Tonight marks the final home game at Mott Athletics Center for four Cal Poly seniors. Maliik Love, Michael Bolden, Anthony Silvestri, and Alberto Ganis all represent certain aspects of what Joe Callero has grown his program into.

Maliik Love is a fifth-year senior who has started every game for Cal Poly this season. By Owen Main

Maliik Love

As a freshman, Love was one of the most physically imposing young players I’ve seen. At just 6′ 2″ or so, Love was able to muscle-up on older point guards and even defend the two or three. He was the freshman player of the year in the Big West in 2010-11. Alongside Jamal Johnson, who was also a freshman that season, Love was going to be a real impact player.

Love represents the ability of a player in Callero’s system to have a real impact without putting up big numbers. Love has never averaged more than the five points per game he is averaging this year in a season.

Love’s career also represents how Cal Poly has been somewhat snake-bitten with injuries to key players over the past three or four years. Players like Amaurys Fermin, Reese Morgan, Love, and Kyle Odister all missed significant time in their Cal Poly careers due to injury. This year, Taylor Sutlive and Zack Gordon have spent the entire year on the sidelines, rehabbing from knee injuries of their own.

This season, Love has added scoring when he needed to. He scored 15 points in a loss to first-place UC Davis. The Aggies are Cal Poly’s opponent tonight.

Michael Bolden has been a key cog for Cal Poly this season. By Owen Main

Michael Bolden

Michael Bolden has a body type that we haven’t seen much of in San Luis Obispo. A long, wiry player who can stick with athletic twos and threes on defense, the Irvine Valley College transfer is one of what is now a long line of players who have successfully transferred to Cal Poly and contributed. Others have included Will Taylor, Will Donahue, Amaurys Fermin, Drake U’u, Chris O’Brien, and David Nwaba. Kyle Toth, Luke Meikle, and Josh Martin are all waiting in the wings to contribute next season.

Bolden has also found a niche and been very good in his role — a trait that is not unusual for Callero players. His shooting has been a key to a few Cal Poly wins this season. More importantly, his length and ability to spearhead their 1-3-1 defense have allowed the team to throw a significant wrinkle into a top-flight defensive game plan.

Bolden is also averaging about five points per game this year, but also has 23 steals. He and Love are two of the three Cal Poly players who have appeared in all 26 games this season.

Anthony Silvestri made his mark last season when he scored 17 points in a road victory in Isla Vista. By Owen Main

Anthony Silvestri

In walk-on Anthony Silvestri, Joe Callero and some of his players saw something they really liked. A guy who seemed unflappable, Silvestri was noticed by Cal Poly alum Drake U’u in the Rec Center. Over the past two seasons, the senior forward has played key roles in a number of games.

His best performance came in Isla Vista last year, when he poured in 17 points in a Cal Poly road win against their rivals. Especially after that game, he drew comparisons to another red-headed forward Callero coached, Brian Scalabrine.

This season, Silvestri hasn’t played as big a role. Yet. The 6′ 7″ San Francisco native could see minutes in the last few games, especially if Cal Poly needs an offensive jolt. Joe Callero knows the big redhead won’t be afraid to spot-up from downtown should his name be called.

Silvestri’s career is indicative of the program’s ability to be nimble. Callero and his staff have been willing to play guys who perform, whether they were in the program’s initial plans or not. The head coach gave a scholarship to Silvestri for this, his senior season with the Mustangs. Something tells me Cal Poly fans would agree that he earned it, even if he never played in another game after that UCSB road win last year.

Alberto Ganis

I didn’t mention Ganis in the transfers above, because this kid is on a little bit of a different level. Only able to play this season due to transfer rules, Ganis has played in just six games this year and scored only four points, so his contribution on the court is in practice and in his high level of maturity.

Sure, Ganis turned 25 last month, but his maturity is far above even that. In my time covering Cal Poly, he’s the only guy who ever asked me what I do for a living and how I like that. He makes a point to say hi to people he recognizes and to ask questions of adults he thinks he may learn something from.

In the little time I’ve talked with Alberto, he oozes intelligence. From everything I hear, he represents the “student” part of the phrase, “student athlete,” that people around a university like Cal Poly value.

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This year’s senior class was part of the most successful postseason in the school’s history. Each one of them got to playing at Cal Poly in a somewhat unconventional way (transfers and a redshirt season). Joe Callero talked during last year’s NCAA tournament about how much he likes to be weird and different sometimes.

I talk a lot about how players in college basketball, especially at Cal Poly, are something of a reflection of their coach. On a global level, this class is no different.

Cal Poly’s 72-64 win over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night was only the third win they’ve had at the Thunderdome in Division One. It was their first victory since 2007 and it gave Cal Poly a 2-0 start in Big West play with the two wins coming against the teams with the best records in the conference prior to the start of the season. Like most Blue-Green rivalry games, it was a night filled with memorable moments.

Anthony Silvestri made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points to help Cal Poly to their first win at the Thunderdome in seven years. By Owen Main

In the first half, Cal Poly’s bench started to create separation. With Anthony Silvestri, Taylor Sutlive, and Maliik Love on the floor, the Mustangs went on an 18-8 run, scoring on six straight three-pointers by bench players — four by Silvestri and two by Sutlive.

“We were struggling offensively out there, ” said Silvestri. “When we came in, me and Taylor hit a couple shots. Maliik was driving, getting to the basket, drawing fouls, so I think it really had a big spark for us because then the starters came back in and kept it going.”

The 18 points accounted for all of the Mustangs’ points over a 7:36 span and helped Cal Poly build an eight-point first-half lead.

“Let’s cut down to the chase,” said Cal poly head coach Joe Callero. “In basketball, everything looks good when you make shots. When you get subs who come in and who score 24 of our 28 first half points, Anthony Silvestri is just on fire, but also a little firepower from Taylor Sutlive… . All of a sudden you have a team that stretches the floor a little more. I thought Maliik Love was critical in our zone offense. He had the top-down drive which created the suction in and they had to honor that and that got Anthony some of his shots.”

UCSB’s “Big” Al Williams single-handedly kept his team in the game, responding with bucket after bucket. With a lead hovering between seven and twelve points for most of the second half, though, Cal Poly seemed content to single-cover Williams and match the Gauchos’ scoring with points of their own.”

“We knew he was going to get his,” said Eversley of Williams. :If we keep everybody else under control and let him get his, we’ll be all right at the end of the day, so our game plan worked tonight.”

It didn’t matter who was guarding him or how many Mustangs were around him either. On one shot he made, Williams was surrounded by three Mustangs and still managed to score.

“He could be the best one-on-one post player on the West coast,” said Callero of Williams. “Number one, he’s got great hands, number two he’s got great feet, and then you put those together he’s got a big, strong, wide body that you can’t get around. We work with our guys over and over and say, ‘well why don’t they just get around there and front him or deny him?’ Sometimes you just can’t get get around him. He’s 260 pounds and wide with great feet and hands… . He’s a beast and I think he could be the most dominating single post player on the West coast.”

After making four three-pointers in the first half, Silvestri had one blocked. At the beginning of the second half, he changed it up, choosing the pump fake, taking a dribble inside the arc, and knocking down a 17-footer that sent the Cal Poly bench into a frenzy.

“I’ve gotten shots blocked before, so it wasn’t really that big of a deal,” said Silvestri. “I just thought in the second half I was ready for it. In the second half, I knew they were going to come flying out. I got a little pump fake and I’ve been working on the pump fake, so I was ready for it.”

The Thunderdome is a tough road environment. Here, a fan stands under the basket stantion while a Cal Poly player shoots free throws. By Owen Main

Cal Poly’s lead was cut to three points with 4:01 left to play on a Williams shot. That’s when Cal Poly senior forward Chris Eversley went to work. Eversley made a 17-foot jumper and a three-pointer on back to back possessions to extend the Mustang lead back to eight points.

“I remember guys in this situation, like Orlando Johnson did the same thing to me two years ago, so it’s just stepping up and being able to make those plays when my team needs them. Luckily they both went in and kind of helped seal the game for us,” said Eversley

Eversley, who had never won at the Thunderdome, posted “Last chance” on social media prior to the game. He and fellow seniors Jamal Johnson and Kyle Odister made the most of their final road game in the Blue-Green Rivalry.

#FreeAnt

Silvestri’s story is a really fun one. He tried out as a walk-on during his freshman year, but was cut. During his sophomore year, he was at the Rec Center on campus lifting weights when he was approached by Drake U’u.

“I went to just go actually lift in the Rec Center and Drake U’u was playing with a bunch of football players, I think one of them was Asa Jackson, and I was wearing running shoes,” said Silvestri. “I was like ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll play a game,’ and went out and basically almost beat their really good team. I had ten points and we play to eleven. I had all ten, and Drake told me to go to some open gyms. I just did well at open gyms.”

U’u, who is a rookie with the Australian National Basketball League’s Perth Wildcats (and recently scored a career-high 13 points), backed up Silvestri’s story.

“I just remember playing against this red head and thinking, wow he can really shoot the ball and has good size,’ said U’u. “It was like I was witnessing a real life Brian Scalabrine at the Rec’. So, I invited him to our open gym with the team. Everyone thought I was crazy for inviting this kid. Specifically, I remember Jamal telling me, ‘Drizz you gotta tell this kid chess club is in the next building over.’ I assured him he was with me and could play, and he didn’t disappoint. I remember him coming in and hitting 3’s like David Hanson 2.0. Finally I told coach he had to come check this kid out, and he loved him. He was a nice kid and became my best friend the following year. Pretty cool story.”

As a sophomore last season, the 6’7″ forward made a positive impression on Callero, who also coached Scalabrine at USC. Prior to this season, Callero announced that Silvestri would be a scholarship player for his senior year, following the path of Dylan Royer, who earned a scholarship for his senior season last year. On Saturday in Santa Barbara, he showed why.

Big West Sharpshooters

During the non-conference schedule, Cal Poly averaged only 65 points per game and scored in the 70’s in just five of 13 games. In two conference games, they’ve scored 77 and 72 points respectively. Over their two games last week, the Mustangs shot 47.7 percent from the field including 51.3 percent from 3-point range.

Tough week-two ahead

Cal Poly’s week-two conference schedule is just about as daunting as its opening week, though both games this week are at home. On Thursday, the Mustangs host Cal State Northridge. The Matadors, who sport the top two active career scorers in the conference, are off to a hot start under first-year head coach Reggie Theus. On Saturday, Cal Poly hosts defending regular season champs Long Beach State. The 49ers activated UCLA transfer Tyler Lamb six games ago and Lamb leads the team with 18.8 points per game.

“We’ve played two great teams so far and it’s only going to get harder next week with Northridge and Long Beach,” said Eversley. “Practice has been good, the mental focus has been excellent so we’re just going to look to build on this.”

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