2011/12 Men’s Season Recap
It took me a lot longer to get this out due to work travel, but amidst the excitement of March Madness my season recap is finally here. As always everything is up for discussion. Enjoy.
The Hornets came into the 2011-12 season off of a disappointing 2010-11 campaign and were poised to turn things around. The roster had a lot of change heading into the season and Coach Katz had to fill some graduation voids along with some unexpected departures both before and during the season. The Hornets got off to a hot start and looked to finally meet expectations, unfortunately the Hornets reverted back to their normal ways and blew a huge halftime lead at home against McNeese State which lead to a disastrous 2-13 stretch that included an 0-8 start in BSC play for the second consecutive season. The Hornets were able to recover and finish the season by winning 5 of their last 9 but it was too little too late as the Hornets finished with a 10-18 (5-11 BSC) record which was not good enough to make the BSC Tournament. Ultimately it was another season that featured numerous close losses and more struggles.
There are some positives to take from this season. Most notably is the stellar play of true freshman point guard Dylan Garrity which eventually earned him BSC Freshman of the Year honors. Garrity was the floor general for the Hornet offense and he made everyone around him better with his ability to get the ball to the open man. His play sparked solid performances by some of the other Hornets including newcomer swingman Joe Eberhard and as well as a breakout season by sophomore Jackson Carbajal. John Dickson produced yet another solid season and Konner Veteto had a solid contribution from the center position following a redshirt the previous season. Heath Hoffman provided some solid minutes as well as different players were able to have a great game from time to time.
The Hornets had another inconsistent year. Too many games played out in a “tale of two halves” type of storyline and had this team showed up for a full 40 minutes more consistently, this team undoubtedly has some more wins and possibly even earned themselves that elusive BSC Tournament berth. The Hornets had a favorable schedule and a weak slate of conference opponents and still failed to make a post season berth in the 4th year under Katz.
Key Wins (in chronological order)
Team Statistics and Rankings
Rankings based on per game averages from regular season play, stats taken from the BSC website pre BSC Tournament.
Only points, assists, and rebounds per game stats listed. Players averaging less than 5.0 ppg not listed.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/16/sacramento-state-hornets
The Hornets were streaky on offense. The Hornets did a better job at scoring this season but still struggled at times and still need to improve their shooting. Garrity did an excellent job of running the offense and getting the open man the ball. There were improvements from multiple players as the season progressed and that is a promising sign looking ahead to next season considering the top five leading scorers return. The new comers to the roster also had solid contributions and this will need to improve for a successful 12/13 campaign. The Hornets needs to continue to improve their game and work on being consistent game in and game out. Hopefully with an experienced lineup returning next season, we will start to see a more organized offense with more set plays and a more efficient offense that exploits opponents mismatches.
Defensively the Hornets have allowed opponents to score too easily. The Hornets typically give up quite a bit of athleticism on defense and have constantly struggled to stop an opponent’s key player. The Hornets also do not pressure the ball enough unless they are trailing by a considerable amount and hopefully a new defensive mentality can be found this offseason. The Hornets have found themselves in quite a few close games over the past few years and a tougher, stouter and resilient defensive game could sway these games in the Hornets favor. There is plenty of room for improvement on the defensive end of the court.
Players Leaving
Starters:
Another concern is the amount of players who will be graduating following next season. Katz has done a poor job of recruiting capable high school talent that actually sticks with this Hornet program. Through his 4 years here, Katz hasn’t weaned this program off of the dependency of JC transfers. Eventually this cycle will need to be broken or this roster will continue to have a high turnover every 2 years. It is imperative that Coach Katz land some capable HS talent and that he actually develops that talent into players who can contribute for more than 2 years. Katz is entering his 5th year here; it’s long past time to see some positive results.
Looking ahead to next season there are some changes coming to the BSC. With the addition of full members Southern Utah and North Dakota, the chances of getting that elusive BSC Tournament berth got that much slimmer as only the top 7 of a now 11 member conference will see post season play. I’m not sure if each member will be played twice in the expanded conference but if that is the case, the Hornets will have to work that much harder if they want to see the post season.
Go Hornets!
It took me a lot longer to get this out due to work travel, but amidst the excitement of March Madness my season recap is finally here. As always everything is up for discussion. Enjoy.
The Hornets came into the 2011-12 season off of a disappointing 2010-11 campaign and were poised to turn things around. The roster had a lot of change heading into the season and Coach Katz had to fill some graduation voids along with some unexpected departures both before and during the season. The Hornets got off to a hot start and looked to finally meet expectations, unfortunately the Hornets reverted back to their normal ways and blew a huge halftime lead at home against McNeese State which lead to a disastrous 2-13 stretch that included an 0-8 start in BSC play for the second consecutive season. The Hornets were able to recover and finish the season by winning 5 of their last 9 but it was too little too late as the Hornets finished with a 10-18 (5-11 BSC) record which was not good enough to make the BSC Tournament. Ultimately it was another season that featured numerous close losses and more struggles.
There are some positives to take from this season. Most notably is the stellar play of true freshman point guard Dylan Garrity which eventually earned him BSC Freshman of the Year honors. Garrity was the floor general for the Hornet offense and he made everyone around him better with his ability to get the ball to the open man. His play sparked solid performances by some of the other Hornets including newcomer swingman Joe Eberhard and as well as a breakout season by sophomore Jackson Carbajal. John Dickson produced yet another solid season and Konner Veteto had a solid contribution from the center position following a redshirt the previous season. Heath Hoffman provided some solid minutes as well as different players were able to have a great game from time to time.
The Hornets had another inconsistent year. Too many games played out in a “tale of two halves” type of storyline and had this team showed up for a full 40 minutes more consistently, this team undoubtedly has some more wins and possibly even earned themselves that elusive BSC Tournament berth. The Hornets had a favorable schedule and a weak slate of conference opponents and still failed to make a post season berth in the 4th year under Katz.
Key Wins (in chronological order)
- • 75-54 vs UCA: This was the first D1 win of the season and was the beginning of a strong start for the Hornets. Dickson and Veteto each scored 16 points and Eberhard had 12 points. UCA finished 8-21 on the season.
• 69-61 @ the farm extension: The Hornets rallied from being down 17 points to get a win against a hapless farm extension program that finished the season with only 5 wins. Of all the complaints I have about Katz, his downright pwnage of this series (this win improved him to 3-1 in this rivalry) speaks for itself. Eberhard scored 16 points with Jackson and Veteto each scoring 14 points.
• 75-64 vs UND: The Hornets put together a solid game at home and knocked off a respectable UND (17-15) squad that returned pretty much everyone from a season ago. Eberhard led the Hornets with 13 points and McCarver had 9 boards.
• 77-43 vs NAU: The Hornets rolled to a dominating win over a reeling NAU program filled with turmoil. This win also snapped a 9 game losing streak and ended a 0-8 start in BSC play. Veteto led the scoring with 24 points with Carbajal scoring 18 points while Eberhard nabbed 8 boards.
• 75-71 @ EWU: The Hornets went on to win their second consecutive road game and was their first road trip sweep since 2006. Eberhard posted 21 points and Dickson posted 20 points.
• 70-67 @ ISU: The Hornets ended the season with a road victory against an ISU team who surprisingly landed a BSC berth regardless of the turmoil that surrounded that program earlier in the season.
- • 68-63 vs McNeese State: After a dominating first half, the Hornets didn’t bother showing up for the second half and let a 17 point lead melt away. This was a critical non-conference loss at home which led to a disastrous 2-13 stretch that put the Hornets in too big of a hole to dig themselves out of. McNeese finished 17-16 on the year.
• 63-60 @ CSU Bakersfield: The Hornets fell behind by 21 points but ultimately lost as a rally came up short for a close loss on the road. A 19 point effort by Dickson was wasted as another winnable non-conference matchup resulted in a loss. Bako finished 16-15 on the year.
• 77-76 vs Southeast Missouri State: The Hornets hosted SEMO in a return game for the Bracketbuster matchup from a season ago and what should have been a win once again resulted in a close loss. A 25 point effort from Dickson was wasted in this one. SEMO went 15-16 on the year.
• 73-64 @ NAU: NAU was in complete meltdown when the Hornets played them and this loss was the beginning of 8 straight BSC losses as well as NAU’s only BSC win.
• 65-60 vs EWU: Another close loss to a team who had a new HC and almost an entire new roster. Even with that, EWU still outperformed the Hornets on the season to grab a 4th seed in the BSC Tournament.
• 68-67 vs ISU: The Hornets dropped yet another close one to a team who up until this game was struggling to get wins. A 25 point effort by Veteto was wasted in this one and ISU went on to earn the 5th seed in the BSC Tournament.
• 94-88 vs PSU: The Hornets dropped a close game at home in front of a near capacity crowd against a surging PSU team who went on to snag the 3rd seed in the BSC Tournament.
Team Statistics and Rankings
Rankings based on per game averages from regular season play, stats taken from the BSC website pre BSC Tournament.
- • Scoring Offense: 67.0 ppg (7th BSC, 194th D-1)
• Scoring Defense: 69.1 ppg (3rd BSC)
• Scoring Margin: -2.2 (6th BSC)
• Offensive Field Goal %: 663/1470, 45.1% (5th BSC, 103rd D-1)
• Defensive Field Goal %: 670/1492, 44.9% (4th BSC)
• Free Throw %: 397/568, 69.9% (5th BSC)
• Offensive 3-Point %: 152/448, 33.9% (6th BSC)
• Defensive 3-Point %: 176/490, 35.9% (4th BSC)
• Offensive Rebounds: 932, 33.3 rpg (6th BSC, 235th D-1)
• Defensive Rebounds: 891, 31.8 rpg (3rd BSC)
• Rebound Margin: +1.5 (4th BSC)
• Assists: 386, 13.8 apg (3rd BSC, 90th D-1)
• Blocks: 64, 2.3 bpg (6th BSC)
• Steals: 130, 4.6 spg (9th BSC)
• Turnovers: 383, 13.7 tpg (6th BSC)
• Turnovers Forced: 333, 11.9 tpg (8th BSC)
• Turnover Margin: -1.79 (7th BSC)
Only points, assists, and rebounds per game stats listed. Players averaging less than 5.0 ppg not listed.
- • Dickson: 12.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.1 apg, 43.1-FG%, 73.2-FT%, 26.5-3%
• Eberhard: 11.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 50.2-FG%, 75.9-FT%, 45.8-3%
• Carbajal: 11.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.7 apg, 47.5-FG%, 47.8-FT%, 35.8-3%
• Veteto: 9.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, 49.7-FG%, 59.5-FT%, 00.0-3%
• Garrity: 8.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 6.9 apg, 40.4-FG%, 81.8-FT%, 33.3-3%
• Hoffman: 7.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.9 apg, 43.1-FG%, 85.1-FT%, 37.0-3%
• Jackson: 6.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.3 apg, 57.9-FG%, 77.8-FT%, 50.0-3%
• McCarver: 5.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.5 apg, 58.3-FG%, 64.3-FT%, 00.0-3%
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/16/sacramento-state-hornets
The Hornets were streaky on offense. The Hornets did a better job at scoring this season but still struggled at times and still need to improve their shooting. Garrity did an excellent job of running the offense and getting the open man the ball. There were improvements from multiple players as the season progressed and that is a promising sign looking ahead to next season considering the top five leading scorers return. The new comers to the roster also had solid contributions and this will need to improve for a successful 12/13 campaign. The Hornets needs to continue to improve their game and work on being consistent game in and game out. Hopefully with an experienced lineup returning next season, we will start to see a more organized offense with more set plays and a more efficient offense that exploits opponents mismatches.
Defensively the Hornets have allowed opponents to score too easily. The Hornets typically give up quite a bit of athleticism on defense and have constantly struggled to stop an opponent’s key player. The Hornets also do not pressure the ball enough unless they are trailing by a considerable amount and hopefully a new defensive mentality can be found this offseason. The Hornets have found themselves in quite a few close games over the past few years and a tougher, stouter and resilient defensive game could sway these games in the Hornets favor. There is plenty of room for improvement on the defensive end of the court.
Players Leaving
- • Heath Hoffman, G: Hoffman started 15 of the 28 games he played in. He improved from a season ago and had a solid performance on the season. When he didn’t start, he provided a boost coming off of the bench and was a reliable player who was always good for some considerable minutes and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch.
• Josh McCarver, C: McCarver started 16 of the 28 games he played in and split time with Veteto as the season progressed. We saw glimpses of what he was capable of last season and carried that over into this season; unfortunately he cooled down a bit towards the end of the season. He was a capable player nonetheless.
• Walter Jackson, G-F: Jackson started 7 of the 11 games he played in and then left the team mid-way through the season and just prior to the start of BSC play. He was hands down the best defender on the team and one of the more athletic players on the roster, it’s a shame he couldn’t finish out his senior season.
• Anthony Cosentino, PF: He showed up just long enough to be included in the team photo and then bailed. I’m not sure anyone has any idea what happened here.
• Alpha N’Diaye, C: Was ruled academically ineligible prior to the season. He would have lifted the sluggish rebounding numbers and improved the defensive effort had he been able to keep it together in the classroom.
- • Dylan Garrity, PG: Garrity earned BSC Freshman of the Year in his first season as a Hornet and will look to continue to build off of that success heading into his sophomore season. He started 27 of the 28 games he played in and did an excellent job of running the Hornet offense and getting the ball to the open man as he led the Hornets in assists. He will need to continue this as well as look to improve his shooting and scoring ability next season.
• John Dickson, F: Started 18 of the 28 games he played in and continued to improve his game and impress us Hornet fans and he showed his ability to dominate games on the offensive end as he led the Hornets in scoring. He did improve his shot selection in that he heaved up less 3’s but he is still putting up quite a few. His improved shooting and free throw percentage will need to carry over into his senior season as a Hornet. We can all expect another solid and consistent contribution on both ends of the floor from Dickson next season. He will be a vital component of a successful 12/13 campaign.
• Joe Eberhard, G-F: Eberhard burst onto the scene and immediately made his presence felt on the offensive end of the floor with his consistent shooting and rebounding. He started 27 of the 28 games he played in and will look to build off of a successful season heading into his senior season. He is a versatile player who can drain shots from long range and mid-range and has the ability to position himself for rebounds as he led the Hornets in rebounding this season.
• Konner Veteto, C: Veteto started 5 of the 27 games he played in and held down the post quite well. He was consistent with his play inside the paint but he was prone to foul trouble. He did an okay job of shooting from the free throw line and it would be nice to see him improve this part of his game. We can expect a solid contribution from Veteto in his senior season.
• Jackson Carbajal, SG: Carbajal suffered an early injury that put him on the bench on the early part of the season but had a breakout season once he got healthy and got back into the swing of things. He started 12 of the 18 games he played in and was able to contribute on the offensive end. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to improve his performance in his junior season. He will need to improve drastically at the charity stripe as 47.8% from the line isn’t going to get it done for a shooting guard.
• Jordan Estrada, G: Katz was touting Estrada heading into this season and even gave him a team captain title but I never understood why. Rumors are he battled an ankle injury much of the season but he never put up impressive numbers nor did he shoot the ball well when he did see action. It would be nice to see if he can live up to the hype Katz generated for him and at least fill the 6th man role that Hoffman was able to fulfill this season. Estrada started 8 of the 22 games he saw action in and will be a senior next season.
• Julian Demalleville, G: Demalleville started 2 of the 28 games he played in but it was reduced to a reserve role as the season progressed. Like Estrada, filling a bench player role is more likely how his senior season will play out.
• Pete Rakocevic, C: Rak started 3 of the 16 games he played in but most of his significant playing time was earlier in the season. As of now he is Veteto’s backup at center heading into his junior season. Rak hasn’t proven that he should retain that role during his limited playing time. Hopefully he can have a productive offseason and develop into a capable player.
• Kendall Groom, PG: Groom spent almost all of his sophomore season on the bench which will likely be the case for his junior season and beyond with emergence of Garrity. Groom played in 19 games but it was mainly only mop up duty.
• Magd Owayed, PF: Owayed saw brief action in the 2 games he played in. He will be a sophomore next season and it will be interesting to see if he has a shot to fill some of the backup roles at forward.
Starters:
- • PG – Dylan Garrity, 6’-2”, 170 lbs, So
• SG – Jackson Carbajal, 6’-3”, 185 lbs, Jr
• F – Joe Eberhard, 6’-6”, 210 lbs, Sr
• F – John Dickson, 6’-6”, 195 lbs, Sr
• C – Konner Veteto, 6’-8”, 265 lbs, Sr
- • G – Jordan Estrada, 6’-1”, 190 lbs, Sr
• G – Julian Demalleville, 6’-2”, 190 lbs, Sr
• C – Pete Rakocevic, 6’-11”, 225 lbs, Jr
• G – Kendall Groom, 6’-3”, 170 lbs, Jr
• F – Magd Owayed, 6’-7”, 215 lbs, So
Another concern is the amount of players who will be graduating following next season. Katz has done a poor job of recruiting capable high school talent that actually sticks with this Hornet program. Through his 4 years here, Katz hasn’t weaned this program off of the dependency of JC transfers. Eventually this cycle will need to be broken or this roster will continue to have a high turnover every 2 years. It is imperative that Coach Katz land some capable HS talent and that he actually develops that talent into players who can contribute for more than 2 years. Katz is entering his 5th year here; it’s long past time to see some positive results.
Looking ahead to next season there are some changes coming to the BSC. With the addition of full members Southern Utah and North Dakota, the chances of getting that elusive BSC Tournament berth got that much slimmer as only the top 7 of a now 11 member conference will see post season play. I’m not sure if each member will be played twice in the expanded conference but if that is the case, the Hornets will have to work that much harder if they want to see the post season.
Go Hornets!
