Gary Stewart has earned another year

I've been behind on wrapping up the UC Davis men's basketball season here on the blog (the season ender ran in the print edition on Sunday) because I was feeling a little burnt on college basketball. But watching Drake-Western Kentucky and then UConn-San Diego today reminded me that I still have things to say about this year.

We’ll start with the most important point – UCD head coach Gary Stewart has earned another year on the Aggie bench.

I’m not sure I could honestly have said the same thing 365 days ago – though I’m sure I would have thought it cruel to let him go without giving him a season as a full D-I coach. But there was a haphazard quality to all of last season. The team was young, not particularly deep and the decision to try and play “40 Minutes of Hell” seemed logical when explained, but smacked of vanity in practice. That wasn’t the case this year.

Stewart often speaks of a “blueprint,” and it was actually possible to see what he was talking about this season. UCD finally has an offensive identity with the "Princeton" system, which, when it’s fully installed should make it like an option team in football. The scheme should enable the Aggies to impose its tempo on games in the high-octane Big West. And there were times this year when UCD was able to force Northridge and Fullerton – the two most athletic teams in the conference – to play at a slower pace for extended stetches. The Aggies didn’t have enough ballhandlers to prevent turnovers against pressure in the Big West play. They also didn’t have the rebounding to back up whatever gains they made defensively.

There also was bad luck this year in terms of injuries, although the lack of depth had as much to do with Stewart’s decision to recruit transfers and redshirt his freshman. The Aggies had six legitimate Division I players for the final two weeks of the season. And that’s not enough. That said the fruit of those choices is a pretty solid roster for next year. Assuming no further losses before next season, UCD has:

Posts: Calegari (though he could also be a wing), Harden, Portz, Boone (if he’s healthy), Derek Oestreicher;
Wings: Brucculeri, Malik, Ranger (if he doesn’t redshirt), Clark;
Guards: Oliver, Payne (PG), Lowenthal (PG), Carter, Silva (PG), Toth

I think there are enough wins in that core to at least be wearing white on the first day of the Big West Tournament next season.

The fear with Stewart is that the team's poor record over the last three years will have eroded some of the energy around this coaching staff. Players said all year they still thought the coaching staff was preparing them properly for games, though they were talking to a reporter. But doubt manifests itself in a lot of ways, many of them subconscious. So who knows just how much of a toll losing has taken?

There were times last season when I thought Stewart appeared to be beaten down by the challenges facing the program -- the losing, the slow addition of scholarships and the struggle to build a fan base. That’s wasn’t the case this year. I thought he appeared energized and generally positive, an acknowledgment of the fact that this was a teaching year. That said, I think the time for worrying too much about next year is through. UCD will have 11 scholarship players next season. That still won’t be as many as the rest of the league. But given who is using those scholarships, it should be enough for the Aggies to be competitive.

Stewart deserves the chance to lead the way.