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Pepperdine Basketball Scouting Report [cough]

Hungry Jack

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Nov 17, 2008
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I didn't realize Pepperdine was a Christian school and had a giant cross on campus. But we have a giant Matt on campus, so that's a draw.

They are know as the "Waves", which makes sense because Pepperdine is in Malibu, which is about as far from reality as you can get in this country. It is just a really pretty place in some mountains that overlook the ocean.

There's more uniqueness to Pepperdine basketball. They have players from a variety of exotic countries, including Serbia, Mali, Lithuania, Spain, Canada, and the Bronx.

Their leading scorer is a 6'8" Serbian, Stefan Todorovic. He's averaging 23.5 pts on 58% shooting, including 74% on 2-pointers. He put up 19 on 16 shots against an OK UNLV team last night. Todorovic had done very little in 3 prior seasons, but he seems to have found his game. His ORtg is 140.5 (Nick is 131). So I think we should guard him.

The other guy who scores a bit is diminutive (6'1 160) guard Moe Odum, who averages 11.8 ppg and shoots 42% from beyond. I would say for a guy that size, you have to put him on his ass a few times.

Dovydas Butka is another long forward like Todorovic who can shoot (48% overall, 50% from beyond). I would say we also should put him on his butka a few times. And then make fun of his name.

Those are the 3 guys averaging over 30 minutes.

Boubacar Coulibaly is a 6'10" forward from Mali, a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over 1,240,192 square kilometres (478,841 sq mi). The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population of Mali is 24,478,595, but 47% of the population is estimated to be under the age of 15. That's crazy. The country is run by teenagers! The country has 13 official languages. No wonder Coulibaly came to the US. Too many kids, and too many f*cking languages.

The other guy getting 20+minutes is guard Zion Bethea. He's no Zionist, because his college career includes stops at Hofstra, St. Francis (Brooklyn), Delaware, and now Pepperdine. I hope he has found a home. You can do a lot worse than Malibu.

There are 3 other guys who are averaging over 11 minutes, and that's pretty much it for the bench. One of those guys is a Spaniard named Faure, which reminds me that the new Gladiator movie is coming soon, and I like gladiator movies.

Go Cats!
 
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I did not have HJ as a scouting report guy on my bingo card. With the added bonus of some globe geography commentary along with the basketball insights.

Player Dont Be Hatin GIF by Jamie Kennedy
 
I didn't realize Pepperdine was a Christian school and had a giant cross on campus. But we have a giant Matt on campus, so that's a draw.

They are know as the "Waves", which makes sense because Pepperdine is in Malibu, which is about as far from reality as you can get in this country. It is just a really pretty place in some mountains that overlook the ocean.

There's more uniqueness to Pepperdine basketball. They have players from a variety of exotic countries, including Serbia, Mali, Lithuania, Spain, Canada, and the Bronx.

Their leading scorer is a 6'8" Serbian, Stefan Todorovic. He's averaging 23.5 pts on 58% shooting, including 74% on 2-pointers. He put up 19 on 16 shots against an OK UNLV team last night. Todorovic had done very little in 3 prior seasons, but he seems to have found his game. His ORtg is 140.5 (Nick is 131). So I think we should guard him.

The other guy who scores a bit is diminutive (6'1 160) guard Moe Odum, who averages 11.8 ppg and shoots 42% from beyond. I would say for a guy that size, you have to put him on ass a few times.

Dovydas Butka is another long forward like Todorovic who can shoot (48% overall, 50% from beyond). I would say we also should put him on his butka a few times. And then make fun of his name.

Those are the 3 guys averaging over 30 minutes.

Boubacar Coulibaly is a 6'10" forward from Mali, a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over 1,240,192 square kilometres (478,841 sq mi). The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population of Mali is 24,478,595, but 47% of the population is estimated to be under the age of 15. That's crazy. The country is run by teenagers! The country has 13 official languages. No wonder Coulibaly came to the US. Too many kids, and too many f*cking languages.

The other guy getting 20+minutes is guard Zion Bethea. He's no Zionist, because his college career includes stops at Hofstra, St. Francis (Brooklyn), Delaware, and now Pepperdine. I hope he has found a home. You can do a lot worse than Malibu.

There are 3 other guys who are averaging over 11 minutes, and that's pretty much it for the bench. One of those guys is a Spaniard named Faure, which reminds me that the new Gladiator movie is coming soon, and I like gladiator movies.

Go Cats!
There you go. HJ back in form.
 
I didn't realize Pepperdine was a Christian school and had a giant cross on campus. But we have a giant Matt on campus, so that's a draw.

They are know as the "Waves", which makes sense because Pepperdine is in Malibu, which is about as far from reality as you can get in this country. It is just a really pretty place in some mountains that overlook the ocean.

There's more uniqueness to Pepperdine basketball. They have players from a variety of exotic countries, including Serbia, Mali, Lithuania, Spain, Canada, and the Bronx.

Their leading scorer is a 6'8" Serbian, Stefan Todorovic. He's averaging 23.5 pts on 58% shooting, including 74% on 2-pointers. He put up 19 on 16 shots against an OK UNLV team last night. Todorovic had done very little in 3 prior seasons, but he seems to have found his game. His ORtg is 140.5 (Nick is 131). So I think we should guard him.

The other guy who scores a bit is diminutive (6'1 160) guard Moe Odum, who averages 11.8 ppg and shoots 42% from beyond. I would say for a guy that size, you have to put him on his ass a few times.

Dovydas Butka is another long forward like Todorovic who can shoot (48% overall, 50% from beyond). I would say we also should put him on his butka a few times. And then make fun of his name.

Those are the 3 guys averaging over 30 minutes.

Boubacar Coulibaly is a 6'10" forward from Mali, a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over 1,240,192 square kilometres (478,841 sq mi). The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population of Mali is 24,478,595, but 47% of the population is estimated to be under the age of 15. That's crazy. The country is run by teenagers! The country has 13 official languages. No wonder Coulibaly came to the US. Too many kids, and too many f*cking languages.

The other guy getting 20+minutes is guard Zion Bethea. He's no Zionist, because his college career includes stops at Hofstra, St. Francis (Brooklyn), Delaware, and now Pepperdine. I hope he has found a home. You can do a lot worse than Malibu.

There are 3 other guys who are averaging over 11 minutes, and that's pretty much it for the bench. One of those guys is a Spaniard named Faure, which reminds me that the new Gladiator movie is coming soon, and I like gladiator movies.

Go Cats!
Their giant Cross is more effective than our giant Matt, IMHO.
 
To follow up on Hungry's preview, I'll add some more:

Starters
PG - 6'1" Moe Odum. Skinny kid originally from the Bronx, started for two years at Pacific, where he was an excellent distributor of the ball and was the best in the West Coast Conference both years. Transferred within the conference to Pepperdine after Pacific lost 23 games in a row against D1 teams to end last season. He has continued his excellent distribution this year, averaging 7 assists in 35 minutes per game, though also averaging 3.2 turnovers/game. Likes to pullup from midrange off the dribble, shooting 50% there, along with 35.7% from 3 against the 3 good teams. Struggles with layups though, which is understandable given his size. Despite getting a couple steals per game, he does not appear to be a good defender. Would love to see Leach/Windham be able to take him off the dribble.

CG - 6'4" Zion Bethea. As mentioned, a basketball nomad. Spent two years at Hofstra playing a total of 9 minutes, then one year at St. Francis NY (which no longer has a basketball program) where he played 23 mpg as a reserve and shot 41% from 3 along with 76% at the line. Averaged a bit more than 1 steal/game as well. Due to the program shutting down, he transferred to Delaware where he only played 3 games due to injuries. This year, he started off hot, but in the last two games is 0-11 from the field with 1 assist against 3 turnovers and 2 steals in 19 mpg. Also does not appear to be a great defender. Hopefully he doesn't pick tonight to reverse the trend.

Wing - 6'8" Stefan Todorovic. As Hungry mentioned, he kinda came out of nowhere this year after also transferring within the conference. Last year he transferred from SMU to San Francisco, but then largely sat on the bench all year. So far this year he has been on fire, scoring a whopping 34% of their points while playing 36mpg. Averages 14 shots per game against the 3 good teams they've faced so far on the road, shooting 65% from 2 and 43% from 3. Even with all those shots, he's still getting to the line a lot, where he shoots 80%. Doesn't turn the ball over, decent rebounder, and gets a handful of steals. Will have a couple inches on Brooks, Martinelli or Mullins.

Stretch 4 - 6'9" Dovydas Butka. Hailing from Lithuania, he's playing his 1st year of college ball as a 21 year old, after playing professionally in Lithuania for 4 years. Was apparently convinced to go to Pepperdine by Tyus Edney of UCLA fame, who played for the same Lithuanian club. Excellent rebounder, he's a catch-and-shoot stretch 4 who's a decent passer but has struggled a bit with turnovers. Not a great FT shooter, and is generally their 5th option on offense.

C - 6'10" Boubacar Coulibaly. Spent his first 2 years at USC glued to the bench, then transferred to Pepperdine. His first two years there have both ended in season-ending injuries. Last year, was averaging 24 mpg before his injury, with 9 points, 6 boards, 2 blocks and 1 steal per game as a starter. Seems to have picked up where he left off, though UNLV's center combo of a 6'11" 280lbs guy and a 7'0" 220lbs guy limited him to just 1 shot and forced him into 4 turnovers last game. Wants to dunk the ball, is not a 3-point threat at all.

Reserves
G - 6'3" Taj Au-Duke. Freshman from Ontario, Canada. Comes in for Bethea generally. Hasn't done much so far this year when he's on the court despite averaging 15 mpg. He's 8-8 from the FT line this year, that's his highlight.

G - 6'5" Jaxon Olvera. Another freshman, but from Texas. When he's playing, they are generally in a 3-guard look with Todorovic moving to the 4. Had a good game against UNLV, but it was all in garbage time after they were already losing by 30+ points. Played 12 mpg the previous two games going 0-2 from 3.

C - 6'10" Alonso Faure. A Spaniard grad transfer after 4 years at Loyola MD (recruited by Tavaras Hardy). Averaged 8 points and 6 boards per game his last two seasons in 21mpg as a sometime starter. Shot 30.6% from 3, but has yet to make one this year. Turns it over a lot. Had one good game against UC Irvine with...8 points and 6 boards, but has earned only a handful of minutes in the other games.

So yeah, Pepperdine isn't much when it comes to depth. Other than the blowout against UNLV, their starters have played a Thibodeaux-esque 80% of minutes, which would put them 7th-most in the country in that stat. There should be plenty of 3s available for the taking by us tonight, let's just hope we can hit them this game. They do not try to force turnovers, so that should be a welcome reprieve from the past few games. Will be interesting to see if the staff attempts to focus on Todorovic and make the others beat us, or if they will let him get his and take away their other options. Our size should hopefully make it difficult for Odum and as our team continues to play together more, I'd like to think this one will be not as much of a sweat as the other night.
 
On an unrelated note, an old Peace Corps guy I know tells me that the name Boubacar Coulibaly in Mali is the equivalent of John Smith in the US n occurrence, not in translation.
 
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