Staff Editorial
Vance Walberg likes to use the acronym AASAA to describe his up-tempo style of offense: Attack, Attack, Skip, Attack, Attack.
Despite a disappointing 8-23 record, the Pepperdine men’s basketball team did what the first-year coach preached all season. They attacked. When they were down by more than 20, they attacked. When they were left with as many bench players as that of the number of water boys on the other team, they attacked. When talk of the possibility of the Waves finishing the season with the worst record in school history came about, they attacked harder.
Sure, they lost more times than not, but the foes who stood above them and any other team this season did not come from Gonzaga or the Broncos up in Santa Clara.
The real attackers were sitting in the stands of Firestone Fieldhouse, that is, the nights they actually showed up. More harassment came from the fans this season than anyone else who stepped through those Fieldhouse doors.
Yet, the fans were not just attacking the visiting teams. The man who envisioned the AASAA offense, the same offense that has been adopted by NBA teams, was being attacked by the Wave faithful.
Sure, cups and pompoms were not thrown at him during games, but there was plenty of talk making waves around campus that Walberg was just a big letdown.
It is as if we, the fans, had been expecting a show like that of the Harlem Globetrotters every game night. We wanted wins, and we didn’t get them, so we then point fingers at the easiest target.
When star players Mike Gerrity and Chris Oakes one day decided to pack their bags and leave, we automatically assumed it was Walberg who had driven them away. More than half the female student population must still be in mourning over the absence of Gerrity’s face, now wooing the females at UNC Charlotte, but only a handful recognized the real outcome.
Walberg was not to blame for this. Sure, Gerrity and Oakes may not have agreed with every one of his coaching philosophies, but that does not mean they should quit their team. The real victim here was Walberg who was suddenly left without two of his starting players, not to mention the fact his son Jason, the player who knew his father’s system best, went down with a knee injury not long after.
If you really want to talk ball, there are obviously improvements being made. Walberg’s offense is supposed to produce a lot of three-pointers, and it came through. The Waves led the West Coast Conference in three-point field goal attempts and three-point field goals made this season.
And there is more. With its nine three-pointers made against Gonzaga on Feb. 3, Pepperdine established a new single-season record for most three-pointers with 238. If that’s not enough, the Waves made a program-best 21 three-pointers back in November, making it the sixth-highest total in NCAA history.
Full-court pressure is another big element of Walberg’s game plan. Funny how we heard about the losses but never knew the Waves had the league-best turnover margin or led the conference in steals.
So then, if the Waves got the three-pointers and the pressure down, fans want to know why they’re not winning. The answer is quite simple and does not involve any numbers.
Walberg’s system will take time, not only to implement it but to acquire the players equipped to run it. So it shouldn’t be that surprising the Waves had trouble this season, especially with the loss of three key players early in the season.
And let’s not forget about the support they received, which was next to nothing. The attackers need to once again become fans, even if the Zags aren’t in the building.
Let’s give Vance a chance— even if there is no t-shirt giveaway.
03-29-2007