May Madness

Fans, this is your home for updates about the Pilots' training camp and foreign tour to Australia scheduled for May 2-26. Fans can also get real-time updates from the trip via Head Coach Eric Reveno's twitter page, www.twitter.com/CoachReveno.

Monday, May 25 (9:58 PM Local): FINAL SCORE – Cairns Marlins 108, Portland Pilots 101 (12 min quarters)… BOX SCORE

Just as we suspected, Cairns was a very good team and pulled out the win in the closing seconds after a back-and-forth contest. Cairns was a true professional team in midseason form and by far the most talented/polished team the Pilots faced on this tour. It was a VERY physical contest, not reminiscent of an ‘exhibition game.’ The difference was the hot shooting and all-around play of Dwayne Vale, who finished with 40 points on just 19 shot attempts. Nik Raivio and Robin Smeulders paced Portland with 17 points each. Luke Sikma was a dominating presence, but was limited to only 18 minutes because of foul trouble. Sikma finished with 13 points, rebounds and five assists and was on pace for a triple-double near the end of the second quarter. Cairns shot 52 percent for the game, Portland 49 percent. The Marlins also made 17-of-35 three-pointers.

Well, that will wrap up our awesome Australian adventure as we get up and leave the hotel at 3:45 AM tomorrow, so not much sleep and a long way to get back to the friendly confines of the beautiful Chiles Center. We are scheduled to arrive in Portland on Tuesday at 1 p.m. (PT).

Hopefully the blog was worthwhile, I know that I had a blast doing the ‘work.’ I’ll try to put together a comprehensive photo slideshow from the whole trip when we get back. If anyone is interested, shoot me an email and we can work out getting you a copy (brough@up.edu).

Monday, May 25 (8:36 AM Local): It is our last full day Down Under and it is a game day. We'll grab breakfast then head to the arena for a 10 AM shootaround. Some fun pics from yesterday out at the reef are below in slideshow form.

Sunday, May 24 (6:33 PM Local): It has been a fun last two days here in Cairns which included an all day adventure out to the Great Barrier Reef today. We just got back and the guys had a blast. What an amazing place. We swam with all kinds of unique and exotic fish and had a beautiful boat ride to and from the reef. Despite all of the amazing sea life, the highlight (or lowlight, depending on your perspective) involved Coach Reveno. There is a back story which may take a bit to explain, but it is well worth it, here we go...

During Prof McGinty's class in the first week of 'May Madness' Rev jokingly said he would wear a speedo when we went to the reef, which received quite the response from the team. Fast forward to yesterday afternoon when we arrived at the hotel in Cairns. Coach Rev gave the guys instructions for the rest of the day in the hotel lobby and dismissed the team, but Taishi Ito said he had something he wanted to say before we broke off in groups. Taishi, one of three seniors as part of Rev's first recruiting class, thanked coach for following through with all of his promises he had made during the recruiting process. He thanked him for being a great coach, role model, creating a great program, etc. Taishi also thanked Rev, on behalf of the team, for setting up this amazing foreign tour. Rev was getting chocked up a bit at this point, but that's when Taishi brought the hammer down. He said that Rev had one more promise to fulfill and it was very important to everyone... Taishi then pulled out a speedo with the design of the Australian flag and handed it to coach as everyone busted up laughing. Quite a moment. Rev held up his end of the bargain today by 'sporting' the speedo with great pride (and many threats to anyone who dared take a picture). For those with weak stomachs, proceed at your own risk to the photos below (and if I don't make it home, I think you know who the prime suspect in my disappearance would be).

Basketball-wise, tomorrow is our final game and it will be a tough one. Cairns is a legit professional team that is in the middle of its season, having played a league game on Saturday. The local paper prepped our game as something the team is looking forward to. We'll actually get to play in a real arena for the first time this trip and the Pilots are viewing it as a good opportunity. The team will shoot around at the arena tomorrow morning and we are slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off. Check back for updates tomorrow.

Saturday, May 23 (1:46 PM Local): We have arrived at our beautiful hotel in Cairns, which was just over a three-hour flight north up the coastline from Sydney. It is like paradise here: rainforests, blue water lagoons, blue skies. Niedermeyer and Sikma walked through the hotel lobby without shirts on and the bell desk guys said that they would be RED within 20 minutes. The guys will do a mini-scavenger hunt on things in the city this afternoon that Prof McGinty has organized and then they have the night to themselves. Full day tour out on the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow, should be some good photo opportunities.

Friday, May 22 (11:57 PM Local): Below is another slideshow of selected photos from today. We head to the airport tomorrow morning at 6:45 a.m. to catch a flight to Cairns. Two days of tourist stuff and the final game of the trip against the Cairns Marlins, which will be the toughest game of the trip. Cairns was a fixture of the NBL, the top pro league in Australia before it folded last year. Many of their top players have stuck around and are waiting for the league to start back up, so it will be a good test.

Friday, May 22 (9:49 PM Local): FINAL SCORE – Portland 98, Illawarra 75… BOX SCORE
Illawarra played a good game. They had a couple of older fellas that knew how to play as well as a couple of current college players from over in the States. The Hawks held the lead throughout the first quarter before the Pilots took control. Five Pilots were in double figures led by Nik Raivio’s double-double of 15 points and 10 boards. The three-point shots weren’t falling like the first two games, but Portland again used its size and physicality to pull out the win.

Some other quick thoughts on the game:

*The regular arena for Illawarra was getting a makeover, so we played in a matchbox with wood backboards and non breakaway rims (Jasonn had two dunks that I thought might end the game early).
*It was pouring down rain here and the roof was leaking onto the court in a few places… our host, Sean McShane did his best mopping job throughout the action.
*Chris Jackson played well on his home turf, nice to see him again.
*UP women’s basketball player Lauren Angel was also on hand. Lauren lives in Wollongong and was excited to see the boys play.
*#14 on Illawarra was a dead ringer for a young Joel Sobotka (see pictures later).
*One of the three officials had a killer mullet… phenomenal.
*My computer battery was running dead, so I did 4th quarter stats from the doorway to the arena washroom on the baseline (only plugin I could find)… I think I held my own.

Friday, May 22 (3:49 PM Local): We had a blast at the Taronga Zoo this morning/afternoon. Lots of cool exotic animals and a nice ferry ride across the bay from our hotel. I’ll post a photo gallery soon. Getting ready for another bus ride, this time to Wollongong to face the Illawarra Hawks in the ‘Snake Pit.’

Friday, May 22 (9:01 AM Local): We were originally scheduled to go to Manly Beach this morning/afternoon, but with the weather more reminiscent of an early spring Portland day (wet and cloudy), we'll instead head to the local zoo. Everyone is excited to see a platypus. Tonight we play our third of four games, at the 'Snake Pit' against Illawarra. Should be better competition tonight according to our local guide. We then will fly out early tomorrow morning to Cairns, have a day at the Great Barrier Reef on an off day on Sunday and then play the Cairns Marlins Monday night at 7 p.m. (weather in Cairns is supposed to be high-80s). The trip is basically over after that, with a 3 AM wakeup call and day of travel back to the States early Tuesday. This trip is flying by...

Thursday, May 21 (11:32 PM Local): Another photo slideshow is posted below. Today we toured more of Sydney, looked down on the city from its highest tower, ate lunch at Darling Harbour, water-taxied it back to our hotel, ate delicious ice cream at the boys' newest favorite hot spot in Sydney (Copenhagen Ice Cream Stand), got treatment in Rev's room, then took it to the Sharks in Sutherland... Busy Day! Tomorrow it is the Sydney Zoo and then we face Illawara and traitor (just kidding) Chris Jackson!

Thursday, May 21 (10:05 PM Local): FINAL SCORE – Portland 127, Sutherland 60 ... BOX SCORE
(again, pay no attention to minutes on the box score... everyone played a good amount)
Well, I wasn’t expecting it to be that lopsided. I heard afterwards that two of Sutherland’s top players were unable to play, but I doubt it would have made much difference as Portland played phenomenal basketball. Coming into the contest I thought Sutherland would be a tough game from everything we had heard, but the Pilots picked up where they left off yesterday and shot the lights out. A new starting five of Taishi, B.J., Nem, Robin and Jasonn got the team going. Robin looked solid after taking yesterday’s game off. We played four 12-minute quarters, so that helps explain the high score. Everybody scored except Taishi, but he did his part with eight assists, including six in the first eight minutes to help the Pilots take control. Portland made 17-of-31 three-pointers (55 percent) and shot 55 percent for the game. The team also gained a 62-28 edge in rebounding.

Some notes from throughout the game:

*Former Pilot Chris Jackson made an appearance. CJ was a senior during Reveno’s first year and played alongside the 2010 seniors (Taishi, Ethan and Robin) for one season. (UPDATE: Chris will play tomorrow night against the Pilots as part of Illawara’s team!)
*Good crowd on hand as the small gym brought in about 200-300 folks. They were very energetic and a group of younger girls took a liking to Jasonn (photos tomorrow).
*A sponsor sign on the wall reads “Tame Your Ferocious Hunger!”
*A young girl got all the Pilots to autograph a media guide before tipoff… She then proceeded to sing the Australian National Anthem (beautifully loud) and served as the team’s watergirl throughout the game.
*Late in the game, Luke Sikma sacrificed his body to take a charge under the hoop by the Pilot bench. The referee asked the Pilots to wipe up the sweat with a towel from the bench. Robin Smeulders promptly jumped up, grabbed a towel… then threw it to Luke who was peeling himself off the floor. What a teammate! The best part, the announce quipped, “Assist to Robin Smeulders!”

Thursday, May 21 (7:55 PM Local): Five minutes from tip-off at the ‘Shark Tank’ as we get ready to face the Sutherland Sharks. A few notes about Sutherland:

*They play in the ABA, which is the second highest professional league in Australia
*The Sharks have won the last three ABA titles and are in midseason form right now
*Last summer, the Sharks knocked off UNLV by an eight point margin the on Rebels Aussie Tour.
*There is an announcer tonight and the roster he is using has all the players listed by their legal names… The players/coaches had fun at the expense of Julius (Jasonn), Robert (B.J.), Terrence (T.J.), Lucas (Luke) and Nikolas (Nik).

Thursday, May 21 (8:53 AM Local): Kramer Knutson seems to have immersed himself the most into the Australian experience. By yesterday he had already eaten kangaroo pizza and some form of emu. Below is another photo slideshow covering the last couple of days. Enjoy!

Thursday, May 21 (7:30 AM Local): After breakfast this morning, Professor Dan McGinty (AKA my roomie with a wealth of knowledge about Australia) has organized an outing in Sydney as part of his ongoing class about Australian Politics and History. During the two-week training camp back in Portland, the boys went to class everyday and Dan had many guest speakers talk about the land Down Under, both in terms of history and politics. Many of the players have expressed how much more they appreciate these tourist outings because of their intimate background knowledge taken from the class. Basketball-wise, we are back at it tonight at 8 PM against the Sutherland Sharks.

I received a few inquiries about the media turnout yesterday at AIS... I had absolutely nothing to do with it, btw. Talking with the AIS folks, there were a couple of main reasons:
1) A few of their players were named to a national team this week in preparations for a major international tournament
2) Familiarity with the UP program: all WCC ESPN games last season were televised in Australia/New Zealand. The WCC was the only league in the nation with such a contract. Also, with Saint Mary's having a strong tie to the AIS with several current players and three incoming freshman, many of the media folks made the conference connection

As you could tell from the posted podcast below, besides asking about our program and the current AIS kids, reporters were also interested in how Australia stacks up to the college/pro level of basketball in the states, the upcoming NBA draft and whether any current Aussies in college would be drafted, why it benefits Australian kids to play in the USA college system, and what specifically drove Portland to come on this specific tour.

Wednesday, May 20 (7:18 PM Local): Heading towards Sydney on the bus from Canberra, but we stopped for photos at Australia’s Federal Capital. Canberra was a city made to be the federal capital and serves in a similar capacity as Washington D.C. does for the USA. Below is of group pics at the Australian Capital.

Wednesday, May 20 (7:04 PM Local): GAME #1 FINAL SCORE: Portland 93, AIS 85

Here is the box score (the stats are correct, but the minutes are not accurate). The Pilots got off to a very slow start (much like practice yesterday) and dug themselves into a 22-4 deficit. Despite being the No. 2 three-point shooting team in the nation last year, Portland was still adjusting to the new balls and long travel schedule and missed its first seven shots from the three-point line. The guys slowly chipped away at the deficit before erupting with a 35-22 charge in the fourth quarter, which included a 33-5 run to take an 84-70 lead with less than four minutes left in the game. During the run, the Pilots were 6-for-7 from three-point range.

Some brief observations on my part:

*AIS is a very talented team. As mentioned, nine D-I players were on the roster
*Robin Smeulders did not play. He has just been cleared for full contact activity recently after minor knee surgery this spring and we may see him in parts of the next three games.
*Six Pilots were in double figures.
*The Pilots shot 36 percent in the first half and 63 percent in the second half.
*Portland made 13 of its final 21 three-point field goals.
*UP used its size, strength and maturity to gain a 48-34 edge in rebounding. The UP center tandem of Kramer Knutson and Jasonn Hannibal muscled their way into very good games
*Hannibal had his best offensive performance as a Pilot. 6-for-7 from the field including some soft touch finishes with both hands. Knutson was his usual solid self and finished with 11 points and 7 rebounds.
*There was a lot of Australian media at the game and about 150 fans at the game. Three camera crews, a couple of print reporters and a couple of radio stations had reporters on site. Coach Rev stayed after for a good 30-40 minutes providing individual interviews with each reporter. The folks at AIS as well as our guide, Sean McShane, said that it was by far the most media to take in a college foreign tour exhibition game at the AIS. I took audio of one interview and you can hear that below.

PODCAST: Coach Reveno Being Interviewed

Wednesday, May 20 (1:55 PM Local): Five minutes to tipoff and I’ll be doing stats throughout the game so I’ll try to get an update in before the final, but I may not be able to post until after the bus ride back to Sydney. Jared Stohl and T.J. Campbell mentioned that the balls in practice here were MUCH better than the ones the team practiced with yesterday, so hopefully they are more comfortable today. The game will be quite different from a normal NCAA game as Australia plays by FIBA rules… below are some key differences in rules:

*Four 10-minute periods
*The lane is a trapezoid form
*24-second shot clock (8 second back court violation
*Players allowed to touch ball on/above the cylinder

Wednesday, May 20 (1:39 PM Local): We are about 20 minutes from tipping off our first game Down Under. After about a four hour bus ride into Canberra, we arrived at the prestigious Australian Institute of Sport. The AIS is the training grounds for nearly all Australian National Teams and the basketball team that the Pilots will face shortly is very talented. Nine players have already signed with NCAA Division-I programs (including three with WCC rival Saint Mary’s and one with Washington State) so it will be a good early test. Everyone here is very hospitable and I’m told by the AIS media relations staff that although there won’t be a large crowd, there is a large media contingent that will be on hand covering the event.

Wednesday, May 20 (7:37 AM Local): I've been up over an hour... you know the time change threw us for a loop if I'm functional by 7 a.m... Below is the slideshow and Waterford interview I promised. We head out on a four-hour busride to Canberra and the Australia Institute of Sport soon. Play at 2 p.m. local time. Probably won't be able to post again until we get back late, but I should have some stats/photos and a brief recap.

PODCAST: Eric Waterford Interview

Tuesday, May 19 (9:01 PM Local): We had our first practice of the trip this afternoon and it wasn't exactly good from start to finish. After a 'circuitous' route to the practice facility, the boys were a little rusty in the early going. Our host made note that every team has initial struggles after the trip across the pond, so it was good to get the rust off today before tomorrow's game against the Australian Institute of Sport. Highlights from today:

*Jasonn singing Ebony and Ivory at the Sydney Opera House
*Rev continues his fascination with twitter... Get on his follower's list if you haven't already, priceless stuff there
*Nik Raivio and Kramer Knutson rhyme wars on the back of the bus on the way back from practice
*Prof Dan McGinty came through with a nice pre-ordered dinner at an Italian restaurant less than a block away from the hotel (important because we were all starving and it has started raining)
*First interview Down Under took place before dinner with Eric Waterford... will be posted later today
*To the amazement of Jasonn and other players, I defeated Expert Minesweeper on my first try in the Hotel Business Center (when internet isn't free, you have to resort to other forms of available entertainment)

Tuesday, May 19 (1:44 PM Local): This morning we toured the Sydney Opera House, a beautiful facility that is at the heart of Sydney. After a few hours off, we are getting ready to head to our first practice Down Under. I found a McDonald's near our hotel that has free WiFi (thanks to Brad Scott), so I'll probably be posted up here regularly for the next few days. Coach Wolf helped put together a photo slideshow from yesterday, so be sure to check that out once I get it posted. In the meantime, we'll launch our first installment of the 'Where's Luke Sikma' saga for the trip...

Monday, May 18 (6:14 PM Local): The group just took a tour of 'The Rocks' in downtown Sydney and then we branched off on our own for dinner. I'll get some more pics posted tomorrow from that outing. Below are a few pics from earlier around Sydney. Everyone is a bit tired from the long travel and little down time, but the guys are free for the rest of the night. Some have already headed to bed early. Schedule for Tuesday includes being ready to leave the hotel at 9:45 a.m. for the Sydney Opera House. Practice is scheduled for late afternoon then a group dinner. I'll grab a couple guys tomorrow for a podcast and will try to post some practice video as well. I'm exhausted and looking forward to another busy day!

Monday, May 18 (1:55 PM Local): OK... We're here in Sydney following a redeye flight from Los Angeles and I have plenty of photos from the last two days. Below are a few pics and I'll post some more later, but we're in full tourist mode right now. Saw lots of Sydney this morning and off to see more right now. More frequent updates to follow as we got the travel computer/internet issues figured out (hopefully).

Thursday, May 14 (3:23 PM PT): Sat in this morning on Prof McGinty's class on Australia History and Politics. Lengthy discussion about the Aboriginal people. Very in-depth lecture that touched on spirituality, oppression and modern day impact. The guys were very engaged. The class continues tomorrow morning and throughout the trip Down Under.

Wednesday, May 13 (2:17 PM PT): SCHEDULE UPDATE!!! Friday's practice has been moved to the Nike Campus and will NOT be open to the public. Thursday will still be in Howard Hall. Also, KGW.com has posted the piece from yesterday on the Pilots. The video can be found by clicking here.

Wednesday, May 13 (1:38 PM PT): The team practiced this morning in Chiles Center. The building is being turned over right now in preparation for Iron Chef this weekend, so the the team's practices the next two days will be in beautiful Howard Hall across campus. Nik Raivio did his video breakdown yesterday before practice and T.J. Campbell is doing his this afternoon. The coaches are having each senior do a video analysis of each conference loss from last year and go over it with the rest of the team.

Wednesday, May 13 (12:35 PM PT): KGW-TV and KPTV-TV were out at yesterday's practice. They interviewed Nik Raivio, Luke Sikma and Coach Reveno about the Australia Foreign Tour. KGW's piece aired on Tuesday, while KPTV will feature the story on Oregon Sports Final this Sunday. A couple images below.

Tuesday, May 12 (12:03 PM PT): The team just finished up their morning skills session and will have some lunch in the Chiles Center shortly. Just got word from KGW-TV (Channel 8) and KPTV (Fox 12) that they will be sending camera crews out to grab some interviews before practice this afternoon. The pieces should air tonight, but I'll confirm that later. Coach Reveno will also be on 95.5 The Game's 'Strong at Night' sometime this week, once we get that nailed down I'll let everybody know. Nik Raivio will also do his film breakdown this afternoon.

Monday, May 11 (4:37 PM PT): Each day this week one of the team's five seniors will do a video breakdown of a selected game from last season and go over it with the team. The coaches have selected the five games lost during the WCC season and assigned each player a game. With assistance from the staff, the players have video-edited the game and focused on areas that need to be improved. The seniors have to cut their own clips to present to their teammates, much similar to a regular season video session administered by the coaches. Taishi Ito broke down the loss at Gonzaga prior to today's practice.

Monday, May 11 (1:08 PM PT): The team had a busy weekend, including the hosting of some recruits as Coach Reveno pointed out on his twitter page. Below is a short video taken last week of the guys during a morning skills session.

Friday, May 8 (10:46 AM PT): The team took yesterday off for some rest and relaxation, but was back at it this morning in Chiles. They will hit the weight room here shortly and then have another formal practice later this afternoon. I snapped a couple photos of the guys during their morning skill session and hope to have a video up as well.

Wednesday, May 6 (3:07 PM PT): We took some photos yesterday and today of Golden State Warriors Strength Coach John Murray beating up the guys... Pretty entertaining stuff as he was showing them some functional martial arts training to work on taking charges as well as some other points of emphasis. Below is a video clip I've uploaded as well as a photo gallery here. Below are a couple selected pics.

Tuesday, May 5 (11:18 AM PT): Last night Willamette Football Coach Mark Speckman gave a very inspiring 45 minute talk to the entire team. Below are a couple of photos of Coach Speckman, who despite being born without hands, was an All-America linebacker in college and led the Bearcats to an 11-1 record last season. A truly special man and a great inspirational speaker. The team will work today and tomorrow with Golden State Warriors Strength & Conditioning Coach John Murray, with a focus on martial arts training.

Monday, May 4 (3:15 PM PT): Coach Rev and I sat down for the first podcast of the training camp this afternoon. I asked three questions, he talked for nearly eight minutes... Needless to say, he is excited.
PODCAST #1: Coach Reveno (7:56)

Monday, May 4 (12:01 PM PT): Training camp has officially started! With the Desmond Tutu speech scheduled for this evening in the Chiles Center, the team will have individual workouts and practice later today in Howard Hall. Tonight will also feature Willamette University Head Football Coach Mark Speckman as a guest speaker. Coach Speckman has a VERY interesting story to tell, which was chronicled in this USA Today story. Other brief notes:

* Coach Reveno maintains his tech-savvy reputation by launching his very own twitter account. We'll be having a tweet-off in Australia.
* Here are some photos of the guys in the weight room from this afternoon. Eric Waterford hamming it up below. For a quick video of the workout, click here.
* Coach Rev and I will do some regular podcasts over the next week, expect one posted here by the end of the day.

April 30 (4:05 PM PT): The practice schedule and trip itinerary has now been set (although subject to change). The coaches have decided to make all practices in the Chiles Center open to the public. It is requested that visitors view the practice from the second level. For a complete release previewing the foreign tour, click here. Below are some Aussie photos to get everyone in the mood.