CSUN BASKETBALL: MATADORS PICKED SEVENTH L.B. STATE, PACIFIC TOP THE BIG WEST.Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer IRVINE -- He could have left. No one would blame Thomas Shewmake if he elected to leave Cal State Northridge after completing his degree last spring. Between injuries, internal strife and a ballooning loss column, the 2005-06 season wasn't exactly a fun year to be a Matador matador In bullfighting, the principal performer, who works the capes and attempts to dispatch the bull with a sword thrust between the shoulder blades. Most of the techniques used by modern matadors were established in the 1910s by Juan Belmonte (b. 1894–d. . But Shewmake didn't want to leave with that kind of taste in his mouth. And, perhaps more important, he believed the team could do better than last year's 11-17 mark. ``I didn't have a sense of completion after last year,'' Shewmake said at the Big West Conference's annual media day Wednesday morning at the Irvine Hilton. ``The vibe is totally different this year, though. We have new coaches, new players. Everybody is buying in Buying in has several meanings. In the securities market it refers to a process by which the buyer of securities, whose seller fails to deliver the securities contracted for, can 'buy in' the securities from a third party with the defaulting seller to make good. . It's like a breath of fresh air when you come to the gym now.'' Still, the rest of the conference is reserving judgement on how fresh the air in the Matadome is. The Matadors were picked seventh out of eight teams in the preseason coaches and media polls Thursday. Three-time defending conference champion Pacific and Long Beach State split the media and coaches polls for the top spot. Pacific, which returns twostarters and eight players from last season's NCAA tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
``That's all right. Even when we were in the Big Sky, Northridge was always picked about sixth or seventh in the preseason,'' CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge coach Bobby Braswell Bobby Braswell, an American basketball coach, is currently the head coach for Cal State Northridge. Braswell was named the fourth head coach in Northridge history on April 30, 1996, succeeding the retired Pete Cassidy. said. ``We'll just take that and hang it on the board. ``People, when they say CalState Northridge, or they say a Bobby Braswell team, they associate that with something. ... Defensively, you're going to face a team that will constantly put pressure on you. ``They didn't associate that same thing with us last year, and so it's important for us to re-establish that.'' The Matadors return nineplayers from last season, including juniors Jonathan Heard (12.3 ppg) and Calvin Chitwood (11.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg). Both were honorable mention All-Big West last year. They also bring back sophomore guards Jason Hill and Rob Haynes, who logged heavy minutes as freshmen. Only senior point guard Bakari Altheimer and junior Mike Efevberha, who left school early for the NBA draft The NBA Draft is an annual North American event in which the National Basketball Association's (NBA) thirty teams (29 in the United States and one in Toronto, Canada) can select players who wish to join the league. but was not selected, are gone. The newcomers include JCtransfer Tre Peters, who is likely to see time at point guard, walk-on Rai Colston, who made the team after impressing former CSUN star Markus Carr in summer workouts, junior Jordan Noblitt, whom Braswell called the best pure shooter on the team, and 6-7 junior forward Mike McCrary, an athletic small forward. Junior guard Jabir Jinna, who averaged 21.4 points a game at Rio Hondo College Rio Hondo College is a community college located in unincorporated Whittier, California. It was founded in 1960 and mainly serves the cities of Whittier, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, El Monte, and South El Monte. last season, signed during the spring signing period but was not admitted to the school for academic reasons. High expectations for CSUN women: The Matador women were picked to finish fourth in both the coaches and media polls Thursday, despite last season's seventh-place finish in conference play. The big difference? Three-time first-team all-conference honoree Ofa Tulikihihifo is back for a fifth year after missing last season with a stress fracture stress fracture n. A fatigue fracture of bone caused by repeated application of a heavy load, such as the constant pounding on a surface by runners, gymnasts, and dancers. in her left tibia tibia: see leg. . ``What's different now is that I don't think the team has to just dump it to Ofa and say, `Save us,''' Matadors' head coach Staci Schulz said. ``I think that would've happened anyway. But with her gone last year, it happened quicker.'' Despite the team's struggles during the year, it made a run in the postseason tournament that nearly turned into a Cinderella story. The Matadors won threegames in the Big West tournament before losing 66-61 to defending champion defending champion n (SPORT) → defensor/a m/f del tÃtulo defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals. That alone was something to build on. But with Tulikihihifo back, it's almost enough to shed the Matadors perennial underdog status. ``Last year, we had another magical end of the year,'' Schulz said. ``But we don't want to be like that every year. It's time to step up and do the next part.'' ramona.shelburne@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: CSUN's Ofa Tulikihihifo returns for a fifth year after missing last season. Courtesy of Cal State Northridge |
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