UCSB wins easily

Host UC Santa Barbara got back to normal with an 80-60 victory over The Master's College Saturday night.

Nate Garth produced 12 points plus seven assists with T.J. Taylor enjoying 10 points and three assists.

Nor Cal talent still highlighting Gaucho team

It's a new season for UC Santa Barbara basketball, one minus Orlando Johnson and James Nunnally, but T.J. Taylor, John Green, Nate Garth and Michael Bryson are ready to help.

Ah, the recruiting life -- full of glamor, perspiration, late nights and rental cars

Michael Berger takes a look at UC Santa Barbara's recruiting along with who is departing and returning. Mention is made of TJ Taylor, John Green and Mike Bryson in uniform with Orlando Johnson, James Nunnally and Greg Somogyi departing. It's a great and informative read.

Drew Dickey becoming a Gaucho

Barring a change, St. Francis High's Drew Dickey will be at UC Santa Barbara next season, playing for Coach Bob Williams in a preferred walk-on role. Dickey is playing this spring and summer as a member of Joe Fuca's Lakeshow 2012 team.

UCSB 72, Pacific 52

UC Santa Barbara had no trouble with Pacific, downing the Tigers 72-52 this afternoon in the Big West Conference tourney. Orlando Johnson's line: 15 points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists. Freshman T.J. Taylor started, going for seven points, two steals, two assists and two boards in 21 minutes of play for the Gauchos.

UCSB 85, Northridge 70

Orlando Johnson paced the Gauchos with 25 points while James Nunnally added 14 in UC Santa Barbara's 15-point victory versus host Cal State Northridge.

Santa Barbara over Northridge

Orlando Johnson's 21 points, six rebounds and five assists paced UC Santa Barbara to a 69-61 victory over Cal State Northridge. James Nunnally contributed 16, six and four while Greg Somogyi grabbed 10 boards.

Irvine falls to Santa Barbara

UC Irvine came into Santa Barbara hoping for an upset but the Gauchos prevailed 74-56. Orlando Johnson led with 15 points, followed by James Nunnally's 11. In 21 minutes, freshman TJ Taylor scored nine points on 4-6 shooting. Fellow frosh Travis Souza paced the Anteaters with 15 points (5-7 on trey attempts).

Flying tortillas?

NO, this isn't another one of those 'I saw a UFO' stories.

Instead, objects later determined to be corn tortillas came sailing on to the court in the last minute of UC Santa Barbara's road victory Tuesday night over San Diego.

They had previously been sighted in the area of The Thunderdome in Isla Vista but quite some time ago.

Why corn? No love for flour?

UC Santa Barbara is led by Green

Orlando Johnson didn't play but frosh John Green did and the former Castlemont star contributed 17 points and eight rebounds in UC Santa Barbara's win over San Francisco State. James Nunnally totaled 13 points and six assists and TJ Taylor passed for four assists.

Coach Williams on three of his NorCal players

Here's UC Santa Barbara Coach Bob Williams, himself a NorCal product (Santa Cruz), talks about some of his players with connections:

This year, having a player who's up for the Wooden Award, makes this luncheon even that much more special of an event for us," Williams said. "I told all the coaches I know, 'Boy, that day Orlando [Johnson] called me on a Sunday afternoon and said, 'Coach, I'm taking my name out of the NBA Draft,' I realized how much smarter I became that day... how I was going to be a much better coach."

Johnson, a 6-foot-5 guard, has led the Gauchos to two straight NCAA Tournaments, winning Big West Conference Tournament MVP honors both years. He averaged 21.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season.

and

including returning starter James Nunnally (16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds) ... And fellow senior Greg Somogyi, a 7-3 center, has reportedly grown as a basketball player.

"James is a gifted athlete and has really grown up and has a much greater maturity level now," Williams said. "We're excited about James. 

"And we have Greg Somogyi... He's back, a little bigger, a little stronger, and let's see if he has a bigger presence."

A quartet of NorCal talents on UC Santa Barbara's tour

As UC Santa Barbara heads to eastern Canada for a five-game tour, a foursome of NorCal talents are mentioned:

"... Although guard John Green (Oakland, Calif./Westwind Prep Academy in Phoenix) will not play because of a foot injury ... point guard T. J. Taylor (Oakland High) will ... play ..."

As will Orlando Johnson (Palma High) and Greg Somoygi (Woodside Priory) too. 

Orlando Johnson receives two prominent invites

Former Palma High basketball star Orlando Johnson, soon to be entering his senior season at UC Santa Barbara, has received a pair of entreaties that should result in his greater recognition.

Orlando Johnson returns to UCSB

Former Palma High star and current primo player on the UCSB basketball squad Orlando Johnson has decided to remain a Gaucho. From UCSB athletics:

Orlando Johnson, who has led UC Santa Barbara to consecutive Big West Conference Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament berths for the first time in school history, has removed his name from consideration for the 2011 NBA Draft, he announced Sunday.

"I want to finish what I started," said Johnson. "I want to get my degree. When I went to LMU (Loyola Marymount, where he played as a freshman) my goal was to graduate and I don't want to leave college without achieving that."

Johnson, a two-time Big West Tournament MVP, two-time First Team All-Big West choice, and two-time league scoring champion, will return as one of the top players in the nation. As a junior, he ranked among the top-15 in scoring nationally at 21.0 points per game.

"I want to return and take my game to a new level," he said. "I am excited because we have so much potential. We've gone to two NCAA Tournaments and I know that we have a chance to be so successful."

UCSB head coach Bob Williams is pleased to see his top player return for his senior campaign.

"Obviously I am glad that Orlando decided to return," he said. "It was his decision and we would have supported him either way. He is the leader of this team and the opportunity to have him next year is huge for us. It is very exciting."

Johnson made himself available to the NBA in April. On Saturday, he attended a workout in New Jersey for several prospects and while he fared very well, he still opted to return.

"The opportunity to display my abilities was a good one," he said. "I know what I have to do now and I will work on those things."

With Johnson's return, the Gauchos will have much of their arsenal from 2011 back for the 2011-12 season. In addition to the league's leading scorer, they will also welcome back James Nunnally, who averaged 16.7 points per game and was an Honorable Mention All-Big West selection. Nunnally and Jaimé Serna were both selected to the All-Big West Tournament Team after UCSB swept three games and stormed to the title.

John Green signing his LOI

It was set and now it's official -- former Castlemont star John Green, now at Westwind Prep in Phoenix, will be residing at UC Santa Barbara next season.

Green made the decision to first go the prep route based on dual purposes: to provide his body more time to mature as he just turned 18 on August 22 and to have more experience playing at the two and three spots.

Why did he choose Westwind? Because the schedule is a challenging one, featuring matchups with national juco power College of Southern Idaho, a bevy of Arizona and elsewhere junior college teams, renowned Findlay Prep, Stoneridge Prep and also a venture back east to take on powers Bridgton Academy and Notre Dame Prep.

What's fascinating is that a Boston College assistant coach expressed regret not signing Green for this season, saying he would have been getting heavy minutes.

As for next year, Gaucho stars Orlando Johnson and James Nunnally will be seniors. Coach Bob Williams' offense run through this duo and Green is being groomed to play a similar role.

One little-noted fact: Green's father, Reggie, won a league championship at Castlemont High in 1973, going 10-0 in Oakland Athletic league play. The younger Green and his Knight teammates did just the same, taking the ring by downing Oakland Tech 88-73, then McClymonds 68-53 and finally Oakland High 67-65. In the latter game, Green scored 25 points (10-10 at the foul line) and grabbed six boards. He put up a double-double of 30/10 against Mack plus 17/8 in the opener.

UCSB - Bay Area South

As we have been writing, UC Santa Barbara has a more than solid recruiting pipeline to the Bay Area and northern California. Gaucho basketball is covered by this blog and here are some recent posts on vari9ous Santa Barbara players: Orlando Johnson, James Nunnally, Will Brew, Justin Joyner.

Bay Area players highlighted at UC Santa Barbara

Bob Williams and his UC Santa Barbara program have been stocking up on talents from the Bay Area and this preview highlights them:

Jesse Byrd done at UC Santa Barbara

From the Gaucho athletics site comes this sad news about for Bishop O'Dowd star Jesse Byrd:

October 9, 2009

UC Santa Barbara forward Jesse Byrd will not play his senior season with the Gauchos because of a re-occurrence of an injury to his left knee, head coach Bob Williams announced Friday.

Byrd first suffered a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee in the closing minutes of a game at San Diego State on Dec. 21, 2008. He sat out nearly six weeks after having surgery, returning to action in late January. During the spring, Byrd began experiencing more pain and ultimately he was forced to have a second procedure on the knee. Consultation with doctors resulted a season-long rehabilitation program to ensure long-term stability of the injured knee. The decision effectively ends Byrd's basketball career.

"We fully support Jesse's decision," Williams said. "We're saddened by the loss of a team-leader, both on and off the floor, but Jesse's long-term health is also our top priority. He will continue to be involved in the athletics department and with men's basketball throughout the 2009-10 season."

Byrd will remain on scholarship and is expected to graduate in June of 2010.