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Post by yotemeal on Nov 12, 2012 9:00:37 GMT -6
Thought I might share some information I found on our opening opponent, Southern. I'll follow up with previews of our other two opponents in Wyoming. We open play Wednesday in Laramie. Below are some excerts from a Blue Ribbon preview made available to ESPN Insider subscribers. Note: Southern is already 0-2 on the season, having lost to Iowa State and Nebraska. Beltran was the leading scorer in both games.
COACH AND PROGRAM
Southern coach Roman Banks likes to joke around that last year's success, one of the biggest turnarounds in college basketball, is going to lead him to being fired this year. In 2011, Banks took over a program that not only finished near the bottom of the SWAC but close to the nadir of Division I, going 4-26 and lugging a 344 RPI in 2010.
The Jaguars' 17-14 finish last year was a 12.5-game difference, and it came with the program severely handicapped by NCAA probation. Banks had eight scholarship players learning a new system off of limited practice time, and the Jags quickly bought into the message and style Banks was selling.
Now comes the hard part -- repeating, or coming close to duplicating, what the Jags achieved last season.
"This will be a different kind of team, we'll try to duplicate what we did last year, but I always thought this would be a three- to four-year fix," Banks said. "It's a very different approach to this year's team. As head coach, you keep goals tangible, and I know it was a huge season last year. It's why this year is a different challenge.
Southern Jaguars Last Season 17-14 (.548) Conference Record 13-5 (2nd) Starters Lost/Returning 2/3 Coach Roman Banks (Northwestern State '93) Record At School 17-14 (1 year) Career Record 17-14 (1 year) RPI Last 5 years 301-335-343-344-279
"There are still a lot of things we have to fight through. We need to take a while to find chemistry. It's why I keep joking with my guys they're going to get me fired, because they're always going to expect us to win 17 or more games every year after last season."
Last season's players understood Banks and he understood them. But this is a group learning Banks and his system. Chemistry will be tested every night.
Banks lost forward Quinton Doggett, a first-team All-SWAC pick (12.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and the bond that kept the Jags in games every night. Banks will turn toward a pair of senior guards to compensate for Doggett's loss -- 6-4 Derick Beltran (13.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.6 apg) and 6-0 Jameel Grace (9.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.2 apg).
The previous two seasons Grace was slowed by injuries. Last year he got a chance to show what he could when healthy, leading the Jags at the point. Grace lost 20 pounds and embraced Banks' up-tempo style.
Beltran is a shooter who's worked hard in creating his own shot. He's going to be forced into a new role this year as the Jags' No. 1 option. Banks is eager to find out if Beltran can adjust to being the first name mentioned on every opposing team's scouting report.
Combined, Beltran and Grace provide the leadership and experience Banks needs. They know what it's like visiting Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State. They know what to expect from those environments. Much of this team doesn't.
Backcourt depth will be a team strength. Banks will look toward sophomores Thomas Marshall (1.5 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.9 apg) and Cameron Monroe (3.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.1 apg) to fit into his rotation, and Yondarius Johnson, a reed-thin, 6-4, 180-pound transfer from Pearl River Community College.
Inside is where the Jags could have problems. Last season they were outrebounded by an average margin of 6.2 a game, and that projects as a weakness again this season, unless 6-9 junior center Madut Bol (3.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.2 apg), and 6-8, 250-pound Javan Mitchell, a transfer from Louisiana, can solidify the paint.
Bol, the son of former NBA player Manute Bol, was inconsistent last year because he was hampered by injuries. Banks likes Bol's presence around the basket, though like his famous dad, he needs to add some pounds.
Mitchell has to answer some questions about his game. He'll compete for a starting role but will need to fit into Banks' system. Losing weight could help.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT: B BENCH/DEPTH: C FRONTCOURT: D INTANGIBLES: B-
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Post by yotemeal on Nov 12, 2012 9:25:05 GMT -6
Blue Ribbon excerpts on Wyoming, which is 1-0 with a win over D-II Western State. Gilmore and Washington led scorers in that game.
COACH AND PROGRAM
In the first year of his second stint as Wyoming's head coach in 2011-12, Larry Shyatt had a team with six seniors and six freshmen. But that squad, along with a trio of juniors, won 20-plus games for the first time in nearly a decade and earned its first postseason berth since 2009.
Season two for Shyatt and Co. will again have a unique mix, with seven guys who will see their first playing time in a Cowboys uniform.
Wyoming benefitted with the new NCAA rules that allowed coaches to work with players individually for two hours a week in the summer. And, the team took a four-game exhibition trip to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in early August that gave it 10 practice days.
Wyoming Cowboys Last Season 21-12 (.636) Conference Record 6-8 (6th) Starters Lost/Returning 3/2 Coach Larry Shyatt (College of Wooster '73) Record At School 40-21 (2 years) Career Record 110-105 (8 years) RPI Last 5 years 226-112-230-264-92
Shyatt's goal over the summer was to establish a defense-first mentality, which went a long way last season as it led the Mountain West and was among the nation's best in scoring defense (56.2 ppg). He also wants to solidify the motto of his program, which is the acronym ADU -- Aggressiveness, Discipline and Unselfishness.
The Cowboys must find a guy to run the point with the departure of senior JayDee Luster, who at just 5-9 was the Mountain West's defensive player of the year. Senior Derrious Gilmore (3.1 ppg, 1.1 apg), 5-10, is the leading candidate. Gilmore played in 24 games and started one last season, but he missed nine games from early January through mid-February because of academics. Gilmore is more of a scoring threat than Luster and a better overall athlete.
Sophomore Riley Grabau (0.9 ppg) played in 21 games as a true freshman, and at 6-2 can play the point and off-guard spots. The same can be said for 6-1 sophomore Shakir Smith (0.5 ppg). True freshman Josh Adams, at 6-2, looked good in summer workouts and could emerge as the primary backup at the point.
Wyoming returns one of the best perimeter shooters in the Mountain West in 6-4 senior Luke Martinez (11.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.7 spg). He made a conference-best 81 3-pointers and shot 33.5 percent from behind the arc. Martinez underwent offseason wrist surgery after he took a hard fall in the Cowboys' CBI-opening win over North Dakota State. Martinez participated in all of Wyoming's summer activities and is expected to be ready for the season.
The Cowboys don't have a big wing player in terms of size, and other than Martinez they don't have one with any Division I experience. Nathan Sobey, a 6-4 Australian from Cochise (Ariz.) College, can play all three guard spots, handy because, more often than not, Wyoming will play with three guards. Sobey averaged 16.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals last season at Cochise. He shot 48 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3-point range.
Jason McManamen was Wyoming's Mr. Basketball last year out of Torrington. At 6-5, he gives the Cowboys a bigger wing, but it's uncertain how much he can contribute this season as a true freshman.
"It's better to have all guards than guys pretending to be guards. We have a good stable of guys, but unfor-tunately an unproven one," Shyatt said.
Shyatt said this team has a "good starting point" in the post in 6-7 senior forward Leonard Washington (12.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.1 bpg) and 6-8 sophomore Larry Nance, Jr. (4.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg). Washington led the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots last year, and earned second-team All-Mountain West honors. The USC transfer was suspended for two separate incidents in the offseason, but he made strides in the summer to get reinstated.
Nance, Jr., the son of former NBA standout Larry Nance, came off the bench in all 33 games last season. Nance improved as the season progressed, and his scoring average in conference games was nearly double from his overall average. He worked a lot in the offseason on a mid-range game.
Wyoming doesn't have a proven presence at center like it did last season with 6-10 senior Adam Waddell. But it does have someone with good size in 6-10 sophomore Matt Sellers, who transferred in December from Western Wyoming Community College but didn't play. Sellers didn't play high school basketball, but since he arrived in Laramie he's dropped 35 pounds. Shyatt said Sellers has "probably been the top worker in the program."
"I don't see any reason why he can't get some experience," Shyatt said.
Another promising newcomer that didn't play high school basketball is 6-9 sophomore Derek Cooke, Jr. from Cloud County (Kansas) Community College. He averaged 6.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots last season. Cooke, from Washington D.C., was a 6-2 receiver on his high school football team. He was an NCAA qualifier academically out of high school, but took a year off. He then had a growth spurt to 6-9 and played his first basketball in junior college. Cooke posted some of the best marks in most of Wyoming's summer testing drills.
"His foot quickness is much better than I thought," Shyatt said. "He's good on switches, and defending bigger guys. He's got an innocence to the game that you would think would result in a void mentally, but he's further along there than I thought."
True freshman Austin Haldorson, who's also 6-9, is on the roster and could see playing time early in his career.
"In the frontcourt we have five guys that are completely different, but I like it," Shyatt said. "I don't like it when you look at other rosters in the league because just about everyone other than the Cowboys have everyone back.
"But we're in this for the long haul and trying to build this like we want. Two, three, four years down the road we will have some very sound pieces."
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT: D BENCH/DEPTH: D FRONTCOURT: C INTANGIBLES: C
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Post by yotemeal on Nov 12, 2012 9:30:34 GMT -6
Finally, the Blue Ribbon preview on NC Central, which is 0-1 after being comfortably defeated at the hands of Wichita St:
COACH AND PROGRAM
North Carolina Central made history in more ways than one last season. Not only did the Eagles play their first campaign as a full member of Division I, they finished with a 17-15 record -- which marked the first winning season for the program since 2004-05, and the team's highest victory total in 12 years.
To be fair, it's not like the Eagles accomplished all that with a roster filled with plucky underdogs. Coach LeVelle Moton stacked his deck with three transfers from high-major programs, all of whom emerged as key contributors. Two of those three transfers, seniors Ray Willis, Jr. and Ebuka Anyaorah, return. They should keep Central in the thick of the MEAC race.
Willis will be the focal point for the Eagles -- as well as opposing defenses. In his first season at Central after transferring from Oklahoma, the 6-6 Willis (14.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.3 spg) ranked seventh in the league in scoring and earned second-team all-conference honors. Among returning players, only Delaware State's Tahj Tate (16.1 ppg) boasted a higher offensive output.
Offense isn't the problem for Willis. But Willis' game does have flaws.
North Carolina Central Eagles Last Season 17-15 (.531) Conference Record 10-6 (5th) Starters Lost/Returning 2/3 Coach Levelle Moton (North Carolina Central '96) Record At School 39-52 (3 years) Career Record 39-52 (3 years) RPI Last 5 years 279-338-344-275-331
"Last year, he didn't do an outstanding job of leading," Moton said. "That was a shock to us all cause he was coming from a prominent program at Oklahoma. I'm challenging him on that, and we've met time and time again this summer, and that's what I'm demanding from him.
"His talent level speaks for itself but he has to be more consistent. He has to commit himself more on the defensive end. He's still not the defensive basketball player he's capable of being. I told him he has to squeeze all the juice out of the orange. Obviously, he's the orange. When he leaves here, there can't be any regrets."
Anyaorah (8.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg), a 6-3 transfer from Georgia, scored in double figures 13 times and led the team in 3-pointers (39).
Emanuel Chapman (3.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 5.1 apg) is the other incumbent. The 6-1 junior took over as the point guard when Justin Leemow was dismissed from the team after an arrest on drug charges. Moton reinstated Leemow before season's end, but Chapman remained the Eagles' primary point, handing out 162 total assists with five games of 10 or more.
Jeremy Ingram (9.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg) gives Central a fourth proven perimeter player. The 6-3 junior came off the bench all season, but only Willis and first-team all-conference forward Dominique Sutton averaged more minutes than the 22.9 per game Ingram logged.
"He's a fearless kid. He's capable of taking and making big shots," Moton said. "He's also probably one of our better defensive wings."
Three newcomers fortify an already quality contingent of guards. Drimir Ferguson, a 5-9 junior, provides some depth at the point behind Chapman. Ferguson (11.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 6.0 apg, 2.3 spg) put up some strong numbers as a sophomore at Monroe Community College in upstate New York, and was one of three Monroe players to see more than 1,000 minutes of floor time.
"He's a water bug," Moton said, noting Ferguson's combination of small stature and extreme quickness. "He creates easy opportunities. He gets something out of nothing. That's always a premium to have, especially at our level."
Moton also signed two teammates from State Fair Community College in Missouri, both of whom play the perimeter -- Antonin Galaya (11.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.1 apg), a 6-5 junior who shot 42 percent from 3-point range with 70 makes; and Alonzo Houston (17.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.3 spg), a 6-3 wing who led State Fair in scoring and arrives with three years' eligibility.
Significant questions exist on the front line. Sutton, Central's leading scorer and rebounder and one of the best all-around players in the MEAC last season, has exhausted his eligibility. Moton may turn to another D-I transfer to fill the void. Jay Copeland, a 6-7, 235-pounder who came to NCCU from Ball State, is eligible after sitting out last season. Best of all? Unlike Sutton, Copeland has a wealth of remaining eligibility; he's a redshirt freshman. Expect Copeland to get plenty of minutes at center.
DavRon Williams signed with the Eagles last season but was sidelined by a shoulder injury. The 6-7 sophomore is good to go now, and also will see time in the paint.
Blue Ribbon Previews Take an Inside look at the MEAC with Blue Ribbon's 2012-13 team reports: Bethune-Cookman Coppin State Delaware State Florida A&M Hampton Howard Maryland Eastern Shore Morgan State Norfolk State North Carolina A&T North Carolina Central Savannah State South Carolina State
Another 6-7 forward, junior Stanton Kidd, has the inside track to start at the four spot. Kidd (12.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.2 spg,) grew up in Baltimore but played the last two years at Texas' South Plains Junior College, which went 36-0 last season.
"He comes from a junior college program where they were undefeated and won the national championship, so he knows a thing or two about winning. That's essential when you're bringing in kids at our level," Moton said. "They have to know the process and be committed to the process of winning so it's second nature when they come here."
The other incoming big man is Ramon Johnson, a massive (6-9, 300) sophomore out of The Robinson School in New Jersey.
"Obviously we've got to get him in better shape, but we'll be leaning on him as well," Moton said.
Karamo Jawara (2.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg) was a regular part of last season's rotation and averaged about 10 minutes per game as a true freshman. Moton expects the 6-7 sophomore from Norway to become a more reliable contributor.
Jonathan Nicely (1.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg), a 6-4 senior forward, rounds out the roster.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT: A BENCH/DEPTH: C+ FRONTCOURT: C INTANGIBLES: B+
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Post by Coyote Fan on Nov 12, 2012 12:36:14 GMT -6
Lets hope for the Yotes that they show some flashes of what may be to come. It may be hard to play consistantly well for the entire tourney but I would think 1 or 2 of these games are winnable by playing pretty good basketball.
I didn't read the above word for word. Is there going to be any way to view these games?
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Post by canislatrans on Nov 14, 2012 9:07:27 GMT -6
I'm not sure about the other games, but it looks like for $7.95, you can get the Wyoming game on Thursday at this site www.gowyo.com/allaccess/
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jimmer
Freshman Member
Posts: 23
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Post by jimmer on Nov 14, 2012 19:39:04 GMT -6
79-83 southern.
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Post by canislatrans on Nov 15, 2012 20:10:19 GMT -6
Sorry, for the inaccurate info re: TV for tonight's game with Wyoming. Their web site had the game listed as Premium TV coverage for Thursday, earlier this week. However, in checking this evening it says there is no TV for tonight's game.
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