Youngstown St

Horizon League Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:53:52 -0500

Conference Rank: 16th

10 year average: 15th

All-Horizon Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Josh Mayo	UIC	Sr
G	Cedric Jackson	Cleveland St	Sr
G	Vaughn Duggins	Wright St	Jr
F	J'Nathan Bullock	Cleveland St	Sr
F	Matt Howard	Butler	So
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans J'Nathan Bullock Matt Howard		Points: Josh Mayo 17.1 Rebounds: Scott VanderMeer 7.5 Assists: Cedric Jackson 4.9

Horizon League Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

53	Cleveland St	Horizon	1	NCAA
60	Wright State	Horizon	2	NIT
65	Butler**	Horizon	3	NIT
87	Valparaiso	Horizon	4
118	Green Bay	Horizon	5
154	UIC	Horizon	6
186	Loyola Ill	Horizon	7
194	Detroit	Horizon	8
220	Milwaukee	Horizon	9
262	Youngstown St	Horizon	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the HL?

Other OVC Content

Conference Media Poll

Cleveland State Tops HL Media Poll

Other

Rise & Fall: Horizon League

State of '08: Ohio

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:33:26 -0400

HTML clipboard

Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

OHIO

OHIO STATE - While Xavier has had more consistent success since 2001, its hard to match Ohio State's 2007 campaign: Reaching the National Title game while finishing 1st in the RPI. OSU has also won 20 games in 8 of 10 seasons and reached 6 Big Dances.

XAVIER - Sean Miller has picked up where Thad Matta left off, and Matta followed the success of Skip Prosser, who continued the foundation set by Pete Gillen. Since 1986, there's been a continual run of impressive postseason success at Xavier, including 2 Elite Eight trips in the past 5 years.

KENT STATE - Pretty much whatever success you see at Kent State can still be attributed to the job Gary Waters did in the late 90's, turning a dormant program into a winner. In the last decade, the Golden Flashes have made 5 NCAA Tournaments and 4 NITs, and have won at least 20 games in each of those seasons. In 2009, Kent State is once again the projected MAC champ.

CINCINNATI - This is obviously a storied program, but the post-Huggins era has gotten off to a slow start. There hasn't been a tourney trip in the past three seasons, nor a finish above .500 in conference play. 2009 should be better, but the Big Dance will most likely have to wait another season.

DAYTON - After a hot start, Dayton stumbled to an 8-8 finish in A10 play, their third season in a row without a winning league record. From 2000-2005, Dayton won at least 9 league games every season, and made 3 NCAA Tournaments and 2 NITs.

6. MIAMI - The RedHawks have never been bad in Charlie Coles lengthy career. In fact, just one time in 11 seasons has his team failed to go at least .500 in the MAC. His last five teams have finished in the RPI Top 100, and this year's squad looks postseason-worthy once again.

7. AKRON - Keith Dambrot's four year tenure has been highly impressive. The Zips have been finished in the RPI Top 75 the past four seasons, consistently challenged for MAC titles, and advanced to two NITs. The team does lose a lot of talent this year, so it might be Dambrot's most challenging season.

8. OHIO - Ohio is a solid program that has never gone more than couple seasons here or there without contending for the MAC title. The Bobcats have won at least 18 games the past four seasons (including the '05 Big Dance), though the off-season departure of 8-year coach Tim O'Shea was puzzling.

9. WRIGHT STATE - We might be in thee midst of Wright State's best run in program history. Brad Brownell led the Raiders to the '07 Tournament in his first season, and followed that up with another 20+ win season last year. This year, WSU should once again contend for the Horizon League title.

10. TOLEDO - The Rockets haven't made the NCAA's since 1980, but it hasn't been all bad in the meantime. In 2001 & 2007, the Rockets won MAC regular season titles, but couldn't get over the conference tournament hump. Last year was disappointing, and new coach Gene Cross will need to elevate the program's overall talent-level.

11. CLEVELAND STATE - Twenty years after last making the postseason, the Vikings made the NIT in Gary Waters' second season. The Vikings won 10 league games and 20 overall games for the first time since 1993, and there's a legitimate shot they could earn their first Tourney trip since 1986.

12. BOWLING GREEN - Falcons basketball peaked in the 60's. The start of Dan Dakich's tenure, from about 99 to 02, looked promising.. but things went down hill. The last three years have featured sub-200 RPI teams, though the 2009 squad looks promising.

13. YOUNGSTOWN STATE - The Penguins basketball teams have never been able to match the football teams accomplishments. There are occasional hopeful seasons, but 2001 was the last time YSU really did any damage.

Last: North Carolina - Next: Oklahoma

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

Northeast non-TV Bracket Busters preview

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:23:55 -0500

Here’s a quick preview of the ESPNU O’Reilly Bracket Busters games this weekend that will not be shown on television involving northeast teams. In most cases, the organizers of this event have done a better job of limiting the travel for non-television games, with the exception of UC Davis visiting Loyola (MD) among games involving northeast leagues. Bracket Busters, originally put together to provide schools in non-BCS leagues one last opportunity to add to their resume, now involves some 100 schools from sixteen conferences. Niagara @ Appalachian State (Saturday, 1 PM) The nation’s leading scorer, Charron Fisher, takes his act on the road as the Purple Eagles visit the Mountaineers of the Southern Conference. Fisher has eclipsed the forty point mark in two of his last three games, including 45 and nine rebounds against Loyola (MD). Niagara (with help from Tyrone Lewis, Stanley Hodge and an improving Benson Egemonye) will look to run and put up a lot of points, but the Mountaineers are also capable of scoring some points. Six players score at least seven points per game, led by senior forward Donte Minter. I’ll take the Mountaineers due to the home court advantage. Northeastern @ Holy Cross (Saturday, 4 PM) The Huskies make the short trip to Worcester to take on a Crusader team still trying to recover from a slow start in Patriot League play. Tim Clifford is Holy Cross’ best offensive option, but it’s been the health of PG Pat Doherty that has been the concern. His Achilles injury at San Francisco was the catalyst for a five-game skid early in 2008, and the team has been up and down ever since. Northeastern, looking to end their two-game skid, will counter with a balanced scoring attack led by wing Matt Janning. Normally, I’d go with the home-court advantage, especially with an environment as hostile as the one awaiting NU’s arrival. But I’m going to take the Huskies due to the fact that they’re a more balanced team on offense. Bucknell @ Old Dominion (Saturday, 7 PM) The Bison, like their Patriot League rivals, have uncharacteristically struggled in league play this year. But given the number of losses due to graduation over the last two seasons, you can understand why this team isn’t in its usual perch atop the conference standings. Guards John Griffin, Justin Castleberry and Stephen Tyree are the main men on the offensive end of the floor, and they’re going to have their hands full in Norfolk. Forward Gerald Lee leads the Monarchs in scoring, but they have seven players averaging at least six points per game. In their last four games, all wins, three different Monarchs have led the team in scoring (Lee twice, Brian Henderson and Abdi Lidonde once apiece). I like the Monarchs to win this one. Vermont @ UNC-Wilmington (Saturday, 7 PM) If you’re looking to find a candidate for the most improved player in the country (yes, country), look no further than Vermont’s Marqus Blakely. After averaging 5.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season, the sophomore forward is up to 19.8 and 10.8 this year. And only two players have a 30/20 game to their credit this season: Michael Beasley and…Marqus Blakely. Mike Trimboli and Kyle Cieplicki are also more than capable of scoring from the perimeter. As for the Seahawks, four players average at least twelve points per game, led by senior guard T.J. Carter’s 15.8. Possessing a home record of 11-2, UNCW comes into this one riding a four-game win streak. Expect this one to be a close one, but I like the Seahawks to come out on top. UC Davis @ Loyola-Maryland (Saturday, 1 PM) Well, this one could get ugly as the Greyhounds host the Aggies. UC Davis, currently dead last in the Big West, has lost their last nine and are the league’s worst defensive team (opponents shoot 48.1% from the field). And when you’ve got to stop a player like G Gerald Brown, that could be bad news for the Aggies. Brown will have some help on the offensive end, supplied by Michael Tuck and Marquis Sullivan. The Aggies are led by guards Vince Oliver and Shane Hanson, but they have a road record of 1-11 for the season. I like Loyola to win this one. Hofstra @ Iona (Saturday, 2 PM) The Gaels host one of the nation’s best scorers in Hofstra’s Antoine Agudio, and with Iona preferring to quicken the pace this could be a game in which Agudio puts up some points. But the trend all season has been that the Pride are only as successful as Agudio’s supporting cast, and a group led by Charles Jenkins has become more confident as the season has progressed. On the other side, Kevin Willard’s first year as head coach has been streaky in regards to results, with a three game win streak followed by a short losing spell. Iona ended a two-game skid with a win at Canisius on Monday night, and five players averaging about eight points per game (Kyle Camper averages 7.8 to be exact). The key to this one will be how well Hofstra takes care of the basketball, something they haven’t done well on the road this season (3-9 away from home). I’ll take Iona by a basket. Fairfield @ Drexel (Saturday, 4 PM) The Stags, winners of five in a row, take their on one of the CAA’s worst offensive teams in the Dragons of Drexel. Center Frank Elegar leads Drexel in both scoring and rebounding, but the points have been few and far between for a team looking to replace the likes of Bashir Mason and Dominic Mejia from last season’s team. Fairfield, on the other hand, has received a boost from the likes of seniors Marty O’Sullivan and Mamadou Diakhate, two players who weren’t expected to see much playing time throughout the remainder of the season. But the team runs based on the play of PG Jonathan Han, the MAAC’s assist leader. With six road wins already to their credit, I like the Stags to pick up a seventh. Youngstown State @ Buffalo (Saturday, 4 PM) With two of the bottom feeders in their respective leagues on display, you have to dig a little deeper to figure out who to watch in this one. How about guards Andy Robinson (Buffalo) and Byron Davis (Youngstown State)? Both lead their teams in scoring, but truth be told each team has a couple of places from which the points can come. I’m taking Buffalo for one simple reason: The Penguins are 1-11 on the road this season. Binghamton @ Manhattan (Saturday, 4 PM) One of three matchups between America East and MAAC schools, this one will be an interesting affair due to the age difference between the backcourts. Manhattan, led by Antoine Pearson and Devon Austin (Austin’s a wing), rely primarily on sophomores while Binghamton’s backcourt is manned by seniors Mike Gordon and Richard Forbes. The Bearcats’ leading scorer, however, is sophomore forward Lazar Trifunovic (14.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg). I like the Jaspers to move their three-game win streak to four due to the fact that they’re at home (Binghamton is 3-10 on the road this season). Albany @ Canisius (Saturday, 7:30 PM) There’s no Jamar Wilson, but the Great Danes are still in third place in America East. The leader this season is Brian Lillis, a wing currently averaging sixteen points per game. In all, five Great Danes are averaging at least 7.7 points per game. Their opponent has one of the quickest guards in the MAAC in Frank Turner, but little has gone right this year for the 4-22 Golden Griffins. Losers of five straight games, I don’t think Canisius plays good enough defense (allowing 73.1 points per game) to end the skid in this one. Boston University @ St. Peter’s (Saturday, 2 PM) The Terriers have won six of their last seven, while the Peacocks have lost eleven of thirteen. SPC has one of the toughest competitors in the MAAC in senior Todd Sowell, but as a team they simply don’t defend well enough or take good enough care of the basketball (averaging sixteen turnovers per game). When you have four players scoring in double figures, turnovers are a sure way to keep your win total low. Corey Lowe, one of the best guards in America East, leads BU with eighteen points per game, but the improved play of freshman John Holland has been the catalyst for their recent run of good play. I like the Terriers to get a road win in this one.

Live Coverage: Wright Stats Beats Youngstown State

Bill Kintner — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:00:12 -0500

DAYTON – Hey! Wright State actually won a game by double digits as they defeated Youngstown State 66-55.

For the Raiders their only other double digit win was against Coastal Carolina in the first game of the year.

As for the Penguins it ended a three wins in four game stretch that saw them beat Slippery Rock, UIC and Loyola, while losing to Milwaukee.

By no means was this game a laugher.

Wright State (9-5, 2-3 HL) came out at the start of the second half leading by four at 35-31. The Raiders got the lead up to seven at 43-36 when Scottie Wilson made a couple of foul shots at the 14:35 mark.

With 9:55 left Youngstown (6-9, 2-3) went on a 10-4 run to close to within one at 7:46 when Dwight Holmes made one of two foul shots.

From that point on the Raiders went on a 19-9 run led by Jordon Pleiman’s 10 points.

Pleiman thought it was playing at home and tough defense that got the Raiders a win tonight.

“You get a little extra juice. The fans can help you rally. It is nice to get back to the Nutter Center, “ said Pleiman. “I thought we were playing good defense most of the game. I think if we play good defense we will be in most games at the end.”

Wright State coach Brad Brownell though Pleimen Wilson’s timely shooting got the Raiders this win.

“It was a good grind it out win for us. Jordon and Scottie played really well for us. That was probably the difference in the game tonight. I think Scottie and Jordan made big baskets in the second half,” explained Brownell.

In the first half Youngstown State was able to get a four point lead on back-to-back jumpers by Jack Liles and Holmes to make it 24-20 their largest lead of the game.

With a 1:38 Duggins made a 3-pointer to put the Raiders up by seven at 33-26. But John Barber made a jump shot to cut it to five.

With just seven seconds left Wilson hit a jump shot to give the Raiders what seemed like a safe seven point lead at 35-28 until Youngstown’s Byron Davis banked in a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to make it 35-31.

Pleiman and Vaughn led all scorers with 16 points each and Wilson pulled down eight rebounds.

For the Penguins Barber and Davis each put in 13 points while Barber got eight rebounds.

Notes:
-Wright State leads the series 28-7.
-Youngstown State coach Jerry Slocum and his team were not available after the game for comment
-Youngstown State’s next game is Saturday at Detroit at 3:35 p.m.
-Wright State’s next game is Saturday against Detroit at 7 p.m.

Interview: Youngstown State Coach Jerry Slocum

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:22:04 -0400

14 wins might not seem like much. But last year's total of 14 was the most Youngstown State has won in six years. Even though they lose star guard Quin Humphrey, expectations are still growing in Youngstown thanks to 3rd year head coach Jerry Slocum, a man who has won over 600 college basketball games. Coach Slocum answered questions as part of our preseason Q&A series:

CHN) Based on what you saw last year, what's the biggest improvement your team needs to get to the next level?

“I think balanced play on the offensive end is important. I think we need to get better defensively in terms of rebounding the basketball. There’s no doubt offensively that this group is going to have to share the ball and be a little bit more shot selective in terms of our future with this group.”

CHN) Are you settled with your starting lineup? Expect any particular battles for the open spots?

“We have not set it going into practice. A lot of spots will be open and we are expecting some pretty good battles this fall before our season opener.”

CHN) It might be hard to pick out one, but who is the most talented player you've ever coached?

“Quin Humphrey, who I coached the past two seasons.”

CHN) Talk about one or two guys that stand out as being underrated contributors to your team's success?

“Byron Davis has the potential to have a really good year. Jack Liles and John Barber are guys who are pretty good players who I don’t think get the recognition they deserve.”

CHN) What do you think will be the hardest game on this year's schedule?

“We open at UCLA, play at Notre Dame, and play in the Horizon League so we have plenty of tough games on our schedule ahead.”

CHN) Realistically, what should YSU fans and media expect from your team this year?

“A team that works hard, shows up every night and gives you 100 percent. It will be somebody you can be proud of because of our work ethic and our commitment to doing good things for Youngstown State.”

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2007-08 Preview & Awards | More Interviews | Discuss the Preview

Wright State 62 - Youngstown State 49

Bill Kintner — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:38:51 -0500

DAYTON – For Wright State it was a single home game sandwiched in between four road games and one they had to have to win the Horizon League.

For Youngstown State it was a long-shot opportunity to pick up a rare road win away from home.

To the grateful but sparse crowd of 4334 Raider fans Wright State (13-8, 6-2 HL) took care of business tonight to defeat the Penguins for the seventh consecutive time 62-49.

Wright State Coach Brad Brownell wanted to get this one before heading out on the road for three straight games.

“I think winning on the road is very difficult. I think it will be very difficult for us to go to Youngstown and win,” said Brownell. “That is just the nature of this league right now. The talent is pretty close. Butler is a little bit better than everybody right now. When you go on the road you better be good to win.”

Youngstown State Coach Jerry Slocum agreed it was very hard to win on the road.

“You need to protect your home floor, because it is going to come down to squeaking a win on the road,” explained a tired Slocum.

There was also a showdown of two pre-season first team Horizon League guards as Youngstown State’s Quin Humphrey squared-off against Wright State’s DeShaun Wood.

Neither star shot the ball very well tonight as Humphrey went 8-18 with 22 points to lead all scorers and Wood went 7-18 with 17 points, but did a good job of passing it off when he was covered to also get seven assists.

At the half, Wright State led by 11 points at 34-23.

Ten seconds into the second half Youngstown State’s Jack Liles hit a jumper, then with neither team scoring for almost three minutes the
Penguins’ Byron Davis hit a 3-pointer to get Youngstown State (9-12, 4-5 HL) within three points at 34-28.

That is as close as the Penguins would get to Wright State the rest of the game.

At the 15:08 mark in the second half the Raiders finally got on the board when Wood made a lay up.

By the 11:05 mark the Raiders pushed their lead to 14 points on a 3-pointer by Vaughn Duggins.

The Penguins made one more push to get back in the game as Humphrey and Keston Roberts scored 11 straight points to get the deficit down to seven points at 54-47.

That is when Duggins put a dagger into the heart of the Penguins with a dramatic, arching 3-pointer, that got the lead back into double digits to stay at 57-47.

Wood thought that the success the Raiders have had against Youngstown State motivated them in this game as they tried to come back.

“This team has a lot of pride and we have been playing each other for long time now. Since I have been here those guys have never won in the Nutter Center and they came in with something to prove today. They gave it a good shot but we stuck in, hung in, played good defense and got the win,” explained Wood.

Aside from Wood, Todd Brown scored 16 points and Jordan Pleiman pulled down 11 rebounds for the Raiders.

To start the game the Raiders jumped out to a 14-2 lead as four different players scored to get the ball rolling. But after that the Raiders only out-scored Youngstown State by a point the rest of the half as Humphrey scored nine points to enable the Penguins to pretty much trade baskets with Wright State the remainder of the half.

The only other Penguin in double figures was Roberts with 10 points.

Notes:

*Wright State is 3-3 when Dayton Daily News beat writer Marc Katz wears a light colored shirt. The Raiders are 9-4 when he wears a dark colored shirt. Tonight………………..it was a light yellow shirt.

*Wright State leads the all-time series 27-6. This win was the 7th in a row for the Raiders.

*Youngstown State’s next game is January 29th at Loyola at 8 p. m.

*Wright State’s next game is January 22nd at Loyola at 2 p. m.