Philly Gym Rat (The Perry “QM” McMullin Story)

[PointGuard]

Starters:

PG Kueth Kirtz, 6-0 So, Taylorville, IL, 3.5/3.5 stars (transfer from Southern Illinois where he scored 17.4 ppg as a freshman 2 years ago)
SG Albert Howard, 6-5 Jr, New Martinsville, WV, 3.5/4.0 stars (transfer from Virginia where he scored 12.3 ppg as a freshman and sat out his sophomore year due to academic ineligibility)
SF Byron Windlan, 6-7 Jr, St. Johnsbury, VT, 3.0/4.0 stars (9.9 ppg and 4.0 rpg last year)
PF Travis Stone, 6-7 Jr, Green Cove Springs, FL, 4.0/5.0 stars (JC So last year)
C Clay Houston, 6-8 Fr, Cresskill, NJ, 4.0/4.0 stars (high school senior last year)

Bench:

PG Heinrich Neubauer, 6-3 So, Stuttgart, Germany, 1.5/4.0 stars (7.1 ppg, 3.3 apg last year)
PG/SG John Archie, 6-2 Fr, Manchester, NH, 2.5/2.5 stars (walk-on, high school senior last year)
SG Rashun House, 6-3 So, Landon, NH, 1.5/4.0 stars (1.5 ppg last year)
SF Brad Reid, 6-6 So, Erie, PA, 2.0/4.0 stars (3.3 ppg last year)
SF DeVante Smith, 6-8 Fr, Burlington, NC, 1.0/0.5 stars (high school senior last year)
PF Vinston O’Conner, 6-7 Sr, Exeter, NH, 2.5/3.5 stars (1.4 ppg last year)
PF Kory Finley, 6-7 Jr, Bear, DE, 1.5/4.0 stars (2.0 ppg last year)
C Andrew Kresse, 6-10 Sr, Stanley, WI, 3.0/3.5 stars (8.7 ppg and 6.5 rpg last year)
C Brad Neal, 6-8 So, Portsmouth, NH, 1.5/1.5 stars (walk-on, didn’t play last year)

Redshirt:

PG Chezley Trotman, 6-1 Fr, Wolfsboro, NH, 1.0/3.5 stars (HS Sr last year)

We have a pretty balanced team with strength at every position and reasonably good depth. It was an exceptionally tough battle for the starting Center position and Andrew Kresse may win it back.

[PointGuard]

Game #1: Nov. 15, 2020; VMI Keydets (0-0) at New Hampshire Wildcats (0-0)

Shooting horrendously early in the 1st half, we fell behind 15-7 after 8 minutes of play. We came back to take an 18-17 lead with just under 8 minutes left in the half. Even though we dominated the board 20-11 and held a 10-7 turnover advantage, our 31% shooting for the half (contrasted with VMI’s 52% shooting) left us with a 31-30 deficit at the break. Albert Howard led our scoring with 6 points. PG Brett Jackson hit 5 of 7 FG attempts (and 4 of 4 three-pointers) to score 14 for VMI. Our 2nd half challenge was to contain Jackson and take a better selection of shots.

Our defense clamped down on the Keydet’s shooting in the 2nd half, but our shooting didn’t improve much. We held a small lead through most of the early part of the 2nd half, but VMI opened a 58-53 lead with 2 minutes to play. We scored the next 7 points to take a 60-58 lead with 16 seconds remaining in the game. VMI brought the ball up and tried to set up an inside shot, but turned the ball over with 5 seconds to go. The Keydets tried to steal the ball in the backcourt, but we made some good quick passes and held on to take the squeaker. A win, but far from an impressive one.

Final Score: New Hampshire-60, VMI-58. New Hampshire season record: 1-0.

Scoring leaders: Kirtz-12, Howard-11, WIndlan-9.

Rebound leaders: Kresse-10, Stone-8, Windlan-6.

Assist leaders: Windlan-3.

Player of the Game: PG Kueth Kirtz-12 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PF Byron Windlan-9 pts, 6 reb, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Other notes: We hit just 35% of our shots. VMI scored on 46% of their FG attempts. We out-rebounded the Keydets 33-29. We forced VMI to make 23 turnovers but made 16 of our own. The refs called no fouls against VMI in the 2nd half, while assessing 8 against us. We held Brett Jackson to 6 points in the 2nd half.

Clay Houston had a rough first game scoring just 2 points and grabbing only 2 rebounds while getting tagged with 4 fouls. Fortunately Andrew Kresse came in and played strongly at center scoring 6 points and pulling down 10 boards.

[PointGuard]

Game #2: , 2020; New Hampshire Wildcats (1-0) at Providence Friars (0-1)

SG Kenyate Thomas scored 22 points for the Friars in their opening road game.
We turned the ball over 3 times in the first 3-1/2 minutes and the Friars made us pay, piling up an 8-3 lead.

We kept up with the Friars for most of the first half, but they went on a run late in the half and took a 38-31 lead to the locker room. Again we were out-shot 52% to 36%. Albert Howard’s 6 points were tops for us. Clay Houston went down hard and sustained a mild concussion early in the game, so he missed the entire rest of the game as a preventative measure.

The Friars opened an 11 point lead in the 2nd half, but we cut it to 3 with 2 minutes to play. We couldn’t convert our shots from there on though, and Providence hit every free throw as we fouled to try to get our hands on the ball.

Final Score: Providence-75, New Hampshire-66. New Hampshire season record: 1-1.

Scoring leaders: Kirtz-12, Windlan-10, Howard-8, Kresse-8, Stone-8.

Rebound leaders: Kresse-8, Stone-7.

Assist leaders: Kirtz-6, Stone-5.

Player of the Game: Providence’s SG Kenyate Thomas-14 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PG Kueth Kirtz-12 pts, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Other notes: We were out-shot 49% to 39%. We held a 28-24 rebounding advantage. We made 17 turnovers to Providence’s 15.

Two straight games in which we’ve not been able to hit even 40% of our FG attempts. We’ve got to begin hitting our shots or it’s going to be a long season.

[PointGuard]

Game #3: Nov. 22, 2020; Kent St. Golden Flashes (1-1) at New Hampshire Wildcats (1-1)

Kent State is led by SG C. J. Fox’s 24.0 ppg.

We used 4 turnovers by Kent State and got balanced scoring from our starters to build a 13-6 lead after 4 minutes of play. We quickly expanded that lead to 23-8 when Byron Windlan hit his 3rd three pointer of the game in less than 6 minutes of play. Hitting 10 of our first 15 shots (including 5 of 6 threes) along with creating a 7-0 turnover advantage, we expanded our lead to 33-13 with 11-1/2 minutes to play in the half. The offensive onslaught continued and with 8-1/2 minutes to go, we led 45-17 (hitting 15 of 21 FG attempts and 7 of 8 threes, plus sinking 8 for 8 from the free throw line). While our shooting cooled in the final 8 minutes (and the Golden Flashes began to hit their shots), we finished the half scoring 59 points to Kent State’s 35. We hit 58% of our shots (and 69% of our 3’s) plus we held a 10-1 turnover advantage. Albert Howard dropped in 20 points and Byron Windlan added 16 (together they hit 8 of 10 from 3 point land). During the intermission, I patted everyone on the back and encouraged them to continue to play hard and take wise shots.

Our offense sputtered throughout the 2nd half, similarly to how we had performed in our prior two games. But while Kent State cut into our lead, they never got closer than 15 points.

Final Score: New Hampshire-86, Kent State-64. New Hampshire season record: 2-1.

Scoring leaders: Howard-28, Windlan-18, Kirtz-8, Stone-8, Houston-8.

Rebound leaders: Houston-10, Stone-5.

Assist leaders: Neubauer-8, Kirtz-5, Reid-4.

Player of the Game: SG Albert Howard-28 pts, 2 reb,1 steal.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SF Byron Windlan-18 pts, 4 reb.

Other notes: Our shooting declined to 47% for the game (compared to Kent State’s 38%). We took care of the ball, turning it over just 5 times while the Golden Flash had 15 turnovers. We held a 17-2 lead in fast break points. While Albert Howard and Byron Windlan combined for 46 points (on a combine 16 for 28 from the field and 10 of 13 from beyond the arc), our two point guards, Kueth Kirtz and Heinrich Neubauer, while combining for 14 points, only hit 6 of 22 from the field. Kent State’s center Roderick Davis scored 21 points and hauled down 10 rebounds.

[PointGuard]

Game #4: Nov. 25, 2020; New Hampshire Wildcats (2-1) at George Washington Colonials(2-1)

After losing their season opener, the Colonials have won their last two games. They’re strongest at SF, particularly Torris Nabity but also Eddie Roberts, so we’ll initially focus our defense on that position.

Torris Nabity started at PF while Eddie Roberts started at SF for the Colonials. We built a 19-9 lead midway through the first half by employing a stout defense. George Washington closed the gap to 36-30 at the break. Travis Stone led our scoring with 9 points. Both teams hit just 35% of their shots. I stressed the need to make good picks to improve our shooting in the 2nd half.

The 2nd half turned into a real dog fight. We turned the ball over and the refs called fouls against just us in the 2nd half. But we combined strong rebounding with a good defense to hold them off. But with 3:27 remaining, their many trips to the free throw line brought them within a single point at 60-59. Then an errant pass gave George Washington an uncontested layup to put them ahead 63-62 with 2 minutes to go. We tied it at 64-64 with a minute to play. Neither team could score and we called a time out with 8 seconds to play to set up a pick and roll play. Our shot missed and GW’s 3 pointer at the buzzer rimmed out to send the game to overtime.

OT: The Colonials toot he tip and scored. We turned the ball over and went down by 4 when GW put in another FG. We turned the ball over on our next 2 possessions while the Colonials hit a 3 to pull ahead 71-64 with 2:49 to play. We called a time out and scored on a designed play to make the score 71-66. After a GW miss, Andrew Kresse hit an inside shot to make it 71-68 with 2 minutes to play. We stole a pass and Byron Windlan hit a baseline jumper to pull us within a point. At 1:07, the refs called a 5th foul on Heinrich Neubauer so both of our point guards had fouled out. I countered by moving Albert Howard to the point and Byron WIndlan to SG. The Colonials hit just 1 of 2 and we were down by two. We missed our shot, but stole a pass and scored on a Andrew Kresse’s driving layup to tie the game at 72-72 with 30 seconds to go. Andrew Kresse blocked a shot and grabbed the rebound. I called a time out but Albert Howard’s 12 footer was off the rim. George Washington rebounded and brought it up court quickly but their 3 pointer was short and we headed to double overtime.

2nd OT: Yet another foul gave GW a 2 point lead. Clay Houston hit a shot inside but GW countered with a 3. Clay Houston scored over the defender on a tough shot to make cut the Colonials’ lead to 77-76 with 4 minutes left. Yet another 3 gave GW a 4 point cushion and we dug a hole by turning the ball over. GW put us down by 7 with another 3 and only 3 minutes left to play. We then missed shots on our next two possessions while GW scored from within the paint two times to take a 87-76 lead with 2 minutes remaining. We threw the ball away and GW knocked down yet another 3. Byron Windlan buried two 3 pointers but it was too little, too late.

Final Score: George Washington-90, New Hampshire-82 (2 OT). New Hampshire season record: 2-2.

Scoring leaders: Windlan-18, Houston-15, Stone-13, Howard-10, Kresse-10, Neubauer-10.

Rebound leaders: Houston-11, Kresse-9, Windlan-9, Kirtz-6, Stone-5.

Assist leaders: Neubauer-4, Howard-3.

Player of the Game: George Washington’s SG J.J. Evans-18 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 1 steal.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: C Clay Houston-15 pts, 11 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals.

Other notes: We controlled the boards 45-38 but turned the ball over 21 times to the Colonials 16 turnovers. We hit 40% of our shots, George Washington hit 41%. But the Colonials hit 11 of 22 from 3 point distance and went to the line 21 more times and scored 9 more points at the line than us. We were called for 27 fouls while GW was whistled only 15 times.

Our falling apart at the end of the game brought out the worst in our players. Three (Andrew Kresse, Vinston O’Conner, and DeVante Smith) mouthed off afterwards about not getting enough playing time and complained about those starting instead of them due to favoritism. That was too much for me and sensing the beginnings of an insurrection, I chewed out all 3 of them. When all 3 were defensive and came back at me, I ended up suspending them all for a week. So we will be very short-handed in our next 2 games.

[PointGuard]

Game #5: Nov. 29, 2020; #19 USC Trojans (5-0) at New Hampshire Wildcats (2-2)

With a short bench due to my having suspended 3 players, we host the undefeated and #19th ranked Southern California Trojans. Dumb? Maybe, but I’m just not going to put up with these players’ back-biting attitudes.

USC’s SG Joey Dumic is scoring 17.4 ppg on 58% shooting (including hitting 47% of his 3’s). The rest of their team has been shooting well also, so if we don’t play defense, we’re going to have a tough time. The Trojans won the Midwest Invitational Tournament, including an impressive win over Oklahoma State.

We fell behind 8-4 as USC hit 4 of their first 5 shots. We then caught fire, hitting 68% of our shots to pull ahead 29-16 with 7 minutes to go in the first half. We continued to hit our shots (61%) while controlling the boards 19-9) and playing a tenacious defense (forcing 8 Trojan turnovers and holding their shooting to 39%). We closed the half with a 47-27 lead. Clay Houston led our scoring with 10 points.

Our shooting slipped in the 2nd half and we turned the ball over too much, but we continued to dominate the boards and tightened our defense to hold USC at bay and come away with an easy win over the ranked Trojans.

Final Score: New Hampshire-74, USC-55. New Hampshire season record: 3-2.

Scoring leaders: Houston-16, Kirtz-14, Windlan-11, Howard-10.

Rebound leaders: Houston-10, Stone-7, Neal-7, Neubauer-6.

Assist leaders: Kirtz-6.

Player of the Game: C Clay Houston-16 pts, 10 reb, 1 assist, 1 block.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: C Brad Neal-7 pts, 7 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Other notes: We hit 47% of our shots and held the Trojans to 33% shooting. We pulled down 43 rebounds to USC’s 27. We turned the ball over 14 times while USC only had 13 turnovers.

This was the 2nd straight double-double for center Clay Houston (15 points/11 rebounds followed by 16 points/10 rebounds)...it's great to see him begin to dominate inside.

Kueth Kirtz knee was swollen after the game. We iced it immediately. He should be able to play in the next game, but may not be 100%. With our 3 suspended players unavailable, Kirtz’ injury is an unwelcome burden.

[PointGuard]

Game #6: Dec. 2, 2020; New Hampshire Wildcats (3-2) at St. Bonaventure Bonnies (1-4)

St. Bonaventure has balanced scoring amongst their starters. PG Lee Phillips leads their scoring with 10.2 ppg, but like our starting guard, has a sore knee so his court time will be limited.

In the first 5 minutes of play we jumped out to a 13-4 lead. We kept in control throughout the half but could never truly break away from the Bonnies. When the buzzer sounded we held a 42-34 lead by hitting 52% of our shots and achieving and 8-3 turnover advantage. Kueth Kirtz dropped in 10 points to lead our scoring.

St. Bonaventure came into the 2nd half with a fire in their eyes and cut our lead to 3, but we squelched the fire and scorched the net ourselves to take a 54-43 lead with 14:18 to play. We increased our lead to 22 with 8-1/4 minutes left. We pushed on clear until the final buzzer to thrash the Bonnies.

Final Score: New Hampshire-86, St. Bonaventure-61. New Hampshire season record: 4-2.

Scoring leaders: Neubauer-17, Kirtz-13, Howard-13, Stone-12, Windlan-11.

Rebound leaders: Windlan-6, Houston-5.

Assist leaders: Howard-6, Kirtz-3, Neubauer-3.

Player of the Game: SG Albert Howard-13 pts, 4 reb, 6 assists, 3 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PG Heinrich Neubauer-17 pts, 2 reb, 3 assists.

Other notes: We tossed in 51% of our FG attempts while holding St. Bonaventure’s shooting to 44%. The big difference in the game though was that we forced the Bonnies to turn the ball over 19 times while making just 4 ourselves.

With the win over USC and the big road win over St. Bonaventure, our RPI way down to 32nd best in the nation. But after our next home game, we go on the road for 5 straight games.

Binghamton also has a 4-2 record and their RPI is 26th in the country.

The Three Caballeros, our suspended players, return to the team. I sat down with each one separately before they resumed practicing with the team. While the meetings went generally well, it’s obvious that both Andrew Kresse and Vinston O’Conner have hard feelings toward me, but more importantly, that they have to also work to strengthen their relationship with the rest of the team. Let’s hope their attitudes have adjusted during the past week so that can take place. Andrew is a particularly abrasive kind of guy who rubs many people the wrong way. I know he's unhappy that he's not starting. If he'd mesh better with the rest of the team, he could quite possibly win back a starting role since he definitely has the talent. To his credit, he's performed well coming off the bench (and has been on the floor a good number of minutes even though he's not started).

[CoachC]

suspend 3 players and get back to back blowouts. Maybe you should suspend the rest of the team too?

[PointGuard]

Next I will bring out the whip!

[PointGuard]

Game #7: Dec. 6, 2020; Toledo Rockets (1-5) at New Hampshire Wildcats (4-2)
Toledo’s record is not totally indicative of how they’ve played since two of their losses have been on the road to ranked teams. They are led by SG Keith Ramey who has hit a high percentage of his shots and is scoring 14.8 ppg.

I told our guys they can’t take Toledo lightly and need to put things together and play a strong game.

In the first minute of play Albert Howard steals the ball and makes an outlet pass to Byron Windlan for the jam and we never look back. Midway through the first half we lead 24-7, holding the Rockets to 18% from the floor and forcing them to turn the ball over 8 times. Even though the Rockets had a little lift-off for their offense, we continued to expand our lead and finished the half up 45-22. We outshot Toledo 54% to 26% and had a 10-4 turnover advantage. Byron Windlan tossed in 16 points and Kueth Kirtz added 13 for us.

We got a little sloppy in the 2nd half, but continued to outplay Toledo. Our reserves got a lot of minutes.

Final Score: New Hampshire-76, Toledo-39. New Hampshire season record: 5-2.

Scoring leaders: Windlan-16, Kirtz-13, Stone-10, Neubauer-9, Houston-8.

Rebound leaders: Stone-8, Windlan-6, Houston-5.

Assist leaders: Kirtz-4, Howard-3, Neubauer-3.

Player of the Game: SF Byron Windlan-16 pts, 6 reb, 2 assists, 2 blocks.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PG Kueth Kirtz-13 pts, 1 reb, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks.

Other notes: A stellar defensive effort by our crew, as we held Toledo to 25% shooting and forced them to make 19 turnovers. We also held a 42-33 rebounding advantage while hitting 46% of our shots. We scored 40 points in the paint. This was a very solid team effort.