Saturday November 21, 2009 was a big day for Sacramento State athletics. The football team defeated UC Davis in dramatic fashion, scoring a touch down with :20 on the clock to win their second consecutive Causeway Classic, this one presented by Pepsi. (Gotta give corporate some love too.)
An announcement during the football game got the feral crowd of 17,000 to an utter frenzy- the Hornets basketball team had upset Oregon St in Corvallis. This win was prodigious -snapping a streak of 39 consecutive losses on an opponent's floor, the longest in NCAA DI basketball.
Sacramento State head basketball coach Brian Katz called the win a "Reference point." Hornet fans may liken it to the percussion that starts what could be the theme song for Sacramento State hoops these days: Vickie Sue Robinson's disco hit, "Turn the Beat Around."
In his second year at his alma mater, the Hornets (3-4) have already eclipsed last year's dismal win total of 2. Actually, the Hornets easily could be 4-3 right now after losing a heartbreaker to UC Riverside on Saturday due to Larry Gurganious's buzzer beater.
Next up, as if the Hornets aren't motivated enough, is the Causeway Classic hoops style with a short jaunt over to UC Davis.
While acknowledging that the rivalry is huge for students, fans, alumni and the community, when asked if there's any carryover from football, Katz responds, "We tell our kids that the next game is always the biggest game of the year."
An energetic, engaging guy with a self deprecating demeanor, Katz was incredibly successful over the last 15 years at Delta College in Stockton, CA, -fourteen playoff appearances, six conference championships, two Elite Eight appearances and one Final Four appearance before being hired by Sacramento State in the spring of 2008.
Inducted into the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame this summer, Katz quips, "They just ran out of guys to put in there."
To understand the type of reclamation project Katz inherited, he still has 12 players that are junior college transfers - arguably the most of any DI school in the country and the facility for basketball at Sacramento State is dismissed by many as a huge liability.
However, Portland State and Cal State Northridge represented the Big Sky and Big West respectively last year in the NCAA tournament toiling in buildings similar to Sacramento State's "Hornets Nest."
It brings to mind the great Ray Charles lyric: "This house is small but better than no house at all."
Katz lights up when he describes the Hornets strengths as "tenacity and heart." He actually could have been describing himself.
Here's a preview of tonight's game:
UC Davis (3-3) won a squeaker in Muncie, Indiana over Ball St. 60-58 on Saturday behind Dominic Calegari's game high 24 points. The Aggies were 8-12 last season in games decided by nine points or less. A two point win on the road is an encouraging sign.
The Aggies triumvirate of Calegari 6'10", (the lone senior on the roster), junior, Joe Harden 6'8" and junior point guard Mark Payne 6'8" had the Ball St. message board buzzing over the Ags length which will pose match up problems for the Hornets.
If you round up Harden's 15.7, all three are averaging 16 points per game, accounting for sixty four percent of the teams points.
Harden and Payne, teammates at St. Mary's, Stockton, CA were reunited after Harden transferred from Notre Dame.
Both are preseason All Big West selections and Payne has received more preseason accolades than Ne-Yo at the Grammy's, e.g., Collegeinsider.com Mid Major All American, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook Big West Player of the Year.
For Sacramento State, newcomers junior guard, Sultan Toles Bey out of Compton, CA via Fresno City JC leads the team averaging 12 points per game while super athletic freshman John Dickinson out of Fairfield High School has scored in double figures in six out of seven games this season and is averaging 11 points per game. This tandem is responsible for 33% of the Hornets offensive production.
Don't be misled though. The success of both teams not only tonight but throughout the season may be the development of the role players.
Sacramento State is 3-0 when they score 65 or more points. They're 0-4 when scoring 64 or less. The Hornets average 64.7 points per game.
Payne is on the radar screens of many NBA teams. Keep an eye on his field goal attempts especially from the perimeter. He must be a bit less magnanimous and stretch opposing defenses with jumpers from downtown.
Hornet point guard Mike Marcial has the best assist to turnover ratio in the Big Sky right now at 4.8 to 1.
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