What We’ve Learned: Cal Poly men’s basketball preseason

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.