Connecticut Flaunts Compliance Rules

The Connecticut Huskies are conducting damage control after the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions released a notice of allegations that contains eight major violations. And the university can only thank itself for allowing this public relations volcano to erupt.

According to the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, two members of coach Jim Calhoun’s coaching staff made hundreds of impermissible phone calls and text messages to Husky recruits. Then they lied to NCAA investigators to cover their tracks.

In addition, the coaching staff improperly passed along tickets to recruits’ coaches, teachers or friends. The infractions committee also cited Connecticut for allowing Josh Nochimson, a former Husky student manager who became a professional agent, to interact with recruits on Connecticut’s behalf.

In sum, the infractions committee said Calhoun and the university failed to promote compliance and adequately monitor the program’s conduct. Those are pretty serious charges against a program that spends $55 million of taxpayers’ money on its athletics, according to the Hartford Courant.

But with Connecticut’s blatant disregard of compliance, an incident like this was bound to happen.

Connecticut is a powerhouse in men’s and women’s basketball and has recently emerged as a major player in the imminently profitable world of Division I football. The recruiting trail is filled with shady figures representing cutthroat competitors. In addition, the NCAA has legislated enough landmines to keep the Committee on Infractions permanently well staffed.

And if you’re a Connecticut executive, you might want to beef up the compliance office when your coach demonstrates a cavalier attitude toward compliance with statements like, “The [rules] manual is 508 pages. Someone could’ve made a mistake,” as reported by Yahoo’s Jason King.

Instead, as of May 2009, Connecticut had the smallest compliance office of any Big East team that plays Division I-A football, as reported by Dave Altimari and Paul Doyle for the Hartford Courant. The Huskies lumped the massive workload of overseeing the conduct of hundreds of student-athletes and dozens of coaches onto two employees. In comparison, Connecticut has already spent $338,000 on law services from Kansas City-based Bond, Schoeneck and King, according to the Hartford Courant, to defend the men’s basketball program against the recent allegations. To do so, the university had to ask the state to double the original three-year contract of $300,000, initiated in April 2009.

Someone in the athletics department — and even the university president or board of directors — should receive some of the blame for this mess. A major program of the Huskies’ magnitude needs major dedication to compliance. Yes, Calhoun has a dubious attitude toward the rules, and he should reconsider publicly antagonizing the NCAA. But the compliance office needs to have more clout and support. If Calhoun is concerned that he or his staff are not following all 508 pages of rules, he should be able to consult the experts and receive a quick reply.

In comparison, journalists have hundreds of Associated Press style guidelines that we’re supposed to follow. I don’t know anyone who has all of them memorized — why even try? But nearly every writer I know has the spiral-bound style guide within reaching distance of their computer. We might not know all the rules, but we know where to look.

Thankfully, the Associated Press doesn’t have an infractions committee to hunt down journalists who write that a game is underway — which is perfectly acceptable according to Merriam-Webster — instead of under way. But if AP style was a requirement for journalists’ performance, we’d be consulting the guide all the time. Writers who opted not to flip through the guide — or worse, knowingly wrote however they wanted regardless of AP style — would be risking professional condemnation.

At this stage, it’s difficult to determine whether Connecticut’s latest embarrassment is a product of negligence or intentional malfeasance. However, these matters likely would not be as prevalent — certainly not as public — if Connecticut’s power brokers placed more emphasis on compliance.

2010 Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions Recap

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions was held its customary area this Memorial Day weekend, bringing together 128 teams in the three main high school age groups in a very well-run event. Every team has had strong showings in at least one tournament over the course of the year, so it’s always competitive and has some unexpected outcomes as well. This year’s event had some excellent individual talent at the top of each class, although the depth wasn’t what it has been in some other years of the tournament.

Before we get to the championship results, we want to mention that Bob Gibbons ran this fine tournament with a heavy heart as on Sunday morning he shared with everyone the news that his mother passed away on Saturday. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bob and his family at this time.

The 15-Under Select final was close for most of the game. Around the halfway point of the second half, the Wisconsin Playground Warriors opened up a 47-37 lead over the Garner Road Bulldogs. Garner Road then rallied slowly, ultimately taking a 55-54 lead late in the game. With just over a half minute to go, Bronson Koeing (6’1” Fr. SG, La Crosse (WI) Aquinas HS) hit a jumper to put the Playground Warriors up 58-57, a lead they would hang on to for the win. Koeing and Austin Mecca (6’7” Fr. PF, Manitowoc (WI) Lincoln HS) led the Playground Warriors with 16 points each and were named co-MVPs of the 15-Under Select.

In the 15-Under National final, Team United jumped out early on DC Assault, leading 29-10 before DC Assault rallied. Team United would finish the half strong to go up 39-23 at the break, and they kept the lead up for some of the second half. DC Assault’s rally picked up steam a little after the halfway point, and they got within 57-56 at one point before Team United scored consecutive baskets and then used free throws to seal a 66-61 win. Claiborn Byrd (5’10” Fr. PG-SG, Hickory (NC) High) and Kennedy Meeks (6’8” Fr. PF, Charlotte (NC) West Charlotte HS) led the winners with 15 points each. Romelo Trimble (6’3” Fr. SG, Temple Hills (MD) Progressive Christian Academy) led DC Assault with a game-high 24 points.

In the 16-Under Select final, Indiana Elite/Team Indiana led for most of the game, and although they never broke the game open they opened it up past one possession for stretches in the final minutes in a 71-66 win over the Charlotte Nets. MVP D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (6’3” So. SG, Indianapolis (IN) North Central) led Indiana Elite with a game-high 28 points. Jarvis Haywood (6’4” So. SG, Charlotte (NC) Waddell HS) led the Nets with 24 points.

The 16-Under National final was a dandy between the Atlanta Celtics, whose teams have had great success in this tournament over the years, and the fast-rising CP3 All-Stars. CP3 got going early to take a 12-point lead on a few occasions in the first half, but the Celtics rallied to get within 40-36 at halftime. Early in the second, the Celtics grabbed the lead, then the game went back and forth. With CP3 holding a 68-67 lead with 5.3 seconds left, William Goodwin (6’8” So. PF, Decatur (GA) Southwest Dekalb HS) sank two free throws to cap a game-high 26-point performance, and CP3′s attempt at the buzzer missed as the Celtics took home the title with a 69-68 win. Goodwins was named the MVP. Braxton Ogbueze (5’11” So. PG, Charlotte (NC) United Faith Christian HS) led CP3 with 23 points and Reggie Dillard (6’4” So. SG, Greensboro (NC) Dudley HS) added 19.

The 17-Under Select final was not played, as one of the teams had a conflicting flight that could not be changed and their semifinal opponent and would-be championship opponent opted not to play the game.

The 17-Under National final started off as a close game, but the Long Island Lightning got most loose and 50-50 balls and took advantage, taking a double-digit lead late in the first half and a 41-28 edge over the Michigan Hurricanes at halftime. The Lightning then scored the first nine points of the second half, and although the Hurricanes slowly rallied to within 73-66 late, the game was never in doubt in the second half as the Lightning took the title with a 76-66 win. MVP Derrick Gordon (6’4” Jr. SG, Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick’s HS) led the Lightning with a game-high 23 points to cap off an excellent weekend. Darnell Harris (6’8” Jr. SF-PF, Milwaukee (WI) Alexander Hamilton HS) led the Hurricanes with 19 points.

Now, we take a look at some of the players who competed this weekend.

Tracy Abrams (6’1” Sr. PG-SG, Chicago (IL) Mt. Carmel HS) He has a solid national reputation and played well here, going for 21 in a quarterfinal win on Sunday. He plays hard and has some athleticism, although he didn’t look like the most fluid athlete, and knocked down several jumpers out to three-point range. High-major minus prospect has committed to Illinois.

Jordan Adams (6’5” So. SG, Lawrenceville (GA) Central Gwinnett HS) The leading scorer on the 16-Under National champions, he had a nice weekend and an argument could be made that he was deserving of the MVP. He has a relatively mature body with some good offensive skill, including a touch from long range that he displayed a few times. In going for 20 points in the quarterfinals, he made his shots count as he hit some key three-pointers in the second half.

Obji Aget (7’0” So. C, Beckley (WV) Mountain State Academy) Very long post player is raw and a baby physically, but there’s reason to think he can improve to be more prospect than project. He didn’t show much at either end and is clearly a “potential” player right now, but his motor is good enough to think he has a chance.

Ryan Arcidiancono (6’3” So. PG-SG, Langhorne (PA) Neshaminy HS) At first, it looked like he might not play as he had a bandage above his right eye, but he played and did it well. He was the leading scorer in 16-under at nearly 32 points per game, scoring exactly that in a loss to the eventual champions, but more importantly he showed his excellent basketball I.Q. and ability to play both guard spots.

D.J. Balentine (6’1” So. PG-SG, Kokomo (IN) High) In an early game on Saturday, he led his team to a win over an in-state rival with 15 points, showing a good touch from long range. He has a good body and also was able to drive and dish.

Adjehi Baru (6’10” Jr. PF, Richmond (VA) Steward HS) A long post player with minimal physical maturity, the keys with him are upside and competitiveness. There’s plenty of the former given that his body has a ways to go, and no shortage of the latter as he competes all the time and runs the floor well. His game needs some work, not surprisingly, but the intangibles suggest his skills will one day catch up to his body. High-major prospect.

Deandre Bembry (6’4” Fr. SG-SF, Charlotte (NC) Independence HS) A wing with a good frame, he scored some in transition and was strong late in the second half of his team’s semifinal win, though he didn’t score much. His body isn’t there yet, but he has time for that to come along.

Cedrick Bowen (6’7” Jr. SF-PF, Woodstock (GA) High) A plus athlete with a good body, he was active and played assertively inside while running the floor. His body can mature more, which should mean he’ll get even better inside.

Chris Brown (6’8” Sr. SF, Tampa (FL) Taag Academy) Headed for a prep year next season, he has some length and a little athleticism but left us feeling like he’s a better player than he showed. He’s not smooth, but was active and in a lot of plays along the way. Mid-major prospect.

Robert Brown (6’6” Jr. SG-SF, Clermont (FL) Eastridge HS) An athletic wing with a thin upper body, he has a good reputation but didn’t play up to it in an early playoff loss. His body’s not there yet, and when he matures he will probably be better at driving and scoring, which he did a couple of times in scoring just seven points.

John Cannon (6’11” Jr. C, Burnsville (NC) Mount Heritage HS) Post player isn’t smooth but was active and effective. He has a mature body and showed a touch from mid-range en route to 10 points in a Saturday game. Mid-major/mid-major plus prospect.

Kareem Canty (6’1” Jr. PG, Brooklyn (NY) Bishop Loughlin HS) He’s been under the radar until recently, as he’s starting to break out after leading his team to a couple of recent championships. His floor leadership has been excellent, as he often found teammates for baskets while also knocking down mid-range shots and consistently scoring in the teens. With his play of late, he’s emerging as a mid-major prospect.

Akil Carr (5’8” Fr. PG, Baltimore (MD) Patterson HS) This small point guard was the story of his team’s win on Saturday when he put up 36 points against the Atlanta Celtics. He’s quick and hyper and plays with an edge, and when he started penetrating he constantly found the gaps and never missed a chance to get through them. When he wasn’t finishing or finding a teammate, he was drawing contact, and when he had a shot from deep he knocked it down at times, hitting four three-pointers. His size may ultimately be a limitation, so the hope is that he grows more.

Angelo Chol (6’9” Jr. PF, San Diego (CA) Hoover HS) Long lefty post player wasn’t a huge factor, but he had his moments. He lacks strength and will need to add it to be more of a factor, but he rebounded reasonably well and was a presence inside defensively while not being one offensively.

Shaquille Cleare (6’9” So. PF, Houston (TX) The Village HS) Post player has a big body inside and a lot of room for development. He missed close shots and in general showed an offensive game that’s rough around the edges, but his size gives him a chance if he can develop his game.

Tyrek Coger (6’8” Fr. PF, Raleigh (NC) Upper Room HS) Post player has a good body, though he’s not the most mobile post player and that was particularly noticeable when he got the ball down low. He couldn’t make a good post move, not helped by his lack of mobility, so a prime place for improvement would be getting his body into better shape.

Dantiel Daniels (6’6” Jr. PF, Wentzville (MO) Holt HS) An undersized post player, the lefty showed some good footwork at the offensive end that made him a scoring threat. In going for 10 points in one game and 19 in another, he worked inside at both ends of the floor and got to the foul line several times. Mid-major prospect.

Denzel Dillingham (6’3” Jr. SG, Hickory (NC) High) He has a good wing body and early on looked like a nice offensive player, knocking down a couple of good jump shots in the first half. But he was quiet in the second half of a loss for his team, not getting shots and finishing the game with just nine points. Still, he’s worth another look.

Wayne Ellenson (6’4” So. SG-SF, Rice Lake (WI) High) A solid blender player, he has a mature body and ran the floor well, at times getting out in transition. He’s more athletic than he looks and plays well within the team concept.

Austin Etherington (6’6” Jr. SG-SF, Arcadia (IN) Hamilton Heights HS) A wing with good size, he’s not overly quick or athletic but was aggressive, looking to drive often. In going for 15 points in a win for his team, he showed a touch shooting the ball but was usually looking to drive.

Kevin Ferrell (5’10” So. PG, Indianapolis (IN) Park Tudor HS) Nicknamed “Yogi”, he’s a baby physically but talented at the offensive end and played up in 17-under. He didn’t show a great deal of playmaking ability, but went for 16 points with a good stroke from long range in a pool win for his team on Saturday.

Amir Garrett (6’6” So. SG-SF, Lawndale (CA) Leuzinger HS) Lefty wing was one of the most promising players we saw on opening night in helping his team to a blowout win. He’s athletic and tough, going for 13 points that included a stickback, and his body’s not there yet so there is certainly some physical upside.

Anthony Gill (6’8” Jr. PF, Charlotte (NC) Christian HS) Athletic power forward has a good body that can still get better with added strength. He wasn’t a standout, but a solid player, and in a losing effort for his team on Friday night he scored 14 points and was a factor inside.

Derrick Gordon (6’4” Jr. SG, Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick’s HS) The easy choice for 17-Under National MVP, he’s a very nice pickup for Western Kentucky, where he committed a while ago. He’s not the most athletically gifted and won’t wow you in any way, but he’s fundamentally sound, scored often on driving field goals and mid-range shots, and finished with his left (off) hand when necessary. He was a consistent double figure scorer, especially in the playoffs as he had 21 and 25 leading up to the title game. Mid-major plus prospect.

William Goodwin (6’8” So. PF, Decatur (GA) Southwest Dekalb HS) The MVP of the 16-Under National got better as the weekend went along. In an early playoff game, he struggled to finish inside although he showed some good moves. He has a mature body, although not all of it is good weight, and he went to work inside instead of drifting away from the basket. He finished the weekend off with a nice championship game to lead his team to victory.

Derrick Griffin (6’7” Fr. SF-PF, Rosenberg (TX) Terry HS) What he showed in terms of skill shows he may be more likely to project as a power forward than a wing. Although he knocked down a three-pointer, he was just okay shooting the ball and doesn’t get much lift on his jump shot. He’s not lacking athleticism and has a more developed lower body than upper right now.

Cezar Guerrero (6’0” Jr. PG, Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco) One of the best point guards in the tournament, he got to the hoop just about any time he wanted to with good quickness and by finding gaps and rode that to being the second-leading scorer in 17-under. He went for 30 and 22 in a couple of games, and his body’s not there yet, suggesting he can still get better physically. High-major prospect.

Aaron Harrison (6’5” Fr. SG-SF, Houston (TX) Strake Jesuit HS) Like his twin, he has a good body with some maturity for his age, although he didn’t look as good. He didn’t have the ball in his hands as often, although he did go for 13 points in one game we saw.

Andrew Harrison (6’5” Fr. SG, Houston (TX) Strake Jesuit HS) The better of the two young twins, he played up in 17-under and showed some promise, although it seems clear he doesn’t know the game yet. He has a good body and had the ball in his hands often, and he showed the ability to finish with his left (off) hand along the way. He passed up a few close shots he should have taken, and at times his body language wasn’t good, but he’ll be worth watching over the next couple of years.

Chris Harrison-Docks (5’11” So. PG, Okemos (MI) High) He played a little like an undersized shooting guard here, but shot the ball well from long range to lead his team to a championship. He had 14 points in the title game after 11 in the semifinals, and he’s just a baby physically so he may grow more before it’s all said and done.

Jarvis Haywood (6’4” So. SG, Charlotte (NC) Waddell HS) A scoring wing, he played well in a couple of late playoff games as his team reached the final. His body isn’t there yet, and he looks to be more of a scorer than a shooter right now, although he did show a touch from mid-range in scoring 16 points in the semifinal (11 in the second half) and led his team with 24 in the final.

Derrick Henry (6’3” Jr. SG, Newton (GA) High) Scoring wing has a good body and had a nice late pool game on Saturday in going for 20 points. An all-tournament selection, he has a good body and scored a few times from mid-range off the dribble and also knocked down a couple of three-pointers.

Andre Hollins (6’2” Jr. SG, Memphis (TN) White Station HS) Well-built guard showed the ability to light up an opponent from long range, going for 24 points in a semifinal game on Sunday. He gets good lift going up for his shot, and that along with his body means he should be able to score off the dribble if opposing defenses try too hard to stop his jump shot.

Patrick Ingram (6’2” So. SG, Indianapolis (IN) North HS) Athletic guard drove often and had his share of success, going for 14 points in an early Saturday win. He has a good body that can mature more and used it to finish when he got inside.

Chris Jones (5’8” Jr. PG, Memphis (TN) Melrose HS) He’s small and has a slight frame, which may limit the level he ultimately plays at, but there’s not much doubt about his offensive ability. One of the top scorers in 17-Under at just under 22 points per game, he can shoot, knocking down several mid-range shots along the way.

Frank Kaminski (6’10” Jr. C, Woodridge (IL) Benet HS) Although he has high-major offers, it’s hard to see him playing at that level based on what we saw here. His inside game was lacking as he’s not the most fluid with his moves and he goes up soft with the ball, while his made three-pointer suggests he could be a face-up big man but he didn’t impress greatly in that respect.

Brian Kelly (5’11” Fr. PG, Takoma Park (MD) Don Bosco Prep) Well-built guard is athletic and tough, as he battled the entire time he was on the floor. He drove to the basket all day, finishing well and fearlessly working inside for offensive rebounds.

Shane Larkin (6’0” Jr. PG, Orlando (FL) Dr. Phillips HS) In his team’s playoff-ending loss, he didn’t have his finest hour, although it didn’t help that he was playing on a bum ankle as that took away his ability to get by defenders. That wasn’t a minor matter as he loves to drive all day, but he also tried to score a little too much and was selfish at times. At the defensive end, he can be a real pest and was very active.

Damian Leonard (6’4” Jr. SG, Greenville (SC) J.L. Mann HS) Don’t be surprised if this shooter busts out in July, as he’s flown under the radar thus far but shouldn’t much longer. A baby physically, he has the frame to carry more good weight and got hot from long range en route to 28 points in a losing effort on Friday night. His shooting will get him noticed, and if he improves his ball skills, there’s a lot of upside for this high-major prospect.

Isaiah Lewis (6’2” Fr. SG, Queens (NY) Christ The King HS) Young guard has some talent, as he has a slight frame but isn’t afraid to go inside and draw contact to get to the foul line. Where he clearly needs work is his feel for taking shots, as he often went up off-balance even when not closely guarded and tended to go up too soon when he had room to take another dribble and get a better shot.

Tyler Lewis (5’11” So. PG, Lewisville (NC) Forsyth Country Day School) Looking at him, one probably wouldn’t think he’s much of a basketball player as he’s small and not very physically gifted. But he has a great motor and can simply shoot the ball from long range, and he also made some nice passes while showing that he’s not slow despite the lack of physical gifts. He forced some shots in his team’s tournament-ending loss, but that came after a solid weekend of games leading his team into Sunday.

Ryan Manuel (6’4” Jr. SG, Houston (TX) Fortbend Austin HS) Scoring wing is a plus athlete whose body isn’t mature physically. He didn’t show one way of scoring that stood out in a 20-point effort we saw on Saturday, but noticeable was a couple of runners he hit in the lane.

Xavier Saddler Mee (6’1” Jr. SG, Raleigh (NC) Wakefield HS) Clearly the best player on a team that got blown out early on Friday, this shifty guard has a slight frame and loves to drive. He found ways to get to the basket often, as he was in attack mode all night and got fouled several times after drawing contact. He didn’t show the jump shot, so that’s an unknown quantity.

Shaq Morris (6’1” Jr. PG-SG, Norcross (GA) Meadowcreek HS) Well-built guard is not a jet but consistently found a way to get to the basket. He had a pair of 14-point games, showing a nice drive and spin move on one play and knocking down a couple of clutch three-pointers in his team’s tournament-ending loss.

Shabazz Muhammad (6’5” So. SG-SF, Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman HS) It’s too bad he was playing on a bum ankle on Saturday, as he has a great reputation but didn’t play up to it at all in a loss for his team. The lefty looked just about average athletically and wasn’t a big factor as he scored just 10 points, with his three-pointers not going down. He has a good body and it’s not fully mature yet, and hopefully we’ll see him later at full strength since many have him as one of the top few players in the class of 2012.

Alex Murphy (6’8” So. SF, Wakefield (RI) St. Mark’s School) He’s looking like the player he was last spring and summer, and on Friday night a lot of observers liked what they saw as he went for 30 points with a variety of good offense. He shot it from deep, scored on the break with a reverse layup, scored off the bounce and made a couple of good moves to finish. After the tournament was over, he stayed to visit Duke unofficially on Monday.

Kamari Murphy (6’8” Jr. PF, Yonkers (NY) Lincoln HS) A consistent inside presence at both ends of the floor en route to a championship, he has a good body and isn’t physically mature yet. He has some length and blocked some shots in addition to rebounding, making his mark more at the defensive end as his post offense looked a little iffy right now.

Phillip Nolan (6’10” So. PF-C, Milwaukee (WI) Vincent HS) Long and lanky post player gets overshadowed on his team but is a fine prospect. He competed inside, where he used his length to block shots and influence others, and the biggest areas of need right now look to be offense, though he scored 12 points in his team’s semifinal loss, and a lack of strength. As he develops, he’ll be worth keeping an eye on.

Bobby Parks, Jr. (6’4” Jr. SG, Memphis (TN) Melrose HS) Talented guard has a good body and showed that he can use it, and was the main bright spot with 31 points in a losing effort on Saturday. The lefty shot the ball well from long range, including a tough off-balance shot, while also getting to the basket. The latter was highlighted by a play where he drove, did a ball fake and finished once he got by his man. High-major prospect.

Hanner Perea (6’8” So. PF, Charlotte (NC) United Faith HS) Long post player has lots of potential once his body matures and he adds strength. He’s a plus athlete who takes contact inside at both ends and rebounded well, but at the offensive end he had a tough time scoring as he lost the ball or had it slapped away from him often in part because he lacks strength right now.

Marshall Plumlee (6’11” Jr. PF-C, Arden (NC) Christ School) Lanky post player has a long wing span and used it well to block shots and get his hands on a lot of balls. He ran the floor well and showed some post scoring ability, though the latter wasn’t in abundance on a team that had a few inside options. Like his older brothers, he has the potential to be a nice inside player.

Solomon Poole (6’1” Fr. SG, Jacksonville (FL) Providence School) The younger brother of Stacey, who is headed to Kentucky in the fall, he’s a well-built guard who was often in transition. He shot the ball better from long range later in a Saturday game where he scored 18 points, and at his size he’ll need to do that if he proves to be a shooting guard although he could still grow more.

Norman Powell (6’3” Jr. SG, San Diego (CA) Lincoln HS) Although he looks to be a talented shooter, he was a bit of a gunner in a Saturday game as he hoisted up some shots that were a little questionable. He scored 13 points in a losing effort, knocking down a couple of the shots, and his body’s not there yet, so there is some upside.

Warren Powers (6’4” Fr. SF, Ellicott City (MD) Glengle Country School) A nice wing player with a good body, he scored 19 points mostly with a nice in-between game. He moved well without the ball and posted up a smaller player with a nice move.

Rodney Purvis (6’3” Fr. SG, Raleigh (NC) Upper Room HS) The leading scorer in 15-Under, he was certainly one of the better young prospects at this tournament. A well-built and athletic guard, he did more than just score as he passed through the defense a couple of times and looks like an above-average ball handler for the shooting guard spot. A highlight was a play where he drove and dunked while getting fouled.

Cameron Ridley (6’9” So. PF, Houston (TX) Fortbend Bush HS) Although he has a mature post body, he’s not the most mobile inside and that was clear several times when he got the ball. He scored 19 points in a game we saw on Saturday, and he was able to finish inside, but usually he struggled if he didn’t get the ball in just the right spot. Improving his mobility will go a long way toward improving his offense.

Chasson Randle (6’2” Jr. PG-SG, Rock Island (IL) High) A plus athlete with a solid national reputation, he didn’t play up to that as we weren’t all that impressed. He has a more developed lower body than upper and scored 11 points in a playoff win for his team, but he wasn’t a big factor and at times it was hard to know he was out there while a couple of lesser-known teammates impressed more.

Desmond Ringer (6’9” Fr. PF, McDonough (GA) Eagles Landing HS) Post player has a mature body for his age, which means he might be done growing. That’s not a bad thing, especially since he showed some signs of post scoring ability although he didn’t get the ball inside enough to be a big factor. He already has good size and now needs to let his post skills come along.

Emonte Rogers (6’5” Fr. SF-PF, Fairfax (VA) Paul VI) Well-built forward is more of an undersized post player right now, but it’s not hard to imagine him making the move to small forward down the road. He finished strong all the time, even while getting fouled, and helped lead his team to the 15-Under final.

Jay Rome (6’7” Jr. PF, Valdosta (GA) High) Well-built forward is not a bad athlete and reportedly a good football player as well, which isn’t hard to believe considering his body. He has a wide frame but a good amount of weight on it, and was consistently active inside with good post moves to score and the occasional stickback, and he also ran the floor well, including a nice pass on one fast break. He went for 20 points in his team’s tournament-ending loss, a game where he was very good inside. High-major/high-major minus prospect.

Tevon Saddler (6’2” Fr. SG, Aberdeen (MD) High) The younger brother of Delaware-bound Devon has a good body that still has some development to come. Like his brother, he’s active and has a good motor, and although he didn’t star at the offensive end he was better later in the game.

Winston Shepard (6’7” So. SF-PF, Henderson (NV) Findlay College Prep) It’s too bad he went down with an apparent right ankle injury in a Saturday game for a couple of reasons. For one, his team was never the same after he went out. Additionally, he looked like a nice prospect, although he doesn’t have the smoothest ball skills. His body isn’t there yet, but he was an active presence before the injury and has a solid reputation.

D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (6’3” So. SG, Indianapolis (IN) North Central) Well-built wing had a solid weekend in leading his team to a championship, consistently scoring well but doing more than that. He averaged just under 24 points per game, but more importantly he competed, was active, made good decisions as he had the ball in his hands often, and he scored in several ways that included using his left (off) hand to finish.

Ronnie Stanley (6’6” So. PF, Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman HS) Lefty post player is undersized with a wide body that he moves reasonably well inside. He was a factor for his team in a playoff game before he went down with a left leg cramp, scoring 12 points along the way.

Quinton Stephens (6’7” Fr. SF-PF, Decatur (GA) Lakeside HS) Long and athletic, he certainly passes the look test as he’s just a baby physically. He was active and around the ball, leading his team in scoring, but right now his skills need to come along and catch up to his body.

Tyler Strange (5’10” Jr. PG, Leominster (MA) Notre Dame Prep) A big reason his team made the run they did was his play at the point. When he runs the show like he did here – unselfishly and trying to find teammates first and foremost – his teams often win. He’s a capable scorer, but can get into a mode where he looks for his shot too much, and he didn’t fall into that here.

Bernard Sullivan (6’8” Jr. PF, Charlotte (NC) North Mecklenburg HS) Lefty post player showed a good deal of potential in an early game on Friday night. In going for 25 points, he showed that he’s a plus athlete with the ability to knock down a mid-range shot, even fading away, and his body isn’t there yet, so he should only get better as he matures.

Kaleb Tarczewski (6’11” So. C, Claremont (NH) St. Mark’s School) The young big man went to work inside this weekend and had a good showing overall. His game is still rough around the edges, but he has some solid fundamentals offensively and got to the line a good deal, making a good percentage of his free throws. While he missed some close shots he normally makes, he kept competing and was consistently scoring in double figures.

Jordan Tebbutt (6’6” So. SG-SF, Tualatin (CA) Horizon Christian HS) A plus athlete with a good body, he showed nice potential in an early Friday game. In going for 13 points in a blowout win for his team, he drove off a pump fake nicely to show he can score off the bounce, and he hit jumpers out to three-point range.

Adonis Thomas (6’6” Jr. SG-SF, Memphis (TN) Melrose HS) An athletic guard whose frame is a bit slight, he averaged 18.6 points as his team made a run to the final of the 17-Under Select. He’s athletic and his body isn’t there yet, with the ability to play either wing position.

Jean-Pierre Tokoto (6’6” So. SF, Menomonee Falls (WI) High) A big-time athlete, he nearly brought the house down in a game on Sunday when he just about jumped over a defender but missed the dunk. He’s a baby physically, meaning there’s plenty of physical upside, and he showed the ability to go left and finish with that hand. Foul trouble didn’t help him in his team’s semifinal loss, where he scored 14 points.

Dedrick Turner (6’2” Fr. PG, Conyers (GA) Salem HS) Aggressive guard has a little physical maturity and got out in transition. He was one of two to score in double figures in a loss for his team early on Saturday, scoring in transition and on a nice runner in the lane.

Kevin Ware (6’4” Jr. PG-SG, Conyers (GA) Rockdale County HS) Athletic guard has a good body that can mature more and is capable of putting up points. He went for 23 in a win on Saturday, knocking down shots from deep and then attacking the basket later. All told, he was one of the better looking guards here.

Jordan Washington (6’7” Fr. PF, Queens (NY) Pathways HS) A plus athlete with a relatively mature body for his age, he’s talented but rough around the edges. He was in foul trouble in a pool game we saw where he scored 10 points before fouling out, but he battled while on the court and effort wasn’t an issue. The big areas for improvement are feel for the game and getting into better shape since not all of his weight is good weight.

Anton Waters (6’6” Fr. SF-PF, Baltimore (MD) Walbrook HS) A baby physically, he’s not very long but was active and around the ball often. He got some stickbacks that included a dunk off the rebound and isn’t a bad athlete, although that won’t stand out about him.

Ryan Watkins (6’8” Sr. PF, Reseda (CA) High) One could be forgiven for overlooking him a little at first, especially considering the underclassmen on his team, as he doesn’t stand out at first. He has a good frame and a mature body but isn’t the swiftest post player inside. But he was effective, getting his share of rebounds, then he opened some eyes when he ran the floor and finished the break with a dunk where he had to reach to throw it down as he got fouled. Mid-major/mid-major plus prospect.

Terry Whisnant (6’3” Jr. SG, Cherryville (NC) High) A wing with a good body, he played bigger than his size in a fine outing for his team on Saturday. He rebounded well, finished the break a couple of times and even knocked down a three-pointer en route to 15 points, showing he can score in a couple of ways.

Carren (C.J.) Wilson (6’0” Fr. PG, Conyers (GA) Rockdale County HS) His size dictates that he plays the point guard spot unless he grows more, but he showed a nice touch scoring the ball largely from good shooting. In going for 22 points in a Saturday game, he knocked down several from deep. Since he’s a baby physically, he may not be done growing yet and may later have better size for playing off the ball.

Eric Wortham, Jr. (6’5” Fr. SF, McDonough (GA) Eagles Landing HS) Well-built wing looks very much like a “potential” player right now since he passes the look test but didn’t put up big numbers. He was active and used his body well, getting several stickbacks at the offensive end.

B.J. Young (6’4” Jr. SG, Florissant (MO) McCluer HS) This high-scoring wing – he was third in scoring in 17-under – might have been the best individual talent here. At the very least, he had the best single-game performance as he opened the tournament with a 43-point outing on Friday where he carried his team to a win. He’s not physically mature yet, but he’s athletic and can score very well slashing to the hoop, from long range, on pull-up jumpers and stopping and popping in transition. Most impressive is that he did a lot of the latter two, while also passing well on the move. High-major/big-time prospect.

Cody Zeller (6’11” Jr. PF-C, Washington (IN) High) The younger brother of Luke and Tyler, he’s not all that different in being a fundamentally sound post player. His body can still get better and he was active on the boards, getting some stickbacks at the offensive end, and he showed good post moves inside en route to 16 points in a late pool win for his team. High-major prospect.

Vincent Zollo (6’8” Jr. PF, Winchester (KY) Rogers Clark HS) A good role player on his team, he ran the floor and played well alongside more talented post players on his team. His body could still get better and he was able to use his left (off) hand to finish, so while not a big offensive threat, he wasn’t absent at the offensive end.

Other players who caught our attention:

Bryan Akinbugbe (6’9” Jr. PF, Charlotte (NC) Brisbane Academy)

Kelvin Amayo (6’4” Jr. SG, Newark (NJ) NIA Prep)

Darius Andrews (6’8” Jr. PF, Orlando (FL) Cypress Creek HS)

Rashaud Bell (6’6” Jr. SF, Atlanta (GA) South Atlanta HS)

Tre Bowen (6’4” So. SF, Washington (DC) Maret HS)

Darrell Bowi (6’6” So. SF-PF, Wauwatosa (WI) East HS)

Andre Brown (6’5” Jr. SG-SF, Clarksville (TN) High)

Michael Brown (6’2” So. SG, Charlotte (NC) West Charlotte HS)

Deonte Burton (6’5” Fr. SF, Milwaukee (WI) Vincent HS)

Tekele Cotton (6’3” Jr. SG, Smyrna (GA) Whitefield Academy)

Samuel Dekker (6’6” So. SF, Sheboygan (WI) Lutheran HS)

Donovan Gilmore (6’8” Fr. PF, Greensboro (NC) Western Guilford HS)

Byron Gladden (6’4” Fr. SG-SF, Charlotte (NC) Vance HS)

Ge-Lawn Guyn (6’3” Jr. SG, Culver (IN) Academy)

Darnell Harris (6’8” Jr. SF, Milwaukee (WI) Alexander Hamilton HS)

Deandre Harris (6’4” So. SF, Milwaukee (WI) Washington HS)

Demetris Henry (6’8” Fr. SF-PF, Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Northeast HS)

Isaiah Hicks (6’8” Fr. PF, Oxford (NC) J.F. Webb HS)

Jeremy Hollowell (6’8” So. SF-PF, Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence Central HS)

Rob Hubbs (6’3” Fr. SG, Newbern (TN) Dyer County HS)

Xavier Johnson (6’7” So. SF, Murrieta (CA) Chapparal HS)

Peter Jurkin (7’0” So. C, Charlotte (NC) United Faith)

Kennedy Meeks (6’8” Fr. PF, Charlotte (NC) West Charlotte HS)

Jaylon Moore (6’7” Jr. PF, Olive Branch (MS) High)

Abdel Nader (6’6” Jr. SF, Skokie (IL) Niles North HS)

Nick Osborne (6’8” So. PF, Muncie (IN) High)

Jalen Packer (6’2” Jr. PG, Princeton (IN) High)

Norvel Pelle (6’9” Jr. PF, Los Angeles (CA) Price HS)

Gavin Pettiford (6’4” So. SF, Baltimore (MD) Poly HS)

Sequan Richards (6’3” Jr. SG, New York (NY) Satellite Academy)

Jaquel Richmond (6’1” Fr. PG, Greensboro (NC) Dudley HS)

Tyquan Roberts (6’6” Jr. SF, Jamestown (NC) Ragsdale HS)

Tyree Robinson (6’4” Fr. SG, San Diego (CA) Lincoln HS)

Evan Rocqamore (6’3” Jr. PG-SG, Las Vegas (NV) Foothill HS)

Patrick Rooks (6’3” Fr. SG, Charlotte (NC) Christian HS)

Terrance Samuel (6’3” Fr. SG, Brooklyn (NY) South Shore HS)

Shamiek Sheppard (6’4” Fr. SG, Brooklyn (NY) South Shore HS)

K.K. Simmons (6’2” Jr. SG, Marietta (GA) Wheeler HS)

Nigel Snipes (6’6” Jr. SF, Atlanta (GA) Paideia HS)

Romelo Trimble (6’3” Fr. SG, Temple Hills (MD) Progressive Christian Academy)

Cameron Walton (5’10” Jr. PG, Cary (NC) Academy)

Chris Washington (6’7” Jr. PF, Augusta (GA) Aquinas HS)

Andrew White (6’6” Jr. SG-SF, Chester (VA) Thomas Dale HS)

Cedric Williams (6’9” Jr. PF-C, Murfreesboro (TN) Siegel HS)

Jacob Williams (6’5” Jr. SG-SF, Chicago (IL) St. Patrick HS)

Damien Wilson (6’6” So. SF, Mableton (GA) Peeblebrook HS))

2010 Patriot League Post-Mortem

The Patriot League continued to have a little different look this year, notably in the standings. For a while, it was dominated by Holy Cross and Bucknell, but for the third year in a row a program other than those two won the title. Two years ago, they shockingly finished at the bottom of the league; last year, Holy Cross finished second while Bucknell tied for last; and this season, they switched places as Bucknell finished second and Holy Cross suffered through a disastrous 9-22 season.

Last year, Lehigh showed signs of contending when they made a great non-league run, but they didn’t get it done in league play. This year, the Mountain Hawks were the best team for much of the season, and they carried that into the league tournament with three wins for the title. A big reason for that was, oddly enough, a freshman. C.J. McCollum wasted no time becoming a star, as he won Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors, the first player in league history to do so. He was second in the league in scoring overall, but it was in league play where he shined the most as he led in scoring, was sixth in rebounding and field goal percentage, third in three-point percentage and seventh in assists and assist/turnover ratio.

McCollum is symbolic of something else that is different about the league, which is the young talent. Oftentimes, young players in a league like this take a back seat to the veterans, but the Patriot League had a lot of young talent this year. Five of the top ten scorers, four of the top nine rebounders and five of the top seven three-point marksmen were underclassmen. McCollum wasn’t the only freshman on his team to be a key player, as Gabe Knutson was also a starter and key player for the Mountain Hawks. Bucknell placed three players on the All-Rookie team, the first team in league history to do that, and all played significant roles for the Bison this season along with sophomore Bryan Cohen, an All-Rookie selection a year ago. Lafayette got to the final in no small part due to the work of sophomores Jim Mower and Ryan Willen. Holy Cross was at times carried by sophomores R.J. Evans and Devin Brown. Jordan Sugars was the main complement to senior Chris Harris at Navy. Stephen Lumpkins teamed with George Mason transfer Vlad Moldoveanu for a solid 1-2 punch inside for American.

While the league is looking different, the young talent is evidence that there is good basketball ahead for the league in the immediate future. The difference in the standings shows that teams have done their best to rise to the level that Holy Cross and Bucknell were at just a few years ago, and some have succeeded.

Final Standings

League Tournament

The story of the Patriot League Tournament was the dominance of eventual champion Lehigh, as the Mountain Hawks won all three games by at least 15 points. They took care of Army in the quarterfinals by pulling away late, while Lafayette and American won at home and Holy Cross was the lone road team to pull out a win as they knocked off Bucknell 67-64 in Lewisburg. The Mountain Hawks weren’t seriously challenged by American in a 79-57 semifinal win, while Lafayette won a back-and-forth battle with Holy Cross 66-63. That set up a championship game between two arch-rivals.

Lehigh led from start to finish, but was challenged in the second half by Lafayette. The Leopards made several runs at the lead, but could never tie the game. The final ten minutes were dominated by Lehigh senior Zahir Carrington, who took home the tournament MVP honors as he helped the Mountain Hawks pull away for a 74-59 win. Lehigh finished the game on a 12-1 run.

Postseason Awards

Player of the Year: C.J. McCollum, Lehigh

Rookie of the Year: C.J. McCollum, Lehigh

Defensive Player of the Year: Bryan Cohen, Bucknell

Coach of the Year: Fran O’Hanlon, Lafayette

All-Conference Team

Chris Harris, Sr. G, Navy

C.J. McCollum, Fr. G, Lehigh

Jared Mintz, Jr. F, Lafayette

Vlad Moldoveanu, Jr. F, American

Kyle Roemer, Sr. F, Colgate

Season Highlights

• Marquis Hall, who had a fine freshman season of his own three years ago, finished his career most importantly with a Patriot League title, but also with a great accomplishment. The two-time Patriot League Scholar Athlete of the Year graduates as the only player in league history to surpass 1,500 points and 500 assists.
• Army got a lot of buzz in non-league play, as new head coach Zach Spiker was getting results right away. The Black Knights haven’t lacked talent in recent years, so their record before league play wasn’t a big surprise. They rode winning streaks of five and four games to a 10-4 mark.
• Vlad Moldoveanu made an instant impact for American once he was eligible in December after transferring from George Mason. He was third in scoring and rebounding in league games, as he didn’t play in enough games to qualify for the overall lead in any categories.
• Lehigh was eighth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at just under 40 percent from behind the arc.

What we expected, and it happened: Bucknell was more like the Bucknell of a few years ago. The Bison were hit hard by injuries in 2008-09 and also had a coaching change to adjust to. With a year under Dave Paulson and a good freshman class, the Bison had some growing pains in non-league play but finished second in the league behind Lehigh.

What we expected, and it didn’t happen: Holy Cross was the pick of many as the favorite before the season, but they didn’t come close to that, finishing 9-22 and seventh in the standings, a game out of last place. The Crusaders struggled at the defensive end for much of the season, and it showed in the win-loss column. Sean Kearney lasted just one season as the head coach, replaced by former Mount St. Mary’s head coach Milan Brown.

What we didn’t expect, and it happened: Lafayette was in contention for the top spot and made it to the championship game. The Leopards won eight games a year ago and didn’t look the part of a contender coming in, but they were right in the mix for the top spot and gave Lehigh a good game in the final of the tournament before a late run put the game away.

Team(s) on the rise: Bucknell. The Bison are back and the likely preseason favorite next year after a good showing in league play. Four of their top five were freshmen or sophomores this past season.

Team(s) on the decline: Colgate. A couple of years ago, the Raiders were in the title game. Now Kyle Roemer and Ben Jonson are gone from a team that finished sixth in the league.

2010-11 Patriot League Outlook

With the younger talent in the league, the future is bright. Just about every team projects to be better next season, so the league should improve on its non-league mark in addition to having a hotly contested race for the top starting in January. Six of the ten all-league players return, and all of the All-Rookie selections should contend for spots on that team before long.

Lehigh will have a chance to repeat, but the early favorite has to be Bucknell as the Bison bring back a lot of young talent that will only get better. Lafayette should be in the mix as they also bring back a lot, while American had growing pains with a less experienced roster this year. Holy Cross and Army each have the personnel to potentially make a jump into the top half as well.

If the league has the kind of year it could next year, ultimately it would be safe to say that the rest of the league succeeded in getting better to catch up to Holy Cross and Bucknell. They had little choice but to do so, and having done so the Crusaders and Bison are certainly not dominating the league any longer and not because they have fallen apart.

2010 Big South Post-Mortem

After winning the conference championship in 2009, Radford appeared stacked entering this season. And for a while, the Highlanders looked like they were on pace to repeat as champions. Player of the Year Artsiom Parakhouski was unstoppable night in and night out, helping Radford finish second to surprisingly dominant Coastal Carolina in the regular season. However, the Highlanders fell victim to Winthrop’s suffocating defense in the Big South Tournament’s semifinals.

Winthrop proved why the Eagles are a perennial conference contender by playing excellent defense throughout the season. The Eagles reaped the dividends of their efforts on defense by storming through the Big South Tournament for another championship. The Eagles captured the conference’s automatic bid, which ended up being an invitation to the play-in game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff from the Southwestern Athletic Conference. In that game, Winthrop’s poor shooting spoiled another solid defensive effort, as the Eagles bowed out without playing a game in the field of 64.

But at least Winthrop reached the NCAA Tournament, a place Coastal Carolina had in its sights after winning the regular-season title. However, the Chanticleers couldn’t continue their success in the conference championship game. Coastal Carolina dropped the final bout at home as Winthrop’s defense knocked the Chanticleers out of rhythm throughout the game.

Final Standings

Big South Conference Tournament

For the ninth time in 12 years, Winthrop won the Big South championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles upset No. 2 Radford and No. 1 Coastal Carolina en route to the conference championship. In the championship game, Winthrop won its second game of the season against the Chanticleers, taking out the hosts 64-53.

After Winthrop gave up 72 points to No. 6 Liberty in the quarterfinals, the Eagles turned up the defensive pressure, holding Radford to 46 points and Coastal Carolina to 53. Senior forward and Defensive Player of the Year Mantoris Robinson paced Winthrop to the championship with 14 points against Coastal Carolina, including a solid 8-of-10 from the free throw line.

The most thrilling game of the tournament was Radford’s 64-61 overtime victory against No. 7 Charleston Southern. Charleston Southern rallied from eight points down in the final minutes of regulation but ran out of steam in overtime. The Highlanders built a six-point cushion to start overtime and held on for the win.

Big South Awards

Player of the Year: Artsiom Parakhouski, Radford

Coach of the Year: Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina

Freshman of the Year: Jeremy Sexton, Charleston Southern

Defensive Player of the Year: Mantoris Robinson, Winthrop

First-Team All-Conference:

Artsiom Parakhouski, Radford

Joseph Harris, Coastal Carolina

Nick Barbour, High Point

Chad Gray, Coastal Carolina

Jamarco Warren, Charleston Southern

Second-Team All-Conference:

Joey Lynch-Flohr, Radford

Austin Kenon, VMI

Kyle Ohman, Liberty

Mantoris Robinson, Winthrop

John Williams, UNC-Asheville

All-Freshman Team:

Jeremy Sexton, Charleston Southern

Stan Okoye, VMI

Evan Gordon, Liberty

Kierre Greenwood, Coastal Carolina

Blake Smith, Radford

Season Highlights

4 Things We Saw Coming

1. Radford’s Artsiom Parakhouski dominated the conference on his way to Player of the Year honors.

2. Radford’s size propelled the Highlanders near the top of the conference.

3. VMI once again led the nation with the fastest pace. The Keydets also finished dead last in defensive efficiency, contributing to the team’s 19 losses.

4. New High Point coach Scott Cherry has the Panthers playing a faster pace and moving up the standings, finishing in the middle of the Big South pack.

4 Things We Thought We’d See

1. After shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 28.4 percent from three-point range in 2008-09, Winthrop was supposed to be better, not worse, on offense this season. That didn’t happen as the Eagles regressed to 38.0 percent from the field and 24.8 percent from long range.

2. Gardner-Webb was supposed to be better after putting up 13 wins in 2008-09 and returning four starters. But the Bulldogs struggled, winning only eight games. Inconsistent guard play led to more than 18 turnovers per game and derailed the season.

3. With Liberty losing Seth Curry and other key contributors, the Flames were supposed to struggle big time this season. But coach Dale Layer found a way to keep Liberty in the top six.

4. To start the season, UNC-Asheville’s backcourt appeared to be the team’s strength. But the Bulldogs ended up averaging about 17 turnovers per game, worse than last season.

4 Things We Didn’t See Coming

1. With Winthrop’s shooting woes, the Eagles didn’t appear to be able to take out Radford in the conference semifinals. But Winthrop found a way to win and got past regular-season champ Coastal Carolina for the conference championship.

2. Coastal Carolina’s ascension to the top of the Big South standings was surprising, especially considering that the team relied mostly on freshmen and sophomores.

3. Coastal Carolina’s Chad Gray, a transfer from South Carolina, did more than just contribute some productive minutes for the Chanticleers. He led the team to the regular-season title with 14.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. For his efforts, he received first-team all-conference honors.

4. Charleston Southern’s Jeremy Sexton stormed through the Big South in his freshman campaign, earning the Rookie of the Year award. He averaged 12.7 points and 2.3 assists per game and shot better than 38 percent from three-point range.

Teams on the Rise:

Charleston Southern

The Buccaneers finished near the bottom of the pack this season. But they will return nearly their entire lineup, including freshman of the year, Jeremy Sexton. If Charleston Southern can continue to cut down on the turnovers, the Buccaneers could move up as a couple of other teams rebuild.

High Point

Under new coach Scott Cherry, the Panthers played better than expected this past season. If Cherry can keep this team on an upward trajectory, the Panthers should approach the top of the conference next season. The Panthers return six out of their top eight players, including leading scorer Nick Barbour, who averaged 18.9 points per game and will be a candidate for player of the year in 2010-11.

Team on the Decline:

Winthrop

The Eagles won the conference championship with an outburst of just-good-enough shooting and excellent defense. But Winthrop will lose the defensive player of the year, Mantoris Robinson, from a team that relies almost entirely on defense. The Eagles actually shot worse this season than they did last season. There’s no reason to expect this team to turn into excellent shooters all of a sudden, and if the team’s defense falters, the Eagles will plummet in the Big South standings.

Radford

The Highlanders will have to learn to succeed without Artsion Parakhouski, which promises to be a tall order next season. The player of the year averaged 21.4 points and 13.4 rebounds per game for Radford this season. In addition, Radford will lose two others starters who averaged at least 32 minutes per game. Radford’s lineup figures to undergo major changes by opening night next season, and it could be a difficult season.

Next Season

This season and next season promise to look totally different in the Big South.

With the player of the year and defensive player of the year graduating, several top teams figure to move down the standings. Radford is in danger of making the biggest drop after Artsiom Parakhouski graduates. The player of the year was spectacular, but the Highlanders will have to find a way to win without him. Most likely, that’s not going to happen very often.

Winthrop will likely join Radford among the teams falling in the standings, unless the Eagles figure out how to shoot better. Winthrop won the conference championship with a great defense and mediocre offense. With the graduation of Mantoris Robinson, Winthrop loses the defensive player of the year. That has to hurt the team’s defensive prowess, which will likewise hurt the team’s win total.

In their place, several young teams, like Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern, Liberty and High Point will be ready to move up the standings. Coastal Carolina already earned a regular-season title, and the Chanticleers figure to remain competitive for the league title. Charleston Southern, High Point and Liberty want to build on some success from this past season by moving into the top half of the conference next season.

2010 Atlantic 10 Post-Mortem

The 2009-10 season came after an off-season of transition for the Atlantic 10, as the conference moved its offices from the long-time home of Philadelphia to Newport News, Virginia. That was forgotten once the action got going on the hardwood, and not just because that’s what fans cared about. It was a big year for the conference, as it topped the previous record for non-conference wins with 135 and placed three teams in the NCAA Tournament. For good measure, two teams made a run to the NIT Final Four, with Dayton taking home the title, and three teams made the CBI, with Saint Louis making it to the final before losing to VCU (which also took out George Washington in the opening round).

For a lot of conference play, there was much buzz about how many teams might make the NCAA Tournament. At one point, many felt the conference could get as many as six teams, especially with the weak Pac-10, disappointing Big Ten and down years in conferences like the ACC and Conference USA. Six teams were certainly in play for a while, but much like two years ago, some of the teams in the bottom half of the conference started playing spoiler late in the season.

The post-season has been a good one thus far for the conference in the coaching ranks. Chris Mooney and Brian Gregory passed on overtures from other schools who had head coaching vacancies to stay with Richmond and Dayton, respectively. Fordham hired Tom Pecora to take over its program, while Charlotte hired Alan Major, regarded by many as an under-the-radar assistant, to take over for Bobby Lutz. Overall, there is some stability, which bodes well for the future.

Final Standings

Conference Tournament

The first round took place at campus sites, with the home team winning three of the four games by double digits. The only game that did not fit that description was UMass’ 59-56 win at Charlotte in a defensive struggle. The seeds held in the quarterfinals save for Rhode Island’s 63-47 win over Saint Louis, although Xavier had to hold off Dayton and Richmond had to do the same with UMass to move on. Temple shut down Rhode Island for a 57-44 win in one semifinal, while Richmond needed overtime to knock off Xavier in a great game in the other semifinal. The Spiders got a game-tying layup from Kevin Anderson (27 points) to send it to overtime, where David Gonzalvez (26 points) hit a three-pointer to start them on the road to victory in the extra session.

In the championship game, Temple appeared to pull away early in the second half as they were up four at the half and led by 12 with just over 12 minutes left. But Richmond rallied, holding the Owls to just 33 percent from the field in the second half, and made it a ballgame late, where the Owls had to make free throws to seal the 56-52 win.

Postseason Awards

Player of the Year: Kevin Anderson, Richmond

Rookie of the Year: Chris Gaston, Fordham

Most Improved Player: Chris Johnson, Dayton

Defensive Player of the Year: Damian Saunders, Duquesne

Coach of the Year: Fran Dunphy, Temple

All-Conference Team

Kevin Anderson, Jr. G, Richmond

Lavoy Allen, Jr. F, Temple

Jordan Crawford, So. G, Xavier

Damian Saunders, Jr. F, Duquesne

Chris Wright, Jr. F, Dayton

Season Highlights

• Of the 135 non-conference wins, 19 came against BCS conferences. That ranked fourth this season behind the Big 12 (28 wins), SEC (25) and ACC (25).

• Fran Dunphy continues to be a master on the bench. Temple lost a lot from last season’s team, including Dionte Christmas, but all the Owls did was win 29 games and their third straight conference title.

• The All-Atlantic 10 first team didn’t have a single senior, although one member of it (Jordan Crawford) will not be back next season.

• Rhode Island didn’t finish the regular season well after winning a lot of close games early, but Jim Baron became the first Ram coach to lead the team to three straight 20-win seasons.

• Although they faded in conference play, George Washington had a nice non-conference run that included five road wins. Only two teams in the conference won more road games than the seven the Colonials posted in total on the season.

What we expected, and it happened: Xavier had a new coach and no clear go-to guy, but the Musketeers continued to win. They didn’t miss a beat with Chris Mack taking over for the departed Sean Miller, and Jordan Crawford became the star of the team. Mack posted the most wins of any first-year coach in Division I, and the Musketeers reached the Sweet 16 for the third straight season.

What we expected, and it didn’t happen: La Salle was far from the contender many expected them to be, finishing 4-12 in the conference and not making the conference tournament. The Explorers were a senior-laden team, but an early injury to Ruben Guillandeaux set them back and a foot injury to Kimmani Barrett around the start of conference play was a back-breaker. The Explorers didn’t win a game in the month of February after they looked like they might come to life early in Atlantic 10 play. They weren’t deep in the backcourt before the injury to Guillandeaux, who started the season strong, and it showed as no team turned the ball over more than the Explorers did. They didn’t make up for it at the other end as only one team forced fewer turnovers.

What we didn’t expect, and it happened: Saint Louis finished in fourth place and made a deep postseason run, reaching the championship of the CBI. The Billikens looked to be at least a year away with a roster that featured 11 freshmen and sophomores and no seniors. But they racked up a good record in a manageable non-conference slate, then started February with six straight wins.

Team(s) on the rise: Saint Louis. The Billikens had no seniors on the roster, and after getting to the final of the CBI expectations will certainly be higher next season.

Team(s) on the decline: Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks were expected to be in rebuilding mode this year, but they looked worse than a rebuilding team. The upshot is that they finished with a winning record at home in their first year in the new arena, but there wasn’t much else to write home about this year and next year isn’t certain to be much, if any, better. Three players have transferred, Darren Govens and Garrett Williamson graduate and only two seniors will be on next year’s roster.

2010-11 Atlantic 10 Outlook

As good as this year was, next year could be even better for the conference. Ten all-conference players return next year, including four of five from the first team, as well as a strong crop of players that comprised the All-Rookie team. Stability is ever-present with many teams, especially from a coaching standpoint. Teams that lose key players won’t drop all the way back; Xavier and Temple will be fine, as will Dayton despite graduating several starters. Richmond shouldn’t be a one-year wonder, and Jim Baron appears to have Rhode Island in a good place although they’ve fallen agonizingly short of the NCAA Tournament a couple of times recently. Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure and George Washington appear to be on the way up, although a few teams don’t look to be on the rise right now. The immediate future for some middling programs like Charlotte, Duquesne and UMass is a little tough to figure right now.

A year ago, the conference’s move to Newport News, Virginia seemed like an odd destination given the conference’s geographic footprint. It had to make one wonder what the future of the conference would look like. Right now, the future looks quite positive based on the season just completed and what the season ahead could look like.

Quick Hitters – May 25, 2010

Quick hitters as we approach the middle of the week:

• An already bad off-season got worse for Providence last week when they kicked Jamine Peterson off the team. The Friars’ leading scorer and rebounder last season, Peterson was a black hole on offense and had a penchant for putting up questionable shots, but he produced points and rebounds. At times, he got both by cleaning up another player’s miss. With two non-seniors already gone from the team for next season from an off-court incident last month, this was an even less welcome development than it is by itself.

• Khem Birch (6’10” So. PF-C, Pierrefonds (Que.)) has quite a bit going on right now. The long big man recently opted for Notre Dame Prep next year and has had a good spring as his body is maturing. He also has an invitation to the National Basketball Association Players Camp next month and recently was invited to try out for the Canadian 17-under national team.

• Birch isn’t alone among New England players trying out next month for the Canadian 17-under national team. Rodell Wigginton (6’4” So. SF, Halifax (Nova Scotia) Boston Trinity Academy) will also try out for the team. Wigginton is an athletic wing who can rebound from that spot, and he helped Boston Trinity Academy win the NEPSAC Class D title this season.

• Although he’s not a big-time prospect, Cleveland Melvin (6’8” SF-PF, Baltimore (MD) Notre Dame Prep) could prove to be a very nice pickup for DePaul. Part of it is because it comes late in the spring, but another part is that he will fit Oliver Purnell’s pressing style. Melvin is an athletic forward who runs the floor well, and he could eventually be a poor man’s James Mays in the press.

• Maine also made a nice late addition in point guard Raheem Singleton, who did two years at Monroe Community College. A tough point guard who does things to help his team win, Singleton will team with Gerald McLemore in arguably the best backcourt in America East next year.

• A big thumbs-up to the NCAA for granting waivers allowing Texas A&M to do something for Tobi Oyedeji, who was tragically killed last Sunday morning. As a result, they were able to visit with his family, attend a charity basketball game held in his honor and go to his funeral on the athletic department’s dime.

2010 Colonial Athletic Association Post-Mortem

The Colonial Athletic Association’s 25^th anniversary season saw something that rarely happens these days: the team picked to win actually won. Old Dominion, the preseason favorite, was the top seed in the conference tournament and took home the title and lone NCAA Tournament bid. They proceeded to beat Notre Dame in the first round before bowing out to Baylor in the second round.

What the season didn’t see is a second team in the NCAA Tournament. Although a couple of teams had good non-conference wins and relatively good profiles, no one joined Old Dominion in the NCAA Tournament. Northeastern and William & Mary made the NIT, while VCU and Hofstra made the CBI (VCU won it) and George Mason made the Collegeinsider.com Tournament. The general feeling was that the Monarchs had a good chance at an at-large bid if someone knocked them off in the CAA Tournament.

The CAA set a record with the six postseason teams, one more than the five from last season.

The conference had a clear top seven teams and a good drop-off to the five teams behind them in the standings. All seven teams won at least 10 CAA games, the first time that has ever happened. Hofstra, who finished seventh, got there largely from a great month of February. There wasn’t a dominant team among the top seven, and while the bottom five were clearly a notch below them, every one of those teams scored a win over a team in the top seven. All five teams were there for a reason: Towson lacked any semblance of frontcourt play, Georgia State was consistently inconsistent, UNC Wilmington could never get their offense going, and injuries hit James Madison and Delaware hard.

This year was one where juniors fared well, which lends some hope for next year. Nine of the 15 all-conference players were juniors, with seven of them placing on the first or second team. One will not be back, as VCU big man Larry Sanders declared for the NBA Draft and signed with an agent, but having eight all-conference juniors return for one more year bodes well.

One subject of discussion around the conference tournament centered on the future of it. Right now, the CAA Tournament is set through 2012 in Richmond, but the condition of the Richmond Coliseum is the elephant in the proverbial room. Sources say the city is likely to put some money into it, but commissioner Tom Yeager had a long list of issues with the facility and it’s unlikely enough money will be put into it to resolve an appreciable number of them. The current economic conditions have something to do with it, but there’s also a question of the bang for the buck the city would get as the Coliseum is used for more than just the CAA Tournament. For a lot of reasons, it’s hard to imagine the tournament being held outside of Richmond, and that was the general sentiment expressed, but that possibility may be explored more in the months ahead as the conference looks for where it will be held following 2012.

Final Standings

Conference Tournament

The first round saw just one upset, with No. 11 James Madison sending Drexel home early. A night later, the Dukes threatened to do the same thing to William & Mary before a big second half by Danny Sumner and a clutch shot late by David Schneider put the favorites in the semifinals. Hofstra narrowly escaped in the first round against Georgia State, then took Northeastern to the brink in the quarterfinals in a double overtime loss. The semifinals were terrific games, with Old Dominion knocking off arch-rival VCU and William & Mary handing Northestern a heart-breaking loss to set up the title game matchup. William & Mary made it a game after a slow start, but the favorites had too much and took home the title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It marked eighth time in the last nine years that the top seed has won the tournament.

Postseason Awards

Player of the Year: Charles Jenkins, Hofstra

Rookie of the Year: Chris Fouch, Drexel

Defensive Player of the Year: Larry Sanders, VCU

Coach of the Year: Tony Shaver, William & Mary

All-Conference Team

Chaisson Allen, Jr. G, Northeastern

Matt Janning, Sr. G, Northeastern

Charles Jenkins, Jr. G, Hofstra

Gerald Lee, Sr. F, Old Dominion

Larry Sanders, Jr. F-C, VCU

Season Highlights

• CAA teams were 80-76 in non-conference play, highlighted by seven wins over teams from the six power conferences, nine more against Atlantic 10 teams and a 4-1 mark against Conference USA opponents.

• Old Dominion became the third CAA team in the last five years to win at least one NCAA Tournament game. It was the first time since 2007 that happened, and coincidentally, all three teams were a No. 11 seed.

• William & Mary had the best non-conference run of any CAA school. The Tribe had a difficult schedule, but pulled off wins at Wake Forest and Maryland and also beat Richmond at home.

• Northeastern had a tough non-conference slate, and early on they lost a lot of close games. But late in December, they started an 11-game winning streak that carried them well into CAA play.

• Charles Jenkins could always score, he rebounded well for his size and people knew he was unselfish. But this year, he found a consistent jump shot, especially from long range as he was fourth in the conference at 40.9 percent, and that helped him become the conference’s Player of the Year.

• In a bad year for James Madison, Denzel Bowles was the big bright spot as he led the conference in scoring and rebounding.

What we expected, and it happened: Old Dominion was the conference’s best team. They were the preseason favorites, and for much of the conference season was on top in the standings. The Monarchs rode the leadership of Gerald Lee and a well-balanced lineup to the NCAA Tournament and a first round win.

What we expected, and it didn’t happen: James Madison finished near the bottom. A torn ACL ended Devon Moore’s season before it began, and that didn’t help since he was a big reason the Dukes surprised many last year. The Dukes never really got untracked, and head coach Matt Brady felt the team didn’t improve over the course of the season the way he hoped they would.

What we didn’t expect, and it happened: William & Mary was a contender and in the discussion for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. Certainly, one had to figure the Tribe would be closer to the team of two seasons ago than that of last season, but surely no one had them picking up the aforementioned non-conference wins and then getting to the conference championship game for the second time in three years.

Team(s) on the rise: George Mason and VCU. The Patriots showed their youth at times this season and might have overachieved a little, although they certainly weren’t lacking talent. The Rams had some growing pains at first adjusting to new head coach Shaka Smart and life without Eric Maynor, but they took advantage of the CBI to grow as a team and improve from the regular season. Larry Sanders is gone a year early, but the Rams have a year under Smart and will return a lot next season.

Team(s) on the decline: Georgia State. It’s hard to put anyone in this category with so many teams having a lot of players back, and if we’re talking about projections for next season, it would be easy to put Northeastern here because the Huskies lose so much. But the Huskies are in a good position looking a little past next year even if they take a step back. Georgia State, on the other hand, doesn’t appear to be getting better. They looked to be a team on the rise before 2008-09 and didn’t hit their stride until late in the season, and never seemed to get untracked this season. What next season holds is anyone’s guess, but most figured this team would be off and running by now after all the promise Rod Barnes’ first season had.

2010-11 CAA Outlook

2010-11 could be a banner year for the conference just based on returning talent. Of the 15 all-conference players, 10 will return next season, including the Player of the Year, and all but one from the All-Defensive team will return. But go to the statistical leaders and it gets better, because the top four scorers and six of the top ten all return, along with 11 of the top 13 rebounders and eight of the top ten assist men. For good measure, the top five marksmen from long range will return as well.

It doesn’t stop there, as many teams will return a high percentage of starters and key players, while the two bottom teams in the conference will each return a starter who missed this season due to injury. Old Dominion will have a strong chance to repeat as champions with only two departing seniors, although Gerald Lee will not be a small loss. George Mason and VCU will bring back most of their teams and should be contenders, and Hofstra will also return much of its team but has not had a smooth off-season in the coaching department. Northeastern and William & Mary will take hits in the personnel department, but neither should fall far and both are in good positions long-term.

It all adds up to reason for optimism in the conference next season. Coaches expressed plenty of that at Media Day last October, and chances are there will be even more of it five months from now.

Long Island Lightning Takes Home Hall of Fame Title

AMHERST, Mass. – Sunday was playoff day at the Hall of Fame Spring Classic in western Massachusetts. The event was spread out in a few different areas, with Amherst College being the preferred destination since the 17-under playoff rounds were being played there.

The 17-under Gold championship was a thriller that came right down to the buzzer. It was tight for much of the first half, before the Long Island Lightning grabbed the momentum to take a 37-30 halftime lead over the Connecticut Basketball Club. The Lightning would extend the lead into double digits before a furious rally by CBC, who eventually took the lead before a few killer turnovers late. With the game still tied at 74, the Lightning got a runner from Kareem Canty (6’0” Jr. PG, Brooklyn (NY) Bishop Loughlin HS) just before the buzzer to take home a 76-74 win, handing CBC just its second loss of the spring. Canty finished with 19 points to lead the Lightning, while Andre Drummond (6’10” So. PF-C, Middletown (CT) St. Thomas More) led CBC with a game-high 25 points.

Now, a look at some of the players we saw on Sunday.

Tavon Allen (6’7” Sr. SF, New Haven (CT) Hillhouse HS) Continuing a good spring, he continued to show his great ability to make long jumpers with his left hand and a variety of shots with his right hand. On one play, he caught the ball and made a right-handed baseline jump hook, and later a right-handed jumper going off the dribble, in addition to his assortment of runners and three-point shots. He went for 25 points in the quarterfinal win and 21 more in the semifinal. Next year, he will be at Worcester Academy.

Mike Anderson (6’5” Sr. SF, Hartford (CT) Taag Academy) Athletic wing can score and shoot, evidenced by his touch from long range in a couple of games. But the numbers he put up were just decent and he looks capable of doing better, especially since he has good size as well. Low-major prospect.

Lester Anim (6’3” Sr. SG, West Haverstraw (NY) North Rockland HS) We saw him go for 22 points in a win for his team, knocking down four three-pointers and scoring on a nice baseline drive for another field goal. He’s a plus athlete and his body has a little bit to go before it’s fully mature, so there’s certainly some upside. It wouldn’t be shocking if a low-level Division I program took a flyer on him.

John Brown (6’6” Sr. SF-PF, Cleveland (OH) Ginn Academy) He certainly passes the look test, as he has good size, a good body and is a plus athlete. He also had a couple of big scoring games on Sunday, going for 32 in one and 23 in another. He also rebounded well, including at the offensive end, and knocked down at least one three-pointer although that’s clearly not his forte. But he also isn’t the most fluid, has a shaky dribble and questionable hands, and isn’t exceedingly good at any one thing. He said he will play college ball next year instead of prep school, and is currently getting Division III interest, but looks like he might be good enough for a program a little higher to take a chance on him.

Kareem Canty (6’0” Jr. PG, Brooklyn (NY) Bishop Loughlin HS) It seems he’s developing a knack for making buzzer-beaters, as he did that during the school year as well as in the title game here. His body’s not there yet and he’s not a true point guard, but he drove well and scored often with some quickness, scoring often on runners, and he did show a little range on his jump shot along the way.

Mike Deffley (6’0” Jr. SG, South Windsor (CT) Kingswood Oxford HS) There was a stretch in the second half of his team’s semifinal loss where it seemed like he didn’t miss. In going for 32 points in the game, he hit six three-pointers, many of which came in the second half as he got hot and carried his team for a time. He also showed a touch from mid-range off the dribble and isn’t a bad athlete.

Andre Drummond (6’10” So. PF-C, Middletown (CT) St. Thomas More) Although he’s not at the level he was at last summer, he’s getting better each week and moving closer to that level. He rebounded and led the break, blocked some shots, scored inside, and generally looked more athletic than he has in the last few months. He dominated the championship game for a stretch, including one play where he stole the ball, took it in for a layup and got fouled. On the down side, on several occasions he got the ball inside and either traveled to start his post move or dribbled into a position where he had to either pass or put up a tough, off-balance shot, and he usually opted for the latter. Still, there’s not much to complain about as there has been steady progress.

Pat Forsythe (6’0” Jr. C, Brunswick (OH) High) Lefty post player isn’t going to jump out at you but looks to be on the prospect side of the project/prospect line. He has a more developed lower body than upper body, with decent fundamentals that could improve with more work. His basketball I.Q. is not stellar, but he was generally effective and isn’t entirely lacking in offensive ability.

Phil Gaetano (5’11” Sr. PG, Wallingford (CT) Sheehan HS) Simply put, he finds teammates in all kinds of spots on the court and gets them the ball. The consummate pass-first floor leader isn’t blessed with a lot of physical gifts, but he has a solid basketball I.Q. and will look to score enough to keep a defense honest. Next year, he will do a post-graduate year at Choate Rosemary Hall.

Derrick Gordon (6’4” Jr. SG, Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick’s HS) Well-built guard won’t wow you, but he’s effective and helped his team to the title. More of a scorer than a shooter, he scored 19 in the semifinal win without a three-pointer and added 13 in the final. He’s not the most physically gifted and doesn’t put up huge numbers, but he’s effective and he wins.

Brendan Griffin (6’7” Jr. PF, Suffern (NY) Don Bosco HS) Thick post player moves reasonably well but didn’t get up and down the floor at a good pace, largely because he’s carrying some bad weight. He’s not lacking scoring ability, as he got a few post field goals and a short jumper, so if he can shed some of the bad weight he may be a scholarship-level prospect.

Cyrus James (6’8” Jr. PF, East Hartford (CT) Cheney Tech) A long post player with a little bit of physical maturity, he was a role player on his team inside. Though he went for 10 points, offense wasn’t what they looked for from him, and he appears to be very much a “potential” player right now.

Riley Kirsch (6’5” Jr. SF-PF, Madison (CT) Hand HS) Active lefty was around the ball often but struggled to make shots. He looks more like an undersized 4-3 combo forward, as he didn’t shoot well and isn’t the most athletic player. His body isn’t there yet and he got some rebounds from being active, so there is some value and he could pan out as a scholarship-level player.

Ricardo Ledo (6’6” So. SG-SF, Providence (RI) St. Andrew’s School) One of the best players around this spring, he started off well in his team’s quarterfinal loss as he was competing and finishing early. He knocked down a couple of three-point shots and looked like he has often this spring, before he and his team were basically shut down in the second half.

Tylon Smith, Jr. (6’2” Jr. SG, Manchester (CT) Kingswood Oxford HS) A guard with a mature body, the one word that comes to mind is scorer. He drove to the basket all day, and at times couldn’t be stopped, although he’s not the quickest guard. He went for 21 points in the quarterfinals and had a dozen in his team’s semifinal loss.

Freddie Wilson (6’2” Jr. SG, New Haven (CT) Hillhouse HS) It wasn’t hard to tell he was playing his first competitive basketball in a few weeks, as our first look at him wasn’t a good one although he has a solid reputation. His jump shots weren’t going and at times he looked selfish, opting to take tough shots instead of finding an open teammate on the break. It wasn’t all bad, as he helped lead a late rally in the title game, but all in all it wasn’t the best first impression.

Top AAU Teams in Mass. Come Together in One Place

FOXBORO, Mass. – With the preliminary rounds complete, AAU teams from ages 9 to 17 gathered for the Division I Final Four at Mass. Premier Courts this weekend. The exception was the 16-under age group, which completed all of its rounds a couple of weekends earlier. A week earlier, we had a chance to see much of the early rounds of the 17-under tournament, and we’ll have more on that later.

The Division I Final Four was a nice idea in the sense that it brought together some of the best teams in all age groups from the state in one place at one time. But it isn’t without its issues, notably the fact that each team had to pay an additional $100 fee for the weekend in addition to the entry fee it had to pay in the first place, which is almost like having to pay just for winning. For some programs, this isn’t a minor matter; MABC placed six teams in the Final Four and thus had to pay $600, which gives new meaning to the phrase “the price of success” – and probably not the idea that AAU wants to promote.

The 14-under division had two contrasting semifinal games, with Bay State Jaguar Elite blowing out BABC in the semifinals and the Boston Spartans needing a buzzer-beater in overtime to knock off MABC 59-57. In the final, Bay State Jaguar Elite looked like it could be headed for a blowout win and led 27-16 at the half, but the Spartans battled back to make it a ballgame in the second half before succumbing 66-60.

Impressing for Bay State were big men Jeremy Miller (C, Milton (MA) High) and Jarred Reuter (PF, Rochester (MA) St. Mark’s School) as well as Pat Benzan (PG-SG, West Roxbury (MA) Roxbury Latin School). Miller is all about upside right now, as his offense has a ways to go skill-wise but he’s very long and a baby physically who will alter his share of shots. Reuter is more physically mature and may be closer to topping out, but he’s fundamentally sound, rebounds and made a number of nice passes including on the interior. Benzan kept going north-south all night long and couldn’t be stopped going to the basket for field goals. He’s a baby physically and will hopefully grow a few more inches to have better size for his position.

Also impressing in this division were a few Spartans. Damian Smith (SG-SF, West Roxbury (MA) High) is athletic and was able to get by his man a few times while also showing three-point range. He went for 17 points in the semifinal win. Markus Neale (SF, West Roxbury (MA) High) is athletic and scored often on drives and also drew fouls, going for 20 points in the semifinal win. Jeff Spellman (PG, Chestnut Hill (MA) Beaver Country Day) is a baby physically who had some good moments, including a deep three-point shot and a runner in the lane.

In the 15-under division, BABC cruised in the semifinals and then held off a couple of rallies by Visionary Basketball Club to take home the title with a 71-62 win. For BABC, Wayne Selden (6’3” Fr. PG-SG, Roxbury (MA) John D. O’Bryant HS) looks to be playing better and more aggressively, although he’s still prone to playing at a pace instead of with much of a motor. Aaron Calixte (5’9” Fr. PG, Stoughton (MA) High) shot the ball well in their two wins, a good sign because he’s shown he can drive to the basket.

Two players who caught our eye in a semifinal loss were high school teammates Alijiah Robinson (Fr. SF-PF, East Boston (MA) High) and Will Mark (Fr. SF, East Boston (MA) High). Robinson is a baby physically and has a long way to go skill-wise, but he has a good motor and showed some hints of potential with more development. Mark has a more mature body and was active at both ends, and like Robinson is far from a finished product from a skill standpoint.

In the 17-under, the big story started the previous weekend. In the quarterfinals, the New England Ballas outplayed Bay State Magic pretty much from start to finish to bounce them from the tournament with a convincing 73-58 win. The Ballas are a new program recently branched off from the Boston Spartans and run by Framingham State assistant coach Tom Nelson. The team name is actually an acronym that stands for “Basketball Achievement and Life Lessons Academy”. Nelson wanted to develop coaches as well as players, and it didn’t take long for them to make some noise by advancing to the Final Four with this win behind the stellar play of underrated guard Robinson Vilmont (5’9” Jr. PG, Malden (MA) High), who scored 17 points and had a big hand in several other baskets.

The Ballas made it all the way to the final on Saturday, and that wasn’t all. They had already played two games in a tournament in Amherst earlier in the day, winning both, before heading to Foxboro and winning their semifinal game. In the final, they ran out of gas as the Boston Warriors took home a win behind 17 points from Samir McDaniels (6’3” Jr. SG, Roxbury (MA) New Mission School) as one of four players in double figures.

Now, some player evaluations from the 17-under division, where we saw more of the action over both weekends.

Pat Ackerman (6’10” Jr. C, Rutland (MA) Worcester Academy) The improvement has been there for the big man, but the rate of it hasn’t been great. He fared reasonably well when facing the basket, knocking down a couple of shots from mid-range and not faring as well inside. His body is still not there yet physically.

Anthony Barry (6’2” Jr. SG, Milford (MA) High) Athletic wing once again showed solid effort, especially on the defensive end where he’s at his best. He was around the ball often and always battles, and showed some nice improvement at the offensive end that included a couple of double figure scoring games. His ball skills still need work, and his jump shot release could use some work although he hit a few shots as far out as three-point range, but both have shown some improvement.

Lutheurson Bonheur (6’0” Jr. PG, Dorchester (MA) Boston Trinity Academy) Though he’s not the most fluid athlete, he penetrated well and finished well when he got to the basket, reaching double figures twice on the weekend. He was also a pest on defense at times. On the down side, his jump shot and even free throw release are the things keeping him from being a better prospect, as he lacks a smooth motion on his release.

Daniel Brooks (6’3” Sr. SG, Dorchester (MA) Catholic Memorial HS) Now a more fundamentally sound player, he’s on his way to becoming more than just a scorer offensively. He’s more fluid and shoots the ball better, though the latter could still improve, and he drove to his left well on a few occasions as another sign of good progress. A post-graduate year at Kimball Union is in his future.

Dennis Clifford (6’11” Jr. C, Bridgewater (MA) Milton Academy) A year ago, it was unthinkable that he would ever commit to Boston College, but a lot has changed. He’s always had a good skill level and could run the floor, but now his body is starting to fill out and more importantly, he’s being much more aggressive at the offensive end when he gets the ball. In fact, it’s not a stretch to say he was underutilized in his team’s tournament-ending loss, as he had 21 and 16 in prior outings but just 12 in the losing effort. It’s all starting to come together for him now.

Pat Connaughton (6’3” Jr. SG, Arlington (MA) St. John’s HS) He isn’t physically gifted, but there’s no question he can flat-out play the game. Offensively, he can score in a variety of ways and is solid all-around, and at times he can put on a clinic with the ways he can score. He went for 35 points in one game, including four three-pointers and a mid-range jumper that was going all game long. In the final game, he struggled for some of the second half but made a couple of big shots and plays late en route to 26 points in a tough loss.

Ousmane Drame (6’8” Sr. PF-C, Roxbury (MA) New Mission School) Not the easiest player to figure out, he hasn’t been playing the game all that long, so it’s not surprising that one minute he looks like a prospect and the next he looks like a project. The lefty has a more developed lower body and can run the floor, and while he’s not the most fundamentally sound he’s capable of making a nice post move to score inside. He went for 24 in his team’s win to advance to the Final Four. A post-graduate year at Marianapolis Prep is in his future.

Carlin Haymon (5’8” Fr. PG, South Boston (MA) Rivers School) The young point guard spent some time playing off the ball but continues to show some physical development. As he’s becoming more of a scoring threat, here he showed some range on his jump shot that included a deep three-point shot.

Bryan Hurley (5’10” Jr. PG, Dorchester (MA) Boston College HS) While still a steady floor leader who won’t hurt a team with a lot of costly mistakes, he looked more aggressive at the offensive end. He drove to the basket more to score than to keep dribbling, which he used to do, and showed a touch shooting the ball. Although he didn’t put up big scoring numbers, he made himself more of a threat and in the process helped his teammates more.

Trey Jones (5’9” Jr. PG, Mattapan (MA) Reading HS) Small point guard has plenty of physical gifts but enough basketball shortcomings to make his potential at the next level unclear. He’s plenty quick and a good leaper, but his jump shot release is from his chest, which exacerbates his lack of height, and his decision-making could use improvement as he settled for jump shots too often and was erratic with the ball.

Ryan Kilcullen (6’7” Sr. PF, Needham (MA) St. Sebastian’s HS) A solid post player with some good fundamentals, he was a good Robin to Dennis Clifford’s Batman inside for his team. He has a good body and showed some range on his jump shot even out to three-point range, although the thinking is he’s better from mid-range on a consistent basis. Next year, he will attend Philips Academy of Exeter for a post-graduate year.

Michael Lofton (6’2” Jr. SG, Mansfield (MA) High) There probably wasn’t a player who seemingly left more on the court than this guard. He has a good body with a more developed upper body than lower, and at times he showed the ability to drive and score along with some skills to play in the backcourt. But he gets no lift on his jump shot, which he didn’t go to often, showed a tendency to go up too strong and thus not finish, and doesn’t seem to have much of a motor and thus at times it’s hard to know he’s even on the floor.

Samir McDaniels (6’3” Jr. SG, Roxbury (MA) New Mission School) In an early game, he wasn’t much of a factor, but that was the anomaly as he was otherwise consistently solid in leading his team to the title. He went for 22 in the quarterfinal win and showed his good basketball I.Q. while being active at both ends of the floor.

Robinson Vilmont (5’9” Jr. PG, Malden (MA) High) His performance here may start to get him out from under the radar. He has a good body that hasn’t fully matured yet and led the fast break well, at times finishing and other times finding a teammate. His jump shot was good out to long range, and after his 17-point outing in the quarterfinals he had 18 in the semifinal win and another 17 in the title game loss.

NC State: Sidney Lowe Is Officially on the Clock

For the first time in a while, things are looking good for North Carolina State and coach Sidney Lowe.

Junior forward Tracy Smith decided to return to school instead of remaining in the NBA Draft. Committed, then decommitted five-star recruit C.J. Leslie returned to Lowe’s fold. He joins fellow five-star recruit Ryan Harrow and four-star recruit Lorenzo Brown to form one of the best incoming classes.

Three out of four of the team’s top scorers will be back next season, too.

But one major departure from the Wolfpack family will be athletic director Lee Fowler, the man who hired Lowe in 2007.

And that means Lowe’s days are numbered unless he can win the support of the Wolfpack faithful.

Thankfully for Lowe, the path to the hearts of Wolfpack fans doesn’t require a complicated road map. It just requires a journey along the Road to the Final Four in March 2011.

Smith promises to be one of the best big men in the ACC next season. Lowe has two uber-talented guards in Harrow and Brown to run his offense, something that junior point guard Javier Gonzalez has not been able to do in three seasons. With Harrow and Brown alternating time at point guard, Gonzalez can spend more time at the 2 guard spot.

Freshman swingman Scott Wood, a strong long-range shooter, figures to pair with Leslie to create match up problems against teams that try to double Smith in the post. All of a sudden, Lowe has a talented lineup that has no reason not to succeed. And that places lofty expectations on Lowe to deliver results on the court, not just on the recruiting trail.

The natives are already restless. A Google search for “fire sidney lowe” delivers 4,040 results. Someone already has FireSidneyLowe.com registered in protest. And 87 Facebook users have joined the Fire Sidney Lowe fan page. On Twitter, several Wolfpack fans prognosticated that Lowe would be following Fowler out of Raleigh.

The unpopular AD recently agreed to step down despite having three years remaining on his contract. His tenure will close June 30, the end of this academic year.

For Lowe, anything short of a run to the NCAA Tournament — possibly the second weekend of the Big Dance — will likely close Lowe’s tenure at the end of next basketball year.

A Look Back At Over 100 Games in 2009-10

According to one estimate, over 5,400 college basketball games were played in the 2009-10 season. In light of that, being present at just 100 of them doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment. But consider that it’s physically impossible to be at more than one at a time, and on any given evening there are probably at least a half dozen games being played (many more on Saturdays at all times of the afternoon and evening), and it looks a little better.

This season marked the second consecutive season and third in four where I covered at least 100 games. Adding to the accomplishment this time around was not getting much of a boost from conference tournaments or the NCAA Tournament, despite one of the first and second round NCAA Tournament sites being geographically close by.

One thing that came to mind when determining the top ten games I covered this season was that the quality of games was not as good as the prior season. There were plenty of blowouts this time around, and I had a harder time coming up with a top ten list than I did a year ago, when there were some real dandies. All told, the basketball was good, but there just weren’t as many games that stand out as “instant classic” types.

Without further ado, here’s a look back at 101 games in 2009-10. Following that is a special look at a few of the best – the top ten games I covered this season.

November 13, 2009 (World Vision Invitational, Providence, RI)

(1) Mercer 89, Bucknell 80: James Florence was the known for Mercer (33 points), as was teammate Daniel Emerson (double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds), but the unknown was who would help. Here, newcomer Jeff Smith came up with a couple of clutch baskets that helped Mercer seal this one.

(2) Providence 96, Bryant 53: A very humbling defeat for Bryant on a good night for the Friars, who might have had their best effort with the press all year. Bryant had 21 turnovers and 20 made field goals.

November 14, 2009 (World Vision Invitational, Providence, RI)

(3) Mercer 80, Bryant 56: A good effort for the Bears to improve to 2-0 and set up the title match the next day.

(4) Providence 76, Bucknell 65: Bucknell was able to handle the Friars’ press very well and was right there until the end.

November 15, 2009 (World Vision Invitational, Providence, RI)

(5) Bucknell 59, Bryant 56: The Bison eke out a win to finish 1-2 on the weekend. Their freshmen were a mixed bag, while sophomore Bryan Cohen finished a solid weekend and Patrick Behan had some struggles but kept competing.  Despite the 1-2 mark, the Bison looked ready to bounce back this season. Bryant head coach Tim O’Shea kept some perspective on his team’s play.

(6) Providence 79, Mercer 77: The Friars pull out a close one to take home the title, and it was a win that looked like it could give them a real boost for the season. It was a tough loss for Mercer, but they came away with reason for optimism about the season.

November 17, 2009

(7) Boston College 72, St. Francis (NY) 44: On the day of the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon, the Eagles had a pretty easy time of it with a St. Francis team that, like them, was minus a couple of starters due to suspensions. They were more than ready to get their full team together for the upcoming weekend trip for the Paradise Jam.

November 18, 2009

(8) Rhode Island 78, Brown 57: The halfcourt offense looked shaky in the first half for Rhode Island and the Bears made it a ballgame. But the Rams got the press going in the second half and that made a big difference. Rhode Island was the last Division I team to play its first game of the season.

November 24, 2009

(9) Providence 106, Vermont 64: This was never a ballgame as the Friars were in control from the outset and dominated with their press.  More importantly, they showed that they were getting better.

November 25, 2009

(10) Boston University 69, Northeastern 64 (OT): One of several tough losses early for Northeastern came in this rivalry game. The Huskies had their chances after they basically took control of the game in the second half, but down the stretch they didn’t execute well and allowed the Terriers to send it to overtime and then pull out the win.

(11) Harvard 78, New Hampshire 60: The final score of this one is a little deceiving as Harvard basically blitzed the Wildcats with great defense and was in control throughout to bounce back from a loss earlier in the week.

November 27, 2009 (NIT Season Tip-Off)

(12) Arizona State 71, LSU 52: LSU looked good in the first half, but in the second Arizona State just shut them down. While a couple of key players had moved on, Derek Glasser showed he would be the constant for the Sun Devils this season.

(13) Duke 68, Connecticut 59: The Blue Devils man-handled the Huskies on the glass to take home the NIT Season Tip-Off championship. In a harbinger of things to come, Duke looked like a team that could make a deep NCAA Tournament run, while the Huskies didn’t take a lot of jumpers and had a stagnant offense for a lot of the game when they couldn’t get out in transition.

November 28, 2009 (Philly Hoop Group Classic)

(14) Siena 99, Brown 79: After a tough loss to St. John’s a night earlier, Ronald Moore and Siena bounced back to beat Brown. Despite the blowout loss, the Bears had a solid second half offensively and showed that if they can get into their offense, they can score on a lot of teams.

(15) Virginia Tech 74, Delaware 66 (OT): How the Blue Hens got this game into overtime is something to ponder, especially as they were without Alphonso Dawson for disciplinary reasons. But they battled the Hokies to the brink before they succumbed in the extra session.

(16) St. John’s 55, Temple 48: The Red Storm left Philadelphia with two good wins, including this one that they pulled out despite several challenges from Temple down the stretch. It continued a good start that showed how much this team has grown up since the core of it arrived as freshmen two years earlier.

November 29, 2009 (Legends Classic sub-regional)

(17) Vermont 82, Toledo 49: The Catamounts come away with one win on the weekend as they blow out a Toledo team that was about as young as they come and looking at a difficult season in light of that.

(18) Cornell 61, Drexel 54: A solid win for the Big Red on the Dragons’ home floor, as they made big plays late. Drexel didn’t play well offensively in the first half but came alive in the second half simply by running the offense they were supposed to.

November 30, 2009

(19) Holy Cross 68, Marist 56: After some tough losses, the Crusaders get a much-needed win over a very young Marist team.

December 1, 2009

(20) Providence 76, Northeastern 72: A good road win for the Friars in the second game of a three-game series between these two schools. Matthews Arena had a good crowd and the Huskies stayed in it after Providence got off to a fast start.

December 2, 2009

(21) Harvard 85, Rice 64: Rice turned the ball over early and often, but it wasn’t until late in the half that Harvard started turning them into points to break the game open. The Crimson broke the game open in the second half as Keith Wright got hot at the offensive end and cruised to victory.

December 5, 2009

(22) Rhode Island 86, Providence 82: Another great rivalry game between these two schools, this one going to the home team once again. The Rams kept fighting after the Friars got off to a fast start and led by 14 at the half, and turned the game in their favor.

December 6, 2009

(23) Boston College 61, Miami 60: The Eagles open ACC play with a home win as they annihilated the Hurricanes on the glass by a 46-21 margin and got a number of key plays from their youngest player, Reggie Jackson.

December 7, 2009

(24) Providence 78, Brown 62: This game was more evidence that the Bears can be pressed into submission. If they get into their halfcourt offense, they’re in great shape, but getting there was the problem on this night.

December 8, 2009

(25) Rhode Island 83, Quinnipiac 74: Neither team played much defense in this one, with Quinnipiac leading early until the Rams’ press started to get results. URI broke it open off turnovers in the second, but Quinnipiac made it a ballgame late despite only three players scoring for them 34 minutes into the game.

December 9, 2009

(26) Harvard 74, Boston College 67: For the second season in a row, the Crimson headed down the road and picked up a win. Jeremy Lin was terrific again, but he had plenty of support and this win wasn’t nearly as surprising as last season’s.

December 10, 2009

(27) Rhode Island 79, Northeastern 76: Another tough loss for the Huskies, who by this point have had a few of them as they head into a long break for final exams. Meanwhile, Rhode Island improved to 7-1, a surprising start for a team that lost a couple of very key players from a year earlier.

December 12, 2009

(28) Columbia 69, Bryant 57: The Lions moved back above .500 and looked poised to make a good run before Ivy League play with this road win over injury-ravaged Bryant.

(29) Iona 82, Providence 73: A big second half gave Iona a big road victory, one that probably helped boost them for the rest of the season. It all came as Kevin Willard kept it simple for his still-young team.

December 13, 2009

(30) Rhode Island 80, Boston College 69: The Rams came into Conte Forum and dictated the pace of the game right from the outset. As has been the case all season, when they did that, they usually won.

December 19, 2009

(31) UMass 73, Memphis 72: Terrell Vinson’s tip-in with under a second left gave the Minutemen a big win for several reasons, even though this wasn’t exactly the Memphis team of a year earlier from a personnel standpoint.

December 20, 2009

(32) Boston College 72, Bryant 46: Al Skinner went with a smaller lineup in this one after some internal debate, and it looked like something he might go with more after this game.

December 21, 2009

(33) Providence 87, Yale 78: The Friars’ final non-conference game was one where they played catch-up for much of the night. They didn’t look good defensively, but pulled out the win and entered Big East play about where many might have expected them to. Yale, meanwhile, was at the beginning of a tough road stretch.

December 22, 2009

(34) Boston University 86, Mount St. Mary’s 77: This game ended a long and difficult road stretch for Mount St. Mary’s, as they finally headed home only to have to go on the road again.

December 23, 2009

(35) Boston College 79, UMass 67: The Minutemen returned to the Boston area, but didn’t have the same kind of success as the Eagles continued their recent dominance of this rivalry. There were some bright signs for UMass, but also some troubling ones as Ricky Harris continued to struggle.

December 28, 2009

(36) George Washington 70, Holy Cross 68: The Colonials continued a nice start to the season, one that was looking much better than the prior two as this was another road win for a team that had struggled to do that in recent years.

December 30, 2009

(37) Boston College 85, South Carolina 76: The Eagles had a 21-point halftime lead as the Gamecocks didn’t play well at all in the first half, and held on for the win. Devan Downey gave it all he had, but he needed support, and it wasn’t clear where that was going to come from for South Carolina.

January 2, 2010

(38) Rhode Island 63, Oklahoma State 59: This wasn’t the kind of game one would expect from these two teams, both known for running and scoring plenty of points. It was another good non-conference win for the Rams and a difficult loss for the Cowboys in part because they were still looking for a signature non-conference win and had a chance for it despite James Anderson not playing his best ball.

(39) Holy Cross 70, Central Connecticut 53: The Crusaders were starting to play better defense, and in this game they completely shut down the Blue Devils in a game that wasn’t even as close as the score indicates.

January 3, 2010

(40) Providence 74, St. John’s 59: This game didn’t quite go as expected, with the teams basically reversing roles as the young Friars looked like the seasoned veteran team and the veteran Red Storm looked like the young team.

January 4, 2010

(41) Brown 72, Wagner 71 (OT): Brown needed to get this one, and they did with a breakout game from Tucker Halpern and some big plays from Matt Mullery after he struggled for a lot of the night.

January 5, 2010

(42) Boston College 89, NJIT 32: The Eagles gave a much-needed good effort, and when you add that to the talent differential between the two teams, the final score was not a big surprise.

January 6, 2010

(43) Louisville 92, Providence 70: The Cardinals man-handled the Friars on the glass in the second half, but the big difference was they ran better offense in the second half, and it showed in the results.

January 7, 2010

(44) Northeastern 71, George Mason 46: The Huskies continued on a roll as they blew out the young and promising Patriots, who started off 3-0 in the CAA.

January 9, 2010

(45) Harvard 76, Dartmouth 47: Ivy League play began for the Crimson with a resounding win over a team whose head coach had resigned a day earlier amid rumors of a player revolt. After the game, one player and the acting head coach said there was no such thing that happened.

(46) Providence 94, Rutgers 81: The Friars bounced back from the loss to Louisville after a couple of good days of practice and behind a big effort from Jamine Peterson, who had 29 points and 20 rebounds.

January 10, 2010

(47) La Salle 80, UMass 74: The Explorers trailed by seven at halftime, but turned it around in the second half to get the win. While they had a veteran team, it was a talented freshman who was a difference-maker on this day.

January 12, 2010

(48) Boston University 75, UMBC 63: The host Terriers continued to ride their Big Three, this time knocking off a rebuilding UMBC team that just didn’t have enough.

January 13, 2010

(49) Northeastern 59, Delaware 55: Delaware battled valiantly, as they have all season, but came up short. Although it wasn’t quite evident in this game, their frontcourt had been improving steadily as the season went along, showing why Monte Ross was so high on them.

January 14, 2010

(50) Sacred Heart 72, Bryant 60: Bryant finally gets a home game after starting with four straight NEC games on the road. The Pioneers had a little too much offense, though the Bulldogs played a respectable game and might have exposed some weakness in the Pioneer defense, which gave up 88 points at Central Connecticut State two days later.

January 16, 2010

(51) Northeastern 79, UNC Wilmington 56: This was never really a ballgame, and the third straight double-digit loss for the Seahawks. Still, Benny Moss saw his team growing, not long before he would ultimately be let go.

(52) Maryland 73, Boston College 57: The Terrapins simply dominated the Eagles in this one, showing just how good they could be. Even though the Eagles were struggling and played poorly, it would be a mistake to take anything away from the Terrapins on this day.

January 19, 2010

(53) Boston University 79, Albany 58: The score tells you all you need to know about this one. The Terriers dominated, while Albany looked like a team that wasn’t running any kind of offense.

January 20, 2010

(54) Rhode Island 75, Duquesne 67: Rhode Island pulled out yet another close game, and this time it came against a Duquesne team that had been on the losing end of several such games leading up to this. That was also indicative of the Dukes not being far away from winning some games despite a bad Atlantic 10 record at that point.

January 22, 2010

(55) Yale 71, Brown 63: Once again, these two travel partners split their home-and-home to start their Ivy League season. Alex Zampier came up big for the Bulldogs, but it was clear he could use a little help if they wanted to contend in the league.

January 23, 2010

(56) Northeastern 74, VCU 62: In knocking off the Rams for the second time in January, the Huskies won their 11^th straight game. They were very much a hot team and had an 8-1 start in CAA play, and there was an important question: would they learn from last year and not peak too soon again?

(57) South Florida 109, Providence 105 (OT): Providence led by nine with 49 seconds left, but the Bulls rallied to send the game into overtime, aided by the Friars’ porous defense. The Bulls took over in the extra session and picked up their third Big East road win ever, and looked like they could be headed for a good run. The Friars, meanwhile, suffered a devastating defeat, the kind that could kill a young team like this.

January 26, 2010

(58) Boston College 75, Clemson 69: All of a sudden, the Eagles looked like a good pressing team, as they turned the tables on a Tiger team that normally presses opponents into submission on a night the Tigers didn’t give their best effort.

January 27, 2010

(59) Providence 81, Connecticut 66: This game showed why Connecticut wound up in the NIT: they had plenty of athletes, but not enough scoring, especially when it came to shooting the ball. They passed the look test, but that was about it. The Friar fans thought beating an NIT team warranted rushing the court, interestingly enough.

January 28, 2010

(60) Fairleigh Dickinson 67, Bryant 55: The Knights got a challenge early, but the Bulldogs once again just couldn’t muster up enough offense to challenge them and ultimately win the game.

January 29, 2010

(61) Princeton 63, Brown 46: Princeton wasn’t getting much pub in Ivy League circles, thanks largely to the non-league success of Cornell and Harvard, but the Tigers looked like they were very much on their way back to being contenders once again.

January 30, 2010

(62) Northeastern 74, Old Dominion 64: This was a very important win for Northeastern, and not just because it was against the preseason favorites and the hot team that rode in with an eight-game winning streak. They didn’t have a win like this in the latter part of CAA play last year, and it came right after a tough loss a few nights earlier.

January 31, 2010

(63) Lehigh 78, Holy Cross 60: The Mountain Hawks closed out a nice month of January with this road win and continued to play at a high level, something they didn’t do very late in the season a year earlier.

February 3, 2010

(64) Xavier 87, UMass 79: The Musketeers came into the game with a 7-1 Atlantic 10 mark and had won three straight at home in increasingly convincing fashion. The first half looked like it would be more of the same, but it wasn’t, and while they got the win, the game was a bump in the proverbial road.

February 4, 2010

(65) Central Connecticut State 60, Bryant 34: The Blue Devils got hot in the first half from deep and looked quite different from the team of a month earlier when Holy Cross shut them down. That’s a big reason they were winning games.

February 5, 2010

(66) Princeton 56, Harvard 53: Princeton improved to 3-0 in the Ivy League, with all three wins coming on the road, thanks largely to their defense.

February 6, 2010

(67) Marquette 82, Providence 79: Marquette had a number of close games during the season, especially in the early part of Big East play. One had to think that helped them out in this game although they almost blew it.

(68) Harvard 80, Penn 66: The Crimson bounce back from the loss a night earlier, knocking off an undermanned Penn team that had a new coach and was banged up.

February 9, 2010

(69) Georgetown 79, Providence 70: As Providence began a very difficult stretch of games that could play a role in the young team’s development, Georgetown looked ready to assert itself as a contender once again.

February 10, 2010

(70) Northeastern 62, Georgia State 53: A year ago, the Huskies lost a game like this and to this team, one that hurt as they spun downhill in February. This time, they got the win over a Georgia State team that was tough to figure out.

February 11, 2010

(71) St. Francis (Pa.) 60, Bryant 34: St. Francis picked up their first road win of the season, a good milestone for the young team as they tried to rebuild.

February 12, 2010

(72) Brown 75, Dartmouth 60: Brown snapped a five-game losing streak with this win behind a big game from Peter Sullivan, who had struggled with injuries. The Bears had a double-digit lead at the half, but Dartmouth rallied to make it a ballgame before running out of gas.

February 13, 2010

(73) Robert Morris 52, Bryant 42: This loss was a little tougher to take than others for Bryant, as they had a chance against the NEC leaders until a cold stretch changed the outcome. Robert Morris held on as Mike Rice’s formula for success since arriving there continued to work.

(74) Harvard 81, Brown 67: Kyle Casey had a huge game to lead Harvard to their first Ivy League road sweep in ten years. Casey scored 27 points on 8-9 shooting, including all three from long range, and he went 8-9 from the line as well. He would earn Ivy League Player of the Week honors, no small feat for a freshman.

February 14, 2010

(75) UMass 70, Saint Joseph’s 62: While Phil Martelli just couldn’t take any real silver lining out of this one, as the Hawks’ offense had struggled for much of the season. The Hawks have had rebuilding years under Martelli, but not quite like this one was shaping up.

February 17, 2010

(76) West Virginia 88, Providence 74: Using their length on the perimeter, West Virginia took Providence completely out of what they wanted to do. One of four players who scored in double figures for the Mountaineers was Da’Sean Butler, a model of consistency who few ever saw being a Big East star when he was in high school.

February 19, 2010

(77) Cornell 79, Harvard 70: There was a great deal of build-up to this game, as well as a media presence no game at Harvard has seen in a long time. The game lived up to its billing, and the Cornell pulled it off in playing like the team of seasoned veterans that they were.

February 20, 2010

(78) Boston College 71, North Carolina 67: It was no accident that the Tar Heels were struggling in the ACC this season, and this game certainly showed it. Every time they got a little momentum and the Eagles responded, it seemed to sap the life out of them, and they never got enough going to pull this one out.

(79) Harvard 77, Columbia 57: The Crimson rebounded with a blowout win over a Columbia team that was struggling. Lions head coach Joe Jones was rather subdued in the post-game, feeling like the team had regressed around this time.

February 21, 2010

(80) Holy Cross 64, American 51: The Crusaders put forth a fine defensive outing, and the result was, not surprisingly, a win to start the final week of the regular season. They hoped it might be the start of a good run into the Patriot League Tournament.

February 23, 2010

(81) Syracuse 99, Providence 86: The first half of this game had quite a scoring pace, which cooled off in the second half. Providence did nothing to slow down Syracuse all night long.

February 24, 2010

(82) Boston College 80, Virginia Tech 60: The Hokies put up a clunker at a bad time, getting blown out by the Eagles, whose effort had not been a concern of late at this point.

February 25, 2010

(83) St. Francis (NY) 69, Bryant 60 (OT): The Bulldogs had another chance at their first win of the season, as well as a chance to play spoiler as the Terriers were still trying to grab one of the last berths in the NEC Tournament. The Bulldogs had a 48-39 lead in the second half, but a 13-2 run put the Terriers up before Bryant sent it to overtime, where the Terriers kept the momentum for the win.

February 26, 2010

(84) Harvard 91, Brown 71: With this blowout win, Harvard tied a program record for wins in a season and clinched their first Ivy League winning record in 13 years.

February 27, 2010

(85) Boston University 76, Maine 56: Boston University started both halves strong and Maine was never able to get going in the regular season finale for both teams.

(86) Harvard 78, Yale 58: On Senior Night, Harvard wins by at least 20 points for the ninth time on the season to set a program record for wins in a season. Jeremy Lin had a big game in his finale in front of the home crowd, but more importantly went out a winner.

February 28, 2010

(87) New Hampshire 77, Stony Brook 55: A clunker for the regular season champions wasn’t what the doctor ordered, but New Hampshire was hot from three-point range and in control after the first few minutes of the game.

March 3, 2010

(88) Boston College 68, Virginia 55: The Cavaliers’ season began with some promise, but that didn’t last and the latter part of the season looked a little different from how it began, including this road loss.

March 5, 2010

(89) Cornell 95, Brown 76: The Big Red clinched their third straight Ivy League title by going 20-30 from long range en route to a road win. They rode their group of seniors all the way for one more title.

March 6, 2010 (Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, Quarterfinals)

(90) Old Dominion 86, Towson 56: This game was every bit the mismatch one might expect. Old Dominion has length and overall size, while Towson’s frontcourt looked like it couldn’t hold its own against a high school team.

(91) VCU 75, George Mason 60: For much of the game, this was a slugfest, but VCU rode the inside-outside combination of Larry Sanders and local kid Brandon Rozzell to a win.

(92) Northeastern 74, Hofstra 71 (2 OT): A great game between two teams that split in the regular season with the road team winning both times saw the Huskies win by simply not wanting to go home just yet.

(93) William & Mary 70, James Madison 65: The Dukes were in control for a lot of the first half and looked like they could pull off an upset that could salvage a disappointing season, but the Tribe’s veterans came up big in the second half, including a clutch shot by a player known for making them.

March 7, 2010 (Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, Semifinals)

(94) Old Dominion 73, VCU 69 (OT): Two arch-rivals had at it in a great game to start the day, with the Monarchs pulling it out.

(95) William & Mary 47, Northeastern 45: As had been the case a couple of previous times in Williamsburg, the Huskies lost a heart-breaker to the Tribe. A poor first half ultimately did the Huskies in, but a three-pointer that beat the shot clock by David Schneider late in the game is what many will remember. For the Huskies, this one really hurt.

March 9, 2010 (Atlantic 10 Tournament Opening Round)

(96) Rhode Island 87, Saint Joseph’s 76: The opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament took place at campus sites, and here the Rams moved on and ended a tough season for the Hawks.

March 13, 2010 (Patriot League Championship)

(97) Lehigh 74, Lafayette 59: While Lehigh’s star freshman took home plenty of hardware and had his moments in the Patriot League Tournament, the seniors drove the bus to a title and the NCAA Tournament.

March 13, 2010 (America East Championship)

(98) Vermont 83, Boston University 70: This was the end of quite a journey for Vermont, and one that had additional journeys within that went a long way in shaping this title win.

March 16, 2010 (NIT First Round)

(99) Connecticut 59, Northeastern 57: In some sense, this was a case of deja vu for Northeastern, as their season ended with another tough loss in a game they could have had. They played with plenty of confidence and never got rattled even when they had bad stretches, but it wasn’t quite enough.

March 17, 2010 (NIT First Round)

(100) Rhode Island 76, Northwestern 64: A good win for the Rams to move on, thanks largely to a good defensive effort. They got a good boost off the bench, out-scoring the Wildcat bench 25-2 and highlighted by Akeem Richmond coming in to score 11 straight Ram points.

March 22, 2010 (NIT Second Round)

(101) Rhode Island 85, Nevada 83: A wild game between two teams that like to push the pace and get the score up high, which they did. Delroy James’ 34 points was one story, but perhaps the most remarkable stat was that the Rams committed just two turnovers.

Top 10 Games

1. February 19, 2010 – Cornell 79, Harvard 70: This game justified the massive build-up to it.

2. March 7, 2010 – Old Dominion 73, VCU 69 (OT): Two arch-rivals squared off in a great conference tournament game and neither wanted to lose.

3. December 5, 2009 – Rhode Island 86, Providence 82: Another great rivalry game between these two goes to the home team, who fought back after struggling in the first half.

4. March 6, 2010 – Northeastern 74, Hofstra 71 (2 OT): This game exemplified conference tournament basketball, as neither team wanted to go home.

5. March 7, 2010 – William & Mary 47. Northeastern 45: A heart-breaking loss for Northeastern in a game that had a few heart-stopping moments late.

6. March 22, 2010 – Rhode Island 85, Nevada 83: This game was what fans could expect, a fast-paced matchup with a lot of scoring.

7. December 19, 2009 – UMass 73, Memphis 72: A big win for UMass on a buzzer-beating tip-in.

8. January 23, 2010 – South Florida 109, Providence 105 (OT): A miraculous comeback by the Bulls sent it to overtime, where they finished the job to hand Providence a devastating loss.

9. November 15, 2009 – Providence 79, Mercer 77: The young Friars pulled out the championship game of the World Vision Invitational to start the young season 3-0.

10. December 28, 2009 – George Washington 70, Holy Cross 68: The Colonials had to hold off Holy Cross at the end to pick up this road win.

Please, Stop the Conference Expansion Madness Already

Lately, conference expansion has been a hot topic. There have been reports and additional speculation that the Big Ten is looking to grow and the Pac-10 may not be far behind. Plenty of possibilities have been bandied about, from individual schools that could change conferences to just how many teams one of the conferences ultimately ends up with, as well as what the aftermath means for the conferences whose schools move on.

Count me as one person who hopes it all stops right there. And count me as one who figures it won’t.

The biggest reasons for the Big Ten wanting to expand are obvious: more money, and football as the driver for that. The Big Ten needs one more school to have divisions in football and a championship game, along with the revenue it would bring. It also would like more markets for its Big Ten Network, which seems a little odd considering I get the Big Ten Network here in metropolitan Boston as part of my cable package.

Speculation is that the Big Ten may not add just one team for an even dozen. In fact, the thinking is that the Big Ten might try to go to 16 schools, at which point one must wonder if the conference will change its name (although that never happened with the now-14-school Atlantic 10 Conference). It’s at that point where utter insanity would really begin to set in, and I’m not alluding to the fact that most, if not all, of the five schools it would add would likely be poached from the Big East.

No, the insanity has been going on for a while in this respect. In the 2009-10 season, 15 conferences in Division I had more than 10 schools. Most have 12 schools, while the Atlantic 10 has 14 and the Big East has 16. They are also getting more spread out geographically, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The Atlantic 10 and Big East now stretch from New England as far south as North Carolina and Florida and as far west as Missouri and Illinois. Conference USA stretches from near the east coast of North Carolina to the far west end of Texas; the Sun Belt stretches from Miami to Denver. The Colonial Athletic Association stretches from Boston to Atlanta.

The move to expand conferences has by and large been first and foremost about football. Having 12 teams allows a conference to have divisions and ultimately a championship game, which brings in even more revenue. In basketball, the conferences already have championship games except in the Ivy League, which doesn’t have a tournament. Football was already a breadwinner for the major conferences, but that has become the case to an even larger degree now.

Basketball is hurt by an unbalanced schedule that results from this, which would only get worse with further expansion. In the first year of the 16-team Big East, each team had two schools it did not play at all. That changed once the conference expanded its schedule to 18 games, as they now play all 15 schools, three of them both home and away. The Pac-10 is the last of the big boys with a true round robin regular season, and if they add two more teams you can be sure that will be a thing of the past as well, which would be unfortunate.

Just by virtue of having an unbalanced schedule, calling one team a champion in the regular season becomes something of a misnomer. While that hasn’t yet happened in football, that could change if the Big Ten goes to 16 schools. While it would certainly have divisions, the eight-game conference schedule means each team will barely play half of its conference opponents. Can you really call the team that wins the championship game in such a scenario a true champion of the conference? At most, the champion will have played nine of the 15 other schools in the conference. It’s one thing to play nine of 11, as can happen in the SEC or Big 12, but it’s a little more significant in the Big Ten scenario.

The unbalanced schedule makes conference records not mean so much now. Former Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez once said that if a team goes .500 in the Big East, they should be in the NCAA Tournament. But the reality is, a 9-9 team might have played three teams behind them in the standings twice, while an 8-10 team might play three teams atop the standings twice. A 9-9 mark in the Big East doesn’t tell you as much as a 9-9 mark in the Pac-10 does because of the Big East’s unbalanced schedule.

In addition, the unbalanced schedule can also mean that great rivalries take an unnecessary breather or basically go away altogether. The ACC did the right thing in designating teams as primary partners, meaning they play twice every season, so that Duke and North Carolina will play home and home every year. But not every conference has done this, and frankly, it’s unfortunate that it would even have to be done.

A few big rivalries could go by the wayside if the Big Ten plucks some of the teams it is reportedly considering for expansion. Just imagine if Syracuse and Pittsburgh leave the Big East to join the Big Ten: with that, the Big East would not only lose two powerhouse teams, but they would also lose their signature rivalry in Georgetown-Syracuse and one of the best rivalries of late in Connecticut-Pittsburgh. If Missouri were to leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten, the Border Wars with Kansas would be a thing of the past.

Making more money is great, and it’s no secret that it’s the primary motivator here. But sometimes, the pursuit of the almighty dollar leads people to do things that might pull in more money but makes changes that aren’t very good in other respects. That’s why chasing dollars isn’t always a practical thing to do. Further expansion of conferences that in some cases are already too big is one such example, and that’s why we should hope that this doesn’t come to pass, no matter how inevitable it seems to be.

North Carolina: Tar Heels Undergo Second Consecutive Facelift

For the second consecutive season, North Carolina must deal with sizable roster changes. And the biggest difference literally will be the size on the roster.

Twin forwards Travis and David Wear have decided to leave the Tar Heels, and their father said the freshmen will look to play closer to home in southern California. The unexpected loss of the 6-10 Wear twins damages coach Roy Williams’ depth in the frontcourt, with only 6-10 John Henson and 7-foot Tyler Zeller returning to man the post.

Besides the Wears’ departures, North Carolina is losing 6-9 senior forward Deon Thompson and 6-10 sophomore forward Ed Davis. Despite missing the end of the season with a broken wrist, Davis decided that he is ready to take his game to the NBA. Thompson will graduate after laboring through this past season as the lone remaining starter from the Tar Heels’ 2009 championship squad.

With only two scholarship players taller than 6-7, Williams will need to use some creative lineup combinations. However, that challenge might present an opportunity that is conducive to returning the Tar Heels to the top of the ACC.

When North Carolina won its most recent championships in 2005 and 2009, the Tar Heels had elite guards to run the speedy Carolina offense, in addition to hustling big men who collected plenty of rebounds and outworked opponents in the post. No disrespect to Sean May or Tyler Hansbrough, but Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson were the engines of their respective championship squads.

The Tar Heels limped through the ACC this past season as their offensive sputtered. Sophomore point guard Larry Drew II shouldered much of the blame for the offensive struggles — fair or not. However, during the Tar Heels’ run to the NIT championship game, Drew played significantly better, showing a modest feel for running an up-tempo offense without losing control.

Regardless of how many big men Williams has in the lineup, Drew and his backcourt mates must dictate the pace of the game. If Drew cannot boost North Carolina’s offensive efficiency from No. 92, Williams will give the responsibility to Dexter Strickland or incoming freshman Kendall Marshall. According to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency statistics, North Carolina has finished in the top 10 for offensive efficiency every year since 2004. A No. 92 ranking is utterly unacceptable.

Some of the Tar Heels’ struggles this past season might actually be attributable to North Carolina’s over-reliance on big men. The perimeter players were woefully inconsistent, shooting 32.8 percent from three-point range. That poor shooting allowed opponents to pack the post to deny dribble penetration or entry passes. With the arrival of Harrison Barnes and Reggie Bullock and the increased minutes for junior Will Graves, North Carolina should be better at stretching defenses next season.

The 2010-11 Tar Heels figure to look nothing like this past season’s squad. And for North Carolina fans accustomed to seeing their team in the NCAA Tournament, not the NIT, that might not be a bad thing.

No Storybook Ending for Fred Hill at Rutgers

The end of Fred Hill’s tenure at Rutgers was surely not the ending many had in mind when it all started. While the storybook ending that some foresaw never came, and it was never really in sight, the ending is still something of a head-scratcher.

When Hill became the head coach at Rutgers, there was a lot of anticipation. Some of that was because it was the worst-kept secret in college basketball, as Hill had left Villanova to become the associate head coach at Rutgers a year earlier. It was an odd move, a step down in the minds of most as Villanova had become a consistent NCAA Tournament team while Rutgers was still trying to get to the NCAA Tournament. Gary Waters, the head coach at the time, was on the hot seat, so everyone figured Hill went to Rutgers to then succeed Waters once his contract ran out a year later.

But a lot of that anticipation came from other things. For one, Hill is a New Jersey guy. He was born there, went to college there, and did a lot of his coaching in or around the state save for stops at Marquette and Maine from 1988-94. There aren’t many people who are associated with college basketball in New Jersey as readily as Fred Hill. Also, his father is the long-time head baseball coach at the Rutgers, so there was a family angle to it as well – one that would come into play at the end, oddly enough. And this was Hill’s first head coaching job, sort of a hometown-kid-comes-home-for-his-first-job kind of story.

Hill has also been known for his recruiting, as he’s had a big hand in top players going to all of his stops, and that was a key because Rutgers had for years struggled to get the best New Jersey kids. There has been plenty of talent in the state, but Rutgers was always getting the second-tier players, the ones who were borderline Big East talents or better off in the Atlantic 10 if they wanted to be all-conference players. The thinking was that with Hill and a staff with plenty of roots and connections in the Garden State, more of the top-tier players would start coming to Rutgers.

Of course, there was a question about whether or not Hill could then coach those players. The jury is still out on that one, much like whether or not he could get the top players consistently. Sure, Hill landed Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique, but the Scarlet Knight roster this past season still had several borderline high-major players like Mike Coburn, Jonathan Mitchell and Hamady Ndiaye. Next year’s class wasn’t looking like a breakthrough group, as they didn’t land players like Kyrie Irving, Devon Collier, Ashton Pankey, Fuquan Edwin or Ronald Roberts. Chances are, neither Gil Biruta nor Austin Carroll, if they still go there (Carroll said recently he is still going to Rutgers), will make anyone forget Echenique or Rosario, let alone Phil Sellers or Eddie Jordan.

In four years at Rutgers, Hill had a 47-77 record, including a 13-57 Big East mark. With a new athletic director since he was hired, the thought was that Hill might not have much time before some results needed to be seen. But athletic director Tim Pernetti said Hill was going to get another year to try to turn the corner, and then the month of April came about.

On April 1, Hill was involved in an incident at a Rutgers baseball game. According to reports, he yelled at the Pittsburgh baseball coaches after the game and was told by Pernetti not to attend any more games between the two schools that week. Hill showed up again, however, and that led to the end. It was only a question of when, not if, he would be out as the head coach, as well as how much money he would get going out the door.

Hill’s tenure wasn’t without controversy prior to the incident. Last August, Hill hired Sal Mantesana as an assistant coach, which meant one of the current assistants either had to leave or move to another position on the staff. With that hire, he made Craig Carter the recruiting coordinator, which meant he was no longer an assistant coach and could not recruit. Not only is Carter a good recruiter who is well-liked and respected in the New York/New Jersey area, but the move left the team without a black coach on the entire staff, which had some in New Jersey up in arms until Carter was moved back into his assistant coaching role a month later. While Hill did move him back into the position before the season started, that he removed Carter from the assistants in the first place was an instance of dropping the ball at a bad time.

A milder controversy came early on, when Rutgers played a game against St. Peter’s in Jersey City. Although it was not on campus at the Yanitelli Center, it was basically a home game for St. Peter’s, the kind of road game a team like Rutgers basically doesn’t play because they don’t have to. But Hill took them on the road, and they lost the game, which brought some negative publicity. Hill looked at it the way he should have – that the Scarlet Knights have to be able to win games like that if they’re going to be able to win Big East games – but playing the game was seen as a questionable move. Perhaps it was a sign of things to come: they couldn’t beat a rebuilding MAAC team, and had trouble winning games for all of Hill’s tenure.

Even with all of that, surely no one foresaw the end to his tenure that occurred. No one would have been surprised if his tenure ended after another losing season that included a 6-12 Big East record, but this was a surprise. The New Jersey boy came home for his first head coaching job, and went out the door not in the best of ways. It was hardly a storybook ending, much like the prior four years were hardly storybook in nature.

2010 ACC Post-Mortem

Although several ACC squads had disappointing final results, Duke emerged as the national champ to reaffirm that the conference’s best is always a title contender.

When the season started, we expected Duke to emerge as a national championship contender if the Big Three – Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith – could lead the Blue Devils night in and night out without wearing down.

In November, that seemed like a tall order because the Blue Devils just didn’t have much depth behind those perimeter players. But Scheyer, Singler and Smith fulfilled their potential by carrying Duke to its fourth national championship under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

In the past, Duke has earned its reputation as one of the most hated teams in the country because the national media dwell on every game – much like the media painfully did this season with North Carolina as the Tar Heels crumbled without Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. But for some reason, there was no hype surrounding this Blue Devils squad. Somehow, Coach K’s team flew under the radar while Kansas, Kentucky and the entire Big East captured the majority of the national coverage.

In the end, Duke proved that its regular-season success wasn’t only the product of a down year in the ACC. The Blue Devils weren’t just the conference’s best team; they were the nation’s best team. Duke had to take down Cinderella – aka Butler – to claim that title. And in the process, the Blue Devils and Bulldogs delivered one of the most thrilling national title games of the past decade.

Few people seriously expected North Carolina to repeat as national champions. But they almost did – if you count the NIT winner as a national champion. After an utterly disastrous regular season that saw the Tar Heels fall apart because of injuries and inexperience, North Carolina pulled things together in the NIT to make a run to the championship game, which the Tar Heels lost to Dayton.

With North Carolina falling from the ACC’s elite, Maryland moved up the conference’s caste system. Fiery guard Greivis Vasquez sparked the Terrapins to a share of the regular-season title. Unfortunately, Maryland peaked about two weeks too early when the Terrapins won a thriller against the Blue Devils in College Park in early March. After that, Maryland failed to win two consecutive games, ending in a second-round defeat to No. 5-seed Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament.

Four other teams joined Duke and Maryland in the NCAA Tournament: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. Like Maryland, none of them won more than one game in the tournament.

Outside Duke, the conference lacked a second legitimate powerhouse. If that’s your definition of a down year, then yes, the ACC was down. But the bottom of the conference proved to be better than the cellar dwellers of nearly every other conference, as demonstrated by unlikely ACC Tournament runs by Miami and North Carolina State.

Here’s a recap of the 2009-10 season for ACC teams.

Final 2009-10 Standings

ACC Tournament

The ACC Tournament was a harbinger of the NCAA Tournament, with five major upsets in 11 games. But at the end of the tournament, Duke was cutting down the nets.

The Blue Devils won their second-consecutive conference title and ninth since 1999 by beating No. 7-seed Georgia Tech 65-61. Duke’s difficult run against seemingly overmatched opponents – No. 9-seed Virginia, No. 12-seed Miami and the Yellow Jackets – prepared the Blue Devils for a hard-fought run to the national title in the NCAA Tournament. Georgia Tech sealed its bid to the NCAA Tournament with an impressive run that included an upset of No. 2-seed Maryland.

No. 11-seed North Carolina State and No. 12-seed Miami provided the biggest upsets of the conference tournament. The Wolfpack opened the tournament by nipping No. 6-seed Clemson 59-57 and then beating No. 3-seed Florida State 58-52. The Hurricanes overcame a bad ACC regular season by upsetting No. 5-seed Wake Forest and No. 4-seed Virginia Tech. Duke was the only team seeded No. 6 or better to win even a single conference tournament game.

Hoopville’s All-ACC Awards

Player of the Year: Jon Scheyer, Duke

Rookie of the Year: Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech

Defensive Player of the Year: Solomon Alabi, Florida State

Coach of the Year: Gary Williams, Maryland

First-Team All-ACC:

Jon Scheyer, Duke

Greivis Vasquez, Maryland

Kyle Singler, Duke

Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest

Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech

Second-Team All-ACC:

Sylven Landesberg, Virginia

Nolan Smith, Duke

Tracy Smith, North Carolina State

Trevor Booker, Clemson

Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech

Third-Team All-ACC:

Joe Trapani, Boston College

Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech

Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech

Ed Davis, North Carolina

Solomon Alabi, Florida State

Season Highlights

8 Things We Saw Coming

1. Duke won a share of the regular season championship and then dominated the conference tournament.

2. Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Maryland joined the Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament.

3. But none of those four advanced far in the tournament.

4. Virginia struggled under new coach Tony Bennett, who put the brakes on the Cavaliers’ pace to one of the slowest tempos in the conference.

5. Miami dropped toward the bottom of the conference with an influx of young talent, such as Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant.

6. Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez went head-to-head with Duke’s best player, Jon Scheyer, for the conference’s Player of the Year award.

7. Virginia Tech established one of the best backcourts in the country with Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson – and the juniors look ready to dominate next season if Delaney backs out of the NBA Draft.

8. Florida State’s defensive prowess was remarkably better than the team’s offensive prowess, and it was just enough to carry the Seminoles to an NCAA Tournament bid.

8 Things We Thought We’d See

1. North Carolina was supposed to compete for second place in the conference, but instead finished tied for second worst.

2. The Tar Heels seemed ready to compete with seniors like Marcus Ginyard in the lineup. But Ginyard couldn’t stay healthy for a second consecutive season, and injuries helped derail the Tar Heels’ season.

3. We expected Duke’s highly-touted freshman recruit Mason Plumlee to be a factor. He ended up with 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game.

4. Likewise, Clemson’s Milton Jennings saw even less time, averaging 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game.

5. Wake Forest is usually an offensive juggernaut. But the Demon Deacons struggled on offense despite the presence of a veteran point guard, Ishmael Smith, and talented post players like Al-Farouq Aminu, Chas McFarland and Tony Woods.

6. Georgia Tech point guard Iman Shumpert focused on playing under more control. But the Yellow Jackets couldn’t significantly cut down on their turnovers, committing 16.4 turnovers per game this season compared to 16.8 last season.

7. Usually tough and consistent Boston College remained tough but was anything but consistent, losing five ACC games by double digits.

8. The ACC is traditionally a showcase for electric offense. But only three teams finished in the top 40 in offensive efficiency.

8 Things We Didn’t See Coming

1. Once again, North Carolina stunk. Yes, expectations were too high. Yes, injuries always hurt. But this team looked lost and occasionally apathetic, which utterly baffled coach Roy Williams.

2. Wake Forest exceeded expectations on defense, which had been the team’s bugaboo for several years.

3. Despite the strong defense and a return to the NCAA Tournament, the Demon Deacons axed Dino Gaudio because of his lack of post-season success.

4. Clemson and Boston College also had to find new coaches after Oliver Purnell shockingly bolted for DePaul and the Eagles parted ways with Al Skinner.

5. On the court, the midseason maturation of Duke’s Brian Zoubek was the unlikely catalyst for the Blue Devils’ ascension from contender to champion.

6. Virginia Tech once again proved that you cannot discount a Seth Greenberg-coached team, which finished third in the conference.

7. Quite a few ACC teams – namely, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech – channeled their inner Big 10 spirit and devoted far more energy to defense than offense.

8. Maryland jumped from the middle of the pack to near the top of the ACC thanks to another dominating season from Vasquez and just enough support from the rest of the team to consistently beat down ACC foes.

Teams of the Rise

Virginia Tech

We should just leave the Hokies in this category each season, unless Greenberg take another job.

Virginia Tech finished third in the ACC this season and just missed the NCAA Tournament because of a weak non-conference schedule and lack of quality wins. If Greenberg lines up more worthy non-conference foes, the Hokies will build a stronger résumé for the 2011 tournament. They certainly will have the lineup to do so.

The Hokies lose only Lewis Witcher to graduation. A veteran lineup anchored by Delaney – assuming he doesn’t stay in the NBA Draft – Hudson, Jeff Allen, J.T. Thompson and Terrell Bell could become the favorite to challenge Duke for next season’s conference championship.

Florida State

The Seminoles remain here as long as Alabi decides to return to school instead of entering the NBA Draft. If he comes back to Tallahassee, the Seminoles will remain one of the best defensive teams in the country. And they have to get better on offense, right?

Florida State was just abysmal offensively for much of the season, committing nearly 17 turnovers per game. The Seminoles struggled as a team to hit shots when they didn’t turn it over. From three-point range, Florida State shot only 33.5 percent, and from the free throw line, the Seminoles were only 64.4 percent.

North Carolina

Thanks to a run to the NIT championship game, the Tar Heels salvaged a disastrous season and inspired hope for next season.

In particular, Larry Drew II finally looked capable of running the Tar Heels’ offense, which should be more powerful next season. Freshmen Leslie McDonald and Dexter Strickland must become better long-range shooters. If they don’t, incoming freshmen Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall will challenge them for playing time. One reason the Tar Heels struggled this season is teams didn’t need to respect their outside shooting. That shouldn’t be true next season, which will open the lane for Ed Davis (if he returns, as he declared for the NBA Draft), Tyler Zeller, the Wear twins and John Henson.

With so much talent on this roster, it’s hard to imagine that North Carolina won’t be on the rise from a 10th-place finish.

Teams on the Decline

Maryland

The Terrapins took advantage of their window of opportunity. With the implosion in Chapel Hill, there was a gaping void after Duke at the top of the standings, and Maryland stepped up to fill it.

But with the graduation of Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne, the Terrapins will lose three players who averaged at least 30 minutes per game and accounted for 54.7 percent of the team’s scoring and 67.3 percent of the team’s assists.

Coach Gary Williams has been reluctant to trust his bench in recent seasons. He won’t have a choice next season when those bench players become starters.

Virginia

Coach Tony Bennett will get a fresh start after his first season with the Cavaliers because seven players who began the season are leaving the program.

Although Bennett has an opportunity to shape this team as he desires, it’s hard to imagine the Cavaliers improving significantly without Sylven Landesberg, who averaged 17.3 points per game for a team that struggled to score. He accounted for more than one-quarter of the team’s points.

Besides Landesberg, Bennett will need to replace the production of Calvin Baker, Jerome Meyinsse, Soloman Tat, Jeff Jones and Tristan Spurlock.

Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons shocked everyone by firing Dino Gaudio and replacing him with Jeff Bzdelik. Yes, Gaudio had failed to win an NCAA Tournament game despite having three NBA first-round draft picks pass through Winston-Salem, assuming Aminu goes early in this year’s draft.

But Gaudio was attracting great high school players and winning many of the in-state recruiting battles. His teams peaked too early in the season twice. But at least they found a way to the top.

Bzdelik prefers a slower pace than Wake Forest is accustomed to playing. And the Demon Deacons will need to find a new point guard to learn that offense because Ishmael Smith is graduating. He’s taking several key teammates with him, as Chas McFarland, David Weaver and L.D. Willams have also finished their playing careers as Demon Deacons, while Aminu is bolting the team for NBA money.

Despite some talented young players, this team figures to go through at least one season of growing pains under a new coach.

Next Season

Entering this season, many experts figured that Duke and North Carolina would contend for the conference title, but they were likely a year away from challenging for a national championship. Duke proved the experts wrong by taking the national title this year. And they might be the front-runner to do it again next season.

The Blue Devils return Singler and Smith, in addition to talented young big men like Mason Plumlee, Miles Plumlee and Ryan Kelly. Sharpshooter Seth Curry will be eligible after transferring from Liberty, and Andre Dawkins will step into the point guard role. If he struggles, Krzyzewski can turn to freshman Kyrie Irving, who is an electric recruit out of New Jersey. The Blue Devils also are adding Joshua Hairston and Tyler Thornton to a solid recruiting class.

Besides Duke, Virginia Tech and Florida State should build on their success from this past season to fill out the conference’s elite. Wake Forest and North Carolina will have plenty of talent on their roster to possibly join those three, but both teams have plenty of issues to overcome.

In Raleigh, coach Sidney Lowe must elevate the Wolfpack to the top half of the conference or he almost certainly will be looking for a new job after next season. Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt might also be on the hot seat if the Yellow Jackets significantly regress – a likely scenario with the losses of Favors and Lawal to the NBA.

If you want a very early sleeper pick to reach the NCAA Tournament, assuming its only 65 teams and not 96, look south to Miami. Coach Frank Haith has reloaded that roster with talented young guards who figure to make their mark next season.

And if the NCAA Tournament expands to 96 teams, look for the ACC to place every single team in the tournament unless expansion includes a rule that teams must have at least a .400 winning percentage in your conference – or something like that.

BABC Rolls Again in Mass. 16-Under AAU

EASTON, Mass. – Not surprisingly, BABC rolled in the 16-under Massachusetts Division I AAU Tournament, winning the title game by an 83-28 margin over New England Storm. BABC scored 13 unanswered points after New England Storm had a 5-4 lead and was never challenged after that as four players scored in double figures.

The South Shore Wolfpack took home the Division II championship with a 55-33 win over Worcester West. Interestingly, the two teams were in the same pool, with Worcester West winning the first meeting between the two by 14 points.

BABC won with a balanced attack as is often the case, but a few players certainly stood out for what they showed. Dominique Bull (6’3” So. SG, Worcester (MA) Cushing Academy) continues to look better passing the ball, as he made nice passes in the halfcourt offense and a couple of nice lead passes for a fast break. He also looks more athletic, while continuing to show he can score. Jared Johnson (6’0” So. PG, Springfield (MA) Cushing Academy) continued to run the show but also knocked down some shots from long range and played nice defense within the team concept. Nerlens Noel (6’10” So. C, Everett (MA) High) continued to be effective and at times dominant despite playing basically on one leg, but also showed some aggressiveness on offense that he had not shown before. Egi Gjikondi (6’8” So. PF, Malden (MA) Cushing Academy) got a lot of close baskets as usual, but here he also finished with contact and showed a touch from mid-range at the offensive end, looking like a more effective player overall.

If Jaylen Brantley (5’9” So. PG, Springfield (MA) Central HS) grows a few more inches, he could be a combo guard. He knows how to run a team and lead the way, but he continued to knock down shots from long range here.

Jake Layman (6’7” So. SF-PF, Wrentham (MA) King Philip HS) had a nice 20-point outing on Saturday and contributed by being active, as he usually does. Shaquille Jones (6’5” So. SF, Providence (RI) Hope HS) looks to be emerging more and more, as he’s long and has good overall offensive skills within the flow of an offense. He will head to Notre Dame Prep next year but might not repeat a year. Fellow Rhode Islander Andrew Chrabascz (6’6” So. SF-PF, Portsmouth (RI) High), who will repeat his sophomore year at Cushing Academy next year, continued to show solid fundamentals that will carry him a long way. Georges Niang (6’7” So. PF, Methuen (MA) Tilton School) helped off the bench with some scoring inside and a few mid-range jump shots.

BABC’s opponent in the semifinals, Dunbar, had a nice undersized post prospect in Jevaughn McMillan (6’6” So. PF, Springfield (MA) Central HS). A thick post player, he moves well but could be better if he improves his conditioning, scored well inside with 16 in a quarterfinal win and 11 against BABC, and he got a few stickbacks. He also showed a nice stroke at the foul line, which helped because he got there a few times.

One team with prospects that caught our eye was the Bomb Squad, a group of competitive kids who lost a tough semifinal game. Curtis Howe II (So. PG-SG, Boston (MA) Cathedral HS) is the son of the coach and looks the part, and in the tough loss he scored 17 points with several three-point shots. Kyle Lawyer (So. SF, Boston (MA) Cathedral HS) scored 12 points in the loss and has some size and a touch from long range, while the best prospect could be Kwandel Bush (So. SF-PF, East Boston (MA) High), who had 14 points in the loss and is athletic with a good body.

Kyle Romich (So. PG-SG, West Groton (MA) Groton-Dunstable Regional HS) has had a growth spurt and isn’t far from older brother Ryan now. He could be set to break out much like his brother did at about the same age.

Kentucky Starts Dancing on Hot Coals

Less than 13 months.

When Kentucky hired coach John Calipari in April 2009, skeptics rhetorically asked how long it would take controversy to follow him to Lexington. And now we have the answer.

The Lexington Herald-Leader discovered that of nine SEC teams that reported GPAs for their men’s basketball teams, Kentucky’s squad came in last with a 2.025 GPA for the fall semester. Collectively, that’s a solid C average for every player on the team.

Calipari and the Kentucky athletics department deserve an F.

It’s no secret that Calipari has been present during controversies at past jobs. The NCAA vacated both of his two trips to the Final Four because of ineligible players. In 1996, the NCAA discovered that Marcus Camby had received money from an agent, which compromised his status as an amateur player.

More recently, the NCAA found that a Memphis player — later revealed to be Derrick Rose — had someone else take his SATs in high school. Because of “knowing fraudulence or misconduct,” the NCAA decided that Rose was ineligible even though the fraud was discovered after Memphis’ run to the championship game against Kansas in 2008. In both cases, the NCAA did not peg the blame on Calipari.

Yes, this is America, and we cherish our justice system’s central tenet: People are innocent until proven guilty. But Kentucky athletic officials should know better.

With so much baggage accompanying Calipari to Lexington, it was important for Calipari and Kentucky to have a clean first year. Technically, he’s been on the job for more than a year. But his first academic year with the Wildcats won’t end until June 30. And thanks to some educationally disinterested players, Calipari will have to yet again answer questions about how he runs a program.

But Calipari shouldn’t have to field all of those questions. For a program as financially well endowed as Kentucky’s, it’s impossible to believe that the Wildcat players didn’t have plenty of resources at their disposal to help them with their studies. In addition, there should be at least one person who is responsible for monitoring the weekly and monthly academic progress of each player. More likely, Kentucky has a team of staff members in charge of monitoring academics that is large enough to double as a scout squad at practice.

With tutors, academic advisers and regulators, Kentucky has no excuse for allowing student-athletes to slip into such mediocrity. Calipari delivered a bounty of talented freshmen, many of whom clearly are destined to play in the NBA by fall 2010. That makes it especially shameful that Kentucky’s academic team didn’t keep a watchful eye on the players’ progress.

Not to diminish personal accountability, the players who earned a bunch of C’s and D’s should be embarrassed by their academic indifference. But imagine being an 18- or 19-year-old who constantly hears that he’ll be a millionaire in less than a year. That makes studying for a boring subject’s exam a lot less enticing. College students with far less affluent futures often struggle with their academic discipline when they arrive on campus.

The difference is that most students don’t have the extensive support network that student-athletes have, especially men’s basketball players at Kentucky.

This incident won’t be the downfall of Calipari at Kentucky. But it is an early opportunity for the coach to set the tone for his tenure with the Wildcats.