Complete Release (PDF) I GameCentral I Tickets I Chiles Center Improvements

Portland Pilots (2-1) vs. Washington State Cougars (1-1)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Radio: 800 AM
Live Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. WSU
Overall Series: POR trails 2-10
At UP: 2-1
At WSU: 0-7
Neutral: 0-2
Last: WSU 84, POR 68 (Nov. 23, 2010 in Seattle)

TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
• Tickets are still available for Sunday’s home opener through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com, or at the Pilot Box Office 90 minutes prior to tip-off.
• Make a clothing donation as part of Sunday’s ‘Pro Sports Clothing Drive’ and receive a 2-for-1 ticket voucher. Donations will benefit The Salvation Army.

GAME COVERAGE
• Sunday’s game, and all non-televised Portland home games, will have a free video stream provided on www.portlandpilots.com.
• All Portland basketball games will be broadcast live on True Talk 800 AM, with a 30-minute pregame show and Bill Johnson calling the play-by-play. The audio simulcast and live game statistics will also be available on www.portlandpilots.com. 

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland won two of three games at the World Vision Classic in Seattle last weekend, knocking off Florida Atlantic (70-65) and Georgia State (66-61) before falling to host Washington (93-63).
• Senior G Nemanja Mitrovic was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 12.0 points per game.
• Sophomore F Ryan Nicholas averaged just shy of a double-double (10.7 ppg/9.0 rpg) in his first three career starts.
• Despite playing eight underclassmen in the primary rotation, the Pilots came from behind in the second half to close out both wins last weekend.
• All four Pilot true freshmen are averaging more than 11 minutes per game.
• Head coach Eric Reveno and all three assistant coaches return for their sixth year together on The Bluff.
• Portland is coming off of back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history.
• The Pilots were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) for the third consecutive season in 2011.
• Portland returns two starters and nine lettermen from last year’s 20-12 team that finished fifth in the WCC with a 7-7 league record. A heralded four-player freshman class joins the team this season.
• The Pilots were picked to finish seventh in the nine-team West Coast Conference, while Mitrovic was named to the preseason all-conference team.
 
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
• The Cougars (1-1) dropped an 89-81 decision at Gonzaga to open the season, then defeated Sacramento State 79-68 in Pullman on Thursday.
• Junior F Brock Motum (20.0 ppg) is leading three WSU players averaging double figures, while senior G Faisal Aden contributes 15.0 ppg. Freshman G Devonte Lacy is off to a strong start (13.0 ppg) as well.
• WSU returns three starters and five of the top seven scorers from last year’s NIT squad that finished 22-13 overall.
• Head coach Ken Bone is in his third season at WSU and posts a 38-29 record.

LAST WEEK
• Portland 70, Florida Atlantic 65: Derrick Rodgers made a tough, left-handed floater to give UP a 66-65 edge with 28 seconds remaining and the Pilots made four straight free throws to secure the win. Nemanja Mitrovic led the Pilots with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Ryan Nicholas recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Rodgers had 11 points off the bench.
• Portland 66, Georgia State 61: Nemanja Mitrovic led three Pilots in double figures with 13 points as the team once again pulled out a second half win. After leading by as much as 13 points in the first half, the Pilots trailed 52-49 with 6:28 remaining. Consecutive lay-ups by freshmen Thomas van der Mars and Dorian Cason sparked an 11-3 run that gave the Pilots the lead back for good. Portland made 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute to secure the win.
• Washington 93, Portland 63: The Pilots dropped the title game of the World Vision Classic to the host and hot-shooting Huskies. Tim Douglas led the Pilots with 17 points and Ryan Nicholas added nine points and 10 rebounds. The Huskies shot a blistering 55 percent from the field and made 12-of-20 from three-point range. The Pilots struggled from the field at 34 percent and were just 4-of-19 from beyond the arc.


MITROVIC MAKES ALL-TOURNEY TEAM 
• Senior G Nemanja Mitrovic was named to the World Vision Classic All-Tournament Team after leading the Pilots to a 2-1 record and averaging 12.0 points per game.
• Mitrovic finished last season No. 6 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.463) and 20th in three-pointers made per game (2.9).
• One of only two seniors on the roster, Mitrovic was voted a team captain this year along with sophomore PG, Tim Douglas.
• A native of Toronto, Mitrovic played just 43 minutes as a freshman and 312 minutes as a sophomore before averaging 13.5 ppg and earning All-WCC honors last year.
 
RODGER’S ROLE
• Junior G Derrick Rodgers was a spark off the bench for the Pilots last week. He made big plays late in both Pilot wins and averaged 7.7 points per game.
• Known as a defensive stopper, Rodgers made the biggest basket against Florida Atlantic with a go-ahead runner in the lane with 28 seconds left in regulation.
• Rodgers also grabbed 4.0 rebounds per game and dished out 2.3 assists per game.

FRESHMEN FIRSTS
• Five Pilot freshmen made their official collegiate debuts in Seattle last weekend.
• Portland’s highly-touted four true freshmen each appeared in all three games and are all averaging more than 11 minutes per game.
• David Carr (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS) started the last two games at guard and played 24.3 minutes while averaging 6.0 ppg.
• Thomas van der Mars (Gouda, Netherlands) averaged 18.3 minutes and finished with six points and five rebounds versus Washington.
• Dorian Cason (Fontana, Calif./Summit HS) played 16.0 minutes per game and averages 6.3 ppg.
• Kevin Bailey (Clovis, Calif./East Clovis HS) is averaging 11.3 minutes and scored five points off the bench against Washington.
• Redshirt freshman F John Bailey (Mesa, Ariz./Dobson HS) made his first appearance of the year against UW and grabbed two rebounds in three minutes of action.

NICHOLAS’ TIME IS NOW
• After sitting behind All-WCC forward Luke Sikma and four-year starting center Kramer Knutson last season as a freshman, Ryan Nicholas is off to a fast start through three games this year.
• Making his first three career starts last week, Nicholas averaged 10.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
• He recorded career-highs of 13 points and 11 rebounds in the opener against FAU for his first career double-double.
• The Spokane, Wash. native is also 10-for-11 at the free throw line.

DOUGLAS GIVEN THE KEYS
• Sophomore PG Tim Douglas moved into the starting lineup during WCC play last season, but missed the team’s final three games due to injury (all losses). He was voted team co-captain by his peers entering this season.
• He was named the WCC Player of the Week twice as a freshman, joining Elias Harris (Gonzaga, 2010), Patrick Mills (Saint Mary’s, 2008), Darrell Tucker (San Francisco, 2000) and Greg Anthony (Portland, 1987) as the only freshmen in league history to do so.
• Douglas scored a game-high 17 points against Washington on Monday and is tied with Nemanja Mitrovic as the team’s leading scorer (12.0).


NOT AN EASY ROAD
• The Pilots have one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in the nation.
• Portland faces eight teams that made the post-season last year, while nine of the 13 non-league games will be away from the Chiles Center.
• In addition to the World Vision Classic, road games include: at Kentucky, at St. Louis, at Nevada, at UC Santa Barbara, at Utah and at Boise State
• The home non-league schedule is highlighted by Washington State, Montana and Ohio.


HOME SWEET HOME
• Portland has rattled off a 38-6 home record over the last three seasons.
• The Pilots’ 19-game home win streak was snapped by Gonzaga last February.
• Signature home wins have come against Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Saint Mary’s three times.
• Portland finished the 2010-11 regular season with a 13-2 record at the Chiles Center for the second straight season.

STAFF STABILITY
• Eric Reveno was named the 2009 WCC and District 9 Coach of the Year after leading UP to a 10-win improvement during the 2008-09 season.
• Now in his sixth year on The Bluff, Reveno credits the stability of his coaching staff as key to the program’s turnaround. All three assistants that joined Reveno when he was hired in April of 2006 have remained on the Portland bench ever since.
• Reveno is the third longest tenured WCC coach behind Gonzaga’s Mark Few (13) and Saint Mary’s Randy Bennett (11).

THREE-POINT THREATS
• Portland was the No. 1 three-point shooting team in the nation over the previous three seasons combined (.412, 752-1825).
• The Pilots led the nation in three-point percentage in 2009 (.418), were No. 5 in 2010 (.407), and No. 3 in 2011 (.412).
• Portland is struggling thus far from beyond the arc (.289, 13-45).

PILOTS TO THE PROS
• Portland has graduated all nine players over the last two years and all nine have gone on to play professionally.
• All five 2010 graduates played professionally last season, while Portland’s four graduated seniors from the 2011 class are all playing in Europe this season.
• Jared Stohl signed with the Crailsheim Merlins of Germany, Luke Sikma inked with La Palma in Spain. Kramer Knutson and Jasonn Hannibal signed in Switzerland and Slovenia, respectively.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Portland’s 2011-12 roster features only three upperclassmen in seniors Nemanja Mitrovic and Eric Waterford, along with junior Derrick Rodgers.
• The six-player sophomore class played significant minutes as freshmen last year.
• Freshman G Kevin Bailey is the first top 100 recruit that the Pilots have landed, while Freshman G David Carr is the first local Portland product to sign with the Pilots since Reveno took over the program.

OREGON STATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR SIGNS WITH PILOTS
• Portland signed the reigning Oregon ‘5A’ State Player of the Year, Jake Ehlers, to a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 9.
• Ehlers (6-7, 200) led Corvallis High School to a 27-1 record and the Oregon ‘5A’ state championship as a junior last season.
• He averaged 22 points on 58 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from three-point range. He also carried the Spartans to a 79-73 double overtime win in the state championship game over Benson, finishing with 36 points on 13-of-18 shooting.
• Ehlers was recently named to Oregon’s All-State First Team by ESPN.com and is rated as the No. 68 power forward on the same site.

COACH MICHAEL WOLF TAKING PART IN ‘SHOTS FROM THE HEART’
• CollegeInsider.com announced the creation of ‘Shots from the Heart,’ a project designed to help raise awareness for the growing problem of heart disease.
• College basketball coaches – including UP assistant Michael Wolf – will compete against one another in a free throw shooting tournament, which will benefit the American Heart Association.
• The event will also pay tribute to the late Skip Prosser who passed away on July 26, 2007 of a heart attack.
• Coaches will not have to actually compete against each other on the same court. Each coach will shoot 25 free throws at his convenience. A member of the athletic department will tally the results and the coach with the most makes advances. To avoid ties, 1-20 shots made are worth one point, shots 21-24 are worth two points and shot 25 is worth three points.
• Wolf will be facing Adam Caporn of Saint Mary’s in the first round, which runs through Nov. 30.

NEW-LOOK WCC
• BYU has joined the West Coast Conference for the 2011-12 season.
• Of the eight Division I teams that have won at least 25 games in each of the last four seasons, three are in the WCC (BYU, Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s).
• Six of the nine WCC schools played in the postseason in 2010-11. BYU made the NCAA Sweet 16, and Santa Clara won the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).

LIVE ON THE AM DIAL
• KPDQ 800 AM will once again be the Pilots’ home on the radio as the True Talk Station and UP enter another year as broadcast partners. All Portland games will be aired live with a 30-minute pre-game show. Bill Johnson returns to call the play-by-play for the second year in a row.

TELEVISION EXPOSURE
• Over the past three seasons Portland has had 43 games televised, including 13 on national ESPN broadcasts.
• Portland will be on the ESPN family of networks at least three times this year. Portland hosts Gonzaga on ESPN2 and will be aired on ESPNU at Santa Clara and at home versus Saint Mary’s.
• The Pilots are expected to be on TV at least 17 times again this season. Stay tuned to portlandpilots.com for the finalized television package.