Wednesday, Jan. 27, 1999
By SCOTT M. JOHNSON
Enterprise staff writer
For all the positive things returning starters Dante Ross, Jason Cox and J.C. Timmons have done for the UC Davis men's basketball team over the past 15 months, their contributions could have an ill effect on the program in the immediate future.
After all, now that UCD has won a national basketball championship, the bar has been raised.
First-year coach Brian Fogel has taken every chance he's had to downplay comparisons to last season's 31-2 squad, but finding similarities is inevitable.
Despite the lofty expectations, this season's team may have actually overachieved thus far. Although the Aggies have already lost more games (three) this season than during the entire 1998-99 campaign, the schedule has been more difficult, and the weapons have been fewer.
Guards, B+
Guard play has been the strength of the team, for the most part.
While Dante Ross and J.C. Timmons are the Aggies' two top scorers, Keith Jackson has also proved to be an offensive weapon after spending last season primarily as a defensive role player.
Ross has actually improved since last season, when he was named all-conference, All-West Region and to two postseason all-tournament teams. He leads the team with 14.8 points per game, 3.5 assists per game, and 35 steals. And in the words of Fogel, ``his leadership is worth about 10 points per game.''
Timmons is second on the team with an 11.1 scoring average and is no longer overlooked by opponents. His ability to slash has not been as effective as last season, and his outside shooting (31 percent from 3-point range) has been hot-and-cold.
In fact, none of UCD's guards have been very effective from beyond the 3-point arc, which may be the team's biggest Achilles' heel. Junior college transfer Ryan Sanchez, who was expected to contribute immediately as an outside gunner, has been a disappointment.
Backup point guard Tyler Boyd, meanwhile, has been somewhat of a surprise. Boyd does not try to be Ross. The redshirt freshman has improved in almost every game.
Forwards, B-
Jason Cox was supposed to be one of the top players in the conference -- if not the country -- but has been slowed by a familiar injury.
After missing six games last season due to a stress fracture in his left foot, the junior has been slowed by a similar injury to his other foot. Still, he has shown flashes of the player he was during last season's Elite Eight, when he was UCD's main offensive weapon. In stretches of games against Grand Canyon and Chico State, Cox has been able to dominate. Unfortunately for the Aggies, he also disappears at times as well.
The only other forward who has made much of an impact is Scott Darmstadt, who is fourth on the team in scoring (6.5 per game) despite being a reserve. Darmstadt's role has nothing to do with breaking down defenders or looking pretty. He is a garbage man, getting offensive putbacks. When needed, Darmstadt can also hit the 3, as shown by his 47 percent clip from behind the arc.
Keith Johnson looked like a real player at Cal State Dominguez Hills in early December, scoring 13 points in 22 minutes but has been a non-factor ever since. Although Johnson may be the Aggies' third most athletic player (after Jackson and Cox), the redshirt freshman seems to be suffering from inexperience and a lack of confidence.
Centers, C
With Justis Durkee's graduation, this was the biggest question mark entering the season.
Fogel promised to rotate four players -- Moss, Johnson, Brent Wyse and John Surina -- but only Moss has proved up to the task.
Wyse began the season as the starter, but slowly moved down the bench. His biggest attribute is his strength and ability to do dirty work inside, but he has not shown an ability to create his own shot.
Moss stepped into the starting lineup in the fifth game and never let go of his position. He has never been a main offensive weapon, but seemed to improve dramatically last week alone, when he averaged 11 points in two wins over Chico State.
John Surina, who was effective filling in for Durkee in stretches last season, has found himself buried deep on the bench even though he has the biggest body (6-6, 220) of any center on the team. What Surina seems to lack is the ability to play physical like Moss, Johnson and Wyse, who are all redshirt freshmen.
Bench, C
The strength of the team last season, UCD's bench has been a little thinner this year.
Darmstadt has been the only consistent contributor -- at least offensively -- among the reserves this season.
The Aggies are so thin and inexperienced that little-used guards Kevin Nosek and Brandon Laird have found themselves on the floor in the first halves of games. Nosek has been a pleasant surprise after seeing exclusively mop-up duty last season.
The Aggies will be looking for more out of Johnson, Wyse and Sanchez in the second half of the season. Without them, another deep playoff run seems unlikely.
Offense, B-
For most of the season, the offense has been predictable in that Ross, Cox and Timmons have been relied upon to create their own shots.
But lately Jackson has been looking to score, which changes the entire offensive makeup for the better and cuts down on double teams when Timmons drives.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, all four of those players are mainly slashers, meaning the outside game is almost nonexistent. Inside players Darmstadt and Cox are the two most effective 3-point shooters, while Ross, Timmons and Sanchez are a combined 28 percent from beyond the arc.
In a loss to Cal State Bakersfield, UCD's outside woes came to the forefront, as the Roadrunners played a zone defense almost exclusively.
Moss has emerged lately as an offensive threat in the paint, meaning all five starters are capable of creating shots.
Defense, A
Even more than last season, this has been the area where UCD has won its games. The Aggies rank second in the country in scoring defense (59.2 ppg), even though they allowed 76 against Stanford in the season opener and an average of 72 in two wins over Chico State last week.
Having Jackson on the floor more has been a blessing at the defensive end, while Cox has continued to show his prowess as the most prolific shot blocker in school history. Without a strong defensive center like Durkee, the Aggies have relied on a zone more than in past years.
Coaching, B+
Thrown into a no-win situation from the beginning, Fogel has actually exceeded expectations.
While his team has no big body inside and no consistent threat from outside, he has found ways to win. He has restructured the defense to play a lot of zone, and has shown confidence in all of his guards to cover the conference's top backcourt players one-on-one.
Fogel's squad doesn't have near the depth or experience of last season's Aggies, yet he has found a way to keep UCD atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
Unfortunately for the rookie coach, his performance probably won't be measured until the postseason.
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