SB Nation - UTEP Miners

Pulse of the Team :: Week 3

Seth C — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:00:17 -0000

The "Pulse of the Team" is a weekly or whenever-I-get-to-it post about the state of the team, what's going well and what isn't. The Pulse of the Team looks at the week that was, the week ahead, what's trending up, what's trending down and the current player impact, courtesy of StatSheet.

Last Week:

Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
W : 63-61 (Box Score)

Saturday, November 28, 2009
Samford Bulldogs
W : 74-53 (Box Score)

This Week:

Thursday, December 3, 2009
Washington Huskies

Slightly Improved Rebounding: This has been the first time that I've been able to write that the rebounding is improving. I'm going to take this opportunity to highlight last week's game against Samford and hope the team does as well. Against SFA, the team was out-rebounded by 4 (28-32). This team seems to have been much more focused on the rebounding issue as I've read player quotes from PF D`Walyn Roberts and PF Darko Cohadarevic mention that the rebounds must improve and I believe they are taking this to heart. Against Samford, the team was much better, grabbing 35 rebounds to Samford's 20, including 9 offensive boards by the good guys. Granted, anything to this date has been against relatively weaker competition (save Oregon St.), but that's about to change relatively soon.

Playing to Competition: I think the Samford game is an indication that Pat Knight is learning how to coach. I know that PK has adjusted his lineup according to the opposition previously, but against Samford, and a very small squad, PK had the players and confidence in those players to get the job done and secure a 21 point win. The combination of guards John Roberson, Nick Okorie and David Tairu played 100 of the 200 minutes available, which means that the remaining 100 minutes generally went to SF Mike Singletary (20), SF Brad Reese (24) and PF D`Walyn Roberts (27). PK went relatively small against Samford and I hope that's an indication that he has the players to play different styles and not play his best player in Singletary (although he did have 4 fouls), yet still grab a 20 point win.

Tough Road Ahead: There's not much to get down about with this team, but I'd just like to remind everyone about the upcoming non-conference schedule, the KenPom Rank is in parentheses:

12.03.09 :: Washington Huskies (14)
12.08.09 :: @ TCU Horned Frogs (126)
12.19.09 :: @ Wichita St. Shockers (78)
12.22.09 :: Stanford Cardinal (165)
12.29.09 :: @ New Mexico Lobos (13)
01.01.10 :: McNeese St. Cowboys (313)
01.03.10 :: UTEP Miners (27)

The average KenPom ranking of the first 7 opponents was 193.71 and the average KenPom ranking of the next 7 opponents is 105.14, and that factors in a really bad McNeese St. team that's dragging down the rest of the group. There's a reason to be excited about what's happened thus far and thus far the team hasn't lost a game that they should have won. It's only a little bit of progress, but it's progress nonetheless. We'll know quite a bit more about this team after the month of December.

The one thing that this chart doesn't show are the shooting percentages. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit concerned about PG John Roberson's 39.4% shooting, although as I've mentioned before he's always shot at that rate and was hoping that he could get that shooting percentage higher. Also under 40% is SG Nick Okorie (37.2%) and SF Brad Reese (39.0%) and I'm not as concerned about those 2 players because they do not seem to take the volume of shots that Roberson can. I'd love for Roberson to be more selective and I think that percentage improves.

NCAA Basketball Stats

RPI WATCH: 11/23/09

BracketCat — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:00:13 -0000

Well, it's officially basketball season here at BOTC, so I'm going to try and get some basketball-related stuff on here on a more consistent basis. Big 12 Outlook will return after New Year's, but in the meantime, I need to resume the Big 12 previews and shift them into overdrive a little in order to make up for lost time.

The other thing I want to do is update you on all of our opponents on a daily basis. I'll look at how they performed in yesterday's games and maybe track the RPIs a little, too. The idea is to get a general picture, on a day-to-day basis, of how strong our non-conference schedule is, because I've seen some concern from various corners of late.

For a more detailed discussion, hit the jump. But here's a short preview: We did ourselves a lot of good in Puerto Rico.

Here's how our opponents have performed to date, in order to provide a baseline comparison and bring everyone up to speed. (After all, not everyone has been paying attention to hoops like I have, given our North-contending football team and what have you.)

Kansas State RPI = 28

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Dayton

Good Wins (RPI 51-100) = Loyola

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = none

Loyola (2-1) | RPI = 64: Loss at Kansas State (92-54), Win over Canisius (89-69), Win at Holy Cross (76-73)
Western Illinois (2-2) | RPI = 112: Loss at Arizona State (87-35), Loss at Kansas State (82-50), Win over Truman State (71-59), Win at Central Arkansas (56-46)
Boston (1-4) | RPI = 141: Loss at Iona (82-73), Loss to George Washington (69-59), Loss to Kansas State (80-70), Win over Indiana (71-67), Loss to No. 21 Georgia Tech (85-67)
Ole Miss (4-1) | RPI = 76: Win over UALR (92-64), Win over Alabama State (90-53), Win over Indiana (89-71), Win over Kansas State (86-74), Loss to No. 5 Villanova (79-67)
No. 18 Dayton (2-2) | RPI = 32: Win over Creighton (90-80), Win over No. 21 Georgia Tech (63-59), Loss to No. 5 Villanova (71-65), Loss to Kansas State (83-75)
IUPUI (4-1) | RPI = 75: Win at Drake (88-82), Win at Eastern Illinois (69-66), Win over Austin Peay (77-63), Loss at Auburn (80-65), Win over Georgia State (67-56)
Fort Hays State (2-0) | RPI = N/A (D-II): Win over Friends (82-46), Win over Central Christian College (85-66)
Washington State (3-0) | RPI = 140: Win over MVSU (94-66), Win over Eastern Washington (67-61), Win over IPFW (89-70)
Xavier (3-0) | RPI = 79: Win over Youngstown State (83-57), Win over Bowling Green (101-57), Win over Sacred Heart (105-65)
UNLV (3-0) | RPI = 1: Win over Pittsburg State (91-52), Win over Nevada (88-75), Win over Southern Illinois (78-69)
Alabama (2-1) | RPI = 186: Loss to Cornell (71-67), Win over Jackson State (86-69), Win over Providence (84-75)
UAPB (0-3) | RPI = 166: Loss at Colorado (88-72), Loss at Denver (75-56), Loss at UTEP (70-52)
Cleveland State (3-1) | RPI = 260: Loss at St. Bonaventure (72-62), Win over Wilmington (99-74), Win over Florida A&M (78-64), Win over Sam Houston State (80-65)
South Dakota (2-2) | RPI = N/A (D-I transition): Loss at Texas Tech (88-49), Loss to Oregon State (62-47), Win over TAMUCC (76-73), Win over Mayville State (99-67)
Missouri (2-0) | RPI = 280: Win over UT Martin (83-68), Win over UTPA (100-64)
Texas A&M (3-0) | RPI = 135: Win over Angelo State (88-69), Win at SMU (80-68), Win over Samford (68-49)
Colorado (3-0) | RPI = 128: Win over UAPB (88-72), Win over Coppin State (82-58), Win over Texas Southern (88-77)
No. 3 Texas (2-0) | RPI = 17: Win over UC Irvine (89-42), Win over Western Carolina (73-41)
Oklahoma State (3-0) | RPI = 21: Win over Seattle (86-64), Win over Southern (93-61), Win over North Texas (82-68)
Baylor (4-0) | RPI = 60: Win over Norfolk State (86-58), Win over Hartford (71-69), Win over Southern (61-45), Win over Hardin-Simmons (106-45)
No. 1 Kansas (3-0) | RPI = 46: Win over Hofstra (101-65), Win over Memphis (57-55), Win over Central Arkansas (94-44)
Nebraska (2-1) | RPI = 134: Win over SCUU (76-49), Loss at Saint Louis (69-55), Win over TCU (90-77)
Iowa State (4-0) | RPI = 188: Win over Idaho State (88-68), Win over Chicago State (72-50), Win at Drake (90-70), Win over MVSU (96-55)
No. 17 Oklahoma (2-1) | RPI = 65: Win over Mount St. Mary's (95-71), Win over UL Monroe (72-61), Loss at VCU (82-69)
Texas Tech (5-0) | RPI = 86: Win over South Dakota (88-49), Win over TAMUCC (66-59), Win over Oregon State (64-60), Win over Northwestern State (94-75), Win over Lamar (77-54)

My plan is to update this daily with the games are played the previous day, and I'll probably start looking at RPIs some time after Thanksgiving (they're pretty meaningless before that point due to the disparity in scheduling).

Update: Got bored and added the RPIs around midnight. I'll save the analysis for tomorrow's edition.

BtB 2009-10 Conference USA Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:33 -0000

From Huntington, West Virginia to El Paso, Texas, cheers of celebration went up when John Calipari left Memphis for Kentucky. The Tigers' could be in a world of hurt this season, as a roster that was already decimated by graduation and the NBA Draft lost a load of new talent when Calipari headed to Lexington. Josh Pastner inherits a team that's low on bodies and thin on experience, which could result in an atypical down season at the FedEx Forum.

The other 11 teams in the league, led by Tulsa, Houston, and UTEP, now have an excellent chance to break the Tigers' monopoly at the top. Now, Calipari's departure doesn't solve Conference USA's biggest problem, earning multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament, it does open up the title race considerably. While all of the main contenders lost key pieces from teams that didn't break throuhg last year, they all bring back veteran leaders and have a bit more experience and depth than their former tormentors.

More on the 12 teams who will compete in a suddenly competitive C-USA after the jump.

Let's first take a look at the 2008-09 Conference USA standings.

Conference USA Standings

(updated 4.4.2009 at 12:56 AM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Memphis Tigers	16	0	33	4
Tulsa Golden Hurricane	12	4	25	11
UAB Blazers	11	5	22	12
UTEP Miners	10	6	23	14
Houston Cougars	10	6	21	12
Central Florida Golden Knights	7	9	17	14
Marshall Thundering Herd	7	9	15	17
Tulane Green Wave	7	9	14	17
East Carolina Pirates	5	11	13	17
Southern Miss. Golden Eagles	4	12	15	17
Rice Owls	4	12	10	22
SMU Mustangs	3	13	9	21

Now, here are my picks for 2009-10, presented in reverse order.

Rice (last NCAA: 1970) Ben Braun's team struggled at both ends of the court last season, and things may not get much better this year. Leading scorer Rodney Foster, the only Owl to average in double figure last season at 12 points a contest, graduated. The top scorer of the returnees, 6-8 F Lucas Kuipers, only averaged 8.8 ppg in the games he played in 2008-09. He should provide more this season; however, as he missed half of last year with a broken wrist. Rice visits Arizona and LSU, but Texas comes to Autry Court. The Owls also host Sacramento State, Houston Baptist, and South Alabama in a round-robin tournament.

East Carolina (last NCAA: 1993) The Pirates struggled to five wins last season, but should return to their traditional place at the bottom of the C-USA standings thanks to the departure of their two leading scorers from 2008-09. But there is hope for Mack McCarthy's squad, as 6-8 sophomore Darrius Morrow (9.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and 6-10 C Chad Wynn (7.1 ppg, 4 rpg) are back to lead the frontcourt and the nation's second best assist man, junior PG Brock Young (10.6 ppg, 7.6 apg), will again run the offense. 6-6 3-point specialist Jamar Abrams, who averaged 10.5 points a game off the bench, is ready for a bigger role and 6-7 DaQuan Joyner (7 ppg, 3.4 rpg) will provide Morrow and Wynn more help this year now that he's recovered from a foot injury. The Pirates will travel to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, where they'll open with Tennessee.

SMU (last NCAA: 1993) Matt Doherty is hoping for serious improvement in his fourth season at the helm. Then again, it would be difficult to be any worse than the Ponies were in 2008-09. SMU lost all of their road games and claimed only three league wins. The Mustangs strength will continue to be their backcourt, as 6-1 senior PG Derek Williams (12.7 ppg, 3.5 apg), a JC transfer last season, and 5-11 sophomore SG Paul McCoy (13.4 ppg, 1.6 spg) should continue to grow in their second year in Doherty's system. 6-1 JC transfer Rodney Clinkscales comes aboard to provide them more support from the bench. Doherty needs more out of his frontcourt, led by mistake-prone big man Mouhammad Faye (9.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.3 TO per game), especially now that 7-1 C Bamba Fall graduated. SMU visits Texas A&M this season and will take part in the Diamond Head Classic, where they'll open with UNLV.

Southern Mississippi (last NCAA: 1991) It's hard to believe that Larry Eustachy is entering his sixth season in Hattiesburg. However, you can't help but think season 6 will go better than a season 5 that resulted in only four league wins, thanks to the loss of three of the top four leading scorers from a team that ranked 8th in the C-USA scoring table. The team's leading returning scorer, junior PG R.L. Horton (12.7 ppg), should be more prolific this season, as he moves over to the two spot. USC transfer Angelo Johnson, a 6-foot sophomore will take over playmaking duties this season. In the frontcourt, Eustachy will need more from 6-8 senior Andre Stephens, who only averaged a little more than 6 points a contest this year. 6-8 JC transfer Gary Flowers will see immediate minutes for the Eagles, as will his teammate from Chipola CC, 6-6 G Torye Pelham, who could've gone to the Big 12 instead. USM visits Mississippi and Vanderbilt this season, and welcomes Canisius, New Orleans, and North Florida for a tournament over the holidays.

Tulane (last NCAA: 1995) Dave Dickerson needs more offense out of a team that held its own on the defensive end last season. The frontcourt will be a concern for the Green Wave after the graduation of Robinson Louisme and Daniel Puckett. 6-7 senior Asim McQueen (7.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) is back, but he'll need support from 6-7 senior David Booker (3.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg) and 6-5 Johnny Mayhane (3.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg). On the other hand, Tulane's backcourt--led by 5-10 Kevin Smith (13.4 ppg, 4 apg) and 6-5 junior Kris Richard (10.7 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.9 spg)--should keep them in a lot of games. 6-5 Kendall Timmons, who missed time last year with a back injury, and former FSU signee Aaron Holmes, a 6-5 swingman who is a JC transfer, will also be key contributors. The Green Wave welcome Georgetown, George Mason, and VCU to New Orleans. They'll also participate in the Charleston Classic before Thanksgiving, where they'll open with Miami.

UCF (last NCAA: 2005) Kirk Speraw's squad won the Atlantic Sun twice in a row before moving to C-USA, where they've found the road considerably more difficult. The Golden Knights will struggle to repeat an average season this season, even with three starters back and a big name recruit on board. That's because they'll have a hard time replacing Jermaine Taylor's 26+ points per contest and 6-9 C Kenrick Zonervan's presence in the paint. The backcourt will continue to be a strength, even without Taylor. Speraw has two capable players to run the point--5-9 soph A.J. Rompza (4.5 ppg, 5.2 apg) and 6-1 junior Taylor Young (3.4 ppg, 3.5 apg). Rompza's high school teammate, Marcus Jordan, son of Michael and owner of the mmost famous pair of sneakers in the country will see minutes at the 2 spot, along with 3-point specialist Issac Sosa (8.2 ppg, 45.2% from 3). In the frontcourt, 6-9 A.J. Tyler (7.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and 7-4 Jakub Kusmier (2.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg in 5 mpg) will have to attempt to replace Zondervan. The Knights will participate in the Glenn Wilkes Classic in nearby Daytona Beach. They'll open the tournament at home against Howard before traveling up I-4 to face Niagara, Auburn, and Drake. UCF also seems to be preparing for an oft-rumored life in the Big East, as they visit Connecticut, USF, and Notre Dame.

UAB (last NCAA: 2006) The Blazers were the last C-USA team to earn a bid other than Memphis, back in 2006. Hopes were high for Mike Davis' squad last season, but the team that stunned Arizona (after one of the classic brain freezes of all time) to reach the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals only managed a 22-12 mark and a first round loss to Notre Dame in the postseason version of the same tournament. Now, the group that was supposed to lead UAB back to the Dance--Robert Vaden, Paul Delaney III, Lawrence Kinnard, and Channing Toney are gone, and so are the 56.5 points and 22.5 boards they averaged each game. The two returning starters 5-8 PG Aaron Johnson (3.6 ppg, 3.6 apg) and 6-8 F/C Howard Crawford (7.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg) will see a lot of new faces around them, all of whom will have to contribute immediately for the Blazers to be competitive. Davis has brought in some good ones though, including SEC target Dexter Field, a 6-2 point guard, and Australian guard Heath Gameren. UAB will also suit up two transfers who'll be impactful--6-4 JC transfer Jamarr Sanders and 6-6 Louisiana-Lafayette transfer Elijah Millsap, Paul's younger brother. Fittingly, for a team with a dragon for its mascot, the Blazers get a baptism by fire during their non-conference schedule. They host Butler and Cincinnati, visit Arkansas and Virginia, and travel to Kent State for round-robin featuring Green Bay and Samford.

Marshall (last NCAA: 1987) While Donnie Jones will have to do without the graduated Markel Humphrey, last season's leading scorer (12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg), the Herd has plenty of offensive options. Marshall's four returning starters all averaged in the neighborhood of 10 points a game, and that includes 3-point specialist Chris Lutz (10.7 ppg, 37.4 % from 3) and 6-8 senior F Tyler Wilkerson (10.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg) who missed the last ten games of last season with a broken jaw. The Herd's newcomers include Western Carolina transfer Cam Miller, another perimeter shooter, freshman scorer DeAndre Kane and JC transfer Antonio Hayman. All of the scoring is great, but Jones really needs his team to play better defense to rise up the standings. Marshall's two most challenging games this season are trips to Old Dominion and North Carolina.

Memphis (last NCAA: 2009) I'm sure John Calipari is still on Josh Pastner's holiday card list, but the first year Tiger coach should probably drop him with all of the roster turnover and lost recruits that resulted from Calipari's move to Lexington. 6-5 senior Doneal Mack is Memphis' leading returning scorer, and he didn't even average 9 points a game last year. 6-6 Robert Sallie should improve on his 5.8 ppg with more minutes, especially as he made nearly half (47%) of his three-point attempts. In the frontcourt, 6-8 Wesley Witherspoon (4.2 ppg, 2 rpg) and 6-11 Angel Garcia are the only returnees. Memphis fans should expect to see a lot of new faces. The two most prominent of thesea re 6-4 Duke transfer Elliot Williams and 6-9 JC transfer Will Coleman. The Tigers will face Kansas in St. Louis, in a rematch of the 2008 National Championship game, and UMass in Boston. They'll also host Tennessee on New Year's Eve and visit Syracuse.

Houston (last NCAA: 1992) The Cougars tournament chances took a hit when 6-8 F Qa'rraan Calhoun left for the professional game during the offseason. That's because Tom Penders already had one giant hole to fill in the frontcourt thanks to the graduation of 6-11 C Marcus Cousin. There will now be more pressure on little used 6-8 senior Sean Coleman and freshmen Kendrick Walsh and Kirk Van Slyke (a natural small forward) to take some pressure off the great crop of guards Penders has coming back. Seniors Aubrey Coleman (19.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and Kelvin Lewis (18 ppg, 3.2 rpg) will again be key producers for Penders, with junior PG Zamal Nixon (5.5 ppg, 1.6 apg) ready to make the point his own. The Cougars will travel to Anchorage for the Great Alaska Shootout, where they'll face Oklahoma and San Diego. Houston also travels to Nevada and hosts Mississippi State.

UTEP (last NCAA: 2005) Don't expect the Miners to struggle too much after the graduation of Stefon Jackson, Conference USA's all-time leading scorer (24.5 ppg). The CBI runners-up return 6-foot junior Randy Culpepper, a 3-point specialist who averaged 17.5 ppg last season. He'll see the ball even more during this go round with Jackson gone. It will be the job of 6-6 junior Julyan Stone (5.6 ppg, 6.4 apg) to get him--and Tony Barbee's other offensive performers--the ball. Those weapons include two transfers who showed they can score in their previous D-I stops, 6-3 Arizona State transfer Christian Polk (12 ppg in '07-08) and 6-2 JC transfer Myron Strong (10 ppg at San Francisco in '07-08). While 7-footer Kareem Cooper and 6-8 Travis Watts are gone from the frontcourt, 6-11 sophomore Arnett Moultrie (8.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg) will be even more a force this season, and 6-9 Louisville transfer Derrick Caracter has a lot to prove after a stormy time with the Cards. Looking at the schedule, the Miners will host BYU and Mississippi, along with the Sun Bowl Classic. They'll take on Oklahoma in the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City and face New Mexico State in their traditional home-and-home.

Tulsa (last NCAA: 2003) The Golden Hurricane will look to go two better after a season that ended with 1) a 25-point loss to Memphis in the C-USA Championship and 2) a 19-point loss to Auburn in the second round of the NIT. While 10.3 ppg performer Ray Reese is gone, the bulk of last season's team is back and ready to replace the Tigers at the top of the C-USA heap. 7-foot senior C Jerome Jordan is back, and should improve on his already impressive numbers of 13.8 ppg and 8.6 rpg. The supporting frontcourt cast, led by 6-6 senior Bishop Wheatley (4.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and 6-10 soph Steve Idlet (3.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg), needs to do more though. In the backcourt, 6-3 senior Ben Uzoh (14 ppg, 4.9 rpg) should also be better this year, thanks to the arrival of 6-1 frosh Donte Meddler to play the point. Justin Hurtt, a 6-4 junior who averaged more than 9 ppg last season, is an outside threat who could really explode by penetrating more. 6-2 junior Glenn Andrews, who averaged more than 7 ppg in '08-09, is a big question mark, as he'll at least miss the first month of the season with a knee injury. Schedule-wise, the Golden Hurricane visit Duke in a rare February non-conference game. They also host Oklahoma State and take on Nebraska, followed by either BYU or Nevada in the Las Vegas Classic.

So the Golden Hurricane will hold C-USA's auto bid in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9. The main question for 2009-10 is, can the league do what it couldn't when Memphis distanced itself from its 11 conference-mates and grab multiple bids?

To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-C-USA team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-C-USA Team

Player of the Year: Jerome Jordan, 7-0 C, Sr. (Tulsa)

Remainder of the Team
Aubrey Coleman, 6-4 G, Sr. (Houston)
Randy Culpepper, 6-0 G, Jr. (UTEP)
Kelvin Lewis, 6-4 G, Sr. (Houston)
Ben Uzoh, 6-3 G, Sr. (Tulsa)

Poll

Who is your pick to win Conference USA this season?

UAB

0 votes

UCF

4 votes

East Carolina

1 votes

Houston

1 votes

Marshall

0 votes

Memphis

3 votes

Rice

0 votes

SMU

1 votes

Southern Mississippi

0 votes

UTEP

3 votes

Tulane

1 votes

Tulsa

3 votes

17 votes | Poll has closed

2009-10 BYU Basketball Preview

sroufe — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:00:53 -0000

View full size photo »

The season may not officially begin until November 13th versus Bradley, but now that Cougar Tipoff is past, preseason rankings and media predictions are submitted, and the football team's conference title hopes have gone the way of the dodo, it seems appropriate to preview the upcoming season. So read the official '09/'10 official prospectus if you haven't done so already and let's begin.

2008-09 Review:
   Record - 25-8 (12-4 MWC)
   MWC Champions - (Regular Season) Title shared with New Mexico and Utah
   NCAA Tournament - Lost in Round 1 to Texas A&M, 79-66

Key Loss:

Lee Cummard, G/F - The Cougars' best overall player for at least the past two seasons. Cummard put up 16.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG last season, twice finished on the MWC First-Team, and was the MWC Co-MVP and an Honorable Mention AP All-American in 2007/08.

Key Additions:

Tyler Haws, G - Prepped at Lone Peak HS (as did incumbent guard Jackson Emery) in Utah County. Arguably, had the greatest high school career in state history. Finished as the Knights' all-time leading scorer (1,772) and won two state titles (nearly three). Haws isn't the best creator but he is an unbelievable finisher. That should work to his benefit during his freshman season as he'll be surrounded with some players (like Emery) with the ability and experience to find him on the break. Haws has the most upside of any BYU guard since Travis Hansen. Of course his dad, Marty Haws was a terrific guard for the Cougars during the late '80's. He has a nice perimeter game that could improve but he is an excellent rebounder for his size. He should see a lot of minutes during his freshman season prior to leaving on an LDS mission next year.

Brandon Davies, F - Just as Haws has tremendous upside, that can be said here as well. Davies is another local product (Provo HS) with major upside. He is very strong and possesses good fundamentals for a big man his age. What he lacks in quickness/agility, he makes up for in strength and efficiency in his footwork/ball control. Davies is a decent shot blocker as well. Again, like Haws, Davies should see some significant action this season and be a huge part of the Cougars' success over the next several years.

Brock Zylstra, G/F - Zylstra is back after serving an LDS Mission. He red-shirted in 2006-07. Zylstra is a smart, athletic wing from Southern California. He should provide some nice depth behind Emery and Haws but likely won't be a key member of the rotation. Zylstra should merit some minutes though, especially early in the season, and figures to play a larger role next season after Haws leaves on his mission and Tavernari graduates.

Logan Magnusson - G/F - Magnusson was one of the key contributors to Salt Lake Community College's team that won the NJCAA Division I National Title last season. (Magnusson played at Dixie State before that.) Magnusson won't provide the Cougars with much offense but is a nice guy to have on Rose's bench - a scrappy wing player with good size that defends well and rebounds aggressively.

Projected Depth Chart and Commentary:

PG - Jimmer Fredette; Lamont Morgan Jr.; Michael Loyd Jr.
SG - Jackson Emery; Brock Zylstra
SF - Charles Abouo; Tyler Haws; Logan Magnusson
PF - Jonathan Tavernari; Noah Hartsock, Brandon Davies
C - Chris Miles; James Anderson

Practice Squad - Tanner Lamb (Snow College, Orem HS); Andrew Johnston (Snow Canyon HS, St. George, UT) and Kyle Rose (Southridge HS, Beaverton, OR and nephew of coach Rose)

It is likely to depend on the opponent whether or not Rose starts Tavernari at the 4 rather than Hartsock (or perhaps Davies). Obviously that isn't his natural position and he understandably has a difficult time trying to defend true PF's in the post. However, he provides some major problems for teams that try to defend him on the perimeter with less mobile big-men. The problem with starting Tavernari at the 3 is that both Abouo and Haws have the talent to merit serious floor time there. It's a nice conundrum and one that should easily work itself out during the early part of the season.

Despite Tavernari's lack of size at the 4, the Cougars post players are as good a group collectively as the Marriott Center has seen in many moons. Miles figures to be improved with experience and is a substantial upgrade over Gavin MacGregor. (Though I hear G-Mac plays a mean trombone.) Hartsock is a year removed from his mission and should be dramatically improved in terms of both conditioning and skill-set. Of course there is Davies as well. And finally Anderson is a solid shot-blocker that isn't a horrific option of the bench when the others get into foul trouble.

The starting guard spots are final: Fredette and Emery. Of course, you know all about Jimmmmer and his crossssover. Some fans are so enamored with the aforementioned move you would have thought Tim Hardaway had transferred from UTEP. Still, Fredette is a fiery competitor, has a knack for getting into traffic and drawing contact and has greatly improved his perimeter game. His status awarded by the media as preseason MWC MVP appears a bit outrageous on its face but he is likely to be the best all-around player on the team this season. Morgan and Loyd each have their strengths (speed) and weaknesses (shooting, size) but are serviceable backups.

Emery, like Hartsock, should benefit exceedingly from having been home from Mexico for over a year now. When he's healthy he is the Cougars' best defender and possibly the best on-the-ball defender in the conference. I'm really looking forward to seeing him play this season. Emery is the ideal player to put beside Fredette as he doesn't demand the ball and Jimmer is so ostensibly pass-second.

Predictions:

BYU has a much weaker non-conference schedule than the past couple seasons that saw them pitted against North Carolina, Louisville and Wake Forest (to name a few). This year they do travel to Utah State, Fresno State, Nevada, Arizona and UTEP however. They also host Arizona State. Utah State lost forward Gary Wilkerson though and Arizona is in rebuilding mode after losing Chase Budinger (who is playing well so far for the Rockets I might add) and Jordan Hill. Nevada has a nice player however in Luke Babbitt and Fresno and Steve Cleveland has a good prospect as well in Paul George. Finally, the ASU game is interesting considering the Cougars actually won in Tempe last December (Andy Katz is a jerk) and the Sun Devils have since lost James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph. Add in the fact that the game is in Provo and the Cougars should win that game.

The Cougars should have a very good record going into conference play. That's 15 games into the season and I see no reason why BYU can't be 13-2 at that point.

In terms of conference play it will be interesting as always. Utah, of course, lost Luke Nevill, Shaun Green, Lawrence Borha and Tyler Kepkay all to graduation. It ought to be a rebuilding year in Salt Lake. UNLV lost Wink Adams, Joe Darger (goodbye faux-hawk!) and Rene Rougeau. Still Lon Kruger added some very nice transfers in Derrick Jasper (Kentucky) and Chace Stanback (UCLA). The Rebels may not be as deep as they've been in recent years but they'll still be dangerous with Tre'Von Willis and Matt Shaw as well. San Diego State also lost some experienced players but the Aztecs have added Kawhi Leonard, a freshman G/F from Riverside, CA. Leonard could have played anywhere and most expect him to impact the MWC immediately.

New Mexico has to be excited for basketball even if they weren't going to be that good right? Well, the Lobos should compete again for the conference championship. Despite losing Tony Danridge and Daniel Faris there remain some nice players in Albuquerque. That includes Phillip McDonald who, like Leonard, had his pick of schools to choose from coming out of high school.

So those are the traditional "powers" in MWC basketball. Wyoming, Air Force, Colorado State round up the rest of BYU's conference schedule but none of those programs are likely to compete for the conference championship this season. Of course the Rams should be improved - Andy Ogide could be either a dud or all-conference.

In summary, BYU biggest competition should come from UNLV. SDSU and New Mexico should also be solid. BYU however appears to have the most experience and the most depth of any team in the conference. Combine that with the Cougars' track record at home and they should actually improve on their 12-4 record from last season. I think they can win 14 conference games and go into the MWC tournament with a 27-4 record.

It's not like I'm going out on a limb here. The MWC Media, Athlon, Doug Gottlieb (ESPN), USA Today and Yahoo! Sports have all projected the Cougars to win the conference with a similar record. Athlon projected BYU to be a 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and Joe Lunardi has them as a 7 seed. I think those seedings are realistic and attainable for this club. And as we've seen multiple times over the past decade, if the Cougars are finally going to get that infamously elusive tourney win in March, they'll need to be seeded at least as high as 7.

There's a lot to look forward to, especially after the roller-coaster of a football season we've had in Provo. Hopefully, Cougar fans can find some stability in an unlikely (at least in terms of the erratic Tavernari being called "stable") source.

GO COUGARS!!!

Fredette photo via bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com

Mid Major College Football Week 8: Rocks, Paper, Scissors

umass09 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:02:17 -0000

Rocks:

Idaho Defense- Giving up 70 points is never a good sign for a defense that came into Week 8 with only 1 loss. The Vandals defense gave up 662 total yards including 484 yards on the ground. Idaho also allowed Nevada to convert on all three of their fourth downs and gave up 27 first downs.

Paper:

Mike Price, UTEP-Big win for the Miners on Wednesday night game in prime time. They were able to pick up the big conference win in addition to gaining some national exposure. They had a well balanced attack with 175 yards rushing and 271 yards in the air. UTEP also controlled the clock and finished with two late scoring drives in the final seven minutes to give them the win.

Scissors:

Andy Dalton, QB, TCU- In one of the biggest games of the season for the Horned Frogs, Dalton came up huge to keep their BCS hopes alive. He completed 13-24 pass attempts for 241 yards and three scores. Dalton managed the game very well and did not turn the ball over. This win at BYU is an important confidence booster for both TCU and Dalton.

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 2009-10 BtB Preseason All-Transfer Teams

Chris Dobbertean — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:00:20 -0000

Just like with average college students, sometimes things don't go right for basketball players at the schools they originally pick. Of course, non-athletes don't have to worry about coaching changes and adjustments in role or playing time, which leads to a high percentage of basketball transfers, but athletes still have to deal with all of the normal stuff, family issues, homesickness, academics (players have transferred for dropped majors). All of these things can lead to a player to seek a new start at a different school.

A talented transfer or two can really boost a team's season. But teams that bring in too many transfers risk chemistry issues and rarely reach the levels coaches employing this tactic anticipate. (For a current example, look at Rod Barnes' Georgia State team, though his transfers have a second year to pull things together.) This post takes a look at only some of the talented players who left one Division I school for another. Since the NCAA doesn't want players hopping around from school to school, transfers generally have to sit out a season before suiting up for their new school. (They can practice with their new teams while they sit.) Most of my choices sat out last season, but there are a couple of players in my list who are eligible immediately.

One notable transfer who won't play for his new team this year is Scott Martin of Notre Dame. The wingman, a transfer from Purdue, is out for a year thanks to a torn ACL.

After the jump, I'll present my three preseason All-Transfer teams, starting with the 3rd team.

3rd Team All-Transfer

Matt Pilgrim, 6-8 F (Oklahoma State from Kentucky): Pilgrim already sat out last season after transferring to Lexington from Hampton. However, he didn't figure into John Calipari's plans and was released from his scholarship. In Stillwater, Pilgrim will play the 3, 4, and 5 spots and bolster the Cowboys' thin frontcourt.

Jeremiah Rivers, 6-5 G (Indiana from Georgetown): Rivers is the son of Doc, head coach of the Boston Celtics. He spent the last year practicing with the Hoosiers, with the hopes of taking over the starting point guard role. Rivers should be a perfect fit for an Indiana team that needs defense and toughness.

Tyrone Shelley, 6-5 G and Malcolm Thomas, 6-9 F (San Diego State from Pepperdine): Shelley led the Waves in scoring as a freshman, contributing an average of 15 points per game. That offense will be necessary for a team that lost four senior starters after an NIT semifinal appearance. He'll be joined on the Aztecs by Thomas, who also was pretty good in Malibu, averaging 12.5 points and almost 9 rebounds per outing. That's not a bad combo.

Alex Stephenson, 6-9 F (USC from North Carolina): Stephenson returned back to the Southland after a disappointing time in Chapel Hill. He simply fell behind more talented players on the depth chart. He should certainly make an impact with a Trojan side that's in need of talent.

2nd Team All-Transfer

Tony Freeman, 6-1 G (Southern Illinois from Iowa): You could just about fill an all-transfer team with the players who've left Iowa City during Todd Lickliter's tenure. Freeman is a senior and the biggest question about him is attitude. He averaged nearly 14 points a game in his last season with the Hawkeyes, but had problems with Lickliter's system. You have to question his decision to go to Carbondale to play under another defense-first coach, Chris Lowery.

Ben Hansbrough, 6-3 G (Notre Dame from Mississippi State): If you thought the Hansbrough era in college basketball was over, you'd be incorrect. Tyler's brother Ben will suit up for the Irish this year after sitting out a year. Hansbrough is a more perimeter-oriented player than his brother and will largely replace the graduated Kyle McAlarney at shooting guard.

Curtis Kelly, 6-8 F (Kansas State from Connecticut): Kelly was a highly touted recruit for Jim Calhoun who just didn't pan out. While his numbers in Storrs weren't great at all (averaging only 2 pts. and 2 boards per game), Kelly will be in a situation where he can be a star alongside Denis Clemente, Jacob Pullen, and fellow newcomer freshman F Wally Judge.

Vernon Macklin, 6-10 F/C (Florida from Georgetown): Macklin will be expected to be a big contributor to a Gator frontcourt that could be without Adam Allen (leg) and Eloy Vargas (academics). Alex Tyus and Dan Werner spent much of last year playing out of position. If Macklin can establish himself as a post presence along with Kenny Kadji, Werner and Tyus can focus more on the 3 and 4 spots.

Elliot Williams, 6-4 G/F (Memphis from Duke): Williams was granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA, as his mother is ill, so he will suit up immediately for his hometown team. Having a Memphis native on the roster should provide a little stability to a roster known for rapid fluctuations, while giving Josh Pastner a boost for his plans to draw more local players to the program. Williams doesn't really have a natural position, so expect to see him at both forward and guard.

1st Team All-Transfer

Derrick Caracter, 6-9 F (UTEP from Louisville): In a year when Memphis is down, Caracter could be a major gamechanger in Conference USA. The question is whether he's learned from all of the off-the-court issues that plagued him when he played for Rick Pitino. If he can, the combination of Caracter and returning C Arnett Moultriegives the Miners the best frontline in the league.

Jordan Crawford, 6-4 G (Xavier from Indiana): This is the guy who dunked on Lebron James. I'm not sure I need to say much more, but I will. Crawford gained good experience during his time in Bloomington, averaging just under 10 points a game with good rebounding (3.4) and assist (2.5) numbers, on a team that won 25 games. He'll be expected to contribute immediately on a team that lost C.J Anderson, Derrick Brown, and B.J. Raymond.

Wesley Johnson, 6-7 F (Syracuse from Iowa State): Johnson will replace Paul Harris at small forward for the Orange. He's a versatile player who can play both inside and outside, and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim says he can be an all-Big East performer. Greg McDermott has to be wishing Johnson was still in Ames playing alongside Craig Brackens.

Jai Lucas, 5-9 G (Texas from Florida): Lucas, the son of NBA player and coach, John, returned to his home state after losing the starting point guard job in Gainesville to the now departed Nick Calathes. He'll return to the 1 spot in Austin, as he'll provide the passing, scoring, and ball security the Longhorns last had with D.J. Augustin in 2007-08.
Herb Pope, 6-8 F (Seton Hall from New Mexico State): Pope is one of three transfers who'll suit up for the Pirates this year--G Keon Lawrence from Missouri and F Jeff Robinson from Memphis are the others. Pope was the WAC's newcomer of the year in 2008, and he returns East after averaging 11 points and almost 7 points a game during his season in Las Cruces. He'll fill the power forward spot for the Hall, allowing Robert Mitchell to play in his natural position, small forward.

On Monday, I'll talk about some of the more interesting coaching changes made during the offseason. Tuesday, I'll present my Preseason All-America teams.

Poll

Which transfer do you think will have the most impact this season?

Jordan Crawford, G, Xavier

83 votes

Wesley Johnson, F, Syracuse

120 votes

Curtis Kelly, F, Kansas State

6 votes

Jai Lucas, G, Texas

21 votes

Herb Pope, F, Seton Hall

15 votes

Other (list in comments)

23 votes

268 votes | Poll has closed

A Game (or Two) a Night: December 2009

Chris Dobbertean — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:05:39 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Michigan State Junior G Kalin Lucas (1) is the only player in this picture who will be present at the rematch of the 2009 National Championship Game on December 1 in Chapel Hill. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Browse more photos »

December as a month features the last few multi-team events of the season and the bulk of conference challenge action. It's also a time when most teams have to wedge games between exams and holidays and fans have to dodge stale holiday specials and on filter through bowl games to find hoops on their TV sets. Believe me, there will be plenty of televised college basketball over the last week of the year--including a return of action, island-style to Christmas Day itself. So, if you find yourself needing a break from football, there will be roundball!

You'll find my December picks after the jump. For information about the other games on the air during the final month of 2009, visit MattSarzSports.com.

Tuesday, December 1
Michigan State at North Carolina (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) (ESPN, 9 ET)
The rematch of last year's National Championship game is exactly why I feel that these conference challenges should be moved to the second half of the season. While this game should be pretty good as is (especially since it's at the Dean Dome), it would be even better if played six or so weeks later, so both teams, particularly the younger Tar Heels, can have more of a chance to gel.

Wednesday, December 2
Pittsburgh at Duquesne (CBS CS, 7 ET)
Now, if the Dukes had been allowed to advance in the CBE Classic, they could've shared the Sprint Center with the Panthers. They'll have to be satisfied with sharing the floor at the Igloo one more time, as this game moves to the Penguins new rink in 2010.

Thursday, December 3
Cleveland State at Wright State (ESPNU, 9 ET)
The Horizon League season starts early, and this matchup features two teams who are serious threats to Butler in the race. The Vikings won the conference's auto bid last season, and then upset Wake Forest. The Raiders were a bid thief in 2007.

Friday, December 4
Akron at Texas A&M (FS Southwest, 8 ET)
Fridays are typically light nights during the season. (Trust me, you'll see what I mean in my next couple of posts.) The Zips have a good chance at repeating in the MAC. (Well, as good of a chance as anyone else who's tried of late.) Meanwhile, the Aggies should be on their way to figuring out how to play without Chinemelu Elonu in the middle.

Saturday, December 5
Wake Forest at Gonzaga (ESPN2, 5:30 ET)
A matchup of two teams who will be very competitive despite significant losses, James Johnson and Jeff Teague in the Deacons' case and Austin Daye, Micah Downs, Josh Heytvelt, and Jeremy Pargo for the Bulldogs.

Sunday, December 6
Arizona at Oklahoma (Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series) (ESPNU, 7 ET)
Sean Miller brings his Wildcats, bolstered by some last-minute recruits, to Norman to take on a Griffin-less, but still potent Sooner squad. Kansas at UCLA earns honorable mention honors. And I'll be at the BB&T Classic to see Villanova take on Maryland.

Monday, December 7
Long Beach State at Texas (ESPNU, 9 ET)
The only nationally televised game of the night (though I will pick regional telecasts later). The 49ers continue their aggressive scheduling (as they're the "host" school at the 76 Classic this year), taking on a Damion James-led Longhorn team who should challenge the Jayhawks at the top of the Big 12.

Tuesday, December 8
Vanderbilt at Illinois (Big Ten, 8:30 ET)
The Illini won by 6 in Nashville last year, but the Commodores could give them an even better game in the return. Honorable mention goes to the Jimmy V Classic, Butler vs. Georgetown and Indiana vs.Pittsburgh. Who would've ever forseen a day where the Bulldogs might be the most highly rated team of that group of four?

Wednesday, December 9
Kentucky vs Connecticut (Big East/SEC Invitational) (ESPN, 9:30 ET) If the undercard of Georgia vs. St. John's puts the crowd at MSG to sleep, I think Calipari vs. Calhoun should wake them up.

Thursday, December 10
Syracuse vs. Florida (Big East/SEC Invitational) (ESPN, 9 ET)
Since these are my two favorite teams, this was the obvious choice for me.

Friday, December 11
Iowa vs. Iowa State (Cyclones TV, 8 ET)
This matchup of two teams with coaches who really need to start winning is the only game on the TV schedule for tonight.

Saturday, December 12
Georgetown vs Washington (John Wooden Classic) (FSN, 2 ET)
The Hoyas do something under JohnThompson III that his father would've never done, travel cross-country for a non-league game. The Huskies sure aren't St. Leo's.
I would have selected the second half of the doubleheader, Mississippi State vs. UCLA, but Renardo Sidney's eligibility issues make this game slightly less attractive.

Sunday, December 13
Cincinnati at Xavier (ESPNU, 7 ET)
The Crosstown Shootout should be a great one this year. The Musketeers have been the best team in the city over the past few seasons. They have wins in the last two in the series. The Bearcats, meanwhile, should be far more competitive in Mick Cronin's fourth year at the helm, especially with Lance Stevenson joining the team.

Monday, December 14
Georgia Tech at Chattanooga (FS South, 7 ET)
The Yellow Jackets visit to the SoCon tourney champions is the only game on the TV schedule on this Monday.

Tuesday, December 15
Georgia State at Florida State (FS Florida, 7 ET)
The transfer-filled Panthers will look to repeat their 62-57 win over the Seminoles in Atlanta last year.

Wednesday, December 16
Wright State at Mississippi State (ESPN2, 7 ET)
Last year, the Bulldogs dropped December home games to Charlotte and San Diego. This year, it's the Raiders turn to try to pull an upset at the Hump.

Thursday, December 17
Auburn at Florida State (FS Florida/NESN, 7 ET)
The NIT quarterfinalist's visit to Tallahassee is the best option on a very light night.

Friday, December 18
As there are no televised games listed for this night, it would be a good time to wrap up your holiday shopping.

Saturday, December 19
UCLA at Notre Dame (CBS, 2 ET)
Saturday makes up for the lackluster slate during exam week, as we also have Michigan at Kansas, North Carolina at Texas, and Duke vs. Gonzaga on the schedule. The Bruins trip to South Bend gets a very slight nod, as these two on-again/off-again hoops rivals last met in 2005.

Sunday, December 20
Florida State at Georgia Tech (FSN, 5:30 ET)
The Seminoles and Yellow Jackets open their ACC seasons in Atlanta.

Monday, December 21
UTEP vs. Oklahoma (Oklahoma City) (ESPN2, 6:30 ET)
The Miners hope to be among the teams to unseat a weakened Memphis in C-USA. A win over the Sooners in their backyard would be a great confidence-builder for them.

Tuesday, December 22
California at Kansas (ESPN2, 9 ET)
While this game isn't technically a part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, it is a matchup of two teams who each have an excellent chance of winning their respective conference's crown.

Wednesday, December 23
Illinois vs. Missouri (St. Louis) (ESPN2, 8:30 ET)
The Illini actually won this one by 16 last year. The Tigers could have a hard time gaining revenge without the services of DeMarre Caroll, Matt Lawrence, and Leo Lyons.

Thursday, December 24
It's Christmas Eve, so there are no games scheduled.

Friday, December 25
Diamond Head Classic Final (ESPN2, 9:30 ET)
This tournament features some rebuilding squads (St. Mary's, USC, UNLV), a few teams who haven't been relevant for awhile (host Hawai'i, SMU, and Western Michigan) and two mid-majors who could do really well against this particular group of teams (College of Charleston and Northeastern)

Saturday, December 26
West Virginia at Seton Hall (CBS, 3:30 ET)
Oddly enough, this Big East battle is the only game on the Boxing Day schedule.

Sunday, December 27
Austin Peay at Missouri (FS Midwest, 2 ET)
This is one of three games on the schedule. The Governors are perennial contenders in the Ohio Valley, and they'll be looking to pull a seed-boosting upset at Mizzou Arena.

Monday, December 28
American at Florida (FS Florida, 8:30 ET)
The two-time defending Patriot League champs who appear to be destined for a fall take on a two-time National Champion who already has taken one.

Tuesday, December 29
Penn State at Minnesota (ESPN2, 9 ET)
It's the Big Ten opener for the NIT Champion and a Gopher squad that may have just pipped them to an NCAA bid last time around. I would have selected Northern Iowa at Creighton, which should match up the two best teams in the Missouri Valley, but that game is currently only scheduled for local TV

Wednesday, December 30
Northwestern at Illinois (Big Ten, 7 ET)
The Wildcats open up their Big Ten slate with a trip to their in-state rival.

Thursday, December 31
Oklahoma at Gonzaga (ESPN2, 10 ET)
While it won't quite be November 17, it will be a marathon day on ESPN2, starting at noon. Michigan at Indiana, Ohio State at Wisconsin, and Tennessee at Memphis are all featured matchups during the day. However, I'll take the inter-sectional matchup to close the day, month, and year out as my choice. (Watching a million drunk people go crazy over a lighted ball dropping is so 2000.) There's also a good Pac-10 option, Arizona State at UCLA on FSN as part of their New Year's Eve festivities.

That will close out 2009, my games for January will follow tomorrow evening.

Billy Gillispie: The Freeway to Perdition and the Mountain Trail to Redemption

Truzenzuzex — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:53:01 -0000

More photos » by James Crisp - AP

This is a March 28, 2009, file photo showing former Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie answering a question during a news conference in Lexington, Ky.

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Perfect 20/20 hindsight is a thing that we all possesses, and it is at the same time constructive and destructive. We use it all to often to condemn, to rebuke, and to excoriate. But the best use for hindsight is to learn the lessons of the past failures or successes, which can lead to better living and happier times.

When Tubby Smith unexpectedly left Kentucky for the University of Minnesota in late March of 2007, it was a shock to the system -- not just of Kentucky fans, but of all of college basketball. Coaches like Smith simply didn't leave schools like Kentucky for downtrodden programs -- it was an extraordinary event. But extraordinary or not, that was the event that transformed the side road Billy Gillispie was on into an on-ramp for the highway to hell.

Before he arrived at Kentucky, Gillispie was a coach on the rise. Gillispie burst on the college basketball scene at a most unlikely place, the University of Texas-El Paso, his first Division I head coaching position. After taking the Miners to a 6-24 record in his first season, Gillispie recruited a top 25 class and went 24-8 to capture the WAC title, and in the process, actually defeated the famous Harlem Globetrotters 89-88, only the 3rd time in 289 games that the Globetrotters had lost a game.

From UTEP, Gillispie moved on to formerly moribund Texas A&M, where he led the Aggies to the NIT quarter finals in his first season, and to the NCAA tournament in 2005-06 and 2006-07, the last of which led him to a second-round tilt with Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals in Rupp Arena, a game which Gillispie won. It was a harbinger of his future home, but not of future success.

With Tubby Smith's departure in the spring of 2007, UK tried to lure Billy Donovan, a former UK assistant under Rick Pitino and now coach of the Florida Gators, away from Gainesville to Lexington. When that failed, Billy Gillispie eventually became the primary target of Kentucky Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart's coaching search. By this time, Gillispie had become perhaps the hottest coach in college basketball without a national championship ring not named John Calipari. For whatever reason, Calipari did not get the call from UK, and Billy Gillispie did.

The Highway to Perdition

When Gillispie came, most UK fans cheered. Here was the kind of coach we needed -- a man obsessed with basketball to the extent his life had no balance. Basketball coaching had cost Gillispie his marriage, and he himself admitted that his life was pretty much dedicated to one thing -- basketball coaching and recruiting. UK fans thought that was great, and Gillispie was their hero, their genius -- a man who truly understood the passion of the Kentucky fan. Gillispie's lack of balance in the cause of college basketball was a good thing, according to many of us.

But alas, lack of life balance can never be good, even when it comes to basketball. Ultimately, it was Gillispie's lack of balance and his obsessive personality that cost him his job, ultimately, his reputation and prospects for future employment.

20/20 hindsight is a beautiful, horrible thing. Billy Gillispie recently drove his life and career off the road by getting arrested for the third time in ten years for driving under the influence in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Now, looking back down the timeline of Gillispie's tenure as the head coach of the Wildcats, it all begins to make sense -- the whispers of erratic behavior, the inexplicable media faux pas, the tension with the basketball team and the failure to connect with the Lexington community and boosters. All these things speak of a person who was living a troubled life, and having trouble coping with the demons that assail us all, but found fertile ground in Gillispie's obsessive persona.

When Gillispie was interviewed for the Kentucky job, the subject of the two alcohol-related arrests of course came up for discussion, and here is where the 20/20 hindsight comes in. There was little known about the Tulsa arrest, but the arrest in El Paso had many items in common with Gillispie's most recent arrest in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky -- both occurred in the wee hours of the morning around 2:30-3:00, both times Gillispe seemed confused about where his credentials were, and both times Gillispie refused a breathalyzer test on the scene.

Of course, most UK fans remember Gillispies time at UK pretty clearly: his remarkable sales pitch that landed Patrick Patterson, one of the biggest recruiting gets in recent Kentucky history, the rude dismissal of walk-on Dusty Mills, the dust-ups with the NABC over early recruiting and moving Big Blue Madness to further recruiting, the refusal of DeAndre Liggins to enter the game vs. Kansas State in the Las Vegas Invitational. But mostly, Big Blue fans remember barely making the NCAA tournament in 2007-08 (forgivable with the loss of Patrick Patterson) and the train-wreck of an NIT season in 2008-09 that ultimately resulted in Gillispie's dismissal.

Billy Gillispie's life and career now lies in ruins, and sadly, the University of Kentucky has had a part to play in his destruction. Not, of course, that anyone but Gillispie is at fault for his behavior, but in a way, many of us (including yours truly) acted as enablers, excusing his earlier reckless acts when we should have objected to them, explaining his erratic behavior when we should have questioned it, forgiving his public embarrassments when we should have rebuked him for it. But UK fans did not hand Gillspie the most recent cup of hemlock that killed his coaching career, at least for the nonce. That blame lies squarely on the man from Graford, Texas, and is a consequence of an unbalanced, obsessive life.

The Mountain Trail to Redemption

While there are some fans at UK who bear Billy Gillispie ill will, most would probably tell you they wish nothing but the best for him and his future. John Calipar's most recent book, Bounce Back: Overcoming Setbacks to Succeed in Business and Life, ironically and serendipitously released very recently, would seem to be an excellent resource Gillspie to purchase and read. Calipari's book is about how he overcame his setbacks, the most severe of which was his firing from the New Jersey Nets, and the lessons he learned when it comes to recovery. Compared to Calipari, Gillispie's setbacks are much worse and threaten to be much more detrimental to his future. But setbacks are setbacks, and bouncing back from them, however severe, is a process that differs but little according to circumstances.

It seems that Gillispie has finally begun his rebound from his recent, largely self-inflicted career destruction. The former UK coach has checked into the John Lucas Athletes After Care program created by the former NBA star who struggled with alcohol and drug dependency while in the NBA. Lucas finally hit bottom in Houston and decided to deal with his problem, and the long, torturous mountain trail back to redemption inspired Lucas to help others locate and follow him up that difficult route.

In a seemingly endless chain of irony, John Lucas was also the father of the big recruit Gillispie didn't get while at Kentucky, Jai Lucas, who opted instead to go to Florida and play for former UK assistant coach Billy Donovan. The younger Lucas recently left the Gators after two years and has landed in Austin to play for the University of Texas. He will serve a year in residence this year, and play in 2010-11.

In his book, Calipari talks about "getting out from under the covers." What he means by that is getting out of bed and taking ownership of your situation, and making a decision to begin your "bounce back." With his enrollment in Lucas' program, Kentucky fans and, indeed, all basketball fans can hope that Billy Gillispie will rebound strongly from this difficult setback and return to the profession he loves. It won't be easy. It won't be short. And it will not happen if Gillispie does not stay on that winding, rocky path to redemption.

Godspeed, Coach Gillispie. May you reach the summit quicky, and may your bounce back be a high one.

Beavers End Postseason Ride as CBI Champs

Jake Bertalotto — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:15:08 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

8 months ago: Oregon State guard Josh Tarver, left, drives against University of Texas-El Paso guard Stefon Jackson during the first half of their College Basketball Invitational championship series college basketball game in Corvallis, Ore., Monday, March 30, 2009. The CBI championship tournament is a best-of-three games series. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

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Oregon State's post-season run ended just a little over two weeks ago, but I never got the chance to recap the entire tournament in one place. Here's that place.

Round One: Oregon State 49, Houston 45.

Clinching their first non-Pac-10 post-season tournament victory since the 1986-87 NIT, the Beavers surprised the streaky Cougars to advance into the CBI Quarterfinals. Omari Johnson stepped up in a big way for the Beavers during the game, hitting clutch shots down the stretch. He had all 11 of his points in the second half. Daniel Deane also had a big night, as the ball turned to gold nearly every time he got his hands around it. He scored 14 points in the game, on 7-of-7 shooting.

Houston averaged around 80 points per game before playing the Beavers, with Aubrey Coleman accounting for just under twenty points per game.

The Beavers held him to just under ten-- Coleman scored 9 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

"The thing I am most proud of with these guys is their defense," Coach Robinson said. "This is a team that averages 80 points a game, and we got them down to 45."

And, the quote of the game, which I dug up from Buker's game story:

"Hopefully, this will make us feel better about how we finish the season,'' said Johnson. "We think we can win this tournament.''

Round Two: Oregon State 71, Vermont 70 (Overtime)

After scoring just six points in the CBI Opening Round Game against Houston, Calvin Haynes woke up from a nasty slump to drop 19 points on the Vermont Catamounts in Round Two. Not only did he lead the team in scoring, but he sunk the game-winning basket with 6.1 seconds remaining in overtime. The shot was a floater from the left side of the lane. Basically, if Haynes sinks the shot, OSU wins, if not, the tournament ride is over.

"Basically, if we get a stop, we win the game, and we didn't get a stop,'' said disappointed Vermont coach Mike Lonergan.

The Beavers stumbled out of the gate in overtime, committing four turnovers and missing two lay-ups in the opening minutes. Luckily, the Catamounts struggled as well, as the Beavers actually held a lead for all but 39 seconds in the period.

Quote of the game...

"The whole time, I'm thinking the ride's over. Maybe this is really it,'' said Robinson of the struggles the Beavers went through in overtime..

Semifinals: Oregon State 65, Stanford 62 (Overtime)

Not often do you get the opportunity to play a team four times in a season, but the Beavers were itching to avenge a Pac-10 tournament loss when the two teams met in the CBI Semifinals at Gill Coliseum.

The Beavers swept the regular season series before dropping a Pac-10 tournament play-in game. The Cardinal what seemed to be the last laugh, until the Beavers took advantage of the CBI matchup.

Both teams got off to a hot shooting start, as seemingly everything fell in the first ten minutes. At the nine minute mark in the first half, the score was 21-20 in favor of Stanford. The Beavers would take a 28-26 lead into haltime.

The Cardinal sent the game to overtime when Lawrence Hill hit a fallback jumper from 15 feet out as time expired in regulation. He was able to collect a rebound that went right over the hands of Roeland Schaftenaar after Anthony Goods missed a three pointer that would have potentially won the game for Stanford.

The Beavers looked like they would win the game in regulation, then had their hopes squashed on the aforementioned shot. OSU then quickly fell behind in overtime, but gutted it out.

Quote of the game, by Craig Robinson. "We're in the championship."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Championship, Game One: Oregon State 75, UTEP 69.

In a game that shouldn't have been as close as the final score indicated, the Beavers started the CBI Championship Series with a bang as they defeated UTEP.

The Beavers led by as many as 21 in the second half, but UTEP used their speed and athleticism to chip away at the Beaver lead. They went on a 24-9 run over the next several minutes of play, and eventually whittled the lead all the way down to just three points with 1:14 to play in the game.

The Beavers had one of their best shooting games of the season at 60.5 percent, including 68.4 percent in the second half.

The point distribution was the best I'd seen in the season to date, as Roeland Schaftenaar led the Beavers with 19 points, Lathen Wallace was just behind him with five three's and 18 points.... Seth Tarver sccored 17, and Rickey Claitt scored 13.

Quote of the game, from UTEP head coach Tony Barbee: "They have been at home the past three weeks and we have been on the road the past three weeks it seems like. It will be interesting at our house with our crowd."

Champinoship, Game Two: UTEP 70, Oregon State 63.

It didn't take long for UTEP fans to develop a hatred towards Roeland Schaftenaar when the Beavers rolled into town to try and wrap up a CBI title.

The Miners used the home court to their advantage in the game, just as the Beavers did in Game 1.

The Beavers were close to being in position to win or at least tie the game late, but they failed to get big rebounds when they were needed most. The Beavers and Miners' rebounding numbers were nearly identical, but UTEP seemed to get the timely rebounds down the stretch.

"Rebounding: that's the first thing that jumps out at you about this game," Coach Robinson said. "We just came up a little bit short."

After shooting lights out in Game 1, the Beavers seemed to force things against in Game 2, often taking shots that were out of the offense.

Champinship, Game Three: Oregon State 81, UTEP 73

Playing in front of a sellout UTEP crowd with the CBI Championship on the line, Rickey Claitt turned in hist best performance of the post-season, if not the entire season, when he scored 28 points on 8-of-9 shooting, and 5-of-6 from three point range.

Calvin Haynes, who led the Beavers for seemingly entire stretches of the regular season and dropped in the winning shot against Vermont, was a non-factor in the game, but it didn't matter, as he just sat back and watched Rickey take charge.

"This is extremely special," Rickey said after the game. "I told coach that if we made it to a post-season tournament I'd do everything in my will to win it for him, and myself because it's my last year. And for Corvallis, because the community deserves this and a winning team, and to have a championship, so I just didn't want UTEP to take it."

Lathen Wallace scored 14 points, and Schaftenaar scored 12... Roeland played in all 40 minutes of the game, and was verbally harassed the entire time.

"I got booed for about two hours straight today, but we had fun," said an elated Schaftenaar.

The Beavers shot 57 percent from the field in the game, and 63 percent from behind the arc. The Beavers also made 17-of-26 free throws, a number of which helped the Beavers finish off the Miners near the end of the game.

The win marked the first tournament victory of any kind for the Beavers, who finished the season 18-18 after going 2-1 in the Championship Series.

--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

		#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.