Big East Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 24, 2022 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Creighton
  2. Xavier
  3. Villanova
  4. Connecticut
  5. Providence
  6. Saint John’s
  7. Seton Hall
  8. Butler
  9. Marquette
  10. Georgetown
  11. DePaul

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 1ST TEAM:

-Ryan Kalkbrenner – JR, C – Creighton
-Jared Bynum – SR, G – Providence
-Posh Alexander – JR, G – Saint John’s
-Colby Jones – JR, G – Xavier
-Jack Nunge – SR, F – Xavier

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 2ND TEAM:

-Arther Kaluma – SO, F – Creighton
-Ryan Nembhard – SO, G – Creighton
-Kadary Richmond – JR, G – Seton Hall
-Caleb Daniels – SR, G – Villanova
-Eric Dixon – JR, F – Villanova
-Justin Moore – SR, G – Villanova

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-After returning a lot of the core that lead Creighton to an NCAA Tournament last year and adding a huge transfer in Baylor Scheierman from South Dakota State, expectations are understandably high for the Blue Jays this year.  One of my criticisms of this program has been how they always fizzle out in last 4-5 weeks of the season.  While they did lose in the Round of 64 last year, they still played very well in the second half of conference play so I am backing off my belief that this team just cannot get it done down the stretch.  They are good enough to earn a protected seed and be a Sweet Sixteen team or better this year.  Speaking of teams not doing well down the stretch…

-Xavier finished last year’s regular season by losing 8 out of 11.  Prior to that they appeared to be a shoe-in for the NCAA Tournament.  They made a coaching change in the middle of the NIT, then won the NIT, and then made another coaching change with the re-hiring of Sean Miller.  He was successful during a previous stint at Xavier and was also successful out at Arizona.  While ongoing NCAA investigations could be a factor, the expectations at Xavier is that they will once again be NCAA Tournament regulars under Miller.  As for this season, three starters are back, they are picked to finish second in the conference, and are also expected to be safely inside the bubble.

-Villanova begins the post-Jay Wright era with Kyle Neptune.  It is not easy replacing a Hall of Fame coach, but Neptune was with Nova for a long time and in his one year at Fordham he did a fantastic job (at least by Fordham’s standards).  Although Collin Gillespie is gone, which is a huge loss, a lot of other contributing players are back from last year’s Final Four team.  I think we will see them as top-25 regulars and safely inside the bubble this March.

After that it starts to look a little bubblicious…

-UConn made the NCAA Tournament last year and will likely be on the right side of the bubble this year.  They did lose some key pieces but they return enough and add enough to where they should still be competitive.  Dan Hurley has this program moving in the right direction and I think that will continue this year.

-Providence was a protected seed a year ago.  Providence also lost all of their starters and are in complete rebuilding mode.  Not much is expected of them but we have all seen this movie before.  They have some key transfers coming in and Ed Cooley is a fantastic coach, so will the Friars once again be able to surprise all of us and end up having a big year?

-Saint John’s kind of fell apart in the second half of conference play last year, but they did show some signs of being pretty good prior to that, and they have enough coming back that they may end up being in the discussion come March.

-Seton Hall welcomes Shaheen Holloway as their new head coach.  He was last seen taking Saint Peter’s to the Elite Eight.  While it is a good hire for The Hall, he has his work cut out for him this year.  Just two starters are back so they have hit the transfer portal to try and round up some new players who can step into contributing roles.

-Butler welcomes a new/old head coach in Thad Matta!  While he was only the head coach at Butler for one season, he had been with the program a while before that, and even played for them once upon a time.  He was very successful at Xavier, and then again at Ohio State, so he will look to rebuild the Bulldogs back into being on the national map.  It probably will not happen this year, though.  They struggled last year, and lost some of their better players, so they are definitely in rebuilding mode.

-Marquette did make the NCAA Tournament last year, but they kind of backed into it by losing six of their last nine and a lot of key players from that team are gone.  I do not think they will finish quite as low as they have been picked, but they are a young team and it could be a rough season.

-Georgetown won just six total games last year and none of them were conference games.  They may be a little better this year…but that is not saying much.  Simply winning one conference game at any point would be an improvement.

-There always seems to be a moment during the season where DePaul looks like they have a reason to be excited.  It does not last long but the last several seasons seem to have given us that.  At one point last year they were 9-1 with a win at Louisville.  They proceeded to lose 9 of their first 10 Big East games after that.  But, I do not think DePaul finishes last this year.  Two starters are back and they have some decent looking transfers.  I do not think they are anywhere near the NIT but I think they are certainly better than the last place team in this league.

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Big West Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 24, 2022 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. UC Santa Barbara
  2. Hawai’i
  3. Long Beach State
  4. UC Irvine
  5. UC Riverside
  6. UC Davis
  7. Cal State Fullerton
  8. Cal State Bakersfield
  9. Cal Poly
  10. UC San Diego
  11. Cal State Northridge

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG WEST TEAM:

-Noel Coleman – G – Hawai’i
-Andre Kelly – F – UC Santa Barbara
-Ajay Mitchell – G – UC Santa Barbara
-Joey Murray – G – Long Beach State
-Elijah Pepper – G – UC Davis
-Zyon Pullin – G – UC Riverside

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

I love watching the Big West.  I really do.  It is one of my favorite leagues and the reason I am sleep-deprived for much of the year.  Last year was so frustrating because while everyone was thrown off-kilter by COVID, this conference was thrown further off than pretty much any of the rest.  I am very much looking forward to what I hope (and think) will be the first normal Big West season in three years.

-The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara are pretty much the consensus favorites to win the league and I think they may be in the top group of all the Under the Radar teams this year.  They got off to a rough start and had a lot of games cancelled last year but were playing really well down the stretch.  With four starters back as well as some guys who missed last season due to injury, they are looking really strong this year.  It would not shock me at all to see them end up on the bubble come March.  They can shoot, they can defend, they have good balance, and good depth.

-Hawai’i is another team that has high expectations, and who looked really good throughout most of conference play last year. They also have some guys that look to be healthy again after missing all or part of last season.  Their leading scorer is back in Noel Coleman and he appears to have a good supporting cast around him as well.

-After a few years of decline, Long Beach sprung back in a big way last year with a first place finish in the conference and 20 total wins.  Dan Monson is a coach I like despite some of the valleys he has been through.  This is his 15th year at The Beach and I still think he can turn them into a top-level Big West and Under the Radar program.  Three starters are back including Joel Murray/Jadon Jones.  They also add some transfers who should give them some depth.  I think The Beach can finish at the top of the league.  I do not know if it is fair to call them a dark horse since they finished in first place last year, but I like them about as much as I like UCSB.

-UC Irvine has slid down the hill a little bit from when they used to be league frontrunners, but they are still one of the teams that should finish in the top half of the conference.  Three starters are back from a team that finished in a modest 4th place last year, and that is where many think the Eaters will end up again this year.

-UC Riverside has been experiencing more success in the last few years than what they were used to.  They have gone from being a conference doormat to being consistently around the middle of the conference and in a position to better compete with the top half.  They lost six conference games (including their tourney game) either in overtime or by 6 pts or less.  It seems as though they are really close with being able to compete with the teams at the top.

-UC Davis has four starters back.  I like the job that Jim Les has done here even though the team has struggled the last few years, and I keep thinking that he can build them into a consistent conference contender.  Elijah Pepper is one of the better players in the league, and with a lot of experience returning we could see a bit of a breakout year for the Aggies this year.  They are my pick as the conference dark horse.

-I am a little surprised to see Cal State Fullerton picked this low.  They won the league last year, made it to the NCAA Tournament, and have three starters back along with some good players off their bench.  They have also added a few transfers who they can get some production out of.  So…what am I missing??  Why not some more love for the Titans??

-Cal State Bakersfield finished near the bottom of the league last year and appears to be in rebuilding mode this year.  Rod Barnes has done a good job in the 11 years he has been the head coach but he once again has his work cut out for him.

-Cal Poly has failed to win 10 total games for the past five years and has finished outside the KenPom top-300 in each of those five years as well.  All five starters are back from a year ago so we should see some improvement given all the experience they have, but the expectations are that we will see them closer to the bottom of the league than to the top.

-UC San Diego is a transitional team that I think will get assimilated to D1 rather quickly and be competitive in the conference by the end of their transition.

-Cal State Northridge is not a transitional team and is showing no signs whatsoever of being competitive in the conference any time soon.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Villanova F Maddy Siegrist

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Jon Teitel

We are still a couple of weeks away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Villanova F Maddy Siegrist, who talked about beating UConn last February and her expectations for this season.

You grew up in Poughkeepsie: what made you choose Villanova? It was the biggest school that I felt I could play at back then. I came to campus and just loved the school.

You broke your ankle during your 2nd day of preseason practice when you stepped on your teammate’s foot: how bad was it, and how were you able to come back the following year to be named unanimous 2020 conference ROY? It was tough! I had to get ankle surgery, which kind of sucked: it was the 1st time in my career that I had a set-back like that. Looking back on it now, it helped me appreciate the game more and gave me motivation.

As a sophomore you became the 3rd player in Big East history to lead the conference in both scoring (22.8) and rebounding (9.8): how are you able to balance your scoring with your rebounding? Rebounding is a hustle area: you just need to want the ball and give your team some extra possessions.

Last February you had 17 PTS/12 REB in a 3-PT win over UConn, snapping the Huskies’ 9-year-long 169-game conference win streak: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is definitely up there: I would say top-5. It was incredible to be a part of that. We had the opportunity and I could not be prouder of my team.

In 2022 you were named conference POY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It is such a great honor because it is such a strong conference. It is a reflection of the entire team/coaches: not just me.

You also finished #2 in the nation last with 25.3 PPG: what is the secret to being a great scorer? You have to be resilient and cannot go into any game thinking that you need to score a certain # of points. If you play your best then good things will happen.

You have already graduated with a degree in Communications and are now working on your master’s in education: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Time management: you have to prioritize certain things so I try to plan my day out. After sleeping/eating, school comes 1st, and then I make time to get some shots up.

You played for team USA at the 3×3 world championships last month where you made it all the way to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion France: what was it like facing Eve Wembanyama (whose brother Victor is projected to be the 1st overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft) in pool play? I did not even know that: it is pretty cool. All of the French players were really talented. I have seen a bunch of highlights of her brother: he is pretty impressive.

Your father George played basketball at Marist: who is the best athlete in the family? I would say that it is me. He was more of a banger inside so when we played against each other during the summer he used to win all of the time…until a couple of years ago. He will never let me take the same shot twice!

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? The end goal is to get back to the NCAA tourney so I will do whatever it takes for my team to do that. We cannot look too far ahead so we will just take it 1 game at a time and I will try to be the best leader that I can be.

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Conference USA Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 24, 2022 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. UAB
  2. Western Kentucky
  3. North Texas
  4. Middle Tennessee
  5. Florida Atlantic
  6. Louisiana Tech
  7. Rice
  8. UTEP
  9. Charlotte
  10. FIU
  11. UTSA

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-CUSA TEAM:

-Alijah Martin -SO, G – Florida Atlantic
-Cobe Williams, JR, G – Louisiana Tech
-Teafale Lenard – SO, G – Middle Tennessee
-Tylor Perry – SR, G – North Texas
-Quincy Olivari – JR, G – Rice
-Eric Gaines – SO, G – UAB
-Jordan Walker – SR, G – UAB (Preseason Player of the Year)
-Emmanuel Akot – SR, G – Western Kentucky
-Dayvion McKnight – JR, G – Western Kentucky
-Jamarion Sharp- SR, C – Western Kentucky

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

Conference USA is home to what is perhaps the greatest tradition in the entire history of sports, and that is…THE CURTAIN!!!!!  If you can go to one conference tournament a year, it should be CUSA!!  No other league has a curtain!!

-Andy Kennedy has done a fantastic job at UAB since taking over two years ago, and now has them as a fixture at the top of this conference and looking good enough to make it to the NCAA Tournament even without the automatic bid.  Jordan Walker is a scoring machine.  He is probably the best player in the conference and can probably play with just about anyone in the nation.  Two other starters are back along with some good bench players from a year ago as well as some really good looking transfers.  UAB is good enough to not just win the league but to be inside the bubble come Selection Sunday.

-Western Kentucky is another team that looks to be really stacked with talent.  Two of their top players return in Jamarion Sharp/Dayvion McKnight, and they have some other key returners and good looking transfers as well.  WKU is always talented, but they also have a tendency to rack up a few head-scratching losses during the season as well.  If they can avoid that they could really be in the mix come March.

-North Texas just missed the NCAA Tournament last year, and had it not been for an early loss to a somewhat weak opponent in the CUSA Tourney a year ago they likely would have been there.  A lot of key players from that team are gone but they still have enough pieces that they will likely be a tough team to beat.

-Middle Tennessee was a team that was routinely playing its way onto the bubble, into the NCAA Tournament, and even winning games once they got there.  They have since totally hit the skids but now they seem to be bouncing back.  They won 26 total games last year, tied for first place in the CUSA East Division, and have four starters back.  It would not shock me at all to see them finish higher than where they are being picked.  In addition to some key returners, they also have some guys back who were out with injuries last year so they could really be dangerous.

-Florida Atlantic was a modest 19-15 last year overall and 11-7 in league play.  With four starters back that experience should help them and we should see some improvement out of them this year.  This is a program that may be on the brink of taking a big step forward.

-Louisiana Tech won an impressive 24 gams last season and while a lot of the key pieces from that team are gone, two starters are back who averaged double figures and they have some decent looking additions to the roster.

-Rice had a modest 7-11 record in league play last year and should be at the top of the bottom half again this year.  I don’t think they will be the league’s doormat, but I do not think they will be solid contenders either.

-UTEP won 20 total games last season, but just one starter is back and the Miners are in rebuilding mode.  They hit both the portal and the JUCOs to put together the roster for this year.

-Charlotte just cannot seem to get their program going.  They were improved last year, but the problem is they lost so much from that team that they’re once again back to the drawing board and once again looking like a team that will finish outside the top-200.

-Both FIU and UTSA also look to be in for some very long years.  These are programs that seem like they should be better than what they are.  I am not saying they should be competing for conference titles, but they routinely fail to finish in the top-200 of most of the metrics and it seems they should at least be able to do that.

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Mountain West Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 23, 2022 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. San Diego State
  2. Wyoming
  3. Boise State
  4. Colorado State
  5. New Mexico
  6. UNLV
  7. Fresno State
  8. Utah State
  9. Nevada
  10. San Jose State
  11. Air Force

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MWC TEAM:

-Isaiah Stevens – SR, G – Colorado State
-Jamal Mashburn – JR, G – New Mexico
-Matt Bradley – SR, G – San Diego State
-Graham Ike – JR, F – Wyoming
-Hunter Maldonado – SR, G – Wyoming

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-San Diego State has been at or near the top of the league for the last several years, and they are the clear frontrunners this year.  They won 23 games last year and made the NCAA Tournament, and with four starters coming back they should be a top-25 caliber team this year, as well as in the top half of the bracket of the NCAA Tournament.  They have always been a really strong defensive team and should be again this year, and they have got quite a bit of depth on their bench.  They also have Matt Bradley, who is one of the best players in the conference, and he gives them a very strong perimeter game as well  It would not surprise me to see this team high in the rankings at the end of the year, and perhaps even in the hunt for a protected seed.

-Wyoming is another team that we may see in the rankings before the year is over.  They made the NCAA Tournament a year ago, and with four starters coming back could be on the brink of a really special season this year.  They have a tremendous home court advantage, and I am almost expecting them to go undefeated at home.  They have one of the best centers in the conference in Graham Ike, who nearly averaged a double-double last year, and a really good guard in Hunter Maldonado as well.  Both of these players are capable of scoring a lot of points.

-Boise State was the first place team a year ago and lost in the Round of 64.  Unfortunately they lost several key players from that team, but they should have enough coming back and some decent looking transfers to where they should be in the hunt to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.

-Colorado State was another team that went dancing last year, and as good as they were I think we were expecting them to be even better (at least I was), but 25 wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance is nothing to be down about.  Just one starter is back so the Rams look to be in rebuilding mode this year.  Isaiah Stevens is back, and they do have some guys who were key players off the bench, but they still appear to be in a bit of a rebuilding mode and it will not be easy for them to make it back to the NCAAs this year. (***EDIT*** Since writing this I have learned that Isaiah Stevens has sustained a foot injury, which will make things even more difficult for the Rams this year.)

-New Mexico is a program that I always feel should be better than what they are.  They have a rabid fanbase, and while they have had some decent teams, they seem to spend far more time outside the bubble rather than inside of it.  Four starters are back but they were just 5-12 in league play a year ago and finished near the bottom, so even with all of that experience it is hard to be overly excited about them.  Still, Richard Pitino is a good coach and he did make some improvements in his first year so they may be heading in the right direction.

-UNLV has not been anywhere near the bubble for the past several years and does not appear to be heading there this year.  They won 18 games last year, which is okay but not great, and most of the key players from that team are gone.  They do add seven new transfers so the roster has overturned quite a bit.  We will see if they can get it going.

-Fresno State was a modest 8-9 in league play last year but they ended up winning the College Basketball Classic Tournament, and with four starters back this year they could be a bit of a dark horse.  To be honest I thought they would be picked a little higher than this.  In addition to four starters returning, they have added some transfers who look like they can be impact players as well.

-Utah State is another team that was picked surprising low.  They were a modest 18-16 last year and made it to the NIT, but with three of their top-five scorers back they should be able to at least finish in about the middle of the league…at least I would think.

-Nevada has struggled ever since Coach Steve Alford arrived, and I have to admit that I am a little surprised because I really thought he would be able to get things going in Reno.  They have just two starters back and lost a lot of key players who need to be replaced.  It could be a long rebuilding year for the Wolfpack.

-San Jose State had their highest KenPom ranking in over five years last year!!  They nearly DOUBLED their win total from the year before!!  They also had their highest win total in over five years!!  Coach Tim Miles’s first season was a ROARING success and I cannot believe they have not been picked to win the conference.  Okay, so they only won 8 total games, were just 1-17 in MWC play, and barely cracked the KenPom top-300: this is still a program that is on its way to the top of all of college basketball!!

-It is so hard to win at Air Force.  They have a unique style that will sometimes allow them to pull off a big upset, but more often than not they are closer to the bottom of the league than to the top, and that looks to be where they will end up this year.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews UTEP assistant coach Earl Boykins

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Jon Teitel

We are still a couple of weeks away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with UTEP assistant coach Earl Boykins, who talked about beating Duke in the 1996 NCAA tourney and his expectations for this season.

In the 1996 NCAA tourney as a player at Eastern Michigan you scored 23 PTS in a win over Duke: what was it like to face Coach K in the postseason? It was a great experience for both me and my teammates. It was an opportunity to show that we could compete on the national stage against 1 of the elite programs in the country.

You were the leading scorer for team USA at the 1997 World University Games: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It is a great honor to represent your country. As an athlete you do not realize how great it is until you put on the uniform and are standing on the podium listening to the national anthem.

As a senior in 1998 you were named MAC tourney MVP, were #2 in the nation with 26.8 PPG, and won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation’s most outstanding senior who is 6’ or shorter: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? You never play basketball to receive honors: the only reason I played was to win as many games as possible. That was my whole focus.

Your 624 career AST remain the most in school history: what is the secret to being a great PG? You need guys who can put the ball in the basket. The tempo we played with was fast-paced and I had great teammates around me.

You remain the 2nd-shortest player in NBA history at 5’5” (behind Muggsy Bogues at 5’3”) but despite weighing 133 pounds you could bench press more than 300 pounds: did you see your size as an advantage or disadvantage on the court? It was definitely an advantage. When you are the smallest guy on the court you never have to adjust the way you play. The only time I had to adjust was when facing Muggsy! From elementary school through the NBA I never changed the way that I played.

Despite being an undrafted free agent you played 12 years in the NBA and your 87.6 career FT% remains top-25 all-time: what is the key to making FTs? Just relaxing. It comes down to fundamentals/form. I never dribbled the ball at the line: it is just about muscle memory.

In 2011 your alma mater retired your #11 jersey: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It was very humbling, especially when you think about all of the players who came out of Eastern Michigan.

Last year you were hired as an assistant at UTEP: why did you take the job, and what was the hardest part of year #1? My goal is to eventually become a head coach and Joe Golding asked me to come join his staff: I am very thankful to him. I get to go out on the road to recruit and keep developing as a coach.

You lost each of your top-5 scorers from last year (Souley Boum/Jamal Bieniemy/Keonte Kennedy/Tydus Verhoeven/Jorell Saterfield): how will you try to replace all of that offense? We have 10 new guys this year and are a much deeper team than last year. We will do it by committee and have some tough guys who will compete night in and night out.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? Our goal is to go out and play hard and get better every single game. I expect us to be a hard-nosed team.

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