As soon as the scoreboard at Memorial Fieldhouse came on this week, a reminder of Puget Sound men’s basketball teams’ past came to light.
The home team score read: “111 points.”
Nearly a decade ago, frenetic-paced and high-scoring UPS teams began making NCAA Division III tournament appearances.
Out of necessity, times are changing. And games when UPS scores more than 100 points will be because the Loggers dominated from the inside and not the outside.
After spending the past two seasons watching his team run, shoot a lot 3-pointers and sink to the bottom of the Northwest Conference in many offensive categories, coach Justin Lunt decided to overhaul not only the system, but the Loggers’ long-standing philosophy.
“It’s new, and it accentuates our size,” Lunt said. “We are really trying to work on our power game.”
He’s got 6-foot-9 Anthony Gittens, a Foss High and Tacoma Community College product with a vastly improved post game. The senior has become the interior focal point.
He’s also got a pair of 6-foot-7 juniors in Riggs Yarbro and Gabe Borboa off the bench who both show keen touch in the paint.
“From top to bottom, we are big, long and physical,” Lunt said.
Lunt began adjusting his offense in this direction late last season. By no coincidence, that is when Gittens – who started playing early in the conference season – finally started feeling comfortable in his surroundings.
But if Lunt was going to commit to this new style, much of that hinged on Gittens’ improvement in the offseason.
Gittens worked on all elements: Developing a jump hook to lead his back-to-the-basket attack; working on his 10- to 15-foot jumper to highlight his face-up game and becoming a more astute passer.
John McCrossin, a former head coach at Fife, Lincoln and Sumner High schools, specializes in post-play instruction and has been as big a reason for Gittens’ immediate refinement. He is a UPS volunteer assistant.
“He’s just made it simple – I tried making things too complicated at TCC, or even last year here,” Gittens said. “Usually when I would catch the ball (in the post), I would try to score right away … but McCrossin has showed me how to be patient, to look around and see what my options are first. Everything does not have to happen on the first touch of the basketball.”
In 21.1 minutes of action per game this season, Gittens is averaging a team-best 13.9 points. He is shooting 60 percent from the floor.
“When I recruited him, I told him, ‘This is where we see you.’ He said he wanted to score and be a threat on the block and not just a defensive and rebounding type,” Lunt said. “Now we have to get him a look every single time down the floor. Kudos goes to him – he’s earned that.”
It doesn’t just stop with Gittens. Yarbro and Borboa have been nearly as efficient with their play as reserves.
For Yarbro – who relies on moves around the free-throw line to get off mid-range shots – his offseason work focused on reshaping his body. At 235 pounds, he is 20 pounds heavier than last season, and looks a whole lot leaner.
“I was getting thrown around,” Yarbro said. “It is actually surprising now that I am moving around a lot better than I was.”
Borboa was already long and lean. He, too, put on 10 pounds of muscle, and is playing at 215 pounds.
“I am doing a better job of holding my ground,” Borboa said. “Hustle plays or whatever is my game – getting offensive rebounds. If I get a chance to score, I’ll take it.”
The three post players average a combined 27.4 points per game – nearly one-third of the team’s output (78.1 ppg) – and are shooting 55.6 percent from the floor (89-for-160).
“This just makes everything easier on offense,” Gittens said. “In the past, if we did not touch it for a while, when we did, we would force shots.”
Todd Milles: 253-597-8442
Todd.milles@thenewstribune.com
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: LOCAL MEN
PACIFIC LUTHERAN LUTES
Coach: Steve Dickerson, sixth season (51-66 record).
2010-11 season: 15-10 overall, 10-6 Northwest Conference (fourth place).
Returning starters: PG James Conti, SG Andrew Earnest and PF Cameron Schilling.
Projected starting lineup: Conti, 5-10, sr.; Earnest, 6-0, jr.; SF Kai Hoyt, 6-4, so.; Schilling, 6-5, jr.; C Johnny Tveter, 6-4, so.
Top reserves: PG Terrell Williams, 6-0, fr.; G/F Cameron Reister, 6-5, jr.; F/C Austen Wilson, 6-6, fr.
Key player: Earnest. He has displayed a boost in overall athleticism from rigorous offseason workouts (his one-step vertical jump is now 40 inches). His outside shooting is unmatched and irreplaceable – the Lutes want him to take a minimum of 16 shots per game.
Outlook: The old guard of Victor Bull, Kyle MacTaggart and Curtis Trondsen has graduated and moved on. The new guard? That development is a work in progress. Fortunately, PLU has an ultra-competitive senior leader in Conti, who will need to give this team 30 minutes per game. Aside from him, Dickerson will shuttle bodies in and out to run the team’s motion offense, which should enable PLU to best function without a true post presence. In fact, the coach said this is the offense he expects to run for the foreseeable future. Even being young, the Lutes should contend for one of conference’s final playoff spots.
PUGET SOUND LOGGERS
Coach: Justin Lunt, sixth season (81-49 record).
2010-11 season: 10-15 overall, 7-9 Northwest Conference (fifth place).
Returning starters: SF Edric Egberuare, PF Kaleb Shelton-Johnson and C Anthony Gittens.
Projected starting lineup: PG Julian Fernandez, 6-3, sr.; SG Derek Jobe, 6-4, fr.; Egberuare, 6-2, sr.; Shelton-Johnson, 6-5, sr.; Gittens, 6-9, sr.
Top reserves: PG Rex Holmes, 5-11, jr.; G Ryan Rogers, 6-1, jr.; F Gabe Borboa, 6-7, jr.; F Riggs Yarbro, 6-7, jr.
Key player: Shelton-Johnson. Even with the Loggers’ shift in offensive philosophy to more of an inside-oriented attack, this Lincoln High product remains the heart and soul of the program. And his potent inside-outside versatility cannot be overstated.
Outlook: Two down seasons, lots of frustration. Last offseason Lunt took a long look at what troubled his team most and saw one recurring theme: offensive inefficiency. Last season, UPS was last in the league in shooting percentage (39.3 percent). Much of that came from out-of-rhythm 3-pointers, which players forced. And UPS had a tendency to go sizable stretches without scoring. Now, the team’s focal point is pounding the ball inside to Gittens, Yarbro and Borboa, or to their stout guards Egberuare, Jobe and Fernandez. Defensively, the Loggers plan to be smarter with their pressure, mixing up soft and matchup zones with tight man-to-man schemes. So far, the returns have been golden – UPS is atop the NWC standings and ranked in the top 20 nationally.
Todd Milles, staff writer
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