SB Nation - Centenary Gentlemen

RPI WATCH: 12/20/09

BracketCat — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:00:18 -0000

Well, the Cats did what they needed to do, and survived to fight another day as Upset Saturday claimed numerous other victims.

In a fair world, the AP Top 15 that comes out tomorrow would look something like this:

Texas (10-0)
Kansas (10-0)
Kentucky (11-0)
Purdue (10-0)
Syracuse (11-0)
West Virginia (8-0)
Duke (9-1)
Villanova (10-1)
Michigan State (9-2)
Connecticut (7-2)
Kansas State (10-1)
Georgetown (8-1)
Ohio State (9-2)
New Mexico (12-0)
Ole Miss (10-1)

It will be interesting to see what the pollsters, in all their wisdom, come up with.

P.S. Did I call that Wichita State upset or what? Booyah!

Current Kansas State AP Ranking = 17

Current Kansas State Record = 10-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 1

Current Kansas State SOS = 3

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton, IUPUI, Xavier, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = Washington State, Alabama

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (7-2, 1-1) | RPI = 45
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146
No. 20 Ole Miss (10-1) | RPI = 24: Win over Centenary (108-64)
Dayton (8-2) | RPI = 31: Win over Presbyterian (71-52)
IUPUI (9-3, 2-0) | RPI = 50: Win over Duquesne (73-64)
No. 14* FHSU (8-1)
Washington State (9-2) | RPI = 83: Win over Portland State (93-69)
Xavier (6-4) | RPI = 47: Loss at No. 21 Butler (69-68)
UNLV (10-1) | RPI = 34: Win over SCUU (88-58)
Alabama (7-4) | RPI = 92: Loss to No. 17 Kansas State (87-74)
UAPB (0-9) | RPI = 260: Loss at Missouri (88-70)
Cleveland State (4-8, 0-2) | RPI = 247: Loss to No. 6 West Virginia (80-78)
South Dakota (6-4) | RPI = 139
Missouri (7-3) | RPI = 179: Win over UAPB (88-70)
No. 23 Texas A&M (9-2) | RPI = 15: Win over The Citadel (71-50)
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (10-0) | RPI = 6: Win over No. 10 North Carolina (103-90)
Oklahoma State (9-1) | RPI = 42
Baylor (8-1) | RPI = 72
No. 1 Kansas (10-0) | RPI = 20: Win over Michigan (75-64)
Nebraska (8-2) | RPI = 163: Win over Jackson State (57-41)
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (8-3) | RPI = 117: Win over Northern Colorado (80-79)
No. 16 Texas Tech (9-1) | RPI = 33: Loss at Wichita State (85-83)

*Division II Top 25

RPI WATCH: 12/10/09

BracketCat — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:00:16 -0000

WTF, Mizzou?

Other than that clunker, our other opponents performed pretty much as expected Wednesday night — which mostly was positive for us, as evidenced by our eye-popping, single-digit numbers.

Hit the jump to see how they all did.

Current Kansas State Record = 8-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 8

Current Kansas State SOS = 9

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI, Xavier

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = none

Loyola (5-2, 1-1) | RPI = 30
Western Illinois (4-5, 0-2) | RPI = 307: Win over Culver-Stockton (73-36)
Boston (3-6) | RPI = 156
Ole Miss (7-1) | RPI = 18
Dayton (6-2) | RPI = 36
IUPUI (7-3, 2-0) | RPI = 60: Loss at Notre Dame (93-70)
FHSU (7-1): Win over Northwest Missouri State (78-66)
Washington State (7-2) | RPI = 151: Win over Idaho (76-64)
Xavier (5-3) | RPI = 68
No. 24 UNLV (7-0) | RPI = 12
Alabama (6-2) | RPI = 82
UAPB (0-6) | RPI = 273
Cleveland State (3-6, 0-2) | RPI = 222
South Dakota (5-3) | RPI = 143
Missouri (5-3) | RPI = 99: Loss at Oral Roberts (60-59)
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-1) | RPI = 21
Colorado (6-3) | RPI = 249
No. 2 Texas (7-0) | RPI = 3
Oklahoma State (7-1) | RPI = 26
Baylor (7-1) | RPI = 105
No. 1 Kansas (8-0) | RPI = 45: Win over Radford (99-64)
Nebraska (5-2) | RPI = 112
Iowa State (6-3) | RPI = 187
Oklahoma (6-3) | RPI = 210: Win over Centenary (86-62)
No. 23 Texas Tech (9-0) | RPI = 18

Crocker And The Gentlemen - Tony Goes Off On Centenary!

ccmachine — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:41:07 -0000

Tony Crocker had 29 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday night against Centenary, in the first half! Scoring 11 of the team's first 13 points Crocker helped Oklahoma jump out to a 13-0 lead over the Gentlemen and for the fourth game in a row the Sooners cruised to a double digit victory.

Crocker was joined by teammate Tiny Gallon in recording a double-double as Oklahoma's big man finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Other than Crocker (11-19) and Gallon (7-11) the Sooners had a poor shooting night. As a team OU shot 34-73 from the floor (46.6%) and 10-30 from three point range (33.3%). Tommy Mason-Griffin (4-9), Willie Warren (4-13) and Cade Davis (0-7) all struggled from the floor making Crocker's performance all the more significant.

"(Tony) Crocker had a great first half. It’s one of the best performances I’ve ever seen live. He was just in one of those zones. He is a streaky shooter and earlier this morning in shootaround I watched him make about 15 in a row. The whole time he was saying ‘I don’t think I can miss.’ I guess it carried over to tonight. One of the things I liked was that all of his shots early came within the flow of the offense. He was terrific." - Jeff Capel

With guys like Warren and Gallon who can have big nights and take over games the Sooners need a third option to keep defenses from being able to shutdown all scoring options. You may be able to stop one guy from killing you, if you're good you can focus on two scorers but it's extremely difficult to stop three. Crocker is now officially the x-factor for the Sooners which means that there will be nights where OU will live or die based on how he plays. Last night was a night where the thrived on Crocker's ability to score when his teammates couldn't.

In the pregame post I said that the two things the Sooners would need to do to secure a win was dominate the boards and play their roles within the offense. OU had a 49-33 rebounding advantage which led to 15 second chance points and the team relied on the hot shooter to lead them to a win.

I don't think that anyone would say that this is Crocker's team. Willie Warren is still the most dangerous scoring threat the Sooners have but on a night where his shots weren't falling, (0-6) from three-point range, he relied on someone else to spark the team. That's learning your place and in my opinion shows the kind of leadership the team was missing earlier in the season.

Nailing 7 three-pointers helped Crocker score a career high 33 points and his 13 rebounds provided his second double-double of the season. If all that wasn't enough he also had three blocked shots to help Oklahoma's defensive effort of holding Centenary to 37% shooting from the floor.

Sooners Host Centenary Tonight At LNC - A Look At The Gentlemen

ccmachine — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:00:42 -0000

More photos » by ALONZO ADAMS - AP

Browse more photos »

With wins over Nichols State, Arkansas and Arizona the Oklahoma men's basketball team has won three in a row and will be looking to extend their streak to four tonight against the Centenary Gentlemen of the Summit Conference, the same conference Oral Roberts plays in.

Coming off of an 84-83 loss to UMKC on Saturday the Gentlemen have lost two of their last three games. With a 4-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the conference Centenary is currently tied for fourth in their conference.

The Gentlemen run a four guard lineup with sophomore David Perez leading the way with 22 points per game. He's an average shooter 44% from the floor and 33% from three point range. Where he's most dangerous is from the charity stripe where he sinks 94% of his shots.

Joining Perez as the only other player scoring in double figures is junior guard Roman Tubner (17 PPG). Still not a strong shooter, 45% from the floor and 21% from three point range, Tubner just gets the job done when it comes to scoring.

Senior forward Jerrald Bonham is Centenary's man on the glass averaging 5.6 boards and 8.7 points per game. He may have a struggle with Tiny Gallon though as he gives up 80 pounds to the Oklahoma freshman. As a team the Gents only shoot 45% from the floor and they are fairly string on the offensive glass grabbing 16 offensive rebounds per game. That's why this match up of Gallon vs. Bonham becomes so crucial because there will be lots of shots coming off the rim tonight.

Oklahoma should have the athletes to run over and around the Gentlemen but a victory is going to depend largely on two things. 1) Understanding their role on the team. This has been much improved over the last two games and needs to continue for the team to work as one cohesive unit. 2) Rebounds! Again, there are going to be a lot of boards to be scooped up tonight and the Sooners must be looking for second chance points and to limit Centenary's trips down the floor to just one shot.

BtB 2009-10 Summit League Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:03:07 -0000

Much like the other two one bid leagues I've covered so far in this series of season previews, the America East and Patriot League, the Summit League is likely to feature a new champion in 2009-10 thanks to significant losses for the defending champion. Last March, North Dakota State, a team led by a core group of fifth-year seniors who led their team an NCAA berth in their first year of eligibility, caused an outbreak of Bison Fever in the upper Midwest. Now that Summit League MVP Ben Woodside (23.2 ppg, 6.2 apg), first-teamer Brett Winkelman (18.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg), Mike Nelson (11.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Lucas Moorman (4.5 ppg, 4 rpg) have graduated, Saul Phillips has some holes to plug to make his team a contender again.

In offseason news, the conference's membership, which has settled into a level of stability that's rare for it's history, was the dominant topic. The Summit League will indeed experience some change in the coming seasons. South Dakota will leave the fledgling Great West and join the conference in 2011-12. The Coyotes won't be eligible for the league championship until the next season, however, as that's when their transition into Division I ends. North Dakota had hoped to join the other three Dakota state schools and join the league's as its 12th member, but as I explained in this post, the conference won't look at them until they resolve the controversy surrounding their Fighting Sioux nickname, a topic that won't be resolved until the end of this month.

North Dakota's chances at received a further boost later in the offseason, as there will be an additional opening. Centenary, long the league's hoops doormat and a fringe member geographically, decided to in July to de-emphasize athletics and drop to Division III, effective with the 2011-12 academic year. They'll continue to compete in the conference before they leave D-I.

No matter the membership, the Summit typically a competitive league, and with such a void at the top, it should be a epic tussle for the championship this season. More on each team after the jump.

Here are my picks for the 2009-10 Summit League season, presented in reverse order.

Centenary (last NCAA: None) The Gents begin the first of two lame duck years in the conference with little to play for. They're already banned from the postseason for APR shortcomings. Then, Summit League Defensive Player of the Year decided that he'd had enough and transferred to Pittsburgh. With only one returning starter, 6-8 F Jerrald Bonham (2.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and nowhere to really go, second year head coach Greg Gary has one of the most unenviable jobs in college sports.

Western Illinois (last NCAA: None) The Leathernecks went 9-20 a year ago, while not even averaging 60 points a game. Add in the fact that WIU's two leading scorers from last season, David DuBois and Josh Rivers, graduated, and it could be an ugly year in Macomb. Guards David Nurse (8.4 ppg) and Ceola Clark (7.7 ppg) will have to lead the way offensively, while the frontcourt is rather thin. The one reason to pay attention to the Leathernecks this season is that Emeka Okafor, Jr. may feature more in that frontcourt. No, he's not the former UConn star's son, but he is a cousin.

UMKC (last NCAA: None) The Kangaroos lost two very productive starters, swingman Dane Brumagin (15.3 ppg) and guard Reggie Hamilton (12 ppg), but the three returning starters, G Bakari Lewis (10.8 ppg), F Spencer Johnson (10.7 ppg), and F Latreze Mushatt (9.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg) are a serviceable group. Coach Matt Brown's group of newcomers could provide a real boost, however. They include Jay Couisnard, a 6-6 F who will be eligible after transferring from Evansville; Max Rockmann, a 6-6 German forward; and 6-7 F/C Kirk Korver, youngest brother of former Creighton star and NBAer, Kyle.

IPFW (last NCAA: None) Dane Fife is only 30, but is entering his fifth season in charge of the Mastodons. His team could be poised for a breakout year, as IPFW returns four starters and the defending Summit League Sixth Man of the Year, Deilvez Yearby (9.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg). If guard Ben Botts (11.3 ppg) can score and Yearby and the 6-10 Trey McCorkle can take care of things inside, the Mastodons could do well during conference play. A non-conference slate featuring Gonzaga, Michigan State, Washington State, and Wisconsin will provide plenty of tests beforehand.

North Dakota State (last NCAA: 2009) Earlier, I talked about everything the Bison lost after last year's championship. 6-7 F Michael Tveidt (9.8 ppg, 44.9% on 3-pointers) is the lone returning starter. Last year's bench players, led by F Dejuan Flowers (3.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and G Josh Vaughan (2.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg), will have to step it up for there to be any chance at a repeat. If you're looking for someone who could replace Ben Woodside, pay attention to freshman G Mike Felt, who was second-team all-Minnesota last year, averaging 30.3 points per game.

Southern Utah (last NCAA: 2001) Head coach Roger Reid brought in a whole bunch of recruits to support all-Summit League selection Davis Baker (17.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg). The newcomers, led by 6-10 Australian Matt Hodgson and 6-11 Canadian Dallin Bachynski, will be expected to fill the void left by the graduation of F Tyler Quinney (13.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and C John Clifford (9.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg). Matt Massey, a 6-9 Australian transfer from Nova Southeastern, will also see significant time after sitting out last season.

Oral Roberts (last NCAA: 2008) The Golden Eagles' run atop the Summit League ended at the hands of South Dakota State in the first round of last year's conference tournament. They'll have a hard time getting back, as they lost three starters, including the team's two leading scorers, Robert Jarvis and Marcus Lewis. The frontcourt should in be good shape, thanks to the return of 6-9 Kevin Ford (9.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and 6-6 Dominique Morrison (9.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and the arrival of JC transfers Michael Craion and Javier Nasarre. In the backcourt, Kyron Stokes (7 ppg) will have to prove he's recovered from ankle surgery and Southeast Missouri transfer Rod Pearson has to show he's ready to take over the offense from the graduated Kelvin Sango.

IUPUI (last NCAA: 2003) The Jaguars have recorded a .500 mark or better in the Summit League for seven straight years. With four starters returning off last year's squad that got better as the year went on, they should make it eight. Robert Glenn (14.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) was the conference's Newcomer of the Year last season, and he'll be a serious contender for Player of the Year honors this season. Frontcourt-mate Alex Young (11.0 ppg) was the only other Jaguar to average in double-figures, but three-point sharpshooter Leroy Nobles (9.9 ppg, 41.7% from 3) and Jon Avery (9.1 ppg) should join the club this season. Billy Pettiford, a 6-7 senior F who averaged a bit more than 5 points and 5 boards a game, could be a factor too, if he performs more consistently.

South Dakota State (last NCAA: None) The Jackrabbits could very well replace their Northern rivals at the top of the league this season, as they can follow a similar formula. SDSU returns all five starters, and four top-10 scorers. 6-1 Garrett Callahan (15.8 ppg) and Clint Sargent (14.1 ppg) will anchor the backcourt. Callahan's brother, Griffan also features on the roster, as he averaged 5.4 points and 3 boards a game last season. Meanwhile, Anthony Cordova (12 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Kai Williams (9.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg) are two players who can be counted on to do the hard work inside. The Jackrabbits also have the advantage of having the conference tournament in their backyard, as Sioux Falls is only an hour south of Brookings on I-29.

Oakland (last NCAA: 2005) Last March, the Grizzlies very nearly eradicated Bison Fever before it ever reached the Metrodome. They should be able to finish the job this season thanks to an excellent crop of returnees. 6-11 C Keith Benson, the league leader in blocks (2.4 bpg) and field goal percentage (62.2 %) and second-leading rebounder in the Summit (7.8 rpg) is back. Point guard Johnathon Jones, the country's best assist man (8.1 apg), is back too. So is Derick Nelson, who redshirted last season after a foot injury. The 6-5 PF averaged 17.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg during the 2007-08 campaign. Head coach Greg Kampe even picks up St. John's transfer Larry Wright to replace the only major loss from last year's squad, Erik Kangas (18.9 ppg), who set the Summit League's single-season record for 3-pointers.

With all of that firepower, it's no wonder that the Grizzlies are my preseason pick for the Summit League crown. You'll see them in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket on November 9. To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-Summit League team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-Summit League Team

Player of the Year: Keith Benson, 6-11 C, Jr. (Oakland)

Remainder of the Team
Davis Baker, 6-4 G, Sr. (Southern Utah)
Garrett Callahan, 6-1 G, Sr. (South Dakota State)
Johnathon Jones, 5-11 G, Sr. (Oakland)
Derick Nelson, 6-5 F, Sr. (Oakland)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Summit League this season? (Since Centenary is not postseason eligible, they're not listed.)

IPFW

4 votes

IUPUI

1 votes

North Dakota State

2 votes

Oakland

10 votes

Oral Roberts

2 votes

South Dakota State

0 votes

Southern Utah

3 votes

UMKC

2 votes

Western Illinois

1 votes

25 votes | Poll has closed

KNOW THY ENEMY: Texas Tech Red Raiders

BracketCat — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:00:27 -0000

Are you still pissed off about Saturday night?

Well, have no fear, because the football team shall be avenged on the hardwood.

Click the jump for a preview of a basketball team with some of the laziest-looking media photos you ever will see, and one whose season prospects don't look so hot...

The Coach

Pat Knight
Third Season (sort of*)

18-26 (7-19)

Knight begins his second full season as the Texas Tech head coach and his ninth season on the Red Raider basketball court.

As a collegiate player and nearly nine seasons as an assistant coach, he was on the sidelines as a player or a coach for 308 of Bob Knight's 902 career wins.

*Knight became the head coach following the 20th game of the 2007-2008 season.

The Departures

Starters

Michael Prince (15.6 minutes per game, 3.8 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game)
Alan Voskuil (35.7 minutes per game, 14.1 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game)

Reserves

Rogdrick Craig (6.7 minutes per game, 2.6 points per game, 0.8 rebound per game)
Tyree Graham (14.3 minutes per game, 3.9 points per game, 1.7 rebounds per game)
Esmir Rizvic (10 minutes per game, 1.3 points per game, 1.6 rebound per game)
Damir Suljagic (8.8 minutes per game, 2.4 points per game, 1.5 rebound per game)

The Veterans

		#4 Corbin Ray Sophomore Forward 6-7 \| 225 Katy, Texas Ray saw his first action as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis, in which he played seven minutes, scored two points and grabbed three rebounds. He played in 17 games during the season, started against Sam Houston State, averaged 5.7 minutes per game and 1.6 points per game for the season, played 14 minutes in the home game against Texas A&M, had a season-high five rebounds over East Central University, and had his best showing in the win over New Mexico, in which he played 10 minutes and scored 10 points, was 4 of 6 from the field, and canned two 3-pointers.

		#5 D'walyn Roberts Junior Forward 6-7 \| 200 Dallas, Texas Roberts started the first 19 games for the Red Raiders; played in each game during the season and had 21 starts; averaged 16.5 minutes per game, four points per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game; played 20+ minutes in 13 contests; played 35 minutes at Lamar, made 7 of 8 field goal attempts, and recorded his season-high of 14 points; scored in double figures in six games; was perfect from the free-throw line six times for a combined 13-for-13; registered a double-double in the win over Stephen F. Austin, with 11 points and 11 rebounds; was second on the squad with 21 blocks for the season; and shot .545 from the field for the season.

		#10 Wally Dunn Junior Guard 6-4 \| 194 Midland, Texas Dunn saw his first action as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis, in which he played eight minutes, had a rebound and scored 5 points. He played in 14 games during the season as a walk-on, played a season high of 12 minutes against East Central University, scored 16 points on 6 of 8 field-goal attempts and 4 of 5 3-pointers, shot .588 from the field and made .500 of his 3-point attempts, and had no turnovers for the season. Dunn graduated from Midland College, where the Chaparrals were the 2007 NJCAA National Champions. He was a redshirt his freshman season. The team garnered conference championship honors in 2007-2008, and he played in 32 games as a sophomore and averaged 4.3 points per game.

		#15 Robert Lewandowski Sophomore Forward 6-10 \| 240 Overland Park, Kan. The freshman from Blue Valley West High Sschool played and scored in the first game of the season against St. Francis. Lewandowski scored two points, made a block, and had three rebounds in his eight minutes on the court. He played in 32 games for the season and started 19 times; averaged over 15 minutes per game and played 20+ minutes in 13 contests; averaged 6.6 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game for the year; shot .581 from the field for the season; scored in double figures 10 times, with 8 of those games during conference play; recorded his season-best of 20 points at Texas A&M, when he made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts and had four rebounds in the game; had a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) at Oklahoma State; grabbed 5+ rebounds in 10 games; and led the squad with 23 blocks.

		#21 John Roberson Junior Guard 5-11 \| 165 Plano, Texas Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (2009) U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District 7 (2009) Roberson and Alan Voskuil were the only players on the 2008-2009 squad to start each game during the season. He was the leading scorer on the team, with 13.9 points per game, and second on the team with 35 steals for the year. Roberson's 212 assists top the previous single-season mark of 182 assists, set by Jason Martin during the 1995-1996 season. He was the assist leader for the Big 12. His 13 assists at Texas A&M were one shy of Stan Bonewitz's single-game record of 14 assists, set against Fresno State in the 1996-1997 season. Roberson's 6.4 assists per game for the season now are the best among all Red Raiders. His 71 3-pointers rank eighth among all Red Raiders in a single season. His 201 3-point attempts equal Bonewitz's mark in the 1997-1998 season and are fourth on the all-time single-season list. Roberson's 35.2 minutes per game were second on the squad. He played 40 minutes in five games; was second on the squad in free-throw percentage (.829), making 97 of 117 attempts; was perfect from the line in 15 games, totaling 58 for 58; averaged 3.5 rebounds per game and had at least five rebounds in six games; established a career high of eight rebounds at Iowa State; had a double-double performance at Texas A&M, with 13 assists and 20 points; and scored 20+ points in five games. Roberson's 33 points at UTEP were a career-best and made him the 36th Red Raider to score 30 or more points in a game, earning him All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and USBWA All-District 7 honors.

		#23 Nick Okorie Senior Guard 6-1 \| 195 Houston, Texas Okorie started his career as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis. He played 19 minutes and scored 16 points. Okorie played in 29 games during the season and had 19 starting spots. He missed four games due to an ankle injury; averaged more than 25 minutes per game and played 30+ minutes in eight games; played 36 minutes at Texas and at Iowa State; was perfect from the free-throw line in nine games, totaling 40 of 40; was third on the team with 21 steals; averaged 3.1 rebounds per game; and grabbed 5+ boards in nine games. His scoring average of 11.3 points per game was fourth among squad members. Okorie scored 15+ points in nine games, with six of those games against conference opponents; sank 10 of 10 free throws and had 17 points against Kansas; scored 24 points at Oklahoma and at Texas; averaged 16.3 points per game over the last 10 games; and started nine times.

		#24 Trevor Cook Senior Forward 6-9 \| 241 Coppell, Texas Legends Classic All-Tournament (2008) Cook was awarded his undergraduate degree in May 2009. He played in 14 games during the season and had eight starts, but missed 19 games due to a back injury. Cook averaged 14 minutes per game and played 25+ minutes in three games, and was perfect from the free-throw line in four games, totaling 16 for 16. His eight rebounds against East Central University equal his top mark from the previous season. He had 13 blocks in his abbreviated season, averaged 7.6 points per game, scored in double figures six times and had 20 or more points in two games. His 24 points against Pittsburgh mark his best scoring performance as a Red Raider, and he was selected to the Legends Classic All-Tournament Team for his performances against Pittsburgh and Mississippi State.

		#31 Darko Cohadarevic Senior Forward 6-9 \| 242 Belgrade, Serbia Cohadarevic played his first game as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis. He played 12 minutes, grabbed two rebounds and scored four points. Cohadarevic played in 26 games and started twice; averaged nearly 11 minutes per game and had five games in which he played 15+ minutes; was perfect from the free-throw line in four games; averaged 2.2 rebounds per game and had at least five rebounds in five games; scored double figures in three contests; had 12 points against East Central University and against Stephen F. Austin; and scored 10 points and had six rebounds in the win over Texas A&M in the opening round of conference championship play.

		#32 Mike Singletary Junior Forward 6-6 \| 217 Humble, Texas Second Team Academic All-Big 12 (2009) Big 12 Championship All-Tournament (2009) Singletary was one of four players to play in each game during the season. He had four starts and averaged 23.1 minutes per game; played 30+ minutes against six opponents; was perfect from the free-throw line in four games; attempted more free throws than all other teammates (187) and made more free throws than all other teammates (136); had three games in which he made 34 of 40 free-throw attempts; was the leading rebounder on the team, with 5.8 boards per game; had three games (Centenary, Kansas and at Iowa State) of 10+ rebounds and 12 games with at least seven rebounds; and had double-double performances against New Mexico, Kansas and at Iowa State. His 12.2 points per game were third on the squad and he scored at least 15 points in 13 games, averaged 18.2 points per game over the final nine games of the season, was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team, and gained Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team honors after scoring 60 points in two games (Texas A&M and Missouri). Singletary made 21 of 33 attempts during those two games. He set a Big 12 Championship scoring record with 43 points in the opening round game against Texas A&M (the previous record was 38 points by Marcus Fizer of Iowa State vs. Baylor in 2000). His 43-point game equals Dub Malaise's 1966 performance against TCU as the fourth-highest scoring output in Texas Tech history. Singletary led the biggest rally in Big 12 championship history, erasing the Red Raiders' 21-point, second-half deficit and taking Texas Tech to an 88-83 win over Texas A&M (the previous record was 20 points by Texas two seasons ago). He scored 29 consecutive points for the Red Raiders, with no other Tech player scoring, to become the NCAA's No. 2 consecutive-points scorer, behind Temple's Bill Mlkvy's 54 consecutive points against Wilkes on March 3, 1951.

My thanks to the Texas Tech sports information department for the photos and most of the information for the bios.

The Newcomers

#1 Brad Reese
Junior Forward
6-6 | 189
Laurel Hill, Fla.

Reese played two seasons for Jay Powell at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Fla. He started all 30 games in his first season with the Commodores, played 30 minutes per game, and averaged 16.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on the 18-12 squad.

Reese was named the Panhandle Conference Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, Reese was named NJCAA Player of the Week (Jan. 7) as he powered GCCC to three wins, which included a pair of 30-point performances. He started 32 of 33 games as a sophomore, and averaged 16.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the 24-9 squad, which earned him All-Panhandle Conference First Team honors in his second season.

#2 Mike Davis
Freshman Guard
6-2 | 185
Houston, Texas

Davis played for Willie Patrick III as a senior at Phillis Wheatley High School, but previously played at St. Pius X, where the Panthers were in the TAPPS 6A Final Four in his junior year.

As a senior, Davis averaged 24 points per game over four games to lead the Wheatley Wildcats to the Whataburger Tournament title in Fort Worth from Dec. 29-31. He also earned MVP honors at the tournament.

The Wheatley Wildcats were 32-5 in Davis' final season and he was selected Co-MVP for District 22-4A. He averaged 23.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and five assists per game as a senior, and was selected to the TABC All-Region (3) Team, the TABC 2009 All-Star Team and the TABC Class 4-A All-State Team.

#13 David Tairu
Junior Guard
6-3 | 180
Temple Hills, Md.

Tairu played two seasons for Steve Green at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. The Texans (30-5) claimed the NJCAA National Championship in 2007-2008 in Hutchinson, Kan. He was named All-Conference in 2007-2008, averaged 14.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in his freshman season, scored in double figures 29 times, led the 2008-2009 squad with 17.5 points per game and a 27-4 season, was named to the National Junior College third-team All-American squad, was voted the Most Valuable Player in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and also named to the Region 5 team, and was selected to the 2009 NJCAA Men's All-Star team.

#20 Theron Jenkins
Junior Forward
6-6 | 211
Flowood, Miss.

Jenkins played two seasons for Marty Cooper at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Miss. In his two seasons, the Indians were 49-13. As a freshman, he played in all 34 games and averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. ICC captured the division, state and regional championships in its 30-4 season.

Jenkins averaged 13.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and played in all 28 games in his second season. The ICC Indians were 19-9 and won their third-straight north division title for the first time since 1974.

#30 Jaye Crockett
Freshman Forward
6-6 | 186
Clovis, N.M.

Crockett played for J. D. Isler at Clovis High School. The Wildcats were 29-2 in his junior season. The Purple and White completed the season as the Class 5A State Runner-up.

Crockett averaged 20.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game as a junior, and was the only junior named to New Mexico's first-team all-state squad. Clovis won the 2008-2009 district championship on the road at Hobbs.

As a senior, Crockett scored 31 points in his final game to become the second-leading scorer in Clovis High School history. He averaged 29 points and 12 rebounds, and earned all-state first-team honors, as a senior.

The Analysis

Although Texas Tech returns several starters and even more returners, I'm not sure this is a team that many teams in the conference should fear. The chief reason for that is the departure of Alan Voskuil, the sharpshooter who fueled the upset win over Kansas with his many treys.

Now that Voskuil has graduated, it will fall to Mike Singletary to provide most of the Red Raiders' scoring. His ridiculous 43-point outburst against Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament singlehandedly won the game and nearly broke Michael Beasley's/Denis Clemente's Big 12 single-game record.

That game was a freakish deviation from the mean, though, as Singletary only averaged 12.2 points per game and hasn't yet shown that he is capable of being a 25- to 30-point scorer night in and night out. But he will have help in trying, in the form of honorable-mention All-Big 12 point guard John Roberson. Roberson has established himself as one of the best point guards in the league and should provide the Red Raiders with the leadership presence they need in the backcourt to challenge most Big 12 teams.

Guard Nick Okorie and forward Trevor Cook both were banged up at various times last season, but now both are healthy and look to secure starting spots in the Tech lineup. I predict that Robert Lewandowski, an Overland Park native, will step up in the post as the fifth starter, after Tech lost a slew of Eastern European big men to graduation last year.

Predicting the reserves is trickier, and that's one of the reasons I think Tech will struggle in 2009-2010. D'wayln Roberts started several games last season before being demoted, and he seems like a sure bet to net some serious playing time. David Tairu is a highly touted juco prospect who probably will have a big impact, too. But it drops off after that.

Corbin Ray started one or two games, but is not a particularly impressive player. Nor is Darko Cohadarevic, the only remaining Serbian on the roster after the Eastern bloc exodus of 2009, who is Tech's only other sizable, experienced option in the paint.

Tech is so thin that I have penciled in true freshman Mike Davis as the backup point guard, if that tells you anything. Brad Reese, like Tairu, is a juco player who probably will factor in somewhere, but he doesn't really project strongly to a certain position right now. Other players who probably won't be a factor, unless injuries pile up, are Wally Dunn, a walk-on guard of little consequence; Theron Jenkins, and incoming juco forward; and Jaye Crockett, a raw forward fresh out of high school.

Projected Starting Lineup


John Roberson	Nick Okorie	Mike Singletary	Trevor Cook	Robert Lewandowski
1	2	3	4	5

Projected Top Reserves


Mike Davis	David Tairu	D'walyn Roberts	Corbin Ray	Darko Cohadarevic
1	2	3	4	5

The Final Verdict

When your team looks as though it only can field a serious lineup of 7-8 players, in terms of functional, athletic depth, and you play in the Big 12 South, a good season probably is not in your near future. That seems to be the case for Texas Tech. Yes, they showed some drastic improvement at the end of last year — upsetting Kansas at home (a game I greatly enjoyed watching), mounting the frenzied comeback against Texas A&M and nearly knocking off Texas in Austin — but how much of that simply was due to the hot hands of Voskuil and Singletary?

If that's all that it was, Tech will struggle in a deep Big 12 and Pat Knight's seat will be plenty toasty by the end of the season. But if Tech added some underrated pieces and the rest of the team continues to improve, it potentially could move up the pecking order a few notches. I don't see it happening, though. To me, the Red Raiders look like a less talented version of Baylor: a team that is dangerous if it is knocking down the threes, but otherwise is somewhat toothless.

Predicted finish: 10th

Best-case scenario: 8th

Previously on KNOW THY ENEMY...

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Iowa State
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The Ultimate Rankings Countdown: 298-284

aGent37 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:00:13 -0000

298. Maine: The Black Bears look incredibly promising coming into the 2009-10 season. They return their top two scorers, Mark Socoby and Gerald McLemore who averaged 12.3 and 12.1 points respectively. Head coach Ted Woodward will have to deal with the frustrations involved with coaching a young team however, he will also be able to reap the benefits. If he can mold his 8 underclassmen to fit the rest of the team then this could be an incredibly dangerous team and make a serious run in the America East Conference.

297. Western Michigan: David Kool had a fantastic junior year finishing with a team high of 17.9 points per game. This might raise the hopes of Broncos fans for the 2009-10 season however people seem to be overlooking the loss of the teams other two top scorers Shawntes Gary and Derek Drews. The duo averaged a combined 18.2 points per game and contributed in creating open looks for Kool. Head coach Steve Hawkins will have to rely on the big man, Donald Lawson to replace these two and assist Kool.

296. New Orleans: Head coach Joe Pasternack will have to rebuild his team during the 2009-10 season. The Privateers finished with an 11-19 record just a season ago but that was mainly due to the performances from All-Sun-Belt team recipients, Kyndall Dykes and T.J. Worley. The duo accounted for 33.3 points per game, which was a large chunk of the offensive production. Pasternack is left with a very talented team however they lack the experience needed to be successful in the NCAA.

295. South Carolina Upstate: It is always devastating when a team loses their top-performer and this is exactly what the Spartan fans are going to realize in the 2009-10 season without the sensational play of Bobby Davis. The forward averaged 14.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists during his senior year. Head coach Eddie Payne will turn to the big 7’ 3" center Nick Schneiders to try and increase his production and dominate and undersized conference. The biggest fault of Schneiders is his lack of endurance in which he will need to improve upon in order to become an impact player.

294. Centenary: The Centenary Gentlemen really struggled down the home stretch of the 2008-09 season winning only 1 of their last 10 games. Greg Gary is set to lose top-scorer Nick Stallings who averaged 15.3 points a game. The upside for Gary is that he has a very promising guard in Chase Adams that is capable of immediately taking over Stallings role. Adams has proven that he can be a threat on offense by averaging 14.6 points per game during the 2008-09 season. It is just unclear if Adams has the aggressiveness that is necessary to be feared on the defensive end.

293. Georgia Southern: The Eagles return to the 2009-10 season with virtually the same team that they had last year. Their only departure was Julian Allen who although no superstar contributed a steady 11.9 points per game along with 6.7 rebounds. The Eagles expect a big year from Ben Dayton III who enters his sophomore year. Head coach Jeff Price expects Dayton III to play a major role in the Eagles offense this upcoming season.

292. Cal State Bakersfield: Head coach Keith Brown is flying high as he has his top two scorers coming back for the 2009-10 season. Trent Blakley who averaged 13.4 points per game and Santwon Latunde who averaged 11 points per game will return for their senior year. The veteran duo will be lethal on each end of the court and should help the Roadrunners improve their 8-21 record from a year ago. Brown’s team struggled last season with taking advantage of scoring opportunities however they have matured greatly from last year, meaning we should expect to see a drastic improvement.

291. Columbia: The loss of Jason Miller is going to be difficult to overcome. Miller was a talented inside-man that pulled in 6.6 rebounds to go along with 9.8 points per game. The sophmore guard Noruwa Agho should do a sufficient job making up for Miller on offense but Agho is more of a perimeter player so the post play will still be down. The only solution to the post game is if head coach Joe Jones can get Asenso Ampim to perform well on a consistent basis. Ampim has the size and strength to be an inside presence however he seems to lack the aggressiveness.

290. Fordham: Last years freshman sensation Jio Fontan returns for his sophomore year. The Atlantic-10 All Rookie averaged a team high of 15.3 points along with 4.7 assists per game during the 2008-09 season. Fontan’s presence should assure the Rams a high-octane offense, however it is the defensive side that head coach Dereck Whittenburg has to be worried about. The team will lose last years defensive threat; Chris Bethel who averaged a team high of 6.5 rebounds along with 1.3 steals per game. With out Bethel the Rams are going to need another person to step up and act as the bolt that holds the defense together.

289. Louisiana-Monroe: Head coach Orlando Early comes into the 2009-10 season with a chip on his shoulder from the disappointing 10-20 record last season. The Warhawks seemed to struggle immensely in conference play as they wrapped the season up with a 6-12 record in the Sun Belt. However this is a new year and Early’s young team has had plenty of time to mature in the offseason. One of the biggest tools they have is Rudy Turner who averaged 10.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in just 24.1 minutes per game in 2008-09. If he can perfect his midrange game as well as become a bit more aggressive under the glass, I firmly believe that we will see big improvement from the Warhawks.

288. Central Michigan: The Chippewas are set to lose seniors Marcus Van and Chris Kellermann. Van played an essential role for the Chippewas last year as their leading scorer and team leader. There is a lot of hope for the team as they return for the 2009-10 season with a very experienced team. If coach Ernie Zeigler can find a replacement for the two seniors then the Chippewas will be in excellent shape to improve upon their 12-19 record from the 2008-09 season.

287. Elon: The Phoenix will have virtually entirely different team than that of the 2008-09 season. Not only do they lose their three top players in Monty Sanders, Ola Atoyebi and Brett James but also their coach of six years Ernie Nestor. Nestor had a 77-117 record and only one winning season during his tenure. The Phoenix hired Matt Matheny to take control of the young team led by junior Chris Long. The 6-2 guard is a great all around player but is not really the go-to players that all successful teams have. Although this year looks to be a rebuilding season I believe the Phoenix will show a great deal of improvement.

286. UNC-Greensboro: The Spartans are one of the few teams in the NCAA that have their entire roster from the 2008-09 season returning for the upcoming 2009-10 season. This could really work out to their advantage for the obvious reasons however, the team was in a similar position going into the 2008-09 season after losing only one senior and they ended up struggling, finishing with a 4-25 record.

285. Eastern Illinois: The once young and sporadic Panthers come into the 2009-10 season as a well-developed team. Mike Miller is in a great position as he only lost one player from last season’s roster. The team will boast 6 seniors including last years leading scorer Romain Martin who finished 8^th in the Ohio Valley Conference averaging 15.4 points per game. Another senior that will make a major impact is the 6’ 8" center Ousmane Cisse who is a threat not only under the boards where he averages 7.5 rebounds but also in the paint where he scored 8 points per game just a season ago.

284. Norfolk State: The red-hot Spartans closed out the 2008-09 season winning 5 of their last six games to turnaround their disappointing first half of the season and finish with a 14-18 record. The main spark of this run was guard Michael Deloach who averaged 21.5 points per game which was not only good enough to lead the team but the MEAC as well. The downside is that Deloach and the Spartans 2^nd leading scorer Corey Lyons both graduated. Head coach Anthony Evans needs young guns such as Aleek Pauline to step up to keep the scorching Spartan offense rolling into the 2009-10 season.

Georgia Gym Dogs 196.975, Kentucky Wildcats 195.15

T Kyle King — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 02:20:48 -0000

I apologize in advance to the two teams I am sure are being slighted by this posting. The first is the Georgia men’s basketball team, which beat the Gators today. (It’s not that I’m not impressed by the feat---I am---but, frankly, I am so baffled by this turn of events that I truly do not know what to say except, "Go ‘Dawgs!")

The second team to whom I am giving short shrift is the Centenary women’s gymnastics team, which participated in the tri-meet in Lexington which was won by the Gym Dogs on Friday evening. I’m sure the Centenary ladies are fine student-athletes who are working hard, but, quite honestly, they finished with a 188.025 for the meet, so I am going to confine my focus to the two teams actually in contention last night; viz., Georgia and Kentucky.

Courtney Kupets carded the high score for the Red and Black on the uneven bars during the first rotation. Her 9.95, together with a 9.925 from Grace Taylor and a 9.9 from Tiffany Tolnay, contributed to a 49.475 effort which gave the Georgia gymnasts the early lead over the Wildcats, who chalked a 48.975 in the vault.

In the second stanza, the Bulldogs took up station on the balance beam, where Kathryn Ding’s fall during her flight series proved harmless, as her teammates notched a cumulative 49.175, led by Kupets’s 9.9. On the bars, U.K. managed a 48.55.

Georgia spent the third rotation competing in the floor exercise. Kupets again excelled to earn a 9.9, with Taylor receiving a 9.85, as well. The Gym Dogs’ combined 49.15 exceeded the 48.575 tallied by the Cats on the beam.

The Red and Black put together another 49.15 in the fourth rotation, where Ding redeemed her earlier error by posting a 9.9 in the vault. Kentucky’s floor exercise was given a 49.05 to award the visiting Gym Dogs a 196.975-195.15 victory over the hometown Wildcats.* To no one’s surprise, Courtney Kupets yet again led the individual scoring with an overall mark of 39.575.

As with today’s shocking basketball score, there is only so much it is wise to read into Friday’s gymnastics result. Kentucky is a marginal top 30 team and Centenary is not a top 50 team, so Georgia should have won handily against each of them. Nevertheless, 8-0 overall and 4-0 in S.E.C. play is no small achievement, and the signs are starting to become encouraging, as noted in Suzanne Yoculan’s post-meet remarks:

I thought we did well tonight. We were a little up and down, but just little bumps and not deep holes. It’s a process and we keep putting the pieces of the puzzle together. It’s nice to have back-to-back good meets, which we haven’t done since early in the season. It was nice to get back on track. We still have a lot of tweaking to do; nothing major, just some little things.

Those are not the words of a coach who is too demanding ever to come away from any competition pleased with her team’s performance; anyone who has ever seen Coach Yoculan’s reaction on the floor whenever one of her gymnasts does well knows that she is as capable of celebrating achievements as she is of critiquing shortcomings.

Rather, those are the words of a championship coach who knows the expectation of excellence is warranted and is determined to guide her student-athletes towards becoming the best that they are capable of being. Next Friday night, the Gym Dogs will begin a four-meet stretch run against Arkansas, Florida, U.C.L.A., and Michigan. The current rankings have those teams seventh, ninth, second, and 16th, respectively. We’re about to find out whether Georgia has another championship-worthy team.

* Yes, I realize that the scores are not adding up, but I have checked and re-checked them, and I cannot figure out where the error is, so I am faithfully reporting the scores as they have been quoted on GeorgiaDogs.com, with the expectation that they will be corrected there subsequently.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Report Card: Centenary 53, Texas Tech 67

Seth C — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:14:07 -0000

Way too many turnovers for this group against this team. The Texas Tech Red Raiders defeated the Centenary Gents 67-53 (boxscore). Just seemed really sloppy for a team that had a distinct athletic advantage over Centenary. Aside from the turnovers, the thing that bothered me the most was the lack of patience on the offensive end. Perhaps it was just the up and down nature of the second half, but there were a lot of shots that seemed haphazard and considering the size and talent gap, it would have made for a better game to see the Red Raiders really work for a good shot instead of taking an easy shot.

As some of you commented in the open game day thread, it may be a long season for the Red Raiders and to cut these guys a little bit of slack, it was a fairly significant lead at half, the Gents had only scored 14 points and I can somewhat understand relaxing a bit.

Perhaps more than anything else, this team needs to work on free throws as there was a lot of missed opportunities (13-24).

Offensive MVP: John Roberson A very good game for Roberson and really cut down on the turnovers with only 3, yet he had 7 assists and 12 points.

Defensive MVP: Robert Lewandowski How about that! Big Lew finished with 5 blocks and 5 boards for the game. Centenary is very much undersized, but I thought Lewandowski was pretty danged good on both ends of the court.

BACKCOURT
C	As mentioned above, John Roberson (13 pts; 3 rbs; 7 ast; 3 TO) had a very good game although there were still some frustrating points for me as Roberson made some mistakes that made me shake my head. Again, nothing awful and he was certainly steady at the point. Alan Voskuil (6 pts; 6 rbs; 2 ast; 2 TO) had another quiet game and struggled from the field again as he was only 2-9 and 2-5 from beyond the 3-point line. I must keep reminding myself that Tyree Graham (8 pts; 1 rbs; 1 ast; 3 TO) is young and there are going to be some growing pains. I can see the talent. It's there and I could have sworn he was responsible for more than 3 turnovers. Graham and Roberson need to remember that you don't leave the floor if you don't know where you're going to pass the ball. Slow down just a bit. Rogdrick Craig came in and played minimal minutes at the end of teh game.
FRONTCOURT
B	I thought Robert Lewandowski (12 pts; 5 rbs; 1 ast; 5 blk; 1 TO) played one heck of a game. He exhibited additional post moves, including a hook shot, a couple of dunks, and did a nice job of anchoring the early press defense. He's developing a lot quicker than I thought he would, and that's a great thing. I thought D'Walyn Roberts (4 pts; 4 rbs; 1 ast; 1 blk; 2 TO) had a well-rounded game as well. He's not taking a ton of shots, but that's okay for me as he seems to excel at doing the dirty work. I liked seeing Roberts at the point-man for the press defense after a made basket. Roberts' frame was made to be that guy. Mike Singletary (8 pts; 6 rbs; 2 ast; 2 blk; 3 TO) seemed to have an uneven game and really wished that the team would focus when the offense is stalling and try and get the ball to him on the block. Trevor Cook (8 pts; 7 rbs; 1 ast; 1 blk) scored when he was in the game and did a good job of rebounding, but there were times where I wished that he would just slow down a bit. Corbin Ray (2 pts; 4 rbs; 1 ast; 1 TO) has taken those minutes that previously belonged to Darko Cohadarevic. There is no one on the team that's better at making an entry pass into the low-post than Ray. Seems to be a lost art on this team, but he's really good at the fundamentals.
COACHING
B-	It might be hard to complain about a 14 point win that was really out of read for the entire 2nd half. Junior Knight mentioned it at halftime that Lew would be getting lots of looks because Centenary was undersized, however, we really didn't see a concerted effort by the guards to feed those guys in the post. I know that the motion offense can sometimes prohibit this type of play, but the guards need to do a better job of trying to feed the ball inside for easy buckets and/or settle down the offense. I do think that PK was trying to let them figure it out on their own and in the 2nd half, but I also thought that Centenary did a good job of denying the perimeter, which should have opened up the post.

Up Next: December 28, 2008 - Texas Tech @ Stanford - 9:00 p.m.

Preview and Open Game Day Thread: Centenary vs. Texas Tech

Seth C — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:00:07 -0000

Centenary Gents
(2-10, 0-0)
vs.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
(8-3, 0-0)
December 23, 2008
7:00 p.m. CST
TV: TTTN
Game Cast: Fox Sports

The Numbers:

Texas Tech	Statistic	Centenary
78	K.P. Rank*	316
109.6 (56)	Adjusted Offensive Efficiency*	87.3 (311)
93.5 (73)	Adjusted Defensive Efficiency*	112.0 (320)
87.8	Points Scored	61.7
78.7	Points Allowed	72.7
39.5	Rebounds	30.0
17.5	Assists	11.8
14.4	Turnovers	14.2

Probable Starting Lineups:

Texas Tech	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
John Roberson	5-11	165	G	So.	16.7	3.7	6.4
Alan Voskuil	6-3	181	G	Sr.	15.4	5.5	2.4
Mike Singletary	6-6	230	F	So.	10.9	5.4	2.2
D'Walyn Roberts	6-7	194	F	So.	7.5	4.4	0.8
Trevor Cook	6-8	241	F	Jr.	8.7	3.3	0.3
Centenary	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
Nick Stallings	6-1	190	G	Sr.	17.3	6.6	2.2
Gary 'G' Redus II	6-7	180	G	So.	9.8	2.1	1.9
Chase Adams	5-10	175	G	Jr.	13.3	4.7	4.5
Anthony Gatlin	6-8	180	F	So.	8.6	2.8	0.5
Jerrald Bonham	6-8	210	F	Jr.	3.9	2.8	0.5

Keys to the Game:

Big Lew's Big Day: After watching Robert Lewandowski's performances over the past two games, tonight could be Lew's coming out party as the Gents boast only 3 players 6'9" or taller. Let's see that Lew can do.
Take Care of the Ball: I mentioned it this morning, but nothing would make me happier than to see a 2 or 3 turnover game from Roberson. Value every possession.
Find Cook: Trevor Cook has struggled a bit because of foul trouble and he's been rendered pretty much ineffective the past two games. I'd love to seek Cook get back into his groove from earlier in the year and with a relatively small Centenary lineup, this might be a good time for this to happen.

GO RAIDERS . . .

*Stats can be found at Ken Pomeroy: K.P. Rank = the Ken Pomeroy Rank; Offensive Efficiency = the national rank in terms of points scored per 100 possessions; Defensive Efficiency = the national rank in terms of points allowed per 100 possession. Numbers in parentheses are national rank.

		#4 Corbin Ray Sophomore Forward 6-7 \| 225 Katy, Texas Ray saw his first action as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis, in which he played seven minutes, scored two points and grabbed three rebounds. He played in 17 games during the season, started against Sam Houston State, averaged 5.7 minutes per game and 1.6 points per game for the season, played 14 minutes in the home game against Texas A&M, had a season-high five rebounds over East Central University, and had his best showing in the win over New Mexico, in which he played 10 minutes and scored 10 points, was 4 of 6 from the field, and canned two 3-pointers.

		#5 D'walyn Roberts Junior Forward 6-7 \| 200 Dallas, Texas Roberts started the first 19 games for the Red Raiders; played in each game during the season and had 21 starts; averaged 16.5 minutes per game, four points per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game; played 20+ minutes in 13 contests; played 35 minutes at Lamar, made 7 of 8 field goal attempts, and recorded his season-high of 14 points; scored in double figures in six games; was perfect from the free-throw line six times for a combined 13-for-13; registered a double-double in the win over Stephen F. Austin, with 11 points and 11 rebounds; was second on the squad with 21 blocks for the season; and shot .545 from the field for the season.

		#10 Wally Dunn Junior Guard 6-4 \| 194 Midland, Texas Dunn saw his first action as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis, in which he played eight minutes, had a rebound and scored 5 points. He played in 14 games during the season as a walk-on, played a season high of 12 minutes against East Central University, scored 16 points on 6 of 8 field-goal attempts and 4 of 5 3-pointers, shot .588 from the field and made .500 of his 3-point attempts, and had no turnovers for the season. Dunn graduated from Midland College, where the Chaparrals were the 2007 NJCAA National Champions. He was a redshirt his freshman season. The team garnered conference championship honors in 2007-2008, and he played in 32 games as a sophomore and averaged 4.3 points per game.

		#15 Robert Lewandowski Sophomore Forward 6-10 \| 240 Overland Park, Kan. The freshman from Blue Valley West High Sschool played and scored in the first game of the season against St. Francis. Lewandowski scored two points, made a block, and had three rebounds in his eight minutes on the court. He played in 32 games for the season and started 19 times; averaged over 15 minutes per game and played 20+ minutes in 13 contests; averaged 6.6 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game for the year; shot .581 from the field for the season; scored in double figures 10 times, with 8 of those games during conference play; recorded his season-best of 20 points at Texas A&M, when he made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts and had four rebounds in the game; had a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) at Oklahoma State; grabbed 5+ rebounds in 10 games; and led the squad with 23 blocks.

		#21 John Roberson Junior Guard 5-11 \| 165 Plano, Texas Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (2009) U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District 7 (2009) Roberson and Alan Voskuil were the only players on the 2008-2009 squad to start each game during the season. He was the leading scorer on the team, with 13.9 points per game, and second on the team with 35 steals for the year. Roberson's 212 assists top the previous single-season mark of 182 assists, set by Jason Martin during the 1995-1996 season. He was the assist leader for the Big 12. His 13 assists at Texas A&M were one shy of Stan Bonewitz's single-game record of 14 assists, set against Fresno State in the 1996-1997 season. Roberson's 6.4 assists per game for the season now are the best among all Red Raiders. His 71 3-pointers rank eighth among all Red Raiders in a single season. His 201 3-point attempts equal Bonewitz's mark in the 1997-1998 season and are fourth on the all-time single-season list. Roberson's 35.2 minutes per game were second on the squad. He played 40 minutes in five games; was second on the squad in free-throw percentage (.829), making 97 of 117 attempts; was perfect from the line in 15 games, totaling 58 for 58; averaged 3.5 rebounds per game and had at least five rebounds in six games; established a career high of eight rebounds at Iowa State; had a double-double performance at Texas A&M, with 13 assists and 20 points; and scored 20+ points in five games. Roberson's 33 points at UTEP were a career-best and made him the 36th Red Raider to score 30 or more points in a game, earning him All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and USBWA All-District 7 honors.

		#23 Nick Okorie Senior Guard 6-1 \| 195 Houston, Texas Okorie started his career as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis. He played 19 minutes and scored 16 points. Okorie played in 29 games during the season and had 19 starting spots. He missed four games due to an ankle injury; averaged more than 25 minutes per game and played 30+ minutes in eight games; played 36 minutes at Texas and at Iowa State; was perfect from the free-throw line in nine games, totaling 40 of 40; was third on the team with 21 steals; averaged 3.1 rebounds per game; and grabbed 5+ boards in nine games. His scoring average of 11.3 points per game was fourth among squad members. Okorie scored 15+ points in nine games, with six of those games against conference opponents; sank 10 of 10 free throws and had 17 points against Kansas; scored 24 points at Oklahoma and at Texas; averaged 16.3 points per game over the last 10 games; and started nine times.

		#24 Trevor Cook Senior Forward 6-9 \| 241 Coppell, Texas Legends Classic All-Tournament (2008) Cook was awarded his undergraduate degree in May 2009. He played in 14 games during the season and had eight starts, but missed 19 games due to a back injury. Cook averaged 14 minutes per game and played 25+ minutes in three games, and was perfect from the free-throw line in four games, totaling 16 for 16. His eight rebounds against East Central University equal his top mark from the previous season. He had 13 blocks in his abbreviated season, averaged 7.6 points per game, scored in double figures six times and had 20 or more points in two games. His 24 points against Pittsburgh mark his best scoring performance as a Red Raider, and he was selected to the Legends Classic All-Tournament Team for his performances against Pittsburgh and Mississippi State.

		#31 Darko Cohadarevic Senior Forward 6-9 \| 242 Belgrade, Serbia Cohadarevic played his first game as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis. He played 12 minutes, grabbed two rebounds and scored four points. Cohadarevic played in 26 games and started twice; averaged nearly 11 minutes per game and had five games in which he played 15+ minutes; was perfect from the free-throw line in four games; averaged 2.2 rebounds per game and had at least five rebounds in five games; scored double figures in three contests; had 12 points against East Central University and against Stephen F. Austin; and scored 10 points and had six rebounds in the win over Texas A&M in the opening round of conference championship play.

		#32 Mike Singletary Junior Forward 6-6 \| 217 Humble, Texas Second Team Academic All-Big 12 (2009) Big 12 Championship All-Tournament (2009) Singletary was one of four players to play in each game during the season. He had four starts and averaged 23.1 minutes per game; played 30+ minutes against six opponents; was perfect from the free-throw line in four games; attempted more free throws than all other teammates (187) and made more free throws than all other teammates (136); had three games in which he made 34 of 40 free-throw attempts; was the leading rebounder on the team, with 5.8 boards per game; had three games (Centenary, Kansas and at Iowa State) of 10+ rebounds and 12 games with at least seven rebounds; and had double-double performances against New Mexico, Kansas and at Iowa State. His 12.2 points per game were third on the squad and he scored at least 15 points in 13 games, averaged 18.2 points per game over the final nine games of the season, was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team, and gained Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team honors after scoring 60 points in two games (Texas A&M and Missouri). Singletary made 21 of 33 attempts during those two games. He set a Big 12 Championship scoring record with 43 points in the opening round game against Texas A&M (the previous record was 38 points by Marcus Fizer of Iowa State vs. Baylor in 2000). His 43-point game equals Dub Malaise's 1966 performance against TCU as the fourth-highest scoring output in Texas Tech history. Singletary led the biggest rally in Big 12 championship history, erasing the Red Raiders' 21-point, second-half deficit and taking Texas Tech to an 88-83 win over Texas A&M (the previous record was 20 points by Texas two seasons ago). He scored 29 consecutive points for the Red Raiders, with no other Tech player scoring, to become the NCAA's No. 2 consecutive-points scorer, behind Temple's Bill Mlkvy's 54 consecutive points against Wilkes on March 3, 1951.

SB Nation - Centenary Gentlemen

RPI WATCH: 12/20/09

RPI WATCH: 12/10/09

Crocker And The Gentlemen - Tony Goes Off On Centenary!

Sooners Host Centenary Tonight At LNC - A Look At The Gentlemen

BtB 2009-10 Summit League Preview

Preseason All-Summit League Team

Who is your pick to win the Summit League this season? (Since Centenary is not postseason eligible, they're not listed.)

IPFW

IUPUI

North Dakota State

Oakland

Oral Roberts

South Dakota State

Southern Utah

UMKC

Western Illinois

KNOW THY ENEMY: Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Coach

The Departures

The Veterans

The Newcomers

The Analysis

Projected Starting Lineup

Projected Top Reserves

The Final Verdict

Previously on KNOW THY ENEMY...

The Ultimate Rankings Countdown: 298-284

Georgia Gym Dogs 196.975, Kentucky Wildcats 195.15

Report Card: Centenary 53, Texas Tech 67

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B

B-

Preview and Open Game Day Thread: Centenary vs. Texas Tech