Can hoops take down the Zags?

By Brian Witter

Certainly, congratulations are in order for the women's soccer team for making it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament this past weekend. The Broncos looked solid defensively in both games, recording shutouts, and sent a stern warning to Boston College that it's going to take a tremendous amount of effort on both sides of the ball if they expect to win in our house.

Turning away from soccer for just a second, though, as this is our last issue until Jan. 12, we will unfortunately miss out on all the non-conference basketball match-ups. After thrashing Holy Names University on Nov. 9 by over 50 points in an exhibition, Santa Clara hoops looks ready and is poised to begin their season. Even with the big win, it remains difficult to predict the level of success that Dick Davey's team will enjoy this year.

The game against Holy Names may have been a blowout, but it was against an NAIA opponent, an athletic association that includes traditional basketball powerhouses such as Dickinson State and Azusa Pacific. Even Davey said it was pretty hard to judge his team right off the bat that night. After rumors following last year's season that Davey would be fired were quashed by a contract extension, whether or not maintaining stability was a good idea or not will soon be answered.

This will definitely be a season of rebuilding for the young squad. The Broncos lost a lot of depth with the departure of Kyle Bailey and Doron Perkins in the backcourt. Brody Angley is turning out to be quite a point guard, but he'll need to have an even better season this year than last for the Broncos to have any chance of contending with Gonzaga, one of the fiercest teams in the nation the past few years.

The key word this season is youth. With four freshmen beginning their college careers for the team, the upperclassmen will have to display a substantial amount of leadership. Luckily for the young guys, Travis Niesen and Tristan Parham will be able to provide some good size up front. Junior guard Brandon Rohe is also returning after spending last season injured and will be able to help fill the hole offensively.

In all likelihood, Mark Few and his Bulldogs will be the toast of the WCC when March rolls around, but no one can discount us this year. Not yet. What's the price of respect these days, anyway? At least we can be sure Roy Williams has already circled his Dec. 17 game at home. See you in January.

Contact Brian Witter at (408) 551-1918 or bwitter@scu.edu.