UCSB Basketball has been a mainstay in the Big West but hasn’t been to the big dance since 2011. Can the Gauchos reverse that trend in 2018?
Since joining the Big West Conference in the 1998-99 season, the University of California-Santa Barbara has been a staple at the top of the conference standings. In those 20 seasons, 19 of which came under the tutelage of legendary coach Bob Williams, the Gauchos have finished lower than fourth just four times. Despite the consistency, the team has reached the Big Dance just three times. Williams was let go at the end of the 2016-17 season after 19 years with the team. He was replaced by Arizona assistant Joe Pasternack.
The Gauchos haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2011 but Pasternack has the Gauchos poised to return in 2018. UCSB went 23-9 last season earning the No. 2 seed in the Big West tournament, but they fell in the semifinals to rival UC-Irvine 61-58.
Pasternack had four players average at least 12 points per game and just one of them return, the conference’s leading scorer, junior Max Heidegger who scored 19 per game last season. Also returning is senior forward Ami Lakoju, who despite averaging just four points per game, his 6-8 270lb frame will be looked upon to be a key contributor on the glass.
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The Gauchos welcome four transfer-eligible players for the upcoming season, headlined by graduate transfer Ar’mond Davis. The 6-6 guard averaged six points for Alabama in 2016-17 before redshirting last season. Joining Davis are guards Devearl Ramsey, who comes to Santa Barbara by way of Nevada where he tallied 26 assists and just four turnovers as a freshman and Zack Moore who comes from Seattle with a reputation as a sharpshooter, he led the Redhawks with 74 three-pointers made. To help in the frontcourt the team welcomes 6-10 Robinson Idehen who played at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas.
Pasternack landed the conference’s top recruiting class by grabbing a couple of teammates from Prolific Prep in Napa, CA. Sekou Toure is a 6-5 wing who is an elite defender, who has the ability to drive and has developed a more reliable three-point shot. His teammate, Amadou Sow is a 6-9 power forward who is an elite rebounder and should pay immediate dividends for the Gauchos. Pasternack’s final recruit is Jay Nagle, a 6-8 knockdown shooter who had all but 14 of his field goal attempts come from behind the arc last season, he shot 41%.
One final big key for the Gauchos this season might be depth. Outside of the five starters, three other players averaged double-digit minutes but only one averaged over 12 minutes. That lack of depth may have shown itself in three key late-season losses, where the team averaged just 53 points and ultimately was the difference between a regular-season title and the No. 2 seed.
UCSB can once again be penciled into a likely top-four finish in the Big West, the question is, can Pasternack get this group to break through and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010-11.