USD Men's Basketball 2008-2009

STRONG CAST OF RETURNERS & NEWCOMERS Returning lettermen that will add to USD's depth include senior guard Danny Brown, a true threat from beyond the three-point arc; junior wing Chris Lewis (4.7 ppg; 3.3 rpg); sophomore guard Devin Ginty who spearheaded USD's upset of Kentucky with 18 points (4-4 in threes); and sophomore forward Clinton Hous– ton and center Nathan Lozeau who both bolster USD's inside presence with their rebounding and defense. A trio of new recruits is headed by 6-9 junior for– ward Roberto Mafra, an All-Conference performer at Southeastern (Iowa) Community College. Mafra is ex– pected to make an immediate impact at both ends of the floor. Sophomore Matt Dorr played a key role at Spokane City College with the team going 30-2 and plac ing 2nd overall in NWAACC championships. 1 Guard Devon Braswell (Detroit, Ml) will sit out the 2008-09 campaign after suffering a season-ending 1 injury during fall workouts. Walk-ons Nick Price and 1 Ryan Harbour will both compete for playing time off the bench. 1 will have rematches against the likes of UNLV, Nevada, Cal State Bakersfield, San Diego State, San Jose State, New Mexico, Boise State and Marshall. USD will also ' participate in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin ls– lands in mid-November where they will open against Valparaiso; play either Wisconsin or Iona in the second round; and possibly have a rematch with the UConn Huskies. In mid-December the Toreros will travel to Portland to take on the Oregon Ducks in the Pape' Jam, and close out the month with a tough game at Mississippi State. The West Coast Conference, which qualified three teams for the 2008 NCAA Tournament (USD, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's), will return to aThursday/Saturday men's basketball schedule after playing Saturday/Monday the past three seasons.The move to Thursday/Satur– day will mark the WCC's debut on ESPN's "Thursday TOUGH SCHEDULE ONCE AGAIN With the belief that a tough non-conference ' schedule gets you conference-ready, Coach Grier has , put together another competitive slate. The Toreros

Night Showcase." ESPN is the exclusive national tele– vision provider of the West Coast Conference. USD's January 22nd home match-up against Saint Mary's College will be televised on ESPN2 at 6:00 pm. USD's January 31st game at Gonzaga (3 p.m.) will appear on ESPN2, and USD's final regular season game against Gonzaga in the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 28th, will appear on ESPN2. Additionally, USD will play in its first BracketBusters game with a February 21st contest at the Jenny Craig Pavilion against an oppo– nent to be determined later. USD's partnership with Channel 4 San Diego will include seven games being televised locally- Nevada (Nov. 18), New Mexico (Dec. 10), Boise -State (Dec. 22), Marshall (Jan.2), Loyola Marymount (Jan.17),San Fran– cisco (Feb. 7) and Portland (Feb. 26) .Three additional road games, in partnership with Comcast SportsNet, will also be brought back to the San Diego market on 4SD - San Francisco (Jan . 9), Santa Clara (Jan. 11) and Portland (Jan. 29). The West Coast Conference Tournament, being played at a neutral site for the first time, is scheduled for March 6-9 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Ne– vada. 2008-09 wee COACHES PRESEASON POLL 1. Gonzaga ...............................................46 points (5) 2. Saint Mary's .........................................44 points (2) 3. San Diego .............................................39 points (1) 4. Santa Clara ...........................................30 points 5. San Francisco ......................................23 points 6. Portland ................................................19 points 7. Loyola Marymount ...........................12 points 8. Pepperdine .........................................11 points (first place votes) 2008-09 PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM SAN DIEGO Brandon Johnson, Gyno Pomare GONZAGA Matt Bouldin, Jeremy Pargo, Austin Daye SAINT MARY'S Patrick Mills, Diamon Simpson, Omar Samhan SANTA CLARA John Bryant SAN FRANCISCO Dior Lowhorn