Storm exposes league TV snow job
Patriot League officials keep trying to convince the public that having games on College Sports TV amounts to legitimate "national television broadcasts."
We keep insisting that until they are included in the over 200 channels offered by Comcast in our neighborhood, they are hardly what you would call "national."
Technically, we suppose they can make that claim. Just like we can claim we have a worldwide audience because our stats show occasional hits from Singapore and Korea (as well as a very loyal visitor from France, though that could just be a Conehead living down the street).
The snowstorm that is hitting the northeast has exposed the Patriot League TV package for exactly what it is. The league has announced Sunday's TV coverage of the Army-Navy Game has been scrapped. According to the press release:
Granted, getting to West Point in snow is a nervewracking ordeal. But the Navy team made it. The Navy radio crew made it. We assume there will be officials on hand to work the game, and they no doubt worked somewhere else today and are driving in after those games.
It is snowing heavily in the D.C. area, but we found no sign of FOX Sports Net bailing on the NC State-Maryland game.
That's because real national television is like Broadway. The show must go on.
If this were a real national broadcast being cancelled, it would really be too bad. Granted Army and Navy are not exactly the teams you would pick this season to showcase your product. But with the 1 p.m. slot wide open before football takes the stage at 3, this would be a great chance for the league to gain some exposure.
Of course this is the same league that tries to convince you that 4:30 on a Friday afternoon is a great slot on ESPN2 for the league's championship game because it is shown between games of an ACC Tournament doubleheader and people can catch it in the bars during happy hour.
That might all be true. But last we looked, the only way a halftime show gets any attention is if someone flashes their boob.
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We keep insisting that until they are included in the over 200 channels offered by Comcast in our neighborhood, they are hardly what you would call "national."
Technically, we suppose they can make that claim. Just like we can claim we have a worldwide audience because our stats show occasional hits from Singapore and Korea (as well as a very loyal visitor from France, though that could just be a Conehead living down the street).
The snowstorm that is hitting the northeast has exposed the Patriot League TV package for exactly what it is. The league has announced Sunday's TV coverage of the Army-Navy Game has been scrapped. According to the press release:
. . . league officials cited safety and travel concerns for television production personnel in pulling the plug on what would have been Army's first-ever men's basketball appearance on College Sports Television.It snowed like mad in Philly today, but ESPN still showed Villanova's shocker over Kansas. The storm is expected to hit Connecticut worse than it will hit the West Point area, but Gameday will still be on tonight from Storrs, followed by the Pitt at UConn game. Flipping around the tube this afternoon there were other games from venues that saw heavy snow.
Granted, getting to West Point in snow is a nervewracking ordeal. But the Navy team made it. The Navy radio crew made it. We assume there will be officials on hand to work the game, and they no doubt worked somewhere else today and are driving in after those games.
It is snowing heavily in the D.C. area, but we found no sign of FOX Sports Net bailing on the NC State-Maryland game.
That's because real national television is like Broadway. The show must go on.
If this were a real national broadcast being cancelled, it would really be too bad. Granted Army and Navy are not exactly the teams you would pick this season to showcase your product. But with the 1 p.m. slot wide open before football takes the stage at 3, this would be a great chance for the league to gain some exposure.
Of course this is the same league that tries to convince you that 4:30 on a Friday afternoon is a great slot on ESPN2 for the league's championship game because it is shown between games of an ACC Tournament doubleheader and people can catch it in the bars during happy hour.
That might all be true. But last we looked, the only way a halftime show gets any attention is if someone flashes their boob.
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Flannery update
A little clarity, though not a lot, on the Pat Flannery situation at Bucknell.
Flannery left last night's game against Lafayette at the half after becoming ill during the pregame and first half.
While no diagnosis has been made public, it appears Flannery's health issues are similar to those that caused him to leave a game against Army at the half last season, and to sit out two subsequent games.
At the time, there was concern Flannery was suffering from some sort of cardiac problem. After a battery of tests, it was determined to be a gastrointestinal ailment.
Flannery also missed last week's game against Army. At the time, Bucknell officials attributed his absence to a family emergency. It now seems that Flannery's absence for that Army game was due to the same sort of health problem that caused him to leave last night's game.
Earlier this morning, we said that was uncertain, since David Jones of the Patriot-News was reporting Flannery missed the Army game due to "a personal health issue" while Tom Housenick, in the Daily Item, was still calling it a family emergency.
Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry confirmed Jones' version. "He asked, Tom didn't," said Terry. (We are not criticizing Housenick. Tom was there for the Army game, and had no reason to suspect it was anything different since Bucknell never released any further clarification after the Army game.)
Terry said this morning, he did no have further details on Flannery's condition or his status for Sunday's game against Lehigh. "The situation was serious enough that he was unable to coach the second half," said Terry.
Whatever the ailment, Flannery was reportedly not hospitalized and was resting at home last night.
Bucknell officials will probably meet today to sort things, Terry said.
We will update further if and when more information becomes available.
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Flannery left last night's game against Lafayette at the half after becoming ill during the pregame and first half.
While no diagnosis has been made public, it appears Flannery's health issues are similar to those that caused him to leave a game against Army at the half last season, and to sit out two subsequent games.
At the time, there was concern Flannery was suffering from some sort of cardiac problem. After a battery of tests, it was determined to be a gastrointestinal ailment.
Flannery also missed last week's game against Army. At the time, Bucknell officials attributed his absence to a family emergency. It now seems that Flannery's absence for that Army game was due to the same sort of health problem that caused him to leave last night's game.
Earlier this morning, we said that was uncertain, since David Jones of the Patriot-News was reporting Flannery missed the Army game due to "a personal health issue" while Tom Housenick, in the Daily Item, was still calling it a family emergency.
Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry confirmed Jones' version. "He asked, Tom didn't," said Terry. (We are not criticizing Housenick. Tom was there for the Army game, and had no reason to suspect it was anything different since Bucknell never released any further clarification after the Army game.)
Terry said this morning, he did no have further details on Flannery's condition or his status for Sunday's game against Lehigh. "The situation was serious enough that he was unable to coach the second half," said Terry.
Whatever the ailment, Flannery was reportedly not hospitalized and was resting at home last night.
Bucknell officials will probably meet today to sort things, Terry said.
We will update further if and when more information becomes available.
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Bison take control: Flannery takes ill
Bucknell 71, Lafayette 54: The Bison took sole control of first place in the Patriot League, at least until Sunday, with their 10th straight win over Lafayette.
Chris McNaughton led three Bison in double figures with 17 points. Freshman guard John Griffin added 11 off the bench and Charles Lee had 10 for Bucknell.
The Bison held Lafayette to 1-of-53 (32 percent) shooting and limited Lafayette's leading scorer, Sean Knitter, to 3 points.
But after the game, all the talk was about Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, who was not on the Bison bench for the second half after developing what Bucknell is calling "health issues" during the pregame and the first half.
Flannery missed all of last week's win over Army due to an unspecified family emergency. Flannery also left the Army at Bucknell game last February and missed the next two games before returning for the league tournament. That illness was reportedly gastrointestinal in nature. No word on what Flannery's condition is this time.
In his story from last night, David Jones of The Patriot-News wrote:
Jones attributed the comment on last week's game to Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry.
Here's where the confusion sets in. At the Army game, Terry said Flannery was absent due to a "family emergency," with no mention of Flannery's health being involved. And in Tom Housenick's story on last night's game, Tom still said:
Housenick's version has Davis saying:
We will try to get an update later today.
Box score | Bucknell recap | AP wrap
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Chris McNaughton led three Bison in double figures with 17 points. Freshman guard John Griffin added 11 off the bench and Charles Lee had 10 for Bucknell.
The Bison held Lafayette to 1-of-53 (32 percent) shooting and limited Lafayette's leading scorer, Sean Knitter, to 3 points.
But after the game, all the talk was about Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, who was not on the Bison bench for the second half after developing what Bucknell is calling "health issues" during the pregame and the first half.
Flannery missed all of last week's win over Army due to an unspecified family emergency. Flannery also left the Army at Bucknell game last February and missed the next two games before returning for the league tournament. That illness was reportedly gastrointestinal in nature. No word on what Flannery's condition is this time.
In his story from last night, David Jones of The Patriot-News wrote:
What is apparent is this: Flannery, known for his 24-hour intensity, is not a healthy man.Jones seemed to base that conclusion on the combination of last year's problems, last night's situation and last week's Army game, which Jones said Flannery missed due to a "personal health issue."
Jones attributed the comment on last week's game to Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry.
Here's where the confusion sets in. At the Army game, Terry said Flannery was absent due to a "family emergency," with no mention of Flannery's health being involved. And in Tom Housenick's story on last night's game, Tom still said:
The dean of league coaches missed last Saturday's home game with Army for a family emergency.Two versions of a quote from assistant Nate Davis, who picked up his second career save by coaching the Bison in the second half, add to the mystery.
Housenick's version has Davis saying:
"He just needed a break, some things had been building up."In Jones' story, it is slightly different:
"He needed a little break," said Davis, his eyes darting in an attempt to find the correct words. "He needed to take a step back. I'm sure he'll be back as soon as he can."Jones did say Flannery was at home after the game and was not hospitalized. For now, that is all anybody knows.
We will try to get an update later today.
Box score | Bucknell recap | AP wrap
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HC, AU keep winning; Lehigh falters
Holy Cross 79, Navy 56:Torrey who? Holy Cross freshman point guard Pat Doherty, filling in for the injured Torrey Thomas, dropped 16 points, 6 assists and 5 steals on the Midshipmen.
From the Telegram & Gazette's story (subscription needed, so as usual, we won't link):
Box score | Boston Herald story | AP wrap | HC recap
Colgate 61, Lehigh 54: Remember those Lehigh kids with the "Pedro says" sign at the Lehigh-Lafayette game? Well Lehigh has now lost 14 times in a row at Colgate. Who's whose daddy?
Box score | AP wrap
American 72, Army 37:A 20-1 AU run in the opening few minutes put any Army upset hopes to rest in a hurry.
Box score Army recap
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From the Telegram & Gazette's story (subscription needed, so as usual, we won't link):
The Crusaders are still playing exemplary defense this season, as evidenced by their fifth-in-the-nation ranking when it comes to fewest points allowed. Lately, though, Holy Cross has been showing it can shoot the ball with some accuracy as well.The win sets up a showdown with American Sunday, a game that will be for at least sole possession of second place and could be for a share of the league lead if Lehigh can beat Bucknell. Second place games are not normally such a big deal, but with the Patriot's new tournament format, the No. 2 team in the regular season gets homecourt in the first two rounds.
Put it all together and the Crusaders are a pretty tough team to beat.
Holy Cross came up with 12 steals and connected on 56 percent of its shots . . .
The Crusaders (12-5, 3-1) have won four straight games, shooting better than 50 percent in each of them. Last season, they only hit at least half their shots in 3 of 28 games.
The win was the 11th straight in the series for Holy Cross, which overcame a couple of lulls that allowed the Midshipmen (4-13, 0-4) to stay within shouting distance of the lead before using an 11-0 run to wrap it up with 10 minutes to play. HC is 6-1 in its last seven games; Navy 0-7.
Box score | Boston Herald story | AP wrap | HC recap
Colgate 61, Lehigh 54: Remember those Lehigh kids with the "Pedro says" sign at the Lehigh-Lafayette game? Well Lehigh has now lost 14 times in a row at Colgate. Who's whose daddy?
Box score | AP wrap
American 72, Army 37:A 20-1 AU run in the opening few minutes put any Army upset hopes to rest in a hurry.
Box score Army recap
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Fontana fantastic for HC women
Note: This is the unedited version of the story we filed for the Worcester Telegram&Gazette
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Special to The Telegram-Gazette
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – There were no funky old uniforms; no three players on each side of halfcourt. But make no mistake; Holy Cross’ 73-48 women's basketball win over Navy last night had all the feel of a turn back the clock night.
At least for Holy Cross senior Maggie Fontana.
Three years ago, Fontana was the Patriot League’s Rookie of the Year, averaging over 12 points per game for a Crusaders team that won 23 games and went to the Women’s NIT. As a sophomore, Fontana averaged better than 15 points per game, earning all-league and tournament MVP honors to help HC to its ninth league title. Last year, Fontana earned all-league honors again, scoring 14 points per game despite being hampered by knee troubles.
Following a second operation on the knee in as many years, Fontana has been a shell of her former self through most of this season, averaging just 7.7 points per game coming in.
The left knee is still not healed. Fontana’s coach, Bill Gibbons, says the cartilage is barely there. “It’s bone on bone,” Gibbons said. On the plane ride south for the weekend’s two-game road swing, the Holy Cross trainers had to apply a special wrap to keep the swelling to a minimum in the low air pressure of high altitude.
But if you didn’t know Fontana was damaged goods, you never would have guessed it last night. The only clue in the box score would have been her limited minutes (22) of playing time. Everything else was vintage Fontana. The senior from Barrington, Ill. went off for a game-high 18 points against Navy, shooting 8-for-10 from the field to jump start a Holy Cross offense that was struggling for most of the first half after jumping out to an early double digit lead.
Holy Cross (9-8, 4-0) scorched Navy’s defense in the first four minutes of the game, hitting 7 of its first 8 shots to build a 14-3 lead. Then Navy (6-11, 2-2) switched to a 2-3 zone, doubling down low on 6-3 Lisa Andrews, who had 6 of the Crusaders first 14 points. Failing to get the ball inside, and struggling from the perimeter, Holy Cross proceeded to go long stretches of the half without a scoring.
The fact that HC had two droughts of over five minutes without a point didn’t make much of a difference in the margin it built in that opening spurt. Although the Crusaders were just 3-for-21 from the field after the first four minutes of the half, their defense kept Navy at bay, holding the Midshipmen to 27 percent (6-for-22) shooting in the half while forcing 15 turnovers.
When Andrews buried a 19-foot buzzer-beating bank shot from the top of the key, off an assist from Fontana, the Crusaders took a 29-18 lead to the locker room at the intermission.
After the break, Fontana got on a roll, going 6-for-7 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers that helped force Navy to abandon the zone. The first came early, pushing the Holy Cross lead to 38-22 with 17:02 left. The second trey was like a dagger, building the Crusaders’ lead back to 15 after Navy had pulled to within 6 two minutes earlier.
“There are times when (the knee) feels good,” said Fontana. “When the adrenaline gets going, it’s not too much of a problem.”
Andrews, who has a bothersome knee of her own, added 16 points for Holy Cross. No other Crusaders reached double figures, but the way they played defense, the offense was more than enough.
The Crusaders limited Navy’s leading scorer, Nikki Curtis, a 49-percent shooter, to 2-for-11 shooting from the field.
Curtis tried to downplay the role Holy Cross’ defense had in the outcome. “Our shots just weren’t falling and we weren’t making the best decisions,” she said.
The final box score, though, told a different story. Navy finished the game with 25 turnovers and made only 17 of the 55 shots they fired up. The Mids were getting the kind of shots coaches like; Curtis and her frontcourt mate Kate Hobbs took 23 shots between them, most in the paint. But they only made 4 combined.
“This team is really starting to believe in our defensive system,” Gibbons said. “We defended like that even when we weren’t scoring.”
Holy Cross will look to complete a sweep on the weekend road trip when they meet American Sunday afternoon.
Box score
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By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Special to The Telegram-Gazette
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – There were no funky old uniforms; no three players on each side of halfcourt. But make no mistake; Holy Cross’ 73-48 women's basketball win over Navy last night had all the feel of a turn back the clock night.
At least for Holy Cross senior Maggie Fontana.
Three years ago, Fontana was the Patriot League’s Rookie of the Year, averaging over 12 points per game for a Crusaders team that won 23 games and went to the Women’s NIT. As a sophomore, Fontana averaged better than 15 points per game, earning all-league and tournament MVP honors to help HC to its ninth league title. Last year, Fontana earned all-league honors again, scoring 14 points per game despite being hampered by knee troubles.
Following a second operation on the knee in as many years, Fontana has been a shell of her former self through most of this season, averaging just 7.7 points per game coming in.
The left knee is still not healed. Fontana’s coach, Bill Gibbons, says the cartilage is barely there. “It’s bone on bone,” Gibbons said. On the plane ride south for the weekend’s two-game road swing, the Holy Cross trainers had to apply a special wrap to keep the swelling to a minimum in the low air pressure of high altitude.
But if you didn’t know Fontana was damaged goods, you never would have guessed it last night. The only clue in the box score would have been her limited minutes (22) of playing time. Everything else was vintage Fontana. The senior from Barrington, Ill. went off for a game-high 18 points against Navy, shooting 8-for-10 from the field to jump start a Holy Cross offense that was struggling for most of the first half after jumping out to an early double digit lead.
Holy Cross (9-8, 4-0) scorched Navy’s defense in the first four minutes of the game, hitting 7 of its first 8 shots to build a 14-3 lead. Then Navy (6-11, 2-2) switched to a 2-3 zone, doubling down low on 6-3 Lisa Andrews, who had 6 of the Crusaders first 14 points. Failing to get the ball inside, and struggling from the perimeter, Holy Cross proceeded to go long stretches of the half without a scoring.
The fact that HC had two droughts of over five minutes without a point didn’t make much of a difference in the margin it built in that opening spurt. Although the Crusaders were just 3-for-21 from the field after the first four minutes of the half, their defense kept Navy at bay, holding the Midshipmen to 27 percent (6-for-22) shooting in the half while forcing 15 turnovers.
When Andrews buried a 19-foot buzzer-beating bank shot from the top of the key, off an assist from Fontana, the Crusaders took a 29-18 lead to the locker room at the intermission.
After the break, Fontana got on a roll, going 6-for-7 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers that helped force Navy to abandon the zone. The first came early, pushing the Holy Cross lead to 38-22 with 17:02 left. The second trey was like a dagger, building the Crusaders’ lead back to 15 after Navy had pulled to within 6 two minutes earlier.
“There are times when (the knee) feels good,” said Fontana. “When the adrenaline gets going, it’s not too much of a problem.”
Andrews, who has a bothersome knee of her own, added 16 points for Holy Cross. No other Crusaders reached double figures, but the way they played defense, the offense was more than enough.
The Crusaders limited Navy’s leading scorer, Nikki Curtis, a 49-percent shooter, to 2-for-11 shooting from the field.
Curtis tried to downplay the role Holy Cross’ defense had in the outcome. “Our shots just weren’t falling and we weren’t making the best decisions,” she said.
The final box score, though, told a different story. Navy finished the game with 25 turnovers and made only 17 of the 55 shots they fired up. The Mids were getting the kind of shots coaches like; Curtis and her frontcourt mate Kate Hobbs took 23 shots between them, most in the paint. But they only made 4 combined.
“This team is really starting to believe in our defensive system,” Gibbons said. “We defended like that even when we weren’t scoring.”
Holy Cross will look to complete a sweep on the weekend road trip when they meet American Sunday afternoon.
Box score
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Friday night's games
Game plan note: We'll be in Annapolis tonight for the HC-Navy women's game. You'll find box score and recap links on the scoreboards below after the games (and running scores during). We have a full rundown on Friday night's games Saturday morning.
Patriot League scoreboards
ESPN | CBS Sportsline | PennLive.com | Yahoo!
Navy at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.: Ralph Willard offers a brief scouting report on his site:
Lafayette at Bucknell, 7 p.m.: This is a big weekend for Bucknell, with its two intrastate rivals from the Lehigh Valley coming to town.
People are already talking about Sunday's game with Lehigh. In his college hoops column in the Daily Item, Tom Housenick points out Bucknell, despite all the attention, has not won anything yet. Beating Lehigh on Sunday, he argues, will not change that, but:
After what happened in the first half against Army, it is doubtful that will happen.
Lafayette notes | BU notes | USA Today matchup | Bucknell radio
Lehigh at Colgate, 7 p.m.:That anticipated battle of league unbeatens at Bucknell Sunday is hardly a lock. We already talked about Bucknell needing to avoid looking past Lafayette. The look-ahead trap is even more dangerous in this one. Lehigh is on the road, playing a team that is dangerous from the three-point arc, in an airplane hangar where the Mountain Hawks have not won since they were the Engineers back in the very first season of Patriot League hoops play (1990-91). If you are keeping score at home, that is 13 straight losses at Cotterell Court for Lehigh.
Lehigh notes (pdf) | Colgate notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker | Video Webcast
American at Army, 7 p.m.: Army might well be the worst team in D-I as the RPI seems to think. But they showed in the first half at Bucknell that they can't be taken for granted. No, we are not predicting an upset. This is as close to a lock as there is on tonight's slate. Just pointing out that AU will want to be focused from the. We don't want to be caught looking ahead either, but one key to the Eagles success Sunday in Worcester might be how fresh AU's legs are. We have considered American's depth suspect all season, and Holy Cross' style of play will can you down.
Of course it would only be fair to point out Army is in danger of looking past this one, too. The Black Knights have to know their best hope of getting a win over a D-I foe comes Sunday when archrival Navy comes to West Point.
AU notes (.pdf) | Army notes (.pdf) | USA Today matchup | Gametracker
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ESPN | CBS Sportsline | PennLive.com | Yahoo!
Navy at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.: Ralph Willard offers a brief scouting report on his site:
Navy plays a very physical style. After watching their American and Columbia tapes it was tough to tell whether it was a basketball or rugby game. There is bumping ,grabbing and holding on every play. . .Ralph also updates Torrey Thomas' situation:
Torrey's film came back and he was diagnosed with a slight separation. Anthony Cerundulo our trainer, told me the doctors said Torrey could play if needed. Naturally he wanted to , but after a two minute stint I knew he was not ready. Yesterday he was so sore from an injection he had received he once again could not practice and his status form this weekend is up in the air. This is 5 straight days without shooting or practicing.Navy notes | HC notes (pdf) | USA Today matchup | HC Radio | Navy Radio
Lafayette at Bucknell, 7 p.m.: This is a big weekend for Bucknell, with its two intrastate rivals from the Lehigh Valley coming to town.
People are already talking about Sunday's game with Lehigh. In his college hoops column in the Daily Item, Tom Housenick points out Bucknell, despite all the attention, has not won anything yet. Beating Lehigh on Sunday, he argues, will not change that, but:
Though there are road games against American, Holy Cross and Lehigh later in the season, Bucknell is position to send a message to the rest of the league.For starters, Pat Flannery hopes they won't look past Lafayette tonight.
The question is: What will they do with the spotlight on them?
After what happened in the first half against Army, it is doubtful that will happen.
Lafayette notes | BU notes | USA Today matchup | Bucknell radio
Lehigh at Colgate, 7 p.m.:That anticipated battle of league unbeatens at Bucknell Sunday is hardly a lock. We already talked about Bucknell needing to avoid looking past Lafayette. The look-ahead trap is even more dangerous in this one. Lehigh is on the road, playing a team that is dangerous from the three-point arc, in an airplane hangar where the Mountain Hawks have not won since they were the Engineers back in the very first season of Patriot League hoops play (1990-91). If you are keeping score at home, that is 13 straight losses at Cotterell Court for Lehigh.
Lehigh notes (pdf) | Colgate notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker | Video Webcast
American at Army, 7 p.m.: Army might well be the worst team in D-I as the RPI seems to think. But they showed in the first half at Bucknell that they can't be taken for granted. No, we are not predicting an upset. This is as close to a lock as there is on tonight's slate. Just pointing out that AU will want to be focused from the. We don't want to be caught looking ahead either, but one key to the Eagles success Sunday in Worcester might be how fresh AU's legs are. We have considered American's depth suspect all season, and Holy Cross' style of play will can you down.
Of course it would only be fair to point out Army is in danger of looking past this one, too. The Black Knights have to know their best hope of getting a win over a D-I foe comes Sunday when archrival Navy comes to West Point.
AU notes (.pdf) | Army notes (.pdf) | USA Today matchup | Gametracker
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Ladies day
According to the Good Book, even the Lord himself (or herself, as my daughters will argue) took a day off every now and then.
Here at Hoop Time, we've only rested twice since our launch in November. So today, with a lull in the action, and no features to be found in our morning scan of the 'net, we were already to declare it a day of rest.
Then we got to thinking a little about the upcoming weekend. Not just our beloved Iggles, or the usual men's hoops stuff we cover here, either. Because Sunday, while Philly is busy smacking the crap out of the Falcons, we will be busy down in D.C., watching the Holy Cross and American women's teams attempt to do the same to each other.
Call it fallout from the Patriot League's decision to do away with the men's-women's doubleheaders they had played since the league began. For the last several seasons, we have enjoyed a freelance gig with the Worcester Telegram-Gazette covering Holy Cross teams when they migrate south for games in exotic locales like Easton, Bethlehem, Lewisburg, D.C. and Annapolis.
The bad news is missing most of the football game. The good news, though, is Maryland crab soup and a crabcake sandwich at Chick and Ruth's tomorrow, and a chance to watch Bill Gibbons' team against the Navy ladies in the evening.
An afternoon in Annapolis (if the weather geeks are to be trusted) will almost make us even with nature if it does dump eight inches on Sunday, making our drive to AU a mess.
Like most things in life, it evens out.
Gibbons is another one of the good guys you seem to meet a lot of around the game at this level. There are no Jim Harricks in the Patriot League.
We gave Bill a call the other day to talk a little about his team in preparation for this weekend's assignment, and took advantage of the opportunity to congratulate him on the 400th win of his career.
It came last Wednesday at the Hart Center, in a 70-53 victory over Army.
In his New England college basketball column Monday, Rich Thompson of the Boston Herald put Gibbons' acheivement in perspective:
It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Here's a little-known story that illustrates the class act Gibbons is: A few years ago, Bucknell's Molly Creamer was coming off a standout junior season and started to wonder if maybe she could be playing at a higher level.
Already a two-time league Player of the Year, Creamer spent much of the spring and summer contemplating a transfer to a big-time program, figuring that might improve her chances of a professional career.
Unbeknownst to her own coach, Kathy Fedorjaka, Creamer sought out Gibbons for advice. This all took place not long after Creamer led Bucknell past Holy Cross for the 2002 league title, ending a streak of four straight championships for Holy Cross.
With Creamer back for her senior year, Bucknell might well have been a major stumbling block to the Crusaders' quest to regain their crown in 2003. Nonetheless, Gibbons' advice to Creamer was to stay at BU for her senior season.
That nearly came back to bite him in the league semifinals. Bucknell took the 'Saders to the final buzzer before losing 66-63. Holy Cross went on to win the championship. Creamer went on to become a No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft.
Like we said, things even out.
It is hard to imagine how many wins Gibbons might have if he were willing to add a few more modest opponents to his non conference schedule. As Thompson pointed out:
PATRIOTS IN THE PROS: We mentioned last week that Creamer has signed with the Lubbock Hawks of the NWBA, a springtime league that includes a lot of WNBA players.
Turns out she is not the only former Bucknell player in the league. Desire Almind, the school's third-leading scorer all-time and an all-league pick last season, has signed with the Birmingham Power.
Samaiyah Council, a 2002 graduate of Lafayette, is also in the lageu, playing for the Colorado Chill.
O'KEEFE KEEPS WINNING: Here's a nice piece on former Holy Cross women's star Katie O'Keefe, who is proving being a winner involves more than just scoreboard results. O'Keefe is coaching her high school alma mater, teaching her players about hoops, and about life.
Read more!
Here at Hoop Time, we've only rested twice since our launch in November. So today, with a lull in the action, and no features to be found in our morning scan of the 'net, we were already to declare it a day of rest.
Then we got to thinking a little about the upcoming weekend. Not just our beloved Iggles, or the usual men's hoops stuff we cover here, either. Because Sunday, while Philly is busy smacking the crap out of the Falcons, we will be busy down in D.C., watching the Holy Cross and American women's teams attempt to do the same to each other.
Call it fallout from the Patriot League's decision to do away with the men's-women's doubleheaders they had played since the league began. For the last several seasons, we have enjoyed a freelance gig with the Worcester Telegram-Gazette covering Holy Cross teams when they migrate south for games in exotic locales like Easton, Bethlehem, Lewisburg, D.C. and Annapolis.
The bad news is missing most of the football game. The good news, though, is Maryland crab soup and a crabcake sandwich at Chick and Ruth's tomorrow, and a chance to watch Bill Gibbons' team against the Navy ladies in the evening.
An afternoon in Annapolis (if the weather geeks are to be trusted) will almost make us even with nature if it does dump eight inches on Sunday, making our drive to AU a mess.
Like most things in life, it evens out.
Gibbons is another one of the good guys you seem to meet a lot of around the game at this level. There are no Jim Harricks in the Patriot League.
We gave Bill a call the other day to talk a little about his team in preparation for this weekend's assignment, and took advantage of the opportunity to congratulate him on the 400th win of his career.
It came last Wednesday at the Hart Center, in a 70-53 victory over Army.
In his New England college basketball column Monday, Rich Thompson of the Boston Herald put Gibbons' acheivement in perspective:
Gibbons (400-180) owns the most victories of any coach in Holy Cross history and his run includes 15 seasons with 20 or more wins. The 400 Club includes such Div. 1 luminaries as Geno Auriemma (UConn), Pat Summitt (Tennessee), Tara Van Deever (Stanford) and Jody Conradt (Texas).In the Patriot League, Gibbons' program is the established measuring stick. The Crusaders are 156-29 in league play (all under Gibbons) with 10 regular season titles and nine tournament championships. Six times Gibbons has been named the league's women's coach of the year.
It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Here's a little-known story that illustrates the class act Gibbons is: A few years ago, Bucknell's Molly Creamer was coming off a standout junior season and started to wonder if maybe she could be playing at a higher level.
Already a two-time league Player of the Year, Creamer spent much of the spring and summer contemplating a transfer to a big-time program, figuring that might improve her chances of a professional career.
Unbeknownst to her own coach, Kathy Fedorjaka, Creamer sought out Gibbons for advice. This all took place not long after Creamer led Bucknell past Holy Cross for the 2002 league title, ending a streak of four straight championships for Holy Cross.
With Creamer back for her senior year, Bucknell might well have been a major stumbling block to the Crusaders' quest to regain their crown in 2003. Nonetheless, Gibbons' advice to Creamer was to stay at BU for her senior season.
That nearly came back to bite him in the league semifinals. Bucknell took the 'Saders to the final buzzer before losing 66-63. Holy Cross went on to win the championship. Creamer went on to become a No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft.
Like we said, things even out.
It is hard to imagine how many wins Gibbons might have if he were willing to add a few more modest opponents to his non conference schedule. As Thompson pointed out:
The quality of the Crusaders' nonconference foes is staggering. The Crusaders aren't immediate family members in the Big East, but they certainly qualify as a first cousins. Already this season, they've played defending national champion UConn, Boston College, Providence and St. John's. Holy Cross has also tangled with Duke, UMass, DePaul, Alabama-Birmingham and Northeastern. The Crusaders got crushed at Duke, but they held their own in the other tough, nonconference matchups.This year's HC team is 3-0 in the league after picking up Gibbons' win No. 401 Saturday at Colgate. Despite a rash of injuries, including knee and shoulder problems that have reduced senior Maggie Fontana from one of the league's two best players two years ago to merely above average this year, the Crusaders once again look like one of the top contenders in the league.
PATRIOTS IN THE PROS: We mentioned last week that Creamer has signed with the Lubbock Hawks of the NWBA, a springtime league that includes a lot of WNBA players.
Turns out she is not the only former Bucknell player in the league. Desire Almind, the school's third-leading scorer all-time and an all-league pick last season, has signed with the Birmingham Power.
Samaiyah Council, a 2002 graduate of Lafayette, is also in the lageu, playing for the Colorado Chill.
O'KEEFE KEEPS WINNING: Here's a nice piece on former Holy Cross women's star Katie O'Keefe, who is proving being a winner involves more than just scoreboard results. O'Keefe is coaching her high school alma mater, teaching her players about hoops, and about life.
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Tuesday night's games
Last updated: 7:34 a.m.
Penn 85, Lafayette 63: The Quakers built a 47-39 halftime lead, then opened the second half with a 12-2. Lafayette never got closer than 15 the rest of the night.
Tim Begley, Penn's leading scorer, was 1-for-7 from the field, scoring only three points. Begley still managed to make a big impression on Corky Blake of the Express-Times
With Lafayette in the midst of a three-game losing streak, does our previous prediction that the Leopards could end up being a spoiler in conference play still stand? You betcha. After the game, O'Hanlon to Andre Williams of the Morning Call:
Daily Pennsylvanian (3 stories) | Lafayette recap | Box score
Iona at Holy Cross, 7:30 p.m: After holding Iona to 22 points in the first half, the Crusaders made sure the Gaels would not mount a comeback by hitting all eight three-pointers they shot in the second half. Kevin Hamilton led all scorers with a career-high 24 points, including 5 treys. Keith Simmons was 4-for-5 from outside the arc, finishing with 14 points.
Defensively, HC forced 24 turnovers, converting them into 30 points.
Here are a few notes gleaned from Bill Doyle's story in the Telegram & Gazette (subscription required, so we don't link):
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Penn 85, Lafayette 63: The Quakers built a 47-39 halftime lead, then opened the second half with a 12-2. Lafayette never got closer than 15 the rest of the night.
Tim Begley, Penn's leading scorer, was 1-for-7 from the field, scoring only three points. Begley still managed to make a big impression on Corky Blake of the Express-Times
:. . . the shaggy-haired 6-foot-5 senior dominated the Quakers' 85-63 victory over the Leopards before 2,011 Kirby Sports Center spectators.Interesting quote from Penn coach Fran Dunphy in the Philadelphia Inquirer story. Alluding to his former assistant, Fran O'Hanlon's situation as the coach of the only non-scholarship team in what has become a scholarship league, Dunphy said:
Begley shredded Lafayette (5-11) with a school-record tying 13 assists and he sparked Penn's defense, which put the clamps on the Leopards in the opening eight minutes of the second half, with four steals. For good measure, Begley added six rebounds.
"I honestly think that (O'Hanlon) is as good a basketball coach as I know. The stuff he gets out of the guys that he has is pretty spectacular. I can't imagine there's a more difficult situation to put somebody in."Mike Kern of the Philly Daily News noted:
It was the Quakers' 19th consecutive win over a Patriot League opponent.We also might point out the Quakers' win completed the season series between the non-scholarship Ivies and the scholarship Patriots with the Ivies on top 13-10.
With Lafayette in the midst of a three-game losing streak, does our previous prediction that the Leopards could end up being a spoiler in conference play still stand? You betcha. After the game, O'Hanlon to Andre Williams of the Morning Call:
"This is a work in progress. I think we will be better in February than we are in January."We have no reason to doubt O'Hanlon. Remember, between Jan. 28 and Feb. 26, the four teams considered contenders all have to make a trip to Easton.
Daily Pennsylvanian (3 stories) | Lafayette recap | Box score
Iona at Holy Cross, 7:30 p.m: After holding Iona to 22 points in the first half, the Crusaders made sure the Gaels would not mount a comeback by hitting all eight three-pointers they shot in the second half. Kevin Hamilton led all scorers with a career-high 24 points, including 5 treys. Keith Simmons was 4-for-5 from outside the arc, finishing with 14 points.
Defensively, HC forced 24 turnovers, converting them into 30 points.
Here are a few notes gleaned from Bill Doyle's story in the Telegram & Gazette (subscription required, so we don't link):
All five of Hamilton’s 3-pointers came in the second half. Had Hamilton not sat out the final 9:49 with the game well in hand, he may have challenged the HC record for most 3s in a game. Rob Feaster made seven against New Hampshire on Nov. 25, 1994. Hamilton and Keith Simmons each made six treys earlier this season. . . .AP wrap | Box score
Sophomore Torey Thomas, HC’s regular starting point guard, did not start and played only two minutes because of a slightly separated left shoulder suffered Saturday against Colgate. Thomas received a cortisone injection yesterday. Willard said it would be four to six weeks before Thomas fully healed, but he could continue to play. Willard expects Thomas to play more Friday when Navy visits the Hart Center.
Freshman Pat Doherty made his first career start in Thomas’ place and played a team-high 35 minutes. He turned the ball over 6 times, but he collected 7 points and 8 assists.
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Different coaches, same results at Army
The year was 1990. Manuel Noriega surrendered in Panama and the Communists fell out of power in Yugoslavia and the USSR. U.S. Military might was on a roll, everywhere, it seemed, but in West Point.
There, along the banks of the Hudson River, winters are as gray as the uniforms. There was a time when Army basketball brightened things a little during the West Point winter. That was a long time ago, though.
In 1990 Army was five years into its current streak of 19 straight losing seasons. Coach Leo Wothke was in his eighth season, just one of which was above .500. It was time for a change. A switch to a new, non-scholarship conference was in the works. New coach, new approach in a new league.
To shepard the program into the future, Army reached into its past, hiring Tom Miller, a former player from the Bobby Knight era who had won at Colgate and done OK at Colorado. Miller's alumnus status was supposedly the biggest factor in Miller getting the job over Don Devoe, another Knight protege who interviewed for the job.
Four coaches in 14 seasons later, Army still has not had a .500 season. Devoe, of course, ended up getting the Navy job in 1993 and went on to win 184 games, including 93 in the league. In the process, Devoe's teams won three league titles and played in the tournament finals three other times.
Even with Miller's three-season head start, Army's gang of four combined can't come close to matching Devoe. Since joining the league, Army has won two tournament games. The Cadets have only won 41 regular season league games in that span, never finishing in the upper division of the standings. In 11 of those seasons, Army has finished next-to-last or dead last in the league.
This year's team, which has yet to win a game (sorry Army fans, we only consider D-I games here, beating NY Vo-Tech and the Sea Scouts doesn't count), is threatening to become coach Jim Crews' second squad to go winless in Patriot League play, something the Cadets have only done once (2002-03) before, despite a record of Patriot League futility.
It takes some doing to have Army's worst career conference games coaching record. Crews has had plenty of competition. When Crews took the job, he had to figure no way he could do worse than Miller, who was 7-33 (.175) conference play during his three seasons at Army (and 14-68 overall). But here he is, in the middle of his third season, with a 3-28 conference record, 13-56 overall, with, only two games against Navy looking like possibilities for a W (a split would even be more realistic, and still optimistic).
Miller's teams, by the way, never played the Coast Guard Academy, or any D-3s for that matter. So even if Crews finishes his third season with 14 or 15 wins, he still should rank below Miller on the all-time list.
We are not saying Crews is a bad coach. His track record at Evansville is proof of that. Miller's pre-West Point record does the same for him. We're just pointing out how hard it has been, even for guys who have done the job in better conferences, to win at Army.
Two other guys have coached Army since it joined the league, Pat Harris and Dino Gaudio. They rank 15th and 16th on the league's career winning percentage list. That's out of 22 guys who have coached in the league. Throw out Billy Lange, who deserves more than one season at Navy before even being included, and you are left with only guys like John Leone, Sal Mentesana and Pete Hermann to keep you company at the bottom of that list.
That is not bad company if you're going out for a burger and a beer. Hermann was only around the league one year, so we never talked to him much. But Mentesana and Leone were both good guys. They just didn't win a lot of games.
You could make the argument that Gaudio is one of those guys that are great assistants, but not quite cut out to be a head coach. Things certainly didn't work out for him when he took the Loyola, Md. job. Then again, both were tough places to win, and you could argue Gaudio's teams were the best of the not-so-great bunch the Cadets have fielded in the PL.
Out of the four coaches Army has had since entering the league, Gaudio is the one who did not fit the mold. Crews, Harris and Miller all are part of the Bobby Knight extended family. Crews and Miller were Knight assistants, Harris a former Army player under the legendary Coach K (we shouldn't have to tell you this, but that is K as in Krzyzewski, who played for Knight a West Point and was an assistant to Knight at Indiana).
Gaudio is also the only one who left of his own accord. By all accounts, Dino started looking for the exit within minutes of taking the job. Gaudio would have left after one season, but he turned down an offer from Loyola because he had a "moral commitment" to stay longer than one season (at Army).
But Dino had no plans to stick around for long. Army was a stepping stone for Gaudio, who dreamt of stages more fitting his stylish wardrobe. His style and approach were ill-suited for the academy.
Pat Harris, who succeeded Gaudio, was a better fit. He was a West Point man, who viewed the academy job as a destination, not a vehicle. But after five losing seasons, Harris' contract was not renewed.
According to Times Herald-Record columnist Kevin Gleason:
Either way you look at it, there's no disputing the program was still in bad shape when Harris took over.
Five-year plans might make sense a lot of places. But a lot of folks who know more about Army's program than we do will tell you it will take more time at the academy, which little foundation to build upon. Maybe, maybe not. All we know is Harris was fired after winning 12 games his last season, including six in the league, the most conference wins since they joined the Patriot. Take away six over D-3 teams, and Army has only won seven games, total, in two-plus seasons since.
So now the Army message boards are filled with posts calling for Crews to head down the same path already blazed by Miller and Harris.
Firing Crews, though, would seem hasty and premature, despite the Cadets' horrid record with him at the helm. Here is why: There is no doubt Crews can coach. Like we said before, his track record speaks for itself. But coaching at Army is different. Not on the floor so much as off of it. It takes a year or two just to adjust to the environment.
We interviewed George Chaump for a local magazine article last year. Chaump, who once coached Navy's football team, is now coaching Harrisburg High School. They haven't won any championships yet, but Chaump has them headed in the right direction.
That is no surprise. Chaump has been a winner everywhere he has coached-- except at Navy. Ask him about his Annapolis experience, Chaump will tell you, he would have won there, too, if he'd had more time. It took him a few seasons to figure out how to recruit at a service academy, Chaump says. He didn't get to stay long enough to use what he had learned.
Crews might be a similar situation. It appears he has a couple kids stashed at Army's prep school who ought to be able to improve Army's roster next season. It will take more than one or two recruiting years, though, to see much difference in the record.
It might be hard for Army's A.D. to defend Crews if the Cadets don't win a single D-I game. Especially since Crews has beaten Navy only once in four games. Lose to the Mids twice this season, and the ice under Crews will be thinner than Jimmy Sewell.
The question is, though, if you fire Crews, where do you turn? At some point, you run out of Knight-Krzyzewski disciples who will be willing to take a dead-end job. Young guys looking to make a name for themselves won't stay long enough to provide the longterm stability the program badly needs. Anybody who starts to turn things around at West Point will instantly become a hot commodity.
One possibility mentioned on the Army message boards is former West Point player Kevin Houston. But Houston's coaching experience is limited to preps.
Harris, it would seem in hindsight, probably deserved more time. The pace was slow, but the direction seemed upward.
It would be hard to say the same about Crews given his record. But unless John Wooden decides to come out of retirement to take the job, Army would probably be best to exercise some patience with Crews for at least another year or two.
After all, at this point, what have they got to lose.
Read more!
There, along the banks of the Hudson River, winters are as gray as the uniforms. There was a time when Army basketball brightened things a little during the West Point winter. That was a long time ago, though.
In 1990 Army was five years into its current streak of 19 straight losing seasons. Coach Leo Wothke was in his eighth season, just one of which was above .500. It was time for a change. A switch to a new, non-scholarship conference was in the works. New coach, new approach in a new league.
To shepard the program into the future, Army reached into its past, hiring Tom Miller, a former player from the Bobby Knight era who had won at Colgate and done OK at Colorado. Miller's alumnus status was supposedly the biggest factor in Miller getting the job over Don Devoe, another Knight protege who interviewed for the job.
Four coaches in 14 seasons later, Army still has not had a .500 season. Devoe, of course, ended up getting the Navy job in 1993 and went on to win 184 games, including 93 in the league. In the process, Devoe's teams won three league titles and played in the tournament finals three other times.
Even with Miller's three-season head start, Army's gang of four combined can't come close to matching Devoe. Since joining the league, Army has won two tournament games. The Cadets have only won 41 regular season league games in that span, never finishing in the upper division of the standings. In 11 of those seasons, Army has finished next-to-last or dead last in the league.
This year's team, which has yet to win a game (sorry Army fans, we only consider D-I games here, beating NY Vo-Tech and the Sea Scouts doesn't count), is threatening to become coach Jim Crews' second squad to go winless in Patriot League play, something the Cadets have only done once (2002-03) before, despite a record of Patriot League futility.
It takes some doing to have Army's worst career conference games coaching record. Crews has had plenty of competition. When Crews took the job, he had to figure no way he could do worse than Miller, who was 7-33 (.175) conference play during his three seasons at Army (and 14-68 overall). But here he is, in the middle of his third season, with a 3-28 conference record, 13-56 overall, with, only two games against Navy looking like possibilities for a W (a split would even be more realistic, and still optimistic).
Miller's teams, by the way, never played the Coast Guard Academy, or any D-3s for that matter. So even if Crews finishes his third season with 14 or 15 wins, he still should rank below Miller on the all-time list.
We are not saying Crews is a bad coach. His track record at Evansville is proof of that. Miller's pre-West Point record does the same for him. We're just pointing out how hard it has been, even for guys who have done the job in better conferences, to win at Army.
Two other guys have coached Army since it joined the league, Pat Harris and Dino Gaudio. They rank 15th and 16th on the league's career winning percentage list. That's out of 22 guys who have coached in the league. Throw out Billy Lange, who deserves more than one season at Navy before even being included, and you are left with only guys like John Leone, Sal Mentesana and Pete Hermann to keep you company at the bottom of that list.
That is not bad company if you're going out for a burger and a beer. Hermann was only around the league one year, so we never talked to him much. But Mentesana and Leone were both good guys. They just didn't win a lot of games.
You could make the argument that Gaudio is one of those guys that are great assistants, but not quite cut out to be a head coach. Things certainly didn't work out for him when he took the Loyola, Md. job. Then again, both were tough places to win, and you could argue Gaudio's teams were the best of the not-so-great bunch the Cadets have fielded in the PL.
Out of the four coaches Army has had since entering the league, Gaudio is the one who did not fit the mold. Crews, Harris and Miller all are part of the Bobby Knight extended family. Crews and Miller were Knight assistants, Harris a former Army player under the legendary Coach K (we shouldn't have to tell you this, but that is K as in Krzyzewski, who played for Knight a West Point and was an assistant to Knight at Indiana).
Gaudio is also the only one who left of his own accord. By all accounts, Dino started looking for the exit within minutes of taking the job. Gaudio would have left after one season, but he turned down an offer from Loyola because he had a "moral commitment" to stay longer than one season (at Army).
But Dino had no plans to stick around for long. Army was a stepping stone for Gaudio, who dreamt of stages more fitting his stylish wardrobe. His style and approach were ill-suited for the academy.
Pat Harris, who succeeded Gaudio, was a better fit. He was a West Point man, who viewed the academy job as a destination, not a vehicle. But after five losing seasons, Harris' contract was not renewed.
According to Times Herald-Record columnist Kevin Gleason:
Harris inherited a mess left by Dino Gaudio, a program without direction, and needed more than five years to clean the house.The mess part is debatable. Gaudio is still the only coach to guide the Cadets to a win in the Patriot League Tournament. He did it twice, actually.
Either way you look at it, there's no disputing the program was still in bad shape when Harris took over.
Five-year plans might make sense a lot of places. But a lot of folks who know more about Army's program than we do will tell you it will take more time at the academy, which little foundation to build upon. Maybe, maybe not. All we know is Harris was fired after winning 12 games his last season, including six in the league, the most conference wins since they joined the Patriot. Take away six over D-3 teams, and Army has only won seven games, total, in two-plus seasons since.
So now the Army message boards are filled with posts calling for Crews to head down the same path already blazed by Miller and Harris.
Firing Crews, though, would seem hasty and premature, despite the Cadets' horrid record with him at the helm. Here is why: There is no doubt Crews can coach. Like we said before, his track record speaks for itself. But coaching at Army is different. Not on the floor so much as off of it. It takes a year or two just to adjust to the environment.
We interviewed George Chaump for a local magazine article last year. Chaump, who once coached Navy's football team, is now coaching Harrisburg High School. They haven't won any championships yet, but Chaump has them headed in the right direction.
That is no surprise. Chaump has been a winner everywhere he has coached-- except at Navy. Ask him about his Annapolis experience, Chaump will tell you, he would have won there, too, if he'd had more time. It took him a few seasons to figure out how to recruit at a service academy, Chaump says. He didn't get to stay long enough to use what he had learned.
Crews might be a similar situation. It appears he has a couple kids stashed at Army's prep school who ought to be able to improve Army's roster next season. It will take more than one or two recruiting years, though, to see much difference in the record.
It might be hard for Army's A.D. to defend Crews if the Cadets don't win a single D-I game. Especially since Crews has beaten Navy only once in four games. Lose to the Mids twice this season, and the ice under Crews will be thinner than Jimmy Sewell.
The question is, though, if you fire Crews, where do you turn? At some point, you run out of Knight-Krzyzewski disciples who will be willing to take a dead-end job. Young guys looking to make a name for themselves won't stay long enough to provide the longterm stability the program badly needs. Anybody who starts to turn things around at West Point will instantly become a hot commodity.
One possibility mentioned on the Army message boards is former West Point player Kevin Houston. But Houston's coaching experience is limited to preps.
Harris, it would seem in hindsight, probably deserved more time. The pace was slow, but the direction seemed upward.
It would be hard to say the same about Crews given his record. But unless John Wooden decides to come out of retirement to take the job, Army would probably be best to exercise some patience with Crews for at least another year or two.
After all, at this point, what have they got to lose.
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Ivies split, clinch the series
Last updated: 8:15 a.m.
Columbia 69, Navy 63: Another close but no cigar night for the Mids, who have now lost three in a row by less than six points.
It was the seventh time this season that has happened, leading coach Billy Lange to tell the Baltimore Sun:
The past two seasons, as scholarship talent began to fill the Patriot rosters, the Patriot's seemed to be gaining an advantage, holding a 12-10 edge in 2002-03 and winning the series last season 14-6. Not this year, though.
Box score | AP wrap | Navy recap
Colgate 69, Dartmouth 61: Colgate shot better from 3-point range (6-for-12, 50 percent) than inside the arc (22-for-59, 37 percent). In fact, they were almost better shooting treys than free throws (7-of-13, 53.8 percent). Colgate's Alvin Reed led all scorers with 23 points.
Box score | AP Wrap
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Columbia 69, Navy 63: Another close but no cigar night for the Mids, who have now lost three in a row by less than six points.
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"It's a familiar-looking box score. Instead of Billy Lange, I feel like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day."The Navy loss means the Ivies take the coveted Hoop Time-Basketball U. Challenge virtual trophy, which we will e-mail to the folks at that Ivy hoops site. The Ivies lead the series 12-10 with tonights game between Penn and Lafayette now just another non-conference game. It is the first time the Ivies have won the series since the 2001-02 season, when they won 14 of 22 against a league with very limited scholarship players.
The past two seasons, as scholarship talent began to fill the Patriot rosters, the Patriot's seemed to be gaining an advantage, holding a 12-10 edge in 2002-03 and winning the series last season 14-6. Not this year, though.
Box score | AP wrap | Navy recap
Colgate 69, Dartmouth 61: Colgate shot better from 3-point range (6-for-12, 50 percent) than inside the arc (22-for-59, 37 percent). In fact, they were almost better shooting treys than free throws (7-of-13, 53.8 percent). Colgate's Alvin Reed led all scorers with 23 points.
Box score | AP Wrap
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Onward basketball soldiers
Kyle Whelliston showed up Saturday night in Lewisburg. The self-dubbed "narrator" of the Mid-Majority site was looking for a game that fit his 100-game itinerary, and Army at Bucknell fit the ticket.
From what I could piece together from our conversations during halftime and after the game, Kyle overcame his reservations about the anticipated mismatch because Mapquest showed he could swing through Lewisburg on the way from a Saturday afternoon game in Philly to a Sunday game in Binghamton, N.Y.
When cable TV convinced Drexel to change the start time of its game with William and Mary, Kyle decided to come see his favorite point guard anyhow.
Kyle was there, but no TV cameras bothered to show (not they are common at Bucknell home games). If you weren't there either, you missed seeing Badmus chase down Army's Travis Owsley from behind, after spotting Owsley about a seven-yard head start, to swat the Army guard's layup out of midair. It was one of those Sportscenter Top 10 kind of defensive plays that Badmus is beginning to make a habit of; the kind of play that had to make Kyle glad he'd made the trip and surely reinforced his already high opinion of Badmus.
After the game, Kyle asked if I was going to write something about how bad Army is. "No," I told him. "Why don't you write it and I will link to it."
Kyle kept his end of the bargain; we'll keep ours. As usual, it is a good read.
I'm not sure I completely agree with everything Kyle says. For example, he points to having seven different leading scorers in its first 15 games as evidence Army lacks a go to guy.
I'd argue that because they have only one guy they could consider a go to guy, Matt Bell, when teams take Bell away, nobody else is an obvious second option.
Not sure, either, his characterization of my thoughts on Army's defensive strategy is completely in context. My recollection is the discussion was more about how over the years Army has tried to compensate for being undersized with brute strength and physical play. Seems to me the name David Ardayfio was part of that conversation, which should help with context for longtime followers of the league.
But by an large, Kyle's assessment of the Black Knights, and the black hole the program seems to be in, seems pretty much on the money.
I might have tried to find, perhaps, kinder words than "awkward, gangly, clumsy and blindingly Caucasian" to describe the Cadets. But Kyle is right, the Cadets are "ill-equipped" for their basketball mission.
They are not bad players. This Army team played as hard Saturday night as any team we have seen all season. They fought through screens, hustled all over the floor and did everything they possibly could to win the game. Even when the outcome was determined, with plenty of the second half to play, Army did not slow down, did not give up or give in.
Bucknell beat the Cadets in the second half, but they hardly wore them down. Army suffered in the war of attrition, losing two of the three players 6-6 or taller on the roster to fouls. But they never tired, never weakened, certainly never gave up. Army played as hard in the final 30 seconds, down 17, as it did when it held the lead for a lengthy stretch of the first half.
It must be comforting to the Department of Defense to know this is the kind of warriors the USMA is turning out. I've always said I sleep well at night knowing guys like Hassan Booker are guarding the country, and the same goes for the kids from Army.
The problem, though, as Kyle points out, this team just doesn't have the weapons needed to fight this battle. I'm not getting all political with this analogy. We'll leave that to Kyle. But Army, in reality, is a Division 3 roster playing a Division I schedule.
Jimmy Sewell would be a dominant player in D-3. He is athletic, with decent springs and 3-point range on his jumper. And he is 6-11, which is Neil Fingleton tall for D3.
But Sewell doesn't have the appetite for Division I ball. We're not talking hunger to play the game, here. We're being literal. Either Sewell doesn't eat enough or he has a warp-speed metabolism. Either way, he is skinny as Dubya's winning margin over Gore. D-I post players can gain position, or move him off the blocks, just by breathing on him.
When Sewell sits down, it goes from bad to worse, with 6-6 sophomore Ryan Wallace lacking the vertical elevation skills needed to compensate for his lack of height against guys like Bucknell's Chris McNaughton or Holy Cross's Nate Lufkin. The only other guy taller than 6-4 is Colin Harris, who is a 6-6 swingman type trying to play power forward out of necessity. The 6-4 kid is a freshman who sees little playing time.
The Cadets are so small, they actually list the next three biggest guys-- a pair of 6-2 sophomores and a 6-3 freshman-- as guard/forwards. The rest of the roster, save maybe Bell, is interchangeable with any good D-3 team, a collection of the type of little guards that you find in almost any high school gym. Driveway shooters and decent ballhandlers who don't have the hops to play bigger than they are or the quickness to beat you off the dribble.
There's obviously no immediate answer on the current roster. None of the guys listed on the 19-man roster in the media guide who didn't dress for the Bucknell game is over 6-4.
Bad luck might be part of the problem. For example, the Cadets had a 6-8 kid from Indiana who apparently had some game (he had a 47-point, 23-rebound night in one HS game, impressive numbers even in the Northern Tier League) signed last year. But the kid never ended up on the roster. One report (from a message board, so who knows how accurate it is) says he turned out to be color blind, thus failing his military physical.
Crews might have some potential help "redshirting" at Army's prep school, though.
Don Devoe was a master at using Navy's prep school to stash and season players, which is especially helpful when you are in a situation where most big men you can recruit fall into the "project" category.
The USMAPS basketball Web site doesn't list heights on its roster page, so it is hard to tell who might fit that category. But a couple guys show at least some promise.
From the results page on the USMAPS site, it appears a kid named Doug Williams, who the roster lists as a center, is playing pretty well. He had a 20-point, 25-rebound night against what the site refers to as "an undersized Northampton Community College." At a quick glance, it looks like Williams has scored in double figures 8 of USMAPS' 11 games and in double figures rebounding at least three times, with two double-doubles and three other games where he missed a dub-dub by one rebound.
We tried unsuccessfully to Google for info on Williams' high school days.
We did find a little on another kid listed as a center.
Brandon Brandewie is a 6-9, or 6-10, depending which story you read, kid from Ohio who one recruiting service ranked in the top 60 seniors in the Buckeye State last year. He had a 20-point, 17-rebound double-double for USMAPS in one game this season.
Here's what it said in a piece about him on the FanFileMagazine.com site:
The third guy listed as a post type player is 6-8 Trent Dow from the Seattle area. We found a bunch of box scores from his high school games. Six points appears to have been his career high. His name doesn't appear in any of the game result capsules on the USMAPS site, so we wouldn't expect him to provide any immediate help if he even does make the Army roster next year.
There is also a kid named Kenny Brewer, who is listed as a forward, that appears to be USMAPS top scorer. Brewer is a 6-7 kid from Charlotte (Fla.) H.S. who looks like he could help Army.
A preps site called Breakdown Magazine described Brewer like so:
But when your program is ranked No. 330 out of 330, you have to find something encouraging wherever you can.
In other words, dare to think big Army fans, you can hardly get any smaller.
(Tomorrow: A look at Army's coaching carousel)
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From what I could piece together from our conversations during halftime and after the game, Kyle overcame his reservations about the anticipated mismatch because Mapquest showed he could swing through Lewisburg on the way from a Saturday afternoon game in Philly to a Sunday game in Binghamton, N.Y.
When cable TV convinced Drexel to change the start time of its game with William and Mary, Kyle decided to come see his favorite point guard anyhow.
Kyle was there, but no TV cameras bothered to show (not they are common at Bucknell home games). If you weren't there either, you missed seeing Badmus chase down Army's Travis Owsley from behind, after spotting Owsley about a seven-yard head start, to swat the Army guard's layup out of midair. It was one of those Sportscenter Top 10 kind of defensive plays that Badmus is beginning to make a habit of; the kind of play that had to make Kyle glad he'd made the trip and surely reinforced his already high opinion of Badmus.
After the game, Kyle asked if I was going to write something about how bad Army is. "No," I told him. "Why don't you write it and I will link to it."
Kyle kept his end of the bargain; we'll keep ours. As usual, it is a good read.
I'm not sure I completely agree with everything Kyle says. For example, he points to having seven different leading scorers in its first 15 games as evidence Army lacks a go to guy.
I'd argue that because they have only one guy they could consider a go to guy, Matt Bell, when teams take Bell away, nobody else is an obvious second option.
Not sure, either, his characterization of my thoughts on Army's defensive strategy is completely in context. My recollection is the discussion was more about how over the years Army has tried to compensate for being undersized with brute strength and physical play. Seems to me the name David Ardayfio was part of that conversation, which should help with context for longtime followers of the league.
But by an large, Kyle's assessment of the Black Knights, and the black hole the program seems to be in, seems pretty much on the money.
I might have tried to find, perhaps, kinder words than "awkward, gangly, clumsy and blindingly Caucasian" to describe the Cadets. But Kyle is right, the Cadets are "ill-equipped" for their basketball mission.
They are not bad players. This Army team played as hard Saturday night as any team we have seen all season. They fought through screens, hustled all over the floor and did everything they possibly could to win the game. Even when the outcome was determined, with plenty of the second half to play, Army did not slow down, did not give up or give in.
Bucknell beat the Cadets in the second half, but they hardly wore them down. Army suffered in the war of attrition, losing two of the three players 6-6 or taller on the roster to fouls. But they never tired, never weakened, certainly never gave up. Army played as hard in the final 30 seconds, down 17, as it did when it held the lead for a lengthy stretch of the first half.
It must be comforting to the Department of Defense to know this is the kind of warriors the USMA is turning out. I've always said I sleep well at night knowing guys like Hassan Booker are guarding the country, and the same goes for the kids from Army.
The problem, though, as Kyle points out, this team just doesn't have the weapons needed to fight this battle. I'm not getting all political with this analogy. We'll leave that to Kyle. But Army, in reality, is a Division 3 roster playing a Division I schedule.
Jimmy Sewell would be a dominant player in D-3. He is athletic, with decent springs and 3-point range on his jumper. And he is 6-11, which is Neil Fingleton tall for D3.
But Sewell doesn't have the appetite for Division I ball. We're not talking hunger to play the game, here. We're being literal. Either Sewell doesn't eat enough or he has a warp-speed metabolism. Either way, he is skinny as Dubya's winning margin over Gore. D-I post players can gain position, or move him off the blocks, just by breathing on him.
When Sewell sits down, it goes from bad to worse, with 6-6 sophomore Ryan Wallace lacking the vertical elevation skills needed to compensate for his lack of height against guys like Bucknell's Chris McNaughton or Holy Cross's Nate Lufkin. The only other guy taller than 6-4 is Colin Harris, who is a 6-6 swingman type trying to play power forward out of necessity. The 6-4 kid is a freshman who sees little playing time.
The Cadets are so small, they actually list the next three biggest guys-- a pair of 6-2 sophomores and a 6-3 freshman-- as guard/forwards. The rest of the roster, save maybe Bell, is interchangeable with any good D-3 team, a collection of the type of little guards that you find in almost any high school gym. Driveway shooters and decent ballhandlers who don't have the hops to play bigger than they are or the quickness to beat you off the dribble.
There's obviously no immediate answer on the current roster. None of the guys listed on the 19-man roster in the media guide who didn't dress for the Bucknell game is over 6-4.
Bad luck might be part of the problem. For example, the Cadets had a 6-8 kid from Indiana who apparently had some game (he had a 47-point, 23-rebound night in one HS game, impressive numbers even in the Northern Tier League) signed last year. But the kid never ended up on the roster. One report (from a message board, so who knows how accurate it is) says he turned out to be color blind, thus failing his military physical.
Crews might have some potential help "redshirting" at Army's prep school, though.
Don Devoe was a master at using Navy's prep school to stash and season players, which is especially helpful when you are in a situation where most big men you can recruit fall into the "project" category.
The USMAPS basketball Web site doesn't list heights on its roster page, so it is hard to tell who might fit that category. But a couple guys show at least some promise.
From the results page on the USMAPS site, it appears a kid named Doug Williams, who the roster lists as a center, is playing pretty well. He had a 20-point, 25-rebound night against what the site refers to as "an undersized Northampton Community College." At a quick glance, it looks like Williams has scored in double figures 8 of USMAPS' 11 games and in double figures rebounding at least three times, with two double-doubles and three other games where he missed a dub-dub by one rebound.
We tried unsuccessfully to Google for info on Williams' high school days.
We did find a little on another kid listed as a center.
Brandon Brandewie is a 6-9, or 6-10, depending which story you read, kid from Ohio who one recruiting service ranked in the top 60 seniors in the Buckeye State last year. He had a 20-point, 17-rebound double-double for USMAPS in one game this season.
Here's what it said in a piece about him on the FanFileMagazine.com site:
When rival coaches and scouts talk about him, he's generally referred to as a project...as having potential...a late bloomer in the game of basketball...even a disappointment for the impact, at 6'9", that he's had on the Lehman program over the past two years.
The third guy listed as a post type player is 6-8 Trent Dow from the Seattle area. We found a bunch of box scores from his high school games. Six points appears to have been his career high. His name doesn't appear in any of the game result capsules on the USMAPS site, so we wouldn't expect him to provide any immediate help if he even does make the Army roster next year.
There is also a kid named Kenny Brewer, who is listed as a forward, that appears to be USMAPS top scorer. Brewer is a 6-7 kid from Charlotte (Fla.) H.S. who looks like he could help Army.
A preps site called Breakdown Magazine described Brewer like so:
He is a senior at Charlotte. He is a 6'6 forward. He has long arms and he has a consistent 12-15 foot jump shot and he can score from behind the arch. In addition, Brewer runs the floor and is a threat in the post. He is a D1 player. He can really upgrade his game if he becomes a better ball handler and work on his quickness. In addition he has to improve his shot selection.It remains to be seen if any of these kids will contribute for the Cadets. For that matter, there is no assurance any of them will transition to West Point next year.
But when your program is ranked No. 330 out of 330, you have to find something encouraging wherever you can.
In other words, dare to think big Army fans, you can hardly get any smaller.
(Tomorrow: A look at Army's coaching carousel)
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Jury still out on Knight
Andre Williams puts aside Joe Knight's spotty non-conference performance and generally lackluster numbers to argue he is the second coming of Austen Rowland in his column in today's Morning Call. Says Williams:
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The 6-1 transfer from High Point University has turned into a clutch late-game performer, hitting the game-winning shot with 25.4 seconds left in a 56-53 win over American, which has sparked Lehigh's 3-0 start in league play.We will withhold adoration until he does it for more than three games. Right now, to us, though, Knight is still a 37-percent shooter.
Knight followed the AU high with an 11-point, six-assist, five-rebound, three-steal performance in a 63-55 win over Lafayette, which included several key late-game plays on both ends of the court.
He also had 25 points in helping the Hawks rebound after blowing a 16-point second-half lead and beating Navy 72-67 in Annapolis on Saturday.
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Latest polls
In the AP Poll this week, Bucknell continues to receive one vote.
In the Mid-Majors poll, the Bison are up three spots to No. 19. Holy Cross got 13 votes this week to make the others receiving category.
Too bad ESPN has already set its Bracket Buster lineup. Former Bucknell A.D. Rick Hartzel now holds that same post at Northern Iowa, which is ranked No. 17, with just 11 more votes than Bucknell.
When Hartzel was at Bucknell, there were those in the Bison hoops family who felt he was not supportive enough of the program. We never agreed with that assessment, but the sentiments involved would make it a fun matchup.
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In the Mid-Majors poll, the Bison are up three spots to No. 19. Holy Cross got 13 votes this week to make the others receiving category.
Too bad ESPN has already set its Bracket Buster lineup. Former Bucknell A.D. Rick Hartzel now holds that same post at Northern Iowa, which is ranked No. 17, with just 11 more votes than Bucknell.
When Hartzel was at Bucknell, there were those in the Bison hoops family who felt he was not supportive enough of the program. We never agreed with that assessment, but the sentiments involved would make it a fun matchup.
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From the home office in Bethlehem
Highlights from Monday's official league release.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: JASON THOMAS
American -- Sr., G
Thomas picks up his third Player of the Week award -- the most of any player this season -- after helping American to a perfect 3-0 week that included wins over Yale, Navy and Lafayette. The senior guard from Herndon, Va., scored 14 points against the Bulldogs, 17 versus the Midshipmen and 15 in a two-point win over the Leopards. For the week, he shot 17-of-36 (47.2 percent) from the field, including 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from 3-point range. He also totaled 18 rebounds, four assists, one block and five steals. For the season, Thomas is averaging 12.4 points per game, tied for 12th in the League.AU shares third place with Holy Cross with a 2-1 League mark.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: KYLE ROEMER
Colgate -- Fr., G
Roemer is now a three-time winner of the Patriot League’s Rookie of the Week award, which ties him with Lafayette’s Bilal Abdullah for top honors. The freshman guard from Martinez, Calif., put up 15 points in each of Colgate’s losses this week, as the Raiders fell two points short against League front-runner Bucknell, and then climbed to within two of Holy Cross before succumbing in the final minutes at Cotterell Court. Roemer’s most impressive stat of the week came from behind the 3-point line, where he connected on 10-of-11 shots. He also grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out three assists and tallied four steals.
Bucknell’s Kevin Bettencourt is the top free throw shooter in the country according to the NCAA’s latest statistics report released last Tuesday. After going 5-for-5 from the charity stripe against Army, the junior guard has connected on 55-of-58 free throws this season, good for 94.8 percent.
Holy Cross junior guard Kevin Hamilton is one of only seven
players in Division I to currently rank in the top 10 of his conference in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Through games of Jan. 16, Hamilton is second in scoring (14.5 ppg), sixth in rebounding (5.9 rpg), tied for fifth in assists (3.1 apg) and first in steals (3.1 spg).
Army's So. C Jimmy Sewell is nearing an Army record. His 21 blocked shots are already just one shy of the all-time single season record of 22, held by Charles Woodruff and Christian Glowe.
Red-hot Bucknell has now now gone 47 days, winning won nine in a row. The Patriot League record for consecutive victories is 14 by former League member Fordham, accomplished in 1991.
Five of Lafayette’s 10 losses, including both of its Patriot League losses, have come by eight points or less. Three of those setbacks have been decided by a single possession.
Lehigh has now won four in a row on the road after starting the season 0-5 away from Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks wrap up a three-game League road swing this weekend with games at Colgate and Bucknell.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: JASON THOMAS
American -- Sr., G
Thomas picks up his third Player of the Week award -- the most of any player this season -- after helping American to a perfect 3-0 week that included wins over Yale, Navy and Lafayette. The senior guard from Herndon, Va., scored 14 points against the Bulldogs, 17 versus the Midshipmen and 15 in a two-point win over the Leopards. For the week, he shot 17-of-36 (47.2 percent) from the field, including 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from 3-point range. He also totaled 18 rebounds, four assists, one block and five steals. For the season, Thomas is averaging 12.4 points per game, tied for 12th in the League.AU shares third place with Holy Cross with a 2-1 League mark.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: KYLE ROEMER
Colgate -- Fr., G
Roemer is now a three-time winner of the Patriot League’s Rookie of the Week award, which ties him with Lafayette’s Bilal Abdullah for top honors. The freshman guard from Martinez, Calif., put up 15 points in each of Colgate’s losses this week, as the Raiders fell two points short against League front-runner Bucknell, and then climbed to within two of Holy Cross before succumbing in the final minutes at Cotterell Court. Roemer’s most impressive stat of the week came from behind the 3-point line, where he connected on 10-of-11 shots. He also grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out three assists and tallied four steals.
players in Division I to currently rank in the top 10 of his conference in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Through games of Jan. 16, Hamilton is second in scoring (14.5 ppg), sixth in rebounding (5.9 rpg), tied for fifth in assists (3.1 apg) and first in steals (3.1 spg).
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Second half carries Bison
(Originally posted Saturday, 10:20 p.m.)
Who still thinks Bucknell is a lock to win the Patriot League?
If your hand is up, it’s probably because you were not in Sojka Pavilion Saturday night to witness the ugliness that passed for the first half of the Bison’s 63-46 win over Army.
Playing as though they thought they were a lock, at least to blow out the Cadets (2-13, 0-3), if not to win the whole league, the Bison (12-4, 3-0) came out and laid an offensive egg in the first half. Settling for quick jumpers instead of playing its usual patient halfcourt game, Bucknell turned in its worst offensive half of the season.
There have been games in which Bucknell scored fewer points than the 21 they scored in the first half. The Bison only had 20 at the half against Penn and Robert Morris. But both of those games they shot better than the 7-for-30 (23.3 percent) showing they had before the intermission. And both of those games came against teams much better than Army, the No. 330 team out of 330 playing Division I ball in just about every rating system employed, a team that has yet to defeat a Division I foe. Both of those games also came before Bucknell embarked on its current win streak, which stretched to nine with this win.
That win streak, coupled with the way they clobbered Army twice last season (combined score: 131-48), and the way Holy Cross had thumped the Cadets Wednesday night, resulted in an overconfidence on offense that did as much to take Bucknell out of its offensive game as Army’s hustling defense did.
“We tried to win the game from the start,” said Chris McNaughton, Bucknell’s 6-11 center, who was scoreless in the first half. “We can’t do that. We went out there and made two passes and shot. That’s not the way we play.”
“We were trying to win the game with jump shots,” Abe Badmus. “We forgot about Naughty inside. We were undisciplined. That’s not like us.”
It didn’t help any that McNaughton picked up two fouls in the first 10:10 of the half and sat the rest of the stanza. But even without McNaughton on the floor, the Bison enjoyed a significant size advantage on the Cadets, who have one player, 6-11 sophomore stringbean Jimmy Sewell, over 6-6.
“We were taking the first shot instead of the best shot,” said Bucknell assistant coach Nathan Davis, who was pressed into duty running the show when head coach Pat Flannery had to leave town for a family emergency prior to the game. “We were settling for 17-footers and 3-pointers instead of getting the ball inside.”
The result: Army actually had the lead for a big chunk of the first half, and only trailed by 2, 21-19, at the break. Had the Cadets been able to knock down a few open shots of their own, they well could have led at the half. Had Bucknell not played with its accustomed intensity on the defensive end, holding Army to 6-for-22 shooting (27.3 percent) even while struggling on offense, Army probably would have.
In the second half, it didn’t take long to figure out what Davis talked about in the locker room during the break. On Bucknell’s first possession, the ball went inside to McNaughton, leading to Sewell’s third personal and a pair of made free throws.
The ball went in to McNaughton three of the next four trips down the floor, resulting in two more buckets, which combined with a Charles Lee jumper, gave the Bison an 8-0 run to start the half and a quick 10-point lead.
Army managed to cut it to 29-24 on a 3-pointer by Sewell (his only field goal on six tries) with 12:59 to play. But Bucknell answered with an 8-2 run and was never threatened the rest of the way.
McNaughton finished with 12 points, fouling out Sewell and 6-6 Ryan Wallace in the process. Seven of their combined 10 personals came in the first 15 minutes of the second half. McNaughton also had 7 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Charles Lee, who was 2-for-9 in the first half, was 4-for-6 with a pair of treys in the second, finishing with 15 points to lead all scorers. Lee’s game-high 9 rebounds also helped the Bison outrebound Army 42-32.
Bucknell point guard Abe Badmus also had a big night, scoring 11 points, a season high, and yanking down 8 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive glass.
The Bison’s leading scorer, Kevin Bettencourt, struggled offensively, hitting just 2 of his 12 shots while going 0-for-6 from 3-point range (just the third game this season he did not have a trey). But Bettencourt more than made up for it at the other end, hounding Army’s Matt Bell into a 2-for-10, 7-point night. Bell’s 7 points were half his 14.1 points per game average.
Colin Harris was the only Cadet in double figures, finishing with 14 points.
NOTES: Bucknell played without the services of sixth-man Donald Brown, who was in street clothes at the end of the bench with an unspecified leg injury … Davis is now 1-2 with 1 save when filling in for Flannery … Davis took over the Bison at the half of last season’s 75-25 home win against Army when Flannery took ill, thus the save. Bucknell lost the next two, at Colgate and at Holy Cross, with Davis at the helm.
Daily Item story | Box Score
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Who still thinks Bucknell is a lock to win the Patriot League?
If your hand is up, it’s probably because you were not in Sojka Pavilion Saturday night to witness the ugliness that passed for the first half of the Bison’s 63-46 win over Army.
Playing as though they thought they were a lock, at least to blow out the Cadets (2-13, 0-3), if not to win the whole league, the Bison (12-4, 3-0) came out and laid an offensive egg in the first half. Settling for quick jumpers instead of playing its usual patient halfcourt game, Bucknell turned in its worst offensive half of the season.
There have been games in which Bucknell scored fewer points than the 21 they scored in the first half. The Bison only had 20 at the half against Penn and Robert Morris. But both of those games they shot better than the 7-for-30 (23.3 percent) showing they had before the intermission. And both of those games came against teams much better than Army, the No. 330 team out of 330 playing Division I ball in just about every rating system employed, a team that has yet to defeat a Division I foe. Both of those games also came before Bucknell embarked on its current win streak, which stretched to nine with this win.
That win streak, coupled with the way they clobbered Army twice last season (combined score: 131-48), and the way Holy Cross had thumped the Cadets Wednesday night, resulted in an overconfidence on offense that did as much to take Bucknell out of its offensive game as Army’s hustling defense did.
“We tried to win the game from the start,” said Chris McNaughton, Bucknell’s 6-11 center, who was scoreless in the first half. “We can’t do that. We went out there and made two passes and shot. That’s not the way we play.”
“We were trying to win the game with jump shots,” Abe Badmus. “We forgot about Naughty inside. We were undisciplined. That’s not like us.”
It didn’t help any that McNaughton picked up two fouls in the first 10:10 of the half and sat the rest of the stanza. But even without McNaughton on the floor, the Bison enjoyed a significant size advantage on the Cadets, who have one player, 6-11 sophomore stringbean Jimmy Sewell, over 6-6.
“We were taking the first shot instead of the best shot,” said Bucknell assistant coach Nathan Davis, who was pressed into duty running the show when head coach Pat Flannery had to leave town for a family emergency prior to the game. “We were settling for 17-footers and 3-pointers instead of getting the ball inside.”
The result: Army actually had the lead for a big chunk of the first half, and only trailed by 2, 21-19, at the break. Had the Cadets been able to knock down a few open shots of their own, they well could have led at the half. Had Bucknell not played with its accustomed intensity on the defensive end, holding Army to 6-for-22 shooting (27.3 percent) even while struggling on offense, Army probably would have.
In the second half, it didn’t take long to figure out what Davis talked about in the locker room during the break. On Bucknell’s first possession, the ball went inside to McNaughton, leading to Sewell’s third personal and a pair of made free throws.
The ball went in to McNaughton three of the next four trips down the floor, resulting in two more buckets, which combined with a Charles Lee jumper, gave the Bison an 8-0 run to start the half and a quick 10-point lead.
Army managed to cut it to 29-24 on a 3-pointer by Sewell (his only field goal on six tries) with 12:59 to play. But Bucknell answered with an 8-2 run and was never threatened the rest of the way.
McNaughton finished with 12 points, fouling out Sewell and 6-6 Ryan Wallace in the process. Seven of their combined 10 personals came in the first 15 minutes of the second half. McNaughton also had 7 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Charles Lee, who was 2-for-9 in the first half, was 4-for-6 with a pair of treys in the second, finishing with 15 points to lead all scorers. Lee’s game-high 9 rebounds also helped the Bison outrebound Army 42-32.
Bucknell point guard Abe Badmus also had a big night, scoring 11 points, a season high, and yanking down 8 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive glass.
The Bison’s leading scorer, Kevin Bettencourt, struggled offensively, hitting just 2 of his 12 shots while going 0-for-6 from 3-point range (just the third game this season he did not have a trey). But Bettencourt more than made up for it at the other end, hounding Army’s Matt Bell into a 2-for-10, 7-point night. Bell’s 7 points were half his 14.1 points per game average.
Colin Harris was the only Cadet in double figures, finishing with 14 points.
NOTES: Bucknell played without the services of sixth-man Donald Brown, who was in street clothes at the end of the bench with an unspecified leg injury … Davis is now 1-2 with 1 save when filling in for Flannery … Davis took over the Bison at the half of last season’s 75-25 home win against Army when Flannery took ill, thus the save. Bucknell lost the next two, at Colgate and at Holy Cross, with Davis at the helm.
Daily Item story | Box Score
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Saturday's other games
Last updated: 9:20 a.m. (Sunday)
Holy Cross 74, Colgate 64 (final): Colgate closed to within 2, 66-64, with 1:55 to play, but the Crusaders held the Raiders scoreless the rest of the way.
Kevin Hamilton's 3-pointer at the 1:46 mark pushed the HC lead back to two possessions and Hamilton made sure it would stand up with two steals and a free throw in the final stretch.
Yesterday we addressed a question about Holy Cross' freshmen by saying we had not seen enough of rookie point guard Pat Doherty to form an opinion. That might change in a hurry.
The Crusaders' win over Colgate was marred by an injury to starting point man Torey Thomas. Ralph Willard told the Boston Herald:
Jen Toland of the Worcester Telegram-Gazette (as usual, we won't link because you need a subscription) points out the turnovers might have been mostly due to jitters:
Holy Cross shot pretty well, too-- 27-of-52 (52 percent), 9-of-18 beyond the arc. They might have won by a more comfortable margin had they made more than 50 percent of the 22 free throws they shot.
AP Wrap | Box Score
American 76, Lafayette 74 (Final):Andre Ingram lost the ball, then got it back and hit a jumper with 1 second left to win it for AU (9-6, 2-1) after they had squandered a 6-point lead in the final 43 seconds. Lafayette (5-19, 1-2) tied it at 74-74 on a Paul Cummins layup with 14 seconds to go. Cummins was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw that would have given Lafayette a lead.
Jeff Jones told Kathy Orton of the Washington Post:
Not to keep bringing it up, but you have to wonder if fatigue is part of the problem. Ingram played 38 minutes again, as did Jason Thomas. Two other starters played at least 30 minutes. Lafayette's bench outscored the AU reserves 38-6.
AU has the road trip from hell next weekend, at Army Friday night and on to Worcester for a Sunday afternoon match with Holy Cross. If my theory about American's lack of depth being its Achilles heel is on target, I suspect we will see more evidence of that next week.
AP Wrap | Box Score
Lehigh 72, Navy 67 (final): Down 16 with nine minutes to play, Navy used three treys by David Hamilton to spark a 17-1 run, tying it 60-60 with 4:13 left. But Lehigh scored the next six points to pull away.
Annapolis Capital story AP Wrap | Box Score
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Saturday, January 22, 2005 Holy Cross 74, Colgate 64 (final): Colgate closed to within 2, 66-64, with 1:55 to play, but the Crusaders held the Raiders scoreless the rest of the way.
Kevin Hamilton's 3-pointer at the 1:46 mark pushed the HC lead back to two possessions and Hamilton made sure it would stand up with two steals and a free throw in the final stretch.
Yesterday we addressed a question about Holy Cross' freshmen by saying we had not seen enough of rookie point guard Pat Doherty to form an opinion. That might change in a hurry.
The Crusaders' win over Colgate was marred by an injury to starting point man Torey Thomas. Ralph Willard told the Boston Herald:
"It's like a separated shoulder but we'll know more after we get film on it,'' said Willard, referring to an MRI which had yet to be scheduled following the game. "At that point, we'll make a determination on his status, but obviously we would miss Torey's energy and leadership (if he's sidelined) for any length of time. He's a big part of our team."Doherty certainly filled in pretty well, scoring 14 points and dishing out 5 assists in 29 minutes of action against Colgate. The kid was 5-for-7 from the field, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range. He did also, though, have 5 of the Crusaders' 11 turnovers.
Jen Toland of the Worcester Telegram-Gazette (as usual, we won't link because you need a subscription) points out the turnovers might have been mostly due to jitters:
Doherty’s day started shakily with four first-half turnovers, but he settled down in the second. Doherty scored 8 points in the second half, had 3 of his 5 assists and turned the ball over once.Like they did against Bucknell earlier in the week, Colgate's merry band of snipers made a game of it with their 3-point shooting. Back to Jen Toland's story:
Colgate was just the fifth team to score more than 60 points against the Crusaders in regulation this season. The Raiders made 11 of their first 12 3-point attempts (an incredible 91 percent) and finished 11 for 15 (a not-too-shabby 73 percent).Like it did against Bucknell, though, Colgate's jump-shooting ways hurt them at the foul line. The Raiders shot 62 percent from the field in the second half, 49 percent for the game. But they only went to the line 8 times (making 5).
Holy Cross shot pretty well, too-- 27-of-52 (52 percent), 9-of-18 beyond the arc. They might have won by a more comfortable margin had they made more than 50 percent of the 22 free throws they shot.
AP Wrap | Box Score
American 76, Lafayette 74 (Final):Andre Ingram lost the ball, then got it back and hit a jumper with 1 second left to win it for AU (9-6, 2-1) after they had squandered a 6-point lead in the final 43 seconds. Lafayette (5-19, 1-2) tied it at 74-74 on a Paul Cummins layup with 14 seconds to go. Cummins was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw that would have given Lafayette a lead.
Jeff Jones told Kathy Orton of the Washington Post:
"We desperately need to learn how to finish a team off."Ingram led four Eagles in double figures with 20. Sean Knitter had a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench for Lafayette.
Not to keep bringing it up, but you have to wonder if fatigue is part of the problem. Ingram played 38 minutes again, as did Jason Thomas. Two other starters played at least 30 minutes. Lafayette's bench outscored the AU reserves 38-6.
AU has the road trip from hell next weekend, at Army Friday night and on to Worcester for a Sunday afternoon match with Holy Cross. If my theory about American's lack of depth being its Achilles heel is on target, I suspect we will see more evidence of that next week.
AP Wrap | Box Score
Lehigh 72, Navy 67 (final): Down 16 with nine minutes to play, Navy used three treys by David Hamilton to spark a 17-1 run, tying it 60-60 with 4:13 left. But Lehigh scored the next six points to pull away.
Annapolis Capital story AP Wrap | Box Score
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Friday, January 21, 2005
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Thursday, January 20, 2005
Ladies day
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Tuesday night's games
Different coaches, same results at Army
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Ivies split, clinch the series
Onward basketball soldiers
Monday, January 17, 2005
Jury still out on Knight
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From the home office in Bethlehem
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Second half carries Bison
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