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By: Arash Scott Behnam - Sports Editor
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Monday, December 04, 2006 |
 The Post Marakar era has arrived for Pacific and the only real given is Pacific will not finish in the bottom half of the Big West Conference. Anything else is a possibility for the 2006-07 Tigers who will get first crack at life without Christian Markar. And after the first five games, reality has started to sprout its ugly face. It is too early in the season but Stockton, we have a problem and it has nothing and everything to do with Marakar.
What made Pacific the darlings of the mid majors had a lot to do with the clutch Marakar. Two years ago Utah State learned first hand what real ice in the veins could muster up with its back against the wall. The legend of Marakar and his crew reached immortal that faithful night. It was Marakar who shot the last dagger in the hearts of Joseph Smiths’ boys and girls stunning the whole state. Down 61-53 with 30 seconds left in a crucial Big West conference game, Pacific made a furious come back. Marakar’s game winning shot with four seconds left made believers out of any atheist who doubted the magic of the Tiger. Overnight everything changed for the Tiger program. The bar was set and Marakar was the prince of the conquest of the Big West.
Marakar was no doubt special but in all of the hype one important aspect of the Marakar dynasty gets watered down. Point guard play. Pacific could make the argument in the last 3 years they have had the best point guards in all of the mid majors programs. The Big West Conference agrees with this notion giving its prestigious MVP Awards back to back to the Pacific generals Miah Davis and David Doubley. Johnny Gray also deserved the MVP last year. But with Christian Marakar being a senior and losing out to fellow point guards the last two years the decision was simple, rightfully so. Gray did receive first team honors.
Turnovers have been a big part of all three losses and the responsibility of the rock falls on the shoulders of the floor generals. That is what separated Gray, Doubley and Davis and made Pacific so dominant. It seems that basketball is not without a sense of irony as the 2006/07 Tigers have learned. Before the season point guard play was going to be one of the strengths of the Tigers for years to come but in five games turnovers have been the Achilles heel of this team. The future is bright for Pacific point guards but the present has been shaky and experience is the big factor. What made the point guards of the Marakar generation great was they understood a simple stat. Turnover to assist ratio. They also knew the importance of crisp accurate passing and ball control. By delivering perfect passes it made the job of Marakar and the rest of the big men of Pacific easier. It also made it harder for defenders to steal the ball or slap it out of the hands of the post players. Part of Marakars success was the delivery of the ball in the post.
Against New Mexico State the Tigers had 22 turnovers to 8 assists. Loyola Marymount Pacific had 28 turnovers to 16 assists and against Hawaii 19 turnovers to 17 assists. It was not just point guard play as the post contributed immensely to the turnovers with lackadaisical effort. The Big West Conference is no cakewalk this year and success comes at a price. The big bulls eye is on Pacific’s back and every team in the BWC has the two games against Pacific circled on their calendars. Teams will judge themselves based on their games against the Tigers. No doubt Bob Thomason will have his team ready, as this is the year that Thomason’s legend has a chance to really grow. For as much credit as coach Bob Thomason has gotten, deservingly so these last few years, Thomason did rely heavily on Marakar the way great coaches rely on great players to take over games thus making play calling simple.
With a young team and no Marakar, coaching and play calling down the stretch will be critical in the success of the Tigers. The issue of turnovers has already been addressed. Freshmen C.J Morgan is already doing his best Davis, Doubley, Gray impersonations. Add junior transfer Solomon HorseChief to a backcourt that already has Steffan Johnson who is considered the next great guard, Pacific is talented. If the Tigers can take care of the ball an NCAA Tourney Birth is in the horizon. The key will be turnovers and the young Tigers hopefully have learned a costly lesson. With a chance to play Cal in the championship game, which was nationally televised, brining notoriety back to Pacific, the Tigers lost in the semi finals in double overtime due to turnovers.
The Tigers have not started a season below 500 since the 2003-04 season. Pacific went on to tie for the regular season championship, win the conference tournament and beat Providence in the first round of March Madness. Senior Mike White was on that team and his leadership and play is vital in easing the loss of Christian Marakar. Junior Anthony Brown’s new role as the go to guy also will help in helping get over not having Marakar. The key will be what happens to sophomore high school division four player of the year Joe Ford. An injury might force a red shirt, which will be a huge blow for the Tigers. Only will time will tell the story of life without Marakar as all good things do eventually come to an end.
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