Conference Preview: SWAC

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Chad

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For the past six seasons, the SWAC has been all about Texas Southern.  During that time period, head coach Mike Davis led the Tigers to four SWAC regular season championships and four NCAA Tournaments, including last season’s berth (and win) in the First Four.  Davis has moved on to Detroit and the school has hired Johnny Jones as his replacement.  With the team likely needing to rebuild this year, the conference race is wide open.  Last year’s regular season champions, who were ineligible due to an APR ban, are our pick to make their first ever trip to the Big Dance this season.  Grambling was long looked at as one of the worst programs in Division I, but now they are poised to win the conference title.  It will not be easy with at least three other programs set to contend, including Alabama State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Prairie View.  At the end of the day, expect SWAC teams to take a lot of lumps in non-conference guarantee buy-games, and then battle each other tight once conference play starts in January.

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Grambling State – The Tigers, who spent years batting to avoid being the worst team in Division I, captured the SWAC regular season title last year. Unfortunately, an APR ban kept them out of postseason play.  The ban is now lifted, and the school’s first ever NCAA tournament bid is within reach.  Ivy Smith, a contender for SWAC Player of the Year, will lead the way.  He averaged 16.7 points per game last year.
  2. Alabama State – The Hornets may have only been 8-23 last season, but all 8 wins came against SWAC opponents including a stretch where they won 4 out of 7 shortly before SWAC Freshman of the Year Jacoby Ross went down with a hand injury. Ross is now healthy and the entire starting lineup, including leading scorer Reginald Gee and double-double threat Branden Johnson, is back.  This team could end up a serious contender by the time the dust settles.
  3. Arkansas-Pine Bluff – The Golden Lions tied for second place in the regular season and lost the conference tournament title game to Texas Southern last season. This year, they will look to take the next step led by SWAC Player (and Newcomer) of the Year Martaveous McKnight.  McKnight averaged over 18 points per game for UAPB last season and has two other starters plus a handful of key reserves returning to help try to take this team into the postseason.
  4. Prairie View A&M – The Panthers only return two starters from last season, but those two both averaged over 12 points per game in helping the team go 12-6 in SWAC play. Keep an eye on Gary Blackston who has a chance to average over 20 points per game this year.  If he does, do not be surprised to see him leading his team into the Big Dance.
  5. Alcorn State – Reginal Johnson got a medical redshirt after suffering an injury last season, and with that injury went the Braves’ chances for contending for the SWAC title. Johnson is back, as is double-digit scorer Maurice Howard, so there is a chance this team could make some noise.  They will, however, have to find a way to make up for the 27 points per game that A.J. Mosby and Dante Sterling combined to score last year.
  6. Texas Southern – The Tigers begin the post-Mike Davis era after he led them to four NCAA Tournaments in six seasons as head coach. They did bring in another big name, however, in former Memphis/North Texas/LSU head man Johnny Jones.  With Demontrae Jefferson’s 23.4 points per game gone, and only one double-digit scorer (Derrick Bruce) returning, it may take Jones a year or two to get TSU back to its customary spot atop the league standings.  If they have a slow start then have no fear; last year the Tigers became the first team since 1985 to start a season 0-13 and still end up making the NCAA Tournament.
  7. Mississippi Valley State – The good news for the Delta Devils is that four starters, including their top two scorers (Dante Scott and Jordan Evans), are back from last year. The bad news is that this same team only won four games all of last season.  MVSU should be better, but probably not enough to make any serious noise in the SWAC.
  8. Southern – Sean Woods returns to the SWAC where he had previously led Mississippi Valley State to the NCAA Tournament before he coached at Morehead State, which ended controversially. With only one starter returning from last year’s team, Woods will have his work cut out for him this season.
  9. Jackson State – The Tigers lost 20 games last season and do not return a single starter from that squad. This could be a long season in Jackson, as the team will need to go to a faster guard-oriented offense to try to make up for a serious lack of size, even by SWAC standards.
  10. Alabama A&M* – Donnie Marsh his job as head coach of the Bulldogs to become an assistant coach at Florida Gulf Coast. That should tell you all you need to know about how abnormal things are in Normal!  Former assistant Dylan Howard is now in charge (as interim head coach) and does have four starters back.  However, coming off of a 3-win season, and with only one returning double-digit scorer, this is likely going to be another long season for a team that is not even postseason eligible due to an APR ban.

*Alabama A&M is ineligible for postseason play due to an APR ban.

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Conference Preview: Sun Belt

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Chad

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Watching head coach Ron Hunter fall off his chair as his son RJ made the game winning shot in the upset win over Baylor in the 2015 NCAA Tournament will never get old.  Hunter had his Panthers back in the Big Dance last season and will have a great chance to return this year with four starters returning led by D’Marcus Simonds.  Winning the Sun Belt will not be easy, however, as the Panthers should get stiff opposition from the likes of Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Appalachian State and South Alabama.  For South Alabama, new head coach Richie Riley will be the key after he led Nicholls State to an amazing turnaround last year.  One recent perennial power that will not be in contention is Texas-Arlington.  The Mavericks inexplicably fired head coach Scott Cross after last season and now look destined to finish the year in the conference cellar.

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Georgia State – Head coach Ron Hunter’s team will be among the best in the Sun Belt this year thanks to four returning starters from a 24-win team that lost to Cincinnati in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. D’Marcus Simonds (21.2 points per game) will be a candidate for Conference Player of the Year.
  2. Georgia Southern – The Eagles could make a run at the conference crown thanks to double-digit scoring returning guards Tookie Brown (18.9 points per game) and Ike Smith (12.0 points per game), as well as forward Montae Glenn, a nightly double-double threat. Also keep an eye on redshirt Tyshaun Crawford.  In fact, at 7-1, he will be hard to miss.
  3. Louisiana – The Ragin’ Cajuns only lost three games to Sun Belt opponents last season – 2 in the regular season and an upset loss in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament to Texas-Arlington. Two of the top three scorers are gone, but virtually everyone else is back, including forward JaKeenan Gant (13.7 points per game).  Justin Miller and Cedric Russell could be big factors this season after coming off the bench last year.
  4. Appalachian State – The Mountaineers could take another big step up in the standings this season with four starters back, led by their frontcourt pairing of Tyrell Johnson and Isaac Johnson (no relation), both of whom could be double-double threats. They should have scoring in the backcourt as well, led by senior guard Ronshad Shabazz, who averaged over 18 points per game last year.
  5. South Alabama – Richie Riley did an amazing job bringing Nicholls State from an afterthought to a share of the Southland championship last season.  His reward was getting the head coaching job at South Alabama, where the Jaguars have four returning starters and will get help from graduate transfer Kory Holden.  Do not be surprised if USA contends for a spot near the top of the league standings this season.
  6. Troy – The Trojans did lose guard Wesley Person and his 17.6 points per game but return one of the league’s best frontcourts duos in Jordon Varnado (18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game) and Alex Hicks (11.7 points and 8.4 boards). If the team can develop some consistent outside shooting, they could finish even higher than this.
  7. Coastal Carolina – It is tough to bet against head coach Cliff Ellis’ teams, but the Chanticleers could struggle again with only one returning double-digit scorer from a team that was only 8-10 in Sun Belt games. Zac Cuthbertson should have a big season down low but will need help for this team to improve.
  8. Louisiana-Monroe – The Warhawks were 9-9 in Sun Belt play last season and 16-16 overall. They had four players average in double figures, but only two of those return.  Senior forward Travis Munnings is a double-double threat, so there is a chance for improvement here.  However, the team will need a few newcomers to step up and provide depth for them to even match last season’s mediocrity.
  9. Texas State – Nijal Pearson averaged over 15 points per game for the Bobcats last season and could put up even bigger numbers this year. The problem is that the team has very few scoring options after him.  Unless another legitimate threat emerges, don’t expect much better than a middle of the pack finish for the team from San Marcos.
  10. Arkansas State – The Red Wolves were 6-12 in Sun Belt play last season, thanks mostly to a defense that allowed opponents to shoot 55% from inside the arc and 42% from beyond it. They need to get a lot better on that end of the court.  Offense could be a problem as well with only one returning player that averaged in double figures.  In other words, this could be a long season in Jonesboro.
  11. Little Rock – Three years removed from a 30-win season and NCAA Tournament bid, Little Rock is welcoming in another new head coach in former Arkansas star and NBAer Darrell Walker. The good news for Walker is that the roster is young, so he will have a chance to build the team up.  However, another 20+ loss record will be tough to avoid this season.
  12. Texas-Arlington – Apparently regular season success is meaningless in Arlington if a team cannot make the NCAA Tournament. In perhaps one of the worst coaching decisions we have ever seen, highly successful Scott Cross was fired from his alma mater in March (and now has a job as an assistant to Jamie Dixon at TCU).  The one good move was a solid hire in Chris Ogden, who spent many years as an assistant to (and player for) Rick Barnes.  Ogden only gets two players back from last season that even scored a single point, so this will be the start of a complete rebuild.
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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews new Pepperdine head coach Lorenzo Romar

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Preseason Coverage

We continue our season preview coverage with new Pepperdine head coach Lorenzo Romar. Many coaches are known as great recruiters but 1 thing the last 2 NBA draft #1 overall picks had in common was Coach Romar: 2017 top pick Markelle Fultz played for him when he was head coach at Washington and 2018 top pick Deandre Ayton played for him when he was associate head coach at Arizona. If you think that you have seen this Malibu movie before then you are correct: after winning the 1995 NCAA title as an assistant coach at UCLA he spent the next 3 years as head coach of the Waves. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Romar about winning an NCAA title and why he left Tucson.

You spent 5 years in the NBA and made the 1984 Eastern Conference Finals with Milwaukee before losing to the eventual-champion Celtics: what was it like to face that legendary Larry Bird/Dennis Johnson/Kevin McHale/Robert Parish team? It was just obvious how good they were: great coaching/experience/talent was their formula for success and they played really well together. There was 1 game where we were down big at the half: Coach Don Nelson told us to try to cut their lead to 10 PTS before the 4th quarter…otherwise we should just focus on the next game because their team was really good.

You were an assistant to Coach Jim Harrick (along with Mark Gottfried/Steve Lavin) on the 1995 UCLA team that beat Arkansas to clinch the title: what did it mean to you to win a title, and how do you feel about facing Mark’s new team at CSUN next month? It was very surreal but a couple of things stood out. I had been to several Final Fours before as a spectator when my own team did not make it. We were driving to the semifinal game against Oklahoma State on the bus and got to drive past everyone else who was waiting in line to enter the building, which is when it really hit home for me that we were playing in the Final 4. When you walk out onto the floor it is a really different feel even when compared to the Elite 8. Our entire staff had great camaraderie and we had great leadership from our senior class of Ed O’Bannon/Tyus Edney/George Zidek. We has won 18 straight games entering the Final 4 and had an unbelievable feeling that we could win even if we were down by a lot of points. Years removed from that I prefer not to go up against my friends: I have played Coach Harrick once and Coach Gottfried a few times. It feels different when you face a friend.

In the 2010 NCAA tourney as head coach at Washington, Quincy Pondexter had 18 PTS/11 REB and made a bank shot with 1.7 seconds left in a 2-PT win over Marquette: where does that game rank among the highlights of your head coaching career? That was a lot of fun! I remember another game when Cincinnati had beaten us by 43 PTS in our regular season finale in 2000 when I was head coach at St. Louis and we upset them 5 days later in the CUSA tourney quarterfinals when they were ranked #1 in the nation. As far as NCAA tourney games that definitely ranks up there, but a few years before that in 2006 we beat Illinois by 3 PTS to advance to the Sweet 16 (before losing to UConn in OT).

You were a 3-time conference COY at Washington: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? It lets you know for sure that you have great players/coaches. All of my assistants were very special and I think of them, along with some outstanding players like Brandon Roy/Isaiah Thomas. You need people around you who help you do that.

You are known as 1 of the top recruiters in the country, having coached each of the last two #1 overall NBA draft picks (Markelle Fultz at Washington and Deandre Ayton at Arizona): what is the secret to recruiting? I do not know if I could give a seminar on it but you try to be honest/genuine and get to know people as opposed to just selling them something. Whether it is dating someone or developing a friendship, being honest will help you a lot more. We have also had success developing players who made it to the NBA. They need to trust you as a person but also trust that your work will help them be productive.

1 of your long-time friends is Michael Porter Sr., who you hired to be your assistant in Seattle: how do you think his son Michael Jr. is going to do in the NBA? I see no reason why he will not become an All-Star.

In March you were hired as head coach at Pepperdine: why did you take the job, and how does it compare to your 1st go-round as head coach of the Waves almost 20 years ago? At this point in my career I did not want to move to an area that I was not familiar with. I was perfectly content being an assistant at Arizona but I am familiar with coaches/schools on the West Coast and wanted a situation where it was not a total rebuild. I knew the Pepperdine president back when he was vice-president and 1 of my night-school teammates is now our athletic director. You have a great recruiting base in California and I like the school’s spiritual mission so it met all of my criteria. We also have grandkids now so we wanted to stay in 1 place where they could all come visit.

Your non-conference schedule includes a game against Oregon State: what do you remember about the Beavers from sweeping them last year as an assistant to Sean Miller at Arizona? They have some dangerous personnel with Trey Tinkle and the Thompson brothers. Coach Wayne Tinkle always has teams who are hard to play against, as they were last year and even back when I was head coach at Washington.

After making the WCC All-Freshman team in 2016, Kameron Edwards sat out the next season due to a fractured jaw and missed 9 games last year due to a concussion: how is his health doing at the moment? So far so good! Hopefully it stays that way because he is someone we will be definitely be counting on.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? We have that goal of not having many days where we do not put out our best effort: if we work hard then everything else should take care of itself. Right now we just have to develop the habit of being the best that we can be.

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The Hoops HD Report: Big Ten Conference Preview

Posted on October 19, 2018 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Preseason Coverage

A full panel is on board as we take a look at the Big Ten Conference.  It was an unusual year last year where the league put a team in the National Title game, but also put fewer teams in the NCAA Tournament than what we are used to seeing, and had a Nebraska team go 13-5 in league play, but not get selected, which is almost unheard of for the Big Ten or any other P5 conference.  This year we seem to have a lot more questions than answers as teams like Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, and Purdue all lost so much talent from last year’s team, and it’s difficult to say how the league will play out.  Nebraska and Wisconsin both return the bulk of their contributors and our panel seems to think both of those teams can do well.  And of course, David thinks Nebraska will win the league, that there was a Dark Web Conspiracy that kept them out last year, and quickly ends up being forbidden to speak about them.

 

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

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Conference Preview: Summit League

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Chad

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Preseason Coverage

If you have not yet heard about South Dakota State’s Mike Daum, you have not been following college basketball much.  Daum, a 6-9 senior forward, has been the driving force behind three consecutive NCAA Tournament bids for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, including an 8-point first round loss to Ohio State last season.  Daum chose to return to the Jackrabbits for his senior season, which makes his team the overwhelming favorite to win another league title and return to the Big Dance.  In-state rival South Dakota looks to be the best of the rest, but probably will not seriously challenge for the title.  Western Illinois looks poised to finally break out of the league cellar, while the newest conference member, North Dakota, might just take the Leathernecks’ spot down there.

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. South Dakota State – Mike Daum (23.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game) had the chance to go the graduate transfer route and probably could have played for any team in the nation. Instead, he is back for one more go-around with the Jackrabbits.  With three additional key seniors returning to join him, this has a chance to be a very special season in Brookings.
  2. South Dakota – The Coyotes followed up at 22-win 2016-17 campaign with 26 wins last season. Too bad they did so during an amazing stretch by their in-state rival from South Dakota State, as an NCAA bid eluded them both years.  Head coach Craig Smith is gone now, having taken the Colorado State job, so former Grand Canyon assistant Todd Lee comes in.  Lee does get four starters back, but the one that is gone, Matt Mooney (graduate transfer to Texas Tech), averaged over 18 points per game and will be missed.
  3. Denver – Despite losing two of their top three scorers from last season, the Pioneers should remain competitive thanks to a pair of incoming graduate transfers – Tory Stewart-Miller (Colorado) and Ronnie Harrell Jr (Creighton). Returning senior guard Joe Rosga should remain dangerous.  He is a career 43% three-point shooter.
  4. Western Illinois – It may be a stretch to pick a team that almost always finished near the bottom of the league this high, but the Leathernecks return four starters including conference Defensive Player of the Year Brandon Gilbeck and leading scorer Kobe Webster. If there ever was a year to buy stock in WIU, this may be the one.
  5. Purdue Fort Wayne – The Mastodons from Purdue Fort Wayne (no, they are neither IUPU-Fort Wayne nor just Fort Wayne anymore) could have a contender for conference Player of the Year if not for that guy over at South Dakota State. John Konchar is a double-double threat every time he takes the court – and dishes out enough assists and gets enough steals that a triple (or can we say quadruple?) double is not out of the question.  Although Konchar will put up numbers, don’t expect much of an improvement from last year’s 7-7 conference mark with three starters, including Bryson Scott (22.6 points per game), gone.
  6. North Dakota State – The Bison finished 15-17 last season and may be hard-pressed to even match that mark this year with only two starters returning. They will need to find a way to add more scoring now that Paul Miller and his 19.5 points per game are gone.
  7. Omaha – The Mavericks only won four conference games last season, in part due to an injury to double-double threat Mitch Hahn. Hahn is back healthy and is joined by last year’s leading scorer, senior guard Zach Jackson, as well as Wichita State transfer Brett Barney.  This team won’t contend for the league crown, but they should be improved.
  8. Oral Roberts – The Golden Eagles had five players average double-digits in scoring last season. Despite that, the finished 11-21 overall and 5-9 in Summit League play.  Only two of those five players are back this season, so it is hard to see how this team will improve.
  9. North Dakota – The good news for the Fighting Hawks is that they are just two years removed from an NCAA bid and return three double-digit scorers from last season. The bad news is that last year they fell to 8th place in the Big Sky, lost 20 games overall, and then saw top player Geno Crandall transfer to Gonzaga.  It will likely be a long first trip through the Summit League for the team from Grand Forks.
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Conference Preview: Southland

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Chad

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Preseason Coverage

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  This statement is as true in the Southland Conference as anywhere.  After “taking a year off” in 2017, Stephen F. Austin returned to the conference throne last season, capturing the league’s automatic bid for the fourth time in five years, and then gave Texas Tech a real challenge in the First Round.  This season, expect the ‘jacks to also reclaim the regular season title as they return their top two players.  Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls State, the two teams that tied for first a game ahead of SFA last year, are both expected to take big steps back with significant offseason losses from graduation (both teams lost six key seniors).  Stepping in to give the Lumberjacks their best challenge this year may be Abilene Christian – one of only a small handful teams in this conference with significant returning starting minutes.

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Stephen F Austin – The Lumberjacks won 28 games and gave Texas Tech all they could handle in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament. The top two scorers, Shannon Bogues and TJ Holyfield, return this season and the two of them almost instantly make SFA the team to beat in the Southland Conference.
  2. Abilene Christian – The Wildcats could be poised for a finish near the top of the conference standings with four starters returning led by a trifecta of J’s — Jalone Friday, Jaren Lewis and Jaylen Franklin. All three averaged double figures in scoring and both Friday and Lewis are legitimate double-double threats.
  3. Houston Baptist – Despite having top scorer David Caraher transfer to St. John’s, the Huskies may be poised for a significant jump up in the standings following a 6-25 record last season. A pair of double-digit scoring guards (Ian DuBose and Braxton Bonds) both return but, even more importantly, center Josh Ibarra got an extra year of eligibility due to a medical redshirt after averaging a double-double over the nine games he played before his foot injury last season.
  4. Central Arkansas – The Bears had a solid record last season (18-17) but will now have to get by without their top two players including Southland Player of the Year Jordan Howard. One player to keep an eye on is 7-foot sophomore center Hayden Koval, a nightly double-double (or even triple-double with his shot-blocking ability) threat inside.  Koval was named to the conference’s all-defensive team last season.
  5. Sam Houston State – The Bearkats return only one starter from last year’s team so this may be a bit of a rebuilding season in Huntsville. Keep an eye on senior guard Josh Delaney who could emerge as the team’s top scorer as he moves into the starting lineup.
  6. Southeastern Louisiana – The Lions won 22 games last season but did that with six key seniors in the rotation. All will not be lost this year, however, as the conference assists leader, Marlain Veal, returns to run the point, and Moses Greenwood proved he could score coming off the bench last season.  How quickly five newcomers gel with the returnees could decide this team’s fate.
  7. Lamar – The Cardinals only return one starter from last season but should remain competitive thanks to a pair of double-digit averaging returnees (forward Josh Nzeakor and sixth man Nick Garth) as well as a host of transfers led by Jordan Hunter (New Mexico) and Laquarious Paige (Indiana State).
  8. New Orleans – The Privateers struggled to score last season, so losing leading scorer (and the only player on the team who averaged double digits) Travin Thibodeaux does not help. Unless this team finds a legitimate outside scoring threat, even qualifying for the eight-team Southland Conference tournament may be a struggle.
  9. McNeese State – The Cowboys welcome in a new head coach in former Portland State/Wyoming/UT-Martin head man Heath Schroyer. Schroyer will have his work cut out for him in his first season as the team’s top two players (leading scorer Kalob Ledoux and double-double averaging Quatarrius Wilson) are gone from last year’s 12-17 squad.  Eight solid newcomers join a couple of double-digit scoring returning starters, so McNeese should remain competitive at least.
  10. Northwestern State – The Demons struggled mightily last season, as 14 different players moved in and out of the starting lineup and overall the team only managed 4 wins. Hopefully, the experience gained by half a dozen freshmen will pay off this year with more victories.  The one senior to keep an eye on is the team’s leading returning scorer and double-double threat, Ishmael Lane (13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last year).
  11. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – The Islanders will need to remain healthy this season if they want to find a way into the top eight in the regular season. They will also need to make up for the loss of leading scorer Joe Kilgore.  Some of the offensive load will be taken by guard Kareem South who was solid as a starting guard last year.
  12. Nicholls State – The Colonels were the surprise team in the Southland last season, tying for the regular season title and winning 21 games overall. Six key seniors are gone from that team, as is head coach Richie Riley who took the job at South Alabama.  Former assistant Austin Claunch is now in charge, but with only one starting player (sophomore guard Kevin Johnson) back, it looks like a rebuilding year for Nicholls.
  13. Incarnate Word – With two of the top three scorers gone from a team that went 7-21 last year, don’t expect much from the Cardinals this season. Carson Cunningham takes over as the new head coach and does have a roster filled with freshmen and sophomores – so experience this year could pay off in the future.
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