Friday, February 29, 2008
Game notes vs. Cincinnati
The Friars released the game notes for the game against the Bearcats on Sunday. This will PC's final road game for the season.
Kevin McNamara previews PC at Cincinnati
Kevin McNamara previews the Friars' Sunday game at Cincinnati.
DePaul fans set new low
Dave Hickman thinks Demon fans are the new standard of obnoxious fans.
Not that it really mattered, of course, because there weren't really that many there to see the Blue Demons lose 83-75 Wednesday night to West Virginia at Allstate Arena (For those with naming-rights hangover, the building used to be the Rosemont Horizon).
Perhaps it was simply a matter of my own perspective as the only buffer between the student section on the baseline and the end of the WVU bench. But I can't ever recall a group more focused on screaming obnoxious and vulgar comments to an opponent at the expense of supporting their own team.It might have been different had they come up with even one ounce of new material. Sadly, they did not.
First USF basketball coach dies
Don Williams, the first ever Bulls' men's basketball coach, died Thursday morning.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Team of the day: Rhode Island
This is from Collegehoops.net:
I know that most readers would like the "Team of the Day" to focus on the positive, and teams like Houston, UAB and Kentucky did get important wins last night. However, when's the last time you've seen a team at this juncture of the season go from relatively safe to just about no hope of getting into the NCAA Tournament in the span of two weeks? That's what Rhody may have sealed last night in their 85-68 loss at George Washington, following three straight home losses (Xavier, UMass and St. Joseph's) that would have bolstered their resume.
Shot selection
Ken Pomeroy helps fans understand what a quality shot really is, and it looks like the Friars aren't taking many of those shots.
In the meantime, I hope you now have a better idea of what quality shots really are. Most good teams are spending their allotted 35 seconds with the ball trying to get short threes or shots around the rim, and opposing defenses are trying to force shots in other locations. What I've learned is that the mid-range jumper is almost dead, but not totally. It has been kept on life support by quality defenses that force their opponents to take low-value shots. Teams that choose to take a lot of mid-range shots better be good offensive rebounders, because they are destined to rack up a low shooting percentage. The most successful teams are in the nation are maximizing the value on their shot attempts and minimizing that of their opponents.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Coaches hot seat
Tim Welsh is ranked number 11 on the Coaches Hot Seat ranking. Norm Roberts (4) of St. John's and Mick Cronin (7) of Cincinnati are other Big East coaches on the hot seat. Fred Hill (23) of Rutgers is on the edge of the hot seat. The only problem I have: does Cronin really deserve to be on the hot seat right now?
(Hat tip: Three Idiots on Sports)
(Hat tip: Three Idiots on Sports)
Huggins still hasn't signed deal
With Bob Huggins yet to sign his contract, are Mountaineer fans worried?
Pitt tries to make a point of improving its defense
The key word is "tries." PC "tried" to improve their defense. Let's see if the Panthers can improve their defense.
Irish can sniff Big East title
A case for Notre Dame winning it all at Madison Square Garden this March.
ESPN's list overvalues ACC
The Louisville Courier-Journal's Rick Bozich believes that ESPN is biased towards the ACC with ESPN's list of 25 greatest college basketball players of all time.
Who's picking this team, the ACC commissioner? Did they conduct the poll at happy hour at some dive on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill?
Or was it a conference call with Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Terry Holland, Lefty Driesell and the network's ACC-intensive list of analysts?
Offensive game needs work
The Bearcats' progress hasn't included scoring. The Friars' progress hasn't included defending, so we'll see what happens.
URI may be copying a bad page from PC's history book
Jim Donaldson thinks coach Baron and the Rams are looking like the 2004 Friars, and it's not good.
Which leads one to wonder if that woeful week will be for Baron what the end of the 2004 season was for Welsh.
The Friars were flying high at the end of February in '04, with a record of 20-5, including a dazzling 11-2 conference mark. On March 2, they played Pittsburgh in Providence for sole possession of first place in the Big East and were blown out, 88-61. Then Boston College came in and won, 63-54, after which the Friars lost their first game in the Big East Tournament, 69-66, to Villanova and, as a fifth seed, lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to 12th-seeded Pacific, 66-58.
Loss to Marquette brings Villanova back to reality
After some success sitting in the bottom four of the Big East, the Wildcats snap back to reality.
Road arenas are houses of horror for these Friars
If you haven't noticed, PC isn't too good on the road.
Winning on the road in college basketball is never easy, but over the last few seasons Tim Welsh’s Friars have met with horrific results when they leave the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The latest downer was an 80-53 loss at West Virginia on Saturday that dropped the Friars to 1-8 on the road this season. PC’s only win came against one of the hottest teams in the country, Connecticut, on Jan. 17.
Monday, February 25, 2008
UC offense fails to improve
"Offensively, though the Bearcats haven’t improved much, if at all, during the past year." Maybe this will mean a win for PC this Sunday.
Rhode Island's stock is dropping
What is wrong with the Rams? Jimmy Baron isn't scoring, and their defense is getting bad.
Mountaineers want no part of NIT
While some Big East Teams will now accept nothing less than a NCAA tournament and scoff at the NIT, some conference teams are just trying to make the Big East tournament.
Where Ruoff and Alexander are now is not at all like where they were then. With five games remaining after Saturday's 80-57 victory against Providence, the Mountaineers are again close to the NCAA Tournament. After missing last season, they want no part of another trip to the NIT.
ND Final Four team may get company
Some people think this year's Irish team may get to the Final Four, and join the only other Irish team to do it, the 1977-78 team.
He returns to UConn practices
I guess UConn's Jerome Dyson returned to practice yesterday, or Jim Calhoun received a new guard.
Fresh off a month long suspension, forward Jerome Dyson was reinstated to the UConn basketball team and practiced with them. Well, technically it is only assumed that it is Dyson. Coach Jim Calhoun only referred to a a "new player" being at practice and in his remarks never named Dyson by name.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
It's finally over
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: no matter how bad you think your team is, there's always somebody that makes you say, "At least we're not that team." New Jersey Institute of Technology is that team; they finished the season in division one basketball without winning a game.
Sunday morning Friar links
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Pressure's back on WVU vs. Providence
Here's an article explaining that the Mountaineers will defeat the Friars because WVU plays great under pressure, and right now their under pressure with PC coming in tonight.
Pitt hopes to "salvage" season
The Panthers think they need to rebound against Louisville on Sunday in hopes of going to the NCAA tournament.
Slumping Pitt's objective against first-place Louisville on Sunday is about as clear as, say, a bubble."We've got to get a win," senior guard Keith Benjamin said, "and salvage this season."
The seventh-place Panthers (19-7, 7-6 Big East) can, at the very least, end a two-game losing streak when they play host to No. 18 Louisville at noon Sunday at Petersen Events Center.
The game has taken on added urgency, as Pitt tries to rebound from its worst two-game stretch in eight years and improve its once-certain hopes for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
As long as they get to the Big East tournament, the season is "salvageable." And they will get there. If they want to talk "salvaging" a season, tell them to look in Rhode Island.
Buyout for Sampson
Indiana's Kelvin Sampson agreed to a buyout and left the Hoosiers, but will the players boycott their next game?
Who knows, maybe Sampson should be PC's next coach.
Indiana parted ways Friday with Sampson, who stands accused of his second set of recruiting improprieties in three years. He agreed to a $750,000 buyout, with the separation agreement heading off the potential for an appeal process by Sampson and strengthening Indiana's position in terms of potential NCAA penalties for Sampson's alleged violations, which center around impermissible phone calls to recruits.
Asked about rumors that some players had threatened not to play if Sampson was not their coach, White told Indianapolis television station WTHR, ''I will not say it's not true.''
Who knows, maybe Sampson should be PC's next coach.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Big East breakdown
Brendon Desrochers has eight Big East teams in the NCAA tournament.
Connecticut (No. 3 seed, South): The Huskies yet again won twice in the last seven days, but the gleam was gone in narrow victories over also-rans USF and DePaul. No team is going to be as proficient as UConn had been forever, but the schedule now stiffens, beginning with a trip to Villanova. UConn dropped one spot behind Xavier, but that was enough to move the Huskies down to the top No. 3 seed.
Louisville (No. 3 seed, Midwest): The Cardinals are probably playing the best basketball in the Big East, and they've now jumped up to a No. 3 seed. Early-season losses to Cincinnati and Seton Hall seem like distant memories as this team is taking the form -- especially on defense -- of the Final Four team I picked it to be in November. A No. 2 seed is probably the ceiling for this team, and the competition for those will be stiff, but few teams in American look better than the Cardinals right now.Georgetown (No. 3 seed, West): The Hoyas got bitten again this week, this time at rival Syracuse. Georgetown's offense has sputtered for weeks, and there are no signs of improvement. If Georgetown loses another game or two in conference and doesn't win the Big East Tournament, it could be looking at a No. 4 or No. 5 seed. Someone will need to step up on offense to prevent that from happening.
Notre Dame (No. 4 seed, South): The Irish were clinical in dismantling Pittsburgh on Thursday night. The defense held down a frustrated Panthers team, and the NDU offense continues to be as diverse and explosive as any in the conference. NDU now sits at a No. 4 seed. Somewhere in the 4-6 range makes sense for a team of this quality.
Marquette (No. 5 seed, West): We thought that Tom Crean and the Golden Eagles would turn things around, and they have -- starting on the defensive end. Dominic James and Jerel McNeal have led the way there, as MU has now won four straight including a demolition of Pittsburgh last Friday. Marquette has a difficult schedule ahead, one that features trips to Syracuse and Villanova and a home date with Georgetown -- opportunities to impress but also to watch that record worsen.
Pittsburgh (No. 8 seed, East): The Panthers are falling fast, unable to stop a slide in South Bend on Thursday. Despite the return of Levance Fields, Pitt's offense is short on answers, and the defense hasn't been nearly good enough. Now that Fields is playing, the Panthers need to show the committee how good they can be, or they risk a very low seed -- or no seed at all. Red-hot Louisville comes to town next.
Syracuse (No. 11 seed, East): The win against Georgetown resuscitated whatever chances Syracuse had left at the NCAA Tournament. And, with the mediocre play of most bubble teams, that one win has put the Orange in a good position. Still, assuming SU loses at Notre Dame on Sunday, the Cuse will have to win at least two of the last three games -- Pittsburgh, at Seton Hall, Marquette.
West Virginia (No. 12 seed, Midwest -- true seed is No. 11): The loss at Villanova was a damaging one because it was one of the best opportunities West Virginia has left for a quality road win, of which the Mountaineers have none. While they have three road games left, the Mountaineers only have a chance for a showcase result in two weeks at UConn. The positive side of that is that three of the last five are against teams struggling to get in the Big East Tournament -- Providence on Saturday night, DePaul and St. John's. WVU should end up with 21 or so wins and at least 10 in conference, but very few of those victories stand out.
Kevin McNamara on the ProJo College Hoops Blog
Big East Cast
The Friday, February 22, episode of the Big East Cast is now available for downloading.
The A10 implosion
Remember those days, way back in December, when college basketball analysts were all in love with Rhody and the A10? What happened?
Indiana suspends Sampson; players threaten to quit
If Tim Welsh is fired, Friar fans probably won't see Kelvin Sampson roaming the sidelines of the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
Apparently, five Hoosiers threatened to sit out if Sampson didn't finish the season.
And I totally agree with this opinion:
According to Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com, Indiana's going to suspend Kelvin Sampson though the end of the season, and then formally fire him when the season concludes.
Apparently, five Hoosiers threatened to sit out if Sampson didn't finish the season.
According to the sources, after Greenspan informed five selected players -- namely D.J. White, Eric Gordon, Kyle Taber, Lance Stemler and Adam Ahlfeld -- of his decision to replace Sampson he called a meeting with the entire team in an attempt to "prepare" them for Friday's official announcement that Sampson would either be suspended or terminated in time for the Hoosiers' weekend game at Northwestern. But before Greenspan finished his speech, the sources said an unidentified player stood up and insisted "if Sampson ain't coaching, we ain't playing" and that Greenspan responded with what he thought was a rhetorical question.
And I totally agree with this opinion:
I don't know if I believe that particular report, but even if things happened exactly as they were described above, I wouldn't expect any players to make good on that threat. Especially for White and Gordon, they have too much to lose by sitting out the rest of the season because they don't like a coaching change.
Big East's tournament hopes are dwindling
How many Big East teams will make it to the NCAA tournament?
THREE weeks ago when Punxsutawney Phil was about to forecast those six more weeks of winter we're enduring, other prognosticators were figuring the Big East Conference for a record nine bids in the NCAA Tournament.
Not me. I figured eight. Well, it seems perhaps that was too high, too. As the season grinds down (literally in this league), the Big East may be looking at no more than six entrants, seriously.That would be the obvious six -- Georgetown, Louisville, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Marquette and Pitt.
Cincinnati? Too many non-league losses. West Virginia? The Mountaineers haven't won on the road against anybody good. Syracuse? Look at the Orange's brutal remaining schedule.
Coach isn't talking NIT
Most people think Cincinnati will get to the NIT, giving the program a huge achievement; however, head coach Mick Cronin wonders why they can't go to the NCAAs.
Big East race down to four teams
The Republican American takes a look at the Big East.
Who's hot
Connecticut (21-5, 10-3): Six of the Huskies' 10 straight wins have been by five points or fewer. No. 13 UConn will wear its gray uniforms until it loses.
Georgetown (21-4, 11-3): The Hoyas lost as many games in the first two weeks of February as they had all season. No. 12 Georgetown still sits in a first-place tie in the conference and has won eight of its last 10.
Louisville (21-6, 11-3): After Providence outrebounded the No. 18 Cardinals, they grabbed a season-high 53 rebounds to 35 for Syracuse.
Marquette (19-6, 9-5): The No. 25 Golden Eagles earned a marquee tictory uith a 72-54 victory over then-No. 22 Pittsburgh last week. Freshman forward Trevor Mbakwe chose to forgo a redshirt season.
Notre Dame (20-5, 10-3): Entering Thursday night's 82-70 win over Pitt, No. 21 Irish ranked in the nation's top 10 with 19.0 assists per game, an 8.5 rebounding margin and a 40.8 three-point percentage.
Who's lukewarm
Cincinnati (13-12, 8-5): Forward John Williamson, who averages 10.5 points, scored 22 against Rutgers and 25 against St. John's.
Pittsburgh (19-7- 7-6): The Panthers' final six games, including Thursday night's 82-70 loss at Notre Dame, include two ranked teams and three road games.
Syracuse (17-10, 7-7): Three of the last four opponents have been ranked teams, and the Orange won't get much of a break when it plays Saturday at Notre Dame.
Villanova (16-9, 6-7): The Wildcats play host to Connecticut at the Wachovia Center on Saturday, where Villanova is only 1-2 this season.
West Virginia (18-8, 7-6): The Mountaineers lost by 22 tm Villanova after beating the Wildcats three straight.
Who's cold
DePaul (10-15, 5-8): The Blue Demons are tied with Seton Hall for 11th place in the conference. DePaul plays the Pirates at the Prudential Center in a must-win game Saturday.
Providence (13-13, 4-10): The Friars began with postseason hopes but have lost eight of their last nine.
Rutgers (10-17, 2-12): Hamady N'Diaye, a 6-foot-11-inch sophomore, blocks 3.04 shots per game, second in the conference behind UConn'q Hasheem Thabeet. N'Diaye has blocked four or more shots in 13 games this season.
Seton Hall (15-11, 5-8): After a five-game winning streak, the Pirates were on fire. A five-game losing streak has their future in question.
South Florida (11-16, 2-12): The Bulls are at the bottom of the standings but they don't play like it. USF lost one-point games to Connecticut and Cincinnati.
St. John's (10-15, 4-10): Can St. John's be the third team in a week to beat No. 5 Duke? The Red Storm plays at Caleron on Saturday.
Friars' Welsh staying upbeat
For good or bad, Tim Welsh isn't worried about his job status.
Tim Welsh hardly sounded like a man worried about retaining his job when he was asked about it on the Big East conference call Thursday.
Despite a story in Wednesday's Providence Journal naming possible successors to Welsh next season, the Providence coach said he is comfortable on where he stands, particularly with school officials.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Mike Marra commits to Louisville
Mike Marra, the All-State shooter from Smithfield, has verbally committed to play at Louisville.
Marra will sign with the Cardinals this November and enroll in the fall of 2009.
"I feel excellent," Marra said today from his prep school, Northfield Mt. Hermon. "It was a little overwhelming at first but I'm excited it's over and I'm going to Louisville."
Marra ended his recruitment when Cards coach Rick Pitino saw him play Wednesday against Winchendon School. It was the first time Pitino saw Marra play in person.
Marra becomes the second Rhode Island junior to commit to a big-time school. South Kingstown's Erik Murphy picked Florida last month.
More on Marra's pick in Friday's Journal.
Too qiuck to judge
Brendon Desrochers believes Villanova's win last night may lead them to the NCAA tournament.
Villanova wins for the third time in four games
Do you remember when they were in the same boat the Friars were in?
The way Villanova has been playing lately, it's hard to fathom that just two weeks ago there was a question of whether the Wildcats would even make it to New York for the Big East tournament.
Though the regular season still has 21/2 weeks to go, the Wildcats are feeling a lot better about themselves because of a vastly improved defense and contributions from unexpected sources.
Bench helps U of L cope when Padgett is sidelined
I guess the Cards have the luxury of a deep bench when their stars can't get playing time; how nice.
In Big East play, the U of L bench is averaging 24.3 points, or more than a third of the team's total scoring. Opponents have received an average of 12.9 points from their reserves in those games.
Donaldson: If Welsh's days are numbered, then whose number is up?
Jim Donaldson looks at some possible coaches who will hopefully replace Tim Welsh next season.
•JIM O’BRIEN
The former BC coach was fired by Ohio State in 2004 for “loaning” $6,000 to a recruit from Croatia. The Buckeyes received three years’ probation from the NCAA and were forced to take down the banner they’d hung in their arena after reaching the Final Four under O’Brien in 1999. O’Brien sued OSU for wrongful termination and was awarded $2.4 million by an appeals court last year. An attorney for the school said: “Ohio State maintains it acted appropriately in dismissing Coach O’Brien after he committed serious violations in breach of his contract and failed to report those in a timely manner to the university.”
And what would Rev. Brian Shanley, PC’s president, say about that? Perhaps “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
In addition to his coaching record to recommend him, O’Brien has this from Dick Vitale, written several years ago for ESPN.com: “If I were an athletic director looking for a quality leader on the sidelines, one guy I would consider is former Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien. I know he made a big mistake that got the university in trouble. What he did was wrong, even though he used his heart to help a player, instead of using his head. But if you look at his overall resumé and his lifetime track record, you’ll understand that he is a special guy.”
•BOB KNIGHT
It’s bad enough that there are yahoos in Indiana who would love to bring the volcanic Knight back as coach of the Hoosiers. Any Friars fan who suggests Knight should come to Providence should have a chair thrown at him, and then have his neck throttled.
•MIKE MONTGOMERY
The 61-year-old Montgomery led Stanford to 10 straight NCAA tourney appearances from 1995 through 2004, including a trip to the Final Four in 1998, when the Cardinals rallied to slip past upset-minded URI in the Regional Championship game in St. Louis. In 26 seasons as a head coach — eight at Montana, followed by 18 at Stanford — Montgomery had 25 winning seasons. He won four Pacific-10 titles at Stanford before leaving to become coach of the Golden State Warriors, who fired him two years ago after back-to-back losing seasons. He’s at least proven he can beat Rhody, which the Friars have done just twice in the last six years.
•JIM LARRANAGA
He’s both an “old” guy (58) and a PC guy (class of ’71). He was captain of the Friars as a senior, after leading the team in scoring as a sophomore and junior. Now in his 11th year at George Mason, after 11 seasons at Bowling Green, Larranaga earned national recognition when he took the Patriots to the Final Four in 2006, upsetting 10th-ranked North Carolina and second-ranked UConn along the way.
•TIM O’SHEA
After playing a key role as an assistant in Al Skinner’s success at URI and BC, O’Shea became head coach at Ohio U. in 2001. He led the Bobcats to the conference tourney title in 2005 and a near-upset of Florida in the NCAA Tournament. His ability to find overlooked players who develop into stars — Cuttino Mobley, Tyson Wheeler, Craig Smith — is a huge plus at a place like PC, which struggles to recruit top-tier talent.
•PHIL MARTELLI
How much fun would he be in Providence? Can’t you see him and Buddy Cianci holding court on The Hill after a PC win at The Dunk? Unfortunately, he’s under contract to St. Joseph’s through 2012 after taking the Hawks to the top of the national polls in 2004, when they finished 30-2.
•LARRY SHYATT
Was Rick Barnes’ assistant at PC and Clemson, where he was head coach for five seasons (1998-2003). He’s now the top assistant to Billy Donovan at two-time, defending national champion Florida. Given that resumé, recruiting shouldn’t be a problem.
•ANTHONY GRANT
Speaking of Donovan’s assistants, this guy started with Billy The Kid at Marshall, then accompanied him to Florida, where his reputation as a coach and a recruiter landed him the head coaching job at Virginia Commonwealth two years ago. He was 28-7 last year in his first season and led the Rams to a first-round upset of Duke in the NCAA Tournament. VCU is leading the Colonial Athletic Association again this year. It would be a major coup if PC could land Grant, who’ll be at the top of lists for more attractive jobs.
•OTHER OPTIONS?
And how about Brown coach Craig Robinson? He just beat Penn and Princeton on the road in the same weekend, and his brother-in-law could be the next president of the United States. Think that could open a few recruiting doors?
As for TV guys, Steve Lavin and Fran Fraschilla are available. Lavin took UCLA to the Sweet 16 in his first six seasons in Westwood, then was fired in 2003, after the Bruins stumbled to a 10-19 mark, their worst record in more than 40 years. Fraschilla was an assistant at both URI and PC before becoming a head coach at Manhattan, St. John’s and New Mexico. He’s been at ESPN since 2002.
Let’s finish — for now, anyway — with another ESPN analyst, Jeff Van Gundy. A former PC assistant who was a graduate assistant under Rick Pitino in the Final Four season of ’87, he was an NBA coach for more than 10 seasons (six-plus with the Knicks, four with Houston) before being fired by the Rockets last year.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Tuesday morning Friar links
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Zone has been good to Cards
Russ Brown praises Louisville's 2-3 zone defense; the one that is ranked seventh nationally in field goal percentage defense (.376) among Division I teams and 16th in scoring defense (59.9).
Pitt's Fields ready to return
If you're following the Panthers, Levance Fields expects to play limited time on Friday at Marquette.
Pitino previews Louisville at Providence
Louisville men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino and senior center David Padgett met with members of the media Thursday at the Yum! Center to preview Saturday's BIG EAST road game at Providence.
Game notes vs. Louisville
The Friars released the game notes for Saturday's home game with the Cardinals. The last victory for PC over the Cardinals was on November 30, 1977, right here in Providence, RI, when I was all of seven months old.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
WVU offense slowing down
According to Bob Huggins, "We're supposed to be a good shooting team. That's what they told me."