The Mid Majors Bakers' Dozen

As I prepared for the start of a new season of College Hardwood articles, I looked back on my previous season's blog articles, especially for today's article, the first Mid Majors Bakers' Dozen of the 2010-11 season.  When I wrote my last Mid Majors Bakers' Dozen back on February 26, a week before mid major conference tournaments started, I had no idea of the impact that those fourteen teams (there was a tie for 13th) would have on the NCAA Tournament.   Seven of those teams won a first round game in the NCAA Tournament.   Four of those teams would make it to the Sweet Sixteen.   And of course, one of those teams, Butler, would come within a just missed buzzer bank shot of winning the whole thing.

Here's the kicker though.  Of those fourteen teams, only one, Kent State did not make the NCAA Tournament (Kent State went to the NIT).  And as everyone knows, or should know, the Golden Flashes lost to the Bobcats of Ohio in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament.  The same Bobcats that of course would win the MAC as a ninth seed, then simply annihilate Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  Ohio was the eighth true mid major team to win a game in the tournament (we will allow wannabe Xavier to be the ninth mid major team).  2009-10 was the season of the mid major.

Now back on December 15, 2009, no one had any idea what was going to take place a few months later.  Certainly not me when I wrote my first Mid Majors Baker's Dozen for the 2009-10 season.  Only six of the thirteen teams in my first countdown made the NCAA Tournament (but all six won a game in the NCAA Tournament).  That goes to show you how long the season really is and how hard it is to predict what teams will make an impact by the end of the season.

Still, you have to stick with tradition and this countdown has been a part of this site for several years now. So without further ado, grab a boston creme, a cup of coffee, and enjoy the first countdown of the tastiest thirteen mid major teams in the country as of November 12, 2010.

1) Butler - The Bulldogs showed the college basketball world that if you have balls to the wall defense, all for one and one for all teamwork, timely shooting plus a good amount of talent (Gordon Hayward, ninth overall NBA draft pick), you can play with and beat the big boys.   Hayward, Willie Veasley and Avery Jukes are all gone but there is more than enough left to make at least another Sweet Sixteen run.  The Shelvin Mack Attack is back for another season as is point guard Ronald Nored.

But the key for The Butler Way 2010-11 Version to be successful is the return to 2008-09 season form of forward Matt Howard.  Last season, Howard sat way too often on the sidelines with foul trouble (only averaged 25 minutes per game).  The Bulldogs could make up for it with Hayward, Mack, Nored, Veasley and Jukes picking up their share.  But with three of those players now gone, there is less leeway for Howard to be foul prone.   Yes he will get help from an improving Andrew Smith and freshman Erik Fromm and Khyle Marshall.  But Howard must play 30 plus minutes for the Bulldogs to be successful.  The schedule will not be easy though as Butler looks to be Gonzaga 2.0.

2) Gonzaga - While Butler looks to be Gonzaga 2.0, the original version, Gonzaga 1.0 would tell you that they are still going quite strong, thank you.  The Zags made it to the round of 32 last season before losing to Syracuse.  Despite the loss of Matt Bouldin, one of the more underrated players last season, the 1.0 Bulldogs return four of their five starters, including Elias Harris, who quite possibly might be one of the five best players in the country this season.  Gonzaga also returns sweet shooting guard Stephen Gray and seven footer Robert Sacre, both double digit scorers.  Guard Demetri Goodson looks to improve on his 1.8 assists per game.

The Zags schedule is never easy, and this season is no exception.  Road games at #3 Kansas State,  #14 Baylor, Wake Forest and Notre Dame, plus home games vs. Illinois, Oklahoma State,San Diego State and Xavier.  Seven NCAA Tournament teams and one NIT team.  Talk about working the non conference SOS and RPI.   If Harris again improves this season, by season's end, it's very possible that Gonzaga 1.0 will be the better version than Gonzaga 2.0.

3) Old Dominion -  The Monarchs continue the pattern of "Lose your best player from last season but still be ranked in the countdown".  Forward Gerald Lee graduated but ODU returns its other four starters - Kent Bazemore, Darius James, Frank Hassell and Ben Finney, plus their sixth man Keyon Carter.  The Monarchs were one of the best teams in the country in scoring defense, only allowing 57 points per game.  And their defense on Luke Harangody enabled ODU to defeat the Land of the Leprechauns in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

ODU immediately faces a challenge tonight when they host Georgetown.  The schedule doesn't get any easier probable second round game vs. Clemson in the Paradise Jam.  Then another home game with Richmond on December 1,  a home game vs. Dayton on December 11, then a road swing to #15 Missouri on December 30 before conference play starts.  As long as the Monarchs can make up for the loss of their leading scorer in Lee with more balanced scoring from the rest of their cast, Old Dominion should be a good bet to repeat as CAA champ.

4) Murray State - The Racers had a marvelous 2009-10 season.   Only one loss in the Ohio Valley, a first round upset over fourth seeded Vanderbilt and a near upset of Butler.  Thirty one wins on the season.  And here's the scary part - eight of the Racers' best players, including their three top scorers are back for another season.   And the Racers are an excellent defensive team, leading the OVC in scoring defense, FG percentage defense, three point FG percentage defense and blocked shots.

Their schedule shows that the Racers are no longer an unknown quantity this season.  A road game vs. Mississippi starts things off,  followed later with three games in the 76 Classic. In the first round of the 76 Classic, the Racers face Stanford, followed by potential games vs. UNLV, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech or Tulsa.  Can the Racers follow the standard set by another mid major that played in the 76 Classic last year, Butler?   Time will tell.



5) Wichita State - I am old school. And once in a while, when I think of the Wichita State Shockers, I think of the above Glen Campbell song. So sorry, but when talking about Wichita State, I just had to include that video.

The Shockers are back from a season where they started out 19-4 but struggled down the stretch to finish 25-10.  However they were able to wiin two games in the Valley Tournament, before losing to Northern Iowa in the MVC championship game.  The Shockers season finished with a 74-70 loss at home to Nevada in the first round of the NIT, which was their only home loss on the season.

The Shockers return eight of their nine top players, with the lone exception being Clevin Hannah, their leading scorer from last year (hey, we're continuing the pattern here).  But Toure' Murray and J.T. Durley, who averaged almost as many points as Hannah are back (11.9 and 11.2).  Wichita State looks poised to win the Valley this season and they have a chance early on to show the nation how good they will be as they will be a part of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.  A first round game vs. UConn awaits and depending on the outcome there, the Shockers could potentially face 2010 Final Four Member Michigan State, an Enes Kanter-less Kentucky, Washington, Oklahoma or Virginia. Further on in their non-conference season schedule, Wichita State plays at San Diego State and LSU.  Yes, this season, Wichita State has the chance to truly be...shockers! (I know, bad pun).

6) Utah State -  There are certainties in life.  Death, taxes and Utah State having another really good season.
Since the 2001-02 season, Utah State has had nine consecutive 23 plus win seasons, five NCAA appearances and five NIT appearances. Stu Morrill's teams are always among the best in FG percentage in the country and this year looks no different.  Despite losing their second leading scorer, Jared Quayle, to graduation, the Aggies return their leading scorer, Senior Tai Wesley and his 57 percent shooting from the field and fellow starters Nate Bendall, Pooh Williams and Tyler Newbold.

The Aggies are known for not venturing outside of Logan often during non-conference season.   But the Aggies scheduled a dandy road game at Georgetown on December 4th, plus they have the usual in state rivalries with BYU (at Provo) and Utah (at home in Logan).  Look for Utah State, perhaps the most underrated mid major in the country, to post another 23 plus win season, shoot a high field goal percentage and take another trip to the Big Dance.

7) Missouri State - The Valley has not had a multiple NCAA bid season since 2006-07 (Creighton and Southern Illinois).  In the past three seasons, only the conference tournament champion has gone on to the NCAA Tournament (Drake in 2007-08 and Northern Iowa in the past two seasons).  Could this finally be the season that the Valley breaks that drought?  Wichita State certainly looks to be a NCAA Tournament team and with all their players returning, so does Missouri State.

Potential MVC player of the year Kyle Weems leads the Bears, along with fellow double digit scorers Adam Leonard and Jermaine Mallett should give MSU fans plenty of reason to cheer this season.  Valley President Doug Elgin should be happy with the Bears non conference schedule.  Missouri State is also playing in the NIT Season Tip Off with a potential second round game at Tennessee looming.  Plus the Bears travel to Oklahoma State before kicking their conference schedule into gear on December 29 vs defending champion Northern Iowa.



8) Ohio - Think about the Bobcats 2009-10 season for a second or two.  This was a team that at one time was 6-9 in conference with a 16-14 overall record.  After needing overtime to defeat Ball State in the first round of the MAC tournament , the Bobcats were probably considered an afterthought to a Kent State team they lost twice to during the regular season.  Then after a seventeen point win over the Golden Flashes, the above Tom Petty song was probably what most people thought about Ohio.  But the Bobcats then proceeded to down Miami and then Akron to win the MAC Tournament. Then in the penultimate moment of the season, Ohio thoroughly trounced #3 seed Georgetown 97-83 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (the Bobcats lost to Tennessee in the second round).

Armon Bassett left for a pro career after last season, but Ohio is not Old Mother Hubbard with a bare cupboard. The rest of the starting Bobcat five is back with double digit scorers D.J. Copper, DeVaughan Washington, Steven Coleman and Tommy Freeman.  The Bobcats do not have an easy non conference schedule. A home game with fellow 2009-10 NCAA Tournament member Oakland, then a first round game vs. #7 Kansas in the Las Vegas Invitational, and a home game in December vs. T#22 emple, another NCAA Tournament team.  The Bobcats won't sneak up on anyone.  But they won't back down either (hey two Tom Petty references in the same team preview. Nice!).

9) VCU - The defending CBI champs (won both games vs. St Louis in the CBI championship) surprisingly at times struggled in conference through their 2009-10 season, finishing fifth in the CAA.  Then after knocking off George Mason in the CAA quarters, the Rams had  ODU on the ropes,but the Monarchs survived winning in overtime.  Again, this is another team that does not return it's best player, Larry Sanders, who declared early for the NBA draft and was picked 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks.  However, the other starters, Joey Rodriguez, Brandon Rozzell, Bradford Burgess and Jamie Skeen all return, plus talented sixth man guard Ed Nixon and Darius Theus give the Rams depth in the backcourt.  The frontcourt is a question with only Skeen and David Hinton, returning from injury as the remaining bigs from last season.

The Rams are a part of the Preseason NIT and a second round matchup at Wake Forest looms.  Depending on how they do, they could match up against teams such as Road games at Richmond and UAB, and a home game vs. defending Southern Conference champ Wofford should all provide good tests for VCU before conference season starts.  Could the Colonial get two teams into the NCAA Tournament?.  It's hard to speculate at this time, but with four starters returning from a 25 win season, they should be a tough opponent for basically any team they face.

10) New Mexico State - The other NCAA Tournament member Aggies from the WAC return their talented frontcourt of Wendell McKines, Hamidu Rahman and Troy Gillenwater.  The trio combined to average nearly 36 points and 25 rebounds per game, while collectively shooting over 52 percent from the field.  The Aggies problem is that their two leading scorers, guards Jahmar Young and Jonathan Gibson are no longer on the team, so NMSU must have returning starting point guard Hernst Laroche must step up in the scoring column.

The Aggies waste no time jumping into a good non conference schedule by going to Tucson and facing Arizona, then home games with UMass and USC.  Then New Mexico State has home and homes with both UTEP and New Mexico, two other NCAA Tournament teams from last season.  Finally two days before Christmas, the Aggies host another NCAA Tournament team, Sweet Sixteen member St Mary's.  If NMSU can get relatively good backcourt play to match their excellent front court, it will be another very good season for the Aggies.


11) Oakland - So you lose two of your best Golden Grizzlies in forward Derick Nelson and  guard Johnathon Jones (who averaged 6.4 assists per game), do you worry?  Not when you have the Summit League's best player, Keith Benson, returning.  The double double machine Benson, who averaged 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game is a one man wrecking crew.  Fortunately for Benson, guard Larry Wright and his 11 points per game average also returns.  Guard Ledrick Eagles and forward Will Hudson will both have to step up into larger roles.

Give the Golden Grizzlies a lot of credit, they don't mess around with their non conference schedule.  Oakland starts at West Virginia, then Ohio. Follow that up with at Purdue, at Illinois, at Michigan State (please don't tell me the Palace at Auburn Hills is a neutral game. Gimme a break).  Top that with at Ohio State and at Michigan and I am just exhausted writing that.  But remember what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  And that's why Oakland had a RPI of 65 last season and was more than ready for the Summit Conference.  Check back with the Golden Grizzlies come March Madness time.

12) St Mary's - So you lose "The Beast" Omar "Enter the Sandman" Samhan, a long time favorite here at the College Hardwood and Ben Allen from their Sweet Sixteen team.  What's a Gaels team to do?  Reload with the perimeter shooting  of Mickey McDonnell, Matthew Dellavedova and Clint Steindl.  Mix in Jordan Page and Mitchell Young, the main two players off the bench last season and the Gaels will be just fine thank you.

St Mary's always plays a tough non conference schedule.  This season is no different.  The Gaels host St John's before heading to the South Padre Classic to take on Texas Tech, then face either BYU or South Florida. Then it's road games with San Diego State, Long Beach State, New Mexico State and  Mississippi State.  The Gaels road warrior ways should prove valuable come WCC conference time. Look for another three battles with Gonzaga which may determine whether the Gaels go dancing again.


13) Iona -  The other Gaels are my surprise team this season (well, not much of a surprise anymore since Basketball Prospectus picked them to finish first in the MAAC too).  Iona returns four of their starters including Scott Machado, Alejo Rodriguez, Kyle Smith and Jermel Jenkins.  Plus they have one of my favorite coaches, Tim Cluess running the show now (Kevin Willard left for Seton Hall).  Cluess' teams at C.W. Post were always exciting to watch and now he has DI talent to work with.

The Gaels schedule should be challenging.  Iona starts with the World Vision Classic in Cleveland vs 2010 NIT member Kent State, then Cleveland State.  The Gaels have a  home game vs. Richmond next week, then a road game vs. Syracuse before playing Hofstra at home.  The MAAC season starts with a road game vs. defending champ Siena.    It should be a good season for the Maroon.


With all due respect to Christmas, College Basketball is the most wonderful time of the year.  The season truly starts tonight with 134 games on tap and another 61 tomorrow.  Just close your eyes, listen to Johnny Mathis and think of three point baskets, monster dunks, players diving for loose balls and Bruiser Flint doing his stomp at an official's call.  And most importantly, go to a live game this weekend.  Lots to choose from!  Enjoy the start of the best season in sports.

Kanter Ruled Ineligible and All is Well With The WAC

The NCAA ruled today that Enes Kanter is permanently ineligible due to the fact that Kanter received $33,000 in excess of the necessary expenses permitted by the NCAA.  Kevin Lennon, NCAA Vice President of Academic and Membership Affairs, stated the following on a NCAA web site posting;

"Enes took advantage of an opportunity to play at the highest level available to him, but the consequences of receiving payments above his actual expenses is not compatible with the collegiate model of sports that our members have developed."

Kanter's eligibility had long been the subject of controversy since he came to the United States over a year ago. As the Kentucky Herald Leader noted, "At least two prep school coaches turned down the chance to add Kanter to their teams last year because he played three seasons for Fenerbahçe Ülker, a pro team based in Istanbul."  If you go to the NCAA web site posting, it notes that the NCAA contacted Kentucky in March with questions about his involvement with that Turkish team.  The NCAA then gave Kentucky and Kanter information in June which they received from the Turkish team that detailed the benefits Kanter received.  Kanter and his father confirmed this in June.



I have talked about the Kanter controversy twice previously on this site, once on October 13, where I noted the NY Times article which stated that Kanter received over $100,000 in benefits.  I even predicted in my October 13 posting that Kanter would be ruled ineligible.   I posted a second article on October 30, which discussed the  fervor that "The Antichrist" caused when he compared Kanter's situation to Mississippi State's Dee Bost.   All of this of course didn't dissuade Kentucky fans from starting the above "Free Enes" movement.

Well Kanter is now free...to declare himself eligible for the NBA draft.  Kentucky plans to appeal the decision.   Considering the NCAA had the actual dollar figure on their web site posting, good luck on that one.

Also in that aforementioned October 30 article on this site, I also noted the news about the WAC losing Nevada and Fresno State in addition to losing Boise State to the Mountain West.  I also said "don't cry for the WAC just yet."  And sure enough, the WAC added three teams for the 2012-13 season - Denver, UT San Antonio and Texas State.   Denver made a lot of sense since they were out of place in the southeastern based Sun Belt conference, while the WAC wanted to have a presence in football heavy Texas.

Charleston Almost Gets the Upset

Last night, I got home from my meeting to turn on ESPNU to watch some hoops.  Charleston did their darnedest to put a dent into the 2K Classic "Tournament".   The Cougars led most of the second half at Maryland, thanks to Andrew Goudelock channeling Stephen Curry (10 of  18 from the field, 5 of 9 from three, 27 points, 10 rebounds).  CofC was desperately trying to hold on despite not scoring  a field goal over the last eight minutes and forty one seconds of the game when Goudelock hit a floater in the lane to put the Cougars up 68-60.  

But the Terrapins rallied back, due in large part to the Cougars having six of their twenty two turnovers come during that 8:41 stretch.   Maryland nearly counteracted CofC's lack of ballhandling by shooting 5 of 18 from the free throw line.  But Pe'shon Howard's jumper with five seconds left lifted the Terrapins to the win.    

So much for a RLU.

When A Tournament Is Not A Tournament

The college basketball season started last night as four games were played in the 2K Sports Classic (Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer) Men's College Basketball Tournament.  All the host teams, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Illinois and Texas, won their games.  Only #4 ranked Pitt had a tussle beating back 2010 NIT semifinalist Rhode Island 83-75.

I only watched some of the first half of the Texas vs. Navy game, as the Longhorns struggled at the outset before winning by thirty one points.  It was hard for me to watch however, because this was not a real tournament.  And you can simply find the evidence by perusing the bracket or the August 5th announcement.

The 2K Sports Classic is basically Gazelle Group's way of ensuring four Power Six conference teams play next week at Madison Square Garden. The so called first round "regionals" have the obligatory matchups between the Power Six conferences and mid majors (Charleston, Seattle, UC Irvine, Navy, Toledo, Louisiana Tech and Illinois-Chicago) and one wannabe (A-10's Rhode Island).

While the mid majors and wannabes then square off in round robin fashion in two regionals the "UC Irvine Regional" and the "Toledo Regional" late next week in non-televised regionals, the four other teams get to play in at MSG on ESPN.  That seems really fair.

So much for the opportunity of a midmajor or Rhode Island being able to play in front of the Madison Square Garden faithful.  It's once again the power conferences who benefit.   Now I don't know how much these teams were paid to play in this tournament, or they are strictly doing it for the coaches vs. cancer foundation, but it seems strange that the Rams were willing to play in this tournament.   Yes, they got the opportunity to knock off Pitt, but the rest of the tournament at this point doesn't seem to help them in their strength of schedule for a potential at large bid.  They were only guaranteed one game against a Power Six conference opponent. And as I noted, this is a team that made the NIT semis and were a serious NCAA at large bid contender for most of last season.

The Gazelle Group is the same group of geniuses that have brought you the College Basketball Invitational. You know, the tournament that had three first round games with less than 1,000 people in attendance.  Logic doesn't seem to dictate much in the Gazelle Group's world.  Had they also paid attention to the number of Rhode Island fans at the Garden for their semifinal game vs North Carolina, maybe they would have consider a tournament for a few seconds (OK, maybe a second or two).

So once again, thanks to the 2K Classic, we see the food chain world of the college basketball world.  Power conferences don't have to win their way to MSG and the mid majors and the lone wannabe get to play in non TV land.   And here's the kicker, I am going to be at the semifinals of the 2K next Wednesday night at the Garden.    So my love of live college basketball is overriding my above sense of  fair play.  Love, unfortunately is often blind.  Apparently it's also deaf and dumb.

Hofstra Downs Molloy in Exhibition Game

In my all years of seeing Hofstra Men's Basketball games, I have to go back to the old America East days for the last time there was a regular season or exhibition Hofstra men's basketball game played on a Sunday.  That was about ten years ago.  Ten years later, here I was on a Sunday afternoon watching the Pride, er sorry Jerry Beach, Flying Dutchmen take on Molloy College in a exhibition game.   Now a game that doesn't count in the overall record may not seem like much, but it was the first real visible evidence of the new Pride team under Coach Mo Cassara.  His first game as a Division I head coach.

Now making the day even more interesting was the fact that I had my two young sons with me at the game.  Matthew has been to a couple of men's and women's games before.  This was Jonathan's first game..ever.   Matthew loves basketball now, so give him a pretzel, as shown, and he's good to go.  Jonathan had been asleep for the better part of an hour before game time, so at the game, he was well, out of it.

Also, it's hard to tell from this picture, but since this was an exhibition game, attendance was free.  Thus there was no assigned seating and I decided to sit in my old season ticket seats, Section 102, Row G.  It was nice to see the game from this perspective again.

Now as you can see from the picture, not many people showed up to see Hofstra play Division II Molloy.  But a good number of friends of mine were there, and Jerry Beach and I were sending out Tweets for the entire first half.  In fact, Beach, aka Mr. Defiantly Dutch even got an article in during the game.  That's probably due to him bringing his Macbook to his seat.  I even made a tweet commenting on that fact.  See if you can find it.

In my case, I was armed with my Canon Powershot camera and my IPod Touch.  I decided to record a few minutes of the game, which resulted in the above YouTube video which captures Mike Moore's four point play.

Molloy jumped out to an early 4-2 lead as ECC Preseason Player of the Year Brian Hutchinson scored the Lions first four points.  But in the battle of the kings of the jungle, the Pride would score the next six points, thanks to the above mentioned Moore four point play and a steal and layup by Charles Jenkins.  Hofstra would never trail again.

However, the Pride struggled with their Division II Doppelganger mascot foes for the entire half.   A John Petrucelli layup with 10:59 left cut the Hofstra lead to two, 19-17.  The Pride would respond with a 13-4 run capped by a Jenkins three to go up 32-21, which would be their largest lead of the first half.   The Lions though would chip away at the lead and another Petrucelli layup would end the half with Molloy only down four, 39-35.

At times Hofstra played well in the first half, shooting 48 percent in the half.  But the defense was at times porous, as Molloy shot nearly 63 percent as Petrucelli sliced his way for fourteen first half points while Hutchinson added twelve.  The only reason the Pride were up at the half was the twelve turnovers they forced but they also committed nine on their own end.   Coach Cassara was often not pleased at his team's first half play.  At one point Cassara yelled a couple of times at guard Yves Jules "Yves, pass the ball!".

The Pride came out and showed a much more intensive mind set in the second half .  Hutchinson attempted only one shot for the entire second half and scored only two points on free throws.   Petrucelli was limited to one of eight from the field for five second half points.   Molloy also didn't help their cause by shooting 10 of 20 from the charity stripe for the entire game.

While as Jenkins led the way in the first half with fifteen points, the Pride showed much more balance in the second half.   Jenkins still had his points, nine, but Mike Moore added eight second half points while Dwan McMillan added six and Brad Kelleher five points.

Still Hofstra would only be ahead by four points, 50-46 with ten minutes left in the game.  However, the Pride would extend the lead to eleven 60-49 with 6:50 left in the game.   Molloy would again cut the lead to single digits.  But then in the span of four minutes the Pride outscored the Lions 14-3 to go up by nineteen, 74-55 and effectively ended the game.   Hofstra would win 76-62.

Let's break the game down by positives and negatives for Hofstra.

Positives - Jenkins was in mid-season form.  Twenty four points on 9 of 16 shooting, five steals, four assists, four rebounds.  McMillan showed that he deserves the starting point guard role with nine points, eight assists and only one turnover.  David Imes continued his solid preseason work with twelve points and great hustle on the court.  Stephen Nwaukoni was a terrific defensive presence off the bench.  In only twelve minutes, Nwaukoni had eight rebounds and really played man to man well on his opponent.  Brad Kelleher showed flashes of his three point form, nailing two front beyond the arc for eight points in seventeen minutes.  The team looked much better defensively in the second half, limiting Molloy's two best players to 1 of 9 from the field

Negatives - While scoring thirteen points,  Mike Moore was off on his outside shot, shooting 2 of 8 from beyond the arc.  He is also not shy about putting up the ball, but needs to be more accurate (and yes, Beach, he looked a lot like another 23, former Pride player Cornelius Vines).   Greg Washington had three blocks, but he was content to shoot fifteen foot jumpers, as usual, and did not show any aggression to take the ball to the basket.  He also doesn't look comfortable with his back to the basket.   Finally, the Pride only played an eight man rotation the entire night.  I don't know if Rolando Brown was hurt, but he did not play along with Paul Bilbo and Shemiye McLendon.  If Nate Lester does not come back this season, the Pride do not seem to have a lot of depth off the bench.

Overall, it was good to see a full college basketball game.  And Hofstra looks to improve on this performance with their first game at home on Saturday, November 13 vs. Farmingdale State.  I will be back in my regular season seats, section 110 Row D on Saturday for the contest as the basketball season officially starts.   Tis a wonderful thing.

Sunday Morning Sausage Links

It's Sunday morning.  Smell the bacon cooking from the pan.  Pour some juice, butter that bagel.  Then when you are ready to eat, forget the newspaper.  Sit the laptop next to you on the kitchen table and peruse some juicy college hoops sausage links below.  Enjoy your meal.

Mike Litos has been looking back on the history of the four former America East teams that joined the CAA ten years ago - Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra, and Towson.   It's good ole nostalgia and all four posts are really good reads.  But I have one beef.  I will take Antoine Agudio over Kenny Adeleke any day as one of Hofstra's three all time greats during that span (plus Adeleke transferred from Hofstra under unfortunate circumstances).  Saw them both play countless times and it's not close.  Agudio was definitely the better player, especially during crunch time.

Andy Katz seems to be channeling some mid major mojo in his blog recently.   First it was Hofstra and the relationship between Charles Jenkins and coach Mo Cassara. Then later in the week it was the Butler way.  Now I wholeheartedly agree with Katz that "the Butler name carries significant weight now."  I agree with Katz so much, that I wrote about it...three weeks ago.  I am not bragging mind you, just agreeing with Katz, in a three week retrospective kind of way.

Speaking of retrospective ways, Kyle Whelliston wrote a very interesting article about a very interesting coach, "Coach Jimmy", Jimmy Patsos.  Patsos is the head coach of Loyola Maryland.  He is probably most infamously known for the night he put two guys on Davidson's Stephen Curry for the entire game in November 2008. Curry told his coach Bob McKillop "Coach, I'll just stand in the corner and keep two guys with me and we'll play 4-on-3."  And Curry did just that.  He never scored a point as his teammates went out to a 22 point halftime lead and won 78-48. I wrote about Curry's selfless act the day after the game in November 2008 .

The NY Daily News'  Michael O' Keefe writes an article about Division I"s first transgender player, George Washington's Kye Allums. The article talks about how supportive George Washington and the women's team has been during the transition.

Jeff Eisenberg of the Dagger writes a terrific quick article on Isiah Thomas.  Eisenberg's main argument is that Thomas' actions are hurting Florida International's recruiting efforts   The reaction from FIU's athletic director about Thomas' recent actions is stunning.

The NY Times has a good blog article about NY City metro basketball teams trying to improve through recruiting.

The Times Union talks about how three time defending MAAC champion Siena had to rally to defeat Division II Adelphi in an exhibition game.

The Sports Network has an in depth Missouri Valley Preview.

And finally, if you haven't read my CAA Preview, here it is.  Should definitely get you through your cup of coffee.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Beach Corrects Andy Katz and It's Hoops Season

Two things of note. One, Andy Katz noted in his article earlier this week that Nathaniel Lester was being redshirted due to a quad injury. Mr Defiantly Dutch himself, Jerry Beach replied to my tweet this morning about his noting in his blog post today "See if you can find Katz’ erroneous “scoop!". Beach stated in his reply tweet that Katz' information is incorrect and that no decision has not been made yet.  Duly noted.

Also, my sons decided to play hoops today, so I caught it on camera. Enjoy.

It's Here - Another Season, Another CAA Preview

Like a moth to the flame, like a lemming to a cliff, like Atlantic Salmon leaping off a river into a full den of hungry bears, I must of course have my CAA preseason preview.  It's my annual right of passage/torture.  A non expert who just happens to watch lots of CAA games and tries his hand annually to say what's going to happen in the league that's "Fun for the Crowd".

This is my sixth time doing a preview.  Usually I break up the preview into two, even three parts.  But what has happened on a couple of occasions is that due to work, my second son being born, or unfortunately last year at this time, a family emergency (if you are a full time reader of this site you know what happened), I did not finish the previews.   This year will be different, because once I get to the preview, the actual preview will be be on this one article.  No split parts. Why?  Because I want to get through a full preview.

Now I know what some people think about predictions and I fully understand and often agree with their point of view (and yes Kyle, I will get Basketball Prospectus very soon).  I even noted recently that "You will not see NCAA Tournament Bid projections in late October or November on this site."  And you won't, but you will get an annual CAA preview and as I noted that previous article link, you will soon also get my Mid Majors Bakers' Dozen, the tastiest thirteen teams in the mid majors.  That's also a right of passage on this site.

Yes, I don't get paid for this and this is not a business.  This blog is my hobby.  I have said that since December 4, 2005 when I started this labor of love about my mistress college basketball.  The first name of this blog was "College Basketball featuring CAA Men's Basketball",   It's gone through three name changes.  It later became "Mid Major Hoops" for a significant period of time.  Then I had named it something else which my one of my dear friends panned immediately, and thus now "The College Hardwood".

Over those nearly five years, I have watched much more than a normal person's share of college basketball games live.  And I have especially followed CAA basketball more than any other conference.   So thus armed with what I believe is a vast knowledge of the Colonal Dipper League,  I have written CAA previews for now five years.  That first article from my old Typepad site was my first conference preview.

As far as accuracy, well that December 4, 2005 article had me predicting Old Dominion beating Hofstra in the conference final.   Well, we all know what happened.  The Monarchs finally did beat Hofstra that season after two losses, but it was in the Quarterfinals of the NIT.  It was part of the most magical season the CAA has ever had.  Two NCAA tournament teams (should have been a third),  a guaranteed team in the NIT semifinals, a 9-4 postseason record and of course Jerry Beach's hated rivals, George Mason in the Final Four.

In my November 1, 2006 article, I actually got through an entire preview.  And I was unfortunately accurate in some cases.  Under "Best Team Most Likely to Struggle Early" I put "Hofstra.  Rough schedule plus unsettled frontcourt situation may result in some tough losses early on."   It was dead-on as my key player, Chris Gadley, was a huge bust that season (and transferred to Canisius shortly after that), Hofstra struggled with early losses and never got a true frontcourt presence.  They were upset by Mason in the Quarterfinals in 2007, caused Beach to drink lots of Pepto and were lucky to get a NIT bid.

In some cases, I wasn't accurate.  I had VCU fifth in that same preseason article.  I actually stated "The question with the Rams is who will now take the lead in scoring?"  Two words Gar - Eric Maynor.  Also, I had ODU finishing seventh.  Guess who got the at-large bid for the CAA in the NCAA Tournament that season?  Yup, the Monarchs on the strength of winning at Georgetown that season.  Again, good job Gar.

In my first part of my 2007 CAA preview article, I hit the nail on the head predicting George Mason to finish first...well sort of.  The Patriots did win the CAA championship, defeating William and Mary.  But that was only after the Tribe upset top seeded VCU in the CAA semifinals, as I witnessed in person perhaps the greatest game played against Anthony Grant and the VCU press.  With Jonathan being born, I was only able to get my second part of the preview in on Hofstra and then it was fatherly duties.  The third part never came.

In my late October/early November 2008 CAA preview, I actually got through both parts. In the first part, of course, I accurately picked VCU to finish first, but an octopus named Paul could have done that.  However, in the same first part of the preview, I thought that that Delaware being predicted sixth in the preseason CAA Coaches Poll was too high.  I noted "Though the CAA is down, I think the Blue Hens are not as good as last year and will not improve on their .500 record in conference."  Delaware finished towards the bottom of the conference with a 6-12 conference record.  Further proof blind squirrels can find nuts.

However, in the second part of the preview, I predicted Drexel would finish last, even behind eventual bottom feeding UNC Wilmington.  For those of you who know your CAA history, the Dragons would be one of the top teams in conference all season before slipping at the end and finishing sixth in a very tight CAA 2008-09 season race.  One more time, good job Gar.

Last season, 2009-10, in the first part of the preview, I predicted Northeastern to win the conference, ODU to place, VCU to show and JMU to claim the fourth spot in the first part of the preview (with Mason fifth and Hofstra sixth).  Then in the second part, I had Drexel, Towson and Georgia State finishing in that order but not after I noted about my sleeper JMU team losing Devon Moore.  Without Moore, the sleeper team hibernated through most of that season, finishing at the bottom of the conference.  Meanwhile I slept on William and Mary who I had finishing tenth (but was never listed since I never got to do the third part of the preview due to the aforementioned emergency), finished third and was an at large candidate for most of the season.   One last time, good job Gar.

So what does this season bring.  Well let's find out in predicted order of finish.

Old Dominion -  The defending CAA champs and mighty slayer of the Leprechauns in the first round of the NCAA Tournament return four of their five starters.  Darius James, Kent Bazemore, Ben Finney and Frank Hassell all return along with sixth man Keyon Carter.  Physical play, defense and rebounding is the creed by which the Monarchs live.  Coach Blaine Taylor's senior laden group (of the five projected starters, only Bazemore is a non senior) was first in the CAA in scoring defense, second in both FG  and three point FG percentage defense and of course, first in rebounding margin.

The only potential issue is who's going to put the ball in the basket.   The only non returning starter just happens to be their leading scorer from last season Gerald Lee.  So someone needs to step up.  Based on the recent history of the Monarchs under Blaine Taylor, a frontcourt player, with the exception of the 2005-06 season, has led the team in scoring since the 2001-02 season (Isaiah Hunter led the team in scoring in 05-06).  Over the past nine seasons, Ricardo Marsh, Alex Loughton, Valdus Vasylius and Gerald Lee were the main focal points for Blaine Taylor's offense.

With that in mind and despite Michael Litos probably throwing up when he reads this, the key player for the Monarchs is forward Frank Hassell. Hassell shot 54 percent last season while averaging nine points and nearly seven rebounds per game.  Of the four returning starters, Hassell averaged the fewest minutes last season.  Look for his workload and points per game to increase accordingly.

And ODU will need it with a tough non conference schedule that starts with a home game vs. #21 Georgetown on November 12 and a probable second round game vs. Clemson in the Paradise Jam.  Then another home game with Richmond on December 1,  a home game vs. Dayton on December 11, then a road swing to #15 Missouri on December 30 before conference play starts.  That's a tough schedule to start with, but Blaine Taylor and the stache would not have it any other way.

VCU - The defending CBI champs also return four of their five starters from last season. Joey Rodriguez, Brandon Rozzell, Bradford Burgess and Jamie Skeen all return.  Only Larry Sanders, 15th overall pick in the NBA draft, is gone from a team that had ODU on the ropes in the CAA semifinal before losing to the Monarchs in overtime.  Sanders was of course a big part of the Rams, averaging 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. VCU was first in the CAA in scoring offense, first in FG and three point FG percentage, second in assists and first in steals.

The offense should still be fine with Rodriguez, Rozzell and Burgess, who should all improve on their scoring.  However, due to the loss of Sanders leaving early, the graduation of Kirill Pischalnikov (remember, Pischalnikov is Russian for five fouls) and Terrence Saintil being kicked off the team, there is a dearth of experienced post players for the Rams.  Thus Jamie Skeen will be a key player for the Rams.  Skeen is the lone returning experienced big man (unless you want to include David Hinton and his 9 games played last year) and will have to play more than the 20 minutes he averaged last season.

To help out on the post, Coach Shaka Smart brought in JUCO Toby Veal and four freshmen bigs, but it remains to be seen if any will be a key factor.  Freshman guard Rob Brandenburg though could be the real deal and along with super sixth man Ed Gwynn and Darius Theus will give the Rams great depth in the backcourt.

The Rams are a part of the Preseason NIT and a second round matchup at Wake Forest looms.  Depending on how they do, they could match up against teams such as Road games at Richmond and UAB, and a home game vs. defending Southern Conference champ Wofford should all provide good tests for VCU before conference season starts.

James Madison  - My sleeper team from a season ago looks to come out of hibernation this season. If everything meshes together, the Dukes could be really spectacular. Or if they succumb to injuries and bad defense, they could be spectacularly bad, like last season.   The Dukes were basically in the middle of the pack sans two categories, FG percentage, fourth in the CAA at 44 percent, but next to last in turnover margin.

Give Em Hell Denzel Bowles is a force on both ends, averaging nearly 21 points and 9 rebounds per game while shooting 59 percent from the field. Julius Wells made a good sidekick averaging 16 points and 5 rebounds per game.  Wells had two problems though.  He only shot 38.7 percent from the field last season and had 32 more turnovers than assists on the season, averaging 3.2 turnovers per game (only Bowles was worse with 3.4 turnovers per game).

Two top players from the season before, Andrey Semenov and Devon Moore suffered serious injuries last season.  Moore never played in 2009-10, tearing an ACL before the season started.  Semenov played only four games before back problems ended his season.  Both are back along with Akron transfer Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens, a starting point guard for the Zips the past two seasons.

In a surprise ruling, Hitchens was declared eligible for this season, which will allow Moore to move to the two guard and concentrate on scoring.  A healthy Devon Moore, an all CAA rookie team selection in 2008-09 will be the key to how successful the Dukes will be this season.  Moore gives the backcourt balance JMU needs so that teams can't double up on Bowles.

A schedule that starts right off at #3 Kansas State, then road games at solid opponents such as South Florida and Kent State should allow the Dukes to cut their teeth before conference season starts.  There are several factors that will decide JMU's season - the health of Moore and Semenov, better team defense, less turnovers and better shot selection by Wells.  If Coach Matt Brady can stir all these ingredients together with the already unstoppable Bowles, they will be very dangerous.

George Mason  - Already Jerry Beach must be pleased that I have the Patriots fourth, down a slot from most other sites' prognostications.   It's nothing against a very solid Patriots team, I just think JMU has the potential to be better.  Mason was often quite frustrating to Coach Jim Larranaga and the Patriots fans.  The Patriots should have knocked off Villanova in the Puerto Rico Tip Off, then went 6-6 in their first 12 games.  Mason then went 10-3 in its next 13 games and were right in the thick of things for the regular season title.  The Patriots then finished the season losing six out of its last seven games, including a quarterfinal exit to VCU in the CAA Tournament.

Still Mason returns all five of their starters from last season's team led by the enigmatic Cam Long, who averaged 12 points per game.  Ryan Pearson almost averaged 12 points per game to go with 6.4 rebounds per game.  Andre Cornelius, Mike McDermott and Luke Hancock combined for nearly 26 points per game.  Sixth man guard Sherrod Wright should also improve on his 5.5 points per game.   Of those six players, only Long is a senior.

Though his points per game was slightly above the season before, all of Long's other statistics were significantly down from the season before;

FG Percentage - 38 percent in 2009-10, 46 percent in 2008-09.
3 Point FG percentage -32 percent in 2009-10, 40 percent in 2008-09
Rebound Average - 3.9 rebounds in 2009-10, 4.8 rebounds in 2008-09

During that 1-6 stretch to end the season, Long's struggles mirrored the teams.  In the six games he played (he didn't play against Fairfield in the CIT), Long shot less than 20 percent from the field (10 of 51) including 15 percent from beyond the arc (3 of 20).  For George Mason to succeed, Cam Long must return to his 2008-09 form.  When on, Long's ability to stretch the defense with his three point shooting opens up the inside for Pearson and McDermott.

The Patriots always play a tough non-conference schedule.  This season is no different as the Patriots head to my favorite early season tournament, the Charleston Classic.  Mason gets Charlotte first and depending on how the matchups turnout, Mason could play NC State and or Georgetown.  The Patriots also get a road test at Dayton at the end of December before conference play starts.

Hofstra - This may say either a lot about Hofstra or a lot about the rest of the CAA.  Despite losing two All First Team CAA Rookies in Chaz Williams and Halil Kanacevic to transfer, the Pride/Dutchmen are picked to finish fifth in the CAA Coaches Preseason Poll, two spots above from last season. A lot of that is due to the fact that Hofstra returns the best player in the CAA, 2010 CAA Player of the Year, Charles Jenkins.

20 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists per game are givens for Jenkins.  The question will be, what help will he get.   Mike Moore, a junior transfer from Fordham, looks to be the Robin to Jenkins' Batman.  Moore averaged nearly 13 points per game as a sophomore for the Rams, including a 29 point performance vs Xavier.  6 foot 10 senior Greg Washington is good for nearly 3 blocks, 6 rebounds, and a few 15 footers per game. Sophomore forward David Imes has been a pleasant surprise in practice and the Fanfest scrimmage, but will his play continue over to the real season?

Jenkins and Moore can no doubt fill the basket and it looks like Imes could be a legitimate post scorer.  The question is, who will get them the ball?  That's why Brad Kelleher and Dwan McMillan are the keys to Hofstra's success this season.   Kelleher is the sharp shooting Australian who has to sit out the first nine games due to a NCAA ruling, while McMillan is a JUCO transfer.  McMillan should get first crack at starting for the Pride but Kelleher may be the better long term solution.  After that, depth is a problem with Andy Katz reporting that senior sixth man Nate Lester will be redshirting due to a quad injury. Yves Jules is the only other returning player. The Pride bring in four freshmen, three in the frontcourt.

The Pride jump right into the fire this season as they play #9 North Carolina in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tipoff.  Depending on how the tournament pans out, the Pride could face Minnesota, Western Kentucky West Virginia, Vanderbilt, Nebraska or Davidson in the other two games.   Hofstra also has a tough road game against an up and coming Iona team late in December before conference season starts.

William and Mary was the story of last season in the conference.  A team picked by most to finish tenth in the conference started off the season 10-2 with major non conference road wins over Maryland and Wake Forest, along with a home win over Richmond (all three of those teams made the NCAA Tournament).  The Tribe finished third in the CAA, then knocked off JMU and Northeastern before losing to ODU in the championship.  The Tribe would be denied an at large berth, then denied a home game in the NIT thanks to C.M. Newton and the boys.   William and Mary gave North Carolina all they could handle before losing 80-72 in Chapel Hill.

Gone from last season's 22-11 team are David Schneider, Danny Sumner, Sean McCurdy , all starters and sixth man Steven Hess.  But second leading scorer Quinn McDowell and his 49 percent FG shooting percentage are back along with fourth leading scorer Marcus Kitts, JohnMark Ludwick, Mark "A shot of" Rum and Kendrix Brown.  Brown is the key player here as point guard play is very important in Coach Tony Shaver's system.  The Tribe were third in assists and first in assist to turnover ratio in the CAA. Brown must make good decisions with the ball for the Mary to be successful.

The Tribe won't sneak up on anyone this season.  The Tribe have road games at Virginia, Richmond, Syracuse and North Carolina before conference season starts.  But again they will be fun to watch as they fire up threes from everywhere.

Drexel lost their best player, guard Jamie Harris due to his arrest in an armed robbery.  Harris along with backup forward Kevin Phillip were arrested along with a third Drexel student for an attempted robbing of a female student in her apartment.   It's one of the most incredibly stupid acts anyone, let alone two kids on full athletic scholarships, could ever do.

Now Chris Fouch, Gerald Colds, Samme Givens and Derrick Thomas must make up for the loss of Harris.  Fouch, the CAA Rookie of the Year will certainly improve his game.  But look to Samme Givens to increase his offensive output and be the key to Drexel's success. With Leon Spencer graduated, Coach Bruiser Flint needs an inside scorer, and Givens shot 49 percent from the field last season.  He is also a very good rebounder whose rebounding matched his points per average - 8.3.  Plus Bruiser's teams always play good defense, so the Dragons will be in most games.

The Dragons were at one time 9-4 in the conference before struggling down the stretch, losing five of their last seven.  Drexel lost to JMU in the first round of the CAA Tournamant a week after beating the Dukes on the road.  As for this season, well just like the rest of the CAA, Drexel plays a tough non conference schedule.  Road games at Rhode Island, Syracuse and Louisville, plus the annual tussle with St Joseph's.   Then it's onto conference games with a guaranteed Bruiser stomp at every venue along the way.

Delaware is my pick for a team on the rise and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they even finish higher than eighth.   The Blue Hens return their two best scorers, Jawan Carter and Alphonso Dawson, plus point guard Brian Johnson should return from injury by the end of the calendar year.  Throw in a couple of sophomore forwards, Jamelle Hagins and Kelvin McNeil, who are only getting better and Delaware should certainly be better than their 7-24 record.

A healthy Brian Johnson will go a long way in improving the Blue Hens.  In 2008-09, Johnson averaged 10 points, 5 assists and only 2.4 turnovers a game while shooting 49 percent from the field, including 39 percent from three.

Delaware will not have Johnson back for the game at Ohio on November 13 and he may not be back for the game vs. Villanova on December 18.   But he should certainly be back for when conference play really starts up in January.    Given a little time, the Blue Hens will be competitive come the second half of the season.

Northeastern is coming off a very wild, sometimes successful but ultimately disappointing season.  With a veteran squad, the Huskies limped out of the gate, starting out 2-7 before winning eleven in a row, including eight straight in conference.  A loss to Drexel only resulted in another four consecutive wins after that.  Noreaster looked like the Perfect Storm in the CAA at 12-2 until they struggled down the stretch going 3-5 in their last eight games.  They only survived the quarterfinal round due to an error in strategy by Hofstra's former coach, Tom Pecora, then were edged out in the semis by William and Mary.  A loss at UConn in the NIT ended their season and the careers of their three starting seniors, Matt Janning, Nkem Ojougboh and Manny Adako, and sixth man Baptiste Bataille.

The Huskies return Chaisson Allen, who averaged 13.6 points per game, along with starting forward Alwayne Bigby.  Joel Smith, Kauri Black and Vinny Lima will need to step up off from the bench and give quality playing time for Coach Bill Coen.  Allen needs scoring help in the backcourt and Joel Smith must provide that scoring.   It's going to be a struggle for Coen, who has ten freshmen and sophomores on his team.  However I can't wait to see top Huskie recruit Ryan Pierson defend Mason's Ryan Pearson in the post.  Can't wait to see the announcing crew trip over that one.

The schedule is not going to be kind for Coen's young team either.  At Southern Illinois on ESPN's 24 hour coverage of the first day of college basketball (November 16).  A home game with Siena, then at Utah State, at Providence, then the Cancun Governor's cup vs. St Louis, among others, before the conference schedule kicks in.

As for the rest of the league, Towson still has Tony Franklin, an emerging RaShawn Polk, but their best player, Robert Nwankwo, won't be eligible until the Spring Semester due to a credits issue. Braxton Dupree, a junior transfer from Maryland is supposed to be a really good player, but let's wait and see before we start calling him the second coming of Denzel Bowles.  If Dupree is half as good as Bowles, combine him with Nwankwo in late January and Pat Kennedy could finally be a happy man.

Coach Buzz Peterson knows that his first year with UNC Wilmington will be a struggle.  His tallest player is 6 foot 7 forward Keith Rendelman.  He does have two other starters in Chad Tomko and Ahmad Grant returning but depth is a serious question after those three.  Tomko also desperately needs to cut down on his turnovers.  3.4 turnovers per game for a starting point guard is just not acceptable.  If Seahawks fans are patient, Peterson should have this team turned around in a couple of years.  He has successfully recruited an eight man incoming class for next season.

Someday, Georgia State will be really good.  Whether that's in yours or my lifetime, well that's anyone's guess.  The top five leading scorers from last season's 12-20 team are all gone, leaving sixth leading scorer Jihad Ali as potentially their best player.  Rod Barnes needs a good season to potentially keep his job.  The problem is I don't think he's going to get that especially with a team with four incoming JUCOs.   That's not how to build a long term program.

But who knows what will really happen in the CAA this season until the games are actually played.  And I for one, can't wait.  Bet you can't either.

Plan Your Road Trips - Part II

Yesterday was November 2nd.  Election Day.  The day the Republicans took back the house in what seemingly was a national repudiation of the Obama Administration's first twenty months in office.  It was also the day after Iowa was cleared of any wrongdoing for a couple of their basketball  recruits meeting Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore at an Iowa football game.   Honestly, it seemed like much ado about nothing.  I think the recruits just wanted to ask Ashton about the above scene in the Shakespearean classic "Dude, Where's My Car?"

The above movie title is the perfect lead in for Part II of "Plan Your Road Trips" and Part II has a very colorful motif.  Our first road trip involves a state that inspired a "yellowbrick" road.  Another trip involves a "rose hill".  And finally, our third trip involves "Blue Hens".

1) Colorado State vs. Kansas - Saturday December 11, Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas.   If you are a huge college basketball fan and you have never gone to Lawrence to see a game at Allen Fieldhouse, one of the meccas of college basketball, I have one question for you.  What the hell are you waiting for?

You have a little more than a month to plan this trip.  Having gone on the trip to Lawrence to see Hofstra vs. Kansas last season,  I can tell you that you want to go to a non-conference game where you have the hope of getting a semi reasonably priced ticket.   Colorado State, coming off a .500 record last season, will probably be a more competitive opponent than say Longwood.

Step one, you will have to go to an secondary market service, like Stubhub to get tickets.  It's probably the only way you are going to get tickets for the always sold out Jayhawks.   Step two, take the Friday before the game off and book your flight for early Friday morning to Kansas City.  Then rent a car from the KC airport to drive to Lawrence.   You won't have to struggle to get a hotel room for Friday and Saturday like we did last year, since we didn't realize that the Jayhawks were hosting the Cornhuskers the next day in football.  The entire state of Nebraska booked just about all the rooms surrounding Lawrence.  Whatever you do, don't book the Econo Lodge in Lawrence, otherwise you might not have toilet paper or a working phone in your room.

Step three, make sure to have a GPS.  Then, when you get in on that Friday, take a  lunchtime drive from Lawrence to Williamsburg.  Williamsburg is the home of Guy and Mae's Tavern, one of the best barbecue places in Kansas.  You must, you must, you must, order the ribs.  And this is coming from someone who is not a big ribs fan.  They are that good.  Wash it down with their iced tea and you are in BBQ heaven.

Step four, a few hours before the game on that Saturday night, go to the Free State Brewing Company in downtown Lawrence.  Great beer brewed on the premise for a reasonable price ($4 a pint) and damn good cheddar soup.  Then step five, get to Allen Fieldhouse early enough to soak in the atmosphere.  Spend time looking at all the memorabilia and history in the Hall of Fame in the promenade.

Then get ready to hear one of the loudest crowds in all of college basketball, with the Kansas students standing for the entire game, serenading the road team with "Rock Chalk Jayhawk".  Don't worry if you happen to be a CSU Ram fan.  I wore my Hofstra sweatshirt that night at Allen and not one single fan abused me the entire evening.  Kansas fans are pretty respectful (well at least to non Missouri folks).  Just enjoy the moment in basketball mecca.  It's worth the trip.

2) Richmond vs. Fordham - February 5, 2011, Rose Hill Gym, Rosedale NY -   Want to know one of the best kept secrets in college basketball?  Rose Hill Gym on the campus of Fordham is a wonderful place to see a game.  It's cozy, nearly 3500 seats in total, but the 85 year old facility is a walk back in time.

I have seen a few games at Rose Hill, including a barnburner in February 2008, in which Rhode Island came back from a fifteen point first half deficit to win 65-63.  What I remember especially was that it was a day game and with the sun glowing into the windows, it was like being at church.

Now it seems many don't share my view of the Rose Hill Gym.  What I consider a church experience on a day game, others consider "a quaint, 3200 seat venue that does little to attract recruits and opponents."  Apparently for years Fordham fans and alumni want a new arena.   The honest truth right now is that Fordham's team doesn't have the fan base for a new arena, due to honestly the lack of success with the men's basketball program.  The Fordham basketball team has won a total of FIVE games in the past two seasons. And if you take out an 18-12 record in the 2006-07 season,  Fordham's record in the other eight seasons is a combined 62-166.

That's why Fordham hired Tom Pecora away from Hofstra.  Under Pecora, Hofstra won twenty plus games four times in the past six seasons, including three NIT bids (one of which should have been a NCAA at large bid).  And Pecora recruits heavily in the city and has a lot of city connections.   And I know I have been a frequent critic of his Xs and Os, but give Pecora his due, he knows talent.   During his years as an assistant coach and head coach at Hofstra, the Pride/Flying Dutchmen had longtime NBA player Speedy Claxton, Norman Richardson (briefly played with the Pacers and Bulls), Rick Apodaca (played on the Puerto Rican Olympic Team), Loren Stokes (former CAA player of the Year), Antoine Agudio, Carlos Rivera and most recently, CAA player of the year, Charles Jenkins.

So in time, I think Fordham under Pecora will definitely be better than the past several seasons.  But give him some time, since he has a young team.  Thus why I selected the February 5th game vs. Richmond as your road trip game.   Pecora's team that includes ten freshmen and sophomores should be playing better in the second half of the season.  Richmond, which made the NCAA Tournament last season, returns their best player, 2010 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Kevin Anderson.  Plus, it's a day game (1:00 PM start).  So hope that it is a sunny day, get an early brunch, then head to mass to watch the Spiders take on the Rams.

3) Hofstra vs. Delaware - February 12, 2011 - Bob Carpenter Center, Newark Delaware.   For those of you in NY, like me, here's a suggestion.  On Saturday, February 12, take a trip down the Jersey Turnpike/I-95 to Newark to see one of the old former America East rivalries at the Bob, as it is affectionately called.  This is a trip that Tieff and I have done a couple of times and had a great time both times (it's also a similar route if you are heading to Towson to see the Tigers play, another trip we have done a few times).

First, you have a quality road trip.  You and one of your best friends are talking about life, work, and most importantly, hoops for the two plus hours (at least for us) to get to the Bob.  Then you when you get off the exit off of I-95, not too long  after you will see the David M Nelson complex, which contains the football stadium on the left and the Bob on the right.  The Frank E. Acierno arena is located inside the Bob.  The arena seats 5,000 and was previously the host for the first two rounds of the America East Tournament for six consecutive years (1996-2001).  There is also a reception lounge area for the alumni club that has a view of the arena.

But what's best about the arena is the concession area when you first walk in.   Real food.  Hot turkey, roast beef and BBQ pork.  They slice the turkey and the roast beef right in front of you.  Add a couple of sides to make it a platter and throw in a drink.  Total cost, $12 for a real meal right at the game.  And to eat your meal, there are large event round tables to sit at.  You end up talking to other fans at the same table.  A good meal and good friendly conversation.

Now the Blue Hens have fallen on hard times since they left the America East for the Colonial Dipper League.  This generally coincides with former coach Mike Brey leaving after the 1999-2000 season for the Land of Leprechauns.  Dave Henderson, the replacement for Brey brought the Blue Hens back to the America East Championship game but lost to Hofstra in the title game.  After that, it was onto the CAA with a few seasons around .500, then it was all downhill after that for Delaware.  Since 2004-05, the Blue Hens have an unseemly 59-127 record.

But things should be better for the Blue Hens this season. By the time of this game in February 2011, point guard Brian Johnson should be around 100 percent from his recovery from knee surgery (he is out the first 4-6 weeks of the season).  He averaged ten points and five assists per game in 2008-09.  2009-10 leading scorer senior guard Jawan Carter and his 18 points per game returns as does second leading scorer Alphonso Dawson.   Sophomore forwards Kelvin McNeil and Jerome Hagins should be better.  I think Delaware is going to be better than people think.

And of course their opponent for this February game is long time America East foe Hofstra, with the returning CAA Player of the Year Charles Jenkins, transfer Mike Moore, improving David Imes and new coach Mo Cassara.   Both teams should be playing better by the time of this game.  I think it will be a very good game at the BOB in February.

So there you have it, three more itineraries to plan.  But these are just three more games in a myriad of college basketball games that you can go to.  Remember, it's best seeing a college basketball game live.

Mid Majority's Seventh Sojourn/Required Reading - One Beautiful Season

If you know me, then you definitely know that I am a huge Moody Blues fan.  Seen them 20 plus times since the first time I saw them in concert.  That was 1984, eight rows from the stage at Jones Beach Theater here on Long Island.  It was the second night of their scheduled stop at Jones Beach.  They added the show due to the first one selling out.  Back then, they were a really big draw.   They still draw well, twenty six years later.  I should know, I saw them at CMAC up in the Finger Lakes this summer as well as last year at Radio City Music Hall, which was again played in front of a sold out crowd.

The Moody Blues put out an album in 1972 called Seventh Sojourn, which included the big hit "I'm Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band".  I thought it was a perfect lead-in to this article about The Mid Majority's Seventh Season,which started at midnight this morning.  But the reason I used the Moody Blues reference here is more than just Seventh Sojourn = TMM Seventh Season.  It's much more interesting than that.

If you are a contributing member to the The Mid Majoriy site, or TMM as it's called, or are a regular reader of the TMM, you know that every November 1st starts the TMM's season.  The TMM season runs from November 1st until the final mid major is eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.   This past season, the end didn't come until the outcome of the NCAA Tournament Final when Duke outlasted Butler 61-59.

2009-10 was the season of the mid-major.  If you include Xavier as a mid-major, which for these purposes only, I will, five mid major teams made the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament - Xavier, St Mary's, Northern Iowa, Cornell and Butler.   Four of those teams' sojourn ended at the Sweet Sixteen round of play. But of course, Butler would defeat Syracuse, Kansas State and Michigan State in that order before giving the Blue Devils their best game in the dance.

The 2009-10 season was captured in the recent book "One Beautiful Season" by Kyle Whelliston, the author and founder of the The Mid Majority site.  Several chapters are adapations from Kyle's essays on the Mid Majority Site and some segments are from his work at the Basketball Times.    However, when segments new and old are all woven together, "One Beautiful Season", simply put, is an epic.  It's  five hundred and fifty five glorious pages dedicated to this past college basketball season.  But it's more than just recapping Butler's great run or the seasons' of the other successful Mid Major teams.

One Beautiful Season is also about the struggle for the all the mid major teams across the country striving for success.   It's also about coaches, who most people have never heard of, trying to get their teams to have a winning season to keep their jobs, let alone make it to the Big Dance.  It's also about coaches, like Tennessee Tech's Mike Sutton, who is literally trying to hold onto life after suffering a crippling disease. It's also about Morehead State's Donnie Tyndall, coach of Morehead State.  Reading the book, you will find out why Tyndall believes in his "The Game Will Hurt You" philosophy.

The book is not all about tragedy.  It also has its humorous moments when Kyle takes on various jobs such as assistant coach, assistant Sports Information Director, Stat Crew member (which is an absolutely surreal look into stat geek land), and last, but not certainly least, Kazoo member of the Northeastern Pep Band.   You'll happily learn about the coach underneath the basket during warmups, jammed printers causing havoc during games, "J22" and what section the Kazoo fits in the band.

It's also a book that details the cold hard reality of the finances of college basketball, where Final Fours are in giant football stadiums, stadiums that are often right across from abandoned buildings.  It's a world where journalists have to drink from required branded cups during the Final Four, small schools play guaranteed or "body bag" games just to keep their basketball budgets afloat, or where some schools have to abandon their dreams and move down to DIII due to lack of money.

Finally, it's a true labor of love that Whelliston has written.  It's all about the lonely road trips from one basketball school in the midwest or southeast to another.  It's about towns like Natchitoches, Edwardsville, and Cookeville, homes of Northwestern State, SIU Edwardsville and Tennessee Tech where low mid major teams struggle to succeed.  It's about the rivalries between two schools, Belmont and Lipscomb on the same boulevard in Nashville.

What Whelliston has crafted is a masterpiece.  It's a book that once you start, you eagerly anticipate Kyle's next chapter interwoven from the prior chapter.  And for those of us who are familiar with many of the stories from the past TMM season, it's often a great look back at how the season unfolded along the way.  If you're a fan of college basketball, this book is absolutely required reading.  You can purchase it here.

So back to the TMM season seven.  Last night was the launch party for the site.   Via Ustream, Kyle replayed last season's classic Duke vs. Butler championship game on the site while many of us tweeted comments to the site using #s7 hashtag.  There in tweetspace you could see all the people following along and commenting, including yours truly.



After the replay was over, the site played "One in Seven" by the Engineers (a song so good, I downloaded it to ITunes after I figured out what the song was and who played it).  We all awaited excitedly and actually tweeted down the minutes to midnight and the start of season seven.   It was like waiting for the gates to open and see your favorite rock band play.  In this case, it was to be the first able to read "Prologue, the Constellations."  It's such a good start to the season, I will let you read it for yourself.

But it's not just the start of Season 7 of the TMM.  To me, the launch of season seven of TMM is truly the unofficial start of the college basketball season.   If you have a favorite college team, you can now think about the possibilities of a successful season, that chance to go to the big dance.  It's also looking forward to just being able to watch college basketball games, the best sport to see live.



I am ending this column with the song "New Horizons", another song off the Moody Blues Seventh Sojourn album.  This version is done by the Moody Blues lead singer/songwriter Justin Hayward.  It's one of my all time favorite Moody Blues songs.  The definition of sojourn is "a temporary stay" or "to spend a certain length of time".   You can say a season is a temporary stay or a certain length of time.   Thus you can say that Season Seven of the TMM is a Seventh Sojourn.  A sojourn many of us are looking forward to and thanks Kyle for making it happen.