Season preview: Butler SR SF Roosevelt Jones

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Jon Teitel

For the rest of our extensive Preseason Coverage – CLICK HERE

There are some college basketball players who just seem like they have been around for 5 years…and there are others who actually have been around that long.  Roosevelt Jones enrolled as a freshman at Butler back in 2011, but due to a wrist injury that forced him to sit out the entire 2013-14 season with a medical redshirt, he begins his final season of college basketball next month.  Those who feared that the injury would end his career were proven wrong last year, as he started all 34 games and was named 2nd-Team All-Big East.  After playing in 3 different conferences during his college career, 1 thing that will not be new this year is that Butler remains in the Big East and remains a strong contender to Villanova for the conference title.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Roosevelt about overcoming his injury and almost beating Notre Dame in the NCAA tourney last March.

jones

In January 2013 you scored 20 PTS including a steal/10-footer at the buzzer in a 1-PT win over Gonzaga: did you think the shot was going in, and what was the reaction like in your locker room afterward? When I let the shot go I knew that it was going in. The locker room was crazy: we were jumping around and were so excited that we had won. We could not believe what had just happened.

In the 2013 NCAA tourney you scored 8 PTS in a 2-PT loss to Marquette: how close did you come to winning the game? We had a really good scouting report on them from our game earlier in the year in Maui and went back and forth with them all game long. We needed one defensive stop but could not get it. Vander Blue made a 3-PT shot from the corner that I remember bouncing straight up and then dropping in. Marquette changed their defense against us on our final possession of the game and we could not get a shot up.

After being the only player to start all 36 games in 2013, you missed the entire 2013-14 season with a left wrist injury: how difficult was the rehab, and how is your health right now? The toughest thing I have had to deal with so far in my life was that rehab. I did not know if I could get back to my full potential. My mom/dad said to keep my head up and keep working. It took a long road to get back, but I am 100% now.

Last October Chris Holtmann was named interim coach after Brandon Miller was granted a medical leave of absence: how difficult was it to deal with that transition right before the season, and how was your team able to make it work? It was not as difficult as a lot of other people thought that it would be because we were all together as a group. We talked about it and bonded together: we came together with the goal of giving it everything we had each and every day. It probably looked a lot more chaotic from the outside than it actually was.

In January 2015 you scored a career-high 28 PTS (12-19 FG) in a 1-PT loss at Georgetown: what contributed to your success that night? We had a good defensive scouting report on what they liked to do. We ended up using a lot of high ball screens because of the way they liked to pressure, which probably gave me a little more space to work with when I shot my floater. I felt good throughout that game.

You finished the year by leading your team in AST and finished 2nd in PPG/RPG: how do you balance your scoring with your rebounding with your passing? I do not keep track of much of that. I just try to do whatever I can to help my teammates and not get involved in all the numbers.

In the 2015 NCAA tourney you scored 23 PTS in a 3-PT OT loss to Notre Dame: what did you learn from that game that you think can help you this year? We know that we can compete with anyone in the country if we come out and play together and play hard. We had a good game plan and stuck to it. If we follow what the coaches tell us and play hard, then we can compete with anyone.

You have played in 3 different conferences during your career (Horizon/A-10/Big East): how does it feel to not be switching conferences this season?! It is nice to finally have some consistency regarding who we are playing. We know our opponents’ tendencies and what they like to do on offense/defense. It makes the preparation for each opponent a little easier when you have some experience to work from.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Cincinnati/Tennessee/Purdue: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Every game is tough in non-conference play. We are just looking at the next opponent on our schedule and trying not to get caught up looking too far down the road.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? My goal is to play as hard as I can with this team. If we do that then we will get where we need to go. Right now I am not putting expectations on how far we can go: we just need to keep working every day.

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Conference Preview: Summit League

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Chad

For the rest of our Preseason Coverage, CLICK HERE.

SUMMIT LEAGUE

North Dakota State and South Dakota State. Over the past four seasons, these two teams have become the dominant players in the Summit League, capturing the last four automatic bids and matching up head-to-head in two of the last three conference tournament championship games. Last season, it was the Bison pulling out a thrilling 57-56 win in the championship game to advance to the NCAA Tournament, where they earned a 15 seed and lost to Gonzaga in the Round of 64. South Dakota State played in the NIT, while Oral Roberts was in the CBI and Fort Wayne earned an invite to the CIT.

This season, it is fair to expect more of the same as the Bison and Jackrabbits again appear to be among the best teams in the conference. South Dakota State is the pick to repeat their regular season championship. However, two other teams may factor into the league race as Fort Wayne should remain competitive and IUPUI is a dark horse pick to finish near the top of the league standings. One team that is not being picked to finish near the top is Denver, as Joe Scott’s Pioneers have been one of the most under-achieving mid-majors over the last few seasons, and may find themselves battling this season just to qualify for the conference tournament. Only the top 8 teams will play in the league championship event as Omaha has completed its transition to the Division I level and is eligible for the conference tournament and postseason play.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. South Dakota State – The Jackrabbits have one of the best mid-major backcourts in the country with Deondre Parks, George Marshall and Jake Bittle. If they can get production from the frontcourt, including from top recruit Adam Dykman, the rest of the league better watch out.

2. IUPUI – Four starters return for the Mastodons, but even more important are a trio of transfers from Loyola-Chicago (Nick Osborne, Matt O’Leary and Jordan Pickett), Eastern Michigan transfer Darell Combs and top recruit Evan Hall. Once all these newcomers begin to gel with the returning players, IUPUI will be very dangerous.

3. North Dakota State – The Bison have depth and experience but need to find a way to make up for the loss of conference Player of the Year Lawrence Alexander. If they can, there is no reason why they will not be right near the top of the standings again.

4. Fort Wayne – Despite losing three starters, Mo Evans and Max Landis are solid in the backcourt while forward Joe Reed should get better and better. JC transfer DeAngelo Stewart has a chance to be a major contributor as well.

5. Oral Roberts – Obi Emegano should shine for the Golden Eagles, but the team has too many question marks down low to be a serious contender.

6. Omaha – The Mavs have the depth and experience to be seriously competitive in their first postseason-eligible year.  They will be led by Marcus Tyus and Devin Patterson in the backcourt and Tre’Shawn Thurman and Jake White down low.

7. Western Illinois – The Leathernecks should be improved with Garret Covington and J.C. Fuller leading the way plus a deep bench. However, they will need to find some inside scoring if they want to move up significantly in the league standings.

8. South Dakota – Only two starters return, but solid recruiting and a handful of top transfers that are sitting out this season have the Coyotes seriously eyeing next season.

9. Denver – Three starters are gone from a team that seems to disappoint every year. Head coach Joe Scott will be in rebuild mode, though he may need to show some serious progress to remain in his job.

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Season preview: South Florida assistant coach Rod Strickland

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Jon Teitel

For the rest of our extensive Preseason Coverage – CLICK HERE

There are plenty of NCAA assistant coaches who were good point guards during their playing days, but there is only 1 men’s (I see you John Stockton!) basketball assistant who ever led the NBA in APG in a single season.  Rod Strickland led the NBA with 10.5 APG in 1998, and is ready to begin his 2nd year as an assistant to head coach Orlando Antigua at South Florida.  On the court, he was an All-American at DePaul before playing in the NBA for 17 years.  Off the court, he worked for Coach John Calipari at Memphis/Kentucky and is the godfather of NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Strickland about working for Coach Cal and getting a shout-out from the Wu-Tang Clan.

rod

In the 1987 NCAA tourney as a player at DePaul you scored 16 PTS in an 8-PT OT win over St. John’s: how much of a home-court advantage did you have while playing at the Rosemont Horizon, and how were you able to overcome a 4-PT deficit with 19 seconds left in regulation? We definitely had a home-court advantage, which helped us overcome the deficit. We just stuck with it and never gave up while our crowd kept us going, which gave us a lot of confidence to keep fighting.

You were a 2-time All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? It felt great! Every time you move to the next level you try to see if you are good enough, so once I got to college and received some accolades it gave me the confidence that I had a chance to be a pro.

In the summer of 1988 you were drafted 19th overall by your hometown New York Knicks: did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? It validates you as a basketball player. A lot of young guys now think they will be a pro even if they are only in the 3rd grade, but back in the day I just kept trying to make it to the next level. It was a relief to finally get drafted.

You made the playoffs during each of your 1st 9 years in the NBA while playing for 4 different teams: what is the biggest difference between the regular season and the postseason? The intensity and focus, without a doubt. Once the playoffs start it is like a whole different animal. Teams get locked in and pay attention to detail: everything is magnified.

In 1997 Wu-Tang Clan came out with its 1st single “Triumph” from its 2nd album “Wu-Tang Forever”: what was your reaction when you heard the final line of the song that goes “Guaranteed made ’em jump like Rod Strickland”?! That was crazy when I 1st heard it on the radio. To this day people will come up to me and quote me the line. It was exciting to be mentioned by 1 of the top rap groups of all-time, especially in that era. It was another validation for me in the hip-hop community and was very exciting.

In 1998 you led the NBA with 10.5 APG: what is the key to being a great PG? You need great players around you. I was always a passer who tried to create opportunities for other guys. When I came off of a ball screen I knew where everyone was at on the court. You have to keep your options open and be a playmaker: as nice as it is to score 30 PTS, sometimes I liked having 15 AST even more. That is why I played so many years with so many teams: I could adjust to anyone.

Your godson is 2012 NBA ROY Kyrie Irving, whose father Drederick was your childhood friend: what was Drederick like as a player, and how good do you think that Kyrie will be by the end of his career? If Drederick was playing now with all of the camps/exposures, he might have ended up as a pro. He was really good: when you see some of the moves that Kyrie makes, he does some things that his father could do as well. We grew up playing together and did similar things: he just happened to be more of a scorer while I played the point. When I see Kyrie, I see his father, and I think the sky is the limit for him. He is young but has already accomplished a lot. He is a bright young man and I think he will have a Hall of Fame career and then do some big things once basketball is over.

You used to work for Coach John Calipari at both Memphis and Kentucky: what makes him such a great coach, and what will it be like to face him again the day after Thanksgiving when the Bulls play the Wildcats? He has a fierceness about him and a competitive spirit. He wants to be #1 as bad as anyone and his own focus makes everyone else around him focused. He is always on the ball and is thinking several steps ahead to keep himself in front of everyone else. It will be great to walk down the sideline and shake his hand. He is a special person who helped me get my start in this business: Cal is my guy!

You return 3 of your top-4 scorers from last year: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success this year? I think it will be great. Our guys have gotten better both individually and as a team, so having them back and adding some new guys around them makes me excited to see how things work out.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? The goal is simple: to win as many games as possible and compete every day in practice and in games. We want our opponents to know that we will play hard. We had a young group last year so we have to create an identity this year: hopefully that will translate into wins.

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Video Conference Preview: ACC

Posted on October 28, 2015 by David Griggs

Very Important Links!!

For thoughts, opinions, and information on the Preseason Exhibition games, which begin today – CLICK HERE

For all of our other extensive Preseason Coverage – CLICK HERE

 

ACC

Chad is joined by Jon, John, Joby, and David for the first preseason video podcast of the year.  The group looks at all the teams in the ACC  and discuss how as many as three teams in Duke, North Carolina, Virginia could contend for #1 seeds, and how as many as nine teams could end up in the NCAA Tournament.  They also talk about the NCAA allegations that Syracuse, Louisville, and North Carolina may be facing.

 

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

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Exhibition Season Launch!!

Posted on October 28, 2015 by David Griggs

The season officially begins on the second Friday in November, which is November 13th this year, and we will be having a big time launch for it.  But, the first basketball game of any kind that is open to the public will be played tonight between LSU-Alexandria and Southeast Louisiana.  You can even watch the game online.  It’s a game that doesn’t count, and it’s a game that would be of very little intrigue even if it did count, but it is a game.  It’s the first game of any kind that has been open to the public since last year’s national championship game.  While this isn’t our big kickoff to the season, it will be a soft launch to the season.  With the exception of Christmas Eve, there will be a college basketball game every day between now and the day after Selection Sunday.  The link below will take you to a list of all exhibition games, and I must say, many of the names of the lower division schools were giving our auto-correct feature quite a workout as we typed up this list….

FOR ALL OPEN EXHIBITION GAMES, CLICK HERE

I’m personally not a huge fan of the exhibition part of the season in its current format.  Although I’m always excited when it gets here, the only reason I’m excited is because for the first time since the end of the previous season we are provided with some semblance of college basketball.  But, it could be, and should be, better.

Teams are allowed two exhibition contests.  They can choose to have either a closed scrimmage with another div1 team, or a game that’s open to the public against a team from a lower division.  Closed scrimmages generally go for three hours and can be set up any number of ways.  Sometimes teams play a regulation game and then work on situational stuff after that.  Sometimes the two schools will have two games going on at once.  Sometimes they’ll play several games of ten or twelve minutes.  It’s very controlled, and I get why coaches like doing that.  What I don’t understand, or agree with, is why teams MUST do that if they want to play another div1 team.  Every other major sport with the exception of college football allows for preseason exhibition games against other teams.  Even other college sports such as soccer allow teams preseason exhibition games against other div1 teams.  I understand some coaches like the idea of a closed scrimmage, and that’s fine.  But, why not at least give them the OPTION of opening it to the public??  If VCU and Virginia, who are playing in a closed scrimmage this year, decide they want to play an exhibition regulation game and open it to the public, then why the hell can’t they??   Same with Xavier v Illinois, or Purdue v Dayton, or SFA v Texas, or any other number of games that, while not counting for anything, would still be somewhat intriguing to fans.  You know what isn’t intriguing??  Seeing a div1 team smash the hell out of a lower division team.  The lower division team wants to get paid, and the div1 team wants to work on their weaknesses.

Now, before I get carried away, there will be a handful of cases where div1 teams lose their exhibition games.  But, generally when this happens, it is because said team is more concerned with working on improving their weaknesses than they are in winning the game.  Some coaches have been known to run teams to death in practice the day before, or even the day of, their exhibition games.  The reason??  Coaches want the players to have to play the game when they’re tired.  Syracuse lost an exhibition game to a div3 school one year, and played man-to-man defense the entire game.  So, even if div1 teams do lose these games, rarely are they losing under circumstances where they went out there and treated it like a regular season game that needed to be won.  So, even if the lower division teams play tough and win, it’s generally still of very little intrigue.

One of the rules that is no longer in place was that schools were allowed to schedule games against non-college teams.  This was the days of the Phillips 66ers, Athletes in Action, and other various all star teams.  Even the Harlem Globetrotters played regulation games against div1 teams, and managed to beat some highly ranked teams.  Athletes in Action fielded several teams, but their A team, or #1 team, or whatever the hell they called their top team, was very good.  I believe there was one year where they ended up beating three teams that later advanced to the Elite Eight.  Duke, and some other schools, would play pro teams from other countries, and would even face off against another country’s national team.  I think this was far better than what we have now.  The reason??  Teams could challenge themselves, and they could do it in front of an actual crowd, but with no brushback or downside if they lost.  Not every team chose to do this because a lot of them just wanted someone they could walk all over, but a lot of good teams did, and I think it was better for the fans, the players, and coaches.  I mean, nothing against the div2 and div3 teams that serve as exhibition opponents now, but not much is gained by div1 teams beating the brains in of lower division teams who are getting paid.  Some schools will want to do that, and that’s fine.  Others will want closed scrimmages against other div1 opponents, and that’s fine.  But, if schools want an open exhibition against another div1 team, or against a strong and competitive team that isn’t a college team, then that should be fine too.  Shouldn’t it??

But, the good news is that tonight, and every night until Selection Sunday with the exception of Christmas Eve, we (sort of) have college basketball!!

Posted in News and Notes | 2 Comments

Conference Preview: Southland

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Chad

For the rest of our Preseason Coverage, CLICK HERE.

SOUTHLAND

Domination.  Webster’s defines the word as “supremacy or preeminance over another”.  The Southland Conference defines it as “Stephen F. Austin”.  Over the past three seasons, the Lumberjacks have gone 56-4 against Southland competition, winning three straight regular season titles and two straight conference tournament championships.  That is domination, pure and simple.  Last year, SFA rode their conference title into the NCAA tournament where they fell as a 12 seed in the Round of 64 to Utah, unable to match their 2014 appearance in the Round of 32.  The rest of the conference has simply been unable to catch the Lumberjacks.  This season a few teams will take their shots, but in the end the Lumberjacks appear to be head and shoulders stronger than the rest of the league again.

In addition to SFA’s NCAA tournament appearance, four other Southland teams received postseason invites last year, all to the CIT.  Sam Houston State, Northwestern State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Incarnate Word all played in that event.  For Incarnate Word the postseason invite was of particular note, as the Cardinals were playing a full schedule of D1 basketball for the first time ever and were in only their second of four transitional years to full D1 membership and NCAA tournament eligibility.  UIW is one of a fairly large group of teams that could contend for second place behind SFA, joined by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Northwestern State, Sam Houston State, Nicholls State and Houston Baptist.  Two teams that will likely not contend and, like Incarnate Word, will be ineligible for the Southland tournament are Abilene Christian and Central Arkansas.  Abilene Christian is also in its third of four transitional years, while Central Arkansas is on the APR postseason ban list for the second consecutive season.

Predicted Order of Finish

1.  Stephen F. Austin – Who else?  Four starters return, led by Thomas Walkup.  The only question for Brad Underwood’s team is size, but they should once again be among the elite mid-majors and post an overall record worthy of at-large consideration if things go bad in the conference tournament.

2.  Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – John Jordan is gone, but Hameed Ali returns after missing last season and four starters, led by Rashawn Thomas, are back from last year.  All the pieces are here to finish second.

3.  Nicholls State – Pretty much everyone is back from last year’s team, which featured a balanced scoring attack and a fair amount of depth.  The Colonels could be a surprise contender in the battle for second place.

4.  Sam Houston State – With four starters gone, the Bearkats might take a step back this season, but they were deep last year and with solid reserves moving into starting roles, there is no reason why they will not be among the league’s leaders again.

5.  Northwestern State – The Demons feature a high-octane offense that is always fun to watch, but have never quite figured out how to play defense.  Much of the same is expected this season as they will be led by Zeek Woodley and Jalan West, two players that each averaged over 20 points per game last year.

6.  Houston Baptist – The Huskies are headed in the right direction as they have the depth, experience and size to contend in the battle for second place.  Anthony Odusni and Colter Lasher will lead the way this season, plus a strong recruiting class will give their fans a lot to look forward to in the coming years.

7.  Incarnate Word – The Cardinals still have two more years before they are eligible for the Southland and NCAA tournaments, but continue to build their program in the right direction.  Even with Denzel Livingston’s 21+ points per game gone, a strong rotation of guards led by Kyle Hittle and Jontrell Walker will keep them in games all season long.

8.  McNeese State – The Cowboys will remain competitive this season despite losing three starters as Jamaya Burr should move into a leadership role outside and Craig McFerrin returns from an injury that cost him all of last season down low.

9.  Central Arkansas – The Bears are ineligible for postseason play for the second straight year due to their APR, but all is not lost.  They return all five starters from last season and are still young, with 5 sophomores holding key spots in their rotation.  This group of young players is led by Jordan Howard, who won conference Freshman of the Year last season.  Assuming they can get their APR issues resolved by next season, things could start getting interesting by then.

10.  New Orleans – The Privateers should be improved with four of their five starters back, but they need to address some significant defensive woes if they want to contend for the top 8 and a spot in the Southland tournament.

11.  Southeastern Louisiana – The Lions have a scoring punch in the backcourt with Zay Jackson, Joshua Filmore and JaMichael Hawkins, but there are some serious questions down low with three starters gone and not much size among the newcomers.

12.  Lamar – The Cardinals had a .500 record in Tic Price’s second year at the helm last season; however, a slip back in the standings is likely this year with their top three players gone.

13.  Abilene Christian – Four starters return from last season for the Wildcats, but the talent level is not here yet to be seriously competitive.  They do have two more seasons to get there though, as they remain ineligible for the Southland and NCAA tournaments this year and next.

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