SB Nation - Chandler Rhoads

AE Men's Basketball Awards: Partin wins POY and shocks a few, especially UA fans

JoMoUnranked — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:36:43 -0000

The AE announced it's men's awards earlier this evening. Darryl Partin took home the POY Award, beating out Gerardo Suero for the leagues top honor. Many Great Danes fans will not be happy with the news. Suero finished better than Partin in almost every major statistical category. Suero is on of the Top Five scorers in the entire nation. However, Partin is also well deserving. He is ranked in the Top 20 in scoring nationally. He also was AE Player of the Week twice during the season. Both were the only unanimous First Team All-Conference selections.

Steve Pikiell took home Coach of the Year honors. Four McGlynn beat out Maine's Justin Edwards for Rookie of the Year. Stony Brook also took home the Defensive Player of the Year honors, as Tommy Brenton took home the award. Here is a breakdown of all the winners:

First Team All-Conference
Gerardo Suero, UAlbany
Darryl Partin, Boston U.
Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook
Bryan Dougher, Stony Brook
Matt Glass, Vermont

Second Team All-Conference
Mike Black, UAlbany
D.J. Irving, Boston U.
Gerald McLemore, Maine
Chase Plummer, UMBC
Alvin Abreu, New Hampshire

Check out the rest of the award winners after the jump

Third Team All-Conference
Logan Aronhalt, UAlbany
Andres Torres, Hartford
Alasdair Fraser, Maine
Dallis Joyner, Stony Brook
Brian Voelkel, Vermont

All-Rookie Team
Ben Dickinson, Binghamton
Mark Nwakamma, Hartford
Nate Sikma, Hartford
Justin Edwards, Maine
Four McGlynn, Vermont

All-Defensive Team
Patrick Hazel, Boston U.
Mike Allison, Maine
Chandler Rhoads, New Hampshire
Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook
Brian Voelkel, Vermont

Rookie of the Year - Four McGlynn, Vermont
Defensive Player of the Year - Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook
Kevin Roberson Player of the Year - Darryl Partin, Boston U.
Coach of the Year - Steve Pikiell, Stony Brook

Will The Iati Factor Be Enough? Previewing and Predicting UNH Wildcats vs. Albany Great Danes

TheMidRangeGame — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:00:23 -0000

On Saturday at 2:15, the Albany Great Danes and New Hampshire Wildcats should kick off the true start of the conference tournament in the 4 vs 5 game. On this weekend, mid-majors have the upper hand on major conferences. While a few teams fight for bubble position or seeding in the final games of the year in the ACC or Big East, the America East teams are fighting for their lives. The last 5 months? Meaningless.

The Wildcats were a X-factor team this season that finished with a 7-9 record in a very uneven season. They proved they have the talent to hang with the league's best with a win versus UVM at home and Boston University on the road -- both those victories are more impressive than any victory Albany, 9-7

Albany has the best offensive firepower in their D-1 history behind super-human scorer Gerardo Suero, but their defense has been absent nearly all season. Despite finishing in 4th place, Albany didn't notch a win against any of the 6 games against the top three teams, mostly because of defensive ineptitude. But as injuries derailed this team and threaten to topple the season, Albany rallied around the incomparable heart of Jacob Iati, who was inserted into the starting line-up. The 5'8 Iati has keyed a revival of effort on defense -- and on the way scored 42 points in the last 2 games (his game log is just ridiculous).

From Albany's KenPom Page:

Wed Jan 11

185

286

New Hampshire

W, 86-63

Home

11-7

3-1

Thu Feb 9

209

286

New Hampshire

L, 69-64

Away

15-12

7-6

Home court has been near indisputable in the AE, so it's quite odd that this series flopped this way. Albany behind their Big Three unleashed a world of hurt on New Hampshire after getting embarrassed by Stony Brook. As for the February 9th game, see the recap -- Alvin Abreu was incredible (4-6 from deep), Brian Benson dominated inside with an impressive double-double, and Ferg Myrick kicked in a strong game for good measure. The rest of the team only scored 10 points, however.

Here's how the teams stacked in conference play (their conference rank in parentheses)

Albany		New Hampshire
110.8 (1)	Offensive Efficiency	93.9 (6)
105.2 (7)	Defensive Efficiency	98.9 (4)
65.9 (3)	Tempo	64.1 (5)
51.2 (3)	Effective FG%	48.7 (6)
19.7 (3)	Turnover %	21.2 (8)
40.1 (1)	Off. Rebound %	25.7 (7)
36.5 (2)	FTA/FGA	33.4 (4)
100% (1)	IATI FACTOR	0% (T-9)

Albany will be able to score on New Hampshire, perhaps not at will, but enough. The question is whether UNH can run over Albany's defense. New Hampshire will have to hang onto the ball (defensively, a weakness from Albany) and get to the line against Albany's soft interior. As you'll notice, Albany's most distinct advantage is in IATI FACTOR.

AE Forecast:

Givens:

Suero & Benson: Gerardo Suero will score in the twenties and Brian Benson will abuse Albany' weak interior. Pencil him in for an easy double-double.

X Factors:

Alvin Abreu: The Joe Z Lifetime Shooter Award: He'll kill a team with his trigger finger when he's missing, but he can score in bunches when he's on. If he gets it going against Albany, they'll be in big trouble.

Konan & Myrick: One of these two forward will have to go off versus Albany for a victory.

Mike Black: Is he the best PG in the league? He sure as hell will have to play like one for Albany to make a run.

PREDICTION:

Albany 65-61. This is TOUGH. I've seen Albany struggle so profoundly, that the marginal upset seems very possible. Konan, Myrick, and even Chandler Rhoads eventually put up a game that makes them look all league. But Albany is focused thanks to Jake Iati -- and perhaps most importantly, his heavy minutes + Jayson Guerrier's heavy minutes = much smarter basketball. Fewer turnover, fewer blown defensive assignments. I think Mike Black has to play like a first-teamer for this to go Albany's way -- but you never know, Suero has proven again and again that he can do it on his own! IATI IATI OI OI

12/12 Forever the Optimist: UNH falls to Providence, but AE seeks SWEEP tonight

TheMidRangeGame — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:40:42 -0000

UNH 52 Providence 67

This game was close for most of the way, but the offense sputtered. I don't think UNH shoots 40% from three in warm-ups (I can guarantee you at that during the Albany game last year they couldn't), then why are they jacking up 29 threes??? UNH went 7-29 (24%) and Providence was 2-9 (22%). That's the stat of the game for me -- one team had the restraint to stop doing what they do poorly -- the other did not. KONAN: Patrick Konan is one to watch though, his 3-8 is respectable for a sturdy 6-6, but more interesting is that he's slowly becoming a focal point of this offense. If he's Herrion's #1 option and he's getting near 10 boards a game, expect him to be in the 1st team all-conference discussion. We haven't seen the new Chandler Rhoads that showed up in Canada, and I think UNH is desperate to have Ferg Myrick back at full strength. Konan, Myrick, Abreu, Bronner and even Rhoads all can take the ball to the hoop -- stop jacking up threes!!!! That is all.

And onto the games of note tonight -- guaranteed victories!

UVM vs. FDU

Eastern Illinois vs. Maine

Hartford at Marist

Keys to victory in 100 words: FDU, despite plenty of talent has been STOMPED by AE opponents and UVM will pick them apart. Gerald McLemore and Justin Edwards will overwhelm any subpar midmajor and Marist CANNOT HANDLE THE AMERICA EAST!! Fresh off a UNH loss, Hartford catches fire on the road and hits just enough threes to tip the Red Foxes.

America East Flailing: 0-3 Sunday caps off ugly weekend, record futility for SBU on offense

TheMidRangeGame — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:30:07 -0000

Stony Brook: Plenty of o's in the name, none on the court

As amazing as Justin Edwards was versus Notre Dame, that's how bad SBU's offense was. It was easy to forget for many just how horrendous this offense was last year when Bryan Dougher was the go-to guy before Chris Martin came back -- but I imagine this start has reminded them.

SBU scored 11 points in the first 9 minutes of the game on Sunday...so the score was 11-6.

They didn't score for the rest of the half.

It was 11-28 at half, and in probably the ugliest game of the year, BC ran away in a game that was never really close and certainly never entertaining: 66-61.

Stony Brook is not that good: Until the offense is fixed, this team isn't a threat to win an AE championship. Tommy Brenton is not the Tommy Brenton of old, Dougher's points all game in the second half, as did everything meaningful from Anthony Jackson. I'm not sure if Lenny Hayes even played (statsheet says 22 minutes, but I wouldn't take that on blind faith...).

Pikiell's stuck:He's got a lot of solid players, plenty of good 2nd or 3rd options, but nobody who can be the guy. I think he's got to stick with a potential scorer like Ron Bracey or Jackson and hope they can handle a lead role.

Vermont 58, Quinnipiac 62

Four! losses in a row. These are games that Vermont should win (or at least were winning earlier in year and have won for most of the last decade). You're going to see some changes, probably Josh Elbaum.

New Hampshire 52, Fairfield 58

~~Some~~ Most days Alvin Abreu shoots you in the foot. This was one of them. 2-11 from the field, 2-7 from three. Add 6 TOs from Chandler Rhoads and it's a little surprising the score was even that close.

America East Morning Report: Where is all began 11/11/11

TheMidRangeGame — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:00:38 -0000

The day began, as so many seasons do, with so much promise. Even the hope of a .500 conference day with a slate of challenging, but winnable day. The sun set on that delusion early as the league went 1-6, bolstered only by New Hampshire's win over D3 Suffolk which shouldn't even count as win.

The full day's action after the jump!

Hartford Hawks 50 Sacred Heart 70

The Connecticut 6 match-ups of the H(e)arts was the 1st game of Veteran's Day, but hardly a memorable start. More like what you'd expect from a team loaded with freshman and that relies very heavily on three, and doesn't shoot them all that well (5-30 3FG). On the bright side, our highly promoted point Andres Torres doled out plenty of assists (6) -- and we'll euphemistically say he managed to keep an even A/TO ratio (6 TO). And we also tabbed Wes Cole and Corban Wroe as freshman to watch (both logged 15 minutes) but by far the more impressive freshman, and starters apparently, were Yolonzo Moore II (before we get any further, YM TWO? Aren't you Junior until there's a 3rd? Does he have a kid? Very confident he will? Spend his summers on a yacht?) and 6'8 Jamie Schneck filled the massive hole in the middle. Moore led the team in scoring with 12 and Schneck was the only other player in double figures with 11 and 7 boards. And unfortunately have to mention Genesis Maciel scored a measly 6 points....

Albany Great Danes 56 Pittsburgh 89

An abundance of thoughts here. In the short version and happy version: 16. That's the number of free throws Gerardo Suero took as he relentlessly attacked the rim. He only made 9 and finished with 17 points overall, but the aggression was something Albany has desperately been missing, especially with Tim Ambrose taking what assertiveness the team had with him to Europia. Unlike Timmy, at 6'4 and bouncy, he's much more likely to draw charges than offensive fouls. However, the reality is he was often out of control, especially early, Logan Aronhalt couldn't hit a three (1-6) and seemed to turn it over every time he dribbled, Mike Black didn't have much of an impact until the game was out of reach, and Pitt was unbelievable on offense. One player to keep an eye on is Jayson Guerrier. At 6'4, he battled tough inside and was smooth on offense, calmly hitting a three or taking a dribble out of trouble. The team seemed to play it's best when he was on the floor as he providing a more restrained, but confident presence on the floor. Don't be surprised if this team goes very short for long stretches.

Boston University 74 Northeastern 82

Bean-town thriller ends in dramatic...missed free throws

Free throws, the lack of them in Boston's case, was the name of the game in the crosstown rivalry between BU and Northeastern. The two teams combined for 44 personal fouls. Northeastern would go 22 for 27 from the charity stripe. However, BU would nail down only 13 of 23. The result would be a 82-74 overtime loss for the Terriers -- especially two missed free throws from DJ which the whole game might have hinged on.

Darryl Partin started his 2011-12 campaign strong, nailing down 25 points. Matt Griffin also finished with 11 points, while D.J. Irving finished with 17 points. Irving was devastating late in the 1st half, forcing Northeastern to briefly throw a box-and-1 at him. Besides the free throws, rebounding was a major issue for the Terriers. Patrick Hazel and Dom Morris started off quickly, scoring buckets inside, but as the up tempo game settled, BU was hollow inside -- the Huskies were getting numerous second chance opportunities. Northeastern nailed down 48 rebounds, 18 of which were offensive, while BU walked away with only 27. However, Boston was aggresive on defense, forcing 17 Northeastern turnovers, but they couldn't hang on in No-Tee OT as the shirtless hoard of Northeastern's pulled their team to victory in hostile territory.

And make sure to check out orenskys' perspective from inside the building.

-JomoUnranked

Stony Brook 21, Indiana 20

Ok, perhaps that wasn't the final score. But Stony Brook started out on fire, led by 7 quick points by Anthony Jackson off the bench. The fight, however, didn't last long. The Hoosiers exploded near the end of the half and never looked back. The Seawolves were outscored 51 to 38 in the second half and fell to Indiana 96-66 in Bloomington.

Tommy Brenton was all but shutdown, scoring only two points and grabbing five rebounds -- almost all coming in the 1st half. Anthony Jackson led the Seawolves with 14 points on 2-3 shooting from deep and Dallis Joyner's ten points also contributed to the early surge. And don't sleep on Al Rapier. He finished with 9 points and four offensive rebounds.

The Seawolves finished shooting over 40% from the field. However, they were terrible from three-point range, nailing only 5 of 20 from outside. Combined with a defense that allowed Indiana to shoot 65% from the field, the game was over real quick coming out of the half.

-JomoUnranked

UMBC 45, UPenn 59

UMBC can't score...YA DON'T SAY!

A big donut from three point range, 20 turnovers and 33% shooting was all she wrote for the Retrievers. CDLR sat out the game with an injury and the result was a UPenn win 59-45. Chase Plummer was the only Retriever to show up. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks (unfortunately he also tabulated six turnovers). The closest Retriever to Plummer in points was Jamar Wertz...with six. Brian Neller's 0-6 from three point land didn't make matters any easier. Retrievers have St. John's on Sunday. Start praying now.

-JomoUnranked

New Hampshire 85, Suffolk University 64

New Hampshire can score...YA DON'T SAY!

O, it was against Suffolk U? Well, nothing like a victory over a D-III school to salvage the night for the AE. Four players finished in double-figures. Brian Benson finished with a superb double-double (17 points and 16 rebounds). Most notable from this game was that Ferg Myrick did not return and that Chandler Rhoads might actually be a player if he keeps up this hot shooting: 3-4 from three.

Boston College on Monday for the Wildcats. I will be a little more impressed if they win that game.

-JomoUnranked

New Hampshire Wildcats: Strong Defense + Any Offense = Dark Horse?

JoMoUnranked — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:00:15 -0000

Last Season: 12-18, 6-10, lost in first round of AE Tournament to Boston University.

Head Coach: Bill Herrion

Key Losses: Tyrone Conley, Dane DiLiegro, DeAndray Buckley, James Valladares

Newcomers: Garrett Jones, Tommy McDonnell, Patrick Konan, Jeron Trotman

Projected Line-up:

G: Alvin Abreu, Sr..

G: Chandler Rhoads, Jr.

F: Ferg Myrick, Jr.

F: Patrick Konan, So.

F: Brian Benson, Sr.

Bench: Garrett Jones, Fr; Ryan Herrion, Jr; Tommy McDonnell, Fr; Jordan Bronner, So. ; Scott Morris, So; Kazadi Nyanguila, C; Chris Matagrano, Jr; Jeron Trotman, Jr

A Look Back:

Injuries did in UNH early. Alvin Abreu was done after two games. 12 games later, their All-Rookie Ferg Myrick went down with an injury. That was basically all she wrote for the Wildcats. However, UNH did come out of the gate quickly. They started the season 5-2, almost pulling the major upset against UConn, losing only 62-55. UNH played opponents very close, with six of their first seven games being decided by 10 points or less (four games by five points or less, in which they went 3-1). However, they would go 1-8 in their next nine games, which sunk the season. However, despite everything, they were able to play solid defense, as they ranked 18^th nationally in scoring defense.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes:

The Wildcats will need to keep all these things from snapping and tearing. They return two of their best players from knee injuries. If they can avoid the injury bug (which is impossible for most teams, so at least minimize the damage), UNH has the ability to be a sleeper in the conference. If Herrion can work with a healthy team (a talented one as well), watch out America East.

More on the Wildcats after the jump

The Konan Show:

Patrick Konan, a 6'5 sophomore forward, transferred in from Liberty, where he was one of the better offensive rebounders in the country, and now he's drawing rave reviews from OBW after a year sitting out. This team will depend on their defensive prowess -- and Konan will give them a big boost. If the wheels start turning on offense, he could easily be the teams best player.

A Good Flat-top is Hard to Find:

Welcome to the America East, Jeron Trotman!
via image.cdnl3.xosnetwork.com (unhwildcats.com)

Defense wins Championships:

You have heard the saying before, and we know Herrion teams can do it. They have the capability to shut down any offense in the AE. Chandler Rhoads is an All-Defensive Player and the springy Brian Benson cleans up on the glass and is one of the best shot blockers in the league. UNH was solid on the outside, forcing teams to try and beat them down low. There were only 157 three-point attempts against the Wildcats last season, the lowest in the conference. If UNH can shut down the outside again, adding both Benson and Konan in the paint, it could mean even more difficult times for teams to score on the Wildcats. They were the fourth best defense in the league last season -- and will need to make sure that doesn't suffer when offensive minded Abreu and Myrick return.

And your offense probably shouldn't be terrible if you hope to win games...:

It seems UNH isn't always aware the scoring is the primary objective of basketball. They finished dead last in the AE and were among the 25 worst offensive teams in the country last season. They scored nearly 100 points less than Hartford, the second worst scoring team last season (58.3 points per game average). Abreu and Myrick return and add offensive capability -- but the problem is both are gunners who don't always score efficiently. This team desperately needs Chandler Rhoads (or Bronner) to play a true point guard and orchestrate this offense.

Worst Case:

A major injury from a key contributor takes place. Abreu doesn’t find his A-game from the past and Myrick doesn’t return as a force in the paint. No one steps up as the secondary scorer and offensive woes continue. UNH fans start questioning and asking, "Is Herrion worth the wait anymore?"

Best Case:

The Dark Horse of the America East. They have and can play this roll. They have all the talent and solid mix of veterans and new comers. The offensive skill that this team has finally clicks with the defensive game Herrion loves to play. They win 3 out of 4 in the mid-January stretch against UAlbany, Vermont, Stony Brook and Boston and I go around telling everyone "TOLD YA!"

The Sauer's Watch List: Preseason Top Players List 25-11

TheMidRangeGame — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:01:29 -0000

Everybody loves a good list. We've listed a group of breakout players, but it was broken up so it didn't quite have that list frenzy you get from using completely subjective comparisons to slot people in order.

This, however, is the definitive America East Preseason Top Players list -- and I'm naming it after Albany coaching Legend Doc Sauers because it mirrors the Naismith watch list -- no freshman (I might bend that rule next year when twitter phenom Reece Watson enters the league). 25-11, here we go:

25. Kyrie Sutton, Binghamton: This is a mystery to me. Can anyone explain this? He's 6'9, he's the most talented kid on a depleted team, he has flashes of brilliance, and yet he can't earn consistent minutes. He's a good rebounder, an a efficient and fairly high volume offensive threat – Macon needs to give this kid some slack. He's steadily improved his offensive rating every year (a five point jump to 99 last year). There's no reason he shouldn't be one of the better big men in the America East.

24. Chandler Rhoads, New Hampshire: This should be Alvin Abreu, but I'll believe a full healthy season when I see it. Rhoads is a high volume guy (24.5 % Poss in league play last year, 8^th among returners) with a solid A/T ratio – which is even more impressive because no one on UNH could score last year. At 6-4, he has the size advantage to bully AE guards and make up for his lack of foot speed – but an outpour of offensive in Canada forced my hand to include Rhoads in here. He scored in the 30s on back to back night and most importantly, shot very well from three (9-16 over four games)– something he was incapable of doing last year (a brutal 28% from 3).

23. Anthony Jackson, Stony Brook: SBU has a litany of good young players with potential – but Johnson is the only one who fits a desperate need: dribble penetration. If Chris Martin did anything last season, he proved that the key to unleashing the offensive weapons on the Seawolves is getting into the lane. Dougher, Hayes, Rouse – if you get these guys the ball on the perimeter with a decent look, you're probably going to tally up an assist. If Johnson can separate himself from the crowd, his high usage (25 %Poss in conference play) and 7^th best assist percent in the league (25.2 % in conference play) make him the ideal candidate to run the show.

22. Luke Apfeld, Vermont: He's lean and far too bouncy for a big man of his height in the America East. He's going to make a difference doing the dirty work on both ends – if he stays healthy. His full breakout profile is here.

21. Chase Plummer, UMBC: Perhaps the single bright spot for UMBC on defense all season was that Plummer managed to clock in an impressive Stl % (3.6, 76^th best in the nation). But it's offense were Plummer will need to break out, after a fast start of 4 straight double digit scoring games, he managed only six for the rest of the season and slumped to 6.7 PPG. That said, he's clearly in line to assume the offensive mantle with CDLR steps aside – and lord knows CDLR needs the help now. A sturdy 6'6 player who doesn't even pretend to be a three point shooter (nine 3FGA), but he draws fouls at a high rate, rebounds well especially on the offensive glass and isn't gun shy – at 26 %Poss, he's the second most aggressive option the Retrievers have. He'll need to improve his 84 O Rtg, but UMBC doesn't have the luxury of bringing him along slowly.

As promised, it continues!

20. Raheem Singleton, Maine: Singleton was at the helm of a transformation that saw Maine shoot to top of the America East in offense (the corresponding slide in defense doomed the season, however). A true point guard, he controlled the ball while he was on the floor (team high 26% poss), but with varied success. He's one of the top assist men in the league (54th best assist rate in the country) and he gets to the free throw line frequently, so he's not without talent. One of the top questions heading into the season is can Raheem orchestrate Maine's offensive options (McLemore, Fraser and a number of talented 6'3 freshman) and play himself onto an All-AE team?

19. Ferg Myrick, New Hampshire: A poor man's John Holland. He's a high usage, athletic, oversized wing who can draw fouls and isn't afraid to shoot from deep. Check the numbers:

Ferg: 6'6 200, 30.4 %Poss, 5.3 Foul Draw/40 minutes 35 % from three.

Holland 6'5 205 30.5 % Poss 5.8 FD/40 33% 3PT

But there's a reason Ferg's no John Holland, his 84.8 O Rtg (even though he managed to lead UNH in scoring with 12.1 ppg) is far lower than Holland's 106 (which was well below his previous seasons when he had Corey Lowe drawing significant attention). The big number that stands out is that Holland was 86% from the line while Myrick, who's also capable of drawing fouls, shot only 57% – if Ferg continues to give up that many free points at the line, he may never get over the hump and be a true leading man. There's not many people in the AE equipped to stop a 6'6 swingman who is athletic enough to get to the hoop and make shots (though his line-drive jumper is less than ideal), but he wasn't cleared to play on the teams Canadian trip so health is certainly still an issue.

18. Luke Devlin, UAlbany: The most athletically limited kid on the Great Danes, but he's tough as they come. Over the course of the year Luke was stitched up mid-game, received two blacks eyes at once and a went through constant pounding down low, and he somehow got stronger as the year went on. His absolute job security last season allowed him get a ton of run and, instead of wearing down as I feared, he improved his play as he managed to stay on the court for longer stretches. His stretch of double-doubles to close out the year, comprised mostly of sheer will on the glass and a sprinkling of three pointers, made him an obvious All-Rookie choice, and he arguably would've captured ROY if not for Voelkel. The darker side (and why he's so low in the rankings): he had minor back surgery over the summer and that's not something you just bounce back from. Also, while he managed to score garbage points of his offensive rebounds, he didn't show much ability in the post (not sure the last Great Dane who has...) and it's reasonable to wonder if he's already hit his ceiling on offense.

17. Dallis Joyner, Stony Brook: There is an abyss in the middle of most America East defenses, and Joyner should have a mismatch most conference game. He had an off-year last season and he's an awful free throw shooter, but he gets it done on the offensive glass, can throw down with the best of them in the league – and will probably be the single biggest beneficiary of Brenton's return. Brenton's a sneaky good assist man and expect the Dallis Joyner highlight reel dunk production to return to 09-10 levels. If he struggles early, however, he'll be hearing footsteps from Anthony Mayo and Eric McAlister.

16.Patrick Hazel, Boston: Exactly the type of player you want anchoring your defense in the America East. He's undersized at 6'6, but he has great bounce and is the league's best shot blocker (41^st nationally). You don't want to ask him to create on offense, but with D.J. Irving and co. he won't have to.

15. Brian Benson, New Hampshire: Benson's game is about as one dimensional as it comes – but what he does, he does absurdly well. The definition of springy, he uses high energy play to clean up on the glass (8.2 RPG and the sixth (!!) best defensive rebounding pct int the country). I wouldn't trust him to a score from more than a few feet away from the basket, but he was a big reason UNH had one of the best defensive teams in the league last year – with Dane DiLiegro out of the way, he'll have to anchor the defense himself.

14. Genesis Maciel, Hartford: This young man (with the best beard in the league -- that's a big boost in the rankings) looked unstoppable for short stretches against the Danes last year and finished the season strong – leading the Hawks with 19 points in their tournament upset over Maine. He's a big man who lingers too much on the perimeter and loves to shoot threes – and with Morgan Sabia and Joe Zeglinski departed, the Hawks are going to be dying for someone to take an outrageous amount of low percentage threes. In all seriousness, there are going to be shots to go around in Coach Gallagher's uptempo, three point heavy offense, and Maciel, especially when he gets going, is going to demand a lot of them. If things break even mildly well for Hartford this season, expect Genesis (on BIAH's "All-Bible" Name Team) to be high in the scoring ranks.

13. Andres Torres, Hartford: If healthy, a very good chance he'll be a more likeable CDLR (the Hawks should actually put up some effort on defense). See our breakout player profile on him here.

12. Bryan Dougher, Stony Brook: Do-er has been playing like a savvy vet for Stony Brook for years now (an image not unaided by his appearance similar to middle aged school teacher), but he's not an all-conference pick in my book. He's a great spot up shooter, but frankly, he'll be best served if SBU asks him to do less. Injuries forced him to take a lead role last year and his play suffered because of oversized responsibility: his % possessions rose from 20 to 24 while his O Rtg plummeted from 117 to 97. It took Chris Martin's return for the season to take off because Do-er was stretched beyond his capabilities. I should add that I was impressed by defensive pressure, especially his quick hands – he was able to give the more athletic Mike Black fits.

11. Mike Black, UAlbany: Last year, Black was the most valuable player on the Great Danes... but that doesn't make him the best. When Black and his point guard play went down with an injury last year, the Danes fell apart apart; another injury could thrash the Danes' title hopes for this year (although a strong Canadian showing by 6'4 Aussie Peter Hooley gives hope of a dependable fall back plan). If he can duplicate the aggression and finesse he played with in the last two games of the regular season (18 & 26 points), he could force his way into the 1^st team or even POY discussion. He's one of the most accurate three point shooters in the league (43%), but despite often being indispensable for the turnover prone Danes, he is not being an elite distributor. He'll have plenty off tools around him and it's time for him to finally tip his A/TO ratio to over 1 (and stay healthy).

Check back Monday (suspense building...) for 10-1!

2011-12 Preview Series: New Hampshire Wildcats

JWhelan — Sat, 07 May 2011 14:59:07 -0000

The six years of the Bill Herrion era have hardly featured much degree of variance. New Hampshire has won as few as nine games and as many as 14, going 3-6 in the America East in that stretch, never advancing beyond the second round. Is this the season the Wildcats make the jump and break .500 for the first time since 1995 and just the second time in the last 25 years? Barring a sudden offensive revelation, probably not.

UNH certainly brings some pieces to the table, including senior Alvin Abreu who is back after receiving a medical redshirt last season, but much as was the case last season, offensive ineptitude will be this teams undoing. The 'Cats simply struggle too much shooting the basketball to be taken seriously as an early season threat, but with a relatively experienced group returning perhaps New Hampshire catches fire in conference play when it counts the most.

Biggest Storyline

The health of Abreu will be paramount to whatever degree of success New Hampshire achieves this season. With the senior guard in good health entering the 2010-11 season UNH was ranked 4th in the pre-season conference rankings - the outcome following his injury was clearly in stark contrast. The All-Conference selection will provide a solid scoring punch if he has fully recovered from the torn acl he suffered after just two games last season. This isn't to say Abreu can carry this team to a conference championship, but he can keep them from dwelling in the basement.

What's Lost

The graduation of Tyrone Conley and Dane Diliegro are undoubtedly the blows that hurt the most, as the Wildcats will be without their leading scorer and second leading rebounder from a season ago. Conley earned All-America East second team honors after averaging over 15 points per game and was the team's most trigger happy perimeter shooter, hoisting nearly eight three-pointers per game (but hitting just 33%). Diliegro bulled his way to more than eight points and eight rebounds per game last season to his 6-foot-9, 240-pound frame. The Massachusetts native had seven double-doubles as a senior, including a pair of 20-10 games against Brown and UMBC. Big man James Valladares is also moving on, though he wasn't a significant contributor to the offense.

Team Breakdown

Of the players returning next season there is a good semblance of balance. Of course we have to keep in mind the pie chart will look significantly different with Abreu back in uniform, expect his usage rate to be in the vicinity of 20% which was the case during his junior season.

As we've already mentioned this is not a strong offensive team. UNH was dead last in the America East in offensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage, three-point shooting, free throw shooting and seventh in two-point field goal percentage. They shot just 28.3% on all jumper attempts last season, were well below average from every spot on the floor and ranked in the bottom half nationally in scoring efficiency for every play-type. This isn't meant to pick on the Wildcats, it's stating a truth that is readily apparent upon watching them play - they can't shoot. How else do you explain the team with the lowest turnover rate in the conference struggling so mightily?

In order to a find a returning player with an above average scoring efficiency we have to go back to the 2009-10 season when Abreu was injury free. He was at his best in spot-up situations, ranking in the top one-third nationally with an average of over .96 points per game with an adjusted field goal percentage of nearly 50. Rather than operating as a catch and shoot player though, the 6-foot-2 guard is at his best operating off the dribble, connecting on 42% of his dribble jumpers out of this play-type. He proved just as capable when taking the basketball all the way to the rim, utilizing his quickness and handles to break down defenders. Let's look at a simple but potent example of the kind of ability Abreu brings as the Wildcats best scoring option.

With the ball on the nearside wing, Abreu sets up just to the right of the top of the arc looking for the basketball with no one really marking him up at this point.

Once he catches the ball Abreu makes a sharp cut to his left, turns the inside shoulder and beats his defender off the dribble and finishes amidst a swirling defense in the lane. Again, this is hardly a complex play by any means, but will be quite prevalent in the Wildcats offense this season as their senior guard has a nice ability to score out of these kinds of basic sets.

The rest of the offense as it breaks down right now is very much a series of question makes based on underwhelming performances last season. Chandler Rhoads emerged as a promising young player, earning All-Rookie honors, but was wildly inefficient with the basketball, ranking in the bottom one-fifth nationally in scoring efficiency. For that matter, no returning player outside of Abreu ranks in the top 50% of returning players nationally in scoring efficiency - something that clearly has to change in 2012 in order for UNH to contend.

Luckily for the 'Cats, what they lack in scoring prowess, that make up for at the defensive end of the floor. New Hampshire ranked four in the conference in overall defensive efficiency, but managed to do very well in a few specific regards. They chase opposing teams off the three-point line, limiting attempts from this range, crash the boards fairly hard and believe it or not, defend mid-range shooters better than almost any team in the country (they rank in the 99th percentile here). Rhoads, Ferg Myrick, DeAndray Buckley and Scott Morris all ranked very highly in individual defensive efficiency, which bodes well for the future that UNH features such a young core of solid defenders.

Ultimately, New Hampshire is looking at a year in the bottom half of the America East. This is a young team and until proven otherwise, a group that simply isn't very good at scoring the basketball. Given a year or two for some of these younger pieces to develop however and the Wildcats could - big emphasis on that word - find themselves competing for a top four seed in the conference tournament.