USD Men's Basketball 2009-2010

Added Grier, "The off season was good for us. Pretty much half of our team is going to be new this year.We've brought in seven new guys and I'm excited about it. I like our young guys and they wi ll have some veterans to look up to and learn from. I think that wi ll be an advantage for them. Their willingness to listen to the veteran players has been a big key so far in their growth." Cameron Miles, the younger brother of Utah Jazz guard CJ Miles, is a speedy guard that is adept in transition and the open floor. Patrick McCollum, who can play either guard posi– tion, has good scoring instincts along with great court vision and passing skills. Jordan Mackie isa long athletic guard with a great upside who can play above the rim. Ken Rancifer is a strong and athletic wing who can finish in transition and is a good rebound– er. Chris Manresa has a good feel for scoring and has improved both his strength and skill over the summer. Rafael Crescencio is a long and skilled post player that will give the team much needed depth inside. Chris Gabriel, who will sit out this season, will help the team on a daily basis in practice with his size and post presence. USO also welcomes two walk-on guards in 6-1 sophomore Paolo Mancasola (Redding, CA; Shasta College) and 6-0 freshman Kyle Erickson (Kingston, WA; North Kitsap HS).

Once again the Toreros have put together a challenging sched– ule that will test them both at home and on the road. USO w ill face teams from the Pac-10, Big 12, Big East, SEC, Missouri Vall ey and Mountain West conferences. Non-conference home games include visits from Stanford, SDSU, New Mexico and Mississip– pi State. Neutral-site road games include Oklahoma, Houston, Southern Illinois and South Florida. USO also plays at the Univer– sity of the Pacific and Fresno State. Key WCC home dates include Gonzaga on January 16th and Saint Mary's College on February 18th. The 201 O WCC Championships will be held at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the second straight year from March 5-8. "Certainly this schedule will have us battle-tested by the time we get to West Coast Conference play," said Grier."With games against Stanford, Mississippi State, SDSU and New Mexico at home, our fans will get to see us play high quality teams. Ad– ditionally, games against Oklahoma, Houston, Southern Illinois and South Florida on a neutral court will be very challenging. Overall we will play teams from the Pac-10, SEC, Big East, Big 12, Conference USA, Missouri Valley and Mountain West conferenc– es." USO, which turned in a 6-8 record in the wee standings a year ago, was picked to finish sixth in the 2009-10 West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Senior guard Brandon Johnson was named to the ten-man AII -WCC preseason team.

2009-1 owee Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Gonzaga - 48 (6) 2. Portland - 44 (2) 3.Saint Mary's - 34 4.San Francisco - 26 Santa Clara - 26

6. San Diego - 21 7. Pepperdine - 13 8. Loyola Marymount - 12 (First place votes)

2009-1 0 wee Preseason Al I-Conference

Keion Bell, PEP Matt Bouldin, GON T.J. Campbell, POR Jared DuBois, LMU

Kevin Foster, SCU Steven Gray, GON Brandon Johnson, USD Dior Lowhorn, USF Nik Raivio, POR Omar Samhan, SMC

SENIOR GUARD DE'JON JACKSON