Pacific’s Senior Sendoff: Rivera, Bock, Thomas, Taku, Kelley and Harris
By Josh Horton
Feb 27, 2014; Stockton, CA, USA; Pacific Tigers guard Andrew Bock (12) dribbles the ball against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first half at Alex G. Spanos Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
The 2013-2014 WCC season has come to a close, and it’s time to look back on the season that was. It is also a great time to commemorate the players that will never play in the WCC again.
With that being said, it is time to introduce our senior sendoff series. And of course it is also fitting to start off with the team that boasted seven seniors last year: the Pacific Tigers.
Bock waited, waited and waited his turn until he was finally able to make a significant contribution his senior season.
The Ritalo, Calif. native started out his career at Creighton, where he played in 21 games and played an average of 8.0 minutes. He transferred to Pacific after only playing one season in a Blue Jay uniform, and spent his next three years of eligibility in Stockton, two of which were under former Tiger coaching legend Bob Thomason.
Bock failed to make a serious impact under Thomason, averaging 3.4 and 1.4 points respectively during his junior and senior seasons. However, when former Pacific point guard Lorenzo McCloud graduated after the 2012-2013 season it left a void in the Tigers starting lineup, one that longtime assistant and newly appointed head coach Ron Verlin trusted Bock to fill.
Beating out upcoming freshman T.J. Wallace and David Taylor, Bock was indeed the Tigers starting point guard. He made Verlin look smart for choosing him, averaging 11.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Bock turned into the Tigers go-to-guy in crunch time, and Bock usually delivered. After waiting threes, the Southern California native can dwell on moments like these when looking back on his career at Pacific.
After spending one season at Western Wyoming Community College, Trevin Harris transferred to Pacific to give division I basketball a go.
While at WWCC, Harris established himself as a capable 3-point shooter. After shooting 46.0 percent at the junior college level, Harris went on to shoot 40.0 percent at the division I level. Whenever the Tigers needed a key 3-point shot, Harris was the guy that was often called upon.
After starting primarily coming off the bench for the Tigers in his first two seasons, Harris started 28 of the 29 games he appeared in his junior season. The Kingwood, Tex. native averaged 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds throughout the season, which was top five on the team in both categories. His senior season came to an abrupt end due to a shoulder injury suffered in a game against the Portland Pilots. The injury forced Harris to sit out in the Tigers College Insider Tournament run, where the Tigers made it to the semifinals.
Out of all the Tigers leaving Stockton next season, Taku might be the player Pacific misses the most due to his versatility.
The former Santa Rosa Junior College player averaged 11.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists during his senior season at Pacific, which was third, third and second on the team in the respective categories.
Taku was extremely productive in a number of different facets of the game at the shooting guard position, making him a valuable member of the starting lineup. However, consistency was a big issue with Taku, especially in the middle of the season. Freshman T.J. Wallace got the start over Taku three games this season as a result, even after Taku started in every single game as a junior.
While Ross Rivera and Tony Gill were the big men that put up big scoring numbers in the Tigers system, Khalil Kelley provided defense and toughness to the Tigers frontcourt. It wasn’t Kelley’s role to score in bunches; his role was to control the glass and contest shots.
Throughout his Pacific career, Kelley was a model of consistency. The Rancho Cucamungo native made 99 career starts, more than any senior on this list. Kelley transformed into a consistent starter in his sophomore season, starting in 97.0 percent of the Tigers games from that point on.
From a statistical standpoint, his sophomore season was the best. He averaged 6.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.5 blocks as a sophomore. His numbers did not differ greatly in his only season in the WCC, with Kelley averaging 6.0 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Ross Rivera
While Rivera could never top his sophomore season, where he averaged 11.0 points and 3.7 rebounds and earned honorable All-Big West and sixth man of the year honors, the Visalia, Calif. native made significant contributions for the Tigers in their first year in the WCC.
Initially, Rivera attended the College of the Sequoias, where he averaged 16.2 points and 6.0 rebounds and earned first team All-Central Valley Conference honors. The El Diamente high school product later landed at Pacific to spend his next seasons.
While wearing a Tiger uniform, Rivera averaged 8.8 points and 2.9 rebounds. Rivera had three 20-plus scoring outputs during his Pacific career, the most prominent being a 26 point game against Cal State Northridge his sophomore season. In that same season, Rivera went for 21 against the Matadors of CSUN. Rivera’s only 20-plus scoring outing during his final two seasons came against former Big West foe UC Irvine, where the 6’7” forward went for 21 against the Anteaters.
Like a lot of guys in this post, Tim Thomas is junior college guy that landed at Pacific.
Thomas, who hails from Sheridan, Wyo., started out his college career at Las Positas College in Livermore, Calif. After spending two seasons at Las Positas, Thomas took his talents northeast to Stockton, Calif.
After redshirting his first season, Thomas was primarily a role player for the Tigers in his two seasons of action. While Thomas struggled to garner significant playing time under the Pacific coaching staff, he did whatever he could to help the team succeed.
In his final game as a Tiger, Thomas notched an 11 point, 6 rebound performance in the semifinals of the CIT, arguably the best of his career. Talk about going out with a bang.
Tony Gill
We have a special post coming up for Mr. Gill.