A small, winless 0-5 NAIA team playing on the road has a way of making a team look good, and on Tuesday night against Pacific Union, the Chico State men’s basketball team looked very good. It’s tough to gauge what a win like this does for the Wildcats. On one hand, it keeps their home win streak alive (at three...it’s a start) and snaps their two-game losing skid. Everybody scored, which means Puck Smith is feeling comfortable with his depth and is getting a chance to measure it up in game situations.
On the other hand, this is a creampuff team dropped into the schedule only three games before the California Collegiate Athletic Association season takes over, and I’m not sure just how much it can serve as preparation. Still, as a host of Wildcats chirped coming out of the locker room Tuesday night, a win’s a win. Also, there are legitimate flashes of a good team with this Chico State club. Will it win the conference? Probably not, but it should undoubtedly be better than last year’s 7-20. Whether it will is a different story, yet to be written.
Taking a look at Tuesday night:
UPS
Bench play. The Wildcats repeated their previous starting lineup against Pacific Union that they did in La Jolla, again starting Jesse Soto at small forward and using Ryan Smith in a reserve guard role. The move worked brilliantly, with Soto sparking an early Chico State run with 12 first-half points. All Smith did was contribute eight assists and no turnovers in 14 minutes. Bench play is huge for every team, but especially with the Wildcats, who need to be able to have a solid rotation of fresh players. Josh Jackson (who is plain fun to watch, in one sports writer’s humble opinion) had 14 points off the bench, and Maurice Baker's eight points and post presence are signs that Chico State might have more post depth than previously thought.
Welcome back, Mike Martin. The previously suspended power forward didn’t start but added 13 points and a ton of activity to the floor. He stretched it out on offense with three 3-pointers, served as a high-post conduit in the half-court offense and, perhaps most importantly, drew some attention away from Frank Igbekoyi, who had a game-high 19 points in just 12 minutes. The way those two operate is, if it’s not obvious by now, going to be crucial for Chico State from here on out. The Wildcats have the shooters; they need to establish their inside game, too. This game was a good step in that regard.
Cleaning up the glass. Chico State outrebounded the Pioneers 39-23. While Pacific Union isn’t big by any means — its tallest player was trampled by chants of “Toothpick!” when he stepped to the free throw line — the ability to grab boards is always important.
Somewhere, I think my high school coach just slapped his forehead and muttered, “Duh.” But what’s obvious, other than saying that grabbing the ball is a good thing, is that the Wildcats’ reputation, especially from last season, is not one of rebounding prowess, and every bit helps.
DOWNS
How does one player get four wide-open dunks in a game? If you asked Pacific Union’s Kameron Barnes, he would tell you that Chico State fell completely asleep in four different instances — twice on half-court inbounding defense and twice on careless perimeter passes. The result was a handful of rim-rattlers that should have been five; only a spectacular Igbekoyi rejection stopped it from being so. Seven games in is a tad late for those kind of breakdowns to be happening, especially if they’re going to result in points.
Please, not 3s. Three-pointers are fun when they’re falling. If they’re not, then the situations in which they’re taken start to get more attention. Had the Wildcats not gone 9-of-19 Tuesday, it might have been a little more evident that there were times that the offense didn’t get a chance to set up before someone jacked up a 3-pointer. I’m all for letting ‘er rip when you have an open shot, but many of those 19 were far from open. Feed the blocks, then see what kind of shots you can get. That’s what inside-out’s all about, right?
They’re called “free” for a reason. Chico State went 9-of-14 from the free throw line, which might not sound like a big deal, but equates to five free points. Already this season, the Wildcats have had two games decided by that margin. Just like my clever rebounding epiphany, this one jumps out and bites. They all count; good teams make free throws.
