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 Wade O'Connor during practice at South Anchorage High on Wednesday. (Photo by Mark Haskett) |
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Nov. 27, 2008
Anchorage, Alaska - After spending part of the week taking in the breath-taking sights of America's "last frontier" in Alaska and the remainder of the week in preparation for its Great Alaska Shootout opener, the Western Carolina men's basketball team will hit the hardwood Thursday night in its first-ever meeting with San Diego State.
Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm local time, 11:30 pm ET. The game will be broadcast on WLOS-TV 13 following the late local news. Fans can follow the entire tournament with live online video streaming on a pay-per-view basis through the Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage web site, GoSeaWolves.com.
Western Carolina (1-1) has never faced the Aztecs, who are coached by Steve Fisher formerly of Michigan "Fab Five" fame, nor any team from the current Mountain West Conference. San Diego State (2-1) has wins over Fresno State and UC San Diego, falling to No. 15 Arizona State at home. The Aztecs are facing their second Southern Conference member all-time, defeating Appalachian State by two back in 1940 when the programs had NAIA status.
The Catamounts are coming off a 58-point, 120-62 win over Toccoa Falls in their home-opener back on Nov. 20. WCU has three players averaging double figures including a team-best 18.5 from junior G Brandon Giles. Freshman Harouna Mutombo is averaging 12.5 points per game, while junior Jake Robinson is scoring at an 11.0 point per game clip.
Great Alaskan Shootout Blog for Nov. 26 and 27 by junior F, Jake Robinson:
We awoke on Day Three (Wednesday) to snow flurries and more freezing temperatures here in Anchorage. The day started very similar as yesterday (Tuesday) at the Snow City Café where we all had the "Polar Bear Breakfast" consisting of French toast or pancakes, eggs and any choice of numerous meats they served including sausage, reindeer sausage or bacon.
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After our fun at the mall it was time to get back to business and have our final practice before taking on San Diego State on Thursday. The intensity and focus of practice was very evident and I really feel like we are more than ready for the opening tip.
After practice and showers we were fortunate to have Hotel Captain Cook prepare us a very intriguing Thanksgiving meal including turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, salad, and bread, with pumpkin and pecan pie and cheesecake for dessert. It was great to have that opportunity to spend with the team and coaches since we are not home to spend it with our families.
Following the filling dinner, we loaded the bus and headed to the arena to catch a peek at four of the other teams that are participating in the tournament. We watched the end of the Hampton - Alaska-Anchorage game and the first half of the Portland State - Northern Illinois games, catching about one half of each game before loading back up and getting some rest before our very important day on Thursday.
We awoke on Thanksgiving Day to unusual sight. Normally, back home, football doesn't begin until after lunch, but here in Alaska we awoke to the Tennessee Titans and the Detroit Lions. If we had awakened a little earlier, we could have caught part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.
After crawling out of bed and getting the day started, we headed to McDonald's - one of the only open places here on this holiday - for lunch, where the food was a bit more expensive than back in Cullowhee. We followed lunch with a trip to Sullivan Arena for our scheduled shoot-around time where we hope to fine tune our shots before tonight's game. San Diego State, our opponent, was on the floor just before us offering us a glimpse of our first round opponent as they left the court.
As we left the arena, everyone began to get into "game mode" because we realized that it was time to properly prepare ourselves for our upcoming game. When we got back to the hotel we got off of our feet a little and rested before it was time for pre-game meal at the Golden Corral. A few of the coaches and members of the travel party were invited to the traditional Thanksgiving Day meal with the host family, Chris and Elaine Mello.
Following pre-game, we will be heading to the arena to notch our first win here at the Great Alaska Shootout and look to advance in the winner's bracket.
That's all I have for you right now, but be sure to tune in tonight at 11:30 p.m. on WLOS to catch live coverage of our first round game.
Thanksgiving Dinner - Part Two:
Following Thursday morning's shootaround at the Sullivan Arena, several members of the WCU travel party including head coach Larry Hunter and assistants Wade O'Connor and Andre Gray, were invited to a traditional Thanksgiving Day lunch at the home of Western Carolina's host-family, Chris and Elaine Mello.
Close to 50 friends and family of the Mellos gathered for the feast which included the traditional turkey and all of the trimmings. WCU's representatives were welcomed with open arms and plates the size of platters; and where the only thing warmer than the hospitality were the embers left glowing in the fireplace.
Trading stories about Cullowhee for those about grown moose walking through the streets in Anchorage provided the backdrop while busy hands put the finishing touches on the holiday meal.
After finishing the feast and thanking the gracious hosts, the party returned to the Captain Cook Hotel to prep for Thursday night's Great Alaska Shootout opener against San Diego State.
