Path to the Hall of Fame

[randy]

1. SF Brian Dissinger, 6-7 (rank #27)
OVR: A, ATH: C, SCR: A, REB: A

2. PG Antonio Parker, 6-2 (rank #33)
OVR: A, ATH: C, PAS: A, STL: A

3. JuCo SG Malik Owes, 6-4 (rank #39)
OVR: A, ATH: C, SCR: A, STL: A

4. JuCo C Elliot Dare, 6-8 (rank #43)
OVR: A, ATH: B, REB: A, INS: A

5. JuCo C Hasheem Bailey, 6-8 (rank #50)
OVR: A, ATH: D, REB: A, INS: A

[randy]

Starting 5
1: Fr PG Antonio Parker, 6-2, 2.5/5.0
2: Sr SF Sam Millar, 6-5, 4.5/5.0
3: Sr SF Anthony Bryant, 6-6, 3.5/4.0
4: Jr C Elliot Dare, 6-8, 4.0/5.0
5: Sr C Antonio Forney, 6-9, 4.5/4.5

Substitutes
4/5: Jr C Hasheem Bailey, 6-8, 4.0/4.5
1: Jr PG Shea Wheat, 6-0, 3.0/4.0
1/2: Jr SG Kaniel Coley, 6-2, 3.5/4.0
2: Jr SG Malik Owes, 6-4, 3.5/5.0
1/2: So(R) Troy Rein, 6-1, 1.5/3.5

Walk-Ons
3/4: Sr PF Bryan Perry, 6-7, 2.0/2.0
1: Jr PG Jameel Wilden, 5-5, 2.0/2.0

Redshirt (Ineligible to play this season)
3: Fr(R) Brian Dissinger, 6-7, 3.0/5.0

Transfer (Ineligible to play this season)
3/4: Jr PF Valery Stuart, 6-7, 4.5/5.0
3: So SF Pat Henry, 6-6, 2.0/4.0


Frontline rotation is thin, so walk-on Bryan Perry might see some playing time.

[randy]

Initial instructions
[INDENT]1. Offense Sets / Focus: Auto (Motion) / Balanced
2. Offense Pace / Freedom: 8 / 0%
3. Off / Def Rebounding Crash: 8 / 9
4. Defense Sets / Intensity: Auto (60% M2M, 20% 2-3, 20% 1-2-2)/ 7
5. Pressure Set / Frequency: Auto / 10
[/INDENT]

[JMD]

Good luck next season.

[randy]

11/15/01: Illinois (0-0) @ USC (0-0)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced
3. Key players: Jr SG Jimmy "President" Carter (1-time All Conf)
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:25, Up 9-0
ILL 0-4 FG, 3 turn overs

11:53, Up 16-2
C Antonio Forney 10 pts, 4-5 FG

6:31, Up 27-6
SG Kaniel Coley has the license to shoot, 12 pts, 4-7 3PT

3:49, Up 33-11
ILL 25% FG


Halftime, Up 37-15

Highlights

• SG Daniel Coley is certainly not gun-shy, taking 12 of the team's 40 FGAs
• Our defense allowed ILL only 24% FG; ILL had 8 turn overs
• We dished out 12 assists out of 15 FGMs

Start of 2nd Half

15:24, Up 41-21

10:57, Up 53-33

7:48, Up 61-33

3:38, Up 72-37


Final score: Illinois - 39, USC- 78

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 27, 6, 1 9-19 3PT (*)
Forney 22, 7, 0, fouled out
Dare 9, 11, 2
Bailey 6, 9, 0, 3 tos
Bryant 6, 5, 1
Parker 4, 1, 3 4 tos
Millar 2, 5, 5
Perry 2, 3, 1
Wheat 0, 1, 5
Owes 0, 0, 2
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 47-30%
REB: +25
AST: +14
TO: Even
Paint: +22
2nd Chance : +8
Fast Break: +5
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. SG Kaniel Coley is the type of player that could either win you a lot of games, or lose a lot of games. But one thing is for sure; he added a dimension to this team, that I never had the luxury of havin in my past 8 years of head coaching experience
2. Good debut for a new big men, C Elliott Dare and C Hasheem Bailey. Fr PG Antonio Parker (3 asts, 4 turn overs) will have plenty of time to learn our offense
3. We want to be disciplined this season on executing our half-court sets. Dishing out 20 assists in this game is good start

[randy]

11/18/01: (7) Fordham (0-1) vs (2) USC (1-0)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: 1-2-2
2. Offense focus: Balanced
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:16, Down 7-8
Not a good start, already with 3 turn overs

11:45, Down 14-18
FORD 8-9 FTs

7:33, Down 19-23

3:41, Down 24-28
Took the lead earlier, but FORD able to recover quickly


Halftime, Down 24-30

Highlights

• Despite Despite SG Daniel Coley's 4 3s, our offense is having a hard time producing points esp inside the paint; only 8 pts in the paint in the 1st half. C Antonio Forney having a rough day, 2-7 FG, 3 fouls.
• FORD took advantage of the FT shots, shooting 10-11

Start of 2nd Half

15:57, Down 26-36
FORD started 6-0 to take a 12 pt lead, before we hit our 1st FG in the last 8 mins of game play.

11:49, Down 36-40
SG Kaniel Coley (21 pts, 6 3s) spearheaded a rally to get us back in the game

We cut down the lead to 1. We miss. FORD hits a 3, and the lead back to 4. SG Kaniel Coley responds back with 7th triple, and lead is down to 1 again. After a FORD miss, we score an inside basket to take the lead

6:33, Up 47-46

FORD converts 2 FTs. We went to a series of misses again, while FORD got 2 FGs to take a 5 pt lead. Another set of misses for us, and FORD connects on a dagger 3 to hike their lead to 8

1:47, 47-55

Coley missing a couple of 3pt attempts


Final score: Fordham - 55, USC- 49

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 24, 5, 1, 7-22 3PT
Dare 8, 10, 0
Forney 6, 9, 0, 2 blks
Bailey 4, 2, 0
Millar 3, 5, 1
Parker 2, 5, 1
Bryant 2, 1, 0, 3 tos
Perry 0, 1, 0
Wheat 0, 0, 5
Owes 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 27-35%
REB: +4
AST: -1
TO: Even
Paint: +6
2nd Chance : +7
Fast Break: +4
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. This will be a long season for us, if we will rely only on SG Kaniel Coley and C Antonio Forney to score. And if one of them goes on an off night (like Forney today), we'll be bound to have more games such as this.

[randy]

11/22/01: Virginia Tech (0-2) vs USC (1-1)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:52, Up 10-2
VT 0-4 FG, 3 turn overs

11:52, Up 19-10

6:18, Up 33-20

3:17, Up 42-28


Halftime, Up 51-32

Highlights

• C Antonio Forney (14 pts) and SG Kaniel Coley (11 pts) scored as expected, but the rest of the team also contributed significantly. In particular, SF Sam Millar with 11 pts
• We shot 61% FG, scored 24 pts in the paint, and dished out 13 assists

Start of 2nd Half

15:29, Up 61-35

11:51, Up 68-39
The crowd cheered when I sent SG Kaniel Coley to the scorers table. Coley has become an overnight sensation with his unconscious 3-pt shooting, and already has a cult-like following nationwide.

7:57, Up 78-47
And Coley didn't disappoint, adding 2 more treys; Coley has 17 pts, 5-11 3PT

2:28, Up 88-53
Add 2 more bombs from Coley!

And another! The crowd went delirious.


Final score: Virginia Tech - 56, USC- 95

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 26, 3, 4, 8-15 3PT
Forney 26, 2, 2, 2 stls, 4 blks (*)
Millar 16, 3, 4, 2 stls
Bryant 9, 5, 2
Dare 8, 12, 0
Bailey 4, 2, 0
Parker 2, 1, 6, 3 tos
Perry 2, 3, 0
Owes 2, 0, 1
Wheat 0, 0, 5, 3 tos
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 59-35%
REB: +7
AST: +12
TO: -8
Paint: +28
2nd Chance : +6
Fast Break: +12
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. Lots of positives today. SF Sam Millar and SF Anthony Bryant finally contributing on offense. C Elliot Dare continues to produce excellent rebounding numbers. C Antonio Forney, the POG today, was dominant in the paint again. But somehow, all of these achievements were overshadowed by the SG Kaniel Coley's continuous barrage of long distance shots.
2. After 3 games, Coley is averaging 8 3pt shots made per game

[randy]

11/25/01: #21 Syracuse (3-1) vs USC (2-1)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: 2-3
2. Offense focus: Balanced
3. Key Player: Fr SG Marcus McAfee (19.0 ppg)
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

Fans are anticipating a juicy match up between 2 of the most prolific SGs so far this season, SG Kaniel Coley and SYR's SG Marcus McAfee

15:57, Up 8-2
SG Kaniel Coley stands up from the bench. Crowd roaring in anticipation.

10:03, Up 17-6
Coley scores on his 1st shot. A 3 of course. And then he missed his last 3 shots. The player making the difference now is C Elliott Dare, 10 pts, 5 rebs

6:53, Up 27-14
SYR's SG Marcus McAfee hits a 3. Right on the next play, SG Kaniel Coley answers back with a 3 of his own. McAfee is feeling it, and connects on another 3. A couple of plays later, Coley buries his 3rd trifecta of the game. This is your classic shoot out!

2:20, Up 35-19
SYR scored 5 unanswered points to cut our lead to 8, as our shooting went cold. And then, Coley came up with his 4th trey. A couple of plays later, Coley hits another. The frantic atmosphere in the crowd must have rubbed off to my players, as SF Anthony Bryant intercepts a pass, and on the break, has thrown an alley-oop pass to C Antonio Forney for the jam! It forced Syracuse to call a time out. Everyone in the arena needed this break


Halftime, Up 40-27
In case you are asking, yes, Coley added one more 3pt shot after the timeout

Highlights

• Yes, there were other highlights in the 1st half other than the Coley show. C Elliott Dare finally getting his scoring form inside the shaded area, 10 pts, 4-5 FG, and grabbing 7 rebs.
• We have turned the ball over only once in the 1st half.
• And of course, there's SG Kaniel Coley, with his 6 3-pointers.

Start of 2nd Half

15:27, Up 51-30
C Elliott Dare and SF Anthony Bryant mad sure there is not let-off in our production, helped start the 2nd half on a 11-3 run. Dare already has double-double. Fans beginning to chant Coley's name. He checks in during this media timeout

No such thing as cold-from-the-bench for Coley. He shoots his 1st attempt of the 2nd half. It hits nothing but the bottom of the net. Seven 3s. And if that is not enough, we forced a turn over on SYR's next play, ran the fast break, outlet to Coley, and Coley scores on a layup - his first 2-pt FG of the game. Coley with 23 pts!

13:48, Up 56-30

I think it's safe to say that SYR has no chance to come back in this game. Not that they have not the talent to mount a comeback. But not in this highly-charged environment

11:23, Up 62-33
Coley count: 9 3s

6:28, Up 76-44
Coley count: 13 3s. He made his last 3 attempts. In his 11th 3, it was off the glass. Coley with 41 pts

3:35, Up 86-54
Coley count: 15 3s, 47 pts! I had Coley substituted during this last media timeout. I heard some boos from the home crowd; they want more of Coley. That's enough for now, plenty of games to come.


Final score: Syracuse - 59, USC- 92

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 47, 2, 1, 15-29 3PT (*)
Dare 12, 13, 0
Forney 12, 8, 2, 2 stls
Bryant 9, 2, 2, 3 stls
Millar 4, 5, 1
Bailey 2, 4, 1
Wheat 2, 1, 7
Owes 2, 1, 2
Perry 2, 1, 1
Parker 0, 1, 5
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 54-36%
REB: +11
AST: +13
TO: -2
Paint: +20
2nd Chance : +2
Fast Break: +6
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. We dished out a total of 22 assists today. We probably are one the best teams in the country in terms of assists. I guess its easy to register an assist in this team - just pass the ball to Coley, let him shoot, and you get an assist.
2. Despite all the activities happening from beyond the arc, we scored a decent 32 pts in the paint today.
3. Both teams took care of the ball well; SYR with 10 turn overs, while we had only 8

[randy]

And Coley takes his talents to ...

11/29/01: USC (3-1) @ Miami FL (4-1)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:46, Up 9-6
Our 2 starting big men scored 7 of our 1st 9 pts

11:29, Up 19-15
MIAFL shooting 88% FG; problem is, they haven't shot enough attempts of their 7 turn overs.

5:41, Tied at 31
Our 60% FG would have been enough to give us a good lead, but MIAFL has shot better at 76% FG. SG Kaniel Coley relatively "quiet" with 2-5 FT, but has 2 asts

3:53, Up 34-33

MIAFL hits a 3, and we fell behind by 2, 34-36. With SG Kaniel Coley back in the game after a brief rest, he hits his 3rd 3 of the day, and together with a series of MIAFL turn overs, started a 12-0 run

1:16, Up 46-36


Halftime, Up 47-37

Highlights

• A good offensive show by both teams, where almost all shots goes in. MIAFL tapered off a bit at the end of the 1st half, but still finished with 58% FG. We shot 64% FG.
• MIAFL had 12 turn overs
• We turned the ball over only 5 times, but PG Antonio Parker accounted for 4 of them. Parker having a rough game, scoreless, zero asts, and 3 fouls. PG Shea Wheat to start the 2nd half
• A USC game analysis is not complete without the Coley count: 3 3s

Start of 2nd Half

15:32, Up 53-39
C Antonio Forney having a good game, 16 pts, 5-6 FG.

11:56, Up 59-41

7:37, Up 68-50
Just as when MIAFL looks like they are ready to make a run, C Hasheem Bailey has provided timely baskets to keep our lead at a safe distance. Bailey providing quality minutes off the bench, 11 pts, 4-4 FG.

3:04, Up 77-59


Final score: USC- 82, Miami (FL) - 64

Box Score

[INDENT]Forney 19, 9, 1, 3 blks (*)
Coley 15, 0, 3, 4 tos, 5-10 3PT
Dare 13, 4, 2
Bailey 11, 1, 0
Millar 6, 2, 5
Parker 6, 2, 2, 5 tos
Wheat 5, 2, 4, 4 stls
Bryant 5, 2, 1
Owes 2, 0, 1
Perry 0, 0, 2
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 62-46%
REB: -1
AST: +9
TO: -7
Paint: +14
2nd Chance : -3
Fast Break: -9
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. The 2 games previous to this, we scored 90+ pts. But this game was by far our best in this young season, because of the balance between inside and outside pts. We had our share of outside jumpers (5 3s by Coley), but we also had 38 inside pts, and converted 21-31 FTs. If we perform like this, and get pts from post plays, outside shots, and drive penetrations, we're hard to beat
2. Also, 1st time this season that our 3-man post rotation of Forney/Dare/Bailey each register double figures in scoring. The outside shooting heroics of Coley might be fun to watch, but our season will only go as far as our post players will take us
3. MIAFL shot a decent 46% FG, and out rebounded us. It was their 22 turn overs that did the damage for them
4. I will let Fr PG Antonio Parker to continue to start, but lessen his playing time while he's at the initial part of his learning curve. Parker's A/TO ratio is at a numb 1.1, while his backup Jr PG Shea Wheat has 3.3. I just need to be patient with Parker

[randy]

12/2/01: Baylor (2-3) @ USC (3-1)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

11:12, Up 14-8

SG Kaniel Coley missed his 1st 3 attempts. It somehow dampens the mood of the crowd. But before anyone can think that Coley-mania is over, his drains his first 3 on his 4th attempt. On the ensuing defensive play, we get a steal, run the break, and Coley was the finisher. Coley scoring 5 straight pts in a span of less than 20 secs, and the crowd was rocking again

7:49, Up 21-13

A couple of plays after, C Hasheem Bailey splits his FTs. On BAY's possession, we get another steal, and run the fast break. Coley was ahead of everybody else, gets the pass, and lays another FG. Coley with 7 straight pts. Everyone of our players were pumped up. The crowd going bananas again.

After a miss by BAY, SF Anthony Bryant drives and gets his first basket of the game. On BAY's inbound pass at the back court, PG Shea Wheat came up with a steal. Wheat with a good pass to C Hasheem Bailey, and Bailey scores!

What was just a 3-pt game less than 3 minutes earlier, the lead has now expanded to 15. BAY no choice but to call a timeout.

Coley is just 1-5 3PT, but the Coley-mania was no doubt the reason of this surge.

5:41, Up 28-13

Remainder of the 1st half was relatively quiet, as Coley heads back to the bench around the 3:00 mark


Halftime, Up 39-19

Highlights

• We dominated the inside again, but it was our 10-0 advantage in fast break pts being the difference-maker in this game.
• I am pleased with the effort in defense: 3 blks, 8 stls, 12 BAY turn overs
• We took good care of the ball, only committing 4 turn overs.

Start of 2nd Half

15:08, Up 45-21
We go to 2-3 zone earlier, as BAY keeps on missing from the outside, 0-8 3PT

11:53, Up 49-26

7:36, Up 56-31

1:48, Up 70-44
An "off" day for Coley. He heads to the bench. Well, if having an off game means scoring 20 or less, then it wasn't Coley's day today, who "only" scored 20 pts


Final score: Baylor - 47, USC - 74

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 20, 5, 0, 4-17 3PT
Dare 18, 12, 1, 3 blks (*)
Bailey 11, 3, 1
Forney 9, 9, 1, 2 stls
Bryant 7, 3, 2
Millar 5, 5, 6
Parker 4, 0, 3
Wheat 0, 2, 2, 2 stls
Owes 0, 0, 0
Perry 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 44-38%
REB: +14
AST: +2
TO: -11
Paint: +34
2nd Chance : +15
Fast Break: +25
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. We continued to run the break in the 2nd half, finishing the game with a 25-0 advantage in fast break pts
2. Both teams shooting was off. But the differential on metrics such as 2nd chance pts (+15), off rebounds (+10), steals (+7) showed clearly which team played with more energy and determination
3. Monster game for C Elliott Dare. He'll be a much bigger threat as the season progresses.