Dawin Whiten had known for about a month the Cal Poly men’s basketball team would be playing USC next season.
So when the Mustangs officially announced their 2007-08 schedule Tuesday, the Cal Poly senior guard was not surprised. Whiten, though, was chomping at the bit to get into a schedule that pits the Mustangs against two Pac-10 schools for the first time in four years, has them on ESPN’s Big Monday for the first time in school history and also brings former Big West Conference foe Utah State to Mott Gym.
“The only game I was ever really fixated on was the USC game,” Whiten said. “I hope that causes everybody to step up. That’s what I’ve been thinking about. I look at it as a great opportunity to put us on the map again.”
Cal Poly visits Arizona State on Nov. 26 and USC on Dec. 22. While the Trojans are coming off a 25-12 season that culminated with a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Sun Devils were 8-22 last year.
The Mustangs will try to build on a 19-11 campaign, their best since moving to the Division I level in 1994-95. Although Cal Poly head coach Kevin Bromley did not return a phone message Tuesday, Whiten said he hopes Cal Poly can fare similarly against the Pac-10 as it did in 2003-04. That’s when the Mustangs won at both Cal (63-62) and USC (93-78) before limping to an 11-16 finish.
“We beat USC four years ago with Kameron Gray and beat Cal too,” Whiten said. “We’re looking to do the same thing, but make it to the NCAA Tournament. That’s our focus.”
The focus early on for Cal Poly will be the Tipoff Tournament at Northern Iowa, which is where the Mustangs open the season Nov. 9. Cal Poly will be joined at the three-day tourney by Massachusetts (24-9 last year), Northern Iowa (18-13) and Northern Illinois (7-23).
The Mustangs then turn to their home opener Nov. 15 against former Big West rival Utah State, against whom they are 1-15 all-time.
“I would love to play against Utah State,” said Whiten, who looks forward to matching up with Aggies senior guard Jaycee Carroll. “To have him back at Mott will be even greater.”
Cal Poly’s first Big Monday appearance ever comes Jan. 28 at Pacific. The Mustangs were last on national television March 10, when they blew a five-point halftime lead against Long Beach State in the Big West title game.
“I can’t think of a more ideal situation for us,” Whiten said of the Big Monday game at Pacific. “We haven’t really done well there at Pacific. That’s a tremendous opportunity. We owe Pacific.”
The Mustangs haven’t won at Pacific since Feb. 15, 2003, and they’ve lost their past four games in Stockton by an average of 22.5 points.
The Big West schedule for Cal Poly begins at home Jan. 3 against Cal State Northridge. An anticipated rematch of the Big West title game against Long Beach State follows two days later in Mott Gym.
Cal Poly returns all but three players from last season, although it must replace starting forwards Derek Stockalper and Tyler McGinn.
Whiten has put his summer to use by spending the past 10 days training at the Home Depot Center in Carson, where he has run with the likes of NBA players Corey Maggette, Juan Dixon and Dahntay Jones.
“It was fun just to be around professionals,” said Whiten, who averaged 11.6 points and 3.1 assists last year. “It’s going to be so much better for me.”
As a team, the Mustangs open training camp Sept. 1 in Australia, Whiten said.
“It’s a perfect opportunity to create team unity to win big games, ultimately reach the NCAA Tournament,” Whiten said. “I think our cohesiveness will be a lot stronger than last year. I feel like we’re a closer group.”
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