Pictures from CAA Tournament Semifinals

The CAA Tournament Semifinals featured two different styled games.  The first semifinal was a game that Paul Westhead would love.  End to end action, lots of three pointers and points galore.  The System personified.  UNCW outlasted William and Mary 105-94 in absolute clinic of offense.  It's not too often you shoot fifty six percent, hit twelve three pointers, score ninety four points, and STILL LOSE by eleven points.  Un. Real.

Then we had the complete antithesis in the second semifinal.  Towson and Charleston engaged in a classic #CAAHoops rock fight.  And for a good part of the game, Towson's relentless defense had Charleston on the ropes and the Tigers led for most of the game.  But Joe Chealey was a one man rally cat, scoring twenty nine points to lead a comeback.  The Cougars finally took the lead for good with 4:45 left and went on to win the game 67-59.

Charleston now plays UNCW for the CAA Championship tomorrow night at 7:00 PM.  Here are the pictures from Sunday.

Gamecocks, Tiger Burns and Black Bears Oh My (Recap of South Carolina vs Maine Women's Basketball Game)

Last night, my color analyst, aka my older son Matthew, and I took in our first University of South Carolina Women's Basketball game of the season.  Weeknight games usually consist of my wife dropping off Matthew where I work, USC School of Law (by the way, in South Carolina, as Ian McCormick would tell you, the University of South Carolina is USC, not Southern Cal).   We then have a quick dinner at the Wendy's across the street, then we walk down Greene Street to Colonial Life Arena (CLA to us USC folks).

Yesterday evening, we took a detour.   It's Clemson Week, as the Gamecocks will play their annual football game against the Tigers on Saturday in Death Valley.  So Monday of Clemson Week means "The Tiger Burn", where students gather together for the annual event at the intramural field near CLA, which consists of music, festivities and where a giant, thirty foot constructed Tiger is set fire and burned to the ground by fireworks (which is then put out by the Columbia Fire Department).

I first saw the Tiger Burn four years ago with my good friend Tieff (if you don't know who Tieff is, then you are not a regular to this blog.  But peruse some back articles and you'll learn quickly).  We watched it from the Thirsty Fellow, an establishment conveniently located across from the intramural field.  There's nothing quite like having a good beer and watching a very large bonfire. 

Matt and I stayed around for a few minutes.  Then we realized it would be several more minutes before the Tiger got lit more than Notre Dame's defense did in the second half vs. Virginia Tech on Saturday college football action.  So we made our way to our seats at CLA to watch USC take on Maine.

But when we got there, there was another game in progress; the third quarter of Saint Peters vs. Hampton.  USC was actually hosting three other teams in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Challenge and they would all play each other over a three day span starting on Sunday.  On Sunday, USC had already defeated Hampton 92-38, while Maine downed Saint Peters' 59-43.   The last day's slate of games on Tuesday will be Hampton vs. Maine and St. Peter's vs. USC.

As for this game, well the Peacocks were certainly not the Gamecocks.  And that was just fine with the Lady Pirates. Their first four opponents on the season had been Northwestern, Iowa, NC State and South Carolina, all losses, with the lowest margin of loss being nineteen to the Wildcats.  So a non Power-5 Conference St Peter's team was a welcome change and Hampton took full advantage.  The Lady Pirates ran rings around a slower MAAC team that had won only four games all last season.   Hampton downed St Peter's handily 71-42.

Then we got to the main event.   South Carolina had struggled from the field early against Hampton. They only led 21-15 after the first quarter, before ramping up their game, outscoring Hampton by forty eight points the rest of the way.   There was no such issue against from the outset vs.  Maine.  A'ja Wilson hit the first three baskets for the Gamecocks.  Then after Kaela Davis made one of two free throws, Alaina Coates made two baskets.   South Carolina made seven of their first nine field goal attempts.

Meanwhile, the Black Bears shooting was as cold as typical winter day in Orono, Maine.    They missed their first eight shots.  And when they weren't missing their shots, they turned the ball over five times in the first five plus minutes of the first quarter.  South Carolina's height was just too much on both ends and thus the score was 15-0 Gamecocks with 4:49 left in the first quarter.

Maine finally got a basket and actually outscored South Carolina 5-4 over the last four minutes of the first half.  The Black Bears went to a 2-3 zone to force USC to shoot from the outside.   Maine actually got within twelve a few times in the second quarter, the latest being 22-10 with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the second quarter.  From there, USC would outscore 21-9 the rest of the quarter.

USC went up by thirty eight late in the third quarter, 60-22.  Then coach Dawn Staley brought in her freshmen to play most of the fourth quarter.   The final was 79-42 USC.   With transfers Davis and Allisha Gray, with Wilson, Coates, returning point guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore and talented freshman reserve Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, the Gamecocks have plenty of balanced scoring. as the six players mentioned scored between seven and fourteen points, with five of them in double figures (Cuevas-Moore had seven points).

Today is the last day of the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Challenge.   Maine and Hampton get to see in the first game which team will finish with two wins in the tournament.  Meanwhile, St Peter's looks to have another tough day in store as they play South Carolina.

At least for the Peacocks, they won't be burned to the ground like a 30 foot tiger effigy was last night.  There will be a tomorrow for St Peter's. 

Coates Triple Double Leads Gamecocks in Downing Winthrop

Entering Sunday's play against Winthrop, undefeated South Carolina had faced a pretty tough schedule in their first month and a half into the 2015-16 season.   The Gamecocks have played four games against nationally ranked opponents; a opening day 88-80 win over #10 Ohio State, a 68-65 win at #20 UCLA, a 60-58 win over #24 Arizona State in Hawaii and a 66-54 win over #13 Duke.

So it stood to reason that 8-0 South Carolina would sooner or later have a home non conference women's basketball game against a less formidable foe.   Thus the likely guaranteed game vs. Big South opponent Winthrop yesterday at the Colonial Life Arena.   But no matter who the opponent is on the court, the fans in Columbia love to turn out in droves for their #2 nationally ranked Gamecocks.  13,409 of them to be exact.  

Fans were a little concerned when they saw A'ja Wilson in warmup clothes quietly walking the court, shaking hands with referees before the game, as her teammates practiced on their side of the hardwood.  Wilson is day to day with "nagging injuries" and her status for Wednesday's home game against another non conference opponent in Hampton.

But the fans did not need to worry because the rest of the Gamecocks came to play.  And Alaina Coates gave everyone in the crowd a reason to go home happy after the game.

It was nice to be back in Colonial Life Arena.   It was my first live game of the college basketball season and it was good to have my older son Matthew with me as well.  As we got to our season ticket seats in section 115, I immediately got a text from my friend Toisha.  Her son Bryson, who is a good friend of Matthew's, along with being his baseball teammate, had spotted us going down to our seats from their section, three sections over.  I knew what would we be doing at halftime. 

From the tipoff it was clearly apparent that Winthrop had no answer for the Gamecocks size.  Even without the six foot four Wilson, the other six footers in South Carolina's lineup; the junior Coates, graduate transfer senior Sarah Imovbioh, senior Asia Dozier and sophomore Jatarie White were dominant all game long.  The Gamecocks had sixteen blocks on the game and outrebounded the Eagles 48-32.  

One of the things I have to get used to now in women's college basketball is that the game is broken up into quarters.   At least for yesterday's game, it made the game seem quicker.   It could have also been the fact that the Gamecocks came out strong in the first quarter, taking a 26-7 lead after the first ten minutes.   

And it wasn't like Dawn Staley kept the starters in for the entire first quarter.  After a few minutes, Staley did a hockey line change, taking out four of her starters.   It didn't matter who was on the court for South Carolina.  They were relentless and fun, especially watching sophomore guard Bianca Cuevas.  The Bronx, New York native is a five foot six dynamo who often flies the court with seemingly reckless abandon.  

One particular highlight in the game was Cuevas driving strong to the basket and then took an offense balance layup where the ball arched high off the backboard and into the basket.  Staley had a sheepish grin on her face knowing it might not have been the most fundamentally sound basketball move, but you have to let Cuevas be Cuevas.

There was no let up by South Carolina in the second quarter, as they outscored Winthrop 21-6.  Along with Cuevas' circus shot layup, the other highlight of the first half was Coates blocking back to back Eagles' shots.  Then after the second block, Coates grabbed the ball and fired an outlet pass.  This lead to a Gamecocks' fast break basket and had the fans roaring in approval.  South Carolina was up 47-13 at the half.

At halftime, Matthew and I made our way to our friends over at section 118.  There was a group of seats open in front of the row Toisha and Bryson were sitting at.  Bryson quickly joined Matt in the row and a few minutes later were going around the arena, including hanging out with Cocky, the Gamecocks' mascot.  The two partners in crime were having fun and that's all that matters.

Three words described the second half of play - "Rinse, Lather, Repeat".  The Gamecocks came out of the locker room after halftime and continued to roll.  What I love about Staley's game plan, and she's not shy about it, is that the Gamecocks work the ball inside to Coates and then it's either a shot at the basket or when the defense converges, she kicks it out to open players on the wing.  The Gamecocks shot 9 of 24 from outside the arc, a respectable 37.5 percent.  It's simple fundamental basketball that works. 

Coates would shoot a ridiculous 13 of 15 from the field and hit three of her five free throws from the line.   She already had a double double easily into the third quarter as she had six offensive rebounds on the game.  

The Gamecocks were up 80-32 with about five minutes left in the game.  The Gamecocks had all their reserves in with the exception of one person;  Coates.  And there was a reason for that.  Coates had a chance to get a triple double in the game with one more block.  She got that with just a few seconds left in the game for her first career triple double; 29 points,16 rebounds and 10 blocks.  

For my first live game of my tenth year of covering men's and women's college basketball, I got to see one of the best overall performances in those ten years.  Coates was clearly the best player on the court on Sunday, leading her team to a 86-37 drubbing of Winthrop.

Coates is on a serious roll, having hit 20 of her last 24 shots (she was 7 of 9 vs. Duke).  She is shooting sixty seven percent from the field on the season. And Coates is only the third leading scorer for South Carolina on the season (Wilson averages 18 points per game, Tiffany Mitchell averages 13 points per game).

Something tells me Wilson will get another day of rest on Wednesday in the Gamecocks next home game vs. Hampton.  As South Carolina fans now know, Coates has got her covered.

A Change in Life, A Change in Priorities

Two years ago this weekend, I was in Richmond, Virginia, sitting on press row as I was "covering" the 2012 CAA Tournament for my site as well as for the Mid Majority's 800 Games Played Project.  The CAA Tournament was responsible for ten of my fifty nine Division One games I covered that season.

To me, I wasn't "covering" the CAA Tournament, I was really more soaking in the CAA Tournament, a part of a sold out Richmond Coliseum crowd.  It was the year after three CAAHoops teams made the NCAA Tournament, fulfilling the hashtag dream of #3Bids4CAA. I was there among good friends, either super fans, bloggers or writers;Defiantly Dutch, aka my "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" partner in crime, my good friend Jerry Beach, Mike Brodsky, Joe Suhoski, Tom Block, GheorgetheBlog, Batogato,VCUPav, Mason Fanatic, Geoff Sorensen, Josh Verlin, Matt Cerilli, Rob Canady and Brian Mull.

It was one of the most awesome, fun, rewarding experiences of my life.

Two years later on a Friday night in Columbia, South Carolina, instead of watching my alma mater, Hofstra face UNCW on "Pillow Fight Friday" in the first round of the CAA Tournament, I spent five hours helping clean up a rain mired Little League Field for an Opening Day Ceremony that next day.  I ended up soaking in dirty rain water as several of my fellow Trenholm Little League board members, volunteers and I dried off the field to get it ready for over three hundred kids to parade around it on Saturday.

It was one of the most awesome, fun, rewarding experiences of my life.

So what changed?  Isn't this The College Hardwood?  Shouldn't I be in Baltimore, Maryland, among several of my CAAHoops friends to take in the first CAA Tournament outside of Richmond in like forever?

Life changed.

In August, 2012, as my loyal readers, aka "The Few, the Proud, the Followers of my site" know, I accepted a position at the University of South Carolina Law School.   The job has been terrific and I have never been happier than I am today in both my job and my life outside my job.

But I didn't fully comprehend that moving down south also results in seasons becoming longer and starting sooner.   Well, actually I sort of did know.  The main reason I am down here is because my color analyst, aka my older son Matthew, signed off on coming down here.  Despite moving away from several dear school friends, all of them who I coached in Little League up in North Bellmore, Matthew was looking forward to playing baseball ten months of the year.

And that really is the baseball season here.  From February to November, you are practicing and playing baseball.  Spring Season starts here the first week of February with our baseball evaluations and draft.  And you are playing till fall ball till mid November.  Literally, my year of baseball ended on November 14 when we lost in the winner take all Minors Fall League Championship game.

Up in New York, Little League baseball season doesn't start until late April.  Thus, you can fully involve yourself in March Madness. You can spend your first weekend in March from 2003 to 2012 going to the CAA Tournament in Richmond, Virginia when you live in New York (I missed the 2010 CAA Tournament due to my younger son's kidney surgery).

The past two years, I have spent my first weekend in March being a part of Opening Day at Trenholm Park in Forest Acres, South Carolina.  And there's no other way I would rather spend it.

As much as I love college basketball, I love coaching Little League even more.  I was coaching Matthew in Little League in North Bellmore, New York for two years before I moved down here.  Now I am coaching both Matthew and his younger brother, Jonathan, and have been since spring of 2013.  I am the head coach of a Jonathan's tee ball team and the co head-coach of Matthew's minors team.  And when I am not coaching, I am umpiring, scorekeeping or announcing Little League games.

As much as I "experienced" live college basketball, I am experiencing baseball even more.  And it's not just me, it's also my wife Michelle.  Chelle is my bench coach on my tee ball team and has been for the past three seasons.  She keeps the kids organized and ready to bat in the dugout, she assists with practices, she even made the banners for both my teams for the parade on Saturday.  Chelle has even advised me on my tee ball practices this season.  And in her spare time, she even works the canteen at Trenholm Park when I am not coaching/umpiring etc.  Plus, she makes one hell of a baseball banner.

Baseball has very much become a family affair for us.   Just about all my friends down here are from Little League and it's a family affair for them too.  Little League baseball has now become my passion, above college basketball.  And it's something I truly share with my entire family

Last March, after Opening Day on Saturday, I still had a chance to go to the Sunday Semifinals of the 2013 CAA Tournament in Richmond, likely the last ever CAA tournament held in Richmond.  Matthew had Coach Pitch Baseball practice that next day on Sunday.  I was an assistant coach on his team, but I figured I could miss one practice and make the trip up to Richmond.  I asked Matthew if he would be OK if I went to the CAA Tournament and missed practice.

My college basketball loving son, who accompanied me on many games during the 2011-12 college basketball season, thought for a moment and said "Dad, I want you at practice there coaching me."  It's all he had to say.

And that was enough for me.

So I missed the 2013 CAA Tournament.  And Saturday, while my alma mater played gallantly but lost to Delaware in the second round of the CAA Tournament in Baltimore, I was at Trenholm Park, on a beautiful sunny day with 300 plus kids, their parents, local dignitaries and guests like University of South Carolina Hall of Famer and current Gamecock football announcer Todd Ellis.  Our Opening Day ceremony was fantastic and was even covered by local media.

That doesn't mean The College Hardwood is going away any time soon or that I no longer will cover college basketball in March.   I will be at the Big South Conference championship game today and I will be attending the second and third regional rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh on March 21 and 23.  You can be sure that I will be writing about both of those.

It's just there has been a change of priorities.  And often, that's a good thing.

Cheryl Crow was right.  "A Change Will Do You Good".