Winning is Everything

[randy]

Association background

• Simmed for 60 yrs
• Illegal Recruiting: Yes
• Conference Movement: Yes
• Declare Early: Yes

Year: 2000

After shortlisting possible opportunities, I decided to take the HC job at Towson:

• Team Prestige: 12
• NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6 (1 Sweet 16)
• Conf Championships: 3 (last: 1982)

Current lineup consists of 8 walk-ons. Of the remaining 7 scholarship players, 3 are seniors. The previous coaching staff were only able to sign 2 players thus far. Hence, I have 7 slots open by the time I accepted the HC job.

I immediately shortlisted the best remaining JuCo players within region, and tried to sign whoever is willing. I was able to recruit 4; remaining slots I can use for transfer

The following are the new faces in the lineup for the upcoming season:

1. SG Haven Wilkerson (JuCo), 6-5, rank #55 (Albany, NY)
2. C Alex DeMond (JuCo), 6-8, rank #74 (Orono, ME)
3. SF Aaron Hale (JuCo), 6-6, rank #164 (Woodstock, VT)
4. PF Bevon Green (JuCo), 6-7, rank #192 (Ayer, MA)
5. SG Rob Roberson, 6-3, rank #980 (Towson, MD)
6. PG Nick Granger, 5-5, rank #1559 (Washington, MD)

[randy]

As of June 2000 (scholarship players only)

1. Jr PG Anthony Martin: 2.5
2. Fr PG Nick Granger: 3.7
3. Fr SG Rob Roberson: 2.6
4. Jr SG Haven Wilkerson: 2.4
5. Jr SG Cain Ward: 1.6 (transfer from Iowa)
6. Sr SF John Weaks: 3.7
7. Jr SF Aaron Hale: 2.1
8. Jr PF Bevon Green: 2.1
9. Fr C Herbert Desmond: 2.6
10. Sr C Byron Hardy: 2.5
11. Jr C Alex DeMond: 2.4

[randy]

Starting Lineup

• 1: Jr PG Anthony Martin, 6-0, 2.0/3.0
• 2: Jr SG Haven Wilkerson, 6-5, 2.5/4.5
• 3: Jr SF Aaron Hale, 6-6, 1.5/2.5
• 4: Jr C Alex DeMond, 6-8, 4.0/4.0
• 5: Sr C Byron Hardy, 6-10, 3.5/3.5

Bench

• 2/3: Sr(R) SF John Weaks, 6-5, 2.0/3.5
• 3/4: Jr PF Byron Green, 6-7, 2.0/3.0
• 1/2: Fr SG Rob Roberson, 6-3, 1.5/4.0
• 1: Fr PG Nick Granger, 5-5, 1.0/3.0
• 4/5: Fr(R) C Herbert Desmond, 6-10, 1.5/4.0

Walk-ons

• 1/2: So PG RJ Toxey, 6-4, 1.5/1.5
• 3/4: SF Matthew Barber, 6-7, 1.5/1.5
• 4/5: Sr PF Antonio Hill, 6-8, 1.5/2.5
• 3/4: Fr PF Willie Ford, 6-6, 2.5/2.5

Transfer (ineligible to play this season)

• 2/3: Jr SG Cain Ward, 6-6, 3.5/5.0

Notes

1. I don't normally play walkons in my regular rotation, so I'm going mostly with my 10 scholarship players
2. Weaks would be my key 6th man, providing instant offense either on the 2 or 3 spot.
3. DeMond, Hardy, and Green would be my 3-man rotation on the 4 and 5 spots
4. Backup PG may be a problem, as both Roberson and Granger are freshmen. I might prefer Roberson, simply because he is the taller player
5. In summary, I would most likely be using just a short 8-man rotation (barring any injuries or foul trouble)

[randy]

Nov 15, 2000: Towson (0-0) @ Mount St Mary (0-0)

8 of our 1st 10 pts were from the FT line. We have given up 3 off rebs, despite the 2-3 zone we're playing (and max rebounding). Up 12-10, 11:56. PG Anthony Martin with 3 fouls. We contirnue to have problems securing def rebounds. MOUNT has yet to commit a turn over, after 14+ mins of play. Down 20-21, 5:49. A couple of breakdowns on our half-court trap, resulting in easy pts for MOUNT. Halftime, Tied at 35.

Key stats / Notes (Halftime)

• 2nd chance pts: MOUNT 8, TOW 2 (MOUNT 8-4 adv in off rebounds)
• Turnovers: MOUNT 0, TOW 6
• 3pt shooting: MOUNT 5-14
• Despite MOUNT playing a good game, we're tied. We just need to play our 2-3 defense much better, not allowing off rebounds, and quickly covering their outside shooters

Fr PG Nick Granger started the 2nd half, due to foul trouble on PG Anthony Martin. SG Haven Wilkerson (17 pts) and C Byron Hardy (18 pts) scored 13 of our 15 pts in the 2nd half so far. TOW continues to hit their outside shots, adding 2 more triples. Up 50-47, 12:05.

We have done a slight better job in controlling the def rounds. TOW added 2 more 3s to bring their total to 9. We have completely abandoned the half court trap, as it is obvious it is causing more harm to us in this game. Up 59-57, 6:59.

MOUNT is now in the penalty, we have shot only 1-4 FT on our last 2 trips to the line. After giving up 2 pts on our last turn over, C Byron Hardy missed an easy inside shot. On TOW's next play, they hit their 11th 3pt shot of the game. Down 62-67, 3:02.

TOW with yet another 3. We answered back with a FG. After a TOW miss, and with just a minute left (down 6), I instructed we got for 3. SG Haven Wilkerson connected one from down town. Down 67-70, 0:54.

MOUNT: We'll go m2m defense. After a TOW miss, they got an off rebound (maybe it's my mistake that we made defensive adjustments). We got called for a foul. Only our 6th team foul. 0:33. They turn the ball over. Timeout. Down 67-70, 0:26.

TOW: Same play, we'll go for a 3. We had a difficult time passing the ball to SG Haven Wilkerson. Wilkerson finnaly gets the ball. Wilkerson lets go of a 3. Miss. MOUNT secures the def round. Game over


Final Score: Towson - 67, Mount St Mary - 70


Box Scores
[INDENT]Hardy 20, 12, 3
Wilkerson 19, 1, 2
Green 10, 5, 1
Martin 8, 2, 1
Hale 4, 5, 3, 4 tos
DeMond 4, 5, 0
Weaks 2, 2, 2
Roberson 0, 1, 2
Granger 0, 0, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 54-39%
REB: +1
TO: +9
Pts in paint: +8
2nd chance: -10
Fast break: -19
[/INDENT]
Notes

• It's not about MOUNT's 12 3pt shots that got us into trouble. It's a combination of things that we could have avoided. MOUNT's 21 fast break pts may have included countless baskets resulting from MOUNT's breaking our half court press. I made a mistake of maxing out the press frequency, given the fact that the team is just starting to learn our trapping defense. We'll minimize press frequency to 3 in our succeeding games, and increase it gradually as we learn it.
• We're -8 in off rebounds, and that is completely unacceptable given that we are crashing the def boards, and we play 2-3 zone almost all the time
• Other rplayers need to contribute offensively, aside from Wilkerson and Hardy. PF Bevon Green was great off the bench today; but in particular, Hale, DeMond, and Weaks need to perform better offensively that what they today.

[randy]

Nov 18, 2000: Towson (0-1) @ New Jersey Tech (1-1)

SF Aaron Hale (6 pts) has already surpassed his production from our last game. Good start defensively, as NJIT is 3-14 FG (all their FGMs coming from 3 pts shots). Up 18-9, 11:55. Our 8 turnovers have slowed us down a bit. Up 24-18, 5:25. More turn overs. NJIT beginning to shoot better from the field. We barely able to hang on to the lead, by driving to the basket late in the half. Halftime, Up 36-35.

Key stats / Notes (Halftime)

• Pts in the pant: TOW 26, NJIT 8
• Turnovers: TOW 11, NJIT 4
• Clearly, 2 teams with contrasting style of plays; we score in side, and NJIT likes to shoot from the outside. We have a chance of winning this game if we minimize NJIT's possessions

Another good game for PF Bevon Green off the bench, now in double figures with 12 pts. NJIT was behind only by 2, 46-44, before they went on a cold spell in offense; we managed to stretch the lead but not by much. Up 54-46, 11:38. NJIT began hitting their outside shots again, converting 2 more 3 pt shots. Up 56-52, 7:58. We go on a 16-0 run, mostly from the inside by our big men. The run was also aided by NJIT being in the penalty. NJIT finally hitting a basket (a 3) after going scoreless for more than 6 mins; too late for them though. Up 72-55, 1:51.


Final Score: Towson - 76, NJIT - 64


Box Scores
[INDENT]Hardy 18, 14, 0 (*)
Wilkerson 18, 4, 3
Green 16, 5, 2
Hale 10, 10, 0
Martin 8, 3, 14, 6 tos
DeMond 6, 4, 0
Weaks 0, 1, 0
Roberson 0, 1, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 53-37%
REB: +26
TO: +11
Pts in paint: +28
2nd chance: +1
Fast break: +3
[/INDENT]
Notes

• A stark to contrast to our first game, as we didn't allow NJIT to score much on 2nd chance and fast break pts. More importantly, we dominated the rebounding battle
• We can risk giving up 3 pt shots to our opponents (NJIT is 12-30 today). But as shown today, as long as we control the boards and play good transition defense, we'll give ourselves a chance to win. If we can minimize our turn overs, then that will even increase our chances of winning more road games
• A much better scoring balance today, as starters SF Aaron Hale and C Alex DeMond provided needed scoring support
• The box scores showed how fragile our rotation is - only 8 players used, 2 went scoreless. I just hope we don't get injury problems this season.

[randy]

Nov 18, 2000: Towson (1-1) @ Long Island (1-2)

We gave up at least 6 easy fast break pts due to our turn overs, and I wasn't pleased with that. Our +5 reb differential, plus our 2 converted 3pt shots, are the reasons why we are on the lead. Up 18-12, 10:30. SF Aaron Hale and C Alex DeMond hit a string of baskets to keep us in the lead. Up 26-17, 6:30. I could only cover my face in disgust, after we committed our 10th turn over, and LIU got another fast break basket plus a foul. And then their last basket of teh half also came on pts off turn overs. We completely wasted this opportunity to have a good a lead. Halftime, Up 32-29.

Key stats / Notes (Halftime)

• Fast break pts: TOW 0, LIU 12
• Turnovers: TOW 12, LIU 5
• Rebounds: TOW 20, LIU 13
• Our good showing in outside shooting and rebounding went to waste because of our turn overs. If there is any "positive" side in that, it was a "total team effort" as 8 our players committed at least 1 turn over

LIU played 2-3 zone in the 1st half, but they adjusted to m2m defense at the start of the 2nd half. SG Haven Wilkerson took advantage and scored on 3 consecutive drives. LIU struggling on their outside shooting, now at 1-9 3PT; but they find ways to keep this game this close, thanks partly to our 15 turn overs. Up 40-37, 12:27.

We're not exactly shooting as well compared to our 1st 2 games, but LIU's slump in this game is much worse (33% FG, 1-12 3PT); we go on a mini 10-4 run. Up 50-41, 4:46.

SF John Weaks scored his 1st basket of the game, and that gave us a 13 pts lead with a little over 3 mins remaining. We managed to hold on to the lead, behind SG Haven Wilkerson's big 2nd half (14 of his 19 pts scored in the 2nd half).


Final Score: Towson - 60, Long Island - 43


Box Scores
[INDENT]Wilkerson 19, 5, 2 (*)
Hardy 12, 9, 0
Hale 10, 9, 1, 4 tos
Green 7, 5, 1
DeMond 6, 5, 0
Weaks 2, 4, 3
Roberson 2, 1, 1
Desmond 2, 0, 0
Martin 0, 3, 2, 4 tos
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 45-31%
REB: +12
TO: +6
Pts in paint: Even
2nd chance: +3
Fast break: -16
[/INDENT]
Notes

• The margin of victory may not show it, but we're somehow "lucky" getting this road win, as we can't expect all of our opponents to shoot 1-14 3PT like what LIU did today
• SG Haven Wilkerson was smart enough to change his offense in the 2nd half, opting to drive more often and eventually scored more.

[randy]

Nov 25, 2000: Towson (2-1) @ Princeton (1-2)

• PRIN's 4/5 rotation is composed of two 7-footers, and another who is at 6-10

Start of 1st half

Despite PRIN's twin towers anchoring their 1-2-2 zone, C Byron Hardy (6 pts) and C Alex DeMod (5 pts) have done well in challenging them early in the game. PRIN finding it difficult to pass the ball to their big men on offense, forcing them to take low percentage shots from the outside. Up 18-9, 13:00. 3 consecutive turn overs cut our lead to 11 (from a high of 15); I reminded the team to not lose their concentration. PRIN stayed close, as we started to miss our shots also. Halftime, Up 34-28.

Key stats / Notes (Halftime)

• 2nd chance pts: TOW 11, PRIN 2; a big part of this is our 9 off rebs (5 by C Alex DeMond)
• Fast break pts: TOW 8, PRIN 4; this is key because despite of our 10 turn overs (+4 differential), PRIN had few chances to score on transition

Start of 2nd half

3 turn overs, and 0-3 FG to start the 2nd half. I had to burn an early timeout, for my team to regroup. Tied at 34, 17:54. We get a basket after our time out, but PRIN momentarily took the lead after scoring 4 unanswered. SG Haven Wilkerson's 3 pt shot spearheaded a 9-2 run, but PRIN hit some clutch baskets to keep the game close. Up 45-44, 11:53. C Alex DeMond (12 pts, 9 rebs) continues to grind his way in battling PRIN's big men. However, PRIN just hit only their 2nd 3pt shot of the game, to break the tie. Down 48-51, 7:45.

We cut the lead to 1. After that, we missed at least 7 consecutive shots, even those we normally make at the post. On the other end, PRIN had a FG and 2 FTs. Down 50-55, 4:27. Teams traded baskets. After we made a stop, C Byron Hardy scored on an off rebound put back. Down 54-57, 2:58. We made another defensive stop. We dribbled to the front court and called a timeout. Down 54-57, 2:29.

TOW: We go to C Alex DeMond on the low post. DeMond powers his way to get another inside basket. Down 56-57, 2:19.

PRIN: They miss a 3. I elected not to call a timeout

TOW: SG Haven Wilkerson gets the pass from beyond the arc. He dribbles closer, pulls up a medium-range jumper. Miss. Out of bounds. Our ball. We inbound. This time we go back to C Alex DeMond. DeMond goes strong again. Shot block by PRIN. We recover the ball. SF Aaron Hale drives strong. Miss. Out of bounds. Ball still stays with us. We had 3 opportunities to reclaim the lead. Timeout. Down 56-57, 1:39.

TOW: Our 4th opportunity to get the lead. We go to the other side. C Byron Hardy gets the ball on the low post. Hardy is a bit far from the basket from where he normally operates. Hardy still puts up a short jumper. Hardy's shot is in! Up 58-57, 1:21.

PRIN: They are not calling a timeout. We'll go m2m defense. We're playing good denial defense on the post against PRIN's big men. Their 4 gets the pass from way outside the arc. He was forced to make a pass. We get a steal!. Timeout. Up 58-57, 0:48.

TOW: I told the team to waste some time off the clock. SG Haven Wilkerson gets the pass. He attempts to drive, but took too many steps. Oh geez, what a bad possession. PRIN called a timeout. Up 58-57, 0:42.

PRIN: As what any "smart" AI coach will do, PRIN burned all thier remaining timeouts, before play resumed. Their 4 commits his 2nd consecutive turn over, this time he traveled.

TOW: We have no more timeouts. No need to take a shot, as PRIN may likely foul intentionally. PRIN not fouling. We pass the ball around. They stole the ball! 0:11 left

PRIN: We'll stick with m2m defense. I was shouting that we foul, as we only have 2 team fouls. We did give up a foul. 3rd team foul, 0:07. 4th team foul, 0:06. 5th team foul, 0:05. Man, that game clock is ticking so slowly. PRIN able to avoid getting a fouled. They put up a hurried 3. Miss. We escape a close one.


Final Score: Towson - 58, Princeton - 57


Box Scores
[INDENT]Hardy 20, 14, 0 (*)
DeMond 16, 11, 1
Wilkerson 9, 2, 6, 6 tos
Hale 7, 3, 2, 4 tos
Green 4, 3, 0
Martin 2, 3, 1, 4 tos
Weaks 0, 3, 1
Roberson 0, 0, 2
Desmond 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 39-38%
REB: +12
TO: +9
Pts in paint: +4
2nd chance: +11
Fast break: -2
[/INDENT]
Notes

• Both teams played with a lot effort in this game. We had the advantage in rebounds and 2nd chance pts, while PRIN played excellent defense coming up with 5 blks and 10 steals. In the end, we converted our last shot and PRIN missed their last shot; and that was the difference in this game.
• Our 2 starting bigs, C Byron Hardy and C Alex DeMond, carried the team on their backs today. Apart from battling PRIN's big men, they combined to score 62% of our points, and grabbed 64% of our total rebounds. What an effort!

[JMD]

Dang! 8 walk-ons! What a challenge that will be.

[randy]

Nov 29, 2000: Towson (3-1) @ Loyola-Maryland (1-3)

Start of 1st half

LOY(MD) has shot well, going 50% FG, including 3 triples. In contrast, we're at a dismal 25% FG. Down 9-17, 11:58. Being called for 3 consecutive traveling violations didn't helped our cause, and our deficit grew to 13. We continued to miss from the field, and even from the FT line, to get ourselves in a deep hole. Down 11-28, 6:44. Our turn overs began creeping up again, our shots are being swatted away, and nothing seems to go right now. Halftime, Down 22-42.

Key stats / Notes (Halftime)

• A total disaster in the 1st half, as we shot 28% FG and had +7 turn overs. Add the 7 blocks of LOW(MD), and we got our butts kicked

Start of 2nd half

We opened up the 2nd half with 2 more turn overs, and given up 2 off rebounds. Not only that LOY(MD) is playing well today, but we absolutely we have no focus and effort, which is the frustrating part. We fell down by as many as 26. But after a series of misses by LOY(MD), we started to show some life. Down 36-52, 13:25.

We cut the lead further to 14 twice. And then to 12. Another miss by LOY(MD). C Alex DeMond converted a 3pt play opportunity, and the deficit is just in single digits. Down 48-57, 7:11.

A clutch 3 by LOY(MD) started a 6-0 run for them. We tried to keep close, but another triple by LOY(MD) puts them ahead by as many as 14. The closest we have gone so far is cutting their deficit is 11. After a LOY(MD) turnover, we got ourselves a transition basket, and lead down to 9. Time is running out though. LOY(MD) gets another clutch basket and we're staring at a double digit lead once again, with time running out. Down 59-70, 2:28.

We'll start looking for 3s, play with a smaller lineup, and hurry up. On the ensuing play after our timeout, we didn't even get a chance to launch a 3 as we committed our 17th turn over. Looking forward to the next game now


Final Score: Towson - 65, Loyola-Maryland - 76


Box Scores
[INDENT]Hardy 14, 11, 1
Wilkerson 14, 2, 2
Hale 12, 7, 1
DeMond 11, 10, 0
Green 9, 3, 1
Martin 5, 1, 8, 7 tos
Weaks 0, 9, 1
Roberson 0, 1, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 38-48%
REB: +18
TO: +9
Pts in paint: +10
2nd chance: -4
Fast break: -6
[/INDENT]
Notes

• Well, at least we won the 2nd half, 43-34. Good effort (esp in rebounding) in trying to come back, but the deficit was too big to overcome for our 8-man regular rotation. C Byron Hardy and C Alex DeMond both had double-doubles for the 2nd straight game
• As much as I would like to reconsider PG Anthony Martin's (4.8 turn overs/game) place in the starting lineup, my other options include an undersized (5-5) freshman PG, a walk on PG, and a natural SG forced to play as a backup PG.

[randy]

After starting the season on a 5-game road trip, we finally get to play in our home opener

Dec 2, 2000: San Diego St (3-1) @ Towson (3-2)

Start of 1st half

SDST had only 1 FG in the 1st 5 mins. Up 15-6, 11:39. We continued to build our lead behind our rebounding (+8 differential) and contesting every SDST attempted by SDST. Up 20-6, 7:14. SDST got into penalty and he converted some FTs to hold on to our lead. Halftime, Up 31-15.

Key stats / Notes (Halftime)

• FG shooting: SDST 21% (1-15 3PT), TOW 50%

Start of 2nd half

SG Haven Wilkerson and SF Aaron Hale combined to an opening 9-0 salvo at the start of the 2nd half. Up 40-15, 16:45. SDST started t pick up their offense, scoring 18 pts in the last 7 mins. But our big men are getting enough inside shots to keep ourselves on safe distance. Up 55-33, 9:11. We slowed down the game the rest of the way, and even got the chance to play a couple of our bench warmers


Final Score: San Deigo St - 50, Towson - 69


Box Scores
[INDENT]Hardy 17, 13, 1 (*)
Hale 13, 2, 2
Green 12, 5, 0
Wilkerson 12, 2, 2, 4 tos
DeMond 8, 6, 0
Desmond 4, 1, 0
Martin 3, 7, 4
Roberson 0, 2, 3
Weaks 0, 0, 1
Granger 0, 0, 0

[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 56-31%
REB: +18
TO: +9
Pts in paint: +28
2nd chance: -4
Fast break: +4
[/INDENT]
Notes

• Turn overs continue to be a problem, but at least we didn't allow SDST to punish us in transition. Pus, we always get good results whenever we focus our offense on post plays and drives, which what we did today