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Thursday, December 27, 2007
It was a happy holiday season for American and Lafayette, as both teams went into the Christmas break with momentum. When the Eagles knocked off Maryland, 67-59, on Saturday, it marked the first victory for a Patriot League school against any ACC opponent since 2001. The Leopards won a pair of road games against Towson and Mount St. Mary's during the week. For their efforts, Lafayette junior Andrew Brown and freshman Deirunas Visockas earned Patriot League Anaconda Player and Rookie of the Week honors.
Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 12.26.07
Anaconda Player of the Week (Dec. 17-23)
Andrew Brown, Lafayette Jr., G, 5'11, 175, Littleton, Colo./Heritage
After sitting out the Dec. 19 game at Towson with a nagging heel injury, Brown returned to the lineup with a career-high 32 points and a school-record nine three-pointers in Lafayette's 76-72 win over Mount St. Mary's on Friday. Brown hit six three-pointers in the first half as Lafayette built a 20-point halftime lead, and nailed three in the second half. His final three-pointer came with 27 seconds left and provided the final margin. The nine three-pointers topped the previous school record of eight held by three players (Larry Spigner, Tyson Whitfield and Brown who hit eight against Holy Cross last season). He made 11-of-16 shots overall, and 9-of-14 from three-point range. Brown leads Lafayette and is second in the Patriot League with 18.0 points per game. He has made 40 three-pointers and is shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc. Brown earns his first-ever Anaconda Player of the Week nod, and the first for a Lafayette men's basketball student-athlete since 2005-06.
Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Dec. 17-23)
Deirunas Visockas, Lafayette Fr., G, 6'3, 185, Los Angeles, Calif./University
Visockas poured in 14 points, including four three-pointers, in Lafayette's 79-69 overtime victory over Towson on Wednesday. He connected on a three-pointer and a layup as Lafayette outscored Towson, 17-7, in the extra session. He made 5-of-9 shots and 4-of-8 three-pointers in the game. Visockas also chipped in by making his only shot of the game, a three-point field goal, in Lafayette's 76-72 win over Mount St. Mary's on Friday. He leads the Patriot League in three-point shooting at 55 percent for the season (11-of-20). Visockas earns his first Anaconda Rookie of the Week honor.
Patriot League Notebook
American's Big Win Highlights Solid Weekend
Six years to the day after they recorded the Patriot League's first and only win over an ACC team, the American Eagles accomplished the feat again with a 67-59 triumph over Maryland on Saturday. Derrick Mercer had 18 points in the game, and American led by at least five points throughout the second half as it knocked off Maryland for the first time in 80 years and 14 meetings. American recorded the only other win over an ACC opponent when it knocked off Florida State on Dec. 22, 2001 in its first season of competition as a Patriot League member. The Eagles were not the only team to come through over the weekend, as Lafayette, Navy and Army also recorded victories. The Leopards beat Mount St. Mary's, 76-72, for their third win in a row, while Army won its second straight with a 59-56 triumph over Dartmouth. Navy beat Maryland-Eastern Shore, 85-61. Holy Cross, Bucknell and Colgate all fell on the road, with the Crusaders losing at Siena, 84-77, in overtime.
Back in Action After Christmas Break
All eight Patriot League teams have off for Christmas break from Monday-Thursday, but seven of the squads return to the court beginning on Friday. And once again, the schedule will be road-heavy with seven of the eight games away from home. Bucknell plays North Dakota State in the Golden Bear Classic at Cal. The Bison will also take the court on Saturday against either Cal or Long Beach State. Lehigh returns from its 20-day layoff to host Monmouth on Friday. In addition to Bucknell's game on Saturday, American is at No. 8 Georgetown and Navy visits St. Francis (N.Y.). The week concludes with three games on Sunday, with Colgate at New Hampshire, Holy Cross at Sacred Heart and Lafayette at Robert Morris.
Patriot League Teams on Record Pace
With a 47-39 record, the Patriot League is on pace for it best-ever non-League mark. The top record thus far, and only winning mark, came in a 54-53 effort in the 2000-01 season. Last season was the only other campaign at the .500 mark in non-League action, as the Patriot League's 60 wins were the most in its 17-year history. The 47 non-League wins are already the seventh-highest total in Patriot League history, which is made even more impressive being the first season of an all Division I schedule for the League. Patriot League teams still have 31 games remaining to boost the win total, as well as any postseason competition. The remaining strech will be difficult, however, as 21 of the 31 games will be played away from home and games against Georgetown, Pittsburgh and Mississippi State are left.
Don't Adjust Your Eyes
A quick glance at the Patriot League statistics would be enough to give anyone a "Brown" out. The surname Brown appears prominently in the League leaderboard, as Army's Jarell Brown and Lafayette's Andrew Brown appear right next to each other in multiple categories. Jarell leads the League in scoring with 19.6 ppg, while Andrew is second with 18.0 ppg. Both players are tied for third in three-point field goal percentage at 50 percent, and Andrew has a slight lead over Jarell for the top spot in three-pointers made per game. They are both in the top ten in overall field goal percentage and foul shooting. Each player does get to avoid the other "Brown" in some categories. Andrew is seventh in assists, and Jarell is eighth in rebounding and third in steals.
Time to GET SIRIUS
The Patriot League has once again partnered with SIRIUS Satellite Radio to broadcast select men's basketball games for the 2007-08 season. The League has three games set for January's schedule, beginning with Holy Cross traveling to Lafayette in the season opener on Jan. 12. In addition to regular-season coverage, all seven games of the 2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament will be aired. Bucknell's visit to Holy Cross will be broadcast on Jan. 18, and the Bison's matchup at home against Colgate on Jan. 26 will wrap up the January schedule. Lehigh's matchup with Princeton on Jan. 6 will also be broadcast on SIRIUS. The schedule of Patriot League games for February will be announced at a later date. For an updated listing of all SIRIUS games and channels involving Patriot League teams, see page 5 of this release or www.patriotleague.com.
Holy Cross at No. 7 in Mid-Major top 25
Saturday's loss at Siena didn't do too much damage to Holy Cross in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major top 25. The defending Patriot League champions fell from fifth to No. 7 in the latest rankings released on Monday. American garnered two points in the poll after its win over Maryland on Saturday, and also picked up a vote in the AP Top 25. While Holy Cross is the only Patriot League team to earn a ranking this season, American, Colgate and Bucknell have now all appeared in the receiving votes category.
Four in the top 200 in RPI
Four Patriot League teams found a spot in the top 200 in the updated Collegiate Basketball News RPI Report, with one more falling just outside the group. Holy Cross checks in at No. 52 with a 7-2 overall record. The Crusaders' only losses came against No. 18 Dayton and No. 31 Siena. Lafayette made a significant jump after beating Towson and Mount St. Mary's last week, as the Leopards are all the way up to No. 142 with an 8-3 record. Colgate checks in at No. 174, while Bucknell is No. 194. American's victory over Maryland helped it move up to No. 201 in the rankings. The Patriot League ranks No. 21 among 31 Division I conferences.
Finally Some Company in the Road Win Column
After 34 days of standing alone, another conference finally joined the Patriot League with at least one road victory for all of its members. The Horizon League became the second conference to accomplish the feat when Wright State won at CS-Fullerton on Saturday. The Patriot League set the mark on Nov. 17 when Lehigh won at St. Francis (Pa.). Six of the eight Patriot League schools have at least two road victories, and five have three road wins or more. The Patriot League has a 22-23 record in true road games.
Team Notebooks
American: The Eagles posted an impressive week in two tough road venues, knocking off Maryland, 67-59, on Saturday after losing a close game at Dayton, 63-56, on Wednesday...The victory over the Terps was just the second for a Patriot League team over an ACC opponent...American notched the other win, knocking off Florida State on Dec. 22, 2001...It was the first time in 80 meetings and 14 seasons that the Eagles knocked off the Terps...Derrick Mercer led the way with 18 points, while Bryce Simon had a career-high 17 and Brian Gilmore added 12...The Eagles closed the first half with a 10-3 run to take a 25-20 halftime lead...They held Maryland without a field goal for a 10:33 stretch of the first half...It was their 11th halftime lead in 12 contests this season...They opened the lead to nine early in the second half, and led by anywhere from five to 12 points the rest of the way...The Eagles hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 43 seconds to seal the win....American held a 40-33 rebounding edge...Garrison Carr scored a career-high 26 points against Dayton...Carr connected on 9-of-19 shots overall, and nailed a career-high seven three-pointers on 14 attempts...Carr's seven treys tied for fourth-most in a game in American history...The two games this week started a seven-game road swing which goes into the first two contests of League play...It continues at No. 8 Georgetown at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a game shown on MASN...The Eagles are celebrating the 25th anniversary of defeating the fifth-ranked Hoyas on Dec. 15, 1982.
Army: The Black Knights returned to the court after an exam break and won their second game in a row with a 59-56 triumph over Dartmouth on Saturday...Army trailed, 49-43, with 8:38 left before outscoring the Big Green, 16-7, the rest of the way...Doug Williams had a season-high 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while Marcus Nelson and Jarell Brown each had 10...Army shot 47.8 percent for the game, while limiting Dartmouth to 37.5 percent shooting...Nelson gave Army the lead for good by hitting both ends of a 1-and-1 with 59 seconds to play...The Black Knights are now 4-1 in games decided by five-or-fewer points...Army has won four of its last five games and ends the 2007 portion of its schedule at 6-5...It is the first time the squad has been above the .500 mark since Feb. 10 of last season....Army has now won 21 games in the last two seasons after winning 20 total games from 2002-06...The Black Knights are currently 2-1 on a five-game homestand, and return to action on Jan. 2 against Brown.
Bucknell: The Bison fell at Drexel, 65-53, to complete a 1-1 record for the week...They also notched an 88-75 victory over Cornell on Wednesday...Bucknell struggled in the first half and trailed, 34-15, at the break against Drexel...They would get no closer than eight points in the second half...John Griffin had 11 points in the game, while G.W. Boon added 10...The Bison committed a season-low 11 turnovers...They set a Sojka Pavilion record with their highest scoring output in the last 85 games against Cornell...They had a 47-30 lead by halftime, and the 47 points are the most in a half this season...Griffin scored a career-high 27 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range...Justin Castleberry equaled a career high with 18 points, while Josh Linthicum had a career-high 12...Bucknell returns to action Friday against North Dakota State in the first round of the Golden Bear Classic in Berkeley, Calif...They will face either Cal or Long Beach State on Saturday.
Colgate: Colgate dropped a pair of tough road contests last week, falling at Penn State, 66-48, on Sunday and losing a regional matchup at Syracuse, 87-59, on Tuesday... Alex Woodhouse had eight points and nine rebounds against Penn State, while Kendall Chones notched nine points...The Raiders cut a 16-point deficit down to five early in the second half, but Penn State answered with an 18-6 run to put the game away...Colgate held Penn State to 38.1 percent shooting...Freshman Mike Venezia scored 11 points in his first collegiate action against Syracuse...Venezia injured his knee in preseason drills, and just returned to the lineup for the Raiders...Kyle Roemer and Chones both scored in double figures with 10 points apiece...The Raiders have played five games of a six-game road swing thus far, and have a 2-3 mark with this week's defeats as well as a loss at Notre Dame...The road swing wraps up on Sunday at New Hampshire.
Holy Cross: The Crusaders suffered a tough loss in their first game in two and a half weeks as they fell at Siena, 84-77, in overtime...Tim Clifford led the way with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting, and also pulled down six rebounds...Holy Cross trailed by 10 early in the second half and was down seven with a minute to go, but rallied to force overtime...Clifford nailed two three-pointers in the final 12 seconds, including the game-tying shot as time expired in regulation...Holy Cross missed its first six shots in the extra session as Siena built a five-point lead...Colin Cunningham and Pat Doherty each had 15 points, while Alex Vander Baan had 13...No other player had more than five points, and only six players scored in the game...The Crusaders fell to seventh in Monday's College Insider.com Mid-Major top 25 after the loss...Holy Cross returns to action on Sunday when it travels to Sacred Heart.
Lafayette: The Leopards recorded a pair of impressive road wins, knocking off Mount St. Mary's, 76-72, on Friday and defeating Towson, 79-69, in overtime on Wednesday...Andrew Brown scored a career-high 32 points and made a school-record nine three-pointers in the win over Mount St. Mary's...His final three-pointer came with 27 seconds left and provided the final margin...The nine three-pointers topped the previous school record of eight held by three players (Larry Spigner, Tyson Whitfield and Brown who hit eight against Holy Cross last season)...The Leopards led by as many as 22 points in the first half and held a 45-25 advantage at halftime...Mount St. Mary's put together a 21-4 run to trim the Lafayette lead to 69-66 with 3:03 remaining...Lafayette shot 55 percent for the game, the Leopards' second-best shooting night of the season.....Five players scored in double figures in the win over Towson, with Bilal Abdullah, Deirunas Visockas and Matt Betley all notching 14...Abdullah played 41 minutes and recorded his first double-double of the season with a career-high 13 rebounds, while Betley notched nine rebounds...Lafayette trailed by seven with just over nine minutes to play, and did not tie the score until Michael Gruner scored with 8.1 seconds left...Abdullah and Visockas hit key three-pointers as Lafayette outscored Towson, 17-7, in overtime...Lafayette has played three of the five overtime games for Patriot League teams this year, and is the only team to win in the extra session....Lafayette has hit 10 or more three-pointers in 10 consecutive games...The Leopards have won three games in a row, and are 3-1 on the first four contests of an eight-game road stretch...The Leopards travel to Robert Morris on Sunday.
Lehigh: The Mountain Hawks return from a 20-day layoff to complete their three-game home stretch on Friday against Monmouth...Lehigh's layoff for finals and the holidays is its longest since the inception of Patriot League play in 1990...Lehigh stayed sharp with a 99-48 win in an exhibition against Briarcliff on Friday...They had 30 assists on 39 field goals in the game...Marquis Hall and Bryan White have emerged as individual stars for Lehigh...Hall is second in the Patriot League in assists (5.1), first in assist/turnover ratio (2.55;51/20), and ninth in scoring (13.7 ppg)...White averages a League-best 8.3 rebounds per game, and is only 13 shy of 500 boards for his career.
Navy: The Midshipmen split a pair of road games last week, downing Maryland-Eastern Shore, 85-61, on Saturday after falling to San Diego State, 86-76, on Monday...Kaleo Kina scored 20 points and Chris Harris had 19 in the win over UMES...Navy took a 41-23 lead at halftime, and shot 50.8 percent for the game...The 24-point victory was Navy's largest against a Division I foe since a 73-47 win over Morgan State on Dec. 8, 2006...Greg Sprink led the way with 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting against San Diego State...The Mids were done in by a 13-0 Aztec run late in the contest...Sprink has 1,346 career points, good for 11th in Navy history and 27th in Patriot League annals...Navy's 29 three-pointers during the last two games are tied for the most in school history during a two-game span. Navy also hit 29 combined three-pointers against Fordham (9) and Mount St. Mary's (20) on Nov. 24-27, 1990...The trio of Harris, Kina and Sprink are averaging 53.3 ppg between them in the last three games...The Mids have shot over 45.0 percent in three of their last four games, after accomplishing the feat just twice in the first eight games...Navy returns to action on Saturday at St. Francis (N.Y.), looking to win consecutive games for the first time this year.
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Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 12.26.07
Anaconda Player of the Week (Dec. 17-23)
Andrew Brown, Lafayette Jr., G, 5'11, 175, Littleton, Colo./Heritage
After sitting out the Dec. 19 game at Towson with a nagging heel injury, Brown returned to the lineup with a career-high 32 points and a school-record nine three-pointers in Lafayette's 76-72 win over Mount St. Mary's on Friday. Brown hit six three-pointers in the first half as Lafayette built a 20-point halftime lead, and nailed three in the second half. His final three-pointer came with 27 seconds left and provided the final margin. The nine three-pointers topped the previous school record of eight held by three players (Larry Spigner, Tyson Whitfield and Brown who hit eight against Holy Cross last season). He made 11-of-16 shots overall, and 9-of-14 from three-point range. Brown leads Lafayette and is second in the Patriot League with 18.0 points per game. He has made 40 three-pointers and is shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc. Brown earns his first-ever Anaconda Player of the Week nod, and the first for a Lafayette men's basketball student-athlete since 2005-06.
Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Dec. 17-23)
Deirunas Visockas, Lafayette Fr., G, 6'3, 185, Los Angeles, Calif./University
Visockas poured in 14 points, including four three-pointers, in Lafayette's 79-69 overtime victory over Towson on Wednesday. He connected on a three-pointer and a layup as Lafayette outscored Towson, 17-7, in the extra session. He made 5-of-9 shots and 4-of-8 three-pointers in the game. Visockas also chipped in by making his only shot of the game, a three-point field goal, in Lafayette's 76-72 win over Mount St. Mary's on Friday. He leads the Patriot League in three-point shooting at 55 percent for the season (11-of-20). Visockas earns his first Anaconda Rookie of the Week honor.
Patriot League Notebook
American's Big Win Highlights Solid Weekend
Six years to the day after they recorded the Patriot League's first and only win over an ACC team, the American Eagles accomplished the feat again with a 67-59 triumph over Maryland on Saturday. Derrick Mercer had 18 points in the game, and American led by at least five points throughout the second half as it knocked off Maryland for the first time in 80 years and 14 meetings. American recorded the only other win over an ACC opponent when it knocked off Florida State on Dec. 22, 2001 in its first season of competition as a Patriot League member. The Eagles were not the only team to come through over the weekend, as Lafayette, Navy and Army also recorded victories. The Leopards beat Mount St. Mary's, 76-72, for their third win in a row, while Army won its second straight with a 59-56 triumph over Dartmouth. Navy beat Maryland-Eastern Shore, 85-61. Holy Cross, Bucknell and Colgate all fell on the road, with the Crusaders losing at Siena, 84-77, in overtime.
Back in Action After Christmas Break
All eight Patriot League teams have off for Christmas break from Monday-Thursday, but seven of the squads return to the court beginning on Friday. And once again, the schedule will be road-heavy with seven of the eight games away from home. Bucknell plays North Dakota State in the Golden Bear Classic at Cal. The Bison will also take the court on Saturday against either Cal or Long Beach State. Lehigh returns from its 20-day layoff to host Monmouth on Friday. In addition to Bucknell's game on Saturday, American is at No. 8 Georgetown and Navy visits St. Francis (N.Y.). The week concludes with three games on Sunday, with Colgate at New Hampshire, Holy Cross at Sacred Heart and Lafayette at Robert Morris.
Patriot League Teams on Record Pace
With a 47-39 record, the Patriot League is on pace for it best-ever non-League mark. The top record thus far, and only winning mark, came in a 54-53 effort in the 2000-01 season. Last season was the only other campaign at the .500 mark in non-League action, as the Patriot League's 60 wins were the most in its 17-year history. The 47 non-League wins are already the seventh-highest total in Patriot League history, which is made even more impressive being the first season of an all Division I schedule for the League. Patriot League teams still have 31 games remaining to boost the win total, as well as any postseason competition. The remaining strech will be difficult, however, as 21 of the 31 games will be played away from home and games against Georgetown, Pittsburgh and Mississippi State are left.
Don't Adjust Your Eyes
A quick glance at the Patriot League statistics would be enough to give anyone a "Brown" out. The surname Brown appears prominently in the League leaderboard, as Army's Jarell Brown and Lafayette's Andrew Brown appear right next to each other in multiple categories. Jarell leads the League in scoring with 19.6 ppg, while Andrew is second with 18.0 ppg. Both players are tied for third in three-point field goal percentage at 50 percent, and Andrew has a slight lead over Jarell for the top spot in three-pointers made per game. They are both in the top ten in overall field goal percentage and foul shooting. Each player does get to avoid the other "Brown" in some categories. Andrew is seventh in assists, and Jarell is eighth in rebounding and third in steals.
Time to GET SIRIUS
The Patriot League has once again partnered with SIRIUS Satellite Radio to broadcast select men's basketball games for the 2007-08 season. The League has three games set for January's schedule, beginning with Holy Cross traveling to Lafayette in the season opener on Jan. 12. In addition to regular-season coverage, all seven games of the 2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament will be aired. Bucknell's visit to Holy Cross will be broadcast on Jan. 18, and the Bison's matchup at home against Colgate on Jan. 26 will wrap up the January schedule. Lehigh's matchup with Princeton on Jan. 6 will also be broadcast on SIRIUS. The schedule of Patriot League games for February will be announced at a later date. For an updated listing of all SIRIUS games and channels involving Patriot League teams, see page 5 of this release or www.patriotleague.com.
Holy Cross at No. 7 in Mid-Major top 25
Saturday's loss at Siena didn't do too much damage to Holy Cross in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major top 25. The defending Patriot League champions fell from fifth to No. 7 in the latest rankings released on Monday. American garnered two points in the poll after its win over Maryland on Saturday, and also picked up a vote in the AP Top 25. While Holy Cross is the only Patriot League team to earn a ranking this season, American, Colgate and Bucknell have now all appeared in the receiving votes category.
Four in the top 200 in RPI
Four Patriot League teams found a spot in the top 200 in the updated Collegiate Basketball News RPI Report, with one more falling just outside the group. Holy Cross checks in at No. 52 with a 7-2 overall record. The Crusaders' only losses came against No. 18 Dayton and No. 31 Siena. Lafayette made a significant jump after beating Towson and Mount St. Mary's last week, as the Leopards are all the way up to No. 142 with an 8-3 record. Colgate checks in at No. 174, while Bucknell is No. 194. American's victory over Maryland helped it move up to No. 201 in the rankings. The Patriot League ranks No. 21 among 31 Division I conferences.
Finally Some Company in the Road Win Column
After 34 days of standing alone, another conference finally joined the Patriot League with at least one road victory for all of its members. The Horizon League became the second conference to accomplish the feat when Wright State won at CS-Fullerton on Saturday. The Patriot League set the mark on Nov. 17 when Lehigh won at St. Francis (Pa.). Six of the eight Patriot League schools have at least two road victories, and five have three road wins or more. The Patriot League has a 22-23 record in true road games.
Team Notebooks
American: The Eagles posted an impressive week in two tough road venues, knocking off Maryland, 67-59, on Saturday after losing a close game at Dayton, 63-56, on Wednesday...The victory over the Terps was just the second for a Patriot League team over an ACC opponent...American notched the other win, knocking off Florida State on Dec. 22, 2001...It was the first time in 80 meetings and 14 seasons that the Eagles knocked off the Terps...Derrick Mercer led the way with 18 points, while Bryce Simon had a career-high 17 and Brian Gilmore added 12...The Eagles closed the first half with a 10-3 run to take a 25-20 halftime lead...They held Maryland without a field goal for a 10:33 stretch of the first half...It was their 11th halftime lead in 12 contests this season...They opened the lead to nine early in the second half, and led by anywhere from five to 12 points the rest of the way...The Eagles hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 43 seconds to seal the win....American held a 40-33 rebounding edge...Garrison Carr scored a career-high 26 points against Dayton...Carr connected on 9-of-19 shots overall, and nailed a career-high seven three-pointers on 14 attempts...Carr's seven treys tied for fourth-most in a game in American history...The two games this week started a seven-game road swing which goes into the first two contests of League play...It continues at No. 8 Georgetown at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a game shown on MASN...The Eagles are celebrating the 25th anniversary of defeating the fifth-ranked Hoyas on Dec. 15, 1982.
Army: The Black Knights returned to the court after an exam break and won their second game in a row with a 59-56 triumph over Dartmouth on Saturday...Army trailed, 49-43, with 8:38 left before outscoring the Big Green, 16-7, the rest of the way...Doug Williams had a season-high 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while Marcus Nelson and Jarell Brown each had 10...Army shot 47.8 percent for the game, while limiting Dartmouth to 37.5 percent shooting...Nelson gave Army the lead for good by hitting both ends of a 1-and-1 with 59 seconds to play...The Black Knights are now 4-1 in games decided by five-or-fewer points...Army has won four of its last five games and ends the 2007 portion of its schedule at 6-5...It is the first time the squad has been above the .500 mark since Feb. 10 of last season....Army has now won 21 games in the last two seasons after winning 20 total games from 2002-06...The Black Knights are currently 2-1 on a five-game homestand, and return to action on Jan. 2 against Brown.
Bucknell: The Bison fell at Drexel, 65-53, to complete a 1-1 record for the week...They also notched an 88-75 victory over Cornell on Wednesday...Bucknell struggled in the first half and trailed, 34-15, at the break against Drexel...They would get no closer than eight points in the second half...John Griffin had 11 points in the game, while G.W. Boon added 10...The Bison committed a season-low 11 turnovers...They set a Sojka Pavilion record with their highest scoring output in the last 85 games against Cornell...They had a 47-30 lead by halftime, and the 47 points are the most in a half this season...Griffin scored a career-high 27 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range...Justin Castleberry equaled a career high with 18 points, while Josh Linthicum had a career-high 12...Bucknell returns to action Friday against North Dakota State in the first round of the Golden Bear Classic in Berkeley, Calif...They will face either Cal or Long Beach State on Saturday.
Colgate: Colgate dropped a pair of tough road contests last week, falling at Penn State, 66-48, on Sunday and losing a regional matchup at Syracuse, 87-59, on Tuesday... Alex Woodhouse had eight points and nine rebounds against Penn State, while Kendall Chones notched nine points...The Raiders cut a 16-point deficit down to five early in the second half, but Penn State answered with an 18-6 run to put the game away...Colgate held Penn State to 38.1 percent shooting...Freshman Mike Venezia scored 11 points in his first collegiate action against Syracuse...Venezia injured his knee in preseason drills, and just returned to the lineup for the Raiders...Kyle Roemer and Chones both scored in double figures with 10 points apiece...The Raiders have played five games of a six-game road swing thus far, and have a 2-3 mark with this week's defeats as well as a loss at Notre Dame...The road swing wraps up on Sunday at New Hampshire.
Holy Cross: The Crusaders suffered a tough loss in their first game in two and a half weeks as they fell at Siena, 84-77, in overtime...Tim Clifford led the way with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting, and also pulled down six rebounds...Holy Cross trailed by 10 early in the second half and was down seven with a minute to go, but rallied to force overtime...Clifford nailed two three-pointers in the final 12 seconds, including the game-tying shot as time expired in regulation...Holy Cross missed its first six shots in the extra session as Siena built a five-point lead...Colin Cunningham and Pat Doherty each had 15 points, while Alex Vander Baan had 13...No other player had more than five points, and only six players scored in the game...The Crusaders fell to seventh in Monday's College Insider.com Mid-Major top 25 after the loss...Holy Cross returns to action on Sunday when it travels to Sacred Heart.
Lafayette: The Leopards recorded a pair of impressive road wins, knocking off Mount St. Mary's, 76-72, on Friday and defeating Towson, 79-69, in overtime on Wednesday...Andrew Brown scored a career-high 32 points and made a school-record nine three-pointers in the win over Mount St. Mary's...His final three-pointer came with 27 seconds left and provided the final margin...The nine three-pointers topped the previous school record of eight held by three players (Larry Spigner, Tyson Whitfield and Brown who hit eight against Holy Cross last season)...The Leopards led by as many as 22 points in the first half and held a 45-25 advantage at halftime...Mount St. Mary's put together a 21-4 run to trim the Lafayette lead to 69-66 with 3:03 remaining...Lafayette shot 55 percent for the game, the Leopards' second-best shooting night of the season.....Five players scored in double figures in the win over Towson, with Bilal Abdullah, Deirunas Visockas and Matt Betley all notching 14...Abdullah played 41 minutes and recorded his first double-double of the season with a career-high 13 rebounds, while Betley notched nine rebounds...Lafayette trailed by seven with just over nine minutes to play, and did not tie the score until Michael Gruner scored with 8.1 seconds left...Abdullah and Visockas hit key three-pointers as Lafayette outscored Towson, 17-7, in overtime...Lafayette has played three of the five overtime games for Patriot League teams this year, and is the only team to win in the extra session....Lafayette has hit 10 or more three-pointers in 10 consecutive games...The Leopards have won three games in a row, and are 3-1 on the first four contests of an eight-game road stretch...The Leopards travel to Robert Morris on Sunday.
Lehigh: The Mountain Hawks return from a 20-day layoff to complete their three-game home stretch on Friday against Monmouth...Lehigh's layoff for finals and the holidays is its longest since the inception of Patriot League play in 1990...Lehigh stayed sharp with a 99-48 win in an exhibition against Briarcliff on Friday...They had 30 assists on 39 field goals in the game...Marquis Hall and Bryan White have emerged as individual stars for Lehigh...Hall is second in the Patriot League in assists (5.1), first in assist/turnover ratio (2.55;51/20), and ninth in scoring (13.7 ppg)...White averages a League-best 8.3 rebounds per game, and is only 13 shy of 500 boards for his career.
Navy: The Midshipmen split a pair of road games last week, downing Maryland-Eastern Shore, 85-61, on Saturday after falling to San Diego State, 86-76, on Monday...Kaleo Kina scored 20 points and Chris Harris had 19 in the win over UMES...Navy took a 41-23 lead at halftime, and shot 50.8 percent for the game...The 24-point victory was Navy's largest against a Division I foe since a 73-47 win over Morgan State on Dec. 8, 2006...Greg Sprink led the way with 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting against San Diego State...The Mids were done in by a 13-0 Aztec run late in the contest...Sprink has 1,346 career points, good for 11th in Navy history and 27th in Patriot League annals...Navy's 29 three-pointers during the last two games are tied for the most in school history during a two-game span. Navy also hit 29 combined three-pointers against Fordham (9) and Mount St. Mary's (20) on Nov. 24-27, 1990...The trio of Harris, Kina and Sprink are averaging 53.3 ppg between them in the last three games...The Mids have shot over 45.0 percent in three of their last four games, after accomplishing the feat just twice in the first eight games...Navy returns to action on Saturday at St. Francis (N.Y.), looking to win consecutive games for the first time this year.
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy, notebook
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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
This morning's readaround looks to the future will recruiting news and a glance at a couple of Bucknell's upcoming opponents.
Lehigh has announced its three-man recruiting class, Brett Reed's first as head coach of the Mountain Hawks. One that Reed did not land is Westfield, Va. guard Maurice Hubbard, who says the bond built when Billy Taylor was recruiting him to play at Lehigh is behind his decision to follow Taylor to Ball State.
Another one that got away is 6-5 Mike Shanahan of Norwin H.S. in Western Pa. A two-sport star, Shanahan turned some heads in the summer when he announced he would give up football in college to concentrate on hoops. He made official visits to Bucknell and some other mid-majors. But when high school football season rolled around, Shanahan decided to stick with football instead. Now he has committed to play football at Pitt.
Looking ahead to the weekend, Bucknell will end a 12-day layoff for finals Sunday when it visits Wake Forest, which is currently in the midst of an 8-day finals break of its own. The Demon Deacons, under former Army coach Dino Gaudio, have struggled in the fall semester to get their running game in gear
Looking further ahead , Ohio, currently 6-2, with the losses coming at Holy Cross and at the buzzer to Temple, will visit Bucknell Jan. 2, Before that, the Bobcats have a stretch of big games followed by a 10-day break before their trip to Lewisburg.
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Labels: Bucknell, Lehigh, notebook, previews
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Monday, December 10, 2007
Holy Cross moves up four spots in this week;s Mid-Major Top 25, plus the usual Monday evening stuff.
The Crusaders' win at Saint Joe's must have ompressed some voters. It was enough to bump Holy Cross up to No. 6 in the latest Mid-Major Top 25. Colgate back in the others receiving votes category with 3 points.
The Saint Joe's win apparently also impressed one voter in on of the two major Top 25 polls. Holy Cross with a single vote in this week's AP Poll. No mention of the Crusaders in the ESPN-USA Today poll.
Elsewhere, here is this week's memo from the league office in Center Valley:
Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 12.10.07
At this time last week, Patriot League teams were teetering right around the .500 mark for the season with a 30-29 record in non-League action. But after a 10-3 performance that included winning records on every day but one last week, the Patriot League now has a 40-32 mark for the season.
Anaconda Player of the Week
John Griffin, Bucknell Sr., G, 6'1, 185, Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Joseph's Prep
Griffin scored a game-high 21 points, including the winning free throws with eight seconds left to play, to lift Bucknell past La Salle, 67-66, on Monday and win Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week honors. Griffin scored 14 of his points after halftime as Bucknell rallied from a 16-point deficit, and hit a big 3-pointer with 4:04 left that sparked the team's game-ending 12-2 run. In addition to his 21 points, Griffin added three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots, and he did not commit a turnover in 37 minutes of action. Griffin scored 20 or more points for the third time this season. The Preseason All-League pick leads Bucknell and is ninth in the Patriot League with 13.3 ppg for the season. Griffin earns his first-career Anaconda Player of the Week honor.
Anaconda Rookie of the Week
Andrew Beinert, Holy Cross Fr., G, 6'2, 175, Floral Park, N.Y./Chaminade
Beinert scored 10 points and dished out four assists with three rebounds as Holy Cross won at Saint Joseph's, 71-66. He connected on 3-of-6 shots from the field, including his only three-pointer, and made 3-of-4 foul shots. Beinert set new career marks for points and assists. He earned his first Rookie of the Week nod.
Patriot League Notebook
Strong Showing for the Week
At this time last week, Patriot League teams were teetering right around the .500 mark for the season with a 30-29 record in non-League action. But after a 10-3 performance that included winning records on every day but one last week, the Patriot League now has a 40-32 mark for the season. The League posted a 7-2 record in mid-week games, and American kept it going by rallying for a 52-50 victory over Jacksonville on Friday. Lehigh and Lafayette came through with victories over Harvard and Columbia, respectively, on Saturday to give the Patriot League five consecutive wins against Ivy League opponents and a 6-4 mark against the Ancient Eight this season. Sunday was the only day with a losing mark, as Army narrowly fell to Quinnipaic, 58-54. A pair of victories over Atlantic 10 teams highlighted the action earlier in the week, as Bucknell rallied past La Salle on Monday and Holy Cross posted an impressive win at Saint Joseph's on Tuesday.
Patriot League Teams on Record Pace......
With a .541 winning percentage (40-32), the Patriot League is on pace for it best-ever non-League mark. The top record thus far, and only winning mark, came in a 54-53 effort in the 2000-01 season. Last season was the only other campaign at the .500 mark in non-League action, as the Patriot League's 60 wins were the most in its 17-year history. The 40 non-League wins are already the 11th-highest total in Patriot League history, which is made even more impressive being the first season of an all Division I schedule for the League. Patriot League teams still have 45 games remaining to boost the win total, as well as any postseason competition.
......But There's a Long Road Ahead
While Patriot League teams are on a record-setting pace, there will be plenty of heavy lifting required to maintain the early-season success. Thirty-two of the final 45 non-League games will be played on the road, with trips to top 25 teams Georgetown and Pittsburgh and challenging matchups against the likes of Syracuse, Dayton, Maryland and Wake Forest. Bucknell will play in the Golden Bear Classic at Cal, and travel for its BracketBuster game. Lafayette and American have their entire remaining non-League schedule on the road, while Holy Cross and Colgate play four of their six games away from home. The Patriot League does have an 18-16 record in true road games, and five teams are at or above .500 in those contests.
From the Court to the Books
Seven of the eight Patriot League schools have entered their break in the schedule to focus on final exams. Army is the only team still playing in the early part of the week, as it takes on Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday before its exam schedule begins. Here are the institutional exam dates for all of the Patriot League schools: American = Dec. 10-15; Army = Dec. 15-22; Bucknell = Dec. 6-13; Colgate = Dec. 10-14; Holy Cross = Dec. 8-15; Lafayette = Dec. 11-18; Lehigh = Dec. 11-19; Navy = Dec. 7-14.
Early RPI Returns
The RPI may not mean much at this point of the season, but a few Patriot League teams have to like their standing so far. In Monday's Collegiate Basketball News RPI Report, Holy Cross checks in at No. 40 with its 7-1 overall record. The Crusaders' only loss came against Dayton, which placed No. 8 in the ratings. Colgate's 6-3 start earned it the second position for Patriot League teams, at No. 163 overall. Bucknell also made the top 200 at No. 194. The Patriot League ranks No. 22 among 31 Division I conferences in RPI rating.
Class of 2012
Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lehigh and American have put out releases for next year's incoming freshman recruits. For the Bison, forward Enoch Andoh (San Jose, Calif.), guard Bryan Cohen (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) and forward Probese Leo (Houston, Texas) will join the fold. Holy Cross has guards R.J. Evans (Salem, Conn.) and Devin Brown (Randallstown, Md.) set to join the program. At Lehigh, Head Coach Brett Reed's first-ever recruiting class consists of forward John Adams (San Jose, Calif.), wing Jordan Hamilton (Seattle, Wash.) and center/forward Justin Maneri (Saddle Brook, N.J.). Forwards Stephen Lumpkins (San Mateo, Calif.) and Mike Technow (Boca Raton, Fla.) are both set to join American.
Patriot League in the NCAA Statistics
If the NCAA statistics are any indicator, Patriot League teams have excelled at playing defense and shooting from three-point range this season. Army's Jarell Brown is still the most visible Patriot League player in the individual statistics. The League's leading scorer ranks 19th in the country with 21.6 ppg, and is fourth with 4.4 three-pointers per game and 11th with a 52.6 three-point field goal percentage. He has company on the three-point lists, with Lafayette's Andrew Brown and American's Garrison Carr in the top 30 nationally with 3.4 makes per game and Andrew Brown ranking 36th with a 47.0 percentage from three-point land. Lafayette is fourth in the country with 10.7 three-pointers per game, and Colgate is fourth with a 45.8 three-point percentage. Lafayette and Lehigh are in the top 25 in three-point percentage. Holy Cross, American and Bucknell fare well in defensive statistics. The Crusaders are eighth in scoring defense at 55.3 ppg, while American and Bucknell are in the top 50. Both Holy Cross and Bucknell are in the top 50 in field goal percentage defense. Holy Cross is 23rd in rebounding margin. The Crusaders and Eagles are also in the top 30 in free throw percentage.
Still the Only One
When Lehigh won at St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 17, the Patriot League became the first of 31 Division I conferences to have all of its teams record at least one road victory this season. Three weeks later, the Patriot League is still the only one to accomplish the feat. Lehigh's home win over St. Peter's on Nov. 14 made the League the second conference to have every team record at least one win over a Division I opponent. The SEC beat the Patriot League to the mark by day.
Team Notebooks
American
The Eagles completed a 2-0 week with a come-from-behind, 52-50, win over Jacksonville on Friday...They were down by seven points with 3:41 to play, but came back to tie the score with 1:33 left...Brian Gilmore hit the game-winning free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining...Gilmore had a career-high 13 points, while Derrick Mercer led the Eagles with 17...American also had a 66-54 home victory over Howard on Tuesday...It was the 1,000th win in the 82-year history of the program...The Eagles now have a 1,001-947 (.514) record in the program's history... American trailed by 11 points in the first half, but rallied to take a 34-30 lead at halftime...They pulled away with a 10-0 run to start the second half, and led comfortably the rest of the way...Four Eagles were in double figures, led by Garrison Carr with 17...American is now 4-0 this season when four or more players score in double-digits...American completed its three-game homestand with a 2-1 record...The Eagles are off for their exam period from Dec. 10-15, and do not return until a Dec. 19 trip to Dayton which kicks off a seven-game road swing.
Army
Army saw its two-game winning streak come to an end with a 58-54 loss to Quinnipiac on Sunday...Quinnipiac scored the final eight points of the game, with game-winning points on free throws with 10 seconds to play...Jarell Brown was the only Army player in double figures, with 22 points...15 of Brown's points came in the second half...Brown has scored at least 20 points in six consecutive games, and leads the Patriot League with 21.6 ppg...He is the only Black Knight to score in double figures in the last three games...Brown was 5-of-8 from three-point range, and has made at least five three-pointers in five of the last six games...The Black Knights also posted a 54-44 triumph at NJIT on Thursday...Brown led the team with 23 points and also notched six rebounds...Josh Miller had nine points, a career-high eight rebounds and six assists...Army opened the game with a 14-0 run and would lead by at least nine points throughout the contest...Army forced 23 NJIT turnovers, including 16 in the first half...Army's wins over VMI and NJIT were its first back-to-back victories since January of 2007...The Black Knights finished a three-game road trip with a 2-1 mark...Army is in action Thursday against Florida Gulf Coast in the second of a five-game homestand.
Bucknell
The Bison snapped a four-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, rallying for a 67-66 win over La Salle on Monday...The Bison finished the game on a 12-2 run, culminating with John Griffin's two game-winning free throws with eight seconds left...Bucknell trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, and by nine with five minutes to play before the final run....Griffin led the way with 21 points, while Justin Castleberry and Patrick Behan both set career highs with 18...Griffin had 14 points in the second half, and did not commit a turnover in 37 minutes of action...He scored 20 or more points for the third time this season...The trio accounted for 57 of Bucknell's 67 points and 21 of 26 field goals...Freshman Todd O'Brien had six rebounds and three blocks to go with four points...He has multiple blocked shots in every game this season, and at least six rebounds in the past four contests...It was the first meeting against La Salle since 1982-83, and first Bison victory since 1979-80, which was Head Coach Pat Flannery's senior year...Bucknell's exam period runs from Dec. 6-13, and the Bison are back in action on Sunday at Wake Forest.
Colgate
The Raiders won their second game in a row with a 73-55 victory at Binghamton on Wednesday...They improved to 2-1 on their season-long six-game road trip, and 4-1 on the road for the season...Colgate wins its sixth game of the season on Dec. 5th, after taking until Jan. 6 to win their sixth game last year ...Colgate had a two-point lead at halftime before taking control in the second half....Kyle Roemer had 21 points to lead four Raiders in double figures...He was Colgate's leading scorer for the ninth straight game...Kendall Chones had 15 points and eight boards, while Tim Pounds had 14 and Daniel Waddy finished with 10...Alex Woodhouse blocked a career-high five shots and notched eight rebounds...Colgate shot 52 percent from the field, while holding Binghamton to 33 percent shooting...Colgate is off until Dec. 18 at Syracuse because of final exams from Dec. 10-14...The road swing wraps up at Penn State on Dec. 23 and at New Hampshire on Dec. 30.
Holy Cross
The Crusaders rebounded from their first loss of the season with an impressive 71-66 victory at Saint Joseph's on Tuesday...The Crusaders opened the game with a 12-0 run, and took an 18-2 lead...The lead grew as large as 18 points (27-9)...They held the Hawks without a field goal for the first 15 minutes of the game, and without a two-point field goal for the entire first half...Saint Joseph's closed to within five points with two minutes left, but Holy Cross made 5-of-7 seven free throws down the stretch to seal the win....Tim Clifford and Alex Vander Baan each had 16 points and seven rebounds...Vander Baan hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final minute...Kyle Cruze had 13 points and six assists, while freshman Andrew Beinert had a career-high 10 points and four assists...The Crusaders had 22 assists on 25 made field goals, and shot 50 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range...Holy Cross has its exams period from Dec. 8-15 and does not play again until Dec. 22 at Siena.
Lafayette
Lafayette rebounded from a loss at Rutgers with a 78-64 triumph at Columbia...Andrew Brown scored a season-high 22 points in the win, connecting on 8-of-14 shots and 6-of-10 from three-point range...He hit six three-pointers for the first time this season....Lafayette shot a season-high 57.4 percent from the floor at Columbia, topping their previous best mark against Penn (52.6) on Nov. 28...Lafayette doled out a season-best 22 assists at Columbia, equaling the team's mark vs. FDU (11/16)...Paul Cummins matched his season high with 12 points, while Ted Detmer had a season-high 11...Earlier in the week, Lafayette beat NJIT, 81-56, and lost at Rutgers, 90-79...Five Lafayette players scored in double figures in the loss to Rutgers, led by Brown with 17...Lafayette led by as many as 35 points against NJIT...Every player who was dressed hit at least one field goal in the game...Lafayette won four straight games for the first time since notching seven in a row in the 2003-04 season...The Leopards started 5-2 for the first time since 1999-00...The Leopards are 1-1 on the first two games of an eight-game road swing...They will not play this week while taking final exams but return to action on Dec. 19 at Towson.
Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks won a pair of home games last week, with a 70-61 win over Harvard on Saturday...Lehigh trailed 33-22 at halftime before rallying for the win with a 48-28 second-half advantage....Lehigh used an 11-0 run to take a 54-49 lead with 6:23 to play...Marquis Hall led the way with 17 points, while Zahir Carrington had 14...The Mountain Hawks connected on 22-of-24 foul shots...With the win Lehigh pulled even at .500 for the first time after ten games since the 2003-04 season...The Mountain Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak with a 76-61 win against Stony Brook on Wednesday in the first of a three-game homestand...Dave Buchberger scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting in his first-ever start...Hall had a career-high 10 assists without any turnovers...Bryan White had 10 rebounds in each contest, and averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds in the two games...White is 13 rebounds shy of 500 for his career...Lehigh breaks for exams from Dec. 11-19, and does not return to complete its three-game home stretch until Dec. 28 against Monmouth...Lehigh's 20-day layoff for finals and the holidays is its longest since the inception of Patriot League play in 1990.
Navy
The Mids dropped a home contest to Mount St. Mary's, 62-58, on Monday...Navy held Mount St. Mary's to 27.9 percent shooting from the field, but shot only 32.7 percent itself, with a 4-of-22 effort from three-point range...It was the lowest shooting percentage for a Navy opponent since Feb. 28, 2004 (Army)...Navy fell behind 13-0 in the contest...The Mids held Mount St. Mary's to 4-of-26 shooting in the second half, and without a field goal for the final 7:19...Kaleo Kina and Greg Sprink each had 16 points, while Chris Harris scored 15...No other player had more than four points...Sprink had nine rebounds, while Kina had seven and Adam Teague notched eight...Kina played 27 minutes without a turnover, the first time since Jan. 22, 2006 that he did not commit a turnover...Sprink scored in double figures for the 66th time in his career...Navy breaks for its exam period that spans from December 7-14, and returns to the court when it travels to San Diego State on Dec. 17.
BONU LINK:
In his latest update on CoachRalph.com, Ralph Willard recaps Holy Cross' win at Saint Joe's and wonders who put together a schedule that includes just two games over a span of 25 day
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The Crusaders' win at Saint Joe's must have ompressed some voters. It was enough to bump Holy Cross up to No. 6 in the latest Mid-Major Top 25. Colgate back in the others receiving votes category with 3 points.
The Saint Joe's win apparently also impressed one voter in on of the two major Top 25 polls. Holy Cross with a single vote in this week's AP Poll. No mention of the Crusaders in the ESPN-USA Today poll.
Elsewhere, here is this week's memo from the league office in Center Valley:
Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 12.10.07
At this time last week, Patriot League teams were teetering right around the .500 mark for the season with a 30-29 record in non-League action. But after a 10-3 performance that included winning records on every day but one last week, the Patriot League now has a 40-32 mark for the season.
Anaconda Player of the Week
John Griffin, Bucknell Sr., G, 6'1, 185, Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Joseph's Prep
Griffin scored a game-high 21 points, including the winning free throws with eight seconds left to play, to lift Bucknell past La Salle, 67-66, on Monday and win Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week honors. Griffin scored 14 of his points after halftime as Bucknell rallied from a 16-point deficit, and hit a big 3-pointer with 4:04 left that sparked the team's game-ending 12-2 run. In addition to his 21 points, Griffin added three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots, and he did not commit a turnover in 37 minutes of action. Griffin scored 20 or more points for the third time this season. The Preseason All-League pick leads Bucknell and is ninth in the Patriot League with 13.3 ppg for the season. Griffin earns his first-career Anaconda Player of the Week honor.
Anaconda Rookie of the Week
Andrew Beinert, Holy Cross Fr., G, 6'2, 175, Floral Park, N.Y./Chaminade
Beinert scored 10 points and dished out four assists with three rebounds as Holy Cross won at Saint Joseph's, 71-66. He connected on 3-of-6 shots from the field, including his only three-pointer, and made 3-of-4 foul shots. Beinert set new career marks for points and assists. He earned his first Rookie of the Week nod.
Patriot League Notebook
Strong Showing for the Week
At this time last week, Patriot League teams were teetering right around the .500 mark for the season with a 30-29 record in non-League action. But after a 10-3 performance that included winning records on every day but one last week, the Patriot League now has a 40-32 mark for the season. The League posted a 7-2 record in mid-week games, and American kept it going by rallying for a 52-50 victory over Jacksonville on Friday. Lehigh and Lafayette came through with victories over Harvard and Columbia, respectively, on Saturday to give the Patriot League five consecutive wins against Ivy League opponents and a 6-4 mark against the Ancient Eight this season. Sunday was the only day with a losing mark, as Army narrowly fell to Quinnipaic, 58-54. A pair of victories over Atlantic 10 teams highlighted the action earlier in the week, as Bucknell rallied past La Salle on Monday and Holy Cross posted an impressive win at Saint Joseph's on Tuesday.
Patriot League Teams on Record Pace......
With a .541 winning percentage (40-32), the Patriot League is on pace for it best-ever non-League mark. The top record thus far, and only winning mark, came in a 54-53 effort in the 2000-01 season. Last season was the only other campaign at the .500 mark in non-League action, as the Patriot League's 60 wins were the most in its 17-year history. The 40 non-League wins are already the 11th-highest total in Patriot League history, which is made even more impressive being the first season of an all Division I schedule for the League. Patriot League teams still have 45 games remaining to boost the win total, as well as any postseason competition.
......But There's a Long Road Ahead
While Patriot League teams are on a record-setting pace, there will be plenty of heavy lifting required to maintain the early-season success. Thirty-two of the final 45 non-League games will be played on the road, with trips to top 25 teams Georgetown and Pittsburgh and challenging matchups against the likes of Syracuse, Dayton, Maryland and Wake Forest. Bucknell will play in the Golden Bear Classic at Cal, and travel for its BracketBuster game. Lafayette and American have their entire remaining non-League schedule on the road, while Holy Cross and Colgate play four of their six games away from home. The Patriot League does have an 18-16 record in true road games, and five teams are at or above .500 in those contests.
From the Court to the Books
Seven of the eight Patriot League schools have entered their break in the schedule to focus on final exams. Army is the only team still playing in the early part of the week, as it takes on Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday before its exam schedule begins. Here are the institutional exam dates for all of the Patriot League schools: American = Dec. 10-15; Army = Dec. 15-22; Bucknell = Dec. 6-13; Colgate = Dec. 10-14; Holy Cross = Dec. 8-15; Lafayette = Dec. 11-18; Lehigh = Dec. 11-19; Navy = Dec. 7-14.
Early RPI Returns
The RPI may not mean much at this point of the season, but a few Patriot League teams have to like their standing so far. In Monday's Collegiate Basketball News RPI Report, Holy Cross checks in at No. 40 with its 7-1 overall record. The Crusaders' only loss came against Dayton, which placed No. 8 in the ratings. Colgate's 6-3 start earned it the second position for Patriot League teams, at No. 163 overall. Bucknell also made the top 200 at No. 194. The Patriot League ranks No. 22 among 31 Division I conferences in RPI rating.
Class of 2012
Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lehigh and American have put out releases for next year's incoming freshman recruits. For the Bison, forward Enoch Andoh (San Jose, Calif.), guard Bryan Cohen (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) and forward Probese Leo (Houston, Texas) will join the fold. Holy Cross has guards R.J. Evans (Salem, Conn.) and Devin Brown (Randallstown, Md.) set to join the program. At Lehigh, Head Coach Brett Reed's first-ever recruiting class consists of forward John Adams (San Jose, Calif.), wing Jordan Hamilton (Seattle, Wash.) and center/forward Justin Maneri (Saddle Brook, N.J.). Forwards Stephen Lumpkins (San Mateo, Calif.) and Mike Technow (Boca Raton, Fla.) are both set to join American.
Patriot League in the NCAA Statistics
If the NCAA statistics are any indicator, Patriot League teams have excelled at playing defense and shooting from three-point range this season. Army's Jarell Brown is still the most visible Patriot League player in the individual statistics. The League's leading scorer ranks 19th in the country with 21.6 ppg, and is fourth with 4.4 three-pointers per game and 11th with a 52.6 three-point field goal percentage. He has company on the three-point lists, with Lafayette's Andrew Brown and American's Garrison Carr in the top 30 nationally with 3.4 makes per game and Andrew Brown ranking 36th with a 47.0 percentage from three-point land. Lafayette is fourth in the country with 10.7 three-pointers per game, and Colgate is fourth with a 45.8 three-point percentage. Lafayette and Lehigh are in the top 25 in three-point percentage. Holy Cross, American and Bucknell fare well in defensive statistics. The Crusaders are eighth in scoring defense at 55.3 ppg, while American and Bucknell are in the top 50. Both Holy Cross and Bucknell are in the top 50 in field goal percentage defense. Holy Cross is 23rd in rebounding margin. The Crusaders and Eagles are also in the top 30 in free throw percentage.
Still the Only One
When Lehigh won at St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 17, the Patriot League became the first of 31 Division I conferences to have all of its teams record at least one road victory this season. Three weeks later, the Patriot League is still the only one to accomplish the feat. Lehigh's home win over St. Peter's on Nov. 14 made the League the second conference to have every team record at least one win over a Division I opponent. The SEC beat the Patriot League to the mark by day.
Team Notebooks
American
The Eagles completed a 2-0 week with a come-from-behind, 52-50, win over Jacksonville on Friday...They were down by seven points with 3:41 to play, but came back to tie the score with 1:33 left...Brian Gilmore hit the game-winning free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining...Gilmore had a career-high 13 points, while Derrick Mercer led the Eagles with 17...American also had a 66-54 home victory over Howard on Tuesday...It was the 1,000th win in the 82-year history of the program...The Eagles now have a 1,001-947 (.514) record in the program's history... American trailed by 11 points in the first half, but rallied to take a 34-30 lead at halftime...They pulled away with a 10-0 run to start the second half, and led comfortably the rest of the way...Four Eagles were in double figures, led by Garrison Carr with 17...American is now 4-0 this season when four or more players score in double-digits...American completed its three-game homestand with a 2-1 record...The Eagles are off for their exam period from Dec. 10-15, and do not return until a Dec. 19 trip to Dayton which kicks off a seven-game road swing.
Army
Army saw its two-game winning streak come to an end with a 58-54 loss to Quinnipiac on Sunday...Quinnipiac scored the final eight points of the game, with game-winning points on free throws with 10 seconds to play...Jarell Brown was the only Army player in double figures, with 22 points...15 of Brown's points came in the second half...Brown has scored at least 20 points in six consecutive games, and leads the Patriot League with 21.6 ppg...He is the only Black Knight to score in double figures in the last three games...Brown was 5-of-8 from three-point range, and has made at least five three-pointers in five of the last six games...The Black Knights also posted a 54-44 triumph at NJIT on Thursday...Brown led the team with 23 points and also notched six rebounds...Josh Miller had nine points, a career-high eight rebounds and six assists...Army opened the game with a 14-0 run and would lead by at least nine points throughout the contest...Army forced 23 NJIT turnovers, including 16 in the first half...Army's wins over VMI and NJIT were its first back-to-back victories since January of 2007...The Black Knights finished a three-game road trip with a 2-1 mark...Army is in action Thursday against Florida Gulf Coast in the second of a five-game homestand.
Bucknell
The Bison snapped a four-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, rallying for a 67-66 win over La Salle on Monday...The Bison finished the game on a 12-2 run, culminating with John Griffin's two game-winning free throws with eight seconds left...Bucknell trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, and by nine with five minutes to play before the final run....Griffin led the way with 21 points, while Justin Castleberry and Patrick Behan both set career highs with 18...Griffin had 14 points in the second half, and did not commit a turnover in 37 minutes of action...He scored 20 or more points for the third time this season...The trio accounted for 57 of Bucknell's 67 points and 21 of 26 field goals...Freshman Todd O'Brien had six rebounds and three blocks to go with four points...He has multiple blocked shots in every game this season, and at least six rebounds in the past four contests...It was the first meeting against La Salle since 1982-83, and first Bison victory since 1979-80, which was Head Coach Pat Flannery's senior year...Bucknell's exam period runs from Dec. 6-13, and the Bison are back in action on Sunday at Wake Forest.
Colgate
The Raiders won their second game in a row with a 73-55 victory at Binghamton on Wednesday...They improved to 2-1 on their season-long six-game road trip, and 4-1 on the road for the season...Colgate wins its sixth game of the season on Dec. 5th, after taking until Jan. 6 to win their sixth game last year ...Colgate had a two-point lead at halftime before taking control in the second half....Kyle Roemer had 21 points to lead four Raiders in double figures...He was Colgate's leading scorer for the ninth straight game...Kendall Chones had 15 points and eight boards, while Tim Pounds had 14 and Daniel Waddy finished with 10...Alex Woodhouse blocked a career-high five shots and notched eight rebounds...Colgate shot 52 percent from the field, while holding Binghamton to 33 percent shooting...Colgate is off until Dec. 18 at Syracuse because of final exams from Dec. 10-14...The road swing wraps up at Penn State on Dec. 23 and at New Hampshire on Dec. 30.
Holy Cross
The Crusaders rebounded from their first loss of the season with an impressive 71-66 victory at Saint Joseph's on Tuesday...The Crusaders opened the game with a 12-0 run, and took an 18-2 lead...The lead grew as large as 18 points (27-9)...They held the Hawks without a field goal for the first 15 minutes of the game, and without a two-point field goal for the entire first half...Saint Joseph's closed to within five points with two minutes left, but Holy Cross made 5-of-7 seven free throws down the stretch to seal the win....Tim Clifford and Alex Vander Baan each had 16 points and seven rebounds...Vander Baan hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final minute...Kyle Cruze had 13 points and six assists, while freshman Andrew Beinert had a career-high 10 points and four assists...The Crusaders had 22 assists on 25 made field goals, and shot 50 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range...Holy Cross has its exams period from Dec. 8-15 and does not play again until Dec. 22 at Siena.
Lafayette
Lafayette rebounded from a loss at Rutgers with a 78-64 triumph at Columbia...Andrew Brown scored a season-high 22 points in the win, connecting on 8-of-14 shots and 6-of-10 from three-point range...He hit six three-pointers for the first time this season....Lafayette shot a season-high 57.4 percent from the floor at Columbia, topping their previous best mark against Penn (52.6) on Nov. 28...Lafayette doled out a season-best 22 assists at Columbia, equaling the team's mark vs. FDU (11/16)...Paul Cummins matched his season high with 12 points, while Ted Detmer had a season-high 11...Earlier in the week, Lafayette beat NJIT, 81-56, and lost at Rutgers, 90-79...Five Lafayette players scored in double figures in the loss to Rutgers, led by Brown with 17...Lafayette led by as many as 35 points against NJIT...Every player who was dressed hit at least one field goal in the game...Lafayette won four straight games for the first time since notching seven in a row in the 2003-04 season...The Leopards started 5-2 for the first time since 1999-00...The Leopards are 1-1 on the first two games of an eight-game road swing...They will not play this week while taking final exams but return to action on Dec. 19 at Towson.
Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks won a pair of home games last week, with a 70-61 win over Harvard on Saturday...Lehigh trailed 33-22 at halftime before rallying for the win with a 48-28 second-half advantage....Lehigh used an 11-0 run to take a 54-49 lead with 6:23 to play...Marquis Hall led the way with 17 points, while Zahir Carrington had 14...The Mountain Hawks connected on 22-of-24 foul shots...With the win Lehigh pulled even at .500 for the first time after ten games since the 2003-04 season...The Mountain Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak with a 76-61 win against Stony Brook on Wednesday in the first of a three-game homestand...Dave Buchberger scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting in his first-ever start...Hall had a career-high 10 assists without any turnovers...Bryan White had 10 rebounds in each contest, and averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds in the two games...White is 13 rebounds shy of 500 for his career...Lehigh breaks for exams from Dec. 11-19, and does not return to complete its three-game home stretch until Dec. 28 against Monmouth...Lehigh's 20-day layoff for finals and the holidays is its longest since the inception of Patriot League play in 1990.
Navy
The Mids dropped a home contest to Mount St. Mary's, 62-58, on Monday...Navy held Mount St. Mary's to 27.9 percent shooting from the field, but shot only 32.7 percent itself, with a 4-of-22 effort from three-point range...It was the lowest shooting percentage for a Navy opponent since Feb. 28, 2004 (Army)...Navy fell behind 13-0 in the contest...The Mids held Mount St. Mary's to 4-of-26 shooting in the second half, and without a field goal for the final 7:19...Kaleo Kina and Greg Sprink each had 16 points, while Chris Harris scored 15...No other player had more than four points...Sprink had nine rebounds, while Kina had seven and Adam Teague notched eight...Kina played 27 minutes without a turnover, the first time since Jan. 22, 2006 that he did not commit a turnover...Sprink scored in double figures for the 66th time in his career...Navy breaks for its exam period that spans from December 7-14, and returns to the court when it travels to San Diego State on Dec. 17.
BONU LINK:
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy, notebook
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Monday, December 03, 2007
It's an anniversary edition of the HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK.
A little over three years ago, we decided to kill a free evening by driving to Lewisburg to see the Bison play St. Francis.
The actual date was Nov. 22, 2004. A date that will only live in infamy for as long as we keep this site going, assuming we remember each year to remind you.
We were not actually covering that game. Plans were to get a look at the Bison in advance of some freelance gigs later in the season, say hello to some old friends, stop for a beverage with my brother on the way home.
There were no plans to write about that game as we drove north along the Susquehanna River on U.S. Routes 11&15. Matter of fact, there were not even any plans for this Web site, which was born that night. Those plans came together on the drive home.
Thank, or blame -- depending how you view this site -- Bucknell Sports Information Director Jon Terry. Terry was sort of the site muse. After the game, I told JT it was a shame I didn't have anyplace to write about the game. Terry's response: "You ought to start a Web site or something."
At 1:27 the next morning, the first post was up on the newest concept to carry the Hoop Time name.
Since then, the Hoop Time Notebook has been an irregular feature of the site. Here is the latest version:
MUM'S THE WORD: One of the casualties of this year's officiating point of emphasis on bench decorum apparently is the dialogue coaches and officials used to carry on during games. Despite the high-profile coach rants and outbursts that get noticed by most fans, coaches and officials used to have an open line of communications during games. Refs would routinely offer coaches an explanation of calls, especially confusing ones like the one made around the eight-minute mark of the second half in Bucknell's loss to Saint Francis.
That was when Devin Sweetney collided with Bucknell defenders on his way to the rack, drawing a whistle and an initial signal that Sweetney was being called for an offensive charge. The official who made the initial call also signaled Sweetney's basket did not count. But then, for some unknown reason, Sweetney went to the foul line and completed a three-point play.
Even Bucknell coach pat Flannery was in the dark. Asked after the game about the call, Flannery said, "I don't know what happened there,"
The refs would have explained it to the coach last season. This season, though, "There's no dialogue, no conversation," Flannery said.
RULES INTERPRETATION: In our story from that game, we mentioned the lack of a technical foul on Saint Francis when Marquis Ford tried to take Chris Berry's spot at the free throw line for a crucial one-and-one in the final 30 seconds. The rule covering such shenanigans does give the officials an out on such plays. The interpretation in the rule book states:
The officials don't have access to a team's stats during the game, so they would not have realized that Ford might have been motivated to try the switcheroo by the fact that Berry is a 57.1 percent free throw shooter. But you do have to wonder why it took Bucknell players and coaches drawing their attention to the switch for the officials to notice. It is not like Berry -- who stands 6-4 -- and the 5-11 Ford look alike, or have similar jersey numbers (Berry wears a single digit -- 5, Ford sports 11).
RATINGS DROP: With about a month left in non-conference play, the Patriot League is going to have to do some scrambling if it wants to continue its trend of moving up in the conference RPI rankings. The league's standing has improved in each of the last three seasons, going from No. 26 in 2004 to 23 in 2005, 21 in 2006 and No. 17 last season. As recently as two weeks ago, the Patriot League was up to No. 13. Since then it has dropped like a
FADE AWAY: When American failed to hold a halftime Saturday against UMBC, it was not the first time this season it had happened. Not the second, either. The Eagles have simply not been a very good second half team.
Three of AU's four losses came in games they led at the break. They trailed by two in the other.
The problem seems to be at both ends of the floor. American scores fewer points after intermission and gives up more. In eight games thus far, the Eagles have scored 274 first half points. That is 67 more than opponents have scored. Second half has been a different story, with opponents scoring 288 points and American 243 -- 31 less than they score in first halves.
INDECISIVE: While previewing the Army-VMI game, we mentioned the Keydets had used a different starting lineup every game. VMI coach Duggar Baucom is not the only coach who is having a hard time settling on a first five. In coverage of Central Connecticut's win Saturday over Lehigh, the Hartford Currant's Tom Yantz points out:
Bucknell, after starting the same five for the first five games, replaced juniors Justin Castleberry and Josh LInthicum with freshmen Daryl Shazier and Todd O'Brien. Four guys have started all seven Holy Cross games.Sophomore Eric Meister started in place of forward Alex Vander Baan in one game when Vander Baan was injured. A similar situation exists at American, where four guys have started every game and Cornelio Guibunda has started in seven of the eight. Colgate and Lehigh have been even more consistent, the same five starting every game.
At the other end of the spectrum, Navy has used eight men as starters. Lafayette has used nine,
BLOCK PARTY: With his four blocks against St, Francis on Saturday, Bucknell center Todd O'Brien how has 17 blocked shots. The 6-11 freshman from New Holland, Pa has multiple blocks in every game thus far. His average of 2.8 blocks per game leads the Patriot League by over a block per game. Holy Cross senior Tim Clifford, who owns the Crusaders' career blocks mark (currently sitting at 155), is averaging 1.7 per game.
As prolific O'Brien has been, he is not on pace to challenge the Bison single-season record of 100 set by Mike Butts as a senior in 1989. At O'Brien's current pace of 2.8 blocks per game, the Bison would need to advance to the Sweet Sixteeen for him to reach Butts' single-season mark.
A little sobering perspective: To reach Adonal Foyle's single-season Patriot league record of 190, O'Brien would need 64 games at his current pace.
PADDING THE NUMBERS: When Navy hit 28 of 55 from the field (season-high 50.9 percent) against Towson, it marked just the third time all season the Midshipmen shot better than 40 percent in a game. It was the first time the Mids shot better than 50 percent since the season-opener at Longwood, when they hit 50.8 percent. Navy shot 47.2 percent in the loss to Texas-San Antonio. In Navy's other six games, their best night was against Robert Morris, when they hit 39.7 percent. Their showing against Towson brought the Mids season field goal numbers above 40 percent, improving from 39.2 percent to 40.4 percent.
BOMBS AWAY: Last season Lafayette set a school record 256 three-pointers, hitting 8.5 per game, a rate that ranked 25th nationally. At their current pace, the Leopards will shatter that mark this season. Lafayette is hitting 10.8 treys per game, a pace that would give them 354 for the season if they maintain it. The Leopards have hit 65 threes thus far, 18 more than they had last season after six games. Three-pointers account for 40.8 percent of all Lafayette scoring. Of 341 shots Lafayette has put up from the field, 159 (47 percent) have come from behind the arc, where they are hitting at a 40.9 percent clip. Although threes account for just 41.9 percent of all made Navy field goals, 52 percent of the Mids scoring from the field comes from the arc. Navy has scored 195 points on threes, 180 on two-point shots and 102 at the foul line.
ICE, ICE, BAY-BEE: When the girls of Team Hoop Time went 2 for 24 from the field in season-opening loss to the Carlisle Thunder, it was hard to imagine a colder shooting effort might be going on elsewhere. But when some of the girls got to Sojka Pavilion that evening to watch the Bucknell men play, they found out they didn't shoot so bad after all. At least not compared to what happened that same afternoon in the Bucknell women's game at Marist.
Women hate when you use the adjective 'frigid' to describe anything but the weather, but what else would you call Bucknell's 0 for 28 start in that game. The Bison trailed 19-0 before getting on the scoreboard with a free throw 9:55 into the game. They went 14:31 before finally getting their first field goal, a Kristina Collymore jumper at the 5:29 mark.
Box score
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A little over three years ago, we decided to kill a free evening by driving to Lewisburg to see the Bison play St. Francis.
The actual date was Nov. 22, 2004. A date that will only live in infamy for as long as we keep this site going, assuming we remember each year to remind you.
We were not actually covering that game. Plans were to get a look at the Bison in advance of some freelance gigs later in the season, say hello to some old friends, stop for a beverage with my brother on the way home.
There were no plans to write about that game as we drove north along the Susquehanna River on U.S. Routes 11&15. Matter of fact, there were not even any plans for this Web site, which was born that night. Those plans came together on the drive home.
Thank, or blame -- depending how you view this site -- Bucknell Sports Information Director Jon Terry. Terry was sort of the site muse. After the game, I told JT it was a shame I didn't have anyplace to write about the game. Terry's response: "You ought to start a Web site or something."
At 1:27 the next morning, the first post was up on the newest concept to carry the Hoop Time name.
Since then, the Hoop Time Notebook has been an irregular feature of the site. Here is the latest version:
MUM'S THE WORD: One of the casualties of this year's officiating point of emphasis on bench decorum apparently is the dialogue coaches and officials used to carry on during games. Despite the high-profile coach rants and outbursts that get noticed by most fans, coaches and officials used to have an open line of communications during games. Refs would routinely offer coaches an explanation of calls, especially confusing ones like the one made around the eight-minute mark of the second half in Bucknell's loss to Saint Francis.
That was when Devin Sweetney collided with Bucknell defenders on his way to the rack, drawing a whistle and an initial signal that Sweetney was being called for an offensive charge. The official who made the initial call also signaled Sweetney's basket did not count. But then, for some unknown reason, Sweetney went to the foul line and completed a three-point play.
Even Bucknell coach pat Flannery was in the dark. Asked after the game about the call, Flannery said, "I don't know what happened there,"
The refs would have explained it to the coach last season. This season, though, "There's no dialogue, no conversation," Flannery said.
RULES INTERPRETATION: In our story from that game, we mentioned the lack of a technical foul on Saint Francis when Marquis Ford tried to take Chris Berry's spot at the free throw line for a crucial one-and-one in the final 30 seconds. The rule covering such shenanigans does give the officials an out on such plays. The interpretation in the rule book states:
When the attempt by A2 is due to a justifiable misunderstanding, there shall be no penalty. The error shall be corrected under Rule 2-11. When it is reasonable to believe that A2 knew that A1 was the designated shooter, a direct technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct shall be called.In other words, the question is, should Ford, who was looking for a pass from Berry when Bucknell's Stephen Tyree wrapped his arms around Ford out near midcourt, have known that he was not the shooter. Or was it reasonable for him to think he was the one who was fouled after seeing the obvious play in front of him and catching a pass after the whistle had blown.
The officials don't have access to a team's stats during the game, so they would not have realized that Ford might have been motivated to try the switcheroo by the fact that Berry is a 57.1 percent free throw shooter. But you do have to wonder why it took Bucknell players and coaches drawing their attention to the switch for the officials to notice. It is not like Berry -- who stands 6-4 -- and the 5-11 Ford look alike, or have similar jersey numbers (Berry wears a single digit -- 5, Ford sports 11).
RATINGS DROP: With about a month left in non-conference play, the Patriot League is going to have to do some scrambling if it wants to continue its trend of moving up in the conference RPI rankings. The league's standing has improved in each of the last three seasons, going from No. 26 in 2004 to 23 in 2005, 21 in 2006 and No. 17 last season. As recently as two weeks ago, the Patriot League was up to No. 13. Since then it has dropped like a
FADE AWAY: When American failed to hold a halftime Saturday against UMBC, it was not the first time this season it had happened. Not the second, either. The Eagles have simply not been a very good second half team.
Three of AU's four losses came in games they led at the break. They trailed by two in the other.
The problem seems to be at both ends of the floor. American scores fewer points after intermission and gives up more. In eight games thus far, the Eagles have scored 274 first half points. That is 67 more than opponents have scored. Second half has been a different story, with opponents scoring 288 points and American 243 -- 31 less than they score in first halves.
INDECISIVE: While previewing the Army-VMI game, we mentioned the Keydets had used a different starting lineup every game. VMI coach Duggar Baucom is not the only coach who is having a hard time settling on a first five. In coverage of Central Connecticut's win Saturday over Lehigh, the Hartford Currant's Tom Yantz points out:
"Central Connecticut coach Howie Dickenman used his sixth different starting lineup in game No. 7 Saturday."That got us wondering about starting lineups around the league.
Bucknell, after starting the same five for the first five games, replaced juniors Justin Castleberry and Josh LInthicum with freshmen Daryl Shazier and Todd O'Brien. Four guys have started all seven Holy Cross games.Sophomore Eric Meister started in place of forward Alex Vander Baan in one game when Vander Baan was injured. A similar situation exists at American, where four guys have started every game and Cornelio Guibunda has started in seven of the eight. Colgate and Lehigh have been even more consistent, the same five starting every game.
At the other end of the spectrum, Navy has used eight men as starters. Lafayette has used nine,
BLOCK PARTY: With his four blocks against St, Francis on Saturday, Bucknell center Todd O'Brien how has 17 blocked shots. The 6-11 freshman from New Holland, Pa has multiple blocks in every game thus far. His average of 2.8 blocks per game leads the Patriot League by over a block per game. Holy Cross senior Tim Clifford, who owns the Crusaders' career blocks mark (currently sitting at 155), is averaging 1.7 per game.
As prolific O'Brien has been, he is not on pace to challenge the Bison single-season record of 100 set by Mike Butts as a senior in 1989. At O'Brien's current pace of 2.8 blocks per game, the Bison would need to advance to the Sweet Sixteeen for him to reach Butts' single-season mark.
A little sobering perspective: To reach Adonal Foyle's single-season Patriot league record of 190, O'Brien would need 64 games at his current pace.
PADDING THE NUMBERS: When Navy hit 28 of 55 from the field (season-high 50.9 percent) against Towson, it marked just the third time all season the Midshipmen shot better than 40 percent in a game. It was the first time the Mids shot better than 50 percent since the season-opener at Longwood, when they hit 50.8 percent. Navy shot 47.2 percent in the loss to Texas-San Antonio. In Navy's other six games, their best night was against Robert Morris, when they hit 39.7 percent. Their showing against Towson brought the Mids season field goal numbers above 40 percent, improving from 39.2 percent to 40.4 percent.
BOMBS AWAY: Last season Lafayette set a school record 256 three-pointers, hitting 8.5 per game, a rate that ranked 25th nationally. At their current pace, the Leopards will shatter that mark this season. Lafayette is hitting 10.8 treys per game, a pace that would give them 354 for the season if they maintain it. The Leopards have hit 65 threes thus far, 18 more than they had last season after six games. Three-pointers account for 40.8 percent of all Lafayette scoring. Of 341 shots Lafayette has put up from the field, 159 (47 percent) have come from behind the arc, where they are hitting at a 40.9 percent clip. Although threes account for just 41.9 percent of all made Navy field goals, 52 percent of the Mids scoring from the field comes from the arc. Navy has scored 195 points on threes, 180 on two-point shots and 102 at the foul line.
ICE, ICE, BAY-BEE: When the girls of Team Hoop Time went 2 for 24 from the field in season-opening loss to the Carlisle Thunder, it was hard to imagine a colder shooting effort might be going on elsewhere. But when some of the girls got to Sojka Pavilion that evening to watch the Bucknell men play, they found out they didn't shoot so bad after all. At least not compared to what happened that same afternoon in the Bucknell women's game at Marist.
Women hate when you use the adjective 'frigid' to describe anything but the weather, but what else would you call Bucknell's 0 for 28 start in that game. The Bison trailed 19-0 before getting on the scoreboard with a free throw 9:55 into the game. They went 14:31 before finally getting their first field goal, a Kristina Collymore jumper at the 5:29 mark.
Box score
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy, notebook
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Monday, November 19, 2007
A quick look at some news and numbers from around the league.
NO RUST ON ROEMER: One of the questions for Colgate entering the season was how effective Kyle Roemer would be after missing the Raiders last 32 games over the past two seasons due to injuries. Conventional wisdom was that it would take Roemer at least a few games to shake off the rust accumulated after missing the final three games of the 2005-06 season with a concussion and all 29 of last season with an ankle injury.
The answer is: no time at all. Roemer is averaging a league-best 20 points per game through Colgate's first four outings. The 6-3 redshirt (medical) junior, who averaged 10.7 ppg through his first two seasons, has scored 15, 16, 24 and 25 in four games thus far. The 25 against Kennesaw State Saturday broke his career-high set the night before against Texas State. The two 20-point games equalled the number of 20-point performances Roemer recorded in the first 54 games of his career.
This far, Roemer is shooting 40 percent from three-point range, with 12 of his 26 field goals coming from the arc.
BROWN OUT: Big things are expected this season from Army's Jarrell Brown, but through three games, Brown's offense has been hit or miss -- and more miss than hit. Sandwiched around his 26-point outburst against Sacred Heart are a 5-point night in the opener at Minnesota and a 4-point showing in last week's loss to Long Island.
Brown, who scored 20 points in 11 games last season and reached double figures in 26 of the Black Knights' 31 contests, averaged 16.9 points per game last season, shooting 41.8 percent from the field. He is shooting just 34.3 percent this season, and his average is down to 11.7 ppg, tied with teammate Kenny Brewer, who is averaging 11.7 ppg off the bench. Brewer has arguably been Army's best offensive player. He is shooting 62.5 percent from the floor.
SMALL BALL: American coach Jeff Jones was looking to add some size to his lineup after the graduation Brayden Billbe and Paulius Jonelius when he went the juco route in recruiting. But after a 1-2 start, Jones went smaller in the Eagles' win Sunday over Stony Brook. Cornelius Guibunda, the 6-9 junior transfer from Georgetown, who started the first three games, was relegated to the bench. His place in the starting lineup was taken by 6-5 Jordan Nichols. Guibunda played only 3 minutes against Stony Brook.
GROWING PAINS: Navy, on the other hand, has tried to go bigger this season, starting a pair of 6-10 guys in all four games. Freshman Mark Veazey has started all four games. Fellow freshman Jeremy Wilson, another 6-10 guy, started in Navy's most recent contest, replacing 6-10 senior Ben Biles in the starting five But the added size has not resulted in an added presence in the paint. Navy has been outrebounded by an average of more than 6 boards per game. The lack of an inside attack is a big reason why opponents have made 82 free throws (on 115 tries) thus far, while Navy has only shot 78 (54 made).
Navy's 1-3 start can't be blamed entirely on the big men, though. The Mids are also averaging 20.3 turnovers per game.
NAVY'S NOT ALONE: Through three games, 1-2 Lafayette has also had inside problems. The Leopards are shooting almost two percentage points (43.2-41.3) better than their opponents and have hit twice as many threes (32-15, Lafayette shooting 39.5 percent, foes 26.3 from the arc). But the 'Pards are 1-3. The slow start is primarily due to being outrebounded on average by 10 boards per game (44.3-34.3). It has not helped that opponents have made 77 of 106 free throws and Lafayette has only shot 83 foul shots (making 54).
YOU ARE WHO YOU PLAY: It is still way too early to take the RPI rankings seriously, but the early numbers do give you a peak at both the relative strength of the league's teams, and to perhaps a greater extent, the strength of the schedules they have played. Bucknell, which was No. 1 last week, slipped, but not far, after Sunday's loss to Villanova. The Bison are No. 6 in the RPI as of Monday morning. Holy Cross is up to No. 11 after beating Hampton and Colgate is also in the top 64, checking in at No. 58. Navy is the only other team in the top 200 (barely), checking in at 197. Other league teams and their RPI; Lehigh - 200, American - 276, Army - 324 and Lafayette - 325. As a conference, the Patriot now ranks No. 18 out of the nation's 32 (including independents) Division I leagues.
NO SURPRISES: Pat Flannery was not surprised Bucknell played Villanova so tough Sunday. Even though the Bison team that beat Kansas had lost by 38 in the ski lodge the last time Bucknell visited the Main Line, and the Bucknell team that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament the next year lost by 19 at home, and even though Bucknell's rotation included only one senior and three freshmen, there was no intimidation factor.
"We have some players. We're not coming down here without any players," said Flannery. "Now when we come into a Villnova, there is not that awe, not that wow."
Villanova coach Jay Wright agreed: "I don't think anybody here is surprised. Anybody who saw the halftime score (Bucknell 35, Villanova 27) was not surprised. They do it to everybody. They are just that good."
YOUNG GUNS: You know Bucknell has three freshmen in the rotation, and two of their three seniors out of action due to injuries. But here is another number that emphasizes just how young and inexperienced the Bison are: 38. That is how many starts the dozen guys who have dressed for Bucknell this season had between them when the season started. All 38 of those, by the way, belonged to senior John Griffin.
BLOCK PARTY: Bucknell freshman Todd O'Brien blocked two more shots against Villanova, giving him three straight games with multiple blocks and eight total rejections through the first three games of his career. O'Brien's average of 2.7 blocks per game ranks tops in the league and 39th in the nation. That pace would have been tops in the Patriot League in nine of the past 16 seasons.
As a team, Bucknell had three blocks against Villanova, giving the Bison three or more in three games this season, equalling the number of times they blocked three in a game all of last season.
FOUL MOOD: Holy Cross center Tim Clifford has fouled out twice already in the Crusaders' first three games. Clifford has now been disqualified in 17 games in his career. Clifford's pace of 8.8 fouls per 40 minutes this season is even higher than his career pace of 5.4 fouls per 40 minutes. As a freshman, Clifford averaged 6.3 fouls per 40 minutes. That number dipped to 5.5 per 40 as a sophomore and 4.9 40 last season.
Since Clifford has averaged 15 points and 7.3 rebounds per 40 minutes over his career, his ability to stay on the floor longer could pay huge dividends for Holy Cross.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Conference leaders in selected categories through Sunday with their NCAA rank in parentheses:
Scoring: Kyle Roemer, Colgate -- 20 ppg (tie 72)
Rebounding: Bryan White, Lehigh -- 10.7 rpg (tie 30)
Blocked shots: Todd O'Brien, Bucknell -- 2.7 bpg (39)
3 pt. FG pct.: G.W. Boon, Bucknell; Michael Gruner, Lafayette -- 50 percent (tie 150)
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NO RUST ON ROEMER: One of the questions for Colgate entering the season was how effective Kyle Roemer would be after missing the Raiders last 32 games over the past two seasons due to injuries. Conventional wisdom was that it would take Roemer at least a few games to shake off the rust accumulated after missing the final three games of the 2005-06 season with a concussion and all 29 of last season with an ankle injury.
The answer is: no time at all. Roemer is averaging a league-best 20 points per game through Colgate's first four outings. The 6-3 redshirt (medical) junior, who averaged 10.7 ppg through his first two seasons, has scored 15, 16, 24 and 25 in four games thus far. The 25 against Kennesaw State Saturday broke his career-high set the night before against Texas State. The two 20-point games equalled the number of 20-point performances Roemer recorded in the first 54 games of his career.
This far, Roemer is shooting 40 percent from three-point range, with 12 of his 26 field goals coming from the arc.
BROWN OUT: Big things are expected this season from Army's Jarrell Brown, but through three games, Brown's offense has been hit or miss -- and more miss than hit. Sandwiched around his 26-point outburst against Sacred Heart are a 5-point night in the opener at Minnesota and a 4-point showing in last week's loss to Long Island.
Brown, who scored 20 points in 11 games last season and reached double figures in 26 of the Black Knights' 31 contests, averaged 16.9 points per game last season, shooting 41.8 percent from the field. He is shooting just 34.3 percent this season, and his average is down to 11.7 ppg, tied with teammate Kenny Brewer, who is averaging 11.7 ppg off the bench. Brewer has arguably been Army's best offensive player. He is shooting 62.5 percent from the floor.
SMALL BALL: American coach Jeff Jones was looking to add some size to his lineup after the graduation Brayden Billbe and Paulius Jonelius when he went the juco route in recruiting. But after a 1-2 start, Jones went smaller in the Eagles' win Sunday over Stony Brook. Cornelius Guibunda, the 6-9 junior transfer from Georgetown, who started the first three games, was relegated to the bench. His place in the starting lineup was taken by 6-5 Jordan Nichols. Guibunda played only 3 minutes against Stony Brook.
GROWING PAINS: Navy, on the other hand, has tried to go bigger this season, starting a pair of 6-10 guys in all four games. Freshman Mark Veazey has started all four games. Fellow freshman Jeremy Wilson, another 6-10 guy, started in Navy's most recent contest, replacing 6-10 senior Ben Biles in the starting five But the added size has not resulted in an added presence in the paint. Navy has been outrebounded by an average of more than 6 boards per game. The lack of an inside attack is a big reason why opponents have made 82 free throws (on 115 tries) thus far, while Navy has only shot 78 (54 made).
Navy's 1-3 start can't be blamed entirely on the big men, though. The Mids are also averaging 20.3 turnovers per game.
NAVY'S NOT ALONE: Through three games, 1-2 Lafayette has also had inside problems. The Leopards are shooting almost two percentage points (43.2-41.3) better than their opponents and have hit twice as many threes (32-15, Lafayette shooting 39.5 percent, foes 26.3 from the arc). But the 'Pards are 1-3. The slow start is primarily due to being outrebounded on average by 10 boards per game (44.3-34.3). It has not helped that opponents have made 77 of 106 free throws and Lafayette has only shot 83 foul shots (making 54).
YOU ARE WHO YOU PLAY: It is still way too early to take the RPI rankings seriously, but the early numbers do give you a peak at both the relative strength of the league's teams, and to perhaps a greater extent, the strength of the schedules they have played. Bucknell, which was No. 1 last week, slipped, but not far, after Sunday's loss to Villanova. The Bison are No. 6 in the RPI as of Monday morning. Holy Cross is up to No. 11 after beating Hampton and Colgate is also in the top 64, checking in at No. 58. Navy is the only other team in the top 200 (barely), checking in at 197. Other league teams and their RPI; Lehigh - 200, American - 276, Army - 324 and Lafayette - 325. As a conference, the Patriot now ranks No. 18 out of the nation's 32 (including independents) Division I leagues.
NO SURPRISES: Pat Flannery was not surprised Bucknell played Villanova so tough Sunday. Even though the Bison team that beat Kansas had lost by 38 in the ski lodge the last time Bucknell visited the Main Line, and the Bucknell team that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament the next year lost by 19 at home, and even though Bucknell's rotation included only one senior and three freshmen, there was no intimidation factor.
"We have some players. We're not coming down here without any players," said Flannery. "Now when we come into a Villnova, there is not that awe, not that wow."
Villanova coach Jay Wright agreed: "I don't think anybody here is surprised. Anybody who saw the halftime score (Bucknell 35, Villanova 27) was not surprised. They do it to everybody. They are just that good."
YOUNG GUNS: You know Bucknell has three freshmen in the rotation, and two of their three seniors out of action due to injuries. But here is another number that emphasizes just how young and inexperienced the Bison are: 38. That is how many starts the dozen guys who have dressed for Bucknell this season had between them when the season started. All 38 of those, by the way, belonged to senior John Griffin.
BLOCK PARTY: Bucknell freshman Todd O'Brien blocked two more shots against Villanova, giving him three straight games with multiple blocks and eight total rejections through the first three games of his career. O'Brien's average of 2.7 blocks per game ranks tops in the league and 39th in the nation. That pace would have been tops in the Patriot League in nine of the past 16 seasons.
As a team, Bucknell had three blocks against Villanova, giving the Bison three or more in three games this season, equalling the number of times they blocked three in a game all of last season.
FOUL MOOD: Holy Cross center Tim Clifford has fouled out twice already in the Crusaders' first three games. Clifford has now been disqualified in 17 games in his career. Clifford's pace of 8.8 fouls per 40 minutes this season is even higher than his career pace of 5.4 fouls per 40 minutes. As a freshman, Clifford averaged 6.3 fouls per 40 minutes. That number dipped to 5.5 per 40 as a sophomore and 4.9 40 last season.
Since Clifford has averaged 15 points and 7.3 rebounds per 40 minutes over his career, his ability to stay on the floor longer could pay huge dividends for Holy Cross.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Conference leaders in selected categories through Sunday with their NCAA rank in parentheses:
Scoring: Kyle Roemer, Colgate -- 20 ppg (tie 72)
Rebounding: Bryan White, Lehigh -- 10.7 rpg (tie 30)
Blocked shots: Todd O'Brien, Bucknell -- 2.7 bpg (39)
3 pt. FG pct.: G.W. Boon, Bucknell; Michael Gruner, Lafayette -- 50 percent (tie 150)
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy, notebook
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Friday, November 16, 2007
A special Friday edition of Hoop Time notebook all about the No. 1 (rpi) team in the nation.
It won't last long, even if they upset Villanova Sunday night, the Wildcats' lowly 228 spot in the RPI would probably result in Bucknell's ranking dropping enough to move them down. But for a day or two anyhow, or at least until other games are played tonight, the top team in the RPI is the Bison (according to Ken Pomeroy's calculations).
Actually, the Bison share the top spot with Virginia Commonwealth. The Bison were alone yesterday, but VCU's win over Houston last night moved them into a tie for the top spot.
Sure it is meaningless in the long run -- heck Navy is 1-2, yet ranks No. 33, second best in the league -- but it is fun while it lasts. The conference is No. 14 at the moment, just behind the 13th ranked ACC and well ahead of the alleged mid major gold standard Missouri Valley Conference (28).
Other Patriot League school RPIs:
Holy Cross -- 80
Colgate -- 158
Lehigh -- 208
Army -- 219
Lafayette -- 228
American -- 230
MISS OR ASSIST: If Bucknell's John Griffin comes up one made three of leading the conference or the nation, or one assist shy of similar honors, blame the person scoring the Bucknell-Towson game.
A review of the play-by-play and box from that game shows Griffin credited with a missed three prior to Bucknell's first bucket of the game. But it was not a shot. Or at least it did not look like one. In reality, Griffin was trying to lob the ball over the Towson defense to 6-11 center Josh Linthicum. The pass, which was a little high, went off the side of the backboard -- at least a foot away from the rim -- to Linthicum, who grabbed it and put it in.
Of course Griffin's loss on the stats sheet was a gain for Linthicum, who was credited with an offensive rebound on the play.
REJECTED AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN: On top of his three block performance in the opener against Albany, Bucknell freshman had three more against Towson. Bucknell had just one player record multiple blocks in back-to-back games all of last season. Chris McNaughton did it three games in a row, with three against Towson and two against Lehigh and Albany. McNaughtons three vs. Albany was his only three block game of his career.
The last time a Bison player had three blocks in back-to-back games? Bison SID Jon Terry speculated maybe when current assistant coach Dan Bowen, who graduated in 2000, was in uniform, though Terry was not sure. He is checking on that, as well as the last time a Bucknell freshman did it in their first two games (if ever). We will update this if he finds anything.
UPDATE FROM JT: Since the blocked shot stat became official in 1981-82, O’Brien is the first Bucknell freshman to start his career with at least three in each of his first two games. Dan Bowen (2-3 start) and Mike Butts (3-2 start) came close. The last player to have back-to-back 3-block games at any point in a season was Dan Bowen vs. Iona (3) and Army (3) in 1999-2000. The only other player (regardless of class year) to record three or more blocks in the first two games of a season was Mike Butts vs. Central Florida (5) and Florida State (4) in 1987-88.For reference purposes, Butts (278) and Bowen (160) rank 1-2 on Bucknell’s career blocks chart.
Last season the Bison blocked three or more shots as a team just three times. As a team, Bucknell followed its seven block showing against Albany with five rejections at Towson. The most the Bison blocked as a team all of last season was 4 (at Holy Cross in the regular season).
THOMAS UPDATE: Bucknell senior tri-captain Rob Thomas' knee injury has been confirmed as a torn MCL. Bucknell officials previously declined to reveal the specifics of Thomas' injury, citing federal privacy regulations. But Thomas, who was in street clothes with a brace over his trousers Wednesday night at Towson, confirmed what has been all over the Bucknell message boards. (NOTE TO BU ADMINISTRATORS: There is really no reason to withhold injury reports due to HIPAA. Not only are there easy ways to be compliant, it also makes sense as a way to control rumors that will fly around the message boards in the absence of factual information.)
FOURTH RECRUIT: Philly.com is reporting:
This is just a guess, and we will try to get details later from Bucknell coaches, but it appears likely Ebner is a baseball recruit who has been told he can try out as a walk-on for hoops.
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It won't last long, even if they upset Villanova Sunday night, the Wildcats' lowly 228 spot in the RPI would probably result in Bucknell's ranking dropping enough to move them down. But for a day or two anyhow, or at least until other games are played tonight, the top team in the RPI is the Bison (according to Ken Pomeroy's calculations).
Actually, the Bison share the top spot with Virginia Commonwealth. The Bison were alone yesterday, but VCU's win over Houston last night moved them into a tie for the top spot.
Sure it is meaningless in the long run -- heck Navy is 1-2, yet ranks No. 33, second best in the league -- but it is fun while it lasts. The conference is No. 14 at the moment, just behind the 13th ranked ACC and well ahead of the alleged mid major gold standard Missouri Valley Conference (28).
Other Patriot League school RPIs:
Holy Cross -- 80
Colgate -- 158
Lehigh -- 208
Army -- 219
Lafayette -- 228
American -- 230
MISS OR ASSIST: If Bucknell's John Griffin comes up one made three of leading the conference or the nation, or one assist shy of similar honors, blame the person scoring the Bucknell-Towson game.
A review of the play-by-play and box from that game shows Griffin credited with a missed three prior to Bucknell's first bucket of the game. But it was not a shot. Or at least it did not look like one. In reality, Griffin was trying to lob the ball over the Towson defense to 6-11 center Josh Linthicum. The pass, which was a little high, went off the side of the backboard -- at least a foot away from the rim -- to Linthicum, who grabbed it and put it in.
Of course Griffin's loss on the stats sheet was a gain for Linthicum, who was credited with an offensive rebound on the play.
REJECTED AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN: On top of his three block performance in the opener against Albany, Bucknell freshman had three more against Towson. Bucknell had just one player record multiple blocks in back-to-back games all of last season. Chris McNaughton did it three games in a row, with three against Towson and two against Lehigh and Albany. McNaughtons three vs. Albany was his only three block game of his career.
The last time a Bison player had three blocks in back-to-back games? Bison SID Jon Terry speculated maybe when current assistant coach Dan Bowen, who graduated in 2000, was in uniform, though Terry was not sure. He is checking on that, as well as the last time a Bucknell freshman did it in their first two games (if ever). We will update this if he finds anything.
UPDATE FROM JT: Since the blocked shot stat became official in 1981-82, O’Brien is the first Bucknell freshman to start his career with at least three in each of his first two games. Dan Bowen (2-3 start) and Mike Butts (3-2 start) came close. The last player to have back-to-back 3-block games at any point in a season was Dan Bowen vs. Iona (3) and Army (3) in 1999-2000. The only other player (regardless of class year) to record three or more blocks in the first two games of a season was Mike Butts vs. Central Florida (5) and Florida State (4) in 1987-88.For reference purposes, Butts (278) and Bowen (160) rank 1-2 on Bucknell’s career blocks chart.
Last season the Bison blocked three or more shots as a team just three times. As a team, Bucknell followed its seven block showing against Albany with five rejections at Towson. The most the Bison blocked as a team all of last season was 4 (at Holy Cross in the regular season).
THOMAS UPDATE: Bucknell senior tri-captain Rob Thomas' knee injury has been confirmed as a torn MCL. Bucknell officials previously declined to reveal the specifics of Thomas' injury, citing federal privacy regulations. But Thomas, who was in street clothes with a brace over his trousers Wednesday night at Towson, confirmed what has been all over the Bucknell message boards. (NOTE TO BU ADMINISTRATORS: There is really no reason to withhold injury reports due to HIPAA. Not only are there easy ways to be compliant, it also makes sense as a way to control rumors that will fly around the message boards in the absence of factual information.)
FOURTH RECRUIT: Philly.com is reporting:
"Ryan Ebner, a 6-foot-7 postgraduate at Hill School, has orally committed to attend Bucknell University where he expects to play both basketball and baseball.Ebner was a senior all-star at Eastern Invitational's Academic Elite camp (scroll down) this summer. He was ranked 176 among HS seniors in southeastern Pa. as a senior at Wilson-West Lawn.
Ebner starred at Wilson-West Lawn before attending Hill. At Wilson, he averaged 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game in basketball. On the mound, he went 6-1 with 68 strikeouts over 47 innings and allowed just 22 hits with an ERA of 0.58. He batted .333 and led his team to 29 wins, a berth in the state Class AAAA quarterfinals, and was named Berks County player of the year."
This is just a guess, and we will try to get details later from Bucknell coaches, but it appears likely Ebner is a baseball recruit who has been told he can try out as a walk-on for hoops.
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Monday, November 12, 2007
The season's first Hoop Time Notebook takes a look at the opening weekend that was.
SIZE MATTERS: In the first half of American's win at Saint Francis, 5-11 (on his tiptoes) Garrison Carr was en fuego, going 5 for 7 from the arc and scoring 17 points. In the second, Carr was 0 for 3 from 3-point range, scoring just 4 points. The difference? Saint Francis coach Bobby Jones subbed for the 5-10 guy guarding Carr (Marquis Ford), putting 6-foot-3 junior Kyle Jackson on Carr.
“(Jackson) is athletic and big enough physically and he was able to pose some problems for Carr,” said Jones.
Patriot League coaches already know the kid is a stone-cold sniper when he gets an open look. But with Carr playing limited minutes the last two seasons, that might not have shown up in the Red Flash scouting report. Expect Carr to see a lot of that sort of treatment once film of his first half show in Loretto gets around.
LINEUP SURPRISES: Phil Anderson was a starter most of last season for Lehigh, filling in at center for Jason mgebroff after Mgebroff went down with stress fractures in his leg. But it was sophomore Zahir Carrington who got the starting nod at center against Cornell. Anderson, who averaged almost 19 minutes per game last season, played just 10 against the Big Red. That's less than half the time immoblie 7-footer John Gourlay got off the Lehigh bench.
Other Lehigh rotation notes -- freshman Rob Keefer started on one wing for the Mountain Hawks, finishing with 6 points on 3 for 8 shooting in 25 minutes of action. Freshman Prentice Small also saw 25 minutes of action, scoring 13 points before fouling out.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Even by Holy Cross' high defensive standards, what the Crusaders did against Hofstra's offense was mighty impressive. The Crusaders held the Pride to a 13 of 49 (26.5 percent) night from the field. Even more impressive: take away Hofstra star Antoine Agudio's 28 points and the rest of the Pride lineup was 4 for 26 (15.4 percent. During one stretch the Crusaders held Hofstra without a field goal for over 18 minutes.
WELL SAID: From Cormac Gordon's Staten Island Advance story on Friday night's Wagner-Lafayette game: . . . just in case you had forgotten what level of collegiate sports we're talking about here, the game was pushed from a 7 p.m. start to an 8:30 start to make room at Kirby for a women's volleyball game. Think that happens in the ACC?
BIG NUMBER GUYS: Top performances on the season's opening weekend:
Scoring: Greg Sprink, Navy, 28 vs. Longwood; Derrick Mercer, American, 22 and garrison Carr, American, 21 both vs. St. Francis (Pa.)
Rebounds: Alex Vander Baan, HC, 15 vs. Hofstra; Stephen Tyree, BU, 13 vs. Albany; Bryan White, Lehigh, 12 vs. Cornell
Assists: Andrew Brown, Lafayette, 7 vs. Wagner
Double-Doubles: Vander Baan (10 points, 15 reb.); White (16 points, 12 reb.)
REMATCH: The Bucknell-Albany game was the last in a two-year contract between the two schools, which have a combined four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last three seasons. Bucknell's win avenged an opening night loss at Albany last season and gave the Bison a 4-2 series lead all-time against the Danes.
"I don't know if we will start a new (series). That is up to (Bucknell coach) Pat (Flannery). I'd like to continue it," said Albany coach Will Brown after the game.
Flannery sounded amenable to that suggestion. "I don't know why not. Albany is not too bad of a trip," he said.
The Bison mentor did suggest a few changes, though, most notably the idea that the next contract start with a game in Sojka Pavilion. Flannery might also prefer the game to be a week or two later in the season.
"If these two teams are going to be as good as they have been, it's a tough opener," Flannery said.
POINT OF VIEW::
“In the first half, we did not have the defensive focus that we should have.”
St. Francis coach Bobby Jones, after his team fell behind 27-7 at the start of its home loss to American
““In the first half, we were like we were in a boxing match, and we stunned them.””
AU coach Jeff Jones, same game
CONFERENCE VS. CONFERENCE
Patriot League teams went 5-3 against non-conference foes over the weekend. Here are the results vs. other conferences played, with the Patriot's 2006-07 record against that conference.
America East: 1-0 (3-3)
Independents: 1-0 (5-1)
Ivy League: 0-1 (8-11)
Big Ten" 0-1 (0-3)
CAA: 1-0 (5-2)
Northeast Conference: 2-1 (8-2)
TOGETHER AGAIN: Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, stars of last season's Holy Cross league championship team, are sticking together as they begin their professional careers overseas. The two are teammates on Turkish first division club Kepez Bld. Thomas joined his old running mate in Turkey after starting his pro career with Kormand, a Hungarian club. Kepez is 2-4 overall, 1-1 since Thomas joined the roster. Simmons is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 16 ppg. You can follow the club in English here.
GETTING HIS KICKS: Lafayette recruit Ryan Willen of Missouri's Cape Girardeau Notre Dame has a state championship on his resume . . . in soccer. Willen, a 6-8 frontcourt type who helped Notre Dame to a second place finish in the state basketball playoffs last season, scored two goals and assisted on another to lead ND to a 4-1 win over Smithville in Saturday's Class II state championship game in St. Louis.
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SIZE MATTERS: In the first half of American's win at Saint Francis, 5-11 (on his tiptoes) Garrison Carr was en fuego, going 5 for 7 from the arc and scoring 17 points. In the second, Carr was 0 for 3 from 3-point range, scoring just 4 points. The difference? Saint Francis coach Bobby Jones subbed for the 5-10 guy guarding Carr (Marquis Ford), putting 6-foot-3 junior Kyle Jackson on Carr.
“(Jackson) is athletic and big enough physically and he was able to pose some problems for Carr,” said Jones.
Patriot League coaches already know the kid is a stone-cold sniper when he gets an open look. But with Carr playing limited minutes the last two seasons, that might not have shown up in the Red Flash scouting report. Expect Carr to see a lot of that sort of treatment once film of his first half show in Loretto gets around.
LINEUP SURPRISES: Phil Anderson was a starter most of last season for Lehigh, filling in at center for Jason mgebroff after Mgebroff went down with stress fractures in his leg. But it was sophomore Zahir Carrington who got the starting nod at center against Cornell. Anderson, who averaged almost 19 minutes per game last season, played just 10 against the Big Red. That's less than half the time immoblie 7-footer John Gourlay got off the Lehigh bench.
Other Lehigh rotation notes -- freshman Rob Keefer started on one wing for the Mountain Hawks, finishing with 6 points on 3 for 8 shooting in 25 minutes of action. Freshman Prentice Small also saw 25 minutes of action, scoring 13 points before fouling out.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Even by Holy Cross' high defensive standards, what the Crusaders did against Hofstra's offense was mighty impressive. The Crusaders held the Pride to a 13 of 49 (26.5 percent) night from the field. Even more impressive: take away Hofstra star Antoine Agudio's 28 points and the rest of the Pride lineup was 4 for 26 (15.4 percent. During one stretch the Crusaders held Hofstra without a field goal for over 18 minutes.
WELL SAID: From Cormac Gordon's Staten Island Advance story on Friday night's Wagner-Lafayette game: . . . just in case you had forgotten what level of collegiate sports we're talking about here, the game was pushed from a 7 p.m. start to an 8:30 start to make room at Kirby for a women's volleyball game. Think that happens in the ACC?
BIG NUMBER GUYS: Top performances on the season's opening weekend:
Scoring: Greg Sprink, Navy, 28 vs. Longwood; Derrick Mercer, American, 22 and garrison Carr, American, 21 both vs. St. Francis (Pa.)
Rebounds: Alex Vander Baan, HC, 15 vs. Hofstra; Stephen Tyree, BU, 13 vs. Albany; Bryan White, Lehigh, 12 vs. Cornell
Assists: Andrew Brown, Lafayette, 7 vs. Wagner
Double-Doubles: Vander Baan (10 points, 15 reb.); White (16 points, 12 reb.)
REMATCH: The Bucknell-Albany game was the last in a two-year contract between the two schools, which have a combined four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last three seasons. Bucknell's win avenged an opening night loss at Albany last season and gave the Bison a 4-2 series lead all-time against the Danes.
"I don't know if we will start a new (series). That is up to (Bucknell coach) Pat (Flannery). I'd like to continue it," said Albany coach Will Brown after the game.
Flannery sounded amenable to that suggestion. "I don't know why not. Albany is not too bad of a trip," he said.
The Bison mentor did suggest a few changes, though, most notably the idea that the next contract start with a game in Sojka Pavilion. Flannery might also prefer the game to be a week or two later in the season.
"If these two teams are going to be as good as they have been, it's a tough opener," Flannery said.
POINT OF VIEW::
“In the first half, we did not have the defensive focus that we should have.”
St. Francis coach Bobby Jones, after his team fell behind 27-7 at the start of its home loss to American
““In the first half, we were like we were in a boxing match, and we stunned them.””
AU coach Jeff Jones, same game
CONFERENCE VS. CONFERENCE
Patriot League teams went 5-3 against non-conference foes over the weekend. Here are the results vs. other conferences played, with the Patriot's 2006-07 record against that conference.
America East: 1-0 (3-3)
Independents: 1-0 (5-1)
Ivy League: 0-1 (8-11)
Big Ten" 0-1 (0-3)
CAA: 1-0 (5-2)
Northeast Conference: 2-1 (8-2)
TOGETHER AGAIN: Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, stars of last season's Holy Cross league championship team, are sticking together as they begin their professional careers overseas. The two are teammates on Turkish first division club Kepez Bld. Thomas joined his old running mate in Turkey after starting his pro career with Kormand, a Hungarian club. Kepez is 2-4 overall, 1-1 since Thomas joined the roster. Simmons is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 16 ppg. You can follow the club in English here.
GETTING HIS KICKS: Lafayette recruit Ryan Willen of Missouri's Cape Girardeau Notre Dame has a state championship on his resume . . . in soccer. Willen, a 6-8 frontcourt type who helped Notre Dame to a second place finish in the state basketball playoffs last season, scored two goals and assisted on another to lead ND to a 4-1 win over Smithville in Saturday's Class II state championship game in St. Louis.
Labels: American, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy, notebook, recruiting
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Saturday, November 10, 2007
News, notes and pregame tidbits from Sojka Pavilion and around the league.
ARMY FALLS IN GOPHER HOLE: In case you missed the score of this afternoon's game, Army dropped an 84-52 decision at Minnesota. Jarrell Brown 2 for 11 (1 for 5 at the arc) for 5 points. Suffice to say Army is not going anywhere if they don't get more production than that from their star. Here is the box score, we'll have more on that game later.
MYSTERY MEN: A big question heading into the opening weekend was who would start at American, where the roster is full of new faces following the graduation of four starters from last season. That question was answered when we got SID Anthony Wilson's notes for tonight's game at St. Francis (Pa.).
Jeff Jones is going small in the backcourt. Actually, small might be overstating the case. Minuscule might be a more apt desorption as junior sharpshooter Garrison Carr gets the nod along classmate Derrick Mercer, the only returning starter. Mercer is generously listed at 5-9, Carr at 5-11 -- a measurement most likely taken when he was wearing some sort of ballet shoes that allowed him to stand on the very tips of his toes.
The frontcourt features athletic junior Cornelio Guibunda, the 6-9 Georgetown transfer, at center, with juco transfer Bryce Simon (6-6) and 6-5 senior Travis Lay.
MORE SMALL TALK: You knew Bucknell was going to be smaller this season when Darren Mastropaolo went down with a torn ACL over the summer, but it didn't really sink in until you looked at the lineup in their pregame notes, and saw them take the floor for their pregame shootaround here in Sojka. Starting center Josh Linthicum (6-11), starting four man Patrick Behan (6-8) and freshman big man Todd O'Brien (6-10) are the only guys in uniform over 6-5.
Of those expected to see serious playing time, only freshman G.W. Boon among the remaining Bison measures 6-4. Everybody else in the rotation is 6-3 or smaller. Front court foul trouble could be a real problem for the Bison.
Making the Bison look even smaller is the presence of nine Albany guys 6-5 or taller shooting around at the opposite end of the floor.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: They have moved the media room at Sojka temporarily to allow the hoops team to use the usual media digs as a meeting room while their locker rooms are undergoing renovations. After the duo of Jason Vegotsky and Mastropaolo passed press row in street clothes, the question was raised: Do those renovations include a handicapped ramp?
Vegotsky's foot injury is a stress fracture, according to a Bison staffer. His status is week to week, which sounds considerably less optimistic than day to day.
Not trying to sound alarmist, but Bucknell fans will recall forward John Clark's career was cut short by similar problems, though there is not indication at this point that Vegotsky's injury is as severe as Clark's was.
WAGERING WAFFLES: An item in Bucknell's game notes mentions that former Bison standout Charles Lee, who played in Israel last season, is now with the Belgian Verviers-Pepinster club, where he is a teammate with Jamar Wilson, the start of Albany's 2006 and 2007 America East title teams.
Lee, by the way, is averaging 11.7 ppg through 7 games with his new team. Wilson is hitting at a 20.9 ppg clip. The team is 3-4.
GETTING TECHNICAL: Bucknell will shoot free throws before tonight's tip off thanks to Albanu freshman Al Turley, who got called for a technical for dunking during pregame warmups.
YOUNG ROTATION: Bucknell's rotation full of youngsters. Two of the three freshmen -- Todd O'Brien and Daryl Shazier joined senior Rob Thomas in Pat Flannery's first wave of subs at the 15:45 media time out. Freshman G.W. Boon came off the bench a few minutes later.
M*A*S*H: As if Bucknell did not have enough injury woes, Thomas left the game at the 13:52 mark of the first half after injuring his left leg while driving to the basket. Thomas, who was fouled on the play, collapsed in a heap, cluthing the leg in obvious pain. He managed to leave the floor under his own power, but spent the rest of the half sitting at the far end of the bench with an ice bag strapped to his knee.
RIGHT BACK AT YA: Nice sequence for Bucknell with just under 5 minutes to go had O'Brien make a nifty feed to Tyree under the basket, only to lose the assist when Tyree missed the peepee. But Tyree got the offensive board, then made an equally nice pass back to O'Brien who laid it home for the first points of his collegiate career.
FLOOR SHOW: Something you have not seen much of at Bucknell, or around the league for that matter, is four men who can put the ball on the floor. Behan, though, looks like that kind of guy. The 6-8 sophomore beat his man off the dribble for his first bucket of the game and later used an Earl Monroe-like spin move to get into the lane for a short jumper. Also in his repertoire: the jump hook he used to score his 10th points of the half after backing down his defender NBA style in the post.
HALFTIME STATS: Bucknell opened with an 8-0 run and leads 28-22 at the break. The Bison 10 for 27 from the field (37 percent), 1 for 6 from 3-point range, 7-12 at the line. Albany 9 for 28 (32.1 percent) from the field, 2-8 from the arc (both by 5-9 senior Jon Iati, who has 8 at the half), 2-2 at the foul line. Rebounds are Albany 20, Bucknell 19 (Tyree with 9 at the half). Turnovers: Bucknell 5, Albany 7. Bucknell with three blocks (O'Brien, Boon and Thomas), Albany 1 block. Nobody with more than 2 fouls for either team.
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ARMY FALLS IN GOPHER HOLE: In case you missed the score of this afternoon's game, Army dropped an 84-52 decision at Minnesota. Jarrell Brown 2 for 11 (1 for 5 at the arc) for 5 points. Suffice to say Army is not going anywhere if they don't get more production than that from their star. Here is the box score, we'll have more on that game later.
MYSTERY MEN: A big question heading into the opening weekend was who would start at American, where the roster is full of new faces following the graduation of four starters from last season. That question was answered when we got SID Anthony Wilson's notes for tonight's game at St. Francis (Pa.).
Jeff Jones is going small in the backcourt. Actually, small might be overstating the case. Minuscule might be a more apt desorption as junior sharpshooter Garrison Carr gets the nod along classmate Derrick Mercer, the only returning starter. Mercer is generously listed at 5-9, Carr at 5-11 -- a measurement most likely taken when he was wearing some sort of ballet shoes that allowed him to stand on the very tips of his toes.
The frontcourt features athletic junior Cornelio Guibunda, the 6-9 Georgetown transfer, at center, with juco transfer Bryce Simon (6-6) and 6-5 senior Travis Lay.
MORE SMALL TALK: You knew Bucknell was going to be smaller this season when Darren Mastropaolo went down with a torn ACL over the summer, but it didn't really sink in until you looked at the lineup in their pregame notes, and saw them take the floor for their pregame shootaround here in Sojka. Starting center Josh Linthicum (6-11), starting four man Patrick Behan (6-8) and freshman big man Todd O'Brien (6-10) are the only guys in uniform over 6-5.
Of those expected to see serious playing time, only freshman G.W. Boon among the remaining Bison measures 6-4. Everybody else in the rotation is 6-3 or smaller. Front court foul trouble could be a real problem for the Bison.
Making the Bison look even smaller is the presence of nine Albany guys 6-5 or taller shooting around at the opposite end of the floor.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: They have moved the media room at Sojka temporarily to allow the hoops team to use the usual media digs as a meeting room while their locker rooms are undergoing renovations. After the duo of Jason Vegotsky and Mastropaolo passed press row in street clothes, the question was raised: Do those renovations include a handicapped ramp?
Vegotsky's foot injury is a stress fracture, according to a Bison staffer. His status is week to week, which sounds considerably less optimistic than day to day.
Not trying to sound alarmist, but Bucknell fans will recall forward John Clark's career was cut short by similar problems, though there is not indication at this point that Vegotsky's injury is as severe as Clark's was.
WAGERING WAFFLES: An item in Bucknell's game notes mentions that former Bison standout Charles Lee, who played in Israel last season, is now with the Belgian Verviers-Pepinster club, where he is a teammate with Jamar Wilson, the start of Albany's 2006 and 2007 America East title teams.
Lee, by the way, is averaging 11.7 ppg through 7 games with his new team. Wilson is hitting at a 20.9 ppg clip. The team is 3-4.
GETTING TECHNICAL: Bucknell will shoot free throws before tonight's tip off thanks to Albanu freshman Al Turley, who got called for a technical for dunking during pregame warmups.
YOUNG ROTATION: Bucknell's rotation full of youngsters. Two of the three freshmen -- Todd O'Brien and Daryl Shazier joined senior Rob Thomas in Pat Flannery's first wave of subs at the 15:45 media time out. Freshman G.W. Boon came off the bench a few minutes later.
M*A*S*H: As if Bucknell did not have enough injury woes, Thomas left the game at the 13:52 mark of the first half after injuring his left leg while driving to the basket. Thomas, who was fouled on the play, collapsed in a heap, cluthing the leg in obvious pain. He managed to leave the floor under his own power, but spent the rest of the half sitting at the far end of the bench with an ice bag strapped to his knee.
RIGHT BACK AT YA: Nice sequence for Bucknell with just under 5 minutes to go had O'Brien make a nifty feed to Tyree under the basket, only to lose the assist when Tyree missed the peepee. But Tyree got the offensive board, then made an equally nice pass back to O'Brien who laid it home for the first points of his collegiate career.
FLOOR SHOW: Something you have not seen much of at Bucknell, or around the league for that matter, is four men who can put the ball on the floor. Behan, though, looks like that kind of guy. The 6-8 sophomore beat his man off the dribble for his first bucket of the game and later used an Earl Monroe-like spin move to get into the lane for a short jumper. Also in his repertoire: the jump hook he used to score his 10th points of the half after backing down his defender NBA style in the post.
HALFTIME STATS: Bucknell opened with an 8-0 run and leads 28-22 at the break. The Bison 10 for 27 from the field (37 percent), 1 for 6 from 3-point range, 7-12 at the line. Albany 9 for 28 (32.1 percent) from the field, 2-8 from the arc (both by 5-9 senior Jon Iati, who has 8 at the half), 2-2 at the foul line. Rebounds are Albany 20, Bucknell 19 (Tyree with 9 at the half). Turnovers: Bucknell 5, Albany 7. Bucknell with three blocks (O'Brien, Boon and Thomas), Albany 1 block. Nobody with more than 2 fouls for either team.
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, notebook
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
More news, notes and quotes from Thursday's Patriot League basketball media day:
M*A*S*H -- Not a lot of talk about injuries from most of the coaches, but Bucknell's Pat Flannery and Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard did have some medical woes to talk about.
Flannery confirmed senior post man Darren Mastropaolo will not be ready any time soon. Flannery said Mastropaolo is working hard to rehab the knee he injured this summer, but has not begun to run on it yet. Flannery said there is no timetable for Mastropaolo's possible return. Bucknell guard John Griffin, in a separate interview, said the Bison are hopeful Mastropaolo might be able to get back for the second half of the Patriot League season. Griffin said he doesn't think Mastropaolo wants to take a medical redshirt, saying he thinks Mastropaolo wants to graduate with his classmates.
Holy Cross has two guys currently out of practice for medical reasons. Sophomore Andrew Keister has suffered another stress fracture in his leg and it appears his future is in question. Willard said there are concerns Keister, who survived childhood leukemia, may have some fragility in his bones due to the radiation treatments he underwent when he was ill. For now, the 6-9 forward is out at least six weeks.
Lawrence Dixon also has yet to practice for HC. Dixon's surgically repaired knee is structurally fine, Willard said, but he is having back and hamstring problems. Willard said it is possible Dixon's troubles could be related to favoring the injured knee.
"Lawrence could really help our basketball team if he can get healthy," Willard said.
QUOTABLE -- From the coaches opening comments:
"We have a lot of fresh faces coming in hoping to compete for some playing time." -- American coach Jeff Jones, whose roster includes six new players, including four junior college transfers
"We have a lot of young players. Nine of our 13 are in either the freshman or sophomore class." -- Lehigh coach Brett Reed, who is new to the head coach job himself
"We certainly hope to be an improved basketball team this year . . . we have lots of room for improvement." -- Colgate coach Emmett Davis
"What we found out in Europe is we graduated two really special leaders . . . we have a lot of work to do." -- HC's Ralph Willard
"We have more guys coming back this year than we have ever had." -- Army coach Jim Crews
"We don't know a lot right now. But we do have one kid -- Jarrell Brown -- who puts the ball in the bucket." -- Crews
"you can't even land in Mississippi. You have to land in Memphis." == Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon on the leopards trip to Mississippi State, part of nine straight road games after playing five of their first six at home
"Nobody's divulging names." -- Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, commenting on the generic remarks of the other coaches
"We are who we are, and you know who we are. We're not hard to figure out." -- Flannery on his Bison
"I don't feel like our program is young anymore." -- Navy coach Billy Lange on his experienced underclassmen
Those were the best offered. Told you they were pretty generic.
MAKING POINTS -- Expect Griffin to start the season at the point for Bucknell, but the pre-season all-league pick could end up sliding to the two if freshman Daryl Shazier develops quickly. Shazier played for the highly competitive Boo Williams AAU program in Virginia and is accustomed to high level competition, something that should speed his adjustment to the college game.
"We didn't bring him in to sit," said Flannery.
At Holy Cross, freshman Andrew Beinert was expected to back up Pat Doherty at the point this season, but difficulties finding adequate scoring from the wings could force Willard to move him to the two. Willard said that is not his preference, but he may be forced to do it.
Scoring from the wings, said Willard, "Is still (HC's) biggest question mark. That was our big bugaboo in Europe. We didn't score from the wing at all."
In August, before heading on the overseas trip, Willard spoke of the possibility of playing Alex Vander Baan at the three some. Those plans appear to be scrapped. Willard said Vander Baan is just not comfortable enough putting teh ball on the floor against smaller defenders.
STEPPING OUT -- Thus far in practice, Holy Cross' best perimeter shooter has been 6-10 senior center Tim Clifford.
"Tim may be the best three-point shooter we have on the team," said Willard.
Expect Clifford to look to spot up on the arc when trailing the break. He will also step out to shoot the three in half-court sets, Willard said.
"Tim has made the three an important part of who he is as a basketball player," Willard said.
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M*A*S*H -- Not a lot of talk about injuries from most of the coaches, but Bucknell's Pat Flannery and Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard did have some medical woes to talk about.
Flannery confirmed senior post man Darren Mastropaolo will not be ready any time soon. Flannery said Mastropaolo is working hard to rehab the knee he injured this summer, but has not begun to run on it yet. Flannery said there is no timetable for Mastropaolo's possible return. Bucknell guard John Griffin, in a separate interview, said the Bison are hopeful Mastropaolo might be able to get back for the second half of the Patriot League season. Griffin said he doesn't think Mastropaolo wants to take a medical redshirt, saying he thinks Mastropaolo wants to graduate with his classmates.
Holy Cross has two guys currently out of practice for medical reasons. Sophomore Andrew Keister has suffered another stress fracture in his leg and it appears his future is in question. Willard said there are concerns Keister, who survived childhood leukemia, may have some fragility in his bones due to the radiation treatments he underwent when he was ill. For now, the 6-9 forward is out at least six weeks.
Lawrence Dixon also has yet to practice for HC. Dixon's surgically repaired knee is structurally fine, Willard said, but he is having back and hamstring problems. Willard said it is possible Dixon's troubles could be related to favoring the injured knee.
"Lawrence could really help our basketball team if he can get healthy," Willard said.
QUOTABLE -- From the coaches opening comments:
"We have a lot of fresh faces coming in hoping to compete for some playing time." -- American coach Jeff Jones, whose roster includes six new players, including four junior college transfers
"We have a lot of young players. Nine of our 13 are in either the freshman or sophomore class." -- Lehigh coach Brett Reed, who is new to the head coach job himself
"We certainly hope to be an improved basketball team this year . . . we have lots of room for improvement." -- Colgate coach Emmett Davis
"What we found out in Europe is we graduated two really special leaders . . . we have a lot of work to do." -- HC's Ralph Willard
"We have more guys coming back this year than we have ever had." -- Army coach Jim Crews
"We don't know a lot right now. But we do have one kid -- Jarrell Brown -- who puts the ball in the bucket." -- Crews
"you can't even land in Mississippi. You have to land in Memphis." == Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon on the leopards trip to Mississippi State, part of nine straight road games after playing five of their first six at home
"Nobody's divulging names." -- Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, commenting on the generic remarks of the other coaches
"We are who we are, and you know who we are. We're not hard to figure out." -- Flannery on his Bison
"I don't feel like our program is young anymore." -- Navy coach Billy Lange on his experienced underclassmen
Those were the best offered. Told you they were pretty generic.
MAKING POINTS -- Expect Griffin to start the season at the point for Bucknell, but the pre-season all-league pick could end up sliding to the two if freshman Daryl Shazier develops quickly. Shazier played for the highly competitive Boo Williams AAU program in Virginia and is accustomed to high level competition, something that should speed his adjustment to the college game.
"We didn't bring him in to sit," said Flannery.
At Holy Cross, freshman Andrew Beinert was expected to back up Pat Doherty at the point this season, but difficulties finding adequate scoring from the wings could force Willard to move him to the two. Willard said that is not his preference, but he may be forced to do it.
Scoring from the wings, said Willard, "Is still (HC's) biggest question mark. That was our big bugaboo in Europe. We didn't score from the wing at all."
In August, before heading on the overseas trip, Willard spoke of the possibility of playing Alex Vander Baan at the three some. Those plans appear to be scrapped. Willard said Vander Baan is just not comfortable enough putting teh ball on the floor against smaller defenders.
STEPPING OUT -- Thus far in practice, Holy Cross' best perimeter shooter has been 6-10 senior center Tim Clifford.
"Tim may be the best three-point shooter we have on the team," said Willard.
Expect Clifford to look to spot up on the arc when trailing the break. He will also step out to shoot the three in half-court sets, Willard said.
"Tim has made the three an important part of who he is as a basketball player," Willard said.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, notebook
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Thursday, March 15, 2007
HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK
Both teams play tremendous defense. Both do it in a different way, though.
The matchup between Holy Cross and Southern Illinois features two of the top 10 defensive teams in the nation. The Salukis allow 56.5 points per game, third best among all 300-plus Division I teams in the nation.
Holy Cross, which allows 57.1 points per contest, is just behind, ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense.
"Our defense is very similar, they try to keep everybody out of the middle. They give great weak side help. They only allow 56 points a game, we allow 57. So they play with a great deal of emotion and passion on the defensive end as we do and it's going to be a battle," said HC senior Torey Thomas, when asked to compare the two styles of play.
Holy Cross switches defenses more and plays a good deal of zone. Southern Illinois will employ mainly man-to-man.
That is not the only difference.
"They're committed to defense like we are committed to defense," said Crusaders coach Ralph Willard. "But they're so much more physical than we are."
It's a difference in philosophy..
"We do many more things on the defensive end in terms of trying to make you think, they're just trying to wear you down and keep constant pressure on you," said Willard.
"We have to guard all of them. And I think when we focus on that and are consistently focused on trying to take away stuff and trying to make their life miserable, make them feel like they don't have enough space on the court, we have a chance," said SIU coach Chris Lowery.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE: The perception among the Southern Illinois media contingent seems to be that Holy Cross junior center Tim Clifford might give the Salukis fits inside. At 6-10, 270, Clifford is both taller, and physically more imposing, than any post type Southern Illinois can deploy.
Holy Cross coach Ralph WIllard hopes those SIU beat guys are right. Getting Clifford going in the paint could make a huge difference for the Crusaders.
"We're going to try and get the ball inside. Obviously we try and do that against every opponent," said Willard "They're quicker and more athletic than we are, but one of the things they do a great job is putting tremendous pressure on the basketball much so one way to relieve that is by getting the ball to the middle of the floor and getting it inside to your big guys. So they double, they take away the post in a lot of different ways, they do a great job rotating, but it's obviously something we're going to have to try and exploit in order to -- really in order to get our guards more looks at the basket too."
One thing Clifford adds to the mix is his ability to step away from the basket to shoot the jumper, even out to three-point range. A career 40.7 percent shooter from the arc, Clifford has knocked down 13 of the 35 treys he has taken this season. That is a concern for SIU coach Chris Lowery.
"(Clifford) is huge. I mean, he's very big. He's probably better defensively than most people think and he's not a high-riser. He takes up a lot of space and he challenges a lot of shots. So our biggest thing is that we can't allow him to get his confidence on offense, because when he does that, he can step away and make shots away from the rim, and when he's doing that, that makes Simmons even better," said Lowery.
One thing SIU will look to do is to attack Clifford when it has the ball, hoping to get him in foul trouble. That has been a problem at times; Clifford has fouled out of seven games this season. It is an area where he has improved as the season wore on, though. Through the last 17 games, Clifford has fouled out just once ( at Hofstra).
Without Clifford on the floor, Holy Cross looks very different. When he plays up to his capabilities, the Crusaders have looked very good.
"Tim's play down the stretch has been incredible. He had six blocks in the first half of our championship game. And like you say, he's been plugging up the middle. He's been a force on the boards, block shots, down on the post on offense, and his play really opens up our play," SImmons said. "Tim's been playing really well."
SCOUTING SIMMONS: Here is Lowery's take on the Patriot League Player of the Year: "He could play a lot of different places in the country. I was shocked how good he was, I had no idea until you watch him more than once. When people say somebody's good, your first impression is, yeah, he's okay, but as you continue to watch him, he's very talented. He's an explosive athlete. He's obviously become a much better shooter than when he got there. His field goal percentages are high. He's a kid who's going to make money playing, so obviously he's a good player."
TOUTING TOREY: Lowery is also very high on Holy Cross point guard Torey Thomas. Here is what he has to say about the 5-9 senior: "I love the kid, he'd be great with us. He steals the ball from anybody close to them. That sets up everything that they do, because not only is he their best defender, he also is their best guy at pushing the basketball. And that's why him and Simmons really have a strong niche together as teammates. They get in transition after steals, after misshots, as well as anybody in the country."
SHOOTAROUND TIDBITS: The crowds for the shootarounds seemed much smaller in Columbus than they did two years ago in Oklahoma City or last year in Dallas. There were probably less than 100 people on hand to watch Southern Illinois -- a good number of those being Illinois fans who arrived early. Even fewer folks on hand for HC's workout.
Aside from parents, only one bit of purple was spotted in the crowd.
Both teams took a similar approach to the shootarounds, running through a series of shooting drills to get used to the lights, background and rims in Nationwide Arena.
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Both teams play tremendous defense. Both do it in a different way, though.
The matchup between Holy Cross and Southern Illinois features two of the top 10 defensive teams in the nation. The Salukis allow 56.5 points per game, third best among all 300-plus Division I teams in the nation.
Holy Cross, which allows 57.1 points per contest, is just behind, ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense.
"Our defense is very similar, they try to keep everybody out of the middle. They give great weak side help. They only allow 56 points a game, we allow 57. So they play with a great deal of emotion and passion on the defensive end as we do and it's going to be a battle," said HC senior Torey Thomas, when asked to compare the two styles of play.
Holy Cross switches defenses more and plays a good deal of zone. Southern Illinois will employ mainly man-to-man.
That is not the only difference.
"They're committed to defense like we are committed to defense," said Crusaders coach Ralph Willard. "But they're so much more physical than we are."
It's a difference in philosophy..
"We do many more things on the defensive end in terms of trying to make you think, they're just trying to wear you down and keep constant pressure on you," said Willard.
"We have to guard all of them. And I think when we focus on that and are consistently focused on trying to take away stuff and trying to make their life miserable, make them feel like they don't have enough space on the court, we have a chance," said SIU coach Chris Lowery.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE: The perception among the Southern Illinois media contingent seems to be that Holy Cross junior center Tim Clifford might give the Salukis fits inside. At 6-10, 270, Clifford is both taller, and physically more imposing, than any post type Southern Illinois can deploy.
Holy Cross coach Ralph WIllard hopes those SIU beat guys are right. Getting Clifford going in the paint could make a huge difference for the Crusaders.
"We're going to try and get the ball inside. Obviously we try and do that against every opponent," said Willard "They're quicker and more athletic than we are, but one of the things they do a great job is putting tremendous pressure on the basketball much so one way to relieve that is by getting the ball to the middle of the floor and getting it inside to your big guys. So they double, they take away the post in a lot of different ways, they do a great job rotating, but it's obviously something we're going to have to try and exploit in order to -- really in order to get our guards more looks at the basket too."
One thing Clifford adds to the mix is his ability to step away from the basket to shoot the jumper, even out to three-point range. A career 40.7 percent shooter from the arc, Clifford has knocked down 13 of the 35 treys he has taken this season. That is a concern for SIU coach Chris Lowery.
"(Clifford) is huge. I mean, he's very big. He's probably better defensively than most people think and he's not a high-riser. He takes up a lot of space and he challenges a lot of shots. So our biggest thing is that we can't allow him to get his confidence on offense, because when he does that, he can step away and make shots away from the rim, and when he's doing that, that makes Simmons even better," said Lowery.
One thing SIU will look to do is to attack Clifford when it has the ball, hoping to get him in foul trouble. That has been a problem at times; Clifford has fouled out of seven games this season. It is an area where he has improved as the season wore on, though. Through the last 17 games, Clifford has fouled out just once ( at Hofstra).
Without Clifford on the floor, Holy Cross looks very different. When he plays up to his capabilities, the Crusaders have looked very good.
"Tim's play down the stretch has been incredible. He had six blocks in the first half of our championship game. And like you say, he's been plugging up the middle. He's been a force on the boards, block shots, down on the post on offense, and his play really opens up our play," SImmons said. "Tim's been playing really well."
SCOUTING SIMMONS: Here is Lowery's take on the Patriot League Player of the Year: "He could play a lot of different places in the country. I was shocked how good he was, I had no idea until you watch him more than once. When people say somebody's good, your first impression is, yeah, he's okay, but as you continue to watch him, he's very talented. He's an explosive athlete. He's obviously become a much better shooter than when he got there. His field goal percentages are high. He's a kid who's going to make money playing, so obviously he's a good player."
TOUTING TOREY: Lowery is also very high on Holy Cross point guard Torey Thomas. Here is what he has to say about the 5-9 senior: "I love the kid, he'd be great with us. He steals the ball from anybody close to them. That sets up everything that they do, because not only is he their best defender, he also is their best guy at pushing the basketball. And that's why him and Simmons really have a strong niche together as teammates. They get in transition after steals, after misshots, as well as anybody in the country."
SHOOTAROUND TIDBITS: The crowds for the shootarounds seemed much smaller in Columbus than they did two years ago in Oklahoma City or last year in Dallas. There were probably less than 100 people on hand to watch Southern Illinois -- a good number of those being Illinois fans who arrived early. Even fewer folks on hand for HC's workout.
Aside from parents, only one bit of purple was spotted in the crowd.
Both teams took a similar approach to the shootarounds, running through a series of shooting drills to get used to the lights, background and rims in Nationwide Arena.
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Sunday, February 25, 2007
Leftovers from the notebook following Holy Cross' 62-50 win at lehigh Sunday.
Lehigh opened the game with all four of its seniors starting. That meant freshman point guard Marquis Hall sat the first 3:41, allowing little used Adam Hycik to get his first start of his career. Jason Mgebroff also made his first start since returning to action Feb. 14 following a lengthy absence due to stress fractures in his leg. Also starting was Kyle Neptune, who has been coming off the bench in recent weeks.
A decent crowd on hand, especially considering the threat of nasty weather this afternoon in the Lehigh Valley. Less than 100 students behind the west basket, though and the pep band is smaller today (8 members) than it was for last night's HC-Lehigh women's game. The Stabler ticket office appears to have wisely tried to sell the side behind the players benches, opposite the ESPNU cameras, making the place look fuller on TV than in person. Unfortunately, the lower middle section, direcly behind the scorers table, is only about half full, presumably due to season ticket holder no shows.
Holy Cross center Tim Clifford, the league's leading shotblocker at 1.7 per game, exceeded his average in the first 2:18 of the game, snuffing Bryan White on Lehigh's first possession and swatting away a Neptune jumper with 17:42 to go in the first half. Clifford also hit a three in the early going. Clifford, though, was 1 for 6 from the field with just two rebounds when he took a seat with 7:36 to play in the half after picking up two quick fouls in a span of about 30 seconds.Clifford finished with 5 blocks and 5 rebounds and was 3 for 7 from the field after the break to finish with 9 points.
Holy Cross reserve forward Colin Cunningham didn't get an inch shorter. He just looks it now that he has changed his hair style. Gone is the curly mop-top he sported since arriving in Worcester last season. In its place, a sparse buzzed, but not shaved, look.
In the scoring battle between tow of the league's top four scorers, Lehigh's Olivero had the early edge over Holy Cross star Keith Simmons. Olivero scored Lehigh's first 6 points of the game. Simmons did not have a bucket the first 13:30. At the half, Olivero, fourth in the league coming in with a 16.7 points per game average, had 11 on 4 for 7 shooting. Simmons, who leads the league at 17.7 ppg, was 2 for 4 for 4 points. The second half was a complete turnaround, with Simmons scoring 10 of his 14 after intermission while Olivero added just a meaningless pair of late free throws while going 0 for 4 from the field.
The winter storm arrived early for Holy Cross, which experienced icy conditions early. Through the first 12:24 of the game, the Crusaders were 3 for 5 (20 percent) from the field, 1 of 5 from three-point range. During that same span, Lehigh was 6 for 18 (33 percent). By the half, Holy Cross had imporved to 9 for 26 (34.6 percent). Lehigh was 11 for 27 (40.7 percent) from the field in the first half.
Holy Cross stayed close in the first half by going 10 for 12 at the foul line, led by Alex Vander Baan, who was 7 for 7 to account for all but 2 of his 9 first-half points. Torey Thomas, who had 11 in the opening stanza, was 3 for 4 at the line.
Most amazing stat of the first half: Lehigh with just three turnovers against HC's ball-hawking defense, which has been forcing over 17 turnovers per game.
The first half battle of the big men was a draw. Clifford played 10 minutes with 2 rebounds and 3 points. Mgebroff had 2 points, 0 rebounds in 11 minutes. The second half was all Clifford. Clifford finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks. Mgebroff's end of the night line: 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist.
Lehigh was without the services of two sophomore reserves, 7-foot center John Gourlay and 6-5 forward Greg Page. Gourlay, who also missed Wednesday night's Bucknell game, is out with an unspecified shoulder injury. No word on Page's situation.
Lehigh's freshman point guard Marquis Hall was 2 for 8 from the field, finishing with 5 points, 5 assists and 4 turnovers. It was the second straight off night for the expected league Rookie of the Year. Wednesday against Bucknell, Hall had a streak of eight straight double figure scoring efforts end when he was held to 4 points on 1 of 8 shooting from the field, 0 for 4 from the arc. Hall was 1 for 4 from three-point range against Holy Cross.
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Hoop Time Notebook
Bison standout Donald Brown has been out sinceout since breaking a bone in his right (shooting) hand during the Bison's Jan. 20 win at Colgate.
Brown will rejoin the Bison rotation for the postseason.
"I had an X-ray Friday. Everything looks good. I'm a go for Wednesday," said Brown after the Bison's win at Army Saturday.
Brown has been doing light shooting drills since a week after the surgery that placed pins in the bone to speed its healing. Those drills became more aggressive basketball drills using both hands once the pain in the broken hand subsided, Brown said.
The team's leading scorer and the league's top rebounder when he was hurt, Brown said he is not worried about re-injuring the hand in the normal course of the game because the bone that was broken is in a part of the hand that is not used to play basketball. He also feels more confident about being able to avoid re-injuring the hand after he took a knee to the hand trying to draw a charge in practice. Brown will wear a protective pad on the back of his hand.
NO ZOO, JUST A CREW -- New at Army since our last visit, a student section calling itself "The Crew." Decked out in yellow toy hard hats and yellow T-shirts, they numbered about 25 strong and pretty much accounted for the cadet population in attendance. Less than a dozen cadets in regular uniforms were on hand, which must mean, as a whole, the kids at West Point have been on their good behavior.
The back of those "The Crew" shirts includes a tagline: "The Hardest Working Fans in the Patriot League." Of course the obvious tag: "The few, the proud" was already taken.
SALUTE -- Senior Day at West Point did not mean a start for all of Jim Crews seniors. Center Jimmy Sewell, who has spent four years in and out of Crews' doghouse, started on the bench, as did guard Marshall Jackson. Sewell did get nine minutes of action. Jackson played 11 minutes.
CROWDED HOUSE -- You have to wonder how Crews will handle senior day in three years. His current roster of 20 players includes 8 freshmen, with who knows how many stashed away at USMAPS. The eight freshmen points out the factor about recruiting at the service academies that is oft overlooked. While the rest of the league is limited in how many scholarships it can offer, Army and Navy can bring in as many kids as they want and can also stash prospects at their prep schools for what amounts to a redshirt year unavailable to the rest of the league.
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Bison standout Donald Brown has been out sinceout since breaking a bone in his right (shooting) hand during the Bison's Jan. 20 win at Colgate.
Brown will rejoin the Bison rotation for the postseason.
"I had an X-ray Friday. Everything looks good. I'm a go for Wednesday," said Brown after the Bison's win at Army Saturday.
Brown has been doing light shooting drills since a week after the surgery that placed pins in the bone to speed its healing. Those drills became more aggressive basketball drills using both hands once the pain in the broken hand subsided, Brown said.
The team's leading scorer and the league's top rebounder when he was hurt, Brown said he is not worried about re-injuring the hand in the normal course of the game because the bone that was broken is in a part of the hand that is not used to play basketball. He also feels more confident about being able to avoid re-injuring the hand after he took a knee to the hand trying to draw a charge in practice. Brown will wear a protective pad on the back of his hand.
NO ZOO, JUST A CREW -- New at Army since our last visit, a student section calling itself "The Crew." Decked out in yellow toy hard hats and yellow T-shirts, they numbered about 25 strong and pretty much accounted for the cadet population in attendance. Less than a dozen cadets in regular uniforms were on hand, which must mean, as a whole, the kids at West Point have been on their good behavior.
The back of those "The Crew" shirts includes a tagline: "The Hardest Working Fans in the Patriot League." Of course the obvious tag: "The few, the proud" was already taken.
SALUTE -- Senior Day at West Point did not mean a start for all of Jim Crews seniors. Center Jimmy Sewell, who has spent four years in and out of Crews' doghouse, started on the bench, as did guard Marshall Jackson. Sewell did get nine minutes of action. Jackson played 11 minutes.
CROWDED HOUSE -- You have to wonder how Crews will handle senior day in three years. His current roster of 20 players includes 8 freshmen, with who knows how many stashed away at USMAPS. The eight freshmen points out the factor about recruiting at the service academies that is oft overlooked. While the rest of the league is limited in how many scholarships it can offer, Army and Navy can bring in as many kids as they want and can also stash prospects at their prep schools for what amounts to a redshirt year unavailable to the rest of the league.
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Thursday, February 15, 2007
Notes and observations from courtside at this afternoon's late matinee in Annapolis.
The officiating crew working this afternoon's game is not the one originally assigned to work this contest. The postponement and weather related travel woes forced assigners to scramble to put together crews.
One of the three working this game said a high school ref worked Wednesday night's ESPN game between No. 2 Ohio State and Penn State when the the third official assigned to the game could not make it through the snow to State College.
The Mids were 0 for 3 with 4 turnovers on their first seven possessions, falling behind 9-0 before making its first field goal -- a T.J. Topercer three at the 16:32 mark of the first half.
Between Topercer's bucket and the next media timeout, which came at the 11:46 mark, Navy was 0 for 4 with three more turnovers. The Mids did manage a free throw in that stretch. In the same span, Holy Cross added 10 more points for a 19-4 lead. Seven of the 10 came from Tim Clifford, who had 11 points in the first 9:10 of the game. The Crusaders opened the game shooting 8 of 13 (61.5 percent) from the floor.
By the time Greg Sprink made Navy's second field goal of the game, Navy had gone 7:55 without a field goal. The Mids, between Topercer's trey and Sprink's layup, were 0 for 8 with 5 more turnovers. After Sprink's bucket cut the Holy Cross lead to 23-6, Navy was 2 for 13 from the field with 9 turnovers. In that same stretch, Clifford was 6 for 8 with 15 points, two blocks and a steal.
The Mids missed four more shots before Bryce Brigham scored their third field goal of the half, a three that resulted in a four-point play when he was fouled in the act by Eric Meister.
At the media timeout with 2:59 to play first half, Holy Cross was 12 for 21 (57.1 percent) from the field. Clifford (7 for 9) has 17 points. Navy was 4 for 19, 21.1 percent. Brigham, with two treys and 7 points, was the only Mid with more than one basket.
A 5-foot jumper from the left baseline with about 45 seconds to go in the half gave Clifford 21 points at the half, one shy of his whole game season high of 22 at Harvard back on Nov. 21. Keith Simmons (10 points) was also in double figures at the break.
FIRST HALF STATS: HC 15 of 26 (57.7 percent) from the field; 3-9 on three-pointers, 3-4 at the foul line. Navy 5 of 23 (21.7 percent), 4 of 10 threes, 4-5 FT. Turnovers: HC 10, Navy 11. Rebounds: HC 19, Navy 11.
Navy's 5 of 23 first half shooting is identical to its first half the last time HC visited Alumni Hall. HC led 35-15 in that one at the break.
The Crusaders scrambled out of Alumni Hall in a hurry after the game, headed for the airport and an 8 p.m. flight to New York . . . Holy Cross will spend Friday wrapping film sessions at their Long Island hotel around a 2:30 practice at Hofstra to prepare for Saturday's BracketBusters game . . . The win was Holy Cross' 17th in a row over Navy, the longest such streak in the league . . . just one of the last 12 HC wins in the series has been by a single-digit margin
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One of the three working this game said a high school ref worked Wednesday night's ESPN game between No. 2 Ohio State and Penn State when the the third official assigned to the game could not make it through the snow to State College.
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Saturday, February 10, 2007
Leftover tidbits and trivial observations from Bucknell's 48-45 win over Holy Cross: Holy Cross opened the game with a 12-2 run in the first 4:16 of the game, then was outscored 20-15 the rest of the half.
The Crusaders were hurt by foul trouble up front, with both Tim Clifford and Alex Vander Baan forced to the bench the last 4 minutes of the half with two personals each. Abe Badmus had two for Bucknell.
Bucknell's offense during Holy Cross' run was limited to a Chris McNaughton foul line jumper on the first possession of the game. Justin Castleberry entered the game at the first TV timeout and hit a pair of buckets, including a three-pointer, to spark a 9-2 Bucknell run that got the Bison back in the game. McNaughton had the other four points, finishing the half 4 for 7 from the field with 8 points. Castleberry was 3 for 4, with 2 treys, good for 10 points. The rest of Bucknell's roster was 2 for 12 from the field in the half.
Holy Cross was more balanced, with Keith Simmons 4 for 6, 9 points in the half. Clifford and Torey Thomas each had 5 points, Vander Baan added 4.
Bucknell obviously needed to find scoring from someone besides Castleberry and McNaughton. Early in the second half, that answer was Abe Badmus, who started the half beating Thomas on dribble penetration for a layup, then hit a jumper off a curl screen to make it a one-point game. Moments later he came up with a steal on the defensive end, then, after a Thomas foul, hit his firsts trey of the game to give Bucknell a 29-28 lead with 18:16 to play.
Vander Baan picked up two fouls in the first four minutes of the second half, returned with four fouls around the 8:58 mark and fouled out 32 seconds later while being outhustled for a loose ball by Darren Mastropaolo after a rebound was tipped out by McNaughton. Mastropaolo made both foul shots for a 39-35 Bucknell lead. Vander Baan played just 18 minutes, finishing with 4 points and 1 rebound.
Holy Cross responded with a 7-0 run, sparked by a Thomas three, followed by two Thomas free throws and two more by Simmons, going back on top by 3. The Crusaders stayed on top until Mastropaolo put Buucknell ahead for good with two free throws at the 3:52 mark.
Holy Cross managed only 4 field goals the entire second half. Simmons, who had Abe Badmus hounding him the entire half, managed only three shots after the half, making just one, a three-pointer with 12 seconds left. Simmons' three was Holy Cross' only score in the final 5:27.
The Crusaders first field goal of the second half came after going without for the first 3:39 of the half. Their last field goal of the first half came with 2:17 to go in the half. In other words, the tone for the second half was set late in the first. Not counting the 15 minutes of the intermission, HC had gone 5:56 without a field goal when Thomas made a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup at the 16:31 mark of the second half. It would be another 4:09 until the Crusadsers' next bucket -- a Colin Cunningham three, and 4:27 more until Thomas hit another three at the 7:55 mark. Simmons' late three, the Crusaders only other field goal of the half, came 7:43 later.
If and when these two meet again, expect Holy Cross to do one thing very different. If Bucknell decides again to use Abe Badmus, who, as he put it, is 6-feet tall with his shoes on, to guard the 6-5 Simmons, HC will respond by posting Simmons more.
"The mistake was, Badmus playing Keith, we need to get Keith down low. That's a mismatch," said Torey Thomas, who took it on himself for failing to exploit the size difference, saying, "That is a point guard mistake."
"We ran four or five plays for (Simmons) to post up and we didn't get him the ball," said Willard, who credited Bucknell's ball pressure for making it tough to make that entry pass.
The battle of the big men was dominated by Bucknell this time around. After being outplayed by HC's Tim Clifford in the first game in Worcester, Bucknell's Chris McNaughton turned the table. mcNaughton scored 9 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, dished off an assist, blocked a shot and had just one turnover. Clifford finished with 5 points, 1 rebound, and three turnovers. Clifford also had a pair of blocks and a steal. Between them, Holy Cross' staring front line of Vander baan and Clifford managed 2 rebounds to 15 for Bucknell's combination of Mastropaolo and McNaughton.
Holy Cross backup center, 6-11 sophomore Greg McCarthy managed just a single rebound and 2 turnovers in 15 minutes, making him about equal in production to Bucknell's 6-11 sophomore Josh Linthicum, who played two minutes, with a single foul the only non-zero in his box score line.
Crusaders freshman Eric Meister had a slight edge on Bucknell freshman Patrick behan in the battle of 6-8 backup four men. Meister played 21 minutes, finishing with 6 rebounds and 2 points (1 for 3 shooting). Behan scored 6 points (on 3 for 4 shooting) and grabbed one board in 12 minutes.
Bucknell's Jason Vegotsky, who struggled to match Simmons' and Thomas' quickness on defense, played a season-low 13 minutes and was held scoreless for the first time this season. It was just the third time all season Vegotsky failed to hit a single three. Vegotsky took just one shot.
The standing room only crowd of 4,209 was the fourth largest in Bucknell history and the largest ever for a Patriot League game in Sojka.
The win, Bucknell's second of the season against a Top 100 RPI team, boosted the Bison into that realm. Bucknell is now No. 95 in the RPI, according to Ken Pomeroy's latest calculations. Holy Cross dropped 3 spots to No. 63 with the loss.
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"The mistake was, Badmus playing Keith, we need to get Keith down low. That's a mismatch," said Torey Thomas, who took it on himself for failing to exploit the size difference, saying, "That is a point guard mistake."
"We ran four or five plays for (Simmons) to post up and we didn't get him the ball," said Willard, who credited Bucknell's ball pressure for making it tough to make that entry pass.
Holy Cross backup center, 6-11 sophomore Greg McCarthy managed just a single rebound and 2 turnovers in 15 minutes, making him about equal in production to Bucknell's 6-11 sophomore Josh Linthicum, who played two minutes, with a single foul the only non-zero in his box score line.
Crusaders freshman Eric Meister had a slight edge on Bucknell freshman Patrick behan in the battle of 6-8 backup four men. Meister played 21 minutes, finishing with 6 rebounds and 2 points (1 for 3 shooting). Behan scored 6 points (on 3 for 4 shooting) and grabbed one board in 12 minutes.
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Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Leftover tidbits and observations from Bucknell's 69-66 win at American. Another new starting lineup for American. Or should we say a different lineup. Jeff Jones went back to the lineup that started the first 11 games of the season, with Paulius Joneliunas returning to the first five, displacing Sekou Lewis, who had drawn a start in AU's previous three games. Jones likely made the move in an effort to match Bucknell's Chris McNaughton and Darren Mastropaolo with his "twin towers" front line of Joneliunas and Brayden Billbe.
After the Lehigh game, Jones said the four spot would be filled by committee the remainder of the season since nobody had clearly staked a claim to the job. Starting assignments would be a product of practice performance and matchups, Jones said.
Lewis, after three straight starts, did not play.
Andre Ingram has been a fixture in the Eagles lineup all season. Matter of fact, the 6-3 senior has been a fixture in the starting five for the past few seasons. The Bucknell game marked his 111th career start, setting a new school record. The old record of 110 was held by Darryl franklin, who played from 1992 to 1996. Ingram finished with 23 points, moving him past American Hall of Famer Wilbur Thomas into sixth place on AU's all-time scoring chart with 1,552 points.
Bucknell's injured Donald Brown has been fitted with a battery charged device to provide electrical stimulation to speed the healing of the broken right hand.
Bucknell opened the game going 6 for 6, including 4 three-pointers and a Chris McNaughton jumper with a foot on the arc. The Bison's first miss from the field came on a Justin Catleberry pull-up jumper in the lane at the 12:09 mark.
Ingram's three-pointer with 3:05 to go in the first half gave him 16 points, matching his career best against Bucknell, set back in his freshman season. Since then, Ingram had reached double figures once in six games against the Bison, that coming earlier this season when he scored 10 in Lewisburg. His 23 points were more than he scored in three games combined (20) against Bucknell last season. His 33 in two games this season equals his total in six games against Bucknell his sophomore and junior seasons.
The two teams combined to hit 29 of 42 shots in the first half (69 percent). Bucknell was 14 of 20 (70 percent), 6 of 8 from the three-point arc. But the Bison were just 2 of 5 from the free throw line in the half. American hit 15 of 22 (68.2 percent) from the field, 4 of 6 threes and was 3 for 3 at the line.
Bucknell's first half shooting was its best effort of the season. The previous best half was against Army in Lewisburg, when the Bison hit 15 of 23 (65.2 percent) in the first half. The Bison's previous worst defensive half came against Wake Forest, when the Demon Deacons hit 59.1 percent in the second half.
Brayden Billbe fouled out with 2:30 to go on a questionable call. Billbe and Bucknell's John Griffin got their feet tangled near the top of the arc, with Griffin ending up on the floor and Billbe ending up on the bench the rest of the night. Billbe's fourth personal, which came at the 4:08 mark, was also an offensive foul away from the ball. Billbe checked out with 8 points on 4 for 5 shooting but the 6-10 senior had no rebounds and turned the ball over 4 times.
The officials evened it out a minute later, sending Arvydas Eitutavicius to the line for three shots after he took a dive in Justin Caslteberry's vicinity while missing a long three. Eitutaviciua hit all three to put AU up 64-63 with 1:23 to play.
Bucknell held a 23-18 edge on the boards, but American had an 11-10 edge on the offensive glass. The Eagles managed only 7 defensive rebounds.
The win was Bucknell's second straight in Bender, where they were 0-4 in Patriot League play prior to last season. It was Bucknell's seventh straight win over AU , a streak that includes wins in the conference semifinals the past two seasons.
Bucknell's 22-14 advantage in the paint marked the seventh straight game the Bison outscored an opponent on the inside. The Bison have not outscored their foes in the paint in 9 of their 10 league games, the lone exception being a 22-22 standoff in the loss at Holy Cross.
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After the Lehigh game, Jones said the four spot would be filled by committee the remainder of the season since nobody had clearly staked a claim to the job. Starting assignments would be a product of practice performance and matchups, Jones said.
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Sunday, February 04, 2007
Notes and observations from Lehigh's 56-54 win at American Saturday.
For the first time this season, Kyle Neptune did not start for Lehigh. In his place, sophomore Matt Szalachowski, who made his first start of the season, second of his career. Neptune checked in at the 17:30 mark. Lehigh coach Billy Taylor termed it a coaches decision saying it was not disciplinary in nature. Taylor said the move was an effort to give the Mountain Hawks more energy off the bench.
Sekou Lewis drew his third straight start for AU. Lewis has gone from not playing in 10 of American's first 16 games to the starting lineup. He has played more minutes in each of two of American's last three games than he played total the first 16 games (15 minutes). Linas Lekavicius also returned to the AU starting five after starting the last three games on the bench. It was the eighth different starting lineup AU coach Jeff Jones has tried this season. In all, 10 of the 14 guys on AU's roster have made at least one start.
The lineup tinkering will likely continue, Jones said. Nobody has emerged all seasonto stake an outright claim on the four spot, so it will be filled game-by-game with the decision on who starts determined by matchups and what Jones sees in practice.
Through the first nine minutes of the game, the two teams combined for an Army-Colgate-like five field goals and 11 turnovers. Keeping with that Army-Colgate theme, American scored 2 points in the first 6:29 of the game. At the 11 minute mark of the first half, Lehigh was 2 for 9 from the field (with 4 turnovers), American 3 for 10 (with 7). Both also had more personal fouls (4 for Lehigh, 5 for AU) than field goals at that point.
By the next timeout, with 7:53 to go in the half, it got even worse. At that point, AU was shooting 25 percent (3 of 12) with 10 turnovers. Lehigh was 3 for 13 (23.1 percent) with 5 turnovers. Adding to the ugliness, Lehigh came out of the timeout and missed two layups on its next possession.
AU actually heated up late in the half, improving to 9 of 21 (42.9 percent) from the field at the intermission. They still had more turnovers (12) than field goals, though. Lehigh stayed icy, finishing the half 7 of 26 from the field (26.9 percent). The Mountain Hawks still managed to eke out a 24-22 halftime lead, thanks to 9 of 12 shooting at the foul line. Lehigh finished the half plus-2 in field goals to turnovers ratio (7-5), but combined the two teams were minus-1 (16-17).
NOTABLE FIRST HALF BOX SCORE LINES:
Lehigh: Zahir Carrington -- 0 for 3 from the field, 0 everything else in 4 minutes; John Gourlay -- 0 for 2 from the field, 2 fouls, 7 minutes
American: Sekou Lewis -- 0 for 1, 2 fouls, 1 turnover in 5 minutes; Linas Lekavicius, 2 fouls, 1 assist, 1 turnover in 6 minutes; Garrison Carr -- 0 for 1, the rest zeroes in 4 minutes
Dubious stat of the half: Derrick Mercer -- all 5-8 of him --had the only two blocked shots in the first half.
Lehigh's shooting woes continued in the second half. The Hawks had just two field goals in the first 9 minutes of the half, going 2 for 7 (28.6 percent) in that stretch. AU, on the other hand, went 8 for 14 (57.1 percent) in that stretch. Only Lehigh's 4 for 4 free throw shooting in that stretch kept the Jawks from trailing by more than the 38-32 hole it found itself in at the 11 minute mark.
Adding to Lehigh's woes, Jose Olivero, who had one foul at the half, picked up three in the first 9:13 of the second, forcing coach Billy Taylor to sit his leading scorer with 10:43 to go in the game. At that point, Olivero had more fouls (4) than field goals (3 -- on 9 shots).
Lehigh actually played better offense without Olivero than it did with him. When Olivero sat down the Hawks were shooting under 30 percent from the field. By the time he returned they had turned a 6-point deficit into a 5 point lead and had their second-half field goal percentage above 50 percent.
Both teams were much better offensiveloy the second half. Lehigh was 8 for 17 (47.1 percent) from the field after the break with just four second half turnovers. AU hit 60 percent (15 of 25) from the field the second half with 4 turnovers.
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The lineup tinkering will likely continue, Jones said. Nobody has emerged all seasonto stake an outright claim on the four spot, so it will be filled game-by-game with the decision on who starts determined by matchups and what Jones sees in practice.
Lehigh: Zahir Carrington -- 0 for 3 from the field, 0 everything else in 4 minutes; John Gourlay -- 0 for 2 from the field, 2 fouls, 7 minutes
American: Sekou Lewis -- 0 for 1, 2 fouls, 1 turnover in 5 minutes; Linas Lekavicius, 2 fouls, 1 assist, 1 turnover in 6 minutes; Garrison Carr -- 0 for 1, the rest zeroes in 4 minutes
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Friday, February 02, 2007
Notes and observations from Bucknell's 78-63 win at Navy
If you have not seen Navy's offense, it really is different. There is nobody in the low post, only occasionally someone in the high post. Basically they put five guys around the arc, then make cuts from one side of the arc to the other. There is very little in terms of trying to make cuts actually towards the basket. instead, they throw it around the outside, then usually fire up a three.
Even their two-pointers tend to be long jumpers. Of Navy's first 24 points, the closest shot was from 10-feet. The rest were either threes -- six of them -- or within a foot of the arc.
Talk about good anticipation. On John Griffin's first personal foul, which came with 12:26 to go in the first half, the ref actually blew the whistle before Griffin made contact. The call was correct, but premature.
Somebody ought to clue the Patriot League folks on a secret Major League Soccer learned long ago. When your building is far from full for a TV game, try to make sure you fill the seats on the side opposite the cameras to create the illusion of a bigger crowd. Navy reserves the first four rows at center court for brass and they are only about half full, which doesn't look good on TV.
Speaking of TV, is it true the U in ESPNU stands for Unavailable? Don't have the stats, but it doesn't seem ESPNU is available in many more homes than CSTV was. That doesn't mean it has not been a good move for the league shifting networks. The ESPN branding does present a stronger image and unlike CSTV, ESPNU does not force games to be played at odd times so it can show women's curling.
A Clif Colbert layup with 5:47 to go in the first half marked Navy's first points in the paint, after their first 28 came outside or at the foul line.
Bucknell had two buckets wiped out in the first half. The first came on a questionable charge on Justin Castleberry. The second came on an offensive interference call on Chris McNaughton, who tipped in a Jason Vegotsky miss. The refs ruled the ball was still in the cylinder when McNaughton touched it.
That call brought a furious protest from Pat Flannery, who was nearly to halfcourt when assistant Nathan Davis reeled him back in.
The officials stopped the game and checked a replay on a monitor at the scoring table. On the scoreboard video screen, it appeared the officials got the call right.
It has been total domination on the boards by Bucknell in the first half. The Bison hold a 22-11 edge on the boards, with 8 offensive caroms to 1 for Navy.
HALFTIME STATS:
Bucknell 39, Navy 37
Scoring: Bucknell -- John Griffin 8, Stephen Tyree and Chris McNaughton 7 each, Jason Vegotsky 6
Navy -- Greg Sprink 10, Adam Teague 6
Shooting: Bucknell 14 for 29 (48.3 percent) 5 for 12 on threes
Navy -- 12 of 27 (44.4 percent), 7 of 15 threes
Points in the paint: Bucknell 16, Navy 4
Turnovers: Bucknell 9, Navy 5
Points off Turnovers: Bucknell 11, Navy 14
The answer to who would pick up Donald Brown's minutes appears to be Patrick Behan. Behan has been part of a three-man rotation with McNaughton and Mastropaolo in the 4 and 5 spots.
Stephen Tyree played 12 minutes in the first half, picking up a career-high already with 7 points on 3 for 3 shooting. That is one of the answers to who will pick up some of Brown's scoring. He also has 4 rebounds, answering that part of the Brown question.
Navy was 6 of 10 from the arc the first 11 minutes, 1 for 5 after that.
SECOND HALF
If the game comes down to the wire, somebody will look back at what happened when Abe Badmus was at the foul line with 15:11 to go in the half. Badmus missed the free throw and the rebound was tipped out of bounds. The refs stopped play when the clock showed 15:06 and reset it to 15:08, meaning the carom and tip took 3 seconds. No word on whether or not Navy had borrowed Duke's clock guy for the night.
Bucknell opened the second half with an 11-3 run and stretched it to 18-6 over the first 7 minutes of the half. All six of Navy's points came on threes by freshman guard Chris Harris, who added another at the 12:18 mark to account for all 9 of the Mids points in the half. At that point, Navy was shooting 3 for 9 in the half, 7 of the shots being threes. Bucknell was 7 for 10 in that span, 3 of 5 at the arc.
Navy's Greg Sprink joined the Midshipmen's 1,000-points club with a three at the 8:52 mark of the second half.
Navy might be in last place in the standings, but its pep band is easily tops in the league. It's all brass, save the drummer on a trap kit -- not a woodwind in sight. Alumni Hall's new scoreboard is also the best in the league. The video screen actually looks like television, unlike that low def. thing in the corner of Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion. It hangs above the middle of the floor, offering every fan a good view and they are great about showing replays. All in all, it just adds to the first class feel of Alumni Hall. Your tax dollars at work, eh?
Bucknell walk-on George Medrano scored the first points of his career on a pair of free throws with 8 seconds left.
Bucknell's 78 points were the second most allowed by the Mids this season. Only Penn (79) has scored more.
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Even their two-pointers tend to be long jumpers. Of Navy's first 24 points, the closest shot was from 10-feet. The rest were either threes -- six of them -- or within a foot of the arc.
That call brought a furious protest from Pat Flannery, who was nearly to halfcourt when assistant Nathan Davis reeled him back in.
The officials stopped the game and checked a replay on a monitor at the scoring table. On the scoreboard video screen, it appeared the officials got the call right.
HALFTIME STATS:
Bucknell 39, Navy 37
Scoring: Bucknell -- John Griffin 8, Stephen Tyree and Chris McNaughton 7 each, Jason Vegotsky 6
Navy -- Greg Sprink 10, Adam Teague 6
Shooting: Bucknell 14 for 29 (48.3 percent) 5 for 12 on threes
Navy -- 12 of 27 (44.4 percent), 7 of 15 threes
Points in the paint: Bucknell 16, Navy 4
Turnovers: Bucknell 9, Navy 5
Points off Turnovers: Bucknell 11, Navy 14
Stephen Tyree played 12 minutes in the first half, picking up a career-high already with 7 points on 3 for 3 shooting. That is one of the answers to who will pick up some of Brown's scoring. He also has 4 rebounds, answering that part of the Brown question.
SECOND HALF
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Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Notes from Sojka Pavilion, Where Bucknell stayed unbeaten at home in 28 straight league games with a 66-60 win.
It's a decent crowd in Sojka Pavilion, but nowhere near a full house. Empty seats in the students sections at either end are understandable with the students on break. But the seats on either side of the court are supposed to be sold out, yet across the way, behind the player benches, it's no better than 70 percent full, and that may be a generous estimate.
The game is being played with an old-fashioned two-man officiating crew. The third official's day job is in law enforcement in the Washington D.C. area and he was detained by a court appearance.
Andre Ingram has never shot well against Bucknell, so he must have been seeing the ghost of Charles Lee when he missed his first three shots from the field. He came back to hit his next two and is 2 for 5 at the half.
Chris McNaughton was hot early, going 4 for 7 (9 points) before sitting down after he drew his second personal with 5:28 to go in the half. Jeff Jones elected to try having Brayden Billbe guard McNaughton on his own and McNaughton responded by scoring 7 of Bucknell's first 9 points.
The two teams traded buckets and the lead early before Au used a 10-2 run to take an 18-11 lead. Bucknell responded with 7 unanswered points to tie it at 18 and eventually pulled ahead, taking a 28-24 edge when Jason Vegotsky hit a three late. Arvydas Eitutavicius made it a one-point game at the half when he buried a three after shoving off his defender, John Griffin, with a forearm shiver that would make an NFL star proud. To Griffin's visible astonishment, there was no call.
HALFTIME STATS:
Bucknell -- 11 of 22 from the field (50 percent), 1 of 4 from three-point range, 5 of 7 at the foul line
American -- 11 of 26 from the field (42.3 percent), 3 of 8 (37.5 percent) from the arc, 2 for 2 at the charity stripe
Turnovers: Bucknell 4, American 6
Rebounds: American 15 (4 offensive), Bucknell 10 (0 offensive)
High scorers: Bucknell -- McNaughton 9, Brown 8; American -- Eitutavicius 6, Garrison Carr 5
SECOND HALF
You know that coaches' cliche about the first five minutes of the second half? American did not score during that span. Through the first 8:22 of the half, AU was 2 for 10. Guys not named Garrison Carr were 0 for 8. Carr's two threes, one a long buzzer-beater, kept AU from being blown out in that span.
Ingram started the second half the way he started the first, going 0 for 2 before sitting down for a long stretch while Jones went with a tiny backcourt of Carr and Mercer, who might measure 6-feet combined if you put one on the other's shoulders. Ingram heated up when he returned, though, hitting two straight threes.
McNaughton's third foul, at the 17:03 mark, laughable compared to the stuff AU is getting away with defending him. McNaughton whistled for an elbow on the back of Paulius Joneliunnas -- pretty much standard post defense -- on an inbounds play. That bad call became bigger when McNaughton picked up his fourth with 8:31 left on a questionable illegal screen call away from the ball. At that point, team fouls were 7 for AU, 4 for Bucknell, but the two called on McNaughton were far more significcant than the seven spread among a host of Eagles.
It would have hurt Bucknell more if not for the play of Darren Mastropaolo, who used a variety of post moves to make Joneliunas look like ... umm . .. err, well, like Joneliunas. Mastropaolo hit three of his first four shots and had a dandy hook shot wiped out by a traveling call that had Pat Flannery reacting like ... umm ... err .. like Pat Flannery.
Of AU's first nine field goals in the second half, six came from the arc -- two by Mercer, two by Eitutavicius and the two by Ingram.
Defensive play of the game: With 1:57 to go, Mastropaolo went to the line for two shots, but missed both. AU got the rebound, but Vegotzky snuck in to knock the ball off Carr out of bounds, giving Bucknell another possession. McNaughton, who returned on the inbounds play as Flannery went offense-defense with him and Mastropaolo, made it count by beating Billbe for an easy bucket and a 56-51 lead.
McNaughton made it 58-51 on a hook shot over Billbe Bucknell's next trip up the floor, turning the final minute into a free throw shooting contest.
Griffin reached double figures without making a field goal. Griffin was 0 for 4 from the field, 0 for 3 on three-point tries, but 10 for 10 from the foul line, including 6 for 6 in the final 30 seconds.
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HALFTIME STATS:
Bucknell -- 11 of 22 from the field (50 percent), 1 of 4 from three-point range, 5 of 7 at the foul line
American -- 11 of 26 from the field (42.3 percent), 3 of 8 (37.5 percent) from the arc, 2 for 2 at the charity stripe
Turnovers: Bucknell 4, American 6
Rebounds: American 15 (4 offensive), Bucknell 10 (0 offensive)
High scorers: Bucknell -- McNaughton 9, Brown 8; American -- Eitutavicius 6, Garrison Carr 5
SECOND HALF
It would have hurt Bucknell more if not for the play of Darren Mastropaolo, who used a variety of post moves to make Joneliunas look like ... umm . .. err, well, like Joneliunas. Mastropaolo hit three of his first four shots and had a dandy hook shot wiped out by a traveling call that had Pat Flannery reacting like ... umm ... err .. like Pat Flannery.
McNaughton made it 58-51 on a hook shot over Billbe Bucknell's next trip up the floor, turning the final minute into a free throw shooting contest.
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Friday, January 05, 2007
You kept hearing it throughout the preseason: The Patriot League is better top to bottom this year. This week's HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK asks the simple question: is it really?
Sure seemed that way at the beginning of December when league teams were 29-25 against non-conference Division I foes, with a conference RPI of 14.
But over the last two weeks, league teams have gone 10-20, dropping their RPI as a conference to 19, one spot behind the Ivy League, which won the season series between the two leagues again this year. The PL actually held a 7-3 lead in the series heading into December before the Ivies won 9 of the last 10.
Granted the conference RPI for the Patriot League has improved in each of the past four seasons, from 26 in 2003 to 23 in 2004 to 21 last season to 19 this. But the league's measuring stick has long been the Ivy League and the Ancient 8 has a conference RPI of 18, not surprising since the Ivies did so well head-to-head against the Patriots.
On that basis it is hard to say the league is much better. On the other hand, if you look strictly at RPI, the bottom of the league does appear to be significantly stronger. Nobody is ranked below 300 in the RPI and only teams are above 251. Last season four teams finished above 250.
The top of the Patriot League, though, is off. Bucknell was No. 42 last season. This season only one PL team, Holy Cross (97) has an RPI better than 100. Bucknell has returned to the pack. Holy Cross is good, but banged up and not very deep. There appears to be more parity in the league this season, but it would probably be a stretch to say the league is actually better top to bottom. Thus far it seems more like the top and the bottom are meeting in the middle.
THE LEAGUE AT A GLANCE: Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the season to date for league teams.
AMERICAN (8-6, RPI 211)
Best win: 81-74 over 6-6 Loyola (RPI 222) -- AU's only win over a team with an RPI better than 260
Worst loss: 81-79 (OT) at 6-11 (4-11 vs. D-I) Longwood (266) less than a month after beating the Lancers by 11 at home
Biggest surprise: Yet to come; we predict Georgetown transfer Cornelio Guibunda's raw athloetic talent will allow him some impressive performances off the bench in league play
Biggest disappointment: Big things have been expected from 6-11 senior center Paulius Joneliunas since he transferred from South Carolina prior to his junior season but thus far he has not delivered on those expectations.
ARMY (10-5, 8-5 vs. D-I, RPI 211)
Best win: 62-53 over 7-6 Hartford (175)
Worst loss: Home vs. 5-7 Cornell (213)
Biggest surprise: Army's record and RPI. This is the first time since the 2002 season the Black Knights RPI is out of the 300+ range
Biggest disappointment: Senior center Jimmy Sewell who has gone from being a starter as a sophomore to a 6-11 pine jockey with 5 DNPs thus far this season. For a team with only two freshmen taller than 6-7 on the roster, Sewell's failure to develop has been a big (no pun intended) negative.
BUCKNELL (6-7, RPI 134)
Best win: 68-67 at 10-4 Xavier (47) ... it's also the league's best win
Worst loss: 50-48 to a Central Arkansas team with one other D-I win and an RPI (298) out of the 300s only because of beating Bucknell ... it's the league's worst loss
Biggest surprise: The emergence of sophomore guard Justin Castleberry as a key part of Pat Flannery's rotation
Biggest disappointment: Take your pick: Chris McNaughton's sub-50 percent shooting and sub-double figures scoring; The students (and townies) who failed to show up for the Northern Iowa game at Sojka; Donald Brown's inability to adjust to playing the three, which has hurt the Bison on defense by taking a tough defender (Darren Mastropaolo) out of the starting lineup. Brown has been Bucknell's best player since moving to the four, but without him matching up on opponent three-men and sans Mastropaolo, the Bison are not as strong defensively; the late-game collapse against Albany in the season opener; or (our pick) the loss to Central Arkansas.
COLGATE (5-8, 4-8 D-I, RPI 282)
Best win: The Raiders really have no good wins. As close as they get is a 53-47 win over a Leon Pattman-less Dartmouth team that looks better than it was at the time due to Dartmouth's improvement since getting Pattman back in the lineup
Worst loss: 52-36 at 6-7 (5-7 vs. D-I) Arizona State (278)
Biggest surprise: The inability of a team full of alleged shooters to shoot the ball. Colgate has been under 40 percent from the field each of its last six games and on the season is shooting 40.4 percent against D-I teams
Biggest disappointment: That 4-8 record against D-I teams. Colgate is either doing less with more than anybody in the league, or its talent level has been tremendously overrated
HOLY CROSS (9-6, RPI 97)
Best win: 65-57 over 7-5 Siena (78)
Worst loss: 67-61 to 7-7 Niagara, a team with a misleading 244 RPi due to the absence of star Carron Fisher early in the season. Niagara is 6-1 since his return. The disappointment is not losing to Niagara as much as it is the way it happened -- blowing an 11-point, second-half lead
Biggest surprise: Kyle Cruze's emergence as a starter on the wing after the injuries to Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon
Biggest disappointment: Those injuries, along with a season-ending injury to freshman Andrew Keister
LAFAYETTE (6-9, 4-9 D-I, RPI 251)
Best win: 76-70 at 4-8 (3-8 D-I) Wagner (283)
Worst loss: 86-51 at 5-9 UMBC (204)
Biggest surprise: 6-4 junior Matt Betley's emergence as the team's top scorer after switching to the four, where he way undersized
Biggest disappointment: The stress fracture in Jamaal Hilliard's foot that is expected to cost him at least 2-4 weeks.
LEHIGH (5-11, 3-11 D-I, RPI 288)
Best win: 72-63 over Sacred Heart (6-7, 145)
Worst loss: 71-55 at Quinnipiac (334), a team with one other win over D-I opposition
Biggest surprise: Jason Mgebroff's strong showing before being sidelined with stress fractures. The 6-11 senior, whose sophomore and junior seasons were all but a washout, was averaging 10.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg before he got hurt.
Biggest disappointment: Megebroff's stress fractures, which will force him to miss 6-8 weeks
NAVY (10-5, 8-5 D-I, RPI 159)
Best win: 87-76 over 5-8 Stony Brook (187)
Worst loss: 74-59 at home to Yale (248), which has just one other D-I win
Biggest surprise: The play of 6-10 freshman Trey Stanton, who has started every game and is averaging 8.8 ppg
Biggest disappointment: In the preseason, Navy coach Billy Lange said 6-9 junior center Ben Biles was "going to have to give us some time." Biles has only played in four games, with just four rebounds and a turnover to break up the zeroes after his name on the stat sheet.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: Not a lot of changes from what we predicted when we wrote the Blue Ribbon previews in the summer, though one team has dropped like a rock:
1) Bucknell -- Bison remain the favorite for the regular season title, but a two- or even three-way tie for the regular season would not be a surprise.
2) Holy Cross -- If healthy, HC would probably have been mentioned ahead of Bucknell. If Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon come back and contribute, they might be the favorite come tourney time even if they are the No. 2 seed
3) American -- The Eagles are deep, experienced and posess a lot of offensive weapons. Still need the big men to play big when they face quality big men and the whole team needs to be tougher defensively
4) Army -- Defensive effort was never a problem. Size and offense was. Jarell Brown and Matt Bell give the Black Knights as good a scoring duo in the backcourt as there is in the league. Freshman Chris Walker has given them a presence in the paint.
5) Lehigh -- With Mgebroff healthy, the Mountain Hawks would rank a spot, maybe two, higher. If he regains his early season form when he returns, Lehigh could be the tournament dark horse.
6) Navy -- Billy Lange's team has made great strides but is still missing the inside punch needed to take the pressure off the perimeter shooters.
7) Lafayette -- Another team that is improved, but still lacks an inside presence. Matt Betley will not be a matchup problem for guys like Donald Brown, Bryan White, Kendall Chones or Alex Vander Baan; but they will probably be a matchup problem for him.
8) Colgate -- after two seasons of overrating the underachieving Raiders, we are ready to concede we may have been wrong about the level of talent in Hamilton -- on the floor and on the sidelines.
MIDSEASON HONORS: Player of the year: Keith Simmons, HC -- nobody is playing better right now
Rookie of the Year: Marquis Hall, Leh -- the Mountain Hawks freshman point guard tops a very strong group of freshmen
Coach of the Year: Has anybody done a better job than Jim Crews? We don't think so.
Non-Con All PL team: (the five best players, regardless of position) Simmons, Andre Ingram (AU), Jose Olivero (Leh), Donald Brown (BU), Jarell Brown (Army)
FRIDAY READAROUND:
Army, Navy are biggest surprises in Patriot non-conference games (Morning Call)
Leopards lo ok to leap to the top (Express-Times)
Hawks ready to reach their potential (Express-Times)
Navy ship ahead of schedule under Lange (Daily Item)
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Sure seemed that way at the beginning of December when league teams were 29-25 against non-conference Division I foes, with a conference RPI of 14.
But over the last two weeks, league teams have gone 10-20, dropping their RPI as a conference to 19, one spot behind the Ivy League, which won the season series between the two leagues again this year. The PL actually held a 7-3 lead in the series heading into December before the Ivies won 9 of the last 10.
Granted the conference RPI for the Patriot League has improved in each of the past four seasons, from 26 in 2003 to 23 in 2004 to 21 last season to 19 this. But the league's measuring stick has long been the Ivy League and the Ancient 8 has a conference RPI of 18, not surprising since the Ivies did so well head-to-head against the Patriots.
On that basis it is hard to say the league is much better. On the other hand, if you look strictly at RPI, the bottom of the league does appear to be significantly stronger. Nobody is ranked below 300 in the RPI and only teams are above 251. Last season four teams finished above 250.
The top of the Patriot League, though, is off. Bucknell was No. 42 last season. This season only one PL team, Holy Cross (97) has an RPI better than 100. Bucknell has returned to the pack. Holy Cross is good, but banged up and not very deep. There appears to be more parity in the league this season, but it would probably be a stretch to say the league is actually better top to bottom. Thus far it seems more like the top and the bottom are meeting in the middle.
THE LEAGUE AT A GLANCE: Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the season to date for league teams.
AMERICAN (8-6, RPI 211)
Best win: 81-74 over 6-6 Loyola (RPI 222) -- AU's only win over a team with an RPI better than 260
Worst loss: 81-79 (OT) at 6-11 (4-11 vs. D-I) Longwood (266) less than a month after beating the Lancers by 11 at home
Biggest surprise: Yet to come; we predict Georgetown transfer Cornelio Guibunda's raw athloetic talent will allow him some impressive performances off the bench in league play
Biggest disappointment: Big things have been expected from 6-11 senior center Paulius Joneliunas since he transferred from South Carolina prior to his junior season but thus far he has not delivered on those expectations.
ARMY (10-5, 8-5 vs. D-I, RPI 211)
Best win: 62-53 over 7-6 Hartford (175)
Worst loss: Home vs. 5-7 Cornell (213)
Biggest surprise: Army's record and RPI. This is the first time since the 2002 season the Black Knights RPI is out of the 300+ range
Biggest disappointment: Senior center Jimmy Sewell who has gone from being a starter as a sophomore to a 6-11 pine jockey with 5 DNPs thus far this season. For a team with only two freshmen taller than 6-7 on the roster, Sewell's failure to develop has been a big (no pun intended) negative.
BUCKNELL (6-7, RPI 134)
Best win: 68-67 at 10-4 Xavier (47) ... it's also the league's best win
Worst loss: 50-48 to a Central Arkansas team with one other D-I win and an RPI (298) out of the 300s only because of beating Bucknell ... it's the league's worst loss
Biggest surprise: The emergence of sophomore guard Justin Castleberry as a key part of Pat Flannery's rotation
Biggest disappointment: Take your pick: Chris McNaughton's sub-50 percent shooting and sub-double figures scoring; The students (and townies) who failed to show up for the Northern Iowa game at Sojka; Donald Brown's inability to adjust to playing the three, which has hurt the Bison on defense by taking a tough defender (Darren Mastropaolo) out of the starting lineup. Brown has been Bucknell's best player since moving to the four, but without him matching up on opponent three-men and sans Mastropaolo, the Bison are not as strong defensively; the late-game collapse against Albany in the season opener; or (our pick) the loss to Central Arkansas.
COLGATE (5-8, 4-8 D-I, RPI 282)
Best win: The Raiders really have no good wins. As close as they get is a 53-47 win over a Leon Pattman-less Dartmouth team that looks better than it was at the time due to Dartmouth's improvement since getting Pattman back in the lineup
Worst loss: 52-36 at 6-7 (5-7 vs. D-I) Arizona State (278)
Biggest surprise: The inability of a team full of alleged shooters to shoot the ball. Colgate has been under 40 percent from the field each of its last six games and on the season is shooting 40.4 percent against D-I teams
Biggest disappointment: That 4-8 record against D-I teams. Colgate is either doing less with more than anybody in the league, or its talent level has been tremendously overrated
HOLY CROSS (9-6, RPI 97)
Best win: 65-57 over 7-5 Siena (78)
Worst loss: 67-61 to 7-7 Niagara, a team with a misleading 244 RPi due to the absence of star Carron Fisher early in the season. Niagara is 6-1 since his return. The disappointment is not losing to Niagara as much as it is the way it happened -- blowing an 11-point, second-half lead
Biggest surprise: Kyle Cruze's emergence as a starter on the wing after the injuries to Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon
Biggest disappointment: Those injuries, along with a season-ending injury to freshman Andrew Keister
LAFAYETTE (6-9, 4-9 D-I, RPI 251)
Best win: 76-70 at 4-8 (3-8 D-I) Wagner (283)
Worst loss: 86-51 at 5-9 UMBC (204)
Biggest surprise: 6-4 junior Matt Betley's emergence as the team's top scorer after switching to the four, where he way undersized
Biggest disappointment: The stress fracture in Jamaal Hilliard's foot that is expected to cost him at least 2-4 weeks.
LEHIGH (5-11, 3-11 D-I, RPI 288)
Best win: 72-63 over Sacred Heart (6-7, 145)
Worst loss: 71-55 at Quinnipiac (334), a team with one other win over D-I opposition
Biggest surprise: Jason Mgebroff's strong showing before being sidelined with stress fractures. The 6-11 senior, whose sophomore and junior seasons were all but a washout, was averaging 10.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg before he got hurt.
Biggest disappointment: Megebroff's stress fractures, which will force him to miss 6-8 weeks
NAVY (10-5, 8-5 D-I, RPI 159)
Best win: 87-76 over 5-8 Stony Brook (187)
Worst loss: 74-59 at home to Yale (248), which has just one other D-I win
Biggest surprise: The play of 6-10 freshman Trey Stanton, who has started every game and is averaging 8.8 ppg
Biggest disappointment: In the preseason, Navy coach Billy Lange said 6-9 junior center Ben Biles was "going to have to give us some time." Biles has only played in four games, with just four rebounds and a turnover to break up the zeroes after his name on the stat sheet.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: Not a lot of changes from what we predicted when we wrote the Blue Ribbon previews in the summer, though one team has dropped like a rock:
1) Bucknell -- Bison remain the favorite for the regular season title, but a two- or even three-way tie for the regular season would not be a surprise.
2) Holy Cross -- If healthy, HC would probably have been mentioned ahead of Bucknell. If Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon come back and contribute, they might be the favorite come tourney time even if they are the No. 2 seed
3) American -- The Eagles are deep, experienced and posess a lot of offensive weapons. Still need the big men to play big when they face quality big men and the whole team needs to be tougher defensively
4) Army -- Defensive effort was never a problem. Size and offense was. Jarell Brown and Matt Bell give the Black Knights as good a scoring duo in the backcourt as there is in the league. Freshman Chris Walker has given them a presence in the paint.
5) Lehigh -- With Mgebroff healthy, the Mountain Hawks would rank a spot, maybe two, higher. If he regains his early season form when he returns, Lehigh could be the tournament dark horse.
6) Navy -- Billy Lange's team has made great strides but is still missing the inside punch needed to take the pressure off the perimeter shooters.
7) Lafayette -- Another team that is improved, but still lacks an inside presence. Matt Betley will not be a matchup problem for guys like Donald Brown, Bryan White, Kendall Chones or Alex Vander Baan; but they will probably be a matchup problem for him.
8) Colgate -- after two seasons of overrating the underachieving Raiders, we are ready to concede we may have been wrong about the level of talent in Hamilton -- on the floor and on the sidelines.
MIDSEASON HONORS: Player of the year: Keith Simmons, HC -- nobody is playing better right now
Rookie of the Year: Marquis Hall, Leh -- the Mountain Hawks freshman point guard tops a very strong group of freshmen
Coach of the Year: Has anybody done a better job than Jim Crews? We don't think so.
Non-Con All PL team: (the five best players, regardless of position) Simmons, Andre Ingram (AU), Jose Olivero (Leh), Donald Brown (BU), Jarell Brown (Army)
FRIDAY READAROUND:
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, notebook
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Thursday, December 28, 2006
A few tidbits leftover in the HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK after Holy Cross' win at LaSalle Thursday night.
1-2-3 KICK: At times the Holy Cross defense sounded a little like a dance team as it switched things up in the 2-3 zone they played against Lasalle. From time to time, the Crusaders would audibly count the LaSalle passes, calling out "One, two, three, four as the ball moved from Explorer to Explorer.
After the game, Ralph Willard explained the pass counting was part of two variations on the 2-3, a 2-4 and a 2-5. No, they did not get to deploy extra defenders. The 4 and the 5 refer to the number of opponent passes to trigger a switch into a matchup.
The tactic worked well against LaSalle's young team. Switching to the matchup late in the possession seemed to confuse the Explorers. It also took away the opportuinty for LaSalle's athletes to exloit a gap in the zone with dribble penetration late in the shot clock.
An added benefit of the zone: Less demand on the legs, a key consideration with guys like Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons playing beaucoup minutes for the injury riddled Crusaders.
KYLE BY THE NUMBERS: 15 points, a new career high
1 bumber of career double figures games for the junior guard
9 total points Cruze had scored all season prior to the LaSalle game
1 number of times Cruze has been interviewed after a game in his 2-plus seasons at HC
27 total points Cruze scored his first two seasons at HC
1 number of three-pointers Cruze made in the first 11 games of this season
3 number of threes he had his first two seasons combined
3 number of threes he had against LaSalle
25.9 percent of HC's points Cruze accounted for against LaSalle
1.3 percent of HC's total points this season Cruze accounted for prior to the LaSalle game
PATERICK's POINTS: Freshman Zach Paterick scored his first career points on his first career three-pointer in the first half. Paterick. who spotted Torey Thomas at the point for two minutes in the first half also played some on the win beside Thomas.
A natural off guard who was expected top spend his first year getting strong enough to play Division I ball, has been pressed into service as an emergency point guard due to Pat Doherty's broken hand.
Paterick finished with five points. He turned the ball over the first time he brought it up, then played the rest of his 8 minutes without giving it away again. Paterick had only played in two prior games, totalling 1 minute of action.
SIMMONS UPDATE: HC's Keith Simmons played with just an elastic support on his injured knee. He shed the bulkier metal brace he'd used since spraining the knee at Duke after resting the knee during finals and over the holiday.
Willard said Simmons' cramping in the George Mason game was not like the cramping that caused Simmons problems last season. The cramp in the George Mason game was not as severe, and the brief incident is the only cramp Simmons has had all season, Willard said. Willard believes these cramps were caused by Simmons running an unnatural gait due to the injured knee. He showed few ill effects against LaSalle.
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1-2-3 KICK: At times the Holy Cross defense sounded a little like a dance team as it switched things up in the 2-3 zone they played against Lasalle. From time to time, the Crusaders would audibly count the LaSalle passes, calling out "One, two, three, four as the ball moved from Explorer to Explorer.
After the game, Ralph Willard explained the pass counting was part of two variations on the 2-3, a 2-4 and a 2-5. No, they did not get to deploy extra defenders. The 4 and the 5 refer to the number of opponent passes to trigger a switch into a matchup.
The tactic worked well against LaSalle's young team. Switching to the matchup late in the possession seemed to confuse the Explorers. It also took away the opportuinty for LaSalle's athletes to exloit a gap in the zone with dribble penetration late in the shot clock.
An added benefit of the zone: Less demand on the legs, a key consideration with guys like Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons playing beaucoup minutes for the injury riddled Crusaders.
KYLE BY THE NUMBERS:
PATERICK's POINTS: Freshman Zach Paterick scored his first career points on his first career three-pointer in the first half. Paterick. who spotted Torey Thomas at the point for two minutes in the first half also played some on the win beside Thomas.
A natural off guard who was expected top spend his first year getting strong enough to play Division I ball, has been pressed into service as an emergency point guard due to Pat Doherty's broken hand.
Paterick finished with five points. He turned the ball over the first time he brought it up, then played the rest of his 8 minutes without giving it away again. Paterick had only played in two prior games, totalling 1 minute of action.
SIMMONS UPDATE: HC's Keith Simmons played with just an elastic support on his injured knee. He shed the bulkier metal brace he'd used since spraining the knee at Duke after resting the knee during finals and over the holiday.
Willard said Simmons' cramping in the George Mason game was not like the cramping that caused Simmons problems last season. The cramp in the George Mason game was not as severe, and the brief incident is the only cramp Simmons has had all season, Willard said. Willard believes these cramps were caused by Simmons running an unnatural gait due to the injured knee. He showed few ill effects against LaSalle.
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Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Conference play begins in less than two weeks, and early indications are this should be one of the most competitive seasons in Patriot League history.
There have been plenty of seasons of parity in the league. In 1994, four teams finished the regular season at 9-5 in conference play, resulting in a pair of semifinals decided by a total of 5 points (including one overtime game) and a final that Navy won at home by 2 (over Colgate the year before Adonal Foyle arrived). That was the only season a team with five league losses managed to claim the top seed for the tournament. (An interesting note: That season Navy placed nobody on the first or second All-Patriot teams despite being the top seed).
The next two seasons Colgate won the conference, but each year the Raiders finished with three losses in conference play and needed a tiebreaker to gain top seed for the postseason.
In 2002, American won the regular season despite four conference setbacks, with four other teams over .500 in league play.
Looking around the league, it would not be surprising to see this year's regular season champs with four or even five losses. With the marked improvement at both of the service academies, Lafayette is the closest thing to a gimme in the league, and Fran O'Hanlon's Leopards have always had a knack, even in their down years, for pulling off an upset or two at home.
Here are a few team-by-team thoughts, done in alphabetical order (so please Lehigh fans, no hate mail for listing the Mountain Hawks seventh):
AMERICAN: A veteran team with a proven star in Andre Ingram, a talented point guard in Derrick Mercer, scoring off the bench in Arvydas Eitutavicius and as much size up front as anybody in the league, the Eagles 7-4 start has done nothing to take away from their preseason status as a contender.
Paulius Joneliunas and Brayden Billbe already can claim the titles of the league's biggest frontcourt and the frontcourt with the most unusual names. If they can also rank among the league's toughest, this could be teh Eagles year.
Cornelio Guibunda is as athletic as they come in the Patriot League, but still lacks polish. It will be interesting to see how far his athleticism can take him in league play. If he is a factor off the bench, AU's threesome could potentially challenge Bucknell's trio of Chris McNaughton, Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo as the league's best three-man rotation in the frontcourt.
ARMY: Dramatically better, the 9-3 Black Knights have already won more games than they did the last three seasons combined. Jarrell Brown might be the best offensive player in the league. Matt Bell is healthy and back to form. And freshman Chris Walker's 6-8 presence in the middle gives Army the legitimate post player it has lacked in Jim Crews first four seasons. It's worth noting that although Walker is a freshman, he had the equivalent of a redshirt season at Army's prep school last year. Walker is one of seven players on the Army roster who have spent a year at USMAPS, making the Black Knights a more mature team than the roster might indicate at first glance.
No doubt the 9-3 record reflects more than just Army being better. The wins have come against a mix of weak Division I and mediocre Division III sides. Still, Army will be a tough out this season, especially in Christl Arena.
BUCKNELL: The Bison need to sweep two games at Marist's tournament this weekend to avoid entering conference play below .500. That will be a challenge; Marist, Bucknell's likely opponent in the final (assuming the Bison get past a very weak Central Arkansas team in the opener), is unbeaten at home, 8-3 with two wins over top 100 RPI teams.
Even a game below .500 in the preseason, the Bison are probably still the favorite to win the league. The level of competition Bucknell has faced is clearly a notch above most of the rest of the league and all but two of their non-conference games have been away from home. Bucknell's wins over George Mason and Xavier are easily the league's best wins to date.
That said, this is definitely not the Bucknell juggernaut of the past two seasons. They have been inconsistent on both sides as Pat Flannery has struggled to find a set rotation. The inability of Donald Brown to adjust to playing the three has kept Flannery from being able to put his best five players on the floor at the same time, a problem that has been exacerbated by guys like Chris McNaughton and Abe Badmus getting into foul trouble. Badmus also has to begin contributing more on offense. He has the ability to get into the paint with dribble penetration, but has seemed to lack the confidence to finish when he gets there. If Badmus would start getting himself to the foul line instead of sending opponents there, it would be a huge plus.
COLGATE: Home losses to sub-.500 teams like Stony Brook and Canisius have folks around the league wondering if it is possible they have misjudged the level of talent on the Raiders roster. The injury loss of a guy like Kyle Roemer certainly has not helped. But Roemer's spot on the wing was a spot where Colgate seemed to have a lot of depth. In fact, in the preseason the bigger problem facing coach Emmett Davis seemed to be finding enough minutes for all his perimeter talent.
On paper, Colgate seemed to have the talent to contend for the league title. On the floor they have seemed like it will be a challenge for them to finish ahead of the service academies in the league standings. Until somebody other than Jon Simon starts to perform well on a consistent basis, Colgate will continue to struggle.
HOLY CROSS: When healthy, the Crusaders starting five is as good as any in the league. But Holy Cross has not been healthy and the lack of depth exposed by the latest rash of injuries is taking its toll. At this point HC seems two healthy players away from being the league favorite and a Keith Simmons injury away from going the complete opposite direction.
Pat Doherty will return during conference play, but how effective will he be down the stretch after missing almost all of last season to his foot problems and now a month or so of this season to the broken hand. Lawrence Dixon's knee has his status for the remainder of the season in doubt. The only good news about freshman Andrew Keister's stress fracture is that he has only played four games and should be eligible for a medical redshirt.
Simmons' sprained knee should be O.K for conference play if he does not reinjure it, but the reappearance of his cramping problems in the 'Saders last game (George Mason) is a huge concern. With the limited bench Ralph Willard has available, anything that greatly limits Simmons' minutes will be a real problem. And then there is Torey Thomas, who is playing 40 minutes a game on a knee not fully recovered from off-season surgery.
As long as Simmons and Thomas can still walk, Holy Cross will remain one of the top teams in the league. Without them, things could get ugly in a hurry in Worcester.
LAFAYETTE: Scholarships finally arrived in Easton, but it will take more than one recruiting class for the 'Pards to catch up to folks who have had them for years. Six-seven freshman Jesper Andersson has emerged as a threat on the wing, adding to a plethora of outside shooters available to O'Hanlon, but up front the Leopards are as thin as cheap wrapping paper. Matt Betley has given a yeoman's effort as an undersized (6-4) four, but how he will hold up to the constant banging against bigger, stronger guys over the course of the season remains to be seen.
At their best, Lafayette can rain threes. When they don't fall though, the 'Pards are in trouble because they just are not big enough or strong enough to get it done on the boards, as evidenced by the way they have been outrebounded to the tune of almost 10 per game.
The good news for Lafayette fans: Wait until next year actually means something for the 'Pards, who ought to quickly become competitive when O'Hanlon has the talent to compete.
LEHIGH: Just when it seemed Jason Mgebroff was finally realizing the potential he showed as a freshman, the Mountain Hawks big man got hurt. He will return around the second half of the conference schedule, but without him, a young Lehigh team will struggle to compete inside with some of the better frontcourts in the league.
Lucky for Lehigh, those "better frontcourts" are not a commodity much of the conference is blessed with. Luckier still, it was not Jose Olivero who got hurt. At the risk of seeming redundant, as long as the Mountain Hawks have Olivero, they always will have a chance of shooting down any team in the league.
Freshman point guard Marquis Hall has more than lived up to high expectations, giving Lehigh, when Mgebroff is healthy, as good a first five as there is in the league. Depth remains a big question mark though. Add in an inability to win on the road and the Mountain Hawks appear to have their work cut out for them if they want to remain ahead of Army and navy, ;et alone if they want to challenge the league's top teams.
NAVY: Like Army, the Mids are markedly better. Also like Army, their nine non-conference wins thus far have included two over Division III foes and none against any real quality foes. Six of the seven wins over D-Is came against teams with RPI's over 200.
The similarities with their archrivals don't end there. Like Army, Navy has benefited from the presence of a freshman in the post. In this case it is 6-10 Trey Stanton who has filled the void in the middle.
Greg Sprink continues to show he is one fo the league's top offensive threats. Kaleo Kina and Corey Johnson combine with Sprink to form a very good backcourt.
Alumni Hall continues to be one of the league's toughest road venues. The Midshipmen are unlikely to contend for the championship, but they likely will have a lot to say about who will.
All in all, it is shaping up like a very competitive year for a conference that certainly appears to be on its way up.
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There have been plenty of seasons of parity in the league. In 1994, four teams finished the regular season at 9-5 in conference play, resulting in a pair of semifinals decided by a total of 5 points (including one overtime game) and a final that Navy won at home by 2 (over Colgate the year before Adonal Foyle arrived). That was the only season a team with five league losses managed to claim the top seed for the tournament. (An interesting note: That season Navy placed nobody on the first or second All-Patriot teams despite being the top seed).
The next two seasons Colgate won the conference, but each year the Raiders finished with three losses in conference play and needed a tiebreaker to gain top seed for the postseason.
In 2002, American won the regular season despite four conference setbacks, with four other teams over .500 in league play.
Looking around the league, it would not be surprising to see this year's regular season champs with four or even five losses. With the marked improvement at both of the service academies, Lafayette is the closest thing to a gimme in the league, and Fran O'Hanlon's Leopards have always had a knack, even in their down years, for pulling off an upset or two at home.
Here are a few team-by-team thoughts, done in alphabetical order (so please Lehigh fans, no hate mail for listing the Mountain Hawks seventh):
AMERICAN: A veteran team with a proven star in Andre Ingram, a talented point guard in Derrick Mercer, scoring off the bench in Arvydas Eitutavicius and as much size up front as anybody in the league, the Eagles 7-4 start has done nothing to take away from their preseason status as a contender.
Paulius Joneliunas and Brayden Billbe already can claim the titles of the league's biggest frontcourt and the frontcourt with the most unusual names. If they can also rank among the league's toughest, this could be teh Eagles year.
Cornelio Guibunda is as athletic as they come in the Patriot League, but still lacks polish. It will be interesting to see how far his athleticism can take him in league play. If he is a factor off the bench, AU's threesome could potentially challenge Bucknell's trio of Chris McNaughton, Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo as the league's best three-man rotation in the frontcourt.
ARMY: Dramatically better, the 9-3 Black Knights have already won more games than they did the last three seasons combined. Jarrell Brown might be the best offensive player in the league. Matt Bell is healthy and back to form. And freshman Chris Walker's 6-8 presence in the middle gives Army the legitimate post player it has lacked in Jim Crews first four seasons. It's worth noting that although Walker is a freshman, he had the equivalent of a redshirt season at Army's prep school last year. Walker is one of seven players on the Army roster who have spent a year at USMAPS, making the Black Knights a more mature team than the roster might indicate at first glance.
No doubt the 9-3 record reflects more than just Army being better. The wins have come against a mix of weak Division I and mediocre Division III sides. Still, Army will be a tough out this season, especially in Christl Arena.
BUCKNELL: The Bison need to sweep two games at Marist's tournament this weekend to avoid entering conference play below .500. That will be a challenge; Marist, Bucknell's likely opponent in the final (assuming the Bison get past a very weak Central Arkansas team in the opener), is unbeaten at home, 8-3 with two wins over top 100 RPI teams.
Even a game below .500 in the preseason, the Bison are probably still the favorite to win the league. The level of competition Bucknell has faced is clearly a notch above most of the rest of the league and all but two of their non-conference games have been away from home. Bucknell's wins over George Mason and Xavier are easily the league's best wins to date.
That said, this is definitely not the Bucknell juggernaut of the past two seasons. They have been inconsistent on both sides as Pat Flannery has struggled to find a set rotation. The inability of Donald Brown to adjust to playing the three has kept Flannery from being able to put his best five players on the floor at the same time, a problem that has been exacerbated by guys like Chris McNaughton and Abe Badmus getting into foul trouble. Badmus also has to begin contributing more on offense. He has the ability to get into the paint with dribble penetration, but has seemed to lack the confidence to finish when he gets there. If Badmus would start getting himself to the foul line instead of sending opponents there, it would be a huge plus.
COLGATE: Home losses to sub-.500 teams like Stony Brook and Canisius have folks around the league wondering if it is possible they have misjudged the level of talent on the Raiders roster. The injury loss of a guy like Kyle Roemer certainly has not helped. But Roemer's spot on the wing was a spot where Colgate seemed to have a lot of depth. In fact, in the preseason the bigger problem facing coach Emmett Davis seemed to be finding enough minutes for all his perimeter talent.
On paper, Colgate seemed to have the talent to contend for the league title. On the floor they have seemed like it will be a challenge for them to finish ahead of the service academies in the league standings. Until somebody other than Jon Simon starts to perform well on a consistent basis, Colgate will continue to struggle.
HOLY CROSS: When healthy, the Crusaders starting five is as good as any in the league. But Holy Cross has not been healthy and the lack of depth exposed by the latest rash of injuries is taking its toll. At this point HC seems two healthy players away from being the league favorite and a Keith Simmons injury away from going the complete opposite direction.
Pat Doherty will return during conference play, but how effective will he be down the stretch after missing almost all of last season to his foot problems and now a month or so of this season to the broken hand. Lawrence Dixon's knee has his status for the remainder of the season in doubt. The only good news about freshman Andrew Keister's stress fracture is that he has only played four games and should be eligible for a medical redshirt.
Simmons' sprained knee should be O.K for conference play if he does not reinjure it, but the reappearance of his cramping problems in the 'Saders last game (George Mason) is a huge concern. With the limited bench Ralph Willard has available, anything that greatly limits Simmons' minutes will be a real problem. And then there is Torey Thomas, who is playing 40 minutes a game on a knee not fully recovered from off-season surgery.
As long as Simmons and Thomas can still walk, Holy Cross will remain one of the top teams in the league. Without them, things could get ugly in a hurry in Worcester.
LAFAYETTE: Scholarships finally arrived in Easton, but it will take more than one recruiting class for the 'Pards to catch up to folks who have had them for years. Six-seven freshman Jesper Andersson has emerged as a threat on the wing, adding to a plethora of outside shooters available to O'Hanlon, but up front the Leopards are as thin as cheap wrapping paper. Matt Betley has given a yeoman's effort as an undersized (6-4) four, but how he will hold up to the constant banging against bigger, stronger guys over the course of the season remains to be seen.
At their best, Lafayette can rain threes. When they don't fall though, the 'Pards are in trouble because they just are not big enough or strong enough to get it done on the boards, as evidenced by the way they have been outrebounded to the tune of almost 10 per game.
The good news for Lafayette fans: Wait until next year actually means something for the 'Pards, who ought to quickly become competitive when O'Hanlon has the talent to compete.
LEHIGH: Just when it seemed Jason Mgebroff was finally realizing the potential he showed as a freshman, the Mountain Hawks big man got hurt. He will return around the second half of the conference schedule, but without him, a young Lehigh team will struggle to compete inside with some of the better frontcourts in the league.
Lucky for Lehigh, those "better frontcourts" are not a commodity much of the conference is blessed with. Luckier still, it was not Jose Olivero who got hurt. At the risk of seeming redundant, as long as the Mountain Hawks have Olivero, they always will have a chance of shooting down any team in the league.
Freshman point guard Marquis Hall has more than lived up to high expectations, giving Lehigh, when Mgebroff is healthy, as good a first five as there is in the league. Depth remains a big question mark though. Add in an inability to win on the road and the Mountain Hawks appear to have their work cut out for them if they want to remain ahead of Army and navy, ;et alone if they want to challenge the league's top teams.
NAVY: Like Army, the Mids are markedly better. Also like Army, their nine non-conference wins thus far have included two over Division III foes and none against any real quality foes. Six of the seven wins over D-Is came against teams with RPI's over 200.
The similarities with their archrivals don't end there. Like Army, Navy has benefited from the presence of a freshman in the post. In this case it is 6-10 Trey Stanton who has filled the void in the middle.
Greg Sprink continues to show he is one fo the league's top offensive threats. Kaleo Kina and Corey Johnson combine with Sprink to form a very good backcourt.
Alumni Hall continues to be one of the league's toughest road venues. The Midshipmen are unlikely to contend for the championship, but they likely will have a lot to say about who will.
All in all, it is shaping up like a very competitive year for a conference that certainly appears to be on its way up.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, notebook
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Sunday, December 17, 2006
Tidbits and trivia from the Bison's 70-66 win Saturday at Cornell:
Bucknell's big men were all but invisible in the first half. The combination of starters Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown and first guy off the bench Darren Mastropaolo had a combined 4 points (all by Brown) and 4 rebounds. Cornell center Andrew Naeve had 6 points and 4 rebounds himself. Cornell's nominal four-man, 6-6 freshman Ryan Wittman (who is really more of a small forward playing with three guards and Naeve) had 9 points, including three treys.
The second half was a different story, with McNaughton going 3 for 4 from the field and 3 for 3 at the line to finish with 9 points while Brown added 10 second half points on 4 for 6 shooting from the field. Wittman added just a pair of free throws in the second half and Naeve ended up with 10 points.
When John Griffin missed thre front end of a three-shot foul at the 5:15 mark of the first half, it was his first missed free throw of the season, ending a streak of 29 makes in a row, dating to last season. Griffin responded by starting a new streak, hitting the back two. That streak ended when Griffin went to the line for three with a chance to cut the Cornell lead to 1 with 8:11 to play. Griffin missed the first two.
Abe Badmus played the entire first half with one personal, then picked up three in the first 8:11 of the second, including a curious call on his fourth foul which came when Badmus got in the way of Louis Dale's forearm as Dale pushed him off . That foul was Bucknell's seventh, putting Cornell to the line the rest of the way. At that point, Cornell had a total of 9 personals for the game.
In a classic case of evening things up, the next three fouls were called on Cornell and the two teams actually picked up their 10th team fouls within 18 seconds of each other. In the end, Badmus managed to avoid fouling out while Cornell lost the services of senior point guard Graham Dow when he picked up his fifth personal with 3:22 to play. Bucknell ended up with 18 team fouls, Cornell 17 and both teams shot 20 free throws, with Bucknell making 15, Cornell 17.
Bucknell started the same five as started the George Mason game, with Donald Brown at the four, Jason Vegotsky at the three and Darren Mastropaolo coming off the bench. Pat Flannery used 11 guys in the first half, but shortened his rotation to 8 in the second, with freshman Patrick Behand and Stephen Tyree and junior Andrew Morrison stuck to the pine after the intermission.
The teams' field goal shooting in the two halves was a mirror image. The first 20 minutes, Cornell went 14 for 24 from the floor (58.3 percent), making 6 of 9 from the three-point arc. In the second, the Big Red made just 7 of 18 field goal tries (38.9 percent), 1 of 7 three-point tries. Bucknell was 13 for 23 (56.5 percent) in the second half (3 of 7 threes) after going 11 for 26 (42.3 percent) from the field in the first half (including 4 of 10 from the arc).
BISON CHIPS: Sophomore Justin Castleberry's 11 points tied his career-high set earlier this season at Yale . . . The Bucknell win, the Bison's fourth in a row over Cornell, either ties, or puts Bucknell up one, in the all-time series between the 'nells. Bucknell's pre-game notes said the series was tied at 21-21, Cornell claimed a 21-20 edge in its notes . . . The series is one of the oldest rivalries in college basketball, dating to 1898 . . . The Bison win evens the season series between the Ivies and the Patriots at 8-8 with four games between the two conferences yet to be played . . . With his 6 for 8 showing Brown is no shooting over 60 percent from the field . . . Brown is 34 for 51 in eight games since going 1 for 7 in Bucknell's season opener at Albany . . . The game was the second of a six-game stretch away from home for Bucknell, which has played in its own gym only twice thus far . . . Bucknell won't play a third game in Sojka Pavilion until it opens league play Jan. 6 against Navy . . . Brown's 14 points leave him one point shy of 600 for his career . . . Also one shy of a milestone: Bison coach Pat Flannery, who picked up the 299th win of his career . . . Cornell's nine-man rotation included two seniors, two sophomores and five freshmen . . . A third senior, guard Kevin App, shows up in the boxscore thanks to a 2 second cameo with 8 seconds to play in the first half when he was inserted long enough to intentionally use up Cornell's sixth team foul in an effort to shorten the clock at the end of the half . . . Bucknell, which has nobody averaging in double figures, had six players score 9 or more points against Cornell, including four in double figures for the fourth time this season . . . Bucknell's resumes its road warrior routine Wednesday in Cincinnati against Xavier . . . From there it is on to Lubbock, Tx. For a Saturday encounter with Texas Tech . . . Tech coach Bobby Knight will be looking to tie former North Carolina mentor Dean Smith as college basketball's all-time winningest coach in that game.
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The second half was a different story, with McNaughton going 3 for 4 from the field and 3 for 3 at the line to finish with 9 points while Brown added 10 second half points on 4 for 6 shooting from the field. Wittman added just a pair of free throws in the second half and Naeve ended up with 10 points.
BISON CHIPS: Sophomore Justin Castleberry's 11 points tied his career-high set earlier this season at Yale . . . The Bucknell win, the Bison's fourth in a row over Cornell, either ties, or puts Bucknell up one, in the all-time series between the 'nells. Bucknell's pre-game notes said the series was tied at 21-21, Cornell claimed a 21-20 edge in its notes . . . The series is one of the oldest rivalries in college basketball, dating to 1898 . . . The Bison win evens the season series between the Ivies and the Patriots at 8-8 with four games between the two conferences yet to be played . . . With his 6 for 8 showing Brown is no shooting over 60 percent from the field . . . Brown is 34 for 51 in eight games since going 1 for 7 in Bucknell's season opener at Albany . . . The game was the second of a six-game stretch away from home for Bucknell, which has played in its own gym only twice thus far . . . Bucknell won't play a third game in Sojka Pavilion until it opens league play Jan. 6 against Navy . . . Brown's 14 points leave him one point shy of 600 for his career . . . Also one shy of a milestone: Bison coach Pat Flannery, who picked up the 299th win of his career . . . Cornell's nine-man rotation included two seniors, two sophomores and five freshmen . . . A third senior, guard Kevin App, shows up in the boxscore thanks to a 2 second cameo with 8 seconds to play in the first half when he was inserted long enough to intentionally use up Cornell's sixth team foul in an effort to shorten the clock at the end of the half . . . Bucknell, which has nobody averaging in double figures, had six players score 9 or more points against Cornell, including four in double figures for the fourth time this season . . . Bucknell's resumes its road warrior routine Wednesday in Cincinnati against Xavier . . . From there it is on to Lubbock, Tx. For a Saturday encounter with Texas Tech . . . Tech coach Bobby Knight will be looking to tie former North Carolina mentor Dean Smith as college basketball's all-time winningest coach in that game.
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Friday, December 01, 2006
HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK
It was a popular theme at media day, a party line all eight coaches recited during their comments. "The league is stronger this year," they said
They were right. Heading into Navy's game tonight at Longwood, the Patriot League is a healthy 30-25 against out of conference competition. Five of the eight teams sport winning records, two have RPIs in the top 100. Right now, the Patriot League is the No. 14 conference in the RPI. That is even ahead of the Atlantic Ten.
Last season the Patriot League went a combined 40-58 out of conference, with an RPI of 21.
One big difference this season: Nobody in the league is +300 in the RPI. Only three teams (Colgate -- 267, Lafayette -- 265, and Lehigh -- 254) are even above 200. If Bucknell (195) can improve, and the rest hold their current spots in the top 120 (Army -- 120, American -- 116, Holy Cross -- 90 and Navy --77), the league's top teams ought to see much less negative RPI impact from conference play.
BACK TO BACK: With Bucknell set to play a rare back-to-back set with Northern Iowa and George Mason this weekend, we decided to do a little digging to see how the Bison have fared in back-to-back games over the years. The results are half-empty or half-full, depending on your point of view. That is to say, if form holds, Bucknell will knock off somebody pretty good this weekend. By the same logic, though, they will also lose to such a team.
The split has definitely been the norm over the years. Our quick check back through the years showed 23 times in the Pat Flannery era where the Bison played on successive dates. Fifteen of those occasions resulted in splits. Bucknell has swept three of those sets and lost both ends five times.
The last time Bucknell won games on back-to-back days was at the start of the 1999-2000 season when they won the Marist Pepsi Classic with wins over Maine and Marist. The last they lost both was the start of the 2001-02 season, when they dropped games to Central Connecticut and vermont at the Mohegan Sun Classic.
Might be worth noting that in all of those situations, both games were played the same place, not one in Lewisburg and one on the road in D.C. like they will be this weekend.
FIRE WHEN READY: Looking for keys to Navy's turnaround. Try their shooting. The Midshipmen are shooting 48.7 percent from the field, second best in the league. The Mids lead the league in free throw percentage (81.5 percent) and their average of 10.29 three-pointer per game also tops the Patriot League.
The Mids have made 166 baskets thus far; 72 have been threes. Threes are accounting for 43.1 percent of Navy's scoring, which makes them the ninth most dependent on the three team in the nation, according to stats guru Ken Pomeroy, whose numbers we will have some fun with in future notebooks.
LEND A HAND: Another big plus for Navy has been its assists to turnover ratio, currently a league leading 1.04. The last time Navy finished a season with more assists than turnovers was the 1996-97 season.
Navy's 15.43 assists per game leads the league and the Mids have gone 9 straight games, dating to last season, without more than 20 turnovers in a game. That is the Midshipmen's longest such streak since they went 14 games without 20 turnovers during the 1998 season.
NEW YEAR: It has been quiet and under the radar, but Holy Cross sophomore center Greg mcCarthy is starting to emerge a little for the Crusaders. Last season, some speculated whether McCarthy would ever get off Ralph Willard's bench. The 6-11 McCarthy only played 15 minutes all season, finishing with 4 points and 1 rebound.
Through seven games, McCarthy has not been the second coming of Patrick Whearty, or even of Nate Lufkin. But he is contributing. McCarthy already has played 60 minutes, with 17 points and 6 rebounds to his credit.
LOTS OF EYES: The crowd that watched Holy Cross' loss at Syracuse on Wednesday was the biggest crowd to see a Crusaders regular season game since the school began keeping attendance records in 1982. A total of 19,235 were on hand in the Carrier Dome. That was the third-largest crowd HC has ever played in front of. The 6,612 on hand for their 2002 NCAA Tournament game with Kansas ranks No.1, followed by the Marquette game (20,960) in the following year's Big Dance.
CAUTIONARY TALE: A midst the intoxicating excitement of the unexpected fast starts teams like Army and Navy, a sobering
tale from the Army record books. Army's 5-2 start is the best at West Point since the 1994-95 team also started 5-2. A win at the Citadel Saturday would equal the 6-2 start of Army's 1978-79 team, coached by none other than Mike Krzyzewski.
The 94-95 start resulted in a 12-16 final record, 4-10, just ahead of last place Lafayette, in the Patriot League. Krzyzewski's team did a little better, finishing 14-11 in what would be Coach K's next to last season by the Hudson.
CONCENTRATION: Not hard to figure out where the ball is going in Army's offense. Through the first seven games, Jarrell Brown and Matt Bell have combined to score 235 of Army's 460 points (51.1 percent). At their current pace the duo will combine for 1,000 points this season.
Through the first seven, each has reached double figures six times. Brown, who leads the team with an 18.1 points per game average, has led the Black Knight's in scoring four time. Bell, who averages 15.4 ppg, has been top scorer for Army in the other three.
BALANCING ACT: If there is a team that is the antithesis to Army when it comes to scoring balance, it would be Bucknell, which has nobody averaging in double figures, but six guys averaging between 8.3 and 9.5 points per game. Chris McNaughton, the team's leading scorer, has tallied 57 points thus far. Donald Brown has 55. John Griffin, Abe Badmus and Jason Vegotsky each have 53 and Darren Mastropaolo has scored 50.
Each has led the team in scoring at least one game. Brown has done it in the past two. Rob Thomas shared the honors with Abe Badmus (16 points) against Wake Forest. Two others, Andrew Morrison and Justin Castleberry, have also recorded double figures games for the Bison.
BONUS LINKS: Bison center struggling to find form (Tom Housenick's column)
Freshman guard learning on the move (brown and White)
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It was a popular theme at media day, a party line all eight coaches recited during their comments. "The league is stronger this year," they said
They were right. Heading into Navy's game tonight at Longwood, the Patriot League is a healthy 30-25 against out of conference competition. Five of the eight teams sport winning records, two have RPIs in the top 100. Right now, the Patriot League is the No. 14 conference in the RPI. That is even ahead of the Atlantic Ten.
Last season the Patriot League went a combined 40-58 out of conference, with an RPI of 21.
One big difference this season: Nobody in the league is +300 in the RPI. Only three teams (Colgate -- 267, Lafayette -- 265, and Lehigh -- 254) are even above 200. If Bucknell (195) can improve, and the rest hold their current spots in the top 120 (Army -- 120, American -- 116, Holy Cross -- 90 and Navy --77), the league's top teams ought to see much less negative RPI impact from conference play.
BACK TO BACK: With Bucknell set to play a rare back-to-back set with Northern Iowa and George Mason this weekend, we decided to do a little digging to see how the Bison have fared in back-to-back games over the years. The results are half-empty or half-full, depending on your point of view. That is to say, if form holds, Bucknell will knock off somebody pretty good this weekend. By the same logic, though, they will also lose to such a team.
The split has definitely been the norm over the years. Our quick check back through the years showed 23 times in the Pat Flannery era where the Bison played on successive dates. Fifteen of those occasions resulted in splits. Bucknell has swept three of those sets and lost both ends five times.
The last time Bucknell won games on back-to-back days was at the start of the 1999-2000 season when they won the Marist Pepsi Classic with wins over Maine and Marist. The last they lost both was the start of the 2001-02 season, when they dropped games to Central Connecticut and vermont at the Mohegan Sun Classic.
Might be worth noting that in all of those situations, both games were played the same place, not one in Lewisburg and one on the road in D.C. like they will be this weekend.
FIRE WHEN READY: Looking for keys to Navy's turnaround. Try their shooting. The Midshipmen are shooting 48.7 percent from the field, second best in the league. The Mids lead the league in free throw percentage (81.5 percent) and their average of 10.29 three-pointer per game also tops the Patriot League.
The Mids have made 166 baskets thus far; 72 have been threes. Threes are accounting for 43.1 percent of Navy's scoring, which makes them the ninth most dependent on the three team in the nation, according to stats guru Ken Pomeroy, whose numbers we will have some fun with in future notebooks.
LEND A HAND: Another big plus for Navy has been its assists to turnover ratio, currently a league leading 1.04. The last time Navy finished a season with more assists than turnovers was the 1996-97 season.
Navy's 15.43 assists per game leads the league and the Mids have gone 9 straight games, dating to last season, without more than 20 turnovers in a game. That is the Midshipmen's longest such streak since they went 14 games without 20 turnovers during the 1998 season.
NEW YEAR: It has been quiet and under the radar, but Holy Cross sophomore center Greg mcCarthy is starting to emerge a little for the Crusaders. Last season, some speculated whether McCarthy would ever get off Ralph Willard's bench. The 6-11 McCarthy only played 15 minutes all season, finishing with 4 points and 1 rebound.
Through seven games, McCarthy has not been the second coming of Patrick Whearty, or even of Nate Lufkin. But he is contributing. McCarthy already has played 60 minutes, with 17 points and 6 rebounds to his credit.
LOTS OF EYES: The crowd that watched Holy Cross' loss at Syracuse on Wednesday was the biggest crowd to see a Crusaders regular season game since the school began keeping attendance records in 1982. A total of 19,235 were on hand in the Carrier Dome. That was the third-largest crowd HC has ever played in front of. The 6,612 on hand for their 2002 NCAA Tournament game with Kansas ranks No.1, followed by the Marquette game (20,960) in the following year's Big Dance.
CAUTIONARY TALE: A midst the intoxicating excitement of the unexpected fast starts teams like Army and Navy, a sobering
tale from the Army record books. Army's 5-2 start is the best at West Point since the 1994-95 team also started 5-2. A win at the Citadel Saturday would equal the 6-2 start of Army's 1978-79 team, coached by none other than Mike Krzyzewski.
The 94-95 start resulted in a 12-16 final record, 4-10, just ahead of last place Lafayette, in the Patriot League. Krzyzewski's team did a little better, finishing 14-11 in what would be Coach K's next to last season by the Hudson.
CONCENTRATION: Not hard to figure out where the ball is going in Army's offense. Through the first seven games, Jarrell Brown and Matt Bell have combined to score 235 of Army's 460 points (51.1 percent). At their current pace the duo will combine for 1,000 points this season.
Through the first seven, each has reached double figures six times. Brown, who leads the team with an 18.1 points per game average, has led the Black Knight's in scoring four time. Bell, who averages 15.4 ppg, has been top scorer for Army in the other three.
BALANCING ACT: If there is a team that is the antithesis to Army when it comes to scoring balance, it would be Bucknell, which has nobody averaging in double figures, but six guys averaging between 8.3 and 9.5 points per game. Chris McNaughton, the team's leading scorer, has tallied 57 points thus far. Donald Brown has 55. John Griffin, Abe Badmus and Jason Vegotsky each have 53 and Darren Mastropaolo has scored 50.
Each has led the team in scoring at least one game. Brown has done it in the past two. Rob Thomas shared the honors with Abe Badmus (16 points) against Wake Forest. Two others, Andrew Morrison and Justin Castleberry, have also recorded double figures games for the Bison.
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Labels: Army, BU, HC, Navy, notebook
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Friday, November 24, 2006
HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK
The last time Bucknell was in New Haven, they arrived with a sub-.500 record. They battled their way to a 73-65 win over Yale in overtime and went on to win 11 in a row en route to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
That is not to say Bucknell is headed back to the tournament if they win at Yale. Pat Flannery is still trying to figure out how his pieces fit. By the time league play begins in January, Flannery will have his answers, for good or ill.
The point is simply that despite an 0-4 start, it is way too early to be counting the Bison out of anything. Those four losses have been to opponents with a combined record of 12-2. None of the four losses have been by more than 10 points. Two came in overtime, each by 3 points. The Bison even had decent leads in each, leads that wilted under rotation problems still to be resolved. Some combinations that have played thus far have really struggled to score. That has not been helped by the constant foul trouble the Bison have found, which has forced Bison coach Pat Flannery to use guys in roles he perhaps had not planned.
None of the foul trouble has been more troublesome than that being experienced by6-11 senior center Chris McNaughton, who has found it difficult to stay on the floor for any extended stretches. The lack of run has hurt McNaughton's offense. He has found it difficult to find a rhythm in most games.
Meanwhile, the development of juniors Darren Mastropaolo and Andrew Morrison has done a lot to solidify the frontline rotation. Mastropaolo's ability to score in the post combines well with Morrison's ability to shoot the jumper when McNaughton comes out of the game and Mastropaolo slides over to the five.
Donald Brown's problems adjusting to the small forward role are another problem. Unless Brown starts hitting a few jumpers occasionally, at least enough of them to force people to guard him 10 feet from the basket, Rob Thomas and Jason Vegotsky will need to play a lot at the three, just to give Flannery some scoring options. Problem is, Thomas (6-3) and Vegotsky (6-2) are more third guards than small forwards. They lack Brown's size (6-6) and athleticism to defend bigger threes. Charles Lee (6-3) could get away with it because of his strength and athleticism.
Of course a lot of these pieces are easier to fit into place if McNaughton snaps out of the funk he has been in and point guard Abe Badmus finds some comfort offensively.
Badmus seems to be struggling with his role. Flannery insists Badmus has the offensive game to do the things being asked of him this season -- namely more scoring. But Badmus has seemed conflicted in that role. After three seasons unselfishly finding others for their shot, Badmus seems hesitant to take his own, especially early in the shot clock. Too many possessions have begun with Badmus passing on open jumpers and ended with him turning the ball over after desperately driving into a help defense double-team as the shot clock winds down.
If Badmus starts taking those open looks (and knocking a few down) earlier in the clock, it will open things up for the Bison inside. Badmus might also think about trying to finish on more of those drives. He is strong enough, and has the springs, to take it to the rack against bigger men. Might even draw few fouls, which could have the added benefit of forcing opponents to be more guarded in their aggressive physical defensive tactics employed against the Bison big men (especially McNaughton).
With McNaughton and Badmus both seemingly in a funk, it begs the question: Are they a little burned out? The two have spent the last two summers with national teams. Badmus was point guard for the Nigerian national team in 2005 when the D'Tigers qualified for the 2006 World Championships and was the last guy cut before the D'Tigers left for Japan this summer. McNaughton was also one of the last two cut from the German team that played in Japan. He played internationally with Germany's World University Games team in the summer of 2005.
Bucknell's schedule lightens considerably following the four games in eight days stretch that starts at Yale and ends with nest weekend's back to back games against Northern Iowa and George Mason. The Bison only have five games the remaining 28 days of the year. Maybe the lighter schedule and the lighter practice schedule during finals will help rejuvenate them.
We shall see.
In the meantime, it is definitely not a one-team league in the Patriot this season.
Here's some news and notes from elsewhere:
BIG MAN IS BACK: Lehigh's Jason Mgebroff is a big guy. At 6-10, 275-pounds, Mgebroff showed tremendous promise as a freshman, averaging 7 points per game. As a sophomore, Mgebroff started 27 games, and averages 8.7 ppg. Small progress, especially in a league without many quality big men, but at least some progress.
Last season, though, Mgebrioff was like the holes of those donuts he was rumored to be so fond of. He left nothing in the middle for Lehigh. Reports from Bethlehem indicated Mgebroff reported overweight and out of shape when practice began. A foot injury early in the season did not help matters any. Whatever the reasons, whatever the spin, the bottom line was simple. After starting 43 games his first two seasons, Mgebroff found himself unable to beat out a stiff like Mike Fischman for the starting center job. Mgebroff's minutes dropped from an average of over 22 per game his first two seasons to 12.9 per game as a junior. His scoring (3.7 ppg) and rebounding (2.4 rpg) were career lows. Averaging better than 54 percent shooting from the field his first two seasons, Mgebroff plummeted to a 44 percent showing as a junior.
So far this season, Mgebroff is showing signs of finally fulfilling the promise exhibited his freshman season, when he scored 42 points in three league tournament games, making the All-Tournament team and helping Lehigh to the title. Through six games, Mgebroff, who looks slimmer, and much quicker, than he did last season, is averaging 12.7 ppg and shooting 73 percent from the field. He is also grabbing 6.2 rebounds per game, by far a career mark should it hold up over the course of the season. his scoring and rebounding numbers are tops among league big men thus far.
Last season, Mgebroff scored in double figures one time against Division I opposition, scoring 10 against Lafayette. This season, Mgebroff reached double figures in each of the Mountain Hawks' first four contests, missing a combined total of just five shots from the field during that stretch.
HOME COOKING: Holy Cross has started the season 4-0 for the first time in the Ralph Willard era. The Crusaders will look to go to 5-0 for the first time since 1988-89 Saturday when they host William and Mary. The only unbeaten team in the league, Holy Cross is also the only team that has played three home games to date. Bucknell and Lafayette, the two teams with the worst records in the league, have played just one home game each.
Navy may have the most impressive early season record when homecourts are factored into the equation. The 4-1 Mids have yet to play in Alumni Hall. Navy's lone "home" game was played at the ShowPlace Arena in nearby Upper Marlboro, Md. because some Fillipino dance troupe was appearing in Alumni Hall that night.
NO SWEAT: Keith Simmons does not seem to be sweating those cramping problems that hobbled the Holy Cross winger last season. Through four games, Simmons is averaging 34.5 minutes per game. His 18.8 points per game are second in the league only to Lehigh's Jose Olivero. Simmons 6.2 rebounds per game are tied for fourth.
In the Patriot League, only teammate Torey Thomas (37 mpg) is averaging more minutes than Simmons.
NO MINUTES: Notable for their lack of early season playing time: Army's John Moonshower, who showed a lot of promise the end of last season, has played a total of two minutes, appearing in three of Army's five games. One-time starter Jimmy Sewell has also played in just three games for the Black Knights. Sewell has produced 2 rebounds and 2 points in his eight minutes of action.
Georgetown-transfer Cornelio Guibunda, touted as one of the nation's top recruits when he signed with the Hoyas out of high school, has appeared in two of American's four-games, playing 7 minutes and totaling two free throws, a turnover and a steal.
NOT SEEING DOUBLE: Only one team has nobody averaging in double figures scoring. That team is Bucknell, which is led by Darren Mastropaolo and Jason Vegotsky, each averaging 9.8 ppg. Lafayette, led by Matt Betley (12.4 ppg) is the only other team without at least two players averaging in double figures.
Lehigh leads the way with three players averaging in doubles -- Jose Olivero (league leading 20.2 ppg), Jason Mgebroff (12.7 ppg) and Kyle Neptune (11.3 ppg).
TAKING OFFENSE: Think of Billy Taylor-coached you think of defense first. The Hawks have consistently been among the league's top defensive teams under Taylor, and pride themselves on that style of play.
So it might come as a little surprise to notice the Mountain Hawks are averaging a league-leading 73.3 ppg and giving up 75 ppg, second most allowed in the league.
NAVY ON THE LINE: The Mids are hitting an impressive 66.5 percent from the foul line thus far. Much of the credit for that league-leading stat goes to plebes Trey Stanton (12 for 12) and T.J. Topercer, who are a combined 23 of 24. Sophomore guard Kaleo Kina (16 for 18) has also been impressive.
CAN'T MISS: Speaking of good free throw shooting, five league players have yet to miss from the charity stripe. In addition to Stanton, HC center Tim Clifford is 10 for 10, Bucknell guard John Griffin is 9 for 9. Colgate bench guys Willie Morse (8 for 8) and Alex Woodhouse (4 for 4) also have not missed.
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The last time Bucknell was in New Haven, they arrived with a sub-.500 record. They battled their way to a 73-65 win over Yale in overtime and went on to win 11 in a row en route to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
That is not to say Bucknell is headed back to the tournament if they win at Yale. Pat Flannery is still trying to figure out how his pieces fit. By the time league play begins in January, Flannery will have his answers, for good or ill.
The point is simply that despite an 0-4 start, it is way too early to be counting the Bison out of anything. Those four losses have been to opponents with a combined record of 12-2. None of the four losses have been by more than 10 points. Two came in overtime, each by 3 points. The Bison even had decent leads in each, leads that wilted under rotation problems still to be resolved. Some combinations that have played thus far have really struggled to score. That has not been helped by the constant foul trouble the Bison have found, which has forced Bison coach Pat Flannery to use guys in roles he perhaps had not planned.
None of the foul trouble has been more troublesome than that being experienced by6-11 senior center Chris McNaughton, who has found it difficult to stay on the floor for any extended stretches. The lack of run has hurt McNaughton's offense. He has found it difficult to find a rhythm in most games.
Meanwhile, the development of juniors Darren Mastropaolo and Andrew Morrison has done a lot to solidify the frontline rotation. Mastropaolo's ability to score in the post combines well with Morrison's ability to shoot the jumper when McNaughton comes out of the game and Mastropaolo slides over to the five.
Donald Brown's problems adjusting to the small forward role are another problem. Unless Brown starts hitting a few jumpers occasionally, at least enough of them to force people to guard him 10 feet from the basket, Rob Thomas and Jason Vegotsky will need to play a lot at the three, just to give Flannery some scoring options. Problem is, Thomas (6-3) and Vegotsky (6-2) are more third guards than small forwards. They lack Brown's size (6-6) and athleticism to defend bigger threes. Charles Lee (6-3) could get away with it because of his strength and athleticism.
Of course a lot of these pieces are easier to fit into place if McNaughton snaps out of the funk he has been in and point guard Abe Badmus finds some comfort offensively.
Badmus seems to be struggling with his role. Flannery insists Badmus has the offensive game to do the things being asked of him this season -- namely more scoring. But Badmus has seemed conflicted in that role. After three seasons unselfishly finding others for their shot, Badmus seems hesitant to take his own, especially early in the shot clock. Too many possessions have begun with Badmus passing on open jumpers and ended with him turning the ball over after desperately driving into a help defense double-team as the shot clock winds down.
If Badmus starts taking those open looks (and knocking a few down) earlier in the clock, it will open things up for the Bison inside. Badmus might also think about trying to finish on more of those drives. He is strong enough, and has the springs, to take it to the rack against bigger men. Might even draw few fouls, which could have the added benefit of forcing opponents to be more guarded in their aggressive physical defensive tactics employed against the Bison big men (especially McNaughton).
With McNaughton and Badmus both seemingly in a funk, it begs the question: Are they a little burned out? The two have spent the last two summers with national teams. Badmus was point guard for the Nigerian national team in 2005 when the D'Tigers qualified for the 2006 World Championships and was the last guy cut before the D'Tigers left for Japan this summer. McNaughton was also one of the last two cut from the German team that played in Japan. He played internationally with Germany's World University Games team in the summer of 2005.
Bucknell's schedule lightens considerably following the four games in eight days stretch that starts at Yale and ends with nest weekend's back to back games against Northern Iowa and George Mason. The Bison only have five games the remaining 28 days of the year. Maybe the lighter schedule and the lighter practice schedule during finals will help rejuvenate them.
We shall see.
In the meantime, it is definitely not a one-team league in the Patriot this season.
Here's some news and notes from elsewhere:
BIG MAN IS BACK: Lehigh's Jason Mgebroff is a big guy. At 6-10, 275-pounds, Mgebroff showed tremendous promise as a freshman, averaging 7 points per game. As a sophomore, Mgebroff started 27 games, and averages 8.7 ppg. Small progress, especially in a league without many quality big men, but at least some progress.
Last season, though, Mgebrioff was like the holes of those donuts he was rumored to be so fond of. He left nothing in the middle for Lehigh. Reports from Bethlehem indicated Mgebroff reported overweight and out of shape when practice began. A foot injury early in the season did not help matters any. Whatever the reasons, whatever the spin, the bottom line was simple. After starting 43 games his first two seasons, Mgebroff found himself unable to beat out a stiff like Mike Fischman for the starting center job. Mgebroff's minutes dropped from an average of over 22 per game his first two seasons to 12.9 per game as a junior. His scoring (3.7 ppg) and rebounding (2.4 rpg) were career lows. Averaging better than 54 percent shooting from the field his first two seasons, Mgebroff plummeted to a 44 percent showing as a junior.
So far this season, Mgebroff is showing signs of finally fulfilling the promise exhibited his freshman season, when he scored 42 points in three league tournament games, making the All-Tournament team and helping Lehigh to the title. Through six games, Mgebroff, who looks slimmer, and much quicker, than he did last season, is averaging 12.7 ppg and shooting 73 percent from the field. He is also grabbing 6.2 rebounds per game, by far a career mark should it hold up over the course of the season. his scoring and rebounding numbers are tops among league big men thus far.
Last season, Mgebroff scored in double figures one time against Division I opposition, scoring 10 against Lafayette. This season, Mgebroff reached double figures in each of the Mountain Hawks' first four contests, missing a combined total of just five shots from the field during that stretch.
HOME COOKING: Holy Cross has started the season 4-0 for the first time in the Ralph Willard era. The Crusaders will look to go to 5-0 for the first time since 1988-89 Saturday when they host William and Mary. The only unbeaten team in the league, Holy Cross is also the only team that has played three home games to date. Bucknell and Lafayette, the two teams with the worst records in the league, have played just one home game each.
Navy may have the most impressive early season record when homecourts are factored into the equation. The 4-1 Mids have yet to play in Alumni Hall. Navy's lone "home" game was played at the ShowPlace Arena in nearby Upper Marlboro, Md. because some Fillipino dance troupe was appearing in Alumni Hall that night.
NO SWEAT: Keith Simmons does not seem to be sweating those cramping problems that hobbled the Holy Cross winger last season. Through four games, Simmons is averaging 34.5 minutes per game. His 18.8 points per game are second in the league only to Lehigh's Jose Olivero. Simmons 6.2 rebounds per game are tied for fourth.
In the Patriot League, only teammate Torey Thomas (37 mpg) is averaging more minutes than Simmons.
NO MINUTES: Notable for their lack of early season playing time: Army's John Moonshower, who showed a lot of promise the end of last season, has played a total of two minutes, appearing in three of Army's five games. One-time starter Jimmy Sewell has also played in just three games for the Black Knights. Sewell has produced 2 rebounds and 2 points in his eight minutes of action.
Georgetown-transfer Cornelio Guibunda, touted as one of the nation's top recruits when he signed with the Hoyas out of high school, has appeared in two of American's four-games, playing 7 minutes and totaling two free throws, a turnover and a steal.
NOT SEEING DOUBLE: Only one team has nobody averaging in double figures scoring. That team is Bucknell, which is led by Darren Mastropaolo and Jason Vegotsky, each averaging 9.8 ppg. Lafayette, led by Matt Betley (12.4 ppg) is the only other team without at least two players averaging in double figures.
Lehigh leads the way with three players averaging in doubles -- Jose Olivero (league leading 20.2 ppg), Jason Mgebroff (12.7 ppg) and Kyle Neptune (11.3 ppg).
TAKING OFFENSE: Think of Billy Taylor-coached you think of defense first. The Hawks have consistently been among the league's top defensive teams under Taylor, and pride themselves on that style of play.
So it might come as a little surprise to notice the Mountain Hawks are averaging a league-leading 73.3 ppg and giving up 75 ppg, second most allowed in the league.
NAVY ON THE LINE: The Mids are hitting an impressive 66.5 percent from the foul line thus far. Much of the credit for that league-leading stat goes to plebes Trey Stanton (12 for 12) and T.J. Topercer, who are a combined 23 of 24. Sophomore guard Kaleo Kina (16 for 18) has also been impressive.
CAN'T MISS: Speaking of good free throw shooting, five league players have yet to miss from the charity stripe. In addition to Stanton, HC center Tim Clifford is 10 for 10, Bucknell guard John Griffin is 9 for 9. Colgate bench guys Willie Morse (8 for 8) and Alex Woodhouse (4 for 4) also have not missed.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, notebook
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