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[PointGuard]

Coaches Evaluation of their teams (Part 4 of 5):

Here’s how the combined media prognostication picked the five teams to do within their respective conferences this season:

Conf U—Alcorn State--1st, Arkansas-Pine Bluff--7th
Conf V—MD-Eastern Shore--2nd, Western Illinois--4th, UC-San Diego--5th

So let’s hear what each of the five coaches have to say about their teams:

[u]Dontell Spencer, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Golden Lions, Conference U: [/u] Graduation played havoc with last season’s strong team. So now we have to quickly rebuild so we can try to do better than the 7th place finish the media is expecting of us this year. Here’s a brief rundown on our starters and reserves this season:

PG—Dwayne Robinson (6-0 junior) starts…started last year and averaged 11.7 ppg. Subbing will be 6-1 junior JC transfer Darrin Randolph and 6-4 senior Damian Carrington.

SG—starting will be Kwame Mickens (6-0 junior)…sat out last season after transferring from North Florida where he averaged 21.3 ppg…looking forward to seeing how he does for us. Antony Gunn (6-0 sophomore) who transferred from NJIT where he averaged 13.1 ppg will be a great backup.

SF—Antonio Gailey (6-7 sophomore) will be our starter…transfer from William & Mary where he averaged 8.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg…great at clearing the boards. Primary backup will be 6-5 sophomore Henry White who transferred from Southern Illinois where he averaged 6.9 ppg. Other SF’s coming off the bench will be JC transfer Jamar Brown (6-6 junior) and 6-4 freshman Dan Jefferson.

PF—Jaraan Daniels (6-10 senior) has earned a starting role…averaged 5.4 ppg and 4.6 rpg in reserve role last season. 6-8 sophomore walk-on Jacob Allen will come off the bench when Daniels is tired.

C—Freshman Chris Betts (6-9) will start…looked good in practice…great work ethic so will learn fast. Daniels will also get time at C, but 6-8 sophomore walk-on Michael O’Brien may also get a little playing time.

With the addition of Mickens, Gailey, Gunn, and Betts, I think we could surprise some people. But with so many new players, there’s a lot of learning to do and teamwork to develop. I’d like to have more interior depth, though.

[PointGuard]

Coaches Evaluation of their teams (Part 5 of 5):

Here’s how the combined media prognostication picked the five teams to do within their respective conferences this season:

Conf U—Alcorn State--1st, Arkansas-Pine Bluff--7th
Conf V—MD-Eastern Shore--2nd, Western Illinois--4th, UC-San Diego--5th

So let’s hear what each of the five coaches have to say about their teams:

Ramon Montez, Alcorn State Braves, Conference U: I nearly fell over when I heard the media made our team the favorites in Conference U. While I’m happy they feel we’re that good, I don’t appreciate having a bullseye painted on our backs so that all 15 other teams in the conference will be intent on knocking us off the media’s pedestal.

We’re going to be carried by our front line since we have high-scoring starters returning at C, PF, and SF.

Gabriel Atwood, a 6-8 junior who averaged 13.2 ppg and 6.3 rpg is our C. At PF is 6-6 junior Will Friel who has started all 59 games we’ve played since he arrived and who scored 9.9 ppg and pulled down 4.4 rpg. 6-6 junior Virgil Brown is our SF. He’s been a starter the past 2 seasons and averaged 11.3 ppg while grabbing 3.5 rpg last year. We have another returning starter at PG in 6-0 sophomore Todd Young who averaged 7.0 ppg and 4.1 apg last season. While SG Dana Turner (6-1 senior) didn’t start last season, he averaged 4.5 ppg and 2.6 apg in a reserve role.

Our primary reserves are: Steve Heard (6-2 senior) at PG; JC transfer Craig Brown (6-2 junior) at SG; Harold Hein (6-8 freshman) at SF; 6-8 freshman Darrick Grace at PF; and at C it will be 6-9 sophomore Bernie Graham (7.5 ppg and 4.6 rpg last season).

Our starting lineup is very solid. We’ll need to continue to develop and improve our reserves, though, if we are to achieve what’s expected of us.

[PointGuard]

Results of November 2034 Games:

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions coached by Dontell Spencer, Conf U

Creighton-91, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-1)-81 (Dan Jefferson-23 pts, 3 ast)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-1)-94, Albany-80 (Dan Jefferson-26 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast; Kwame Mickens-18 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk)
Stanford-69, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-2)-66 (Dan Jefferson-21 pts)
MD-Eastern Shore-84, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-3)-63 (Kwame Mickens-13 pts, 4 reb)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-3)-83, Presbyterian-58 (Chris Betts-14 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk; Jaraan Daniels-16 pts, 10 reb)
AWARDS-Dan Jefferson (Conf U Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week-Wk 1)
COMMENT: Two of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s losses were against very strong opponents…Creighton, the Golden Lions, first opponents is now ranked 18th in the Media Poll and a very close loss on the road to Pac-12’s Stanford. Freshman Dan Jefferson got off to a hot start, scoring 20 points in his first 3 games, but that led opponents in the next two games to defend him extremely tightly and throttle him, but he’s hit 54% of his FGA’s and 53% of his 3PA’s and is averaging 16 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 2.6 apg thus far…not bad for a raw freshman.

Alcorn State Braves coached by Ramon Montez, Conf U

Drake-72, Alcorn State (0-1)-69 (Bernie Graham-18 pts, 4 reb)
Alcorn State (1-1)-73, Iona-61 (Will Friel-17 pts, 7 reb)
Alcorn State (2-1)-84, Northern Arizona-75 (Will Friel-17 pts, 8 reb; Harold Hein-17 pts; Craig Brown-17 pts)
Alcorn State (3-1)-77, Santa Clara-66 (Craig Brown-33 pts, 3 reb)
Alcorn State (4-1)-67, Florida Gulf Coast-56 (Craig Brown-17 pts, 4 reb)
COMMENT: Nice start by the Braves. Following a narrow defeat in their first game, they’ve rolled off 4 straight wins. JC transfer SG Craig Brown has scored in double figures in 4 of his first 5 games for the Braves and is averaging 16.2 ppg. Junior PF Will Friel, who has started 64 of the Braves 64 games since he got to Alcorn State continues to be the steady and dominant man inside and is averaging 11.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg.

Western Illinois Leathernecks coached by Terry Morillo, Conf V
Harvard Crimson-80, Western Illinois (0-1)-68 (Guillermo Cabrera-19 pts, 4 reb)
Louisiana-Monroe-77, Western Illinois (0-2)-64 (Craig Grant-13 pts, 5 reb)
Western Illinois (1-2)-89, NJIT-60 (Craig Grant-14 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk; Tom Daniel-11 pts, 7 ast)
Western Illinois (2-2)-71, Mercer-70 (Tom Daniel-27 pts, 3 ast)
Jackson State-81, Western Illinois (2-3)-64 (Jamar Curtis-26 pts, 6 reb)
INJURY-Duany Vaughn-torn Achilles tendon (out for 7 more weeks)
COMMENT: It’s been a rocky start for the Leathernecks. Other than the game against NJIT, their offense has not really ignited. The team has been hitting a rather high percentage of their shots, but they’re getting beat on the boards and that has limited their offensive opportunities. Duany Vaughn has nearly completed his rehab after rupturing his Achilles tendon nearly a year ago and his return at SG in about a week may give the team a needed shot in the arm.

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks coached by Mike McMillan, Conf V

MD-Eastern Shore (1-0)-76, Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs-45 (Dwayne Bullet-22 pts, 5 reb; Frank Reed-18 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast)
UNLV-87, MD-Eastern Shore (1-1)-63 (Romolo Pantini-13 pts, 8 reb, 2 blk)
Houston-79, MD-Eastern Shore (1-2)-70 (Frank Davis-15 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast)
MD-Eastern Shore (2-2)-84, Arkansas-Pine Bluff-63 (Frank Reed-25 pts, 9 reb, 2 blk)
East Tennessee State-66, MD-Eastern Shore (2-3)-62 (Frank Reed-24 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast)
COMMENT: Even though the Hawks have lost more than they’ve won, two of their losses were to strong teams (UNLV and Houston) and they really roughed up Arkansas-Pine Bluff. JC transfer SF Frank Reed has had strong offensive performances in 4 of his first 5 games for MD-Eastern Shore and is averaging 17.6 ppg and 4.6 rpg. C Romolo Pantini has been a steady force inside, averaging 11.2 pgg and 7.0 rpg.

UC-San Diego Tritons coached by Ken Yamoto, Conf V

UC-San Diego (1-0)-84, Dartmouth-79 (Shannon Van Hook-15 pts, 9 reb)
UC-San Diego (2-0)-80, Saint Peters-62 (Kevin White-22 pts)
Mount St. Mary’s-87, UC-San Diego (2-1)-76 (Joe Roland-15 pts, 7 reb)
Virginia Tech-93, UC-San Diego (2-2)-67 (Dave Rush-15 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl)
Lafayette-75, UC-San Diego (2-3)-49 (Joe Roland-8 pts, 7 reb)
AWARD: Kevin White (Conf V Freshman of the Week-Wk 1)
COMMENT: UC-San Diego started well but has had more difficulty as the level of competition has increased. The Tritons defense has been abysmal with their opponents averaging 79.2 ppg. C Joe Roland has stepped in to take over inside after Shannon Van Hook was injured and played well, but there yet has been a player to lead the team offensively on a consistent basis.
INJURY: C Shannon Van Hook—broken leg (will miss another month of games)

[PointGuard]

Results of December 2034 Games:

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions coached by Dontell Spencer, Conf U

Fresno State-76, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-4)-55 (Kwame Mickens-22 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-4)-70, Missouri State-59 (Kwame Mickens-23 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-4)-92, American-72 (Chris Betts-27 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk; Kwame Mickens-20 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (5-4)-100, High Point-86 (Chris Betts-32 pts, Kwame Mickens-25 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk)
DePaul-84, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (5-5)-79 (Kwame Mickens-21 pts, 2 reb, 5 ast)
AWARDS: Dan Jefferson (Conf U Freshman Player of the Week-Wk 4; Chris Betts (Conf U Freshman Player of the Week-Wks 5 and 6, Conf U Player of the Week-Wk 6)
COMMENT: It was the Kwame Mickens and Chris Betts show this month for the Golden Lions. Mickens averaged 22.2 ppg during their 5 games and Betts had two huge games in which he scored a total of 59 points and averaged 16.2 ppg and 5.4 rpg in December. The team had a 3 game win-streak sandwiched between losses to two tough teams, Fresno State and DePaul.

Alcorn State Braves coached by Ramon Montez, Conf U

Alcorn State (5-1)-66, South Florida-63 (Gabriel Atwood-11 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl, 4 blk)
Alcorn State (6-1)-79, Mississippi Valley-68 (Gabriel Atwood-13 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk; Will Friel-18 pts, 4 reb)
Alcorn State (7-1)-92, Gardner-Webb-66 (Bernie Graham-32 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk)
Rice-72, Alcorn State (7-2)-61 (Gabriel Atwood-11 pts, 4 reb)
Sacred Heart-71, Alcorn State (7-3)-70 (Harold Hein-13 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast)
AWARD: Bernie Graham (Conf U Player of the Week-Wk 5)
COMMENT: Alcorn ran their win streak to 7 games before stumbling at the end of December. The Braves had to be warm-hearted by the play of C Gabriel Atwood and the 32 point/8 rebound performance by reserve sophomore C Bernie Graham. That reveals the interior depth that Alcorn State possesses.

Western Illinois Leathernecks coached by Terry Morillo, Conf V

Howard-66, Western Illinois (2-4)-63 (Tom Daniel-19 pts, 4 reb)
#15 Baylor-80, Western Illinois (2-5)-54 (Tom Daniel-17 pts)
#17 Michigan-85, Western Illinois (2-6)-54 (Guillermo Cabrera-13 pts)
Western Illinois (3-6)-71, Omaha-70 (Guillermo Cabrera-15 pts, 6 reb)
SE Louisiana-91, Western Illinois (3-7)-62 (Guillermo Cabrera-16 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk; Craig Grant-17 pts, 2 reb, 3 stl)
COMMENT: Western Illinois continue to struggle, although two of their losses this month were to top 25 teams. After a series of weak games, PF Guillermo Cabrera seemed to recapture in the Leathernecks’ last 3 games the scoring power he exhibited last season and is now, once again, the leading scorer and rebounder on the team.

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks coached by Mike McMillan, Conf V

MD-Eastern Shore (3-3)-68, Massachusetts-64 (Dwayne Bullett-17 pts, 4 stl; Romolo Pantini-10 pts, 11 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk)
Southern Methodist-71, MD-Eastern Shore (3-4)-64 (Romolo Pantini-18 pts, 13 reb)
MD-Eastern Shore (4-4)-73, Elon-57 (Frank Reed-19 pts, 6 reb)
MD-Eastern Shore (5-4)-63, South Carolina-56 (Frank Davis-18 pts)
MD-Eastern Shore (6-4)-64, Western Kentucky-61 (Dwayne Bullett-14 pts, 6 reb, 2 stl; Frank Reed-16 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast)
COMMENT: December was a good month for the Hawks. 3 of this months wins were over good teams Massachusetts, South Carolina and Western Kentucky). SF Frank Reed leads the team in scoring (15.1 ppg), while C Romolo Pantini is their top rebounder (8.0 rpg) this season.

UC-San Diego Tritons coached by Ken Yamoto, Conf V

UC-San Diego (3-3)-67, Jacksonville-63 (Chris Ratliff-16 pts, 2 stl)
UC-San Diego (4-3)-90, Citadel-75 (Joe Roland-17 pts, 6 ast)
Davidson-70, UC-San Diego (4-4)-56 (Joe Roland-11 pts, 4 reb)
Rider-77, UC-San Diego (4-5)-73 (Gregg Green-14 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl; Kevin White-15 pts, 3 ast)
UC-San Diego (5-5)-75, NC-Asheville-74 (Gregg Green-15 pts, 7 reb)
COMMENT: The Tritons continued their up and down performances, sometimes winning games they were not supposed to and then losing games they should have won. UC-San Diego isn’t getting the production they need at SG where Donte Madison is only averaging 7.0 ppg, far beneath his 12.9 ppg last season. Although the team has 3 players averaging between 10.0 and 11.0 ppg, no player can yet be counted upon to score consistently from game to game.

[PointGuard]

Results of January 2035 Games:

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions coached by Dontell Spencer, Conf U
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (6-5)-67, Arkansas-56 (Dan Jefferson-17 pts; Chris Betts-8 pts, 7, reb, 5 ast, 6 stl, 1 blk)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (7-5, 1-0)-90, Delaware State-68 (Chris Betts-18 pts, 9 reb, 2 stl)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8-5, 2-0)-75, Dartmouth-56 (Kwame Mickens-17 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (9-5, 3-0)-87, South Carolina State-60 (Dan Jefferson-25 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (10-5, 4-0)-83, Morgan State-74 (Kwame Mickens-18 pts, 5 ast; Chris Betts-13 pts, 7 reb, 5 stl)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11-5, 5-0)-86, North Dakota-74 (Kwame Mickens-21 pts, 3 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk; Chris Betts-16 pts, 8 reb, 5 stl, 2 blk
North Florida-85, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11-6, 5-1)-80 (Damian Carrington-16 pts, Dan Jefferson-16 pts)
COMMENT: A great month for the Golden Lions starting with a win on the road over cross-state foe Arkansas. Then the team rank off 5 straight wins to open their Conf U season. Overall the team’s defense was strong. Again the team was led by Chris Betts and Kwame Mickens with the addition this month of Dan Jefferson’s scoring. The team is tied for 1st place in Conference U.

Alcorn State Braves coached by Ramon Montez, Conf U

Tennessee State-67, Alcorn State (7-4)-65 (Bernie Graham-17 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl)
Alcorn State (8-4, 1-0)-87, Tennessee-Martin-70 (Will Friel-28 pts, 9 reb)
Alcorn State (9-4, 2-0)-85, Central Arkansas-84 (Craig Brown-23 pts)
Alcorn State (10-4, 3-0)-70, Nicholls State-65 (Will Friel-17 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk; Gabriel Atwood-15 pts, 8 reb)
Alcorn State (11-4, 4-0)-67, Merrimack-62 (Will Friel-17 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast)
Alcorn State (12-4, 5-0)-83, SE Missouri State-69 (Will Friel-16 pts, 12 reb, 2 blk)
Howard-59, Alcorn State (12-5, 5-1)-43 (Dana Turner-12 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl)
COMMENT: After losing their last 3 pre-conference games, the Braves came on strong once conference play began. PF Will Friel led the team, averaging 14.7 ppg and 7.6 rpg in January. Gabriel Atwood and Bernie Graham have combined to average 17.8 ppg and 9.8 rpg this season at the Center position. Alcorn State is tied with Arkansas-Pine Bluff for 1st place in Conference U.

Western Illinois Leathernecks coached by Terry Morillo, Conf V

Western Illinois (4-7)-87, Evansville-75 (Guillermo Cabrera-25 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl; Craig Grant-20 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast)
MD-Eastern Shore-60, Western Illinois (4-8, 0-1)-48 (Guillermo Cabrera-15 pts, 3 reb)
UC-San Diego-76, Western Illinois (4-9, 0-2)-63 (Jamar Curtis-24 pts, 8 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk)
Western Illinois (5-9, 1-2)-65, NC-Central-47 (Duany Vaughn-19 pts, 2 ast)
Presbyterian-91, Western Illinois (5-10, 1-3)-79 (Craig Grant-30 pts, 4 reb)
Mississippi Valley-77, Western Illinois (5-11, 1-4)-68 (Craig Grant-18 pts, 6 reb; Guillermo Cabrera-15 pts, 9 reb)
Western Illinois (6-11, 2-4)-72, Maine-70 (Guillermo Cabrera-20 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast)
Western Illinois (7-11, 3-4)-85, Binghamton-78 (Guillermo Cabrera-12 pts, 5 reb)
AWARD: Craig Grant-Conf V Freshman Player of the Week-Wk 11
COMMENT: After a slow start in conference play, the Leathernecks two wins at the end of the month got them to near the middle in the conference standings. It took SG Duany Vaughn’s 6 games after returning to the starting lineup following a year’s rehab of his torn Achilles tendon before he started being productive, but in then in his next 5 games he’s averaged 11 ppg and 4 apg. In January Guillermo Cabrera averaged 14.4 ppg and 6.1 rpg this month and Craig Grant averaged 14.8 ppg to lead the team.

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks coached by Mike McMillan, Conf V

MD-Eastern Shore (7-4)-83, Oral Roberts-55 (Matt Brown-17 pts, 4 ast)
MD-Eastern Shore (8-4, 1-0)-60, Western Illinois-48 (Tony Rueter-17 pts, 5 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk¬)
MD-Eastern Shore (9-4, 2-0)-64, NC-Central-56 (Frank Reed-15 pts, 6 reb)
MD-Eastern Shore (10-4, 3-0)-80, UC-San Diego-72 (Romolo Pantini-13 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl; Matt Brown-8 pts, 8 reb, 10 ast)
Mississippi Valley-85, MD-Eastern Shore (10-5, 3-1)-66 (Romolo Pantini-18 pts, 5 reb)
MD-Eastern Shore (11-5, 4-1)-73, Maine-49 (Romolo Pantini-14 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk)
Binghamton-78, MD-Eastern Shore (11-6, 4-2)-60 (Frank Davis-13 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast)
MD-Eastern Shore (12-6, 5-2)-73, Presbyterian-66 (Romolo Pantini-18 pts, 12 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl)
COMMENT: When the Hawks played good defense, they won, but when the defense was weak they lost. But overall it was a very good month and got them into a 5-way tie for 2nd place in Conference V. Leading the team this month was C Romolo Pantini, who had a couple rough games, but still averaged 10.9 ppg and 6.6 rpg this month.

UC-San Diego Tritons coached by Ken Yamoto, Conf V

UC-San Diego (6-5)-74, Texas-San Antonio-54 (Donte Madison-14 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast; Dave Rush-15 pts, 10 reb)
UC-San Diego (7-5, 1-0)-67, NC-Central-64 (Dave Rush-19 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl)
UC-San Diego (8-5, 2-0)-76, Western Illinois-63 (Donte Madison-18 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast)-72
MD-Eastern Shore-80, UC-San Diego (8-6, 2-1)-72 (Gregg Green-17 pts, 3 reb)
UC-San Diego (9-6, 3-1)-80, Maine-73 (Gregg Green, 17 pts, 7 reb; Shannon Van Hook-12 pts, 12 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk)
UC-San Diego (10-6, 4-1)-73, Binghamton-64 (Shannon Van Hook-22 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast)
Presbyterian-81, UC-San Diego (10-7, 4-2)-78 [OT] (Shannon Van Hook-20 pts, 11 reb)
UC-San Diego (11-7, 5-2)-84, Mississippi Valley-62 (Dave Rush-15 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk)
COMMENT: The Tritons played very well this month and are now in a 5-way tie for 2nd place in Conference V, despite a heart-breaking overtime loss on the road against Presbyterian. C Shannon Van Hook has come on strong following his return to the lineup after mending from a broken leg. This month he averaged 11.8 ppg and 6.1 rpg. SF Dave Rush also had a good month, averaging 10.8 ppg and 5.9 rpg. Following a very slow start this season, SG Donte Madison began producing, averaging 11.8 ppg in January.

[PointGuard]

Results of February 2035 Games:

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions coached by Dontell Spencer, Conf U

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (12-6, 6-1)-80, Seattle-66 (Dan Jefferson-16 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl; Dwayne Robinson-15 pts, 3 ast, 1 stl)
Alcorn State-93, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (12-7, 6-2)-84 (Dwayne Robinson-21 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (13-7, 7-2)-95, Tennessee-Martin-62 (Dan Jefferson-33 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk)
Central Arkansas-107, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (13-8, 7-3)-98 (Dan Jefferson-20 pts; Kwame Mickens-13 pts, 5 reb, 11 ast)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (14-8, 8-3)-95, Nicholls State-71 (Kwame Mickens-21 pts, 3 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl, 2 blk; Chris Betts-20 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (15-8, 9-3)-92, Howard -69 (Kwame Mickens-22 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk; Damian Carrington-18 pts, 1 reb, 5 ast)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (16-8, 10-3)-77, SE Missouri State-66 (Damian Carrington-19 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast; Chris Betts-14 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (17-8, 11-3)-97, Delaware State-70 (Dan Jefferson-29 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast)
INJURY: Dwayne Robinson-strained calf (full recovery expected in 2 weeks)
AWARD: Kwame Mickens-Conf U Player of the Week-Wk 14)
COMMENT: Another very good month of play by Arkansas-Pine Bluff, winning 6 of 8 games. In their wins, they held opponents to 62-71 points, but their defense disappeared in their two losses. The Golden Lions are now alone in 2nd place in Conf U. Freshman SF Dan Jefferson continues to surprise, hitting 51% of his FGA’s and 46% of his 3PA’s and averaging 14.2 ppg which is 2nd on the team only to SG Kwame Mickens who is averaging 14.9 ppg. The Golden Lions are getting good production from another freshman, C Chris Betts who is averaging 11.8 ppg and 5.5 rpg. PG’s Damian Carrington and Dwayne Robinson have combined to average 17.1 ppg.

Alcorn State Braves coached by Ramon Montez, Conf U

Alcorn State (13-5, 6-1)-81, Central Connecticut-70 (Gabriel Atwood-17 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl)
Alcorn State (14-5, 7-1)-93, Arkansas-Pine Bluff-84 (Gabriel Atwood-19 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 2 Stl, 1 blk; Craig Brown-18 pts)
Alcorn State (15-5, 8-1)-71, Dartmouth-59 (Gabriel Atwood-19 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk)
Alcorn State (16-5, 9-1)-99, Delaware State-72 (Gabriel Atwood-29 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk; Craig Brown-23 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl)
Alcorn State (17-5, 10-1)-77, South Carolina State-68 (Craig Brown-21 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk)
Alcorn State (18-5, 11-1)-70, North Dakota-61 (Gabriel Atwood-16 pts, 14 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk)
Alcorn State (19-5, 12-1)-82, Morgan State-77 (Will Friel-19 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk)
Alcorn State (20-5, 13-1)-70, Tennessee Martin-66 (Gabriel Atwood-12 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl, 3 blk; Will Friel-13 pts, 11 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk)
COMMENT: Alcorn State won all 8 of their games in February to capture sole possession of 1st place in the conference standings. C Gabriel Atwood led the team throughout the entire month. He averaged 16.8 ppg and 6.4 rpg in February. But it was defense that really carried the team this month with their opponents averaging less that 70 ppg.

Western Illinois Leathernecks coached by Terry Morillo, Conf V

Western Illinois (8-11, 4-4)-78, Eastern Illinois-69 (Guillermo Cabrera-20 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk)
North Alabama-93, Western Illinois (8-12, 4-5)-82 (Guillermo Cabrera-18 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk)
Houston Baptist-79, Western Illinois (8-13, 4-6)-68 (Craig Grant-20 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl)
Western Illinois (9-13, 5-6)-96, SIU Edwardsville-86 (Duany Vaughn-15 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl)
Western Illinois (10-13, 6-6)-80, Alabama State-63 (Craig Grant-23 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast)
Western Illinois (11-13, 7-6)-88, Florida A&M-65 (Guillermo Cabrera-21 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk)
MD-Eastern Shore-54, Western Illinois (11-14, 7-7)-51 (Guillermo Cabrera-12 pts, 5 reb, 1 blk)
Western Illinois (12-14, 8-7)-73, UC-San Diego-62 (Jamar Curtis-19 pts, 8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk)
AWARD: Craig Grant-Conf V Freshman Player of the Week-Wk 14)
COMMENT: The Leathernecks continue to get stronger each succeeding month this season. They are now in a 2-way tie for 6th after winning 5 of 8 games this past month. PF Guillermo Cabrera continues to be the glue that keeps this team together. But the greatest offensive punch comes from the C position where Craig Grant is averaging 11.7 ppg and James Curtis has scored 10.6 ppg.

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks coached by Mike McMillan, Conf V

North Alabama- 74, MD-Eastern Shore (12-7, 5-3)-64 (Dwayne Bullett-14 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk)
MD-Eastern Short (13-7, 6-3)-77, Houston Baptist-68 (Frank Davis-20 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast; Romolo Pantini-14 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl)
MD-Eastern Shore (14-7, 7-3)-67, SIU Edwardsville-58 (Dwayne Bullett-14 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk; Romolo Pantini-10 pts, 10 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk)
MD-Eastern Shore (15-7, 8-3)-85, Eastern Illinois-78 (Romolo Pantini-19 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk; Frank Davis-19 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast)
MD-Eastern Shore (16-7, 9-3)-66, Kennesaw State-54 (Frank Davis-21 pts, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk; Romolo Pantini-18 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk)
MD-Eastern Shore (17-7, 10-3)-81, Longwood-66 (Frank Davis-19 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl)
MD-Eastern Shore (18-7, 11-3)-54, Western Illinois-51 (Frank Reed-13 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl)
MD-Eastern Shore (19-7, 12-3)-65, NC-Central-60 (Romolo Pantini-12 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl, 1 blk; Frank Davis-17 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl)
COMMENT: MD-Eastern Shore has come on strong and now owns a 7-game win streak. That has put the Hawks in a 2-way tie for 2nd place in the Conf V standings. Different players have stepped up to have high point honors for the Hawks. But C Romolo Pantini has been the rock inside for MD-Eastern Shore. He’s averaging 11.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.0 spg, and 1.6 bpg this season. Then there’s the Two Franks…Davis and Reed…who have combined to average 22.5 ppg.

UC-San Diego Tritons coached by Ken Yamoto, Conf V

UC-San Diego (12-7, 6-2)-74, Houston Baptist-62 (Donte Madison-16 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk)
UC-San Diego (13-7, 7-2)-89, SIU Edwardsville-62 (Dave Rush-17 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl; Byron Kelley-10 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl)
UC-San Diego (14-7, 8-2)-82, Eastern Illinois-78 [OT] (Gregg Green-20 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk; Donte Madison-19 pts, 5 pts, 3 ast, 1 stl)
North Alabama-91, UC-San Diego (14-8, 8-3)-83 (Shannon Van Hook-17 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl)
Longwood-69, UC-San Diego (14-9, 8-4)-68 (Kevin White-12 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl; Chris Ratcliff-10 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl)
Kennesaw State-81, UC-San Diego (14-10, 8-5)-67 (Shannon Van Hook-14 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk; Dave Rush-16 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl; Gregg Green-17 pts, 1 reb, 2 stl, 3 blk)
UC-San Diego (15-10, 9-5)-78, NC-Central-67 (Byron Kelley-17 pts, 5 reb, 1 blk; Shannon Van Hook-10 pts, 10 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk)
Western Illinois-73, UC-San Diego (15-11, 9-6)-62 (Kevin White-16 pts)
COMMENT: After hanging near the top of the conference standings the first 5 weeks of conference play, the Tritons have slipped into a slump, losing 4 of their last 5 games. That has dropped UC-San Diego into 5th place. A big variety of players led the team each game this month, but all players were inconsistent.

[PointGuard]

Results of March 2035 Games:

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions coached by Dontell Spencer, Conf U
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (18-8, 12-3)-85, Dartmouth-69 (Dan Jefferson-21 pts)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (19-8, 13-3)-83, South Carolina State-71 (Kwame Mickens-19 pts, 6 reb, 10 ast; Dan Jefferson-20 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk)

Alcorn State Braves coached by Ramon Montez, Conf U

Central Arkansas-95, Alcorn State (20-6, 13-2)-78 (Will Friel-27 pts, 11 reb)
Alcorn State (21-6, 14-2)-87, Nicholls State-66 (Will Friel-20 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl; Gabriel Atwood-18 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast)

Western Illinois Leathernecks coached by Terry Morillo, Conf V

Western Illinois (13-14, 9-7)-70, NC-Central-52 (Craig Grant-26 pts, 6 reb)

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks coached by Mike McMillan, Conf V

MD-Eastern Shore (20-7, 13-3)-71, UC-San Diego-64 (Frank Reed-16 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk)

UC-San Diego Tritons coached by Ken Yamoto, Conf V

MD-Eastern Shore-71, UC-San Diego (15-12, 9-7)-64 (Dave Rush-18 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk)
INJURY: Byron Kelley sprained his finger and while it’s likely he won’t be sidelined, his play may suffer until the injury is fully healed in about 1 week-an-a-half.

SUMMARIZATION OF THE FIVE TEAM’S CONFERENCE PLAY:

Overall this was a very good year for the five coaches and their teams.

In Conference U, Alcorn State finished in 1st place and Arkansas-Pine Bluff finished in 2nd place, so both teams will be promoted to Conference T next season.

MD-Eastern Shore finished in a 3-way tie for 1st place in Conference V. UC-San Diego and Western Illinois finished tied for 5th place. Therefore MD-Eastern Shore has qualified for advancement to Conference U next year, while the only way either UC-San Diego or Western Illinois can be advanced is for one of them to win the Conference V tournament.

[PointGuard]

Conference U Tournament Results:

Day 1:

#12 seed Delaware State-63, #5 seed Nicholls State-44
#6 seed North Dakota-83, #11 seed Dartmouth-67
#7 seed Morgan State-88, #10 seed SE Missouri State-76
#8 seed Tennessee Martin-67, #9 seed Howard-58

Day 2 (Quarterfinals):

#1 seed Alcorn State (22-6)-71, #8 seed Tennessee Martin-64 (Harold Hein-12 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk; Will Friel-13 pts, 10 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk)
#2 seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff (20-8)-93, #7 seed Morgan State-79 (Kwame Mickens-17 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk)
#6 seed North Dakota-70, #3 seed Seattle-59
#4 seed Central Arkansas-88, #12 seed Delaware State-63

Day 3 (Semifinals):

#1 seed Alcorn State (23-6)-71, #4 seed Central Arkansas-62 (Gabriel Atwood-12 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk; Dana Turner-17 pts, 2 reb, 6 ast)
#6 seed North Dakota-86, #2 seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff-83 (Chris Betts-18 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl; Kwame Mickens-16 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk)

Day 4 (Championship):

#1 seed Alcorn State (24-6)-81, #6 seed North Dakota-62 (Bernie Graham-27 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk)

[PointGuard]

Conference V Tournament Results:

Day 1:

#12 seed NC Central-65, #5 seed UC-San Diego (15-13)-53 (Gregg Green-10 pts, 2 ast, 1 stl)
#6 seed Western Illinois (14-14)-67, #11 seed Houston Baptist-53 (Guillermo Cabrera-21 pts, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk)
#7 seed Longwood-81, #10 seed SIU-Edwardsville-56
#8 seed Mississippi Valley-77, #9 seed Eastern Illinois-63

Day 2 (Quarterfinals):

#8 seed Mississippi Valley-69, #1 seed MD-Eastern Shore-64 (Frank Davis-21 pts, 6 reb)
#2 seed Kennesaw State-66, #7 seed Longwood-52
#6 seed Western Illinois (15-14)-77, #3 seed Presbyterian-54 (Craig Grant-20 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl; Jamar Curtis-18 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk)
#4 seed North Alabama-84, #12 seed NC Central-69

Day 3 (Semifinals):

#4 seed North Alabama-70, #8 seed Mississippi Valley-64
#2 seed Kennesaw State-61, #6 seed Western Illinois (15-15)-53 (Guillermo Cabrera-14 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk. Craig Grant-12 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl)

Day 4 (Championship):

#4 seed North Alabama-66, #2 seed Kennesaw State-65

[PointGuard]

Team & Player Stats and Coach Comments

Terry Morillo, Western Illinois Leathernecks

Team Stats:

Season Record: 15-15; Conference V Record: 9-7 (tie for 5th)
Offense: 70.3 ppg (205th best); Defense: 70.8 ppg (156th best)
Assists: 18.1 apg (90th best); Rebounds: 28.0 rpg (323rd best); FG%: 52.4% (2nd best)

Player Stats (G/GS/MPG—PPG/RPG/APG):

Guillermo Cabrera, SR (30/29/25.8—12.6/5.4/1.3)
Daniel Blair, SR (30/29/25.3—5.1/3.5/2.2)
Mohamed White, SR (30/30/23.8—4.9/2.8/2.9)
Duany Vaughn, SR (26/23/22.6—6.7/1.4/2.7)
Craig Grant, FR (30/30/21.9—12.4/4.2/1.2)
Tom Daniel, SO (30/7/18.3—5.5/1.3/2.4)
Jamar Curtis, JR (30/1/16.7—10.6/3.0/0.9)
Edwin Dukes, SR (30/0/13.3—4.5/0.8/2.5)
Brian Manheimer, JR (30/1/13.3—4.1/2.1/0.9)
Jamaal Adams, SR (30/0/11.5—3.7/2.9/1.0)

Coach Morillo: I was really happy with how our guys came on so strong the last 2 months of the season. We won 10 of our last 13 games. We started slowly but I think Duany Vaughn’s return in January from a very serious injury provided stability within our lineup even though is stats weren’t as strong as they were the past two years. Also Guillermo Cabrera was a huge part of that comeback. Coming from Argentina, his freshman year was just a learning experience, but he began showing real promise in his sophomore season. And then he showed not only talent but true heart as he became our team leader his last two seasons here at Western Illinois. Since I like to rely on veteran players, you have to know that freshman Craig Grant is a big-time player to start the entire season for me at the C position. He played great and showed tremendous potential for the future. With so many of our guys graduating, we’ll have a big job pulling things together this coming season.

Ken Yamoto, UC-San Diego Tritons

Team Stats:

Season Record: 15-13; Conference V Record: 9-7 (tie for 5th)
Offense: 72.9 ppg (134th best); Defense: 72.0 ppg (200th best)
Assists: 16.9 apg (209th best); Rebounds: 31.2 rpg (148th best)

Player Stats (G/GS/MPG—PPG/RPG/APG):

Dave Rush, SR (28/28/29.3—10.4/5.0/1.6)
Kevin White, FR (28/28/26.6—10.1/1.6/4.3)
Gregg Green, JR (28/27/24.8—10.4/3.4/0.9)
Shannon Van Hook, JR (21/21/24.5—9.9/6.8/2.0)
Donte Madison, SR (28/25/23.7—9.4/3.3/2.0)
Brian Kelley, SR (28/1/17.8—4.0/4.3/0.9)
Joe Roland, JR (28/7/15.7—6.9/3.2/0.9)
Chris Ratliff, JR (28/0/13.4—6.1/1.1/1.4)
Brian Thomas, JR (28/3/13.4—2.9/1.1/2.7)
Jack Robinson, SO (26/0/7.4—3.3/1.8/0.3)

Coach Yamoto: We fell apart the final few weeks of the season. It’s hard to pinpoint the reason for that, but I think we were a better team than our final record would indicate. No excuses, we just need to do better. But next year we’ll have a lot of very experienced players returning, so we’re going to have a lot of depth and that bodes well for our future. We had very balanced scoring throughout our entire starting lineup and 3 of those starters are returning.

Mike McMillan, MD-Eastern Shore Hawks

Team Stats:

Season Record: 20-8; Conference V Record: 13-3 (tie for 1st)
Offense: 29.3 ppg (231st best); Defense: 64.3 ppg (14th best)
Assists: 17.9 apg (102nd best); Rebounds: 29.6 rpg (239th best); FG%: 48.3% (47th best); 3P%: 37.7% (47th best)

Player Stats (G/GS/MPG—PPG/RPG/APG):

Frank Reed, JR (28/28/29.8—11.6/4.7/2.0)
Matt Brown, SR (28/28/29.2—7.6/2.2/5.1)
Frank Davis, JR (28/27/27.9—11.4/3.0/2.6)
Dwayne Bullett, SO (28/28/26.4—9.6/4.6/1.3)
Romolo Pantini, JR (28/28/25.9—11.1/7.0/2.0)
Tony Rueter, SO (28/0/16.2—6.1/2.9/1.3)
Joe Carson, JR (28/0/12.6—3.8/2.3/0.9)
Edouard Gaultier, SO (28/1/10.8—4.7/1.3/1.3)
Ewald Leitenberger, SO (28/0/10.3—1.9/0.6/1.0)

Coach McMillan: This was quite a season! My guys just did such a great job. Finishing atop the Conference V standings was a thrill. Losing in the conference tournament, not so much. But the whole team is excited about participating in the NIT Tourney starting later this week. Losing that conference tourney game made them realize that at this point in the season we have to go out and win each and every game. Our defense this season has been extremely strong ad that can carry us a long way. While Romolo Pantini is typically a big part of our offense, we have 7 or 8 guys who can have breakout games at ny time. We have a lot of guys returning next season so the future looks bright.

Dontell Spencer, Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions

Team Stats:

Season Record: 20-9; Conference U Record: 13-3 (2nd)
Offense: 83.2 ppg (5th best); Defense: 73.8 ppg (252nd best)
Assists: 21.0apg (5th best); Rebounds: 32.1 rpg (104th best); FG%: 48.2% (29th best); 3P%: 41.7% (3rd best)

Player Stats (G/GS/MPG—PPG/RPG/APG):

Kwame Mickens, JR (29/29/29.6—15.1/4.0/6.3)
Dan Jefferson, FR (29/29/25.3—14.2/3.0/2.1)
Damian Carrington, SR (29/25/24.8—10.0/1.5/2.6)
Chris Betts, FR (29/29/24.3—11.9/5.4/1.9)
Jaraan Daniels, SR (29/29/21.4—6.1/5.9/1.8)
Dwayne Robinson, JR (29/4/16.3—7.8/1.4/2.3)
Antonio Gailey, SO (29/0/15.3—4.5/4.3/1.0)
Jacob Allen, SO (29/0/14.8—4.4/2.9/0.9)
Jamar Brown, JR (28/0/13.0—4.5/2.4/1.0)

Coach Spencer: We surprised a lot of people this year with how well we played, our potent offense, and by finishing in 2nd place in Conference U. We would have liked to get to the NCAA tournament again but hope to do some serious damage in the NIT and want to get to Madison Square Garden for the Final Four and Championship. Kwame Mickens just does it all for us. He’s such a great player. But our two freshmen, Chris Betts and Dan Jefferson, came on much stronger than we expected. Chris had been dynamite inside and Dan is just such a great shooter from outside.

Ramon Montez, Alcorn State Braves

Team Stats:

Season Record: 24-6; Conference U Record: 14-2 (1st)
Offense: 75.6 ppg (80th best); Defense: 68.4 ppg (85th best)
Assists: 18.6 apg (53rd best); Rebounds: 31.0 rpg (159th best); FG%: 49.7% (16th best)

Player Stats (G/GS/MPG—PPG/RPG/APG):

Harold Hein, FR (30/28/29.5—6.0/3.9/2.8)
Craig Brown, JR (30/30/27.5—12.6/2.9/2.3)
Dana Turner, SR (30/30/27.3—7.3/2.0/4.2)
Will Friel, JR (30/30/27.0—12.9/6.7/1.0)
Gabriel Atwood, JR (30/29/23.3—11.7/6.5/1.5)
Virgil Brown, JR (30/2/17.9—7.8/3.2/1.4)
Bernie Graham, SO (30/1/15.7—9.3/3.3/1.1)
Todd Young, SO (30/0/14.2—4.2/1.2/2.7)
Steve Heard, SR (30/0/8.6The team —1.9/0.7/1.2)

Coach Montez: We have a strong starting unit, but the nice thing is that Virgil Brown and Bernie Graham started a few games and are good enough that they could have started all season. Gabriel Atwood, Will Friel and Bernie Graham give us real strength inside with strong scoring, rebounding and defense. Our team was just so consistent this season, except for the 3 game losing streak in pre-conference play. We’re stoked to be going to the NCAA Tournament.