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Sudden impact. There will be no waiting around and certainly no pushovers on the Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball preseason schedule. In a test by fire, the Falcons will face a steady diet of Division I opposition, playing on three consecutive nights, Nov. 10-12, at the Shamrock Invitational in Moraga, Ca.. SPU meets host Saint Mary’s in the nightcap on Friday (Nov. 10). Murray State and San Diego State–both coming off NCAA tournament appearances–await on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Regular season play opens at home Nov. 17-18 with the Sodexho Tip-Off Classic.

They count, sort of. Undoubtedly, this is the most demanding preseason schedule. All three games this weekend are merely exhibitions for Seattle Pacific yet a quirk in the NCAA guidelines allows them to count for the Div. I teams. That will obviously intensify the games’ atmosphere. In the past, the Falcons have proven competitive for big time programs, and have played Nevada (twice), New Mexico, BYU and Washington in both counting and non-counting contests the last two years. Of the five games (all on the road), four were decided by fewer than 20 points.

No sneaking. A year ago, Seattle Pacific started the season unranked and picked to take fourth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. By the end of March, it was champion of the conference, the West Region and within five points of playing for a national championship at 26-6. This time around, Coach Jeff Hironaka has his team ranked No. 5 in a Division II preseason poll and one of the top contenders in the GNAC. The Falcons were picked second to Central Washington by the coaches, and received two first-place votes.

Cornerstones in place. A solid cast of returnees allows for plenty of continuity this season. Hironaka has three starters back in the fold, including first team all-region selection Dustin Bremerman (Sr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) and the regional tournament’s MVP, center Robbie Will (Jr., 6-10, Seattle, Wa./O’Dea). Along with starting wing Drew Matzen (Sr., 6-4, Bothell, Wa./Lynnwood) and Jared Moultrie (Sr., 6-2, West Point, Ut./Clearfield/Salt Lake CC), last year’s No. 3 guard and backup at the point, they provide an experienced and talented nucleus for another run at an NCAA title.

New ingredients. Five seniors graduated, among them two starters. The most noticeable vacancy is at point guard, where Tony Binetti started for three seasons and finished as an All-American. Hironaka may elect to replace Binetti with a committee headed by Moultrie and Brian Lynch (Sr., 6-1, Missoula, Mt./Great Falls). It could also get competitive, because both Brandon Larrieu (Fr., 5-10, Puyallup, Wa./Franklin Pierce) and Marques Echols (Jr., 6-2, Seattle, Wa./Garfield-Peninsula) possess significant potential once they pick up the offense. Redshirt freshman Adam Wardell (Fr., 6-2, Sedro Woolley, Wa.) is already acquainted with the system, which features portions of the Princeton offense. In the frontcourt, transfers JoJay Jackson (Jr., 6-5, Fairfield, Ca. /Vallejo-Solano JC), Filip Popovic (Jr., 6-7, Montenegro, Serbia/Skyline CC) and Casey Reed (So., 6-5, Canby, Or./Canby-Navy) join redshirt Rob Diederichs (Fr., 6-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood). Hironaka has stated that this is the deepest squad in his five seasons. That depth, plus more athleticism, will allow for more pressuring defensive tactics.

Opportunities arise. Bremerman (18.2) and Binetti (18.4) formed the high-scoring tandem in program history last season and, ideally, Hironaka will find another complimentary offensive option rather than make Bremerman the focal point. Bremerman begins his final season ranked No. 9 career scoring, with the potential to finish No. 2. Will developed into a force down the stretch, with 54 points, 28 rebounds and nine blocks in the three-game regional tournament. Of the newcomers, Jackson is considered the most prolific, averaging 19.3 points as a sophomore. Last season five players averaged 9.9 points or higher and the team came within five assists of record and shot 52.0 percent to rank second in the nation. The Falcons were also among the national leaders in free throw accuracy (8th/.767), three-point shooting (11th/.403) and scoring offense (16th/85.8).

It’s a living. Binetti is playing professionally in Italy for Ignis Castelletto Ticino of the second division. He had finished last season with first division runners-up ClimaMio Bologna...Former center Eric Sandrin (2000-02) has signed with CAB Madeira Funchal, a first Division team in Portugal. Younger brother Daniel Sandrin (2000-03) plays in South Korea...Ralph Steele (2003-05) is a member of the new local International Basketball League franchise, the Everett Explosion.

Put-backs. Ten of the program’s 17 20-win seasons have come with Hironaka on the coaching staff...The first six regular season games are important in-region contests versus teams from the CCAA and Pacific West. GNAC play begins Jan. 4... Central Washington is the GNAC favorite, followed closely by SPU and Alaska Anchorage...The Falcons serve as host to three tournaments, including a post-Thanksgiving classic in Las Vegas, Nov. 24-25. They will return to Vegas for another tourney, the High Desert Classic, Dec. 15-16 ...Bremerman finished 18th in NCAA three-point accuracy and 24th from the foul line...Last season SPU was 14-0 when owning a rebounding advantage, 14-0 when having fewer turnovers and 20-0 when leading at halftime...The Falcons made 10 or more three-pointers 12 times, going 11-1...SPU has shot 48 percent or higher from the field each of the last seven seasons...A native of Serbia, Popovic is the program’s first foreign-born player since Dutchman Eric van der Veen in 1994-95...Seattle Pacific’s preseason ranking by The Division II Bulletin was the highest ever, surpassing 16th in in 2000-01...Reed and Echols were summertime transfers. Reed played 27 games, starting three, for Navy last season. Echols averaged 17.5 points and 4.8 assists at Peninsula Community College in 2003-04...Austin Yuen (Sr., 5-8, Mercer Island, Wa.) will miss the first half of the season while recovering from knee surgery. Yuen saw action in 12 games a year ago.

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.