Coming up...
Apr. 11-May 15 -- NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT SIGNING PERIOD

Complete Schedule

Over and out...
Unlike the previous season's methodical march through March Madness to the Final Four, Seattle Pacific University's journey to the 2001 NCAA men's basketball tournament was all too brief. For the first time in their last six playoffs appearances, the Falcons were eliminated in the first round of the West Regional in Bellingham Mar. 8 and finished the season at 21-6. SPU is the only team in the region and one of just six programs nationally to qualify for the postseason each of the last four years. In 2000, it won the West and advanced to the semifinals of the Elite Eight.

Looking ahead...
Coach Ken Bone (11th year), whose teams have won at least 20 games in seven of his 11 seasons, is now focusing on recruiting. The national letter of intent (NLI) signing period begins Apr. 11. Bone's primary objective is to replace his top scorer, who played the wing or small forward, and replenish depth in the backcourt. Seattle Pacific loses two seniors but has three redshirt freshmen plus one high school senior signed to an early NLI.

NCAA bracket notes...
Next season the Falcons will join the new 10-team Great Northwest Athletic Conference, a league comprised of the eight current West Division members of the Pacific West Conference, plus two schools from the Pacific Division. Western Washington, which won the PacWest this season, also claimed the regional crown and advanced to the semifinal stage of the Elite Eight. Kentucky Wesleyan won the NCAA championship Mar. 24, defeating Washburn, 72-63, in Bakersfield.

Alaskans return to menu...
One of the Falcons' fiercest rivals will return to Brougham Pavilion next season as a consequence of the new conference. Alaska Anchorage, which has not played a league game at SPU since the PacWest expanded to 16 teams in 1998, will visit along with Alaska Fairbanks and the other seven GNAC members. Conference play begins in December and there will not be a postseason conference tournament. Bone also confirmed that his team will host Texas A&M Commerce and Hawaii Pacific and travel to Las Vegas in mid-December for the High Desert Classic, a tournament which attracts top Div. II teams from throughout the nation. Seattle Pacific participated in the tournament 1997-99.

Hubbard exits on a high...
John Hubbard (Sr., 6-5, Inglewood, Ca./Grays Harbor CC) distinguished himself as an explosive scorer during his two years at SPU, and finished his collegiate career with a flourish. Hubbard, a consensus all-region selection and first team all-conference, poured in 29 points in the season-ending 101-95 overtime loss to Central Washington. He averaged 22.0 points in the final 10 games, shooting 51 percent from the floor and 42 percent from behind the 3-point arc. His season total of 523 (19.4) points ties him for No. 10 all-time.

Nick, Stone top returnees...
Bone retains the nucleus of this year's squad, with four starters due to return, including all-conference selections Brannon Stone (Jr., 6-9, Oak Harbor, Wa.) and guard Nick Johnson (Jr., 6-3, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Edison). Along with Hubbard, they combined to score 85 of the team's points vs. Central. Stone hit a career-high 33 points while Johnson added 23. For the season, Stone averaged 15.6 points, second to Hubbard, and led the team in rebounding (6.4), assists (3.4), steals (1.7), blocked shots (2.0) and free throw percentage (.818). Johnson topped the PacWest in 3-point accuracy (.500) and averaged 13.8 points and 4.7 rebounds.

Key ingredients remain...
There are also incumbents at center and point guard next season. Eric Sandrin (Jr., 6-10, Bothell, Wa./Shorecrest-Portland) was troubled by tendonitis in his knee for the final six weeks of the season but had been a dominant force beforehand. He averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 boards. Aaron Bellessa (So., 6-2, Federal Way, Wa./Decatur) split the ballhandling duties with Darrell Walker (Sr., 6-0, Marysville, Wa./M'ville-Pilchuck-EWU), the team's second senior. Jesse Keely (So., 6-7, Fircrest, Wa./Bellarmine-Portland) emerged as the top reserve in the final eight games, when he averaged 5.2 points and 5.8 rebounds. Gene Woodard (So., 6-4, Edmonds, Wa./O'Dea), Adam Harris (So., 6-0, Fox Island, Wa./Gig Harbor), Daniel Sandrin (So., Bothell, Wa./Bothell-Portland) and Abe Fox (Jr., 6-8, Port Townsend, Wa.) each appeared in at least 24 games.

Coming aboard...
Last fall the Falcons signed Jeff Knudson, a 6-6 forward from Mukilteo's Kamiak High School. Knudson was an all-Wesco selection and is a potent outside scorer. Redshirts this past season were guards Jordan Lee (Fr., 6-0, University Place, Wa./Life Christian), Nate Bramlette (Fr., 6-0, Issaquah, Wa./Skyline) and forward Garrett Stone (Fr., 6-4, Oak Harbor, Wa.).

For the record...
Apart from Stone raising his career record for blocks (to 230), no school marks fell during the season. In career listings, Stone is No. 3 in steals (148), needing 45 for the record, and tied for No. 6 in rebounds (655). With 79 points he will rank among the top 10 in career scoring. In the single season categories, Johnson was No. 3 in 3-point accuracy and Hubbard tied for No. 10 in points.

Put-backs...
The team's field goal percentage of .489 was the highest in the last eight seasons and its 3-point accuracy was the second-best in 17 years...This marked the second year in a row that the Falcons' season ended in an overtime playoff loss. Kentucky Wesleyan eliminated SPU in the national semifinal in 2000...Seattle Pacific was 15-1 when out-rebounding opponents. The sole loss was to Central...The back-to-back losses to Western and Central in the final two games were the first consecutive losses since February of 1999...Besides SPU, the only other Div. II programs to make the playoffs each of the last four years are Adelphi (NY), Florida Southern, Kentucky Wesleyan, Salem International (WV) and Southern Indiana...The 2002 Elite Eight will be played in Evansville, Indiana.

S-P-U on the W-E-B...
You can follow Seattle Pacific via the world wide web. The Falcons Online features weekly releases, rosters, schedules, updated results, histories and coaching profiles for all 12 varsity sports. You're already here!

PacWest Conference Standings

Personnel notes...
No Player Yr-Exp Hgt '00-01 stats Hometown Notes
4 Abe Fox Jr-2V 6-8 2.0/1.6 reb Port Townsend, Wa. 25 gms, avg. 9.1 minutes; 12 pts v Linfield
10 Adam Harris So-1V 6-0 3.4/0.8 ast Fox Island, Wa. Hit 46% (15-33) 3-pointers
11 Aaron Bellessa* So-1V 6-2 2.1/2.8 ast Federal Way, Wa. Starter at point guard; 20-43 FG
20 Darrell Walker Sr-TR 6-0 6.1/3.3 ast Marysville, Wa. 29-68 3-pointers, 43%; 1.3 steals
21 Brannon Stone* Jr-2V 6-7 15.6/6.4 reb Oak Harbor, Wa. 52 3ptrs; 2.0 blks, 1.7 stls; 82% FT
22 Jesse Keely So-TR 6-7 2.7/2.8 reb Fircrest, Wa. 12 reb. v HSU; 19-42 FG; 79% FT
23 Nick Johnson* Jr-2V 6-3 13.8/4.7 reb Burlington, Wa. 24 pts v Tarleton St.; 50% 3-ptrs (31-62)
30 Gene Woodard So-1V 6-4 4.5/2.2 reb Edmonds, Wa. Career-high 20 pts at Linfield; 56% FG
32 John Hubbard* Sr-1V 6-5 19.4/3.2 reb Inglewood, Ca. 63-165 3-ptrs (38%); 79% FT
34 Eric Sandrin* Jr-TR 6-10 12.8/6.3 reb Bothell, Wa. 54% FG, 0.8 blks; 16-40 3-ptrs
40 Daniel Sandrin So-TR 6-7 2.9/2.5 reb Bothell, Wa. Avg 12.1 minutes; 24 gms.; 5-7 3 ptrs
42 Chris Cohen Fr-RS 6-8 0.6/0.9 reb Saint Helens, Or. Played in 15 games; 4-8 FG
*projected starter
Coach: Ken Bone (SPU '83) 11th year (229-92/.711)