CAA Discussion Thread

[YardBirds13]

I won't get as in depth as I did in the ACC one, but here are my thoughts on the CAA this season:

12- UNC Wilmington

11- William & Mary

10- Towson

The bottom three in the league, pretty clearly in my opinion. Towson loses Junior Hairston, but Pat Kennedy actually has a pretty good recruiting class coming in.

9- Delaware- Lost their best player as well (Marc Egerson), but has a couple solid players on the perimeter (Jawan Carter and Alphonso Dawson)

8- Georgia State- They lost Leonard Mendez, and last year they had a bunch of transfers trying to learn each other. They should be solid this year, and if their big time freshman Rashanti Harris is a beast down low they could make some noise.

7- Drexel- They don't really have a go to guy, especially because they lost their only double digit scorer (Scott Rodgers). They have a big frontcourt with Samme Givens, Evan Neisler and Leon Spencer, but the lack of a go to guy on the perimeter is a killer in the CAA.

6- James Madison- I would have picked JMU much higher had sophomore starting PG Devon Moore not gone down with a torn ACL, he will now miss the entire season. Senior Pierre Curtis, who played off the ball so effectively with Moore last year, will take over at the point where he played his first two years at JMU. Freshman Darren White will start with Curtis in the backcourt. CAA ROY last year Julius Wells and another rookie last year Andrey Semenov can score on the wings, and the Dukes will probably go as far as their big men take them. Senior Dazz Thornton has an injured shoulder and they aren't sure when he will be ready, and Texas A&M transfer Denzel Bowles isn't eligible until after first semester. Even without Moore, Matt Brady should have the best JMU team since the 1990's.

5- Hofstra- They have possible CAA POY Charles Jenkins, who averaged almost 20.0 PPG last year. He is explosive and can take over a game at any time. They have a solid compliment to Jenkins in the backcourt in Cornelius Vines and Greg Washington is a very good defensive player in the post.

4- George Mason- The Patriots lost a ton of talent, but Cam Long really played well last year and should become the leader of this Mason team. Louis Birdsong is a nice piece as a senior in the front court and Ryan Pearson and Michael Morrison both look like they could be future All-CAA players. Mason has what most consider to be the most talented recruiting class in the conference, so if the young guys are what some people expect (and hope) they will be, Mason could be a threat to win the CAA.

3- Northeastern- They return almost their entire team, including All-CAA performer Matt Janning. Janning has help back as well. The Huskies also return guard Chiasson Allen, forward Manny Adako and center Nkem Ojougboh. They have their go to guy in Janning, and a team that knows how to play together. Plus, I'm sure they still have a bitter taste in their mouth after losing in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tourney to Towson last year.

2- VCU- No Maynor. No Anthony Grant. Shaka Smart takes over for Grant, and I think Larry Sanders takes over as future NBA first-rounder. The guy is a beast on the defensive end, and I expect his offense to improve this year without Maynor around. They'll need Joey Rodriguez, who has been inconsistent in the past, to take over for Maynor at the point. Bradford Burgess played well last year and will be counted on heavily to score from the outside this season.

1- Old Dominion- ODU has almost their entire team back from what was a very good team last year. Gerald Lee is one of the top players in the conference guards Darius James and Ben Finney are very solid players. They have help up front for Lee with Frank Hassell and Keyon Carter and have a couple young guys in Anton Larsen and Nick Wright who they think can help out up front. Marsharee Neely played very well down the stretch out of the backcourt, and ODU plays a very tough schedule this year. I think ODU has an outstanding year and is looked at as a near-lock for the NCAA's when the CAA tourney rolls around. I think bubble teams from the big conferences will be rooting for ODU in the CAA Tournament or else they will steal a bid.

And I'll be rooting for them to get knocked out so the CAA gets two bids.

CAA First Team All-Conference:

G- Charles Jenkins, Hofstra

G/F- Matt Janning, Northeastern

G/F- Julius Wells, James Madison

F- Gerald Lee, Old Dominion

F- Larry Sanders, VCU

CAA POY: Sanders, VCU

Any other CAA fans out there? Your thoughts?

[backwardsk]

Glad you started this!

The Patriots tip off on Friday. I'm really looking forward to their season. They are going to be extremely athletic, and will get after it defensively. They'll take their lumps this year, but I like that Long will be the leader. I can see him making all CAA first team. One of their Freshman, Johnny Williams (I think is his name), should be a pretty good player but will need time to develop. Morrison was raw last year, but showed a lot of potential. They'll have a good blend of veterans (although only one senior -Birdsong) to go with this upcoming class. The bulk of the team is freshmen and sophomores with Long and Birdsong as the only big upper classen contributors. Tate (Jr) has had a role, but I could see his playing time decrease.

It's good to hear that JMU is getting that program together. The program just had some terrible news over the past couple of weeks with former player Jabarri Outtz (I'm sure the spelling is off) was killed in a car accident. He was there during my days in Harrisonburg (97-01).

[YardBirds13]

JMU kicks off the CAA season tonight as they travel to Ohio State to take on the Buckeyes and one of the best players in the country, Evan Turner.

The Dukes will be without PG Devon Moore whore tore his ACL and will miss the entire season. Devon is from Columbus so I'm sure it's really tough for him to not be able to play tonight.

Also not available is big man Denzel Bowles, a transfer from Texas A&M who gives the Dukes some size on the inside. Senior PF Dazz Thornton will also miss the game with a shoulder injury, so the Dukes front line will be very thin. Freshman Trevon Flores will start at center in his first collegiate game, but the Dukes should get a break as Ohio St. big guy Dallas Lauderdale is not supposed to play thanks to injury. Ohio State likes to play small, so that actually gives JMU some help as they like to play small as well.

Realistically, the Dukes will probably lose by 20+. Especially without Moore and the two big men, they are really undermanned. They'll be starting two freshman with a third seeing a good amount of minutes. Their backup PG is really more of a swing guard. All that said, can't wait for hoops tonight!

JMU Projected Starting Line-Up:

G- Pierre Curtis, 6-3, Sr.

G- Darren White, 6-3, Fr.

F- Julius Wells, 6-5, So.

F- Andrey Semenov, 6-7, So.

C- Trevon Flores, 6-11, Fr.

Reserves: 6-3 G Ben Louis, Jr., 6-5 G Alioune Diouf, Fr., 6-8 F Matt Parker, Sr., 6-10 F Alvin Brown, Fr.

OUT: 6-4 G Devon Moore, So., 6-7 F Dazzmond Thornton, SR., 6-10 F Denzel Bowles, Jr.

Ohio State Projected Starting Line-Up:

G- William Buford, 6-5, So.

G- Jon Diebler, 6-6, Jr.

G/F- David Lighty, 6-5, Jr.

G/F- Evan Turner, 6-7, Jr.

C- Kyle Madsen, 6-9, Sr.

Reserves: 6-1 G P.J Hill, Sr., 6-2 G Jeremie Simmons, Sr., 6-3 G Walter Offutt, So., 6-8 F Nikola Kecman, So., 7-0 C Zisis Sarikopoulous

OUT: 6-8 F Dallas Lauderdale, Jr.

Go Dukes and rep the CAA!

[O's are Legends]

Great work YardBirds13; there isn’t really too much to add as you’ve done a real good job breaking down the teams. (In the ACC thread as well) I think Northeastern can catch some OOC teams sleeping if they play up to their potential; we will see. Even with Larry Sanders, I don’t think VCU is going to be that good. Don’t really see Joey Rodriguez getting any better. ODU is the team to beat.

JMU played pretty well there in the 1st half against Ohio State. Sorry about Devon Moore, hopefully he will be 100% ready mentally and physically next season.

George Mason

Talent wise, Mason is really deep but whether they mature quickly is another story. I really believe Mason will be a top 25 next year but I’m not sure what to expect this season. Like backwardsk said, I can definitely see Cam Long making first team all CAA as well. I really like what I saw in Ryan Pearson last year as he had good numbers in limited minutes and I see him becoming the go to guy in the post. Along with Mike Mo they have power in the paint. I was really shocked what I saw out of Andre Cornelius in the preseason game and it looks as if has made big strides from last year. Hopefully he can surprise the Mason fans during the regular season as well.

Luke Hancock is going to be a player. He really showed a lot of poise and skill for a freshman. Johnny Williams was a top forward recruit but he needs some polishing but that’s fine. Sherrod Wright, well let’s just say he is one of Mason’s biggest recruits ever. I’m really pumped as a Mason fan as they’re going to be a real powerhouse mid major team again. Whether that’s going to be this year I’ll have to watch and see.

More on Sherrod Wright, (I was going crazy when he signed his letter of intent.)

Wright had offers by Marquette, Xavier, Kansas State, PITT, Cincinnati, UMASS, and Providence just to name a few.

Wright completes a six-man highly-rated recruiting class. He was overwhelmingly voted as Mr. Basketball in Section 1 by the Tri-County Basketball Coaches Association. Wright, a fourth year starter, won four sectionals and two state championships at Mount Vernon. Among shooting guards, Wright is ranked 35th in the nation by Scout.com and 32nd by ESPN. He played at Madison Square Garden in the regional game of the Jordan Brand Classic.

Sherrod Wright

George Mason ranked #1 Mid Major recruiting class in the Nation by ESPN.

--

Some more tidbits on the CAA by ESPN:

ESPN.com lists Mason's Johnny Williams as one of 10 freshmen to watch. Fran Fraschilla contributed to the piece with 10 Players to Keep An Eye On which included VCU's Larry Sanders. He also mentioned Old Dominion in the section titled Don't Sleep On These Teams. Andy Katz listed Northeastern as another Team to Watch. Katz also selected Old Dominion at Georgetown as a game the Selection Committee will be watching.

Peace.

[YardBirds13]

Great stuff on Mason. I knew they had a great class but wasn't sure of the details. Sounds like Wright and Williams are the guys to watch. I think there is a pretty good chance that next year Mason and JMU are the two best teams in the CAA.

[backwardsk]

Mason holds off Liberty at the Patriot Center in their opener 76-72.

Andre Cornelius led the way with 17 points including 4 3-pointers.

Interesting that Cam Long only played 20 minutes despite no fouls. I guess Larranaga wanted to get the freshmen involved. Hancock and Foster got some minutes.

[Goop]

Thanks for starting this thread!

I'm a huge CAA fan, born and bred a VCU fan.

I went to the opening game Friday night. VCU looked good. They ended up beating Bethune-Cookman by almost 30. Joey Rodriguez stepped up and performed very well in place of Maynor. Larry Sanders did well in the 1st half, but got into some foul trouble in the 2nd half. That's one thing he has to get better at. If he gets in to foul trouble early, it's not going to be good for the Rams.

[backwardsk]

Mason gets their second victory of the weekend to start off 2-0 before heading out to Puerto Rico and face Villanova.

Morrison and Pearson both had double-doubles.

[nemO821]

Towson beats Miami(OH) by 11 and Miami(OH) loses to Kentucky on a last second shot. I started to think Towson could be competitve this year.

[millsy25]

Delle Donne coming off of her 50 point game in a scrimmage vs St. Josephs, put up 19/6/5 in her collegiate debut in a W over St. Francis. Sorry, had to plug the women's team, because UD Men's hoops have stunk ever since Brey left.

Carter is having to play out of position at the point. Brian Johnson was a huge loss, after tearing his ACL. I'd be thrilled with 10 wins this year.

[beaner]

Mason takes Villanova to the wire before losing by 1..The conference RPI would've been top 10 had they held on. UNCW leading Penn State as I type...

[backwardsk]

Mason takes Villanova to the wire before losing by 1..The conference RPI would've been top 10 had they held on. UNCW leading Penn State as I type...

If they had only hit their free throws at the end of the game. It was great experience for the freshmen though.

[backwardsk]

Jeff Capel's Oklahoma (17) gets the beat down in Richmond against his old VCU Rams.

I think it's great that his contract mandated this game. I wish there were more CAA versus big conference match-ups. Mason should be playing Maryland, UVA, and Georgetown from year to year.

[millsy25]

Great win for VCU against Oklahoma and they played really good D.

Delaware gets its first win of the year and improved to 1-13 at The Palestra with a 97-94 win over Penn. Carter with 35 and Dawson with 28.

Delle Donne with 35 and 10 and the CAA could have three ladies (Evans, Marginean and Delle Donne) in the top 5 in national scoring average by the end of the year.

[backwardsk]

On Sunday, GMU wrapped up a 1-2 record in their Puerto Rican tournament by beating Indiana on a Cam Long 3-pointer.

The Patriots saw some good competition and hung in all three games against teams from the Big 10, ACC, and Big East. That's pretty impressive for such a young squad. Hopefully they can build on the experience and start hitting some free throws!