The little ones are growing up fast.
Except they’re not so little.
Seven-foot-3 freshman Greg Somogyi and classmate James Nunnally got their first collegiate starts for the UCSB men’s basketball team Monday and left the program blanketed with optimism in a comfortable 71-51 win over Ball State at the Thunderdome.
With Jesse Byrd injured and DJ Posley off the bench after missing three practices due to flight delays coming home from Chicago, coach Bob Williams got to give a big-time opportunity to his up-and-comers, and he liked what he saw — particularly with Somogyi and freshman Jaime Serna.
“Jaime and Greg are legit players at this level… I’m really happy with their development, and my concern now is getting enough minutes for both of those kids,” he said.
Somogyi went 3-for-4 from the floor and the charity stripe, also grabbing an assist and four blocked shots. Williams noted that he altered at least four or five more Cardinal shots. Nunally was 3-for-5 from the floor with 12 points, six boards and three assists in a team-high 30 minutes of playing time. Serna had seven boards and four points in 15 minutes.
It was a composed effort for the youngsters, who claimed they were more excited than nervous about their first start. Except for sophomore guard Jordan Weiner, that is.
“If you say I didn’t look nervous than I must have done a good job of hiding it,” he said with a smile, right after Williams interjected to mention Weiner bumbling the ball out of bounds on the first play. He nailed a trey three minutes into the game, though, and settled in, nailing two more from long range and finishing with 11 points.
The Gauchos never trailed in the game, taking a commanding 41-23 halftime lead, holding Cardinals star Anthony Newell — who just earned his third Mountain Athletic Conference West Player of the Week award — to five points in the period. Newell would finish with a sub-par 6-of-13 performance from the floor with 14 points and nine boards.
The Gauchos (6-6) didn’t let the lead shrink below 13 the rest of the way.
There is, of course, a long way to go in the development of the critically acclaimed gang of Gaucho underclassmen, and the players are well aware of it.
“I’m still learning, because college basketball is so much faster than high school, as everybody knows,” said Nunnally.
Somogyi agreed, saying “I remember in the summer when I was pretty confused about everything, but now I’m getting pretty comfortable.”
No one’s getting too comfortable, however, as the Big West opener at Long Beach State is set for the second day of 2009.
