Conference Preview: Ivy League

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Chad

For the rest of our Preseason Coverage, CLICK HERE.

IVY LEAGUE

In 1962, Yale won the Ivy League championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament where they fell by 10 points in overtime to Wake Forest.  The following season, the Bulldogs tied Princeton for the Ivy title but lost a one-game playoff.  Yale failed to earn even a tie for the Ivy League title again until 2002, when they finished the season in a three way deadlock with Penn and Princeton.  Yale defeated Princeton in the first playoff game, but fell to Penn the following night giving the Quakers the automatic bid.  Last season, for the third time since their last NCAA appearance, Yale again tied for the Ivy League championship.  And again they fell in the playoff, this time losing to Harvard.  The Crimson went on to earn a 13 seed and fall to North Carolina in the Round of 64 by 2 points while Yale’s season was over.  Only Dartmouth, which received a bid to the CIT,  joined the Crimson in the postseason, playing extra basketball for the first time since 1959.

This season, Yale’s streak may finally come to an end as the Bulldogs are among the favorites to win the league.  Yale’s chances increased when Harvard announced that its top returning player, Siyani Chambers, would be lost for the season due to injury.  Without him, the Crimson appear to be a longshot to extend their streak of four straight NCAA tournament appearances.  Princeton will join Yale among the top contenders as the Tigers return all five starters from last season.  However, none of these teams are the pick to win the title.  Yale has not been in the Big Dance since 1962, but Columbia’s streak is almost just as long, not having been in since 1968.  Although picking the Lions to take the conference title may be a bit of a shock, they appear to have all the pieces necessary to do just that.

Predicted Order of Finish

1.  Columbia – The Lions return four starters that gained tons of experience last season including senior guard Maodo Lo.  However, it is not the return of last year’s starters that makes this team the pick to win the conference.  Instead, it is the returns of forward Alex Rosenberg and guard Grant Mullins, a pair of double digit scorers from 2013-14 that both missed the majority of last year with injuries.  When these two are added to the experience and depth of the rest of the returning lineup, the Lions should have all the tools they need to finish the season at the top.

2.  Yale – Even though three starters are gone, Yale does return Ivy League Player of the Year Justin Sears along with Jack Montague and a deep bench.  The Bulldogs may be a popular pick to win the league, and should be right in the hunt for their first tourney bid since 1962.

3.  Princeton – The Tigers return all five starters plus a deep bench from a team that went 16-14 last season.  What’s more, Princeton only has one senior on its roster and is set up to be a serious contender beyond this year as well.

4.  Harvard – Corbin Miller will be called upon to lead the Crimson now that Wesley Saunders and Steve Moundou-Missi are gone and Siyani Chambers has been lost for the season.  The good news is that head coach Tommy Amaker has brought in a very strong recruiting class, meaning that even if they do not return to the NCAA Tournament this season, the Crimson will be a factor next year and beyond.

5.  Pennsylvania – Steve Donahue had tons of success during his last stint in the Ivy League as head coach for Cornell.  He returns to the Ivy this season in Philadelphia and has some solid pieces upon which to begin building up the Quakers program.  Tony Hicks in the backcourt and Darien Nelson-Henry down low both figure to be major factors and there is no reason why they will not rise in the standings this year.

6.  Brown – The Bears will be competitive this season with Tavon Blackmon at guard and Cedric Kuakumensah down low.  However, this team always seems to be on the verge of taking that step into the upper division of the Ivy League but just never seems to get there.  It is hard to pick them to do that this year.

7.  Dartmouth – Playing in the postseason was a nice reward for the Big Green last season, but it is unlikely to be repeated this time around.  The Big Green lost their top two scorers off of last year’s squad and may struggle just to avoid the conference basement.

8.  Cornell – Robert Hatter is the only returning player for the Big Red that averaged more than 4 points per game last season.  This figures to be a very long season in Ithaca.

(Note: My next preview will not be posted until Tuesday, October 20 due to other commitments.)

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Season preview: Hofstra SR PG Juan’ya Green

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Jon Teitel

For all of our extensive Preseason Coverage – CLICK HERE

Juan’ya Green is so good that he has already been 1 of the best players in 2 different conferences.  He began his college career at Niagara, where he started all 33 games as a freshman, led the team in 3PM/FT%, and was named All-MAAC 1st team.  After transferring to Hofstra and sitting out a year, he started all 34 games, led the team in PPG and led the conference in AST, and was named All-CAA 1st team.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Juan’ya about why he decided to transfer and how he runs 1 of the best offenses in the nation.

green

You began you college career at Niagara, where you were named conference ROY in 2012: how were you able to make such a smooth transition from high school to college? Coach Mihalich put the ball in my hands when I got there and said that I would be the main reason for our success, so I just tried to work hard.

You led the MAAC in STL during each of your 1st 2 years: what is your secret to being a great defender? You need the mentality of not letting your opponent score and you have to play hard 100% of the time.

After being named 1st-team All-MAAC as a sophomore you decided to transfer: why did you choose to leave? I did not want to stay there after Coach Mihalich left: I just wanted to try something new so I went with him.

You played for Coach Mihalich at Niagara before following him to Hofstra: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? He always wants the best for us: he gets everything out of us whether we are having a good or bad day. He taught me to give 100%.

In the 2015 CAA tourney you scored 26 PTS and played all 50 minutes but Daniel Dixon made a 3-PT shot with 0.8 seconds left in a 1-PT 2-OT win by William & Mary: did you think the shot was going in, and where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? When I saw him get the ball I did not think that he would make it because he was so wide open. It was heartbreaking because we had played such a good game.

In the 2015 CBI you scored 16 PTS (3-9 3PM) in a 4-PT loss to Vermont: how close did you come to winning the game, and what did you learn from that game that you think will help you this year? We were very close to winning but made a lot of mistakes on defense.

Last year your team’s 78.5 PPG was top-15 in the country: what makes your offense so effective? We have different guys who can score in a variety of ways. We can make threes or post up or drive to the hole and kick the ball out to our shooters.

You are 1 of 4 returning starters: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success this year? It is great to have a lot of leaders on the team: we all have to be vocal and bring something to the table.

You have scored at least 16 PPG in each of your 3 college seasons, and last year you led the CAA with 6.5 APG: how do you balance your scoring with your passing? I just tell myself every game to be the player I am. When it is time to score I score, and when it is not time to score I try to make passes to help my team.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? My goal is to be the best leader I can be, especially being vocal. I also want to get to the CAA title game after losing in the semifinals last year.

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Conference Preview: Horizon League

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Chad

For the rest of our Preseason Coverage, CLICK HERE.

HORIZON LEAGUE

The battle for the Horizon League championship last season came right down to the wire, with as many as four teams chasing the top seed in the conference tournament and the right to host it on their home court heading into the final weeks of the season.  In the end, a pair of late season losses by Cleveland State helped give the title to Valparaiso, which rode their home court edge into an NCAA Tournament bid where the Crusaders narrowly lost as a 13 seed in the Round of 64 to Maryland.  Green Bay received a bid to the NIT while the other two contenders, Cleveland State and Oakland, both played in the CIT.

Things will be different in the Horizon League this year.  First and foremost, the advantage of hosting the conference tournament no longer goes to the regular season champion.  Instead, the entire event will be played in Detroit.  The membership of the Horizon League is different too as Northern Kentucky moves over from the Atlantic Sun to become the conference’s 10th member.  On the court things do not appear to be nearly as close as last season’s exciting race.   Valpo returns virtually everyone from last year’s championship team and, with the other three postseason participants from last season all having lost key pieces, appears to be head and shoulders better than anyone else in the league.  Of course, being the best team on paper does not win conference titles and NCAA Tournament bids — winning on the court does.

Predicted Order of Finish

1.  Valparaiso – With pretty much everyone back from season, all signs point to a repeat title and a return to the NCAA Tournament.  In fact, with Alec Peters leading the way and plenty of depth, do not be shocked if the Crusaders are involved in at-large bid discussions should they need one.

2.  Milwaukee – The Panthers will be led by Matt Tiby in the frontcourt and Akeem Springs in the back, while adding in a fairly strong recruiting class.  Forward Austin Arians returns from a medical redshirt season and his addition should help the team be strong enough to be near the top of the conference standings.

3.  Oakland – Despite losing two of their top three scorers, the Golden Grizzlies do bring back Kahlil Felder and his 18.1 points per game.  They also add in three noteworthy transfers in guards Martez Walker (Texas) and Sherron Dorsey-Walker (Iowa State) plus forward Percy Gibson (also Iowa State).

4.  Wright State – The Raiders will be looking to rebound following an injury-plagued 2014-15 campaign.  JT Yoho and Steven Davis are both healthy heading into the season and there is no reason why they will not be vastly improved from last year’s 11-20 record.

5.  Detroit – Paris Bass was Freshman of the Year in the Horizon League last season and should be even better this time around.  However, it will be tough for the Titans to make up for the loss of Juwan Howard, Jr.

6.  Green Bay – Keifer Sykes is gone.  So is head coach Brian Wardle, who took the top job at Bradley.  However, the Phoenix are the only DI team other than Duke that can claim their head coach won the NCAA Tournament last season.  Linc Darner led Florida Southern to the Division II title last year and will try to continue his success at the Division I level.  He has already brought in a solid group of newcomers, including twin brothers Anthony and Avery Brown from the State of Florida.  This year may be a tough one, but the rebuild should go quickly.

7.  Illinois-Chicago – Steve McClain takes over as head coach and has some solid depth plus a strong first recruiting class, even if the team has no true star.  A repeat of last season’s 24 losses would be a shock for the Flames.

8.  Northern Kentucky – The conference’s newest member is in its final transitional year from Division II and is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament (though the Norse will be allowed to participate in the Horizon League tournament).  With Tyler White in the backcourt and Jalen Billups down low, the Norse could make some noise this year.

9.  Youngstown State – Senior forward Bobby Hain will be the clear leader for the Penguins, but the program was crushed by transfers and another long season looms ahead.

10.  Cleveland State – The Vikings were crushed in the offseason, losing their top four players including Trey Lewis, who transferred to Louisville, and Anton Grady, who transferred to Wichita State.  Head coach Gary Waters must now start to rebuild from the bottom up and it appears that they will go from battling for the championship last year to fighting to avoid the league cellar this one.

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Season previews: Stony Brook SR PG Carson Puriefoy

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Jon Teitel

For the rest of our extensive preseason coverage – CLICK HERE

Heeeeeeeeeeeeer’s Carson!  Carson Puriefoy played in all 33 games as a freshman at Stony Brook, then took it up a notch by finishing in the top-10 in the America East in PPG/APG/SPG as a sophomore.  Last year as a junior he was name 1st-team all-conference, became just the 3rd player in school history to score at least 500 points in a single season, and helped his team make the CBI.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Carson about the Albany-Stony Brook rivalry and how to be a good PG.

carson

You grew up in New Jersey: what made you choose Stony Brook? I had narrowed down my final list to 3 schools, but after taking a visit here with my family I fell in love with it. It has been the best 4 years of my life so far and I am glad that I made the right decision.

You play for Coach Steve Pikiell: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? He is a player’s coach: he was straight up with me and my family about how it would be, and that is what I cherish the most. He taught me to always compete no matter what the score is, both in a game as well as in life.

You played in all 33 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? It was a struggle: I thought that I would come in and make a big impact because I knew everything, but it took me until conference play before I started to play well. We had some great leaders and all of the seniors helped me stay confident.

In the 2013 America East tourney you scored a team-high 16 PTS before Mike Black made a layup in the final seconds of a 2-PT win by Albany, and in the 2015 America East tourney you scored a team-high 23 PTS before Peter Hooley made a 3-PT shot in the final seconds of a 1-PT win by Albany: how intense is the rivalry, and what will it take to get over the hump against the Great Danes in March? It has always been a big rivalry between the 2 New York schools in every sport, not just basketball. If we meet them again: bring it on! We are really optimistic about the season and we welcome the challenge.

In November 2013 you scored 16 PTS in a 2-PT 3-OT win at Detroit: where does that rank among the most exciting games of your career? That was a great experience. It was probably the longest game that I have ever played and we were all exhausted against a good Detroit team, but Coach just told us to keep plugging away.

In the 2015 CBI you scored 19 PTS (3-8 3PM) in a 2-PT loss to Mercer: how close did you come to winning the game, and what did you learn from that loss that you think can help you this year? They made a buzzer-beater and it was close throughout. The key thing we learned is to make our FTs and be able to finish games by staying mentally tough throughout the game.

You have led the team in AST/STL during each of the past 2 years: what is the key to being a good PG? You have to stay balanced and get your teammates involved. The PG is also the 1st line of defense so you have to stay diligent.  Our coaches stress defense so I try to be a leader on the defensive end.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Vanderbilt/Notre Dame: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Those 2 are obviously the highest-ranked teams that we play, so they will probably be our toughest tests. Do not count us out: we went to Washington last year and upset them. It has always been a dream of mine to play at Notre Dame so that game should be great.

Your father Carson played basketball at Bucknell: who is the best athlete in the family? He would probably say himself but I would have to say me! He has not beaten me in 1-on-1 for quite some time so I think that the torch has been passed.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? We have accomplished everything else over the past 4 years besides getting to the NCAA tourney so that is really the only goal left for us. We have very high expectations because we have a lot of guys back as well as some good transfers.

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Conference Preview: Conference USA

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Chad

For the rest of our preseason coverage, CLICK HERE.

CONFERENCE USA

The Conference USA tournament was held in Birmingham, Alabama last season and the hometown UAB Blazers were the story for reasons both on and off the court.  UAB was making Division I headlines for its decision to terminate the FBS football program along with a couple of other athletic programs.  The entire school’s future in Conference USA was up for debate, given that the conference required schools to sponsor football for membership.  In the wake of these questions, UAB’s basketball team came together and proceeded to not only win the CUSA tournament but then pull one of the most shocking round of 64 upsets last season, knocking off a 3 seed Iowa State team that appeared to have Final Four potential.  Although the Blazers fell in the Round of 32 to UCLA, more good news for UAB came after the tournament, when the school chose to reinstate football and was allowed to keep its Conference USA membership.

Although UAB was the only NCAA tournament team from CUSA last season, the conference did place three schools into the NIT — Old Dominion, UTEP and Louisiana Tech, with ODU advancing to the semifinals.  Middle Tennessee, which made a surprising run to the CUSA title game before falling to UAB, represented the conference in the CIT.  This season, UAB and Old Dominion should battle things out for conference supremacy, though all five of last year’s postseason participants should be among the conference’s top teams.  The surprise team for the season may be Marshall, as Dan D’Antoni is coming closer to fully installing his system of play.  As always with this conference, the top couple of teams may merit some at-large consideration — but they will need to make their marks in non-conference play.

Predicted Order of Finish

1.  UAB – The Blazers have plenty of scoring options in the backcourt led by Robert Brown.  William Lee should continue to develop into a force down low.  There is enough depth here to win the conference title.

2.  Old Dominion – Trey Freeman is one of the best guards in the conference and will be helped in the backcourt by the likes of Aaron Bacote and Ambrose Mosley.  Brandan Stith will have a chance to excel down low, but the Monarchs will need to get him help if they want to win the league.

3.  Marshall – Justin Edmonds, Ryan Taylor and Austin Loop all have the talent to star in D’Antoni’s system.  If they get the help they need from newcomers, this could be the surprise team of the conference.

4.  UTEP – The Miners lost a ton of players, but Coach Tim Floyd welcomes in arguably the best recruiting class in the conference and will get help from Oregon transfer Dominic Artis.  If they can gel together, the rest of the league better watch out come February and March.

5.  Louisiana Tech – The Bulldogs return Alex Hamilton outside and Erik McCree down low, but pretty much everyone else is gone and a return to the top of the league seems doubtful.

6.  Middle Tennessee – The Blue Raiders don’t have any true stars, but will possess a balanced attack that, when combined with Kermit Davis on the bench, may be enough to  have them among the league leaders.

7.  North Texas – The Mean Green could be another sleeper team in this league, especially if J’Mychal Reese is as good as advertised and Jeremy Combs continues to develop.

8.  Florida International – Adrian Diaz is a force down low and should have some help, but the backcourt has too many questions for the Panthers to contend.

9.  Western Kentucky – The addition of Illinois transfer Aaron Cosby will help a lot, but it will be too difficult for the Hilltoppers to make up for the losses of T.J. Price and George Fant.

10.  Rice – Although there are some talented veterans in the backcourt, the rest of the team is young and still being built.  Things do appear headed in the right direction, just not this season.

11.  Charlotte – Even though pretty much all of last season’s roster is gone, coach Mark Price has the starting pieces to build a program.  The 49ers could be dangerous — next season.

12.  Florida Atlantic – The Owls return three players that averaged double figures in scoring, but the talent level still is not here to compete for the conference’s upper division.

13.  Southern Mississippi – Doc Sadler’s team should be stronger in the backcourt with the additions of Dayton transfer Khari Price and JC transfer Michael Ramey.  However, the Golden Eagles ranked 317th in the nation in rebounding margin last season and this year may be even worse.  UPDATE 11/8/2015: Southern Miss has self-imposed a postseason ban for the second straight year while an NCAA investigation continues.

14.  Texas-San Antonio – Pretty much every player of note from last season’s sub-.500 team is gone.  This could be a very long year in San Antonio.

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Season preview: ULM coach Keith Richard

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Jon Teitel

For the rest of our Preseason Coverage – CLICK HERE

All this guy does is turn programs right round, baby, right round!  Louisiana Tech was 12-15 in 1998, then Keith Richard shows up and goes 19-9 in 1999.  ULM was 12-19 in 2010, then won only 24 games over the next 4 years due to some NCAA sanctions against the program for problems that occurred prior to Coach Richard’s arrival, and after the sanctions were lifted last year he won 24 games and made it all the way to the CBI championship series.  Some people just throw their alma mater a few bucks around the holidays, but after returning to Monroe he helped rebuild the program from near-scratch, was named 2015 Sun Belt COY, and created a defense that did not allow a single opponent to score 75 PTS all season.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Richard about dealing with sanctions and playing great defense.

keith

As a player at (what was then known as) Northeast Louisiana in the 1982 NCAA tourney (the 1st in school history) you scored 4 PTS in a 7-PT loss to Iowa: what was the mood like in the locker room at halftime when you had a 1-PT lead, and what was the reaction like in the locker room after the final buzzer? I was the starting PG and it was the 1st time that our program had ever made the tourney, so it was obviously a great moment to get there and was a big deal. We played well in the 1st half and felt that we could hang with them, but our starting SG got poked in the eye and never really returned. It was disappointing to lose but still a good feeling to play well on national TV.

In the 1991 NCAA tourney as an assistant at your alma mater you lost to eventual champion Duke: where does that Blue Devils team of Grant Hill/Bobby Hurley/Christian Laettner rank among the best that you have ever seen? They were very good and 1 of the best of all-time, but we played well in that game too. They were very athletic on the wings even though Hurley/Laettner got most of the pub. Our wings were also athletic…but ours were 6’3” and theirs were 6’8”! Our starting PG Casey Jones guarded Hurley all night long, and after the game Hurley said some nice things about the job that Casey did.

In the 2002 NIT as head coach at Louisiana Tech, you had a 67-64 loss at Villanova: after winning your 1st 19 games that year when holding your opponents under 70 points, why were you unable to make it 20 in a row? I do not remember that game in particular, but we might have had a little foul trouble. We stormed back at the end and had a shot at the buzzer to tie it. That was probably my best team at Louisiana Tech, which was our 1st year in the WAC back when it was 1 of the best leagues in the country. Our team could have played in the NCAA tourney.

After winning a total of 24 games during your 1st 4 years as head coach at your alma mater, the NCAA lifted all sanctions against the program (due to previous poor academic scores that occurred prior to your arrival) and you were able to win 24 games last year: how big a deal was it to finally have a full slate of scholarships/practices/etc.? The scholarship reduction was the biggest deal to me: that is why the NCAA handed down such a penalty. Once we were able to get them all back over time it made a big difference. We lost 5 scholarships during my 1st 2 years, and you cannot hit a home run on every single recruit. You have to be almost perfect to succeed: that does not even count injuries/redshirts/etc. The 1st 3 years we would not even find out about how many scholarships we would get until May so we were really stagnant in recruiting, but we did a great job academically.

Your team ranked in the top-15 in the nation by allowing only 29.7 3P% and 38.8 FG%: what is your secret for having such a great defense? Recruit some long/tall players! When we 1st got our scholarships back we were so inept at so many positions and were not tall/athletic. The 1st thing I told my guys is that the only things we had to worry about were length/athleticism because we were getting killed by the other teams in our league. Last year’s team was the result of our recruiting efforts: across the back line we were 6’7”/6’9”/6’10”, which is pretty good for the Sun Belt. That allowed us to alter (even if we did not block) shots and then rebound them, and our guards could chase our opponent’s best perimeter scorer within their half-court offense. We did not make any great change in defensive philosophy: we were just a good defensive team.

You finished the year by being named Sun Belt COY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? The honor was nice but what was most pleasing to me was the fact that we turned it around on the court and our community really supported us. Our attendance improved throughout the year: our program won a lot of games in the 1980s/1990s but had fallen on hard times since then.

In the final game of the 2015 CBI you had a 1-PT loss to Loyola-Chicago: how close did you come to winning the game, and what did your team learn from that game that you think will help them this year? We had a near-capacity crowd in a white-out game, which is something that I have not seen since I was an assistant coach. Loyola is a very good team: we were very close to them in talent and we were both solid teams. Both of the games were close and each team had their moments but we just fell a little short. They had some of the best guard play that we had seen all year, so while I was initially disappointed, I was proud of our run in the CBI and having the 3rd-biggest turnaround in the country. It gave us a tremendous amount of experience and our confidence has really soared during our summer workouts.

You return 4 starters from last year: how crucial is all of that experience going to be to your team’s success? We have 9 guys returning from last year and 4 new guys, but what has stuck out to me is our returning players. In the past our new recruits looked better than our veteran guys, but this year the returning guys look better, which is how a program is supposed to be. They look like they belong and have talent, so they will be critical.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Minnesota/Penn State/West Virginia: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? There is not 1 game that stands out, but we have a 7 or 8-game stretch that includes those 3 teams and several others, mostly on the road, so we will have to be ready to play and do so a little ahead of schedule. We also need to be patient regardless of how those games come out because I like our team and I do not want us to get sideways if that stretch does not go the way we want it to go. We just have to make sure we keep our heads up and keep getting better.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Going into last year we were picked 7th but I wanted to finish in the top half of the league, which I thought was a good goal for us and a good step in the right direction. This year my personal goal is to just have another “good season”, whatever that means, but I do not have a particular number of wins in mind.  Obviously it would be nice to win a conference title but I just want to have back-to-back winning seasons. We have not done that here since 1994, which surprises a lot of people including me. Our program went to the NCAA tourney 5 times from 1984-1991 so I just want to build on what we did last year. We have to develop some winning consistency instead of just being a 1-year wonder and then dropping back into the pack. The players might say different things but I do not have a problem with that.

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