WCC Basketball Preview: Portland Pilots

After finding momentum in the back half of last year, coach Legans and his Pilots will have to largely start out fresh this season, as UP has lost its top four players. Austin Rapp and Max Mackinnon have both transferred to power four schools, while Vukasin Masic and Chris Austin graduated.

While Portland will likely be relying on inexperienced freshmen and sophomores for some important minutes, the Pilots have also picked up a few big pieces in the transfer portal. Back in June, coach Legans landed shooting guard Garrett Nuckolls. A JUCO national champion last season with Trinity Valley CC, Nuckolls averaged 10 points and 3.8 rebounds a game last season. He will be joined at UP by his fellow Trinity Valley teammate Cameron Williams, a point guard who averaged 10 points and five rebounds last season. This duo adds both talent and college-level experience to the Pilots roster, and they are expected to be a big part of the team this year.

Williams is not the only point guard Portland has added this offseason, as they also got the commitment of St. Francis transfer Riley Parker. Parker averaged 13.4 points for the Red Flash last season, and shot 40% from beyond the arc. In the front court, coach Legans picked up forwards James O'Donnell and Matus Hronsky from San Francsisco and Duquesne, respectively. Without a lot of starting experience in the front court, the Pilots might be looking for younger guys to step up. Timo George, a 6'8" forward from IMG Academy, could possibly see decent minutes as a true freshman with UP being thin at this position. In addition, the Pilots will certainly be looking for Jermaine Ballisager Webb, a 7-foot senior center who averaged 10 minutes a game last season, to play a bigger role.

Finally, they also have some returning underclassmen. Although the Pilots lost a great deal of their roster from last season, they are still returning players like Mikah Ballew and Kelson Gebbers, who will be looking to build on experience they gained last season as freshmen.

Afer they started 0-5 in WCC play last season, Portland got a lot of their chemistry figured out and won four of their final five regular season games. But with the loss of so many key players, the first half of this upcoming season could certainly be a work in progress for the Pilots. Although they have picked up some solid talent at guard, this is a team that will be fairly inexperienced in the frontcourt. If Portland wants to find themselves atop of the WCC, they will need some freshmen and transfers to exceed expectations.