For UMass, having a point guard is making a difference

For much of his tenure at his alma mater, Derek Kellogg has lacked a true point guard. The UMass mentor has largely had to go with players who were natural shooting guards, such as David Gibbs, Ricky Harris and Gary Correia, and they did the best they could. And for the talent the team has had, one wonders if having a true point guard might have made a big difference during two seasons where they went 27-35. Right now, we are finding out that it just might, because at last the Minutemen have a true point guard.

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UMass Gets Another Win Against Rhode Island

SOUTH KINGSTON, R.I. – UMass needed to get back on track. After a 64-54 win over Rhode Island at the Mullins Center nearly three weeks ago, the Minutemen dropped four in a row, starting with two on the road and ending with two at home. That meant it was time for some soul-searching, which took place via team meetings. It also didn’t hurt that the next game was another matchup with the Rams, and in a game that was a classic tale of two halves, they came away with a 66-60 win thanks to a strong second half.

With the four-game losing streak, there was a sense that the team wasn’t playing as freely or confidently as they could be. So the team held multiple meetings, with the coaches leading one and the players leading a meeting of their own. The players all spoke at the latter, and the message was simple.

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UMass, Rhode Island Result Mirrors Teams’ Current Directions

AMHERST, Mass. – Sunday’s matchup of New England Atlantic 10 rivals was one of two teams seemingly going in opposite directions. One might not have figured as much when noticing that both entered the game with identical 4-2 records in Atlantic 10 play, but the end result – a UMass win over Rhode Island – reflected where the teams were headed at that moment.

UMass is moving forward and in a tie for third in the conference with its 5-2 mark as they enter a week with two road games. After a slip in play during December, they are playing well again with four wins in their last five outings. Opponents are shooting around 39 percent from the field against the Minutemen in Atlantic 10 play, and that’s where it has all started. … Continue Reading

UMass In a Better Place Early in Atlantic 10 Play

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – UMass is now in a better place than they were right before final exams and even right before the holidays. At that point, they had started 7-0 but then lost four straight. After Saturday’s 74-71 win over La Salle at the MassMutual Center, the Minutemen are 2-1 in Atlantic 10 play and, more importantly, looking like a team with whom things are coming into place. It’s come at a good time.

That’s not to say the Minutemen won on Saturday without any concerns. With the same three-point lead in the final minute, UMass turned the ball over in their own end twice, but dodged the bullet as the Explorers’ shot was blocked on the first one and they committed a turnover of their own the second time around. As if that wasn’t enough, Javorn Farrell missed two free throws with a chance to seal the game, and they had to survive as a last-second three-pointer missed. … Continue Reading

UMass Enters Finals on Bad Note

AMHERST, Mass. – This isn’t how Derek Kellogg wanted to go into final exams, nor his team. The record isn’t bad, but how they got there is the issue.

UMass enters final exam week with a 7-3 mark. That’s not bad, especially considering they have been searching for a consistent complement or two to Anthony Gurley, who is having a stellar season. They also don’t have a true point guard on the roster, starting Gary Correia at the position. While Correia can shoot and isn’t a bad ball handler, he is at best a combo guard. A few injuries haven’t helped.

But just over a week earlier, the Minutemen were 7-0 as they headed to the Boston Garden, a building where they had never lost. They dropped a tough one to Boston College, then lost to Maine before getting pounded by Seton Hall 104-79 on Saturday night. While losing to the Eagles wasn’t so bad given their start, losing at home to Maine was another story. Losing to Seton Hall might not be so bad, but losing the way they did is. … Continue Reading

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 – February 15, 2010

Some quick hitters from the weekend:

• Brown split its two games this weekend, and the biggest development is that Peter Sullivan appears to be fully healthy.  The junior wing was injured early in Ivy League play and had struggled playing through it, but had two solid games in a row this weekend.  He had a double-double against Dartmouth with 23 points and 11 rebounds, going 14-16 from the foul line, then had 21 points and six boards against Harvard the next night.

• Harvard had its first Ivy League road sweep in 10 years with an 82-79 overtime win at Yale followed by an 81-67 win at Brown on Saturday.  Freshmen came up big in both wins, with Christian Webster reaching double figures in both and steadily improving guard Brandyn Curry scoring 15 against Yale.  Topping both was Kyle Casey, who had 20 points and seven boards against Yale and then had a terrific night against Brown, scoring 27 points on 8-9 shooting from the field, including 3-3 from long range.  That earned him not only the Ivy League Rookie of the Week, his fourth such honor, but also Player of the Week.”I thought Kyle Casey was just spectacular,” said head coach Tommy Amaker.  “For a freshman to have the kind of weekend he’s had is pretty darn special for us, and without him I’m not sure that we’re in the position we’re in right now.”
  Added teammate Jeremy Lin: “He’s just playing out of his mind right now.”

• Another Ivy note: it’s often said that winning on the road in the league is very difficult, but thus far this season road teams are 16-14.

• Northeastern suffered another heart-breaking loss at William & Mary on Saturday, which makes twice in three trips to Williamsburg that they had such an ending.  This time, the Huskies were the ones battling back from a deficit, as they trailed by 16 with over nine minutes left and rallied to take a one-point lead with 23 seconds left before falling 53-52.

• Speaking of road wins, one team that had an adventure on the road this weekend was Belmont, which moved to 16-10 overall and 11-5 in the Atlantic Sun with a 70-57 win at USC Upstate on Saturday.  The Bruins spent 20 consecutive hours on the team bus, from 2:30 p.m. Central on Friday until 11:30 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, as Interstate 85 in northeast Georgia was closed due to poor road conditions from the storm that hit the area.  The game was slated to tip off at 2 p.m. but was pushed back to 7 p.m. to accommodate the team, and they did not get a shootaround – only a 30-minute pregame warm-up.

• UMass scored a 70-62 win over Saint Joseph’s on Sunday, a good follow-up to their comeback win at Duquesne on Thursday night.  Ricky Harris continued his hot play, scoring 27 points, 17 in the second half.  In the last six games, he is averaging 26.7 points per game and looks nothing like the player he was nearly two months ago, when shots just weren’t falling.”In the first part of the season, I felt like I was forcing a lot of stuff instead of letting the game come to me,” said the senior guard.  “Now I feel more relaxed out there, I feel like the game is coming to me.  I’m not having to go do stuff that I’m not capable of doing.  It’s just coming to me and I’m feeding off my teammates.”

Quick Hitters – January 13, 2010

Quick hitters as we reach the middle of the week:

• Not surprisingly, Dartmouth wasn’t saying much regarding the sudden resignation of Terry Dunn a day before they opened Ivy League play at Harvard.  About all that was offered up was senior guard Robbie Pride saying, asked about a report of a player revolt, “That part is completely untrue.”  The Big Green traveled down the day of the game, so the resignation didn’t come just before they were slated to head on the road.  Mark Graupe was the most active of the three remaining coaches, so at first glance he appears the likely interim head coach when the school makes an announcement later in the week.The simple truth is that this team is not good – talent and experience are both lacking.  There isn’t a scorer now that Alex Barnett is gone, and none of the shooters has been able to consistently hit shots on the season.  We won’t even get to the frontcourt.

• If anyone wondered if Providence players got the message that they needed to rebound better, Saturday night’s game answered that.  Head coach Keno Davis hinted after the Louisville game that the lineup may change, but the starting lineup was no different.”We had two of our best practices of the year,” Davis said.  “After the Louisville game, I told them I would not start the same group, that the rotations would change, and whoever practiced up to that level would be our starters and would deserve the minutes.  The starters that we had, had their best efforts for those two days.  Even though I had threatened that, I had to reward the hard work that we had.”

• In the win over Rutgers, Jamine Peterson had 29 points and 20 rebounds, nearly becoming just the fourth player in school history to score at least 30 points and grab at least 20 rebounds.  That came after he didn’t get a single rebound in the second half against Louisville on Wednesday night.”I just think Greedy understands what can make him a great player,” said Davis.  “Although knocking down the three-point shots and some of the moves he has are great highlight material, the rebounding can affect the game.  When he’s rebounding at his best, he can play anywhere.”

• In UMass’ 80-74 loss to La Salle in Springfield, Freddie Riley was the biggest bright spot.  The freshman shooter, who missed time with knee surgery during non-conference play, came alive to lead a second-half comeback and finished with 22 points on 6-14 shooting from long range.”Freddy did tonight what I envisioned him doing while he’s a UMass Minuteman,” head coach Derek Kellogg said.

• Boston University continues to ride their big three of Corey Lowe, John Holland and Jake O’Brien.  They also seem to have the M.O. of starting slowly, but then being solid the remainder of the game, as Tuesday night’s win over UMBC was not an isolated case.  The Retrievers scored the first seven points of the game and still had the lead a few minutes later, but in the second half they never got within a possession of the Terriers.In particular, Lowe’s improvement to become a more well-rounded player is notable.  He’s no longer a gunner like he was earlier in his career; instead, he’s leading the team and also playing off the other two stars, and he’s become a tough, clutch player.  It’s been a steady development that hasn’t happened all at once.”You know what Corey’s done a good job of?  Letting me get after him, and not backing down,” said head coach Pat Chambers.  “I wanted him to be a pit bull.  He’s not relying on his three as much – now he’s getting in the paint, now he’s pulling up.”

Inexperienced UMass Grows, Needs One Position Settled

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Derek Kellogg was guarded about whether or not UMass’ win over Memphis on Saturday night would be a springboard to lift the team going forward.  Not surprisingly, the UMass mentor was far from down after the Minutemen lost 79-67 at Boston College on Wednesday night.  Instead, he sees clearly where the team has come along and where they can go.

The Minutemen have become a rebounding machine of late, as Wednesday’s game marked their third straight out-rebounding the opponent by at least 15 boards.  It wasn’t a big surprise that they out-rebounded Grambling State by 25, but out-rebounding Memphis by 20 (even though Memphis doesn’t have great size) and the Eagles by a 50-33 margin – the same Boston College team that a couple of weeks earlier out-rebounded Miami 46-21 – was a little more impressive.  That’s a trend that could continue if the players who have led the charge there continue what they have done lately.

It wasn’t long ago that Oregon State transfer Sean Carter was struggling.  Although he had a 10-rebound outing against Rutgers and eight more against Michigan State in Atlantic City, he had just five against Quinnipiac and three against Holy Cross.  The team’s leading rebounder had nine more at Boston College, seven on the offensive glass, and scored 16 points.

Another transfer, Hashim Bailey, had 10 rebounds in just 11 foul-plagued minutes against the Eagles.  He’s had at least five boards in each of the last five games and is now second on the team in rebounding despite averaging just 14 minutes per game.  Kellogg is mindful that Bailey didn’t play much at Memphis and then sat out last year, so he’s not the most experienced player in terms of game play, and feels like he has a good deal of upside just like Carter.

“Tthese guys are really just starting to get in game shape,” said the second-year head coach.  “There’s nothing that can substitute playing time in a real game.”

Kellogg spent some time in the gym with Carter when he wasn’t playing well.  He spent the time working on post moves and letting him know that while he wasn’t playing well, he had confidence in Carter.  The struggles of another key player are likely to lead him in a similar direction soon.

Senior Ricky Harris hasn’t been the same since spraining his ankle earlier in the month.  He admitted he doesn’t have the same lift on his jumper, which Kellogg also noticed.  He was 2-11 from the field against Memphis on Saturday, then 5-16 against Boston College.  Add in that he’s also playing the point guard position for the first time, and there’s probably a little stress building on the young man.  Still, the competitor in him isn’t backing down.

“I don’t have the same lift on my jump shot I normally do, but that’s no excuse,” said Harris.  “I’ve got to get in the gym and get better and play the way I’m capable of playing.”

Kellogg is hoping he gets more of a feel for the position, and that’s going to be a necessity for this team.  The point guard spot was the big question mark entering the season, as there isn’t a true point guard on the roster but there’s plenty of talent at the other positions.  They have combo guards in David Gibbs and Gary Correia, but Gibbs is better off the ball and Correia has always been able to shoot from long range.  Correia has been more than serviceable off the bench, as his five assists with no turnovers on Wednesday give him 34 and 10 on the season, so more minutes at that spot could be in store for him.

But more than that, Kellogg hinted that he might do with Harris what he did with Sean Carter, especially since it appears to have made a difference with the way Carter has responded.  He said Harris hasn’t shot the ball well in practice, either.

“I think I need to spend some time with him in the gym and just get his confidence back a little bit,” said Kellogg.

The point guard position is the one spot that can trouble this team going forward.  The Minutemen have become a good rebounding team and have been playing better at every other position.  Although he struggled in the second half, Anthony Gurley had 23 points and 10 rebounds and is having the kind of season he is capable of having.  Terrell Vinson struggled against Boston College but has shown signs of coming alive.  Sean Carter and Bailey have played better, while freshman Sampson Carter has shown promise thus far.  After he rode Sean Carter and Bailey, their improvement has Kellogg thinking he needs to ride a few other players in much the same way.

Kellogg is quick to point out that this is still an inexperienced team, especially if you look past Harris and Gurley.  Add in the point guard questions, and it’s not all that surprising that the Minutemen are 6-6 thus far.

“I would say we’re still inexperienced, only 12 games in, with how many college games our team has played,” Kellogg said.

Improvement at the point could mean better things are ahead as this team gains more experience.  The support is already there from the frontcourt and some of the other perimeter players, and Kellogg seems ready to work with Harris to get him back to the level he’s been at for much of his career in Amherst.  With that, they may start moving in the direction Kellogg can see them going.

UMass Trying to Stay Positive Amidst Tough Losses

AMHERST, Mass. – Tony Gaffney’s first words upon entering the media room said about all that needed to be said.

“We’re going to get one, sooner or later,” said the senior forward.

Those words came after UMass got another punch in the gut. Having already lost two games in the final seconds, the Minutemen rallied to force overtime before losing to Boston College on Saturday night. The 85-81 loss drops them to 1-6 on the season, with two tough losses at home included.

Competitive athletes and coaches invariably look at the bottom line. Even if the effort is great, losing the game takes a lot out of it; moral victories aren’t talked about. And while the Minutemen might have rightly deserved the first close loss, a 75-74 decision nearly two weeks earlier against Jacksonville State, because of a lack of consistent effort throughout the game, Saturday night was a different story. It showed in the remarks after the game.

“These losses are hard to swallow, but we’re clearly growing and guys are buying into what the coaching staff is putting in,” said Gaffney, clearly trying to look on the bright side.

“There was a ton of good things out there this evening,” said head coach Derek Kellogg, who went on to call it “by far our best effort of the season.”

While the close losses are tough to take, especially when the effort is better, Kellogg sees the progress as well, but also sees where the team is still falling short.

“I think they’re getting closer to realizing how hard you have to play to win, that you have do all the little things down the stretch to win basketball games,” he added.

Saturday’s game between two rivals that resumed playing each other the year after Kellogg graduated was one where UMass had to fight back often. Although the game had 10 ties and 16 lead changes, there were many points in the game, especially late in regulation, where it looked like Boston College would come away with another win and go to 5-0 all-time at the Mullins Center. While that is what ultimately happened, a furious rally late and some missed free throws made the Eagles work five more minutes to get it.

As the losses add up, especially in this fashion and after a game where they gave their best effort of the season, the biggest challenge becomes one of keeping up a team’s psyche. The team just played their best game of the season and still lost, in front of the home fans no less. That’s not easy to take at all.

But it’s clear the Minutemen have a good leader at the helm. Kellogg is learning on the job, but you get the sense he understands what he has in front of him. He and his staff have worked hard to keep perspective and be there for the players on and off the court through a stretch that can define a team’s season one way or the other.

“Right now they have a good wherewithal about them, they’re getting along and I’m spending a lot of time with these kids because they need it,” said Kellogg. “They need leadership, they need to know you’re there for them and they need to know that you care about them and love them and want to see them do the right things. That’s one of the main goals of my staff in the program right now, to make sure we’re upbeat and positive.”

Talk to the players, and as difficult as this is for them – it’s clear that losing, especially in some tough games, is tough for them to take – you sense that they’re managing to keep a positive feel. They haven’t lost the desire to win games and seem to understand that they can get there, despite not seeing the results thus far.

“We know what we’re capable of doing,” said Gaffney. “Obviously, everyone was doubting us before this game. As a team, we’ve stuck together. I wouldn’t say we’re more confident right now, I would say we’re more hungry.”

There are signs that UMass is moving forward. Anthony Gurley is coming around now that he’s a few games into his first season of play after sitting out last season. Ricky Harris seems to have hit his stride, and he had a career-high 35 points against Boston College on 12-19 shooting, including making six of his 11 three-point attempts. Gaffney remains the reliable one, nearly getting a triple-double on Saturday with 15 points, 18 rebounds and nine blocked shots. His play is something Kellogg hopes will inspire his teammates more.

“Have you ever seen the Tasmanian Devil? That’s what he looks like out there, it’s like there’s ten of them,” Kellogg said of Gaffney. “I’ve seen plays on tape – and I’ve shown our guys, because it’s kind of comical – that he’ll block a shot, dunk a ball, go back and steal it, while some other guys are going top of the key to top of the key.”

Above all, the effort is getting there for the team. Add that to remaining confident and optimistic, as well as the staff understanding what’s in front of them, and they have the feel of a team that might not be far away from turning some of those tough losses into wins.

The Fire Isn’t There For UMass

AMHERST, Mass. – This surely wasn’t what any of the Minuteman faithful had in mind to open the season – certainly not for Derek Kellogg’s first home game as head coach.

No, what they had in mind was something like what the scoreboard looked like with 29 seconds left. At that point, UMass had a 74-69 lead on Jacksonville State, a young team picked last in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll of head coaches and sports information directors. But the last 30 seconds were something the new coach had seen before, and it wasn’t good.

“That was very reminiscent of something that happened to me not too long ago,” said Kellogg, referring to the ending of last season’s national championship game while he was an assistant at Memphis. “It was almost the perfect storm of everything that could go wrong in a short period of time did, from missed free throws to missed assignments to putting a three-point shooter at the line.”

But as much as that might get noticed and talked about by the casual observer, that’s not the most salient aspect of the game or the Minutemen thus far. Instead, it’s something the players wasted no time talking about and Kellogg added similar thoughts on: playing with a purpose.

“Dudes need to learn about themselves,” said senior Tony Gaffney. “Dudes need to go home and look in the mirror and decide if they want to play, if they’re going to play with heart and passion. From the jump, no one played with that urgency.”

Indeed, Gaffney was perhaps the one Minuteman who played with urgency throughout the game. He was probably the best player on the floor, and his 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots only tell part of the story there. His motor is always running, and that’s been a big thing holding up the 1-3 Minutemen right now.

Chris Lowe was great in the second half, when he scored 15 of his 20 points, but he had no assists in the second half. That means teammates didn’t set themselves up for passes like they did in the first half, and while Lowe had some big baskets, he didn’t make all of the plays on the night. And he was quick to point a finger at himself.

“Right now, Tony’s the only one playing with leadership,” Lowe said after the game. “Myself, just because I had that many points, whatever, that don’t mean nothing. I’m not providing enough leadership, and if I don’t do that, the team’s not going to be successful, to tell you the truth, so everything’s really falling on me.”

While the floor leader is important and sets the tone, Lowe is hardly alone on the court. Much has been expected of Ricky Harris and Anthony Gurley, but neither gave them much on Monday night. They combined for 20 points while being capable of scoring about 35 a night, but more importantly, they seemed invisible on the court.

The Minutemen reject the notion that this is explained by the fact that they’re a young team. They aren’t off their rockers in thinking that; it’s not a team full of freshmen and sophomores. Their lack of experience is less of an issue than their lack of depth. But most of all, the lack of a consistent effort, especially at the defensive end, is a real issue.

“I thought our guys competed at times, especially in the run where we did some good things,” said Kellogg. “I just have to find a way to get them to play harder and continue to buy into what we’re trying to do on the defensive end of the floor.

“Until we improve defensively, we’re just going to be an okay basketball team.”

Kellogg had a recurring them in his post-game comments. Namely, the Minutemen have worked hard and shown some intensity, but not all the time. The consistency of effort and intensity hasn’t been there, and it’s showing as the team looks good in spurts.

“My whole speech before the game, after the game, during the game, is let’s play intense basketball for 40 minutes. Let’s go out there and compete on every play, every possession,” said Kellogg. “The only way you do that is if you do it every day in practice. We do that sometimes, but we don’t do it enough every day in practice, and I’m trying to stay on these guys and get them to compete and play harder.”

At 1-3, UMass is in a hole early. They had a chance at beating Southern Illinois, although that was far from a given since it was in Carbondale. They had Monday night’s game as well. There’s enough talent and even experience on the team, and Gaffney and Lowe are capable leaders. The latter knows, however, that he has to change for the benefit of the team, and that’s something he’s accustomed to as a point guard.

“I’m not a rah-rah guy who likes to yell and scream,” said Lowe. “I’ve just got to get out of my shell now. We’re in a hole, we’ve got to get out of this hole.”

The players certainly aren’t about to give up on their season, and the coaching staff certainly isn’t as well. They just realize they have to change course if the results are to change.

Jacksonville State Gets a Building Block Win

AMHERST, Mass. – You can’t read too much into one game, especially early in the season. But the final score on Monday night can’t be the only good thing Jacksonville State takes home.

The Gamecocks came to town on an evening that was big for the UMass faithful, although the crowd wasn’t very large. The paid attendance was over 4,800 (the Mullins Center seats nearly 9,500), but they were there for the home debut of new head coach Derek Kellogg, a hometown hero who was among the keys to UMass becoming a national power in the 1990s. The young Gamecocks at first glance would seem like an opponent the Minutemen could certainly beat to give Kellogg a win in his home debut.

But that’s not what happened. Despite trailing by five points with 29 seconds left, Jacksonville State walked out with a 75-74 win that had plenty of positives.

Jacksonville State was picked last in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll of the head coaches and sports information directors. At first glance, that seems like an understandable selection. The Gamecocks have just four upperclassmen among their top 11 players and a new head coach after a 7-22 showing last season. Four true freshmen are on the roster, and a fifth freshman, Geddes Robinson, was a non-qualifier last season.

Those freshmen are among the reasons for Gamecock fans to be hopeful. Only Stephen Hall, who has already been a steady contributor off the bench, was signed before James Green took over as head coach. Green then had to work with just one live weekend in April to evaluate players, but went out and recruited Brandon Crawford, who has been an instant impact player, then added John Barnes and junior college forward Jacques Leeds.

Crawford already has the look of a star player. He’s athletic and has a good body for his position, and in his first four games he has averaged 16 points and is 9-15 from behind the three-point line. On Monday, he came into the game with his team trailing 13-12 and wasted little time making his presence felt. He scored six straight points to cap a run of eight unanswered to give the Gamecocks the lead at 20-13.

“During practice, we felt he had a chance to be a really good player for us, but he’s actually scored the ball a lot better in the games than what he did in practice,” said Green. “He’s very athletic, he’s long, and he gives us a guy that really sometimes is a mismatch for other teams in the fact that he’s athletic enough to go down inside and do some things there, too.”

Green can see the effect Crawford has had on his teammates with his play. While he surely wasn’t the sole or even main reason for the poise they showed late in the game, he had a role in the end as well, as he converted a four-point play with 23 seconds left that pulled the Gamecocks within one, setting up the dramatics in the final seconds.

“I think when you see young guys play like that, it gives everybody confidence,” said Green.

While this was one game in a long season, you have to think this gives them a confidence boost. This is a road win for a young team early on that can only help them. It also came after events that might normally deflate a young team and perhaps even serve as knockout blows. After the Gamecocks blew a seven-point lead by allowing UMass to run off 13 unanswered points, the psychological impact of giving up the lead might be damaging enough all by itself, especially that late in the game.

Green talked about this game being something for his team to learn from, and he felt they gained something from their season opener at South Carolina. Those are signs that this team is buying into what the coaches are teaching, and that their talent won’t be all that they have going for them.

“As a coach, and being a part of about seven different programs, I can’t really remember having as many young players that have been as poised as we have in the two road games that we’ve had,” said Green, who had been the head coach at Mississippi Valley State before taking this job.

Some of the credit there has to go to the veterans, notably seniors Jonathan Toles (who scored the winning basket) and DeAndre Bray, one of the shortest players in college basketball at 5’6″. Toles led the team with 18 points and added five assists with just one turnover. In fact, the Gamecocks had 19 assists with just nine turnovers on the night.

It’s still early in the season, and Jacksonville State is sure to have some growing pains along the way. They could just as easily finish the season winning just three more games to go with the three wins they already have. But a win like the one they had on Monday night can go a long way towards helping a team grow better, especially if, as Green talked about, it is a game his team learns from.