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.

Around the World of the College Hardwood

Considering it's Halloween and considering my first subject in this article, I thought a proper Halloween motif was needed.  Thus my favorite clip from  "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." If you are one of the few, the proud, ie the dedicated readers of this site, you know that I am not the biggest fan of Kentucky Coach John Calipari.   Thanks to a line from Jayson Williams' book, I have dubbed Calipari "The Antichrist".  And without fail, it seems every college basketball presason, The AntiChrist is the center of controversy.   Last season it was JohnWall and his eligibility.  This season, it's Enes Kanter and his eligibility.

So leave it to The Antichrist to add fuel to the controversy.  In last Friday's Lexington Herald-Leader, an article noted the following;

"According to a transcript posted on Calipari's Web site Wednesday night, the UK coach said of the Kanter case, "I love what the NCAA did with Dee Bost. Dee Bost decided to put his name in the NBA Draft; stayed in the Draft — meaning he was then a professional and could not come back and be an amateur. Yet, they looked at it and said, wait a minute, common sense says, we're going to let him play, sit him out some games and let him play."

If you want to read the transcript, click here to read it on The Antichrist's own web site. Don't worry, you don't have to do any online signup in blood or have to "click here to accept giving your first born to us".  The transcript comes from an interview that the Antichrist did with Jimmy Dykes on ESPN's Big Blue Madness coverage.

Well apparently Rick Stansbury, the head coach of Mississippi State, was watching the ESPN coverage from Hades and was none too happy about the comparison.  At SEC Media Day, Stansbury commented on this comparison by saying about Bost - "He's not a pro...For any kind of comparison to be made, I don't think Dee is a good one to make it on."   Furthermore, Stansbury had the courage to say what many others, including myself have thought, about Kanter and Kentucky in general;.

"Everybody across the landscape of college basketball understands what that situation was," Stansbury said. "Everybody is probably waiting to see (if) Kentucky gets something, is it because, with Kentucky, something's maybe different than another school."

Wow!  Stansbury even went up to Calipari to talk about this at SEC Media day.  Well Stansbury's right, Bost did not EVER play in a professional league, as did Kanter.  Bost's only mistake was not realizing when the deadline was to pull his name from the NBA draft (and the deadline had been just moved starting this past season - still Bost should have had a clue).   That would be like comparing Katy Perry to Meryl Streep as an actress because Katy happened to have appeared on Saturday Night Live.  That doesn't suddenly make Perry "an actress", though the above spoof on her "left on the cutting room floor" duo with Elmo from Sesame Street was pretty funny.



In other college basketball news, it looks like conference plundering is in full swing, thus a little John Cleese pirate humor is in order.  After Utah and BYU stated their intentions to leave the Mountain West after the 2010-11 season (Utah for the PAC-10 and BYU going independent in football and going to the WCC in Basketball), the MWC had to act to keep their conference strong.  They had already added WAC's Boise State to the fold for the 2011-12 season.   Then the MWC struck at the heart of the WAC again by adding Nevada and Fresno State for the 2012-2013 season.

The Mountain West has a history of causing the WAC grief.  The Mountain West was formed in 1999 when eight teams left the one time sixteen member WAC.   NCAA basketball fans can thank the MWC for creating the dilemma of 31 automatic berth teams to go along with 34 at large teams.  Thus the creation of the Play In Game, otherwise known as the P.I.G., what was and still probably is the most unfair game in NCAA championship sports.

Right now the WAC would be down to six teams for the 2012-13 season, which would mean by rules, they would lose their automatic qualifier bid to the NCAA Tournament.  But don't cry for the WAC just yet.  The WAC is already looking to fill those voids.  Among the schools the WAC are looking at are Montana, Texas State, Texas San Antonio, Denver and Seattle.  Seattle is currently a DI  independent in basketball and Denver is only DI in basketball.   Montana and Denver seem like perfect fits.  The Grizzlies, currently members of the Big Sky, are looking to move into DI football.  The  Pioneers are by far the furthest western point of the Sun Belt conference and really don't fit into the conference's southeastern profile.



With the next topic, I thought it was appropo to have a YouTube link to the very recently deceased Paul the Octopus.   As you may know, Paul was very accurate in predicting World Cup games.  And, it's that time of year when prognostications for the NCAA Tournament actually begin.  Yes, in October.  Blogging the Bracket is already on board with their predictions for the Power Six conferences, as well as "The Other 25 Conferences".   First, I have to kind of laugh that there is this split.  ESPN is guilty of it too with their Bubble Watch.   But it's funny how Blogging the Bracket says "The Other 25" as if they are well, not worthy of mention in the first story.

Well, here at the College Hardwood, we do have separation as well, but we try not to make the non Power Six conferences feel like lepers.   Here's how it is broken down into three groups on this site,

1. The Power Six  - ACC, Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, PAC 10, and SEC 
2. The Wannabees - Atlantic 10, Conference USA and the Mountain West
3. The  Mid Majors - America East, Atlantic Sun,  Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, MAAC, MAC,  MEAC, Missouri Valley, NEC, Ohio Valley, Patriot,  Southern, Southland,  Summit, Sun Belt,  SWAC, West Coast and WAC.

The Power Six and The Mid Majors are pretty obvious.  The Power Six are the large multiple tournament bid basketball/BCS football conferences.  The Mid Majors are the historically one tournament bid basketball conferences.  Where I differ with some people is "The Wannabees", which I talked about in an article this past January.  Those are the conferences that either are multiple bowl bid football conferences - Conference USA and Mountain West, or have been historically a multiple tournament bid basketball conference - The Atlantic 10.  

To break it down even further, if you are one of the few the proud, the readers of this site, you know that I believe the Atlantic 10 has never been a mid major conference.  This is due to the conferences significant NCAA Tournament history and either the basketball program or overall athletic program funding or revenue of several of the schools - Xavier, Dayton, Temple, St Joseph's and UMass for example.  Plus the A10 has shown a recent history of looking down at the term "Mid Major".  So, if you don't want to be a mid major and you're not a power six conference, you're a "wannabe".

Anyway, back to the point of tournament bid projections.   You will not see NCAA Tournament Bid projections in late October or November on this site (Hell, you won't see them here till February 2011). It's just way too early for conjecture.  Plus an octopus predicting world cup games is far more accurate than a basketball prognosticator in October. Finally, I think Blogging the Bracket missed one of the best "Other 25 Conference" teams in the country (go to the suggested link below in the next paragraph to see who I am talking about)

The only thing you will see is either my thoughts on two NCAA Tourmament teams from last season being possible Sweet Sixteen teams or the soon to be seen preseason Baker's Dozen Poll, the thirteen tastiest/best Mid Major teams in the country (and that's a poll the College Hardwood runs during the entire season).

Forget about NCAA Tournament projections in the Fall.  Just be happy that in about ten days or so, the NCAA basketball season starts.  Isn't that all that really matters?

Hofstra Fanfest Results in a Pleasant Surprise

Saturday was Hofstra's Fanfest which featured team scrimmages for both the women's and men's basketball teams.   There were inflatables for the kids to play with, free food from Outback Steakhouse, season ticket holders could pick up their tickets and of course there was basketball.

Only a couple hundred fans were in attendance to see new Hofstra Men's Coach Mo Cassara mingle with the crowd or watch, in an even nicer touch, Hofstra Women's Coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey introduced her entire team to the crowd.  But I think those in attendance had a good time.

Tieff and I got there during the women's vs men's drill challenges after spending a late afternoon at Cozymel's for strawberry margaritas and mexican food.  Had we realized that there would be Outback catering the event, we wouldn't have eaten at Cozy's.  But the Outback catering was not the only surprise on the day.  The other big surprise was about to take place.

The women's team took the court for two eight minute periods.   After eight minutes we were surprised.  After sixteen minutes, we were damn impressed.  The Hofstra Pride Women's team has a lot of  talent.  They are led by All Preseason First Team CAA Shante Evans who was second team All CAA as a freshman last season.  That's right, she's only a sophomore.  She averaged 13 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

But here's the scary thought.  Though you could tell Evans is extremely talented, she was the fourth best player on the court on Saturday.  The best player on the court was junior point guard Candice Bellocchio, who is fluid and cat quick.  She averaged nearly 8 points and 5 assists per game in her sophomore season.   Bellocchio is extremely quick driving the paint, fearless and has a great touch on her passes to her teammates.

But for every point guard that can drive the lane, there has to be a deadly shooter the guard can kick out to for the open three.   The Pride Women's team seems to have that guard in junior Nicole Capurso.  Capurso averaged nearly ten points per game, led the team in threes with 58 and was eighth in the CAA in three point field goals per game with 1.7.   She buried several threes during the scrimmage and appears poised to improve on her statistics this year.

But the surprise for the women's team might be fellow junior Marie Malone, a 6 foot 2 forward who transferred from West Virginia two years ago.  She only averaged 4.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season.  But she looked very solid, showed good post moves and showed a nice touch on her baskets, which she had several.

Coach Kilburn-Stevesky has done a very nice job going into her fifth season as head coach of the Pride.  Her first season, 2006-07, she led the Pride to their best Division I record ever, 26-8, a win over #17 Michigan State and taking Hofstra to the quarterfinals of the WNIT beating Seton Hall and South Carolina.   After struggling in her next season with a 5-25 team, her team has improved the past two seasons.

In 2008-09 the Pride improved to 16-14, then 20-14 last season, which included a first round win over Penn State in the WNIT.   Her overall record at Hofstra is 67-61 and the Pride, which only has two seniors on the team, are picked to finish fourth in a very competitive CAA.  Last season, James Madison made the Women's NCAA Tournament, while Delaware, VCU, Old Dominion and Hofstra all made the WNIT.

After the women's scrimmage completed, it was on to the men's scrimmage.  I can honestly say, that with few exceptions, it was hard to say how talented this men's team is.  But I had the same feeling last season during last year's Blue and White men's scrimmage and that team won 19 games.

I did say there were exceptions though.  First, Charles Jenkins is, well Charles Jenkins. The reigning CAA Player of the Year plays just as hard in a scrimmage as he does in a CAA Tournament game.  Jenkins though was trying his best to get others involved.  Greg Washington's outside jumper was in midseason form.   But while the senior veterans Jenkins and Washington look ready to go, there are others that Hofstra needs to count on.

Every time Brad Kelleher drained a three, I wanted to rip my hair out due to the NCAA's completely unfair rulings on his eligibility.   Kelleher has simply a beautiful shooting stroke and everyone will unfortunately have to wait eight games to see it.  Mike Moore showed some flashes of his scoring ability.  JUCO Dwan McMillan seems decent enough to be the starting point guard at least until Kelleher is eligible.

And of all the freshmen, curiously enough redshirt Paul Bilbo showed the most work ethic and aggressiveness (and he looks much trimmer than last season).  None of the other four freshmen really stood out and yes, senior guard/forward Nate Lester was there, but did not play due to his torn quad muscle.   Apparently in about a month or so, they will know whether Lester can play this year or not.  If Lester can play, he would give them much needed depth.

But one player stood out the most in the men's scrimmage.  And if you were at the Hofstra Men's Season Ticket Holder reception a few weeks ago, this should not have come as a surprise.  At the reception, Coach Cassara singled out sophomore forward David Imes as someone who really impressed him during the initial practices.

Well guess who was the best player for the men's team during the scrimmage?  Yup, Imes.  He showed an outside jumper, improved mobility and definitely a new aggressive streak to his game.  Now Imes showed in limited time last year that he's a hard worker.   He seems to have improved his all around game to match that hard work.  A starting lineup of Jenkins, Moore, McMillan, Washington and Imes could be pretty good.  Depth is a serious question though.

Yes it was only two scrimmages, but to Tieff and I, there was a lot to be impressed about, especially the women's team.  Their first game is Friday, November 12 at home versus nationally ranked Virginia.  Tieff and I know what we are doing that Friday night.  Why don't you join us at the Mack Arena for some quality women's basketball?   Then join us Saturday for the first men's game of the season as Hofstra is home vs. Farmingdale.  Hey, it will be a weekend full of Pride.

Live Updates Today via Twitter from the Blue and White Scrimmage

I will be tweeting today from the Hofstra Blue and White Scrimmage.  Follow me for today only @gmoore21566.  After today, I will only be tweeting College Hardwood news at @collegehardwood.  Now go plan some road trips!

Plan Your Road Trips - Part I

Over the past several years of watching college basketball, nothing gives me greater pleasure than taking a road trip to see a game.  The memories you get out of a six hour drive to Richmond, spending a weekend in Charleston, South Carolina, or to witness history in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tourney in Raleigh are simply priceless.

It always helps to have a partner in crime, and I have two of them, my friends Tieff and Mal, who share my Hofstra season tickets.  Tieff has been with me on just about every road trip I have done, sans one.  That's when I traveled up to Worcester, Mass in November 2007 to see Hofstra play Holy Cross in a required return matchup of the previous season's Bracketbuster game.  Otherwise, Tieff and I have never missed a Waffle House that was in our path.

Mal has gone on a few CAA Tournament road trips with us in 2006 and 2007.  But the Golfman, as we call Mal, was instrumental in perhaps one of our greatest road trips, the trip to Raleigh, North Carolina in March, 2008 to see Davidson and specifically Stephen Curry, put on perhaps the greatest show ever seen in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.  You couldn't ask for better college basketball, more perfect weather (got a round of golf in on the off day),  and great company.

But it's not just the long trip to Kansas to see Hofstra play in basketball mecca, or to Richmond, Charleston or Raleigh that are special. It's even the small trips to Fairfield for a televised ESPN Bracketbuster game and you stop along the way for a pizza at the famous Frank Pepe's.  Or getting very early to a  Bracketbusters game at Iona and going across the street and stopping at the Beechmont Tavern for a burger and a beer while viewing all the Gael memorabilia in the restaurant.

If you have ever got anything out of this blog, it's the idea of seeing a college basketball game LIVE!  It's not just the two hours of constant action, reveling in the great loud student sections when a college gym is sold out due to the home team hosting their first ever Division I postseason game.  But it's also the trip revolving around the game that's often equally as fun.

So as a public service, I am going to give you the first in a series of recommendations for road trips which includes actual game dates.

1) Puerto Rico Tipoff - San Juan, Puerto Rico - November 18-21 - I had seriously considered going but it would have meant leaving on my younger son's third birthday on November 17.  Now for the rest of you who don't have a child's birthday around that time, here's a great way to go see some quality college basketball.   Twelve games in three days with a break after the second day to go to the beach and enjoy the warm Puerto Rican sun.   And talk about quality basketball - North Carolina, West Virginia, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Western Kentucky, Davidson and Hofstra are the eight teams here.   Three NCAA tournament teams from last season.   What else could you want?

2) Charleston Classic - Charleston, South Carolina - November 18-21 - Now Tieff and I did this trip two years ago when the Charleston Classic first started.  We had such great fun "doin the Charleston".  The Carolina First Arena is right smack in the middle of the College of Charleston campus, perfectly placed in with all the brick buildings the school has.   The College of Charleston was the host team for the first Charleston Classic Tournament, but strangely, they haven't played in last season's or this season's tournament (last season they chose Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic Tournament instead, not bad mind you).

This season, Georgetown, NC State and defending SoCon champ Wofford are the big three teams.  But you also have George Mason, Charlotte, East Carolina, Coastal Carolina and South Carolina Upstate, so the tournament has a definitive southern flavor to it.  And of course, you have the City of Charleston, with it all it's terrific classic southern architecture, great food and a terrific night life.  It's one of my favorite cities.

Recommendations - stay in town for the tournament (don't do what we did) and as for food selections, well Hyman's Seafood is the place to go.  And if you can plan it out, there's still plenty of golf in Myrtle Beach in November and you can get a hotel real cheap off season on the water (trust me it's still warm there in November).

3) MSG Holiday Festival - Madison Square Garden, NYC - December 20, 21  - This is a two day tournament that Tieff and I have gone to many times over the years.  Thanks to last year's Holiday Festival, we got to know how good a team the Big Red of Cornell was before their NCAA Tournament run.

Two teams from last year's Holiday Festival return, host St John's and Davidson.  Those two teams square off in a first round game while Northwestern plays St. Francis in the other game.  The first game features Steve Lavin in his first Holiday Festival as St John's coach vs. Davidson's Bob McKillop, one of my favorite all time coaches.   St John's is on an upswing, predicted to finish sixth in the competitive Big East.  Northwestern is coming off a 20 win season with a NIT appearance and returns their leading scorer, John Shurna.

The Holiday Festival is a perfect time to be in NYC.  Of course, I would highly suggest going to see the tree in Rockefeller Center.  As for dinner, you really can't go wrong picking a good place to eat in one of the great restaurant capitals in the world.  But since you are near midtown, I highly recommend Tony DiNapoli's.  Just make sure to book a reservation ahead of time.  Then when you are there, order the sangria and Tony's Chicken (order a family style portion!).  The cheesecake is also really good.  Trust me on this one.

4) Hofstra vs. Iona - New Rochelle - December 29 - OK, this is a local NY metro area trip I highly recommend.  Why?  First, I am giving you the scoop on what I think is a team that is going to do really well this season and is flying under the radar, the Iona Gaels. They have a new coach in Tim Cluess, whose C.W. Post teams played a fantastic uptempo style.  Combine this with a team that is returning seven players who averaged more than 12 minutes a game, including leading scorer Scott Machado.   Throw in two talented freshman in Sean Armand and Javon James, both of whom Jared Grasso first recruited for Fordham when he was interim coach (Grasso is now Cluess' top assistant at Iona).

The Gaels' opponent, the Pride, have the returning CAA Player of the Year, Charles Jenkins, who is simply a force of nature and a true treat to watch live.  It will be interesting to see how seven new players (five freshmen, a transfer in Mike Moore and Brad Kelleher free from NCAA suspension land) mesh together with Jenkins with a brand new coaching staff.  New coach Mo Cassara promises various types of offensive tempo depending upon the opponent.  So it could be very well a track meet on that Wednesday night in late December.

As I suggested earlier in this article, get to the Iona campus early on the 29th.  Park in the parking garage, then take the walk off campus across North Street to the Beechmont Tavern.  Have a burger and a beer and look over all the photos of past Iona athletes.   Disregard the Dolphins logo, as cool as it may look.  Then head to the Hynes Center and take in what promises to be a fun game.

5) St Josephs vs. Drexel - Philadelphia  December 1 -  Having been to the cozy gym known as the DAC, the place should be rocking that night with this inter Philly rivalry.  The DAC seats about 2300 of your closest friends and when full, is a truly classic college basketball experience.   Expect it to be full since it's still in semester and bragging rights are at stake.

Now of course, you are in Philly, so there's plenty of good cheesesteak to be found. You have Geno's , Pat's and Campo's among others.  Now if you are not in the mood for cheesesteak and you prefer Italian, I have one recommendation for you. Maggiano's.in Little Italy on Filbert Street.   Had a great Italian dinner after a classic Drexel- Hofstra game in 2006 that had an ending you couldn't believe unless you were there in person.

So there are my first five recommendations for road trips.  Part II will be in the next week or two.  Now go check your calendar, find a buddy to go with, get your wife's permission (good luck on that), go online and get some tickets, and make a plane reservation if necessary.  Trust me, even the planning for these trips is enjoyable.

CAA Media Day - Fun for the Crowd

Tuesday was Basketball Media Day for the CAA.   They announced the preseason polls for both the women and men's basketball leagues, as well as predicted their preseason players of the year, the preseason all CAA first teams for men and women, and most importantly, the CAA announced the TV schedules for both men and women.

The men's TV schedule is particularly impressive.  Yes, there are the 26 games on the various World Wide Leader (ESPN) channels plus a few other games on Fox College Sports.   But every other game is on some CAA team's internet site, whether it's Monarch TV, Mason All Access, GoHofstra.com or Hawkvision, just to name a few.   And if your CAA team is playing a non conference game on the road, chances are you can watch them on Buffalobulls.com (when Towson plays at Buffalo) or Bobcat TV-ohiobobcats.com (when Delaware travels to Ohio U.) or Orange All Access (suathletics.com) when William and Mary travel to the Cuse.



You can say that there are a lot of bad things or wacky things about the Internet (click here for the link of the Rent is Too Damn High Party web site).  However the ability to be able to watch your team playing on the road from your computer at home (or wherever) is a beautiful thing.  Yes, you will mostly like have to probably pay to view online your favorite CAA team play on the road,  and you may even get a team's live feed site that isn't very good (memo to the folks at GoZips.com - It's called "Play by Play").  But you can tell your friends how hardcore of a fan you really are!

As for those twenty six games on ESPN and three games on FCS, many of them feature defending CAA champ and NCAA 2010 Tournament First Round winner ODU.  Between the WWL and FCS, the Monarchs will have eight nationally televised games.  But Old Dominion is not the only CAA team in the national spotlight.  George Mason has seven games and VCU has six games respectively on the WWL family of networks.

Of course CAA Media Day is not just about TV schedules.  It's about the preseason poll or hearing the coaches speak.   With my real full time job, I didn't have chance to listen to the live feed from CAASports.com, but thankfully some folks wrote their usual good takes about the day.  Brian Mull gives you his usual good nuggets of information.  And of course, Mr. CAA himself, Mike Litos has some great quotes from the coaches.  The really insightful ones I thought came from Hofstra coach Mo Cassara.  I'll let you read the article and judge for yourself.

As for the preseason poll, no shock that ODU is picked to repeat. With four starters returning from a team that won the regular season and postseason titles, then knocked off Notre Dame in the first round of the tourney, I have the Monarchs as the favorite for the CAA too.   And not surprised by the usual suspects of Mason and VCU as the next two in the poll.  Then comes James Madison, and that's no surprise really, given the ton of talent on that team.  Meshing it together, well that remains to be seen.

And despite losing two starters to transfer, you can certainly see Hofstra being picked fifth simply due to the fact that the reigning CAA Player of the Year and Preseason Player of the Year, Charles Jenkins is back for another season of havoc.  However, there appears to be a major dropoff on the rest of the league due to teams losing players to bad conduct (Drexel with Jamie Harris), significant graduation (see William and Mary and Northeastern) or injury (Delaware with Brian Johnson still hurt).

As for the CAA Preseason First Team, no surprise that Jenkins leads it.  The others listed are Denzel Bowles (defiinitely by far, the biggest threat to Jenkins for winning CAA Player of the Year), VCU's Joey Rodriguez,  Northeastern's Chaisson Allen and Mason's Cam Long.  The Preseason Second Team has ODU's Kent Bazemore and Ben Finney, James Madison's Julius Wells, William and Mary's Quinn McDowell and Delaware's Jawan Carter.

But I am going to give you a little sneak peek of my CAA Season Preview article and tell you five players you need to know about that are not on either the preseason first team or second team.

• James Madison's Devon Moore.  Moore is returning from injury and will be the key to how successful the Dukes are this season.  I think he is much more first team material than Cam Long.
• Hofstra's Mike Moore.  Transfer from Fordham who Mo Cassara notes as having an "uncanny ability to score in different ways".  If he lives up to his billing, Hofstra could have a deadly one-two punch they have been missing since the Stokes-Agudio days. 
• Old Dominion's Frank Hassell.  When you are the second leading scorer from last season's team, you shoot 54 percent from the field and the leading scorer graduates, Blaine Taylor will be looking for you to score more. 
• VCU's Brandon Burgess.  Burgess is capable of lighting it up.  In his first two seasons, Burgess has shot  48 percent from the field.  Shaka Smart needs a new scoring option with Larry Sanders gone, so look for Burgess to blossom.
• George Mason's Ryan Pearson.  Look at the end of last season.  When Cam Long was basically a cast member on the TV show "Lost", Pearson was the Patriots' go to guy in the CAA Tournament.  With Gerald Lee and Sanders gone,  Pearson might be the best post player in the CAA.

What really happens this upcoming season, well for the most part, it's anybody's guess.  No one predicted last season that William and Mary would finish third in the conference and knock off teams like Maryland, Wake Forest and Richmond.  Nobody had any idea how good Denzel Bowles would be or that Larry Sanders would be taken with the 15th pick in the first round of the NBA draft.    

There are a few things for certain though this upcoming season.  First, the basketball in the CAA will again be good, especially with three veteran teams at the top of the league.  Second, without fail, recent history has shown that one of the four top regular season teams in the CAA will win the CAA Tournament.   And finally, once again, I will be having my share of Aunt Sarah's pancakes while in town for the CAA Tournament in Richmond in March.  As much as many things change, some things stay the same.

The Loss of a Great Fan

If you are a Yankee fan or like me, someone who loves baseball and has gone to their fair share of Yankee games over the years, chances are you ran into the man above, "Freddy Sez".  Fred Schuman was a long long time Yankee fan who would bring a sign, his trademark frying pan and his banging spoon to the game.  He would be regularly banging out a "Let's Go Yankees" chant, or let his fellow fans bang the pan for him.  He was at every Yankee game that I  can remember going to over the past 15 years.  My brother and I are convinced that the retired Bronx upholstery shop owner was a millionaire who was able to afford to be at every Yankee game for the last 20 years.

Sadly, Freddy Schuman passed away Sunday afternoon after a heart attack at the age of 85.  Schuman was such a revered Yankee icon that at tonight's Yankee game, they had a moment of silence for Freddy Sez.  Schuman has one of his trademark frying pans at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY as well as the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair, NJ.

So what does Freddy Sez' passing have to do with college basketball?  Well, as this NY Daily News article notes, a lot. Freddy was a "die hard booster" of Fordham and Manhattan men's college basketball.  And sure enough, Tieff and I saw Freddy three times at Fordham and Manhattan games the past couple of years.  The most recent time was when we went to see Hofstra travel to Draddy Gymnasium to watch the Pride take on the Jaspers in 2008. And there was Freddy with his trademark pan, spoon and a sign rooting the Jaspers on. I told Tieff of my brother's and my philosophy of Freddy being a millionaire, and Tieff agreed.  I even took a picture of Freddy and his trademark pan at the game.  Alas, I can't find the picture of him.

Freddy will be sorely missed by many people.  He added a unique and fun element to Yankee and college basketball games. More importantly, he was a dedicated fan to two great sports.   Somewhere in heaven, Freddy is banging away at his pans, encouraging his teams on from above.

From Around the World of the College Hardwood

Lots of things are going on in the College Hardwood.  Some are well known.  Some, not so.  So let's start in the "Under the Radar" category (thus the love for "Radar Love"!), last week James Madison found out that junior transfer Anthony Hitchens will be eligible this season to play for the Dukes.  Hitchens, who was a member of the all MAC freshman team with the Zips, had the fourth best assistant to turnover ratio in the MAC last season at 1.84, averaging 8.5 points and 3 assists per game.  Hitchens was granted a waiver to play this season by the NCAA.

With the addition of Hitchens, this may mean that coach Matt Brady will move Devon Moore to the two guard position.  This would give the Dukes a formidable lineup of Hitchens, Moore, Andrey Semenov, Julius Wells and the one man double-double wrecking crew, Denzel Bowles.  Moore and Semenov were out for most of last season due to injury.   If Moore and Semenov stay healthy, the Dukes should contend for the CAA title.   The addition of Hitchens moves Madison up to third on my preseason poll for the CAA.

Also last week, In the "I Don't Think That's Quite Enough Punishment for the NCAA's Liking" category, the University of Connecticut admitted that the men's basketball program committed "Major" violations and put the team on a two year probation.  The men's basketball team will lose one scholarship for each of the next two seasons.  However, the University did not find enough evidence to find that Coach Jim Calhoun had "failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance".

Now let's take a look at UConn's "punishment".  First, losing one scholarship each season, meaning 12 scholarships instead of 13, really means that Jim Calhoun can't get that third backup point guard (who is probably better off being the starter at say Northeastern anyhow).   That doesn't seem like much like a punishment to me.  It's like telling a bank robber, "Ok, I caught you robbing the bank, but I am going to give you one month jail time."

Second, when the school acknowledges that the team's coaching staff exchanged 1,400 calls and 1,100 text messages during an over three year period with agent/business manager Josh Nochimson, who was a former team manager for UConn, folks that's not an atmosphere of  compliance by Coach Calhoun.  Think about that.  That's like three calls and 2 texts a day.  Hell I am lucky if I call my wife once a day (and she doesn't text).

Finally, Nochimson is certainly not a boy scout.  He is being sued by former UConn and current Detroit Piston star Richard "Rip" Hamilton of stealing $1 million during Nochimson's tenure as Hamilton's business manager. Nochimson was "representing" former UConn player Nate Miles who was expelled from UConn after being arresting for violating a restraining order for abusing a female student.  Nochimson has been accused of providing lodging, transportation and meals to Miles.   Since Nochimson was a former employee and an alumnus of UConn, he is considered "a representative of the institution's athletic interests" and thus would be in violation of NCAA rules for doing so.

So one scholarship each season and two years probation?  After the Josh Luchs' revelations, similar to what's going on with Enes Kanter, the NCAA is not going to look very kindly to this and I think they will impose harsher sanctions.

Now, mind you I haven't thought this all the way through, but  if I were responsible for imposing the sanctions, here's what I would do.   I would make it at least three scholarships for the next three seasons, one for each year of 300 plus calls and 200 plus texts.


But I wouldn't stop there.  For the next three seasons (starting this season would be too difficult), UConn can not play a home non conference game and can not be paid for taking a road game.  What would that mean?  Well for example, if it started this season, instead of playing Vermont or New Hampshire at Gampel or even Tennessee at the XL center in Hartford, the Huskies would have to travel to Vermont, New Hampshire and play Tennessee in Knoxville.  It's less money for the school and also makes season ticket holders very upset. Perhaps they will be "Howling Huskies."

There has to be a serious enough punishment and denying ticket holders the right to see several games, thus upsetting the school's fan base might be a good start.  Like I said, I haven't thought this through, but I think it would at least be interesting, especially for Vermont and New Hampshire fans who get to see a quality home game.

As for Calhoun and company, they are meeting with the NCAA today in Indianapolis to see if the school imposed punishment is enough.  Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall for that meeting?

Finally, give St John's coach Steve Lavin some props.  He has already signed three top 100 prospects for the 2011-12 season.  And yesterday, Lavin got St John's to hire his former mentor, former Purdue coach Gene Keady as an advisor.  Keady is a terrific coach who led Purdue to 22 postseason appearances in 25 years.  Pretty damn impressive.  Keady will advise Lavin on practices and staff meetings.

It's a great move by Lavin to get an experienced X's and O's coach involved.  With at least five new NYC metro area coaches - Lavin at St John's, Tim Cluess at Iona, Mo Cassara at Hofstra, Dan Hurley at Wagner and Tom Pecora now at Fordham, all of whom seemingly have talented current teams or teams with talented future recruits coming in.  Perhaps city basketball is back on the rise and thus why I am in a New York State of Mind.

Questions and Answers

While cursing myself and my netbook for not saving my "Plan Your Road Trips" article (memo to self - "Mr IT guy, make sure you have set your Word 2007 automatic backup for 2 minutes"), I decided to start my regular run of articles with "Questions and Answers".  I will have the "Plan Your Road Trips" article this weekend.



The questions are entirely mine, but I like to think many people might be thinking the same questions.    As for the answers, their mine too, but are they right?  As Asia would sing "Only Time Will Tell". Hey, any excuse to get a great 80's song via Youtube into the mix.  And yes, I went with an Asia with Greg Lake 83 Tour version.

Question - Is Butler on the verge of being "The New Gonzaga"?

Answer - Folks, they already are.

I submit to you the following, Butler's record for the past nine years as evidence.

2001-02 - 24-6 - NIT Second Round
2002-03 - 27-6 - NCAA Sweet 16 (defeated #21 Miss State and #13 Louisville, lost to Oklahoma)
2003-04 -16-14 - No Postseason
2004-05 - 13-15 - No Postseason
2005-06 - 20-12 - NIT Second Round
2006-07 - 29-7 - NCAA Sweet 16 (defeated ODU and #22 Maryland, lost to Florida)
2007-08 - 30-4 - NCAA Second Round (defeated South Alabama, lost to #6 Tennessee in a ridiculous seeding arrangement )
2008-09 - 26-6 NCAA First Round (lost to #20 LSU)
2009-10 - 33-5 NCAA Finals (defeated #25 UTEP, Murray State, #8 Syracuse,#7 Kansas State and #4 Michigan State lost to #1 Duke in final)

Overall Record Last Nine Years- 218-75 (74.4% Winning Percentage).  Five NCAA tournaments, one NIT.  One Second Round appearance, Two Sweet 16 appearances and one NCAA Finals appearance. A postseason record of 11-6 during that span (10-5 in NCAA Tournament games).  Overall Butler has made ten NCAA appearances with an overall record of 13-10.

Now, take a look at the other Bulldog mid-major darling, Gonzaga, during that same time.

2001-02 - 28-3 - NCAA first round (lost to Wyoming)
2002-03 - 24-9 - NCAA Second Round (defeated Cincinnati, lost to #2 Arizona).
2003-04 - 28-3 - NCAA Second Round (defeated Valpo, lost to Nevada)
2004-05 - 26-5 - NCAA Second Round (defeated Winthrop, lost to Texas Tech)
2005-06 - 29-4 - NCAA Sweet 16 (defeated Xavier and Indiana, lost to UCLA)
2006-07 - 23-11 - NCAA First Round (lost to Indiana)
2007-08 - 25-8 - NCAA First Round (lost to #23 Davidson - I was there for that game).
2008-09 - 28-6 - NCAA Sweet 16 (defeated Akron and Western Kentucky, lost to eventual national champion North Carolina)
2009-10 - 27-7 - NCAA Second  Round (defeated Florida State, lost to #8 Syracuse)

Overall Record Last Nine Years - 238-56 (81% winning percentage).  Nine straight NCAA appearances. Four NCAA second round appearances, Two Sweet 16 Appearances.  A NCAA postseason record of 8-9 during that time.  Overall, Gonzaga has made 13 NCAA appearances with a 15-13 record.

Though Gonzaga has a better overall record and made four more NCAA appearances than Butler during that same nine year period, the Hinkle Fieldhouse Bulldogs actually have the better NCAA postseason record during that time. Also if you look at the last four seasons, Butler's overall record of 118-22 compares quite favorably with Gonzaga's record of 103-32.

If that's not enough proof that Butler has reached the Gonzaga stratosphere, take a look at the ESPN Bracketbusters list of teams.   Notice a glaring omission from that list.  Yup, Butler.  Butler was the major attraction the last two Bracketbusters, winning a home game vs. Siena last season, and winning on the road vs Stephen Curry and Davidson in 2009.  In fact Butler had been in the past four Bracketbusters.

Finally, I submit to you the piece de resistance to my argument that Butler is on par with Gonzaga.  December 4th, Izod Center, Meadowlands.  The rematch vs. Duke on ESPN.   Then, there's another nationally televised game on December 18 at home vs. Stanford (and yes, there is the annual matchup vs. Xavier, this year a road game on December 9).  Finally, Butler heads to the Diamond Head Classic, where they get Utah in the first round, and potentially matchups with Florida State, Baylor or San Diego State, all NCAA tournament teams from last season.

Despite the loss of Gordon Hayward, the Bulldogs still have Shelvin Mack, Matt Howard and Ronald Nored back, plus a talented highly recruited freshman in Khyle Marshall, so they are still a very talented team.  And with a highly touted 2011 class coming in next year, plus the great coaching of Brad Stevens, the Bulldogs should be good for years to come.  But Butler will no longer sneak up on anyone thanks to their incredible run that was one Gordon Hayward bank shot away from winning it all.   The spotlight is firmly square on these Hoosiers, along with a tough schedule this season, to live up to the standard the other Bulldogs from Gonzaga have set for a longer period of time.

Question - Excluding Butler and Gonzaga, (and since we at the College Hardwood don't include A-10 teams as mid-majors), what other mid major teams that made the NCAA tournament last season are most likely to give us an Sweet 16 encore this season?

Answer - Old Dominion and Murray State


The Monarchs won at Georgetown, then won the very competitive CAA regular season and the CAA Tournament, coming from behind to knock off VCU in overtime in the semifinals, then ending the NCAA posteason hopes of William and Mary in the final.   Then as icing on the cake, ODU came out and knocked off Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, before losing to Elite Eight member Baylor in the second round.

Four of the five starters from that team return - guards Kent Bazemore and Darius James, guard/forward Ben Finney and forward Frank Hassell.  They did lose their best player, All CAA First Team, Gerald Lee.  But super sixth man, Keyon Carter now joins the starting lineup.   The Monarchs always have a deep team, with usually eight players averaging about 10 minutes or more per game.

Plus they have one of the best in game tacticians in Blaine Taylor, perhaps one of the most underrated coaches in the NCAA.   Under Taylor, the Monarchs have made the NCAA Tournament three times in the past six seasons.  The Monarchs have won 20 or more games in five of the past six seasons, with an overall record of 148-60 (71 percent winning percentage).  If Hassell can step up and fill the scoring void of Lee (Hassell did shoot 54 percent from the field last season), then the Monarchs have a legitimate chance of not only making the NCAA Tournament, but doing serious damage in it.  The home games vs. Richmond and Dayton, plus a road game at Missouri will be good indicators of how good this team is.

Meanwhile, Murray State last season nearly ran the table in the Ohio Valley with a 17-1 record.  They followed that up by winning the OVC Tournament.   Despite a 30-4 record, the No Clue At All gave the Racers a #13 seed which they took out on #4 seed Vandy, beating the Commodores on a Danero Thomas buzzer beater.   Then Murray State gave Butler its toughest test of the tournament, outside of the loss to Duke (sorry Cuse, K- State and Michigan State fans, it's true - Murray State played them better than your teams).   The Bulldogs had to rally late to knock off the Racers 54-52.

And here's the scary thought for the Racers' opponents.  Ten players averaged ten minutes or more per game for Murray State last season.  EIGHT of those ten players are returning, including their three top scorers - B.J. Jenkins, Isaiah Canaan, and Ivan Aska, each of whom scored over ten points per game.  But it's not just balanced offense.  The Racers led the OVC last season in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, three-point percentage defense and blocked shots.

The Racers and college basketball fans are going to find out very quickly how legit they are.  A road game vs. Mississippi 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.  Just one thing to note - Another mid major team cut their teeth in the 76 Classic last season before making a major NCAA Tournament run.  That team was the Butler Bulldogs.  Coincidence?  Well, I am just saying...

By the way, both Old Dominion and Murray State are again in the Bracketbusters game.  Both know you can never have enough exposure for that wonderful NCAA Tournament Committee.

Question - How does the Kanter Situation Play Out?

Answer - There is a good chance Kanter never sees the light of day with Kentucky and declares for the NBA Draft in 2011.


If you don't know by now, Kentucky and The Antichrist, John Calipari, recruited Enes Kanter, the #3 rated center prospect in the country who is originally from Turkey but played prep school basketball in California. He originally committed to Washington, then reopened his recruitment in February 2010 and two months later he signed a national letter of intent with the Ashley Judds.   Now if only Kanter had just played prep basketball in California.

Based on several news articles, we know with certainty that Kanter played in nine games for the Turkish team Fenerbahce Ulker in the 2008-09 season, four in Euroleague play, and five in the Turkish league.  In fact, my guess is that this was the reason why he had to leave two other prep schools - Findlay Prep in Nevada and Mountain State in West Virginia, because the other prep schools in the league refused to play them if Kanter was on those teams.

Now by current NCAA rules, if you play for a professional league, though you weren't paid, you have to sit 2 games for every one game you played (see the Brad Kelleher saga for details).  That means Kanter would sit 18 games, or a good part of his freshman season.

But if it were just that, then Kanter would be able to eventually play with Kentucky.  But whenever the Antichrist is involved, you know it's more than just that.  The general manager of Fenerbahce Ulker, Nedim Karakas, said the club had given banking and housing records to the N.C.A.A.that show Kanter "received more than $100,000 in cash and benefits over three years from the professional team."  But if that was not enough, Kanter has been "advised" by Max Ergel, who was described by a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article as "the agent" for former Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova.

Of course the Antichrist has been defending his signing of Kanter.  He is quoted as saying the following in a Sporting News article;

“You can’t have a contract before 18. You can’t be professional — you’re not allowed to be unless they’re violating FIBA rules,” Calipari said. “We know that, as in any other club, he received apparel. But there was no money, from what we’re seeing, what the kid is saying and the family, and what Nike is saying.  There’s a lot of misinformation out there. You’ve got people talking about it that don’t know, just heard a rumor.”

I guess the Antichrist considers Karakas a rumormonger.  But it sure seems like the club's banking records are not just for "apparel".   Also, if several prep school teams won't play teams that had Kanter on them, chances are those schools knew something fishy about Kanter's background.  And those prep school coaches do their homework on foreign kids.

The reason I think that Kanter won't see the light of day with Kentucky is that the last thing the NCAA needs is bad press about them ruling lightly on this situation.  Especially after the news came out about Josh Luchs' story on how he paid several college players a significant amount of money over several years.  In light of this, the NCAA has to crack down on anything suspicious and someone is going to pay the price for that.  Thus I think the NCAA will declare Kanter ineligible and he declares for the NBA draft in 2011.   Anything less and the NCAA will be hammered on this.

And in sort of fitting end to this last story, the Antichrist stated on Tuesday that he figures his team will lose a lot of games early in the season.   Needless to say that, outside of the Kentucky Blue fan base, no one will be shedding a tear for that.  Especially John Chaney.   However, Ashley, if you need a shoulder to cry on, I am sure plenty of guys, including Pat Forde are available.  Me?  Hey, my wife reads this column.