Tom “Whatever It Takes” Bradbury

[PointGuard 70]

Season 4, Game 17-20

 

Game #17 @ Tulsa (6-10, 3-4): We were poor guests in Tulsa as we immediately grabbed the lead and never relinquished it. By the break we led 41-26. We opened as much as a 26 point lead in the 2nd half and finished with a resounding 80-59 victory. We held a 37-20 rebounding advantage over the Green Wave. C Joey Brown got back to double-double land with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Four other players scored in double figures (SG Austin Hunter 12 points and PF Angelo Craft, PG Howie Tyler, and SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday scoring 10 each) with SF Greg Brooks and PF Adrian Bains just missing with 9 points each. (16-1, 8-0, 1st place, Ranked #3 in the polls and 3rd best RPI in the country)

 

Game #18, SMU (10-7, 6-2): The first half ended with us ahead 36-25. We then expanded the lead in the 2nd half to as much as 25 points and came away with a 68-49 victory. The Mustangs outshot us (49% to 40%) but we overcame this by being able to take a lot more shots as we dominated the boards 31-21 and achieved a 26-8 turnover advantage. C Joey Brown led the way with 24 points and 15 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks dropped in 19 points. (17-1, 9-0, 1st place)

 

Game #19, CONNECTICUT (7-11, 4-5): The Huskies are having a down year. We beat them by 12 on their court earlier this season. Tonight we totally embarrassed them by letting them score just 6 points in the first half. Yes, as hard as it is to imagine, we had a 35-6 halftime lead. We backed off in the 2nd half but still crushed the Huskies 58-38. Even though they scored 32 in the 2nd half, we still held their shooting to 25% for the game and out-rebounded UConn 52-28. Playing a deep bench, C Joey Brown still got a double-double (13 points and 13 rebounds) while SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday also achieved a double-double (10 points and 11 boards). (18-1, 10-0, 1st place, Ranked # 3 in the polls and our RPI is now 2nd best in the nation)

 

Award: After not getting the award last week, C Joey Brown came back to win the AAC Player of the Week award.

Award: SF Greg Brooks was named the AAC’s Freshman Player of the Week.

 

Norton Award: C Joey Brown was named a quarter-finalist for this prestigious award.

 

Recruiting News: We had to withdraw the scholarship offer to C James Childs since he scored just an 870 on his SAT’s and our minimum score is 880. It’s a bummer since he was ranked as the 35th best recruit in the nation and we were #1 on his Top 10 list. But c’est la vie. We refocused our sights on another HS senior center, Kelvin Ross who is the 64th highest ranked recruit in the country. His GPA is a poor 2.2, but he scored a 900 on his SAT’s to squeak by at meeting our minimum requirements. While his interest level in our school is high, we’re not on his Top 10. He comes from a lower-middle-class family, so we decide to see how a $5000 offer to hang with a celebrity would affect his interest level. He spurns our offer. We decide to keep him on our radar and see if we can wear him down and gradually build interest the coming spring.

 

Game #20 @ Tulane (9-10, 6-4): Tulane has shown some toughness in the AAC and playing them on the road could present problems. They kick our butts in the first half and pull away to a 37-27 halftime advantage. That riled up our guys and they came back with a vengeance in the 2nd half. We dismantled their offense and opened a 16 point lead before settling for a 61-50 road win. While SG Austin Hunter had high-point honors with 17 points, C Joey Brown scored 15 and hauled in 16 rebounds. PF Angelo Craft scored just 7 points but pulled down 11 boards. As Tulane fortunes waned in the 2nd half, SF Andre Bennett tried to stem the tide by firing away from 3-point land, but he hit just 3 of 17 of his 3 point attempts for the Green Wave. (19-1, 11-0, 1st place)

[PointGuard 70]

Season 4, Games 21-24

 

:59Game #21, HOUSTON (8-12, 2-9): Looking at the Cougars dismal record and considering we beat them by 28 points on their court, this would look like a blow-out on our court. We struggled in the first half but finally pulled ahead to hold a slim 28-21 lead at the break. But in the 2nd half, our offense kicked into gear and our defense became formidable. We decimated the Cougars by a score of 75-38, outshooting Houston 50% to 29%, out-rebounding the Cougars 36-23, and holding a 19-10 turnover advantage. C Joey Brown scored 22 and grabbed 13 boards. PF Angelo Craft added 13 points and our subs got plenty of court time. For Houston, SF Travann McCuthison scored 18 but the rest of the team combined for just 20 points. (20-1, 12-0, 1st place, ranked #2, RPI: 3)

Award: C Joey Brown was named AAC Player of the Week.

 

Game #22 @ South Florida (5-16, 2-10): After whipping the Bulls on our court earlier, we continued our domination by grabbing the lead at the outset of this game and never letting South Florida come close. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, we led 44-24. Our lead ballooned to 30 in the 2nd half and we drubbed South Florida 79-54. SG Austin Hunter led our attack with 20 points and he grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 5 assists, and made 4 steals and 1 block. C Joey Brown hit for 16 points plus had 10 rebounds. PG Howie Tyler scored 11 plus had 6 assists. (21-1, 13-0, 1st place)

 

Game #23 @ Central Florida (19-3, 11-2): So here we have it, our road game against the 2nd place Knights. The entire first half is close but we come out of it with a 30-29 lead at the half. The closeness continues throughout the 2nd half, but we have the coldest shooting night of our season, hitting just 21% of our FG attempts. That proves to be our undoing as we drop a closely contested game, 64-62 allowing Central Florida to creep within one game of our conference lead. Our 19 game win streak is broken. C Joey Brown scores 11 and pulls down 10 boards. SF Greg Brooks is our only other player scoring in double figures with 10 points. (21-2, 13-1, 1st place, Ranked #2 in the polls, RPI is 3rd highest in the nation)

 

Award: SG Austin Hunter was named the AAC’s Player of the Week.

 

Norton Award: C Joey Brown was named a semi-finalist for the Norton Award.

 

Recruiting News: Following his visit to our campus that he felt was “awesome”, we offer a scholarship to the 62nd highest ranked recruit, SG Georgiy Zolkin from Volgograd, Russia. We considered trying to cement our offer with a generous bribe, but opted not to since he comes from a relatively wealthy family. We still have one scholarship still to offer but decide to hold it until spring. Since C Kelvin Ross remains our primary focus for a big man, we up our offer from $5000 to $10000 and he still refuses yet again. He’s possibly too straight an arrow to fit in with me, but we keep him on our list even though his interest level drops from high to medium after our latest bribe offer. Maybe by April, we can rebuild his interest.

 

Game #24, TEMPLE (15-8, 8-6): We start off slowly but as the 1st half continues, we begin drawing away and take a 44-30 lead to the locker room. We don’t let the Owls back into the game and bank an 80-62 win. C Joey Brown leads our scoring with 17 points plus grabs 7 rebounds before fouling out of the game. SF Greg Brooks knocks down 15 points and SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday comes off the bench to score 10. SG Austin Hunter scores 8 but also had 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. UConn upsets Central Florida to re-establish our 2 game lead for the conference championship. (22-2, 14-1, 1st place)

[PointGuard 70]

Season 4, Games 25-27

 

Game #25 @ Cincinnati (13-11, 7-8): Even though we play inconsistently in the first half, we come away with a 33-26 halftime lead. Early in the 2nd half we build a 15 point lead before letting the Bearcats whittle away the lead a little but we win 70-61. PG Howie Tyler scores 21 points and SF Greg Brooks banks 20 points. C Joey Brown scores just 12 points but hauls down 17 rebounds. Our reserves have an unusually poor game, collectively scoring just 7 points. Cincinnati’s SF David Yeaton and SG Yannis Angelou both score 21 points. (23-2, 15-1, 1st place, ranked 2nd in the polls, our RPI is 3rd best in the country)

 

Award: SF Greg Brooks is the AAC’s Freshman Player of the Week.

 

Game #26, TULSA (8-17, 3-13): We quickly assert our dominance and then build a 43-21 advantage at the half. We hold off Tulsa in the 2nd half and roll to a 78-61 victory. C Joey Brown pours in 25 points and grabs 14 boards. PF Angelo Craft has a big game offensively with 19 points. The win assures us of an undisputed conference championship. (24-2, 16-1, 1st place)

 

Game #27 @ SMU (15-11, 11-6): In our final regular season conference game, we take on the dangerous Mustangs from SMU on their home court. The game is close in the early going but by the half we lead 33-22. We go on to win with relative ease 61-48. SG Austin Hunter scores 18 to lead us offensively. PG Howie Tyler chips in 11 points. C Joey Brown’s on court time is limited due to foul troubles, but he scores 10 and picks off 7 rebounds. (25-2, 17-1, 1st place, ranked #2 in the country with the 2nd best RPI)

 

Injury: Our win is dampened when PF Angelo Craft falls and breaks his hand. He’ll be out of action the rest of the season. We’re going to move freshman Ufuk Oztorun into the starting lineup but play junior Adrian Bains nearly as much time.

 

Recruiting: We have rebuilt C Kevin Ross’ interest in our program to high, but still aren’t listed in his Top 10. Even though we are also pursuing a more highly rated JC center, we decide to offer Ross a scholarship since we prefer having a player for 4 rather than 2 years. 

 

Norton Award: C Joey Brown is named as a finalist for the Norton Award.

 

Players declaring for the Pro Draft: We get a double barrel of bad news. Junior C Joey Brown and freshman SF Greg Brooks both declare for the draft. Fortunately we’ve recruited a strong SF but we need to refocus on finding the best possible center for next season. We are considering withdrawing the scholarship offer to Kevin Ross and going after a more highly rated JC center, but decide to think about it a while.

[PointGuard 70]

  AAC Standings

 

Here's the final standings in the American Athletic Conference for the 2016-2017 season:
 

 

[PointGuard 70]

American Athletic Conference Tournament

 

Day 1:

#10 seed Tulsa—76, #7 seed Tulane—56 (Center Josh Slay scores 21 to lead Tulsa to a minor upset)

#8 seed South Florida—67, #9 seed Houston—61 (SF Shannon Taylor scores 16 for South Florida and SG Aleem Murphy scores 18 for Houston)

Day 2:

#4 seed SMU—83, #5 seed—Temple—74 (SMU’s SF Dan Cummings, C Brandon Wallace and reserve PG Darrick Martin each score 15 points to offset Temple’s 4 players who score in double figures)

#3 seed UCONN—66, #6 seed Cincinnati—52 (UCONN continues their strong 2nd half of the season comeback as PG Jabari Younger pours in 30 points for an easy victory. PF Lee Bain scores 16 and grabs 12 rebounds for Cincinnati.)

#2 seed Central Florida—74, #10 seed Tulsa—57 (Central Florida continues to show how strong they are as they take apart Tulsa. C Teremun Younger scores 19 for Central Florida while SF Tyler Dean is Tulsa’s leading scorer with 15 points.)

Game #28 vs #8 seed South Florida: We score first and never look back, roughing up the Bulls for a 47-22 halftime advantage. We continue to expand our lead andgive South Florida a 78-43 drubbing. C Joey Brown scores 20 and grabs 15 rebounds. SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday scores 11. Our replacement PF’s Ufuk Oztorun and Adrian Bains split playing time and both score 8 points. (26-2)

Day 3:

#3 seed UCONN—67, #2 seed Central Florida—63 (UCONN continues their winning ways building a 16 point lead and then gamely hanging on for a slim victory. UCONN’s win is primarily due to their 18-10 turnover advantage. PG Jabari Younger and PF Jared Braswell both score 14 for UCONN. SG Dave Marlow and PG Vincent Edwards both score 13 for Central Florida.)

Game #29 vs #4 seed SMU: We draw away quickly to take a 41-24 lead to the locker room, then come back in the 2nd half to expand our lead to as much as 33, before settling for an 80-53 lopsided victory. C Joey Brown scores 18 and pulls down 13 boards plus gets 6 steals. SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday scores 21 points in his 20 minutes on the court. SG Austin Hunter adds 11 points. The PF combo of Ufuk Oztorun and Adrian Bains struggle, scoring a combined 10 points. (27-2)

Day 4 (Championship Game):

Game 30 vs #3 seed UCONN: The Huskies come into the game riding a 9 game win streak. UCONN destroys us in the first half, building an 18 point lead and coming out on top at the half 48-35. We gamely chip away at their lead in the 2nd half and finally pull ahead at the very end for a dramatic 72-69 victory to earn theconference championship. Both teams shoot under 40% for the game. We have one of our few negative turnover games, turning the ball over an uncharacteristic 16 times and only forcing 13 turnovers on the Huskies. But our rebounding advantage (37-28) plus getting to the line 50 times bails us out. C Joey Brown has an awesome game, scoring 25 and yanking down 18 rebounds to earn Tourney MVP honors. SF Adam Johnson comes off the bench to score 12 points. For UCONN, SG Ron Crumble crumbles our defense to score 27 points. (28-2)

[PointGuard 70]

End of Season Stats

 

Here's the Memphis Tigers player stats for this season:



And here's some team stats:

Season 4 Memphis Tigers Team Stats (national ranking in parentheses)

Stat.....Memphis.....Opponents
PPG.....74.6 (4)......57.0 (33)
APG.....15.3 (10).....11.0 (25)
RPG .....36.1 (1)......27.3 (238)
BPG......1.9 (64)......2.1 (342)
SPG......8.7 (78)......5.1 (7)
FG%.....42.3 (202)...38.8 (8)
3P%......37.8 (40)....33.9 (150)
FT%......71.6 (217)...68.5 (14)
TOPG....9.9 (2).......17.4 (28)

Finally, here's the Top 10 teams in the Media Poll:

[PointGuard 70]

NCAA Tournament Selection Show

 

1st Seeds: Indiana, Duke, Georgia Tech, Oregon

 

The AAC has 2 teams in the NCAA Tournament:

 

#2 ranked Memphis (28-2): 2nd seed in the San Antonio Region playing 15th seed Winthrop (17-13)

 

Central Florida (22-7): 9th seed in the Phoenix Region playing 8th seed Oregon State (18-11)

 

Are we ready for the NCAA Tournament?

 

Yes and no. Joey Brown is rock solid at center and justifiably was the MVP of the ACC Tournament, averaging 21 ppg and 15.3 rpg during the tournament. Our perimeter starters, Austin Hunter, Howie Tyler and Greg Brooks, are playing soundly and Lamont Holiday is filling in well at all 3 perimeter positions as our 6th man. But neither Ufuk Oztorun nor Adrian Bains has been able to fill the shoes of inured PF Angelo Craft, so that’s a weakness that is leaving us with a deficit and a position that our competitors could exploit. And beyond those 7 players, we have a shallow bench. Bottom line is that we are going to have to rely heavily on Joey Brown continuing to dominate inside and the rest of the team playing at the top of their game.

[PointGuard 70]

NIT

 

The AAC has 4 teams in the NIT:

 

Temple Owls: 4th seed in South Region

Cincinnati Bearcats: 7th seed in South Region

Connecticut Huskies: 2nd seed in West Region

SMU Mustangs: 3rd seed in West Region

 

Round 1

 

Syracuse—74, Cincinnati—54 (Cincinnati had an early 9 point lead but fell behind midway through the 1st half and never regained their footing. C Jamaal Haskins led the Bearcats with 13 points, but SG A. J. Hahn scored 22 for Syracuse)

 

Temple—81, Dartmouth—49 (The Owls sprinted ahead and never looked back as they continued to build their lead all the way to the end of the game. Temple outshot Dartmouth 52% to 30%. PG Jamaal Trent was high point man for Temple with 18 points, hitting all 7 of his FG attempts and all 4 of his FT attempts. C Andy Hampton scored 14 and grabbed 9 rebounds for Dartmouth)

 

Connecticut—84, UNC Asheville-58 (UCONN took a 43-24 lead to the locker room and then expanded their lead in the 2nd half to bludgeon UNC Asheville. UCONN dropped in 52% of their FG attempts. SG Ron Crumble led the Huskies with 22 points. C Carlos Lane scored 17 for UNC Asheville)

 

Bradley—61, SMU—59 (The game was close the entire way, but Bradley sported a 35-29 halftime advantage. SMU came back but lost the game in the final minute of play. SG Tim Pointers scored 12 points for SMU. SG Renard Layne had 11 points for the Braves.)

 

Round 2

 

Temple—79, Tennessee Tech—62 (Temple played another strong game, taking the lead early and then ever giving it up. Temple hit 53% of their FG attempts. SG Anthony Smith led a quartet of double figure scorers for Temple with 11 points. C Ronald Williams scored 19 for Tennessee Tech)

 

Connecticut—69, Bradley—51 (UCONN revenged SMU’s loss to Bradley. Neither team could break away in the first half. The game was tied at 36-36 at the half. But UCONN came out in the 2nd half and applied a withering defense to pull away for an easy victory. SG Ron Crumble continued his hot hand, scoring 23 points and C Terrance Broadnax had a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) for UCONN. PF Brian Ward came off the bench to lead Bradley’s scoring with 10 points.)

 

Round 3

 

Syracuse—60, Temple—57 (Temple handled Syracuse well in the first half and held a 27-21 lead at the break. But Syracuse gradually ground down the Owls in the 2nd half. The lead bounced back and forth, but in the final moments Syracuse was able to hold onto a small lead and eke out a victory. SF Freddie Williams was high point man for Temple with 17 points. But the player of the game was Syracuse C Chris Clark with 14 points and 10 rebounds.)

 

 

Connecticut—88, UL Lafayette—72 (UCONN out-classed the Ragin’ Cajuns in this game. The Huskies rolled over UL Lafayette in the first half and led 51-22 at the intermission. UCONN bested the Ragin’ Cajuns in all team stats. PG Jabari Younger dropped in 20 points and dished out 7 rebounds for the Huskies. SF Steven Tucker scored 28 points and pulled down 10 boards for UL Lafayette.

 

Round 4

 

Connecticut—68, Syracuse—49 (This game was all-Huskies. They opened the scoring and never trailed. Leading 38-21 at the half, they increased their lead in the 2nd half. PG Jabari Younger continued to have the hot hand, scoring 22. Syracuse’s SG A. J. Hahn matched his output with 22 points of his own.)

 

Round 5—Championship

 

Connecticut—67, Drexel-54 (The Huskies overwhelmed Drexel in the first half and led 42-25 at the break. Drexel made a couple runs in the 2nd half, but the Huskies were able to thwart those and maintain a safe lead to become NIT Champions. SG Ron Crumble led Connecticut with 19 points. After starting the season with a 7-13 record, Connecticut reeled off 14 wins in their final 15 games, losing only to us in the Conference Championship game. UCONN simply annihilated all opposition in the NIT and Huskies' SG Ron Crumble was the Tourney's MVP)

[PointGuard 70]

NCAA Tournament

 

Round 1

8th seed Oregon State—73, 9th seed Central Florida—64 (Oregon State manhandled Central Florida throughout the first half, taking a 21 point lead before finishing the half with a 42-26 lead. The Knights struck back in the 2nd half and gradually trimmed the Beavers lead, but that gap was too great to overcome. SF Brent Gravitt led the Knights with 13 points, but Oregon State’s PF Scotty Henry lit up the board finishing with 24 points to send Central Florida packing.)

Game #31 vs 15th seed Winthrop (17-13): Our defense was stellar in our tournament opener. We ran away to a 45-16 halftime lead. We coasted through the 2nd half enroute to a 68-44 beat down of Winthrop. SG Austin Hunter led our scoring with 24 points. But C Joey Brown scored 21 and hauled down 12 rebounds. (29-2)

Round 2

Game #32 vs 7th seed Georgia (16-14): We took control early and left the court at halftime up 46-34. We expanded our lead to 21 points in the 2nd half before finishing with an 80-64 win. 35 of Georgia’s 64 points were scored at the foul line, so our defense was the deciding factor as Georgia could only manage to drop in 33% of their FG attempts. SG Austin Hunter again had a big offensive game, scoring 22 points. C Joey Brown got his normal double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks popped in 17 points and PG Howie Tyler added 10 points. (30-2)

Heading to the Sweet 16:

While we had scored two decisive wins, our play hadn’t been anything more than should have been expected against the caliber of teams we faced in the first two rounds. Neither Ufuk Oztorun nor Adrian Bates had been able to step up to fill the shoes of injured PF Angelo Craft, so that was worrisome. On the other hand, SG Austin Hunter played strongly in both games. Before the tournament, there was concern that Joey Brown’s and Greg Brook’s decisions to declare for the pro draft might disturb our team chemistry, but both were playing as solidly as they had throughout the season and their teammates seem unaffected by their decisions. Our 6th man, Lamont Holiday played softly in both games, so there was hope that he would re-emerge as a big factor for our team as the tournament progressed.

Round 3 (Sweet 16)

Game #33 vs #3 seed and #18 ranked DePaul: The Blue Demons sport a 27-7 record. DePaul played tough in the 1st half, but we moved ahead late in the half to take a 41-34 halftime advantage. We came out of the locker room and destroyed the Blue Demons in the 2nd half. After building a 27 point lead, we settled for asolid 79-59 win. We held DePaul’s shooting to 32%. C Joey Brown dominated with 22 points and 9 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter scored 18 and grabbed 7 rebounds while dishing out 5 assists. PG Howie Tyler added 12 points. DePaul’s PF David Sylla scored 11 points and pulled down 10 boards. (31-2)

Round 4 (Elite 8)

Game #34 vs #4 seed and 20th ranked Stanford: In the Elite 8 we were matched up against a talented Stanford squad. But Stanford had advanced through the tourney thus far on an easy route, playing lower seeded teams in all 3 games. We played a great first half ending it up 45-26. But the 2nd half was part of a Jekyll and Hyde performance for us. We let the Cardinal back into the game and had to rally in the latter portions of the game to upend Stanford 79-69. We won the game based on a 35-23 rebounding advantage and our going to the line 13 more times where we scored 12 more points than Stanford. C Joey Brown led our effort with 21 points and 18 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks scored 16 points and SG Austin Howard hit for 15 points. (32-2)

Round 5 (Final 4)

Game #35 vs #2 seed and 7th ranked Louisville: Not only is this a Semi-final game but it’s a big game for us since we are playing a regional rival. The Cardinals have a 29-7 record coming into this game. Louisville jumped out to a lead. We fought hard to get ahead but they held us off giving us a 39-31 deficit at the halftime break. The team stats were amazingly similar but the Cardinals held a slight shooting advantage and that was enough to keep us from closing the gap. We fell and fell hard to the tune of 75-64. C Joey Brown scored 18 and pulled down 10 rebounds in his final game in a Tigers uniform. SG Austin Hunter added 12 points. Louisville’s SG Henry Grannum scored 23 and the PG Billy Grant put in 17 points. A great season for us, but one in which we came up just a little short. (32-3)

Damn, a disappointing loss, and losing to Louisville made it even tougher to take. But I guess the NCAA Selection Committee got our placing (a #2 seed) about right. Looking ahead to next year, with Joey Brown and Greg Brooks jumping ship, it’s going to be tough to equal what we did this year.

NCAA Championship

Louisville—66, Michigan State—59

Guess we can always say we only lost to the champs.

Joey Brown averaged 19.2 ppg and 12.0 rpg and was selected to the All-Tourney team.

[PointGuard 70]

Spring Recruiting

 

While the NCAA Tourney was in progress, we got word that SG Georgiy Zolkin from Russia had accepted a scholarship to play for us next season. That left one remaining scholarship in play. 

 

After the Tournament, we went right to work trying to corral a strong center since we will be losing Joey Brown a year early. 

 

Although we have some other centers we are focusing on, we decide to try to improve the interest of the 100th ranked recruit, C Collin Lostetter, by offering him a $2000 entertainment center. He is tempted by the offer and says it will factor into his decision. 

 

In mid-April, C Kelvin Ross accepts our final scholarship.

 

Since C Joey Brown definitely will be a high draft pick, and likely will be a high pick, he agrees to accepting being cut to open a scholarship. We use that to make an offer to JC sophomore C Jules Grant. Since we are right near the end of the recruiting season, we attempt to cement the deal by offering him a $5000 bribe which he ready he agrees to and then he accepts our scholarship offer.

 

Incoming Recruits:

 

PG Troy Cox, 6-0 HS Sr, Fairbanks, AK, 2.9 GPA, 1020 SAT. 19.4 ppg, 7.8 apg, 7.4 rpg, 5.7 spg, 1.9 bpg. Excellent outside shooter and scorer, Great passer and very good ball handler, Outstanding defender, Strong rebounder, Quick hands yielding lots of steals, Tremendous work ethic, Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems. Ranked #17 in the nation. Overall rating: A. (Note: We’ve set aside $5,000 to fulfill our end of the bargain after he arrives on campus.)

 

SF John Jones, 6-7 HS Sr, Oroville, CA, 2.4 GPA, 910 SAT. 19.0 ppg, 5.0 apg, 9.5 rpg, 3.7 spg, 3.9 bpg. Sweet outside shot, Excellent scorer, adroit passer, Strong rebounder, Solid defender, Very good at stealing and blocking, tremendous work ethic, not a leader but doesn’t cause problems, few problems with injuries, In the top 25 at the Indy Elite Camp. Ranked #43. Overall rating: A. (Note: No bribe was offered to this recruit.)

 

C Jules Grant, 6-11 JC So, Minneapolis, MN, 2.3 GPA. 17.1 ppg, 3.5 apg, 11.7 rpg, 2.4 spg, 4.7 bpg. Strong scorer with excellent inside shooting skills as well as good outside shooting skills, excellent rebounder and shot blocker, strong defender, hard worker, great leader on and off the court. Ranked #47. Overall rating: A. (Note: We’ve set aside $5,000 to fulfill our end of the bargain after he arrives on campus.)

 

SG Georgiy Zolkin, 6-0, Volgograd, Russia, 2.4 GPA, 1090 SAT. 17.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 4.2 rpg, 2.2 spg, 1.7 bpg. Very strong scorer with a great outside shot, hard working kid, not a leader but doesn’t cause problems either, rarely missed a day of practice. 62nd ranked recruit. Overall rating: B. (Note: No bribe was offered to this recruit.)

 

C Kelvin Ross, 6-10 HS Sr, Lakewood, WA, 2.2 GPA, 900 SAT. 18.1 ppg, 4.4 apg, 10.8 rpg, 1.6 spg, 3.9 bpg. Good scorer with an excellent inside shot, good passer, strong rebounder and shot blocker, tremendous work ethic doesn’t have many problems with injuries. Ranked #64 in nation. Overall rating: B. (Note: Two different bribes, the second better than the first, were offered to this recruit, but he disdained taking a bribe both times.)

 

It’s a good strong recruiting class. No Top 10 players, but those players typically declare for the pro draft before finishing their college careers anyway.

[PointGuard 70]

End of Season Odds & Ends

 

Awards

 

C Joey Brown—Winner of the Norton Award !!!!!

C Joey Brown—WS Player of the Year

C Joey Brown—WS Defensive Player of the Year

C Joey Brown—1st Team All-American

C Joey Brown—AAC Player of the Year

SF Greg Brooks—AAC Freshman Player of the Year

C Joey Brown—AAC Defensive Player of the Year

C Joey Brown—AAC 1st Team All-Conference

SG Austin Hunter—AAC 1st Team All-Conference

Tom Bradley—AAC Coach of the Year

 

(So now I guess it’s not so surprising that Joey Brown declared for the Pro Draft. What more can he prove by playing another year of college ball? We were just exceptionally lucky to have him play for us for 3 years. He easily could have declared for the draft after his freshman year, but I think the extra two years of development will stand him in good stead in the pros.)

 

Head Coaching Jobs

 

Some great jobs are available to me, including North Carolina, but I decide to stay at Memphis to try to develop a championship team. Plus I like the laissez faire attitude of the administration.

 

Meeting with the Board

 

I requested a budget increase. The board concurs and provides a substantial increase from $273,100 to $321,000. Nice, $48,000 more to spend each year HOWEVER it suits me!

[PointGuard 70]

•  
•  
•  

Season 5 (2017-2018)

 

Team Prestige is now 86. Facilities remain rated an A-. Conference prestige is now 69.

Our incoming recruiting class has been rated as the 6th best in the nation. Those with better rated recruiting classes were: (1) Oregon; (2) Michigan State; (3) Florida; (4) Kentucky; (5) Texas. Rounding out the Top 10 after us were: (7) Wake Forest; (8) Kansas; (9) Notre Dame; (10) Indiana.

A preliminary evaluation of our team this season is that we should be stronger at 3 positions and weaker at 2 positions, but there is solid strength at all 5 positions and depth at 4 of the 5 positions. Rather than having one dominant player, any one of the 5 positions should be able to lead the way for us on a given night.

The 4 freshman we are bringing in this year all look like they will contribute. John Jones is almost certain to start at SF. Kelvin Ross will likely backup Jules Grant at C but could challenge Jules or take over the PF position before the end of the season. Troy Cox will be given as many minutes as possible backing up Jared Keady at PF, particularly since Keady will be graduating after this season. And finally, Georgiy Zolkin will, along with sophomore Bryan Smith, back up Austin Hunter at SG since one of those two will likely take over for Hunter after his graduation at the end of this season.

NCAA Probation:

North Carolina: no post-season play for 1 year and no scholarships for 2 years.

Obviously the NCAA’s investigation budget must be very low. So we will continue our indulgences.

Planning for Recruiting:

Since we lost players to the pro draft at the end of last season, we have one unfilled scholarship this summer. That means we MAY fill it with a transfer player, if the right guy is out there. But otherwise we will add it to our 3 scholarships that will come available and go after quality high school seniors this fall. 

We’re going to purchase the basic national report as well as the basic reports for each region of the U.S. While we won’t spend money on the international report, we still will look closely at international recruits and do what it takes to get one if there is a stud out there on the horizon. That should still leave us enough money to go to a couple camps plus recruit aggressively and have enough to “sweeten the pot” for a few recruits.

We opt to go to two camps, the Indy Elite Camp and the Memphis Hoop Summit this summer.

Transfer Season:

There’s a good PG and a C in the transfer pool. But the center is reputed to have a poor attitude and could be a cancer, so we’ll pass on him. But the PG looks solid and is transferring from Stanford after playing soundly as the backup PG there in his freshman year. We’re not on his radar, but we’ll try to change that. We immediately go after the PG from Stanford and offer a scholarship, but he signs with Arkansas at the earliest opportunity.

As we explore the rest of the transfers, we find another PG who is nearly as good and was Big East Freshman of the Year and 2nd Team All –Conference at Butler last season. But he’s got a terrible personality plus he wants to play most of the game. We decide to pass on him.

There also are a SG and PG from Washington who look good, but not great. So we decide to go with just 12 scholarships this year and add the unused scholarship to give us 4 high school recruits to go after. We’d rather roll the dice on getting a good high school recruit than take a good transfer player who deficiencies.

We add a 3rd walk-on for this season, Sr SF Aaron Rohwer, a cousin to our star center from a couple season’s ago, Ruben Rohwer who declared for the pro draft following a single season with us after being Freshman Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Conference. Aaron looks to be a decent player, but not a star like Ruben. Aaron played JC ball a couple years and has been off the court for a couple years so may be a bit rusty. The best part of Aaron’s game is rebounding.

Academics

Since a few of our players have poor GPA’s from last season and some of the incoming freshman didn’t have stellar academic records in high school, we decide to get some tutors for those players to see if we can get their grades up high enough to keep them from flirting with academic ineligibility.

Pro Draft

SF Greg Brooks was the 8th player selected in the draft and C Joey Brown’s stock surprisingly sunk so that he was the 11th player selected. 5 of the top 10 selected were from Michigan State.

Recruiting

We have 4 scholarships to offer. Ideally I’d like to pick up 2 PG’s, a SG, and a SF, but if the right big man is there and available, it would be hard to turn down.

From within Tennessee, there is one stellar PG that I’d like to pick up and a handful of other players we will take a look at.

Regionally there’s one excellent SG and a number of other players we add to our list.

On the national front, we add some of the top flyers to our list. 

Internationally there are only 3 players we have interest in at this point.

Norton Award:

SG Austin Hunter was nominated for the Norton Award.

[PointGuard 70]

Recruiting Recap

 

Improving our competitive advantage

 

With a bigger recruiting budget we can even more aggressively “compete”. Over a couple month period, here’s how we attempt to spread our largesse:

 

#1 PG Scott White: High level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Michigan St}

#4 SG Aaron Williams: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Notre Dame]

#6 SF Derek Jackson: High level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he declined but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Stanford]

#7 SG Roy Field: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with MEMPHIS]

#10 PG Aaron Graves: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he declined and interest level dropped to ++ but then rebounded to +++. [Eventually signed with Oklahoma]

#18 SG Chris Pohlman: High level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with UCLA]

#17 SF Tyrone Davis: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Oklahoma St.]

#21 Jimmy Fox: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he declined and interest level dropped to ++. [Eventually signed with Connecticut]

#22 Isaac Wright: High level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Memphis]

#12 Justin Hayes: Low level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he declined but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Texas]

#13 SG Cliff Harris: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Stanford]

#15 SF Marcel Marshall: Medium level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he declined and interest level dropped to +. [Eventually signed with Duke]

#24 SG John Parris: High level of interest in our program. Very poor financially. $10K. $10K offer which he declined but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Kentucky]

#42 SF John Williams: Medium level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Boston College]

#73 PG Gerrick Forrest: High level of interest in our program and 8th on his Top 10. Poor financial status. $5K offer which he declined but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Tennessee]

#11 SF Ben Perez: Medium level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he declined and interest level dropped to +. [Eventually signed with Syracuse]

 

We made scholarship offers to the following recruits:

 

#2 PG Scott White [Eventually signed with Michigan St.]

#4 SF Derek Jackson [Eventually signed with Stanford]

#8 PG Morris Wolfe [Eventually signed with MEMPHIS]

#9 SG Roy Field [Eventually signed with MEMPHIS]

#10 PG Aaron Graves [Eventually signed with Oklahoma]

#17 SF Tyrone Davis [Eventually signed with Oklahoma St.]

#22 PG Isaac Wright [Eventually signed with MEMPHIS]

#25 SF Damien Sanders [Eventually signed with Kentucky]

#53 SF Lonny Ferguson [Eventually signed with Ohio State]

#63 SF Julian Blevins [Eventually signed with MEMPHIS]

 

Recruits who will be coming to Memphis:

 

We locked up Field and then Wolfe in mid-September, giving us a very strong core of new recruits around which to build further. Wright chose us in late September and then Blevins took our last remaining scholarship in mid-October. Early on we lost out on a number of high-flyers and we had a very difficult time nailing down a good SF, burning our way through 4 offers and having others we liked opt for other programs before we could make an offer. 

 

SG Roy Field, 6-4 HS Sr, Sarasota, FL, 3.6 GPA. 25.3 ppg, 2.8 apg, 6.8 rpg, 6.7 spg, 1.2 bpg. Excellent scorer with sweet shooting from both inside and out; Strong rebounder; Outstanding ball thief and very good shot blocker; Great passer; Good athleticism; Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems; Talented player who could work harder; Top 25 at Indy Elite Camp; MVP at Memphis Hoops Summit. Ranked #5 with an overall rating of A. We’ve stashed away $10,000 for him when he arrives at campus.

 

PG Morris Wolfe, 6-0 HS Sr, Maynardville, TN, 2.9 GPA. 21.8 ppg, 8.2 apg, 7.0 rpg, 5.4 spg, 1.0 bpg. Excellent scorer with a good shot from outside and inside; Excellent passer; Strong rebounder; Great defensively; Excellent at stealing the ball and a good shot blocker; Tremendous work ethic; Top 5 at Indy Elite Camp. Ranked #9 with overall rating of A. No bribe was offered.

 

PG Isaac Wright, 6-0 HS Sr, Burbank, CA, 3.0 GPA. 20.0 ppg, 7.1 apg, 6.5 rpg. 2.1 spg, 0.5 bpg. Excellent scorer with great outside range; Excellent passer; Strong rebounder; Very good defensively; Good athleticism; Hard working kid; Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems; Doesn’t have many problems with injuries; Top 10 player at the Indy Elite Camp. Ranked #16 with an overall rating of A. Another $10,000 has been held aside for him when he gets here.

 

SF Julian Blevins, 6-7 HS Sr, Whitwell, TN, 3.4 GPA. 16.2 ppg, 2.0 apg, 3.7 rpg, 1.7 spg, 0.8 bpg. Excellent scorer who can shoot well from both outside and inside; Strong athleticism; Weak rebounder; Hard working kid; Doesn’t have many problems with injuries; Decent, but not spectacular, showing at the Indy Elite Camp; Top 5 at the Memphis Hoop Summit. Ranked #69 with an overall rating of B. No bribe was offered.

 

So why no bribe offers to either Morris Wolfe or Julian Blevins? With respect to Wolfe, he had us at the top of his top 10 at the beginning and while we slipped to #3 before the home visits, the chance of having the bribe offer backfire and blow us out of the water wasn’t worth the risk. Also he came from a very well-off family which decreased the chance of the bribe being meaningful to him. And we went after Blevins hard at the very end of the fall recruiting cycle and he was an in-state recruit so we had an inside track without having to use a bribe.

 

Where’d the top 10 ranked recruits go?

 

#1, PG Scott White to Michigan State

#2, SF Stephen Standmark to Stanford

#3, SG Aaron Williams to Notre Dame

#4, PF Heath Crawford to Syracuse

#5, SG Roy Field to MEMPHIS

#6, PF Jonathan Ballard to Syracuse

#7, SF Derek Jackson to Stanford

#8, SG Tim Morton to Syrcuse

#9, PG Morris Wolfe to MEMPHIS

#10, PG Aaron Graves to Oklahoma

[PointGuard 70]

Final Pre-Season Notes

 

Schedule

 

We set a tough pre-conference schedule with a number of ranked teams and others who may be by the time we play them:

 

Coaches Classic (Virginia)

@ Michigan

#13 OHIO ST.

#14 STANFORD

#3 INDIANA

@ North Carolina St.

@ Purdue

@ Tennessee

@ #23 Syracuse

 

Memphis Tigers Roster 2017-2018

 

Starters:

 

PG Jared Keady, 6-3 Sr, Orange, Virginia, 2.5 ppg last season

SG Austin Hunter, 6-1 Sr, Harvey, ND, 10.7 ppg last season

SF John Jones, 6-7 Fr, HS Sr, Oroville, CA, HS last season

PF Angelo Craft, 6-8 So, Lebanon, TN, 7.1 ppf last season

C Jules Grant, 6-11 Jr, Minneapolis, MN, JC last season

 

Subs:

 

PG Troy Cox, 6-0 Fr, Fairbanks, AK, HS last season

PG Abraham Althoff, 6-1 Sr, Nashville, TN, 1.1 ppg last season (walk-on)

SG Georgiy Zolkin, 6-0 Fr, Russia, HS last season (pronounced gay-OHR-ghee)

SG Bryan Smith, 6-3 So, Bloomington, MN, 0.0 ppg last season

SF Aaron Rohwer, 6-7 Sr, Memphis, TN, Didn’t play last season (walk-on)

PF Adrian Bains, 6-8 Sr, Atlanta, GA, 4.1 ppg last season

PF Ufuk Oztorun, Turkey, 2.2 ppg last season (pronounced oo-foohk)

PF Eugen Smodlaka, 6-8 So, Croatia, 0.3 ppg last season

PF Lionel Samnick, 6-6 Jr, New Tazewell, TN 0.0 ppg last season (walk-on)

C Kelvin Ross, 6-10 Fr, Lakewood, WA, HS last season

 

Our first goal for the season is to win the Coaches Classic.

[PointGuard 70]

•  
•  
•  

Coaches Classic Tournament

 

Game #1, Nov. 13, 2017, Coaches Classic vs Virginia (0-0): Angelo Craft scored 7 of our first 10 points but then he picked up 2 fouls after playing just 4 minutes. We led 21-8 with 14:15 to go. The refs kept Virginia in the game by calling 14 fouls against us, sending the Cavaliers to the line 22 times. But we still finished the half with a 49-38 edge. Austin Hunter led our scoring with 11 points in the first half plus he had 5 assists. Throughout the 2nd half we held onto a safe lead and took down Virginia by a score of 86-71. We were +6 in rebounds and +7 in turnovers. Six of our players scored in double figures: PF Angelo Craft-13, SF John Jones-12, SG Austin Hunter-11 (he also had 7 assists and 5 rebounds), PG Jared Keady-11, C Jules Grant-10, PF Adrian Bains-10. (1-0)

Game #2, Nov. 15, 2017, Coaches Classic vs #6 Duke (1-0): Duke is a 4th seed and we’re a 5th seed in this 16-team tourney. The Blue Devils won their first round game by beating UNLV 74-68. In that game they got most of their offense from their guards, but they have gifted players throughout their lineup. C Jules Grant was in foul through throughout the game so that meant Kelvin Ross got a lot of minutes in his 2nd collegiate game. He didn’t score much but pulled down his fair share of rebounds. But my other 4 starters played exceptionally well with all 4 scoring in double figures and also defensively controlling the talented Dukies. We carved out a 40-30 halftime advantage and expanded our lead to as much as 20 in the second half. We relaxed a little at the end but still won 79-66. PG Jared Keady scored 21, SG Austin Hunter had 20, SF John Jones tossed in 13, and PF Angelo Craft had his 2nd straight strong game with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. (2-0)

Game #3, Nov. 17, 2017, Coaches Classic (semi-final) vs #2 UCLA (2-0): UCLA puts a great team on the court every year, winning 120 games in the previous 4 years and posting two NCAA Championship banners. The #1 seeded UCLANS came away with easy victories over Georgia and Oklahoma State in their first two games of the tourney. The Bruins 3 perimeter starters are collectively averaging 55 ppg. Since UCLA has so much talent outside, we decide to try to wear them down by running the ball, pressing as much as possible, and trying to shut down at least 2 of the 3 high scorers. We make 4 turnovers in the first 4-1/2 minutes and UCLA converts that into a 13-5 lead. Then aided by 3 UCLA turnovers, we score 11 unanswered points in the next 2-1/2 minutes to take a single point lead. We increase our advantage to 30-21 with 6:10 to play in the half. UCLA knocks down some threes but we still come away with a 45-39 lead at the break. Austin Hunter topped our scoring with 11 points. UCLA closed to within 4 points early in the 2nd half, but our defense resurfaced and we then pulled away to take an 80-60 lead with 6:48 on the clock. Our game plan worked to perfection as we walked off the court with an 83-68 walloping of the highly-touted Bruins. We dominated the boards 34-24, held a 17-14 turnover advantage, and outshot UCLA 58% to 45%. The 3 Bruins perimeter starters scored 51 points, but 17 of those points were on free throws and the 3 players hit just 13 of 33 FG’s. SG Austin Hunter scored 23 points, dished out 7 assists, grabbed 3 rebounds, and had 2 steals and a block. C Kelvin Ross dropped in 13 points and had 7 rebounds. PG Jared Keady scored 12 and PF Angelo Craft added 11. Since we played an up-tempo game and pressed so much, our subs came in to spell our starters as needed, and we got scoring from 12 players. (3-0)

Game #4, Nov. 19, 2017, Coaches Classic (championship) vs Brigham Young (3-0): The Cougars scored impressive wins over Louisville, UCONN, and Florida to get to this tournament championship game. We’ll be without SG Austin Hunter who picked up a serious strain in his right calf during practice yesterday. I decide to move John Jones from the 3 to the 2 and start Ufuk Oztorum at the 3. Our defense was porous and we fell behind 17-6 in the first 4 minutes of the game. Our two interior starters were on the bench with 2 fouls apiece after just 5 minutes of play. We continued to be flat and trailed 29-13 with 9 minutes to play in the half. At that point we woke up and finally tied the game at 35-35 with 6 minutes left before the intermission. We leave the floor trailing 50-47. Our defense was horrible, letting BYU hit 58% of their shots. BYU also controlled the boards 22-12. PG Kevin Keady was our only player who came to play. He scored 17 points and has 5 assists. We went on a 9 point run midway through the 2nd half to put us ahead 63-54. BYU didn’t give up though and came back to tie us at 67-67 with just over 8 minutes to play. We forged a 6 point lead but then the Cougars clawed their way into it by scoring on reverse layup with 0:53 to play. We called a time out to try to get a score early enough to get the ball back for a last shot. We set up a pick and roll and Jared Keady screened out the man guarding John Jones, who hit a 14 footer from the right side of the key to give us a 4 point cushion with 43 seconds left in the game. BYU’s 3 pointer rimmed out and the Cougars had to foul. Keady made one of two, but then BYU hit a 3 with 13 seconds remaining and it was a one-possession game at 79-77. The Cougars again fouled, but this time Keady sunk both free throws. With 9 seconds left, we were in control. We escaped by the skin of our teeth with an 81-77 win and a championship in the Coaches Classic. We lost the battle of the boards 38-30 but our defense was good enough in the 2nd half to drop BYU’s shooting down to 45% for the entire game and force them to make 18 turnovers (to our 9). PG Jared Keady tossed in 24 points and had 7 assists and 4 steals. SG/SF John Jones scored 11 while feeding out 3 assists, grabbing 7 rebounds and getting 3 steals plus a block. SG Georgiy Zolkin (11 points() and C Kelvin Ross (9 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block) both played well coming off the bench. For BYU, C Todd Felton had a double-double (17 points and 10 rebounds) plus also had 7 assists. (4-0, Ranked #1, RPI: 13) 

PF Ufuk Oztorun hit the floor hard in the 2nd half of the final game and suffered a mild concussion. So both he and Austin Hunter, who is still nursing a calf injury, will miss our next game against #18 Michigan, even though both want to play in this high profile game.

Both SG Austin Hunter (18 ppg, 5.7 apg, 4.7 rpg) and PG Jared Keating (17 ppg, 4.3 apg, 3.3 spg) were named to the All-Tourney Team. I think PF Angelo Craftcould have joined them, had he not gotten into early foul trouble in the final game so he was limited to 11 minutes on the court. At the center position, Jules Grantplayed well, but freshman Kelvin Ross even played better. Freshman SF John Jones played consistently well in all 4 games. PF Adrian Bains was impressive coming off the bench.

American Athletic Conference note: After the first week this season, the only team other than us in the AAC without a loss is Tulane (2-0). The remaining 10 teams have a combined record of 3-13.

Award: SG Austin Hunter was the AAC’s Player of the Week.

[PointGuard 70]

Season 5, Games 5 & 6

 

Game #5, Nov. 21, 2017, @ #18 Michigan (2-0, RPI: 23): This is a tough game on the road in which to have our star SG (Austin Hunter) and a key sub (PF Ufuk Oztorun) not suiting up due to injuries. I’m starting freshman Georgiy Zolkin at the 2 based on his strong play in our last game so John Jones can move back to the 3, which is his more natural position. Jared Keady picks up his 2nd foul with the game just 3 minutes old. SF John Jones joins him 4 minutes later. After trailing all the way, we tie the game at 17-17 with 10 minutes to go in the half. We finally take a 27-26 lead with 5:50 left. We hit 59% of our 1st half shots to take a 40-38 lead to the locker room. SG Georgiy Zolkin drops in 11 points. In the 2nd half, even though we lead 51-44, we already are assessed our 7th team foul in the first 4-1/2 minutes of the half and 4 of our starters are on the bench with 3 fouls each. Playing with an all-sub team, we storm to a 71-57 advantage with 7-1/2 minutes to go in the game. Michigan tries to come back but we hold them off for a nice 84-75 road win. The win was keyed by our outshooting the Wolverines 57% to 46%. C Kelvin Ross had his best game of his short collegiate career with 16 pts, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and a block. SG Georgiy Zolkin again played strongly and also scored 16. PG Jared Keady played just 13 minutes due to foul problems, but scored 9 points. PF Angelo Craft and SF John Jones both scored 8. (5-0)

 

Game #6, Nov. 24, 2017, Ohio State (1-2): Our second Big 10 team this week, but this time on our own home court. We’re back to full strength with no one hampered by injuries. The game is close throughout the first half, but we give ourselves a little breathing room at the end of the half and finish with a 43-35 advantage. C Kelvin Ross scores 9 and pulls down 8 rebounds. We play sloppily in the 2nd half and Ohio State overtakes us 51-50 with 11-1/2 minutes to go. From there on we steadily pull away and win by a score of 81-70. C Kelvin Ross led our attack with 17 points while hauling in 9 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter scored 14, SG Georgiy Zolkin has 11, C Jules Grant scored 9, and SF John Jones added 8. For Ohio State, Pf Veini Kyllonen scored 18 and C Larry Mascoe grabbed 15 rebounds. (6-0, Ranked #2, RPI:1)

 

After winning two games this week, one against a ranked team on their home court, our RPI improves to best in the nation, but we drop from 1st to 2nd in the polls. Strange. Especially while the now #1, Indiana, although also having a 6-0 record and being champs of the Hawaiian Shootout), has played lesser quality teams thus far. But no matter, better for our team to have something to strive for. Plus we play them next week, so this provides some ammunition for that game. Before that though, earlier this week we have to get through #17 Stanford.

 

Team Incident: Adrian Bains and Troy Cox got into a loud and lengthy argument. I brought both into my office to keep the incident from escalating, but don’t think I had much effect.

 

Award: C Kelvin Ross was named the AAC Freshman Player of the Week.

[PointGuard 70]

Season 5, Games 7 & 8

 

Game #7, Nov. 28, 2017, #17 Stanford (3-0): Stanford’s PG Dan Davis has been their biggest offensive threat thus far. Based on the strength of his play thus far, Kelvin Ross will start for the first time at C for us. Hunter and Keady hit 3’s in the first minute of the game to ignite our crowd. We scored the first 11 points of the game and led 15-2 at the first TV timeout. Our defense sparkles as we hold the Cardinal to a shooting percentage of 26% in the first half and force them to turn the ball over 8 times. By the end of the half our lead had ballooned to 39-21. SG Austin Hunter led our scoring with 9 points while grabbing 5 rebounds. We hold a big lead throughout the 2nd half, although Stanford cuts into it late in the game to make the final score 67-54 in our favor. C Jules Grant came off the bench to score 14 points and haul down 8 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. (7-0)

 

Game #8, Dec. 1, 2017, #1 Indiana (7-0): We have a ton of media here, not only TV, but reps from all around the country for this matchup of the #1 and #2 ranked teams. And the FedEx Forum is packed to the rafters, not only with our fans but a big contingent from Indiana. Indiana has some great players, but our main focus will be on PF Trenton Patterson. He’s 2nd on the team in scoring (17.0 ppg), but doing it so efficiently that if we can limit his shots and force others to shoot, they are likely to make fewer of the shots that would he. Jules Grant is starting at center for us again. We fall behind 20-7 as the Hoosiers, and in particular PF Trent Patterson and C Craig Davis, shred our defense. We make several mini-runs but they are always effectively countered by the Hoosiers and we limp off the floor at the break trailing 46-31. The only thing we are doing well is that we got 8 blocks in the first half. SF John Jones leads our scoring with 9 points. Patterson and Davis combine for 25 of Indiana’s 51 points. In the 2nd half we repeatedly reduce the lead to 7 but only at the 7:32 mark do we get closer when we close to 64-59. Jared Keady sinks 2 free throws at 5:50 to make it 68-65. Then with 4:53 on the clock, Austin Hunter drills a 3 to tie the game at 68-68. After Indiana scores inside, Angelo Craft knocks down a 3 on our next possession and we take our first lead since it was 2-0. With 1:45 to go, Jared Kennedy cuts around a screen and puts up a 15 footer that finds the bottom of the net and gives us a 76-72 lead. Indiana steals the ball and scores on a breakaway to narrow our lead to 76-74 with 1:23 left. Austin Hunter drives the baseline, pulls up and tosses in a 10 foot jumper to put us up by 4 again. Then Craig Davis of Indiana drops in a pair of free throws making it 80-78 with 48 ticks on the clock. We toss the ball away. Indiana makes us pay by hitting a 2 to tie the game. I call a time out with 29 seconds to go and instruct our guys to hold onto the ball for a timeout in the final 10 seconds so we can go for the last shot. So what happens? Austin Hunter thinks he’s free and lofts up a 14 footer with 20 seconds to go. It misses, but an Indiana player lurches to try to block the shot and fouls Hunter. The first shot is good as is the second. But now the Hoosiers have time to tie or win the game. I put my best defensive players on the court. John Jones fouls with 12 seconds to go. The first of a 1-and-1 rims out, but Indiana pulls down the rebound and puts up a quick shot which is blocked by Kelvin Ross. We grab the loose ball and Jared Keady puts up a shot at the buzzer that drops to make it 85-80 in our favor. The Hoosiers outplayed us in most aspects of the game, but we outshot Indiana 58% to 50%. That plus the home court advantage allowed us to get a come-from-behind win against a team that was better tonight. SG Austin Hunter scores 23 and has 7 assists. PF Angelo Craft picks up 15, SF John Jones has 14, PG Jared Keady gets 13, and C Jules Grant adds 10. (8-0, Ranked #1 in the polls, RPI: 1)

 

Incident: The after game celebration turns sour when Troy Cox and Adrian Bains get into yet another argument. I pull them aside to give them a stern lecture. Bains is repentant but Cox gives me lip which earns him a one week suspension.

[PointGuard 70]

 

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Season 5, Games 9 & 10

 

Game #9, Dec. 5, 2017 @ North Carolina St. (3-2): The first half went back and forth with 15 lead changes and 8 ties. North Carolina State came away with a 30-28 halftime lead. We altered our game plan during halftime and immediately began to pull away as our defense smothered the Wolfpack and we dominated the boards (33-22). We finished with a 64-49 road victory. SG Austin Hunter scored 16 and pulled down 8 boards. PG Jared Keady added 10, while SF John Jones and PF Angelo Craft both scored 8. (9-0)

Game #10, Dec. 8, 2017 @ Purdue (5-2): Purdue put us in an 8-0 hole. By the midpoint of the first half, we trailed 31-11. And at the break we were behind by a 49-29 score. The Boilermakers got to the line 14 more times where they scored 14 more points that did we. Our leading scorer was Jared Keady with 6 points. We decreased Purdue’s lead to 10 with 9 minutes to go and then to 7 with 7-1/2 minutes left. At the 5:48 mark, Aaron Rohwer put back a shot and was fouled. He converted the 3 point play to make it 62-58 in favor of Purdue. Purdue quickly re-built a 12 point lead with just over 3 minutes to go. We cut their lead to 6 with a minute left. But we couldn’t do it and lost 73-64. Purdue’s 15 more free throws where they scored 14 more points were the difference. We were called for 21 fouls while Purdue was whistled just 10 times. C Kelvin Ross had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter scored 12, PG Jared Keady added 11, and SF John Jones had 9. (9-1, Ranked #2, RPI: 1) (The team ranked above us is UCLA, who we beat in the Coaches Classic.)

Injury: PF Ufuk Oztorum is nursing a bruised shoulder, but shouldn’t miss our next game.

[PointGuard 70]

Season 5, Game 11 & 12

 

Game #11, Dec. 13, 2017 @ Tennessee (3-4): While we’re still in the state of Tennessee, this is our 3rd straight road game. The Volunteers are led by PF Chris Edwards who is scoring 15.0 ppg. The lead shifted back and forth throughout the entire first half (19 lead changes and 11 ties). Fittingly the half ended with the scored tied 41-41. SF John Jones led our scoring with 10 points. We fell behind by as much as 10 points in the 2nd half. We kept trying to dig our way out of the hole, but continually fell back into it. Finally with 4:16 we cut Tennessee’s lead to 67-65. We then fell behind by 7, but with 57 ticks on the clock we closed to within a single point. Tennessee missed a shot and we brought it down court. As the clock wound down, John Jones had a good look at the basket and put up a 10 footer that came off the rim to Jules Grant who put it back up and in with 14 seconds remaining to give us a 73-72 lead. Tennessee played for last shot and their point guard drove down the middle of the lane, but Jared Keady stuck to him forcing an off-balance shot that failed to drop. We escaped with a 73-72 comeback win but with a bit more gray hair for me. With 16 turnovers, we made twice as many as the Volunteers, but we dominated the boards 39-27 and outshot Tennessee (47% to 39%). SF John Jones topped our scoring with 18 points plus had 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. SG Austin Hunter scored 15 and pulled down 6 boards. C Jules Grant hit for 11 points plus had 13 rebounds. PG Jared Keady added 8 points. (10-1, Ranked #2 in the polls, RPI: 1)

Scholarship: Since we have one vacant scholarship this season, we decided to award it to walk-on senior SF Aaron Rohwer. He’s been playing better subbing for John Jones so deserves it.

Game #12, Dec. 19, 2017 @ Syracuse (3-4): We held a small lead throughout most of the first half and came out of it with a 32-28 lead. SG Austin Hunter scored 8 points for us. We quickly built up a 10 point lead in the 2nd half as our defense solidified. We never let Syracuse get close the rest of the way and we came away with a 72-56 victory to end our pre-conference play. SG Austin Hunter scored 13, pulled down 8 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, and had 3 steals and a block. C Jules Grant scored 11. PF Adrian Bains and SG Georgiy Zolkin came off the bench to score 9 and 8, respectively. SF John Jones added 8. SG Thurman McKnight scored 20 for Syracuse. (11-1, Ranked #2 in the polls, RPI: 1)

[PointGuard 70]

Entering into conference play

 

We finish our pre-conference games with a 11-1 record, a #2 rank in the polls, and the best RPI in the country. The only other ranked team in our conference is UCONN which has a 7-3 record, is ranked #16 in the polls and has the 3rd best RPI in the nation.

 

Player stats:

 

PPG: Hunter-15.9, Keady-11.4, Jones-10.1, Ross-8.4, Craft-7.6, Grant-7.3, Zolkin-6.2, Bains-4.7

RPG: Ross-6.3, Hunter-5.5, Grant-4.8, Jones-3.2, Craft-2.2, Keady-1.7

APG: Hunter-3.8, Keady-3.1, Cox-1.9, Craft-1.6, Jones-1.3, Samnick-1.3

SPG: Keady-1.5, Hunter-1.4

BPG: Grant-1.5, Ross-0.8, Hunter-0.7

 

Team stats:

 

We’re averaging 77.4 PPG and giving up 68.4 PPG

We’re out-rebounding our opponents 32.3 to 29.5

We’ve made 13.0 TOPG while our opponents have averaged 14.7 TOPG

We hit 47% of our FG attempts and our opponents hit 42% of theirs

We dropped in 36% of our 3’s and our opponents hit just 28% of theirs

We outshot our opponents at the free throw line 77% to 68%

[PointGuard 70]

Season 5, Games 13 & 14

 

Game #13, Dec. 26, 2017, #16 Connecticut (7-3): UCONN has wins over Minnesota, Wake Forest, Georgia, and #13 Stanford. One of their losses was to #5 Kentucky. They have 3 players averaging in double figures: SG Bobby Harris (17.0), SF Byron Thompson (13.6) and PG Jabari Younger (11.6). We took an early 19-10 lead but Connecticut stormed back with a barrage of 3’s to take a 29-22 lead with just under 7 minutes left in the first half. By the end of the half we were behind 43-30. We hit just 28% of our 1st half shots. PF Angelo Craft led our scoring with 10 points. Things got worse in the 2nd half and we trailed by 20 with 12-1/2 minutes left in the game. We cut their lead to 8 with 5 minutes to go and then 7 with 2 minutes remaining. Angelo Craft knocked down 2 free throws at 1:04 to make it 79-74. Then Craft pulled down an offensive rebound and put up an 8 footer than dropped and we trailed 79-76 with 29 seconds to go. We fouled, and after making 24 of 25 free throws, they only made on of their two shots to put us behind by 4. Then Austin Hunter hit a 3 to make it 80-79. We fouled with 11 seconds and the Huskies missed both shots. We called a time out with 6 seconds left. We set up a screen for Hunter, but when he got the ball he travelled giving UCONN the ball with just a second to go. The 80-79 loss was a tough one to take, particularly at home. SG Austin Hunter topped our scoring with 21 points. PF Angelo Craft scored 19, and PG Jared Keady had 11. SF John Jones pulled down 10 rebounds. UCONN’s SG Bobby Harris was the game’s high point man with 22 points. (11-2, 0-1, 6th place tie)

Game #14, Dec. 29, 2017 @ Houston (4-8, 0-1): We quickly built up a double digit lead and finished the half up 42-29. Reserve PG Abraham Althoff scored 9 points to lead our scoring. We increased our lead to as much as 20 points in the 2nd half and won with ease 75-60. We dominated the boards 36-23. PG Jared Keady scored 14 points, SG Austin Hunter tossed in 13 and had 5 assists, PG Abraham Althoff hit for 11 in 13 minutes of play, and centers Kevin Ross and Jules Grant both had 9 points with SF John Jones adding 8 points along with 6 rebounds. (12-2, 1-1, 4th place tie; Ranked #3; RPI: 2)

Award: SG Austin Hunter is selected as the AAC’s Player of the Week.

[PointGuard 70]

Season 5, Games 15 & 16

 

 

Game #15, Jan. 2, 2018, South Florida (5-7, 1-1): We scored the first 14 points of the game. We then extended our lead to 23-2 and 35-5. Our crowd was raucous adding to the Bulls troubles. The half ends with us ahead 49-23. SF John Jones was on fire with 15 points. In the second half we play everybody except for out athletic trainer and still win by a 74-56 score. SF John Jones nets 21 points, SG Austin Hunter scores 16 and grabs 6 rebounds, PF Angelo Craft is deadly from the field (7 of 8) and scores 15. PG Jared Keady tosses in 11 points and dishes out 6 assists. (13-2, 2-1, 2nd place tie)

 

Game #16, Jan. 5, 2018 @ Cincinnati (3-9, 0-3): After 4 minutes of play we trail 12-5. We very slowly come back and with 4-1/2 minutes left in the first half take a 24-22 lead. Cincinnati walks to the locker room with a 33-31 lead though. SF John Jones’ 8 points tops our scoring. In the 2nd half, we score the first 11 points. But Cincinnati doesn’t fold and they tie the game at 59-59 with 2:10 remaining in the game. Jared Keady is fouled with 1:21 to go and sinks both free throws to put us up by 2. Neither team can score forcing the Bearcats to foul Keady with 25 seconds on the clock. Keady drops in both shots and we lead by 4. Cincinnati hits a 3 with 10 seconds to go and Keady is again fouled with 7 seconds remaining. Again he calmly hits both ends of the 1-and-1. We put on a full court press that doesn’t allow them to get the ball out of the deep backcourt and escape with a 65-62 victory. The key to our win is a 19-8 turnover advantage. PG Jared Keady scores 16, SG Austin Hunter adds 11, C Kelvin Ross puts in 10 along with 8 rebounds, and SF John Jones scores 8. (14-2, 3-1, 1st place tie; Ranked #3, RPI: 2)

[PointGuard 70]

Season 5, Games 17 & 18

 

Game #17, Jan. 9, 2018, Tulane (9-4, 3-1): Tulane tore apart our defense throughout the entire first half, hitting 64% of their shots. They also out-rebounded us 18-7. We left the court at the half trailing 44-31. PG Jared Keady led our scoring with 9 points. We cut their lead to 45-41 in the first 2 minutes of the 2nd half. We cut their led to a single point with 14-1/2 minutes to play. The Green Wave quickly re-opened an 8 point lead, but we again drew within a point with 9 minutes remaining. Then at the 6-1/2 mark, John Jones got free for a 3 that dropped giving us our first lead of the game at 63-61. 30 seconds later Adrian Bains pulled down an offensive rebound and muscled back up a short that put us up by 4 points. We increased our lead to 7 with 4 minutes to go. With 1:14 left Austin Hunter sank a pair of free throws to make it 76-66. Following such a lackluster 1st half, our 2nd half turn-around was complete, 47-24 in points and 26-11 in rebounds and holding Tulane’s shooting to 25%. We ended up with a 78-66 victory. PF Angelo Craft scored 20 and pulled down 7 rebounds. PG Jared Keady knocked down 18 points. C Kelvin Ross had 10 points and 7 rebounds, SF John Jones scored 9 and grabbed 7 rebounds along with 4 assists, and SG Austin Hunter added 9 rebounds while dishing out 7 assists. (15-2, 4-1, 1st place tie)

 

Game #18, Jan. 12, 2018 @ SMU (6-8, 1-4): We fell behind 28-14 but then scored the next 10 points, mostly on free throws. Even with poor shooting (33% by us compared to 64% by SMU), we only trailed 30-26 at the half. Austin Hunter was our top scorer with 8 points. Our shooting was even worse in the first 9 minutes of the 2nd half, but we take our first lead at 37-36, as the Mustangs suffered with repeated turnovers. SMU recaptured the lead and with 1:22 the Mustangs were on top 60-58. We called a time out to set up a play to try to tie the game, but the pick and roll failed as Jared Keady missed the shot. Austin Hunter grabbed the rebound outside and fired it up, but it rimmed out. Jules Grant rebounded though and his put-back went down to forge a 60-60 tie. SMU threw the ball away with 50 seconds on the clock. From there on it was a series of turnovers by SMU and missed shots by us, thereby taking us to overtime still knotted at 60-60. We scored 5 points in the first 45 seconds of OT, but SMU crawled back within a point with 2:13 remaining. We called a time out and were able to clear Austin Hunter for an uncontested 3 that dropped cleanly through the net to put us ahead 68-64. After Angelo Craft hit one of two free throws, SMU dropped in a 3 to make it 69-67 with a half minute to play. Austin Hunter was fouled with 26 seconds to play. With the SMU fans roaring, Hunter was able to sink both free throws. From there we were able to hold off the Mustangs for an exciting 74-69 overtime win on the road. Outshot 58% to 42%, we won on the basis of a 30-23 rebounding advantage and forcing the Mustangs to make 26 turnovers (compared to 13 by us). SG Austin Hunter scored 28 points and had 3 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. C Jules Grant scored 10 plus pulled down 9 rebounds. Bryan Smith came off the bench to lead our comeback in the 2nd half, scoring 11 points during his 11 minutes on the floor. (16-2, 5-1, 1st place tie; Ranked #4 in the polls; RPI: 2)

[PointGuard 70]

Season 5, Games 19 & 20

 

Game #19, Jan. 16, 2018, Temple (10-5, 5-1): This is a matchup of the co-leaders in the American Athletic Conference. Temple has wins over #5 Maryland, #12 Connecticut, and Kansas plus has played very well in their AAC games. Poor shooting again kept us behind most of the 1st half, but we dominated the boards (19-8) and rallied toward the end of the half to take a 34-31 lead to the locker room. PG Jared Keady led our scoring with 8 points. We asserted control in the 2nd half as our shooting improved and we continued to control the boards. With 12:15 to play we led 55-40. Then we opened a 20 point lead with 8:15 remaining. We finished with a 79-63 victory giving us sole possession for 1st place. SF John Jones and SG Bryan Smith both scored 13 points, C Kelvin Ross and PG Austin Hunter each tossed in 12 points, PG Jared Keady scored 10 and PF Angelo Craft added 8. (17-2, 6-1, 1st place)

 

Game #20, Jan. 19, 2018 @ Tulsa (7-9, 4-3): The first half was devoid of defense and we let the Golden Hurricanes hit 58% of their shots. We were fortunate to only trail 46-43 at the break. SG Austin Hunter scored 9 points. Our offense kicked into overdrive in the early part of the 2nd half pushing us to a 64-53 lead with 13 minutes to play. We continued to burn up the net and rolled to a 98-77 victory. We turned the ball over just 3 times the entire game and hit 53% of our shots. SG Austin Hunter tossed in 19 points while C Kelvin Ross and SF/SG Bryan Smith both scored 14. PG Jared Keady scored 12 and dished out 8 assists. PF Angelo Craft and PF Adrian Bains each scored 9. (18-2, 7-1, 1st place; Ranked #4 in the polls; RPI: 3)

[PointGuard 70]

Season 5, Games 21 & 22

 

Game #21, Jan. 23, 2018: Central Florida (7-10, 4-4): We hold a small lead in the early going, but then pull away in the latter part of the 1st half to enjoy a 42-22 halftime advantage. PG Jared Keady topped our scoring with 10 points. We cruise through the 2nd half to an easy 80-54 win. SG Austin Hunter scored 16 plus had 4 assists and 8 rebounds. PG Jared Keady added 15. SF/SG Bryan Smith had his 4th straight game coming off the bench to score in double digits, this time with 10 points. SF John Jones scored 9, dished out 2 assists, pulled down 8 rebounds, and had 2 steals. (19-2, 8-1, 1st place)

 

Game #22, Jan. 26, 2018 @ #17 Connecticut (13-6, 6-3): UCONN is exceptionally tough at home. It’s tough to know who to focus upon with SG Bobby Harris averaging 16.5 ppg, SF Byron Thompson 13.9 ppg, and PG John Younger 12.9 ppg. We jumped out to a 9-1 lead. But midway through the first half, Connecticut came back to take their first lead of the game at 17-16 as their crowd went wild. We then roared back to forge a 44-34 halftime lead. PF Angelo Craft’s 20 point phenomenal performance led us in the first half. In the 2nd half we expanded our lead to 20 points with 14-1/2 minutes to play. We finished with a satisfying 85-69 road win againt a very tough team. PF Angelo Craft had the best game of his career with 26 points, 2 assists, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals. PG Jared Kennedy dropped in 13 points, SG Austin Hunter and C Jules Grant both scored 12 points, while SF John Jones and C Kelvin Ross both had 8 points. (20-2, 9-1, 1st place; Ranked #4 in the polls; RPI: 2)

 

Norton Award: SG Austin Hunter was named a quarter-finalist for the Norton Award.