Green Tinted Glasses » Niners

GTG.net presents – “Why We Hate…” – Fordham

J Felt — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:17:57 +0000

Beginning today, a day you’ll never remember, GreenTintedGlasses.net is launching our brand new all important “off season” series…

“Why We Hate…”

Every Wednesday (or Thursday if we’re lazy) we’ll be bringing you another chapter in the series, starting with the teams of the A14. And since we tend to hate the best teams more (fancy that), we’ll be going in the order they finished conference play in the 2009-2010 season. In all honesty we could be kicking off with “Why We Hate Memories from the 2009-2010 Season”, but who wants to re-live the pain and anguish from the season that ended with six men on the floor? Not us, that’s for sure. That would be like forcing everyone to watch Titanic but deleting out the Propeller Guy scene, and we’re not that evil. With that said, let’s get things started with the team that everyone loves to… be ambivalent about…

“Why We Hate…the Fordham Rams”

School: Fordham University
Mascot: Rams
Founded: 1841
Location: New York City, NY
Colors: Maroon and White
2009-2010 record: 2-26 (0-16 conference)

J Felt: Ah yes, the Rams of Fordham. Look at that record, you read it right, they only won 2 games last season, none of them in conference. As such, I’m finding it hard to hate on them. How can you put down that fan base when they only had two games to celebrate last year? That’s like losing your virginity at age 28, have a dry spell until 34, and then never sealing the deal again, I can only feel sympathy.

You know you suck when your banner is larger than your crowd.

According to Wiki, their motto is Sapientia et Doctrina, which can only mean “be terrible at basketball”. Their gym is so old it originally had actual peach baskets and predates true Canadian independence. Their student section is asked not to jump for fear of game delays due to falling roof debris. I know, I know, it’s a historic place to play, but when your locker rooms likely resemble those from Hoosiers it’s time for an update.

As for the moment in Charlotte vs. Fordham history that could spark the most hatred… it would have to be last season for sure. When their crappy program with one good player almost beat us. And then their coach tried to get in a fight with Shamari Spears. Doesn’t he realize that Spears is made from 90% BadAss and is basically impossible to beat up? (The other 10% is mostly cheeseburgers and pizza, from what I understand)

On the 49erFanatics.com HateMeter, I’m giving them a 3 out of 10. While I tend to dislike almost all basketball programs but our own, I have too much sympathy for their fanbase to hate them anymore.

NLP: I can hate anything. For instance, I hate J Felt for referencing Canadia. Who does that? Only a Canadian.

But on to Fordham. I hate them because they were the game that showed the wheels were starting to come off the Niners season last year. Chris Gaston absolutely destroyed us inside and out, and be it not for the heroics of Derrio Green we would have been their lone victory of conference play.

They’re also a crappy program playing in a crappy gym. Their administration is also craptastic and worthy of my glorious hatred, investing absolutely no resources into their program for decades. You know you’re loathsome when you have to send an open letter to your fan base purporting to still have a pulse and denying the transfer of one of your players (Jio Fontan). I also have plenty of hatred for their attitude towards us when joining the A10 over concerns about the university’s academics. Sorry Rams, the only anvil in the A10(14) are you. Go join the Patriot League and get whooped on by Lehigh instead of pulling the rest of us down. Oh, and EAD.

So on to the 49erfanatics.com HateMeter: 4 These guys suck and I hate them, but we’re talking a daxified level of hatred. They annoy the shiitake mushrooms out of me, but not enough to really bring on the hatred. Like J Felt said, it’s more apathy and a hatred of their failure.

GreenTintedGlasses.net Hate Meter Score: 3.5

Put your votes in the poll and in the comments!

Niners set to take on Hawks, hope to return to winning ways.

NLP — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:05:58 +0000

February is the make of break month for most teams with aspirations for at-large bids to the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately for the Niners (18-8, 8-4), it’s been the latter case as they have dropped 3 straight A10 contests to drop to 2-3 for the month. Wednesday night the Niners hope to set their course back in a winning direction when they host the Saint Joseph’s Hawks (9-18, 3-10).

During the stretch of losses, a common theme has been a dichotomy of shooting. In plain english the Niners are shooting like crap and opponents are shooing lights out, and there’s no in-between. Never a good recipe during the stretch run of the season. The last two losses have been especially difficult to stomach as they have come on the court of Halton Arena and both featured Niner leads that were put away with lengthy runs, with the opponent never looking back after ripping the lead away.

Perhaps Saint Joe's needs the cruel tutelage of Pai Mei.

The goods news is we’re playing Saint Joseph’s tomorrow (although I thought the same thing when we played Fordham… we know how that went). The Hawks are struggling under Phil Martelli this season, who is typically billed amongst the best coaches in the league. It’s surprising to see a team with a fair amount of upperclassmen leadership struggling so mightily, particular under Martelli’s leadership.

Statistically, the Hawks have done little well this season as they rank amongst the bottom of the nation in rebounding (minus 9 in this category, ouch), field goal percentage, and 3-point shooting. Not a combination that’s particularly conducive to winning, though they do get to the line somewhat frequently.

Personnel wise, Saint Joseph’s gets most of its production from a trio of upperclassmen. Darrin Govens leads the team in scoring as a 6’0 Sr. G, putting up 13.1 ppg. on 38.2% shooting from the field. The bulk of his baskets come from behind the arc though, so his shooting percentage is somewhat deflated by his tendency to shoot the three-point shot. Though he doesn’t particularly excel from long range, he hits 33.7% of his attempts and considering the volume he attempts, his perimeter game warrants considerable attention from the Niners “defense”. Garrett Williamson is 2nd on the team in scoring and is the top assist distributor for the Hawks, averaging 12.1 ppg. and 3.7 apg. on the season. The Sr. swingman is much more of slasher than Govens, preferring to score at the rim or drawing fouls and getting to the line -Govens leads the team in FTAs. As this has been a particular weakness for the Niners this season, it will be interesting to see how Bobby Lutz divvies up defensive responsibilities to account for the contrasting styles of Williamson and Govens.

The top post player this season for the Hawks is 6’7 Jr. F Idris Hilliard. Hilliard scores 10.2 ppg. on 47% shooting and is a marksman from outside, connecting on 1-7 from the arc. Watch me jinx us and he goes 11-14 from 3. I might have to bring some lighter fluid to this game in case self-immolation is required.

Though the Hawks have struggled mightily this season they do get regular contributions from some underclassmen that hope to be impact players going forward. Todd O’Brien is a 6’11 So. C who leads the in rebounding (a modest 6.2 rpg.) and 5.6 ppg. Carl Jones is also a frequent contributor scoring 9.3 ppg. on 35.4% shooting, with about half his makes coming from behind the arc.

To win this game the Niners need to follow a very simple but suddenly elusive recipe: Make shots, and keep the other team from doing the same. Against Dayton the Niners shot 25% from the field. Dayton shot 48.1%. In the following game against Duquesne the Dukes shot 48.4% to the Niners’ 32.8%. On Saturday versus Xavier, the Niners shot 36.5% and the Musketeers 52%. You won’t win many games that way. One saving grace is the Niners tend to draw a lot of fouls, which can mitigate poor shooting; however, it seemed Shamari Spears despite his best efforts couldn’t get a whistle to save his life against Xavier. Now I’m not one to cry sour grapes since we couldn’t hit a shot or stop Xavier, but if Spears can get some foul calls, perhaps a 12 point game is really a 6 point game going down the stretch and who knows what can happen

NLP after the game if Idris Hilliard has his way.

then. Still, despite the difficult day I’ve been impressed with Spears’ effort on both ends. Though not a natural defender by any means he’s rebounded better and even managed one hell of a block shot. Keep it up Sherman!

One player who’s continued to struggle of late has been Derrio Green. The dynamic Sophomore has been a revelation at the SG position but may have hit the wall a bit in his first season at DI play. Though the future remains exceptionally bright for

Derrio,the present must seem like an abyss to him. I do like his attitude and don’t think he’s really been forcing shots, so hopefully it’s merely a slump he can play his way out of.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s time to just set aside the idea of the NCAA tournament and focus on the immediate. For anything good to come out of the remainder of the season, the Niners need to focus on Wednesday’s game and Wednesday’s game only. The winning has evaporated and play on both ends of the court has suffered. These are the times where a player needs to emerge from the pack and lead this team forward. Whether it’s DiJuan Harris, Shamari Spears, or a newcomer, someone has to take on the onus of winning and bring the team along with him. Can we do it? At least tomorrow night, I say yes.

An’Juan is our hero – LaSalle Postgame

NLP — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 06:05:01 +0000

Wilderness provided the heroics with the game winner against La Salle.

Well that was pretty much the definition of awesome. D-Fo had his birthday wish delivered in the form of a game-winning runner delivered by the hands of An’Juan Wilderness as time expired at Tom Gola Arena. The basket broke a 82-82 tie with the La Salle Explorers and gave the Niners another impressive road victory as they try to keep place with Xavier and Temple at the top of the A10 standings. The win sets up a battle for first place Wednesday against #16 Temple in Halton Arena (7PM tip. If you don’t have tickets yet I’m gonna hunt you down).

Coming out of the opening tip, the Niners pulled out to an early 8 point lead thanks in large part to the hot shooting of Derrio Green. Green scored 9 straight points for the Niners on three 3-point baskets and layups by Chris Braswell and An’Juan Wilderness put Charlotte ahead 15-7. La Salle would battle back with impressive shooting for long range of their own thanks to sensational Fr. C Aaric Murray. Murray, despite the offensive explosion in the first half, would be limited in action for much of the game due to foul problems, which exacerbated an already thin bench for the Explorers thanks to injuries to Ruben Guillandeaux and Kimmani Barrett, the latter finding out he will likely miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his right foot.

The Niners would again build a first half lead, this time going to the inside game. Shamari Spears, and in particular, Braswell scored often against the big La Salle frontcourt. Braswell did his damage both on the floor and at the line, finish the game with another double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds and a very impressive 9-9 at the foul line). The Explorers would again make a run to tighten the game at the half thanks to Yves Mekongo and Jerrell Williams, who found themselves frequently converting at the foul line in the latter minutes of the first half. When the buzzer sounded to send the game to halftime, the Niners held a small 48-46 advantage.

The second half featured more of the same: the Niners building leads and the Explorers battling back. The lead grew to as many as 11 points for the Niners, and they maintained a 5 point lead with just 2:03 remaining before the La Salle would make one last run. A pair of Rodney Green free throws and a Yves Mekongo 3 pointer tied the game at 82 points apiece with just under a minute remaining. A missed Derrio Green shot left the ball in La Salle’s hands with a chance to win and 25 seconds to work with -basically they could run the clock down and either win it or send it to overtime.

Not so fast. An’Juan Wilderness played tough defense on Rodney Green on a pick and roll with Aaric Murray, causing Green to opt to pass to Murray who was cutting to the basket with possibly a dunk or layup to win it. The pass however sailed off Murray’s fingers out-of-bounds giving the Niners one last chance with a little less than 5 seconds remaining. The 49ers immediately inbounded the ball to An’Juan Wilderness who covered about three-quarters of the court an managed to get off a runner as time expired which found the bottom of the net, giving the Niners the stunning last second victory. It was the 2nd win in 3 games that game on the last possession for the Niners who suddenly find themselves in the unfamiliar role of road warrior in A10 conference play.

The starters again shined for the Niners as they were responsible for 81 of the 84 points scored. The lone bench points came from an Ian Andersen first half 3-pointer. Leading the scoring charge for Charlotte was Shamari “Sherman” Spears who finished with 22 points on 7-12 shooting and 8-11 from the foul line. Derrio Green was the third Niner to reach 20 points for the game, managing exactly that number on 6-14 shooting. Derrio had another good game distributing the ball and leading the team with 7 assists on the game to go with just 1 turnover. The provider of the last-second heroics, An’Juan Wilderness, also had a terrific game with 13 points on 6-7 shooting and adding 4 assists and 3 rebounds. DiJuan Harris didn’t have his best game, fouling out in 33 minutes of action with 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists to go with 3 turnovers. Credit Rodney Green for being a difficult matchup all game for Harris.

Despite being outrebounded by La Salle, the margin was not particularly bad. Finishing just boards behind the Explorers, the Niners managed 11 offensive rebounds including 6 by Braswell. Impressively, Charlotte handed out 23 assists on 27 made baskets as again the Niners did a fantastic job moving the ball on offense, including in transition. Who is this team? What have they done with my Niners of old??? Actually, don’t answer that question. I just want to enjoy this.

In the end, the difference in the game was foul shooting by the Niners. Most, if not all previous Niner teams under Lutz would have lost this game, but Charlotte coverted 23 of 28 foul shots, good for an 82.1% mark. In contrast, La Salle only hit 16 of 23, which was good for 69.6%.

Next up, a first place tumble with the very tough and very well-coached Temple Owls. Here’s to hoping we fill Halton Arena on Wednesday to give Fran Dunphy a not-so-warm welcome to the QC. The average sports fan needs to know how good the Niners, Owls, and A10 are so be sure to get the word out! See you on the 27th.

There was one casualty for the Niners tonight. Charles Dewhurst went down late in the 2nd half with a leg injury. No would yet from the team what the extent of it is, but rumors are an ankle injury. We’ll update you when we get word on the extent of his injury.

Game #19: Niners at Explorers

NLP — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:28:07 +0000

The Forty Niners take to the road again Saturday to play the La Salle Explorers at Tom Gola Arena. The Niners (13-5, 3-1) logged perhaps their most complete win of the season in their most recent game, besting Richmond on the road 71-59 to break a 4-game winning streak for the Spiders against Charlotte. For La Salle (10-8, 2-2), the Explorers enter the game coming off a 19-point win against fellow Big 5 school Penn. For the Niners, Saturday’s game represents an opportunity to get a quality, road victory against a conference foe -something that has been at a premium over the 5 seasons the Niners have competed in the A10.

The Explorers would like to call themselves a veteran squad, but unfortunately injuries have continued to take a toll on the team. Sr. SG Ruben Guillandeaux remains out with a stress fracture in his right foot suffered in Charleston. This is a big loss as he brought size (6’6″), scoring (10+ ppg.), shooting (>30% career 3 pt shooter), and play making (3+ apg.) to the Explorers backcourt. Another La Salle Sr. struggling with an injury is Kimmani Barrett. Barrett has missed the last three games with a sprain to his right foot (do La Salle players only have right foot injuries) and is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game. When available, Barrett does a lot of good things for the Explorers from the SF position, scoring 13.3 ppg. with solid shooting from both the field (46.4%) and from behind the arc (37.9%).

La Salle does have two excellent Srs. that are still healthy in Yves Mekongo and Rodney Green. Mekongo in particular has scored well of late averaging 14.5 ppg. over the last 4 games; however, his shooting has suffered as he’s under 40% for the first time in his career. As for Rodney Green, well he’s nothing short of a beast. The current active leading scorer in the A10 has not disappointed his Sr. campaign averaging just under 18 ppg. along with 5 rpg. and just over 4 apg.

The principle newcomer to the Explorer squad is highly regarded Fr. C Aaric Murray. Murray has certainly not disappointed in his debut, putting up over 12 points a game, leading the team with 7.2 rpg., and blocking over 2 shots a game. Murray is also very well rounded offensively, having the ability to step out and shoot the three effectively, leading the team at 46.5% from behind the arc (of players in the regular rotation). He will definitely be a handle to defend as the Niners have not faced many players this season with his combination of polish and brawn.

The Explorers aren’t particularly deep (due to injuries for one) and play 3 guys more than 35 minutes a game. While they do have a significant size advantage at most positions (Rodney Green is the “shortest” starter at 6’5″), the lack of depth is a problem and could lead to fatigue. Though La Salle does do a good job of limiting fouls compared to the opposition they turn the ball over considerably more than foes. DiJuan Harris and Derrio Green with their speed advantage may be able to harass taller players handling the ball in the open court and the perimeter, though for the latter I expect us to be playing a lot of zone to limit the size advantage.

La Salle will also pose a strong challenge on the boards, especially the offensive glass if the Niners opt for mostly zone defense. The Explorers are outrebounding the opposition by 6.5 rpg. (the Niners only outrebound opponents by 2.8 per game).

Saturday’s game will be difficult for the Forty Niners, but it is winnable. The Niners will have to do several things well to win this game, and avoid a few others.

Keys for Charlotte:

Rebound the ball well. I expect another slugfest like the previous two conference games the Niners have played. Winning the rebound battle probably means winning the game.
Limit turnovers. La Salle doesn’t force a lot of turnovers and as long as we’re patient in the half court like we were against Richmond that shouldn’t be a problem.
Work for open shots in the halfcourt and push the ball when transition opportunities present themselves. We have a speed advantage and they have a turnover issue.

Keys for La Salle:

Force the issue inside to get the Niners in foul trouble.
Crash the boards and dominate the rebounding game.
Limit turnovers by controlling tempo.

I don’t want to take this game for granted, because I don’t. La Salle is well coached, has considerable talent, and a significant size advantage. But the Niners seem to be playing a style of basketball that reminds me more of the 98-99 team I cherish and less of the chuck-and-duck style we abhor. It’ll also be interesting to see how much, if any, playing time Javarris Barnett and Gokhan Sirin get after playing well against Richmond. The former especially.

Niners take to the road to face Musketeers

NLP — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:17:59 +0000

After a hard-fought win over St. Bonaventure, and in hindsight, a not-so-surprising player defection, the 11-4 Charlotte 49ers head to Cincinnati to face the Xavier (pronounced Eggs-savier) Musketeers. Xavier enters the game 10-5 (2-0) with a pair of road wins in A-10 play to open their conference slate. Most recently the Musketeers bested much-improved George Washington in a game that saw Xavier down 11 points in the 2nd half before surging ahead and winning by 7.

Winning at the Cintas Center will be a very tall order for the Niners -no team has won in Cincinnati in the last three years and Xavier was won 24 straight conference home games. Xavier is a very deep, albeit still young team. The Musketeers can do it from inside and out. As a team they hit 45% from the field and an impressive 39% from behind the arc. Choose your poison with Xavier. They rebound the ball about as well as the Niners; a little better on the defensive glass, a little worse on the offensive glass. Xavier turnsover the ball about 13 times a game (similar to the Niners) and generate about the same amount of steals and blocks.

The lone Sr. on the squad is Jason Love, brother of former UCLA standout Kevin Love. Love is a load in the paint at 6’9″ and 265 lbs. He’ll be quite the matchup to contain for Chris Braswell, Shamari Spears, and Phil Jones as he averages nearly a double-double a game: 10.7 ppg. and 9.5 rpg. Joining Love upfront is fellow upperclassman Jamel McLean. McLean had been essentially the same player who averaged 4 and 4 last year for Xavier, but that certainly changed against Wake Forest with an eye-opening 21 point, 10 rebound performance.

For the game tonight it appears Xavier coach Chris Mack again will go with Kenny Frease at the C position, going big as opposed to the three-guard starting lineup Xavier has used often this season. Frease, a 7 foot So., has averaged 6.0 ppg. and 4.3 rpg. in just under 19 minutes of action/game. Despite his considerable size, Frease is a pretty even matchup with the Niners as he’s not particularly fleet of foot. Phil Jones and Chris Braswell could be productive against him when he is in the game.

In the backcourt is where Xavier really excels with a pair of terrific So. guards in Jordan Crawford and Terrell Holloway. Holloway is tied with Love for 2nd on the team in scoring at 10.7 ppg. and also leads the team in assists with 3.8 ppg. He’s also a tremendous asset at the end of games as he sports a better than 90% FT percentage. Though Holloway gets his buckets fairly evenly both inside and outside the arc, he’s a surprisingly poor shooter overall from the field at just over 35%. This presents a bit of a conundrum for the Niners: do they play man and encourage someone like Holloway to drive or play zone and try to take away the Xavier inside game? That problem gets magnified all the greater when considering Crawford, clearly the most talented player on Xavier, and across the A-10 conference. Crawford is a transfer from Indiana who is famous for posterizing Lebron James over the summer.

Crawford is definitely as good as advertised, leading Xavier with 19.3 ppg. and also putting in 5.0 rpg. He’s dangerous both inside and out hitting 43% from the field and just under 30% from behind the arc. Of late, Crawford has been taking the ball to the hoop more, scoring practically at will with his athleticism and finishing. He does have a selfish streak though, and that can work against them when he’s determined to score and forces bad shots in traffic or out of the “flow” of the offense. That’s been less the case recently, and that’s a credit to Chris Mack who’s doing a nice job in his rookie campaign as Xavier’s coach. So back to the problem: how do the Niners defend Xavier? Our hunch is there will be a lot of zone, and perhaps some exotic flavors such as box-and-1 to keep track of Crawford.

This is going to be a battle on par with Duke, Tennessee, and ODU for the Niners. Xavier is about impossible to beat in recent years during A10 play at home and there’s no reason to believe this year will be any different. Though not impossible, a win tonight will be a very tough task for the 49ers. Balanced scoring inside and out is a must and the Niners can not fall into big first half deficits like they have against Duke, ODU, GT, and Tennessee. Xavier is too tough defensively to let Charlotte get back into the game should that happen.

Game #14: Niners look to shoot up Volunteers

NLP — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:19:39 +0000

Wednesday night the Niners roll into Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers in the final non-conference game of the season. The Volunteers, ranked 15th/16th in the polls, will sport a much different look than in their latest victory, a 66-59 victory over the Mempiss Tigers. Tyler Smith, Cam Tatum, Brian Williams, and Melvin Goins will all be suspended for the game (and perhaps beyond) thanks to their recent brush with the law. Despite the depleted roster, the Volunteers are still a dangerous, talent-laden squad with an excellent coach in Bruce Pearl.

The most likely changes to the Vols lineup will be part-time starter J.P. Prince (Sr. G/F) taking over for Tatum. Prince, cousin of NBA star Tayshaun Prince, puts up 6.0 ppg. in just under 20 minutes of action/game. The biggest drop off in play compared to Tatum is from long range. Prince is much less of a threat to hit the 3, managing just one across 12 games this season. What he does add is tremendous length at the swing position. Prince gets a lot of dunks for a wing player and blocks plenty of shots as well, not to mention being tied for 2nd on the team with assists. He could certainly give the Vols some interesting looks defensively if they opt to play zone to preserve players: Imagine Ian trying to shoot over him. SLKDjf;saf. Do not want.

Replacing Tyler Smith in the starting lineup may likely go to Renaldo Woolridge, a backup So. PF who’s built and styled more to be a wing forward than a power forward but manages to get the job done in the paint pulling down 8 boards and blocking a shot in a win against NC A&T. With Smith getting the bulk of the minutes at the PF position, Woolridge has averaged 3.5 ppg. in 8.2 mpg. of play. Although not a deadly shooter from long range, Woolridge can step outside and hit 3-pointers, shooting just under 30% from behind the arc through his young career.

The regular starters are led by Sr. Wayne Chism. Chism is a 6’9 C/F who’s UT’s leading rebounder (5.8 rpg.) and third in scoring at 10.9 ppg. Like seemingly every Volunteer, Chism likes to drift out and shoot the three, and pretty well for someone of his size converting on 35.7% of this attempts. He’s also very solid at the line, making more than 80% of his FTs. He is a bit foul prone averaging 3.0 fouls/game in just over 21 mpg. of play, which could play into the Niner’s hands should the men in green get the inside attack rolling. Leading the offense from the point guard position is Sr. Bobby Maze. Maze typically distributes more than he scores, putting up 7.5 ppg. on a modest 38.4% from the field; however, he is terrific from the foul line. Leading the team in scoring so far this season is terrific So. G Scotty Hopson, averaging 13.3 ppg. on 49.2% from the field and a stellar 41.3% from behind the arc. Oddly enough, he’s a bit suspect at the FT line hitting on 56% of his attempts and somewhat careless with the ball, leading the team in turnovers.

In a game where so many players are missing, it is difficult to gauge how Bruce Pearl will approach the game. Intuitively, it’s likely a given that UT will slow the game down from their usual frenetic pace (they average over 80 ppg.) and dial down their

typical pressure defense (teams average over 20 turnovers against the Vols). The latter certainly comes as a relief to the Niners, as strong defense has been an Achilles’ Heel for Charlotte.

For the Niners, tempo and style of play will be key factors. Clearly with Tennessee the Niners will want to play an intense, physical game, pushing the tempo where appropriate. The inside game absolutely has to be up to snuff, as fouls will eat into a precariously thin Volunteer bench. Shamari Spears needs to be a bigger factor in this game than the GT game, fighting for baskets closer to the rim as opposed to relying heavily on the fade away. Phil Jones should also be a bit more comfortable, as Tennessee is a little smaller up front than Georgia Tech. Two Niners who could play major roles are An’Juan Wilderness and Chris Braswell, who can frequently draw fouls on their defenders with their play close to the basket; however, a repeat of the free-throw shooting performance from the GT game can’t happen. Fouls come more difficultly on the road, and Wilderness in particular needs to convert.

This is becoming a scary sight for Niner foes.

One intriguing matchup will be for whoever defends Derrio Green. Green had a breakout performance against Georgia Tech, lighting the Yellow Jackets up for 31 points. Derrio did it with an array of drives to the basket and superior perimeter shooting, showing signs of being the kind of complete shooting guard the Niners have lacked for years. Teams are now going to have to pay major attention to the So. guard, possibly freeing up more room for Spears down low. Play zone against Derrio Green at your own peril!

So let’s wrap this up; this author is getting prolix. Despite the holes in the UT roster due to suspension, they remain a very dangerous team playing in an environment where they seldom lose.

Regardless, the Niners need to come into this game with the attitude they can win, and unlike the GT game, execute the entire game. A first half performance like they had Saturday will put them down by 25 to the Volunteers. That simply can’t happen for the Niners to have any chance at victory.

Charlotte hosts Georgia Tech, look to swat Yellow Jackets.

NLP — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:35:43 +0000

Niners look to take the sting out of the Yellow Jackets.

We wish we could pretend this is just another non-conference home again versus a team playing in a world where conference affiliation doesn’t matter. But it does. Saturday 20th ranked Georgia Tech swarms into Halton Arena (7 PM start time, VERY few tickets remaining) marking just the 2nd time an ACC member has had the testicular fortitude to play the Niners in a true home game.

GT enters the game sporting the same 10-2 record as the Niners, though this will be just their 2nd true road game of the season. Most recently, GT defeated Winston Salem State 78-43. That game was the second already against a common foe for the Niners. The Yellow Jackets also bested Mercer, whom the Niners played on Tuesday, by 11 points -the same margin as the 49ers victory. The two losses for GT came against quality competition: a 4-point loss to A10 pre-season favorite Dayton in Puerto Rico and a 7-point OT home loss to Florida State in their conference opener.

Georgia Tech has one of the better frontcourts in the country and they use their size effectively gaining a considerable rebounding advantage (+8.3 rpg.) and scoring about 58% of their points inside the arc. The Yellow Jackets also get to the line regularly averaging 22 trips each game to the charity stripe. Upfront, GT is lead by sensational freshman Derrick Favors, a 6’10″ force in the paint. Favors is 2nd on the team in both scoring (12.9 ppg. on 60.4% shooting) and rebounding (9.0 rpg.) and is a likely lottery pick in next year’s NBA draft. He’s joined up-front by equally impressive6’9″ Jr. F Gani Lawal. Lawal leads Georgia Tech in both scoring and rebounding (13.7 ppg. and 9.7 rpg.), and like Favors shoots at a very high percentage from the field. Also look for Lawal to potentially go in the first round of the NBA draft should he declare after the season.

Another talented Fr. for GT is G Mfon Udofia, who like Favors, was a heralded addition to the team. Udofia leads the team in assists and scores 11.4 ppg. He’s also a modest threat from the perimeter hitting 34% from behind the arc. Zach Peacock and Brian Oliver are a pair of bench forwards who also see frequent action and have the ability to stretch perimeter defenses with their strong outside shooting. Rounding out the key players for GT is So. G Iman Shumpert who returns to action after missing a month of action with a torn meniscus. Shumpert is the top distributor for the GT offense and was leading the team in assists at the time of his injury. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact, if any, his return has for the Yellow Jackets squad; Niner fans will recall An’Juan Wilderness was limited in his return as he lacked both game conditioning and cohesiveness with the rest of the team.

As a team, GT is stout defensively, particularly at defending the perimeter. The Yellow Jackets are limiting opponents to just 27% from behind the arc, meaning the Niners likely will have to go inside to win this contest and not rely on shooting from outside -though that’s been the case much of the year. It will be an exciting matchup to see Phil Jones, Chris Braswell, and especially Shamari Spears go against the dominant front court of Georgia Tech. Should the Niners win the scoring battle inside and keep the rebounding margin close, winning what should be an intense battle will be much easier.

If the Niners do have to turn to the arc for open shots, fans should feel relieved at the performance of Derrio Green against Mercer. Green, perhaps finally getting back to 100% after his bout with plantar fasciitis, erupted for a season high of 23 points and was much more aggressive in going to the basket. Derrio also showed improvement on defense, picking up 3 steals with one leading to a fast break dunk and another drawing an intentional foul. With 1/3 of the three headed-monster at guard spots looking better, hopefully a little of the magic will rub off on DiJuan Harris and Shamarr Bowden who both appear mired deep in a funk.

This will no doubt be a tough contest for the Niners but we think they’re up to the challenge. With a huge shot of confidence from what we expect to be a raucous Halton Arena crowd, the Niners can prevail if:

They remember it’s Georgia Tech that should fear our team, our arena, and our fans, and not the other way around.
Phil Jones and Chris Braswell put in solid performances on both sides of the ball. That doesn’t mean 20 points each, but it means 20+ rebounds between them.
DiJuan Harris breaks out of his funk and can deliver or set-up points in transition

Otherwise Georgia Tech will succeed by:

Dominating the inside play and forcing a precarious Niner perimeter attack to win the game
Keeping Shamari Spears from scoring from the field or the line
Winning the turnover battle

Volunteers give their best Cincinnati Jailcats impersonation

NLP — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:06:08 +0000

Tyler Smith and company might get to try out some new orange uniforms in the near future.

Well well, what a way to ring in the New Year. Four Tennessee players were arrested including star forward Tyler Smith and former Niner commit Cameron Tatum this morning near the UT campus. Also arrested were Jr. PG Melvin Goins and So. C Brian Williams. The group faces felony weapons and misdemeanor drug charges after law enforcement discovered Tatum at the wheel of a vehicle smelling of marijuana with an open bottle of liquor, a bag of the herbiest of the herbs, and a gun with an altered serial number.

Why does all this matter? Typically players arrested are unavailable for at least the most immediate game following the rest, as anyone who follows the Niners know. Don’t ask GTG.net to recount those stories or we’ll pull a hairdryer on you. Follow this space for any developments in this story that may affect availability for the game against the Niners on the 6th.

UPDATE: All four players have been suspended indefinitely by Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl. Pearl is no pushover when it comes to player misconduct, so I’d be shocked if any of the four played next week. As for Tyler Smith, the felony gun charge he was originally reported to be facing is in fact a misdemeanor.

Charlotte @ Old Dominion – Game #11

NLP — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:05:19 +0000

The Niners hope to slay the Monarchs Wednesday night.

The Niners take their 9-1 record and best start since ’91-’92 up to Hampton Roads to face the Old Dominion Monarchs Wednesday night. It is a matchup that pits one of the best scoring offenses in the country versus one of the stingiest defenses. Although the Niners are riding an 8 game winning streak and have won four straight road/neutral contests, this will be one of the toughest road games of the season.

In their most recent outing, Old Dominion bested previously unbeaten and then 15th ranked Georgetown in a game at the on-campus McDonough Arena Saturday. ODU led the game by as many as 18 points in the second half before the Hoyas mounted a furious comeback, cutting the lead to two points with 1:17 to go before the Monarchs closed out the game and escaped with the impressive victory. Though ODU sports a less-than-impressive 7-4 record, the Monarchs are undefeated at home, losing only road/neutral games to quality competition (including at Richmond and Dayton).

The Monarchs are led by CAA preseason POY candidate Gerald Lee. Lee is a tough interior player who puts up 13.5 ppg though only manages 4.6 rpg. He is joined in the frontcourt by Ben Finney who adds 7.7 ppg. and leads the team in rebounding with 5.5 rpg. Finney is also known to step out and shoot the three ball, but is not particularly deft at that shot, managing just 31% shooting from deep. Keyon Carter, Kent Bazemore, and Darius James are the other expected starters, though ODU has used 7 starters throughout the season and are a very veteran team. Marquel De Lancey is the only underclassmen who sees more than 10 minutes/game for ODU.

Offensively, the Monarchs prefer the slow, grind-it-out pace that often gives the Niners difficult. They only average 66 points per game, and of those 66 points, 63.3% are assisted meaning a lot of ball movement; the Niner zone is going to need to be up to task and not break down. Despite the slow pace and a quality post player in Lee, Old Dominion is surprising poor at getting to the line (only 16.8% of their points come from the line compared to 24% from the Niners. Yes it’s a big difference). The Monarchs also tend to avoid relying on the 3 point shot, though don’t tell that to last year’s team when ODU came into Halton and hit 9-18 in the victory.

Defensively Old Dominion has done a terrific job of contesting shots (opponents are shooting just 39%) and rebounding those misses (+7.7 rpg.) effectively. Now before I get jumped on by people quick to point out the Niners are holding the opposition to just 37.7% shooting, the difference has been the competition. ODU sports a strength-of-schedule (SOS) of 60 compared to an SOS of 309 for Charlotte.

After DiJuan Harris’ sub-par performance Sunday against Winthrop, it will be interesting how ODU chooses to defend him (straight man or try to disrupt him with an extra defender like Winthrop). How he handles the pressure will be a critical aspect of the game. A Winthrop-like performance will most likely mean a doubt-digit loss. Another key player for the Niners tomorrow will be Chris Braswell. Against Winthrop, our top rebounder and burgeoning offensive weapon struggled mightily, picking up 4 fouls in just 13 minutes of action and finishing with 4 points and 4 rebounds. With his unique ability to drive from the top of the key given his size, and his deft passing around the basket, Braswell will need to bounce back and play much better than against Winthrop. Hopefully more consistent officiating will make things easier, as he seemed to have a difficult time figuring out what was a foul and what wasn’t Sunday (don’t worry Chris, we all had that problem it seems).

Another Niner who could play a large role in the game is Big Phil Jones. The Monarchs, despite being more athletic than the Niners, are a bit undersized, with only Fr. Anton Larsen over 6’9″ -and he’s redshirting. Given that ODU relies so much on

Licking his lips? Little does he know he's Shamari Spears' main course.

scoring 2-point baskets and does not get to the line often, blocked shots by Jones will be at a premium Wednesday night.

One final area of concern in this game is the perimeter shooting. The 49ers again had a dreadful night shooting the 3 ball and it’s becoming a trend. For the season the Niners are hitting just 31.6% of their 3-point attempts. Though the opposition isn’t shooting them much better, we’re attempting them at a much higher frequency. For the Niners to win this game, something will have to give: either more makes or less attempts.

To sum things up, this is a big opportunity for Charlotte to put another quality road win on the resume. Games like these are what separate bubble teams from teams that make the tournament. The Niners win this one, and they will have reached the bar that was raised after the Louisville game. If they lose? Not to despair since other opportunities are ahead. But I want this one. Going into someone else house and beasting them is what teams with swagger do.

Put down your snow shovels, it’s time to play some basketball!

NLP — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:17:58 +0000

The Eagles will wish they were fed DDT instead of playing the Niners.

Now that WINTER DEATH STORM 2009 is over, it’s time to turn our attention back to the Charlotte 49ers. The Niners have been off since dispatching the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs 95-66 for their 6th win in a row. Sunday’s action features a trip across the border to face the Winthrop Eagles in Rock Hill, SC. The matchup kicks off the final 3 weeks of the non-conference schedule and is the first of 5 games that represent a major measure of the Niners’ NCAA tournament chances.

Winthrop enters this game 5-4 overall (3-4 against DI competition) with their most recent game a 9-point victory over USC Upstate. Overall, they are a dreadful shooting team (36.7% from the field, 24.1% from behind the arc) with no players averaging over 10 points/game. Though obviously not known for their offensive prowess, the Eagles do have some redeeming characteristics such as their on-the-ball defense, forcing 18 turnovers a game (10 steals/game). Winthrop also forces opponents to shoot poorly (39.5% from the field) and rebounds the ball reasonably well (only 0.6 rbg. less than their opponents). Clearly it will be important for the Niners to take care of the ball on offense, something I feel quite comfortable about given the strong play of DiJuan Harris against pressure defense already this season (Louisville, anyone?).

Looking over the roster, it’s hard to really annoint a top player, as the entire roster has struggled to consistently score or shoot the ball well, besides perhaps Matt Morgan who puts up 7.1 ppg. on 52.7% shooting from the field. Andy Buechert is another respectable post player for the Eagles scoring 6.9 ppg. on 45.8% shooting and adding another 6.4 rpg. My favorite player for Winthrop is clearly Praying-Mantoris Robinson. Robinson hails from the Queen City and puts up 6.8 ppg. on a scintillating 33.3% from the field and a polar ice caps-melting 13.3% from behind the arc (your sarcasm meter should be exploding right now). I don’t think the world has seen 3-point shooting that bad since I played IM ball.

For the Niners, this is another game fans should expect the Niners to get out in front and keep their feet on the necks of the opposition. Despite playing at home, the Eagles seldom draw north of 3000 people in Winthrop Coliseum. The usual hostility of playing on the road should be largely neutralized by a large, vocal Niner contingent. But despite the Eagles being down in year 3 of the Randy Peele experiment, the Niners can not relax and play to the level of the opposition. The toughest part of the non-conference schedule is ahead and now is the time to hone in and start playing the best basketball of the still young season for the Niners. One of the more interesting storylines going into the game will be how Coach Bobby Lutz juggles the minutes. It’s never an easy task on a deep team, but fortunately the strong chemistry the team seems to have will make it a tad easier. Personally I’ll be interested in how the minutes at small forward pan out, with An’Juan Wildnerness looking strong last week (10 points in 6 minutes) and Gokhan Sirin continuing to develop at a nice pace for a freshman.

Alright, enough blabbering, let’s list a few keys to the game and call it a preview.

For the Eagles:

Shoot the ball better! Sub 40% from the field will not cut it against the Niners
Force Niner turnovers. Good luck with that, unless the Eagles can keep the ball away from Harris
Keep the Niners from getting to the line.

For the Niners:

Continue the unselfish play on offense. RaShad Coleman has been a revelation of late.
Use the inside game to free up the outside shot. We’re still not a good outside shooting team. Drawing players in could help that.
Maintain determination and do not look ahead to Old Dominion and Georgia Tech.