‘FRESH START’ FOR TOREROS
Conference tourney offers positive end to disappointing year
LAS VEGAS
Before the basketball season began, USD head coach Sam Scholl entertained the team at his home and played the role of college math professor, minus the tweed jacket. He displayed a chart, showing the program’s yearby-year wins across the past two decades.
The thing looked like an electrocardiogram. Lines jutting up and down at sharp angles, signifying the program’s inconsistency. The point he wanted to make is that after USD posted back-to-back 20win seasons for the first time in its 40-year Division I history, he didn’t want the Toreros repeating form, taking a nosedive south.
“Because we’re building a championship-contending history,” said Scholl.
But an updated chart would show USD plunged again, a 21-15 campaign followed by a 9-22 regular season.
“We had an opportunity to take another upward-trend step and we didn’t,” said Scholl.
Amid the fall, there were whispers in the basketball community that Scholl’s job, after just two seasons, might be in jeopardy. Bill Mcgillis, USD’S executive director of athletics, said he heard the rumors and vehemently denied them.
“The nature of our industry is that when you have seasons like this year from a winloss perspective that the vultures start circling,” Mcgillis said. “I’m proud of Sam. I’m excited about Sam’s future as our head coach. And we’re going to continue supporting him and building a great program.”
USD opens the West Coast Conference Tournament tonight at the Orleans Arena against Loyola Marymount (10-20). Since Saturday’s 71-64 loss to Pacific, Scholl and his staff have preached the common tournament refrain.
“It’s a fresh start,” he said. While the 2019-20 season has been a disappointment, it’s not like the losing record is stunning. Last year’s 21-15 squad, the first USD team to advance to the NIT, featured four senior starters who accounted for 73 percent of the scoring. All four signed professional contracts, Isaiah Pineiro and Isaiah Wright in the
WCC tournament
Toreros (9 seed) vs. Loyola Marymount (8) Today: 6 p.m., Orleans Arena, Las Vegas
Line: LMU by 2
On the air: SPCSN Records: USD 9-22, 2-14; LMU 10-20, 4-12
Series history: USD leads 48-38. The Lions won the only meeting this season, 64-58 at LMU. USD scored just nine points in the final 11 minutes, 56 seconds. The Toreros shot six free throws compared with 19 for the Lions.
Toreros update: Ninthseeded USD has lost five straight and nine of 10. USD’S hopes for a win likely rest on redshirt junior Braun Hartfield. The Toreros’ leading scorer (14.3 points) closed the season averaging 17.6 points the last eight games. He has logged 1,066 minutes, third in the WCC and 30th in the nation. Barring injury, Alex Floresca will play in his 129th game, which will tie him for fifth all-time at the school. Brandon Johnson is the leader with 134. To win the tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament, USD must win five games in six nights. Last year as a seventh seed, USD won three games in the tournament before losing to Saint Mary’s in the semis. If USD wins, the Toreros face USF at 6 p.m. Friday.
Lions update: LMU has lost three of its last four, but the losses were by 6, 7 and 2 points. Junior Eli Scott leads LMU in scoring (15.4), rebounding (6.6), assists (4.4) and steals (1.1).
NBA G League, Olin Carter III and Tyler Williams in Europe.
Then came a rare rash of preseason injuries. Of the six players who compiled the most minutes, four missed almost the entire preseason with injuries: leading scorer Braun Hartfield (broken hand), leading rebounder and third-leading scorer Yauhen Massalski (foot), fourth-leading scorer James Jean-marie (broken finger) and fifth-leading scorer Finn Sullivan (back).
Scholl wants no sympathy for the injury wave.
“At the end of the day,” he said, “the expectation is that no matter what happens you have to be able to continue to succeed.”
The area where this year’s team most struggled was putting the ball in the basket. Going into Wednesday, out of 353 Division I teams, USD ranked 309th in scoring (65.8 points), 291st in shooting percentage (.415), 293rd in 3point shooting percentage (.309), 310th in free-throw shooting percentage (.662) and 302nd in turnovers per game (14.6.)
Scholl takes blame for the offensive issues, feeling he didn’t adjust the offense to fit the players’ skills.
Last year, the Toreros ran much of their offense through Pineiro, who played the four position. At the beginning of this season, USD ran a similar offense. Pineiro, though, was a two-time ALL-WCC selection and at 6-7 was essentially a big guard.
Jean-marie and Jared Rodriguez, who played the four, do not have Pineiro’s open-floor skills.
“One of my many mistakes was not seeing that early,” he said. “I was putting a square peg in a circle.”
Scholl did not mean to lump the bulk of the offensive struggles on Jean-marie and Rodriguez. A redshirt freshman who could develop into an elite defender, point guard Marion Humphrey shot just 35 percent from the floor and 53.8 percent from the freethrow line.
Second-leading scorer Joey Calcaterra shot just 38.2 percent. Sullivan was inconsistent.
And Massalski, the team’s best inside player who missed 11 games before suffering a season-ending broken ankle, did not elevate his game as much as expected.
“He would say the exact same thing,” said Scholl. “But I don’t think he played one day this year without some pretty good pain in his foot.”
USD will have at least two scholarships for next season and probably more given the likelihood of at least one player transferring. Scholl said the emphasis will be on finding bigs, particularly a four. Only one player graduates, starting forward Alex Floresca.
As for how Scholl held up, Calcaterra said, “He’s been rock solid. He’s continually tried to motivate us.”
Norcross is a freelance writer.