Conference Preview: Big East

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Chad

CLICK HERE for all of the Hoops HD Preseason Articles, Interviews, and Conference Previews

BIG EAST

Kris Jenkins three pointer as time expired to win Villanova’s second national championship will long be remembered, both in Philadelphia and across the nation, as one of the all-time great March Madness highlights.  It is shots like that which make the NCAA Tournament the greatest sporting event in the world (in our opinions at least).  And it was that shot which sent notice to the rest of the college basketball world that the Big East, despite its breakup, realignment, and move to a non-football conference is still a legitimate top-tier power conference that cannot be overlooked.  Although the Wildcats were the only Big East school to make it out of the first weekend of the Tournament last year, the league did put half its members in, including 2-seed Xavier, 6-seed Seton Hall and a pair of 9-seeds in Butler and Providence.  Creighton also played postseason basketball, appearing in the NIT.

This year, the Big East looks to once again be a battle between the defending national champions and the Xavier Musketeers.  Both teams return a ton of their keys players and have added a few more pieces to make up for the ones they lost in the offseason.  Seton Hall appears to have enough guns to return to the Big Dance, while Creighton will be looking to exchange an NIT appearance for an NCAA.  Finally, don’t overlook Marquette or Georgetown.  The Hoyas will look to bounce back from a very disappointing season and regain their usual position among the league’s top teams.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Villanova – Jalen Brunson appears ready to take over at the point for Ryan Arcidiacono, while Fordham transfer Eric Paschall could help down low replacing Daniel Ochefu, but prized freshman recruit Omari Spellman being ruled academically ineligible to play this season will hurt.  This team has enough pieces to win the Big East, but another Final Four run may be a stretch.

2. Xavier – Even with Myles Davis suspended indefinitely, the Musketeers have a ton of backcourt pieces led by Edmond Sumner and Trevon Bluiett.  Experience in the frontcourt is a bit of a question mark, but keep an eye on Norfolk State transfer RaShid Gaston.

3. Seton Hall – Even without Isaiah Whitehead, the Pirates have tons of options including Khadeen Carrington, Desi Rodriguez, freshman Myles Powell and Kansas State transfer Jevon Thomas (Thomas will not be eligible to play until after the first semester ends).

4. Creighton – The Bluejays could have their best post-Doug McDermott team with the lethal backcourt combo of Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster and Maurice Watson, Jr.  Cole Huff and redshirt freshman Justin Patton will need to be the keys down low.

5. Marquette – Transfers Andrew Rowsey (UNC Asheville) and Katin Reinhardt (USC) will both help in the backcourt, and with Luke Fischer down low, Henry Ellenson may not be missed much at all.

6. Georgetown – D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera is gone, but everyone else is back, including Isaac Copeland and Bradley Hayes down low.  Junior college transfer Jonathan Mulmore, Robert Morris transfer Rodney Pryor and returnee L.J. Peak will need to all step up in the backcourt.

7. Butler – The Bulldogs will be solid down low with Andrew Chrabascz and Kelan Martin back, but it remains to be seen if Tyler Lewis and Memphis transfer Avery Woodson are enough outside to make up for the losses of Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham.

8. Providence – The Friars just don’t appear to have enough pieces to make up for the losses of Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil.

9. DePaul – With a new arena coming next season, and Dave Leitao beginning to recruit in some talent, things are starting to look up for the Blue Demons.  We just don’t expect to see any vast improvements this year.

10. St. John’s – After a very rough first year, Chris Mullin is starting to bring in the recruits and may prove in time that he was the right man for this job.  The Red Storm should be better than last year’s 1-17 Big East record this time around, but probably not much better.

 

For the Hoops HD Video Podcast Preview of the Big East – CLICK HERE

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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Xavier SO PG Edmond Sumner

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of the Hoops HD Preseason Articles, Interviews, and Conference Previews

We continue our 2016-17 season preview interview series with Xavier SO PG Edmond Sumner.  Talent is not the issue: he was named a Freshman All-American last year and a Preseason 1st-Team All-Big East selection this year.  However, he got tendonitis in 2014 and had to be taken off the court on a stretcher last New Year’s Eve after a nasty collision.  If he can remain healthy this year then the Musketeers should remain in the top-20 for quite a long time.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Edmond about having a brutal non-conference schedule and overcoming a buzzer-beating loss in the NCAA tourney last March.

sumner

You grew up in Detroit: what made you choose the Musketeers? I was more of a late bloomer but Xavier had the confidence in me to make me 1 of their priorities. I felt like I could trust them: they are like a family. It is similar to my high school in terms of being a smaller environment.

You play for Coach Chris Mack: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? He is the same guy each and every day who gives you the good with the bad. Some coaches always give you the bad because they think that might benefit you but if we do something good then he will tell us.

As a freshman you played 6 games before having to redshirt due to a severe case of tendonitis, and last New Year’s Eve (your 20th birthday) you had a collision with 2 Villanova players and had to be removed from the court on a stretcher: how is your health doing at the moment? This is probably the 1st time that my knee is not bothering me. I have done a lot of training to strengthen the muscle around my knee.

In 2015 you were named to the Big East All-Academic Team: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I hate stereotypes like “he just goes to college to play basketball” or “he had other people do his work for him” or “he just came to class because he had to”.

In the 2016 NCAA tourney you scored 11 PTS but Bronson Koenig made a 3-PT shot at the buzzer in a 3-PT win by Wisconsin: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career, and what did you learn from that loss that you think can help you this year? We are motivated by it because we know that we could have gone a lot further. It is in the back of our heads a little bit but we are moving forward and not really thinking about it this season.

You finished the season by being named a Freshman All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It means something but I am not a guy who cares a lot about awards: I just go out there and play. I care more about our team winning, which will lead to all of our players getting more individual recognition. I am team-first.

SG JP Macura was named 2016 Big East 6th Man of Year: how crucial is your bench to your team’s success? JP is going to be 1 of our top scorers this year and is 1 of our most efficient scorers. He brings a ton of energy and is a scrappy guy (which is something we need) so he will play a huge role in our success this year. We only have 15 guys so EVERYONE on our team has a big/crucial role. Nobody can play 40 minutes every game throughout the season even though they want to.

Your December non-conference schedule includes 4 games in a row against Baylor/Colorado/Utah/Wake Forest: how do you hope to survive such a gauntlet? When I saw those games come out this summer I was excited. I know 1 guy on Utah who is from Flint so they circled us on their list as the #1 team that they want to beat.

You have several transfers on your roster including Malcolm Bernard from Florida A&M/RaShid Gaston from Norfolk State: what is the key to having everyone come together and bond as a team? Shid has already been here for a year so he is part of the team. It has been a bit of an adjustment for Malcolm but he has blended in well. We wanted to make it feel like home for him so we have bonded with him.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? We want to win a Big East title and make it to the Final 4. We got close in the Big East last year but let some games get away from us. This team is more than capable of winning a conference title and getting to the Final 4: we just have to stick together.

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The Hoops HD Report: Big Ten Preseason Preview

Posted on November 3, 2016 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of the Hoops HD Preseason Articles, Interviews, and Conference Previews

For Chad Sherwood’s Atlantic Ten Preview – CLICK HERE

Chad and the panel take a look at this year’s Big Ten.  Wisconsin is the consensus favorite (the only dissenter is David who naively and foolishly thinks Nebraska and Tim Miles will win it), and many feel that they’re a Final Four caliber team considering how strong they finished last season and all they have coming back.  Michigan State is young, but is once again talented.  Ohio State was disappointing last year, but many on the panel feel they will rebound and be in the NCAA Tournament picture again this year.  Indiana and Purdue will be players as well.  All that, and much more as they run through all 14 teams…..

 

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

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Conference Preview: Atlantic Ten

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Chad

CLICK HERE for all of the Hoops HD Preseason Articles, Interviews, and Conference Previews

ATLANTIC TEN

We are not that far removed from the time when the Atlantic Ten was able to argue, with a straight face, that it was as good a conference, if not better, than the Big East.  Unfortunately for the conference, the Big East schools re-asserted themselves and have relegated the A-10 back to a “second tier” conference behind the power leagues.  That does not mean, however, that this conference is not capable of producing teams that are able to make deep March runs.  Last season, the A-10 only put three teams in the Big Dance, none of which got beyond the first weekend.  VCU (10 seed) and St. Joseph’s (8 seed) each won a single game before falling, while Dayton (7 seed) fell in the Round of 64 to eventual Final Four team Syracuse.  The A-10 put three teams in the NIT (Davidson, George Washington and St. Bonaventure), one team in the CBI (Duquesne) and one team in the CIT (Fordham, making their first postseason appearance in 24 years).  The top postseason performance in the conference came in the NIT, where George Washington cut down the nets as champions.  Everything has fallen apart, however, for the Colonials in the offseason leading to the recent termination of head coach Mike Lonergan under allegations of verbal abuse of his players.

This season, like last, appears to be one in which the A-10 will be a 3-4 bid league at best.  Dayton returns a ton of their talent, even if the team will be playing with heavy hearts following the tragic offseason passing of center Steve McElvene.  VCU is always dangerous, as is Davidson with star Jack Gibbs leading the way.  The biggest improvement should come from Rhode Island, where head coach Dan Hurley welcomes back star player E.C. Matthews.  Matthews went down for the season due to an ACL tear in the team’s very first game last year.  He is healthy and ready to go, and should be able to lead the Rams back to the Big Dance for the first time since 1999.  Finally (and it seems we do this every year), we again will be keeping an eye on Fordham as a dark horse.  Jeff Newbauer just may be the guy to finally turn things around in the Bronx as he builds off of last season’s successes.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Rhode Island – E.C. Matthews is healthy, four starters are back, this team was top in the conference defensively last season, and possible A-10 Rookie of the Year Mike Layssard joins the roster.  How can they not be picked first?

2. Dayton – If Rhode Island ends up snake-bitten again the way they always seem to, Dayton is right there.  Scoochie Smith, Charles Cooke, and Kyle Davis will give the Flyers dominance in the backcourt against most teams they play.  The team is trying to get over the absolutely tragic offseason passing of big man Steve McElvene, and will need to rely on Josh Cunningham and Kendall Pollard in the frontcourt.

3. VCU – The Rams will remain tough to beat, especially with the inside duo of Mo Alie-Cox and Justin Tillman.  They will need to find some outside scoring, however, now that Melvin Johnson and Korey Billbury are gone.

4. Davidson – Just having Jack Gibbs alone on the court would be enough to keep the Wildcats competitive.  Adding in Peyton Aldridge, who averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last year, makes them that much tougher.  If the Wildcats can improve on the defensive end, there is no reason they will not at least be on the bubble come Selection Sunday.

5. Fordham – As we seem to do every year, Fordham is again our dark horse pick to make some noise in this league, even if not quite to the NCAA bid level.  The Rams have a potent backcourt with 2016 A-10 Rookie of the Year Joseph Chartouny and Eastern Kentucky transfer Javontae Hawkins.  The team is lacking in height down low, and will need to find a way to get rebounding production.  If they do, do not be surprised to see them this high in the final standings.

6. St. Bonaventure – The combination of Jaylen Adams (17.9 points per game last season) and Central Connecticut State transfer Matt Mobley (17.2 points per game last year) will give the Bonnies a strong backcourt, but it will be tough for them to replace Dion Wright down low.

7. La Salle – Most of last year’s team is back, including 19.2 points per game Jordan Price, and several key transfers are being added in.  The Explorers should be vastly improved over last season’s 9-22 record.

8. Richmond – The Spiders still have a lot of scoring punch with ShawnDre’ Jones and T.J. Cline, but they need to get a lot better defensively if they want to improve in the standings.

9. George Washington – Tyler Cavanaugh is one of the league’s top players and Seton Hall transfer Jaron Sina should make a big impact.  This team would probably have been picked at least four spots higher in the standings but for the off-court mess surrounding the September dismissal of head coach Mike Lonergan.

10. George Mason – Year 2 of the Dave Paulsen era should be a better one, especially with sophomore Otis Livingston II only expected to get better.  The Patriots are still probably a year or two away from contending for the upper division, but appear to be on the right track.

11. Massachusetts – The Minutemen will get solid scoring outputs from Donte Clark and Canisius transfer Zach Lewis, but this still looks like a rebuilding year.  The good news in Amherst is that Derek Kellogg’s six-man recruiting class has been ranked in the top 30 nationally.

12. Saint Louis – New head coach Travis Ford will certainly have his work cut out for him with three of the top five scorer’s gone from a team that lost 21 games.

13. St. Joseph’s – How do you make up for losing DeAndre Bembry, Isaiah Miles and Aaron Brown?  You don’t.  This looks like a clear rebuild year for the Hawks.

14. Duquesne – This could be a long season for the Dukes with Micah Mason and Derrick Colter gone.  The team will need to rely on a pair of graduate transfers, Emile Blackman from Niagara and Kale Abrahamson from Drake, to lead the way.

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Conference Preview: ACC

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Chad

CLICK HERE for all of the Hoops HD Preseason Articles, Interviews, and Conference Previews

ACC

CLICK HERE for our ACC Video Podcast Preview

Could there be any doubt left, after last year’s Tournament, as to what conference is the best in the country?  The ACC put 7 teams in the Big Dance, six of which made the Sweet 16, and had a pair of intra-conference matchups in the Regional Finals (North Carolina vs Notre Dame and Virginia vs Syracuse), an intra-conference national semifinal (North Carolina vs Syracuse) and, but for Villanova’s Kris Jenkins sinking one of the most memorable shots in NCAA Tournament history, may have produced the national champion as well.  The ACC would have certainly had one more NCAA team if Louisville had not declared themselves ineligible shortly before the end of the regular season.  In all, with the addition of three NIT bids, 11 teams made or were good enough to make the postseason.  That is pretty darn good for a 15 team league.

This season could be a lot of the same, as the ACC features several of the best teams in the nation, including the probable preseason favorite to win it all, Duke.  Brandon Ingram may be gone, but Coach K’s team is completely stacked, from the always controversial Grayson Allen down to several of the top incoming (and likely one-and-done) freshman, led by Harry Giles.  But the Blue Devils are far from the end of the story in this year’s ACC, with North Carolina, Virginia, Syracuse, Louisville, Miami and Notre Dame all looking to get back into the tournament picture, and a fast rising Virginia Tech team that should be right there on Selection Sunday as well.  Seven, eight, or even nine bids would not be a shock at all.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Duke – Brandon Ingram gone?  So what?  This team is completely loaded with talent, from Grayson Allen to freshmen Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum, just to name a few.  On paper, Coach K has a team capable of cutting down the nets on April 3 in Glendale.

2. North Carolina – Joel Berry II is ready to fill the void left by Marcus Paige.  If Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and freshman Tony Bradley are able to control the boards, this team could go very far again.

3. Virginia – Tony Bennett’s team is reloading this year with standout Memphis transfer Austin Nichols eligible and a top recruiting class led by guard Kyle Guy.  And, oh yeah, London Perrantes is still here to lead the way.

4. Syracuse – Three months ago, the Orange might not have even been slated in to make the field this season, but late freshman signee Taurean Thompson in the frontcourt and very late Nebraska graduate transfer Andrew White III in the backcourt completely changed this team’s projections.  Tyler Lydon and Tyler Robinson both return from last year’s Final Four team as well and don’t overlook Colorado State transfer John Gillon.

5. Louisville – The defense will be there and lead the Cardinals to a lot of wins, but there are tons of question marks on the offensive end.  Unless Penn transfer Tony Hicks or freshman V.J. King can provide those answers, they may struggle against the conference’s elite teams.

6. Virginia Tech – The Hokies seem poised to dance this season with almost everyone back from last year’s NIT team.  With Justin Bibbs and Seth Allen in the backcourt, and Kerry Blackshear Jr. (if and when he gets healthy) and Zach LeDay in the front, this team has a chance to win every time they take the court, even against a league as stacked as this one.

7. Miami – Despite their offseason losses, this team is still strong in the backcourt with Ja’Quan Newton, Davon Reed, San Jose State transfer Rashad Muhammad, and top recruit Bruce Brown.  The performance of the frontcourt, led by Kamari Murphy and freshman Dewan Huell could dictate just how good the Hurricanes are.

8. Notre Dame – The Irish will remain a tough team to beat with Steve Vasturia, V.J. Beachem and Bonzie Colson all back. Keep an eye on freshman Temple Gibbs (Ashton and Sterling’s brother) in the backcourt as well.

9. Clemson – The Tigers could be in contention for a Tournament bid with Jaron Blossomgame back and Texas A&M transfer Elijah Thomas in the frontcourt.  Another pair of transfers, Marcquise Reed (Robert Morris) and Shelton Mitchell (Vanderbilt) will need to anchor the backcourt.

10. North Carolina State – Cat Barber is gone, and the Wolfpack will need to rely on a strong recruiting class.  This looks to be a rebuilding year in Raleigh, but keep an eye on freshman center Omer Yurtseven (after he completes a nine game suspension to start the year). He scored 91 points in an Under-18 game. Yes, 91 points.

11. Florida State – The Seminoles have a very strong backcourt with Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Dwayne Bacon.  The question marks are down low, where they may need big things from freshman Jonathan Isaac.

12. Pittsburgh – The Panthers made the Big Dance last season, but it may be tough for them to get back in Kevin Stallings first year leading the program.  They do have one of the conference’s top frontcourt pairs in Jamel Artis and Michael Young, but there are way too many questions in the backcourt.

13. Wake Forest – Guard Bryant Crawford and forward Dinos Mitoglou are both solid players, but there do not seem to be enough other pieces around them.

14. Georgia Tech – The top four scorers from last season are gone, leaving the cupboard pretty bare as Josh Pastner takes over the program’s reins.

15. Boston College – Another long season seems to be in store, but even one conference win would be better than last year!

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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Texas A&M SO C Tyler Davis

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of the Hoops HD Preseason Articles, Interviews, and Conference Previews

We continue our 2016-17 season preview interview series with Texas A&M SO C Tyler Davis.  Kentucky is known for always having 1 of the best freshman classes in the nation, but Davis showed that he is as good as any of them after being named to the 2016 SEC All-Freshman Team.  He averaged 11+ PPG in 34 starts last season while leading his team in BLK.  He was nearly unstoppable on the offensive end, leading the entire conference with 65.5 FG%.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Tyler about making an OT buzzer-beater to beat the Wildcats and surviving 1 of the wildest finishes in NCAA tourney history.

tyler

As a high school freshman in Frisco you weighed 350 pounds: how were you able to slim down? I just stayed in the gym and tried to eat right. I followed the footsteps of my nutritionist.

As a high school senior in Plano you won a state title with teammate DJ Hogg: what made you choose the Aggies, and what kind of chemistry do you 2 have on the court together in College Station? We have great chemistry because we have played together since our junior year of high school. There are a ton of reasons I chose A&M but mostly it was because I love the family feel of people who push me to get better every day.

You play for Coach Billy Kennedy: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? He is great in every way both as a coach and person. He is a great man with a good heart so I take in everything that he says. He will never steer me in the wrong direction so it is easy to follow his lead.

Last February you scored 15 PTS including a tip-in at the buzzer to beat Kentucky by 2 PTS in OT: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is definitely 1 of the best ones. This is the last step you take to get to the next level and beating Kentucky at home is something that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Take me through the 2016 NCAA tourney:
You scored 10 PTS in a 4-PT 2-OT win over Northern Iowa: how on earth were you able to overcome a 12-PT deficit with 44 seconds left in regulation? We just kept fighting and took it 1 possession at a time. I was actually on the bench during our comeback: it was a miracle that we were able to come through with a big win.

You scored 17 PTS/7-8 FG in a Sweet 16 loss to Oklahoma: what did you learn from that game that you think can help you this year? I learned to stay calm. I only had 2 PTS in the 1st half but I was thinking too much about all the hype with a star like Buddy Hield and how good a team they had. I played at my pace in the 2nd half and things went much better for me.

You shot 65.5 FG% last season: what is the key to being a great shooter? I try to make the game easy: my size/power allows me to create angles. I want to be the best big man in the country so I worked on my jump shot all summer. Efficiency is key for me so that my teammates can trust me.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against USC/Virginia Tech/Arizona/West Virginia: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? All of those games are equal to me right now so I will play as hard as I can.

You lost 3 of your top-4 scorers from last year (Danuel House/Jalen Jones/Alex Caruso): how are you going to try to replace all of that offense? I feel we have more versatility this year and more guys who can put it on the floor and get to the basket. We can really stretch out a defense and it will be hard for teams to play zone against us.

In June you sprained your left wrist: how is your health doing at the moment? It is really good: I have been able to do everything in practice.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our team goal is to not lose a game. My personal goal is to prepare the best I can for every practice/film session, which will help me perform better in every game.

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