Conference USA Basketball Preview

Last season was a banner year for Conference USA.  With six teams in the NCAA tournament, two in the NIT, and a wild and woolly conference race that ended in a five-way tie for first place, C-USA proved that they were among the elite conferences in the nation last year.  This season figures to be no different with many teams looking to repeat their success.  Next season is a different matter.  Four of the six teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament (Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, and Charlotte) will be departing for other conferences, as will St. Louis, Marquette, South Florida, and Texas Christian.  Before that happens, for it's tenth season C-USA figures to go out with a bang. 

Charlotte

First 49ers center Martin Iti flirted with the NBA draft, then rumors surfaced that he was transferring to a junior college this summer.   The intimidating 7'0" sophomore with serious shot blocking skills decided to stay put, much to the relief of 49ers coach Bobby Lutz.  Lutz did lose point guard Demon Brown and reserve Butter Johnson.  With four returning starters from last year's NCAA tournament team, the point guard position will be where the questions lie for Charlotte this season.   That puts alot of pressure on junior Mitchell Baldwin who was injured on the second day of practice and is out for two to three weeks.   6'1" freshman guard Leemire Goldwire will be relied upon at point guard for now.  "Lee is a freshman that can play either guard spot, he really is a tough competitor and is just a winner," said Coach Lutz.  "He’s won throughout his high school career and that will really help us."

Lutz's returning core of starters are Iti, sharpshooter Brendan Plavich, 2004 C-USA defensive player of the year Eddie Basden, and first team all-conference star forward Curtis Whithers.  Another newcomer expected to contribute is junior forward E.J. Drayton. "I think E.J. Drayton has a chance to be a really special newcomer," said Lutz. "He’s going to be our sixth man, probably most of the time. He could start and I really almost consider him a starter. I think he has a chance to be sixth man of the year in our league, because he can really score and he is so skilled offensively in addition to scoring, he can pass the basketball.  He’s 6'8", he can play either forward position.  He’s just very versatile, he needs to be stronger to rebound the ball, but offensively he is really skilled and a guy that can come off the bench and score points in a hurry and there is always room for a guy like that."

If Lutz can solve his point guard problem, the 49ers will be looking at a return trip to the NCAA tournament.

Cincinnati

Bearcats head coach Bob Huggins will miss the vocal leadership that Tony Bobbitt brought to last year's team.  "I think this is a very quiet team, but it was probably quiet because they had a hard time getting a word in for two years with Tony Bobbitt on the team," said Huggins.  The Bearcats also lose reserves Field Williams and Kareem Johnson.

Unlike past Bearcats teams, this year's version is thin in the frontcourt.  The Bearcats who do not feature a starter over 6'7", will need to go small and quick.  Coach Bob Huggins' past teams had relied on intimidating size.  Center Robert Whaley was dismissed from the team this summer due to academic ineligibility.  To add insult to injury, Bearcats redshirt freshman forward Mike Pilgrim announced his intent to transfer during the first week of practice.  This means that Jason Maxiell will be looked upon to play the center position and carry the load.  "Max has been our best player for the past two years. There is not anybody on the team who has contributed as much as what Max has on and off the floor. He’s been a terrific person off the floor and he’s been a terrific player on the floor," said Huggins.  Maxiell appears to be adjusting to his role on the team.  "Knowing that I’m going to be the big man inside, knowing that I have to guard the biggest man on the team, I have to play smart and not get into foul trouble," said Maxiell.  "Offensively, they also have to guard me which makes me have to go around them and with them being bigger makes me quicker than them. So we’re going to be an up and down team of running and shooting and going."

One position where the Bearcats do have depth this year is point guard.  Veteran Chadd Moore is in a surprising battle for the starting spot with junior college transfer Jihad Muhammad.

Also surrounding the team is the mid-summer sabbatical that Huggins took after his DUI arrest.  Huggins returned to the team in late August refreshed and reinvigorated for the new season.  "I think I've got to get away a little bit more than I've ever gotten away," he said. "I've never really gotten away, and I think time away is healthy."

DePaul

The Blue Demons lost their leading scorer in Delonte Holland and leading rebounder - Andre Brown from last year.  Yet the cupboard is far from bare in Chicago.  DePaul has some experienced senior leadership in Drake Diener, Quemont Greer, and Levar Seals.  You have to go all the way back to 1992 to find a group of DePaul seniors that has logged more minutes than this trio.  "We have three seniors that I am hoping will contribute a lot more, not only in points and rebounds, but also in the leadership roles - Drake, Quemont and Levar, as well," said Leitao.  The Blue Demons will be without Greer's services for the first two games vs. Bowling Green and Eastern Illinois, due to his failure to meet academic requirements.

During the off-season Leitao received a well deserved six year contract extension and is ready to get his team back to the NCAA tournament.  The big question for DePaul is the small forward position.  Sophomore Marcus Heard could be the man to step into the job, but will have some big shoes to fill with Holland's departure.   Junior college transfer Jamal Nichols, who is the half-brother of Syracuse's Hakim Warrick, is also expected to compete for the small forward spot. 

The heart and soul of this squad could be sophomore point guard Sammy Mejia.  His presence and poise at the point last year turned the Blue Demons from a NIT team into a NCAA tournament team.  Leitao agrees that Mejia is an integral part of the Blue Demons success.  "His skills have gotten better and as a result he has gained a ton of confidence.  He almost laughs at the freshman as they try to run around and do some of the things that they are asked.  He shows himself daily as a veteran would."

Junior Marlon Brumfield, who capably filled in last season on the front line while Brown was down with a knee injury, will see increased playing time.  Off the bench, the Blue Demons can expect to use redshirt freshman Wesley Green, Sophomore Lorenzo Thompson, and freshman point guard Cliff Clinkscales.  If Heard, Nichols, Mejia, and Diener can step up their scoring, look for the Demons to make a return trip to the NCAA's.

East Carolina

The Pirates have lost four starters from last season, but do return shot blocker extraordinaire Moussa Badiane.  "I think what Moussa had really given our basketball program from day one is a legitimate defensive presence and shot blocker in the paint, protecting the basket.  You can not put a price tag on what a great shot blocker does for your team defense," said ECU head coach Bill Herrion. "That’s why I think we have been very good defensively in this league for the past couple of years. You know Moussa is going to break the all-time Conference USA shot blocking record at some point this year held by Kenyon Martin who played at Cincinnati and has been in the NBA for many years. What we need for Moussa is not only his ability to be an anchor defensively and to protect the lane and protect the paint and the rim.  Now we need Moussa as a senior, and he did this the last second half of last year... we now need him to step up offensively and become a more complete basketball player."

The Pirates were picked to finish eleventh by the C-USA coaches.  "That's progress for us.  That's the highest we've been picked since we've been in this league," said Herrion. 

Coach Herrion feels that he has had alot of youth and inexperience.  "We’re a young team in this league and I think we have made great strides," said Herrion. "When you look last year we won four out of the last five games at the end of the season, we played very good basketball, really for the last two months not just down the stretch. We lost seven games by six points or less.  I think with a young basketball team and a young basketball program, probably one of the hardest things to do is to figure out how to win those close games.  I think if our kids continue to play with the same effort and the same energy and the same competitiveness night in and night out when they step on the floor, I think things will definitely improve and hopefully we can win some of the closer games."

Houston

Tom Penders is the new sheriff in town in Houston.  Penders whose previous coaching stops were at Rhode Island, Texas, and George Washington has a reputation for resurrecting basketball programs.  But can he accomplish what no Cougars coach has been able to do since legendary coach Guy V. Lewis retired in 1986?  The Coogs fans that remain yearn for the return of Phi Slamma Jamma.

The Cougars return three starters from a team that went 9-18 last season and did not qualify for the conference tournament.  Returning are - leading scorer Andre Owens, sophomore guard Lanny Smith and junior forward Ramon Dyer. To rebuild quickly and to get a team that fits his fast-paced style of play - Penders has brought in five junior college transfers - Chris Lawson, Englebert Cherrington, Sergio de Randamie, Rodney Hannah, and Brian Latham.

Penders feels that he has a deep team that is flexible enough to handle any game situation.  "I think flexibility is very important and we’ve got that," said Coach Penders. "We can put a big team out there, we can use guys like Andrew Francis as a guard, he’s 6-8, he can post up smaller people, he can bring people outside. You’ve got Ramon Dyer, a returning player who can play guard or forward. We can press with a big team, we can press with a small team. We can put a team on the floor that’s excellent off the dribble; we can put more of a power team out there.  We can zone, we can play man-to-man. One thing that we won’t play too much of is a slow deliberate half court game, you can bet on that."  If nothing else, Coogs fans can look forward to an exciting style of play from their team this year.

Louisville

With a healthy Ellis Myles, Taquan Dean, and Francisco Garcia, the Louisville Cardinals are just about unstoppable.  Without Myles in the lineup last season, the Cards had no interior game and lived and died by their perimeter game.  With Myles back in the lineup this season and with newcomer Juan (Tello) Palacios, many Louisville followers feel that this is a Final Four team.  "We’ve gone from not having much of a physical presence to having a very good physical presence," said Cardinals coach Rick Pitino. "Not only with Ellis Myles but also with Brian Johnson, a 6-8-1/2 inch freshman and Juan Palacios, a 6-8 freshman. Both of them are 240-250 pounds and very strong, they’ll see a lot of playing time for freshmen. I think with senior Otis George, it will give us a formidable frontcourt."

Garcia was selected as the conference coaches pick as C-USA preseason player of the year. "He’s the most talented wing player, before it’s all said and done, that I will coach at the collegiate level and I’ve had some great ones in Derek Anderson and Ron Mercer and Tony Delk and many more, that doesn’t mean to take away from their great skills," said Pitino.  "Francisco just does so much. First of all he is 6-7 and he is a long 6-7, he’s a shot blocker.  He’ll rebound, he’s a terrific passer, has great vision of the floor, he can score, great free throw shooter, comes off screens well, and now he’s gotten a lot stronger, he’s about 192-195 pounds, came in at 162. So he’s the complete basketball player. He doesn’t have to score to be great and that’s what I call the complete basketball player, someone who if his scoring is taken away by someone else’s defense he can still help a team win with his other skills."

Pitino lost recruits Donta Smith and Sebastian Telfair to the NBA draft this year, but those losses don't appear to be impacting this year's squad one bit.

Marquette

Last season the Golden Eagles downfall was that they relied on one player to do too much.  With the departure of Dwyane Wade to the NBA from the previous year, Travis Diener tried to do it all for Marquette.  He led the Golden Eagles in scoring, assists, 3-pointers, 3-point percentage, steals, free throws made and minutes last season.  Superman Diener can't carry the load himself and is going to need a better supporting cast for Marquette to succeed this year.    "The key for Travis is he makes everyone else better," said head coach Tom Crean.  "The game needs more Travis Dieners and you know what, it’s often imitated and nearly impossible to duplicate him. I think he is going to be an outstanding senior for us and have a great year and hopefully by the end of the year be recognized as one of the finest guards in America."

Diener is taking an all out approach to his senior year.  "Obviously, I know I have nothing to hold back, can’t take anything for granted, this is it," said Travis. "If something goes wrong there is no next year, so I’m going to leave everything out on the court, everything in practice day in and day out and just give it 110 percent."

Coming into this season, Crean is shuffling his starting lineup.  Wing player Steve Novak is moving to the power forward position and will be relied up to rebound more.  Joe Chapman is moving from shooting guard to the small forward position.  Crean has gone out and added some needed size to his bench with 7'0" center Mike Kinsella, and 6'10" forward Ousmane Barro who will help out the returning Chris Grimm on the front line.  If the others step up and give Diener the help he needs, the Golden Eagles can go far.

Memphis

For once, Memphis head coach John Calipari didn't have to worry about losing anybody to the NBA.  Last year he lost Kendrick Perkins to the NBA draft.  The year before he lost freshman DeJuan Wagner and recruits Amare Stoudemire and Quintel Woods to the pros.  This year the Tigers return four starters from last year's team which advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

All Calipari has to worry about is replacing C-USA player of the year - point guard Antonio Burks.  Not an easy task.  But, he may not have to worry long as he has highly regarded point guard Darius Washington, Jr. to fill Burks' shoes.  "Darius has played well to this point," said Calipari.  If Washington can handle the point, the Tigers will contend with Louisville for the conference championship.

Returning is the C-USA freshman of the year Sean Banks, who has been named preseason first team all conference.  A 6'8" 210 lb. forward, Banks will be relied upon to step up this year.  "He had a terrific freshman year, that sophomore year is usually a bit harder," said Calipari.  "He's got to improve his rebounding and his defense.  If he does that for our team, we can be pretty good."

Saint Louis

The Billikens have been to back-to-back NIT appearances in Brad Soderburg's first two years as coach.  This year the goal is to get over the hump and step up to the next level. 

The Billikens have relied on their defense to get by the last two years, but lose some good defenders in Josh Fisher and Chris Sloan.  SLU has led the league in scoring defense for two years straight, but need to improve on offensive output.  "Where we have to improve is to make sure that on the offensive end we're more efficient than we've been in the past," said Soderburg.  Freshman point guard Dwayne Polk is expected to help out on offense.  "Because of his presence on the court, we're going to be much more of a uptempo team."

Some senior leadership in the form of guard Reggie Bryant, center Tom Frericks, and forward Izik Ohanon is also what is needed to be successful this season.  Soderburg describes Bryant as a "very fine offensive player, excellent shooter."  Ohanon "played extremely well in the fall, and thus far in practice."  While Frericks is "a tenacious rebounder and really a solid kid."

Soderburg would have liked to have recruit Tommie Liddell from East St. Louis, IL on hand this year.  Unfortunately for SLU, Liddell will need another year of school and is attending Hargrave Military Academy before joining the Billikens next year.

South Florida

The Golden Bulls finished dead last in the Conference USA standings in Robert McCullum's first season as head coach.  To add insult to injury, USF makes the step up from C-USA to the Big East next year.  Can you say "doormat"?  If USF is going to get better fast, McCollum is going to have to go with a youth movement.

Senior Terrance Leather is the team's leading scorer and rebounder.  He will be relied upon again to lead the Bulls both on and off the court.  "It’s Terrence Leather that we know we can go to, to get a big basket... he’s going to get a big rebound for us," said McCollum.

"We also have more depth, and if we can stay healthy, that’s a big part of it, if we can stay healthy, we feel we have more depth and you have to get a break or two," said McCullum. "I am confident that this team will be a much better team and hopefully that will be reflected in our record."  If the Golden Bulls qualify for the conference tournament this year, it will be an improvement.

Southern Mississippi

The Larry Eustachy era has begun in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  Eustachy who has had nothing but success at his other NCAA coaching stops, hopes to turn around a Golden Eagles program that finished 13-15 last season.  Eustachy has recovered from his bout with alcoholism that cost him his job at Iowa State.  Only one starter returns for Southern Mississippi.  Gone is leading scorer Charles Gaines.  Needless to say Eustachy has his work cut out for him this season.  "Obviously we have a very difficult task trying to rebuild this situation." 

Also trying to turn around a troubled past is former McDonald's High School All-American Rashad Carruth.  The 6'3" junior played one season at Kentucky, was kicked off the Oklahoma team, and spent one year in junior college.  He is looking for a new start in Hattiesburg.  "Rashad is probably right where he should be, but not where we want him to be," said Eustachy.  "He's rusty.  He's got a long way to go."  "His attitude has been fantastic."  "His work ethic has been probably as good as he can give us right now." 

Besides Carruth, Eustachy also went to the Junior college ranks to find newcomers - 6'1" guard Michael Ford from LA Southwest, 6'8" forward Dwayne Brown from SE Illinois CC, 6'9" forward Shakeim Mitchell from Globe Tech, NY and 6'2" guard Solomon Brown from Los Angeles CC. 

TCU

Don't let the Horned Frogs 12-17 record from last season fool you.  They finished the year strong with a ninth place finish in C-USA and managed an upset over Marquette in the first round of the Conference tournament.  TCU returns four starters from that team.  TCU coach Neil Dougherty will replace guard Nucleus Smith with transfer Nile Murry who started for Temple two years ago.  The front line for the Horned Frogs has bulked up during the offseason.  "We pretty much have the same team," said Dougherty.  "They are probably alot more physically capable of doing things."  "Marcus Sloan added 23 pounds to his frame.  Art Pierce added 41 pounds to his frame."  "Our front line is a whole different looking front line.  We have a much stronger basketball team."

Dougherty plans on making changes to how his team operates this season.  "We want to increase our pace, our tempo, we want to play even faster this year, we want to extend our defense," said Dougherty.  "We are a motion basketball team and if I was to be critical of myself and our team last year we did not play very great motion segments in any game. We were a team that had to go to quick hitting type sets to get the ball in particular people’s hands and I didn’t feel like our understanding of motion was were it needed to be. We are going to be much better at that this year, teams are going to have to play us very honestly or they are going to give up an open shot from someone. Our team has improved on decisions with the ball, where it should go, when and to whom. I think those two areas; our improved motion play and our physical capabilities, are the two things the coaches are lecturing about the most."

The Horned Frogs play a tough non-conference schedule that features Kansas, Vanderbilt, Texas Tech, and Florida State.  If they can come up with a good non-conference record, this team has a legitimate shot at a NIT berth.

Tulane

Shawn Finney has to be the coach on the hot seat in C-USA this year.  Coming off of a 11-17 season and tenth place finish in C-USA and with a 50-68 record over four seasons, Finney must be feeling the pressure in New Orleans.  Finney sees this year's Green Wave team as being a mix of youth and experience.  "They bring a lot of different pieces, we’ve got athleticism, we’ve got size, and we’ve got a point guard, so we have a mixture of all of our players, all of our positions on our team. The one thing is we are experienced out on the court with Marcus Kinzer now and Quincy Davis so I think they can help guide the young team...where last year we were inexperienced all the way around." Davis is the top returning shot blocker in C-USA.

Last season the Green Wave lost their 7'0" center Ivan Pjevcevic in the first game of the year to a knee injury.  A healthy Pjevcevic will bring a new dimension to this year's squad.

The Green Wave have a number of newcomers that can be expected to contribute.  "I think this is probably the best freshman class since I've been here," said Finney.  "David Gomez from Baton Rouge is a good player, he's 6'7, he plays hard.  He really runs the floor.  He does things both on the offensive and defensive end.  We've added two very nice wing players - Matt Wheaton and Donnie Stith.  Both of them have alot of athleticism and they're very long wing players that we didn't have in the past."  Tulane also adds freshmen - Taylor Rochestie, a 6'1" guard from Santa Barbara and Robinson Louisme, a 6'7" forward from Fort Meyers, FL.

UAB

It will be tough for C-USA Coach of the Year Mike Anderson to repeat the success of last season.  After finishing in a first place tie in the regular season, the Blazers advanced to the semi-finals of the C-USA tournament.  They then went on to defeat Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA tournament to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.  "Kentucky, was one of those nights where we did a lot of good things and put ourselves in position to have a chance to win," said Anderson.  "Hopefully, we can build off that momentum and bring that confidence about who we are, in terms of UAB... at the same time, now we are going to be one of those teams that are hunted and I think that’s the biggest obstacle that I have with this basketball team."

Anderson loses Center Gabe Kennedy and guard Mo Finley from last year's season.  "I think Gabe gave us a presence, a big-time presence," said Anderson. "As we develop, let’s say Marques Lewis, I think last year going down the stretch, you could see his presence on the floor and he’s a great passer.  He just needs to get in shape and getting the feel that I’m going to be the guy that’s going to be out here and gives us that presence."

Returning starters are junior point guard Squeaky Johnson and forward Demario Eddins.  The Blazers are a deep team and will continue to need that depth to play their uptempo style.  If the Blazers are to succeed they will need to improve upon their rebounding and defensive field goal percentage, which are two categories where they did not excel in C-USA last year.

2004-05 CONFERENCE USA COACHES PRESEASON POLL

      1. Louisville  (11)  192

      2. Memphis (2)       172

      3. Cincinnati (1)    171

      4. Charlotte         148

      5. UAB               136

      6. DePaul            122

      7. Marquette         120

      8. Saint Louis       93

      9. TCU               88

      10. Southern Miss    65

      11. East Carolina    55

      12. Tulane           41

      13. Houston          29

      14. USF              25

      (#) designates first place votes

PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE TEAM

*Francisco Garcia, Louisville, F, 6-7, Jr., Bronx, N.Y.

Sean Banks, Memphis, F, 6-8, So., Oradell, N.J.

Travis Diener, Marquette, G, 6-1, Sr., Fond du Lac, Wis.

Jason Maxiell, Cincinnati, F, 6-7, Sr., Carrollton, Texas

Curtis Withers, Charlotte, F, 6-8, Jr., Charlotte, N.C.

* - Preseason Player of the Year