Bryce Pressley: Sophomore
What are the team goals for this season?
We want to work as hard as we can to end up as a top three team in the conference.
What are your personal goals for this season?
I plan to just give 100 percent all of the time to make sure that I can help the team in any way that I can. I think a big thing for me is just to make sure that I improve on my performance last season. Hopefully in all areas of the game, shooting, rebounding and defending.
What do you think the team needs to do to reach the goal of being top three in the conference?
Specifically, I think we need to just make sure that we play at a high level, defensively. Make sure that we improve on what we did last season so that we can perform better overall and be a winning team.
What does it mean to you to represent UP on the court?
It means a lot to me. I try to give my all everyday for me team and the school. I want to be that model student athlete that people can look up to.
2012 Stats:
Games Played: 29
Points Per game: 3.8
FG Pct: .374
3FG Pct: .206
FT Pct: .725
Rebounds Per game: 2.4
Assists Per game: 1.4
Turnovers Per game: 1.1
Steals Per game: 0.8
Blocks Per game: 0.3
Position: Guard
Height/Weight: 6-4/200
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.
High School: Jesuit HS
Tanner Riley: Senior
What are some of your personal goals for this season?
Just making sure that I can help the team in anyway that I can. I want to make sure that I can help consistently score of the bench during throughout the season.
What are the team goals for this season?
Our main goal is just to improve from what we did last season. Obviously, we want to win more games and we want to see if we can win the WCC conference
What do you think the team needs to do in order to win the conference?
I think our main focus is on improving our defensive play. We are working hard on making sure that it is hard for our opponents to score against us. We want to give our offense some room to work.
What does it mean to you to represent UP?
It definitely is very important that I represent this school well. I just make sure that I work hard everyday, play with class during the game and am a good student- athlete.
2012 stats:
Games Played: 29
Points Per game: 5.3
FG Pct: .357
3FG Pct: .316
FT Pct: .813
Rebounds Per game: 0.9
Assists Per game: 0.6
Turnovers Per game: 0.8
Steals Per game: 0.2
Blocks Per game: 0.0
Position:
Height/Weight: 6-3/200
Class: Senior
Hometown: North Bend, Wash.
High School: Mount Si HS
Bobby Sharp: Junior, transfer from Santa Rosa Junior College
What are your personal goals for this season?
I hope to have high percentage from three. My focus is on doing as much as I can to make sure we are a winning team. I’m trying to make sure that I can be a good team defender and help the team in whatever way I can.
What are the team goals this season?
The main goal is always the championship. We just want to try as hard as we can to get to win as many games as we can. We have been doing lots of breakdown drills and focusing on the little things in our game. We have a good offense, if we can make sure we can lock teams down on defense I think that we can really win some games.
What is different about playing D1 basketball in comparison to junior college basketball?
The main difference is the players. All of the guys can drive and shoot around super well. They are all smart players.
Stats: 2012 season at Santa Rosa
Position: Guard
Height/Weight: 6-2/165
Class: Junior
Hometown: Santa Rosa, Calif.
High School: Cardinal Newman HS
Kevin Bailey: Junior
What are your team goals for this season?
We want to be all conference. Our focus is always on doing what we need to do to win the championship.
What are your personal goals this season?
To play at an all conference level.
How do you feel about the team this season?
I feel really good about this team. We are trying to make our own legacy right now. It is our time to shine.
2012 stats:
Games Played: 29
Points Per game: 11.4
FG Pct: .424
3FG Pct: .318
FT Pct: .743
Rebounds Per game: 2.6
Assists Per game: 0.9
Turnovers Per game: 2.8
Steals Per game: 0.8
Blocks Per game: 0.5
Position:
Height/Weight: 6-5/205
Class: Junior
Hometown: Clovis, Calif.
High School: Clovis East HS
Ryan Nicholas: Senior
What are your team goals for this season?
We are always focused on winning games and the WCC championship.
What do you think you guys have to do to win the championship?
We are going to have to make sure that we play really good defense. We also need to make sure we can cut down on turnovers. We can out-rebound most teams so we have that strength and I think it makes our goals very achievable.
What does it mean to you to represent UP?
As a senior it means more now than ever. I have gotten to see so much hard work go into this program. I am honored to be able to be able to play for such a serious and committed program.
2012 stats:
Games Played: 32
Points Per game: 13.0
FG Pct: .416
3FG Pct: .378
FT Pct: .720
Rebounds Per game: 8.7
Assists Per game: 1.1
Turnovers Per game: 2.0
Steals Per game: 0.9
Blocks Per game: 0.2
Position:
Height/Weight: 6-7/245
Class: Senior
Hometown: Spokane, Wash.
High School: Gonzaga Prep
David Carr: Junior
What are your personal goals for this season?
I want to make sure that I am able to take care of the ball. I also want to do what I can to make sure that the offense gets going.
What are the team goals for this season?
We are focused on doing what we can to get to the WCC championship.
What do you think needs to happen in order to win the championship?
We need to make sure that we work hard everyday. It is important we make sure to come out every night and play good defense.
What does it mean to you to represent UP?
It means everything to me. It has always been my dream to play D1 basketball and I love playing here.
2012 stats:
Games Played: 17
Points Per game: 4.6
FG Pct: .295
3FG Pct: .313
FT Pct: .368
Rebounds Per game: 1.8
Assists Per game: 2.3
Turnovers Per game: 1.1
Steals Per game: 0.5
Blocks Per game: 0.1
Position:
Height/Weight: 6-3/180
Class: Junior
Hometown: Portland, Ore.
High School: Central Catholic HS
#15 Volodymyr Herun
Forward/Center 6’10’’ Junior
Hometown: Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
“We just want to give everything we have on the court every single game.”
“In preseason, we have left it all in the gym and we are ready to take that to the court.”
“I like the movies and the fishing.”
#14 Riley Barker
Center 6’10’’ Redshirt Junior
Hometown: Surrey, B.C., Canada
“We want to keep our opponents to under 10 defensive rebounds per game; we want to dominate the boards this season.”
“In preseason, we have been getting after the defensive transition. You can’t win a game by giving those quick transitions away.”
“This team has a lot of depth, every single one of us contributes something essential when we are out there.”
“In my downtime I like to go to the movie theater, watch South Park, and be with my friends.”
#5 John Bailey
Forward 6’8’’ Senior
Hometown: Mesa, Ariz.
“We have spent a lot of preseason focusing on defense, just putting a lot of pressure on the ball, not giving up anything easily.”
“This year’s team is really close, we spend a lot of time together, on and off the court. I think that’s huge for this season.”
“I like to party when I’m not playing basketball or doing school, that’s pretty much it.”
#21 Korey Thieleke
Guard 6’3’’ Senior
Hometown: Bakersfield, Calif.
“In preseason, we have really focused on improving our communication on the court, specifically during defense. Our defensive transition is way better than it was.”
“The biggest thing this year is our team’s chemistry. In past years, our bond has been kind of up and down, but this year we are just all on the same page.”
“I like to go explore downtown Portland in my downtime. It’s a cool city and I’ve pretty much gotten use to the rain.”
#54 Aitor Zubizarreta
Guard 6’3’’ Freshman
Hometown: Azpeitia, Basque Country, Spain
“We have really emphasized taking care of the ball, nothing will come easy to our opponents.”
“The game here is more physical and the pace is faster than in Europe, but I really like it, it makes you a stronger player.”
“I really enjoy Portland, the temperature is really close to my home in Spain and it is quite beautiful here.”
“The team is really close and really supportive, they have helped with my transition so much.”
#12 Thomas van der Mars
Center 6’11’’ Junior
Hometown: Gouda, Netherlands
“This preseason, we have really focused on the ‘team’ and growing together so we are more effective on the court.”
“The chemistry on the team is definitely the best it’s been since I’ve been here and it’s going to show on the court.”
“This team is more poised than in past years, I think there is maturity on the court and that’s going to hugely affect our performance in a positive way, especially if we are down in points.”
“We have a lot of depth in the paint; we will definitely dominate the glass.”
“I really enjoy exploring Portland, specifically eating out at Piazza. I am a big lover of Italian food.”
#2 Alec Wintering
Guard 5’11’’ Freshman
Hometown: Concord, N.C.
“The transition to college was rough at first, like it is for anybody, but I am getting into the flow of things now and feel really strong going into Friday’s game.”
“Our preseason has been really focused on defense and strong communication up top.”
“Going to Spain as a team was huge, just getting to know the guys so early on was a big part of what I think has made the team chemistry so strong.”
“I really like downtown Portland, there’s a lot of fun stuff there to do.”
“I like to chill when I’m not playing basketball or doing school. Just chilling out you know.”
