What Dreams May Come(FBCB 2010)

Brian Swartz · 04-08-2015, 07:27 PM

This project will follow the careers of several coaches of different styles from present-day into the future. It's based on my most successful sports dynasty ever, which was done a few years ago using DDSCB. Here's a link in case anyone is interested:

Race to the Top - Wolverine Studios

In that story, I only simmed 27 years, and followed the careers of five nerfed coaches through 18 years(1965-1982). Many fascinating things happened. Elite 8's happened, but no final fours or titles. This will be different in many ways, not least of which since I'm using FBCB instead, but the same format will be followed.

This will be an alternative history of sorts, as I'm fast-simmed from 1938 through 2014, 77 years of basketball. I'll get into the coaches themselves, but first some words about the settings and history:

Settings

All four tournaments on.
Injuries/Suspensions at Default
3pt shot -- on
Draft Declarations -- Freshman or later
Firing on
Job offers on
Limited conference movement
Conference prestige on
Transfers redshirt unless 5th year
Players refuse redshirts on

History

School Championships

Oklahoma -- 6
Kansas State -- 5
Maryland -- 4
Memphis -- 4

** 7 programs have won 3, 11 have won 2, and an additional 17 have a single title to their name. More than 300, almost 90%, have yet to taste the sweetness of being the last team standing in the 77 years of the tournament.

** Kansas State, though second to Oklahoma by one in total titles, has to be considered the standard-bearer. Their 143 total wins is well ahead of the field, with Florida and Southern Cal second with just 117. 67 total appearances is just shy of UConn's mark of 68, and they are also tops in Sweet 16 appearances(38) and Final Fours(13). The Sooners though have a remarkable record of success once they reach the Elite 8. Of their 28 Sweet 16 runs, half of them ended there. Of the 14 that didn't, 10(71%) times they made it to the final four, and of those 6 titles(60%).

** On the other end of the spectrum, there are 35 schools who have never won a game in the tournament. The most hapless is Lafayette, who is winless in 11 trips. Or perhaps it's one of the seven programs that have yet to even make it in the field. Seattle deserves special mention here, as they haven't made the NIT either. Ironically they have a 5-2 CBI record including winning a title there while posting a 22-12 mark in 2005.

** The biggest whalloping by far took place in the tournament's second year, when Texas annihilated Wake Forest 112-51 in the 1939 title game. The first real nail-biter also involved Wake, as they defeated Maryland 71-69 in '44. There have been seven other times the margin was three points or less, including the brickfest in '93 in which Oklahoma edged Ohio State 45-44 in the lowest-scoring title game. The highest-scoring game was just recently in 2007, with Kansas State outgunning Oklahoma 117-111 in a
marquee matchup if ever there was one for the last of it's five titles.

** Kansas State also hold the record for the worst win-loss mark of a champion, 25-12 in 1977. 7 times the eventual champion has lost 10 or more games in the course of the season. Every champion has lost at least twice, save for the 1969 North Carolina Tarheels, who ran the table for a 39-0 mark that is unlikely ever to be equalled, defeating their in-state rivals North Carolina State 100-69 as an emphatic exclamation point on their dominance.

** Dynasties have been rare. There have been a few times when a school won two titles in three years, Kansas State won three in five years but none of them consecutive. Only twice has back-to-back championships been achieved, first by Houston in 56-57, and then LSU duplicated the feat in 2004 and 05. College basketball has never yet had a 3-peat.

School Wins

1. Florida -- 1959
2. North Carolina -- 1958
3. Memphis -- 1940
4. Kansas State -- 1939
5. Maryland -- 1937
6. Connecticut -- 1930
7. Pittsburgh -- 1885
8. Miami-Ohio -- 1880
9. Kansas -- 1863
10. Louisville -- 1847

School Prestige

1. North Carolina State
1. USC
3. Florida
3. LSU
3. UCLA
6. Miami(OH)
7. Nebraska
8. New Mexico
9. Central Florida
9. Maryland

Top Conferences

** ACC
** Big 12
** Big Ten
** Big West
** Conference USA
** Pac 10
** SEC

Coaches Championships

Only two men have won three national titles. Douglas Taylor, architect of the great Houston teams of the late 50s, the first to win back-to-back titles and three in five years. They lost again in the title game in '65, and he retired a decade later having failed to get back to the final four since. He had four other jobs previous, but will always be remembered for college basketball's first true dynasty.

The second is Taylor Austin. He was a young assistant at Houston, leaving as Taylor arrived in 1955. He then moved on to San Francisco and Colorado, eventually helping both hapless programs reach the post-season in some form. A few years at Mississippi, eventually reaching the Final Four, and then he took the top job at Kansas State in 1970 where he would rule the court for 21 years. The three titles came in a five-year span, in 77, 79, and 81. Following a frustrating yet impressive stretch from '85-'88 in which the Wildcats made the Elite Eight all four years, only advancing to one Final Four in which they lost, the program fell on relatively hard times and Austin retired after a first-round exit in 1990.

11 others have won 2, among them active coaches Joshua Palk(LSU), Lawrence Rodriguez(defending champs at Miami(OH)) and Brady Patterson(USC).

Coaches -- Wins

1. Ismael Elgin -- 936
2. Douglas Taylor -- 900
3. Brady Patterson -- 847(USC)
4. Taylor Austin -- 846
5. Jean Pirtrie -- 844
6. James Bolden -- 832
7. Jacques Lipps -- 811
8. David Myers -- 801
9. John Brasher -- 782
10. Marcus Mayfield -- 777

Elgin is an interesting character, one of the pioneers of the game. He started at California for six years, winning 25 or more games each of the last four including a Final Four, and then moved on to spend the bulk of his career in 31 years as Connecticut's head coach. They never had a losing season in his time there, failing only once to reach 20 wins. He could never get them over the hump. The Huskies reached the Final Four three times, losing in the semifinals each time. They were constantly excellent, with several 30-win years, but could never get over the hump.

Brady Patterson is the flavor of the month at the moment, having just surpassed Austin to reach #3 in all-time coaching less than a month ago. In all, 39 coaches have 600 or more victories, and only three of them are active. Along with Patterson, there is North Carolina State's Aaron McKee(722) and Maryland's Steven Jeffcoat(628). Two of them are likely to retire soon, but McKee has some time left at 63 and will likely crack to Top 10 before he's done.

Brian Swartz · 04-08-2015, 10:27 PM

Meet The Coaches

All of our heroes, or goats as the case may be, will be set at Level 4 to start. This is used because it is the amount given to head coaches generated for the worst programs at startup.

Neal Barnett

Barnett could rightly be called more of a scout or salesman than a coach. He has little knowledge of Xs and Os and could care less about academic achievement or what style his teams play. His teams may well change style drastically from one year to the next, pursuing whatever he thinks will best fit the existing talent. Bringing in the best players he can is his goal. He will also change programs at the drop of a hat if offered a better position.

He'll be able to bring in the talent. The question is, can he do anything with them once they are on campus?

Recruiting: A-
Defense: C
Offense: D
Defense: D

Horace Hargrove

Hargrove's gift is that he has a sharp eye for talent. More than most other coaches, he can spot the 'diamond in the rough' prospect. He is less adept at teaching the game, however, and will tend to look for players that can make an immediate impact as a result. In terms of style of play, he favors the matchup zone on defense and unorthodox roles on offense. Often his teams will have big man ranging the perimeter, while posting up big guards and swingmen against smaller foes.

Recruiting: C
Scouting: B
Offense: C-
Defense: C-

Charles Hernandez

Throw-back, old-school, traditionalist -- all of these apply here. He's a special case in the rundown in that I'm mostly just curious how far he can go with his philosophy. Hernandez believes that the student part of 'student-athlete' is the most important. Winning takes a back seat to academics and playing the right way, which means his way. A slow-paced, structured attack in the princeton style will be featured, along with exclusively half-court man defense. He will recruit only players with a 3.0 or better GPA, and emphasize the fundamentals of passing, ballhandling, shooting, and defensive positioning more than athletic superiority.

Charles is loyal, and will only leave his position when offered a major step up or when it's obvious he's outgrown the current position. With an emphasis on execution and a restrictive philosophy, can he bring in enough talent to succeed in the modern game?

Recruiting: D+
Scouting: C
Offense: C+
Defense: C+

Mark Horton

Horton is a '40 Minutes of Hell' devotee combined with an ultra-modern pace-and-space approach. Constant use of the full-court press will be utilized combined with maximum 3-point firepower to run up the score as high as possible. Steals and 3-point shooting are the most important aspects of his philosophy, and he will recruit accordingly.

Recruiting: C
Scouting: C
Offense: C+
Defense: D+

John Reinhart

A strong proponent of zone defense schemes, Hargrove will run the 2-3 zone almost exclusively. He prefers his teams to be big, physical, and tough as nails. They will attack and defend the paint will reckless abandon on both ends, even it means allowing a weakness on the perimeter. At the start at least, Reinhart is the defensive guru of the group.

Horace emphasizes the defensive end of the floor. His motto is 'give nothing away'. He's much rather have scores in the 40s or 50s than suffer a player who can't play defense to see the floor for him.

Recruiting: C
Scouting: C
Offense: C-
Defense: B-

Brian Swartz · 04-08-2015, 11:47 PM

Humble Beginnings -- 2015 Job Offers

The fabulous five have come of age. Each is 30 years old and now has the opportunity to seek their opportunities at glory on the hardwood.

Charles Hernandez was the first to take a job, jumping at the chance to coach in the Ivy League with Iona. While the Ivy is only a shadow of what it once was, traditional academic powers Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Yale are still there. Soon afterwards, Neal Barnett impetuously jumped at the chance to head up an Evansville program that is coming off a winning season. John Reinhart headed to Centenary in the Big South, while the others waited to see what would shake out.

Lehigh(Patriot League) was in a pretty desperate situation and decided to take a chance on Horace Hargrove, while and Norfolk State(Atlantic Sun) considered the other two but rejected them. Patience is sometimes rewarded, but this was decidedly not the case for Mark Horton, who ended up at Hampton, the single worst program in division I.

Bottom-dwelling conferences all here, it was simply a matter of the degree of ineptitude involved.

SCHOOL HISTORIES

John Reinhart(Centenary)

All-time winning percentage: .457(240th)
20-win seasons: 14(98)
Conference Titles: 4 season, 5 tournament, most recently in 84 and 96 respectively
NCAA record: 0-5
NIT record: 2-8
CBI: 3-5
CIT: 6-6
Total postseason: 11-24(.314)
Other: Centenary does have three invitational titles to it's credit, having won the Boulder Classic('52 and '74) along with GDS Invitational('76).

The program was once better than it is. We are now nearly two decades removed from the most recent appearance in the Big Dance. For the past 11 years, the same coaching staff led by James Koehler(retired after last year) has floundered it's way along to an average mark of 10-21, with only one winning season in the bunch which led to an immediate first-round loss in the CIT. Reinhart has work to do.

Neal Barnett(Evansville)

All-time winning percentage -- .486(163rd)
20-win seasons: 15
Conference titles: 9 season('05), 8 tournament('01)
NCAA: 0-9
NIT: 7-14
CBI: 3-2
CIT: 12-5(champions in '83 and '02)
Total Postseason: 22-30(.423)
Other: '63 GDS Tip-Off Tourney, '70 Tennessee Challenge

After back-to-back NCAA appearances to open the 21st century, it's been a relative dry spell for Evansville. Dante Foster retired after a five-year run in which the team was usually competitive but never good, culminating in last year's 17-15 mark and a first-round exit in the CIT. It is hoped that Barnett will build on this. It was only an average of 12 victories over that span.

Charles Hernandez(Iona)

All-time winning percentage -- .492(149th)
20-win seasons: 17
Conference titles: 12 season('87), 4 tournament('69)
NCAA: 6-12(1 Sweet 16)
NIT: 6-9
CBI: 6-5
CIT: 7-2(1 championship in '96)
Total Postseason: 25-28(.472)
Other: Rainbow Invitational('50), GDS Tip-Off Tournament('81, '85)

For the first 30 years, Iona played in the MAAC. It reached it's peak in the early 60s as an up-and-down but generally successful program on the verge of breaking through the mid-major barrier and become a real power in the sport. Then the school joined the Ivy League, and three-year stretch of 20-win seasons from 76-78, the last of which saw them reach the Sweet 16 for the first and only time, provided hope they might still do it. Since then, there have been only a pair of 20-win campaigns and there have been eight straight losing seasons and 16 of the last 17. After last year's 7-22 debacle, first-year coach David Brown became an only-year coach, summarily retiring. It seems that the board has decided that if they are going to suck on the court, they should at least be able to trumpet a clean, integrity-driven basis. The odds of Iona seeing the positive side of a .500 record anytime soon ... well, they aren't good.

Mark Horton(Hampton)

All-time winning percentage -- .410(325th)
20-win seasons: 6
Conference titles: 6 season('02), 4 tournament('89)
NCAA: 2-4
NIT: 6-8
CBI: 0-1
CIT: 5-5
Total Postseason: 13-18(.419)
Other: None

Seven of Hampton's ten MEAC crowns and four of the six 20-win years came before the end of the 50s. That was the golden era for the program, such as it was. The past half-century has been horrific. Even the two tournament wins are a bit deceiving, as both occurred in the 'first four' prior to getting blasted in the next round. The last post-season win came in 1987 in the CIT, and there has only been one bid, to the NIT, in the last 25 years. The program has endured 12 straight losing seasons since then. Following 63 wins in six years and not a winning record in the MEAC among them, Joshua Lankford was fired from his first top job. He was an ace recruiter, though you can be forgiven for not being able to tell looking at the roster -- he couldn't tell a talented player from a grapefruit, sadly -- and a defensive specialist. With Horton, the board is definitely going in a different direction.

Horace Hargrove(Lehigh)

All-time winning percentage -- .451(250th)
20-win seasons: 12
Conference titles: 12 season('02), 9 tournament('12)
NCAA: 2-9(1 Sweet 16 in '87)
NIT: 9-13
CBI: 0-2
CIT: NA
Total Postseason: 11-24(.314)
Other: GDS Invitational('71)

Lehigh is definitely the best of the startups, both in terms of recent success and program prestige. Horace Hargrove chose well in that sense. The late 80s and early 90s are considered the golden era here. In 1987 Lehigh snagged both of it's all-time NCAA wins in reaching the second week, followed by an NCAA or NIT appearance in the next six years though they remarkably failed to win a single game in any of those opportunities. Gary Vogt was fired after 12 years, having won 10 or fewer games in four of the last five seasons. He went through three different staffs, the last being the current one for the past several years. Vogt had a real eye for talent but prospects simply didn't respond to him. Perhaps he should have stayed at BC as an assistant. He doesn't understand modern offensive execution well either. Hargrove is roughly similar but should do a little better on the recruiting trail. Hopefully that will be enough to succeed where his predecessor failed.

korme · 04-09-2015, 12:41 AM

Awesome

muns · 04-10-2015, 07:45 AM

I like it! Following along for the ride

Qwikshot · 04-10-2015, 09:47 AM

I'll be reading...Lehigh University is right up the road from me.

Brian Swartz · 04-10-2015, 02:24 PM

Thanks! Too bad Lehigh was gutted and will probably suck, at least for a while here ...

2015 OFFSEASON

John Reinhart(Centenary)

Staff Hiring

Coaching Assistant Jeremiah Gasaway(36, average offense, below average defense) will remain from the previous regime. He's the only one who will though. Olen Black is a below-average recruiter, William Wilson is an ok scout but a little too expensive. Reinhart thinks they can do better on both fronts.

The new scout is Darryl Pope(40, average). Recruiter Brian Krauss(34) is not as much of an upgrade as hoped for, a bit below average, but still an improvement over Black.

Recruiting

Four scholarships available this year, with small forward the biggest need, followed by help for a young backcourt. Centenary doesn't rank high on anyone's list who isn't a 1-star prospect.

August

** C Anibal Omara(7-0, 247) -- Not in Top 5 but no immediate offers, he has great size and we see him as an immediate contributor inside offensively, both in terms of scoring and on the boards. Defensively he's much less impressive.

** SG David Firth(6-1, 203) -- 5th, no offers in. This guy Reinhart debated on. He's quick, has great hops, and can shoot the three already. The potential is there for a guy who can defend, attack the basket, and knock it down from the line when he's fouled, but the trip to Littlefield incurs significant expense(6k out of an 11k budget for the full package). He's also a bit undersized for the scoring guard.

Really he needed to go all in on a quality swingman, and that meant trying for more of a sure thing in the backcourt. It sucks having to pass on such a premium talent ...

** SF Graham Marotta(6-9, 234) -- 5th, no offers in. Northwestern State is the only one that's really out of our class though. Potential ability to score inside or from distance and hit the glass. Perimeter defense is a big liability.

** SF Federico Fuentes(6-7, 211) -- 2nd, no offers. Better defender but not as much on the offensive end. Distance is again an issue(Presidio, TX). For that reason it's Marotta who gets the treatment instead.

* PG Lou Dietrich(6-2, 176) -- Probably more a 2-guard in terms of style of play, but solid potential and at last heard we were the only school he was interested in. The hope here is to lock him up quickly and focus on the forwards.

September

Omara had offers from two other schools and still wasn't showing Centenary any love, so he had to be dropped. The situation was more complicated with Marotta, who had us up to second but offers in from Mississippi Valley State(third) and Jackson State(fourth). Dietrich still says we are the only game in town, and Fuentes keeps us in second despite the fact that we are his only offer so far.

There's really nobody who can give what Marotta brings, so as long as we're still the top offering school on the board Reinhart is keeping up the effort with him. We still can't afford to go hard on Fuentes but we do bring him in for a visit. A couple of local forwards are scouted with the hope of finding something others have missed.

** PG Brian Cook(5-10, 161) -- We're third with no offers in here, and it looks like the best potential option to pick up somebody for that fourth spot.

October

We've been leapfrogged by both of the other schools on Marotta, disappointing but clearly there's no real chance of landing him. The other three are looking strong though. Dietrich, Fuentes, and Cook all list us #1 with no other offers in. By bringing in Cook for a visit now to close the deal, there really isn't money to pursue a fourth. All we can do is put an offer out there.

* PF Andrew Johnson(6-7, 240) -- The only guy left that we have graded out at decent potential. It's time to just find somebody who might not completely suck, and we're still the only school on his board. Decent athlete with the potential to rebound and score inside.

Brian Swartz · 04-10-2015, 02:27 PM

Neil Barnett(Evansville)

Staff Hiring

The staff here really is decent. However, coaching assistant John Roldan(44, subpar defense, decent offense) has to go since he makes too much at just over $35k. $30k per position is all the program can really afford, and they should be able to find a serviceable assistant for that price to squeeze a bit more funds into recruiting.

Adam Benites(42) is the man. He's a hair below average on both ends of the floor, but really we couldn't expect to do better.

Recruiting

4 scholarships here, more or less equal need at all positions.

August

*** C Tyrone Dorsey(6-9, 231) -- We're third with no other offers in and Dorsey looks like a sleeper. Strong as an ox, potential to be a true blue-chipper, particularly good scoring inside and on the defensive boards. The budget's limited and all that but Barnett just has to take a shot here.

** PG Chas Brown(5-10, 158) -- There are a couple guys that Evansville thinks can step in right away and contribute, and diminutive Brown is the best shot at one of them. He's pretty quick and could become a very tough cover as a scoring point. We're third with no offers in yet.

** SG Shelton Radcliff(JC, 6-6, 188) -- This is the other guy. Fourth with no offers, and the three ahead of us are all just slightly more well-known programs. Fantastic athlete, good potential offensively and rebounding. The budget allows only for an assistant visit though.

*** C Charles Stanton(6-9, 223) -- If Dorsey doesn't come, this defensive stalwart, strong for his size, will hopefully fit the backup role and gets the final offer. We're first on his board, but he's considering some local mid-majors and if they jump in we're toast.

September

Offers came in for a lot of players, drastically reducing Barnett's options. Stanton has one from Lipscomb and has dropped us to third, so we're out on him. Radcliff has us up to second, but Mississippi Valley State is first and it would be tough to compete with them. Out there as well. There are two other offers in for Brown ... but as for now we are his #1 so the effort will stay in that case. Dorsey still likes us, but unfortunately he also likes Indiana State. They're a bigger program but not by that much, and HC Lionel Sabol is not known for his recruiting prowess. It's a case where there's a decent shot of stealing him, and the payoff would be monstrous. Barnett stays in there.

So Dorsey and Brown are still possibilities, contested ones though, and there's not a whole lot to choose from for the last two spots. Like Hargrove, he didn't really have the money to go pursue SF Jonathan Nunez from Michigan, but given the lack of options he did it anyway with an offer and a campus visit. In the hope of finding something better for the last spot a number of local scouting trips were scheduled.

October

MSU decided Nunez was worth an offer, and that means Evansville is dead in the water there. Brown has narrowed his list to two, and we're still on top with SIU-Edwardsville chasing. Dorsey has done the same, but we're second behind Indiana State still. He still lists his interest in us as very high, so we're sticking around.

* SG Arthur Smith(6-3, 176) -- Smith is the one guy among the recent scouts that looks like he has promise. No offers are in for him yet. Elite potential in passing and 3-point shooting, he could play either guard position and serviceable defensively as well.

Even if Dorsey comes, it looks like Barnett will be dragging the bottom of the river for the fourth offer. No idea who would get it yet.

Brian Swartz · 04-10-2015, 02:30 PM

Charles Hernandez(Iona)

Staff Hiring

Again here it's the coaching assistant, Gary Singley, who has to go. The price is fine and he's a hair better than average on offense, but literally no better than the man off the street when it comes to the defensive end. Replacement Alexander Gray is below average in both categories, a little better at defense than he is at offense. It's a little disappointing that Hernandez couldn't find someone better, but it's still an upgrade over Singley on the aggregate.

With only 11 players on the roster and a hole at shooting guard, a transfer offer was submitted to Bowling Green's George Boulware, the only interested players who met our standards. He can't defend to save his life, but beggars can't be choosers. He accepted the offer and joined the roster. After that, a group of centers who aren't collectively worth a pitcher of warm spit were summarily ignored.

Recruiting

Biggest need is at the primary perimeter scoring positions, off-guard and small forward. With only two scholarships to use, one of each would be optimal. With the standards Hernandez has, recruiting is simplified if nothing else. There were only 13 prospects with significant interest who made the grade. Only one is a small forward, so the hope is the evaluation goes well on him.

August

It was astonishing to see the scouting reports come back with not one, not two, but three legitimate blue-chip potentials! Unfortunately two of them we can scratch right away.

** C Jeff Bader(7-0, 284) -- 3rd and no offers. Bader could be a real sleeper. The question is whether we can steal him out from under the nose of Toledo and Dayton. Perhaps, but he's a project and we have good if not great players closer to home.

*** SG Harry Chavez(6-3, 188) -- Mid-range game, good passing and ballhandling, a solid guard to build around. With the forwards not particularly impressive, this is our top priority. 2nd with no offers here, but Hofstra can probably have him for the asking. We can only hope they don't ask.

** PG John Doherty(6-2, 176) -- The only immediate contributor on the board, Doherty is already quick with elite ball skills and a decent passer. He could become a great passer and if so would really be a find. Third, with no offers and we'd have a fighting chance against the schools ahead.

** SF Bryant Tyler(6-6, 232) -- We don't like the fact that he's a near-disaster in terms of team offensive basketball, but there isn't a better forward out there and he is a very good athlete with passable defensive skills so it wouldn't be a total loss. We can only give a half-hearted effort with the remaining budget, and there's no offers left. Presently we are third on the board.

September

Chavez and Doherty have Iona as #1 with no other offers in, so it's looking good here. No offers in on any of the backup targets either.

October

Offers came in for a number of backup targets this month, including the only forward option in Tyler. Two came in for Doherty as well but he holds with Iona as his top choice. We're still unopposed on Chavez. Shockingly, Bader still has no offers. If Doherty turns us down in favor of the competition, it looks like we'll be going there next. Some more scouting trips are set up as well.

Brian Swartz · 04-10-2015, 02:33 PM

Mark Horton(Hampton)

Staff Hiring

An empty cupboard here, literally. It's been so bad that the whole batch jumped ship, and Horton must start from scratch. So who wants to coach at the worst program in the country for a completely unproven head man playing an extreme, experimental style? Don't everyone beat the door down at once!!

** Coaching Assistant Tracy Sparks(26) brings average offensive skills but is definitely below-average on defense. Unfortunate, but a real quality assistant requires a real basketball program.
** Roger Moncrief(32) was a win, a legitimately serviceable scout.
** Another youngster starting out, recruiter Clark Plunkett(25) is a bit below average but reasonable quality for this level of play.

The roster is short a man, but there was not a single transfer interested in coming here. Not particularly surprising. A useless malcontent from Centenary later voiced an interest, but he's not worth it.

Recruiting

Two point guards were graduating, making that the top priority. A center would be nice as well, but there are only two positions available.

August

Point guards would be nice and all, but we have a developing situation. Specifically, a pair of guys with blue-chip potential(or so we think) that there may actually be a shot of landing.

*** SG Leonard Massie(6-3, 171) -- This is the long shot: we're not even on his list with interest declining, but none of the big schools he's chasing are chasing him. Massie is All-State in North Carolina and we think he's good enough to play right away. Perhaps his hideous ballhandling is scaring the big boys away, but the way he can shoot from the perimeter and jump, it's safe to say I think we could find a spot for him on the court for the nation's worst team.

*** PF Elliot Ramirez(6-8, 215) -- Third on the board with no offers, ODU is the question mark here. Inside scoring, good vision for a big man, and a guy who really creates turnovers. Athleticism and ballhandling are definitely issues but he can rebound and defend immediately, even though we still classify him as quite raw overall.

** PG Joseph Kirkham(6-3, 196) -- He's our backup right now if(when?) the studs fall through. Good potential as a scoring point, but an assistant visit is all we can afford.

September

A number of players told us we could stick our interest where the sun don't shine. Massie has an offer from North Carolina Central, and the odds of outbidding them aren't good. In all, we had to give up on two thirds of our list, including fellow pipe-dreamer Ramirez. Hampton is up to first on Kirkham's board though, so it looks like we are definitely going to engage the backup plan on him.

*** PG William Conyers(6-3, 195) -- The only other half-decent point on our board, he has us fifth but no offers in yet. He has one now.

A few more players were added, with scouts on a couple, as the initial wave of offers ravaged Horton's options.

October

The carnage continues. We quickly lost out on Conyers, and while we are still #1 with Kirkham he has two other offers in so we can only hope our early interest impresses him.

** SG Millard Bailey(6-3, 173) -- Next up on the carousel, the better of two local guards with decent potential. He gets the full package.

Three more in-case scouting trips, after that it starts to get really scary. Calls are scheduled to several local 1-star guys who are reasonably interested in Hampton, but that's a long-shot Horton hopes he doesn't have to play.

Brian Swartz · 04-10-2015, 02:37 PM

Horace Hargrove(Lehigh)

Staff Hiring

Surprisingly, it's empty here as well as everyone left. After seven years disappointing years together, they apparently all felt it was time to go their separate ways.

Scout Michael Hoyos(53, average) and assistant John Martin(slightly below average offense, average defense) were good, reasonable finds but the recruiting spot remained open. Charles Lin(61, average) filled the spot and Hargrove was pleased overall with the results of the job search. This group should manage not to embarass itself, and that's all he could really ask for.

The one thing Hargrove needs is players. There are only nine on the roster, six scholarships free. He hoped to make a splash in the transfer period. SF James Alvarez(Long Beach State), Richard Thorn(Syracuse), and James Reinke(Rider) received offers. None were polished right now, but Reinke, a former Top 200 recruit, was the prize if he'd come. He chose Arkansas State instead, but Alvarez did accept.

Jules Mitchell(Samford) was added later. He's nothing to get excited about either, but getting a couple warm bodies in will help this year and recruiting will be urgent. On and on it went, with a center deciding to go to Buffalo instead.

Recruiting

With the incoming transfers there were three remaining spots, a much more manageable number. Optimally a point guard, small forward, and center would fill out the roster.

August

*** C Desmond Williams(6-11, 240) -- Another one of those tough choices. This is the one guy on the board who looks like a potential blue-chip prospect. Not much of an athlete but elite defense and scoring inside. He's raw though, and Fairfield is already in with an offer but they are still behind Lehigh on his list. In the end, Hargrove decided the chance of holding off a program twice as regarded as his was just not likely.

*** C Kenneth Giles(JC, 6-9, 234) -- The other option in the middle. A much better shot at landing Giles who could help right away but he's a JC transfer and an academic risk to go with it. Still he looked like the best option here.

*** PG Joe Fried(6-2, 192) -- This has the look of too good to be true. Fried is All-State in New York and yet Lehigh is the only school on his list right now. He's an elite scoring point who unfortunately can't defend much with limited athleticism. Not the style Hargrove is looking for but there are times when you just need to unleash a talent, and Fried could be that guy.

*** SF Jonathan Nunez(6-7, 247) -- An All-State performer, Nunez would be the choice here if the travel to Michigan wasn't prohibitively expensive.

*** SF Raymond Thao(6-6, 226) -- There were other ways to go here, but all the swingman options are long-shots. All are projects, and Thao has relatively modest potential but is probably the best chance at landing someone which is the priority here. Good interior defender, he creates turnovers on defense and can handle the ball with a downside of being a turnstile on the perimeter.

September

Thao now has a full slate of offers and Lehigh is nowhere to be found among his choices. Fried has interest in some bigger schools, but none are in with an offer yet and we're still tops. We're #1 for Giles as well, so that pair are looking like strong possibilities, and we're officially out on Williams as well.

At this point Nunez is so much better than any other potential that expense be damned, we've got to put in the effort. A few more bottom-dwelling locals are added to the board as well.

October

You can stick a fork in Nunez, with Michigan State offering as mentioned with one of the other coaches, as well as a few others that were backups here. The good news is potential impact players Giles and Fried still have us as #1 with no other offers yet. The bad news is trying to get a quality guy for that #3 spot. One local guard is marginally interested but Binghamton is ahead of us with getting an offer in there, and there just isn't anyone else that looks good.

So it's on the road again with a dozen scouting trips and more calls than that, looking for that local boy who might be a needle in a haystack.

collegesportsfanms · 04-10-2015, 03:39 PM

Great stuff, looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Looks like I've reopened the interest in FBCB with my Interactive Dynasties!

Comey · 04-10-2015, 04:57 PM

Looking forward to this, and hope to join you when I feel I've written enough of my fledgling Big East dynasty to begin publishing.

Brian Swartz · 04-11-2015, 02:52 PM

2015 PRESEASON

John Reinhart(Centenary)

Early Commits

#1 with no other offers on all four primary targets. That probably means they are all nearly useless, but there's little option having struck out on the better players(Omara, Marotta).

Starters

True freshman Michael Blume(6-1, 179, ***, #259) is the biggest question mark here on the roster. Reinhart has been raving about his quickness and court vision, both of which will be needed as he runs the offense this year. Alongside him is senior Dennis Camire(6-3, 199, 11.4 ppg, 34% 3pt fg), a long-distance specialist who can defend as well.

The frontcourt all returns from last year as well. Senior Arnold McCoy(9.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 47% fg), sophomore Gerald Cimino(7.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 45% fg), and junior Cordell Bradley(6.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 48% fg) form an undersized but strong and talented frontcourt. Cimino is considered the weak link among the starters, the rest are all quite capable.

Reserves

The bench can go five deep with reasonably serviceable players, including instant offense sophomore guard Vincent Nunnery(11.3 mpg, 53% fg), defensive specialist and rebounder senior center Leo Rockwood(20.3 mpg, 5.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg), and another pair of true freshman in guard Michael Goff and center William Rojo.

Redshirts

None. Sophomore forward Saturnino Gutierrez is expected to be a regular reserve, and he was the only one willing to consider it.

Outlook

Centenary should be a very solid and deep team this year, and they could well get better the next couple of years as the young talent develops. Blume is a potential star, he'll never be much of a scorer but in most other facets he could be really impressive. There are a number of others who can potentially get much better. Reinhart has the tools here to make an immediate splash. The expectations are for a .500 conference mark, and that really should be very achievable.

Brian Swartz · 04-11-2015, 02:55 PM

Neil Barnett(Evansville)

Early Commitments

Dorsey is headed to Indiana State. Barnett's first big recruiting battle ends in failure. But Chas Brown is coming here, so it's not a total loss. Smith still has no other offers so we're looking good there, but really the rest do not look good at all. Time to hit the road again.

Starters

Particularly early in the year, Evansville will go as far as senior Arthur Szabo can carry them. He's got the skills of a star at this level, having started 90 of 91 career games with 8.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, and nearly a steal per contest last year. More of the same is expected -- he doesn't score a ton but makes his presence felt everywhere else and is a player who has really become virtually everything he can be. It'll essentially be a 'dual-point' offense with Szabo running the two while sophomore Tony Beals(13.1 mpg, 4.8 ppg) steps into the starting lineup.

After suffering a bad knee injury late last year, senior swingman Bobbie Rodriguez(12.3 mpg, 4.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 53% fg) will begin his final season late. He's expected back after the non-conference season, in early to mid January, when he will quite possibly become the #1 offensive option and take a lot of the load off of Szabo. Junior David Martinez, who has never averaged double-digit minutes and is basically a defensive specialist, will have to fill in.

Senior Carroll Roberts(15.5 mpg, 4.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg) looks ready to carry more of the scoring load after getting a few starts last year, and junior Roy Nelson(5.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.6 spg, 1.2 bpg) returns as an effective if offensively challenged big man.

This group can handle the ball and defend. The question is, can they score? Beals may well be called upon to do an inordinate amount of it until Rodriguez comes back.

Reserves

Martinez will slot in here eventually, and Barnett is high on sophomore guard Isaac Comeaux(6-3, 203) who saw only 33 minutes of total action last year. The former Tennessee All-State honoree is still fairly raw, but he has excellent athleticism and is at least decent at pretty much everything. There's not much else.

Redshirts

Rodriguez was willing, but is too important to lose him for the season. Freshman forward Dennis Quinones will sit out the year though.

Outlook

A whole lot of uncertainty here. Almost all of the talent is in the perimeter positions, and there's a considerable amount of dead weight on the roster. It really depends on how well Rodriguez recovers from his injury. If he gets back all the way to full strength by the time conference play rolls around, it could be decent year. If not ... well, they may send Szabo out with a whimper. The expectation of an NCAA bid is unlikely to happen.

Brian Swartz · 04-11-2015, 02:57 PM

Charles Hernandez(Iona)

Early Commitments

Chavez is official, we're still first on Doherty as one of the competitors has dropped out leaving only Cornell. It's looking very good for an improved backcourt.

Starters

This was supposed to be the year that this becomes Dennis Darrow's team. Unfortunately the junior guard(23 mpg, 6.2 ppg, 34% 3pt fg), unquestionably the most talented player on the roster, went and got himself academically suspended. He's never given a darn about his grades, and is exactly the kind of player that Hernandez would never recruit for that reason. The picture with him ... well, it's ugly.

Out-of-shape sophomore John Edwards, who has 52 minutes of collegiate court time to his credit, should at least manage not to turn the ball over too much at the point, but not much else is expected. Senior George Boulware has less experience(44 minutes) and he'll start at the other guard. Let's just say not much is expected from the backcourt, though Boulware can hit the open shot if the team manages to get him any.

In the absence of Darrow, the team's best player is undoubtedly sophomore forward Harold Wolter, and it's a bit of a surprise he isn't suspended too as he's just as bad when it comes to the classroom. Wolter started as a freshman, just missing out on averaging double figures with 9.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.0 apg and nearly 38% from 3-point range. That was enough to make him the Ivy League Freshman of the Year.

Senior Phil Gibson(13.1 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg) steps up from solid reserve to starter, and right now it looks most likely that among the various inadequate options at center, true freshman Horace Syzmanski(6-11, 293), who can score, block shots, handle the ball decently, and literally do nothing else at all, will be slotted in.

Reserves

They all suck. Forward Willie Shaw and guard Dane McCormick are a pair of freshmen who might be good eventually, but they'll be asked to do more than they are really capable of this year.

Redshirts

Freshman guard Brian Rameriz got himself suspended as well, and that's been extended to an invitation to take the whole year off.

Outlook

It isn't pretty even if Darrow returns and Wolter manages to remain eligible. If that doesn't happen they might be lucky to win a handful of games, especially with what might be a tough transition to the new system. Laughably, an NCAA bid is expected. That's not happening.

Brian Swartz · 04-11-2015, 03:03 PM

Mark Horton(Hampton)

Early Commitment

No commitment yet, but everyone else has bugged out on Kirkham so it looks like he's ours.

* SG Chadwick Wray(6-3, 181) -- This guy came in the scouting trips, a project but potentially elite all-around defender and scorer in the paint. The talent difference is enough that, since an offer was never given to Bailey, it won't be now. Horton can only hope the eval was correct ...

Starters

Senior point Stephen Grooms(10.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.5 apg) had to shoot way too much last year and carry the offense, and his accuracy plummeted from 41 to 35% as a result. If that happens again, Hampton is in trouble. He's the one unquestionably solid player on the roster(almost 5 rpg for a guy who stands six foot flat is just scary good), though his defense is lacking a bit, but he needs to not be the primary scoring option. Sophomore David Vargas is another returning starter, another good rebounding guard(10.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and hopefully he'll continue to improve.

Undersized junior forward Vern Jones(9.1 ppg, 39% fg) got a handful of starts last year, as did his classmate Rodney Dawes(4.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.9 bpg). Both will be relied upon more heavily this season. Center is the weak spot, with sophomore German Brown(9.6 mpg, 3.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 52% fg) most likely to fill it.

Reserves

Hideous, every last one of them. Sophomore forward Geoffrey Boisvert(8.7 mpg) is the only one worth mentioning with any experience. He's one of a few with moderate talent, but whether that ever turns into anything is another question.

Redshirts

Freshman guard Mark Stainaker, a man of limited skill, will sit this year out.

Outlook

With two sophomores and two juniors starting, it's a young team. There's little to suggest Hampton won't struggle to reach double-digit wins. A break-even record in conference play, which has only happened here once in the past decade, is quite a stretch but the AD is holding firm on it.

Brian Swartz · 04-11-2015, 03:05 PM

Horace Hargrove(Lehigh)

Early Commits

Giles is coming to Lehigh, and Fried still looks solid though unofficial. The scouting trips absolutely struck out on finding a remotely useful small forward. There were a couple of raw JC big forwards, but there's not much point in a two-year project guy.

* C Chris Johnson(6-10, 246) -- A potentially versatile big man excelling in shot-blocking, Johnson fits the bill of best likely available talent. The scouting will continue.

Starters

This year's top backcourt should be quite good. Junior Jonathon Good(6.7 ppg, 3.2 apg, 2.5 rpg) provides little offense himself, but is an outstanding defender and can capably handle the show. Senior Tommy Campagna(13.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 40% 3pt fg) is solid on defense as well and can really light it up from long range -- he'll be the focal point of the offense.

Unfortunately you can't play with just two players. The frontcourt is undersized, and they aren't very good either. Third-year starter Olen Espinosa(10.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.9 spg, 35% fg) never met a bad shot he didn't like, senior Joseph Alvarez(8.1 mpg) is completely unproven but looks to be a disaster other than on defense, and fifth-year senior Rohan Dyer, originally from Australia, is anemically small for a center at 6-7. In 20 mpg last year he had four points and four rebounds per contest.

Reserves

With all the players jumping ship last year, six of them are walk-ons. The quality is what you might expect -- non-existent.

Redshirts

A couple of the walk-ons are willing, but there's really no reason for it. They both stink. Might as well wait and bring in some recruits that could be an improvement.

Outlook

We will find out this year just how far a good backcourt can take a team. My guess is not far given the near-total lack of complementary players. This year could be very bad, and it will probably get worse before it gets better with Campagna set to graduate. Unless he absolutely blows up, it's hard to see the .500 conference mark happening.

Brian Swartz · 04-15-2015, 12:17 PM

November 2015

John Reinhart(Centenary)

11.24 Centenary(0-0) @ Oklahoma State(1-1) -- W 54-52

After a respectable 9-9 start in which Centenary was successful at limiting OSU to one shot consistently, they proceeded to go on a ten-minute scoreless streak that put the Cowboys up 24-9 with four minutes to go in the first half. That could well have been the game, but they played with an impressive and desperate physicality to end the half on an 8-0 run and cut the lead to seven.

The second half saw both teams make runs. Centenary cut the lead to a single point, Oklahoma State extended to a ten-point lead, only to see most of it vanish again. A driving basket by Dennis Camire evened it up for the first time since the opening minutes at 43-all with less than five minutes to go, but the Cowboys hit a jumper immediately to go back in front. It seemed they had an answer for every push. McCoy set up Cordell Bradley for a rare shot from the left wing which found the target to tie it up yet again, 52-all with 26 seconds left. An ill-advised foul by Michael Blume, in his first collegiate game, put OSU at the line with 17 seconds to go ... but they missed the front end, and backup guard Michael Goff drove, grabbed his own miss, and put it back in at the buzzer!

An incredible win to start off Reinhart's career. Centenary played solid, physical, fundamental basketball for the most part, kept coming back and coming back and coming back. At one point the Cowboys led 52-45 with less than two minutes left, having hit three shots in a row -- but they would not score again and Centenary scored the last nine to take the win in their only game for the month. Forwards Gerald Cimino and Arnold McCoy had 15 points apiece, and a strong 42-31 rebounding edge led the way to victory. Blume shot just 1-6 from the field but had three assists and only one turnover in 30 minutes, directing the offense with few mistakes and a couple of nice plays.

Synopsis

It's hard to tell much from one game, but it was a good win to start the year.

Recruiting

Brian Cook has decided to go to Nicholls State, but Lou Dietrich and Federico Fuentes have committed. Andrew Johnson still looks like a lock, if unofficial. Unfortunately, the recent scouts turned up nobody promising.

Brian Swartz · 04-15-2015, 01:12 PM

Neil Barnett(Evansville)

11.16 Evansville(0-0) @ Kentucky(0-0) -- W 96-95
11.18 Evansville(1-0) @ Southern(0-1) -- W 79-69
11.24 Evansville(2-0) @ Fairleigh Dickinson(2-1) -- L 68-60
11.27 Evansville(2-1) @ Notre Dame(1-2) -- L 79-71
11.29 Evansville(2-2) @ #21 Saint Louis(3-1) -- L 93-69

This is a fun way to open the year. It was a foul-fest early on, and UK was in the penalty less than four minutes in. Starting forwards Roberts and Martinez had to go to the bench for most of the first half due to the fouls, but with Szabo leading the way and surprisingly good defense Evansville nursed a small lead throughout the first half. In the second, able to stay on the court this time, Roberts played a key role with timely passing and shooting, and midway through the half they'd opened up a stunning ten-point lead. That's when it turned into the Scot Felts Show. He blocked two shots in a row for Kentucky, then got a rebound on the next possession and an assist on the other end. Just like that, the gap was only 70-68. Evansville had a small lead most of the game, but a barrage of threes by Kentucky threatened all the way to the end. It wasn't until the final seconds that the razor-thin final margin was preserved. An instant classic, with plenty of heroes. Roy Nelson(10 pts, 10 reb) had a double-double, Arthur Szabo was ridiculous(28 pts on 7-16 fg, 6 rebs, player of the game), and Roberts had 14 second-half points. Kentucky committed 32 fouls, leading to a 30-13 edge in free-throw points.

Szabo went off again against Southern, getting multiple 3-point plays both the modern and the old-fashioned way in the closing minutes to help Evansville pull away. In the game, John Blanks suffered the least costly 'broken foot' injury in basketball history, as he was out for only hours, ready to go the next day.

Absolutely nothing went right against Fairleigh Dickinson, an 18-2 start in less than six minutes and it was uphill all day. A near-perfect ten minutes after halftime cut the lead to five, but they couldn't sustain the momentum after trailing by over 20 much of the first half. The Notre Dame game was better, but they were very effective at stifling Evansville's attack, blocking Szabo multiple times at the rim and giving up virtually no second-chance points. Notre Dame dominated the boards most of the game, Szabo(team-high 16 pts) and Blanks(14 pts) fouled out, and it was fortunate the game stayed as close as it did. They finished up the month giving their first ranked opponent, Saint Louis, all they wanted until late in the first half. Szabo went for 21 in the loss.

Synopsis

Two wins followed by three losses. Could be better or worse, but a decent start to the year. Arthur Szabo(21.8 ppg, 46% fg, 3.2 rpg, 1.8 spg) is absolutely exploding with the switch to off guard. Tony Beals(11.2 ppg, 46% fg, 3.6 rpg) and Carroll Roberts(9.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 50% fg) lead a solid supporting cast so far. The problems have been largely defensive in nature: they are allowing almost 40% shooting from distance, and nearly double-digits in the hole in rebounding per game. Given that all five games have been on the road, it's still a solid start.

Recruiting

Arthur Smith still looks solid as the probable second recruit, #1 and no other offers in. The recent reports don't show anybody that looks like a significant talent, but there a couple of decent big men.

* C Chris Metzler(6-11, 277) -- A horribly out-of-shape and low-ranking prospect, but Barnett sees him as potentially a versatile reserve big man with size and rebounding capabilities.

Most of the month's activities went to more scouting.

Brian Swartz · 04-15-2015, 01:14 PM

Charles Hernandez(Iona)

11.17 Seton Hall(0-0) @ Iona(0-0) -- L 51-49
11.19 St. Peter's(1-0) @ Iona(0-1) -- L 59-41
11.22 Iona(0-2) @ San Diego State(2-0) -- L 77-61
11.28 Iona(0-3) @ Princeton(1-3) -- L 83-74

The 'bore-them-to-death' offense was unimpressive early on, but Seton Hall absolutely could not buy a shot so Iona pulled out to a decent lead anyway. It came down to a tie game in the final minute, when Seton Hall made a pair of free throws following an ill-advised foul late in the shotclock by Boulware. Edwards missed at the other end at the buzzer, and that was it. The Pirates shot less than 30% from the field, yet still managed to spoil Hernandez's debut. Phil Gibson went for 14, 12, and 3 assists in the defeat.

The next time out things went even worse. When you can't hit a shot(35% fg) and have 24 turnovers, bad things happen. A visit to Princeton made for an interesting matchup, as they are a program Hernandez would like to take over eventually, and they were the school that switched into the MAAC when Iona joined the Ivy in 1969. Buried early, they pulled within 74-72 with two minutes to go, but couldn't finish the rally. You won't win many giving up 55 in the first half as they did in this game, but it was a much better offensive showing than they had previously.

Synopsis

It would have been nice to get the opener vs. Seton Hall. Hernandez is the only one of the coaches to go 0-for-November, and only 17 teams are averaging less than Iona's 56.3 ppg. The only thing they do even decently on offense is shoot free throws(68%). George Boulware(12.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Phil Gibson(12.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg), and Harold Wolter(10.3 ppg, 1.0 spg) are pretty much it. Those three aren't doing bad at all, hitting on nearly 45% of their attempts. It'd be nice if Gibson would stay in the paint and stop taking threes, but little else to complain about. The problem is that nobody else can make the shots the patient offense in giving them. The rest of the roster has almost half the attempts, and is making exactly 31% of them. Overall, Iona is 325th in offensive efficiency. If that doesn't change, many more losses will soon come.

Starting point guard John Edwards(8-36) is by far the biggest culprit. True freshman Dane McCormick isn't doing much better in the shooting department, but does have a better 3-point shot and has been better in the assist and turnover numbers so far. He's also definitely a big part of the team's future, though not as good defensively as Edwards. He'll get a shot at the starting job the next couple of weeks ... something's got to change here.

Defensively Iona is forcing very few turnovers and rebounding is a concern, but otherwhise they are doing pretty well on that end.

Recruiting

Things were much better here. John Doherty has committed and with that a pair of talented, 3-star guards are set to play for Iona next year. There's nothing left to do but try to get some wins on the court.

Brian Swartz · 04-15-2015, 01:17 PM

Mark Horton(Hampton)

11.18 Hampton(0-0) @ Western Kentucky(0-1) -- W 102-94
11.21 Hampton(1-0) @ Valparaiso(0-0) -- W 73-63
11.23 Hampton(2-0) @ Southern Utah(1-1) -- L 90-66
11.26 Hampton(2-1) @ Norfolk State(0-2) -- W 68-52
11.30 Hampton(3-1) @ VCU(3-1) -- W 89-76

Horton's career did not start off well. They couldn't defend a thing and trailed pretty much the entire first half against WKU, but David Vargas(27 points, 6-7 3pt FG) exploded in the second half and they finished over 61% shooting for the day with all five starters in double figures. The rest of the team only got off five triples, and they forced only ten turnovers(two steals) on the day so there was a lot to not be happy with, but hitting the century mark in the first game is still very nice. Any win for Hampton, especially on the road, is worthy of celebration.

Against Valpo they did much better of implementing Horton's system, blowing open a close game midway through the first half with turnovers, mostly courtesy of the pressure though the hosts' incompetence helped as well. They tried to press fairly often as well, but more often than not those attempts ended in a Hampton layup or dunk. It was a good thing, because a 20-point lead was quickly halved as the offense sputtered in a bevy of bricked shots and turnovers. Stephen Grooms scored 16 to lead the way to victory in an ugly second half, but the team is still failing to get up a decent amount of threes.

Southern Utah gave them a rude awakening, handing Hampton their first loss of the year. Norfolk State tried a 3-2 zone approach to limit the perimeter attack, which worked for the first few minutes at which point Vargas nailed back-to-back triples. An eight-minute scoreless streak for Norfolk allowed them to build a 13-point lead, and it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. None of the starters were all that impressive but Vargas led the team with 16 points, while Shad Brandes(13 points, 3 rebs, 3 assists) was probably the best in a reserve role.

VCU chased them off the 3-point line most of the first half, but Hampton hit over 60% of their two-point attempts in the first half en route to a four-point lead. David Vargas scored 21 as they shot 55% from the field overall, needing almost all of them with VCU threatening to get back in the game several times prior to the final minutes.

Synopsis

Five road games, four wins. This is nothing short of astonishing, though it should be noted Hampton is last among the five with a 200 RPI -- the computers at least are not impressed with whom they've beaten so far. Averaging almost 80 ppg, Hampton has managed to not just score but also to be competitive in rebounding and turnovers. Particularly impressive is the fact that they are hitting 43% from 3-point range while allowing only 27%. They are not yet a track-meet squad, barely in the Top 100 in pace and well behind, for example, Neil Barnett's Evansville team in that department.

David Vargas is putting in 17 ppg, followed by Stephen Grooms(13.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg), who has been one of the best-rebounding guards around. Center German Brown(6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.4 apg) leads the team in assists, while backup guard Shad Brandes at 1.6 apg has more than either member of the starting backcourt. It's a very strange situation, but it doesn't appear to be broken, so there's no reason for Mark Horton to try and fix it.

Recruiting

Chadwick Wray and Joseph Kirkham have both committed. Horton's work here is done.

Brian Swartz · 04-15-2015, 01:19 PM

Horace Hargrove(Lehigh)

11.15 Lehigh(0-0) @ Richmond(0-0) -- L 59-47
11.17 Lehigh(0-1) @ Buffalo(1-0) -- W 74-64
11.25 Central Connecticut State(0-1) @ Lehigh(1-1) -- W 71-68
11.28 Lehigh(2-1) @ Robert Morris(2-0) -- L 89-54

Lehigh opened with a game that was a comedy of errors, but after a solid start the offense deserted them late in the first half and they were never able to recover. Tommy Campagna kept them in the second game against Buffalo, scoring 15 of his 22 in the opening stanza and the defense was able to disrupt the hosts in the second half en route to the first win of the season.

The game against CCSU, though they lost by two in their opener, was just an exposure and RPI-booster. They are a national power, and even the home crowd was shocked when Lehigh led by four at the half, overcoming 10 turnovers with 9 three-point bombs. Despite managing just one field goal in the first six-plus minutes of the second half, they defended well enough to keep it close and pulled into the lead again when the shots began to fall. CCSU tied it up once with three minutes to go, but a tip-in by Campagna on the next possession put Lehigh in front for good. A stunning win here over a team of this stature. Johnathon Good had 16 points and 6 rebounds, Campagna filled up the stat sheet(10 pts, 6 rebs, 5 assists, and a steal), with Rohan Dyer(10 pts, 10 rebs) and Thomas Soris(10 points off the bench) also playing key roles. If they can get those kinds of contributions, Lehigh could well prove themselves better than advertised and more than just a good pair of guards.

That didn't happen in an absolute catastrophe at Robert Morris. Good was scoreless, and Campagna not much better(3-15 fg) while Thomas Strawser savaged them for 27 & 11. Lehigh shot 3-22 from 3-point range.

Synopsis

Two up and two down. A solid start. Tommy Campagna(14.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.0 apg) leads the team as expected. Forward Olen Espinosa(12 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 spg) has been a pleasant surprise, but Jonathon Good(6.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, just 1.3 apg) has been underwhelming on offense though much of his value is on the defensive end. He's not taking bad shots, he's just not putting up the assists that Hargrove would have expected. Rohan Dyer(8 ppg, 8.5 rpg) has been a pleasantly physical force inside, while Joseph Alvarez is doing just what was expected of him -- making like a hole in the lineup.

However, the offense is not scoring efficiently, to put it mildly. Campagna and Espinosa are both shooting just 32%. That duo has combined for almost half of Lehigh's shots, so it's a top priority to find a way to get them better attempts. For now, he'll work on trying to attack the basket a little more instead of settling for so many jumpers, and getting the ball into Good's hands more often so he can hopefully set up more opportunities for everybody else.

Recruiting

With two out of three spots left to fill, the picture has only gotten more muddied. Joe Fried is still #1 with no other offers ... but he is now thinking about Central Connecticut State. Hopefully our win over them will mean something, but in reality the hope is that they stay out. Chris Johnson looks probable, but far from certain as Lafayette is in with an offer now.

* PF Nelson Eagle(6-9, 204) -- Eagle is by far the best of the recent scouts and has no interest anywhere else. He's the backup plan if Fried or Johnson don't pan out.

Brian Swartz · 04-16-2015, 12:51 PM

December 2015(First Half)

John Reinhart(Centenary)

12.1 Centenary(1-0) @ Northwestern State(2-3) -- L 60-45
12.3 Centenary(1-1) @ Portland(1-3) -- W 66-63
12.5 Centenary(2-1) @ Houston Baptist(4-2) -- W 64-55
12.7 Centenary(3-1) @ Texas Christian(2-3) -- L 87-78
12.11 Centenary(3-2) @ Louisiana Tech(2-6) -- W 68-62
12.13 Centenary(4-2) @ McNeese State(5-0) -- W 78-76(2 OT)

Playing from behind the whole game, Centenary suffered their first loss against Northwestern State despite staying within striking distance until the final minutes. Bradley had 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 assists, but the offense struggled with McCoy shooting just 1-10. Lamar Miller had 28 points(10-22 fg) at the other end.

11 Portland first-half turnovers enabled them to stay within three at the half in the next game, an emerging trend. Centenary has gotten off to a slow start each time, keeping it close and aiming for a momentum-changing rally. This time they did it right out of the break, scoring the first ten points on the second half thanks to good work on the boards and Blume's passing. With five minutes left and a six-point lead, backup guard Vincent Nunnery had to be taken off.

Portland hit a three-pointer with 1:19 left, it could have been a four-point play but they missed at the line. Still the lead was down to 59-56, and Reinhart called for time. A pair of free-throws by Dennis Camire(game-high 23 pts) extended, but they gave up put-backs on consecutive possessions, then another three by Portland cut the lead to two. When Blume could only split a pair with 20 seconds left, the hosts had a chance to tie it. They missed just before the buzzer, and Centenary had a second tight road win! McCoy is struggling mightily though, scoreless on 0-4 today. Nunnery has a broken finger which will keep him out a little over a week.

Against Houston Baptist, Centenary was the aggressor early and held a small lead throughout the first half. Their offense nearly ground to a halt in the second, and once again they were put in the position of trying to come from behind. They didn't win this one so much as Houston Baptist lost it, missing 5 of 6 free-throws and 0-3 from the field in the final two minutes. Gerald Cimino(12 pts, 12 rebs, 3 ast) was the star of the day.

Texas Christian made it four road games in a week. No rest for the weary. It was a tight one, with TCU getting 25 points from their backcourt to lead by two after an up-tempo first half. The hosts started quickly in the second, but also got themselves in foul trouble which Centenary used to keep it close. TCU kept scoring and Reinhart's boys couldn't keep pace, trailing by as many as 11. A Camire triple cut it to five with a minute and a half left, but would not score again. It's hard to rally effectively when you can't get stops, and Texas Christian shot 57% for the game. McCoy snapped out of his slump with 19 points, which was a bit of a silver lining, while Blume had 10 assists with only one turnover. They just couldn't defend anything.

Nunnery returned against Louisiana Tech. It was a tight game early marred by constant fouling, and Centenary lost a small lead late in the half to go in tied at 35. The teams traded runs and then settled in to a back-and-forth struggle again, with Centenary attempting to hold a narrow margin just as they did in the first 20 minutes.

It was dead-even just inside two minutes left, and La. Tech star forward Emmett Shin(24 pts, 6 rebs) missed a pair at the line with 1:16 to go keeping it that way. A quick shot by Cimino missed, tip follows by Bradley and McCoy also didn't go in, but Cimino got an emphatic dunk to finally clean it up for a 64-62 lead. A traveling call, then Shin fouled out, and that was it. 18 points, 11 boards for McCoy in probably his best game of the year and Centenary notched another win. Three of the four victories have gone right down to the wire.

McNeese State looked like yet another case of the same. There was no sign of intimidation at their unblemished resume. A physical contest from the start, points were harder and harder to come by as the end approached with little difference in the score. Up by seven, Centenary could not prevent a furious rally by McNeese, tying it up on a three-pointer by Joe Brown with 15 seconds to go. They trapped Cimino at midcourt, and they couldn't get off a shot in time.

Once again in the extra session Centenary moved ahead on some good passing for easy scores. Once again they couldn't hold it, going into the final minute tied at 63. A bad pass by Blume gave the ball up, and Brown hit another three with 48 seconds left. Camire's attempt to tie was no good, but Leo Rockwood grabbed the rebound and McCoy made McNeese State pay with a buzzer-beater sending it to a second overtime!!

McCoy again made the big play, a steal with Centenary up by three and a pair of free throws to extend it to five with 32 seconds on the clock. There wasn't quite enough time left for another rally, and McNeese State goes down to their first loss of the year in an epic game. Dennis Camire scored 20 to lead the way, Vincent Nunnery had 16 off the bench, and Arnold McCoy was the hero of both overtimes with 12, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.

Synopsis

A 5-2 start on the road has gifted Centenary a fine RPI of 41. That will go down as they return home for three games against teams with losing records, but it's a great chance to fatten up the record. The trio of Gerald Cimino(12.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Dennis Camire(11 ppg, 3 rpg), and Arnold McCoy(10.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg) combines for three steals a game as well and leads the offense. Cordell Bradley(7.7 ppg, 8.9 rpg) has been solid in the middle and Michael Blume(4.4 ppg, 5.6 apg, 2.33 ratio) is already one of the better distributors around. Only nine players in the country have more assists and fewer turnovers.

Overall, Centenary is 95th defensively but not nearly as good on offense despite the above-mentioned balance. They're not a particularly good free-throw or 3-point shooting team, with most of the team reasonably adept at scoring in one aspect but weak in others. Getting more consistency out of McCoy would help, but how exactly to do that is another matter. Given the number of close games they've won, they are probably not quite as good as their record but it's been a fine beginning nonetheless.

Brian Swartz · 04-16-2015, 12:53 PM

Neil Barnett(Evansville)

12.7 Evansville(2-3) @ IPFW(3-3) -- L 93-69
12.9 Evansville(2-4) @ Eastern Kentucky(3-3) -- L 87-55
12.12 Evansville(2-5) @ #23 Illinois-Chicago(6-0) -- L 84-65

After having better than a week to contemplate their three-game skid, Barnett's charges headed to IPFW, a strong mid-major program. A fabulous first half by Carroll Roberts(17 pts) kept them even. They couldn't keep them off the line in the second half though, and as expected IPFW pulled away. Roberts finished with 23 pts, 6 rebs, shooting 9-13. Four straight. Eastern Kentucky prolonged the misery and continued a trend of Evansville not being able to guard anyone. EKU rebounded more of their own misses(25-18) than Evansville did. That's just sad.

An 8-0 start against undefeated Illinois-Chicago, who didn't score until almost six minutes in, was certainly unexpected as a follow-up to three losses by an average of 26 points each! Once they got going though, there was little Evansville could do to stop them and the end result was sadly quite familiar.

Synopsis

Three straight blowouts to start December have Evansville on a six-game losing stretch. They have four more on the road to finish the month, so it won't get any easier for a while. Arthur Szabo has come back to earth a bit, but the bigger problem is they can't stop anyone(324th nationally). There aren't any real good options right now in terms of changing that reality, but it is hoped that once Rodriguez returns next month, Issac Comeaux may be able to be given a trial run at the point. Right now that would leave the team horribly short of reserve forwards.

Brian Swartz · 04-16-2015, 12:54 PM

Charles Hernandez(Iona)

12.1 Iona(0-4) @ Quinnipiac(2-2) -- L 82-61
12.9 Iona(0-5) @ Canisius(5-3) -- L 81-73
12.11 Iona(0-6) @ Delaware(4-2) -- L 65-35
12.15 Iona(0-7) @ Wagner(3-4) -- L 67-54

Early returns from the lineup change were good with McCormick hitting an early three, but six steals in the first seven minutes by Quinnipiac were followed by an anemic stretch in which Iona gave up 15 unanswered. Wolter scored 16, 13 of them in the first half. The second was ugly with a capital U. Canisius looked the same, until an 11-3 run to start the second half pulled Iona within a pair and gave them the appearance of life. It didn't last. Twice in the final minutes they got within five again, but no closer. A game effort, but they aren't good enough to overcome the turnover disparity(-6 today). Wolter and Boulware combined for 39.

Scoreless for over five minutes to start against Delaware, Iona managed three shotclock violations in that time frame. There would be many more before it was over. I think they are actually getting worse. Against Wagner they kept it close for a half, but couldn't keep up the pace in the second.

Synopsis

At this point it's a question of whether Iona will ever win a game. They're horrid on offense and almost as bad on defense where they rebound poorly and don't force enough turnovers. Junior Alfred Corbin will replace the bigger, more talented, but thus far fairly disastrous freshman Horace Syzmanski at center. Aside from that, the hopes are really pinned on getting Dennis Darrow back from academic suspension next month.

Brian Swartz · 04-16-2015, 12:59 PM

Mark Horton(Hampton)

12.4 UNC Asheville(2-3) @ Hampton(4-1) -- W 88-62
12.8 Hampton(5-1) @ George Mason(1-3) -- L 78-64
12.10 #8 North Carolina(4-1) @ Hampton(5-2) -- L 119-87
12.16 #14 St. Peter's(9-0) @ Hampton(5-3) -- L 94-61

An entertaining up-and-down contest ensued in Hampton's home opener, and they pleased the crowd by pulling away late in the first half. Though they got sloppy later, just four turnovers through the first 30 minutes was the key to this runaway win. Grooms had 18 on just 8 attempts to lead five in double-figure scoring. It was good enough to get the team ranked #23 in the Mid-Major poll!

At George Mason, Brandes had 8 of the team's first dozen points off the bench with the starters struggling to put points on the board. That would a constant theme in this game: GM just shot better. The turnovers mounted in the second half, and Hampton's winning streak was ended fairly meekly. Brandes finished with 14, the only player in double digits as Vargas/Grooms missed almost half the contest with foul problems. The eighth-ranked Tarheels were not exactly the ideal team to attempt to bounce back against, but it was entertaining. When you score 53 points in the first half and are barely in the game, you know it's a strange contest. Shooting-wise they were competitive, but via rebounds and turnovers NC had about 30 more possessions.

St. Peter's invaded next, jumping out in front 17-5. It got worse later, but the result was foregone.

Synopsis

Losing the last three isn't as bad as it might first appear when you consider the competition in the last pair was top-notch. Over the last couple of weeks, junior backup point Shad Brandes(17.7 mpg, 9.7 ppg, 48% fg) has emerged as one of the team's best players. At the very least he sure looks like a good choice to take over once Grooms graduates.

Brian Swartz · 04-16-2015, 01:04 PM

Horace Hargrove(Lehigh)

12.1 Lehigh(2-2) @ UNC Greensboro(0-2) -- W 86-56
12.3 Lehigh(3-2) @ La Salle(1-4) -- L 83-78
12.6 Seton Hall(4-2) @ Lehigh(3-3) -- L 51-50
12.10 Lehigh(3-4) @ Drexel(2-6) -- L 62-51

Espinosa picked up two quick fouls in just over a minute at UNC Greensboro, but Lehigh came out on fire and built a 20-point lead immediately. They shot 55% for the day with noted 'hole in the lineup' Joseph Alvarez, who had 17 points combined in the first four games, going for 21 on 8-10 shooting. Campagna and good combined for another 32 in a highly-impressive road shellacking.

Early turnovers put them in a 18-7 hole early against La Salle, and they couldn't get enough stops to ever really get out of it. The final score was as close as they got. Back home against Seton Hall was an ugly game. How ugly? The halftime score was 18-all with both teams sporting identical 27% shooting from the field. It picked up after that, but Lehigh fell off the pace first to trail by seven. A Good triple with 3:09 left tied it back up at 45 for the first time in several minutes. After a trade of baskets, then a trade of misses, another three by Audley put Lehigh in front for the first time since early in the half, 50-49. Seton Hall missed a pair at the line, but Lehigh couldn't take advantage with Good missing on their next possession. The Pirates got the last laugh, with Avery Gomez knocking down a baseline jumper to win it as time expired. The score was eerily reminiscent of the way they beat Iona, also at home, in the season opener. Campagna(16 pts, 5 rebs) was the game-high scorer with nobody else on either team at more than 10. The rest of the team was just 2-17 from 3-pt. range.

They had a chance against Drexel as well, and then made just three field goals in the final ten minutes. The offensive struggles continue, and Hargrove is at a loss what to do about them.

Synopsis

So far the team is really very middle-of-the-pack on both ends of the floor, which is more than was expected at the beginning of the year. Most of them shoot as well from 3 as they do from 2, giving Lehigh little choice but to live and die by the outside shot. That has made the offensive inconsistency all but inevitable. The Seton Hall game is one that really leaves a bad taste in the mouth -- a win there and they'd have a .500 record on the year.

Brian Swartz · 04-19-2015, 03:34 AM

December 2015(Second Half)

John Reinhart(Centenary)

12.18 SE Missouri State(0-8) @ Centenary(5-2) -- W 70-63
12.20 -- Ranked #25 in the Mid-Major Top 25!
12.24 Grambling State(3-7, 0-0) @ Centenary(6-2, 0-0) -- W 59-54
12.26 Jacksonville State(4-6, 1-0) @ Centenary(7-2, 1-0) -- L 81-57
12.31 Centenary(7-3, 1-1) @ Presbyterian(7-4, 1-1) -- L 58-49

SE Missouri St. is a team that really ought to be better than they are, but has only one of it's losses by less than ten points: they've been getting blown out all year long. Centenary found that while it wasn't easy to defend them, they could get pretty much whatever they wanted offensively and pulled out to a double-digit lead late in the first half after a close game for the first 15 minutes. Points were harder to come by in the second half, and SE Missouri State made a game of it late, but Centenary did just enough to stay in front. The margin of seven points tied for the closest game the visitors have managed this year. It's not a win to feel great about, but it's still a win. Nobody had more than 10 points in a balanced effort.

Grambling State was another tight one. Centenary played from just a bit behind almost the entire first half, unable to buy a shot or rebound though they did well in the turnover battle. They tied it up multiple times in the second half, but couldn't get over the hump. A stupid tech on Cimino for arguing a foul call ruined one chance, and Grambling State pulled out to lead by as many as seven. A mid-range jumper from the right wing by Cimino pulled them within 63-62 with a little over two to play, one final push to steal back the game, and Grambling State burned a timeout.

They used a lot of clock, missed, got the rebound, missed again and this time Nunnery cleared it. Down one, 1:15 to go, a crucial possession. They went quick, Leo Rockwood the recipient of a good pass from Nunnery and he drilled it to put Centenary in front for the first time since the opening minutes of the game! Grambling didn't even manage to get off a shot, but Blume could only split a pair at the line. Two-point lead, one more stop is needed. And Blume fouls them. What?! That freshman will be the death of Reinhart sometimes. Half brilliant, half stupid, and this was the stupid half. Thankfully they made only one of two, preserving the lead. Gutierrez to the line -- and he splits as well. Two-point lead again, and this game will never end, still 20 seconds to go. They pass it around looking for the game-winning shot ... and Gutierrez makes the play of the game with a steal, stepping in the passing lane! A 2-on-1, he's fouled and makes the shot at the buzzer, but that's irrelevant as there's no time left. This probably should have been an easier win, but once again Centenary made the plays down the stretch(barely) to get a fourth straight! Saturnino Gutierrez(14 pts off the bench in 13 minutes) had his best game of the year, and with nobody else in double figures it was sorely needed. Even better was that it was the Big South opener, giving them an early leg up in the conference.

The second conference game was two days later against Jacksonville State, and it didn't exactly go as planned. The whole 'keep it close' plan was not executed, with Centenary dropping behind 16-3 after seven minutes, turnover after turnover and unable to make much of anything. Worse, Dennis Camire was injured and had to come off two minutes later. Cimino sparked a small rally late in the half to keep them in striking distance, but there was still a dozen points to make up. It stayed there for a while, then a nine-point run sparked by a couple of steals midway through the second half put it away. A four-game winning run is snapped and Centenary suffered by far their worst defeat of the year anywhere, let alone at home.

The news on Camire wasn't good either. He'll miss a full month with a dislocated shoulder, during which time sharpshooter Vincent Nunnery will step into the starting lineup. Centenary still has a fairly deep team, but Camire has been the #3 scorer and a solid defender. He's definitely going to be missed.

The first game without him finished off the year on New Year's Eve with a typical Centenary effort. Physical, keep it close, they trailed by three at the half against Presbyterian. More back-and-forth ensued as the minutes tick away, a McCoy jumper put Centenary up briefly about six minutes in but most of the half they were chasing a small deficit as they have so many times this season. This time the finish was different though. They couldn't hit anything and Presbyterian lived at the line to pull away for the win. Gerald Cimino(11 pts, 6 rebounds) was the only real bright spot.

Synopsis -- 115 RPI

Reinhart's first losing streak has arrived at the same time as some chemistry issues. PF Marco McCluskey and C Marshall Benitez are not happy. McCluskey is useless, so nobody is going to give a darn there. Benitez is a seven-foot sophomore with considerable untapped talent, but he's just not going to get playing time with the quality players ahead of him. That will change somewhat when senior sixth man Leo Rockwood, a rebounding force, graduates. If Benitez isn't willing to wait, then he'll miss his chance here. Reinhart has no reason to make changes, the guys ahead in both cases are simply better.

Camire will probably miss the next seven games, set to return in late January by which time they will be well into the teeth of the Big South schedule. As cellar-dwelling conferences go it's a fairly tough one. Jacksonville State is the top program in the conference and Presbyterian third this year according to RPI which makes those losses easier to stomach. There's still a reasonable chance of a break-even or better year in the conference but they can't let the losses pile up too much here. Coastal Carolina, Gardner Webb, and Charleston Southern are three opponents to particularly watch as they are the trio just ahead of Centenary at the bottom of the conference.

Recruiting

Andrew Johnson is officially in. That's three raw, passable-potential project recruits now on the board. One spot remains. The search continues, hope fading of finding anybody even decent.

Brian Swartz · 04-19-2015, 03:43 AM

Neil Barnett(Evansville)

12.18 Evansville(2-6) @ #17 Vanderbilt(6-0) -- L 82-52
12.24 Evansville(2-7, 0-0) @ Rice(4-4, 0-0) -- L 73-72
12.26 Evansville(2-8, 0-1) @ Wichita State(0-11, 0-1) -- W 86-69
12.31 Evansville(3-8) @ Illinois(3-6) -- L 90-82

The losing continued with a completely predictable blowout at steady Vandy, but Super-Szabo returned with 18 points in the first half at Rice, helping Evansville to a one-point lead at the half. Barnett had to call a quick timeout when they gave up eight unanswered to start the second half, and they responded well to get right back in the game. A late push by Rice reversed a small cushion and it didn't look good when Roberts fouled out with four minutes to go, Evansville trailing 71-67. The hosts foul trouble was just as bad though and they would struggle to score the next few minutes. A pair of free-throws from Comeaux put Evansville on top by one with 1:22 to go ... could they finish? After the teams traded turnovers, Rice had another chance with 27 seconds left, and this time they were effective in breaking down the defense for a layup. 15 left, Beals worked it to Szabo for a corner there --- no good, and they come up one play short to lose their 8th in a row. Szabo had 24 pts, 6 rebounds, but also 5 turnovers, while John Blanks had 17 off the bench in 16 minutes. Once again it was the defensive boards that let them down. A good opportunity to steal a road win beginning the Horizon schedule was missed.

Winless Wichita State was up next. Evansville gradually pulled away to a double-digit lead late in the first half, only to have the Shockers score a couple easy ones to cut into the margin at the end. A tech on Roberts didn't help matters, but Evansville's shooters really heated up quickly in the second half, opening up a 20-point lead with nine minutes to go. From there it was pretty much smooth sailing. The 86 points was the most they've scored since the win over Kentucky to open the year. 5 players were in double figures, none with more than 13. A team effort, and they shot 61% against the anemic defense of Wichita State.

A final game on New Year's Eve was a break from the conference slate, a visit to regional power Illinois of the Big Ten. It's a down year for them but not down enough to make this an even match. Still, they kept it close enough to make them anxious, finished the first half well and went in down only two. A lot of messy open-court play marked the start of the second, but it seemed a seismic shift when Martinez drained a three five minutes in to put Evansville on top for the first time in the game, 46-44. They bombed away for a while from deep, going ahead by as many as nine before the flow subsided. Holding off Illinois for a while, they finally surrendered the lead with five to play, struggling more and more to find quality shots or sometimes any shot at all before a turnover. It was a game effort, but they couldn't get enough stops to make it happen. Szabo scored 19 and Blanks 18 off the bench, but turnovers told the tale. Illinois 7, Evansville 18. That's where the game was lost.

Synopsis -- 141 RPI

Rice is the game that really stings, otherwhise Evansville would have split the four games over the last couple of weeks and the other two defeats were against high-quality opponents on the road so there's no shame there. On the other hand one can't reasonably get too excited about beating a winless team.

The next week and a half are key. Barnett's boys have split their first pair in the Horizon. They have three straight at home coming up and after that should get Rodriguez in the lineup. At this point they project as an above-average finisher even without him. Rice is by far the top program in the conference and at a very healthy 33 RPI the most-respected team this year, but aside from them the Horizon is pretty much a total joke. Youngstown State is second. The only team program worse that Evansville overall is Wichita State and we just recently found out why. All three of the coming home games are winnable, against Horizon foes with losing records and RPI similar or lower. A minimum of two wins here is vital.

Recruiting

Chris Metzler and Arthur Smith are in, Barnett's second and third commitments! Metzler isn't anything to get excited about but could be decent, while getting two fairly talented guards is a very nice thing. One spot left, and a forward would be much preferred to round things out.

* C Michael Hine(6-10, 235) -- All the way from Texas, Hine is a project but potentially a worthwhile one as an inside scorer who can pass and rebound a bit as well. Definitely the best available according to the scouts, so he gets the final offer while the search continues.

* PF Arnulfo Moore(6-9, 213) -- Definitely in the potentially serviceable category, Moore is the current backup plan.

Brian Swartz · 04-19-2015, 03:47 AM

Charles Hernandez(Iona)

12.21 UL Lafayette(6-3) @ Iona(0-8) -- L 68-63
12.25 Towson(5-6) @ Iona(0-9) -- L 80-56
12.29 Iona(0-10) @ Rutgers(5-4) -- L 60-46

Bidding to avoid a ten-game losing streak dating back to the final game of last season, Iona kept it close for a half, gave up a quick 7-point run to start the second, then came storming back to tie it at 45 with 11 minutes remaining. They kept pushing to take an eight-point lead, then it was ULL's turn to rally. Just inside the two-minute mark a triple from Edwards put Iona back in front by 61-59, clearly their best chance at a win since Seton Hall in the opener over a month ago. John Pino came right back with a straight-ahead three, and ULL was back in front by one. Wolter missed, and a foul by Edwards gave up two more points at the line. Down three, a minute left. A traveling call on Szymanski looked like the nail in the coffin, but Lafayette was called for a moving pick and freshman Dane McCormick went to the line with 29 seconds to go. He calmly made them both, and down just one there was still a chance. ULL made their two, and Boulware ... threw a bad pass, picked off by Lafayette. That was it. Iona didn't execute down the stretch, and paid for it. Boulware had 16 points, 6 rebounds but his late turnover sealed their fate.

There were no such hopes against Towson. Iona dug themselves a 20+ point hole in the first half and folded again after a brief rally. Rutgers provided another chance for a win, at least early. That wasn't expected going in back on the road, but Iona executed much better than usual offensively, leading much of it and trailing by just a pair at the half. They've also done much better in the turnover comparison the last couple of games. Rutgers was bad offensively in the second half, but Iona was absolutely hideous, scoring just 12 points with nine turnovers. You can't win that way. Too bad, compared to the way it started.

Synopsis -- 278 RPI

Three more games, three more losses. It's three weeks yet before Ivy conference play begins, but right now the goal is simply to win a game. Any game. Only six teams in the nation have failed to do so, and there's little point in considering any more lofty goals until Iona gets out of that club.

Dennis Darrow returns from suspension to start the year and will get a chance right away to do what McCormick and Edwards have failed to do: run the offense in a less-than-disastrous fashion. He's not expected to score much himself, but has the ball skills to hopefully create better opportunities for the others. If he can't ... well, it's going to be a long rest of the year. He's also a little better overall defender -- it's hard to see him not improving the team by being back on the floor, it's just a question of how much difference it'll make to the offensively challenged squad.

Brian Swartz · 04-19-2015, 04:02 AM

Mark Horton(Hampton)

12.18 Hampton(5-4) @ James Madison(4-3) -- L 79-61
12.24 Hampton(5-5) @ Saint Mary's(7-3) -- L 90-72
12.30 Hampton(5-6) @ Jacksonville State(5-7) -- L 102-95

James Madison torched Hampton for 59% shooting in the first half, made all the worse by the fact they were couldn't take care of the ball(14 turnovers, 9 of them steals by JM). It was never close. Hampton shot 0-14 from 3-point range, and Vargas spent most of the game on the bench in foul trouble. They started well against St. Mary's, but could not slow down their avalanche and another lopsided defeat resulted. Vern Jones scored 19 on 9-13 fg, while Wade Budde(30 pts, 10 rebounds) destroyed them inside.

After a slow start, Jacksonville State provided a track meet of a game that looked for a while like both teams would crack 100. Over the last few minutes Hampton couldn't keep pace though, and it certainly didn't help that Grooms fouled out with four to play. Heck of an entertaining one, but it was still a fifth straight defeat. Brandes scored 22 in as many minutes but couldn't rescue them at the end.

Synopsis -- 153 RPI

At 4-1, Hampton's RPI was 200. They've improved it by losing six straight, which suggests that they may simply have started playing tougher competition and not completely fallen off a cliff. Still, it looked early in the year like winning 14 or more for the first time in better than a decade was a good bet -- now, not so much. The computers like them as a top-half finisher in the MEAC based on the performance so far despite the fact that there's a significant gap between Hampton and everyone else prestige-wise. Bethune-Cookman, who has played a ridiculously difficult schedule, looks like the favorite with everybody else a crapshoot behind them as there's nobody else in the RPI Top 100. Overall the MEAC may well be the worst conference in the nation, so there's a solid chance of success here just based on the lack of decent competition.

There's one more game for Hampton before conference play, but the road-heavy schedule will continue at first so it may be a challenge to get off to a good start in the league. There will be one lineup change at center, with freshman Colin Adam taking over for German Brown. Adam has been by far the most efficient scoring big man on the team coming off the bench so far, has been rebounding well for the time he's gotten and is a better defender. He'll get a chance to show it's not just a function of playing with the second unit. For the most part it's just a matter of size. In overall skill the players are very similar, but Brown is undersized(6-8, 216) while Adam presents more of an obstacle(6-10, 244) in the middle. Both are young players in that 'raw but potentially decent' category.

Brian Swartz · 04-19-2015, 04:18 AM

Horace Hargrove(Lehigh)

12.17 Rider(4-4) @ Lehigh(3-5) -- L 65-59
12.19 Lehigh(3-6) @ Siena(5-4) -- L 61-53
12.21 Lamar(3-5) @ Lehigh(3-7) -- L 63-41
12.26 Howard(7-5) @ Lehigh(3-8) -- W 61-53
12.29 Lehigh(4-8) @ NJIT(6-5) -- L 75-66

An early 12-point run against Rider gave hope of snapping the losing streak, and while they were still up by 11 at the half, the only reason for that was Rider couldn't hit a shot(24% fg). They were killing Lehigh on the boards and earning plenty of trips to the line, leaving plenty of cause for concern. Those fears were realized in the second half when they pulled within a pair several times, finally tying it up with six minutes to go and briefly going in front shortly afterwards. Lehigh went scoreless down the stretch, and left this contest very frustrated at having blown a golden opportunity. Another 19 offensive rebounds given up, just far too many.

Players not named Tommy Campagna had just nine first-half points at Siena, another example of the supporting cast just plain not showing up. Nevertheless the team buckled down on defense and rallied to pull within three with 12 minutes left in the game. The margin stayed right about there for a while, but never got closer than two and once again the offense disappeared late in the game. Who knows what might have happened if they'd played an entire game instead of just a half. Campagna had a fine effort wasted(24 points, 7 rebs, 3 assists)

After getting blasted by Lamar, Howard presented another chance for a home win. Lehigh turned it into the basketball version of a street fight in the first half, with a combined 30 fouls, and did a much better job of knocking down their free throws for a shocking 36-21 lead. With all three of their perimeter starters knocking down shots in the second half, the lead soon stretched further and while Howard made the score much more respectable with a late push the outcome was never in doubt. The bleeding finally stopped here after six straight defeats, Campagna and Good combining for 34 points. It's rare that both of them have played well in the same game, but when they do Lehigh isn't a half-bad team.

A visit to NJIT finished off the month, and was relatively encouraging though it ended in another loss. The offensive consistency was better, and Lehigh pulled within 2-3 points multiple times in the second half, they just couldn't complete a comeback and faded a bit at the end. A few decent efforts here at the end of December, with Espinosa going for 20 in this one.

Synopsis -- 313 RPI

Losing four of five, now 7 of 8 defeats overall, even with three of the games at home was quite disappointing. The computers hold Lehigh in even less regard than any others among the five, worse than winless Iona. That might be a stretch, but there's no denying that they suck right now. The parity-driven Patriot league begins play after one more road game, and they'll finish at the bottom if they don't improve. Every team has 4-7 wins so far, nobody has really stood out though American and Holy Cross are the current favorites.

Hargrove has run out of things to try at this point. The offense is too dependent on Campagna(15.4 ppg, 40% fg) though it has improved significantly lately. He's going to try a new backup point guard who might be a small improvement but inconsistent scoring at best from the rest of the team just isn't enough to get wins with an average defense at the moment. The bottom line is that there just isn't a whole lot of scoring or passing ability on this roster. The problematic defensive rebounding issue has the same assessment -- Dyer can't do it all by himself.

Recruiting

Joe Fried and Chris Johnson are in. This class is completed, all three players well regarded by Hargrove's staff and two ready to step in and contribute right away. Really they couldn't have asked for any better.

Brian Swartz · 04-20-2015, 07:52 PM

January 2016(First Half)

John Reinhart(Centenary)

1.2 Centenary(7-4, 1-2) @ Troy(4-9, 1-2) -- L 80-70
1.7 Coastal Carolina(4-10, 2-1) @ Centenary(7-5, 1-3) -- W 74-71
1.9 Charleston Southern(9-6, 3-1) @ Centenary(8-5, 2-3) -- W 74-67
1.14 Centenary(9-5, 3-3) @ Gardner Webb(5-10, 3-2) -- L 66-58
1.16 Centenary(9-6, 3-4) @ UNC Asheville(7-9, 3-3) -- L 67-53

Turnovers and bad shooting are not good on the road. Troy blew out to an 18-3 lead nine minutes in, and pretty much held that margin. An injury to starting center Cordell Bradley late in the first half put Reinhart in a much worse mood. Then backup Leo Rockwood came off a few minutes into the second. What in the world was going on here? A couple of brief rallies ultimately went nowhere and they were sent to a third straight defeat, but the injury issues were a greater concern.

A couple of sprains, a knee for Bradley and an ankle for Rockwood, and both will miss a couple games, about a week and a half. That leaves Centenary very short with three of the top six players out, especially in the frontcourt. Freshman William Rojo(7.4 mpg so far) will start and whiny Marshall Benitez will be the backup inside. With a couple of badly needed home games coming up, two under break-even in the conference already, they are facing a great danger here of the season seriously turning south.

First up against Coastal Carolina, Centenary got off to a good start, leading by as many as ten, but couldn't put them away and after multiple rallies it was only 35-31 at the half. Too close for comfort. The second half brought more of the same with both teams in the penalty by the nine-minute mark. They made just enough plays to hold CC off, though it got pretty interesting late. Gerald Cimino led with 19 points, and Gutierrez had 15 off the bench. The game was won by taking care of the ball (+7 turnovers), overcoming a 55% shooting night by the visitors. A big, big win here that keeps them in contact with most of the Big South and buys some time for the big guys to heal, ending the losing streak.

Bradley and Rockwood returned against Charleston Southern, not quite 100% either of them but close to it. Both teams like contests in the low 60s, but played quicker than that at the start. Though they led most of it, Centenary managed only a tie after the first half. They again built a modest lead in the second, and the defense stood tall at the end to make it stand up. Bradley had 13 and 9 in a successful return to the lineup, Vincent Nunnery led with 17 points on timely shooting, and Cimino(15 pts, 10 rebs) added a solid double-double.

Gardner Webb took a double-digit advantadge with Centenary just unable to hit anything early on. The hosts returned the favor and led an ugly game 24-20 at the half, neither team hitting on so much as 30% from the floor. The second half soon offered a scintillating sequence on which the teams combined for seven consecutive turnovers without so much as getting a shot off. Centenary found the range a bit sooner than GW did, taking a four-point lead a couple times but unable to do much more with it. There was a lot of ebb and flow to the battle and they went into the final minutes just behind, but right there needing one final push. This would be a great time for one of those tight wins they pulled off earlier in the year. Instead, they missed their next four while Gardner-Webb did not, and are still looking for a road win in conference. As bad as they shot in this game(33%), the team did well to even be in the hunt.

Again they got off to a slow start at UNC-Asheville, rallied to briefly take the lead ... and then Michael Blume was injured with the score tied and less than five to play in the first half. Seriously? Can nobody on this team stay healthy?!? Michael Goff, who can occasionally get hot from outside but is nowhere near Blume in terms of running the offense, had to take over the reigns. Down a pair after a low-scoring first half, Centenary found themselves unable to keep pace as Asheville caught fire for a while.

Synopsis -- 153 RPI

Blume has a sprained knee and will miss at least a week. That's probably two or three games without the starting backcourt, and already at 3-5 in the Big South the season seems to be slipping away from Centenary. They have two more on the road coming up but the good news they aren't conference dates. If Blume and Camire can get back after those, there may still be hope for a run at a solid league mark. Centenary cannot afford any more bad luck though.

Brian Swartz · 04-20-2015, 07:54 PM

Neil Barnett(Evansville)

1.2 Toledo(5-8, 1-1) @ Evansville(3-9, 1-1) -- W 77-63
1.7 Wright State(7-7, 3-1) @ Evansville(4-9, 2-1) -- W 79-64
1.9 Detroit(4-11, 2-3) @ Evansville(5-9, 3-1) -- L 89-78
1.14 Evansville(5-10, 3-2) @ Northern Iowa(3-13, 2-3) -- W 68-57
1.16 Evansville(6-10, 4-2) @ Southeast Missouri State(2-14, 2-4) -- W 65-54

An impressive game against Toledo. The Rockets had a few moments early, but that was pretty much it. It was not nearly as close as the final indicated. Szabo fouled out in 14 minutes, but Beals & Comeaux combined for 31 to pick up the slack. Rodriguez started light practice activities in the buildup to the Wright State game, but still wasn't ready to go for looked like it might be a very important matchup. The visitors' feast-or-famine defense was a little of both, getting a number of turnovers but also resulting in a parade to the line for Evansville. The defense really picked up late, leading to a much bigger margin of victory than was justified for what was really a close game for more than 30 minutes. Roberts and Szabo had 16 each, while Roy Nelson(10 points, 12 rebounds) was really a force in the paint today. For the moment at least, Evansville takes early sole possession of second place in the league behind unbeaten Rice.

Detroit came to visit next. Evansville jumped out in front 10-2 at the outset but was unable to keep them off the boards, a return to struggles in that area from earlier in the season. Detroit led most of a back-and-forth second half, and Evansville crumbled at the end to suffer a damaging home loss. They were eviscerated by Milo Mathes(21 pts, 20 rebs) with Arthur Szabo(21 pts, 5 rebs) having one of his best games in a while wasted. Ultimately Evansville just could not compete physically inside.

With Rodriguez finally back, two changes to the starting lineup as Comeaux will try his hand at the point and Rodriguez at small forward. Defensive specialist Martinez and turnover factory Beals will now come off the bench. Rodriguez should help a bit in terms of the dire rebounding need and also can contribute more as an offensive playmaker. Northern Iowa was the revamped lineup's first test. Comeaux had 13 points in the first half to lead the way, and NI(55 ppg) is not a team that plays well from behind. Carroll Roberts(20 pts, 12 rebs) had a huge second half to make sure Evansville stayed in front.

SE Missouri State was a nightmare start. They just couldn't score against a team allowing almost 73 points a game. Nothing was working. A frenetic finish on both ends eventually cut a double-digit deficit down to three at the half, but once again Evansville was getting blasted on the glass(21-11). In the first two minutes after the break Rodriguez had a steal, drew a charge, grabbed a rebound, and dished out an assist to basically single-handedly make sure the team stayed in it. Nobody could score down the stretch of this one but by then the game was well in hand so it wasn't such a bad thing. Tony Beals(18 pts on 6-8 fg in 15 minutes) was the catalyst with his instant offense.

Synopsis -- 208 RPI

The 8-game losing streak is now little more than a memory. Barnett's team is 5-2 in the Horizon, and Rice just recently did them the favor of finally losing a game so they sit at 7-1. Tied for second are Youngstown State and Wright State at 5-2. There are yet four games to play against that trio, but Evansville has put themselves firmly in the discussion at the top of the conference. The new lineup is undefeated, but Rodriguez is shooting a not-encouraging 2-15 from the field in his first couple of times out. He's rebounding much better than Martinez did, but the jury is still out on whether he'll finish the year as a starter. As a 53% shooter last year and near 40% his first couple seasons, the hope is he's just had a bad couple of games.

Brian Swartz · 04-20-2015, 07:56 PM

Charles Hernandez(Iona)

1.1 Iona(0-11) @ St. Joseph's(4-6) -- W 62-60
1.5 Valparaiso(4-7) @ Iona(1-11) -- W 69-58
1.9 Iona(2-11) @ Temple(8-5) -- W 64-55
1.11 Iona(3-11) @ Chicago State(6-10) -- W 79-70

At the five minute mark of the St. Joe's game, Iona led 2-0. Needless to say the spectators were not impressed. The scoring soon picked up, it more or less had to, and they kept it close, fought for the lead late, and ... wonder of wonders ... picked up the first win of the year as Syzmanski blocked the last-gasp attempt of their hosts with just four second left! Harold Wolter had a season-high 22, Boulware added 14. As for new point guard Dennis Darrow, he scored just six points but had as many assists with only one turnover. The team hit on 53% from the field for the game. Might well be an outlier, but definitely not a coincidence -- amazing what a difference a not-horrid point guard can make! Now we'll see if they can back it up.

They did indeed against Valpo, nursing a small lead throughout the first half and extending it in the second. 56% shooting in this one, though 17 turnovers did not please Hernandez. Iona hadn't held consecutive opponents to 60 or fewer since the first two games of the year, and now they stunningly have a winning streak! A visit to Temple was supposed to smash any delusions of grandeur, but despite a buzzer-beating heave from over 50 feet by the Owls to end the first half the streak continued in impressive, wire-to-wire style. Chicago State fared no better.

Synopsis -- 203 RPI

It was hoped that the team would improve with Dennis Darrow(11.3 ppg, 67% fg, 4.5 apg, 2.5 rpg) but nobody expected a four-game winning streak! His shooting will certainly not stay where it is, he's been on fire the last three games, but it's hard to overstate the difference he's made on both ends of the court. Wolter in particular has flourished with the improvement in offensive flow, hitting 9-21 from 3-point range since Darrow's return. The team now heads into Ivy League play with every confidence they can make some noise.

Brian Swartz · 04-20-2015, 07:58 PM

Mark Horton(Hampton)

1.2 Hampton(5-7, 0-0) @ UTEP(9-3, 0-0) -- L 108-85
1.4 USC Upstate(7-5, 1-0) @ Hampton(5-8, 0-0) -- W 109-98
1.9 Hampton(6-8, 1-0) @ Jacksonville(5-7, 0-1) -- L 89-84(OT)
1.11 Hampton(6-9, 1-1) @ Morgan State(3-11, 1-1) -- L 88-79
1.16 Hampton(6-10, 1-2) @ Pennsylvania(3-11, 0-3) -- L 87-79

The pace was insane early on against UTEP: 37-27 hosts after just ten minutes! The flow changed, but the team ahead didn't. Hampton pulled within a single point shortly after the half but then got flattened in a season-worst for points allowed. That's seven straight losses now. Colin Adam did very little in his first start.

USC Upstate visited for the MEAC opener. 66 points and 60% shooting in the first half resulted, a very impressive explosion! Points were harder to come by later, and a furious rally almost did them in but Hampton scored the last seven to secure the win with a season-high mark of 109 points! Vargas, Grooms, and Brandes each had 21 or more to pace the attack. It was the third-highest scoring game in Hampton history, with the record of 112 having been achieved twice(in 1958 and 2006). Horton's goal is to break it, it's just a case of how long it takes to do so.

Jacksonville was more of a grind, they slowed down Hampton's attack but a ten-point burst in less than two minutes to break open a tie game at the half looked like a potentially decisive blow for Horton's team. It should have been. They held a decent lead all the way until the final minutes, when a flurry culminated in a game-tying triple by James Bullard. Shad Brandes a chance to win it at the buzzer but missed, and on to overtime it was with a game that should already have been over. Grooms fouled out early in the extra sessions, forcing Brandes to take the finish. They missed multiple chances late, and it was a very frustrated team in the locker room afterwards. They had this one, and let it slip away. David Vargas(19 pts, 12 rebs) was named player of the game in a losing cause, and Vern Jones had a season-high 22 to lead the team. Hampton never should have lost this one, it's the kind of game that can cost you.

Morgan State was less charitable, threatening to make a rout of it in the first half until a late surge by Hampton snagged a brief lead early in the second. Again they fell behind and were forced to rally, going in front by a point with three minutes left but unable to hold it. Morgan State made almost all the big plays down the stretch, and another winnable game was lost. Jones had 19 on 7-11 fg to continue his strong play as of late, but Vargas shot only 2-9 today.

Pennsylvania, winless in the conference, provided an opportunity ... to play as bad as might be imaginable. At 15:30 it was 19-4, Hampton on the short end of the stick. They picked up the scoring, but it's hard to come from behind when you can't get stops. At the half it was 56-48 and they hadn't managed to get much closer than that. A quick start to the second half cut the gap to two points twice, and then again later with nine to play after Penn had pulled out. They never did get all the way back though, and after Vargas fouled out with three-plus to go the offense sputtered it's way to the end.

Synopsis -- 155 RPI

There's no question Hampton is heading in the wrong direction right now. They've plummeted to the bottom of the MEAC with three straight defeats, a stretch in which they should have won two of them. Although they were all admittedly road games, the team just seems to lack toughness, and finesse has not been enough to get it done lately. They have five of the next six at home, so this is the time to turn it around if they are going to do so.

Brian Swartz · 04-20-2015, 07:59 PM

Horace Hargrove(Lehigh)

1.5 Lehigh(4-9) @ Fordham(4-7) -- L 77-61
1.9 Navy(5-8, 0-0) @ Lehigh(4-10, 0-0) -- W 82-64
1.13 Lehigh(5-10, 1-0) @ American(5-10, 0-2) -- L 76-68
1.16 Lehigh(5-11, 1-1) @ Bucknell(9-8, 2-1) -- W 63-49

With Campagna saddled with two quick fouls, the rest of the team defended well enough against all probability to keep the game close against Fordham. It didn't hurt matters that center Rohan Dyer, not generally noted for his offense, went for 15 points in the first half! All of that was rendered moot by the fact that nobody could do much of anything right the last 12 minutes or so, and Fordham surged to a comfortable win scoring 47 in the final 20 minutes. A home game against Navy was the Patriot opener. A good first-half run opened up a 15-point lead and they had enough firepower to make it stick. It was a fun game -- it's not every day that Lehigh puts 80 on the board. All five starters contributed with at least ten.

It almost seemed like they needed to get that spat of quality play out of their system, starting off against American by treating the game as a foul-a-thon and missing bad shots like crazy to go with it. It was still close into the second half and they later ralled from 18 down to make a game of it, but there was never any consistency to the effort. Lindsay Powell(30 pts, 8 reb) won a guard duel with Tommy Campagna(23 pts, 6 rebs) in a matchup of two of the top players in the league.

Bucknell for some reason decided to take the next game as their opportunity to play like crapola. As in, 16-points-in-the-first-half-on-20% shooting-crapola. Which was just fine with Coach Hargrove. Lehigh's lead reached 20 points with 11 minutes to go, and it was pretty much paperwork at that point. Campagna scored 18 and with this gift accepted, Lehigh set a season mark allowing less than 50 for the first time.

Synopsis -- 330 RPI

A lot of uncertainty and up-and-down lately for Lehigh, which is far preferable to losing six straight and nine of 11 as they did in a stretch culminating with the Fordham loss. The computers consider them one of the worst teams in the nation, yet early in the Patriot schedule they are 2-1. Everybody has already lost at least once and only Navy is still looking for a win, so it's too early to tell really at this point who is going to challenge in the league. The emphasis on being more balanced on offense and having Good direct things more does seem to have improved consistency on that end. The good news is that lots of other Patriot teams don't know how to score either. At the moment Lehigh ranks 4th in the conference both offensively and defensively, with rebounding(7th) remaining their achilles heel.

Brian Swartz · 04-22-2015, 12:41 PM

January 2015(Second Half)

John Reinhart(Centenary)

1.18 Centenary(9-7) @ Texas A&M(13-3) -- L 91-67
1.21 Centenary(9-8) @ Washington(10-6) -- L 61-45
1.23 VMI(3-15, 1-7) @ Centenary(9-9, 3-5) -- L 78-70
1.28 Troy(7-13, 3-6) @ Centenary(9-10, 3-6) -- L 63-54
1.30 Presbyterian(12-8, 6-4) @ Centenary(9-11, 3-7) -- W 73-57

Despite the makeshift lineup, it was actually a competitive game against A&M until the turnovers started to mount partway through the second half. The main goal of just don't get anyone else hurt was achieved. Losing against Washington was expected as well, but having 18 turnovers and only 15 points in the first half was more than Reinhart was prepared to calmly deal with.

VMI presented a difficult decision. Both Blume and Camire were available but not quite ready yet. Blume is a little further along, and there's nobody else who can come close to replacing what he does so he'll play while Camire sits one more out. VMI is one of the very worst defensive teams in the country, but without the only real point guard on the team out there it's been scary what has happened to Centenary's offense. Hopefully he can assure them of a win in a game they can't afford to lose.

Disturbingly it was defense that let them down. They couldn't shake the Big South's worst team, actually trailing 41-38 at the half. It got worse after that. They were down eight before turning it on a bit, but couldn't stop putting VMI on the line. A couple of times Centenary pulled within a single point, but they dropped another one, definitely the worst loss of the year. Any realistic hope of a winning record in the conference might have gone with it. Blume had 7 assists, so it's hard to blame him. Centenary was -12 at the line, making only half of their attempts, and the defense was really pretty much non-existent against a team that averages 16 points less than they scored here. Absolutely embarassing.

Dennis Camire returned from a month-long absence against Troy as Reinhart was desperate to snap a season-threatening five-game losing streak. It wasn't exactly the plan to go 0-for-six-minutes from the floor. After a virtually unbelievable 20% shooting clip for the entire first half, solid defense was the only reason they trailed merely by eight. They quickly cut it to one but couldn't sustain the rally, losing again at home to a team they should be handling. Centenary has absolutely fallen off the map.

Naturally then, against one of the better teams in the Big South, they came out on fire with a balanced effort. Given up for dead, Centenary easily held off all late charges and avenged an earlier loss to Presbyterian, ending the losing streak at six. I give up figuring out this team. Players not named Joseph Johnson(34 pts!) were held to 23 on 7-26 shooting. Meanwhile, Blume set a personal high with 10 assists.

Synopsis -- 190 RPI

At 4-7 in the BIg South, Centenary is just one game clear of last place. Unless they go on a tear in February, finishing at .500 or better as hoped is not going to happen.

Along with McCluskey and Benitez, junior forward Denver Abbott is now complaining about his role on the team as well. Once again, there is no justification for playing him more, so if he goes, he goes. It's looking like there may be a bloodbath in terms of transfers next season however.

Recruiting

While Reinhart would still like to pick up another forward, the pickings are ridiculously slim there even after another round of scouting. The efforts will continue, but meanwhile ...

* PG Trent Ginsberg(5-10, 151) -- Ginsberg is a classical pass-first point guard, weak on defense but he could have a higher ceiling than the other three recruits already signed. If nothing turns up on the most recent forays, there will be little choice but to give him the final offer.

Brian Swartz · 04-22-2015, 12:44 PM

Neil Barnett(Evansville)

1.21 Cleveland State(3-14, 1-6) @ Evansville(7-10, 5-2) -- W 78-69
1.23 Youngstown State(12-6, 5-3) @ Evansville(8-10, 6-2) -- L 68-57
1.25 Western Kentucky(8-10) @ Evansville(8-11) -- L 84-79
1.30 Evansville(8-12, 6-3) @ Toledo(10-10, 6-3) -- L 57-47

Evansville made a bid to bury Cleveland State early, scoring the game's first 11 points. They refused to cooperate, and by the half Barnett was beside himself as his team trailed by a point. Physically they were controlling the game, it was just a case of making shots at the moment. Even a pair of bombs each from Szabo and Rodriguez early in the second half wouldn't make them go away. It was a battle the whole way, eventually won by attrition as most of the starters fouled out. The winning streak continues but it was not easy. Arthur Szabo scored 23 in only 19 minutes, Comeaux added 17 and Bobbie Rodriguez had 13 pts, 11 rebounds to solidify his place in the lineup.

Youngstown State was an opportunity to effectively knock a team out of the Horizon race. A win here and Evansville would stay one back of Rice while Youngstown would be three out. Ten minutes in the score was 14-4 and looking mighty fine for that victory. Ten minutes later it was 30-26 Youngstown State, a shockingly bad series of play especially in terms of turnovers feeding the momentum. The miscues continued to be fatal, a total of 20 for the game, and Evansville fell into a third-place tie with their conquerors. It was a team-wide effort, and a very bad time for it.

Another fast start against WKU(16-4) was similarly wasted. The bench is doing nothing right now aside from Beals, and defensively the team is treating each game as a foul-a-thon. At least this time Evansville rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit to make a game of it at the end, but missed bunnies put them behind and Szabo(team-high 23 pts) missed two chances to tie it in the final 15 seconds after draining 4-6 from 3-point range prior to that. While it's hardly the only source of their troubles, Comeaux has been a turnover factory at the point and that experiment is being declared a failure. Tony Beals will retake the spot. Rodriguez scored another 15(5-11 fg) and is pretty much a fixture now at small forward -- the lineup is unlikely to change apart from injury now, with Barnett confident he's found the optimal mix. He'd better hope so after the first consecutive losses since December and a three-game road trip upcoming.

One way or another, the Toledo game was set to break a three-way tie for second place. Evansville had already buried them once, but a minute into the contest Rodriguez had to be taken off. Just super. The rest of the team struggled through a low-scoring first half, trailing by five when the Rockets hit on five consecutive shots to finish it. Four straight turnovers were followed by a series of Evansville bricks out of the break -- they literally couldn't do a thing right. Toledo controlled the boards and with them the game. Carroll Roberts led the team with 8 points, which he needed 14 shots to contribute. A complete disaster offensively.

Synopsis -- 253 RPI

After returning for just six games, Rodriguez is out another month now with a broken arm. At best, he might be back for the conference tournament. Barnett returns to the original starters with David Martinez at the 3.

Evansville has sunk to 4th in the Horizon, but are still two games clear of the rest of the conference. Without Rodriguez, it's unlikely they will move any higher.

Recruiting

A month ago, Hine had no offers. Now he has four, but Evansville is his top choice at the moment. Penn State and Georgia Southern are significantly more regarded programs, so if Barnett manages to hang on to his favor it would be a notably coup. A campus visit is set up, and he's all in on the effort.

* PF Arnulfo Moore(6-9, 213) -- A project with decent potential majoring in rebounding, Moore is the backup plan if Hine is stolen away.

Brian Swartz · 04-22-2015, 12:45 PM

Charles Hernandez(Iona)

1.22 Yale(3-10, 0-0) @ Iona(4-11) -- W 65-53
1.23 Manhattan(5-11, 1-0) @ Iona(5-11, 1-0) -- L 73-65
1.29 Iona(5-12, 1-1) @ Cornell(5-11, 1-0) -- L 75-49
1.30 Iona(5-13, 1-2) @ Columbia(6-11, 0-2) -- L 54-52

Yale visited to begin the Ivy and offered a physical, defensive challenge. Despite a turnover-free first half Iona led only by a half-dozen. Back-to-back trifectas from a rare source, center Alfred Corbin, increased that lead to ten. Good defense took care of the rest. Manhattan was up next, and Iona finished the first half just hoping they would start missing a little more. They were fortunate to trail only three, with the Jaspers hitting 59%. It actually got worse, not better, on both ends. Manhattan was just a little better in every aspect, handing Iona their first loss since Darrow returned and ending the five-game run of wins.

It got worse. Cornell blitzed them in a disaster on both ends, and suddenly the string of wins merely looked like a happy accident. The game with Columbia was not classic in any sense of excellence, but an entertaining, tight struggle the whole way. After the Lions tied it up, Darrow had a chance to put Iona ahead again. He missed a foul-line jumper, rebounded his own miss, and threw a perfect pass to the third row of spectators with 11 seconds to go. Arthur Markus drained a wing jumper for Columbia, and Digiovanni missed at the buzzer for Iona. That was it. They gave up seven unanswered to close a game that was nearly won.

Synopsis -- 285 RPI

A five-game winning streak, and then three straight defeats. The last one should never have been a loss. It seems that teams have figured out the Darrow version of Iona. The lack of quality in the frontcourt is still a glaring weakness.

Brian Swartz · 04-22-2015, 12:47 PM

Mark Horton(Hampton)

1.18 Morgan State(4-12, 2-2) @ Hampton(6-11, 1-3) -- W 77-60
1.23 Penn State(6-11, 2-2) @ Hampton(7-11, 2-3) -- L 80-77
1.25 Hampton(7-12, 2-4) @ Howard(7-12, 2-4) -- W 81-57

After losing a competitive contest to Morgan State just a week ago, the return game featured a 15-point first half by Brandes, pacing Hampton to a ten-point lead. Morgan State scored eight streak to start the second but it was a short-lived rally, and this time around there was no drama at the finish. A solid floor game and 49% shooting were the ticket to this win, splitting the season series.

Penn State visited with an interesting situation developing in the MEAC. Every team but one had at least two wins and two losses, all bunched together in the very picture of parity. The only reason there was any in this game and Hampton didn't get blown out early was a solid job on the boards, because they were called for several first-half charges and couldn't hit a thing. Trailing 29-17, they closed the half on a 13-3 run to make up most of the deficit before taking the lead exactly one minute after play resumed. Penn State took control again, pulling out to a ten-point lead which they tried to defend against constant Hampton mini-surges. A three by Brandes halved the lead with 56 seconds left giving them a chance. PSU broke the press, moved the ball around missed ... missed again on a tip try ... and Brandes, the smallest player on the court, snagged the rebound with 15 to go. German Brown was forced to take the tying attempt and missed, and that was that. David Vargas(19 pts, 14 rebs) did more than his part, while Hampton just couldn't hit their threes(4-22 for the game).

The Howard game was a matchup of two of the four teams tied for last as the conference gradually works towards sorting itself out. A 17-2 start was aided by the fact that Hampton's hosts missed a wide-open dunk, but was still mighty fine work. At the half they still led by 20, and other than giving up half of that quickly in a poor start to the second half there was no drama in this game. It was only the second time this year that an opponent failed to put up 60. Even more stunning was that the usual suspects(Grooms/Vargas/Jones) had only 17 points combined, and it fell to Shad Brandes again(16 pts, 4 rebs) to lead the way.

Synopsis -- 201 RPI

Parity continues to reign in the MEAC. South Carolina State sits pretty at 6-1, but Hampton is only a game out of second, and only a game out of last. Anything could still happen. If they are going to make a move upward, this is the time with four out of the next five at home.

Brian Swartz · 04-22-2015, 12:49 PM

Horace Hargrove(Lehigh)

1.20 Colgate(10-6, 2-1) @ Lehigh(6-11, 2-1) -- W 89-84
1.23 Army(7-12, 2-2) @ Lehigh(7-11, 3-1) -- W 61-49
1.27 Lehigh(8-11, 4-1) @ Lafayette(8-12, 3-2) -- W 61-53
1.30 Lehigh(9-11, 5-1) @ Holy Cross(11-9, 3-3) -- L 75-64

Colgate came in averaging 75 points a game, so the top priority was to slow them down somehow. They may well be the best team in the conference this year. The slowing-them-down thing didn't happen, but if you can't beat 'em, join em! Lehigh was still up two after a breakneck first half, 47-45 on a last-second three by Jonathon Good. The trend of no-defense, none-of-the-time continued and Lehigh had the best of it. It was never a comfortable lead, but they held it and set a season high in scoring. The inside-outside combo of Joseph Alvarez(22 pts, 11 reb, 8-11 fg) and Tommy Campagna(23 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast) was good enough with the other starters all scoring at least 11 as well. It was the best game of the year for Alvarez, who seems to have a good offensive night about once every few weeks, then disappear for a few games.

Army provided no meaningful resistance until well into the second half, but in this case it was all in how you finish. Lehigh regrouped and finished like a freight train to take another win, with Olen Espinosa scoring 19 points on 5-6 fg, 6-6 from the line. It's hard to get more efficient than that. It came at a big price though. Starting point guard Jonathon Good will miss several weeks, probably the rest of the regular season, with a stress fracture in his left foot. At the moment Lehigh has sole possession of first place in the Patriot League, but how long will that last? Untested junior Benjamin Maier, who has been solid as a limited-minutes backup, will now be thrown into the fire. He's not the playmaker, or for that matter scorer, that Good is, though he doesn't turn the ball over much, and points may be harder to come by for a while. Even worse perhaps, it leaves Lehigh with nothing vaguely resembling a backup point to play with the second unit.

Lafayette was the first test in what you might call the post-point-guard phase of this season. They started well, lost the lead a couple times, surged again and finished the first 20 minutes in front 31-27. It certainly could have been worse. It took about 30 seconds for that lead to disappear with a layup, steal, and three. Sigh. The rest of it went better, especially defensively, and a big road win minus Good keeps Lehigh in the driver's seat. Maier had six assists, Campagna and Espinosa pretty much put in their usual, and Alvarez(11 pts, 13 rebs) picked a good time to have a fine game. Holy Cross finished the month by knocking off their perch. A decent effort, but the Crusaders were on top of their game and Lehigh never really had a chance.

Synopsis -- 274 RPI

Before they lost Good, I would not have bet against Lehigh as Patriot League champions. As it is, they could be in worse positions than having fallen into a tie with Colgate for the lead at 5-2. Junior center Jewel Kellner is making noises about being unhappy with his role as a garbage-timer. These complaints are falling on deaf ears with two talented big men arriving on campus next year. Frankly Kellner is getting awfully uppity for a walk-on with no particularly noteworthy skills.

Brian Swartz · 04-28-2015, 03:36 PM

February 2015(First Half)

John Reinhart(Centenary)

2.4 Centenary(10-11, 4-7) @ Charleston Southern(12-10, 6-5) -- L 66-44
2.6 Centenary(10-12, 4-8) @ Coastal Carolina(6-17, 4-8) -- L 70-61
2.11 UNC Asheville(12-11, 7-5) @ Centenary(10-13, 4-9) -- W 77-68
2.13 Gardner Webb(12-12, 9-4) @ Centenary(11-13, 5-9) -- W 81-79
2.15 Dartmouth(5-16) @ Centenary(12-13) -- L 66-52

After having one of their better offensive games of the year in a win the first time out against Charleston Southern, Centenary proceeded to score just two points in the first six minutes ... and then go on a 11-0 run to take the lead over the next four. Unfortunately that surge proved to be an aberration, with the most of the game spent trying to stay close enough not to be blown out. That effort did not succeed. Shooting under 30% with 22 turnovers is a pretty safe path to getting pounded. Turnovers were again the story at Coastal Carolina, another team Centenary had previously beaten. This time they played better, but not well enough. It would have been closer if they hadn't missed half their free throws as well.

Back at home against UNC Asheville, the keep-it-close, steal-it-late strategy was on display again. Somebody should tell this team it's ok to be ahead. Really. Michael Blume's playmaking(9 pts, 9 ast) was exquisite towards the end, at one point assisting on four straight scoring plays. It would have been nice to see a little more of that in the first half, but an impressive close to win the game regardless. The McCoy/Camire/Cimino trio combined for 49 points on 59% shooting. Centenary won't lose often with that kind of execution, but it's been very rare this year.

The strategy went a little extreme against GW. Centenary went scoreless to spot them a dozen points, couldn't make a free throw to save their lives, and somehow managed to stay in the game. They quickly cut the deficit to two points ... then to one a few minutes later ... then tied it up ... and finally went ahead on a tip-in by Nunnery with six to play. For the most part it was the Gerald Cimino show. He fouled out in the final minute, but not before scoring 23 points. That should have been more than enough. Centenary led 69-60 with 2:12 remaining and had all the momentum in the world, but then Gardner Webb starting hitting threes. On the ensuing possessions, they proceeded to make just 5 of 14 free throws, with a turnover thrown in for good measure, and suddenly found themselves tied when Ferdinand Butterworth evened it up with five seconds left. Camire set up Nunnery for the game-winner, but the sharpshooter missed and it was on to overtime. They managed to blow another lead in the extra session after scoring the first five points, and then four consecutive missed foul shots with less than 30 seconds left and up two gave GW yet another chance. They missed at the buzzer, Rockwood grabbed the rebound, and Centenary survived despite having tried to give it away. FT shooting for the game was 18-38. That's just hideous.

Going for three straight in an out of conference tilt with Dartmouth, Centenary battled hard most of the game before being out-toughed in the final minutes. Reinhart was not amused at the poor box-outs and lazy fouls, and an opportunity to get back to .500 on the year was missed. An exception was Cordell Bradley(12 pts, 9 reb) who just missed out on a double-double.

Synopsis -- 181 RPI

Centenary is just one game out of the Big South cellar. They have yet to win a conference game on the road, and unless they take all three of them to finish the year, the goal of a .500 league mark is not going to happen. It's been an underwhelming stretch lately, two wins and three losses. The team's healthy, it's just not playing that well.

Brian Swartz · 04-28-2015, 03:38 PM

Neil Barnett(Evansville)

2.4 Evansville(8-13, 6-4) @ Detroit(6-15, 4-7) -- W 77-74
2.6 Evansville(9-13, 7-4) @ Wright State(9-13, 5-7) -- L 67-63
2.11 Southeast Missouri State(6-17, 6-7) @ Evansville(9-14, 7-5) -- L 69-62
2.13 Northern Iowa(6-19, 5-9) @ Evansville(9-15, 7-6) -- W 76-67

Detroit hosted a competitive, up-tempo game with plenty of scoring both ways, especially from the outside. Up six at the half, Evansville led 54-46 when Carroll Roberts, by far the team's best interior player, was forced out with an injury with over 15 minutes to play. They still held a narrow lead but it was tenuous with the end of the game approaching, and Milo Mathes finally put Detroit in front by one with 1:45 left. A big pair of free throws from Beals put Evansville back ahead, but Mathes drew a foul with 1:02 to go. He had 27 points, 12 rebounds on the game, but here missed both with exactly a minute left ... so Beals promptly threw the ball out of bounds. Logical. Detroit returned the favor, tried to press and Beals beat it, drove to the basket and got fouled. He only made one but got his own miss and was fouled again. Splitting the pair a second time, he gave Evansville a three-point lead. After a pair of free throws on both ends, it was still three with ten seconds left. Detroit missed at the buzzer, and Evansville came away with a big road win. Szabo(24 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast) and Beals(22 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast) were a devastating combo.

Roberts has a broken finger and will miss at least the rest of the month. That leaves Barnett's top forward combo out for the rest of the regular season, and they may miss the start of the Horizon tournament as well. Evansville will start senior Kenneth Worcester in his place, but they now have no consistent inside threat offensively and the guards will have to carry even more of the load.

Another game effort allowed Evansville to weather a hot-shooting start by Wright State that threatened to bury them early. It went down to the wire, but they couldn't score consistently down the stretch and came up on the short end. Szabo fouled out in just 18 minutes, leaving Tony Beals(18 pts) to carry too much of the burden alone.

SE Missouri St. came in with a nearly flawless effort, going almost 13 minutes before their first turnover and owning the boards. Barnett was happy to only be down ten at the break. Beals came to the rescue in the second half, igniting a rally with a steal and a pair of triples. Evansville came within a point a couple times, but then the visitors upped the defensive pressure and left them in the dust. Despite their best efforts, Evansville is sinking back towards the pack. Their only hope for a successful season appears to be getting healthy in time for the conference tournament. Northern Iowa rallied on several occasions after a fast start by Evansville in the next game, but they held off each attempt and stopped the bleeding for the moment. All five starters had at least 10 with Szabo going for 16. It was a picture of execution on offense, with just four turnovers for the game.

Synopsis -- 277 RPI

Evansville is just a game out of second place, but making a charge with both starting forwards out is not likely. It looks like at least Roberts and maybe Rodriguez though that's more iffy will be back for the Horizon tournament. Until then, they're focused on stealing wins wherever they can.

Brian Swartz · 04-28-2015, 03:39 PM

Charles Hernandez(Iona)

2.6 Delaware State(7-12, 2-2) @ Iona(5-14, 1-3) -- L 66-63
2.12 Maryland-East Shore(7-13, 2-3) @ Iona(5-15, 1-4) -- W 65-54
2.13 Dartmouth(4-16, 1-5) @ Iona(6-15, 2-4) -- L 85-65

A close back-and-forth with Delaware State went sour for Iona when first Alfred Corbin and then Dennis Darrow fouled out late in the game. Syzmanski missed a chance to tie it at the final horn, and the skid stretched to four in a row. Phil Gibson(24 pts) and Harold Wolter(20 pts) were pretty much the offense in this one, but they got little help. MDES was the next visitor, and an even game with the teams exchanging runs ensued. Iona really upped their defense late in the game, pulling away to break the losing streak. George Boulware(18 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast) had one of his best all-around games of the year, picking up the slack when Wolter got in foul trouble.

Dartmouth came in as the only team with a worse record in the Ivy, making this a must-win. Boulware was hurt midway through the first half but able to stay on, while Dartmouth surged ahead shortly afterwards. Over the last eight minutes of the half they blitzed Iona 27-8, and that was pretty much the game. It's quite literally hard to imagine a worse performance than what they put on here. Boulware sprained his knee, but may be able to return for next weekend's games.

Synopsis -- 328 RPI

Iona has dropped two of three at home to start the month and settled into a tie for last place in the Ivy League. They have lots of company there; in a strange quirk everyone is either 5-2 or 2-5, the conference divided in half.

Brian Swartz · 04-28-2015, 03:41 PM

Mark Horton(Hampton)

2.1 Jacksonville(8-11, 2-5) @ Hampton(8-12, 3-4) -- L 106-96(OT)
2.6 South Carolina State(11-9, 6-2) @ Hampton(8-13, 3-5) -- L 109-105
2.8 Howard(11-11, 4-5) @ Hampton(8-14, 3-6) -- W 66-41
2.13 Hampton(9-14, 4-6) @ North Carolina A&T(11-12, 6-4) -- L 96-78

After a close first half against Jacksonville, Hampton pulled out to a 12-point lead in the second half ... and promptly lost it in less than three minutes. From there it was back and forth and went right down to the wire, literally. After a missed Vargas three with Jacksonville leading by one, Dawes missed a tip but Vern Jones cleaned it up to put Hampton in front with 18 seconds left. Dawes made a steal on the inbounds play, and his dunk put on the exclamation point. Irwin Simpson hit a three at the buzzer for Jacksonville though, and it was on to overtime! The extra session was all Jacksonville and Horton could only shake his head in disbelief. One stop was all they needed, and Hampton couldn't get it done. Vargas and Grooms combined to score 40, but did nothing late in regulation or in overtime.

Then MEAC-leading South Carolina State came to visit. Four minutes in, Hampton was already down ten and had two technical fouls for arguing calls. After they settled down, neither team missed much. The score was tied at 53 at the half. South Carolina State pulled away in the second half, only to have Hampton come back again. David Vargas(36 pts, 13-20 fg) refused to let them go quietly, but a series of offensive fouls late in the game made the hole a little too deep to overcome. In the end, it was just another entertaining loss.

Due for a game when things bounced their way, Hampton got one against Howard. Everything went right in a start that saw them lead 32-11 with eight minutes to go in the opening half. From there neither team did anything much worth remembering. It was by far a season-best in points allowed, pulling them into a tie with Howard and a couple of other teams at the bottom of the MEAC. An increasingly fun first half at North Carolina A&T went sour when Hampton couldn't keep up to start the second. They fell behind by 15 and were outrebounded 45-26 for the game, most of that gap coming in the second half.

Synopsis -- 235 RPI

Another year, another competitive but losing season for Hampton. Other than trying to stay out of last place in the MEAC, there's not a whole lot of life left in this year. Horton's efforts to simply outscore the competition have worked on occasion, but not often.

Brian Swartz · 04-28-2015, 03:43 PM

Horace Hargrove(Lehigh)

2.3 Lehigh(9-12, 5-2) @ Navy(6-15, 1-6) -- L 67-63
2.6 Lehigh(9-13) @ Vermont(9-12) -- W 64-60
2.10 American(9-14, 4-5) @ Lehigh(10-13, 5-3) -- W 60-50
2.13 Bucknell(14-11, 6-4) @ Lehigh(11-13, 6-3) -- W 82-80

Looking for a season sweep against cellar-dwelling Navy, Lehigh struggled on both ends to execute well and found themselves in a tight battle. Offensively they ground to a near-complete halt the last ten minutes of the game, and lost a close one here as they just couldn't put the ball in the basket. Team shooting was just 36%, and Joseph Alvarez who fouled out late was the only player in double figures with 12 points. Campagna shot just 3-14 fg, and they're going to need more than that from him to get through February successfully.

After a horrid first half(21 points for the team) in a respite from the conference schedule at Vermont, Lehigh rallied twice in the second to go into the final 2:27 dead-even. The teams traded fouls, both making the freebies to make it 60-all with just over a minute. Vermont missed after a good possession, then fouled Maier again for basically no reason. Again he made the shots, then came up with a big steal on the crucial final possession for Vermont. It's definitely the first time you can say that Benjamin Maier was the hero of the game but he was in this one, scoring 6 of his 13 points on late-game free throws. When you shoot 34% and win, it's a game to be proud off in terms of effort.

In order to keep pace at the top of the league, they needed to win a home matchup with American. They'd lost by eight against them earlier, making it even more imperative. Both teams started hot, but Lehigh stayed that way longer. They hit on 10 of 14 to open up a 12-point lead, and were still in front by nine at the half despite a lengthy dry spell. Neither team hit much of anything in the second half, always a boon for the team in front. Campagna scored 20, only two after the break, and Lehigh finished the game tied with Holy Cross and Colgate atop the Patriot league.

Bucknell is another contender, and Lehigh needed to find a way past them with their next two coming on the road. Bucknell's defensive pressure caused a lot of early turnovers, but Lehigh rallied to make it an even game at the half. This time it was Olen Espinosa(16 first-half points) that kept them in the fight. They started the second half well but couldn't put Bucknell away, and Espinosa fouled out with three minutes to go and the score tied at 78. A driving layup by backup Edward Audley put Lehigh back in front by a pair with a minute left, though he missed a chance a 3-point play. Unfortunately, Audley was injured on the play and he had to come out as well. Bucknell had two shots at it in the final minute but missed both, so it ended up being the game-winning score. Espinosa had a season-high 26 points.

Edward Audley broke his finger on the winning play, and we've seen the last of him this year. He'll be out at least three weeks. True freshman Jacinto Brown is now the only viable forward option off the bench. Audley isn't a great player but has enough versatility to play multiple positions and has provided helpful shooting from time to time. He's a junior, so he'll be back next year.

Synopsis -- 249 RPI

A surprisingly three-point home loss by Holy Cross to Army has put Lehigh on top of the Patriot League again. This is certainly not an expected turn of events, I thought that ship would sail when Johnathon Good was injured. It's still hit-or-miss whether he'll make it back for the conference tournament. Big games against Holy Cross and Colgate, both just a game behind at the moment, still remain.

Brian Swartz · 04-29-2015, 05:54 PM

February 2015(Second Half)

John Reinhart(Centenary)

2.20 Centenary(12-14, 6-9) @ VMI(7-19, 5-10) -- W 79-71
2.25 Centenary(13-14, 7-9) @ Grambling State(9-18, 6-10) -- L 60-52
2.27 Centenary(13-15, 7-10) @ Jacksonville State(20-9, 15-2) -- W 75-72

One factor working in Centenary's favor is that the first two of their final three must-wins on the road are actually winnable games, featuring teams at the bottom of the Big South. VMI is tied for last and has two starters injured. They started fast, but then fell off a cliff offensively allowing Centenary a chance to forge a good lead for once. Up by nine at the half, all they needed to do was stay there -- something this team notoriously does not do. This game was a happy exception for a while, but VMI rallied to trail only 65-62 with eight minutes to go. A decent finish was more than enough to hold them off, and once again Centenary is a win away from getting back to even on the year. Arnold McCoy(20 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast) was the best in a good team attack. Particularly pleasing was the strong effort on the glass(14-7 in offensive boards).

The second hurdle was Grambling State. In the Big South opener Centenary beat them in a low-scoring struggle, 59-54, finishing strong. And then began a sizable losing stretch. The main difference between them this year is that Centenary has been a little better offensively, but of course Grambling State being at home could well count for more. With back-to-back baseline jumpers sandwiching a charge taken at the defensive end, Cimino ensured they got off to a decent start. They gradually pulled away until a nine-point run late in the half by the hosts made it almost an even game at the half. The first ten minutes of the second half decided nothing, with the score tied at 39-all. A bumbling and stumbling next few minutes allowed Grambling to pull out to a six-point lead, even a 2-on-1 break ended with a shot blocked and no score. Then Blume got a steal and a layup, McCoy hit a three, and it was down to one again. They would not score again for six minutes, the drought lasting until there were 19 seconds left and by then it was too late. It was a very winnable game, but you have to keep scoring and Centenary couldn't do that. Camire, Cimino, and Bradley combined for 37 points on 39% shooting, not great but not horrible either. The rest of the team scored 15 on a combined three field goals. Three for nineteen. And so dies the hope of achieving Centenary's primary goal of a .500 record in the Big South.

In the grand scheme of things, the regular-season finale at Jacksonville State was of no particularly importance. Jacksonville State was already four games clear of the field with the crown in hand. Up 11 at the half, Centenary quickly lost the lead to a furious rally but refused to surrender to the inevitable without a fight. Cimino fouled out of a tie game with 1:20 to go having played just nine minutes, but Centenary executed better in the final minute and came away with a real character win and quite a stunning upset. No question it wasn't the champs best effort here but it still felt good. Leo Rockwood(8 pts, 12 rebounds) filled in well for Cimino, and Dennis Camire scored 19 while Arnold McCoy did his usual solid all-around thing.

Recruiting

After much consideration, Reinhart has decided to send out his final offer.

* SF Michael Mincey(6-5, 201) -- Mincey is not what he wanted, but the team needs another body at the position and he can't find anyone better. He looks to be the best of three very unsatisfactory possibilities. Making this offer is essentially admitting defeat in finding anyone decent.

Brian Swartz · 04-29-2015, 05:56 PM

Neil Barnett(Evansville)

2.18 Evansville(10-15, 8-6) @ Youngstown State(15-10, 8-6) -- L 71-68
2.20 Evansville(10-16, 8-7) @ Cleveland State(8-18, 6-9) -- L 77-54
2.25 Rice(21-5, 15-1) @ Evansville(10-17, 8-8) -- W 86-74
2.27 Wichita State(12-16, 7-10) @ Evansville(11-17, 9-8) -- L 51-44

Definitely a big underdog at Youngstown State, Evansville just wanted to keep it close. That was in question early but they rallied to make the score 31-30, only to see Youngstown extend by scoring the last seven points of the first half. Rebounding was a huge concern. They did better after the break, and even took the lead for a few seconds on a baseline jumper from Beals with 12 minutes left. The next time it happened, it was wing shot from backup center Gerald McKie with five to play, and when Worcester drew a charge on the next possession Barnett had hope his team could stay in the lead. A Szabo three-pointer a minute later answered that prayer, but then Evansville went cold again. A bad pass by Martinez just outside of a minute to go and ensuing foul to compound his error allowed Youngstown to take the lead at the charity stripe. Worcester was blocked on the next possession and Evansville had to foul. This time Youngstown State missed one, and again Worcester was the man they left open. He missed, and that was that. They gave themselves a chance, but again at the end of the game surrendered a seven-point run to finish it. Beals had 19, Kenneth Worcester had 10 pts, 14 rebs in a fine game, but they couldn't make quite enough shots at the critical moments.

The final road contest of the year was at Cleveland State. In a nine-point win earlier this year, both missing forwards had featured prominently. It was ugly with a capital U at the outset, tied at 5-all after six minutes with all manner of bricks and turnovers. Cleveland State closed the half like a freight train though, getting blocks and drawing charges at the rim, steals on the perimeter, and rarely missing on their end to pull out to a 14-point lead. Getting beat by a hot team on their own floor is one thing, but 18 turnovers showed a lack of focus.

Rice came in with a ten-game winning streak, and there had long since been no doubt that they are the class of the conference. Evansville lost only by a point at their place early in the year, and with Szabo putting in 18 first-half points they led by seven at the half, threatening to be only the second team to beat them in the Horizon. It was mostly Beals' turn in the second half. The two of them put in their best combined effort of the season(49 points on 17-30 fg), Roy Nelson had a career-high 14 rebounds to go with 7 points, and David Martinez had 11 pts, 4 rebs, 5 asts in a virtuoso team performance to pull off the upset. For the last several minutes, it was not even close. Hopefully, it's a matchup Barnett's team will see again in the tournament ...

Roberts could have played in the last game against Wichita State, but there was no reason to risk him. Unfortunately Evansville played like it was a throwaway game, and it showed in the result.

Recruiting

Michael Hine has committed, finishing up Evansville's class! Neil Barnett thinks all of them have significant talent, and if that proves accurate this class will really boost the team's fortunes in the years to come.

04-10-2015, 09:47 AM	#6
Qwikshot Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: ...down the gravity well	I'll be reading...Lehigh University is right up the road from me. __________________ "General Woundwort's body was never found. It could be that he still lives his fierce life somewhere else, but from that day on, mother rabbits would tell their kittens that if they did not do as they were told, the General would get them. Such was Woundwort's monument, and perhaps it would not have displeased him." Watership Down, Richard Adams

04-10-2015, 04:57 PM	#13
Comey College Starter Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: CT via PA via CA via PA	Looking forward to this, and hope to join you when I feel I've written enough of my fledgling Big East dynasty to begin publishing. __________________

04-11-2015, 02:55 PM	#15
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Neil Barnett(Evansville) Early Commitments Dorsey is headed to Indiana State. Barnett's first big recruiting battle ends in failure. But Chas Brown is coming here, so it's not a total loss. Smith still has no other offers so we're looking good there, but really the rest do not look good at all. Time to hit the road again. Starters Particularly early in the year, Evansville will go as far as senior Arthur Szabo can carry them. He's got the skills of a star at this level, having started 90 of 91 career games with 8.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, and nearly a steal per contest last year. More of the same is expected -- he doesn't score a ton but makes his presence felt everywhere else and is a player who has really become virtually everything he can be. It'll essentially be a 'dual-point' offense with Szabo running the two while sophomore Tony Beals(13.1 mpg, 4.8 ppg) steps into the starting lineup. After suffering a bad knee injury late last year, senior swingman Bobbie Rodriguez(12.3 mpg, 4.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 53% fg) will begin his final season late. He's expected back after the non-conference season, in early to mid January, when he will quite possibly become the #1 offensive option and take a lot of the load off of Szabo. Junior David Martinez, who has never averaged double-digit minutes and is basically a defensive specialist, will have to fill in. Senior Carroll Roberts(15.5 mpg, 4.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg) looks ready to carry more of the scoring load after getting a few starts last year, and junior Roy Nelson(5.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.6 spg, 1.2 bpg) returns as an effective if offensively challenged big man. This group can handle the ball and defend. The question is, can they score? Beals may well be called upon to do an inordinate amount of it until Rodriguez comes back. Reserves Martinez will slot in here eventually, and Barnett is high on sophomore guard Isaac Comeaux(6-3, 203) who saw only 33 minutes of total action last year. The former Tennessee All-State honoree is still fairly raw, but he has excellent athleticism and is at least decent at pretty much everything. There's not much else. Redshirts Rodriguez was willing, but is too important to lose him for the season. Freshman forward Dennis Quinones will sit out the year though. Outlook A whole lot of uncertainty here. Almost all of the talent is in the perimeter positions, and there's a considerable amount of dead weight on the roster. It really depends on how well Rodriguez recovers from his injury. If he gets back all the way to full strength by the time conference play rolls around, it could be decent year. If not ... well, they may send Szabo out with a whimper. The expectation of an NCAA bid is unlikely to happen. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 04-11-2015 at 03:00 PM.

04-11-2015, 02:57 PM	#16
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Charles Hernandez(Iona) Early Commitments Chavez is official, we're still first on Doherty as one of the competitors has dropped out leaving only Cornell. It's looking very good for an improved backcourt. Starters This was supposed to be the year that this becomes Dennis Darrow's team. Unfortunately the junior guard(23 mpg, 6.2 ppg, 34% 3pt fg), unquestionably the most talented player on the roster, went and got himself academically suspended. He's never given a darn about his grades, and is exactly the kind of player that Hernandez would never recruit for that reason. The picture with him ... well, it's ugly. Out-of-shape sophomore John Edwards, who has 52 minutes of collegiate court time to his credit, should at least manage not to turn the ball over too much at the point, but not much else is expected. Senior George Boulware has less experience(44 minutes) and he'll start at the other guard. Let's just say not much is expected from the backcourt, though Boulware can hit the open shot if the team manages to get him any. In the absence of Darrow, the team's best player is undoubtedly sophomore forward Harold Wolter, and it's a bit of a surprise he isn't suspended too as he's just as bad when it comes to the classroom. Wolter started as a freshman, just missing out on averaging double figures with 9.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.0 apg and nearly 38% from 3-point range. That was enough to make him the Ivy League Freshman of the Year. Senior Phil Gibson(13.1 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg) steps up from solid reserve to starter, and right now it looks most likely that among the various inadequate options at center, true freshman Horace Syzmanski(6-11, 293), who can score, block shots, handle the ball decently, and literally do nothing else at all, will be slotted in. Reserves They all suck. Forward Willie Shaw and guard Dane McCormick are a pair of freshmen who might be good eventually, but they'll be asked to do more than they are really capable of this year. Redshirts Freshman guard Brian Rameriz got himself suspended as well, and that's been extended to an invitation to take the whole year off. Outlook It isn't pretty even if Darrow returns and Wolter manages to remain eligible. If that doesn't happen they might be lucky to win a handful of games, especially with what might be a tough transition to the new system. Laughably, an NCAA bid is expected. That's not happening. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 04-11-2015 at 03:01 PM.

04-11-2015, 03:05 PM	#18
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Horace Hargrove(Lehigh) Early Commits Giles is coming to Lehigh, and Fried still looks solid though unofficial. The scouting trips absolutely struck out on finding a remotely useful small forward. There were a couple of raw JC big forwards, but there's not much point in a two-year project guy. * C Chris Johnson(6-10, 246) -- A potentially versatile big man excelling in shot-blocking, Johnson fits the bill of best likely available talent. The scouting will continue. Starters This year's top backcourt should be quite good. Junior Jonathon Good(6.7 ppg, 3.2 apg, 2.5 rpg) provides little offense himself, but is an outstanding defender and can capably handle the show. Senior Tommy Campagna(13.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 40% 3pt fg) is solid on defense as well and can really light it up from long range -- he'll be the focal point of the offense. Unfortunately you can't play with just two players. The frontcourt is undersized, and they aren't very good either. Third-year starter Olen Espinosa(10.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.9 spg, 35% fg) never met a bad shot he didn't like, senior Joseph Alvarez(8.1 mpg) is completely unproven but looks to be a disaster other than on defense, and fifth-year senior Rohan Dyer, originally from Australia, is anemically small for a center at 6-7. In 20 mpg last year he had four points and four rebounds per contest. Reserves With all the players jumping ship last year, six of them are walk-ons. The quality is what you might expect -- non-existent. Redshirts A couple of the walk-ons are willing, but there's really no reason for it. They both stink. Might as well wait and bring in some recruits that could be an improvement. Outlook We will find out this year just how far a good backcourt can take a team. My guess is not far given the near-total lack of complementary players. This year could be very bad, and it will probably get worse before it gets better with Campagna set to graduate. Unless he absolutely blows up, it's hard to see the .500 conference mark happening. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 04-11-2015 at 03:06 PM.

04-08-2015, 10:27 PM	#2
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Meet The Coaches All of our heroes, or goats as the case may be, will be set at Level 4 to start. This is used because it is the amount given to head coaches generated for the worst programs at startup. Neal Barnett Barnett could rightly be called more of a scout or salesman than a coach. He has little knowledge of Xs and Os and could care less about academic achievement or what style his teams play. His teams may well change style drastically from one year to the next, pursuing whatever he thinks will best fit the existing talent. Bringing in the best players he can is his goal. He will also change programs at the drop of a hat if offered a better position. He'll be able to bring in the talent. The question is, can he do anything with them once they are on campus? Recruiting: A- Defense: C Offense: D Defense: D Horace Hargrove Hargrove's gift is that he has a sharp eye for talent. More than most other coaches, he can spot the 'diamond in the rough' prospect. He is less adept at teaching the game, however, and will tend to look for players that can make an immediate impact as a result. In terms of style of play, he favors the matchup zone on defense and unorthodox roles on offense. Often his teams will have big man ranging the perimeter, while posting up big guards and swingmen against smaller foes. Recruiting: C Scouting: B Offense: C- Defense: C- Charles Hernandez Throw-back, old-school, traditionalist -- all of these apply here. He's a special case in the rundown in that I'm mostly just curious how far he can go with his philosophy. Hernandez believes that the student part of 'student-athlete' is the most important. Winning takes a back seat to academics and playing the right way, which means his way. A slow-paced, structured attack in the princeton style will be featured, along with exclusively half-court man defense. He will recruit only players with a 3.0 or better GPA, and emphasize the fundamentals of passing, ballhandling, shooting, and defensive positioning more than athletic superiority. Charles is loyal, and will only leave his position when offered a major step up or when it's obvious he's outgrown the current position. With an emphasis on execution and a restrictive philosophy, can he bring in enough talent to succeed in the modern game? Recruiting: D+ Scouting: C Offense: C+ Defense: C+ Mark Horton Horton is a '40 Minutes of Hell' devotee combined with an ultra-modern pace-and-space approach. Constant use of the full-court press will be utilized combined with maximum 3-point firepower to run up the score as high as possible. Steals and 3-point shooting are the most important aspects of his philosophy, and he will recruit accordingly. Recruiting: C Scouting: C Offense: C+ Defense: D+ John Reinhart A strong proponent of zone defense schemes, Hargrove will run the 2-3 zone almost exclusively. He prefers his teams to be big, physical, and tough as nails. They will attack and defend the paint will reckless abandon on both ends, even it means allowing a weakness on the perimeter. At the start at least, Reinhart is the defensive guru of the group. Horace emphasizes the defensive end of the floor. His motto is 'give nothing away'. He's much rather have scores in the 40s or 50s than suffer a player who can't play defense to see the floor for him. Recruiting: C Scouting: C Offense: C- Defense: B-

04-08-2015, 11:47 PM	#3
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Humble Beginnings -- 2015 Job Offers The fabulous five have come of age. Each is 30 years old and now has the opportunity to seek their opportunities at glory on the hardwood. Charles Hernandez was the first to take a job, jumping at the chance to coach in the Ivy League with Iona. While the Ivy is only a shadow of what it once was, traditional academic powers Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Yale are still there. Soon afterwards, Neal Barnett impetuously jumped at the chance to head up an Evansville program that is coming off a winning season. John Reinhart headed to Centenary in the Big South, while the others waited to see what would shake out. Lehigh(Patriot League) was in a pretty desperate situation and decided to take a chance on Horace Hargrove, while and Norfolk State(Atlantic Sun) considered the other two but rejected them. Patience is sometimes rewarded, but this was decidedly not the case for Mark Horton, who ended up at Hampton, the single worst program in division I. Bottom-dwelling conferences all here, it was simply a matter of the degree of ineptitude involved. SCHOOL HISTORIES John Reinhart(Centenary) All-time winning percentage: .457(240th) 20-win seasons: 14(98) Conference Titles: 4 season, 5 tournament, most recently in 84 and 96 respectively NCAA record: 0-5 NIT record: 2-8 CBI: 3-5 CIT: 6-6 Total postseason: 11-24(.314) Other: Centenary does have three invitational titles to it's credit, having won the Boulder Classic('52 and '74) along with GDS Invitational('76). The program was once better than it is. We are now nearly two decades removed from the most recent appearance in the Big Dance. For the past 11 years, the same coaching staff led by James Koehler(retired after last year) has floundered it's way along to an average mark of 10-21, with only one winning season in the bunch which led to an immediate first-round loss in the CIT. Reinhart has work to do. Neal Barnett(Evansville) All-time winning percentage -- .486(163rd) 20-win seasons: 15 Conference titles: 9 season('05), 8 tournament('01) NCAA: 0-9 NIT: 7-14 CBI: 3-2 CIT: 12-5(champions in '83 and '02) Total Postseason: 22-30(.423) Other: '63 GDS Tip-Off Tourney, '70 Tennessee Challenge After back-to-back NCAA appearances to open the 21st century, it's been a relative dry spell for Evansville. Dante Foster retired after a five-year run in which the team was usually competitive but never good, culminating in last year's 17-15 mark and a first-round exit in the CIT. It is hoped that Barnett will build on this. It was only an average of 12 victories over that span. Charles Hernandez(Iona) All-time winning percentage -- .492(149th) 20-win seasons: 17 Conference titles: 12 season('87), 4 tournament('69) NCAA: 6-12(1 Sweet 16) NIT: 6-9 CBI: 6-5 CIT: 7-2(1 championship in '96) Total Postseason: 25-28(.472) Other: Rainbow Invitational('50), GDS Tip-Off Tournament('81, '85) For the first 30 years, Iona played in the MAAC. It reached it's peak in the early 60s as an up-and-down but generally successful program on the verge of breaking through the mid-major barrier and become a real power in the sport. Then the school joined the Ivy League, and three-year stretch of 20-win seasons from 76-78, the last of which saw them reach the Sweet 16 for the first and only time, provided hope they might still do it. Since then, there have been only a pair of 20-win campaigns and there have been eight straight losing seasons and 16 of the last 17. After last year's 7-22 debacle, first-year coach David Brown became an only-year coach, summarily retiring. It seems that the board has decided that if they are going to suck on the court, they should at least be able to trumpet a clean, integrity-driven basis. The odds of Iona seeing the positive side of a .500 record anytime soon ... well, they aren't good. Mark Horton(Hampton) All-time winning percentage -- .410(325th) 20-win seasons: 6 Conference titles: 6 season('02), 4 tournament('89) NCAA: 2-4 NIT: 6-8 CBI: 0-1 CIT: 5-5 Total Postseason: 13-18(.419) Other: None Seven of Hampton's ten MEAC crowns and four of the six 20-win years came before the end of the 50s. That was the golden era for the program, such as it was. The past half-century has been horrific. Even the two tournament wins are a bit deceiving, as both occurred in the 'first four' prior to getting blasted in the next round. The last post-season win came in 1987 in the CIT, and there has only been one bid, to the NIT, in the last 25 years. The program has endured 12 straight losing seasons since then. Following 63 wins in six years and not a winning record in the MEAC among them, Joshua Lankford was fired from his first top job. He was an ace recruiter, though you can be forgiven for not being able to tell looking at the roster -- he couldn't tell a talented player from a grapefruit, sadly -- and a defensive specialist. With Horton, the board is definitely going in a different direction. Horace Hargrove(Lehigh) All-time winning percentage -- .451(250th) 20-win seasons: 12 Conference titles: 12 season('02), 9 tournament('12) NCAA: 2-9(1 Sweet 16 in '87) NIT: 9-13 CBI: 0-2 CIT: NA Total Postseason: 11-24(.314) Other: GDS Invitational('71) Lehigh is definitely the best of the startups, both in terms of recent success and program prestige. Horace Hargrove chose well in that sense. The late 80s and early 90s are considered the golden era here. In 1987 Lehigh snagged both of it's all-time NCAA wins in reaching the second week, followed by an NCAA or NIT appearance in the next six years though they remarkably failed to win a single game in any of those opportunities. Gary Vogt was fired after 12 years, having won 10 or fewer games in four of the last five seasons. He went through three different staffs, the last being the current one for the past several years. Vogt had a real eye for talent but prospects simply didn't respond to him. Perhaps he should have stayed at BC as an assistant. He doesn't understand modern offensive execution well either. Hargrove is roughly similar but should do a little better on the recruiting trail. Hopefully that will be enough to succeed where his predecessor failed.

04-09-2015, 12:41 AM	#4
korme Go Reds Join Date: May 2001 Location: Bloodbuzz Ohio	Awesome

04-10-2015, 07:45 AM	#5
muns Pro Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Baltimore MD	I like it! Following along for the ride

04-10-2015, 02:24 PM	#7
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Thanks! Too bad Lehigh was gutted and will probably suck, at least for a while here ... 2015 OFFSEASON John Reinhart(Centenary) Staff Hiring Coaching Assistant Jeremiah Gasaway(36, average offense, below average defense) will remain from the previous regime. He's the only one who will though. Olen Black is a below-average recruiter, William Wilson is an ok scout but a little too expensive. Reinhart thinks they can do better on both fronts. The new scout is Darryl Pope(40, average). Recruiter Brian Krauss(34) is not as much of an upgrade as hoped for, a bit below average, but still an improvement over Black. Recruiting Four scholarships available this year, with small forward the biggest need, followed by help for a young backcourt. Centenary doesn't rank high on anyone's list who isn't a 1-star prospect. August C Anibal Omara(7-0, 247) -- Not in Top 5 but no immediate offers, he has great size and we see him as an immediate contributor inside offensively, both in terms of scoring and on the boards. Defensively he's much less impressive. SG David Firth(6-1, 203) -- 5th, no offers in. This guy Reinhart debated on. He's quick, has great hops, and can shoot the three already. The potential is there for a guy who can defend, attack the basket, and knock it down from the line when he's fouled, but the trip to Littlefield incurs significant expense(6k out of an 11k budget for the full package). He's also a bit undersized for the scoring guard. Really he needed to go all in on a quality swingman, and that meant trying for more of a sure thing in the backcourt. It sucks having to pass on such a premium talent ... SF Graham Marotta(6-9, 234) -- 5th, no offers in. Northwestern State is the only one that's really out of our class though. Potential ability to score inside or from distance and hit the glass. Perimeter defense is a big liability. SF Federico Fuentes(6-7, 211) -- 2nd, no offers. Better defender but not as much on the offensive end. Distance is again an issue(Presidio, TX). For that reason it's Marotta who gets the treatment instead. * PG Lou Dietrich(6-2, 176) -- Probably more a 2-guard in terms of style of play, but solid potential and at last heard we were the only school he was interested in. The hope here is to lock him up quickly and focus on the forwards. September Omara had offers from two other schools and still wasn't showing Centenary any love, so he had to be dropped. The situation was more complicated with Marotta, who had us up to second but offers in from Mississippi Valley State(third) and Jackson State(fourth). Dietrich still says we are the only game in town, and Fuentes keeps us in second despite the fact that we are his only offer so far. There's really nobody who can give what Marotta brings, so as long as we're still the top offering school on the board Reinhart is keeping up the effort with him. We still can't afford to go hard on Fuentes but we do bring him in for a visit. A couple of local forwards are scouted with the hope of finding something others have missed. PG Brian Cook(5-10, 161) -- We're third with no offers in here, and it looks like the best potential option to pick up somebody for that fourth spot. October** We've been leapfrogged by both of the other schools on Marotta, disappointing but clearly there's no real chance of landing him. The other three are looking strong though. Dietrich, Fuentes, and Cook all list us #1 with no other offers in. By bringing in Cook for a visit now to close the deal, there really isn't money to pursue a fourth. All we can do is put an offer out there. * PF Andrew Johnson(6-7, 240) -- The only guy left that we have graded out at decent potential. It's time to just find somebody who might not completely suck, and we're still the only school on his board. Decent athlete with the potential to rebound and score inside.

04-10-2015, 02:27 PM	#8
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Neil Barnett(Evansville) Staff Hiring The staff here really is decent. However, coaching assistant John Roldan(44, subpar defense, decent offense) has to go since he makes too much at just over $35k. $30k per position is all the program can really afford, and they should be able to find a serviceable assistant for that price to squeeze a bit more funds into recruiting. Adam Benites(42) is the man. He's a hair below average on both ends of the floor, but really we couldn't expect to do better. Recruiting 4 scholarships here, more or less equal need at all positions. August * C Tyrone Dorsey(6-9, 231) -- We're third with no other offers in and Dorsey looks like a sleeper. Strong as an ox, potential to be a true blue-chipper, particularly good scoring inside and on the defensive boards. The budget's limited and all that but Barnett just has to take a shot here. PG Chas Brown(5-10, 158) -- There are a couple guys that Evansville thinks can step in right away and contribute, and diminutive Brown is the best shot at one of them. He's pretty quick and could become a very tough cover as a scoring point. We're third with no offers in yet. SG Shelton Radcliff(JC, 6-6, 188) -- This is the other guy. Fourth with no offers, and the three ahead of us are all just slightly more well-known programs. Fantastic athlete, good potential offensively and rebounding. The budget allows only for an assistant visit though. * C Charles Stanton(6-9, 223) -- If Dorsey doesn't come, this defensive stalwart, strong for his size, will hopefully fit the backup role and gets the final offer. We're first on his board, but he's considering some local mid-majors and if they jump in we're toast. September Offers came in for a lot of players, drastically reducing Barnett's options. Stanton has one from Lipscomb and has dropped us to third, so we're out on him. Radcliff has us up to second, but Mississippi Valley State is first and it would be tough to compete with them. Out there as well. There are two other offers in for Brown ... but as for now we are his #1 so the effort will stay in that case. Dorsey still likes us, but unfortunately he also likes Indiana State. They're a bigger program but not by that much, and HC Lionel Sabol is not known for his recruiting prowess. It's a case where there's a decent shot of stealing him, and the payoff would be monstrous. Barnett stays in there. So Dorsey and Brown are still possibilities, contested ones though, and there's not a whole lot to choose from for the last two spots. Like Hargrove, he didn't really have the money to go pursue SF Jonathan Nunez from Michigan, but given the lack of options he did it anyway with an offer and a campus visit. In the hope of finding something better for the last spot a number of local scouting trips were scheduled. October MSU decided Nunez was worth an offer, and that means Evansville is dead in the water there. Brown has narrowed his list to two, and we're still on top with SIU-Edwardsville chasing. Dorsey has done the same, but we're second behind Indiana State still. He still lists his interest in us as very high, so we're sticking around. * SG Arthur Smith(6-3, 176) -- Smith is the one guy among the recent scouts that looks like he has promise. No offers are in for him yet. Elite potential in passing and 3-point shooting, he could play either guard position and serviceable defensively as well. Even if Dorsey comes, it looks like Barnett will be dragging the bottom of the river for the fourth offer. No idea who would get it yet.

04-10-2015, 02:30 PM	#9
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Charles Hernandez(Iona) Staff Hiring Again here it's the coaching assistant, Gary Singley, who has to go. The price is fine and he's a hair better than average on offense, but literally no better than the man off the street when it comes to the defensive end. Replacement Alexander Gray is below average in both categories, a little better at defense than he is at offense. It's a little disappointing that Hernandez couldn't find someone better, but it's still an upgrade over Singley on the aggregate. With only 11 players on the roster and a hole at shooting guard, a transfer offer was submitted to Bowling Green's George Boulware, the only interested players who met our standards. He can't defend to save his life, but beggars can't be choosers. He accepted the offer and joined the roster. After that, a group of centers who aren't collectively worth a pitcher of warm spit were summarily ignored. Recruiting Biggest need is at the primary perimeter scoring positions, off-guard and small forward. With only two scholarships to use, one of each would be optimal. With the standards Hernandez has, recruiting is simplified if nothing else. There were only 13 prospects with significant interest who made the grade. Only one is a small forward, so the hope is the evaluation goes well on him. August It was astonishing to see the scouting reports come back with not one, not two, but three legitimate blue-chip potentials! Unfortunately two of them we can scratch right away. C Jeff Bader(7-0, 284) -- 3rd and no offers. Bader could be a real sleeper. The question is whether we can steal him out from under the nose of Toledo and Dayton. Perhaps, but he's a project and we have good if not great players closer to home. * SG Harry Chavez(6-3, 188) -- Mid-range game, good passing and ballhandling, a solid guard to build around. With the forwards not particularly impressive, this is our top priority. 2nd with no offers here, but Hofstra can probably have him for the asking. We can only hope they don't ask. PG John Doherty(6-2, 176) -- The only immediate contributor on the board, Doherty is already quick with elite ball skills and a decent passer. He could become a great passer and if so would really be a find. Third, with no offers and we'd have a fighting chance against the schools ahead. SF Bryant Tyler(6-6, 232) -- We don't like the fact that he's a near-disaster in terms of team offensive basketball, but there isn't a better forward out there and he is a very good athlete with passable defensive skills so it wouldn't be a total loss. We can only give a half-hearted effort with the remaining budget, and there's no offers left. Presently we are third on the board. September Chavez and Doherty have Iona as #1 with no other offers in, so it's looking good here. No offers in on any of the backup targets either. October Offers came in for a number of backup targets this month, including the only forward option in Tyler. Two came in for Doherty as well but he holds with Iona as his top choice. We're still unopposed on Chavez. Shockingly, Bader still has no offers. If Doherty turns us down in favor of the competition, it looks like we'll be going there next. Some more scouting trips are set up as well.

04-10-2015, 02:33 PM	#10
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Mark Horton(Hampton) Staff Hiring An empty cupboard here, literally. It's been so bad that the whole batch jumped ship, and Horton must start from scratch. So who wants to coach at the worst program in the country for a completely unproven head man playing an extreme, experimental style? Don't everyone beat the door down at once!! Coaching Assistant Tracy Sparks(26) brings average offensive skills but is definitely below-average on defense. Unfortunate, but a real quality assistant requires a real basketball program. Roger Moncrief(32) was a win, a legitimately serviceable scout. Another youngster starting out, recruiter Clark Plunkett(25) is a bit below average but reasonable quality for this level of play. The roster is short a man, but there was not a single transfer interested in coming here. Not particularly surprising. A useless malcontent from Centenary later voiced an interest, but he's not worth it. Recruiting Two point guards were graduating, making that the top priority. A center would be nice as well, but there are only two positions available. August Point guards would be nice and all, but we have a developing situation. Specifically, a pair of guys with blue-chip potential(or so we think) that there may actually be a shot of landing. * SG Leonard Massie(6-3, 171) -- This is the long shot: we're not even on his list with interest declining, but none of the big schools he's chasing are chasing him. Massie is All-State in North Carolina and we think he's good enough to play right away. Perhaps his hideous ballhandling is scaring the big boys away, but the way he can shoot from the perimeter and jump, it's safe to say I think we could find a spot for him on the court for the nation's worst team. * PF Elliot Ramirez(6-8, 215) -- Third on the board with no offers, ODU is the question mark here. Inside scoring, good vision for a big man, and a guy who really creates turnovers. Athleticism and ballhandling are definitely issues but he can rebound and defend immediately, even though we still classify him as quite raw overall. PG Joseph Kirkham(6-3, 196) -- He's our backup right now if(when?) the studs fall through. Good potential as a scoring point, but an assistant visit is all we can afford. September A number of players told us we could stick our interest where the sun don't shine. Massie has an offer from North Carolina Central, and the odds of outbidding them aren't good. In all, we had to give up on two thirds of our list, including fellow pipe-dreamer Ramirez. Hampton is up to first on Kirkham's board though, so it looks like we are definitely going to engage the backup plan on him. * PG William Conyers(6-3, 195) -- The only other half-decent point on our board, he has us fifth but no offers in yet. He has one now. A few more players were added, with scouts on a couple, as the initial wave of offers ravaged Horton's options. October The carnage continues. We quickly lost out on Conyers, and while we are still #1 with Kirkham he has two other offers in so we can only hope our early interest impresses him. SG Millard Bailey(6-3, 173) -- Next up on the carousel, the better of two local guards with decent potential. He gets the full package. Three more in-case scouting trips, after that it starts to get really scary. Calls are scheduled to several local 1-star guys who are reasonably interested in Hampton, but that's a long-shot Horton hopes he doesn't have to play.

04-10-2015, 02:37 PM	#11
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Horace Hargrove(Lehigh) Staff Hiring Surprisingly, it's empty here as well as everyone left. After seven years disappointing years together, they apparently all felt it was time to go their separate ways. Scout Michael Hoyos(53, average) and assistant John Martin(slightly below average offense, average defense) were good, reasonable finds but the recruiting spot remained open. Charles Lin(61, average) filled the spot and Hargrove was pleased overall with the results of the job search. This group should manage not to embarass itself, and that's all he could really ask for. The one thing Hargrove needs is players. There are only nine on the roster, six scholarships free. He hoped to make a splash in the transfer period. SF James Alvarez(Long Beach State), Richard Thorn(Syracuse), and James Reinke(Rider) received offers. None were polished right now, but Reinke, a former Top 200 recruit, was the prize if he'd come. He chose Arkansas State instead, but Alvarez did accept. Jules Mitchell(Samford) was added later. He's nothing to get excited about either, but getting a couple warm bodies in will help this year and recruiting will be urgent. On and on it went, with a center deciding to go to Buffalo instead. Recruiting With the incoming transfers there were three remaining spots, a much more manageable number. Optimally a point guard, small forward, and center would fill out the roster. August * C Desmond Williams(6-11, 240) -- Another one of those tough choices. This is the one guy on the board who looks like a potential blue-chip prospect. Not much of an athlete but elite defense and scoring inside. He's raw though, and Fairfield is already in with an offer but they are still behind Lehigh on his list. In the end, Hargrove decided the chance of holding off a program twice as regarded as his was just not likely. * C Kenneth Giles(JC, 6-9, 234) -- The other option in the middle. A much better shot at landing Giles who could help right away but he's a JC transfer and an academic risk to go with it. Still he looked like the best option here. * PG Joe Fried(6-2, 192) -- This has the look of too good to be true. Fried is All-State in New York and yet Lehigh is the only school on his list right now. He's an elite scoring point who unfortunately can't defend much with limited athleticism. Not the style Hargrove is looking for but there are times when you just need to unleash a talent, and Fried could be that guy. * SF Jonathan Nunez(6-7, 247) -- An All-State performer, Nunez would be the choice here if the travel to Michigan wasn't prohibitively expensive. * SF Raymond Thao(6-6, 226) -- There were other ways to go here, but all the swingman options are long-shots. All are projects, and Thao has relatively modest potential but is probably the best chance at landing someone which is the priority here. Good interior defender, he creates turnovers on defense and can handle the ball with a downside of being a turnstile on the perimeter. September Thao now has a full slate of offers and Lehigh is nowhere to be found among his choices. Fried has interest in some bigger schools, but none are in with an offer yet and we're still tops. We're #1 for Giles as well, so that pair are looking like strong possibilities, and we're officially out on Williams as well. At this point Nunez is so much better than any other potential that expense be damned, we've got to put in the effort. A few more bottom-dwelling locals are added to the board as well. October** You can stick a fork in Nunez, with Michigan State offering as mentioned with one of the other coaches, as well as a few others that were backups here. The good news is potential impact players Giles and Fried still have us as #1 with no other offers yet. The bad news is trying to get a quality guy for that #3 spot. One local guard is marginally interested but Binghamton is ahead of us with getting an offer in there, and there just isn't anyone else that looks good. So it's on the road again with a dozen scouting trips and more calls than that, looking for that local boy who might be a needle in a haystack.

04-10-2015, 03:39 PM	#12
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Great stuff, looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Looks like I've reopened the interest in FBCB with my Interactive Dynasties!

04-11-2015, 02:52 PM	#14
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	2015 PRESEASON John Reinhart(Centenary) Early Commits #1 with no other offers on all four primary targets. That probably means they are all nearly useless, but there's little option having struck out on the better players(Omara, Marotta). Starters True freshman Michael Blume(6-1, 179, *, #259) is the biggest question mark here on the roster. Reinhart has been raving about his quickness and court vision, both of which will be needed as he runs the offense this year. Alongside him is senior Dennis Camire(6-3, 199, 11.4 ppg, 34% 3pt fg), a long-distance specialist who can defend as well. The frontcourt all returns from last year as well. Senior Arnold McCoy(9.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 47% fg), sophomore Gerald Cimino(7.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 45% fg), and junior Cordell Bradley(6.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 48% fg) form an undersized but strong and talented frontcourt. Cimino is considered the weak link among the starters, the rest are all quite capable. Reserves The bench can go five deep with reasonably serviceable players, including instant offense sophomore guard Vincent Nunnery(11.3 mpg, 53% fg), defensive specialist and rebounder senior center Leo Rockwood(20.3 mpg, 5.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg), and another pair of true freshman in guard Michael Goff and center William Rojo. Redshirts None. Sophomore forward Saturnino Gutierrez is expected to be a regular reserve, and he was the only one willing to consider it. Outlook** Centenary should be a very solid and deep team this year, and they could well get better the next couple of years as the young talent develops. Blume is a potential star, he'll never be much of a scorer but in most other facets he could be really impressive. There are a number of others who can potentially get much better. Reinhart has the tools here to make an immediate splash. The expectations are for a .500 conference mark, and that really should be very achievable. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 04-11-2015 at 02:59 PM.

04-11-2015, 03:03 PM	#17
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Mark Horton(Hampton) Early Commitment No commitment yet, but everyone else has bugged out on Kirkham so it looks like he's ours. * SG Chadwick Wray(6-3, 181) -- This guy came in the scouting trips, a project but potentially elite all-around defender and scorer in the paint. The talent difference is enough that, since an offer was never given to Bailey, it won't be now. Horton can only hope the eval was correct ... Starters Senior point Stephen Grooms(10.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.5 apg) had to shoot way too much last year and carry the offense, and his accuracy plummeted from 41 to 35% as a result. If that happens again, Hampton is in trouble. He's the one unquestionably solid player on the roster(almost 5 rpg for a guy who stands six foot flat is just scary good), though his defense is lacking a bit, but he needs to not be the primary scoring option. Sophomore David Vargas is another returning starter, another good rebounding guard(10.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and hopefully he'll continue to improve. Undersized junior forward Vern Jones(9.1 ppg, 39% fg) got a handful of starts last year, as did his classmate Rodney Dawes(4.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.9 bpg). Both will be relied upon more heavily this season. Center is the weak spot, with sophomore German Brown(9.6 mpg, 3.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 52% fg) most likely to fill it. Reserves Hideous, every last one of them. Sophomore forward Geoffrey Boisvert(8.7 mpg) is the only one worth mentioning with any experience. He's one of a few with moderate talent, but whether that ever turns into anything is another question. Redshirts Freshman guard Mark Stainaker, a man of limited skill, will sit this year out. Outlook With two sophomores and two juniors starting, it's a young team. There's little to suggest Hampton won't struggle to reach double-digit wins. A break-even record in conference play, which has only happened here once in the past decade, is quite a stretch but the AD is holding firm on it.

04-15-2015, 12:17 PM	#19
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	November 2015 John Reinhart(Centenary) 11.24 Centenary(0-0) @ Oklahoma State(1-1) -- W 54-52 After a respectable 9-9 start in which Centenary was successful at limiting OSU to one shot consistently, they proceeded to go on a ten-minute scoreless streak that put the Cowboys up 24-9 with four minutes to go in the first half. That could well have been the game, but they played with an impressive and desperate physicality to end the half on an 8-0 run and cut the lead to seven. The second half saw both teams make runs. Centenary cut the lead to a single point, Oklahoma State extended to a ten-point lead, only to see most of it vanish again. A driving basket by Dennis Camire evened it up for the first time since the opening minutes at 43-all with less than five minutes to go, but the Cowboys hit a jumper immediately to go back in front. It seemed they had an answer for every push. McCoy set up Cordell Bradley for a rare shot from the left wing which found the target to tie it up yet again, 52-all with 26 seconds left. An ill-advised foul by Michael Blume, in his first collegiate game, put OSU at the line with 17 seconds to go ... but they missed the front end, and backup guard Michael Goff drove, grabbed his own miss, and put it back in at the buzzer! An incredible win to start off Reinhart's career. Centenary played solid, physical, fundamental basketball for the most part, kept coming back and coming back and coming back. At one point the Cowboys led 52-45 with less than two minutes left, having hit three shots in a row -- but they would not score again and Centenary scored the last nine to take the win in their only game for the month. Forwards Gerald Cimino and Arnold McCoy had 15 points apiece, and a strong 42-31 rebounding edge led the way to victory. Blume shot just 1-6 from the field but had three assists and only one turnover in 30 minutes, directing the offense with few mistakes and a couple of nice plays. Synopsis It's hard to tell much from one game, but it was a good win to start the year. Recruiting Brian Cook has decided to go to Nicholls State, but Lou Dietrich and Federico Fuentes have committed. Andrew Johnson still looks like a lock, if unofficial. Unfortunately, the recent scouts turned up nobody promising.

04-15-2015, 01:12 PM	#20
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Neil Barnett(Evansville) 11.16 Evansville(0-0) @ Kentucky(0-0) -- W 96-95 11.18 Evansville(1-0) @ Southern(0-1) -- W 79-69 11.24 Evansville(2-0) @ Fairleigh Dickinson(2-1) -- L 68-60 11.27 Evansville(2-1) @ Notre Dame(1-2) -- L 79-71 11.29 Evansville(2-2) @ #21 Saint Louis(3-1) -- L 93-69 This is a fun way to open the year. It was a foul-fest early on, and UK was in the penalty less than four minutes in. Starting forwards Roberts and Martinez had to go to the bench for most of the first half due to the fouls, but with Szabo leading the way and surprisingly good defense Evansville nursed a small lead throughout the first half. In the second, able to stay on the court this time, Roberts played a key role with timely passing and shooting, and midway through the half they'd opened up a stunning ten-point lead. That's when it turned into the Scot Felts Show. He blocked two shots in a row for Kentucky, then got a rebound on the next possession and an assist on the other end. Just like that, the gap was only 70-68. Evansville had a small lead most of the game, but a barrage of threes by Kentucky threatened all the way to the end. It wasn't until the final seconds that the razor-thin final margin was preserved. An instant classic, with plenty of heroes. Roy Nelson(10 pts, 10 reb) had a double-double, Arthur Szabo was ridiculous(28 pts on 7-16 fg, 6 rebs, player of the game), and Roberts had 14 second-half points. Kentucky committed 32 fouls, leading to a 30-13 edge in free-throw points. Szabo went off again against Southern, getting multiple 3-point plays both the modern and the old-fashioned way in the closing minutes to help Evansville pull away. In the game, John Blanks suffered the least costly 'broken foot' injury in basketball history, as he was out for only hours, ready to go the next day. Absolutely nothing went right against Fairleigh Dickinson, an 18-2 start in less than six minutes and it was uphill all day. A near-perfect ten minutes after halftime cut the lead to five, but they couldn't sustain the momentum after trailing by over 20 much of the first half. The Notre Dame game was better, but they were very effective at stifling Evansville's attack, blocking Szabo multiple times at the rim and giving up virtually no second-chance points. Notre Dame dominated the boards most of the game, Szabo(team-high 16 pts) and Blanks(14 pts) fouled out, and it was fortunate the game stayed as close as it did. They finished up the month giving their first ranked opponent, Saint Louis, all they wanted until late in the first half. Szabo went for 21 in the loss. Synopsis Two wins followed by three losses. Could be better or worse, but a decent start to the year. Arthur Szabo(21.8 ppg, 46% fg, 3.2 rpg, 1.8 spg) is absolutely exploding with the switch to off guard. Tony Beals(11.2 ppg, 46% fg, 3.6 rpg) and Carroll Roberts(9.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 50% fg) lead a solid supporting cast so far. The problems have been largely defensive in nature: they are allowing almost 40% shooting from distance, and nearly double-digits in the hole in rebounding per game. Given that all five games have been on the road, it's still a solid start. Recruiting Arthur Smith still looks solid as the probable second recruit, #1 and no other offers in. The recent reports don't show anybody that looks like a significant talent, but there a couple of decent big men. * C Chris Metzler(6-11, 277) -- A horribly out-of-shape and low-ranking prospect, but Barnett sees him as potentially a versatile reserve big man with size and rebounding capabilities. Most of the month's activities went to more scouting.

04-15-2015, 01:14 PM	#21
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Charles Hernandez(Iona) 11.17 Seton Hall(0-0) @ Iona(0-0) -- L 51-49 11.19 St. Peter's(1-0) @ Iona(0-1) -- L 59-41 11.22 Iona(0-2) @ San Diego State(2-0) -- L 77-61 11.28 Iona(0-3) @ Princeton(1-3) -- L 83-74 The 'bore-them-to-death' offense was unimpressive early on, but Seton Hall absolutely could not buy a shot so Iona pulled out to a decent lead anyway. It came down to a tie game in the final minute, when Seton Hall made a pair of free throws following an ill-advised foul late in the shotclock by Boulware. Edwards missed at the other end at the buzzer, and that was it. The Pirates shot less than 30% from the field, yet still managed to spoil Hernandez's debut. Phil Gibson went for 14, 12, and 3 assists in the defeat. The next time out things went even worse. When you can't hit a shot(35% fg) and have 24 turnovers, bad things happen. A visit to Princeton made for an interesting matchup, as they are a program Hernandez would like to take over eventually, and they were the school that switched into the MAAC when Iona joined the Ivy in 1969. Buried early, they pulled within 74-72 with two minutes to go, but couldn't finish the rally. You won't win many giving up 55 in the first half as they did in this game, but it was a much better offensive showing than they had previously. Synopsis It would have been nice to get the opener vs. Seton Hall. Hernandez is the only one of the coaches to go 0-for-November, and only 17 teams are averaging less than Iona's 56.3 ppg. The only thing they do even decently on offense is shoot free throws(68%). George Boulware(12.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Phil Gibson(12.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg), and Harold Wolter(10.3 ppg, 1.0 spg) are pretty much it. Those three aren't doing bad at all, hitting on nearly 45% of their attempts. It'd be nice if Gibson would stay in the paint and stop taking threes, but little else to complain about. The problem is that nobody else can make the shots the patient offense in giving them. The rest of the roster has almost half the attempts, and is making exactly 31% of them. Overall, Iona is 325th in offensive efficiency. If that doesn't change, many more losses will soon come. Starting point guard John Edwards(8-36) is by far the biggest culprit. True freshman Dane McCormick isn't doing much better in the shooting department, but does have a better 3-point shot and has been better in the assist and turnover numbers so far. He's also definitely a big part of the team's future, though not as good defensively as Edwards. He'll get a shot at the starting job the next couple of weeks ... something's got to change here. Defensively Iona is forcing very few turnovers and rebounding is a concern, but otherwhise they are doing pretty well on that end. Recruiting Things were much better here. John Doherty has committed and with that a pair of talented, 3-star guards are set to play for Iona next year. There's nothing left to do but try to get some wins on the court.

04-15-2015, 01:17 PM	#22
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Mark Horton(Hampton) 11.18 Hampton(0-0) @ Western Kentucky(0-1) -- W 102-94 11.21 Hampton(1-0) @ Valparaiso(0-0) -- W 73-63 11.23 Hampton(2-0) @ Southern Utah(1-1) -- L 90-66 11.26 Hampton(2-1) @ Norfolk State(0-2) -- W 68-52 11.30 Hampton(3-1) @ VCU(3-1) -- W 89-76 Horton's career did not start off well. They couldn't defend a thing and trailed pretty much the entire first half against WKU, but David Vargas(27 points, 6-7 3pt FG) exploded in the second half and they finished over 61% shooting for the day with all five starters in double figures. The rest of the team only got off five triples, and they forced only ten turnovers(two steals) on the day so there was a lot to not be happy with, but hitting the century mark in the first game is still very nice. Any win for Hampton, especially on the road, is worthy of celebration. Against Valpo they did much better of implementing Horton's system, blowing open a close game midway through the first half with turnovers, mostly courtesy of the pressure though the hosts' incompetence helped as well. They tried to press fairly often as well, but more often than not those attempts ended in a Hampton layup or dunk. It was a good thing, because a 20-point lead was quickly halved as the offense sputtered in a bevy of bricked shots and turnovers. Stephen Grooms scored 16 to lead the way to victory in an ugly second half, but the team is still failing to get up a decent amount of threes. Southern Utah gave them a rude awakening, handing Hampton their first loss of the year. Norfolk State tried a 3-2 zone approach to limit the perimeter attack, which worked for the first few minutes at which point Vargas nailed back-to-back triples. An eight-minute scoreless streak for Norfolk allowed them to build a 13-point lead, and it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. None of the starters were all that impressive but Vargas led the team with 16 points, while Shad Brandes(13 points, 3 rebs, 3 assists) was probably the best in a reserve role. VCU chased them off the 3-point line most of the first half, but Hampton hit over 60% of their two-point attempts in the first half en route to a four-point lead. David Vargas scored 21 as they shot 55% from the field overall, needing almost all of them with VCU threatening to get back in the game several times prior to the final minutes. Synopsis Five road games, four wins. This is nothing short of astonishing, though it should be noted Hampton is last among the five with a 200 RPI -- the computers at least are not impressed with whom they've beaten so far. Averaging almost 80 ppg, Hampton has managed to not just score but also to be competitive in rebounding and turnovers. Particularly impressive is the fact that they are hitting 43% from 3-point range while allowing only 27%. They are not yet a track-meet squad, barely in the Top 100 in pace and well behind, for example, Neil Barnett's Evansville team in that department. David Vargas is putting in 17 ppg, followed by Stephen Grooms(13.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg), who has been one of the best-rebounding guards around. Center German Brown(6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.4 apg) leads the team in assists, while backup guard Shad Brandes at 1.6 apg has more than either member of the starting backcourt. It's a very strange situation, but it doesn't appear to be broken, so there's no reason for Mark Horton to try and fix it. Recruiting Chadwick Wray and Joseph Kirkham have both committed. Horton's work here is done.

04-15-2015, 01:19 PM	#23
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Horace Hargrove(Lehigh) 11.15 Lehigh(0-0) @ Richmond(0-0) -- L 59-47 11.17 Lehigh(0-1) @ Buffalo(1-0) -- W 74-64 11.25 Central Connecticut State(0-1) @ Lehigh(1-1) -- W 71-68 11.28 Lehigh(2-1) @ Robert Morris(2-0) -- L 89-54 Lehigh opened with a game that was a comedy of errors, but after a solid start the offense deserted them late in the first half and they were never able to recover. Tommy Campagna kept them in the second game against Buffalo, scoring 15 of his 22 in the opening stanza and the defense was able to disrupt the hosts in the second half en route to the first win of the season. The game against CCSU, though they lost by two in their opener, was just an exposure and RPI-booster. They are a national power, and even the home crowd was shocked when Lehigh led by four at the half, overcoming 10 turnovers with 9 three-point bombs. Despite managing just one field goal in the first six-plus minutes of the second half, they defended well enough to keep it close and pulled into the lead again when the shots began to fall. CCSU tied it up once with three minutes to go, but a tip-in by Campagna on the next possession put Lehigh in front for good. A stunning win here over a team of this stature. Johnathon Good had 16 points and 6 rebounds, Campagna filled up the stat sheet(10 pts, 6 rebs, 5 assists, and a steal), with Rohan Dyer(10 pts, 10 rebs) and Thomas Soris(10 points off the bench) also playing key roles. If they can get those kinds of contributions, Lehigh could well prove themselves better than advertised and more than just a good pair of guards. That didn't happen in an absolute catastrophe at Robert Morris. Good was scoreless, and Campagna not much better(3-15 fg) while Thomas Strawser savaged them for 27 & 11. Lehigh shot 3-22 from 3-point range. Synopsis Two up and two down. A solid start. Tommy Campagna(14.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.0 apg) leads the team as expected. Forward Olen Espinosa(12 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 spg) has been a pleasant surprise, but Jonathon Good(6.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, just 1.3 apg) has been underwhelming on offense though much of his value is on the defensive end. He's not taking bad shots, he's just not putting up the assists that Hargrove would have expected. Rohan Dyer(8 ppg, 8.5 rpg) has been a pleasantly physical force inside, while Joseph Alvarez is doing just what was expected of him -- making like a hole in the lineup. However, the offense is not scoring efficiently, to put it mildly. Campagna and Espinosa are both shooting just 32%. That duo has combined for almost half of Lehigh's shots, so it's a top priority to find a way to get them better attempts. For now, he'll work on trying to attack the basket a little more instead of settling for so many jumpers, and getting the ball into Good's hands more often so he can hopefully set up more opportunities for everybody else. Recruiting With two out of three spots left to fill, the picture has only gotten more muddied. Joe Fried is still #1 with no other offers ... but he is now thinking about Central Connecticut State. Hopefully our win over them will mean something, but in reality the hope is that they stay out. Chris Johnson looks probable, but far from certain as Lafayette is in with an offer now. * PF Nelson Eagle(6-9, 204) -- Eagle is by far the best of the recent scouts and has no interest anywhere else. He's the backup plan if Fried or Johnson don't pan out.

04-16-2015, 12:51 PM	#24
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	December 2015(First Half) John Reinhart(Centenary) 12.1 Centenary(1-0) @ Northwestern State(2-3) -- L 60-45 12.3 Centenary(1-1) @ Portland(1-3) -- W 66-63 12.5 Centenary(2-1) @ Houston Baptist(4-2) -- W 64-55 12.7 Centenary(3-1) @ Texas Christian(2-3) -- L 87-78 12.11 Centenary(3-2) @ Louisiana Tech(2-6) -- W 68-62 12.13 Centenary(4-2) @ McNeese State(5-0) -- W 78-76(2 OT) Playing from behind the whole game, Centenary suffered their first loss against Northwestern State despite staying within striking distance until the final minutes. Bradley had 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 assists, but the offense struggled with McCoy shooting just 1-10. Lamar Miller had 28 points(10-22 fg) at the other end. 11 Portland first-half turnovers enabled them to stay within three at the half in the next game, an emerging trend. Centenary has gotten off to a slow start each time, keeping it close and aiming for a momentum-changing rally. This time they did it right out of the break, scoring the first ten points on the second half thanks to good work on the boards and Blume's passing. With five minutes left and a six-point lead, backup guard Vincent Nunnery had to be taken off. Portland hit a three-pointer with 1:19 left, it could have been a four-point play but they missed at the line. Still the lead was down to 59-56, and Reinhart called for time. A pair of free-throws by Dennis Camire(game-high 23 pts) extended, but they gave up put-backs on consecutive possessions, then another three by Portland cut the lead to two. When Blume could only split a pair with 20 seconds left, the hosts had a chance to tie it. They missed just before the buzzer, and Centenary had a second tight road win! McCoy is struggling mightily though, scoreless on 0-4 today. Nunnery has a broken finger which will keep him out a little over a week. Against Houston Baptist, Centenary was the aggressor early and held a small lead throughout the first half. Their offense nearly ground to a halt in the second, and once again they were put in the position of trying to come from behind. They didn't win this one so much as Houston Baptist lost it, missing 5 of 6 free-throws and 0-3 from the field in the final two minutes. Gerald Cimino(12 pts, 12 rebs, 3 ast) was the star of the day. Texas Christian made it four road games in a week. No rest for the weary. It was a tight one, with TCU getting 25 points from their backcourt to lead by two after an up-tempo first half. The hosts started quickly in the second, but also got themselves in foul trouble which Centenary used to keep it close. TCU kept scoring and Reinhart's boys couldn't keep pace, trailing by as many as 11. A Camire triple cut it to five with a minute and a half left, but would not score again. It's hard to rally effectively when you can't get stops, and Texas Christian shot 57% for the game. McCoy snapped out of his slump with 19 points, which was a bit of a silver lining, while Blume had 10 assists with only one turnover. They just couldn't defend anything. Nunnery returned against Louisiana Tech. It was a tight game early marred by constant fouling, and Centenary lost a small lead late in the half to go in tied at 35. The teams traded runs and then settled in to a back-and-forth struggle again, with Centenary attempting to hold a narrow margin just as they did in the first 20 minutes. It was dead-even just inside two minutes left, and La. Tech star forward Emmett Shin(24 pts, 6 rebs) missed a pair at the line with 1:16 to go keeping it that way. A quick shot by Cimino missed, tip follows by Bradley and McCoy also didn't go in, but Cimino got an emphatic dunk to finally clean it up for a 64-62 lead. A traveling call, then Shin fouled out, and that was it. 18 points, 11 boards for McCoy in probably his best game of the year and Centenary notched another win. Three of the four victories have gone right down to the wire. McNeese State looked like yet another case of the same. There was no sign of intimidation at their unblemished resume. A physical contest from the start, points were harder and harder to come by as the end approached with little difference in the score. Up by seven, Centenary could not prevent a furious rally by McNeese, tying it up on a three-pointer by Joe Brown with 15 seconds to go. They trapped Cimino at midcourt, and they couldn't get off a shot in time. Once again in the extra session Centenary moved ahead on some good passing for easy scores. Once again they couldn't hold it, going into the final minute tied at 63. A bad pass by Blume gave the ball up, and Brown hit another three with 48 seconds left. Camire's attempt to tie was no good, but Leo Rockwood grabbed the rebound and McCoy made McNeese State pay with a buzzer-beater sending it to a second overtime!! McCoy again made the big play, a steal with Centenary up by three and a pair of free throws to extend it to five with 32 seconds on the clock. There wasn't quite enough time left for another rally, and McNeese State goes down to their first loss of the year in an epic game. Dennis Camire scored 20 to lead the way, Vincent Nunnery had 16 off the bench, and Arnold McCoy was the hero of both overtimes with 12, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Synopsis A 5-2 start on the road has gifted Centenary a fine RPI of 41. That will go down as they return home for three games against teams with losing records, but it's a great chance to fatten up the record. The trio of Gerald Cimino(12.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Dennis Camire(11 ppg, 3 rpg), and Arnold McCoy(10.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg) combines for three steals a game as well and leads the offense. Cordell Bradley(7.7 ppg, 8.9 rpg) has been solid in the middle and Michael Blume(4.4 ppg, 5.6 apg, 2.33 ratio) is already one of the better distributors around. Only nine players in the country have more assists and fewer turnovers. Overall, Centenary is 95th defensively but not nearly as good on offense despite the above-mentioned balance. They're not a particularly good free-throw or 3-point shooting team, with most of the team reasonably adept at scoring in one aspect but weak in others. Getting more consistency out of McCoy would help, but how exactly to do that is another matter. Given the number of close games they've won, they are probably not quite as good as their record but it's been a fine beginning nonetheless.

04-16-2015, 12:53 PM	#25
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Neil Barnett(Evansville) 12.7 Evansville(2-3) @ IPFW(3-3) -- L 93-69 12.9 Evansville(2-4) @ Eastern Kentucky(3-3) -- L 87-55 12.12 Evansville(2-5) @ #23 Illinois-Chicago(6-0) -- L 84-65 After having better than a week to contemplate their three-game skid, Barnett's charges headed to IPFW, a strong mid-major program. A fabulous first half by Carroll Roberts(17 pts) kept them even. They couldn't keep them off the line in the second half though, and as expected IPFW pulled away. Roberts finished with 23 pts, 6 rebs, shooting 9-13. Four straight. Eastern Kentucky prolonged the misery and continued a trend of Evansville not being able to guard anyone. EKU rebounded more of their own misses(25-18) than Evansville did. That's just sad. An 8-0 start against undefeated Illinois-Chicago, who didn't score until almost six minutes in, was certainly unexpected as a follow-up to three losses by an average of 26 points each! Once they got going though, there was little Evansville could do to stop them and the end result was sadly quite familiar. Synopsis Three straight blowouts to start December have Evansville on a six-game losing stretch. They have four more on the road to finish the month, so it won't get any easier for a while. Arthur Szabo has come back to earth a bit, but the bigger problem is they can't stop anyone(324th nationally). There aren't any real good options right now in terms of changing that reality, but it is hoped that once Rodriguez returns next month, Issac Comeaux may be able to be given a trial run at the point. Right now that would leave the team horribly short of reserve forwards.

04-16-2015, 12:54 PM	#26
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Charles Hernandez(Iona) 12.1 Iona(0-4) @ Quinnipiac(2-2) -- L 82-61 12.9 Iona(0-5) @ Canisius(5-3) -- L 81-73 12.11 Iona(0-6) @ Delaware(4-2) -- L 65-35 12.15 Iona(0-7) @ Wagner(3-4) -- L 67-54 Early returns from the lineup change were good with McCormick hitting an early three, but six steals in the first seven minutes by Quinnipiac were followed by an anemic stretch in which Iona gave up 15 unanswered. Wolter scored 16, 13 of them in the first half. The second was ugly with a capital U. Canisius looked the same, until an 11-3 run to start the second half pulled Iona within a pair and gave them the appearance of life. It didn't last. Twice in the final minutes they got within five again, but no closer. A game effort, but they aren't good enough to overcome the turnover disparity(-6 today). Wolter and Boulware combined for 39. Scoreless for over five minutes to start against Delaware, Iona managed three shotclock violations in that time frame. There would be many more before it was over. I think they are actually getting worse. Against Wagner they kept it close for a half, but couldn't keep up the pace in the second. Synopsis At this point it's a question of whether Iona will ever win a game. They're horrid on offense and almost as bad on defense where they rebound poorly and don't force enough turnovers. Junior Alfred Corbin will replace the bigger, more talented, but thus far fairly disastrous freshman Horace Syzmanski at center. Aside from that, the hopes are really pinned on getting Dennis Darrow back from academic suspension next month.

04-16-2015, 12:59 PM	#27
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Mark Horton(Hampton) 12.4 UNC Asheville(2-3) @ Hampton(4-1) -- W 88-62 12.8 Hampton(5-1) @ George Mason(1-3) -- L 78-64 12.10 #8 North Carolina(4-1) @ Hampton(5-2) -- L 119-87 12.16 #14 St. Peter's(9-0) @ Hampton(5-3) -- L 94-61 An entertaining up-and-down contest ensued in Hampton's home opener, and they pleased the crowd by pulling away late in the first half. Though they got sloppy later, just four turnovers through the first 30 minutes was the key to this runaway win. Grooms had 18 on just 8 attempts to lead five in double-figure scoring. It was good enough to get the team ranked #23 in the Mid-Major poll! At George Mason, Brandes had 8 of the team's first dozen points off the bench with the starters struggling to put points on the board. That would a constant theme in this game: GM just shot better. The turnovers mounted in the second half, and Hampton's winning streak was ended fairly meekly. Brandes finished with 14, the only player in double digits as Vargas/Grooms missed almost half the contest with foul problems. The eighth-ranked Tarheels were not exactly the ideal team to attempt to bounce back against, but it was entertaining. When you score 53 points in the first half and are barely in the game, you know it's a strange contest. Shooting-wise they were competitive, but via rebounds and turnovers NC had about 30 more possessions. St. Peter's invaded next, jumping out in front 17-5. It got worse later, but the result was foregone. Synopsis Losing the last three isn't as bad as it might first appear when you consider the competition in the last pair was top-notch. Over the last couple of weeks, junior backup point Shad Brandes(17.7 mpg, 9.7 ppg, 48% fg) has emerged as one of the team's best players. At the very least he sure looks like a good choice to take over once Grooms graduates.

04-16-2015, 01:04 PM	#28
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Horace Hargrove(Lehigh) 12.1 Lehigh(2-2) @ UNC Greensboro(0-2) -- W 86-56 12.3 Lehigh(3-2) @ La Salle(1-4) -- L 83-78 12.6 Seton Hall(4-2) @ Lehigh(3-3) -- L 51-50 12.10 Lehigh(3-4) @ Drexel(2-6) -- L 62-51 Espinosa picked up two quick fouls in just over a minute at UNC Greensboro, but Lehigh came out on fire and built a 20-point lead immediately. They shot 55% for the day with noted 'hole in the lineup' Joseph Alvarez, who had 17 points combined in the first four games, going for 21 on 8-10 shooting. Campagna and good combined for another 32 in a highly-impressive road shellacking. Early turnovers put them in a 18-7 hole early against La Salle, and they couldn't get enough stops to ever really get out of it. The final score was as close as they got. Back home against Seton Hall was an ugly game. How ugly? The halftime score was 18-all with both teams sporting identical 27% shooting from the field. It picked up after that, but Lehigh fell off the pace first to trail by seven. A Good triple with 3:09 left tied it back up at 45 for the first time in several minutes. After a trade of baskets, then a trade of misses, another three by Audley put Lehigh in front for the first time since early in the half, 50-49. Seton Hall missed a pair at the line, but Lehigh couldn't take advantage with Good missing on their next possession. The Pirates got the last laugh, with Avery Gomez knocking down a baseline jumper to win it as time expired. The score was eerily reminiscent of the way they beat Iona, also at home, in the season opener. Campagna(16 pts, 5 rebs) was the game-high scorer with nobody else on either team at more than 10. The rest of the team was just 2-17 from 3-pt. range. They had a chance against Drexel as well, and then made just three field goals in the final ten minutes. The offensive struggles continue, and Hargrove is at a loss what to do about them. Synopsis So far the team is really very middle-of-the-pack on both ends of the floor, which is more than was expected at the beginning of the year. Most of them shoot as well from 3 as they do from 2, giving Lehigh little choice but to live and die by the outside shot. That has made the offensive inconsistency all but inevitable. The Seton Hall game is one that really leaves a bad taste in the mouth -- a win there and they'd have a .500 record on the year.

04-19-2015, 03:34 AM	#29
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	December 2015(Second Half) John Reinhart(Centenary) 12.18 SE Missouri State(0-8) @ Centenary(5-2) -- W 70-63 12.20 -- Ranked #25 in the Mid-Major Top 25! 12.24 Grambling State(3-7, 0-0) @ Centenary(6-2, 0-0) -- W 59-54 12.26 Jacksonville State(4-6, 1-0) @ Centenary(7-2, 1-0) -- L 81-57 12.31 Centenary(7-3, 1-1) @ Presbyterian(7-4, 1-1) -- L 58-49 SE Missouri St. is a team that really ought to be better than they are, but has only one of it's losses by less than ten points: they've been getting blown out all year long. Centenary found that while it wasn't easy to defend them, they could get pretty much whatever they wanted offensively and pulled out to a double-digit lead late in the first half after a close game for the first 15 minutes. Points were harder to come by in the second half, and SE Missouri State made a game of it late, but Centenary did just enough to stay in front. The margin of seven points tied for the closest game the visitors have managed this year. It's not a win to feel great about, but it's still a win. Nobody had more than 10 points in a balanced effort. Grambling State was another tight one. Centenary played from just a bit behind almost the entire first half, unable to buy a shot or rebound though they did well in the turnover battle. They tied it up multiple times in the second half, but couldn't get over the hump. A stupid tech on Cimino for arguing a foul call ruined one chance, and Grambling State pulled out to lead by as many as seven. A mid-range jumper from the right wing by Cimino pulled them within 63-62 with a little over two to play, one final push to steal back the game, and Grambling State burned a timeout. They used a lot of clock, missed, got the rebound, missed again and this time Nunnery cleared it. Down one, 1:15 to go, a crucial possession. They went quick, Leo Rockwood the recipient of a good pass from Nunnery and he drilled it to put Centenary in front for the first time since the opening minutes of the game! Grambling didn't even manage to get off a shot, but Blume could only split a pair at the line. Two-point lead, one more stop is needed. And Blume fouls them. What?! That freshman will be the death of Reinhart sometimes. Half brilliant, half stupid, and this was the stupid half. Thankfully they made only one of two, preserving the lead. Gutierrez to the line -- and he splits as well. Two-point lead again, and this game will never end, still 20 seconds to go. They pass it around looking for the game-winning shot ... and Gutierrez makes the play of the game with a steal, stepping in the passing lane! A 2-on-1, he's fouled and makes the shot at the buzzer, but that's irrelevant as there's no time left. This probably should have been an easier win, but once again Centenary made the plays down the stretch(barely) to get a fourth straight! Saturnino Gutierrez(14 pts off the bench in 13 minutes) had his best game of the year, and with nobody else in double figures it was sorely needed. Even better was that it was the Big South opener, giving them an early leg up in the conference. The second conference game was two days later against Jacksonville State, and it didn't exactly go as planned. The whole 'keep it close' plan was not executed, with Centenary dropping behind 16-3 after seven minutes, turnover after turnover and unable to make much of anything. Worse, Dennis Camire was injured and had to come off two minutes later. Cimino sparked a small rally late in the half to keep them in striking distance, but there was still a dozen points to make up. It stayed there for a while, then a nine-point run sparked by a couple of steals midway through the second half put it away. A four-game winning run is snapped and Centenary suffered by far their worst defeat of the year anywhere, let alone at home. The news on Camire wasn't good either. He'll miss a full month with a dislocated shoulder, during which time sharpshooter Vincent Nunnery will step into the starting lineup. Centenary still has a fairly deep team, but Camire has been the #3 scorer and a solid defender. He's definitely going to be missed. The first game without him finished off the year on New Year's Eve with a typical Centenary effort. Physical, keep it close, they trailed by three at the half against Presbyterian. More back-and-forth ensued as the minutes tick away, a McCoy jumper put Centenary up briefly about six minutes in but most of the half they were chasing a small deficit as they have so many times this season. This time the finish was different though. They couldn't hit anything and Presbyterian lived at the line to pull away for the win. Gerald Cimino(11 pts, 6 rebounds) was the only real bright spot. Synopsis -- 115 RPI Reinhart's first losing streak has arrived at the same time as some chemistry issues. PF Marco McCluskey and C Marshall Benitez are not happy. McCluskey is useless, so nobody is going to give a darn there. Benitez is a seven-foot sophomore with considerable untapped talent, but he's just not going to get playing time with the quality players ahead of him. That will change somewhat when senior sixth man Leo Rockwood, a rebounding force, graduates. If Benitez isn't willing to wait, then he'll miss his chance here. Reinhart has no reason to make changes, the guys ahead in both cases are simply better. Camire will probably miss the next seven games, set to return in late January by which time they will be well into the teeth of the Big South schedule. As cellar-dwelling conferences go it's a fairly tough one. Jacksonville State is the top program in the conference and Presbyterian third this year according to RPI which makes those losses easier to stomach. There's still a reasonable chance of a break-even or better year in the conference but they can't let the losses pile up too much here. Coastal Carolina, Gardner Webb, and Charleston Southern are three opponents to particularly watch as they are the trio just ahead of Centenary at the bottom of the conference. Recruiting Andrew Johnson is officially in. That's three raw, passable-potential project recruits now on the board. One spot remains. The search continues, hope fading of finding anybody even decent.

04-19-2015, 03:43 AM	#30
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Neil Barnett(Evansville) 12.18 Evansville(2-6) @ #17 Vanderbilt(6-0) -- L 82-52 12.24 Evansville(2-7, 0-0) @ Rice(4-4, 0-0) -- L 73-72 12.26 Evansville(2-8, 0-1) @ Wichita State(0-11, 0-1) -- W 86-69 12.31 Evansville(3-8) @ Illinois(3-6) -- L 90-82 The losing continued with a completely predictable blowout at steady Vandy, but Super-Szabo returned with 18 points in the first half at Rice, helping Evansville to a one-point lead at the half. Barnett had to call a quick timeout when they gave up eight unanswered to start the second half, and they responded well to get right back in the game. A late push by Rice reversed a small cushion and it didn't look good when Roberts fouled out with four minutes to go, Evansville trailing 71-67. The hosts foul trouble was just as bad though and they would struggle to score the next few minutes. A pair of free-throws from Comeaux put Evansville on top by one with 1:22 to go ... could they finish? After the teams traded turnovers, Rice had another chance with 27 seconds left, and this time they were effective in breaking down the defense for a layup. 15 left, Beals worked it to Szabo for a corner there --- no good, and they come up one play short to lose their 8th in a row. Szabo had 24 pts, 6 rebounds, but also 5 turnovers, while John Blanks had 17 off the bench in 16 minutes. Once again it was the defensive boards that let them down. A good opportunity to steal a road win beginning the Horizon schedule was missed. Winless Wichita State was up next. Evansville gradually pulled away to a double-digit lead late in the first half, only to have the Shockers score a couple easy ones to cut into the margin at the end. A tech on Roberts didn't help matters, but Evansville's shooters really heated up quickly in the second half, opening up a 20-point lead with nine minutes to go. From there it was pretty much smooth sailing. The 86 points was the most they've scored since the win over Kentucky to open the year. 5 players were in double figures, none with more than 13. A team effort, and they shot 61% against the anemic defense of Wichita State. A final game on New Year's Eve was a break from the conference slate, a visit to regional power Illinois of the Big Ten. It's a down year for them but not down enough to make this an even match. Still, they kept it close enough to make them anxious, finished the first half well and went in down only two. A lot of messy open-court play marked the start of the second, but it seemed a seismic shift when Martinez drained a three five minutes in to put Evansville on top for the first time in the game, 46-44. They bombed away for a while from deep, going ahead by as many as nine before the flow subsided. Holding off Illinois for a while, they finally surrendered the lead with five to play, struggling more and more to find quality shots or sometimes any shot at all before a turnover. It was a game effort, but they couldn't get enough stops to make it happen. Szabo scored 19 and Blanks 18 off the bench, but turnovers told the tale. Illinois 7, Evansville 18. That's where the game was lost. Synopsis -- 141 RPI Rice is the game that really stings, otherwhise Evansville would have split the four games over the last couple of weeks and the other two defeats were against high-quality opponents on the road so there's no shame there. On the other hand one can't reasonably get too excited about beating a winless team. The next week and a half are key. Barnett's boys have split their first pair in the Horizon. They have three straight at home coming up and after that should get Rodriguez in the lineup. At this point they project as an above-average finisher even without him. Rice is by far the top program in the conference and at a very healthy 33 RPI the most-respected team this year, but aside from them the Horizon is pretty much a total joke. Youngstown State is second. The only team program worse that Evansville overall is Wichita State and we just recently found out why. All three of the coming home games are winnable, against Horizon foes with losing records and RPI similar or lower. A minimum of two wins here is vital. Recruiting Chris Metzler and Arthur Smith are in, Barnett's second and third commitments! Metzler isn't anything to get excited about but could be decent, while getting two fairly talented guards is a very nice thing. One spot left, and a forward would be much preferred to round things out. * C Michael Hine(6-10, 235) -- All the way from Texas, Hine is a project but potentially a worthwhile one as an inside scorer who can pass and rebound a bit as well. Definitely the best available according to the scouts, so he gets the final offer while the search continues. * PF Arnulfo Moore(6-9, 213) -- Definitely in the potentially serviceable category, Moore is the current backup plan.

04-19-2015, 03:47 AM	#31
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Charles Hernandez(Iona) 12.21 UL Lafayette(6-3) @ Iona(0-8) -- L 68-63 12.25 Towson(5-6) @ Iona(0-9) -- L 80-56 12.29 Iona(0-10) @ Rutgers(5-4) -- L 60-46 Bidding to avoid a ten-game losing streak dating back to the final game of last season, Iona kept it close for a half, gave up a quick 7-point run to start the second, then came storming back to tie it at 45 with 11 minutes remaining. They kept pushing to take an eight-point lead, then it was ULL's turn to rally. Just inside the two-minute mark a triple from Edwards put Iona back in front by 61-59, clearly their best chance at a win since Seton Hall in the opener over a month ago. John Pino came right back with a straight-ahead three, and ULL was back in front by one. Wolter missed, and a foul by Edwards gave up two more points at the line. Down three, a minute left. A traveling call on Szymanski looked like the nail in the coffin, but Lafayette was called for a moving pick and freshman Dane McCormick went to the line with 29 seconds to go. He calmly made them both, and down just one there was still a chance. ULL made their two, and Boulware ... threw a bad pass, picked off by Lafayette. That was it. Iona didn't execute down the stretch, and paid for it. Boulware had 16 points, 6 rebounds but his late turnover sealed their fate. There were no such hopes against Towson. Iona dug themselves a 20+ point hole in the first half and folded again after a brief rally. Rutgers provided another chance for a win, at least early. That wasn't expected going in back on the road, but Iona executed much better than usual offensively, leading much of it and trailing by just a pair at the half. They've also done much better in the turnover comparison the last couple of games. Rutgers was bad offensively in the second half, but Iona was absolutely hideous, scoring just 12 points with nine turnovers. You can't win that way. Too bad, compared to the way it started. Synopsis -- 278 RPI Three more games, three more losses. It's three weeks yet before Ivy conference play begins, but right now the goal is simply to win a game. Any game. Only six teams in the nation have failed to do so, and there's little point in considering any more lofty goals until Iona gets out of that club. Dennis Darrow returns from suspension to start the year and will get a chance right away to do what McCormick and Edwards have failed to do: run the offense in a less-than-disastrous fashion. He's not expected to score much himself, but has the ball skills to hopefully create better opportunities for the others. If he can't ... well, it's going to be a long rest of the year. He's also a little better overall defender -- it's hard to see him not improving the team by being back on the floor, it's just a question of how much difference it'll make to the offensively challenged squad.

04-19-2015, 04:02 AM	#32
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Mark Horton(Hampton) 12.18 Hampton(5-4) @ James Madison(4-3) -- L 79-61 12.24 Hampton(5-5) @ Saint Mary's(7-3) -- L 90-72 12.30 Hampton(5-6) @ Jacksonville State(5-7) -- L 102-95 James Madison torched Hampton for 59% shooting in the first half, made all the worse by the fact they were couldn't take care of the ball(14 turnovers, 9 of them steals by JM). It was never close. Hampton shot 0-14 from 3-point range, and Vargas spent most of the game on the bench in foul trouble. They started well against St. Mary's, but could not slow down their avalanche and another lopsided defeat resulted. Vern Jones scored 19 on 9-13 fg, while Wade Budde(30 pts, 10 rebounds) destroyed them inside. After a slow start, Jacksonville State provided a track meet of a game that looked for a while like both teams would crack 100. Over the last few minutes Hampton couldn't keep pace though, and it certainly didn't help that Grooms fouled out with four to play. Heck of an entertaining one, but it was still a fifth straight defeat. Brandes scored 22 in as many minutes but couldn't rescue them at the end. Synopsis -- 153 RPI At 4-1, Hampton's RPI was 200. They've improved it by losing six straight, which suggests that they may simply have started playing tougher competition and not completely fallen off a cliff. Still, it looked early in the year like winning 14 or more for the first time in better than a decade was a good bet -- now, not so much. The computers like them as a top-half finisher in the MEAC based on the performance so far despite the fact that there's a significant gap between Hampton and everyone else prestige-wise. Bethune-Cookman, who has played a ridiculously difficult schedule, looks like the favorite with everybody else a crapshoot behind them as there's nobody else in the RPI Top 100. Overall the MEAC may well be the worst conference in the nation, so there's a solid chance of success here just based on the lack of decent competition. There's one more game for Hampton before conference play, but the road-heavy schedule will continue at first so it may be a challenge to get off to a good start in the league. There will be one lineup change at center, with freshman Colin Adam taking over for German Brown. Adam has been by far the most efficient scoring big man on the team coming off the bench so far, has been rebounding well for the time he's gotten and is a better defender. He'll get a chance to show it's not just a function of playing with the second unit. For the most part it's just a matter of size. In overall skill the players are very similar, but Brown is undersized(6-8, 216) while Adam presents more of an obstacle(6-10, 244) in the middle. Both are young players in that 'raw but potentially decent' category.

04-19-2015, 04:18 AM	#33
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Horace Hargrove(Lehigh) 12.17 Rider(4-4) @ Lehigh(3-5) -- L 65-59 12.19 Lehigh(3-6) @ Siena(5-4) -- L 61-53 12.21 Lamar(3-5) @ Lehigh(3-7) -- L 63-41 12.26 Howard(7-5) @ Lehigh(3-8) -- W 61-53 12.29 Lehigh(4-8) @ NJIT(6-5) -- L 75-66 An early 12-point run against Rider gave hope of snapping the losing streak, and while they were still up by 11 at the half, the only reason for that was Rider couldn't hit a shot(24% fg). They were killing Lehigh on the boards and earning plenty of trips to the line, leaving plenty of cause for concern. Those fears were realized in the second half when they pulled within a pair several times, finally tying it up with six minutes to go and briefly going in front shortly afterwards. Lehigh went scoreless down the stretch, and left this contest very frustrated at having blown a golden opportunity. Another 19 offensive rebounds given up, just far too many. Players not named Tommy Campagna had just nine first-half points at Siena, another example of the supporting cast just plain not showing up. Nevertheless the team buckled down on defense and rallied to pull within three with 12 minutes left in the game. The margin stayed right about there for a while, but never got closer than two and once again the offense disappeared late in the game. Who knows what might have happened if they'd played an entire game instead of just a half. Campagna had a fine effort wasted(24 points, 7 rebs, 3 assists) After getting blasted by Lamar, Howard presented another chance for a home win. Lehigh turned it into the basketball version of a street fight in the first half, with a combined 30 fouls, and did a much better job of knocking down their free throws for a shocking 36-21 lead. With all three of their perimeter starters knocking down shots in the second half, the lead soon stretched further and while Howard made the score much more respectable with a late push the outcome was never in doubt. The bleeding finally stopped here after six straight defeats, Campagna and Good combining for 34 points. It's rare that both of them have played well in the same game, but when they do Lehigh isn't a half-bad team. A visit to NJIT finished off the month, and was relatively encouraging though it ended in another loss. The offensive consistency was better, and Lehigh pulled within 2-3 points multiple times in the second half, they just couldn't complete a comeback and faded a bit at the end. A few decent efforts here at the end of December, with Espinosa going for 20 in this one. Synopsis -- 313 RPI Losing four of five, now 7 of 8 defeats overall, even with three of the games at home was quite disappointing. The computers hold Lehigh in even less regard than any others among the five, worse than winless Iona. That might be a stretch, but there's no denying that they suck right now. The parity-driven Patriot league begins play after one more road game, and they'll finish at the bottom if they don't improve. Every team has 4-7 wins so far, nobody has really stood out though American and Holy Cross are the current favorites. Hargrove has run out of things to try at this point. The offense is too dependent on Campagna(15.4 ppg, 40% fg) though it has improved significantly lately. He's going to try a new backup point guard who might be a small improvement but inconsistent scoring at best from the rest of the team just isn't enough to get wins with an average defense at the moment. The bottom line is that there just isn't a whole lot of scoring or passing ability on this roster. The problematic defensive rebounding issue has the same assessment -- Dyer can't do it all by himself. Recruiting Joe Fried and Chris Johnson are in. This class is completed, all three players well regarded by Hargrove's staff and two ready to step in and contribute right away. Really they couldn't have asked for any better. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 04-19-2015 at 04:19 AM.

04-20-2015, 07:52 PM	#34
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	January 2016(First Half) John Reinhart(Centenary) 1.2 Centenary(7-4, 1-2) @ Troy(4-9, 1-2) -- L 80-70 1.7 Coastal Carolina(4-10, 2-1) @ Centenary(7-5, 1-3) -- W 74-71 1.9 Charleston Southern(9-6, 3-1) @ Centenary(8-5, 2-3) -- W 74-67 1.14 Centenary(9-5, 3-3) @ Gardner Webb(5-10, 3-2) -- L 66-58 1.16 Centenary(9-6, 3-4) @ UNC Asheville(7-9, 3-3) -- L 67-53 Turnovers and bad shooting are not good on the road. Troy blew out to an 18-3 lead nine minutes in, and pretty much held that margin. An injury to starting center Cordell Bradley late in the first half put Reinhart in a much worse mood. Then backup Leo Rockwood came off a few minutes into the second. What in the world was going on here? A couple of brief rallies ultimately went nowhere and they were sent to a third straight defeat, but the injury issues were a greater concern. A couple of sprains, a knee for Bradley and an ankle for Rockwood, and both will miss a couple games, about a week and a half. That leaves Centenary very short with three of the top six players out, especially in the frontcourt. Freshman William Rojo(7.4 mpg so far) will start and whiny Marshall Benitez will be the backup inside. With a couple of badly needed home games coming up, two under break-even in the conference already, they are facing a great danger here of the season seriously turning south. First up against Coastal Carolina, Centenary got off to a good start, leading by as many as ten, but couldn't put them away and after multiple rallies it was only 35-31 at the half. Too close for comfort. The second half brought more of the same with both teams in the penalty by the nine-minute mark. They made just enough plays to hold CC off, though it got pretty interesting late. Gerald Cimino led with 19 points, and Gutierrez had 15 off the bench. The game was won by taking care of the ball (+7 turnovers), overcoming a 55% shooting night by the visitors. A big, big win here that keeps them in contact with most of the Big South and buys some time for the big guys to heal, ending the losing streak. Bradley and Rockwood returned against Charleston Southern, not quite 100% either of them but close to it. Both teams like contests in the low 60s, but played quicker than that at the start. Though they led most of it, Centenary managed only a tie after the first half. They again built a modest lead in the second, and the defense stood tall at the end to make it stand up. Bradley had 13 and 9 in a successful return to the lineup, Vincent Nunnery led with 17 points on timely shooting, and Cimino(15 pts, 10 rebs) added a solid double-double. Gardner Webb took a double-digit advantadge with Centenary just unable to hit anything early on. The hosts returned the favor and led an ugly game 24-20 at the half, neither team hitting on so much as 30% from the floor. The second half soon offered a scintillating sequence on which the teams combined for seven consecutive turnovers without so much as getting a shot off. Centenary found the range a bit sooner than GW did, taking a four-point lead a couple times but unable to do much more with it. There was a lot of ebb and flow to the battle and they went into the final minutes just behind, but right there needing one final push. This would be a great time for one of those tight wins they pulled off earlier in the year. Instead, they missed their next four while Gardner-Webb did not, and are still looking for a road win in conference. As bad as they shot in this game(33%), the team did well to even be in the hunt. Again they got off to a slow start at UNC-Asheville, rallied to briefly take the lead ... and then Michael Blume was injured with the score tied and less than five to play in the first half. Seriously? Can nobody on this team stay healthy?!? Michael Goff, who can occasionally get hot from outside but is nowhere near Blume in terms of running the offense, had to take over the reigns. Down a pair after a low-scoring first half, Centenary found themselves unable to keep pace as Asheville caught fire for a while. Synopsis -- 153 RPI Blume has a sprained knee and will miss at least a week. That's probably two or three games without the starting backcourt, and already at 3-5 in the Big South the season seems to be slipping away from Centenary. They have two more on the road coming up but the good news they aren't conference dates. If Blume and Camire can get back after those, there may still be hope for a run at a solid league mark. Centenary cannot afford any more bad luck though.

04-20-2015, 07:54 PM	#35
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Neil Barnett(Evansville) 1.2 Toledo(5-8, 1-1) @ Evansville(3-9, 1-1) -- W 77-63 1.7 Wright State(7-7, 3-1) @ Evansville(4-9, 2-1) -- W 79-64 1.9 Detroit(4-11, 2-3) @ Evansville(5-9, 3-1) -- L 89-78 1.14 Evansville(5-10, 3-2) @ Northern Iowa(3-13, 2-3) -- W 68-57 1.16 Evansville(6-10, 4-2) @ Southeast Missouri State(2-14, 2-4) -- W 65-54 An impressive game against Toledo. The Rockets had a few moments early, but that was pretty much it. It was not nearly as close as the final indicated. Szabo fouled out in 14 minutes, but Beals & Comeaux combined for 31 to pick up the slack. Rodriguez started light practice activities in the buildup to the Wright State game, but still wasn't ready to go for looked like it might be a very important matchup. The visitors' feast-or-famine defense was a little of both, getting a number of turnovers but also resulting in a parade to the line for Evansville. The defense really picked up late, leading to a much bigger margin of victory than was justified for what was really a close game for more than 30 minutes. Roberts and Szabo had 16 each, while Roy Nelson(10 points, 12 rebounds) was really a force in the paint today. For the moment at least, Evansville takes early sole possession of second place in the league behind unbeaten Rice. Detroit came to visit next. Evansville jumped out in front 10-2 at the outset but was unable to keep them off the boards, a return to struggles in that area from earlier in the season. Detroit led most of a back-and-forth second half, and Evansville crumbled at the end to suffer a damaging home loss. They were eviscerated by Milo Mathes(21 pts, 20 rebs) with Arthur Szabo(21 pts, 5 rebs) having one of his best games in a while wasted. Ultimately Evansville just could not compete physically inside. With Rodriguez finally back, two changes to the starting lineup as Comeaux will try his hand at the point and Rodriguez at small forward. Defensive specialist Martinez and turnover factory Beals will now come off the bench. Rodriguez should help a bit in terms of the dire rebounding need and also can contribute more as an offensive playmaker. Northern Iowa was the revamped lineup's first test. Comeaux had 13 points in the first half to lead the way, and NI(55 ppg) is not a team that plays well from behind. Carroll Roberts(20 pts, 12 rebs) had a huge second half to make sure Evansville stayed in front. SE Missouri State was a nightmare start. They just couldn't score against a team allowing almost 73 points a game. Nothing was working. A frenetic finish on both ends eventually cut a double-digit deficit down to three at the half, but once again Evansville was getting blasted on the glass(21-11). In the first two minutes after the break Rodriguez had a steal, drew a charge, grabbed a rebound, and dished out an assist to basically single-handedly make sure the team stayed in it. Nobody could score down the stretch of this one but by then the game was well in hand so it wasn't such a bad thing. Tony Beals(18 pts on 6-8 fg in 15 minutes) was the catalyst with his instant offense. Synopsis -- 208 RPI The 8-game losing streak is now little more than a memory. Barnett's team is 5-2 in the Horizon, and Rice just recently did them the favor of finally losing a game so they sit at 7-1. Tied for second are Youngstown State and Wright State at 5-2. There are yet four games to play against that trio, but Evansville has put themselves firmly in the discussion at the top of the conference. The new lineup is undefeated, but Rodriguez is shooting a not-encouraging 2-15 from the field in his first couple of times out. He's rebounding much better than Martinez did, but the jury is still out on whether he'll finish the year as a starter. As a 53% shooter last year and near 40% his first couple seasons, the hope is he's just had a bad couple of games.

04-20-2015, 07:56 PM	#36
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Charles Hernandez(Iona) 1.1 Iona(0-11) @ St. Joseph's(4-6) -- W 62-60 1.5 Valparaiso(4-7) @ Iona(1-11) -- W 69-58 1.9 Iona(2-11) @ Temple(8-5) -- W 64-55 1.11 Iona(3-11) @ Chicago State(6-10) -- W 79-70 At the five minute mark of the St. Joe's game, Iona led 2-0. Needless to say the spectators were not impressed. The scoring soon picked up, it more or less had to, and they kept it close, fought for the lead late, and ... wonder of wonders ... picked up the first win of the year as Syzmanski blocked the last-gasp attempt of their hosts with just four second left! Harold Wolter had a season-high 22, Boulware added 14. As for new point guard Dennis Darrow, he scored just six points but had as many assists with only one turnover. The team hit on 53% from the field for the game. Might well be an outlier, but definitely not a coincidence -- amazing what a difference a not-horrid point guard can make! Now we'll see if they can back it up. They did indeed against Valpo, nursing a small lead throughout the first half and extending it in the second. 56% shooting in this one, though 17 turnovers did not please Hernandez. Iona hadn't held consecutive opponents to 60 or fewer since the first two games of the year, and now they stunningly have a winning streak! A visit to Temple was supposed to smash any delusions of grandeur, but despite a buzzer-beating heave from over 50 feet by the Owls to end the first half the streak continued in impressive, wire-to-wire style. Chicago State fared no better. Synopsis -- 203 RPI It was hoped that the team would improve with Dennis Darrow(11.3 ppg, 67% fg, 4.5 apg, 2.5 rpg) but nobody expected a four-game winning streak! His shooting will certainly not stay where it is, he's been on fire the last three games, but it's hard to overstate the difference he's made on both ends of the court. Wolter in particular has flourished with the improvement in offensive flow, hitting 9-21 from 3-point range since Darrow's return. The team now heads into Ivy League play with every confidence they can make some noise.