MBB: USA South Conference

[pride1fan]

 

[CNU85]

wow...just reviewing the stats for the conference. So many good things for CNU....so many bad......we had the least # of turnovers which i would not have guessed....but the worst turnover ratio.....ummm...meaning to me, no defense.....highest scoring team....next to last in points allowed....ummm...no defense......FG % was over 50%....allowed 42%...not bad......#1 in defesnive rebounds......near the bottom in offensive rebounds....tops in FT%, blocks,

only +2.0 in the points margin.....i guess the theme is lack of defensive consistency..

[SU97]

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.

Point taken, I guess I didn't realize how bad you guys were hurting down low. From the looks of it you may have missed your window with surrounding Blasingame with talent.  That's a shame.  On paper this should have been your year.

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!

I was looking at it more from the rankings/reputation end when referring to your earlier comments.  And I heard Trible made a stop in Winchester years ago as well.   

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."

Blasingame got hosed. 

 

[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. 

CNU85 - no real argument here on any of this anyways...

The truth is...  I really just wanted to use the words capsize, boat, sink, and overboard in a post about the Captains.     

[CNU85]

SU97.....that was funny!!!!!

[narch]

Blasingame got hosed.

agreed

and great job of working those 4 words in...

[SU97]

somebody get hassanova a beer ASAP.  Looks like BC pulled a major upset in the ODAC...

[roundbll]

SU97,

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!

You say that as if your masters from W&M makes you smart!
You're killing me.  All that tells me is that you paid more for your Masters than I did for mine from Oklahoma.  besides, I've met you...  nuff said.

And whoever said Dante' wasn't a big loss to CNU...  you lost some credability on that statement fella!

[narch]

if anyone had any luck getting the video stream to play, let me know...i'd like to watch the finals, but i couldn't get it to play the stream...it launched quick time and just said "live broadcast" with no sound or video

[narch]

guess i was wrong about ncwc's chances in the tournament...or maybe i was right that the other side of the draw was tougher

what are your thoughts, pride1fan?

will you be giving us one of these  or these  or these  or these  ?

[hasanova]

somebody get hassanova a beer ASAP.  Looks like BC pulled a major upset in the ODAC...

I was actually hospitalized with a lager IV, but thanks for thinking of me.  Time - and alcohol - may pull me through.   

[narch]

congrats to the cougars...another fantastic usasac final involving averett - rep the usasac well, boys!

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

Those 6ths seeds are always trouble.  I knew any team that would win the conference WILL represent us well in the tournament. About NCWC at one point they were 5-2 and a half a game out of first.  They heated up enough to get into the finals.

[Rikki_Tikki_Tavi]

Congrats to the Cougars for what seemed like a well-fought double OT win. I hope they represent the USA South well in the NCAA Tournament.

On a side note, I know this is the men's board, but I wanted to congratulate the CNU women's team for its victory over Ferrum in the championship game.

[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."

The closer I look, the more it seems Blasingame got hosed.

Conclusions:
If you want to make an all-conference team ...

* Excelling in the "other stats" (reb, bs, asts, stls), being a great "team guy",  not important.

* Shoot early and often
and/or
* Be on the best team.



                          FGM FGA FG%  PPG
First Team:   
Lynn Bright           177 362 48.9% 17.4
Korey Lewis          169 308 54.9% 15.9
Lenny Hall             150 397 37.8% 19.4
Adam Nicholson     172 352 48.9% 16.4
Jeremiah Lawrence 163 370 44.1% 17.2
   
Second Team:     
Damien Brown         107 190 56.3% 12.1
Cedric Jones           187 359 52.1% 16.2
Davon Barton           146 308 47.4% 16.5
Donta Selden           144 311 46.3% 15.5
Corey McDaniel         76 194 39.2% 10.1
   
Honorable Mention:     
Jon Godsey             132 270 48.9% 13.0
Mouktar Fawehinmi  144 345 41.7% 16.8
Dragon Radmanovic 102 259 39.4% 11.3
Trey Drake              138 333 41.4% 14.6
Shaun Hagwood        73 192 38.0%   9.0
   
Hosed:     
Mark Blasinggame   112 185 60.5% 10.6