Movin’ on up… the hard way

Left: Brandon Knight, Right: Pilots Riley, Barker and Sikma celebrate

By Cliff Pfenning

Sikma defends Jones

By Cliff Pfenning

Former Jefferson High player Terrence Jones

By Cliff Pfennning

The Skinny

John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe all moved on to the NBA, but as it turns out, Kentucky still has a pretty good basketball team. The #12 Wildcats jumped out to an early 13-0 advantage over the visibly jittery Portland Pilots tonight in front of 10,216 fans at the Rose Garden en route to a 79-48 blowout. The Pilots would eventually settle in, but were never in serious contention as Kentucky went on to win easily. Brandon Knight led the Wildcats with 21 points, Darius Miller contributed 5 steals, 4 blocks and 15 points on 6-7 shooting, and former Jefferson High standout Terrence Jones chipped in 12 points. Portland big man Luke Sikma snagged 12 rebounds, but only guard Eric Waterford managed to break double-figure scoring for the Pilots with 12, who shot just 30.5% from the field.

My Take

I saw a TV commercial for the Portland Pilots basketball program the other night that proclaimed: “Big time college sports: It’s closer than you thought.” I like the slogan. After all, it seems appropriate for a program that is trying not only to compete with the big boys, but also brand themselves in such a way that we here in the city of Portland actually know they’re doing it.

It’s a two-pronged campaign that feeds into itself, because increased fan support will only help build the program, and building the program will increase fan support. Both, however, will prove to be a challenging task. Portland is a fickle sports town. We spend all our energy worrying over our broken Blazers and dominating Ducks. The Pilots? More of an afterthought, really.

Not many people in this city wake up in the middle of the night, jump out of bed and run to the computer because they forgot to check the score of the latest U of P game. In short, you have to do something big to grab our attention.

Winning 21 games last year? Not bad. Making a guest appearance in the top 25 for the first time in 50 years last season? You’re getting warmer. Signing a three-game agreement with the Kentucky Wildcats that brings a legit college basketball powerhouse to the City or Roses for our viewing pleasure? Now you’re talking.

Of course the Pilots lost that game against Kentucky tonight at the Rose Garden, 79-48, but the score was as inconsequential as it was unsurprising. The game was simply one of many difficult steps toward legitimacy for a program with lofty aspirations.

So, are big time college sports really “closer than you thought” here in Portland? Well, tonight they were, at least in the form of a slick-haired John Calipari and his #12 ranked Wildcats. Maybe that’s not exactly what the commercial meant, but for now it’s a good start.