NCAA: Seattle University
Garcia's Efficient Double-Double Leads SeattleU to Victory: "He's just growing up"
by Q McCall on Mar 4, 2010 1:31 PM EST
in NCAA: Seattle University
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During the pre-game senior night ceremony before Seattle University's 93-80 win over Portland State University Tuesday night, senior forward Mike Boxley asked that the Key Arena spotlight be moved from him at center court to his teammates standing on the sidelines.
Among them was 6'10" forward Charles Garcia, who is poised to take the Seattle college basketball spotlight next season after early season speculation that he might make the leap to the NBA after one season in a Redhawks uniform. Although his draft stock has fallen dramatically over the last few months, SeattleU fans -- and the city at large -- has a lot to look forward to in the 2010-11 season if last night's performance is any indication.
Perhaps these are the kind of teams that you really want to see Garcia make a difference against -- Portland State, a 2009 NCAA tournament team, looked a step quicker and a bit more athletic on the surface. It's the type of game where you want to see Garcia the NBA prospect shine. Instead, we saw Garcia the teammate play a steady, consistent game, carefully picking and choosing his spots.
In the first six minutes of the game, Garcia looked more reserved in his efforts to score, choosing to defer to teammates instead of forcing the action himself. When he got the ball in the post, he would take 1 or 2 dribbles to survey the situation and if the scoring opportunity wasn't there, he quickly found the open teammate out of the double team. His first shot didn't come until the 14:04 mark when he got a two-handed dunk on a post-up, seal, pivot, and wide open two-handed dunk. As Seattle fans see him off into the off-season, perhaps that's a better sign of his development than anything else.
"He's just growing up," said SeattleU coach Cameron Dollar. "A lot of times with some with some of my other guys -- Alex Jones, for example -- we don't critique or spotlight [their] shortcomings. We just celebrate when he has success. When a guy like Charles has some shortcomings, you end up spotlighting that more and critiquing it more. But invariably, they end up going through the same process of growth but one is just highlighted more. Nothing out of the ordinary -- he is, as he has always been, extremely coachable."
The fact that Garcia spent the previous four games coming off the bench because of insufficient effort in practice could be read in two ways regarding how coachable he is: the fact that he was benched in the first place could be read as a bad sign; the fact that he responded without public complaint and returned to the starting lineup doing exactly what the team demanded of him certainly reinforces Dollar's assertion about how coachable he is.
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Even if "senior nights are not created equal", they're still moving
by Q McCall on Feb 22, 2010 9:00 AM EST
in NCAA: Seattle University
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A friend of mine has said that he doesn't watch men's college basketball because he finds it depressing to watch the athletic careers of players he likes either flame out in the pros or screech to a halt in their early twenties.
From that perspective, watching a small school like Seattle University - a school transitioning into Division 1 -- would be exceedingly difficult.
The Redhawks entered the season without the possibility of post-season play and in the process of learning to win at the Division I level, they fell to 6-21 after a 20 point loss to Cal State Bakersfield on senior night last Saturday. One could imagine how that would be a disappointing end to one's basketball career, more agonizing than triumphant. No hoisting of trophies, a shot at a championship, or plans to move on to the professional level.
After years of hard work with little concrete recognition to show for it, it's all suddenly over.
And then there's a senior night.
In describing Stanford University's senior night, Mechelle Voepel recently wrote, "Let's face it, senior days/nights are not created equal. Not all women's basketball programs have a history that's successful. Or even if it is successful, it hasn't mattered enough to the school or community." Obviously, SeattleU lacks the Division 1 championships, history, or success that make Stanford senior night so special.
So I came to SeattleU's final home game wondering what the seniors felt about finishing their careers in this way. We can all pontificate about what that's like, but I wanted to know how they would describe the experience of playing out their senior years in what was essentially a "lame duck" situation by most people's standards.
I think I got the answer without having to ask the question.
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NBA Prospect Charles Garcia: "It’s all about the team, not about the Chuck."
by Q McCall on Feb 17, 2010 2:36 AM EST
in NCAA: Seattle University
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One way or another, when Seattle University forward Charles Garcia has the ball in his hands, he's going to do something that makes you shake your head.
In the span of one minute in the first half, he got consecutive defensive rebounds and took the ball coast to coast. On the first, he showed why he's an NBA prospect for most of the season, heading toward the rim with a look of determination and weaving through defenders in the lane to roll a layup around the rim and in. On the second, he showed why he's a falling NBA prospect, doing the almost the exact same thing, but dribbling right into two UC Davis and tossing the ball up in about the middle of the lane and losing it in mid-air, falling to the ground.
It's partially that inconsistent effort and focus - in practice, but translated to game performance -- that made Seattle coach Cameron Dollar decide to take Garcia out of the startling lineup.
"He just told me in practice, ‘Alright just see what happens these next two games - see where you'll be at'," said Garcia. "He's a man of his word."
Doing press conferences separately, Dollar and Garcia were on the same page about how the junior transfer could get back into the starting lineup: earn through hard work in practice. Since they won't have a practice again before their game against Idaho on Thursday, he won't be starting then either.
"He don't get a chance to earn it until we go practice again," said Dollar, who has move Garcia to the bench. "He's gonna be comin' off pokey here until we get a stretch of practices again."
Nevertheless, the NBA scouts will likely keep coming if he keeps showing glimpses of pro potential - the four scouts present at Key Arena last night witnessed Garcia record 17 points on 7-10 shooting and 10 rebounds despite the occasional lapses in judgment in the Redhawks' 81-56 win over the University of California-Davis.
"I ain't gonna lie - I'm gonna be honest with you: I had butterflies," said Garcia of the four scouts in the crowd. "They came to practice yesterday and I had butterflies. I'm like, alright, I'm gonna perform. I was pretty nervous, don't get me wrong, but I was like I aint gonna force nothin', take my time."
At 6'10" and with the ability to rebound, handle the ball in transition and score in a variety of ways, Garcia is clearly a next level talent. However the issue is that Garcia is still adjusting to the speed of the game and performing consistently as teams adjust to him.
"As much as we - including me - at times want to make it an individual sport, it's a team sport," said Dollar. "When teams adjust and take certain things away you have to be productive in other ways. And he's done that - by the mere fact of his presence he forces teams to prepare different, to play other guys different, to open up stuff for other guys. He's made our other guys more confident and better. So a lot of times kids like himself can affect the game in ways that you can't put a number on it and he's been able to do that for us."
UC Davis definitely felt his presence during a two-minute stretch in the second half.
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NBA Prospects Benson, Garcia Showcase Talents in Seattle
by Q McCall on Dec 18, 2009 7:20 PM EST
in NCAA: Seattle University
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Although Seattle University suffered a 77-68 defeat at the hands of a taller Oakland University, they at least gave Seattle basketball fans a treat: a close game that featured high-flying alley oops and two rising junior NBA prospects.
While the buzz about SeattleU forward Charles Garcia has been building to the point that NBA draft site DraftExpress.com has him ranked as one of the top 25 prospects in the country, Oakland University boasts an NBA prospect of their own in 6'11" 221 pound center Keith Benson, currently ranked #25 in NBADraft.net's rankings. Ironically, neither draft site has both players ranked in their top 60.
On the surface, Benson made NBADraft.net look wiser last night as he definitely got the better of the matchup, leaving with a win and turning in one of the game's top performances. Conversely, Garcia fouled out on a questionable call with 3:52 left after having a sub par 1-6 shooting effort. In the final minute with Garcia looking on, it was Benson who made a key play to seal the victory for his team.
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"Striving for Perfection": Thomas Expecting More from WCC November Player of the Month Louella Tomlinson
by Q McCall on Dec 16, 2009 12:25 PM EST
in NCAA: Seattle University
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Saint Mary’s College coach Paul Thomas and I decided to stand on the court to chat, away from the murmur of players mingling with family and friends after SMC's 63-56 victory over Seattle University in the Connolly Center on Monday night.
Seconds after Thomas got done explaining how West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Week and November Player of the Month Louella Tomlinson is "not there yet", Seattle University coach Joan Bonvicini walked by after a radio interview just in time to hear Thomas heaping high praise on 6’1" SeattleU center Tatiana Heck.
"I’ll tell Joan: that’s the kid, that’s probably done the best job against Lou other than the All-American from Nebraska [6’2" center Kelsey Griffin]," said Thomas referring to Heck’s 15 point, 5 rebound performance on 7-13 shooting.
"She didn’t do a very good job second half," said a frustrated Bonvicini, restlessly stopping for a moment before continuing on to chat with someone else.
"Well it’s hard to shoot over those gangly arms," responded Thomas with a playfully optimistic tone, referring to the 6’4" Tomlinson’s arms that had just recorded 6 blocks.
While the coaches' critical comments of their own players could be interpreted negatively, it also demonstrates the high expectations they each hold for every one of their players, star or role player.
As a teacher and former youth coach, talking to college coaches is an opportunity to not only hear how they talk with their players but also listen to them talk about their players and their philosophies about how to get their "students" to meet their "instructional goals". Often times, that’s not "merely" winning, but "striving for perfection", as Scotter described University of Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma's approach to coaching his top-ranked team.
As an educator, I read Auriemma's statement as less an obsession with perfect outcomes, than a focus on incrementally perfecting the process by which a class or team might achieve those outcomes. Ultimately, it comes down to the cliché idea that good teachers and good coaches strive to "bring out the best" performance of those who follow their lead.
While we often hear coaches claim the preseason is all about preparation for conference play, at no time was the focus on striving for perfection -- independent of winning and losing – more evident or familiar to me than during that exchange. Neither one of these coaches expects their teams to win a NCAA championship in the way Auriemma might. However, they do expect their players to compete every night.
Despite both coaches lamenting their players’ flaws games, it was the post play that ended up dictating the flow of the game. While Tomlinson’s second half performance helped SMC to victory, Heck’s assertiveness on the block was the key in the first half.
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Washington’s Slim Victory is a Win for Seattle University, City-Wide Women’s Basketball
by Q McCall on Dec 14, 2009 8:00 AM EST
in NCAA: Seattle University
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While some of the descriptions of last Wednesday’s “Battle in Seattle” game between Seattle University and the University of Washington described the environment at the Connolly Center as “hostile”, that’s not exactly how everyone would describe it.
“We had so much purple in the stands it was awesome,” said Washington guard Kristi Kingma, who ended up sealing the victory for the Huskies with three clutch threes down the stretch to take back the lead. “It almost kinda felt like a home game – as close as a road game can be. But yeah, it was great to have that atmosphere. It was almost like the Gonzaga game where it was like sold out – there weren’t as many people. But it was a good atmosphere and it really gets you pumped up as a player.”
Although Washington purple might actually have diminished SeattleU’s home court advantage in the Connolly Center, the buzz made for an exciting atmosphere that only intensified the sense of anticipation about the prospect of this really turning this annual game into a legitimate cross-town rivalry.
Everyone from staff to the dance team was dressed just a little bit more glamorous for the night as though the losing teams were playing for a championship. The capacity crowd of 1,050 speckled with Husky purple and Redhawk red created a friendly tension that made for as electric an atmosphere as there's been in the Connolly Center this year, for a men’s or women’s basketball game.
Occupying the same space as the fans were local basketball celebrities: Seattle Storm CEO Karen Bryant, Seattle University men’s basketball player and rising NBA prospect Charles Garcia, and former Storm player Sheryl Swoopes was also there apparently (though I didn’t see her).
Not only was the game the first sell out of the Seattle University women’s basketball season, but there were so many more media outlets there than usual that they had to add a set of media tables behind the visitor’s bench in addition to the standard midcourt table along the sideline just to accommodate everyone.
Although the attention was outstanding for a transitioning Division I program like SeattleU, minutes before the game I overheard one staff member at the scorers table half-jokingly, half-frantically-overwhelmed, say that it would be better for SeattleU to host the cross-town game at Key Arena next time because, as amazing as the atmosphere was, the cozy Connolly Center was overwhelmed.
The very fact that there’s enough interest in the game to even warrant consideration of a move to Key Arena in the future lends some credibility to the argument that the game meant something to Seattle beyond the standings.
As Seattle Times reporter Jayda Evans wrote, it was not only a big game for these two programs, but a big game for women’s basketball in Seattle.
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Seattle University Five Game Progress Report: Statistical "Growing Pains"
by Q McCall on Nov 25, 2009 6:45 PM EST
in NCAA: Seattle University
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After losing to three teams that received votes in the national polls in last weekend’s Basketball Travelers Invitational tournament and dropping to 0-5, it has to be a bit of a relief to return home to play a team ranked near the bottom in RPI standings.
Seattle University will face an 0-3 Sacramento State team tonight at 6pm in the Connelly Center. As a person familiar with Sacramento State told me recently, it will most likely be the first win for Joan Bonvicini at Seattle University.
While five games of statistics cannot tell us that much, they do hold some insight about general trends that are helpful to explain why Seattle U is struggling out of the gate. Two things stand out when looking at those stats: offensive rebounding and shooting percentage.
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"Keeping Score Differently": Bonvicini Looking for Consistency After 0-2 Start at Seattle University
by Q McCall on Nov 20, 2009 2:23 PM EST
in NCAA: Seattle University
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After Seattle University fell to 0-2 with a heartbreaking 50-47 loss to Concordia College last Saturday – the second home loss in as many nights to open the season– Coach Joan Bonvicini tweeted, “We are learning what it takes to compete. Now we need to play smart and have fun and the winning will take care of itself.”
Although tweets from coaches after consecutive losses could certainly be dismissed as nothing more than positive spin on a bad situation, Bonvicini’s tweet is not one of those absurdly optimistic spin jobs that attempts to frame a discouraging situation as a bright spot. There is a clear assessment of the situation as it currently stands and an articulation of what the team needs to do in order to improve their situation. It’s neither disparaging nor flowery, but an honest assessment of her 0-2 team.
Putting the tweet in the broader context of Bonvicini’s comments about her team throughout the young season, it reflects an understanding of what it takes to win rather than a relentless preoccupation with their record. Even with players out due to NCAA rules violations, it is clear what Bonvicini believes it takes to win: hard work and outhustling opponents on every play.
Most importantly, Bonvicini has been consistent in her message of what she expects from her players.
It reflects a communication style that defines successful coaches, parents, and teachers: establishing high expectations for performance and holding players accountable to that standard. It’s a communication style that tends to get the most out of people, inspiring them to do perform well and simultaneously encouraging them to reflect on what they can do to improve. Drawing on the wisdom of John Wooden, it’s what leadership expert John C. Maxwell describes as “keeping score differently” – focusing on the people, processes, and systems that get results instead of a myopic focus on the bottom line.
Heading into the Basketball Travelers Classic hosted by Purdue University this weekend, Bonvicini’s consistent message has helped the Redhawks develop an identity that even distant observers are able to recognize.
"Seattle doesn't have a full team but they play extremely hard," [Purdue coach Sharon] Versyp said. "They play hard for Joan; I have a lot of respect for her and what she's doing.
However, consistency is also important for players and as of right now Bonvicini’s consistent message has yet to translate into consistent performance on the court – they have yet to exhibit the hard work that has come to define them for an entire game. Despite their reputation as a hard-working, scrappy team, they have not been able to set the tone for a full 40 minutes yet.
“We’re disappointed, we need to regroup,” said Bonvicini after their loss to Concordia. “These are really good kids, they work hard, but we need to play hard for 40 minutes… I like our intensity on defense, but we need to do that for 40 minutes.”
“We need consistency. I think as a coach what I’m trying to see is who I can count on at different times.”
In both home losses last weekend, Seattle U went through long lulls and allowed UC Davis and Concordia College to mount leads that were insurmountable despite late game surges of confidence, intensity, and hard work.
As the undersized Redhawks face a talented field of opponents in West Lafayette -- a Purdue team ranked #23 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Poll, a University of Dayton team that has beaten one ranked team and threatened another, and an athletic, trapping Georgetown team -- consistency will be especially vital to a strong showing. However, the common thread among the field is that they all possess bigger post players, which Seattle U struggled with in their first two games.
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