Long Beach Post: Dust Plus: Back in the Lower 48 and Niner Hoops are Ready for Big West Beginnings

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Dust Plus: Back in the Lower 48 and Niner Hoops are Ready for Big West Beginnings

by Dan Barber | Diamond Dust Plus | 12.26.11 |

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12:46pm | The much anticipated basketball tournament in Hawaii started out as what Coach Dan Monson was selling his troops as a �business trip.� And after beat downs on big time programs like Xavier (10 points over the #14 team) and Auburn (21 points over an cash flush-BCS SEC team Auburn) the wall to wall TV shots looked like one of the 49er info-mercials. But even in paradise reality is waiting just around the corner.
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That would be moving from the equivalent of Frisbee on Waikiki to a Midwest meat grinder in the form of Big 12 front runner Kansas State. The talking head s on TV, especially former Illinois player Steven Bardo, were smitten by the Niners and Dan�s boys

Micguire and Maddox who taped their Christmas lists for broadcast over and over.
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Yes the championship game had some moments, (Larry Anderson and Casper Ware each scored 17 points) but K-State kicked sand on the Beach boys early and never let up. Their offense is hard to explain and perfect for their personnel. A spinning wheel of lots of passes, few or no dribbles, and patient big boys who shot 50.0 percent in contrast to the sputtering work of Long Beach State (37.1 per cent). The Beach did get above 50 percent from the foul line (57%) but the misses stalled any momentum earned with the first two wins, as Kansas State won 77-60.
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Lost in the pre-tourney worries was a suddenly sharp shooting Rodney McCruder, who earned the tournament MVP, (28 points to up K-State (to 10-1. Casper will live to fight another day, starting next week when Big West play begins. Anderson was named to the all-tournament team after scoring in double figures in all three tournament games and working hard on the boards.   With a deeper bench K-State got out to an early lead scoring nine of the first 11 points, and the box score had all but one of their players in the contrast for eight or more minutes, 8 of the Cat�s with 16 or more minutes on the court, just wearing out Ware and any other of the homeboys they came across. Long Beach State narrowed the lead to 10 at one point, but McCruder and the rest of the Wildcats never let the 49ers get closer.

Next up on the Niner calendar are a couple of women� games, at home on Thursday night vs. UC Riverside in the BWC opener and at 1 p.m. Saturday playing UC Irvine. The gentlemen will wait until Monday night for their first game of the new conference season and the New Year when they have a January 2nd game with Irvine behind the Orange Curtain in the Bren Center -- DR. DAN

Comments

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5 Comments so far.

Randolph
Glimpses of last year's Big West final unfortunately. No chemistry, too much 1 on 1, and one bad shot after the next. The freshman Mike Caffey is showing more poise, confidence and class than most others on the team.

JR Salazar
This group of 49er seniors will go down as one of the most overrated groups of seniors if they perform like this when they go through conference play. Despicable effort.

Shut up Jo Ryan
JR,
This group of 49er Seniors will go down as one the best group to ever lace 'em up for the Niners. They play THE TOUGHEST schedule in the country, bar none.
Despicable? Look in the mirror.
Everyone's tired of your act. That's why you've been booted from the 'Mid for your antics. And who could for act at last year's tournament at Honda Center. Truly Embarrasing.
Please, Go root for Fullerton.
Better yet, just go away.

Sincerely,
A TRUE 49er Fan.

Angel
Yes, the 49ers got beaten in the Championship game,but making it to the Tournment final was a significant accomplishment! Hopefully, they will practice and start making those "so-called" free throws! Our 49ers with Casper's leadership will continue the fight towards March Madness in the NCAA tournment! They have made a national statement that they belong, starting next week when Big West play begins.

Randolph
Unfortunately, the K-State game was our most important game to date. Pitt has shown its true colors as an overrated Big East squad, and Xavier was considerably depleted. You see, the NCAA will look at that fact that Wagner also beat Pitt at their house and Hawaii also beat Xavier. Both those factors will hurt us. K-State will be a Top 15 team very soon. We absolutely needed to beat them. It's just a shame that our effort was so poor. If we don't win the Big West, we will be in the NIT again, no doubt. Our Seniors need to play like it when it matters most. The finals.

Diamond Dust Plus

Dr. Barber earned his academic degrees in the state of Florida and sharpened his collegiate sporting spurs at the University of Miami. Dan was nick-named �Scoops� by legendary Hurricane baseball coach Ron Fraser, and served as sports editor and then editor of the campus paper, The Miami Hurricane. Dan grew up in Parkersburg, West Virginia where as a high school intern he had the assignment of writing a feature story about Perry Moore, the former LBSU AD.

At LBSU Dan rose through the ranks to become a full professor, Director of the Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration and the CSULB Bureau of Governmental Research and Services. After retirement from his active University days Dr. Barber founded Grantwriters.com with books, CDs, mini guides and training programs filling time between games.

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