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Friday, November 17, 2006
HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK
It is too early to be giving out awards. And the league doesn't even have a comeback player of the year award. But if they did, here are some guys you'd want to keep an eye on. We also handicap the early returns in the race for Rookie of the Year in this season's debut of the Hoop Time Notebook.
LOOKING UP WHEN THEY FALL -- Signs of promise and progress in Easton, where reports of the Lafayette Leopards demise seem to have been premature.
There were those (O.K., it was me in Blue Ribbon) who opined in the preseason this could be a darkest-hour-just-before-dawn sort of a season. Getting in late on the scholarship game limited Fran O'Hanlon's chances of getting immediate impact recruits.
Andrew Brown was back in Colorado when that was forecast. One look at the Leopards' stats shows the impact his return has had. Brown leads Lafayette in scoring (10.3 points per game) and assists (4 apg). He is shooting .524 from the field, amazing for a guard, moreso for one who depends on the three the way Brown does -- 16 of the 21 shots he has put up have been launched beyond the arc.
That kind of shooting stands out, even on a team that shoots the ball as well as Lafayette. As a team the 'Pards are hitting at a 45.9 percent clip. Only one team (Bucknell - 46.5 percent) in the Patriot League shot better than that over the course of last season.
Three games of stats don't a season make. But if the trends of those three games play out across the season, Lafayette is going to be a tough out on nights when their jump shots are falling, more ordinary when the lid is on. They shot 50 percent from the field in the win at Wagner. They shot 50 percent in the first half against Indiana, and stayed in the game until their legs started to fail and the shots sopped falling. On tired legs the next night against Notre Dame, Lafayette shot 41.9 percent from the field and were never really in the game.
COMEBACK PLAYER -- Technically, Brown's return to school is not a "comeback."
Not that it matters, since the league does not give a "Comeback Player of the Year" award.
If it did, though, the early money for that honor might be on Lehigh's senior center Jason Mgebroff. His junior season flop played a big part in Lehigh's disappointments.
Word for Bethlehem in the preseason was that Mgebroff came back to school in much better shape and was ready to reclaim some of the promise he showed as a freshman. Thus far he has done just that. Mgebroff is averaging 16.3 points per game. He has only missed two of the 21 shots he has put up. Mgebroff is also leading the tam in rebounds, averaging 6 per game.
ANOTHER CANDIDATE -- Actually, that is not a new Matt Bell who is averaging 19 ppg for Army. Looking more like the all-league player he was as a sophomore than the injury hobbled guy who limped through last season, it's the old Matt Bell.
Bell would also be a candidate for Comeback Player of the year, except he never went away. Despite a bad foot that required postseason surgery, Bell still managed to start every game last season, something he has done for 84 straight games since arriving at West Point. Bell, who needs 29 points to reach 1,000 for his career, averaged 13 ppg. But he was clearly not himself, especially outside the arc. A driveway shooter who needs lots of reps to stay sharp, Bell's injury induced lack of practice time resulted in his three-point shooting percentage dropping a full 10 points (39.4 percent as a soph., 29.5 percent last season).
Through three games thus far, Bell is 7 for 9 (77.8 percent) from three-point range. That will cool off some, but if Bell stays healthy, expect a fine senior season.
YET ANOTHER CANDIDATE -- Would be remiss not to mention American's Andre Ingram on a list of comeback kids. Ingram earned all league second team honors last season, but to a large extent that was a reputation vote. Ingram was a shadow of the player he was as a sophomore, when he was a first-team all-league pick after finishing second in the league in scoring.
Ingram's field goal percentage plummeted last season to a career-low 34.5 percent. His 12 ppg led the team, but was down from his 15.3 ppg as a sophomore. It was even lower than his freshman season, when Ingram shot 39.3 percent and averaged 13.6 ppg.
Through two games thus far, though, Ingram seems to have reclaimed his stroke. The senior, who will enjoy a homecoming tonight when the Eagles visit Richmond, is averaging 21.5 points per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field -- 56.3 percent from the arc.
ON THE MARQ(UIS) -- Early favorite for the league's Rookie of the Year honors has to be Lehigh's Marquis Hall, the highly touted point guard from Portland, Ore., who has lived up to his advance billing in the season's first week. Thrust right into the mix, Hall made his first collegiate start close to home, scoring 8 points with 4 assists and just 3 turnovers against Oregon.
Hall was considered a key for the Mountain Hawks, who returned four starters, none a true point guard. Billy Taylor was counting on Hall being ready to run lehigh's offense and so far Hall has not let him down. Through three games, Hall is averaging 11 points, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. The 5-11 Hall is shooting 47.8 percent from the field.
TREYS FOR TREY -- Navy freshman Trey Stanton could give hall a run for those rookie honors. The long drink of water from Texas (Stanton is 6-10, but weighs just 205) is leading Navy in scoring through two games, averaging 13.3 ppg.
Though he is one of the two tallest guys on Navy's roster, Stanton's more of a perimeter guy. Over half his 40 points have come from teh arc, where he is 7 for 11 (63.6 percent). Overall Stanton is shooting at a 56.5 percent clip.
Stanton is one of two freshmen starting for the Mids. The other is 6-8 T.J. Topercer who is averaging 8.3 ppg and, like Stanton, is not afraid to step outside. Topercer has put up 13 threes, second most on the team, making 5.
It is too early to be giving out awards. And the league doesn't even have a comeback player of the year award. But if they did, here are some guys you'd want to keep an eye on. We also handicap the early returns in the race for Rookie of the Year in this season's debut of the Hoop Time Notebook.
There were those (O.K., it was me in Blue Ribbon) who opined in the preseason this could be a darkest-hour-just-before-dawn sort of a season. Getting in late on the scholarship game limited Fran O'Hanlon's chances of getting immediate impact recruits.
Andrew Brown was back in Colorado when that was forecast. One look at the Leopards' stats shows the impact his return has had. Brown leads Lafayette in scoring (10.3 points per game) and assists (4 apg). He is shooting .524 from the field, amazing for a guard, moreso for one who depends on the three the way Brown does -- 16 of the 21 shots he has put up have been launched beyond the arc.
That kind of shooting stands out, even on a team that shoots the ball as well as Lafayette. As a team the 'Pards are hitting at a 45.9 percent clip. Only one team (Bucknell - 46.5 percent) in the Patriot League shot better than that over the course of last season.
Three games of stats don't a season make. But if the trends of those three games play out across the season, Lafayette is going to be a tough out on nights when their jump shots are falling, more ordinary when the lid is on. They shot 50 percent from the field in the win at Wagner. They shot 50 percent in the first half against Indiana, and stayed in the game until their legs started to fail and the shots sopped falling. On tired legs the next night against Notre Dame, Lafayette shot 41.9 percent from the field and were never really in the game.
Not that it matters, since the league does not give a "Comeback Player of the Year" award.
If it did, though, the early money for that honor might be on Lehigh's senior center Jason Mgebroff. His junior season flop played a big part in Lehigh's disappointments.
Word for Bethlehem in the preseason was that Mgebroff came back to school in much better shape and was ready to reclaim some of the promise he showed as a freshman. Thus far he has done just that. Mgebroff is averaging 16.3 points per game. He has only missed two of the 21 shots he has put up. Mgebroff is also leading the tam in rebounds, averaging 6 per game.
Bell would also be a candidate for Comeback Player of the year, except he never went away. Despite a bad foot that required postseason surgery, Bell still managed to start every game last season, something he has done for 84 straight games since arriving at West Point. Bell, who needs 29 points to reach 1,000 for his career, averaged 13 ppg. But he was clearly not himself, especially outside the arc. A driveway shooter who needs lots of reps to stay sharp, Bell's injury induced lack of practice time resulted in his three-point shooting percentage dropping a full 10 points (39.4 percent as a soph., 29.5 percent last season).
Through three games thus far, Bell is 7 for 9 (77.8 percent) from three-point range. That will cool off some, but if Bell stays healthy, expect a fine senior season.
Ingram's field goal percentage plummeted last season to a career-low 34.5 percent. His 12 ppg led the team, but was down from his 15.3 ppg as a sophomore. It was even lower than his freshman season, when Ingram shot 39.3 percent and averaged 13.6 ppg.
Through two games thus far, though, Ingram seems to have reclaimed his stroke. The senior, who will enjoy a homecoming tonight when the Eagles visit Richmond, is averaging 21.5 points per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field -- 56.3 percent from the arc.
Hall was considered a key for the Mountain Hawks, who returned four starters, none a true point guard. Billy Taylor was counting on Hall being ready to run lehigh's offense and so far Hall has not let him down. Through three games, Hall is averaging 11 points, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. The 5-11 Hall is shooting 47.8 percent from the field.
Though he is one of the two tallest guys on Navy's roster, Stanton's more of a perimeter guy. Over half his 40 points have come from teh arc, where he is 7 for 11 (63.6 percent). Overall Stanton is shooting at a 56.5 percent clip.
Stanton is one of two freshmen starting for the Mids. The other is 6-8 T.J. Topercer who is averaging 8.3 ppg and, like Stanton, is not afraid to step outside. Topercer has put up 13 threes, second most on the team, making 5.
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