≈ Friday, March 31, 2006
Taylor stays at Lehigh . . . for now
In today's Express-Times, Corky Blake Lehigh coach Billy Taylor has turned down an offer to become the next coach at Delaware.
The Wilmington News Journal still calls Taylor the front-runner for the job in a that talks about the Delaware A.D.'s plans to continue talking to candidates at the Final Four this weekend in Indianapolis. But Blake's sources say he has already told Delaware no.
But that does not necessarily mean Taylor is staying in Bethlehem. While Temple officials are denying reports in that school's student paper that Penn coach Fran Dunphy has been offered their head coaching job, the Dunphy remains the top candidate.
Hoop Time sources indicate that Dunphy has already met with representatives of Temple's board of trustees, saying the school could be ready to announce his hiring following the Final Four.
If that happens, it could have a ripple effect that extends to the Lehigh Valley and the Patriot League. Conventional wisdom has been that Dunphy's replacement would likely be another Fran, either Fran McCaffrey or Fran O'Hanlon.
McCaffrey, a former Lehigh assistant and head coach who also played and was an assistant at Penn, just signed an extension at Siena.
O'Hanlon, the Lafayette coach, just got scholarships at Lafayette and is no sure bet to take the Penn job if offered.
But Ivy League sources have told Hoop Time that Taylor could be a candidate for the Penn job if Dunphy leaves. That makes sense is some ways. In addition to the likely higher paycheck at Penn, Taylor has a strong connection that could help him should he be interested in the position.
Taylor was McCaffrey's top assistant at UNC-Greensboro before taking the Lehigh job and played at Notre Dame when McCaffrey was an assistant there. And sources say McCaffrey is tight with Penn A.D Steve Bilsky. McCaffrey was an assistant at Penn when Bilsky was an assistant A.D. there in the early 80s.
Of course all this is predicated on Dunphy leaving Penn. Two years ago he decided against such a move when offered the job at his alma mater, LaSalle. And as the points out today, if finances are the deciding factor, don't count out the deep pockets of Penn alums.
While some might view the non-scholarship Ivy League a step down from the Patriot League, and even more steps down from the Atlantic Ten, the Penn job is viewed differently from the jobs at Ivy League schools whose name does not begin with a P. The lures of a tradition of success, the tradition of Philadelphia's legendary Big Five, an equally legendary home court in the Palestra and a long commitment to hoops success, make recruiting at Penn different than it is elsewhere in the Ivies and the job is known to pay pretty well.
Whomever the coach is at Penn, they will also benefit from the school's to replace loans with grants for all students from families with an income below $50,000. That policy applies to all students, but it is not hard to see how it could benefit the basketball program.
Stay tuned.
The Wilmington News Journal still calls Taylor the front-runner for the job in a that talks about the Delaware A.D.'s plans to continue talking to candidates at the Final Four this weekend in Indianapolis. But Blake's sources say he has already told Delaware no.
But that does not necessarily mean Taylor is staying in Bethlehem. While Temple officials are denying reports in that school's student paper that Penn coach Fran Dunphy has been offered their head coaching job, the Dunphy remains the top candidate.
Hoop Time sources indicate that Dunphy has already met with representatives of Temple's board of trustees, saying the school could be ready to announce his hiring following the Final Four.
If that happens, it could have a ripple effect that extends to the Lehigh Valley and the Patriot League. Conventional wisdom has been that Dunphy's replacement would likely be another Fran, either Fran McCaffrey or Fran O'Hanlon.
McCaffrey, a former Lehigh assistant and head coach who also played and was an assistant at Penn, just signed an extension at Siena.
O'Hanlon, the Lafayette coach, just got scholarships at Lafayette and is no sure bet to take the Penn job if offered.
But Ivy League sources have told Hoop Time that Taylor could be a candidate for the Penn job if Dunphy leaves. That makes sense is some ways. In addition to the likely higher paycheck at Penn, Taylor has a strong connection that could help him should he be interested in the position.
Taylor was McCaffrey's top assistant at UNC-Greensboro before taking the Lehigh job and played at Notre Dame when McCaffrey was an assistant there. And sources say McCaffrey is tight with Penn A.D Steve Bilsky. McCaffrey was an assistant at Penn when Bilsky was an assistant A.D. there in the early 80s.
Of course all this is predicated on Dunphy leaving Penn. Two years ago he decided against such a move when offered the job at his alma mater, LaSalle. And as the points out today, if finances are the deciding factor, don't count out the deep pockets of Penn alums.
While some might view the non-scholarship Ivy League a step down from the Patriot League, and even more steps down from the Atlantic Ten, the Penn job is viewed differently from the jobs at Ivy League schools whose name does not begin with a P. The lures of a tradition of success, the tradition of Philadelphia's legendary Big Five, an equally legendary home court in the Palestra and a long commitment to hoops success, make recruiting at Penn different than it is elsewhere in the Ivies and the job is known to pay pretty well.
Whomever the coach is at Penn, they will also benefit from the school's to replace loans with grants for all students from families with an income below $50,000. That policy applies to all students, but it is not hard to see how it could benefit the basketball program.
Stay tuned.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Another extension for Flannery
From a Bucknell Sports Information Press release:
After leading the Bucknell men’s basketball program to a second straight record-setting season, Bison head coach Pat Flannery has agreed to an extension of his existing contract, director of athletics and recreation John Hardt announced today.
Flannery, a 1980 Bucknell graduate, skippered the Bison to a 27-5 season, a second consecutive Patriot League championship and a second straight march into the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2005-06. Along the way, the Bison shattered the school and league single-season victory record and became the first team in Patriot League history to go unbeaten (14-0) in conference play.
Not to be overlooked, Flannery’s team led all members of the 2006 NCAA Tournament field with a 100 percent graduation rate, and his program’s performance in the NCAA’s Academic Performance Rate indicator was well above the national average. In addition, the Bison set a school attendance record at Sojka Pavilion this season, featuring eight sellouts and the top 10 single-game attendances in program history.
“Bucknell University is privileged to have Pat Flannery as its head basketball coach,” said President Brian C. Mitchell. “He is a leader who has not only brought tremendous basketball success to Bucknell, but he has also been a vocal advocate of the student-athlete ideal. The young men he has brought to our campus are future engineers, businessmen, writers and scientists that also play basketball extremely well. They are role models in the community who are here to experience Bucknell just like any other student. Remarkably, Pat’s teams have maintained that focus while bringing national acclaim to our institution through their championship-level play on the hardwood, and their class and poise in the arena of everyday life.”
Flannery, who just completed his 12th season at Bucknell, was awarded the mid-season Hugh Durham Award by CollegeInsider.com as the nation’s top mid-major head coach, and he is a finalist and strong candidate for the end-of-year Durham Award, which will be announced later this week.
“We are thrilled that Bucknell’s men’s basketball program will continue to benefit from Pat Flannery’s exceptional leadership,” said Hardt. “Bucknell is committed to providing Pat with the necessary support to maintain a successful Patriot League program. The last two seasons in particular have been extraordinary. Bison Basketball has reached unprecedented levels of achievement, and people across the nation have taken notice not just of Bucknell’s success, but also how the ideal of the scholar-athlete has not been compromised along the way. I look forward to working with Pat for years to come, as we strive to continue the growth of this great program.”
"I am extremely happy knowing that my family and I will continue to be a part of this great institution," said Flannery. "I thank the university leadership for the trust it has shown in the work we are doing to continue to make the Bucknell program a success both on and off the court. The entire future of Bucknell University is extremely bright."
After leading the Bucknell men’s basketball program to a second straight record-setting season, Bison head coach Pat Flannery has agreed to an extension of his existing contract, director of athletics and recreation John Hardt announced today.
Flannery, a 1980 Bucknell graduate, skippered the Bison to a 27-5 season, a second consecutive Patriot League championship and a second straight march into the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2005-06. Along the way, the Bison shattered the school and league single-season victory record and became the first team in Patriot League history to go unbeaten (14-0) in conference play.
Not to be overlooked, Flannery’s team led all members of the 2006 NCAA Tournament field with a 100 percent graduation rate, and his program’s performance in the NCAA’s Academic Performance Rate indicator was well above the national average. In addition, the Bison set a school attendance record at Sojka Pavilion this season, featuring eight sellouts and the top 10 single-game attendances in program history.
“Bucknell University is privileged to have Pat Flannery as its head basketball coach,” said President Brian C. Mitchell. “He is a leader who has not only brought tremendous basketball success to Bucknell, but he has also been a vocal advocate of the student-athlete ideal. The young men he has brought to our campus are future engineers, businessmen, writers and scientists that also play basketball extremely well. They are role models in the community who are here to experience Bucknell just like any other student. Remarkably, Pat’s teams have maintained that focus while bringing national acclaim to our institution through their championship-level play on the hardwood, and their class and poise in the arena of everyday life.”
Flannery, who just completed his 12th season at Bucknell, was awarded the mid-season Hugh Durham Award by CollegeInsider.com as the nation’s top mid-major head coach, and he is a finalist and strong candidate for the end-of-year Durham Award, which will be announced later this week.
“We are thrilled that Bucknell’s men’s basketball program will continue to benefit from Pat Flannery’s exceptional leadership,” said Hardt. “Bucknell is committed to providing Pat with the necessary support to maintain a successful Patriot League program. The last two seasons in particular have been extraordinary. Bison Basketball has reached unprecedented levels of achievement, and people across the nation have taken notice not just of Bucknell’s success, but also how the ideal of the scholar-athlete has not been compromised along the way. I look forward to working with Pat for years to come, as we strive to continue the growth of this great program.”
"I am extremely happy knowing that my family and I will continue to be a part of this great institution," said Flannery. "I thank the university leadership for the trust it has shown in the work we are doing to continue to make the Bucknell program a success both on and off the court. The entire future of Bucknell University is extremely bright."
BU recruit honored
Bucknell recruit Zach Evans has been named to the (if you want to see the whole list, use hoop_time@hotmail.com and the password: "hooptime" to log in.
Evans also earned first team honors on both the and, according to the , first team All-Division Southern Section.
Evans is also a game nominee.
Evans also earned first team honors on both the and, according to the , first team All-Division Southern Section.
Evans is also a game nominee.
HC recruits on display
Most of in today's Centre Daily Times deals with George Mason's Gabe Norwood, a State College (Pa.) H.S. grad.
But scroll down and you will find info on all-star game appearances Friday by two Holy Cross recruits. State College senior Eric Meister will be on a regional team playing in the Friday in the Altoona Mirror Basketball Classic. That game will be at St. Francis (Pa.)
Another HC recruit, Andrew Keister, will team with North Carolina recruit Dennis Horner on a New Jersey team that will play a team of mostly Division I recruits from Pa. in the Roundball Showcase on Friday at Susquehanna Twp. High School in Harrisburg.
Among the players on the Pa. team: Chester's Richard Fleming (George Mason), Trinity's Brian Morris (Richmond), Reading Central Catholic's Alex Franklin (Siena) and West Perry's Justin Fry (University of Maryland-Baltimore County).
The New Jersey squad includes , a North Carolina State recruit, and Andrew Keister, who's heading to Holy Cross.
But scroll down and you will find info on all-star game appearances Friday by two Holy Cross recruits. State College senior Eric Meister will be on a regional team playing in the Friday in the Altoona Mirror Basketball Classic. That game will be at St. Francis (Pa.)
Another HC recruit, Andrew Keister, will team with North Carolina recruit Dennis Horner on a New Jersey team that will play a team of mostly Division I recruits from Pa. in the Roundball Showcase on Friday at Susquehanna Twp. High School in Harrisburg.
Among the players on the Pa. team: Chester's Richard Fleming (George Mason), Trinity's Brian Morris (Richmond), Reading Central Catholic's Alex Franklin (Siena) and West Perry's Justin Fry (University of Maryland-Baltimore County).
The New Jersey squad includes , a North Carolina State recruit, and Andrew Keister, who's heading to Holy Cross.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Bye bye Billy?
The Wilmington News-Journal that Lehigh coach Billy Taylor is the latest candidate for the Delaware job. Delaware already has seen two of its top candidates fall through. Kevin Willard, son of Holy Cross coach Ralph and currently an assistant at Louisville, was offered the job by the school's president, only to have the trustees refuse to OK that hire. And UConn assistant Tom Moore has pulled his name out of the hat.
If Taylor leaves, he won't get to coach recruit Marquis Hall, who was just in Oregon.
He might also miss out on coaching former Allentown Allen star Ray Barbosa, who is leaving James Madison and to either UMBC or Lehigh.
In today's Morning Call, Andre Williams reports:
Elsewhere on the coaching vacancies front:
The kids at the are in a titter than Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon may not find the Penn job attractive now that the Leopards have scholarships. O'Hanlon has been high on the list of speculative replacements for Penn coach Fran Dunphy, who is high on the speculative lists to replace retiring Temple coach John Chaney.
If Taylor leaves, he won't get to coach recruit Marquis Hall, who was just in Oregon.
He might also miss out on coaching former Allentown Allen star Ray Barbosa, who is leaving James Madison and to either UMBC or Lehigh.
In today's Morning Call, Andre Williams reports:
According to Barbosa, Lehigh assistant coach Bob Simmons contacted Allen coach Doug Snyder inquiring when he might be released. Simmons said on Tuesday that he could not comment.Williams also reports:
Barbosa favors UMBC over Lehigh because Retrievers assistant coach Kevin Baggett was also an assistant at JMU during Barbosa's freshman season and he was the main reason he went to JMU. Also, UMBC's academic requirements are not as stringent as Lehigh's.Of course Barbosa should know he does not need to worry about the academic requirements. A year at a community college can take care of that.
Elsewhere on the coaching vacancies front:
The kids at the are in a titter than Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon may not find the Penn job attractive now that the Leopards have scholarships. O'Hanlon has been high on the list of speculative replacements for Penn coach Fran Dunphy, who is high on the speculative lists to replace retiring Temple coach John Chaney.
HC recruit honored
Holy Cross recruit Eric Meister of the Mountain Athletic Conference. The State College Pa. star averaged 17.2 ppg this season, capping a career that saw him average over 12 ppg in 112 varsity contests. His team won the conference this season and finished second in the PIAA District 6 Class AAAA tournament.
Careful what you wish for
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Bob Smizik says Duquesne's hoops program needs more than a new coach. It needs a new conference he . Smizik thinks the Dukes would be better off in the MAAC or the Patriot League.
Maybe he should look closer. Although the Patriot League was 2-4 against the A-10, the four losses were by Army (vs. Temple in the preseason NIT), an early season loss by a very young American team to A-10 power George Washington and two losses by non-scholarship Lafayette to two of the A-10's better teams, Fordham and Saint Joe's. Those two A-10 teams also account for the two losses to Patriot League teams, with Saint Joe's losing to Bucknell and Fordham to Holy Cross.
If he thinks life would be so much easier in the Patriot League, he might look at the experience of the last team to leave a higher conference to join the Patriot League. American fled the Colonial Athletic Conference five seasons ago and it has not gotten the Eagles to the dance.
Maybe he should look closer. Although the Patriot League was 2-4 against the A-10, the four losses were by Army (vs. Temple in the preseason NIT), an early season loss by a very young American team to A-10 power George Washington and two losses by non-scholarship Lafayette to two of the A-10's better teams, Fordham and Saint Joe's. Those two A-10 teams also account for the two losses to Patriot League teams, with Saint Joe's losing to Bucknell and Fordham to Holy Cross.
If he thinks life would be so much easier in the Patriot League, he might look at the experience of the last team to leave a higher conference to join the Patriot League. American fled the Colonial Athletic Conference five seasons ago and it has not gotten the Eagles to the dance.
Where have you gone Bill Courtney?
Former Bucknell point guard Bill Courtney, a two-time first team All-Patriot League pick (1991, 1992) never made it to the Big Dance as a Bison player. Close as Courtney got was Bucknell's 21-9 season his senior year, when BU lost to Fordham (70-65) in the conference final.
That seems to have set a pattern for Courtney, who is going through a different sort of close-but-no-cigar experience this season, his first as an assistant at Providence.
Courtney took that job at Providence after a long stint as an assistant on Jim Larranaga's staff at George Mason, where he was responsible for the recruiting of many of the players on the Patriots' Final Four team.
In a story in , Courtney says Mason is lucky that he left:
That seems to have set a pattern for Courtney, who is going through a different sort of close-but-no-cigar experience this season, his first as an assistant at Providence.
Courtney took that job at Providence after a long stint as an assistant on Jim Larranaga's staff at George Mason, where he was responsible for the recruiting of many of the players on the Patriots' Final Four team.
In a story in , Courtney says Mason is lucky that he left:
"I would've convinced Jim along the way to do one little thing differently that wouldn't have worked," Courtney said. "The stars had to be perfectly aligned for this to happen, and part of that destiny was me leaving."
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
More honors for Lee
(Originally posted Monday at 8:47 p.m., updated at 7:29 a.m.)
Bucknell's Charles Lee, the Patriot League Player of the Year and a two-time first-team All Hoop Time honoree has earned honorable mention honors on the .
Lee is the sixth Patriot League player to get honorable mention and the fifth straight league player of the year to be honored in that manner. It makes you wonder if the AP has some policy of giving the Patriot's POY token honorable mention every year.
We ask that because last season's POY, Kevin Hamilton of Holy Cross, was an honorable mention choice a year ago, but not this season, despite putting up better numbers this time around.
While we preach that you cannot judge a player solely by statistics, Hamilton was also the league's defensive POY. He an Lee were the consensus two top players in the league this year. Chances are the deciding factor in Lee winning POY over Hamilton was the fact that the Bison won the league title.
It is hard to imagine how Hamilton could not merit honorable mention again this season if he deserved it last season.
PREVIOUS PATRIOT LEAGUE AP ALL-AMERICA HONORABLE MENTION CHOICES:
2005 - Kevin Hamilton, HC
2004 - Austin Rowland, Lehigh
2003 - Patrick Whearty, HC
2002 - Patrick Doctor, AU
1997 - Adonal Foyle, Colgate
1996 - Adonal Foyle, Colgate
Bucknell's Charles Lee, the Patriot League Player of the Year and a two-time first-team All Hoop Time honoree has earned honorable mention honors on the .
Lee is the sixth Patriot League player to get honorable mention and the fifth straight league player of the year to be honored in that manner. It makes you wonder if the AP has some policy of giving the Patriot's POY token honorable mention every year.
We ask that because last season's POY, Kevin Hamilton of Holy Cross, was an honorable mention choice a year ago, but not this season, despite putting up better numbers this time around.
While we preach that you cannot judge a player solely by statistics, Hamilton was also the league's defensive POY. He an Lee were the consensus two top players in the league this year. Chances are the deciding factor in Lee winning POY over Hamilton was the fact that the Bison won the league title.
It is hard to imagine how Hamilton could not merit honorable mention again this season if he deserved it last season.
PREVIOUS PATRIOT LEAGUE AP ALL-AMERICA HONORABLE MENTION CHOICES:
2005 - Kevin Hamilton, HC
2004 - Austin Rowland, Lehigh
2003 - Patrick Whearty, HC
2002 - Patrick Doctor, AU
1997 - Adonal Foyle, Colgate
1996 - Adonal Foyle, Colgate
On the money
During the first two rounds of the NCAA TOurnament in Dallas, Jonathan Tannewald of the Penn student publication The Daily Pennsylvanian kept showing up for the Bucknell press conferences, usually asking questions about the Patriot League's move to scholarships.
Today he puts it all together in that looks at the impact that has had on the Ivy-Patriot balance.
There is no real news to Patriot League fans, but it is worth a read, especially for PL hoops junkies in need of some sort of a fix.
Today he puts it all together in that looks at the impact that has had on the Ivy-Patriot balance.
There is no real news to Patriot League fans, but it is worth a read, especially for PL hoops junkies in need of some sort of a fix.
Monday, March 27, 2006
2006 All Hoop Time Team
The All Hoop Time team is very different from the All Patriot League team announced at the conference at the end of the regular season.
The difference is simple: the does not take position into account. The first team is made up of the five players who the coaches consider the top five in the league, the second team is the next five in the voting.
In a league like the Patriot, that tends to produce a team heavy on guards and woefully shy of big men. Matter of fact, the 10 players who won all-league honors included only two taller than 6-4.
As we explained it last year, when the was named, we take a different approach:
FIRST TEAM
CENTER: Chris McNaughton, 6-11 Jr. Bucknell (HT '05)– By a wide margin, the best big man in the league. Averaged 12.8 ppg despite being double- and triple-teamed by everybody in the league, something no other Patriot League player demanded.
POWER FORWARD: Darren Mastropaolo, 6-8 Soph. Bucknell (R '05)– Mastropaolo doesn’t show up in the box scores, but he does in opposing team’s scouting reports. A tremendous screener and tough as nails defender, Mastropaolo might have led the league in charges drawn if such a stat were kept.
SMALL FORWARD: Charles Lee, 6-3 Sr. Bucknell (HT '05)– The league’s coaches voted him player of the year. Who are we to argue. Averaged 13 points and 6 boards per contest and ranked in the top 10 in five other categories. One of the two best defenders in the league, Lee is single-handedly responsible for American’s Andre Ingram not making the All Hoop Time team
SHOOTING GUARD: Kevin Hamilton 6-4 Sr. Holy Cross (HT '05)– The league’s defensive player of the year won that honor for good reason. He averaged over 3 steals per game and seemed to deflect every pass that was in the same zip code. Led the league in scoring and rebounding, too, and had more assists than four of the starting point guards in the league.
POINT GUARD: Abe Badmus 6-0 Jr. Bucknell (HT '05)– Torey Thomas had better overall numbers, but Badmus played better when the two faced each other head-to-head. Either way you cannot go wrong. Badmus averaged almost 7 ppg, a deceptive figure because he showed several times he was capable of scoring more if that had been his role. His 3.91 assists per game were second in the league, behind Thomas and he also was in the top 5 in steals and assists-turnover ratio.
Centers:
Tim Clifford, 6-10 Soph Holy Cross (R '05)– After a slow start, the Big Purple Dog came on in league play, averaging almost 10 ppg in conference action. Led the league in blocks, fifth in field goal percentage.
Brayden Billbe, 6-10 Jr. American – Good for 8 points and 5 boards a night. Ranked fourth in field goal percentage.
Power Forwards:
Andrei Capusan, 6-7 Sr. Lafayette – Not a great defender in the paint, but his ability to step away from the basket and hit the jumper helps stretch defenses. Averaged 12 points per game and ranked second in field goal percentage. Also averaged nearly 5 rebounds per game in conference play.
Matt Fannin, 6-7 Sr. Navy (HT '05)– We’ll find a sport for anybody who plays half the season on one leg and still averages 10 and 5. If we handed out a warrior of the year award, Fannin would win hands down.
Small Forwards:
Keith Simmons, 6-4 Jr. Holy Cross (HT '05)– If we followed the league model of choosing the best five regardless of position, Simmons would definitely be a first team choice. He is second team here only because he plays the same spot as Lee. Averaged 14 points and 5 rebounds per game, despite having his playing time limited much of the season due to a cramping problem. One of the best defenders in the conference, too. Perhaps Simmons’ most impressive stat: he shot almost 60 percent from the field in league play – an unheard of feat for a guard. Included in that, a 51.8 percent showing from the three-point arc.
Donald Brown, 6-6 Jr. Bucknell – Brown might actually see more time at the four than the three on this team. The league’s best sixth-man showed he could defend either spot while averaging 8 points and 6 rebounds per game in conference play.
Shooting guards:
Kevin Bettencourt, 6-2 Sr. Bucknell (HT '05)– A four-year starter for the Bison, Bettencourt’s leadership, defense and knack for making big shots in big games earns him a spot. Averaged nearly 13 ppg and led the conference in three-pointers with 79 (2.47 per game), finishing second on the league’s career three-pointers list.
Jerrell Brown, 6-2 Soph. Army – Likely to be the most controversial pick on this squad, we chose Brown over Lehigh’s Jose Olivero despite the fact that Olivero scored more (17.6 per game to 14.9 per game). Statistically, the two were close in most categories. We just liked what we saw from Brown more. Two factors weighed heavy in our decision: 1) Charles Lee calling J. Brown the second-toughest guy he has had to guard this season (after Hamilton) and 2) Comments early in the season from a writer who covered Lehigh, who told us he felt Olivero had cost the Mountain Hawks as many games as he had won for them in non-conference play.
Point Guards
Torey Thomas, 5-11 Jr. Holy Cross (HT '05)– An ironman all season for the Crusaders, who lacked a backup at the point after Pat Doherty’s foot injury wiped out Doherty’s season, Thomas averaged 11 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds per game. His only real flaw: head to head against Badmus, Thomas was 3-for-25 from the field in three games while Badmus was 6 for 12, even if you toss out his 0-for-3 showing in the championship game (discounting it because Thomas suffered a knee injury in the first half that had him doing a Matt Fannin imitation until Ralph Willard finally sat him down), Badmus still got the better of Thomas in those key games.
Joe Knight, 6-2 Sr. Lehigh – Knight’s ability to play the point gave him the edge over his teammate Olivero for what basically was the last spot picked on the team. Averaged 14.4 ppg after being forced to sit out half the season due to an administrator’s screw-up that cost him his eligibility. Also a better defender than Olivero.
LAST GUYS CUT:
Derrick Mercer, 5-9 Fr. PG, American – His day will come. Held his own against the league’s best all season.
Jose Olivero, 6-2 Jr. SG, Lehigh – A great scorer, Olivero will have another chance next season to prove he can carry his team. Failed in that role during Knight’s absence.
Kyle Neptune, 6-5 Jr. SF, Lehigh – 11 points and 5 boards per game. Could easily argue that D. Brown should be one of the three on the team at power forward, freeing a spot for Neptune at the three. But that would have meant leaving Fannin off the team, and we aren’t doing that.
Paulius Joneliunas, 6-11 Jr. C, American -- Lost out to teammate Billbe for backup center spot, but it was almost a flip of the coin. Their numbers were very similar, but Billbe did it the whole season, giving him the edge.
MVP: Charles Lee, Bucknell – There were times during the season, especially in conference play, when Lee picked his team up off the floor and carried the Bison to a victory.
Player of the Year: Kevin Hamilton, Holy Cross – The difference between Player of the Year and MVP is one that has been debated endlessly. We are awarding both, and frankly don’t really care which guy gets which honor – they are that even. If there was a third player even close to Hamilton and Lee, we might view it different, but there is not. These two were head and shoulders the best two players in the league. Rather than choose one over the other, we took the easy way out by honoring both.
Sixth man of the Year: Donald Brown, Bucknell -- Nobody contributed more off the bench. Joe Knight doesn’t count since he was a starter five times, including four of Lehigh’s biggest games of the season (both regular season games vs. Holy Cross and both league tournament games).
Coach of the Year: Fran O’Hanlon, Lafayette – Not many guys are coach of the year for finishing fifth in their league, especially not when another guy goes unbeaten in league play and wins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But doing so with a non-scholarship roster filled with undersized, slow-afoot guys the way O’Hanlon did deserves a reward. Did more with less than any coach in the conference.
Rookie of the Year: Derrick Mercer, American – Alex Vander Baan was solid all season after being forced into a starting role for HC. Bucknell’s Jason Vegotsky showed he can hit the three. Kaleo Kina had a strong season for Navy. But none of the other freshmen contributed the way Mercer did, stepping in to fill the void for AU at one of the most crucial spots on the floor. Folks expected Mercer to get chewed up and spit out by the likes of Badmus and Thomas, but the Gary Coleman look-alike held his own against the league’s best, finishing third in the league in assists and fourth in assists-turnovers ratio. In conference play, Mercer shot 46 percent from the field, ranking eighth in the league, and he hit almost 52 percent of his three-pointers in PL games (ranks third). There are a lot of reasons for American to be optimistic about its future; Mercer is at the top of that list.
Note: Last year we named an All-Rookie team. We are not doing that this year. If we did, we'd pick the four guys mentioned above, but we'd be playing with no true small forward and there is no freshman center in the conference deserving of any postseason honors.
The difference is simple: the does not take position into account. The first team is made up of the five players who the coaches consider the top five in the league, the second team is the next five in the voting.
In a league like the Patriot, that tends to produce a team heavy on guards and woefully shy of big men. Matter of fact, the 10 players who won all-league honors included only two taller than 6-4.
As we explained it last year, when the was named, we take a different approach:
Here is how our team has been selected. We began by choosing the starting five we'd most like to put on the floor. That meant paying attention to positions. No four guard lineups allowed. We then proceeded to fill out the rest of our 15-man roster. Again, we looked for balance. Depth at all positions was essential.Four of our five starters are repeat selections from last season. Three of the guys on the bench were also chosen last season. Two guys who were on our all-rookie squad last season have moved up to the "varsity" this year. Previous All Hoop Time picks are noted by the designation "(HT '05)" after their name. The All Rookie picks from last season are noted by a "(R '05)" designation.
FIRST TEAM
CENTER: Chris McNaughton, 6-11 Jr. Bucknell (HT '05)– By a wide margin, the best big man in the league. Averaged 12.8 ppg despite being double- and triple-teamed by everybody in the league, something no other Patriot League player demanded.
POWER FORWARD: Darren Mastropaolo, 6-8 Soph. Bucknell (R '05)– Mastropaolo doesn’t show up in the box scores, but he does in opposing team’s scouting reports. A tremendous screener and tough as nails defender, Mastropaolo might have led the league in charges drawn if such a stat were kept.
SMALL FORWARD: Charles Lee, 6-3 Sr. Bucknell (HT '05)– The league’s coaches voted him player of the year. Who are we to argue. Averaged 13 points and 6 boards per contest and ranked in the top 10 in five other categories. One of the two best defenders in the league, Lee is single-handedly responsible for American’s Andre Ingram not making the All Hoop Time team
SHOOTING GUARD: Kevin Hamilton 6-4 Sr. Holy Cross (HT '05)– The league’s defensive player of the year won that honor for good reason. He averaged over 3 steals per game and seemed to deflect every pass that was in the same zip code. Led the league in scoring and rebounding, too, and had more assists than four of the starting point guards in the league.
POINT GUARD: Abe Badmus 6-0 Jr. Bucknell (HT '05)– Torey Thomas had better overall numbers, but Badmus played better when the two faced each other head-to-head. Either way you cannot go wrong. Badmus averaged almost 7 ppg, a deceptive figure because he showed several times he was capable of scoring more if that had been his role. His 3.91 assists per game were second in the league, behind Thomas and he also was in the top 5 in steals and assists-turnover ratio.
Centers:
Tim Clifford, 6-10 Soph Holy Cross (R '05)– After a slow start, the Big Purple Dog came on in league play, averaging almost 10 ppg in conference action. Led the league in blocks, fifth in field goal percentage.
Brayden Billbe, 6-10 Jr. American – Good for 8 points and 5 boards a night. Ranked fourth in field goal percentage.
Power Forwards:
Andrei Capusan, 6-7 Sr. Lafayette – Not a great defender in the paint, but his ability to step away from the basket and hit the jumper helps stretch defenses. Averaged 12 points per game and ranked second in field goal percentage. Also averaged nearly 5 rebounds per game in conference play.
Matt Fannin, 6-7 Sr. Navy (HT '05)– We’ll find a sport for anybody who plays half the season on one leg and still averages 10 and 5. If we handed out a warrior of the year award, Fannin would win hands down.
Small Forwards:
Keith Simmons, 6-4 Jr. Holy Cross (HT '05)– If we followed the league model of choosing the best five regardless of position, Simmons would definitely be a first team choice. He is second team here only because he plays the same spot as Lee. Averaged 14 points and 5 rebounds per game, despite having his playing time limited much of the season due to a cramping problem. One of the best defenders in the conference, too. Perhaps Simmons’ most impressive stat: he shot almost 60 percent from the field in league play – an unheard of feat for a guard. Included in that, a 51.8 percent showing from the three-point arc.
Donald Brown, 6-6 Jr. Bucknell – Brown might actually see more time at the four than the three on this team. The league’s best sixth-man showed he could defend either spot while averaging 8 points and 6 rebounds per game in conference play.
Shooting guards:
Kevin Bettencourt, 6-2 Sr. Bucknell (HT '05)– A four-year starter for the Bison, Bettencourt’s leadership, defense and knack for making big shots in big games earns him a spot. Averaged nearly 13 ppg and led the conference in three-pointers with 79 (2.47 per game), finishing second on the league’s career three-pointers list.
Jerrell Brown, 6-2 Soph. Army – Likely to be the most controversial pick on this squad, we chose Brown over Lehigh’s Jose Olivero despite the fact that Olivero scored more (17.6 per game to 14.9 per game). Statistically, the two were close in most categories. We just liked what we saw from Brown more. Two factors weighed heavy in our decision: 1) Charles Lee calling J. Brown the second-toughest guy he has had to guard this season (after Hamilton) and 2) Comments early in the season from a writer who covered Lehigh, who told us he felt Olivero had cost the Mountain Hawks as many games as he had won for them in non-conference play.
Point Guards
Torey Thomas, 5-11 Jr. Holy Cross (HT '05)– An ironman all season for the Crusaders, who lacked a backup at the point after Pat Doherty’s foot injury wiped out Doherty’s season, Thomas averaged 11 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds per game. His only real flaw: head to head against Badmus, Thomas was 3-for-25 from the field in three games while Badmus was 6 for 12, even if you toss out his 0-for-3 showing in the championship game (discounting it because Thomas suffered a knee injury in the first half that had him doing a Matt Fannin imitation until Ralph Willard finally sat him down), Badmus still got the better of Thomas in those key games.
Joe Knight, 6-2 Sr. Lehigh – Knight’s ability to play the point gave him the edge over his teammate Olivero for what basically was the last spot picked on the team. Averaged 14.4 ppg after being forced to sit out half the season due to an administrator’s screw-up that cost him his eligibility. Also a better defender than Olivero.
LAST GUYS CUT:
Derrick Mercer, 5-9 Fr. PG, American – His day will come. Held his own against the league’s best all season.
Jose Olivero, 6-2 Jr. SG, Lehigh – A great scorer, Olivero will have another chance next season to prove he can carry his team. Failed in that role during Knight’s absence.
Kyle Neptune, 6-5 Jr. SF, Lehigh – 11 points and 5 boards per game. Could easily argue that D. Brown should be one of the three on the team at power forward, freeing a spot for Neptune at the three. But that would have meant leaving Fannin off the team, and we aren’t doing that.
Paulius Joneliunas, 6-11 Jr. C, American -- Lost out to teammate Billbe for backup center spot, but it was almost a flip of the coin. Their numbers were very similar, but Billbe did it the whole season, giving him the edge.
MVP: Charles Lee, Bucknell – There were times during the season, especially in conference play, when Lee picked his team up off the floor and carried the Bison to a victory.
Player of the Year: Kevin Hamilton, Holy Cross – The difference between Player of the Year and MVP is one that has been debated endlessly. We are awarding both, and frankly don’t really care which guy gets which honor – they are that even. If there was a third player even close to Hamilton and Lee, we might view it different, but there is not. These two were head and shoulders the best two players in the league. Rather than choose one over the other, we took the easy way out by honoring both.
Sixth man of the Year: Donald Brown, Bucknell -- Nobody contributed more off the bench. Joe Knight doesn’t count since he was a starter five times, including four of Lehigh’s biggest games of the season (both regular season games vs. Holy Cross and both league tournament games).
Coach of the Year: Fran O’Hanlon, Lafayette – Not many guys are coach of the year for finishing fifth in their league, especially not when another guy goes unbeaten in league play and wins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But doing so with a non-scholarship roster filled with undersized, slow-afoot guys the way O’Hanlon did deserves a reward. Did more with less than any coach in the conference.
Rookie of the Year: Derrick Mercer, American – Alex Vander Baan was solid all season after being forced into a starting role for HC. Bucknell’s Jason Vegotsky showed he can hit the three. Kaleo Kina had a strong season for Navy. But none of the other freshmen contributed the way Mercer did, stepping in to fill the void for AU at one of the most crucial spots on the floor. Folks expected Mercer to get chewed up and spit out by the likes of Badmus and Thomas, but the Gary Coleman look-alike held his own against the league’s best, finishing third in the league in assists and fourth in assists-turnovers ratio. In conference play, Mercer shot 46 percent from the field, ranking eighth in the league, and he hit almost 52 percent of his three-pointers in PL games (ranks third). There are a lot of reasons for American to be optimistic about its future; Mercer is at the top of that list.
Note: Last year we named an All-Rookie team. We are not doing that this year. If we did, we'd pick the four guys mentioned above, but we'd be playing with no true small forward and there is no freshman center in the conference deserving of any postseason honors.
Never say never
If you missed it Sunday, Tom Housenick of the Daily Item wrapped up the Bucknell season with a trilogy on the Bison.
Perhaps the most interesting revelation came in , in which the coach reveals that he has been contacted the past two seasons by other programs looking to gauge his interest in their coaching vacancies. Flannery says he is not looking to move, but he has gotten phone calls:
©2005 Hoop Time. All rights reserved.
Perhaps the most interesting revelation came in , in which the coach reveals that he has been contacted the past two seasons by other programs looking to gauge his interest in their coaching vacancies. Flannery says he is not looking to move, but he has gotten phone calls:
"I think you'd be crazy if you didn't listen when an opportunity that really fits your personality comes up," said Flannery.Housenick's two other pieces look at the possibilities for the Bison and recaps the .
