Long Beach St and the little big man Casper Ware

In a Big West non-conference  game  Coach Dan Monson leads his team against  power house Pitt
tonight @6PM PST. The game will be seen on ESPNU. For the most part the nation has not seen Mr. Ware
play.The reigning Big West Champions finished 14-2 last year en route to another loss in tourney play to UCSB. This left LBSU short of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and plenty blue,  courtesy of Coach Bob Williams and the UCSB tandem of Orlando Johnson and James Nunally. The Gauchos captured there second straight NCAA bid before being flattened by Florida in round 1. The  method to the madness has had LBSU play tough non-leauge schedules the last few years and this trend continues this year to include Pitt , Xavier , Louisville,  Kansas ,and North Carolina. Long Beach returns 4 starters and 11 players that comprised last years team. Mr. Ware  a 3 year starter from Gahr H.S is the engine that drives Long Beach. The only problem for Long Beach is they have not proven to be able to beat UCSB. Ware may have a problem as the little engine that could may stall out as he exits from the 101 Freeway to the 217. . Mr,Ware may find  his task unreachable. Thomas M. Storke a driving force behind the founding of UCSB as well as a publishing magnate since 1938 has a formidable campus tower named after him. Mr.  Wares twin towers include James Nunally and Orlando Johnson. If Ware can rewrite history as Mr. Storke did he may need to start in Santa Barbara. UCSB faces LBSU before a national TV audience January 21,st 2012
at the Thunderdome.  The Ware legacy will need to be solidified and changed if he expects to make it to the next  level. Maybe LBSU will build a  tower in his name after tonight .

More on Casper Ware http://www.longbeachstate.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102011aad.html

More on the Thomas M Storke Legacy http://www.norcalmediamuseum.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=117

I am Mark Alan Janisch Senior writer and founder I can be found on twitter@wideworldofspor

Update LBSU beat Pitt tonight 86-76  here are the game stats and highlights

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=313200221