The Charleston Classic was a classic only in the sense we found new and innovative ways to self-loathe as a basketball program.  George Mason picked us apart and Coastal Carolina rallied under the cruel tutelage of Cliff Ellis to up-end the Niners in double-OT 79-75.  Sandwiched between those two stomach-punching losses was an 11-point win against EZU.  Unfortunately just playing them feels like a loss (the STD clinic costs alone are staggering) so a win against the Beavers is desperately needed.

No guys, not this Oregon.

Oregon State comes into the game vacuuming worse than the Niners are, having lost their last two games to programs as obscure as Outer Mongolia State University (83-80 loss to the Seattle Redhawks, 66-60 loss to the Texas Southern Tigers).  Actually this game makes me want to take a sidebar about physics.  When two sinusoidal waves 180 degrees out of phase interact, they essentially “cancel” each other out in deconstructive interference.  The basketball equivalent would be a crappy west coast team and crappy east coast team playing a game where the crapitude cancels each other out; thus, this is the game of the year!

Now that I have every either completely confused or totally geeked (about 5 in that category) let’s figure out who these dam Oregon State Beavers are.  First, let’s get it out there so everyone can pre-medicate:  The Beavers play a 1-3-1 zone, the same one that has thoroughly flummoxed the Niners in the 2nd half of the Coastal Carolina game.  We’ll be fair and credit that scouting scoop to David Scott over at the Observer, who took a break from his endless hunt to find the perfect cardigan.  Hopefully the Niners will do a better job of utilizing the corners, in particular the short corner (for the geometry challenged, the part of the court from which George Mason abused us over and over).  That’ll be a bit of a tall order for the Niner guards as turnovers have continued to be a problem for Derrio Green and Deuce Briscoe.  For the Niners to escape Corvallis with a W, these two will need to do a much better job protecting the ball and getting it to other players in position to score.

This Oregon.

Personnel wise, the Beavers are extremely young squad with 10 underclassmen, 5 of them true freshmen.  However, the bulk of the OSU scoring and minutes goes to a trio of seniors:  Omari Johnson (14.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg), Calin Hayes (11.7 ppg, 3.3 apg) and Lathen Wallace (9.7 ppg).  Omari Johnson, in particular, has been a pleasant surprise for the Beavers, more than doubling his career scoring average.  Another player to keep an eye on is Jared Cunningham, a 6’4 sophomore SG who’s 3rd on the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg.  With his height, he will be a tough matchup for Derrio Green in M2M.

For the Niners on offense, let’s hope to see Braswell and Spears get more looks on the low block. Although Braswell does most of his damage from the high post, this aspect of his game will probably be rendered inert by the OSU 1-3-1 zone; however, he’s still a heck of a post player with a deft spin move when playing with his back to his defender. An’Juan with his endless will to dribble-drive and cut could also factor as a double-digit scorer in this game if he brings the same execution as in the Coastal Carolina game.

Probably died of cholera.

Although Oregon State does not block many shots (only 6 in three games) nor defend particularly well in the halfcourt (teams are shooting 48.3% from the field against them), their defensive strength really plays into the Niners’ weakness:  10 steals/game for the first three games.  For any fan who’s caught even scant action this season, this obviously stands out as a clear cause for concern.  Hopefully the guards figure out that keeping the ball is good or it’s going to be a long night.  Here’s to hoping we start getting our act together and escape the Oregon Trail without coming down with dysentery!

Well the Alan Major Era officially officially got underway tonight with a win against the South Carolina State Bulldogs 90-81 in a hard-fought, excessively officiated game. We say officially officially because there’s some sort of crazy rumor going around that we played Friday afternoon. I don’t see it on my schedule or my booklet of halftime hospitality passes so I’m just going to dismiss it as shenanigans (and frankly, a bunch of hooey).

It was a rough start in the early going as the Niners fell behind 7-0 without even attempting a shot. Actually, they didn’t even get the ball inside the three-point arc. Deuce Briscoe in particular struggled early on with turnovers, telegraphing several passes that turned into baskets for SC State. After the 16:00 timeout, however, the boys settled down and played much better basketball.

Shamari Spears and An’Juan Wilderness, both fresh off suspensions, paced the Niners in the early going with tremendous energy and effort on both ends of the floor. An’Juan had an emphatic block early on that was unlike any I’ve seen him have before. Unfortunately though things took a turn for the ugly when several incidents caused the refs to start chirping away on their whistles, not stopping until the final horn sounded. Shamari Spears was fouled on the offensive end and made contact with Carrio Bennett trying to force a shot up. Carrio seemed to take issued with this, words and glares were exchanged, and a double-technical was accessed. Personally I have no problem with either the contact -of course Shamari is going to try to get a shot off or the technical (the refs are always going to call a double-technical there to cool tensions). The problem is one technical means you’re one technical away from ejection. We’ll get to that. The other early T was on An’Juan Wilderness who was harassed after securing an defensive board. His elbows got a little too wide and with it being a point of emphasis, was whistled for a technical. Was it malicious? I didn’t think so. But it’s the rule now, so it’s something he’s got to be careful of.

By halftime the Niners had a 43-41 advantage thanks to a couple offensive rebounds by Gokhan Sirin, including a put back bucket that gave the Niners the lead going into the break. Sirin was definitely better on offense today, hitting a triple, getting to the line, and scoring the aforementioned basket; however, his defense left much to be desired and spent the 2nd half on the bench. Sirin is definitely going to have to work on improving his strength and defensive awareness going forward.

The second half saw more of the same. Aggressive, product play by Spears, nifty scoring by Briscoe, and plenty of fouls, fouls, fouls. Chris Braswell scored 15 points on the night on just 2 FGs. How? 17 trips to the line. Same thing with Shamari -just 5 FGs but 25 points for the game thanks to 13-16 shooting from the line. In all the Niners had 4 players in double figures, a welcome change from the G-W game that didn’t happen and last year as a whole.

By about 7-8 minutes to go, the Niners built an impressive 17 point lead. That was whittled away towards the end thanks to some turnovers, some fouls, and Shamari Spears’ second technical. This one came out of frustration on a whistle away from him. He got the ball, slammed it down, and 20 feet into the air later he was T’d up and sent out for the rest of the game. Shamari’s emotion and skill make him an exceptional basketball player, but that emotion when unchecked can cause problems. We at GTG love that passion and aggression he plays with, but he needs to be smart about it and keep it within when he’s frustrated. Don’t take it out on yourself, Shamari, take it out on the opposition with baskets. It’s the most brutal payback of all.

Things I liked tonight:

-Chris Braswell’s from-the-floor finger roll in the 2nd half after an inbound play. Serious envy there. Expect a call from George Gervin.

-Colby Lewis’s steady performance when called on again. Had a few rebounds, hit a key 3 pointer, and took care of the ball. He also had the best feed into the post of the night. He’s not Derrio or Briscoe, but he’s much more than a walk-on. Personally, I think he deserves the 13th scholarship (that’s the right way to get one).

-Deuce Briscoe’s scoring. He’s fearless, he hits his shots, and he seldom takes bad shots. Just needs to take better care of the ball in the halfcourt.

Things that need work:

-Sirin’s defense: He’s not going to get off the bench much if he gives up as much or more than he produces on offense.

-Foul shooting: 49 trips to the line is terrific. 67.3% conversion rate, not so terrific.

-Players not visiting the student section after the game: Those kids love you guys. Why else would they camp out in the cold and wait in line for hours to watch you play? They bring their passion the entire game for each and every one of you. If the players have a problem with what they see on the internet, it’s coming from the other side of the arena. But really, what’s so objectionable? Fans wanting to see the team win? Don’t you guys want the same?

I know I’ve received my fair share of criticism in life and in work. You know what? Most of it was deserved. But I didn’t take it personally and used it to better myself. A big key to life isn’t avoiding adversity, it’s learning how to respond to it. That’s something that can really separate people no matter what they do.

Alright. Down off the soap box. Good win Niners and keep your heads up. I think we’ll see a lot more of them out of you guys as long as you stick together and trust in yourselves and your coaches.

It’s time to dust off the high tops, slap on your headband, and send 6 men onto the court make the first of many pilgrimages to Halton Arena this Friday as the Niners take on the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs (they haven’t lost their hyphen yet, how cute).  Of course, with the absurd 4 PM tip-off time many of you run the risk of getting fired for skipping out of the office early to catch the game.  But hey, those are what bomb threats are for, right?

G-W fans find creative ways to kill time during blowouts.

On to business:  Friday afternoon’s game is an unusual one in that both team’s head coaches will be making their respective coaching debuts.  New G-W coach Chris Holtmann returns to Boiling Springs after a 5 year associate head coach stint at Ohio University (Holtmann previously served on deposed head coach Rick Scruggs’ staff as an assistant), hoping to turn around a program that has suffered through 13-17 and 8-21 campaigns the previous two seasons.  Pitted against him of course is everyone’s favorite samurai warrior in pleated shorts, Niners new head coach Alan Major, who replaces the gloriously mustached Bobby Lutz after 12 years of leadership).

The weirdness doesn’t stop there, unfortunately, as fans and GTG alike basically have no clue who’s going to play.  Strong rumors have swirled  that multiple players (three is the count du jour) have been suspended anywhere from one to two games, although it sounds increasingly likely that it is only one game.  Still that’s potentially (likely?) 120 player minutes unavailable on a team that is already missing two guys expected to see a lot of minutes in the rotation (KJ Sherrill and Charles Dewhurst).  Lamar Bradbury and Ray Morgenstern, I hope you’re ready!  So who’s missing action Friday?  We’ve heard names and some of them sound reasonable but I think we’ll save the gossip for the watercooler.

With so many players potentially out, instead of focusing on what we can do to G-W, it might make more sense to see if they can do anything to worry us.  The Runnin’ Bulldogs are returning just 3 of their top 7 scorers from an 8 win season -usually not a prognosticator of success unless there’s a serious influx of talent.  Among the more intriguing newcomers is Fr. C Michael Byron from Texas who at 6’10, 215 lbs could provide problems for a potentially thin Niner frontcourt.  Fr. G Luke Davis could also compete for significant time this season and JC transfer Laron Buggs might provide some backcourt scoring punch as he was good for 17.3 ppg at Murray State JC last year (all Niner fans know Juco stats translate DIRECTLY to DI).

Looks like they're hard-up for fun in Boiling Springs

Jonathan Moore is the returning leading scorer for the ‘Running Bulldogs.  He averaged 10 ppg last year and scored 8 in the 95-66 beatdown the Niners put on G-W last year in Halton.  Ah the good times.  The other returning starter from last year is Joshua Henley.  The 6’3 F managed to lead the team in rebounds/game (7.3) despite his obvious lack of height.  He’s the type of aggressive player that can absolutely dismantle a zone with his rebounding desire; however, it looks like the Niners are going to be a primarily man-to-man team on defense under Coach Major.  Hopefully the dedicated defensive assignment will help keep a body on Henley.

Let’s be honest.  G-W is a young, rebuilding team with a first year head coach.  As bad as they were last year managing just 8 wins, they could be even worse this year.  But that doesn’t mean their not dangerous.  Any team with a new influx of talent and a new coach has to be taken seriously until proven otherwise lest the odd Monstra scenario occurs.  For a team with a new coach and a fanbase that’s increasingly impatient for success, the Niners absolutely must come out and win this game.  It will be a test of stamina and player minutes given the injuries and potential suspensions, but even with 5 scholarship players missing action (and maybe another depending on the Luka Voncina situation), the Niners simply have more talent than G-W.  I expect us to win, but don’t ask me how.  I need to know who we have available to play before I can even venture out and make that kind of prediction.

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.

Can DiJuan rally the troops and turn the season around?

It’s time for our annual out-of-season Homecoming contest as the Niners set to host the Xavier Musketeers.  It’s been a rough two game stretch for the Niners as they’ve dropped games in the most painful of fashions, losing on the road to Dayton and again on Wednesday at home to Duquesne.  The struggles come at a critical time for the team as most squads are looking to cement their NCAA resumes.  For the Niners, another loss could instead be the death knell for any hopes of such a trip to the tournament, forcing the team to have to win what will likely be a highly-competitive A10 tournament.  In other words, Saturday’s game is an absolute must-win.

The formula for beating the Niners, which I’ve mentioned time and again, has become common knowledge amongst coaches.  It was clearly on display Saturday.  The Niners ran up a 10 point lead in the second half, and Duquesne responded with pressure, steals, forcing turnovers, easy buckets, and a 16-1 run to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.  Although Xavier isn’t the most defensively astute team, unless something drastic changes, they will be tomorrow if they play tough man-to-man defense and harass the Niner backcourt.  It’s becoming a sour realization in another otherwise very successful season and it threatens to undo all the hard work the team has put in this season.  But the path back is clear:  Just win baby.  This is the same team that ran Louisville off their court and thoroughly dominated Richmond on the road and Temple at home.  The talent is there, but will the execution?

In the first meeting the execution certainly was there… for Xavier.   The Musketeers hit 53% from the field overall and had a balance of inside and outside scoring, with 4 players scoring in double figures, led by Jordan Crawford’s 18 points.  The Niners for their part played smart basketball, but just couldn’t get the early shots needed to stay competitive.  They also suffered from abysmal outside shooting all game long, hitting just 2 of 22.  The bright spots were less turnovers than Xavier (15 vs. 16) and 59% shooting from inside the arc.

The recipes for both teams should be relatively simple:  For X, they should go true and tested and play tough man defense against the Niners and force turnovers.  It’s worked for teams all season long.  For the Niners, taking care of the ball is the most critical aspect of the game.  They have the talent to stick with Xavier, particularly with a noisy Halton Arena backing them up.  The question though is whether they can even get looks, since turnovers early in possessions has becoming a mounting problem for the team.

The Niners’ also need Derrio Green to snap out of his run of poor play.  He’s far too talented to continue to struggle this much, so part of it might be mental.  If it is, keep your head up Derrio.  Niner Nation believes in you and will have the Bat Signal on, waiting for yet another super human performance.  The Niners’ inside game should a field day -if the backcourt can get them the ball.  Spears, Braswell, and Wilderness all had success in the first matchup and there’s no reason to believe the Xavier defense should be any more stout should we manage to get them the ball down low.

Oh, and I departed from our normal scheduling since I’ve already talked about Xavier’s personnel.  As I’ve been droning on and on about, it’s the style of play that’s bothering the Niners the most right now.  It’s beyond who’s on the roster and more how teams deal with the Niners.  There’s no point re-hashing what we already know about Xavier.

Personally, I think we gut it out and win.  I still believe in DiJuan Harris, and I don’t see how he could allow us to lose a must win game, particularly home coming.  What do you think?  Post your predictions in the comments and I’ll highlight them on the game day post.  Anyone hits it on the head, and I’ll buy them a pitcher of beer (or some Green Kool-aid if you’re underage) at Picasso’s.

Ron Everhart is looking for his spit can.

It’s been a long week off for Niner fans following the dismantling the team experienced against the Dayton Flyers last Wednesday at UD Arena.  Fortunately the basketball gods (or the A10 office) have delivered salvation in the form of a hump day matchup against the Duquesne Dukes.  Gametime is 7 PM in Halton Arena and the contest will be broadcast by CBS College Sports Regional.

The week off probably was a good thing for the Niners.  When a team runs out to an 8-1 conference start and sole possession of 1st place only to see it come crashing down on the road in brutal fashion, the extra time between games is an opportunity to circle the wagons, regroup, and hopefully adjust.  The principal adjustment that needs to be made?  Clearly running the offense against strong man-to-man defense.  It’s been the Achilles’ Heel of the team all season long.  If you’re a head coach and you see Charlotte on the schedule, dial up the man defense.  Until the Niners can make that adjustment and handle the pressure, they will continue to struggle in the half court.  In particular DiJuan Harris and Shamari Spears, the two most experienced players on the team need to step and create opportunities for others to loosen the defense.  Spears for his part has to recognize *BROKEN RECORD ALERT* the defense collapsing around him and kick it out to open players.  Do it AS they collapse, not once they are already there.  Custard couldn’t pass out of his last stand, why would Spears be able to?

As mentioned earlier, the Niners’ opponent on Wednesday are the ever enigmatic Dukes of Duquesne.  The average fan (yes, I’m going there) might look at their 13-12 record and think mediocre team and expect a blowout.  The Dukes are instead a very dangerous, yet inconsistent opponent.  Most recently they exploded on La Salle with a blistering 103-82 victory; however, this performance immediately following a let-down 84-80 OT loss to UMass.  So the question begs, which Duquesne team will show up Wednesday?  If the 2-8 road record is any indication, most likely the team that last to UMass.  But as this season has illustrated, the Niners can ill-afford to take the Dukes, or any team, for granted.

These Dukes are led by head coach Ron Everhart, who when not chewing tobacky is a fun coach to watch.  He’s assembled a talented squad that while yet to transform into a consistent performer, has a lot of nice parts that can go off on any particular night.  The cog in the engine for Duquesne is Jr. F Damian Saunders.  On a contender, Saunders is probably the runaway A10 POY.  He’s a double-double machine (14.9 ppg and 12.2 rpg.) who’s achieved lofty individual heights in the NCAAs, ranking 3rd in the nation in rebounding, 4th in steals, and 8th in blocks.  Even more impressive is he does it all with just a 6’7″ frame.  Saunders will be a handful on both ends of the court, but it will be fun to see how he matches up defensively on Shamari Spears.  It’ll be a contrast of strength and craft versus freak athleticism.  Let’s hope Spears wins out.

If the Dukes through up some tough M2M will the Niners pull a France?

Joining Saunders in the “post” (using the term loosely) is fellow Jr. Bill Clark.  Clark is second on the team in both scoring (13.8) and rebounding (6.2), though the former comes at the expense of his arm practically falling off after every game.  In other words, he shoots the three-ball with reckless abandon and only manages to convert on 1 in 4.  For someone like him, 25-30 three pointers is a lot.  He’s taken 133.  Nice shot selection there, buddy.  Of course against La Salle he goes 11-14 and scores 34 points.  Wasn’t that supposed to happen against us?

Though Sr. guard Jason “Light” Duty has started much of the season, he will likely cede his starting role tomorrow to Melquan Bolding, who’s rounding back into form after a lengthy injury.  Bolding is a nice young player but again suffers from poor shooting selection.  He shoots overall at a 40.7% clip from the field, which is about the norm for a collegiate shooting guard.  But his numbers are dragged down again by poor shooting from the arc (25.5%).  On paper the Dukes remind me of the worst of the 08-09 team combined with the worst of the 02-03 team when it comes to three-point shooting.

B.J. Monteiro is touted as the Dukes best three point shooter.  Brace yourselves folks:  He shoots 33.3% from behind the arc.

Running the show for Duquesne is So. PG Eric Evans.  Evans, like the other 4 scorers averages over 10 ppg.  He also leads the team in assists and is 2nd in steals.

So there you have it, the Duquesne starters.  For all intents and purposes, they’re the entire team, as like the Niners the starters do the bulk of the scoring for Ron Everhart’s squad.  When looking at the teams stats, it’s easy to see where their struggles come from:  1)  They can’t shoot a lick from outside, hitting only 25.5% as a team.  2)  They’re awful from the line, hitting just 60.6% of their FTAs.  3)  They’re woefully undersized and it shows:  They’re tallest starter is 6’7″ Saunders.  After that they run 6’5″ 6’5″ 6’3″ and 5’11″.  This might be the first game since the scrub non-conf. games that the Niners have had a size advantage.

The Niners have a clear task at hand tomorrow:  Take a game that could be dangerous, since Duquesne has the potential to explode offensively, and dominate it.

Despite Saunders being a terrific talent and consistent top-notch performer, the Niners have the size and capacity to dominate the game on the glass, and I expect them to.  Sure Saunders will likely get 8-10, but the Niners need to have a sizeable rebounding margin, like +7 or greater and double-digit offensive rebounds.

Specifically I would expect to see plenty of zone again.  Duquesne is a poor shooting team, and it only makes sense strategically to sag off the “shooters” and keep Saunders from going off inside.

One difference from the Dayton to Duquesne game I would like to see is in Derrio Green.  He’s at his best when he’s both driving and shooting, not relying on the outside game.  He also needs to show he can handle tough defensive pressure all game long.

Well Niner fans, it’s crunch time.  The team simply can’t afford a home loss from here on out.  Let’s start with Duquesne and build momentum going into Saturday.

Personally I think it's been dead for a few.... years.

While there’s a Nor’easter in full effect in the Mid Atlantic there’s a different kind of warning being posted for Niners fans:

MONSTRA ALERT!  MONSTRA ALERT!

Niners scheduled to play horrific, craptastic team in the next 24 hours.  Expect periods of ineptitude approaching record highs.  100% chance of substantial RPI drop will occur as a wave of ugly basketball crosses the Rose Hill Gym court.  Secure your possessions and seek shelter in a concrete fallout shelther no less than 1000 feet below surface should Niners face 2nd half deficit.

In a game that’s probably more likely to resemble a trip to the Bronx Zoo than a Division I basketball program, the Niners take on the Fordham Rams Saturday afternoon at 2 PM in a contest televised on MASN.  The zoo analogy is pretty fitting for Fordham considering the season the Rams have been having, dating back to the spring letter the university’s administration sent  to boosters claiming support for it’s coaches and basketball programs.  Considering the financial meltdown it was kind of fitting in its timing considering many a bank that failed tried a similar strategy to placate investors.

The situation did not improve despite the announcement that Jio Fontan would return to the team and the arrival of heralded frosh post man Chris Gaston.  Just five games and one win against lowly Sacred Heart later, Jio Fontan announced his transfer again, this time for good.  One day later, out goes Dereck Whittenburg and Jared Grasso takes over the train wreck.

Things haven’t gotten much better -just 1 win and 14 more losses.

There are a couple of bright spots though, one being the aforementioned Gaston.  Gaston has been nothing short of spectacular on a team where opponents know he’s going to be one of the two focal points of the offense.  To average 17.8 ppg. and nearly 10.7 rpg. on an abysmal team is very impressive and Gaston will warrant serious consideration for A10 FOY (go Braswell).  Extra impressive when you consider he’s listed at “just” 6’7″.  Gaston does have areas to improve on though, such as shooting from outside (in other words, don’t) and turnovers (averaging over 4 tpg.).  Part of the problem might be the fact he’s got so little around him and forces his shots and drives.   Oh, and he’s on the market.  LOL.

Gaston does have a pretty solid Sr. wingmate in Brenton Butler.  The 6’3″ guard is scoring at a nice clip (15.7 ppg.) but it does come at the expense of a lot of shots (33% from the field and 31% from behind the arc).  Again, it’s likely because he’s one of only realistic options on offense for the Rams.

After that the cupboard is pretty bare.  Alberto Estwick (So.) and Lance Brown (Fr.) are a pair of nice young guards, but they’re not ready to carry the team or take significant weight off Gaston or Butler.  Perhaps in a year or two, the Gaston/Estwick/Brown could form a nice nucleus, but it’s hard to envision that given the lack of support from Fordham.

As a team Fordham does _______________ well.  Fill in the blank cause I can’t find anything.  I guess you could say they play good perimeter defense since they limit teams to under 25% from behind the arc, but who cares?  They’re 2-18.

The game itself really is a must-win for the Niners.  Fordham is  awful and to lose to them on the road would be devastating to the Niners’ at-large hopes.  The good news is we’ve got some serious swagger and Phil Jones’ game is on an upswing ever since he circled the wagons emotionally after going through a rough patch in his life.  GTG admires Big Phil for his resiliency.

What we the writers would like to see is a balanced attack on offense and respect for Fordham on defense.  They’re awful, but we’re not in any position to take any team for granted.  The stakes are way too high at this point of the season.  Charles Dewhurst has been spectacular on the defensive glass of late and we will need him to keep that up in order to counter Chris Gaston.  This will be particularly important since Chris Braswell will likely have his hands full trying to defend Gaston.   With Braswell getting in early trouble with fouls against GW, his focus will be critical and Javarris Barnett and KJ Sherrill will have to be ready if called on to play key minutes.

All that being said, it’s reasonable to expect the Niners to win this game, and frankly, to demand it.  They’ve shown mental toughness that’s been lacking for years over the last few games and as long as they stay focused and playing the way they’ve been, this should be an easy W.  Let’s just not have an epidemic of turnovers in the first half this time, mkay?

Go Niners!

The Niners were all smiles as Derrio Green lit UMass up with 34 points.

Derrio Green week in the Atlantic 10 came to a close with a 34 point peformance as the Niners defeated UMass at the Mullins Center 72-58.  The win puts the Niners back in a three way tie (6-1) with Temple and Xavier atop the league and with a 16-5 record are off to their best start since 2004-2005 when they ran out to a 21-4 record before losing their last four.

Green was at his best, connecting from both inside and out as he topped his outstanding 26 point performance earlier in the week against Temple.  Green connected on 8-16 from 3-point land and 9-19 overall.  Phil Jones was the only other Niner in double digits with 12, 7 of them coming consecutively in a run that took a perilous 3 point lead in the second half and extended it to 10.  The run included a three pointer and another where he seemed to have just one foot on the line.

For UMass, it was another dreadful night shooting the ball.  The Minutemen managed just 4 makes from 28 attempts from beyond the arc.  Ricky Harris was the leading scorer for UMass, scoring 25 on 11-24 shooting including 3-10 from outside.  Anthony Gurley was the only other player for the Minutemen in double figures, scoring 11 on 4-11 shooting and missing on all five of his attempts from deep.  Former Niner recruit Sean Carter had a solid game on the defensive end, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking 4 shots.

Both teams opened the game trading buckets early on with Gurley hitting a basket to give UMass an early 9-6 lead.  A Shamari Spears put back and a Derrio Green three pointer gave the Niners their first lead, one they would not relinquish.  It was this first half where Green did most of his damage, scoring 21 points, including 5 three-pointers and a dazzling drive and finish near the rim on a difficult scoop-shot layup.  The outburst gave the Niners an 8 point lead at the half, 34-26.

The second half opened up with a sustained run by UMass that cut the Niner lead to just one at 37-36 on a Ricky Harris layup.  The narrow lead persisted over the next two minutes as the teams exchanged misses, turnovers, and fouls until An’Juan Wilderness broke a 4 minute scoring drought with a tough layup.  That’s when Jones took over, scoring the next 7 points including a 3-pointer about 4 feet behind the arc as the Niners re-built the lead back into double digits.  A parade of free throws by Charlotte extended the lead to 17 with 6 minutes to go.  However, the Niners appeared to lose focus a bit in the closing stretch of the game, allowing UMass to shrink the lead to 10 with about a minute to go with miscues by Charles Dewhurst and a pair of surprising turnovers by DiJuan Harris.

Overall it was a solid win for the Niners as they showed the team can win the trap games on the road, something Derrio Green acknowledged in his post-game comments.  For fans, it’s comforting to see his development, as it shows teams will have to choose their poison against the Niners:  try to shut down the Niner perimeter game?  Shamari Spears and Chris Braswell will hurt you inside.  Focus on limiting the interior game like UMass did tonight (Spears had 4 points on 2-8 shooting, Braswell with 7 on 2-6 shooting) and Derrio will make you pay.

Though the Niners were outrebounded on the night by 5 and UMass managed 12 offensive boards, this should come as little surprise.  As we mentioned in the pregame, the Minutemen are tough rebounders, particularly on the offensive glass.  The Niners managed to secure a victory in my personal favorite stat:  foul shooting.  Charlotte hit 21 of 30 FTAs, the makes being 9 more than UMass even attempted (9-12).  An advantage like that is very difficult to overcome and is a hallmark of tournament caliber teams coached by Bobby Lutz.

Up next for the Niners are the George Washington Colonials on Wednesday in Halton Arena followed by a trip to the Bronx to take on the Fordham Rams next Saturday.  A pair of victories and the Niners could be looking at their first trip into the Top 25 in 5 years.

Potential 4-star recruit for Derek Kellog?

So while Charlotte is under siege from the white death falling from the sky, the Niners head up to Amherst to face the youthful and enigmatic Minutemen of UMass.

Personally I can’t stand UMass.  Actually I can’t stand their fans.  Last I knew universities themselves aren’t sentient.  Anyway their fans crapped on us when we joined the league and they crapped on Shamari Spears when he transferred to Charlotte.  It’s not all of them, but it’s the internet so I’m gonna exaggerate because I can.  And yes, that does make it right. I will give them this:  their band plays “Africa” by Toto and that’s pretty rad.

On to what’s important.  The Niners are on a roll and they look to keep their winning ways going Saturday evening against UMass, televised by ESPNU.

The Minutemen (8-12, 2-4) broke a 5 game losing streak with a win an 87-80 road against Saint Joseph’s  Wednesday.  UMass is the epitome of chuck-and-duck basketball many have accused the Niners of playing in years past.  Offensively they shoot the three.  Frequently.  As in 35th in the nation in attempts.  Couple that with only 29.9% three-point field goal percentage and you have a lot of misses.  A painful lot of them.  Perhaps counter-intuitively they rebound the ball extremely well on the offensive glass, snagging a top-10 in the nation 15.2 offensive rpg.  That makes for a lot of second chance scoring so despite the poor shooting percentages, they do manage to score a fairly impressive 71.2 ppg.  The problem is they are the French military on defense, giving up a whopping 74.1 ppg which puts them at 302nd best in the nation.  And sorry to any French readers out there.  If it’s any consolation I like your beaches.  One stat that really illustrates how awful they are on defense is the assist to turnover ratio for opponents (1.22, 333rd in the nation).  They’re also dreadful at blocking shots but that’s not an essential stat for success (just like our lack of dunks) but taken together with the assist to turnover stat, it’s pretty evident they play matador defense.

It’s not as if UMass is devoid of talent.  It’s actually quite the contrary.  Problem is Derek Kellogg hasn’t quite figured out this coaching thing yet, but since he’s a former player and a Squid disciple, he’ll get a free pass for a good while.  As for the personal, it’s hard to find a better guard in the A10 than Ricky Harris.  For the third year in a row, the 6’2″ Sr. guard is averaging over 17 points a game.  The problem is he’s taking far too many outside shots and hitting far too few (28.5%).  In comparison he’s hitting 50.6% of his shots from inside the arc.  Ricky, take it to the basket!  Just not Saturday.

His fellow gun-slinging backcourt mate is Anthony Gurley, who is in his second season at UMass by way of Wake Forest.  Problem is he’s more Barney Fife than Pvt. Daniel Jackson as like Harris he’s hitting less than 30% of his 3-point attempts.  Fortunately for him though he doesn’t take nearly as many outside shots as Harris, and gets the bulk of his 14 plus points from inside the arc and at the foul line.  Two other frequent starters of note are Sean Carter and Terrell Vinson.  Those names should be familiar to the Niner faithful as both were recruiting targets in the past for Charlotte.  Vinson in particular looks like he’s going to be a player for UMass.  The 6’7″ Fr. SF product of Baltimore is averaging 9.7 ppg. in his rookie campaign.  Unfortunately for him though Kellogg’s offensive philosophy might be detrimental to his development as he takes quite a lot of 3 pointers (is this a theme or what?) and misses nearly 75% of them.  It boggles the mind how any coach can be comfortable with a play that will 3 times out of 4 fail.  Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2009-2010 UMass Minutemen!

Sean Carter is a 6’9″ So. F/C who’s playing his first season with UMass after transferring from Oregon State.  Carter leads the team in rebounding at 6.3 rpg., with half of them coming on the offensive glass.   A modest scorer at just about 5 ppg, Carter is a 48.8% shooter who *gasp* hasn’t taken a three-pointer this season.  But before I go too far lauding his selectivity, I have to point out he’s just a 44.7% shooter from the FT line.  The top player off the bench is another impressive Fr. in Freddie Riley.  Riley is a 6’5″ swingman who’s averaging 10.5 ppg. who’s actually a respectable, if not great, three point shooter who converts on 37.4% of this attempts.

Although this is clearly a trap game for the Niners coming off the big win at Temple, this is a game they should and need to win.  One of the absolute keys is to rebound the ball well.  Chris Braswell, I’m pointing to you as our top defensive rebounder (ranked 11th in the country at defensive rebounding percentage according to kenpom.com).   Another potential danger is the UMass transition game.  Transition defense is an Achilles’s Heel for the Niners as they’ve struggled often to get back on defense against teams that like to get out into the open court.  One other fear is the temptation to get into a three point shooting contest.  Like with UMass, the 3 point shot is like heroin to Bobby Lutz-coached teams.   This year’s team seems to be more disciplined, however, and the departure of Shamarr Bowden has only seemed to fortify that sense of discipline on offense.  One thing I’d definitely like to see is more of Super Derrio.  You know, the one who gets to the rim like a speeding locomotive?  It’s been a joy to watch his balance of inside/outside play of late and I’m praying to see more of it.  Defensively I think we should expect a lot of zone:  force UMass to make some shots from outside, much like the case against Temple.  And just like the game against the Owls, some early makes shouldn’t deter the strategy.

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.