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Pepperdine Men's Basketball Hosts Cal Baptist in Exhibition Opener

The Vance Walberg Era made its debut this week when the Pepperdine men's basketball team hosted Cal Baptist in the first of two exhibition games at Firestone Fieldhouse Nov. 1.  

Walberg, who was hired on Apr. 19, comes to Pepperdine after a successful four-year stint at Fresno City College where he compiled an overall record of 133-11 (.924) and captured the California State Championship in 2005.

The Waves' first-year head coach received significant national attention this past summer for his high energy style of play that frequently results in high-scoring games. During his four seasons at Fresno City College, the Rams averaged 103.5 points a contest, including 107.6 during the 2003-04 season.

"Shoot, shoot and shoot some more. It's really very simple," Walberg said when describing his brand of play. "What I do is I spread you out and we attack. I call it AASAA-Attack, Attack, Skip, Attack, Attack."

Eight members of the Pepperdine team received an early education on Walberg's up-tempo style of play in August when the Waves traveled to Europe for a 10-day exhibition tour. Pepperdine went 2-2 on the trip and averaged 106.7 points a game.

Sophomore guard Michael Gerrity headlines a group of nine returning letterwinners from last year's team. Gerrity, who was named to the West Coast Conference's (WCC) All-Freshman Team, will be counted on to run the break. In addition to nine returning letterwinners, Walberg welcomes nine newcomers to the roster.

Pepperdine will host Fresno Pacific in its second exhibition game on Tuesday, Nov. 7, beginning at 7 p.m.

The Waves open their 2006-07 campaign on Sunday, Nov. 12, when they travel to Seattle, Wash., to face host and No. 16 Washington in an opening-round game of the Basketball Travelers Classic.