Ohio Valley Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 18, 2022 by David Griggs

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

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Morehead State
  2. Tennessee State
  3. UT Martin
  4. SEMO
  5. SIUE
  6. Little Rock
  7. Southern Indiana
  8. Tennessee Tech
  9. Eastern Illinois
  10. Lindenwood

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-OVC TEAM:

-Mark Freeman – SR, G – Morehead State
-Chris Harris – SR, G – SEMO
-Phillip Russell – SO, G – SEMO
-Ray’Sean Taylor – SO, G – SIUE
-DeeJuan Pruitt – SO, F – SIUE
-Jelani Simmons – SR, G – Southern Indiana
-Jr. Clay – SR, G – Tennessee State
-Marcus Fitzgerald – SO, G – Tennessee State
-Zion Griffin – SR, F – Tennessee State
-Dedric Boyd – SR, G – Tennessee State
-Ty Perry – SR, G – Tennessee Tech
-KJ Simon – SR, G – UT Martin
-Parker Stewart – SR, G – UT Martin

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

So one of the stories of the OVC this year is the number of teams that are no longer in the league.  Both Murray State and Belmont have left to join the Missouri Valley Conference in a move that probably makes sense for those programs, but it is a major setback for the overall strength of the OVC.  For the last four or five years the OVC had a team that was either inside the bubble or close to it, and managed to win three NCAA Tournament games.  Now it is arguably one of the five weakest conferences in all of D1.

-Morehead State has won 20+ games for the past two seasons and Head Coach Preston Spradlin has done a great job building the program up.  The problem is that they lost so much from last year’s team and have just one starter back, but they are still the preseason favorites to win the league.  They did hit the transfer portal and appear to be adding some guys who were contributing role players at their previous programs so there is reason to be optimistic.

-Tennessee State is getting quite a bit of preseason love, but they had a rather unspectacular season last year where they won just 14 total games and they lost most of their key players.  Similar to Morehead State, they do have several players who appeared to be key players and have D1 experience, so we will see how they come together.

-UT Martin is picked to finish 3rd.  This team has failed to win more than 10 total games for the past three seasons, so the idea that they’re picked to finish 3rd just shows you that the league has dropped off somewhat.  Four starters are back and that experience should help them some, but they won just two of their last twelve to finish the season last year.

-I am a little surprised that SEMO is not picked to finish higher.  Their leading scorer is back in Phillip Russell who is just a sophomore, so for him to produce the way that he did as a freshman could make him one of the key players in the conference.  They also add some good looking freshmen and transfers, and I think they have a chance to win the league, which is why I am a little surprised they were picked 4th.

-SIUE finally finished in the KenPom top-300 last season!  They checked in at…298th.  So, they have not exactly been setting the world on fire recently.  But, there are some reasons to be optimistic this year.  The overall strength of the league is weaker so they should be more competitive.  Three starters are back and they were playing better at the end of the year than they were at the beginning.

-Little Rock joins the conference this year after previously being a member of the Sun Belt.  They have had some good teams in the past but last year was not one of them.  They won just 9 total games, and just two of those came after February 1st.  Four starters are back so that experience should help them some, and while last year’s Sun Belt wasn’t a great league it was still stronger than what this year’s OVC appears to be, so they should be able to be more competitive.

-Southern Indiana is new to D1.  They were a top level program at the D2 level, and I think they will be competitive in D1 (especially in this conference) rather quickly.  As for their first year this year, even though the league is somewhat weaker they are likely to struggle.

-I thought Tennessee Tech hit a home run when they hired John Pelphrey as head coach, but after three seasons it just has not come together for them yet.  Having said that, I am a little surprised to see them picked this low.  I do not think they will win the league but I am expecting them to at least be in the top half of it.  Granted, just three players return, but two of them were starters and they appear to added some nice players via the transfer portal.

-Eastern Illinois was one of the worst teams in all of D1 last year.  I think they will  be better this year…but only because it would be almost impossible to be worse.

-Lindenwood, along with Southern Indiana, begins their four-year transition into D1 this year.

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The Hoops HD Special Report: Interview With Selection Committee Chairman Chris Reynolds

Posted on October 17, 2022 by David Griggs

Chad, David, and Jon are joined by Selection Committee Chairman and Bradley Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Chris Reynolds.  We talk about the NCAA Tournament, and all the work that goes into selecting and seeding the teams.  It is emphasized that every game from the first night of the season all the way through the conference tournaments is evaluated.  We touch on what some teams from outside the P5 conferences need to do in order to build up quality resumes, how much communication there is amongst committee members throughout the season, and much more..

 

Audio Only!  No Video for the show….

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Colgate F Keegan Records

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Jon Teitel

We are still a few 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 Colgate F Keegan Records, who talked about making the NCAA tourney last March and his expectations for this season.

You were born/raised in Rhode Island: what made you choose Colgate? I visited a couple of different schools but came to Colgate right after they had played Tennessee in the 2019 NCAA tourney. I found that it would be a great fit and loved everything that it had to offer both on/off the court.

You play for Coach Matt Langel: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? There are many reasons he has been so successful. Every year is a little different but he works with what his players have to offer. He is able to let us flow: there is not just 1 specific offensive/defensive set.

You are 6’10”/250 pounds: how much of an advantage is your size in the Patriot League? I think that it is definitely a big advantage but we are lucky to have 2 on our team with myself/6’11” Jeff Woodward. We battle every day in practice, which helps us a lot during games. We see a lot of big guys in non-conference play but not as much during conference play.

You played in 33 games as a freshman and were named to the conference All-Rookie Team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I only played about 12 MPG because we had so many older/talented players so I just learned from them and came off the bench. We had a lot of great shooters so it made my job of finishing around the rim very easy and set me up to succeed. The coaches taught me the offense and found a way to put me in the right spots at the right time.

As a sophomore you finished the conference tourney 14-1 with only a 2-PT loss to Army: how close did you come to going undefeated? We lost to them during the 1st week of the year while playing back-to-back games after beating them by 44 PTS the day before so we got a little relaxed for the rematch. That COVID year was a new year but our mindset changed after the loss and we gave it everything we had every time. That loss taught us a lot.

You led the league with 64.1 FG% that year and also became the 1st Colgate player since 2009 to lead the league in BPG: what is the secret to being a great shooter/shot-blocker? When I get the ball in the post and have 4 shooters around me who can shoot 40% from behind the arc it gives me a chance to operate without being double-teamed. Blocking shots is about staying 1 step ahead of the offense.

In the 2022 NCAA tourney you scored 7 PTS in a 7-PT loss to Wisconsin: what did you learn from that game that you think will help you this year? We have played 2 close games in March Madness during my time here. I learned that if our opponent tries to speed us up then we just need to play Colgate basketball and do what we do best by finding our open shooters. It was a crazy game last year so we just need to stay calm. We deserve to be there so we just need to go out and play.

You are 1 of 6 seniors on the roster: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success? I think it will be very crucial. We have a couple of new guys coming in so we are just teaching them about how to become 1 team. The upperclassmen have been through hundreds of games/practices and our transfers have been around the sport a long time. We all have 1 goal: we do not just want to get to March Madness but want to pull off an upset once we get there.

Your non-conference schedule includes games at Auburn/Syracuse: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? This will be my 2nd time playing Auburn and my 3rd time playing Syracuse. I assume Auburn will be ranked in the top-25 but they are both talented teams. We just have to stick to Colgate basketball even if it is a crazy environment in a packed stadium. Syracuse is only a 40-mile drive away but we just have to trust the game plan. Those 2 games stick out to us too so we will be fired up for both of them.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? We have really high standards. 1 of our goals is to win the regular season/tourney titles and do the best we can in conference play. After the regular season ends we need to reset our minds for the postseason and hopefully we will be a #1 seed. We will definitely not take winning the title game for granted…but it would be great to beat a high-major team whether they are a 2/3/4 seed in the NCAA tourney and then keep moving forward.

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SWAC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 17, 2022 by David Griggs

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

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Texas Southern
  2. Alcorn State
  3. Southern U
  4. Prairie View A&M
  5. Florida A&M
  6. Grambling State
  7. Jackson State
  8. Bethune Cookman
  9. Alabama A&M
  10. Alabama State
  11. Arkansas Pine Bluff
  12. Mississippi Valley State

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SWAC TEAM:

-Joe French – Bethune Cookman
-Tyrone Lyons – Southern U
-Cameron Christon – Grambling
-Garrett Hicks – Alabama A&M
-Karl Nicholas – Texas Southern

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

The SWAC is seemingly always one of the two worst conferences in all of D1.  More often than not its champion goes to the First Four, and it is extremely rare to see a team that is ever seeded better than 16th.  Nearly every team plays a non-conference schedule loaded with road buy games, and some teams do not play any non-conference D1 opponents at home.  The series with the Pac 12 could help with that a little bit, but this once again looks to be one of the weaker conferences.

-Texas Southern has been one of the conference’s flagship programs and is this year’s preseason favorite.  They won 19 games a year ago, including the SWAC Tournament, and have 3 starters back from that team.  Head Coach Johnny Jones has been really consistent since arriving and this could be one of his better teams.

-Alcorn State will also be in the mix.  They were the first place team a year ago and have some pretty good pieces returning this season, including their top scorer and rebounder.

-Southern U also has three starters back, including Tyrone Lyons who is a very good outside shooter, and add what appear to be some quality transfer players as well.

-Prairie View A&M won just eight total games a year ago, but has also hit the transfer portal as they look to rebuild.  They seem to be getting some love from the coaches and media as they are picked to finish 4th.

-FAMU is in complete reset mode.  All five starters are gone and they have revamped their roster with a lot of transfers.

-Grambling kind of fell apart in the second half of conference play.  They do have three starters back, and with that experience we could see some improvement, but it may be an uphill climb when they face the teams in the top half of the league.

-Jackson State has a new head coach, and has just one starter back, so they will also need to rebuild with a new roster.

-Bethune Cookman could be a bit of a dark horse.  All five starters are back, and with that experience we should see some improvement, but they did struggle a year ago winning just 9 total games and finishing 10th in the conference.

-I am a little surprised Alabama A&M is picked to finish this low.  Granted, this is where they normally end up, but they were a very respectable 10-8 in conference play last year, and have four starters back.  They do have a new head coach, so there could be some adjustment there, but I look for them to finish closer to the top half of the league than this.

-Alabama State, Arkansas Pine Bluff, and Mississippi Valley State probably have a much better shot at winning the Centenary Award than they do of making the NCAA Tournament.

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American Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 16, 2022 by David Griggs

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

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Houston
  2. Memphis
  3. Cincinnati
  4. Tulane
  5. Temple
  6. UCF
  7. SMU
  8. Wichita State
  9. South Florida
  10. Tulsa
  11. East Carolina

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-AAC 1ST TEAM:

-Marcus Sasser – SR, G – Houston
-Kendric Davis – SR, G – Memphis
-DeAndre Williams – SR, F – Memphis
-Damian Dunn – SO, G – Temple
-Jalen Cook – SO, G – Tulane

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-AAC 2ND TEAM:

-David DeJulius – SR, G – Cincinnati
-Jamal Shead – JR, G – Houston
-Khalif Battle – SO, G – Temple
-Kevin Cross – JR, F – Tulane
-Jaylen Forbes – JR, G – Tulane

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Houston’s recruiting class is insanely good.  It is so good that many are considering them a team that can contend for a spot in the Final Four.  Four starters are gone, but they do have some guys back that contributed quality minutes last year, and matching with a very-highly-rated recruiting class is what has people very-highly-excited about the Cougars.  I know they are talented.  I absolutely think they will be a frontrunner in this conference, and while it would not shock me to see them get as far as the Final Four, I am always a little skeptical of teams that have so many new players until I get the chance to see them play against other teams.  But as a program, Houston is among the college basketball elite now.  That would have seemed crazy to say about five or six years ago, but they are.  They went as far as the Elite Eight a year ago, they were in the Final Four the year before that, and they just signed one of the strongest recruiting classes in the country, so the Cougars are not going to fade away anytime soon.

-Memphis is coming off its first NCAA Tournament in 4 years, and they even managed to win a game in the Round of 64 last year.  They are losing quite a few pieces from that team, but they seem to be ready to replace most of it and will be as good, and possibly better, this year.  Kendric Davis, who was an outstanding player at SMU, has transferred in, along with Keonte Kennedy from UTEP, and a few others with quality D1 experience.

-Cincinnati was rather subpar last year in Wes Miller’s first year as head coach, but they did have a few shining moments before totally crapping out in the last few weeks of the season.  They ended up losing six of their last seven.  Still, four starters are back (and six of their top-seven scorers), and we saw that this team can play at a high level.  With more experience and good coaching (which I believe Miller can provide), this team should play at a higher level more consistently this year.

-I am all in on this Tulane team!!  They were a tire fire when Ron Hunter arrived as head coach, and he has shown consistent improvement in the time he has been there.  I think this is the year they make the jump from being a blah team to being someone that can play and compete with the top half of the league.  All five starters are back from a year ago and all should be better with experience.  I guess I would consider them my dark horse team, but with them landing as high as 4th in the preseason poll I guess I cannot really call them a dark horse.  Other people seem to have the same expectations.

-Temple has four starters back from last year and appears to be getting better under coach Aaron McKie.  He won 17 games last year after winning just 5 the year before.  If they can continue to improve they should be able to make quite a bit of noise.

-UCF was kind of a disappointment last year.  They did not have a bad year…but they did not do as well as many of us were expecting.  With just one starter back they appear to be in a bit of rebuilding mode, and I cannot see them being a serious contender for a major postseason tournament.

-SMU won 24 games a year ago and was close to making the NCAA Tournament, but with so little back from that team it is hard to see them being a big threat this year.  Rob Lanier takes over as head coach and he has his work cut out for him.

-I was so excited when Wichita State joined this league! I did kind of hate to see them leave the Missouri Valley, but they were a consistent top-25-caliber team that would routinely win games in the NCAA Tournament.  Those days now seem like a distant memory.  They won just 15 total games last year, finished 7th in the conference, and have very little returning in terms of experience.  They have a long way to go to get back to where they used to be.

-All I can really say about South Florida, Tulsa, and East Carolina is that they look like long shots to make the quarterfinals of the AAC Tournament.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Washington assistant coach Quincy Pondexter

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Jon Teitel

We are still a few 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 Washington assistant coach Quincy Pondexter, who talked about making a game-winning shot in the 2010 NCAA tourney and his expectations for this season.

You were born/raised in Fresno: what made you choose Washington? I developed a really strong relationship with Coach Lorenzo Romar. He was like a father figure to me and still is. Seattle was close enough that I could go home and see my family so I just locked myself in the gym.

In 2010 you were named 1st-team all-Pac-10 after leading the conference in FTM/ORB and finishing 3rd in PPG: how were you able to balance all of the different aspects of your game? I just tried to be as aggressive as possible without being selfish. Offensive rebounding and getting to the FT line were the best ways for me to score.

In the 2010 NCAA tourney you had 18 PTS/11 REB including a short bank shot with 1.7 seconds left in a 2-PT win over Marquette: did you think that your shot was going in, and where does that rank among the highlights of your career? I had no DOUBT that it was going in! It was a moment that etched me in Washington history forever and I will always cherish it. I have to rank it up there near the top…and that is why I came back.

That summer you were drafted 26th overall by Oklahoma City: did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? It was just a part of my journey. I worked my ass off from the time I was a kid with the NBA as my ultimate goal. To get there and then get to play with and against my idols is something that I will always cherish. It felt like a fairy tale for a lot of the time.

You made the 2013 NBA Western Conference Finals with Memphis before getting swept by San Antonio: what was it like to face Tim Duncan/Manu Ginóbili/Tony Parker with a spot in the Finals at stake? It goes by so fast in the playoffs. You have no idea that you are even on that stage because you are locked in: the moment does not really faze you. Duncan was legendary and the other 2 were in their prime, plus they had another young player as well named Kawhi Leonard. They should have won it all that year until Ray Allen made his famous shot (www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr6XsZVb-ZE). It is hard to lose but I am blessed to have played at that level.

Your uncle Cliff/father Roscoe both played pro basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? Right now I would say it is me: they did enough to pass the torch to me, and hopefully I can pass it on to my son down the way.

You work for Coach Mike Hopkins: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He has been in the business for a long time so the way he treats people is top-tier. It only helps us as a staff because he knows what it takes to win.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Auburn/Gonzaga and either St. Mary’s/Vanderbilt in the Wooden Legacy: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Every game in front of us is our biggest test. Last year we looked forward to some of our biggest matchups and slipped up, but this year we will take it 1 game at the time. We want to be 1 of the best teams in the conference and I think that we have a great opportunity.

Last year you had 1 of the most experienced teams in the nation with 1 freshman/0 sophomores among your 10 players who spent some time on the court: how much pressure is there on your new transfers (including Keion Brooks/Noah Williams) to contribute right from the start? There is a little bit of pressure but they definitely deserve it. It is a position that they have been wanting so we will use all of their talent. They have been great leaders and we want them to play the best they can for us.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? The NCAA tourney is the biggest goal for every team. I think it is very realistic and we are striving for it 1 game at a time. If we make it then we will be ecstatic because anything can happen one you get there.

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