SB Nation - Josh Akognon

Monday Merges Into Tuesday, Thanks To A Marathon

Chris Dobbertean — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:00:14 -0000

by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Drew Gordon and UCLA start the ESPN Tip-Off Marathon at midnight Eastern Tuesday..(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Starting at midnight Eastern with Cal State Fullerton at UCLA, ESPN will run more than 24 straight hours of college hoops. Since I'm nuts for this stuff, I'm going to try to follow the bulk of the marathon over at SBNation.com. However, since I'll be sleeping from the time I get home from work until some point in the Titans-Bruins tilt, I won't be able to catch any of Monday's action. Expect to see a Monday night recap at some point on Tuesday morning.

After the jump, I'll provide a comprehensive look at the marathon, culled from my earlier piece about it (with some updated information). I'll also have a brief rundown of the other games on the Tuesday slate.

ESPN has the bulk of the action overnight and during the day. Right after the clock strikes midnight on the East Coast (a perfectly reasonable 9 p.m. Pacific time tip), UCLA hosts Cal-State Fullerton. It will be the first chance for most of America to see how the Bruins cope after losing Jrue Holiday, Alfred Aboya, Darren Collison, and Josh Shipp. The Titans meanwhile lost Big West POY Josh Akognon and his 24 points per game and have six new faces (including 3 D1 transfers) on the roster.

In the 2 a.m. Eastern slot, St. Mary's, without Paddy Mills but with fellow Aussie Andrew Dellavedova attempting to fill the void, faces San Diego State, a team that will again challenge in the Mountain West, even though they only return one starter, F Billy White. The Aztecs knocked the Gaels out of the NIT at the end of last year.

Hawai'i again gets a 4 a.m. Eastern game. Last year, the Warriors defeated Idaho State in a game that was in overtime when I woke up at 6 Eastern. This year, it's another Big Sky opponent for UH, Northern Colorado.

According to Andy Katz's Daily Word, this will be the first time ESPN has ever carried games at 6 and 8 a.m. Eastern. The 6 a.m. offering, features a rising St. Peter's squad hosting a Monmouth side that's been down of late. My quibble with this matchup is the location, as the Hawks are opening up a new arena this year, yet they're on the road for this one. Go figure.

The 8 a.m. game could be a real donnybrook, however, and it takes place just a couple of miles from where I spent my first few years. Niagara, who finished behind Siena in the MAAC last year and is ready to challenge them again hosts Drexel, the team I foolishly picked to take the CAA's auto bid late last year. The Dragons problem then was scoring (61.7 ppg), an issue that won't get better as they lost their only double-digit scorer, Scott Rodgers, to graduation.

At 10, Clemson visits Liberty, a game that would've been more attractive had Seth Curry not transferred to Duke. The Tigers lost Terrence Oglesby to Europe, but gained Trevor Booker's younger brother Devin. He and 6-9 frosh Milton Jennings (a McDonald's All-American) give Clemson a significant post presence.

There is a nice little matchup in the East Coast lunch hour, as CAA contender Northeastern visits MAAC power Siena. Even though the Saints lost Kenny Hasbrouck to graduation, they return their other four starters (watch Edwin Ubiles closely). Bill Coen's Huskies also return four starters, including G/F Matt Janning.

At 2 p.m., Arkansas-Little Rock visits Tulsa, the team many think will usurp Memphis as the standard bearer for Conference USA.

Temple-Georgetown game, follows at 4 p.m. The Owls will be challenged this season without Deonte Christmas, while the Hoyas look to improve on last season's disappointment.

ESPN2 gives viewers a second option at 5:30 Eastern. Pitt hosts Binghamton in a preliminary game in the CBE Classic, where the Panthers are already guaranteed a trip to the finals in Kansas City. This game won't be quite as competitive as originally thought, thanks to the scandal that decimated the Bearcats' roster.

The 6 p.m. offering is the East regional final of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Barring a huge upset, Duke will take on Charlotte or Elon.

At 7:30 on ESPN2, it will be the first of two from the Hall of Fame Classic in St. Louis. (Save yourself $200 and watch this doubleheader at home.) Arkansas, a program that's been in a bit of turmoil during the offseason, takes on Louisville, another team that's been the focus of a lot of offseason news.

At 8 on ESPN, Gonzaga visits Michigan State. The Spartans are among the favorites to make it to Indy, while the Bulldogs will be good, even with the loss of four starters and a boatload of new recruits. This may not be the time to watch them, however.

If the TV action isn't enough, you can also see Northern Illinois-Illinois online at 8.

ESPNU picks up another CBE Classic preliminary that's not really a preliminary at 9. Duquesne, who--don't laugh--will build on last year and be a serious challenger in the A-10 this year--even without the services of leading scorer (and only loss) Aaron Jackson, visits Iowa. The Hawkeyes, just like they every year under Todd Lickliter, have personnel issues. Leading scorer Jake Kelly transferred to Indiana State and PG Jeff Peterson, the no. 3 scorer on the roster, transferred to Arkansas.

ESPN has the second Hall of Fame Showcase game at 10 p.m. It's a rematch of that 2008 National Championship game that the NCAA wants to wipe from our collective memories. Preseason No. 1 Kansas takes on Memphis in one we can only hope is as memorable as the game that didn't happen (but really did).

If you're still conscious at 11:30 Eastern, you can watch the final of the West regional of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Arizona State--presuming they knock off Texas State--will take on Cal State-Northridge or TCU in the final game of the day.

Here's a quick look at the non-marathon games slated for TV.

UConn should feature in the NIT North Region final which will air at 7 on the Big East Network and Full Court.
UNC Asheville at Tennessee (select FSN outlets/Full Court, 7)
Bowling Green at Xavier (FS Ohio [outside of Cavaliers' territory, 7:30)
Fairfield at Maryland (CSN Washington, 8)
UT-Martin at Missouri (FS Midwest/Full Court, 8)
Louisiana-Monroe at Oklahoma (Full Court, 8)
Fresno State at Northern Arizona in the West Coast Classic (UniversityHouse/FS Arizona/FCS Pacific, 8:30)
Columbia at DePaul (Lakeshore/SNY/Full Court, 9)
New Mexico at New Mexico State (Full Court, 9)

Visit Matt Sarz's College Sports on TV site for games telecast only locally or online.

Player List For Kings' Thursday Work-out Set

Ziller — Wed, 20 May 2009 22:39:50 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

Browse more photos »

Via a Kings press release:

Jrue Holiday, G, UCLA
Aaron Jackson, G, Duquesne
Josh Akognon, G, Marc Stein U
Brandon Ewing, G, Wyoming
Tremaine Townsend, F, CSU Northridge
John Bryant, C, Santa Clara

Holiday, obviously, is the prize here. I'm in the camp that definitely believes he'll be play at No. 4 but not at No. 23. Hyperstrong defenders with incredible lateral quickness are, um, great commodities, especially on a defensively deficient squad.

I know nothing about Jackson, Ewing and Townsend. Bryant and Akognon could be undrafted, too. (Of course, Patrick Ewing Jr. should have been undrafted ... )

The game that started the streak

Dancing Football — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:30:07 -0000

The 7 game win streak may have come to an end over the Huskies, but the Cougs still have one intact over their rival. Three wins in a row at Hec Ed.

The game that started the streak was the most surprising win of all, an early season Coug victory over a highly ranked UW team led by Brandon Roy.

This highlight is awesome. Look at the terrible jerseys, take a look at some of the lineups we had out there! Chris Henry, Antonio Chavers, and freshman Caleb Forrest on the court at the same time! Remember, Derrick Low was injured for this one. How on earth did we win? Josh Akognon and his 27 points.

Watch closely as Cowgill begs Akognon not to shoot the game winner, followed by Kyle doing what Kyle does best. This was a great game.

Akognon drains the 3... (via cougarfan25)

Catching up with Josh Akognon

Grady. — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:00:11 -0000

NBA Draft.net has an interesting interview with Akognon. Notable quotes regarding his time at WSU:

NBADraft.net: You began your college career with Washington State, what made you decide to transfer?

Josh Akognon: I’d say the tempo at Washington State, they average about 50 points per game. I just wanted to get out and play a little bit faster than that. Everything else around the program was great but I wanted to go back to the style I played in high school, and get the same notoriety so I decided to go back to that style.

NBADraft.net: Elaborate a little further on the differences between Fullerton State and Washington State both in terms of coaching style and off court?

Josh Akognon: The coaching styles are completely different. The mentalities are different. Washington State was defense, defense, defense. And in some ways it felt like if we never went down on the offensive end it would be ok because we would stop them every time. Here we just try to run them out of the gym and keep their percentages down. We know we’re gonna score so it’s all about just keeping their numbers (percentages) down. We try to score every time and then get them so that by the end they don’t have the energy to defend. When I first got here I was just blown away at how much energy was put on offense.

See? No hard feelings for him towards us, and vice versa.

By the way, NBADraft.net currently projects Akognon going in the second round, #56 overall to San Antonio. That seems about right.

I still don't get why Akognon doesn't think he could have been an offensive star here. Although that's a different story for a different day.

What to watch: 1/8/09

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:30:06 -0000

Minnesota at Iowa (7 p.m./ESPN2)

If Minnesota is a legit threat to the Big Ten crown, then this is one they win.

Drexel at VCU (7 p.m./ESPNU)

The Rams have been a bit of a disappointment, but Eric Maynor (23.1 ppg/5.8 apg) has not.

Utah State at Louisiana Tech (8 p.m./MASN/ESPN FullCourt/ESPN Plus)

Hey, we have your old football coach. The Aggies are solid, but why is this game on so many channels?

IPFW at Oral Roberts (8 p.m./FCS Central/ESPN FullCourt)

Two bad teams from one bad league.

Oregon at Arizona (8:30 p.m./FCS Pacific)

A battle of the two teams currently occupying the Pac-10 cellar.

Oregon State at Arizona State (10:30 p.m./FSN)

The smart money is probably on the team with James Harden.

Stanford at Washington (10:30 p.m./FCS Central)

Because you're awake and you always thought Lorenzo Romar was cute.

Cal State Fullerton at Cal-Poly (11 p.m./ESPNU)

This would be some solid pub for the Big West if it weren't a game featuring two of the three 0-2 squads in the league. The chance to see Josh Akognon makes this a better option than an old episode of Frazier if you're still up.