Mark Patton: UCSB Breaks In New Style of Basketball During Summer Tour of Canada

Joe Pasternack was only 30 when he ascended to his first head coaching job at the University of New Orleans.

He’s still an early riser at age 46.

Pasternack got a jump-start to his seventh basketball season at UC Santa Barbara with last week’s playing tour of British Columbia, Canada.

The foreign road trip — which the NCAA permits once every four summers — came with a free pass to prepare with 10 full-scale practices.

A lap around the magnificent sights of Vancouver was included in this basketball overtime.

“It was beautiful there,” Pasternack told Noozhawk. “The weather was unbelievable, and we did some really fun things.”

Their diversions included an amusement park attraction called FlyOver Canada. The coast-to-coast aerial tour of the country is presented virtually inside a projection dome.

“It’s just like Disneyland’s Soarin’ Around the World,” Pasternack said. “They strap you in and it’s like you’re flying over Canada.

“I had my eyes shut a few times and was holding on for dear life.”

The team also traveled to the top of Grouse Mountain aboard North America’s largest aerial tram. The ride gave them expansive views of Vancouver, the Gulf Islands and nearby mountain ranges.

“The guys even got to see a couple of grizzly bears,” Pasternack said.

The furry behemoths — known to Vancouver locals by the names of Grinder and Coola — roam the Grouse Mountain Refuge for Endangered Wildlife.

But it was actually the 2,800-foot ascent from the mountain’s lower terminal to the peak’s chalet that raised the hair on Gaucho necks.

“The gondola ride scared some of the guys,” Pasternack said. “A couple of them were looking down the whole way.

“I’m not going to name names.”

Speedy Transition

He did name names, however, while explaining his plans for a new, breakneck style of play.

“We’ve really been working on picking up our pace, and it was definitely evident on the trip,” he said. “Our bigs can really run.”

Andre Kelly, last year’s starting center as a graduate student, was more effective as an immovable object than an irresistible, fast-breaking force at 6-foot-9 and 255 pounds.

But Auburn transfer Yohan Traore (6-10, 225), junior Evans Kirupto (6-8, 250), sophomore Ariel Bland (6-7, 225) and City College of San Francisco transfer Mezziah Oakman (7-foot, 225) all play the post with post-haste speed.

“Yohan is very fast,” Pasternack said. “Evans is very fast … Mezziah? Fast!

“It’s really important that we push the pace this season and get easy buckets. We really worked hard on that.”

Bland’s kinetic energy resulted in a team-best average of 7.6 rebounds in UCSB’s three contests: an Aug. 6 scrimmage against the University of British Columbia, an Aug. 7 game against the same team, and a Tuesday contest against Trinity Western.

“He redshirted last year, but he got a lot of minutes and game experience on the trip,” Pasternack said. “He had a double-double one game.”

Traore and guard Ben Shtolzberg were in a hurry to assert themselves after Pasternack plucked them out of the NCAA transfer portal last spring.

Both players were dissatisfied with the playing time they received last year as freshmen in highly ranked programs.

Traore, a sophomore from Tours, France, was a five-star recruit when Auburn recruited him out of Dream City Christian School in Glendale, Arizona. He was No. 24 in the 2022 composite rankings of the nation’s top high school recruits compiled by 247Sports.

He was No. 1 on UCSB’s scoring charts during the Canadian trip, averaging 15 points in the two games and one scrimmage. He had a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds in the 90-84 victory over Trinity Western.

“Yohan is just chomping at the bit to play,” Pasternack said. “He didn’t play as much at Auburn as he thought he was going to. He’s really getting that opportunity now and he’s making the most of it.

“He’s a big guy and he really, really plays hard … He rebounds the ball and gets real deep post position … I’m really excited about him.”

Backcourt to the Future

Shtolzberg, who played both guard positions last season for Creighton’s Elite 8 NCAA Tournament team, scored 13 points against Trinity Western.

He joined a veteran group at the Gauchos’ three perimeter positions: junior point guard Ajay Mitchell, senior Josh Pierre-Louis, and junior Cole Anderson, the team’s top three-point shooter last season.

“Ben had a lot of good moments,” Pasternack said. “So did Josh. He was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line on the trip.”

Pierre-Louis, known as JPL for his jet-propulsion speed and jumping ability, worked especially hard on his shot during the offseason. He averaged 9.6 points per game last year but made just 29.4% of his three-pointers and 60.2% of his free throws.

“I didn’t play Ajay a ton … I let other guys play,” Pasternack said. “I tried Ben and Josh at the point and got both of them some experience there.”

Mitchell, the returning Big West Conference Player of the Year, is already showing up on the mock 2024 NBA Draft boards of ESPN.com, The Athletic and Bleacher Report.

The 6-5, 200-pound lefthander set the tone for UCSB’s new tempo.

He took an outlet pass on UCSB’s first possession against UBC and dashed downcourt before skirting several defenders for a layup.

Mitchell had 10 points and three assists by halftime before turning the team’s reins over to Pierre-Louis and Shtolzberg in the Gauchos’ 80-60 victory.

Jason Fontenet, a freshman from Bella Vista Prep in Scottsdale, Arizona, added 11 points in the win over Trinity Western.

“He’s the real deal,” Pasternack said. “He can get to the basket and he can really shoot the ball.

“He’s gained 10 pounds of muscle this summer … He’s about 6-5½ and weighs 200 pounds and is as strong as an ox. He’s going to play a lot.”

Bond of Brothers

All available Gauchos saw plenty of court time in Canada.

Four scholarship players were unable to make the trip. Koat Keat Tong, a 6-10 sophomore, is still on the mend from last season’s leg injury. Kipruto, 6-7 sophomore forward Matija Belic, and 6-3 senior Gage Gomez were also among the missing.

“They wouldn’t let them into the country because they didn’t have visas,” Pasternack said. “We brought just nine scholarship players and two walk-ons. It did give our other guys more minutes.

“Three games in three days during the summertime was asking a lot out of their legs.”

Killian Brockhoff, a 6-10 and 225-pound freshman with a deadly outside shooting touch, was a late arrival to UCSB’s workouts.

He spent most of the summer training with Germany’s U20 National Team for the recent European Championships in Greece.

“He actually only had three or four days of practice because it took so long with his visa,” Pasternack said. “He’s just learning our system, but he was there with us in Canada.”

The opportunity to bond was vital for a team that has brought aboard five new scholarship players.

The Gauchos also added Brian Eskildsen and Skye Ettin as assistant coaches, and Riley Quincy as their new trainer.

“It was incredible, going on these different excursions around Vancouver, playing together and having the new guys learn how we do things,” Pasternack said. “We treated them like real games, with a lot of film sessions and walk-throughs.

“We really tried to show our culture as best we could as well as get these guys some experience playing in a game against somebody else.

“This is the newest staff and group of players that we’ve had in my time here.”

Pasternack’s coaching record of 132-53 during his six seasons at UCSB computes into the best winning percentage (.714) in program history.

His Gauchos have received NCAA Tournament bids in two out of the last three years.

“Santa Barbara is a special place,” Pasternack said. “It’s a prestigious town and UCSB is a very prestigious school.

“When you recruit, you must make sure to bring in the right people because it’s not just basketball. This class showed during the trip that they are definitely all that.”

It gives him high hopes for the next lofty heights they attempt to scale.