CAA Tournament Quick Hitters

RICHMOND, Va. – Some additional quick hitters from the CAA Tournament:

• William & Mary is not likely to get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but the Tribe should at least be in the discussion.  Just look at their three big non-conference wins and realize how much shelf life they still have.  Maryland tied Duke for the ACC regular season title, Wake Forest is now a lock in some NCAA Tournament projections, and Richmond finished third in the Atlantic 10 and won 24 games.  A couple of losses knocked their RPI back into the 50s, but the Tribe beat some quality opponents, and the teams that are on the bubble have proven they can lose but not necessarily win against top teams.

• After the loss to Old Dominion, Pat Kennedy said that Towson‘s frontcourt issues will be addressed with who the Tigers have coming in next season, which includes Maryland transfer Braxton Dupree as he will be eligible.  Whether or not he will coach them is an open question.  Speculation that he may be out as coach has been out there, especially since Towson is planning to open a new arena.  Since a five-game winning streak early in the 2000-01 season, the Tigers have never won more than three games in a row, which they have done three times.  In six seasons at Towson, Kennedy’s record is 68-115, with no season at .500 or better.
• Although they had a nice season, one must remember that George Mason is still a young team.  The Patriots looked it in the grand scheme of things, as they had clear ups and downs.  They were hot in January, winning eight in a row after being blown out at Northeastern, but they went 2-6 in February.
  “I told the team after the game I thought we were really building something very, very good in January, and we somehow lost that magic,” said head coach Jim Larranaga.  “We were 8-1 at the time, we had four or five guys in double figures every night, and we were playing good team defense.  As February rolled around, I don’t know if it was fatigue, we’ve got a young team, I don’t know if we just lost our focus or shooting touch, or quite frankly, the opponents.  We played some very good teams – Old Dominion, William & Mary, Northeastern – in the month of February and lost to each of those guys.”
• When Chaz Williams fouled out on Saturday, Hofstra was a different team.  Charles Jenkins may be their best player and the Player of the Year, but Williams is a jet and can make this team go.  Tom Pecora knew that meant Jenkins and others who are better off the ball now had to handle the ball, and there was certainly a difference.
• Pecora added that if a postseason tournament comes calling, there’s a good chance the Pride will accept.  The Pride finished seventh, but won 19 games with only two losses to Northeastern after a January 23 loss at Drexel.  An important consideration, based on Pecora’s comments, is the chance for his underclassmen to play more.
  “We passed (on the CollegeInsider Tournament) because we had six seniors,” Pecora noted.  “I think this year, with five freshmen, if we get that opportunity, we might do it.  That’s something we’ll look into.”
• James Madison finished the season with a 13-20 record, one certainly not helped by injuries.  But one injury in particular probably hurt more than others, the loss of Devon Moore to a torn ACL in October.  He was the main man among the young players who quickly helped change the culture last year.  While he alone might not have meant 10-15 more wins for the Dukes, a few things might have been different.  Instead, head coach Matt Brady didn’t have fond recollections of the season after their season-ending loss on Saturday night.
  “This was a frustrating group for a lot of reasons,” the second-year head coach said.  “As a basketball coach, all you want your team to do is improve, have steady improvement.  This team didn’t show steady improvement.”
  In adding that his team didn’t always play hard, Brady didn’t leave himself or his staff out of the loop of accountability for the way the season went.  He feels he and his staff could have done a better job getting more out of this team.
  “It doesn’t change my thinking going forward as the head coach of this program that we’ve got to be able to push more buttons with this group next year,” he added.  “We’ve got to play harder, because this league is too good.”