Bronco Talk
Sports writer Jason Cohn caught up with Travis Niesen after his final home game as a Bronco. Going into the WCC Tournament Niesen ranks 14th on Santa Clara's all-time scoring list with 1,350 career points.
JC: How did it feel playing your last game at Leavey?
TN: You know, I had an array of emotions. I felt every emotion there was, and was sad obviously, cause it was my last game. But I was also really excited because this is a great opportunity for our team, and this is my last home game. The last thing I want to do is leave on a bad note and leave coach feeling disappointed in us. Although it was an ugly win, a win is a win and you have to feel good about that.
JC: Your team is on a three-game winning streak now, what has changed in the last three games?
TN: I honestly think it comes down to shooting percentage. We've been shooting a higher percentage, and although tonight's was lower, we were able to make shots at crunch time. If you look at a lot of the games we lost, we were getting open shots, but we just weren't making them.
JC: How much of a confidence booster is this streak going into the WCC Tournament?
TN: It's a huge boost because we're not down on ourselves. We're working hard at improving our team for the tournament, but we still have a long way to go. We have a positive feeling going into the championships and that's what we need after struggling all season.
JC: Do you think you guys are going to be able to make some noise at the tournament?
TN: Absolutely, there is not a reason why we can't, so it's all upon us, and we're gonna do it with our efforts and our attitude.
JC: Looking back at your four years here, what memories are going to stand out the most?
TN: I'm really proud of the charges I've taken over the years. I haven't taken many, but I think the charge is the most underrated play in basketball. It's a turnover and the other team gets a foul. It's a huge momentum swing. In my opinion, they should keep track of charges in the stats books. One of my favorite feelings is taking a charge and looking up into the crowd and seeing them go crazy.
JC: What's your feeling about the future of this young team?
TN: They are going to be absolutely wonderful. The greatest thing they have going for them is Coach Davey and Coach Seandel and they just do a tremendous job in the development of their players. John Bryant, Calvin Johnson and the other freshmen have great potential to become a solid core basketball team without any one individual outshining the others.
JC: What are your plans after graduation?
TN: I don't really know. I'm thinking about getting into law enforcement, but I might also go overseas and play basketball. We'll see what happens.