STOCKTON, Calif. – The Dave Smart era begins Monday for the Pacific men's basketball program when he coaches his first game as a Tiger at 7 p.m. against Jessup at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
Widely regarded as the most successful Canadian college basketball coach of all time, Smart enters his first season as the head coach. Smart arrived at Pacific after serving as Assistant Coach at Texas Tech last season. He previously amassed 656 victories as the head coach at Carleton University over 18 seasons.
 
The new-look Tigers will sport a roster that features 14 newcomers and one returner. Of the 14 newcomers, eight are international student-athletes including four from Canada. Seven of the newcomers are Division I transfers coming from SMU, Texas Tech, FIU, Minnesota, Nevada, Boise State and DePaul.
 
One of the Canadians is junior Elijah Fisher who spent last season at DePaul. Fisher was second on the team in scoring with 10.2 points per game and shot .520 from the field on 119-of-229 attempts.
 
Senior Elias Ralph and sophomore Jazz Gardner represented the Tigers at West Coast Conference Media Day in Las Vegas. Ralph played for assistant coach Craig Beaucamp last year at the University of Victoria in Canada.
 
Ralph, a 6-7 forward, averaged 15.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and shot .405 (60-148) from three-point range. Gardner, a 7-0 center, spent last season at Nevada and was part of a team that reached the NCAA Tournament.
 
Jessup is in its first season at the NCAA Division II level and will play in the California Pacific Conference. It previously competed as an NAIA member since 2014-15. The Warriors are coming off an 18-12 season and finished 8-6 in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC).
 
The fast-paced Warriors scored over 80 points per game last year. They return two starters with seniors Ja'Maris Blackmon and Aydan Janssan who averaged 13.6 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Both shot over 35 percent from three-point range on over 100 attempts apiece.
 
Prior to tip-off Monday, there will be a moment of silence for Myke Scholl, who suddenly passed in July and was entering his first season as an assistant coach. Hired in April, Scholl spent the previous 10 seasons at Long Beach State, including the last six as an associate head coach.
 
NOTES
- Pacific is one of nine teams in the nation with at least 14 newcomers including Cal, Coastal Carolina, DePaul, Fresno State, IU Indy, Louisville, Missouri State and UT Martin.
 
- Monday will be just the second-ever meeting between Pacific and Jessup. The Tigers won the first 70-61 on Nov. 20, 2010.
 
- The Tigers are looking to win their season opener for the first time since 2020-21 when they topped UC Riverside 66-60 at home.
 
- Pacific will play non-conference games in four different time zones. It includes trips to Hawaii, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado and UNLV.
 
- The Tigers relaunched the Casaba Club prior to the season, a revitalized basketball booster club. The club provides funding for teams to travel internationally for competition every four years, as well as charter travel for away games, and improves the teams' scheduling by providing money for travel and entry fees into high-quality tournaments.
 
- Pacific has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances and has won four NCAA Tournament games in school history. Most notably, the Tigers beat Providence as a No. 12 seed in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, and followed it up with a win over Pittsburgh as a No. 8 seed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
 
Quoting Dave Smart
"We're going to try to compete every single time we walk on the court. If we defensive rebound and take care of the ball, it doesn't matter who we're playing, we're going to be in a lot of games. As people say, everybody has a great game plan until you get punched in the mouth, and we're going to get punched in the mouth a lot in this league. How we react will have a lot to do with how successful we are."
 
"We're going to play fast and we're going to be physical, but with that said, it's not really about my coaching style. It's about the players we put on the floor, how hard they play and how committed they are to winning. We're going to do our best to win as much as we can, but the culture is more important to me in the first year than anything. The real goal is to be hard to play against every time we walk on the court."
 
On recruiting
"My philosophy is to find kids who can play the right way and form the best roster we can. Whether that's internationally or staying with American kids doesn't make a big difference to me. The types of people we have on our roster, their work ethic and playing style are what matters most."
 
Tigers Tickets
Tickets for upcoming events can be purchased through the PacificTigers.com tickets tab, or by calling the Box Office at 209-946-2474.  Groups of 10 or more are eligible for a group discount and exclusive fan experiences.
 
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