Troupe returns to Volcanoes lineup
Former UP Pilot was playing in Romania
Friday, May 21, 2010
Just when it looked as though things couldn’t get any better for the Vancouver Volcanoes, they did.
The Volcanoes (6-4) enter a home game tonight at 7 p.m. against Central Oregon with six wins in their past seven games. The victories have been by an average of 36 points; the lone loss was by one point.
And while the International Basketball League team hasn’t required any help in recent weeks, it will welcome the return of Porter Troupe tonight. Troupe, a 6-foot-5 guard out of the University of Portland, has been playing in Romania the past 10 months and returned to the Northwest this week.
“What Porter’s going to add is leadership and just a great defensive presence,” coach Bryan Hunter said. “He’s 6-5, long, really athletic. Plus, he has led the team in scoring in the past.”
In 2008, Troupe played 22 games for the Volcanoes and averaged a team-high 22.4 points while shooting 46 percent from the field. Last year, he joined the club for 11 games and averaged 13.4 points.
The addition of a player when a team is playing well sometimes can upset the chemistry, Hunter said. But he doesn’t anticipate that with Troupe.
“A lot of these guys have played with him in the past,” Hunter said. “Plus, a lot of the offensive sets are the same things he ran in Romania. He probably knows our plays better than some of our players.”
Vancouver found a winning formula after beginning the season with three straight losses. Since then, the only defeat was 123-122 at Central Oregon, tonight’s opponent.
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