WHAT'S ON TAP: Denver looks for its first Sun Belt Conference win of the season as it hosts Lousiana Tech on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 7:00 p.m. at Magness Arena. The Pioneers look to rebound from a 80-61 defeat to Western Kentucky on New Year's Eve that openened conference play. Following Thursday's game, Denver will then travel to the Big Easy to take on New Orleans Saturday at 6:00 p.m. from Lakefront Arena.
TV/RADIO: There will be no live television of Thursday's game but video highlights can be found on the Vivex System under the DU Feed. The game will be broadcast in Denver on AM 1600 KCKK and can be found on the internet at http://www.16kicks.com beginning at 6:00 p.m. with an edition of Pioneer Weekly. The pregame show will begin at 6:45 p.m. Saturday's game will be broadcast on AM 950 The Fan and can also be heard on the internet at http://www.am950thefan.com. The game will be broadcast on a tape-delay basis beginning at 9:00 p.m. in Denver. Calling all the action will be veteran sportscaster Mitch Hyder, in his second season with the Pioneers.
DENVER PROBABLE STARTERS:Pos # Name Cl. Ht. Wt. PPG RPG G 21 Sherman Rochell Jr. 6-5 200 7.0 4.1G 23 Arthur Ireland Sr. 6-2 187 12.8 3.2C 40 Steve Simmons Jr. 6-9 230 6.7 7.6F 33 Wahhab Carter Jr. 6-6 205 9.4 5.2F 24 Kevin Overton Sr. 6-7 215 7.8 3.4
DENVER HEAD COACH MARTY FLETCHER: Head coach Marty Fletcher enters his fourth season at the helm of the Denver basketball program, his 19th season overall. After the loss to Western Kentucky on New Year's Eve, Fletcher's record stands at 239-287 (.454) overall, 26-66 (.283) in his tenure at Denver. Fletcher enters the season with a chance to become the Sun Belt Conference's second winningest coach in terms of conference victories, he currently is in sole possession of third place on that list with 61. A look at the top five:
1. Gene Bartow (UAB) 111
2. Ronnie Arrow (South Alabama) 69
3. Marty Fletcher (Denver/ULL) 61
4. Matt Kilcullen (Jacksonville/WKU) 60
5. J.D. Barnett (Virginia Comm.) 59
THE ASSISTANTS: Denver assistants Todd Rinehart and Byron Jones return for their fourth seasons alongside Fletcher, and newcomer John Marczak enters his first season after spending last season at Syracuse.
A LOOK AT LOUISIANA TECH: The Bulldogs enter Thursday's game with Denver with a 7-5 overall record, 0-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. In its SBC opener last Saturday, the Bulldogs were beaten by Arkansas State, 80-68 at home in the Thomas Assembly Center. They are led by preseason Player of the Year in senior guard Gerrod Henderson, who leads LTU and is second in the conference at 19.5 points per game. He has led the Bulldogs in scoring in eight of their 12 games this season and is also third on the team in rebounding at 5.3 a contest. Leading the team in rebounding is sophomore forward Antonio Meeking, who leads the squad with an average of 7.7 boards a game and is second in scoring at 15.1 points per game. Meeking is also second in the SBC in field goal percentage at nearly 58 percent (66-for-114). Also averaging in double figures in scoring is junior guard Marco Cole, who is averaging 13.2 points a night.
LOUISIANA TECH PROBABLE STARTERS:Pos # Name Cl. Ht. Wt. PPG RPG G 3 Gerrod Henderson Sr. 6-4 208 19.5 5.3G 4 Travis Lewis Sr. 6-0 185 3.5 1.7G 21 Marco Cole Jr. 6-6 190 13.2 5.8C 25 Zach Johnson So. 6-10 245 6.8 4.7F 34 Antonio Meeking So. 6-8 245 15.1 7.7
LOUISIANA TECH HEAD COACH KEITH RICHARD: In his third season as head man of the Lousiana Tech basketball program is Keith Richard. The 1999 Sun Belt Coach of the Year has accumulated a 47-22 record in his tenure in Ruston and gave the Bulldogs their first 20-win season since 1992 last season. He is 1-1 against Denver, with the two teams splitting a pair of games last season.
DENVER VS. LOUISIANA TECH: In a series in which the first meeting took place just last season, the Pioneers are 1-1 against Louisiana Tech. In the teams' first meeting last season, sophomore B.J. Pratt scorched the Bulldogs for 37 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field and 9-of-16 shooting from 3-point range in Denver's 83-76 win at Magness Arena. Louisiana Tech returned the favor just 10 days later however, as four Bulldogs scored in double figures and Gerrod Henderson pulled down 14 rebounds and scored 17 points in the Bulldogs' 85-61 win in Ruston.
Fletcher vs. LOUISIANA TECH: Because of his seven years in the Sun Belt Conference and 11 years in the state of Louisiana, head coach Marty Fletcher has met teams from Louisiana Tech 25 times, earning an 11-14 mark against them. During his 11 seasons at Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette), Fletcher went 10-13 in his tenure against Louisiana Tech and is 1-1 while at Denver.
A LOOK AT NEW ORLEANS: The Privateers enter Wednesday's game at Louisiana-Lafayette (they play before Saturday's game with Denver) with a 6-6 overall record, 0-1 in the SBC. The conference loss for New Orleans came at the hands of Western Kentucky, who defeated the Privateers 68-63 on Dec. 22. UNO is led by senior forward Tory Walker, who leads the team in scoring at 16.7 points per game, the fourth best mark in the SBC. Also in double figures for UNO is senior Clyde Ellis, who is averaging 12.1 points a game and leading the team in rebounding at 6.8 boards a contest. After winning six of its first nine contests, the Privateers have lost their last three games, including a 62-46 loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 30.
Denver vs. New Orleans: In a relatively new series started since Marty Fletcher became head coach, Denver is 0-5 against New Orleans, 0-6 all-time. The Pioneers lost all three meetings between the two teams last season, including a 67-65 loss that eliminated Denver in the SBC Tournament. The first meeting took place in 1976, a 100-65 UNO win on Dec. 29.
Fletcher vs. NEW ORLEANS: In Marty Fletcher's 19 seasons as a head basketball coach, he has accumulated a 6-27 mark against New Orleans, including an 0-5 mark since becoming head man at Denver.
FLETCHER AGAINST THE SBC: Denver head coach Marty Fletcher has amassed a 61-62 record all-time in the SBC, and is just nine wins short of second place on the conference's all-time win list. His .496 winning percentage is the second highest among active coaches in the conference with at least five years in the SBC, behind Dickey Nutt of Arkansas State (.536). Fletcher's 61 conference wins are the most of any active SBC coach.
TURNOVERS APLENTY: A major factor in Denver's seven losses this season has been turnovers. In the Pioneers' seven losses, they have averaged 18.6 turnovers a game compared to opponents' 17.1. For the season, Denver has committed 185 turnovers for an average of 16.8 a contest. Ironically, opponents have the exact same number of turnovers, 185.
BUCKING THE TREND: You would think just 10 turnovers would be enough to win a game. But that's not what happened to the Pioneers on New Year's Eve, as they recorded a season-low 10 turnovers against Western Kentucky but still lost 80-61. In fact, Denver has recorded six games with less than 15 turnovers. In those games, Denver is 3-3.
LESS IS MORE: In Denver's four wins this season, the team has averaged just 13.8 turnovers a game compared to 18.6 when they lose. In those wins, the Pioneers also have averaged less turnover than opponents, 13.8 to 16.3.
MORE TURNOVER STATS: Another interesting note is that Denver has recorded less turnovers than opponents in each of its last five games. In those games, they are 2-3. For the season, the Pioneers have recorded less turnovers than opponents seven times, and they are just 3-4.
WHEN THEY PASS MORE, THEY HAVE SUCCESS: Head coach Marty Fletcher is always preaching to his team about moving the ball to create open shots. In Denver's four wins this season, they are averaging 13.0 assists a game, nearly three assists better than opponents. In the Pioneers' seven losses, they average the same at 13.0 assists per game, but opponents average 18.1 a game.
FREE THROWS MAKE A DIFFERENCE: In the Pioneers' seven losses this season, they are shooting just 53 percent from the charity stripe (72-for-136). In Denver's four wins, they are at 63 percent (54-of-86). Free throw shooting proved to be the difference Sunday, as the Pioneers were a season-worst (min. 15 attempts) 10-of-25 (40 percent) from the field in the Hilltoppers' 81-60 win.
TO LEAD AT THE HALF IS GOOD: If the season stats show anything, it's that the Pioneers better have the lead at halftime if they want to win. In games where Denver leads at halftime, they are 3-0. When opponents take the lead into the locker room, Denver is 1-6, the lone win coming over Oregon State when the Beavers held a 29-26 halftime advantage. The Pioneers are 0-1 when the score is tied at halftime, losing to Navy, 92-78 on Nov. 30.
BENCH STRENGTH: One telling stat from early this season is that the leading scorer for the Pioneers has started just one game this season. Sophomore B.J. Pratt leads the team and is seventh in the conference in scoring at 15.8 points a game but has only started once this season, at Ohio State on Dec. 6. He is fourth on the team in minutes at 27.9 minutes a game and he is a team-best 28-for-68 (.412) from three-point range.
THE POINT BEING: After opening the season with 90 points against Oregon, the Pioneers didn't even approach that figure until an 86-49 romp over Colorado Christian Dec. 28. So far this season, the Pioneers are nearly averaging the same amount of points this season as they did in 1999-2000. Last season, Denver averaged 66.1 points per game. After 11 games so far this season, that number stands at a nearly identical 65.5 points per contest. Opponents are averaging 70.7 points per game.
THE SHOOTING IS THE DIFFERENCE: In Denver's four victories this season, the Pioneers have shot 105-for-223 from the field, a 47 percent shooting clip. In their seven losses, they are 158-for-411, 38 percent from the field.
PIONEERS OVER 50% FROM THE FIELD: The Pioneers had one of the best shooting nights in two seasons against Air Force on Nov. 24. Denver shot .561 for the game (23-of-41) and blistered the Falcons with a .647 (11-of-17) clip in the second half. The Pioneers were also 16-of-22 from the free throw line (.727). It marks the only game this season the Pioneers have been over 50 percent from the field.
A DIFFERENT HIGH REBOUNDER: After leading the team in rebounding the first seven games of the season, Wahhab Carter and Steve Simmons have allowed some teammates in on the rebounding fun. Redshirt freshman Brett Starkey was the first to break the hold by Carter and Simmons when he led the Pioneers with six rebounds at Colorado State. After Sherman Rochell and Arthur Ireland tied for the team lead with five against Air Force, Starkey came into his own and pulled down a Denver season-high 17 boards against Colorado Christian, the most rebounds in a single-game at Denver in two seasons. It also marks Starkey's career-high for rebounds in a game, breaking his old mark of six. Things returned to normal against Western Kentucky as Simmons led the team with six.
A LOT OF BLOCKS--FOR OPPONENTS: A telling statistic from this season is that opponents have more blocks than the Pioneers, by a more than 2-1 margin. Denver has recorded 24 blocks compared to opponents 49 through 11 games. Before Denver recorded four blocks to Colorado Christian's two, Pioneer opponents had recorded more blocks than Denver in every game this season and did so again Sunday as WKU had nine to Denver's three.
BETTER THAN 50% FROM DOWNTOWN: Denver has had two games this season in which they have shot better than 50 percent from three-point range, one of those coming against Brown. In that contest, the Pioneers made 10-of-20 three-pointers, including B.J. Pratt's 5-of-8 performance. Success from downtown doesn't necessarily equate to victories however, as in games the Pioneers shot over 50 percent from three-point range, they are 1-1.
MILESTONES: In Denver's 80-53 loss at Colorado State Dec. 18 there was a lone brightspot for the Pioneers. Senior Arthur Ireland earned a spot in the Denver record books when he recorded the 1000th point of his collegiate career with a jumper with 2:06 remaining. Ireland is just the 23rd player all-time to score 1000 points in a Denver uniform and first since Russel Martin eclipsed the barrier in the 1998-99 season. Junior Wahhab Carter is next closest to accomplishing the feat, as he stands at 901 career points after 11 games this season.
WILSON PLAYER OF THE WEEK: An early season accolade was awarded before the Dec. 18 game at CSU as B.J. Pratt was named Wilson Sun Belt Conference Player of the week for his performance in Denver's 54-53 win over Oregon State Dec. 13. He scored 24 points and sank two free throws with 4.3 seconds left to give the Pioneers their first victory over a Pacific-10 Conference opponent since 1971. Pratt was 9-for-18 from the field in the game and 4-for-11 from three-point range in 33 minutes of action. It was the second POW award for Pratt and Denver's third all-time.
CARTER BACK ON TRACK:
Junior forward Wahhab Carter (El Reno, Okla.), Denver's leading scorer and rebounder from a year ago, has begun the season slowly, and after suffering a twisted ankle that caused him to miss the game against Brown, looks to be partially back to where he was last season. Currently, Carter is second on the team in minutes per game and ranks third on the team in scoring at 9.4 points a game this season. He is also second in rebounding at 5.2 boards a contest. Dec. 18 against CSU, Carter had his first double digit scoring output (13 points) since the Nov. 30 loss to Navy in which he had 12. After three straight double figure scoring outputs, Carter had just two points against Western Kentucky on New Year's Eve.
IRELAND HAS GAME: One of only three seniors on the team and the only Pioneer to play and start in every game last season (28) is Arthur Ireland (Las Vegas, Nev.). Early this season Ireland is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game and is second on the squad in three-pointers made with 21. Ireland missed the Dec. 6 game against Ohio State and the time off showed for his first three games, but he looks to be back after scoring 20 points against Colorado Christian and leading the team with 17 against Western Kentucky last Sunday.
OVERTON TO BE COUNTED ON: The Pioneers are counting on improved play from another one of the three seniors on the squad, forward Kevin Overton (Spencer, Okla.). After starting three of Denver's 28 games and averaging 19.4 minutes per game last season, Overton began the season in the starting role at power forward and was the only Pioneer to start every game of the season before sitting out the opening tip of Thursday's game with Colorado Christian. Overton is currently fourth on team in scoring at 7.8 points a game. Another positive from early this season has been his free throw shooting, as he is 23-of-38 (.605) from the line, third on the team, after making only 50 percent last season.
ADD OVERTON: An interesting note from the team's Christmas break is the fact that Overton was married over the break. Following Denver's game with Air Force Friday night, Overton boarded a plane the next morning to return to Oklahoma to marry his fiance on Dec. 23. That was the easy part. The hard part was returning, as a fierce ice storm hit the region and Overton and teammate Jamaal Ramey were stranded at home. Overton was able to get to Denver on Wednesday night and played in Friday's game (though he didn't start for the first time this season) but Ramey was still in Oklahoma for Denver's fourth win.
THE TEXAS GUNNER: Returning for his sophomore season is the team's best pure shooter, guard B.J. Pratt (San Antonio, Texas). Beginning the season in a reserve role for coach Marty Fletcher, Pratt started the only time this season at Ohio State and led the team with 17 points. Pratt also has four of Denver's high-point games this season, as his two best outputs were a season-best 27 points against Brown Dec. 3rd after scoring 26 against Oregon in the season-opener. Pratt is seventh in the Sun Belt with a 15.8 scoring average and fifth in free throw percentage at 81 percent (40-of-49). He is also fourth in the conference in 3-point shooting percentage at 41 percent (28-of-68) and 3-point field goals made.
SHERMAN COMES TO THE BIG CITY: One of two Denver newcomers to the team this season is junior forward Sherman Rochell (Oklahoma City, Okla.) a transfer from Northern Oklahoma College, the same college that produced assistant coach Byron Jones. Rochell comes to Denver after averaging 12.8 points and 8.7 rebounds in his tenure and was named All-Bi-State Conference last season. Already providing needed depth for Denver off the bench, Rochell leads the team in minutes played and minutes per game at 30.7. After starting the season in a reserve role, Rochell has been in the starting lineup in each of Denver's last seven contests. He leads the team in assists and is 10th in the SBC with an average of three per game and is also tenth in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (0.92). New Year's Eve against Western Kentucky, Rochell nearly pulled off a rare double-double when he scored 14 points and had nine assists, a season-high for the Pioneers.
SIMMONS A REBOUND MACHINE: Denver's starting center of a year ago, junior Steve Simmons (Salt Lake City, Utah), returns for another season beneath the basket for Denver. After missing out on his first career double-double against Oregon in the season opener when he scored 10 points and hauled in nine rebounds, Simmons didn't wait long to record his first as he tallied 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the win over Air Force one game later. The team's leading rebounder and sixth in the SBC, Simmons is averaging 7.6 boards per game. He is also fourth in the conference in defensive rebounds with 61 through 11 games.
STARKEY MAKES A NAME: What a way to make an impact in your first collegiate start. Pressed into a starting role at power forward due to the travel struggles of Kevin Overton, redshirt freshman Brett Starkey (Littleton, Colo.) made a huge splash in Denver's thrashing of Colorado Christian Thursday night. All he did was haul in a Denver season-high 17 rebounds in the 86-49 win. It was the most rebounds this season and the most by a Denver player in two seasons. Starkey had four points, 17 rebounds, and one assist.
A STAR ON THE HORIZON: Denver's lone true freshman finally made his debut in a Denver uniform against Wyoming despite getting a cast removed before the opener that was put on to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. Ryan Goral (Westminster, Colo.) comes to Denver after a successful high school career that saw him average 22.8 points per game 8.2 assists per game. After earning his first career start against Brown on Dec. 3, Goral has played in six games this season, averaging 9.5 minutes a game. He saw the most action of the season in a Dec. 28 win over Colorado Christian, when he tied his career high with five points and two rebounds.
A THREE-POINT BARRAGE: In Denver's season-opening loss to Oregon, both teams were shredding the nets from behind the arc. Denver shot a tremendous 13-for-26 (50%) from long range and Oregon did them slightly better with a 12-of-23 mark (52%). Combined, the two teams shot 25-of-49 from downtown, a Magness Arena Record. The Pioneers just missed out on the team Magness Arena record of 14, set last season against Louisiana Tech. The Denver record for most three-point field goals made in a game is 15, set Dec. 12, 1998 in a 98-76 win over Wright State.
PIONEER SEASON RECAP: The Pioneers opened the 2000-2001 campaign with a tough non-conference matchup against Oregon. Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half, DU clawed their way back into the game and eventually knotted things up three different times. But the experienced Ducks prevailed, making 10-of-11 free throws in the final 1:56 to earn the 99-90 victory...Denver got its first season win of 2000 as they traveled to Air Force and came home with a 65-56 victory. Four Denver players scored double figures in points and Steve Simmons recorded the first double-double of his career as he scored 11 points and hauled in 10 boards...Though severely undersized against Wyoming, the Pioneers actually outrebounded the Pokes in the first half 31-23 and were down just one point at 27-26. But the Cowboys came out of the gate in the second half on-fire, going on a 16-0 run to open the half and take a 43-26 lead with 14:31 to play. Denver would cut the lead to six with 10:20 to go, but would get no closer as Wyoming beat the Pioneers for the second straight time, 70-55...Free throws were the story against Navy, as Denver hit just 14-of-31 from the free throw line in a 92-78 loss. The Midshipmen also shot an astounding 55 percent from three-point range after coming into the game at 16 percent from behind the arc and put Denver away in the second half, outscoring the Pioneers 47-33...In Denver's first home win of the season against Brown, the Pioneers shot over 50 percent from three-point range for the third time this season as B.J. Pratt notched the team's season-high in scoring with 27 points. The Pioneers outscored the Bears by nine in each half to win by the largest margin since a 15-point win in January of last season...Turnovers were the key factor at Ohio State, as Denver had the most turnovers in recent memory with 32 and the Buckeyes scored 35 points off those turnovers in an 83-46 win...In one of the biggest wins in Marty Fletcher's tenure at Denver, the Pioneers upset Oregon State, 54-53 at Magness Arena. B.J. Pratt was once again the team's leading scorer with 24 points, but none were more important than the last two as he nailed two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining in the game to clinch Denver's first victory over a Pac-10 team since 1971...Poor shooting was the difference at Colorado State, as Denver nearly equaled its worst shooting effort of the season in a 80-53 loss to the Rams. Denver shot just 19-of-56 (.339) from the field and the Rams blistered the nets with a 31-of-52 (.596) performance as CSU won its sixth straight game over the Pioneers...After losing the first game of a two-round fight, Air Force got its revenge on the Pioneers with a 51-49 last-second win at Magness Arena for their first win over Denver in four tries. Forward Tom Bellairs nailed a game-winning, 16-foot jump shot with 3.6 seconds remaining, giving Air Force its first back-to-back wins since 1998...It was all Pioneers against Colorado Christian, as every available Denver player tallied at least one field goal from the field in an 86-49 romp. CCU led just once in the contest at 2-0 and shot just 23 percent from the field as Denver ended a two-game losing streak...The Pioneers were undersized in the Sun Belt Conference opener against Western Kentucky, as Denver was outrebounded 49-32 and hit just 10-of-25 free throws in a 80-61 loss to the Hilltoppers. The Pioneers were also just 23-of-63 (.365) from the field and standout Chris Marcus led WKU with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
