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Show IIMII IIIIE""."' ON „„„„111111111,OFF, with Matt Peterson & Jonathan Boldt IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Sports editor Matt Petersen and Assistant Sports Editor Jonathan Boldt give their take on five questions about the men's basketball team heading into conference play. 1) The Wolverines are 1010 heading into conference play, but are they really a .500-level team? Matt: What makes a bas- ketball season isn't so much how hot a team gets as much as when the team gets hot. Utah Valley looks like it's finally finding a groove on both ends after struggling early on. The Wyoming game, like its defining offensive foul called on Keith Thompson, could have gone either way. It's a shame it took a team with four returning starters this long to gel, but now that it's happening they should be much better than their record indicates. Jonathan: The Wolverines are like the 12-year-old star quarterback playing junior high football. They've outgrown the local competition, but aren't quite ready for varsity. Their non-conference play suggests they just aren't quite there yet when it comes to the likes of Arkansas, Utah State and Wyoming. They have made great strides in competing with tougher competition and now is the time to build from there and finish strong in conference as expected. The only way to be considered for another conference is to beat teams from those conferences. The bottom line is you are what your record says until you prove otherwise. On the rise Wolverines coming together as conference play begins By MATT PETERSEN Sports Editor All that preseason hype may simply have been premature. The Wolverines' early-season struggles gave way to a three-game winning streak heading into the weekend's conference opener at North Dakota. Team chemistry and overall production highlight the change in fortune, something onlookers thought would take place sooner with four returning starters from last season's Great West championship squad. Head coach Dick Hunsaker did his best to quash the preseason praise. He pointed to the since-departed Jordan Swarbrick and Justin Baker as key losses that would be felt far beyond the box score. It was tempting to think that Dick was simply being Dick. Hunsaker is a coach who wants his players to be aware of their flaws enough to be accountable for them, change them, eradicate them. Instead the non-conference slate proved the 11th-year coach right and fans/writers hasty, if not necessarily wrong. Losses to high-profile programs (Arkansas, Wyoming, Oakland) served as reality checks. Returning All-American Isiah Williams and second-team All-GWC center Ben Aird saw their production drop. The Wolverines' Jan. 3 rematch against Wyoming punctuated the low point of the season. In front of a home crowd of 6,000-plus and a national television audience, UVU came up short after Keith Thompson's goahead basket in the closing seconds was waved off for an offensive foul. Wyoming went on to win 76-70. The call infuriated Hunsaker. The loss may have ignited the team. It didn't hurt that UVU's next op- I like the direction we're headed. It's taken a lot of time to get a definition of roles. 99 - Coach Hunsaker ponent was Seattle University, the program chosen over Utah Valley for admittance to the Western Athletic Conferene (WAC) last summer. Utah Valley played them twice, win- Utah Valley utes? Robinson. The last five? Williams. That's the kind of fear an elite scorer brings. will always have a huge influence on this team. His ability to take over with his explosive offensive talents cannot be understated. That being said, at this point in the season this team feeds off the hard work and passion of Geddes Robinson. Robinson is averaging a double-double while being in the top 20 nationally in total rebounding and is first overall on the offensive glass. His rebounds per game have gone up as well as his points pergame from last season. What sets him apart, though, is not the numbers. It's how hard he prepares and how hard he works. His level of commitment is inspiring this team to bring their A-game every night. PHOTO BY LANCE LARSEN/UVU REVIEW Geddes Robinson leads the GWC with 10.6 rebounds per game. Defensive state of mind By JONATHAN BOLDT Assistant Sports Editor Defying the odds and soaring to new heights speaks to even the most casual observer. On the surface, sports may seem less important to some, and it's the human element that provides depth. Whether it's tuning in to see an Olympian set a new record or watching Michael Jordan "fly" from the free-throw line, the impossible is now possible and everyone waits to see what happens next. It's easy to lose sight of how much time and effort, along with a ton of hard work, goes into making it all look so effortless. While some athletes get by on pure talent, others develop mental toughness and a work ethic to take that talent to the next level. Take UVU senior forward Geddes Robinson for example. He is in the top 20 nationally in rebounding and leads the country in pulling down offensive boards. He is also one of the most reliable defenders for the Wolverines. Success in these areas depends on a ONE-ON-ONE B2 CONTACT: BASKETBALL B2 Great West Preview Matt: For the first 35 min- Jonathan: Isiah Williams 33 PHOTO BY LANCE LARSEN/UVU REVIEW 2)Who's more valuable at this point: Geddes Robinson or Isiah Williams? You can't overestimate how many looks other teammates have gotten due to the opponents' attention on Williams. That will only increase in conference play, as Great West teams remember all too well how Williams burned them repeatedly. The threat of him simply being on the floor keeps defenses honest, creating a trickle-down effect on the rest of the Wolverines. ning both times. In the Wyoming and Seattle games, Williams regained his All-American form, averaging over 23 points in the three contests. The Wolverines followed their second victory at Seattle with a 98-72 home blowout over Saint Mary. Six players scored in double-figures for the second game in a row, led by Ben Aird's 18 points. Sophomore guard Holton Hunsaker logged a careerhigh nine assists, his third consecutive game with at least six after averaging less than three per game on the season. "I like the direction we're headed," Hunsaker said. "It's taken a lot of time to get a definition of roles. I still think we have a substantial distance to go with to get better with our overall ball move- ROBINSON B2 The Wolverines opened the season winning three of their first four games but then suffered a couple of close losses to Utah State (63-54), Arkansas (67-59), and Houston (84-71). The Wolverines enter Great West Conference play on a 3 game winning streak with a record of 10-10. Utah Valley, entered conference play averaging 67.8 points per game. The Wolverines are led in scoring by senior guard Isaiah Williams, who is averaging 15.0 ppg and 2.6 assists per game. The Wolverines also are getting a solid contribution from Geddes Robinson who is averaging 10.4 points per game and leads the conference in rebounding with 10.2 per game. Holton Hunsaker leads the Wolverines in assists averaging 3.0 per game. Chicago State The Cougars are really struggling this season after winning only one game but they have lost a lot of close games during their non-conference schedule. The Cougars currently head into conference play with a record of 1-16. Chicago State enters conference play having averaged 61.0 points per game this season. The Cougars have 3 players who are averaging double-figures in points, Jeremy Robinson (14.5), Lee Fisher (12.4), and Matt Samuels (10.7). Fisher also leads the team in rebounding with 8.2 per game. Houston Baptist Houston comes er3 into confer- ence play as the highest scoring team in the conference averaging 76.5 points per game. The Huskies played a very challenging non-conference schedule that included tough games against Washington, Rice, No.24 Creighton, and New Mexico. The Huskies come in to conference play with a record of 6-10 The Huskies are lead in scoring by three players who each average double digits in points. They are Marcus Davis who averages 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Art Bernardi at 12.7 points per game and Tyler Russell with 11.8 points per game. NJIT The Highlanders played a tough nonmL conference CINDERS schedule that included games against Army, Georgetown, Seton Hall, St. Joseph's and Rutgers. NJIT enters Great West Conference play with a 7-9 record. The Highlanders are averaging 67.9 points per game this season. They are lead in scoring by the one-two combination of senior guard Isaiah Wilkerson, who leads the team in points with an average of 15.5 points per game and 5.6 rebounds. Junior guard Chris Flores is the team's second-leading scorer averaging 12.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. SPORTS EDITOR ASST. SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS DESIGNER petersensports@gmail.com jonboldt@gmail.com gonzamatic@gmail.com MATT PETERSEN JONATHAN BOLDT ERIC GONZALEZ North Dakota North Dakota began the season as the defending Great West Tournament Champions. They had some big wins in its non-conference schedule that included Idaho Sate, Montana, and Jamestown. North Dakota has also had a couple of tough losses against Kansas and New Mexico. UND comes in having won two out of their last three games and an overall record of 7-9. North Dakota enters Great West Conference play averaging 68.5 points per game and they are lead in scoring by sophomore Troy Huff who averages 14.2 points per game, and 5.9 rebounds. North Dakota's leader in assists per game is sophomore Jamal Webb with 3.9 per game. UTPA The Broncos played a brutal non-conference schedule that included games against some pretty high profile schools that included the University of South Carolina, University of Texas, No.2 Ohio State, St. John's, Air Force and Texas Christian University. The Broncos enter conference play on a three-game losing streak and their overall record is 5-15. UTPA comes into conference play averaging 59.0 points per game. The Broncos are lead in scoring by senior guard Jared Maree who averages 13.0 points per game. Their leading assist man senior guard Nick Weiermiller who averages 3.8 per game. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! @UVU_SPORTSDESK |