Inside the Lines
Monday, March 5, 2018
Mountain West Tournament Edition
CSU WOMEN’S Basketball
SCHEDULE VS UCCS VS IDAHO VS GONZAGA VS EASTERN NEW MEXICO VS OKLAHOMA VS NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL AT DENVER VS BYU VS COLORADO AT NORTHERN COLORADO VS PRAIRIE VIEW A&M VS MORGAN STATE VS BOISE STATE VS SAN JOSE STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE AT FRESNO STATE VS UTAH STATE VS WYOMING AT AIR FORCE AT UNLV VS SAN DIEGO STATE VS NEW MEXICO AT WYOMING AT NEVADA VS AIR FORCE AT SAN JOSE STATE VS FRESNO STATE AT BOISE STATE VS NEVADA AT NEW MEXICO
MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT
Inside the Lines
Monday, March 5, 2018
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Inside The Lines Monday, March 5, 2018
Prentiss Nixon (11) shoots over a Wyoming defender during the second half of the Rams’ 78-73 Border War win over the Cowboys in Laramie, Wyoming. Nixon finished with 16 points all in the second half. PHOTO BY JAVON HARRIS COLLEGIAN
Prentiss Nixon (11) is helped off the court after an ankle injury late in the second half of the Rams’ 76-71 loss to Air Force. PHOTO BY JAVON HARRIS COLLEGIAN
Inside The Lines Monday, March 5, 2018
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Rams Nation turns its eyes to Prentiss Nixon for MW Tournament By Austin White @ajwrules44
Come March, every college basketball team needs a leader. Time and time again, the country has seen how one player can take over a team and lead them to something great in March. In a year full of head coaching changes, Colorado State struggled with this idea of leadership, whether on the bench or having to deal with injuries on the court. Not one guy seemed to be leading the pack for the Rams. But over the past two games, junior Prentiss Nixon’s return to form gives reason to believe that the Rams have found their leader. Nixon said he was mostly past his injuries. “At this point, I think I am closer to 100 percent than I was last week or two weeks ago,” Nixon said. “I feel good out there; I’m moving better, it looks like I’m moving better, I watched the film.” After suffering an ankle injury against Air Force back on Jan. 17, the Rams’ leader missed four games and watched as his team lost seven straight games following the loss to the cadets. Overall, the Rams lost 11 of their final 12 contests and look to be limping into the postseason. Nixon finally returned against Nevada on Feb. 3 by coming off the bench, but only put up four
points and shot 1-for-7 from the field and made 1-of-4 free throw attempts. That same less-than100-percent Nixon continued in the next four games where the Rams’ only win came against the conference winless San Jose State Spartans. The step back 3-pointers and drives to the basket did not fall for Nixon, forcing the offense to be spread around and sometimes become flat. He continued to walk around school in a boot and stated himself that he did not quite feel all there. But with the Mountain West Tournament beginning Wednesday, the Chicago native finally looks like he is coming back into the form that CSU will need him to be in. Nixon put up 27 points in the final two games of the season against Nevada and New Mexico, two of the top defending teams in the conference. Those points are what helped CSU stay in contention with teams who were heavily favored, including a second-half lead against then No. 20 Nevada. The margin came at the 12:41 mark after a made 3-pointer by Nixon. “It feels like back to before I got hurt,” Nixon said on the team’s energy going into the tournament. “I started slow, everyone started slow at the beginning of that game (against New Mexico). In the second half,
we picked up. If we can play like that in the second half for the whole 40 minutes, I think we should be fine in the tournament.”
“It feels like back to before I got hurt. I started slow, everyone started slow at the beginning of that game (against New Mexico). In the second half, we picked up. If we can play like that in the second half for the whole 40 minutes, I think we should be fine in the tournament.” PRENTISS NIXON JUNIOR GUARD
Everyone in the Mountain West is well aware of the fire hazard that Nixon can become as he has proven dangerous throughout an injury-plagued season. His 17.9 points per game ranked sixth before his ankle injury and he still averages 16.2, placing ninth in the conference. But as Rams fans saw last year, a deep tournament run required the likes of Gian Clavell to help score in every fashion. Nixon will
have to do the same for the Rams if their defense continues to slip. New Mexico came into Moby Arena and put up 108 points on the Rams in the final game of the regular season. Before that, Nevada put up 92 points and Boise State piled on 87. The first halves of games have been especially ugly on defense, but the Rams continue to respond with strong second halves. “We tend to come out slow at home and just think things will work out like that,” Nixon said. “I’ll take responsibility on that one and try to change it a little bit.” With a lack of defense present this late in the year, it seems like the Rams will have to outscore their opponents, and Nixon is capable of leading the charge. Not only is the offense from Nixon prolific, but his presence on the defensive end will be needed. It seems as if every charge called on opponents comes from Nixon sacrificing his body for it. He averages almost one charge taken a game, something he believes comes from his ability to read the body language of the opponent and get in their path. Nixon certainly will have to take charge in both meanings of the phrase with the bright lights of Vegas turning to shine on him. The experience from the run last year when the Rams made it to the championship game should
certainly help. CSU played three consecutive games in as many days last season, giving Nixon plenty of minutes thanks to the depleted roster. “I feel like we know what it takes to get there, it’s going to be a grind,” Nixon said. “Everyone was tired (last season), but we still fought through it and we were in the game until the end.” In the championship game, Nixon had one of his best games in his short career. The guard put up 23 points and led the way for CSU when Clavell was simply too tired to do so. CSU could have potentially caught a break in the first round as their opponent will be Utah State. The Aggies come in after losing to SJSU, the Spartans’ only win in the conference. One of the Rams’ four conference wins also came against the Aggies in their only matchup of the season. In that game, Nixon put up 26 points and he will look to do the same when the game gets underway at 2:30 p.m. MT. “Everyone is going to count us out, no one has us winning any games,” Nixon said. “We don’t worry what everyone else has to say, we worry about the people in the locker room…When we bring it and we’re ready to play, we are pretty damn good.” Austin White can be reached by email at sports@collegian.com.
Prentiss Nixon drives in for a layup over a University of New Mexico player during the last home game of the season on Feb. 28. The Rams fell to the Lobos 108-87. PHOTO BY ASHLEY POTTS COLLEGIAN
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Inside The Lines Monday, March 5, 2018
Rams plotting for payback against Fresno State By Christian Hedrick @ChristianHCSU
The Colorado State women’s basketball team will open the 2018 Mountain West Women’s Basketball Championship looking for vengeance in its firstround matchup against Fresno State. The Bulldogs won both meetings between the two sides in the regular season, but not by wide margins. “They beat us twice,” head coach Ryun Williams said. “We’ve had two really close games. We need to minimize our mistakes we made the first couple games, which we should, and make some shots.” Before mistakes hampered the Rams in Fresno, CSU redshirt freshman Grace Colaivalu put the Rams in front with eight first-quarter points. CSU carried the lead late into the second quarter, but a 30 percent mark from the field opened the door for FSU guard Candace White and the Bulldogs to pull away in the second half with a 56-45 win. The Rams got another crack at the Bulldogs on Feb. 17, but a similar pattern of sloppy shooting sealed their fate once again. This time on their home floor, the Rams overcame a
27 percent first-half field goal percentage to send the game to overtime on a Colaivalu layup with one second remaining in regulation time. Though CSU battled to send the game to an extra frame, the Rams once again had no answer for White, who capped off a 29-point night with 12 points in overtime on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from deep. Meanwhile, CSU’s shooting woes carried into overtime where the home team went just 2-for-8, sealing the 75-64 defeat. “We shot it poor, horrible the first two times we played them,” Williams said. “I mean absolutely horrible. I don’t think we’ll do that again and I think we can put ourselves in position to get a good first-round win.” To turn the tide from the first two matchups, the Rams will need to neutralize White with more production from their leading scorer, Hannah Tvrdy. With just four points on 2-for16 shooting, Tvrdy accounted for much of the Rams’ shooting woes in the rematch at Moby Arena. Since that sorry Saturday afternoon, though, the senior posted an average of 18.3 points in the three games since. Despite her sudden surge, the Rams may be overlooked
in the first round with a pair of losses to Fresno State earlier in the season. The underdog role might dismay some, but Tvrdy is poised to prove what her and the Rams can do with the odds stacked against them. “All the games we’re going to play people are like, ‘Oh, they’re not expected to win,’” Tvrdy said. “So honestly, for me as a competitor, that just makes it even more fun to be like, ‘Okay, we’re not expected to win this game, so let’s just go win it.’ I’m just really excited to see what we can do.” As winners of four consecutive Mountain West regular season titles, being the underdog is unfamiliar territory for CSU in the conference tournament. Despite their new role as the fifth seed, the Rams have felt like the underdog all season long and will be even more motivated to prove doubters wrong at the year-end tournament. “I remember we got ranked third in the preseason rankings and I remember that hurt,” guard Sofie Tryggedsson said. “I was offended by that. Us finishing fifth (in the regular season), that just means that we have so much more to prove because I believe that we should be finishing at the
Hannah Tvrdy makes a move aroud a Fresno State defender during the pink out game on Feb. 17. The Rams fells to the Bulldgos 75-64 in overtime. PHOTO BY ASHLEY POTTS COLLEGIAN
top of this conference.” A fifth-place finish is not ideal for a team with standards as high as CSU’s, but by improving throughout the season, the Rams believe they are a stronger team than their seeding suggests. “I think we have developed so much throughout the season that we can beat any team and we should really win the
conference,” Tryggedsson said. The Rams and Bulldogs face off in the first round of the conference tournament on Tuesday, March 6 beginning at 2:30 p.m. PT from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Christian Hedrick can be reached at sports@collegian.com.
CSU to face Utah State in first round of MW Tournament By Colin Barnard @ColinBarnard_
After solidifying the No. 10 seed in the Mountain West Tournament more than a week ago, Colorado State learned it will play Utah State in the first round of the tournament Wednesday after the Aggies knocked of UNLV Saturday night. CSU defeated Utah State during the team’s only meeting this season on Jan. 10 in one of the Rams’ most complete games of the season. During the game, guard Prentiss Nixon scored 22 points in the second half to hold off the Aggies and pull CSU to an even 9-9 on the early season. “Utah State, I thought we put together a complete game, it was one of our better games of the year at their place,” interim head coach Jase Herl said following practice on Friday. “I thought we guarded well, I thought we played extremely unselfish that game and we rebounded the ball. We pressured them, we had their guards out of rhythm a little bit, so that’s obviously something we’ll look at going forward.” Since that game, though, basketball is drastically different in Fort Collins. At the time,
the road victory served as a momentum booster for a struggling Rams teams and the first of two crucial road victories. After the victories, CSU closed the season losing 11 of its final 12 games while dealing with the Larry Eustachy saga. Throughout the turbulent season, the MW Tournament served as a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel. Days away from the first-round game, that mindset remains. “Everyone’s going to count us out. No one has us winning any games,” Nixon said after the team’s loss to New Mexico Wednesday night. “We don’t worry about what everyone else has to say. We’re worried about the people in that locker room. We know that we can be in games with big-time teams…When we bring it and we’re ready to play, we’re pretty damn good.” CSU’s kryptonite to the end season has come in two forms: the inability to close late leads and, most recently, a lack of energy to open games. The Rams showed that sluggish start twice in the final two home games against Boise State and New Mexico, falling into deep holes within the opening minutes of the game that make
a comeback all but impossible. Nearly fully recovered from a myriad of injuries that slowed him down, Nixon realizes his role in eliminating those early deficits. “I think it starts with me,” Nixon said. “Energy wise, if I can fly around and show that I’m energized at the beginning of the game, it will go a long way for this team. I’ll take responsibility on that one and try to change that by Wednesday.” Herl, who said that he is still experimenting with lineups to open the game fast, understands the danger of surrendering quick deficits. “If you’re down 30, the x’s and o’s don’t matter,” Herl said. “That’s strictly playing smart, playing hard, playing for each other. Just trying to find that group of guys that’s going to fight, compete from the jump until the buzzer sounds.” Though the Rams are an entirely different squad than the team who made it to the championship game in last year’s MW Tournament, they also return some of those contributors. Nixon, Nico Carvacho, Anthony Bonner and the currently suspended J.D. Paige all contributed to last year’s
Interim head coach Jase Herl talks with his team during a time out in the first half against the San Jose Spartans. PHOTO BY DAVIS BONNER
COLLEGIAN
run. Paige’s status for the tournament is still up in the air after being suspended for violating team rules on Feb. 24. Still, CSU has players who know the physical and mental toll the tournament presents. “A few of us know what it takes to get there,” Nixon said. “It’s going to be a grind, four backto-back games. But we know we can do it. We did it last year with three back-to-backs with seven
guys. Everyone was tired but we still fought through it and were in the game until the end. CSU’s quest to shock the conference begins Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. MT in Las Vegas, Nevada. The winner of the game will face No. 2 Boise State in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 7 p.m. Colin Barnard can be reached at sports@collegian.com.
Inside The Lines Monday, March 5, 2018
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CSU’s season defined by untapped ceiling Luke Zahlmann @lukezahlmann
Colorado State women’s basketball never truly reached a lowered ceiling due to the loss of two stars to graduation as they scrapped their way into the conference tournament. From the first game of the year, coach Ryun Williams played cat and mouse with the true potential of his team, swapping lineups and affording multiple players the chance to step foot on the floor in meaningful minutes. The shuffling left the Rams without a cemented starting lineup, but one that could play to the given matchups. In women’s basketball, the Mountain West Conference was a virtual dog fight from the first whistle of the schedule, placing several teams over .500 in the standings. The Rams weathered the storm through their leader, senior Hannah Tvrdy, but the final product left them middling in the standings. The lone remaining stalwart from last year’s team, Tvrdy made her presence felt this season with averages of 11.6 points and 6.4 boards per game as a guard, with the two figures
both being team-highs. Tvrdy also shouldered the load during many of the Rams’ winning streaks, allowing those around her to mesh with her driving mentality. The offensive game plan equated to an explosive, yet inconsistent force that hit lulls several times during the season. With several games totaling under 50 points, the Rams were often times held back by the unit that carried them so far in previous years. With Tvrdy being the only Ram to average doubledigit points, most nights were feast or famine in the scoring department. Starring in past years, sharpshooters Stine Austgulen and Sofie Tryggedsson broke even in a rollercoaster season. In one of the truly masterful performances from outside this season, Austgulen finished the year having hit nearly half of her attempts from deep. The dominance came in the middle of a slow start and identical finish. A reversal of course, Tryggedsson started her year hot, failing to continue her lofty standards as the year wore on. A reliable force gave way to a down year as she only mustered a .286 mark from outside, dropping her scoring average to under a halfdozen per game (5.8). The inconsistency between the two left the Rams clawing
their way back from deficits in many of their conference games on the year. The other end of the floor was not only a different story, but a whole different world as the Rams stood as a dominating force on defense. Sitting pretty at No. 5 in the nation in opponent field-goal percentage, Williams made a point of defensive prowess from the first practice. The Rams also ranked second in the conference in opposing points per game. A trend passed on to each recruit under his tutelage, Williams preaches defense from the start. The lessons rubbed off through graduating classes as the Head coach Ryun Williams rallies the team during a timeout in the last sixth season of his tenure may quarter of the Border War at Moby Arena on Jan. 13. The Rams fell to have been his best yet in game the Cowgirls 53-49. PHOTO BY ASHLEY POTTS COLLEGIAN planning for opposing scorers. Without the lockdown on the outside shot in several lead in scoring. This also reveals defense the Rams possessed on contests, with the majority how much room the Rams had most nights, their end-of-season sinking their chances of winning. between the results and their results would have painted a Averaging in the 50s for much of ceiling. much different picture, likely the season, the Rams concluded Though a winning season placing them under the .500 the year with a per-game scoring can never be taken for granted, average of 61.5, a far cry from the loss of their stars appeared mark. A catalyst for the the 80.5 per game put up by to have made its impact felt on juxtaposition in success of the University of New Mexico. the young squad. The lack of the two units was the lack of Though the Lobos played the experience reared its head in the diversity of the Rams’ offense. most games in the conference, form of inconsistency. On a team full of snipers from the Rams still averaged nearly If Williams can find the outside the arch and driving two dozen points less. formula for mixing a dynamic The Lobos serve as a true offense with the pre-existing guards, the offensive cold streaks snowballed into full-fledged indicator of the prowess of excellence in defense, the Rams’ the Rams defense as the latter tournament chances will grow. blizzards. Often out-sized down low, finished behind CSU in the Luke Zahlmann can be the Rams became dependent standings, despite their wide reached at sports@collegian.com.
Handling of Eustachy remains murky despite conversation with Joe Parker Colin Barnard @ColinBarnard_
In an effort to mitigate growing frustration between Colorado State athletics, media members and fans, athletic director Joe Parker held an hour-long press conference Friday afternoon. Though Parker answered dozens of questions regarding the climate assessment of the men’s basketball program and Larry Eusatchy’s ultimate resignation, he also tiptoed around some of the more pressing issues. Given FERPA regulations and other legal requirements, some of that is understandable. What’s not understandable is Parker and the athletic department’s handling of Eustachy’s reported behavior in early 2017, one year before the beginning of the climate assessment and three years
after the first investigation into Eustachy’s behavior. The situation began in 2016 when Parker had a conversation with a student-athlete who graduated the previous season. Parkers says that the former player spoke positively about Eustachy and his experience with the program. Fewer than two months later, though, the Director of Athletics was approached by former team trainer Mac McDonald. Originally reported by the Denver Post, McDonald expressed concern that Eustachy’s behavior from 201314 persisted after President Tony Frank fired then-athletic director Jack Graham. “(McDonald) pointed to a couple incidents that, quite honestly, felt a little uncomfortable to me as it related to the program itself,” Parker said. Seems pretty clear to me. A member of the men’s basketball program expressed concern that Eustachy’s behavior caused reason for worry, and Parker agreed that the
actions described made him uncomfortable. Justifiably, Parker hesitated to put his full trust in McDonald’s word due to his conversation with the former player, whom McDonald referenced as one of Eustachy’s victims. Given the two conflicting conversations with two people inside the program, though, logic says that Parker would have followed up with the player regarding McDonald’s statements. An investigation should have been conducted then. Instead, Parker did not check back with the former player, leaving the program under the same, gloomy leadership. “In retrospect, maybe it should have (prompted immediate action),” Parker said. “I can very much understand, at this point, why you would wonder and have that question. At the time, it just felt as though the two things were hard to reconcile, and it didn’t prompt anything
more than conversations within the staff.” Something doesn’t add up there. Parker’s message throughout the process has been that student-athlete welfare was the top priority. But when he directly received a warning about that welfare being put in danger, the necessary steps were not taken. One year later, Parker received a complaint from a current player on the team, prompting an immediate assessment of the men’s basketball program. If Parker followed similar protocol during McDonald’s warning, there’s no reason to believe the same actions would not have been discovered that led to Eustachy’s resignation. With the resignation, something as unclear and hushed as the investigation itself, Eustachy and CSU agreed to restructure the former coach’s contract, keeping him on paid administrative leave through June 30 and designating him the title
special assistant to the athletic director. Parker indirectly revealed that the position is worthless Friday, saying that Eustachy “will be available if I need to call him,” and failing to detail any specifics of the position. In addition to the remainder of this year’s contract, Eustachy will receive $750,000 over the next two years and be able to use fringe benefits of the position, including courtesy cars and country club access, through Jun. 30. Given the former evidence and claims of ongoing abuse, Eustachy should not have been near this program in 2018. Instead, don’t be surprised to see him cruising through Fort Collins in a courtesy car free of charge for the next four months. After that, he’ll make do with $750,000 from the university’s pockets. Colin Barnard can be reached at sports@collegian. com.
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Inside The Lines Monday, March 5, 2018
Mountain West Tournament Edition
CSU MEN’S BASKETBALL
SCHEDULE
VS COLORADO MESA VS NORTHERN COLORADO VS SACRAMENTO STATE VS WINTHROP VS TULANE VS FLORIDA STATE AT NEW MEXICO STATE VS NORTHWESTERN STATE AT MISSOURI STATE VS COLORADO AT ARKANSAS AT OREGON VS TEXAS STATE VS ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH VS LONG BEACH STATE AT BOISE STATE AT SAN JOSE STATE VS SAN DIEGO STATE VS FRESNO STATE AT UTAH STATE AT WYOMING VS AIR FORCE VS UNLV AT SAN DIEGO STATE AT NEW MEXICO VS WYOMING VS NEVADA AT AIR FORCE VS SAN JOSE STATE AT FRESNO STATE VS BOISE STATE AT NEVADA VS NEW MEXICO
MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT
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