Archive for February, 2008
« Previous EntriesChalktalk’s A-10 Regular Season Awards and Post-Season Predictions
Friday, February 29th, 2008With the regular season all but concluded, the Staff at College Chalktalk tackles several items pertaining to both the A-10 and the post-season. Let the debates begin…
1. Who should be the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year?
CDD: Dionte Christmas: While other individuals such as Will Daniels and Brian Roberts have had outstanding seasons, the same can’t be said for their teams down the stretch. Christmas narrowly gets the nod over Pat Calathes of Saint Joe’s.
Christmas, a junior, averages 20.1 ppg. and 6.3 reb.. He’s scored in double figures every game this season, has shot 45% from the floor and nearly 80% from the line. While Calathes has numbers in the same ballpark, Christmas is surrounded by less talent overall (Christmas also plays 37.6 minutes per game). The maturation in his game is the main reason the Owls sit near the top of the conference standings.
Andrew: Co-Players of the Year, Will Daniels and Brian Roberts: Despite the struggles of their respective teams, these two seniors have brought it every game.
Christian: Gary Forbes, UMass. He’s truly done it all for the Minutemen, including giving them a very real chance at grabbing an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Forbes leads the league in scoring, but is also in the league’s top 15 in rebounds, assists and field goal percentage. That’s doing it all for your team.
Guest Column: LaSalle vs. Fordham - Observations
Thursday, February 28th, 2008By: Ray Floriani (Basketball Times/Hoopville)
Bronx: NY - The Fordham Rams hosted LaSalle on Wednesday in a match-up that was important with the clock ticking on the A-10 regular season.
My press row seat was next to LaSalle Athletic Director, Tom Brennan and A-10 officiating observer, Bill McNease. Brennan spoke about both clubs entering on a roll (LaSalle had won four straight while Fordham had a nice road win at Temple on Saturday) and how his young Explorer club had a tough assignment in marking Bryant Dunston of Fordham in the middle.
The following is a game summary, broken down by half. Here are my impressions:
FIRST HALF: Both teams are out man-to-man. LaSalle scores on the first four possessions. This is crucial as a young team on the road cannot afford a slow start. LaSalle, by virtue of the start, comes out the aggressor.
Explorers quickly went zone and were willing to sacrifice perimeter looks rather than allowing Dunston to get the ball on the blocks.
Rams show nice ball movement against the zone. They will take the perimeter shot which LaSalle concedes, but the Rams also make the extra pass often for inside looks. Sebastian Greene got a lot of nice opportunities as Dunston faced double and even triple teams down low.
Round-Up - February 27, 2008
Thursday, February 28th, 2008GEORGE WASHINGTON 85, Rhode Island 68
George Washington (9-14, 5-8) took an early lead in this one and never looked back as they cruised to a 17 point win over the Rams. Noel Wilmore led the Colonials with 24 points off the bench and Damian Hollis chipped in with 22 as GW slashed and shot their way to the victory, controlling the perimeter game and exposing a flawed Rhode Island defense.
Rhode Island (20-9, 6-8) never got their fast break offense ramped-up as a result of their aforementioned defensive weaknesses. They managed to force only 6 turnovers, a dagger to any team that relies on transition as much as Rhode Island. Will Daniels was solid, yet unspectacular, as he dumped in 24 points for the Rams.
TEMPLE 75, Charlotte 61
The Owls (15-12, 8-5) continued their solid play at the Liacouras Center last night. They limited Charlotte (15-12, 6-7) to only 61 points on abysmal 31% shooting from the field and 27% from behind the arc. In the process, Mr. Three-Pointer Himself, Leemire Goldwire, was held to just 3 points.
Temple had three scorers in double figures, led by Dionte Christmas’ 19 points. As a team, the Owls shot a blistering 53% behind the three point line and connected on 83% of their freebies in the win.
Staff Predictions: LU @ FU & URI @ GW
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008We’re coming down the home stretch of the A-10 season and, this week, we will be predicting two games, rather than just one. First, a solid match-up between a LaSalle team that has been playing quite well and a veteran Fordham squad that has won three of four. Next, a reeling URI team travels to the Smith Center to face a GW squad that recently tripped up Richmond.
But first… a recap of last week. CDD predicted he’d return this week at 3-2, rather than 4-1, after taking a flier on Duquesne over Xavier. No surprise. He begins the week 3-2 as a result of Xavier’s destruction of the Dukes. All others chose the Muskies and were rewarded.
Let’s move forward to this week’s predictions:
____________________
Christian:
(Record: 4-1)
LaSalle @ Fordham: Love the way the Explorers have been playing as of late. With that said, I feel like Fordham is going to come ready to play at home and notch a ‘W’.
RAMS 67, Explorers 61
Rhode Island @ George Washington: Ram fans might be ready to jump off the Newport Bridge with a fifth straight loss. Instead, though, they will be jumping back on the bandwagon as the Rams keep their slimming NCAA tournament hopes alive with a close win in Foggy Bottom.
Guest Column: Owls Ahead of Schedule
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008By: Andrew Stark
Replacing a legend is supposed to be difficult. It is supposed to take some time. But for Temple, the turn-around time has been faster and easier than at other programs.
John Chaney, a Hall-of-Fame coach, became synonymous with Temple basketball after serving as head coach for 24 seasons. Chaney led the Owls to five appearances in the Elite Eight during his tenure, and routinely led them to the NCAA tournament. When he retired after the 2005-2006 season, Temple was desperate to make the right choice for his successor.
They seem to have done just that in prying Fran Dunphy away from Ivy League perennial powerhouse Pennsylvania. While at Penn, Dunphy won 10 Ivy League titles, had nine 20-win seasons, and led the Quakers to nine NCAA tournament bids in his 17 seasons. He compiled a 310-163 record; the second most coaching wins in Ivy League history trailing only long-time Princeton coach Pete Carril.
Dunphy’s first season with the Owls saw some bumps in the road, and Temple finished the year 12-18 while Dunphy employed a more laid back approach than his predecessor Chaney .
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