Philly Gym Rat (The Perry “QM” McMullin Story)

[PointGuard]

This summer I got a call from Greg Bivins. Greg was my staring PG the first two years I coached at CSU Bakersfield. After graduating in 2013 he had hopes of making it in the NBA, but after spending some time in the DBL, he figured his chances of playing were better in Europe and headed across the pond. He latched on with a team in the Spanish leagues and had a couple lackluster years with them. During his off-seasons, he’d return to the U.S. and always stopped by to spend some time with me. Two years ago he met up with a German woman whom he married and then got a contract with the Fraport Skyliners in Frankfurt who are in the Basketball Bundesliga League (BBL). Marriage seems to have settled him down and focused him. He’s become a key member of the team and was even selected to the BBL’s all-star team this past year.

Since marrying Kerstin, Greg’s not been back to the U.S. They now have a one-year old son. He said he’d really like me to come over to Germany to meet his wife and son and spend some time seeing the country. Since I haven’t done much else that coach, recruit, and plan the past seven years, I agree to go over and spend two weeks with Greg and his family.

Greg is definitely making some money...beautiful big home and new Mercedes. He and Kerstin show me all around the country, and I meet several of his teammates and other pro players from the BBL. Greg also introduces me to a few German high school players who he’s been tracking. Who knows? Maybe New Hampshire can get a good foreign player on the squad in the next year or two. Kerstin also introduces me to several good-looking German women. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy them, but a German wife is less likely than a German member of our team.

[JMD]

I'm now a superstar in my dynasty...

[PointGuard]

With 3 scholarships to offer this year and the players we will have returning next year, we are likely to go after the best recruits we can get rather than focusing too much on any one position. I’d like to land at least 2 good high school seniors. But I realize that given our low prestige, lack of previous success, and the fact that there are few quality high school players coming from within the state of New Hampshire, we’re likely to have to settle for JC players and signings may not come until next spring.

We shot very high (all 3 were Top 50 rated recruits) with our first 3 offers. We were promptly shot down by all three. We readjusted our sites and made 3 more offers, one of which was accepted on September 25th:

SG Rashun House, 6-3 HS Sr, Langdon, NH, 2.8 GPA. Last year’s stats: 13.4 ppg, 2.0 apg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 spg, 0.8 bpg. Athletic, good scorer. Weak passing and ball handling skills, hard worker, not a leader but doesn’t cause problems either, rarely missed practices, didn’t stand out at Indy Elite Camp or Big Apple Camp. Ranked 81st best in nation, but we think that rating is high and will likely fall later this year.

We will try to complete our recruiting by landing two more recruits this coming spring.

[PointGuard]

We tried to get some tough teams at home, but were stymied as high prestige teams just didn’t want to come to Durham, NH.

My old team, CSU Bakersfield, agreed to play us on our court. Other pre-conference home games include: Rhode Island, Drake, Charleston Southern, Toledo, and Holy Cross.

Our away schedule definitely is more challenging than last year. We play the following teams on their court: Penn State, Missouri, Charlotte, Purdue, and Southern Cal.

[PointGuard]

Edvin Jeppson and Chris Babul got overly physical in practice. While that by itself is understandable, when they each went on to try to fight another player, I decided to talk with both. Babul agreed to try harder, but Jeppson argued it was the other player’s fault. I warned him that further incidents such as this could end up with his being suspended.

The battles to determine who will be starting were intense, but not all that conclusive. The good thing is that we have depth and players who can play multiple positions. The difficulty is that players have been inconsistent. So each time I thought we may have our starting lineup established, the picture changed, keeping things in flux. It’s likely it will take a few games into the season before things begin to solidify.

[PointGuard]

Sophomore PF Kory Finley is still not prepared to get much playing time this year, so I decide to redshirt him. He has a lot of potential so hopefully this will allow him the opportunity to develop some of that potential to a degree where he can be a big part of our team.

[PointGuard]

My staff and I really wrestled with who should start and at what positions. We have quite a few players who have different skills but fairly equal talent levels. We’re going to go with the following lineup initially, but I’m sure there we’ll change things up as players and positions solidify more.

Starters:

PG Vernard Strickland, 6-0 Jr, Stuarts Draft, VA (may also play at SG) (JC player last year, 4.0/4.5 stars)

SG Bobby Havens, 6-2 Jr, Waterford, WI (may also play at SF) (transfer from Wisconsin, 15.8 ppg 2 years ago, 4.0/4.5 stars)

SF William Kamara, 6-3 Sr, Conway, NH (may also play at SG and PG) (starter last year at SG, 11.3 ppg, 2.0/3.0 stars)

PF Luis Smith, 6-6 Sr, Nashua, NH (starting PF last year, 7.3 ppg, 2.0/3.5 stars)

C Andrew Kresse, 6-10 So, Stanley, WI (transfer from Notre Dame, 7.4 ppg two years ago, 3.5/4.0 stars)

Bench:

PG Nate Augustus, 6-4 So, Indian Head, MD (may also play SG and SF) (starter last year, 10.4 ppg, 3.0/4.0 stars)

PG Edvin Jeppson, 5-10 Sr, Merrimack, NH (may also play SG) (walk-on, came off the bench last year, 6.5 ppg, 1.5/1.5 stars)

SG Andrew Smith, 6-3 Jr, Millbury, MA (may also play SF) (limited role last year, 0.9 ppg, 1.5/3.0 stars)

SF Jerod Ryan, 6-6 So, Florence, NJ (limited role last year, 1.9 ppg, 2.0/4.0 stars)

PF Jake Watson, 6-8 Jr, Petersborough, NH (may also play C) (limited role at C and PF last year, 1.3 ppg, 1.5/3.0 stars)

PF Vinston O’Conner, 6-7 So, Exeter, NH (came off the bench in all games but limited minutes last year, 1.0 ppg, 2.0/4.0 stars)

C Adrian Beck, 6-8 Sr, Arlington, VA (may also play PF) (starting C last year, 5.6 ppg, 2.5/3.5 stars)

C Chris Babul, 6-10 Jr, Exeter, NH (walk-on, came off the bench last year, 3.8 ppg, 1.0/0.5 stars)

Ineligible:

SF Byron Windlan, 6-7 So, St. Johnsbury, VT (transferred from Western Carolina this year, 2.0/4.0 stars)

PF Kory Finley, 6-7 So, Bear, DE (redshirt) (very limited role last year, 1.0 ppg, 1.0/2.5 stars)

Player Comments:

PG—Neither Vernard Strickland and Nate Augustus had a clear cut advantage so both will play extensively, but Stickland showed more offensive potential. Edvin Jeppson doesn’t have the passing and ball-handling skills of the other two, but does have the ability to come off the bench and provide some quick offense.

SG—Bobby Havens was able to light things up offensively in some of our scrimmages, but there were some where he was just lofting up a bunch of errant shots also. Andrew Smith is a decent player but lacks consistency.

SF—William Kamara showed improved shooting skills in practice and scrimmages. I expected Jerod Ryan to compete strongly for a starting role, but thus far he’s tended to disappear on court.

PF—Luis Smith was a starter last year, but only won his starting position back just before the season started when he showed aggressiveness resulting in some good offense and rebounding. Jake Watson almost unseated Smith, but faded just before the season kicked off. Vinston O’Conner is a much stronger player than last year. Both he and Watson will likely see some good minutes.

C—Andrew Kresse ran hot and cold and was less imposing in practice and scrimmages than I had hoped, but at times he showed some exceptional rebounding, even though his offense has yet to gel this year. He beat out Adrian Beck, last year’s starting C, but Beck will be valuable coming off the bench. Chris Babul didn’t seriously figure into the competition for a starting role, but has the ability to play well in a limited role.

[PointGuard]

Game #1: Nov. 14, 2018; New Hampshire Wildcats (0-0) at Penn State Nittany Lions (0-0)

Penn State is likely to try to run a fast-paced offense and primarily will run a man-to-man defense. Last year they were 17-15 and went to the NIT, but exited in the first round. Their SG David Smith scored 10.1 ppg and shot well from the field. Taking on a Big-10 opponent on their home court in our opening game will be a definite challenge.

My guys were a little antsy before the game. I tried to settle them down, but with so many changes in the starting lineup, it was impossible to know how they would perform.

We scored the first 7 points, 5 of those by Bobby Havens. We maintained a lead throughout the half, hitting 41% of our shots, but more importantly throttling Penn State’s offense holding them to 29% shooting. We left the court with a 33-25 lead. Bobby Havens dropped in 18 points for us.

Penn State took it to us early in the second half as our shooting fell apart, and the Nittany Lions took a 43-40 with 14 minutes to play. We fell behind by 5 points before beginning to hit some shots, quiet the crowd, and retake the lead. The rest of the half was a knock-down-drag-out fight.

With 2 minutes to play we held a 63-62 lead and Chris Babul was fouled while shooting. He hit one of two shots, but William Kamara stole the ball and pushed it up court to Nate Augustus who jammed it home to give us a 66-62 lead. We were whistled for a foul with 1:25 remaining. Penn State made one of two and cut our lead to 3. We had two shots but missed both, but after rebounding, Penn State traveled with 54 seconds on the clock. We then threw the ball away with 44 seconds to go. Penn State called a time out and got a good look at a 3, but it was off the rim and we rebounded with 27 seconds remaining. The Nittany Lions fouled and Nate Augustus canned both free throws to give us a 68-63 lead with 23 seconds to play. Another 3 by Penn State was off the mark and Penn State was forced to foul with 9 seconds to go. Nate Augustus was perfect at the line again and the game was ours.

Final Score: New Hampshire-70, Penn State-63. New Hampshire season record: 1-0.

Scoring leaders: Havens-28, Augustus-15, Kamara-8, Strickland-8.

Rebound leaders: Beck-9, Kresse-7, Kamara-6.

Assist leaders: Strickland-5, Augustus-4, Kamara-3.

Player of the Game: SG Bobby Havens-28 points, 3 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PG Nate Augustus-15 pts, 4 assists.

Other notes: After a slow start in the 2nd half, our shooting recovered so that we hit 41% in both halves. Penn State’s shooting improved in the 2nd half so they finished by hitting 36% of their shots. We held a 35-34 rebounding advantage. Both teams controlled the ball well, each turning the ball over just 10 times. Bobby Havens offensive output was impressive. He hit 12 of 26 FG attempts, although he was just 3 of 11 from 3 point distance. All 5 starters did pretty well as did Nate Augustus and Adrian Beck. On a negative note, we let 4 of Penn State’s starters score in double figures. It was a relief to get a road win in our opening game and to see our team coalesce and not be intimidated by a large, hostile crowd.

[PointGuard]

Game #2: Nov. 17, 2018; New Hampshire Wildcats (1-0) at Missouri Tigers (0-1)

We’re on the road again, this time taking on a Big Twelve team. Missouri runs set offenses nearly every time up court. Defensively they primarily employ a man-to-man defense. The Tigers are tough to assess since only a few of their players played much for them last year. In their first game they lost by 2 points at Navy.

The first 6 minutes were UGLY: we turned the ball over 3 times, but Missouri had 7 turnovers. Andrew Kresse picked up his 2nd foul just 6 minutes into the game and Bobby Havens joined him on the bench with 2 fouls at the 8:42 mark. We hounded the Tigers forcing them to make 13 turnovers in the half. We out-shot Missouri 45% to 41%. But the Tigers controlled the boards, 18-13. Missouri hit some shots the last few minutes but we escaped with a 29-24 lead. William Kamara led our scoring with 7 points.

The refs called the 3rd foul on Bobby Havens just one minute into the 2nd half and the 3rd on Andrew Kresse three minutes later. We fell behind by 4 points right after that and had to struggle to pull back into a 42-42 tie with 10 minutes to play. From there it was all downhill. We had a hard time hitting our shots and the fouls piled up against us. Missouri pulled away to win easily.

Final Score: Missouri-70, New Hampshire-59. New Hampshire season record: 1-1.

Scoring leaders: Havens-17, L. Smith-13, Kamara-12, Strickland-8.

Rebound leaders: Beck-6.

Assist leaders: Augustus-5, Strickland-3, Beck-3.

Player of the Game: C Roderick Dillard-15 pts, 9 reb, 1 assist, 5 blocks.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PF Luis Smith-13 pts, 4 reb.

Other notes: Missouri got hot in the 2nd half and finished by hitting 52% of their shots. We cooled off in the 2nd half, finishing by putting in just 38% of our FG attempts. We were out-rebounded 39-26. We held a 19-9 turnover advantage. It was disappointing to see us let this game slip out of our grip.

Jake Watson went down hard when fouled midway through the 2nd half. At first we thought maybe he sprained a wrist…but when x-rayed we found out he broke his hand. He will miss the next 2 months of play. That just sucks. I had expected him to get some major playing time as he continued to develop his game this year. But he should be back for the last part of the America East season and its tournament. I decided to have him work on driving to the basket more since that something he can do without further injuring his hand.

Both Jerod Ryan and Nate Augustus are overheard complaining that they should be starting rather than William Kamara and Vernard Strickland. I call each into my office, but doubt it resolved their unhappiness.

[PointGuard]

Game #3: Nov. 21, 2018; New Hampshire Wildcats (1-1) at Charlotte 49ers (0-1)

Our third straight road game to open this season. Charlotte is patient and likes to slow down the game tempo. On defense, they primarily use a 3-2 zone, so that will be a new challenge for us. In the Pre-Season NIT Tourny, they lost 51-38 to Kansas in the first round. But they’re a good team. We’re going to have to figure out a way to bust their defense and play at our tempo. I’ve got a grudge against them since they snared a very good transfer player, center Dwayne Oliver, to whom we offered a scholarship. At least he won’t be able to play against us this year though.

Midway through the first half we had 4 players who were on our bench with 2 fouls apiece. The refs had called 10 fouls against us and only 2 against the 49ers. Charlotte hit 52% of their shots and throttled us, holding our shooting to 27%. The 49ers out-rebounded us 18-11 and held an 11-7 turnover advantage. The refs added to our pain by assessing 13 fouls against us and just 3 against Charlotte. That put the 49ers on the line 20 times while we had just 2 foul shots with Charlotte scoring 14 more points via free throws than we did. The halftime score was 38-15. Our leading scorer was William Kamara with a mere 4 points.

Our woes continued as we fell behind by 30 points early in the 2nd half. We then finally began hitting some shots, but we’d let this game get out of control and could only cut Charlotte’s lead in half.

Final Score: Charlotte-61, New Hampshire-46. New Hampshire season record: 1-2.

Scoring leaders: Havens-12, Strickland-11.

Rebound leaders: Three players with 4 each.

Assist leaders: Kamara-3.

Player of the Game: Charlotte’s C Brandon Jones-17 pts, 8 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PG Vernard Stickland-11 pts, 4 reb, 2 assists.

Other notes: Charlotte hit 47% of their shots. Our shooting improved in the 2nd half but we still only hit 37% for the entire game. Charlotte had 15 turnovers but we had 18. The 49ers out-rebounded us 29-28.