SB Nation - William & Mary Tribe

Defend That, Digger! Week 1 (and a non-conference update)

BoilerTMill — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:55:49 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Big East basketball fever: Where offensive ineptitude happens. The 22 combined points were the fewest in a first half of a Division I game since the shot clock era began in 1985, when there was a 45-second clock, rather than the 35-second clock adopted in 1993. The teams broke the previous record held by Mississippi (15 points) and South Carolina (13 points), which combined for 28 points on Jan. 8, 2003. South Carolina ended up winning that game 55-49, but Pittsburgh won this one, 47-32. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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As promised, it is the premier of what will hopefully be a pretty regular weekly feature. Defend That, Digger is meant to make fun of our Big East and ACC brethren, showing them that defense is not a bad thing and that they aren't exactly the greatest teams in the country because the Worldwide Leader in Hyperbole says they are. Here is this week's exhibit A:

Pittsburgh 47, New Hampshire 32 - I thought the Big East was all about offense? Don't they have so much talent they can score 100 on anyone in the country? Pittsburgh was a #1 seed in last season's tournament (one of three from the all-powerful Big East). Now they are struggling against the Wildcats of New Hampshire. New Hampshire is one of the oldest teams in college basketball, yet they have never made an NCAA or NIT Tournament. In this game they scored just seven points in the first half, yet trailed by eight.

That's right, the halftime score was 15-7.

No, this was not football.

I know Pittsburgh is racked with injuries, but 15-7? From a former number one seed? Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit B:

Connecticut - The Huskies get called not for one game, but four. They have struggled with the NCAA powers Harvard (79-73) Hofstra (76-67), and William & Mary (75-66) this year. That is sure going to prepare them for the grueling Big East schedule. They are also currently ranked 13^th, though something tells me when they play real teams that won't last long. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit C:

William & Mary 78, Wake Forest 68 - This is the second appearance by the Tribe on here, so they might be a legitimately good team. Still, there is absolutely no excuse for Wake Forest, who was #1 at one point last season, to trail by double digits for most of a game at home against William & Mary. Wake is a legitimately good team. I have seen them in person now. But there is no defense for this. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit D:

Illinois 76, Clemson 74 - A prime example here. Illinois used, imagine this, solid second half defense to overcome a 23 point deficit and give the Big Ten the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Oh, and they did it on the road in an imposing ACC gym. There is no excuse for ever blowing a 23 point second half lead at home. Ever. Clemson, you are a pretend ACC program. You always will be. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit E:

UNC-Charlotte 87, Louisville 65 - The Big East's third number one seed from last season lost by 22 at home. This isn't UNC. This is UNC-Charlotte, a State-City school that while decent, should never beat a #16 team on its home floor by 22 points. Maybe Rick Pitino should watch some game film of the 49ers instead of boinking Louisville-area waitresses. At least he gets a slight discount at Applebee's. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit F:

Notre Dame - Because playing a "National Schedule" of North Florida, St. Francis (PA), Long Beach State, Liberty, Kennesaw State, Idaho State, and Central Florida is much better than developing "tradition" and "natural rivalries." I though the Irish valued tradition. Defend That, Digger!

The comments are now open for Big East and ACC bashing

Enough laughing at the greatest conferences in the world. Let's see what our own non-conference opponents are doing to help our resumes.

Cal State Northridge (4-4) - The Matadors have played quite a vagabond schedule as a low-major. They have played just twice in their home gym so far, but are a respectable 4-4. Among their wins is a 95-93 win over Idaho. The Vandals responded by crushing Portland by 20 (the same Portland that made a big run in the '76 classic over UCLA and Minnesota). Northridge's most recent game was a respectable 8-point loss at Washington.

South Dakota State (3-5, 1-1 Summit) - The Jackrabbits have already begun conference play with a 1-1 record. The beat Western Illinois, but lost by 22 at conference leader IUPUI. The Western Illinois win was their first since before heading to the Virgin Islands.

St. Joseph's (3-4) - Since starting the year 3-0 and upsetting Boston College in the Paradise Jam the Hawks haven't done much. They followed up their loss to us with a loss to DePaul. They then dropped consecutive road contests to Rider and Cornell by a combined 20 points. They could do us a big favor in their next game by upsetting #3 Villanova Wednesday night.

Tennessee (6-1) - The Volunteers are maintaining their ranking, but they haven't played anyone. College of Charleston and East Tennessee State are their latest victims, but us and maybe DePaul remain their only true competition.

Central Michigan (3-5) - The Chips had a dominant 78-40 win at home against Chicago State, but lost 75-62 at Illinois State this weekend. Expect the losses to pile up. They don't play at home against until January 13^th against Ball State.

Wake Forest (5-2) - I thought the losses would pile up a bit after the underwhelming performance against William & Mary, but Wake followed up their loss to us with a very nice 77-75 win at Gonzaga. Going cross-country like that is not an easy trip. Beating the Bulldogs in their house is even tougher. They have interesting non-conference games coming up against Xavier and a tough Richmond squad.

Buffalo (3-3) - We all know what happened in their last game. They get a regional rivalry this week against a tough low-major in Niagara. Sadly, that may be the best team they have left on the schedule.

Valparaiso (3-5, 0-1 Horizon) - Valparaiso may have played the toughest schedule in the country lately. We're the fourth preseason top 10 team they will play. Their only Division 1 win was over Georgia Southern, but they played North Carolina to an 11 point game. They also lost to Michigan State by 30 and Butler by 17. Watch out for Kokomo Wildkat Brandon Wood, who averages 22 per game and had 30 against North Carolina.

Alabama (6-2) - This is shaping up to be an interesting game. The Crimson Tide dropped its opener to Cornell (who also beat St. Joseph's). They also lost a neutral site game to a decent Florida State team. Their best win? 68-66 over Michigan. Stay tuned for more this week on them and Valpo with appropriate previews this week.

Ball State (2-3) - The Cardinals haven't played in a week, but have lost three straight to Butler, UC Davis, and Temple. They do have wins over common opponents Valparaiso and SIU-Edwardsville.

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (2-6) - The Cougars have played the vagabond schedule of an independent, but they won two in a row over Drake and Texas-Arlington after an 0-6 start. This is easily the weakest team on our schedule. They opened the year with a 96-69 loss at Illinois.

West Virginia (5-0) - The Mountaineers are ranked just behind us in the AP poll. They won the '76 Classic against an impressive field (though Texas A&M was their toughest game). Like us, they open conference play with a home game (Marquette) before our New Year's Day game. A very interesting trip to a dangerous Cleveland State on December 19^th could stand between them and an unbeaten record when they face us.

Wake Forest Preview

BoilerTMill — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:00:13 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

Al-Farouq will now be the name of my firstborn son.

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This is a week for conference pride. The Big Ten is 0-10 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge since it inception. Last year may have been the closest we have come to a Midwestern victory as the ACC one 6-5. Boston College and Clemson each won by only two points, however, and Maryland beat Michigan by five. The higher profile games were more embarrassing though. Michigan State got drilled in Detroit by North Carolina and Purdue showed it wasn't quite ready for primetime in a 16 point home loss to Duke.

This year is different though. The Big Ten has its deepest lineup in years. Even as I write this Penn State, one of the bottom teams in the conference this year, is on its way to an early 1-0 lead for the conference. Purdue has not helped matters, going 2-6 in the first ten years of the event (we did not play in 2001 and 2002 when the ACC was a nine team league). Our only two wins have come at home though, against Clemson in 2003 (when the Big Ten lost 7-2) and against Virginia in 2006 (when the Big Ten lost 8-3). I guess that means a Boiler win is bad for the conference. Ah well, I still want to beat Wake Forest.

Record: 4-1

2008-09 Record: 24-7 (Lost 84-69 to Cleveland State in NCAA First Round

Blog Representation: Blogger So Dear

Series with Purdue: Purdue leads 3-2

Last meeting: 12/28/89 in Tucson, AZ a 66-52 Purdue win

Last Wake Forest win: 12/29/81 in New Orleans, LA 76-68

Many people are drawing their conclusions about Wake Forest from their last game. Despite a dominant 4-0 start over Oral Roberts, East Carolina, High Point, and Winston-Salem the Demon Deacons dropped their first ever November game at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Did they lose to a major power? No. They lost 78-68 to William & Mary from the Colonial Athletic Association. While William & Mary challenged UConn in their opener, they also lost to Harvard.

It is not like William & Mary hung around and got lucky on a late three, either. They led nearly the entire game (Wake Forest only led at 6-5) and played with confidence the entire game. Wake's leading scorer on the season, 6'9" forward Al-Farouq Aminu (18.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg) was held to just 11 points on 4 of 18 shooting. He had a career high 20 rebounds, but couldn't throw the ball in the ocean that night.

Wake Forest is a big team that has good balance statistically. Ishmael Smith and C.J. Harris each average 11.8 points per game, but they clearly miss David Teague's cousin, Jeff Teague. Jeff Teague was a phenomenal player who could have been a senior this year, but he is now sleeping on a pile of money with many beautiful ladies as the 19^th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks.

Ari Stewart (8.6 ppg), L.D. Williams (7.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.2 apg), Chris McFarland (6.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg), and Tony Woods (5.2 ppg) are the main rotation for the Demon Deacons. David Weaver has also played in all five games thus far, but is more of a rebounder than a scorer.

As mentioned, this is a big team. That size could give us some problems. Aminu can do a little bit of everything because Weaver and Woods each go 6'11". Sophomore Ty Walker is also a 7-footer, but he has played sparingly. McFarland is also a 7-footer. It will be critical for us to negate this size advantage with solid boxouts on the glass. Otherwise, we could be in for a long night. Wake Forest shoots almost 48% from the field, and that number can go up with a couple of 7-footers tipping in some second chance points.

One thing that should play into our hands is the fact that Wake Forest does not take care of the basketball. They are averaging more than 15 turnovers per game without playing a defense of our caliber. I expect that the Defense Lives Here sign will get plenty of work. This also means you should buy a shirt to match the counter.

I am concerned about Wake's ability to score the basketball. They are averaging almost 79 points per game. They pull down almost 44 rebounds per game. That is a lot. We don't have the size to match up with their rebounders. We have mostly the same lineup from last year and I remember what one big man did to us against UConn. Wake Forest has four guys like that. We cannot counter that.

Fortunately, we might want to get the Demon Deacons to the foul line. They shoot a dismal 65% as a team and they are even worse from 3-point land (29.9%). Harris is the only serious 3-point shooting threat. Despite their size, only Aminu and McFarland are in double figures on the season for offensive rebounds. There is no excuse for that with their size. Aminu does a little bit of everything and is a good shooter, but he is also a turnover machine (15 through five games).

I think we can win this because we play such good team basketball. We don't rely on just one player to do all the work for us. We get everyone involved on both ends of the floor. Just look at Mark Wohlford's efforts. We're also due for a better game shooting the basketball from long range. The crowd will also be a factor. Before the game we'll be unveiling the Big Ten Tournament Championship banner. This is something that hasn't happened in 13 years, and the 1996 banner finally won't be so lonely. Hopefully this will be a prelude to three more banner unveilings.

Finally, let's be real. This team got out-defended by William & Mary last week. With all due respect to the Tribe, that isn't exactly a Big Ten-level defense. Maybe Chris Kramer has some cousins playing down there. Who knows.

Keys to the game for Purdue:

Keep Wake off the offensive glass
For turnovers from a turnover-plagued team
Don't guard Aminu at the expense of their other bigs
Make them beat us from the perimeter
Don't let them make the extra pass (15.2 assists per game average)

Prediction: Purdue 74, Wake Forest 70.

Deacon Dump 12/1: Turning the page

MRickman84 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:29:56 -0000

The Deacs need to have a short memory in preparation for tonight's game against the Boilermakers. Hopefully they've addressed what they needed to and made the correct adjustments. They absolutely must bring their best game today.

WFU wary of Purdue defense
"They're really up and into you defensively," Gaudio said. "I think they do a great job on the defensive end of the floor."

No. 4 Purdue's prestige at stake | jconline.com | Journal and Courier
"We will be up for this game," Grant said. "It's an important game. Just playing an elite team like Wake Forest is like playing in the NCAA tournament.

Purdue's focus on Wake Forest, not Challenge | jconline.com | Journal and Courier
"We have to keep our focus on what we can control, which is our performance against Wake Forest," Painter said Monday. "Looking at it as whole, we would love to be able to win the Challenge, but we have to worry about Wake Forest, and that's it.

My Take on Wake - A Good Team Finishes Well | JournalNow.com
"Unfortunately our record doesn’t show it, but we know we’re a pretty good football team,’’ senior Riley Skinner said. "We just didn’t make enough plays down the stretch. But for me, I know this is probably the most talented offense we’ve had at Wake since I’ve been here. "That hasn’t always factored into wins, but for me it’s been really fun to be around guys who are that talented to make that many plays. It’s made it a lot easier for me.’’

Wake's Grobe, 2 ex-Cavs aides cited as Groh successor | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
"Jim Grobe would be a great, great hire for them," Randle said. "He would be the answer. I don't think there's any question about that.... (Fellow analyst) Doc Walker said, 'Nobody in the league can touch him.' " Randle has said on numerous occasions, however, that he doesn't think Virginia can get Grobe, 57.

FayObserver.com - What to watch for in ACC-Big Ten Challenge
STUCK OUTSIDE This was supposed to be the week we learned a lot about Wake Forest's potential. The Demon Deacons play tonight at No. 4 Purdue, then follow with a Saturday trip to play at No. 17 Gonzaga. But perhaps we already learned a lot about Wake's weaknesses from Saturday's surprising 78-68 home loss to William & Mary. The biggest area of concern right now is the Deacons' shaky outside shooting, which was exposed when the Tribe applied a packed-in zone defense to disrupt Wake's inside attack. The Deacs wound up firing 36 3-point attempts and missing 26. (Star forward Al-Farouq Aminu was 0-for-7 from deep.) Wake is now shooting 29.9 percent from long range on the season (11th best in the ACC) and is one of only three conference teams that doesn't have a single player who has made 10 3s. The other two: North Carolina and N.C. State.

Stakes are high for Purdue in Big Ten-ACC Challenge | The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN
"Aminu is the best guy we’ve faced this season," Painter said. "He might be the best guy we face all season. He’s a very unique guy with size and athleticism and skill. He has a great feel for the game. "They’re a very good team. They have experience and seniors and anytime you have a handful of guys who have been through the battle and been road tested, it will help. "They have a good balance of athleticism, size and experience. The big thing for me is they out-rebound opponents by 10. It’s very important that we do a good job on the glass."

Boilers will face Deacons" Evansville Courier & Press
Al-Farouq Aminu leads the Deacons in scoring, averaging 18.8 points per game, and rebounding, averaging 11.2 boards. He also ranks second in the ACC in both categories. Also scoring in double figures are Ishmael Smith and C.J. Harris, both of whom average 11.8 points. In addition, Smith has not committed a turnover in either of his last two games. He also is one of the best passers on the team, with 454 career assists. He is six assists out of sixth place on Wake Forest all-time assists list.

C.J. Harris Named ACC Rookie of the Week - WAKE FOREST OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
Freshman guard averaged 16.5 points per game last week

Tyler Lewis: More Than Meets the Eye | Memphis Roar
Great read on 2012 basketball recruit Tyler Lewis

Demon Deacons begin tough week filled with ranked opponents
Painter said the Boilermakers’ lofty ranking doesn’t mean anything so early in the season. "Right now being ranked … means you’ve won a couple key games, you had a good finish to last season and maybe you had a good recruiting class."

Wake Forest-Purdue Preview - Nov. 30, 2009 - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com
Purdue limited the Chippewas - favorites to win the Mid-American Conference West Division - to five baskets in the first half, 13 for the game and 28.3 percent shooting. It matched the lowest point total allowed by Purdue in Painter's five seasons as coach. "Defense is what you hang your hat on," said Painter, whose team is trying for the program's first 6-0 start since 2003-04.

ACC players of the week - ACC Blog - ESPN
OFFENSIVE BACK: Riley Skinner, Wake Forest, QB, Sr., 6-1, 210, Jacksonville, Fla. (The Bolles School) Wake Forest senior quarterback Riley Skinner completed 28-of-38 passes for a career-high 372 yards and a school record five touchdown passes in the final game of his career, a 45-34 win at Duke. Skinner threw for scoring strikes of 28, 8, 54, 13, and 49 yards. His first two touchdown passes tied the game at 7-7 and 14-14, respectively, while his third gave the Demon Deacons the lead for good. Skinner finished the season with 3,160 passing yards, becoming the first Wake Forest quarterback to eclipse the 3,000-yard mark in school history, and finished his career in fourth place in league history with 9,762 passing yards and 9,923 yards of total offense. He is also seventh with 60 touchdown passes.

ESPN Winning central to dynamic duo's approach -ESPN Rise BOYSBASKETBALL
"That was definitely my breakout point," says Desrosiers, who averaged 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 blocks in the postseason. "Every playoff game, I was just looking forward to it, my confidence was really high and we were clicking as a team." "He just took his game to another level," says Nault. "After that, everyone said he was going to be the next great player in Massachusetts, and he's just taken off since then. Every year he's come back and added something to his game to make him a better player."

FIFTH QUARTER: Still second-fiddle to the SEC – ACC Insider - Wilmington Star News - Wilmington, NC - Archive
2. Winning Wake: They won’t finish their careers by making their fourth straight bowl trip, but with a 45-34 win at Duke, 22 Wake Forest seniors earned their 33th career victory, making them the winningest class in school history.

Deacon Dump 11/30: Looking back on the best class in Wake Forest history

MRickman84 — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Ted Richardson - AP

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I don't really know how long it's going to take for it to really sink in that there will be no Riley Skinner next year. I think we as fans just got so used to him. We may have even taken him for granted a little bit. Those kind of leaders and performers don't come along that often. We certainly noticeably missed AC, KP, Chip, Phonz, Arnoux and Robinson this year. But, it's time to turn the page and see what the young gunners can give us.

ACC Football: Wake Forest 45, Duke 34 | Salisbury, NC - Salisbury Post
"It feels a lot better than anybody outside of our locker room can imagine," said Skinner, who finished the year with single-season school records of 3,160 yards and 26 touchdown passes. "Just what we've gone through this year and the kind of games that we've had have been the toughest to lose."

Scout.com: Things To Be Thankful For After 2009
Thanks to Wake Forest AD Ron Wellman and Wake head coach Jim Grobe for showing the Duke administration that you can be a small private school and have a good football team at the same time. Your team’s continual embarrassment of ours in the early and mid-90’s was the kick in the pants needed to institute a paradigm shift in how Duke’s decision-makers approached the football program. You made them reaize that Duke strives for excellence in everything we do, except football. That became an unacceptable viewpoint in large part due to your success. because of this shift, Duke football is no longer a red-headed stepchild in its own university community.

UNC, Wake Forest advance to soccer quarterfinals : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis
"I think it was a tremendous treat for the soccer fans in Winston-Salem tonight," Wake head coach Jay Vidovich said. "They saw six goals. It was a tremendous start to the match for us. We scored three first half goals and I thought it really could have blown open when Corben (Bone) hit the post early in the second half."

Deacons shut down Blue Hose
Brittany Waters scored 14 points to lead Wake Forest past Presbyterian 66-25 yesterday in a nonconference women's game at Joel Coliseum. Presbyterian's 25 points were the second fewest for a Wake Forest opponent since 1972.

Team nicknames: much ado about nothing
Are protestants up in arms because Wake Forest players are known as the Demon Deacons? Lighten up, folks.

Week 13 postgame, the players: Gerhart punches his trophy ticket - Sporting News
2. Riley Skinner, Wake Forest QB. Skinner's college career ended in fitting fashion. He was the catalyst in Wake Forest turning around its miserable program (the Deacons returned to gloomy days this year, however). Skinner passed for a career-high 372 yards and a school-record five touchdowns to help Wake Forest defeat Duke 45-34. He was 28-of-38 passing and did not throw an interception.

'Breakthrough' victory for William and Mary men's basketball -- dailypress.com
William and Mary had lost its last 24 games to ACC schools and its previous 29 road games to ACC teams before knocking off Wake Forest. The Deacons had won 23 consecutive non-conference games at Joel Coliseum and never had lost at their present home in the month of November. It had been 25 years since they beat an opponent in the ACC, taking a 54-53 victory over Virginia on Dec. 5, 1984.

Tough-Minded Purdue Knows Its Identity | The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN
"We’re looking forward to it," Painter said. "They have a great program. They have very talented players, size, athleticism and quickness. We’ll have our hands full. We have to do our part (in upholding Big Ten honor against the ACC). The last couple of years we haven’t. We have to dive into our scouting report and play well."

Stanford impresses Tim Jackson during in-home visit | Home Team | Tampabay.com
UNC will make an in-home Tuesday. Both Wake Forest and Vanderbilt will stop by Wednesday. "I know it's going to get crazy these next couple of months," Jackson said.

Wake Up! Q&A with Wake Forest's Blogger So Dear - Hammer and Rails
Hammer & Rails plays the Q&A game with Blogger So Dear about the ACC/Big Ten Challenge this week.

Deacons closing in on a trip to College Cup
Zack Schilawski really wants to play soccer in his hometown of Cary next month. "It's a nice place," Schilawski said with a smile after he scored two goals and assisted on a third as Wake Forest defeated Duke 4-2 yesterday in a third-round match of the NCAA men's tournament at Spry Stadium. Coach Jay Vidovich of the Deacons joked: "He's got a prom date he still has to hook up with there."

Game Preview: Wake Forest vs. William & Mary

MRickman84 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:00:16 -0000

The 4-0 Deacs are taking on the 3-2 Tribe in their last chance to tune up before Purdue. That doesn't mean W&M can be overlooked, as they really gave UConn a game on Nov. 13.

Let's take a look at what we're getting into...

William & Mary runs a Princeton-style offense and plays at the 9th slowest tempo in the country, something that has given the Demon Deacons trouble in the past. The Tribe look to be running it well so far, shooting 41.4% from 3PT and keeping the TO at 13.2 per game. David Schneider is the undisputed star of this team and a possible All-CAA player at 17.8 PPG, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He's only shooting 37%, but has the potential to go off at any time.

Their starting 5 clocks in at 6'3", 6'1", 6'5", 6'7" and 6'9", so Wake has a definite size advantage if they want to use it. Problem is, too often the Deacs will form-fit their team to play their opponent. If Wake wants to really take it to W&M, they would be wise to put their best team on the floor, potentially swapping Weaver for Woods because of Weaver's ability to get down the floor. With Aminu on the floor too, this team can muscle inside.

Wake only shot 16 FTs against WSSU and that number should absolutely be higher against the Tribe. This is not a jump-shooting game. If Wake is patient, they can get any look they want. If William & Mary wants to have any shot against the Demon Deacons, they will have to shoot well from beyond the arc. 47.5% of W&M's points have been off 3PTs this season and they shoot the 2nd most 3PA/FGA.

Two W&M players are shooting over 40% from deep--Danny Sumner (15.2 PPG, 4.0 rebounds, .434 FG%, .448 3PT%) and Quinn McDowell (14.6 PPG, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, .511 FG%, .407 3PT%). Wake is holding opponents to a 21.5 3PT %. So someone is going to win out there.

The Tribe are the 7th most efficient offense in the country and with their slow tempo, when they convert, it limits possessions and forces their opponents to hit their shots. The Demon Deacons aren't exactly a terrific half-court team, so they need to force the Tribe to speed up, whether that means pressing or pressuring the ball handler through some double teams or a matchup zone.

Defensively, William & Mary plays some zone, so Wake will have attack the middle as often as possible. That soft spot between the FT line and the hoop will be wide open, as will the sides of the hoop at the baselines. This is a perfect opportunity for Aminu to go nuts, as well as finally getting Chas McFarland some touches. Ish Smith will also have success if he can get some screens so that he can attack with his floater.

All in all, this will be a tricky matchup for the Deacs, but as long as they play their game and stay disciplined, they will be able to take this one at home.

Wake: 76
W&M: 67

BtB 2009-10 Colonial Athletic Association Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:00:24 -0000

Virginia Commonwealth made a nice name for themselves over the past few seasons. Sure, George Mason put the CAA on the map by reaching the Final Four in 2006, but the Rams have brought a new level of consistency to the league over the past few seasons. Over the past three seasons, VCU has been the undisputed regular season league champ, the first team ever to accomplish that feat. They also won the CAA tournament in two of those three seasons--the Patriots won in '08--and proved to be a tough out in the NCAAs, beating Duke before falling to Pitt in OT in 2007 and losing to UCLA on a buzzer beater last season.

But two of the main reasons for VCU's success have moved on. Head coach Anthony Grant took over at Alabama, while starting point guard Eric Maynor, who won two CAA Player of the Year awards during his time in Richmond, is now plying his trade with the Utah Jazz. However, the Rams have four starters back,led by guard Joey Rodriguez and center Larry Sanders, they'll still be a major factor in the race this season for new coach Shaka Smart (a former Florida assistant, like Grant).

But it may be time for Old Dominion, who returns all five starters, led by Finnish forward Gerald Lee, to dethrone the Rams. Mason, Northeastern, and Hofstra will also surely have something to say in the title chase, and it wouldn't be the CAA without someone rising up the standings unexpectedly. More on these favorites and their pursuers after the jump.

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

Colonial Athletic Association Standings

(updated 3.31.2009 at 10:55 PM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Va. Commonwealth Rams	14	4	24	10
George Mason Patriots	13	5	22	11
Old Dominion Monarchs	12	6	25	10
Northeastern Huskies	12	6	19	13
Hofstra Pride	11	7	21	11
Drexel Dragons	10	8	15	14
James Madison Dukes	9	9	21	15
Georgia St. Panthers	8	10	12	20
Delaware Blue Hens	6	12	13	19
Towson Tigers	5	13	12	22
William & Mary Tribe	5	13	10	20
UNC-Wilmington Seahawks	3	15	7	25

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

William and Mary (last NCAA: None) The Tribe could be improved this season, if they can find a way to spread the scoring around a bit. Seniors David Schneider (14.1 ppg) and Danny Sumner (13.4 ppg) are going to attract more defensive attention this year, so Bill and Mary could use further offensive options. Sophomore swingman Quinn McDowell averaged over 9 points a game last season, so he is a possibility. 6-9 freshman Andrew Pavloff could be another. Head coach Tony Shaver is expecting him to bolster a thin frontcourt.

Towson (last NCAA: 1991) The Tigers shocked third-seeded Northeastern to reach the CAA semifinals last year, where they attempted to give GMU a game. Pat Kennedy's squad features four returning starters from a year ago, though more will be expected from Robert Nwankwo (4.4 ppg. 4.5 rpg) and Jarrel Smith (9.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg) after the departure of leading scorer and rebounder Junior Hairston (13 ppg. 7.4 rpg). Freshman Isaiah Philmore will also be expected to contribute immediately, though he is a true swingman. Brian Morris (5.1 ppg, 3.8 apg) is back to run the point for the Tigers. who only venture out of the Baltimore-DC area once during their non-conference slate. They visit Dayton.

Drexel (last NCAA: 1996) The Dragons looked to be a serious contender in the CAA race, until they dropped three consecutive one point games to wrap up the CAA season. As the scorelines (49-48, 47-46, and 48-47) indicate, Drexel was an impressive defensive team that couldn't shoot a lick last year. Scoring could again be an issue, as their only double-digit scorer of a year ago, Scott Rodgers (13.1 ppg) is gone. Bruiser Flint will need more production from his three leading returning scorers, G Gerald Colds (9 ppg), PG Jamie Harris (8.1 ppg, 2.9 apg), and F Evan Neisler (7.8 ppg. 6.9 rpg). The Dragons will host one of the "subregionals" of the Legends Classic, featuring Cornell, Toledo, and Vermont. They also face three of the Big Five, St. Joe's, Penn, and Villanova, while working in a trip to Lexington to face Kentucky.

Georgia State (last NCAA: 2001) Rod Barnes' squad features six seniors, including the Panthers' three returning starters, Mississippi transfer 6-7 F Trey Hampton (4.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg), and the team's two leading scorers from last season, PG Joe Dukes (12.8 ppg, 4.2 apg) and G Trae Goldston (10.8 ppg). Hampton and fellow Ole Miss transfer Xavier Hansbro (4.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg) really need to be more effective inside for the Panthers to move up the standings. Freshman James Vincent, a 6-10 F/C, may help push them. If the interior play doesn't improve, it will be another long season in Atlanta. GSU will play in the Glenn Wilkes Classic in November, visiting NC State and taking on Drake, Howard, and IUPUI in Daytona Beach.

Delaware (last NCAA: 1999) The Blue Hens were basically the complete opposite of Drexel last season, plenty of scoring, but not enough stops. Scoring should continue to be a strong suit for Monte Ross' team, as juniors Jawan Carter (15.2 ppg, 2.6 apg) and Alphonso Dawson (14.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and senior Brian Johnson (10 ppg, 5 apg) all return. Someone will have to step up to replace the contributions of the graduated Marc Egerson (15.4 ppg, 10.3 rpg), particularly on the glass. UD's non-conference schedule is remarkably local. They get a home game against Temple in the Philly Hoop Group Classic, but travel to Siena and face Virginia Tech in the Palestra in that same event. They do travel to Burlington to face Vermont, however.

UNC Wilmington (last NCAA: 2006) The bright spot of a dismal season for the Seahawks was a 81-72 home win over league champs VCU. They won only six other times in '08-09, but could have had a few more. As four starters, including three double-digit scorers, return for Benny Moss, there should be a lot more happy moments in Wilmington this season. Junior Chad Tomko (15.6 ppg, 4.4 apg) could replace the departed Maynor as the conference's best point guard. He'll team with senior Johnny Wolf (13.9 ppg) to form a formidable backcourt. The biggest issue for the Seahawks is the frontcourt, where 6-7 Dominique Lacy (10.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg) could use some help, particularly on the boards. UNCW will participate in the Charleston Classic, where they'll open with NIT winners Penn State.

James Madison (last NCAA: 1994) Matt Brady did a nice job in his first season at the helm in Harrisonburg. The Dukes won 21 games, including three postseason contests. They qualified for the inaugural CollegeInsider tournament, where they lost to eventual winners and CAA rival Old Dominion in the semifinals. JMU will have to try to improve on last year without two of that team's three leading scorers, forwards Kyle Swanston (11.6 ppg) and Juwann James (14.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg). But Brady has a lot of excellent players still at his disposal. Devon Moore (10.7 ppg) and Pierre Curtis (9.3 ppg) will be an effective backcourt, and reserve forwards Andrey Semenov (8.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Dazzmond Thornton (6 ppg, 3.2 rpg) will join starter Julius Wells (11.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg) to form an intimidating frontcourt unit. The Dukes will visit Ohio State as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. They also travel to Miami to face Florida International, Murray State, and North Carolina Central in one of that event's subregionals. In December, JMU flies cross country to face Stanford.

Hofstra (last NCAA: 2001) Tom Pecora's side returns four starters, including leading scorers Charles Jenkins (19.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.3 apg) and Cornelius Vines (10.5 ppg). Like Tomko at UNCW, Jenkins could really attract a lot of attention thanks to Maynor's graduation. But the big question in Hempstead is how well the Pride's five newcomers fit in, as Pecora likes to distribute the minutes. The Pride will take part in the North region of the NIT Season Tip-Off, where they'll likely face UConn if they get by Yale in their opener. Hofstra will also make the short trip into the City to take part in the Holiday Classic. They open with St. John's and will face either Ivy favorite Cornell or Stephen Curry-less Davidson in their second game.

Northeastern (last NCAA: 1991) The Huskies started well, winning at Providence and a rebuilding Indiana, then opening the CAA schedule with 10 wins in their first 11 games. Then, the wheels came off, as the Huskies only won twice more in the league, eventually falling to Towson in the quarterfinals. Still, they earned a CBI invite, where they defeated Wyoming on the road, before their season ended at UTEP. Bill Coen has four starters back off that team, and he can only hope the gas tank stays full this year. Matt Janning (14.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) will again challenge for all-CAA honors, while Chaisson Allen (10.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Manny Adako (11.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg), and Nkem Ojougboh (7.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg) are all valuable pieces of the puzzle. The biggest thing for Coen is to find some bench scoring. Northeastern's schedule gets serious right out of the gate, as they travel to Siena for a noon tip that's part of ESPN's November 17 marathon. They also welcome Providence, Utah State, and Wright State to Boston. December sees them play in two tournaments back-to-back, first the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, where they open with Patty Mills-less St. Mary's, then the Cable Car Classic at Santa Clara.

George Mason (last NCAA: 2008) The Patriots attempted to make it back-to-back trips to the Dance, but last year's CAA final was really over before it started. The season ended in further disappointment when GMU dropped a four point overtime decision to champions Penn State in the NIT. Now Jim Larranaga will have to try to stay competitive despite losing three key starters from a season ago, guards Dre Smith and John Vaughan and forward Darryl Monroe. So, with those significant losses, why are the Patriots still contenders? Well, Larranaga still has Cam Long (11.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Louis Birdsong (6.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg) on the roster. Plus, he receives the services of two highly-touted freshmen this year, Capital Classic and Jordan Brand Classic selectee Paris Bennett, a 6-6 F, and 6-4 G Sherrod Wright, who also played in the Jordan game. GMU plays in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, where they have the unenviable task of opening with Villanova, a team they lost to in the Old Spice Classic semifinals in 2007. They could face Dayton in their second game there, but if they don't, the two meet in Fairfax in December, four days before the Patriots welcome Creighton to town in a BracketBusters rematch.

VCU (last NCAA: 2009) It's up to Shaka Smart to keep what Jeff Capel and Anthony Grant have gotten going in Richmond. Of course, he has to do it without Maynor, the program's heart and soul. However, the cupboard is far from bare. Sanders, a bruising 6-10 forward who averaged more than 11 points, almost 9 boards a game, and nearly 3 blocks a game, is back for his junior year. 6-8 senior Kiril Pishchalnikov (5.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg) will also be a force in the frontcourt. In the backcourt, Joey Rodriguez and Brandon Burgess will have to fill the void left by Maynor, and considering they averaged a combined 16.8 points per contest last year, they're more than capable. Brandon Rozzell, who averaged almost 7 points a game last year, will also see more minutes. If one of these players can step up in the leadership department, fans in Richmond may be able to forget about Maynor. (Nah, that'll never happen.) The Rams schedule features a visit from Oklahoma, coached by Capel, and a home game against Nevada, a return of the 71-70 Wolf Pack triumph in last year's BracketBusters.

Old Dominion (last NCAA: 2007) Blaine Taylor's squad took the inaugural CollegeInsider tournament crown with a 66-62 win over Bradley in Peoria. The Monarchs return all five starters, led by Lee, a 6-10 Finnish-American who averaged almost 16 points and 6 rebounds a contest last season. Taylor preaches defense, and opponents only managed an average of 60 points a game last year. However, the Monarchs could score a bit more, as Lee was the only player to average in double figures last season. 6-5 swingman Ben Finney could improve on his average of 9.9 a game this time around. Point guard Darius James is a pass-first guy who dished out 4.5 assists per contest, so the offense is certainly in good hands. ODU will participate in the South Padre Island Invitational, where they'll open with Missouri. They'll face either Mississippi State or Richmond in their second game. If it's the Spiders, they'll play UR back to back, as ODU is already scheduled to visit the Robins Center on December 2.

So the Monarchs will hold the Colonial's auto bid in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9. I don't anticipate multiple bids for the CAA at the moment, but that could very well change as the season goes on.

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

Preseason All-CAA Team

Player of the Year: Larry Sanders, 6-10 F, Jr. (Virginia Commonwealth)

Remainder of the Team
Matt Janning, 6-4 G/F, Sr. (Northeastern)
Charles Jenkins, 6-3 G, Jr. (Hofstra)
Gerald Lee, 6-10 F, Sr. (Old Dominion)
Chad Tomko, 5-11 G, Jr. (UNC Wilmington)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the CAA this season?

Delaware

0 votes

Drexel

4 votes

George Mason

4 votes

Georgia State

0 votes

Hofstra

1 votes

James Madison

0 votes

Northeastern

1 votes

Old Dominion

1 votes

Towson

1 votes

UNC Wilmington

0 votes

Virginia Commonwealth

6 votes

William and Mary

0 votes

18 votes | Poll has closed