On this episode of the Going on Break edition, Owen Main and Chris Sylvester are joined by Cal Poly head basketball coach John Smith. Coach Smith discussed the last week from the perspective of a Division I head coach and a parent of a Division I player across the country during the past week. 

Eight weeks after he was announced as Cal Poly’s new men’s basketball coach, John Smith joins the podcast. We discussed his first few months on the job and his outlook on the Cal Poly men’s basketball program. 

Luke Meikle – Senior – 6’9”, 209 lbs

By the Numbers:

Luke Meikle celebrates after Cal Poly’s win over UCSB in January. By Owen Main

31 Games

25.5 Minutes per game

8.7 Points per game

4.3 Rebounds per game

1.2 Assists per game

37.2.% Field Goals

33.3% 3 Pointers

85.7 % Free Throws

Luke Meikle was one of the first transfers Cal Poly was able to get to commit to school after they won the NCAA tournament. The fact that he was 6’9″ with a diversified skill set and coming from a power school like Gonzaga seemed to bode really well for Joe Callero and Cal Poly. 

Early in his Cal Poly career, Meikle fought through some lingering injuries. In his senior season, he was one of just five Mustangs to play all 31 games, starting 29. Meikle’s polished offensive moves in the post and confidence from mid-range and three-point range were assets to the Mustangs’ attack during his senior campaign. 

Three freebies FTW

The highlight of Cal Poly’s season, and probably Meikle’s, came when the senior drew a shooting foul with .3 seconds left in Cal Poly’s season opener against UCSB. Meikle made three free throws to secure the first of Cal Poly’s four conference victories.

The craziest part was, when asked about it after the game, Meikle said it wasn’t the first time he’d made free throws with basically no time left to win. He said it was on YouTube. He was telling the truth. 

Meikle scored in double digits in 12 of Cal Poly’s games. He seemed at his best when he drew fouls and got himself to the free throw line, where he was very good. 

Watching Luke for three seasons, it always seemed he was between positions at this level and with this program. Meikle worked extremely hard and was savvy in getting himself decent looks without extreme athleticism. Defensively, he fought and generally gave what he could give. 

During the middle of conference play, Meikle probably found his biggest stride individually, scoring in double-digits in five of seven games, averaging 12 points per game during that stretch. 

I think in a perfect world, Joe Callero might have had the opportunity to play the versatile Meikle at different positions more often or against some of the other team’s reserves. Instead, on a team that didn’t have much in terms of real, back to the basket, offensively polished bigs, Meikle often bared the lion’s share of whatever load was put on Cal Poly’s forwards. 

Going Pro

Meikle’s polished skillset got him a look at the World Wide Invitational, which will give him a chance to show what he’s got and try to play hoops professionally. In reality, Meikle’s offensive game — range out to the three point line and nifty pivot moves around the hoop — could be a better fit for a professional league that is more based on individual matchups than stifling, lane-filling team defense like the Big West turns into late in the year. 

In another universe, Meikle’s sophomore or junior seasons might have been really successful for Cal Poly as a team and for Luke individually. I’m sure if you asked him, basketball didn’t go exactly as planned over the past three years. 

The Cal Poly men’s basketball team has finished 7th place in the Big West standings for five straight seasons. In 2018-19, at least seven names on the 17-18 roster will be gone, including four that have been announced since the season ended. As this school year nears its end, the 18-19 roster has started to come into focus.

Players leaving include seniors Luke Meikle and Victor Joseph, graduating junior Aleks Abrams, and Josh Martin and Trevor John — both of whom announced their intention to graduate and leave the program after the season ended. 

Joining those departures are Eric Toles, who redshirted last season, and walk-on Jared Rice. The departures left a bunch of question-marks, many of which were filled last week.

Incoming Freshmen

Four of the seven open spots will be filled by incoming freshmen. Junior Ballard and Daxton Carr figure to contribute on the wing. Tuukka Jaakkola, a center from Finland was announced later in the school year. Cal Poly is not a deep team in the front court, leading me to believe the Jaakkola will likely be a candidate to play and not redshirt, though I never know with players who I’ve never seen in-person. (I actually never know with anybody…). 

One guy I have seen play in person — a lot — is Mission Prep’s Kyle Colvin. Colvin was announced by Cal Poly after accepting enrollment into school. I’ve seen him play for the last three seasons and think he can be a contributor during his career at Cal Poly. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s a Division I player. Getting him as a presumed walk-on (?) will add depth to the Mustang roster. 

Transfers

Cal Poly has been active in making offers to junior college players. Last week, Job Alexander committed. Alexander is another lanky wing who can shoot from long range. While depth is always a plus, the Mustangs seem to have a lot of those. 

More to come?

Currently, their roster has 12 players on it, one of whom may be a walk-on. So Cal Poly still has 1-2 scholarships available, if they choose to use them (I can’t imagine they wouldn’t). Just four of the 12 players currently listed on Cal Poly’s roster will be upperclassmen next season. We’ll see who the Mustangs have up their sleeve and whether they can get one more impact player. The depth on the front court seems really thin with the current roster construction. Getting some kind of 6’9″ beefcake who can defend and rebound to commit to Cal Poly would seem to be a priority, though getting a real impact player this late seems like it would be difficult. You never know. 

Kevon Davis (left) was announced as a new assistant coach at Cal Poly after Paul Mrozik (second from left) left for a job at Mercer. By Owen Main

Mrozik moving on

After just two seasons, Associate Head Coach Paul Mrozik will be leaving for a job at Mercer. Taking his place on the coaching staff is Kevon Davis, who was Cal Poly’s Director of Player Development last season. Davis joins Sam Kirby and Mitch Reaves on Joe Callero’s staff. 

Kuba Niziol – Junior – 6’7”, 210 lbs

Kuba Niziol’s best two games may have been during Cal Poly’s best two-game stretch of the season. By Owen Main

By the Numbers:

30 Games

18.2 Minutes per game

7.2 Points per game

2.3 Rebounds per game

.53 Assists per game

36.3.% Field Goals

34.5% 3 Pointers

81.4 % Free Throws

Kuba Niziol is a player who came into 2017-18 looking more physically ready to compete at the Division I college level. The lanky, sharpshooting forward from Poland had put on some muscle and looked primed to make a big contribution. During Cal Poly’s best two-game stretch — wins at Santa Clara and vs. College of Charleston in Alaska — Kuba played two of his best games. Against College of Charleston — the Mustangs’ best non-conference win — the junior went 5-5 from downtown en route to 15 points. 

After shooting under 30 percent from three-point range as a sophomore, Niziol was much closer to his true talent level as a 34 percent shooter from downtown. But if three-point shooting is his only dimension, Niziol isn’t tapping into what he can be. Somewhat like our last subject, Marcellus Garrick, Niziol has a lot more potential to be more of a versatile playmaker instead of only a spot-up shooter. 

While his percentage wasn’t great, Niziol isn’t as far away as it seems from being a much more consistent and deadly shooter. He always just seems super relaxed when he releases his shots. 

In the first half of conference play, Kuba missed a game at UC Irvine and sat out all but the final two minutes at CSUN. Coach Joe Callero pointed to a minor injury he picked up during that week. Niziol scored in double digits in three conference games. In Cal Poly’s final game of the season, a frustrating blowout first-round loss to UCSB, Niziol was ejected after committing a flagrant foul under the basket. It seemed like a microcosm of the way the Mustangs’ season ended.

** Story Break** 

I was at the Cal Poly Rec Center sometime probably in like July or August. There were a few Cal Poly basketball players running in a pick-up game. When Niziol and Donovan Fields had to shoot to be the last guy, they went pretty quickly to three-pointers. Nobody was missing. They each made like 20 threes in a row while battling each other. It got to the point where the other 9 guys waiting to play started to run around and shoot on the other hoop to stay loose. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that at a pick-up game. I don’t even remember who missed first, I just remember everyone else saying “finally” and shaking their heads when one of them missed.

Looking forward

Niziol is one of the Cal Poly players whose basketball skills seem tantalizing. In some games and in some situations, Niziol was one of the most dynamic and dangerous players on the floor. At other times, he seemed frustrated by his threes not falling. When he’s got his all-around game working, Niziol has the potential to be a consistent contributor on both ends of the floor on a good team. 

Six would-be seniors on the 2018-19 team have left in past years. Niziol, Garrick, and Donovan Fields are slated to be seniors next year. They’ll all have a chance to break the Mustangs out of the 7th place rut they’ve been in. 

With his length, Kuba has a high ceiling. He is more athletic than you think and his ability to defend multiple positions and rebound could easily improve in a kind of important, understated way year-to-year. Being a 10-12 point, 5 rebound guy while playing good defense and improving his all around game is totally within reach for Niziol in 2018-19. 

*Ed note: Over the next few weeks, we’ll be recapping the season of every Cal Poly player who played in 2017-18.

Aleks Abrams – Graduating Redshirt Junior – 6’8″, 240 lbs

Aleks Abrams had a career high 18 rebounds in a game this season against UC Davis. By Owen Main

By the Numbers:

24 Games

13.4 Minutes per game

2.4 Points per game

4.3 Rebounds per game

0.4 Assists per game

44.7% Field Goals

72.7% Free Throws

I saw Abrams play in one of his last high school games against Mission Prep in San Luis Obispo. His team, which featured Kenny Smith’s son, beat the Royals that night. After redshirting his first year on campus, Abrams showed he wasn’t afraid to push in the post defensively. While it wasn’t for lack of effort, Abrams, who is listed at 6’8″, wasn’t the longest big man in the world. His offensive game only developed incrementally over the past two seasons, and his effectiveness was matchup-dependent. He had 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench in an overtime loss at home against UC Davis this past season and a four point, 18 rebound effort in Cal Poly’s final win of the season, a 90-86 double overtime victory over CSUN. 

In a conference that has gotten bigger across the board, Abrams was a somewhat undersized center.

Abrams never put up huge numbers consistently, but he had some sneaky-good defensive and rebounding games in his career and hustled and got his work done in class over four seasons at Cal Poly. 

Looking forward

As a redshirt junior, Abrams was on-track to graduate and was honored at Cal Poly’s senior night. Abrams will be a graduate transfer and eligible to play immediately somewhere else in 2018-19, if he so chooses.

On a related note, head coach Joe Callero talked after their season-ending loss to UCSB about how difficult it was to get graduate transfers into school at Cal Poly. Part of that context was that UCSB relied heavily on a few graduate transfers this season. The other part of that is that Cal Poly is losing at least 2-3 players via the grad transfer. 

Best of luck to Aleks, wherever he ends up.

*Ed note: Over the next few weeks, we’ll be recapping the season of every Cal Poly player who played in 2017-18.

Iziah James – Freshman – 6’0″, 180 lbs

Iziah James could have a few clear paths to improvement and more playing time in 2018-19. By Owen Main

By the Numbers:

26 Games

9.8 Minutes per game

2.2 Points per game

0.8 Rebounds per game

0.7 Assists per game

33.3% Field Goals

36.4% Three Point Field Goals

87.5% Free Throws

In his freshman season, James didn’t see much of the floor. While he appeared in 26 games, he averaged only 9.8 minutes per game. At times, the speed of the game looked quick for him — something that’s not abnormal for some freshmen. James tried to play physical defense. I thought before the season that his physicality reminded me a little of Maliik Love, though James isn’t as quick or physically developed as Love, who was the Big West’s freshman of the year, was at that age. 

James’ shot is more of a set-shot than a jumper and looks a little different, but he shot it at a 36 percent clip that was fourth on the team. James got more playing time during Big West play as his freshman year wore on. 

Looking forward

Point guard Donovan Fields figures to dominate the ball once again in 2018, and with good reason. To get Fields more open looks, Cal Poly might be well-served to have other ball-handlers on the floor. Incoming freshman Junior Ballard figures to get lots of guard/wing minutes, but having James and Fields on the floor at the same time is an option. If James can bring his three-point and field goal shooting percentage closer to 40%, this will open things up a lot more for more playing time. 

As with other players trying to get off the end of the bench, improvements are likely in store for James. His ball security, physical development, decision-making, and consistent shooting are all things that he can improve on, as can all young point guards. If he really wants to make himself indispensable, getting really focused on his own physicality and defense can really be a difference maker. This is a team that needs more physical defensive players and a defensive stopper is a great role for a young player to develop. 

*Ed note: Over the next few weeks, we’ll be recapping the season of every Cal Poly player who played in 2017-18.

Karlis Garoza – Freshman – 6’9″, 230 lbs

By the Numbers:

20 Games

12 Minutes per game

2.0 Points per game

2.8 Rebounds per game

0.6 Assists per game

41% Field Goals

63.5% Free Throws

Listed at 6’9″ and 230 pounds, many had very high hopes for Latvian freshman Karlis Garoza in 2017-18. During his first year in San Luis Obispo, it was hard to get a good read on what he can be on the court. While 6’9″ is a liberal estimate of his height, Garoza’s long arms and timely jumping allowed him to be effective in spurts against opposing centers. Garoza’s aggressive mentality and ability to mix it up physically and resist opponents defensively in the post was good at times early-on this season. 

An early-season upper-body injury and a knee injury midway through the season certainly hampered Garoza’s development. He missed several conference games and was clearly hobbled during the time he was on the floor during Cal Poly’s Big West Tournament loss. Garoza was scheduled for knee surgery after the season.

Looking forward

Assuming he comes back healthy from injury, Garoza is one of just two returning bigs currently on the Cal Poly roster. As things stand, Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero is likely to rely on Garoza for similar production next season to what the Mustangs got from Aleks Abrams in 2017-18. Abrams averaged nearly five rebounds per game while providing the best post defense on a team that was 349th out of 351 Division I teams in defending 2-point shots. If Cal Poly wants to get better in this area, improved post defense — especially in an increasingly physical Big West landscape — would be a good place to start.

*Ed note: Over the next few weeks, we’ll be recapping the season of every Cal Poly player who played in 2017-18.

Nick and Owen break-down the end of the Cal Poly men’s basketball season, what’s ahead for next year, and impressions from a fun Thursday at the Honda Center for the first round of the Big West Tournament. 

As you’ll hear in the jump, we taped this minutes before Josh Martin’s intention to transfer was announced. 

The first three games of the 2018 Big West Tournament were close, hard-fought contests. The final game was basically over a quarter of the way through. The Gauchos made three pointers on their first two possessions and on three of their first four possessions to lead 9-2 less than three minutes into the contest. Eventually, they built-up to a 41-14 lead late in the first half and went to halftime leading by 27 points, 45-18. The final score was 75-52.

For a 7th-place team that has managed to stay close in many conference games this season, Cal Poly was not close in this one. Facial expressions went from confusion to frustration. From a deer in headlights to a bull in a china shop. Nothing was working for the guys in green. 

Players on the outside of the timeout huddle looked around the Honda Center, trying to process the blue freight train running through Cal Poly’s upset dreams. Mustang fans hollered with a tone that seemed both upset and disbelieving. 

In an arena that had seen three hard-fought games to start the tournament, people looked around and wondered what was going on.

Luke Meikle was the late-game hero when Cal Poly beat UCSB in January. By Owen Main

It wasn’t just one thing that Cal Poly didn’t do well. Sure, Cal Poly missed shots, going 0-6 from three-point range in the first half.

As the third-worst two-point percentage team in the nation (vs. Division I opponents), pulling off an upset against the bigger, stronger, and faster UCSB team without making tons of three-pointers was never going to be possible. 

The Mustangs didn’t defend well either — UCSB got a number of open looks. The Gauchos more than doubled Mustang rebounds (23-11) and assists (12-4) in the first half and seemed like they got whatever they wanted. UCSB shot 10-22 from downtown for the game, bringing the three point percentage of Division I Cal Poly opponents up to 40 percent for the season (6th worst in the nation). 

Cal Poly played a little harder in the second half, but were never really in it. They made an 11-0 run at one point to cut the lead to 20. In the end, it was too much to overcome. Frustrations mounted. Kuba Niziol, who received a technical foul early in the game, received a Flagrant-2 for not playing the ball on a hard foul and was ejected. In the end, the deficit was 22 points as UCSB rested their regulars for the final five minutes or so. 

Maybe it was the late-night Honda Center atmosphere and the exhale of fans who had seen three close games. Maybe it was the body language of players on both teams. For whatever reason, the whole thing just seemed surreal. 

The loss ends the worst season of the Joe Callero era. Cal Poly finished the season 9-22 overall (4-12 in regular season conference play). Cal Poly lost seven of their final eight games. They didn’t win a conference road game and didn’t win away from Mott Athletics Center after November 22nd, when they beat a top-100 College of Charleston team that won their conference regular season title and CAA tournament. That game came after the only road game the Mustangs won all season — at Santa Clara. Cal Poly finishes the season ranked 322 (out of 351 Division I teams) on KenPom.com. 

When asked about what they learned about Cal Poly in the first matchup — a 83-82 Cal Poly win in early January — UCSB coach Joe Pasternak said it was more about what UCSB learned about themselves. 

“It really wasn’t about Cal Poly, it was about ourselves,” said Pasternak. “We had to tighten our defense up and I think sometimes a loss does that — it wakens your guys up to listen more. I think that we had an incredible film session the next day to really dissect our defense and from that point on we’ve taken a huge step.”

For Cal Poly, Callero talked after the game about UCSB’s shooting being the key to their victory. 

The 7-seed in the tournament was the fifth straight year Cal Poly has held that spot. The first year, they won the tournament, but the Mustangs have bowed-out in the first round each of the past four seasons. 

“Top to bottom, the parity is incredible,” said Pasternak after the game, when asked about the close early games. 

For Cal Poly fans, a close game probably would have been just another loss. Instead, the non-competitive blowout loss is going to be a really tough pill to swallow, and the taste is going to be hard to wash out.