Doubts about Northeastern in the CAA are sure to come again

It’s been said many times and in many contexts that history repeats itself. Surely one form of that is already here and will continue: the question of whether or not Northeastern can win in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Northeastern had to overcome a 24-point deficit against George Mason in the semifinals and then fell behind big early in the championship before falling to James Madison. The Huskies were the CAA regular season champions, but they couldn’t close it out thanks to a poor performance in the biggest game of the year.

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Jonathan Lee and Joel Smith have grown and shared a lot together

Northeastern’s first CAA regular season title has been driven by an unlikely senior backcourt. Jonathan Lee and Joel Smith come from different parts of the country and different worlds, and they have decidedly different games and personalities. But teams that win do so with togetherness even with differences, and when you look at the success of the Huskies, one place to start is with what Lee and Smith share together.

They share more than meets the eye, especially since they came to Huntington Ave. They have shared playing time, roles and work ethic, and have done much of it together with a bond they forged almost as soon as they arrived in a different world than the one they grew up in.

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2013 CAA Awards: How one person voted

The Colonial Athletic Association will hand out postseason awards on Friday night, the eve of the conference tournament as is tradition. The awards are voted on by the conference’s head coaches, SIDs and select media members. As I am one of the voters, sharing how I voted provides a worthwhile look back on the regular season.

This time around, it was a tough call for one major award and an easy call for two of them. For the all-conference teams, it wasn’t as difficult, and easier than that was the All-Rookie team as it wasn’t a big year for instant impact freshmen in the conference. With the All-Defensive team, it was difficult simply because defense is so often a team operation and with no real statistics or metrics for individual players it’s very difficult to evaluate without seeing everyone play more than once or twice. (Steals and blocked shots only tell us so much because it’s easy for players to get into foul trouble attempting both.)

With that in mind, here is a look at how I voted and what went into each vote. On each of the teams, the players are listed alphabetically.

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Old Dominion has a small silver lining at the end of a rough season

BOSTON – One win at the end of a 5-25 season isn’t going to magically make it a good season. Old Dominion’s last go-round in the Colonial Athletic Association has been anything but memorable, to say the least. But the Monarchs did go out in about the best way they could given the circumstances, beating regular season champion Northeastern 81-74 in Boston on Saturday and leaving town feeling like they salvaged what they could.

“After the game I jokingly talked about how there’s only going to be five teams that end their season with a win this year – the winners of all the tournaments and us,” said interim head coach Jim Corrigan with a smile.

That wasn’t all Corrigan did to lighten the mood.

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Jamelle Hagins developed on and off the court at Delaware

The reality of coaching at a mid-major program is that you have to take chances on players more often than not.  When it comes to big men, that is especially the case, as that even happens at the highest level.  Many coaches recruit a big man who clearly has work to do in the hope that they correctly project what he can become.  Plenty of those players don’t work out – some never really get better, some might be one-dimensional, and some more might never develop physically.  But some of them do work out, and when it happens, it can be quite satisfying.

Delaware senior Jamelle Hagins is one of those who has worked out.  While his is a story of what coaches hope will happen when recruiting a young man with the idea of projecting what he will become, Hagins is more than that.  Perhaps assistant coach Jeff Rafferty sums it up best when he says that Hagins “is one of my favorites.”

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Delaware could finish this season like they did last season

BOSTON – Last season, Delaware lost a heart-breaker at Northeastern, a game that they had in their grasp.  The Blue Hens were not deflated, however, although they lost their next game at Drexel, because then they didn’t lose again until the CAA Tournament.  This time around, the Blue Hens pulled out a dramatic 76-74 overtime win at Matthews Arena and hope a different game result is part of the same result after the game.

“I don’t know if that was exactly what I drew up in the huddle, but all’s well that ends well,” head coach Monte Ross said of the game-winning shot, a deep three-pointer by Jarvis Threatt with the shot clock running down.

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Old Dominion’s firing of Taylor makes no sense at first glance

There has to be more to the story at Old Dominion than what’s currently out there. It simply doesn’t make sense.

Why in the world would Old Dominion fire Blaine Taylor with his record of success at the school? Granted, the Monarchs are having a forgettable season at 2-20, but this season is very much an aberration for the winningest coach in school history. It would be one thing if this was the worst of a steady downward trend over several seasons, but that’s simply not the case.

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Drexel has had to beat more than just opponents this season

BOSTON – Raise your hand if you thought Drexel would be in the middle of the pack in the CAA this season.

No hands? None at all?

It’s hard to blame anyone who would keep their hand down. There was just about every reason to think Drexel was the clear team to beat in the CAA this season, and we won’t go through those now. But as we are more than halfway home, the Dragons are mired in mediocrity with a 5-5 conference record after losing 59-52 at Northeastern on Saturday night.

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Northeastern is very much in the driver’s seat in the CAA

BOSTON – Sunday night didn’t settle anything once and for all in the Colonial Athletic Association.  Each team still has ten games left before the conference tournament, and this is still almost certain to be a one-bid league when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.  But what Sunday did settle is that right now, Northeastern is very much the team to beat, as the Huskies moved to 8-0 in the conference by putting on a clinic to beat George Mason 71-51.

Northeastern is now three games ahead of George Mason and James Madison in the loss column in the CAA.  With a lot of time left, that’s a nice place to be since it gives them some margin for error.  What’s more, the Huskies are 4-0 against the projected top three teams in the preseason, having swept George Mason and won at Drexel and at Delaware.  They still have visits from Drexel and Delaware, and their only meeting with James Madison, tied with George Mason for second, is at home in about three weeks.

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Win over William & Mary helps explain Northeastern’s 7-0 CAA start

BOSTON – Northeastern didn’t win Wednesday night’s game as comfortably as they probably should have.  The Huskies had a 16-point lead early in the second half and appeared to be dominating William & Mary, which one might expect given that the Huskies came in undefeated in CAA play and the Tribe was a game out of the cellar and mired in a seven-game losing streak.  In the end, they won 95-91 in double overtime, and head coach Bill Coen breathing a sigh of relief tells you how much the bottom line is what counts.

“We were very, very fortunate tonight to come away with a victory,” said Coen.  “A lot of teams, after surrendering a 15-point halftime lead, wouldn’t be able to find a way to win.  It speaks to this group because they stuck together, they believed in one another.”

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