MBB: USA South Conference

[narch]

i still say coach smith at mu deserves the coty award...he obviously had less talent than any other team as noted by the all-conference picks (just one hm all-conference player) and still managed to guide the team to a 4th place finish, ahead of 3 teams who had 2 all-conference players and 2 that had 1st team all-conference players...obviously the monarchs weren't more talented than ncwc, ferrum or su...coaching must have been the difference (obviously there is a little sarcasm there)

i think coach allen really deserves the award - he runs a class program, he gets kids that seem to be a good fit for d3 and he maximizes the talent that he has - while it's true that au was a good program last year and they didn't necessarily "take the next step", they lost 4 of their top 6 scorers from that team and still maintained - greensboro made a 2 game improvement in conference play, and should be commended for that but i think the coty award really is a culmination of what players do on and off the court, and by all accounts, coach allen is doing everything right - i personally know a number of coaches who have coached against him, and not one of them has anything negative to say about him or the au program

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

I think you warrant your opinion.  Then again though take a look at FC. Maybe he deserves it.

I think Coach Allen is a great coach, not that I have met him but ever since he took over at AU, I thought this guy will do a great job.

Narch-
Your comment

he runs a class program, he gets kids that seem to be a good fit for d3 and he maximizes the talent that he has

I think I may be taken it a wrong way, but to me it looks like a "read between the lines attack" on the GC program. (I know you have talked about it before.)  Which I will not argue/get into on this board again.

Well I will say this since the coaches vote on the coach I think some of them were mad that they got beat by GC (Finally in some cases) (Just joking)

[SU97]

I've watched Rob coach a number of years and he definitely wears his emotions on his sleeve. Maybe these last couple of seasons have caught up with him. His teams have never been short on talent, but never can get it together. That's a shame because Lawrence is such a talented player.

SU's definately had some talent come through, but it's always seemed like we've had tremendous guard play but struggled at times when it came to the big men.  You look back over the past ten years and SU has had more than their share of All-Conference guards: Dixon, Thompson, Helman, Rhone, Purnell, etc...  But we've never had overwhelmingly dominate guys on the glass, except for a rare occation in 2003 and 2004 where we had all pieces of the puzzle. It's only been the past couple of years that it's flip-floped, Onyie and Jeremiah being the first big men in a long time to be recognized at the conference level. Our guards, meanwhile, have really struggled from 3-point land. Fawahemi is a good example, he really isn't a 2guard, he's more of a slasher at the SF.  He rebounds and hustles to make shots inside in the mix. But yet we are forced to play him at the SG. What has been hurting the last two years is that we haven't had a real outside presence to keep teams honest underneath. If we had a shooter from outside then teams couldn't keep things so tight on JLawrence. Case in point:  3 seconds left in the NCWC game and NCWC runs a zone on us. They knew our best chance of scoring would be to go down low, so they let us shoot almost uncontested and... we missed...But who runs a ZONE in that situation???  (props to NCWC)  But to get back to where I was going with this is that we need more options and balance to get to the top of the league.  If Harris can get some more big guys in to begin to ease the transition as JLawrence graduates, and finds a pure 3-point shooter and a Ronald Merriweather do-it-all type SF, then we should begin to make a run. On the plus side, this is also a very young group on the roster, so I think give these guys another two years and they should be okay.   

Plus, it was great to see JLawrence get some credit for his play down low. You have to remember he is a PF, not a center.  He only grabbed that role in the second half of last season when Onyie was out for grades, and then again this year when Onyie went down with the injury. I would have loved to have seen us compete in the conference this year had he and Steve Johns (2guard, shooter) been healthy...  The last two years have been really rough for the hornets, but injuries and stuff happens...  I'm sure Harris will bring in a couple of guys who fit the needs of the program.  OH, AND I HOPE THEY ARE TALL.   

[SU97]

I have to agree on the POTY, COTY, and ROTY selections this year.

There wasn't a guy on the court who was better than GC's #30. The Rookie pick was right on, and I do believe the AU coach deserves the credit. 

Look, the guy down in GC did a great job turning the program around, there's no debate there.  But I think it is interesting that AU had such a great year before the conference and then got hit by 892 injuries, and I think it is fair to say most everybody chalked them up for dead at the point of the SU game. 

Had AU lost the rest of their games and bowed out quietly I don't think there would have been a word written on here regarding their demise. But they did the opposite. It's a testament to the AU program: coaches and players that they rallied from the depths of (well, losing to SU for that matter) to claw their way back to the top and gain the #1 seed for the tourney.  What they did showed guts and a will to win. They used everybody, probably the water boy and the stats guy, in their conference run - my hat is off to the AU coaches for getting through that. Well done.

[SU97]

Plus - none of this really matters until someone wins the AQ this weekend...  we're only sending one team to the NCAA's.

I disagree with a lot of you guys on the board - I think over the last two years the USASAC has been weaker than it used to be.  Nothing I can prove, but I just think we've had stronger squads out there in the past.  Just an observation.

[CNU85]

SU97 - i agree with your last 2 posts 100%...karma for you!!

i think the league is more even this year, but in order to get there....the top 2-4 programs (as compared to previous years) are not as strong.....the league has regressed to the middle. I think even the AQ will not go far in the NCAA. I hope it's just a cycle and things get better. But you're absolutely right in saying the league used to have higher caliber teams at the top. I really thought CNU was going to improve this year. They had a good 20 win season last year and only lost 1 starter to graduation.....then they almost beat VWC in the second game of the year this year and followed with 4 straight wins...i figured....ok, here we go fellas!!! since the 4-2 start we went 11-9. And next year could get WORSE for CNU. Only 2 big men on the roster...Blasingame and an unproven Luke Jackson. If they can't recruit 3-4 big men and if Barton has a repeat performance for the season next year...we'll struggle to win 10.

Coach Ross has his job cut out for him.....he's gonna have to pull some rabbits out of his hat. Trible is just not backing down on continuing to raise academic standards and athletes will have to follow the same rules. It's hard for non scholarship schools to compete for top students-athletes. A kid who is a decent athlete and really good student could opt for a William & Mary with a scholarship. And CNU's standards will be at that level very very soon.

[pride1fan]

Narch, you know what 4th place gets you.........jack crap. Whats the big deal about recruiting juco players. Does Methodist have no transfers? I know your coach talked to a friend of mine who coaches a juco team who was just at your house playing the jv. You whine to much. Maybe GC should get more 4 year players but there is many other teams in our area that Greensboro has to compete with for players.....UNCG, A&T, Guilford, WSSU, RCC and now  GTTC. Who does Methodist have ? Fayetteville State.Please. Sour grapes.

[SU97]

SU97 - i agree with your last 2 posts 100%...karma for you!!

i think the league is more even this year, but in order to get there....the top 2-4 programs (as compared to previous years) are not as strong.....the league has regressed to the middle. I think even the AQ will not go far in the NCAA. I hope it's just a cycle and things get better. But you're absolutely right in saying the league used to have higher caliber teams at the top. I really thought CNU was going to improve this year. They had a good 20 win season last year and only lost 1 starter to graduation.....then they almost beat VWC in the second game of the year this year and followed with 4 straight wins...i figured....ok, here we go fellas!!! since the 4-2 start we went 11-9. And next year could get WORSE for CNU. Only 2 big men on the roster...Blasingame and an unproven Luke Jackson. If they can't recruit 3-4 big men and if Barton has a repeat performance for the season next year...we'll struggle to win 10.

You guys will be okay, lets not capsize the Captains on your 2007-08 preview just yet. You are forgetting Blasingame is just a sophmore. He has produced for CNU for two years where most kids would be on the bench. That two years of experience are going to make him into one heck of a big man - you have the chance that he could be playing, as a junior, at the level of confidence and experience that is usually left to a senior...  Barton is in the same boat, you guys are going to have the core talent needed.  Although losing Lewis is going to sink your chances. Losing Seldon doesn't hurt you much either, although I think he was better than Romeo and didn't get a fair shake.

Coach Ross has his job cut out for him.....he's gonna have to pull some rabbits out of his hat. Trible is just not backing down on continuing to raise academic standards and athletes will have to follow the same rules. It's hard for non scholarship schools to compete for top students-athletes. A kid who is a decent athlete and really good student could opt for a William & Mary with a scholarship. And CNU's standards will be at that level very very soon.

Let's not go overboard...  no offense to CNU, but Bill&Mary is regarded as a Public Ivy, normally ranked as one of the top public institutions in the nation. CNU is ranked in USNews&WR as a 4th tier liberal arts college. 

Again, CNU85 I'm not trying to cut down CNU- by any means - and I stand by my earlier post from a couple of weeks ago that I think Tribble has done an amazing job of turning CNU around on so many levels. I just kinda think that comparing the two and also talking about the caliber of student-athlete at the two schools is a bit of a stretch.  Bill&Mary has a number of its teams make the NCAA's each year at the D-I level and I think there is a difference in the level of athlete between the two.

Look at it this way though - NCAA made Bill&Mary drop the Tribe, which is crap...  at least you get to keep the Captain as your mascot. 

[Pat Coleman]

So I guess everyone has heard that there will be FREE live video stream of the semi-finals and finals of the USASouth.  If not it is on the website (usasouth.net)

It looks like though d3hoops hasn't gotten.  I kept looking for it.  I think this video stream idea is big news, but because I don't have access to releasing press releases, I can't release it.  Hopefully somebody will.
This could get the conference some exposure.

Every SID has this access. They need to log in:
http://www.d3hoops.com/data_entry/ for press releases
http://d3sports.d3scoreboard.com/ for game day info, including game stories and adding audio/video links

[CNU85]

SU97,

I agree with what you're saying.....you're just more optimistic than I am right now.....blasingame will be a huge player the next 2 years....what I was trying to say is that he needs help...and there are NO EXPERIENCED big men on CNU's roster......If CNU doesn't figure that out, his last 2 years are going to be very frustrating for him.....he'll be "bringing along" younger guys, rather than being surrounding by experience...although this year with Lewis, Riley, Blasingame - we still only managed 15-11.

Selden is a HUGE HUGE HUGE LOSS - more so than Romeo!!!If we didn't have Selden this year, CNU finishes 9-17...no doubt! You can't look at his stats....you just have to watch him play - he was the soul of the team and he averaged over 35 minutes per game!!

I have degrees from CNU and W&M - and I know W&M has been around since 1693,,,,but I'm telling you, from  the standpoint of what it takes to be accepted, GPA, SAT, Extra-curicular stuff...the gap is closing FAST! CNU will never have the reputation of W&M....I was just looking strictly at acceptance standards. Trible went to Hampden Sydney and then Washington & Lee......he has a vision for CNU to become one of the best "small" schools in the state, region.

I look at it this way...I have a Masters from W&M (so I'm not as dumb as I appear on this board)....if you take my HS transcript, SAT scores, and all the other stuff as if I was coming straight out of high school - I don't get in to CNU this year!

[narch]

Narch, you know what 4th place gets you.........jack crap.

sarcasm - noun: harsh or bitter derision or irony
irony - noun: the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning

Whats the big deal about recruiting juco players. Does Methodist have no transfers? I know your coach talked to a friend of mine who coaches a juco team who was just at your house playing the jv.

juco transfers just aren't the norm at d3's...there aren't many juco kids, especially ones who played significant roles at strong juco programs who typically end up at d3's...it's maginified when you have four of them in one year - there are coaches that i know who work for winning, scholarship programs with nice facilities who can't land 4 florida juco kids who have ability in one year...to me, it seems odd that a non-scholarship program that hasn't had a winning season in a long time and plays in a gym worse than most high school facilities is able to pull that off - when you couple that with the fact that 8 of the 14 players on the gc basketball roster are transfers, i think it's natural to ask "what's going on" - i've never said that having transfers was a bad thing, i've just wondered how it came to be that gc was so attractive to student-athletes who had previously attended scholarship programs

and, mu has 2 players who previously attended scholarship programs on their men's basketball roster...ab lehmann was a walk-on at vcu and john myatt played a reserve role at louisburg college - i'm pretty certain there are more transfer student-athletes on the gc men's basketball and baseball rosters (23...and you might not need to throw in the baseball roster for this statement to be true) than there are on all 17 of the mu rosters combined...doesn't that seem odd to you since the 2 institutions are otherwise relatively similar?

You whine to much. Maybe GC should get more 4 year players but there is many other teams in our area that Greensboro has to compete with for players.....UNCG, A&T, Guilford, WSSU, RCC and now  GTTC. Who does Methodist have ? Fayetteville State.Please. Sour grapes.

maybe i do whine to much, but i hardly think there are any sour grapes...i've been questioning gc's recruiting of transfers for the last 4 or 5 years, when gc was clearly worse than mu - mu does compete for players with fsu on a regular basis (and honestly, they don't win very many when fsu is offering athletic money), which is more than i would say for gc with uncg, nca&t, and wssu...it's hard to believe that many athletes who have d1 offers from those places is really narrowing his choice down to gc or one of those d1 schools...i know it OCCASIONALLY happens, but let's not pretend these guys are choosing d3 basketball over d1 basketball on a regular basis

i would also add that a number of basketball players over the last few years have had mu and guilford on their short list...unfortunately, most chose guilford and at least 2 chose to transfer from mu to guilford...'nova is pretty pleased about that

he runs a class program, he gets kids that seem to be a good fit for d3 and he maximizes the talent that he has

I think I may be taken it a wrong way, but to me it looks like a "read between the lines attack" on the GC program. (I know you have talked about it before.)  Which I will not argue/get into on this board again.

you are "taken" it the wrong way...i don't know much about the gc coach, and have made no comments about him in relation to coach allen...there is no need for you to read between the lines - i've been critical of specific coaches on these boards before and if i feel that i need to be critical of specific coaches in the future, i will - any relative comparison being made is being made between coach allen and the gc coach is being made by the reader of that quote, not the author

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

I know have typos in all my posts, but this is right off the USASouth awards release.

"The Captains began the season with the best start in the program's history (9-0) which included a victory over Virginia Wesleyan, the defending national champions."

No wonder coach Allen won the COTY award. He coached AU and CNU 

[CNU85]

Dang.....The AU Captains...when did they change thier mascot?

[CNU85]

ok...time to gripe......Blasingame wasn't named to even the honorable mention team.....not sure I agree...

He was first in rebounding - 22nd in nation
First in FG% at 60.5% - would have been near tops in nation but he was short a few FGs.
First in Blocks - 3rd in nation
16th in scoring

ummm........I'm open to hearing other opinions.

[old_lion]

ok...time to gripe......Blasingame wasn't named to even the honorable mention team.....not sure I agree...

He was first in rebounding - 22nd in nation
First in FG% at 60.5% - would have been near tops in nation but he was short a few FGs.
First in Blocks - 3rd in nation
16th in scoring

ummm........I'm open to hearing other opinions.

I'm with you on this one, CNU. All the stuff you mentioned, plus the guy averaged a double-double. How many people do that? He is the rare, inside force, shot blocker and rebounder that most D3 teams don't have. How that "skill set" can be overlooked is beyond me.

One problem is, you have too many Tracy McGrady-like "volume shooters" (to borrow Matt Grubb's term) selected ... look at the shooting %s of some of those guys ... I swear ... it seems like all most people care about is scoring, scoring, scoring ... regardless of how many shots a guy has to throw up to do it ...

I can tell you this ... if I got to select a squad out of the USA South, he'd be in my top ten ... maybe top five.

As Al McGuire used to say, "You gotta have the "big aircraft carrier" to control the middle and the PG to run the show ... it's easy to find shooters to fill in around them."