The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

Ohio Valley Conference Pre-Season Breakdown

There was stiff competition last year in the OVC, and this year is no difference. In this special editon Charleston Herald we will break down all the teams for you and predict who finishes where.

1. Tennessee St.

Returning to the team this year is SG Bruce Price, arguably the best player in the conference. He will be anchoring a starting five in which four of the five players are returning from last year. The other player, Daon Bain, out of Owensborough, Kentucky was the conference's most highly reguarded point guard recruit(3*, 76th best at position). He replaces returning senior Reiley Ervin.

Predicted Conference Record: 16-4

2. SE Missouri St.

While the Redhawks didn't accomplish much in the way of recruiting, it doesn't seem to matter all that much. Sophomore shooting guard Jonny Hill replaces graduated Senior Terrick Willoughby in the starting five. Brandon Faust and Herbert Terry, the conferences best starting forwards duo, are the glue that holds the team together, and they are backed up by the deepest bench in the conference.

Predicted Conference Record: 16-4

3. Tennessee Tech

Returning to the Golden Eagles is the most talented Point Guard in the conference, Anthony Fisher (12.1 ppg, 4.1 apg). Tennessee Tech needed a good off-season to fill the holes left by SG Belton Rivers and SF Antjuan Koger, and they did an adequate job of it. SG Abrahaim Dawn out of Indanapolis (3*, 86th best at position) and SG Mani Carson out of Charleston, SC(3*, 94th best at position) take over the spots abandoned by the two graduated seniors. Mani Carson was South Carolina's Mr. Basketball, but many schools passed on him due to his low potential and inability to get it done in crunch time.

Predicted Conference Record: 15-5

4. Austin Peay

Probably the most improved team on paper this year is Austin Peay. They return all five starters and with three Seniors and two Juniors, are a veteran group. The game experience of PG Derek Wright should help them through a lot of close games. Also returning is high-scoring SG Todd Babington, a very high percentage three point shooter (41.8%), who has been known to rip the hart out of a lot of teams hoping for a comeback.

Predicted Conference Record: 14-6


5. Eastern Illinois

New hire Jon McGurk took the Panthers to places they'd never thought they'd be last season and will be looking to do more of the same this season. Coach McGurk will be looking to avoid a sophomore slump, but that may prove to be harder than it looks. The Panthers added defense and rebounding in the off-season, something they sorely needed, and to do that McGurk looked overseas. Jerrold Harmon, a small forward out of Cameroon, is already considered the best player on the team and will be looking to provide a much needed defensive edge. Also added to the starting line up this year is Freshman PF Cartier Murphy out of the Ivory Coast. He adds rebounding and a sorely lacking adequate inside presence. Scouts also say he has decent upside and may grow into a very good, capable big man.

Predicted Conference Record: 14-6

6. Jacksonville St.
Jacksonville is probably the team most hurt by the off-season. With Courtney Bradley, their best player last season, now graduated, James Valein, a two star recruit out of Montgomery, Alabama was picked to fill the hole. Perhaps the biggest difference from last year is Jacksonville State's bench, which is young, inexperienced, and quite frankly not all that great.

Predicted Conference Record: 11-9

7. Morehead St.

SR PG Brandon Callahan will have to carry almost all of the load this season for the Eagles, who look to be mired in conference mediocrity again. Newly recruited SG Dominique Sargent (2*, 113 best at position) out of Cincinnati, Ohio will look to carry some of that load offensively, but for how long after this season is anyone's guess. The departure of Shaun Williams leaves a glaring hole at power forward.

Predicted Conference Record: 8-12

8. Murray St.

Murray St. is another team cursed with a young, below average bench and an aging starting five. Senior SG Bruce Carter is the saving grace of the team, but he just doesn't have much to work with. Look for them to get even worse next season.

Predicted Conference Record: 7-13

9. Samford

The loss of SG Randal Gulina and PG Jerry Smith really hurt this team. SR C Travis Peterson is left in the starting five with four other team members with minimal to no starting experience. The good thing about this team is that in three years it might be a contender again, but this season might be trying times.

Predicted Conference Record: 6-13

10. Eastern Kentucky

Recently things haven't been going well for Eastern Kentucky, but on a team full of freshman and sophomores that is to be expected. Jamaal Douglas returns as a senior to hold down the fort in the post, and joining him will be SO Israil Hoffman, a capable center. EKU is still on a high after upsetting Eastern Illinois last year, but the hangover will hit quickly once the season starts and they find out that a lot of teams have gotten much better.

Predicted Conference Record: 2-18

11. Tennessee-Martin

As usual on small conference teams, when the seniors go, so does the success of your team. Though they had a surprisingly successful year last year, it doesn't look so good for them this season. SR SG George Pruitt will be left to fend for himself as he tries to get it together with a bunch of bench warmers and virtual walk ons.

Predicted Conference Record: 1-19

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

Season Schedule

11/19 vs. Campbell
11/23  @  Purdue
12/1   @  Charl. Southern
12/4   @  William & Mary
12/8   @  Middle Tennessee
12/13 vs. Tennessee Tech
12/15 vs. Tennessee State
12/24  @  Jacksonville St.
12/26  @  Austin Peay
1/4    @  Kentucky
1/8   vs. Murray St.
1/10   @  Eastern Kentucky
1/17  vs. Samford
1/19  vs. Jacksonville St.
1/24   @  Tennessee-Martin
1/26   @  Morehead St.
1/31  vs. SE Missouri St.
2/4   vs. Austin Peay
2/7    @  Samford
2/9   vs. Eastern Ketucky
2/14   @  Tennessee Tech
2/16   @  Murray St.
2/19  vs. Morehead St.
2/21  vs. Tennessee-Martin
2/28   @  Tennessee St.
3/1    @  SE Missouri St.

07-08 Roster

[B]PG[/B] Mike Robinson, JR(70)
[B]SG[/B] Julio Anthony, SR(68)
[B]SF[/B] Jerrold Harmon, FR(70)
[B]PF[/B] Cartier Murphy, FR(64)
 [B]C[/B] Ousmane Cisse, SO(65)
-------------------------
[B]SG[/B] Bobby Catchings, SR(67)
[B]SG[/B] Romain Martin, SO(64)
[B]PG[/B] Jonitee Willhite, SR(63)
[B]SF[/B] Billy Parrish, JR(61)
[B]PF[/B] Bobby Jolliff, SO(57)
[B]PF[/B] Justin Brock, SO(57)
[B] C[/B] Jake Byrne, SR(56)
[B]SF[/B] Adrian Lhota, FR-RS(66)

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

November 19, 2007

Campbell Fighting Camels (0-0) vs. Eastern Illinois Panthers(0-0)

Headline
Sign Of Things To Come?

        [B]1st    2nd    OT   Final[/B]
[B]CAM[/B]     28     24     -     52
[B]EIU[/B]     55     54     -    [B]109[/B]

[B]CAM                          [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]SG[/B] #4, SR(66)                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PG[/B] Mike Robinson, SO(68)[/COLOR]
[B]SG[/B] #5, SR(68)                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Julio Anthony, JR(67)[/COLOR]
[B]SF[/B] #3, SO(67)                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SF[/B] Jerrold Harmon, FR(70)[/COLOR]
[B]PF[/B] Errick Stepp, FR(58)      [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PF[/B] Cartier Murphy, FR(64)[/COLOR]
 [B]C[/B] #30, JR(61)                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]C[/B] Ousmane Cisse, SO(65)[/COLOR]
[B]Notable Reserves             [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]Notable Reserves[/COLOR][/B]
[B]SG[/B] #2, SR(63)                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Romain Martin, SO(64)[/COLOR]

Game Leaders

         [B]CAM                 [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]POINTS[/B]   SG#4         14     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Anthony   24[/COLOR]
[B]REB[/B]      S. Willie     8     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]O. Cisse     14[/COLOR]
[B]AST[/B]      SG#4          4     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]M. Robinson   9[/COLOR]

Team Stats

     [B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU  [/COLOR]       CAM  [/B]          
[B]FGM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]43  [/COLOR]  |     21   
[B]FGA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]92[/COLOR]    |     75
[B]FG%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].467[/COLOR]    |   .280
[B]3PM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]11[/COLOR]    |      2
[B]3PA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]35[/COLOR]    |     25
[B]3P%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].314 [/COLOR]   |   .080
[B]FTM [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]12[/COLOR]    |      8
[B]FTA [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]15[/COLOR]    |     10
[B]FT%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].800[/COLOR]    |   .800
[B]REB[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]55[/COLOR]    |     46
[B]AST[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]28[/COLOR]    |      8

Coach's Notes

• I hope this puts a scare into the OVC. I told the team that I am done with good half/bad half games and they respond in the best way ever.

• Five players in double figures. Julio Anthony, Ousmane Cisse(16 pts, 14 rbs), Catchings(13), Romain Martin(15), and Jake Byrne had a good game in clean-up time scoring 13 points in 13 minutes. Anthony was on fire from beyond the arc, going 6-12.

• Freshman Cartier Murphy performed exactly like I want him to perform. Though his offensive touches were limited, he grabbed 11 rebounds and worked really, really hard on the defensive end. Jerrold Harmon was a Nervous Nellie out there, shooting the ball every time he touched it in the first half. 2-12 threes, 3-15 overall. He setttled way down in the second half though, after convincing him to quit shooting it (aka benching him for an extended period).

• I'm not sure how many more games we'll have like this, but I'll take it.

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

November 23, 2007

Eastern Illinois Panthers(1-0) vs Purdue Boilermakers(2-1)

Headline
Martin, Harmon Late Game Heroics Lift Panthers

        [B]1st    2nd    OT   Final[/B]
[B]PUR[/B]     32     38     -     70
[B]EIU[/B]     23     54     -     [B]77[/B]

Starting Line-ups

[B]PUR                         [COLOR=PaleTurquoise] EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PG[/B] Terrance Crump, SR(76)    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PG[/B] Mike Robinson, SO(70)[/COLOR]
[B]SG[/B] Marcus Green, JR(71)      [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Julio Anthony, JR(68)[/COLOR]
[B]SF[/B] Gordon Watt, JR(69)       [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SF[/B] Jerrold Harmon, FR(70)[/COLOR]
[B]PF[/B] Dana Norman, FR(68)       [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PF [/B]Cartier Murphy, FR(64)[/COLOR]
 [B]C[/B] Jonathen Uchendu, SO(69)   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]C[/B] Ousmane Cisse, SO(65)[/COLOR]
[B]Notable Reserves             [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]Notable Reserves[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PF[/B] Collins Hacker, FR(68)    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Romain Martin, SO(64)[/COLOR]

Game Leaders

         [B]PUR                 [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]POINTS[/B]   D. Norman    16     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Anthony   17[/COLOR]
[B]REB[/B]      J. Uchendu   11     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]C. Murphy    15[/COLOR]
[B]AST[/B]      D. Norman     5     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Willhite   3[/COLOR]

Team Stats

     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]EIU[/B] [/COLOR]        [B]PUR [/B]           
[B]FGM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]26 [/COLOR]   |     29   
[B]FGA [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]67 [/COLOR]   |     62
[B]FG%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].388[/COLOR]    |   .280
[B]3PM[/B]    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]9  [/COLOR]  |      2
[B]3PA [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]24 [/COLOR]   |     16
[B]3P%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].375[/COLOR]    |   .125
[B]FTM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]16[/COLOR]    |     10
[B]FTA [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]19[/COLOR]    |     12
[B]FT%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].842[/COLOR]    |   .833
[B]REB[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]33[/COLOR]    |     36
[B]AST[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]16[/COLOR]    |     16

Coach's Notes

• Harmon and Martin are the heroes today. Martin, despite a poor shooting night(4-14), hit a closely guarded clutch three with 1:00 to go in the game to go up 73-70. They missed a 3, Harmon got the rebound, Cisse missed a short jumper, and Harmon FLEW in to get the o-rebound and the put back to go up 75-70 with :26 to go and sealed the game.

• Signing Dana Norman was a steal for Purdue. He is a 7'0" that can take over games against smaller opponents. Had he not gotten into foul trouble this would have been a completely different game. Many times during the game we were struggling, down by 9. It wasn't until he was forced to sit on the bench did we come back to win the game. Otherwise, he completely disrupted our man offense.

• Finding a new rotation is taking some getting used to. Harmon and Murphy are too good not to play, which results in serious decreases in play time for Parrish and Jolliff. I guess it comes with the job.

• Purdue was taller and faster, but my guys had less quit.

[doncoryell]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

I like the little blurbs on each of the OVC teams.

A crushing victory over the Camels and then upsetting the Boilermakers is a great start for the team.

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

Newspaper Clipping


-------ripped---------

16.  Siena            (5-3)  Metro Atlantic
17.  Ohio             (3-3)  Mid-American
18.  E. Washington    (5-0)  Big Sky
[COLOR=LemonChiffon]19.  Tennessee St.    (2-1)  Ohio Valley[/COLOR]
[COLOR=PaleTurquoise]20.  E. Illinois      (2-0)  Ohio Valley[/COLOR]
21.  Akron            (2-2)  Mid-American
22.  CS Northridge    (2-0)  Big West
23.  Coastal Carolina (2-1)  Big South
24.  Pacific          (1-1)  Big West
25.  Kent St.         (2-3)  Mid-American

Notes

Mid-Major Poll. Week of Nov. 26-Dec. 2

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

December 1, 2007

Eastern Illinois Panthers(2-0) @ Charleston Southern(0-4)

Headline
Turnovers the Difference in Panther's Win

        [B]1st    2nd    OT   Final[/B]
[B]CSU [/B]    55     31     -     86
[B]EIU[/B]     55     41     -     [B]96[/B]

Starting Line-ups

[B]
CSU                          [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PG[/B] Amir Wrenn, FR(61)        [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PG[/B] Mike Robinson, SO(70)[/COLOR]
[B]SG[/B] #2, SR(74)                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Julio Anthony, JR(68)[/COLOR]
[B]SF [/B]Woody Root, SO(68)        [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SF[/B] Jerrold Harmon, FR(71)[/COLOR]
[B]PF[/B] #4, SO(61)               [B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]PF[/COLOR][/B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise] Cartier Murphy, FR(64)[/COLOR]
[B] C [/B]#45, SR(60)                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]C[/B] Ousmane Cisse, SO(65)[/COLOR]
[B]Notable Reserves             [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]Notable Reserves[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PG[/B]#22, SO(61)                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Romain Martin, SO(64)[/COLOR]

Game Leaders

         [B]CSU                 [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]POINTS [/B]  SG#2         28     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Anthony   28[/COLOR]
[B]REB[/B]      PF#4         17     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]C. Murphy     6[/COLOR]
[B]AST[/B]      PF#4          8     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]M. Robinson   7[/COLOR]

Team Stats

     [B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU   [/COLOR]      CSU          [/B]  
[B]FGM [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]40  [/COLOR]  |     37   
[B]FGA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]71  [/COLOR]  |     66
[B]FG%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].563 [/COLOR]   |   .561
[B]3PM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]11 [/COLOR]   |      9
[B]3PA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]24 [/COLOR]   |     21
[B]3P%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].458 [/COLOR]   |   .426
[B]FTM[/B]    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]5[/COLOR]    |      3
[B]FTA[/B]    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]7[/COLOR]    |      6
[B]FT%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].714[/COLOR]    |   .500
[B]REB  [/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]30[/COLOR]    |     34
[B]AST[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]29[/COLOR]    |     25

Coach's Notes

• There was really no stopping #2. So we just did what we could. It was obvious in the first half that they liked to play our style of game so we just went with it and hoped that our defense would make the difference. As it turned out, it did.

• I find that using Harmon in short bursts is the way to go. He shows game saving flashes of brilliance for two minutes, then makes some really boneheaded decisions right afterwards. I am going to have to pay attention to that break off point and sub accordingly in the coming season.

• Julio Anthony got super hot half-way through the second half and he helped us pull away from Charleston Southern. Romain Martin wasn't the top scorer but he finally had a break-out game, scoring 23 points and hitting 5 of 7 threes.

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

Week of December 3-9

Mid Major Poll

1. Gonzaga            (6-1)  West Coast
2. Coll of Charleston (3-0)  Southern
3. Montana            (5-0)  Big Sky
4. Hawaii             (4-1)  Western Athletic
5. Utah St.           (5-1)  Western Athletic
6. Missouri St.       (2-1)  Missouri Valley
7. Ball St.           (3-1)  Mid-American
8. E. Illinois        (3-0)  Ohio Valley
9. Old Dominion       (2-2)  Colonial
10. Nevada            (2-3)  Western Athletic

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

December 4, 2007

Eastern Illinois Panthers(3-0) @ William & Mary Tribe(4-0)

Headline
Wild Game Ends on Last Second Shot

        [B]1st    2nd    OT   Final[/B]
[B]EIU[/B]     46     48     -     94
[B]W&M  [/B]   47     49     -     [B]96[/B]

Starting Line-ups

[B]W&M                          [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PG[/B] #11, SR(64)               [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PG[/B] Mike Robinson, SO(70)[/COLOR]
[B]SG[/B] #2, SO(67)                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG [/B]Julio Anthony, JR(69)[/COLOR]
[B]SF[/B] Darrall Grady, FR(74)     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SF[/B] Jerrold Harmon, FR(71)[/COLOR]
[B]PF[/B] #22, SO(64)              [B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]PF[/COLOR][/B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise] Cartier Murphy, FR(64)[/COLOR]
 [B]C [/B]Aron Goodwin, SO(69)       [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]C[/B] Ousmane Cisse, SO(65)[/COLOR]
[B]Notable Reserves             [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]Notable Reserves[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PF[/B]#4, JR(62)                 [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Romain Martin, SO(64)[/COLOR]

Game Leaders

         [B]W&M                 [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]POINTS[/B]   D. Grady     18     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Anthony   29[/COLOR]
[B]REB[/B]      A. Goodwin   10     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]C. Murphy     9[/COLOR]
[B]AST[/B]      D. Grady      4     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Harmon    10[/COLOR]

Team Stats

     [B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU      [/COLOR]   W&M    [/B]        
[B]FGM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]34 [/COLOR]   |     37   
[B]FGA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]71 [/COLOR]   |     67
[B]FG%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].478 [/COLOR]   |   .552
[B]3PM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]13 [/COLOR]   |      7
[B]3PA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]35[/COLOR]    |     17
[B]3P%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].371 [/COLOR]   |   .412
[B]FTM[/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise] 13  [/COLOR]  |     15
[B]FTA [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]18 [/COLOR]   |     20
[B]FT%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].722 [/COLOR]   |   .750
[B]REB[/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise] 25[/COLOR]    |     44
[B]AST[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]29 [/COLOR]   |     19

Coach's Notes

• This was a hard loss to swallow. Aron Goodwin hit the game winning bucket with 1.5 seconds to go.

• Rebounding. We HAVE to find a way to rebounding. I might have to change the way we do things, but I'll be damned if we don't outrebound a majority of our opponents this year.

• Up next is Middle Tennessee. They are 0-7, but don't let the record fool you. The last four games they've lost by a combined 7 points.

The first time I played this game I broke all kinds of team offensive records and a lot of players had a lot of career highs in a lot of categories. I forgot to save. So yeah, this was a hard loss to swallow.

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

December 8, 2007

Eastern Illinois Panthers(3-1) @ Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders(0-7)

Headline
Panthers Press, Tempo Too Much For Raiders To Handle

        [B]1st    2nd    OT   Final[/B]
[B]MTU [/B]    52     42     -      94
[B]EIU[/B]     50     62     -     [B]112[/B]

Starting Line-ups

[B]MTU                          [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PG[/B] #11, JR(70)               [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PG[/B] Mike Robinson, SO(70)[/COLOR]
[B]SG[/B] #23, JR(71)               [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Julio Anthony, JR(68)[/COLOR]
[B]SF[/B] Jarrett Sylla, FR(71)     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SF [/B]Jerrold Harmon, FR(71)[/COLOR]
[B]SF[/B] Sean Park, FR(70)         [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PF[/B] Cartier Murphy, FR(64)[/COLOR]
[B]PF[/B] #31, S)(69)                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]C[/B] Ousmane Cisse, SO(65)[/COLOR]
[B]Notable Reserves             Notable Reserves[/B]
[B]SF[/B] Norman Sloan, FR(64)      [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Romain Martin, SO(64)[/COLOR]

Game Leaders

         [B]MTU                 EIU[/B]
[B]POINTS[/B]   S. Park      28     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Anthony   30[/COLOR]
[B]REB [/B]     PF#31        20     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]C. Murphy    14[/COLOR]
[B]AST[/B]      PG#11         8     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Harmon     6[/COLOR]

Team Stats

     [B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU  [/COLOR]       MTU     [/B]       
[B]FGM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]41    [/COLOR]|     32   
[B]FGA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]93[/COLOR]    |     71
[B]FG%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].440 [/COLOR]   |   .451
[B]3PM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]17[/COLOR]    |     10
[B]3PA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]51[/COLOR]    |     25
[B]3P% [/B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise].333[/COLOR]    |   .400
[B]FTM [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]13[/COLOR]    |     20
[B]FTA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]14[/COLOR]    |     26
[B]FT%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].929[/COLOR]    |   .769
[B]REB [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]41[/COLOR]    |     54
[B]AST[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]28[/COLOR]    |     19

Coach's Notes

• Had I stayed in Man Defense all game long I don't think we would have won. Double teaming Park didn't do much good, so we switched to 3-2 defense towards the beginning of the 2nd half and it frazzled them. Harmon and Martin both sparked huge runs that put them out of our reach. Martin had one stretch where he hit a three, stole the ball, made a lay up, stole the ball again and hit a three.

• I'm not too happy with the amount of threes we were jacking up tonight. Catchings and Martin were the worst offenders going a combined 4-19 from beyond the arc.

• Harmon had a career high in points scoring 21. Julio Anthony is currently third in the nation in scoring with 25.8 points per game.

• We are scoring 97 points a game as a team. It is both good and bad. If you can slow us down and make us look for only second or third options you have a good chance of winning, but once that first option is available off a play we go right to it. We also seem to struggle if our long range game isn't there. Also, teams that break our press to the point where it is a non-factor have the best chance to beat us.

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

December 13, 2007

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles(5-2) @ Eastern Illinois Panthers(4-1)

Headline
Balanced Scoring Attack Frustrates Golden Eagles

        [B]1st    2nd    OT   Final[/B]
[B]TTU[/B]     25     44     -     69
[B]EIU[/B]     44     39     -    [B] 83[/B]

Starting Line-ups

[B]TTU                          [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PG[/B] Anthony Fisher, SR(75)    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PG[/B] Mike Robinson, SO(70)[/COLOR]
[B]SG[/B] Abraham Dawn, FR(67)      [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Julio Anthony, JR(69)[/COLOR]
[B]SF[/B] Rashaud Nixon, SR(63)     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SF[/B] Jerrold Harmon, FR(71)[/COLOR]
[B]PF[/B] Amadi McKenzie, SR(68)    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PF[/B] Cartier Murphy, FR(64)[/COLOR]
[B]PF[/B] Daniel Northern, SR(68)    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]C[/B] Ousmane Cisse, SO(66)[/COLOR]
[B]Notable Reserves             [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]Notable Reserves[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PG[/B] Mani Carson, FR(66)       [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Romain Martin, SO(65)[/COLOR]

Game Leaders

         [B]TTU                [COLOR=PaleTurquoise] EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]POINTS[/B]   A. Dawn      20    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise] J. Harmon    13[/COLOR]
[B]REB[/B]      A. McKenzie  11     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]O. Cisse      9[/COLOR]
[B]AST [/B]     A. Fisher     4     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Willhite   4[/COLOR]

Team Stats

     [B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR]         TTU           [/B]
[B]FGM [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]28 [/COLOR]   |     27   
[B]FGA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]64 [/COLOR]   |     53
[B]FG%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].437[/COLOR]    |   .509
[B]3PM[/B]    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]5[/COLOR]    |     10
[B]3PA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]22 [/COLOR]   |     25
[B]3P%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].227[/COLOR]    |   .385
[B]FTM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]22[/COLOR]    |     10
[B]FTA [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]23[/COLOR]    |     12
[B]FT%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].957[/COLOR]    |   .833
[B]REB[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]29[/COLOR]    |     31
[B]AST[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]18[/COLOR]    |     15

Coach's Notes

• A very poor shooting night, especially from Julio Anthony(4-15), but a spread out offense made up for it. Anthony(13), Harmon(13), Cisse(12) and Martin(12) all scored in double figures. Robinson and Catchings each had 9.

• The crowd was really, really pumped up tonight, probably from not having a home game since the first game of the season. They really helped us build an early lead and keep it. It was probably as loud as I've ever heard it.

• Up next is Tennessee St. They are 10th on the ESPN Mid-Major Poll. We are 16th. Should be a pretty good game.

• Mani Carson is a small, frail thing but I can see in future years him being a pain in the *** for all other teams. He is quick and not afraid to pull up and hit a three with four hands in his face. Abraham Dawn is also a very good player.

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

December 15th, 2007

Tennessee St Tigers(3-2, 1-1) @ Eastern Illinois Panthers (5-1, 1-0)

Headline
Harmon's Heroics Stave Off Gutsy Tiger Comeback

       [B] 1st    2nd    OT   Final[/B]
[B]TST [/B]    37     56     -      93
[B]EIU [/B]    56     46     -     [B]102[/B]

Starting Line-ups

[B]TST                          [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PG[/B] Daon Bain, FR(69)         [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PG[/B] Mike Robinson, SO(70)[/COLOR]
[B]SG[/B] Brent Price, SR(84)       [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Julio Anthony, JR(69)[/COLOR]
[B]SF[/B] Jerrell Houston, JR(75)   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SF[/B] Jerrold Harmon, FR(71)[/COLOR]
[B]SF[/B] Moraye Ivey, SR(68)       [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PF[/B] Cartier Murphy, FR(64)[/COLOR]
[B]PF[/B] Konard Quinn, SO(66)       [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]C[/B] Ousmane Cisse, SO(65)[/COLOR]
[B]Notable Reserves             [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]Notable Reserves[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PG[/B] Reiley Irvin, SR(69)      [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Romain Martin, SO(65)[/COLOR]

Game Leaders

         [B]TST                 [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]POINTS[/B]   B. Price     32     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Anthony   36[/COLOR]
[B]REB[/B]      K. Quinn     15     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]O. Cisse      9[/COLOR]
[B]AST[/B]      M. Ivey       7     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]M. Robinson   7[/COLOR]

Team Stats

     [B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR]         TST   [/B]       
[B]FGM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]36[/COLOR]    |     35   
[B]FGA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]72   [/COLOR] |     69
[B]FG%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].437 [/COLOR]   |   .507
[B]3PM[/B]    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]7[/COLOR]    |      6
[B]3PA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]26[/COLOR]    |     16
[B]3P%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].269[/COLOR]    |   .375
[B]FTM [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]23[/COLOR]    |     17
[B]FTA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]27 [/COLOR]   |     19
[B]FT%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].852[/COLOR]    |   .895
[B]REB[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]27[/COLOR]    |     38
[B]AST[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]20[/COLOR]    |     21

Coach's Notes

• Tennessee State really fought back hard in the second half. They countered our press with a press of their own and when we managed to break it, we were totally out of sync offensively. It got so bad, Cartier Murphy started jacking up threes.

• Tennesse St. never led the entire game. The closest they came to a lead was 92-91 with the ball with 1:36 left. That is when Jerrold Harmon's heroics kicked in. He grabbed an offensive rebound off of a Cisse freethrow miss and put it back in, then picked off a pass for an easy lay up, then disrupted another pass for another easy lay up to put the nail in the coffin for a 97-91 lead. The final minutes leading up to that moment were some of the most intense moments of my coaching career. I knew that as soon as they took the lead my players psyche would be shot and we'd lose.

• Cartier Murphy finally had an off night(2pts 5 rebounds). Hopefully this doesn't mean he hit the Freshman brick wall.

• To give you an idea how hard Tenn St. fought back: Bruce Price(32pts), Moraye Ivey(25pts), and Jerrell Houston(17pts) all had career highs. Konrad Quinn also had a career high rebound night. Ivey had an absolute beast of a game(25pts, 5 rb, 7 asts, 7 stl, 5-8 3pfg)

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

December 24, 2007

Eastern Illinois Panthers(6-1, 2-0) @ Jacksonville St. Gamecocks(5-5, 2-2)

Headline
Panthers Hold Off Gritty Gamecocks

        [B]1st    2nd    OT   Final[/B]
[B]JST[/B]     53     39     -      92
[B]EIU[/B]     57     45     -     [B]102[/B]

Starting Line-ups

[B]TST                          [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]PG[/B] Will Ginn, SR(68)         [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]PG[/B] Mike Robinson, SO(70)[/COLOR]
[B]SG[/B] Erik Adams, SR(69)        [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Julio Anthony, JR(69)[/COLOR]
[B]SG[/B] Erwin Staten, SO(65)      [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SF[/B] Jerrold Harmon, FR(71)[/COLOR]
[B]PF[/B] Maceo Rowland, FR(60)    [COLOR=PaleTurquoise] [B]PF[/B] Cartier Murphy, FR(64)[/COLOR]
[B]PF[/B] James Valsin, FR(65)      [B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]C [/COLOR][/B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise]Ousmane Cisse, SO(65)[/COLOR]
[B]Notable Reserves             [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]Notable Reserves[/COLOR][/B]
[B]SG[/B] Jake Worley, SO(61)       [COLOR=PaleTurquoise][B]SG[/B] Romain Martin, SO(65)[/COLOR]

Game Leaders

         [B]TST                 [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR][/B]
[B]POINTS [/B]  E. Adams     15     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]J. Anthony   29[/COLOR]
[B]REB[/B]      J. Valsin    16     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]O. Cisse     15[/COLOR]
[B]AST[/B]      M. Rowland    8     [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]M. Robinson   8[/COLOR]

Team Stats

     [B][COLOR=PaleTurquoise]EIU[/COLOR]         TST  [/B]        
[B]FGM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]37[/COLOR]    |     35   
[B]FGA [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]79[/COLOR]    |     69
[B]FG%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].468[/COLOR]    |   .507
[B]3PM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]15[/COLOR]    |     12
[B]3PA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]41 [/COLOR]   |     25
[B]3P%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].365 [/COLOR]   |   .480
[B]FTM[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]13[/COLOR]    |     10
[B]FTA[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]16[/COLOR]    |     13
[B]FT%[/B] [COLOR=PaleTurquoise].813[/COLOR]    |   .769
[B]REB[/B]   [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]28[/COLOR]    |     47
[B]AST [/B]  [COLOR=PaleTurquoise]28[/COLOR]    |     28

Coach's Notes

• I'll say one thing, the Gamecocks are a really feisty bunch of players. Ginn and Adams really lit it up from three point range to wipe away a 20 point lead, and Valsin is a very talented rebounder.

• For the first time in I don't know how many games, Romain Martin failed to score in double figures. This mostly has to do with Julio Anthony's increase in offensive production, and the increase in minutes given to Harmon. To be quite honest I am not comfortable with the amount of minutes Harmon is getting, but he needs them in preparation for next year, when the team will be very good.

• A student on campus asked me if I would be around next year?

[doncoryell]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

You seem to have the offense in high gear scoring 102 points in each of the last two games. However, your defense has allowed 92 and 93 points in the last two games. Anthony has been hot the last two games as well.

Do you expect to see many more of these slugfests?

[Coach_McGurk]

Re: The Coaching Career of Jon McGurk(CH2K7-360)

Thanks for checking in Coach Knight. I expect plenty more slugfests as long as opposing teams let us play our style of fast-break, high tempo offense. I am just glad that we are sticking with our own gameplan this year, so far. All of those hi/low-half scoring games almost put me in a loony bin last year. Now maybe if we could play defense for two halves, teams wouldn't be scoring as much against us. We struggle a bit against 1-3-1, and Man defenses from time to time and our games against Austin Peay have been pretty low scoring, so we'll see how it goes the rest of the season.