MBB: USA South Conference

[SU97]

SU breaks my heart again...  gave another conference game away to GC last night. 

I wonder: Is any foul commited in the last two minutes of a game "unintentional?"

Methodist on the clock. 

[SU97]

Congrats are due JLawrence for passing Al White on the all-time rebounding list at Shenandoah yesterday.  While Al will always be my all-time favorite player at SU, I am very pleased to see Jeremiah be the one to pass him.

[SU97]

Today is an absolute must-win for the Hornets.  Win and you're still in the hunt, lose and you spend the rest of the season jockeying for position to NOT draw the same bracket as NCWC for the conference tourney. 

Looking for a Hornets win today!

[narch]

nice weekend for the monarchs...i'm going to have to do some research and find out when they last won both games of this tough trip...if the capts. can hold their 2 point lead and the bishops can pull out the "w" against ferrum, there's a 3-way tie at the top

[CNU85]

I'm starting to see some nice things from CNU. Mostly the intensity and emotion. More later - Superbowl is on.

[Rikki_Tikki_Tavi]

Why in the world did Lenny Hall not start and why did he only play 27 minutes? Interesting.

[CNU85]

Some thoughts about the team after this weekend's 2 games. I like the line up CNU has started (for the most part) the past two games. Barton, Whinnett, Baker, Taylor, and Green. 4 of the 5 are playing extremely well as of late. Baker is just out of sync this year. Not sure what's going on there. I noticed today that at times he was out of position on D as well as not popping his threes like he did last year.

Taylor is a beast. He should be a linebacker on the football team. He has that kind of mentaility. He was trying to get into the head of Methodist's McBryde. Credit to McBryde for just playing hoops and not getting caught up in Taylor's jawing.

Green - glad to see he gets the start. He is a very intense player. Never stops and actually gets rebounds.

Also good to see Fr Paul Going get some time at point guard. I noticed he was at times in the game at the same time as Barton...giving Barton some time as a shooting guard.

Whinnett - has stepped up as a leader. I love his emotion. I also like the way he gets the crowd pumped up. Too bad he is a Junior.

Mustian plays hard. Not sure why he didn't get much time today against GC.

Barton is clearly a team leader.

Joshua Russell. Before today's game I wasn't a big fan. I felt like the game at this level seemed fast to him. After today -4 three pointers...2 of them in extremely Clutch situations, I've changed my mind. His clutch shooting and very very tough defensive play were nice to watch. You could see his confidence grow in this one game. Good job, J Russell !!!

That's about it....I'll comment more on other players after a few more games. Good to see CNU with a win. The conference season is now at the halfway point. Only 2 games separate top from bottom......

It's wide open Fellas!! An opening home tournament game is not out of the question - for anybody!

[CaptJ]

nice weekend for the monarchs...i'm going to have to do some research and find out when they last won both games of this tough trip...if the capts. can hold their 2 point lead and the bishops can pull out the "w" against ferrum, there's a 3-way tie at the top

A great weekend for the Monarchs and a catastrophic one for the Hornets.  Advantage; Methodist.  However... the conference is very balanced from top to bottom.  At the midpoint of the conference schedule no team has more than 4 wins and none have more than 4 losses.  ANY team can put together a great run to close out the season, and I "perdict" the it will be a surprise team.

[narch]

i know you've all been waiting for this ...here are my mid-season awards, starting with pvr calculations:

PLAYER   PPG   RPG   STEALS   APG   BLOCKS   TO'S   PVR
LAWRENCE - SU   22.3   11   9   0.5   9   14   52.7
BARTON - CNU    21.5   4.2   12   6.67   0   24   48.9
RUMLEY - AU   18   6.2   12   6.83   2   24   47.6
NICHOLSON - GC   19.3   5.2   8   4.5   1   12   45.1
MCDADE - MU   21.7   5   3   1.5   8   14   43
                     
ONUNAKU - SU   13.3   12   10   2.83   3   22   41.6
MITCHELL - FC   14.3   11.3   7   0.5   6   16   39.1
WHINNETT - CNU   14.3   7.8   8   1.7   6   11   37.8
SMITH - MU   17   3.7   10   3   2   14   36.7
CRUMP - FC   20.5   3.3   9   1.8   0   20   36.6
                     
HALL - NCW   15.2   3.5   21   4.17   0   24   35.6
SHUFORD - MU   10.5   7.7   10   2.67   3   11   33.4
ARRINGTON - NCW   16.3   3.5   4   1   3   4   32.7
DRAKE - NCW   13.2   4   11   3   6   19   31.8
COLEMAN - NCW   12.5   7.8   6   0.7   1   9   34.1
                     
GREEN - CNU   11.7   7.2   5   0.5   7   8   30.9
TAYLOR - CNU   14.2   4   10   0.8   1   6   30.2
GODSEY - FC   10.7   6.3   7   0.8   6   7   29.1
ZAMUEL - GC   13.8   4.8   5   1.8   2   21   28.2
BROWN - AU   10.5   6.5   3   1   0   4   27.3

and here are the awards themselves:
player of the first half - lawrence...no discussion necessary...he's a beast
rookie of the first half - mitchell, fc - smith from mu was a close second
coach of the first half - bill tharp, fc

co-poster's of the first half - cnu85, su97...great insight to add to nice volume...both have stayed active despite some tough times for their team
comeback poster of the first half - captj...let's face it, unless gcgullet or pridesportbbguy make a HUGE comeback in the second half, this award is all his
where are you poster - pride1...this poster was one of few words, but is sorely missed

[narch]

mu last won both games of the su/cnu trip in the 02-03 season...twice since they've lost both games...

[CNU85]

Thanks for the award Narch...Now I know how it feels to win something from Madden!! 

Hey - what about Swish? - he's dropped into nowhere land.

[CaptJ]

and here are the awards themselves:
[comeback poster of the first half - captj...let's face it, unless gcgullet or pridesportbbguy make a HUGE comeback in the second half, this award is all his

I'm so gellin my eyes are wellin.

[SU97]

I'd like to thank the academy...

[SU97]

oh boy...  where to start...

Disaster in Winchester over the weekend.

I have no idea how we lost the GC game on Saturday. Sunday was no different.  Obviously Onyie and JLawrence are the only guys who show up every night, the rest is a crap shoot...  Not to dwell on it, but it's like deja vu from last year all over again.  Hornets went 3-20 (15%) from 3pt vs MU and 1-15 (6%) VS. GC.  That's a stellar 4-35 for the weekend.  Sad part is that Onyie hit all three against MU.  Meaning our guards went 0-17...   

Let me find something positive to say... okay, at least it seems like the Schrader kids looks legit.  I hope he starts to get a little more time.  I have no answer for the guard situation, although maybe CaptJ does has that year of eligibilty left... 

GC:  Nicholson is a nice player.  He singlehandly stole Saturday's game at the end.  But I think they really miss the presence down low from last year.  That could hurt them down the stretch.

MU:  I have to say I really like the product the Monarchs put on the floor.  I'd rate McDade, he's a quality player. The big man was 3-4 from behind the arch.  Clean shooter and plays outside well for a big man.  SU had no answer for him.  Shuford is a lot of fun to watch, he's like a mini-Sam Porter from a couple of years ago.  He hustles, I think he had a double-double against us, and he never quits. And Smith...  WOW what a show he put on.  Like the first jam wasn't enough he had to pull the ole alley-op out of the playbook...  dude, he is going to tear up this league the next few years.  Quick, explosive and just glides through the lane - SU had to put Onyie on him 1v1 just to slow him down.  He's a clone of CNU's Barton... 

[SU97]

It's wide open Fellas!! An opening home tournament game is not out of the question - for anybody!

Oh come on CNU85 - the die is cast, it's not like any underdogs have a chance.  You know, like the Giants had no chance to knock off the Patriots yesterday!