GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
With the hiring of a new basketball coach Tuesday, Pepperdine began a new era, one that may remind Waves fans of the “Pressuredine” days of old.
Vance Walberg’s tenure as coach of the Waves began with a rousing introduction at a meet-and-greet followed by Walberg’s first press conference as head of the Pepperdine men’s basketball team.
With most team members present, Walberg went through a speech listing why he chose Pepperdine as well as some of the reasons he believes Pepperdine chose him. He included details about his offensive system, which was adopted by perennial powerhouse University of Memphis and helped Walberg’s Fresno City College team average 104 point per game in the 2005-06 campaign.
“You don’t have time to get snacks or go to the bathroom during our games,” Walberg said. “We don’t stop moving. We press from beginning to end, after made baskets and missed baskets.”
Walberg has high aspirations for next season’s team, adding that he saw plenty of talent on the roster after dissecting film of the Waves’ season. He said he expects this team to be in the top five or seven in the nation in scoring next season because of the style of play he brings to the table.
Walberg exuded confidence in next season’s roster when pressed to answer questions about Pepperdine’s ability to compete with the likes of Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference and make the NCAA tournament.
“My timetable (for competing in the WCC) is next year,” Walberg said. “By year two, I expect to be in the NCAA tournament and by year three, I expect us to be a top 25 team.”
Walberg said the Waves’ roster will fit his attacking style of play, but the onus is on the players to work as hard as he wants them to work.
“They’re going to find out that their hard is different from my hard,” Walberg said. “There’s a lot of talent, a lot of ability here. I love to see shooters and guys who can take it to the rack and big men who can play with their backs to the basket.”
The entire Waves roster will be relied upon in Walberg’s system, as the team will need a heavy rotation to keep up with the style of play Walberg plans to employ.
“(The rotation includes a) minimum of 11 players,” Walberg said. “But we could use all 13. That’s up to them”
Pepperdine will play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation next season, including away games at University of Connecticut and Big 12 teams Oklahoma State University and University of Colorado.
However, one team the Waves won’t see before entering play in the WCC will be Fresno State University, who rescinded an invitation to Pepperdine to play in a non-conference tournament in Fresno. Walberg hinted that his hiring may have frightened the Bulldogs, who passed on hiring the coach in 2005.
“They called us last week and invited us to play in their tournament,” Walberg said. “Then I got hired on Tuesday and they called back and said we’re not invited to play in their tournament.”
Walberg has yet to decide on his entire staff, but Pepperdine assistant Patrick Whitlock will stay on staff and FCC assistant Lorin LeBeau will follow Walberg south to Malibu.
04-20-2006
