In all fairness, Chico State started its schedule with two regional opponents, and after seeing what Mesa State did to the Wildcats in a four-game set (33 runs), I’m not ready to say Chico State’s pitching staff is in any kind of dire straits. I generally don’t use that phrase anyway, but if I did, I still wouldn’t use it now.

Still, there’s no denying that something’s got to get straightened out. The team’s ERA is a staggering 7.62 (for you rare Litter Box readers who happen to be non-baseball fans, that’s A BOATLOAD), and it’s largely been the starters giving up the damage. Andrew Pluta, who we saw on opening day in the closer’s spot, was quickly shoved back into the rotation after blowing a save and didn’t fare much better there. His ERA is 17.18, which can happen to relievers with one bad inning.

Pete Mickartz, the staff ace, is 0-1 after two starts, and his composite line is dismal: 10 2/3 innings, 20 hits, 11 earned runs and four home runs. Batters are hitting him at .435.

Mike Robbins flirted with a no-hitter in Chico State’s lone win against the Mavericks (his flirtation lasted 5 2/3 innings until the no-hitter’s fat, drunk friend wanted to go to LaSalles, and Mike Robbins doesn’t chase and therefore didn’t seal the deal). Even with that splendid outing, Robbins lowered his ERA to 6.23.

More bad news, still: The Wildcats have a new black alternate, and in my opinion, it sucks. I don’t have a problem with black jerseys in general, but when the lettering is black, too, I consider it to be a mistake. Judge for yourself:

But, there is good news. First of all, Chico State also has a red alternate that’s much better, though I can’t find a picture anywhere. More importantly, the offense is raking. For all its pitching woes, the club is getting tremendous production at the plate, and this early in the season, that’s a good sign. Normally you see the first week of baseball season with relatively low-scoring games because batters are getting their timing caught up, but not so this year.

Eight qualifying Wildcats are hitting .300 or better, including a pair of .500 regulars in Kyle Eveland and Deven Braden. That kind of production in the middle of the infield likely won't last all year, but it’s encouraging to see, especially given that Eveland probably will be holding down the No. 2 spot in the order. Both are plus-defenders; the offensive numbers (10 RBIs combined) are a bonus.

Josh Meagher has been crushing opposing pitching. He’s already swatted four home runs with nine RBIs and is slugging .931. Not much more you can ask for from a DH.

Nick Victor’s been making a case for regular playing time, though coach Dave Taylor has intimated early that he’ll be a matchup guy. He’s got good power, but likely won’t see a lot of right-handers despite the .714 on-base percentage he’s put together in limited time. The outfield of Jordan Larson, Jimmy Dodos and Adam Arakawa has been solid, and Dodos hasn’t heated up yet.

A question right now will be what Chico State can do on the bases; the answer so far is 3-of-13 on stolen base attempts. Small ball has been the Wildcats’ motto in past years, and certainly the stolen base has a lot to do with that, but I think the more important aspect of the running game is aggressiveness with the ball in play: first-to-thirds, second-to-homes, etc. Wide-alleyed Nettleton Stadium is conducive to that style. We’ll get to see how the No. 19 team in Division II fares this weekend against Cal State San Bernardino.

At 12-9 and 11-9 in regional play, Chico State has the most losses of any of the top 10 teams in the running, but has a healthy shot to get in based on the teams that remain. Four of the teams ahead of the Wildcats are CCAA teams, and Chico State will see three of them again. Coming up immediatley is No. 6 Humboldt State (14-6), which already fell to the Wildcats at Acker Gym in their first meeting.

At No. 5 is Cal Poly Pomona, which lost to Chico State last weekend for a season series split, and certainly the Wildcats will look for help in the form of losses from the Broncos. They have Cal State San Bernardino tonight, and that team looks terrible, but their other game this week is against No. 2 and CCAA-leading UC San Diego, which also plays Humboldt State later in the season and would undoubtedly help the Wildcats by beating the Lumberjacks.

If it’s too confusing, consider Chico State’s remaining schedule: This week, Sonoma State and Humboldt State; next week, Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills; they’ll follow up at home against Cal State Stanislaus and UC San Diego. You can look at at least four of those as very conceivable wins. A win over the Toros (assuming wins against everyone else but the Tritons) has to get them in, in my estimation. You hate to see that whole “controlling destiny” phrase, but it applies here.

Most were eye-opening, especially since I've discovered through some informed people that I probably shouldn't hate the Seawolf mascot so much. From former Orion sports writer Robert LaHue, who at one point rocked a fu manchu and is therefore OK in my book:

The seawolf is a type of fish, and the name was also lent to a class of Navy submarines. But if I really had to venture a guess, there's also "The Sea-Wolf," which was a novel by Jack London, who lived the last few years of his life on a ranch in Sonoma County, which is now Jack London State Historic Park..

Admittedly, Bob's got me when it comes to being an intrepid fact-seeker and owner of minor-league baseball hats, but I can jump higher and am working on a "mustache" of my own. Call it a draw.

Angie Anderson ensured that everyone knows I took German and NOT Spanish in high school, have never been to Mexico and refuse to pay for Rosetta Stone::

Travis, about your comment on the DH Toro mascot..I enjoyed what you had to say, as I'm a proud DH alum. However the heading states toro is not a real thing. But toro is the Spanish word for bull. So yes, toro is a real thing, it's a bull. Just FYI.

Boy, that explains a lot. I always thought matadors were merely babbling lunatics. Turns out, they're just regular, Spanish-speaking lunatics.

Melvin of Alameda was not as polite, and unfortunately, equally unconvincing in his efforts to shake my disdain for Cal State Stanislaus' mascot:

How can u say that the warriors arnt a good name for a team! Ever heard of g-state warriors, that's an NBA TEAM, big-league. Stanislaus is the only good one in the league, chico st? Pleeease

Wait, Melvin. I think I do vaguely recall an NBA team called the Warriors...Oh, yeah:

"Big-league" is somewhat open to interpretation, just as "good" is when it comes to mascots. I'm not buying this one.

Lastly, we get a plea for understanding from Danny Angel, a recent San Francisco State grad:

The history behind the mascot is simple. Years ago we were the San Francisco State Golden Gaters, an obvious reference to the beautiful bridge that encloses the bay...at what point and why they changed it I'll never know but I agree the idea to change it was a bad one that we are still dealing with.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, actually. Golden Gaters would be a fantastic mascot, forced spelling error and all, but I suppose those Golden Eagles down at Cal State L.A. gilded the conference a little too much.

In the meantime, the author (that's me) has been busier than a barrel of rabbits. As they say on TV, stay tuned.

In terms of overall picture, I don't think these were season-breaking losses for either team, but on this one night, both squads took a step back. The women didn't show an ability to adjust to an aggressive Cal State Dominguez Hills team. The men, in my view, were particularly disappointing in that they never looked to be in contention. Greg Clink said it best: "We let the scoreboard dictate the way we played." He said that a few times, and you could tell the sluggish effort was the most disconcerting thing for him.

MEN
UPS
Clear 'em.
Well, we sure got to see a lot of the bench, and Zach Graves produced 12 points while showing some strong playmaking ability. I wonder about his effectiveness as a slasher, only in that he's had trouble finishing, but the Toros had a lot to do with that. When he slows it down just a little bit, it seems like he's very capable of making strong court reads. He was forced to play some point and fared decently out of position.

Hanging in early. At least for a little while, the Wildcats looked somewhat competitive, even if "a little while" means about 5 minutes. I don't mean that in a sarcastic way; the Toros are a great team. But if we've seen one thing in the CCAA (keep in mind, on this same night, Sonoma State beat Cal State San Bernardino), the first step to beating a good team is believing you can.

Rocky theme playing now.

But, it is true. The Wildcats were in the same position last year on the final day of the season, and ended up handing Cal State Dominguez Hills a loss that shook up the West Regional mix. That's the one thing that was disconcerting in this one; Chico State just came off a very positive weekend. Once the Toros started opening up, there was little response, but for the short time they were in the game, the Wildcats looked like they believed they belonged there.

DOWNS
Get bigger and more athletic. What other advice can you give to combat the Toros? That team is a great collection of athletes and shooters; when your opponent is shooting 69 (69!) percent in the first half, you have to wonder if there comes a point when you just start praying for misses.

But, a lot of that figure had to do with fastbreak points and uncontested looks, which came on a few breakdowns after just one pass. It was too common of an occurrence last season to see one perimeter swing snap open a passing lane; this year, the Wildcats have done a good job of making teams use the whole shot clock. Clink is right; there were way too many easy entries and defensive lapses.

Fouling up. Again, this is also based on DH's athleticism, but the Wildcats got caught trailing plays a bunch, and I stopped counting the number of times I heard "don't reach!" coming from Chico State's bench, only to be followed by a whistle. Junior Russell picked up three quick ones. Chris Sharp fouled out with 15 minutes left in the game. Needless to say, how the Wildcats approach defensively from here on out will be interesting to see. Clink has vowed to get his team's defensive principles back in focus.

WOMEN
UPS
Mel-Rich? That's what's what local TV called Melissa Richardson last night. Bwugh. Still, there's no arguing that she was Chico State's hottest option on a night most of its other ones struggled to be effective. To me, Richardson always has to be involved early, but 15 points at halftime was a trend I wasn't sure would continue, and it didn't.

She is a very clutch shooter, but it's unfair to place that much scoring emphasis on a wing when the posts are providing so little. Repeatedly going to a forward or center wears teams down; going back to the 3-point line over and over (for one player, no less) is a good way to let a defense get its legs back and have a shot at transition. Regardless, Richardson has been on a tear and will only help when the true scorers get back to form.

You get the horns. I kind of wish Synchro Bull weighed about 100 pounds more, so she'd fit her name, but she's still ascending in the Wildcat offense. She did a great job of controlling the offense when she was in, with seven points in 16 minutes, but she'll need more floor time to make a greater impact. I think she'll get it fairly soon.

DOWNS
Still no stopper... Here's my take on the Wildcat defense: As a unit, it's decent; individually, there is no one outside of Natasha Smith that can really stop the ball. Brian Fogel prognosticated that they'd sorely miss Amanda Monteith, and in this one, that rang true. Neka Mixon of the Toros is a great player, but I doubt she would have had the impact she did if there was any kind of one-on-one resistance. Renee Goldoff and Cory Edwards each picked up four fouls trying to stop her. The Toros shot 55 percent in the second half.

Anyone interested? It didn't scream out at me until Fogel mentioned it, but the first thing out of his mouth regarding his team's performance was a lack of urgency. Thinking back, it did look an awful lot like the Wildcats thought, "Hey, we're at home, we don't really lose here too much, and TV will give us nicknames no matter what."

This conference is so balanced now that one nightly lapse could have a ton of implications. No, a four-loss CCAA team at this point probably will not be a contender down the stretch, but there's more than one way to get to the postseason. It's still not outside the realm of possibility, by a long shot. But focus has to improve. To be frank, Goldoff looked at times like she was simply over this game.

The contest was very much in reach, but watching the Wildcats play, you would have thought they were down by 40, just going through the motions. Not until there were 2 minutes left did you see much intensity, and that came from the bench. No confusing what's bugging Fogel at this point, and although he gave DH its due, he also was clearly disappointed his club didn't play with much fire.

We'll see how all of this is approached tonight againjst Cal State L.A.

But, an overall 3-1 weekend that could have been 4-0 if not for an outrageous shooting display left Acker Gym looking like a promising place for basketball. The women look to be getting on the same page, a major step forward, and the men are unquestionably better (in my view) overall than they were last season. Now, I’ve learned not to make bold predictions (remember when I said the men would definitely win more than seven last season?), so I won’t point out with any kind of foreshadowing intended that Chico State is two wins short of its entire season total from last year, or that the Wildcats didn’t get conference win No. 3 until the last day of the season (they’re 5-8, 2-4 CCAA now). Just a fun fact.

Here’s some fun opinion.

FRIDAY
Men
UPS
Under control. That’s the way you have to play if you’re going to beat a team as well-coached and disciplined as Humboldt State, and while the Wildcats didn’t actually pull off the task, they came close because they turned the ball over only 10 times. The Lumberjacks tried their best to turn this thing into a blowout, and to Chico State’s credit, it didn’t happen.

Defense. Look, I realize they got outscored, but I think I’m starting to believe in this defense. Anytime Roderick Hawkins is on the floor, I feel like he’s the equivalent of a shutdown corner in football. It’s not worth it to go in his direction, at least one-on-one. I do see him get caught in low-post screens quite a bit, because the Wildcats run a lot of man defense, but when they do go zone, he’s a long-armed lynchpin of it.

The Wildcats held the Lumberjacks to 15 points below their season average. That’s no joke, especially when you consider that Humboldt State was pulling off wacky video game shooting numbers. They shot 56 percent for the game, including 61 percent in the second half. It was unreal. They made all the shots they were supposed to and some of the ones they weren’t. I’ve never been a believer in percentages telling the tale of defense, at least not the whole thing, and this is one of those cases. There were a handful of times the Lumberjacks were stifled for 32 seconds, got one tough shot off, and it went down. That’s tough to beat.

To the point. Junior Russell not only provided the somewhat entertaining Mini-Me matchup of the night when he took on 5-foot-5 David Broome, but provided another look for the Wildcats at point guard. Everybody knows about Justin Argenal at this point, and about what he can do in terms of distributing and running the offense. Russell is quicker, gets to the basket more and is probably a better spot-up shooter. The two had similar lines in this one, and while they weren’t overwhelming (Russell had nine points, seven assists, three steals; Argenal had eight points, eight assists, three steals), they showed the two can probably be interchangeable.

DOWNS
Bad things come in 3s. If your team is going to shoot 21 3-pointers in a game, you would expect that 1) desperation mode kicked in early or 2) that team was just absolutely feeling it beyond the arc and it was too tempting to stop. But neither happened here. The Wildcats just went 5-of-21 (24 percent), and some of those selections were absolutely maddening.

What do missed 3s usually mean? Long rebounds. So for me, when I see a 3 with only 8 seconds off the shot clock get heaved before the halfcourt offense has even gotten through its second set of screens, I’m rarely surprised when there’s only one realistic offensive rebounder left. Yes, this gripe is meaningless when they’re falling; no, Argenal won’t always go 1-for-6. Still, it bears examining.

What goes up must come down, Nick Lonnegren. The guy had been on fire heading into Friday; then, against Humboldt State, his shooting touch went AWOL. In 32 minutes, he went 2-of-10, 1-for-7 from 3-point range, scored five points and turned it over four times. Given the solid play of Zach Graves, who is a shooting guard by trade, I think it might have been worth a shot seeing how he fared in relief of Lonnegren at the 3. Josh Jackson and LaCurtis Sumlin were pretty much non-factors in the role.

Women
UPS
Deadeyes. It’s largely been shooting woes early in the season for the women, and while it’s not something you can blame every loss on, it does play a big role in momentum, chemistry, flow and all those other perceived, intangible things that I like to talk about so nobody can prove me wrong.

Most of the time, shooting percentage has a direct correlation with shot selection, and the Wildcats earned and made good looks all night. Their 49 percent mark would have been higher had they made a couple no-brainer layups, too. Christine Vest continues to be solid and doesn’t take bad shots.

Balance. This is how I think the Wildcats will have most of their success this year. I thought early on that Renee Goldoff would need to be in the 18-22 range almost nightly for Chico State to compete, because I wasn’t sure about the type of help she’d get. Turns out, they’re just fine when they get just eight points from her. Natasha Smith had 17 points and Melissa Richardson and Vest both had 15 apiece. All it takes is one good defensive athlete to negate a good player in the CCAA. I think Brian Fogel is still banking, to some extent, on teams doubling Goldoff in the post and freeing things up, but at least we’ve seen that even if they don’t, there are other options.

DOWNS
Free throw-up. Of course, the CCAA’s best free-throw shooting team goes 14-for-22 from the line. What better way to blow a 15-point lead? Free throws, I’ve come to discover from years of watching, playing and talking basketball, are a very sensitive, emotional issue. Coaches don’t want to talk about them, players don’t want to think about them. Success at the line is momentous, but a couple misses often spell disaster. They didn’t come into play to that extent in this game, but I’m sure it’s an issue that will either 1) get some serious attention or 2) get completely ignored.

Free throws are enigmatic.

SATURDAY
Men
UPS
Comeback kids. The more I can call things “rousing,” the better off this world will be, and this win definitely qualified as such. It’s hard to ask for more from a college basketball game (except for about 500 more people and some new sheet music for the band ... come on, guys, I like Kansas and “Crazy Train” just as much as the next dude, but let’s mix it up a little). When it was all said and done, Chico State was the benefactor of a 20-point swing, which was especially impressive considering the crushing loss the Wildcats took against Humboldt State the night before.
It spoke volumes to this team’s character, at least for a night. It makes Chico State a hard team not to like if you’re a basketball fan.

In the clutch, Andy is handy. Don’t give me that look; my initial thought was “Motion for your Bocian,” so you should be grateful I didn’t go with that. Although, it’s worth pointing out that one of the Wildcats’ offensive sets is called “motion,” and if they ever get a big enough lead to have some fun, I’d rather hear Greg Clink yell “Motion Bocian” than “Motion fist” or “Motion strong.”

But I digress.

Your best player is the one who should bail you out, and Bocian certainly did that. If 29 points isn’t enough, how about 10 straight to send the game to overtime and send your team on a run? Phenomenal effort; even better performance. (Note to you, Reporter From Unnamed News Source: When I’m interviewing this guy — or anyone — don’t ask me to use my pen when I’m done. What’s the world coming to these days...)

Russell up some steals. Junior gets two in this blog, but this one is the more significant one. Thirteen points, 11 assists (nobody else had even one, which is astounding) and six steals, including the one that forced overtime, shoving a big middle finger right down the Seawolves’ throats after they tried to chew up the rest of the game clock and bite off the last shot for the win. This was Russell’s best game as a Wildcat so far, bar none.

Chris Sharp also deserves mentioning here. If it’s not for his second-half exploits, Chico State likely doesn’t have a chance at winning this game. He muscled up for 12 points and dominated the post, and he’s got a hellacious drop step. Very polished game on the blocks, it seems. What he did in this game is what I think a lot of people expected of him this season, and if he can continue it, the Wildcats will be in contention every time out.

DOWNS
This is very odd, putting Argenal in one of these categories, and really, it’s not like he had a terrible game. I’m not even sure anybody would have noticed that he shot 25 percent from the floor and didn’t have an assist, because his 3-pointer in overtime was an absolute coffin-nail. But here’s why he goes in this spot, for this game:

Argenal is a fan favorite, and basketball-wise, he’s been the face of this program for the past three years. He’s not loud, or flashy, or really spectacular, but he is solid as they come and productive as anybody could ask for. I’m just not sure that he’s the prototypical leader type that usually comes with the territory of being a team’s best player. He’s fine with being the fifth or sixth scoring option and letting people feed off him, and he definitely can pick his spots. My one knock on him — just for this game — is what NBA fans would call Pre-Boston Garnett Syndrome: He’s a team player almost to a fault. Hopefully you can see my struggle categorizing this as a “Down.” I feel dirty now, like I just ate a really good meal and tipped well, but didn’t pay the check. Not that I’ve actually done that.

First-half folly. A horrific start to this game put the Wildcats in jeopardy early, as they shot 9-of-31 to post a meager 21 spot in the first half. I’ve noticed this in a few games now, where Chico State has an excellent first couple of possessions, then looks like it’s not quite sure what to do next when it gets the ball again. When the Wildcats got up 6-4 early, it looked like they wanted to win with that as the final score, dribbling the clock out and settling for bad jumpers. It’s obviously a plus it got corrected, but it’s a very tough way to play every night.

Women
UPS
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a good, old-fashioned CCAA butt-kicking, it seems like. Without a doubt, this is the kind of win this team needs to build confidence as the CCAA season progresses. Fogel has stressed the importance of turning four-point leads into seven-point leads, or extending 10-point gaps to 14, and the Wildcats looked downright proficient in that regard. There’s a couple reasons why; one of them is that Sonoma State seemed determined to play defense, with a 7-to-19 assist-to-turnover ratio. That’s god-awful. Credit the Wildcat defense (a phrase which popped up a lot last year, and that’s not a bad template to work from).

A bunch of Bull. This was Synchro Bull’s best game in her young career, and it all had to do with confidence. I’m not the only one who feels like, if she wanted to, she could score around 15 points a game. She has great touch on a little running floater, she can spot up well, and she takes good care of the ball. I think she’s probably a lot scrappier than I’ve given her credit for; she just hasn’t been playing aggressively as she gets used to the college game. That looked like it started to change against the Seawolves, and she had 10 points and six rebounds. It’s hard not to stress how important offensive guard play is for a team relatively thin at the position.

DOWNS
Might as well leave ‘em sitting. Bull aside, the bench continues to be relatively unproductive, contributing just four points to the cause. And it’s not just scoring-wise, either; the non-starting group (excluding Bull, who should find her way back into the starting lineup relatively soon if her solid play continues) accounted for just one assist, one block, one steal, two rebounds and seven turnovers. That’s not necessarily reflective of bench play as a whole; for most of the game Fogel rotated eight and only got in the remainder of his subs with a minute left.

In other words, cross your fingers and hope somebody doesn’t get hurt.

Those records have a chance to improve this weekend, as the Wildcats get a grand total of four home games, but they won’t be easy. Friday night’s matchup will be Humboldt State; Saturday will be Sonoma State. This is the “true” start to the conference season, because with no more breaks to slow us down, this is where momentum means everything. Let’s take a look at the weekend:

Friday — Humboldt State
WOMEN
The Lumberjacks (man, it’s been too long since I’ve written that) have done some surprising of their own, including 20-point trouncings of improved San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay. As you might remember, Chico State struggled against those teams when the Wildcats journeyed to California’s central coast region.

Humboldt State — the best offensive team in the conference, statisically — has one of the CCAA’s best in Katie Franci, who’s averaging 15 points a game, and the Wildcats’ posts will need to be especially strong against the likes of Brittney Taylor and Taylor Kilgore, who bring considerable size. In fact, the Lumberjacks’ entire lineup is rife with 5-9s and -10s; Humboldt State is second in the CCAA with blocks, as well. I would imagine the Wildcats would rely on Renee Goldoff and Christine Vest to neutralize that size, and see if they can’t get Natasha Smith and Synchro Bull going full speed. Quickness might be the one spot Chico State has an advantage; also, Melissa Richardson’s early involvement is always important.

MEN
I think we’re going to see something very similar to what we saw at the end of the year last year in the CCAA — a handful of teams beating up on each other to create a mess in the standings. Heck, we’re seeing it right now. Five teams are 3-1 thus far, including the Lumberjacks, who have established themselves as a conference force. They’ve lost a few athletes from those clear-cut “best” teams, but they’re very well-coached under Tom Wood and don’t seem to lose the games they shouldn’t.

Having said that, the Lumberjacks have had a fairly breezy schedule, with only one true road game and eight of its 14 coming at home. Yes, Humboldt State is averaging more than 80 points a game, but it’s also the CCAA’s worst in points allowed. As you might imagine, that means the Lumberjacks’ margin of victory — 1.2 points a game — is the slimmest in the conference (no team has a negative margin, to illustrate the conference’s relative D-II strength). When your coach has been there for 28 years, he tends to know how to win close games. I just think that, at some point, that luck runs out.

Hey, Chico State’s been playing pretty solid defense lately, and if it can hold Humboldt in the 65 range, at Acker, the Lumberjacks could be vulnerable. I’m not putting this one into the realm of farfetched for the Wildcats.

Saturday — Sonoma State
WOMEN
I think the Seawolves are better than their record (5-6, 1-3 CCAA), and unfortunately, right now, I think Chico State’s 1-3 mark is probably about reflective. Something’s not clicking for the women, and my personal opinion is that the depth is just not there. Cory Edwards was a bench monster last year, a crucial part of that depth, and she’s been forced to start nine games this year. That’s meant a lot of minutes for post-types on the floor, with a typical lineup going: Smith, Richardson, Goldoff, Vest and Edwards. None of those last three is especially versatile, with the exception being that Edwards is good for the occasional 3. Even so, that’s a very solid five on the floor if you have to have it.

Where it gets iffy is when it comes sub time (which, judging by the fact that those aforementioned players are all averaging upwards of 27 minutes a game, is not often). It looks like the adjustment period has been a little longer than expected for Bull, who has struggled to find her shot all season and hasn’t shown a deep shooting threat. Molly Collins is still banged up, meaning excessive playing time for the likes of Annelise Miller, Taylor Lydon and Brandi Foster — a bench mob that has combined to average 3.2 points for every 15 minutes of play. Yikes.

I don’t want to say this game definitely will be ugly, because let’s be fair: Most of last year’s players are still here. The only difference is that most of them are in much more significant roles, and the transition has been rocky. We’ll see what happens...

MEN
Grumblings early in the season at the Mac Martin Tournament indicated that the Seawolves might be in a down year, but this is one school I’ve learned not to take lightly, ever. Hey, they beat San Francisco State pretty handily, and the Gators were looking like world-beaters after their hot start. Coach Pat Fuscaldo knows what he’s doing, and he yells a lot on the sideline, which I like. I like coaches who yell a lot. Sue me.

The star of this Seawolves team is Ben Washington, a great all-around player at guard, and James Sandoval (11.8 points per game) is a legit scorer, too. Sonoma State’s 3-point approach is, simply put, don’t take them if you can help it, and for good reason. The Seawolves are the seventh-worst percentage-wise in the conference, but to their credit, they acknowledge their weakness and don’t try to force the 3 — only Cal Poly Pomona has taken fewer long-distance shots.

I think Sonoma State can be beaten in the posts. They don’t have a true post rebounder, and they also turn the ball over a lot. But, as is kind of the theme of this Chico State basketball season, even to this point: We’ll have to wait and see.

Poor you.

But, for some unwordly reason, you’re here now, so let’s get to it. As usual, no Report Cards, since I wasn’t there. Maybe there should be a name for the roadies, where I pretty much just tell you what I gleaned from listening to the games on the radio and sifting through box scores. If you haven’t figured it out by now, my job isn’t too horrible. I watch basketball courtside and talk about it.

More surprising than the close losses at Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino for the women — with the caveat that each game is telling us something new about this year’s club — was the men’s win over the Broncos. It’s not surprising in the sense that Pomona is that good, or that Chico State had no business doing it (like I’ve said before, my appraisal of this team is that it should be competitive in the top five of the CCAA). And, frankly, that’s the best news of a composite 1-3 record from the weekend. Let’s focus on that, and get to the more depressing stuff Wednesday:

MEN
Friday
What a 55-47 score should scream is that a men’s basketball team was held to 47 points (just for reference, on the same night, the women’s game got into the 60s). And it wasn’t some scrub team; Pomona has All-American Larry Gordon and a track record of beating up on the Wildcats. If you’ll remember from last year, it was the Broncos who stole that win in Acker on a game-winning 3 as time expired, courtesy of departed Angelo Tsakaragis. But not this time, which is kind of sad, if for no other reason than because we miss out on his spastic celebration dance (I call it The Squatting Gunslinger). But I digress.

UPS
Blech. And that’s a good thing. If one thing stands out to me about this one, it’s that the Wildcats’ shooting was absolutely abysmal (37 percent, 5-of-24 from 3-point range). And if there’s something that’s doomed past teams around here, it’s been just that. But here’s the thing: It didn’t happen this time. Even Andy Bocian, who normally is as high-percentage as they come, was 7-of-22 from the floor (and 1-of-9 on 3s...eesh), but Chico State found a way around it. That’s what they call “finding a way to win.” You hear it all the time; this is a great example.

Do you see what happens, Larry!? Gordon struggled to a 5-of-15 shooting performance, got to the free-throw line just once and still managed to put up 11 and nine. Still, he’s the heartbeat of that team’s offensive attack, the CCAA’s fourth-highest scorer (Bocian is first) at 15.9 per game. Imagine taking Bocian away from the Wildcats; no Gordon for the Broncos is roughly equivalent. Yes, there is more to great defense than just shutting down one player, but it doesn’t hurt.

The all-telling stats from most games like this are rebounds and turnovers, and Chico State had advantages in both departments. The Wildcats coughed it up just nine times, a great number considering how athletic the Broncos are as a team.

DOWNS
Off-target. Not to place all the blame on Bocian, because he’s certainly done his part for the Wildcats, but as a team Chico State’s shooting wasn’t too shabby in this one. Everyone else combined to go 40 percent from the floor; throw in Bocian’s numbers and it drops all the way down to 37. It’s clear he’s their best scorer, so it’s hard to knock the Wildcats for trying to get more shots for him, but everyone has their off nights.

Free throws — again. I don’t know which one is worse: That the Wildcats didn’t even attempt one in the first half, or that they only went 10-of-16 in the second half. I’m inclined to go with the first one; but then again, with Chico State hoisting up 15 3-pointers, something tells me there wasn’t too much inside attacking going on. Maybe this team is an anomaly and all typical basketball wisdom should be ignored; maybe getting to the line is overrated. After all, what good is shooting a free throw if you can’t make it? I’m not joking.

Speaking of free throws, here’s some interesting (in a basketball nerd kind of way) figures on the differences between FT percentage and FG percentage for the CCAA’s teams. Obviously, FT figures are going to be higher, but depending on the team, how much higher is a question. Chico State’s 25.2 percent better at the line, which is the exact middle of the pack in the conference. So, to answer my own earlier question, getting to the line is relatively overrated — about half the time.

The team that’s most likely to burn you if you foul them? Cal State L.A., at 30.7 percent better. Pomona (29.3) is another team you don't want to foul — the Broncos only shot 10 free throws against Chico State. Which teams should you feel free to hack? Cal State Dominguez Hills is only 17.7 percent better at free throws, followed by Sonoma State (20.4 percent) and Humboldt State (20.3).

“It was funny, because he stopped to tie it but his hands were so frozen that he couldn’t. He had to just go,” Towne said. “He was saying that the whole race he could feel it getting looser and looser and thought it was going to come off.

“Normally in that situation, most guys just decide to lose the shoes, but because of the wet and the cold, he couldn’t. He said he couldn’t figure out what was keeping it on. Well, he had half-inch spikes on, and he’d stepped on his lace. It kind of inadvertently kept his shoe tight enough by impaling the lace.”

Bauhs sent Towne a phone photo of the carnage:

There's a more "complete" version in tomorrow's E-R, though to be honest the only thing you'll find there that you won't here is the time. And since you're here, I might as well tell you. It was 30 minutes, 47 seconds.

I don’t honestly feel like rehashing all the wonderful things Bauhs has done since he’s been here; luckily, the fine folks at Chico State have provided it for us here. You’ll need a PDF reader to check it out, and you can change that first entry to “won second national title.”

The Litter Box: As far as athletically, there obviously have been big moments for you in your time at Chico State. What stands out to you the most when you look back?
Scott Bauhs: Really it’s kind of the whole experience. It’s not just one thing, not just running. There have been classes I really enjoyed, I’ve met a lot of people and new friends. I was one of those stubborn high school kids that didn’t believe he’d ever need to make friends after high school, but Chico’s been a really great place to do it.

TLB: You’re probably used to this one by now, but looking at what you’ve done, you could probably have picked any college. Why Chico State?
SB: (Laughs) Yeah, I get asked this more than anything. The way I was recruited had a lot to do with it. The way I saw it was that when I was finishing high school, I had a lot of potential that people were just starting to see. Gary was a coach who was building a program with a lot of potential. I liked the chance to build something. Once we got together, we started to flourish, and I guess I just saw that as really appealing.
And there’s more to it than that. I mean, Chico’s really comfortable. As a runner, it has what you need, but more importantly, it doesn’t have stuff you don’t need. A lot of D-I schools try to lure you in with that stuff. There’s no beautiful facilities here, no ridiculous equipment or budgets. It’s just a place where it’s easy to get back to basics and get yourself into a good rhythm.

TLB: Gary, how did that rank as one of your selling points?
Gary Towne: Well, continuity is huge in our sport. So that was a factor for him. We also have (Bidwell Park), which is a good training place for us. I think the biggest thing was that he could have an impact here. You look at it and obviously the numbers and the crazy stats are there, but there are quite a few ways he’s impacted the program. The sense of community here is a big draw too, and I think he’s won a lot of people over to our program.

TLB: How would you describe Chico State distance running pre- and post-Scott?
GT: It’s hard to say exactly how much he’s changed it here, other than “a lot.” The publicity he’s garnered has been incredible, but I think the thing that really stands out is how he’s impacted our team. He’s inspired other athletes with his consistent approach, how he takes advantage of his opportunities, how he goes about his preparation, and he never limits the realm of what he can do. It sets a standard for everybody who thinks about coming here. Right now, we’re having a huge recruiting year. We’ve had success previously before Scott, but he’s made us that much more attractive.

TLB: Scott, you went through an entire season of cross country without not taking first in a race. That’s pretty unbelievable. When you look back on your accomplishments, what are your thoughts?
SB: My results are something I’m proud of, but it doesn’t guarantee anything for my next race. All I can do is run the best I can each time out. It’s a cycle. I always try to forget my last race as soon as I wake up the next day.

TLB: So you don’t really let any pressure to maintain momentum carry over?
SB: Every race is a learning experience. It’s been awhile since I haven’t won a race, but I don’t look at it that way. I don’t think of five straight wins, or whatever it is; I think of one win, five times. No race is going to be the same as the last one, so one awful race should be just one awful race. The same thing if it’s a race you win. You can’t expect that it will carry over; there’s no real momentum.
Because of that, you don’t have too much pressure. I at least don’t put pressure on myself. All I can do is put myself in the best position to succeed and stay relaxed.
GT: Yeah, there’s not a lot of carry-over in his races, honestly. He had a bad race in the Olympic trials, and I think a lot of people were thinking it was pressure. But it was more physiological than anything else. It was a long year of running. He was taking every race he could.

TLB: You hear a lot about the “mental” aspect of running. Is there something different about Scott in that regard?
GT: He’s one of those few athletes who can give you more than what he’s capable of. He’ll go substantially faster than you think he can, or that he thinks he can. It’s just a trait that very few people can do. It’s not coachable and it’s a huge reason for his success. Some say that running is 90 percent mental, but to be consistent at the running aspect alone, to do it that fast, is really challenging, regardless of how mentally prepared you are.
SB: I guess it’s something that comes naturally to me. It’s not something I think about. I’ve always seemed to have races that don’t make sense based on my workouts. Like, before our races, to find out what kind of shape we’re in, we have “indicator” workouts and time our splits. Then in races, I’ll hit my splits too fast, but I’ll be able to hold it. It’s not always logical.

TLB: Is that how it was in the (NCAA Division II) championships? I couldn’t make it out to Pennsylvania to see.
SB: Pretty much. I just went into it like any other race, with a goal to accomplish, a job to get done. I had a very pragmatic approach to it. I didn’t imagine taking control like I did, but the guy I imagined being my main competition got out hard with me. I noticed he was laboring — a lot. I was able to keep it up and he wasn’t, and pretty soon I was all by myself. I could have held back, but then it changes the race to a tactical one. It’s not that I don’t think I can win in a tactical race, but why chance it? Like I said, it seemed like even though my pace was too fast to start, I kept it up.

TLB: There is a good deal of athletes within the Chico State program that are top Division II talents, and certainly they help with the program’s reputation. Do you see yourself as the headliner, or is this a program that can promote itself on a team-based level?
SB: I think Gary does a great job of that, actually. Yes, our results do speak for themselves, but Gary promotes the program a lot. He likes to write, and he has this e-mail newsletter that goes out to a ton of people. I mean, it’s just this gigantic list that gets notes from Gary about upcoming races and stuff. (Litter Box note: That list is comprised of 461 recipients, and Towne’s prose usually highlights every Wildcat runner in the race. He does previews, as well as recaps. Very helpful for reporter types...) Anybody who’s remotely interested in us gets it and it gets them excited to follow us. For something that’s that small to do, and completely free, makes a huge difference. My mile earlier this year drew a ton of people (2,500, approximately) because Gary kept pumping it up and putting stuff out about it. It probably would have gotten about a quarter of that without him.

TLB: Scott, what differences do you see in the program since you started as a freshman?
SB: It’s funny, but I almost feel like I’m the “star quarterback” at Chico. Maybe it’s because we don’t have a football team. It would be impossible for me to have the same experience I’ve had if we did have one. That’s another reason I like it here, is that there’s the chance for people to follow us. Our baseball team gets a lot of attention, and even our basketball team, when they’re doing amazing, is kind of the big deal on campus. But I think about one in 10 people I come across recognize me and can talk about the running teams a little bit, and it’s pretty cool. I’m still not used to it.
GT: It’s pretty amazing to see the name he’s made for himself.

TLB: How much do you see Chico in your future after you finish up next week?
SB: Well, my girlfriend Audrey’s here for another year and a half, so coming back is kind of unavoidable ... But I want to come back and visit as much as I can, come back and get in some races here. Chico’s been a great place for me.
I still consider the Bay Area (Bauhs is from Danville) home, and it’s a bigger market to sell myself. I’m interested in trying to expand and build running in the East Bay, almost like rebuilding a connection to it. Obviously my parents are still there, but it’s also a great place to run. I can expand opportunities for that kids have coming out of school there.

TLB: It seems natural. A lot of the success you’ve had has come in that area. It seems like you had the half-marathon in San Jose and pretty soon it took off right away.
SB: I know, it’s funny. It’s kind of ridiculous, if you look at the (personal records) I’ve set in the Silicon Valley, between all the San Jose races and the Stanford Invitationals. It always seems like when I go to San Jose there’s good weather. That’s another reason to get back to that area.

TLB: Gary, is Scott’s leaving as bittersweet for you as fans might think? I’m imagining this probably is a pretty proud time for the program.
GT: You’re always going to miss someone you’ve grown close to, but I’m more excited to see how he does than anything. He’s going to be surrounded by faster runners. It’s healthy to change, both for him and for us. You’ve got to shift some things around sometimes, get a fresh start, and I think that will be invigorating definitely for him, but also for our program. I’m excited for him. It’s sad to see him leave, but it’s not like we thought we’d have him forever.

UPS
It would be remiss not to mention Justin Argenal, who set the Wildcats’ career assists record, in this category. He’s a bigger part of that offense than I think a lot of people realize, even with all the assists; when he doesn’t get chances to create or if his shot’s not falling, it seems like there’s a trickle-down effect. When he’s getting people involved, I swear, this team can play very well.

Welcome to the rim, Josh Jackson. This is exactly what the Wildcats have been waiting for from Jackson, and I don’t think he’s going to stop here. He shouldn’t. My knock on him has been that he settles for shots (and he can’t shoot free throws), and after Greg Clink reportedly jumped down Jackson’s throat about it, Jackson began to attack the cup and assert himself. He will be an important piece of any kind of success the Wildcats have, I think, even if it’s off the bench. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be points; it just has to be the attitude that the Wildcats won’t be content to take the shots the defense wants them to take.

Nothing rhymes with “Lonnegren.” Well, maybe "on again," but that doesn't mean anything. Nick Lonnegren brought a ton of energy and athleticism to the starting lineup, and was rewarded for his rebounding and defensive efforts with Argenal’s record-breaking assist on a fast-break dunk. That’s an easy way to make fans love you. I swear, the guy got cheered every time he touched the ball. Dunks are neat, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not the best thing Lonnegren did. He presents a long body that can provide 3-point range. He might not be as strong a defender laterally, because he does gamble quite a bit, but it’s nitpicking at this point.

DOWNS
There were some, but... what am I supposed to do, tear apart a 50-point win? Fine. There is still a bit of a delay in help defense rotation. That will absolutely hurt in CCAA play. That’s about all I can harp on after this one. We’ll be more able to gauge just how good this team is once it’s regularly playing conference opponents (by the way, nobody believed me when I said Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State were going to be good. They are; Chico State didn’t lose to chumps).

I’m like any other fan in that yes, I would much rather cover a good game than a dud like this one. But from the Wildcats’ perspectives — which I’m assuming you care about, if you’re reading this — it was just dandy. Any time the starters are in their warm-ups, not sweaty and laughing on the bench, something is going right.

In this case, it was Argenal doing what he does best, and that’s finding people who have the best likelihood of making a shot when they get the ball from him. He’s done it more than anybody ever has at Chico State, which is pretty cool. What is most impressive to me is that he’s done it so consistently with, frankly, some pretty bad teams. Congrats to him.

Report Card to follow Friday afternoon.

Beware: This won't be a short, "quick-hitting" blog, which is what most blog-readers go for. You've been warned.

One of the sadder developments with the constant shrinking of the newspaper is our inability to cover everything. Because of it, it means some things just can't fit in the newspaper, and the first to go are, unfortunately, club sports.

From my Orion days, I can attest that I was a big club sports fan and when I was the sports editor there, I tried to feature them as much as possible. Rugby, lacrosse, whatever. It's a Chico State sport, even if it's not on the intercollegiate ticket, so my opinion is that it should get some coverage.

It's especially true today, when the men's lacrosse team is super-competitive under coach Paul Rocchio. I don't usually like to promote for anybody, because that's really not my forte or my job as a reporter. But as a sports fan, it's my personal opinion (I love being able to have one on this blog) that, if you like lacrosse, Chico State is a program worth supporting. Rocchio took some time to fill me in on his program, so instead of ripping through and rewording everything he said, I'll just use The Litter Box as a microphone for him. Sometimes I do what I want.

Here's his program, in his own words:

Here are some basics about this year’s team, the league, the schedule and so on.

There are three areas of focus with this program that we attempt to improve each year, academics, character, and field performance. We speak of these in the order of family, academics and lacrosse and we do so regularly to try and get our players setting their priorities in this manner. We also stress the fact that you can only do two things well at one time, which to this program means that much of the social aspect that is Chico State has to be tempered in order for us to be successful in these other areas.

Going into my third season, which represents the third season after the Chico State Men’s Lacrosse Club made a conscious decision to drastically change their program, we have a team GPA of 2.78, which is just under .5 grade points higher than when I arrived. We currently have 40 players on our roster, up from 19 at the end of the first season and a number around which we want to stay, and we had almost 250 people in for our “Italian Feast” as a part f our “Fall Feast” Parent’s Weekend tourney this, which is players, parents and other family members. I realize these are odd measures for some programs, but they mean a lot to us.

We start the year ranked 22nd in the country. We start the year, according to the national poll, 2nd in the WCLL (West Coast Lacrosse League) behind Sonoma, and 3rd in the WCLL according to the league poll. Last year’s strength of schedule was 25th in the country, about where it was two years ago, up significantly from previous years, where it hovered around 45th. This team was ranked 49th in year one, 33rd at the end of year one and now 22nd. Our schedule this year includes 6 nationally ranked teams, with teams like Cal Poly, Cal and Washington on our schedule that have traditional been in the top 25 and as of right now are not. We play # 8, 9, and 10 in Sonoma, Georgia and Va Tech. We start with a tough road schedule and then just keep playing tougher competition as the year progresses.

Along the way our schedule, and our program, are built in such a way that we can impact the character aspect for these young men. From traveling by coach bus so they may travel as a team from start to finish of each trip, traveling 11 hours by bus to Seattle to uphold a commitment made to two teams Washington and Gonzaga that we played last year, traveling by bus to Boise so these young men can see a beautiful part of the country, visit a great campus and a great town, and play on the “blue” turf, which very few get to do at this level. We travel east to play two ranked teams, but also so these young men can see our Nation’s Capitol, most for the first time, visit Gettysburg, to see the battlefields and to here from one the great lacrosse men on the planet in Coach Hank Janczyk, and then to play in Blacksburg and to visit the memorial there.

Last year it was Austin, TX, that states capitol, and the year before Boulder, CO, the University of Colorado, and Colorado College, plus a trip by the US Air Force Academy. We hope character building throughout. Not to mention playing a national schedule on a big stage, such as Beaver Stadium, or University of Texas at Austin, and on and on and on.

Here is the part that makes all of this difficult. Our projected budget, including play-offs, is $ 204,000. Because we are a “club” team, we receive $ 4000 from the school and are responsible for the rest ourselves. The players now pay $ 2000 in dues, which will get us close to $ 80,000 depending on how many players we have at end of season, but this still means raising $ 120,000. The MCLA, Mid Collegiate Lacrosse Association, National Champion is Michigan. The Michigan Head Coach is the President of the MCLA, because of the football “leftovers” Michigan is fully sponsored by the school and Nike, and they are slated to go D-I NCAA after this year. Sonoma, perennial number one in the WCLL, receives money directly from the student body based on a student referendum passed some years ago, on the order of $ 80,000. Santa Clara, Chapman and others in the WCLL are funded primarily by their schools since they are private institutions and Cal Berkley has an endowment that funds their team that I have promised never to restate, but I can tell you that the team endowment is greater than their annual need, and significantly so.

Our goal this year, and every year since the 2007 season, is to win a national championship. That is why I was hired and why I accepted. I polled our players two weeks ago and their goal remains that. When you look at the national top 25, we have the largest deficit to close each year, and by quite a bit, and so that remains our biggest hurdle. I would not be sharing this information with you if I did not believe this team was capable of winning a national championship or if I did not believed they were not worthy of the support from the community.

These young men are working harder than any group I have ever coached. They have strong leaders and captains in senior Matt Ward and Junior Goalie Austin Raab. There is leadership throughout, and within every class from freshman on up. The level of leadership is amazing when you consider we have 3 seniors and 3 juniors and the rest are underclassmen. They are working together and being unselfish, two things that are critical to being successful on and off the lacrosse field. They start at the end of August with study halls, they play four weeks of “fall ball,” which as you know included a first time upset of Sonoma in OT, they have been conditioning as a team since the end of fall ball and they come back on January 11th for pre-season camp, two weeks prior to the start of the spring semester. These are committed young men, but there is only so much they can do to make this happen.

We have great sponsorship from Chevron, RW Knutsen Recharge, The Body Shop, Chico Sports Club, Caffe Malvina, Mr. Pickles, Northstate Screenprint, and others I am sure I am not thinking of at the moment, but to do things at the level of those top teams we can never have enough support.

We have great volunteer coaching from Professor Dick Flory, MCLA Secretary and first coach/advisor of Chico State Men’s Lacrosse, Eric McVey, 2007 Club President and now defensive assistant, Mike Mitchell, Upstate New York product and offensive assistant, Lorne Silverstein, Syracuse Lacrosse product and defensive coordinator, commuting from Davis, Danny Roden, VP of a major corporation, father to one of our midfielders Josh Roden, 4 time English National team player and offensive coordinator.

Budget

Roster

Schedule

MCLA Ranking

Speaking of winners, Chico State coach Greg Clink had at least 24 hours to call himself that following Friday night’s win over UC Colorado Springs. I’m not quite sure what to make of this game. You never got the feel that Chico State had developed an identity yet, which admittedly is a tall order facing such a new group.

But I liked how they tried to be defensively tough, and the stats reflected a toughening-up from the first half to the second. These guys just have to get used to each other. Onto the grading...

UPS
Whoa, a Wildcat center. Andy Bocian looked good in his ability to give Chico State a presence in the paint. He’s been the leading scorer for this team before, so his 19 points and nine rebounds weren’t necessarily surprising, but it’s nice to see him getting used. I thought he got absolutely assaulted on several non-calls, and still hung tough in the post. And, despair not, Mike Martin fans, you’ve still got a big man who can shoot the 3. Pretty well, too.

I’d like to see what an offense with Bocian and Chris Sharp looks like; nobody could on Friday because Sharp sat out with an ankle injury sustained in Wednesday’s practice. The Wildcats aren’t commenting on it other than to say it’s probably not too serious; Sharp said it’s “not that big a deal.” He knows his ankle a lot better than I do, but in my defense, I haven’t spent much time with it.

Roderick Hawkins hates you if you have the ball. At least that’s how Hawkins looked on Friday. Defensively and on the boards, he stood out more than any other player on the floor. He grabbed nine rebounds and two steals, was stepping in front of people to take charges, diving for loose balls, and then when I went to get a soda, he stepped in front of the cashier and grabbed it. I went to throw my gum wrapper away, and he swatted it from the trash can. Then he taunted Mountain Lions ballhandlers, shouting “Come on!” at them (That part actually is true). Awesome.

A new York. Well, new to Chico State anyway. We’re talking, of course, about York Sims, who returned from knee surgery to change the tide of the whole game. Look, I like half-court offense just as much as the next guy, but sometimes it needs a shake-up. It’s like pudding. It’s fine by itself, but every once in a while, if you don’t stir it up, it will get that skin on top and all you’ll want to do is poke it and leave your fingerprints on it. Wait.

My point is that every team needs its slasher, a guy who can get to the cup, and Sims looked like that guy. He’ll get defended a tad better just because he’s left-handed and will be going to most defenders’ strong sides, but 17 points is no joke.

DOWNS
Stupid, stupid free throws. Yep, believe it or not the NCAA still has this rule that puts you 15 feet from the basket to shoot if you take a shot but get fouled. The trade-off is that nobody can bother your shot. Sounds easy, right? You see where I’m going with this.

The Wildcats went 20-of-32 (62.5 percent), which might not look so bad when compared to the free-throw dump the Mountain Lions took (10-of-17), but it’s still pretty terrible. Hawkins (2-of-6) and Junior Russell (6-of-10) were the worst offenders, not a good sign when you consider that Russell’s style of play lends itself to getting to the line.

Mama said there’d be days like this, Zach Graves. The sophomore went 0-for-7 from the field, including a few that hit nothing, in 16 minutes. I’m sure he couldn’t have been thrilled when A Guy I Don’t Know Personally Named Dave hit the half-court halftime shot.

Graves had a bunch of decent looks and was getting to the basket, but he looked like he was pressing, which is understandable if not forgivable for a young kid in his home opener. My money would be on this being the aberration. I like his enthusiasm and energy; let’s see if he rebounds.

Rebounding. This one might be a little unfair on those who are supposed to rebound, because a lot of it had to do with shot selection. There were a few times where the Wildcats would let ‘er rip with nobody in rebounding position, which itself isn’t particularly encouraging. But Bocian and Hawkins aside, there wasn’t strong evidence of much boxing out; it was more of a “go-get-the-ball” kind of rebounding. That might explain the 43-34 differential, although the Mountain Lions were surprisingly big. Still, they weren’t that big.

In one blogger’s opinion, none of ‘em have anything on Scott Bauhs’ 2008.

It’s one thing to have a season with no losses in sports, especially ones with crowded fields (races, golf, etc). It’s quite another entirely to have nothing but wins; in cross country, it’s just ridiculous.

But that’s just what Bauhs has done after blowing away everybody and their mothers at the NCAA Division II Championship to cap off a first-place-themed 2008. Every time he’s been a part of a race, he’s crossed the finish line first. Results-wise, the kid is living perfection.

There are rules they teach in journalism classes that say “nothing is ‘perfect,’” but Bauhs apparently lives outside those rules. I can only think of one other thing that’s even close to perfect:

And I bet Kate Beckinsale probably has morning breath sometimes.

A hell of a way to wrap up a hell of a year and career, and it will be somewhat sad to see what is probably Chico State’s best athlete ever move on. Looks like we’ll actually have to think about the Chico Sportsperson of the Year awards again.