Saturday night is Senior Night at Mott Athletics Center, so I thought it was probably a good time to take a look back at the past five seasons and the contribution the three Cal Poly seniors have made to the program.

This season has been disappointing so far, but over the past five seasons, the Mustang men’s basketball program has clearly made strides under head coach Joe Callero. Kyle Odister is the only player on this year’s roster who was on the team during Callero’s first season, when the Mustangs improved from seven wins the previous year to 12 during Callero’s inaugural campaign.

This year’s senior class is really a study in changing expectations for the program at-large. Looking at just this year might be disappointing for fans who had big expectations, but a look back at the Cal Poly careers of Jamal Johnson, Chris Eversley, and Kyle Odister reveal a program that went from also-ran to contender.

Here’s a quick break-down of this year’s seniors and their careers.

CE usually prefers to throw down with his left hand. By Owen Main

Chris Eversley

After a season at Rice University, Eversley transferred to Cal Poly. The 6’7″ transfer had to sit-out a season before seeing time off the bench backing up David Hanson and Will Taylor. At the end of his sophomore campaign, Eversley saw some bigger minutes and was one of the team’s top scorers late in the season — sparking the team off the bench.

In his junior season, Eversley had what was possibly his finest year, averaging 15.4 points and 7 rebounds per game en route to first-team All-Big West Conference honors. With a sick Eversley, the team was thwarted in the conference semi-finals by a last second tip-in by eventual conference champion, Pacific.

At the beginning of this year, Eversley showed he could score from the outside as well. Against teams from the nation’s top conferences, CE poured in long-range jumper after long-range jumper. Open shots have been more difficult to come by in conference play, but the senior still leads the team in scoring and rebounding.

For me, the lasting image of Eversley will be his smile, exuberance and positivity both on and off the floor. His love of everything Cal Poly including Mott Athletics Center, the band, and his fellow students has ingratiated him to anyone watching throughout his career. He is a guy who is really easy to root for.

Recently, despite Cal Poly’s rough stretch in conference, Eversley has kept his bright-side attitude. His mantra of believing in his teammates until he’s played his last game in the green and gold is a testament to the kind of leader he seems to be. He is also one of the most eloquent college athletes I’ve ever heard with the media, coming off as more mature than players ten years his senior. His shoes will be hard to fill.

I told you you cannot leave him open. By Owen Main

Kyle Odister

When Kyle Odister entered the Cal Poly lineup in 2009-10, the freshman dazzled, playing point guard and making what seemed like clutch shot after clutch shot. It was Joe Callero’s first year as head coach, the Odister was named to the Big West All-Freshman team, averaging almost eight points per game.

Things looked promising for Odister until he suffered an injury that put him out of basketball for almost a year and a half. Once he returned, injuries seemed to always follow. For a player who always seemed to be playing hurt, Odister’s best game so far has probably been this season’s opener at Arizona. In his first game as a senior, Odister knocked down seven three-pointers en route to 21 points against a team that has been ranked first in the country for most of this season. At his best, Kyle Odister could shoot the ball with anyone.

Cal Poly was off to a great conference start this season until Odister went down with a foot injury in the fourth game of the conference season. While he’s dealt with his stress fracture, the team has gone 3-8 with one conference game left this season.

KO Buckets, as he is affectionately known, has never been afraid to shoot the ball and seems like he’s always most-clutch with the game on the line. Like a few others on this Cal Poly roster, Odister fans examining his career in San Luis Obispo will probably have some “what could have been” sentiment. I have it, too. Rarely does one see such a fearless, deadly shooter who also has enough athleticism and strength to play point guard effectively as a freshman.

Odister had all that and more. Unfortunately, he never really seemed to have a fully healthy season after his freshman year. On one foot or two, teams better know not to leave him open in the conference tournament next week.

In fact, in 35 years, when Odister is in his late 50’s, I’ll still advise that opponents don’t leave him open. He has a shooting stroke that is that smooth and a shooting mentality that is that vicious.

Jamal Johnson has run Cal Poly’s offense as the starting point guard the past two seasons. By Owen Main

Jamal Johnson

Jamal Johnson was thrown into the fire as one of two freshman point guards in 2010-11 when Amaurys Fermin went down with an injury. Over the past two seasons, Johnson has grown more solidly into his role as one of Cal Poly’s more vocal floor leaders.

Callero, a former point guard himself, is notoriously tough on point guards. He is also trusting of point guards he starts, and Johnson has been that since his junior year. Point guards in Callero’s offense aren’t usually big scorers, but Cal Poly has been at its best this year when Johnson has scored more. In fact, if I were going to predict how Cal Poly would do in the upcoming Big West Tournament, I might say that Johnson must have one or two double-digit scoring outbursts, which would be unusual for the lefty from San Antonio.

Johnson’s legacy at Cal Poly will be efficiently running the offense during his junior and senior seasons. Last year, his assist/turnover ratio was almost 3/1, something Callero usually points to as an indicator of success. Johnson’s passage to Cal Poly also perhaps helped pave the way for fellow Texans Ridge Shipley and Taylor Sutlive to come play in SLO.

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Tomorrow night’s game against Santa Barbara has already sold-out the general admission seating, a somewhat surprising fact considering the team has lost 8 of its past 11 games and is battling for a seed somewhere between 5 and 7 in the conference tournament. Perhaps that’s the real legacy of these players, along with Callero, over the past five seasons. When the program won seven games in 2008-09, Division I attendance hit rock bottom. This group’s ability to slowly and methodically bring fans back to Mott Athletics Center and re-establish a loyal fan-base for the program over the course of five seasons is notable.

At the end of the game Saturday night, the seniors will lead a team around the gym to high-five and shake hands with a group of adoring San Luis Obispo fans. Then they’ll salute the band. Just don’t expect it to be quick nor, for either side, easy.

It’s been a part of the Cal Poly narrative for the past few months. Sometimes, you just have to make shots. The Cal Poly men’s basketball team did just that, opening up an 18-point first-half lead en-route to a 77-65 victory over Hawai’i in Mott Athletics Center on Thursday night.

Chris Eversley had 17 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and zero turnovers. By Owen Main

“It felt like and intense environment.” said Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero. “It felt like fans were coming to see a big-time men’s college basketball Division 1 game. And we delivered with athleticism, toughness, competitiveness, skill level. I was so proud of our guys because we’ve gone through a lot by the daunting preseason schedule we had but we’ve learned a lot and that’s why I’m proud of what we’re doing.”

Cal Poly shot 51.6 percent in the first half and 50 percent for the game from the field.

“The number one indicator that the NCAA has found for the last ten years to indicate most success is field goal percentage,” said Callero. “We shot 50 percent tonight. Losses that we’ve had on the road, we’ve been lower.”

Senior guard Kyle Odister got the hot shooting started, knocking down a pair of triples within the first three minutes of the game. A Chris Eversley dunk and layup extended the Cal Poly lead to 12-2 just 3:42 into the game. Fellow senior Jamal Johnson also got into the scoring act early and often, scoring a career high 15 points on 4-7 shooting from the field and 5-5 from the free-throw line. Johnson was 2-4 from 3-point range. Prior to the game, Johnson had scored only 5.1 points per game this season. His scoring on Thursday was much more dynamic and included drives to the basket and shots that the Hawai’i defense seemed to be forcing the Mustangs to settle for.

“There were just times in the preseason where we just took bad shots as a team. Personally I did as well… . If we want to win, we have to improve our percentages and improve our shot selection because if we get in the paint and kick out and share with people, we can play with anybody in the country” said Eversley

Eversely tied for the team and game-high in points with 17. Sophomore David Nwaba also notched 17, including an electrifying tip-jam midway through the second half. The dunk and ensuing turnover by the Rainbow Warriors seemed to squash any chance Hawai’i had to come back in Mott Athletics Center.

“There’s nothing like playing at home,” said Eversley. “We’ve been longing for this. We’re on the road, staying at different hotels, sleeping in different beds. We knew once everybody got back in their bed, in their routines with school starting, just mentally it’s a big stability thing. The fans were great tonight, the band was great tonight and we fed off that.”

Nwaba agreed.

“It’s a great atmosphere. I love the crowd here in SLO,” said Nwaba.

Along with a pair of gravity-defying dunks, Nwaba also knocked down a few 17-foot jumpers, something he hasn’t done for much of the year.

“Confidence is key,” said Nwaba. “I’ve been building-up confidence and getting more shots up in the gym. Teams are doing a great job of scouting so I know I need to extend my game just a little bit so [I’m] getting in the gym and getting my shots up.”

With an 8-12 shooting performance, Nwaba ranks 12th in the nation and first in the Big West Conference, shooting 61.3 percent from the field. Nwaba, a sophomore transfer from Santa Monica College, also is second on the team averaging 11.9 points per game.

For Cal Poly, it was their fifth straight win over Hawai’i, 15th consecutive victory at home in the Big West Conference. The team hadn’t played a home game since they hosted Cal State Dominguez Hills on December 14th.

One day contract

Callero often refers to “one-day contracts” each of his players are metaphorically on. For the Big West opener, that meant that Joel Awich and Chris Eversley were the starting forwards. With neither standing over 6’7″, the lineup seemed to present a mismatch down low, where Hawai’i started Christian Standhardinger (6’8″) and Isaac Fotu (6’8″). But the Mustangs came out and outrebounded Hawai’i 12-6 to start the game and never looked back. Brian Bennett played just 17 minutes for the second game in a row and has now come off the bench for two straight games for the first time in his career. In his freshman campaign last season, Bennett started all 32 games. So far this year, he’s started 11 of the team’s first 14 games.

Paying full price

Cal Poly opens their Big West schedule this week by playing the team with the best preseason record (Hawai’i) and the team that is probably the best team in the conference right now, Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos got the opening night bye (there are nine teams in the conference) this week and will open conference play at the Thunderdome. Tip-off on Saturday is at 4:00 pm.

Next week, the Mustangs come back home to face Reggie Theus’ Cal State Northridge Matadors on Thursday and defending regular season conference champion Long Beach State on Saturday. both games are scheduled for 7:00pm.

Women’s team wins a thriller

Taryn Garza’s putback as time expired helped the women take the Rainbow Wahine of Hawai’i into overtime in Honolulu on Wednesday night. Jonae Ervin scored a career-high 37 points as the defending Big West champions won their conference opener. The Mustang women made it back from Honolulu on Thursday in time to see the end of the men’s game at MAC. The Mustangs also face UCSB on Saturday. Their game is at MAC at 4:00 pm.

Photos by Owen Main

  [See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Chris Eversley (33) grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in the win over Santa Clara on Saturday. By Owen Main

Jamal Johnson was smiling. Players on the bench were halfway out on the floor high-fiving teammates.  There was 11:33 left in their eighth game, but Joe Callero’s basketball team was up by 12 points and really looked like it might be finally finding its stride, en route to a 64-53 victory over visiting Santa Clara, a team that beat Cal Poly in Santa Clara last season.

After averaging 24 three-point attempts per game over their last two games, both losses, Cal Poly made a concerted effort to get the ball in the paint and play more aggressively on offense. David Nwaba slashed to the basket all game long, leading the Mustangs with 21 points on 8-16 from the floor.

“We just, for three days, talked about how we’ve got to become a much more aggressive team with getting the ball in the paint,” said Callero. “To start the game off, we just ran the same play over and over and over trying to get inside touches… . It didn’t necessarily make us score a lot, but it made us more aggressive. And I think that aggressiveness carries over to the defensive end and it certainly carries over to the rebounding. The fact that we outrebounded them 42-31 was probably the stat that kept us with a 10-point lead.”

The sophomore wing led the team in field goal percentage coming in and had the most points and shots of his career.

“We’ve got to have a guy like David getting the ball more times. He was leading us in field goal shooting percentage, over 60 percent, so that guy should get the ball more often.”

Getting Nwaba and others going to the basket was a big emphasis against a Santa Clara team that didn’t really start a true center.

“To start the game off, we just ran the same play over and over and over trying to get inside touches,” said Callero. “It didn’t necessarily make us score a lot, but it made us more aggressive. And I think that aggressiveness carries over to the defensive end and it certainly carries over to the rebounding.”

Cal Poly out-rebounded Santa Clara 42-31, including 15-9 on the offensive glass. Preseason All-Big West Conference selection, Chris Eversley, pulled down 15 rebounds, matching a career high he set in a double-overtime game at UCSB last season.

“I’ve always come into the game with the mentality of come out and be aggressive,” said Eversley, who leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game so far this season.

Nwaba pulled down six rebounds of his own, including four on the offensive end.

“Rebounding leads to possession, so we’ve got to make sure that we crashed the boards a little harder,” said Nwaba.

Cal Poly is now 3-5 on the season.

Practice getting better

Both Eversley and Callero pointed to better practices recently as a big reason for the improved play.

“David had been having great first halves, but probably not in game shape to sustain and play 25 minutes of hard basketball. He was running out of gas,” said Callero.

“[Nwaba] kind of was just an average practice player. I said, ‘When you want to be a great player, you’ll be a great practice player.’ That will create a habit of being aggressive all game long.”

Nwaba stayed aggressive in this game, scoring his 21 points in just 20 minutes. After Santa Clara cut the lead to seven, Nwaba’s dunk with just under four minutes left brought the crowd to its feet. Cal Poly would never lead by less than nine for the remainder of the game.

Brian Bennett chipped in with 8 points and 5 rebounds in the win and Maliik Love led the team with four assists in 22 minutes off the bench. Love, Johnson, and freshman Ridge Shipley all figured to play a role at point guard. As Nwaba’s substitute in this game, though, Love had the same imperative as Nwaba: be aggressive and get the ball into the paint.

“One of the things we did tonight that I thought was most important was we got 11 guys on the floor,” said Eversley. “Coach has switched off the practice style we have… it’s definitely a testament to that. Guys are running harder at practice, getting in shape, because we are realizing we’re going to be playing a deep rotation and everybody has to come in and contribute for us to be successful.”

Nwaba pointed to the productive play of the reserves as a key to the Mustangs 18-6 run over the final 9:00 of the first half.

“We did a good job being aggressive all the way through,” said Nwaba. “The bench was productive for sure. The starters came in well-rested and we capitalized.”

1985-86 team honored

The 1985-86 basketball team was honored at halftime of the game. Here are a few pictures of the team members who were recognized. They included Sean Chambers, who I remember from coming to games at Cal Poly and camps at Cuesta and also ESPN Radio 1280’s Mike Chellson.

Here’s a video that Cal Poly video coordinator Jeremy Jauregui put together on the team from that year. I think it’s really cool to see old highlights and Mott Gym pre-rennovation.

Leonard hurt

Freshman Markel Leonard was in street clothes for this game, sitting out with a stress fracture in his foot. His only playing time coming in the game against Bethesda, it’s unclear when he will be available again, though it’s likely to be 6-8 weeks or more.

Other thoughts

With only two Division 1 home games in the preseason, it was imperative for Cal Poly to get this win for many reasons. The Nevada game was hugely disappointing. If they had lost to Santa Clara, the buzz around the team going into conference play would definitely have been muted. Instead, the team played well and showed it can be a winner against a solid opponent.

As light as their home schedule might be in the preseason, it’s ridiculously tough on the road. Having already played at Arizona, Oregon, and Fresno State, the Mustangs will be on the road at Pitt, Stanford, Delaware, and Loyola Marymount between now and the start of 2014. It’s safe to say that by conference play, they will be road tested.

It also seems that this team is really putting an emphasis on a lot of guys playing in non-conference games and it seems players are bought into the concept. It will be interesting to see if that stays the same or if Callero shortens his bench some as conference season approaches.

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Nick Wynne is a Cal Poly alum and Big West Conference and Cal Poly sports fan. I met him at last year’s Big West Conference tournament and am always impressed with his off-the-cuff knowledge of Cal Poly sports, especially when it comes to analyzing statistics at a little higher level than most sports fans. With basketball season starting on Friday for Cal Poly and football season winding down, I thought it was a great time to talk to a guy like Nick.

What you’ll hear is an analysis especially of Cal Poly football and basketball and Big West basketball as a whole. Hope you enjoy it!

Joe Callero’s swing looks pretty good, but yours truly squeaked out the best score on the day. By Owen Main

I hatched the idea in the upstairs interview/conference room at Mott Athletics Center last season. It was probably still called Mott Gym back then, but I digress.

Cal Poly had just lost a game at home… perhaps to Fresno State. Head coach Joe Callero used a golf analogy to describe leaving a bad game or “hole” behind you and going on to the next one.

A Mustang Daily writer asked him how much he played golf. And the idea for the following podcast was born.

I had to wait until Callero’s “personal maintenance” time of the year — when he schedules all his doctor appointments, dentist appointments, etc… . He started the day talking about the possibility of another knee surgery. As school starts this month, though, so does the grind of a basketball coach’s schedule.

Callero said he only plays a dozen rounds a year — all in the offseason — and he was kind enough to grace the podcast with one of those rounds.

So here’s the premise. Eighteen holes. Eighteen questions.

Two retired gentlemen joined us in our foursome. One talked about being a UCLA alumni before the fist tee shot. Instead of teeing up his ball, he’d teed one up for the Cal Poly head coach, who didn’t waste any time pulling a golf ball out of his bag with the score from Cal Poly’s win at UCLA last season imprinted on it.

He told the guy the story, gave him the ball as a souvenir, and we were off.

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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It was one of the grossest halves you’ll ever see. In classic Cal Poly fashion, the Mustangs led 20-19 at halftime, keeping Davis out of their rhythm.

Drake U’u, Mustache and all, sparked Cal Poly’s second-half run. By Will Parris

But Cal Poly didn’t have much of a rhythm either, and here’s the important part. The Mustangs’ all-Big West first team selection, forward Chris Eversley, looked uncomfortable. Just as Cal Poly worked to take Corey Hawkins out of the game, UC Davis did a great job on Eversley. Off-balance drives and bricked jump shots from both Hawkins and Eversley led to only four total points between the two of them. Someone else was going to have to step up.

Cal Poly’s point guards filled the bill. Drake U’u came out firing in the second half, scoring four quick points and setting the tempo for what ended up being a Cal Poly blowout victory. U’u finished the game with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while only committing one turnover. Not to be out-done, back-up point guard Jamal Johnson provided a spark also in the second half. Johnson kept-up U’u’s aggressiveness netting 7 points, 4 assists, and zero turnovers. It was the kind of leadership that head coach Joe Callero demands from his point guards.

Eversley never really got himself into a rhythm and other Mustangs stepped-up too. Zach Gordon came off the bench to score 4 points and grab 3 rebounds. Reese Morgan had a 4-point play. Brian Bennett was his usual solid self, scoring 8 points and pulling down 9 rebounds.

The important thing for Joe Callero’s team is that they move-on to play tomorrow. On a day when their top scorer and rebounder only managed to shoot 3-11 from the field for 7 points and 6 rebounds, Cal Poly will feel fortunate to be moving on.

Photos by Will Parris

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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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Chris Eversley throws down two of his seven first-half points. By Owen Main

Cal Poly and Fresno State are squaring-off tonight at Mott Gym and it’s a battle of contrasting styles. Fresno State has pressed full-court for the entire game. They are the longer and decidedly more athletic squad and seem to be getting their hands on almost every 50/50 rebound. Fresno State guard Kevin Foster can’t seem to miss with 15 first-half points.

Cal Poly was led by (surprise) Chris Eversley, who scored seven points, but the real story is that Fresno State is playing their up-tempo style and leading Cal Poly 37-30.

Fansmanship Notes –

* Cal Poly implemented a 1-3-1 defense for the last 5 minutes of the second half to keep the Fresno State lead within single digits.

* Lots of Fresno State fans here. Bulldog nation is representing.

* Fresno State was 6-11 from 3-point range in the first half. Cal Poly shot 3-6. Cal Poly was outrebounded 16-11.

Photos by Owen Main

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Behind 21 points and 10 rebounds from junior Chris Eversley, the Cal Poly men’s basketball team came back from a six-point first half deficit to beat Northern Colorado 64-53 on Thursday night. The win was their first of the year.

Senior Chris O’Brien seems to always be in the right place at the right time. By Owen Main

The victory marked Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero’s third home opener victory in four years.

Cal Poly has seen a big contribution from freshman center Brian Bennett. After posting a double-double in his first college game, Bennett scored 8 points and grabbed 7 rebounds against Northern Colorado. Senior Dylan Royer contributed 13 points — 10 in the second half. Royer was only 1-6 from the field in the first half before he, and the rest of the Mustangs got hot. Cal Poly was 5-10 from 3-point range in the second half after going only 1-11 in the first.

First Half Photos Here

For Cal Poly, shooting 43 percent from the field in the second half had to have been a relief after shooting just 31.7 percent combined in their first three halves of the season.

The matchup with Northern Colorado was an interesting one. Cal Poly, known for their defensive efficiency, vs. Northern Colorado, the nation’s top 3-point shooting team from a season ago. Just five days removed from a 127-point performance in an exhibition game, Cal Poly held the Bears to just 53 points on 3-18 from behind the arc.

Jamal Johnson, who had 7 assists and 2 turnovers in the contest, found his way into the lane much more consistently in the second half. By Owen Main

Jamal Johnson gave his coach everything he wants from a point guard, racking up seven assists to go along with five points and only two turnovers in 32 minutes of play.

While it’s still early in the season a few things are shaping up already for this Cal Poly team:

* Chris Eversley is going to have to be in beast mode every game for the Mustangs to have a shot. Whether it’s drawing double-teams, scoring, or rebounding, Eversley is clearly the Mustangs most talented offensive player. He’s going to put up big numbers this season.

* The Freshman Question: Callero addresses it in the press conference (below), but one big question Cal Poly has had coming into this season has been with freshmen. Center Brian Bennett has looked like he belongs right from the beginning. At 6’9”, Bennett is not getting pushed around by anyone. Fellow freshman center Zach Gordon saw more minutes at TCU last week than vs. Northern Colorado. While he will be a less-consistent contributor than Bennett early-on, his play, and playing time, should become more consistent as the season goes on and he gains more experience. Reese Morgan who was so highly-regarded as a recruit, still looks like he’s getting his confidence back in his knee. Morgan has had two surgeries already since he’s been on-campus and, for a shooter, having a base that you aren’t fully comfortable with is a hard thing. Morgan seems to be moving well, playing good defense, taking charges, etc… but he’s missed a lot of basketball and getting your rhythm back as a shooter isn’t an easy thing after a leg injury. Just ask Kyle Odister.

* The O’Brien Factor: Senior Chris O’Brien was out all of last year with a knee injury. O’Brien, the son of a high school coach, is like another coach on the floor for Callero. While he went only 1-4 from the field, O’Brien still managed 9 points in 20 minutes of play, hit a 3-pointer in the middle of the decisive Cal Poly run, and helped to hold Norther Colorado’s 3-point shooters down. Callero has preached the virtues of senior leadership for each of the past two seasons and O’Brien, Royer, and Drake U’u will be those seniors Callero will be leaning on this year.

Post-game comments below.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTXRNznR6NA

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7oOfCXHJfw

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJwOG4QuaI4

Photos by Owen Main

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