Wednesday, January 28, 2004
The Ingram Family: Road Warriors
The Ingrams and my group were the only AU fans at the Colgate game in Hamilton, and I couldn't have hoped for a more enthusiastic group to cheer with.
Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia)
January 14, 2004 Wednesday City Edition
YOUR SECTION EAST; Pg. K-12
AIR INGRAMS/ ANDRE AND LUCIOUS ARE IN THE CLOUDS WITH AMERICAN EAGLES/
FRED JETER/ Times-Dispatch Staff Writer/ Contact Fred Jeter at (804) 739-2219 or fjeter@timesdispatch.com,
This is an "All-American" story about hoops: basketball hoops and hula hoops.
Former Highland Springs High star Andre Ingram has been a freshman sensation for American University, pacing coach Jeff Jones' Eagles in scoring in eight of his first 15 games.
Big brother Lucious Ingram hasn't done badly, either, on his visits to the school's Washington D.C. campus.
Andre leads the Patriot League squad in scoring, minutes played and 3-point shooting.
Richmonder Lucious, one of his brothers' biggest fans, is the AU leader in . . . well, in good luck.
Taking a chance on a raffle ticket at AU's season-opener against Delaware, Lucious (another former Springer) won two free tickets to Honolulu, Hawaii.
"His number got called," Andre said with a chuckle. "That was great. But it was kind of fitting, because I've had a family member at every game I've played - home and away."
Lucious' tickets to Hawaii came in handy as he watched Andre play three-games at the Rainbow Classic during the holidays.
Andre had a season-high 23 points in a loss to Notre Dame, and he enjoyed his first college double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) in a third-place victory over East Tennessee.
Last winter, Ingram led coach George Lancaster's Springers to the state Group AAA title. He made his final college between American and William and Mary.
"I wrote down everything about both schools, and after I factored it all it, I picked American," the 6-2 shooting guard said.
Then he added: "And I'm happy with my decision."
Eagles coach Jones, a former University of Virginia player and coach, is just as delighted. Ingram is fourth in the Patriot League in scoring (13.7) and second in 3-pointers made (2.79).
"He's been terrific - an absolute joy to coach," said Jones, who team improved to 7-8 overall with a win Saturday over Bucknell.
"I knew we were getting a great person and very good player. What I may not have known was what a good learner Andre is. He's impressed our entire staff with his ability to pick things up so fast."
Ingram, a confident shooter, scored more than 20 points per game as a junior and senior for Highland Springs. His shot is not from a textbook. He sort of lunges forward on his release instead of going straight up and down. That bothered some recruiters, but not Jones.
"I had Curtis Staples at Virginia and he had an odd shot, too. He sort of shot it with two hands from the front of his head, and he wound up being the NCAA all-time leader in 3s.
"I'm smart enough to know not to mess with a successful shooter."
Adjusting to college hoops is one thing. Ingram admits that adjusting to the fast pace of one of the world's most hectic cities might be a bit tougher.
"I don't have a car here, and I'm glad," he said. "The traffic is crazy . . . much different than at home. Mostly, I just take the Metro or the shuttles."
Also learning to cope with D.C. traffic are parents Lucious Sr. and Eva, who have made all the games except for the trip to Hawaii.
"The Ingrams are some of our best fans," AU Sports Information Director Shaun May said. "It's like the game isn't official until the Ingrams arrive."
Jones has made it easier for traveling fans by scheduling most of the home games at 1 p.m.
"I just hate waiting for a game," Jones said. "The earlier we play, the better I like it."
That way, the Ingrams have dinner with Andre after the game and still get back to eastern Henrico at a decent hour.
It's a nice deal the Ingram family has worked out. Andre does the 'hoopin' and they do the hollerin.'/
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The Ingrams and my group were the only AU fans at the Colgate game in Hamilton, and I couldn't have hoped for a more enthusiastic group to cheer with.
Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia)
January 14, 2004 Wednesday City Edition
YOUR SECTION EAST; Pg. K-12
AIR INGRAMS/ ANDRE AND LUCIOUS ARE IN THE CLOUDS WITH AMERICAN EAGLES/
FRED JETER/ Times-Dispatch Staff Writer/ Contact Fred Jeter at (804) 739-2219 or fjeter@timesdispatch.com,
This is an "All-American" story about hoops: basketball hoops and hula hoops.
Former Highland Springs High star Andre Ingram has been a freshman sensation for American University, pacing coach Jeff Jones' Eagles in scoring in eight of his first 15 games.
Big brother Lucious Ingram hasn't done badly, either, on his visits to the school's Washington D.C. campus.
Andre leads the Patriot League squad in scoring, minutes played and 3-point shooting.
Richmonder Lucious, one of his brothers' biggest fans, is the AU leader in . . . well, in good luck.
Taking a chance on a raffle ticket at AU's season-opener against Delaware, Lucious (another former Springer) won two free tickets to Honolulu, Hawaii.
"His number got called," Andre said with a chuckle. "That was great. But it was kind of fitting, because I've had a family member at every game I've played - home and away."
Lucious' tickets to Hawaii came in handy as he watched Andre play three-games at the Rainbow Classic during the holidays.
Andre had a season-high 23 points in a loss to Notre Dame, and he enjoyed his first college double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) in a third-place victory over East Tennessee.
Last winter, Ingram led coach George Lancaster's Springers to the state Group AAA title. He made his final college between American and William and Mary.
"I wrote down everything about both schools, and after I factored it all it, I picked American," the 6-2 shooting guard said.
Then he added: "And I'm happy with my decision."
Eagles coach Jones, a former University of Virginia player and coach, is just as delighted. Ingram is fourth in the Patriot League in scoring (13.7) and second in 3-pointers made (2.79).
"He's been terrific - an absolute joy to coach," said Jones, who team improved to 7-8 overall with a win Saturday over Bucknell.
"I knew we were getting a great person and very good player. What I may not have known was what a good learner Andre is. He's impressed our entire staff with his ability to pick things up so fast."
Ingram, a confident shooter, scored more than 20 points per game as a junior and senior for Highland Springs. His shot is not from a textbook. He sort of lunges forward on his release instead of going straight up and down. That bothered some recruiters, but not Jones.
"I had Curtis Staples at Virginia and he had an odd shot, too. He sort of shot it with two hands from the front of his head, and he wound up being the NCAA all-time leader in 3s.
"I'm smart enough to know not to mess with a successful shooter."
Adjusting to college hoops is one thing. Ingram admits that adjusting to the fast pace of one of the world's most hectic cities might be a bit tougher.
"I don't have a car here, and I'm glad," he said. "The traffic is crazy . . . much different than at home. Mostly, I just take the Metro or the shuttles."
Also learning to cope with D.C. traffic are parents Lucious Sr. and Eva, who have made all the games except for the trip to Hawaii.
"The Ingrams are some of our best fans," AU Sports Information Director Shaun May said. "It's like the game isn't official until the Ingrams arrive."
Jones has made it easier for traveling fans by scheduling most of the home games at 1 p.m.
"I just hate waiting for a game," Jones said. "The earlier we play, the better I like it."
That way, the Ingrams have dinner with Andre after the game and still get back to eastern Henrico at a decent hour.
It's a nice deal the Ingram family has worked out. Andre does the 'hoopin' and they do the hollerin.'/
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Olivero is Legit, Rowland is still a punk-ass
Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
January 19, 2004 Monday FIFTH EDITION
SPORTS, Pg. C11, WILLIAMS
D.C. connection Olivero and Rowland bring the juice to Lehigh
By Andre Williams Of The Morning Call
Lehigh University now has a fun-and-gun offense, led by guards Austen Rowland and Jose Olivero, that is entertaining and producing winning results.
Maybe it's a taste of what's to come in future years under Billy Taylor, the second-year coach who now sports a 25-18 record after Saturday's 63-58 victory over American University in Washington, D.C.
Maybe the uptempo style of play, which includes one creative attempt after another and shots launched from beyond the 3-point arc at any time of the game, is what basketball is supposed to be about.
You can not rattle the opposition if you do not force the action aggressively at both ends of the court.
You could not have survived in the Washington Metropolitan area gymnasiums -- where Rowland and Olivero played high school basketball and streetball games -- without bringing your "A" game to the court each time.
Nobody said you had to look or play like Michael Jordan. You just had to bring your best effort, not wilt to trash-talking during the highly intense and competitive games.
Basketball in the D.C. area is the same as it is in other hotbeds such as Philadelphia and New York, and Rowland and Olivero will quickly tell you that respect on the court was not so easily given. It had to be earned.
Olivero, a 6-1 freshman from W.T. Woodson High in Northern Virginia, played his first two years of high school ball in Tampa, Fla. When his father, an Army man, was transferred, Olivero said he then stepped into a totally different basketball world, one that he enjoyed much better.
"I played in front of standing-room-only crowds," Olivero said Saturday after scoring 13 points with four assists against AU. "You can take anything they say out here because I heard a lot worst in high school. It gives you that mental toughness playing basketball up here because you know you can do it."
Olivero is averaging close to 14 points per game.
Lehigh basketball was basically stale for the few years prior to Taylor's arrival. Last season, the Mountain Hawks went 16-12, and are off to a 10-6 start this year. They will give up a height advantage to most teams inside the paint, but they will match up well with any Patriot League team in the backcourt because of Rowland and Olivero.
Rowland, a 6-1 senior transfer from the University of Delaware, grew up in Hyattsville, Md. He has averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds in the last eight games.
"I think they are guys that play with so much passion that it is contagious," Taylor said. "The rest of our team gets it. Our fans get behind it. I think it's an exciting way to play. It's always more fun when you have the victory to go with it, but these guys have worked hard in the preseason. They wanted to give themselves a chance to play at a high level and that's what they are doing."
Taylor has made it easier for Olivero and Rowland to succeed by trusting and giving them both the green light on offense. Both had the same luxury in high school and said they chose Lehigh because of the style of play they believed Taylor would run.
"Definitely, when I was transferring, one of the things I looked at was the style of play," Rowland said. "I didn't want to be on a slow-down team, running the Princeton offense. I wanted a chance to have some freedom out there. Coach Taylor definitely gives us freedom to go out there and create. It's all about making reads.
"He gives you a chance to make mistakes because he knows that playing aggressively you will make mistakes."
Rowland had four turnovers and Olivero had three on Saturday against American, but both hit big shots when Lehigh needed a spark. It's been that way all season and Taylor hopes it continues.
In a way, both are just doing what they used to do in the D.C. area.
Moving up in age, still winning: Temple's Hall-of-Fame coach John Chaney turns 72 on Wednesday and is two victories shy of becoming the 16th coach in Division I history to win 700 games. Chaney (698-277) will join New Mexico State's Lou Henson, Texas Tech's Bobby Knight, Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton and Lute Olson of Arizona as the only active coaches with at least 700 victories.
A-10 rank: Saint Joseph's, which was ranked No. 6 in last week's Associated Press poll, has garnered the highest ranking by an Atlantic 10 team since Temple was rated No. 5 in the final poll of the 1999-2000 season. The Hawks figure to be ranked even higher this week.
PL's magic man: American University senior guard Andres Rodriguez had a Patriot League-record 19 assists in a win over Navy on Wednesday night. It was an NCAA high this season, and topped the previous record of 16 that Bucknell's Russell Peyton posted in 1991. Rodriguez had just seven assists against Lehigh on Jan. 10.
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Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
January 19, 2004 Monday FIFTH EDITION
SPORTS, Pg. C11, WILLIAMS
D.C. connection Olivero and Rowland bring the juice to Lehigh
By Andre Williams Of The Morning Call
Lehigh University now has a fun-and-gun offense, led by guards Austen Rowland and Jose Olivero, that is entertaining and producing winning results.
Maybe it's a taste of what's to come in future years under Billy Taylor, the second-year coach who now sports a 25-18 record after Saturday's 63-58 victory over American University in Washington, D.C.
Maybe the uptempo style of play, which includes one creative attempt after another and shots launched from beyond the 3-point arc at any time of the game, is what basketball is supposed to be about.
You can not rattle the opposition if you do not force the action aggressively at both ends of the court.
You could not have survived in the Washington Metropolitan area gymnasiums -- where Rowland and Olivero played high school basketball and streetball games -- without bringing your "A" game to the court each time.
Nobody said you had to look or play like Michael Jordan. You just had to bring your best effort, not wilt to trash-talking during the highly intense and competitive games.
Basketball in the D.C. area is the same as it is in other hotbeds such as Philadelphia and New York, and Rowland and Olivero will quickly tell you that respect on the court was not so easily given. It had to be earned.
Olivero, a 6-1 freshman from W.T. Woodson High in Northern Virginia, played his first two years of high school ball in Tampa, Fla. When his father, an Army man, was transferred, Olivero said he then stepped into a totally different basketball world, one that he enjoyed much better.
"I played in front of standing-room-only crowds," Olivero said Saturday after scoring 13 points with four assists against AU. "You can take anything they say out here because I heard a lot worst in high school. It gives you that mental toughness playing basketball up here because you know you can do it."
Olivero is averaging close to 14 points per game.
Lehigh basketball was basically stale for the few years prior to Taylor's arrival. Last season, the Mountain Hawks went 16-12, and are off to a 10-6 start this year. They will give up a height advantage to most teams inside the paint, but they will match up well with any Patriot League team in the backcourt because of Rowland and Olivero.
Rowland, a 6-1 senior transfer from the University of Delaware, grew up in Hyattsville, Md. He has averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds in the last eight games.
"I think they are guys that play with so much passion that it is contagious," Taylor said. "The rest of our team gets it. Our fans get behind it. I think it's an exciting way to play. It's always more fun when you have the victory to go with it, but these guys have worked hard in the preseason. They wanted to give themselves a chance to play at a high level and that's what they are doing."
Taylor has made it easier for Olivero and Rowland to succeed by trusting and giving them both the green light on offense. Both had the same luxury in high school and said they chose Lehigh because of the style of play they believed Taylor would run.
"Definitely, when I was transferring, one of the things I looked at was the style of play," Rowland said. "I didn't want to be on a slow-down team, running the Princeton offense. I wanted a chance to have some freedom out there. Coach Taylor definitely gives us freedom to go out there and create. It's all about making reads.
"He gives you a chance to make mistakes because he knows that playing aggressively you will make mistakes."
Rowland had four turnovers and Olivero had three on Saturday against American, but both hit big shots when Lehigh needed a spark. It's been that way all season and Taylor hopes it continues.
In a way, both are just doing what they used to do in the D.C. area.
Moving up in age, still winning: Temple's Hall-of-Fame coach John Chaney turns 72 on Wednesday and is two victories shy of becoming the 16th coach in Division I history to win 700 games. Chaney (698-277) will join New Mexico State's Lou Henson, Texas Tech's Bobby Knight, Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton and Lute Olson of Arizona as the only active coaches with at least 700 victories.
A-10 rank: Saint Joseph's, which was ranked No. 6 in last week's Associated Press poll, has garnered the highest ranking by an Atlantic 10 team since Temple was rated No. 5 in the final poll of the 1999-2000 season. The Hawks figure to be ranked even higher this week.
PL's magic man: American University senior guard Andres Rodriguez had a Patriot League-record 19 assists in a win over Navy on Wednesday night. It was an NCAA high this season, and topped the previous record of 16 that Bucknell's Russell Peyton posted in 1991. Rodriguez had just seven assists against Lehigh on Jan. 10.
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A reminder that these guys work hard
Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia)
January 25, 2004 Sunday City Edition
SPORTS; Pg. C-11
PLAYER DEMANDS A GROWING PROBLEM/ INTENSIFIED TRAINING, MANDATORY TUTELAGE ADD TO THE BURDEN/
Vic Dorr Jr./ Times-Dispatch Staff Writer/ * Contact Vic Dorr Jr. at (804) 649-6442/ or vdorr@timesdispatch.com,
Jeff Jones, a former standout basketball player at the University of Virginia, sometimes can't believe the extent to which the head coach at American University chews up his athletes' time, both in and out of season.
Big deal? Well, yes, it is. Jones, you see, is the head coach at American. And he says there is no question that today's Division I basketball players must make a commitment of time and energy that is "greater - far greater, actually - than anything I ever experienced" while playing from 1979-82 on perhaps the most talented teams in U.Va. history.
"We were one of the first upper- level programs to get seriously into weightlifting," Jones said. "But believe me: What we were doing then isn't even close to what everyone is doing now. And once the season ended we did nothing. Now when the season is over, sure, we give them a few weeks off to relax and catch up with their schoolwork. But we can't give them too much, or from a competitive standpoint we'll lose ground. So after a couple of weeks, we're right back at it. We don't run in the spring, but we lift and work on individual skills."
Adding greatly to the demands on a contemporary athlete's time, Jones said, are the academic safeguards erected by virtually every Division I school: mandatory study halls, tutorial sessions, one-on-ones with counselors.
"I never went to a study hall in four years at Virginia," Jones said. "We had one adviser who made sure that we were signed up for the proper number of classes and hours, and that was pretty much it. Honestly, if I had to go through all of the academic sessions and meetings and appointments the kids have to deal with today, I'm not so sure I'd want anything to do with it - and that's just academics we're talking about."
Joanne Boyle knows the feeling. Boyle, the head women's basketball coach at the University of Richmond, played at Duke from 1981-85. The demands on an athlete's time "have changed a ton since I played," Boyle said. "Then, you'd practice for maybe two hours and then you'd be done and you'd go off on your own to do your own thing."
Boyle said she and her teammates "didn't have to deal with mandatory weight lifting three days a week. We didn't have to worry about community service, and we didn't have any media stuff to be concerned about."
But while much has changed since Jones and Boyle were collegians, at least one thing has not changed: The initial immersion in the fast-flowing waters of intercollegiate competition was then, and is now, sufficient to shock many freshmen. Jones should know. He watched Virginia athletes struggle to adjust for 20 years, 16 as a Cavaliers coach.
"And I can tell you this: I can't recall a single guy I played with or coached who didn't contemplate transferring in his first year. I did. I came very close. [Former U.Va. All-American] Jeff Lamp did. It's not that we were unhappy or didn't like it. It's just that we felt swamped. .*.*. And as great as the time commitment is now, I'd say the same feeling is probably still there." @ 2:16 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia)
January 25, 2004 Sunday City Edition
SPORTS; Pg. C-11
PLAYER DEMANDS A GROWING PROBLEM/ INTENSIFIED TRAINING, MANDATORY TUTELAGE ADD TO THE BURDEN/
Vic Dorr Jr./ Times-Dispatch Staff Writer/ * Contact Vic Dorr Jr. at (804) 649-6442/ or vdorr@timesdispatch.com,
Jeff Jones, a former standout basketball player at the University of Virginia, sometimes can't believe the extent to which the head coach at American University chews up his athletes' time, both in and out of season.
Big deal? Well, yes, it is. Jones, you see, is the head coach at American. And he says there is no question that today's Division I basketball players must make a commitment of time and energy that is "greater - far greater, actually - than anything I ever experienced" while playing from 1979-82 on perhaps the most talented teams in U.Va. history.
"We were one of the first upper- level programs to get seriously into weightlifting," Jones said. "But believe me: What we were doing then isn't even close to what everyone is doing now. And once the season ended we did nothing. Now when the season is over, sure, we give them a few weeks off to relax and catch up with their schoolwork. But we can't give them too much, or from a competitive standpoint we'll lose ground. So after a couple of weeks, we're right back at it. We don't run in the spring, but we lift and work on individual skills."
Adding greatly to the demands on a contemporary athlete's time, Jones said, are the academic safeguards erected by virtually every Division I school: mandatory study halls, tutorial sessions, one-on-ones with counselors.
"I never went to a study hall in four years at Virginia," Jones said. "We had one adviser who made sure that we were signed up for the proper number of classes and hours, and that was pretty much it. Honestly, if I had to go through all of the academic sessions and meetings and appointments the kids have to deal with today, I'm not so sure I'd want anything to do with it - and that's just academics we're talking about."
Joanne Boyle knows the feeling. Boyle, the head women's basketball coach at the University of Richmond, played at Duke from 1981-85. The demands on an athlete's time "have changed a ton since I played," Boyle said. "Then, you'd practice for maybe two hours and then you'd be done and you'd go off on your own to do your own thing."
Boyle said she and her teammates "didn't have to deal with mandatory weight lifting three days a week. We didn't have to worry about community service, and we didn't have any media stuff to be concerned about."
But while much has changed since Jones and Boyle were collegians, at least one thing has not changed: The initial immersion in the fast-flowing waters of intercollegiate competition was then, and is now, sufficient to shock many freshmen. Jones should know. He watched Virginia athletes struggle to adjust for 20 years, 16 as a Cavaliers coach.
"And I can tell you this: I can't recall a single guy I played with or coached who didn't contemplate transferring in his first year. I did. I came very close. [Former U.Va. All-American] Jeff Lamp did. It's not that we were unhappy or didn't like it. It's just that we felt swamped. .*.*. And as great as the time commitment is now, I'd say the same feeling is probably still there." @ 2:16 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
AU gets its first recruit
I've been slacking on getting recruiting news up-- but here's AU's first recruit of the year:
Coleman "Coley" LeClair
I'll try to add others when I come upon them. @ 3:24 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
I've been slacking on getting recruiting news up-- but here's AU's first recruit of the year:
Coleman "Coley" LeClair
I'll try to add others when I come upon them. @ 3:24 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
More Army Hijinxs
Hate to rail on this, but it needs to be posted, this is from the Times-Record again...
Army men score just 23 in defeat
West Point - Army headed into this week with the nation's second-worst offense. The Black Knights may have moved up to No. 1 - or down to No. 326, however you may look at it - with their worst offensive showing in 61 years.
The Black Knights hit only 2-of-21 shots (9.5 percent) in the second half and shot 19.4 percent for the game as Bucknell ran away with a 56-23 Patriot League victory before 1,095 fans at Christl Arena.
Army had set the league record for offensive futility two weeks ago in a 60-32 home loss to Holy Cross.
Army has played 1,453 games since putting up this few points, losing to Columbia, 29-23, in the 1943 season opener.
Senior forward Josh Wilson scored six points; no other Black Knight tallied more than three. Army (4-12, 1-3) was 2-for-17 from beyond the 3-point arc and 5-for-19 in front of it.
Charles Lee and Abe Badmus each scored 13 points and Jon Clark added 12 for Bucknell (6-11, 2-2). The Bison outrebounded the Black Knights, 43-17, as Army had only one offensive rebound.
It is the 225th time Army has failed to score at least 30 points, all - until last night - taking place prior to 1944.
Army, which has dropped six games by at least 24 points this season, hosts Lehigh at 3:15 p.m. tomorrow." @ 11:45 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Hate to rail on this, but it needs to be posted, this is from the Times-Record again...
Army men score just 23 in defeat
West Point - Army headed into this week with the nation's second-worst offense. The Black Knights may have moved up to No. 1 - or down to No. 326, however you may look at it - with their worst offensive showing in 61 years.
The Black Knights hit only 2-of-21 shots (9.5 percent) in the second half and shot 19.4 percent for the game as Bucknell ran away with a 56-23 Patriot League victory before 1,095 fans at Christl Arena.
Army had set the league record for offensive futility two weeks ago in a 60-32 home loss to Holy Cross.
Army has played 1,453 games since putting up this few points, losing to Columbia, 29-23, in the 1943 season opener.
Senior forward Josh Wilson scored six points; no other Black Knight tallied more than three. Army (4-12, 1-3) was 2-for-17 from beyond the 3-point arc and 5-for-19 in front of it.
Charles Lee and Abe Badmus each scored 13 points and Jon Clark added 12 for Bucknell (6-11, 2-2). The Bison outrebounded the Black Knights, 43-17, as Army had only one offensive rebound.
It is the 225th time Army has failed to score at least 30 points, all - until last night - taking place prior to 1944.
Army, which has dropped six games by at least 24 points this season, hosts Lehigh at 3:15 p.m. tomorrow." @ 11:45 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Here's the story from the Morning Call about the Army/Lehigh debacle:
mcall.com - Lehigh rebounds to dump Army @ 11:32 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
mcall.com - Lehigh rebounds to dump Army @ 11:32 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Poor Jim Crews
23 points. I don't even know what to say about that. Here's an article that will maybe give Army fans hope.
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23 points. I don't even know what to say about that. Here's an article that will maybe give Army fans hope.
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Monday, January 26, 2004
Tired, but Happy
I'm back from a weekend road trip that would have had to involve that dream I keep having about Britney Spears to have been any better. Good friends and cheap beer always make for a nice time.
This weekend was even better for AU. Knocking off Colgate and Holy Cross on the road, 2 of the top 3 preseason league favorites, was huge.
First off, Colgate is in a dump of a town. It seems that Hamilton, NY couldn't be any smaller or colder. Widl chills were about -3 degrees when we rolled in. Why anyone would a) build a college in the middle of nowhere, where the weather is nice 2 months a year or b) attend said college is beyond me. Colgate's a great academic school, don't get me wrong. But living like a damn eskimo can't be fun.
To make matters worse, the local pub refused to sell alcohol to my crew, on account that we didn't have 2 forms of picture ID. So we went to the local dive, the Hour Glass. I think we were the only people under 40 to ever step in the place.
A big crowd of about 500 decided to show up at the game (that's an optimistic number), since most of the Hamilton and CU fans were at the CU hockey game, which was proceeding at the same time, IN THE SAME BUILDING!
This maybe explains why Colgate draws so few-- is this a common occurance? I know hockey is a big deal at CU, so you would think that they would avoid scheduling anything against it. Regardless, this was the worst basketball crowd I've ever seen. They were SILENT the entire game, until the last minute when the Hockey crowd started to file in. I can't imagine that it's fun for the CU players to play in front of a crowd so awful.
Anyway, AU dominated the game the whole time, mostly because Rodriguez was on. The absence of Howard Blue let AU do whatever they liked in the post, and the only thing that kept the game close was Mark Linebaugh's excellent 2nd half play. Rodriguez missed about 300 foul shots in the last minute, but AU's defense kept CU from what would have been a heartbreaking comeback.
Holy Cross is in another fine megalopolis, Worcester, MA. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of driving through Worcester, imagine if all the crappy parts of New Jersey were combined into one town. Then you add a nice campus, which Holy Cross certainly has, and you have Worcester.
This was a defensive game on both ends. HC was forced into tough long-range jumjpers all afternoon, and AU took some ugly shots and were forced into some bad passes.
A quick aside: I think HC's domination of the Patriot League over the last few years has had three key elements:
1) Own the low block on offense with bigger and stronger players, rebound and deny easy looks down low on defense
2) Play good half-court D
3) Have the experience to hit clutch shots and know how to take a game away
HC had one of these three in Friday's game, playing some very good defense. They negated AU's leading scorer, Andre Ingram, giving him few open looks. They were killed in the paint. Jernavis Draughn was just too quick. Fingleton looks like he is in slow motion out there, and I'm not sure what all his hype is about. Sure, he can alter a shot or two, but he can't rebound or play offense to save his life. His one move was a decent hook shot in the first half, but he had only three rebounds in 17 minutes. If you're 7'6", you need to be tipping every other bucket in.
Lufkin looked scared. I see now what the HC posters say about his inablility to play with his back to the bucket. If I was Ralph Willard, I would give him 50 pushups every time he took a shot further than 7 feet from the hoop. I saw no post moves from him all day.
HC's younger guys were impressive in spurts. But Meade played mediocre most of the game, and was clearly beaten by Rodriguez, who was fantastic all day.
It's late and I'm tired. I'll try to get more thoughts up tomorrow. @ 11:34 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
I'm back from a weekend road trip that would have had to involve that dream I keep having about Britney Spears to have been any better. Good friends and cheap beer always make for a nice time.
This weekend was even better for AU. Knocking off Colgate and Holy Cross on the road, 2 of the top 3 preseason league favorites, was huge.
First off, Colgate is in a dump of a town. It seems that Hamilton, NY couldn't be any smaller or colder. Widl chills were about -3 degrees when we rolled in. Why anyone would a) build a college in the middle of nowhere, where the weather is nice 2 months a year or b) attend said college is beyond me. Colgate's a great academic school, don't get me wrong. But living like a damn eskimo can't be fun.
To make matters worse, the local pub refused to sell alcohol to my crew, on account that we didn't have 2 forms of picture ID. So we went to the local dive, the Hour Glass. I think we were the only people under 40 to ever step in the place.
A big crowd of about 500 decided to show up at the game (that's an optimistic number), since most of the Hamilton and CU fans were at the CU hockey game, which was proceeding at the same time, IN THE SAME BUILDING!
This maybe explains why Colgate draws so few-- is this a common occurance? I know hockey is a big deal at CU, so you would think that they would avoid scheduling anything against it. Regardless, this was the worst basketball crowd I've ever seen. They were SILENT the entire game, until the last minute when the Hockey crowd started to file in. I can't imagine that it's fun for the CU players to play in front of a crowd so awful.
Anyway, AU dominated the game the whole time, mostly because Rodriguez was on. The absence of Howard Blue let AU do whatever they liked in the post, and the only thing that kept the game close was Mark Linebaugh's excellent 2nd half play. Rodriguez missed about 300 foul shots in the last minute, but AU's defense kept CU from what would have been a heartbreaking comeback.
Holy Cross is in another fine megalopolis, Worcester, MA. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of driving through Worcester, imagine if all the crappy parts of New Jersey were combined into one town. Then you add a nice campus, which Holy Cross certainly has, and you have Worcester.
This was a defensive game on both ends. HC was forced into tough long-range jumjpers all afternoon, and AU took some ugly shots and were forced into some bad passes.
A quick aside: I think HC's domination of the Patriot League over the last few years has had three key elements:
1) Own the low block on offense with bigger and stronger players, rebound and deny easy looks down low on defense
2) Play good half-court D
3) Have the experience to hit clutch shots and know how to take a game away
HC had one of these three in Friday's game, playing some very good defense. They negated AU's leading scorer, Andre Ingram, giving him few open looks. They were killed in the paint. Jernavis Draughn was just too quick. Fingleton looks like he is in slow motion out there, and I'm not sure what all his hype is about. Sure, he can alter a shot or two, but he can't rebound or play offense to save his life. His one move was a decent hook shot in the first half, but he had only three rebounds in 17 minutes. If you're 7'6", you need to be tipping every other bucket in.
Lufkin looked scared. I see now what the HC posters say about his inablility to play with his back to the bucket. If I was Ralph Willard, I would give him 50 pushups every time he took a shot further than 7 feet from the hoop. I saw no post moves from him all day.
HC's younger guys were impressive in spurts. But Meade played mediocre most of the game, and was clearly beaten by Rodriguez, who was fantastic all day.
It's late and I'm tired. I'll try to get more thoughts up tomorrow. @ 11:34 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Friday, January 23, 2004
Whose Idea Was this Again?
Your faithful PL Blogger will be making a trek (starting this morning) from DC to Hamilton, NY, then onto Worcester, MA. And they say PL fans don't travel well!
I'll be back monday evening, with what I'm sure is a a big update. Wish me luck in not getting caught in a snowstorm... @ 10:23 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Your faithful PL Blogger will be making a trek (starting this morning) from DC to Hamilton, NY, then onto Worcester, MA. And they say PL fans don't travel well!
I'll be back monday evening, with what I'm sure is a a big update. Wish me luck in not getting caught in a snowstorm... @ 10:23 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Monday, January 19, 2004
There's a very good article in the Annapolis Capital about Don Devoe:
Dismissing DeVoe isn't antidote
I think next year's recruiting class will be indicative of whether DD sticks around. @ 7:05 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Dismissing DeVoe isn't antidote
I think next year's recruiting class will be indicative of whether DD sticks around. @ 7:05 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Friday, January 16, 2004
Game 3
Let's get this out of the way early: Navy and Army will lose on Saturday.
The other two games are Lehigh at AU and Lafayette at HC. LU, AU, and LC are all 2-0 in conference play. LC is looking at a 20 win season if they end up winning the league--not bad for a team that was under .500 last year.
HC vs. LC is the most intriguing matchup this week. Both teams have a steady, quality backcourt, but their frontcourts are suspect. HC has played good defense in their wins, but I'm curious whether their offense is good enough to keep up with LC. HC is averaging 60 points a game, while LC averages 76. LC shoots nearly 50% from the field, HC 40%. The only way HC can win here is if they limit LC to ~60 points. This should be a close one, and HC will be helped by getting back to the friendly confines of the Hart Center. I'll say LC by 4.
AU ought to beat Lehigh, but I'm not really sure what to expect, other than that I'm going to have to look at LU's ugly uniforms for ~3 hours. AU by 10.
The real drama unfolds when Army tries to break the 40 point threshold. @ 3:26 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Let's get this out of the way early: Navy and Army will lose on Saturday.
The other two games are Lehigh at AU and Lafayette at HC. LU, AU, and LC are all 2-0 in conference play. LC is looking at a 20 win season if they end up winning the league--not bad for a team that was under .500 last year.
HC vs. LC is the most intriguing matchup this week. Both teams have a steady, quality backcourt, but their frontcourts are suspect. HC has played good defense in their wins, but I'm curious whether their offense is good enough to keep up with LC. HC is averaging 60 points a game, while LC averages 76. LC shoots nearly 50% from the field, HC 40%. The only way HC can win here is if they limit LC to ~60 points. This should be a close one, and HC will be helped by getting back to the friendly confines of the Hart Center. I'll say LC by 4.
AU ought to beat Lehigh, but I'm not really sure what to expect, other than that I'm going to have to look at LU's ugly uniforms for ~3 hours. AU by 10.
The real drama unfolds when Army tries to break the 40 point threshold. @ 3:26 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Equity in the Patriot League
Holy Cross, a team that went 16-1 in the Patriot League, lost to Colgate in front of a crowd of dozens. Seriously, dozens. The official attendance was 212.
And official attendance numbers are always boosted high. I've played pickup games in front of bigger crowds. High school JV games draw 212. What the hell is going on in Hamilton? CU games are less popular than a trip to Michael Jackson's ranch. But seriously folks....
This is something HC fans are going to have to get used to. The league is much better this year, and they are much worse. Word is Jave Meade was sick tonight, but I'm not sure it matters. HC shot 20% from outside the line, and was outrebounded by a CU front line they used to destroy. HC's success the last 3 years has come with their depth and talent in the frontcourt. This year, it appears they have neither. Nate Lufkin, the guy who was supposed to pull up the slack, played a lousy 22 minutes. Ecch.
In other games, Army mustered up a big 40 spot against Lafayette, giving Lafayette's starters a nice rest, as none of them had to play over 25 minutes. Lehigh beat tough luck Bucknell by 5, and AU slapped around Navy by 22. Navy is just not a good basketball team, with the exception of David Hooper, who is very impressive. These guys look like they walked off the street. It's also sad to see a nice big arena like Alumni Hall so empty. This place seats something like 8000 people, but only 1200 or so are showing up to their games.
Did I mention Andres Rodriguez had NINETEEN ASSISTS tonight? I had our PL blog statisticians look into it, and it's the NCAA high mark this year, and only 3 short of the all time record.
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Holy Cross, a team that went 16-1 in the Patriot League, lost to Colgate in front of a crowd of dozens. Seriously, dozens. The official attendance was 212.
And official attendance numbers are always boosted high. I've played pickup games in front of bigger crowds. High school JV games draw 212. What the hell is going on in Hamilton? CU games are less popular than a trip to Michael Jackson's ranch. But seriously folks....
This is something HC fans are going to have to get used to. The league is much better this year, and they are much worse. Word is Jave Meade was sick tonight, but I'm not sure it matters. HC shot 20% from outside the line, and was outrebounded by a CU front line they used to destroy. HC's success the last 3 years has come with their depth and talent in the frontcourt. This year, it appears they have neither. Nate Lufkin, the guy who was supposed to pull up the slack, played a lousy 22 minutes. Ecch.
In other games, Army mustered up a big 40 spot against Lafayette, giving Lafayette's starters a nice rest, as none of them had to play over 25 minutes. Lehigh beat tough luck Bucknell by 5, and AU slapped around Navy by 22. Navy is just not a good basketball team, with the exception of David Hooper, who is very impressive. These guys look like they walked off the street. It's also sad to see a nice big arena like Alumni Hall so empty. This place seats something like 8000 people, but only 1200 or so are showing up to their games.
Did I mention Andres Rodriguez had NINETEEN ASSISTS tonight? I had our PL blog statisticians look into it, and it's the NCAA high mark this year, and only 3 short of the all time record.
@ 10:23 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
19 ASSISTS
oh my. @ 10:03 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Patriot League Preview : January 14
As will be the case almost every week, two of the games tonight are almost certainties: Army and Navy are going to lose.
Rough sailing for Crews (one of many stupid headlines you may see in the local press for Army)
Army is traveling to Pennsylvania to take on Lafayette. Army comes off an impressive 32 point effort against Holy Cross, getting beaten like they were Fordham. Someone at the Army message board brings up an interesting point: Army may be the first team in history to finish dead last in D-I football (no wins last year) AND in D-I hoops (one win so far this year). I just hope they give Jim Crews at least one more year to try to make something out of the program. Anyway, Lafayette will win by 20, in a laugher (puns are not funny).
AU-Navy : Battle of the Patriotic School Names
The other service academy game is AU at Navy, which your faithful PL blogger is ditching work to attend. Navy has a nasty habit of scaring the shit out of the Eagles in Annapolis. Last year, AU won on a controversial charging call against the USNA with 13 seconds left and AU up only 1 (the exact situation happened this year when AU drove up to U St. to play Howard). Navy really doesn't look at have much in this game, but as evidenced by David Hooper's ridiculous performance last year, someone could step up and give AU trouble. But for optimism's sake, I'll say AU wins by 12.
HC-Colgate: Who will stop Howard Blue?
Holy Cross faces its first real league challenge tonight as it takes on Colgate at home. CU comes off a tough, high scoring loss to Lafayette in PA. They just couldn't get over the hump all game, and ended up losing by 11. My understanding is that the game was much closer than the score indicates. The two matchups here are Linebaugh-Meade (they ought to defend one another) and Blue-Whoever HC is playing in the post. If HC can hold Blue to under 14 and they can Linebaugh from doing whatever he likes, then they will win. If Blue gets tough and plays strong (I mean literally strong, i.e. the HC guys are going to bang him around and he's going to have to hit back), then Colgate will be in good shape. We'll say HC by 3, in what is the most important and interesting game of the day.
Bucknell-Lehigh: Battle of the middleweights
Bucknell by 5. I already talked about them in the below post, and I think they're a team that can beat anyone in the league if they play up to their potential. I have little or no insight on Lehigh, which is painfully obvious if you've read anything I've written earlier. They have someone named Ra, like the Egyptian god. I have plans to make fun of him for this on Sunday. That's all I can tell you about Lehigh.
See some of you in Annapolis tonight. I'll be out there early for food and drink beforehand to celebrate a friend's birthday. If you see a short man yelling angrily from the AU section, don't worry, it's his birthday so he's uppity, and he doesn't really mean that about your mother. @ 12:45 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
As will be the case almost every week, two of the games tonight are almost certainties: Army and Navy are going to lose.
Rough sailing for Crews (one of many stupid headlines you may see in the local press for Army)
Army is traveling to Pennsylvania to take on Lafayette. Army comes off an impressive 32 point effort against Holy Cross, getting beaten like they were Fordham. Someone at the Army message board brings up an interesting point: Army may be the first team in history to finish dead last in D-I football (no wins last year) AND in D-I hoops (one win so far this year). I just hope they give Jim Crews at least one more year to try to make something out of the program. Anyway, Lafayette will win by 20, in a laugher (puns are not funny).
AU-Navy : Battle of the Patriotic School Names
The other service academy game is AU at Navy, which your faithful PL blogger is ditching work to attend. Navy has a nasty habit of scaring the shit out of the Eagles in Annapolis. Last year, AU won on a controversial charging call against the USNA with 13 seconds left and AU up only 1 (the exact situation happened this year when AU drove up to U St. to play Howard). Navy really doesn't look at have much in this game, but as evidenced by David Hooper's ridiculous performance last year, someone could step up and give AU trouble. But for optimism's sake, I'll say AU wins by 12.
HC-Colgate: Who will stop Howard Blue?
Holy Cross faces its first real league challenge tonight as it takes on Colgate at home. CU comes off a tough, high scoring loss to Lafayette in PA. They just couldn't get over the hump all game, and ended up losing by 11. My understanding is that the game was much closer than the score indicates. The two matchups here are Linebaugh-Meade (they ought to defend one another) and Blue-Whoever HC is playing in the post. If HC can hold Blue to under 14 and they can Linebaugh from doing whatever he likes, then they will win. If Blue gets tough and plays strong (I mean literally strong, i.e. the HC guys are going to bang him around and he's going to have to hit back), then Colgate will be in good shape. We'll say HC by 3, in what is the most important and interesting game of the day.
Bucknell-Lehigh: Battle of the middleweights
Bucknell by 5. I already talked about them in the below post, and I think they're a team that can beat anyone in the league if they play up to their potential. I have little or no insight on Lehigh, which is painfully obvious if you've read anything I've written earlier. They have someone named Ra, like the Egyptian god. I have plans to make fun of him for this on Sunday. That's all I can tell you about Lehigh.
See some of you in Annapolis tonight. I'll be out there early for food and drink beforehand to celebrate a friend's birthday. If you see a short man yelling angrily from the AU section, don't worry, it's his birthday so he's uppity, and he doesn't really mean that about your mother. @ 12:45 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
A short and late
Bucknell-AU game report
Sorry for the delays on my Bucknell/AU notes. Blogging doesn't pay the bills, so sometimes it goes by the wayside.
The short is that neither team looked good, and AU is very lucky to come away with a victory here. The only thing that saved AU was the stepped up performance of Jernavis Draughn in the 2nd half (he stunk in the 1st) and Bucknell not taking advantage of the myriad of opportunities they were given. If this game was played at BU, they would have won, easily.
The most glaring mistakes AU made:
- Andres Rodriguez fouling (at least it was called a foul) Bettencourt with 4 seconds left, letting him shoot three free throws while his team was only down two. A-Rod might have shot himself if Bettencourt hit all three.
- Jason Thomas bitching and playing poorly all game. A sub-par effort, the worst I've seen him play all year. 0-7, 0-2 from the line, with five rebounds and five turnovers in 35 minutes. Also screwed up a critical inbounds pass after a timeout with time running out, who knows why or how.
- Apparently, "Ziegelstein" is German for rock, and not brick. So I kept asking McNaughton why he was throwing up rocks. Even our taunting sucked in this game!
- 6'8", 240 lbs Matej Cresnik letting 6'2", 180 (soaking wet) Kevin Bettencourt get a jumpball out of him with time running out in OT, allowing BU two more chances to tie things up. You're A HALF A FOOT TALLER AND SIXTY POUNDS BIGGER THAN HIM. My little brother is a half foot smaller and sixty pounds lighter than me, and you can bet I would not turn the ball over to him.
Bucknell didn't exactly have a field day either. Bettencourt sucked, going 0-10, and BU's only offense went through Charles Lee, a guy who didn't even play in BU's last 19 games last year because of academic problems. I went in there looking to see Bettencourt and McNaughton as the future of BU, but they ended up combining for 12 pts all day. Donald Brown and Lee looked good, as did Davorin Skornik, who all but shut down AU's inside game.
All in all, an ugly game that both teams should learn from and then forget. Decent crowd for a winter break game.
Previews of tonites games are coming up shortly... @ 12:02 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Bucknell-AU game report
Sorry for the delays on my Bucknell/AU notes. Blogging doesn't pay the bills, so sometimes it goes by the wayside.
The short is that neither team looked good, and AU is very lucky to come away with a victory here. The only thing that saved AU was the stepped up performance of Jernavis Draughn in the 2nd half (he stunk in the 1st) and Bucknell not taking advantage of the myriad of opportunities they were given. If this game was played at BU, they would have won, easily.
The most glaring mistakes AU made:
- Andres Rodriguez fouling (at least it was called a foul) Bettencourt with 4 seconds left, letting him shoot three free throws while his team was only down two. A-Rod might have shot himself if Bettencourt hit all three.
- Jason Thomas bitching and playing poorly all game. A sub-par effort, the worst I've seen him play all year. 0-7, 0-2 from the line, with five rebounds and five turnovers in 35 minutes. Also screwed up a critical inbounds pass after a timeout with time running out, who knows why or how.
- Apparently, "Ziegelstein" is German for rock, and not brick. So I kept asking McNaughton why he was throwing up rocks. Even our taunting sucked in this game!
- 6'8", 240 lbs Matej Cresnik letting 6'2", 180 (soaking wet) Kevin Bettencourt get a jumpball out of him with time running out in OT, allowing BU two more chances to tie things up. You're A HALF A FOOT TALLER AND SIXTY POUNDS BIGGER THAN HIM. My little brother is a half foot smaller and sixty pounds lighter than me, and you can bet I would not turn the ball over to him.
Bucknell didn't exactly have a field day either. Bettencourt sucked, going 0-10, and BU's only offense went through Charles Lee, a guy who didn't even play in BU's last 19 games last year because of academic problems. I went in there looking to see Bettencourt and McNaughton as the future of BU, but they ended up combining for 12 pts all day. Donald Brown and Lee looked good, as did Davorin Skornik, who all but shut down AU's inside game.
All in all, an ugly game that both teams should learn from and then forget. Decent crowd for a winter break game.
Previews of tonites games are coming up shortly... @ 12:02 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Here's an article about AU's participation in the Rainbow Classic: "Jones considered the Rainbow Classic invitation such an honor that he canceled two home games to accommodate the tournament.
'Coming here might not end up being the wisest thing as far as wins and losses,' he said.
'But for a program like ours, just participating in this tournament is very special. No matter who's in it, it's a big thing if you can win it.' " @ 2:28 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
'Coming here might not end up being the wisest thing as far as wins and losses,' he said.
'But for a program like ours, just participating in this tournament is very special. No matter who's in it, it's a big thing if you can win it.' " @ 2:28 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
I'll have previews of tomorrow's games up tomorrow.
In the meantime, AU said good riddance to Deon Saunders 3 years ago, but apparently he has found a home elsewhere. @ 2:26 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
In the meantime, AU said good riddance to Deon Saunders 3 years ago, but apparently he has found a home elsewhere. @ 2:26 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Thursday, January 08, 2004
Just for fun, here's the Patriot League ACOOC Team
All Conference Out Of Conference Team
Andres Rodriguez, AU - PG - 7.43 asst (leads league) & 10 pts / game
Justin DeBerry, LC - SG 15.9 pts/gm, 52% shooting
Kevin Bettencourt, BU - SG (he shouldn't be a PG) - leads league in scoring (17.7/gm), 3pt FG made
Howard Blue, CU - F - 16.5 pts & 5.2 rebounds/game
Jernavis Draughn - F - leads league in rebounds, 6.6/gm. 12 pts/gm.
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All Conference Out Of Conference Team
Andres Rodriguez, AU - PG - 7.43 asst (leads league) & 10 pts / game
Justin DeBerry, LC - SG 15.9 pts/gm, 52% shooting
Kevin Bettencourt, BU - SG (he shouldn't be a PG) - leads league in scoring (17.7/gm), 3pt FG made
Howard Blue, CU - F - 16.5 pts & 5.2 rebounds/game
Jernavis Draughn - F - leads league in rebounds, 6.6/gm. 12 pts/gm.
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Tonight, on an all new OOC
The out of conference schedule is all but over after tonight. Sure, there's still that tough Juaniata College game tomorrow for Colgate, but for the most part, from this point on, all but the winner of the tournament will only face Patriot League foes. It's a good time to take a look at the state of the league as a whole, as well as how each team fared in what is essentially the preseason for a one-bid league.
The Ivy League: A non-scholarship Patriot League
There was both good and bad news this year in the out of conference schedule.
First, the good news: We owned the Ivy league. From AU beating Yale to Lafayette downing Princeton, the PL was 13-6 against the Ivies this year. Sure, there are wins against the Columbias and Harvards of the world, but there were also the aforementioned victories against the top teams in the league. Lafayette did lose to Penn by 20, but beating Princeton was quite a feat for them. All in all, it always feels good to beat Ivy league teams.
A youth movement is also springing in the league—another good note. American and Bucknell’s leading scorers are Freshmen, and every other team in the league has good reason to look forward to the future. Army and Navy have good young talent, which may be their fans’ only reason to keep showing up to games.
Bucknell and AU nearly knocked off big conference foes, but no team seemed to be able to get that boost that we’ve seen the past two years, as AU beat FSU and HC beat BC. In their first game of the season, Bucknell gave Michigan State quite a scare, and AU nearly toppled the Fighting Irish over winter break. Neither could close out with a victory.
That brings us to the bad news. This conference is not very good this year. Lafayette is the favorite thus far, but only because they have seniors that know how to win games they need to win. Nearly everyone else lost games they should not have lost to schools like Elon, Mount St. Marys, and Williams College. You wouldn’t know that some of these schools existed, if not for their pounding of PL talent.
In sum, the league is weaker than it has been in the past, but it could be a lot worse. We could be the Ivy league. (this ends the Ivy league bashing portion of our program)
American: "Knock the MF'er on his ass, make them call a real foul"
AU has had a rollercoaster OOC schedule, partly because they were the only PL team that didn't schedule in a D3 team to beat up on. While it might have been fun for AU to beat on Galludet or Catholic, I'm not sure how that can be considered getting a team ready for conference play. Instead, AU played some of the better mid-major competition out there, like Delware, Niagara, ETSU and Yale. Not big names by any stretch, but they got some good wins in there. The problem is there were also bad losses.
Record: 6-8
Best Win: vs. East Tennessee State in scenic Hawaii-- the 2nd toughest team they played, according to the RPI.
Worst loss: at St Francis PA, a team whose only other wins came against VMI and Bucknell, two teams with one win between them.
Good News: Andres Rodriguez, Jernavis Draughn, and Andre Ingram are all playing well. A-Rod is 6th in the nation in assists, consistently dishing out 9 or so a game lately. Draughn has two double-doubles. Ingram is providing the scoring that was needed with the departure of Miles and Stokes.
Bad News: They haven't been playing well on a consistent basis. For instance, in the 2nd half of this week's loss to Niagara, Rodriguez kept throwing the ball away, Draughn kept making stupid fouls, and Ingram couldnt hit a shot. Hence, they blew an 11 point halftime lead, and the chance to go .500 in OOC play.
Outlook: At least 2nd place. They were much more inconsistent and confused as the year began, but at this point I'm seeing effective offensive and defensive sets I've never seen before from these guys. At the start of the season, their offense seemed to be "Andres, you drive, and then hopefully someone will be open." Now, there are wide open shots left and right. Ingram is improving rapidly and is often the #1 scoring option.
Army: Suck all that you can Suck
Army did better than I expected – by that I mean they won one DI game and then got beat by everyone and their mother. Army is ranked at 325 in the RPI rankings. There are 326 teams in DI.
Record: 1-9
Best win: Hmm.. let’s see… we’ll say their only win against Columbia.
Worst Loss: A 24 point drubbing by the Citadel. Rough.
Good news: They will probably beat Navy at least once this year. Also, there was no media flareup about a public rift between Jim Crews and Bobby Knight like there was with Steve Alford.
Bad news: The only team statistically worse than them is Loyola-Maryland, a team that my grandmother is considering walking onto.
Outlook: Might get 3, maybe 4 conference wins, then fade into the sunset.
Bucknell: Better than we look
What a disappointing start to the season for BU. They start the season off by nearly knocking of then #4 (or #3?) MSU, then proceed to lose all but one of their out of conference games against DI opponents. The one game they won was against Norfolk St., a team Rebecca’s School for the Blind took into OT. (this ends the crappy jokes portion of our program)
Record: 1-8
Best win: Norfolk St. (see, I told you the crappy jokes were over)
Worst Loss: Today against Robert Morris, a tobacco company/college (okay, I still have some up my sleeve)
Good News: Sophomore Kevin Bettencourt is awesome, as evidenced by his league leading 17.3 ppg. Chris McNaughton, their 6’ 11” Freshman from the Sudentenland is getting better by the minute and is probably the 2nd best freshman in the league, and may be the league’s best big man in a couple of years.
Bad News: Everyone else is mediocre.
Outlook: these guys could end up knocking off one of the top 3 seeds come tournament time, but the regular season is going to be a grind. Should compete well next year.
Colgate: Linebaugh vexes me
Colgate is a confusing team at this point, and I’m not sure what to expect out of them. They’ve won games they should have against teams like Albany and Harvard, but then there are 22 point losses to Loyola Marymount and Buffalo that make you wonder how good they really are. Their victories are over teams that ain’t that great, but hey, they put W’s on the board.
Record: 5-5
Best win: OT vs. Cornell. A (sort of) local rival that CU ought to beat on all the time now that they are essentially a scholarship school.
Worst Loss: 63-101 to Syracuse. Just because it’s mean and embarrassing of SU. All of CU’s other losses come to teams that they could have beaten, but that aren’t all that great.
Good News: Three players averaging double figures, and good contributions from the underclassmen. Even Dan Gentile, third-team all Bergen County (and amateur web page designer--nice page Dan, but you spelled "you're" and "brief" wrong), is putting in 7 minutes a game.
Bad News: Mark Linebaugh, who your intrepid PL blogger picked as preseason player of the year, is shooting a lousy 32%. CU is also averaging attendance in the low 300s at home. Yikes.
Outlook: Colgate will go at least .500 in conference play, probably ending up in 3rd or 4th place.
Holy Cross: What the hell is going on around here
Holy Cross nearly beat teams they shouldn't, but had a few terrible losses against teams like Williams, a D3 school knicknamed the "Ephs" whose mascot is a damn purple cow. With AU's loss to Niagara, this means PL teams have now lost to Purple Cows and Purple Eagles, the first time a league has lost to two teams whose mascot is "purple" since the early 1920s.
Record: 6-6
Best win: Boston University. Hooray for beating your local rivals.
Worst loss: Marist in MSG. Marist is not as good as you think they are. Seriously, look at their schedule. Same is true of Bowling Green, AU beating them wasn't such a big deal.
Good news: John Hurley has done well as a starter, to the point where Neil Fingleton is rarely playing. Kevin Hamilton has come on strong as well, although you'd like to see him develop a game outside the 3-pt shot.
Bad news: Lufkin, Meade, and Fingleton, purported to be the leaders of the team this year, are averaging 18 points a game combined. Meade is certainly no longer the favorite for POY.
Outlook: They won the league the last three seasons. Counting them out isn't only stupid, it's silly. They'll get better, but they better do it in a hurry, as they have an away game at Colgate and a home one against Lafayette that will be pretty telling. If they split, they'll be okay. If they win both, they'll be on track for another good year. If they lose both...
Lafayette: Bane of the Ivy League
Lafayette went 3-1 against the Ivy league in OOC play, including wins over Cornell and Princeton, two top half teams in that league. They also beat Drexel and LaSalle. Princeton was certainly their "big time" win. However, they seemed to screech to a halt at the end of their schedule, with 20+ point losses in 3 of 4 games, against USC, Cal St. Northridge, and Penn. So how good are they?
Record: 9-4
Best win: at Princeton. Take that Bill Bradley!
Worst loss: at Penn. Should have kept it at least under 20.
Good news: They have a good group of seniors in a league that has very few. They also have a lot of depth, with what looks to me like a 10-11 man rotation (does anyone know if the numbers are decieving me?).
Bad news: That same core of seniors finished 6th in the league last year.
Outlook: Top three, but I have a feeling this is a team that could fall off. We'll be able to tell when they play at HC next week.
Navy: Annapolis is still a nice town
You've heard me bitch about Navy in the past. They're lousy. David Hooper is good some nights. They might not be lousy in a couple years. But for now, they're a bottom feeder, and will only play the spoiler this year, if they win any games at all.
Record: 1-10
Best win: Loyola MD, their only one
Worst loss: Navy lost last night 99-52 against Eastern Michigan, perhaps the worst team in the entire state of Michigan.
Good news: um.. they'll be better next year?
Bad news: Alumni will never let them go to DII.
Outlook: Poor. Very poor.
Predictions
Here's how I see this thing shaking out, if I had to put money on it:
1. Lafayette
2. AU
3. HC
4. CU
5. BU
6. Lehigh
7. USMA
8. USNA
Now, if I was making the predictions based on my Miss Cleo-type abilities, I think it'll be like this:
1. AU
2. CU
3. HC
4. BU
5. Lehigh
6. Lafayette
7. USMA
8. USNA
I'll finish this with the best quote of the PL teleconference from today: "We don't do anything really well right now" - Jim Crews 1-8-04
Yikes. @ 12:40 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Sunday, January 04, 2004
Baltimore Sun on the Navy win: "'It just feels good to get a win. I don't care who it's against,' said Charles, who shot 8-for-14 from the field and added six rebounds, five steals, four assists and a blocked shot. "
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Navy wins~! Navy wins~!
Navy finally got a DI win, beating Loyola MD by only 4, in what will end up being this years' Toilet Bowl. If either of these teams win 3 conference games, it's a miracle. @ 5:30 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Navy finally got a DI win, beating Loyola MD by only 4, in what will end up being this years' Toilet Bowl. If either of these teams win 3 conference games, it's a miracle. @ 5:30 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Chones 1 and Chones 2
Here's an article about Team Chones, two of whom play for CU. @ 5:24 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
Here's an article about Team Chones, two of whom play for CU. @ 5:24 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard
