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WarEagle22
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Jeremy Knight enters his office with Danny Matthews, his newly hired assistant coach, to go over the returning players for Saint Louis’ roster.
Knight:
We definitely have our work cut out for us. Having only five players returning is bad enough, but none of them are really that great. Nobody on this roster right now is the caliber of player we want and need to be successful here.
Matthews:
I completely agree. We’re probably not going to win a bunch of games this season, but I do think we need to go out and sign two or three studs and a few solid guys that will probably begin their career as a starter and then move to the bench as we continue to overhaul this roster.
Knight:
(Nodding in agreement) If we’re going to commit to the rebuild we just need to go at it all out. I’m all for starting five newcomers this season if we can find the right guys. I want us to target a few JUCO guys as well. They’ll be more experienced coming in and could really be valuable to us, and it doesn’t give us a logjam of seven freshmen. Let’s really focus on the junior colleges in Mississippi. There were a couple of guys that I really liked that I thought would be good additions at Birmingham-Southern. If they could contribute at BSC they should be starters here.
Matthews:
Hit up Mississippi for some JUCO players, check. Let’s go over the returning roster and decide what we want to do with them.
Knight:
Dikembe Abdula. Six-foot point guard from Senegal. Will be a junior this season. Averaged 4.1 points last season in 14 minutes-per-game. Shot 40.5 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from 3. From the free throw line he shot 75.6 percent. Had 29 assists last season to 41 turnovers. He’s pretty fast and somewhat athletic. Decent defender with some upside. Great ball handler but poor passer, which led to his turnovers. His jumpshot is decent.
Matthews:
He’s not going to cut it here. He has some nice qualities. I like his speed and ball handling. I can live with his athleticism and defense. He’s just such a poor passer and I don’t know that we can get around that.
Knight:
Bruce Karsten. Six-foot point guard from Lancaster, South Carolina. Will be a junior this season. Started all 27 games last season and averaged 7.7 points and 2.7 assists. Shot 41.9 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from 3. He’s started every game in his college career and last season his scoring and assists went up while his turnovers went down. He’s similar to Abdula. Great speed and ball handling. He’s not a great passer, but he’s a better passer than Abdula. He has a very solid shot and I don’t really know why he didn’t have a higher 3-point percentage last season. The downside is that he’s not very athletic. He’s not bad, but he’s not great.
As far as guards go, I would like to have two guys that we bring in be the starters. Karsten could start if we needed him to, but I would prefer to bring in guys good enough to force him to come off the bench. Abdula should be the third guard off the bench. Maybe we can develop him into a guy that can play the 3 some if needed.
Thomas Ayers is a 6-foot-8 small forward. He’ll be a senior this season. Last he only played in 18 games and averaged just 3.3 minutes. Nothing really positive about his stats other than he’s an 82 percent career free throw shooter. He’s not great at anything, but he’s also not awful either. He’s just very average. I would like to cut him, but he will be a senior so I think we can ride him out for one year.
Matthews:
We really need to find a good wing player and possibly another wing to backup or a third guard that is versatile enough to play the 3.
Knight:
Yes, and like I said, worst case scenario we could probably get away with Abdula at the 3.
John Myers is a 6-foot-9 senior center. His athleticism and defensive ability are just okay. He’s a good rebounder and he’s great at protecting the rim and playing with his back to the basket. He started all 27 games last season and averaged 7.3 points and 6.7 rebounds.
Matthews:
I think he’s just alright.
Knight:
I agree. He’s not great, but he’s solid enough we could start him if need be. I would prefer to have him as the first post off the bench, but we could definitely survive with him as a starter.
Edgar Madrigal. Seven-foot-one junior center. I think he’s awful. I don’t like anything about this kid’s game. I’m going to release him from his scholarship.
Matthews:
Now we have eight slots to fill.
Knight:
I don’t want us to get caught up in thinking we have to sign eight players either. I’ll be content with bringing in six guys that can play. It would probably wouldn’t hurt to try to sign an ineligible that can contribute next year. If we sign an ineligible and redshirt a guy that’ll give us two players to carry over to next year’s freshman class and balance our roster out a little bit. Let’s go find some players and get this thing rolling.
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SAINT LOUIS ATHLETICS
PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
John Wilkins:
Good morning and welcome. I would first like to thank each of you in attendance and watching online for attending this press conference. Two months ago when I began to search for the next individual to lead the Saint Louis men’s basketball program I selected very distinct qualities that the right coach would have. The first quality is that he would be a man of great character. We are certainly proud of our athletic traditions at Saint Louis, but even more so important is how each individual associated with this great university carries himself or herself off the court and in the community. The second quality I desired in the coach is leadership. I wanted a coach that was capable of not only preparing his players and staff for each opponent throughout the season, but someone who would also prepare every member of the program for life beyond the game of basketball. I wanted someone who would mold the young men that come into our program into great contributors of our society once they graduate from the program. The third quality that I wanted in a coach is someone who is driven. I want someone leading this program that strives to improve each and every day, on and off the court. Lastly, and certainly not least, I wanted an individual who is a proven winner. Saint Louis has a very proud and rich history, and while we have certainly not lived up to that standard in recent years, it was very important to me to find an individual who could help return the Billikens program to the success it has enjoyed in the past and then go further than ever seemed possible.
Jeremy Knight has all of those qualities. He was a candidate that I targeted from the very beginning because of his proven track record of success. Once I started digging around and learning more about him, I realized that he possessed all of the other qualities that I desired in a coach. Coach Knight is a tremendous man of great character and has helped shape the lives of many young men over the years of his coaching career. He displays great leadership and has shown a desire to improve in every aspect of his life. And, as it is well know, he is a winner. He put together a very impressive resume in his first coaching job at East Texas Baptist, which was capped off with a Division III National Championship. He restored Birmingham-Southern to be a great power in the Big South Conference and has won many conference championships and been to the NCAA Tournament several times. Now we believe, with time, he will do the same here at Saint Louis. I, and the entire staff here, have full faith that Knight is the man to restore Saint Louis to its rightful place in the Atlantic 10 and in the college basketball landscape. Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce you to the new coach of the Saint Louis Billikens men’s basketball team, Jeremy Knight!
[Applause]
[Coach Knight enters stage and shakes Wilkins’ hand]
Jeremy Knight:
Thank you very much. First and foremost I would like to thank Mr. Wilkins and the Saint Louis athletic department for having the confidence in me to hire me. I would also like the thank Richard Vasquez for the opportunities he gave me at Birmingham-Southern. Finally, I would like to thank all of the former coaches, former players, and fans that have supported me throughout my career and have helped me reach this moment in my career. Without them none of this would be possible right now and I am very grateful for all the contributions they have made. I’m very excited to lead the Saint Louis basketball program and I look forward to the great opportunities and challenges involved with this job. I know we only have five players on the roster right now so that means there will be a lot of new faces in the fall. It’s very difficult to be successful while depending on a bunch of young guys. However, I promise that I, my coaching staff, and our players will do our best every day to improve and bring this program closer to where it should be. The recruiting class that we bring in this summer will serve as the foundation for this great program and its bright future. Like I said, I’m looking forward to the wonderful opportunities and challenges here and I can’t wait to get started.
Wilkins:
At this point Coach Knight will answer questions from the media.
Reporter:
Last season you won your second consecutive Big South Tournament Championship and took Birmingham-Southern to the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row. You only lost two players off of that team. On paper it seems like you were set to continue your recent run of success for a few more years so why did you decide that now was the right time to move on?
Knight:
First let me say that it was a very, very difficult decision for me to leave Birmingham-Southern. Over the last 11 years I’ve built many wonderful relationships with people throughout the community in Birmingham, as well as a great relationship with all of our players. I do realize that it seems like I left a very good situation, and Birmingham-Southern is in a great spot by the way, to come to a school where, at the moment, it appears we’ll have to work a little hard to be successful. One of the main reasons I was interested in coming here is for the opportunity to coach and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The A-10 has an outstanding reputation and has some of the top mid-major programs in the country. As a competitor I get excited over the opportunity to compete against the best and I thought Saint Louis offered me an opportunity to do that. Another aspect I liked about Saint Louis is the facilities. Saint Louis has top-notch facilities and Chaifetz Arena is an amazing place to play basketball. For a lot of people replacing seven players seems like a daunting task, but that challenge is very appealing to me. Recruiting is probably my favorite part of the job and I enjoy it even more so when I have a large class to sign. Yes we have to replace a lot of players, but we also get to bring in a lot of guys that are going to be our foundation going forward so that is very exciting. The last thing about this job that really excited me is the location and recruiting territory. This is a wonderful school to be at from a recruiting standpoint. I can get guys from around here in the Midwest. I can dip down into Texas. I can go over to the Rockies or the Great Lakes region. I can also recruit down in the Deep South where I’ve built some wonderful connections and relationships during my time at Birmingham-Southern. There’s just so much recruiting territory available at Saint Louis and that was one of the primary reasons I wanted to come here.
Reporter:
Have you had a chance to meet with the remaining players yet, and where are you in terms of evaluating them?
Knight:
I met with the players briefly earlier this morning and as a part of my evaluation process I will meet with each of them individually throughout the week. In terms of where I am at evaluating each of them, it’s still very early in the process. I’ve only watched a handful of games from last season so I’m still learning about each player’s strengths and weaknesses. Another benefit from having only five players returning is that I have fewer players to evaluate going into the offseason program.
Reporter:
What type of offense and defense will you use this season?
Knight:
I’ve always used a motion offense since I’ve been a head coach and played man-to-man defense. From my brief film evaluation I know Saint Louis runs a lot of man-to-man also so that shouldn’t be an issue this season. We will definitely play a lot of man-to-man defense. From what I’ve seen Saint Louis ran a triangle offense last season. We’ll definitely run a motion offense, but this season will be a little challenging. My job is going to be finding a way to balance the motion offense I want to run with the triangle offense that these guys know. At the start of the season we’ll probably use a good bit of triangle bases and as the players learn the motion more we’ll fade the triangle out until we’re playing primarily motion. Hopefully we can have the motion down before A-10 play starts.
Reporter:
Where are you in terms of assembling your staff?
Knight:
It’s an ongoing process. I would like to bring a lot, if not all, of my staff from Birmingham-Southern, but I also understand that some of those guys want to pursue other opportunities and advance in the coaching ranks. I’ve got a list of coaches I want to work with in my head. I’ll contact those coaches and see if they’re interested and if they are we’ll go from there and continue until I complete my staff. I will have the associate coach position reserved for Danny Matthews if he is interested. He has served as my associate coach at Birmingham-Southern for several years and he’s the ideal coach that I would want involved with my program. He might look into a few head coaching opportunities and that makes me very happy for him. If he decides that he doesn’t want to go the head coach route at this time then he’ll have a spot on my staff for sure if he wants it. I’m also planning on hiring David Johnson as the director of operations. Davis was a fantastic player for me and really knows the offense and what it takes to succeed in it. He’s served the last two seasons as a graduate assistant on my staff and he’s excelled at that position so he is very deserving of the promotion. Other than those two I’m really not 100 percent certain which direction I want to go for the rest of the staff.
Reporter:
With only five players returning, what positions will you focus on mostly during recruiting?
Knight:
I don’t know that there is a single position I want to focus more than the others. We have seven openings so we really need guys at every position. My main focus during recruiting will be signing the best players that will come in and lay a foundation for the future through hard work.
Reporter:
What are you expecting from the team on the court this season? What will be considered a successful season for Saint Louis?
Knight:
Well, first and foremost I always expect my team to compete and give 100 percent every day in practice and every game. At Birmingham-Southern we didn’t sit down and make it a goal to make the NCAA Tournament three years in a row. Every year I want our goal to be winning the Atlantic 10 Championship. Then I want us to focus on winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Then our goal is to make the NCAA Tournament and then we want to win a game. Yes, our end goal is to make the NCAA Tournament, but you can’t focus on that from the beginning or you can get lost throughout the season. Our primary goal is going to be winning the A-10. We’re going to accomplish it by taking every game on our schedule one game at a time. Each and every game I want our guys to focus on doing whatever is necessary to be successful that night, and to improve as a player. If we focus and do that for every game we play then the championships and the tournament bids will fall in place, just like they did at Birmingham-Southern. A successful season for me will be one where our guys work on getting better every day. If we do that then everything else takes care of itself.
Wilkins:
Thank you media members for the questions. At this time I want to thank everyone once again for being here today or viewing this press conference online. At this moment Coach Knight has to leave for a tour of Chaifetz Arena and other obligations. Thank you again and go Billikens!
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ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Billikens Hire Knight
ST. LOUIS | The search for the next head coach of the Saint Louis Billikens men’s basketball program is over after Jeremy Knight has accepted the offer for the open position. Knight’s deal is rumored to be for $2,000,000 over five years, or $400,000 each year during the contract. Exact details haven’t been released but it’s probable that Knight also will receive performance-based incentives for post-season appearances and wins.
Knight comes to Saint Louis from Birmingham-Southern where he spent the previous 11 years as head coach. While at BSC, Knight put together an overall record of 245-71 and went 137-39 in Big South play. Knight also won four Big South Championships and three Big South Tournament Championships with the Panthers. Knight also guided BSC to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including each of the previous three seasons. Last season Knight’s squad started the season 3-7, but bounced back and finished the season 18-12 before losing to Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Knight has earned a reputation as a great player developer. During his 11 years at BSC, Knight coached the conference player of the year nine times. Knight had 17 players named to the First Team All-Big South team and three players were named to the AP All-America team during his tenure.
Before his tenure at BSC, Knight started his coaching career at Division III East Texas Baptist. Knight experienced great success from the beginning of his career with an overall record of 256-53 at ETBU. Knight led the Tigers to six conference championships, five conference tournament championships and eight NCAA Tournament appearances. In his first season as a head coach Knight guided ETBU to the Division III National Championship with an overall record of 34-1. Knight also led ETBU to the Sweet Sixteen in 67 and the Elite Eight in 71.
Knight will inherit a Billikens squad that went 12-15 (6-10) and finished eighth in the Atlantic 10 last season. Saint Louis currently has only five players on its roster, which will make Knight’s rebuilding process more challenging. However, the flip side of having only five players on the roster means that Knight will have seven scholarships to use this year in recruiting and in return can bring in “his guys” more quickly which will speed up the process. Junior guard Bruce Karsten will the returning leading scorer for Saint Louis. Karsten averaged 7.7 ppg last season and has started every game of his college career. Senior center John Myers will be the only other returning starter for the Billikens. Myers averaged 7.3 ppg and 6.7 rpg last season. It’s reasonable that Knight will rely heavily on those two players this upcoming season as he brings in his own players and develops them for his system.
The Billikens basketball program has fallen on hard times recently. In the previous 20 seasons Saint Louis has had a winning record just eight times, with six of those coming during Trent Cole’s two four-year stints as coach. During that span the Billikens have won four Atlantic 10 Championships (the last one came in 70), two NIT bids, and two NCAA Tournament bids. Saint Louis last made the NCAA Tournament in 80, which was Cole’s last season as coach. The other NCAA Tournament appearance, also under Cole, came in 68. Needless to say, Knight will have his work cut out for him to turn Saint Louis into a consistent member of postseason play.
A press conference to introduce Knight as the next coach is scheduled for Thursday morning in Chaifetz Arena. A full write up of the press conference will be available in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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BIG SOUTH SPORTS BLOG
Knight Leaving Birmingham-Southern?
Rumors have begun to heat up over Birmingham-Southern head coach Jeremy Knight leaving the team. Knight is the longest tenured coach currently in the Big South, having spent the last 11 years at BSC. Knight has guided the Panthers to four Big South Championships, three Big South Tournament Championships, and four berths in the NCAA Tournament, including the current streak of three consecutive trips. During his time in Birmingham, Knight has amassed a record of 245 wins and 71 losses and a 137-39 record in the Big South. Sources say that Knight is in serious talks with administration to become the next head coach at Saint Louis. The Billikens finished last season 12-15 (6-10 in the Atlantic-10) and lost seven players from last season’s squad. It’s very confusing to try and figure out why Knight would want to leave a program in the midst of its most successful run in school history, in addition to returning 10 players from last season’s team. Sources have also mentioned that Knight has grown irritated with the administration at BSC over the last year or two over the school’s unwillingness to upgrade facilities to match the Panthers on court success. As of right now the talks between Knight and Saint Louis are just rumors, but stay connected with the Big South Sports Blog to stay up to date on this situation.
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84 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Division III: Wisconsin-Stevens Point (31-4) ***3rd National Championship 66, 75, 84***
Division II: Colorado School of Mines (34-1) ***1st National Championship***
NIT: Georgetown Hoyas (18-15) ***1st NIT Championship***
Division I: Virginia Tech Hokies (30-5) ***5th National Championship 66, 67, 72, 77, 84***
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Updated the NCAA Tournament with Final Four scores.
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COLLEGE HOOPS BLOG
NBA Draft Prospect Rankings
We’ve finally reached the Final Four, which means that the NBA Draft is just right around the corner. Below we list the top ten players at each position. The point guard position for this draft class is nonexistent, at best. Michigan State’s Paul Shires is the only impact point guard in the class. Frederick Fred from Colorado is the only other point guard considered a first round talent, and the sophomore will have an interesting decision to make. Fred could leave school and most likely be a late first round pick, or return for his junior season and establish himself as the top point guard in next year’s class and possibly move into the lottery. NBA teams looking for point guard help would be best served by looking into free agency. The shooting guard position has much better depth in this class. There isn’t a 2-guard that projects to be an elite, impact player from the get go, but there are definitely some solid options that should have great NBA careers. NBA teams in need of a shooting guard with a draft pick in the mid to late first round slots should have no trouble finding the help they need in the draft. The small forward position is similar to the shooting guard class. Great depth throughout the first round, however, the small forward class also feature the top two prospects who are sure to become elite players in their career. All season long the question has been Kansas’ Warren Kelly or Florida’s Eric Hunter for the number one pick. Neither player helped himself in the NCAA Tournament with Kansas losing in the opening round and top seed Florida falling in the second round. Most scouts still consider the choice between the two to be a toss up so it will be interesting to see who is selected first overall pick. The power forward position will also feature great depth throughout the first round. We don’t think there is any elite talent in this group, but there is definitely a plethora of solid players that are capable of contributing at the next level. NBA teams looking to draft a center need to be selecting in the top five of the draft or they might be better off looking to veteran free agents for help. Ronald Moss, John Helms, and Ellis Gurganus are the three centers that are hands down the top big men in the class and are projected as top ten picks. Once those three players are gone the draft becomes very bleak at the center position with barely any projected first round talent available. There’s only three games left in the NCAA Tournament and once the championship game is played Monday night it will be time for us, as well as the players, to turn our attention to the NBA Draft. As always, it will be interesting to see which underclassmen stay in college for another year and which ones decide to make the jump to the NBA.
POINT GUARD
OVR NAME YR HT WT COLLEGE
4 Paul Shires Jr. 6-3 198 Michigan State
25 Frederick Fred So. 6-0 190 Colorado
42 Oscar Morris Jr. 5-8 164 Florida
47 Robert Stravinski Sr. 5-10 175 Duke
52 Richard Harber Sr. 6-6 215 Minnesota
54 Bruce Orlowski Jr. 6-2 201 San Diego State
55 Raymond Losada Jr. 6-1 176 Northwestern
56 Jason Davis Sr. 6-0 179 Providence
58 David Grady So. 6-2 192 Miami (FL)
62 Paul Pierce Jr. 6-2 204 Connecticut
SHOOTING GUARD
OVR NAME YR HT WT COLLEGE
9 Ronald Antunez Sr. 6-3 207 Syracuse
13 Jeffrey Skulski Jr. 6-3 197 Connecticut
15 Charles Hawkins Jr. 6-2 196 Oregon State
16 Jurica Zediker Jr. 6-0 181 Oklahoma
27 Charles Spencer Jr. 6-2 174 Illinois
29 Justin McKay Sr. 6-4 191 Virginia Tech
30 John Burgess Jr. 6-2 199 Kentucky
34 Alfred McCullan So. 6-6 217 Ohio State
43 Darryl Payne Jr. 6-4 209 Illinois
53 Mario Guerrero Jr. 6-5 213 Arizona
SMALL FORWARD
OVR NAME YR HT WT COLLEGE
1 Warren Kelly So. 6-4 204 Kansas
2 Eric Hunter Jr. 5-11 189 Florida
14 Christopher Aguinaldo Jr. 6-3 203 Colorado
18 Darren Banks Sr. 6-3 196 Iowa
19 Cesar Russo Jr. 6-3 188 North Carolina
20 Clarence Davis Sr. 6-4 184 Duke
26 Judson Thompson Jr. 6-5 204 Texas A&M
28 Andrew Webb So. 6-5 193 Seton Hall
39 Jerome Strickland Sr. 6-7 208 Northwestern
44 Edmund O’Donell So. 6-2 197 Texas A&M
POWER FORWARD
OVR NAME YR HT WT COLLEGE
6 Michael Clark So. 6-7 218 Ole Miss
7 Jeffrey Rehkop Sr. 6-6 200 Minnesota
10 Bobby Tims So. 6-8 231 Duke
11 David Jamison Sr. 6-9 243 Georgetown
12 Raymond Berry Sr. 6-11 253 Connecticut
17 Kent Guidi Sr. 6-10 221 Duke
21 Leonard Griffin Jr. 6-11 258 Colorado
22 Samuel Bowen Sr. 6-8 225 Seton Hall
31 Hung Tang So. 6-8 213 Michigan State
32 Barrett Thompson So. 6-9 214 Washington
CENTER
OVR NAME YR HT WT COLLEGE
3 Ronald Moss Jr. 6-6 208 Michigan State
5 John Helms Jr. 6-9 209 Duke
8 Ellis Gurganus Jr. 7-0 257 Miami (FL)
23 Kenneth Andrews Sr. 7-1 261 Providence
24 Eric O’Bryan Sr. 7-1 270 Iowa
33 Kevin Moline Sr. 6-11 258 Connecticut
37 Kevin Ogles So. 7-0 233 Florida
38 Fidel Yanez Sr. 6-7 220 Miami (FL)
40 Mario Adams So. 6-7 225 UCLA
41 Angel Lombardi Sr. 6-11 233 Virginia Tech
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THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS
Knight Reflects on Season, Looks Ahead to Future
BIRMINGHAM | The Birmingham-Southern Panthers just finished the 84 season with an 18-12 overall record after a 72-48 loss to Connecticut in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers went 12-4 in Big South conference play, good enough for a second place finish, and went on to win the Big South Tournament with a 54-49 victory over VMI in the championship game. Birmingham-Southern will lose senior guard Richard Kanagy and Jared Lobdell to graduation, but the Panthers will return the rest of the roster which includes some very promising underclassmen. The Birmingham News recently sat down with BSC coach Jeremy Knight to get his thoughts on the previous season and his outlook for the future of the program.
BN:
Congrats Coach Knight on another great season at Birmingham-Southern. As you reflect, how would you grade this season?
JK:
I think this season was a great success for us. Each year our goal is to win the Big South Conference, then win the Big South Tournament, and finally to make the NCAA Tournament. We came up just short on winning the Big South Conference, but we took advantage of our opportunity to win the Big South Tournament and make the NCAA Tournament. Anytime you can accomplish the goals you set for your season I would say it’s a very successful season.
BN:
The team got off to a rocky start this season, going 3-7 in the non-conference schedule. Can you talk about that and some of the challenges it presented?
JK:
As a staff we knew coming into the season that this would be a challenging year for us. We went 16-0 last season in the Big South and lost five seniors who played some major minutes for us from that team. We had a very young team this season and we weren’t really sure which guys would take on different roles we needed for our team to be successful. Having said that, we were prepared for a challenging season but I don’t think any of us envisioned starting out 3-7. That was a very difficult time for our staff and me personally. In my entire career as a coach I’ve never had a losing record out of the conference or in conference play. I’m a very competitive person and I don’t like to lose, so it was very hard for me to start the season 3-7. But give our staff and our players credit; they could have very easily packed it in and instead we all continued to work hard every day and eventually turned it around.
BN:
You did a great job of righting the ship as you started Big South play 7-0. What adjustments did you and your staff make that helped the team bounce back from such a rough start?
JK:
We were 0-4 early on and at that point we weren’t really sure of what to do with our rotation. Guys that had some success last year weren’t exactly performing at the high level we expected and some new guys or guys that were less experienced were playing better than we expected. Those first few weeks were so difficult in terms of deciding who we should play and how long each player should play. We hoped the win against Arkansas would get us started on a winning streak, but that didn’t exactly happen. At that point my staff and I decided that we needed to take the approach that the conference schedule was a new season and prepare for that. We started the season off so bad and our RPI was awful so we knew the only way to make the NCAA Tournament was to win the Big South Tournament. We then spent less time in practice working on player development and more time going over our offensive and defensive sets because we felt like our young guys were talented enough already to compete in the Big South, but they were still very raw in their knowledge of our sets.
Because our team, overall, was so inexperienced in running our sets we played most of the nonconference schedule at a much slower tempo than we normally do. Our logic was that since most of our guys don’t know the offense at that point we knew they were going to make mistakes. We thought playing slower would in turn have our mistakes not hurt as much as they normally would, but in hindsight I think that hurt us more than it helped. We were playing so slow and not scoring any points. It was so painful to watch, and as you know, I’m a guy that likes to see the ball constantly going through the net and I like high scores. It just got to a point where it was so difficult watching us play each game that I decided if we’re going to lose lets at least lose while scoring a lot of points. Once we sped up our tempo we started winning more.
The other thing that helped us was the emergence of Richard Kanagy. In his first three years here he was stuck behind some very talented guards and never got serious minutes, so we weren’t really sure what he could do as one of the main guards on our team. He scored 19 points against Central Connecticut State and we were kinda’ like wow, we had no idea he could do that. He scored in double digits in five straight games and then he dropped 23 points on San Diego. At that point we knew he was going to be our guy and he just did so many different things for us. He made assists, he rebounded, he played defense, and he got a lot of steals. He’s just capable of impacting so many different areas of the game and we turned him loose in conference play. Once we started Big South play he averaged 18 points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals, and shot over 48 percent from the field and the 3-point line. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a player that could impact the game in so many ways and at the level that Richard did this season.
BN:
You’re currently leading Birmingham-Southern through the most successful run in school history. In your 11 years as the head coach you’ve won four conference championships, three conference tournament championships, and played in four NCAA Tournaments. You’ve won two consecutive Big South Tournaments and have earned three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, a first in school history. What’s it like to think about all of the things you have accomplished at BSC so far?
JK:
I never really sit back and look at all of the things we’ve done here. I’ve been blessed to have some wonderful men on my staff and some great young men that have played for me. They’re just as much a reason for the success we’ve had here as I am. Everyone always asks me how it feels to go to three straight NCAA Tournaments and I never think of it that way. I do enjoy winning and I enjoy each championship or NCAA Tournament game, but I never sat down and made it a goal to go to three straight NCAA Tournaments. We went to the first one and it was a great experience. Then it became can BSC go back-to-back years in the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. Now it’s we’ve made it three years and next year everyone will be asking if we can make it four years in a row. I never try to think of our success like that because it can tend to make you complacent when you reflect on all of your success. In my mind we just lost the last game of the season. Our season is over. We did some great things but its time to focus on next year. We’re losing some great guys and we’ll need to replace them with some good recruits. I’m not focused on winning a third consecutive conference tournament or making four straight NCAA Tournaments. My mindset and our team’s mindset is doing what we need to do in order to win the 85 Big South Championship. We need to focus on what we need to do to win the 85 Big South Tournament. We need to focus on doing what we need to do to make the 85 NCAA Tournament. All of the things we’ve accomplished in the past is great, but it means nothing. We’re at the same spot as the other 11 Big South teams and we’re all fighting for the same thing. We need to focus on doing what we need to do in order to be successful, one day at a time and one game at a time, and everything will work out just fine for us in the end.
BN:
With all of the success you’ve experienced recently it’s reasonable to expect some mid-major or even high-major schools might come calling. Do you ever think about jumping ship to a different school or trying to move up to a bigger school?
JK:
I mean it’s not something I really think about. I don’t think about things like that because it can take away your focus from being successful where you are. At the end of the day, I want to be successful. I want to compete for championships, and I’m going to go to whichever schools gives me the best chance to be successful and win championships. I don’t get too caught up in whether a school is mid- or high-major. Yeah I could move up to a lower end high-major school and have a bigger budget, but I would get my brains beat in by the conference opponents for several years and that’s just not that appealing to me. I make enough money at BSC and I’ve been very blessed to be apart of a very successful run here. At the end of the day I’m happy here. We’re successful and we compete for championships. That’s all I can ask for.
BN:
You only lose two players from this year’s team and will return a deep roster next season with some talented young players. What is your expectation for next season?
JK:
Our expectations will be the same as they are every year. We want to win the conference, win the conference tournament, and make the NCAA Tournament. When we make the NCAA Tournament we want to advance in it. We’ll be in a really good spot next year with so many returners, but we still need to go out and reach our goals. There’s some really good coaches and great teams in the Big South and nothing is given. We have to take each game one at a time and focus on what we need to do in order to be successful. As long as we do that I have no doubt we can accomplish all of our goals.
BN:
Coach, thank you for your time. Congrats again on another great season and best of luck next year.
JK:
Thank you.
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Updated NCAA Tournament with Elite Eight scores
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FINAL INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Richard Kanagy PG Sr.
30 GP/26 GS 28.2mpg 45.8%/43.8%/84.9% 15.4 ppg 3.3 apg 2.9 rpg
*1st in Big South scoring
*8th in Big South assists
*3rd in Big South steals (1.6 spg)
*6th in Big South 3-point field goal percentage
*1st in Big South free throw percentage
*18th in NCAA free throw percentage
*Finished career with 44.3% 3-point field goal percentage (6th all-time at BSC)
*Finished career with 83.8% free throw percentage (1st all-time at BSC)
Jared Lobdell PG Sr.
30 GP/13 GS 19.9 mpg 44.5%/0.0%/78.0% 6.2 ppg 3.6 apg 2.3 rpg
*5th in Big South assists
*Finished career with 448 assists (2nd all-time at BSC, 4 assists shy of all-time record)
*Finished career with 76.7% free throw percentage (10th all-time at BSC)
Donald Bowen PG Jr.
30 GP/1 GS 17.9 mpg 49.3%/46.9%/55.6% 10.3 ppg 2.0 apg
*12th in Big South scoring
*8th in Big South field goal percentage
*2nd in Big South 3-point field goal percentage
Melvin Frisby PG Fr.
---Redshirted---
Shaun McCague PG Fr.
30 GP/0 GS 14.7 mpg 46.5%/ n-a /65.2% 1.8 ppg 0.7 apg 1.3 rpg
Mark Parry PG Fr.
30 GP/26 GS 20.9 mpg 42.9%/26.9%/67.1% 7.8 ppg 1.8 apg 1.7 rpg
Donald Gayhart SG Fr.
30 GP/24 GS 18.4 mpg 43.5%/0.0%/81.6% 2.8 ppg 2.0 apg 1.9 rpg
Michael Davis SF Fr.
30 GP/19 GS 16.7 mpg 56.4%/50.0%/69.4% 3.8 ppg 1.0 apg 3.2 rpg
Michael Stutes PF Jr.
28 GP/3 GS 14.8 mpg 52.1%/ n-a /66.7% 3.7 ppg 3.9 rpg
Donald Dargan PF So.
30 GP/25 GS 22.1 mpg 48.7%/ n-a /61.6% 6.6 ppg 5.7 rpg 1.0 spg
*9th in Big South field goal percentage
Shawn Beauvais C So.
30 GP/8 GS 16.6 mpg 50.0%/ n-a /64.5% 5.4 ppg 5.4 rpg
Jeffrey Cain C Fr.
29 GP/5 GS 13.0 mpg 51.8%/ n-a /63.2% 5.2 ppg 3.0 rpg
TEAM STATISTICS
(Big South rank in parenthesis)
OFFENSE DEFENSE
PPG 68.7 (7th) 64.7 (3rd)
RPG 31.6 (9th) 32.1 (3rd)
APG 15.7 (1st) 11.7 (3rd)
TOPG 13.0 (2nd) 14.3 (7th)
FG% 47.7% (1st) 43.6% (4th)
FG3% 41.9% (1st) 31.3% (1st)
FT% 71.1% (3rd) 67.4% (1st)
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AP AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Robert Ross SG Sr. Gonzaga (23.8 ppg, 3.9 apg)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kevin Moline C Sr. Connecticut (9.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.8 bpg)
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
John Daniel PF Fr. California (13.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Brian Cowitz HC Connecticut (6th AP Coach of the Year Award)
*30-0 regular season record
*Big East Champions
*Big East Tournament Champions
FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICA
PG Thomas Gassaway Sr. Hampton (18.8 ppg, 2.4 apg)
SG Robert Ross Sr. Gonzaga (23.8 ppg, 3.9 apg)
SF Igor Glomski Sr. Hampton (15.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
PF Adam Liles Sr. Duquesne (17.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg)
C John Fisher Sr. Loyola (MD) (20.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg)
SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICA
PG Richard Harber Sr. Minnesota (19.2 ppg, 2.6 apg)
SG Clinton Spooner Sr. Florida A&M (24.6 ppg, 2.5 apg)
SF David Pasko Sr. UAB (20.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
PF Brian Moore Sr. Eastern Kentucky (17.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
C Ellis Gurganus Jr. Miami (FL) (19.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICA
PG David Golden Sr. La Salle (23 ppg, 2.3 apg)
SG John Scriber Jr. Western Carolina (20.6 ppg, 2.3 apg)
SF Miguel Silva Sr. Idaho State (17.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
PF Hugh Hughes Jr. Navy (18.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
C Frederick Carpenter Sr. Texas Christian (19.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICA
PG Paul Shires Michigan State
Oscar Morris Florida
Devin Budge The Citadel
SG Bo Todd Princeton
Michael Lowther Florida State
Felix Meza BYU
SF Edwin Statler Bradley
Billy Wagner Drake
Michael Bates Utah
PF Dikembe Amedee Monmouth
Marvin Knouse Rutgers
Tony Raines Alabama
C Thomas Bailey Southern Methodist
Ernest Espinosa Washington
Brett Henriksen Louisville
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NCAA TOURNAMENT
DIVISION III
FIRST ROUND
MIDWEST
[1] Dallas 86, [16] Johns Hopkins 46
[8] Chowan College 92, [9] Hampden-Sydney 88
[5] Union College 84, [12] Lebanon Valley 80
[4] Augustana College 88, [13] Marietta College 74
[11] Fitchburg State 96, [6] St. Norbert 95 (OT)
[3] Wisconsin-Stevens Point 98, [14] Geneseo 67
[7] Menlo College 93, [10] Shenandoah 78
[2] William Patterson 67, [15] Upper Iowa 65
EAST
[1] Howard Payne 68, [16] Concordia-Moorhead 53
[9] Southwestern 91, [8] Bethany College 81
[12] Anderson 78, [5] Misericordia 62
[13] Westminster (MO) 63, [4] Catholic 61
[6] Ozarks 72, [11] Brooklyn College 62
[3] Greensboro College 93, [14] Olivet College 41
[10] Vassar College 75, [7] Moravian College 52
[2] Colorado College 89, [15] Ohio Wesleyan 53
SOUTH
[1] Wisconsin-Stout 114, [16] Trinity College 73
[9] Lewis and Clark 68, [8] Yeshiva 58
[12] Texas-Tyler 91, [5] Sewanee 83
[4] Oglethorpe 83, [13] Philadelphia Biblical 62
[11] Clarkson 67, [6] Mary Hardin-Baylor 61
[3] Utica College 88, [14] Casleton State 73
[7] Wisconsin Lutheran 64, [10] City College of New York 50
[2] Chestnut Hill 103, [15] Capital 80
WEST
[1] Centre College 74, [16] Southern Vermont 68
[8] Wilkes 83, [9] Oneonta 71
[5] Lakeland College 67, [12] St. Mary’s 60
[13] Concordia-Austin 75, [4] California Tech 59
[11] Rochester Tech 63, [6] Ramapo College 53
[3] Neumann College 76, [14] Williamette 62
[7] Heidelberg 70, [10] Endicott College 65
[2] La Grange College 74, [15] Massachusetts Liberal Arts 58
SECOND ROUND
MIDWEST
[1] Dallas 105, [8] Chowan College 84
[4] Augustana College 106, [5] Union College 80
[3] Wisconsin-Stevens Point 98, [11] Fitchburg State 52
[2] William Patterson 103, [7] Menlo College 83
EAST
[1] Howard Payne 79, [9] Southwestern 69 (OT)
[13] Westminster (MO) 72, [12] Anderson 61
[3] Greensboro College 89, [6] Ozarks 62
[2] Colorado College 70, [10] Vassar College 66 (OT)
SOUTH
[1] Wisconsin-Stout 80, [9] Lewis and Clark 64
[12] Texas-Tyler 88, [4] Oglethorpe 84
[3] Utica College 90, [11] Clarkson 60
[7] Wisconsin Lutheran 71, [2] Chestnut Hill 68
WEST
[1] Centre College 80, [8] Wilkes 77
[5] Lakeland College 65, [13] Concordia-Austin 48
[11] Rochester Tech 72, [3] Neumann College 69
[2] La Grange College 63, [7] Heidelberg 57
SWEET SIXTEEN
MIDWEST
[1] Dallas 71, [4] Augustana College 67
[3] Wisconsin-Stevens Point 118, [2] William Patterson 81
EAST
[1] Howard Payne 79, [13] Westminster (MO) 70 (OT)
[2] Colorado College 78, [3] Greensboro College 57
SOUTH
[12] Texas-Tyler 83, [1] Wisconsin-Stout 80
[3] Utica College 75, [7] Wisconsin Lutheran 67
WEST
[5] Lakeland College 70, [1] Centre College 58
[11] Rochester Tech 66, [2] La Grange College 65
ELITE EIGHT
MIDWEST
[3] Wisconsin-Stevens Point 83, [1] Dallas 74 (OT)
EAST
[1] Howard Payne 63, [2] Colorado College 58
SOUTH
[3] Utica College 104, [12] Texas-Tyler 85
WEST
[5] Lakeland College 58, [11] Rochester Tech 56
FINAL FOUR
[3] Wisconsin-Stevens Point 85, [1] Howard Payne 78 (OT)
[3] Utica College 78, [5] Lakeland College 63
CHAMPIONSHIP
[3] Wisconsin-Stevens Point 115, [3] Utica College 85
NCAA TOURNAMENT
DIVISION II
FIRST ROUND
MIDWEST
[1] Tarleton State 61, [16] Fort Valley State 46
[8] Cal State-Santa Barbara 66, [9] Florida Southern 57
[5] Indianapolis 71, [12] Ouachita Baptist 64
[4] Merrimack College 68, [13] North Dakota State 51
[6] West Texas A&M 101, [11] Western Oregon 91
[3] Cal State-Chico 79, [14] Lake Superior State 63
[7] LIU-CW Post 66, [10] West Florida 57
[2] Colorado School of Mines 81, [15] Post 57
EAST
[1] Northwest Nazarene 85, [16] San Francisco State 60
[8] Bowie State 80, [9] Fort Hays State 57
[12] Wisconsin-Parkside 62, [5] Delta State 57
[13] Catawba College 88, [4] Southeast Oklahoma State 68
[6] Philadelphia 56, [11] USC-Upstate 55
[3] Wayne State (MI) 87, [14] Central Oklahoma 83
[7] Grand Canyon 73, [10] Southwest Minnesota State 69
[2] Mercyhurst College 72, [15] Alaska-Fairbanks 65
SOUTH
[1] New Jersey Tech 61, [16] Findlay 60
[9] Salem International 92, [8] Mount Olive 75
[5] Eastern New Mexico 102, [12] Armstrong Atlantic State 86
[13] Arkansas-Monticello 77, [4] Southwest Baptist 69
[11] Hillsdale College 58, [6] Quincy 53
[3] Cal Poly-Pomona 106, [14] Molloy College 79
[7] Chaminade 74, [10] Rollins College 60
[2] Southern New Hampshire 73, [15] Clarion 66
WEST
[1] UNC-Pembroke 80, [16] California-San Diego 70
[8] Oakland City 64, [9] Northern Kentucky 57
[12] Angelo State 108, [5] St. Paul’s College 94
[4] Limestone College 75, [13] Seattle 66
[6] Cal State-Los Angeles 86, [11] Minnesota State-Moorhead 61
[14] Charleston 46, [3] Midwestern State 43
[10] St. Michael’s 68, [7] Western State 59
[15] Felician College 70, [2] Green Mountain 65
SECOND ROUND
MIDWEST
[1] Tarleton State 77, [8] Cal State-Santa Barbara 68 (OT)
[4] Merrimack College 62, [5] Indianapolis 60
[3] Cal State-Chico 90, [6] West Texas A&M 86
[2] Colorado School of Mines 80, [7] LIU-CW Post 76
EAST
[1] Northwest Nazarene 98, [8] Bowie State 79
[12] Wisconsin-Parkside 65, [13] Catawba College 52
[6] Philadelphia 70, [3] Wayne State (MI) 69 (OT)
[2] Mercyhurst College 86, [7] Grand Canyon 70
SOUTH
[1] New Jersey Tech 79, [9] Salem International 61
[5] Eastern New Mexico 79, [13] Arkansas-Monticello 73
[3] Cal Poly-Pomona 76, [11] Hillsdale College 60
[2] Southern New Hampshire 85, [7] Chaminade 73
WEST
[1] UNC-Pembroke 77, [8] Oakland City 69
[12] Angelo State 95, [4] Limestone College 84 (OT)
[6] Cal State-Los Angeles 67, [14] Charleston 52
[10] St. Michael’s 73, [15] Felician College 64
SWEET SIXTEEN
MIDWEST
[4] Merrimack College 66, [1] Tarleton State 55
[2] Colorado School of Mines 73, [3] Cal State-Chico 67
EAST
[1] Northwest Nazarene 65, [12] Wisconsin-Parkside 54
[6] Philadelphia 52, [2] Mercyhurst College 50
SOUTH
[1] New Jersey Tech 79, [5] Eastern New Mexico 65
[3] Cal Poly-Pomona 111, [2] Southern New Hampshire 81
WEST
[1] UNC-Pembroke 96, [12] Angelo State 74
[10] St. Michael’s 93, [6] Cal State-Los Angeles 82
ELITE EIGHT
MIDWEST
[2] Colorado School of Mines 74, [4] Merrimack College 71
EAST
[1] Northwest Nazarene 67, [6] Philadelphia 50
SOUTH
[1] New Jersey Tech 77, [3] Cal Poly-Pomona 72 (OT)
WEST
[1] UNC-Pembroke 110, [10] St. Michael’s 75
FINAL FOUR
[2] Colorado School of Mines 86, [1] Northwest Nazarene 79
[1] New Jersey Tech 69, [1] UNC-Pembroke 63
CHAMPIONSHIP
[2] Colorado School of Mines 69, [1] New Jersey Tech 65
NIT
FIRST ROUND
[1] Furman 70, [8] Rutgers 60
[5] Stanford 81, [4] Maryland 70
[6] Vanderbilt 111, [3] Robert Morris 101 (2OT)
[2] Columbia 63, [7] Texas Southern 48
[1] Arizona State 52, [8] Michigan 50
[4] Dartmouth 78, [5] DePaul 75
[6] LSU 71, [3] Virginia 63
[2] La Salle 57, [7] San Jose State 54 (OT)
[1] Brown 85, [8] Georgia Tech 74
[5] Western Carolina 71, [4] Long Island 65
[3] Miami (FL) 79, [6] USC 75
[2] Kentucky 68, [7] Cleveland State 53
[8] Fresno State 57, [1] Purdue 54
[4] Georgetown 71, [5] Wichita State 57
[3] Prairie View A&M 71, [6] Howard 54
[2] Oregon 79, [7] Clemson 72
SECOND ROUND
[1] Furman 67, [5] Stanford 59
[6] Vanderbilt 77, [2] Columbia 63
[1] Arizona State 55, [4] Dartmouth 42
[2] La Salle 76, [6] LSU 71 (OT)
[1] Brown 74, [5] Western Carolina 66
[2] Kentucky 69, [5] Miami (FL) 59
[4] Georgetown 85, [8] Fresno State 61
[3] Prairie View A&M 74, [2] Oregon 68
THIRD ROUND
[1] Furman 59, [6] Vanderbilt 52
[2] La Salle 61, [1] Arizona State 50
[2] Kentucky 73, [1] Brown 70 (OT)
[4] Georgetown 88, [3] Prairie View A&M 71
SEMIFINALS (@ New York, N.Y.)
---Madison Square Garden---
[2] La Salle 60, [1] Furman 53
[4] Georgetown 61, [2] Kentucky 60 (OT)
CHAMPIONSHIP (@ New York, N.Y.)
---Madison Square Garden---
[4] Georgetown 64, [2] La Salle 59
NCAA TOURNAMENT
DIVISION I
FIRST ROUND
MIDWEST
[1] Florida 105, [16] Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 55
[8] Louisville 79, [9] Princeton 67
[12] Wisconsin 57, [5] Arizona 54
[4] Baylor 81, [13] Central Connecticut State 60
[6] Florida State 91, [11] Hampton 87
[3] Utah 78, [14] Wofford 53
[7] Syracuse 70, [10] Oklahoma State 55
[2] Michigan State 65, [15] California-Irvine 54
EAST
[1] Colorado 71, [16] UAB 54
[9] Oregon State 52, [8] Minnesota 47
[5] Wake Forest 87, [12] Florida A&M 65
[13] Idaho State 71, [4] Providence 69
[6] Washington 81, [11] Gardner-Webb 49
[3] Illinois 71, [14] George Mason 58
[10] St. John’s 62, [7] San Diego State 58
[2] Tennessee 81, [15] Ball State 62
SOUTH
[1] Connecticut 72, [16] Birmingham-Southern 48
[8] UCLA 76, [9] Bradley 63
[5] Ohio State 66, [12] South Carolina 50
[4] Oklahoma 73, [13] UMBC 48
[6] Gonzaga 85, [11] South Florida 71
[3] Virginia Tech 72, [14] Chicago State 39
[7] Air Force 86, [10] Kansas 76
[2] Indiana 93, [15] Charlotte 75
WEST
[1] California 97, [16] Detroit 62
[8] Northwestern 64, [9] Massachusetts 50
[5] Seton Hall 71, [12] Fairleigh Dickinson 55
[4] Texas 96, [13] Arkansas-Pine Bluff 61
[6] Alabama 74, [11] Harvard 72
[3] Iowa 72, [14] Washington State 60
[7] Texas A&M 75, [10] Texas Christian 67
[2] Duke 65, [15] Marist 43
SECOND ROUND
MIDWEST[8] Louisville 83, [1] Florida 79
[4] Baylor 77, [12] Wisconsin 65
[3] Utah 69, [6] Florida State 55
[2] Michigan State 62, [7] Syracuse 59
EAST
[1] Colorado 66, [9] Oregon State 59
[5] Wake Forest 78, [13] Idaho State 71
[3] Illinois 77, [6] Washington 62
[2] Tennessee 91, [10] St. John’s 83
SOUTH
[1] Connecticut 67, [8] UCLA 51
[4] Oklahoma 78, [5] Ohio State 68
[3] Virginia Tech 65, [6] Gonzaga 62
[2] Indiana 66, [7] Air Force 62
WEST
[8] Northwestern 57, [1] California 47
[5] Seton Hall 82, [4] Texas 78
[6] Alabama 79, [3] Iowa 76 (OT)
[2] Duke 67, [7] Texas A&M 59
SWEET SIXTEEN
MIDWEST (@ Minneapolis, Minn.)
[8] Louisville 64, [4] Baylor 51
[3] Utah 66, [2] Michigan State 64
EAST (@ Washington, D.C.)
[1] Colorado 70, [5] Wake Forest 59
[3] Illinois 78, [2] Tennessee 77
SOUTH (@ Memphis, Tenn.)
[1] Connecticut 64, [4] Oklahoma 62
[3] Virginia Tech 75, [2] Indiana 61
WEST (@ Oakland, Calif.)
[8] Northwestern 56, [5] Seton Hall 52
[2] Duke 56, [6] Alabama 40
ELITE EIGHT
MIDWEST (@ Minneapolis, Minn.)
[3] Utah 57, [8] Louisville 48 (OT)
EAST (@ Washington, D.C.)
[3] Illinois 78, [1] Colorado 68
SOUTH (@ Memphis, Tenn.)
[3] Virginia Tech 50, [1] Connecticut 48
WEST (@ Oakland, Calif.)
[2] Duke 70, [8] Northwestern 51
FINAL FOUR (@ St. Louis, Mo.)
---Edward Jones Dome---
[3] Utah 74, [3] Illinois 66 (OT)
[3] Virginia Tech 70, [2] Duke 61
CHAMPIONSHIP (@ St. Louis, Mo.)
---Edward Jones Dome---
[3] Virginia Tech 65, [3] Utah 50
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NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
SOUTH SUB-REGIONAL
-Louisville, Ky.- -KFC Yum! Center-
[1] Connecticut (30-0) vs. [16] Birmingham-Southern (18-11)
The good news for Birmingham-Southern is that Connecticut only has nine players on scholarship. The bad news is that the majority of those players are future NBA players and each one is worlds ahead of the level of competition the Big South Conference features. The Panthers will have the deeper bench, but it won’t matter. Birmingham-Southern did a nice job of going 12-4 in conference play and winning the Big South Tournament title, but the Panthers were 3-7 against non-conference opponents. Unfortunately for BSC, Connecticut is not a member of the Big South.
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THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS
Birmingham-Southern Wins Big South Tournament Crown
CHARLESTON, S.C. | Despite starting the season 3-7, the Birmingham-Southern Panthers are headed back to the NCAA Tournament after defeating VMI 54-49 to win the 84 Big South Tournament Championship.
Donald Dargan led BSC with 14 points and eight rebounds and was named Tournament MVP for his effort.
“Donald was big for us today,” said BSC coach Jeremy Knight, “it seemed like every time we needed a score or a rebound he came through for us.”
Birmingham-Southern lost to VMI a little over a week ago, 59-56 on the road, and it appeared that the Panthers would fall victim once again to the Keydets slow, methodical pace of play. At the half VMI led 22-20 and BSC was just 0-for-3 from the free throw line. The Panthers, however, did manage to keep the score close by holding VMI to just 1-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc in the opening half.
“The loss [against VMI] last week was fresh on all of our guys’ mind. We knew coming in that VMI would play a slow game and as a result they weren’t going to make many mistakes. With the pace they play at when they do make mistakes it doesn’t hurt them as much. Our plan coming into the game was to get them to make mistakes by attacking the rim and getting their guys in foul trouble. We didn’t do a very good job of that in the first half and it showed on the scoreboard.”
The Panthers carried out the game plan to perfection in the second half. Birmingham-Southern only attempted four 3-point shots the entire game, but they were able to get to the free throw line 21 times in the second half and connected on 15 of those attempts.
“We did a much better job of executing our game plan in the second half. Shawn [beauvais] and Donald were excellent down low and Richard [Kanagy] did a superb job of putting pressure on their defense, like he has all season long. We felt like [Antonio] Hyden did a lot of things for them. He may not score double-digits every night but he does a lot for that team that makes them go. We wanted to make it a point of emphasis to take him out of the game and our guys did a great job of that as well.”
Beauvais scored 13 points and Kanagy added 12 points.
The Panthers defense held Hyden to just 1-of-7 shooting for the game. With 8:35 remaining in the game the Panthers trailed 49-40. Birmingham-Southern responded by holding VMI scoreless for the remainder of the game and scored 14 points in that span. Dargan gave BSC a 51-49 lead after making a pair of free throws with 44 seconds remaining in the game.
“I’m just so proud of this team,” an emotional Knight said, “These guys fought through so much adversity this season. We started the season 3-7. I’ve never had a team start the season off that poorly before. Our guys could have thrown in the towel right there, but they didn’t. They continued to work hard everyday and now we’re sitting here as conference champions going to play in the NCAA Tournament again.”
The conference tournament championship is the second consecutive for the Panthers and the third during Knight’s tenure. Birmingham-Southern has now won the Big South Tournament 11 times, second only to Alabama A&M’s 14 titles.
The Panthers will be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time under Knight’s reign and for the third consecutive season. Birmingham-Southern will most likely be a 15- or 16-seed due to their rocky start to the season.
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BIG SOUTH SPORTS BLOG
Big South Tournament Semifinal Recap
The championship game is set for the 84 Big South Tournament and both semifinal games today provided plenty of surprises. Birmingham-Southern advancing to the championship game was not a surprise, but the manner in which it won was very surprising and the home crowd was stunned silent when VMI knocked off host Charleston Southern. Below we’ll recap each game.
GAME 9: [1] Birmingham-Southern 81, [2] Winthrop 60
This game was close for the first 12 minutes of regulation and then BSC ended the half on a 20-9 run. The Panthers held the lead throughout the second half until finally pulling away with another big run. Birmingham-Southern closed the game on a 21-10 run. Birmingham-Southern forced the Eagles into 18 turnovers and scored 23 points off of those turnovers. The Panthers bench also outscored Winthrop’s bench 45-29. Winthrop made just 47.6 percent of its free throw attempts while BSC was 20-of-26 from the line. Donald Bowen was named player of the game after scoring 12 points with nine assists and three steals off the bench for BSC. Richard Kanagy added 14 points with four assists and six rebounds. Mark Parry and Shawn Beauvais each scored 10 points. George Brown and Franjo Zaharek led Winthrop with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
GAME 10: [3] VMI 54, [1] Charleston-Southern 52
Marion Steward only scored five points for VMI, but he made perhaps the biggest plays of the game in the closing seconds. Steward scored off of a baseline drive with 32 seconds remaining to give VMI a 52-49 lead over host Charleston Southern. Antonio Hyden knocked down a pair of free throws to extend VMI’s lead to 54-49 with sixteen second left in the game. Joel Longoria missed a 3 for CSU and it was Steward who secured the rebound and sealed the victory for VMI. Longoria led Charleston Southern with 13 points, five assists, and six rebounds. Douglas Dorado and Glenn Allan added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Buccaneers. VMI’s stingy defense held CSU to 32 percent shooting from the 3 and only gave the Bucs three free throw opportunities. Christopher Perlman led VMI with 15 points and six rebounds. John Pryor added 10 points off the bench.
Birmingham-Southern will play in the Big South Tournament championship game for the third consecutive season and will look to repeat as tournament champs. VMI is looking to win its second Big South Tournament Championship in the last four seasons. Check back tomorrow for our championship game coverage!
Big South Tournament Championship Game
[1] Birmingham-Southern (17-11) vs. [3] VMI (20-9) BSC (-3)
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BIG SOUTH AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Richard Kanagy PG Sr. Birmingham-Southern (18.3 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.3 spg)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Richard Kanagy PG Sr. Birmingham-Southern (18.3 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.3 spg)
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Mark Parry PG Fr. Birmingham-Southern (8.4 ppg)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Kevin Adams HC Charleston Southern (18-10)
FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG SOUTH
PG Richard Kanagy Sr. Birmingham-Southern (18.3 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.3 spg)
SG Christopher Peake Sr. Alabama A&M (12.3 ppg, 2.7 apg)
SF Joel Longoria Sr. Charleston Southern (12.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
PF Thomas Mandel Sr. Charleston Southern (7.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
C Nathan Forbes Sr. Charleston Southern (7.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
SECOND TEAM ALL-BIG SOUTH
PG Seth Hall Sr. Alabama A&M (10.9 ppg, 3.9 apg)
SG Glenn Allen Sr. Charleston Southern (10.7 ppg, 2.0 apg)
SF Phil Marchand Jr. Liberty (10.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
PF Marion Steward So. VMI (7.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
C Christopher Perlman Sr. VMI (8.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
THIRD TEAM ALL-BIG SOUTH
PG Douglas Dorado Jr. Charleston Southern (11.3 ppg, 3.6 apg)
SG Francis Young Sr. Liberty (13.1 ppg, 1.8 apg)
SF Franjo Zaharek Jr. Winthrop (10.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
PF Donald Dargan So. Birmingham-Southern (6.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
C Ronald Dunn Sr. Winthrop (8.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-BIG SOUTH
PG Joshua Mallery Winthrop
Donald Bowen Birmingham-Southern
John Boyle Liberty
SG Richard Cate Alabama State
John Pryor VMI
Rafael Robbins High Point
SF Michael Davis Birmingham-Southern
Mark Shanklin Alabama A&M
Philip Moriarty Alabama State
PF William Herrington Alabama A&M
Michael Sparkman Alabama State
Michael Stutes Birmingham-Southern
C Brian Storm Mississippi Valley State
Michael Lablanc Alabama State
Franjo Zentner Winthrop
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BIG SOUTH SPORTS BLOG
Big South Tournament Day Two Recap
The opening day of the Big South Tournament was definitely lacking in drama, however, the second day more than made up for it with three nail-biting games, two of which went into overtime.
GAME 5: [2] Winthrop 95, [3] Alabama A&M 89 (OT)
Alabama A&M appeared to be just 15 second away from a big upset and advancing to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament. Roger Kimble stepped to the free throw line for two shots with the Bulldogs leading 75-73. Kimble made the first shot but missed the second shot leaving the Bulldogs with a 76-73 lead. Christopher Briggs hit iron on a 3-point attempt coming out of a timeout, but Mark Williams was able to get around a box out attempt and grabbed the offensive rebound. Williams dribbled to the top of the arch and nailed a 3 to tie the game at 76-76 with 0:04 left in the game to force overtime. The Bulldogs kept it close during overtime and cut the Eagles lead to 85-84 with 1:35 left in overtime. However, Alabama A&M ran out of gas and only made one field goal throughout the rest of overtime while Winthrop went 10-for-12 from the free throw line during that stretch to seal the victory. Franjo Zentner put up a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Franjo Zaharek led Winthrop with 16 points. Richard Sullivan added 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench and Joshua Mallery and Richard Ruggles added 11 points each. David Clayborn had a big game for Alabama A&M with 15 points and eight rebounds. Christopher Peake led the Bulldogs with 19 points and William Herrington added 16 points and seven rebounds.
GAME 6: [1] Birmingham-Southern 87, Liberty 85
Freshman Mark Parry had his best performance in his young career thus far for BSC. Parry was named player of the game after scoring 15 points with four assists and no turnovers. The Panthers had an eight-point lead at the half, but couldn’t maintain the lead throughout the second half. Birmingham-Southern trailed 80-77 with 3:15 left in the game. The Panthers finally tied the game at 83-83 with just 0:24 left. Parry drew a foul and knocked down both free throws to give BSC an 85-83 lead with 22 second remaining. Francis Young tipped in a missed shot on the other end to tie the game once again, but Parry drew another foul and made two more free throws with four second left in the game to give BSC an 87-85 lead and eventual victory. Young led Liberty with 18 points and Phil Marchand added 12 points. Liberty shot just 36.4 percent from 3 and BSC made 20-of-26 free throw attempts. The Panthers bench also scored 40 points and was led by Shaun McCague, Donald Bowen and Jeffrey Cain with 12, 14 and 10 points, respectively. Cain scored 10 points in just six minutes of playing time. Richard Kanagy had another big performance for BSC with 13 points, six assists, and three rebounds. Donald Dargan scored 11 points with six rebounds.
GAME 7: [3] VMI 69, [2] Alabama State 66 (OT)
After holding Alabama State in check throughout most of the game, VMI found itself in a hole late against the Hornets. The Keydets connected on 3’s in back-to-back possessions in the final 25 seconds to force overtime. Both teams traded blows in overtime until the final two minutes of the extra period. Alabama State missed turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions and missed four consecutive shots from the field. An Austin Vanbrunt putback gave VMI a 68-66 lead and ultimately led to victory for the Keydets. VMI capitalized on Alabama State turnovers throughout the game, outscoring the Hornets 17-3 in points off turnovers. Vanbrunt was named player of the game after scoring 14 points with 10 rebounds. Thomas Kelly and Antonio Hyden each added 12 points for VMI. Richard Care led Alabama State with a game-high 19 points.
GAME 8: [1] Charleston Southern 81, [4] High Point 48
The final game of the night was the only one that didn’t have last second drama, but host Charleston Southern’s home crowd didn’t seem to mind the result. The Buccaneers edged out a five-point lead at halftime before dismantling the Panthers 46-18 in the second half. High Point shot just 27.3 percent from 3 and turned the ball over 18 times. Charleston Southern scored 25 points off of High Point’s turnovers. Clyde Johnson led the Panthers with 11 points. Joel Longoria scored 13 points for the Bucs and Glenn Allan was named player of the game after an 18-point performance.
The final four of the 84 Big South Tournament is set! If today was any indication, tomorrow should be another day full of down-to-the-wire action. Below is the schedule and line for both games.
Game 9: [1] Birmingham-Southern (16-11) vs. [2] Winthrop (20-7) BSC (-2)
Game 10: [1] Charleston Southern (18-9) vs. [3] VMI (19-9) CSU (-2)
Check back with the Big South Sports Blog for a recap of tomorrow’s semifinal action!
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BIG SOUTH SPORTS BLOG
Big South Tournament Day One Recap
The first day of the 84 Big South Tournament is over and it’s time to look back at a day full of action. Of the four games played Wednesday, only one was fairly competitive with the others being one-sided for the most part. Below we’ll summarize each game and look ahead to tomorrow’s second round action!
GAME 1: [3] Alabama A&M 68, [6] Coastal Carolina 57
Coastal Carolina just was not able to hang around with Alabama A&M and as a result its abysmal season is finally over. Alabama A&M set the tone early and had its way with the Chanticleers. The Bulldogs got to the free throw line early and often throughout the game for easy points. Coastal Carolina also found itself in extreme foul trouble throughout the game and could never really find a rhythm. Freddie Williams led the Chanticleers in scoring with 12 points off of four made 3-pointers. Christopher Peake and David Clayborn scored 12 and points, respectively, for Alabama A&M. Terry Beals was named the player of the game with a performance that included 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals for the Bulldogs off the bench.
GAME 2: [4] Liberty 84, [5] Mississippi Valley State 80
This was definitely the closest contested game of the day with lead changes occurring all throughout the game. Liberty used an 11-3 run halfway through the second half to go up 59-52. Mississippi Valley State was able to cut the Flames lead to three on three separate occasions in the final 1:40 of the game, but Liberty responded by connecting on all of its free throw attempts down the stretch despite making just 40 percent of its free throw attempts for the entire game. Freddie Fulghum led Mississippi Valley State with a game-high 20 points. Nicholas Bold and Michael Reid added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Delta Devils. Stewart Hayhurst led Liberty with 18 points off the bench in just 18 minutes of action and earned player of the game recognition for his performance. Steven Hacker also provided a spark off the bench with 11 points in 13 minutes. Francis Youung, John Boyle and Phil Marchand led the starters with 13, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
GAME 3: [3] VMI 75, [6] UNC-Asheville 39
VMI’s top ranked defense in the Big South flexed its muscle and held UNC-Asheville to just 30.4 percent shooting from the field. The Bulldogs made just 14 field goals in the entire game and were held to just 17 second half points. Donald Johnson led VMI with eight points. Marion Steward was named player of the game after a double-double performance with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Christopher Perlman scored 13 points for the Keydets and John Pryor added 11 points off the bench.
GAME 4: [4] High Point 87, [5] Radford 77
Despite committing 17 turnovers, High Point was able to pound Radford inside for 40 points and came away with the victory in the opening night’s final game. Joseph Harris led the inside attack for High Point with a game-high 19 points. The Panthers built a 46-34 lead at the half, but Radford caused fits for High Point throughout the second half. However, the Highlanders dug too deep of a hole and could not dig themselves out during the second half. Robert Purcell led Radford with 14 points. Shad Robertson and Victor Lemelin added 11 and 10 points for the Highlanders. Clyde Johnson and Eric Smith scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for High Point off the bench. Thomas Hendrix also scored 10 points for the Panthers.
The schedule and lines for tomorrow’s second round action is as follows:
Game 5: [2] Winthrop (19-7) vs. [3] Alabama A&M (16-11) WIN (-5)
Game 6: [1] Birmingham-Southern (15-11) vs. [4] Liberty (12-15) BSC (-5)
Game 7: [2] Alabama State (16-10) vs. [3] VMI (18-9) ALST (-2)
Game 8: [1] Charleston Southern (17-9) vs. [4] High Point (12-15) CSU (-12)
Check back with the Big South Sports Blog for a recap for tomorrow’s action!
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BIG SOUTH SPORTS BLOG
Big South Tournament Field Finalized
The field for the 84 Big South Tournament is finally set. All games will take place on the campus of Charleston Southern in Charleston, South Carolina due to the Bucs winning the Big South Championship. The teams will be seeded one through six in each division with the top two seeds receiving a bye in the opening round. The Big South Tournament will open with four games on Wednesday morning and conclude Saturday evening with the championship game. Birmingham-Southern enters as the top seed from the west division and will be looking to repeat as Big South Tournament Champions as well as earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season. The Panthers started conference play 7-0 but have cooled off having lost three of the previous five games. That’s not the wave of momentum BSC was hoping for entering the tournament.
Charleston Southern should be the early favorite after finishing Big South play with a 14-2 record. However, the Buccaneers have been pushed to overtime in their last two games and BSC is responsible for one of the Bucs two Big South losses. Charleston Southern and BSC should advance to the semifinals and should be joined by Alabama State or VMI and Winthrop or Alabama A&M. The Alabama State-VMI game should be a very interesting one to watch, should VMI beat UNC-Asheville in the opening round. Winthrop should defeat Alabama A&M, but don’t be surprised if the Bulldogs pull off an upset. Alabama A&M is a team that is certainly capable of winning the entire tournament, but also a team that is capable of getting upset in the opening round. The Bulldogs will be an intriguing team to watch.
Charleston Southern, with its combination of talent and home court advantage, should advance to the championship game. The Buccaneers opponent for the championship game is possibly anyone’s guess. Winthrop defeated both Alabama A&M and Birmingham-Southern this season, but had the luxury of playing both teams at home. Birmingham-Southern and Alabama A&M split their two meetings this season with the home team winning each meeting. Whoever emerges from that side of the bracket to play the Bucs will have its hands full. The championship game should once again be a classic, but look for Charleston Southern to ride its home court advantage to a victory and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
84 BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
at Charleston, S.C.
Wednesday – First Round
Game 1: [3] Alabama A&M (15-11) vs. [6] Coastal Carolina (2-24) AAMU (-17)
Game 2: [4] Liberty (11-15) vs. [5] Mississippi Valley State (9-17) LIB (-3)
Game 3: [3] VMI (17-9) vs. [6] UNC-Asheville (6-20) VMI (-21)
Game 4: [4] High Point (11-15) vs. [5] Radford (7-19) HPU (-2)
Thursday – Second Round
Game 5: [2] Winthrop (19-7) vs. Game 1 Winner
Game 6: [1] Birmingham-Southern (15-11) vs. Game 2 Winner
Game 7: [2] Alabama State (16-10) vs. Game 3 Winner
Game 8: [1] Charleston Southern (17-9) vs. Game 4 Winner
Friday – Semifinals
Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner
Saturday – Championship Game
Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner
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BIG SOUTH SPORTS BLOG
Birmingham-Southern Leads Big South at Midpoint
The Big South Conference has reached the halfway point and, surprisingly, the Birmingham-Southern Panthers are currently in first place with a perfect 7-0 record in league play. The Panthers struggled early and often throughout the non-conference schedule with a lack of scoring and defensive capabilities. Birmingham-Southern entered Big South play with a 3-7 record.
Once the Panthers reached the conference schedule they seemed to turn a 180. The team that struggled to score 60 points on a regular basis now leads the Big South with 77.9 ppg during Big South play. Birmingham-Southern is also shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from 3 during the conference schedule, and BSC leads the Big South in both categories.
Richard Kanagy has been the catalyst for the Panthers during their current winning streak. The senior point guard has scored 20 or more points four times during BSC’s first seven conference games. During Big South play Kanagy leads the league with 19 ppg and an impressive 3.1 spg. Kanagy also averages 4.4 rpg and 4.1 apg, which is second in the Big South during that span. Kanagy has been doing everything that he possibly can, from scoring to rebounding to getting guys the ball to playing defense. He’s simply done it all and consistently does whatever is needed for the Panthers to be successful.
Birmingham-Southern has a big road game at Alabama A&M (11-7, 5-3) Thursday night in the Big South Game of the Week. The Panthers will follow that up next Thursday with a game against second place Charleston Southern (9-8, 6-1) in what is sure to be the Big South Game of the Week as well.
Should BSC defeat Alabama A&M and Charleston Southern, it would be in the driver’s seat heading down the home stretch with a very good chance to win the Big South Regular Season Championship. The Panther’s toughest remaining games are at Alabama A&M, Charleston Southern, Alabama State, and at VMI. Crazy things can happen in college basketball, but with the way Kanagy has been playing lately it’s hard to imagine BSC losing more than three games from here on out. Stay up to date with the happenings in the Big South Conference by following the Big South Sports Blog.
CURRENT BIG SOUTH STANDINGS
POS TEAM OVR CONF
1 Birmingham-Southern 10-7 7-0
2 Charleston Southern 9-8 6-1
3 Liberty 8-9 5-2
T4 Alabama State 12-6 5-3
T4 Alabama A&M 11-7 5-3
6 Winthrop 12-5 4-3 !
7 VMI 11-6 4-3
8 Mississippi Valley State 4-13 2-5 @
9 High Point 6-11 2-5
10 Radford 5-13 2-6
11 UNC-Asheville 4-13 1-6
12 Coastal Carolina 1-17 1-7
! – Winthrop currently holds tie breaker over VMI due to head-to-head victory
@ - Mississippi Valley State currently holds tie breaker over High Point due to head-to-head victory
BIG SOUTH PLAYER AWARDS PREDICTIONS
Player of the Year:
Richard Kanagy Sr. PG Birmingham-Southern (14.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.6 spg)
Defensive Player of the Year:
Brian Storm Sr. C Mississippi Valley State (9.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg)
Freshman of the Year:
Mark Parry Fr. PG Birmingham-Southern (7.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.5 apg)
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BIG SOUTH SPORTS BLOG
Birmingham-Southern Pulls Out OT Victory
The Birmingham-Southern Panthers improved to 2-0 in Big South play with a 89-85 overtime victory against High Point. Richard Kanagy once again had a monster game for BSC with 25 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and seven steals. The Panthers once again capitalized off of turnovers, scoring 27 points off of 20 High Point turnovers. High Point was able to keep the game interesting by hitting 11 3-point shots and going an impressive 20-of-23 (87.0 %) from the free throw line. Birmingham-Southern struggled from the free throw line going just 29-of-42 for 69 percent. Jared Lobdell missed a free throw with 17 second remaining in the game that would have given BSC a win in regulation. Once in overtime, the Panthers were aggressive getting to the basket and drawing fouls and connected on 9-of-12 free throw attempts. Birmingham-Southern once again got a boost from its bench, which combined to score 43 points. Donald Bowen led the way with 19 points off the bench. Shawn Beauvais also chipped in 10 points from the bench. The Panthers will play their first Big South game at home Thursday against the formidable Alabama A&M Bulldogs.
BIG SOUTH SCORES
Liberty at Radford RU 79-66
Mississippi Valley State at Charleston Southern CSU 63-53
Coastal Carolina at Alabama A&M AAMU 77-59
Alabama State at UNC-Asheville ALST 84-69
Birmingham-Southern at High Point BSC 89-85 (OT)
UPCOMING GAMES LINE
Alabama State (9-3, 2-0) at Coastal Carolina (0-12, 0-2) ALST (-12)
Mississippi Valley State (2-10, 0-2) at High Point (5-7, 1-1) MVSU (-1)
UNC-Asheville (3-9, 0-2) at Winthrop (8-3, 0-1) WIN (-19)
Radford (4-8, 1-1) at VMI (8-3, 1-0) VMI (-6)
Alabama A&M (8-4, 2-0) at Birmingham-Southern (5-7, 2-0) AAMU (-2)
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BIG SOUTH SPORTS BLOG
Birmingham-Southern Makes Impressive Statement in Big South Opener
It’s an extremely small sample size, but the Birmingham-Southern Panthers look like a completely new team after dismantling Liberty on the road with a 75-50 victory. The Panthers struggled to score and were pretty bad defensively in their first 10 games. Against Liberty the Panthers shot 56.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc. Birmingham-Southern also made 75 percent of its free throws. Liberty on the other hand was held to just 33.3 percent shooting from the field and an abysmal 18.2 percent (4-of-22) shooting from behind the arc. Birmingham-Southern defended Liberty well throughout the game and scored 24 points off of 18 Liberty turnovers. Richard Kanagy made plays in every facet of the game for BSC with a career-high 23 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals. The Panthers bench also outscored the Flames bench 29-15. Donald Bowen led the BSC bench with 12 points. Birmingham-Southern will play at High Point (5-6, 0-1) on Saturday night.
Big South Scores
Winthrop at Charleston Southern CSU 69-59
UNC-Asheville at Alabama A&M AAMU 70-59
VMI at Coastal Carolina VMI 65-56
Birmingham-Southern at Liberty BSC 75-50
Alabama State at Mississippi Valley State ALST 77-74
High Point at Radford HPU 81-78
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BIG SOUTH SPORTS BLOG
We’ve finally reached the conference season in college basketball! Before conference play begins Thursday night let’s look at the final standings from the non-conference schedule and make predictions on awards at this point in the season.
BIG SOUTH STANDINGS
1 Winthrop 8-2 0-0
T2 Alabama State 7-3 0-0
T2 VMI 7-3 0-0
4 Alabama A&M 6-4 0-0
5 High Point 4-6 0-0
T6 Birmingham-Southern 3-7 0-0
T6 Charleston Southern 3-7 0-0
T6 Liberty 3-7 0-0
T6 Radford 3-7 0-0
T6 UNC-Asheville 3-7 0-0
11 Mississippi Valley State 2-8 0-0
12 Coastal Carolina 0-10 0-0
BIG SOUTH AWARD PREDICTIONS
Player of the Year
James Bing PG Sr. 6-0 192 UNC-Asheville (17.9 ppg, 3.7 apg)
Freshman of the Year
Mark Parry PG Fr. 6-0 185 Birmingham-Southern (7.1 ppg)
Defensive Player of the Year
Brian Storm C Sr. 6-9 218 Mississippi Valley State (10.2 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg)
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THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS
Birmingham-Southern Looks To Turn Season Around in Conference Play
BIRMINGHAM | Fifteen. That’s the number of wins Birmingham-Southern coach Jeremy Knight needed to reach his 500th career victory at the collegiate level. Entering the season it was assumed a certainty that Knight’s BSC squad, though young, would reach 15 wins. However, 10 games into the 84 season the Panthers currently sit at 3-7 overall and many are left wondering how BSC can turn this season around.
“I’m not concerned at all about (reaching the 500 win milestone),” Knight said during a recent media session, “my main concern is our team improving every day. If we continue to put in the work and get better each day the wins will take care of themselves.”
The Panthers’ season hit a low point Friday night when they lost to crosstown rival Samford 70-65. Friday’s game served as the last meeting between the two programs for the foreseeable future and it was the first time in program history that crosstown rival Samford defeated BSC.
“Samford is definitely a talented team,” Knight said, “that was probably the best team they’ve had since we started playing them every year. They’ve got some athletes and guys with nice skillsets and on top of that most of their guys are juniors or seniors. I’ve been preaching about that a lot this year but experience is a huge factor. (Samford) had 10 juniors and seniors. We have four. I’m not making excuses or trying to blame our woes on inexperience, but it becomes very difficult to play at a high level without a group of seasoned players that know what it takes to be successful. We just don’t have enough of those kind of guys right now.”
All season long youth and the lack of any kind of defensive presence has plagued BSC. The Panthers have improved marginally defensively; opposing teams are shooting 46 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from behind the arc, both of which rank 5th in the Big South Conference. Birmingham-Southern is shooting well from the field, 44.6 percent (5th in Big South) and 39.8 percent from 3 (2nd), but the Panthers haven’t been able to put a lot of points on the scoreboard. The Panthers average 60.9 ppg, which is 10th in the Big South.
“We definitely need to start scoring more. Part of the reason we haven’t been lighting up the scoreboard is because we’ve been playing a lot slower than we normally do. With us relying on so many young guys I thought it would be best to play a litter slower starting off so they can learn the offense and once they have a good grasp on our concepts we can speed it up a little bit more. Now that we’re entering conference play we’ll definitely be looking to play a little faster.”
The Panthers will kick off the Big South schedule Thursday night at Liberty (3-7). Liberty guard Francis Young averages 15 ppg, which is currently second among all players in the Big South.
“Liberty is definitely going to be a challenge. They’re a very good team and their press is unbelievable this season. They also have a lot of juniors and seniors on their roster so that will be a challenge for us. (Francis Young) is playing great basketball right now, he does a lot of things for them. Our guys can’t get caught up in the fact that (Liberty) is 3-7.
“Yeah they’ve only won three games but one of those games was at Rutgers and another one was against Mississippi State, who played in the Final Four last season. They took Kansas State to overtime. They’ve played Indiana, USC, and Alabama. Yeah they’ve only won three games but they’ve been playing a brutal non-conference schedule to prepare for these next 16 games.
“Our first 10 games have been hard on us; it’s been difficult. A lot of these guys are used to winning 20-plus games every year. Players don’t realize how much work you have to put in to be successful and how hard it is to go out every night and perform at a high level. Our guys have been learning the hard way so far. Luckily, our first 10 games our behind us.
“We didn’t start out the way we wanted to but now we have a fresh slate for the Big South. All 12 teams are currently 0-0. The only thing that matters now is what we do over the next 16 games. Even with a 3-7 record all of our goals are still attainable. We can still win the Big South Championship. We can still win the Big South Tournament Championship. We can still make the NCAA Tournament. This season is far from being over; it’s just starting really. We get to have a fresh start and our guys need to take advantage of this opportunity.”
The Jeremy Knight Experience v2.0 [Hoops Dynasty]
in Basketball Franchises 🏀
Posted
84 NBA DRAFT
ROUND ONE
PICK TEAM PLAYER POS HT WT YR COLLEGE
1 Houston Rockets Warren Kelly SF 6-4 204 So. Kansas
2 Phoenix Suns Ronald Moss C 6-6 208 Jr. Michigan State
3 Milwaukee Bucks Paul Shires PG 6-3 198 Jr. Michigan State
4 New Orleans Pelicans Eric Hunter SF 5-11 189 Jr. Florida
5 San Antonio Spurs John Helms C 6-9 209 Jr. Duke
6 Brooklyn Nets Bobby Tims PF 6-8 231 So. Duke
7 Memphis Grizzlies Jeffrey Rehkop PF 6-6 200 Sr. Minnesota
8 Utah Jazz Ellis Gurganua C 7-0 257 Jr. Miami (FL)
9 Los Angeles Clippers Ronald Antunez SG 6-3 207 Sr. Syracuse
10 Chicago Bulls Raymond Berry PF 6-11 253 Sr. Connecticut
11 Atlanta Hawks David Jamison PF 6-9 243 Sr. Georgetown
12 Charlotte Hornets Christopher Aguinaldo SF 6-3 203 Jr. Colorado
13 Detroit Pistons Jeffrey Skulski SG 6-3 197 Jr. Connecticut
14 Indiana Pacers Kent Guidi PF 6-10 221 Sr. Duke
15 Golden State Warriors Charles Hawkins SG 6-2 196 Jr. Oregon State
16 Denver Nuggets Jurica Zediker SG 6-0 181 Jr. Oklahoma
17 Dallas Mavericks Clarence Davis SF 6-4 184 Sr. Duke
18 Oklahoma City Thunder Justin McKay SG 6-4 191 Sr. Virginia Tech
19 Miami Heat Darren Banks SF 6-3 196 Sr. Iowa
20 Boston Celtics Michael Clark PF 6-7 218 So. Ole Miss
21 New York Knicks Frederick Fred PG 6-0 190 So. Colorado
22 Sacramento Kings Samuel Brown PF 6-8 225 Sr. Seton Hall
23 Orlando Magic Eric O’Bryan C 7-1 270 Sr. Iowa
24 Portland Trailblazers Judson Thompson SF 6-5 204 Jr. Texas A&M
25 Philadelphia 76ers Angel Lombardi C 6-11 233 Sr. Virginia Tech
26 Toronto Raptors Kenneth Andrews C 7-1 261 Sr. Providence
27 Washington Wizards Kevin Moline C 6-11 258 Sr. Connecticut
28 Cleveland Cavaliers Cesar Russo SF 6-3 188 Jr. North Carolina
29 Minnesota Timberwolves Thomas Walker PF 6-8 233 Jr. Oklahoma
30 Los Angeles Lakers John Burgess SG 6-2 199 Jr. Kentucky
ROUND TWO
PICK TEAM PLAYER POS HT WT YR COLLEGE
31 Houston Rockets Jerome Strickland SF 6-7 208 Sr. Northwestern
32 Phoenix Suns Richard Harber PG 6-6 215 Sr. Minnesota
33 Milwaukee Bucks Ernest Espinosa C 6-10 233 Jr. Washington
34 New Orleans Pelicans Fidel Yanez C 6-7 220 Sr. Miami (FL)
35 San Antonio Spurs Terry Darby SG 6-0 176 Jr. Duke
36 Brooklyn Nets Fadey Graminski SF 6-2 183 Sr. Colorado
37 Memphis Grizzlies Jason Davis PG 6-0 179 Sr. Providence
38 Utah Jazz John McCurtain SF 6-3 196 Sr. Ohio State
39 Los Angeles Clippers Michael Trisler C 6-10 246 Sr. St. John’s
40 Chicago Bulls James Almanza SG 6-3 190 Sr. Tennessee
41 Atlanta Hawks Kenneth Clanton C 6-10 230 Sr. Kansas
42 New Orleans Hornets Peter Ledford C 7-0 249 Sr. Northwestern
43 Detroit Pistons Michael Lowther SG 6-4 201 Sr. Florida State
44 Indiana Pacers Harry Doud C 6-6 207 Sr. Colorado
45 Golden State Warriors Donald Conner SG 6-4 208 Sr. Michigan State
46 Denver Nuggets William Backer SG 6-2 198 Sr. Ohio State
47 Dallas Mavericks Scotty Johnson C 6-8 222 Sr. Syracuse
48 Oklahoma City Thunder John Parr C 6-11 239 Sr. Xavier
49 Miami Heat Brett Henriksen C 6-11 256 Jr. Louisville
50 Boston Celtics Melvin Zusman PG 5-9 156 Jr. Florida
51 New York Knicks John Belin PG 6-1 197 Sr. California
52 Sacramento Kings John Winfield PG 5-11 177 Sr. Miami (FL)
53 Orlando Magic Michael Hall SG 6-2 205 Jr. Kansas
54 Portland Trailblazers Rubin McDowell SG 5-11 186 Sr. Air Force
55 Philadelphia 76ers Edgardo Romano SG 6-0 175 Jr. Providence
56 Toronto Raptors John Pray SG 6-2 204 Sr. Texas A&M
57 Washington Wizards Pete Swoope C 6-9 240 Sr. LSU
58 Cleveland Cavaliers Philip Cooley C 6-11 225 Sr. DePaul
59 Minnesota Timberwolves Trevor Holford PF 6-6 223 Jr. Northwestern
60 Los Angeles Lakers Melvin Thornton C 6-10 233 Sr. Tennessee
Minnesota Timberwolves defeat Boston Celtics in NBA Finals 4-3