Sunday, April 4, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
My letter to Rick Reilly
Mr. Reilly -
Before I begin, let me start off by saying that although I wholeheartedly disagree with your opinion of West Virginia and our basketball coach, I will respect your right to say it with all the fight that I have in me. That being said, I would like to offer a response on behalf of West Virginians all over the world to your recent negative article about the state of West Virginia and the beloved Mountaineers who represent that great state.
After reading your sarcastic, disdainful and to be brutally honest, ignorant words, I would like to give you a brief history lesson of the place that I am so proud to call home. I believe it’s probably a safe assumption judging by the tone of your article that you don’t know much about the history of our state or of the group of people that you are insulting.
Coal, in West Virginia, is king. The miners who risk their lives on a daily basis to bring that coal to the surface don't do it because they are "gritty", uninterested, or dirty. And they certainly don't do it because they "don't care" about their appearance or what people think about them. They do it because it keeps our state's economy going and it puts food on the tables of their families. Some of these men dig in the very mines that their fathers and their grandfathers did, going about their business without knowing that prejudice like yours exists. Would you believe, Mr. Reilly, that it wasn't even us dirty West Virginians' idea to begin mining in the hills of our state? Actually, speculators from out of town discovered that coal deposits ran rampant in our mountains and they tried for years, beginning in the 1840s to figure out a way to begin mining that coal because they knew it would make them rich, West Virginians be damned.
Ironically enough though, the very mountains that contained the coal were the obstacles keeping these money hungry speculators away from their prize. Because the state is so mountainous there was no railroad in and out in the mid 1800s, and without a lot civilized communities, there was no bank to finance such a project. Actually, after the Civil War, West Virginians lived relatively peacefully and happily until companies in Europe and New York saw the potential for the money they could make by mining the coal from the West Virginia hills and decided to go ahead and make an investment. So in came the railroads, ripping through the beautiful mountains of our majestic state at the cost of many lives. The coal industry in our state has taken thousands of lives since the 1880s and thousands more have been sickened with diseases like black lung. Just think, if it weren't for the sacrifices of such men, you may not have had the electricity to write such a well-informed article.
The big companies that owned these mines hired immigrants who they thought were disposable, immigrants who started families who remain in West Virginia, working hard and earning their keep. These families have become the backbone of our state and will most likely remain there for years to come. Sometimes, these miners would work from morning to night without a break on their hands and knees in cramped, dark spaces miles underground. With just a pick or a small shovel, these miners could dig up to ten tons of coal per day. Ten tons of coal in one day. Imagine putting your laptop down and working that hard at something. It's a good thing us West Virginians don't like places with a lot of light, huh Mr. Reilly?
Not only did miners work in these conditions, but entire mining towns were owned by the mining companies. Instead of making money, these hard working men would be paid something called "scrip" which was only good at company stores. If a miner didn't do everything according to the mining company's plan, then too bad for that miner and his family. Soon, because of the deplorable conditions of the mines and the way they were being treated, the miners began to stand up to th evils they were facing. These hard-working West Virginia miners began trying to organize a union so that they could be ensured some fairness and some safety. The mining companies, owned by the above-mentioned speculators were afraid that this would cause them to lose money and even access to the coal in the mountains, so they responded with a type of brutality that can't be imagined.
In the early 1900s, when miners pushed toward organizing a union for these rights, the coal companies began to fight back and soon a period of time in West Virginia known as the mine wars began. You're a journalist so you can research the mine wars on your own, but the violence toward these men in our state who simply wanted a better life for themselves and their families became so bad that martial law was declared. Since you clearly are not above the stereotypes, you should realize that this is the period of time when a lot of them started. Surely because of all of the violence, we were just an uneducated, barbaric lot. You should know though, that the violence was not caused on the part of the hard working miners, but because of a security force hired by the coal companies that began killing unsuspecting men. It got so bad that in 1921, President Harding sent troops into West Virginia to control the situation. Obviously, conditions have improved outside of the mines immensely as time has passed, but there isn't much to be done to improve conditions underground, where miners still spend hours a day risking their lives to provide our great country with the natural resources necessary to keep on functioning.
It is painfully obvious that you are ill-informed when it comes to the past experiences of the very miners who you insinuate are lazy. Then again, maybe you're right. They must be lazy. I mean, do you realize they pipe the play-by-play into the mines now so that they will actually show up for work? It's just a basketball game. A basketball game coached by such a bad guy with players who probably haven't even gone to class this semester anyway. What's the big deal, right?
I don't read many of your columns. To be honest, this might be the first one. Forgive me for that, but I'm just not that impressed. I can only hope that since you are paid to do this for a living, you are a little more well-informed about sports than you are about the character of the men and women. If you know about basketball, hopefully you know that the fast break was created by Davis and Elkins College Coach Cam Henderson or that Neal Baisi took it one step further at West Virginia Tech. Or that Danny Heater scored 135 points in one game for little known Heaters High School. Or that Georgeanne Wells was the first woman to dunk a basketball in a college game at the National Guard Armory in Elkins. Or about the great West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference that ruled college basketball in the middle of the 20th century. You probably also know about other great coaches like Clair Bee, Fred Schaus, George King nad Press Maravich (Pete's dad) who coached in the state. And surely you know the long list of basketball players who have come from there: Rod Hundley, Jerry West, Rod Thorn, Hal Greer, Mike D'Antoni and Bimbo Coles just to name a few.
These names and events are all important to us for many reasons. It's no secret that we get very little respect as a state. Admittedly, some truth lies in a lot of the stereotypes. We are poor and therefore do not have many opportunities economically. Coal is our saving grace. Other than its natural beauty, the simple, refreshing way of life,and the wonderfully rich Appalachian culture full of wonderful people, West Virginia doesn't provide much of a path to success for it's residents. For many people growing up there, athletics provides an escape from the sometimes crippling poverty and circumstances that are responsible for the disrespect we receive and the jokes that are made about us.
Without a professional sports team, we tend to follow small town athletes instead. From the time they loft their first jump shot until they walk into the locker room after their final play, they remain in the spotlight. The one thing that each one of these school boy athletes have in common, is that they typically dream of one day running out of the tunnel at the Coliseum as a West Virginia Mountaineer. Most times, their careers end at small in-state colleges and they become successful in other endeavors. Chances are though, that because of the nature of our state and our peoples' appreciation of hard work, years after their careers have ended, they'll still be recognized when they walk down the street and reminded of their glory days. Every once in a while though, somebody makes it just a little further and it gives the rest of us hope.
This year, somebody has made it just a little bit further. Somebody has given the rest of us hope. West Virginia University has made it to their first Final Four since 1959, when the school boy running out of that tunnel was none other than Jerry West, the NBA logo. The view of West Virginia is not new, and it clearly hasn't changed. Long before he was given the nickname "Mr. Clutch", his nickname was "Zeke from Cabin Creek." No matter if he was from a small town called Cheylan that acted as very important hub in industrial southern West Virginia. Back then, West Virginia University boasted the number one basketball program in the country, and much like now the entire state was stricken with basketball fever. Also much like now, the Mountaineers were giving a downtrodden state that most people looked down upon some hope. That team lost in the 1959 National Championship game to a California team coached by Pete Newell, who would go on to Coach Jerry West in the 1960 Olympic games.
History has a funny way of repeating itself. This Saturday, after fifty one long years, the people of our great state have a chance to be a part of something once again bigger than the stereotypes. A chance to prove to the rest of the country that yes, we can be the best at something. A chance provided to us by none other than the ulcerous porcupine himself, Coach Bob Huggins. We still don’t get a lot of respect, as evidenced by articles like yours. All one has to do is listen to a nationally televised broadcast to realize that even the announcers are cheering against us. When WVU's starting five takes that floor on Saturday night, millions of proud West Virginians from the deepest coal mines in the state to military bases on the other side of the world will be right there with them. Collectively, we will be bigger than any of the negativity that has shone through in your writing. If we prevail, it will mean more to our state than you will ever know. That in itself is something for us to be proud of, because judging from your cynicism; I would imagine that you've never been lucky enough to feel that way.
You can talk about the mistakes Coach Huggins has made. Like everybody else, he's human and he has made a poor decision or two. He'll be the first to admit that his DUI in 2004 wasn't the smartest decision he could've made. You can talk about the "zero point zero" grade point average of one of his players until it is revealed that the player was an NBA prospect who wouldn't have been given a chance at all without Coach Huggins and who, you guessed it, ended up playing in the NBA. You can talk about his sledgehammer style and the fact that you can't find one "shining moment" or the fact that he demands that his players give so much of themselves that they leave practice with an occasional bump or bruise. What you can't talk about though, because it’s immeasurable, is what Coach Huggins has done for countless players, our state and our people.
There is a lot of talk about Coach Huggins not being "huggable", but I would challenge you to find one former player, or even an average citizen in our state, who would agree with your assessment. After he was dismissed from Cincinnati, much to the chagrin of all around him, his team invited him to back to sit courtside at their last home game to show their appreciation. After he took the West Virginia job, and the Mountaineers played at Cincinnati, the people honored him with a pre-game tribute. He's done so much for so many people, but he gets such a bad rap because he, like many other people in our great state, keeps his mouth shut and goes to work day after day. Did you ever stop to think that if he's done such a good thing for a kid like Joe Mazzulla, that maybe he's done something similar for numerous other players and even coaches? When he left Kansas State to come home to West Virginia, he did so knowing that Frank Martin, a deserving candidate who had been loyal to him for years, was going to get the coaching job. In your article, you called Coach Martin a "crazy-eyed, death-staring Huggins wannabe", but nowhere in your article did I see you acknowledge Kansas State's spectacular run in the tournament.
Coach Huggins left Kansas State to pursue his dream job and because he believed in us. He's just another West Virginia school boy who dreamed of running out of that tunnel and worked hard enough to do it. As an athlete, he was an Academic All-American at the University who graduated near the top of his class. When he took the job at West Virginia, he did so with the intention of winning a national championship. Now, he has the Mountaineers in a position to do just that.
Say he's emotionless if you must. Ignore the tears in his eyes upon hearing Country Roads in Madison Square Garden after winning the Big East Championship. Ignore the fact that he has gone on countless tours throughout the state because he knows just how big Mountaineer basketball is to us. Ignore the fact that he plans on doing it again, but this time with a championship trophy in tow, just to give everybody in the state a chance to be a part of something that doesn't happen to our state very often.
On Saturday night, millions of current and former Mountaineers will be glued to their televisions and radios, living or dying with every possession. Regardless of the result, we will have Coach Huggins to thank for that. Because for one shining moment, which believe doesn't exist in the steep plateaus of our state, for all of us who believed, we will have been at the top of the world. Just knowing that his belief in our state and the values of hard work he instills have paid dividends for a group that nobody has given a chance is enough. And in the words of another proud West Virginian, it will be a great day to be a Mountaineer. Should we hoist that trophy on Monday in Indianapolis, hopefully Coach Huggins will be one step closer to a Hall of Fame that you will never, ever see.
Once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer.
Before I begin, let me start off by saying that although I wholeheartedly disagree with your opinion of West Virginia and our basketball coach, I will respect your right to say it with all the fight that I have in me. That being said, I would like to offer a response on behalf of West Virginians all over the world to your recent negative article about the state of West Virginia and the beloved Mountaineers who represent that great state.
After reading your sarcastic, disdainful and to be brutally honest, ignorant words, I would like to give you a brief history lesson of the place that I am so proud to call home. I believe it’s probably a safe assumption judging by the tone of your article that you don’t know much about the history of our state or of the group of people that you are insulting.
Coal, in West Virginia, is king. The miners who risk their lives on a daily basis to bring that coal to the surface don't do it because they are "gritty", uninterested, or dirty. And they certainly don't do it because they "don't care" about their appearance or what people think about them. They do it because it keeps our state's economy going and it puts food on the tables of their families. Some of these men dig in the very mines that their fathers and their grandfathers did, going about their business without knowing that prejudice like yours exists. Would you believe, Mr. Reilly, that it wasn't even us dirty West Virginians' idea to begin mining in the hills of our state? Actually, speculators from out of town discovered that coal deposits ran rampant in our mountains and they tried for years, beginning in the 1840s to figure out a way to begin mining that coal because they knew it would make them rich, West Virginians be damned.
Ironically enough though, the very mountains that contained the coal were the obstacles keeping these money hungry speculators away from their prize. Because the state is so mountainous there was no railroad in and out in the mid 1800s, and without a lot civilized communities, there was no bank to finance such a project. Actually, after the Civil War, West Virginians lived relatively peacefully and happily until companies in Europe and New York saw the potential for the money they could make by mining the coal from the West Virginia hills and decided to go ahead and make an investment. So in came the railroads, ripping through the beautiful mountains of our majestic state at the cost of many lives. The coal industry in our state has taken thousands of lives since the 1880s and thousands more have been sickened with diseases like black lung. Just think, if it weren't for the sacrifices of such men, you may not have had the electricity to write such a well-informed article.
The big companies that owned these mines hired immigrants who they thought were disposable, immigrants who started families who remain in West Virginia, working hard and earning their keep. These families have become the backbone of our state and will most likely remain there for years to come. Sometimes, these miners would work from morning to night without a break on their hands and knees in cramped, dark spaces miles underground. With just a pick or a small shovel, these miners could dig up to ten tons of coal per day. Ten tons of coal in one day. Imagine putting your laptop down and working that hard at something. It's a good thing us West Virginians don't like places with a lot of light, huh Mr. Reilly?
Not only did miners work in these conditions, but entire mining towns were owned by the mining companies. Instead of making money, these hard working men would be paid something called "scrip" which was only good at company stores. If a miner didn't do everything according to the mining company's plan, then too bad for that miner and his family. Soon, because of the deplorable conditions of the mines and the way they were being treated, the miners began to stand up to th evils they were facing. These hard-working West Virginia miners began trying to organize a union so that they could be ensured some fairness and some safety. The mining companies, owned by the above-mentioned speculators were afraid that this would cause them to lose money and even access to the coal in the mountains, so they responded with a type of brutality that can't be imagined.
In the early 1900s, when miners pushed toward organizing a union for these rights, the coal companies began to fight back and soon a period of time in West Virginia known as the mine wars began. You're a journalist so you can research the mine wars on your own, but the violence toward these men in our state who simply wanted a better life for themselves and their families became so bad that martial law was declared. Since you clearly are not above the stereotypes, you should realize that this is the period of time when a lot of them started. Surely because of all of the violence, we were just an uneducated, barbaric lot. You should know though, that the violence was not caused on the part of the hard working miners, but because of a security force hired by the coal companies that began killing unsuspecting men. It got so bad that in 1921, President Harding sent troops into West Virginia to control the situation. Obviously, conditions have improved outside of the mines immensely as time has passed, but there isn't much to be done to improve conditions underground, where miners still spend hours a day risking their lives to provide our great country with the natural resources necessary to keep on functioning.
It is painfully obvious that you are ill-informed when it comes to the past experiences of the very miners who you insinuate are lazy. Then again, maybe you're right. They must be lazy. I mean, do you realize they pipe the play-by-play into the mines now so that they will actually show up for work? It's just a basketball game. A basketball game coached by such a bad guy with players who probably haven't even gone to class this semester anyway. What's the big deal, right?
I don't read many of your columns. To be honest, this might be the first one. Forgive me for that, but I'm just not that impressed. I can only hope that since you are paid to do this for a living, you are a little more well-informed about sports than you are about the character of the men and women. If you know about basketball, hopefully you know that the fast break was created by Davis and Elkins College Coach Cam Henderson or that Neal Baisi took it one step further at West Virginia Tech. Or that Danny Heater scored 135 points in one game for little known Heaters High School. Or that Georgeanne Wells was the first woman to dunk a basketball in a college game at the National Guard Armory in Elkins. Or about the great West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference that ruled college basketball in the middle of the 20th century. You probably also know about other great coaches like Clair Bee, Fred Schaus, George King nad Press Maravich (Pete's dad) who coached in the state. And surely you know the long list of basketball players who have come from there: Rod Hundley, Jerry West, Rod Thorn, Hal Greer, Mike D'Antoni and Bimbo Coles just to name a few.
These names and events are all important to us for many reasons. It's no secret that we get very little respect as a state. Admittedly, some truth lies in a lot of the stereotypes. We are poor and therefore do not have many opportunities economically. Coal is our saving grace. Other than its natural beauty, the simple, refreshing way of life,and the wonderfully rich Appalachian culture full of wonderful people, West Virginia doesn't provide much of a path to success for it's residents. For many people growing up there, athletics provides an escape from the sometimes crippling poverty and circumstances that are responsible for the disrespect we receive and the jokes that are made about us.
Without a professional sports team, we tend to follow small town athletes instead. From the time they loft their first jump shot until they walk into the locker room after their final play, they remain in the spotlight. The one thing that each one of these school boy athletes have in common, is that they typically dream of one day running out of the tunnel at the Coliseum as a West Virginia Mountaineer. Most times, their careers end at small in-state colleges and they become successful in other endeavors. Chances are though, that because of the nature of our state and our peoples' appreciation of hard work, years after their careers have ended, they'll still be recognized when they walk down the street and reminded of their glory days. Every once in a while though, somebody makes it just a little further and it gives the rest of us hope.
This year, somebody has made it just a little bit further. Somebody has given the rest of us hope. West Virginia University has made it to their first Final Four since 1959, when the school boy running out of that tunnel was none other than Jerry West, the NBA logo. The view of West Virginia is not new, and it clearly hasn't changed. Long before he was given the nickname "Mr. Clutch", his nickname was "Zeke from Cabin Creek." No matter if he was from a small town called Cheylan that acted as very important hub in industrial southern West Virginia. Back then, West Virginia University boasted the number one basketball program in the country, and much like now the entire state was stricken with basketball fever. Also much like now, the Mountaineers were giving a downtrodden state that most people looked down upon some hope. That team lost in the 1959 National Championship game to a California team coached by Pete Newell, who would go on to Coach Jerry West in the 1960 Olympic games.
History has a funny way of repeating itself. This Saturday, after fifty one long years, the people of our great state have a chance to be a part of something once again bigger than the stereotypes. A chance to prove to the rest of the country that yes, we can be the best at something. A chance provided to us by none other than the ulcerous porcupine himself, Coach Bob Huggins. We still don’t get a lot of respect, as evidenced by articles like yours. All one has to do is listen to a nationally televised broadcast to realize that even the announcers are cheering against us. When WVU's starting five takes that floor on Saturday night, millions of proud West Virginians from the deepest coal mines in the state to military bases on the other side of the world will be right there with them. Collectively, we will be bigger than any of the negativity that has shone through in your writing. If we prevail, it will mean more to our state than you will ever know. That in itself is something for us to be proud of, because judging from your cynicism; I would imagine that you've never been lucky enough to feel that way.
You can talk about the mistakes Coach Huggins has made. Like everybody else, he's human and he has made a poor decision or two. He'll be the first to admit that his DUI in 2004 wasn't the smartest decision he could've made. You can talk about the "zero point zero" grade point average of one of his players until it is revealed that the player was an NBA prospect who wouldn't have been given a chance at all without Coach Huggins and who, you guessed it, ended up playing in the NBA. You can talk about his sledgehammer style and the fact that you can't find one "shining moment" or the fact that he demands that his players give so much of themselves that they leave practice with an occasional bump or bruise. What you can't talk about though, because it’s immeasurable, is what Coach Huggins has done for countless players, our state and our people.
There is a lot of talk about Coach Huggins not being "huggable", but I would challenge you to find one former player, or even an average citizen in our state, who would agree with your assessment. After he was dismissed from Cincinnati, much to the chagrin of all around him, his team invited him to back to sit courtside at their last home game to show their appreciation. After he took the West Virginia job, and the Mountaineers played at Cincinnati, the people honored him with a pre-game tribute. He's done so much for so many people, but he gets such a bad rap because he, like many other people in our great state, keeps his mouth shut and goes to work day after day. Did you ever stop to think that if he's done such a good thing for a kid like Joe Mazzulla, that maybe he's done something similar for numerous other players and even coaches? When he left Kansas State to come home to West Virginia, he did so knowing that Frank Martin, a deserving candidate who had been loyal to him for years, was going to get the coaching job. In your article, you called Coach Martin a "crazy-eyed, death-staring Huggins wannabe", but nowhere in your article did I see you acknowledge Kansas State's spectacular run in the tournament.
Coach Huggins left Kansas State to pursue his dream job and because he believed in us. He's just another West Virginia school boy who dreamed of running out of that tunnel and worked hard enough to do it. As an athlete, he was an Academic All-American at the University who graduated near the top of his class. When he took the job at West Virginia, he did so with the intention of winning a national championship. Now, he has the Mountaineers in a position to do just that.
Say he's emotionless if you must. Ignore the tears in his eyes upon hearing Country Roads in Madison Square Garden after winning the Big East Championship. Ignore the fact that he has gone on countless tours throughout the state because he knows just how big Mountaineer basketball is to us. Ignore the fact that he plans on doing it again, but this time with a championship trophy in tow, just to give everybody in the state a chance to be a part of something that doesn't happen to our state very often.
On Saturday night, millions of current and former Mountaineers will be glued to their televisions and radios, living or dying with every possession. Regardless of the result, we will have Coach Huggins to thank for that. Because for one shining moment, which believe doesn't exist in the steep plateaus of our state, for all of us who believed, we will have been at the top of the world. Just knowing that his belief in our state and the values of hard work he instills have paid dividends for a group that nobody has given a chance is enough. And in the words of another proud West Virginian, it will be a great day to be a Mountaineer. Should we hoist that trophy on Monday in Indianapolis, hopefully Coach Huggins will be one step closer to a Hall of Fame that you will never, ever see.
Once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thoughts on last night...
Rotnei Clarke is the best shooter in the country. After the 6'0" University of Arkansas guard hit 13 three pointers and scored 51 points against Alcorn State last Friday night, people were a little surprised. They must not have realized that prior to the Razorbacks season opener, Clarke spent an evening in an empty gym with his father and a shooting coach, converting 556 out of 600 three point shots. So yeah, the boy can shoot. The half a hundred he put up against the same Alcorn State team that put Ohio State's Evan Turner on the map after his own outstanding performance a few days earlier is an individual season high for scoring thus far. Needless to say, when news began to spread, basketball fans all over the place tuned into watch his squad play Louisville last night. His encore performance was limited, however, as he only scored 16 points. Don't think 51 was a fluke, though, he played well and converted a couple of long range bombs. True hoopheads know that shooters shoot, and making 13 threes isn't an accident. Keep in mind that after two games, Rotnei Clarke is actually leading the country in scoring with an average of 33.5 points per game. With seven players suspended from a team that won only two conference games last year, a perfect storm has been created for Clarke to put up some big numbers.
Georgetown is in for a long season. It's been a pretty safe bet for a lot of years now that when Georgetown plays Temple it's going to be a low scoring, physical affair. Still, there's no excuse for yesterday's snooze fest at the Verizon Center. Yesterday afternoon, they barely beat the Owls on a last second layup from their best player, Greg Monroe. At halftime the score was 19-13 and there were more fouls commited than baskets scored. The Hoyas trailed most of the second half until Monroe's basket at the buzzer whch gave them a 46-45 win. Not much more can be said of the game, and it's definitely not one that should have been listened to while operating heavy machinery.. After making it to the Final Four two seasons ago, Georgetown went 16-15 overall last season, failing to live up to expectations and playing a brand of basketball that was tedious to watch. Very few teams can take the famed Pete Carrill Princeton offense and make it look boring, but Georgetown seems to excel at doing just that. This year, although they are 2-0 with an easy win over Tulane last week, it looks like we'll see more of the same. It will be hard for them to win basketball games in the Big East Conference, especially if they have more offensive performances that see them on the wrong side of the 50 point mark. The Hoyas stand at #19 nationally, but don't be surprised if they fall out of the rankings very quickly.
Gonzaga is the best unranked team in the country. If you watched them play at Michigan State last night, you heard the announcers say it over and over again. Although they lost by four, they led most of the night and played impressive, mature basketball. After losing their three top players last season, (Josh Heytvelt, Austin Daye and Jeremy Pargo) most analysts thought this year would be a rebuilding year for veteran Coach Mark Few. With the exception of senior guard Matt Bouldin, this is the youngest Zags team that Few has had during his tenure. Bouldin displayed moments of brilliance last night and looked like a solid All-American candidate witth a couple of great passes and his ability to create scoring opportunities for himself. He finished with 15 points and 4 assists in the losing effort. Why the Zags are unranked this season is a mystery, considering that at this point they should be considered a major college program. They have all the pieces they need to make a run deep into March. They have a 7'5" (not a typo) center in Will Foster to go along with another seven-footer named Robert Sacre, who finishes strong time after time when the guards can get him the ball. He had 17 last night and hands down has the best sky hook since Lew Alcindor owned the paint at UCLA in the late 1960s. A loss is never a good thing for a team, no matter the circumstances, but the Zags have to be happy with their performance on the road against the second best team in the country. They will win a lot of ball games this year and will crack the top 25 early on.
Tennessee is the best team in the country right now. Tennessee slaughtered UNC-Asheville 124 to 49 last night. Yep, they won by 75 points. The Volunteers put up the most points ever scored by a Tennessee team in only their second game of this season, which is nothing but a good sign for head Coach Bruce Pearl. Pearl, who won his 100th game last night, saw six players scored in double figures for the Volunteers behind Scotty Hopson's career high 25. Tennessee isn't necessarily under the radar because they're consistently pretty good, but it seems like they aren't getting as much respect as they deserve yet. Their opponent last night was sub-par, but they were still picked to finish second in their league. Either way after the first media timeout, Tennessee was up 18-0, and during one point, led 61-10. UNCA didn't score their first field goal of the game until there were three minutes left in the first half. By the end of the half, one more field goal had been scored by the Vols' opponents. Although UNCA didn't help themselves, Tennesee's offensive output can't be overlooked. What also can't be overlooked is that Tennessee didn't lost a single player to graduation or the NBA last year, so they're a veteran squad who will continue to produce and play well together all season. If they can continue to thrive under Bruce Pearl's system, they have a chance of making it to the last game of college basketball season in a few months.
Georgetown is in for a long season. It's been a pretty safe bet for a lot of years now that when Georgetown plays Temple it's going to be a low scoring, physical affair. Still, there's no excuse for yesterday's snooze fest at the Verizon Center. Yesterday afternoon, they barely beat the Owls on a last second layup from their best player, Greg Monroe. At halftime the score was 19-13 and there were more fouls commited than baskets scored. The Hoyas trailed most of the second half until Monroe's basket at the buzzer whch gave them a 46-45 win. Not much more can be said of the game, and it's definitely not one that should have been listened to while operating heavy machinery.. After making it to the Final Four two seasons ago, Georgetown went 16-15 overall last season, failing to live up to expectations and playing a brand of basketball that was tedious to watch. Very few teams can take the famed Pete Carrill Princeton offense and make it look boring, but Georgetown seems to excel at doing just that. This year, although they are 2-0 with an easy win over Tulane last week, it looks like we'll see more of the same. It will be hard for them to win basketball games in the Big East Conference, especially if they have more offensive performances that see them on the wrong side of the 50 point mark. The Hoyas stand at #19 nationally, but don't be surprised if they fall out of the rankings very quickly.
Gonzaga is the best unranked team in the country. If you watched them play at Michigan State last night, you heard the announcers say it over and over again. Although they lost by four, they led most of the night and played impressive, mature basketball. After losing their three top players last season, (Josh Heytvelt, Austin Daye and Jeremy Pargo) most analysts thought this year would be a rebuilding year for veteran Coach Mark Few. With the exception of senior guard Matt Bouldin, this is the youngest Zags team that Few has had during his tenure. Bouldin displayed moments of brilliance last night and looked like a solid All-American candidate witth a couple of great passes and his ability to create scoring opportunities for himself. He finished with 15 points and 4 assists in the losing effort. Why the Zags are unranked this season is a mystery, considering that at this point they should be considered a major college program. They have all the pieces they need to make a run deep into March. They have a 7'5" (not a typo) center in Will Foster to go along with another seven-footer named Robert Sacre, who finishes strong time after time when the guards can get him the ball. He had 17 last night and hands down has the best sky hook since Lew Alcindor owned the paint at UCLA in the late 1960s. A loss is never a good thing for a team, no matter the circumstances, but the Zags have to be happy with their performance on the road against the second best team in the country. They will win a lot of ball games this year and will crack the top 25 early on.
Tennessee is the best team in the country right now. Tennessee slaughtered UNC-Asheville 124 to 49 last night. Yep, they won by 75 points. The Volunteers put up the most points ever scored by a Tennessee team in only their second game of this season, which is nothing but a good sign for head Coach Bruce Pearl. Pearl, who won his 100th game last night, saw six players scored in double figures for the Volunteers behind Scotty Hopson's career high 25. Tennessee isn't necessarily under the radar because they're consistently pretty good, but it seems like they aren't getting as much respect as they deserve yet. Their opponent last night was sub-par, but they were still picked to finish second in their league. Either way after the first media timeout, Tennessee was up 18-0, and during one point, led 61-10. UNCA didn't score their first field goal of the game until there were three minutes left in the first half. By the end of the half, one more field goal had been scored by the Vols' opponents. Although UNCA didn't help themselves, Tennesee's offensive output can't be overlooked. What also can't be overlooked is that Tennessee didn't lost a single player to graduation or the NBA last year, so they're a veteran squad who will continue to produce and play well together all season. If they can continue to thrive under Bruce Pearl's system, they have a chance of making it to the last game of college basketball season in a few months.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
24 Hours of basketball?!
It's hard to focus today if you're a hardcore hoophead. ESPN's family of networks is kicking off college basketball right, showing 24 straight hours of hoops. If you're like me, you've been checking in all day on the action. There are tons of games to choose from, and if you can't find what you're looking for on tv, check out ESPN360. Ten ranked teams play today, so if you don't get your fix, you're probably not a fan.
So far, the first legit day of college basketball has seen UCLA brick their way to a double overtime "upset" at the hands Cal State Fullerton. Other than that, all of the games have ended as to be expected. Tonight, fans get to see Kansas, Michigan State, Duke, Georgetown, Memphis, Tennessee, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Louisville and Illinois. Stay tuned for thoughts and analysis.
Also, in keeping with the Beltway Basketball theme, here's some info from USA Today on some high school standouts in the area. Now, stop reading and start watching...
So far, the first legit day of college basketball has seen UCLA brick their way to a double overtime "upset" at the hands Cal State Fullerton. Other than that, all of the games have ended as to be expected. Tonight, fans get to see Kansas, Michigan State, Duke, Georgetown, Memphis, Tennessee, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Louisville and Illinois. Stay tuned for thoughts and analysis.
Also, in keeping with the Beltway Basketball theme, here's some info from USA Today on some high school standouts in the area. Now, stop reading and start watching...
Monday, November 16, 2009
Inconsistency rules the day...
Imagine you’re on an NCAA committee designated to dole out punishments for infractions committed by incoming college basketball players. You’re presented with three files, each containing a case involving a different player from a different program in a different part of the country. Each player (for the purposes of this blog: Player A, Player B, Player C) commits a separate offence as follows:
Player A is an incoming college freshman who has signed to play at a program that is on the upswing and predicted to do very big things this year. He is from a European country and the high school that he went to did not have a sports program, so he could not play competitively at that level. As a result, he started playing with a club team in his native country. The roster of his club team included a player that had once played professionally and who was still considered a professional athlete, and therefore, Player A was in violation of the Amateurism Rule put forth by the NCAA.
Player B is a transfer who has decided to continue his career at a smaller mid-major school. He is from South America and spent last season playing for a community college in the Midwest. Prior to coming to the United States, Player B played three games as an actual professional basketball player in his native country. Playing professional basketball clearly is in violation of the Amateurism Rule put forth by the NCAA.
Player C is an incoming college freshman who last year was considered to be the best high school basketball player in the country. He is now playing for one of college basketball’s all-time winningest programs and a team favored to finish near the top this season. Prior to enrolling at this school, Player C played on a basketball team coached by an agent with the ability to see money change hands in order to benefit said player. On top of that, said agent provided Player C with cash to visit schools prior to signing with his current one. In playing for and accepting money from an agent, Player C violated (you guessed it) college basketball’s Amateurism Rule.
All three of the above cases are real and all three players have been handed down punishments by the NCAA. Although the players each broke the same rule by varying degrees, it remains that they all broke the same rule. As such, each player should be given the same treatment and punished the same way, or at least you would think…
Last week, the NCAA suspended Douglas Kurtz for six games because he played in a professional league as a professional basketball player (therefore stripping him of his amateur status) in his native Brazil prior to coming to the states. Kurtz, the 7’0” center who is playing for the University of Hawaii this season, played three games professionally in 2007 before finding himself in Iowa where he played at Marshalltown Community College last year. He will be eligible to play for the Rainbow Warriors at the beginning of December.
The Kurtz ruling that was handed down was just one of three that have recently taken place that are all over the map. The most severe punishment handed down was seemingly for the least offensive crime. In October, West Virginia freshman Deniz Kilicli, a 6’9” forward from Istanbul was suspended for twenty games by the NCAA because of his affiliation with a club team in his native country. Kilicli, who didn’t have the opportunity to play high school basketball because his high school didn’t have a team, played (with amateur status in tact) on a team with a player who had a professional status.
While Kurtz’s offence seems a little more serious than Kilicli’s, both pale in comparison to infractions commited by Kentucky superstar freshman John Wall. Wall, who was considered by many to be the best high school player in the country last year, played for AAU coach Brian Clifton. Clifton was a registered agent between 2007 and 2008 and accompanied Wall on several recruiting trips, including two to Kentucky. It has since come out that Clifton helped pay for Wall’s trips to various schools, which is also considered a no-no by the NCAA. Wall was provided over $800.00 by Clifton. The NCAA rules state that if a player receives more than $101.00, he must repay the money and is subject to at least a ten percent suspension of his respective team’s regular season games. While the NCAA remained true to the monetary punishment (Wall has been ordered to pay back the $800.00) he was suspended for only one regular season game for the Wildcats this season.
Needless to say, inconsistency seems to be running rampant in the NCAA. If all three players broke the same rule, each player should be subjected to the same punishment. Either one game, six games or 20 games, and not punishments that seem like they've been pulled out of a hat. If one is to compare all three cases, Kurtz’s might be the most malicious. As a professional player, he was probably aware of his professional status. In the other two cases, neither Wall or Kilicli gained any kind of advantage in their situation and probably were not honestly aware of their crimes.
On paper, Wall looks like he could have benefitted the most. After all, agents have access to professional teams, lucrative contracts and act as a gateway between the player and the money. He had much more of a chance to gain monetarily than did Kilicli, who simply associated with a guy who was a professional ball player. Had he even know, the most Kilicli could have gained was more ability and experience with the opportunity to play against a professional athlete.
The rule that affects Kilicli is a controversial one. The NCAA last year penalized 490 athletes (in all sports) for amateurism violations and 434 of those were foreign students. In many instances, amateurs can be playing on a foreign team that includes professionals and not know it at all, simply because what constitutes professional in Europe and the United States are often far different things. Since that's the case, it's hard to determine whether he deserves the most harsh punishment of the three recently handed down by the NCAA.
Clearly John Wall will play in the NBA and will more than likely be a superstar while Kilicli and Kurtz will play out their careers as role players before slipping into obscurity. From a business aspect, one can certainly understand that college basketball will benefit much more from having Wall on the floor than on the sidelines, but it's creating a slippery slope that may not be able to be reversed without some major reform. For a governing body that preaches fairness and sportsmanship, the NCAA has dropped the ball on this one.
Player A is an incoming college freshman who has signed to play at a program that is on the upswing and predicted to do very big things this year. He is from a European country and the high school that he went to did not have a sports program, so he could not play competitively at that level. As a result, he started playing with a club team in his native country. The roster of his club team included a player that had once played professionally and who was still considered a professional athlete, and therefore, Player A was in violation of the Amateurism Rule put forth by the NCAA.
Player B is a transfer who has decided to continue his career at a smaller mid-major school. He is from South America and spent last season playing for a community college in the Midwest. Prior to coming to the United States, Player B played three games as an actual professional basketball player in his native country. Playing professional basketball clearly is in violation of the Amateurism Rule put forth by the NCAA.
Player C is an incoming college freshman who last year was considered to be the best high school basketball player in the country. He is now playing for one of college basketball’s all-time winningest programs and a team favored to finish near the top this season. Prior to enrolling at this school, Player C played on a basketball team coached by an agent with the ability to see money change hands in order to benefit said player. On top of that, said agent provided Player C with cash to visit schools prior to signing with his current one. In playing for and accepting money from an agent, Player C violated (you guessed it) college basketball’s Amateurism Rule.
All three of the above cases are real and all three players have been handed down punishments by the NCAA. Although the players each broke the same rule by varying degrees, it remains that they all broke the same rule. As such, each player should be given the same treatment and punished the same way, or at least you would think…
Last week, the NCAA suspended Douglas Kurtz for six games because he played in a professional league as a professional basketball player (therefore stripping him of his amateur status) in his native Brazil prior to coming to the states. Kurtz, the 7’0” center who is playing for the University of Hawaii this season, played three games professionally in 2007 before finding himself in Iowa where he played at Marshalltown Community College last year. He will be eligible to play for the Rainbow Warriors at the beginning of December.
The Kurtz ruling that was handed down was just one of three that have recently taken place that are all over the map. The most severe punishment handed down was seemingly for the least offensive crime. In October, West Virginia freshman Deniz Kilicli, a 6’9” forward from Istanbul was suspended for twenty games by the NCAA because of his affiliation with a club team in his native country. Kilicli, who didn’t have the opportunity to play high school basketball because his high school didn’t have a team, played (with amateur status in tact) on a team with a player who had a professional status.
While Kurtz’s offence seems a little more serious than Kilicli’s, both pale in comparison to infractions commited by Kentucky superstar freshman John Wall. Wall, who was considered by many to be the best high school player in the country last year, played for AAU coach Brian Clifton. Clifton was a registered agent between 2007 and 2008 and accompanied Wall on several recruiting trips, including two to Kentucky. It has since come out that Clifton helped pay for Wall’s trips to various schools, which is also considered a no-no by the NCAA. Wall was provided over $800.00 by Clifton. The NCAA rules state that if a player receives more than $101.00, he must repay the money and is subject to at least a ten percent suspension of his respective team’s regular season games. While the NCAA remained true to the monetary punishment (Wall has been ordered to pay back the $800.00) he was suspended for only one regular season game for the Wildcats this season.
Needless to say, inconsistency seems to be running rampant in the NCAA. If all three players broke the same rule, each player should be subjected to the same punishment. Either one game, six games or 20 games, and not punishments that seem like they've been pulled out of a hat. If one is to compare all three cases, Kurtz’s might be the most malicious. As a professional player, he was probably aware of his professional status. In the other two cases, neither Wall or Kilicli gained any kind of advantage in their situation and probably were not honestly aware of their crimes.
On paper, Wall looks like he could have benefitted the most. After all, agents have access to professional teams, lucrative contracts and act as a gateway between the player and the money. He had much more of a chance to gain monetarily than did Kilicli, who simply associated with a guy who was a professional ball player. Had he even know, the most Kilicli could have gained was more ability and experience with the opportunity to play against a professional athlete.
The rule that affects Kilicli is a controversial one. The NCAA last year penalized 490 athletes (in all sports) for amateurism violations and 434 of those were foreign students. In many instances, amateurs can be playing on a foreign team that includes professionals and not know it at all, simply because what constitutes professional in Europe and the United States are often far different things. Since that's the case, it's hard to determine whether he deserves the most harsh punishment of the three recently handed down by the NCAA.
Clearly John Wall will play in the NBA and will more than likely be a superstar while Kilicli and Kurtz will play out their careers as role players before slipping into obscurity. From a business aspect, one can certainly understand that college basketball will benefit much more from having Wall on the floor than on the sidelines, but it's creating a slippery slope that may not be able to be reversed without some major reform. For a governing body that preaches fairness and sportsmanship, the NCAA has dropped the ball on this one.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Finally...
Unless you’ve got a big time Basketball Jones, you may not have even realized that college basketball season officially kicked off last night. Seth Davis has a great article on why the start of college basketball season tends to fly under the radar here. My own take is much less complex. Basically, as long as top 25 programs play “gimme” games at the beginning of the season against inferior opponents, nobody’s going to pay attention. Until teams get into the meat and potatoes of their schedules, early season basketball can be tedious for fans who are watching only for entertainment value.
That being said, a few things were established last night that will set the tone for certain teams early this season:
1. North Carolina is not good enough to repeat… this year. Last night, they played NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas’ Florida International University team and mopped the floor with them 88-72. Senior forward Deon Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels to lead all scorers. UNC placed three others in double figures including Player of the Year candidate Ed Davis, who had 13 and 11. Obviously, it’s very early, but North Carolina is not a National Championship team this year. Although the Heels are a strong defensive team, they don’t have an offensive weapon like they have in the past. They have no three point threats which will allow teams to play zone defense and pack the lane, making it tough for their big men to score. Also, a mediocre-at-best FIU forced them to turn the ball over 25 times. They’re long and athletic, but in the ACC they’ll need to bring more to the table.
2. Evan Turner is one of the most underrated players in the country. His Ohio State team blasted a not-so-good Alcorn State 100-60 last night behind Turner’s triple-double. Turner had 14 points, 10 assists, and most impressively 17 rebounds. A rebounding point guard gives the Buckeyes a gigantic advantage when it comes to scoring on the break. Normally a team utilizes their big men to rebound and throw an outlet pass to their guard who will then start the break. A guard who can rebound eliminates the middleman and allows for quicker breaks and easier transition scoring. The technical stuff aside, Turner is really good. At halftime, he was two assists away from the triple-double he finished with and provided some excitement to what would otherwise have been a snooze-fest. To put his feat in perspective, in the over 100 years Ohio State has been playing basketball, there’s only been one other player in the program’s history to record a triple double.
3. Ohio State will beat North Carolina next Thursday. The Tar Heels face the Buckeyes in the Syracuse region of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. With Turner running the show and his teammate David Lighty back in the lineup after an injury that kept him sidelined most of last season, Ohio State will be a team to be reckoned with in the Big 10. At 6’5, Lighty is a guard/forward combo who will likely play power forward this season. At the forward position, he’ll be two inches shorter than the team’s point guard, which will create major mismatches on defense for OSU’s opponents all season. Although he missed most of his junior season with a broken foot, he had a promising sophomore campaign. North Carolina has bigger bodies, but Ohio State has more speed. North Carolina is favored, but an Ohio State victory would hardly be an upset.
4. California is overrated. They enter this season ranked #13 after an outing last year that ended with a trip to the NCAA tournament. They have a great coach in second year man Mike Montgomery, and some pretty good players in Patrick Christopher and Jerome Randle, but their depth ends there. Last year, those guys were able to produce because they were under the radar, but this year, with a top 15 ranking, opposing teams know who they are and will work on containing them. Last night, they barely pulled off a victory against Murray State in a contest that saw both guys struggle. Christopher showed some promise, scoring six points during a vital stretch which helped the Bears hold on to the lead, but neither player stood out. More telling is that as a team, California was outrebounded by the smaller Murray State squad – a troubling sign for a team looking to make an impact on the national scene this season.
5. Jim Boeheim is a pretty good coach with a pretty good team. Unless you live under a rock, you know by now that Coach Boeheim and his Syracuse Orange beat Albany handily last night. In most cases, this wouldn’t be big news, but it is for two reasons. First, last week at this time, the #25 ranked Orange had just given up 50 points in the second half in a losing effort to Division II Le Moyne, causing people to question their high ranking before the season even started. Secondly and more importantly, Coach Boeheim joined an impressive list and became a member of the 800 win club. If that sounds impressive, there’s a good reason. The only other members on the Division 1 level are Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Phelan (right down the road at Mount St. Mary’s), Jim Calhoun and Eddie Sutton. Legendary coach aside, the Orange are just plain good this year. Their best shooter, Andy Rautins, didn’t even score and Syracuse still won by 30. With the help of Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson and local product Arinze Onuaku, Syracuse will make some noise in the Big East.
That being said, a few things were established last night that will set the tone for certain teams early this season:
1. North Carolina is not good enough to repeat… this year. Last night, they played NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas’ Florida International University team and mopped the floor with them 88-72. Senior forward Deon Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels to lead all scorers. UNC placed three others in double figures including Player of the Year candidate Ed Davis, who had 13 and 11. Obviously, it’s very early, but North Carolina is not a National Championship team this year. Although the Heels are a strong defensive team, they don’t have an offensive weapon like they have in the past. They have no three point threats which will allow teams to play zone defense and pack the lane, making it tough for their big men to score. Also, a mediocre-at-best FIU forced them to turn the ball over 25 times. They’re long and athletic, but in the ACC they’ll need to bring more to the table.
2. Evan Turner is one of the most underrated players in the country. His Ohio State team blasted a not-so-good Alcorn State 100-60 last night behind Turner’s triple-double. Turner had 14 points, 10 assists, and most impressively 17 rebounds. A rebounding point guard gives the Buckeyes a gigantic advantage when it comes to scoring on the break. Normally a team utilizes their big men to rebound and throw an outlet pass to their guard who will then start the break. A guard who can rebound eliminates the middleman and allows for quicker breaks and easier transition scoring. The technical stuff aside, Turner is really good. At halftime, he was two assists away from the triple-double he finished with and provided some excitement to what would otherwise have been a snooze-fest. To put his feat in perspective, in the over 100 years Ohio State has been playing basketball, there’s only been one other player in the program’s history to record a triple double.
3. Ohio State will beat North Carolina next Thursday. The Tar Heels face the Buckeyes in the Syracuse region of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. With Turner running the show and his teammate David Lighty back in the lineup after an injury that kept him sidelined most of last season, Ohio State will be a team to be reckoned with in the Big 10. At 6’5, Lighty is a guard/forward combo who will likely play power forward this season. At the forward position, he’ll be two inches shorter than the team’s point guard, which will create major mismatches on defense for OSU’s opponents all season. Although he missed most of his junior season with a broken foot, he had a promising sophomore campaign. North Carolina has bigger bodies, but Ohio State has more speed. North Carolina is favored, but an Ohio State victory would hardly be an upset.
4. California is overrated. They enter this season ranked #13 after an outing last year that ended with a trip to the NCAA tournament. They have a great coach in second year man Mike Montgomery, and some pretty good players in Patrick Christopher and Jerome Randle, but their depth ends there. Last year, those guys were able to produce because they were under the radar, but this year, with a top 15 ranking, opposing teams know who they are and will work on containing them. Last night, they barely pulled off a victory against Murray State in a contest that saw both guys struggle. Christopher showed some promise, scoring six points during a vital stretch which helped the Bears hold on to the lead, but neither player stood out. More telling is that as a team, California was outrebounded by the smaller Murray State squad – a troubling sign for a team looking to make an impact on the national scene this season.
5. Jim Boeheim is a pretty good coach with a pretty good team. Unless you live under a rock, you know by now that Coach Boeheim and his Syracuse Orange beat Albany handily last night. In most cases, this wouldn’t be big news, but it is for two reasons. First, last week at this time, the #25 ranked Orange had just given up 50 points in the second half in a losing effort to Division II Le Moyne, causing people to question their high ranking before the season even started. Secondly and more importantly, Coach Boeheim joined an impressive list and became a member of the 800 win club. If that sounds impressive, there’s a good reason. The only other members on the Division 1 level are Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Phelan (right down the road at Mount St. Mary’s), Jim Calhoun and Eddie Sutton. Legendary coach aside, the Orange are just plain good this year. Their best shooter, Andy Rautins, didn’t even score and Syracuse still won by 30. With the help of Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson and local product Arinze Onuaku, Syracuse will make some noise in the Big East.
Monday, November 9, 2009
College Basketball Preview - University of The District of Columbia
University of the District of Columbia - Independent
(11-16 Overall)
The most impressive thing written about the University of the District of Columbia's basketball program in recent years has nothing to do with the team's performance on the floor. Last year, an official NCAA committee report following an investigation into the program’s disbursal of financial aid and into academic eligibility irregularities stated that UDC exhibited “the single most egregious lack of institutional control ever seen by the committee." UDC is no stranger to this type of negative attention. They received similar reviews in the early 1990s, and in 2004, the NCAA cancelled UDC's men's and women's seasons altogether. In the NCAA's history, no other athletic season has been cancelled due to rule infractions. Currently, the program remains on probation and is banned from all post-season play until October 2013. Sounds hopeless, right?
Not to new head coach Jeff Ruland. (Yes, that Jeff Ruland.) Coach Ruland, who played for legendary college basketball coach Jim Valvano at Iona College, was on the 1981-82 NBA All-Rookie Team and was an NBA All-Star in 1984, took over the UDC Program in August, signing a five year $190,000.00 contract. If only the 6’11” former superstar known as “McNasty” could suit up, UDC wouldn't have to worry about using questionable recruiting practices to attract players.
Frontcourt:
Ruland inherits only four returning players on a team that had a less-than-stellar outing last season. Sophomore forward Chris Leach (6’6”) averaged only 3.3 points per game while junior Gani Cole (6’6”) added 2.7 per contest. Some new additions who remain unproven this season are sophomore forward Purvis Rollins (6’4”) who played locally at Albert Einstein High School, junior Omar Blair (6’7”), and freshman Dyrek Jones (6’7”). While not impressive, rest assured that Ruland will work hard this season instilling his style of aggressive, hard-nosed play into his group of unseasoned big men.
Backcourt:
Coach Ruland hired former University of Maryland standout Terrell Stokes as his assistant soon after his arrival on campus. Ruland and Stokes, who has done a majority of the recruiting, were able to land former DeMatha High School star Nigel Munson (6’0”) who averaged 17 points and 8 assists per contest his senior year. Munson played at Virginia Tech for a season before he left for personal reasons and many thought that he would resurface at George Washington University. He brings some big time college basketball experience to a team that needs it and has already been named team captain. He will join UDC’s top returning scorer from last season, 6’5” Junior guard Tim Ellison. Ellison averaged 15.5 points per game. Sophomore Justin Smith (5’7”), who will probably play backup this season to Munson, also saw some action a season ago, averaging 3.4 points and 3.5 assists.
Who To Watch:
It will be interesting to watch Coach Ruland in action. He is not shy about letting people know that he wants to bring UDC back to national prominence. In 1982, when Ruland was starring for the Washington Bullets, the team he's now coaching won the Division II National Championship. With the University’s support and a President who wants to move the school’s athletic programs up a division to compete on the Division I level, the sky is the limit for the Firebirds. Coach Ruland is said to be the coaching incarnate of Jim Valvano and there’s no question that his personality will bring some excitement that has long been missing from the campus of UDC. Hopefully, Nigel Munson will be as exciting to watch as he was in high school. As a senior at DeMatha, he broke the career assist record and led his team to a 34-1 record and a #4 ranking nationally.
Final Projections:
Since UDC doesn’t belong to a conference, they are able to play competitive teams throughout the east coast. This year’s schedule is as tough as their probationary status will allow. They play teams throught Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. With a new coach, a superstar point guard and an administration that’s fully supportive, this team could end up winning some games and garnering some much needed positive attention from the media. Coach Ruland knows how to win on the college level. Following his professional playing career, he returned to Iona where he successfully lead his team to three conference championships and three NCAA tournaments. Just last season, he was an assistant with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, before getting fired after Eddie Jordan took up head coaching responsibilities. UDC can't compete in the post-season, but that won't stop them from competing during the regular season. The Firebirds will likely experience some growing pains this season, but that won't stop Coach Ruland from putting a strong foundation in place for what proves to be a refreshing few years.
(11-16 Overall)
The most impressive thing written about the University of the District of Columbia's basketball program in recent years has nothing to do with the team's performance on the floor. Last year, an official NCAA committee report following an investigation into the program’s disbursal of financial aid and into academic eligibility irregularities stated that UDC exhibited “the single most egregious lack of institutional control ever seen by the committee." UDC is no stranger to this type of negative attention. They received similar reviews in the early 1990s, and in 2004, the NCAA cancelled UDC's men's and women's seasons altogether. In the NCAA's history, no other athletic season has been cancelled due to rule infractions. Currently, the program remains on probation and is banned from all post-season play until October 2013. Sounds hopeless, right?
Not to new head coach Jeff Ruland. (Yes, that Jeff Ruland.) Coach Ruland, who played for legendary college basketball coach Jim Valvano at Iona College, was on the 1981-82 NBA All-Rookie Team and was an NBA All-Star in 1984, took over the UDC Program in August, signing a five year $190,000.00 contract. If only the 6’11” former superstar known as “McNasty” could suit up, UDC wouldn't have to worry about using questionable recruiting practices to attract players.
Frontcourt:
Ruland inherits only four returning players on a team that had a less-than-stellar outing last season. Sophomore forward Chris Leach (6’6”) averaged only 3.3 points per game while junior Gani Cole (6’6”) added 2.7 per contest. Some new additions who remain unproven this season are sophomore forward Purvis Rollins (6’4”) who played locally at Albert Einstein High School, junior Omar Blair (6’7”), and freshman Dyrek Jones (6’7”). While not impressive, rest assured that Ruland will work hard this season instilling his style of aggressive, hard-nosed play into his group of unseasoned big men.
Backcourt:
Coach Ruland hired former University of Maryland standout Terrell Stokes as his assistant soon after his arrival on campus. Ruland and Stokes, who has done a majority of the recruiting, were able to land former DeMatha High School star Nigel Munson (6’0”) who averaged 17 points and 8 assists per contest his senior year. Munson played at Virginia Tech for a season before he left for personal reasons and many thought that he would resurface at George Washington University. He brings some big time college basketball experience to a team that needs it and has already been named team captain. He will join UDC’s top returning scorer from last season, 6’5” Junior guard Tim Ellison. Ellison averaged 15.5 points per game. Sophomore Justin Smith (5’7”), who will probably play backup this season to Munson, also saw some action a season ago, averaging 3.4 points and 3.5 assists.
Who To Watch:
It will be interesting to watch Coach Ruland in action. He is not shy about letting people know that he wants to bring UDC back to national prominence. In 1982, when Ruland was starring for the Washington Bullets, the team he's now coaching won the Division II National Championship. With the University’s support and a President who wants to move the school’s athletic programs up a division to compete on the Division I level, the sky is the limit for the Firebirds. Coach Ruland is said to be the coaching incarnate of Jim Valvano and there’s no question that his personality will bring some excitement that has long been missing from the campus of UDC. Hopefully, Nigel Munson will be as exciting to watch as he was in high school. As a senior at DeMatha, he broke the career assist record and led his team to a 34-1 record and a #4 ranking nationally.
Final Projections:
Since UDC doesn’t belong to a conference, they are able to play competitive teams throughout the east coast. This year’s schedule is as tough as their probationary status will allow. They play teams throught Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. With a new coach, a superstar point guard and an administration that’s fully supportive, this team could end up winning some games and garnering some much needed positive attention from the media. Coach Ruland knows how to win on the college level. Following his professional playing career, he returned to Iona where he successfully lead his team to three conference championships and three NCAA tournaments. Just last season, he was an assistant with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, before getting fired after Eddie Jordan took up head coaching responsibilities. UDC can't compete in the post-season, but that won't stop them from competing during the regular season. The Firebirds will likely experience some growing pains this season, but that won't stop Coach Ruland from putting a strong foundation in place for what proves to be a refreshing few years.
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