Player of the Week: Mike Moser, UNLV
The UNLV transfer has been one of the nation's most surprising stars this season, and this week he once again showed why he is such a dangerous and versatile threat. In two games this week, Moser averaged 22.5 ppg, 16.5 rpg and 2.5 spg while shooting 15-29 from the floor and 5-13 from three. I think its safe to say that UNLV wouldn't currently be sitting in a tie for first place in the Mountain West Conference had Moser done any less; the Rebels were 2-0 this week with both wins coming in overtime. Moser played 72 of the available 90 minutes.
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Showing posts with label Notre Dame. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Notre Dame. Show all posts
Monday, January 30, 2012
Week in Review: Mike Moser shines, Notre Dame appears |
Monday, November 28, 2011
Hoops Housekeeping: Tim Abromaitis, Trevor Mbakwe with serious knee injuries |
Tim Abromaitis has never had knee problems.
Every athlete goes through the typical aches and pains that come with being a college basketball player -- banged knees, twisted ankles, sore backs -- but Abro had never missed time because of knee problems. Which is why, when his right knee gave out has he came to a jump-stop in a 2-on-2 drill in practice on Friday morning, the severity of his injury was shocking. No one saw this coming. And now, one of the best kids is all of college basketball may finish his collegiate career on the bench in street clothes.
"Going on the court [at practice], it felt like one of those first four games where it's just waiting to get back out there," Abromaitis told the South Bend Tribune. "I kind of had to remind myself that it's done for the season.
"I'll eventually come to grips with it, I guess. I don't know if there's any technique to getting used to it."
The injury is a crushing blow for the Irish. Already in a rebuilding year, Notre Dame will now be forced to face the rigors of the Big East schedule without their leading scorer and best player. Abro's minutes will likely end up going to freshman Pat Connaughton, another 6'6" shooter that has played well in the first seven games of his career. Scott Martin and Jerian Grant are going to be expected to boost their scoring, while sophomore point guard Eric Atkins will continue his transition to becoming the star for this team.
If there is a silver lining to the suspension that Abro had to deal with earlier in the year, its that Notre Dame has had to play without Abro.
The question now becomes whether or not Abro will apply for a sixth-year of eligibility. This is his fifth-year in college. He redshirted his sophomore season, a decision that was actually the cause of his four-game suspension earlier this year as he played in two exhibitions games. If Abro, who already has two degrees from Notre Dame, does decide to return for a sixth-season -- which isn't a guarantee at this point -- there is no indication of whether or not the NCAA will actually clear him.
Its a shame to see a great kid and a good player have his college career ended this way. Abro deserved better. Life is just unfair sometimes.
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Trevor Mbakwe tears his acl: We knew this was bad as soon as it happened.
Mbakwe crumpled awkwardly to the ground during the second half of Minnesota's loss to Dayton in the Old Spice Classic finals. He had to be carried off the court and spent the remainder of the game in tears on the bench with his knee wrapped in ice. He even tweeted from the locker room "Lord please get me through this."
All of a sudden, all the depth that Minnesota had in their front court is gone. Colton Iverson transferred to Colorado State, Mo Walker is still battling a knee injury that ended his freshman season and Ralph Sampson is battling a sprained ankle. That leaves redshirt freshman Elliott Eliason up front. I would say that Minnesota will be forced to play at a faster pace now, but they are without a point guard this season thanks to a number of transfers.
One year ago this week, Minnesota was in the top ten after a dominating performance at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament. My, how things have changed.
"My family and I would like to thank everyone for their support," said Mbakwe in a statement.
"Trevor's done everything we've asked him to do in his time here at the University of Minnesota. He's been through an awful lot," said Gopher head coach Tubby Smith. "That says a lot about his toughness to be able to recover from the things he has already endured. He had a knee surgery before (at Marquette) and for it to happen a second time, you hurt for him, but you know he's a guy that has the will power and has been through it before and can recover again."
Michael Eric reinjures his knee: Temple fans will be waiting with baited breath over the next week as the status of their team's starting center is reevaluated.
Eric injured his right patella in practice on Friday. Its the same knee in which Eric fractured his patella in February of last season, an injury that caused him to miss the final ten games of the season. Without Eric, the Owls have almost no interior presence. The 6'11" senior had been averaging 10.5 ppg, 11.3 rpg and 2.0 bpg while replacing Lavoy Allen up front.
Erik Murphy tears his meniscus: Florida's starting power forward suffered the injury last Thursday in practice and sat out the Gator's game against Stetson on Friday. Its unclear how much time he is going to miss, although Billy Donovan has speculated that it can be anywhere from a week or two to a couple of months.
Murphy is a major loss for Florida. His ability to shoot the ball from the four spot really spread the floor for the Gators and opened up the paint. It allowed them to use pick-and-pops in the half court and created space for penetration from Florida's talented back court. No Murphy will be a major blow heading into Friday's trip to Syracuse.
Harrison Barnes is fine: We all saw North Carolina's loss to UNLV in Vegas over the weekend, which means we also all saw the nasty fall that Barnes had in the second half. He rolled his ankle in the process and immediately headed for the bench, where he sat with his head down for the next couple of minutes. He left the arena on crutches, but that appears to have been a cautionary move, as he was off of the crutches when the team left the airport the next day.
Stephen Van Treese reinjures his knee; Rakeem Buckles returns to practice: After being healthy for just two weeks, Van Treese was injured in practice over the weekend. The timing was good, at least. Rakeem Buckles has been cleared to return to practice and should be back on the court within a week or two.
Travis Wear cuts foot while snorkeling: Exactly what it says. He needed five stitches.
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B.I.A.H Not Top Ten |
Every week, a plethora of writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the past seven days worth of action. A majority of the time, everybody has virtually same opinion of all the teams, save a few upsets here or there.
If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place.
Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances of the week. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk. We'll provide detail on the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now, there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us here.
After the jump, you will find our list of the ten most screwed-up teams in the country. It's going to get ugly.
1. Boston College (2-3)
The Eagles Are woefully bad. Sure they have nine freshman on the roster, and they didn't return any real production from last year's squad.. But their two wins have come against New Hampshire (by 3) and UC-Riverside (In overtime by 4). Their three losses have come to Holy Cross, UMass and Saint Louis, by a combine 69 points. Even the worst BCS-conference team should be able avoid getting smacked by Holy Cross by 22-points. According to KenPom, the Eagles are the worst BCS-conference team in the country. the Eagles look like a team that may not win a single ACC game this season. In fact, they look like a team that might lose to North Carolina by triple-digits.
2. UCLA (1-4)
Where, oh where to begin. Well, first, they have yet to log a win against a D-I opponent. They sport ugly, double-digit losses to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee. The team's best player, Reeves Nelson, was suspended for three days because of attitude problems. A day after his suspension was lifted, he missed the team flight to Hawaii. To follow this up, Ben Howland benched Nelson for just one half.
Then there is Josh Smith, the team's massive center. The 310lb-behemoth refuses to lose weight and work on his endurance, and has only logged 20+ minutes in two games. Plus the Bruins are the worst team in the country in defending the 3-pointer, with their opponents making 61% of their shots from behind the arc. If things weren't already bizarre-enough, Travis Wear injured his foot while on a snorkeling trip over the weekend. Yup, that's right, he injured his foot while snorkeling. This team is toast.
3. Utah (1-4)
I often struggle to understand why exactly the Pac-12 decided to bring in Utah. They stink at football and they are absolutely dreadful at basketball. The Utes have lost five straight since their first and only win of the season, against non-DI San Diego Christian who they only beat by 3-points. Sure, you could argue that all the teams they lost to (Boise State by 21, Montana State by 6, 28 to Harvard, UMass by 14, and UNC-Ashville by 22) are better than people expected. But still, all five of those losses came to mid and low major schools. This team probably won't win a single conference game, which says a lot since the Pac-12 is in such a state of disarray already.
4. Notre Dame (4-2)
Nobody expected Notre Dame to be great this season. Sure, Tim Abromaitis would be an All-Conference player, and they have some quality players, but nobody thought they would be world-beaters. But I don't think anybody thought they would go out and get run off the floor by Missouri. A loss to Missouri isn't bad, but a 29-point loss isn't exactly good either. Then they followed that up with a ugly four point loss to a not-so-good Georgia team.
But the biggest blow came during practice last week, when Abromaitis tore his ACL, and will miss the rest of the season. This team looks to be on it's last legs.
5. Cincinnati (3-2)
The Bearcats were predicted to be one of the best teams in the Big East. Their non-conference schedule is riddled with cupcakes and this was supposed to set them up to enter the Big East conference season with very few blemishes on their record. But that's before they lost in the upset of the year to Presbyterian, a school that has been in Divison-I for less than five years. The Bearcats blew a 21-point led en route to a humiliation loss to the Blue Hose. But then they followed that up with an overtime loss to Marshall, the only opponent that could have provided the program with a good non-conference win. (Ed. Note: Other than Xavier, obviously. Whoops.)
6. Hawaii (2-2)
Maybe this was my fault. I was pretty sure Hawaii had the talent, skill, and experience to become the best team in the WAC. But through the first four games, they have looked more like a middling mid-major than the conference powerhouse I expected them to be. Not many teams in the country allow their opponents to shoot more foul shots than the Warriors. Their opponents are currently shooting 79% against them. The 19-point loss to Gonzaga on a "neutral court" in Canada is one thing, but losing to Eastern Washington by 15 at home isn't.
7. South Carolina (2-4)
There is only one BCS-conference team with worse 3-point defense than South Carolina, and that team is ranked #2 on this very list. The bottom of the SEC is pretty bad, but I'm positive that LSU and Auburn are going to be better than the 'Cocks. How on earth Darrin Horne still has a job is beyond me, but he probably has to write quarterly checks to Devan Downey.
Two of SC's losses have been to Elon and Tennessee State. Woof. SC's wins have come against Mississippi Valley State and Western Carolina. Double-woof. The 'Cocks leading scorer averages just 11.8-ppg and is the only player on the team to average double-digits. Triple-woof.
8. Grambling State (0-5)
The SWAC is not a good place to be in mid-November and early-December. All ten teams are below .500 and Grambling State is yet to taste victory. Sure, the university is making money from these "guarantee games" but the Tigers have played at home just once, and they won't play another home game until 2012. The Tigers have lost all five games by a combined 178-points, or roughly 36-ppg. But on the plus side, they did lose three consecutive games by 30-points. That's pretty cool, right? But seriously, their leading scorer is averaging 7.8-ppg. That's brutal.
9. UAB (1-4)
The Blazers were picked to finish in the top half of the C-USA this season. But after five games, I see a team that looks like they won't win a single conference game. Sure, Cameron Moore
is averaging a double-double per contest, and Ovie Soko is just shy of averaging a double-double as well.
But, I mean, the Blazers are averaging just eight rebounds per game. Just eight. That's deplorable. Did it ever occur to Mike Davis that he might want to find a successor to all-conference point guard Aaron Johnson? Plus, the Blazers lost to UT-Martin, whose only win was against a non-DI school.
10. Towson (0-5)
The Tigers are losing by roughly 28-ppg. In fact, they've lost two games by exactly 46-points each. On top of that, the Tigers are averaging just seven assists a game. Only four players are averaging more than five points per game. Pat Skerry, the new Towson head coach has a lot of work ahead of him.
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Monday, November 14, 2011
11/14 Monday's Pregame Beat: Who's ready for a College Hoops Marathon? |
We've already previewed the games in the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon here, so we aren't including those games in this post.
Game of the Night: 7:00 pm: UCF @ No. 24 Florida State
Central Florida is one of the three teams in Conference USA that will be fighting for the second spot in the league behind Memphis. The Golden Knights may be the biggest enigma of the three. UCF won their first 14 games of the season in 2010-2011, but proceeded to lose their next eight after that. They return the majority of their roster from that team -- as well as adding three impact transfers and a couple of talented freshmen -- but the question is which group was the real UCF, the team that climbed into the top 20 or the team that finished below .500 in C-USA?
The other issue for UCF? Suspensions. The Jordan brothers and AJ Rompza were all held out of the exhibitions, while Donnie Jones has been suspended for the first three games of the seaosn. The players that are left are going to have their work cut out for them against the Seminoles. FSU is a tough defensive club with a monstrous front line. Losing Ian Miller will hurt, but if Michael Snaer can prove that he's become a consistent perimeter scoring threat, then the Seminoles may roll.
Who's getting upset?: Notre Dame
The Irish will be hosting Detroit at 9:00 tonight short-handed. Tim Abromaitis, the star of this Notre Dame team, is suspended for the first four games of the season as the result of two exhibition games that he played in as a redshirt sophomore. Eric Atkins had 27 points, six assists and four rebounds as the Irish rolled over Mississippi Valley State, but he won't be the best point guard on the floor. Detroit's sophomore point guard Ray McCallum is one of the most talented players at his position in the country -- he's with Detroit because his father is the head coach. Detroit will be short-handed as well, as Eli Holman is still out as the result of an arrest in September.
Mid-Major matchup of the night: 10:00 pm: Nevada @ UNLV
I know, I know, neither of these schools are really mid-majors, but since there isn't much else on the schedule tonight, we're making an exception. Nevada was a team expected to contend for the WAC title, but they were smoked by Missouri State in their opener, losing by 22 at home. UNLV is a favorite in the MWC, but they have looked anything but dominating throughout their exhibition schedule. The Wolfpack will need a big game out of Deonte Burton, who is likely going to get matched up with Anthony Marshall, one of the best defenders in the country. This will be our first real chance to see how effective Mike Moser is in Dave Rice's system.
Be sure to keep an eye on...:
- 7:30 pm: Providence @ Fairfield: Ed Cooley used to coach Fairfield. Now he coaches Providence. Fairfield is in the MAAC. Providence is in the Big East. And Fairfield is favored. Go figure. From a personnel perspective, the most interesting matchup is going to be between Vincent Council and Derek Needham at the point.
- 8:00 pm: Oakland @ No. 15 Alabama: Alabama is one of the best teams in the SEC, led by the talented front line of JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell, but Oakland is a scrappy team that will be able to compete even with the graduation of Keith Benson. The Grizzlies have a very talented point guard in Reggie Hamilton.
- 8:00 pm: South Dakota State @ Minnesota: Minnesota is a big and athletic team, with a talented front line and quality perimeter players. What they lack is a point guard, which just so happens to be where the Jackrabbits strength lies. Nate Wolters had 32 points, 11 assists and 0 turnovers in the opener.
- 10:00 pm: Portland @ Washington: Portland is a bit of a sleeper in the WCC, led by Nemanja Mitrovic, who is the next Pilot star on the perimeter. Washington is 2-0 heading into this game, but they haven't been all that impressive. Terrence Ross has yet to show the kind of ability that made him a candidate to be a breakout star.
The rest of the Top 25:
- 7:30 pm: Wagner @ No. 4 UConn
- 7:00 pm: Manhattan @ No. 5 Syracuse
- 8:30 pm: Towson @ No. 17 Michigan
- 7:00 pm: Norfolk State @ No. 19 Marquette
- 8:00 pm: Mercer @ No. 25 Missouri
Other notable games:
- 7:00 pm: UNC Greensboro @ Georgetown
- 7:00 pm: Temple @ Penn
- 7:00 pm: Long Island @ Old Dominion
- 7:00 pm: Monmouth @ Virginia Tech
- 7:30 pm: High Point @ Purdue
- 8:00 pm: Grambling State @ Ole Miss
- 8:00 pm: Loyola (IL) @ Kansas State
- 8:15 pm: Richmond @ Davidson
- 9:30 pm: Florida International @ George Mason
- 10:30 pm: Nebraska @ USC
- 11:00 pm: Fresno State @ Stanford
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The NCAA whiffs by suspending Tim Abromaitis |
This post can also be found at Beyond the Arc.
Tim Abromaitis did absolutely nothing wrong.
He listened to his coaching staff and did what was best for his team, his education and his career. He trusted them when they told him that he could redshirt a season after playing in two exhibition games as a sophomore. He believed them, because that is what you are supposed to do when you are a college athlete. You're supposed to trust that your coach will make the right decision for you, especially when that decision has to do with the minutiae of the NCAA Rulebook.
And for that trust -- for doing what he has been trained to do as an athlete -- Abromaitis was rewarded with a four game suspension to start the 2011-2012 season. You see, the NCAA allows freshmen to take part in exhibitions and then redshirt that season. That's not the case for sophomores, junior or seniors, but Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey misinterpreted the rule when he opted to use that redshirt on Abromaitis.
So technically speaking, in the NCAA's eyes, Abromaitis used up his eligibility last spring. He played all of 40 minutes in 12 games as a freshman, took part in those two exhibitions as a sophomore, and was an all-league player as a junior and senior. Four seasons, four years of eligibility. If the NCAA went by the letter of the law, Notre Dame would not have their leading returning scorer available this season. In that sense, Notre Dame and Abromaitis caught a break.
But the fact that we have to say that a player in this situation caught a break is a sign of just how screwed up the NCAA is.
There is so much wrong with the NCAA as an organization. Conferences are aligning themselves based on the wishes of the television network that broadcasts their games. The people that run college football's national title system are so corrupt they make Bernie Madoff blush. Its the worst kept secret in the world that players at major football and basketball programs are on the take. College basketball recruiting is the wild west, with paydays as high as six figures being tossed around for kids that will spend seven months on campus. And with all the money being generated through these television contracts to watch these college kids play football and basketball, the athletes themselves aren't even getting full cost-of-attendance scholarships from their universities.
And with all of that going on, the NCAA still manages to find the time to stick it to an academic all-american that earned his bachelor's degree and his MBA in four years because of a couple of throwaway minutes he played in an exhibition -- not a game, an exhibition -- that didn't count back in November of 2008 when his coach misinterpreted a rule that doesn't make sense in the first place.
Eventually something has to change in this organization, right?
Or do they think that by handing out ridiculous punishments to one of the few kids that actually embodies the ideal of "student-athlete" they are making a statement?
Somewhere, I think Jay Bilas' head just exploded.
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011
How former teammates Tim Abromaitis and Greg Mangano went from unheralded recruits to members of Team USA |
There is an argument to be made the UConn has been the best basketball program in the country over the last 12 years.
In that time frame, Jim Calhoun's club has won three National Titles and made four Final Fours. Throw in two more Elite 8's and another Sweet 16, and UConn has made it past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament seven times in the last dozen seasons. Now toss in the four Big East Tournament titles, the five Big East regular season titles and the 16 players that have been selected in the NBA Draft in that span, and you have a program that has dominated in the best conference in the country despite having to completely rebuild their roster twice in the last five years.
What makes the UConn program's success all-the-more impressive is that Calhoun has been able to consistently stock his roster with talent despite coaching in an area without a natural recruiting base. In other words, the Huskies have to bring in players from around the country because high school basketball in Connecticut is, generally speaking, not overloaded with that kind talent.
Rarely do you see Connecticut natives playing major minutes for the Huskies.
That's not to say there isn't talent in the state. This season the Huskies will actually have two contributors that grew up in the Nutmeg State -- Tyler Olander, a sophomore returner that started the national title game, and Andre Drummond, the nation's best post recruit that hails from Middletown. Drummond played AAU ball with Kris Dunn, the top point guard in the Class of 2012 and a New London native currently committed to Providence.
Players of that caliber tend to be the exception, however. Not the rule. Connecticut puts out their fair share of scholarship players, but they aren't necessarily national names. Usually you get a mix of guys that excel at the mid-major level -- kids like TJ Robinson, a product of Kolbe Cathedral in Bridgeport that averaged a double-double for Long Beach State as a junior -- or that can contribute as a role player at the high-major level -- think Olander, who only played seven minutes in the title game after starting.
No one expected much more than that out Tim Abromaitis or Greg Mangano.
They certainly didn't expect those two to be the reason Connecticut was one of just two states to put multiple players on the USA's World University Games team.
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"Everyone thought he was a Patriot League or Ivy League kid," Kevin Kehoe, the head coach of the Connecticut Gold AAU program, told me over the phone. "Nobody thought he was a Big East kid."
"They said he was crazy for going to Notre Dame."
Early on in his college career, the doubters appeared to be correct. As a freshman, Tim Abromaitis saw the court just 12 times, playing a whopping 40 minutes and scoring all of 20 points on the season. Those numbers didn't budge during his sophomore year as Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey opted to redshirt him, which only made the people that criticized his decision to play in the Big East look that much smarter.
And while it appeared, on the surface, like Brey was trying to atone for a mistake on the recruiting front, using the redshirt was a calculated move. You see, Notre Dame was loaded in the front court in the first two years Abromaitis was in South Bend. The name that everyone is going to recognize is Luke Harangody, who was one of the most productive big men in the last decade. But kids like Rob Kurz, Zach Hillesland, Ryan Ayers and Luke Zeller were all talented and experienced players that happened to play the same position as Abromaitis, clogging up the depth chart.
The redshirt season was as much about maximizing Abromaitis' eligibility as it was about him needing the season to improve.
That said, spending a year working on his game and on his body did have some impressive results. Abromaitis has developed into one of the best shooters in the league, knocking down 42.9% of his threes while averaging 16.1 ppg and 15.4 ppg the past two seasons.
"It was huge," Abromaitis said of his redshirt year in a phone interview last week. "When I first heard Coach Brey say he thought it would be a good idea for me to sit out the year and get a redshirt, its not the thing you want to hear because you want to be out there playing and contributing."
"But in the long run, I can’t say I regret it at all, because I was in the weight room and I was out on the court for extra workouts pretty much every day. Once my junior year came and I was playing right away, it felt like I had taken three years off, so I was just ready to go and felt so much better as a player. I was just confident in myself."
That confidence was a direct result of the amount of time he spent working on his game as the redshirt season afforded him an opportunity to fine-tune and develop his skill-set. His breakout junior year (which was his sophomore season, Notre Dame lists players not by eligibility but by grade) caught fans and media around the country off-guard, but those that know Abromaitis weren't surprise. The expected it.
"You just knew that Timmy was going to do whatever it took," said Kehoe, who coached Abromaitis and his brother in AAU and remains very close to the family. "God didn’t bless him with unbelievable athleticism, but he did bless him with a work ethic."
Hard work has never been an issue for Abromaitis. This is the same kid that got the keys to the gym from his high school athletic director so he could get in 6:00 am workouts before going to class. This is also the same kid that graduated from the Mendoza College of Business at Notre Dame in three years with a degree in finance and a 3.73 GPA. Last year, he finished up an accelerated MBA program with a concentration in corporate finance. As a fifth-year, he's taking it easy and simply enrolled in a full load of graduate courses as an unclassified graduate student.
That's probably fair. It took him less time to graduate and earn an MBA from Notre Dame than it took me to get my bachelor's degree.
"I think it started from my family and my brother," Abromaitis said when I asked him where he got his work ethic. His brother played at Yale and his father played for UConn and then the New Jersey Nets. "Even before high school. Its something that I’ve always [taken pride in]."
"Its something that Notre Dame really prides itself on too. We’ve had a lot of guys here since I’ve been here that were kind of in my situation. [Success] didn’t come for them right away and they weren’t these highly touted guys, but working hard just got it done for them. So I’m kind of following their lead with that."
Abromaitis is starting to reap the benefits of that hard work. In addition to making the Team USA's World University Games roster, he's been named all-Big East the past two seasons, making the third team in 2011. He's got an outside shot at winning Big East Player of the Year as a senior if he has a big season and is a virtual lock for a long career in Europe if he can't latch on with an NBA team when he finally leaves school. Perhaps most impressive is that he's been a two-time academic all-american first-teamer and won the Big East scholar-athlete of the year award in back-to-back seasons, the first athlete to do that since Emeka Okafor of UConn in 2003 and 2004.
He hasn't just transformed his game to that of an NBA prospect. He's educated himself to the point that every Wall Street firm in the country will come calling when his playing career is over.
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Greg Mangano knew he wanted to go to Yale.
It wasn't a lifelong dream, mind you. In fact, it wasn't until he realized that he could turn basketball into an Ivy League education that the idea of being a Yalie started to grow on Mangano. He's a native of Orange, CT, which is a 15 minute drive in rush-hour traffic from Yale's New Haven campus.
"Once I got into the process of looking into schools and everything, it was eye-opening that I had the opportunity to go to a school like Yale," Mangano said in a phone interview last week. "When I was a kid, not so much. A lot of that was just because I’m from here. I always thought it was just a little to close to home for me to go, and I wanted to get a little further away."
"When Yale [...] told me that I could play there if I wanted to, [...] I just figured that was kind of an opportunity that you couldn’t turn down. As much as I would love to play basketball for as long as I can, something could happen tomorrow [to end my career]. I just figured having an education to fall back on was just as important."
Mangano committed to Yale early -- before he had even started his senior year at Notre Dame HS in West Haven -- so he is not sure what kind of offers he would have received. The summer after his junior year is when Mangano really started to garner attention from Division I programs, and he chose Yale, an Ivy League school that doesn't offer athletic scholarship, over about 20 other low- to mid-major programs that had offered him a full-ride.
One of those programs that offered a scholarship? Davidson, right in the middle of the Seth Curry years. That should tell you what being a Bulldog meant to Mangano.
Like Abromaitis, Mangano's collegiate success didn't come immediately. He played limited minutes off the bench as a freshman before becoming a stalwart in the rotation as a sophomore, but it wasn't until last season, as a junior, when everything clicked for Mangano. With Yale losing their three leading scorers from their 2009-2010 team, Mangano but the squad on his back. He averaged 16.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg and 3.0 bpg while shooting 36.6% from long range while leading the Bulldogs to a third-place finish in the Ivy.
"He's really good," Yale assistant coach Jamie Snyder-Fair said. "I don't know if he is going to get drafted, but he's got a shot to make an NBA team. He's 6'10", he blocks shots, he can handle it a little bit on the perimeter, he can shoot from anywhere on the court, he’s pretty athletic."
"He had some monster rebounding games last year, and he rebounds the ball above the rim. He doesn’t let the ball come to him, he goes and he gets the ball every single time."
Mangano was good enough last season that he decided to declare for the NBA Draft without signing with an agent. He didn't get any workouts with NBA teams -- most knew that he wasn't going to be keeping his name in the draft -- but he had a number of teams call and inquire about him. Making Team USA increased the buzz and helped to raise Mangano's national profile, but he will be facing an uphill battle in an effort to get drafted. Even with Jeremy Lin of Harvard making the Golden State roster, few, if any, NBA scouts are looking at the Ivy League for NBA prospects.
Without playing on national TV every night, its difficult to establish your name on the NBA's radar.
"I think the goal for us is to try and get him invited to Portsmouth next year," Snyder-Fair said.
Before that happens, Mangano has a season to play with the Bulldogs. And if he is to be believed, the time that he spent with Team USA has made him a better player. Frankly, its not all that surprising. I'd imagine playing against some of the best players in the country for two three-hour practices every day at the USA basketball facility in Colorado Springs will do that. As will getting coached by Brad Stevens, Matt Painter, and Cuonzo Martin for six hours every day.
Mangano said that he "definitely" took the coaching advice to heart and improved some of his fundamentals. But that's not the most important thing he learned with Team USA.
"I learned how to consistently play a lot harder than I was playing," Mangano said. "Its not that I wasn’t playing hard last year in the Ivy League or out of conference games. It was just out there, playing against the kind of caliber kids I was playing against, if I didn’t pay as hard as I possibly could on every possession, [I got] exposed."
"They are just stronger, quicker, faster, more athletic than the people I have been playing with so to make up for that I just had to play hard."
The end-game for Mangano is, he hopes, the NBA. Its the goal of every kid that touches a basketball growing up. But as of now, his attention is focused squarely on the team's sitting in front of him in the Ivy League standings. Yale brings back the league's most dominant player and four starters from a team that finished in third last year and split with Harvard. So where is the hype for the Bulldogs?
"There are articles posted in our locker room right now. There’s no question about it I take offense to [people ignoring us]," Mangano said. "I had the same issue last year as well. While I received some honorable accolades personally, for a team that lost our captain and our senior leader last year, to finish the year in third place as a team that was picked fifth or sixth I think speaks a lot about the team that we have, myself and the team surrounding me. And none of them got recognized, for second team or even honorable mention. I thought that was a little disrespectful."
"But I think that’s good for us. It's something to motivate, and if some guys need that extra motivation, it's right there for them."
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Mangano and Abromaitis have a history.
Not only did they play together for a summer with the Connecticut Gold AAU team, but Jason Abromaitis, Tim's older brother, played at Yale and still returns upon occasion to play in open gyms.
"I knew him pretty well, being another Connecticut kid," Mangano said. "It was nice when I saw the roster and the list of people that got invited that he was going out there. We had kept contact over the years."
There was more to it than simply knowing another player on the team. For Mangano and Abromaitis, it was a point of pride. It gave them bragging rights. For every AAU team and every state in the country, the Connecticut Gold was the only program with two alumni wearing the red, white and blue at the World University Games.
"We definitely brought up a few times that we were the only state and the only AAU team that had two guys that knew each other before and came from the same team," Abromaitis said. "It was definitely kind of cool to think about that because you don’t think of the Gold as a national powerhouse team."
The Connecticut Gold program is no stranger to sending players to college. In the 20 years that Kehoe has been running the program, over 150 players have gone on to play some level of college basketball. Some end up at big-time programs -- Jeff Farmer played at La Salle and Northeastern, Jeff Viggiano was a starter at UMass, Joe Trapani was all-ACC for Boston College the past two seasons. Most just meander their way through the college basketball underworld -- like one BIAH writer who happened to play a measly two-and-a-half seasons at Vassar.
But the Gold is far from what you would consider a big-time AAU team. They don't even have a sponsorship from a shoe company.
"I would like to say yes," Kehoe said when I asked him if there was a Connecticut Gold way, "but I don't know if we had the blueprint or we just followed [the kid's] lead. Did we make them follow what we believe? Did we morph the kids we brought in? Why didn't they choose the big-time AAU programs?"
"I'm not ready to say we have the blueprint. It was just finding the right people that were committed to being good."
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Tim Abromaitis and Greg Mangano are nothing but under-recruited over-achievers.
And I don't mean that maliciously. I mean that as a compliment.
"Coming into college, I don't really know what I was expecting in terms of basketball and playing time and scoring and wins," Abromaitis said. "I knew that Coach Brey was a great coach and was someone that could develop me. I just trusted that and kept working hard."
"I wouldn't say that I surprised myself, but I don't know if I was fully expecting to have the level of success I've had."
Part of the reason that recruiting is such an inexact science is that its impossible to measure how badly a kid wants to be good. If a player has all the physical tools in the world -- height, length, strength, speed, leaping ability -- but he doesn't has the desire or the discipline to spend hours upon hours in the gym developing his basketball skills, he'll never reach his full potential as a player.
On the other hand, you have the kids that aren't quite as physically gifted squeezing every drop of potential out of themselves by spending every waking hour perfecting the details -- getting the correct footwork on a new post move, creating that extra six inches of space that will allow them to get a shot off, doing those extra squat reps to get their lower body strong enough to hold position.
That's the difference. That's what set Abromaitis and Mangano apart. That's why they were able to go from kids that were an afterthought on the recruiting trail to representing their country at the World University Games.
Continue reading...
Thursday, May 26, 2011
NBA Draft Profiles: Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame |
Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.
To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.
Stats: 18.4 ppg, 4.3 apg, 43.5 3PT%
Age: 23, Senior
Size:
- Listed: 6’3”, 205 lb
- Official: N/A
Strengths: There are some things that Tyler's little brother does very well on a basketball court. First and foremost, he can flat out shoot the ball and should have no problem adjusting to the NBA's three point line. He can hit the shot off the bounce or in catch-and-shoot situations. Hansbrough also, like his brother, has great intangibles. He's a terrific on-court leader and a fiery competitor, capable of running an offense. He's smart with a high basketball IQ, which is important for a guy that projects as a back-up point guard.
Weaknesses: Simply put, he's not an NBA-level athlete. He's not explosive and he's not all that quick. He was able to use his dribble to get where he needed to be at the collegiate level, but he won't be beating people off the dribble in the league. Defensively, he was solid at Notre Dame, using strength and an understanding of angles to stay in front of his man. He did excel at defending off the ball, as he was Mike Brey's best perimeter defender and usually guarded an opponent's best scorer.
Comparisons:
- Best Case Scenario: Steve Blake. May not sound like much, but coaches love to have a reliable signal caller who they can trust to run their team and keep it going with the second unit. Ben is probably a much better shot maker than Blake however, but similar type game in terms of hustle, heart and skill set.
- Worst Case Scenario: Anthony Carter. Never been a real standout, but always been a steady presence in the
league who could play the 1 or 2, and plays tough D. Never a great player, but the former Hawaii standout is one you can trust to make good decisions on the floor and keep your team in it.
Draft Range: Mid-Late Second Round, picks 45-60
And the experts say...
- Chad Ford: "Hansbrough may not be the sexiest prospect in the draft, but he's one of the most productive. Hansbrough has been one of the Top 10 players in the country this year, and does just about everything for his team. He'll never fit the physical profile that NBA scouts are looking for, but his toughness and shooting ability are a big plus. Think of him as a smaller version of his brother, Tyler."
- Draft Express: "Hansbrough is exactly the type of college prospect many NBA types tend to shy away from. There will be plenty of question marks about his defense and his effectiveness at creating scoring opportunities at the next level. With that said, his work ethic, which is reportedly legendary, his competitiveness (we should know by now after Tyler), and his productivity (Big East Player of the Year) cannot be ignored, particularly considering the level of play he competed at in the Big East."
- Swish Scout: "Solid PG prospect who can run the show as a back up with his spot up shooting, court vision, and intensity to help instill a winning mentality for a teams second unit. Average athlete who will struggle to get his own shot at the next level, but Hansbrough is a pure competitor with the ability to hit big shots and make his teammates better with his presence."
Continue reading...
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Knock out and Jersey Boys keep the Irish focused |
With Pitt having been eliminated from the Big East Tournament, the talk in the media room at MSG centers on Notre Dame. Specifically, can this team earn a one seed in the NCAA Tournament?
Notre Dame, however, isn't concerned with where they stand in regards to NCAA Tournament seeding. In fact, head coach Mike Brey doesn't even seem to be concerned about playing basketball.
"I took these guys to Jersey Boys on Tuesday not so much for the entertainment or the culture," Brey said, "I wanted them to see the best actors and chemistry and how a group plays off of each other because I believe that's what they've done this year. So we were like Jersey Boys tonight we were all doin' our thing."
It worked, as Notre Dame put on one of their most impressive performances of the season in beating Cincinnati 89-51. If the final isn't impressive enough, Notre Dame gave up 17 offensive rebounds and forced just 10 turnovers.
And they still won by 38 points.
That will happen when you shoot 56.1% from the floor, hit nine threes, and turn the ball over just five times with 22 assists. That is what's so dangerous about Notre Dame this season. They play so well together. They are unselfish, they make the extra pass, and the only time the offense gets stagnant is when it is in the game plan.
When Luke Harangody was injured last season, Mike Brey implemented what he called the Burn Offense, where the Irish would dribble out 25 seconds of the shot clock before running Hansbrough off of a high ball screen. This season, Brey used the offense when the Irish went into the Peterson Events Center and knocked off Pitt.
While the Irish aren't using the burn anymore, the principles of the offense have played a role in why they have been so effective and crisp offensively this season.
"The Burn has been a great teaching tool for being patient offensively without having to say 'Burn'", Brey said.
That offense has been what has carried the Irish to the brink of a No. 1 seed. But, like I said, they aren't thinking about that.
"The media is the only one focused on No. 1 seeds. We don't even think about it," Ben Hansbrough said after the game.
And how could the Irish possibly focus on the NCAA Tournament when they have kids games to play.
"To stay loose starting with the Villanova game we play knock out at the end of our shootaround," Brey said. "I'm involved I knocked Carleton Scott out before the Connecticut game and when I got behind him in line today he was nervous."
"Just for the record," Scott replied, "Coach was shooting free-throws and we were shooting 3-pointers. That's why he beat us."
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Should we started referring to him as just "The Marshon" now? |
Tim Abromaitis broke out of a scoring slump, scoring 15 points in the first eight minutes of the game and finishing with 28. Its just the second time since January 4th he's scored more than 13.
Ben Hansbrough continued his push for Big East player of the year, hitting for a career-high 32 points.
Notre Dame bounced back from yet another road beating by going into the Dunkin Donuts Center and holding off a scrappy Providence team 94-93.
All of those are legitimate and relevant storylines coming out of Wednesday's game between the Friars and the Irish. Yet, no one is going to be talking about that tomorrow.
Why?
Because Marshon Brooks went off for a Big East record 52 points, breaking the 20 year old record held by another Friar, Eric Murdock. He had a Big East record with 20 made field goals as well (on just 28 attempts), breaking a record set by Steve Rich of Miami. Brooks now has the highest single-game scoring total in the country this season -- besting Jimmer's 47 points at Utah -- and saw his average get bumped by a full point, from 24.4 ppg to 25.4 ppg.
"I was feeling it. It was going to be tough to stop me," Brooks said after the game.
"That was staggering, and I'm glad we escaped," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said.
Perhaps most impressive was that Brooks scored 15 points in the final three minutes to nearly lead Providence to an improbable comeback. The Friars were down by as much as 16 points, but Brooks got the lead down to just two points on three different occasions. He hit a three with 1.8 seconds left to give us the final margin and break the 50 point barrier.
Now, before I'm done with this post, let's have some fun with it. Brooks' 52 points was more than 12 different teams scored tonight. That includes Alabama's 51-49 win over Auburn and Morgan State's 42-39 (seriously) win over Delaware State. But it doesn't include Wisconsin, because Josh Gasser hit a buzzer-beating three to beat Michigan (and Marshon) 53-52.
If you throw in the 60 combined points from Hansbrough and Abromaitis, the game's three stars managed to put up 112 total points, more than were scored in five different games. Two others finished at 113 total points.
Not a lot of defense played at The Dunk tonight.
Continue reading...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday's Shootaround: Notre Dame's big win, Hofstra's big comeback |
This post can also be found at Beyond the Arc.
No. 14 Notre Dame 56, No. 2 Pitt 51: See here.
One more note on this game -- Carleton Scott, who is one of the more undervalued players in the Big East, was sensational last night. He had 16 points, hit 5-6 from three, and helped battle Pitt's big men in the paint. His return from a hamstring injury has been a major boost for this club.
Kansas State 69, Baylor 61: An offensively atrocious first half that saw a total of 43 points led into a second half plagued by fouls and whistles, but in the end, K-State picked up an enormous win. It wasn't enormous because Baylor is a great team -- far from it, actually -- but no team in the country needed a confidence boosting win as badly as Kansas State. And, frankly, this is the way Kansas State needs to win. They have to win ugly -- forcing turnovers, forcing bad shots, getting defensive rebounds -- because they simply don't have the offensive firepower to do otherwise. Will Spradling looked fantastic last night, leading the team with 17 points.
As far Baylor is concerned, the Bears are in a bad spot right now. They have zero quality wins and have not played like they can beat a quality team. If Baylor has 17 turnovers against K-State's pressure, what is going to happen when they are playing Missouri? The more time goes by, the more evident it is how much Baylor misses Tweety Carter.
The CAA:
Furman 73, Wofford 68 OT: Amu Saaka had 22 points and Furman used a 7-0 run to open overtime as they knocked off Wofford on the road. Both teams are now tied for second place in the SoCon South at 7-2, a half game behind Charleston.
Morehead State 50, Ball State 48: MSU managed just 15 first half points, but Kenneth Faried sparked a second half comeback as the Eagles picked up a win they desperately needed to help build some momentum. Faried finished with 13 points, 15 boards, three blocks, and two assists.
Mississippi Valley State 89, Texas Southern 76: The Delta Devils got 21 points and nine assists out of Terrence Joyner and scored 60 first half points as they coasted to a win and a first place tie in the SWAC. Both TSU and MVSU are 7-1 in league play. And if you were wondering, Kevin Galloway -- a former member of USC, the College of Southern Idaho, and Kentucky -- had 20 points for MVSU.
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Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Tuesday's Shootaround: Marquette routs Notre Dame |
Marquette 79, No. 11 Notre Dame 57: Who ever said the Big East was easy?
Just hours after Notre Dame got bumped up to 11th in the country thanks to wins over UConn and St. John's, the Irish went into the Bradley Center and got manhandled by the Golden Eagles. Marquette shot 12-17 from three on the night, led by 21 points and a 5-5 performance from three by Dwight Buycks, as they picked up their first marquee win of the season.
Notre Dame looked sluggish -- its understandable, they played on Saturday night -- but its not an excuse. The Saturday-Monday turnaround happens all the time in the Big East for teams that play on Big Monday. Eric Atkins had 15 points to lead the Irish, who shot 39.6% as a team. Tim Abromaitis, Ben Hansbrough, and Scott Martin combined for just 29 points on just 34.4% shooting from the field.
If there is a bright side for Notre Dame, its that their stinker came on a night when Marquette probably wasn't going to get beaten. When Marquette is going to shoot 70% from three, there aren't a lot of team that are going to win in the Bradley Center. Its a good time to have your worst game of the year as a visitor.
For Marquette, this win is huge. It gets them some meat on their resume. Prior to Monday, their best win had come against West Virginia and they had lost five games -- all by eight points or less -- to the NCAA Tournament teams they had faced.
The issue gets a little murkier for Notre Dame. The Irish have now played three road games -- at Marquette and Syracuse and against Kentucky in Freedom Hall -- and lost all three by an averaged of 16 points. That's not a good sign.
Belmont 81, Jacksonville 50: The Bruins moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Sun by smoking the Dolphins in Nashville thanks to a balanced scoring attack (no one had more than 15 points, bu seven players scored at least six) and a defense that held Jacksonville to 29.8% shooting. No one is going to want to play the Bruins in they go dancing. They are now 14-3 on the season, and the three losses have all come to Vanderbilt and Tennessee (twice), and none by more than nine points.
Austin Peay 71, Tennessee-Martin 61: The Governors got 27 points and eight boards from Josh Terry as they overcame a 34-25 halftime deficit to remain undefeated in the Ohio Valley.
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Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Tuesday's Pregame Beat: (Get used to hearing this) Big East battle headlines the night's action |
7:00 pm: No. 9 UConn @ No. 15 Notre Dame: There may not be a more educational game all week that when the Huskies head up to South Bend to take on the Irish in the Joyce Center. UConn currently is ranked ninth in the country, but that is in large part a result of their impressive performance out in Maui and due to the unbelievable play of Kemba Walker early in the season. They were undefeated heading into Big East play, before suffering an ugly loss at Pitt and struggling to put away South Florida at home.
Notre Dame, on the other hand, has climbed all the way up to 15th in the country after splitting with Georgetown and Syracuse last week. But this was not a team that was considered to be among the Big East's elite heading into the season. They have some impressive wins, but the waxing that was put on them in the second half at Syracuse gives me reason for concern.
The question I'm looking to get answered tonight -- which team is real?
9:00 pm: Arkansas @ No. 12 Texas: The Razorbacks are one of the teams I think are flying a bit under the radar at this point in the season. There is talent on this roster, especially now that Marshawn Powell is back from a one game suspension. That said, Texas is playing as well as they have all season long. This is definitely a game I will be keeping a close eye on tonight.
7:00 pm No. 5 Pitt @ Providence: We were wondering when Providence's bubble was going to burst. An 0-2 start to Big East play has just about done that. That said, both were close losses that came at Syracuse and at home to a hot St. John's team. I love Marshon Brooks and Vincent Council and I think that Keno Davis has a good thing going with this group of Friars, but I just don't see PC being able to compete with Pitt on the glass.
Other Notable Games:
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Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday's Pregame Beat: Georgetown-Notre Dame highlight the early games, while Wazzu/U-Dub visit UCLA/USC |
7:00 pm: No. 9 Georgetown @ No. 15 Notre Dame: I said it in our Big East conference play primer -- I think that the Hoyas are the best team in the conference. They have a terrific back court, an underrated front court, and are as well-coached -- and as receptive to good coaching -- as any team in the country.
If Georgetown is the best team in the league, Notre Dame may as well be dubbed the Great Unknown. Of the Big East teams that actually have a chance at getting to the NCAA Tournament, the Irish are the team that I am having the most trouble pegging. I love their versatility offensively. They can play big with Tyrone Nash and Jack Cooley up front and Abromaitis at the two. Or they can use Scott Martin and Carleton Scott up front with Ben Hansbrough and Eric Atkins in the back court, allowing them to play more of a five out offense. They still play at more of a deliberate pace than we are used to seeing out of a Mike Brey team; call it the Luke Harangody hangover.
But what is this team's identity. Are they a defensive team? Are they a three point shooting team? Are they really as good as they looked in winning the Old Spice Classic, or is the second half against Kentucky (when they scored 18 points) more indicative of this team's potential. Hopefully, I'll be able to figure that out tonight.
9:00 pm: Marquette @ Vanderbilt: This is an interesting matchup between two teams in the middle of the pack of their respective conferences power structure. I don't generally like using the term scrappy to define a team, but its tough to find another adjective that correctly defines Marquette. (Feisty? Pesky?) They are exactly the same as every Marquette team the past five years. Versatile forwards, talented guards, play hard. Vanderbilt is flying a bit under the radar right now. They have size, they have shooting, and they have athleticism, but its never a good sign when your point guard is Brad Tinsley.
9:00 pm: No. 25 Illinois @ Iowa: The Illini kick off their Big Ten season with a trip to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes. Illinois should handle this one easily, but they also should have beaten Illinois-Chicago easily.
10:30 pm: Washington @ USC: USC has been much improved over the past three weeks or so, especially now that they have Jio Fontan on the roster. We get a chance to see them play against Pac-10 favorite Washington tonight. We should get a feel for whether or not this team will actually make any noise in league play.
11:00 pm: Washington State @ UCLA: This is one of the most important games of the Pac-10 season. UCLA has the talent to compete for the league title, but if they are going to, winning home games against the other teams near the top of the league -- the Washington schools -- is vital. UCLA got a boost yesterday when it was announced that the Bruins would have Tyler Honeycutt in uniform.
7:00 pm: St. John's @ West Virginia: The Mountaineers looked awesome early in the season, but as Bobby Huggins tries to get this team to play the way he demands, WVU has slipped a bit. They aren't losing game, but they also are not playing as well as many expected. St. John's is a question mark heading into the Big East season. They lost to Fordham and St. Bonaventure, but they looked awesome in the second half against Northwestern, hitting 16-20 from the floor.
Other Notable Games:
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Sunday, October 17, 2010
2010-2011 Season Preview Top 50 Countdown: Nos. 45-41 |
Over the coming weeks, we will be counting down our Top 50 teams in the country. Teams 26-50 will be posted in groups of five, while we will count backwards from No. 25 to the No. 1 team in the country.
For a complete listing of our season previews, click here.
To browse through the rest of our Top 50 Countdown, click here.
45. Virginia Commonwealth
- Last Season: 27-9, 11-7 (CAA)
- Head Coach: Shaka Smart
- Key Losses: Larry Sanders, Jay Gavin, TJ Gwynn
- New Additions: Juvonte Reddic, Rob Brandenburg, Heath Houston, DJ Haley, Reco McCarter
- Projected Lineup:
- G: Joey Rodriguez, Sr.
- G: Ed Nixon, Sr.
- G: Bradford Burgess, Jr.
- F: Juvonte Reddic, Fr.
- C: Jamie Skeen, Sr.
- Bench: Brandon Rozzell, Sr.; Darius Theus, So.; Toby Veal, Jr.; Heath Houston, Fr.
- Outlook: How long until VCU starts getting mentioned in the same breath as the Xavier's and the Gonzaga's of the world? The past two seasons, they have sent a player to the first round of the NBA Draft. Their last two coaches have ended up at Oklahoma and Alabama. Last season, they won 27 games despite losing seven conference games by five points or fewer, two of which came in over time. Despite all of that, the Rams will once again be a favorite to win the CAA. It will start with point guard Joey Rodriguez, who is one of the most underrated players in the country. Last year, he averaged 12.9 ppg and 5.8 apg, admirably replacing Eric Maynor. Joining him in the back court will be 6'2" senior Brandon Rozzell and 6'6" junior Bradford Burgess. Senior Ed Nixon is one of the toughest defenders in the CAA, giving VCU arguably the best back court in the conference. Darius Theus and a couple of freshmen -- Rob Brandenburg and Reco McCarter -- should also see time in the back court. Up front, its going to be tough to replace a talent like Larry Sanders, but there are some pieces there. Senior Jamie Skeen is a tough, experienced senior, and junior Toby Veal -- who originally enrolled at Colorado -- should also step in and contribute significant minutes. After that, there is a lot of inexperience -- three freshmen and a redshirt sophomore that played in just nine games -- up front, but plenty of potential. Juvonte Reddic is probably Smart's best recruit, an explosive athlete that should be an impact freshman. 7'0" DJ Haley was a late, under-the-radar signee that could develop like Sanders. Heath Houston originally signed with Auburn before Jeff Lebo resigned. VCU will, once again, be a very tough out.
44. Dayton
- Last Season: 25-12, 8-8 (A-10)
- Head Coach: Brian Gregory
- Key Losses: Marcus Johnson, London Warren, Rob Lowery, Mickey Perry, Kurt Huelsman
- New Additions: Juwan Staten, Brandon Spearman, Devin Oliver, Ralph Hill, Mitch Asmus
- Projected Lineup:
- G: Juwan Staten, Fr.
- G: Paul Williams, Jr.
- F: Chris Johnson, Jr.
- F: Chris Wright, Sr.
- C: Devin Searcy, Sr.
- Bench: Luke Fabrizius, Jr.; Brandon Spearman, Fr.; Josh Benson, So.
- Outlook: The Flyers had a disappointing finish to what seemed to be such a promising season. With all five starters returning and seven seniors on a roster with quite a bit of talent, most analysts predicted Dayton to win the Atlantic 10. But the Flyers, who ended up finishing seventh in the A-10, could never quite figure out how to execute down the stretch of games, as all 12 of their losses were by less than eight points. This year, Dayton essentially loses their entire back court as Mickey Perry, London Warren, Rob Lowery, and Marcus Johnson all graduate. Brian Gregory does have some talented perimeter players coming in -- headlined by four-star point guard Juwan Staten and two-guard Brandon Spearman -- but, as is the norm with freshmen, it may take time before they are ready to contribute significantly. Dayton did catch a break when Chris Wright made the decision to withdraw from the NBA Draft. A super athletic combo-forward, Wright was the Flyers leading scorer and rebounder last season, but he didn't quite develop into the star that many believed he would. Chris Johnson, Dayton's second leading scorer and another big wing, also returns, as does Paul Williams, who may sneak into the starting line-up this year. Inside, Kurt Huelsman, who started every game in his Dayton career, graduates, but the rest of the front court is back. Sharpshooting Luke Fabrizius, Devin Searcy, and sophomores Matt Kavanaugh and Josh Benson will likely all see minutes. I expect Searcy and Benson, in particular, to have good years. This Dayton squad lost quite a bit of talent, but they were a deep team the last few years. There are still good players on this roster, and while they may not be the favorite in the league, they will compete for an NCAA Tournament spot.
43. Notre Dame
- Last Season: 23-12, 10-8 (Big East)
- Head Coach: Mike Brey
- Key Losses: Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson, Jonathon Peoples
- New Additions: Eric Atkins, Jerian Grant, Alex Dragicevich
- Projected Lineup:
- G: Eric Atkins, Fr.
- G: Ben Hansbrough, Sr.
- F: Tim Abromaitis, Jr.
- F: Scott Martin, Jr.
- F: Carleton Scott, Sr.
- Bench: Tyrone Nash, Sr.; Jerian Grant, Fr.; Jack Cooley, So.
- Outlook: The Fighting Irish have their work cut out for them this season, as they will be losing Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson. Mike Brey's club will count heavily on their front line, which is headlined by last season's second-leading scorer Tim Abromaitis. Abromaitis is a 6'8" sharpshooting forward, but he'll need to continue to develop the ability to create his own shot. Scott Martin, a Purdue transfer who tore his acl before the season started, will be back after sitting out the past two years. One guy I expect to have a big season is Carleton Scott, a senior that nearly left the program before finding a groove as he moved into the starting lineup when Gody got injured. Ty Nash, a scrappy, 6'7" power forward, and Jack Cooley, a 6'10" Gody lookalike, complete the front line rotation. In the back court, its going to be Ben Hansbrough and a lot of inexperience. Tyler's younger brother is a good player, a combo guard that can score, create, and defend, but he's not a true point guard. After Hansbrough, the Irish return just 30 games games with Joey Brooks and Tom Kopko combined, but add three freshman -- including Eric Atkins, a four-star point guard that could slide right into the starter's role, and Jerian Grant -- to the mix. Notre Dame made a run to the NCAA Tournament last season by changing their style, slowing the pace, and becoming a defensively oriented group. With a line-up that is bigger at most positions than the Irish are used to, don't be surprised if the Irish do more of the same next season.
42. Seton Hall
- Last Season: 19-13, 9-9 (Big East)
- Head Coach: Kevin Willard
- Key Losses: Eugene Harvey, Robert Mitchell, John Garcia
- New Additions: Fuquan Edwin, Anali Okoloji, Patrik Auda, Aaron Geramipoor, Reco McCarter
- Projected Lineup:
- G: Jordan Theodore, Jr.
- G: Jeremy Hazell, Sr.
- F: Eniel Polynice, Sr.
- F: Jeff Robinson, Sr.
- C: Herb Pope, Jr.
- Bench: Keon Lawrence, Sr.; Ferrakhon Hall, So.; Jamel Jackson, Sr.; Fuquan Edwin, Fr.
- Outlook: Seton Hall is the x-factor in the Big East this season. For starters, they got rid of Bobby Gonzalez, replacing him with Kevin Willard from Iona, while returning most of their roster. Jeremy Hazell, one of the best scorers in the country when he is making good decision with the bal, returns for his senior season. He'll play along side Jordan Theodore, an underrated point guard who will get a chance to be the lead guard with Eugene Harvey's graduation. Keon Lawrence (a talented but enigmatic Missouri transfer), Jamel Jackson (a streaky shooter who hit 12 threes in a game last season), and freshman Fuquan Edwin should all see minutes. Eniel Polynice, an Ole Miss transfer, will be eligible immediately and could sneak into the Pirate starting line up. At 6'5", Polynice is more of a defender, a slasher, and a creator and should really complement Hazell well. Up front, Seton Hall has quite a bit of talent as well. Herb Pope is a double-double machine when healthy (if you remember, he had that scary incident when he collapsed back in April). Jeff Robinson also returns after pulling his name out of the draft. Those two can matchup with most front lines in the Big East, but Willard will need to develop some kind of bench between sophomore Ferrakhon Hall and four freshmen. If Pope returns to himself, Seton Hall has all the pieces they need to make a run at a spot in the top four of the league. The question is whether new head coach Kevin Willard can fit all those pieces together. Hazell doesn't understand the concept of team basketball or what a good shot is. Pope was ejected from the NIT last year for punching a Texas Tech player below the belt. Four players have transferred in from different colleges. This is a talented group, but if there is no chemistry, it could be another disappointing season.
41. Wichita State
- Last Season: 25-10, 12-6 (MVC)
- Head Coach: Gregg Marshall
- Key Losses: Clevin Hannah
- New Additions: Trey Jones, Randall Vautravers
- Projected Lineup:
- G: Joe Ragland, Jr.
- G: Toure' Murry, Jr.
- G: Graham Hatch, Sr.
- F: JT Durley, Sr.
- C: Garrett Stutz, Jr.
- Bench: Gabe Blair, Sr.; David Kyles, Jr.; Demetric Williams, So.; Aaron Ellis, Sr.
- Outlook: The Shockers look like they will be the early favorite to win the Missouri Valley. They only lose one senior and bring back a roster loaded with talent, size, and experience. In the Missouri Valley, it tends to be the front court that determines who wins the league, and Wichita State has one of, if not the best. Senior JT Durley is probably the Shockers most dangerous scorer in the front court, and if seven-foot junior Garrett Stutz can regain the form he had late in the season, he'll be force inside as well. Aaron Ellis and Gabe Blair are athletic live-bodies that will provide defense and rebounding, while redshirt freshman Jerome Hamilton and seven-foot sophomore Ehimen Orukpe could also see minutes. The biggest question for the Shockers is going to be how they replace point guard Clevin Hannah, their best scorer and the leader of this club the past two seasons. Sophomore Demetric Williams got better as the season progressed, and JuCo transfer Joe Ragland should also fight for minutes at the point. The guy that Gregg Marshall will be looking for more consistency out of will be two-guard Toure' Murry. A tough defender, Murry is a bit streaky on the offensive end, although he is capable of going for 20. Senior Graham Hatch is a glue guy through and through that can also knock down a three, while junior David Kyles will see a bigger role this year as well. The Shockers will, once again, be a tough defensive team with a lot of size on the inside. The Valley is always tough and full of close, competitive, physical basketball games. If Wichita State can figure out how to win some of those on the road -- which they didn't do last season -- this looks like a team that could win the league.
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Saturday, September 18, 2010
Rankings the Big Mondays |
I'll be honest.
I love Big Monday. Maybe its because I grew up in Big East country. Maybe its because I have an awkward love for color commentary of Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery. Maybe its because I am the only person in the country that thinks Brent Musberger and Bobby Knight are entertaining as announcers. Maybe its because something needs to fill the void of Monday Night Football.
Or maybe its because I simply adore starting off my week with two big-time matchups, which just so happen to be the only games of significance each and every Monday. If you can't get excited for Big Monday, then we can't be friends anymore. Sorry. The door's over there.
I have a point to all of this (I swear).
On Thursday, the Big East released their Big Monday schedule. The Big XII announced their portion back in July, which means that I now know exactly how I will be spending each and every Monday in January and February.
Hit the jump to see our rankings of which Big Mondays we are looking forward to the most:
(Ed. Note: We aren't including the first three weeks in our rankings. If we were, they would be at the bottom. Two games are always better than one.)
1. January 17th: Villanova @ UConn; Kansas State @ Missouri; Syracuse @ Pitt; Kansas @ Baylor
I mean, isn't this obvious? The 17th is Martin Luther King, Jr., day, and what better way to celebrate your Monday off from work than eight solid hours of Big East and Big XII hoops? The day tips at 3:30pm (all times EST) with Villanova heading to UConn. Now, the Huskies are going to be down this season, but they still have Kemba Walker who will need to have a big game against Villanova's loaded back court. The good news for UConn is that the game will, in fact, be played at Gampel Pavilion, their on-campus arena, as opposed to the Hartford Civic Center. The other MLK Day Big East game will be one of the best of the season. Pitt and Syracuse, along with Villanova, are the favorites to finish atop the conference, and its by a pretty wide margin. There is a lot to like about this game, but the matchup that intrigues me the most will be Pitt's sophomore big man Dante Taylor going up against stud Syracuse freshman Fab Melo. I get the feeling NBA scouts will like that as well.
UConn beat Nova in Philly last year.
(photo credit: Stamford Advocate)
On the Big XII side, the games will be just as entertaining. The first game pits Kansas State and Mizzou, two of the more exciting teams to watch in this league. Kansas State has a ton of size and length along their front line, but their back court is relatively inexperienced after all-american Jacob Pullen. That's not ideal considering the Tiger's 40 minutes of hell defense. Mizzou is deep, especially in the back court, with a lot athletes that really can get after it defensively. It may not be the prettiest game to watch, but it will be exciting. The night ends with Kansas heading to Waco, TX, to take on Baylor. Both the Bears and the Jayhawks have potential all-americans on their roster in LaceDarius Dunn and Marcus Morris. But they also boast two of the most-hyped recruits in the country in Josh Selby and Perry Jones.
2. February 14th: West Virginia @ Syracuse; Kansas @ Kansas State
It may be Valentine's Day, but love is rarely in the air when Kansas and Kansas State get together. The atmosphere is always fantastic when the Jayhawks enter the Octagon of Doom, and this season should be no different. Marcus Morris will have his hands full with the Wildcat front line, but the matchup that everyone will want to see is freshman phenom Josh Selby going up against senior and all-american Jacob Pullen.
Jacob Pullen and the Wildcats have a great home court.
(photo credit: USA Today)
In the early game, Bob Huggins will bring his West Virginia Mountaineers to the Carrier Dome to take on Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orange. The Orange are definitely the more talented team, with guys like Kris Joseph and Fab Melo looking like potential first round picks, but the Mountaineers are a scrappy bunch led by senior Joe Mazzulla. With Kevin Jones and Deniz Kilicli seemingly primed for big years inside, it should surprise no one if WVU gives Syracuse a game.
3. February 7th: Pitt @ West Virginia; Missouri @ Kansas
Rivalry games are what it is all about in college hoops, and these two rivalries are about as entertaining as it gets. West Virginia fans are notoriously rowdy, and the last time the Panthers came to visit, it ended with a Pitt assistant coach being hit by a coin thrown from the stands. With both teams once again loaded with physical, tough basketball players, I wouldn't be surprised if this year's installment of the Backyard Brawl ended up in an actual brawl.
Marcus Morris and Kim English will be two of the best players in the Big XII next year.
(photo credit: Statsheet)
You know a rivalry is good when it has its own nickname. Pitt-WVU is the Backyard Brawl, while Kansas-Missouri games are known as the Border War. This year, the Tigers will be traveling to the Phog to take on a very good Jayhawk team. Kansas will be playing with a freshman point guard in Josh Selby, which is never ideal when you are facing the kind of pressure that Mizzou puts on for 40 minutes.
4. February 21st: Syracuse @ Villanova; Oklahoma State @ Kansas
A late February game between two of the favorites to win a conference? Yes please! The outcome of this Syracuse and Villanova game will, in all likelihood, have a major impact on the top of the Big East standings. Villanova may not have answers for Kris Joseph or Fab Melo, but can the Orange zone contain the Wildcat's tremendous back court?
Oklahoma State travels to Kansas in the night cap. The Cowboys lost their star James Anderson to the NBA this offseason and return a young roster. Okie State does have a couple of solid post players and some young talent in their back court, but winning in the Phog is never an easy task.
5. February 28th: Villanova @ Notre Dame; Kansas State @ Texas
Texas lost quite a bit of talent, but with freshmen Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson coming in, and Jordan Hamilton returning, there's reason to believe this Texas team could make a run at a Big XII title. Kansas State is likely a top ten team this season, which means that if the Longhorns get a couple of breaks this year, this game could end up being a fantastic way to end the Big Monday season.
Notre Dame lost a bunch of talent as well, as Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson graduated. But with guys like Ben Hansbrough, Tim Abromaitis, and Carleton Scott returning, as well as a healthy Scott Martin being added to the rotation, this Irish team may sneak up on some people. But if Villanova is in the mix for a Big East title at this point in the year, will the Irish be able to compete with a determined Villanova team?
6. January 24th: Notre Dame @ Pitt; Baylor @ Kansas State
There's an argument to be made that Jacob Pullen and LaceDarius Dunn at the two best guards in the country. Would I make that argument? Not necessarily, but I would argue that watching those two go back and forth in a game with as much size, length, and athleticism as there is on both sides of the ball in this game will be immensely entertaining.
If Notre Dame continues to play the way they did down the stretch last season, then this matchup with Pitt might struggle to hit the 50's. If Notre Dame decides to try and take more advantage of some of the offensive talent they have on their roster, it may end up being a higher-scoring affair. But will Notre Dame then be able to compete with a very good Pitt team?
7. January 31st: Louisville @ Georgetown; Texas @ Texas A&M
Both of these games are quite similar. Georgetown loses Greg Monroe, but they return a talented and experienced back court that could end up being one of the best in the country. Its part of the reason they are considered one of the four best teams in the conference. Louisville, on the other hand, lost quite a bit of senior leadership and will head into this season with a younger group of kids.
As we mentioned, Texas lost some talent, but has a solid core of young guys that will lead them. The 'Horns, like Georgetown, should be considered one of the top four or five teams in their league, while the Aggies will have lost a lot of their senior leadership.
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