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[PointGuard]

TEAM LEADERS (* indicates the player was a senior this past season)

Alcorn State Braves

PPG: *Caleb Sanden-20.8; *Bernie Graham-11.9; *Todd Young-10.1; Jared Kraft-6.9; Teremun Harris-6.0
RPG: *Bernie Graham-6.8; Jared Kraft-5.8; Harold Hein-4.9; B.J. Jefferson-3.4; *Todd Young-3.0
APG: *Todd Young-5.0; *Caleb Sanden-2.4; Harold Hein-2.3; Teremun Harris-2.1; *Bernie Graham-1.6

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Eagles

PPG: Chris Betts-16.7; Bill Thorton-14.4; Dan Jefferson-11.9; *William Huggins-7.8; *Antonio Gailey-6.8
RPG: *Antonio Gailey-7.3; Chris Betts-7.1; Dan Jefferson-4.3; Bill Thorton-4.1; *William Huggins-3.2
APG: *William Huggins-6.5; Bill Thorton-3.4; Chris Betts-2.3; Dan Jefferson-2.2; Eric McColpin-2.0

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks
PPG: *Dwayne Bullett-14.0; *Terrance Minor-12.3; Carl Hancock-10.5; *Tony Rueter-8.0; Lataryl Brown-7.4
RPG: *Terrance Minor-6.7; *Dwayne Bullett-5.9; *Tony Rueter-5.5; Lataryl Brown-2.5; Carl Hancock-2.4
APG: Lataryl Brown-4.2; *Terrance Minor-3.0; Carl Hancock-2.6; *Tony Rueter-1.8; LaMarr Ramage-1.4

UC-San Diego Tritons

PPG: *Jack Robinson-12.7; Brad Sanders-11.5; *Chris Williams-11.2; *Michel Woodward-10.4; Jeremiah Mason-9.8
RPG: *Michel Woodward-8.4; *Jack Robinson-4.9; Brad Sanders-4.7; *Chris Williams-3.7; Jared Keating-2.8
APG: *Dalonte Keams-7.4; *Chris Williams-2.6; Brad Sanders-1.8; *Michel Woodward-1.7; Calvin Henderson-1.3

Western Illinois Leathernecks

PPG: *Marcelo Barker-15.8; James Johnson-12.2; Craig Grant-11.9; *Tom Daniel-6.8; Joe Bergmann-6.6
RPG: Craig Grant-5.7; James Johnson-4.4; Orvo Haapajarvi-4.3; Joe Bergmann-3.7; *Marcelo Barker-3.6
APG: Tom Daniel-5.1; *Marcelo Barker-2.9; Jonathan Bailey-2.0; James Johnson-1.6; Craig Grant-1.5

[PointGuard]

OOOPS!!!!

[I posted the Conf S tournament results a while back...BUT...Just realized I forgot to include the Conf T and Conf U tournament results.]

Not sure if it's a better late than never situation, but here they are anyway:

Conference T Tournament

Day 1:

South Carolina Upstate—79, Hampton—75
Canisius—69, North Alabama—65
Seattle—85, UC-Davis—50
Charleston Southern—79, Montana State—60

Day 2:

Central Arkansas—79, Charleston Southern—62
Texas Southern—91, Seattle—79
Canisius—72, Jackson State—55
South Carolina Upstate—73, MD-Eastern Shore (20-9)—61 (“The Spartans put us in a bind early and we just never recovered,” said coach Mike McMillan. “Having C Terry Minor foul out after playing just 15 minutes was tough since that took away a major component of our offense.” PF Dwayne Bullett and SG Carl Hancock both scored 13 points and PG Lataryl Brown added 12.)

Day 3 (Semifinals):

South Carolina Upstate—99, Central Arkansas—68
Texas Southern—69, Canisius—63

Day 4 (Championship):

South Carolina Upstate—76, Texas Southern--60

Conference U Tournament

Day 1:

New Hampshire—75, Massachusetts-Lowell—51
UC-San Diego (14-14)—91, Sacred Heart—73 (The Tritons rolled from start to finish, hitting 60% of the FG’s and 55% of their 3’s. C Michel Woodward scored 31 and had 10 rebounds, SF Brad Sanders tossed in 15 points, reserve forward Jeremiah Mason scored 12, and SG Chris Williams added 10.)
Nicholls State—68, SE Missouri State—49
Howard—74, Maine—65

Day 2:

Western Illinois (21-7)—75, Howard—55 (Western Illinois held a 23-12 turnover advantage and hit 14 of 32 from beyond the arc as they drubbed the Bison. SG Marcelo Barker led the way with 21 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 4 steals and a block. Also scoring in double figures were SF James Johnson with 14 points and C Craig Grant who hit for 13 points.)
Tennessee-Martin—84, Nicholls State—78
Eastern Illinois—83, UC-San Diego (14-15)—79 (The first half was close all the way with the Panthers ahead 38-37 at the break. But UC-San Diego’s defense was porous in the 2nd half allowing Eastern Illinois to go ahead by 14 midway through the half. The Tritons made a good comeback but just couldn’t regain the lead. “I’m proud of how gamely we fought to comeback and get so close to winning this game,” said coach Ken Yamoto. Top scorers for the Tritons were: SF Brad Sanders—24, C Michel Woodward—15, and SG Chris Williams—13.)
Prairie View—88, New Hampshire—76

Day 3 (Semifinals):

Western Illinois (22-7)—81, Prairie View—71 (The Leathernecks gained the lead after the first 2 minutes and never let the Panthers get back into the game. Western Illinois’ entire starting 5 scored in double figures: C Craig Grant—23; SG Marcelo Barker, PG Todd Daniel and SF James Johnson—11 points apiece; PF Joe Bergmann—10.)
Eastern Illinois—73, Tennessee Martin--61

Day 4 (Championship):

Western Illinois (23-7)—83, Eastern Illinois—72 (“What a team! Great season and totally focused throughout the tournament. Now it’s on to the NCAA tourney,” said coach Terry Morillo. SF James Johnson paced Western Illinois’ offense with 19 points while C Craig Grant scored 16, SG Marcelo Barker knocked down 14 points, and PF Joe Bergmann tossed in 13 points.)

[PointGuard]

AWARDS

Conference S

SG Caleb Sanden, Alcorn State: Defensive Player of the Year
Dontell Spencer, Arkansas-Pine Bluff: Coach of the Year:
SG Caleb Sanden, Alcorn State: 1st Team All-Conference
SG Bill Thorton, Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 1st Team All-Conference
C Chris Betts, Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 1st Team All-Conference
SF Dan Jefferson, Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 2nd Team All-Conference
C Bernie Graham, Alcorn State: 2nd Team All-Conference

Conference T

PF Dwayne Bullett, MD-Eastern Shore: Defensive Player of the Year
C Terrance Minor, MD-Eastern Shore: 1st Team All-Conference
PF Dwayne Bullett, MD-Eastern Shore:1st Team All-Conference

Conference U

SG Marcelo Barker, Western Illinois: Defensive Player of the Year
Terry Morillo, Western Illinois: Coach of the Year
SG Marcelo Barker, Western Illinois: 1st Team All-Conference

[PointGuard]

Staff Hiring

MD-Eastern Shore: 1st Asst Mike Moreland and 2nd Asst Torrey Wright interviewed at other colleges but didn’t leave. 3rd asst Jalen Waterman went to Boston College as 3rd asst.
Hired Antonio Douglass from McNeese State as new 3rd asst.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 1st Asst Martin Edwards and 2nd Asst Donald Pastner interviewed at other colleges but didn’t leave. 3rd asst Bill Schafer who went to Utah as 2nd asst.
Hired Isaac Robinson from as new 3rd asst. He’s never coached in Division I, only at the HS level.

Alcorn state: 1ST Asst Vince Edwards left to become the 1st asst at Western Illinois. 2nd Asst Chris Hooks interviewed at other colleges but didn’t leave. 3rd asst Bryan Matthew left to become the 3rd asst at Rhode Island.
Hired A.J. George from Mass-Lowell as new 1st asst.
Hired Camah Beshara from Lipscomb as new 3rd asst.

Western Illinois: 1st Asst Craig Bennem left to become the 1st asst at Fairleigh Dickinson.
Hired Vince Edwards from Alcorn State as new 1st asst.

UC-San Diego: No changes

[PointGuard]

Recruiting Summary

[Note: The AI is still doing ALL the recruiting for each of the 5 schools]

Alcorn State

Mikko Stallings, 6’8” C from Nashville, GA, 13.9 ppg, 3.7 apg, 8.3 rpg as HS senior, #800 ranked recruit
Caswell Cook, 6’1” PG from Brookhaven, MS, 13.1 ppg, 6.3 apg, 4.7 rpg as HS senior, #1460 ranked recruit
Sidney Latham, 6’7” SF from Thomastown, MS, 18.0 ppg, 3.9 apg, 1.9 rpg as HS senior, #1776 ranked recruit

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Monty Soloman, 6’9” C from Helena, AR, 13.1 ppg, 2.4 apg, 8.6 rpg as HS senior, #908 ranked recruit
Ryan Kent, 6’8” PF from No. Little Rock, AR, 13.9 ppg, 2.6 apg, 3.7 rpg as HS senior, #1029 ranked recruit
1 unfilled scholarship

MD-Eastern Shore

Jeff Dyer, 6’3” SG from Baltimore, MD, 13.4 ppg. 4.0 apg, 6.6 rpg as HS senior, #1218 ranked recruit
James Carter, 6’8” C from Sandy Spring, MD, 12.4 ppg, 3.2 apg, 7.1 rpg as HS senior, #1233 ranked recruit
Rick Miller, 6’5” SG from Coal Township, PA, 14.3 ppg, 4.5 apg, 6.1 rpg as HS senior, #1263 ranked recruit
Shawn Wilson, 6’10” C from Dendron, VA, 18.5 ppg, 0.0 apg, 4.9 rpg as HS senior, #1745 ranked recruit

UC-San Diego

Marc York, 6’2” SG from Greybull, WY, 11.3 ppg, 3.1 apg, 6.3 rpg as HS senior, #1666 ranked recruit
Steve McCrary, 6’8” SF from Ontario, CA, 9.9 ppg, 2.8 apg, 4.2 rpg as HS senior, #1698 ranked recruit
Matt Johnson, 6’8” C from Phoenix, AZ, 17.2 ppg, 0.2 apg, 3.7 rpg as HS senior, #1740 ranked recruit

Western Illinois

Trent Cougar, 6’4” PG from Port Byron, IL, 13.5 ppg, 4.2 apg, 5.0 rpg as HS senior, #1474 ranked recruit
Mark Nelson, 6’2” SG from Chicago, IL, 16.3 ppg, 1.2 apg, 3.1 rpg as HS senior, #1755 ranked recruit

[Additional Note: So, obviously no superstars in this group. In fact, none of the recruits for any of the 5 teams that can be relied upon to productive immediately. Actually it looks like a lot of roster fillers, but each of the 5 coaches is hopeful that some of these recruits are pleasant surprises.]

[PointGuard]

The 5 Musketeers Meet After the End of the Season

Mike McMillan, MD-Eastern Shore (MM), Ramon Montez, Alcorn State (RM), Terry Morillo, Western Illinois (TM), Dontell Spencer, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (DS), Ken Yamoto, UC-San Diego (KY)

KY: I feel like odd man out among all of you this year. Your teams all did so well and my team was the only sub-.500 team.

RM: Hey Ken, you just had so many young guys on your team this year. It takes time for guys to get accustomed to moving up from high school ball to Division 1 ball.

MM: Yeah, those young guys could develop into a super squad for you this coming season, Ken.

DS: You’re not the only lone wolf, Ken. Every one of you but me filled all your available scholarships through recruiting I just couldn’t get our final available scholarship filled. That means I need to try to get a good transfer player this summer. And again I ran out of money for recruiting. With the year we had, our board of trustees damned well better approve a budget increase for a change. Our school has one of the lowest budgets in Division 1. When my 3rd assistant fled for greener pastures, I could only pay the lowest possible salary so the only guy I could hire hasn’t ever done any coaching at the college level.

TM: With the ease and frequency with which guys now transfer, I expect a number of us will have some guys transferring and will therefore be faced with trying to pick up a transfer player or two.

RM: There definitely can be some plum picks available on the transfer list. We all just have to be super aggressive in going after them.

KY: Like usual, I found recruiting to be tough again this year. Even though I fill all 3 of my scholarships, getting good quality is very difficult when you’re in the low level conference.

DS: At least you’re in a state where there are a lot of recruits, Ken. Try recruiting in Arkansas!

MM: I’d like to congratulate Dontell, Ramon and Terry for earning promotions to the next higher conferences this coming season. Well done!

TM: Thanks. You really should also gotten a promotion, Mike. You actually got screwed twice by the way they figure this out. Your team tied for 3rd place and just happened to lose the only game you played against the other 3rd place so that dropped you to 4th in the way they compute promotions. And then a team low in the standing won the conference tournament and so they were given the promotion you had earned by your team playing well all season long. Just bad luck all the way around, buddy.

RM: Well, let’s set as a goal for all 5 of us this coming year to earn promotions to higher conferences.

KY: I’m definitely on board for that goal.

DS: Another goal is for all of us to get further than the first round in the post conference tournaments. It’s nice to get there, but we need to begin making noise in those tournaments.

RM: Yeah, this year was a disaster as far as any of us doing anything in the post-season. We all sucked.

TM: Hey, are any of you considering trying to get head coaching jobs elsewhere next year?

MM: I think we all should be on the lookout for better opportunities. We’ve done our apprenticeships and we never should close the door on moving up to better programs.

KY: While I agree, I need to establish some credibility at UC-San Diego before I think anyone else will even consider hiring me.

DS: Hey Ken, you’ve improved the Tritons and had a particularly strong record the year before this last one, so don’t sell yourself short.

TM: Any of you going to take any well-deserved vacations this summer?

RM: My wife and I are going to Curacao for a week right after the transfer sessions in late June.

MM: I’m not going anywhere fancy, but my family has a huge family reunion scheduled for August.

KY: I’m going to Japan. I’ve never been there so it’s time and I have some extended family in a couple areas of Japan. I just wish I spoke the language.

DS: Let’s think about getting back together just before fall practices begin. It would be a good time to talk over the coming season and a little break before the season grind begins.

[PointGuard]

Petitioning of the Board of Directors

UC-San Diego

Ken Yamoto: Our facilities really could stand an upgrade. They’re presently rated as a C and I’d like to see them get up to a B. I’m not optimistic about my request being approved though.

MD-Eastern Shore

Mike McMillan: Our facilities suck. They rated as a D (as in Dump). We did well enough that the board should come through for us, but it’s an uphill battle.

Alcorn State

Ramon Montez: Our budget is totally inadequate. I made sure every penny was spent so the board couldn’t say you didn’t spend it all this year. We had a great record. I really think they should approve our request.

Western Illinois

Terry Morillo: Our C- facilities need to be improved so am requesting that. Since we filled our scholarships early, I didn’t spend all my budget, which should be a plus but will likely be seen by the board as a negative since they seem to search for anything they can to deny requests.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Dontell Spencer: Everybody knows my board is made up of penny-pinching skinflints. But we had a fantastic season winning 23 of 29 games and couldn’t fill all our scholarships because we ran out of money. If they don’t approve my request this year, I really have to think about leaving after this season.

Results:

UC-San Diego: Denied due to the team having a losing season. Ken: “As expected.”

MD-Eastern Shore: Denied due to the board feeling the facilities are appropriate and no need to improve them until the prestige improves significantly. Mike: “The entire board lives in mansions and they think shabby-chic is good enough for us.”

Alcorn State: Approved a $4,000 increase in the budget. Ramon: “Well, I guess any increase is a plus, but you’d think they could have done more than $4K. That still leaves us with about 75% of the budget of some of the other teams in our new conference, Conference R.”

Western Illinois: Denied…facilities are good enough for the level of the program without an increase in the prestige level. Terry: “I guess we have to have win all our games for this board to entertain a reasonable request. There’s better programs with better boards where there’ll be coaching vacancies this coming year.”

Arkansas-Pine Bluff: Denied because the board feels the program is doing just fine as is. Dontell: “Cheap MF-er’s! I’ve already written my resignation letter dated for April 2038 and put it in the drawer in my desk.”

[PointGuard]

Records of the 5 Coaches:

The 5 Musketeers now have 7 seasons under their belts. Here’s how they’ve done:

Dontell Spencer, Arkansas-Pine Bluff—Overall Record: 119-57 (.676); Season records: 6-10, 9-7, 11-8, 25-6, 24-10, 21-10, 23-6; 4 NIT and 2 NCAA appearances in the past 6 seasons with advancement to the Semifinals one year and to the Championship game another year in the NIT; Ranked in Top 25 one season; 5 promotions to higher conferences; Conference Coach of the Year 3 times; Reputation: 28.

Ramon Montez, Alcorn State—Overall Record: 122-75 (.619); Season records: 8-7, 14-14, 14-16, 18-14, 24-7, 23-8. 21-9; 1 CIT and 3 NCAA appearances, 5 promotions to higher conferences; Conference Coach of the Year 1 time; Reputation: 25.

Mike McMillan, MD-Eastern Shore Hawks—Overall Record: 99-79 (.556); Season records: 8-7, 6-9, 12-17, 12-17, 20-9, 21-10, 20-10; 1 CBI, 1 NIT and 1 NCAA appearances, 3 promotions to higher conferences; Conference Coach of the Year 1 time; Reputation: 25.

Terry Morillo, Western Illinois—Overall Record: 82-81 (.503); Season records: 4-11, 7-8, 4-11 at Dixie State and 13-16, 15-15, 16-12, 23-8 at Western Illinois; 1 NCAA appearance; 11 promotion to a higher conference; Conference Coach of the Year 1 time; Reputation: 18.

Ken Yamoto, UC-San Diego—Overall Record: 70-90 (.438); Season records: 3-12, 2-13, 6-9 at Tarleton State and 10-17, 15-13, 20-11, 14-15 at UC-San Diego; 1 CBI appearance, 2 promotions to a higher conference; Conference Coach of the Year 1 time; Reputation: 17.

[PointGuard]

2037-2038 SEASON

Promotions and Relegations

Promoted to A: Alabama, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Florida
Relegated to B: Kentucky, Butler, Connecticut, Baylor
Promoted to B: Kansas, Syracuse, Creighton, Marquette
Relegated to C: Villanova, Notre Dame, Virginia, Brigham Young
Promoted to C: Temple, Miami (FL), Minnesota, Texas A&M
Reletated to D: Nebraska, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh
Promoted to D: Illinois State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Colorado
Relegated to E: Florida State, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Purdue
Promoted to E: Northwestern, Iowa, Pacific, Colorado State
Relegated to F: Missouri, Rhode Island, Buffalo, Louisiana State
Promoted to F: Louisiana Tech, Stanford, Richmond, Akron
Relegated to G: Colorado State, Rutgers, Wright State, Alabama-Birmingham
Promotod to G: UC-Irvine, St. Johns, Marshall, Milwaukee
Relegated to H: Winthrop, Harvard, Saint Louis, Indiana
Promoted to H: Loyola (IL), New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Sam Houston
Relegated to I: Toledo, Missouri State, Murray State, Washington State
Promotod to I: Green Bay, MD-Baltimore County, Weber State, Montana
Relegated to J: Massachusetts, Bradley, Indiana State, Oral Roberts
Promotod to J: South Florida, Holy Cross, Towson, Texas Christian
Relegated to K: Detroit Mercy, New Mexico State, LaSalle, North Dakota State
Promoted to K: Colgate, Rider, Hofstra, Coastal Carolina
Relegated to L: Eastern Washington, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, East Tennessee State
Promoted to L: Southern Mississippi, Cleveland State, High Point, Tulane
Relegated to M: Liberty, Wofford, Princeton, Fairfield
Promoted to M: Youngstown State, Brown, Jacksonville State, San Diego
Relegated to N: Cal State Fullerton, William & Mary, Air Force, Ball State
Promoted to N: Long Island, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, Albany
Relegated to O: Georgia Southern, Marist, Charlotte, IUPUI
Promoted to O: Monmouth, Texas-Rio Grande, Radford, Lamar
Relegated to P: Oakland, Northwestern State, South Alabama, Manhattan
Promoted to P: American, Fairleigh Dickinson, Incarnate Word, Cal State Bakersfield
Relegated to Q: Louisiana-Monroe, Northern Kentucky, NC Wilmington, Loyola (MD)
Promoted to Q: Western Carolina, Sacramento State, Cal State Northridge, Kansas City
Relegated to R: Troy, Cornell, Stetson, Appalachian State
Promoted to R: Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Alcorn State, Omaha, California Baptist
Relegated to S: San Jose State, Wagner, Navy, Idaho State
Promoted to S: Central Arkansas, Texas Southern, Jackson State, South Carolina Upstate
Relegated to T: Columbia, St. Francis (NY), Grambling, Fordham
Promoted to T: Western Illinois, Tennessee-Martin, Eastern Illinois, Prairie View
Relegated to U: Morgan State, Bethune Cookman, Chicago State, Tennessee Tech
Promoted to U: Alabama State, North Florida, North Dakota, Presbyterian
Relegated to V: Citadel, Bellarmine, Dartmouth, Delaware State
Promoted to V: Longwood
Relegated to Independent: NC Central

To give you an idea of the top teams in 2037:

Here’s the makeup of Conf. A now: Clemson, Louisville, Xavier, Providence, Georgetown, Illinois, Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, West Virginia, San Diego State, Arizona, UCLA, Alabama, Florida, Cincinnati.

Here’s the members of Conf. B now: Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Marquette, Butler, Creighton, Michigan, Michigan State, Kansas, Texas, Baylor, Arkansas, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Connecticut, Memphis.

And here's the teams that are in the conferences that our 5 coach's teams are in:

Conference R: Hartford, Stetson, Jacksonville, Cornell, Quinnipiac, Omaha, North Carolina A&T, California Baptist, Mount St. Mary's, Bryant, Lafayette, VMI, Alcorn State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Appalachian State, Troy.

Conference T: Fordham, Montana State, Charleston Southern, UC-Davis, Columbia, Canisius, Western Illinois, MD-Eastern Shore, Hampton, North Alabama, Saint Francis (NY), Eastern Illinois, Tennessee-Martin, Grambling, Prairie View, Seattle.

Conference U: Maine, Massachusetts-Lowell, New Hampshire, North Florida, North Dakota, Presbyterian, Bethune Cookman, Morgan State, Howard, Sacred Heart, SE Missouri State, Tennessee Tech, UC-San Diego, Nicholls State, Alabama State, Chicago State.

[PointGuard]

Recruit Class Rankings

MD-Eastern Shore: 218th
Alcorn State: 239th
UC-San Diego: 254th
Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 262nd
Western Illiois: 294th

All 5 in the lower half of the 358 Division 1 basketball programs, so nothing to brag about by any of them.