A USD men?s basketball season that began with the best start in the program?s Division I history, included a midseason slump, then ground through a coaching scandal still is not over.
The Toreros (18-13) will host Hartford (19-13) tonight at Jenny Craig Pavilion in the first round of the CollegeInsiders.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The game is a reward for the current season, plus an effort to build toward next season, when all but one player is eligible to return.
Athletic Director Bill McGillis was so intent on the team participating in a tournament and specifically playing a home game that USD is reportedly paying nearly $40,000 to host tonight?s game.
?The CIT is one more building block in the process of developing a championship program,? McGillis said.
McGillis said USD was invited to play in the CIT and College Basketball Invitational tournament and that the Toreros could have traveled at the expense of those tournaments.
?The opportunity to play at home on national television is an added bonus,? McGillis said.
Basketball players do not shoot for hours alone in a gym dreaming of playing in the CIT. Fans don?t fork over millions of dollars filling out CIT brackets. But acting USD head coach Sam Scholl and multiple players say they are thankful that they?re still playing.
Regarding the athletic department paying for a home game, Scholl said, ?It shows how much the administration values our student-athletes that they?re willing to do anything to give them the opportunity to compete together.?
?We?re just hoping to add to our win total and try to cut down some nets,? junior guard Tyler Williams said.
Added Cameron Neubauer, the team?s lone senior, after a practice Sunday afternoon: ?I didn?t think I?d be able to play in another game, let alone another game in this gym. That?s exciting. I want to keep it going.?
Williams said the game gives the Toreros one more chance to move past the departure of former head coach Lamont Smith. Smith resigned after facing domestic violence charges that the San Francisco District Attorney?s office decided not to pursue.
?We get to play with a free mind,? Williams said.
The game figures to be an emotional one for USD assistant Chris Gerlufsen. Before coming to the school three years ago, Gerlufsen coached at Hartford for eight years, the last two as associate head coach.
Gerlufsen and Hartford head coach John Gallagher grew up in Philadelphia, were childhood friends, and played against each other in high school. Gerlufsen was on Gallagher?s staff for five years.
?I?ve known him since I was 10 years old,? Gallagher said. ?He?s my best friend. I recommended him for the USD job.?
Hartford is led by three juniors: 6-foot-8 forward John Carroll (15.3 points) and guards Jason Dunne (14.8) and J.R. Lynch (13.4). Gerlufsen played a key role in recruiting all three players.
?They?re good,? Gerlufsen said. ?They?re not a deep team, but they?re well-coached and they compete. They play hard. They?re kind of a reflection of their head coach.?
The Toreros (18-13) will host Hartford (19-13) tonight at Jenny Craig Pavilion in the first round of the CollegeInsiders.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The game is a reward for the current season, plus an effort to build toward next season, when all but one player is eligible to return.
Athletic Director Bill McGillis was so intent on the team participating in a tournament and specifically playing a home game that USD is reportedly paying nearly $40,000 to host tonight?s game.
?The CIT is one more building block in the process of developing a championship program,? McGillis said.
McGillis said USD was invited to play in the CIT and College Basketball Invitational tournament and that the Toreros could have traveled at the expense of those tournaments.
?The opportunity to play at home on national television is an added bonus,? McGillis said.
Basketball players do not shoot for hours alone in a gym dreaming of playing in the CIT. Fans don?t fork over millions of dollars filling out CIT brackets. But acting USD head coach Sam Scholl and multiple players say they are thankful that they?re still playing.
Regarding the athletic department paying for a home game, Scholl said, ?It shows how much the administration values our student-athletes that they?re willing to do anything to give them the opportunity to compete together.?
?We?re just hoping to add to our win total and try to cut down some nets,? junior guard Tyler Williams said.
Added Cameron Neubauer, the team?s lone senior, after a practice Sunday afternoon: ?I didn?t think I?d be able to play in another game, let alone another game in this gym. That?s exciting. I want to keep it going.?
Williams said the game gives the Toreros one more chance to move past the departure of former head coach Lamont Smith. Smith resigned after facing domestic violence charges that the San Francisco District Attorney?s office decided not to pursue.
?We get to play with a free mind,? Williams said.
The game figures to be an emotional one for USD assistant Chris Gerlufsen. Before coming to the school three years ago, Gerlufsen coached at Hartford for eight years, the last two as associate head coach.
Gerlufsen and Hartford head coach John Gallagher grew up in Philadelphia, were childhood friends, and played against each other in high school. Gerlufsen was on Gallagher?s staff for five years.
?I?ve known him since I was 10 years old,? Gallagher said. ?He?s my best friend. I recommended him for the USD job.?
Hartford is led by three juniors: 6-foot-8 forward John Carroll (15.3 points) and guards Jason Dunne (14.8) and J.R. Lynch (13.4). Gerlufsen played a key role in recruiting all three players.
?They?re good,? Gerlufsen said. ?They?re not a deep team, but they?re well-coached and they compete. They play hard. They?re kind of a reflection of their head coach.?
