZ JC's in scoring last season. Here's what Dominique's coach had to say about him before this season:

“Dominique is an absolutely dominant offensive player. He has the ability to shoot the 3 as well as anyone in the country, but is perhaps at his best in the open floor where he can use his athleticism and great body control to finish at the basket. Is the type of player that you must always be conscious of on the floor. Has the ability to be a truly special player. He uses his athleticism to bother opponents on the defensive end of the floor as well, deflecting many passes.” (source)

(photo from CAC website)

Big Road Win for Monson's Minions

The Beach sits atop the Big West all alone today after a 74-64 men's basketball win over Pacific last night in Stockton. Steph Gilling dropped in 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and Donovan Morris scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half to help the 49'rs catch up and pull away, after trailing 37-32 at the half. Casper Ware and Larry Anderson combined to dish out 11 assists, with just 3 turnovers, all by Ware. Check out the Press-Telegram's "staff reports" story here.

The women are going in the opposite direction of the men. A "Pack the House Challenge" crowd of around 2600, including over 2100 LBUSD schoolkids who were bussed in, saw The Beach collapse in the second half, losing their BWC home opener to Pacific, 76-62. Much like the Pacific men, the Niner ladies led 37-30 at the half, propelled by the strong shooting of Lauren Sims, who finished with 11 points in the half. Pacific stepped up their effort in the second half, led by Janae Young's 23 points, to run away at the end. Robert Morales elaborates on the game here in the P-T.

Both hoop squads take on UC Davis tomorrow, the women at 5pm in the Walter Pyramid, and the men at 7pm in Davis at the Pavilion. The school is hosting a viewing party for the men's game tomorrow night at Legend's in Belmont Shore.

Frank Burlison has a good story in today's P-T on 49er Men's Volleyball as they open regular season play today in UCSB's Elephant Bar tournament, which goes on thru tomorrow.

In other MBB news, another JC recruit has been booted from his team. Yuba College's Tristan Wilson was dismissed for "violating team rules" before the team's Thursday home game against Merritt College. Wilson had been nursing a sore shoulder, an injury he sustained before the 49ers trip to the Riverside CC tournament a few weeks ago, and had not played since that tournament. There's more on the story here in the Marysville Appeal-Democrat.

New Year's Weekend Wrap-up

Men's Basketball got off to a good start to the new year with double-digit wins over UCSB and Cal Poly, and are tied atop the Big West ladder with UCR, who matched the 49ers' two wins over the Gauchos and Mustangs. The Beach heads north for two BWC games later this week, Thursday night at improving Pacific, and Saturday against UC Davis.

Casper Ware was the start of Friday's victory, scoring a career-high 21 points, and only foul trouble held back Brian Freeman, who notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Sunday, Greg Plater emerged from the bench to spark the Niners 14-0 rally to end the first half, nailing three 3-pointers, and finishing with a season-best 15 points on five 3-pointers. Stephan Gilling knocked down four 3-balls, himself, and had 14 points for The Beach.

Both 49er opponents were a little depleted this past weekend. UCSB has missed starting PG Justin Joyner all season, and starting PF and leading rebounder Jessie Byrd injured a knee a few weeks ago, and is not expected to return until late in the conference season, sometime in late February. Cal Poly was missing senior guard Trae Clark, who also missed their game at UCR, reportedly due to "disciplinary reasons".

Here's a link to the Press-Telegram game story from Sunday's win.

The girls were not as succesful this past weekend, losing at UCSB and Cal Poly. They return home for a Thursday afternoon affair against Pacific. The early weekday start time is part of a national promotion by the NCAA called the "Pack the House Challenge", in an effort to promote women's basketball. All I can say is, if you can spare a couple of hours off work Thursday and you work near the Pyramid, come on by and give the ladies a little support. Tickets will be discounted, and CSULB faculty and staff can watch for free with I.D..

We also got an early look at 49er Men's Volleyball this past weekend, as they split two exhibitions with Canadian CIS National Champions Univ. of Alberta. The Beach has been picked to finish 3rd in the MPSF this season, behind Pepperdine and UCLA. They start regular season play this weekend in Santa Barbara at the annual "Elephant Bar Invitational".