Conference Preview: Metro Atlantic

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Chad

METRO ATLANTIC

The MAAC has given us a ton of fun and excitement the past few years, from Monmouth with their bench antics, to Jimmy Patsos giving the opposing team “air handshakes”, to Tim Cluess finding a way to get his Iona Gaels into back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.  The conference has a chance to be exciting again this year, though with the top teams from last season all losing a majority of their key players, the excitement may come more from league parity than anything else.

Since we do have to pick someone to win the conference, the call will be Sydney Johnson’s Fairfield Stags, one of the only teams with a significant returning cast.  Iona and Monmouth, perhaps based more on their head coaches than anything else, are picked to contend, along with a St. Peter’s team that is coming off the CIT championship.  Also, keep an eye on both Niagara and Manhattan.  Both teams lost a ton of games last season, but are among the very few teams in the league with returning experience that could help them win games.

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Fairfield – The Stags enter this season not having made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 1997.  With star guard Tyler Nelson leading four returning starters, plus a deep bench, they have a real chance to break that streak this year.
  2. Iona – The Gaels lost three double-digit scorers from last year’s team, and only returnee Rickey McGill averaged more than 10 points per game.  However, one can never underestimate head coach Tim Cluess’ ability to find a way to win games and get his team into the Big Dance.
  3. Monmouth – The Hawks must begin life without Justin Robinson, their diminutive star guard who is among four starters gone from last season.  However, the cupboard is not bare for head coach King Rice as he does bring back Micah Seaborn and should get more production from guys like Austin Tilghman and Diago Quinn.
  4. St. Peter’s – The Peacocks won the championship last season.  The CIT Championship that is, but a championship is a championship (and we do love the CIT here at HoopsHD).  Only two starters return, but this team still has a good chance to finish in the upper division, especially if redshirt sophomore Cameron Jones is as good a player as he was projected to be.
  5. Niagara – Senior guards Matt Scott and Kahlil Dukes combined to average over 32 points per game last season.  They lead a team that returns its entire starting lineup, but this same group lost 23 games last year.
  6. Manhattan – The Jaspers should be vastly improved from last year’s 10-22 record as they return their top six scorers and have Rich Williams back healthy.  It may be too much to expect them to contend for the league title, but an upper division finish could certainly be within their reach.
  7. Siena – Jimmy “Air Handshake” Patsos is one of our favorite head coaches.  He will have his work cut out this season as the Saints only return one starter, though sixth man Nico Clareth did average almost 14 points per game and has a chance to shine in Albany this year.
  8. Marist – The Red Foxes lost 24 games last season and then lost one of the best scorers in program history, Khallid Hart.  The good news is that pretty much everyone else is back, and the roster is filled with underclassmen.  Marist should be competitive this season and could be even better next.
  9. Canisius – Having senior Jermaine Crumpton, who averaged almost 16 points per game last season, will certainly help the Golden Griffins remain competitive.  However, he is the only one of their top four scorers back and matching last season’s .500 conference record may be tough.
  10. Rider – The Broncs lost four starters in the offseason, all of whom averaged in double figures.  That is probably too much to make up for, meaning it looks like a step backwards this year for Kevin Baggett’s team.
  11. Quinnipiac – The Bobcats lost 21 games last season and only return one double-digit scorer (senior Chaise Daniels).  This could be a long first season for new head coach Baker Dunleavy, who is the son of Tulane head coach Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Norfolk State G Zaynah Robinson

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Jon’s interviews, and the rest of our extensive and continuous preseason coverage

We like to cover the entire country from A-Z…and thanks to players like Zaynah Robinson we can actually do the whole alphabet!  After playing in 33 games as a freshman, he was #4 in the conference with 39.5 3P% as a sophomore, and made the MEAC All-Tournament Team last spring after leading the Spartans to the championship game.  If you like PGs who lead their conference in SPG (1.6) and AST-TO ratio (2.7), then this is your man.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Zaynah about being 5’11” and the key to winning in the postseason.

You are 5’11”: do you view your size as an advantage or disadvantage on the court? I am a positive thinker so of course I see it as an advantage. What I lack in height I make up for in speed/quickness.

You play for Coach Robert Jones: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him? I have learned about attention to detail: it is vital not only in basketball but in life. I like that he puts us in positions to win.

You played in 33 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I just understood my role and did whatever the team needed me to do. I had to raise my mental capacity to a new level and my teammates helped me do that.

Last year you started 4-13 before winning 10 in a row: what happened in January that allowed your team to turn things completely around? Our focus changed. We had a relatively new team with a lot of guys who did not know what it took to win but after getting punched in the mouth a few times the switch finally clicked.

You finished the year by leading the MEAC in STL and AST-TO ratio: what is the key to being a good PG? You have to understand your role as a leader.  You cannot take even 1 single play off and have to be the most alert player on the floor.

Your scoring increased from 6.2 PPG as a sophomore to 13.5 as a junior, but your 3-PT/FT% decreased a little bit from the previous year: do you think that is due to playing more minutes, or having defenses focused more on stopping you, or other? I think fatigue had a little to do with it, as well as adjusting to a new role and carrying a bigger load.

You have won at least 1 conference tourney game in each of the past 3 years and then lost in the 1st round of the CIT on the road every single time: what is the key to winning games in the postseason? The key is to compete to your full potential. I think that not being in the NCAA tourney stopped us from giving a full effort, which is what it takes to be successful.

1 of your biggest non-conference games this year is a trip to Auburn: how will you prepare to face a team from the SEC like the Tigers? I do not get into all of that: it is just another conference so we will prepare to give our best effort.

You are 1 of several seniors on the roster: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success this year? It will be very crucial. In college basketball a lot of teams base their success on having talented freshmen, but I think talent mixed with experience is usually better.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Championship: everything else will come from that.

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Conference Preview: Ivy League

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Chad

IVY LEAGUE

The Ivy League became the last conference to add a postseason tournament to determine its automatic qualifier last season, but playing the four-team event may not have mattered.  Not only did Princeton go 14-0 in the regular season, but the Tigers then won both tournament games to advance to the Big Dance, losing a close first round game to Notre Dame.  Things are going to be a little different this season in the Ivy though.

Harvard has a lineup of players with enough experience and depth to be at-large bid worthy, though they will need to win games in November and December to get there.  Don’t expect conference play to be a cakewalk, however, as Yale, Penn and Princeton all have dangerous lineups and should push the Crimson all season long.  Below those top four, the bottom of the league should be better as well — as strides are being made at every school and enough talent exists that this has a chance to be a very fun season — especially with the eight teams playing for only four conference tournament spots.

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Harvard – Despite only having two expected significant contributors who are juniors or seniors, the Crimson could be good enough to merit at-large consideration this season should they slip up in the Ivy League tournament.  Sophomores Bryce Aiken and Seth Towns are legitimate scorers, there are multiple 6-10 players on the roster, and highly touted freshman Rio Haskett could take over the point after the graduation of Siyani Chambers.
  2. Yale – The Bulldogs have a handful of dangerous guards with Makai Mason back healthy joined by Miye Oni, Alex Copeland and Trey Phills.  They probably have enough pieces in the frontcourt to contend as well, and should be the team to take the title if Harvard falters.
  3. Penn – The Quakers return four starters and get Antonio Woods back after he missed last season.  Steve Donahue is in his third season in Philly and this could be the year he makes some serious noise in this conference as his team is deep and gained a ton of experience last season.
  4. Princeton – The Tigers won every game they played against Ivy League foes last season, and do return the backcourt tandem of Devin Cannady and Myles Stephens.  However, they lost too many pieces in the frontcourt, including Spencer Weisz, to have that type of season again.
  5. Dartmouth – The Big Green should be much improved from last year’s 7-20 record, especially with junior Evan Boudreaux at forward and more experience and depth around him.  Boudreaux is a double-double machine who finished second in the Ivy in scoring and first in rebounding last year.  He could win both categories this time around.
  6. Cornell – The Big Red have a fascinating inside-outside pairing with Matt Morgan at guard and Stone Gettings at forward.  The two combined to average over 30 points and 10 boards per game last year.  Keep an eye on a freshman named Jimmy Boeheim too — his father is fairly well known in western New York.
  7. Columbia – The Lions will be a tough team to beat again this season, especially with Mike Smith in the backcourt, but it will be very tough for them to make up for the loss of Luke Petrasek up front.
  8. Brown – Despite having three starters back, the Bears lost their top two scorers from a team that only went 4-10 in Ivy League play.  They are a real longshot to qualify for the Ivy League tournament this season, and a finish at the bottom of the standings would not be a shock.
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Hoops HD Report: ACC Conference Preview

Posted on October 23, 2017 by David Griggs

Chad is joined by a full panel as we preview the ACC.  We begin by talking about Louisville’s spectacular offseason and how even though they are extremely talented we still expect them to struggle due to all the distractions.  Duke is a national title contender and the consensus favorite to win the league, but we also like Miami FL a lot as well.  Virginia, Notre Dame, and North Carolina are all teams that we feel are solidly in the mix for the NCAAs as well.  Georgia Tech appears to be trending up as a program, as does Boston College.  And, we have what we think as a horrendous Pitt team bringing up the rear.  All that, and much more as we discuss all 15 teams!!

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show….

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Conference Preview: Horizon League

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Chad

HORIZON LEAGUE

The Horizon League gave us one of the nation’s wildest conference tournaments last season when 9 seed Youngstown State and 10 seed Milwaukee shocked the top two teams (Oakland and Valparaiso) in the quarterfinal round.  Milwaukee then knocked off UIC (who themselves had upset 3 seed Green Bay) to make the finals against Northern Kentucky.  NKU pulled out a 6 point win, and ended up in the Big Dance in their first season eligible for it after transitioning up from Division II.  Crazily enough, the fourth-seeded Norse did not have to pull off a single upset to win the automatic bid.

This year, Northern Kentucky is one of three teams that are likely to battle for the conference title, along with Oakland and UIC.  Oakland, however, is our pick to win it with three players that could all contend for first-team all-Horizon League honors — Martez Walker, Jalen Hayes and Kendrick Nunn.  In fact, this Grizzlies team could be good enough to knock off someone in the first round of the NCAAs, and will leave whatever team draws them in the Round of 64 sweating things out.  One team that will not contend for the Horizon League title this year is Valparaiso.  That is because the Crusaders are now in the Missouri Valley Conference, taking Wichita State’s former place there.  The Horizon does welcome in IUPUI as Valpo’s replacement, but not much should be expected of the Jaguars in their first season here.

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Oakland – The Golden Grizzlies may be the team to beat in the Horizon League this season, as they not only return two of the conference’s top players, guard Martez Walker and forward Jalen Hayes, but also add in Illinois transfer Kendrick Nunn, who averaged over 15 points per game for the Illini two years ago and is hopefully far removed from the off-court issues that led to his dismissal from that team.
  2. Illinois-Chicago – Four starters return.  Dikembe Dixson, potentially the best player in the entire conference, also returns, after averaging over 20 points per game early last season before going down with a knee injury.  And would you believe that only one of those five players is a senior?  This team is not only going to make noise this year, they may be around for several more to come.
  3. Northern Kentucky – The Norse won the Horizon League tournament last season, advancing to the Big Dance in their first season eligible to do so.  They have a real chance to make it back-to-back trips with four starters back led by Lavone Holland II and Drew McDonald.  The two players combined to average over 30 points per game last season.
  4. Wright State – The Raiders are coming off 20 wins in head coach Scott Nagy’s first season, but will likely take a step back with three starters gone, including Mark Alstork who averaged 19 points per game.  They do have a deep backcourt though, led by returnees Justin Mitchell and Grant Benzinger, and will remain competitive.
  5. Detroit – The Titans should find a way to improve on last season’s 8-23 record, especially if freshman Jermaine Jackson, Jr. proves to be the answer at point guard.  The biggest (and best) offseason news was the sudden late decision of Jaleel Hogan to return to Detroit instead of transferring.  He led the team in scoring and was second in rebounding last year.
  6. Youngstown State – Jerrod Calhoun takes over as head coach after leading Fairmont State to 34 wins and the D2 national championship game last year.  Although there will be a lot of new players on the roster, his senior backcourt pairing of Cameron Morse and Francisco Santiago should keep them in a lot of games.  They combined to average over 34 points per game last year, almost 23 of them from Morse.
  7. Milwaukee – The Panthers lost 24 games last season (despite the run to the conference tournament title game) and then saw Butler nab their head coach in the offseason.  Pat Baldwin, who was an assistant at Northwestern last year, takes over but has a lot of work ahead of him.  He does return four starters, but probably does not have a roster capable of avoiding a lower division finish.
  8. Cleveland State – Dennis Felton has led two teams (Georgia and Western Kentucky) to the NCAA Tournament, so there is a lot of optimism that he can build the Vikings into a contender in the Horizon League.  It will take a few years though, especially with only one player back this season that averaged more than 10 points per game.
  9. IUPUI – The Jaguars join the Horizon League after Valparaiso’s departure to the Missouri Valley Conference.  The combination of a new (and tougher) league plus losing their top three scorers from last season will probably leave IUPUI battling to avoid the conference basement this year.
  10. Green Bay – Only one of the Phoenix’s top nine scorers from last season returns, meaning that this looks like it will be a long rebuilding year in Green Bay.
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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Jon’s interviews, and the rest of our extensive and continuous preseason coverage

Bob Marlin begins his 25th year as a head coach next month and is only 24 wins away from 500 for his career.  After winning his last 6 regular season games last season and beating Little Rock in the Sun Belt tourney before losing to Georgia State, then only losing 1 senior of note during the summer, you can expect the Cajundome to be rocking for the home opener on 11/14 against Louisiana College.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Marlin about winning a national title and having a high-scoring offense.

You spent the 1989-90 season as an assistant to Dana Altman at Marshall: how happy were you to see him finally make the Final 4 last spring with Oregon? We were there 1 year and I know that he has been close a couple of times so I was glad they got in this time. He has done a really good job everywhere he has been.

In the 1993 NJCAA title game as head coach at Pensacola JC you had a 5-PT win over Butler CC: what did it mean to you to win a title? It was very rewarding and I am certainly proud of our guys. 9 of our 13 players were from the state of Florida and it was an exciting time for our college.

You were also named national JC COY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It means that you have good players! We achieved our goal that we were striving for and had 2 great games to finish it. It was like a home game for Butler. It also helped that I had the national POY in Paul O’Liney.

You later spent 12 years as coach at Sam Houston State, where you broke the school record for career wins: do you think that anyone will ever break your record? I am sure that it will be broken at some point in time. 1 of my assistants (current head coach Jason Hooten) replaced me and if he stays there he will get it eventually.

In the 2014 Sun Belt tourney title game as coach at Louisiana-Lafayette, Xavian Rimmer scored 27 PTS (7-12 3PM) in a 1-PT OT win over Georgia State: how were you able to overcome a 10-PT deficit with less than 5 minutes to play in regulation against a team that had won 22 of its past 23 games? 1 of their guards who transferred from NC State (Ryan Harrow) was scoring at will and we just could not stop him. With 5 minutes to go we switched to zone, which was the best thing that could have happened. We had a great player in Elfrid Payton who made some key plays for us down the stretch: it was an exciting time for us.

Last year you won 21 games (including a pair of 7-game winning streaks against D-1 competition) but did not play in any postseason tournament: did you consider the season to be a success (due to all the wins) or a failure (due to not making the postseason) or other? We overachieved after losing the 2016 conferene POY in Shawn Long. We struggled defensively in the middle of conference play but I was really proud that we finished strong. We got a CIT bid but declined it due to injuries: we only had about 7 healthy guys left on the team. Making the postseason does not matter to me: it was an option but it is about the students first.

Your team’s 81.9 PPG was top-20 in the nation: what sort of philosophy do you have on the offensive end? All my teams have always played fast. We play outside the box and put our players in positions to be successful. I believe this was the 5th year in a row that we led the league in scoring.

You lost your leading scorer from last year (Jay Wright) but return each of the next top-7 scorers on the roster: how crucial do you think all of that experience will be to your team’s success this season? It should be very instrumental in our depth. Last year we had 2 players who made heavy contributions as freshmen (Justin Miller/PJ Hardy). We added a really good high school player in Cedric Russell as well as 3 guys who sat out last year as high-major transfers.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Mississippi/Iowa/Clemson: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Probably the game in Ruston against Louisiana Tech because it is our oldest rivalry. We did not play them for a couple of years and then Mike White agreed to play us (before being hired at Florida in 2015). Coach Eric Konkol does a good job and it will be a tough game.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? We expect to win our home games: we have won at least 12 games in the Cajundome for the last several years. We want to win the conference tourney, make it to the NCAA tourney, and then advance. There are usually only a couple of games that make the difference between the 1 and 8 spot in the league so it should be very competitive again this year.

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