Thursday, October 30, 2003
Navy: Now that we don't suck at football, we're working on basketball
Fun and true fact of the day: Don DeVoe once got in a shoving match with this man. Can anyone tell me the hows and whys? You'll get your name in lights if you do.
The Capital (Annapolis, MD)
October 26, 2003 Sunday
SPORTS; Pg. C1
Navy unveils new basktball looks
CRAIG ANDERSON, Staff Writer
On one side of Halsey Field House, a new-look Navy men's basketball team spent the past week trying to impress veteran coach Don DeVoe.
Practicing just a few feet away was the veteran women's squad and its new leader Tom Marryott.
It promises to be a year of transition for both Navy hoop teams, which wrapped up a week full of practices on Friday.
After coach Joe Sanchez abruptly resigned in the offseason, interim coach Marryott inherited a talent base expected to challenge for a Patriot League title and NCAA tournament berth that comes with it. A productive six-player senior class is down to its last shot at going somewhere in March.
The Midshipmen are a hungry bunch after going 16-11 during the regular season last year, only to fall in the league tournament first round for the fourth straight time.
"He's adding fuel to the fire," said two-time all-Patriot League guard Courtney Davidson, the team's captain in 2003-04 of Maryott. "Physically we come off the court exhausted, but mentally we're fired up and ready to go. At the end of a practice we wonder how we got so much done in just two hours, 15 minutes."
With the graduation of a large senior class and a couple unexpected departures, the men's team is a little less settled. Adding to that, senior point guard/team captain Jason Fernandez pulled his hamstring on the first day of workouts and was a spectator until late last week.
Without Fernandez around, junior Taj Matthews became the team's primary ballhandler during early drills. Returning point guard Kwame Ofori has moved to a shooting guard spot to utilize his physical strength and ability to drive.
Minus even more leadership then expected with Fernandez's absence, the men spent the week going through the basics of man-to-man defense, a staple in any DeVoe-coached team. Not much went right during last season's 8-20 campaign.
In addition, new assistant coaches Dave Wojcik and Blake Flickner were added in the offseason to replace Marryott and Nathan Davis (now at Bucknell).
"Right now we're trying to get the guys to understand the physicality of Division I basketball," DeVoe said. "On nights when we're not shooting the ball well we've got to be strong enough to play aggressive, hard-nosed defense. Those principles are being put into place right now."
Sophomore forward Matt Fannin has gained more than 20 pounds since last season, and plans the use his 6-foot-7, 233-pound frame to his advantage. He's the frontcourt's top returning scorer at a scant 2.9 points per game.
Then there's 6-8 sophomore Mike Higgins, who returns from a two-year Mormon Mission that took him completely away from basketball. When he gets back into mental and physical playing shape, another weapon will be added.
"Higgins looks like he'll be able to score pretty well," Fannin said. "He looks like he can bang underneath, but still has a good shooting touch."
Earlier this month, the men's program received a verbal committment from 6-foot-4, 205-pound forward-guard Charles McKnight of Southern Pines, N.C. The 17-year-old was an All Mid-Southeastern Conference pick as a junior for a 3-20 Pincrest High team.
McKnight visited the academy the weekend of Navy's football upset of Air Force, and decided he was coming to Annapolis soon afterward.
"They put it like this," McKnight told The Pilot newspaper. "It's obviously a hard place to be, but it's a great place to be from. What it comes down to, these are the people I would like to be like in the next four or five years ...
"I got to play with the team and fit in well with the type of offense - it's real up-tempo."
Marryott said he hopes the women can become more up-tempo than last season. He hopes to take advantage of point guard Maile Shimoda's open-court abilities, along with mobile post players Bryanna Herring and Adrienne Roseti.
Besides the veterans, 6-foot freshman forward Carly Meyer is expected to make an immediate impact.
The women began with a wide-open scrimmage at a Midnight Madness session last Saturday before 400 fans and haven't slowed down since.
"It was my first chance to look at them in a five on five setting," Marryott said. "There were a lot of floorburns and a even little blood at times. They are terrific workers and a lot of fund to be around."
After a Blue-Gold scrimmage on Nov. 9, the women host M.I. Express in an exhibition game on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. The season opener is Nov. 21 at Robert Morris, with the first home game on Nov. 25 against Morgan State.
The men host Team Champion in a Nov. 16 exhibition, followed by the Nov. 21 opener at South Carolina. The first home game comes Nov. 24 versus Belmont. @ 2:29 PM
Fun and true fact of the day: Don DeVoe once got in a shoving match with this man. Can anyone tell me the hows and whys? You'll get your name in lights if you do.
The Capital (Annapolis, MD)
October 26, 2003 Sunday
SPORTS; Pg. C1
Navy unveils new basktball looks
CRAIG ANDERSON, Staff Writer
On one side of Halsey Field House, a new-look Navy men's basketball team spent the past week trying to impress veteran coach Don DeVoe.
Practicing just a few feet away was the veteran women's squad and its new leader Tom Marryott.
It promises to be a year of transition for both Navy hoop teams, which wrapped up a week full of practices on Friday.
After coach Joe Sanchez abruptly resigned in the offseason, interim coach Marryott inherited a talent base expected to challenge for a Patriot League title and NCAA tournament berth that comes with it. A productive six-player senior class is down to its last shot at going somewhere in March.
The Midshipmen are a hungry bunch after going 16-11 during the regular season last year, only to fall in the league tournament first round for the fourth straight time.
"He's adding fuel to the fire," said two-time all-Patriot League guard Courtney Davidson, the team's captain in 2003-04 of Maryott. "Physically we come off the court exhausted, but mentally we're fired up and ready to go. At the end of a practice we wonder how we got so much done in just two hours, 15 minutes."
With the graduation of a large senior class and a couple unexpected departures, the men's team is a little less settled. Adding to that, senior point guard/team captain Jason Fernandez pulled his hamstring on the first day of workouts and was a spectator until late last week.
Without Fernandez around, junior Taj Matthews became the team's primary ballhandler during early drills. Returning point guard Kwame Ofori has moved to a shooting guard spot to utilize his physical strength and ability to drive.
Minus even more leadership then expected with Fernandez's absence, the men spent the week going through the basics of man-to-man defense, a staple in any DeVoe-coached team. Not much went right during last season's 8-20 campaign.
In addition, new assistant coaches Dave Wojcik and Blake Flickner were added in the offseason to replace Marryott and Nathan Davis (now at Bucknell).
"Right now we're trying to get the guys to understand the physicality of Division I basketball," DeVoe said. "On nights when we're not shooting the ball well we've got to be strong enough to play aggressive, hard-nosed defense. Those principles are being put into place right now."
Sophomore forward Matt Fannin has gained more than 20 pounds since last season, and plans the use his 6-foot-7, 233-pound frame to his advantage. He's the frontcourt's top returning scorer at a scant 2.9 points per game.
Then there's 6-8 sophomore Mike Higgins, who returns from a two-year Mormon Mission that took him completely away from basketball. When he gets back into mental and physical playing shape, another weapon will be added.
"Higgins looks like he'll be able to score pretty well," Fannin said. "He looks like he can bang underneath, but still has a good shooting touch."
Earlier this month, the men's program received a verbal committment from 6-foot-4, 205-pound forward-guard Charles McKnight of Southern Pines, N.C. The 17-year-old was an All Mid-Southeastern Conference pick as a junior for a 3-20 Pincrest High team.
McKnight visited the academy the weekend of Navy's football upset of Air Force, and decided he was coming to Annapolis soon afterward.
"They put it like this," McKnight told The Pilot newspaper. "It's obviously a hard place to be, but it's a great place to be from. What it comes down to, these are the people I would like to be like in the next four or five years ...
"I got to play with the team and fit in well with the type of offense - it's real up-tempo."
Marryott said he hopes the women can become more up-tempo than last season. He hopes to take advantage of point guard Maile Shimoda's open-court abilities, along with mobile post players Bryanna Herring and Adrienne Roseti.
Besides the veterans, 6-foot freshman forward Carly Meyer is expected to make an immediate impact.
The women began with a wide-open scrimmage at a Midnight Madness session last Saturday before 400 fans and haven't slowed down since.
"It was my first chance to look at them in a five on five setting," Marryott said. "There were a lot of floorburns and a even little blood at times. They are terrific workers and a lot of fund to be around."
After a Blue-Gold scrimmage on Nov. 9, the women host M.I. Express in an exhibition game on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. The season opener is Nov. 21 at Robert Morris, with the first home game on Nov. 25 against Morgan State.
The men host Team Champion in a Nov. 16 exhibition, followed by the Nov. 21 opener at South Carolina. The first home game comes Nov. 24 versus Belmont. @ 2:29 PM
