MBB: USA South Conference

[CNU85]

Man, does CNU ever miss Blasingame!!

Get well big guy - and hurry back!!

I think with Blasingame, CNU is at least a .500 team this year.

(and if we could get that secret weapon Captj in a jersey and let him bounce them in - we're undefeated!!)

[SU97]

I don't care that both teams are at the bottom of the conference, a win over the Captains is a rare treat.  JLawrence put in another solid performance with 25 points and 17 rebounds.  Every game I think he must be around 10 points and 10 boards and then you look at the box score and he's put in another amazing performance. Once he got the dunk in during the second half I knew we were going to get the W.  Onyie stole the show for most of the night with some great blocks and inspired play, I think he ended up with another double-double.  The missing touch from outside finally made an appearance - especially when freshman Brandon Bryan drained 3 straight from behind the arch.  Great win for the hornets and I'm happy for the rest of the year now, regardless of how SU finishes...

CNU85:  you would have been very proud of Barton.  :34 seconds left, game is already  in the bag and the kid is still determined to make something happen.  He blows past 3 defenders and somehow pulls up for a leaner that floats past Lawrence's outstretched hand and rolls in.  I caught a look in his face that echoed that he hadn't given up, won't give up.  I think he ended up with 20 points and he's a lock for a first team selection in my book.  

[SU97]

Man, does CNU ever miss Blasingame!!

Get well big guy - and hurry back!!

I think with Blasingame, CNU is at least a .500 team this year.

(and if we could get that secret weapon Captj in a jersey and let him bounce them in - we're undefeated!!)

I still think Blasingame gives you a shot at the top slot. SU outrebounded CNU by 53 (21 offensive) to 29.  Blasingame was good for 10-15 a game... 

[CNU85]

Man, does CNU ever miss Blasingame!!

Get well big guy - and hurry back!!

I think with Blasingame, CNU is at least a .500 team this year.

(and if we could get that secret weapon Captj in a jersey and let him bounce them in - we're undefeated!!)

I still think Blasingame gives you a shot at the top slot. SU outrebounded CNU by 53 (21 offensive) to 29.  Blasingame was good for 10-15 a game... 

not to mention 4 blocks per game!! Plus making people change the way they play inside

[CNU85]

CNU85:  you would have been very proud of Barton.  :34 seconds left, game is already  in the bag and the kid is still determined to make something happen.  He blows past 3 defenders and somehow pulls up for a leaner that floats past Lawrence's outstretched hand and rolls in.  I caught a look in his face that echoed that he hadn't given up, won't give up.  I think he ended up with 20 points and he's a lock for a first team selection in my book.  

That's good. I'm sure it was partially influenced by playing with Selden. I have never seen a guy who hates to lose as much as Selden. He took over many games for CNU and "willed" a win to happen. Who will ever forget (CNU fans, that is) when he drained three from the FT line with no time left on the clock to keep the season alive!

[SU97]

Onyie's four blocks tonight gave him sole possession of the career record at SU.

Game Story

[narch]

what a spectacular night of college hoops...the monarchs get a big w and the blue devils stick it to the tarholes...couldn't get much better for me

mu was really dominant tonight, from the opening tip - they jumped out to a 14-0 lead, led by as many as 20 in the first half and the lead was single digits for only a few seconds in the second half - leumichael smith was incredible...he absolutely ate up nicholson, scoring 22 on 9-12 shooting - two of his shots were highlight reel shots - mcdade's shot was off tonight, but he was big rebounding the ball - shuford scored 17 on 6-7 shooting from the field and 5-5 from the ft line...he's really improved from the foul line this season, especially lately - mcbryde had a very productive 17 minutes, scoring 10 points, gettting 5 boards and blocking 3 shots - winstead scored 10 in 13 minutes, but there was a time in the second half when gc cut into the mu lead and he just took over...hit 2 big threes, had a nice finger roll layup, got an assist - that production off the bench is key - the monarchs were an amazing 26-35 inside the arc tonight (74%!!!!) - they also out rebounded gc, which is nice, especially after the way gc got on the glass in greensboro - tyler sigman had a really nice game defensively, as well - he checked zamuel for most of the night and held him to 4-13 shooting - that's a tough matchup...zamuel is a big, strong kid at 6'3"/200 and he's got some athleticism - marcus connor played some nice minutes for the monarchs, as well - he didn't stuff the stat sheet and only had one block, but he influenced at least 4 or 5 other shots...he should be solid for mu if he continues to develop and gets in the weight room to add muscle/strength/weight

i was mostly unimpressed with nicholson - he got abused on the defensive end and he seemed to force a lot of shots...the kappa sig monarch maniachs were chanting "ball hog" every time he touched the ball...funny and appropriate - he and zamuel certainly aren't shy about shooting it, and nicholson likes to pound the ball into the floor a lot - i was shocked at how ineffective tamini was for gc...the kid is HUGE, but just didn't show up - i thought gc would try to go inside more, but they are so guard oriented and it seems like everything they do is to get one of those guards a shot - their bigs do set really nice screens, and the guards use them well, but their bigs don't roll off the screens effectively, allowing the defender to hedge pretty agressively

i don't think this monarch team has reached it's full potential...lehmann is still struggling shooting the ball (although he is such a steady influence on the offense when he's in the game) - mcdade is so confident that he doesn't always take great shots - smith turns the ball over to much...but if they continue to play as they have the last 4 games, i can see them as a legit usasac champion - different guys have stepped up when needed and allowed them to be multiple and balanced, and they're really executing their stuff right now...great cuts, crisp passes...it's fun to watch

lastly, attendance was listed at 422, but i swear it looked like more than that to me...i'd estimate at least 450 ...but they really were loud and got into it...lots of fun!

box score
game story

congrats to su, as well...beating cnu twice in one season must feel REALLY  nice...i hope mu can experience that feeling

[SU97]

what a spectacular night of college hoops...the monarchs get a big w and the blue devils stick it to the tarholes...couldn't get much better for me

+1

[SU97]

leumichael smith was incredible...he absolutely ate up nicholson, scoring 22 on 9-12 shooting - two of his shots were highlight reel shots

Possible early lead candidate for ROTY??   

[CaptJ]

Last night I went to Charlottesville to see UVA destroyed by Clemson.  My very first ACC conference game.  Fourth row tickets... under the boards, 15 feet from the players.  I am now absolutely convinced that the D3 rosters I see are blatantly optimistic in their listed heights and weights.  Here is what I saw -

UVA
Ryan Petinella 6-9, 249
Mike Scott, 6-8, 233
Jerome Meyinsse, 6-8, 245

Clemson
James Mayes, 6-9, 230
Raymond Sykes, 6-9, 220

These five guys are freakin HUGE!  Giants!  They make CNU's Marko Hamlin (listed at 6-7) look like a little boy.  Do you think that at the ACC level they might actually be MINIMIZING the size of these guys on their rosters?  I'm starting to think that at 6-3, 230, I might be listed as 6-6, 255 on the CNU roster.

[narch]

lehmann named academic all-district...congrats!

captj - i think some teams may list heights liberally at all levels, although at the d1 level there is more incentive to the players (ie: playing at the next level) - my experience with size in d1 vs. d3 isn't necessarily the height as much as it is the girth...there are very few 220+ pounders at any height in d3...there are plenty of guys that big or bigger in d1 - i think the heights that mu lists are all pretty legit

[CaptJ]

Yeah, I agree.  It's very likely that SOME teams tweak the numbers and some don't.  I remember a game early in the season against either Wesley or Curry when I thought that the opposing team appeared LARGER than the heights/weights listed in the program.  I don't see the advantage of fudging the numbers.  It all comes down to 5 on 5 out on the floor, and the tallest team doesn't always win.

[narch]

perdictions:

monarchs by 8
cougars by 12
hornets by 3 in ot

[SU97]

hornets by 3 in ot

Hope there's no OT in that one...

[narch]

monarchs lose by one and miss an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the pack as gc beats au and su gets a one point w over ncwc...tough loss