Spain Practice No. 2 - 8/13/10

DENVER - Early every year, Denver basketball fans around the program will stop by practice and say something along the lines of "I can't believe (fill in the player) is an upperclassman." This year is no different with seniors Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Kyle Lewis (Denver, Colo.). The duo arrived at Denver four years ago, the same year as head coach Joe Scott and his staff, and both already have stepped into bigger leadership roles this season. Kyle talks a little about the first two days of practice in the video below.


Two years ago, a lot was made of the Pioneers' youth, which was appropriate since they were the youngest team in the country. Looking at the court during practice today, the team looks grown up and confident.

One of the drills each day is to line up and shoot three-pointers. Each person shoots, grabs his own rebound and fires a pass to someone on the elbow, and he passes again to the shooter. They shoot from the top of the key for the first minute, move to a corner for a minute, and then return to the top before finishing in the other corner. The magic number in the drill is 80 makes, and the first time they did the drill today, they nailed 86 shots with everyone drilling shot after shot.   

Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) took an elbow to the nose early and missed some practice time. Hooper's absence gave freshman Chris Udofia (Irving, Texas) a chance to play center. According to Coach Scott, it should work nicely because center is the easiest position to learn in Denver's system, but it also will give Udofia the chance to learn the entire system quickly.

While nobody is going to pick up the offense quickly, Udofia seems to be doing a good job absorbing a lot of information from the coaches and his teammates and applying it on the court.

Overall, it was a good practice, and Scott even ended it after two hours, which is a little shorter than usual.  

Tanner Update: Former Pioneer Adam Tanner sent a note from Australia last week. It's always great to hear from the Tanner crew from Down Under.

Tanner played two years at DU including one season under Joe Scott in 2007-08, when he led the team in scoring and assists as the starting center.

After a year in the NBL, Australia's top professional league, with the New Zealand Breakers, Tanner is now playing in the offseason league with the Bendigo Braves, about 1.5 hours from Tanner's native Melbourne.

According to Tanner, it's the second-tier league behind the NBL, and although it is pays, it only requires a few days of practice per week in addition to a couple games each weekend.

In his spare time, Tanner has returned to school to become a teacher. Once he graduates in October, he will teach either primary school or high school business classes.

Rockies on FSN: Head coach Joe Scott will be a featured guest in the FSN Rocky Mountain television booth with Drew Goodman and Jeff Huson at Coors Field on Saturday, Aug. 14. Scott will visit the FSN television booth during the third inning of the Colorado Rockies' game against the Milwaukee Brewers. First pitch for the Rockies and Brewers tilt is slated for 6:10 p.m. MT. .

New Arrival: Congratulations to Denver team surgeon Michelle Wolcott, who gave birth to son Henry David Wolcott this morning. The family is doing great.

First Practice of the Year - 8/12/10

DENVER - Practice has come early for the University of Denver men's basketball team. Because the team is heading to Spain for a 13-day, six-game tour later this month, the Pioneers are allowed 10 practice days before they leave.

Normally teams are limited to a pair of one-hour workouts per week before the official start of practice on Oct. 15. The NCAA permits this type of international trip every four years, but Denver has never taken one.

Seniors Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Kyle Lewis (Denver, Colo.) and Andrew Hooper(Lakewood, Colo.); juniors Justin Coughlin (Yuma, Colo.), Travis Hallam (Mesquite, Texas), Trevor Noonan (Broomfield, Colo.), Alex Pickert (Carmel, Calif.), Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Colo.) and Tyler Thalken (Tulsa, Okla.); sophomores Blake Foeman (Weston, Fla.) and Chase Hallam (Mesquite, Texas); and freshman Chris Udofia (Irving, Texas) all participated at today's practice.

This team has a lot of experience with juniors and seniors representing 10 of the 13 slots on the roster, and all of the players were enrolled in summer school in June and July, including Udofia in his first official college quarter, so they spent a lot of time in the gym together, working out and playing pick-up games.

The work they put in this summer was apparent, as all of the players looked bigger and stronger, and judging from the relative calmness of the coaching staff, it seems safe to say the players did what they needed to stay in shape since last season. There was a little rust, but it was considerably less than one could rightfully expect at the first practice of the year.

The energy level was high today, and there was excitement in the air. The guys know that these practices will help them prepare to face professional Spanish teams, which in turn will help them this season.

Head coach Joe Scott has been part of two teams that took European tours - Princeton before the 1997-98 season and Air Force in 2003-04 - and both teams were ranked the following season, won their conference titles and played in the NCAA Tournament.

This was the first time that Udofia got to experience a Denver practice, and as the only first-year player, he got a lot of one-on-one coaching today. It's also nice seeing Noonan out there and knowing he is finally eligible after spending last season on the bench as a mandatory redshirt after transferring from Air Force.

As you might expect, the returning players look a lot more confident in the Denver system than they did during first practices the past three seasons, and nearly every player pulled Udofia aside at some point to help explain something or just encourage him.

The Pioneers return to the gym again tomorrow for their second practice.

Nonconference Road Schedule - 8/9/10

DENVER - Friday's blog focused on the challenge of Denver's nonconference home schedule, so we wanted to break down the road games, too.

BTI Invitational (Nov. 12-14)
The Pioneers kick off the 2010-11 season in Eugene, Ore., at the BTI Invitational against Oregon, UC Santa Barbara and North Dakota State (the exact schedule has not been announced).

Oregon has a long tradition of excellence, which spans from the Ducks winning the very first NCAA Championship in 1939 to five NCAA Tournament appearances in the past decade. New head coach Dana Altman takes over Oregon after leading Creighton to a 327-176 (.650) record over the past 16 seasons and 13-consecutive postseason appearances. The Ducks lead the all-time series with the Pioneers 5-1, but the teams have not met since Oregon beat Denver 99-90 in the highest-scoring game in Magness Arena history on Nov. 21, 2000. Former Oregon players Aaron Brooks, Malik Hairston and Luke Ridnour all are currently playing in the NBA, while Luke Jackson, Fred Jones and Alex Scales also appeared in the NBA in the past five years.

UC Santa Barbara earned a berth in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, their fourth appearance overall and second this decade, after winning 20 games for the second time in the past three seasons. This will be the first ever matchup between the Pioneers and Gauchos. The most notable alumnus of UC Santa Barbara is Brian Shaw, who went on to win three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

North Dakota State made history in 2009, when they made the NCAA Tournament in their first year of eligibility after turning Division I. The Pioneers are 1-2 against NDSU with the Bison winning the last meeting in 2005. Current Colorado State head coach Tim Miles made waves while he was the head coach at North Dakota State in 2006, when he led the Bison to upset road victories over 12^th ranked Wisconsin, which had a 27-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents at the time, and eight ranked Marquette.

Oregon is in the midst of building the brand new Matthew Knight Arena, but it is not expected to be completed until the Pac 10 conference schedule begins in December. That means the first half of the season, including the BTI Invitational, will be held at legendary McArthur Court, where the pitch of the seats is so steep that the 9,087 fans seem to be hanging over the court. The Sporting News named Mac Court the "best gym in America" in 2001, and Sports Illustrated ranked it as one of the 12 toughest places to play for an opponent in college basketball.

Boise State (Nov. 27)
The Broncos won 25 games en route to the 2008 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship and played in the NCAA Tournament. Basketball fans in Denver may remember Boise State as the alma mater of Koby Karl, the son of Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl. Although Boise State may be best known for the blue turf in its football stadium, the Taco Bell Arena has hosted the NCAA Tournament First and Second rounds eight times since opening in 1982. Hoops fans may remember UCLA's Tyus Edney going coast-to-coast at Taco Bell Arena to beat Missouri 75-74, sparking the Bruins' run to the 1995 national title. The arena also hosted four First Round games in 2001 that were decided by a total of seven points, including the 58-57 upset by No. 15 seed Hampton over No. 2 seed Iowa State, which was coached by Larry Eustachy.

Southern Mississippi (Dec. 7)
Speaking of Eustachy, he enters his seventh season at Southern Miss, where he guided the Golden Eagles to 20 wins and a spot in the CIT last season. The Golden Eagles play in Hattiesburg, Miss., at Reed Green Coliseum, where the team has gone 412-180 (.696) since opening in 1965, including an 11-3 mark last season. Denver is 2-0 all-time against Southern Miss, including a victory on DU's run to the 2005 Top of the World Classic championship in Fairbanks, Alaska. The most notable alumni from Southern Miss are probably Jimmy Buffett and Brett Favre, but from a hoops perspective it's hard to overlook Clarence Weatherspoon, who played 13 seasons in the NBA after being picked ninth by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 1992 NBA draft. And, of course, a favorite Southern Miss alum around Denver is former Pioneers assistant coach Greg Lackey, who has contributed insight during select DU games on television and radio during recent years.

Wyoming (Dec. 14)
The Cowboys are no strangers to the Pioneers. The two teams have met in each of the last 17 seasons, the longest consecutive streak against any DU opponent, and Denver has faced Wyoming a total of 142 times, the second most of any DU opponent. The Pioneers beat Wyoming 80-77 last season at Magness Arena, but the Cowboys have taken the last five meetings in Laramie, dating back to 1998.

Nonconference Home Schedule - 8/6/10

DENVER - Head coach Joe Scott released Denver's 2010-11 schedule last week, and it's clearly the most challenging since Scott's arrival.

For this blog, we'll break down the nonconference home games, and then we'll do the same for the road games in the next blog.

Colorado State (Nov. 18) has really improved under head coach Tim Miles, who was hired within a few weeks of Joe Scott arriving at Denver. The Pioneers won the last meeting between the teams at Magness Arena 66-55 in 2008-09. The Rams have been to the NCAA Tournament eight times, including 2003.

Alcorn State (Nov. 24) struggled last season but has made the NCAA Tournament six times, including 2002. This will be the first ever matchup with the Pioneers and Braves.

Utah State (Dec. 1) has been among the best, most consistent teams in college basketball for more than a decade. The Aggies won 27 games last season en route to their third-straight Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship, sending them to their 19^th NCAA Tournament. Utah State has not had a losing record in 17 years and has played in the postseason in each of the past 11 seasons. Although the Pioneers hold a 35-31 advantage in the all-time series, the teams have not met since 1978.

Cal State Northridge (Dec. 4) nearly upset No. 2 seed Memphis in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, the team's second this decade. The Pioneers beat the Matadors 89-82 at Magness Arena last season, marking the highest point total for a Joe Scott-coached team during his nine years as a head coach.

Portland (Dec. 11) rattled off 21 victories last season and played in the postseason in the CIT. The Pilots finished just behind powerhouses Gonzaga and St. Mary's in the West Coast Conference last year. The Pioneers battled the Pilots last year in Portland, but UP pulled away late for a 72-62 win.

Northern Colorado (Dec. 18) enters this season under first-year head coach B.J. Hill, who was promoted after previous head coach Tad Boyle left for Colorado. The Bears went an impressive 25-8 last season, went to the postseason in the CIT and finished the season ranked No. 12 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Pioneers will look to avenge losses to UNC in each of the past two seasons, including one of just four losses at Magness Arena in the past two years.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Dec. 21) won the play-in game of last year's NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual NCAA champion Duke in the first round. The Golden Lions rebounded last year after opening the season with 14-straight road games, including a 75-56 loss to the Pioneers at Magness Arena, to capture the SWAC Tournament title and UAPB's first NCAA Tournament bid.

Overall, six of Denver's nine nonconference home games are against teams that were at least .500 last year, and four won at least 20 games. The teams went a combined 150-144 (.510) in 2009-10, and five played in the postseason.

The Princeton Connection Continues: Since both men's basketball head coach Joe Scott and men's lacrosse head coach Bill Tierney came from Princeton, it's not uncommon to see a Tiger stopping in for a visit.

Last week, Matt Eastwick stopped in while traveling through Denver and even joined in a few games of lunchtime hoops, immediately improving the quality of play at noonball.

Eastwick is the only player in Princeton's storied history to start an NCAA Tournament game in four different years, when he led the Tigers to the Ivy League title each year from 1989-92 (between when Scott played for the Tigers and served as an assistant coach).

Along with some of the noonball regulars, former Pioneers David Kummer and Tom Chott have made multiple visits this summer. Kummer remained on campus after receiving his Master's degree in higher education, working at the Daniels College of Business.

Sun Belt Academic Honors - 8/4/10

DENVER - The Sun Belt Conference announced their annual Academic Honor Roll and Commissioner's List last week, honoring student-athletes for their hard work in the classroom, and Denver men's basketball was among the DU teams strongly represented.

The SBC releases their lists during the summer after each school's grades have been finalized for the academic year.

The Commissioner's List honors those student-athletes who achieved a 3.5 grade point average, and there were 10 men's basketball players who did so. Six of them were Pioneers, including returners Travis Hallam, Chase Hallam, Brian Stafford and Tyler Thalken. No other team had more than one.

The Academic Honor Roll was a similar success story for Denver. Tom Chott, Justin Coughlin, Andrew Hooper, Kyle Lewis, Rob Lewis, Trevor Noonan and Nate Rohnert all earned at least a 3.0 GPA in 2009-10 to earn a spot. The seven players were the most among men's basketball teams. As a team, the Pioneers combined for a 3.32 GPA during the 2009-10 academic year.

In 2008-09, all 11 eligible DU men's basketball players made either the Academic Honor Roll or the Commissioner's List.

Pro Updates: The only two Pioneers to claim All-Sun Belt Conference First Team honors twice crossed paths yesterday at the Ritchie Center, when Nate Rohnert and Yemi Nicholson were wandering the halls.

Rohnert, who of course was an All-SBC First Selection the past two years, has remained a frequent visitor at the Ritchie Center, working out and hitting the hardwood as often as he can. That comes as no surprise to most of us around here, since Rohnert has been a gym rat since showing up on campus as a fresh-faced 18-year-old freshman.

Nicholson often stops by campus to say hello to old friends, when he returns from Europe each summer. Nicholson was an All-SBC First Team selection for Denver in 2005 and 2006. He was named SBC Player of the Year in 2005, when he led the Pioneers to their only Sun Belt Conference regular season title.

This is an exciting time of year for players like Rohnert and Nicholson, as professional teams around the world begin to fill their rosters. In fact, Nicholson just signed with Prostějov in the Czech Republic after playing last season with Pezinok in Slovakia and the previous year in Germany with Eisbaeren Bremerhaven.

Rohnert is talking to a few teams and hopes to have a deal finalized in the next couple of weeks. Likewise, Terrence Gordon, who has played in Tranas, Sweden, since graduating with both a Bachelor's degree and Master's degree from DU in 2006, is currently planning his next move.

Spring Softball Game - 5/27/10

DENVER - Classes are winding down at the University of Denver. That, of course, means different things to different people. For some, it's a waiting game until summer vacation. For others, it's a time to cram for finals. For those of us around the Denver basketball program, it means we need to gather at a local diamond to play our semi-annual Players vs. Staff softball game.

The numbers were a little skewed this year because there were more players, and a few of the regular staff members were unable to attend (see note at the end of this blog). So, Andrew Hooper, Trevor Noonan, Rob Lewis and Alex Pickert joined Joe Scott, Mike McKee, Jon Jordan, A.J. Kuhle, John Fitzgerald and a blogger (who provided little defense and no offense) on the Staff team.

Nate Rohnert, Tyler Thalken, Chase Hallam, Travis Hallam, Kyle Lewis, Tom Chott, Kyle Chynoweth, Justin Coughlin, Blake Foeman, Brian Stafford and manager Tyler Martin played on the Player team.

The young team jumped to an early lead with two runs in the first inning and another in the second, while Martin pitched a masterpiece shutting down the Staff hitters.

With a strong wind blowing in from left field, both defenses buckled down in the middle innings. Chase Hallam unloaded in two at-bats, but McKee and Hooper both leaped up and robbed Hallam of would-be home runs - the kind of plays that may have been ESPN-worthy. On the other side, Coughlin made some plays in which he stretched his 6-9 frame to prevent a few sure extra-base hits.

The Staff found its groove with two out in the bottom of the seventh, stringing together three runs to tie it.

In the eighth, the Staff broke it open with another two-out rally, scoring four runs off six hits, and held on for a 7-3 victory.

The Players will be seeking revenge when the teams reconvene in the fall.

From Softball to Baseball: Mitch Hyder, the Voice of the Pioneers, was disappointed to miss out on the softball game.

However, his absence was highly excused.

Hyder was in Murfreesboro, Tenn., at the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship, where he was named the SBC Broadcaster of the Year.

As part of the honor, Hyder fired out an honorary first pitch at the tournament. When reached for comment, Hyder swore that he threw a fastball right down the middle.

Regardless of whether his pitch was indeed as good as he claimed, all of us would like to send our sincerest congratulations to Hyder for a very deserving award. He is a true professional, and we appreciate working with him and listening to him call so many games for basketball and all the other sports at Denver.

Storytime - 4/12/10

DENVER – After Gordon Hayward’s short fell just short of giving Butler the 2010 NCAA Championship a week ago today, most fans probably put college basketball on the back burner.

For the Denver players, though, it was time to start thinking about next season.

The DU players began team workouts again last week. The NCAA allows two hours of workouts during most weeks that classes are in session, and the Pioneers spent an hour last Thursday working on a variety of drills. The team always works to improve, and this time of year is no exception. Many of the drills focus on the key fundamentals and how some of them can be done more effectively and efficiently.

This week, the Denver coaches will work out with two or three players at a time.

Reading Into It: Last Thursday evening after workouts and a few pickup games, a few of the players left the hardwood and headed to Slavens Elementary School, where they read books to the young students. These reading sessions have become somewhat of a tradition with the men’s basketball team, and it can be difficult to tell whether the kids or the players enjoy it more.

At Slavens, Rob Lewis, Brian Stafford, Travis Hallam and Blake Foeman took turns reading. Lewis started with a book called, “Jessica,” about a girl and her imaginary friend.  Lewis and his teammates laughed as much as the kids during the story.

The event was part of a special DU group ticket program that rewarded schools for attending DU basketball games.