Conference USA 2002-03 Season Recap
by Zach Van Hart
During the first half of the season, the Louisville Cardinals were not only the story of C-USA, but of the whole country. The Cards won 18 of their first 19 games and climbed to as high as No. 2 in the nation. But they faded down the stretch and Marquette, led by conference MVP Dwyane Wade, climbed to the top. The Golden Eagles were challenged by the resurgent Memphis Tigers, but eventually captured the regular season title.
But during the C-USA Tourney, Marquette suffered a quarterfinal upset to No. 9 seed UAB. The Blazers then knocked off No. 4 Saint Louis and looked prime to make a miraculous journey into the Big Dance. But they fell just a little short against hometown Louisville. The Cardinals squeaked past Memphis during the semis before topping UAB, 83-78.
NCAA Tournament
Marquette
Defeated Holy Cross, 72-68
Defeated Missouri, 101-92
Defeated Pittsburgh, 77-74
Defeated Kentucky, 83-69
Lost to Kansas, 94-61
Louisville
Defeated Austin Peay, 86-64
Lost to Butler, 79-71
Memphis
Lost to Arizona State, 84-71
Cincinnati
Lost to Gonzaga, 74-69
NIT
Alabama-Birmingham
Defeated UL Lafayette, 82-80
Defeated Siena, 80-71
Lost to St. John’s, 79-71
DePaul
Lost to North Carolina, 83-72
Saint Louis
Lost to Minnesota, 62-52
Awards
First Team All C-USA
Dwyane Wade, Marquette
Reece Gaines, Louisville
Marque Perry, Saint Louis
Morris Finley, UAB
Chris Massie, Memphis
Louis Truscott, Houston
Second Team
Charles Gaines, Southern Miss
Will McDonald, South Florida
Demon Brown, Charlotte
Antonio Burks, Memphis
Leonard Stokes, Cincinnati
Third Team
Robert Jackson, Marquette
Sam Hoskin, DePaul
Travis Diener, Marquette
Junior Blount, TCU
Reggie Kohn, South Florida
Most Valuable Player
Dwyane Wade – Marquette junior guard
Season averages – 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists per game. Reece Gaines competed with Wade for half the season, but Wade eventually blew the entire league out of the water.
Freshman of the Year
Francisco Garcia, Louisville
Newcomer of the Year
Robert Jackson, Marquette
Defensive Player of the Year
Dwyane Wade, Marquette
Coach of the Year
John Calipari, Memphis
Marquette 27-6, 14-2 C-USA
Starters staying – 3, leaving – 2
Players leaving:
Robert Jackson, graduated
Dwyane Wade, leaving early for NBA
Key players returning:
junior guard Travis Diener, senior center Scott Merritt, sophomore forward Steve Novak
Top returning scorer – Diener, 11.8 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Merrit, 6.6 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Diener, 5.6 assists per game
Coaching moves – Assistant coach Darrin Horn took head coaching job at Western Kentucky
Memphis 23-7, 13-3 C-USA
Starters staying – 3, leaving – 2
Players leaving:
Chris Massie, graduated
John Grice, graduated
Key players returning:
senior guard Antonio Burks, sophomore guard Jeremy Hunt, sophomore forward Rodney Carney
Top returning scorer – Carney, 9.8 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Carney, 4.8 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Burks, 4.7 assists per game
Louisville 25-7, 11-5 C-USA
Starters staying – 2, leaving – 3
Players leaving:
Reece Gaines, graduated
Marvin Stone, graduated
Erik Brown, graduated
Key players returning:
senior forward Ellis Myles, sophomore forward Francisco Garcia, sophomore guard Taquan Dean
Top returning scorer – Garcia, 11.2 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Myles, 7.9 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Garcia, 2.1 assists per game
Injuries – Myles ruptured the patella tendon in his right knee during a game Feb. 28 and doctors estimate he will not return to full activity till the end of August.
Saint Louis 16-14, 9-7 C-USA
Starters staying – 2, leaving – 3
Players leaving:
Marque Perry, graduated
Drew Diener, graduated
Kenny Brown, graduated
Key players returning:
senior guard Josh Fisher, sophomore guard Anthony Drejaj, senior forward Chris Sloan
Top returning scorer – Fisher, 8.2 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Sloan, 3.8 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Fisher, 3.7 assists per game
Cincinnati 17-12, 9-7 C-USA
Starters staying – 3, leaving – 2
Players leaving:
Leonard Stokes, graduated
Taron Barker, graduated
Key players returning:
senior guard Field Williams, junior forward Jason Maxiell, sophomore forward Armein Kirkland
Top returning scorer – Maxiell, 11.9 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Maxiell, 6.7 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Chadd Moore, 1.6 assists per game
Tulane 16-15, 8-8 C-USA
Starters staying – 1, leaving – 4
Players leaving
Brandon Spann, graduated
Waitari Marsh, graduated
Brandon Brown, graduated
Nick Sinville, graduated
Key players returning:
senior forward Wayne Tinsley, junior guard Marcus Kinzer, senior center Ivan Pjevcevic
Top returning scorer – Tinsley, 6.9 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Tinsley, 3.8 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Tinsley, 2.7 assists per game
DePaul 16-13, 8-8 C-USA
Starters staying – 4, leaving – 1
Players leaving:
Sam Hoskin, graduated
Key players returning:
senior center Andre Brown, senior forward Delonte Holland, junior guard Drake Diener
Top returning scorer – Holland, 10.9 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Brown, 9.0 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Diener, 3.4 assists per game
Charlotte 13-16, 8-8 C-USA
Starters staying – 3, leaving – 2
Players leaving:
Curtis Nash, graduated
Kevin Johnson, transferring
Tory Reed, transferring
Key players returning:
senior guard Demon Brown, sophomore forward Curtis Withers, junior guard Eddie Basden
Top returning scorer – Brown, 16.8 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Basden, 6.9 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Basden, 2.6 assists per game
Alabama-Birmingham 21-13, 8-8 C-USA
Starters staying – 4, leaving – 1
Players leaving:
Eric Bush, graduated
Key players returning:
senior guard Morris Finley, senior forward Gabe Kennedy, sophomore forward Demario Eddins
Top returning scorer – Finley, 18.3 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Sidney Ball, 5.4 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Finley, 3.2 assists per game
South Florida 15-14, 8-8 C-USA
Starters staying – 3, leaving – 2
Players leaving:
Reggie Kohn, graduated
Will McDonald, graduated
Key players returning:
junior forward Terrence Leather, senior guard Jimmy Baxter, sophomore forward Yusuf Baker
Top returning scorer – Baxter, 14.6 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Leather, 5.3 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Brian Swift, 2.4 assists per game
Coaching change – Seth Greenberg resigned as head coach to take head coaching job at Virginia Tech. Robert McCullum, formerly head coach of Western Michigan, is the new head coach
Houston 8-20, 6-10 C-USA
Starters staying – 3, leaving – 2
Players leaving:
Louis Truscott, graduated
Jeremee McGuire, graduated
Key players returning:
junior guard Andre Owens, junior guard Bryan Shelton, sophomore forward Cedric Hensley
Top returning scorer – Owens, 13.9 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Owens, 5.1 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Owens, 3.2 assists per game
Coaching change – Michael Young was named assistant coach, after working at UH as a strength and conditioning coach
Southern Miss 13-16, 5-11 C-USA
Starters staying – 4, leaving – 1
Player leaving:
Mario Myles, graduated
Key players returning:
senior forward Charles Gaines, senior forward Greg Johnson, sophomore Jasper Johnson
Top returning scorer – Gaines, 14.4 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Gaines, 9.3 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Dante Stiggers, 4.5 assists per game
East Carolina 12-15, 3-13 C-USA
Starters staying – 4, leaving – 1
Player leaving:
Travis Holcomb-Faye, graduated
Key players returning:
senior forward Erroyl Bing, senior guard Derrick Wiley, senior forward Gabriel Mikulas
Top returning scorer – Wiley, 14.0 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Bing, 8.7 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Belton Rivers, 2.1 assists per game
Texas Christian 9-19, 3-13 C-USA
Starters staying – 2, leaving – 3
Players leaving:
Junior Blount, graduated
Bingo Merriex, graduated
Jamal Brown, graduated
Key players returning:
junior guard Corey Santee, junior guard Corey Valsin, sophomore forward Chudi Chinweze
Top returning scorer – Santee, 16.3 points per game
Top returning rebounder – Chinweze, 4.8 rebounds per game
Top returning assist man – Santee, 5.0 assists per game
