FULL NOTEBOOK IN PDF FORMAT


SCOUTING THE TIGERS: The Tigers opened their exhibition season with a 66–63 win over Cal State East Bay on Nov. 5 and followed that up with a 71–54 win versus San Francisco State Wednesday night. Lorenzo McCloud and Khalil Kelley led the Tigers with 15 and 13 points respectively versus the Gators. This is a new–look Tiger team as the top seven scorers from the 2010–11 squad are gone. The top returner is junior big man Kelley, who averaged 1.4 points and 1.0 rebounds per game in 2010–11.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters and Tigers have just one previous regular season meeting, an 86–65 UOP win in Stockton on Nov. 20, 2001.

ABOUT LAST WEEK: The Otters closed the exhibition portion of their schedule with an 84–76 overtime loss to Holy Names University. Indifferent defensively in the first half, CSUMB came out much stronger after intermission to make up a 13–point deficit and ultimately force overtime. But the Otters went cold from the floor at that point, missing all four field goal attempts in the extra period, allowing the Hawks to escape with the win. Junior guard Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) led CSUMB with 19 points and six assists. Junior forward Derrick Anderson (Pittsburg HS) added 13 points and a game–high eight rebounds.

FOR OPENERS: The Otters are 6–7 in season openers dating back to the 1998–99 season, where the CSUMB record book begins. In season openers on the road, the Otters are 4–5. Since moving to NCAA play, the Otters are 4–3 in openers, including a 2–2 mark in road openers.

BIG WEST=BIG OPPORTUNITY: The Otters will be opening on the road at a Big West Conference opponent for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Otters took full advantage of the opportunity, upsetting eventual BWC runner–up Cal Poly 50–47 in Mott Gym on Nov. 18, 2010.

BOMBS AWAY: Newcomer Geoff McIntosh (Gig Harbor, Wash) made a splash in his first two CSUMB appearances, knocking down 5–of–11 from beyond the arc against both UC Riverside (Oct. 29) and Holy Names University (Nov. 5).

DOUBLE FIGURING IT OUT: The stats from the UC Riverside game don't count, nevertheless, sophomore guard Troy Watkins (Riverside, Calif.) reached double figures for the first time in his collegiate career, scoring 10 points against the Highlanders.

CAL STATE M*A*S*H: The season hasn't even started and already the CSUMB training room is working overtime. The Otters already have five man–games missed due to injury during their two exhibition games. One of the players missing time, Derrick Anderson, returned to play against Holy Names. Juniors J.J. Campbell (Riverside/King HS) and Kevin Loustale (Chico/Shasta College) each missed the two exhibitions. Both may be available to play at UOP.

HOME SWEET HOME? While the game didn't count on their official record the Otters exhibition loss to Holy Names Saturday was their fifth consecutive setback in the Kelp Bed. CSUMB hasn't won in Seaside since an 82–80 victory of Cal State San Bernardino on Jan. 29, 2011. Oddly, the Otters earned twice as many road wins (6) as home wins (3) during the 2010–11 season.

WELCOME ABOARD: The Otters welcome nine players to roster this season, including freshman Ben Vincent (Salida/Modesto Christian), Courtland Wharton (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS), Jalen Headspeth (Oakland HS) and Josh Jackson (Carlsbad/Lee HS). Transfer players include Greg Jeffery (Oakland/College of Alameda), Oliver Caballero (Salinas/San Jose State), Geoff McIntosh (Gig Harbor, Wash./Northern Oklahoma) and Jaron Devine (Pomona/Irvine Valley College).

WELCOME BACK: While 60 percent of the 2011–12 roster is new, the Otters return a significant amount of experience as well, including two players who started all 26 games in 2010–11. Juniors Derrick Anderson (Pittsburg HS) and Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) are the two returning starters. The other returners are juniors J.J. Campbell (Riverside/King HS), James Albert (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS) and sophomores Troy Watkins (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) and James Thomas (Castro Valley/Bishop O'Dowd).

FEBRUARY 18 WILL BE GREG JEFFERY DAY: When the Otters host Cal State San Bernardino in their final regular season home game Feb. 18, Greg Jeffery will be the only senior to whom they bid farewell.

COMING AND GOING: The Otters face a challenging schedule from a travel standpoint in 2011–12. The Otters open by playing six of the first eight regular season games at home. But then they hit the road for nine of their next 11 before starting a five–game homestand in mid February. In fact, after hosting Cal State Dominguez Hills on Dec. 19, the Otters will not take the Kelp Bed floor for a full month until they host Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 20.

TAKE THEM, THEY'RE FREE: One place where the Otters hope to continue their dominance over their opponents is from the free–throw line, from where the Otters shot a respectable 71.5 percent in 2010–11. That mark was a full 49 points better then their opposition, which combined to shoot just 66.6 percent.

PLAYING BIG AGAINST THE WEST: The Otters will get a taste of life at the Big West Conference level for the second consecutive season when they open their 2011–12 schedule at the University of the Pacific. Last season, the Otters opened at Cal Poly, stunning the eventual Big West runner–up in a 50–47 upset at Mott Gym on Nov. 15, 2010. The win over the Mustangs was the first regular season win for the Otters over a Division I opponent.

PACING THEMSELVES, OFFENSIVE EDITION: The offensive pace that suited the Otters best in 2010–11 was a quick one. CSUMB was 6–2 when scoring more than 70 points last season (as opposed to 3–15 in all other games).

PACING THEMSELVES, DEFENSIVE EDITION: Defensively, 66 was the magic number. The Otters were a spotless 5–0 when giving up 66 or fewer points (as opposed to 4–17 in all other games).

NOW THAT'S SMARTS: The Otter men's basketball team boasted three players who earned CCAA All–Academic honors for their classroom work in 2010–11. The Otter triumvirate of James Albert, Brenden Fripp (Santa Barbara/Palo Verde HS) and Brandon Ward made CSUMB the only school to place three men's basketball players on the list. In case you were wondering, Albert posted a 3.65 grade point average as a business administration major. Ward posted a 3.90 GPA as a business administration major.