The Town Crier

[PointGuard 70]

CBI Recap
By Steve Porter

#8 seed Lamar Cardinals (18-11) vs #1 seed UIC Flames (18-10)

A porous defense by UIC let the Lamar Cardinals jump out on top in the beginning stages of the game and roll to a 48-38 halftime advantage. The lead ballooned to as much as 18 points early in the 2nd half before the Flames trimmed it a little late in the game. But UIC went down defeat by a final score of 87-75. Lamar outshot UIC 49% to 38%. SF Thurman Coursey scored 15 and PF Ross Ransom had a double-double (10 points and 12 rebounds) for UIC. For Lamar, SF Dwayne Davis tossed in 21 points while PF Bryant Jones and C Lawrence Lazosky combined for 27 points and 18 rebounds.

Championship: UNC Greensboro-102, Northeastern-85

[PointGuard 70]

NCAA Recap
By Steve Porter

Play-in Game:
16th seed Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix (14-17) vs 16th seed Campbell Camels (15-16)
Wisconsin-Green Bay continued their hot play leading from start to finish in this play-in game. By the end of the first half the Phoenix were on top 36-26 and then they expanded their lead to 20 before settling for an easy 81-66 victory. SF Josh Abraham dropped in 20 points while C Jamil Weekes hit for 14 points and pulled down 9 rebounds for Wisconsin-Green Bay. C Kimani Deane scored 18 for Campbell. The win sets the Phoenix up for a game against #1 seed Georgia Tech in the first round.

Round 1:
#16 seed Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix (15-17) vs #1 seed and #5 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (24-7)
Georgia Tech methodically destroyed Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Yellow Jackets ground out a 42-23 halftime lead. Then in the 2nd half they increased their lead to 31 before settling for a 73-47 beatdown of the Phoenix. Georgia Tech’s defense only allowed Wisconsin-Green Bay to hit 30% of their shots. SF Josh Abraham scored 11 for the Phoenix. The Yellow Jackets were led by SG Bernard Allen’s 24 points.

Championship: Florida-81, Wisconsin-79

[PointGuard 70]

NIT Recap
By Steve Porter

1st Round:

#6 seed Charleston Southern Buccaneers (21-9, 13-5) vs #3 seed Youngstown State Penguins (21-8, 13-5)

On paper these two teams appeared very evenly matched. Charleston Southern is led by C Jason O’Bannon (13.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and SG John Walton (13.9 ppg).

The early going was tight, but Youngstown State gradually crept ahead and with 7 minutes remaining in the first half opened a 10 point lead with solid all-around play. Hitting 50% of their shots and holding a 7-2 turnover advantage, the Penguins stormed to a 49-32 halftime lead. YSU got even scoring from 9 players with SG Noel Manley leading with 8 points. Five players for the Penguins were charged with 2 fouls though in the half, though. C Jason O’Bannon dropped in 10 points to top the scoring for the Buccaneers.

The Penguins continued their assault on the Buccaneers as the 2nd half started and went ahead by 20 with 16:48 to play. YSU then maintained a sizeable lead the rest of the game and finished with a sound 91-74 thumping of Charleston Southern. 

Topping the scoring for the Penguins was C Will O’Neil with 16 points. C/PF Andre Lilly and SG Noel Manley both scored 12 while SF Colin Chambliss added 11 along with 8 rebounds. C Jason O’Bannon and PF Willie Leach both scored 15 for Charleston Southern with Leach grabbing 10 boards.

Moving to the 2nd round, Youngstown State will now face #2 seed Nebraska which advanced by trouncing Winthrop 82-65.

[PointGuard 70]

NIT Recap
Steve Porter

2nd Round:

#3 seed Youngstown State Penguins (22-8) vs #2 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-12)

Youngstown State hit 7 of their first 9 shots including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc to leap ahead 17-10 after 5-1/2 minutes of play. But the refs were piling fouls up against the Penguins. Nebraska also shot well and with 8 minutes left in the half the Cornhuskers captured their first lead at 33-32. The Penguins roared back with an 8-0 run in the next 90 seconds. Nebraska came back and only a last second jumper by PG Pat White gave YSU a slim 47-46 lead at the break. Both teams made over 50% of their FG attempts. White finished the half with 13 points and 5 assists while Nebraska’s C Chris Crooks scored 11.

The Penguins maintained a small lead throughout much of the 2nd half. But midway through the half YSU wore down Nebraska’s defense and opened a double digit lead. The Penguins held that until the last few minutes when the Cornhuskers made a desperate attempt to comeback and narrowed YSU’s final winning margin to 92-88. The Penguins overcame a 25-14 foul differential that sent Nebraska to the line 18 more times where they scored 12 more points than Youngstown State. 

PG Pat White burned the nets for 22 points to go along with his 8 assists. SG Matt Angner dropped in 15 points while SF Colin Chambliss and C Will O’Neil both scored 11. For the Cornhuskers, C Chris Crooks finished with 17 points.

“I’m hoarse from hollering at the refs all night. So I’ll keep my remarks short. I can’t say much about our defense, but our offense was on fire the entire night. Pat White really carried our team tonight even though he was in foul trouble for much of the game,” said Coach KD Durst.

The Penguins’ win moves them on to the East Regional final against #5 seed North Texas which has beaten Nevada 85-70 and Southern 87-77 in the tournament.

[PointGuard 70]

NIT Recap
By Steve Porter

3rd Round:

#3 seed Youngstown State Penguins (23-8) vs #5 seed North Texas Mean Green (21-11)

SF Colin Chambliss came out on fire, blocking the first two shots by the Mean Green and hitting a baseline jumper on the Penguins first possession. He added another block and 3 rebounds in the first 6 minutes of play. But YSU’s had a difficult time getting the ball in the hoop and North Texas went ahead by 7 midway through the half. The Penguins were able to come back and by the end of the half, they held a 37-33 lead. PG Matt Stafford hit for 9 points and SF Colin Chambliss scored just 4 points, but had 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks.

The Penguins came out in the 2nd half with a renewed energy and a lock-down defense. With 14 minutes to play they had opened a 14-point lead at 53-39. YSU hung onto a solid double-digit lead until the last few minutes when they’re play got sloppily. But the Penguins won 77-69. Youngstown State hit just 43% of their shots, but the Penguins defense limited the Mean Green’s shooting to 36% and the Penguins amazingly blocked 13 shots. 

Leading the way offensively for the Penguins was PG Pat White who scored 16 and dished out 7 assists. PG Matt Stafford hit for 13. SG/SF James Asbury added 10. SF Colin Chambliss finished with 6 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and 3 blocks. SG Gavin Woodley scored 16 for North Texas.

“The 2-3 zone employed by North Texas gave us fits and really limited out interior game, but our defense was even more stingy,” said Coach KD Durst.

The Penguins will go up against #2 seed Cincinnati in the semi-finals. In the other semi-final game, #1 seed Oklahoma takes on #1 seed Mississippi State.

[PointGuard 70]

NIT Recap
By Steve Porter

Semi-Finals:

The four teams remaining in contention for the NIT Championship traveled to New York City for the last two days of the NIT Tournament. All four teams have had strong seasons.

First Semi-final Game: #1 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs (20-12) vs #1 seed Oklahoma Sooners (19-13)

The lead shifted back and forth early, but Oklahoma took control midway through the first half and the Sooners finished that half on top 39-26. Mississippi State tightened the game in the 2nd half, but came up on the short end of a 74-67 final score. PG Jason Blake led Oklahoma to victory with 18 points and 6 assists. The Bulldogs’ SF Jake Carroll scored 17 and hauled down 8 boards.


Second Semi-final Game: #2 seed Cincinnati Bearcats (20-12) vs #3 seed Youngstown State Penguins (24-8)

The Penguins entered this semi-final game as a definite underdog. Youngstown State needed to figure out a way to control Cincinnati’s slick PG Todd Johnson who averaged 14.9 ppg, 5.2 apg, and 7.2 rpg during the season but has stepped it up his scoring to over 21 ppg during the tournament. Coach KD Durst said, “We need to keep from getting overwhelmed by playing at Madison Square Garden in front of such a large crowd and then just play OUR game.”

When the Penguins turned the ball over on their first two possessions and then fell behind 15-4, Durst’s concerns seemed well-founded. YSU then made a comeback to narrow the gap to 19-15. With about 4 minutes remaining in the half, Matt Stafford sank two successive 3’s bringing the Penguins to within a single point at 28-27. After Cincinnati scored the final 7 points in the half YSU was saddled with a 43-32 deficit at the break. The Penguins anemic shooting (41% FG%, 25% 3P%, and 31% FT%) contributed to their first half difficulties. C Will O’Neil scored 8 points for YSU while top-scorer for Cincinnati was SG Wade Wilson with 9 points.

The early-going of the 2nd half was difficult for Youngstown State as they fell behind by 14 points, but they doggedly fought back. With 11:18 remaining Matt Stafford cut around a pick and hit a 10 footer to tie the score at 52-52. With 5:20 to play Stafford stole a pass and up-courted the ball to a streaking Matt Angner who slammed down a dunk to give the Penguins their first lead at 63-62. Cincinnati’s PG Todd Johnson hit a long 3 to put the Bearcats ahead 70-66 with 3:34 left. On the next possession O’Neil then was fouled and sunk both free throws to cut the lead to 2. After a miss by Cincinnati, YSU worked the ball inside where Angner hit a short jumper to tie the game at 70-70. PF Donnie Williams then blocked a shot and during the ensuing possession, he knocked down a 10 footer to put the Penguins on top 72-70 with 2:19 remaining. The defense for both teams then took control. Neither team was able to score until PG Pat White worked himself inside, took a pass and dropped in a short shot with 48 seconds to play to make it 74-70. Cincinnati them missed a 3 point attempt and had to foul. White sunk both free throws giving YSU a 6 point lead with 25 seconds to go. The Bearcats missed another shot and fouled. Matt Angner made 1 of 2 shots making it 77-70 with just 7 seconds on the clock. Cincinnati hit a last second 3 to make the final score 77-73 in favor of Youngstown State. The Penguins outshot the Bearcats 49% to 41% and outscored Cincinnati 38-16 in the paint.

C Will O’Neil scored 21, SG Matt Angner hit for 17, PG Matt Stafford put 15 points on the board, and PG Pat White added 10. For Cincinnati, PF Brendan Allaway scored 13 and PG Todd Johnson added 12.

“That was a really tough game,” said Coach KD Durst. He added, “We knew coming in that Cincinnati was a very strong team and they definitely proved it tonight. Playing before such a large and boisterous crowd, we had a few jitters early but the guys put those aside pretty quickly. The final 10 minutes of this game was textbook college basketball with both teams giving it their all. We had to dig ourselves out of a couple deep holes tonight. I’m truly proud of how the guys came back and never quit. Now we need to rest up because the championship game against Oklahoma is sure to be a huge challenge for our guys. The Sooners don’t make many mistakes. Tonight we came in as underdogs, so the guys are used to that now and realize they have to really step up.”

Oklahoma beat St. John’s, Rhode Island, Georgetown, and Mississippi State enroute to the championship game. The Sooners prefer to slow it down and have a strong man-to-man defense. They primarily use a motion offense. While Youngstown State has a strong bench, Oklahoma’s depth is even greater.

“We felt pretty down when we didn’t win the Horizon League tournament and knew that meant the end of our NCAA Tourney dream. But playing in the NIT has been a blast and now that we will be playing in the championship game, we’re really excited,” said SF Colin Chambliss. “Playing here in New York City is weird because not only is there a big crowd, but most of them are not really die-hard fans of either team. So enthusiasm and cheering seems to veer back and forth with people rooting for one team, and then as things change in the game, they often switch their allegiance.”

[PointGuard 70]

NIT Recap
By Steve Porter

Championship:

#1 Oklahoma Sooners (20-13) vs #3 Youngstown State Penguins (25-8)

Youngstown State’s defense stymied the Sooners in the early going. After 12-1/2 minutes of play the Penguins led 25-12 and had only allowed Oklahoma to make 19% of their shots. Shooting didn’t improve for the Sooners and they finished the half hitting just 16% of their FG attempts and trailing in the game 39-23. Had it not been for the refs calling 15 fouls against the Penguins which put Oklahoma on the line 22 times, the difference in the score would have even been greater. YSU hit 48% of their shots and out-rebounded the Sooners 21-12. Centers Will O’Neil with 10 points and Andre Lilly with 8 points buoyed the Penguins. Reserve SG Myron Reyes topped the Sooners’ scoring with 7 points.

Midway through the 2nd half the Penguins led by 26 points. Coach Durst emptied his bench making sure all players saw action, and the Sooners cut into the lead but never seriously threatened. When the buzzer sounded, Youngstown State had won its first tournament championship in the school’s history by a score of 69-55. Youngstown State’s season record was 26-8.

C Will O’Neil led the scoring for the Penguins with 18 points. SF Colin Chambliss had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. C Andre Lilly hit for 10 points. SG Myron Reyes 11 points were high for Oklahoma.

“Our guys executed our game plan flawlessly from start to finish,” exclaimed Coach KD Durst. “I’m so proud of how they played not only tonight but throughout the entire tournament. Winning the NIT is a big accomplishment for our team, for the university, for the city of Youngstown, and for the state of Ohio. It was nice to be able to get everyone into the game tonight since this entire year has been one in which the entire team pulled together and contributed.”

Lee Pauly, who scored 9 points in his final game for the Penguins, said, “It’s been an incredible ride this past 4 years playing for YSU and for Coach Durst. Winning the NIT Championship was like icing on the cake. We’re gonna party-hearty tonight!”

[PointGuard 70]

Champs Return Home
By Steve Porter

The Youngstown State Penguins basketball team returned home yesterday to be greeted by a huge crowd of cheering fans. Mayor Ben Bryce saluted the team and gave each of them a Key to the City. Bryce said, “We’ve watched this team develop over the past few years and are so proud that they’ve brought home the first championship trophy. This team personifies Youngstown in that they’re hard-working, never-give-up types who have come together to produce something as a group that magnifies their personal achievements.”

Tom Tibbets, owner of Tom’s Burgers said, “All of us fans weren’t able to get over to New York to watch the Penguins in person, but we were all pulling for them as we watched the game on TV. I hope they could hear the collective cheers that were coming from our couches as they played the game. It was so exciting to watch them roll through the tournament. A lot of these guys stop by my joint for burgers, fries and shakes and they’re all great kids.”

 

 

Penguins Rake In Horizon Awards

By Steve Porter

Horizon League Player of the Year: C Will O’Neil

Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year: SF Colin Chambliss

Horizon League Coach of the Year: Kendrick “KD” Durst

Horizon League 1st Team All-Conference: C Will O’Neil

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Recruiting News
By Steve Porter

Spring recruiting paid dividends for Youngstown State. They previously had only filled one scholarship when SG Doylan Anderson, a 6-1 SG from Virginia High School in Virginia, Illinois committed and signed an LOI last fall. Anderson finished his senior season averaging 14.4 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.5 rpg, 2.1 spg, and 1.9 bpg. Anderson was a top 10 player in the Chicago Prep Revue.

Then in the past two weeks, the Penguins filled their three remaining scholarships. Last week Aidan Byams, a 6-6 SF who attended junior college in West Terre Haute, Indiana signed. Byams is ranked as the 95th best recruit in the nation and is a good shot both inside and outside. He averaged 16.4 ppg, 3.6 apg. 5.0 ppg, 2.2 spg, and 2.2 bpg this past season. The same week, the Penguins surprised everyone when they announced that Lucas Broering, a 6-2 SG from Brazil would be playing for them next season. Broering is rated at the 55th best recruit in the nation. He has a sweet outside shot and is an excellent passer. He also is a strong rebounder. During his last season as a high school player, he averaged 16.8 ppg, 5.6 apg, 8.9 rpg, 4.3 spg, and 1.7 bpg. Then this week, Keith Orr, a 6-0 PG who played basketball for Tri-County High School in Plainfield, Wisconsin signed an LOI. Orr is an excellent outside shooter and is a skilled ball handler. He’s ranked as the 239th best recruit nationally and averaged 16.3 ppg, 2.2 apg, 4.2 rpg, 1.3 spg, and 1.5 bpg. 

Brandon Warren, YSU’s 1st assistant coach and recruiting coordinator said, “After only filling one of our four scholarships that will be opening during the fall recruiting period, things were looking a little bleak for us. We were pretty quiet about our recruiting activities this spring because the discussions with recruits were touch-and-go so there was a lot of uncertainty. But recently everything came together for us and we came out with a very strong recruit class. We are extremely pleased with the four recruits who will join our team this coming season. Signing Lucas was a real coup since we didn’t have much money to spend on international recruiting so we had to it all on a shoestring. To be honest it was a shot-in-the-dark that worked. Of course, winning the NIT tourney was a big shot-in-the-arm to our recruiting efforts.”

[PointGuard 70]

Pat White Selected in NBA Draft 
By Steve Porter

Today, Pat White was the 49th player selected in the NBA’s pro draft. After playing one season for the University of Oregon, White transferred to Youngstown State and started at PG the past three seasons. This past season White averaged 10.2 ppg and 6.9 apg during the regular season. He then led the Penguins by averaging 12.2 ppg and 5.0 apg during the Penguins 5-game march in the school’s NIT Championship run. Vic Morrissey, YSU’s AD, said, “It was really exciting to have Pat drafted. He’s the first Penguin to be drafted by the NBA. He played well all three seasons he was here. We wish him all the success in the world in pro ball.”

Coach KD Durst said, “I’m so psyched that Pat got drafted. We haven't brought in many transfer players, but when we got Pat 4 years ago, I was excited and the way he played for justified that initial excitement. I think his draft stock went way up by the way he played and how he led the team during the NIT games. I suspect he’s the just the first and that more Penguins will be joining him in the pro ranks in the future.”

White said, “I’m still in shock but crazy happy. You always dream of playing pro ball, but when the call came that I’d been drafted I just about fainted. It’s good there were a lot of my buddies around hollering and pounding me on the back to keep me from falling over. When I called my parents, my makuakane (father in Hawaiian) told me he’d been hoping I’d return to Hawaii after graduation but was so proud but that I’d been drafted. He said he’s glad the Clippers drafted me rather than an East Coast team, since it’ll be easier for him to get over. He’s already asking for free tickets for him and his bruddahs.”

[PointGuard 70]

Durst Pursued by Other Colleges
By Steve Porter

Following the Penguins championship run in the NIT, several colleges have shown interest in hiring KD Durst, the Penguins head coach. Even though he still is under contract to Youngstown State, the school’s athletic department gave him permission to talk with other programs. The list of colleges that he has visited or spoken with on the phone has not been released, but it’s been learned that he participated in some interviews.

But all indications are that he intends to return to YSU this coming season. A person close to Durst said, “I think KD is enjoying the trajectory of the team’s success and would like to see how much further he can take them. Additionally, with Will O’Neil set to go into his senior year this coming season, I’m sure KD wants to continue working with O’Neil as he completes a phenomenal career with the team. I suspect Youngstown State is working on sweetening KD’s contract to keep him working his magic with the Penguins.”

 

 

Youngstown State Announces Facilities Improvements

By Steve Porter

Youngstown State University’s Athletic Director Vic Morrissey announced that the university will be making upgrades to the basketball facilities this summer. Morrissey said that the improvements will ensure that the facilities offered for the Penguins are tops in the Horizon League. He said all construction will be completed in time for the beginning of the 2023-2024 season.

[PointGuard 70]

Bombshell!
By Steve Porter

Kendrick “KD” Durst, the coach who brought respectability to Youngstown State basketball is leaving! With no preliminary notice Durst announced that he has taken a new head coaching job and will be leaving immediately. Seemingly caught by surprise, Vic Morrissey, the Penguins’ AD, has named Brandon Warren, who was Durst’s 1st Assistant Coach, as the interim coach. Morrissey advised he is beginning a nationwide search for a new head coach this coming week. 

Durst will be moving to Boulder, Colorado to take the head coaching job at Colorado University. While it’s presumed that the salary for his new Pac-12 post will be substantially larger, no reasons were provided for the unexpected move. Durst simply said, “Coaching at Youngstown State has been a tremendous opportunity and I will miss working with the fine athletes and staff that make up the Penguins basketball program.”

James Asbury said, “I’m in a state of shock. Following our success this season, we all were ready to take the next step. I’m really disappointed to see Coach Durst leaving but wish him well at Colorado. He’s getting us all together later today so I guess we’ll know more then.” Asbury's concerns were echoed by Will O'Neil although his comments are unprintable.

[PointGuard 70]

Why Did Durst Depart? 
By Steve Porter

Penguins basketball seemed to be at its highest point ever. The team had just come out on top of the Horizon League standings for the fifth straight season. During that period the team has a stellar 122-41 (.748) record and had participated in the NCAA tournament three times and the NIT tournament twice. They were coming off a championship run in the NIT tournament this past season. For the first time a Penguins’ player (Pat White) had been drafted by the NBA. While the team was losing four seniors to graduation, a late spring recruiting blitz yielded 4 strong recruits. There were quality players, including Will O’Neil the league’s best player, to start at each position next season with a strong bench already in place. KD Durst, the league’s Coach of the Year the past 5 seasons, and his entire staff were set to return and it was anticipated that each would gain lucrative contract extensions. The university had just approved a facility upgrade that would improve facilities to make them as good or better than any other in the league.

And then….the bubble burst! The team’s lynchpin Coach Kendrick “KD” Durst jumped ship to take on the head coaching reins at Colorado University.

What happened to cause this unexpected action? Rumors ran rampant, but yesterday two reliable sources at the university advised that things were going well until a recent meeting between Coach Durst and Vic Morrissey, the university’s athletic director. During that meeting Morrissey apparently expressed displeasure with the team not winning the Horizon League tournament and going to the NCAA tournament rather than the NIT tournament. Durst felt that Morrissey and the university didn’t truly appreciate the team winning the NIT and his efforts to turn the team from the league doormat to the league’s perennial champ. The discussion turned into a protracted argument and Durst left in a huff. While it was no surprise that there were a number of colleges that wanted to hire Durst (including not only Colorado, but also Boston College, Arizona State, Vanderbilt, Washington State, Wichita State, Bradley, and Rutgers), Durst had seemed to want to take the talented Penguins to the next level this coming season. So everyone was surprised when Durst abruptly announced the next day that he had accepted the position with Colorado, a team on a steep downhill trajectory that finished at the bottom of the Pac-12 this past season.

Morrissey has not returned repeated calls to confirm this story, and no “official” report about the loss of Coach Durst has been provided by the university. Durst is in Boulder, Colorado to participate in Colorado’s press conference formally announcing his hiring so has been unavailable.

So we’re left to interpret as best we can:

Durst: Thin-skinned? Yes, it seems so. He could have worked this out with Morrissey rather than storming out and jumping ship. This isn’t the first example of his thin skin though. I’ve been the recipient of his wrath if I even deigned to question one of his decisions. And what’s Durst do with his new “freedom”? He takes a job with a team that is deep in the gutter in a very competitive conference when he could have landed much better jobs. Is that rational or a death wish?

Morrissey: Stupid? Yes! Rather than holding Durst to some arbitrary “goal”, Morrissey should have been congratulating Durst for how he’s built the program and be happy to have a new trophy in the athletic department’s trophy case. Now he has to try to find someone who can not only replace Durst but continue to build the program. And yes, the team’s nucleus remains, but there’s always the possibility that some of the players may decide to seek greener pastures now that their coach (the one they committed to when accepting a scholarship at YSU and the one who led them to a championship) is gone. If the team’s performance goes downhill, Morrissey’s head could (should?) be on the chopping block.

So readers…what are your thoughts?

[PointGuard 70]

Porter’s Thoughts]:

"No one in Boulder or Denver wants to hire me, so I won’t be following Coach Durst. Instead I will hold onto my job at the newspaper here in Youngstown. Newspaper jobs aren’t that easy to come by these days. Therefore, it will be up to Coach Durst (and possibly others) to pass along how things go in Colorado. I can only hope that whoever Youngstown State hires as a new head coach can keep the Penguins being an interesting story so the paper will want me to keep writing stories about YSU basketball."

(Soooooo--–Steve Porter, signing off)

[PointGuard 70]

Rocky Mountain Hell?

(Steve Porter told me it's going to be up to me to let you know what's going on...unless someone in Boulder decides to fill you in.)

Well, I made it to Boulder. Gotta say, the University of Colorado has been extremely supportive. They even helped find me a nice house. I think they want to as few demands from external factors as possible so I can jump right in and focus on the Buffaloes basketball program.

I’m still in shock after my quick decision to move on from Youngstown State. I really was expecting to stay at least another season there. It was hard to part ways with the players I’ve been working with there. Since I’ve never had such a talented player before, I’m sure going to miss seeing Will O’Neil complete his collegiate career and take his first steps into the pro ranks. But when there’s a lack of respect from your boss, staying on just didn’t make sense. So that overrode my desire to work with O’Neil this coming season and my hope to get the Penguins deep into the NCAA tourney.

There were some great opportunities with several programs, but Colorado provides the biggest turn-around possibilities. Maybe too big since I’ve gotten several “what the hell were you thinking when you took on such a f’d up program?” comments from other coaches I know well.

There definitely are positives: great (A-) facilities, strong ( academics, being part of a power conference (Pac-12), a nice college town with beautiful surroundings, and more than a doubling of my previous salary.

But then there are the negatives as well: 

1. The team’s record the past 3 years: 10-18, then 8-20, and finally just 5-23 (4-14 and tied for last in the Pac12 with an RPI of 281) this past season. Over the past 6 seasons, the Buffaloes have had losing records to 8 of the 11 other Pac-12 teams in the conference.

2. Only 1 returning starter (PG Chris Smith) with just 5 other scholarship players and 2 walkons returning. Other than Smith, only 2 of the returnees were frequent subs, 1 was ineligible due to transferring, and the other 4 were little used or not used at all this past season.

3. Colorado had 7 scholarships to fill this season but…no recruits signed or committed and there’s just $5 in recruiting budget and just 2 weeks to try to land SOMEone. Just 3 recruits on the team’s current list of recruits have any notes and just a few recruits have a + interest level.

4. Starting budget: $222,500 with $200,000 obligated to asst coaches. The remaining of this season there is just $5 left in the $22,500 recruiting budget.

5. And the assistant coaches? The 1st asst (Jeff Favors, great coach with a reputation of 41 and a 99 recruiting skill level…but a $99K salary with 3 years remaining on his contract); the 2nd asst (Deshawn Reyes, again a very talented coach with a reputation of 39 and a scouting rating of 52…but a $68K salary with 3 years remaining on his contract): and a 3rd asst (Ivory Snoddy, a very strong coach also with a reputation of 39 and a 64 rating for recruiting but being used for practice and his player development rating is just 34…at least his salary is reasonable at $27K with 3 years remaining on his contract). The salaries for the 1st and 2nd assistants just aren’t justifiable since it leaves us with so little money for recruiting activities.

So in hindsight the “what the hell were you thinking” comments were pretty much on target.

[PointGuard 70]

Assistant Coaching Changes

I sat down with each assistant separately. Here’s a summary of my comments and actions for each:

1st Assistant Jeff Favors: not enough money in recruiting budget so ran out of money quickly, bottom line you’re being paid $99K and landed no recruits, you’ve got a great rep, time to look for HC job---fired; he was subsequently hired by Purdue as 1st asst.

2nd Assistant Deshawn Reyes: was a previous head coach, need to get our budget in control so will be reducing assistant costs---fired; he was subsequently hired by VCU as 1st asst.

3rd Assistant Ivory Snoddy: discussed promotion but he wants too much $---keeping him on as 3rd assistant but will change his primary duties from practice/player development to recruiting.

Hired:

1st assistant: Bryant Marshack, rep of 19, player development rating of 66, $55K for 4 years; he was previously a 2nd assistant at Oakland and Rhode Island.

2nd assistant: Lamoni Martin, rep of 20, scouting rating of 62, $40K for 4 years; he was previously 2nd assistant at Pennsylvania and 1st assistant at Eastern Kentucky.

These actions will save $78K/yr to add to our recruiting budget. Gonna need it since we are likely to have have so many unfilled scholarships this coming year.

 

End of season recruiting

 

7 unfilled scholarships and it’s April! With no remaining recruiting budget we can only make a series of phone calls. We made last ditch scholarships offers to 4 int’l and 3 national players (PG, 2 SG’s, SF, 2 PF’s, and C) on 4/9/23 with little hope any would accept since there was no money to otherwise contact or visit them.

#97 ranked PF Primoz Pohek signs on 4/16, he’s from Slovenia, 6-7, 204, 2.2 GPA (1100 SAT), averaged 13.9 ppg, 3.4 apg, 11.6 rpg, 1.8 spg, 2.6 bpg. No skill it getting this one, just pure blind luck, but I’m happy to get such a good potential player.

One of the SG’s signed elsewhere; offered a scholarship to another SG on 4/16.

None of the other 6 we had offers out to signed. Disappointing but not surprising. 

So for the entire year Colorado had 1 signing and didn’t fill 6 available scholarships. The recruiting class was ranked as the 280th best in Division 1. 

The University of Colorado should get a refund for a good portion of ex-HC Wright Kincade’s and ex-1st Asst Jeff Favors’ salaries. I wish Butler (who hired Kincade as HC) and Purdue (who hired Favors) the best of luck. Both of those guys sure did no “favors” for the Buffaloes lately. It might take a few seasons before the Buffaloes are good enough, but at some point I’d sure like to post an “L” onto both Butler and Purdue as a little bit of a payback to those two bozos.

[PointGuard 70]

Roster for Colorado Buffaloes for 2023-2024 season:

Remaining roster for upcoming season consists of 9 players: 2 pg (1 of which is walk-on), 1 sg, 1 sf, 4 pf, 1 c (a walkon).

We have 8 scholarships to offer this coming year with a $100,500 recruiting budget. That’s too many recruits to try to land so we’ll see if there are some good transfer players who are willing to be part of a building program.

In June we signed 5 transfer players: 

PG Matt Conley, 6-2 Sophomore from Belcourt, ND who was signed as the #489 ranked recruit in 2021 by Oklahoma. As freshman he played in 7 games averaging 4.3 mpg and 2.3 ppg.

SG Steve Jackson, 6-1 Sophomore from Mililani, HI who was signed as the #1489 ranked recruit in 2021 by Prairie View. As a freshman he started all 27 games and averaged 27.3 mpg, 16.4 ppg and hit 42% of his FGA, 37% of his 3PA, and 84% of his FTA. He was the SWAC Freshman of the Year.

SG Camah Griffin, 6-0 Sophomore from Inglewood, CA who was signed as the #647 ranked recruit in 2021 by Loyola Marymount. As a freshman he started all 29 games and averaged 26.2 mpg, 13.3 ppg, 2.1 apg, and 4.3 rpg and hit 39% of the FGA and 29% of his 3PA.

SF Charles Majors, 6-8 Sophomore from Dexter, NM who was signed as the #197 ranked recruit in 2021 by Washington. As a freshman he played in 31 games, averaging 16.0 mpg, 7.4 ppg and 3.0 rpg and hit 42% of his FGA, 39% of his 3PA, and 85% of his FTA.

PF Ryan Erickson, 6-7 Junior from Canada who was signed as the #361 ranked recruit in 2020 by Colgate. As a freshman he started 27 of 29 games averaging 29.0 mpg, 9.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg and hit 58% of his FGA. As a sophomore he started 1 of 9 games averaging 17.0 mpg, 8.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg and hit 74% of his FTA. He then became academically ineligible for the remainder of the season.

Of course, all 5 will be ineligible to play for us this season due to transferring. So sort of a quick fix (like patching a flat tire) for a year from now, but keeps us with a short bench for this upcoming season. While I don’t see any of the 5 being big stars for us, they will provide us with a solid core the season after this one and more importantly…

That leaves just 3 scholarships for us to fill during the upcoming recruiting season rather than 8. Much more manageable.

[PointGuard 70]

Meeting with our AD

Jake Meacolm, the Colorado AD, compliments me on my 154-73 record during my 7 years at Youngstown State and getting the Penguins to a post-season tournament in 6 of those seasons. He follows by saying with a record like that he’s expecting big things because the Buffaloes need to get back on track quickly. He then lists what he wants to see from the team and me this season. 

His goals are laughable: Finish above .500, Finish in top half of conference, Qualify for NIT Tournament, Improve school prestige. WTF? Coming off such a dismal season last year and with the train wreck that was left when I arrived, none of these are realistically achievable this coming season. The best we can do is develop the players we’ve been left with and prepare the transfers to step in when they become eligible to play next season.

When I express this, he cuts me off saying, “We hired you because of your ability to turn things around rapidly. We have great confidence you will do it.” And with that, our meeting is concluded.

Wife’s Concerns

Jacqueline (Jacky) isn’t happy about my job change. She feels I took my actions without discussing things with her or considering her situation. She is staying in Youngstown to continue her work there until she can get a good marketing position in Boulder.

[PointGuard 70]

Summer/Fall Recruiting:

3 scholarships to fill…would like a SF and two big men.

By the beginning of October we had commitments from:

SF Rick Coffey, 6-7 from Mt. Vernon, SD, #57 ranked recruit, sweet shooter inside and outside, excellent scorer, extremely athletic, was in Top 5 at Houston Classic Camp.

SF Kenton Dunn, 6-6 from Cheyenne, WY, #73 ranked recruit, excellent shooting skills both inside and outside, great scorer, solid defender, tremendous work ethic, was in Top 25 at Indy Elite Camp.

PF Shawn Owes, 6-8 from Arvada, CO, #135 ranked recruit, excellent shooter inside who is a good scorer, hard worker.

I’m very pleased with the recruits we landed and the job Ivoree Snoddy did as my recruiting assistant.


Fall Practices:

Our practices this fall revealed what I feared. We are going to have a rough season. We set up a pretty weak pre-conference schedule, but I doubt that will even help us that much. The players who are eligible to play this season just aren’t that talented. Our starting five will be outclassed against most competition and our bench is very weak. And because we have so few returning players and just one freshman, we only have 10 eligible players (including walk-ons), so our bench will be short meaning we likely will wear down at points throughout the game.

To make things worse, there was just too much messing around during our practices. Players coming late, not focusing and slacking off, making rude comments to each other, and taking cheap shots. Apparently there was a lack of control by the previous coaching regime. I ended up having to continually pull players into my office and disciplining much more than I’ve ever done before. But it was necessary to exert control to keep things from getting out of hand and let the players know they had to change their habits and pull together.


Marital bliss?

When I honestly think about what’s going on, I have to admit a long-distance marriage is really tough to make work. In our case, I’m just having to put so much time into beginning the turnaround efforts for the Buffaloes that I haven’t been able to get back to Ohio as much as I’d said I would when I departed. And Jacky is still unhappy that I made the decision to leave Youngstown without taking her situation into consideration. I’m not sure how hard she’s trying to find a job here. And I think her boss is subverting any efforts by way of additional perks he’s been throwing her way recently. To say things are strained would be an understatement.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #1, Portland Pilots (0-0) at Colorado Buffaloes (0-0)

Before the game begins my eyes scan around Coors Events Center and I marvel at the size and beauty compared to the facilities where I’ve coached before. It holds over 11,000 people in much greater comfort than the arenas where I’ve played and coached. Lots of yellow seats and, while the center is not nearly filled to capacity, a fair number of fans wearing yellow. And here I am at age 44.





Our starters as the season begins are: PG Chris Smith, 6-1 Soph; SG Stacey Walker, 6-2 Sr; SF George Seamon, 6-8 Sr; PF Vefa Kurtbek, 6-6 Soph; C R.J. Reis, 6-10 Soph.

We host the Portland Pilots for our season opener. They’re strongly favored even though we are at home. We hung with them the first 10 minutes but then wilted and fell behind 41-25 at the half, letting them hit 63% of their shots. Our 13 turnovers in the half didn’t help. 21 of our 25 points were by our guards.

We stayed behind by 10-15 points through most of the half and ended up losing 80-61. The Pilots hit 63% of their shots. We had 20 turnovers. But we did hit 8 of 15 of our 3’s. We only have 3 guards on our roster, but the three carried what offense we were able to generate. They hit 13 of 24 from the field including 7 of 8 from beyond the arc. PG Chris Smith scored 19, PG J.B. Parker had 10, and SG Stacey Walker chipped in 9. None of our players had more than 3 rebounds. Reserve PF Larry Smith popped in 21 points for Portland.

 

 

Game #2, Brown Bears (1-1) at Colorado Buffaloes (0-1)

 

Again we have a home game and again we’re the underdog. It takes 2-1/2 minutes for either team to score, but we hit the first bucket and after 5 minutes of play we’re up 10-4. Is that an omen? But at the midpoint of the first half, Brown takes their first lead at 14-13. The Bears hold a small lead through most of the remainder of the half. But in the last two minutes we come back and on the last play of the half, we execute a perfect pick and roll and score just before the buzzer sounds to take a 32-30 lead into the locker room. Again we have too many turnovers (11) but shoot well (52%). SG Stacey Walker leads our scoring with 8 points, but we get good production from our entire starting five.

We pull ahead 40-32 after 4-1/2 minutes of play in the 2nd half. But we can’t maintain our momentum and let Brown come back to take a 42-41 lead. We make another run to lead 50-43 with 8-1/2 minutes remaining. Three minutes later we open our first double digit lead at 57-47. We hang on to come away with my first win at Colorado. The final score: Colorado-66, Brown-58.

We played well, out-rebounding the Bears 35-28 and out-shooting them 47% to 39%, but had 18 turnovers to the Bears’ 13. Ultimately the fact that we got to the line 20 more times than Brown and scored 13 more points at the free throw line was the difference in the game.

SG Stacey Walker finished with 14 points. PG Chris Smith put in 13 points plus had 5 assists, 7 rebounds, a steal and 2 blocks. PF Vela Kurtbek scored 12 and grabbed 8 boards. C Duez Jones scored 15 for Brown.

[PointGuard 70]

Impressions after the first week of play:

We’re 1-1 but both games were on our home court, so nothing to crow about. We’re averaging 63.5 ppg but have given up 69.0 ppg to our opponents. Turnovers are a problem…we’ve averaged 19.0 topg while our opponents have made 14.5 topg.

Our guards have been most productive offensively. I expected PG Chris Smith to be our ‘star’…and he has lived up to that so far. He’s averaging 16 ppg, 4.5 apg, and 5 rpg and has his 42% of his FG’s, 70% of his 3’s, and 83% of his FT’s. SG Stacey Walker is averaging 11.5 ppg while hitting 69% of his FG’s, 100% of his 3’s, and 80% of his FT’s, but has just 0.5 apg while making 2.5 topg and is only averaging 2 rpg. Our only other guard is J.B. Parker who has been productive, averaging 5.5 ppg and has hit 60% of his FG’s, 50% of his 3’s and 67% of his FT’s. But while he’s listed as a PG, he has yet to dish out an assist and is averaging 1.5 topg so he’s performed better at SG than PG. I wish we had another guard on our bench.

George Seamon is our only SF. He’s yet to truly impress, averaging 5.5 ppg while shooting poorly and averaging 3.5 rpg. I’ve tried several of our interior guys to backup George, but no one has really been able to step up at the position. So we need to keep experimenting.

Vefa Kurtbek has played strongly at PF. He’s averaging 9.0 ppg while hitting 50% of his FG attempts and is averaging 4.5 rpg and 2.5 apg. Primoz Pohek has done well coming in off the bench at PF particularly since he is just a freshman, averaging 4.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, and 1.5 apg. Jacob Anderson and Mat Hunter have been less productive at PF as reserves.

R.J. Reis has been less that stellar at C, averaging 3.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, and 2.0 apg. Backing him up has been 7’1” Ryan Blackshear who has done better offensively (6.0 ppg) but only is averaging 1.0 rpg and 1.0 apg.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #3, Seattle Redhawks (0-3) at Colorado Buffaloes (1-1)

Seattle has only scored between 42 and 47 points in their first 3 games while giving up 66-72 points each game. I started Ryan Blackshear in place of R.J. Reis at C for this game since Blackshear has been a better scorer in our first two games. PG Chris Smith and PF Vefa Kurtbek combine to score 16 of our first 18 points with Smith connecting on four 3’s and we lead by 7 after 11 minutes of play. Seattle out-shoots us 56% to 44% and out-rebounds us 15-9, but we have found a team that turns the ball over more than we do. The Redhawks have 14 turnovers in the half. For the first time, we control the ball well and only have 3 turnovers. Turnovers plus our hitting 6 of 9 from beyond the arc produce a 36-21 halftime advantage for us. Chris Smith finishes the half hitting 5 of 7 of is 3PA to garner 15 points.

Noticing that Stacey Walker seems very adept at finding and feeding the ball to guys who can score, I begin the 2nd half by flip-flopping him and Smith at the two guard positions to see how he’ll do at the point and take better advantage of Smith’s hot shooting. Seattle’s ineptitude at controlling the ball continues and their massive turnover numbers increase, allowing us to pull ahead by a 50-30 score with 8:39 to play. Seattle finishes the game hitting 51% of their shots compared to 48% by us and controlling the boards 28-17, but when a team turns the ball over 27 times compared to our 6 times, it’s tough to win. And we take advantage of their lack of ball control to drub them 76-49 and keep their scoring to under 50 points thus far this season. The Redhawks PG Dan Smith committed 12 turnovers on his own. C Horatio Torrez scored 14 and grabbed 8 rebounds for Seattle.

Chris Smith scored 19, J.B. Parker (who I keep at SG rather than PG) scored 11 coming off the bench, and PF Vefa Kurtbek finished with 10 points. Stacey Walker dished out 8 assists confirming to me that he will be better at PG and thus allowing me to play Chris Smith at SG. After a scoreless first half, SF George Seamon scored 8 in the 2nd half so that he and Primoz Pohek combined to score 15. Pohek’s performance gives me confidence in having him be the principal sub for Seamon at SF for the foreseeable future.


Game #4, Colorado Buffaloes (2-1) at Cornell Big Red (0-4)

We start off well but midway through the first half we go cold while Cornell goes hot. By the end of the half we trail 38-26 primarily due to our allowing Cornell to hit 57% of their shots while we could only manage to knock down 32% of our shots. SG Chris Smith popped in 10 points for us, but SG Mike Chambers scored 12 for Cornell.

My halftime pep talk falls flat as well let the Big Red score the first 9 points of the second half and we trail by 21. We never get close enough to worry Cornell but a late run cuts the final margin of our loss to 74-64. We only hit 39% of our field goals while Cornell canned 53% of theirs. We held an 18-13 turnover advantage but lost the battle of the boards 31-22.

SG Chris Smith again tops our scoring with 19 points with PG Stacey Walker hitting for 13 and C Ryan Blackshear adding 10. Freshman Primoz Pohek had another solid game at SF, scoring 8 points in 20 minutes of play. For Cornell C Curtis Wall scored 24 and hauled in 7 boards.

Losing to a team like Cornell like we did tonight means the road will likely be a miserable place for us this season.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #5: North Texas Mean Green (2-2) at Colorado Buffaloes (2-2)

This is the 2nd game in a row we’re playing a team with a color as their nickname. I hope we do better against Green than we did against Red. SG Gavin Woodley is North Texas’s go-to guy and he’s produced as such, averaging 18.3 ppg and hitting 58% of his FGA and 53% of his 3PA. The rest of their team hasn’t shot very well thus far. We’ve either got to stop Woodley or hold the rest of their team down.

Neither offense could ignite in the early-going so that after 8 minutes of play we led 6-5. At that point we began to hit some shots but our defense remained stout and we finished the half up 31-14. North Texas only hit 20% of their shots and turned the ball over 14 times. SG Chris Smith led us offensively with 11 points. We held Gavin Woodley’s scoring to 6 points as he hit just 22% of his shots.

We continued to dominate in the 2nd half going ahead by as much as 26 points and stomping the Mean Green by a score of 76-52. We hit 49% of our shots compared to 32% by North Texas and we held a 20-11 turnover advantage. We scored 34 points in the paint, a big improvement over our previous games. 

SG/PF Chris Smith again shot well as he scored 26 points. Smith also had 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots. SF George Seamon has his best game, scoring 15 while grabbing 5 rebounds. SF Primoz Pohek again supplied some punch coming off the bench as he scored 9 points (the guys have given him the nickname “Primetime”). PF Vefa Kurtbek (called “Vee” by the players ) led our rebounding effort with 8 boards and he also had 5 assists. For North Texas SG Gavin Woodley scored 15 but was 5 of 16 from the field.

We finish the month of November with a 3-2 record but needed to play 4 of our 5 games at home to achieve that. Chris Smith leads our scoring with 19.2 ppg (best in the Pac 12). “Smitty” is also our assist leader with 4.0 apg. “Vee” Kurtbek’s 5.0 rpg makes him our top rebounder. Our team’s averaging 68.2 ppg while giving up 62.6 ppg.

Youngstown State, my old team, is 2-2 with C Will O’Neil averaging 14.5 ppg and 7.3 rpg.


Game #6: California State Bakersfield Roadrunners (5-2) at Colorado Buffaloes (3-2)

After running off 5 straight victories (including wins over Bowling Green and Western Michigan) to begin the season, the Roadrunners enter the game against us with a two game loss streak. Three of their players are averaging in double figures and 3 others are close to scoring in double figures.

We came out playing raggedly and PG Chris Smith was charged with 2 fouls after less than 3 minutes of play. But after trailing by 5 points, the team pulled it together. With 10:19 left in the half we were ahead 20-11. But the Roadrunners went on a run and scored 10 unanswered points to retake the lead. We didn’t fold though, and came back to take a 38-34 halftime advantage. Our leading scorers were PG Stacey Walker and SF/SG George Seamon with 10 points apiece. 

Midway through the 2nd half we trailed 57-43 as our offense had gone dead. Due to CSU Bakersfield outshooting us 54% to 39% and our lackluster effort, we were beaten in this game 71-61. SF/SG George Seamon scored 13 and pulled down 7 rebounds and PG/SG Stacey Walker hit for 12. 

Reserve PF Jacob Anderson strained his calf and likely will be unavailable for 7-10 days.

[PointGuard 70]

1st Round of Golden State Classic Tournament

Game #7: #5 seed Colorado Buffaloes (3-3) vs #4 seed UAB Blazers (2-4)

Two of the Blazers’ losses were against Georgia Tech and #25 ranked Gonzaga, so even though they have a losing record, they are heavily favored in this game.

Turnovers plagued us early in the game causing us to fall 5 points behind the Blazers. But we shot well and tied the game at 13-13 when J.B. Parker hit a 3 with 10-1/2 minutes left in the first half. But we were unable to score for the next 8 minutes which allowed UAB to take a 10 point lead. The half ended with us on the short end of a 27-20 score. Reserve SG/PF J.B. Parker hit for 8 points. I chewed out the team at the half due their 9 turnovers.

We kept the game close but late in the half the refs sent the Blazers repeatedly to the foul line and we fell behind by as much as 19 points before narrowing the gap in the last few minutes. The gap had been too much though and we lost 68-57. UAB didn’t play all that well, making our lack of talent even more apparent. So, a quick exit from the tournament.

We had 4 player score in double figures: SG/PG J.B. Parker-12, PG/SG Stacey Walker-11, PF Vee Kurtbek-10, and SF George Seamon-10. Unfortunately Chris Smith was simply a non-factor throughout the game.

 

Bucknell, the #6 seed, won the tournament after defeating #3 seed Iowa State, #2 seed Georgia and then #1 seed Georgia Tech in the championship game. 


Game #8: Penn State Nittany Lions (1-4) at Colorado Buffaloes (3-4)

We started out well and built a 17 point lead, but with Chris Smith and George Seamon benched due to foul trouble, Penn State closed the gap late In the half. Our lead shrunk to 40-32 at the break. PF Vee Kurtbek led our scoring with 8 points while SG Ronnie Lockwood dropped in 10 points for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State tied the game at 43-43 just 3 minutes into the 2nd half. We gradually carved back a lead as we paraded to the foul line. We came away with an 83-74 victory. 

SF George Seamon dropped in 18 points, PF Vee Vertbek hit for 13 plus grabbed 8 rebounds, PG Stacey Walker scored 12, and SG J.B. Parker added 10. Penn State’s SG Ronnie Lockwood scored 25 points.

SG/PG Chris Smith strained his hamstring in the 2nd half. We’ll have to evaluate his progress daily to determine if he will be ready to play in our next game.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #9: Valparaiso Crusaders (0-8) at Colorado Buffaloes (4-4)

This was our last tune up prior to beginning Pac-12 play. We’re starting Chris Smith, but will limit his time on the court to not overtax his hamstring. Both teams fought it out in the first half during which there were 10 lead changes and 5 ties. In the latter stages of the half we opened a 9 point lead only to allow Valparaiso to creep within 3 at the buzzer as they cut our lead to 40-37. PF Mat Hunter came in off the bench for us to score 9 points.

We trailed by a small margin for much of the 2nd half, but pulled ahead late in the half. With 2-1/2 minutes to go, we led 73-70. Chris Smith then drove to the baseline and turned to put up a 12 footer that fell through the net giving us a 5 point lead. Following a missed 3 pointer by the Crusaders, George Seamon dropped in a baseline jumper to make it 77-70 with 1:52 remaining. Valparaiso missed another 3 but grabbed an offensive rebound. But Seamon picked off a pass and the Crusaders were forced to foul. Smith sunk both free throws making it 79-70. Valparaiso again failed to make a 3. We rebounded and were immediately fouled, but Seamon missed the first of a 1-and-1. Our continued tenacious defense kept the Crusaders from scoring and we came away with an 82-70 victory. We hit 60% of our FG attempts and 50% of our 3 point shots.

SF George Seamon scored 17, PF Mat Hunter knocked down 16 points, and PG/SG Chris Smith finished with 11 points while our 2 centers, Ryan Blackshear and R.J. Reis, combined for 16 points and 9 rebounds.

And what’s happening with my old team Youngstown State? At the conclusion of their pre-conference schedule, they have a dismal 4-5 record with an RPI of 258. C Will O’Neil has been injured for the last few games so didn’t start 2 games and played limited minutes in 2 other games. He’s now averaging just 8.6 ppg and 5.3 rpg. That’s very disappointing since it’s really jeopardizing his chances to get drafted by the NBA after conclusion of his collegiate career this season. PF Donnie Williams who played well as a freshman starter last season has not started at all this year and is only averaging just 12.2 minutes of play per game. Freshman SG Doylan Anderson is the leading scorer for the Penguins, averaging 15.1 ppg.


End of pre-conference play

So we move on to conference play with a 5-4 record that looks pretty good, but our pre-conference schedule was so weak that our RPI is 344th best in the nation. The prognosis is that we’re in for a very rough time of it when we play Pac-12 opponents. Arizona is #3 in the polls, Oregon is #11, Stanford is #12, and California is #18. Just two Pac-12 teams are under .500 with Washington State having a 4-5 record and Oregon State possessing a 1-8 record, but even Oregon State has a better RPI than ours.

Leading our scoring was PG/SG Chris Smith who is averaging 13.9 ppg. SF George Seamon is averaging 12.1 ppg and SG/PG Stacey Walker has scored at a 10.2 ppg average. Seamon and Vee Kurtbek are our top rebounders with both averaging 4.8 rpg. Leading in assists are Smith with 3.2 apg, Walker with 3.1 apg, and Kurtbek with 2.8 apg.

We got the bad news this week that freshman Primoz Pohek finished the term with a 1.8 GPA so will be ineligible the rest of the season. I''m pissed since I've been very successful at keeping players' GPA's well above 2.0. While not an academic all-star, Primoz seemed to be safely above 2.0, but then he simply tubed his finals, badly enough that his GPA for his first term here at Colorado . He’d been playing well for us, averaging 5.9 ppg and 2.3 rpg while playing 17.1 mpg coming off the bench. Beyond losing a key sub, this cuts our available reserves to four players. We now have just 6 scholarship players and 3 walkons who can play and then 5 ineligible transfer players and Pohek, who is ineligible academically. Argghhh!