MBB: USA South Conference

[captj]

3 –

So, you're not Blake.  That's too bad, I'd sure like to have his input on this board.  But welcome to you just the same. 

Like I said before, I appreciate your loyalty to your buddy Range, but I think your judgment of his skills might be a little clouded.  You said that his problem was that he "played behind All World Romeo".  I'm afraid he was playing behind more than just him.  He played behind Donta Selden, and Jordan Short, and Trent Dickerson, and Adam Purdham.  In fact, he was DEAD LAST on the team in playing time.  E-mail me to collect on that gas money.

And by the way, I still don't understand how a tennis player has access to Midnight Madness stats.  I can't believe that those stats even exist .

[cnufan]

Its not McBride by the way, his name is Billy McShepard and he is 6-9 and athletic.

I wouldnt be suprised if Barton starts at the 1, from what ive seen of him, he's got great ball handling skills and i know the coaches were high on him from day one, so dont be surprised if he gets the nod there, but of course, there is still three weeks or so till tip, so anything can happen.

I have heard that Sen. Tribble wants to raise the academic standards here. I know that and the fact that they did away with the LSPE major had a huge impact on recruiting. As for what else is attributing to the high turnover rate, well, I think dealing with these kids for a long period of time and getting to know who they really are may have something to do with it. I know in Short's case, that was his decision, but with Chebaane, I dont know the whole story there. Immaturity perhaps. Pruitt, as stated, transferred, so did Dancer. I think Catlin too wanted to be closer to home, but I dont know for sure.

I think we are going to see some big surprises come game one, as far as who starts and who is coming off the bench. I think Dickerson will get better as the year goes on, nothing like one year of college ball for a kid who played less organized ball then Chebaane did. There is potential there, but when and will it all come together, sooner than later, I hope!!

PS This is Goose, by the way.

[cnufan]

I see my name has changed already, nevermind then.

[narch]

i know the mc coaching staff recruited pruitt some, and were really upset when he chose cnu...it's hard for me to believe that he got that bad that quickly - game...4a is the largest classification in nc still and i think manteo is either 1a or 2a, but pruitt played a lot of aau and club ball - like the others, i thought chebaane had a lot of upside even though he played just a few inconsequential minutes against mc - he was raw, but you can't teach a kid to be big, and he was - art hatch wasn't the most polished player, but he was a dominant rebounder and shot-blocker because he was big and athletic - not trying to push the conspiracy theory if it's not there, but i can't remember seeing cnu lose that many kids in one year - i mean, it's not like they're transferring to a school that costs less 

[ballgame]

Goose, thanks....maybe I should just stick with calling him Billy  .  Have you been watching the practices?  Surprises, enlighten me bro', of course then they wouldn't be surprises.   But I think you're right, I HOPE you're right. 

I had heard a couple of rumors on Chebaane, but they're just that rumors.  It's always a shame when you have to lose a big body....especially one with large potential!  I saw him play a couple of games last year...he did look like a raw talent and if he had gotten educated on some offensive fundamentals who knows?  Just don't see big kids drop step and keep their shoulders parallel to the backboard or use a jump hook along the same premise anymore.....it's a lost art form and not taught.....correctly.

Narch, I'm an old fart, keep forgetting about AAU, where the REAL recruiting is done. Regardless, wish all of 'em the best...hope he does get to play somewhere, you only pass this way once and for those fortunate enough to play team sports at the collegiate level it is something they'll carry and appreciate for the rest of their  life. 

[captj]

A factor to consider in the turnover mystery is that of simple geography.  Range was from PA and Pruitt was from NC, and it seems that both of them want to be closer to home.  For years it seemed that CNU had nothing but VA players on its roster.  Maybe the recent increase in turnover is just a factor of CJ trying to expand his search out of sheer necessity.  Look at the rosters on the CNU website.  The rosters through 1996 are available.  Most of the guys that have left the program are from out of state.  I'll go through some names that at least the CNU fans will remember – Rashawn Rosa, Ian Holder, Julian Sumpter, Nate Stearns.  All of these guys were from out of state and all left the program.  If we're going to see more out of state players in the future maybe higher turnover is something that we're going to have to live with.

One thing that has disappointed (that might not be the right word) me lately is that it seems like we don't get the All-American-level talent that we used to get.  It seems that about the time we stopped getting these players we also stopped adding NCAA banners to our gym.  There is no question that increased academic standards have contributed to CNU's apparent inability to recruit these players.  Someone on this board suggested that since CNU is a larger school than others in the conference they are able to accept athletes with lower academic credentials because with a larger student body those athletes wouldn't reduce the school's average gpa and SAT scores, that that they were effectively diluted by larger numbers.  I don't remember who said it or the exact words, but that's how I took it.  It sounds good in theory but I think that in this case it doesn't fly.  I have to believe that CJ is under just as much pressure as everyone else at CNU (and maybe more) to shape the school in the image that Paul Tribble wants, and I think that Tribble wants great student/athletes, not just athletes.  So maybe players like we've seen in the past (no names), players that might not be as academically gifted as the average student enrolling at CNU today, would like to play for the Captains but aren't getting the chance.

An extension of this tenet is that maybe the guys that have recently left the team yet remained enrolled at CNU (Chebane, Short) are really pretty terrific young men that didn't come to CNU just to satisfy four years of NCAA eligibility, but rather came to get an education.  What a concept!  And there is no question that playing basketball must complicate that significantly.  I wish that Short and Chebane could work out a way to fit it all in, but if they just can't do it, if they can't juggle both commitments, then I commend them for having their priorities straight. 

[hoopshops]

I'm sorry to hear that all of these players are leaving CNU they had a class with some potential for the future.  I think the biggest lost was Washington. He had a lot of potential and was fairly athletic. I remember being impressed by him at Marshall HS. He played on the same team with Chebane and Kwame Safo who is at Lynchburg I think.  I also, wonder about Pruitt's attitude toward playing d3 basketball. He was a pretty good high school player who ran into some issues which might have kept d2's away. I wonder if he felt bigger than d3 and, when didn't play as much as he wanted maybe it influenced him to leave.

[hoopshops]

Narch,

I am glad to hear that MC is practicing well so far. I hope your right about McEvoy it will be great for the Monarchs if he could surpass expectations. I hope Hairston continues to work on his freethrows but, I disagree with you on shooting the three ball. He should work on his midrange game and a pullup jumper or floater to keep the defense honest. I don't think he needs 3 point range to be effective.(It would be nice though) His job is not to score but, to get everyone involved in the offense as well as pushing the ball up the court. Lets just hope he does the other things to stay on the court this season. Hopefully the freshman will continue to develop and become solid contributers. I think Williams might surprise a lot of people this year. He is my sleeper on the team. I think he will contribute a lot more than expected. He is a solid defender who has a knack for getting rebounds even though he is not the most athletic. He can score inside and has range from the outside. Plus, he understands the game of basketball and his role. If it was my choice he would start along with Thomas, Grant, Lee, and Radmanovic.

[cnufan]

Sumpter technically was born out of state, but he lived in VA for a while, playing his prep ball in Yorktown, just down the road, so I wouldnt call him an out of stater, even tho he did flake between semesters when he was here!!

[cnufan]

Im not even sure Chebaane's in school anymore. I know Short is, but I dont think Amine is.

[NewportPlayer3]

They arnt concrete stats but i remember the game pretty well. it was my first CNU midnight madness - alot of fun


Amine cheebane is not enrolled at CNU anymore neither

If anyone wants information about anything else then they can Email me.

newportballer3@yahoo.

[narch]

hops - i'm with you on the shooting...you're right on - i should have said "jumper" instead of "3's" - with his ability to get to the rack and that first step, he'd be deadly if he could hit the pull-up j

[daniel]

This is a hard time for this CNU fan, I like to read all the posts, it seems this year you guys are right on. Blake is finishing up as a ART major and is more solid than ever (this is my last plug). I would love to address the topic of turnover, As his brother whom will probally disappear after this year because of two young kids, I just wonder what a team would be with kids who stayed four years. I understand this is all Division 3, but it makes me think. O.K.  but what about Blakes Senior year, Brookman, Hampton, Hepner, Carey, Brooks/Romeo. Honestly do you think any team on the schedule could even stay on the court with these guys. It is a shame that CNU turn over ratio is so high it really hinders the years that that the 4 year players are there. Now, read the first round game is at home for the conference tourney and they have extended the field for the NCAA  just stinks. I know I'm venting but this is the last couple of times I will, Bare with me, I just miss it, cry, cry

[narch]

daniel - every team can play the "what if this guy or that guy had stayed" game...what would concern me if i were a captain fan is that the rate of player exodus seems to have increased over the last 3-4 years...is it coincidental that the monarchs have won the last 3 conference championships and are favored again this year? - every team loses one or two, but when you start losing 3 or 4 per year, especially when you're cnu, you have to wonder (i would think) what's going on - i understand a few years ago cnu cut out some academic programs which led to a number of athletes leaving to go elsewhere (which i actually applaud...shows that they were in school to get a degree, not play a sport), but with all the talk of more rigorous entrance requirements, it seems to me that cnu should be KEEPING more players...it stands to reason that the better a student is coming in, the better that student will be in college, no?

[captj]

narch –

CNU did drop some programs.  Our biggest casualty to that was Mark Hepner.  I think he transferred to West Virginia to get his degree in Leisure Studies.  "Leisure Studies"; now that is an oxymoron if I ever saw one. 

I agree with you somewhat that higher academic standards should reduce turnover, but not entirely.  It appears that Jordan Short might have left the team because he needed to focus more on studies, and he enrolled at CNU during the period of higher academic standards.  Don't underestimate how difficult it is for true student/athletes to get through college.  And I believe that basketball players might have a particularly hard time maintaining grades since their season spans both the fall and spring semesters.  Football players can at least take a relatively light (12 credit) fall schedule and then pick up a class in the spring.  Basketball players can't do that.  And, unlike football players, they actually play their sport year round to stay sharp, not just work out in the weight room in the off season.  I don't mean to minimize football players here, they have their own inherent challenges, and there's no way that they COULD actually play year round and survive.  But I am particularly impressed with what basketball players have to do to stay competitive and still make the grades.

I still think that the biggest reason that we have not been as competitive the last few years is because we aren't getting the great players like we used to, and I can't quite figure out why.  The great players didn't transfer out, so I minimize the turnover issue.  We need more Antoine Sinclairs and Terry Grays, and wow, could we ever use another Lamont Strothers!  All of these guys played four years.  And these guys (I think) all graduated, they were all student/athletes, so I have to believe that they would have met the new CNU academic standards.  I just don't get it.  We have these incredible new facilities and we still can't get the guys we used to. 

But you know what?  It's still preseason and we might be completely blowing everything out of proportion.  One of these new guys COULD be the reincarnation of Lamont Strothers for all we know.  I have to believe, and I DO believe (unlike a lot of CNU fans on this board), that CJ still knows what he's doing.  That he is still the coach that has averaged 20 wins per year over two decades.  I'm not giving up on him or this team.  I expect that when the conference tournament arrives we will be competing for the title like we always do.