Weber State men’s basketball seeing ‘pieces fit’ as official practices begin
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- Weber State forward Dillon Jones, center left, stops in the lane as defenders Louie Jordan (15) and Daniel Rouzan, center right, converge during practice Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State guard Junior Ballard, right, handles the ball as Louie Jordan, left, defends during practice Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
OGDEN — There’s been plenty of change around the Dee Events Center since Weber State men’s basketball last played a game.
Leading scorer Koby McEwen, two-year post anchor Dontay Bassett and Mr. Wildcat himself, Michal Kozak, saw their collegiate careers expire, and skilled guard Seikou Sisoho Jawara surprisingly left WSU to land at San Diego.
And in the thick of recruiting a new class to replace a large outgoing contingent of seniors or graduate students, 16-year head coaching veteran Randy Rahe retired.
Eric Duft had stayed by Rahe’s side for every one of those years, turning down other opportunities in hopes of achieving what became his top professional goal: becoming the head coach specifically at Weber State. Duft was promptly promoted to the head role, seeing that loyalty pay the desired dividends and holding together a recruiting class only halfway formed.
Keeping third-year forward Dillon Jones solidly in the fold was among the first steps for Duft, as well as holding already committed San Diego State guard transfer Keith Dinwiddie Jr. on track. Southern Illinois transfer guard Steven Verplancken Jr., who committed right before the news of Rahe’s retirement, signed just days later.
Duft finalized the class with Junior Ballard, a graduate transfer guard from Fresno State, and young Tennessee big man Handje Tamba.
Now, the balls are rolled out onto the hardwood and it’s time for Weber State to formulate what it has for the 2022-23 season. The Wildcats opened the official preseason practice calendar Monday.
“I think they’ve done a good job of connecting,” Duft said. “I think they’re a hungry team, a lot of high-character guys, competitive guys. So far, they’ve been tremendous.”
Jones eschewed multiple opportunities to leave and is, for most intents and purposes, the face and the voice of Weber State basketball.
“I think we have a sense of how good of a team we can be. Right now, we’ve just got to keep stacking days like we’ve been doing, keep building our foundation and just keep working hard,” Jones said. “We understand that the war is won right now, not when the lights are on in November and whenever we play. I think right now, we’re preparing ourselves for that and I think we look good.”
Dinwiddie liked Jones’ approach from the start.
“One standing out is Dillon. When we first started doing open runs, I came in and he was going at me. I was like damn, I just got here,” Dinwiddie said with a smile. “I thought he was going to play it cool for a little bit.”
Though the 2021-22 squad was unquestionably skilled and athletic, there’s optimism in the way this year’s team is built. Last year’s team perhaps had several iterations of the same player: guys who need the ball in their hands and shoot best off the bounce. Jones and Duft both said they see more balance in the kinds of skillsets now brought together in Ogden, which includes catch-and-shoot prowess on the perimeter.
Ballard and Dinwiddie are part of the key to that effort. Both have spent time being the guy with the ball in their hands (Ballard at Cal Poly, Dinwiddie in high school) and without it (Ballard at Fresno State, Dinwiddie at SDSU), so they’re confident those guards can help facilitate a style of play where players feed off each other instead of falling into my-turn-your-turn possessions.
“I do think our pieces fit together, we have a little more space on the court,” Duft said. “So far, these guys, I think we’ll be able to devise a system where they’ll play well together.”
True freshman Louie Jordan was named as another key to those possibilities; the true 6-foot-8 British forward is heralded as an outside threat. So was Verplancken, though his transfer waiver is still pending.
Senior guard Zahir Porter, in his third year in the program, also looks to shoulder a larger role. The 6-foot-6 wing has focused on strength and consistency this offseason, looking to regain his 42% 3-point shooting clip from two seasons ago after shooting just 26% last season.
“I’ve been really happy with where he’s at right now,” Duft said of Porter. “I think he’s in a good spot and we’re expecting him to have a good year.”
Senior guard KJ Cunningham returns with his steady effort and contributions, as does sophomore big man Alex Tew. Third-year wing/forward Dyson Koehler, in his second season at Weber State, is a ways from seeing the floor; Duft said Koehler required surgery for a health concern and is at least two months from returning to practice.
Freshmen Chris Dockery, JJ Louden and Daniel Rouzan will try to boost the rotation.
On the bench, Eric Daniels remained and Jorge Ruiz too, the latter elevated by Rahe from director of basketball operations to assistant coach. David Marek left to coach at Loyola Marymount. Duft hired Dan Russell, a three-year assistant at Montana State with six years of head coaching experience at Casper College, to round out his staff.
“The effort and attitude and energy has been great every day in practice. Coach Duft has been great in fostering that,” Russell said. “There’s technical things and things we’ve got to teach, but these guys play really hard, they play really fast. One thing I’ve picked up from these guys coaching them is they play with a joy, a passion, and I think that helps create energy.”
The first game on the calendar is just more than one month away, a home exhibition Nov. 2 against Adams State. The road-heavy regular season begins Nov. 7 at Washington in a campaign that will take the Wildcats to Colorado State, BYU, Utah State, Cal Baptist, Tarleton State and Cal Poly, as well as a multi-team event in Las Vegas.
Duft said a strong home schedule last season and a road-centric nonconference slate this season are mostly due to the effects the COVID pandemic had on scheduling and game contracts. Those effects should be done after this season, he said.
“It’s going to be a challenge, no question,” Duft said. “It’s something that’s going to help us get better. We’re going to have to have the right mental approach and be ready to compete every night.”