Dylan Royer is taking his game to Mexico. By Will Parris

Celeste Royer seemed like she was everywhere.

Behind the bench at Cal Poly’s upset basketball victory over UCLA last season, there she was. In Anaheim, as Cal Poly lost the Big West tournament semifinal to Pacific, she was there, passing out mustaches to the Cal Poly faithful (including President Armstrong). Athletically, she gave her son, Dylan all the support someone could ask for. Now, she’s helped give him a chance to play basketball professionally.

Because she is of Mexican descent, Dylan was able to prove Mexican “citizenship,” making it easier for him to latch-on to a professional team in the country. Teams are limited in how many American players they can have, so they often look for players who they can call “local.”

Last month, Royer was able to sign a contract with Nuevo Loreda Toros. He joins Drake U’u (Perth Wildcats; Australia), Amaurys Fermin (Etha; Cyprus), and Jordan Lewis (Israel) as former Mustangs slated to play professionally around the world.

I sent ten questions to the sharpshooter from Los Osos. None of them had to do with the mustache, but here’s a little reminder of what was last season.

FANSMANSHIP – What team do you play for and where?

DYLAN ROYER – The Toros (Bulls) of Nuevo Laredo. Nuevo Laredo is in the state of Tamaulipas and is approximately 3 hours south of San Antonio, TX.

F – When does your season start?

Even Cal poly president Dr. Jeffrey Armstrong got mustache fever last season. I wonder if Royer will grow another one out while in Mexico. By Will Parris

DR – The first game is on September 26^th but is technically pre-season. We have five pre-season games and then regular season starts in early October. There are approximately 40 regular season games and then post-season begins February 20^th.

F –  What’s the city like where you are living?

DR – Nuevo Laredo is a border town that joins with Laredo, TX to make a larger metropolitan area. However, the close proximity to the border does not make Nuevo Laredo any more “American.” The people speak only Spanish and the culture is that of Mexico. When we can, we make the trip across the border to Laredo so we can visit a good Texas steakhouse and watch some football.

F – What has the biggest adjustment been so far with playing professionally vs. college?

DR – The expectations are much higher. Rookies such as myself are not given a “grace period” to learn plays and get used to practices. We practice twice a day and are expected to contribute immediately and adapt to the playing style that the coach wants. The older players are also much more physical and have a knowledge of the game similar to that of a coach.

F – What do you miss most about college?

DR – I really miss the young environment and comradery between the players. In college we had such a good atmosphere where we all hung out together and cherished our time together outside of practice. Here, there is relatively little time to hang out outside of practice and players usually keep to themselves.

F – Why did you go to the team where you are?

DR – My Mexican ethnicity allowed me to obtain a citizenship in Mexico. This made it so I did not count towards the amount of Americans on a team’s roster so it was easier for me to get a job. Also, I saw that this particular team had a lot of success in the past few years so I knew I was going to be challenged on a daily basis.

F – Is basketball perceived differently in the city you’re in? In what ways?

DR – Soccer is definitely the major sport. Instead of basketball shoes at footlocker there are soccer cleats in every color you can imagine. People also stare at us a lot due to our different appearance and stature. However fans still recognize many of the veteran players and ask for pictures all the time.

F – Any new languages or lingo you can share? How about local foods that you like?

DR – There are a few slang words I’ve learned that I shouldn’t repeat but I’ve also learned some basketball terms. “Encima de la pantalla” means “over/on top of the screen” and three-pointers are simply “triples.” We found a restaurant that made the best tacos and fresh fruit smoothies I’ve ever had. And that’s really saying something.

F – Hardest thing about living where you live?

DR – The hardest thing is being away from everything familiar. Leaving all my family and friends is hard enough so leaving the language and culture behind has been difficult. We also don’t have breaks during the season so I may not be able to come home for a good 6-7 months.

F – Anything else you think Cal Poly fans would be interested to know about your foray into Australian/Mexican/Israeli professional basketball?

DR – I still rock the CP gear! I really miss the Cal Poly fans and being able to play in front of so many people I knew. I’ll be checking in on the team throughout the entire season.

I didn’t really know what to expect Friday night. As a player, coach, or family member, I’ve been to probably 20 high school end-of-year awards ceremonies, but I didn’t know what to expect for an end of year banquet for a Division 1 basketball program. Cal Poly’s event at the Performing Arts Center was a fun one. Here are some of the things I learned and some things I was reminded of.

Dylan Royer, Drake U’u, and Chris O’Brien shared the Cal Poly captain’s award. by Owen Main

Seniors mean a lot

Sometimes in the middle of the season, fans might look at a player and wonder why someone is in the game over someone else. Often, it comes down to intangibles, and it was clear that this year’s seniors have earned a ton of respect from head coach Joe Callero.

“The maturity of three seniors was the absolute key to the season,” said Callero.

The personality of a team at this level can be shaped by the leaders on the team and it’s clear that, along with Chris Eversley, the personality of the past year’s team was driven by the three seniors — Dylan Royer, Chris O’Brien, and Drake U’u. Look for Eversley, Jamal Johnson, and Kyle Odister to quickly establish themselves as dominant personalities on next year’s roster.

And the winners are…

Chris Eversley took home the team’s Most Valuable Player Award. In other news, the sky is blue, Avila Beach is warm, and SLO is a great place to live.

Dylan Royer won the Mr. Hustle award, Drake U’u took home the Academic Excellence and Media Darling Awards. Chris O’Brien won the Inspiration Award, lamenting “I really am an old man, and I feel like it.”

All three seniors split the Captain’s Award and junior point guard Jamal Johnson netted the Coach’s Award.

Men’s college basketball news can be broken on a Friday night in June

About two hours before the awards ceremony, head coach Joe Callero tweeted that Reese Morgan would undergo surgery on the 24th of this month and miss the entire 2013-14 season. Morgan redshirted in 2011-12 with an injury of the same knee, but came on to have a strong freshman campaign last year, starting in at least 10 games down the stretch. Morgan’s best game of the year came in his first start, when he scored 26 points at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara. With the loss of Morgan and Dylan Royer, look for senior Kyle Odister to be Cal Poly’s main three-point threat next season.

Ryan Darling, Shawn Lewis, and other former Mustangs were on-hand at the 2013 Awards Banquet. By Owen Main

The Cal Poly basketball family continues to grow

Joe Callero and basketball alum Alex Lambertson have worked over the past year to develop a Cal Poly basketball alumni network, and that network was represented with several recent graduates from the Cal Poly basketball family. Among others who attended Friday night’s awards ceremony were Shawn Lewis, Will Taylor, Ryan Darling, and Jordan Lewis. For someone who is a Cal Poly basketball fan, it’s fun to see players past and present interacting and to get a chance to talk and catch-up with all of them. Taylor, for example, recently returned from a stint playing basketball professionally in Germany.

Cal Poly has a Media Darling Award

And it went to Drake U’u. Take a few minutes and watch. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. (props to Chris Giovannetti)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAo32kaDmZY

The UCLA win was nice…

But the team has other milestones it’s hit during the past few years. They’ve won at USC and UCLA, finished with back-to-back 18-win seasons, become a team Big West opponents implicitly respect, and raised the bar for future Mustangs teams. The change is one of culture and, while not all Cal Poly fans agree with everything that happens all the time, it’s hard to argue that the culture around the basketball team at Cal Poly has changed from five years ago, when the team finished 7-21 and expectations seemed almost impossible to have.

The event overall was really fun

I wasn’t sure how much fun I would have, but if you followed the basketball team at all this year, there were lots of inside jokes, fond memories, and other fun things. The location was pretty great too — inside a side hall of the Performing Arts Center I had never seen before. For the $5 admission, I think it was totally worth it.

The Future

The awards ceremony got me thinking about the future of the program. Questions about who will improve the most from last year to next stand-out. The unknown can be the most exciting or terrifying thing in the life of a college basketball coach or fan. How will David Nwaba fit-in and is he really the physical specimen they’ll need him to be with Morgan out and O’Brien graduated? Can any of the three freshmen next season (Markel Leonard, Ridge Shipley, and Taylor Sutlive) break through and make significant contributions? How will Kyle Odister move into a role where his shooting and energy are needed night-in and night-out? Will Jamal Johnson’s efficiency continue to improve? Can Chris Eversley take a next-step to being a candidate for Big West Player of the Year?

I could go on and on. the point is, the future is a fun thing to play with, as anticipation builds toward next year.

Next year’s schedule is ambitious

The non-conference schedule for Cal Poly includes games at Arizona, Pitt, Stanford, Delaware, and Fresno State and a home game against Nevada, among others. To build a reputation and get teams to schedule home-and-home series, you have to play good teams on the road, and Callero has once again put several BCS schools on the schedule.

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Dylan Royer’s sharp shooting helped Cal Poly muster a huge upset in Westwood. By Will Parris

On Friday night, the Cal Poly men’s basketball team will hold their annual banquet at 7pm in the Performing Arts Center. With school ending for the three seniors on the team, I thought it was a good time to try to catch-up with them.

Chris O’Brien was otherwise disposed, but I did track down Dylan Royer and Drake U’u, both of whom told some pretty fun stories about playing at Cal Poly, their best and worst moments while in San Luis Obispo, and a great Joe Callero story.

Cal Poly fell in a heartbreaker on Friday night. By Will Parris – Parris Studios

The fans filed out of the Honda Center into a mild March evening in Orange County. The arena would wait until the championship games the next evening. On the women’s side, Cal Poly would be there. For the men, a long trip back to San Luis Obispo awaited them.

After a game with 18 lead changes and 14 ties, Pacific used a long tip-in from Travis Fulton with one second remaining to upend Cal Poly 55-53 and end their Big West Tournament run.

“Every possession meant so much and it felt like the last four minutes of the game for the entire game,” said 25th year Pacific head coach Bob Thomason, whose final Big West game will be Saturday night. “Cal Poly played great, we played great, both teams playing great defense, both teams playing physical. If it had gone 15 seconds longer, maybe Cal Poly would have hit the shot to win the game.”

Instead, it was Fulton who made SportsCenter’s top-10 and advanced his team one step closer to the NCAA Tournament.

“What you want to do is crash the boards for that last-second tip in,” said Fulton. Crash the boards he did.

It was a game of fits and starts. Neither team built more than a 4-point lead. Both teams missed  opportunities to make shots or execute offensively, defenses of both teams instead ruling the day.

The one offensive player who had any rhythm on either team was Tony Gill. The junior transfer from Roseville, CA did his best Kevin Pittsnoggle impression, stepping out beyond the 3-point line and knocking down big-shot after big-shot late in the game. Gill finished with 20 points, shooting 7-8 from the field including 4-4 from long-range.

“The coach did a great job of calling specific plays, a lot of pick-and-pop stuff, and the guards were able to get off the screens efficiently and get me the ball so the opportunity’s there and I just tried to make the best of it,” said Gill.

For the Mustangs, re-creating the home magic that saw them go undefeated at Mott Athletic Center proved to be a tough task in the Honda Center. Both coaches seemed to think the game could have gone either way after it was over.

“Sometimes I guess the basketball Gods look at a guy who says he’s got 25 years and it’s his swan song and if that game is maybe 39 minutes long or 41 minutes long, maybe we get it but it’s a 40 minute game and that last possession, that last bounce and that last tip-in goes to them and it’s a great opportunity,” said Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero.

Cal Poly was led by Chris Eversley, who scored 12 points and pulled down five rebounds while battling a cold. Senior Dylan Royer chipped in 10 points and three rebounds in what is probably his final game for Cal Poly. According to this story in the Tribune, the Mustangs still have a shot at going to one of the “lesser known” postseason tournaments after posting an 18-13 record while winning the most Big West regular season games in school history.

Royer had a shot come up short in Cal Poly’s final possession.

It’s kind of a blur at this point, so many lead changes and ties throughout the game,” said the 5th-year senior from Los Osos. “It was a tie game, we had the ball, I thought we had a decent possession, missed a shot, I couldn’t get the rebound, but we were definitely confident in our defensive abilities in that last possession. The guy made a great play. There was great defense on the first shot and, you know, Fulton made an incredible falling-down shot. Gotta give credit to him. Not much else we could do.”

Fellow senior Chris O’Brien seemed like a man on a mission in the second half for Cal Poly, willing himself to the paint to keep the Mustangs’ offense moving. O’Brien netted 11 points — all in the second half — and pulled down 5 rebounds.

For a Cal Poly team that has talked all year about assist-to-turnover ratio, the Mustangs were stymied by Pacific’s defense, which took away driving lanes and forced Cal Poly’s facilitators to try to score. In his last game against Cal Poly, Thomason coached a gem. Cal Poly had only 8 assists as a team and 10 turnovers.

“They do a great job preparing, and you have to be real patient,” said Thomason. “You’ve just got to grind, and even though we don’t like it that slow and that grinding, if we didn’t accept it and feel good about it, we weren’t going to win the game. You can’t be irritated about it because that’s what they want you to do.”

Most of the fans were gone. Back to their hotels or homes — those clad in orange ready to come back and do it again twice the next day. Instead of Cal Poly fielding teams in both the men’s and women’s final, the team from Stockton in their final season in the conference is going out with a bang.

In the mostly-empty parking lot, after all the press conferences and post-game responsibilities had been satisfied a tunnel of green, gold, and brass materialized. So did the Cal Poly men. It was only the second game the band had seen the men’s team lose all year. Echoing across the mostly empty Honda Center parking lot, it was also one of their biggest cheers.

Chris Eversley and company have proven they can win at Mott Athletic Center, but they did some work on the road over the weekend. By Owen Main

Over the weekend, Cal Poly proved they can do something they haven’t done yet this year — win a pair of games away from Mott Gym.

Going into this week’s games, Cal Poly was undefeated at home in the Big West, but had lost six straight on the road following a victory in Riverside in the conference opener. Winning at home is great during the regular season, but winning away from Mott is crucial if Cal Poly is to achieve Joe Callero’s goal of winning the Big West Tournament (played at the Honda Center in Anaheim).

What we learned this weekend:

An already-mature team hasn’t stopped developing.

I commented earlier this season on how mature this Cal Poly team seemed, even during non-conference play. Joe Callero has recruited specifically to get players whose heads are in the right place. When Chris Eversley was injured and out for a few weeks, Cal Poly found ways to compete and beat UCSB and Loyola Marymount at home, losing on the road to Cal State Fullerton during that stretch.

That being said, and as the Onion so nicely put it today, talent and shot-making become even more magnified in the conference tournaments. Shots that Cal Poly was missing consistently in earlier conference road games (see: Long Beach State and UC Irvine) were falling in Honolulu. Long two-pointers. Contested three-pointers. Chris Eversley made at least four on Saturday. Reese Morgan made a few. Dylan Royer knocked a few down. The Mustangs will have to be able to make tough, contested shots if they are to make any kind of run in the Big West Tournament. Making them takes poise and maturity, two things Cal Poly has continued to develop all year.

Freshman big-man Brian Bennett has been Cal Poly’s “Old Reliable” this year. By Owen Main

Brian Bennett is someone you can count on.

Brian Bennett is big-time. He’s been poised and consistent all year. While his numbers don’t stand-out a ton, he’s done a great job of playing excellent defense and kept his poise through thick and thin. His offensive game is developed out to 17 feet and he will be a cornerstone of the program for the next three years. He plays about the same at home and on the road, against super-tall or super-athletic players. It’s not often that a freshman is a steadying presence on a college team, but Bennett truly is that.

The Big West Tournament will be WILD.

In this year’s tournament, games will be closely contested and teams’ fates could come down to match-ups.

Hawai’i has traditionally had a hard time against Cal Poly. Cal Poly doesn’t match-up great against other, more athletic 3-point shooting teams like Fullerton and Irvine. Long Beach State is the favorite for sure, but they have shown signs of vulnerability. Pacific is a wild-card in head coach Bob Thomason’s final season, and Hawai’i’s size allows them to stay in games with any team, though I would like their chances better if the tournament was in Honolulu. Irvine is experienced and poised to make a run, too.

If the tournament started today, here’s what the matchups would be (Standings here):

(1) Long Beach State vs. (8) UCSB — UCSB can match-up against some teams and are capable of keeping this one close, but the 49ers would be clear favorites in this game and I see them cruising in the second half behind James Ennis and company.

(2) Pacific vs. (7) Cal State Fullerton — This is where things get REALLY interesting. Pacific has played great all season, but have lost 5 games in conference. The Tigers beat the Titans twice this year, including a nine-point victory in Orange County on Thursday. But beating any team three straight times is hard, especially with players like Kwame Vaughan in the back court for Fullerton. In the end, this would be a good matchup for Pacific and I think they would come out on top were this matchup to remain.

(3) UC Irvine vs. (6) UC Davis — Wow. Corey Hawkins vs. Daman Starring. J.T. Adenrele vs. Adam Folker. Ryan Sypkens vs. Mike Wilder. This game would be really fun to see. These two teams went to overtime in the conference opener and will bookend the conference schedule with one another this season. Playing two games in a row against each other this late in the season makes this one probably the game of the first round if things hold.

(4) Cal Poly vs. (5) Hawai’i — This matchup has favored Cal Poly over the last few years. The Mustangs won in Honolulu last night and would be favored going in, but not by much. Like I said before, winning three games in the same season against the same team is really tough. Hawai’i spent much of the conference season in third place, but has recently dropped to fifth. The Warriors have as much talent as anyone in the conference and this 4-5 match-up would be another close, grinding game like what we saw last night.

Of course, things are likely to change. Most teams have two games left and seedings will be different. No matter what they are, the Honda Center will feature a number of great games starting one week from Thursday. We’ll have a preview with the actual match-ups next week.

Hawai’i is all class.

Having the Warriors in the Big West has been really great for all teams. Even though they spent less than 40 total hours on Oahu, Cal Poly was able to hit the beach on Saturday morning and a trip to Hawai’i once a year is something I’m sure players don’t mind.

Watching their game on Big West TV this morning, their television broadcast is first-class. The three-man crew that was announcing the game did their homework and called a great game. In football especially, fans are often graced with broadcasters who are such big homers they make it hard to watch for an opposing fan. The Hawai’i broadcasters were Hawai’i broadcasters, but they knew enough about Cal Poly to be able to give them credit when and where it was due.

If broadcasters are an indication of how a program operates, the three gentlemen who called last night’s game (Kenoa Leahey, Tony Sellitto, and Artie Wilson of OC Sports) are really great representatives of the University of Hawai’i.

Cal Poly freshman Zach Gordon goes up for a dunk during Cal Poly’s win on Saturday night. By Owen Main

After Dylan Royer lit-up UC Davis for 6 3-pointers in the first half, he only needed to contribute two in the second as the Mustangs mostly-cruised to a 68-53 victory on Saturday.

But Royer’s career high nor the Cal Poly victory were the main story after the game. Instead, the talk was centered around Cal Poly junior forward Chris Eversley, who left the game late in the first half with a leg injury and did not return. Eversley remained on the end of the bench during the game, ice wrapped around his shoe-less lower leg. He was taken for X-rays after the game.

The loss of Eversley for any length of time would be a crushing blow to the Mustangs, who have had every other key contributor battle streaks of less-than-effective play this season. Eversley has been the rock for Cal Poly, both with his production and his leadership. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where the Mustangs win three straight games in Anaheim without him.

Cal Poly fans, reveling in their 11-game home conference winning streak, will be on the edge of their collective seats, waiting to hear Eversley’s status and prognosis. After the game, head coach Joe Callero said the injury could keep Eversley out for 3-4 days, 3-4 weeks, or the season.

UPDATE: Here’s Callero’s post-game tweet:

Good news x-rays on Chris Eversley leg were negative – no broken bones at this time more evaluation of leg and X-rays next 48 hours

— Joe Callero (@CoachCallero) February 10, 2013

Speaking of the fans, they showed up in the largest numbers this season. A crowd of 2,600 filled the “General Admission” side of Mott Athletic Center, with only a few seats behind the UC Davis bench left unfilled. Dylan Royer said after the game that the crowd has been the most consistent during his years at Cal Poly.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB_JK_1Kdxs

Photos by Owen Main

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On Thursday, Cal Poly held off a second-half run by Pacific and emerged with a 67-62 win over the second place team in the Big West. Cal Poly has now beaten each of the top four teams in the conference — Long Beach State, Pacific, Irvine, and Hawai’i and are the only Big West team to do so. The Mustangs sit tied for fourth in the conference with a 6-5 record (10-11 overall).

Chris Eversley netted a home double-double in Cal Poly’s 10th straight conference win at Mott. By Owen Main

It’s something I’ve seen this year, but really hit home last night — the Cal Poly players really love this game, especially when they play at home. While road teams come into Mott Gym with a very serious attitude — grimacing and rarely cracking a smile — the Mustangs play with a little more joy. This is especially evident in Chris Eversley, whose head wiggle and smile are becoming staples of seemingly every Mustang run. It’s even carrying over to sharpshooters Kyle Odister, Reese Morgan, and Dylan Royer, all of whom flashed their respective pearly whites at some point in last night’s game.

What’s with this home/road split? Cal Poly is now 5-0 at home in Big West play (they’ve won their last 10 conference games dating back to last year), but 1-5 on the road this year. Long Beach State is the only team with a better current home win streak (well into the 20’s) in the conference. The big test and dominant storyline, at least in my opinion, will be whether the Mustangs can take that energy and exuberance they play with in Mott and translate it to the Honda Center in March.

As teams key on Cal Poly’s 3-point shooting game, the Mustangs showed they can still score in spurts. After scoring 45 and 48 points in two games last weekend, Cal Poly scored only 20 points in the first half on Thursday. In the second half, though, shots started falling. The Mustangs put up 47 points in the second half, making 5-7 three-pointers to grab the lead and hold on. They’ll need more than one spurt at the end of the year and it will be interesting to see if consistently good offense for a number of games in a row is something that this team can accomplish against Big West Conference opponents. Joe Callero called his team “An ‘A’ defensively,” but he also said (and I’m paraphrasing) that defense can get you in position to be in close games, but offense is what wins championships.

Pacific head coach Bob Thomason coached his last game in Mott Gym last night. Thomason is the all-time winningest coach in Big West history. He started at UOP in 1988, probably before any of his players were born. Most notably, he coached Michael Olowokandi, the number-1 pick in the 1998 NBA draft to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Photos by Owen Main

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Some highlights via www.gopoly.com

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOwp8EGB8Dk

Cal Poly likes playing at Mott. A lot.

After losing three straight Big West Conference games (all on the road), Cal Poly managed home victories over Hawai’i and Cal State Northridge. The weekend home sweep put the Mustangs alone in 3rd place in the Big West behind Long Beach State and Pacific.

The friendly confines of Mott Athletic Center – Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero’s team has really established a home court advantage. After winning their first four home conference games this season, the Mustangs have now won nine consecutive Big West home games.

Chris Eversley averaged 24.5 points and 12 rebounds as Cal Poly swept the weekend against Hawai’i and Cal State Northridge. By David Livingston

Chris Eversley is REALLY good – Eversley was really good once again this weekend. The junior from Illinois dropped 19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the Mustangs’ 88-59 drubbing of Hawai’i on Thursday and followed it up with a career-high 30 points and 14 rebounds in the Mustangs’ victory over Cal State Northridge. It was the first time a Cal Poly player has scored 30 points since Lorenzo Keeler scored 30 at UC Davis on Feb. 4, 2010 (#Givo). Eversley averaged 24.5 points and 11 rebounds per game over the weekend and is averaging 16.5 points and 8 rebounds per game in Big West play.

“Other guys” continue to emerge – Reese Morgan continues to impress. On Thursday night vs. Hawai’i, Morgan scored 16 points, scoring in double-digits for the third time in Big West play. Morgan’s improvement cannot be overstated. Without his contribution during the first seven games of conference play, it’s safe to say that Cal Poly would not have had the winning record they did. Dylan Royer had a very good pre-conference season, averaging in double digits in scoring, but he hasn’t shot or scored the same way in conference play. Morgan’s play and especially his scoring have offset Royer’s slow conference start.

On Saturday, Morgan went cold too. He and Royer combined to shoot 0-10 from the field (each 0-4 from three-point range). Enter Joel Awich and Drake U’u. Awich, a redshirt freshman who didn’t see the court during Cal Poly’s first four conference games, impressed with aggressive offensive moves. His eight points and three rebounds helped to offset the lack of production from two of Cal Poly’s sharpshooters and his defensive length helped to counteract a very athletic Matador team. Senior Drake U’u has emerged too, starting at point guard for the past two games. U’u averaged 11 points, 3 rebounds and 5.5 assists over the weekend. If Awich and U’u can maintain consistent and solid contributions, then cold shooting nights become less of an issue for the three-point shooters on the team. Despite scoring zero points on Saturday night, Morgan is averaging 11 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in Big West play. Not bad for a freshman who had a really slow start.

Cal State Northridge is really athletic, but it takes more than athleticism to win games consistently in the Big West. By David Livingston

The Big West is coming better into focus – There are only a few givens this year in the Big West conference. Long Beach is very good. Pacific is going to be formidable. Beyond that, any of the other 8 teams could be between the third and eighth seed in the tournament. The bottom line about halfway into conference play is that any team who is not Long Beach State or Pacific will have to go through at least one and probably both of those teams to have a shot at the Big West Tournament championship and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

While Long Beach State and Pacific have emerged early, there are other teams like UC Irvine, Hawai’i, Cal State Fullerton, and UC Davis all sit within a game of the third place Mustangs.

Brian Bennett continues to stabilize the inside – Freshman center Brian Bennett continues to be an equalizer for teams with very good post players. Bennett is averaging double-figure scoring on the season (10.6 ppg in Big West play) and improved his rebounding numbers over the weekend as well, averaging 7.5 rebounds per game over the past two games. In the UCSB game, Cal Poly seemed most in-control with Bennett matching-up inside against the Gauchos’ Alan Williams. While Williams was getting some points, Bennett gave Cal Poly an inside presence on both ends. Cal Poly plays three freshmen at the “5” position, but Bennett is clearly the most polished and continues to play beyond his years.

Photos by David Livingston

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Kyle Odister is a piece to the back-court puzzle that could boost Cal Poly in conference play. By Owen Main

When the 2012-13 men’s basketball schedule came out for Cal Poly, some fans raised an eyebrow. The thing was, there weren’t a lot of “toss-up” games. In other words, for much of the preseason, the Mustangs would either be heavily favored against lower division opponents (Menlo College,  Eastern New Mexico), or extreme underdogs against high-major and other well-heeled squads (TCU,UCLA, Saint Mary’s, Nevada, Washington).

The three games I circled on my calendar as “toss-ups” — the games that would the difference between a really successful preseason or a foreboding one — were Fresno State, Northern Colorado, and (at) Santa Clara.

Overall, things have gone more or less to plan, with one huge Pauley Pavillion exception. In their fourth game of the year, Cal Poly pulled what is probably still the national upset of the season, coming back to beat UCLA in Shabazz Muhammad’s first home game for the Bruins. It was Cal Poly’s first win vs. a ranked opponent and gave a young team confidence while it tried to find its way.

That confidence may have been tempered over the past few weeks by losses to Nevada, Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara, and a closer than expected win vs. Division II Eastern New Mexico.

This year’s team though has struggled so far to find its identity. Here are some things we know thus far as the final pre-conference game (at Washington) is being played tomorrow night.

The Defense is still trying to figure it out.

In his first seasons at Cal Poly, Joe Callero’s defensive-oriented team drew a firm line in terms of identity. That lines name, written in bold, has been Defense. The grinding style of play that gave Callero’s squad their identity during the past few seasons has been elusive. For a stretch against UCLA and Northern Colorado, Cal Poly showed that they can guard top shooters and scorers with high efficiency. There have been signs of great defensive play from freshman big-men Brian Bennett and Zach Gordon and Chris Eversley has been stellar in all areas of the game, but it just doesn’t seem like they’ve been able to put it together for a stretch that would make you believe they’ll be able to dominate defensively in the Big West this season like they have in the past.

All that being said, perhaps the inconsistency that I am sensing comes from playing such a wide-ranging schedule. Playing UCLA one night and Menlo College the next has to have effect consistency in some way, right? Cal Poly fans are hoping the tough schedule will help the Mustangs once they get into the heart of Big West Conference play.

This year’s bellwether: Dylan Royer.(?)

Royer, a senior from Los Osos, is a key offensive weapon for the Mustangs. He has averaged double-figures in points over the first nine games of the season, averaging 7 points in Cal Poly’s 5 losses, and 13.75 points in Cal Poly’s 4 wins. Royer is going to be taking a lot of outside shots this season, which means his 3-point percentage will probably not be as high as it has been in the past. Whether those 3’s are falling on any given night could make a difference for how easy an offensive flow comes for everyone around him.

Joe Callero’s rotation will… rotate.

Cal Poly has used a variety of lineups already this year, playing 9-10 guys during most games. Callero has experimented with different lineups. He’s juggled his rotation, playing point guards Jamal Johnson and Drake U’u together with someone like Chris O’Brien, playing Kyle Odister at the point along with fellow sharpshooters Dylan Royer and Reese Morgan, and everything in-between. While the two post positions seem to be relatively stabilized with Chris Eversley and Brian Bennett, the combination of wings and guards (usually consisting of Dylan Royer and two others) is still in-question. Playing time has been and will probably continue to be based on who is playing the best at that moment, even as Cal Poly begins conference play.

It’s hard to get a handle on these guys.

Part of what makes watching college basketball so fun, especially at this level is watching players improve their skills and confidence over time. Sometimes it happens gradually, like with Dylan Royer. Other times, it’s almost like a switch is flipped, like what seemed to happen with Chris Eversley last season.

Callero will, at some point in the next two months, tell people that his freshmen need to be playing like sophomores, his sophomores like juniors, etc… . While it may be somewhat cliche by now, Cal Poly needs continued improvement if the Big West title and tournament is something they have their sights set on in March.

As I sometimes like to do, here’s a “what we learned” about the Cal Poly men’s basketball team after their 70-68 win over UCLA.

Freshman Brian Bennett has impressed in his first four college games. By Will Parris

The Mustangs are resilient.

We already knew about this team’s maturity, but it’s becoming more and more clear how mentally resilient this team is. In his fourth season, Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero has a team filled with almost all of his own recruits, and it manifests itself in lots of ways.

One small example came at the beginning of Cal Poly’s methodical destruction of the 18-point deficit. UCLA coach Ben Howland called a time out with 7:14 left in the game and UCLA up by 11 at 59-48.

Chris Eversley can play with anyone. 

In contrast to UCLA’s star players, Chris Eversley played inspired, scrappy basketball. Cal Poly’s leading scorer on the season shook off a 2-11 first half to score 15 points and grab 10 rebounds. His stat line mirrored UCLA’s top player, Shabazz Muhammad, who also notched 15 and 10 in the game.

Brian Bennett can be a huge factor right away.

One of the most fun things about college basketball is the necessary turnover of players. Each year, teams have a number of players who are either brand new to the program or who have to work their way into new roles. This year’s Cal Poly team has several players who fall into some version of this. Bennett is just the most exciting. At 6’9″, Bennett pushed around UCLA’s big men all night en route to an efficient 7-10 shooting night.

Kyle Odister has his swagger back.

If you read anything I write about football, you might know that I think swagger is important. During his freshman year, by necessity, Kyle Odister played point guard and shot the ball from all over the court. Odister’s lack of a conscience and fearless play helped him earn Big West All Freshman Team honors that season.

Odister at the point might give Cal Poly its most dynamic offensive lineup.

Odister has experience playing point guard and brings a scoring element to the position that the Mustangs just don’t get with Jamal Johnson. Johnson does all the things Joe Callero asks of a point guard in a game that is grinding, but when you need to spread out longer, more athletic teams, playing Odister at the point over Johnson or Drake U’u seems to be the right fit. It will be interesting to see whether conference games against more athletic teams like Long Beach State force Callero to use the offensively capable lineup of Odister, Royer, O’Brien, Eversley, and Bennett.

Dylan Royer has proven that he can get open and get his shot off against even the longest and most athletic teams. By WIll Parris

You can’t leave Dylan Royer open.

A knock on Dylan Royer in the past has been his inability to get his own shot against longer, more athletic defenders. This seems to be something he has improved over the past year.

Against UCLA, Royer ran off screens, freeing himself for open jumpers throughout the second half. He even pulled a quick-release version for his final 3-pointer that tied the game on Sunday night. If Royer can be a player other teams have to not just be aware of, but game-plan for, Cal Poly’s offense could continue to open up for front-court players like Chris Eversley and Bennett.

Morgan continues to struggle.

Redshirt freshman Reese Morgan continues to struggle to find his shooting touch. In his first four games the fourth-team Parade high school All-American is 2-11 from the field including 1-10 from 3-point range. Anytime a shooter has a leg injury (Morgan has had two recent knee surgeries), it’s going to effect his shot, and Morgan is no exception. We saw it with Odister last season and my gut feeling is that, like Odister did last year, Morgan will take some time this season to get his sea legs under him.

That being said, Morgan remains fearless, continuing to take open shots when he has them. He just doesn’t look comfortable with his legs under him right now when he shoots. For a player who will eventually make his mark from the outside, Cal Poly fans should hope that, like Odister, Morgan’s confidence stays high until his body catches back up.

Callero’s plan continues to be validated.

Since Joe Callero took over (the past four years), Cal Poly has played at Wisconsin, Cal, USC (twice), UCLA (twice), DePaul, TCU, and San Diego State (when they were ranked 10th). The Mustangs still have games this season at St. Mary’s on Saturday and at Washington. Wins the past two seasons at the Galen Center and now at Pauley Pavilion validate Callero’s plan for the program. It also justifies the relentlessly positive attitude the coach has fostered in his players throughout the past few seasons.

Callero himself will tell you that real validation will come if/when Cal Poly makes the NCAA Tournament field. Continuing to play high major teams can only enhance their chances of winning three games in a row in the Big West Tournament. In the mean time, it will be interesting to see how close to the mark the Mustangs’ preseason ranking of 7th in the Big West ends up being.

Dylan Royer talked about the performance that earned him Big West Conference Player of the Week

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHNufu9LI60

The name Dylan always makes me think of this old Chapelle’s show bit. “Who are the 5 best rappers of all time? Think about it. Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan and Dylan. Because I spit hot fire.”

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9lg6HqJeY0

Brian Bennett talked about his team hanging together and scrapping their way back

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNQGDvoX_cU

Joe Callero had a smile from ear to ear.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFl5V_dHcQA

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