2012 Hall of Fame New England Championship – Player Evaluations

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The first of two weekends that were open to Division I coaches saw a trip to Connecticut on the docket. The Hall of Fame New England Championship was held primarily a little away from Hartford, with the key games being at Wesleyan University.

The 16-under final was a close game throughout, with Team Scan leading the B.C. Eagles for most of the game. Down 40-35 late, the B.C. Eagles finished the game on an 8-1 run for a 43-41 win. Calvin Crawford (6’7″ Jr. SF, Montgomery (NY) Valley Central HS) led the Eagles with a game-high 15 points and was their only player in double figures. Chris McCullough (6’9″ So. PF, White Plains (NY) Salisbury Prep) led Team Scan with 13 points and Conrad Chambers (6’1″ So. SG, Chester (PA) Friends Central HS) added 11.

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2012 Northeast Hoop Festival – Player Evaluations

HARTFORD, Conn. – A trip to Trinity College was in order on Saturday to check out action at the Northeast Hoop Festival, run by Hoop Mountain and the New England Recruiting Report. The tournament brought a number of teams from a lot of the east coast to compete in several age groups. As is often the case, the preference here was for the oldest players, and we got a look at a good number of them on Saturday.

With that, here are some thoughts on notable players in the event.

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It’s time to recognize John Calipari’s coaching

Let’s give John Calipari his due as a coach. This would be needed even if Kentucky lost on Monday night, but now that they have done what a team with that talent should do by winning the national championship, we need to give him his due and put an end to all the things that have been said about him to dismiss his coaching ability. It’s time we stopped saying the common lines that have been uttered about him that stop short of giving him credit as a coach.

Let’s stop saying he’s just a great recruiter.

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Kentucky, SEC shatter statistical expectations; ACC underwhelms

It’s good to be an SEC fan.

On Monday night, Kentucky completed its return to national supremacy by winning the program’s first championship since 1998. The title run marked the Wildcats’ second consecutive Final Four under coach John Calipari, who figures to make Kentucky a national championship contender pretty much every season that he’s on the sidelines.

Even though many people figured the Wildcats would cut down the nets in New Orleans, Kentucky exceeded expectations from a statistical perspective as soon as the Wildcats beat Baylor to reach the Final Four. Based on seed expectations, the typical No. 1 seed wins 3.32 games. So reaching the Elite Eight isn’t much to crow about for No. 1 seeds. … Continue Reading

Team Takeover repeats at Playaz Spring Fling 16-under

WAYNE, N.J. – The transition from college basketball to the travel circuit always seems to unofficially begin with the Playaz Spring Fling, and that includes this year.  The event now is broken up into three separate events in northern New Jersey, with this weekend featuring 14-under and 16-under teams.

The 14-under championship was not a very competitive game, as Team Scan ran out to an early lead and never looked back in an 81-50 rout of Virginia-based New Generation.  They would lead by as many as 21 in the first half and later by 32 in the second half.  Devonte Green (SG-SF, North Babylon (NY)) scored a game-high 20 points to lead five Team Scan players in double figures.  Unique McLean (SG-SF, Brooklyn (NY)) was the tournament MVP, scoring 13 points in the final.

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An improbable run by Kansas? That’s what this is

One team was supposed to be here, one team wasn’t. The latter could be said in more ways than one. But as Monday night’s national championship game beckons, Kentucky and Kansas are something of a study in contrasts from the standpoint of how they got to this point. While there will surely be a lot of talk of about recent history between these two teams and head coaches, a better subject is the contrast in the expectations many had of these teams, and how one of them has reached here in what was thought to be more of a rebuilding year than a contending one. In doing so, we find that Bill Self may have done his best coaching job yet.

“We have kind of flown under the radar, by Kansas standards of late, which I think has been very healthy for a team that’s just trying to find themselves,” said Self.

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NIT: Sights and sounds

NEW YORK – Part of the lure and attraction of this great tournament, the NIT, is what happens behind the scenes. It’s New York and never dull.

Here is a look at this year from train to Garden floor. Granted, it’s a plug for NJ Transit, but they were on time round trip and got me safely to and from both days.

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Stanford routs Minnesota for NIT title

NEW YORK -  It is probably safe to assume neither team expected a game of this type. On paper it seemed to be an even matchup, but that is the reason they play them and settle it on the court. In the NIT championship, Stanford routed Minnesota 75-51. The title, in this 75^th NIT, was Stanford’s second. The Cardinal also won the crown in 1991. The points of emphasis:

1. Defense. Exhibit a had to be the D. Good old man-to-man with denial and a physical presence in the paint. The Cardinal limited Minnesota to a 37 percent shooting night. Of greater importance was the forcing of the opposition into 22 turnovers. Those errors on the part of Minnesota led Stanford to an excellent 28-7 advantage in points off turnovers. “We saved the best for last,” Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. “We have had runs like this before but never in a game like this on this stage.” … Continue Reading

NIT: Stanford halts the UMass run

NEW YORK  -  The UMass run in the NIT and season came to an end. On Tuesday, Stanford defeated the Minutemen 74-64 in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Stanford will face Minnesota, a 68-67 overtime winner over Washington, for the championship. The loss did not diminish the overall achievement of UMass’ 25-10 season.

The three points of emphasis:

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George Mason and VCU leaving the CAA would make no sense

Earlier in March, there was rumor going around that the Atlantic 10 might look into luring big-time Colonial Athletic Association schools like George Mason and VCU, and another couple of schools were mentioned as well. No one felt it had any legs, but as we near the end of March, that has gained traction. With CBSSports.com reporting that George Mason, VCU and Butler of the Horizon League are indeed having conversations about it, CAA commissioner Tom Yeager had to address it, just as the CAA schools did.

The question one has to ask, though, is something else: why would George Mason and VCU leave the CAA for the Atlantic 10?

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Ohio State gets a little help and advances to the Final Four

BOSTON – Jared Sullinger came back to college for this. He felt his team had this kind of potential, even if many others didn’t. In the end, he proves to be right, as his young Ohio State team is headed to the Final Four, and not on the backs of four players who carried them for a lot of the season.

Ohio State’s 77-70 victory had a little irony in that they won the game a little like the way their opponents often beat teams this season. Ohio State didn’t use a zone defense like Syracuse, but whereas the Orange won a lot of games with their depth, Ohio State did so on Saturday to a different degree. The man of the hour, if there truly is one, was not Sullinger, and it wasn’t surging Deshaun Thomas, feisty point guard Aaron Craft or steady senior William Buford.

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Simply put, Syracuse survives and advances

BOSTON – It’s not just a cliché that three words are all that matter in March – survive and advance.  That’s what Syracuse did on Thursday night, surviving a game that a lot of teams might have lost against Wisconsin with a 64-63 win.  Indeed, head coach Jim Boeheim was having a hard time trying to remember a similar game that his team has won.

“They made 14 threes, and usually that’s enough,” said the Syracuse mentor.  “I don’t think anybody has ever made 14 threes against us and we beat them.”

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A-10 and Big East sit pretty entering Sweet 16

Through the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament, which conferences are off to the best start? The answer — mathematically speaking — might surprise you: the Atlantic 10 and Big East.

Yes, the Big Ten has four teams in the Sweet 16, the same number as the Big East. But the Big Ten was supposed to do well with five teams receiving a No. 4 seed or better. In comparison, the Big East had one fewer team among the protected seeds.

In looking at teams’ actual performance vs. expected performance based on seeds, the Atlantic 10 and Big East are shining stars among conferences that sent at least three teams to the Big Dance. … Continue Reading

2012 New England Junior Best 40 recap

ROXBURY, Mass. – The New England Junior Best 40 brought out nearly 120 young basketball players from grades 5 through 9 on a busy Sunday of basketball. The Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center played host to the event, and its field house was full of activity for most of the day. The event is a spin-off of last fall’s New England Best 40, which featured exclusively high school players.

Each session began with stretches, then stations to give them some ideas for improving their game. Later, they got a lecture from Bobby Martin, who was a McDonald’s All-American and starred at Pittsburgh from 1987-91. Martin is still one of the top 20 all-time leading scorers in the school’s history and is just outside the top ten all time in rebounds as well, and had a lot to offer to the young players about things that were peripheral to one’s basketball talent. Martin also has a son around their age, and offered them some of the same life lessons he offers his son.

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UMass charting a course to New York

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – They are just 40 minutes from a trip to New York and the NIT Final Four. Following a 77-67 win at Seton Hall on Saturday, suddenly UMass is getting a good deal of attention. The assignment is traveling to Philadelphia to face a strong Drexel team. Regardless, the Minutemen are now on all cylinders and will be that proverbial “tough out”.

Back in November, Kellogg was at the Atlantic 10 Media Day held in Brooklyn.  The UMass coach was asked about his job status, specifically was this year make or break? Kellogg basically responded by summing up the situation as he noted, “I don’t feel any outward pressure. Any pressure that is there is what I put on myself.”

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Spring 2012 Hoop Group Top 100 player evaluations

MANSFIELD, Mass. – While the NCAA Tournament takes center stage in the world of basketball, Saturday was part of a busy weekend of basketball in Massachusetts. The state finals in high school basketball were part of it, as well as Hoop Group running a pair of showcases at the Mansfield Sportsplex. After the morning saw junior high school kids compete, we took in the afternoon session with over 100 high school players.

With that, we take a look at some notable players that competed in the high school ranks.

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Oliver McNally a consistent leader in Harvard’s rise

Will Wade remembers the first time he saw Oliver McNally play. In particular, he remembers the impression the young guard left on him as he drove and dunked on a defender, and as the defender hit the floor McNally looked right down at him before getting back on defense. Wade, who is now an assistant at VCU, knew Harvard needed a guy like him in the program, and as McNally’s career comes to a close, that first impression wasn’t a false one. That’s fitting, because McNally has been nothing if not consistent as a winner.

McNally was the first recruit for Tommy Amaker after he took the job at Harvard. Amaker had coached at great academic schools before, having played and been an assistant at Duke and more recently at Michigan before coming to Cambridge, so he wasn’t in unfamiliar territory. But this was a little different job for him, as Seton Hall and Michigan had been to the NCAA Tournament before – indeed, each had been to Final Fours, with Michigan winning a national championship. Harvard, on the other hand, had never been to the NCAA Tournament since it was the major postseason tournament. The last time Harvard made it was 1946, back when the NIT was the postseason tournament teams wanted to be in. And as academics go, no school stands above Harvard.

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Leonard Hamilton has made Florida State an elite program

During the ACC Tournament, Leonard Hamilton spoke of trying to become a program of significance in the ACC, and by extension, nationally. When the Florida State mentor was asked if his program had reached that point, he deferred to those in the media.

“We don’t determine that,” said Hamilton with a smile. “You guys do.”

In that vein, I offer you this: Florida State has become a program of significance both in the ACC and nationally. That was the case even before they won the ACC Tournament on Sunday, but that certainly doesn’t hurt.

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Seton Hall defeates Stony Brook in NIT opener

South Orange, N.J. - In coaching psychology plays a key part. Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard had to play a major role of psychologist to get the Pirates ready for the NIT. Just 48 hours removed from a severe “Selection Sunday” snub, Seton Hall defeated Stony Brook 63-61 in the first round of the NIT at Walsh Gymnasium.

The pace and efficiency:

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March to Madness: Breaking down the East and Midwest

In our first look at the brackets, we checked out the South and West, with lots of love for Kentucky and Missouri.

In this edition, we’re looking at the East Region in Boston and Midwest Region in St. Louis. There’s plenty of excitement ahead in both regions, and we take a look at the top players, potential spoilers and bracket favorites. … Continue Reading