The Full-Court Press

Glogging live: West Chester at Rider

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Time to get going

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:44:00 +0000

I'm in a good mood today.

My Turnpike commute is far more enjoyable on sunny days than cloudy ones, and there's plenty of college football on the airwaves to hold me over until 4 p.m.

Best of all, though, is basketball is finally here. Sure, preseason polls and practices are fun, but they're nothing compared to games. And even though today's Rider-West Chester tilt doesn't count for anything, it'll still be the first college basketball game I've covered since the Trenton regional semifinals of the NCAA women's tournament in March.

In case anyone missed them, a couple links: A story from two days ago on Justin Robinson's quest for a spot on the British national team, and a story in today's paper advancing the exhibition game.

I met with Tommy Dempsey yesterday, and from a motivational standpoint, he was happy a few Division I teams had lost to DII teams. He and Ed Cooley are good friends, so I'm sure he'd rather Fairfield not be one of the teams that went down, but the Stags -- undermanned as they were heading into their game against Bridgeport -- provide a good example to the Broncs of a pretty good team that ended up getting embarrassed by a lesser opponent.

The biggest question mark, as I wrote in today's story, is which groups will work best together for Rider.

The Broncs have four players who will definitely be in the starting lineup and play major minutes, no matter the opponent or the situation: Ryan Thompson, Justin Robinson, Novar Gadson and Mike Ringgold.

They have at least four other players who will be in the rotation, but have to earn playing time: Jhamar Youngblood, Jermaine Jackson, Brandon Penn and Jon Thompson.

Jackson will start today, in what Dempsey calls his "big group." That means a two-guard lineup with Gadson at small forward. But Dempsey also has the option of going with three guards and inserting Youngblood into the lineup in place of Jackson.

It's likely Rider will use some variation of each lineup in just about every game, but it's possible by early December one look will have proven to be more effective than the other.

Jon Thompson and Penn will both likely come off the bench no matter the matchups, but both will have to earn playing time as the season gets going.

Dempsey loves the fact that Thompson is versatile enough to fit in with either group. It'll be interesting to see how Penn develops after a freshmen year in which he provided an occasional spark off the bench but wasn't a major part of the gameplan.

As I type this in the Trentonian news room, we're about two hours from tip. I'm not sure what kind of wireless connection I'll be able to get in the Zoo, but if I have a good one I'll see if I can fire up the CoveritLive software or at least have an open thread on the blog like the one I put up for MAAC media day.

Internet or no Internet at the Zoo, I'll have a blog post later tonight breaking down the game and looking ahead to Mississippi State.

Rough times at my alma mater

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:41:00 +0000

Every story about a Division I team losing an exhibition game to a Division II team has to come with the following disclaimer: Two years ago, Michigan State lost to Division II Grand Valley State. By the end of the year, the Spartans were in the Sweet 16.

But Fairfield got a major reality check last night when the Stags turned in a lackluster performance and fell to Division II Bridgeport, 75-69. I've yet to meet anyone affiliated with MAAC basketball who doesn't feel bad for Ed Cooley because of what's happened over the last two years.

He's done a good job recruiting, an excellent job trying to energize the university community, and at times, an amazing job getting results out of second-tier players who have been forced into action. (Case in point, the last two months of last year).

But the two best players Cooley inherited from Tim O'Toole were Jonathan Han and Greg Nero (who never played for O'Toole but signed with him in the fall of 2005).

Han caused major distractions last year before leaving the team, and Nero is likely out for the season this year, leaving Cooley without a player who, if healthy, would be a double-double machine and an emotional leader.

Add to that the ankle injury that has Warren Edney playing with pain for the bulk of the season, and the Stags NEED big years from freshmen guards Derek Needham and Colin Nickerson or it'll be very difficult to finish in the top half of the MAAC standings.

Fairfield's problems, though, are not limited to basketball. The University has a PR nightmare on its hands as Doug Perlitz, a 1992 alum, faces charges that he sexually abused children while doing service work in Haiti.

And now, from an administration seeking greater influence with the school's independent student newspaper, comes a letter that declared the school's contract with the paper null and void because of supposed violations relating to a column.

As a former Editor of The Mirror, I'm admittedly biased. But I've always maintained a strong, independent student newspaper reflected better on a school than just about anything else. It provides examples of students producing a thoughtful, creative, insightful product without administrators holding their hands. Better than anything else, it speaks to students' intellectual capacity and productivity.

Here's to hoping editors and administrators can work something out that enables The Mirror to keep doing what it does best: Serve as an independent student voice without any further meddling from the administration.

Rider's homecoming

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:23:00 +0000

Happy Election Day, folks.

With the World Series on an off day (fewer pages, less work here in the news room), I figured it'd be a good time to look ahead to Rider's exhibition game Saturday against West Chester.

The Broncs are practicing today for the final time at the Trenton Mercer Airport. They have the day off tomorrow and will hold their first practice on the new floor tomorrow at the Zoo.

No one, publicly or privately, expressed any doubts to me that it would get done on time. But whether it's a whole new arena or just a floor, you never know with these things.

Rider, which scrimmaged Columbia last Saturday, will take the floor publicly for the first time Saturday. Fans will get their first look at Jhamar Youngblood in a Broncs' uniform. They'll also be able to watch Jonathan Thompson, Carl Johnson and Dera Nd-Ezuma for the first time.

Youngblood, who will start in the backcourt along with Ryan Thompson and Justin Robinson, led the Broncs in scoring at Columbia. None of the freshmen will be featured close to as prominently as Novar Gadson was last year and Robinson and Mike Ringgold were in 2007-08, but Thompson will likely be part of Tommy Dempsey's rotation.

A 6-4 wing with athleticism and a nice stroke from the perimeter, Thompson can defend three positions and score if needed.

Johnson could be Rider's starting point guard down the road, but it's hard to envision him playing any meaningful minutes this year barring an injury to someone ahead of him on the depth chart.

Nd-Ezuma, entering just his third year or organized basketball, is the project of all projects. He's 6-10 with a wing span that tops seven feet, and he runs the floor well for a guy his size. Eventually, he could be a shot-blocking machine who grabs seven rebounds per game and has a nice touch around the hoop. Now, his basketball skills are far, far behind his physical tools, but it'll be interesting how he looks on the court Saturday.

Open thread: Media day

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:24:00 +0000

Greetings from the ESPNZone in Time Square, where media day is underway. I'll keep this thread open and keep updating it as we go along. I'm also on Twitter.

Here's the women's coaches poll as it's being announced.

10. Niagara
9. Manhattan
8. Siena
7. Loyola
6. Fairfield
5. Saint Peter's
4. Rider
3. Canisius
2. Iona
1. Marist

Micayla Draysdale, Kaitline Grant, Lyndsie Johnson, Liz Flooks, Allie Lindemann on women's third team

Women's second team: Elli Radke, Stephanie Geehan, Kristina Ford, Anda Ivkovic

Women's first team: Brittany Russell, Thazina Cook, Erica Allenspach, Rachele Fitz, Tammy Meyers

Women's POY: Rachele Fitz

Men's poll:

10. Marist
9. Iona
8. Manhattan
7. Canisius
T-5. Saint Peter's
T-5. Loyola
4. Fairfield
3. Rider
2. Niagara
1. Siena

Men's third team: Greg Logins, Frank Turner, Darryl Crawford, Novar Gadson, Mike Ringgold

Men's second team: Greg Nero, Jamal Barney, Wes Jenkins, Alex Franklin, Ryan Rossiter

Men's first team: Bilal Benn, Tyrone Lewis, Ryan Thompson, Ronald Moore, Edwin Ubiles

POY: Ryan Thompson

Full men's poll with votes: (Tommy Dempsey gave Rider its first-place vote.)

1. Siena (9) 99
2. Niagara 87
3. Rider (1) 82
4. Fairfield 67
5. Loyola 45
5. Saint Peter's 45
7. Canisius 43
8. Manhattan 40
9. Iona 39
10. Marist 12

Daniel Stewart link

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:49:00 +0000

Didn't have time to post this yesterday, so here's the link to the story on Daniel Stewart.

Daniel Stewart

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:37:00 +0000

Daniel Stewart, a 6-7 power forward from Neumann-Goretti High School in Philadelphia, verbally committed to Rider today, giving the Broncs their first commitment for the class of 2010.

Stewart was heavily recruited and had offers from several other MAAC schools. Rider has one more scholarship to give out and may do so before the fall signing period begins next month.

Stewart's teammate, guard Tony Chenault, has committed to Wake Forrest.

This and that from the airport

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:42:00 +0000

Just got back from the airport, where I watched the last hour or so of Rider practice and manged to avoid being attacked by any wild animals. ... Just kidding. The raccoons don't come out till after dark, and practice was over by 5:30.

Anyway, a few tidbits:

* Freshman wing Jonathan Thompson is still nursing an ankle injury that kept him limited at times during workotus last month, but the kid can really get up and down the floor. Tommy Dempsey told me Thompson is about 80 percent, but he got baseline-to-baseline just about as quickly as anyone. The kid also has a heck of a nice stroke from the perimeter.

* Freshman point guard Carl Johnson had surgery over the summer after a freak accident left his right arm badly cut and some nerves damaged. The surgery was a success, but he's still gaining back his shooting touch.

* This should surprise virtually no one, but Ryan Thompson looked like a man playing against boys. On three straight possessions -- one in transition, two in half-court sets -- he took the ball to the hoop virtually uncontested.

Live from New York, it's ... The Blog's preseason MAAC rankings

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:48:00 +0000

MAAC media day is next Tuesday, in my new home of New York.

As I mentioned last week on Twitter, I've taken the plunge, moved in with the girlfriend and entered the world of reverse-commuting. It's a pretty good situation. I've traded my crummy apartment complex outside Trenton for the Upper East Side, which has plenty of good bars in which to watch college hoops and even easier access to some other MAAC schools.

I spend a bit more time on the road these days, but that's why God created satellite radio, isn't it?

The one downside to this moving situation is that the move -- coupled with desk work and that little preseason activity known as college football -- has taken me away from The Blog.

But there's good news on that front: I'm settled in here, Matt Stein is doing a great job holding down The Trentonian's Rutgers football beat, and it's time to get back to business.

With that in mind, here's The Blog's preseason MAAC rankings, which will be updated each week during the season in the form of Year 2 of the Press MAAC Index.

Something tells me that the team atop these ranking will hold steady from wire to wire, just like it did last year. Beyond that, though, there's plenty of room for plenty of teams to move up or down several spots.

1. Siena (27-8 overall, 16-2 in the MAAC; advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament)

Although the Saints aren't yet the Gonzaga of the East, they've joined a small group of mid-majors that have nation-wide name recognition and serious hopes of an NCAA at-large bid should they unexpectedly stumble in the MAAC tournament.

Ronald Moore -- he of "Onions!" fame - and Edwin Ubiles lead a returning cast that should be good enough to improve even without Kenny Hasbrouck.

2. Rider (19-13, 12-6; lost in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com tournament)

I thought about simply flipping a coin to pick between Rider and Niagara for the No. 2 spot.

Both teams played at a high level last year, the two split their regular season meetings, and the Eagles won their MAAC semifinal game in double OT after Tyrone Lewis' miracle bank shot at the end of regulation. Four starters return on each team, including the Eagles' Lewis and the Broncs' Ryan Thompson. But for my money, Benson Egemonye is a bigger loss than Harris Mansell, which gives the Broncs -- who will fill Mansell's spot with Monmouth transfer Jhamar Youngblood -- the slightest of edges.

3. Niagara (26-9, 14-4; lost in the first round of the NIT)

See above with regards to the Eagles' being in the No. 3 slot instead of the No. 2 slot. They may well be picked second in the preseason coaches' poll, and they certainly represented the MAAC well last year. If they can find a way to replace Egemonye, a major post presence at both ends of the floor, their win total could be back in the mid-20s.

4. Saint Peter's (11-19, 8-10)

I don't know how John Dunne does it.

The Peacocks play in a gym that resembles a 15th-century dungeon. They have by far the least fan support in the league, and financial resources that make GM look like Goldman Sachs. Yet Dunne has assembled a talented team that keeps getting better, so much so that I'll be surprised if SPC doesn't finish with a winning record in the league.

5. Loyola (12-20, 7-11)

Jimmy Patsos may frequently end up in the headlines for his bizarre behavior, but he's also proven to be one of the best program builders in the MAAC. The Hounds took their lumps last year after losing their entire starting front court to graduation, but with Jamal Barney back and 6-10 Maryland transfer Shane Walker eligible, no one will want to play them.

6. Fairfield (17-15, 9-9)

Had I put together these rankings a month ago, I would have picked the Stags fourth. That may well be their place in the preseason coaches' poll, since the voting took place before the following revelations from North Benson Road: The Stags will be without Greg Nero at least until December and quite possible for the entire season; Warren Edney, the Stags' best player early last year, still hasn't returned to practice; and if that wasn't enough, Yorel Hawkins came down with appendicitis and will be out until December.

Here's to hoping that unlike last year, the injury bug leaves the Stags alone once the season gets underway.

7. Canisius (11-20, 4-14)

Through all their struggles last year, the Golden Griffs had one very important thing going for them: They were the youngest team in the MAAC and one of the youngest in the country. That means all five starters return, including point guard Frank Turner and handful-of-a-bigman Greg Loggins.

8. Iona (12-19, 7-11)

In two years under Kevin Willard, the Gaels have neither had a winning record nor advanced past the opening round of the MAAC tournament. If Iona is to achieve either of those goals this year, reigning Rookie of the Year Scott Macahdo will have to play like a senior, and someone will have to step up as a force in the frontcourt.

9. Marist (10-23, 4-14)

Last January, the Red Foxes looked poised to finish in the top half of the league standings and make a loud statement in Chuck Martin's first year. That never materialized, and an awful final stretch left them just where everyone picked them: the MAAC cellar.

But thanks in a large part to Martin and veterans such as Dejuan Goodwin, the team rebounded to get through the opening round in Albany, and with a pair of transfers -- Daye Kaba from Boston College and Casiem Drummond from Villanova -- added to the mix, the Foxes will be scary.

10. Manhattan (16-14, 9-9)

The league is at its best when the Jaspers are in contention, but that simply hasn't been the case since Bobby Gonzalez bolted for Seton Hall and a bevy of transfers left Barry Rohrssen without enough talent to be among the MAAC's elite teams.

And though Darryl Crawford can play, someone else -- Antoine Pearson, perhaps? -- needs to step up as a consistent double-figure scorer.

Watch out for those raccoons

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:40:00 +0000

I'll have more on this in Friday's paper, but since I've gotten a flurry of questions about it via everything from e-mail to Twitter messages, here's the scoop on Rider's fancy new practice facility at the Mercer County Airport.

After a flood in late August did some severe damage to the floor at Alumni Gym, Rider officials called around to look for short-term alternatives. The alternative they ended up finding was in an abandoned tennis facility at the airport, where you have to dodge deer on the way in and where a family of raccoons appears from time to time in one of the corners (though to be fair, it's far enough away from the court that the furry ones are unlikely to interfere with scrimmages).

I went to watch the Broncs work out yesterday and had an interesting time finding the place. I drove to the airport, which is easy enough to find, and saw a sign pointing me in one of two directions: forward toward the terminal or to the left toward the tennis facility.

I took the left, dodged a deer that ran across the road, and found my way to the small parking lot in the back.

I entered the door, walked past a yellowish green couch that someone likely put there in the Carter administration, then walked over to the court.

I was in the middle of watching workouts, complimenting players and coaches on the new digs, when assistant coach Todd Shellenberger chuckled and said "you should see the raccoons," which he later showed me. There's a family of four that appears from time to time in the corner, there are the deer outside, and there is, of course, the occasional plane flying over.

Luckily, though, the place isn't exactly JFK International, so the planes only come over once a day or so. And as Tommy Dempsey pointed out, they're smaller planes that don't make a ton of noise, so they're not as distracting as say, a 747.

Kevin Bannon, the former Rider and Rutgers coach who now runs the Mercer County parks commission and coaches the Notre Dame High boys team, helped set the Broncs up with the floor from Sovereign Bank Arena, along with a pair of hoops from the parks commission.

Initially, the Broncs thought they'd be back at the Zoo by the time formal practices start Oct. 15. But then they got word the floor had to be completely replaced rather than simply repaired, pushing the timetable back closer to Nov. 1.

If all goes according to plan, the new floor will be ready with about a week to spare before Rider's Nov. 7 exhibition game against West Chester. Tommy Dempsey told me today that he isn't worried about the possibility of the game being pushed moved or postponed.

Dempsey said he also isn't worried about any negative impact on recruiting, and I think he's probably right. If a recruit, for instance, had never been on campus and the airport facility was the first image he associated with the program, the Broncs might be in trouble.

But with the fall signing period approaching, they'd be in even BIGGER trouble if they were trying to close a deal with a kid they hadn't yet brought on campus.

It looks like this will be Rider's home for all of October, meaning the next two weeks of informal workouts and the first two weeks of formal practices. The Broncs were forced to postpone their annual "Midnight MAACness" festivities, which Dempsey told me will be replaced by some kind of rally closer to the start of the regular season.

That, though, should be the only real casualty of this flood and these circumstances.

I'll have something up tomorrow and in the paper with quotes. Until then, talk away about the Broncs' temporary home and anything else that's on your minds.

One-on-one with Tommy Dempsey

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:20:00 +0000

The leaves are starting to turn, the weather is starting to cool down, and finally, Midnight Madness will be here in a matter of weeks, not months.

With that in mind, I stopped by Alumni Gym recently for a chat with Tommy Dempsey.

For what I think is good reason, he's as excited about this season as he's been in my three years covering the team. And for MAAC fans, here's the best part: I think this is clearly the best team Dempsey has had -- it's a lot better than the Jason-Thompson-led 07-08 team because that team had two freshmen starters and this team has none -- and no one is saying its the best team in the league.

The Broncs have a bona fide NBA prospect with three other returning starters -- in addition to a proven newcomer in Monmouth transfer Jhamar Youngblood -- surrounding him, but will be picked either second or third in the preseason coaches' poll.

The most interesting answer Dempsey gave me may have been the last one, in which he said that finishing second in the MAAC this year will be unacceptable.

I can see the comments piling up now from a few Rider-hating Siena fans, but I think there'd be something wrong if Dempsey didn't have these kind of expectations. If you're a mid-major team with an NBA prospect and you don't think you're good enough to play in the NCAA tournament, you've got something seriously wrong with your program.

Here, then, is the full transcript of our Q&A.

Let the comments flow!

Blog: Excited to get going?

Dempsey: You still feel a little bit awkward about the way the season ended, with the way we lost to Niagara. So as a coach, as a program, as a team, when you lose a game in that fashion, basically at the buzzer, it stings for all spring. You don’t get over those things quickly. Everywhere you go you have to talk about it.

(Sorry Rider fans, but since this has been the talk of the offseason, and since it's at least possible some readers might not have seen it or be aware of it, I am contractually obligated to include this video).

That’s not saying that it’s the main reason I’m looking forward to the season, but at the same time we’re looking to get past that tough loss and back into playing. We like our team. You always get more excited about your season when you like your team.

I thought last year’s team wasn’t quite ready to be really good, but we held our own, we did a good job of not taking a major step backward when most people probably thought we would. When you’re at a place like Rider and you lose an NBA lottery pick I think there’s certainly a period of adjustment that comes right after it, and there was for us. It certainly wasn’t an easy year. I think you would consider, I considered it successful when I had a chance to get myself removed from it and look back on it.

You never feel like you’re having as good a year as you think you could have had during the year. But when I looked back on it, going through what we went through, and then watching Jason put up those numbers in the NBA, you start to realize how good he was, and you always take those things for granted when you have him. So I thought the guys did a good job of keeping the program at a level where we were still one of the elite teams in the league and we bring the core of that group back again, so I think we’re in a good position.

That gets your juices flowing if you get ready for the start of the season. Our maturity level has really grown through eight freshmen and sophomores who were really in the mix last year and getting past that, we finally have an older group. Even Jason’s senior year, Mike’s a freshman, Justin’s a freshman, Ryan’s a sophomore, so a lot of the core of your team was still young even then. Now the core of our team is juniors and seniors, with some sophomores mixed in.

Blog: What kind of conversations did you have with Ryan Thompson about entering the NBA draft last spring?

Dempsey: We approached it the same way we approached it with Jason. This is the greatest time of your life. You’re a senior in college, you’re a star, you’re on a good team. You’re very close to the people in the locker room, you’re very close to the coaching staff, you’re a little bit of a local celebrity, so enjoy it.

Focus on what your last year is like as a kid in a lot of ways because it’s going to become a business very quickly, and just focus on helping us win. Because the one thing about the Thompsons is that they’re very into winning. They’re very into being a good teammate and those types of things.

As a head coach they don’t put you in a tough spot because they don’t put themselves first, although everyone else will. Everyone you talk to will want to talk about Ryan or how he played or how he did, and who’s looking at him, or how many scouts were there, so it’s like everything revolves around Ryan in so many ways like it did about Jason. They didn’t get caught up in that.

Did we talk about it? Of course. It’s the elephant in the room. It’s there. Everyone wants to know about it. Everyone’s going to ask him about it, everyone’s going to ask his teammates about it, so I try to be open with Ryan.

I try to be open with the whole team, but they have to take advantage of the fact that everyone on our team gets to play in front of eight or 10 or 12 NBA scouts and it’s not that they’re all NBA players, but they all dream about being NBA players. One of the things that you struggle with is exposure, and getting in front of those type of people. So I try to capitalize on the fact that yes, they’re coming to watch Ryan, but there’s opportunities in it for everyone.

Blog: But coming back was a no-brianer?

Dempsey: Yeah, because as much as anything it was another year to develop as a point guard. He only played point guard for half the season last year, and a couple of NBA scouts have talked to me about, one of the things that’s tough in their business is trying to project. They’re trying to evaluate college players and a lot of times they’re hoping they can play the point in the NBA when they didn’t play the point in college. Now this gives them another entire season to watch him play the point.

You can evaluate him as a point guard and not just wonder if he can play the position. Like Jason, the No. 1 reason he’s back here is to get his degree. Jason was focused on graduating and Ryan is the same way. Their family really believes in that. No matter what’s going on with Jason right now, he’s proud that he’s part of the minority in the NBA that has a diploma. He’s impressed that upon Ryan: finish your career, get your degree, have fun, and see what happens.

Blog: Anything you learned taking Jason through the process that will make you do things differently this time around?

Dempsey: I don’t know if there’s anything I’d do differently, but I do feel that having been through it before, mentally, it helps me know what to expect, what they’re looking for, how to handle the distractions that come with trying to run a practice and having six scouts there when all of your guys are trying to be Michael Jordan. In your games, everyone thinks they’re on display. Having been through that process and knowing a lot of those guys, the scouts, some of the GMs and some of the people I dealt with in the process with Jason, I’m a little more familiar with the personnel. And the other thing is I have a better sense of what they’re looking for as I try to help him on a daily basis to get him ready for the next level.

Blog: Justin Robinson spent the summer with the British national team.

Dempsey: He played against some of the best players in the world. I think he’s also in the summer, which is a little bit of downtime for a lot of college basketball players, he was competing at a high level against grown men. I’m going to shut him down for a couple of weeks. I don’t want him to burn out on me in January or February because he’s been playing at a very high level since August. He’s played in some big-time spots and some big-time games. No matter how hard you work out or how hard you work, there’s nothing like playing against high-level competition. I think it will give him confidence.

I don’t know how much people realize how well he was playing at the end of last year. His numbers after his first 10 games, I believe in February he was one of the better guards in the league night in and night out. At one point we won 11 out of 14 and I thought he was a big reason why. I thought Ryan moving to the point and Justin moving to the two made us a better team. They were more comfortable. They became one of the league’s best backcourt in the second half of the year, and that’s when we became one of the league’s best teams. He was hard to get. We recruited primarily against Atlantic 10 schools to get him, and there’s a reason for that. He’s starting to get settled into his career here.

Blog: At what point did you feel he was over the knee injury and really clicking?

Dempsey: By the time we got to January it wasn’t that he was limited, but he hadn’t really played, so he was struggling with his confidence. I can’t remember an exact game, but then he just had a couple of good games in a row, he started to make big shots and he started to get more comfortable playing off the ball. In mid to late January he started to look really comfortable out there, and I really thought in February he started to look like one of the better guards in the league.

Blog: Is this the first time you’ve had a team that you’d feel comfortable taking to games at Kentucky and Mississippi State?

Dempsey: I don’t know how comfortable I feel about going to Mississippi State and Kentucky, but if I didn’t think this group could handle it we wouldn’t go. They need to be pushed, they need to be challenged.

This is a group that they think they’re pretty good. Sometimes it really helps us and sometimes I think it hurts us a little bit. It’s a confident group. It’s close to an arrogant group and I think that by playing this schedule it will not only challenge them but expose us in a lot of ways. I’m hoping to learn a lot in these games.

I’m hoping to have a lot of teachable moments as a result of those games and to get guys re-focused once that stretch is over on the things that we need to do to become an NCAA tournament team. That’s it for us this year. If we finish second, no one is going to be happy. We’ve been there. We’ve finished second, we’ve finished third, we’ve had the injuries in the tournament, we’ve watched the bank shot go in, because there’s a growing process that comes with becoming a championship team.

There’s a learning process, there’s some tough losses along the way. Now there are no excuses. In our locker room, we talk about finishing first. That’s it. It’s not an excuse that Siena’s a top 20 team in the country. If they’re a top 20 team, we have to somehow find a way to be better than them. I’m not saying we’re at that level. Trust me, I’m, not saying that. But finishing second will be very disappointing to everyone in our program.

Rider's non-conference schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:35:00 +0000

John Calipari's Kentucky team will host Rider Nov. 21

Yes, they're still playing Monmouth.

But if Rider's RPI and reputation are in bad shape in mid-February, it won't be because of the Broncs' non-conference schedule, which the school released today.

It's hard to fully evaluate the stength of a non-conference slate until you see how the teams on it perform. If Kentucky is 18-1 in February that game will look a lot better than if non of Coach Cal's recruits work out as planned and the Cats are 13-6. But I will say this: When it comes to covering and blogging about exciting games, I'll take Mississippi State and Virginia over Lafayette and NJIT any day.

Here's the schedule, which will be finalized when the MAAC releases its conference slate next month.

November
Fri. 13 at Mississippi State
Mon. 16 LEHIGH
Thur. 19 at Virginia
Sat. 21 at Kentucky
Tue. 24 Florida A&M in Cancun
Wed. 25 Sam Houston or Oral Roberts in Cancun
Sat. 28 BINGHAMTON
Mon. 30 SAINT JOSEPH’S

December
Wed. 9 LA SALLE
Sat. 12 at UMBC
Tue. 15 at Rutgers
Sat. 19 at Monmouth

February
Wed. 20 BracketBuster

MAAC tourney bids

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:09:00 +0000

The MAAC announced today that four cities (and venues) submitted bids to host the men's and women's basketball tournaments in 2012-14. Two (Albany and Brigeport) are home courts of MAAC teams. Two (Springfield, Mass. and Newark) are neutral sites. Neither are among the "destination" sites that had been tossed around in discussions over the past year, meaning neither Mohegan Sun nor Atlantic City submitted a bid.

There was, as I wrote last winter, a lot of support for a destination site, and Mohegan Sun would have been the most likely option. But Paul Munick and Co. opted not to submit a bid, leaving the MassMutual Center in Springfield -- in the birthplace of basketball and 15 miles from my hometown of South Hadley -- and the Prudential Center in Newark were the only neutral sites that did.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. As we've discussed before, Albany offers by far the biggest potential for attendance.

The folks at Fairfield have argued Bridgeport has similar appeal and easier access for fans throughout the league.

Newark has the benefit of being a PATH ride away from Manhattan, but none of the ADs I talked to last winter thought it would be a great option. Springfield is the one that surprises me. Aside from the Basketball Hall of Fame, there isn't a whole lot going on.

How does everyone think it will turn out?

Checking in with the coach

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:08:00 +0000

Greetings from the Hotel Viking in historic Newport. Sure, it isn't basketball, but I transcribed Greg Schiano's interview session and figured I'd post it here.

Q. Nuts and bolts: quarterback situation?

A. I think Dom has shown that maturity and understanding and leadership ability, but you have to be careful there because before Jabu was injured he was really doing the same. We have two veteran guys who haven’t played a lot in games, but they really do command the respect of their teammates. That’s where the competition starts and you know the other three: DC, Steve Shimko and Tom Savage. I’ve got no preconceived notions. I feel comfortable with our two seniors, who have that wherewithal to lead our football team and will go from there.

Q: Might this be the best offensive line you’ve had?

A. I don’t know. That 2006 offensive line was pretty good. Every one of those guys has played at some point in the NFL, so I think we’ll hold judgment on that for a while.

Q: Do you have a timeline on the quarterback competition? Would you like to see it decided early in camp?

A. The earlier the better, but you can’t make things happen. We learned that when Ray was a freshman. He had to work his way up the ladder. I don’t know what’s going to happen. We have good people in a competition and we’re going to make it as fair as you can make it while moving the program forward. But when you’re getting ready for the game, you need to know who your guy is. You may not know who our guy is but we’ll know who our guy is.

Certainly when you have a four-year guy who understands the ins and outs right out the gate, but the other thing is these guys have been around as well, Dom and Jabu, so I think they have a good understanding.

Q: Do you have a sense of what Dom got out of the small amount of playing time that he got?

A. I think any time you’ve done something in the heat of battle, you’re better the next time you do it. Even if its limited, the uncertainty isn’t there. He was in the heat of the game. That scramble he converted, that’s right in the heat of a game that ended up 12-10, so it’s not like it was mop-up duty.

Q: How is Jabu?

A. Jabu’s fine. He’s prepared to do everything when we start with no limitations, so that’s good. It’s been a long road.

Q: How about everyone else health wise?

A. Everyone’s doing alright. There will be some guys who are limited. Kordell is going to be limited. His knee, he had a little setback. He had a little procedure done to help him over the summer. He kind of had a bad little streak here, and hopefully he can have a stretch where he can play without injury and compete for the job.

Q. Do you forsee him being able to play?

A. I hope so. I met with our doctors and trainers. He’s going to be limited when we start, so one thing we need is good feedback. Kordell is one of these guys who’s dying to play and going to do whatever we can. We have to make sure he’s not doing too much.

Q. You’re picked fifth in the Big East. Blame the media?

A. Nothing against you guys, but if you can predict it, let me know and we can all retire early. I think it’s hard in any league, but especially in this league right now. I’m not concerned about right now. I’m only concerned about one thing: Getting to training camp and getting ready. There’s only one team to beat and that’s Cincinnati. After that Howard will be the team to beat.

Q. Do you remember a year when the conference has been this wide open?

A. No, I don’t. It’s pretty unique. It should make for fun viewing, I think.

Q. You do your best evaluations during the offseason. What did you learn about the start that you had?

A. I think there was kind of a perfect storm in a bad way to start last year. I think as an organization we just reminded ourselves that there are 13 one-game seasons and everything goes into that one game. If you win the game, enjoy it for a night, then start a new season. The other thing our guys did and I think our whole program does is get ahead of ourselves.

Q. Why?

A. I put it on me, to tell you the truth. If I didn’t spend a large part of this offseason examining, that’s about a crazy a year as I’ve seen. If I didn’t spend a large part of the year examining it, that wouldn’t be very worthy for the university. So I spent a lot of time and hopefully we’ll remedy some of that.

They’re a good football team and I think we’re a good football team. I’m sure there will be a different urgency through camp and through everything. That can’t hurt you.

Q. Ryan D’Imperio?

A. I expect a lot. He has an opportunity to be as good a linebacker as there is out there. He’s thoroughly commited to the game and he’s a student of the game and we need him to be there. He’s our guy. He’s our guy up front. You love coaching a guy like that.

To Ryan’s credit, I was standing in the hospital late at night, and he was cheering me up. I’m down in the dumps saying oh no what am I going to do? He’s been an inspiration for our football team because of the way he plays. People want to make him out to be this lunchbucket guy, which he is. But he’s not only a great effort guy, he’s very talented.

Q. Are your linebackers a strength?

A. I’m excited. Damaso has really come along. He’ s a very good football player and we have Ryan in the middle, but we need to find out who that third linebacker is going to be. The obvious ones are Antoni Lowry and Manny Abreu, but there are some freshman who I think are going to stick their noses in. That one on defense is really the big one that we have to figure out.

Q. Where do you think the Big East will be in five years?

A. That’s a great question. I think if you look at the league, every one of the teams is ascending and where that takes us, I don’t know yet. There’s so much right now. The bowl agreements are up right now. I think John mentioned that the BCS moving forward for the next four years. When this thing reformulated, we sat in that room and Mike said ‘guys, we can talk all we want. But talking is not going to matter right now. We have to win games. So we didn’t win them all, but our conference has done a heck of a job. I think you have a bunch of fighters in this league and I don’t see that changing, but where that puts us in five years, I don’t know. That depends on the rest of the landscape.

Recruiting the right kids for Rutgers. That’s been our thing, recruiting and developing. When you get there not only as football players. We’re really proud of our APR ranking. We’re really proud of our football program. If you’re building a team and it’s one and done, that’s one thing, but if you’re building a program we need to keep building it.

Q. You’re going to have 52,000 for Cincinnati. Are you going to have 52,000 for Howard and Texas Southern?

A. You know, I don’t worry about that stuff. I really don’t. We’re going to play as well as we can and we’ll see what happens. I’m not going to worry about it. More importantly, a year or two or three down the road, my vision is are we putting another deck on the stadium.

Q. Will you look out there at the extra seats and look back at the days when you were drawing 24, 25,000 a game?

A. 24, 25. You’re being too kind. We played Temple on a rainy night and literally the rain was coming down sideways, and they announced 12,500. So unless I had 12,000 family members there I doubt that was the number. But it’s come a long way. Unfortunately the whole country is in a little bit of a mess right now in the economic department, and it affects everyone. When it affects the New York Yankees, I don’t know if Rutgers is going to ammune. But I know one thing, in the New York area, in an event-driven area, if you win, they will come. You’re fighting for the entertainment dollar, that’s what it is. And our season tickets are considerably up, just not as much as you’d hope given our season ticket waiting list.

How tweet it is

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:18:00 +0000

It took me a while, but I've finally jumped aboard the Twitter bandwagon. You can follow me at www.twitter.com/bendoody. Obviously, it's a pretty slow time for basketball, but there are some to be some minor items that aren't quite blog-worthy but are worth of a tweet or two. If there's anything you think is Blog-worthy that you haven't seen up here, send me a tweet and I'll check it out.

It should also be a good way, in the absence of the now-defunct Knights Notes blog, to keep up on Rutgers coverage.

As for hoops, the Blog will start heating up again in the fall, when classes start and the season -- one in which the top three teams in the MAAC have almost everyone back -- is just around the corner.

A true hoops guy

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:37:00 +0000

The first time I saw John Orman was in 2003. I had just finished playing pick-up basketball in the Rec Plex at Fairfield University, and I glanced over at the next court over.

Most of the guys playing were students, with some grad assistants and a few young teachers from Fairfield Prep joining them. All of them were athletic. Some of them could dunk.

One of them didn’t fit in. He had gray hair that flopped around as he ran. He wore warmup pants, not shorts. Most noticeably, he had a deadly jump shot that you could count on him making from seemingly anywhere.

I asked a guy near me who the old guy was.

“That’s Doc Orman,” the kid said. “Plays here all the time.”

Maybe it’s fitting that the last place I saw Doc, who died suddenly early this week, was right next door to the Rec Plex, at Alumni Hall. I was in town to cover the Fairfield-Rider game in January, and he was perched in the stands, where he was for every Stags home game.

There are college people, there are basketball people, and there are college basketball people. A lot of people you meet while covering college hoops – or while attending college, for that matter – are one or the other.

There are brainy academics who thumb their noses at athletics and cocky point guards who don’t bother showing up for class more than once or twice a semester.

Then there was John Orman, who could never get away from politics or from basketball.

Regretfully, I never took one of Doc’s classes. I should have, because he was the best professor Fairfield had – a guy who, rather than assign readings on Congressional races, actually went out and ran for Congress, which he did in 1984 against unbeatable incumbent Stuart McKinney. After McKinney predictably sloshed Doc, Doc invited the Congressman to his classroom to speak to his students.

Two decades later, he didn’t just tell his students why Joe Lieberman wasn’t a good Democrat. He went out and challenged the former Veep nominee in a primary that Lieberman eventually lost, albeit to millionaire Ned Lamont.

In that short-lived but entertaining campaign Doc waged in 2005 (he dropped out of the race, fittingly for a professor, when he couldn’t afford the gas to drive across the state), I got to know him well when I covered the race for The Fairfield Mirror. I’d sit in his office and look over the campaign documents he handed me, but talk always – always! – drifted to hoops.

In addition to being a season-ticket holder, he was the faculty advisor to the men’s basketball team, doing whatever he could to make sure the Stags’ graduation rate stayed near 100 percent.

His office had books about everyone from Reagan to Castro and plenty of campaign memorabilia on the walls. Nothing was more eye-grabbing, though, than the framed photo of a fellow Indiana State alum named Larry Bird. (Doc's photo was of Larry in a Celtics uniform, but Doc would love this shot, of the Hick from French Lick in ISU blue).

Doc’s classes, I’m told, were like games. At the end of each semester, he’d hand out an award to the MVP of the class. He was far to the left on the political spectrum but would have given Newt Gingrich an ‘A,’ then had a beer with him at the end of the semester.

Anthony Genovese, a former suitemate of mine and the most ardent Republican I’ve ever met, thought the politics department that Doc ran was the least politically biased department on campus.

Doc loved the sport of politics more than any particular pol or party, but he got a twinkle in his eye whenever he talked about the potential revitalization of his beloved Democratic Party during the Bush years, when I was a student.

When I saw him for the last time last January, his face lit up with the first mention of Barack Obama’s election, which he could analyze as well as anyone on MSNBC or Fox News.

I mentioned that perhaps the biggest surprise of that night was that Indiana – Doc’s beloved home state – had gone to the Democrats for the first time since 1964. He let out a hearty laugh, the kind that never failed to light up a room. I wish I had had more time to talk, but the game was about to start.

I had to get back to the press table, and Doc had to settle into his seat.

For a hoops junkie like John Orman, no time was better than Game Time.

Rider's roster set

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:36:00 +0000

With the end of the spring signing period a day away, Rider finalized its 2009-10 roster today by adding 6-4 guard Jonathan Thompson. The Broncs' other scholarship will go to UNLV transfer DeShawn Mitchell, who faxed his letter of intent to Rider today.

The school will likely formally announce the signings tomorrow.

Tommy Dempsey told me the Broncs are happy to have a Thompson and a Johnson in this recruiting class, the Johnson being point guard Carl Johnson, who committed earlier this month after Matt Griffin decided to transfer.

Center Dara Nd-Ezuma -- a project from Nigeria via Life Center Academy in Burlington Twp. -- and shooting guard Jhamar Youngblood -- a transfer from Monmouth who sat out last year in accordance with NCAA rules -- fill out the Broncs' roster.

Mitchell, who the Broncs initially recruited out of Monmouth Academy, will sit out next year and be eligible in 2010-11.

Back at it ... News from the spring signing period

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Tue, 19 May 2009 08:15:00 +0000

Greetings from my apartment, where after a two-month recess, I bring you this long-delayed post.

The Blog, I’m happy to say, enjoyed what I thought was its best two-week stretch of its existence before and during (but especially during) the MAAC tournament. Then, however, came way too much down time, but I’ve got a few Rider tidbits to pass along, good wireless connection and an unexpected post-work surge of energy, so now is as good a time as any to get back into this.

While The Blog was on vacation, Siena gave Louisville a scare but was eliminated in the second round, North Carolina, Penn State, Oregon State and Old Dominion won tournament championships, Jim Calhoun got into all sorts of hot water at UConn but announced he’d return next year anyway, Ed Cooley got free air time on FOX at a Red Sox-Yankees game, and some French guys came up with this video.

Now that we’re caught up on all that …

The spring signing period ends tomorrow, May 20, and Rider enters the day, officially, with THREE scholarships to give.

How?

As was reported earlier this month in The Trentonian, Matt Griffin has decided to transfer. Griffin, a sophomore point guard, told Tommy Dempsey he was concerned about his prospects for playing time moving forward. There’s no word yet on where Griffin will end up. … Dempsey quickly filled the vacated scholarship with Carl Johnson, a Philly product by way of St. Thomas More Prep in Connecticut.

Center Dara Nd-Ezuma is on board for next year, as is Jhamaar Youngblood, who’s eligible after sitting out last year as a transfer from Monmouth.

But the Broncs have released point guard SirChristian Williams from his letter of intent, opening up another scholarship.

According to a source close to the program, Williams wanted to go to a school where he could get significant playing time as a freshman. Since Rider has four returning starters and Youngblood waiting in the wings to fill Harris Mansell’s spot, that kind of playing time wasn’t available in Lawrenceville.

So Williams re-opened his recruitment, Rider reopened its recruiting, and the Broncs have until the end of the day tomorrow to wrap up their 2009-10 roster.

The Round of 32

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:35:00 +0000

There were improbable 3-pointers, multiple overtimes, and moments that MAAC fans will never forget.

Only this time, it wasn't the MAAC tournament, it wasn't Niagara-Rider, and it WAS something of which every college hoops fan in the country took note.

I was at work, unable to watch Siena's thrilling, 74-72 double overtime victory over Ohio State until the final minutes of regulation. But I saw all the best parts, heard Ronald Moore's interview on Mad Dog Radio in the car on the way home, then I flipped on my TV and listened to an array of talking heads breaking down the Saints' win.

Hundreds of mid-major coaches are sitting at home right now, wanting what Fran McCaffery has: a team that's in the Round of 32 for the second straight year, soaking up national attention and moving toward long-term status in the upper echelon of mid-major hoops.

As I type this, there are countless high school freshmen and sophomores -- the must-have recruits of the future -- who hear "Siena" and think "NCAA tournament."

The Saints are miles away from being Gonzaga. Gonzaga wasn't the Gonzaga we now know -- big enough to be a major conference team in a mid-major conference -- until close to a decade of doing damage in the NCAA tournament.

But programs like the Zags' are built not through winning road games in December, but through winning in March, when everything's on the line and everyone's watching.

For two Marches now, Siena has won with people watching. This time, the Saints didn't take anyone by surprise or slip under the radar.

They were considered worthy of Ohio State's attention and of the nation's respect. Then they did what you have to do if you're going to build something big: They showed all that attention and all that respect was justified.

***
My bracket in the MAAC group on ESPN.com is in bad shape. I've lost four Sweet 16 teams and two Elite Eight teams (Wake Forsest and Florida State). The one thing that would make it look good is if Siena rewards me and shocks Louisville.

So the questions for you, MAAC maniacs, are these:

1) What are the Saints chances?

2) If they're going to pull it off, how are they going to do it?

3) And since it's a fun topic of conversation: Where does Siena's recent success rank among the best stories in MAAC history?

***
East Tennessee earned Fairfield some good pub, in an odd way: Pitt's margin of victory over ETSU was the smallest by a No. 1 seed over a 16 seed since the Stags gave North Carolina a scare in 1997.

***
Lastly, this video has the shot that inspired Bill Raftery describe Ronald Moore's "garden variety" onions.

0-for-2

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:07:00 +0000

The good news for the MAAC is that if Siena beats Ohio State and advances to the Round of 32 for the second straight year, THAT is what a whole lot of people will remember about the league's postseason showing.

The bad news is the conference went 0-for-2 last night, with Niagara falling to Rhode Island in the first round of the NIT and Rider getting manhandled by Liberty in the CIT.

As Chris Lang of the Lynchburg News & Advance writes in today's Trentonian, Rider trailed by 22 in the first half and was never in it after that.

The Broncs finished 19-13. The Trentonian's web site has a poll up asking what grade fans would give their season. For what it's worth, I'd probably give it a B+ (which isn't an option on the poll, so I settled for B). Regardless of Ryan Thompson's health status, last night wasn't a good way to go out, and no team wants its conference season to end in the league tournament semifinals.

But the body of work was pretty good. You can talk about the lackluster non-conference strength of schedule, but plenty of MAAC teams would sign up for 19 wins and a postseason appearance, regardless of who they beat to get some of those wins and regardless of what postseason tournament they played in.

And next year should be interesting for a number of reasons. Rider's schedule will include a game at Kentucky and an appearance in a preseason tournament in Cancun, so there will be non-conference tests and opportunities to get their RPI into the top 100.

The Broncs return every contributor except for Harris Mansell and will be picked no lower than third in the MAAC behind Siena and Niagara.

As for Niagara, winning at least one game in the NIT would have been fitting given the year the Purple Eagles had, which included 26 wins, an RPI in the 50s, a signature BracketBuster win and a trip to the MAAC final.

The Eagles, though, couldn't hang on to a first-half lead and couldn't overcome sixth-seeded URI, which got 10 second-half points from Keheim Seawright and will play second-seeded Penn State in the second round.

Losing Benson Egemonye will hurt. He had the biggest impact this year of any big guy, and that kind of play is tough to find in the MAAC. But everyone else is back, and that gives Joe Mihalich a lot to work with.

That leaves us with Siena.

It's hard to quantify what an NCAA win means compared to a win in any postseason tournament, but I think the average college hoops fan can tell you Siena won a game in the Dance last year and has no idea who won the NIT (coincidently, it was Ohio State, the Saints' first-round opponent).

Let's get some chatter going. How would you grade Rider's and Niagara's seasons? And who ya got in the Siena-Ohio State game and why?

Let the games begin

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:07:00 +0000

Postseason play begins tonight.

That means many things to many people and, I suspect, nothing to some people, since the NCAA Round of 64 is still two days away.

In the MAAC, though, two of the league's three postseason teams play tonight, with Niagara hosting URI in the NIT and Rider playing at Liberty in the CIT.

The Purple Eagles are 4 1/2-points favorites, the Broncs 4-point underdogs.

If you're dying for NCAA tournament hoops, Moorehead State and Alabama State tip off at 7 p.m. in the "opening round" game in Dayton. Morehead State is a 3 1/2-point favorite to advance to a first-round date with Louisville and of course, a second-round clash with Siena. (OK, so that isn't likely to happen, but technically, it's not IMPOSSIBLE).

Here in Jersey, the buzz is about unbeaten UConn heading to the Trenton regional in the NCAA women's tournament.

And we've got college hockey, with Princeton soon heading to the Times Union Center for the ECAC semifinals.

I'm playing sports editor for the week and will not be in Lynchburg tonight. Apologies to Rider fans for not being able to make the trip. If the Broncs win, they'll play in the quarterfinals next Monday, and I'll do my best to get there.

One last betting note: Siena is a 500-to-1 longshot to win the national championship. If you think those odds are long, they're nothing compared to the 9999-to-1 odds for Alabama State, Binghamton, Chattanooga, Cal State Northridge, ETSU, Morehaed State, Morgan State, Radford and Robert Morris.

Bracketology

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 07:06:00 +0000

Thanks to Princeton blogging machine Jon Solomon, someone on the blog took care of posting the final two MAAC postseason selections -- Niagara as a 3 seed in the NIT and Rider as a road team in the CollegeInsider tournament -- while I was on deadline in the office.

So thanks, Jon, for taking care of that. As always, thanks to everyone for commenting. It seems that in the spirit of March Madness, reader McAff Attack -- a frequent commenter and frequent critic of mine -- even softened up and neglected to insult me.

And hey, if you're a MAAC fan, why not be in a (relatively) friendly mood?

Siena is representing the conference as a 9 seed and could make it two NCAA tournament wins in two years by beating Ohio State in Dayton. Niagara has a home game against URI and a realistic chance to get to the Garden for the NIT Final Four if it plays well. And although they will still be endlessly ridiculed in the comments section, Rider is going to the postseason for the second straight year.

I talked to Tommy Dempsey about an hour after the Broncs accepted the CIT bid, and Dempsey said the Broncs were "in the mix" for the CBI, which at the time hadn't finished its field. Rider got an offer from the CIT to play at Liberty, didn't have an invite to the CBI at the time, and accepted the invitation to travel to Lynchburg, Va. Tuesday night for a date with Seth Curry and the Flames.

So would Rider have gotten a CBI bid if it waited?

A look at the CBI field reveals that, as many people predicted, Rick Giles and Co. settled for some pretty weak teams who were willing to fork over $60,000 to host first-round games. The field includes Oregon State (156) and Wichita State (158), both of whom have less impressive resumes than most of the CIT field. Because of the financial disparity between the teams, those two teams have the least impressive resumes but are hosting games while the likes of UTEP (RPI 80) and Vermont (97) are on the road.

Since Rider wouldn't have hosted a game, it's likely a CBI invite would never have come. Aside from St. John's (RPI 141) -- a team included because of its name recognition and not its resume -- the CBI road team with the lowest RPI is Boise State, which at 110 is 13 spots ahead of Rider.

That isn't to say Rider didn't have a shot, and all postseason discussions have to come with the disclaimer that RPI is a general indicator of relative strength and not an ABSOLUTE indicator of strength. But the point remains: if you remove the teams who wrote a $60K check to host a game and you remove St. John's because of the name recognition factor, there isn't a CBI team whose resume is clearly inferior to Rider's.

With all that said -- and tournament inclusion speculation is always a fun thing to do -- it's tough to argue it makes much of a difference. The CBI clearly has a stronger field (average RPI of 109 to the CIT's 131) but the difference between the fields is minimal compared to the gap between the NIT and CBI (and of course, the NCAA and NIT).

So if you're a Broncs fan, you can wake up today knowing your team's season isn't over. For at least some fans, I suspect that will be enough.

If you're a Purple Eagles fan, you can wake up today knowing that with four starters coming back next year, the NIT could provide a nice springboard for a team that could be in at-large discussions next year.

And if you're a Siena fan, you can wake up today and finalize your travel plans for Dayton.

Siena gets Ohio State

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:10:00 +0000

The NCAA tournament committee awarded Siena a No. 9 seed and matched the Saints against Big 10 tournament runner-up Ohio State in Dayton, Ohio. A win would give Siena a second-round game against top-seeded Louisville.

Selection Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:36:00 +0000

Greetings from the Trentonian newsroom, where my day job is preventing me from doing as much blogging I'd like on this important day in college hoops.

The NCAA Selection Show is at 6 p.m., with the NTI brackets to be unveiled shortly after and the CBI and CollegeInsider brackets to come after that.

First, we'll see where Siena is headed and as what seed. I'm hoping the committee will put the Saints in Philadelphia and I'll be able to make the short drive down 95 to see them play. Most projections have them as a 10 seed, but a 9 is certainly possible.

NITology.com has Niagara listed as a 6 seed in the NIT and Fairfield as a likely CBI or CIT team. Rider isn't listed, but the Broncs are expecting to be invited by at least one of the two sub-NIT tournaments.

It'll be interesting to see how the CBI field looks compared to the CIT field. The CBI, like last year, is requiring a $60,000 check from teams hosting first-round games, while the CIT is asking for only $28,500.

Why the difference? Essentially, because the Princeton-based Gazelle Group, which runs the CBI, is looking to turn a big profit. The CollegeInsider folks are looking to cover their expenses and put on a good tournament, which I think they'll get.

We'll probably see at least a few mediocre BCS conference teams like Seton Hall (who might be willing to fork over $60K) in the CBI, and a lot of mid-majors with RPIs near 100 in the CIT.

Last year, the CBI bracket wasn't released until well after midnight. With the adition of the CIT this year, we could be waiting until 2 or 3 a.m. before the entire postseason field is clear.

Fortunately, I should be done with print newspaper work by around midnight, and I'll turn my attention to brackets after that.

Midtown Madness

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Doody) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:12:00 +0000

If I hear one more person say “major conference tournaments don’t matter,” I’m going to lash out in defiance.

They – particularly the Big East, whose tournament has the tradition, excitement and drama that others lack – matter because they give us some of the best basketball that has ever been played.

They offer us teams and coaches who know each other inside and out, players whose pride is on the line, and fans who have bragging rights on the line, their heads full of memories of tournaments past.

Last night, the Big East tournament offered us a game that will be remembered for decades when Syracuse outlasted UConn in six overtimes. (The video is of the full ESPN highlights, which are worth watching in their entirety, but if not that, at least in part.)

I was in the news room, actually waiting to see if we could get the result of the game in our late edition. If Eric Devendorf’s 3 at the end of regulation had counted, the result would have been in the print edition and I would have gone home.

Instead, I stood there with the two other people left in the building and watched in amazement for six overtimes that saw big play after big play and everyone but the mascots and cheerleaders coming in off the bench.

If conference tournaments didn’t matter, I wouldn’t have cared, and neither would anyone else across the country or in the Garden.

How about you? How many overtimes did you watch?