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Team preview: Cow Poly
COACH AND PROGRAM
There will be no easing into the Joe Callero era at Cal Poly. The new coach doesn't believe in it. Never mind getting used to the former Seattle coach's teaching style or his match-up zonedefense. Forget the notion of starting the season with a few cupcakes to get a taste of winning for a program that stumbled to an ugly 7-21 mark last season. Nope. Callero's first Poly team opens with seven of its first nine games on the road. Thatincludes trips to Stanford -- the second game -- and Wisconsin, plus two-time defending Big Skychampion Portland State and Saint Mary's.
Cal Poly Mustangs
Last Season7-21 (.250)Conference Record3-13 (9th)Starters Lost/Returning3/2CoachJoe Callero (Central Washington '86)Record At SchoolFirst yeaCareer Record139-130 (10 years)RPI Last 5 years309-278-139-218-305"The schedule can be daunting," Callero said. "We're clearly not dodging anybody. There's not aDivision III or Division II or NAIA game anywhere on the schedule."That was pretty purposeful. People say you need to build confidence, you need to schedulesome teams and win early to get them to believe in your system. We kind of work the other wayaround."Let's find out who can't handle it. Who loses faith in our system? Who loses faith in himself?Who loses faith in his teammates? We want to take both guns out and blaze through it and findout where we're at by Jan. 1."That's not likely to be pretty. The Mustangs finished 2008-09 ranked last or next-to-last in theBig West in field-goal percentage, rebounding margin, assists and steals, and the players who ledthe team in every one of those categories -- Titus Shelton (FG percentage, rebounds) and ChazThomas (assists, steals) -- have moved on.
PLAYERS
The new Mustangs will hitch their wagon to 6-2 senior Lorenzo Keeler and 6-4 junior ShawnLewis, a pair of veteran wings who last season scored quite a bit but had to shoot a whole lot todo it. Keeler, an honorable mention all-league choice, was the Mustangs' top scorer at 12.7 points per game but shot a dreadful .338. Lewis' .401 was only a little better while scoring 11.7 per game.Those numbers illustrate why Callero's first priority on taking the job -- after drilling thefundamentals of his beloved matchup zone into his players' heads -- was emphasizing shotselection and taking care of the ball, especially from the two players who figure to be thecornerstones of the team."There's some confidence that they are prepared to play in the Big West and they haveexperience," Callero said. "Now you say, OK, you've played a lot of games and scored some
 
 baskets, but we've got to score at a more efficient rate, and that will translate to winning moregames."Winning is a habit, like a lot of other things we do, and we need to create good habits. We needto realize that by taking a good shot, if you can increase your percentage five or six or seven percent, we'll have a chance to win a lot of those close games that were lost last year."Another way to become more efficient is to beef up the inside game, which makes for higher  percentage shots and more second chances from offensive rebounds. Which is why the focus of Callero's first recruiting class was on size.The product of that focus is a group of four post players who will get the chance to win playingtime, or even a starting job, right away. In 6-8, 265-pound sophomore Will Donahue fromPhoenix College and 6-6, 240-pound junior Will Taylor of Hagerstown (Md.) College, theMustangs added some needed bulk, defense and junior-college experience. In Ben Eisenhardtand Ryan Pembleton, they got a pair of lean 6-10 freshmen with athleticism, skill and long-range potential.That combination was just what Callero was looking for."We brought in some complementary parts," he said. "We got a little beef here, not greatathletes, but physical players. Then we brought in two long players in Pembleton from Texas andEisenhardt from the Seattle area -- 6-10 and can run and shoot. They're different kinds of players.They're pick-and-pops, they're mobile, they're running, long. They've got a ways to go beforethey'll be a force, but they have the potential to be pretty good players because they have goodfeet and good hands."I like the skilled bigs. If you're not real skilled, you'd better be awfully physical. We brought acombination of two skilled bigs and two physical bigs who can grind out the court and make thelayups a little more challenged."Callero said Donahue and Taylor are more physically ready to step into the wars right away, butthe freshmen will also get a look -- and probably a lot of minutes -- immediately.A couple of undersized returning players, 6-6 senior Charles Anderson (4.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg) and 6-5sophomore David Hanson (3.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg), will also get time at power forward. Walk-onsJordan Lewis, a rugged 6-5 sophomore, and Ryan Darling, a 6-7 senior, will battle to get someminutes."Those positions are wide open between freshmen and transfers, and very likely, we'll go smallat times and man the four-spot with Hanson and Anderson," Callero said. "With the match-upzone, the four man doesn't need to be a Hercules body to be effective. We can get away with playing small. It will definitely hurt us in the preseason games against more physical, high-major talent, but when we get to conference play we'll probably be better off having a quick lineup thana bigger, slower lineup."The perimeter spots are a bit more settled, thanks to Keeler and Lewis, who fill the starting spotsat shooting guard and small forward, respectively. Keeler averaged more than 30 minutes per game last season and might have to play more this time, because his backup appears to be 6-2freshman Dylan Royer, an invited walk-on who came in with a reputation as a good shooter andscorer before red-shirting last season. Shawn Lewis brings some rebounding (5.0 rpg last season)and tenacity to small forward, where he'll be backed up by Hanson and Anderson when they'renot playing in the post.
 
The frontrunner for the point position is swift 5-11 sophomore Justin Brown (3.1 ppg, 0.8 rpg),who saw limited action as Thomas' backup last season, but he'll be pushed by newcomer KyleOdister, a 6-0 freshman from Sacramento who is a ball-handler with an accurate jumper.Poly's backcourt took a big hit before practice even began when strong 6-2 junior AmaurysFermin, Taylor's Hagerstown teammate, was unable to finish his class work in time to be eligiblethis season. Fermin has all the tools to make a huge impact -- as a high school star in the Bronx, N.Y., he was a big-time scorer and once went for 47 in a game, while at Hagerstown he averaged17.5 points and ranked fifth in the nation among junior college players at 8.2 assists per game.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT
: C
BENCH/DEPTH
: F
FRONTCOURT
: D-
INTANGIBLES
: DAs a first-year coach, Callero readily admits he doesn't yet have a good read on what he has onhand -- "maybe 30 to 40 percent," he said. Then again, with so many untested players figuring prominently in his plans, no one really has a good read on the Mustangs."Still, I like what I see," the coach said. "There's a foundation there. There's eagerness andenthusiasm. There's energy."But there is also precious little depth on the roster, and without Fermin, Callero's mostaccomplished recruit, that depth dwindles to practically nothing.Unless someone unexpected steps forward, the onus will be on Keeler and Shawn Lewis to carrythe team, which makes Callero's push for better shot selection a huge key. Keeler clearly has anice touch, as evidenced by his .849 free throw percentage, so being more selective should helphim become a more effective scorer."I think Lewis and Keeler are both ready to emerge and will emerge as go-to guys," Callero said."They'll find a way to win. Not just a shot. Maybe you got the rebound that won the game, or gotthe steal that won the game or took the charge that won the game or made the pass that went tothe inside guy that won the game. They're going to do that, too, and that's what I respect aboutthem."
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