Unpredictable Pilots set down at McCarthey

Gonzaga coach Mark Few admits West Coast Conference rival Portland has been a tough team to read.

The Pilots (8-12 overall, 2-4 in the WCC), who invade McCarthey Athletic Center for today’s 5 p.m. men’s basketball game against Few’s seventh-ranked Bulldogs (16-3, 6-0), opened the year by dropping five of their first six games – several by huge margins – to less-than-marquee-name schools such as Georgia Southern, Winthrop and Charlotte.

They even lost at home to Division-II Seattle University.

But coach Michael Holton’s veteran team, which returns four starters and its top five scorers from last season, bounced back to win four of its next six games, knocking off Oregon State and Oregon of the Pacific-10 Conference along the way.

“It just shows how dangerous they are,” Few said of the Pilots. “If you have great guards in college basketball, you’re always going to have a chance.”

The Pilots have three of the best – in the WCC, at least – in seniors Pooh Jeter, Darren Cooper and Donald Wilson, who have accounted for 57 percent of UP’s scoring.

Jeter, a first-team all-WCC selection in 2003-04, is averaging a team-best 18.1 points per game. Cooper is at 13.0, despite fighting turf toe and other injury problems throughout most of winter. Wilson has been rock-steady, once again, averaging 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds.

“Pooh and Darren have been playing very well for them,” Few said. “And Donald Wilson – it seems like he’s been there seven years. I mean, that’s a veteran crew.

“They’ve got experience, plus talent, plus they’re very explosive. They can shoot, they can drive. They’re just really, really good, solid players. And, obviously, Pooh is an exceptional player.”

Still, the WCC-leading Zags, who have won 32 consecutive home games, come in as heavy favorites.

Junior forward Adam Morrison, who threw in 41 points in Monday’s 84-75 road win over San Francisco, continues to lead the nation in scoring with an average of 28.3 points per game.

The Bulldogs boast two other reliable offensive options in senior center J.P. Batista, who is averaging 19.3 points, and junior guard Derek Raivio, who is averaging 13.4.

Those numbers, however, do little to pacify Few, who insists the Pilots will present a major challenge.

“This group beat us in the old place (Martin Centre) three years ago,” he pointed out. “They’ll come in here seeing this as an opportunity to knock off a ranked team, and they’ll come in here confident.

“They’re a confident group.”