Bronco Roundball Sked is Out

[xiaoxue]

Okay Bronco fans, a VERY thin home schedule.
Pack your bags cuz only twelve of thirty games are at home.

here goes:

NOVEMBER
2--at UCLA
6--at LMU
11-at USC
17-at Seattle tourney
18-at Seattle tourney
27-CSUSB (home opener)

DECEMBER
1--Sonoma St
2--Humboldt St
11-Vanguard
19-at Las Vegas tourney
20-at Las Vegas tourney

JANUARY
5--at SF St
6--at CSUMB
12-Chico St
13-Stan St
19-at CSUDH
20-at UCSD
26-CSUB
27-CSULA

FEBRUARY
1--at Humboldt St
3--at Sonoma St
6--at CSUSB
9--CSUMB
10-SF St
16-at Stan St
17-at Chico St
23-UCSD
24-CSUDH

MARCH
2--at CSULA
3--at CSUB
10-24 NCAA Tournament

[lakdod]

The schedule has been out for almost a month and yeah alot of road game. They will have a tough early schedule by playing Seattle Pacific, western washington twice, Central Washington, Humbolt, Sonoma, and San Bernardino before the new year begins. Also dont forget the 3 exhbition game between UCLA, LMU, and SC.

[jayandbutton]

Originally Posted by lakdod

They will have a tough early schedule by playing Seattle Pacific, western washington twice, Central Washington, Humbolt, Sonoma, and San Bernardino before the new year begins.

tough is an understatement. every team on the early sked other than san bern went to the dance last year while we sat at home after the dominguez flop. and the coyotes only were six time conference champions and have reloaded. going 4-3 through that run would be considered successful.

i see humboldt as the team to beat. that dec. 2 game is pivotal. very few teams win on their floor.

[lakdod]

Here is my early prediction for the up coming season it can change after I watch the team at UCLA.

@Western Washington (L)- not a good record in this tournament
@Seattle Pacific(L)-Look at my comments above
San Bernardino(W)- home opener. Both teams are evenly match and I think the Broncos will pull out a close victory.
Sonoma St.-(W)
Humbolt St.(W)- wish the game was on Friday so we can get more people at the game. I have a felling this will be the best home game of the season.
Vanguard(w)- easy win enough said
Central Washington(W)- neutral site slight advantage us
Western Washington(W)- split the season series
@San Francisco(W)- easy win
@Monteray Bay(W)- another easy one
Chico St.(w)-
Cal State Stanislaus-( W)
@Dominguez(W)
@UCSD(L)- heard kelvin Km transfer to UCSD form UCLA if he plays a lost and if he does not win
Bakersfield- (W)
CAl State LA(w)
@Humbolt- (L) can see us going up there and winning
@Sonoma(L)- I already have to many wins need to put let down somewhere
@San Bernardino(W)- this is the year we end our road losing streak to SB
Monteray Bay(W)
San Francisco(W)
Stanislaus(w)
Chico(w)
UCSD(W)
Dominguez(W)
Cal state LA(W)
Bakersfield (W)

[xiaoxue]

that is some kind of prediction. you say we will go 22-5 and 19-3 in a league that only has gotten way, way tougher with the addition of humboldt state.

i think this team will be much better than last year's version which went 17-10 and did not make the playoffs for the first time in years. so let me say 17-5 in conference, second behind humboldt, and 20-7 overall. if the young kids mature quickly like larry gordon did then make it 21-6.

here's my best guess:

NEW PLAYERS: both donelle and rashad look like they can contribute as freshmen. they sure don't look like months away from high school to me. if either one can come close to gordon's impact last year look out. the big german kid is untested and coming into an entirely different system and environment. am thinking he sits this year.

RETURNING PLAYERS: cook will light it up from all over the floor. gordon will only improve on his freshman of the year performance. billy will have a steady season with major assists and key threes. baby shaq looks lean and ready. if melvyn is healthy and the freshmen emerge this team can win the conference. the other guys like bill and kevin play minor roles.

PLAYERS LOST: the only real loss was boyd, and billy will need to step up to serve as the team's outside threat the way jonathon was last year. the team will have a more serious approach now that showboat malone is gone, though he is hanging around announcing volleyball and signing autographs and pictures of himself as if he did something.

THE KEY GAMES: if this team is serious here are some signs: first, if this team can hang around and not get blown out by one of the big boys. while a victory is highly unlikely even against a very strong LMU club, just being in the game in the late minutes would be a plus. second, one win and one close loss in seattle will say something. and third is that huge game dec. 2 with humboldt. a win there and we are in the mix for the conference crown.

THE KEY COMPONENT: leadership. we just didn't have that last year. cook is da man if he chooses to accept.

i predict we finish 20-7 with a four seed in the tourney and advance to the regional finals. if the one seed is still around we lose on that school's home floor (humboldt?). if not, we keep dancing. even if we lose we go 22-8 and that ain't bad. if we win, final four baby.

[CPP Hall of Fame]

Originally Posted by xiaoxue

so let me say 17-5 in conference, second behind humboldt, and 20-7 overall. if the young kids mature quickly like larry gordon did then make it 21-6.

PLAYERS LOST: the only real loss was boyd, and billy will need to step up to serve as the team's outside threat the way jonathon was last year. the team will have a more serious approach now that showboat malone is gone, though he is hanging around announcing volleyball and signing autographs and pictures of himself as if he did something.

THE KEY COMPONENT: leadership. we just didn't have that last year. cook is da man if he chooses to accept.

i predict we finish 20-7 with a four seed in the tourney and advance to the regional finals. if the one seed is still around we lose on that school's home floor (humboldt?). if not, we keep dancing. even if we lose we go 22-8 and that ain't bad. if we win, final four baby.

You have made some bold predictions and statements, which I would like to comment on. First 20-7 is an outreach for this seasons team. 20 win seasons are very hard to come by, and is not as easy as marking a W next to a schools name like you guys just did. The conference is really tough this year and making it to the regional finals is not impossible but pretty close to it. If 17-10 was a disappointing season last year, then what will you say when the Broncos fail to reach a 17 game winning season this year? Whos back will you jump on next, like you did last year for Malone? If they win 15 games this year, that will be a success.

Next, how do you figure last years seniors didn't provide any leadership? Boyd and Malone were 2 of only 4 players to have West Regional Championship titles in Bronco History. Im anxiously waiting for your answer. (Humor me please)

Lastly, since you seem to be aware of the kid Malone more than most people about what he's doing right now. Why don't you go up to him at a volleyball game and ask him for his autograph. He's a nice guy, I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving a loser like you an autograph.

[lakdod]

For many of us we thought last year was a disappointment. We were thinking a trip to the tournament was good possibility.

I think the early prediction of 22 wins I made is bit overboard, but i think the team can win every game. Yes, this year the league will be very tough. The predicition I made before we found out the rosters of the other teams in the league. We know Humbolt we will be the best team in the league, but I was surprise about the addition that San Bernardino and UCSD did during the off season.

xiaoxue what do you have against Hervey? You crticized him all of last season. I will agree at times he shot the ball really bad but he still had some games which help the Broncos to victory.

[jayandbutton]

first of all, it's GREAT to see so much interest in basketball this early into the season. i wonder if these games with UCLA and USC are improving the interest levels--and attendance on the ASI buses will tell--or it's because coach k. has developed into a winner.

second, this league is LOADED this year. lakdod, you have lots of interest and knowledge but be advised that it's very, very tough to consistently win on the road in the CCAA. then when you add so many quality teams into the mix it is possible that nobody dominates--though that home court edge up in humboldt given its remote location means a lot. that said, remember that the jacks have tons of road miles to cover to play anybody, and they're not accustomed to these brutal friday-saturday schedules.

third, while i cannot speak for xiaoxue, it's probably fair to say that last year's team was a disappointment. we had some terrible games against lesser teams like san diego and dominguez and we simply were not consistent. and yes, hervey had a letdown from his tenacious junior year. in fact, in his second and third seasons he was one of the nastiest defenders i have seen in the CCAA, and by the way he also is an excellent student and citizen too. but hey, we only lost the most prolific one-two punch in the program's history in jeff and david. like, duh...surely nobody thought we would be as good without them?

fourth, humboldt is totally loaded this year with everybody back from a top 32 program. san diego returns four starters and an excellent coach and will catch a few from the top tier. san bernardino has a stud transfer from oregon and is keeping even their roster and schedule hidden from the public even as teams start to play this week--read, jeff oliver is packed up again. sonoma returns one of the best players in the league and defends, and even dominguez will get more dangerous. what this spells is many quality teams beating many other quality teams so much so that i could see four or even five losses winning the title and perhaps no more than one patsy to beat up on.

finally, a footnote about hervey since HOF brought that up. yes, some might have banged on him for being "different" in attire from his teammates. what newcomers might not know is that this began when he wanted to recognize a fallen comrade, and in his early years he wore a t-shirt recognizing that. coach k. obviously approved it, and that gesture says something about our recent co-captain.

who's on the bus thursday? see you there!

[lakdod]

Time to revise our predictions for the season. I am going make a bold prediction that Cook will win CCAA player of the year. In the SC game he showed me something on both the offense and defense end. I am going to change my prediciton slightly I am going to play it safe a little and go with 20 wins. I think 20 wins will easily get us into the playoffs and a decent seed. I am praying for a split next week but there history in that tournament is not good. Hopefully they will win two, but I will take a split.

[xiaoxue]

lakdod,
i had to miss the game cuz i was at work. since there was zero coverage of this game please fill us in. what happened? sounds like cook lit it up!