CH2K8: One More Try

[Balldog]

After my Anthony Grant legacy took a crap on me, I'm going to start up an Open Legacy but with a Career Legacy team. I will start with Radford, the first season I will sim and recruit, then play all the games going forward.

[Balldog]

2007-2008 Season Results
@ Michigan, L 57-64
@ E. Michigan, W 79-67
vs Gardner-Webb, L 69-71
@ Air Force, W 73-65
@ Campbell, L 79-92
@ Gardner-Webb, W 58-44
Vs Campbell, L 78-86
@ Georgetown, L 58-76
@ James Madison, L 62-66
Vs W. Virginia, W 84-73
@ South Carolina, L 53-65
*@ Coastal Carolina, W 64-58
* @ Charl. Southern, L 69-77
* vs Winthrop, L 64-73
* @ UNC Asheville, L 68-74
* vs High Point, L 71-77
* vs Liberty, L 54-69
* @ VMI, W 71-70
* vs Charl. Southern, L 65-69
* vs Coastal Carolina, W 71-66
* @ Winthrop, L 42-68
* vs UNC Asheville, L 47-64
* vs VMI, L 60-78
* @ High Point, L 59-64
* @ Liberty, W 66-58
+ @ Winthrop, L 61-69

Big South Standings and Awards
Winthrop (18-12, 11-3)
Coastal Carolina (14-12, 8-6)
UNC Asheville (16-13, 8-6)
Charl. Southern (10-16, 8-6)
VMI (12-16, 6-8)
High Point (8-17, 6-8)
Liberty (11-18, 5-9)
Radford (8-18, 4-10)
UNC Asheville beat Winthrop 83-82 to win the conference tournament.

Randy Peele, Winthrop, won Big South Coach of the Year
Arizona Reid, High Point (20.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg), won Big South Player of the Year
Omar Carter, Charl. Southern (8.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg), won Big South Freshman of the Year
No Radford players got any awards.

NCAA Tournament
North Carolina beat Memphis 94-79 to win the National Championship
UNC Asheville lost to UCLA 105-76 in the First Round, despite leading 50-46 at halftime.

Recruiting
We were able to land a solid recruiting class, which should allow for a quick turn around after a horrible first season.

Kerry Voorhees, C 6’10” 217 lbs from Charlotte, NC
Kerry was a 3-star recruit rated #381 Ovr and #32 at Center, he comes in rated a 64 overall with B- Potential. He is solid around the bucket both offensively and defensively but he is a poor rebounder.

Dustin Cobb, PG 6’5” 184 lbs from Raleigh, NC
Dustin was a 2-star recruit rated #559 Ovr and #136 at Point Guard, he comes in rated a 53 overall with little upside.

Corey Cannon, PF 6’9” 231 lbs from Durham, NC
Corey was a 3-star recruit rated #376 Ovr and #61 at Power Forward, he comes in rated a 65 overall with C Potential. He has a nice mid-range jumper and he is an average rebounder.

Lloyd Rowland, PF 6’10” 238 lbs from Greenville, NC
Lloyd was a 3-star JUCO So, who chose Radford over an offer to walk-on at Georgetown. He comes in rated a 68 overall with C+ Potential. He is very athletic and he can play well at both ends of the court near the basket.

Coaching Changes
Arizona replaces L. Olsen (retired) with B. McKillop (Davidson)
Indiana replaces K. Sampson (fired) with D. Horn (W. Kentucky)
Texas Tech replaces B. Knight (retired) with M. Fox (Nevada)
Northwestern replaces B. Carmody (fired) with S. Sutton (Oral Roberts)
Oregon State replaces their coach with D. Bike (Sacred Heart)

[Balldog]

2008-2009 Roster

Point Guards
Amir Johnson, Jr., 5'9" 195 lbs (67 ovr)
Amir averaged 10.3 ppg and 4.9 apg, he is are only option at point guard.

Dustin Cobb, Fr., 6'5" 184 lbs (53 ovr)
Dustin really should be redshirted, we will make that decision after Midnight Madness. We may have to dress him because we have no other options at point.

Shooting Guards
Martell McDuffy, Sr., 6'4" 191 lbs (68 ovr)
McDuffy averaged 12.7 ppg last season, he has a balanced offensive game but lack explosiveness to take the next step.

Kenny Thomas, Sr., 6'3" 191 lbs (65 ovr)
Kenny averaged 9.6 ppg and shot 38% from 3P last season, he has nice range but is no threat off the dribble.

Chris McEachin, So., 6'6" 185 lbs (60 ovr)
Chris averaged 3.5 ppg last year off the bench, he has an OK jumper but he is also no threat off the dribble.

Small Forwards
Jamar Jenkins, Sr., 6'6" 219 lbs (65 ovr)
Jamar started last season at power forward and struggled, he averaged just 4.1 ppg and 2.0 rpg. This year he will move back to small forward.

Eric Hall, Sr., 6'8" 209 lbs (Walk-On, 58 ovr)
Hall played a nice role for us last year, averaging 6.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg off the bench.

Philip Martin, Jr., 6'7" 198 lbs (53 ovr)
Martin played in just one game last season, but he scored 8 points in 13 minutes. He still stinks.

Power Forward
Lloyd Rowland, Jr., 6'10" 238 lbs (68 ovr)
Lloyd is our best player, he should dominate the league on the blocks with his athleticism.

Corey Cannon, Fr., 6'9" 231 lbs (65 ovr)
Corey will push for a starting position during camp, but might find himself coming off the bench but playing starter minutes.

Alex Gynes, So., 6'6" 227 lbs (61 ovr)
Alex played in every game last year, but will struggle to find minutes this year. I suspect he will transfer after the season.

Nick McFarlin, So., 6'7" 219 lbs (57 ovr)
He has a sweet headband.

Center
Kerry Voorhees, Fr., 6'10" 217 lbs (64 ovr)
Kerry will battle it out with Cannon for the final starting spot, his weight is a concern.

Joey Lynch-Flohr, Jr., 6'8" 230 lbs (62 ovr)
Joey started last year and did OK, averaging 7.1 ppg and 4.4 rpg but we need more. He will get minutes this year but they will be limited.

As a team we have improved from a 67 overall to a 72 overall.
Offense - 75
Defense - 71
Shooting - 79
Rebounding - 72

72 overall is tied for tops in the conference with Coastal Carolina.

[Balldog]

So after the Midnight Madness game I've decided I need to sim another season, I'll be a little more in depth this season.

Our rotation will look like this.

PG - A. Johnson (40 min)
SG - M. McDuffy (28 min)
SF - J. Jenkins (27 min)
PF - L. Rowland (25 min)
C - Voorhees (25 min)
6th - K. Thomas (25 min)
7th - C. Cannon (25 min)
8th - J. Lynch-Flohr (5 min)

[Balldog]

November 2008

Our first game of the season is at the Paradise Jam against Cleveland State (0-1). We lose 78-79, McDuffy scored 14 points while Thomas added 13 off the bench.

In the consolation bracket we face Miami FL (2-1). We lose 81-70, McDuffy lead the way again with 17 points but we had 4 others in double figures. Johnson (10), Jenkins (11), Rowland (10) and Thomas (10). McClinton lit us up for 33.

Our third and final game at the Paradise Jam is against Missouri State (0-4), we get a much needed 59-51 win! McDuffy lead all scorers with 28 points.

Up next is a beatable Evansville (2-1) team at home. We win 65-53, Jenkins leads the way with 20 points.

We take a 2 game winning streak on the road to #10 Memphis (2-1) and they embarrass us 86-66. Thomas lead us in scoring with 15 points off the bench.

Up next we head to Rutgers (4-0) and lose 67-58, McDuffy got back on track with 14 points but Johnson stunk it up with 0-8 shooting and 6 turnovers.

We finish the month of November with a 2-4 record, but I think we played a pretty tough schedule and beat the 2 teams we should've beat.

[Balldog]

December 2008

Our first game of the month is against Akron (4-2) and we pull off a mild upset at home 57-39. What a defensive effort! McDuffy lead us in scoring again with 13.

We were unable to sign any recruits in the early signing period but we are closing in on a couple guys.

Up next we head to #10 Alabama (6-0) and get smoked 82-61, Ronald Steele had 23 for Bama. McDuffy had another solid game with 15 points. Thomas is scoring well of the bench, he had 13.

Lynch-Flohr and Gynes are complaining about playing time, kind of figured that would happen with the new guys coming in.

Up next we head to Quinnipiac (1-8) in a must win game and McDuffy (25) carries us to the victory, 69-55.

We hope to build some momentum with a home game against Drexel (3-8) but lose a heartbreaker 66-64. Jenkins and Thomas both had 11.

Our final game of the month is at Virginia (8-2) and we lose 69-59 despite McDuffy putting up 25 points.

We are now 4-7 with one more non-conference game to play, what a brutal non-conference slate.

[Balldog]

January 2009

Lynch-Flohr, Gynes, McEachin, and Hall are all unhappy with there playing time now. They are all finding minutes but its pretty limited.

For our final non-conference game we head to Tulsa (3-6) and come away with an impressive 63-48 win. McDuffy lead the way with 17 points. Rowland had a nice game with 8 pts, 7 reb and 5 stls.

We open up conference play at UNC Asheville (5-4) and destroy them 72-49 behind a balanced effort. Johnson (13 pts, 7 ast), McDuffy (13 pts), Jenkins (12 pts), Rowland (8 pts, 12 reb), and Voorhees (13 pts)

Up next is Charleston Southern (3-11), we win 69-53. Rowland is starting to play better (15 pts, 9 reb, 3 blk)

We head to VMI (4-9) and win 82-76 in overtime, McDuffy had 16 points and Lynch-Flohr added 13 off the bench.

Liberty (9-8) comes to town and we send them home after a 72-63 win. Johnson had his best game of the season with 15 points and 8 assists. McDuffy added 16.

Lynch-Flohr, Gynes, McEachin, and Hall against express their frustration with their playing time.

Now we get Coastal Carolina (6-8) at home, but they break up our winning streak and hand us a 78-68 loss. Despite great performances by Johnson (17 pts, 7 asts) and McDuffy (22 pts, 6 reb)

We head out to Winthrop (4-12, 3-2) and pull off a big win 59-49! Johnson continues to play well (8 pts, 7 asts, 4 stls).

We finish up the month at High Point (7-10, 2-4) and come away with a convincing 75-53 win. McDuffy had 21 points and Rowland added 14 and 7 boards.

We are now 6-1 in the conference and hold a one game lead over Coastal Carolina (5-2) in the conference standings.

[Balldog]

February 2009

We open the month with a big game at Coastal Carolina (8-9, 5-2) and they whip us 70-49. They have handed us both of our conference losses so far.

Up next we get a chance to recover at home against UNC Asheville (7-11, 2-6) and route them for the 2nd straight time with a 77-50 win. Johnson filled the stat sheet with 14 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, and 3 stl.

We head out to Charleston Southern (6-16, 4-5) and get a big win 87-69. McDuffy led the way with 19.

VMI (8-12, 5-4) comes to town and we are able to control tempo again with a 75-60 win. McDuffy and Thomas both score 14.

Liberty (12-12, 4-6) is up next and they are improving as a unit, they now share the best overall rating in the conference with us at 73. We are able to escape 62-61 in a thriller! Johnson (8 pts, 10 ast), McDuffy (19 pts), and Rowland (14 pts, 10 reb) all had big games.

Winthrop (8-15, 7-5) is also improving, they are now a 72 overall. This time we get them at home and again our defense just suffocates them in a 56-39 win. Johnson had a great game with 8 pts, 5 asts, and 4 steals.

High Point (9-15, 4-9) comes to town after beating Coastal Carolina to give us the regular season championship. We lose in a nailbiter 63-62.

We end the regular season at 16-10 and 11-3 in the conference. Our RPI is 139, so I doubt we make the NIT...so any hope of a tournament bid will have to come from winning the conference tournament.

[Balldog]

March Madness 2009

In the first round we face UNC Asheville (8-16, 3-11), whom we blew out twice in during the season. They give us a better game but we escape with a 71-64 win. McDuffy had 21.

In the semi-finals we get Winthrop (9-17, 7-7) after they beat Charleston Southern 65-63 in Round 1. And they knock us off 63-61! Damn!

VMI knocks off Coastal Carolina in the other semi-final game then proceeds to destroy Winthrop 100-64 in the finals.

To our surprise we get selected to play in the NIT!!!! We have to play San Diego State (22-10) though and they are rated 85 overall compared to our 73.

We got out west and dominate the first half and never look back, we pull off an upset in a big way 82-61!!!! McDuffy (17 pts) and Jenkins (22 pts, season high) don't want to go home yet!

In the 2nd Round we face Wyoming (19-12), they are rated at 80 overall. We lost in heart wrenching fashing 64-62. McDuffy had 15 but he didn't get any support.

Creighton went on to beat Belmont in the NIT Championship.

VMI got a 16 seed and got beat 100-80 by Notre Dame in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Memphis wins the NCAA Tournament.

McDuffy got 2nd Team All-Big South after averaging 15.3 ppg Cannon made the Freshman All-Big South team with 3.9 ppg and 2.6 rpg off the bench. So did Dustin Cobb, despite not playing a game?

[Balldog]

Departures

Martell McDuffy, SG (69 ovr, 15 ppg, 2nd Team All-Conference)
Jamar Jenkins, SF (65 ovr, 8.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
Kenny Thomas, SG (66 ovr, 8.6 ppg)
*Joey Lynch-Flohr, C (63 ovr, 3.7 ppg)
*Alex Gynes, PF (62 ovr, 2.4 ppg)
*Chris McEachin, SG (61 ovr, 1.0 ppg - might've started next year?)
Eric Hall, SF (58 ovr, 1.0 ppg)

*- Left team

[Balldog]

Job Security increases to about 75% over the course of the season, after being around 30% at the start.

I get two attribute points, which I apply to Defense and Charisma.

During the coaching carousel I am offered the UL-Lafayette job but turn it down. Also got offered a bunch of other lateral moves but turn them all down.

Major Conference Coaching Changes
Boston College replaces A. Skinner (fired) with K. Davis (MTSU).
South Carolina replaces D. Odom (retired) with R. Byrd (Belmont).
Georgia replaces D. Felton (fired) with F. McCaffery (Siena).
Penn State replaces E. DeChellis (fired) with J. Shulman (Chattanooga).
St. Johns replaces N. Roberts (fired) with D. Wolff (Boston).

UL-Lafayette ended up hiring Al Skinner, who was fired from Boston College.

Not sure what happened at Florida they had the following players transfer:
Jai Lucas (80 ovr) to North Texas
Dan Werner (78 ovr) to Washington State
Chandler Parsons (77 ovr) to Bethune-Cookman
Alex Tyus (77 ovr) to Montana

[Balldog]

Recruiting was pretty painful this year, we were only able to land two guys. Two of our other 4 offers decided not to sign with anyone, one was a 4-star world recruit PG from Brazil.

Marques Prince, a 6'5" 213 lbs shooting guard from Roanoke, VA. Ranked #457, 2-Star Recruit overall signed with us, he is rated at B every where. He comes in rated at a 67 overall! Big Steal!!!

Mike Opacic, a 5'10" 170 lbs point guard from Australia. We didn't know much about him but he was supposed to be very athletic. He comes in rated at a 69 overall!

[Balldog]

Now that I've completely flipped the roster in two years I'll start playing the games. The only player that remains is Phillip Martin and he won't play much, if at all.

[Balldog]

2009-2010 Roster

Starting Lineup
PG - Amir Johnson, Sr. (69 overall)
SG - Mike Opacic, Fr. (69 overall, great medium range shooter)
SF - Marques Prince, Fr. (67 overall, nice jumper from deep)
PF - Corey Cannon, So. (67 overall)
C - Lloyd Rowland, Sr. (70 overall)

Bench
C - Kerry Voorhees, So. (65 overall)
SF - Philip Martin, Sr. (55 overall)
PG - Dustin Cobb, So. (55 overall, he will play all three backcourt positions)
PF - Nick Mcfarlin, Jr. (59 overall)
C - Russell Paschel, Fr. (52 overall, walk-on)

[Balldog]

Our first game of the season is at Wyoming, they are rated at 78 overall. Their best player is Chadd Macklin at 6'10 Soph at Center. He's a JUCO transfer. Let see if we can get some redemption from last season's heart breaker.

Wyoming starts the game off very cold and Opacic hits a 3 off a loose ball to beat the shot clock to jump out to a 8-0 lead with 15:06 to play in the 1st half.

Both teams are starting to heat up, Wyoming takes a one point lead but Amir Johnson hits a 3 to answer. We lead 16-14 with 9:24 to play in the 1st half.

Wyoming goes cold again, but we can't capitalize. They are now in the penalty though. We lead 21-14 with 5:10 to play in the 1st.

They get an offensive rebound to score at the buzzer, but we lead 26-23 going into the half. Our poor free throw shooting is killing us, we are 4 of 10 from the line. Rowland is winning the battle down low, he was 7 pts and 3 rebounds.

They tie the game at 28 with a Moujeke 3, but Macklin picks up his 3rd foul with 16:43 to play in the 2nd.

Amir Johnson hits his second 3 of the game and Wyoming calls a timeout, we are on a 9-0 run and lead 37 to 28 with 13:29 to play.

Both teams have went ice cold and we still lead but its been trimmed to 37-33 with 8:42 to play after they hit a pair of free throws.

Amir Johnson hits his 3rd 3 of the game to give us a 43-35 lead with 6:11 to play and Wyoming calls a timeout!

Prince hits a fadeaway 3 as the shot clock expires to put us up 49-41 with 2:18 to play!

We hit just enough free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 53-45 win. Rowland gets player of the game with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Johnson added 13 and Prince had 10 points and 6 rebounds. We ended up shooting 10 of 22 from the free thrown line.

We leave Wyoming and head on down to Boise State for our next game the very next day. They are rated 76 overall and are 1-0 on the season. They are led by their senior point guard Anthony Thomas. They beat San Francisco 63-62, whom we play after Boise State.

[Balldog]

Tonight we play at Boise State, they like to play a fast tempo. With our lack of depth we've got to slow them down! On defense they will play a lot of 2-3 zone so we are going to have to get the ball to the high post and create from there.

17:34 - They've raced out to a 7-0 lead after 3 possessions, we've only managed one shot and it was an Opacic air ball. They've attacked the basket and have drawn a foul on each possession.

12:32 - After a horrible foul by Martin on a 3-point shot, we trail 17-7 after they only make 1 free throw.

7:29 - Dustin Cobb hits a runner in the lane to cut the lead to 27-14, their zone is focing us to shoot too many 3s and we are currently 1/7 from down town. Johnson has two fouls so he has been out of action for a good part of the half.

4:41 - Opacic picks up his 2nd foul, Martin has 3 fouls too. We decide to put Johnson back in the game since we don't have any other options, Opacic is gassed. We trail 35-18 but we are now in the bonus too, we've got to get to the line the rest of the half.

Half - We go a on a run to end the half trailing 41-30 after Johnson gets a layup just before the buzzer. Johnson has 8 points in limited action, Rowland also has 8 but he also has 4 turnovers.

14:51 - Opacic finally hits a jumper but we trail 50-34, as the 2nd half starts much like the first.

11:32 - The hit a pair of free throws and lead 58-39, our guys are gassed. They've been controlling tempo since we can't score with any consistency against their zone.

9:00 - Rowland grabs a rebound and flushes it home off the Prince jumper but we still trail 60-46.

6:29 - Johnson hits a three then gets a steal and a layup, but then picks up his 4th foul. We just can't make a run 71-54.

3:47 - We finally make a run and cut the lead to 74-64 after a strong drive by Prince.

Final - the final 4 minutes were nothing but a rat race and they hit a 3 at the buzzer to end up making it looks pretty bad 93-74.

Johnson ended up with 19 points.
Rowland had 17 points and 6 rebounds.
Prince had 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Voorhees added 9 points, 7 rebounds off the bench.

Anthony Thomas had 20 points and 5 assists for Boise State.

Next game: at San Francisco (0-2)

[Balldog]

Tonight we play at San Francisco (0-2), they are led by Dior Lowhorn (80 ovr). He is averaging 23.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg. They are an 80 overall compared to our 73.

14:54 - We start off slow but Marques Prince hits a 3 to put us up 5-4. Lowhorn has only attempted one shot so far.

13:14 - USF calls a timeout after Cannon gets an offensive rebound and the put back to put us up 10-6.

10:31 - Voorhees hits a hook shot to put us up 17-10 and USF burns another timeout.

6:31 - Opacic picks their point guards pocket and gets the breakaway layup to put us up 24-16.

4:43 - We call our first timeout after they hit a 3 to cut the lead to 26-23. Rowland is out with 2 fouls.

2:20 - They have turned up the heat and Lowhorn gets another easy bucket, we now trail 32-26. We have went ice cold and Prince is out with 2 fouls.

Halftime - They lead 39-34, their frontcourt is dominating. Lowhorn has 11 points and 5 rebounds. Their 7'0" center Tremmell Bryant has 4 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. The only reason this thing is close is our backcourt. Amir Johnson has 8, Mike Opacic has 10, and Marques Prince has 7.

15:09 - Rowland picks up his 4th foul, I gambled and it cost us. Lowhorn can't miss. We trail 45-38.

13:15 - Voorhees picks up his 3rd foul and we switch to a 2-3 zone to start trying to protect guys. They lead 47-43.

9:55 - They convert a 3-on-2 fast break to take a 59-48 lead and we burn a timeout. We are bringing Rowland back in, its desperation time.

7:15 - Opacic hits 2 free throws but Lowhorn can't miss, they extend the lead to 67-54. We bring all of our starters back in, even though Johnson and Prince are gassed.

6:02 - Rowland fouls Lowhorn on a shot, of course he makes it. This is about to get ugly.

I decide to sim to the end and they win 81-69. Lowhorn ends up with 24 points and 8 rebounds. He made 10 shots in a row at one point. Their other top scorer was Fabien Victoriano (15 pts), he came in when we went to the 2-3 zone and buried 3 three pointers.

As for us, Opacic led in scoring with 14 but he shot just 5 of 14 from the floor. Johnson had 13 points but 0 assists. Prince ended up with 10 points after scoring 7 in the first few minutes of the game.

[Balldog]

I've decided to sim the rest of this season, I need more depth. I'm basically playing with a 7-man rotation. I guess I should've been more concerned about losing those guys last year.

vs Northern Colorado (1-0)
We play great defense and come away with a 54-45 win. Johnson (10 pts), Opacic (11 pts, 4 ast) and Rowland (10 pts, 9 reb) lead the way.

vs Oregon State (2-0)
They put a beating on us 88-62. Johnson lead the way with 13 points and 4 assists.

at Houston (0-1)
We thought the beating against Oregon State was bad, Houston hands us a 94-53 beat down. Kelvin Lewis dropped 41 on us. Prince and Johnson barely played due to foul trouble. Rowland led us with 16 points.

at #19 Tennessee (3-1)
Another blowout loss 77-46. Rowland is the only consistent player we have at this point - 10 pts and 7 rebounds.

vs Utah Valley State (2-5)
We finally get a much needed win, 70-66. Voorhees had a great game off the bench with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Cannon added 11 points and 12 rebounds.

vs Rider (3-1)
A tough 77-57 loss at home to a team we should've competed with. Johnson led the us with 15 points and 6 rebounds.

[Balldog]

Now for the in-season recruiting. We have 7 scholarships available. We have offers out to the following players:

Richie Soson, 6'3" 3-star point guard from Chicago, IL
He is rated #186 overall with great skills. Right now we are the only offer he has but it doesn't look like he is going to commit until the offseason. He has us at #2 behind Bradley.

Elmer Riggs, 6'6" 3-star shooting guard from Atlanta, GA
He is rated #266 overall with nice range and great athleticism. Again we are the only school to have offered a scholarship. He may sign early but it is not likely. Mercer is the only other school he is high on but we lead.

Amien Badiane, 6'5" 3-star small forward from Atlanta, GA
He is rated #122 overall with great potential. We are his only offer but Clemson and Vanderbilt have shown a lot of interest. He is higher on them for obvious reasons.

Collier King, 6'7" 3-star power forward from Columbus, GA
He is rated #303 overall and he is a great rebounder. He has no other offers either but Wake Forest and Davidson have shown a lot of interest. We have a lot of ground to make up.

Tamal Underwood, 6'9" 2-star center from Chicago, IL
We are his only offer, but Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Illinois are just behind us. We were impressed by his upside during the ABL season.

Howard Evenstar, 6'5" 2-star point guard from Jacksonville, FL
He has got great size and good quickness for a point guard, he may be a diamond in the rough. We are the only school to offer him at this point but we are 5th on his list behind Mercer, Charleston Southern, SSU (?) and Jacksonville.

Dante Minnifield, 6'6" 2-star power forward from Ithaca, NY
He is a great rebounder but he is undersized. Again we are the only school to have an offer for him but we are 5th on his list too. Fairfield, Sacred Heart, Canisus and Lafayette are above us.

[Balldog]

The Early Signing Period was uneventful, except for Amien Badiane received an offer from Clemson and signed right away. Can't blame the kid, he was a reach for us but it was worth a shot.

We make an offer to Devon Rowland, a 6'4" 2-star shooting guard from Marietta, GA.

Collier King also received an offer from Wake Forest, so we will back off him.

We make an offer to Lowell Tucker, a 6'8" 2-star power forward from Cincinnati, OH.

We've started scouting JUCO games in the event some of these guys don't sign with us.

[Balldog]

December 2009

at Gardner-Webb (2-6) 64-53 L
at Virginia Tech (5-4) 53-51 L
vs Gardner-Webb (3-6) 72-64 L
at Drexel (6-4) 67-63 W

January 2010

at VMI (1-10) 70-67 W
at Winthrop (2-11) 71-52 L
vs UNC-Asheville (4-9) 76-60 W
vs Coastal Carolina (5-8) 61-60 L
vs Liberty (9-5) 82-68 W
at Charleston Southern (6-10) 77-71 L
at High Point (7-9) 72-71 L

February 2010

at Liberty (11-6) 71-65 W
vs VMI (2-16) 68-51 W
vs Winthrop (9-12) 60-53 L
at Coastal Carolina (10-10) 81-75 L
at UNC-Asheville (6-15) 66-48 W
at Utah Valley State (5-23) 64-56 L
vs Charleston Southern (9-15) 71-51 L
vs High Point (11-13) 67-60 L

March Madness
Big South Tournament
vs Coastal Carolina (13-11) 73-60 W
vs Liberty (16-9) 65-57 L

Winthrop beats Liberty to win the tournament, 82-72.

Louisville wins the National Championship.

Big South Awards
Joshua Mack from Coastal Carolina wins Player of the Year award after averaging 25.6 ppg.

Mike Opacic wins Freshman of the Year after averaging 8.4 ppg and 3.7 apg

Lloyd Rowland is named to 2nd Team All-Big South after averaging 11.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg

Marques Prince joins Opacic on the All-Conference Freshman Team after averaging 8.2 ppg

Amir Johnson graduates, he struggled this year but still managed to put up 10.1 ppg and 3.0 apg.

Some how my job security went up to around 60%!

[Balldog]

Coaching Carousel
I am offered the Loyola Marymount job in the WCC but decline, there were several other jobs but that was the top one.

Gary Williams retired at Maryland, they hired Mark Few from Gonzaga.
D. Bike retired at Oregon State, they hired M. Dement from UNC-Greensboro.

UNC-Asheville fired their coach E. Biedenbach and hired T. McIntosh, an assistant coach from East Tennesse State.

Notable Transfers
Dallas Lauderdale transfers from Ohio State to Buffalo
Orane Chin (6'7" PF started for 2 seasons) transfers from South Florida to High Point.
Sammy Butler (7'1" C) transfers from Marist to UNC-Asheville.

[Balldog]

Offseason Recruiting
The offseason starts off with a bang! We get commits from Elmer Riggs and Tamal Underwood.

Week 1
Soson - still no offer from Butler, but he would prefer to go there.
Evenstar - we lead by a slim margin over Charleston Southern.
Minnifield - we are the only interested team at this point but he has made it clear he will not sign anytime soon.
Rowland - East Tennessee State has a huge lead but they have yet to offer.
Tukker - Its between us and Western Carolina, they haven't made an offer yet either.

Week 2
Soson - we are gaining on Butler, they don't seem to be interested in making an offer.
Evenstar - we still lead by a hair, still no other offers.
Minnifield - he is still a long way away from signing.
Rowland - ETSU has dropped him, but he is still a long way from signing.
Tukker - still neck and neck with WCU, but they haven't made an offer.

Week 3
Soson - gives up on Butler and signs with us!!!
Evenstar - it doesn't look like Charleston Southern is going to make an offer.
Minnifield - still not budging.
Rowland - still not budging.
Tukker - still prefers WCU but doesn't have an offer.

Week 4
Evenstar - signs with us!
Minnifield - is starting to cave in a little
Rowland - is giving in a lot
Tukker - signs with us!

Week 5
Minnifield - god he is stubborn
Rowland - ditto
Looks like they will both sign this week though.

Final Day
Both Minnifield and Rowland signed with us, makes me a little worried that we got everyone we targeted.

Looks like we added some depth...

Soson comes in at a 69 overall, he's quick with a nice jumper off the dribble.
Riggs comes in at a 68 overall, he's one of the fastest guys in the conference.
Minnifield comes in at a 60 overall, his potential dropped to a D.
Rowland comes in at a 57 overall, his potential dropped to a C- and he isn't quite the shooter we thought he would be.
Evenstar comes in at a 55 overall, he is faster than Riggs but he has poor quickness.
Underwood comes in at a 55 overall, he's strong and that's about it.
Tukker comes in at a 52 overall, he's a project with little upside.

Overall its a little disappointing but Soson and Riggs will add some much needed punch and depth to the backcourt. I think Minnifield will give us quality minutes off the bench too.

[Balldog]

http://www.ruhighlanders.com/images/2009/2/3/NewDedmon.jpg

2010-2011 Season Preview


Starting Lineup
PG - * Mike Opacic, So., 8.4 ppg, 3.7 apg, 37% 3P% last season
SG - Elmer Riggs, Fr., versatile guard will have a size advantage over most guards.
SF - * Marques Prince, So., 8.2 ppg, 39% 3P% last season
PF - Corey Cannon, Jr., 6.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg last season
C - * Kerry Voorhees, Jr., 6.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.0 bpg last season

Bench
6th - Richie Soson, Fr., our 2nd best player on the team will come off the bench due to his ability to play all 3 perimeter positions.
7th - Nick Mcfarlin, Sr., 3.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg last season
8th - Dante Minniefield, Fr., undersized post player with great hops.
9th - Devon Rowland, Fr., solid overall player with potential.
10th - Dustin Cobb, Jr., 3.3 ppg, 1.4 apg last season
11th - Howard Evenstar, Fr., great size, great speed.
12th - Tamal Underwood, Fr., physical post player with limited ability.

Redshirting
Lowell Tukker, Fr.

Non-Conference Schedule
vs. Savannah State
at Manhattan
at Appalachian State
at Furman
vs. Kennesaw State
vs. East Tennessee State
at #22 Vanderbilt
at East Tennessee State
at North Florida
at Boston College
at UT-Pan American

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/BigSouthLogo.png
Preview


Team Capsules

Charleston Southern (11-17)
Head Coach: B. Radenbaugh (51-91)
Returning Starters: (3) Jamarco Warren, Sr. (PG, 14 ppg, 3.9 apg), Omar Carter, Sr., (SF, 7.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Tovi Bailey, Sr., (SG, 13.2 ppg, 40% 3P%)
Top Newcomer: Dominic Anderson, SF (56 ovr)
Team Rating: 69 overall

Coastal Carolina (13-12)
Head Coach: B. Peterson (575-373)
Returning Starters: (4) Branden Shakur, Sr. (PF, 7.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.8 bpg), Anthony Breeze, Sr. (SF, 7.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg), Bryant Wallace, Sr. (C, 5.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg), Allan Parsons, Jr. (SG, 4.6 ppg)
Top Newcomer: Bob Woodward, PG (55 ovr)
Team Rating: 68 overall

High Point (12-14)
Head Coach: B. Lundy (100-99)
Returning Starters: (3) Ibrahim Appiah, Sr. (SG, 7.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Alquan Mendenhall, Sr. (PG, 10.2 ppg, 5.0 apg), Earnest Bridges, Sr. (11.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg)
Top Newcomer: Clif Mason, PF (57 ovr)
Team Rating: 69 overall

Liberty (17-10)
Head Coach: R. McKay (206-202)
Returning Starters: (3) Vinnie Bradford, Sr. (SF, 9.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg), Ozren Bjelogrlic, Jr. (C, 12.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg), Johnny Stephene, Sr. (PG, 4.1 ppg, 2.6 apg)
Top Newcomer: Alaivaa Harrison, SG (54 ovr)
Team Rating: 72 overall

Radford (11-19)
Head Coach: B. Greenberg (37-49)
Returning Starters: (3) Mike Opacic, So.; Marques Prince, So.; Kerry Voorhees, Jr.
Top Newcomer: Richie Soson, PG (69 ovr)
Team Rating: 74 overall

UNC-Asheville (7-22)
Head Coach: T. McIntosh (0-0)
Returning Starters: (3) John Williams, Sr. (SF, 8.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Brandon Davis, Sr. (PG, 9.7 ppg, 5.6 apg); Eric Stubbs, Sr. (PF, 3.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
Top Newcomer: Mitch McBride, SF (55 ovr)
Team Rating: 64 overall

Virginia Military Institute (5-21)
Head Coach: D. Baucom (52-91)
Returning Starters: (5) Christian Hunter, Sr. (PG, 10.6 ppg, 5.5 apg); Austin Kenon, Sr. (SG, 13.6 ppg); Hunter Houston, Sr. (SF, 4.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg); Quinn Brownfield, Sr. (PF, 9.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg); Stephen Sargent, Sr. (C, 8.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
Top Newcomer: Keith Hanson, SF (53 ovr)
Team Rating: 68 overall

Winthrop (15-15)
Head Coach: R. Peele (89-114)
Returning Starters: (5) Veltra Hanson, Jr. (SF, 9.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg); Gil Rowe, Jr. (SG, 10.0 ppg, 4.0 apg); Whitney Haywood, Jr. (C, 6.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg); George Valentine, Sr. (PF, 6.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg); Byron Faison, Sr. (PG, 14.2 ppg)
Top Newcomer: Sylvester Terrell, SG (68 ovr)
Team Rating: 76 overall

Preseason Coaches Prediction
1. Winthrop
2. Radford
3. Liberty
4. High Point
5. Charleston Southern
6. Coastal Carolina
7. Virginia Military Inst.
8. UNC-Asheville

Preseason Coaches 1st Team
PG - Gil Rowe, Winthrop
SG - Byron Faison, Winthrop
SF - Veltra Hanson, Winthrop
PF - Branden Shakur, Coastal Carolina
C - Ozren Bjelogrlic, Liberty

Best Overall Player - V. Hanson, Winthrop (76 ovr)
Best Freshman - R. Soson, Radford (69 ovr)
Best Shooter - A. Mendenhall, High Point (66 ovr)
Best Playmaker - J. Warren, Charleston Southern (69 ovr)
Best Pro Prospect - V. Hanson, Winthrop
Best Defender - V. Hanson, Winthrop

[Balldog]

November 2010 Recruiting Update

We only have one scholarship to offer this year, we've been debating on not using it until next season but have decided to go after Wilson Ferguson a 6'10" 252 pound center from Bronx, NY. He is a 3-star recruit, ranked #182 nationally. Marist, Dartmouth, and Delaware are the leaders for him.

We are also recruiting Ryan Spencer a 6'10" 229 pound center from Charlotte, NC. He is a 2-star recruit, ranked #592 nationally. College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina are his top two choices currently.

Upcoming Game Preview

Our first game of the season is against Savannah State, they are rated a 61 overall. Their best rated player is senior Armon Hester, a 6'9" 259 pound center from Augusta, GA. Hester averaged 5.8 points and 5.3 rebounds last season, he is rated a 69 overall. Perhaps their actual best player is senior Anthony Jones, a 6'4" 198 pound shooting guard from Statesboro, GA. Jones averaged 10.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists last season, he is rated a 62 overall. After Jones there isn't much, the other starters are Darrius Pandov (PF, Fr., 55 ovr), Ronny Braxton (SF, Jr., 55 ovr), and Joaquim Reid (PG, So., 49 ovr). They are coached by first year head coach Hrvoje Borges.

I will play this game later this week.

[Balldog]

November 8, 2010
Radford, VA

Savannah State (0-3) vs. Radford (0-0)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/grismosw7/PrincevsSSU.jpg

Marques Prince leads Highlanders to easy win!

Radford - 89, Savannah State -57


We put this one out of reach early, after a 12-0 run led to a 14-3 lead after 5 minutes. We couldn't miss in the first half, shooting 70% from the field and we led 47-30. The second half wasn't much better for the Tigers, we continued to pull away after Hester got in foul trouble leading to a 15-0 run. We were able to play all 12 players that dressed, none playing less than 9 minutes.

Radford Leaders
Prince - 18 pts, 5 reb
Soson - 15 pts, 4 ast
Voorhees - 14 pts, 7 reb

Savannah State Leaders
Hester - 13 pts, 8 reb
Jones - 7 pts, 5 ast

Upcoming Game Preview

Our next game is at Manhattan, they are currently 1-0 with 64-55 win over Samford. They have a team overall rating of 79,Their best player is junior SF Marcellus McKnight (6'6" 224 lbs, 79 ovr), he is an all-around player with good scoring ability from anywhere on the floor. It doesn't stop with him though, senior SG Rashad Green (6'4" 213 lbs, 77 ovr) is an animal in his own right, he has averaged at least 10 ppg every year. Their other starters are Andrew Gabriel (6'6" 234 lb Sr., PF, 73 ovr), Brannon Grady (6'2" 179 lbs, Jr., PG, 71 ovr), and W.C. Fanning (6'10" 220 lbs, Jr., C, 67 ovr). Off the bench Derek Martin (6'6" 214 lb, Sr., SF, 72 ovr) will also contribute heavily. They are coached by Barry Rohrssen (5th yr, 53-65).

[Balldog]

Final Four Contender

I'm going to start a little preview of which teams I am thinking will make the Final 4, with one team a week (in game). Up first will be Florida.

Florida Gators
The Florida Gators perhaps have Billy Donovan's most talented team he has ever coached, considering 4 key players transferred two seasons ago that is saying something. But no wander they transferred, just look at this roster.

Nick Calathes, Sr., SG (90 ovr)
Walker Evenstar, Jr., SG (88 ovr)
Clement Krogh, Jr., SG (87 ovr)
Shavlik Sargent, Jr., PF (86 ovr)
Khalif Neal, So., SG (85 ovr)
Orien Bonfim, Jr., PG (85 ovr)
J.W. Vianney, Fr., SF (78 ovr)
Jaime Seymour, Fr., SG (77 ovr)
Lonny Mobley, Fr., PG (75 ovr)

That roster includes 6 McDonald's All-Americans and 3 Mr. Basketball's. Six of their top nine players are projected to be drafted in the Lottery. All of that equates to a team overall rating of 93 and a #2 ranking in the Preseason Polls. They are currently 4-0 and anything less than a National Championship would be a disappointment in Gainesville.

[Balldog]

November 15, 2010
Manhattan, NY

Radford (1-0) at Manhattan (1-0)


http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/grismosw7/RiggsvsMan.jpg

Rashad Green too much for Radford!

Manhattan - 80, Radford - 61

The two guys we identified as their best players lived up to the billing, McKnight and Green dominated us with an impressive performance. Mike Opacic missed most of the 1st half with foul trouble and that caused us to lose a lot of leadership. While Richie Soson is quite skilled he just doesn't have the poise of Opacic. Missing Opacic we built a 35-25 hole at the half, they led by 17 at one point in the first but we battled back to cut it to 8 early in the 2nd. Then Green and McKnight put us away.

Radford Leaders
Prince - 15 pts, 5 reb
Soson - 14 pts
Voorhees - 12 pts, 8 reb

Manhattan Leaders
Green - 18 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast
McKnight - 18 pts, 5 reb
Martin - 12 pts, 4 reb




Upcoming Game Preview
Our next game is at Appalachian State (0-3), they are better than their record would indicate. They have a team overall rating of 75. Their strength is downlow and they are led by J.B. Wong (PF, 6'8" 224 lbs, Sr., 73 ovr) and Isaac Butts (C, 6'10" 322 lbs, Sr., 71 ovr). Butts is one of the best defensive bigmen in the country. Their other starters are Jeremi Booth (SG, 6'5" 212 lbs, Sr., 70 ovr), Donterious Hughes (PG, 6'3" 217 lbs, 69 ovr), and Jeremy Kilgore (SF, 6'5" 205 lbs, So., 63 ovr). Off the bench we will have to lookout for Jeff Barnhill (C, 6'10" 233 lbs, So., 68 ovr) and Donald Sims (PG, 6'2" 184 lbs, Sr., 67 ovr).

I'm hoping to play this game Friday night.

[Balldog]

Final Four Contender

Texas Longhorns
Rick Barnes has possibly the nation's best player in Benny Fox, a 6'7" 218 lb junior small forward from Houston, Texas. Fox is rated at 89 overall and currently averaging 29 ppg. He is probably the most complete player I've seen and will likely be the #1 pick in next year's NBA draft. Fox isn't the only star though:

Camron Hackstadt, So., SG (87 ovr)
Davin Wong, So., SF (85 ovr)
Gary Johnson, Sr., PF (84 ovr)
Lance Ramelli, Fr., SG (84 ovr)
Tariq McKee, So., PG (83 ovr)
Jorge Nashif, Fr., SF (82 ovr)
Alexis Wangmene, Sr., PF (81 ovr)
Lance Tayborn, Fr., PG (76 ovr)
Gary Larson, Fr., PG (76 ovr)

Their top 10 includes six McDonald's All-Americans and 5 Mr. Basketball's. Fox looks to be the only major NBA prospect at this time, so a majority of this team will be back next year. Scary.

They are currently ranked #8 in the polls after getting upset by Montana, they are 3-1 and averaging 94 ppg.

[Balldog]

November 22, 2010
Boone, NC

Radford (1-1) at Appalachian State (0-3)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/grismosw7/PrincevsAPSU.jpg

Prince carries Highlanders to victory!

Radford - 73, Appalachian State - 65

We were able to survive a slow start, as Appalachian State built an early 17-7 lead. Foul trouble and poor free throw shooting caught up with them though and we cut the lead to 40-39 at the half. In the 2nd half we ran started on a 16-5 run to race out to a 55-45 lead and never looked back. Appalachian State shot just 17 for 33 from the free throw line and 0 for 13 from the three point line.

Radford Leaders
Marques Prince - 26 pts, 10 rebs
Kerry Voorhees - 12 pts, 9 rebs
Richie Soson - 10 pts, 3 asts

Appalachian State Leaders
Isaac Butts - 14 pts, 12 rebs
Jeremi Booth - 12 pts
Jeremy Kilgore - 12 pts

Upcoming Game Preview
@ Furman (1-3)

Overall - 71
Offense - 73
Defense - 67
Shooting - 78
Rebounding - 82
Coach - 68

Head Coach: Jeff Jackson (68-133, 5th season, C+)

Starting Lineup:
PG - Justin Dehm, Sr., 6'1" 182 lbs, 68 ovr
SG - Bobby Austin, Sr., 6'3" 217 lbs, 68 ovr
SF - Connor Nolte, Sr., 6'6" 200 lbs, 66 ovr
PF - Bryson Barnes, Sr., 6'7" 214 lbs, 65 ovr
C - Kenneth Demond, Jr., 6'9" 231 lbs, 67 ovr

[Balldog]

November 24, 2010
Greenville, SC

Radford (2-1) at Furman (1-3)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/grismosw7/VoorheesvsFurman.jpg

Voorhees has career night in Highlanders win!

Radford - 71, Furman - 61

Coach Greenberg has been saying all along that someday Kerry Voorhees could be a player of the year candidate in the Big South, tonight he showed why. Voorhees dominated the low blocks on both ends of the floor. The Highlanders defense held Furman to just 37% shooting from the floor and had 8 blocks. Radford raced out to a 9-3 lead in the early going and never looked back, leading by as much as 16 in the first half. Furman cut the lead to 6 with just under 2 minutes to play but the Highlanders were able to sink some clutch free throws to seal the victory.

Radford Leaders:
Kerry Voorhees - 23 pts, 9 rebs, 4 blks
Marques Prince - 12 pts
Mike Opacic - 11 pts

Furman Leaders:
Bobby Austin - 15 pts
Justin Dehm - 12 pts, 7 asts
Connor Nolte - 10 pts, 5 stls

[Balldog]

Upcoming Game Preview
vs. Kennesaw State (0-6)
Overall - 66
Offense - 67
Defense - 64
Shooting - 69
Rebounding - 74
Coaching - 67

Head Coach: Tony Ingle (176-137, 11th season, C)

Starting Lineup:
PG - Zachary Volpenhein, Jr., 5'10" 165 lbs, 53 ovr
SG - Courtney Kruger, So., 6'2" 187 lbs, 57 ovr
SF - Teddy Ferris, Jr., 6'7" 234 lbs, 74 ovr
PF - Tanner Jacobs, Sr., 6'7" 243 lbs, 63 ovr
C - Jason Chavis, Fr., 7'1" 246 lbs, 65 ovr

Early Recruiting
This week recruits are free to sign.

Wilson Ferguson has us at #5 on his list behind Dartmouth, St. Francis (PA), Marist, and Delaware. However, we are the only team at this point to offer him a scholarship. Our staff loves him and thinks he has great potential and he is highly skilled offensively. He will be visiting our campus this week.

Ryan Spencer has us at #1 on his list by a large margin over College of Charleston and Central Connecticut. Our staff thinks he has great upside but he is very raw at this point. We are still recruiting him, hoping he walks on or if Ferguson signs with someone else we will make an offer.

[Balldog]

November 29, 2010
Radford, VA

Kennesaw State (0-6) at Radford (3-1)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/grismosw7/VoorheesvsKNSU.jpg

Voorhees is a force on the blocks again!

Radford - 78, Kennesaw State - 62

As expected the Highlanders controlled this one from the opening tip. The game began with a 6-0 run, then was followed by a 7-0 run and Radford was up 13-3 in the first 5 minutes of the game. Kennesaw State was never able to get the lead under 8 from that point on. The Owls were held to 39% shooting from the field, while Radford shot 56%. Kerry Voorhees continued his hot shooting with another great overall performance. The one concern Radford has leaving this game is the 12 offensive rebounds allowed, they will have to clean that up before heading into conference play.

Radford Leaders:
Kerry Voorhees - 18 pts, 8 rebs, 2 blks
Elmer Riggs - 17 pts, 5 rebs
Marques Prince - 15 pts

Kennesaw State Leaders:
Teddy Ferris - 17 pts
Courtney Kruger - 10 pts
John Allison - 7 pts, 8 rebs

[Balldog]

Early Recruiting Signing Period

Wilson Ferguson lets us know he will not be signing with anyone during the early period but he also has moved us to the top of his schools. He is ours to lose.

Big South Signings

Charleston Southern
PG - Anthony Bird, 5'11" 153 lbs, 2-star recruit from Albany, GA.

Coastal Carolina
PF - Deng Bakinde, 6'8" 229 lbs, 2-star recruit, ranked #502 from Wilmington, NC.
C - Iker Shavies, 6'11" 248 lbs, 1-star recruit from Greenville, NC.

High Point
SG - Ken Whitney, 6'2" 175 lbs, 2-star recruit, ranked #720 from Columbus, OH.

Liberty
PG - Mark Moreno, 6'2" 178 lbs, 3-star recruit, ranked #174 from Raleigh, NC.
PF - Abraham Fields, 6'10" 227 lbs, 2-star recruit from Raleigh, NC.

Radford
None

UNC-Asheville
SF - Dajuan Modica, 6'6" 205 lbs, 2-star recruit from Atlanta, GA.
C - Kyle Victoriano, 6'10" 227 lbs, 1-star recruit from Asheville, NC.

Virgina Military Institute
PF - Derek Wooten, 6'8" 229 lbs, 2-star recruit from Springfield, OH.

Winthrop
PF - Kelly Demanby, 6'8" 216 lbs, 2-star recruit from Charlotte, NC.
PF - B.A. Axton, 6'9" 235 lbs, 2-star recruit from Charlotte, NC.

[Balldog]

End of November Report

Around the Big South

Standings
Winthrop 6-1
Radford 4-1
High Point 7-4
Liberty 3-3
Coastal Carolina 3-6
VMI 2-5
Carleston Southern 1-5
UNC-Asheville 0-5


Leaders
Points per Game
Ozren Bjelogrlic, C (Liberty) - 19.8 ppg
Jamarco Warren, PG (Char. Southern) - 19.5 ppg
Marques Prince, SG (Radford) - 17.2 ppg

Rebounds per Game
Earnest Bridges, PF (High Point) - 8.9 rpg
Kerry Voorhees, C (Radford) - 8.2 rpg
Omar Carter, SF - (Char. Southern) - 7.8 rpg

Assist per Game
Christian Hunter, PG (VMI) - 5.7 apg
Johnny Stephene, PG (Liberty) - 5.2 apg
Gil Rowe, SG (Winthrop) - 4.4 apg

[Balldog]

Upcoming Game Preview
vs. East Tennessee State (2-6)

Team Ratings
74 - Overall
74 - Offense
75 - Defense
78 - Shooting
80 - Rebounding
85 - Coaching

Head Coach
Murray Bartow, 227-178, 8th Season, B+

Starting Lineup
PG - Chi Chi Bryant, Jr., 6'3" 199 lbs, 69 ovr
SG - Tommy Hubbard, Sr., 6'5" 216 lbs, 67 ovr
SF - Danny Laksa, Fr., 6'8" 229 lbs, 65 ovr
PF - Mike Diaz, So., 6'9" 219 lbs, 70 ovr
C - Gene Morban, Jr., 6'9" 243 lbs, 71 ovr

[Balldog]

December 11, 2010
East Tennessee State (2-6) at Radford (4-1)

10:00 1st Half

ETSU 20, Radford 17

A very well played first ten minutes by both teams, ETSU is shooting 56% and we are shooting 53%. Richie Soson has 6 with a couple runners off a broken press. Tommy Hubbard leads ETSU with 5, we lost him on defense and he got a wide open look.

Halftime

Radford 38, ETSU 22

We had a little talk about defense during a timeout and we just completely shut them down the final 10 minutes of the half. Their only 2 points came from the free throw line, they are now shooting 29% from the field. We are at 61%. Soson still leads us with 13 points, Mike Opacic has 10 and Kerry Voorhees has 8 points, 6 rebounds.

10:00 2nd Half

Radford 51, ETSU 38

We had built the lead to 20 but then we got a little sloppy, but now we are in the bonus so hopefully our free throw shooting comes through. At this point we are 4/7 from the line. Marques Prince is really struggling, he has 6 points on 2 for 11 shooting. Chi Chi Bryant has benefited from our sloppy play, he now has 9 points and 5 assists.

Final

Radford 64, ETSU 40

The second half ends much like the first, they score only 2 points in the final 10 minutes. They end up shooting just 28% for the game. We shot 48% from the field and 10 of 16 from the line. I can't believe that ETSU is actually this bad, we'll find out next week when we go to their place.

Soson ended up with 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting.
Voorhees had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Opacic had 13 points, including 3/3 from three point land.

Mike Diaz ended up being the only player to reach double figures for ETSU, he had 10 points and 9 rebounds. Chi Chi Bryant ended with 9 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

[Balldog]

Upcoming Game Preview
at Vanderbilt (5-5)

Team Ratings
87 - Overall
87 - Offense
86 - Defense
91 - Shooting
93 - Rebounding
87 - Coaching

Head Coach
Kevin Stallings, 337-210, 12th season, A-

Starting Lineup
PG - Jamaar Dennehy, Jr., 6'1" 187 lbs, 80 ovr, 18.0 ppg
SG - Tremmel Roberson, Jr., 6'3" 189 lbs, 79 ovr, 9.7 ppg, 4.7 apg
SF - A.Z. Shiloh, Jr., 6'8" 214 lbs, 86 ovr, 12.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg
PF - Darshawn McClelland, Sr., 6'9" 227 lbs, 76 ovr, 8.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg
C - Festus Ezeli, Jr., 7'1" 252 lbs, 73 ovr, 8.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg

Three of their 5 losses have come in overtime.

[Balldog]

December 15, 2010
Radford (5-1) at Vanderbilt (5-5)

10:00 1st Half

Vanderbilt 21, Radford 8

We are getting dominated on both ends of the court and Marques Prince has just picked up his second foul. A.Z. Shiloh leads all scorers with 7 and Darshawn McClelland has 4 points and 5 rebounds. We are trying to slow this game down but they are so quick.

Halftime

Vanderbilt 47, Radford 21

Mike Opacic and Richie Soson both picked up their second fouls shortly after the update, we could do little on offense without all that scoring. Vanderbilt held us to 33% from the field while they are shooting 65%. Prince leads us in scoring with 4, while Shiloh leads them with 11.

10:00 2nd Half

Vanderbilt 69, Radford 39

We've made a run to cut the lead to 30, it was 38 a few minutes ago. Most of the run is being created by Soson. Everyone else has been shut down. They are getting a big effort off the bench from Keegan Bell, he has 14 points and 4 assists.

Final

Vanderbilt 77, Radford 54

We played a lot better during the final ten minutes but we were just outclassed. Elmer Riggs really impressed me, he seemed to be our only player athletic enough to hold his own but he can't shoot consistently. Vanderbilt ended up shooting 47% from the field and 9 of 15 from three. We struggled from everywhere - 36% from the field, 1 for 17 from three, and 11 of 19 from the line.

Radford Top Performers
Elmer Riggs - 10 pts, 6 rebs, 2 blks
Marques Prince - 11 pts
Richie Soson - 9 pts

Vanderbilt Top Performers
Keegan Bell - 14 pts, 5 asts
A.Z. Shiloh - 11 pts
Stevie Batte - 8 pts, 10 rebs

I was contemplating turning down inside scoring since Voorhees was dominating the last few games but he was held to 7 points on 3 of 11 shooting against much better competition. I'll hold off for now.

[Balldog]

Upcoming Game Preview
at East Tennessee State (2-8)

Team Ratings
74 - Overall
74 - Offense
75 - Defense
78 - Shooting
80 - Rebounding
85 - Coaching

Head Coach
Murray Bartow, 227-180, 8th Season, B+

Starting Lineup
PG - Chi Chi Bryant, Jr., 6'3" 199 lbs, 69 ovr, 9.9 ppg, 4.7 apg
SG - Tommy Hubbard, Sr., 6'5" 216 lbs, 67 ovr, 5.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg
SF - Danny Laksa, Fr., 6'8" 229 lbs, 65 ovr, 6.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg
PF - Mike Diaz, So., 6'9" 219 lbs, 70 ovr, 7.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg
C - Gene Morban, Jr., 6'9" 243 lbs, 71 ovr, 8.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg

[Balldog]

December 26, 2010
Radford (5-2) at East Tennessee State (2-8)

10:00 1st Half

Radford 20, ETSU 11

We open the game shooting lights out from the field, we are 7 of 10 to start. Meanwhile ETSU is shooting 2 of 10. Mike Opacic and Kerry Voorhees both have 6. Both teams are already in the penalty.

Halftime

Radford 39, ETSU 29

We end the half with a 5-0 run to get the lead back to double digits but ETSU is playing us pretty tough despite their poor shooting. They are just 7 of 24 from the floor but 14 of 19 from the line. We are still shooting well, we finish the half at 15 of 24 from the field and 4 of 7 from three. Voorhees has 10, Prince 9, and Soson 9. Danny Laksa leads them with 8.

10:00 2nd Half

Radford 53, ETSU 41

They open the half with a nice run to cut the lead to 4 but we respond with back to back threes from Opacic and Elmer Riggs. We've been holding the lead right around 10 since then. Their press is getting them in trouble when we have Soson and Opacic on the floor. We'll see if they back off at all.

Final

Radford 66, ETSU 57

Give ETSU credit they never gave up, we extended the lead to 16 but they kept fighting to make it respectable despite their frigid shooting. They shot just 33% from the field and 2 of 13 from three. We were able to shoot 50% from the field and 6 of 15 from three. I'm convinced they are just a terrible shooting team, Laksa did look good though.

Radford Top Performers
Kerry Voorhees - 18 pts, 10 rebs, 3 blks
Marques Prince - 15 pts
Richie Soson - 9 pts

ETSU Top Performers
Chi Chi Bryant - 17 pts, 4 asts
Danny Laksa - 13 pts, 6 rebs, 3 stls
Gene Morban - 12 pts, 5 rebs

[Balldog]

Upcoming Game Preview
at North Florida (7-4)

Team Ratings
72 - Overall
73 - Offense
70 - Defense
76 - Shooting
78 - Rebounding
65 - Coach

Head Coach
Matt Kilcullen, 217-298, 12th season, C

Starting Lineup
PG - Luis Guzman, Sr., 6'3" 194 lbs, 74 ovr, 15.9 ppg, 4.0 apg
SG - Danny Humphrey, Fr., 6'4" 211 lbs, 68 ovr, 6.6 ppg
SF - Ndudi McClinton, Jr., 6'8" 247 lbs, 69 ovr, 7.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg
PF - Justin Cecil, Sr., 6'8" 220 lbs, 64 ovr, 9.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg
C - Kyle Groothuis, Sr., 6'8" 226 lbs, 63 ovr, 7.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg

Somehow they've won at Memphis (68-58) and at Miami FL (90-57), so they must be better than these ratings indicate.

[Balldog]

December 29, 2010
at North Florida (7-4)

10:00 1st Half

North Florida 12, Radford 9

They are really slowing the game down on both ends of the floor with their methodical offense and varying zone defenses. We don't mind the pace but its taking some getting used to. Humphrey and Cecil both have 5 for UNF.

Halftime

North Florida 35, Radford 25

A very frustrating 1st half of play, we've held them to 39% from the field but they are 8 of 9 from the line and have 7 2nd chance points. Opacic picked up his 2nd foul early in the half so we missed him a little. Soson leads us in scoring with 6. Their 2-3 zone has limited Voorhees' touches. Humphrey (12 pts) and Cecil (10 pts) lead UNF.

14:00 2nd Half

North Florida 39, Radford 36

Voorhees caps off a 11-0 run, after UNF started the half with a 4-0 run. We've been attacking their 3-2 zone at the free throw line with some success.

11:00 2nd Half

North Florida 45, Radford 45

Marques Prince hits his first three of the game to cut the lead to 1, then hits 1 of 2 free throws to tie it!

8:54 2nd Half

Radford 49, North Florida 47

Riggs hits a fadeaway jumper to beat the shot clock to give us our first lead since 5-2!

2:58 2nd Half

Radford 58, North Florida 54

Soson hits a three to give us our biggest lead of the game!

Final

Radford 64, North Florida 56

We dodge a bullet on the road and get a hard fought win after icing the game with some clutch free throws. We held them to just 21 points in the 2nd half and they shot just 34% from the field for the game, including 6 of 21 from three. We managed to shoot 49%. We stopped the 2nd chance opportunities and they only had 2 2nd chance points in the second half.

Radford Top Performers
Kerry Voorhees - 17 pts, 11 rebs, 2 blks
Marques Prince - 13 pts
Elmer Riggs - 9 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts

North Florida Top Performers
Danny Humphrey - 15 pts
Justin Cecil - 12 pts, 8 rebs
Luis Guzman - 9 pts, 7 asts

Before the game I lowered inside scoring by a point to slow down Voorhees, I think he is just in the zone right now.

[Balldog]

Upcoming Game Preview
at Boston College (10-4, 1-0)

Team Ratings
87 - Overall
87 - Offense
85 - Defense
92 - Shooting
87 - Rebounding
86 - Coaching

Head Coach
Kermit Davis, 25-20 (220-158 overall), 2nd season, B+

Starting Lineup
PG - Nicholas Lenzly, So., 6'1" 164 lbs, 80 ovr, 11.3 ppg, 4.9 apg
SG - Shaun Iverson, Jr., 6'2" 209 lbs, 84 ovr, 7.3 ppg, A 3PT
SF - Corey Raji, Sr., 6'6" 220 lbs, 78 ovr, 10.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg
PF - Joe Trapani, Sr., 6'9" 234 lbs, 77 ovr, 8.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg
C - Benjamin Booker, Jr., 6'7" 214 lbs, 80 ovr, 8.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg
6th - Atila Forte, Jr., 6'4" 208 lbs, 81 ovr, 14.1 ppg

They have only 1 quality win, that is a 73-58 win at Virginia Tech.

[Balldog]

January 2, 2011
at Boston College (10-4)

10:00 1st Half

Boston College 10, Radford 4

Both teams come out shooting poorly, we are 2 of 11 from the field and they are 4 of 14 but they've hit 2 threes. We are currently going with a 4-guard lineup to try and get something going.

Halftime

Boston College 30, Radford 25

Both teams have started to heat up some but overall its a very defensive game, both teams are having to battle for open looks. We are at 44% for the game and they are at 39%. Iversen has 9 points and 4 assists to lead BC. Price has 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists to lead us.

10:00 2nd Half

Boston College 46, Radford 32

They caught fire and we went cold, the good news is we are in the bonus so we should be getting some freebies.

5:00 2nd Half

Boston College 54, Radford 48

Prince with a nice mid-range jumper and Opacic hits a three to cut the lead to 6.

1:26 2nd Half

Boston College 56, Radford 54

Voorhees puts a nice move on his man for an easy two to cut the lead to 2!

1:05 2nd Half

Boston College 56, Radford 56

Cannon steals it from Trapani to start a 3-on-1 fast break, Trapani fouls Prince and Prince hits them both to tie it!

0:38 2nd Half

Boston College 58, Radford 56

Voorhees fouls Raji, who beat Prince, to prevent an easy look. Raji hits both free throws.

Final

Boston College 58, Radford 56

Opacic finds Voorhees for what appears to be an easy look but Booker comes out of no where to block it. We foul Booker and he misses the front end, we set up a play with 7.1 seconds left. And Prince misses a fadeaway jumper from the baseline and we lose!

Radford Top Performers
Marques Prince - 17 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts
Kerry Voorhees - 13 pts, 8 rebs
Mike Opacic - 10 pts

Boston College Top Performers
S. Iversen - 12 pts, 10 asts
C. Raji - 12 pts
J. Trapani - 8 pts, 7 rebs

[Balldog]

Big South Conference Update - Jan 7, 2011

Standings
Winthrop 8-3
Radford 7-3
High Point 9-5
Liberty 4-4
Charl. Southern 4-6
Coastal Carolina 4-9
VMI 2-10
UNC Asheville 1-10

Leading Scorers
Ozren Bjelogrlic, Liberty (21.0 ppg)
Jamarco Warren, Char. Southern (20.3 ppg)
Byron Faison, Winthrop (16.8 ppg)

Leading Rebounders
Kerry Voorhees, Radford (9.2 rpg)
Earnest Bridges, High Point (8.4 rpg)
Omar Carter, Char. Southern (8.2 rpg)

Leading Assists
Christian Hunter, VMI (5.5 apg)
Johnny Stephene, Liberty (5.4 apg)
Bob Woodward, Coastal Carolina (4.3 apg)

Upcoming Schedule
1/8 - High Point at Radford
1/8 - Coastal Carolina at UNC Asheville
1/8 - VMI at Liberty
1/8 - Winthrop at Charl. Southern
1/10 - Winthrop at Radford
1/10 - High Point at Charl. Southern
1/11 - Coastal Carolina at VMI
1/12 - Liberty at UNC Asheville

[Balldog]

Upcoming Game Preview
vs. High Point (9-5, 0-0)

Team Ratings
70 - Overall
73 - Offense
65 - Defense
80 - Shooting
75 - Rebounding
82 - Coach

Head Coach
Bart Lundy, 109-104, 8th season, B

Starting Lineup
PG - Alquan Mendenhall, Sr., 5'11" 182 lbs, 66 ovr, 11.5 ppg, 88 3PT
SG - Matt Smigielski, Sr., 6'3" 198 lbs, 70 ovr, 16.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg
SF - Ibrahim Appiah, Sr., 6'5" 224 lbs, 70 ovr, 11.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg
PF - Clif Mason, Fr., 6'8" 252 lbs, 57 ovr, 4.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg
C - Earnest Bridges, Sr., 6'5" 231 lbs, 66 ovr, 12.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg

Guess who we are going to attack when we have the ball?

[Balldog]

A Look at the Florida Transfers

Jai Lucas (84 ovr) has North Texas off to a 9-4 start, with a 4-0 start in conference play as they lead the Sun Belt Conference early in the season. Jai is averaging 10.2 ppg and 7.5 apg.

Dan Werner (82 ovr) has played a key role in Washington State's 9-5 start to their season, including a 69-58 win on the road against #9 Arizona. Dan is averaging 6.8 ppg and 5.3 rpg for the Cougars.

Chandler Parsons (82 ovr) and the Wildcats are struggling at 3-7 on the season but 1-0 in the MEAC. Chandler is averaging 12.3 ppg and 8.1 rpg for the Wildcats.

Alex Tyus (82 ovr) has been one of the most dominating players in the country so far this season, he is a front runner for the Player of the Year in the Big Sky Conference. Alex is averaging 22.1 ppg and 9.9 rpg. Montana is currently 10-5 on the season.

[Balldog]

January Recruiting Update

All is quiet on the recruiting front until the offseason but we are getting closer to getting a verbal commit from Wilson Ferguson, but he is still considering Dartmouth (no offer). It also looks like Ryan Spencer is strongly considering taking our offer as a preferred walk-on. Ferguson would give us some much needed depth in the front court. Our staff thinks he will dominate the low post in the Big South.

[Balldog]

January 8, 2011
High Point (9-5, 0-0) at Radford (7-3, 0-0)

10:00 1st Half

High Point 21, Radford 12

What a frustrating start to this one, we have only made 1 field goal. This is probably the most physical game we've had all season, both teams are already in the double bonus.

Halftime

High Point 36, Radford 26

They go one a 10-0 run to end the half after we finally tied it up. We are struggling from the field (5 of 25). Luckily we've made 15 of 20 from the free throw line. They are shooting just 37% but they have 3 three pointers. Voorhees leads us with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Smigielski leads them with 10 points, despite missing most of the half with 2 fouls.

10:00 2nd Half

High Point 46, Radford 38

We can't seem to make anything from the field other than layups which are tough to come by. We are now 10 of 44 from the field, 1 of 10 from deep.

6:08 2nd Half

High Point 48, Radford 46

Soson hits a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 2!

4:12 2nd Half

Radford 50, High Point 48

Opacic finds Prince for a wide open jumper and he hits it! We take our first lead of the game.

Final

Radford 62, High Point 52

Prince and Voorhees seal the win with some nice buckets then we finish them with some clutch free throws. What an ugly, ugly game - High Point ends up shooting 29%, we shot 32%. However, we made 26 of 36 from the free throw line. They really struggled from behind the arc, despite having several great shooters - they went 3 of 14 from deep. We were able to take advantage of their lack of size, we outrebounded them 46-32, with 13 offensive rebounds.

Radford Top Performers
Kerry Voorhees - 18 pts, 13 rebs, 2 blks, 5/10 FG, 8/11 FT
Richie Soson - 13 pts
Marques Prince - 9 pts, 7 rebs
Mike Opacic - 5 pts, 4 rebs, 3 stls, 2 asts

High Point Top Performers
Matt Smigielski - 16 pts
Ibrahim Appiah - 11 pts, 4 rebs
Earnest Bridges - 8 pts, 7 rebs, 3 asts

[Balldog]

Upcoming Game Preview
vs. Winthrop (9-3, 1-0)

Team Ratings
77 - Overall
78 - Offense
75 - Defense
82 - Shooting
82 - Rebounding
78 - Coaching

Head Coach
Randy Peele, 98-117, 4th season, B

Starting Lineup
PG - Gil Rowe, Jr., 6'5" 197 lbs, 71 ovr, 8.1 ppg, 4.3 apg
SG - Byron Faison, Sr., 6'2" 218 lbs, 71 ovr, 17.5 ppg
SF - Veltra Hanson, Jr., 6'9" 231 lbs, 77 ovr, 7.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, B+ Defender
PF - Charles Corbin, Sr., 6'7" 242 lbs, 68 ovr, 6.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg
C - Whitney Haywood, Jr., 6'8" 233 lbs, 69 ovr, 10.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg

[Balldog]

January 10, 2011
Winthrop (9-3, 1-0) at Radford (8-3, 1-0)

10:00 1st Half

Both teams come out playing tenacious defense, we've really had to work to get some good looks while Winthrop really hasn't gotten any good looks other than a wide open three for Faison (miss). They start the game 1 of 11. Prince is off to a good start with 4 points.

Radford 13, Winthrop 5

Halftime

Things start to get a little more physical in the final ten minutes of the half, with some hard fouls on both teams. Winthrop is still struggling to get any consistent offense going, they've had some success pounding it inside though. We've held Faison to 3 points but they've held Voorhees to 1. He's really struggling with the strength of their bigs. Mike Opacic has 10 points to lead all scorers, he hasn't missed a shot yet, including two threes.

Radford 28, Winthrop 17

10:00 2nd Half

Winthrop makes a furious comeback with an aggressive press and rips the lead right away from us. Faison has 11 points already in the half. Meanwhile, when we are able to break their press we haven't been able to convert much.

Winthrop 42, Radford 37

5:00 2nd Half

We cut the lead to 2 but they answer with a three to bring it back to 5 with 5 minutes to play. They are now shooting 41% for the game, quite impressive after their horrible start.

Winthrop 55, Radford 50

2:54 2nd Half

Voorhees hit a jump hook to cut the lead to 1 and they call at timeout. Voorhees is finally starting to get his touch.

Winthrop 57, Radford 56

1:39 2nd Half

Prince gets to the hoop with a nice drive and finishes, Winthrop calls another timeout as we cut the lead to 1 again.

Winthrop 60, Radford 59

0:29 2nd Half

A steal sets up a fast break for Prince but he misses the contested layup! But he gets the rebound and is fouled! He hits both free throws to give us the lead!

Radford 63, Winthrop 62

0:07 2nd Half

Faison gets open and drills his 4th three of the half!

Winthrop 65, Radford 63

Final

Opacic gets a wide open look and misses it! Winthrop holds on for the 65-63 win. We shot 51% in the loss, to their 41%. Both teams played great in what was an epic battle for an early lead in the race for the conference championship.

Winthrop 65, Radford 63

Radford Top Performers
Mike Opacic - 16 pts, 5 asts
Marques Prince - 14 pts, 4 rebs
Kerry Voorhees - 9 pts, 5 rebs

Winthrop Top Performers
Byron Faison - 20 pts
Gill Rowe - 11 pts, 12 asts
Veltra Hanson - 10 pts, 5 rebs

[Balldog]

Our next game is at UT-Pan American, we will sim that one.

UT-Pan American blows us out with a big first half, 77-53. Voorhees had 13 points and 6 rebounds.

From now on until if there is a greater than 5 point difference in overall team rating I will likely sim the game.

Upcoming Game Preview
at Coastal Carolina (6-9, 2-0)

Team Ratings
69 - Overall
69 - Offense
68 - Defense
71 - Shooting
75 - Rebounding
88 - Coaching

Head Coach
Buzz Peterson, 581-382, 4th season, A-

Starting Lineup
PG - Bob Woodward, So., 6'3" 182 lbs, 55 ovr, 5.1 ppg, 4.2 apg
SG - Allan Parsons, Jr., 6'2" 222 lbs, 61 ovr, 10.8 ppg
SF - Anthony Breeze, Sr., 6'5" 200 lbs, 68 ovr, 10.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg
PF - Branden Shakur, Sr., 6'7" 236 lbs, 72 ovr, 8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.7 bpg
C - Bryant Wallace, Sr., 6'10" 292 lbs, 64 ovr, 10.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg
6th - Jon Pack, Sr., 6'10" 248 lbs, 64 ovr, 7.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg

[Balldog]

January 15, 2011
Radford (8-5, 1-1) at Coastal Carolina (6-9, 2-0)

10:00 1st Half

Coastal Carolina is giving us a battle, this one looks like it will come down to the wire. They are shooting just 6 of 15 to our 7 of 11 but they lead by 1. Taurean Mason (6'5", SG, So.) has come off the bench and hit 2 threes to give them the early advantage. Marques Prince has answered with 2 threes of his own.

Coastal Carolina 20, Radford 19

Halftime

Both teams have settled in, they've taken advantage of being in the double bonus for the last 5 minutes of the half and have hit 11 of 13 free throws to keep them in reach. Riggs hit a buzzer beater to give us a 3 point lead. We've got to get them off the offensive boards, they have 7 offensive rebounds so far but only 2 second chance points. Marques Prince leads all scorers with 14, he is 4 of 5 from downtown.

Radford 33, Coastal Carolina 30

10:00 2nd Half

Their offense is getting back on track and they've went on a 6-0 run to tie it up. They have cut down on jacking up 3's, they shot 15 in the 1st half and only 2 so far in the 2nd. They are getting a nice game off the bench from John Pack, he has 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Radford 47, Coastal Carolina 47

Final

Our inability to keep them off the glass comes back to haunt us in the final ten minutes. They ended up with 6 offensive rebounds and 6 2nd chance points to finish the game. Not to mention our poor free throw shooting (6 of 14) versus their great free throw shooting (19 of 23).

This is a tough loss and it will really make it hard to win the regular season championship now.

Coastal Carolina 80, Radford 67

Radford Top Performers
Marques Prince - 19 points
Kerry Voorhees - 17 points and 10 rebounds
Elmer Riggs - 10 points, 3 assists

Coastal Carolina Top Performers
Bob Woodward - 13 points and 5 assists
Bryant Wallace - 12 points and 10 rebounds
Jon Pack - 12 points and 9 rebounds
Branden Shakur - 10 points and 10 rebounds