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[PointGuard]

Statistics for the 5 teams (Part 4 of 5):

Western Illinois Leathernecks coached by Terry Morillo

Season record: 13-16; Conference V record: 6-10, 11th place tie; NET Ranking:197

Team PPG: 73.4, Opponent PPG: 75.8

Stats for Primary Players (G/GS/MPG--PPG/RPG/APG

Roy Hampton (SR): 29/29/30.0--15.7/6.8/2.6
Guillermo Cabrera (JR): 29/29/28.8--12.7/5.1/1.4
Duany Vaughn (JR): 5/5/25.6--11.8/1.2/4.4
Earl Cue (SR); 29/23/23.9--8.6/2.7/3.2
Nate Roland (SR): 29/26/22.6--10.0/4.8/1.1
Mohamed White (JR): 29/29/22.4--4.1/2.7/2.2
Jamaal Adams (JR): 29/3/18.8--5.7/4.1/1.1
Daniel Bair (JR): 29/0/16.8--4.1/2.4/1.4
Tom Daniel (FR): 29/0/14.3--5.0/0.8/2.7

[PointGuard]

Statistics for the 5 teams (Part 5 of 5):

UC-San Diego Tritons coached by Ken Yamoto

Season record: 10-17; Conference V record: 6-10, 11th place tie, NET Ranking: 311

Team PPG: 75.6, Opponent PPG: 78.8

Stats for Primary Players (G/GS/MPG--PPG/RPG/APG

Donte Madison (JR): 27/27/28.7--12.9/3.2/3.1
Dave Rush (JR): 27/27/28.2--10.9/4.2/2.0
Chris Ratliff (SO): 27/26/26.0--8.4/1.6/4.1
Shannon Van Hook (SO): 27/27/23.8--8.2/6.9/1.6
Joe Houston (SR): 23/18/23.5--10.8/4.2/1.7
Byron Kelley (JR): 27/9/17.0--4.4/4.1/0.9
Joe Roland (SO): 27/0/14.3--6.4/2.3/1.4
Brian Thomas (SO): 27/0/14.2--5.1/1.5/2.1
Chris Williams (FR): 27/1/10.3--3.1/0.8/0.8

[PointGuard]

Post-Season Tournaments

CIT

Round 1

Longwood (#7, South)-73, Northern Arizona-66
Alcorn State (#4, South)-78, Duquesne-56 (Virgil Brown-17 pts/3 reb/1 ast/1 stl
Louisiana Lafayette-77, North Dakota (#5, West)-58

Round 2

Rhode Island-83, Alcorn State-70 (Virgil Brown-13 pts/5 reb/5 ast/1 stl/1 blk)
Brown-77, Longwood-67

CBI

Round 1

Oklahoma-69, Binghamton (#8, West)-62

NCAA

Round 1

Texas-El Paso-74, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (#7, East)-63 (Dexter Thorne-17 pts/5 reb/2 blk; Jaraan Daniels-13 pts/6 reb/2 ast)

Tournament Champions:

CIT: Rhode Island
CBI: Oklahoma
NIT: Baylor
NCAA: Notre Dame

[PointGuard]

Awards

Conference V Coach of the Year: Dontell Spencer, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Conference V 1st Team All-Conference: Roy Hampton, Western Illinois
Conference V 1st Team All-Conference: Imari McDonald, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Conference V 2nd Team All-Conference: Marcus Huld, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Conference V 2nd Team All-Conference: Gabriel Atwood, Alcorn State

Coaching Changes

All 5 head coaches remaining at the same schools.

3 assistant coach vacancies…following hires were made:

UC-San Diego: Maurice Elleby was hired to fill the vacant 2nd Assistant (recruiting) job.
MD-Eastern Shore: Jalen Waterman was hired to fill the vacant 3rd Assistant (Scouting) job
Western Illinois: Craig Bennem was hired to fill the vacant 1st Assistant (recruiting) job.

Meeting with the Boards:

Requests for funding increases were denied for 4 of the programs.

But Mike McMillan’s request got approved at MD-Eastern Shore, and his budget was increased by nearly $6700.

Dontell Spencer was overheard during a phone conversation with Ramon Montez saying, “Ya know Ramon, my team wins 25 games, finishes on top of the conference standings, wins the conference tourney, makes it to the Big Dance, and earns a promotion up the ranks for the 2nd straight year. And I still can’t get this chicken-s**t university’s board to approve a modest increase to our budget. Maybe they think it would cost ‘em one of their blow-out board parties. I tell ya, it makes me wonder why I’m sticking it out here. Hell, all five of us been coaching Division I ball for 4 years, got up from Independent status to Conference play…and you and me got our programs promoted from Independent to Conference V and now to Conference U…and we’re getting no respect at all.”

Team Prestige

MD-Eastern Shore: 4 (Same)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff-11 (+5)
UC-San Diego-8 (Same)
Western Illinois-10 (-2)
Alcorn State-5 (+2)
Western Illinois’ long losing streak the latter half of last season was responsible for the hit on their prestige.

[PointGuard]

2034-2035 SEASON

Recruit Class Rankings of the 5 schools:

#74—Western Illinois
#123—Alcorn State
#149—Arkansas-Pine Bluff
#270—MD-Eastern Shore
#272—UC-San Diego

Promotion/Relgation

Here’s the teams that were promoted and relegated for this season:

Promoted to Conf. A:
Kansas State
North Carolina
Virginia
Duke
Relegated to Conf. B:
Seton Hall
Purdue
Louisville
Villanova
Promoted to Conf. B:
Providence
Brigham Young
Connecticut
Florida
Relegated to Conf. C:
Baylor
Ohio State
Tennessee
Gonzaga
Promoted to Conf. C:
Oklahoma State
St. Bonaventure
Utah State
Nebraska
Relegated to Conf. D:
Temple
Utah
Iowa State
Florida State
Promoted to Conf. D:
Minnesota
Vermont
Auburn
Washington
Relegated to Conf. E:
Georgia
Miami (FL)
Arizona State
Boise State
Promoted to Conf. E:
Texas A&M
Buffalo
Saint Louis
Penn State
Relegated to Conf. F:
Houston
Davidson
Dayton
Indiana
Promoted to Conf. F:
Ohio
Central Florida
Wright State
Murray State
Relegated to Conf. G:
Mississippi
Wake Forest
Washington State
Saint Mary’s
Promoted to Conf. G:
Old Dominion
Oregon State
Western Michigan
Pacific
Relegated to Conf. H:
DePaul
St. John’s
Toledo
Western Kentucky
Promoted to Conf. H:
Milwaukee
Bowling Green
Duquesne
Louisiana State
Relegated to Conf. I:
East Tennessee State
Wyoming
LaSalle
Drake
Promoted to Conf. I:
Furman
Oral Roberts
Drexel
Marshall
Relegated to Conf. J:
North Dakota State
Northern Iowa
Hofstra
Saint Joseph’s
Promoted to Conf. J:
Louisiana-Lafayette
Weber State
Montana
Detroit Mercy
Relegated to Conf. K:
Santa Clara
San Francisco
North Texas
Miami (OH)
Promoted to Conf. K:
Stony Brook
Holy Cross
Chattanooga
Sam Houston State
Relegated to Conf. L:
Air Force
William & Mary
Lehigh
Charlotte
Promoted to Conf. L:
Towson
Little Rock
MD-Baltimore County
Morehead State
Relegated to Conf. M:
Ball State
Southern Illinois
Iona
Portland State
Promoted to Conf. M:
Florida Gulf Coast
Liberty
Central Michigan
Cal State Fullerton
Relegated to Conf. N:
Texas-San Antonio
Coastal Carolina
Oakland
Rice
Promoted to Conf. N:
Elon
Manhattan
Marist
Eastern Michigan
Relegated to Conf. O:
Arkansas State
UC-Riverside
Siena
Robert Morris
Promoted to Conf. O:
Cal Poly
Florida Atlantic
Brown
Eastern Kentucky
Relegated to Conf. P:
Appalachian State
Cal State Bakersfield
Northern Illinois
Denver
Promoted to Conf. P:
SE Louisiana
Texas State
Louisiana-Monroe
Northwestern State
Relegated to Conf. Q:
Troy
St. Peter’s
Delaware
San Jose State
Promoted to Conf. Q:
Samford
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Sacramento State
Northern Arizona
Relegated to Conf. R:
Canisius
Fordham
Columbia
Northern Colorado
Promoted to Conf. R:
Lamar
Fairleigh Dickinson
Texas-Rio Grande
VMI
Relegated to Conf. S:
Western Carolina
Tennessee Tech
Kansas City
Hampton
Promoted to Conf. S:
Incarnate Word
Bethune-Cookman
Jacksonville
UC Davis
Relegated to Conf. T:
Texas Southern
Sacred Heart
Saint Francis (PA)
Bellarmine
Promoted to Conf. T:
Jackson State
McNeese State
Omaha
Chicago State
Relegated to Conf. U:
Morgan State
South Carolina State
Delaware State
Jackson State
Promoted to Conf. U:
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Alcorn State
Seattle
North Dakota
Relegated to Conf. V:
Mississippi Valley
Kennesaw State
Eastern Illinois
Houston Baptist
Promoted to Conf. V:
Presbyterian
Relegated to Independent:
Coppin State

[PointGuard]

RECRUITING PLANS AND RESULTS

[PointGuard note: All recruiting done by the AI for all 5 teams.]

Here’s comments from the coaches on their upcoming recruiting. All 5 have full rosters going into this season so will not be going after any transfer players. Following each of their comments about what the type of recruits they want to get, you’ll see their comments five month later at the conclusion of the summer/autumn recruiting:

Coach Ramon Montez at Alcorn State:

June: We have 3 seniors graduating and hope to pick up 2 SG’s and a PF as new recruits.

October: Not bad, but not great. We have commitments from 2 recruits so we still need to get one more. Our new recruits are: (1) PF B.J. Jefferson from Noxapater, MS…the #840 ranked recruit…very good rebounder and good shooting skills, defense needs a lot of work; and (2) SF Jermaine Wheeler from York, ME…ranked #1441…good shooting skills but doesn’t shoot enough, good rebounder, great athleticism. We don’t have a lot of money left in our budget, but I think enough to get a guy (hopefully a guard) this spring from our list of recruits who already have at least some level of interest.

Coach Terry Morillo at Western Illinois:

June: We’ve got a huge recruiting job to do. We need to fill 6 scholarships. Our goal is to land a PG, two SG’s, a SF, a PF, and with the remaining scholarship either a G or SF

October: We got half-way there. Picked up 3 recruits but have 3 scholarships that aren’t yet filled. We still have a pretty decent budget left and a lot of guys on our watch and call lists, some with interest, more we still need to work on. Here’s who we have thus far: (1) C Larry McClain from Ferndale, MI…the #1269 ranked recruit, he’s a very good inside scorer and a strong rebounder but poor defensively; (2) SG Mohamed Ammons from Wilmette, IL…ranked #1500 as a recruit…a good scorer with a sweet shot from outside but also able to score inside as well, strong athleticism, so-so defender, but for 6’5” not a good rebounder; (3) PG Jonathan Bailey from Chicago…ranked #1050 as a recruit…I like his outside shot but he doesn’t shoo that much, very good passer, weak defensively. I’d really like to get at least a SG and SF with he 3 remaining scholarships.

Coach Ken Yamoto at UC-San Diego:

June: After last season when we only had 1 scholarship to fill, this year we need to fill 4 scholarships. Our effort will focus on adding a PG, a SG, and two PF’s

October: I’m feeling FINE! Have commitments for all 4 available scholarships and should one of them not meet our SAT requirements, we still have a lot of money and some highly interested recruits remaining on our watch/call lists. We fill the slots exactly as I’d hoped as well with: (1) PF Brad Sanders from Sutter, CA…he’s the 594th ranked recruit…a very strong rebounder and pretty good scorer from inside but not strong defensively; (2) PF Jared Keating from Atherton, CA who ranks as the #1233rd recruit…excellent inside scorer, is only 6’6” so not expected to be much of a rebounder but has the bulk and muscle so may eventually develop; (3) PG Lance Rhodes from Culver City, CA…ranked #1562…excellent passer and ball handler with a very nice outside shot but needs a lot of work defensively; (4) SG Brad Young from Placer, CA…#1596 in the recruit rankings…outstanding outside shooter and very good passer and ball handler with good athleticism, ok defensively but doesn’t rebound worth a dang even though he’s 6’4”.

Coach Mike McMillan at MD-Eastern Shore:

June: During our recruiting efforts to fill 4 scholarships, we will aim at getting a PG, two SG’s, and an interior player as our new recruits.

October: Man, I’m disheartened. We went through our entire recruiting budget from June through October and we came up empty. Yeah, that’s right. We made offers to 5 recruits, but were unable to get any commitments. So no recruits and no more budget. We’ve still got a number of guys on our watch list and will make calls this winter and scholarship offers this spring. But without the money to go after them, I really don’t expect we will be able to fill those two scholarships. That means we’ll be active in going after transfer players next June. My recruiting assistant, 2nd Asst Coach Torrey Wright, has the skills but just didn’t close the deals this year. Yeah, I’m bummed.

Coach Dontell Spender at Arkansas Pine Bluff:

June: We’ve only 2 scholarships to offer and our need is to 2 a C and either a C or PF.

October: Hooray! We got 2 guys. They better meet our SAT minimums, because it took every dollar in our limited recruiting budget to get them. Here’s who’s coming to deliver: (1) SF Randy Kickert from Greenland, AR (that name for a town in Arkansas just seems so wrong)…the #1486 ranked recruit…Excellent outside shot but needs to put the ball up more often, strong rebounder who may also play some PF for us; (2) C Delvon Palmer from Jacksonville, AR…ranked #1256…good inside shooting skills but would like him to be a stronger rebounder.

[PointGuard]

Coach Records thus far:

Mike McMillan

2030-31: 8-7 (MD-Eastern State)
2031-32: 6-9 (MD-Eastern State)
2032-33: 12-17 (MD-Eastern State)
2033-34: 12-17 (MD-Eastern State)
Career: 38-50, .432

Ken Yamoto

2030-31: 3-12 (Tarleton State)
2031-32: 2-13 (Tarleton State)
2032-33: 6-9 (Tarleton State)
2033-34: 10-17 (UC=San Diego)
Career: 21-51, .292

Dontell Spencer

2030-31: 6-10 (Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
2031-32: 9-7 (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) [NIT, 1st Rnd]
2032-33: 11-8 (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) [NIT, Semifinals]
2033-34: 25-6 (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) [NCAA, 1st Rnd]
Career: 51-31, .622

Terry Morillo

2030-31: 4-11 (Dixie State)
2031-32: 7-8 (Dixie State)
2032-33: 4-11 (Dixie State)
2033-34: 13-16 (Western Illinois)
Career: 28-46, .378

Ramon Montez:

2030-31: 8-7 (Alcorn State)
2031-32: 14-14 (Alcorn State)
2032-33: 14-16 (Alcorn State)
2033-34: 18-14 (Alcorn State) [CIT, 2nd Rnd]
Career: 54-51, .514

[PointGuard]

Coaches Evaluation of their teams (Part 1 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:

Mike Williams, MD-Eastern Shore Hawks, Conference V: We’ve been picked to finish 2nd this season in Conference V. I’m not ready to say where we’ll end up, but I’m pretty pleased with how our team looks on paper. Actually I also liked how our practices have gone thus far. If you’ve been following the Hawks recently and look at our starting lineup this season, you’re probably asking, “Who are THOSE guys???”

Only 1 of our 5 starters have ever played a single minute of a game for us. That guy is senior SG Frank Davis who didn’t play much as a freshman or sophomore but last season he started every game and averaged 14.1 ppg while hitting a pretty high percentage of his shots.

So who ARE the other guys and why am I pleased to have them starting. 2 of them are transfer players who had to sit out last season, another comes to us this year after playing 2 years of JC ball, and the final guy is a walk-on who previously played ball for a Division III team. When we tried out walk-on players, I was impressed by what he could do.

Starting at C will be junior Romolo Pantani who comes from France but started two seasons for Tennessee Tech. Romolo averaged 15.6 ppg over those 2 seasons. He’s a good inside and mid-distance scorer and is very strong defensively. His rebounding was ok for Tennessee Tech, but I think he became stronger last season while practicing with our team. His backups will be junior Joe Carson who started for us last season and senior Kent Evans who did a good job subbing for us last season.

At PF we have sophomore Dwayne Bullet, a transfer from Belmont where he started as a freshman and averaged 7.1 ppg and did a good job on the boards. He can put the ball in the basket from all over the court and is a very good defender. He’ll be backed up by sophomore Tony Rueter who started for us last season, averaging 9.3 ppg and 6.0 rpg.

At SF is JC transfer Frank Reed. Frank has a sweet outside shot and attacks the board well but isn’t yet a good defender. Coming off the bench at SF will be Junior Sarchet who started for us as a freshman and subbed last season. He has average skills but is a hard worker and wants to play.

At PG is senior Matt Brown. Matt attended and played ball for a Division III school. We picked him up as a walk-on because of his excellent passing skills and good ball handling. The hole in his game is defense…that’s a big concern, but hopefully we can improve that. His backup will be sophomore Ewald Leitenberger who comes from Germany and transferred to us from Lehigh where he played just a little as a freshman and still needs to work on developing his skills.

Coming off the bench to back up SG Frank Davis will be another player from France, sophomore Edouard Gaultier. He transferred from Mississippi Valley where he played very little as a freshman but is a good scorer and defender.

So, if we can gel with so many new players and get them playing up to their potential, we could be formidable and I’m confident we will improve on last year’s 12-17 record. My main challenge will be to get the team playing together as a productive unit during our pre-conference games so that we’re ready for Conference V competition and finish high enough to be promoted next year. And yes, I’d really like for our team to get into the best possible post-season tournament.

[PointGuard]

Coaches Evaluation of their teams (Part 2 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:

Terry Morillo, Western Illinois Leathernecks, Conference V: We’re strong at all 5 positions this year and I believe we can do as well or better than the 4th place the media picked us for in Conference V.

Leading the way is PF Guillermo Cabrera, a 6-11 senior who averaged 12.7 ppg and 5.1 rpg last season in his first year as a starter. He’s also very strong defensively. Our starting C will be 6-7 junior Jamar Curtis who transferred to us after starting 2 years for Kent State where he averaged 13.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg. I’m expecting Guillermo and Jamar to be a dynamic duo who do a lot of damage inside for us. At SF will be 6-6 senior Daniel Blair. Daniel played 2 years of JC ball and then was a key reserve for us last season when he averaged 4.1 ppg. Daniel could be a good mid-range scorer for us. Our starting SG will be 6-1 senior Mohamed White. He started last season and while he didn’t score too much (4.1 ppg), he’s good at finding open players and also positions well for rebounds while playing strong defensively. 6-4 sophomore Tom Daniel did a good job last season coming off the bench (5.0 ppg and 3.7 apg) and moves up to start at PG this year.

Our key reserves will be: 6-10 senior C Jamaal Adams who averaged 5.7 ppg and 4.1 rpg, coming off the bench but also starting 3 games last season; 6-4 junior SF Brian Manheimer who transferred from Milwaukee, sat our his required season and came off the bench for us last season but has continued to improve every year; 6-2 senior SG Duany Vaughn who started 5 games for us last year, averaging 11.8 ppg and 4.4 apg, before tearing his Achilles tendon and will finish his rehab about a month into this season and could then challenge to get back his starting role; and 6-8 freshman PF Craig Grant who may (or may not) be strong offensively but is definitely a good defender.

The team and coaches are dedicated to creating an air of excitement within the Leatherneck fans this season and hopefully treating them to some good post-season tournament action and earning a promotion to Conference U next year.

[PointGuard]

Coaches Evaluation of their teams (Part 3 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:

Ken Yamoto, UC-San Diego Tritons, Conference V: I hear the media has picked us to finish in 5th place in Conference V. While that would be a big step up from last season, we want to do better than that so we can get promoted. We have a pretty experienced team this season and I like the group of starters we are planning to put on the floor.

At PG is Brian Thomas, a 6’6” junior who came off the bench last season and averaged 5.1 ppg. Brian was recruited as a SF, but did a good job at PG last season. With his height I’m hoping he can get off shots over smaller opponents. Defense isn’t his strong suit though. But we have 3 guys on our team who are classic PG’s. 6’5” freshman Kevin Wright is probably the strongest, and as he gains experience running our team, he looks to be our future. Sophomore Delonte Keams came to us this summer as a walk-on who shows promise. He’s just 5,’6” tall, so is a little height disadvantaged, but is an excellent passer and ball-handler. Then there’s 6’1” junior Chris Ratliff who started for us last season and did a creditable job, so I like our depth.

Donte Madison, a 6’2” senior, returns to start for the 2nd year at SG. Last season he scored 12.9 ppg. He’s just an all-out rugged player. While 6’0” sophomore Chris Williams (3.1 ppg last season) and walk-on 6’0” junior Reggie Johnson are listed on our roster as the backup SG’s, I believe all the PG’s that I just listed could well be our primary backups at the 2 position.

We have another returning starter at SF in 6’3” senior Dave Rush who averaged 10.9 ppg and 4.2 rpg last year. Dave’s another tough competitor and a team leader. 6’7” junior Gregg Green and 6’7” senior Mike Tulley will back up Dave. Both came off the bench last year.

6’7” senior Byron Kelley will start for us at PF. Byron started for 2 seasons and was a part-time starter last season, so he has a lot of valuable experience, particularly banging the boards. As backups we’ll use 6’9” sophomore Jack Robinson, who scored well from inside last season in a limited role off the bench, and 6’8” junior Charles Williams, whose had limited play time the past 2 seasons.

At C will be 6’10” Shannon Van Hook. Shannon’s a strong interior player who has already started for the Tritons 2 years and averaged 8.2 ppg and 6.9 rpg last season. 7’1” junior Joe Roland did a solid job backing up Shannon last season when he averaged 6.4 ppg.

Obviously our big men are more experienced than our guards, but I believe the team will be cohesive, and I like our chances this year.