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Monday, April 30, 2007
Must be a slow news day in Sunbury, Pa. How else do you explain a long feature story about a kid making a scrapbook for Bucknell's John Griffin?
Taking nothing away from the the nine-year old who put the book together. It no doubt took a lot of work and a great deal of effort. And it is good for youngsters to have heroes who bring to the table the combination of athletics and academics most Patriot League players do.
But a scrapbook as front-page news? Must mean no cows got out of the pasture over the weekend.
Best part of the story? That's easy ... the chuckles it brings every time the writer refers to Griffin as "Mr. Griffin."
Gotta love that New York Times style.
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Taking nothing away from the the nine-year old who put the book together. It no doubt took a lot of work and a great deal of effort. And it is good for youngsters to have heroes who bring to the table the combination of athletics and academics most Patriot League players do.
But a scrapbook as front-page news? Must mean no cows got out of the pasture over the weekend.
Best part of the story? That's easy ... the chuckles it brings every time the writer refers to Griffin as "Mr. Griffin."
Gotta love that New York Times style.
Labels: BU
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Saturday, April 28, 2007
A North Dakota Web site is reporting Bucknell will be one of four teams in the field for Cal's holiday tournament.
The Forum says the Bison will be one of two Bison in the event, joining the Bison of North Dakota State and two West Coast teams -- Long Beach State and host Cal -- for the Dec. 28-29 event. Cal is the only team in the field that failed to win 20 games last season.
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The Forum says the Bison will be one of two Bison in the event, joining the Bison of North Dakota State and two West Coast teams -- Long Beach State and host Cal -- for the Dec. 28-29 event. Cal is the only team in the field that failed to win 20 games last season.
Labels: BU, scheduling
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Friday, April 27, 2007
Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon and Colgate coach Emmett Davis will be looking to fill openings on their staffs.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Andy Toole, an O'Hanlon assistant last season, is expected to join Mike Rice's staff at Robert Morris.
Rice,by the way, was a captain on the Fordham team that won the inaugural Patriot League championship in 1991 and began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater while the rams were still in the league.
Colgate assistant Kevin Curley has also landed a new job. Curley has been named the new head coach at Division III McDaniel (formerly Western Maryland) College.
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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Andy Toole, an O'Hanlon assistant last season, is expected to join Mike Rice's staff at Robert Morris.
Rice,by the way, was a captain on the Fordham team that won the inaugural Patriot League championship in 1991 and began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater while the rams were still in the league.
Colgate assistant Kevin Curley has also landed a new job. Curley has been named the new head coach at Division III McDaniel (formerly Western Maryland) College.
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Add another juco recruit to the roster at American. Bryce Simon, a 6-7 swingman from Pratt Community College in Kansas has given Jeff Jones a commit.
According to the PCC Web site, homecoming king Simon was considered one of the best players in Kansas in 2005. Simon is one of three players from Pratt moving on to Division I teams next season.
Apparently jucos have replaced Lithuania as the focus of American's recruiting. The Eagles graduate the last three of their Lithuanian players this spring. Simon is the second juco player Jones is bringing in. The other is
Frane Markusovic a 6-10, 240-pound center out of Collin County Community College in Texas.
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According to the PCC Web site, homecoming king Simon was considered one of the best players in Kansas in 2005. Simon is one of three players from Pratt moving on to Division I teams next season.
Apparently jucos have replaced Lithuania as the focus of American's recruiting. The Eagles graduate the last three of their Lithuanian players this spring. Simon is the second juco player Jones is bringing in. The other is
Frane Markusovic a 6-10, 240-pound center out of Collin County Community College in Texas.
Labels: AU, recruiting
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Wednesday, April 25, 2007
James Haarsma, a 6-6 all-state forward from Wisconsin, is headed to Army. He will make a stop in Jersey first, though.
Haarsma, who averaged 19.3 points and 9.5 rebounds for Wisconsin Division III state champ St. Catherine, will spend a year at Army's prep school before joining Jim Crews' squad at West Point.
According to the Racine Journal Times, Haarsma, the Racine County Player of the Year who plans to become a cardiologist, has a "3.0 grade-point average at St. Catherine's, but will attend prep school at the request of the Academy's admissions board to adjust to the school's demanding academic life."
As we have reminded you before, next time you hear folks talk about how tough it is to recruit at the military academies, ask how many other Patriot League schools can recruit kids who don't meet their academic standards and stash them at a prep school for aredshirt year of seasoning. While you are at it, also ask how many can bring in more than five freshmen every year.
Yes, there are unique challenges recruiting at both of the academies, but the field is not anywhere near as uneven as folks at Army and Navy want you to believe when they are having down years. Remember, Don Devoe didn't start complaining about those difficulties when his Navy teams were finishing in the top three in the standings eight years in a row -- a stretch that included three league titles.
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Haarsma, who averaged 19.3 points and 9.5 rebounds for Wisconsin Division III state champ St. Catherine, will spend a year at Army's prep school before joining Jim Crews' squad at West Point.
According to the Racine Journal Times, Haarsma, the Racine County Player of the Year who plans to become a cardiologist, has a "3.0 grade-point average at St. Catherine's, but will attend prep school at the request of the Academy's admissions board to adjust to the school's demanding academic life."
As we have reminded you before, next time you hear folks talk about how tough it is to recruit at the military academies, ask how many other Patriot League schools can recruit kids who don't meet their academic standards and stash them at a prep school for a
Yes, there are unique challenges recruiting at both of the academies, but the field is not anywhere near as uneven as folks at Army and Navy want you to believe when they are having down years. Remember, Don Devoe didn't start complaining about those difficulties when his Navy teams were finishing in the top three in the standings eight years in a row -- a stretch that included three league titles.
Labels: Army, recruiting
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Good thing we keep archives. That will make it easy to write commentary next season when the Holy Cross Crusaders head south to face John Calipari's "we ballaz" of Memphis.
Give Calipari credit: He apparently took Andy Glockner's advice to pick strong mid-majors with a chance of winning 20 games for the "buy" portion of the Tigers' schedule.
At least that is Calipari's spin on a home schedule that also includes Pepperdine, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee.
Calipari told the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "Those teams are going to win 20 games."
We'll save our comments about Memphis academic and criminal records for closer to the actual game.
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Give Calipari credit: He apparently took Andy Glockner's advice to pick strong mid-majors with a chance of winning 20 games for the "buy" portion of the Tigers' schedule.
At least that is Calipari's spin on a home schedule that also includes Pepperdine, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee.
Calipari told the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "Those teams are going to win 20 games."
We'll save our comments about Memphis academic and criminal records for closer to the actual game.
Labels: HC, scheduling
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Move over John Gourlay, there's another 7-footer coming to town.
The Everett (Wash.) Herald reports 7-footer David Safstrom will take his game to Lehigh as a non-scholarship player.
At the risk of stating the obvious, this kid is a project -- 7-feet tall and he ends up as basically an invited walk-on. He wasn't even a first team pick on his all-league team.
Then again, you know the old saying -- you can teach a kid to play ball but you can't teach him to be 7-feet tall.
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The Everett (Wash.) Herald reports 7-footer David Safstrom will take his game to Lehigh as a non-scholarship player.
At the risk of stating the obvious, this kid is a project -- 7-feet tall and he ends up as basically an invited walk-on. He wasn't even a first team pick on his all-league team.
Then again, you know the old saying -- you can teach a kid to play ball but you can't teach him to be 7-feet tall.
Labels: Leh, recruiting
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Holy Cross' Keith Simmons represented the Patriot League in last week's Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, an event intended to give college seniors a chance to show off their game for NBA and European pro scouts.
Simmons averaged 8 points per game in his three games there. After scoring just 2 points on 1 for 3 shooting in 12 minutes of action in his first game, Simmons shot the ball better and scored in double figures in his other two games. In game two, Simmons played 26 minutes, going 4 for 9 from the field, finishing with 10 points. In game three Simmons was 5 for 9, 12 points, in 25 minutes.
NBADraft.net did not post a scouting report on Simmons, who was listed under their "unimpressive but not terrible" category.
The event has a reputation as a place NBA scouts find players, but that reputation might be based on years gone past. In recent years, few players who attend the PIT have been drafted and many NBA GMs apparently don't even bother showing up anymore, preferring to wait until the league's official pre-draft camp in May to get a look at top seniors.
Plenty of names familiar to Patriot League fans were on hand for the PIT, including Southern Illinois Jamal Tatum, who apparently did make a strong impression on the scouts who did show up.
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Simmons averaged 8 points per game in his three games there. After scoring just 2 points on 1 for 3 shooting in 12 minutes of action in his first game, Simmons shot the ball better and scored in double figures in his other two games. In game two, Simmons played 26 minutes, going 4 for 9 from the field, finishing with 10 points. In game three Simmons was 5 for 9, 12 points, in 25 minutes.
NBADraft.net did not post a scouting report on Simmons, who was listed under their "unimpressive but not terrible" category.
The event has a reputation as a place NBA scouts find players, but that reputation might be based on years gone past. In recent years, few players who attend the PIT have been drafted and many NBA GMs apparently don't even bother showing up anymore, preferring to wait until the league's official pre-draft camp in May to get a look at top seniors.
Plenty of names familiar to Patriot League fans were on hand for the PIT, including Southern Illinois Jamal Tatum, who apparently did make a strong impression on the scouts who did show up.
Labels: HC
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A Colgate coach looks for a new job, Jeff Jones lands a high school player, former HC assistants have a reunion and the Lehigh Valley contingent looks to catch Holy Cross and Bucknell. But the biggest news: after a slow couple of weeks, there finally is some news.
Down in the Lehigh Valley, Corky Blake of the Express-Times probably has had some extra time on his hands since the weather has been wiping out spring sports events on an almost daily basis. Taking advantage of the free time, Corky checks in with a look at off-season workouts at Lehigh and Lafayette.
Emmett Davis still has a job, which is testament to either the Colgate administration's remarkable patience with the league's most disappointing program the last few years or the simple fact that nobody in Hamilton gives a rat's rump about basketball. But one of Davis' assistants is looking to escape Hamilton's frozen tundra for a Division III job below the Mason-Dixon line.
Speaking of assistants on the move, here is one from our Where have you gone? department. A pair of former Ralph Willard assistants have joined Tom Moore's staff at Quinnipiac.
Jeff Jones has another recruit. This one is not a juco player. Steve Luptak, a 6-3 guard from Munster, Indiana has made a verbal commit to American and is expected to sign next week. The scouting report on Luptak, who averaged 12.4 ppg his senior season: "If you were the best player on an opposing team, you knew Luptak would be inside your jersey."
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Saturday, April 07, 2007
His Bucknell team could not win a third straight Patriot League title on the court, but McNaughton has defended his classroom title for the second time, becoming the first basketball player in league history to win the league's Scholar Athlete of the Year award three times.
The award was announced Friday by the league officce.
McNaughton, who carries a 3.35 cumulative GPA as a senior electrical engineering major, is the fifth Bison basketball player to win the award. The only others in league history to win it more than once were former Bison Valter Karavanic (1999 and 2000) and Dan Blankenship (2002 and 2003). All together, Bucknell players have won the awar nine times, tops in the league.
In addition to his academic credentials, McNaughton led the League in field goal percentage (56.7 percent) while averaging 12 points per game (10th in the league). He also ranked third in rebounding with 5.9 boards per game.
McNaughton got off to a slow start to the season, but came on in the Bison's last 15 games, averaging 14.3 points on 60.9 percent shooting, with just under 8 rebounds per game down the stretch. His other postseason honors included selection to the first team all-league team for the third time and a third straight selection to the league's all-tournament team.
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The award was announced Friday by the league officce.
McNaughton, who carries a 3.35 cumulative GPA as a senior electrical engineering major, is the fifth Bison basketball player to win the award. The only others in league history to win it more than once were former Bison Valter Karavanic (1999 and 2000) and Dan Blankenship (2002 and 2003). All together, Bucknell players have won the awar nine times, tops in the league.
In addition to his academic credentials, McNaughton led the League in field goal percentage (56.7 percent) while averaging 12 points per game (10th in the league). He also ranked third in rebounding with 5.9 boards per game.
McNaughton got off to a slow start to the season, but came on in the Bison's last 15 games, averaging 14.3 points on 60.9 percent shooting, with just under 8 rebounds per game down the stretch. His other postseason honors included selection to the first team all-league team for the third time and a third straight selection to the league's all-tournament team.
Labels: BU
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Thursday, April 05, 2007
CSTV reports American has gotten a commit from a 6-10 Croatian who is traveling a route we've seen blazed before.
Frane Markusovic is a 6-10, 240-pound center out of Collin County Community College in Texas.
Rivals.com says Markusovic was also being recruited by Arkansas-Little Rock, North Texas, Stephen F. Austin, Boston U. -- all the schools you usually see mentioned as competitors for the rare breed of academic and athletic excellence the Patriot League is known for.
Markusovic, who prepped at South Kent School in Connecticut, spent his freshman year warming the bench at South Florida before transferring to the Texas juco, joining two other Croatians on the CCCC roster.
Labeled a project at USF, Markusovic retains that tag after starting 4 of 29 games for 19-11 CCCC, averaging 2.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Markusovic shot 41.8 percent from the field and only slightly better (45.5 percent) from the foul line, turning the ball over 35 times while making 33 field goals. He led the team in blocked shots with 13.
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Frane Markusovic is a 6-10, 240-pound center out of Collin County Community College in Texas.
Rivals.com says Markusovic was also being recruited by Arkansas-Little Rock, North Texas, Stephen F. Austin, Boston U. -- all the schools you usually see mentioned as competitors for the rare breed of academic and athletic excellence the Patriot League is known for.
Markusovic, who prepped at South Kent School in Connecticut, spent his freshman year warming the bench at South Florida before transferring to the Texas juco, joining two other Croatians on the CCCC roster.
Labeled a project at USF, Markusovic retains that tag after starting 4 of 29 games for 19-11 CCCC, averaging 2.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Markusovic shot 41.8 percent from the field and only slightly better (45.5 percent) from the foul line, turning the ball over 35 times while making 33 field goals. He led the team in blocked shots with 13.
Labels: AU
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No need to panic when you read that headline HC faithful. It is Kevin, Ralph's son, who will replace Jeff Ruland, who was bought out after a 2-26 season.
The younger Willard, who is an assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville, played for Ralph at Pitt. The 32-year-old also worked for Pitino with the NBA Boston Celtics. The New York Post says an official announcement will come following the holiday weekend.
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The younger Willard, who is an assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville, played for Ralph at Pitt. The 32-year-old also worked for Pitino with the NBA Boston Celtics. The New York Post says an official announcement will come following the holiday weekend.
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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Holy Cross' loss to Southern Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament might have embarrassed Bill Simmons, but it did nothing to diminish the Crusaders respect among the voters in College Insider's Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
Ranked ninth at the end of the regular season, HC held on to that spot in the final voting, released today. Southern Illinois was the unanimous No. 1 pick.
Bucknell, which was tops among the others receiving votes in the final regular season poll, taken after the conference tournament, slid to fifth on the others receiving list in the final tally.
We have long ago given up trying to understand the minds of poll voters.
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Ranked ninth at the end of the regular season, HC held on to that spot in the final voting, released today. Southern Illinois was the unanimous No. 1 pick.
Bucknell, which was tops among the others receiving votes in the final regular season poll, taken after the conference tournament, slid to fifth on the others receiving list in the final tally.
We have long ago given up trying to understand the minds of poll voters.
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All that time spent with slide rules and spreadsheets paid off for Ericatbucknell in the 2007 Hoop Time Brackets Challenge. Eric, who is known around the league's message boards for his in depth statistical analysis, correctly picked Florida to beat Ohio State in the final, giving him the title and a 49th place finish out of over 15,000 entries in the Sportsnet.ca overall contest.
Eric had just 11 incorrect picks in his entire bracket. Only one of those, a projected Wisconsin win in the Sweet 16, cost him a team he had picked to win in the next round.
Second place went to Falconkid, who had Florida winning it all, but lost his shot at the title when Georgetown fell to OSU in the semis. BKing, who had OSU winning over Florida in the final, takes third.
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Eric had just 11 incorrect picks in his entire bracket. Only one of those, a projected Wisconsin win in the Sweet 16, cost him a team he had picked to win in the next round.
Second place went to Falconkid, who had Florida winning it all, but lost his shot at the title when Georgetown fell to OSU in the semis. BKing, who had OSU winning over Florida in the final, takes third.
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