MBB: USA South Conference

[CNU85]

Not sure what happened to Conley Taylor. Grades maybe? I dunno. I will find out. Unfortunately, Tommasino and Cooper are on the way back frm Pittsburgh covering the CNU football team...they lost to W&J 35-29.

I was asked if I was interested in helping out Wayne Block on the radio tonight. But I couldn't commit early enough in the week. I just found out about 15 minutes ago that I can make the game.

Gotta go get a shower and head to the game. I'll let you know about those guys.

The new guys seem to be top notch. One kid in particular CJ has said is the second best shooter he has ever coached. I'm not sure who that is...perhaps it's Barbosa?
Overall I her CJ is very optimistic about this year's team. I was so pumped up about it, I didn't even see that Taylor wasn't on the roster.

My guess at a starting line up is:

Blasingame
Barton
Whinnet
Baker
Green

You may also recognize the name of the kid Faris. His dad was CNU's first ever All-American.

[CNU85]

Oh, Captj,

Keep an eye out for the Lady Captains this year. They have a pre-season all-american in Scheers. She was only Sophomore to make All-American. She dropped in 35 last night. Not sure if you remember last year - she popped 10 3 pointers in one game.

[CNU85]

Ok! CNU wins first hoops game of year. Sure, it was So. Va. But So. Va was playing their 5th game of the year and they are not a bad team. Some thoughts on everything.

First, non game or player related.

1. New PA announcer. Clear and his voice is good. He was nervous, though. He will figure out the word "Harmony" is not pronounced Har-mo-nin-ee. 

2. They actually had a DJ playing the songs during timeouts. Nice touch, but he needs to look in the stands and see the paying audience. Music was a bit loud (and I went to the game listening to Sirius 19 - AC/DC channel!!).

3. New tradition started tonight that I liked. They made everyone stand and clap at opening tip off. It got the crowd of 1,077 into it.

4. When they introduced the players, the dance team was on the floor with cheerleaders. Also had cheerleaders in all the aisles.

5. Cheerleaders were not stuffed in the corner during the game. They were in front of the student section, where they belong. Dance team was not in stands as in previous years. They were under the basket and in front of the fans.

So - overall the experience was different and mostly effective. I would mix up the music some more, and turn it down just a little.

and now to the game and players....

[CNU85]

CNU won 86-70. Starting lineup (if I remember correctly since I can't find a box score yet)

Going
Blasingame
Baker
Green
Whinett

Barton did not start. Doc just cleared him to play this week. Overall the team played well as a team. The chemistry was there. Nice to see. Everyone on team saw action in both halves.

Going....much more confident. Had good minutes. A nice backup for Barton when he gets back into starting lineup.

Blasingame....He's Baack!! 3 blocked shots and changed many more. He looked winded at times as if he missed a season of hoops......Oh yeah, he did. Once he gets back into game shape he will be 100%. I put him at 95% right now. Much better than I expected. I bet he's totally in rhythm by this weekend.

Baker. He played like he did his Freshman year, which was better than last year. He hustled more than I can remember.

Green. WOW. What a game he had. 21 points and a rebounding monster tonight.

Whinett. Hitting 3 pointers!!! His game is totally different now that Blasingame is back. Keep an eye on him for POTY.

Barton. Played well when he was in. Had a knee brace and an arm sleeve/pad in first half. Took off the arm thing in second half.

Barbosa. He's the shooter. Made his first ever college shot....3 pointer.

Faris. Playing as a kid in the driveway with his All-American dad helps. He is bigger than Blasingame and more physical. He was beating on So Va #24 like a rented mule! Also hit a three!!! He's 6-8, looks bigger. He will give Blasingame needed breaks. Faris does not play like a Freshman. Creates depth for CNU in the middle.

Ayala - seems to be a crowd favorite. Played well. Small and quick. Will be able to provide minutes at the 1or2 positions and give others time to rest.

Hermann - WOW. Does not play like a freshman. He's tough inside and can rebound. Adds even more depth for CNU. He should see ALOT of playing time. Very impressive.

Patterson. Another crowd favorite. Seemed improved over last year. Had good time on the floor.

Reid - Did not dress due to injury.

Russell - played well. Much better than last year. So Va caused him some problems in his passes. He adjusted.

This team is deeper than most CNU teams in the past 5-6 years. The 4 Freshman didn't play like it. I don't see much drop off when starters take a seat. This could mean fresh legs for the entire game. I know it was one game, but I liked what I saw. Let's see how they fare against a ranked team Tuesday night - Va Wesleyan.

[CNU85]

Box Score finally available. More comments after looking at them.

Blasingame played 35 minutes. No wonder he look tired! He hasn't played in 2 years and his first game back he puts in those minutes!! I take it back - he's at 100% now. He shot 80% from the floor, had 14 rebounds, 9 points and 3 blocked shots.....He's Baaaaaaack!!!!

Nobody else played more than 29 minutes.

Everyone except Ayala scored - but he had 4 assists in 5 minutes of playing time. That's 12 players scoring and 4 were in double figures. Faris hit everything he put up. Whinnett attempted 8 three pointers!! Overall CNU attempted 26 from behind the new 3 point line. Barton only played 17 minutes - still had 11 pts and 5 assists. Green was 9-10 from the floor. Baker shot 50%.

The 4 Freshmen - 7 for 13....3 of 7 from three...18 points, 4 assists and a blocked shot. Not bad for their first collegiate game!

[CaptJ]

WOW!  I might rethink that tropical island thing... nahhhh!

I like the atmosphere changes... why didn't anyone think of these things before this?

Depth?! What a nice change that will be.  It sounds like we are going to be good this year.

[narch]

while not totally unexpected, i'm a bit disappointed that the monarchs are off to an 0-4 start...i thought they might at least salvage a split this weekend, but unfortunately that wasn't the case (in my mind i actually thought they might come away from the weekend at 2-2...but i'm a bit of an optimist) - i'm not ready to mail it in, yet...the monarchs have historically played a tough non-conference schedule only to compete once conference play begins - there is a lot of development that will need to take place before january if that's going to happen this year, though

i like what i see from mark jernigan's first 4 games...15.8 ppg/5.3 rpg and .521 shooting % are pretty nice for your first collegiate action - crumpler is a nice addition, as well, but a guy with his size should be hitting the boards a bit harder - at the semester break, having shuford underneath should help (he has just 1 semester of eligibility left)

piedmont and lynchburg at home on the 29th and 1st...hopefully the boys don't eat too much turkey on thanksgiving and can come out and win a couple of games to get something going

one thing i've noticed is that the monarchs seem to be shooting a lot of 3's (and not well) - i thought the new 3 point line might discourage the 3 point shot a bit, but that doesn't appear to be the case for mu early in the season...they're averaging attempting 21 3's per game (and hitting just 26%)

[narch]

Let's see how they fare against a ranked team Tuesday night - Va Wesleyan.

that should be a good test for both teams - i was impressed by vwc, but a coaching friend who has seen them play wasn't as impressed...maybe i was just awed by the size/athleticism combination, especially knowing most of them were freshman

[CNU85]

I just saw the CNU roster.   What happened to Conley Taylor, Marko Hamlin and David Mustian?  Taylor will be missed a LOT!  And who knows something about the new guys?

I only asked about Conley. The CNU person I asked just looked away and said, "Don't Ask!".

I'll keep digging.

[CNU85]

I was thinking about the game Saturday night and looking at the roster. CNU has some big guys. SO - to borrow from a theme I just watched on the Monday Night Football pregame show on ESPN.....I'd like to see more dunks by CNU...C'MON MAN!

[SU97]

Not much to report from Winchester.  Like Narch and his Monarchs, I'm not expecting a whole lot from this Hornet squad this year. I do think that Kline seems to be stepping his game up. I'm not going to get much of a first-hand view since SU is on the road for the first 1,964 games of the season...   I did listen to the radio broadcast over the weekend, and SU picked up their first win by beating the Iron Chefs...  I thought at the start of the season that we would be at .500 by this point, but the turnovers are killing them... 

[SU97]

Faris. Playing as a kid in the driveway with his All-American dad helps. He is bigger than Blasingame and more physical. He was beating on So Va #24 like a rented mule! Also hit a three!!! He's 6-8, looks bigger. He will give Blasingame needed breaks. Faris does not play like a Freshman. Creates depth for CNU in the middle.

Great...  CNU reloading... 

[SU97]

i like what i see from mark jernigan's first 4 games...15.8 ppg/5.3 rpg and .521 shooting % are pretty nice for your first collegiate action - crumpler is a nice addition, as well, but a guy with his size should be hitting the boards a bit harder - at the semester break, having shuford underneath should help (he has just 1 semester of eligibility left)

Good to see he will be back - I'm a big fan of his game. I was wondering what was going on when I didn't see him on the preseason roster. 

[CNU85]

Just got back from the CNU game at Va Wesleyan. VWC wins 88-78. CNU was down by 4 with 32 seconds left. Then they had to foul and VWC was 20-23 from the line! VWC also shot 44% from three. CNU only shoots 10-23 from the foul line. Blasingame had a nasty collision in the first half and only plays 25 minutes (7 in second half). IF (always those ifs) he doesn't get hurt and CNU shoots a little better than  57% from the line then CNU wins. Freshman Brian Hermann has two very solid games under his belt. He came off the bench tonight and dropped in 13 against VWC!!

Depth is going to be good this year. Ten players saw action. 8 had 15 mins or more and nobody had over 30. Russell came off the bench and scored 16. In total the CNU bench scored 35.

CJ summed it up on the postgame show....he was "disappointed but not disheartened". I agree. The way I see it, CNU hung with a very talented, nationally ranked VWC. They were within 4 points with seconds left. And they did all this with the big guy playing hurt or sitting the bench (at one point in the game CNU had 4 bench players in and they tied the game while on the floor).

I think this is going to be a very fun year!

[hasanova]

I did listen to the radio broadcast over the weekend, and SU picked up their first win by beating the Iron Chefs... 

Yes, but I bet their pre-game brunch is to die for!  Johnson and Wales basketball ...  food fight!