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Young Hartford tries to nagivate through growing pains

by Phil Kasiecki - Published November 11, 2012 in Columns, Your Phil of Hoops

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – John Gallagher talked a lot on Saturday about building a program. There’s a good reason, since the third-year Hartford head coach is in the process of doing that with a young team. And while there’s a lot of potential in his team, there are some things they will need to do to start reaching it, some of which he talked about right away.

“I want them to be disappointed,” Gallagher said after his team lost its season opener 65-61 to Quinnipiac in the Connecticut 6 Classic. “I don’t want a locker room that’s like, oh, we almost had them. That’s ludicrous. We’re trying to build something, we want them to feel a little pain. We want them to realize that winning and losing really matters.”

No Comments | Tags: America East, Connecticut 6 Classic, Hartford

Confident Boston University tries to take tough opening loss in stride

by Phil Kasiecki - Published November 10, 2012 in Columns, Your Phil of Hoops

BOSTON – They almost had it. For much of the game, they looked like they would do it. Then seemingly out of nowhere, a three-pointer just before the buzzer buried it all, and Boston University was headed back across town with an 0-1 mark to start the season. And now comes the challenge: moving on to the next one.

Youth was served on Friday night at Matthews Arena, at least if you look at the final score and nothing else. The Terriers started two freshmen and brought a freshman and sophomore off the bench for the most minutes, and lost to a team that normally starts two senior guards (one is out with an injury). The Terriers are a young group, but it’s one Joe Jones feels like he can work with and get good results out of with a little work and a balancing act.

No Comments | Tags: America East, Boston University

Exhibition loss could be a blessing in disguise for Holy Cross

by Phil Kasiecki - Published November 5, 2012 in Columns, Your Phil of Hoops

WORCESTER, Mass. – Sunday’s 71-63 loss to neighboring Assumption College was certainly not what Milan Brown wanted. But regardless of the result, the Holy Cross mentor, now in his third season at the school, was surely going to come away knowing his team had a good deal of work ahead.

“We knew there were some holes that we needed to fill,” said Brown after Sunday’s game. “I’m hoping that this is a blessing in disguise for us.”

1 Comment | Tags: Holy Cross, Patriot League

Boston College is still young but should be significantly improved

by Phil Kasiecki - Published October 24, 2012 in Columns, Your Phil of Hoops

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Year two of Steve Donahue’s new-look Boston College is upon us, and it’s clear there is progress. Last year, Donahue’s second season at The Heights, represented a quick turnover of the roster from the Al Skinner days with a very young roster, but this time around the team is still very young but much more experienced. There’s also a lot to like about this group, especially if the spirited and competitive early practice they had is any indication.

The picture of this team is clearer now than a year ago, and that’s not surprising. This group has a track record in college and a wealth of college experience they didn’t have a year ago, so they have more to build on. They also went on a trip to Spain near the end of the summer, which also helped this team.

No Comments | Tags: ACC, Boston College

Harvard has a good thing going, and youth will not change that

by Phil Kasiecki - Published October 20, 2012 in Columns, Your Phil of Hoops

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – With the college basketball season not far away, we’ll talk about basketball at Harvard. We won’t dwell on the two players the Crimson won’t have this season that they were supposed to, and Tommy Amaker has probably been asked about that more than he cares to admit. But there is a basketball side to it, and while the Crimson still have very good talent, losing two players unexpectedly has a noticeable effect.

Seniors Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry won’t play this season, as both withdrew from the university while an investigation into a class they took is ongoing. There were over 100 students in the class that are part of the investigation, so they are hardly alone, but from a basketball standpoint it means the Crimson will be without four starters from last season’s team. That’s a pretty big hit to take, especially since Casey and Curry figured to be leaders on an otherwise young team.

No Comments | Tags: Harvard, Ivy League

Northeastern hopes to ride senior backcourt and other key players into CAA contention

by Phil Kasiecki - Published October 18, 2012 in Columns, Your Phil of Hoops

BOSTON – The Colonial Athletic Association will have a little different look this season, but that isn’t true only because one team is gone and two more teams will be gone after this season. Look near the top of the standings and there will likely be a team or two that hasn’t been a traditional contender in the mix. Northeastern hopes to be one of those teams, and there is reason to believe the Huskies can be there.

Northeastern returns four key players from last season’s team that will be the foundation of this season’s team. The last time the Huskies contended in the CAA, it was similar – four core guys and role players that surrounded them. Potentially, this team will have more depth than that team, and the four core players might collectively match the ones from that team.

No Comments | Tags: Colonial, Northeastern

Not a season to remember for Wake Forest

by Phil Kasiecki - Published March 8, 2012 in Columns, Your Phil of Hoops

ATLANTA – Although it wasn’t quite as bad as last season, this was hardly one for the books for Wake Forest. After an 82-60 blowout loss against Maryland on Thursday, the Demon Deacons finished 13-18 overall. That doesn’t seem so bad, and a few teams had worse records, but look deeper and you see a team that, quite simply, was not good.

Wake Forest, which has now lost six straight ACC Tournament games, was one of four teams that finished 4-12 in the ACC and tied for last place. Because of tie-breakers, the Demon Deacons snagged the No. 9 seed. They beat Boston College twice and Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech once each. All three of those teams also finished 4-12, so Wake Forest didn’t manage to knock off a team ahead of them in the standings all season. They also went 3-8 in true road games and 1-3 at neutral sites, so they didn’t fare well away from Joel Coliseum.

No Comments | Tags: ACC, Championship Week 2012, Jeff Bzdelik, Wake Forest

Ron Hunter a wonderful addition to the CAA coaching ranks

by Phil Kasiecki - Published March 7, 2012 in Columns, Your Phil of Hoops

Ron Hunter is a terrific addition to the Colonial Athletic Association coaching ranks. That could have been said before the season given his track record and the positive energy he showed talking about his Georgia State team on Media Day in October, but after the CAA Tournament it bears repeating because it was so obvious.

Hunter was already well-known for the winning he did at IUPUI, and perhaps even more for the organization he partners with and serves on the board of advisors for, Samaritan’s Feet. Hunter has coached a game barefoot every year for several years, has taken a team at IUPUI and will take a team from Georgia State overseas to see the difference receiving a pair of shoes can make in someone’s life, and he can run off the important numbers about it quite easily as it helps him keep a lot in perspective.

No Comments | Tags: Championship Week 2012, Colonial, Georgia State, Ron Hunter

Bruiser Flint won’t be stressing out the next few days

by Phil Kasiecki - Published March 6, 2012 in Columns, Your Phil of Hoops

RICHMOND, Va. – In theory, the next six days should be quite stressful for Drexel and head coach Bruiser Flint. After losing in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game on Monday night, the Dragons must wait to find out which tournament they will be playing in. As the regular season champions of the CAA, they are guaranteed a bid to the NIT, but naturally hope the NCAA Tournament comes calling. Flint doesn’t seem stressed at all about it, however, and his experience is a key factor in that.

Drexel was in a similar position in 2007. The big difference is in the NCAA Tournament profiles of the two teams, as the one in 2007 was better than this one. A look at the numbers doesn’t help Drexel: their strength of schedule entering Monday was 259, and their non-conference SOS is 228. Their best non-conference win is probably their win over Princeton at home, and the Tigers will finish third in the Ivy League.

No Comments | Tags: Bruiser Flint, Championship Week 2012, Colonial, Drexel

Northeastern has promise next season, but clear room for improvement

by Phil Kasiecki - Published March 4, 2012 in Columns, Your Phil of Hoops

RICHMOND, Va. – You can only survive so many turnovers for so long, unless you’re playing out-of-this-world defense as well or shooting the lights out when you don’t give the ball away. Northeastern did neither of those on Saturday night, and as a result the Huskies are headed home after an interesting season.

Northeastern managed to hang in early on despite VCU out-playing them. The Rams forced 11 turnovers in the first half, a number of them coming in the early minutes, but they never got a big lead. The Huskies were able to tie it at 26 at halftime thanks to holding the Rams below 40 percent from the field while they shot over 47 percent. VCU also turned the 11 turnovers into just nine points, so the giveaways weren’t hurting the Huskies yet.

No Comments | Tags: Championship Week 2012, Colonial, Northeastern

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Your Phil of Hoops

Charlotte wanted more but feels like they accomplished something

March 23, 2013 by Phil Kasiecki

Charlotte naturally had hoped to make the NCAA Tournament, then hoped to make a run in the NIT when it came calling instead. But the 49ers have a season of progress now in the books and should be primed to continue growing next season from what they did this year.

Phil Kasiecki on Twitter

Looking back at a busy basketball Saturday in Massachusetts http://t.co/20xiRdpZWn 12:52:38 PM May 20, 2013
Teams traveling for the Hoopville Spring Finale on June 22-23 in Boston take note: hotel deals expire soon. Check our Events page for more. 11:17:34 AM May 20, 2013
17-under final: Middlesex Magic 66, Boston Warriors 65. 09:23:07 PM May 18, 2013
BABC 62, Metro Boston 44 in the 16-under final. 07:58:18 PM May 18, 2013
17-under final will be Boston Warriors vs. Middlesex Magic. 16-under final is up next. 06:53:31 PM May 18, 2013
Mass. 16-under final will be Metro Boston vs. BABC. 06:12:22 PM May 18, 2013

@philkasiecki

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