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Friday, August 31, 2007
A rumor sweeping the Bucknell campus has it that junior guard Jason Vegotsky had left school and was transferring elsewhere. That is not the case.
Vegotsky is in school and on the Bison team, sources in the Bucknell athletic department confirmed Thursday.
Turns out, the source of the rumor was the transfer of a Bison wrestler with a similar sounding name. Sophomore Eric Lapotsky, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season as a redshirt freshman, has transferred to grappling powerhouse Oklahoma. Lapotsky spent his original freshman season at Slippery Rock, transferring to BU after the Rock dropped its wrestling program. He was attending school on a scholarship that required he attend one of 19 schools in Pa. Oklahoma has offered the 197-pounder an athletic scholarship.
In other Bucknell news, sources say Darren Mastropaolo, Bucknell's senior center who had surgery on a torn ACL in early August, is getting around campus on crutches. Still no word on Mastropaolo's prognosis.
The Mayo Clinic's Web site says rehabbing after ACL surgery normally takes six to eight months. Bucknell coach Pat Flannery has not commented on Mastropaolo's status, citing privacy regulations. But Flannery has said the Bison are preparing for the possibility Mastropaolo might not play this season.
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Vegotsky is in school and on the Bison team, sources in the Bucknell athletic department confirmed Thursday.
Turns out, the source of the rumor was the transfer of a Bison wrestler with a similar sounding name. Sophomore Eric Lapotsky, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season as a redshirt freshman, has transferred to grappling powerhouse Oklahoma. Lapotsky spent his original freshman season at Slippery Rock, transferring to BU after the Rock dropped its wrestling program. He was attending school on a scholarship that required he attend one of 19 schools in Pa. Oklahoma has offered the 197-pounder an athletic scholarship.
In other Bucknell news, sources say Darren Mastropaolo, Bucknell's senior center who had surgery on a torn ACL in early August, is getting around campus on crutches. Still no word on Mastropaolo's prognosis.
The Mayo Clinic's Web site says rehabbing after ACL surgery normally takes six to eight months. Bucknell coach Pat Flannery has not commented on Mastropaolo's status, citing privacy regulations. But Flannery has said the Bison are preparing for the possibility Mastropaolo might not play this season.
Labels: BU
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Wednesday, August 29, 2007
A pair of items from the Lehigh Valley contingent of the league:
Lehigh completes staff
New had coach Brett Reed has completed his staff at Lehigh. Named as assistants were former Wofford associate head coach Matt Allen and ex-Lehigh player and assistant Matt Logie, who comes back to Bethlehem after a stint at Kent State. Jon Weiner, hired earlier in the spring by former coach Billy Taylor, rounds out the staff. Weiner formerly was head coach at Quinsigamond Community College in Mass.
Lafayette schedule released
The Leopards slate, made public Tuesday, includes games at Rutgers and Pitt, and a game in Jacksom, Miss. against Mississippi State. Ivy power Penn returns to the Lafayette schedule, along with the usual assortment of Northeeast Conference and Ivy foes. For the complete schedule, click here.
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New had coach Brett Reed has completed his staff at Lehigh. Named as assistants were former Wofford associate head coach Matt Allen and ex-Lehigh player and assistant Matt Logie, who comes back to Bethlehem after a stint at Kent State. Jon Weiner, hired earlier in the spring by former coach Billy Taylor, rounds out the staff. Weiner formerly was head coach at Quinsigamond Community College in Mass.
The Leopards slate, made public Tuesday, includes games at Rutgers and Pitt, and a game in Jacksom, Miss. against Mississippi State. Ivy power Penn returns to the Lafayette schedule, along with the usual assortment of Northeeast Conference and Ivy foes. For the complete schedule, click here.
Labels: Laf, Leh, scheduling
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Sunday, August 26, 2007
Here is a look at what has been going on while we have been busy preparing our preseason stories for the upcoming issue of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook:
Holy Cross has Patriot League reunion on European trip
There was a familiar face in the opposing lineup when Holy Cross met C.B. L'Hospitalet in the final game of its summer trip abroad.
Recent Bucknell grad Chris McNaughton, a three-time first team All-Patriot pick, started at center for L'Hospitalet, a second division Spanish professional club from near Barcelona.
McNaughton scored 10 points in L'Hospitalet's 92-61 win. Eric Meister led the Crusaders with 12 points, 8 rebounds.
HC finished its trip with a 2-3 record, with wins over Spanish Division 3 side Sabadell (69-66) and the Netherlands national team (65-58), and losses to the Norwegian national team (81-75) and the Swiss national team (53-51).
The best news for HC on the trip may have been that Lawrence Dixon was able to play significant minutes on the tour. Prior to departing for Europe, Dixon, who underwent a second knee surgery in the offseason, had been unable to make it through a complete practice.
The bad news, Pat Doherty, who Ralph Willard sorely needs at the point, sat out several games on the trip due to back problems. Doherty did play in the final game. No word on whether the problem is chronic. The health of the oft-injured Doherty is a key concern for HC heading into the season.
Simmons follows Taylor to Ball State
As expected, Lehigh assistant Bob Simmons has joined Billy Taylor's staff at Ball State.A former D-3 head coach at Delaware Valley, Simmons was a member of Lehigh's staff since 2002. His departure left new Lehigh coach Brett Reed, Taylor's former top assistant, with just one holdover on his staff, former Quinsigamond Community College head coach Jon Weiner, who joined the Lehigh staff in the spring.
Reed has finalized his staff, but names will not be released until all the signed contracts are returned. Expect at least one Lehigh alum to be on the list when it is made public.
Butch van Breda Kolff dead at 84
Butch van Breda Kolff, who did two stints as head coach at Lafayette, died last week in a Spokane, Wash. nursing home. He was 84.
Van Breda Kolff spent 28 seasons as a college coach, compiling a 482-272 record, with six trips to the NCAA Tournament (as the Sports Illustrated story linked above points out, in those days, there were far fewer bids handed out.) He also coached professionally, going 287-316 in 10 seasons in the old ABA and the NBA.
Head coach at Lafayette 1951-55, and again from 1984-88, van Breda Kolff also coached at Hofstra, Princeton and the University of New Orleans. His pro jobs included stints with the Lakers, the Detroit Pistons, the Phoenix Suns, the Memphis Tams of the ABA, the New Orleans Jazz and the New Orleans Pride of Women's Basketball League.
Ed Laubach of the Express-Times remembers the man they called "Coach" as one of a kind.
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There was a familiar face in the opposing lineup when Holy Cross met C.B. L'Hospitalet in the final game of its summer trip abroad.
Recent Bucknell grad Chris McNaughton, a three-time first team All-Patriot pick, started at center for L'Hospitalet, a second division Spanish professional club from near Barcelona.
McNaughton scored 10 points in L'Hospitalet's 92-61 win. Eric Meister led the Crusaders with 12 points, 8 rebounds.
HC finished its trip with a 2-3 record, with wins over Spanish Division 3 side Sabadell (69-66) and the Netherlands national team (65-58), and losses to the Norwegian national team (81-75) and the Swiss national team (53-51).
The best news for HC on the trip may have been that Lawrence Dixon was able to play significant minutes on the tour. Prior to departing for Europe, Dixon, who underwent a second knee surgery in the offseason, had been unable to make it through a complete practice.
The bad news, Pat Doherty, who Ralph Willard sorely needs at the point, sat out several games on the trip due to back problems. Doherty did play in the final game. No word on whether the problem is chronic. The health of the oft-injured Doherty is a key concern for HC heading into the season.
As expected, Lehigh assistant Bob Simmons has joined Billy Taylor's staff at Ball State.A former D-3 head coach at Delaware Valley, Simmons was a member of Lehigh's staff since 2002. His departure left new Lehigh coach Brett Reed, Taylor's former top assistant, with just one holdover on his staff, former Quinsigamond Community College head coach Jon Weiner, who joined the Lehigh staff in the spring.
Reed has finalized his staff, but names will not be released until all the signed contracts are returned. Expect at least one Lehigh alum to be on the list when it is made public.
Butch van Breda Kolff, who did two stints as head coach at Lafayette, died last week in a Spokane, Wash. nursing home. He was 84.
Van Breda Kolff spent 28 seasons as a college coach, compiling a 482-272 record, with six trips to the NCAA Tournament (as the Sports Illustrated story linked above points out, in those days, there were far fewer bids handed out.) He also coached professionally, going 287-316 in 10 seasons in the old ABA and the NBA.
Head coach at Lafayette 1951-55, and again from 1984-88, van Breda Kolff also coached at Hofstra, Princeton and the University of New Orleans. His pro jobs included stints with the Lakers, the Detroit Pistons, the Phoenix Suns, the Memphis Tams of the ABA, the New Orleans Jazz and the New Orleans Pride of Women's Basketball League.
Ed Laubach of the Express-Times remembers the man they called "Coach" as one of a kind.
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Wednesday, August 15, 2007
ESPN.com has begun its summer ShootAround look at the nation's Division I hoops conferences. Yesterday they featured the Patriot League.
The headline on the piece reads "Who can catch Bucknell and Holy Cross?"
Andy Glockner points out that over the past three seasons, BU and HC are a combined 80-4 against the rest of the conference, including league tournament games.
Glockner speculates it could be a two-horse race again this season, with Colgate as the darkhorse. His WWLIS colleague, bracketologist Joe Lunardi, had Holy Cross penciled in on his preseason dance card, projecting the Crusaders as a 14 seed.
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The headline on the piece reads "Who can catch Bucknell and Holy Cross?"
Andy Glockner points out that over the past three seasons, BU and HC are a combined 80-4 against the rest of the conference, including league tournament games.
Glockner speculates it could be a two-horse race again this season, with Colgate as the darkhorse. His WWLIS colleague, bracketologist Joe Lunardi, had Holy Cross penciled in on his preseason dance card, projecting the Crusaders as a 14 seed.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The only former Patriot League player to play in the NBA is looking for a new job after having his contract bought out by the Golden State Warriors.
Adonal Foyle, who led Colgate to back-to-back league titles in 1995 and 1996, was Golden State's all-time leading shotblocker, but according to a report in the Examiner, his defensive style of play was a bad fit for the Don Nelson's up and down style of play. After averaging nearly 24 minutes per game in 2005-2006, Foyle's minutes dropped to under 10 per game last season.
Foyle, who was in the midst of a seven-year, $42 million contract signed prior to the 2004-05 season, becomes an unrestricted free agent. No word on how much of the approximately $18 million remaining on his contract he received in the buyout. He is expected to sign with another team, most likely one with a style that better suits Foyle's defensive skills.
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Adonal Foyle, who led Colgate to back-to-back league titles in 1995 and 1996, was Golden State's all-time leading shotblocker, but according to a report in the Examiner, his defensive style of play was a bad fit for the Don Nelson's up and down style of play. After averaging nearly 24 minutes per game in 2005-2006, Foyle's minutes dropped to under 10 per game last season.
Foyle, who was in the midst of a seven-year, $42 million contract signed prior to the 2004-05 season, becomes an unrestricted free agent. No word on how much of the approximately $18 million remaining on his contract he received in the buyout. He is expected to sign with another team, most likely one with a style that better suits Foyle's defensive skills.
Labels: CU
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Monday, August 13, 2007
Acting quickly in the wake of Billy Taylor's departure, Lehigh Friday promoted Brett Reed, Taylor's top assistant to head coach.
The announcement came in a press conference Friday. We learned the news when a relative showed up Saturday at our remote mountain camp site with a Philly paper in hand.
If, like us, you were out of touch over the weekend, here are links to coverage in the Express Times and the Morning Call.
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The announcement came in a press conference Friday. We learned the news when a relative showed up Saturday at our remote mountain camp site with a Philly paper in hand.
If, like us, you were out of touch over the weekend, here are links to coverage in the Express Times and the Morning Call.
Labels: Leh
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Former Colgate captain Jeremy Ballard has left Emmett Davis' staff to take a job as an assistant at Tulsa.
The 26-year-old Ballard has been an Colgate assistant the past three seasons. The Tulsa World says Ballard is replacing a guy named Todd Smith, who was just hired in May to replace former Navy standout Hassan Booker on Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik's staff. Booker left the staff after last season to pursue a career in private business.
Wojcik is a former Navy player and served as an assistant at his alma mater to Don Devoe. Davis was also a member of Devoe's staff.
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The 26-year-old Ballard has been an Colgate assistant the past three seasons. The Tulsa World says Ballard is replacing a guy named Todd Smith, who was just hired in May to replace former Navy standout Hassan Booker on Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik's staff. Booker left the staff after last season to pursue a career in private business.
Wojcik is a former Navy player and served as an assistant at his alma mater to Don Devoe. Davis was also a member of Devoe's staff.
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Former Holy Cross player Neil Fingleton's Guinness Book of World Records tour has moved to Canada.
Fingleton, now listed at 7-7, is listed as the tallest man in Britain. He is touring North America on behalf of the Guinness book folks, seaking the tallest persons in the U.S. and Canada. The tour, which had Fingleton in New York City last week, moved to Toronto yesterday, where Fingleton cleared up some of the mystery about his acting career in an interview with the Toronto Sun.
Apparently Fingleton has made a few commercial in England and plans to move to L.A. in hopes of landing roles in sci-fi flicks.
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Fingleton, now listed at 7-7, is listed as the tallest man in Britain. He is touring North America on behalf of the Guinness book folks, seaking the tallest persons in the U.S. and Canada. The tour, which had Fingleton in New York City last week, moved to Toronto yesterday, where Fingleton cleared up some of the mystery about his acting career in an interview with the Toronto Sun.
Apparently Fingleton has made a few commercial in England and plans to move to L.A. in hopes of landing roles in sci-fi flicks.
Labels: HC
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Wednesday, August 08, 2007
(originally posted at last night at 11:46 p.m.)
Billy Taylor is leaving Lehigh to take the Ball State job.
Taylor will be introduced as Ball State's new man in a press conference Wednesday morning, according to a release on the Ball State Web site.
According to a Fox Sports report posted early this evening, Taylor became the front runner for the job after IUPUI's ROn Hunter withdrew from consideration. Earlier reports indicated Hunter had been offered the job, but Ball State AD denied offering the job to Hunter and interviewed Taylor Monday night in Indianapolis.
Taylor will replace Ronny Thompson, who resigned last month in the wake of reports of possible NCAA rules violations. According to AP, Thompson, son of legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson and brother of the Hoyas current coach by the same name, has made claims that he faced a hostile racial environment.
The AP reports Hunter, who is also African American, was aware of Thompson's racial bias claims, but said that was not why he withdrew. Hunter said his decision was due to concerns about NCAA sanctions the program might face.
The first African American coach in any sport at Lehigh, Taylor went 68-82 record in five seasons at Lehigh, including a Patriot League championship in 2004. Ball State and the AP erroneously listed Taylor's record at Lehigh as 81-69. That is because Lehigh lists Taylor's 2004-05 record as 14-15 with an asterisk, instead o listing the 1-28 mark the Mountain Hawks ended up with after having to forfeit all but one win due to Joe Knight's ineligibility.
While it has long been a forgone conclusion Taylor would leave Lehigh sooner or later (Taylor interviewed for several jobs in recent years, including this one when Thompson was hired), the timing of his move is particularly difficult for the Mountain Hawks. In addition to being just three months before the start of practice for the 2007-08 season, Taylor is leaving just as the final push for early commitments for next year's recruits is about to begin.
Lehigh AD Joe Sterrett commented on Taylor's timing in a release posted on Lehigh's site, saying:
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Billy Taylor is leaving Lehigh to take the Ball State job.
Taylor will be introduced as Ball State's new man in a press conference Wednesday morning, according to a release on the Ball State Web site.
According to a Fox Sports report posted early this evening, Taylor became the front runner for the job after IUPUI's ROn Hunter withdrew from consideration. Earlier reports indicated Hunter had been offered the job, but Ball State AD denied offering the job to Hunter and interviewed Taylor Monday night in Indianapolis.
Taylor will replace Ronny Thompson, who resigned last month in the wake of reports of possible NCAA rules violations. According to AP, Thompson, son of legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson and brother of the Hoyas current coach by the same name, has made claims that he faced a hostile racial environment.
The AP reports Hunter, who is also African American, was aware of Thompson's racial bias claims, but said that was not why he withdrew. Hunter said his decision was due to concerns about NCAA sanctions the program might face.
The first African American coach in any sport at Lehigh, Taylor went 68-82 record in five seasons at Lehigh, including a Patriot League championship in 2004. Ball State and the AP erroneously listed Taylor's record at Lehigh as 81-69. That is because Lehigh lists Taylor's 2004-05 record as 14-15 with an asterisk, instead o listing the 1-28 mark the Mountain Hawks ended up with after having to forfeit all but one win due to Joe Knight's ineligibility.
While it has long been a forgone conclusion Taylor would leave Lehigh sooner or later (Taylor interviewed for several jobs in recent years, including this one when Thompson was hired), the timing of his move is particularly difficult for the Mountain Hawks. In addition to being just three months before the start of practice for the 2007-08 season, Taylor is leaving just as the final push for early commitments for next year's recruits is about to begin.
Lehigh AD Joe Sterrett commented on Taylor's timing in a release posted on Lehigh's site, saying:
“I would like to thank Billy Taylor for his dedication to Lehigh during his time here and for the job he did with our men’s basketball program. Unfortunately, I think the timing of this is less than ideal. I hope this move turns out to be the right one for Billy.”Lehigh has already removed Taylor's bio from its site.
Labels: Leh
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Dino Gaudio, one of many coaches who have failed to win at Army, will get another shot at a head coaching job, newspaper reports say.
According to the Greensboro News-Record, Gaudiis the pick to succeed the late Skip Prosser at Wake Forest. Gaudio, who began his coaching career as a an assistant to Prosser at a West Virginia High School, was Prosser's top assistant at Wake.
Gaudio went 36-72 in four seasons at Army before leaving to replace Prosser at Loyola (Md.) when Prosser took the Xavier job. Gaudio was 33-51 in three seasons there before rejoining Prosser's staff. He later moved to Wake when Prosser took that job.
The paper said it was unclear whether Gaudi's new title would carry the interim tag.
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According to the Greensboro News-Record, Gaudiis the pick to succeed the late Skip Prosser at Wake Forest. Gaudio, who began his coaching career as a an assistant to Prosser at a West Virginia High School, was Prosser's top assistant at Wake.
Gaudio went 36-72 in four seasons at Army before leaving to replace Prosser at Loyola (Md.) when Prosser took the Xavier job. Gaudio was 33-51 in three seasons there before rejoining Prosser's staff. He later moved to Wake when Prosser took that job.
The paper said it was unclear whether Gaudi's new title would carry the interim tag.
Labels: Army
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Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Is it time for a new installment of the longest running saga in Hoop Time history? You betcha!
First a quick refresher for those with short memories, or who might be new to the world of Patriot League hoops and not quite up on all of its legends.
Neil Fingleton is a 7-7 Brit who once was on the roster of the Holy Cross Crusaders. Better known for his ability to fill a doorway than his ability to fill the post, Fingleton never lived up to his McDonalds All-American/North Carolina transfer hype. Back problems plagued him at HC and he left school early, reportedly due to a parent's health problems back home in the U.K.
Since then, Fingleton has bounced around basketball's underworld, with stints with two teams in the semi-pro ABA, a look-see with an NBDL team that didn't work out and an undistinguished stint with a British third-division team.
So where is Neil now? Apparently he is in New York and calling himself an actor. The New York Daily News reports Fingleton spent the day Monday posing for pictures with tourists in Times Square while on a mission for the Guinness Book of World Records folks to find the tallest man in the U.S.
Fingleton is currently listed as the tallest man in England, but apparently could soon lose that title to a 19-year-old by the name of Paul Sturgess.
Don't believe the claims about sturgess being offered a million dollar deal to play hoops in the states. He spent last season as a redshirt at Division II Florida Tech. Ask yourself: Could any D-II team in the country afford to sit a 7-7 guy if he could walk and chew gum at the same time? Or for that matter, what pro team would throw a million at a kid who has not played a lick of college ball based on a 10 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks per game average playing for a British community college.
As for Fingleton's claims to be an actor, well, he is not the first person of unusual height to make those claims. But a search of the authoritative Internet Movie Database Web site turned up no movie or TV credits in Fingleton's name.
By the way, the iconic WHGNF t-shirt is still available in the Hoop Time Store.
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First a quick refresher for those with short memories, or who might be new to the world of Patriot League hoops and not quite up on all of its legends.
Neil Fingleton is a 7-7 Brit who once was on the roster of the Holy Cross Crusaders. Better known for his ability to fill a doorway than his ability to fill the post, Fingleton never lived up to his McDonalds All-American/North Carolina transfer hype. Back problems plagued him at HC and he left school early, reportedly due to a parent's health problems back home in the U.K.
Since then, Fingleton has bounced around basketball's underworld, with stints with two teams in the semi-pro ABA, a look-see with an NBDL team that didn't work out and an undistinguished stint with a British third-division team.
So where is Neil now? Apparently he is in New York and calling himself an actor. The New York Daily News reports Fingleton spent the day Monday posing for pictures with tourists in Times Square while on a mission for the Guinness Book of World Records folks to find the tallest man in the U.S.
Fingleton is currently listed as the tallest man in England, but apparently could soon lose that title to a 19-year-old by the name of Paul Sturgess.
Don't believe the claims about sturgess being offered a million dollar deal to play hoops in the states. He spent last season as a redshirt at Division II Florida Tech. Ask yourself: Could any D-II team in the country afford to sit a 7-7 guy if he could walk and chew gum at the same time? Or for that matter, what pro team would throw a million at a kid who has not played a lick of college ball based on a 10 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks per game average playing for a British community college.
As for Fingleton's claims to be an actor, well, he is not the first person of unusual height to make those claims. But a search of the authoritative Internet Movie Database Web site turned up no movie or TV credits in Fingleton's name.
By the way, the iconic WHGNF t-shirt is still available in the Hoop Time Store.
Labels: HC
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Bucknell senior big man Darren Mastropaolo is facing surgery after suffering a knee injury in a pickup game.
According to Bison coach Pat Flannery, the exact extent of the injury has not been determined, but it appears to be serious.
"We don't know the full extent of it yet, but he didn't just tweak his knee. It sounds like it will take some time," said Flannery when reached by phone while vacationing at the Jersey Shore.
Flannery said the injury happened when Mastropaolo landed wrong while making a jump stop in a pickup game.
Mastropaolo is expected to be examined further this afternoon, Flannery said.
Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry said the injury is a tear to the ACl in Mastropaolo's right knee. Terry said it was not certain how bad the tear was. Mastropaolo will likely have surgery later this week. Terry said any recovery timetable will depend on the full extent of the tear.
A two-time All-Hoop Time Team selection, Mastropaolo has played in 95 of the Bison's 96 games since he arrived in Lewisburg. A co-captain for the coming season, he started 60 games in his first three seasons, including 20 of 32 games his sophomore year. Last season Mastropaolo started the first seven games for the Bison, before becoming the team's sixth man when Flannery moved Donald Brown to the four position. When Brown was injured, Mastropaolo resumed his starting role in Brown's absence and was a key to Bucknell's drive to a share of the league's regular season title.
Best known for his tough defense and bone-jarring screens, Mastropaolo had been expected to increase his offensive production this season in the wake of the graduation of Chris McNaughton. Through his first three seasons, Mastropaolo averaged 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18.5 minutes of playing time per game.
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According to Bison coach Pat Flannery, the exact extent of the injury has not been determined, but it appears to be serious.
"We don't know the full extent of it yet, but he didn't just tweak his knee. It sounds like it will take some time," said Flannery when reached by phone while vacationing at the Jersey Shore.
Flannery said the injury happened when Mastropaolo landed wrong while making a jump stop in a pickup game.
Mastropaolo is expected to be examined further this afternoon, Flannery said.
Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry said the injury is a tear to the ACl in Mastropaolo's right knee. Terry said it was not certain how bad the tear was. Mastropaolo will likely have surgery later this week. Terry said any recovery timetable will depend on the full extent of the tear.
A two-time All-Hoop Time Team selection, Mastropaolo has played in 95 of the Bison's 96 games since he arrived in Lewisburg. A co-captain for the coming season, he started 60 games in his first three seasons, including 20 of 32 games his sophomore year. Last season Mastropaolo started the first seven games for the Bison, before becoming the team's sixth man when Flannery moved Donald Brown to the four position. When Brown was injured, Mastropaolo resumed his starting role in Brown's absence and was a key to Bucknell's drive to a share of the league's regular season title.
Best known for his tough defense and bone-jarring screens, Mastropaolo had been expected to increase his offensive production this season in the wake of the graduation of Chris McNaughton. Through his first three seasons, Mastropaolo averaged 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18.5 minutes of playing time per game.
Labels: BU
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An Indiana paper is reporting Lehigh coach Billy Taylor is one of five guys on the short list to become Ball State's new head coach.
According to The Star Press in Muncie, Taylor met last night in Indianapolis with Ball State athletic director Tom Collins to talk about the job. Taylor and Collins are both natives of Aurora, Ill.
The paper said Collins has denied reports from the WWLIS that the job has already been offered. Ball State's job opened in July, when Ronny Thompson (son of the former and brother of current Georgetown coach) resigned, apparently in reaction to reports of NCAA violations for off season workouts. Since then, the NCAA has asked the school to investigate other possible rules violations.
The Star Press reports others who have interviewed for the job include Dan Hipsher, an assistant at South Florida and Brad Soderberg, former head coach at St. Louis. Bobby Knight assistant Stew Robinson is also reportedly on Ball State's short list.
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According to The Star Press in Muncie, Taylor met last night in Indianapolis with Ball State athletic director Tom Collins to talk about the job. Taylor and Collins are both natives of Aurora, Ill.
The paper said Collins has denied reports from the WWLIS that the job has already been offered. Ball State's job opened in July, when Ronny Thompson (son of the former and brother of current Georgetown coach) resigned, apparently in reaction to reports of NCAA violations for off season workouts. Since then, the NCAA has asked the school to investigate other possible rules violations.
The Star Press reports others who have interviewed for the job include Dan Hipsher, an assistant at South Florida and Brad Soderberg, former head coach at St. Louis. Bobby Knight assistant Stew Robinson is also reportedly on Ball State's short list.
Labels: Leh
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Saturday, August 04, 2007
Nah, the Terps aren't bolting the ACC for the Patriot League, but it might seem that way from Maryland's 2007-2008 schedule. Although it has not been officially released, sources close to the Terps program say they will host at least three Patriot League teams in non-conference action this season.
Holy Cross, American and Lehigh are all set to visit College Park this season, which must mean one of two things -- either Gary Williams thinks his team needs a soft early schedule, or, the theory we'd subscribe to, the Patriot League -- especially the top four or five teams -- has gained in stature enough to make scheduling three teams from the league respectable.
One thing is for certain, it would not have happened in the pre-scholarship era.
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Holy Cross, American and Lehigh are all set to visit College Park this season, which must mean one of two things -- either Gary Williams thinks his team needs a soft early schedule, or, the theory we'd subscribe to, the Patriot League -- especially the top four or five teams -- has gained in stature enough to make scheduling three teams from the league respectable.
One thing is for certain, it would not have happened in the pre-scholarship era.
Labels: AU, HC, Leh, scheduling
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Friday, August 03, 2007
It is easy to write about scheduling. Easy to be critical of teams that have slates that seem weaker than others. Easy to write about the challenges mid-majors have in trying to find games, especially at home.
This summer, though, I gained a different perspective on scheduling as we tried to find games for Team Hoop Time, a group of extraordinary young ladies from our little town of Camp Hill, Pa.
For years, since my oldest daughter played elementary school rec ball, I have tried to get some sort of summer program organized here. The high school coach runs open gyms, and takes the varsity and jayvee squads to team camps and a summer league. But for the younger girls, we have had next to nothing.
When my oldest was entering eighth grade, the junior high coach and I got her group into a summer league, but we just played, we didn't have any practices. Last year the varsity coach put the girls who were entering seventh grade (including his daughter and one of mine) in a summer league, with weekly practices as part of the program. It paid off when they went undefeated in junior high ball last winter.
But we still had nothing for the younger kids. And because we have a severe lack of gym space in town, a summer program was badly needed. Our rec program simply didn't prepare kids for playing serious hoops.
You don't need to look further than our first two games this summer for proof. We were literally shut out in both (more on that in a minute).
I began organizing the Team Hoop Time program last summer, with a bunch of semi-organized get-togethers in a local park, where we would spend about 45 minutes drilling fundamentals, and another 45 minutes scrimmaging. It was a bay step, but it was a start.
This year, after gaining school district approval to use the elementary school gym, we got started in May, with practices in anticipation of summer league play, but no league to play in.
The league we had hoped to play in closed its registration two days before I called to see about getting our team in. Turns out they had changed the url of their Web site and the "details coming soon" page about the league had been replaced by details, including the registration deadline, on the new site. I had the old site bookmarked, they didn't put anything on the old site to redirect you to the new site. Bottom line: we needed to find another league.
What looked like our most promising option didn't work out because they began play in early May, too soon for us to be ready. We signed up for another league, which looked very promising -- two or three games every weekend would have meant a lot of ball for the girls. Then two weeks before it was supposed to start, when I called to see if we could have our first Saturday games moved to Sunday to accommodate a long-planned trip to Washington, D.C. by the local Girl Scout troop (about three-quarters of our team was in the troop), I found out the organizer was bullshitting when he claimed to have seven or eight teams set to play. Even worse, that was when I also found out they decided to make it into a co-ed league since they were also short on boys in that age group.
Which is how we ended up in a league full of teams that not only had been together a few years, but were also mostly older than us.
I knew we'd have a tough time when I signed us up for the Mechanicsburg Summer Hoop Dreams league. Our team was all Camp Hill kids. Camp Hill is the smallest school district in the area. Our high school plays in Class A, the smallest classification in the state. The other teams in the league were two from AAAA schools (the biggest classification) and a AAA school. It was the same league the varsity coach took last year's seventh graders to last summer. That team, which as I mentioned, went undefeated in the winter, scuffled mightily in the summer league. Our team was all a year younger than that bunch, and we didn't have anywhere near the size that team had.
But we needed someplace to play, and the league, which had only three teams signed up, desperately needed another team, so a marriage of necessity was arranged. We did manage to pick up one seventh grader, who gave us both a little size and fair amount of skill. But there are reportedly only four or five kids in this year's seventh grade class who plan to play junior high ball, and none of the others wanted to play this summer (only one is actually good enough to have helped us, so that was not a big loss).
Suffice to say, we took our lumps. The first game, it was 24-0 early in the second half when the scoreboard operator stopped tallying the other team's points.
Game two, our first game against Carlisle, was another shutout.
Ouch!
We finally got on the scoreboard in week three, dropping a tough two-point decision to a team a lot like us -- mostly sixth graders. It was one that got away. Twice in the final minute we had the ball with a chance to tie it. The first time we called a timeout, drew up a play to get the girl to our big kid, executed it perfectly, but missed the shot and a follow after an offensive rebound.
With 20-some seconds left, we forced a turnover and called another timeout. "Let's run the same thing, but to the other side," I told them in the huddle. Unfortunately, we got the same result.
We lost that game, but we made great strides. The next week we played the team that shut us out in the first week, and battled them the whole way. We fell behind 14-0 in the first half -- partly because our second five played 10 of the 16 minutes in the half. But a rousing halftime pep talk worked (It basically went like this: "Look at them down there laughing and goofing off," I told them as the other team joked through its halftime warmups. "I don't care if we lose the game, but let's make them pay for the laughing.") Suddenly our prim and proper ladies started to play physical. They quit worrying about fouling and got aggressive.
We battled them tooth and nail the whole half, actually outscoring them in the second stanza and forcing them to play their starters to the end. That might not have been a moral victory, but it was an incredible morale boost.
The next week we came out and dominated the team we had lost to by two in the first meeting. The final score was just a two-point win, but we were up 8 (which is huge in a game where under 20 points are scored) when I emptied the bench and the reserves stayed in the rest of the way, even though the starters were chomping at the bit when the other team pulled within two with about 30 seconds to go.
We went a little backwards the next week, losing 34-2 to that Carlisle team. It didn't help that our big girl was on vacation that week.
That set up last night's season-ender. A rematch with the Carlisle team that had beaten us by a combined 60-something to 2 in the two regular season games.
Before the game, we talked about the whole David vs. Goliath scenario. I told them about how nobody thought Bucknell would beat Kansas. My daughter Caitlin, the best 13-year-old assistant coach on the planet, told them about last season's Holy Cross women's improbable league tournament title.
I don't know if our pep talks had anything to do with it. It might have just been the girls' resentment of the condescending Carlisle coach who told us at the half of the second regular season game that they were going to play zone the second half so we could get some shots. Or more likely, it was just the result of having a bunch of girls on our squad who have the most positive attitude I have ever encountered in a kids team in any sport. But when they took the floor, they really believed they could pull off the upset.
Then reality set in. Even though in practice we had gone over the plays they ran, thanks to a scouting report prepared by one girl's older brother, they still got an easy layup on their first possession. At the half it was 16-2.
I wish I could tell you we made an incredible second half comeback. We did play much better after the break, thanks in no small part to good execution in the zone defense we had put in this week to try to take away their inside game a little. We probably should have played it the whole game.
The final score was 24-9.
Coaches like to say there is no such thing as a moral victory, but it sure felt like one. After giving up over 30 in the previous two meetings, and scoring just 2 against them in those two games, holding them to 24 and scoring 9 felt pretty darned good.
It also was a reflection of why this sumer was a tremendous success, despite our record.
After the game, I told the girls how proud I was of the way they played all summer. It was not BS.
Every girl on the roster got better this summer, some by a lot. They went from not even knowing the difference between a screen and a screen door to being able to run our patterned flex offense. We struggled to score because against the two teams that accounted for five of our six losses, we gave away about six inches of height at every position except the five. Fundamentally, they have all started developing the basic skills only two or three had in May. Even our poorest ballhandlers can now go up and down the floor dribbling two balls at a time with ease. Some have even started to consistently box out on rebounds, a major accomplishment given most of the girls' natural shyness from physical contact.
What made me most proud, though, was not their basketball skills. It was their heart. Even when they were down by 30 points in a few games, they never quit hustling, never gave up. In fact, it seemed getting far behind made them play even harder. They refused to get used to losing, which is a very promising sign.
Before the league season began, I explained to them how challenging the league was going to be. Then I told them our goal was to win the championship -- next year.
Without a doubt, they are on track to do just that.
We're planning to expand the program from summer only to a winter travel program. In September we will start getting together once a week just to roll out the balls and run a little. We'll get back to serious practices when fall soccer ends.
A few weeks ago we took a bunch of the girls down to American to watch the US Pan-American Games women's team scrimmage the US U-19 national team. After the scrimmage, and a quick few words from Holy Cross women's coach Bill Gibbons, who was an assistant on the gold medal Pan Am team's staff, we shared the elevator back to the parking garage with North Carolina women's coach Sylvia Hatchell, who literally wrote the book on coaching girls basketball.
"These young ladies are from Camp Hill, Pa., coach," I told her. "In a few years you will want to come recruit some of them."
She smiled. The girls laughed. The other grown-ups in the elevator chuckled.
I was not kidding.
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This summer, though, I gained a different perspective on scheduling as we tried to find games for Team Hoop Time, a group of extraordinary young ladies from our little town of Camp Hill, Pa.
For years, since my oldest daughter played elementary school rec ball, I have tried to get some sort of summer program organized here. The high school coach runs open gyms, and takes the varsity and jayvee squads to team camps and a summer league. But for the younger girls, we have had next to nothing.
When my oldest was entering eighth grade, the junior high coach and I got her group into a summer league, but we just played, we didn't have any practices. Last year the varsity coach put the girls who were entering seventh grade (including his daughter and one of mine) in a summer league, with weekly practices as part of the program. It paid off when they went undefeated in junior high ball last winter.
But we still had nothing for the younger kids. And because we have a severe lack of gym space in town, a summer program was badly needed. Our rec program simply didn't prepare kids for playing serious hoops.
You don't need to look further than our first two games this summer for proof. We were literally shut out in both (more on that in a minute).
I began organizing the Team Hoop Time program last summer, with a bunch of semi-organized get-togethers in a local park, where we would spend about 45 minutes drilling fundamentals, and another 45 minutes scrimmaging. It was a bay step, but it was a start.
This year, after gaining school district approval to use the elementary school gym, we got started in May, with practices in anticipation of summer league play, but no league to play in.
The league we had hoped to play in closed its registration two days before I called to see about getting our team in. Turns out they had changed the url of their Web site and the "details coming soon" page about the league had been replaced by details, including the registration deadline, on the new site. I had the old site bookmarked, they didn't put anything on the old site to redirect you to the new site. Bottom line: we needed to find another league.
What looked like our most promising option didn't work out because they began play in early May, too soon for us to be ready. We signed up for another league, which looked very promising -- two or three games every weekend would have meant a lot of ball for the girls. Then two weeks before it was supposed to start, when I called to see if we could have our first Saturday games moved to Sunday to accommodate a long-planned trip to Washington, D.C. by the local Girl Scout troop (about three-quarters of our team was in the troop), I found out the organizer was bullshitting when he claimed to have seven or eight teams set to play. Even worse, that was when I also found out they decided to make it into a co-ed league since they were also short on boys in that age group.
Which is how we ended up in a league full of teams that not only had been together a few years, but were also mostly older than us.
I knew we'd have a tough time when I signed us up for the Mechanicsburg Summer Hoop Dreams league. Our team was all Camp Hill kids. Camp Hill is the smallest school district in the area. Our high school plays in Class A, the smallest classification in the state. The other teams in the league were two from AAAA schools (the biggest classification) and a AAA school. It was the same league the varsity coach took last year's seventh graders to last summer. That team, which as I mentioned, went undefeated in the winter, scuffled mightily in the summer league. Our team was all a year younger than that bunch, and we didn't have anywhere near the size that team had.
But we needed someplace to play, and the league, which had only three teams signed up, desperately needed another team, so a marriage of necessity was arranged. We did manage to pick up one seventh grader, who gave us both a little size and fair amount of skill. But there are reportedly only four or five kids in this year's seventh grade class who plan to play junior high ball, and none of the others wanted to play this summer (only one is actually good enough to have helped us, so that was not a big loss).
Suffice to say, we took our lumps. The first game, it was 24-0 early in the second half when the scoreboard operator stopped tallying the other team's points.
Game two, our first game against Carlisle, was another shutout.
Ouch!
We finally got on the scoreboard in week three, dropping a tough two-point decision to a team a lot like us -- mostly sixth graders. It was one that got away. Twice in the final minute we had the ball with a chance to tie it. The first time we called a timeout, drew up a play to get the girl to our big kid, executed it perfectly, but missed the shot and a follow after an offensive rebound.
With 20-some seconds left, we forced a turnover and called another timeout. "Let's run the same thing, but to the other side," I told them in the huddle. Unfortunately, we got the same result.
We lost that game, but we made great strides. The next week we played the team that shut us out in the first week, and battled them the whole way. We fell behind 14-0 in the first half -- partly because our second five played 10 of the 16 minutes in the half. But a rousing halftime pep talk worked (It basically went like this: "Look at them down there laughing and goofing off," I told them as the other team joked through its halftime warmups. "I don't care if we lose the game, but let's make them pay for the laughing.") Suddenly our prim and proper ladies started to play physical. They quit worrying about fouling and got aggressive.
We battled them tooth and nail the whole half, actually outscoring them in the second stanza and forcing them to play their starters to the end. That might not have been a moral victory, but it was an incredible morale boost.
The next week we came out and dominated the team we had lost to by two in the first meeting. The final score was just a two-point win, but we were up 8 (which is huge in a game where under 20 points are scored) when I emptied the bench and the reserves stayed in the rest of the way, even though the starters were chomping at the bit when the other team pulled within two with about 30 seconds to go.
We went a little backwards the next week, losing 34-2 to that Carlisle team. It didn't help that our big girl was on vacation that week.
That set up last night's season-ender. A rematch with the Carlisle team that had beaten us by a combined 60-something to 2 in the two regular season games.
Before the game, we talked about the whole David vs. Goliath scenario. I told them about how nobody thought Bucknell would beat Kansas. My daughter Caitlin, the best 13-year-old assistant coach on the planet, told them about last season's Holy Cross women's improbable league tournament title.
I don't know if our pep talks had anything to do with it. It might have just been the girls' resentment of the condescending Carlisle coach who told us at the half of the second regular season game that they were going to play zone the second half so we could get some shots. Or more likely, it was just the result of having a bunch of girls on our squad who have the most positive attitude I have ever encountered in a kids team in any sport. But when they took the floor, they really believed they could pull off the upset.
Then reality set in. Even though in practice we had gone over the plays they ran, thanks to a scouting report prepared by one girl's older brother, they still got an easy layup on their first possession. At the half it was 16-2.
I wish I could tell you we made an incredible second half comeback. We did play much better after the break, thanks in no small part to good execution in the zone defense we had put in this week to try to take away their inside game a little. We probably should have played it the whole game.
The final score was 24-9.
Coaches like to say there is no such thing as a moral victory, but it sure felt like one. After giving up over 30 in the previous two meetings, and scoring just 2 against them in those two games, holding them to 24 and scoring 9 felt pretty darned good.
It also was a reflection of why this sumer was a tremendous success, despite our record.
After the game, I told the girls how proud I was of the way they played all summer. It was not BS.
Every girl on the roster got better this summer, some by a lot. They went from not even knowing the difference between a screen and a screen door to being able to run our patterned flex offense. We struggled to score because against the two teams that accounted for five of our six losses, we gave away about six inches of height at every position except the five. Fundamentally, they have all started developing the basic skills only two or three had in May. Even our poorest ballhandlers can now go up and down the floor dribbling two balls at a time with ease. Some have even started to consistently box out on rebounds, a major accomplishment given most of the girls' natural shyness from physical contact.
What made me most proud, though, was not their basketball skills. It was their heart. Even when they were down by 30 points in a few games, they never quit hustling, never gave up. In fact, it seemed getting far behind made them play even harder. They refused to get used to losing, which is a very promising sign.
Before the league season began, I explained to them how challenging the league was going to be. Then I told them our goal was to win the championship -- next year.
Without a doubt, they are on track to do just that.
We're planning to expand the program from summer only to a winter travel program. In September we will start getting together once a week just to roll out the balls and run a little. We'll get back to serious practices when fall soccer ends.
A few weeks ago we took a bunch of the girls down to American to watch the US Pan-American Games women's team scrimmage the US U-19 national team. After the scrimmage, and a quick few words from Holy Cross women's coach Bill Gibbons, who was an assistant on the gold medal Pan Am team's staff, we shared the elevator back to the parking garage with North Carolina women's coach Sylvia Hatchell, who literally wrote the book on coaching girls basketball.
"These young ladies are from Camp Hill, Pa., coach," I told her. "In a few years you will want to come recruit some of them."
She smiled. The girls laughed. The other grown-ups in the elevator chuckled.
I was not kidding.
Read Full Post
With three starters back from last season's Patriot League championship team, Holy Cross once again will face a challenging schedule.
The Crusaders summer prospectus only lists tentative opponents, breaking them down by home and road games. Enterprising folks on the Cross Sports message board have mined the school's online calendar to come up with a list that includes dates.
Although a trip to Maryland is the only major conference foe that is set in stone, the Crusaders also could face UConn -- in Storrs -- if they get past UC-Davis in the first round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. If somehow the Saders win two in Storrs, they would be off to Madison Square Garden for two more games, with Kentucky, Memphis and Oklahoma as possible opponents in that final four.
Also of note, home dates with always tough Dayton (at the DCU Center) and a BracketBusters return game against Hofstra in the Hart Center, and a trip to Philly for a game with Saint Joe's in a delayed rematch of their 2005 second round NIT matchup. The Crusaders will also play in this year's BracketBusters.
Other non-conference games include home dates with Boston U., Harvard, Ohio and Yale, and road dates at Fairfield, Hampton, Sacred Heart and Siena.
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The Crusaders summer prospectus only lists tentative opponents, breaking them down by home and road games. Enterprising folks on the Cross Sports message board have mined the school's online calendar to come up with a list that includes dates.
Although a trip to Maryland is the only major conference foe that is set in stone, the Crusaders also could face UConn -- in Storrs -- if they get past UC-Davis in the first round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. If somehow the Saders win two in Storrs, they would be off to Madison Square Garden for two more games, with Kentucky, Memphis and Oklahoma as possible opponents in that final four.
Also of note, home dates with always tough Dayton (at the DCU Center) and a BracketBusters return game against Hofstra in the Hart Center, and a trip to Philly for a game with Saint Joe's in a delayed rematch of their 2005 second round NIT matchup. The Crusaders will also play in this year's BracketBusters.
Other non-conference games include home dates with Boston U., Harvard, Ohio and Yale, and road dates at Fairfield, Hampton, Sacred Heart and Siena.
Labels: HC, scheduling
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No dates have been released, but American's summer prospectus includes a list of the Eagles' 2007-2008 opponents, the majority of which will keep AU close to home.
The list in the prospectus does not indicate which games will be at home, or which are away. Some are pretty obvious. The two biggest names on the schedule are Maryland and Georgetown, both of which are pretty certain to be away from Bender Arena, though visits to the Verizon Center, a few blocks downtown from AU, and College Park, Md., which is right outside of D.C., hardly classify as road trips.
Morgan State visited AU last season, so this year's game probably means a quick bus ride to Baltimore. Ditto for a matchup with Loyola (Md.). Saint Francis (Pa.) was a home game for the Eagles last season, so that probably means a visit to the isolation chamber that is Loretto, Pa. (Not the end of the world, but you can see it from there).
A game against Dayton will be on the road, too, according to Dayton's Web site, which lists it as a home game.
Fairfield, Mt. St. Mary's, New Jersey Tech and Howard were road games last year, so they are likely to be Bender home dates this season.
Other non conference games include Ivies Brown and Columbia, Jacksonville, Stony Brook and UMBC.
There is no mention of the ESPN BracketBusters.
Amerrican returns just one starter -- point guard Derrick Mercer-- and will have six new faces on the roster -- four juco transfers and a pair of freshmen.
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The list in the prospectus does not indicate which games will be at home, or which are away. Some are pretty obvious. The two biggest names on the schedule are Maryland and Georgetown, both of which are pretty certain to be away from Bender Arena, though visits to the Verizon Center, a few blocks downtown from AU, and College Park, Md., which is right outside of D.C., hardly classify as road trips.
Morgan State visited AU last season, so this year's game probably means a quick bus ride to Baltimore. Ditto for a matchup with Loyola (Md.). Saint Francis (Pa.) was a home game for the Eagles last season, so that probably means a visit to the isolation chamber that is Loretto, Pa. (Not the end of the world, but you can see it from there).
A game against Dayton will be on the road, too, according to Dayton's Web site, which lists it as a home game.
Fairfield, Mt. St. Mary's, New Jersey Tech and Howard were road games last year, so they are likely to be Bender home dates this season.
Other non conference games include Ivies Brown and Columbia, Jacksonville, Stony Brook and UMBC.
There is no mention of the ESPN BracketBusters.
Amerrican returns just one starter -- point guard Derrick Mercer-- and will have six new faces on the roster -- four juco transfers and a pair of freshmen.
Labels: AU, scheduling
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With the equivalent of four starters back, you might expect Colgate to turn its schedule up a notch this season. Think again.
The Raiders 2007-2008 slate is short on big names. But it is also short on home games, which could mean a healthy non-conference RPI if the Raiders have some success outside of the Patriot League this fall.
Aside from the annual sacrificial lamb appearance in the Carrier Dome, the only major conference opponents on the schedule are Notre Dame (Nov. 26) and perennial Big Ten doormat Penn State (Dec. 23).
According to Colgate's Web site, that Penn State game will be played in Philadelphia. The Raiders' summer prospectus just says "at Penn State." PSU has not yet released its schedule, but there are no games listed the day before or day after on 'Gate's schedule, so it does not appear to be part of any tournament. Unless the game is part of some sort of doubleheader or a format similar to the annual BB&T Classic in D.C., it seems odd that the game would be in Philly. While Penn State would love to be able to draw a crowd in the City of Brotherly Love, the Nits have a long way to go before they can expect to sell enough tickets there to pay the light bill at the Wachovia Center, or even the old Spectrum.
The rest of Colgate's non-league schedule consists of road games at the likes of Canisius, Cornell (which ought to be pretty good this season), Binghamton, New Hampshire and Harvard. The Raiders will also travel to Kennesaw State for a tournament. The matchups are not announced, but the other two teams there will be Jacksonville State and Texas State.
Home games include Monmouth, a BracketBusters return game with Marist, Dartmouth, Maine and a BracketBusters Saturday game with North Carolina Central, which apparently means Colgate will not take part in the ESPN extravagansa this year. Previous reports said all eight league teams would be in this season's BracketBusters.
The Raiders return three starters -- guard Daniel Waddy and the Chones brothers, swingman Kyle and four man Kendall -- and 11 letterwinners, including junior guard Kyle Roemer, who was a starter as a freshman before missing last season due to a knee injury.
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The Raiders 2007-2008 slate is short on big names. But it is also short on home games, which could mean a healthy non-conference RPI if the Raiders have some success outside of the Patriot League this fall.
Aside from the annual sacrificial lamb appearance in the Carrier Dome, the only major conference opponents on the schedule are Notre Dame (Nov. 26) and perennial Big Ten doormat Penn State (Dec. 23).
According to Colgate's Web site, that Penn State game will be played in Philadelphia. The Raiders' summer prospectus just says "at Penn State." PSU has not yet released its schedule, but there are no games listed the day before or day after on 'Gate's schedule, so it does not appear to be part of any tournament. Unless the game is part of some sort of doubleheader or a format similar to the annual BB&T Classic in D.C., it seems odd that the game would be in Philly. While Penn State would love to be able to draw a crowd in the City of Brotherly Love, the Nits have a long way to go before they can expect to sell enough tickets there to pay the light bill at the Wachovia Center, or even the old Spectrum.
The rest of Colgate's non-league schedule consists of road games at the likes of Canisius, Cornell (which ought to be pretty good this season), Binghamton, New Hampshire and Harvard. The Raiders will also travel to Kennesaw State for a tournament. The matchups are not announced, but the other two teams there will be Jacksonville State and Texas State.
Home games include Monmouth, a BracketBusters return game with Marist, Dartmouth, Maine and a BracketBusters Saturday game with North Carolina Central, which apparently means Colgate will not take part in the ESPN extravagansa this year. Previous reports said all eight league teams would be in this season's BracketBusters.
The Raiders return three starters -- guard Daniel Waddy and the Chones brothers, swingman Kyle and four man Kendall -- and 11 letterwinners, including junior guard Kyle Roemer, who was a starter as a freshman before missing last season due to a knee injury.
Labels: CU, scheduling
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