In A10 transition, Davidson can learn from Mason, VCU

Alan Kelly is a proud alumnus of George Mason University, and writes about Patriots basketball for MasonHoops.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @MasonFanatic.

As the Davidson Wildcats navigate their rookie season as member of the Atlantic 10, they can look to recent additions George Mason and VCU for expectations, both positive and negative.

A season ago, as George Mason played the role of A10 newcomer, one refrain that was cited numerous times by head coach Paul Hewitt and some of his players was the increased intensity needed to win night in and night out. The Patriots came into a deeper league than the one the Wildcats find themselves in this year, but the same lesson still applies: There are no easy games, and you can’t afford to have an off night, especially on the road.

Likewise, travel in the league can be a grind, with a larger footprint than the CAA, and a much larger footprint than the Southern Conference. The team could get from Davidson, NC to almost anywhere in the SoCon by bus within a reasonable amount of time, but now some charter plane flights are inevitable, and adding more will be desirable.

George Mason athletic director Brad Edwards recently indicated to the Washington Post that the program is seeking to increase funding to add additional charter flights. No example of this need may be more striking that the five-plus hour bus trip the Patriots took midweek to play at Duquesne in Pittsburgh last month. Mason ended up shooting under 15% in the first half and under 25% for the game in a nearly unwatchable defeat.

The two recent losses suffered by the Wildcats, on the road at St. Joseph’s and at home to St. Bonaventure, should not be a surprise, and they probably won’t be the last head-scratchers suffered by what is a young roster aside from senior Tyler Kalinowski.

In order to navigate these pitfalls, one of the best assets is senior leadership. In 2012-13, VCU had an excellent pair of senior guards in Darius Theus and Troy Daniels. The following season, George Mason timed its 2013-14 move to the Atlantic 10 to coincide with a senior class that included Bryon Allen and Sherrod Wright, who combined to average over 30 points per game. One hesitates to ask how rough matters might have been for the 11-win Patriots without those two leaders.

Second, but not less important, coaching matters, and the Wildcats lack nothing in that department. While coaching is not the only difference between the two programs, it’s no accident that VCU and Shaka Smart made a smoother transition to a higher level of basketball than George Mason and Paul Hewitt did. Bob McKillop has a fantastic track record, and while no one should expect Davidson to become VCU overnight, he knows how to win.

Short term, win or lose, there are at least three facets of a program that see immediate impacts from a significant upgrade in conference alignment: attendance, scheduling, and recruiting.

Attendance can be a double-edged sword. A better league draws better home opponents, which yields more interest for casual fans, but a tougher schedule also makes it harder to maintain homecourt dominance. For George Mason, in the run up to the move to the Atlantic 10, there was a lot of excitement among fans about the better quality of opponents who would be visiting the Patriot Center, and a corresponding spike of nearly 8% in attendance last season. However, once the reality of losing set in, home attendance in 2014-15 is down over 15%.

In Richmond, VCU had already established a culture where sellouts were the norm, and because they were able to sustain their success, demand for tickets only increased. This led to the construction of the Tommy J. West Club Level, which added luxury suites and 120 premium balcony seats to the Siegel Center. Increased fan interest is an opportunity to be seized, but it’s not guaranteed.

A tougher league gets you more chances to build a resume with league wins, so out of conference scheduling is not the imperative that it was in the SoCon, but it’s still important for maximizing your chances to impress the selection committee. With a non-league schedule like the one Davidson played this season (ranked 255th), the margin for error becomes slimmer, and that will undoubtedly be something the conference encourages Davidson to improve for future seasons.

VCU and Mason have both excelled at scheduling, giving themselves tough slates that this season are ranked first and 15th in the country, respectively. (Of course, you still have to win your fair share of those games, something Paul Hewitt’s squad has failed to do). Back in the CAA, in Paul Hewitt’s first season in 2011-12, multiple RPI-crushing losses to bad teams in November eventually led to a 24-9 team staying home for the postseason. In a league like the A10, that George Mason team would have gotten a second chance to improve their RPI.

Recruiting is a strange world, and both former CAA powerhouses have a head coach who is viewed as an excellent recruiter, but being in the Atlantic 10 offers a better platform to compete against the top basketball schools in the country. It’s too early to evaluate the impact for George Mason, but as an A10 member, VCU has pulled in arguably their two best recruiting classes in school history in the 2014 and 2015 classes, with both classes ranked 26th in the nation by 247Sports.

Long term, Davidson is favorably positioned for success. While their budget will likely need to increase, and facilities upgrades will be a part of that increase, they can expect higher revenue from television contracts and NCAA tournament shares, and their positioning in the Charlotte media market (ranked 24th largest in the country by Nielsen) puts them ahead of some of their new conference mates, not to mention almost everyone in the SoCon.

Davidson may not have the shiny Final Four banners that recent A10 additions like George Mason, VCU, or even Butler had, but they do have a history of NCAA relevancy and success to fall back upon and to market themselves around. Three Elite Eight appearances (1968, 1969, and 2008) from two different eras is an impressive legacy, and with an increased opportunity to earn at-large NCAA bids, nothing says McKillop can’t repeat the Steph Curry run from ‘08.

Tonight at Belk Arena, the Wildcats will take on George Mason at 7pm. The rematch of January 24’s 80-73 overtime victory over the Patriots in Fairfax will be a good test for Davidson, as it marks just their second rematch with an Atlantic 10 foe. Will familiarity and a quest for revenge favor the Patriots, or will homecourt advantage and additional experience in playing without the injured Jack Gibbs result in a Wildcat triumph?

A Night of Havoc in Brooklyn (Recap of Boston College vs. VCU)

After having watched St John's defeat Seton Hall at Carnesecca Arena in the first Big East Women's Basketball Conference game for both teams,  my friend Tony Terentieff (aka Tieff), my color analyst, aka my older son Matthew and I headed off to Mineola train station to take a train ride to Atlantic Terminal to see the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival Tripleheader at the Barclays Center.

We got there at halftime of the Tulane-Kansas State game, the second game of the holiday hoops trifecta.  After grabbing dinner at the Brooklyn Burger concessions stand, we headed to our seats in Section 20, Row 17.   Shortly after we got there, once again we ran into my good friend, Jaden Daly, who just got there himself after covering the St John's-Seton Hall game as well.  Jaden was kind enough to let me charge my iPhone after I stupidly left my car charger in my car back in Levittown at my in-laws' house. 

Not too long after, John Templon of Big Apple Buckets joined us and we had a reunion of local New York basketball bloggers.  It was a good talk about local metro NYC area basketball, specifically NEC, MAAC and Ivy League basketball as John and Jaden traded their scheduled game coverage for the next few weeks.  I just sat and admired as they talked about the games they were planning to cover, as I miss being able to cover several New York games in a week.  We also talked about how ridiculously good Stony Brook's Jameel Warney is and whether the Ivy can be a two bid conference this season (Harvard and Princeton).  

After Jaden and John said their goodbyes to go cover the remaining twenty minutes of the Tulane game as well as the BC-VCU game,  Matthew, Tieff and I watched the second half of the Green Wave-Wildcats game.  Tulane was playing in its second Winter Hoops Festival in a row, having routed Hofstra last year.  This year, the Green Wave had scored a whopping ten points in the first half.    Tulane scored the first five points of the second half to cut the lead to thirteen, 28-15, as they finally figured out that they should drive the lane against the Wildcats.   

Alas, Kansas State was toying with Tulane, as the Wildcats outscored the Green Wave 44-26 the rest of the second half to win convincingly 72-41.   Shane Southwell, a local kid from Harlem that former K-State coach Frank Martin recruited to Manhattan, Kansas, returned to Brooklyn to lead the Wildcats with 19 points.  Southwell hit five of nine shots from beyond the arc as Kansas State shot twelve of twenty seven from three point land.  The Wildcats also had nineteen assists and thirteen steals.

The lone hightlight for the Green Wave fans in our section was that after much chanting, seldom used, senior guard Max Keenan entered the game late for Tulane.   Most likely, his fans were family and they were excited after Keenan fired an open look three in the last minute of the game.   Much to his fans' dismay, Keenan's shot was slightly off the mark.   Kansas State junior guard Shane Meyer, also seldom used, hit a pretty up and under layup and one, much to the delight of the Wildcats' bench.  Meyer hit the free throw to make the final score margin thirty one points.   It was the most points Meyer had scored in a game in his three year career at Kansas State.

During the break between games,  Tieff, Matthew and I went to get dessert.  There is a Junior's Cheesecake/Blue Marble Custard concession stand at Barclay's.  Tieff wanted the custard, but not having Junior's cheesecake in ages,  I had the Devil's Food Cheesecake.  I think I won out on the dessert match-up.

I didn't see the St John's- Columbia game, but having seen Tulane-Kansas State, it looked like VCU brought the only pep band.  But if you're going to have only one pep band play at the Winter Hoops Festival, you might as well have THE PEP BAND to play at the tripleheader.  Known as "The Peppas", the VCU pep band is simply the best college basketball pep band in the country (with George Mason's pep band a close second).   On the evening, the Peppas started with Toto's "Africa", did an amazing version of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and of course, "You Don't Want to Go To War", along with a lot of other great versions of songs.

The Rams entered the game 10-3 on the season, which certainly is a solid record.  But VCU had entered the season nationally ranked and a lot is expected of the Rams this season.   Much of it is due to their talent and experience, as well as the fact that the Rams have been very successful the past three NCAA Tournaments under Shaka Smart.   Also, the expectations are based on their unique, aggressive press defense, known as "Havoc".  Entering the game, VCU was first in the country in steals, averaging over twelve steals per game.  The Rams also entered the game averaging +7.8 in turnover margin.  The problem for VCU has been taking advantage of that turnover margins, as they are eleventh in the A-10 in shooting percentage at 42.4 percent.

On the other hand, Boston College had entered the game struggling at 4-8.   Steve Donahue, who led Cornell to three straight Ivy League Championships and a Sweet 16 in 2010, is in his fourth season as head coach of the Eagles.  In his first season, Donahue led BC to a second round NIT appearance, but it has been downhill since with a 9-22 record in 2011-12 and 16-17 last season. 

Early on in the game, both teams struggled to score points.  Due to "Havoc", Boston College kept turning the ball over.  However, VCU could not take advantage due to poor shooting and poor shot selection.  At one point, Mike Litos noted that the Rams has forced ten turnovers but only scored five points on those turnovers.  This was due to VCU taking too many three pointers.  The Rams were three of fifteen in the first half from beyond the arc.

The Eagles jumped out to an 8-3 lead early.  After a quick VCU timeout, the Rams responded with a 7-0 spurt to take a 10-8 lead.  BC tied it up at ten on another Ryan Anderson dunk, his third of the game, all of those came about when the Eagles were able to break the press.  After eight and a half minutes, the game was tied at ten.  The bright side was that both teams had already matched Tulane's output for the entire first half of their game.

The rest of the first half would be mini spurts.  VCU would go on a 6-0 mini spurt to take a 16-10 lead. BC responded with a 7-0 run to take a 17-16 advantage.  But the Rams would score the last six points to enter the half up 22-17.

At halftime, I met up with my friend and VCU's most famous fan, Chris "Pav" Crowley.   As I noted to DefiantlyDutch in a tweet, Pav can be seen everywhere with his Ram horns.   Pav got his nickname due to his terrific opera voice and his Pavarotti looks.   It was good catching up with him and we got this picture together.  Pav hilariously noted later in a tweet that the backdrop of our picture was the best photobomb ever.  

Coach Smart must have said something to his team at halftime, because the Rams went inside in the second half.  In the first half, Rams forwards Treveon Graham and Juvante Reddic, the two leading scorers for VCU, combined for only four points.  In the first few minutes of the second half, Graham had two layups and Reddic added another during a 11-4 spurt to put the Rams up 33-21.  

After the BC got within nine points, 35-26,  VCU went on a 14-1 run over the span of three minutes.  Reddic's layup and put the Rams up twenty points.  Then Melvin Johnson forced the Eagles's sixth turnover of the second half and his layup capped the run to put VCU up 49-27 with 10:45 left in the game.  

It was clear before the start of the game that the majority of fans that were left in the building were wearing the gold and black of VCU.   And with the huge run by the Rams, their fans turned the Barclays Center into the Richmond Coliseum during VCU's days in the CAA Tournament.  And things got worse for the few BC fans left in attendance when Graham buried a three pointer to put the Rams up twenty six, 65-39 with four and a half minutes left in the game.  It was clearly evident to me that VCU had the superior talent, athleticism and aggressiveness over an ACC team.  It was only two seasons ago that the Rams were still in the CAA.

All that was left was both teams clearing their benches and an 11-4 Eagles' game ending spurt to make the game ending margin closer than it was for a good part of the second half.   The Peppas played a set to close out the festivities and a VCU 69-50 win.  

Reddic (14 points) and Graham (13 points) combined for 23 second half points.  Rob Brandenburg added 13 points and Melvin Johnson had 12 points for the Rams.  VCU had 11 steals, forced 23 BC turnovers, and held the Eagles to 38 percent shooting, including 3 of 18 from beyond the arc.

Oliver Hanlan led BC and all scorers with 17 points.  Anderson added 13 points for the Eagles.  BC is now headed into ACC play with a 4-9 record.   VCU starts their A-10 season with an 11-3 record.

As Matthew, Tieff and I headed out of the Barclays Center, we were glad in the fact that for the second year in a row, we got to see multiple college basketball games on a cold late December day.  Nothing warms you up during the holiday season like seeing college basketball and reuniting with good friends. 

And considering we saw VCU, there's also nothing like a little Havoc during the holiday season.  

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

After winning a tournament championship, a coach is normally in a good mood, discussing the aspects of the game.  However after defeating Oklahoma to win the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Championship at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Michigan State's Tom Izzo decided to vent about the new NCAA rules in regards to defense.

"Everybody is going to think points are up. They’re up because free shots are free shots!” Izzo said. “What I’m worried about is are we going to teach [players to] just dribble in and get fouled? Is that good basketball? We had a two hour and 32 minute game tonight. Is that going to be good for basketball?”

Izzo went even further about what his new offense will be after his win over the Sooners.

“What are we going to teach? Are we going to teach the kids to just drive in there? I’m going to coach it this week. Just drive in. I’m going to put on football pads again this week. Not to rebound, but offensively. Just go in there, full back dive, three yards and a cloud of dust.” 

It's never good when a basketball coach decides that his offensive philosophy should be something out of a Woody Hayes' playbook (Google "Woody Hayes").  But is Izzo overreacting or is he on point about what the state of college basketball is with the new rules on defense, specifically the end of the hand check and more difficult to pick up a charge?

To further Izzo's point, my friend Dan Crain, author of the terrific new blog "Dragons Speak", went a little further by breaking down the NCAA rules and how it has affected teams' offenses.  In his post "The New NCAA Rules: Why Dribble Drive is Your Friend", Dan specifically points that scoring inside the arc is up ten percent from last season.  As an example, he points out William and Mary as a team that has changed it's offense from a three point driven squad to one of the better two point field goal teams in the country.   I can verify Dan's point, having watched William and Mary use the two point field goal to their advantage on Thanksgiving Eve.

However, I am going to come at this at a different angle than Dan.  I want to come at it from the angle of how it has affected teams' defensively.   Below is a list of fourteen teams with their fouls per game currently from this season and last season, along with their ranks currently from this season and last season (stats are as of 12/2 and are courtesy of Basketball State). Most of the teams listed I know for the most part play pressure or physical defense.

Team	2013-14 FPG	2012-13 FPG	FPG Diff	2013-14 FPG Rank	2012-13 FPG Rank
Niagara	27.9	19.7	+8.1	350	304
Georgetown	24.5	17.3	+7.2	332	151
North Carolina	21.2	14.6	+6.6	248	11
Stony Brook	22.1	15.6	+6.5	282	33
Wagner	25.8	20.5	+5.3	344	331
Marshall	24.6	19.3	+5.3	334	282
Manhattan	26.3	21.1	+5.2	347	340
Drexel	23.7	18.6	+5.1	321	241
Seton Hall	23.8	18.8	+5.0	322	253
Cleveland State	24.6	19.6	+5.0	334	301
Richmond	22.5	19.4	+3.1	295	287
VCU	22.7	19.7	+3.0	302	304
Ohio	22.7	19.7	+3.0	302	304
Michigan State	16.6	16.1	+0.5	28	60

Based on the above, several teams - Georgetown, North Carolina and Stony Brook have been significantly affected by the new rules based on their rankings in fouls per game from this season as compared to last season.  Others have been moderately affected, such as Seton Hall, Drexel and Niagara (who had the biggest jump in fouls on this with +8.1).  Others, such as VCU, Ohio, Richmond and Cleveland State already had a high rate of fouls per game have seen a slight uptick in fouls, though their rankings have remained relatively the same.

Even if you have a slight uptick in the number of fouls, it increases the number of foul shot opportunities. If a team such as Niagara averages 28 fouls per game now as opposed to nearly 20 last season, that averages to 14 per half.  Double bonus starts with the 10th foul, so teams could now be getting possibly at least five double bonus opportunities per half on the Purple Eagles.

Ironically, Michigan State, whose coach has most notably complained the most about the rules, has barely had any change in foul calls.  Perhaps Izzo has already adjusted his team's style of play as opposed to other teams.

But Izzo hasn't been the only head coach to comment about the rules' enforcement.  Manhattan's Steve Masiello commented on enforcement of the new rules after his team lost at Fordham in their annual Battle of the Bronx.

"Tom Izzo said it best. I believe his quote, I don't want to misquote him, but he said after the Barclays Center games that he's going to just tell his players to drive in, create contact, throw the basketball up and worry about foul shooting, because it's taking away defensive advantages for schemes and scouting purposes. I have to learn the rules better and try to do a better job, and I'll do that. If you ask me how I feel, just take Tom Izzo's article, whatever he said, I agree. Steve Masiello agrees with Coach Izzo."

Bashir Mason, "the closest thing you'll find to a wallflower" head coach of Wagner, was so frustrated by the number of fouls called in the Seahawks' loss to UIC (a combined 44 fouls were called in the game, including 5 technical fouls on Wagner), he was ejected during the game after receiving two technical fouls.  Mason commented the following after the game;

"I’ve never been thrown out of a game in my life. Not in high school, not college, not as an assistant and not as head coach...I’d never even had a technical called on me.”

Hmmm. And I saw many of Mason's games vs. Hofstra when he was at Drexel, so I can vouch for him not being the type to get a technical foul.  So if you have several coaches commenting about the enforcement of the rules and one coach so frustrated that he gets the first two technical fouls of his life, there's something wrong.  During last night's Indiana-Syracuse game, commentator and former coach Dan Dakich even noted about how taking away the charge is taking away a defensive style of play.  Dakich finished with "What, you can't even touch someone now?"

Here are some more statistics for you.  Last season, 317 out of 347 Division I NCAA teams averaged less than 20 fouls per game.  This season, only 177 out of 351 Division I NCAA teams are averaging less than 20 fouls per game.  That's a difference of ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY teams.

Think about that for a second.  More fouls means there's more stoppage of play, which means longer games.  I would love to know the average length in time for a basketball game this season as opposed to last.  You would think it has to be longer this season.  Izzo noted that his game vs. Oklahoma took two hours and thirty two minutes.

Three yards and a cloud of dust might be the new offense for college basketball.  A lot of people found that football offense pretty boring during Woody Hayes' time. One has to worry if it will make college basketball pretty boring too.

Quick Observations

Some quick observations from the past few days.

• If you didn't watch the last few minutes of the UConn-Indiana 2K Sports Classic Championship game from last night, get the WatchESPN app and watch the replay.   You had a ludicrous number of lead changes, a late game turnover, an even later in the game offensive foul, a last second out of bounds play and Tom Crean at a "lunatic fringe" moment.  Must see TV and definitely more excitement at MSG than any Knicks game this season.
• Thursday evening, VCU got hammered by Florida State.  I don't know what was the bigger deal, the Rams losing to an athletic Seminoles team or that Dan Dakich actually fanned the flames of a Twitter war by going after "Around the Horns", a Rams blogger, for taking umbrage to Dakich's comment that the Rams were "tired".  If you're on Twitter, track down Dakich's tweets. Dakich, to make matters worse, actually commented on the Twitter war during the ESPN broadcast of VCU's win last night over Long Beach.
• And yes, I watched both the first half and part of the second half of the Thursday night VCU - Florida State game and the second half of the VCU-Long Beach State game last night, where Dakich referred to his Twitter war with the VCU fan base.  First, from what I saw of the Seminoles-Rams game, I don't think VCU was tired.  They forced twenty five turnovers on the Seminoles.  The Rams just couldn't hit the side of a barn on offense, shooting twenty nine percent on twenty one more attempts than the Seminoles.  Second, Dakich should have just let the VCU fans base comments go.  There was no need to bring it up last night.
• Finally, there is no better defensive player in the country and I mean no better defensive player in the country than VCU's Briante Weber.  He is so fun to watch on defense and such quick hands.
• Hopefully UAB learned a valuable lesson about being up three points late in a game.  In their first round Charleston Classic game vs. New Mexico, the Blazers were up three late with the shot clock off in regulation and in the first overtime.  Both times they didn't foul the shooter.  Both times, the Lobos hit a three.  The Lobos won in double overtime.   Moral of the story, late in the game, last possession, up three, shot clock off, when on defense, foul a player before they are in the act of shooting a three.
• North Carolina Central won a huge game at North Carolina State, winning in overtime at Raleigh.  Now living in SEC/ACC country, I watched the second half and the overtime period. The Eagles definitely outplayed the Wolfpack, especially in that overtime period.  But it should have never got to the overtime period.   Up three on defense with three seconds left in the game, two Eagles' defenders inexplicably converged on Wolfpack guard Anthony Barber, who was driving to the basket. Barber, of course, kicked it out to an open Patrick Wallace, who buried a three pointer to tie the game.   The Eagles could have of course fouled Barber, or better yet just let him take the layup.  Thankfully NC Central recovered by scoring the first eleven points in overtime, winning 82-72.  By the way, keep an eye on Eagles guard Jeremy Ingram. Averaging twenty eight points per game on the season and he put twenty nine on the Wolfpack.
• I was following the Seton Hall-Oklahoma game on Twitter last night.  The Pirates squandered a six point lead in the last minute of the game, losing to the Sooners 96-95 in Brooklyn.  All I could think of was whether Reggie Miller had suited up for Oklahoma last night. Yes, fellow Knicks fans, that's two digs in one blog post.
• Zeke Upshaw scored a career high thirty seven points and had nine rebounds for Hofstra in an overtime loss at Richmond.  Upshaw, a graduate student who played his first three seasons at Illinois State, is averaging twenty points per game for the Pride.   Upshaw is averaging twenty eight minutes per game, four times his average in his third year at Illinois State.  His career high in scoring prior to this season was eleven points vs. Creighton.  Upshaw is further proof that if you give a player the right system, he can flourish.

Where We've Been, Where We're Going

On March 4, 2012, I was sitting on press row during the second CAA Tournament Semifinal in Richmond Coliseum. Sitting next to me was my good friend Jerry Beach, aka Defiantly Dutch, who made the trip down with me in a trip that would have made John Candy and Steve Martin proud. Nearby was our friend Tom Block, covering the game for George Mason and directly in front of us was CAA Beat writer Rob Canady and longtime CAA and UNC Wilmington beat writer and friend Brian Mull. Our friend, @VaBeachRep, Joe Suhoski, had been at the tournament on press row the day before.  Somewhere in the stands was our friend Mike Brodsky, who had done the radio broadcast for the Northeastern game the night before, along with Matt Cerilli and Alan Wilson, two George Mason friends I had got to know via their love-hate relationship with Beach.

I think all of us were amazed at the start of the VCU - George Mason game, which was the fifty sixth Division I basketball game I had covered live that season.  The Rams had jumped out to a 32-4 lead.  The sold out, mostly partisan Rams crowd was likely setting record decibel levels of sound in the creaky, leaky, often cold arena.  The Patriots would roar back though, cutting a once twenty eight point lead down to six with three minutes left in the game.  However VCU would hold on for a 74-64 win.

I truly had enjoyed soaking in the raucousness of the crowd that day.  Drexel had won the earlier semifinal against Old Dominion, the alma mater of Joe Suhoski, who covers CAA football and is also a friend of Beach and mine.  A season after three CAA teams making the NCAA Tournament and another CAA Semifinal Tournament team, Hofstra, had one of their players taken in the NBA Draft (Charles Jenkins), it looked like there would be again multiple #CAAHoops teams in the NCAA Tournament.  Things couldn't have been brighter for the CAA.

Little did I know that things would never be the same in the CAA again.

I drove my "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" partner in crime back to New York after the VCU-Mason post game press conference (Picture is from Hofstra-Delaware game in 2011. Notice how Hofstra is spelled on the ticket), once again having not been able to stay for the CAA Championship game. It's become sort of a twisted tradition.  When I attend the CAA Tournament, I never can stay for the championship game, basically due to work.  When my alma mater Hofstra made it in 2006, my dear friend Tony Terentieff had to be back for work and he drove my friend Mal and me down for the tournament.

In this case, I wanted to stay again, but this time, I had to go to Colorado.  I was a finalist for a position at the University of Colorado.  There was a fifty-fifty chance that I would get the position and that things for me would never be the same.

Drexel, who had lost to VCU in the finals of the CAA Tournament, was snubbed out of an at large bid for the NCAA Tournament.  Instead, Iona, a team I heavily covered during 2012 for both my site and the Mid Majority, made the tournament.  The Gaels went down in the first round of the tournament in spectacular fashion, blowing a twenty point lead vs. BYU.

Where this involves me is that Drexel was now playing in the NIT and was playing home games in Philly.  Thus a road trip to the land of cheesesteaks!  The Dragons had made it to the NIT Quarterfinals and were hosting the Minutemen of UMass.

It was a disappointing night all around.  Drexel blew a fourteen point second half lead and lost to UMass. During the game I had found out via email that night that I didn't get the position at the University of Colorado.  I took it in stride, figuring perhaps that staying in New York, working for Hofstra and covering college basketball was my place in life.

Suddenly the dominoes started falling.   First, the Atlantic-10 offered VCU a spot in their conference.  The Rams, understanding that the A-10 gave them a better media presence, more competition and a better chance for future at large bids, left all their two years of NCAA Tournament CAA money and joined the A-10.   Old Dominion and Georgia State announced they were jumping to Conference USA and the Sun Belt, basically for football conference dollars.   A year later, George Mason decided to reunite with VCU in the A-10.

The three teams that had been the face of #CAAHoops - VCU, ODU and George Mason were gone in the span of a little more than a year. What was once a Virginia based conference, has become more of a North-South mix with only two Virginia teams left (James Madison and William and Mary).

The CAA will never be the same.

Then, just when I thought I was going to be a lifelong New Yorker, an opportunity arose at the University of South Carolina School of Law.  This time, fate shined on me.  I was offered the position and in August of last year, I moved everything I could into a 2001 two door Honda Accord and made the trip down to Columbia, South Carolina.  Six months later, our house in New York finally sold and my family made the trip down with me.  The job has been absolutely great and my family is very happy in its new house.

My coverage of the 2012-13 college basketball season had started off pretty well.  I knew that I could not repeat the feat of covering fifty nine Division I men's games, at least fifteen Division I women's games and a couple of Division III games.  But there was plenty of college basketball around me in South Carolina and North Carolina.  I had season tickets to USC.  Wofford, Davidson, Charlotte, Winthrop, Presbyterian and USC Upstate were all relatively nearby me, plus I used my Christmas Break trip to New York wisely and covered a lot of games while I was up there.

Then February in South Carolina hit.   Let me explain.

Baseball season starts in February.  Not just college baseball season, as most informed, college sports fans know, but also Little League Baseball season.  Yes, baseball season for little kids starts at that time.  And we're not talking late February, we're talking February 2.  Yup.   In fact, my family was still not with me at that time.  I was an assistant coach for my older son's coach pitch team in February and there were two practices that I helped run where he was not at since the house in New York didn't close until February.

So when college basketball season was at its height the first weekend of March with the CAA Tournament, we were having opening day for our league that Saturday.  And I wasn't involved with just one team, I was also the head coach for my younger son's tee ball team.  Very quickly, I was spending at least four, five and even six days a week at Trenholm Park in Forest Acres, home to the Trenholm Little League.

And I was loving every minute of that.  As much as I love college basketball, baseball is my other love.  And I wouldn't have moved to South Carolina if my older son, Matthew, didn't sign off on it.  And one of the reasons he was willing to move down here was that, in his own words, he "could play baseball ten months of the year."

When Matthew was two and a half years old and already was fond of watching baseball live, he asked me if I could pitch to him.  So at two and a half, I started pitching to him.  And I found out very quickly, he could hit a ball.  Hit a ball real well.  So well that my family would come over to see him hit.  Then quickly, he wanted to play catch and learn how to field.  By the time Matthew was five, I could have a regular catch with him and I don't mean soft toss either.  I was fortunate to be able to coach him and his friends for two years in North Bellmore before I moved down to South Carolina.  It was a dream come true.

When I was a kid, I loved baseball just as much as Matthew.  However, my parents were separated and later divorced by the time I was thirteen.  My brother had been in the Air Force from the time I was eight until I was twelve.  The key time frame for when a kid who loves baseball plays Little League.  Yet there was no one around to help me cultivate my love of baseball.  My parents never signed me up for baseball, never asked me to play baseball.

My brother got out of the Air Force in 1978.   It was then, through his high school friends and him, that I started learning about baseball through their various slow pitch softball teams.  I sort of became the team mascot/scorekeeper/bat boy.  I practiced with the team, learned baseball, learned how to score etc.

I started getting a lot better at baseball/softball and started playing stickball, a favorite sport among northeast kids.  I ended up playing against several members of the high school baseball team and I more than held my own. My friends in high school (some of us, like me who ran track, two of us played high school baseball) and I played other members of the baseball team in slow pitch softball in high school and I remember us at least winning one game.

After high school, I ended up playing organized slow pitch softball for twenty years.  I was pretty decent and I was fortunate to play on some really good teams.  Still, I never played little league baseball or high school baseball.   If I really have one regret in life, it's that I never played organized baseball when I was young.

Even before I met my wife of seventeen years, Michelle, I told myself that if I ever had kids and they wanted to play baseball, I would do everything in my power and I mean, EVERYTHING, to help with that.  So when Matthew came to me that day asking me to pitch to him, it was like true illumination to me.

And five and half plus years later, here I am, the co-head coach of his fall Minors baseball team.  Matt hits second for us, is one of our three pitchers and can play anywhere in the field.  He loves the game and works at it everyday.  I am proud to say he was a Coach Pitch League All Star in the Spring and started at third base in our district tournament (and I was proud to be one of the assistant coaches).

My younger son, Jonathan, is on my tee ball team.  He's not like Matthew and would rather play Angry Birds than baseball.  Jonathan doesn't practice baseball when he's not playing an actual game, but he's pretty good when he plays.  Maybe the baseball light bulb will turn on for him someday, but that's okay if it doesn't for him.  Still love him as much as Matthew.

So Matthew got his ten months of baseball.  His dad coaches both his sons in baseball.  And neither of us could be any happier.

So what does that mean for The College Hardwood?

Fear not my college basketball loving friends.  The blog is alive and well, as you can see by this post.  This is the start of our basketball season on the blog.  I will still be covering a lot of games between mid-November and February. Once again, I have University of South Carolina season tickets.  Our live first game coverage will be November 9 when South Carolina hosts season opener sacrificial lamb Longwood.

But it's not just USC basketball I will be covering. My trip to New York around Christmas time will allow me to cover some good New York local basketball (see you soon, Hofstra and Stony Brook friends).  You can count on short road trips to Davidson, Charlotte, Wofford and Winthrop.   Plus, I have already got NCAA second and third round tickets for the regional at Raleigh.  If you remember the last regional in Raleigh in 2008, we were witness to the Stephen Curry show against Gonzaga and Georgetown.

However, once February comes, there won't be as much live basketball coverage from me as their used to be here. Certainly not fifty nine games of Division I coverage like the 2011-12 season.  But as I did once say nearly three years ago, that my commitments come before this basketball blog.  However, I do have a plan up my sleeve to increase the coverage here but I am not yet at liberty to say. :-)

Rest assured, college basketball is still a great love of mine and as for long as I can keep the site up, The College Hardwood is still a place college basketball fans can call home.

Regards Always,

Gary Moore
Author, Founder of The College Hardwood

A Night of Havoc (Recap of VCU v. Charlotte)

Some days don't go as you plan. I had made plans for quite some time for yesterday. Hofstra was playing at UNC Wilmington. I had media credentials waiting for me, plus I was going to see my friend Brian Mull, the terrific beat writer for the Wilmington Star as well as my friend Hofstra Head Coach Mo Cassara, who I haven't seen in a long time since I moved down to Columbia, South Carolina.

Wilmington, North Carolina is a three hour and fifteen minutes drive from Columbia, South Carolina. As I started driving on I-20 at 7:30 AM, my "Check Engine" light came on. Never a good thing. But perhaps it was something minor, perhaps a sign that it was time for an oil change (which I was due for). So I found the closest Jiffy Lube, which wasn't that close to the interstate.

The service manager at Jiffy Lube told me that the light indicated a temperature sensor issue, either a coolant issue or perhaps the water pump and that the light would stay on until I took it to a repair shop to have an engine diagnostic done. Turns out also my transmission fluid was badly needed to flushed out on my 126,000 mile 2001 Honda Accord. So I agreed to a quick oil change and the transmission fluid flush.

So I got back on the road around 8:45 AM. I still could make it to Wilmington on time. But it was still about three hours away. With my family still in New York until the house closes (which is soon), I couldn't risk having my car breakdown on the highway. Thus, I sadly turned back and drove to Midlands, Honda in Columbia. I got in touch with Brian and Coach Cassara to let them know I couldn't make it.

The Honda service manager quickly took the notes on the car and noted that there was also a recent recall for the passenger airbag. I had got that recall letter and knew it had to be fixed too. As I sat in the amazing waiting room with the HD 3D TV showing "The Dark Knight" while drinking hot chocolate, I briefly lamented the fact that I would not see Brian, Coach Cassara and what turned out to be Hofstra's first road win of the season, which was a terrific effort by the Pride.

However, I had known in the back of my head that Charlotte was hosting VCU at Halton Arena last night. I had brought my IPad to write my story for the Hofstra-UNC Wilmington game and Midlands Honda had free WiFI. Were tickets still available? As I went on the Charlotte 49ers ticket site, the answer was YES! Thus I got one ticket.

It turns out it was just a sensor issue. I got my car back shortly before noon and I drove home. There I watched the Hofstra-UNC Wilmington game online, where the Pride rallied from a ten point first half deficit to defeat the Seahawks 65-56. Then after quickly sweeping up the house floors and taking a nap, I made the now familiar drive up to the campus of Charlotte.

I got my ticket from will call and entered the Student Center, where Halton Arena is located. After my ticket was scanned in, an usher asked if I wanted a program. I said "Yes, thank you." In return, I got this gorgeous program. It looked like a yearbook/media guide to me. It's the nicest free program I have ever received at a college basketball game. Nice work Charlotte Athletic Department.

As I made my way to my seats, it was pretty evident that Ram Nation had made the trip in full force. There was a good number of fans in the gold and black colors of VCU. But they were minus Chris "Pav" Crowley, the ultimate VCU fan who I have become friends with over the past couple of years thanks to Twitter and the CAA community that the Rams were once part of until joining the A-10 this season. I have maintained ties to those knowledgable, fun VCU folks on Twitter. Pav couldn't make it last night. It was also Chris' birthday this week, so Happy Birthday Pav!

Entering the game, Charlotte had defended it's home court perfectly on the season, eleven straight wins. That included wins over good conference teams such as LaSalle,  a game that I saw in person, Xavier and U-Mass. Still one female fan sitting next to me asked her boyfriend "Is this the largest crowd of the season. Seems like it". Turns out it was the second largest crowd of the season, 8,794 in attendance. The previous home game vs. UMass had 9,100 in attendance.

This was going to be a battle between one of the top fifty teams in the country in effective field goal percentage defense, Charlotte, and the number one team in the country in defensive turnover percentage and steal percentage, VCU. I had seen Charlotte's guard length give LaSalle fits. But the 49ers were now without two of their best players. DeMario Mayfield, their best three point shooter, has been suspended from the team and J.T. Thompson is out for the season with a torn ACL.

The Charlotte pep band and student section were ready for Ram Nation. The band started with a very good version of Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" and were solid all night. The student section did their part during the VCU team introduction by drowning out Ram nation with a loud chant of "FORTY - NINERS".

Charlotte scored the first basket on a Willie Clayton offensive rebound and putback. But VCU responded with an 8-0 spurt, which included forcing two 49er turnovers. Rob Brandenburg's jumper put the Rams up 8-2 barely with 16:55 left in the first half.

Barely three minutes into the game, Charlotte senior forward Chris Braswell was already incurring the wrath of the fans in my section, 217 Row K. Braswell had missed three jumpers and committed a turnover. When they saw Braswell camped out by the three point line, which he is warranted to do sometimes, one fan yelled "Braswell, don't shoot a three pointer, because you always miss them!" The fan knew what he was talking about as Braswell attempts nearly two three point attempts per game and is shooting 22.5 percent from beyond the arc on the season.

VCU extended their lead to ten, 18-8 on a Treveon Graham three pointer. Nine minutes into the game, the Rams had forced five turnovers and hit on more than half their shots. A Juvonte Reddic jumper with about eight and a half minutes left in the half kept VCU's lead at ten, 22-12.

But Charlotte ramped up their intensity on both sides of the ball and went on a 10-0 run over the next four plus minutes. The 49ers gave the Rams a little bit of their own medicine, forcing two turnovers in the span, which led to four Charlotte points. Terrance Williams' jumper tied the game at 22 with a little more than four minutes left in the half. The 49ers' fans were the loudest I had heard them in the three Charlotte games I had attended on the season. Shaka Smart was forced to call timeout as Halton Arena was rocking.

But off the timeout, Smart got the ball in the hands of Brandenburg who calmly buried a three pointer to put VCU up three, 25-22. The next play that ensued was the craziest play on the night. Chris Braswell had an open two on one break for an easy layup. But as he awkwardly dribbled toward the basket, he fumbled the ball, much to the displeasure of the fans by me. But fortunately for Braswell, Clayton was there and put in the layup to cut the Rams lead to one, 25-24.

VCU though would end the half outscoring Charlotte 9-4. With 00.1 seconds left in the half, Theus leaned into Charlotte's Pierria Henry on a jumper. The jumper was good and the foul was called on Henry. Theus would make the free throw and the Rams would go into halftime up 34-28.

After an entertaining halftime show by a local acrobatic fitness group (Astro Fitness I believe), the 49ers had an inauspicious start to the second half. They committed turnovers on each of their first two possessions. However Charlotte maintained their striking distance to VCU, still only down six, 41-35 with fifteen and a half minutes in the game.

But the turnovers kept coming for the 49ers. Their fourth and fifth turnovers on consecutive possessions led to Rams' baskets. After Henry committed a turnover, Reddic's layup put VCU up ten, 45-35 with fourteen minutes left in the game. A Brandenburg layup and two Reddic free throws extended the Rams lead to twelve, 49-37.

The 49ers chipped away at the lead with a 5-0 mini spurt over two plus minutes. A layup by Hentry made it 49-42 with 8:54 left. But Charlotte could have made the score much closer in that time frame had they not missed four free throws; two by Clayton, one by Darion Clark and one by Braswell, who was ingratiating himself with the fans more and more as the game progressed.

After Henry's layup cut the lead to seven, sensing a momentum shift, Smart again called timeout. And again off the timeout, it was Brandenburg who made the 49ers pay for their missed chances. He buried a three pointer and followed with a layup to extend the Rams lead back to twelve, 54-42 with seven a half minutes left.

Charlotte again responded with four straight points to cut the lead to eight again, 54-46. But for the third time in the game, Smart called timeout. And for the third time again, Brandenburg responded burying a three to put the Rams up eleven, 57-46 with six minutes left. A little bit later, Troy Daniels finally got into the act, hitting his first three pointer on the night to put the Rams up twelve, 62-48 with four and a half minutes left in the game.

It was at this time that the 49ers' fans had seen enough. They started leaving in droves. And even when Terrance Williams' ridiculously banked in a three pointer to make the score 66-57 with one minute left, the mass exodus from Halton Arena was well under way. The 49ers put in a meaningless last second basket to make the final VCU 68 Charlotte 61. Thus ended the 49ers undefeated streak at Halton this season.

With Graham in foul trouble for most of the game, Brandenburg and Reddic stepped up for the Rams. Brandenberg had twenty one points on seven of twelve shooting including three 3-pointers. Reddic added fourteen points on six of nine shooting and added three blocks and two steals. Graham still had twelve points for the Rams who shot nearly fifty two percent from the field against one of the better field goal defensive teams in the nation. VCU also scored twenty three points off seventeen Charlotte turnovers.

Charlotte had a good shooting night against VCU, shooting over fifty one percent themselves. But what killed the 49ers was a) The turnovers, b) Shooting one of seven from beyond the arc (Williams' lucky three was the only three pointer for Charlotte on the night), while VCU shot seven of eighteen from beyond the arc and c) an abysmal twelve of twenty two from the line. Willliams had thirteen points and Clayton added twelve. With Mayfield now gone for the rest of the season, Charlotte's other two leading scorers on the season, Braswell and Henry, combined for only sixteen points on five of nineteen shooting (the rest of Charlotte shot nineteen of twenty eight from the field.

With the win, VCU remains tied for first in the tight Atlantic-10 with Butler and Saint Louis at 7-2. With the loss, Charlotte dropped all the way to a seventh place with Temple and George Washington , two teams that have beaten them, at 5-4. The bright side for the 49ers is that UMass, LaSalle and Xavier are all tied for fourth at 6-3. Charlotte has already beaten all three of those teams.

Only two games separate the first place team from the ninth place team in the Atlantic-10. The Atlantic-10 is the perfect microcosm to the wild 2012-13 college basketball season. Perhaps it's not just a night of havoc, but a season of havoc.

That's VCU's type of season.

My Top Ten College Basketball Games of 2012 As Seen In Person

Sometimes, you need to get out of the house and just take a drive.  Such was the case Saturday night.  After staying indoors much of the day, I got stir crazy and went out for a bit.  I was supposed to have plans with a friend as well, but they fell through.  The bright side was that it forced me out of the house for a little while.  I got coffee to keep me going so I could write most of this article, money for Sunday's activities and gas for the car.  There's a bright side to everything, even failed plans.

What transpired Saturday night was that it also got me thinking on my year in review.  I had seen about sixty Division I and Division III men's and women's games in the calendar year of 2012.   I got to see several good NCAA Tournament men's teams in VCU, Iona and LIU.  I got to see the #1 women's team in the country, Stanford, play recently against a very gutty #19 South Carolina.  I saw many talented players, two of which ended up in the NBA; Kent Bazemore and Scott Machado.  Finally, I saw many exciting games and ten of them have made my Top Ten Games of 2012, one of which was a late year addition.  I also note some unique things I remember about each game.

Number 10 - St. Peter's vs. Iona -  The Gaels' Leave an Indelible Mark - I know what you're saying, what is a thirty seven point win doing in my Top Ten? Well, it's for the very simple fact that Iona went on a 31-0 run in the second half to turn a close seven point game into a blowout.  It was one of the most awesome displays by one team I had ever seen in a game.  Perhaps the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee was impressed too, as the Gaels eventually got an at large bid to the Big Dance.

What I always will love and now will miss about Iona games since I am now in South Carolina for the most part, is the Iona pep band.  They are an old school band.  They are the only pep band I know that plays Steely Dan's "Peg", a bouncy version of the theme song from "I Dream of Jeannie" and several Earth Wind and Fire songs, which are excellent songs for pep bands.

Number  9 - Iona vs. Manhattan - The Gaels Gain Revenge on the Jaspers - It was the final game of a Hofstra themed tripleheader, culminating at a raucous Draddy Gymnasium.  The Gaels were trying to extract revenge for the Jaspers' amazing come from behind rally at the Hynes Center earlier in the season. Iona would pull away for a convincing 81-71 win that wasn't even that close as the final score indicated.  But the atmosphere and a close first twenty minutes made the evening fun.

That night leaves several indelible memories.  First, you always have to be at Draddy early for a game, otherwise you will end parking in another state.  Thus was the case that night.  Second, the truly bizarre configuration of Draddy resulted in the only game I had ever had a partial, obstructed view of a basketball game.  Third, my little trouper of a color analyst, my now seven year old son Matthew making it through three games on the day.  He was still very much into watching basketball at Draddy that night and was bothered that he didn't have a full view of the game.  That folks is a basketball fan.

Number 8 - Stanford vs. South Carolina Women's Basketball Game - The Cardinal Withstand the Gamecocks in a NCAA Women's Tournament Quality Game - This is the only game from the 2012-13 season that has made my 2012 Top Ten and it was a dandy.  Imagine the 2010 Butler vs. Duke national championship men's game played as a women's game. It was a physical defensive struggle and the South Carolina fans made it a great atmosphere.

Here's the kicker.  It was the second game of a twin bill with the men's game vs. Appalachian State as the first game.  There was a late arriving crowd for the women's game.  How cool is that?  Dawn Staley has slowly but surely built a strong program in Columbia.  And once Frank Martin builds his program at South Carolina, the fans will be there for the men's game too.

Number 7 - Maine vs. Stony Brook - Seawolves win the Regular Season America East Championship - Perhaps the Black Bears-Seawolves game didn't have as large of a crowd of either number 9 or number 8 on my list, but it was still a sold out Pritchard Gym on Senior Day and the game had more meaning than those two games because a conference championship was on the line.  Plus it had a national TV audience thanks to CBS Sports Network.  Seeing the Seawolves win in front of their home crowd and hoist the regular season championship trophy in front of their fans made it extra special.

One of the things I most remember about this game is that legendary broadcaster Don Criqui broadcasted this game.  If you know your basketball from the seventies and eighties, Criqui broadcasted many college basketball games for NBC on Saturdays.  Heck, I remember fondly Syracuse's Roosevelt Bowie, Louis Orr and Don Criqui.  CBS gave the Stony Brook game a very cool retro feel with Criqui there.

Number 6 - Loyola Md vs. Fairfield - In the MAAC, It's Never Over Til It's Over Part Deux -  This game is memorable for me for several reasons- One, I got to go to Frank Pepe's before the game. Two, you had the Evil Black Curtain.  Three, you had a great rally by the Greyhounds late to knock off the Stags on their home court twenty four hours after Manhattan rallied to take down Iona in New Rochelle.  And finally,you had one Jimmy Patsos, quite possibly the craziest cat to coach Division I men's college basketball.  It made for a truly entertaining night in a contest that was televised to a national audience, even if only 2,000 people showed up for the game live.

I will always remember the end of the game.  After Loyola wins, Patsos is so fired up, he's yelling at the Loyola fans. He yanks his tie off and tries to throw into the Greyhounds fan section behind the Loyola bench.  The problem is the tie doesn't go very far.  Doesn't stop Patsos.  He goes behind the bench, picks up the tie, puts it around a Loyola fan and then gives him a hug.  It was a huge win for Loyola, which eventually made the NCAA Tournament by winning the MAAC Tournament.

Number 5 - LIU Brooklyn vs. Wagner - This Isn't Your Father's NEC -  A nationally televised NEC game.  First place in the Northeast Conference on the line.  The defending NEC champs, LIU vs. Team Hurley.  A sold out Spiro Center. Yes, sign me up for that please.  Dandy of a game too as the Blackbirds held off the Seahawks to win.  I truly believe it was the springboard for the eventual second straight NCAA Tournament appearance for LIU Brookyn.

There were several things that stood out at Spiro. First they have a basketball club called the College Hardwood.  How awesome is that!  Second, the Wagner student section did a terrific job that night.  Third, the PA system didn't do such a good job.  It was waaaaaay too loud and the game so needed a pep band there.  Pep band music > Canned music every time.  More schools should take after LaSalle.  The pep band plays the entire night.  No canned music (at least that's what it was at Gola Arena back in December 2005 when I was there for a Hofstra-LaSalle game).

Number 4 - UMass vs. Drexel NIT Quarterfinals - Minutemen Rally to Take Down the Dragons at the DAC - There is nothing like a sold out DAC for a basketball game.  Drexel looked like they were going to again show the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee that they truly messed up by not taking the Dragons, as they went out to a seventeen point second half lead.  But the Minutemen rallied to give the Dragons their first home loss of the season.  It was one hell of a game.

It was memorable for several reasons.  First, obviously a huge UMass comeback down seventeen in the second half that stunned the home Drexel crowd.  Second, it was the night I found out that I didn't get a job in Colorado, which actually worked out better for me.  Third, how often do you get a parking spot literally right in front of the arena?  Yup that was the night.

Number 3 - Manhattan vs. Iona - It's Never Over Till It's Over in the MAAC -  One of the wildest games of the regular season.  The Gaels leading at home in the Hynes Center by seventeen points with seven minutes left.  Manhattan rallies late and hits a three pointer at the buzzer to win.  It was surreal.

This Jaspers-Gaels classic was unfortunately a foreshadow of a problem that Iona would have throughout the season, blowing huge leads.  The Gaels would do this again at Siena later in the regular season.  Finally, Iona blew a huge lead in their first round play in game against BYU.   The sense of "I have seen this before" dread watching the Cougars rally in the second half against the Gaels started from this game against the Jaspers.

Number 2 -  Georgia State vs. George Mason - Byron Allen's Game Winning Shot in CAA Quarterfinals -  You had your classic CAA knockdown rockfight with the Panthers and the Patriots. Georgia State rallies late to tie the game, only to lose in heartbreak fashion with Allen's basket with 3.4 seconds left, which I captured on video from my seat on press row.

What I will always, always remember is Panthers' Head Coach Ron Hunter's emotional post game press conference.  It was truly honest, raw and heartbreaking.  It's a shame that Ron Hunter was only in the CAA a couple of years (Georgia State leaves for the Sun Belt after this season).  I got to meet with him after the press conference and he is genuine, funny and was really kind to Jerry Beach and me. He even joked with us about the IUPUI - Hofstra CBI game seen by only 952 people.  Class act.

Number 1 -  George Mason vs. VCU - The Patriots Stage a Near Impossible Comeback But Fall Short  -  In the second game of the CAA Semifinals, VCU rolls out to a 22-0 lead, then actually extends it to 32-4.  The sold out "neutral" Richmond Coliseum crowd was DEAFENING.  It looks like George Mason is going to be blown out of the building.

But the Patriots didn't fold up their tent.  They actually whittle that twenty eight point lead down to six with three minutes left before eventually losing by ten 74-64.  Yes, there were closer games than this in the countdown.  But considering the raucous "neutral" crowd (yes there were a good number of Mason fans, but it was mostly a pro VCU crowd) and the huge deficit, what George Mason did was nothing less than heroic

What I will always remember is the perspective you get sitting on the court.  I had been going to the CAA Tournament for years starting in the 2002-03 season.  Until this past March, I always sat in the stands.  This time, I was on press row.  You truly don't have an appreciation of how loud a sold out crowd in Richmond Coliseum is until you are on the court.  It was truly an incredible atmosphere.  It was also the last time I would see in person VCU in the CAA.

2012 was a great season college hoops wise.  May 2013 be just as good for all college hoops fans everywhere.  Happy New Year!