Yep, I'm a little behind as usual but here are a few things to start getting me caught up. Firstly here is a continuation of my NCAA look at Conferences.
ACC Still Gold Standard of NCAA Hoops
Entering the 2009-2010 NCAA season, the ACC once again hosts the defending national champions, the North Carolina Tarheels. While the Heels lost a lot of talent from last years squad, the cupboards are not bare by any means. Don’t be surprised by a return to the Final Four by the Roy Williams coached outfit. Duke returns a solid nucleus and should also contend. Clemson, Maryland and WakeForest will be dangerous both in and out of conference play as will Georgia Tech and FloridaState.
Here is a rundown of the teams:
First we go to Chapel Hill for a look at the North Carolina Tarheelswho are looking to defend their NCAA crown. Returning forward Ed Davis is seen as a lock for the NBA Lottery once he decides to leave or graduate from UNC. This season he looks to become more aggressive in the Tarheel attack along with continued hard work on the glass. Marcus Ginyard returns for his senior season after being declared a medical redshirt last season. He will provide leadership and toughness for this bunch of young players with the support of Deon Thompson. The team also hopes for continued improvement from center Ty Zeller.
The team got off to a three win start where they were hardly troubled before heading to New York for the Semi Finals of the Coaches versus Cancer Classic where they survived a close one 77-73 over Ohio State before being overwhelmed by a stifling Syracuse zone defense in an 88-71 loss. The Orangemen used a 22-1 start to the second half to turn the game around against the young squad. Overall look for the Heels to be near the Final Four again this year. They will be tested in the first week of December with games against MichiganState and Kentucky.
Down the road in Durham, the Duke Blue Devilsare looking to go farther into the post season and improve on last seasons 30-7 record. After the early departure of Gerald Henderson to the NBA and surprising transfer of Elliot Williams left the Blue Devils thin in the back court but all everything forward Kyle Singler returns for his junior season raring to go.
Duke is hungry to return to the upper echelon of the NCAA and tired of hearing it from Tarheel fans as UNC has won two titles since Duke’s last visit to the Final Four in 2004. The team has been rarely troubled in winning its first four games of the season with Nolan Smith, Singler and Miles Plumlee leading the way. Additional help has come from shooting guard Jon Sheyer and improving freshman Andre Dawkins. On the horizon for the Blue Devils is ArizonaState in the semi finals of the NIT Tip-Off tourney with a matchup against either UConn or LSU after that. From there the team will travel to Madison to face always tough Wisconsin in the Big 10 – ACC Challenge.
This team has most of the pieces in place to go far into the post season but will need to get solid play at the point guard spot as the season progresses.
Now, we will stay in the Carolina’s but venture to South Carolina for a look at the Clemson Tigerswho are coming off of a 23-9 season but hungry after a bitter first round NCAA loss to Michigan. The Tigers will look to further their school record streak of three straight twenty win seasons and set a new school record for consecutive NCAA trips at four. The team returns workhorse forward Trevor Booker and add highly touted freshman Milton Jennings to the mix.
Thus far, the Tigers are off to a roaring start with easy wins in their first four outings. The team heads to California for the 76 Classic this week with a first round meeting with Texas A&M followed by a matchup with either Long Beach St. or West Virginia. After the trip, Clemson returns home to face Illinois and state rival South Carolina in the first week of December.
You can safely expect another twenty win year from Clemson and the complimentary NCAA bid where the team hopes to advance through the first round at the least.
Going back into North Carolina, we head to Winston-Salem where WakeForestis also looking for redemption for last seasons early exit from the NCAA tourney at the hands of ClevelandState. The Deacs were 24-7 for the season last year and briefly held the top spot in the national rankings. The team lost two Top 20 NBA picks from last years roster but the cupboards are far from bare as forward Al-Farouq Aminu returns along with incoming freshman Ari Stewart who has been compared favorably to former Deac Josh Howard.
Currently the Deacs sit at 3-0 for the season after easy wins. On the horizon looms a tough Purdue team along with a visit to Gonzaga. At the end of December is a test against a tricky Richmond team before starting the New Year with a game against the always rugged Xavier-Ohio team.
The Deacons will have their moments of inexperience but come March, they should be dancing.
First up in my look through the NCAA Division 1 Conferences and teams is the America East Conference. The Conference is host to nine teams. Last season the Binghampton Bearcats ran the table and garnered the NCAA bid for the league but were overmatched in the first round of the NCAA tourney by ACC outfit Duke. The offseason for Binghamton has been tumultuous with six players being dismissed from the squad in September. The team opened the season with a 71-46 defeat at the hands of Pittsburgh. Kyrie Sutton was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal performance.
Boston Universitycomes into the 2009-2010 campaign with an experienced squad that features four returning starters and nine seniors. The Terriers will be looking to better last seasons 17-13 record and finish near the top of the conference. Top returning players include John Holland and Corey Lowe. Thus far the team has failed to impress losing at Iona 82-73 and dropping their home opener to George Washington 69-59. Looming on the schedule after a trip to the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Offis the local derby with Harvard.
Next we travel to Vermont, the home of the Catamounts, a perennial contender for the conference title. With two time Conference Player of the Year Marques Blakely leading the way the team hopes to return to NCAA action in March after last seasons 24-9 outing. With no home games until December 13, the team has split their first two games of the season losing at Loyola, MD 79-66 before a narrow 58-57 win at Buffalo.
Albanywill be looking to improve on last seasons 15-16 record with a host of new faces as the team said goodbye to two starters and four lettermen. The team will look for steady play from guard Tim Ambrose and improvement from center Brett Gifford. After opening losses to Syracuse 75-43 and MorganState 69-65, the ‘Danes pulled off a one point 51-50 win over American. The team will face AlcornState, Detroit and Robert Morris when they hast the 2K Classic from November 20. On December 30 the team will get to measure its progress against defending NCAA Champs North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Stony Brookhopes to use last season’s 16-14record as a building block for this year’s slate. The Sea Wolves look for improvement form the four returning starters from last year’s squad. The team has not disappointed thus far with wins over Maryland-EasternShore 75-57 on the road and an 87-53 thrashing of Mount St. Mary’s at home. A November 24 visit to Rhode Island will provide a chance to gauge the teams’ progress against quality opposition.
The University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) will not sneak up on anyone this season after last years surprise run to the final of the conference tourney. The team lost their two top scorers from last season but return three solid players in Chauncey Gilliam, Justin Fry and Matt Spadafora. The team has opened with home court setbacks, losing to MorganState 72-57 and Loyola-Maryland 69-66 in local derbies. The Retrievers have tough road trips to PennState and Virginia Tech in December before settling into conference play.
At New Hampshire, the Wildcats are coming off their best season in fifteen years and return steady guard Alvin Abreau to lead the way as three quality freshmen arrive on campus to complement the nine returning players. The team opens its season with a November 20 visit to ACC team Maryland.
The Hartford Hawkslimped to a 7-26 record after losing top guard Joe Zeglinski to injury only ten games into last season. With a healthy Zeglinski, all of the Hawk starters return as the team is set to make amends for last season. The addition of three newcomers will help solidify the team. After a loss to Quinnipiac 84-76 to kick off the season the team ventured into Texas and nearly came away with an upset of highly fancied Baylor before losing in a 71-69 thriller. The teams’ morale was at a high for their home opener where they brutalized Marist 75-38. A future high exposure contest sees the team traveling to Kentucky in late December.
Although Mainereturns four starters from last years sub par 9-21 squad, the Black Bears may find the going tough again this season in spite of a one win, one loss start. A narrow road win over Fordham 76-73 and a close 56-53 victory at DelawareState sandwiched a heart breaking 72-71 loss at NorfolkState. December visits to Connecticut, Syracuse and BostonCollege could get ugly as the Black Bears try to gain credibility.
As far as predictions go, look for Vermont and BostonUniversity to finish at or near the top with Stony Brook as a possible surprise team.
Even more hoop happenings are now a reality with the US college basketball season underway. While the first couple of weeks will inevitably produce a lot of Who are they?, Where are they from?, What is a top team doing playing them? There is always a close call or two for the big timers.
Early on, we have seen the return of Isiah Thomas to the coaching game at Florida International University. His welcoming gift was a visit to defending Champions North Carolina where they were promptly disposed of by a score of 88-72.
The early surprise of the season came last Friday when little Rider College upset #18 Ranked Mississippi St. on the Bulldogs home court88-74. The woes of the Southeastern Conference continued last weekend with Alabama going down to a solid Cornell team at home 71-67. It goes to show that on any given night in the college version of the game, a team can put it all together and surprise the "Bog Boys".
A Sunday highlight saw Harvard survive in a three overtime thriller with William&Mary 87-85. Monday had another beauty as #4 Kentucky beat Miami-Ohio 72-70 thanks to a clutch basket by highly touted freshman John Wall.
Overnight there were narrow escapes by #19 Georgetown, 46-45 over Temple, #12 Connecticut 76-67 over Hofstra and #2 Michigan State 75-71 over always tough Gonzaga.
In the next few days I will go from A-Z of the Division 1 Conferences and highlight a few top teams and players.
The Executive Council of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) has announced the draws for the men's and women's world championships in Birmingham, England that will take place in July next year.
Australia’s Paralympic Gold Medallist men’s wheelchair basketball team has been drawn in Pool B alongside Mexico, France, Turkey, Algeria and Beijing Silver Medallist Canada.
Great Britain and the United States, who ranked third and fourth in Beijing, are on the other side of the draw in Pool A along with Japan, Poland, Italy and Korea.
In the women’s competition, Beijing Paralympics Bronze Medallist Australia has been drawn in Pool A along with The Netherlands, Great Britain, Mexico and Canada.
The United States and Germany, who won Gold and Silver in Beijing, have been drawn in Pool B along with Brazil, Japan and China.
Rollers head coach Ben Ettridge was happy with Australia’s positioning in men’s Pool B.
“The two pools are fairly even but I’d have to say that our pool may be slightly less experienced,” Ettridge said.
“Our pool contains a few unknowns for us in Mexico, France, Turkey and Algeria but each team has obviously done well to get to the worlds so no game will be easy and we need to win the early games to set us up for the crossover matches.
“Mexico beat Brazil at the IWBF Americas, for example, and Brazil was nearly a bogey team for us in Beijing, so that should be a challenging match up.
“Six teams (Poland, Italy, Mexico, France, Turkey, Algeria and Korea) did not qualify for Beijing but have qualified for the world cup so there has been some changing of the guard in world wheelchair basketball and we’ll have to be ready for that.”
Gliders head coach John Triscari was pleased with the women’s draw but stressed the importance of a good start for the Gliders.
“With the US and Germany on the opposite side of the draw to us, we need to win our preliminary games and win them well to secure a good seed for the crossover rounds,” Triscari said.
“If we do that, we’ll be in good shape to push on and achieve great things.”
Men’s and Women’s Pools for the 2010 IWBF World Championships:
Men:
Pool A: Japan, Poland, Italy, Great Britain, USA and Korea Pool B: Mexico, Australia, France, Turkey, Algeria, Canada
Women:
Pool A: The Netherlands, Great Britain, Australia, Mexico, Canada Pool B: Brazil, Japan, Germany, USA, China.
On the Aussie Hoop scene, “Sir” Julius Hodge returned to Aussie shores as a Melbourne Tiger and promptly went to work with a 22 point, 9 rebound, 7 assist and 3 steal debut in leading the Tigers to a 98-91 win over Townsville. The Crocs suffered from indifferent form in going through a one win, two loss week after being blown out by the Gold Coast on the heels of winning the NQ derby over Cairns.
Table toppers Perth and Wollongong suffered losses last week but remained on the top two ladder spots.
There are only four games on the schedule for this week but the matches on Wednesday and Friday nights in North Queensland should be interesting as John Rillie returns to the area with the New Zealand Breakers looking to consolidate their form as the season reaches the midway point.
The last week in the WNBL has seen the resignation of coaches in Perth and Dandenong while on the court, Eva Afeaki lead the Sydney Flames to a fourteen point thumping of Bulleen, the leagues final undefeated team. Elsewhere, Perth gained their first win of the season at the hands of the winless students from the AIS. This week’s action culminates in a huge matchup in Bendigo as the Spirit welcomes Sydney.
By all means get out and support the local product if you are in areas hosting games.
The NBA season is well and truly underway with the last week bringing some much awaited excitement from Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks. On Saturday “Mr. Jennings”, touched up the Golden State Warriors with a 55 point outing in three quarters no less as he went scoreless in the first term. Also over the last week in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns continued their resurgence with three wins sandwiched around a loss to the defending champion LA Lakers. But in picking a team of the week, I’ll have to go with the Cleveland Cavaliers who are in the midst of a four game winning streak after an indifferent start. Shaq is currently day to day with a shoulder problem but the team as a whole is coming together for a title push this season.
Other surprises thus far in the league are the San Antonio Spurs who are an even .500 while trying to sort through various injuries and adjust to new personnel. The whole Central Division is playing at .500 or better. Miami looks stronger than expected, Denver looks solid and Sacramento has surprised a few people.
It is a time honoured tradition in Australian sports for well serving sportspeople to have a Testimonial Season or Match. Over the years we have seen it happen for the likes of Wally Lewis, Alfie Langer, John Eales, LeRoy Loggins and countless others from all sports. While the practice has occurred several times in the sport of basketball, this year, supposedly due to financial reasons, the Townsville Cocs saw fit to part ways with John Rillie. Though this did not cause ripples and outrage around the sports world, most in Townsville and any true basketball fans in general were left puzzled. Many remember his commanding performance against Perth in the 2008-2009 NBL playoffs where he led from the front with a captains know of 34 points that included 10 three point bombs.
In the NBL off season there was a reshuffling of the competition with the league cut to eight teams and more local players left without teams. Upon his release by the Crocs, Rillie remained a presence in Townsville whether popping up at North Queensland Cowboy NRL matches or posting rapid fire information to his blog (http://jronfire.blogspot.com).
Fast forward to Wednesday 10 November 2009 and good ol’ JR has arrived on the scene in New Zealand. Visualize a Wild West theme with the new Gunslinger riding in to save the locals. The New Zealand Breakers were the media darlings of the NBL preseason, pick to finish at or near the top of the table. After an opening win against the Gold Coast Blaze, the team has sputtered to a four win, five loss season record. Along the way there have been nagging injuries to a few players with Kirk Penney out from an injury for another two to three weeks. The Breakers made their move on Tuesday releasing import Awvee Storey and signing Rillie.
The move gives the Breakers another veteran player with a winning attitude. Rillie will possibly see his first court time Thursday night as the Breakers host none other than the Perth Wildcats who will be hoping that Rillie on the horizon will not be a bad omen.
Hopefully this will give John Rillie the chance to finish his career on his own terms, not saying that this will even be his last season due to him always being in basketball shape. The NBL will only gain from the return of JR to the game he not only loves but lives.
Previously in a few articles written by yours truly, I have given John the nicknames of “Three Shooter”, due his long range capabilities or “Johnny the Sponge” because in my very first encounter with the very young Toowoomba kid back in the early 1990’s, he had a thirst for knowledge of the game and soaked up any and everything basketball. He was a total devotee to the game and at the time idolized George “Iceman” Gervin and Reggie Miller along with Mr. Jordan. That thirst for knowledge took him on an odyssey the went from Toowoomba to Tacoma and Spokane Washington in the United States, back to Queensland for a stint with the Brisbane Bullets, on to Adelaide for a title run with the 36ers. From there it was a stop in Sydney with the West Sydney Razorbacks before returning to Queensland to captain the Townsville outfit over the last three seasons.
The New Zealand Breakers now have in place upon the return of Penney a very potent long range attack. I am already throwing out the nicknames and thinking of the marketing potential. First up could be “The Posse”, sticking with the western theme featuring John “Three Shooter” Rillie, C.J. “The Kid” Bruton, and “Killer Kirk” Penney. The trio could also be marketed Indiana Jones style as “Raiders from the Three Arc”.
Previously in my blog (http://cdstarrbblog.blogspot.com), I have referred to the NBL with the slogan “Not Bad Lately”, now with the season roughly a third of the way through, things seem to be heating up. If there is a game in your area, get out and have a look. Alternately tune in to the weekly broadcasts on FOX. In conclusion, good luck JR and all other sportsmen plying their trade in these tough economic times.
First up in my look through the NCAA Division 1 Conferences and teams is the 