2011 Tournament Team Profiles

[old_hooper]

diehard, I am impressed.  You win my vote for MVF (Most Valuable Fan).  Great job getting after this in such a short time.

[mrmike88]

DHF (and everyone else),

I posted this on the NESCAC board.  I'm Amherst's play-by-play announcer tonight so I did a little legwork on Widener.  I can't verify how correct I am based on reading media guides and stat sheets, but this is what I could come up with:


I don't have too much on Widener, but here's what I know for those who care:

Widener is an undersized, perimiter-oriented team.  They have one guy over 6'4" in their rotation.  Amherst should have a size advantage at at least two positions at any time during the game.  Thier two leading scorers are seniors, Malcolm Thomas and Essein Ford, both guards who love to shoot the outside jumper.  Thomas is making 52% of his field goals.  Ford has taken more than half of his shots from three this season (32%).  Thomas has a lot of rebounds for a perimiter player, though, so he must crash the boards.  Terry Smith is their one big man in the rotation, listed at 6'8", and averaging in double-figures with Ford and Thomas.  Smith is a regular threat to foul out, with five expulsions this season.  That could be a huge factor tonight against Amherst's bigs.

One major weakness for Widener as a team and for Thomas and Ford in particular on the perimiter is a negative assists/turnovers ratio.  Thomas specifically has close to a 2:3 ratio!  However, these guys have logged a lot of steals over the course of the season (253 as a team).  It seems as if they play high-turnover games.

Amherst's Achilles' Heel has been free-throw shooting.  Well, Widener is no better.  They shoot 71% as a team.  Only Ford is above 80% among the starters.

The teams have no common opponents.  They are 2-4 (counting Thursday's win over King's) against teams in the NCAA tournament.

[diehardfan]

nice! thanks!

[WhoWouldaThought]

I figured that someone would post the defending champions scouting report but I will do so.  Virginia Wesleyan is currently 24-4 and went 17-1 in conference with their only loss coming to Emory & Henry which plays a Grinnell (run and gun) style offense.  VWC lost in the semifinal of ODAC tournament losing to Hampden-Syndney.  VWC controlled the first half of play and took a ten point lead, but did not show up for the first fifteen minutes of the second half falling into a double-digit hole and subsequently losing by three.  I will give HSC credit for playing an inspired brand of basketball but VWC did not play anywhere near their potential.  VWC advanced yesterday with a 3 point win over Averett (Guilford and HSC also advanced meaning that 3 of the final 32 teams are from the ODAC).  VWC, as they did last year in their run to the national championship, got well behind in the first half and made a furious run in the final eight minutes to steal a game that Averett could have easily won.  Balenga was terrible shooting 3-15 from the floor and 1-10 from beyond the arc.  Adair was doubled often (as always) and managed to scored 19 and became the first player in school history to surpass the 2000 point mark.

Starters:

Brandon Adair (6'5  215)  [Sr. F]  (17.8pts, 7.9rbs)
Tyler Fantin (6'6  210) [Jr. F]  (9.3pts, 7.0rbs)
TonTon Balenga (6'2  190)  [Jr. G]  (15.6pts, 4.7rbs)
Thomas Sumpter (5'9  160) [Sr. G]  (5.0pts, 3.3ast)
Terrell Dixon (5'10  165)  [So. G]  (6.1pts, 1.9rbs)

Reserves:

Stephen Fields (6'2  175)  [Fr. G]  (8.7pts, 3.3rbs)
D'Juan Tucker (5'9  160)  [Jr. G]  (7.0pts, 3.1ast)
Rodney Young (6'4  195)  [Sr. F]  (4.6pts, 1.7rbs)
Norman Hassell (6'6  200)  [So. F]  (3.0pts, 1.6rbs)

Head coach Dave Macedo will play a nine man rotation until his tenure at VWC is done.  Unless they are up by 40 or in EXTREME foul trouble he will stick to those 9 players.  Brandon Adair is the most complete player in Division III basketball.  At 6'5, he doesn't appear as someone who can dominate in the post, but he will either out-muscle, out-quick, or out-think whatever defensive scheme you throw at him.  Although he averaged about 18 points per game during the regular season, expect him to be closer to 25 points per game in the post-season.  He is option 1, 2, and 3 on every play that they run.  He will not shoot the 3 (although I feel he could shoot a decent percentage from the if he had to), but anything inside the arc is fair game.  Plays both with his back to the basket as well as facing up.  Quick, strong and finishes around the basket very well.  He will exploit the double-team with regularity due to the fact that the other four guys on the court can all knock down the 3 consistently.  He is one of the more special Division 3 basketball players that I've ever seen and it was a privelege watching  him play over the past 4 years.  TonTon Balenga is the clear number 2 option and almost always steps up in the big games (except for last night).  Strong guard who can get all the way to the rim and has a very impressive mid-range game.  His clear strength is shooting the trifecta.  Although he went 1-10 last night from beyond the arc, he has the ability to go 9-10 from that range as well.  Didn't shoot as good of a percentage this season as in years past but this guy is a proven champion and is known for hitting the big shot (for those of you who were at last year's Final Four, you know what I mean).   Tyler Fantin is the third option on the court.  Versatile 6'6 player who can post-up and hit the 3 either in transition or out of a half court set.  A lot of his production comes because Adair demands so much attention.  Fantin's biggest contribution comes on the defensive end because he will always guard the opponent's best big man so that Adair can avoid foul trouble at all costs.  He is the perfect compliment to Adair.  Thomas Sumpter is the point guard and holds the school record for steals.  He is a tenacious defender both on and off the ball and really sets the tone for VWC on that side of the ball.  On offense, he is strictly a penatrator and distributor.  He gets the team into the offense very quickly and efficiently.  He gets most of his points either out on the fast-break or driving to the rim in the half-court set.  Terrell Dixon is the shooting guard who is more than capable of knocking down the 3.  Solid defender who is essentially the "role player" out on the court.  The guards coming off the bench are D'Juan Tucker and Stephen Fields.  Tucker is an electrifying point guard who will spell Sumpter at times and play the shooting guard position when he and Sumpter are in the game together.  He is an intense defender and a solid 3 point threat.  Fields is the only freshman who will see any playing time.  He is essentially a hit or miss with respect to being a spark off the bench.  When he comes in and provides a lift, VWC can be incredibly tough to beat, but Fields has a tendency for being invisible on the court.  It's not easy going out there with 4 experienced players who have a national championship in their back pocket, but more times than not he will come in a provide a spark.  Good slasher and an excellent shooter if left open.  The forwards off the bench are Rodney Young and Norman Hassell.  Young simply does it all, he can play 4 different position on the floor (everything except point) and best of all, he is a senior and provides veteran leadership.  Great defender who is not much of an offensive threat.  Gets most of his points in transtion, but capable of making the 3 if left open.  Hassell is the other reserve forward who will spell Adair for a few minutes each half.  Good shooter for a big man and is usually fairly productive in the few minutes he sees on the court.

There is no reason that they should not win another championship.  If they lose, it will be because they beat themselves.  The keys to beating VWC are: 1)Attack inside - you need to try and get Fantin or Adair in foul trouble. 2) When you double Adair, do so with whoever is guarding Sumpter.  He is not a shooting threat and it will ultimately give your defense time to scramble and recover. 3) Try and force Adair to go right.  He is left-hended and loves to spin left, but do not get the impression that he is one dimensional because he is anything but.  4) Pray.  You need to hope that Balenga and the other perimeter players have a bad day from the field.  Adair & Fantin are good for 30pts and 15 boards every night and that won't be stopped.  Averett had their chance, but they let it slip away and that could spell National Championship #2 for VWC in back to back years.

[diehardfan]

Alright guys, I've updated the website and the PDF to include the information from Widener and Virginia Wesleyan. While I doubt that we'll ever get any posters to submit information for the 11 teams that did not submit previews, it does include previews from 48 of the 59 teams in the tournament, and all of the teams in the Sweet Sixteen. Check it out!

http://wheatonhoops.googlepages.com/ncaatourney

Enjoy!

[Ralph Turner]

Alright guys, I've updated the website and the PDF to include the information from Widener and Virginia Wesleyan. While I doubt that we'll ever get any posters to submit information for the 11 teams that did not submit previews, it does include previews from 48 of the 59 teams in the tournament, and all of the teams in the Sweet Sixteen. Check it out!

http://wheatonhoops.googlepages.com/ncaatourney

Enjoy!

dhf, I volunteer!

Please assign me a team to submit!

Thanks

[diehardfan]

I would suggest that you do one of the schools it would be impossible to get otherwise, like Lake Erie or Transy, as both have basically no posters.... and the one Transy lurker/occasional poster actually told me no! 

[David Collinge]

I would suggest that you do one of the schools it would be impossible to get otherwise, like Lake Erie or Transy, as both have basically no posters.... and the one Transy lurker/occasional poster actually told me no! 

What's the list of the missing?  I've actually seen both Transylvania and Lake Erie (once each), so those might be the top of my list if I decided to contribute.

[diehardfan]

LOL! Okay, never mind Ralph!

Here's the current list... it's actually on this page (page 7)

The following teams can still submit information for me to add!!!
   
   Augustana      out, no info yet 
   Averett       out, no info yet 
   Aurora       out, no info yet 
   Centre       more info desired!
   DePauw      out, no info yet 
   King's       out, no info yet 
   Lake Erie         out, no info yet 
   Loras       out, no info yet
   Transylvania       out, no info yet         
   Villa Julie      out, no info yet             
   Westminster (Pa.)      out, no info yet

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

For Aurora, can't you just type "Larry Welton" and be 85% covered?

[David Collinge]

Quick and dirty method: here's what Wooster's outstanding SID Hugh Howard published as tournament capsules for Transy and Centre, to which I have added some additional information:

Transylvania University Pioneers (19-8 entering tournament, 10-6 HCAC)

Location: Lexington, KY
Enrollment: 1100
How they qualified:  Pool A, winning the HCAC tournament as the #2 seed.
Key wins: Maryville (TN), at Franklin (HCAC champs), Defiance (HCAC tourney title game)
Key losses: at Wittenberg, at Centre, Franklin

Sixth-year mentor Brian Lane has directed Transylvania into the NCAA Tournament again, despite losing seven seniors from last season's "Elite Eight" squad.  Although the personnel may be different, the Pioneers possess a similar stylle, primarily the ability to get hot from 3-point range.  As a team, Transylvania is 20th in the country in 3-pointers made (9.3 per game) and 16th in percentage (.400).  The 1-2 punch of senior forwards Nick Feagan and Joey Searle lead the way, as they were both first-team all-HCAC selections.  Feagan is pumping in 16.1 points a game, to go along with additional team-highs in rebounding (5.1 rpg) and blocks (1.0 bpg), while Searle averages 14.8 points.  Feagan and Searle are the Pioneers' top 3-point threats, having made 50-of-116 (.431) and 48-of-96 (.500), respectively, but four of their teammates have also connected on 20-plus throughout the 2006-07 campaign.

Transylvania is in its second-straight Div. III tourney since going to four in a row from 1975-78.  The Pioneers, who later joined the NAIA but are now back with the NCAA, own a 7-5 record [ed.; now 7-6] in tournament play, advancing as far as the quarterfinals just last year when they knocked off Bethany College 75-56, Wooster 91-88, and Mississippi College 76-64 before losing to Wittenberg 74-61.

Starters:
F Joey Searle (6'6"/185, sr.)--14.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.6 apg; First-team all-HCAC
F Nick Feagan (6'7"/185, sr.)--16.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.2 apg; First-team all-HCAC and HCAC Tournament MVP
G Stephen Gabbard (6'4"/205, jr.)--2.6 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.2 apg
G Nick Music (6'1"/185, so.)--1.3 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 1.1 apg
G Gary Mouser (6'2"/170, sr.)--6.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.4 apg

Key reserves:
G/F Joey Verax (6'5"/195, so.)--10.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.0 apg; Honorable Mention all-HCAC
F Blake McCowan (6'5"/230, fr.)--2.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.5 apg
G Aaron Cash (5'11"/180, so)--9.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.3 apg; Honorable Mention all-HCAC
G Matthey Parton (5'10"/155, fr.)--3.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.3 apg
G Tim Tierney (5'11"/160, fr.)--8.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.6 apg

Centre College Colonels (23-4 entering tournament, 12-2 SCAC)

Location: Danville, KY
Enrollment: 1130
How they qualified: Pool A, SCAC co-champions and tournament champions
Key wins: Transylvania, DePauw, Trinity (TX) (SCAC tourney title game)
Key losses: at Maryville (TN), at DePauw, at Millsaps--their only loss after Dec. 2

Centre's success, which was recognized this week as it came in at No. 23 in the NCAA Div. III poll (D3hoops.com), has been the direct result of defense.  In fact, head coach Greg Mason has the Colonels rated third in Div. III in scoring defense (57.5 ppg) as well as eighth in defensive field-goal percentage (.381).  One key player to those statistics, which also includes limiting opponents to a .291 3-point percentage, is senior center John Patterson, who has utilized his 6'9", 240 pound frame to average 2.2 blocks per game en route to SCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.  The overall Player of the Year also hails from Centre in junior guard Matt Nestheide, who runs an offense that puts up 71.3 points on the scoreboard on average.  Nestheide's typical stat line includes 15.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals, and he's almost automatic from the free throw line (.836).  Another player to watch is senior forward Matt Jacobson, who contributes 13.5 points and is the Colonels' second-best 3-point threat (.335; 43-of-121), only behind Nestheide (.459; 61-of-133).

The Colonels enter tournament play on a 9-game win streak and have won 19 of 20 games since starting the season 4-3.  Centre is a member of the NCAA field for the first time in several seasons, as the Colonels were last in it in 1992.  This will be Centre's 10th overall appearance, highlighted by fourth-place finishes in 1979 and 1989.  In 1992, the Colonels dropped a double-overtime affair to Hampden-Sydney College (88-83) in the second round. 

Starters:
C John Patterson (6'9"/240, sr.)--8.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 0.6 apg; SCAC Defensive Player of the Year
F Matt Jacobson (6'4"/215, sr.)--13.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.7 apg; Second team all-SCAC
G Matt Nestheide (6'0"/170, jr.)--15.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.3 apg; SCAC Player of the Year
G T.C. Thomason (6'2"/185/so.)--8.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 apg; Honorable mention all-SCAC
G Thomas Britt (5'11"/175, jr.)--5.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.9 apg

Key reserves:
F Danny Noll (6'5"/195, fr.)--6.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.0 apg; SCAC Newcomer of the Year
F Beau Braden (6'1"/175, so.)--3.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.9 apg
G Ryan Crowdis (6'1"/170, so.)--4.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.1 apg

[Ralph Turner]

Quick and dirty from the Averett site.


Averett (20-6) earned the automatic bid by virtue of winning the USA South Conference Tournament and will play Virginia Wesleyan (23-4), who is ranked #2 in the current D3hoops.com and received an at-large bid. The Marlins lost to Hampden-Sydney in the semifinals of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday. AU defeated N.C. Wesleyan in the finals on Saturday 108-105 in double overtime. The Cougars are making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1990, they advanced to the "Sweet 16" that season.

Averett defeated Virginia Wesleyan at the Grant Center by an 81-73 margin on Nov. 27.

Head Coach: Jimmy Allen           
  Assist. Coach: Andrew Gunderson, Sean Murphy, Rich Lyons 
  Student Assist.: Raymond Noel, Luke Hammond 

Leading Scorers:

Name / games played/ FG-FGA-FG%/ 3FG-3FGA-3FG%/ FT-FTA-FT% / Pts / Avg.
BROWN, Damien   27 games / 110 193 .570 / 0 1 .000 / 108 156 .692 / 328 /  12.1
RUMLEY, Jonathan 20 games / 73 148 .493 / 12 26 .462 / 40 55 .727 / 198 / 9.9
MCDANIEL, Cory   22 games / 76 198 .384 / 28 100 .280 / 35 53 .660 / 215 / 9.8
HAGWOOD, Shaun 27 games/ 76 197 .386  / 51 151 .338 / 45 54 .833 / 248 / 9.2
BOOR, Andrew       27 games / 96 192 .500 / 0 4 .000   /   45 68 .662 / 237   / 8.8

[Gregory Sager]

For Aurora, can't you just type "Larry Welton" and be 85% covered?

No. Aurora had three other starters who averaged in double figures, and two other players who averaged 9.6 and 9.5 points, respectively. Plus, Welton wasn't the leading rebounder for the Spartans.

The Spartans weren't even close to being a one-man band.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

For Aurora, can't you just type "Larry Welton" and be 85% covered?

No. Aurora had three other starters who averaged in double figures, and two other players who averaged 9.6 and 9.5 points, respectively. Plus, Welton wasn't the leading rebounder for the Spartans.

The Spartans weren't even close to being a one-man band.

I know.  That's why I picked them to go to the final eight only to see them lose in the first round.  It's just the bitterness coming out.

[David Collinge]

Lake Erie Storm (25-2 entering tournament, 17-1 AMCC)

Location: Painesville, OH
Enrollment: 564
How they qualified: Pool A, AMCC regular season and tournament champion
Key wins: at Rochester, Penn St.-Behrend (2x, including AMCC tourney final)
Losses: at Findlay (Div. II), Penn St.-Behrend (in OT)

In just their 13th year of existence, the Lake Erie College Storm came very close to a perfect D3 season, losing only their last regular-season game to AMCC runner-up Penn St.-Behrend, and that in overtime.  The Storm, coming off a 21-7 season which included their first-ever conference championship and trip to the NCAA tournament, opened the season by defeating Geneseo St. and the University of Rochester to win the U of R's Resler Tournament.  After losing at D2 Findlay University (which finished the regular season with a 28-1 record and #3 national ranking), the Storm swept through the AMCC like, well, like a Storm, winning both the regular-season and tournament titles while compiling the best record in Div. 3 (tied with 4 other teams.) 

Lake Erie is a strong team at both ends of the floor, recording national top-50 performances in both field goal percentage offense (47.8%) and defense (41.1%).  The Storm average 81.2 points per game (29th nationally) and outscore their opponents by 12.9 points per game (13th in D3.)  Their aggressive defense led to 11.9 steals (10th in the nation) and 3.8 blocked shots (45th) per game.  Lake Erie has five players who average over 10 points per game, led by first-team All-AMCC forward Derrick Thornton's 16.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.  Thornton is complimented by point guard Robert Williams, the team leader in assists (5.2 per game, #39 nationally) and also a first-team All-AMCC performer.  Lake Erie is a shallow lake but a fairly deep basketball team, with ten players averaging double-figure minutes over 20+ games.  The Storm is coached by Cliff Hunt, a 1969 graduate of Hiram College who spent 24 highly successful years as a high school coach before taking over the Lake Erie program prior to the 2005-06 season.  All he's done in Painesville is lead the Storm to the two most successful seasons in program history, compiling an outstanding record of 46-9 (.836) as a D3 head coach.

Regular starters:
G Robert Williams (6'0"/150, sr.)—11.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.2 apg; first-team all-AMCC
G Howard Washington (6'0"/165, sr.)—11.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 steals/game; honorable mention all-AMCC
G/F Derrick Thornton (6'4"/195, so.)—16.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 59.3% FG; first-team all-AMCC
F Darnell Campbell (6'6"/190, so.)—13.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg; second-team all AMCC
C Jajcen Harris (6'6"/230, sr.)—10.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.9 blocks/game; was a first team all-conference player as a sophomore

Key reserves:
G John Dickinson (6'1"/175, so.)—6.9 ppg, 1.9 apg, 17.3 minutes/game
G J.D. Johnson (6'2"/170, sr.)—2.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 15.0 minutes/game
C Mark Skopal (6'6"/225, jr.)—3.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 14.2 minutes/game
F Dan Purcell (6'4"/210, sr.)—3.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 12.7 minutes/game
F Matt Moore (6'5"/185, so.)—2.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 10.3 minutes/game