Jan. 3, 2007

Stockton, Calif. - Click Here for the Full Weekly Release

Pacific opens up the Big West Conference road season with a Jan. 4 game at UC Riverside and a Jan. 6 game at Cal State Fullerton.

LAST WEEK: Pacific opened up the Big West Conference season with a Dec. 30 68-64 home victory over Cal State Northridge.

RADIO: All Tiger basketball games are broadcast live on KSTN (1420 AM) in Stockton, ESPN Radio 970 AM in Modesto ... Mike Millerick calls the play-by-play, with former Tiger head coach Dick Fichtner providing color commentary ... Air time is 20 minutes before tip-off ... All Pacific basketball games can be heard outside the KSTN/KESP listening area by going to http://pacifictigers.com and clicking on the broadcast link from the home page.

TV: Pacific will be on local, regional or national television at least 10 times during the 2006-07 season ... The next telecast will be the UC Irvine game on Jan. 13 by CSTV.

ON THE INTERNET & TIGER HOTLINE: Visit http://pacifictigers.com for the latest news, scores and information about all 16 NCAA Division I sports at Pacific ... For daily reports of Pacific sports, call the Tiger Hotline at 209-946-2400.

PROBABLE STARTERS: (2006-07 averages) points rebounds ast F 21 Anthony Brown 6-7 So. Sacramento, CA 15.2 7.8 F 30 Anthony Esparza 6-5 Sr. Bakersfield, CA 6.5 3.9 2.2 C 51 Michael White 6-7 Sr. Capitola, CA 7.8 3.1 G 5 Steffan Johnson 6-1 So. Kent, WA 11.4 2.6 4.4 G 3 C.J. Morgan 6-0 Fr. Elk Grove, CA 9.4 1.5

RESERVES: (listed by average points - 2006-07 averages) points rebounds asst. G 10 Solomon Horsechief 6-1 Jr. Muskogee, OK 5.1 1.0 1.9 F 42 Joe Ford 6-6 So. Altadena, CA 5.0 1.5 F 34 Wolfgang Raffety 6-8 Sr. Placerville, CA 3.5 2.7 C 33 Casey Neimeyer 6-8 Fr. Woodland, CA 2.3 1.3 G 0 Reggie Vezia 6-2 Sr. Vacaville, CA 2.7 1.3 F 12 Ben Pemberton 6-5 Sr. Hawkins, TX 2.2 1.3 C 11 DeAngelo Garrett 6-8 Jr. Edmond, OK 0.7 1.0

THE COACH: Former Pacific basketball standout Bob Thomason (Pacific '71) is 314-230 (.577) in his 19th season as head coach of his alma mater ... He has more Big West experience at his current school than any other coach in the Big West Conference ... After leading the Tigers to a 27-4 record in 2004-05, Thomason was named as a finalist for the CollegeInsider.com Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award and received USBWA District 9 Coach of the Year honors ... Thomason is the second coach in Big West history to record 300 wins during Big West membership ... Jerry Tarkanian is first with 405 wins ... Bob surpassed his former coach Dick Edwards for the most career wins at Pacific, and has coached more games than any coach in school history ... He was an all-conference guard under coach Edwards from 1967-71, and has five times earned Big West Conference Coach of the Year honors (in 1992-93, 1996-97, 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06) ... Thomason has guided his teams to nine Big West Tournament semifinal games and is 2-3 in championship appearances ... Thomason was a 2006 inductee into the Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame ... He holds a 367-257 overall record in his 21st year as an NCAA head coach, including a three-year stint at Div. III Stanislaus State where he led the Warriors to the 1988 NCAA Tournament ... He is the winningest coach in Spanos Center history, claiming a 183-56 mark (.768), and has directed Pacific to a 123-29 (.813) home mark since 1995 ... Thomason is 184-127 in Big West Conference games ... He has been a part of 391 wins at Pacific, as a player (1968-1971) and coach (1988-) ... In NCAA Tournament games, Thomason is 2-4.