Your Basketball Team's Update Thread

[PrivateO]

I know we have a lot of Maryland Terp basketball fans, but this can be a thread where everyone else can post their team's scores, news, etc.

With Tu Holloway suspended for today's game, Mark Lyons led your #14 Xavier Musketeers to a 74-63 win over the Morgan St. Bears. Lyons locked up 22 points (8 in the first half), while center Kenny Frease and freshman Dezmine Wells also scored in double figures.

You may notice that Wells had a sick-nasty alley-oop dunk from Mark Lyons. Good for #2 in Sportscenter's Top Ten plays.

[crissfan172]

Yes! Somewhere to vent now that Talor Battle is gone. Although...it does appear that Chambers is exactly the right guy to turn this into an actual program. He's already landed two recruits this week (one that had an offer to go to Pitt), so hopefully it's a sign of things to come.

[Sports Guy]

I knew Belmont(this year's VCU?) would give Duke a good game but I didn't expect it to be that good.

Duke blew a big lead..I didn't get to see the game, so I am guessing that they took the foot off the gas pedal a little bit, especially since they are so young in some spots.

But still, Duke can't give up THAT lead at home even if Belmont is better than a lot of the teams Duke will play this year, including some ACC teams.

Duke has to improve its pressure defense but Rivers, Dawkins and Curry are going to struggle with that all year IMO.

[SteveA]

Hokies beat East Tennessee State 64-53

-- point guard Erick Green, our top returning starter, missed the game with a strained achilles; G Manny Atkins transferred in the offseason and our only PG recruit (Rankin) is injured for a month or two. So we had no true point guard. Ty Garland, a 2-guard who doesn't have the greatest hands, had to play the point. Given the circumstances, he did OK, committed a few turnovers as expected.

-- our recruiting class is rated top 20, one of the highest rated classes in VT history, and three of the freshman got singificant playing time and looked very good. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith is our top recruit, and he looked fantastic. He scored 8 and pulled down 16 rebounds. He looks like a do-it-all type of player who can rebound, play defense, take it to the hoop. He's gonna be a good one! Freshman shooting guard Robert Brown scored in double digits and nailed some key 3s as we pulled away in the 2nd half. And Freshman forward CJ Barksdale contributed on the boards and, unlike some of our other big guys up front in recent years, already appears to have an "ACC body". A year or two in our weight program and he could be a monster. Our 7' freshman Dutchman, Joey Van Zederen, got a few minutes, I'm guessing he's a "project". The other freshman, PG Rankin, is injured as noted above.

-- Dorenzo Hudson, a redshirt senior G/SF who was 2nd team all ACC 2 years ago and missed all last year with an injury, played his first game in 18 months. He was kind of rusty and didn't have a great game, but we know what Zo can do and the team will be better once he is back in shape.

-- Cadarian Raines, a junior big man who has been hobbled his entire Tech career with foot injuries, finally looks healthy and looks like he can be a strong defensive presence up front. Whether he can be a scorer or not remains to be seen.

-- Victor Davila is Victor Davila. He'll make a few nice jump hook shots, he'll go through stretches where he grabs every rebound in sight. But he'll bounce balls off his foot, drop passes, miss free throws, etc. I just hope as a senior we can see more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff, because we don't have a lot of frontcourt depth and he is going to be a regular in the rotation.

-- Bottom line: when we get Erick Green playing (hopefully tomorrow), and Zo Hudson plays into his shape of two years ago, we are going to be really good in the backcourt and loaded with depth. Front court is kind of thin, but fortunately Doe-Doe (the nickname for Dorian Finney-Smith) looks like the type of freshman who can step in and contribute immediately. I'm guessing we will take up our usual March residence in Bubbleville.

Next up: Preseason NIT. We host a 4-team regional tomorrow. We play Monmouth, and George Mason plays FIU ( coached by Isiah Thomas). The winners play Tuesday. The winner of that game advances to the PNIT final four at Madison Square guarden. This is not like some of these other tournaments where the four host teams automatically advance to the final four -- we have to win to advance. We can probably still beat Monmouth tomorrow if Green can't go, but I wouldn't like our chances against George Mason[likely] the next day.

[Remember The Alomar]

I saw the Vandy lost to Cleveland State. Lulz.

[PrivateO]

I saw the Vandy lost to Cleveland State. Lulz.

#7 Vanderbilt had 21 turnovers, 15 coming from steals (!). Does anyone think they drop from the Top 25?

[hoosiers]

Indiana had two nice wins against decent mid-major programs Stony Brook and Chattanooga.

Cody Zeller is exactly what the program has been missing - strong post defense (set a school record for steals by a freshman), excellent passer and very efficient offensively.

Last year's two freshman, Will Sheehey and Victor Oladipo have made huge progress. One national writer said Sheehey might be the most improved college player in the country and Oladipo, who played high school in Maryland, is getting his game under control and has averaged around 18 points so far while shutting down the opposition's best offensive player.

A quality big man, Derek Elston, who played much of last season looking like he took a step back from his freshman year, looks much improved. Turns out he was dealing with a sports hernia last year and it was kept quiet until surgery this offseason. Two other four star recruits in Elston's class, Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford have been starters and will be big contributors as well.

Everything makes for a much improved team with significantly better depth. There are several other important guys to the rotation, but it appears that IU will be taking a massive step forward this year - from a place outside the top 150 into a borderline top 50 team or better. IU plays NC State in the B10-ACC challenge and that should be a good measuring stick of our progress.

[Big Mac]

Alabama hoops is looking strong this year with the return of the big three (Green, Mitchell, Releford) and a strong freshman class.

Potentially tough game tonight at home against Oakland...

[crissfan172]

I liked DeChellis, but there's a much higher energy level in these pre-game warm-ups. I'm impressed, but I really can't wait to see them in action.

[SteveA]

Hokies beat East Tennessee State 64-53

-- point guard Erick Green, our top returning starter, missed the game with a strained achilles; G Manny Atkins transferred in the offseason and our only PG recruit (Rankin) is injured for a month or two. So we had no true point guard. Ty Garland, a 2-guard who doesn't have the greatest hands, had to play the point. Given the circumstances, he did OK, committed a few turnovers as expected.

-- our recruiting class is rated top 20, one of the highest rated classes in VT history, and three of the freshman got singificant playing time and looked very good. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith is our top recruit, and he looked fantastic. He scored 8 and pulled down 16 rebounds. He looks like a do-it-all type of player who can rebound, play defense, take it to the hoop. He's gonna be a good one! Freshman shooting guard Robert Brown scored in double digits and nailed some key 3s as we pulled away in the 2nd half. And Freshman forward CJ Barksdale contributed on the boards and, unlike some of our other big guys up front in recent years, already appears to have an "ACC body". A year or two in our weight program and he could be a monster. Our 7' freshman Dutchman, Joey Van Zederen, got a few minutes, I'm guessing he's a "project". The other freshman, PG Rankin, is injured as noted above.

-- Dorenzo Hudson, a redshirt senior G/SF who was 2nd team all ACC 2 years ago and missed all last year with an injury, played his first game in 18 months. He was kind of rusty and didn't have a great game, but we know what Zo can do and the team will be better once he is back in shape.

-- Cadarian Raines, a junior big man who has been hobbled his entire Tech career with foot injuries, finally looks healthy and looks like he can be a strong defensive presence up front. Whether he can be a scorer or not remains to be seen.

-- Victor Davila is Victor Davila. He'll make a few nice jump hook shots, he'll go through stretches where he grabs every rebound in sight. But he'll bounce balls off his foot, drop passes, miss free throws, etc. I just hope as a senior we can see more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff, because we don't have a lot of frontcourt depth and he is going to be a regular in the rotation.

-- Bottom line: when we get Erick Green playing (hopefully tomorrow), and Zo Hudson plays into his shape of two years ago, we are going to be really good in the backcourt and loaded with depth. Front court is kind of thin, but fortunately Doe-Doe (the nickname for Dorian Finney-Smith) looks like the type of freshman who can step in and contribute immediately. I'm guessing we will take up our usual March residence in Bubbleville.

Next up: Preseason NIT. We host a 4-team regional tomorrow. We play Monmouth, and George Mason plays FIU ( coached by Isiah Thomas). The winners play Tuesday. The winner of that game advances to the PNIT final four at Madison Square guarden. This is not like some of these other tournaments where the four host teams automatically advance to the final four -- we have to win to advance. We can probably still beat Monmouth tomorrow if Green can't go, but I wouldn't like our chances against George Mason[likely] the next day.

Update: Erick Green played tonight, looked 100%, ran the offense great, and we beat Monmouth 91-46. Honestly, Monmouth was so bad there's not much you can take from this game in terms of evaluating the Hokies. Up tomorrow: the winner of tonight's GMU/FIU game for a trip to Madison Square Garden.

[square634]

Penn lost to Temple in overtime in the earliest Big 5 game ever. Penn really blew some great chances (last shot in regulation, up three in overtime), and the refs just decided to take it into their own hands in the final 10 seconds (calling dead ball intentional and then technical fouls). Oh well.

#NotPennState

[crissfan172]

Well Penn State got a nice 62-46 win tonight against Radford. The energy in the warm-ups definitely showed on the defensive side of the ball. They do a good job covering their guys and shutting down passing lanes, but they need to improve on closing out on 3 point shooters. I was very impressed, though with the defense overall. With so many young players, the offense is going to struggle, but I really like what I saw out of the freshmen, Graham and Lewis. Marshall is going to be a good ballplayer, and Tim Frazier is an absolute beast. He's not the shooter that Battle was, but he's even better in the lane than Talor. Overall, it should be an interesting season. There's some good talent here...we'll just have to see where it takes them.

[PrivateO]

Xavier cruised past the IPFW Mastodons 86-63 tonight. In what really is the only cupcake on the out-of-conference schedule, the Muskies dominated IPFW from the start. Holloway made his season debut with 24 points. Lyons had an excellent second half (19 pts.) and finished with 21 overall. I might be biased, but I think we have the best backcourt in the nation. Freshman Dez Wells had another great alley-oop (not Top Ten worthy) and finished with 16. Musketeers shot 52.4% from behind the arc, but only 50% from the charity stride. Again, Xavier went 10-deep, but as the season progresses, I expect Dee Davis (backup PG) role to disappear. Rebounding, free throws, and fouls have hurt the team thus far, but there's plenty of time to correct it.

Up next for Xavier are the Redhawks of Miami (OH). They're fresh off a 72-67 overtime win over Dayton.

[PrivateO]

Xavier won a close one against Miami last night, 66-60. Miami always rises to the occasion to play us, and tonight was no different. Holloway did not have a good game, only scoring 9, but Mark Lyons had 19. The free throw shooting was abysmal again, going 12 for 21. The Musketeers are only averaging a shade over 50%. Something that definitely needs to be fixed.

Next Friday we play the Georgia Bulldogs.

(Also, Cincinnati lost to powerhouse Presbyterian. Gotta love that.)

[Orioles1954]

Mike Anderson, former assistant to Nolan Richardson is back at Arkansas and the vaunted 40 Minutes of Hell has returned! The left overs from the former regime are very weak, but Anderson retained a Top 5 recruiting class with two five star shooting guards. The team is very young and off to a 2-1 start. Easily defeated USC Upstate and Oakland (Michigan) but lost last night to Houston in Little Rock. A tournament isn't in the cards this year, but next season will probably be different. Next Tuesday the Hogs play Utah Valley State at home in Fayetteville. Interestingly, my wife has a former boyfriend who played basketball for Utah Valley State so I hope we beat the snot out of them! :thumbsup1: Woo Pig Sooiee!!!