Without having played a game yet, the UCSB men’s basketball team has already been called many things. Talented. Deep. Even sexy.
By the end of the season, above all else, the Gauchos would like to be called Big West champions.
Their season starts on Saturday with a 3 p.m. matchup with Cal State Los Angeles at the Thunderdome. The Gauchos will be starting a quest for their first conference title since the 2001-2002 season, also the last year UCSB reached the NCAA Tournament.
The Gauchos are talented enough to make the trip to the Big Dance, returning three starters and adding Loyola Marymount transfer Orlando Johnson to an already stellar sophomore class that includes Jaime Serna, James Nunnally, Will Brew and 7-foot-3 center Greg Somogyi.
Johnson led the Gauchos with an explosive 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting in just 24 minutes of play in UCSB’s only exhibition game, a 101-64 rout of Sonoma State.
“I do think at this stage, it’s the most talented class I’ve had in my twelve years here,” claimed UCSB head coach Bob Williams, who has a 179-146 overall record in those twelve years. “It has a player at every position. That’s a nice thing if you look down the road.”
Last year’s squad went 16-15, but closed out the season winning six of its last eight games as the then freshman began to take on larger roles.
Nunnally averaged 7.9 points per game as a freshman, but picked it up late in the season and averaged over 11 points over the final 12 games. Brew took on the starting point guard position in mid-season and led the team in 3-point percentage at 40.6.
Add Johnson to the mix, and Williams has a potent bunch to compliment his five upperclassmen leaders.
“I want our very good sophomore class to play free,” Williams said, looking to his five upperclassmen to provide leadership. “I want a very good sophomore class to really worry about their jobs and take care of their business.”
Regardless of class, everyone will be counted on in Williams’ defensive plans.
The team is deep, and Williams says he will go to his bench frequently this season to keep his players fresh, key to maintaining a dedicated pressure defense.
“With our depth, you can just keep subbing, just keep subbing,” Williams said. “When you have 12-13 people that you can, and will, put into the game, your substitution freedom affects the game in two ways.
“It affects the game in that you keep your guys fresh and you wear the other team down. And it also affects the game, from a coach’s standpoint, in that it’s a great motivator.”
Senior James Powell and junior big-man Jon Pastorek reached double figures in scoring along with Nunnally and Johnson in the exhibition.
“I expect James to have a bounce-back season,” said Williams, acknowledging the fact that Powell may have put to much pressure on himself as a junior to replace the scoring of 20 point-per-game-player Al Harris, who graduated after Powell’s sophomore season.
Two freshman will be in the mix jockeying for playing time this season.
Chris Brew, Will’s younger brother, comes to UCSB from St. Mary’s High School in Oakland and will play on the wing. Lucas Devanny, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound banger from Piner High School in Santa Rosa, is an outstanding rebounder who will spell Serna, Somogyi and San Diego State transfer Pastorek.
Somogyi, who led the Gauchos with 37 blocks last year, was motivated in the weight room this summer, adding roughly 20 pounds to his 7-foot-3 frame. His supposed admiration for his freshly developed muscle mass gained him the nickname of “Big Sexy.”
“He’s bigger than me now,” Johnson said. “I’m a pretty big guy but I think he really passed me up.
“He’s sexy man.”
Johnson himself is turning heads with his 6’5″, 205-pound athletic frame.
The Big West coaches have taken notice, voting him all-conference as a sophomore before he’s even played a minute for the Gauchos.
“He’s the only player in the program that was picked as a preseason all-league player. That’s a lot of respect given to a kid that’s never played a game in conference,” Williams said.
Johnson averaged 12.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in his only year at Loyola Marymount.
Saturday’s opener is the start of a three-game homestand to start the season. UCSB plays five of its first six games at home before playing six straight games on the road in late December and early January.
The toughest opponent on the list may be Arizona State, a NCAA Tournament team a year ago but picked to finish seventh in the Pac-10 this season after losing NBA first-round pick James Harden.
If the Gauchos beat Furman in the first round of the Cal Bear Classic, then the Gauchos would likely play the hosts, currently ranked No. 14 in the country and picked to beat out UCLA and Washington for the Pac-10 title this year.
UCSB opens up Big West play at UC Irvine on Jan. 2.
“This year we have more versatility offensively than at anytime that I’ve been with this program,” boasted Williams, clearly eager to let his horses strut their stuff.
The time is now.
