While I haven't been on here in awhile, I felt the need to say that while at Willamette, I knew Bruce Henderson...and there has not been a more genuine, caring person than he.  Bruce was never too busy to sit down and talk or share an encouraging word with anyone that crossed his path. As a Bearcat fan, and someone who knew Bruce, I am deeply saddened by his passing, as I'm sure the entire Bearcat family is.

RIP Coach.

2007-2008


1. LC: EVERYONE back, plus they beat UPS 2 out of 3 this season.

2. UPS: EVERYONE back, and just because they lost in the NWC tourney early, people seem to forget they've had a run of 4 years that NO ONE ELSE can match.

3. Whitworth:  The Pirates can and do reload every year....when they lost Avery, CWilliams, Bierlink and Jensen, people claimed they were dead in the water. Then they got BWilliams, Young, Tucker, and Pecht....they lost those guys, everyone said they were dead...so they got Symes and the Fus and JJones...and just keep on winning...I'm almost tempted to pick them higher...

4. WHO CARES....if you're not in the top 3, it doesn't matter, you're done by early February, and you're watching again...

As for Willamette, let's wait to see who they get in recruiting...let's wait and see what players return (as with the Fife and Stuvland sagas, nothing seems guaranteed with them right now)...let's see what condition players return (as posters are correct in saying they NEED TO IMPROVE)...let's see how they adjust to what LC and Whitworth are doing (as they went 0-4 there, with only 1 close game...but seem to have a handle on how to take on UPS)...as much as I'd love to say THEY'LL BE BACK...there are far too many questionmarks after such a dismal season...

A.  I've asked this before, but can someone explain how WW cannot beat UPS, WU cannot beat WW, yet seemingly can beat UPS every year in Salem...I guess it comes down matchup issues, and some teams just match better against others...

B.  What a big loss by the Loggers Saturday, especially after having all the momentum from the Whitworth sweep...big letdown

C.  WU has one chance to make this season mean something...By beating the Pirates on Friday...sure it won't knock Whitworth out of the NWC tourney, but it could cost them home court, and it could cost them a national tourney bid....either of which should be enough motivation to go at your rival on the last weekend of an underwhelming season

D. To answer the question from last week about next year, WU brings back 4 out of 5 starters in Nugent, Mansfield, Smith and McClary...in addition, Cantrell, Costantino are back from the bench... they need to find a point guard who can play either off the bench or start, and then some depth for the bench, but bringing back 6 players who all played major minutes can't hurt...then again, if those players don't improve, you're looking at the same team that just went 10-12, or whatever they finish...

E. I would lean towards WU being vastly improved, as you look at their home record of 8-2, and realize they were in close games at LC, Pac, and Linfield, and you could argue that its a young team simply learning how difficult it is to play in the NWC night in and night out...us long time 'Cat fans can only hope this season of noncontention is an aberration...

As far as rivalries go for the WU:

1. Whitworth: but, having not beat them in awhile, that is not a true "rivalry" right now
2. Linfield: Used to be HUGE, but the Wildcats have been down for awhile now
3. LC: Willamette (until being swept this year) had dominated the previous 4 years


On a sidenote, the Bearcats got swept and are finished...was at the LC game...disappointing to see....but the Pios are very good....

WU looked very good against both UPS and PLU this weekend...maybe its a bit too late, but their ability to play at different tempos and with different lineups has been a big plus factor in their recent 3-game winning streak...

Now, with LC and GF's upsets, they are still two games out of the playoffs, but with games at Pacific and at LC this weekend, they can get themselves firmly back in the race...

With WU's erickson, Whitworth's Jones, GF's Heu-Weller, and now Foster, the NWC is missing some primetime players from some teams...

Someone from the WU, somewhere, at sometime, must have done something truly terrible, because the Karma with the BCats right now is ridiculous...

Stuvland regains his eligibility, only to severely sprain his ankle in practice the day before the Fox game...

Erickson gets a medical clear to play, gives them a great 21 minutes and 3 seconds before reinjuring himself for the year taking a charge with 57 seconds to play...

Fife is gone...

Michael Plank is forced to play the first semester (due to all the injuries) and now has exhausted his semesters of eligibility...

Tain Cantrell (fr. post from Westview HS) starts to play well, gets the start at George Fox, but now is out with a medical condition he had to be hospitalized for...the players haven't told me yet when he will be back...


Obviously, every team goes through injuries, but losing that many key players has definately contributed to the Bcats up and down ways...this is a team that lost 140-137 AT UPS, but then got blown out by PLU...this is a team that beat Pacific, only to get romped by George Fox...

I truly have no idea what to expect Friday against the Pirates...only that the 'Cats are more than capable of getting crushed...or getting a huge upset win...

Who knows...

Whitworth seems to be the logical choice in the big NWC battle this weekend...

a. Homecourt advantage
b. Senior point guard used to dealing with UPS pressure
c.  Big men capable of finishing off all the transition baskets the Loggers give up
d. A shooter in young capable of stretching the Loggers back line guys, allowing more easy layups
e. Catching the loggers coming off a loss to a Pacifc team that lost the Bearcats (who are STRUGGLING) the night before
f. A veteran coach

UPS should enjoy
a. An overall quickness superiority
b. Better depth, as Whitworth (looking at the stats) plays about 6.75 guys
c. A motivational aide, as they must realize a 2nd loss this early puts them actually 3 games behind the pirates in the race for the NWC

I still like the Pirates....say 87-80...

As for the WU, Stuvland plays for the first time Friday...maybe that can end the up and down nature of the season (but in all honesty, with LC beating WU, then losing to Pacifc...a lot of teams are bunched with either 2 or 3 conference losses...the race for third should stay tight all year long...)

Willamette is facing what basically amounts to a make or break weekend...

Win both, they are right in the race for third...

Lose both, they are in SERIOUS trouble that they probably won't dig their way out of...

They will not have Erickson or Fife for the rest of the year...Stuvland could be back tonight...

Finally got a chance to see the Bearcats on Friday night...and while they gave up a ton of points, they were impressive offensively, beating concordia 96-93...(they followed that with a 66-51 victory over SOU the next day that I wasn't at)...

The new faces for WU, Danny Nugent and Michael Smith, were very good, with Nugent going for 28 and 8...Andrus played well of the bench, and Plank was solid at the "1"...Mansfield and McClary also battled all night in the paint...

While their problem areas are pretty obvious (taking care of the ball and getting some kind of defensive effort), they're fun to watch, and with some adjustments (and additions) I have not yet lost faith in their ability to make the NWC tournament...

Oh, and it was a GREAT crowd Friday...loud and standing the whole game...

When the seniors from WU graduated last year, my "inside sources" to the team left...I will try to find out the situation with Stuvland, but I do know he had a full year left going into this season...

While obviously Willamette's record of 1-5 is NOT where they usually are/should be, I would venture to guess that if Whitworth started this season without Williams, Young, and Jones, or UPS started without Williams, Marsh, and Delong, they would be struggling themselves...

Willamette has played all but 4 minutes of their first 6 games without their projected starters at 1 (Erickson), 2 (Stuvland), and 3 (Fife)...now, I realize eventually you are what you are, but that's a HUGE chunk of your pie missing, and the fact they still battled UPS to a 140-137 decision speaks volumes of what they can/will be capable of...Mansfield has been huge, Nugent is shooting some ridiculously high %, Michael Smith (who I don't know if I've ever seen him before) scored 18 ppg over the weekend, and they've got Michael Plank (a football guy) scoring 17 points at UPS...

Now, the radio made it sound like Erickson is probably done...so they're not getting him back...but Stuvland and Fife, should be soon...add that to this mix, and they're still a legit threat for that 3rd spot...all you have to do is get in...

On a different note Pinecone...how would you compare this new guy to Tucker/Pecht/Depew?

Tough, tough weekend for the Bearcats...140-137 loss at UPS was amazing to hear on the radio, much less for anyone who was lucky enough to be there I'd imagine...WU had its chances, as it seemed there were at least 3 times they appeared to have won the game...

PLU must be improved, as they are undefeated...can't help but think that the UPS loss cost Willamette two games...

1-5, 0-2 is a big hole...but its a 3 team playoff, and if the 'Cats can rebound and just get in, who knows...they are obviously very capable, considering they went blow for blow with the 3 time champs on their own home floor...

What a game...I was exhausted listening, I don't know how Craig Spivey(?) kept up with the announcing on the radio...

I've been slow to post as I try to get a feel for WU...without actually seeing them play.

Obviously, the fact that they are missing 3 starters has dampered their start, but in the end it could be a blessing, as assuming Erickson, Fife and Stuvland return, the guys playing now should be seasoned and improved, giving the team a ton of depth...

I also believe the loss of a strong group of seniors (Olinger, Luchterhand, Miller, Baran, Garrelts) has been a bigger hurdle to overcome than people thought, as their experience in the heat of the battle obviously was helpful....

1-3 is obviously not where they Bearcats probably envisioned themselves, but its certainly not time to panic...WU is still talented, well-coached, and in all honesty, the fact they are probably out of AT-LARGE consideration after the Cali losses is not a big deal...the team should be focused on getting in the top 3 of the NWC and winning the league playoffs (as at-large's in the NWC have been few and far between anyway)

Conference play begins Friday in their own personal hell house (UPS) as the Bearcats have been soundly beaten the past 3 times in Tacoma...time to turn things around...

I think you'd get a lot of arguments as to whether or not you can put Josh Walker in the same category as Curtiss and McVey...that might be stretching it a BIT.

I agree with the comment about Bourne (sp?)...for a guy his size, he surprised me at Willamette with how light on his feet he was...

Now, for my picks:

1. Whitworth
2. UPS
3. Willamette
4. LC
5. Pacific
6. Whitman
7. Linfield
8. George fox
9. PLU

Obviously, I believe my Bearcats capable of winning the whole thing in the NWC, but to avoid being too much like Bhawks, I'll settle them into the third playoff spot (and in reality, when WU goes 1-4 against Whitworth/UPS last year, you can't justify picking your favorite team over those ones)...

Whitworth loses the POY, but rumor has it they've got some nice transfers in, to go along with BWilliams and JYoung, and they played very well down the stretch last year, so I like their odds...

The 3Peat champs, UPS, does have a lot back, but I don't think you can under estimate how much Curtiss and McVey really meant to them...losing them and EB is too much for a 4th title, but expect them to still have a say in the NWC tourney...

Willamette loses Johnny O, but brings back a solid backcourt in Erickson, Fife, and Stuvland, and if it can get consistent play out of Mansfield and whoever they start at the other spot, they should be very good...the question is whether they can find a way to beat Whitworth (I think their website said its been 7 or 8 straight to the Pirates??)

I think LC's pg (Tillery?) was the quickest I saw last year at WU's home games...and overall they seemed to have more talent than what they showed...I'm picking them to be much improved...

Pacific is a tough place to play, and their new coach has some recruiting ties in Cali, so I find it hard to believe they won't be at least mid level this year...

All-NWC picks later...

Nice to see everyone on the Discussion, and it looks like Loggerville will be holding the BHawks mantle of Tacoma for the year...I wonder if Pinecone (Whitworth) is still around...