In town for Thursday evening’s exhibition game against the NCAA Division I Bruins, the Lumberjacks ran through their sets during a two-hour practice session on the same hardwood that has held hundreds of basketball stars. Sunlight beamed through 20-foot high windows that border three sides of the spacious facility.
“Every summer there are NBA pros playing on this court,” HSU head coach Tom Wood told his squad, prior to workouts. “Shaq has been on this same floor many times. There’s a lot of history all around here.”
The Lumberjacks’ travels to L.A. for their first and only exhibition game prior to the start of the 2006-07 season were easy, even with a 6 a.m. flight out of Arcata and the Southern California traffic both deviations from HSU’s more customary routine. Following practice, the Jacks toured campus, stopping by the UCLA Sports Hall of Fame before returning to their hotel.
Thursday’s schedule will be a little more intense, with the customary game-day shoot-around, this time at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, and a pregame meal setting up a routine they’ll follow throughout the season. Before the game begins, Coach Wood will join a large group of L.A. area HSU alumni and friends at a social in the UCLA Tennis Facility.
KATA Sports Director J.B. Mathers will broadcast live from the social, offering pregame analysis and interviews with Humboldt State alumni and staff starting at 5 p.m.. The game against the No. 6 preseason ranked Bruins tips off at 7:30 p.m., and will also be aired live.
Humboldt State returns home Friday to prepare for the 2006-07 season-opener, scheduled for Nov. 17 in the East Gym. The Dominican College Penguins will battle the Lumberjacks, starting with the 7 p.m. tip-off.
The Pac-10 Conference, CCAA Conference and CSTV Networks, Inc. have announced that the Thursday, November 9, basketball contest featuring Humboldt State at UCLA will be available across the nation as part of a special pay-per-view event. The special presentation of this matchup will be available live and on-demand via Internet video streaming at cstvppv.com/basketball for $5.95.
For more information, contact HSU Sports Information, (707) 826-3631, or visit