Exhibtion Season Starts With Game Vs. LA All-Stars
October 29, 2001
LONG BEACH STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall Record: 0-0
Big West Record: 0-0
UPCOMING ACTION
| Thursday, Nov. 1 | | | | | vs. LA All-Stars | 7:35 pm | The Pyramid | Live broadcast on www.kbeach.org | | Friday, Nov. 9 | | | | | vs. CS Dominguez Hills | 7:35 PM | The Pyramid | Live broadcast on www.kbeach.org |
49ER PROBABLE STARTERS
| F | 13 | Travis Reed | (6-8, 250, Sr., 14.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg) | | F | 34 | Lemi Williams | (6-6, 190, Sr., 11.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) | | C | 50 | James Williams | (6-9, 240, Sr., 8.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) | | G | 00 | Ron Johnson | (6-0, 190, Sr., 8.7 ppg, 3.2 apg) | | G | 23 | Michael Darrett | (6-2, 190, Sr., 5.7 ppg, 3.4 apg) |
The Record: Long Beach State opens up its exhibition season on Thursday, November 1 when they play host to the LA All-Stars at 7:35 pm in The Pyramid. The 49ers concluded last season at 18-13 and finished in third place in the Big West Conference with a 10-6 ledger. The 49ers have put together back-to-back winning seasons and piled up 42 wins over the last two campaigns (42-19/.689). The 49ers have also finished above .500 in league play the past three years, compiling a 34-14 (.708) mark during that time and a 25-7 (.781) record in league play the last two years.
The Coach: Long Beach State Head Coach Wayne Morgan (St. Lawrence, 1973) is 78-67 (.538) in five years with the 49ers. With 78 career victories at LBSU, Morgan is tied for fourth place, with Tex Winter, on the LBSU coaching victories chart.
Rudy's Back: Senior center James “Rudy” Williams (St. Louis, MO) is back for his senior campaign. Williams redshirted last season, although he did appear in six games. Williams has recovered from surgery on his tibias and is ready to close out his final campaign in grand style. In 1999-00, Williams was named second team All-Big West Conference after averaging 12.2 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting .559 frm the field. Williams led the 49ers in steals and waas second in blocked shots during that 1999-00 campaign, which saw the 49ers finish at 24-6.
Reed Wins Rebounding Title: Senior center Travis Reed (Fontana, CA) had a great first year as a 49er as he finished the regular season averaging 14.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Reed recorded 10 double-double’s and earned three Big West Conference Player of the Week awards. He led the Big West Conference in rebounding, the first time a 49er has led in that category since Francois Wise won back-to-back rebounding titles in 1978-79 and 1979-80. In league outings, Reed averaged 15.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game while shooting .545 from the field. Reed also finished 7th in the league in scoring, 4th in field goal percentage and 6th in blocked shots. Reed led the 49ers with his .557 field goal percentage and 29 blocked shots as well. Reed earned Player of the Week honors on February 19, January 29 and December 26. Reed tallied double figures in scoring 27 times on the year, including his final nine games.
Lemi Williams Has Solid Season: Senior Lemi Williams (Hayti, MO) scored in double figures in 9 of his last 11 games on the year and finished third on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game. Williams scored a career-high tying 22 points on Feb. 8 at Cal Poly and followed that game up with a 20-point, 8-rebound effort in the home win over Idaho. The back-to-back 20-point outings represented the first time he has accomplished that feat at LBSU. Williams had 20 double figure scoring games last season and three games with 20-plus points. Williams connected on 49-138 (.355) of his three-point attempts and 84-118 (.712) of his free throws. The 49 3-pointers made is 8th on the 49er single season chart. Williams was selected as the Big West Conference Player of the Week on November 27, after averaging 17.7 points per game at the Big Island Invitational, including 22 vs. USF.
Michael Darrett Excels: Senior guard Michael Darrett (Evansville, IN) concluded his first season in a 49er uniform averaging 5.7 points, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game. His 106 assists led the 49ers and he finished second in the Big West Conference in assist average (3.42), steals (1.71) and assist/turnover ratio (1.71). In the win over vs. Utah State on Feb. 17, Darrett played probably his best game of the season as he tied his season-high by scoring 14 points, plus he added 4 rebounds and 5 assists in the victory. In the home win over Idaho (2/10), Darrett finished the night with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals with just one turnover. Darrett had seven double-digit scoring games last year, with his career-high of 14 points coming against Southern Illinois, San Francisco and Utah State at home.
Ron Johnson Named All-Hustle: Senior guard Ron Johnson (San Diego, CA) was selected by the players in the Big West Conference last season as the league’s winner of the “All-Hustle” Award. Johnson averaged 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game. His 69 steals led the 49ers, and the Big West Conference, last season, and was the third-best single season steal total in 49er history. In Big West Conference outings Johnson averaged 10.3 points, 3.4 assists and 2.7 steals per game. Johnson scored in double figures in 14 of his last 20 games and finished 7th in the league in assists per game (3.20) and 5th in assist/turnover ratio (1.52). Johnson tallied a season-high 17 points in the regular season finale vs. Pacific at The Pyramid and recorded 16 points in the road win at UC Riverside.
Kevin Roberts Has Strong Season: Sophomore Kevin Roberts (Petaluma, CA) had an impressive freshman campaign for the 49ers as he averaged 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting .536 from the field and .759 from the free throw line. In Big West games, he averaged 6.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting .617 (37-60) from the field and .805 (33-41) from the free throw line. Roberts tallied double figures in scoring four times on the year, including a career-high 14 points at UC Santa Barbara and at CS Fullerton. At UCSB he added 9 rebounds to the cause in 27 minutes of action, including knocking down two charity tosses with 0:15 left in the game. Roberts also picked up 12 points in home wins over Boise State and UC Riverside.
Talented Newcomers: Six newcomers dot the 2001-02 49er roster this season. Look for them to make strong contributions this season. Check out the 2001-02 49er roster.
Mark Bowens (G, 6-1, 180, Fr., Peoria, AZ): Bowens is a point guard who lettered four years in basketball and two times in track. As a senior this season he averaged 25.5 points and 5.0 assists per game and was named first team All-State. Shot an impressive .860 from the free throw line. Was selected first team All-Region three times, first team all-league four times and was selected as the Region Player of the Year twice (1999, 2001). Bowens was an honorable mention All-State selection twice.
Tony Darden (G, 6-4, 200, Jr., Snow Hill, NC): Darden played two years at Dodge City Community College and averaged 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this past season. A third team All-Jayhawk Conference selection, Darden shot .440 from 3-point range, .500 from the field and .820 from the free throw line.
Anthony Davis (G, 6-6, 210, Fr., Compton, CA): Davis, a shooting guard, played this past season at Centennial HS. Was selected first team All-CIF Southern Section for Division III and was a first team “All-Dream Team” selection by the Long Beach Press-Telegram. This past season Davis averaged 18.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Centennial advanced to the finals of the CIF Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs. Centennial also advanced to the Southern California Division III Regionals where they defeated Fresno Washington Union, 72-50, in the first round. David had 27 points in that victory. Centennial then fell to Bishop Montgomery in the semifinals.
Alex Graham (C, 7-1, 225, Fr., Redlands, CA): Graham was a three-year letterwinner at Redlands High School and led his team to a 15-10 mark this past season and a third place finish in the Citrus Belt League. Graham averaged 17.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, 4.0 assists and 1.48 steals per game his senior campaign, en route to earning first team All-Citrus Belt League honors and first team All-San Bernardino County accolades. A pre-season McDonald’s All-America selection, Graham shot .560 from the field and .760 from the free throw line this past season and accumulated 349 career blocks as a prep (4.65 bpg). Redlands advanced to the CIF Division I-AA playoffs this season, but fell in the first round to Murrietta.
Chris Jenkins (F, 6-6, 195, Fr., Albuquerque, NM): Jenkins was a four-year letterwinner in basketball at Sandia High School. He helped lead Sandia to four consecutive District Championships. He was selected first team All-State as a senior and was voted as the Player of the Year, by both the state coaches and State Farm. Jenkins averaged 19.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game as a senior and was a two-time first team All-City selection and a three-time All-District pick. As a junior, Jenkins was named first team all-conference, all-city and all-district as well as earning honorable mention All-State honors. He averaged 15.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game that junior season.
Cody Pearson (G, 6-3, 189, Fr., Sherman Oaks, CA): Walked-on to the 49er team this fall. Prepped at Notre Dame High School and lettered three years in basketball for the Knights. As a senior, he averaged 25 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists per game and was selected first team All-State as well as being named the Mission League MVP. Was a two-time first team All-CIF selection and a three-time first team all-league pick.
Firing Away: Last season the 49ers connected on 178-534 of its 3-point attempts. The 178 3-pointers made is the third-best single season total in 49er history. The 534 attempts set a new school record, breaking the old mark of 520 set by the 1992-93 squad.Stealing Away: Long Beach State led the Big West Conference in steals last season, averaging 8.26 steals per game. Ron Johnson led the league with 69 steals (2.30 spg) and Michael Darrett was second with 53 (1.71 spg). On the 49ers single season steal chart, Johnson's 69 steals ranks 3rd and Darrett's 53, 11th.
Reed On The Boards: Junior Travis Reed (Fontana, CA) reached double figures in rebounds 12 times last season and had five more games with 9 boards. The 12 double-figure rebounding games was the fourth-best mark in 49er history. In 1997-98, Andy Betts had 13 double figure rebound games. The school-record is 16, set by Francois Wise in 1978-79 and 1979-80.
Scoring In The Big West: The 49ers led the Big West in scoring in league outings last season, averaging 75.9 points per game. The previous year (1999-00) the 49ers also the the league in scoring in league games at 80.3 points per outing. In the 16 league games the 49ers scored 80 or more points 6 times and 70 or more points 12 times. In all games, the 49ers averaged 75.0 points per game, second-best in the league behind Cal Poly's 80.0 average.
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