Still loaded with offensive talent, the men will have to focus on other areas of the game to reach their full potential.
By Kyle Jorrey
Sports Editor
According to Head Coach Paul Westphal, the latest edition of Waves basketball has a lot of unanswered questions.
Pepperdine is coming off an injury-plagued season in which it (15-13, 7-7) finished fourth in the West Coast Conference (it’s lowest finish since 1997) and missed postseason action for the first time in five years. This year’s group fields a combination of old and new players, all looking to live up to the big expectations that followed Westphal in when he took over the team in 2001.
Gone are all-conference forwards Boomer Brazzle and Jimmy Miggins, and sharpshooter Mike Westphal, but in their place stands a new group of Waves who share their coach’s drive for a return trip to the NCAAs.
“They are all hard to replace,” said Westphal. “But that’s the beauty of college basketball. When people graduate it gives other guys the chance to step up and take their place.”
The strengths of this team may lie in its talented backcourt, which features both the 2002 and 2003 WCC Freshman of the Year: junior Terrence Johnson and sophomore Alex Acker. Each has the height, quickness and ability to score both on the drive and from deep that should make them one of the top offensive duos in the conference.
Johnson, who has established himself amongs the WCC’s elite, returns to the backcourt after averaging 15 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game last season. A threat from almost anywhere on the floor, Johnson shot 43 percent from three-point range last year, leading the team with 72 makes, almost three per contest.
“I expect Terrance (Johnson) to continue to improve,” Westphal said. “He is obviously very gifted, he’s good enough to be all-conference two years in a row. Plus, he’s worked hard to keep improving defensively with ball handling. I think he will be one of best players in conference again.”
Acker exploded on the WCC scene with one of the best outings for a freshman in conference history. Stepping in for the injured Montgomery, Acker helped the Waves make the most of what could have been a disastrous season, contributing in all areas of the game, including rebounding.
Grabbing the notice of both local and national presses, Acker returns from a year in which he averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4.3 assist per game as a point guard. He is expected to see action at the one, two and three spots.
“You could make an argument that he is the best college basketball player in Los Angeles,” Westphal said. “I’m not saying that he is, but it would be an interesting comparison if we could ever get UCLA and USC to come play us and let us find out. He’s a very complete basketball player and he’s ready to take another big step in his career this year.”
Another big addition for this year’s team is the return of 6-foot-9-inch junior forward Glen McGowan, who missed all but one game last year due to complications related to knee surgery. Bringing back his strength and uncanny quickness to the Waves, McGowan will again be an offensive threat, but the team will need him most on the defensive side of the ball, as Pepperdine begins another year without a true center. Incoming freshman Jarrad Henry, a 6-foot-10-inch shot blocker out of Kansas City, Mo., was thought to fill that void, but he will miss all of this year with a torn ACL.
According to Westphal, it is defense and rebounding, two severely sore spots for the Waves last year, that will make or break this team.
“We have a lot of guys who are good scorers, the test of our team will be rebounding and defense, and playing together,” the head coach said. “We have several guys that can score consistently, but it is those other things that will dictate whether we have a good team or not.”
Looking to help McGowan underneath the basket will be sophomore Derick Grubb, and transfers Jesse Pinegar and Yakouba Diawara (see related story below).
“Grubb has come back with much-improved conditioning, and has probably been our best rebounder so far,” Westphal said. “Jesse (Pinegar) is a 6-foot-9-inch guy who’s a good rebounder and good jumper… and Yakouba Diawara is a real strong player as well. Those guys will split the minutes at the center and power forward positions.”
Rounding out the list of expected contributes are junior high-flyer Rob Turner and three freshman redshirts: Marvin Lea, Cody Horning, and Chase Griffin.
Turner, a fan favorite and valuable contributor last year, averaged 7.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the floor. Most likely the team’s greatest leaper, the Waves will look to Turner to bring the same high-intensity shot blocking he showcased last season.
Lea, who will most likely be the team’s first backcourt sub, is a talented ball-handling who has great ability to get to the basket. He’s also garnished a reputation as an aggressive competitor who excels on the defensive side of the ball. Horning, a versatile forward who score and defend, and freshman Chase Griffin, a natural shooter, should vie for minutes.
The list of Pepperdine newcomers include freshman guards Shaun Davis, Shane Griffin, freshman center Henry, Diawara, and sophomore forward Keith Jarbo.
Davis and Diawara are expected to be impact players in the upcoming season.
“The most natural point guard we have on the team is Sean Davis,” Westphal said. “And he’s been looking real good.”
As has been typical since Westphal arrival, the Waves face a slew of NCAA tournament teams, and many of them on the road.
Pepperdine’s 2003-2004 non-conference schedule includes home games against University of Colorado and Dayton, and road games against Colorado State, Maryland, Oklahoma State and Utah, not to mention a late December trip to Honolulu’s highly touted Rainbow Classic.
Westphal said his team’s tough schedule could only help, not hinder, the Waves’ road to the NCAA tournament.
“One of the things about the system, is that … when you lose games to teams of that caliber, it doesn’t count against you in the overall picture,” he said. “And if you can knock a couple off it helps. We just figured we’ll schedule tough, and if we win more than our share of those games it puts us in a great position to qualify for the tournament.”
The continually improving WCC teams, especially Gonzaga, make things even tougher.. Gonzaga is currently rated No. 12 nationally in preseason polls. In addition to returning all-WCC guard Blake Stepp and forward Corey Violette, the Zags have a group of talented redshirts who are also expected to make key contributions.
When asked if this year’s Wave squad will have a chance to beat the Bulldogs for the first time since 2001, Westphal said he won’t ever be surprised to see this team win.
“If we stay healthy, I think we are a team that can reasonably hope to win every time it plays,” Westphal said. “We have very quick, athletic, versatile, high-scoring players, and I think we’ve improve our rebounding … If we can hold our own on the boards and keep the other team’s shooting percentage low, we should be in a good position to return to the tournament.
November 06, 2003