Summit

Jon Teitel's End of January All-Conference Teams

Jon Teitel — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:35:11 -0500

With the final month of the regular season on our door step, this is a good time to put together some all-conference teams. Enter CHN writer Jon Teitel, who not only picked his all-conference teams for each league but also provided a conference Player of the Year as well. Without further ado here are the all-conference teams, with the league POY in italics.

America East
G Gerardo Suero (Albany)
G Darryl Partin (Boston University)
G Gerald McLemore (Maine)
F Chase Plummer (UMBC)
F Alasdair Fraser (Maine)

Atlantic 10
G Ramone Moore (Temple)
G Carl Jones (Saint Joseph's)
G Tu Holloway (Xavier)
F Chris Gaston (Fordham)
F/C Andrew Nicholson (St. Bonaventure)

ACC
G Terrell Stoglin (Maryland)
G C.J. Harris (Wake Forest)
F Harrison Barnes (North Carolina)
F Mike Scott (Virginia)
F John Henson (North Carolina)

Atlantic Sun
G Jordan Burgason (Lipscomb)
G Markeith Cummings (Kennesaw State)
G Adam Sollazzo (ETSU)
F Torrey Craig (USC Upstate)
F Adam Pegg (Stetson)

Big 12
G J'Covan Brown (Texas)
G Marcus Denmon (Missouri)
G Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas)
F Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
F Perry Jones III (Baylor)

Big East
G Maalik Wayns (Villanova)
G Darius Johnson-Odom (Marquette)
G Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut)
F Kevin Jones (West Virginia)
F Herb Pope (Seton Hall)

Big Sky
G Damian Lillard (Weber State)
G Charles Odum (Portland State)
G Will Cherry (Montana)
F Collin Chiverton (Eastern Washington)
F Scott Bamforth (Weber State)

Big South
G Nick Barbour (High Point)
G Anthony Raffa (Coastal Carolina)
G Darren White (Campbell)
F Stan Okoye (VMI)
F Eric Griffin (Campbell)

Big Ten
G Tim Frazier (Penn State)
G Drew Crawford (Northwestern)
F John Shurna (Northwestern)
F Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)
F Draymond Green (Michigan St.)

Big West
G Orlando Johnson (UCSB)
G Phil Martin (UC Riverside)
G Casper Ware (Long Beach State)
F Stephan Hicks (Cal State Northridge)
F T.J. Robinson (Long Beach State)

Colonial
G Mike Moore (Hofstra)
G Devon Saddler (Delaware)
G Keith Rendleman (UNC Wilmington)
F Ryan Pearson (George Mason)
F Jamelle Hagins (Delaware)

Conference USA
G Will Barton (Memphis)
G Miguel Paul (East Carolina)
G DeAndre Kane (Marshall)
F Cameron Moore (UAB)
F Arsalan Kazemi (Rice)

Horizon
G Ray McCallum (Detroit)
G Chase Simon (Detroit)
G Kendrick Perry (Youngstown State)
F Kevin Van Wijk (Valparaiso)
F Ryan Broekhoff (Valparaiso)

Independent
G Mitch Albers (Nebraska-Omaha)
G Isaiah Wilkerson (NJIT)
F Aaron Broussard (Seattle)
F Jeremy Robinson (Chicago State)
C Antwan Carter (Longwood)

Ivy
G Zack Rosen (Pennsylvania)
G Tyler Bernardini (Pennsylvania)
G Brian Barbour (Columbia)
F Greg Mangano (Yale)
F Ian Hummer (Princeton)

MAAC
G Juan'ya Green (Niagara)
G Scott Machado (Iona)
G George Beamon (Manhattan)
F Michael Glover (Iona)
F O.D. Anosike (Siena)

MAC
G Rian Pearson (Toledo)
G Trey Ziegler (Central Michigan)
F Julian Mavunga (Miami (OH))
F Jarrod Jones (Ball State)
F Javon McCrea (Buffalo)

MEAC
G Darrion Pellum (Hampton)
G Tony Gallo (Coppin St.)
F Amin Stevens (Florida A&M)
F Brandon Riley (South Carolina State)
C Kyle O'Quinn (Norfolk St.)

MVC
G Colt Ryan (Evansville)
G Rayvonte Rice (Drake)
F Doug McDermott (Creighton)
F Taylor Brown (Bradley)
F Kyle Weems (Missouri St.)

Mountain West
G Chase Tapley (San Diego St.)
G Wes Eikmeier (Colorado St.)
G Jamaal Franklin (San Diego St.)
F Mike Moser (UNLV)
F Drew Gordon (New Mexico)

Northeast
G Shane Gibson (Sacred Heart)
G Velton Jones (Robert Morris)
G Robby Ptacek (CCSU)
F Ken Horton (CCSU)
F Julian Boyd (LIU Brooklyn)

OVC
G Kevin Murphy (Tennessee Tech)
G Isaiah Canaan (Murray State)
G Jud Dillard (Tennessee Tech)
F Robert Covington (Tennessee St.)
F Tyler Stone (Southeast Missouri St.)

Pac-12
G Jared Cunningham (Oregon St.)
G Tony Wroten (Washington)
G Allen Crabbe (California)
F Brock Motum (Washington St.)
F Andre Roberson (Colorado)

Patriot
G C.J. McCollum (Lehigh)
G Charles Hinkle (American)
F Ella Ellis (Army)
F J.J. Avila (Navy)
F Mike Muscala (Bucknell)

SEC
G John Jenkins (Vanderbilt)
G Kenny Boynton (Florida)
F Jeffery Taylor (Vanderbilt)
F Arnett Moultrie (Mississippi St.)
F Anthony Davis (Kentucky)

Southern
G Kevin Giltner (Wofford)
G Eric Ferguson (Georgia Southern)
F Antwaine Wiggins (Charleston)
F De'Mon Brooks (Davidson)
C Mike Groselle (Citadel)

Southland
G Mike James (Lamar)
G Trevon Lewis (Nicholls St.)
F Patrick Richard (McNeese St.)
F LaQuentin Miles (Central Arkansas)
F LaMarcus Reed III (UT-Arlington)

SWAC
G Quincy Roberts (Grambling St.)
G Savalace Townsend (UAPB)
G Jenirro Bush (Jackson St.)
F Casey Cantey (Alabama A&M)
C Paul Crosby (Mississippi Valley St.)

Summit
G Reggie Hamilton (Oakland)
G Nate Wolters (South Dakota St.)
G Frank Gaines (IPFW)
F Alex Young (IUPUI)
F Dominique Morrison (Oral Roberts)

Sun Belt
G DeJuan Wright (FIU)
F Tony Mitchell (North Texas)
F Chris Udofia (Denver)
C LaRon Dendy (Middle Tennessee)
C Augustine Rubit (South Alabama)

WCC
G Kevin Foster (Santa Clara)
G Anthony Ireland (Loyola Marymount)
G Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary's)
F Noah Hartsock (BYU)
F Rob Jones (Saint Mary's)

WAC
G Kevin Olekaibe (Fresno St.)
G James Kinney (San Jose St.)
G Deonte Burton (Nevada)
F Wendell McKines (New Mexico St.)
C Vander Joaquim (Hawaii)

College Basketball Conference Ranking: RPI, KenPom, Sagarin

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:09:04 -0500

With the new year upon us and conference play starting in earnest, it seemed like a fitting time to check on how the computers rank the conferences so far. The computers all agree on one thing: the Big Ten is by far the most dominant league in the country. After that, there are subtle disagreements down the line. It is noteworthy that the Mountain West is ahead of 3 traditional power conferences, while the Pac 12 barely comes in ahead of the MVC and A10.

The overall ranking is based on an average of three rankings: the RPI, KenPom.com's ratings, and the Sagarin rating from USA Today.

Rank	Conference	RPI	KenPom	Sagarin	Avg
1	Big Ten	1	1	1	1.0
2	Big 12	3	2	2	2.3
3	Big East	2	3	3	2.7
4	Mountain West	4	6	4	4.7
5	SEC	6	4	5	5.0
6	ACC	5	5	6	5.3
7	Pac 12	9	7	7	7.7
8	Missouri Valley	7	9	8	8.0
9	Atlantic 10	8	8	9	8.3
10	CUSA	11	10	10	10.3
11	WCC	10	11	11	10.7
12	Horizon	12	13	13	12.7
13	WAC	18	12	12	14.0
14	MAC	14	15	14	14.3
15	Summit	13	17	15	15.0
16	Colonial	20	14	16	16.7
17	Ivy	17	16	19	17.3
18	Sun Belt	15	20	17	17.3
19	Atlantic Sun	19	18	18	18.3
20	MAAC	16	19	21	18.7
21	Big West	21	21	20	20.7
22t	Patriot	23	22	26	23.7
22t	Southern	22	24	25	23.7
24t	Ohio Valley	24	25	24	24.3
24t	Big South	27	23	23	24.3
26	Big Sky	28	26	22	25.3
27	Southland	25	28	27	26.7
28	Northeast	26	27	28	27.0
29t	America East	31	29	29	29.7
29t	MEAC	29	30	30	29.7
31t	Independent	32	31	31	31.3
31t	SWAC	30	32	32	31.3

Post your thoughts below or join us @collegehoopsnet

Jon Teitel's All-Conference Teams (Pre-League Play Edition)

Jon Teitel — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:59:57 -0500

With conference play beginning for many leagues this week (a few conferences began their league slate in early December) it's a good time to look back on some of the top performers. Enter CHN writer Jon Teitel, who put together his all-conference teams for each of the leagues.

America East
G Gerardo Suero (Albany)
G Darryl Partin (Boston University)
G Gerald McLemore (Maine)
F Ben Dickinson (Binghamton)
F Chase Plummer (UMBC)

Atlantic 10
G Carl Jones (Saint Joseph's)
G Tu Holloway (Xavier)
G Ramone Moore (Temple)
F Chris Gaston (Fordham)
F Chris Braswell (Charlotte)

ACC
G Terrell Stoglin (Maryland)
G Kendall Marshall (North Carolina)
F Travis McKie (Wake Forest)
F Mike Scott (Virginia)
F Harrison Barnes (North Carolina)

Atlantic Sun
G Markeith Cummings (Kennesaw St.)
G Kerron Johnson (Belmont)
G Adam Sollazzo (East Tennessee St.)
F Torrey Craig (USC Upstate)
C Adam Pegg (Stetson)

Big 12
G Steven Pledger (Oklahoma)
G J'Covan Brown (Texas)
G Marcus Denmon (Missouri)
F Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
F Royce White (Iowa St.)

Big East
G Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut)
G Darius Johnson-Odom (Marquette)
G Dion Waiters (Syracuse)
F Kevin Jones (West Virginia)
F Herb Pope (Seton Hall)

Big Sky
G Damian Lillard (Weber St.)
G Charles Odum (Portland St.)
G Will Cherry (Montana)
G Stallon Soldivar (Northern Arizona)
F Collin Chiverton (Eastern Washington)

Big South
G Darren White (Campbell)
G Nick Barbour (High Point)
G Anthony Raffa (Coastal Carolina)
F Eric Griffin (Campbell)
C Al'Lonzo Coleman (Presbyterian)

Big Ten
G Drew Crawford (Northwestern)
G Tim Frazier (Penn St.)
F John Shurna (Northwestern)
F Robbie Hummel (Purdue)
F Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)

Big West
G Orlando Johnson (UCSB)
G Casper Ware (Long Beach St.)
G Phil Martin (UC Riverside)
F T.J. Robinson (Long Beach St.)
F James Nunnally (UCSB)

Colonial
G Mike Moore (Hofstra)
G Devon Saddler (Delaware)
G Keith Rendleman (UNC Wilmington)
F Ryan Pearson (George Mason)
F Jamelle Hagins (Delaware)

Conference USA
G Will Barton (Memphis)
G Damier Pitts (Marshall)
G DeAndre Kane (Marshall)
F Keith Clanton (UCF)
F Arsalan Kazemi (Rice)

Horizon
G Chase Simon (Detroit)
G Kendrick Perry (Youngstown St.)
G Ray McCallum Jr. (Detroit)
F Ryan Broekhoff (Valparaiso)
F Ben Averkamp (Loyola (IL))

Independent
G Mitch Albers (Nebraska-Omaha)
G Isaiah Wilkerson (NJIT)
F Aaron Broussard (Seattle)
F Art Bernardi (Houston Baptist)
C Antwan Carter (Longwood)

Ivy
G Zack Rosen (Pennsylvania)
G Tyler Bernardini (Pennsylvania)
F Keith Wright (Harvard)
F Ian Hummer (Princeton)
F Greg Mangano (Yale)

MAAC
G Dylon Cormier (Loyola (MD))
G Harold Washington (Canisius)
G Scott Machado (Iona)
F Michael Glover (Iona)
F Rakim Sanders (Fairfield)

Mid-American
G D.J. Cooper (Ohio)
G Rian Pearson (Toledo)
F Julian Mavunga (Miami (OH))
F Jarrod Jones (Ball St.)
F Javon McCrea (Buffalo)

MEAC
G Tony Gallo (Coppin St.)
G Darrion Pellum (Hampton)
F Brandon Riley (South Carolina St.)
F Dominique Sutton (North Carolina Central)
C Kyle O'Quinn (Norfolk St.)

Missouri Valley
G Colt Ryan (Evansville)
G Rayvonte Rice (Drake)
G Kyle Weems (Missouri State)
F Doug McDermott (Creighton)
F Taylor Brown (Bradley)

Mountain West
G Chase Tapley (San Diego St.)
G Wes Eikmeier (Colorado St.)
G Michael Lyons (Air Force)
F Chace Stanback (UNLV)
F Mike Moser (UNLV)

Northeast
G Shane Gibson (Sacred Heart)
G Kyle Vinales (CCSU)
F Ken Horton (CCSU)
F Julian Boyd (Long Island)
F Ike Azotam (Quinnipiac)

Ohio Valley
G Kevin Murphy (Tennessee Tech)
G Isaiah Canaan (Murray St.)
G Jeremy Granger (Eastern Illinois)
F Robert Covington (Tennessee St.)
F Tyler Stone (Southeast Missouri St.)

Pac-12
G Jared Cunningham (Oregon St.)
G Jorge Gutierrez (California)
G Tony Wroten (Washington)
F Brock Motum (Washington St.)
F Andre Roberson (Colorado)

Patriot
G Charles Hinkle (American)
G C.J. McCollum (Lehigh)
G Jim Mower (Lafayette)
F Mike Muscala (Bucknell)
F JJ Avila (Navy)

SEC
G John Jenkins (Vanderbilt)
G Kenny Boynton (Florida)
G Dee Bost (Mississippi St.)
F Anthony Davis (Kentucky)
F Arnett Moultrie (Mississippi St.)

Southern
G Kevin Giltner (Wofford)
G Harouna Mutombo (Western Carolina)
F Antwaine Wiggins (Charleston)
F De'Mon Brooks (Davidson)
C Mike Groselle (Citadel)

Southland
G Brandon Fortenberry (SE Louisiana)
G Kannon Burrage (UTSA)
G Anthony Miles (Lamar)
F LaQuentin Miles (Central Arkansas)
F Patrick Richard (McNeese St.)

SWAC
G Savalace Townsend (Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
G Marquis Baker (Alcorn St.)
G Jenirro Bush (Jackson St.)
F Kenderek Washington (Alabama St.)
C Paul Crosby (Miss. Valley St.)

Summit
G Reggie Hamilton (Oakland)
G Nate Wolters (South Dakota St.)
G Frank Gaines (IPFW)
F Alex Young (IUPUI)
F Terell Parks (Western Illinois)

Sun Belt
G Raymond Taylor (FAU)
G Chris Jones (North Texas)
F LaRon Dendy (Middle Tennessee)
F Chris Udofia (Denver)
C Augustine Rubit (South Alabama)

West Coast
G Kevin Foster (Santa Clara)
G Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary's)
G Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga)
F Noah Hartsock (BYU)
F Rob Jones (Saint Mary's)

WAC
G Kevin Olekaibe (Fresno St.)
G James Kinney (San Jose St.)
G Zane Johnson (Hawaii)
F Wendell McKines (New Mexico St.)
C Kyle Barone (Idaho)

College Hoops Thursday Recap: Hoyas Win a Thriller

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:26:52 -0500

Suspense was expected in the matchup between Georgetown and #12 Alabama, and that's exactly what the two teams provided as the Hoyas beat the Crimson Tide 57-55 on a Hollis Thompson three-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining. Instead of simply giving Jason Clark (22 points) the ball and telling him to shoot, Georgetown used the senior guard to run a dribble hand-off with Thompson on the right wing and the junior rose up and knocked down the shot. Levi Randolph's shot from half court missed just left of the rim at the buzzer, ending the Tide's 24-game home win streak.

"We had some breakdowns during the play," said Alabama head coach Anthony Grant of the game-winning sequence. "We talked about what we needed to do from a defensive standpoint in the timeout but unfortunately we didn't get it done on the court."

Alabama had a lackluster first half from an offensive standpoint, shooting 31% and scoring just 16 points as the visiting Hoyas took a seven-point lead into the locker room. The big issue for the Crimson Tide throughout the game was their offensive execution against the Georgetown zone. Alabama made just three of sixteen shots from beyond the arc, and for a team that shoots 27% from deep on the season that may be too many attempts. But as they didn't perform as well as they would have hoped in finding the open areas in the zone defense, Alabama had to resort to perimeter shots. Look for opponents down the road to give the Tide more zone looks as a result of this.

As for the Hoyas, their wins over Memphis and Alabama may be the best that the Big East has to offer from a non-conference standpoint, and in hindsight the preseason pick to finish 10th in the conference could be a bit conservative. But that will ultimately depend on the play of Thompson (12 points, eight rebounds) and Henry Sims (13 points), not to mention the progression of young contributors such as Markel Starks, Otto Porter and Greg Whittington. At the very least John Thompson III's team has shown signs of growth, and they've picked up a couple decent non-conference wins to boot.

"This is our third game against a team in the Top 15 so we've had a few tests and battles," said Thompson III. "To come in here and win against a team that's so well coached; on a court where they don't lose is a huge win for our group. I don't want to get into where we thought we would be at this time. Our guys have a lot of room for growth."

Other Notable Happenings

1. Youngstown State drops Detroit in their Horizon League opener for both.
Many, myself included, pegged Detroit as the team most likely to win the Horizon League even with Eli Holman being out indefinitely for personal reasons. But the Titans didn't get off to the best of starts in league play, losing to Youngstown State 64-61 at Calihan Hall. DuShawn Brooks knocked down six three-pointers for the Penguins, who fired away from beyond the arc with reckless abandon (9-for-28). But YSU only turned the ball over seven times, and that combined with their outscoring Detroit by 12 from deep proved to be the difference. Chase Simon and Ray McCallum Jr. scored 21 points apiece to lead UDM, but they need guys such as LaMarcus Lowe to step up in order to win a conference title. Losing Nick Minnerath hurts the Titans, who find themselves now down two expected contributors (counting Holman) and that could be a serious issue when discussing their chances against the likes of Butler and Cleveland State.

2. Distracted (?) Quinnipiac falls to Sacred Heart at home in their NEC opener.
Two Bobcat playes, James Johnson and Ike Azotam, were arrested in mid-October for their alleged roles in an on-campus fight back in September. But while Tom Moore's key players were disciplined in house the strength of the distraction was minimized by the timing of the case. No such luck on Thursday night as three more players, Jamee Jackson, David Johnson and Nate Gause, were arrested just hours before their game against Sacred Heart. All three were bailed out and able to play since the team handled their punishment in October as well, but the question of whether or not Quinnipiac was distracted on the floor is a fair one to ask. Quinnipiac shot just 31% in their 68-55 loss to Sacred Heart and made a deplorable nine of twenty from the foul line. The Bobcats have the talent needed to be a factor in the NEC, but bad decisions off the court could end up stunting this team's growth.

3. Ole Miss survives a wild finish and wins at DePaul.
With 13:55 remaining in the game Andy Kennedy's team led DePaul 50-33 and seemingly had things in control at Allstate Arena. But Oliver Purnell's pressing style began to affect the Rebels, who would finish with 20 turnovers on the night with young guards Nick Williams and Jarvis Summer combining for ten. But thanks to some critical missed free throws by the Blue Demons and Murphy Holloway's driving basket in the final seconds Ole Miss escaped with a 70-68 win in the HTC Big East/SEC Invitational. Williams and Summers did combine to score 29 points, and both their talent and inexperience were on display Thursday night. Holloway finished with a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) and his return after a brief stint at South Carolina is a good pickup after the graduation of Chris Warren. The one problem for the Rebels this season: the move to one division in the SEC, which makes it that much tougher to win a title. But they still play a similar conference schedule, which may set them up for a decent league campaign.

Quick Hitters

1. It took a half or so but Kentucky showed glimpses of the team pegged as one of the favorites to win the national title. Anthony Davis (15 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks) was two blocks short of a triple-double in the Wildcats' 81-59 win over St. John's and Terrence Jones scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds. As a team the Wildcats set a school record with 18 blocked shots.

2. South Dakota State won the game of the night, beating IUPUI 97-93 in overtime with Nate Wolters (32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists) leading the way. Alex Young led the Jaguars with 28 points and nine rebounds and the two teams combined to make 25 three-pointers.

3. C.J. Garner scored all 15 of his points in the second half and Jamal Olasewere scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Long Island beat Wagner 78-73 in Brooklyn. Tyler Murray led the Seahawks with 19 points, and along with Robert Morris and CCSU look for these teams to fight it out at the top of the NEC all season long.

4. Thursday was a big night for Bilal Dixon, who scored ten points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked seven shots off the bench in Providence's 76-67 win at South Carolina. Ed Cooley's got a team that's accountable, especially on the defensive end, and that change has been noticeable in the early going. Five players finished in double figures.

5. Mercer picked up a nice road win to open Atlantic Sun as they beat Lipscomb 79-72. Justin Cecil led four starters in double figures with 22 points and seven rebounds, but they're going to face a tougher challenge on Saturday at defending league champion Belmont. Can Bob Hoffman's team play what amounts to a six-man rotation all season long and be successful? Why not?

Three Notable Performances

1. G Nate Wolters (South Dakota State)
32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the Jackrabbits' 97-93 overtime win at IUPUI.

2. F Terrence Jones and F Anthony Davis (Kentucky)
Jones finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and four blocks while Davis added 15 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks in Kentucky's 81-59 win over St. John's.

3. F Ken Horton (Central Connecticut State)
32 points (6-10 3PT), nine rebounds and three steals in CCSU's 83-51 win at Bryant.

Jon Teitel's November All-Conference Teams

Jon Teitel — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:22:22 -0500

With the first month of the college basketball season concluded, this is a good time to recognize some of the top players throughout the country. With that in mind, CHN writer Jon Teitel gave his all-conference selections for each conference (and independents, which includes the Great West in this piece).

America East
G Darryl Partin Boston University
G Justin Edwards Maine
G Gerardo Suero Albany
F Ben Dickinson Binghamton
F Chase Plummer UMBC

Atlantic 10
G Carl Jones Saint Joseph's
G Mark Lyons Xavier
G Tu Holloway Xavier
F Andrew Nicholson St. Bonaventure
F Chris Braswell Charlotte

ACC
G Kendall Marshall North Carolina
G Terrell Stoglin Maryland
G Glen Rice Jr. Georgia Tech
F Travis McKie Wake Forest
F Mike Scott Virginia

Atlantic Sun
G Marcus Dubose ETSU
G Markeith Cummings Kennesaw St.
G Jordan Burgason Lipscomb
F J.J. Mann Belmont
F Torrey Craig USC Upstate

Big 12
G J'Covan Brown Texas
G Marcus Denmon Missouri
F Royce White Iowa St.
F Thomas Robinson Kansas
F Quincy Miller Baylor

Big East
G Maalik Wayns Villanova
G Darius Johnson-Odom Marquette
G Jeremy Lamb Connecticut
F Kevin Jones West Virginia
F Herb Pope Seton Hall

Big Sky
G Damian Lillard Weber St.
G Will Cherry Montana
G Kareem Jamar Montana
F Scott Bamforth Weber St.
F Collin Chiverton EWU

Big South
G Keith Gabriel VMI
G Darren White Campbell
G Anthony Raffa Coastal Carolina
F Eric Griffin Campbell
F Al'Lonzo Coleman Presbyterian

Big Ten
G Tim Frazier Penn St.
G Drew Crawford Northwestern
F John Shurna Northwestern
F Jared Sullinger Ohio St.
F Robbie Hummel Purdue

Big West
G Casper Ware Long Beach St.
G Orlando Johnson UCSB
F Stephan Hicks Cal State-Northridge
F James Nunnally UCSB
F T.J. Robinson Long Beach St.

CAA
G A.J. Davis James Madison
G Devon Saddler Delaware
G Humpty Hitchens James Madison
F Ryan Pearson George Mason
F Nathaniel Lester Hofstra

Conference USA
G Will Barton Memphis
G Miguel Paul East Carolina
F Keith Clanton UCF
F Josh Davis Tulane
F Cameron Moore UAB

Horizon
G Kendrick Perry Youngstown St.
G Chase Simon Detroit
F Kevin Van Wijk Valparaiso
F Ryan Broekhoff Valparaiso
C Alec Brown Green Bay

Independents
G Mitch Albers Nebraska Omaha
G Isiah Williams Utah Valley
F Aaron Broussard Seattle
F Jeremy Robinson Chicago State
F Antwan Carter Longwood

Ivy
G Zack Rosen Pennsylvania
G Sean McGonagill Brown
F Ian Hummer Princeton
F Greg Mangano Yale
F Keith Wright Harvard

MAAC
G Scott Machado Iona
G Harold Washington Canisius
G Dylon Cormier Loyola (MD)
F Michael Glover Iona
F Rakim Sanders Fairfield

MAC
G Rian Pearson Toledo
G D.J. Cooper Ohio
G Trey Ziegler Central Michigan
F Jarrod Jones Ball State
F Julian Mavunga Miami (OH)

MEAC
G Tahj Tate Delaware St.
G Tony Gallo Coppin St.
G Darrion Pellum Hampton
F Dominique Sutton NC Central
F Brandon Riley South Carolina St.

Missouri Valley
G Colt Ryan Evansville
G Rayvonte Rice Drake
F Doug McDermott Creighton
F Ben Simons Drake
F Taylor Brown Bradley

Mountain West
G Michael Lyons Air Force
G Chase Tapley San Diego St.
G Wes Eikmeier Colorado St.
F Anthony Drmic Boise St.
F Mike Moser UNLV

NEC
G Kyle Vinales Central Conn. St.
G James Johnson Quinnipiac
F Ken Horton Central Conn. St.
F Alex Francis Bryant
F Ike Azotam Quinnipiac

Ohio Valley
G Kevin Murphy Tennessee Tech
G Isaiah Canaan Murray St.
G Jud Dillard Tennessee Tech
F Mike Liabo UT Martin
F Robert Covington Tennessee St.

Pac-12
G Jared Cunningham Oregon St.
G Jorge Gutierrez California
G Trent Lockett Arizona St.
F Devon Collier Oregon St.
F Brock Motum Washington St.

Patriot
G Charles Hinkle American
G Jim Mower Lafayette
G C.J. McCollum Lehigh
F Ryan Willen Lafayette
C Mike Muscala Bucknell

SEC
G John Jenkins Vanderbilt
G Kenny Boynton Florida
G Brad Beal Florida
F Arnett Moultrie Mississippi St.
F Tony Mitchell Alabama

Southern
G Jamaal Trice Appalachian St.
G Eric Ferguson Georgia Southern
F De'Mon Brooks Davidson
F Antwaine Wiggins Charleston
F Mike Groselle Citadel

Southland
G Brandon Fortenberry SE Louisiana
G Anthony Miles Lamar
G Antonio Bostic Stephen F. Austin
F LaQuentin Miles Central Arkansas
F Patrick Richard McNeese St.

SWAC
G Marquis Baker Alcorn St.
G Savalace Townsend UAPB
G Tramaine Butler Alabama St.
F Casey Cantey Alabama A&M
F Demarquelle Tabb Alabama A&M

Summit
G Frank Gaines IPFW
G Nate Wolters South Dakota St.
G Reggie Hamilton Oakland
F Dominique Morrison Oral Roberts
F Alex Young IUPUI

Sun Belt
G Chris Jones North Texas
G Jeremy Allen FIU
G Phil Taylor FIU
F Chris Udofia Denver
C Augustine Rubit South Alabama

WCC
G Evan Roquemore Santa Clara
G Kevin Foster Santa Clara
F Noah Hartsock BYU
F Rob Jones St. Mary's
C Robert Sacre Gonzaga

WAC
G Kevin Olekaibe Fresno St.
G Christian Kabongo New Mexico St.
G Zane Johnson Hawaii
F Wendell McKines New Mexico St.
C Kyle Barone Idaho

College Hoops Thursday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:15:25 -0500

Thursday's schedule is highlighted by the first night of the SEC/Big East Invitational, and while the marquee games are tomorrow there are solid match ups to keep track of tonight. At the top of that list has to be Georgetown (5-1) heading south to take on #12 Alabama (7-0), and the question will be what John Thompson III's big men can do against JaMychal Green (15.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Tony Mitchell (14.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg). To say the least this will be a tall task for Henry Sims, Nate Lubick and the rest of the Georgetown frontcourt, as Mitchell is one of the best athletes in the game and Green is considered to be one of the top interior players in the SEC.

Sims is averaging 13.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, and his ability to step out on the perimeter in Georgetown's system makes him a tough cover when on. But his performance will need to be consistent if the Hoyas are to have a serious shot at leaving Tuscaloosa with the win, and the season goes for Lubick. Georgetown will also use the versatile freshman Otto Porter (9.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and classmate Greg Whittington, and it's going to have to be a group effort as it wouldn't be realistic to expect any of these four to rise to the level of a Green or Mitchell on their own.

The guard play should also be entertaining, and in Georgetown's Jason Clark (17.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Alabama's Trevor Releford (11.6 ppg, 2.4 apg) there will be two of the better guards in their respective leagues on display. Clark's really had to step up his offensive production with Austin Freeman and Chris Wright moving on, becoming more of a scorer in his senior campaign. Outside of he and wing Hollis Thompson (14.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg) the Hoyas are young on the perimeter, as they look to the likes of Markel Starks and Jabril Trawick for minutes.

As for Releford (11.6 ppg, 2.4 apg), he leads a young backcourt with just one season of experience under his belt. Freshmen Levi Randolph, Trevor Lacey and Rodney Cooper are all capable of being outstanding players for Anthony Grant in the future, and each has shown the ability to make plays now as well. The one concern for the Crimson Tide has to be the fact that they essentially break even in their averages for assists and turnovers per game, and Georgetown's opponents have averaged 15.5 turnovers per game this season. Both teams are good at attacking the offensive boards, but the Hoyas will need to take advantage of their superiority in offensive efficiency and valuing the basketball if they're to pick up what would be a big road victory.

Also playing in the SEC/Big East Invitational tonight is top-ranked Kentucky, which hosts a St. John's team even younger than their rotation and lacking the depth that John Calipari's group brings to the table. A prohibitive favorite to win tonight, this is a good test for the Wildcats from a maturity standpoint. Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb and Darius Miller need to lead Kentucky and make sure there aren't any signs of the team looking ahead to Saturday's game against North Carolina. Providence visits South Carolina and DePaul host Ole Miss in the other two games on the docket.

But the bigger deal on Thursday night is the start of conference play in multiple conferences that tend to play their league tournaments on the first weekend of "Championship Fortnight" (nearly 12 days is not a "Week"). In the NEC games between St. Francis (NY) and Mount St. Mary's and Wagner visiting LIU will help shape the league race that takes a break until January after this weekend. In the Big South, defending regular season champion Coastal Carolina begins their quest to finally get to the NCAA Tournament after squandering opportunities in each of the last two seasons with VMI coming to town, and defending Big South Tournament champ UNC Asheville opens at Gardner-Webb. And Liberty at Campbell should be another solid opening night tilt in the Big South.

Play in the Atlantic Sun, Horizon, MAAC, SoCon and Summit leagues also begins tonight, with gems including South Dakota State at IUPUI (Summit), Cleveland State at Wright State (Horizon) and Davidson visiting defending champion Wofford (SoCon) highlighting the slate. The conference games for this weekend may not get the major highlights on ESPN, but these are incredibly important games. League titles aren't lost on this weekend, but an 0-2 start makes it far tougher to win a conference title when getting back to that business a couple weeks from now.

Top 25 Games
7:30 PM St. John's at (1) Kentucky (ESPN2)
9:30 PM Georgetown at (12) Alabama (ESPN2)

NCAA Division I Games
5:30 PM UNC Asheville at Gardner-Webb
7:00 PM South Dakota State at IUPUI
7:00 PM St. Francis (NY) at Mount St. Mary's
7:00 PM Arkansas State at St. Bonaventure
7:00 PM Harvard at Vermont
7:00 PM Chattanooga at Georgia Southern
7:00 PM VMI at Coastal Carolina
7:00 PM Liberty at Campbell
7:00 PM Eastern Michigan at Colgate
7:00 PM Youngstown State at Detroit
7:00 PM Lehigh at Fordham
7:00 PM FIU at Georgia State
7:00 PM Savannah State at Hampton
7:00 PM Morehead State at Kent State
7:00 PM Wagner at Long Island
7:00 PM South Dakota at Oakland
7:00 PM Winthrop at Presbyterian
7:00 PM Sacred Heart at Quinnipiac
7:00 PM Fairleigh Dickinson at Robert Morris
7:00 PM Providence at South Carolina (ESPNU)
7:00 PM Monmouth at St. Francis (PA)
7:00 PM Siena at St. Peter's
7:00 PM Davidson at Wofford (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Cleveland State at Wright State
7:00 PM Central Connecticut State at Bryant (MSG+)
7:00 PM Jacksonville State at USC Upstate
7:15 PM East Tennessee State at Stetson
7:30 PM UMBC at American
7:30 PM Radford at Charleston Southern
7:30 PM Marist at Loyola (MD)
7:30 PM UMKC at IPFW
8:00 PM Murray State at Western Kentucky
8:00 PM Citadel at Charleston (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Loyola (IL) at Milwaukee (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Texas Tech at Texas A&M-CC (ESPN3)
8:00 PM UNC Greensboro at Appalachian State
8:00 PM George Washington at Kansas State (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Western Carolina at Samford
8:00 PM Middle Tennessee at Tennessee State
8:00 PM North Dakota State at Western Illinois
8:00 PM UIC at Green Bay (ESPN3)
8:05 PM McNeese State at Louisiana-Lafayette
8:05 PM Cal State Fullerton at Wichita State
8:15 PM Mercer at Lipscomb
8:15 PM Kennesaw State at Belmont
9:00 PM San Francisco at Montana
9:00 PM Ole Miss at DePaul (ESPNU)
9:00 PM Paul Quinn at Sam Houston State
9:05 PM Westminster UT at Northern Colorado
10:10 PM Stanford at Seattle

College Hoops Monday Recap: Musketeer Guards Lead the Way

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:44:26 -0500

There is no doubt that the Xavier Musketeers have one of the best backcourt tandems in the country with Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons, and the duo combined on Monday night to provide more evidence in the affirmative. Despite shooting a combined 13-for-38 from the field Holloway and Lyons scored 43 points for the Musketeers, with Lyons knocking down the game-tying shot with 6.5 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. From there it was the "Tu Holloway Show:, with the All-American scoring ten of his team-high 24 points in the extra session.

Holloway's two three-pointers during what would become a 12-0 run gave Xavier a 74-66 lead with 2:27 remaining. Vanderbilt could only manage four points in overtime, squandering a second half in which they shot 56.5% from the field. John Jenkins led three Vanderbilt starters in double figures with 20 points while Lance Goulbourne and Jeffery Taylor added 18 apiece, but Kevin Stallings turned the ball over 18 times and Xavier took full advantage with a 22-8 split in points off turnovers.

"They were very costly," said Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings of the turnovers. "Turnovers are generally careless or selfish. Neither of those has anything to do with the other team."

In addition to the points off turnovers discrepancy there was also the matter of Xavier out-rebounding Vanderbilt 54-33. Andre Walker, who transferred to Xavier from Vanderbilt after graduating in the spring, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and six other Musketeers grabbed at least four caroms. Xavier grabbed an astonishing 25 offensive rebounds, and while they held a comparatively small 15-9 edge in second-chance points that number takes a toll as the game wears on. Would the presence of Festus Ezeli have helped Vanderbilt in this regard? Possibly but he won't be back for a couple more weeks, meaning that the guys able to play need to step up.

Another problem for Vanderbilt: perimeter defense. Entrusting Jenkins and Brad Tinsley to stop opposing guards in general, much less guards the caliber of Holloway and Lyons, isn't the best move at this point in time. Can they be solid defenders down the road? That's a tough question to answer with a 'yes' or 'no', but if the Commodores want to hang around in March longer than they have in recent years they'd better improve. Monday night however was more about what Xavier did, especially on the glass given the fact that outside of Kenny Frease the Musketeers don't have a true big man. If players such as Walker, Travis Taylor and Jeff Robinson can continue their work on the boards look out. At the very least Xavier will compete for every inch of space on the floor, a trait that will serve them well as the season wears on.

"I am proud of our kids," said Xavier head coach Chris Mack. "It is their first game on the road in a very hostile environment. To have 25 offensive rebounds shows how badly our kids wanted it...Our players won this; it has nothing to do with coaching."

Other Notable Happenings

1. Minnesota gets the news they feared on Sunday regarding forward Trevor Mbakwe.
There was much concern amongst members of the Minnesota basketball program on Sunday night following their loss to Dayton regarding the health of senior forward Trevor Mbakwe. Mbakwe went down in the second half with an injury to his right knee, and things did not look good at the time. Those fears were confirmed on Monday as an MRI revealed a torn ACL, ending Mbakwe's season and possibly his career at Minnesota. Mbakwe is Minnesota's leading scorer and rebounder on the season, and losing him leaves a significant hole in the Golden Gopher rotation.

What's this mean? Ralph Sampson III, who has dealt with a sprained ankle for much of the early going, and Rodney Williams need to step up. Williams is healthy but has been quiet as well, and Mbakwe's injury also highlights the impact of Colton Iverson transferring to Colorado State. Tubby Smith will be light on frontcourt depth, but he may be able to get away with playing small provided Sampson III and Williams do a good job of avoiding foul trouble. Is Minnesota's season over with the loss of Mbakwe? Even though it's a major blow, the answer is entirely up to the remaining players.

2. Saint Mary's withstands a great performance from Damian Lillard to beat Weber State.
Outside of Xavier's trip to Vanderbilt the best matchup of the night took place in Moraga, California with an expected contender in the WCC (Saint Mary's) hosting the preseason favorite in the Big Sky (Weber State). The game certainly didn't disappoint either, with Weber State going into the half with a 32-31 lead. But Matthew Dellavedova and the rest of the Gaels got things rolling in the second half, shooting 69% from the field and scoring 56 points in what would end up being an 87-70 win. Dellavedova established a new career high with 11 assists to go along with 25 points while Rob Jones put up a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Kenton Walker II added 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Saint Mary's, who improved to 4-1 on the season. Damian Lillard led the way for the Wildcats with 36 points and Kyle Tresnak added 17 (but made just three of ten free throws), but while Weber State shot 53% from the field in the second half it was no match for the hot Gaels. Another key was the three-point shooting, with Saint Mary's making eight of thirteen and outscoring Weber State by 15 points in this category. Expect to hear more from both teams as the season wears on.

3. Oakland retires Keith Benson's number and beats Tennessee.
It was a special night in Rochester, Michigan with the Oakland program retiring the jersey of former center Keith Benson at halftime of their game against Tennessee. The game also provided Greg Kampe's program with the rare chance to host a team from a BCS AQ conference on their home floor, and thanks to large part to guard Reggie Hamilton the Golden Grizzlies took advantage. Hamilton scored a game-high 35 points in leading Oakland to the 89-81 win over the Volunteers while Drew Valentine led four other Golden Grizzlies in double figures with 15, and Corey Petros grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

The difference ultimately was the bench, and specifically Laval Lucas-Perry, who score 14 of Oakland's 19 bench points (Tennessee had just nine bench points). After dropping their first two games of the season (to Alabama and Arkansas), the Golden Grizzlies have won four straight. Life without Benson and Larry Wright certainly isn't (and won't be) easy, but the Golden Grizzlies showed on Monday night that they've got enough talent back to remain a factor in the Summit League.

Quick Hitters

1. After a 1-2 Maui Invitational that featured some shoddy defensive play, Memphis limited Jackson State to 32% shooting in their 70-45 win. Offensively Joe Jackson scored 15 points and Chris Crawford 14 to lead the Tigers.

2. Few teams will be able to live to tell the story of running with Iona, who beat Long Island 100-84 in New Rochelle. When you have a point guard the caliber of senior Scott Machado it's easy to get out in lanes and run, and few teams have a point guard as good as Machado.

3. Joe Mihalich may not have the most experienced team, but Niagara is definitely a team that won't lie down. For the second time this season the Purple Eagles came back from an 18-point, first half deficit as they beat Saint Francis (PA) 65-63.

4. Andre Roberson scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in Colorado's 70-68 win over Georgia in Boulder. Roberson is a good athlete with a high motor, which helps make up for the lack of refined skills in his game. As that part of his game improves, look for Roberson to be a major player in the Pac-12.

5. Louisville used their pressure early to get to Long Beach State, leading by as many as 15 points in their 79-66 home victory. Long Beach State turned the ball over 21 times on the night, and Chris Smith led five Cardinals in double figures with 18 points.

Three Notable Performances

1. G Reggie Hamilton (Oakland)
35 points, six rebounds and three assists in the Grizzlies' 89-81 win over Tennessee.

2. G Matthew Dellavedova and F Rob Jones (Saint Mary's)
Dellavedova scored 25 points and dished out 11 assists while Jones posted 24 and 12 rebounds, offsetting 36 points from Damian Lillard in the Gaels' 87-70 win over Weber State.

3. G Bradley Beal (Florida)
22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in the Gators' 96-70 win over Stetson, Billy Donovan's 450th as a head coach.

College Hoops Friday Recap: Huskies, Seminoles Fall in Bahamas

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:50:40 -0500

Prevailing wisdom had Florida State and Connecticut playing on Saturday in the title game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Well, they'll be playing on Saturday...but with third place on the line as both lost their semifinal games in disappointing fashion. The Huskies looked to be in good shape as they held a 50-33 lead on UCF early in the second half, despite a lackluster shooting performance from Jeremy Lamb. But it was almost as if UConn turned off their "power source", and the Knights took full advantage.

Marcus Jordan scored 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists to lead a comeback that resulted in a 68-63 win, and Keith Clanton scored 20 as well. UConn couldn't score and they couldn't stop the Knights either, and the defensive side of the floor is where they ultimately lost the game. UCF shot 46% in the second half after making just a third of their shots in the first 20 minutes, outscoring UConn 39-25. The Huskies were nowhere near as efficient offensively as they were in the first half, but simply put if they string a couple stops together the comeback is likely stunted.

"I can't be more disappointed in how we played," said UConn head coach Jim Calhoun after the game. "We just stopped playing. We couldn't even get the ball inbounded near the end. Nobody stepped up and it was a complete disaster for us."

Florida State's loss to Harvard could also be described as disastrous, but for what happened with them offensively. There's no disguising the fact that the Seminoles have their issues offensively, and despite those issues Leonard Hamilton's team reached the Sweet 16 last season. But things may have gotten worse for FSU, as in their 46-41 loss to the Crimson they finished with a offensive efficiency of 66.1.

Michael Snaer led the way with ten points but it wasn't enough to earn the win, setting up the third-place battle between the Seminoles and Connecticut. The good news for UConn is that Ryan Boatright (NCAA suspension) makes his season debut, giving them another ball-handler in the backcourt. That's something they need to help out Shabazz Napier, who turned the ball over seven times against UCF and will need someone to relieve some of the workload he's been given. Can the Huskies defend better? Can FSU shoot better? The answers will determine the outcome.

Other Notable Happenings

1. The Atlantic 10 will have two teams playing for championships on Sunday night.
Annually the talk regarding the Atlantic 10 from a national point of view has centered around Xavier and Temple, and rightfully so given the success of those two programs. But if early returns are any indication on the strength of the conference, there will be more for the rest of the country to pay attention to. After wins on Friday, Dayton (Old Spice Classic) and Saint Louis (76 Classic) will play for the title in those events on Sunday. Dayton shot just 36% from the field but Archie Miller's team turned the ball over just nine times and outscored Fairfield by 15 points from beyond the arc in their 56-49 win over the Stags. As for Saint Louis, Jordair Jett scored 19 points off the bench and the Billikens neutralized everyone outside of Maalik Wayns and James Bell in their 80-68 win over Villanova. Both have winnable matchups on Sunday, with Dayton playing Minnesota and Saint Louis taking on Oklahoma, and that's a good development for the conference in regards to possible rewards in March.

2. Oklahoma remains undefeated and looks to be a better basketball team.
A long rebuilding process was expected for Oklahoma when Lon Kruger took over the program in the off-season. Not much in the cupboard talent-wise along with NCAA sanctions made many think that though could be a rough campaign for the Sooners. But if there's one thing (among many) that Kruger can do it's rebuild programs, and the Sooners look to be on the right track with their 4-0 start. Oklahoma limited Santa Clara to 26% shooting in the first half and took a 42-19 lead into the break on their way to an 85-73 win. Steven Pledger scored 26 points and three other Sooners reached double figures, but the biggest differences between this team and the last two seasons are the effort on the defensive end and their unselfishness. It's still going to be a process for Oklahoma, and there will likely be disappointments along the way, but the Sooners are putting together a solid foundation.

3. Kris Joseph takes over late, allowing Syracuse to rally past Stanford.
Johnny Dawkins' Stanford Cardinal put forth an impressive battle in the title game of the NIT Season Tip-Off, leading favored Syracuse for much of the first 30 minutes. But the Orange went their full-court pressure and senior Kris Joseph scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half as they won 69-63. Could Joseph be the go-to guy that so many have looked for on this deep team? Friday was certainly a good start in that regard, but the two games in NYC were also good for sophomores C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters. They scored ten points apiece with Waiters adding three assists and three steals, and both were named to the All-Tournament Team as a result. Joseph can be considered a known commodity but for Fair and Waiters to begin their seasons in this fashion is a good sign of things to come, especially in March.

Quick Hitters

1. What's up with Rider? A team some thought could be a factor for third in the MAAC is 1-5 following an 86-69 loss to James Madison in the Philly Hoop Group Classic. The Dukes outscored the Broncs 48-31 in the second half, shooting 60% from the field in the final 20 minutes.

2. Southern Miss out-rebounded New Mexico State 38-26 and limited the Aggies to 41.7% shooting in their 80-72 win in a Great Alaska Shootout semifinal. LaShay Page scored 22 points to lead the Golden Eagles, who play Murray State in the title game.

3. Kendall Marshall scored just four points in North Carolina's 87-62 win over South Carolina, but his true value can be seen in his 14 assists and six steals. As long as he's on the floor the Tar Heels are going to be extremely difficult to slow down.

4. Marshall picked up a good road win as they beat Cincinnati 73-69 in overtime. Damier Pitts came up big late for the Thundering Herd, picked by many to be Memphis' chief competition in Conference USA. As for the Bearcats, this makes that loss to Presbyterian even costlier.

5. Good luck trying to slow down the Florida Gators. In their 107-62 win over Jacksonville five Gators reached double figures with Kenny Boynton (22 points) and Erving Walker (21) combining to score 43 points. Florida has made ten or more three-pointers in each of their games this season.

Three Notable Performances

1. F Doug McDermott (Creighton)
31 points and 11 rebounds in the Bluejays' 104-81 win over Campbell.

2. G Reggie Hamilton (Oakland) and G Isiah Williams (Utah Valley)
In the Golden Grizzlies' 89-83 win over Utah Valley Hamilton scored 34 points (five assists, five steals and three rebounds) while Williams paced the Wolverines with 35 of his own (three rebounds, three assists).

3. F Patrick Heckmann (Boston College)
32 points and five rebounds in the Eagles' 66-62 win over UC Riverside.

Jon Teitel's All-Conference Picks, Part Two

Jon Teitel — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:13:58 -0400

In the latest installment in our 2011-12 preview series, CHN writer Jon Teitel took some time selecting his preseason all-conference selections for 31 conferences as well as the Independents. Below are the picks for the final 16 conferences, and Part One can be found here.

MAC
G: Trey Ziegler (Central Michigan)
G: Zach Filzen (Buffalo)
F: Justin Greene (Kent State)
F: Julian Mavunga (Miami-Ohio)
F: Jarrod Jones (Ball St.)

MEAC
G: Darrion Pellum (Hampton)
G: Landon Clement (North Carolina Central)
G: Kwame Morgan II (Hampton)
F: Dewayne Jackson (Morgan St.)
C: Kyle O'Quinn (Norfolk St.)

Missouri Valley
G: Colt Ryan (Evansville)
G: Antoine Young (Creighton)
G: Anthony James (Northern Iowa)
F: Doug McDermott (Creighton)
F: Kyle Weems (Missouri St.)

Mountain West
G: Oscar Bellfield (UNLV)
G: Kendall Williams (New Mexico)
F: Garlon Green (TCU)
F: Drew Gordon (New Mexico)
F: Chace Stanback (UNLV)

Northeast
G: Robby Ptacek (Central Connecticut State)
G: Shane Gibson (Sacred Heart)
G: Tyler Murray (Wagner)
F: Ken Horton (Central Connecticut State)
F: Alex Francis (Bryant)

Ohio Valley
G: TyShwan Edmondson (Austin Peay)
G: Jeremy Granger (Eastern Illinois)
F: Kevin Murphy (Tennessee Tech)
F: Leon Powell (Southeast Missouri State)
F: Kenny Moore (Tennessee State)

Pac-12
G: Allen Crabbe (California)
G: Jorge Gutierrez (California)
G: Trent Lockett (Arizona State)
F: Reeves Nelson (UCLA)
F: Josh Owens (Stanford)

Patriot
G: CJ McCollum (Lehigh)
G: Jordan Sugars (Navy )
G: Devin Brown (Holy Cross)
F: Ella Ellis (Army)
C: Mike Muscala (Bucknell)

SEC
G: Dee Bost (Mississippi State)
G: John Jenkins (Vanderbilt)
F: JaMychal Green (Alabama)
F: Terrence Jones (Kentucky)
F: Jeffery Taylor (Vanderbilt)

Southern
G: Ben Drayton III (Georgia Southern)
G: Drew Spradlin (Elon)
G: Omar Wattad (Chattanooga)
F: Omar Carter (Appalachian St.)
F: Jake Cohen (Davidson)

Southland
G: Fred Hunter (Nicholls St.)
G: Melvin Johnson III (UTSA)
F: Jeromie Hill (UTSA)
F: Patrick Richard (McNeese St.)
C: Jereal Scott (Stephen F. Austin)

SWAC
G: Lawrence Johnson-Danner (Texas Southern)
G: Jenirro Bush (Jackson St.)
G: Savalance Townsend (Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
F: Casey Cantey (Alabama A&M)
F: Daniel Broughton (Arkansas-Pine Bluff)

Summit
G: Frank Gaines (IPFW)
G: Reggie Hamilton (Oakland)
G: Nate Wolters (South Dakota St.)
F: Dominique Morrison (Oral Roberts)
F: Alex Young (IUPUI)

Sun Belt
G: Gregg Gant (Florida Atlantic)
G: Fred Brown (UL Monroe)
F: Chase Hallam (Denver)
F: DeJuan Wright (FIU)
C: Augustine Rubit (South Alabama)

WCC
G: Kevin Foster (Santa Clara)
F: Elias Harris (Gonzaga)
F: Rob Jones (Saint Mary's)
C: Robert Sacre (Gonzaga)
G: Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary's)

WAC
G: Deonte Burton (Nevada)
G: Zane Johnson (Hawaii)
G: Brockeith Pane (Utah State)
F: Dario Hunt (Nevada)
C: Kyle Barone (Idaho)

Thirty-Two Impact Freshmen, Part Two

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:59:06 -0400

After going over the teams expected to win their regular season titles, we move on to talking about the top freshmen in each conference. Will all automatically take over and become the stars of their respective teams and leagues? It's tough to say at this point in the season, but that doesn't mean that we can't discuss it. Below are the picks for final 16 conferences, and Part One can be found here.

MAC: Kris Brewer (Kent State)
The Memphis native spent last season at Brehm Prep in Illinois, and his presence will add to the options that Rob Senderoff can call upon. The Golden Flashes are expected to contend in the MAC this season due to their returnees, but the ability of a player like Brewer will help as well.

MEAC: Dwight Meikle (Hampton)
Meikle was originally expected to attend St. John's but the school released him from his Letter of Intent in April, clearing the way for Hampton to land a player who could be among the best in the MEAC. Meikle's a versatile wing who can both score and attack the glass, something the Pirates will need if they're to win the MEAC.

Missouri Valley: Christian Kirk (Missouri State)
Kirk had to sit out his senior season due to Missouri transfer rules, but there's no doubt that Missouri State gets a player who is a serious candidate for Newcomer of the Year honors. As a junior at St. Charles (MO) High, Kirk averaged 17.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Mountain West: Hugh Greenwood (New Mexico)
Big things are expected from the Australian, who many expect to slide right into the starting role left open by the departed Dairese Gary. Greenwood averaged 17.1 points per game for the Australian U-19 team at the U-19 World Championships this summer in Latvia, and at 6'3", 209 he's got the size needed to play the point with a physicality not seen in many freshmen.

Northeast: Andrew Nicholas (Monmouth)
Nicholas has the ability to step in and play right away in the first season of the King Rice era at Monmouth. Nicholas can play both forward positions and is a versatile offensive player, something the Hawks need given their offensive issues last season (averaged just 60.5 points per game).

Ohio Valley: Nino Johnson (Southeast Missouri State)
Getting the Memphis native to commit during the early signing period last season was quite the coup for the Redhawks, who get a 6'8" forward more than capable of contributing immediately. Johnson's physical tools have made him the trendy pick to be the best freshman in the OVC, and it would come as no surprise if he were to make good on the preseason praise.

Pac-12: Josiah Turner (Arizona)
The case could be made that the Sacramento native is the best point guard in the Pac-12 before playing a game in college. He's that skilled, possessing the ability to make plays for himself as well as setting up teammates for quality shots. If Turner performs at the level many expect him to, don't be surprised if the Wildcats win the league.

Patriot: Justin Burrell (Holy Cross)
The Crusaders lost their leading assist man in Andrew Beinert, which could open the door for the 5'8" Burrell. The Virginia native averaged 20.0 points, 8.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game as a high school senior and spent last year at Fishburne Military School in Virginia.

SEC: Anthony Davis (Kentucky)
Davis' upside (not going to go into the overused story of his growth spurt during high school) makes him a candidate to be one of the best players in America and not just one of the nation's best freshmen. The power forward can do a variety of things on both ends of the floor, and his play as a senior earned him a McDonald's All-America Game selection.

Southern: Adjehi Baru (College of Charleston)
With returning starter Willis Hall being lost for the season due to a torn ACL it was critical that the Cougars received some good news from the NCAA on Baru. Thursday brought that news, bolstering the frontcourt of a team expected to once again contend for the SoCon title. Baru averaged 19.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game at The Steward School in Richmond, Virginia last year.

Southland: Luke Mergerson (Texas State)
With just two starters returning the Bobcats will likely need to call on some of their nine newcomers to contribute this year. One of those players is Mergerson, who played at Duncanville (TX) High School. At 6'8", 240, Mergerson has the size needed to be an impact freshman in the Southland Conference.

SWAC: LeAntwan Luckett (Alcorn State)
Luther Riley takes over as head coach at Alcorn State with the hope being that he can turn around a program that won just six game over the last two seasons. Luckett will be a key component for the Braves, as he is a slasher who averaged just under 20 points per game as a high school senior. Luckett received offers from BCS programs but chose Alcorn, and the Braves could benefit greatly from his decision.

Summit: Matt Poches (Oakland)
Given the loss of big man Keith Benson, some may not think that Greg Kampe's Golden Grizzlies can win the Summit League again. But they will be right back in the mix thanks in large part to the number of contributors returning on the perimeter. There lies the problem for a talented player like Poches: when and how often can he get on the floor? But the freshman is athletic enough to help Oakland out if he can earn playing time.

Sun Belt: Mychal Ammons (South Alabama)
Ammons led his Vicksburg (MS) High team to a 6A state title last season, averaging 21.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game as a senior. And as Ronnie Arrow looks to rebound from a disappointing 2010-11 without four starters from that team, players such as the versatile Ammons will need to step up.

WCC: Gary Bell, Jr. (Gonzaga)
Mark Few put together a very good recruiting class and the Kent, Washington native is the centerpiece of it. Bell was the state's Mr. Basketball last year, and he also played on the same Seattle Rotary Select team as Washington freshman Tony Wroten Jr. Bell's versatility on the wing will help account for the loss of Steven Gray and allow the Zags to once again contend for a WCC title.

WAC: Shaquille Stokes (Hawaii)
It's probably a safe assumption that Stokes doesn't have issues with homesickness given the fact that the New York City native picked the furthest possible location to attend college. Stokes averaged 18.4 points and four assists per game as a senior at Lincoln (NY) High, helping lead the Railsplitters to a 29-3 record last season.