Gu Men’s Basketball At A Glance

Coach

Dan Monson (1st year)

Assistant coaches

Mark Few, Bill Grier, Scott Didrickson

1996 record: 15-12, 8-6 WCC (tie for 4th)

Players to watch

Sr. Bakari Hendrix (6-8, C); So. Matt Santangelo (6-1, PG); Jr. Mike Leasure (6-7, F); So. Axel Dench (6-11, F).

Key newcomers

Jr. Quentin Hall (5-8, PG); Fr. Casey Calvary (6-8, F).

Bonus points

Longtime assistant Dan Monson gets his chance to call the shots and has vowed to stay the course originally set by his predecessor, Dan Fitzgerald. Translation: The flex offense lives on - for now… . One of Monson’s most pressing tasks is finding some point production to offset the loss of Lorenzo Rollins, an all-WCC pick and one of the league’s most prolific scorers when he was on. … KXLY-TV’s Dennis Patchin replaces Dick Wright as the play-by-play announcer on GU radio broadcasts. Wright, after 15 seasons behind the mike, relinquished his broadcasting duties this fall because of health reasons.

Outlook

Look for the West Coast Conference to once again feature great balance. San Francisco and Saint Mary’s are being mentioned most often as preseason favorites, but Pepperdine has loaded up on transfers from the Pacific-10 Conference, and Santa Clara, with its great tradition, always seems to be an integral part of the championship mix… . The Bulldogs have one of the league’s best inside threats in Hendrix and an established point guard in Santangelo, a co-freshman of the year selection last season, but they will need several sophomores to step up and play like seniors if they hope to make a serious run at the title.

Roster

Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown

Carl Crider G 6-1 Sr. Oakesdale

Quentin Hall G 5-8 Jr. Freeport, Grand Bahama

Matt Santangelo G 6-1 So. Portland, Ore.

Ryan Floyd G 6-1 So. Harrington

Mike Leasure F 6-7 Jr. Spanaway

Mark Spink F 6-8 Fr. Bellingham

Richie Frahm G 6-5 So. Vancouver

Mike Nilson G 6-5 So. Seattle

Axel Dench F 6-11 So. Melbourne, Australia

Casey Calvary F 6-8 Fr. Tacoma

Bakari Hendrix F 6-8 Sr. Vallejo, Calif.

Doug Griffin F 6-7 Sr. Sacramento, Calif.

Jeremy Eaton C/F 6-11 Sr. Benton City

1997-98 schedule

Nov. 15 Concordia 7 p.m.

Nov. 21-23 Top of World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska

Nov. 21 vs. Tulsa 7:15 p.m.

Nov. 22 vs TBA TBA

Nov. 23 vs. TBA TBA

Nov. 28-29 Spartan Classic, East Lansing, Mich.

Nov. 28 vs. Arkansas-Little Rock 6 p.m.

Nov. 29 vs. Michigan St. or C. Michigan TBA

Dec. 1 at Chicago State 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 4 at Washington State 7 p.m.

Dec. 6 Idaho 7 p.m.

Dec. 12 at Montana 6 p.m.

Dec. 14 Eastern Washington 2 p.m.

Dec. 20 at Whitman 7 p.m.

Dec. 30 at Washington 7 p.m.

Jan. 3 Boise State 7 p.m.

Jan. 5 at Idaho 7 p.m.

Jan. 9 at Loyola Marymount 7 p.m.

Jan. 10 at Pepperdine 5 p.m.

Jan. 15 San Diego 7 p.m.

Jan. 17 Saint Mary’s 7 p.m.

Jan. 22 at Saint Mary’s 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 24 at San Diego 7 p.m.

Jan. 29 San Francisco 7 p.m.

Jan. 31 Santa Clara 7 p.m.

Feb. 6 at Santa Clara 7 p.m.

Feb. 7 at San Francisco 7 p.m.

Feb. 11 Portland 7:30

Feb. 14 at Portland 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 19 Pepperdine 7 p.m.

Feb. 21 Loyola Marymount 7 p.m.

Feb. 28-Mar. 2 WCC tourney, Santa Clara

, DataTimes