Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Nebraska SR F/C Alexis Markowski

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Jon Teitel

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

We are still about 2 weeks away from the tip-off of a new 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 Nebraska SR F/C Alexis Markowski, who talked about growing up in Lincoln and her expectations for this season.

You were born/raised in Lincoln: what made you choose Nebraska? My dad played here in the 1990s so I was always raised as a Husker fan. I always knew that I wanted to play college athletics, and I remember going to games/camps here as a kid.

In 2022 you were named Big Ten ROY: how were you able to make such a smooth transition from high school to college? I have always been a hard worker who will do whatever it takes for my team to win. I was fortunate to have upperclassmen/coaches who supported me as a freshman: they really helped me succeed.

In 2023 your 15 double-doubles were 2nd-most in the conference behind only national POY Caitlin Clark: how are you able to balance your scoring with your rebounding? The team needs me to be a good rebounder for us to have success and it is something that I am good at. My teammates are unselfish and get me the ball.

Take me through the 2024 postseason:
In the conference tourney title game you had 23 PTS/13 REB in a 5-PT OT loss to Iowa: where does Clark (34 PTS/12 AST/3 STL) rank among the greatest players that you have ever faced? I think she is the greatest player that I have ever played against. She is a generational player…so I am glad that she is no longer in college! She is very talented and makes everyone around her better.

In the NCAA tourney you scored 16 PTS in a 2-PT win over Texas A&M and 8 PTS in a 10-PT loss at Oregon State: what did you learn from your postseason run that will help you this year? Being able to win that 1st game was very motivating. Our program is going in the right direction…and we want to go even farther this year. The women’s tourney allows the top-4 seeds to host, which is a huge advantage, so if we have a good season then it would help us move forward. Last offseason I worked on facing post players who are bigger/stronger than me: we recruited some 6’8” scout guys to go up against, and I have been learning/improving.

Earlier this month you were named Preseason 1st-Team All-Big Ten: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor for the 3rd year in a row? I tend to not worry about stuff like that, even though it is a great honor. My focus is being a great leader for my team and doing everything I can to win.

You earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in each of the past 2 years and are a 4-time selection to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I am very fortunate to play at a university where life beyond basketball is the focus. I have a lot of great resources to help me manage my time/do well academically.

The Big Ten has added several new teams this year: any thoughts on conference realignment? I love it! The conference just got that much better with teams who bring different styles. We will spend a week in California over New Year’s to play 2 of the top-5 teams in the country (UCLA/USC). We want to play against the best and expanding the conference gave us the chance to do that.

Your father Andy was a 2-time basketball captain at Nebraska and your AAU coach: who is the best athlete in the family? That is a tough 1. I am a very confident person so I would love to say myself…but we are all pretty good athletes. I think it is my mom: she was a very good high school athlete, and that is where I get my competitive drive from. She runs pickleball in Lincoln!

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? This is my senior season, so I want it to be my best. We were SO close to being conference champs last year and it is still on our minds. We want to get back to the title game, bring home the trophy, and make it even further in the NCAA tourney.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Kent State SR G Jenna Batsch

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Jon Teitel

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

We are still about 3 weeks away from the tip-off of a new 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 Kent State SR G Jenna Batsch, who talked about being a great 3-PT shooter and her expectations for this season.

You were born/raised in Ohio: what made you choose Kent State? I was born/raised in Cincinnati, which is about 4 hours from Kent, so even though it is the same state I still felt that I was going far away. The whole coaching staff was really welcoming, and I liked what they had to offer.

You play for Coach Todd Starkey: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He is very good at not dwelling on the negatives and just has a next-play mentality. Basketball is a game of mistakes, but it is very fast paced so you can quickly make up for it. He has taught us a lot of things that we can use in both basketball and as general life lessons. We will not play basketball forever, so he has really prepared us for life after basketball.

As a freshman in the 2022 WNIT you scored a season-high 11 PTS/4-5 FG in a win at Youngstown State: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? That game was very good for me because it gave me a lot of confidence. I was always tentative and worried about making mistakes as a freshman, but I went into that game aggressive from the start, and when I saw my 1st couple of shots go down it was a big help.

After 2 years as a sub you started all 32 games last year: what is the biggest difference between starting a game vs. coming off the bench? As a starter you are responsible for being aggressive from the jump, whereas subs have the advantage of seeing how the game is going. Coach teaches us that pressure is a privilege, so I am happy to take it on.

You shot 38.9 3P% last year: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? I spent a lot of time the summer before that season working on my jump shot. I struggled a lot during my 1st 2 years but I have gotten much stronger, and seeing the ball go through the hoop really helped as well.

Take me thorough the 2024 postseason:
In the MAC tourney title game you scored 14 PTS in a win over Buffalo: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was amazing because the program had not won a title for more than 20 years. The locker room was very fun: everyone was happy to make the NCAA tourney!

In the NCAA tourney you scored 13 PTS in a loss at Notre Dame: what did you learn from that loss that you think will help you this season? Notre Dame was a very good team, but it is important to attack the toughest teams on our schedule because they will usually underestimate us. We could not knock down shots against the Irish and they were hitting everything…but we still hung around with them and proved that we are not afraid of them.

You made the Academic All-MAC team each of the past 2 years: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Kent State does a great job with providing us resources and lots of study halls, but as a student-athlete it is important to not procrastinate so that you can focus on the game once it tips off.

You are 1 of 4 seniors on the roster: how much pressure is there on you to be a leader this year? There is an expectation on me to be a leader, but there is no pressure. I am a lead-by-example type of person so I will work on leading with my voice as well as my actions. We have a lot of leaders this year so it should not be a problem.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our goal every year is to win the MAC, and we would also like to win the regular season for the 1st time in a while. Winning the regular season shows how good you are: we lost some talent and have a target on our back, but we will try to prove some people wrong.

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Big South Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 18, 2024 by David Griggs

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

BIG SOUTH MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. High Point
  2. Winthrop
  3. Longwood
  4. UNC Asheville
  5. Charleston Southern
  6. Gardner-Webb
  7. Radford
  8. Presbyterian
  9. USC Upstate

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG SOUTH 1ST TEAM:

-Kezza Giffa – SR, G – High Point
-Kelton Talford – SR, F – Winthrop
-Kimani Hamilton – JR, F – High Point
-Juslin Bodo Bodo – SO, F – High Point
-Taje’ Kelly – SR, F – Charleston Southern

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG SOUTH 2ND TEAM:

-RJ Johnson – JR, G – Charleston Southern
-Michael Christmas – SR, F – Longwood
-Josh Banks – SR, G – UNC Asheville
-A’lahn Sumler – JR, G – Charleston Southern
-KJ Doucet – SR, F – Winthrop

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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-High Point was the 1st place team a year ago, and with four starters back they are the clear favorite to finish at the top of the league this year. Kezza Giffa is probably the best PG in the conference and averaged over 16ppg a season ago. Kimani Hamilton gives them a ton of strength in the post and will be a big contributor as well. High Point also adds some pretty solid transfers. I do not see anyone else in the conference being able to keep pace with High Point. I think there is a much better chance of them running the table than I do them finishing any lower than 1st place. If anything, we may see this team make a run at the bubble.

-Winthrop also has four starters back, and that experience has raised their expectations this year. They were a modest 8-8 in conference play, and did struggle down the stretch going 3-6 in their last nine games, but with four starters back (all of whom averaged double-digits last year), people are expecting to see quite a bit of improvement out of the Eagles.

-Longwood has won 20+ games in each of the last three seasons, which is a hell of a run for a program that had not been all that strong prior to that. They also won the conference tournament last year and earned the auto-bid to the NCAAs. Just two starters return, but they appear to be experienced and talented out on the perimeter. If they can get some guys in the frontcourt to step up then they could end up having another big year.

-UNC Asheville is tasked with replacing Drew Pember, who was one of the best players the Big South had seen in quite some time. They do appear to be adding some solid guards, but repeating the success they had the last two years will not be easy after losing such a high-caliber player.

-Charleston Southern has failed to win more than ten games in each of the last four seasons, and has finished outside the KenPom top-300 for each of the last five. So, it is not a shock that they are not expected to finish in the top half of the league this year…but there is perhaps some reason to think we may see some improvement. Taje’ Kelly and RJ Johnson are two strong players who can provide some balance in both the frontcourt and the backcourt. They appear to be strong out on the perimeter and are adding some other guys with solid D-1 experience. While I do not expect them to contend for the league title, I do think we will see improvement this year.

-Gardner-Webb has just one starter returning and new Coach Jeremy Luther is tasked with rebuilding the roster. He will be relying on guys that in the past have either not played at the D-1 level or have only been role players, so it could be a long year for the Bulldogs.

-Radford is another team that is having to rebuild. All five starters from last year are gone, and they will have to rely on some guys who are expected to step into bigger roles this year.

-Presbyterian won 14 games last year, which was actually their best overall season in quite some time. They do have two starters back and a couple of standout players from JUCO transferring in, so there is reason to think they will not finish at the very bottom, but it will still likely be a long season for the Blue Hose.

-USC Upstate has a new coach in Marty Richter, and they have had to replace their entire starting lineup, so the team’s expectations are not exactly all that high or promising as we head into the season.

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Big 12 Conference Preview

Posted on October 17, 2024 by David Griggs

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

The top have of the Big 12 is absolutely stacked. Five teams start off ranked in the top 10, including Kansas who is the preseason #1 ranked team. Houston, Iowa State, Baylor, and Arizona are all legit Final Four contenders, so it should be a crazy good year in this conference. Cincinnati is also in the top 25 and has their highest expectations in several years. We take a look at all those teams, plus everyone else in the conference as it enters its first year with the 16 team format.

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

FACT CHECK: The end of the show featured a train wreck of errors. For whatever reason, we started discussing Hampton during final thoughts despite this being a Big 12 Preview. A shoutout was given to Tristan Maxwell from Jon Teitel for his triple-double in tonight’s exhibition game. Upon hearing this, Chad was so impressed he said Hampton was going to be his pick to win the MEAC this year. Tristan Maxwell did have a triple-double, but it was in December of last season during a regular season game and not on Thursday night. In fact, he isn’t even on the team anymore. Hampton is also no longer in the MEAC. They are now in the CAA. And Hampton lost their exhibition game to Bowie State tonight. Oh well, it is a preseason podcast. These don’t count.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Drexel SR PG Amaris Baker

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Jon Teitel

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

We are still about 3 weeks away from the tip-off of a new 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 Drexel SR PG Amaris Baker, who talked about being a great scorer and her expectations for this season.

You began your career at Kennesaw State and then transferred to Harcum College, where you led all of D-2 with 27 PPG in 2023: what is the secret to being a great scorer? Keep working! I would always find time in my schedule to get into the gym twice/day and get up extra shots, which gave me confidence in myself.

You were also named 1st-team All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? I was truly grateful to have the support of my staff/teammates. They helped elevate my game and it meant a lot so I will keep working hard.

How did you choose Drexel for the next part of your journey? My mom went to Drexel and it is close to home. As soon as I came here for my visit it was a green flag for me. I had a lot in common with the rest of the team so it felt like a mutual connection: it checked off all the boxes and was a win-win.

You play for Coach Amy Mallon: what makes her such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from her so far? She is a great person: she is very genuine and that translates into her coaching. You want to run through a wall for a coach who cares about you. She taught me to continue to be confident and is very supportive/caring.

Take me through the 2024 postseason:
In the CAA tourney title game you scored a game-high 19 PTS in an 8-PT win over Stony Brook en route to being named tourney MOP: how were you able to win 4 games in 4 days when it mattered the most? We just had confidence and stayed connected at the right time. It took a long time…but we elevated our game that week.

In the NCAA tourney you scored 10 PTS in a loss to Texas: what did you learn from the loss that you think will help you this season? To continue to be confident. We knew what we needed to get better at and we got a lot of experience while giving it our all. We know what it takes to get back there and what to expect when playing against a national-ranked team.

You also received the CAA Commissioners Academic Honor Roll with honors: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I am very routine-oriented so I will write down what I must do that day in my calendar. I know what I have to get done, which allows me to make time for school/basketball/family.

You are the only senior on the roster (along with 2 grad students): how much pressure is there on you to be a leader this year? I would not call it pressure: I just need to elevate my communication and share all my knowledge with our freshmen/transfers. Everyone is very supportive so we will just try to keep learning every single day and stay on the right track.

Your non-conference schedule includes road trips to Penn State/Florida State: is there any game that you feel will present your biggest test or that you are looking forward to the most? I would say both of those teams will be good, but we also have the Big 5 Classic so people should pay attention to that tournament as well.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? I want to be an all-around vocal leader, stay patient, maintain my confidence, and just get better each day. I am a hard worker and want to get the best out of everyone.

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Conference USA Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 17, 2024 by David Griggs

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

CONFERENCE USA MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Lousiana Tech
  2. Western Kentucky
  3. Sam Houston
  4. Middle Tennessee
  5. Liberty
  6. UTEP
  7. New Mexico State
  8. Jacksonville State
  9. Florida International (tied 9th)
  10. Kennesaw State (tied 9th)

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-CUSA TEAM:

-Zach Cleveland – JR, F – Liberty
-Kaden Metheny – SR, G – Liberty
-Daniel Batcho – SR, F – Louisiana Tech
-Jestin Porter – SR, G – Middle Tennessee
-Camryn Weston – SR, G – Middle Tennessee
-Christian Cook – SR, G – New Mexico State
-Lamar Wilkerson – SR, G – Sam Houston
-Otis Frazier III – SR, F – UTEP
-Tyrone Marshall Jr. – SR, F – Western Kentucky
-Don McHenry – SR, G – Western Kentucky

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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Louisiana Tech had a good season last year, and was really playing well down the stretch. Daniel Batcho, who is perhaps the best big man in the conference, returns to the lineup. They will also look to several transfer players, some who saw limited roles at P4 schools and others who were standouts in JUCO, to help fill out the roster. I know they had a fair amount of roster turnover, but I liked how this team looked a year ago and think they will be strong again this year.

-For the past several years when you would look at Western Kentucky, you would think that they were always talented and always had high expectations, yet never get the feeling they played all the way up to their ceiling. Hank Plona takes over as head coach, and he inherits a team that returns four starters after having a so-so year, but then won the conference tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Don McHenry is one of the stronger players in the conference, and with three other starters returning, along with Braxton Bayless (who transfers in from Niagara), the Toppers once again look to have a lot of talent, and once again look like they can win the league. But…will they live up to it?

-Sam Houston is having to rebuild a little bit after their 1st place finish a year ago. Just two starters are back, but they are also adding some solid transfers, most notably Josiah Hammons (who was a standout player at Incarnate Word a year ago). They also return several players who gave them some quality minutes off the bench and they look like they will be a solid team again this year.

-Middle Tennessee has fallen off in the last couple of years, and after just a 14-19 campaign a year ago they are not expected to be conference frontrunners this year either. Jestin Porter and Camryn Weston make up a solid backcourt, and they add a couple of decent-looking transfers with some D-1 experience. If they can get some strength in the post we should see a turnaround this year.

-Liberty won just 18 games last year and has not quite made the big splash in CUSA that we thought they would when they first joined. Having said that, a 5th place finish does seem a bit low for the Flames. Zach Cleveland gives them some strength at the forward position, and Kaden Metheny is a strong guard who can really hit from the outside. They add some transfers who were standout players at the D-2 level, and if those guys can step up we could see some improvement this year.

-UTEP has three starters back from a year ago. They are really tough to beat in El Paso, but are sort of homecourt-heroes given how they tend to struggle on the road. With more experience this year and the addition of a few quality transfers we may see more consistency out of the Miners this year.

-New Mexico State was a consistent WAC frontrunner, but after some severe off-court issues a few years ago they have not quite bounced back to what they used to be. Three starters are back for Coach Jason Hooten, who enters his second year and is tasked with getting things turned around and perhaps building up the culture as well. Christian Cook is their top player, but Dionte Bostick who was a great player for Cal State Northridge last year also joins the roster. I think the Aggies will have a big bounce back this year. It is kind of surprising to see them picked this low, but I guess I get it. They were not all that good down the stretch last year.

-Jacksonville State is tasked with replacing their top scorer along with two other starters, and the prognosis does not seem to be that good. Coach Ray Harper has had success throughout his career, but has struggled in recent years at Jax State and most signs are pointing to them struggling again this year.

-Last year Kennesaw State struggled in the Atlantic Sun and could not recapture the great run they had the year before when Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim departed for South Florida and took several top players with them. This year, they are new to CUSA, and the level of competition will be higher: it could be a long year for the Owls.

-Florida International is also likely in for a long year. They will look to some transfers from lower divisions to try and step in and contribute this year.

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