OOC Opponents

[Dane Pound]

SACRED HEART

RPI-250

Last season would have been a historical one for Sacred Heart had it ended two weeks early. Instead, four consecutive defeats to close out the year robbed the Pioneers of their first-ever winning campaign (12-15) at the Division I level, and more importantly dropped them out of NEC playoff contention. Sacred Heart led the NEC is scoring last season (73.6 ppg), but cancelled that out with a last-place showing on the defensive end (77.6 ppg). With just two starters back from a year ago, the Pioneers are looking at another finish in the lower half of the NEC standings. The team will be strong up front with the return of starting forwards Kibwe Trim and Joey Henley and reserve center Mading Mading. Trim averaged 10.6 ppg and 4.8 rpg a year ago, while Henley contributed 8.7 ppg and 5.4 rpg. As for Mading, he has tremendous size at 7-2 and that allowed him to lead the club with 40 blocked shots last season. Jarrid Frye is the club's most experienced player in the backcourt after averaging 6.6 ppg off the back in 2003-04. He will be joined by 6-4 freshman Drew Shubik, who will have to play above and beyond expectations if Sacred Heart is to enjoy its first-ever winning season in the NEC.

Sacred Heart Fan Forum

 

SIENA

RPI-191

Whether they want to admit it or not, the winds of change are blowing hard through Loudonville, New York this season as the Saints try to figure out what exactly they have to work with for the upcoming 2004-05 campaign. The squad now contains no less than six freshmen on the 13-man roster which means there are going to be some serious growing pains in the early going. Add to that the fact that the list now includes as many as nine guards means that Siena, which has been one of the nation's best rebounding teams over the last couple of campaigns, is probably going to have trouble making it three years in a row. However, head coach Rob Lanier refuses to throw in the towel even before the first tip-off of the season against Oregon State in North Carolina on November 17th. In fact, Lanier is thinking that this could be his greatest coaching effort as he enters his fourth year with the Saints. A Second-Team All-MAAC selection last year, junior forward Michael Haddix gives this team enough punch up front that it would be all that easy to push them around in the paint. Haddix put up very strong numbers in 2003-04, sporting averages of 15.6 points and nine rebounds per contest and could get even better production if junior guard Antoine Jordan returns to form now that he should be fully recovered from a severe ankle injury that limited his availability last year. Put Tommy Mitchell (10.4 ppg) next to Jordan in the backcourt again and when healthy the duo is one of the best in the MAAC.

 

WAGNER

RPI-222

After winning the regular season crown and NEC Tournament title in 2002-03, the Seahawks fell off a bit last season finishing in a tie for fourth place at 10-8. The team's overall mark of 13-16 was also a step back from the previous season when it went an impressive 21-10. With the loss of three starters, who accounted for almost 50 percent of the scoring last season, the Seahawks four-year run of NEC Tournament berths will surely be in danger this year. Forward Sean Munson will be burdened with most of the load this year after averaging 9.1 ppg and 8.6 rpg last season. Swingman Jamal Webb, the team's only other returning starter, will also have to do better than his 6.0 ppg average from 2003-04. Reserves DeEarnest McLemore (3.2 ppg), Durell Vinson (2.6 ppg) and Jerome Day (2.1 ppg) will have expanded roles in 2004-05 and how they react will surely determine how successful Wagner is.

Wagner Fan Forum

 

LEHIGH

RPI-195

Led by two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Billy Taylor, the Mountain Hawks come into the 2004-05 season as the defending league champs. Repeating won't be an easy task, however, as the team lost its leading scorer, assist man and thief in last year's PL Player of the Year, Austen Rowland. Still, the Hawks welcome back four starters, including sophomore guard Jose Olivero. As a PL All-Freshman Team pick a year ago, Olivero averaged 11.6 ppg and hit 51 three-pointers. Big things are expected from senior forward Earl Nurse (6.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and sophomore center Jason Mgebroff (7.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg). Junior guard Joe Knight, a transfer from High Point where he earned Big South Rookie of the Year honors in 2003, is being looked at as a guy who could potentially fill the void left by Rowland, while senior swingman Nick Monserez should add some spark as well. Another guy to keep an eye on is freshman forward Bryan White, who along with Knight could provide some energy off the bench.

Lehigh Fan Forum

   

 ARMY

RPI-318

The Black Knights are young and really have no idea what it's like to win on a consistent basis. Coach Jim Crews' squad features just one senior and one junior, with sophomores ruling the roost (11 in all). Guard Matt Bell is the team's top returning scorer, rebounder and assist man, but he averaged just 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game last season. Joining Bell in the Army backcourt is Travis Owsley, but he too struggled offensively in 2003-04, netting just 5.4 ppg. Up front, the Black Knights will rely heavily on Colin Harris to provide some offensive punch, while Erik Engstrom could become a force on the glass. Army won just six games in Crews' second year at the helm last season, and while the team is likely to be competitive in more games this time around, there are no guarantees that will translate into more victories.

Army Fan Forum

 

LONG ISLAND

RPI-288

The Blackbirds finished in last place in the NEC standings last season with just four wins against 14 losses. However, two of those wins came against league co-champions Monmouth and St. Francis (NY). Still the team finished just 8-19 overall which included a league-worst 1-13 road mark. This season three starters are welcomed back, including the 2003-04 NEC Rookie of the Year James Williams. The 5-10 guard averaged 11.5 ppg and 3.8 rpg last season and with a year of experience under his belt he should do even better in 2004-05. Guard Aubin Scott also returns after a solid freshman campaign in which he averaged 4.8 ppg and 2.5 rpg. Evan Meekins, yet another sophomore, gives the Blackbirds some depth in the backcourt after contributing 6.6 ppg off the bench a year ago. Up front the squad is paced by Esa Maki-Tulokas, who averaged 8.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Derek Bell (6.9 ppg and 4.6 rpg) and Eugene Kotorobia (6.6 ppg and 4.7 rpg) will move into starting roles in the frontcourt after seeing time off the bench last season. With nine players being either freshmen or sophomores, Long Island is another year away from moving up in the NEC standings.  

Long Island Fan Forum

 

VILLANOVA

RPI-57

First things first with the Wildcats and that's that head coach Jay Wright is perched firmly on the hot seat in the Philadelphia suburbs this season. Sure, he has a record of 52-46 in three years with Villanova, but when he arrived on the mainline he was expected to bring the program back from the brink and into the national spotlight again. Things got off to a shaky start in 2003-04 when the 'Cats fell to Chaminade in the Maui Invitational. There were wins over weak opponents like La Salle, Penn, Northeastern and Columbia, but there was also a stretch towards the end of the campaign when the team won just once in eight games. Allegations of NCAA rules violations hurt the integrity of the already fragile program which had just survived a phone card scandal. And now, just weeks before the opening game for the Wildcats, it turns out that junior forward/center Jason Fraser is out for the time being after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in late October. All that means is that junior guard Allen Ray now has even more responsibility when it comes to getting this team ready for Big East play. Ray led all scorers last season with 17.3 ppg, while Fraser paced the squad with a team- high 7.1 rpg as well as 39 blocks in 27 games. Junior forward Curtis Sumpter, who was selected to compete with the USA Basketball squad at the World Championships in Nova Scotia over the summer, also added seven rebounds and 14.3 ppg to the Villanova attack. With injury being the topic of choice for the Wildcats, it is also worthy to mention that the lone newcomer to the program, local product Kyle Lowry tore his left ACL in late August and is now sidelined indefinitely.

Villanova Fan Forum

 

 SYRACUSE

RPI-15

Up until two seasons ago the Orange were always the bridesmaids and never the bride, but coach Jim Boeheim finally broke through in his 27th season with the program in 2002-03. Last year the team took a few steps back with a 23-8 record because Carmelo Anthony opted to make the jump to the pros after winning that elusive championship in Syracuse. Except for guard Billy Edelin who had his share of strong efforts for the Orange last season, the heart of the team is still intact and that's why the Orange are favored to bring the regular season title in the Big East Conference back home to upstate New York. Forward Hakim Warrick could have made his move to the NBA, but he understands that getting a little more tutelage at this level will go a long way in extending his longevity in the pros, and that's why he has returned to the Carrier Dome ,after averaging 19.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season. He will team with Gerry McNamara once again to form a potent one-two punch. The pair was the most productive duo in the league last season, combining for 37 ppg and 200 of the unit's 465 assists. McNamara took the bulk of his shots from behind the three-point line, hitting on 105-of-270 chances, his 87.2 percent accuracy at the free-throw line usually preventing opponents from getting too physical with him in desperate times. Fellow guard Josh Pace provided a competent outlet for McNamara when he ran into trouble, while senior center Craig Forth picked his spots to score and crash the boards.

Orange Nation Message Board

   

DARTMOUTH

RPI-325

With a new head coach in Terry Dunn and all five starters from last season back in the fold, the Big Green are obviously better than last season. The main reason for the high hopes of an improved season is sophomore sensation Leon Pattman, who averaged a team-high 13.2 ppg to go along with 4.4 rpg. His tremendous play as a freshman won him Rookie-of-the-Year honors in the Ivy League. One objective that coach Dunn would like to achieve this season is making David Gardner more of a threat on offense, considering the 6-10 center averaged just 8.9 ppg last year. Steve Callahan, who was named co- captain along with Gardner for this season, must be more consistent on offense as the guard posted just 7.9 ppg while shooting only 39 percent from the field. Forward Calvin Arnold was not much help on offense last season, averaging only 5.2 ppg, and although Dunn would like to see improvement there, he should be happy with the defensive play of the 6-9 junior, especially if he duplicates last season's 40 blocked shots.

Ivy Basketball Forum

Edited November 12, 2004 by Dane Pound

[Patch]

Right now the Danes are a 5-23 (3-15 in AE play) team with a lot of promise.

 

Let's hope the promise is reality.

 

With a scrimmage this weekend I wonder what is happening with B. Wilson, Dyson and "Q"!

 

At Sacred Heart on the 19th we'll find out.....

 

1. If we're healthy

2. If there is any rust on the 3 who sat out last season.

3. Who is starting and who is finishing.

4. We all make predictions and we don't even know who is starting and/or who is healthy.

5. is there enough shots and minutes available - CHEMISTRY!!!!!!

 

Let the Play begin, I'm anxious and excited!!!!

 

I'm also cautiously optimistic!