Path to the Hall of Fame

[randy]

In an upset-filled West Regionals, wherein the top 2 seeds were eliminated during the first weekend, it all boils down to the following matchup

(5) Sam Houston St vs (3) Wake Forest

Wake Forest finished 2nd during the ACC regular conference behind NC State, and lost to Georgia Tech in the semifinals of their conference tournament. Wake Forest beat UNC in the West Regionals semis

Wake Forest is 2-deep at every position. Scouting reports reveal that they have at least 8 players with a rating of 3.5 or higher

[randy]

3/26/96: (3) #21 Wake Forest (25-8, 13-5) vs (5) #12 Sam Houston St (30-2, 12-2)
WF has a team prestige of 70 (we're only 10). WF is looking for its 5th Final Four in school history. Sam Houston St has never made it to the Final Four

Scouting Report
1. Primary defense: 1-3-1 zone
2. Offense focus: Outside
3. Key players: At least 8 players are elite by our standards, but Sr SG Adrian Adams is averaging almost 20 ppg in the NCAA tournament, in which he was named the player of the game in all 3 games. Adams was 7-11 from 3PT in their Sweet 16 win against UNC. If we concentrate on their outside shooters, they have So C Patrick Burns (9.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg) to provide inside scoring
4. If WF sticks with their 1-3-1 zone, then we'll definitely go inside to Rowles and K Griffin. We will start with m2m defense

Initial instructions

[INDENT]1. Offense Sets / Focus: Auto / Favor Inside
2. Offense Pace / Freedom: 7 / 50%
3. Off / Def Rebounding Crash: 9 / 8
4. Defense Sets / Intensity: M2M / 8
5. Pressure Set / Frequency: Auto / 9
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:48, Down 6-11
We turned the ball over 4 times already, and gave up 2 off rebs, allowing WF to have +4 in FGA. I told the team to settle down

10:54, Up 18-17
Three 3s (2 by F Griffin, 1 by Jeffries) allowed us to get back into the game. K Griffin has 2 fouls. WF already has 9 off rebs, so we'll increse def reb intensity

7:29, Down 20-25
Being in the penalty hurting us. WF is +9 in FTA

3:56, Down 26-31
We're hanging in there, despite being out-rebounded 12-23 thus far.


Halftime, Down 32-43
Our big men have not capitalized on their opportunities inside. WF is 12-15 from the line. Very balanced scoring for WF (9 players have scored), while I have used primarily only 7 players.

I have maximized my def rebounding intensity to 10. I lower def intensity to 7, since we are being called for many fouls. Off pace increased a bit to 8


Start of 2nd Half

14:51, Down 38-53
Changing Off focus to Balanced. Our post players Rowles and K Griffin have combined for only 8 pts (4-12 FG)

11:52, Down 38-59
We go to max Off Pace, while WF is wisely slowing things down. We'll press all the time, using a 1-2-2. We have to give everything we got

10:20, Down 45-59
A 7-0 run, 5 coming from Burditt

8:50, Down 45-65
WF responded by hitting 2 3s

7:27, Down 49-70
I went to my 3-guard starting lineup. Look for 3s, Favor Outside. On the last play, we get a steal and running on the break. K Griffin missed a wide open dunk. Tough break for us

3:37, Down 58-77
We hit 3 3s, but WF quick to respond every time we score

2:41, Down 66-81
F Griffin drills a couple of trifectas. We are certainly not giving up

WF: They shoot. Miss, but we were called for another foul. Hits both. I call a timeout

During the huddle, I told the players not to mind the score. Just go out there and show our character of not giving up until the final buzzer

2:26, Down 66-83

SAM: Shot block by WF
WF: Turn over
SAM: F Griffin sticks it from way beyond the arc

1:39, Down 69-83

WF: They break our press and score

1:30, Down 69-85

SAM: F Griffin missed a 3
WF: Foul by Burditt

I replaced Burditt, and the crowd gave him a well-deserved round of applause. He whispered to me that we'll be back here next year.

On the next the dead ball, its the seniors' turn to head to the bench - Rowles, K Griffin, and F Griffin.


Final score: Wake Forest - 88, Sam Houston St - 72
A bittersweet ending, to an otherwise good run


Box Score

[INDENT]F Griffin 25, 2, 4, 7-8 3PT, 6 tos
Burditt 17, 4, 0
Thomas 14, 2, 6
Rowles 6, 8, 0
Jeffries 5, 3, 0
K Griffin 4, 7, 2
Doss 1, 3, 3
Hatter 0, 1, 0
Slater 0, 0, 0

WF
Rickey 17, 6, 2, 2 stls (*)
Hutson 15, 6, 3, 3 stls
Burns 11, 11, 1
Adams 8, 8, 2
Campbell 8, 2, 2
Monroe 8, 2, 1
Brown 7, 5, 1
Garnett 7, 0, 2
Polite 5, 0, 2
Anderson 2, 6, 0

[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 39-46%
REB: -16
TO: -2
Paint: -10
2nd Chance : -2
Fast Break: -7
[/INDENT]


Other Notes

[INDENT]1. Just too much talent and depth. WF had an answer to any sort of run. They also took away our inside game, and it was us who had to make the adjustments.
2. WF made 24 of 29 FTs, while we hit only 8-10. Difference of 16 FTMs, and the final margin is also 16. No excuses though; we lost to a better team
3. 3rd straight game that Burditt struggled on his shooting. He shot 8-25 today. Next season, I will slide him to his more natural "2" position, and convince him to drive more
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Final Four

(1) #3 NC State def (1) #1 Oklahoma St, 76-75
(3) #21 Wake Forest def (2) #5 So. Illinois, 72-66

Championship

(1) #3 NC State def (3) #21 Wake Forest, 73-58

NC State wins their 2nd consecutive NCAA championship. This is their 4th title, to tie Louisville. Only Kentucky and Indiana have won more titles, with 5 each.

[randy]

2nd Team All-American
- Charles Burditt

Southland Conference Player of the Year
- Charles Burditt

Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year
- Joem Thomas

Southland 1st Team All-Conference
- Charles Burditt
- Jamaal Rowles

Southland 2nd Team All-Conference
- Flye Griffin
- Keyon Griffin

My entire starting five got an award!

I was named Conference Coach of the Year, finishing with a 30-3 (0.909) record

[randy]

Points
#1 Charles Burditt, 604 (20.8 ppg, #11 national)
#7 Jamaal Rowles, 363 (12.5)
#9 Keyon Griffin, 300 (10.3)
#11 Joem Thomas, 288 (9.9)
#19 Flye Griffin, 247 (8.5)

Rebounds
#1 Jamaal Rowles, 200 (6.9 rpg)
#4 Keyon Griffin, 183 (6.3)
#11 Chris Doss, 148 (5.1)
#17 Charles Burditt, 118 (4.1)

Assists
#1 Flye Griffin, 172 (5.9 apg, T#7 national)
#4 Joem Thomas, 120 (4.1)

Steals
#9 Joem Thomas, 27 (0.9 spg)

Blocks
T#3 Flye Griffin 22 (0.8 bpg)
#5 Keyon Griffin 21 (0.7 bpg)
T#9 Jamaal Rowles 16 (0.6 bpg)

3P Made
#2 Charles Burditt 83
#5 Flye Griffin 46
#8 Joem Thomas 41

FG%
#1 Jamaal Rowles 0.613 (#6 national)

3P%
#2 Charles Burditt 0.426
#5 Flye Griffin 0.422
#6 Joem Thomas 0.394

Turnovers
#8 Flye Griffin 66 (2.3 topg)

[randy]

1. PF Keyon Griffin
- 4 seasons
- 113 regular season games (67 starts), 21.6 mpg, 7.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.6 bpg, 44% FG, 69% FT
- Played in 7 NCAA tournament games (8.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 49% FG)
- Southland 2nd Team All-Conference (1993, 1996), Southland Freshman of the Year (1993)
- 4.0 GPA

2. C Jamaal Rowles
- 2 seasons with South Florida + 2 seasons with Sam Houston St
- 112 regular games (109 starts), 24.2 mpg, 11.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.3 bpg, 57% FG, 71% FT
- Played in 6 NCAA tournament games (12.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 58% FG)
- Southland 1st Team All-Conference (1996)
- 4.0 GPA

3. PG Flye Griffin
- 2 seasons (a JuCo recruit)
- 58 games (57 starts), 25.9 mpg, 7.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 5.6 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.7 bpg, 42% FG, 43% 3PT, 81% FT
- Played in 6 NCAA tournament games (8.8 ppg, 5.7 apg, 79% 3PT)
- Southland 2nd Team All-Conference (1996)
- 4.0 GPA

4. SF Justin Jefrries
- walk-on SR
- 26 games, 16.7 mpg, 4.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.2 bpg, 47% FG, 33% 3PT, 81% FT
- Played in 4 NCAA tournament games (7.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.8 spg, 50% FG)
- 4.0 GPA

[randy]

Most intriguing job offers

1. Texas
Conference: Big 12
Prestige: 29
Season Record: 10-18 (7-9)
Budget: 303,100

2. Utah
Conference: Pac 12
Prestige: 27
Season Record: 12-16 (8-10)
Budget: 263,100

3. Washington St
Conference: Pac 12
Prestige: 21
Season Record: 14-20 (6-12)
Budget: 193,250

The Big 12 has 4 teams with prestige > 80: Kansas, Kansas St, Oklahoma, and Oklahamo St (92). It would take a while before Texas can complete with these elite teams

Over the the Pac 12, Arizona has the highest prestige with 75, followed by Orgeon, Stanford, and UCLA. The rest are bunch up together with Utah and Wash St

I trimmed down my shortlist to Utah ... or staying at Sam Houston St.

Utah will have 2 starters graduating, but reigning Pac 12 Freshman of the Year and 1st Team All-Conference SG Brian Oliver (19.4 ppg, 46% 3PT) is returning. I can't see anyone else to support Oliver next season. However, I would have at least 4 scholarships to fill next year, so I can shape the recruiting class immediately

In the end, I decided to stay with Sam Houston St.

[randy]

Following are my final set of recruits

1. PG Ray Smith (6-4), JuCo #55 ranked
2. SF Ronald Haywood (6-7), HS Sr, #110
3. PF Joel Wilson (6-8), HS Sr, #174
4. C Glendon Jackson (6-9), JuCo, #175
5. SG Dan Wilson (6-1), JuCo, #184

We also have the following transferees eligible to play in the upcoming season

6. SF Angelo Wallace (6-6), So, 3.0 stars
7. PF Linehan Johnson (6-7), Jr, 3.0 stars
8. PF Rashif McCoy (6-8), So, 2.5 stars

Our returning scholarship players are

9. PG Keith Jackson (5-11), Sr, 1.0 star
10. PG Joem Thomas (6-3), Sr, 4.0 stars
11. SG Paul Slater (6-4), So, 2.0 stars
12. SG Charles Burditt (6-5), Sr, 4.5 stars
13. SF Tyrone Willis (6-7), So, 1.0 star

We'll definitely miss the inside presence of Jamaal Rowles and Keyon Griffin, but I think we have more depth and size next season.


5/1 Update

SF Ronald Haywood's GPA did not make our cut.

Walk-on Sr C Chris Doss will come back.

[randy]

5/1
We bought the Great Plains Gold and National Basic reports

6/4
SG Paul Slater decided to transfer. We have 2 scholarships available for transfers


6/5
We contacted 10 potential targets in the transfer pool. One of them clearly stand out, and we give immediate scholarship offer:

1. So SF Tony Cooper, 6-7, from BYU, reigning WCC Freshman of the Year, ranked #26 in his class (last season's stats: 11.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.3 spg, 84% FT); 3.0 GPA


Several players that are on our shortlist are:

2. Jr SF Johnny Asbury, 6-6, from Wagner, ranked #65 (has not played a single game at Wagner due to academic deficiencies); 1.6 GPA but work ethic is not bad

3. So PG Llewellyn Kante, 6-6 (a tall PG!), from New Mexico, ranked #91 (only played a grand total of 4 mins in 2 games last season with NM); 2.6 GPA

4. Jr SG Mike Riley, 6-4, from Marshall, ranked #53, CUSA All-Conference 2nd team last season (career stats: 10.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 spg, 78% FT); 2.8 GPA

5. So SG Marcus Price, 6-2, from St John's, ranked #17 (5.0 ppg); 2.9 GPA

[randy]

6/9/96

Tony Cooper chose Georgia Tech

After evaluating the players we contacted, we have the following shortlist and their scouted ratings:

So PG Llewellyn Kante, 6-6, 1.5/4.0
So SG Marcus Price, 6-2, 1.5/5.0
Jr PG Adrian Ashburn, 6-1, 1.5/4.0
So C David Ivory, 6-9, 2.0/4.5
Jr SG Jason Medley, 6-1, 2.0/4.0
Jr SG Jon Rush, 6-2, 2.0/4.0
Jr SF Johnny Asbury, 6-6, 2.0/4.0
Jr SG Mike Riley, 6-4, 3.5/4.5
Jr C David Fields, 6-9, 4.0/5.0

If the scouting reports are true, Riley and Fields could be potential starters next year. Price and Ivory are potential talents as well.

The coaching staff decided to give offers to David Fields and Mike Riley