Now they count. Watch ‘em now or wait til after Christmas. That’s the situation for fans of Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball as the 2003-04 regular season commences this weekend with the Wilcox Farms Tip-Off Classic. In the only two home games prior to the holidays, the Falcons face Florida’s Saint Leo Friday night (Nov. 21) and Missouri’s Southwest Baptist Saturday (Nov. 22) in the annual season-opening tournament. Northwest Nazarene completes the field and plays at 3 p.m. each day. After that, SPU goes on the road for the next seven games before returning to Brougham Pavilion Dec. 29.

Asking a lot. Coach Jeff Hironaka is asking a lot of a team which includes 11 freshmen and sophomores. He’s seeking leaders to step forth from that group and installing a new offense at the same time. Add to that the most road-oriented early-season schedule in 13 years and it’s more than a little unsettling. Some bonding occurred during a September tour of Australia and two preseason exhibitions helped to mix in the newcomers. Tentatively, Hironaka plans to start three sophomores and two juniors on Friday night.

Pre-functions. Without a doubt, the most impressive performances from the preseason came from center Jason Chivers (Jr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech). Now in just his third full season of organized basketball, Chivers looks like a natural. He stole the show in a triple overtime, 108-106 win over Northwest Sports, pouring in 36 points and snaring 15 rebounds. Chivers was productive in a second outing as well, totaling 25 points and 14 rebounds in a 95-88 win over AnotherLevel Blue Angels. He glided inside for most of the points but also showed excellent range, even stepping out and hitting 2-3 three-pointers. Last season he was the Falcons’ top rebounder (6.6), No. 3 scorer (10.0) and led the conference in field-goal accuracy (.590). During the Australia tour Chivers, playing against older professionals, averaged 19.2 points and 13.4 rebounds. His numbers swelled to 30.5 points and 14.5 boards while shooting 64 percent (23-36) in the preseason.

Changing of the guards. Hironaka lost his starting backcourt to graduation, and now it’s uncertain whether one of the heirs-apparent will be ready for the opener. Jordan Lee (Jr., 6-2, University Place, Wa./Christian Faith), who averaged 23.2 points in Australia, missed the final preseason game with foot injury. That means transfer Ralph Steele (Jr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al./Huffman-Citrus JC) will likely start alongside point guard Tony Binetti (So., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.). Steele was the No. 2 offensive force behind Chivers in the preseason, averaging 18.5 points. Binetti continued to grow into his role, passing for 12 assists against seven turnovers and hitting 11-15 field goals. Jordan Beede (Fr., 6-1, Bellingham, Wa./Squalicum) saw 19 minutes of action in the second game and made three steals to go with six points.

Wings of the Falcons. A key to Seattle Pacific’s success will be its ability to develop offensive threats on the wings, thereby stretching defenses away from Chivers. A logical piece of that potential arsenal is Jeff Knudson (So., 6-7, Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak), the top three-point marksman (37-74, 50 percent) in the GNAC as a frosh. Dustin Bremerman (Fr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) is making a strong case for himself, scoring 29 points off the bench in the exhibitions after a solid Australian campaign. Oddly, both Knudson and Bremerman were cold from outside the arc, missing all nine of their combined attempts. The other frontline role involves more passing, ballhandling and rebounding. Again, Hironaka’s choice of designating a starter could be a tough one. Mike Bushmaker (So., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) and transfer Chad Williams (So., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Bu.-Edison-Whatcom CC) essentially split the minutes in preseason play. Bushmaker totaled five assists and seven rebounds while Williams had 11 boards, four assists and 14 points.

Put-backs. The Falcons won their opening game last season, snapping a string of three straight losses...In a late change to the schedule, SPU now plays at UC San Diego Dec. 16 (rather than the 17th)...Following the Wilcox Farms Tip-Off Classic, SPU plays a post-Thanksgiving tourney in Chico, Ca. Conference play begins Dec. 4 at Alaska Anchorage. The next home games will be during the Oak Harbor Freight Lines Holiday Classic. Alderson-Broaddus (WV), an NCAA tournament team in 2003, is the featured out-of-region foe...Chivers, who averaged a combined 22.4 points and 13.7 rebounds in the seven offseason exhibitions, played 77 of a possible 90 minutes in the two preseason games. He averaged just 22 minutes last year while coming back from knee surgery. Backup center Chris Cohen (Sr., 6-8, Saint Helens, Or.), consequently, saw only 14 minutes of duty...Of the four true freshmen on the roster only Drew Matzen (Fr., 6-4, Bothell, Wa./Lynnwood) figures to play this season. Matzen, the son of former UW forward Steve Matzen, played a total of 23 minutes and had 13 points and six rebounds... Hironaka plans to redshirt Rob Peterson (Fr., 6-7, Seattle, Wa./Seattle Christian), Ryan DeLong (Fr., 5-11, Fife, Wa./Milton) and Austin Yuen (Fr., 5-8, Mercer Island, Wa.)...Two of last season’s seniors are playing professionally overseas. Yusef Aziz, a two-time all-conference pick, is in Holland while Daniel Sandrin is in Germany. Eric Sandrin, an ‘02 graduate, is playing in Brazil following a season in Luxembourg....SPU is expected to hit their fair share of treys this season but they were just 14-47 (30 percent) in the two exhibitions. Overall the team shot 47 percent from the field and 79 percent from the foul line.

Tickets, Please. Reserved tickets for all SPU home games are priced $7 and $6. General admission is $5 with youth, students and senior citizens $3 with proper identification. Groups can qualify for discounts by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance.

SPU Coaching Staff. In his first season Jeff Hironaka won more games (16) than all but one other first-year SPU coach. A former aide at Idaho State and The Master’s, Hironaka became Ken Bone’s top assistant in 1991 and from there the Falcons won 236 of 253 games, claimed five outright or shared conference championships and qualified for the NCAA tournament eight times, including a Final Four advancement in 2000. Hironaka is the second Japanese-American head coach of a four-year collegiate program...As both coach and player, Ben Scheffler has been associated with seven NCAA tournament teams. The staff’s top assistant, Scheffler started three seasons at guard and later served on Bone’s staff from 1998-01. He was a volunteer assistant at Washington in 2001-02. Scott Reid joins the staff following two years as KingCo coach of the year at Bellevue’s Newport High School. George Parker who first served as a volunteer assistant in 1986, returns for his 15th year. Dan Barfoot serves as graduate assistant and Maurice Cato, starting point guard the past two years, is student assistant.

Missing links. For the latest and best information on Seattle Pacific University athletics, stay where you're at -- on The Falcons Online. For updated standings and statistics, see the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site.