Five Friends/Foes

[PointGuard]

Cal-Davis (6th seed) vs Incarnate Word (12th seed): Who would have predicted that the #6 and #12 seeds would play for the conference championship? Incarnate Word controlled the action in the first half, building a 13 point lead and they were up at the break 40-31. It looked like the Cardinals would pull off 4 straight upsets. Cal-Davis came out of the locker room with a stout defense, though. That allowed the Aggies lto move out to a 10 point lead. Incarnate Word came back late to make a game of it. But ultimately the Cardinals' 3-point shooting let them down (4 of 18 from beyond the arc). Cal-Davis escaped with a slim 67-63 win that sends Monroe Thurlow's Aggies to the NCAA Tournament. Substitutes Rashif Swan (13 points) and Jacob Robinson (12 points) were the leading scorers for the Aggies while SF Fredrik Sheppard scored 9 and grabbed 9 boards. (15-16)

[PointGuard]

Cal-Davis: Jeremy Wolthers-11.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg; Casey Givens-10.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg; Steffon Forman-8.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.3 apg; Jason Everett-8.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.8 apg; Adrian Ballard-7.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg; Tyrone Dickenman-5.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg.

Chicago State: Robert Allocco-18.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.8 bpg; Steve Greer-9.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.5 apg; Ryan Roberts-9.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg; Jared Fisher-7.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg; Gavin Johnson-6.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg; David Bracey-5.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg; David Johnson-5.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg

Jacksonville: Maurice Braun-11.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.5 bpg; Reggie Scholl-10.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.3 apg; Fred Smith-9.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg; Michael Frederick-8.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg; Rowland Boland-7.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.3 apg; Justin Hartfield-7.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.9 apg; Ross Walker-7.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg

Texas State: Terry Deng-12.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.3 apg; John DePina-11.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg; Gilbert Lemeke-10.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.0 apg; Kebu Dupay-8.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg; Russell Brown-7.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 24. apg; Matt Wright-7.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg; Mike Brown-5.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg

Wofford: Alton Johnson-12.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.9 apg; Jamaal Hobbs-10.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg; Kenny Taylor-8.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg; Antuan Lackey-7.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.1 apg; Brandon Linton-5.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg; Chris Wilder-5.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg; Brandon Detmer-5.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg

[PointGuard]

Tournament Selections:

Three Conference U teams are tournament bound and all three are coached by “our” coaches.

Cal-Davis-Play-in game for #16 seed in NCAA Tournament
Chicago State is #8 seed in South Region of NIT Tournament
Texas State is #7 seed in South Region of NIT Tournament

NCAA Play-in Game:

Cal-Davis (15-16) vs North Carolina Central (16-15): Cal-Davis trailed but stayed close throughout the first half, finishing the half down 34-30. North Carolina Central gradually expanded their lead in the 2nd half and won going away 76-60. A combination of poor shooting and weakness on the boards led to the Aggies downfall. PF Jeremy Wolthers led Cal-Davis in scoring with 18 points. (15-17)

NIT Round 1:

Chicago State (16-12) vs Chattanooga (19-11): There were 8 lead changes and 5 ties in the first half, but Chicago State finished the half with a 35-30 deficit. Chattanooga ran away from the Cougars in the 2nd half and expanded their lead all the way up to the end of the game which Chicago State lost 80-58. SG Ryan Roberts scored 15 for Chicago State. PG Chris Rude led Chattanooga offensively with 20 points. (16-13)

Texas State (19-9) vs Marquette (16-15): Marquette opened strongly and built a 16 point lead. Texas State had a late run in the 1st half that reduced Marquette’s lead to 32-23 at the break. The Bobcats gamely fought throughout the 2nd half to trim the lead but still lost 62-55. The Bobcats outshot Marquette 43% to 34% and outrebounded the Golden Eagles 44-28. But, Texas State’s downfall was that they made 27 turnovers compared to 15 by Marquette. SF Russell Brown topped Texas State’s scoring with 18 points. SG Kyle Fisher dropped in 26 points for Marquette. (19-10)

Quick exits for all 3 coaches’ teams. C'est la vie.

Tournament Championships:

NCAA: #1 seed, #1 ranked Duke-96, #1 seed, #4 ranked Kentucky-77
NIT: #2 seed St. John’s-79, #4 seed Purdue-61
CIT: #1 seed Maryland-73, #4 seed Creighton-68
CBI: #2 seed Binghamton-74, #3 seed Bowling Green-72

[PointGuard]

Conference U Awards:

Robert Allocco, Chicago State: Player of the Year; All-Conference 1st Team
John DePina, Texas State: All-Conference 2nd Team
Vernell Strom, Texas State: Coach of the Year

Recruits:

Chicago State—3 scholarships to fill; none filled so only 10 scholarship players next season

Wofford—1 scholarship to fill and 1 filled, therefore 13 scholarship players next season
PF Ron Leonard, a HS senior from Duncan, SC, a good defender and scorer who is ranked as the #593 best recruit nationally.

Cal-Davis—4 scholarships to fill, only 1 filled so 10 scholarship players next season
PG Scott Ward, HS Sr, excellent outside shooter, passer and ball handler, ranked #1749 nationally

Jacksonville—2 scholarships to fill, only 1 filled so 12 scholarship players next season
PG Josh Jones, a HS senior from Daytona Beach, FL, a good ball handler and passer as well as a strong defender and good scorer who is ranked as the #1437 best recruit nationally.

Texas State—4 scholarships to fill, only 2 filled so 11 scholarship players next season
PG Collin Jackson, a HS senior from Lorenzo, TX, an excellent passer and good ball handler who is ranked as the #1441 best recruit nationally.
SF Darryl Brown, #515, good scorer and ball handler, good defender, outstanding athleticism, ranked #515 nationally

So...only one of the five coaches did a satisfactory job recruiting. Kyle Anders had only one scholarship to fill at Wofford, and he did it. The other 4 coaches? Two got 50% of their scholarships filled, one got 25% filled, and one completely failed and got 0% filled. In total, out of 14 available scholarships, just 5 were filled. That’s an abysmal 36%.


Promotion/Relegation:

Texas State (Vernell Strom), Chicago State (DJ Brower), and Cal-Davis (Monroe Thurlow) were promoted to Conference T.

Jacksonville (Parsons Nyland) and Wofford (Kyle Anders) remain in Conference U.

If grades were being given on team performance, the 3 coaches whose teams moved up probably would get B’s. The two whose teams remain in Conference U would receive C''s.

Team Prestige and Head Coach Reputation:

Cal-Davis: 11 (-2); Monroe Thurlow-9 (N/C)

Chicago State: 16; (+3) DJ Brower-10 (+1)

Jacksonville: 11 (-2); Parsons Nyland-9 (N/C)

Texas State: 15 (+1); Vernell Strom-10 (+1)

Wofford: 11 (-2); Kyle Anders-9 (N/C)

[PointGuard]

Disappointingly, while 4 of the 5 coaches had a total of 9 scholarships to fill, only one transfer player was signed by any of the friends. DJ Brower at Chiicago State signed SG Desmond Pugh, a sophomore who transferred from St. Peter’s. He has a good outside shot and a high degree of athleticism.

So 8 scholarships went unfilled and that meant 4 of the 5 teams will have more than two walkon players this coming season;:

Jacksonville has 3
Cal-Davis has 5
Chicago State has 4
Texas State has 4

[PointGuard]

Through the end of October:

Chicago State-7 scholarships to offer; 1 acceptance
Wofford-4 scholarships to offer; 2 acceptances
Cal-Davis-8 scholarships to offer; 2 acceptances
Texas State-5 scholarships to offer; 1 acceptance
Jacksonville-5 scholarships to offer; 1 acceptance

Again, very unimpressive recruiting by the 5 coaches. Let's hope they do a better job during the spring and fill most of their available scholarships.

[PointGuard]

Conference T (16 teams):

Texas State-6th
Chicago State-13th
Cal-Davis-14th

Conference U (16 teams):

Jacksonville-5th
Wofford-14th

[PointGuard]

* -Starter last season

Cal-Davis Aggies, H/C Monroe Thurlow

PG—6-0 Sr Roby Phillips—4.6 ppg
SG—6-4 Sr Steffon Forman*—8.7 ppg
SF—6-3 Jr Tori Johnson—3.3 ppg
PF—6-8 Sr Tyrone Dickerman—5.6 ppg
C---6-7 Sr Mike Blackman—1.5 ppg

Chicago State Cougars, H/C DJ Brower

PG—6-2 Sr Ryan Roberts*—9.0 ppg
SG—6-1 Sr Chris Scott—2.3 ppg
SF—6-6 Sr Devin Archie—4.8 ppg
PF—6-6 Sr Robert Allocco*—18.6 ppg
C---6-9 Fr Lamont Millford—high school or 6-8 So David Johnson—5.7 ppg

Jacksonville Dolphins, H/C Parsons Nyland

PG—6-5 Sr Reggie Scholl*—10.8 ppg
SG—6-2 Sr Justin Hartfield*—7.6 ppg
SF—6-5 So Michael Frederick*—8.1 ppg
PF—6-6 Sr Maurice Braun*—11.0 ppg
C---6-8 Jr Ross Walker—7.5 ppg

Texas State Bobcats[, H/C Vernell Strom

PG—5-9 So Garrick Allen—0.5 ppg
SG—6-8 Sr Mike Brown—5.7 ppg
SF—6-6 Sr Russell Brown*—7.9 ppg
PF—6-7 Sr Kebu Dupay*—8.1 ppg
C---6-8 Jr Matt Wright—7.5 ppg or 6-8 Fr Jeremy Traylor—high school

Wofford Terriers, H/C Kyle Anders

PG—6-5 So Antuan Lackey*—7.2 ppg
SG—6-1 Sr Victor Griffin—3.4 ppg
SF—6-6 Sr Brandon Detmer*—5.5 ppg
PF—6-9 Sr Kenny Taylor*—8.8 ppg
C—6-8 Jr Brandon Linton—5.7 ppg or 6-11 So Jamaal Hobbs*—10.3 ppg

[PointGuard]

Cal-Davis @ Buffalo: Cal-Davis grabbed a small early lead but then fell behind, trailing 37-23 at the half. The roof caved in the 2nd half and Cal-Davis got stomped 70-47. The Aggies offense was led by SF Steffon Forman with 14 points. C Emanuel Johnson scored 20 for Buffalo. (0-1)

Texas St. @ San Diego: Texas State was stymied offensively in the first half and trailed 45-22 at the break. They narrowed the lead in the 2nd half but lost by a score of 66-52. SG Mike Brown scored 12 points for the Bobcats. (0-1)

Kent St. @ Chicago St.: Chicago State broke out on top and steadily built their lead to smash the Golden Flashes 89-64. PF Robert Allocco poured in 34 points for the Cougars while PG Ryan Roberts dished out 11 assists. (1-0)

Troy @ Jacksonville: The first half was extremely close the entire way and ended in a 33-33 tie. Jacksonville gained control in the 2nd half and led by as much as 10 points but Troy threatened late. The Dolphins escaped with a 74-71 victory. SG Justin Harfield scored 17 points and PF Maurice Braun had a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds) to lead the way for Jacksonville. (1-0)

Wofford @ DePaul: Neither team could get more than a 4 point lead in the 1st half. The scored was tied 37-37 at the end of the half. The score remained tight most of the 2nd half. While Wofford ended up losing 73-68, they played tough all the way. There were 19 lead changes and 11 ties in the game. C Jamaal Hobbs scored 22 for the Terriers. (0-1)

Cal-Davis @ Tennessee-Martin: Cal-Davis nipped at Tennessee-Martin’s heels throughout the first half and trailed just 47-42 and the mid-point of the game. But the Aggies again faded badly in the 2nd half to fall ignominiously 95-68. Mark Stone came in off the bench to gain scoring honors for Cal-Davis with 13 points. (0-2)

Texas St. @ Texas-San Antonio: For a second straight game, Texas State began slowly, trailing at the half 43-24. They were unable to make up the difference in the 2nd half and dropped the game 85-67. PG Garrick Allen scored 17 for the Bobcats. SG Derrick Blizzard iced the Bobcats by scoring 20 points for the Roadrunners. (0-2)

LaSalle @ Chicago St.: The two teams exchanged the lead frequently in the first half with LaSalle coming out on top 39-37. The 2nd half was nearly as close but Chicago State was outshot 45% to 36% and the Cougars were edged 79-72. Chicago State’s C Ryan Roberts hit for 15 points. SF Brad Kelly had a double-double (11 points and 10 boards) for LaSalle. (1-1)

Jacksonville @ Ohio: Ohio blitzed the Dolphins in the first half 50-27. Jacksonville chipped away at the lead but the difference was too great and they were beaten 85-70. C Ross Walker and PG Reggie Scholl shared scoring honors for Jacksonville with 12 points each. But Ohio PF Brandt Bradley burned Jacksonville for 25 points. (1-1)

Wofford @ Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: Wofford was never in this game, trailing 49-27 at the half. The Terriers were creamed 78-59. SG Antuan Lackey chipped in 22 points for Wofford. (0-2)

Overall an ugly week (2-8) for the 5 coaches.

[PointGuard]

Indiana St. @ Cal-Davis: Following two road losses, Coach Monroe Thurlow hoped to get put a notch in the “W” column. It took 5 minutes of play, buriedt then Thurlow’s charges took control and by the end of the half sported a 31-24 advantage. The 2nd half was a blowout as the Aggies scorched the Sycamores to go ahead by as much as 36 points before finishing with an 87-54 margin of victory. The dominance was complete with Cal-Davis outshooting Indiana State 56% to 40%, holding a 34-19 rebounding advantage, and making just 9 turnovers to the Sycamore’s 16. PG Roby Phillips scored 17 while SG Steffon Forman grabbed 7 rebounds and had 7 assists. SF Tori Johnson had an awesome defensive game with 3 steals and 4 blocks while holding his opposing SF to just 2 points. (1-2)

Texas St. @ Montana: While the game was very close in the early stages of the 1st half, the Grizzlies held sway in the latter portions. Texas State was faced with a 38-28 deficit at the break. Their fortunes didn’t improve in the 2nd half and Coach Vernell Strom’s charges ended up with a 75-54 loss. SG Russel Brown was the top scorer for the Bobcats with just 9 points. C Maurice Woods paced Montana with 21 points. (0-3)

Chicago St. @ Old Dominion: Old Dominion opened an 8 point lead in the 1st half but the Cougars came back to tie the score at the end of the half 26-26. Chicago State continued to control the action in the 2nd half and came away with an 83-69 road win by outshooting the Monarchs 48% to 39%. Chicago State was led by PG Ryan Roberts 13 points and 8 assists. (2-1)

Jacksonville @ Coppin St.: The first half was a battle all the way and ended in a 33-33 tie. The 2nd half appeared to be a replay but Coppin State gained control late when the Dolphins offense sputtered and the Eagles held on for a 66-59 win in a game that saw 17 lead changes and 9 ties. Jacksonville’s C Ross Walker was top scorer with 14 points and he also had 2 steals and 3 blocks. (1-2)

Wofford @ Delaware St.: Another game in which neither team could gain advantage throughout the first half with it ending knotted at 30-30. But the Terriers unleased a devasting defense in the 2nd half that allowed them to pull away for a convincing 65-53 victory. Wofford held a 51% to 36% shooting advantage plus totally controlled the boards (36-19). SF Brandon Detmer scored 13 points to lead Wofford. (1-2)

Pacific @ Cal-Davis: After taking a small lead in the early stages of the 1st half, Cal-Davis fell apart and trailed 42-34 at the break. They were unable to turn things around in the 2nd half and fell on their home court 71-60. Reserve guard Malcolm Jones tried to resuscitate the Aggies moribund offense, scoring 16 points, but without help from others, the effort fell short. (1-3)

Texas St. @ Colorado: Playing away against a much more talented team, the Bobcats held their own in the first half which ended in a 38-38 tie. Texas State appeared to have the Buffaloes on the ropes in the 2nd half, but Colorado put on a spurt late that gave them a 77-73 win over Texas State. So a moral victory, but still a loss for the Bobcats. The refs were the Bobcats undoing by sending Colorado to the line 14 more times where they scored 12 more points that Texas State. PG Garrick Allen Scored 13 and had 6 assists for Texas State. Colorado was led by C Damian Steele who scored 23 and grabbed 9 rebounds. (0-4)

Long Island @ Chicago St.: The lead switched back and forth throughout the 1st half and the game was tied 34-34 at the end of the half. Chicago State’s defense stymied the Blackbirds throughout much of the 2nd half and the Cougars were able to pull ahead by as much as 20 points before finishing with a 70-58 win. Beyond their tough defense, Chicago State totally dominated the boards 44-27. PF Robert Allocco had a double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds. (3-1)

New Orleans @ Jacksonville: Jacksonville never trailed in this game. At the half they were ahead 45-40 and then expanded their lead to as much as 15 points before finishing with a 83-74 take down of the Privateers. PG Reggie Scholl scored 16 and SG Justin Hartfield dished out 7 assists. For New Orleans, SF Howard Morris scored a game-high 22 points. (2-2)

Gardner Webb @ Wofford: Wofford was in control the entire way, leading 36-19 at the break. The Terriers ended up biting the Bulldogs hard 71-54. Wofford pulled down 40 rebounds compared to just 18 for Gardner Webb. The game was sloppily played though with the Terriers recording 25 turnovers and the Bulldogs making 20 turnovers. C Brandon Linton barely missed a double-double when he finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds. (2-2)

Injury: Jacksonville PF Maurice Braun is nursing a sore hip but while he will miss some practice sessions, he’s expected to start the team’s next game.