American Athletic Conference Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 15, 2019 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

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

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jarron Cumberland – Cincinnati, SR G

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: James Wiseman – Memphis, FR C

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-AAC 1ST TEAM

Jarron Cumberland – Cincinnati, SR G
Quinton Rose – Temple, SR G
DeJon Jarreau – Houston, JR G
James Wiseman – Memphis, FR C
Laquincy Rideau – South Florida, SR G

MEDIAY DAY PRESEASON ALL-AAC 2ND TEAM

Alexis Yetna – South Florida, SO F
Jayden Gardner – East Carolina, SO F
Nate Pierre-Louis – Temple, JR G
Alterique Gilbert – UConn, JR G
David Collins – South Florida, JR G
Christian Vital – UConn, SR G

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID.  Last season there weren’t any teams from the AAC that were ranked in the preseason.  Houston ended up with a protected seed, Cincinnati played their way into the rankings and was in the top half of the bracket, UCF made the field and was THIS close to knocking off Duke and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen, and Temple also made it into the First Four.  For the last several years I’ve felt this league was better than it typically got credit for.  The one strike against it was that it struggled in the NCAA Tournament.  With a strong showing by a couple teams last year, hopefully it will begin to earn more respect.

Two years ago, Houston lost on a beyond mid-court shot in the Round of 32 to Michigan.  The Wolverines went on to advance to the National Title game.  I’m not saying Houston would have made it that far, but I do think they would have at least made the Elite Eight.  Last year they came very close to getting there, but fell to Kentucky in a hard-fought Sweet Sixteen game where they actually had a lead with less than 30 seconds to go, but just couldn’t hold on.  This year, the Cougars are looking to replace four starters and will be relying heavily on guys that will be playing bigger roles than they have in the past.  Still, Houston is one of those teams that I’ve learned to never overlook.

Memphis is rich with talent.  Many people, including myself, questioned whether or not Coach Penny Hardaway was a good choice given that he really hadn’t ever coached in college before.  Last year he did really well with the pieces he had, and he’s got a fantastic recruiting class this year.  The one thing about them is that they will likely start four freshmen, so it may take them a while to really hit their stride…but if they improve throughout the year then they will be extremely dangerous at the end.

The John Brannen era begins at Cincinnati this year.  He did a fantastic job at Northern Kentucky, and he’s got quite a few pieces coming back.  Three starters are returning, and they will be joined by grad transfer Jaevin Cumberland, who was a standout player at Oakland last year.  Under Mick Cronin, it seemed like the Bearcats always finished better than what people expected.  It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that were the case again this year under Brannen.

Wichita State struggled early last year, but finished strong and has the core of that team back.  I believe last year was an anomaly, and that they’re good enough this year to once again be an NCAA Tournament caliber team.

South Florida won the CBI last year (for whatever that’s worth), and have all five starters back.  Expectations aren’t normally high for this program, especially in recent years, but they could be able to make some noise this year.

If UConn doesn’t win the AAC this year, then they never will!  They are moving to the Big East next season.  As a team they went just 16-17 last year under Dan Hurley, but he’s a solid coach who should get them going in the right direction, but they still got a ways to go.  I think they’ll be better this year, but I wouldn’t go picking them to go dancing just yet.

Temple also has a new coach, and has three starters back from a 23-win season a year ago and seem to have the pieces to once again be competitive in the league.

UCF had a fantastic year last season (as mentioned above), but they lost so much from that team that repeating it won’t be easy.  They lost seven of their top eight players, and have a lot to replace.  They do have two JUCO transfers and two grad transfers, but all and all it looks like a completely new team.

SMU returns just two starters and will try and rebound from last year’s 15-17 season.

Tulsa is also looking to improve, and it looks like they’ve added some pretty solid JUCO players to their roster.

East Carolina and Tulane both look like they are in for yet another long season.

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The Hoops HD Report: ACC Conference Preview

Posted on October 14, 2019 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of our extensive Preseason Content

Chad, David, Joby, and John break down the ACC.  They discuss how Duke is once again replacing a lot of lost talent with a lot of incoming talent, and how Louisville may be the team that ends up winning the conference.  Virginia was last year’s national champion, and although they lost a lot of key players we think they could once again end up as a protected seed along with North Carolina.  Florida State is another team that we like.  NC State and Syracuse are two others who we think could end up in the Big Dance this year.  All that, and more!!

HOOPS HD TOP FIVE:

  1. Louisville
  2. Duke
  3. Virginia
  4. North Carolina
  5. Florida State

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show..

 

CLICK HERE for the Recap and Response to ACC Media Day

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Southland Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 14, 2019 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

  1. New Orleans
  2. Sam Houston State
  3. Abilene Christian
  4. SFA
  5. Central Arkansas
  6. Lamar
  7. McNeese
  8. TAMU Corpus Christi
  9. Houston Baptist
  10. Southeast Louisiana
  11. Nicholls
  12. Northwestern State
  13. Incarnate Word

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SOUTHLAND 1ST TEAM

Ian DuBose – Houston Baptist, JR G
Kevon Harris – SFA, SR G/F
Kai Mitchell – Sam Houston State, SR F/C
Payten Ricks – Abilene Christian, SR G
Bryson Robinson – New Orleans, SR G

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SOUTHLAND 2ND TEAM

T.J. Atwood – Lamar, SR G/F
Roydell Brown – McNeese, SR G
DeAndre Jones – Central Arkansas, JR G
Sha’Markus Kennedy – McNeese, SR F
Hayden Koval – Central Arkansas, JR C

 

NOTES FROM DAVID.  Abilene Christian was one of the more intriguing stories in college basketball last year that most people probably weren’t aware of.  As a team that just recently completed their transition to D-1, they were very competitive and very fun to watch, and continued to be after they lost a key player during the season.  They finished 14-4 in league play and went on to win the conference tournament and make their first-ever NCAA Tournament.  Four starters are gone from last year’s team, so they should suffer a bit of a setback, but their program is definitely on the right track.

New Orleans is the preseason favorite.  They were hit hard by the injury bug a year ago, so they should be better if they can stay healthy this year.  They had pretty good depth and balance, and should finish at or near the top.

Sam Houston State, who ran away with first place last year and is traditionally one of the stronger teams, is picked to finish second despite losing three starters.  They do have Kai Mitchell, who is one of the better players in the conference, as well as some key JUCO transfers and some guys who saw quality minutes last year.

SFA, who dominated this league for years on end and even made some noise in the NCAA Tournament a couple of times, has stumbled somewhat.  They finished below .500 in league play last year and actually missed the Southland Tournament, which would have seemed like an impossibility just a few years ago.  One of the reasons they struggled so much was because of injuries, so we should see a significant improvement if they’re able to stay healthy this year.

Not a whole lot of love for Nicholls, which makes sense due to them only winning 10 D-1 games a year ago, but with four starters back they should be improved just based on their experience.

Central Arkansas has three starters back, and while they didn’t have that great of a season last year, they did finish with some momentum in winning four of their last five, including a win at Sam Houston State, before losing in the conference tournament.

After that, it kind of feels like a cluster of teams that will fight it out for those last few spots in the conference tournament.  Lamar won 20 games a year ago, but with four starters gone they will be in rebuilding mode.  McNeese has an overhauled roster and is looking to improve from just nine wins a year ago.   TAMUCC lost a key player in Kareem South, who transferred to Cal, so they’ll have their work cut out for them as they try and reload.  Houston Baptist has just two starters back and also had to deal with some would-be key players transferring out.

Not seeing much to be excited about from SELA, Northwestern State, or Incarnate Word.

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Atlantic Sun Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 14, 2019 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL

  1. Liberty
  2. North Florida
  3. FGCU
  4. NJIT
  5. Lipscomb
  6. North Alabama
  7. Jacksonville
  8. Kennesaw State
  9. Stetson

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON MEDIA POLL

  1. Liberty
  2. North Florida
  3. FGCU
  4. Lipscomb
  5. NJIT
  6. North Alabama
  7. Jacksonville
  8. Kennesaw State
  9. Stetson

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL -ASUN TEAM

Caleb Homesley – Liberty, SR G
Scottie James – Liberty, SR F
Zach Cooks – NJIT, JR G
Ivan Gandia-Rosa – North Florida, SR G
Tyler Hooker – Kennesaw State, SR G
Ahsan Asadullah – Lipscomb, SO C
Michael Buckland – Lipscomb, SR G
Jamari Blackmon – North Alabama, SO G
Wajid Aminu – North Florida, SR F
Garrett Sams – North Florida, SR G

 

NOTES FROM DAVID:  The Liberty Flames, who were new to the Atlantic Sun last year, tied with Lipscomb for first place in a race that was neck-and-neck all year, then won the ASun Tournament, and then advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament with a big win over Mississippi State.  Lipscomb went on to make the finals of the NIT and won some pretty big games along the way.

For Lipscomb, they have a lot to replace.  Four starters are gone, along with Coach Casey Alexander who took the job just down the boulevard at rival Belmont.  They replace him with Lennie Acuff, who’s had a long and successful run at Alabama-Huntsville in D-2, but it will likely be a rebuilding project.

Liberty, on the other hand, has four starters back from last year’s team and should be strong both underneath and out in the backcourt.  Whenever a team who made the Round of 32 returns that kind of talent they are a team to watch.  Don’t be surprised if they end up inside the bubble this year.  Some of their notable OOC games include playing at Vanderbilt and at LSU.

North Florida is another team to watch.  They had a rather unspectacular year overall last season, but they finished the season with seven straight wins before losing to Liberty in the ASun semifinals, and have four starters back.  Matthew Driscoll has done a spectacular job as head coach.  He’s been there since they were basically a transitional team and has made them one of the better programs in conference.

NJIT returns three starters from a team that won 20 games a year ago, so they’re another intriguing team.

North Alabama, who was just in their first year of transitioning last year, went 7-9 in conference, including a stretch early on where they won four straight.  That’s not bad at all for a transitional team.

Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, and Stetson are bringing up the rear.  Neither Kennesaw or Stetson managed more than five D-1 wins a year ago.

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ACC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 13, 2019 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

  1. Duke
  2. North Carolina
  3. Louisville
  4. Virginia
  5. Florida State
  6. NC State
  7. Notre Dame
  8. Syracuse
  9. Miami FL
  10. Pittsburgh
  11. Clemson
  12. Georgia Tech
  13. Boston College
  14. Virginia Tech
  15. Wake Forest

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-ACC 1ST TEAM

Jordan Nwora – Louisville
Tre Jones – Duke
Cole Anthony – North Carolina
John Mooney – Notre Dame
Mamadi Diakite – Virginia

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-ACC 2ND TEAM

Markell Johnson – NC State
Vernon Carey – Duke
Chris Lykes – Miami FL
Garrison Brooks – North Carolina
Trent Forrest – Florida State

PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Jordan Nwora (Louisville)

PRESEASON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Cole Anthony (North Carolina)

NOTES FROM DAVID.  Zion Williamson is gone from Duke, and they lost three other starters so the Blue Devils have a ton of talent that needs to be replaced.  But, as always, Duke is replacing a ton of talent with a ton of talent.  They are bringing in yet another monster recruiting class and will once again be contenders for the Final Four.

Prior to the start of last year no one expected Louisville to do anything, and while a lot of people probably remember some of the games that the Cardinals didn’t win and feel that the team could have been, one must not forget that they actually did exceed all expectations.  This year, Louisville is good enough to contend for the ACC title and/or the Final Four with three starters back and a huge recruiting class to go along with it.

Virginia won the National Title last year!  They could be in the top ten yet again this year!  Yet, they’re only picked 4th in the ACC.  That just goes to show you how strong this league is.   Everyone knows Virginia is good, but the Hoos are probably even better than what most people realize.  Despite playing in an insanely strong conference and not shying away from tough OOC games either, they’ve won 29 or more games in four of the last five years.  I know that they have a ton of talent that needs replacing, but do not ever overlook this team.  Well, at least not until Tony Bennett leaves.

I’m not as big on North Carolina as I am on the four teams that I’ve already talked about, but please understand that in the proper context.  I believe them to be a top-20 caliber team instead of a top 10 caliber team.  With four starters gone, I have more questions than certainties about the Tar Heels, but if history is any indicator they will once again be a strong team.

Don’t overlook Florida State.  Everyone seems to every year.  They’ve been to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens (or further) and earned a protected seed the year before that, so for the past three years they’ve probably exceeded expectations and could do so again this year.  They will likely get good play out of their guards and will once again go deep into their bench.

Last year NC State (rightfully) missed the tournament.  They had a ton of wins, but didn’t really do all that much when they were playing against actual tournament teams.  I’m a big fan of Kevin Keatts, and think with the experience they have coming back they’ll be better this year and should once again contend for, and likely make, the NCAA Tournament

Notre Dame has five starters back, and that experience should help them.  But, the Irish also lost eight of their last nine games last year.  Mike Brey is a really good coach and he’s accomplished a lot at Notre Dame, but the last two years have been a struggle.  I don’t think he’s on the hot seat, but his seat may be getting a little warm if they once again fail to even make the NIT this year.

Jim Boeheim has been at Syracuse for 44 years, which means when the incoming freshmen were born he’d been at Syracuse for 26 years.  He’s got his work cut out for him this year with just one regular returning starter and a very young roster.

Miami FL is looking to bounce back after winning just 14 games a year ago.  They have a strong player in Chris Lykes, but they don’t appear to have a whole lot of depth or strength in other areas.

Pitt was 14-19 in Jeff Capel’s first year last year, which is anything but spectacular, but it was tons better than they were the year before.  They’ve still got a long way to go, but with four starters back they should be substantially better this year and will likely compete for at least a spot in the NIT.

Clemson is in a complete rebuilding mode with four starters gone from a year ago.

Georgia Tech’s season is already off to a rough start.  They won’t be making the NCAA Tournament.  They won’t be making the ACC Tournament either.  The NCAA handed out a postseason ban.  Chances are they wouldn’t have made the postseason anyway, but that’s rough news to hear before it’s even October.

Boston College should be better, but are still a long way off from being good.

It was fun having Virginia Tech be good at basketball, but seeing as how Buzz Williams is gone along with the bulk of the talent from last year, it may be a multi-year rebuilding project for new head coach Mike Young.

Wake Forest….I got nothin’

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews new Utah Valley coach Mark Madsen

Posted on October 12, 2019 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of our extensive Preseason Content

We continue our season preview coverage with new Utah Valley coach Mark Madsen. It is hard to believe that it has been a couple of decades since he almost helped Stanford upset Kentucky in the Final 4, and after he joined the NBA he won a pair of titles with the Lakers. He later spent several years as an assistant coach with the Lakers before being hired to take over the Wolverines as head coach last April. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Madsen about winning a pair of titles and starting a new job.

Your nickname is “Mad Dog”: how did you get it, and how do you like it? I got it in 5th grade from my PE teacher who had a nickname for everybody. It has stuck with me ever since.

You played for Coach Mike Montgomery at Stanford: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He is a coach of the highest character and is a great human being. His schemes are very difficult to guard: I run the same stuff at Utah Valley. He is unbelievable at Xs and Os and remains a friend to this day.

Take me through the 1998 NCAA tourney:
You made a 3-PT play with 26.2 seconds left in a 2-PT win over Rhode Island: how were you able to overcome a 6-PT deficit in the final minute? Arthur Lee! He scored about 14 PTS during the final 3 minutes and just took over the game. Coach Montgomery told us to keep fighting and Arthur put the team on his back and things just worked out.

In the Final 4 you had 16 REB in a 1-PT OT loss to eventual champ Kentucky: how close did you come to beating the Wildcats? I think that all of us beat ourselves up after that game. You think about every little thing that you could have done better.

You were a 2-time All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? It was a testament to our team’s success: it is really a reflection of all 15 players and what they did as a group.

You won back-to-back NBA titles with the Lakers in 2001/2002: what did it mean to you to win a pair of titles? When you win them so early in your career you almost do not know anything different. After my 1st 4 years in the league I never made the playoffs again so I am glad for the great memories I made early on.

You were named head coach at Utah Valley in April: why did you take the job, and how is it going so far? I took the job because it is an unbelievable basketball school going back to coaches like Dick Hunsaker and players like Ronnie Price. It has a great basketball tradition and things are going great. We had a few transfers and signed some new players and have some great returning players: I could not be more excited!

Your non-conference schedule includes a road game against Kentucky next month: do you prepare to face the Wildcats in the same way that you prepare for any other team? You know that they are 1 of the top programs in the country and you want to go out and compete against whoever you play. We have a group of competitors and that is why you play the game.

You lost 5 of your top-6 scorers from last year (Jake Toolson/Conner Toolson/Baylee Steele/Ben Nakwaasah/Connor MacDougall): how will you try to replace all of that offense? I analogize it to a bucket of water: when you take your hand out of the bucket the water is still in there. We lost some great players but there is still a tremendous opportunity for the returning guys and the new guys: the sky is the limit.

You only have 3 players on the current roster from Utah: what sort of recruiting philosophy will you have? We will recruit Utah hard and also have a national/international footprint. I got hired late but we will bring in the best guys wherever we can find them.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? As a group we want to make a deep push into postseason play. We want to be peaking late in the season and hopefully make the NCAA tourney.

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