[ BYUH BASKETBALL ]
Seasiders reload
after strong seasonBYUH’s new players
have helped offset the loss of
Alexus Foyle and Scott Salisbury
Brigham Young-Hawaii basketball coach Ken Wagner has got this classification business all backward.
Someone needs to tell him that small-college programs, especially small programs in the middle of the Pacific, get the scraps left over from D-I recruiting and are happy about it.
Wagner doesn't see it that way. While his competitors are scouring junior colleges and high schools for players, promising them a chance to move on to a higher level of basketball, Wagner is fielding calls from players who have already hit the big time and decided that Laie is the place to be.
The Seasiders have started the season 5-2, with both losses coming to D-I schools, after hosting a regional round of the NCAA Tournament last year but losing their top two players, Alexus Foyle and Scott Salisbury.
The new crop has made Foyle and Salisbury largely forgotten.
"They came together faster than I thought they would," Wagner said. "I'm excited about this group, I like their chemistry."
Foyle and Salisbury were so highly regarded that the Seasiders were picked to finish second behind Hilo in this year's preseason coaches poll after dominating the conference last year. Little did the voters know, Wagner had a whole lot more where Foyle and Salisbury came from.
Jake Chrisman is no Foyle, but he leads the team scoring with 19.6 points per game and scored 23 against Hawaii in the season opener.
Shawn Opunui, who was the point guard last year, and Michael Stowell are the team's second and third scorers and will be asked to carry the team Dec. 19, 20 and 22 when Division I schools Baylor, Northern Illinois and San Jose State come to town.
But don't expect these new Seasiders to be intimidated by their bigger brothers. Unlike some of their peers who dislike Division I because of some abstract belief about a group of organizations that wanted nothing to do with them when everyone else did, BYUH's trio knows all about the rigors of Division I.
Chrisman transferred from Brigham Young-Provo last year.
Opunui was brought in from Provo to replace current National Basketball Developmental League player Yuta Tabuse.
Stowell came from Utah State, sending Wagner a tape from out of the blue.
And these aren't just walk-ons who used the big school on their résumé to find a place to settle down and earn an education. Chrisman played in 29 of the Cougars' 33 games in 2000-01, when BYU went to the NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round.
Opunui was heavily recruited by the school and was expected to start at the point that same year but only played four games after suffering a season ending injury. Stowell appeared in 28 games last year for Utah State.
Each one of them said, 'no thanks,' to Division I, believing that basketball on a bench is nowhere near as fun as basketball on a floor. They were getting playing time, just not enough of it.
Both Stowell and Chrisman sought Wagner out, flipping the idea of recruiting entirely on its head. Wagner says that some of it is the fact that BYUH is a church school in the middle of nowhere and some of it is the program's success recently.
Whatever it is, Wagner will take it.
"I think some it is the church," Wagner said. "But a lot of it is the program, too. These kids get recruited by a lot of other schools and some of them choose our school. I just hope it continues."
But stacking a D-II team with D-I talent isn't always enough to win. The Seasiders won the PacWest last year when super-subs like Austin Smylie and Beau Nobmann took over for the starters and the team didn't miss a beat.
So far this season, Wagner has received an average of more than 29 minutes from his five starters and little else from the bench. His three Division I players have hogged 48 percent of the playing time so far and Wagner has begun each game with the same five this year after allowing 10 different players to start games last season.
Opunui is getting a full minute more than Foyle, who led the nation in scoring until the final week.
The Seasiders will line up their five starters again this weekend when former Kailua and San Jose State basketball player George Puou comes home and brings his new basketball team with him.
Puou coaches Notre Dame DeNamur and will hook up with the Seasiders in Laie tomorrow.
As for whether the mega-minutes the new guys are getting will hurt the Seasiders come tournament time, Wagner doesn't think so.
"I feel that we are struggling a little bit depth-wise," Wagner said. "But these guys can handle the minutes until someone comes along."
After all, the minutes are all they wanted in the first place.
PacWest standings
Through Dec. 6
W L Pct PF PA Montana St.-Billings 3 0 1.000 97.0 79.7 BYU-Hawaii 5 2 .714 77.4 72.3 Hawaii-Hilo 5 2 .714 67.9 67.7 Chaminade 1 2 .333 57.7 64.0 Western New Mexico 2 4 .333 71.7 87.5 Hawaii Pacific 0 7 .000 76.1 86.1 Statistics
Through Dec. 6
To be ranked, a player must appear in at least 75.0% of their team's games.SCORING
REBOUNDING
FG 3FG FT Pts Avg Aaron Abrams, HPU 48 17 33 146 20.9 Matt Enriquez, WNMU 42 18 18 120 20.0 Jerett Skrifvars, MSUB 17 0 26 60 20.0 Marvin Noble, HPU 52 19 14 137 19.6 Jake Chrisman,BYUH 59 3 16 137 19.6 Cameron Munoz, MSUB 21 13 1 56 18.7 Trae Fortier, MSUB 20 2 12 54 18.0 Shawn Opunui, BYUH 36 18 34 124 17.7 Ryan Abrahams, UHH 44 10 18 116 16.6 Michael Stowell, BYUH 36 11 27 110 15.7 David Carse, MSUB 13 10 9 45 15.0 Joe Travis, UHH 37 6 18 98 14.0 Jason Jackson, WNMU 26 16 11 79 13.2 Austin Smylie, BYUH 28 2 27 85 12.1 Roy Stigall, CU 12 7 4 35 11.7 James Newell, WNMU 28 8 5 69 11.5 Alex Cabagnot,UHH 20 9 19 68 9.7 Albert Tecul, HPU 25 7 9 66 9.4 Justin Griffin, UHH 23 7 13 66 9.4 Sam Henning, CU 10 0 6 26 8.7 Adam Grimes, WNMU 18 7 7 50 8.3 Alex Galloway, MSUB 7 1 10 25 8.3 Bryon Sykes, CU 6 4 6 22 7.3 Dante Sykes, HPU 16 4 10 46 6.6 Bill Day, MSUB 7 0 5 19 6.3 Ryan Hogue, UHH 14 0 14 42 6.0 Jerry Martinez, WNMU 15 3 3 36 6.0 Audrius Peciukas, HPU 14 0 13 41 5.9 Terrance Troupe, UHH 15 0 10 40 5.7 Nick Frey, CU 6 0 5 17 5.7 Kashif Reyes, CU 6 3 2 17 5.7
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Off Def Tot Avg Joe Travis, UHH 14 48 62 8.9 Sam Henning, CU 7 15 22 7.3 Austin Smylie, BYUH 12 37 49 7.0 Trae Fortier, MSUB 8 12 20 6.7 Terrance Troupe, UHH 15 30 45 6.4 Jerett Skrifvars, MSUB 8 11 19 6.3 Jerry Martinez, WNMU 16 16 32 5.3 Jay Bussey, HPU 15 22 37 5.3 Audrius Peciukas, HPU 15 22 37 5.3 Ryan Abrahams, UHH 14 22 36 5.1 Albert Tecul, HPU 12 23 35 5.0 James Newell, WNMU 10 20 30 5.0 Adam Grimes, WNMU 9 19 28 4.7 Nick Frey, CU 4 10 14 4.7 Jury Simien, WNMU 7 20 27 4.5 Michael Stowell, BYUH 7 24 31 4.4 Bill Day, MSUB 5 8 13 4.3 Matt Enriquez, WNMU 10 15 25 4.2 Jake Chrisman, BYUH 12 16 28 4.0 Aaron Abrams, HPU 8 20 28 4.0 Brendon Malone, WNMU 4 20 24 4.0
Minimum 3.0 made per game
ASSISTS
FG FGA Pct Cameron Munoz, MSUB 21 32 .656 Jerett Skrifvars, MSUB 17 27 .630 Jake Chrisman, BYUH 59 105 .562 Austin Smylie, BYUH 28 50 .560 Sam Henning, CU 10 18 .556 Albert Tecul, HPU 25 48 .521 Shawn Opunui, BYUH 36 71 .507 Marvin Noble, HPU 52 103 .505 Michael Stowell, BYUH 36 72 .500 James Newell, WNMU 28 56 .500 Trae Fortier, MSUB 20 42 .476 Joe Travis, UHH 37 78 .474 David Carse, MSUB 13 30 .433 Ryan Abrahams, UHH 44 108 .407 Adam Grimes, WNMU 18 45 .400
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE
Assists Avg Jerett Skrifvars, MSUB 16 5.33 David Carse, MSUB 13 4.33 Marvin Noble, HPU 30 4.29 Alex Cabagnot, UHH 28 4.00 Albert Tecul, HPU 27 3.86 Beau Nobmann, BYUH 27 3.86 Trae Fortier, MSUB 11 3.67 Michael Stowell, BYUH 22 3.14 Ryan Abrahams, UHH 19 2.71 Shawn Opunui, BYUH 19 2.71 Roy Stigall, CU 7 2.33 Jason Jackson, WNMU 13 2.17 Brendon Malone, WNMU 13 2.17 Matt Enriquez, WNMU 13 2.17 Dante Sykes, HPU 14 2.00 Jake Chrisman, BYUH 14 2.00 Jury Simien, WNMU 12 2.00 Cameron Munoz, MSUB 6 2.00 Bill Day, MSUB 6 2.00
Minimum 2.0 made per game
STEALS
FTM FTA Pct Marvin Noble, HPU 14 14 1.000 Ryan Abrahams, UHH 18 20 .900 Ryan Hogue, UHH 14 16 .875 Bryon Sykes, CU 6 7 .857 Alex Galloway, MSUB 10 12 .833 Austin Smylie, BYUH 27 34 .794 Shawn Opunui, BYUH 34 43 .791 Alex Cabagnot, UHH 19 25 .760 Trae Fortier, MSUB 12 16 .750 David Carse, MSUB 9 12 .750 Scott Metcalf, CU 6 8 .750 Jerett Skrifvars, MSUB 26 35 .743 Aaron Abrams, HPU 33 45 .733 Michael Stowell, BYUH 27 37 .730 Sam Henning, CU 6 9 .667
3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Steals Avg Trae Fortier, MSUB 8 2.67 Shawn Opunui, BYUH 17 2.43 Albert Tecul, HPU 16 2.29 Beau Nobmann, BYUH 16 2.29 Ryan Abrahams, UHH 15 2.14 Matt Enriquez, WNMU 12 2.00 Cameron Munoz, MSUB 6 2.00 Alex Cabagnot, UHH 12 1.71 Zack Whiting, CU 5 1.67 Brendon Malone, WNMU 9 1.50 Jason Jackson, WNMU 9 1.50 Roy Stigall, CU 4 1.33 David Carse, MSUB 4 1.33 Jake Chrisman, BYUH 9 1.29 Justin Griffin, UHH 8 1.14 Audrius Peciukas, HPU 8 1.14 Terrance Troupe, UHH 8 1.14
Minimum 1.0 made per game
3-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE
3FG FGA Pct Cameron Munoz, MSUB 13 23 .565 James Newell, WNMU 8 15 .533 Shawn Opunui, BYUH 18 37 .486 David Carse, MSUB 10 21 .476 Albert Tecul, HPU 7 16 .438 Buddy Windy Boy, MSUB 3 7 .429 Michael Stowell, BYUH 11 27 .407 Aaron Abrams, HPU 17 42 .405 Marvin Noble, HPU 19 47 .404 Adam Grimes, WNMU 7 19 .368 Matt Enriquez, WNMU 18 49 .367 Roy Stigall, CU 7 22 .318 Jason Jackson, WNMU 16 51 .314 Bryon Sykes, CU 4 13 .308 Justin Griffin, UHH 7 23 .304
BLOCKED SHOTS
3FG Avg Cameron Munoz, MSUB 13 4.33 David Carse, MSUB 10 3.33 Matt Enriquez, WNMU 18 3.00 Marvin Noble, HPU 19 2.71 Jason Jackson, WNMU 16 2.67 Shawn Opunui, BYUH 18 2.57 Aaron Abrams, HPU 17 2.43 Roy Stigall, CU 7 2.33 Michael Stowell, BYUH 11 1.57 Ryan Abrahams, UHH 10 1.43 James Newell, WNMU 8 1.33 Bryon Sykes, CU 4 1.33 Alex Cabagnot, UHH 9 1.29 Adam Grimes, WNMU 7 1.17 Justin Griffin, UHH 7 1.00 Albert Tecul, HPU 7 1.00 Buddy Windy Boy, MSUB 3 1.00 Kashif Reyes, CU 3 1.00
ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO
Blocks Avg Joe Travis, UHH 12 1.71 Trae Fortier, MSUB 4 1.33 Terrance Troupe, UHH 6 0.86 Audrius Peciukas, HPU 6 0.86 Adam Grimes, WNMU 5 0.83 Jay Bussey, HPU 5 0.71 Brendon Malone, WNMU 4 0.67 Austin Smylie, BYUH 4 0.57 Justin Griffin, UHH 3 0.43 Jake Chrisman, BYUH 3 0.43 Drazen Minic, HPU. 3 0.43 Jerry Martinez, WNMU 2 0.33 Alex Galloway, MSUB 1 0.33 Sam Henning, CU 1 0.33 Scott Metcalf, CU 1 0.33 Nick Frey, CU 1 0.33 Zack Whiting, CU 1 0.33
Minimum 3.0 assists/game
OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS
Asst Avg Turn Avg Ratio David Carse, MSUB 13 4.3 3 1.0 4.33 Jerett Skrifvars, MSUB 16 5.3 5 1.7 3.20 Albert Tecul, HPU 27 3.9 14 2.0 1.93 Alex Cabagnot, UHH 28 4.0 16 2.3 1.75 Beau Nobmann, BYUH 27 3.9 16 2.3 1.69 Michael Stowell, BYUH 22 3.1 14 2.0 1.57 Marvin Noble, HPU 30 4.3 27 3.9 1.11 Trae Fortier, MSUB 11 3.7 10 3.3 1.10
DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS
No. Avg Jerry Martinez, WNMU 16 2.67 Trae Fortier, MSUB 8 2.67 Jerett Skrifvars, MSUB 8 2.67 Sam Henning, CU 7 2.33 Audrius Peciukas, HPU 15 2.14 Jay Bussey, HPU 15 2.14 Terrance Troupe, UHH 15 2.14 Joe Travis, UHH 14 2.00 Ryan Abrahams, UHH 14 2.00 Austin Smylie, BYUH 12 1.71 Jake Chrisman, BYUH 12 1.71 Albert Tecul, HPU 12 1.71 Ryan Hogue, UHH 12 1.71 Matt Enriquez, WNMU 10 1.67 James Newell, WNMU 10 1.67 Bill Day, MSUB 5 1.67
No. Avg Joe Travis, UHH 48 6.86 Austin Smylie, BYUH 37 5.29 Sam Henning, CU 15 5.00 Terrance Troupe, UHH 30 4.29 Trae Fortier, MSUB 12 4.00 Jerett Skrifvars, MSUB 11 3.67 Michael Stowell, BYUH 24 3.43 Jury Simien, WNMU 20 3.33 James Newell, WNMU 20 3.33 Brendon Malone, WNMU 20 3.33 Nick Frey, CU 10 3.33 Albert Tecul, HPU 23 3.29 Adam Grimes, WNMU 19 3.17 Jay Bussey, HPU 22 3.14 Ryan Abrahams, UHH 22 3.14 Audrius Peciukas, HPU 22 3.14