“Vous ne pouvez pas gagner si vous ne jouez pas de défense” 1
“Obligue al jugador a la línea de fondo” 2
“Mach deine Freiwurfe” 3
“Samaya kharochaya napada budit kharochaya zachita” 4
With a roster boasting six international players, you’ll have to forgive University of Portland head coach Rob Chavez if his briefcase is full of Berlitz phrase books. Rest assured, however, his 2000-01 Pilot team communicates in the most important language – basketball.
With four starters returning among seven letterwinners, Chavez and the Pilots are confident the coming season results in an improvement over last season’s 10-18 overall record, 4-10 in West Coast Conference matchups.
After earning WCC Freshman of the Year honors in his rookie season, junior guard Ryan Jones (Olympia, WA), was an honorable mention all-WCC selection as a sophomore and at times was an explosive player. Jones led Portland in scoring (14.4 ppg) and minutes per game (31.0), and also added 3.2 rebounds while shooting 76.4% at the free throw line.
Senior guard Travis Andrews (New Orleans, LA), returns opposite Jones at the point, and his solid play is reminiscent of former Detroit Pistons sparkplug Vinnie “the Microwave” Johnson. Andrews led the team with 4.0 assists per game, and added 8.7 points and 3.2 rebounds. He had a career-high 21 points at San Francisco, and led the team with 40 3-pointers. He’s tied for eighth all-time in 3-pointers (84), and ranks sixth in career 3-point percentage (.370). Andrews also needs just 30 assists to reach that top 10 list, and 30 more steals.
It’s not much of a leap to label sophomore Tim Frost (Klamath Falls, OR), as Portland’s key to success this season, as the lanky 6-10 center set a Pilot single-season blocks record with 48 in his initial campaign. He averaged 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 50.3% from the field and 68.6% at the free throw line. His 48 blocks also rank sixth on the career list, and he needs just eight to move into third all-time.
Sophomore swing player Bryan Mills (Eugene, OR), earned a starting position with his versatile skills, and will be counted on for a variety of contributions. Mills played in all 28 games with 10 starts, and was second on the team with 60 assists. He also added 4.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and also had nine blocks.
Senior post Philip Dejworek (Ulm, Germany), has seen varying levels of success in a Pilot uniform, and has oustanding shooting range. His 14 3-pointers were fourth on the team, and hit five treys off the bench en route to a career-high 19 points at San Diego.
Fan favorite, junior guard Ross Jorgusen (Toledo, WA), is a gritty backup who provides never-ending hustle and determination. In 26 games, Jorgusen averaged 2.6 points, 1.2 rebounds and 8.0 floor burns per game. At the free throw line, Jorgusen was the team leader at 81% (18-21).
Sophomore forward Diaby Kamara (Bussy St. George, France), spent his freshman acclimating to the U.S. college game, and has shown a heightened climb in his skills. He had nine points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes vs. Seattle, and averaged 1.8 rebounds per game.
The sextet of international athletes – four of which are new to the program - each bring a different quality to the Pilot lineup, and all figure prominently in Portland’s blueprint for success.
Most prominent on the list of newcomers is forward Jorge ‘Coky’ Rochin (Puerto Penasco, Mexico), a bruising 6-8 player with outstanding potential. As a sophomore at Mesa Community College in Arizona, Coky led the nation in field goal percentage (73.6%) and was second in rebounding (14.0 rpg). Averaging 22.3 points per game, Rochin had game highs of 43 points and 25 rebounds.
Junior guard/forward Carmie Olowoyo (Perth, Australia), is the consistent outside shooter Portland has craved for several seasons, but is also dangerous off the dribble. Olowoyo was a second-team all-Region player as a sophomore at Salt Lake Community College, and was fourth in the conference in scoring at 18.3 points. He scored 30 or more points five times as a sophomore.
Sophomore leaper Ghislain Sema (Yaounde, Cameroon), could be Portland’s best athlete, and after a year at Treasure Valley Community College, is beginning to understand the nuances of college basketball. He averaged just 9.8 minutes per game at TVCC, but averaged 3.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks while shooting 45.6% from the field.
Freshman guard Adam Quick (Wantirna, Australia), brings classic point guard skills in combination with solid shooting skills to the Pilot bench. A member of Australia’s U-20 team which participated in the 1999 World Championships, Quick was also named to the Aussie U-22 team for the FIBA World Championships.
Completing the Pilot roster are a pair of freshmen with starkly different backgrounds. Combination guard Casey Frandsen (Silver Lake, WA), prepped at tiny Toutle Lake High School, but was a two-time Washington 1A Player of theYear. In his senior season, Frandsen averaged 20.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists, shot 49% from the field and had a game-high 37 points in a state title game loss.
Rookie center Matt Towsley (Corvallis, OR), played just one season of varsity basketball, but at 6-11 and 260 pounds, already possesses immense potential. He had 29 points and 22 rebounds against West Linn as a senior, and earned third-team all-Valley League honors.
Translations:
1You can’t win if you don’t play defense (French)
2Force the player to the baseline (Spanish)
3You’ve got to make your free throws (German)
4The best offense is a good defense (Russian)
