Gannon Hoops

"If It Starts Right ...

2012-01-28T07:57:00.002-05:00

... it finishes right." If I had a dollar for every time I heard Bob Dukiet say that sentence, I'd have enough money to buy popcorn for everyone at the IUP game on Wednesday. Coach Dukiet's aphorism proved true during Gannon's 80-49 lambasting of winless Lock Haven Saturday. The Knights raced out to a 14-2 advantage at the outset and, much to the surprise of many GU fans, didn't hand over that lead.

I'm encouraged the GU defense continues to improve. I know LHU is hapless, but to hold any team without a field goal for 11 minutes and 25 seconds is impressive. Earlier this season when the defense was porous, I'd count to see if the Knights could get five stops in a row. I rarely got to three or four. Gannon just couldn't sustain a consistent defensive effort. Now they can.

PSAC Freshman of the Year Adam Blazek (yes, I've already given him the award) continues to excel, producing a stat line of 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Darrell Blanton (10 points, 9 rebounds) didn't have his biggest game of the year, but he was still productive.

I'm waiting for a third scorer to emerge on this team. Brandon Belt had 16 and Oscar Macias totalled 11 vs. Lock Haven; I'd like to see that more often. Let me state that a little stronger: the Knights will remain a .500-ish team until they establish a reliable third scorer to replace the injured Stephen Battle. I don't know if it's a matter of running some set plays for Belt and Macias or just waiting for these first-year Division II players to get comfortable, but they've got to get it done. Wednesday evening vs. IUP would be the perfect time for Belt and/or Macias to put together a second consecutive double-digit night.

No Comment

2012-01-25T17:10:00.002-05:00

I have to admit, I missed Wednesday night's game due to a family commitment. I'll let you guys carry the weight analyzing yet another depressing loss. I'll just sit back and sigh.

Ironmen Challenge

2012-01-21T06:38:00.011-05:00

I'm not sure what to say after Gannon's 18-point drubbing of Clarion on Saturday, 81-63. Have you ever heard the saying, "Been down so long, don't know which way is up"? Because of Gannon's three consecutive torturous losses, I was in that state of mind even with a 20-point second-half lead vs. the Golden Eagles. When Clarion cut the margin to 15 on a three-pointer with 4 minutes to play, I have to admit I thought "here we go again."

But the Knights responded with an Oscar Macias layup off a perfect backdoor feed from Darrell Blanton to push the lead to 17. An Adam Blazek steal, his fourth of the afternoon to help his keep his PSAC lead in that statistic, helped melt 30 more seconds off the clock, and the Knights won going away. It was satisfying to see Gannon post a resounding win in a game they needed to have. Ordinary teams fold in this situation, but GU played with increased intensity.

There's been lots of talk on this website about the Knights being tired. Did you see any of that yesterday? I didn't, even though John Reilly opted to not substitute during the entire second half. In his radio interview with Jim LeCorchick after the game, Reilly made it clear the lack of subs wasn't an oversight. He said, "When you play with media timeouts every four minutes, to me, it's impossible to get tired. ... People think we practice too hard which is ludicrous. It's basketball -- we're trying to learn, we're trying to get better. We're not fools. All the coaches have played."

First, you have to love his conviction. Second, I have to agree with him. Remember what college basketball was like prior to media timeouts for all games? The regular season games breezed by with little interruption, and then when the NCAAs (and media timeouts) showed up, the game really dragged because of all the stoppages. Now we fans are accustomed to the media timeouts and think coaches still need to rest players just like the good ol' days -- even though they get 8 minutes of stopped time each half with official timeouts.

Here's my personal perspective on this topic and why I think resting players during games is fairly overrated (when your team doesn't full-court press):
* During offseason pickup games, there are no media timeouts or free throws, and winner stays on. We'd play first to 8 field goals, which is essentially a quarter of a typical basketball game. Nobody ever, ever asked for a sub, even if you were in your fourth consecutive game.
* A few years ago, I helped organize an AAU-type all-star team called the Erie Red Storm. For one Saturday, we had only five players and had to play three games. We must have lost all three games without subs, right? And the third game was probably a ragged affair because the players' legs were shot, right? Nope. It seemed like the club got better with each game and we won all three.
* When I played at Bethel Christian High School, we didn't have a JV team, so I was on the varsity all four years. In about 70 career games, I was on the bench for a total of eight minutes -- and most of that was the six minutes I sat during a blowout of Portersville Christan School. When you're in your teens or early 20s, you have energy to burn. (Side note: I may hold the Guinness World Record for biggest playing time differential between high school and college.)

All that said, if I was a college coach, I'd still rotate eight or maybe nine players just to keep guys happy and to be prepared when a starter gets hurt or picks up fouls. And I'd have a pre-stated rotation so the players didn't have to wonder how much PT they'd get going into a game. As I recall, that's how Tom Chapman worked his lineup. The rotation was set prior to the game and would only get altered if a player had a hot streak or picked up two fouls in the first half. Then Chappy would implement situational substitutions in the closing minutes of the game.

We can argue all we want about subs, but Reilly's plan -- which none of us would have endorsed prior to the Clarion game -- certainly worked.

Knight Knotes:
* I'd like to know the thoughts of Clarion coach Dr. Ron Righter when he looked at the stat sheet and saw T.J. Wilson's line: 20 points, 9 rebounds, 7-for-9 on field goals, and 6-for-10 on free throws. Wilson entered the game averaging 2.3 ppg and 1.9 rpg.

* How about Mercyhurst trouncing #10 IUP Saturday, 71-47? And Slippery Rock trashed visiting Edinboro, 85-57. Quite a wacky weekend in the PSAC West.

* For all Gannon Hoops followers experiencing difficulty viewing comments, the solution seems to be abandoning Internet Explorer and switching to the Firefox web browser. Click here for a free download of Firefox.

An Open Letter To The Basketball Gods

2012-01-18T07:00:00.002-05:00

Some of you faithful Gannon Hoops followers might recall my Open Letter To George Johnson after the Gannon sharpshooter quit the team in November 2009. I don't know if Johnson read the letter (but the final comment on the post seems to reveal that a supporter of his certainly did), but George rejoined the team shortly afterwards and led the Knights in nearly every offensive category. I'm hoping that tactic works again with this open letter to the basketball gods. They've been messing with us Gannon fans and I want it to stop now.

Dear basketball gods:

Most letters start out real friendly and all, but this isn't one of them. Stop jerking us around. The past year has been sheer torture for us Gannon fans. Let me recap in case you forgot. Here's what the Knights have endured over the past 365 days:

* Not qualifying for the playoffs last March. Of course, the NCAAs, but Gannon didn't even make the PSAC playoffs. The Knights missed out on being a top 4 team in a 7-team conference. OK, technically it's 8 in the PSAC West, but did 1-26 Lock Haven really count? (Speaking of "counting" and "Lock Haven", check out the giant crowd they drew for a recent home game by clicking here.)

* A 14-13 overall record. I remember years ago when Gannon printed its pocket schedule, the last three lines gave the dates for the Elite 8 in Springfield, Mass. Everyone expected the Knights to advance deep in the NCAAs. Now I'm planning to spend the weekend of this year's regionals in North Springfield at Peggy Gray Candies off Route 20 West.

* A 10-7 mark at the Hammermill Center. Opponents used to fear playing in the Audi. But burned into my brain from the past year is Seton Hill celebrating its Porreco Cup title and Daemen advancing to the Gary Miller Classic finals while the Knights slinked back to their locker room. (By the way, Seton Hill is just 1-6 since their wild win over Gannon while NAIA Daemen is just 7-6 since shocking the Knights.)

Seven losses at the Audi in one calendar year! I just looked in the Gannon media guide and saw that in my 4-year career at Gannon we lost 11 total games at the Hammermill, an average of less than 3 a year. And those weren't even the glory days. In his final 7 years at Gannon, Jerry Slocum lost just 14 games at the 'Mill. And those weren't even the glory days!

* Here's the kicker that really has me fed up with the basketball gods: 10 of Gannon's 13 losses have been by 4 points or fewer. And in the the 6-point loss at Cal a week ago, Gannon trailed by just 1 with under 2 minutes to play. And don't get me started on the 3 overtime losses, including 1 in double OT. I thought the 5 nailbiting losses in late-January and February last year were excruciating, and then you serve me up a half dozen already this season. The topper was Wednesday's 62-61 heartpulverizer at Mercyhurst, which won't go away no matter how much Mylanta I guzzle.

Is it my fault? I know I made a deal with you 20 years ago when you helped a freckle-faced 145-pound guard with poor ballhandling skills and a line drive jumpshot make the Gannon roster. But if I had known it would have resulted in this, I might have just tried out for the cross country team instead.

My request to you is to give this Gannon team two additional successful possessions per game. They don't have to be anything spectacular like a Darrell Blanton dunk or an Adam Blazek whirling dirvish layup. Just two more good possessions -- 4 more points each game. If I'd have asked for this before the season, our Knights would be something like 13-2 instead of, sigh, 8-and-stinking-7.

On behalf of Gannon fans everywhere, especially those on the floor in the fetal position, thank you for considering this request.

Sincerely,
Irritated in Erie

P.S. BYU-Hawaii advanced to the DII national championship game last year after starting its season 5-4. If you could give me that deal, it would be really sweet. Thanks again.

Where Has All The Offense Gone?

2012-01-14T10:00:00.003-05:00

The engine that powered the Knights' high-octane offense in the first 12 games of the season is now sputtering. In Saturday's 65-59 loss at California (Pa.), GU scored a season-low 59 points, 27 below their average. They shot just 22-of-53 from the field (41%) and 5-of-18 on threes (28%). Combine that with Gannon's 27-for-70 field goal chart (38%) vs. Edinboro, and you can see that Gannon's offense needs a tune-up. It's interesting to see how this team's personality has flip-flopped like a politician. At the start of the season, they handled the ball confidently and scored easily but allowed nearly as many points. Now they've tightened up the defense but stopped making shots.

So where has all the offense gone? Nobody can say for sure, put I'm speculating some Gannon fans will say it's John Reilly's fault for running the team too hard in practice. I think it's probably more of what Tom Chapman taught his players at Gannon: the first half of the season, you'll score on your first option. Then, after teams have you scouted, you'll need to score on your second or third option. GU's first option has been transition basketball -- score quickly before the opponent gets set. Now that teams are making Gannon swing the ball and score in half court, the offensive productivity has waned.

The Knights need to make some adjustments or this will end up another season described as "disappointing" and "mediocre." Gannon fans expect the NCAA playoffs every year. They don't have a second option.

Knight Knotes:
* I felt bad about Gannon's loss but what made me feel worse was Reilly saying after the game, "Steve (Piotrowicz) probably won't be back" after missing Saturday's game due to injury. Piotrowicz, who has battled a hip injury for months, is a heart-and-soul kind of player the Knights will miss in practices and games. And beyond the intangibles, he's the only other PG the Knights have besides Adam Blazek. Piotrowicz's absence will hurt Gannon's offense for sure.

* The Knights are now a 8-6 overall. I checked out the rest of the region, and 14 teams have better records than Gannon. I didn't research their in-region and vs. Division II opponents records which carry the weight in the regional ranking, but here's where those 14 teams currently stand overall:
-- The PSAC boasts 7 teams with more stellar records: IUP (12-2), Bloomsburg (12-3), Clarion (11-5), Edinboro (9-5), Mercyhurst (9-5), Slippery Rock (9-5), and Kutztown (9-5).
-- In the WVIAC, 4 schools have better marks than GU: West Liberty (14-1), Alderson-Broaddus (12-2), Charleston (12-4), and Wheeling Jesuit (9-5).
-- The CIAA seems to be having a down season, but Shaw (12-2), Winston-Salem (11-2), Bowie State (10-3) still have better records than our Knights.
Even if the Knights catch fire these next 2 weeks, don't anticipate them being ranked in the region when the first Atlantic rankings are released later this month. There are several teams in GU's way before they break into the region's upper echelon.

* Interesting that Cal spent $59 million for their new 6,000-seat convocation center but drew only 257 for Saturday's game.

Helter-Skelter Season Melter

2012-01-11T06:47:00.006-05:00

For us fans of Gannon hoops, it doesn't get much more disappointing than what we saw at the Hammermill Center Wednesday night, a 76-62 loss to Edinboro. The Knights opened PSAC West play sputtering on offense, flailing on defense, and blowing a 13-point second half lead, which led a home loss (GU's third already this year) to a local rival. Even worse is the damage the result has on Gannon's postseason hopes.

I don't want to overreact here; I'm not saying the season's over. But, as my brother Rob asked me recently, how many losses can Gannon absorb before they're eliminated from NCAA playoff contention? Nine? Maybe 10 at the outer limit? Mercyhurst was 20-7 last year and didn't receive an NCAA bid. Slippery Rock got in with 10 losses because they racked up 20 wins, many of them thanks to a late-season surge. At 8-5, the Knights are already halfway to 10 Ls and they still have to go on the road to face IUP (11-2, 8-1 PSAC), Clarion (11-4, 7-2 PSAC), and Slippery Rock (9-4). There's also the home-and-home with Mercyhurst where nothing's guaranteed (except that thousands of Catholic fans will swear at each other in the name of Christian fellowship). If the Knights keep their pace of winning half their road games (GU is 2-2 away from the Audi) and two-thirds of their home games (6-3 currently), Gannon will finish the regular season 15-11 or 16-10 and be on the bubble for the PSAC tournament.

Again, I'm not saying the season's over. I'm just highlighting that the Knights need to pick up the pace before the Lake Erie snow flurries finally show up, or Gannon's special season will never come to fruition.

Fight Club

2012-01-06T06:55:00.003-05:00

Of course I was thrilled that Gannon scored two wins in the final weekend of PSAC crossover play, blasting Bloomsburg Friday, 81-67, and then manhandling Mansfield Saturday, 74-54. What had to make GU fans ecstatic beyond the double-digit victories was that the Knights did it playing their best defense of the season. The stats tell the first part of the story:
* Entering the brace of games, Gannon was allowing 77.7 ppg. They allowed only 60.5 ppg vs. the Huskies and the Mounties.
* Opponents were shooting 46.3% from the field prior to Friday. Mansfield shot 31% while Bloom had to catch fire in the second half to produce a 42% shooting chart.
* The Knights were outrebounding opponents by +8 per game, a John Reilly staple, but they cranked it up a notch vs. Bloom (+11, 41-30) and then vs. MU (+16, 48-32).

What the Knights are doing beyond the box score has me even more excited about their prospects entering PSAC West play. They are outworking and outfighting their opponents for every loose ball and on nearly every defensive possession. They've been relentless even when the game wasn't on the line. Leading Mansfield 71-52 with about 2 minutes to go Saturday, Dmitry Martynenko was positioned on the weak side with a Mansfield defender between him and the basket, but he muscled his way inside to earn Gannon's 16th offense rebound of the night. Next, off Martynenko's missed FT, Brandon Belt lost some skin on his knees diving after the loose ball in front of the Gannon bench. About 20 seconds later, Adam Blazek lept out of bounds after a deflection and slammed the ball off an MU player so the Knights could earn possession of the ball.

Why do the Knights play this way? Two key reasons I think. First, Reilly has recruited players with a mindset that meshes with his system. Anybody who saw Blazek play at Prep knows that he didn't begin to learn hard work and extra effort in college. The second reason is something that some commenters here have slammed Reilly for: he works this team like crazy and continually pushes them for greater effort. For example, with Gannon leading Mansfield comfortably late in the second half Saturday, the Knights committed a foul on a transition layup. No big deal, right? Not when you're teaching Bob Dukiet defense. Reilly took two steps toward midcourt and yelled at his team in Jerry Slocum style, "Hey! Hey! NO JOGGING!"

I'm not sure how many more games Gannon will win this season. We were reminded at the Porreco Cup that crazy things can happen to good teams. But seeing that the Knights finally have the mindset to outfight their opponents for a full 40 minutes gives me hope they'll be battling to host a PSAC playoff home game 6 weeks from now.

Knight Knotes:
* I hear that Battle will be out of the lineup another 2 or 3 weeks. As one fan mentioned to me yesterday, this could be a long-term blessing for the Knights because it allows them to play Shameel Carty and develop more bench depth.
* You don't have to watch the Knights for very long to understand that Brandon Belt is a pure shooter. But his athleticism literally jumped out to me this weekend. Not only was he quick to the ball, but he soared over everyone to block 2 shots Saturday.
* Bloomsburg PG Trevon Johnson entered Friday's game vs. Gannon as the Huskies #2 scorer at 10.7 ppg, and he was averaging only 2.6 turnovers per game. But against GU, Johnson produced more TOs (6) than points (4). A frustrated Bloom coach succinctly (and loudly) explained why when he yelled, "He's trying to match that (expletive deleted) kid," referring to PG counterpart Adam Blazek, "instead of just playing!" Saturday night at Clarion, Johnson carried Bloom to victory, scoring 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including the game-winning jumper with 3 seconds to play.
* Click on think link for video highlights and interviews from this weekend's games. Gannon SID Dan Teliski has done a tremendous job utilizing multimedia to give us full coverage of the Knights.

Where's Juan Rankin When You Need Him?

2011-12-30T17:32:00.006-05:00

When Gannon loses a double-overtime game on a half-court heave like they did Friday night vs. Seton Hill, you'd think I'd feel awful. Surprisingly, I actually feel tremendous -- I witnessed one of the greatest games in the history of the legendary Porreco Cup. In the grand scheme of things, so what if Gannon came out on the short end, 103-100? Don't get me wrong. If this would have been an NCAA playoff game to end Gannon's season, I'd have jumped off Dobbins Landing into the bay before the teams made it back to their locker rooms.

Here's what I witnessed last night that I've never seen before and probably won't ever see again:
* A buzzer beater from just beyond midcourt (watch it here at the 1-minute mark) to win a tournament championship. It was awful for us Gannon fans, but incredible for SHU's Oliver McGlade. His Twitter feed shows this is the highlight of his athletic career. Good for him.
* A college tournament championship game where both teams reach the 100-point mark.
* A team rally on the road from 13 down with 5 minutes to play and from 6 down with under a minute to go to force OT.
* A team making 15-of-22 threes (68.2%), and getting hotter from behind the arc as the game wore on. Here's Seton Hill's 3-point shooting chart for the game: 1st half -- 5-of-9, 2nd half -- 5-of-7, OT -- 5-of-6.
* Oh, and they made all 8 of their free throw attempts, making their combined three-point and foul shot percentage a robust 76.7%. And they still needed 2 overtimes to dispose of the resilient Knights! When you shoot like that, you usually win going away.
* Andrew Cressler, Seton Hill's #3 scorer, played out of his mind for an incredible 46 minutes, scoring 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting. Through 8 games prior to the Porreco finals, he averaged just 11 ppg was 8-for-19 on threes. He made all 5 of his treys against the Knights, most of them in the clutch.
* The final play of a game at the Hammermill hitting #2 on ESPN SportsCenter's top plays the next day. Kudos to Gannon SID Dan Teliski for the link.

I'm looking at the Gannon media guide right now, and I can't think of a better Porreco final I've witnessed. Michael Hammond ripped Gannon's hearts out in 1986 with a 37-point performance including a game-winner at the horn. Gannon's loss to Northern Kentucky in 2000 when Craig Conley went wild from every spot on the floor is also one for the ages.

The Porreco championship that might compete with Friday's classic was Gannon's 54-51 upset of eventual national champion Virginia Union in 1991. Highlights included a 270-degree dunk by Derrick Price to open the game, two last-second baskets to close the first half and give Gannon a halftime lead, a clutch jumper by VUU All-American guard Walter Hurd to tie the game at 51, and Juan Rankin's heave at the buzzer to send the capacity crowd into a frenzy.

I still get chills thinking about that game even though it was -- gulp! -- exactly 20 years ago. Maybe it was fate that McGlade wins the tournament on the same hoop as Rankin did two decades apart. Yes, part of me would have preferred Gannon cruise to an unremarkable 10-point victory and sport a 7-3 record instead of an unimpressive 6-4 mark. The wiser part of me realizes that I had the privilege to witness an incredible game that will never be forgotten by those lucky enough to attend.

Athletic, Scrappy, Unselfish, AND Relentless

2011-12-29T06:32:00.007-05:00

I'm not going to say much about Gannon's 94-62 annihilation of Malone in the opening round of the Porreco Cup because we'll have plenty of time to talk after the championship game vs. Seton Hill. Also I don't want to jinx the Knights by gushing about them only to watch them lay an egg in the finals.

So I used the headline of this post to gush. The Knights are a combination of those four attributes: Athletic, Scrappy, Unselfish, AND Relentless. Talented teams usually don't get the dirty work done or don't need to be hard workers. The underdogs are usually the ones diving on the floor and sharing the ball in order to maximize their talent. But the Knights showed against Malone they can do all four.

Adam Blazek was a perfect example of this. He led all scorers with 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting and topped all defenders with 9 steals. His play of the night might have been saving a ball on the sidelines, falling into the Pioneer bench, zipping back onto the floor, immediately picking off a pass, and then going the distance for a layup. Blazek also triggered one of the prettiest fastbreaks in Gannon history. After receiving an outlet from Dmitry Martynenko, he fired a one-handed pass from the opposite foul line to Stephen Battle on the left wing. Battle dropped a quick bounce pass in the lane to Darrell Blanton who sent a touch pass to Oscar Macias on the right block for a layup. (You can watch the play in here on YourErie.com. Kudos to my main man Craig Smylie for solid camerawork.) In 6 seconds, all 5 Knights touched the ball and converted a defensive rebound into a layup.

Knight Knotes:
* I overheard a bizarre conversation at the game. One referee walked over to Malone coach Tim Walker and asked, "Is there anybody on the white team you want me to watch because he (John Reilly) wants me to watch number 32." I've never seen that happen before.
* Tanner Furno and Brandon Belt combined for 31 points off the bench. Furno looked comfortable rolling down the lane rather than posting up against heavier defenders. And Belt looked even more relaxed spotting up for 5 threes. When that kid has time to set his feet, he's almost automatic.
* Gannon has scored 90 or more points in 3 consecutive games and 4 of their last 5. Last year they topped 90 points once in 26 contests. The 2008-09 team which advanced to the Elite 8 scored 90 points just 3 times in 34 games, and they did it against dregs Lock Haven, Urbana, and Daemen.
* It will be fun to watch if Gannon is able to defend two-time Porreco Cup MVP Chris Giles in tonight's championship. Malone was a good matchup for Gannon because they weren't quick penetrators. Giles is one of the best slashers in small college basketball.

Making A List

2011-12-16T22:32:00.005-05:00

Our good friend Santa usually does the list writing this time of year, but this time it's your turn. Make your list in the comments section below with your opinion of 3 Knights who you believe rank at the top of these categories:

1. Best pure shooters
2. Best slashers
3. Best ballhandlers
4. Best shot blockers
5. Favorite players

If you'd like some help to jog your memory, click here for a list of Gannon's all-time record holders and click here for the list of all-time letterwinners at GU.

I'll share my favorites with you later; I'd like to hear first what you have to say. Just click the comments link below or (because the Blogger format is far from perfect) just email me at Jim.Roddy@JamesonPublishing.com if that works better for you.

Thanks to Steve Bohen, my former partner in Gannon's radio booth, for this idea to help get us through the near three-week layoff from live hoops at the Audi. If Steve didn't make this suggestion, I was going to start a blog on Mercyhurst basketball called "ManchelMania!"

The Look Of A Winner

2011-12-10T10:52:00.016-05:00

Quick question for you: Can you name one game from the past two seasons (since the Knights advanced to the Elite 8 in 2009) that was a better performance for Gannon than Saturday's 94-75 drubbing of Shippensburg? Feel free to look at the results from 2009-10 and 2010-11 before answering that question, but I don't think you'll find a decent answer.

Now I'm not going to clear my schedule for the weekend of the Division II Elite 8 (which is March 21-22 & 24 in Northern Kentucky, in case you were wondering) because Cheyney and Ship weren't exactly top-flight teams. But you had to like the offensive firepower and efficiency the Knights displayed this weekend. Against Ship, Gannon shot 56% from the field, 42% on threes, and committed only 5 turnovers while handing out 26 assists. Five players hit double figures ... and whodathunk the center position would lead the way with 30 points and 18 rebounds on 14-of-18 shooting. Dmitry Martynenko broke out with 18 points and 11 boards while Tanner Furno jumped off the bench (literally) for 11 and 7 while making 6-of-7 from the field.

Compare Gannon's offensive numbers for this year vs. last season:
PPG: 85.2 ppg vs. 70.5 ppg (+15.3)
FG%: 51.1% vs. 45.9% (+5.2%)
3FG%: 40.9% vs. 33.9% (+7.0%)
FT%: 75.2% vs. 70.2% (+5.2%)
Assist-to-TO ratio: 1.2-to-1 vs. 0.89-to-1 (+.31)
Offensive rebounds: 14.5 rpg vs. 10.5 rpg (+5.0)
Games scoring 80+ points: 6 of 8 (75%) vs. 5 of 26 (19.2%)
Games scoring 90+ points: 3 of 8 (37.5%) vs. 1 of 26 (3.8%)

So the Knights are shooting 5% better and even when they miss, they're likely to grab the offensive rebound for another scoring opportunity. That will get you a higher scoring total and eventually a higher win percentage that last year's 15-11 mark.

Even with the two lopsided victories this weekend, defense still has to be a concern for John Reilly. Dribble penetration by Ship led to the Raiders being comfortable on the perimeter and connecting on 9-of-16 threes. The defense was the best it's been all year these past two games, but it has to improve even more if the Knights want to make a postseason run.

Knight Knotes:
* Check out the photo galleries from this weekend's games by clicking here (GU vs. Cheyney) and here (GU vs. Ship). Pic #41 of the GU/Ship set is tremendous -- Stephen Battle's soaring dunk in the second half. Kudos to Joe Mattis for his camera work.

* Be sure to weigh in on our effort to give Darrell Blanton a nickname he deserves. Blanton lived up to his billing as the King of Jammermill Saturday with a 20-point, 9-rebound, high-energy effort.

* Though Gannon is off for 18 days until the Porreco Cup, the Gannon Hoops staff will still be working. We'll talk about some Knights of years gone by and would like to hear your thoughts.

UPDATED 12/12/11: Thanks to Gannon Hoops follower JRD who emailed me this photo of former Knight Kyle Goldcamp on Cleveland Cavaliers media day. Very cool to see him in an NBA uni. I'm saving this photo for my 5-year-old daughter to show her that hard work pays off. For more info on Goldcamp in the NBA, click here to read the press release from Gannon. I think Goldcamp might have a future in The Association because I heard when he transferred from UPJ, he did a live show on their campus radio station and said, "In this fall, I'm going to take my talents to Presque Isle and join the Gannon Knights."

Darrell Blanton Needs A Nickname

2011-12-09T07:17:00.005-05:00

Because of the quick turnaround -- Gannon tips off against Shippensburg in less than 16 hours from the moment I'm writing this -- I won't recap the Knights 91-60 shellacking of Cheyney tonight at the Hammermill Center. I'll address a more pressing issue: super junior Darrell Blanton needs a nickname.

Something good like John "Shanghai" Matthews or Gerald "Bad News" Walker. Maybe he could borrow a name from "Dr. Dunkenstein" Darryl Griffith or Herman "The Helicopter" Knowings. Blanton earned special distinction with his spectacularly consistent early season play, including tonight's 25-point, 6-rebound, 5-assist and 4-dunk domination of the Wolves.

I'd like to hear your suggestions for nicknames. Right now I'm thinking the Euclid Rocket or the Peach Street Pogo Stick. Feel free to post your thoughts below or email me at Jim.Roddy@JamesonPublishing.com.

(Photo courtesy Gannon University and Joe Mattis.)

The Insanity Continues

2011-12-04T08:53:00.003-05:00

We're 6 games into the season and I've already gone nuts. Gannon continued its mind-boggling string of close PSAC games with an 83-79 overtime loss at West Chester. With my brain and my emotions ragged, I won't offer much opinion in this post. Instead, I'll just state facts that if proposed for a movie script would be rejected for being unrealistic.

Here are the results for Gannon's last 13 PSAC games when both teams were still playoff eligible, including last season:
vs. California L 72-70
vs. Mercyhurst L 68-64 OT
@ Clarion W 76-67
@ Slippery Rock L 69-67 (SRU field goal at the buzzer)
@ Indiana PA L 73-58
vs. Edinboro L 69-68 (EUP field goal at the buzzer)
@ Mercyhurst W 79-71
@ California L 53-50
vs. Slippery Rock W 62-59
@ East Stroudsburg L 90-89
@ Kutztown W 80-79
@ Millersville W 98-97 OT
@ West Chester L 83-79 OT

An incredible 10 of those 13 games were decided by one possession or in overtime. It gets even crazier when you throw in Gannon's 64-63 independent win vs. Central State on Feb. 7 and their 67-65 loss to Daemen in this year's Gary Miller Classic.

I challenge you to find another basketball program with a string of that many close games. Heck, I challenge you to find a hockey team with a scoring differential greater than what Gannon's experienced.

America's (Least Boring) Team

2011-12-03T09:36:00.007-05:00

At 3-2, Gannon doesn't have a scintillating winning percentage. But you're certainly getting your money's worth as a Golden Knight fan. Gannon's played only 5 games, but emotionally I feel like we're already deep into the NCAA Tournament. The Knights rallied at Millersville Saturday afternoon to claim a 98-97 win in overtime, meaning that 4 of Gannon's 5 games have been decided in the final possession. The difference in all three PSAC games has been 1 point. My heart has been pounding through my chest down the stretch of every game except the Roberts Wesleyan shellacking. At next weekend's home games, the maintenance staff might consider stocking up on defibrillators.

I paid the $7 to watch the Millersville game via the Internet, and it was worth every penny. (I hope they don't charge my credit card extra because the game went into overtime.) Here are some other thoughts on the contest:

* John Reilly said in his postgame radio interview that he wouldn't comment on the officiating. I think that's a nice way of saying it was suspect at best. I didn't have the best angle or video quality with the Internet feed, but it appeared to me the game was called too closely. The 64 fouls listed in the box score -- a whopping 39 against Gannon -- would seem to agree with me. Players would force a shot by throwing themselves into a crowd and get bailed out by a whistle. There was also a big non-call with just over 90 seconds left where a GU player took an obvious charge but with no call it led to open MU three-pointer.

* Gannon played the entire OT with a lineup of players under 6-foot-5. (Made me feel like I was watching the old Erie Wave of the WBL.) Forwards Dmitry Martynenko, Tanner Furno, and Darrell Blanton had all fouled out and Bubby Johnson didn't make the trip due to injury. But the Knights still got it done with a lineup I'm guessing Coach Reilly never intended using down the stretch.

* Reilly talked earlier this week in an interview with Jim LeCorchick about Oscar Macias needing to be more aggressive on offense. Macias responded with 20 points (13 above his average) on 6-of-11 shooting before becoming the 4th of 5 Knights to foul out of the contest. Macias hit a clutch pull-up 3 with 26 seconds left in regulation and two free throws at the 19-second mark to key Gannon's comeback.

* Macias wasn't the only one filling up the basket. Blanton has become ol' reliable on the stat sheet: 21 points, 10 rebounds, 8-of-15 shooting. Stephen Battle (17 points, 7-of-7 from the foul line) took over the game at times. And Adam Blazek plays with incredible confidence. He's always attacking on offense and doesn't hesitate to stick it in your eye if you give him any space. Blazek hit for 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting including 4-of-6 on threes. And he only committed 1 turnover. Not to jinx the kid, but can we give him Gannon's third consecutive PSAC Freshman of the Year award now?

* So, lots of kudos to hand out after this game. But the Knights still gave up 97 points to a team that was averaging 73 a game coming in and had lost 4 games in a row. Gannon's on-ball defense is dreadful. They continue to allow guards penetration all the way to the basket or at least into the paint for pull-up jumpers. Millersville, who looked comfortable all afternoon, shot 53% from the field. Gannon has to shore up this aspect of their game or else they'll be on the wrong end of too many games in the 80s.

* The Millersville video broadcast had no sound and it rarely showed the scoreboard, so you needed Gannon's radio feed through the WERG website to keep track of the score and situation. But someone at WERG cut off the hoops broadcast with a minute to go in regulation and opted instead for some smooth jazz lovey dovey music. Bizarre way to watch a crucial game. If you needed a reminder this isn't the upper echelon of the basketball world, this was it.

Adam's Evening

2011-11-26T15:36:00.006-05:00

Adam Blazek's college debut in his hometown was, um, less than he had dreamed about. Blazek missed his first 7 shots and committed a team-high 4 turnovers as the Knights shockingly lost to NAIA Daemen. You had to be concerned if that setback would crush the freshman's confidence in home game #2 vs. Roberts Wesleyan. Instead, Blazek torched the Raiders for 23 points -- 14 of them in the first 4 minutes of the game -- and led the Knights to an easy 86-61 win.

Blazek's stat line for the night was eye-popping: he averaged a point per minute (23), made 8-of-11 field goals (5-of-6 on threes), cashed in on both his free throws, and recorded 4 assists. What I liked even more were Blazek's comments in the Erie Times today. He gave credit for his success to senior PG Steve Piotrowicz, the man he supplanted in Gannon's starting lineup.

Other thoughts on the Gary Miller Classic:
* In the comments section of the blog post on the Daemen loss, Walter Ego wrote, and I quote, "Reilly must go. Now. This was Daemen. Daemen." Following that logic, I guess Pitt-Johnstown coach Bob Rukavina has to be fired as well because UPJ lost to Daemen in the Gary Miller championship, 72-65.

* Darrell Blanton deservingly represented Gannon on the all-tourney team after tallying 17 points and 9 boards in 31 minutes vs. Robert Wesleyan. Blanton was easily the most consistent and impressive Knight this weekend. Every time he gets the ball, I lean forward in my seat anticipating a great play by the junior leaper. He reminds me of a cross between former Knights Vince Mosley (2008-09) and Derrick Price (1990-92).

* My (and my wife's) favorite play of the RWC/GU contest came at the start of the second half. Raider Herbert Alexander threw away the inbounds pass to start the period, and Blanton immediately converted it into a three-point play. So Roberts coach Rob McCoy yanked Alexander from the game -- just 6 seconds in! -- and the coach and player engaged in a spirited conversation (i.e. argument) while Blanton cashed in his free throw. On the ensuing RWC possession, Raider William Kemp-Harris, who McCoy subbed into the game for Alexander, fired a wild pass out of bounds. The ball nailed McCoy in the midsection. While I bit my bottom lip, my wife turned to me and said, "Karma."

* Despite the back-to-back games and praising his team's depth during the early season, John Reilly really shortened his bench against Roberts. Three players logged 30 minutes or more (Blanton 37, Stephen Battle 31, and Oscar Macias 31) while Brandon Belt (9 minutes), T.J. Wilson (5), Shameel Carty (3), and Bubby Johnson (2) saw their minutes reduced. In the second half, Macias appeared to be dragging after playing full-court defense for most of the game.

* I was scratching my head both nights over referee Tony Meeks. He looked familiar and his name rang a bell, but I couldn't place him. Rick "Stats" Klapthor talked with Meeks and learned that he was part of the NC State teams in the mid 80s coached by Jim Valvano. Chris Corchianni was the star player for those Wolfpack squads.

* You might not want to relive the Daemen game, but here's a photo gallery from the evening. There's also a photo gallery from the Roberts Wesleyan romp. Major props to Joe Mattis for his photo work. And you thought he was just a great sports writer ...

* And here's a link to postgame interviews from Saturday night. I especially like Blazek being asked if he felt like he was "immortal" during his opening outburst. Of course the Prep alum answered "no."

Twilight Zone

2011-11-25T08:00:00.009-05:00

The best word I can use to describe Gannon's 67-65 home opening loss to Daemen is surreal. Even for the opening introductions it was weird to see 4 guys in Gannon uniforms that you've never watched play before. And the only returning starter from last year, Stephen Battle, sported a mowhawk that made him look like a different guy. When the game started, the allegedly high-octane Knights sputtered against Daemen's zone. Instead of penetrating gaps, exploiting the high post, and knocking down threes, Gannon seemed to be on its heels vs. a 3-3 NAIA club who recently lost at home to 2-11 York University of Canada. (York lost an exhibition to Mercyhurst, 88-52, on Oct. 13.) Even more shocking than the outcome was that Gannon led the game for only 25 seconds. They played uphill all night against a team that has rarely threatened them in the past. And UPJ vs. Daemen in the Gary Miller Classic championship while the Knights play the consolation opener? Surreal.

I'm usually glass-half-full kind of guy, but it's hard to be anything but resoundingly disappointed with what happened at the Hammermill. I was surprised Gannon wasn't more effective against the zone. I believe Dmitry Martynenko is a good mid-range shooter, so why not put him at the high post where he could score or, at 6-foot-9, look over the defense for the open man? That could have allowed Darrell Blanton -- whose two-hand dunk at the 15:48 mark of the second half nearly dislodged an Audi rafter -- to work in the low post where he's an absolute beast. I'm also surprised that Brandon Belt, who seems to be the club's best outside shooter, got only 15 minutes and 3 field goal attempts vs. a zone.

But strategies aside, Gannon's offensive intensity wouldn't have effectively executed any gameplan. Coach Reilly said it best that the Knights didn't play with a sense of desperation until about 8 minutes to go in the game when they rallied from 12 points down. The defense worked hard all night, but I was shocked how often Gannon was beaten off the dribble. Daemen would patiently work the ball side-to-side for 25 seconds, drive by their man, get help from Gannon defenders, and then kick out to a teammate for an open jumper. If you can't stay between your man and the basket, you're going to allow your opponent to shoot 57% in the second half like the Wildcats did.

Sigh. I shouldn't be this crabby after one game. I guess there is one good thing about the loss. A 5:30 game won't end past my daughter's bedtime.

Wonderful Win Caps Wacky Weekend

2011-11-20T10:17:00.003-05:00

If you believe in preseason polls, this was a strong start to the season for the Knights. Gannon went 1-1 on its opening weekend, winning an 80-79 thriller today at Kutztown, ranked #1 in PSAC East preseason poll. Combine that with yesterday's 1-point heartbreaker at preseason #2 East Stroudsburg, and you have to feel the Knights have a great chance to improve on last season's disappointing 6-8 conference mark.

Did you realize that 9 of Gannon's last 14 games have been decided by 1 possession or less or in overtime? Take away the 2010-11 season finale where Clarion mailed it in, and Gannon's last 4 PSAC games have been decided by 3, 3, 1 and 1 points. Should we just show up for games about 90 minutes after they begin and then get down to business?

If you didn't listen to the game on the radio, check out the play-by-play of the game's exasperating final 20 seconds after Kutztown hit two free throws to pull within a point:
00:17 FOUL by FRACTION,MICAH
00:17 MISS FT by BLAZEK,ADAM; REBOUND OFF by BLANTON,DARRELL
00:15 TIMEOUT 30SEC by GANNON
00:13 FOUL by MCBRIDE,DEVON
00:13 MISS FT by BLANTON,DARRELL; REBOUND OFF by BLANTON,DARRELL
00:10 FOUL by BROOKS,TYLER
00:10 MISS FT by BATTLE,STEPHEN; REBOUND OFF by TEAM (GANNON)
00:08 FOUL by MCBRIDE,DEVON
00:08 MISS FT by BLANTON,DARRELL
00:08 MISS FT by BLANTON,DARRELL; REBOUND DEF by TEAM (KUTZ)
00:00 MISS 3PTR by EDWARDS,NATE

Despite that incredibly unclutch clang-fest at the foul line, I'm very excited about the upcoming Gary Miller Classic. Gannon has posted 90 and 80 points in their first two contests after surpassing the 80-point plateau only 5 times (in 26 games) a year ago. Darrell Blanton should be fun to watch, too. He exploded for 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting with 9 rebounds to help take down the Golden Bears today. And once this team learns to play John Reilly defense, they'll rack up wins with more comfortable margins.

One Helluva Season Opener

2011-11-19T09:47:00.004-05:00

I won't offer a personal analysis of Gannon's 90-89 season-opening loss at East Stroudsburg this afternoon. Instead, I'll share with you the dialogue between the Devil on my left shoulder and the Angel on my right. (Just FYI: The Angel wears bright gold while the Devil sports deep maroon.)

Angel: What an incredible game! Back-and-forth with points galore! Gannon has had offensive struggles in past seasons, but to register 89 with a team that still doesn't know each other well bodes well for the rest of the season.

Devil: I waited 9 months for that -- to have my guts ripped out with a heartbreaking loss? It especially hurts me because I don't have much of a heart. How can you give up 90 points to a team who finished in last place at the Shippensburg Tip-Off Tournament when you're supposed to specialize in defense? This could be a long year if we can't get stops.

Angel: It would be great to win every game, but what really matters is getting into the playoffs and then playing your best in March. I like what John Reilly said in his postgame interview. He talked how this was a good lesson that every possession counts, every rebound counts, every free throw counts. I could see him saying that to the guys the rest of the year when they're not focused at practice or in games. This loss could be a trade for a few more (and more important) wins down the road.

Devil: Here's what I heard when you were talking: "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. We're 0-1." There are no moral victories in college basketball. Gannon's gonna have to get rid of either the Gary Miller Classic or the Porreco Cup and play a cupcake to open the season so they're ready for PSAC play.

Angel: What in the devil are you talking about? Those tournaments are a Gannon tradition ... a community tradition ... a family tradition. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Knights get to go right back at it again Sunday against Kutztown. They'll win that game and we'll go right back to dreaming about this team making the playoffs.

Devil: When Gannon played at Kutztown two years ago, the Knights lost by 16. And the time before that in 1992, the team bus broke down after the game and the players and coaches were stranded on the highway for over 12 hours. I'm anticipating a repeat performance.

Angel: But Gannon won that game, right?

Devil: Whatever. Mercyhurst won today. I'm going to go celebrate.

Knights Announce Starters

2011-11-17T20:49:00.003-05:00

When I received the official game notes for Saturday's season opener at East Stroudsburg, I immediately scrolled to page 3 for Gannon's starting lineup. I half expected it to tell me nothing. In some past years John Reilly has simply listed the 5 guys who played the most the previous year.

So I was kind of shocked when I saw this starting 5: PG Adam Blazek, SG Oscar Macias, SF Stephen Battle, PF Darrell Blanton, and C Dmitry Martynenko. Of course Battle was a lock to be in the first 5, and GU insiders have told me that Macias could emerge as the best all-around Knight by season's end.

But Blazek's start shows me two things: first, Steve Piotrowicz's hip injury is more debilitating than some Gannon fans expected; second, that Blazek is adapting quickly to Reilly's system. I originally thought Blanton might be a spot player, but after seeing his supreme athleticism on display at the Maroon/Gold scrimmage, I could see why he couldn't be kept out of the starting lineup.

I'm curious to see how many minutes Martynenko gets with Tanner Furno and Bubby Johnson right behind him on the depth chart. And how will senior Shameel Carty feel coming off the bench? And will who starts really not be that big of a deal because Reilly divvys up the minutes evenly while playing a more up-tempo style? Lots of our questions will be answered in less than 48 hours.

Happy New Year!

2011-11-10T15:07:00.009-05:00

Boy, was it nice to be back at the Hammermill to see live basketball on Thursday! Despite watching the Knights -- sans sophomore Stephen Battle (death in the family) and senior Shameel Carty (injury) -- for two 10-minute periods, I still don't know how good they are. In intrasquad scrimmages, especially with so many new players, everything is relative. I thought Bubby Johnson scored better in the post than I expected, but maybe that's because Gannon's post defenders aren't that strong. We'll learn after a few regular season games how good this team is.

Notice that I said "how good." I believe this team will be good. Specifically, here's what I liked from the scrimmage:

* I didn't see any stiffs on the GU roster. Everyone is an athlete, with the only skinny guys being Tanner Furno and Alvin Tucker. Time will tell if these athletes are also basketball players, but the Knights won't be lacking in speed, quickness, strength, and scrappiness.

* Tying in with the athleticism, I liked that the Knights were extending their defense more than in years past (when they weren't as athletic). A couple sources have told me that with Gannon's combination of athleticism and depth, John Reilly plans to implement a full-court press instead of just the stifling halfcourt man defense we're accustomed to. Instead of just protecting the lane, Gannon could try to force some more turnovers in the backcourt. Because of that, Reilly could rotate most if not all of the 12 active roster members during games.

* Who is the best dunker in Gannon history? I ask that because in the pregame warmups Darrell Blanton threw down some big-time jams. My favorite GU dunkers were Mitchell Smith, John "Shanghai" Matthews, Derrick Price, and Shannon Grant. You might not remember Grant, but I played with him one year at Gannon, and he could really fly.

* The offensive abilities of Johnson and Dmitry Martynenko in the post give me hope that Gannon's offense will be much improved this year. If they can score one-on-one on the block like we saw Thursday, then opponents will have to double-down. That will result in more open three-point attempts for the Knights and a less painful halfcourt offense compared with previous seasons.

* I really liked Johnson's overall game. Here are the notes I took on him during the scrimmage: "Finishes with either hand, has post-up ability -- not too skinny, makes his free throws, cuts off drives, can wall-up on defense, super enthusiasm." Oh, and he's 6-foot-9.

* Best quote from a Gannon fan: "There are more people here than you get at a Mercyhurst game." The Maroon/Gold scrimmage drew about 300 fans. Thought I don't know if we can call it the "Maroon/Gold game" this year because neither team wore maroon or gold, as this photo gallery shows.

My biggest concern about Gannon ties in with my compliment earlier about their athleticism. With everyone being such a good athlete, it appears they don't have a go-to pure shooter and they don't seem to set many good screens. My second biggest concern is lack of depth at point guard. Veteran PG Steve Piotrowicz is still hobbled by a hip injury and Adam Blazek is a freshman PG.

If you want to see some video highlights of the scrimmage, including an interview with Reilly, just click here.

Maroon/Gold Scrimmage Memories Come Rushing Back

2011-10-26T21:28:00.009-04:00

I just received a flyer in the mail from the Gannon Golden Knight Booster Club saying that the annual Maroon/Gold scrimmage will be held Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Hammermill. The men tip off at 7:15 with the women following at 8:15. This is "invite only" to booster club members and season ticket holders, but I'll make a deal with you if you don't fit into either of those categories. I'm inviting you to attend as long as you show up with minimum $25 in cash or a $25 check payable to the Gannon Booster Club. That will get you a membership -- and it will help out Gannon Athletics. And it will help you get a sneak peak at the 2011-12 Knights.

The one thing I watch for every Maroon/Gold game is to see if everyone who is healthy plays. I think I'm still the only human ever to be healthy for a 40-minute, full game-length intrasquad scrimmage and not see a second of playing time ... in my senior year no less! In 1991, Bob Dukiet divided us into two teams of seven with John Reilly, his top assistant at the time, and new assistant Rick Binder coaching each team. I was on Binder's squad and he was eager to prove to Duke he knew how to win games. So he rotated the other six guys on our team while I rotted on the bench. I recall after not playing the first half being surprised but thinking to myself he just wanted to see how some combination of players worked together. I'd at least get a few minutes in the second half, even just to give a guy a rest. But it never happened. I recall my chest pounding and stomach churning as the game wound down and I realized the only game all year I could actually expect to play was going to pass by with me sitting on the bench (and my entire family watching from the stands).

In the lockerroom I was borderline distraught. What I thought was my one-and-only chance of playing extended minutes in a Gannon uniform in front of real people with real referees at the Audi was dashed. Do you know what a dreadful feeling that is? I fought back tears while Dukiet gave his postgame speech, and then my teammates expressed in whispers how I was wronged big-time.

I never complained, but I think someone (I'd bet Coach Reilly) said something to Dukiet between the Maroon/Gold game and our exhibition the following week against some Gannon alumni. I subbed into that game with several minutes left on the clock and played with reckless abandon. What did I have to lose? I recall a 2-on-1 with Mike Runski on defense and Derrick Vinyard on my left. I looked right and flicked the ball underhand to Vinyard in the lane. First no-look pass of my college career -- practice drills included. A couple minutes later, Chad Spurgeon fired a long outlet pass to me near mid court on the East side of the Hammermill floor in front of Murderer's Row. I let the ball bounce once, took a right-handed dribble and drained a left-wing three just 5 seconds into the shot clock. Former Gannon SID Bob Shreve was on the PA microphone that night and shouted, "Threeeeeee for Jimmy Roddyyyyyyyy!" I have the video footage of that event (courtesy of the late Mike Warchol) and must have watched that stretch of action 200 times. OK, maybe 500 times.

Sorry if my personal story there bored you at all. It's just kind of cathartic for me to think back to my Maroon/Gold experience, how heartbroken I was at the time, and how thrilled I was to get playing time in the alumni exhibition the next week. I hope the Maroon/Gold game this year is filled with nothing but good memories for the Knights and us Gannon fans.

Knights End Canadian Tour 3-1

2011-10-17T04:41:00.003-04:00

So, if Gannon goes 15-0 at home and then wins 75% of its road games, they'll end the regular season 24-3. I'd take that ... or maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Here are some random thoughts after Gannon's week in the great white north:

* First, here's info on the Knights' final two games north of the border:
Saturday: Gannon 88, Ontario Revolution 82
Sunday: Gannon 76, Niagara College 53
Brandon Belt was the leading scorer both games, hitting for 14 points Saturday and 16 Sunday. Dtanya "Bubby" Johnson also reached double digits both games, tallying 13 and 12.

* It's hard to draw accurate conclusions about games you didn't see and opponents you know nothing about, but looking at just the scoring numbers I think it's safe to say that John Reilly recruited a bunch of guys who can put the ball in the basket. That's something this team hasn't had since the Elite 8 run a few years back. In fact, it's a rarity for most Gannon teams. I recall when Tom Chapman described his team that featured high scoring Butch Warner, Mike Runski, and a bunch of no-names as, "Butch, Ski, and three guys named Bob."

* To build on that last point, Coach Reilly has proven repeatedly that he can take anybody and mold them into a gritty team that hustles for loose balls, rebounds, and defends. He did that with some relatively unskilled teams, so you'd think he could do that with what appears to be a talented bunch of ballplayers this year.

* I wonder if Reilly is comfortable enough with his depth that he'll use a rotation system this year instead of his usual pattern of going with his gut and riding a handful of guys who he thinks can get the job done. Or maybe it's just an early season/preseason thing.

* What the heck do we do now? The Knights don't open the season for another month after teasing us with these exhibition game. I guess we'll do lots of research on opponent #1 East Stroudsburg. Did you know the Warriors drew 1,200 fans for their first practice this season? That's more than they drew for any home game last season.

Knights Win, Technology Loses

2011-10-15T09:17:00.005-04:00

When basketball teams take international tours, you can expect some technology shortcomings. The hardware and infrastructure in Mexico or Lichtenstein isn't as strong as the good ol' USA. But for Gannon's exhibition tour in Canada, I expected the access to technology to be at least as good as when Gannon travels to Lock Haven. (Actually, the Bald Eagles produce a live streaming video of their home games which is tremendous for diehards like us.)

I've been let down techwise for Gannon's second and third games of their north-of-the-border tour. Game #2 vs. the Hamilton Hoop-La All-Stars was downgraded to a scrimmage due to a clock malfunction. I've played in some dilapidated gymnasiums over the years (one was an unheated garage that was converted to a gymnasium) and they all had functioning clocks. For Gannon game #3 last night, a 78-56 thumping of Algoma University, there were no live stats. Heck, there weren't even dead stats. All that Algoma kept track of for the game was points scored. I felt like I was back coaching at Sacred Heart grade school where the only stats were kept in a green Mark V basketball scorebook.

All we know is that the leading scorers for Gannon were Shameel Carty (16 points) and Adam Blazek (10), and the only Knight not to score was redshirt junior Darrell Blanton. Blanton didn't play in the first exhibition either, so I'm not sure what his deal is. I'm curious to see if he'll make the scorebook for this afternoon's exhibition vs. the Ontario Revolution, who Baylor trounced by 35 points in an exhibition two months ago. Actually I'm curious to see if there will be a scorebook at all.

In other news, as Corey pointed out in the comments section in this post, the Knights retook their team picture without John Eisenman, who has apparently left the team. The photo shows that Gannon will have new uniforms this season. They're not a dramatic change from last year, but I think the arched block lettering with gold trim is an upgrade. The shorts appear to be identical.

Oh Canada! Knights Drop Exhibition Opener

2011-10-13T08:13:00.003-04:00

Gannon lost the first game of its preseason Canadian tour yesterday, a 78-72 decision at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. The McMaster website doesn't offer many details except Tanner Furno led all scorers with 19 and Oscar Macias (pictured in this game action photo) hit for 13. I'll dig around to see if I can find a box score.

I know we don't like seeing Gannon lose, but don't panic because (1) they lost and (2) lost to a Canadian team. First, they've only had 10 days of practice. And the point of this tour is to work out the kinks and get the Knights some game experience together. We'll see if they get better over the final four games of the tour.

UPDATE 10/13/11 (5:30 PM): As promised, here's some more info on the Gannon/McMaster game:
* Click here for a box score and click here for Gannon SID Dan Teliski's writeup on the game.
* From looking at the box score, it appears John Reilly treated this as a true exhibition to test players, not using a regular rotation. He played 10, with Piotrowicz playing on 16 minutes. I don't think he played that few minutes in any game last season, and I don't think he'll play under 20 minutes in a game this season unless he has a compound fracture.
* It was good to see that Teliski is treating the exhibition like a real game. In midseason form he began his press release saying, "McMaster University used a 41-18 difference in free throws attempted ..." Maybe the refs are still bitter at the U.S. for the Bruins edging Vancouver in the Stanley Cup.
* The only two Knights who didn't player were Darrell Blanton and Brandon Belt. I'm not sure why.
* Regrettably, I'm not in Canada for these game. I'm just checking out just the stats, so I can't offer much more insight than this.
* Gannon continues its five-game Canadian exhibition schedule today against the Hamilton Hoop-La All-Stars. The game tips off in a little over an hour, so if you want to watch the video of the All-Stars practicing, hurry up and click here. They've got some players.

Does _____ Have An Attrition Problem?

2011-10-10T06:30:00.003-04:00

I'm guessing you filled in the blank in the headline above with "Gannon" since the Knights' roster changes have been much discussed on Gannon Hoops. But check out this article from CBS Sports with the headline "Does Gonzaga Have An Attrition Problem?" And the first line of the article says, "Really, the headline could replace 'Gonzaga' with 'college basketball' and be a fair and timely blog post."

The article goes on to detail that in today's world it seems that every college with a demanding head coach has more roster turnover than days gone by. Here are some excerpts from the article you might find interesting:

* There seems to be a disturbing trend within the (Gonzaga) program. Too many players aren't staying four years, and this isn't an NBA-tinged issue. There are defects -- transfers -- who have perhaps undone a bit of the rosiness that so many saw Gonzaga for in the past 12 years.

* Coach Mark Few maintained earlier this summer that the attrition is common to all programs nowadays, and that a get-it-fast mentality in sports explains much of it. "I think it happens pretty much in every program," he told The Seattle Times. "It's certainly happened in ours. In all the years I've been here, I don't think there have been very many when we didn't have a player or two that wasn't playing as much as they wanted to. Sometimes, it's hard to convince everybody that by the time they're a junior or senior, they've got a real shot to be a contributor. I really don't think this generation does that. If it isn't working, they switch AAU teams. If it isn't working, they might switch high schools."

* And a lot of players don't fit in Few's scheme. They don't know that until they experience it. Few and his coaches may not realize it, either. In the WCC, Gonzaga has the flexibility to experiment with different types of players and take chances on guys, even with the risk of transfer, because they still run game on the rest of the conference. Gonzaga's won the WCC regular-season title every since since 1998 except once (2000). When Demetri Goodson, who transferred last year to play football at Baylor, was asked by the Seattle Times if he and Few got along, he responded, "Nah, not really. He treated it like a business. He's an excellent coach. It's just the way he coaches wasn't for me, I don't think."

Projecting Gannon's Prime Time Players

2011-09-26T12:10:00.005-04:00

The Gannon roster is set. But what will be the playing rotation? Only John Reilly knows. Well, actually he doesn't even know yet, but we can speculate. One certainty is that the key players will be different from a year ago. Regulars Kelvin Agee (14.9 ppg, 37 threes), Travis Brannen (11.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg), Danard Crouch (7.1 ppg), Kareem Brown (5.6 ppg), Anthony Clagett (5.2 ppg, 49 assists), and Clinton Springer-Williams (1.9 ppg in 23 games) are gone.

Who will share playing time with F Stephen Battle (12.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg), PG Steve Piotrowicz (7.1 ppg, 68 assists), and Tanner Furno (6.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg), if the lanky junior has recovered from a reported shoulder injury? We know it won't be Urbana transfer Robert Wilson who will redshirt this year after his former school wouldn't grant him a release and the NCAA denied Gannon's appeal.

Here's my WAG at Gannon's depth chart for this upcoming campaign. I'll take the rampant speculation a step further by predicting how many minutes each will get. Because I haven't seen 7 of these guys play, this analysis is for entertainment purposes only.
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PG: Piotrowicz (32 min)
SG: Shameel Carty (25), Oscar Macias (15)
SF: Battle (32), Alvin Tucker (8)
PF: Dmitry Martynenko (24), Darrell Blanton (10)
C: Bubby Johnson (28), Furno (12)
Left Out: Brandon Belt, Adam Blazek, Eisenman, T.J. Wilson, Robert Wilson (redshirt)

Comments:
* I feel like I need to apologize to the Left Out crew. They could be reading this and think, "What do you know about me, Howdy Doody? I'm a player!" Sorry, guys, maybe you will get tons of playing time, but right now I have to put somebody on the bench. Reilly has never rotated 13 players before and he's not about to start this season. Those in my rotation are either returnees, redshirts who practiced with the team last year, or newcomers with very impressive DI, DII or juco resumes.

* You can see I'm missing 8 minutes from the rotation. That's because I have no clue who will back up Piotrowicz at the PG position. The scholarship guards on the GU roster (Macias, Belt, and Tucker) don't seem to be PGs judging by their stats (low assists). I'm not too worried about those 8 minutes because I think Piotrowicz will be logging nearly all the PG duties; 32 mpg may be understated.

* I would imagine that 2 SGs or SFs will need to redshirt to avoid a logjam at those positions. Tucker and Eisenman redshirted last year, so I don't think they'll do that again. Carty is a senior, plus he sat out last year after three super seasons at Clarion, so I'm doubting he'd stay on the sidelines again. That leaves Macias, Belt, Blazek, and T.J. Wilson as redshirt candidates.

* I think there's an outside chance of one PF or C redshirting. If Furno's shoulder isn't 100% -- and he'd like to stay at Gannon for grad school -- he'd be the most likely candidate in my opinion. Blanton redshirted last year which leaves him out of the running. I've heard nothing but rave reviews about Johnson, so I don't think Reilly would put him on the shelf this year as the Knights scramble to get back to the posteason. That leaves Martynenko, but do you want a productive (15.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg at his juco) big man who stands 6-foot-8 serving as Gannon's biggest cheerleader? So back to what I said at the outset: a PF or C redshirting is an outside chance.

* A couple Gannon fans have commented to me on the lack of freshmen in the recruiting class (one -- preferred walk-on Blazek). Since I'm speculating on playing time, let me speculate on why Reilly may be shying away from high schoolers. At my company (Jameson Publishing), we almost never hire kids just out of college though they are the majority of applicants for our jobs. We've learned this equation the hard way: college does not equal work. College requires you to attend 15-18 hours of class a week; work requires at least 40 hours of attendance. In college, 8 AM is early; at my company, 8AM means you're a half hour late. Nearly 100% of the college kids we've hired don't make the adjustment to the professional world. You just don't know how they'll handle work. I think Riles has learned the same lesson. In high school, playing time is guaranteed, the competition is easy, mom tucks you into bed every night, and you rule your basketball program. It's a whole new game in college, and you have no idea how a kid will adjust -- especially when his coach won't ever let you take a possession off. In practice. I think Reilly will still sign the occasional Battle or Furno, both exceptional in terms ability and work ethic, but the days of an unproven freshman "class" may be behind us.

Click here for the team photo of the 2011-12 Gannon Golden Knights: Front row (L-R) -- Shameel Carty, Anthony "T.J." Wilson, John Eisenman, Steve Piotrowicz, Adam Blazek, Alvin Tucker, and Brandon Belt. Back row (L-R) -- Darrell Blanton, Robert Wilson, Dmitry Martynenko, Dytanya "Bubby" Johnson, Tanner Furno, Stephen Battle, and Oscar Macias.

New Knight: Robert Wilson jr. F 6-3

2011-09-18T19:57:00.003-04:00

Robert Wilson's feature is the last of eight -- count 'em, EIGHT -- new Knight profiles for the 2011-12 season. How in depth do we go? Well, here's a photo from Wilson's high school prom. Let's hope he looks as good in a white Gannon uniform as he does in a white tux.

I'm thrilled Wilson is joining the Knights from Urbana (Oh.) University not just because he's a proven scorer, but also because it assures Gannon won't have to play against him anymore. Here are his stat lines from last season's GU/UU contests:
12/4/10 -- URBANA 79, Gannon 70: 37 minutes, 21 points, 10 rebounds, 3-for-5 on threes, 10-for-10 at the foul line, 6 steals, and 3 assists.
12/18/10 -- GANNON 70, Urbana 68: 35 minutes, 24 points, 10 rebounds, 6-for-10 on threes. Photo evidence here.

I'm not sure why Wilson bolted Urbana for Gannon, unless it's because there's only 11,000 people in the town of Urbana or because the Blue Knights were an abysmal 9-17 last year. It couldn't be because of a lack or playing time or because he didn't get enough looks. During his two seasons at Urbana, Wilson started in all 53 games he played and saw 34 minutes of action per contest. He totaled 803 points (15.2 ppg), 468 rebounds (8.8 rpg), 18 double-doubles, 93 assists, 77 steals, and 40 blocks and for the Blue Knights. Wilson hit 45% of his field goal attempts, 40% on threes (65-for-139), and a stellar 80% of his free throws. I'm really curious to see if he has the opportunity to maintain those numbers as a Golden Knight, where it's not a given that he'll be "the man" every night.

UPDATE 9/20/11: I just received confirmation that Wilson will be redshirting this season and will still have two years of eligibility remaining. He'll play for Gannon in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. He was not given a release by Urbana and Gannon's appeal to the NCAA was denied.

Here's some more info on Wilson that you might find interesting. I promise there won't be any more prom photos:
* Last season he led UU in seemingly every statistical category -- points (15.5), rebounds (8.9), steals (42), free throw percentage (88.1%, 96-for-109) and minutes played (888).
* Ranked 22nd among all NCAA Division II players in free throw percentage and 33rd in rebounding.
* He killed more teams than just Gannon, surpassing the 20-point mark 10 times. In a 94-71 loss to Division I Kent State, Wilson registered a game high 21 points and 6 rebounds. Kent (25-12) was just two points and 12.8 seconds away from qualifying for the NCAA tournament, falling to Akron in the MAC tournament championship.
* Wilson lit up the host Pfeiffer (NC) Falcons for 27 points and 11 boards.
* Had 19 points and 6 boards at nationally-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan.
* Just weeks after the University of Indianapolis won an exhibition at Division I Tennessee, Wilson led Urbana to an upset win over the Greyhounds with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists.
* Tallied a game-high 20 points and 9 rebounds in a 75-71 home loss to Mercyhurst. Let's hope he never loses to the Lakers again.
* Notched 25 points and 8 rebounds -- plus an 11-for-11 performance from the foul line -- in a 109-105 OT loss at Central State.
* Exacted revenge on the Marauders less than two weeks later, with a 16-point, 16-rebound, 8-assist winning effort. That victory started a 5-game win streak to end UU's season.
* In a win over the GLIAC's Saginaw Valley, Wilson racked up 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 threes.
* Wilson's hot shooting led the way to a 106-94 win over Salem International. He made 9-of-15 field goals and 8-of-9 free throws, finishing with game-highs of 27 points and 11 boards.
* In his final game in an Urbana uniform, Wilson led the way over Lourdes College with 23 points and 7 rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. In case you're wondering, Lourdes is a small NAIA school in Sylvania, OH. And if you can guess Lourdes' mascot before clicking here, I'll give you a one-arm man hug at Gannon's season opener.
* Perhaps the strangest box score from Wilson's sophomore year was this: 40 minutes, 7 points on 2-for-7 shooting in an 82-78 OT win vs. Lake Erie. Ethan Bradshaw came off the bench to lead LEC with 40 points, including a 22-for-25 chart from the foul line. I was surprised the game report didn't list three guys with the last name "Bradshaw" as the game officials.
* The biggest trend I noticed from looking at every boxscore from Wilson's 2010-11 campaign is that he's not a consistent scorer. It seemed like he was either right around 20 points or single digits.
* He did log nine double-doubles, two of them against GU.
* Was a two-time NCAA Division II All-Independent first-team selection as well as DII Independent Freshman of the Year. Those honors are nice but kind of lose some luster when three guys from 10-18 Washington Adventist (the artist formerly known as Columbia Union), are listed among the 15 best indy players in DII hoops.
* Now this honor can't be chided by even the harshest skeptic. Wilson was a member of the Urbana Athletic Director's Honor Roll and Dean's List.
* After his freshman year at UU, the Gateway News penned a nice article on Wilson, where he talks about his pro basketball aspirations.
* Took time last summer to return to his hometown to volunteer at the Streetsboro (Oh.) Youth Basketball Camp. Streetsboro is 20 miles northeast of Akron.
* Was an All-Ohio selection as a senior at Streetsboro HS.
* Twice honored as Portage Trail Conference Player of the Year and District Player of the Year.
* Holds 5 Streetsboro school records: career points (1,693), single-season points (586), career rebounds (963), single-season rebounds and single-game rebounds (17).
* This newspaper article from his high school days is highly complimentary of Wilson, using phrases like "eye-popping", "nearly unstoppable", and "prolific scorer." What I like best about the article is this quote from his high school coach: "Robert's biggest asset is how well he understands the game. He has quality players around him, and he understands how much better he can be when he utilizes the players around him."
* The only videos I could find of Wilson are pretty dated. This one from 2008 shows him dunking at the first-half buzzer. And this jittery video goes all the way back to his sophomore year of high school. The commentator says Wilson exploded for 30 points that game.
* I felt kind of weird sharing one of Wilson's prom pics earlier. I feel even weirder sharing one of his senior photos. But this LeBron-ish pose is too cool to pass up.

New Knight: Oscar Macias jr. G 6-3

2011-09-17T08:56:00.004-04:00

I'm assuming you don't know much (if anything) about new Golden Knight Oscar Macias, but I'm going to give you a quick quiz on him anyway. Which Macias-related number is my favorite:
A. 44
B. 31
C. 14
D. 3.0

The answer is D. Macias earned a 3.0 GPA during the spring 2011 semester at Triton College, a community college just outside of Chicago. Transfers from two-year schools are often branded as underachievers academically, so it's nice to see that Macias takes his studies seriously.

So what's the deal with the first three numbers? Macias racked up 44 points in a win against NJCAA Division II top-ranked Cincinnati State last season, making 15-of-18 shots from two-point range and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Triton was 31-6 last year, winning the NJCAA Region IV championship, advancing to the NJCAA Division II national semifinals, and claiming the NJCAA national third-place game. Macias averaged 14 ppg for the Trojans, plus 4 rebounds and 2 assists a contest.

Those individual stats aren't overwhelming, but Macias is a borderline Division I talent. According to a couple sources including ChicagoHoops.com, he verbally committed to DI Chicago State in February before enrolling at Gannon. Here's how Chicago Hoops (love the name, by the way) described him: "Macias brings size, versatility, and an ability to score the basketball to the table. Macias scores the ball in a variety of ways. Macias is a player who will be able to come in and provide an immediate offensive boost. He was also being recruited by the likes of Arkansas-Little Rock, Tennessee-Martin and Texas Christian."

Here's more info you need to know on this new Knight:
* He was all-conference first team, all-region second team and selected to the NJCAA Region IV all-tournament team as a sophomore
* Triton named him team MVP and the school's Male Athlete of the Year in 2010-11
* While Gannon is saying he's 6-foot-3, the Triton roster lists Macias at 6-foot-4, 185 pounds
* He made 57% of his field goals attempts, 30% of his threes (20-of-66), and 77% of his free throws over 33 regular-season games. For a game-by-game recap of his sophomore year, click here.
* As a freshman, he averaged 8.5 ppg and shot 43% from the field, 30% on three-pointers (17-of-56), and 76% from the foul line over 28 games
* This article from Mlive.com shows that Macias led Triton to a win over eventual NJCAA runner-up Mott Community College in Lansing, MI. The article doesn't provide a lot of insight on Macias, but I love how cranky the Mott coach is. Apparently his tirade worked. Mott won its next 30 games before falling in the national championship game.
* At Morton (Ill.) HS, Macias was a two-time all-conference selection
* As a senior he earned all-area and all-city honorable-mention accolades while leading the Mustangs to a a regional championship and #18 state ranking according to the Chicago Tribune
* Here's a Chicago Tribune article where Macias leads Morton to victory with 20 points and provides the paper with some postgame comments. I'm such John Reilly likes the headline: "Tough 'D' sparks Mustangs"
* Here's another Trib article with good news: Morton posts a narrow victory (40-38) over a state power, Macias wins the game by sinking both ends of a 1-and-1 with 1.5 seconds left, and we learn that Evanston High School's nickname is the "Wildkits." That's a tremendous trifecta.
* Here's a photo of a very lean Macias taking it to the rack for Morton.

New Knight: Shameel Carty sr. G/F 6-4

2011-09-13T21:44:00.007-04:00

When Gannon announces a new recruit, the #1 question is usually, "Can he play on this level? Can he compete in Division II and the PSAC West?" With Shameel Carty we already know the answer is a resounding yes. Carty comes to Gannon after three successful seasons at PSAC rival Clarion, where over 66 games (35 of them starts) he totalled 757 points (11.5 ppg), 356 rebounds (5.4 rpg), 92 assists, and 66 steals.

So we know he can play. But Golden Knight fans still have these questions about Carty:
* Why did he sit out last season after three quality years of play?
* Why would Gannon sign a senior transfer?
* What happened April 15 of last year when Carty and several other Clarion students were charged with riot, obstructing administration of the law, failure to disperse upon official order, plus hazardous and disorderly conduct?

Let's talk about the legal matters first. Carty was issued the litany of charges above, but he pled guilty only to hazardous disorderly conduct and was placed on six months probation. According to the Clarion Call newspaper article and police reports, a brawl erupted during the championship of an intramural basketball game involving a team of Clarion football players vs. Clarion basketball players. After a foul, a shoving match ensued between opponents, and spectators ran onto the court causing a riot.

I don't know what to think about all that. Obviously it's not good. But I recall back in 1990 when I played at Gannon, we engaged in a full-scale brawl after our game vs. the University of Buffalo at the Hammermill Center. Did that make Gregg Blair, Dave Callahan, Andy Adams, and me bad people? I don't think so. I'm willing to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. I'll judge him based on the behavior I see with my own eyes. I'm not going prejudge a kid based on one night. I hope other Gannon fans can do the same.

Let's talk about Carty the player. Wait, how about we have our good friend Gary Manchel talk about Carty first. Here's an excerpt from the Erie Times in 2010 prior to Mercyhurst's PSAC West playoff game at Clarion:
"They're very good," Manchel said of the Eagles, who were led by junior guard/forward Shameel Carty's 24 points and 10 rebounds in the 77-75 victory over the 'Hurst in Clarion. "They have the Harrisons (junior transfers, point guard Lloyd and swingman Jamar, who are not related), but the guy that really hurt us the first time was Carty. We shut him down the second time (a 76-64 home win), but they didn't have their shooting guard (Mike) Sherry, and with him in there it creates matchup problems for us. He is supposed to play (tonight). So again, the guy we have to control is Carty, or we are going to have a lot of problems."

Here's some more bio info on Carty:
* Played with former Knights Josh Yanke and Ron Hollis at Clarion. They must not have badmouthed their Gannon experience too much (or Carty didn't place much stock in it) if he's now coming to play for John Reilly.
* Suited up for the Golden Eagles from 2007-10.
* For his career, shot 44% from the field, 33% on threes (46-for-139), and 75% from the foul line.
* I was surprised how frequently he got to the foul line. In the 2009-10 season, he attempted 170 free throws, hitting 125. That placed on 7th on Clarion's all-time single season list for free throws attempted and 6th in makes.
* His junior season was highly productive: 28 games, 17 starts, 14.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg. He led Clarion in scoring 8 times as a junior, including 3 times in the final 4 games, and led them in rebounds 11 games. He poured in a season-high 24 points against both California (Pa.) and Mercyhurst.
* He was named PSAC West Co-Player of the Week in early Feb. 2010 after averaging 18 points and 9 rebounds in two wins vs. Mercyhurst and Edinboro. Heck, maybe Reilly recruited Carty to Gannon for that week alone. Couldn't blame him if he did.
* For the complete stats on Carty's junior year, just click here.
* In limited playing time as a sophomore and freshman he still produced. In 08-09, he played in 27 games with 16 starts, averaging 9.2 ppg and 4.6 rpg. In 11 games in 07-08, he averaged 4.9 ppg and 1.8 rpg.
* His bio on the Clarion website doesn't provide a ton of info, but it does show comments on Carty from CU coach Dr. Ron Righter: "Plays #3 & #4 spots. Excellent conditioned athlete. Slasher. Very gifted. Strong defensive player. Runs the floor well. Can score both inside and outside. Very good in transition. Rebounds well. Quality free throw shooter. From tough high school league."
* Hails from Queens, NY where he played for Holy Cross HS.
* Here's a photo of Carty from his high school days. The caption is actually what impressed me -- Carty's team lost by only 4 points in a playoff game vs. national power Rice, a frequent competitor in the McDonald's Classic.
* Here are two photos from his college days. The first shows Carty getting an up-close look at a dunk by Patrick Patterson, then of the University of Kentucky and now of the Houston Rockets. Clarion played an exhibition game vs. UK that year, losing 117-52, with Carty scoring 10 points. Did you notice all the people in the stands in that UK photo? Well, you won't see many in this one, a PSAC West matchup between Clarion and Lock Haven. And is it standard protocol for everyone at Clarion games to rest their chins on their fist? I know Lock Haven is tough to watch, but at least sit up straight!
* The only online video I can find of Carty is him dunking during a shootaround at Rupp Arena. I was the 20th person to watch it. Join the club.
* If I still did Gannon games on radio, I'm sure I'd slip up at some point and call him "Rico Carty," the former major leaguer.

Knights Finalize Recruiting Class

2011-09-12T17:01:00.006-04:00

Just announced: here's the link to the second part of Gannon's recruiting class for this year.

* Dytanya "Bubby" Johnson (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) 6-9, F, Soph.
* Shameel Carty (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) 6-4, G/F, Sr.
* Oscar Macias (Cicero, Ill./Morton) 6-3, G, Jr.
* Robert Wilson (Streetsboro, Ohio/Streetsboro) 6-3, F, Jr.

We've already published info on Bubby Johnson, though it looks like he grew two inches from his freshman to his sophomore season. I'll do some more digging on the rest of the recruits and share the info with you over the next few days.

New Knight: Dytanya "Bubby" Johnson soph. F/C 6-7

2011-09-04T22:39:00.011-04:00

Dytanya "Bubby" Johnson hasn't been officially announced as a member of the Gannon basketball team, but I'm jumping the gun on publishing his player profile because I've heard from many reliable sources that he's transferred to GU from Division I New Jersey Tech. Another reason I'm profiling Johnson so soon is that while researching him I became ecstatic that he'll suit up for the Knights this winter. Yes, his physical ability should help Gannon but I love his intangibles more. Heck, just looking at these pictures of the kid makes me wish tomorrow was the Maroon/Gold scrimmage:
* He takes charges.
* He gets after loose balls on the floor.
* He obviously has a passion for the game.
* He mixes it up inside, despite weighing maybe 200 pounds.
* Did I mention he has a passion for the game?
* And for those of you who like slam dunks, he does that, too.

I'm also thrilled about Johnson joining the Knights because he was a frontcourt teammate of super Knight Stephen Battle at Thomas Stone HS in Waldorf, MD. Battle, the PSAC West Freshman of the Year last season and Gannon's best all-around player, looks like he's in it for the long haul at GU if he's recruiting his former high school teammate here.

Here's some more info on Johnson:
* The NJIT website describes him as "a post player noted for his on-court toughness, particularly in the areas of defense and rebounding." That's a consistent theme in all the reports about Johnson -- and you know John Reilly loves those qualities in a player.
* Played in 25 games for 15-15 NJIT, including 11 starts. Averaged 2.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.1 minutes of play per game.
* Shot 44% from the field (21-for-48, 0-for-1 on threes) and 58% (15-of-26) from the foul line. Scored a career-high nine points twice including in a 12-point loss at Rutgers.
* Finished third on the team in blocks with 10.
* This article from the Southern Maryland News announcing Johnson's signing with NJIT starts with this line: "Heart, passion, determination, hard work and the love of the game is what separates Thomas Stone senior big man Dytanya 'Bubby' Johnson from most players on the hardwood."
* The article also says, "With his physical stature and ability to cause havoc inside for opposing offenses, his rebounding, block shots and weak side defense, should help Johnson make an immediate impact and earn him a lot of playing time for the Highlanders program next winter as a freshman."
* An all-conference defensive/tight end in high school -- check out this photo of him about to devour a miniature quarterback -- Johnson was recruited by several I-AA gridiron teams.
* As a senior at Stone HS, he averaged 10.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and nearly 3 blocks per game, making 60 percent of his shots from field and 70 percent at the foul line. The Cougars finished 23-2 that year, advancing to the Maryland 3A state championship game.
* In that state final, he recorded 12 rebounds and a season-high 5 blocked shots. In the state semi he tallied a season-high 18 points.
* In 24 games, he produced double-figure rebound totals 23 times, with a high of 19. He also posted two 18-rebound games and one of 17.
* According to MaxPreps.com, he ranked second in the state of Maryland in rebounds and 12th in blocked shots.
* Johnson and Battle reached the Maryland 4A Final Four their sophomore and junior seasons and then the 3A state championship game after the school switched classes.
* This article after Stone's 3A semifinal win features quotes from Johnson.
* Stone expected to win the state championship that year but was upset by smaller Milford Mill (who was not coached by Gil Thorp, by the way).
* Here's how the I95 Ballerz website describes Johnson: "The team’s spiritual leader, Johnson plays hard all the time, manning the paint and directing teammates. Being willing to battle inside should not be a surprise for this two-sport performer, who on the gridiron plays both defensive end and receiver. Though basketball is his true love -- he has been tendered an offer to hoop at NJ Tech -- Johnson is reviewing all options for college.
* And, no, I haven't figured out why he's called "Bubby." I'm guessing it has nothing to do with the former Steelers quarterback.

Video highlights:
* These highlights from a state playoff game focus more on Battle, but that's okay.
* You have to like Johnson's persistence in the paint at the 55-second mark of this video. And his rejection at the 1:39 mark is bone-rattling.
* I'm a basketball fan, but I'm not going to search through this 2-hour, 12-minute video of NJIT at Utah Valley from earlier this year to see Johnson's one minute of play.
* But you only have to wait 6 seconds in this video to watch Johnson jump center vs. Vermont in what appears initially to be the rattiest gymnasium in Division I.

Finally here are some miscellaneous photos of Johnson -- I'm sure Gannon fans won't be able to get enough of Bubby's dreads:
* With his coach during the state finals. I wonder if he'll wear that one long sleeve at Gannon.
* Again with Stephen Battle.
* Could Johnson and Battle bring a celebration like this to the Hammermill?

Man Of His Word

2011-08-31T22:21:00.002-04:00

Back in July when Gannon announced the first portion of its 2011-12 recruiting class, GU SID Dan Teliski wrote in the press release, "Additional recruits are expected to be announced following the start of classes in early September." I followed up with Teliski today to ask if info was available yet on the rest of the recruiting class. Dan let me know that we should expect some info in -- guess when? -- early September. He did confirm that there's no way in the world Javaris Crittendon suit up for the Knights this season.

Some folks might be counting down the days 'til the NFL season opener. I'll be holding my breath for Teliski's press release.

Garritys Make This Gannon Alum Proud

2011-08-15T21:26:00.006-04:00

We cheer like crazy each winter when the Knights are hooping it up on the Hammermill hardwood, but we don't often get a chance to sing their praises post-graduation. So I'm taking advantage of that rare opportunity to heap kudos at two Gannon grads, one of them a former Knight ballplayer.

My 5-year-old daughter participated this summer at the Penn State-Behrend Little Dribblers basketball camp. I was apprehensive if she'd feel pressure to fill the basketball shoes of her ultra-successful father. OK, that's not completely true. I was apprehensive but it was because she'd never played the game before outside of us dribbling in the driveway and launching a few shots on her 6-foot hoop. I knew she'd be nervous with 100 energy-filled kids screaming inside a strange gymnasium. Plus what if her coach was too serious, overly emotional, pushy, insensitive, inattentive, or all of the above?

Fortunately for her and the about 40 other kids in the 4-5 age division, brothers Rand and Aaron Garrity were the lead counselors. I didn't take long to see that basketball is the Garritys' passion and teaching school kids is their full-time profession. For all four days of the camp, the Garritys showed patience and enthusiasm. Knowing that Rand is an assistant coach at Behrend and Aaron has coached at Fairview, I thought to myself, "How many basketball camps have these guys worked in their life?" I bet they've spent hundreds if not thousands of hours in unair-conditioned gymnasiums throughout Erie County. But each day for every drill Rand and Aaron greeted the kids like the 30-somethings were the ones who couldn't wait to play games.

Plus, the Garritys were wildly entertaining -- like a blend of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and basketball. When Rand would teach the kids their defensive stance, Aaron would stand on his toes with his hands stretched to the ceiling and cry out, "Is this right, coach?" Rand would correct him that your knees should be bent, your butt down, and your hands in front of you. Then Rand would show the kids how to keep their feet a little more than shoulder width apart. Aaron would nearly do a split and call out again, "Is this right, coach?" with his brother correcting him.

If the Garritys had been paid by the high five, the smile, or every time they said "good job" or "way to go," they'd be millionaries. And they were really getting through to the kids, too. My daughter was eager to show up early every day to run through the drills. And though the camp ended nearly a month ago, she still knows the right form for a chest pass. When I say "Behrend!", she slaps the ground and shouts, "I love defense!" just as the Garritys taught her at camp. (She also screams out, "I love daylillies!" every time she sees that flower, but I don't blame Rand and Aaron for that.)

You know that Aaron is a Gannon alum because he played for several successful Gannon teams from 1996-2001, but you might not know that Rand also attended GU in the 1990s. And now you know that both of them deserve the loudest of cheers from the Gannon faithful.

Knights Announce Recruits & Returnees

2011-07-06T22:14:00.003-04:00

Gannon officially announced the first portion of its 2011-12 recruiting class Wednesday via a press release from the school. Faithful readers of Gannon Hoops weren't surprised to read the names of newcomers Adam Blazek, Brandon Belt, Dmitry Martynenko, and Anthony "T.J." Wilson. Just click on any of those links of you want the skinny on those four new Knights.

What was most interesting in the press release is that it clarified Gannon's 8 returnees for this year: senior Steve Piotrowicz, senior Malcolm Woodbury, junior Tanner Furno, junior Clinton Springer-Williams, redshirt junior Darrell Blanton, redshirt junior Alvin Tucker, sophomore Stephen Battle and redshirt freshman John Eisenman. Notably absent from that list, thus confirming their leaving the Gannon program, are Kelvin Agee, Anthony Clagett, Dennis Rumph, and Ramon Smith. Add them to the depressing and expanding list of one-year wonders at GU. Personal note: You can add Smith (10 points) and Rumph (2) to another list -- Knights who actually scored fewer points than me (14) during their Gannon career. Hey, there is a silver lining to the dark cloud of player turnover hanging over the program!

So if I'm doing this right, here's Gannon's current depth chart based on incredibly thin data:
PG: Piotrowicz, Blazek
SG: Belt, Tucker
SF: Blanton, Wilson
PF: Battle, Springer-Williams
C: Furno, Martynenko

So what else do the Knights need? That's John Reilly's call ultimately, but I'd be looking out for potential superstar freshmen (the GU roster already has 2 seniors and 5 juniors) who could redshirt or a superstar Division I transfer at any position. I also don't see an obvious backup for Battle at the power forward either. I threw the 6-foot-4 Springer-Williams there because that's mostly where he played for GU last year, but he produced only 2 ppg from that spot. Then again, Battle averaged about 35 minutes a game during the second half of the season, so a backup PF isn't really Gannon's biggest need.

The press release also said, "Additional recruits are expected to be announced following the start of classes in early September," so we'll have to rely on rumors and scoops for the next couple months.

Summer Reading List

2011-06-29T21:02:00.006-04:00

I've never exactly understood summer reading lists. If it's nice outside, I'm going to do some activity in the sunshine, not plop myself in a chair to read a book. I can do that anytime. But if you are one of those folks who insists upon summer reading, here's some material to help you out:

1. "Some coaches in the PSAC are worlds apart" Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
You've got to love when a newspaper article starts like this: "When Indiana University of Pennsylvania men's basketball coach Joe Lombardi steps on the court for his team's game against Mansfield next season, he will be making nearly $65,000 more than his counterpart, Rich Miller." I mean, how crummy does Rich Miller feel? And how geeked up will he be if Mansfield knocks off IUP next year? When the coaches would shake hands after the game, I'm sure Miller wouldn't say anything, but you know he'd be thinking it.

You also have to love this passage from the article: "Asked about the pay difference and about being the highest-paid coach ($136,837) in the league, (Cal football coach Joe) Luckhardt laughed and said, 'My wife's not disappointed.'" We're still talking about money, right coach?

2. "Fired Bethune-Cookman coach refused to aid in rape case involving son" Daytona Beach News Journal
While reading the Erie Times this morning, I saw in the transaction section that Bethune-Cookman fired its basketball coach yesterday. I thought to myself, "Why would a coach get fired 3-4 months after the season ended?" Well, you can read the headline, and if you want more details you can click on the story. It gave me some perspective that we shouldn't get too exorcised when Gannon's biggest problems are missing the playoffs and roster turnover.

3. "Univ. of New Orleans to introduce Mark Slessinger as men's basketball coach" NOLA.com
Who in Erie gives a rip about the University of New Orleans hiring a basketball coach? I don't either. But what's interesting about this is that New Orleans is the first school I can recall that's stepping down from Division I to compete on the Division II level. According to the UNO athletics Wikipedia page, lingering effects from Hurricane Katrina sparked the decision. Side note: the Wikipedia page lists the UNO school song as, "Let's Hear It For UNO." With them dropping a division, I wonder if they'll rewrite the lyrics that say, "Our Privateers will march on to fame."

4. "Terry Smith new Finlandia Men's Hoop Coach" Upper Michigan's Source
I'm not sure who else besides Steve Bohen (sorry, Steve -- that was the only photo of you I could find online) and me will read this article, but Terry Smith was a big deal in the GLIAC when he coached Grand Valley from 1997-2004. He left GVSU under unusual circumstances in May 2004 and then coached at Hart High School (Mich.) from 04-07. In 2005, he was named associate head coach at GLIAC rival Northern Michigan, but never followed through on that commitment for family reasons I believe. This guy is like the Larry Brown of small college basketball.

5. "5 Things You Need to Know About Matt Tobin Day" Hopatcong Patch
You need oxygen. You need water. You need food. You don't need to know anything about a day dedicated to an East Stroudsburg basketball recruit. But I do recommend you read this article also from the Hopatcong Patch titled "5 Things: Large Pizza, Extra Jesus." Tremendous. You can tell by the photo they're having a rollicking good time, and things are about to get completely out of control.

Reacting To Gannon's Schedule

2011-06-20T21:03:00.005-04:00

Gannon announced its 2011-12 men's basketball schedule today and here's my first-blush reaction after reviewing the press release and the actual schedule:

* Of the 26 games, 22 of them are against PSAC schools. You knew it was coming, but it was still kind of a letdown that there will only be 4 independent games. I always liked when the schedule came out and included a couple head-scratchers (Penn State Greater-Allegheny in February? A home-and-home with Lake Erie?). Now knowing 85% of the opponents before the schedule is released takes away most of the mystery when it's unveiled.

* Quoting the release, "The PSAC passed legislation during the off-season that created a schedule with full crossovers. All 22 contests against PSAC opponents with also count in the regular-season standings. Every school will play a home-and-home series against teams within its division and a single game against every team in the other division." November basketball will still be ragged, but now it's got the postseason riding on it. With all the changes on this year's Gannon team, the Knights better have an excellent summer and preseason or they'll be playing from behind in the standings all season long.

* Gannon starts the season on the road at East Stroudsburg and at Kutztown. I'll be the first to ask: when's the last time the men's basketball team started a season 0-2? UPDATED 6/23/11: A Gannon fan just emailed me a reminder that in 2009-10 the Knights lost their opener to Urbana (73-43) and followed that up with a dreadful home loss to Lake Erie (59-45) in the first round of the Gary Miller Classic. I think I might have actually repressed those memories. Thanks for opening old wounds ...

* GU's first four conference games are all on the road. After the Stroud/Kutztown trip (Nov. 19-20) and the Gary Miller Classic (Nov. 25-26), the Knights head back East to Millersville and West Chester (Dec. 3-4). So three weeks into the season, the Gannon bus will have logged about 1,500 miles. I'm glad we left the GLIAC's brutal travel schedule behind!

* The Gary Miller Classic includes Pitt-Johnstown (18-10 last year, lost only 1 senior), NAIA Daemen (14-15 last season), and NAIA Roberts Wesleyan (21-14 a season ago). Not an eye-popping field, but not a dreadful one either. I'm guessing Gannon will play Daemen in the opener, but don't quote me on that.

* I'm fired up that former GLIAC foe Grand Valley will be part of the Porreco Cup. GVSU has really come on in recent years, establishing themselves as one of the premier hoops programs in the Midwest. I'll be kind and say that the other Porreco contenders -- Seton Hill (10-20) and Malone (18-13, NCAA DII transitional program) -- didn't fire me up quite as much. Side note: I don't want to start a copyright infringement war here but holy moly does Malone's pioneer logo look an awful lot like Robert Morris' Colonial logo. Maybe they're just cousins.

* The best news of all is that now we can begin the countdown to the Gannon hoops season opener. Just 152 days until tip-off!

Just In Case You Forgot How Awesome Jerry Slocum Was

2011-05-30T20:19:00.008-04:00

It's rare that a non-Gannon basketball story in May or June gets me geeked up, but I just found one. The website Paneech.com interviewed former GU coach and current Youngstown State basketball boss Jerry Slocum. Slocum was criticized in a March 2 Youngstown Vindicator article titled "Like It Or Not, Slocum Will Return," but this story is much more favorable.

Here are some Slocum quotes from the articles followed by links to them, which are broken down into a three-part series:

* "You can take your shots, and say the negative things that you want to say at me, but at least report the facts also. Report the facts, for example, the questions being asked at the press conferences are things like, 'Everyone thought you were going to get blown out by 20 tonight, are you happy that you didn’t get blown out?' or 'Do you feel that this was a wasted effort tonight?' Take your shots at me, that’s part of the job, but in the same breath, at least report the facts."

* "I have never, no matter how tough the losses have been, not answered a question put to me that was a well-phrased question. When you sit down in there and your heart is broken, you have never lost in your career, and now all of a sudden you are into your sixth year of misery because you can’t get this thing where you want it to be, it weighs on you every moment that you are awake, and you come so close ... and the first thing you get is a guy saying to you, 'Do you think tonight was a wasted effort.' I have never said, 'this is the end of the press conference,' but there is silence."

* "The reason why there is silence is because most of the people who criticize me do not have enough confidence that they can ask me a legitimate or intelligent basketball question. ... Some reporters just don’t get it. Their basketball IQ is not to the point where they can effectively ask a question. Whether or not they are good people is not for me to judge. I get paid to win basketball games, and I think we are on our way to doing that. Have some knowledge of what you are reporting on instead of asking some of the most ridiculous questions I have ever heard."

YSU Basketball Coach Jerry Slocum Interview, Part 1: Media Treatment

Jerry Slocum Interview, Part 2: 2011-12

Jerry Slocum Interview Part 3: How Winning Helps Recruiting

Thanks to Gannon Hoops follower JRD for the heads up on these articles.

Potential New Knight: Dmitry Martynenko jr. F/C 6-8

2011-05-20T20:47:00.006-04:00

Those Gannon fans frustrated with the lack of size in Gannon's recruiting class will be overjoyed that the PSAC Letter of Intent webpage says the Knights have signed 6-foot-8 Dmitry Martynenko. The big man, who hails from Moscow, Russia, comes to Gannon from Kirtland Community College in Michigan. I don't know how much he weighs, but judging from the photo here, I'd guess about 250 pounds. And judging from this KCC team photo, he's all of 6-foot-8. Here's more info on Matrynenko:

* Named to the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) All-Conference 1st Team and All Region Team after both his freshman (2009-10) and sophomore (2010-11) seasons
* This past season led the Firebirds in both points (15.9 avg) and rebounds (9.2 avg)
* Shot 48.4% from the field, including 14-of-39 on threes, and 77.6% from the free throw line (128-for-165). The only blemish on his stat line is averaging 2.4 turnovers a game.
* NJCAA Division II Kirtland finished the season 18-11, losing in the District tournament
* Registered a game-high 31 points and 10 rebounds in a 73-67 win over conference rival Oakland Community College
* Decked Delta College with a stat line of 26 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals
* Here's how the media reported on his efforts in Kirtland's win over Grand Rapids CC, the #5 team in the country: "The Raiders had no answer for Kirtland sophomore forward-center Dmitry Martynenko, who torched Grand Rapids for a game-high 28 points. That included knocking down 14-of-15 free throws. Martynenko also ripped down a team-best 14 rebounds and had 1 assist and 1 blocked shot."
* Tallied 20 points and 12 rebounds in a 69-58 victory over Macomb Community College
* Had 19 points and 9 rebounds in a win over Schoolcraft College. If you want to know Schoolcraft's awesome nickname, click here.
* Posted 18 points and 11 boards vs. Alpena CC
* Here's another action photo of Martynenko.

This was how the Kirtland sports info department summarized his freshman season:
Martynenko had a huge impact, leading KCC’s mens team in the three categories –- scoring (15.5 points), rebounds (8.1) and blocked shots (0.8). And he recorded 1.2 assists and 0.5 steals per game for Kirtland (9-19 overall, 5-11 conference).

He also showed his versatility, hitting from both inside and outside. For the season, Martynenko connected on 54.2% of his shots from the floor and 65% from the charity stripe. But the 6-8 center often surprised opponents by stepping outside, where he was able to knock down 32.9% (18-of-56) from beyond the three-point line.

“Dmitry had a very solid season for us, especially considering the following factors -- we were an all-freshmen team, we relied heavily on him to produce for us offensively, and the fact he had to adjust to not only playing basketball here in the United States but also had to adjust to the lifestyle here,” said Firebirds men's head coach Ty McGregor. “We look forward to his further development next season and are proud of the success he is having in the classroom, as well.”

For all his efforts, Martynenko received First-Team, all-conference honors and was selected to the MCCAA’s All-Freshman team. He was also invited to the conference’s mens all-star game in Jackson, tallying 9 points and 4 rebounds for the Eastern Division in its 147-142 loss to the Western Division.

Potential New Knight: T.J. Wilson F jr. 6-3

2011-05-13T20:33:00.007-04:00

Before I share as much info as I could find on T.J. Wilson, let's talk about why I use the word "potential" in headlines for players who are only listed on the PSAC Letters of Intent web page and not formally announced by Gannon.

Several fans have questioned why Gannon hasn't publicized these athletes. "Jeremy" wrote in the comments of the April 30th entry: "Why has the Gannon Athletic Department not put out a press release on Belt and Wilson? It's clearly not an issue of rules forcing teams to keep it under wraps because a) the Blazek signing already happened and was announced b) the names are on the PSAC website. What an incredible waste of good PR for Gannon and a great chance to build positive momentum to a program saddled by negativity over the past half decade or so. If it wasn't for the good detective work of Jim, the fans wouldn't have a clue. Will the last one out of Gannon please turn off the lights?"

Actually, we should be asking for someone to shed light on the situation. Here's what I've been told about National Letters of Intent (NLIs). Those student-athletes listed on the PSAC site have signed National Letters of Intent. To make an NLI official, it must go to the PSAC and then to the NCAA. The PSAC posts all signings online after the league approves the NLI but before moving them onto the NCAA. So, signing an NLI to Gannon doesn't guarantee a student-athlete will end up at GU.

Of course, Gannon has the student-athletes sign NLIs because they want their written commitment to attend the school. There have been cases where players don’t eventually arrive at a school whether it’s because they changed their mind, don’t get accepted to the school, etc. Remember Terrell Eargle? He signed a National Letter of Intent to Gannon, but instead attended Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) where he became West Virginia Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the 2009-2010 season. (I prefer to remember him as the kid who missed the potential game-winning three-pointer in A-B's 67-65 second round NCAA loss at Gannon.)

So, although every fan wants to know information ASAP, colleges have to perform their due diligence to ensure everything is correct before announcing a signee. There are names on the PSAC NLI list in all sports who don’t show up at that school for one reason or another. The NLI is the first step in locking someone up -- the first of many steps. I've been told that once the entire Gannon hoops recruiting class is signed, accepted at GU, scholarship papers signed and approved, the school will announce them. But Gannon's not going to rush the process and risk NCAA violations or embarrassment by, well, pulling another Terrell Eargle.

So that's today's lesson on National Letters of Intent. Plus it's a lesson on assuming. Onto T.J. Wilson.

* Comes to Gannon from Frederick Community College in Frederick, Md. That's the same school Ramon Smith attended prior to transferring to Gannon ... and rumored to be transferring away now.
* Wilson played in 30 games, averaging 9.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, and 0.9 apg. Only 2 of his 118 field goals were three-pointers. He shot an impressive 58% from the field (118-for-202) but just 62% from the line (49-for-79).
* The Cougars were 24-7 last year. This is a photo of the school's mascot. Just kidding!
* Click here for a game-by-game breakdown of Wilson's season. Looks like his high game of the season was a 22-point, 11-rebound effort in a 121-117 OT win vs. Harcum College.
* Here's a YouTube clip of Wilson at Hayfield HS (Va.). He's the lefty with the crazy hops. Looks like he loves slashing to the rim.
* Here's an article from a Hayfield game where Wilson scored 32 points. Going off for 30+ is nice, but I bet this is what John Reilly likes best about the article: “When you play defense with pride and lock your man down, that’s what’s going to happen,” Wilson said. “So whenever we play together and good team defense, that’s what it’s going to be like.”
* Here's a photo of Wilson from his high school days grabbing a rebound. From that same game, here's Wilson shooting a jumper and battling inside. If you want to sort through a bunch of tiny photos from his playing days at Hayfield, just click here. But have some eye drops nearby.

Potential New Knight: Brandon Belt G soph. 6-1

2011-04-30T21:50:00.002-04:00

According the most recent PSAC Letters of Intent web page, junior college guard Brandon Belt has committed to attend Gannon. Belt just finished his freshman year at Baltimore City Community College, where the sharpshooter averaged 16.1 ppg for the 20-11 Panthers.

Here's the skinny on Belt:
* Belt started and played in all 31 games at BCCC, leading the team in three-pointers (73-187) and three-point percentage (39%). The 175-pounder shot 45% from the field overall and a stunningly low 56% from the free throw line (39-70).
* Here are his averages: 21.8 minutes, 16.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.9 turnovers, and 1.4 steals.
* If you check out the season stats for BCCC, look at Micah Fraction's numbers. The guy averaged 25 ppg in just 23 minutes of action per game. Can Gannon sign that kid, too?
* BCCC advanced to the NJCAA Region XX finals where they fell to Cecil College (MD), 82-78. For his efforts, Belt was named to the all-tournament team. (Note: Cecil is located in North East, MD. Who knew there's another city called "North East"? The college's nickname is the Seahawks, not Grape Pickers. Too bad for them.)
* Belt graduated from Arundel HS (MD), transferring there just prior to his senior season. He averaged 14.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists for the 18-4 Wildcats, earning second-team All-Anne Arundel County honors. If you're dying to know more about Anne Arundel the person, just click here. If three Gannon Hoops followers click on that link, we'll set an all-time record for site traffic to that web page.
* This article from the Baltimore Sun gives insight behind Belt's choice to attend BCCC, including that he chose the school over Gannon and Pace last year.
* In that same article, published in July 2010, Belt makes this comment which I'm sure he wishes he could take back now: “I didn’t want to go to Division II. After this year I think I can be a Division I player. That’s why I wanted to come to BCCC.”
* This MaxPreps page on Belt is basically worthless, but I'm trying to give you all the info I came across on him.
* Here's something worth clicking on: it's some video highlights of Belt's junior campaign at Southern HS. He's certainly not a stiff. He can both shoot it and slash to the bucket.

The PSAC Letters of Intent web page also says an Anthony Wilson from Lorton, VA signed with the Knights. But the only Anthony Wilson from that area I could find played football -- not basketball -- at Hayfield HS. If anyone can confirm or deny that the Knights hoops team signed an Anthony Wilson, I'd appreciate it. For now, I'll just assume that the PSAC made a typo and the kid should have been listed in the football section. Web sites make tpyos all the time! UPDATE: Moments after I posted this, a Gannon fan emailed me that Wilson is a 6-foot-3 juco transfer to Gannon from Frederick (MD) Community College, who lists him as T.J. Wilson on its basketball roster. I'll gather more details in the upcoming days.

It's Official: Agee Gone From Gannon

2011-04-29T19:37:00.003-04:00

Kelvin Agee, a promising freshman who led Gannon in scoring this season, has been dismissed from the school. The rumor had been swirling for weeks and was confirmed in an email Gannon SID Dan Teliski sent to me today.

In the email, Teliski wrote, "Kelvin has been dismissed from the University due to violation of the school’s code of conduct policy. Unfortunately, I can't comment any further on Kelvin’s situation due to student-athlete's privacy issues, rules and regulations. But I can confirm Kelvin is no longer attending classes at Gannon."

What a shame. Scoring 358 points in 24 starts as a freshman, Agee was on pace to be among GU's all-time leading scorers and three-point shooters. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the Gary Miller Classic after leading the Knights to two wins that weekend. For the next three years, Agee and Stephen Battle would have been a formidable inside-outside combo that certainly would have led Gannon to many victories.

Instead, Agee -- if he's accepted by another college -- will be on his third school in three years, earning himself a less-than-stellar reputation. I don't know all the details behind his expulsion, but it's a real shame for everyone.

New Knight: Adam Blazek G 5-11 fr.

2011-04-13T19:18:00.009-04:00

Gannon has signed Adam Blazek, a crafty lefty guard from Cathedral Prep. On paper the signing appears to be ... wait a second. Gannon has had its share of lefthanded players, and the Knights can boast of several former Ramblers, but will Blazek be the first lefthanded Prep grad ever to suit up for the Knights? I'm not sure. UPDATED 4/22/11: I received an email from a Gannon expert that he believes Kevin Elwell was the first lefthanded Prep grad to play for Gannon.

But while we're talking about southpaws and Ramblers, let's talk about our favorite Gannon hoopsters who fit those categories:

Best lefthanded Golden Knights: Let's start with Kyle Goldcamp and Mike Crawford. If they played in the same era, Goldcamp and Crawford would have been a formidable inside-outside combo. John Bowen also deserves consideration, seeing that he scored 688 points for some excellent Gannon teams. And I'm almost embarrassed to ask this, but was Butch Warner lefthanded? He's a little ahead of my time to recall that detail, but I'm 51% sure he was a lefty. UPDATED 4/15/11: Warner was lefthanded, as confirmed by Gannon74. UPDATED 4/22/11: A Gannon expert reminded me that Billy Callahan was a lefty Golden Knight.

My favorite lefties: Gerald "Gee" Blanks, my former teammate, was full of energy and possessed springs in his legs. I also need to mention Gregg Blair, the big man who taught me the art of towel waving before he transferred to Behrend. UPDATED 4/19/11: bbfan68 says add the following to the lefty list: Craig Dixon (596 points), Bobby Baker (546), and Ron Johnson (1187). Great names -- thanks!

Honorary Gannon lefthander: Mitch Smith was a natural righty, but occasionally he'd pull up on the right baseline, switch hands, the fire up a midrange jumper lefthanded. Growing up, I thought that was one of the baddest moves I'd ever seen.

Best Prep products to play for Gannon: That's a headscratcher. I zipped through the all-time GU roster, and I think the best former Rambler/Knight is either Cory Knight (462 points) or Todd Stablein (649 points).

My favorite Ramblers/Knights: Even though my dad taught at McDowell, I'm a fan of all the Prep grads who played at Gannon: Stablein, Knight, Stacey Hitt, Jim Toohey, John Trocki, and current Knight Steve Piotrowicz. I even like Andrew Sweny even if he quit the Gannon team after playing just 2 games and scoring just 1 point. (The more GU players below me on the all-time scoring list, the better it makes me look.) Am I missing anyone from this list? UPDATED 4/15/11: Thanks to Willow and Corey for the heads up that Preston Harris and Mark Demski should be on this list. I can't believe I forgot about Demiski. First, I saw him play a ton as a youngster for the Erie Red Storm and, second, he's one of those lunchpail players that I really admire. If Demski's dad punches me the next time he sees me, I'll accept it as appropriate punishment.

OK -- back to Blazek. Here's a collection of info on him, much of it from the Prep website:

* This highlight video is pretty impressive. Blazek has kind of an unorthodox yet athletic game.
* His senior season he was the Erie Times-News District 10 player of the year after leading Prep in points (14.7 ppg), rebounds (5.9), assists (4.7) steals (2.7) and blocked shots. The Ramblers finished the season 14-10, winning 11 of their final 15 games.
* He was named Erie Times Breakout Male Basketball Player of the Week after scoring 24 points vs. Strong Vincent and posting 18 points and 10 rebounds vs. McDowell. (Side note: Proactiv should sponsor the Breakout Player award, don't you think?)
* Here's a quote from Blazek in the Prep press release: “It feels good to stay at home and be in a great situation athletically, academically and financially. To have all the hard work pay off from the offseason is a great feeling. I grew up watching Gannon play basketball and I can’t wait to continue my career in front of the great fans in Erie.”
* Prep coach Mark Majewski is one of the nicest guys I've met on the local hoops scene. His final sentence in this quote has me fired up: “I believe Gannon is a great fit for Adam’s talents and abilities. Adam is a well-rounded player who can do it all: score, rebound, pass and defend. On top of his skills, he is one of the hardest working players I have had the opportunity to coach.”
* According to this MaxPreps website, Prep finished the season ranked 47th in the state and 1,434th in the country. I actually thought they were in the top 1,400 but I'm not going to gripe about it out loud.
* This link takes you to a couple photos of Blazek.
* This is a photo of Blazek and Villa's Lisa Mifsud after they were named D-10 players of the year.
* I bet John Reilly loves this photo -- Blazek playing intense man-to-man defense.
* According to his Facebook page, Blazek is a fan of Manny Ramirez. I can picture Blazek making a lazy, boneheaded play to cost Gannon a PSAC playoff game and Reilly quipping at the postgame press conference, "That's just Adam being Adam."
* The Blazeks are an athletic family. Keith plays baseball at Baldwin-Wallace while Mark plays basketball at Division III Hartwick, where he averaged 14 ppg last year. I saw Mark play a lot for the Erie Red Storm all-star team when he was in grade school, and man was he a hard guard.
* Adam was born in July 1992, three months after I graduated from Gannon. I am officially decrepit.

Where's Herb? In The Basketball Hall Of Fame

2011-04-04T22:37:00.003-04:00

Back in the 1980s, there were two guys named Herb that Erieites were very familiar with. Thank goodness this Herb had more staying power than this annoying Herb. I have no idea what Burger King's Herb is doing today, but I know where Herb Magee is. He's at the Final Four in Houston celebrating his induction into basketball's Hall of Fame.

There are a tons of articles online about Magee that you might find interesting:
* Philadelphia Inquirer
* Lehigh Valley Express-Times
* Comcast SportsNet Philly (with an incredibly awkward photo of Magee)
* Herb's Wikipedia page
* Did you know the Hammermill Center has its own Wikipedia page? Magee is mentioned there, too.
* The Audi has its own Facebook page, too. I bet Milt Simon never saw that coming.

Knights Crowned National Champs!

2011-03-26T21:50:00.007-04:00

This was the day we've all been waiting for -- the Knights won the Division II national championship today in Springfield, Mass. Too bad it was the Bellarmine Knights from Louisville and the GLVC.

Other thoughts and facts for you to ponder:
Bellarmine won the title, but can Gannon make a case for being the best team in the nation? Check out this series of events from this season:
- Bellarmine won national championship (3/26)
- Ky. Wesleyan defeated Bellarmine (2/19)
- Indianapolis defeated Ky. Wesleyan (2/12)
- Urbana defeated Indianapolis (11/20)
- Gannon defeated Urbana (12/16)

If Gannon gets off to a slow start next year, here's one reason not to panic. BYU-Hawai'i, who narrowly lost to Bellarmine in the DII final today, started its season 5-4 before catching fire to finish 17-8 in the regular season.

Butler advanced to the Division I Final Four today. During the Bulldogs current 13-game win streak, they've defeated the following teams/coaches/conferences: Florida/Billy Donovan/SEC, Wisconsin/Bo Ryan/Big 10, and Pitt/Jamie Dixon/Big East. Who is the last coach and team to beat Butler? Jerry Slocum and Youngstown State on Feb. 2. If you don't believe me, watch the game highlights here.

According to the Williamsport Sun Gazette, the three finalists for the Lock Haven coaching job are former LHU and IUP head coach and current Penn State assistant Kurt Kanaskie, Shippensburg assistant coach Mike Nestor and Goldey-Beacom head coach Chuck Hammond. Kanaskie is the only guy I recognize. He was Lock Haven's head coach for 3 years, IUP's boss for 8, and then coached DI Drake for 7 seasons. You have to love this line from Kanaskie's Wikipedia page: "Under Kanaskie, Drake posted the two worst records in the history of the school, 2-26 in 1996-97 and 3-24 in 1997-98. During those 2 seasons, Kanaskie was 0-36 in Missouri Valley Conference games." My guess is those details were left off his current resume. Then again, they might be a selling point if Lock Haven wants to continue its losing tradition. UPDATED 3/30/11: Mike Nestor has been named Lock Haven's new head coach. Click here for details.

UPDATED 3/30/11: Longtime Findlay coach Ron Niekamp announced his retirement this week. Thanks to Gannon Hoops follower JRD for this link to the article from the Findlay newspaper. Kudos to Niekamp for consistently winning with class (which is infinitely more valuable than simply winning). The GLIAC rivalry I missed the most was Gannon/Findlay. Even the losses were doozies.

Where Are They Now? Postseason Edition (UPDATED)

2011-03-12T14:39:00.006-05:00

What's a Gannon fan to do during the postseason? I guess we can check out what's going on with former GU players and Golden Knight opponents. Here goes:

Last summer there was tons of chatter on this site about a potential Gannon recruit named Dwayne Soders, who was better known by his social media handle MR. WALK LIKE JORDAN. We weren't sure if the guy actually existed, but it turns out he does -- and he had a stellar season. Soders was the third leading scorer for Division II University of Texas of the Peramin Basin, better known at UT-Peramin Basin. The Odessa school finished 15-11 overall, 8-4 in the Heartland Conference where they advanced to the tournament championship before losing there. Soders averaged about 12 points and 7 rebounds a game, leading the Falcons in scoring 8 times. I know a lot of what was said about Soders on the Internet were strictly rumors, but the junior's stats this year are actual facts.

Larry Swann enjoyed an excellent season at NAIA Divsion II Dakota Wesleyan. His team was ranked 18th in the country, advanced to the second round of the national tournament, and he earned second team all GPAC (Great Plains Athletic Conference) honors. Here's what DWU's postseason summary says about Swann: "Swann only played one season for Dakota Wesleyan, but made an immediate impact on the Tiger program and played a big role in their success this season. The Columbus, Ohio, native transferred to DWU from Gannon University for his final collegiate season, and was a catalyst for DWU’s offense and defense. He averaged 12.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. Heading into the national tournament, he has 366 points, 71 rebounds, 60 assists and 30 steals. Swann was named the GPAC Player-of-the-Week after an 18-point performance against No. 8 Briar Cliff on Jan. 26 and a 25-point performance against Midland Jan. 29. He also scored 28 points against USF Feb. 2."

George Johnson excelled at Division II power Augusta State, leading them in scoring at 16 ppg while earning first team all-region honors. The Jaguars (26-3 overall, 15-0 at home) are #1 in the Southeast Region and begin hosting the NCAA tournament there today. UPDATE 3/13/11: Augusta State advanced to the Sweet 16 tonight, and Johnson carryied them there. He posted 22 points in the Jags' opening win and exploded for a game-high 31 tonight on 8-of-14 shooting on three-pointers. UPDATE 3/20/11: Johnson was named to the regional all-tourney team, but Augusta lost in OT at home to Anderson, 75-73, in the regional finals. Johnson scored 18 points in 43 minutes of action.

Anthony Simmons played in 29 games, starting 19, at Xavier (La.), one of the top teams in NAIA Division I play at 26-4. Simmons' stats of 9.8 ppg and 6 rpg don't looks stellar on the surface, but he's the #2 scorer and #1 rebounder for the Gold Rush, who use an 11-man rotation. Xavier opens play in the national tournament March 17.

At Missouri S&T, Filmore "Mook" Bouldes earned 7 starts, averaging just 1.3 ppg. He also registered 41 assists, 29 turnovers, 11-52 FG (21%), and was 2-20 on threes. The Miners were 3-15 in their conference and 7-18 overall, dropping 15 of their last 16 contests.

Daren Dexter started 20 games at Division III Greensboro College, helping them to a 12-15 season. Dexter led the team with 15.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg before he missed the final 7 games.

Jerell Sanders played only 7 games (starting 4) at GLIAC regular season champ and NCAA qualifier Ferris State before disappearing from the stat sheet.

UPDATED 3/20/11: James Bryant played 14 games at Division III William Patterson University in Wayne, NJ. He started 6 games, averaged 4.6 ppg, committed 36 turnovers, dished out 23 assists, and shot 42% (including 3-of-10 on threes) for the Pioneers. It looks like he joined the club after the first of the year. At that point, WPU was 7-4; they ended the season 12-13 after dropping 9 of their final 10 games. When I first saw Bryant, I thought he'd be a special player for the Knights on the DII level. I'm shocked that he's now just a contributor on a mediocre DIII team.

UPDATED 3/20/11:Isaac Reid is reported to be part of the men's basketball program at Division II St. Joseph (Ind.), a member of the GLVC. Big thanks go Gannon Hoops follower Billly for the info on Bryant and Reid.

As far as Gannon's independent opponents, only Cedarville and Wayne State advance to postseason play. Cedarville (20-13) fell in the opening round of the NAIA Division II tourney while Wayne State (22-8) lost in the first round of the Midwest Regional to Ferris State. Wayne was the #3 seed in the region after beating Ferris last week to capture the GLIAC tourney title. Central State (Oh.) was 14-12, Urbana was 9-17, Northern Michigan was 9-17 (a crummy 4-15 in the GLIAC North), while Seton Hill was 10-20, losing 12 of their last 14.

What's a Gannon fan to do now?

Transfer-mania

2011-03-08T21:36:00.004-05:00

Longtime Gannon fan John Deluca gave me the heads up on this insightful article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer titled "College athletes turn to transfers in search of playing time." Are they talking about Gannon? Nope. It turns out that leaving a program is trending up everywhere. If you want to read the entire article, click on this link. Here are some interesting excerpts:

* According to the most recent NCAA data, the rate of men's basketball transfers into four-year schools is trending up, even as the transfer rate for all sports at those schools is trending down. From 2003-04 to 2008-09, transfers for all sports at four-year schools decreased, from 7.3 percent to 6.5 percent. During that same time, men's basketball transfers at those schools increased, from 9.4 percent to 10.6 percent.

* Last season, Ohio State had one player transfer out and one in; Kent State lost two and gained one; Cleveland State lost three transfers and replaced them with freshmen. Akron had four transfer out, three transfer in. At Cleveland State, coach Gary Waters had no 2010 scholarships available at the beginning of last recruiting season, yet -- anticipating departures -- he still signed two early recruits, and later a third.

* Ohio University coach John Groce has seen his roster turned upside down by transfers. In 2009-10, Groce led the Bobcats to the 2010 Mid-American Conference Tournament title and the NCAA Tournament bid that went with it. But in his two-plus seasons, his roster has turned over with 13 recruits and/or transfers. He has lost players who were homesick; others who were jettisoned for violating team rules; one who quit to begin a rap music career, and one who quit because he no longer had a passion to play the game. Groce said the player movement mirrors the "instant-gratification society" we live in. "In the past, a player would see the chance to play behind a junior for two years, then start for two years, as an opportunity," Groce said. "Now, if they are not at least playing a lot as freshmen, there are issues."

And You Thought Gannon Had Heartbreakers

2011-03-06T22:34:00.003-05:00

I almost fell off my chair when the Atlantic Region field was announced just now for the men's Division II tournament. Check out the bracket:

1 West Liberty
8 Slippery Rock

4 Shaw
5 Winston Salem State

3 Bowie State
6 Mansfield

2 IUP
7 West Va. Wesleyan

Notice anybody missing from that list? Mercyhurst. Despite a 20-7 overall record, the Lakers missed out on their first-ever NCAA bid in school history. How quickly Mercyhurst crashed from the basketball penthouse.

Heading into the Gannon game on Feb. 16, the Hurst was 19-3 overall, #3 in the region, #17 in the country, undefeated in the PSAC West, and two games ahead of IUP for hosting the conference tournament. The Knights outworked the Lakers, 79-71, which started a season-ending streak where Mercyhurst lost 4 of its last 5.

If I was as big a Laker fan as I am a Gannon fan, I would be puking my guts out right now. Or punching myself in the face. Or both. Even if you're a Laker Hater, you have to feel awful for them.

In the Midwest Region: Wayne State, who Gannon squeaked past in the Porreco Cup, won the GLIAC tournament earlier today and earned the #3 seed in the Midwest Region. The shocker in the Midwest was Findlay not being selected for the tournament. You can tell the Oilers are outraged based on the details in their press release about not making the tourney. It's a real slap in the face to the GLIAC that 24-4 Findlay is snubbed in favor of a 19-8 GLVC team (Univ. of Indianapolis).

Slocum Six Years Later

2011-03-05T16:05:00.002-05:00

A longtime Gannon fan made me aware today of an article in the Youngstown Vindicator that isn't exactly complimentary of Jerry Slocum, the Youngstown State basketball program, and the school in general. The headline is "Like it or not, Slocum will return." I've pasted the article in this post and I'll share my thoughts after the article:

After finishing last for the fifth time in 10 seasons in the Horizon League, it’s easy to view coaching the YSU men’s basketball team as a no-win situation. That’s ridiculous. A 10-win situation, maybe. Five at the worst.

Since joining the Horizon League in 2001-02, the Penguins have averaged four conference wins each year and eight wins overall. It’s been a little better under Jerry Slocum than John Robic, just as the weather in February was a little better than January.

Slocum has inched the program forward in his six-year tenure, making YSU more competitive and more respected around the league. But he’s also failed to produce even one winning season and, over the past two winters, has won a combined four league games.

The 2009-10 season was particularly disappointing since YSU returned a strong core of players and finished just 2-16 in the league. But this winter has had its share of frustrations as the Penguins started 4-1, then lost 17 of the next 21 games, with two of those wins coming against NAIA teams.

Slocum has an option year left on his contract and YSU has every intention of picking it up. Given the school’s current financial commitment to the sport — worst in the league, lower than Akron spends on women’s basketball — this is understandable.

YSU has plenty working against its basketball program — a poor recruiting area, a weak tradition and a 10-member conference where only two other schools have football, and it’s non-scholarship football — and Slocum has done a commendable job fielding a competitive team in the country’s 11th-ranked basketball conference. For proof, all you have to do is look at Saturday’s overtime loss to Milwaukee, where the Penguins took a team playing for the tournament’s top seed to the brink.

But it’s also hard to argue that Slocum is the school’s long-term answer. He makes no effort to build relationships with fans or boosters — something Robic, as prickly as he was, at least tried to do — and he’s even worse with the media. He’s particularly bad after losses, where his press conferences often last less than 90 seconds and he sneers at questions he doesn’t like.

He’s also struggled to keep players. Six have left in the last 12 months, with another, Devonte Maymon, likely to leave after this season. If you make the argument that most of them needed to go — something I’ve heard — well, who recruited them in the first place?

At 59, Slocum isn’t going to change. He’s a solid game day coach who won’t get outcoached and won’t embarrass the university. He’s not a rising star but he’s not a fallen one, either. Athletic director Ron Strollo isn’t satisfied with winning 25 percent of the Horizon League games every year but he also doesn’t want to make a change just for change’s sake.

The school has increased its financial commitment to football in the past year and, with a budget crisis looming, there’s nothing extra for basketball right now. Maybe there will be in a year or two, particularly if the football team starts winning big again, but not now.

More surprising, there doesn’t seem to be any outrage from fans, boosters or school officials about the sad state of the basketball program. Until enough people speak up and the school decides to make a strong financial commitment to fielding a competitive basketball team, the Penguins will continue to pay rent in the Horizon League’s basement.

But hey, the news isn’t all bad. After all, spring football starts in three weeks.

Joe Scalzo covers YSU men's basketball for The Vindicator. Write to him at scalzo@vindy.com.

My thoughts:
* As negative as the author is, he does shine some bright spots on Slocum's performance. First, he talks about the team's competitiveness, which is the first step to becoming a winner -- and has been hard to come by at YSU for a few decades. I still recall our 1991-92 Gannon team watching a tape of Pitt-Johnstown whipping Youngstown State in Youngstown. The next night we throttled the Mountain Cats. YSU has been that bad for that long. Also, the author calls Slocum "a solid game day coach who won’t get outcoached and won’t embarrass the university." I don't know anyone who'd disagree with that.

* I think I've interviewed Slocum at least 30 times after losses -- some of them the crushing, season-ending type -- and he was usually very upset after them. What do you expect from any coach let alone a guy whose entire MO is intensity? Slocum always gave Steve Bohen and me the time we asked for and answered all of our questions. When a strong Gannon team lost to Hillsdale in the NCAAs on a terrible block/charge call that went against the Knights, Slocum still came out of the lockerroom and talked with us. He was as angry as I've ever seen him, but he still took time with us. Bohen and I weren't stupid enough to ask him inappropriate questions that would set him off like a time bomb. Maybe the Youngstown media is less sensitive.

* How about Jerry losing 6 players in the last 12 months when he lost basically nobody during his years at Gannon? Maybe all the players leaving Gannon isn't just a Reilly thing. Maybe it's the less restrictive transfer rules. Or maybe kids are less loyal or less likely to endure discipline. Or maybe their parents won't control the kids either.

PSAC Parity

2011-03-01T21:43:00.003-05:00

What a wacky quarterfinal night in PSAC men's play. IUP was the only higher seed/home team to win tonight, and they had to survive a 4-point play in the closing moments to hold off Cal, 73-68. Here are the other results:
* #3W Slippery Rock 51, #2W Mercyhurst 45. The Lakers scored only 14 second half points.
* #4E Cheyney 77, #1E Mansfield 75. The Wolves scored the game's final 6 points, including a pair of free throws with :02 on the clock, to steal the win.
* #3E East Stroudsburg 83, #2E Kutztown 70

UPDATE - 3/4/11: It will be an all-PSAC West championship this year. Slippery Rock clipped Cheyney, 82-73, and IUP held off East Stroudsburg, 81-72. That puts Slippery Rock in decent shape to get an NCAA bid even if they don't beat IUP.

For more details, click here for the PSAC website.

"Respect The Game"

2011-02-26T15:22:00.006-05:00

I'm not sure which of my coaches at Gannon made that statement. "Respect the game." It might have been Ruby, Reilly, or Rorie (Pugliese) -- maybe all of them said it at one time or another. Dukiet, Chapman, and Kalbugh echoed the same sentiment. Above all, respect the game. Examples of disrespecting the game include not playing hard, goofing around during a game, and playing selfishly. If you're not hungry to play your best, then get off the freaking court so someone else can give an honest effort.

For those who witnessed Gannon's season-concluding 81-68 victory over Clarion Saturday at the Hammermill, you saw only one team who respected the game. (For a hint of who that was, check the scoreboard.)

To illustrate my point, let me share with you a conversation that was overheard between two Clarion players during a first-half substitution yesterday:
Player Checking In: "Where are you at?"
Player On The Court: "Who cares?"
Player Checking In: "I hear ya."

That craptastic attitude aligns with what I saw from other Golden Eagles yesterday -- getting beat down the floor repeatedly, laughing despite a 20-point deficit, getting beat down the floor repeatedly, slowly walking off the court when substituted for, getting beat down the floor repeatedly, not paying attention during timeouts, getting beat down the floor repeatedly, hogging the ball instead of running the offense, and getting beat down the floor repeatedly. That one statement was repeated for effect because it led to Gannon's 50-point, 65%-shooting outburst in the first half. The Knights didn't suddenly become an offensive juggernaut without some help from Clarion.

I don't mean to turn this into a flogging of the Golden Eagles. It just fries me to see guys with so much God-given ability waste it, even if for just one game. I would have killed to play 20 minutes in one college game, even if it was "meaningless" according to the conference standings.

Gannon played Saturday like they were still alive for a postseason berth. Every Knight who received playing time hustled, defended, rebounded, and passed the ball. They tried to take charges, sacrificing their body for the team. Even the guys who didn't play were intense. They rooted for their teammates on both ends of the floor. Why did the Gannon players care so much more than their Clarion counterparts?

Simple. Because John Reilly and his relentless coaching staff have the utmost respect for the game, and they've inculcated that belief into their players. I know there's been a lot of debate this season regarding Reilly's recruiting, substitution pattern, and offensive game plan. But he undeniably possesses the two most important fundamentals for a basketball coach:
1. Deeply care about the integrity of the game and about your players as students, athletes, and human beings.
2. Get your players to care, too. Make sure they play like madmen every drill and every game possession.

The Knights didn't make the playoffs this year, but they certainly respected the game from the season's opening tip to its final possession. (Why else did Riles call timeout with 20 seconds left and a 15-point lead?). Having respect for the game will pay dividends for the Gannon program in future seasons, including next year.

Bad Three, Good Three, Hee Hee

2011-02-22T23:04:00.001-05:00

Bad Three: Gannon's 62-59 win vs. Slippery Rock Wednesday night was a thrill for those in attendance at the Hammermill. Regrettably, I wasn't one of them. Instead, I was on an Air Tran flight from Orlando to Pittsburgh, returning from the HIMSS Conference held this week in Florida. I was following the live stats until takeoff with the score tied at 41. You know how hard it is to watch your favorite team in a close game? Imagine them in a nailbiter with 10 minutes to play, but you can't learn the outcome of the game until 2 hours later.

What made the situation worse is that this was the third home game I've missed this season due to work travel. I think I was in diapers the last year I missed three Gannon home games. Each of the three contests was thriller, too: a 2-point loss to Cal and the OT loss to Mercyhurst. I love close games and I love Gannon basketball. It was like torture to miss out on these contests.

Good Three: Danard Crouch may have been just 1-for-8 from the field against the Rock, but his only field goal was a bigee. With the Knights down three with 47 seconds left, Crouch drained a trey to tie the game -- clutch shot. A year ago, that wouldn't have happened. I recall Gannon's first win of the 2009-10 season, a 40-38 slugfest vs. Northern Kentucky, when Crouch cracked under pressure. With 49 seconds left and the Knights up 2, the then-junior badly missed the front end of a 1-and-1. On Wednesday, the senior earned only his second career start and finished strong. You've got to give this kid credit for his work ethic and persistence. He didn't get a ton of playing time last year, but he didn't join the exodus and quit the team. When John Reilly recruited talented freshman and juco guards this off-season, Crouch didn't pout. Crouch will never be selected for the Gannon sports Hall of Fame, but his efforts these past two seasons will help him earn lots of honors in the game of life.

Hee Hee: Gannon really damaged Slippery Rock's NCAA playoff chances Wednesday. The Rock came in ranked 9th in the region; the top 8 go to the tourney. I can't help but think this is left over karma from the boorish behavior demonstrated by Slippery Rock, their coach Kevin Reynolds, and their football players two years ago. As Bob Dukiet was fond of saying, "Sooner or later ... sooner or later ... God's gonna get you."

I've Got That Crummy Feeling Again

2011-02-18T19:30:00.004-05:00

It's hard to succinctly explain how I feel after Gannon was eliminated from post-season contention with their 53-50 loss at Cal today. I'm not shocked at the road loss because the now 4-8 Knights have won only 33% of their PSAC West games this year. What I am shocked about is how deeply disappointed I am that next week's games are absolutely meaningless. I was really looking forward to scoreboard watching and setting up a potential do-or-die finale against Clarion a week from today. And, heck, if the Knights had won 5 in a row heading in the league playoffs, then why couldn't they make a run with nobody dominating the PSAC this year? Imagine how cool it could have been if this team sneaked into the NCAAs.

Instead, Gannon will be playing out the string for the first time in three seasons. I guess it would be easier to accept if this team wasn't very talented or had been getting routed most of the season. But with the flurry of close league losses this year you can't help but melt your brain thinking "What if?"

I'm writing this post more than two hours after the end of the game, and I still feel as low as I did when the Knights lost in the Elite 8 two years ago. Devastated. Disgusted. Perplexed. At least the situation gave me the chance to explain the meaning of "bummed" to my 5-year-old daughter. Maybe tomorrow we'll talk about the definitions of "dismayed", "crestfallen", and "chagrined."

I'm sure everyone connected with the program -- players, coaches, administrators, and fans -- will wonder all off-season what could have been if ________ (fill in one play from any of Gannon's incredibly disappointing league losses). That's a pretty crummy feeling.

Credit Where Credit's Due

2011-02-16T05:33:00.003-05:00

This has been a mostly disappointing season for Gannon, and several fans plus commenters on this site have taken Knight coach John Reilly to task, sometimes brutally. I hope those folks can admit that Reilly deserves 5 stars for leading Gannon to tonight's 79-71 win at previously PSAC-perfect Mercyhurst. The Lakers entered the game #3 in the region and #17 in the country, but they never led in the second half -- never really threatened, actually. If the Hurst hadn't banked in a pair of threes, this game might have been a rout.

Of course the players deserve credit for hitting 57% of their shots, including 8-of-12 from 3-point range. But Reilly should be showered with praise for orchestrating this victory. Gannon's man defense frequently bumped leading scorer Heiden Ratner away from the ball and rattled him into a 6-for-20 shooting night and just 14 points, 6 below his average. On offense, the Knights worked the ball into the post and swung the ball when the offense slowed down. Plus, when perimeter players had an opening, they frequently slashed to the basket which played a big role in Gannon earning 26 free throw attempts. And down the stretch, the Knights were prepared for Mercyhurst's press and executed their breaker flawlessly. After they broke the press, they ran clock and limited the Lakers' possessions down the stretch.

I think Hurst coach Gary Manchel helped Gannon's cause by repeatedly double-teaming the low post which led to several open GU shots. If Gannon had a dominant low-post player I could understand the strategy, but why send two guys after Clinton Springer-Williams -- who averages less than 2 shots per game -- and leave Kelvin Agee (15 ppg, 39 threes) open on the opposite wing? Travis Brannen (32 giant points) was 4-for-4 on threes because he was so wide open at the top of the key for each attempt because his man was pinching in the post. I wrote in a previous post how Gannon struggles to break down the defense, but they didn't have that problem tonight because Mercyhurst kept breaking itself down by flooding to the ball. I thought Manchel would adjust his defense after Gannon's 13-0 run to end the first half, but he kept doubling down ... and lost that bet in a big way.

In other PSAC news: IUP ralled past Edinboro, 73-72, sinking the Scots to 4-7 in the conference. IUP took the lead on a shot with 16 seconds left before Scot Danny Walsh missed the potential game winner. Where was that last week? ... Cal tripped visiting Slippery Rock, 69-68. That's not good for the Knights (4-7) as the Vulcans (5-6) stay a game ahead. How big is Saturday's Gannon/Cal game? ... As expected, gravity continues to hold us on the earth and Lock Haven lost again, this time to Clarion (5-6), 95-80. The Knights are still alive in their hunt for the postseason. And, man, does it feels good to be alive tonight!

One Down, Four To Go

2011-02-12T13:49:00.004-05:00

Gannon notched just its third victory in PSAC West play Saturday, an as-expected 20-point win at 19-loss Lock Haven, 88-68. Combine that with Clarion's pulsating win at Edinboro and PSAC-perfect Meryhurst knocking off Cal on the road, and the Knights are just one game out of a tie for the conference's final playoff spot. That prompted me to look at the schedules of the four teams fighting for that spot. Here we go:

Clarion (4-6): @ Lock Haven, vs. IUP, vs. Cal, @ Gannon
Cal (4-6): vs. Slippery Rock, vs. Gannon, @ Clarion, @ Lock Haven
Edinboro (4-6): @ IUP, vs. Lock Haven, vs. Mercyhurst, @ Slippery Rock
Gannon (3-7): @ Mercyhurst, @ Cal, vs. Slippery Rock, vs. Clarion

Clarion, Cal, and Edinboro each have Lock Haven left on the schedule, so you know they'll win at least one more game this season, getting them to 5 wins. Plus Cal and Clarion play each other, so one of them will get to 6. So, the Knights will need to win 3 of their last 4 to have a shot at the #4 seed in the West. If they beat Mercyhurst, Cal, and Clarion and then lose to Slippery Rock, they'll be 6-8 and likely hold the tiebreakers over Clarion (2-0 head-to-head) and Cal (GU 2-0 vs. #1 Mercyhurst). Edinboro will have to go winless against IUP, the Hurst, and the Rock for Gannon to move ahead of them. The Scots, 2-0 vs. Gannon, hold the tiebreaker over them. It's a longshot, but at least it's a shot.

On The Bright Side ...

2011-02-09T17:02:00.002-05:00

Partly as a coping mechanism, I'm going to go all-positive after another gut-wrenching Gannon loss in the PSAC, this one on a last-second shot vs. Edinboro, 69-68. On the bright side ...

* We know that Gannon coach John Reilly hasn't sold his soul to the devil. Riles is one of the most upbeat, positive people I've ever met, but God is really testing him with this stretch of devastating losses. Reilly is becoming the Job of the college basketball world. (Click on the link if you don't understand the reference. And shame on you for not paying attention in CCD class.)

* Freshman Stephen Battle showed that he can be a big scorer (19 points) and go-to finisher (his jumper with 10 seconds left gave Gannon the lead). If the Knights can recruit a slashing guard who can create opportunities for his teammates, he and Battle will be a formidable 1-2 punch next season.

* We all got our money's worth. I know Gannon lost, but was that second half tremendous or what? The Jan. 19 Gannon/Edinboro game was close, but you left the gym bitter that Gannon was so pathetic in the first half. You could walk out of this game disappointed with the outcome, but you couldn't question the team's effort or most of its execution in the second half. Except for that botched press breaker. What in the heck were they ... wait, I'm trying to stay positive. Sorry for that outburst.

* I sat with former Golden Knight Cory Coleman at the game. Cory, a co-worker of mine for several years and an assistant coach at Strong Vincent, knows the game and has a passion for it. He made some really good points during the contest. It was like having a personal TV analyst for free. Cory will never admit this, but after Danny Walsh's game-winning shot, this was the exact expression on Cory's face.

* I heard a great line at halftime of the game. Talking with a former English professor, I said, "I know this doesn't make sense, but Edinboro is 'exceedingly average.'" He replied, "I understand exactly what you're saying, but I can't diagram it."

* Mercyhurst won at Clarion and IUP blasted Cal tonight. Despite being 2-7, Gannon still has a legit shot at the #4 seed in the West. They'll have to go on a blitz to make that happen, but none of their final 5 games is a guaranteed loss. Here's the remaining schedule: @ Lock Haven, @ Mercyhurst, @ Cal, vs. Slippery Rock, and vs. Clarion. The Knights already beat Lock and Clarion, and they should have won vs. Cal, SRU, and the Hurst. I'm not saying they're going to win all 5, but I have hope for each of those games.

* After yet another heartbreaker, I should be bitter and despondent plus angry and dejected, and maybe a little perturbed and depressed. But I'm not. On the bright side, I still have hope for this Gannon team.

Better Than The Super Bowl

2011-02-07T11:53:00.003-05:00

Gannon turned a lackluster near-blowout in front of a quarter-filled Hammermill Center into a comeback thriller Monday night, rallying past Central State (Oh.), 64-63. It was another Jekyll-and-Hyde performance for the Knights, who stumbled their way to 22 points and 8 turnovers in the first half and then exploded for 42 points and produced just 5 turnovers in the second half.

WFNN's Jim LeCorchick interviewed me at halftime, and I know we were lamenting Gannon's first-half sleepwalk. Then we said this team has shown all season they could turn it on for a half, and I swear LeCorchick said Travis Brannen could go off (he had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the second stanza) and I agreed, noting that we wouldn't surprised if the Knights erupted for 42 points (they did). If anyone can confirm we said that, please let me know. I might want to collaborate with Jim on Wednesday's Powerball numbers.

I really liked the Knights' offensive aggressiveness in the second half. A long time Gannon fan asked me at halftime to enlighten him on the team's philosophy of throwing the ball side-to-side-to-side for the first 30 seconds of the shot clock while the players away from the ball basically stand still. I couldn't explain it, so I just threw a handful of caramel corn into my mouth. The Knights changed their attack in the second half -- they actually started attacking -- with Anthony Clagett and Danard Crouch frequently trying to dribble past their defenders. Let's hope the Knights approach Edinboro the same way Wednesday night.

And why was this game better than the Super Bowl, as I claim in the headline? Because we didn't see any of this at the game. Ugh.

Fatal Flaw?

2011-02-05T08:45:00.002-05:00

I think I might have discovered the core reason this Gannon team has struggled to a 10-9 (2-6 PSAC) season thus far. IUP helped exposed this flaw during their 73-58 win at Gannon Saturday.

There's a big difference between a basketball player and an athlete. Excellent basketball players have game-related skills such as ball handling and shooting touch. Outstanding athletes have these four qualities: so quick they can dribble by their opponent frequently, leaping ability to soar over most opponents, strength to push their opponent around, and speed to beat their opponent to a spot on the floor. The Gannon team that advanced to the Elite 8 a couple years ago had several players on its roster who were that unique blend of top-notch basketball player and athlete: Joe Lindsey, Pierre Howard, Tyler Stoczynski, and Kyle Goldcamp. Subs like Dave Wilson and Alphonso Scandrett might not have been the most skilled, but they could do a lot of the athletic things I mentioned above.

IUP boasts many player/athletes on its roster this year: F Darryl Webb (#15), PG Kevin Stewart (#3) and G Ashton Smith (#30) are the best of them. That's why they advanced to the Division II championship game last year. With their blend of skills and athleticism, they can compete with anyone in the country. And when they meet a team like Gannon, which I believe lacks outstanding athleticism, they coast to double-digit victories.

If you don't believe me, start listing the guys on the Gannon roster who are both tremendous players and athletes. I stop after Stephen Battle. Kelvin Agee has great skills, but he rarely blows by someone off the dribble. Anthony Clagett has the ballhandling skills and quickness to take his man to the basket, but his shooting stroke isn't All-American quality. Tanner Furno can run in the open floor, but as we saw yesterday, he still struggles to post up because of his lack of strength. Steve Piotrowicz is strong, hard working, and can handle the ball, but he's not going to soar over anyone or create his own shot consistently. Travis Brannen is pretty strong and has a good stroke, but inside he isn't able to jump over and spin around anyone to give himself an automatic basket inside. Danard Crouch may be the fastest guy on the team, but he's more of a defensive stopper than a multi-faceted scoring threat.

I'm not saying this Gannon team is a bunch of stiffs, but it really stood out yesterday why they so often struggle to score in stretches, especially against a truly gifted team like IUP. Try , try, try they might, this team just can't dribble by their defender consistently enough to get easy shots (and not turn the ball over). Tough thing about this weakness is what can you do about it? I guess you can get a couple quick blow-by-their-defender guys for next season and your post players can hit the weight room. Or you can install the Princeton offense which relies totally on ball movement and very little on dribble penetration. But none of those are short-term answers. I guess you just hold on tight for the rest of the season and do your best with what you have.

Rocked, Knocked, Shocked

2011-02-02T12:24:00.006-05:00

Have the 4 losses in Gannon's last 5 games been some of the most exasperating in school history? As Jim LeCorchick just said on the radio after Gannon's last-second 69-67 loss at Slippery Rock, the Knights could have/should have won all 4 of those games, and to lose all 4 of them is impossible to comprehend. But the Knights and the Gannon faithful have not only had their minds blown but their hearts broken experiencing these painful defeats. If you stop by the GU basketball office Thursday, you might catch John Reilly sitting askew in his desk chair, staring at a blank wall.

Other thoughts on the game:
* It's kind of weird that 20 years after Flyin' Myron Brown led Slippery Rock to the top of Division II basketball that SRU's top player would be just one letter off -- Maron Brown. The media guide says they're no relation, but you wouldn't have known that after Maron's 25-point, 10-for-15 shooting performance tonight vs. Gannon.

* For the second straight season, Gannon is plagued by a turnover problem. Last year it was players bolting the program, and this year it's an inability to handle the basketball. Yes, the Knights had only 14 turnovers tonight (two below their average of 16), but the 9 in the first half made the difference in another tight game. In the recent close losses vs. Mercyhurst (24) and Edinboro (19) the Knights have been too loose with the ball.

* With Steve Piotrowicz still banged up, Anthony Clagett played 32 minutes tonight. "A.C." -- not to be confused with this A.C. or, worse, this A.C. -- scored 6 points and committed just 2 turnovers while not recording an assist. While Piotrowicz is hobbled, it looks like Reilly will go with just a 6-man rotation. UPDATE (2/3/11): I've been told that Piotrowicz suffered a broken nose in the first half of the Slippery Rock game. His status for Saturday is uncertain. Here's wishing him a speedy recovery. First, because having a broken nose is painful, and second, because he's a key part of this Gannon team.

This Is Exactly Why I Don't Bet On Sports

2011-01-29T11:17:00.008-05:00

Imagine if some guy came up to you right before today's Gannon game at Clarion and whispered, "Psst -- buddy! Wanna make a bet? You can earn $50k easy. Here's the deal: You put in 50 grand and I'll put in 50, too. Winner takes all $100k. The cherry on top is that I give you Clarion plus 8 for today's game. It's a no-brainer, pal. You get the favorite plus 8 points."

While you're pondering the offer, the guy offers up these facts going into the game:
* The Knights have lost 3 in a row and 4-of-5, the only W at home over stinky Lock Haven. Clarion, meanwhile, has won two straight and 3-of-4. Their two most recent wins were at IUP (where Gannon was throttled by 20) and a 111-38 drubbing of Lock Haven. Clarion led that game 57-11 at the break. When Gannon played the Bald Eagles, GU struggled to earn a 2-point halftime advantage.

* Gannon is just 1-5 on the road this year. In each of their 5 road losses they fell behind by 17 points and struggled just to make the game competitive (except at Cheyney where the Wolves devoured them by 19). Clarion is riding an 11-game home win streak, a 17-of-18 stretch at the Waldo Tippin Gymnasium dating back to last year. One of those W's was a 19-point drubbing the Golden Eagles put on the Knights Jan. 16 last year.

* Look at the PSAC West head-to-head matchups this season:
vs. Edinboro: CU +10, GU -8; an 18-point Clarion advantage
vs. IUP: CU +5, GU -20 ; a 25-point Clarion advantage
vs. Lock Haven: CU +gazillion (actually +73), GU +27; a 46-point Clarion advantage
vs. Mercyhurst: CU -9 in OT, GU -4 in OT; a 5-point Gannon advantage but keep in mind Gannon played the 'Hurst at home while Clarion went on the road

The numbers, the stats, the trends -- they're all saying to lay down the $50k and you'll be getting double your money right after the game. Then the guy offers the clincher. "And the only way I can win is if the final score is in the form of a palindrome. What's it gonna be, buddy? You in?"

I hope you didn't take the bet. After Gannon's surprising 76-67 victory today, you'd be paying up. I can't figure it out either. I just hope the same thing happens Wednesday at Slippery Rock so the Knights stay in the PSAC West race.

Mercyhurst Beating Gannon = Heartbreak Hotel

2011-01-26T11:05:00.003-05:00

I don't have much to say about Gannon's incredibly disappointing 68-64 overtime loss to Mercyhurst Wednesday for one simple reason: I wasn't there. What could keep me away from one of biggest games of the year? A conference at this amazing hotel/resort in Maui, Hawaii that I had to attend. I actually followed the live stats poolside -- and nearly tossed my mobile phone into the water when the Lakers tied the game in the closing seconds. I can't imagine how frustrated John Reilly must be with a team that's better than last year's but achieving the same results. Let's hope they can right the ship Saturday at Clarion.

A Kick In The Gut

2011-01-22T02:34:00.004-05:00

I'm not going to say much about Gannon's 72-70 home loss Saturday to Cal. I will say that this one really hurts. I think I literally feel a pit in my stomach. Why?

* The Knights are now 1-3 in the PSAC West, good for 7th place. The only win in that streak is vs. hapless Lock Haven, and the first half of that game felt like a loss.
* This was a loss at home, which hurt doubly as bad because it's so tough to win on the road in this conference.
* GU has lost 4 of its last 6. The Knights are now 4-4 in January with games vs. first-place Mercyhurst and at dangerous Clarion next week. With the way the team's played as of late, splitting those games (resulting in 5-5 mark for the month) would be an accomplishment. Can you guess the January record of last year's mediocre Gannon team? 5-5. The way this year's team started, I can't fathom them being on the same level as last year's club.
* If Gannon loses its next two, they'll be 1-5 in the conference with 4 road games left to play.

All I did was share some facts with you about the state of the club and what could be looming on the horizon based on their recent results. Do you have a pit in your stomach now, too?

Wake Up Call?

2011-01-19T05:34:00.005-05:00

You can interpret the above headline two ways after Gannon's gut-wrenching, confounding 70-62 loss at Edinboro tonight:
1. Optimist: "The second half was a wake up call. After shooting just 22% in the first half, committing 14 turnovers, scoring only 17 points and giving up some open threes and dunks, the Knights came to life. Maybe they'll learn from this and play faster and extend their defensive pressure the rest of the year. This could be an excellent learning experience for the coaches and players."
2. Pessimist: "Can somebody please give these guys a freaking wake up call before the game instead of at halftime? How many road games do we have to endure where they get down by 17, feverishly rally to get within a possession, and then let the game slip away? We're 14 games in the season and have followed this pattern like a half dozen times. Can the booster club buy 15 giant alarm clocks for the players so they'll wake the heck up already!"

Other thoughts on the game, from a hopefully less schizophrenic perspective than the comments above:
* I was happy to see Gannon make offensive adjustments in the second half. Instead of just running the motion offense, GU set double screens for Kelvin Agee and tried isolating Travis Brannen inside. As a result, they scored 45 points, hit half of their field goal attempts, committed only 5 turnovers and got to the free throw line 15 times in the second stanza. If Gannon can do that for 40 minutes, they'll ... you know how I was about to finish this sentence, but I'm tired of typing it after nearly every game this season.

* I'm not going to take the time to break down the first half play-by-play, but Gannon hit 5 of its first 8 field goals and then had a 1 for 20-something stretch for the next 15 minutes of the first half. It was excruciating to watch.

* You're not going to win many games when your off guards go 2-for-15 -- Agee 1-for-7, Danard Crouch 1-for-6, and Kareem Brown 0-for-2 -- and commit 8 turnovers.

* Stephen Battle continues to impress me. While rest of his teammates struggled tonight, he was consistently excellent: 19 points on 7-of-11 field goals and 5-of-5 free throws, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, only 1 turnover in 35 minutes. His only real flaw of the night was an ill-advised three-pointer ... and then the kid scrambled to corral the offensive rebound. He's a special player.

* Take away Battle's 7-for-11 performance and the Knights were 14-for-59 from the field for just 28.5%. Yech.

* Stephen is still not the best Battle to play at McComb. Former Scot Land Battle continues to have that distinction. (Note: Any time I have a chance to mention "Land Battle", I'll take advantage of the opportunity.)

* Don't ever question Danard Crouch's commitment to the team. Right before a second half media timeout, Crouch badly dislocated the pinky finger on his left hand. Those sitting behind the Gannon bench had a clear view of it, but most turned their heads away in disgust. Crouch couldn't even bear the sight. He walked directly to trainer Danielle Mignemi and told her, "I broke my finger. My finger's broken." To undislocate a finger -- I'm sure that's not the correct medical term -- you have to really grab the sucker to force it back into place. Kudos to Brian Zimmerman, a physical therapist and the son of Gannon Assistant Athletic Director Doug Zimmerman, who came down from the stands to do the heavy lifting with Crouch's finger. As he was doing so, Mignemi grimaced while holding Crouch's right hand; you know it's bad when the degreed athletic trainer is wincing. After that painful experience, Crouch got the finger taped up and checked back into the game moments later. Again, don't ever question Crouch's commitment. I see that Danard's a senior Business Management major. Can somebody forward his resume to me please?

End Of An Era, Start Of Something Special?

2011-01-14T21:41:00.006-05:00

Well, that was probably the last time Lock Haven's John Wilson Jr. will coach at the Hammermill Center, a 70-43 shellacking by the Golden Knights. The Central PA school has already announced that Wilson's contract won't be renewed after the season. Today was Wilson's 150th road game as LHU boss, and guess how many he's won? If you said 20, that's too many. Wilson is now a robust 19-131 away from Lock Haven's Thomas Fieldhouse, a stunning win percentage of only .127. I hope you had a chance to witness Wilson's woes while you could.

While the Wilson Era is ending, could Gannon's high-energy, high-scoring, defensively suffocating second half today be the start of an uptick for the Knights? During halftime, when Gannon held a slim 30-28 lead, Jim LeCorchick and I talked on the radio about what's been nagging the Knights the past few games, and we couldn't put a finger on it. The Knights have seemed in general to be low confidence on offense and a step slow on defense. But in the second half tonight, I saw something I hadn't seen in a few games: smiles. When Kareem Brown checked in late replacing Kelvin Agee, they exchanged a few words and a smile. It was nice to see this team loose -- enjoying themselves in the midst of a game.

I'm a big believer that you need to have fun in order to play well, not the other way around. The best team I ever played on, the 1989-90 Golden Knights, had fun everywhere all the time. Senior Andy Adams laughed constantly -- except when he was exchanging elbows in the paint. Darryl Freeman, who I hope will be inducted into Gannon's Hall of Fame in the near future, constantly rode his teammates. He'd walk into the lockerroom and proclaim, "All right -- who am I gonna crack on today?" We even laughed after three-hour practices when Mike Crawford would dress into his street clothes faster than a superhero. And I haven't been to many comedy clubs, but I doubt they'd be funnier than Gerald Blanks in the Gannon cafeteria.

Let's see how the Knights come out in the first half at reeling Edinboro Wednesday night. Are they tight and shaking their heads when things don't go as planned? Or are they loose and enjoying the atmosphere no matter what the situation? What we see could set the tone for the rest of the season.

Sputtering Start

2011-01-12T18:35:00.005-05:00

Well, that wasn't the way Gannon wanted to kick off PSAC West play -- an anemic offensive performance in a 65-45 loss at Indiana (Pa.). I only saw the second half of the game because that's when the IUP web TV broadcast started working. Coincidentally, that's when the wheels came off Gannon's offensive machine. The Knights trailed just 34-30 at the half, but scored a measly 15 points in the second half (thank goodness Kelvin Agee hit two threes in the final minutes). Gannon shot just 23% over the final 20 minutes (6-for-26). And you thought it was cold outside.

Gannon runs a motion offense that seems to have worked just fine this against average-or-worse teams, but against the good ones like IUP, the offense seems very predictable and ineffective. Tonight the ball rarely entered the post and the ball movement and screens produced very few good opportunities for Gannon. Almost everything came off dribble penetration with the shot clock winding down. The result was oftentimes an off-balance, contested midrange jumper or a layup attempt among a crowd.

Gannon fans can't feel too bad giving up 65 points to a team that finished second in Division II basketball last year and returns almost every key player. But I'm guessing Gannon Hoops followers will get a pit in their stomach after seeing these numbers:
L vs. IUP -- 45 points, 31% FG, 4-of-15 on 3-pointers, only 15 points in the second half
L vs. Cheyney -- 36% FG, 0-of-4 on 3-pointers, only 26 points in the first half (while allowing 45)
W vs. Wayne State -- 61 points, 42% FG, 4-for-14 on 3-pointers, only 25 points in the first half
L vs. Urbana -- 24 points in the first half, 36% FG in the first half, 5-for-17 3-pointers
L vs. Central State -- 30 points in the first half on 38% FG, 7-for-24 3-pointers for the game

I'm concerned that quality opponents have figured out Gannon's offensive pattern, and the result is low percentage shots for extended periods of time. I'm hopeful the coaches will adjust and make some changes that throw the defense off balance and get the Knights more open looks during the second half of the season. I'd like to occasionally see some designed double screens for Agee and Brown, isolation plays (like 4 players on the baseline) for Agee and Clagett, high-low post play, back doors, and quick hitters like that. I'm not saying ditch the motion offense. But I think the Knights need more variety when they have the ball. Or they'll be handed more stinging losses like the one they suffered tonight.

Righting The Ship

2011-01-09T11:15:00.003-05:00

Whew, am I ecstatic Gannon won at Shippensburg today, 85-72, snapping an 8-game road losing streak which included a 3-game skein this year. I was beginning to worry that Canadian Clinton Springer-Williams, the only non-American on the GU roster, had developed xenodochiophobia (fear of foreign hotels) which had mutated into a domestic, contagious strain and infected all his teammates.

The Knights got well in a big way against the Raiders, racing out to a 22-point first-half lead and cruising from there. This game is a perfect example of why I don't bet on sporting events. Today, GU buries 7 of its first 9 three-point attempts. Just yesterday, Gannon went 0-for-4 on threes at Cheyney on their way to a 19-point drubbing that wasn't even that close. Meanwhile on Saturday, Shippensburg was handling previously unbeaten Clarion, 69-63. If you had to select a point spread before the Gannon/Ship game, no way would it have been Gannon +13. I can't begin to explain how such a turnaround for both teams could happen in a scant 24 hours. Did the Ship players celebrate their win too hard Saturday night? Was Gannon simply "due" for a breakout road game? Was there a new gameplan for either team? Was it just matchups?

You can imagine the Ship coaches talked before the game about Gannon's long distance ineptitude at Cheyney. And you can also bet that 15 minutes into the game today, after 7 treys had rained down on them, they were slamming their clipboards in frustration and asking, "Why us?"

I can't explain what happened, but I'm glad it did. Heading to IUP Wednesday with a 9-game road losing streak and 0-4 mark this year wouldn't be the right mindset for the Knights. Maybe they'll focus more that IUP won its home crossover games by narrow margins to ordinary teams this weekend -- 74-68 vs. Kutztown and 78-72 vs. East Stroudsburg -- and feel that the Crimson Hawks could be vulnerable at home, despite winning 28 straight at Memorial Fieldhouse. Or maybe it's a sign that IUP should win by 50. Your guess is as good as mine.

Road Kill

2011-01-08T09:51:00.002-05:00

I'm not shocked that Gannon lost at 9-2 Cheyney this afternoon, but I'm blown away that the Knights got blown away for the third time in three road games this season. I know the final margin of GU's first two losses were by 9 points and 4 points, but they had to rally from near 20-point margins to make those close. At Cheyney, the Knights trailed by as many as 34 points in the second half. I can't comprehend that a team this talented and on a five-game win streak fell behind 28-7 just 12 minutes into the game. I also can't fathom that Gannon attempted only four three-pointers vs. the Wolves after averaging nearly 20 three-point attempts per game coming in. I'm not angry at anyone; I'm just completely perplexed.

Hopefully Coach Reilly and crew can right the ship before they face the Ship (Shippensburg) Sunday. The stats aren't in their favor:
* GU is 0-3 on the road this season
* Shippensburg is 4-1 at home
* Earlier today, Ship beat previously undefeated Clarion, 69-63

UPDATE: Now I'm even more confused. Wayne State, who Gannon handled a little over a week ago, trounced #1 Findlay today, 91-68.

Points Aplenty

2011-01-04T17:00:00.003-05:00

You might be expecting me to write at length about the officials from Gannon's 96-86 victory over West Chester Wednesday. The refs certainly caught the ire of the Golden Knight faithful for calling 52 fouls on the night, none of them charges against the Rams. I never saw a home crowd watch their team win by 10 and still end the game booing the zebras off the floor. I think I even saw official scorer Rick "Stats" Klapthor put on his jacket (covering up his black-and-white striped shirt) during the final seconds of the game, just for his own safety. I'm going to take the high road and resist saying anything derogatory about the crew of Don Gambridge, Paul Skirtich, and Mark Tortorella. I think they just had a different perspective than the rest of us. I won't perpetuate an argument than any one of them is the worst referee ever.

Let's talk basketball. We learned vs. West Chester that the Knights now possess a multdimensional offense. First, they obliterated West Chester's zone defense with a flurry of first-half threes by Kareem Brown and Kelvin Agee. The Rams had no desire to play man-to-man (the 96 points will attest to that) but were forced to when Brown scored 11 points in span of just 1:45. Nine of his tallies came from behind the arc. Meanwhile, on the other wing, Agee torched West Chester with 33 points of his own. I agree with Jim LeCorchick's assessment after the game that what made Agee's scoring figure even more impressive was that he didn't force the issue. Nearly every one of his 18 field goal attempts (he made 12) were layups or jumpers after his feet were set. If Agee wasn't at the top of every Gannon opponent's scouting report before, he's there now.

Another new dimension we saw from Gannon was the ability of supersub Anthony Clagett to penetrate and score (15 points, 9-of-12 free throws in 26 solid minutes). Part of the struggles for last year's Gannon team was an offense that had to create everything off the pass or in transition. Steve Piotrowicz is more of a ball-control PG than a break-you-down-off-the-dribble guy. All night long Clagett squared up on his man and blew by him at will. You know how Gannon gets into offensive ruts on occasion? Well now John Reilly can insert Clagett and in the context of the offense have him set up teammates or score off the dribble. When I played with Darryl Freeman (1989-91) at Gannon, we'd use him that way frequently to salvage possessions. We'd work the ball and get nothing for half a minute, then give it to Darryl who could always get by his man and either finish or draw a defender.

All that said, the Knights have an opportunity this weekend to add another even more important dimension to their repertoire -- the ability to win away from the Audi. Road games at Cheyney (8-2) and Shippensburg (4-6) could be turning points for the Knights as they step closer to PSAC West play.

Feeling The Pressure

2011-01-02T16:46:00.007-05:00

Millersville might own the nickname "Marauders", but Gannon did all the pillaging and raiding Monday night at the Hammermill Center. MU withered under GU's defensive pressure in the second half -- taking bad shots and committing a dozen turnovers -- as the Knights broke open a close game to win 74-52.

I didn't hear the announcement before the game, but apparently Millersville will self-destruct in exactly 26 minutes. At that juncture of the game, Gannon held a slim 42-41 edge and the 'Ville was shooting over 50% from the field. Just 10 minutes later, Gannon's up by 18. If we could go back and watch the tape (I'd actually like to but I don't think MU coach Fred Thompson would), you'd see during that juncture that Millersville had difficulty getting the ball to the wing let alone into the basket. When MU did score, it was often on a broken play after a Gannon deflection or a loose ball scramble.

I'd like to point out one guy who turned up the pressure, but that's not the case with the Gannon defense. The entire team pushed Millersville's perimeter players 25-30 feet away from the basket and flooded the paint when the ball went inside. Millersville turned the ball over 25 times and shot just 2-for-18 from three-point range. You'd do that to if for the previous 20 seconds of the possession you had to run for your life away from an aggressive defender (or two or three). I hope tonight was the beginning of a trend where Gannon dominates the second half because of their defensive pressure.

Also:
* West Chester, Gannon's opponent Tuesday, was pistol-whipped at Clarion Monday, 98-72. Let's hope that trend continues as well for one more day.
* It's PSAC crossover season. Keep track of all the results by checking out the PSAC men's basketball web page here.
* Millersville is one of my all-time favorite GU opponents. The 1987 East Regional final is still, in my opinion, the best game ever played at the Hammermill -- former Knight Jim Rocco aptly called it, "40 minutes of noise." Some of my all-time favorite Marauders include bespectacled big man John Fox, muscular Eric Yankowy, wide body Jon Dunmeyer, long-distance threat Lance Gelnett, muscular guard Mike Monroe, Strong Vincent grad Matt Harris and coach John Kochan. If you want to walk down Millersville's memory lane, click here for the MU media guide.

Knights Rock Wayne's World

2010-12-30T15:56:00.002-05:00

I'm doing everything in my power to avoid the cliche "defense wins championships" after Gannon's 61-52 Porreco Cup championship win over Wayne State. But what else can you say about a team who wins despite shooting just 43% from the field, 4-for-14 on three-pointers, and committing 18 turnovers? You can win games doing that when your defense forces opponents to 35% shooting, 6-of-20 threes, and 17 turnovers of their own. So, I know you want me to say "defense wins championships," but my mom (an English teacher) would be mortified if I used a cliche.

The best part about the defensive effort is, man, did it require a supreme effort! It wasn't like Wayne was small, slow, passive, weak, young, or tired. They pushed; Gannon pushed back. Wayne dominated the boards early; the Knights ended the game with a 39-33 rebounding advantage. I don't want to overreact and extrapolate that the Knights are now PSAC contenders. But you have to be impressed that Gannon has the ability to go bicep-to-bicep with a team like Wayne and come out on top.

Other thoughts on the game:
* Does anybody know what the deal was with Wayne's Mike Hollingsworth Thursday night? Until the Porreco championship, he'd started all 10 contests for the Warriors, ranking second on the team in scoring (15.9 ppg). But he didn't play a second against GU. I think we was sitting on the bench the whole game but never took off his warmup.

* I was OK with Chris Giles from third-place Seton Hill earning Porreco Cup Outstanding Player honors. There wasn't any one player from either team in the finals that stood out more than Giles did. Kelvin Agee had 22 points vs. SHU, but he was just 2-for-11 for 8 points against WSU in the finals.

* I'm not sure if Gannon's defense is special or East Stroudsburg's is woeful. The Knights gave up just 67 points to Seton Hill and 52 to Wayne; ESU gave up 98 to Seton Hill and 82 to Wayne. Overall that's a difference of 61 points.

* Defense wins championships. There -- I said it. Sorry mom.

Blunderful Victory

2010-12-29T07:38:00.003-05:00

Two parts to this post:

Part 1: Wednesday's 71-67 win over Seton Hill in the opening round of the Porreco Cup had its share of errors. Most obvious was that Gannon needed Kelvin Agee had to catch fire down the stretch to produce team shooting charts of 14-for-28 on free throws and 7-for-20 on threes.

But in my view the most egregious error of the contest was made by Seton Hill coach Tony Morocco during the final minute of play. After a turnover by SHU's Kellen Holmes with 44 seconds left, Morocco had a quick decision to make: with his team trailing by 3, should he foul immediately or play normal defense in hopes of getting the ball back for one final game-tying shot? In most games, I think the strategy has to be to foul quickly and stretch the game as long as you can. With the way the Knights were drop-kicking -- er, shooting -- free throws Wednesday, the obvious choice was to foul and just make sure you get the rebound.

Instead of choosing one those two options, Morocco got swept up in the emotion of the game and chose neither. The Griffins overextended their man defense but didn't foul, leaving the basket wide open for Agee's game-sealing layup with 15 seconds left. There were a ton of mistakes made by players on both teams prior to that point, but I really felt like the Seton Hill coaching staff blew it by not being prepared for that final minute. And I hope you don't feel like I'm being a Monday Morning Quarterback (or in this case Thursday Morning Quarterback). Once Gannon's Anthony Clagett came up with the loose ball with 44 seconds left, I looked up at the clock, did the math to see Gannon could hold the ball until the 9 second mark, and said aloud to myself, "Foul. You gotta foul."

Part 2: That was a great gut-check for the Knights and Agee last night. One of the many things I love about the game of basketball is that momentum and the mental factor is so important. The Knights had many chances to fold yesterday -- especially when trailing by 6 with less than 6 minutes to play while only amassing 53 points by that juncture in the contest. What had been a consistently productive offense all season was sputtering, frustrating everyone in the building who wasn't rooting for Seton Hill. (Side note: There were exactly 4 people in the Hammermill rooting for Seton Hill.) Instead of imploding, Agee hit a three, the Knights got 4 stops and 4 scores over the next 6 possessions, and the Knights advanced to the Porreco championship. It wasn't a thing of beauty, but it showed this team has mettle. That's more important that one night's shooting percentage.

A Tradition Unlike Any Other

2010-12-27T22:23:00.005-05:00

My family usually talks some Gannon hoops over Christmas dinner. But because the Knights have played only 5 games this year, we kind of ran out of things to talk about before the fruitcake was served. So my brother asked, "How's the Salem International women's team doing this year?" You might recall that Salem had lost 56 straight games -- most of them lopsided affairs -- before a season-ending win over Ohio Valley last year.

Did that positive momentum carry over into this season? Not exactly. Click here if you want to see the details of Salem's 2010-11 season. If you want to spare yourself that pain, just check out these lowlights:

* 0-13 overall. I don't have their league record because athletics at Salem are so putrid that the WVIAC kicked them out of the league this year.
* They're being outscored an average of 84-40. Their closest game was an 81-52 loss at Virginia State. Their ugliest game (that's saying a lot) was a 123-45 stinker at Davis & Elkins. D&E led 66-16 at the half.
* Our Fighting Tigers are pretty consistent shooting from the field. They hit 25% of their overall field goals at 24% of their threes. Keep chuckin' those treys, ladies!
* They're being outrebounded 51-32 on average. They've collected only 234 defensive rebounds while opponents have hauled in 279 offensive rebounds.
* Only 7 players are listed on the SIU stat sheet. If you look at the roster page and team photo, there are 12 players. I'm not sure what happened to the other five, but I'm sure none of them graduated. The roster is comprised of freshmen only.
* I wanted to read up on their head coach, but this is where the SIU website points me. That's appropriate.

We'll keep an eye on SIU for their remaining 12 games of the season. They've lost 69 of their last 70, but I have a gut feeling they'll turn things around soon. Or maybe that's just the fruitcake still digesting.

Making A List, Boxing Out Twice

2010-12-18T16:42:00.002-05:00

Tis the season for making lists, and based on Gannon's performance in their pulsating 70-68 win over Urbana, John Reilly had a list of his own entering Saturday's game:

Don't give up easy shots inside the three-point line. I don't know a lot of things, but I know Bob Dukiet's defense after watching and playing it in practice for three years. He called it "tough and slough" -- tough on the ball and helping in the paint on dribble penetration and post-entry passes. The weakness to that defense is that you can give up three-pointers. But if you have to give up something, you give up the shot that teams usually hit only 30% of the time. The Knights looked vastly improved playing Dukiet's D against Urbana. You might laugh at this, but my favorite defensive play of the game was when Danard Crouch helped out to tip away a UU post-entry pass. That tells the other team "you're not coming in here." Again the Achilles' heel of the defense is giving up threes and Urbana hit 16-of-31 (51%). Despite that stat, Reilly said in the paper Sunday that it was Gannon's best defensive effort of the season. Though I didn't see the road games, I agree that it's the best defense GU's played in their three home games. They didn't give up many layups and they kept Urbana out of the post. That will win you a ton of games.

Win the battle of the boards -- everybody's going to the glass. I saw Reilly's Brescia teams play a few times, and they looked like 6-foot-4 piranhas when the ball hit the rim. The Knights resembled those Brescia teams last night. Outrebounding Urbana 41-29 was impressive, but the stats inside of that are even better. GU had 16 offensive rebounds which allowed them to attempt 9 more field goals than Urbana (63-54). Four different players had 5 or more rebounds: Kelvin Agee 11, Travis Brannen 7, Anthony Clagett 6, and Stephen Battle 5. Combined with the Dukiet defense that I mentioned earlier, that kind of effort on the glass will win you a ton of games.

Get the ball inside every chance you get. When Steve Piotrowicz brings the ball up the floor he usually looks like he's crossing the street, scanning the court from one sideline to the other. Last night on a few occasions he put his head down and charged toward the basket like a team of reindeer after a giant carrot. In their first several games, the Knights settled for outside shots without even considering getting a shot in the paint. The emphasis Saturday was drive by your guy or try to throw the ball into Brannen before looking for a three.

Gannon's 40-2 points in the paint advantage was not a coincidence. If the Knights can keep teams on the perimeter, own the boards, and get shots in the lane consistently, they'll -- say it with me -- win a ton of games.

Related notes:
* The officials made the right non-call on the final shot of the game. If the contact on the shot is created by the shooter, it's not a foul. Imagine if that wasn't the rule. Basketball would be nothing but players attempting a shot fake, throwing up slop in the general vicinity of the basket, and then going to the free throw line.

* I made the comment earlier about how the lone weakness of Dukiet's defense is giving up three-pointers. Imagine how effective that defensive scheme was before the advent of the three-point line? Click here and scroll to page 6 to see the scores when Duke was the head coach at St. Peter's (NJ) College in the early 80s. My favorite is beating Duquesne in the second round of the NIT, 34-33.

Schedule Scuttlebutt

2010-12-15T19:29:00.003-05:00

By popular demand (that's marketing-speak meaning "one person asked for it"), I'm starting a thread about Gannon's schedule this season. I don't have much to say on it because Dan Teliski, GU's Super Sports Information Director, wrote me an eloquent email the he asked me to share with the Golden Knight faithful. I think his explanation is reasonable and I hope it quells the furor raised in the comment section of the Dec. 6 post. Take it away, Dan.

Let me clear up some confusion on your blog about scheduling. The NCAA reduced the maximum number of games played in a season to 26 games. The PSAC gives us a schedule with 14 PSAC West games and four more crossover games. That brings us to 18 games and leaves us with eight to schedule. The Gary Miller Classic and Porreco Cup takes up four more games which brings us to 22, leaving us four more games to schedule.

So, in the long run, we have four games to play with this year. Everything else is set and out of our control. We elected to play a home and home with Central State because we wanted the competition. Regardless of what anyone wants to say, Central State played in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional last year and we all know how difficult that region is since we played in it for so many years. Currently, they have six teams in the top 25. In addition, the lost to Bellarmine by only four points in the first round. Bellarmine is currently the No. 1 team in the country. And you know how hard it is to make it into the tournament as an independent, so we want to play them and as an independent, they could only fit our second game in during February.

So, that leaves us two games left. And we needed one of those two games right after finals to get the team back into game mode.

That’s the schedule wrapped up in a ball. As for the other schools playing more right now, basically everyone in the league will have played 7-8 games by the end of December. So, the question is, would you rather loaded up early, then sit the entire last half of December out and go cold turkey into the conference schedule. Our spread it out and play on the 18th, the 29th and the 30th – and be in the flow already for conference play. We seem to believe the latter is the better way to go as conference play is what makes or breaks your season. Back logging a schedule to December also helps student-athletes achieve their academic goals best until Finals – which ironically are this week. The NCAA only mandates student-athletes be eligible at the beginning of each YEAR. At Gannon, we mandate our student-athletes to be eligible at the beginning of each SEMESTER. So, the first semester is much more important to Gannon student-athletes academically than 95 percent of the schools in the country.

Of the schools mentioned …
Edinboro – 15 days off before conference play (but they also played two exempt games in early November that are allowed to be played once every four years)
West Chester – 23 days off before conference play
Mercyhurst – 19 days off before conference play
Mansfield – 23 days off before conference play
Shippensburg – 27 days off before conference play
Kutztown – 23 days off before conference play
Bloomsburg – 23 days off before conference play
Indiana (Pa.) – 16 days off before conference play
Lock Haven – 26 days off before conference play
Gannon – 3 days off before conference play

I think you get my point. We play three games in two weeks after Finals, and turn around and open PSAC play four days later. Different philosophy, but one we feel works instead of taking 20-30 days off and heading into PSAC play without any recent game action.

As for home games ... we only have two non-conference road games and six non-conference home games. We feel that’s a pretty good ratio.

Finally ... as for the afternoon doubleheaders. We have three, but they are not randomly placed. The January 15th doubleheader against Lock Haven is needed because the Burger King Classic is in the Hammermill Center that Friday and Saturday night. The January 22 doubleheader against Cal is needed because it’s our Hall of Fame day with the Hall of Fame banquet that night immediately following the games. And the February 5 doubleheader against IUP is our Annual Pink Zone game and the afternoon starts fits better for all the kids, cancer survivors and other groups that attend that day.

And one side note ... full PSAC crossover play begins next year. So, the 2011-12 schedule could be even more interesting. As I mentioned the NCAA max right now is 26 games. The 2011-12 PSAC schedule includes 22 games. Add the Gary Miller Classic and Porreco Cup for the other four games – and we will have zero regular non-conference games next year.

Hope I was able to clear everything up,
Dan

Trying My Patience

2010-12-06T19:07:00.003-05:00

So, how should you feel when your team has already lost two road games this early in the season? The good news is that both the games have gone down to the wire. The bad news is that you're giving up nearly 80 points per game in those losses. Should you press the panic button? Here's what I predict will happen: the team we're talking about will once again win the PSAC and the Region and maybe even get back to the Division II national championship game.

Sorry to confuse you, but I wasn't talking about Gannon in that lead paragraph. I was describing pre-season top 5 IUP, who is now 3-2 after losing at West Virginia Wesleyan Dec. 7.

There's no reason for anyone in Indiana or Erie to panic, even if our Knights just lost at Central State. Opponents are averaging 74 points per game and are close to outrebounding the Knights (GU holds a slight 35-34 edge). John Reilly's history shows that he can teach his teams to play defense and to rebound. His history also shows that he needs more than 6 weeks to do that. So, I'm not panicked at 2-2 because the Knights still have 23 more games to get better. But if GU is 7-7 in mid-January, then you might have to talk me off the catwalk at the Hammermill Center.

First Loss Blues

2010-12-04T12:33:00.003-05:00

I don't feel like I have the right to say much about Gannon's 79-70 loss at Urbana Saturday. First, I didn't see it and, second, I still feel like I barely know this Gannon team. The only obvious recommendation I can make is next time don't get down by 17 points in the first half on the road.

I'm disappointed that the Golden Knights lost their first of the season to the Blue Knights, but there seemed to be some bright spots:
* As Coach Reilly said in the postgame interview, this team proved they have guts by coming back on the road down by 17
* Good to see Kareem Brown pour in 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-10 on threes
* Stephen Battle (8 points, 3 rebounds) and Kelvin Agee (15 points, 12 rebounds) continue to impress as freshmen

Urbana -- or UU as they call themselves occasionally -- comes to Erie on Dec. 18. I'll go out on a limb and say that Gannon's defense will be improved over the next couple weeks, and GU won't allow UU 79 points. I'll also predict that Urbana won't have a 24-3 edge in foul shooting as well.

Tons Of Answers, Still Some Questions

2010-11-27T17:20:00.002-05:00

Gannon outlasted a talented Northern Michigan team tonight, 79-68, to win the Gary Miller Classic. Entering the weekend I had a million questions including basics such as, "Which guy in the layup line is Kelvin Agee?" With two impressive wins (and a combined 163 points in 80 minutes of play), we had many of our questions answered. But I still have a few:

Did you honestly think with so many high-scoring guards now on the roster that Danard Crouch (17 points tonight) would lead the Knights in scoring? Crouch, who at times last year played like the Tazmanian Devil hepped up on a 5-hour energy drink, was completely under control when he had the basketball tonight. With the Knights up by just 3 with under 10 minutes to play, Crouch doubled the lead with a nothing-but-net trey. Northern never got any closer the rest of the night.

Do you recall a year ago on Day 2 of the Miller Classic when Crouch went to the line with GU up 2 with less than a minute to play vs. Northern Kentucky? Crouch tossed a rock that nearly bent the rim. Tonight, he made 5-of-6 foul shots, hit 5 of his 9 field goal attempts, and dished out 4 assists.

Do you recall the final score of that GU/NKU classic a year ago? It was a mind-numbing 40-38. The two teams tonight combined for more points by halftime (44-35 Gannon).

How good was NMU big man Jared Benson tonight? He poured in a career-high 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. Tanner Furno was so ineffective again Benson that John Reilly kept his super sophomore on the bench for the stretch run.

Will Reilly rotate 10 players this season like he did tonight? Unlikely if you heard his post-game radio interview with Jim LeCorchick. Reilly said he likes everyone who played, but he needs to establish a more consistent rotation. You know how it goes -- if you split time among 8 guys, the few who stay on the bench are unhappy. If you split time among 10, then nobody's happy.

Could Reilly rotate 10 players if he wanted to? Yes. This team doesn't have a superstar on it (though Agee looks spectacular in bursts) and is as deep as I've seen a Gannon team in many years. Even if a Knight or two gets injured, there are capable reserves to pick up the slack.

Can this team win on the road? We'll find out Saturday at Urbana. The 1-6 Blue Knights have had an equally depressing and interesting season. On Dec. 2 they will make their home debut against Mercyhurst. Their early season road games have taken them to North Carolina (vs. Pfeiffer and Catawba), Kentucky (for the Ky. Wesleyan tournament), Cleveland State, and Kent State. Their only win is against the Univ. of Indianapolis.

Indy must stink, right? Not so fast. On Nov. 8, Indianapolis won at nationally-ranked Division I Tennessee, 79-64. Twelve days later they lose at home to Urbana by 11 points. Meanwhile, Tennessee is beating #7 Villanova by 10 to win the preseason NIT. No wonder coaches go insane.

Fresh(man) Start To The Season

2010-11-26T16:29:00.011-05:00

Gannon's 2010-11 regular season is off to a grand start after an 84-71 whipping of Cedarville in the first round of the Gary Miller Classic. After the game I couldn't help but look waaay ahead with excitement to the 2012-13 season. Yes, I know that's totally jumping the gun -- thinking ahead 2 years after just 1 game -- but the quality performances of GU freshmen Kelvin Agee (17 points, 7-for-13 FG, 3-for-7 3FG) and Stephen Battle (13 points, 6 rebounds, 6-for-8 FG with one of them a resounding slam) was the highlight of the evening for me.

Agee has a smooth stroke plus athleticism, isn't afraid to shoot, and can even finish inside. He worked hard on both ends of the floor all evening long, harassing Cedarville's leading scorer Matt Harner into a 5-for-17 shooting night. Battle is strong with two pogo sticks for legs. He frequently skied above everyone else on the floor to grab rebounds and contest shots. He even hit a 19-footer from the top of the key and showed a decent mid-range jumper. Two years from now, Agee and Battle will be juniors while Tanner Furno will be a senior. That's a pretty good nucleus to build a program around.

It will be interesting to see how Gannon's 8-man rotation performs Saturday night in the championship game vs. old GLIAC foe Northern Michigan (3-1 this season despite being outscored by their opponents 300-295). Both GU and CU were dragging down the stretch in tonight's game, and I'm sure the Knights will be sore at shootaround tomorrow. I don't care how hard they've been practicing the last few weeks. There's nothing quite like the game's intensity ... and the morning after.

Other thoughts on the Gannon/Cedarville game:
* Of course the Knights weren't perfect, but they looked like they were in control most of the game, executing their motion offense and rotating correctly on defense. Last year, especially in the early season, everything was helter-skelter. I thought guards Steve Piotrowicz, Kareem Brown, and Anthony Clagett did a nice job handling the ball and making sure the Knights got good looks.
* How about I've already mentioned six guys who played well for GU, and I haven't even talked about the solid evenings by seniors Travis Brannen (15 points, 6 rebounds, 7-for-12) and Danard Crouch (8 points, 5 rebounds, 3-for-3 FT, and just 1 TO). The 8 who played for the Knights looked like they will compete in the PSAC this year.
* This was the first-ever game I've attended with my Droid smart phone and, to quote former GU broadcaster Steve Bohen, "Wow!" does that enhance the game experience. I logged onto the live stats for the game periodically to stay updated on the details of the game.
* Because of that, I was stunned when I saw in the final stats that the Knights outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 38-30. I know when I looked at some point in the second half, GU was being outrebounded by 5. They really dominated the boards down the stretch.
* John Reilly is a really classy guy. I shook his hand before with game -- with just 7 minutes left in warmups -- and he engaged me in a conversation about my family, Bud Elwell, Bob Dukiet, and this year's team. He's clearly focused on winning, but that doesn't interfere with friendships.
* Speaking of classy coaches, I was told that former GU boss Jerry Slocum, whose Youngstown State Penguins are off to a fast 3-1 start, drove in to Erie today to pay his respects to the family of Bud Elwell at Brugger funeral home.
* I have a really sweet Northern Michigan long-sleeve T-shirt in my closet. Should I bust it out for the championship game just to mess with some people?

Thanks For The Memories, Mr. Elwell

2010-11-24T19:45:00.008-05:00

We all know former Gannon player, coach, and legendary athletic director Howard Elwell as "Bud," but I never called him that when talking with him. He was (and always will be) "Mr. Elwell" to me. Even though he and I developed a friendship over the years -- he'd wryly say "Jimmeeee" instead of "hello" when our paths crossed -- I had too much admiration and respect to call him anything but "Mr. Elwell." He passed away at age 76 on Tuesday due to complications from a heart operation a month earlier.

I want to express my condolences to his wife Nancy and the entire Elwell family. They have been fixtures at Gannon games over the past decade. I also want to share some Elwell stories that I'm very fond of:

* In February 1989, four months into my freshman season as a Gannon walk-on, I was in the lockerroom about 45 minutes before practice began lacing up my sneakers with my back to the door. Mr. Elwell walked in and asked me for some towels. I looked in the lockers around me and said, "I don't know where any are." He replied, "What do you mean? I just gave you about 20." Startled (and a little panicked) I turned to face Mr. Elwell and said, "Um, I didn't get any towels," to which he responded after looking me in the eyes, "Oh -- sorry. I thought you were Boone (team manager John Boone)." I knew I wasn't showing up on any opponent scouting report, but I thought at least the AD from my own school knew who I was!

* My first three years at Gannon I worked as the sports editor at the Gannon Knight student newspaper. Our annual April Fool's edition was 16 pages of made-up stories and fake names, and for one of those issues I had written (what I thought was) a doozy. In the late 80s, there was lots of talk of Gannon moving to Division I, so I took it to the absurd and wrote an April Fool's story about Gannon deciding to jump over Division I and right into the professional ranks. Also, earlier that year, Mr. Elwell had broken his leg chasing some miscreant teenager from his backyard. He'd made things worse -- and received jabs from many in the athletic department -- when he fell down the athletic department steps in the Hammermill one afternoon. Tying all that together in my story, I attributed this quote to athletic director "Thud Felwell": "It's always been my dream for Gannon to have professional teams. But then again, I have this recurring dream where I'm running naked through a pool of green Jell-O while being chased by Santa Claus, so maybe my dreams aren't applicable here." That was hilarious in my head, but when I saw it in print I thought, "Holy crap! I just insulted my athletic director ... and I don't think I've ever seen him smile!" That week I saw Mr. Felwell -- er, Elwell -- in the athletic offices and he called me over to his desk. "I saw your story," he said without a smile before pausing. "Pretty funny." From then on, whenever I visited the sports information office, I'd say hello to Mr. Elwell and we'd talk about journalism and glory days of Erie sports.

* When I was an upperclassman I ran into Mr. Elwell about a half hour before a practice. I was getting in some pre-practice jumpers at the Audi when he said, "Drug test today, Jimmy," which meant everyone had to pee in a cup before practice. "Ugh," I replied. "I just used the bathroom." I figured I'd have to drink a gallon of water before practice to produce a sample for the NCAA to enjoy. But Mr. Elwell came to my rescue. "Hell, you won't even drink a beer," he said. "Skip this one. I'll take care of it." I hope sharing this story doesn't bring NCAA sanctions against Gannon ...

* When the 1989-90 Gannon team made its run to the Elite 8 in Springfield, all home playoff games for the MCC (Mideast Collegiate Conference) tournament and NCAA were broadcast live on local TV. By the time the regional final came around, Mike Gallagher and Brian Duffy had already interviewed every decent player on the team, so they kind of had to do a story on me. Or Gumby. The thing I recall most about that piece came after right after the segment. Gallagher added during the live broadcast, "Gannon athletic director 'Bud' Elwell added that Jim Roddy is quote 'one of the classiest players in the history of the Gannon program.'"

As you know already, I was ecstatic just to be a minuscule part of the Gannon basketball program, so to hear that compliment on TV thrilled me to no end. Heck, 20 years later I'm still beaming about it. But the best part of all was that those words were from one of the finest gentlemen in the history of Gannon University, Mr. Elwell.

Feel free to share your comments on Mr. Elwell below or click here to leave a condolence for the Elwell family through the Brugger Funeral Homes website.

Getting Ugly Early

2010-11-18T22:01:00.004-05:00

The season is very young, but the PSAC has already suffered some ugly losses. Shippensburg was thumped 84-71 at Goldey-Beacom, not exactly a Division II powerhouse. West Chester lost a snoozer (45-42) at University of the Sciences, who was 7-20 a year ago. And you know how the DII schools usually kick the crud out of the tiny Penn State branch campuses (like Penn State-Greater Allegheny)? Well, Penn State Wilkes-Barre turned the tables on Bloomsburg by a 73-70 count.

But guess who laid the biggest egg of the early season? Our good friends at Lock Haven University. Click here to read the game story and click here for the box score. When I first saw the score on the PSAC website, I thought it had to be a typo. But, no, coach John Wilson has taken the Bald Eagles to new depths, losing by 106 points in their second game of the season. Some of the highlights from the stat sheet:
* Turnovers: LHU 34, WL 8
* Steals: WL 25, LH 5
* Assists: WL 40, LHU 7
* Players in double figures: WL 9, LHU 1
* WL had 21 three-point field goals, Lock Haven had 18 total field goals
* FG%: WL 68%, LHU 29%
* WL started the game on a 38-3 run
* WL scored its 100th point with 14:17 left in the game
* LH scored 48 points for the game. WL had 48 points 10 minutes in.

Remember how last year Gannon started its season with a 30-point loss to Urbana? That game was awful. Now add 76 points to UU's total and try to imagine how that tastes.

All Eyes On Cedarville

2010-11-14T09:54:00.009-05:00

While the Golden Knights are still trying to figure out each other, their opponent for the opening round of the Gary Miller Classic is already raising a trophy. Cedarville is 2-0 after defeating host Rio Grande, 85-78, in the championship game of the Rio Grande Bevo Francis Tournament Saturday. Here are some stats on the Yellow Jackets you might find interesting (thru 2 games). Please keep in mind that two games doesn't exactly make a trend, but it does shed some light on the club:
* Two seniors and two sophomores average double figures -- Matt Harner (15.5), Austin Foote (14.0), Brian Hecker (13.5), and Derrick Hannon (13.0)
* The Yellow Jackets are 25-of-55 on threes (46%) and 74-of-129 (57%) from the field overall. Good shooters, right?
* Well, maybe that's only when they have a hand in their face. They're only 10-for-21 from the foul line, a paltry 47%. Harner has made 7-of-9 threes but he's 0-of-4 from the charity stripe.
* Opponents are shooting 50% from the field against them.
* They've outrebounded opponents an average of 38-25.
* The attendance for the championship game was 340. I've had bigger parties at my house. Apparently the Yellow Jacket fans don't travel well, but they support their team like crazy on campus.

Before heading to the Hammermill Center, Cedarville -- who is ranked #14 in NAIA Division II -- will play two more important games in their division. They host #24 Indiana Wesleyan as well as preseason #1 and defending national champion Saint Francis (Ind.) on Nov. 19-20 in the 33rd Annual Cedarville Invitational. (We'll provide updates on those games on the Gannon Hoops website. And if you think I'm the only one blogging about Cedarville basketball, guess again.)

I'm trying to get a gauge on how good Cedarville is, but I'm not sure if I should be impressed that they beat Bluefield (W.Va) by 23 to open the season. I don't know anything about Bluefield -- not even their team mascot. CU was 26-9 last year with one of those losses by 17 at Urbana (88-71). Then again, they shellacked Urbana at home 97-75. Other W's came against Roberts Wesleyan, Daemen, and Taylor (Ind.), who GU held off for a two-point home win last year. Everyone else on their schedule from a season ago sounds like a high school (St. Xavier), a bank (Huntington), or a merger between a blood-pressure drug and a rural church (Trevecca Nazarene).

Update #1: (11/16/10) Cedarville led at halftime, 45-39, but lost at Findlay tonight by a 94-75 final. The Oilers are preseason #3 in Division II play.

Update #2: (11/20/10) Cedarville lost at home Friday night to NAIA Division II #24 Indiana Wesleyan, 70-65. The Jackets shot just 41% from the field in front of a nice-sized crowd of 1700+.

Update #3: (11/21/10) Cedarville fell to 2-3 overall after their 100-84 home loss to NAIA Division II #1 St. Francis (Ind.). Cedarville was just 4-of-12 from the foul line, making them an even 50% for the season (25-for-50) on charity tosses. I'm perplexed how a team that shoots it so well from three-point range (40%, 50-for-125) can be so abysmal when uncontested. I also can't understand how St. Francis, the patron saint of animals, could be so mean to Yellow Jackets.

Update #4: (11/24/10) Cedarville ended its three-game losing streak with an 87-75 home win over Ohio Christian. The game was close throughout. CU jacked up 35 threes (making 11) and shot 59% from the foul line, bringing their season FT percentage to 53.2%.

Geez, I think we know more about Cedarville than we do our own Knights. We'll learn a lot Nov. 26-27. And so will coach John Reilly.

Where Are They Now?

2010-11-02T21:21:00.009-04:00

Want to know where some ex-Gannon players have gone? Me, too. Here's the latest, courtesy of a Friend of Gannon Hoops:

- George Johnson is at Division II power Augusta State. They have an exhibition game Thursday at the University of Georgia. Please -- no jokes about him quitting the team after they lose that game.

- Filmore "Mook" Bouldes transferred to GLVC member Missouri S&T. They've had 2 exhibition games so far, but Bouldes has yet to play in either.

- Daren Dexter is at Division III Greensboro College (N.C.). In their 103-60 exhibition game loss to DI Elon, Dexter was the leading scorer with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals in 30 minutes of action.

- Jerell Sanders is in the GLIAC now, suiting up for Ferris State. Sanders started in the Bulldogs' 69-39 exhibition game victory over Aquinas, but he did not score in 20 minutes of play. I'm sure he and combustible assistant coach Ed Douma will get along famously. UPDATE #3: Sanders had 9 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in FSU's overtime loss at Indiana. No, not Indiana (Pa.) -- at freaking Indiana University in Bloomington. Sanders hit what would have been a game-winning shot as time expired in regulation, but it was ruled just after the horn.

UPDATE #1 (thanks to Coach Corey)
- Anthony Simmons has landed at NAIA Division I Xavier (La.). In first game against Webber International, Simmons started and was 6-for-8 from the field for 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover in 22 minutes playing time. I think the biggest shock here is that there's a Webber International University and they have an athletic program.

UPDATE #2 (thanks to an anonymous emailer)
Larry Swann has landed at NAIA Division II Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.) . Swann has started and hit double figures in each contest for the 4-0 Tigers. He hasn't exactly found his shooting stroke yet, hitting on only 12-of-36 field goals attempts including just 3-for-12 from three-point range. The coolest thing of all is that DWU's home arena is the Corn Palace.

If you know anything about Isaac Reid's basketball situation, please let me know.

We're Number ... 4?

2010-10-28T21:23:00.004-04:00

The PSAC announced its preseason coaches poll today, with Gannon tabbed #4. What exactly does that mean? Absolutely nothing. Seriously. You're better off guessing what Cleve Wright's going to eat for lunch on Aug. 25 of next year. (My money's on Spaghettio's.)

Let's take a look at what the experts said about our Golden Knights last year. First, the Knights were among "others receiving votes" in the 2009-10 NABC preseason Top 25. Even more comical was the predicted finish of the PSAC West last year. The coaches forecasted: IUP (which was a no-brainer), Cal, Gannon, Slippery Rock, Mercyhurst, Edinboro, Clarion, and Lock Haven (an other no-brainer in part because their coach is a no-brainer). Cal and Slippery Rock didn't even make the playoffs while Clarion surged to second place.

Here's my predicted finish for how the West will be won this season. My methodology is simple: IUP is first, Lock Haven is last, and everyone else will be picked at random. Let's look after the season and see if my technique is more accurate than the PSAC coaches. I'm actually going to write names of the 6 remaining schools on scrap paper and pick them out of a Gannon hat. Here goes:
1. IUP
2. Cal
3. Mercyhurst
4. Edinboro
5. Clarion
6. Gannon
7. Slippery Rock
8. Lock Haven

So when Gannon comes in second, I'm sure someone will say, "Ha ha! You thought they were going to miss the playoffs!" I'll blame my hat.

Le Troy Nesmith

2010-10-23T23:13:00.003-04:00

One of my all-time favorite interview subjects -- no matter what school, sport, or gender -- was former Golden Knight All-American Troy Nesmith. I recall conducting a pre-season interview him and Steve Moyer together in the Gannon library. The always extremely confident Nesmith said something like, "I think we're the best backcourt in Division II basketball, and maybe one of the best in all of college basketball." Nesmith was skilled at shooting both the ball and his mouth off.

I was excited when I did a Google search tonight for "Troy Nesmith" and came across a video interview about his European professional basketball career. Watch and listen to it by clicking here. Does he seem different to you?

Here are a few other Nesmith-related stories. I love the English-translated headlines:
* Troy Nesmith, born leader
* Troy Nesmith returned to Alsace. This story makes no sense to me.
* The favorite Dessenheim. Not much value here, except a good picture of Nesmith rebounding.

Ace of Knights

2010-10-19T21:14:00.004-04:00

Dave Lanahan, a co-worker of mine at Jameson Publishing and former basketball player at Mercyhurst College, loves talking Gannon Hoops. Especially after the Knights lose. Regrettably, he was very chatty last year. So even though it's been 258 days since GU lost the Hurst, Dave was talking Gannon basketball today. He asked if I had heard about the former Gannon basketball player who was participating in the World Series of Poker. Here's a partial transcript of the ESPN broadcast that Lanahan heard:
00:40:40 And johnny lodden waiting on the turn.
00:40:47 It's an 8 of hearts.
00:40:54 The $9 million top prize is enough for him.
00:41:02 And checks it on board.
00:41:02 Berkey from los angeles.
00:41:03 Berkey played basketball at gannon university in pennsylvania.
00:41:08 The river card, 5 of diamonds.
00:41:15 Both unimpressed by the diamonds.
00:41:22 He says, I got jacks.
00:41:25 And that's a winner.

First, most of what was said there made no sense to me -- including the Gannon basketball reference. There wasn't a guy named Berkey from Los Angeles who played for the Knights. So what in the name of Mike Kopas is going on?

Thanks to the Gannon Hoops research team (that would be my wife Barbara), it appears the ESPN announcers misspoke when they said "basketball." Matt Berkey (pictured above) played baseball at Gannon, pitching from 2002-05. He's listed at #5 in Opponents Batting Average (.318) and #7 on Gannon's all-time list for best Earned Run Average (7.39). Those stats reveal how stunningly unspectacular pitching has been at Gannon over the years. (A kid with a 9.39 ERA and .350 opponents batting average is on of the school's all-time best list? Do the other guys throw underhand?)

So no ex-Gannon basketball player is raking in big money at the World Series of Poker. Nuts. I was hoping I could get familiar enough with the game to some day say with a straight face, "I want to get my money in with the worst hands, suck, and double up" and "before you can seize it, you better flop it."

New Knights Keep On Coming

2010-10-11T20:12:00.003-04:00

Gannon SSID (Super Sports Information Director) Dan Teliski sent me an email yesterday informing me that complete bios for the men's basketball team are now online. Click here for the team roster and then click on the player's name who you want more info on.

But don't click just yet. I came across two very interesting facts while doing my clicking on the roster:
1. The Knights have named a new assistant coach. He's Matt Stearsman (see photo) and he comes to GU from NAIA St. Catherine (Ky.) College, which I have to admit I've never heard of before. Nuts -- I thought I knew every U.S. college that had a basketball team! Stearsman coached previously for two seasons at NAIA Oklahoma City University where former Kentucky Wesleyan coach Ray Harper jumped to before KWC was placed on probation. My guess is that there's a connection between Harper and John Reilly, who both coached in Owensboro, Ky. -- Harper at Wesleyan and Reilly down the street (literally) at Brescia.

2. You probably already knew that Mercyhurst Prep grad John Eisenman was walking on for the Knights, but did you know that he's the son of Nancy Eisenman and former Gannon athletic director and hoopster Howard "Bud" Elwell? Not to put any pressure on John, but Bud registered 253 points between 1951-54. You'd better score at least 50 points this year or you're going to hear it at the dinner table all off-season.

Gannon Team Photo

2010-10-10T07:07:00.004-04:00

Thanks for the heads up from Gannon SSID Dan Teliski and GUBBFWLR that the team photo is now online at GannonSports.com. Here are the photo IDs:

Front row (L-R): Kelvin Agee (12), Kareem Brown (5), Anthony Clagett (10), Steve Piotrowicz (3), John Eisenman (4), Danard Crouch (20), and Ramon Smith (32). Back row: Alvin Tucker (15), Darrell Blanton (40), Stephen Battle (30), Travis Brannen (42), Tanner Furno (21), Dennis Rumph (2), Clinton Springer-Williams (1), and Malcom Woodbury (25).

Personal note: My daughter's favorite player is the guy whose uniform number matches her age. Past faves have been Joe Lindsey (3) and Piotrowicz (4). Congratulations Kareem Brown!

New Knight: Darrell Blanton F jr. 6-3

2010-09-23T21:11:00.008-04:00

This should be the 9th and final installment of "New Knights" and "GU Recruits" for the 2010-11 season. When I sat down at my computer to research Darrell Blanton, I honestly thought I'd find some ho-hum stuff on just another guy. Here's Blanton in a nutshell: high-scoring Division I signee, juco All-American, and all-state high schooler who drew comparisons to NBA stars. Pretty decent first impression, huh?

Below is some more info on Blanton. Let's hope everyone sticks around so next off-season we only need to talk about the replacements for seniors Danard Crouch, Travis Brannen, and Kareem Brown.

* A May 30, 2010 story from the Akron Beacon-Journal stated: "Rivals.com is reporting that Darrell Blanton, a Chicago junior college player originally from Euclid, has signed a letter of intent to play at Akron. A team source tells me that Blanton, a 6-foot-3 forward, will likely be a walk-on in 2010 if his grades are sufficient." I'm not sure if Blanton didn't make the grade at Akron or if a Gannon scholarship offer was better than walking on for the Zips.

* Blanton played his sophomore season at Kennedy-King (IL) College in Chicago. If you know Kennedy-King's nickname, I'll buy you a bag of popcorn at Gannon's home opener. If you know Blanton's stats at Kennedy-King, I'll buy you a drink as well. K-K has very little information on their website but they are the proud owners of one of the lamest schedule pages in all of college basketball.
* Blanton was an honorable mention NJCAA Division I All-American at Kennedy-King.
* He was named Player of the Week for his region after two games with cumulative stats of 52 points (64.7 percent from field), 17 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.

* As a freshman, Blanton played at Fort Scott (KS) Community College, where he averaged 17.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.2 steals, and 1 block per game. He shot 55% from the field and 64% from the foul line.
* At FSCC, Blanton was named to the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference honorable mention team. If you're thinking you've heard of that conference before, it's where GU recruits Anthony Clagett and Dennis Rumph played last year.

* At Euclid High School, Blanton received several honors including Division I All-Ohio 3rd team All-State by Ohio Prep Stars and Honorable Mention All-State by the Associated Press. He was also accorded Northeast Lakes All-District 1st team accolades after averaging 19.1 ppg in 2007-08.
* Blanton was the #40 senior in Ohio in 2008 as rated by Hoop Scoop Online. Everybody from #52 and up was either going Division I or uncommitted to a college.
* The info related to Blanton's high school days that really jumped out to me were the statements made by his former assistant coach at Euclid when talking about a current EHS player. Tedd Kwasniak, who won back-to-back state championships as the head coach at Villa Angela-St. Joseph in 1994 and 1995, is an assistant at Euclid. Talking about Demetrius Treadwell, Kwasniak "brought up names such as former NBA player Ruben Patterson, current New Orleans Hornet forward James Posey, former VASJ standout Jerome Davis, former St. Joe's and Ohio State standout Treg Lee, and former All-Ohioan Darrell Blanton - a Euclid grad."

* I couldn't find a photo online of Blanton, so I'll pretend that this is him. Man can that kid get up!

So that's all the new Knights. We've pretty much exhausted every detail of the entire Gannon roster and we talked about a guy who was never on the roster. What do we do for the next two months until the Gary Miller Classic? Research Cedarville, I guess.

New Knight: Alvin Tucker G jr. 6-3

2010-09-19T21:51:00.007-04:00

All of Gannon's new players will have to make adjustments this season, but Alvin Tucker may have it the worst. The last two seasons he's been at sunny Florida Tech in Melbourne, Fla., where he averaged 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds (2nd best on the team). Tucker played in all 27 Panther games last year, starting 3, shooting 46% from the field including 22-of-58 (38%) from three-point range. He shot 80% from the free throw line and registered 32 steals, both second best on the team.

Tucker, who hails from Upper Marlboro, Md. -- where John Reilly has a slew of connections from when he grew up there -- played scholastically at Georgetown Prep. He averaged 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals as a senior for the Little Hoyas. (Side note #1: I don't know what a "Hoya" is, so I'm really confused about what a "Little Hoya" could be.) Tucker shot the ball well, hitting 78% on free throws and 48% on threes. He led Georgetown with 32 three-pointers in 25 games.

That data above is from the press release on his signing with Florida Tech two years ago. Here's some other info from that release you may find interesting:
* "Tucker was voted the number one most underrated player in the Interstate Athletic Conference. After suffering an injury his junior year, he started the 2007-08 in the shadows of two other players receiving Division I offers. Tucker, however, made an immediate impact on his team, posting double figures in nine of the team’s first 10 games. He eventually led the Little Hoyas to an IAC Tournament Championship and earned all-conference honors for his efforts on the court. He was additionally named to the Good Counsel Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team after leading his team to the championship game."
* Georgetown Prep coach Dwayne Bryant (Side note #2: Yes, he played at Georgetown in the late 80s.): "Alvin is a terrific kid who I think could be an instant contributor to Florida Tech as a freshman. Florida Tech is getting an excellent basketball player and an even better person."
* Tucker: "My dream is to use my athletic and intellectual talents to further my education and become a first generation college graduate in my family."

Here are a few more tidbits on Tucker:
* This article from the Washington Post talks about a big Little Hoya win and includes quotes from Tucker. (Side note #3: How cool would it be as a high school kid to wear those Georgetown uniforms?)
* I'm guessing this photo of Tucker won't be in the Gannon media guide.

- - - - - - - - -

Final side note: Why does the guy in this video remind me of Mercyhurst coach Gary Manchel? Take 5 minutes today to watch this video. You'll thank yourself (and maybe me) after you do. I'd like to find out where this guy got his Master's in Communications.

New Knight: Clinton Springer-Williams 6-4 F soph.

2010-09-12T20:47:00.007-04:00

I remember when Mercyhurst scrimmaged a Canadian college basketball team several years ago and someone in the stands quipped: "Do you know who Canadian basketball players are? The kids who got cut from the hockey team." I hope that's not the case for Clinton Springer-Williams, a Canadian native and transfer to Gannon from Brock University (St. Catherines, ONT).

I'm not sure how many Canadians have played hoops for Gannon. The only one I can recall is Kwame Manu, and his athletic resume won't get him into the GU sports Hall of Fame anytime soon. But I have to say that looking at the accomplishments of Springer-Williams has me excited.

As a freshman at Brock, he was named Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Rookie of the Year. Basically, that's equivalent to being named NCAA Freshman of the Year for Canada. His stats are eye-popping for a first-year player. He averaged 21.2 ppg -- best among CIS rookies and 6th among all CIS players -- while shooting 46% from the field. In his conference (the Ontario University Athletics Conference), he ranked in the top 10 in three other offensive categories -- 5th in field goals made (143), 4th in free throws made (121), and 8th in free throw percentage (82.3). He also reached double figures in 30-of-31 games, including 13 with 20 points or more, six with 30 or more and a season-high 40 in Brock's season finale. Springer-Williams also averaged 6.2 rebounds per game.

If those numbers don't get your attention, maybe the comments for his former head coach will. Brock's Ken Murray, who resigned after the 2009-2010 season, his 20th for the Badgers, has said plenty about Springer-Williams:
* Soon after Springer-Williams signed with Brock: "We stole the (Springer-Williams) kid. He had some big American schools after him. He's probably going to be the most exciting player we've had in our lineup in a long, long, time."
* "[Clinton] is the one guy that will always give that extra effort. He's playing until the final buzzer. He's just a great offensive talent. He's very difficult to stop. The only one who stops Clinton is himself."
* "Clinton had one of the best seasons I have seen by a rookie in my 30-plus years of coaching. He has clearly shown people across the country his pure athleticism and scoring ability."

According to The CIS Blog, Springer-Williams "was a HoopStars Canada top 50 player, had a tryout for Canada's junior national team, drew NCAA D-1 interest from the likes of Davidson, which had its Cinderella run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament in 2008 — not unlike Brock did in the Final 8, eh." I know that last statement about Brock in the Final 8 means nothing to all of us, but I couldn't edit out the "eh" part. It proves the quote is from a legit Canadian website.

At Regina Mundi Catholic HS, Springer-Williams averaged 26 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists per game and was twice the team MVP. The Brock U website also claims that when Springer-Williams signed with them, he "just recently turned downed numerous Division 1 scholarship offers including one from Davidson College."

Now if after all this you're still scoffing about Canadian basketball, maybe this info will win you over: In an exhibition game just prior to last season -- one of his first in a college uniform -- Springer-Williams scored 30 points in a 4-point loss to the University of Findlay. Yes, that Findlay.

Here are additional links on Springer-Williams:
* Here's a feature story from The Brock Press.
* This is an article from the Welland Tribune about Springer-Williams' transfer to Gannon.
* This video is from a high school dunk contest. The crowd kind of overreacts, don't you think?
* Here's a photo of him winning the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) Rookie of the Year award.
* That last photo was kind of boring. Here are a couple action photos: driving to his left and flipping up a shot during a Brock game.

Rumor & Roster

2010-09-09T21:19:00.003-04:00

I'll dig in and get more details on these topics in the near future, but in the meantime here are some Gannon Hoops tidbits I thought you'd find interesting:

* This isn't on the Gannon website, but I've been told that on Nov. 4 Gannon will have an exhibition game vs. Division I Canisius. That's cool, but here's the kicker: the game will be played at the Hammermill Center. A DI going on the road to a DII? Win or lose, that would be a tremendous way to tip-off the season.

* I've heard that highly touted recruit Kyle Servance was injured in the off season and won't play for the Knights this year. He's not even enrolled at Gannon but could still attend GU next year. Too bad -- for the kid and for us. Servance ranked in the NJCAA top 10 in both assists and three-point percentage last year. I'm thinking that leaves the point guard battle to Steve Piotrowicz and Anthony Clagett.

* The 2010-11 Gannon roster is now online with no more changes planned. (Insert sarcastic, cynical comment here). Three names we haven't heard much about are listed: Mercyhurst Prep grad John Eisenman, sophomore transfer Clinton Springer-Williams, and junior transfer Alvin Tucker. Again, I'll dig up some more details on these guys, but in the meantime enjoy this story on Springer-Williams courtesy of Gannon Hoops follower JRD.

Former Knight in FIBA World Championships

2010-08-31T06:58:00.002-04:00

I'm sure that not every Gannon Hoops fan is following the FIBA World Basketball Championships taking place now in Turkey, but after reading this post you might follow the tourney a little closer. And I'm not talking about Team USA. Former Gannon player Zaid Al-Khas is a member of the Jordanian national team and receives quite a bit of playing time. Through three games, Al-Khas has played 66 minutes, scoring 16 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.

Since his days in a Gannon uniform, Al-Khas has been playing professionally in Jordan and doing well. Heck, the guy has his own Wikipedia page and is a hit on YouTube. Al-Khas was one of the most underrated Golden Knights of all-time. He was big, strong, wide, had good hands, a soft touch, and rebounded like a bull. Yet when GU fans talk about the best big men in recent Gannon history, they talk about Josh Morgan, Geoff Husted, and Kyle Goldcamp but rarely is Al-Khas in the conversation. Good to see him fulfilling his dream as a pro basketball player and representing his country in a prestigious tournament.

Gannon to Wright: Cleve, Don't Leave!

2010-08-24T22:09:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to make sure that everyone heard the great news today that Gannon extended Cleve Wright's contract through 2012-2013. My only criticism of this is that GU didn't extend it through the 2112-2113 season when Wright will be 145 years old. Does anybody have anything negative to say about this guy? (I'm asking that rhetorically. I'm really not looking for dirt on him.) Kudos the the Gannon administration for making this move.

Reilly, Gannon Hoops making headlines

2010-08-15T20:51:00.005-04:00

Kudos to John Dudley of the Erie Times for this mid-August story on John Reilly and Gannon basketball. The story appeared on the front page of the Sunday paper. The following is an excerpt from the piece. (I won't copy-and-paste the whole thing fearing that the Meads, Cuneos, and Bob Jarzomski will track me down, string me up, and then beat me senseless with a heavy typewriter for violating their copyright.)

"It might be August, typically a down time for college men's basketball, especially at the Division II level. At Gannon, though, where men's basketball is king, and where there is a full-time, independent blog devoted to the school's marquee athletic program, there really is no offseason.

"'That's a positive,' Reilly said last week of the year-round interest in his team, even if some of that interest takes the form of blind speculation, Monday morning quarterbacking and straight reporting of plain old bad news.

"'I think it's great that people care that much about us,' he continued. 'I also think that not everybody really understands everything that we're dealing with on a day-to-day basis.'"

I'm thrilled that Gannon basketball is making headlines in the middle of the summer. If I have an ulterior motive with this site, it's to make sure that interest in Gannon Hoops doesn't wane. Cheering fans packing the Hammermill is the best-case scenario, booing fans are second best, and apathy about your program is by far the worst.

I'm glad that Reilly sees it that way, too. He was a positive influence on my life, and, to be honest, I feel twinges of remorse when a website that I started is the platform for people to call him some form of a meathead.

And how about Gannon Hoops getting some street cred from Dudley? As we've talked about the past couple months, Internet sites like this are really nothing more than a nitwit at a keyboard speaking his feeble mind. Your ongoing commentary makes the site what it is today. Thanks very much for your time, your interest, and your comments. Apparently, lots of other people are watching what we do.

The Dwayne Soders Saga Continues ... Before It's Even Started

2010-08-05T21:36:00.005-04:00

I don't know if there's ever been more discussion around Erie or on local sports talk radio regarding a kid that Gannon hasn't even acknowledged they're interested in than Dwayne Soders. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can catch up on Soders, aka Mr. Walk Like Jordan, by reading the comments on this recent Gannon Hoops post.

Just when I thought this was over (before it ever really began), this comment shows up on this site yesterday. I'm sharing it here because not everyone will read 20 comments deep on a post. Here goes:

darius said...

Its funny how people will sit up and talk about a individual they've never met to make themselves feel important! I know the kid Dwayne Soders from fort worth witch is one of the greatest players to come through fort worth ISD. He was the MVP of the district of fort worth, leading his team all the way to the semi finals in 2007. Signed with McClennan Community College where he was a very important piece of what was a great program, playing in the national junior college playoffs being recruited very highly from schools like Arkansas razor backs Nevada, Rutgers, Morehead State,MISSOURI IN THE BIG TWELVE, TCU and many other schools. His sophmore season from kilgore College where he was one of the important pieces leading them to the playoff's witch they hadn't made before he signed. he led them in field goal percentage, while leading the team in rebounds while he was 4th in scoring. Dwayne Soders decided to sit out a year to work toward his associates degree he needed to compete at the division one level. while Dwayne Soders took a year off he did a lot of community service to give back to those who helped him get to where he was and receive his accomplishments. He was called to give a speech to the chairman and board of the BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER FORT WORTH on why they shouldn't close boys and girls club's, he gave his time the entire summer coaching a AAU team of young men took them to La's Vegas and won the entire tournament! I know Dwayne Soders personally i deal with him on the every day basis he is a great individual with the heart and desire to make a difference in the up coming future! Dwayne attends church where his grand father is a pastor witch is who he stays with, he plays the drums and participates in all kind of activities in the church. I Believe it is sad how you guys will sit up and down grade a person you know nothing about. I hope you guys know that Dwayne Soders is coming to Gannon University feeling better than ever, while sitting out this summer Soders has trained with Arkansas hall of fame and NBA'S retired veteran OLIVER MILLER KNOW AS BIG O, and the Harlem Globe Trotters LARRY COLEMAN ALL SUMMER. DWAYNE SODERS IS A 6'6 ATHLETIC, VERSITLE GUARD FORWARD, HAS A TONE OF STRENGTH, AND HAS BEEN SAID TO BE ONE OF THE HARDEST WORKING PLAYERS TO HIT THE FLOOR, DWAYNE BRINGS HIS GAME IN A TONE OF WAYS, HE'S A BIG TIME REBOUNDER, VERY SKILLED AND POWERFULL POST PLAYER, CAN PUT IT ON THE FLOOR, AND SHOOT THE THREE. LOOK OUT GANNON!!!! I AM DARIUS THOMAS WHEN I SAW THIS ARTICLE I HAD TO LEAVE A PIECE OF MIND!
August 4, 2010 11:18 PM

And check out a post from today on the @MrWalkLikeJordan Twitter page: WHAT I SAW ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL WRITE UP ABOUT ME IN A ONLINE ARTICLE... AND KNOWS NOTHING OF MY CHARACTERISTICS.... I'M USING AS MOTIVATION!! (Aug. 5)

I find the dynamic of this whole thing fascinating. Most of our sources for this is user-generated text on the internet which could have zero validity whatsoever. Any day now I'm expecting to hear that this whole thing was a charade. At the same time, I'm expecting a press release from GU SID Dan Teliski announcing Soders' signing.

Is this whole thing fact or fiction? Don't know, don't care. Either way it's drama. Most Division II basketball teams don't get fans talking about them during the season let alone in the dog days of August. As long as we're talking Gannon hoops, I'm a happy guy.

Side Note: I've been told that spotted on the Gannon campus this week was Ferrakohn Hall, a 6-foot-8 transfer from Seton Hall (the Pirates had a coaching change this off-season). He didn't have great stats at Seton Hall (2.4 ppg), but he was first-team all state at White Station HS (Tenn.) and is described as "long and athletic." I've also been told that Hall was offered a scholarship by coach Reilly and accepted immediately. Could he be the big man we've been waiting for?

No -- because what I said in the previous paragraph was completely fabricated. As far as I know, Ferrakohn Hall has never heard of Erie, let alone visited here. I just made it up. But I had you going for a second, didn't I? Be careful what you read on the web ...

My new favorite Gannon player: Malcom Woodbury

2010-07-21T21:43:00.006-04:00

Malcom Woodbury may have only scored a handful of points in his college basketball career, but he scored some major points for a former high school classmate recently. Read the story below for details. For photos from the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, click here. Thanks to perennial GU season-ticket holder Paul DeSante for the heads up on this article.

Granby grad returns to keep prom-night promise

By Jaedda Armstrong, The Virginian-Pilot © May 24, 2010

Malcolm Woodbury sat at a table dressed in a black tux as he watched other prom goers boogie. He turned to his prom date, Sharonda Lebray, who sat beside him clad in a teal cocktail dress, cupped her chin in his hand, gazed into her eyes and asked, "Wanna dance?"

Malcolm is a 21-year-old college student who could have been anywhere that night. But he was at the Harrison Opera House for Granby High School's prom. He flew from Pennsylvania to be Sharonda's date. If he hadn't, he said, Sharonda probably wouldn't have attended.

They met four years ago, when he was a junior at Granby. He was a popular basketball player, a self-proclaimed ladies man. And Sharonda, 22, has cerebral palsy, a muscle disorder caused by brain damage. She can walk and eat on her own, but can't speak. He decided to join the Physical Education Leadership Training (PELT) class, which pairs students with disabled classmates.

Nervous at first, his concerns faded as he started interacting with the students. After playing bean bag toss and other games with Sharonda, he realized that she wasn't much different from other girls. She likes her hair and clothes, and sometimes she even has an attitude, he said.

He decided to take her to his prom in 2007. He remembers how his classmates were stunned to see him, a guy who had a list of possible dates, enter the ballroom with Sharonda on his arm.

"I just wanted her to have the chance to be out there with the rest of the school, and be as beautiful as she was that night," said Malcolm, a junior communications major at Gannon University in Erie, Pa. "It made people realize that I'm not as shallow as they perceive athletes to be."

That night he promised he'd come back to take Sharonda to her prom. When he'd be home from college, Malcolm made sure to stop by Granby to see his former teachers, and check on Sharonda, who would start to cry when she spotted him. "It's extremely humbling," Malcolm said. "She can't talk, but the tears rolling down her face and the noise she makes tells me that she's happy."

Sharonda requires constant assistance from an aide, Deborah Shuler, who holds Sharonda's arm when she walks. Sharonda can't go far and is easily distracted. When she gets tired of walking, she'll abruptly sit on the floor or in a chair and refuse to budge. Her movements are rough, her hands shake and she has seizures daily. "We know she may not ever have a boyfriend or get married, so this is her magical night," Shuler said.

At her prom, Sharonda gazed at the bright lights as Malcolm nodded his head to the music. They got up to dance as Malcolm walked her to the floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist. When they sat back down, he held her hand and whispered into her ear. Sharonda smiled hard as if he was telling her a juicy secret. By 10:30, Sharonda was tired. The night ended with them taking pictures.

It was bittersweet, Malcolm said. He was happy that he could take Sharonda to the prom, but she's graduating and his family has moved to Atlanta. He won't have a reason to come back to Granby High. He still plans to call and check up on her. And maybe visit every now and then. Sharonda's prom was perhaps as important to him as to her, he believes.

"If I was to just graduate and leave and never come back, that wouldn't have been right," he said. "I didn't want it to just be a moment."

GU Recruit: Ramon Smith G 6-3 jr.

2010-07-15T19:24:00.007-04:00

It's taken quite a while -- that's what happens when you replace two-thirds of your team -- but here's the final bio on the 7-member Gannon recruiting class. (Note: Another signing could be made later this summer; if it happens we'll hop back onto Google and look for info on that guy, too.)

I tried uncovering as much info as I could on Ramon Smith, but that's hard to do with a guy named "Smith." For example, he's from the Virginia area and dang was I excited to see that Ramon Smith was named Washington Post All-Met honorable mention in 2006. The first team for that squad included Kevin Durant (Texas/NBA), Austin Freeman (Georgetown), Greivis Vasquez (Maryland/NBA), and Darryl Webb (IUP). But that Ramon Smith was from St. Stephen's/St. Agnes High School, not Patterson High School like Gannon's Ramon Smith. So, he's not that guy, but thank goodness he's not THIS Ramon Smith.

Here's what I could come up with on the real Ramon Smith, much of the data thanks to Gannon's Super SID Dan Teliski:

* Transferred from Frederick (Md.) Community College, where he led the Cougars to their first-ever regional title
* Named to the NJCAA Region XX Division I All-Tournament team after registering 19 points, 9 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists in the regional championship game. Here's the article from that contest.
* Here's his bio from FCC. Rather underwhelming from an information perspective, eh?
* I'm not sure who Frederick is playing in this photo of Smith, but holy moly is that a huge arena.

GU Recruits: Anthony Clagett and Dennis Rumph

2010-07-15T19:19:00.005-04:00

I don't think new recruits Anthony Clagett and Dennis Rumph will mind us talking about them together. After all, they were teammates the past two seasons at Allen County Community College in Iola, Kansas. The Iola website says that the town of 5,700 boasts "one of the largest town squares west of the Mississippi." More importantly, I learned on the Internet that Allen CCC was 17-13 last year (11-7 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference), losing in the first round of the postseason tournament. The only team that I recognized on the AC3 schedule was Neosho (KS) College, the alma mater of former Golden Knight Cass Wright.

Here's a breakdown of each player; again kudos to Gannon SID Dan Teliski for much of the information:

Anthony Clagett (PG, 6-1, jr.)
* The most insightful data I came across on Clagett is this highlight video of him at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington D.C. Looks like he can really slash to the basket and finish with either hand. His jumper is also pretty smooth.
* The move at the 3:14 mark of the tape is pretty nasty. If that was me, I'd be watching that segment of the video over and over and over and over. I think John Reilly's favorite part was the stretch showing Clagett's defensive prowess (that begins right around 2:30).
* The final 30 seconds of the tape provides this data: Clagett won over 50 games as a junior and senior; he's the epitome of intelligence, toughness, and leadership (and maybe hyperbole); and "he is also your next point guard."
* I have to admit, it's hard to watch the video and not get fired up that he's joining Gannon. But I have to remind myself that it's a high school highlight tape. For all I know, the kid could commit 22 turnovers a game.
* At AC3, he averaged 12.1 points, 4.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals, shooting 49 percent (80-for-165) from the field
* A Kansas juco website describes him as "point guard ... excellent ball handler, strong on-ball defender and great competitor"
* Here's his bio from AC3
* In high school he averaged 13.5 ppg, 7 apg, 6.2 rpg, and 4 steals
* His Twitter account is protected, so you can't see what he's writing -- which is VERY smart -- but I think you'll like his account name: @GU_Knight

Dennis Rumph (F, 6-6, jr.)
* I couldn't find as much info on Rumph. His AC3 bio says he's from Boynton Beach, Fla. That's where Bob Dukiet was residing when he passed away, and it's the hometown of former Gannon leaper Vince Mosley.
* At AC3, he was named to the KJCAA all-conference second team.
* He's not a big scorer (9 ppg), but he had good stats in terms of rebounding (8.2 avg) and blocks (2.2 avg) last season. Shot 49 percent (90-185) from the field.
* A Kansas juco website describes him as "excellent rebounder and shot blocker who gets up and down the floor well."
* Here's a photo of Rumph in action at AC3

Stephen Battle Signing Article

2010-07-13T20:36:00.004-04:00

Kudos to A.J. Mason from The Independent newspaper in southern Maryland for forwarding to me his story on recent GU signee Stephen Battle. The text is below; the photo of the signing ceremony is on the right.

Ready for the next Battle
Thomas Stone graduate signs with Gannon Univ.

By A.J. Mason, Staff Writer

For four years on the basketball court, Thomas Stone forward Stephen Battle battled through workouts, games, practices. And for the last two, he was the most dominating big man in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference.

Now, Battle, a recent graduate, will face even bigger battles at the collegiate level as he recently inked his letter of intent to play at Division II's Gannon University. The institution is located in Erie, Pa., and holds more than 4,000 students.

"It was the position that they said I would play and the coaching staff said that if I'm ready to play, then they would put me in," Battle said on what led to his decision to head to Gannon, a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. "We will run sort of a motion offense and I can step out and use my athleticism, so I'm definitely ready for the next level."

Battle will be playing under Gannon head coach John Reilly, who was very high on the 6-foot-6 swingman who was a force this season, averaging 17.5 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks a game. He also showed his touch from three-point range, knocking down nine of them, and shooting 72 percent from the free-throw line.

A three-year starter for Thomas Stone head boys basketball coach Dale Lamberth, Battle will be able to shoot, defend, attack the rim with his potent jumping ability, rebound and pass out of double teams.

"Coach Reilly invited me to his house on the first visit," said Battle, who visited Gannon in April. "He just made me feel at home and I was comfortable after that. The campus was very traditional and everyone up there was like a family."

Quinnipiac (Conn.), Delaware State, St. Francis (Pa.), Central Connecticut and Cleveland State (Ohio) were schools at the Division I level that were interested in Battle, but Gannon was just the perfect fit.

"The main thing that I want to bring to Gannon is intensity and momentum," said Battle, who led the Cougars to a SMAC title this winter and a third consecutive state tournament appearance. "I want to continue to work hard and prove myself every time I step on the court."

Battle's older brother, Mike, who played guard at the University of Central Florida from 2005 to 2008, knows the ropes of the college level and often give pointers to his younger brother. "He has to set goals for himself and the team," Mike Battle said. "The main thing is keeping up on his schoolwork because you can't play without the grades. Stephen has to stay humble and keep working hard and beat the next man out for a spot."

The older Battle mentioned that along with improving on every aspect of his game, he wants his brother to improve on his pull-up jump shot and be more aggressive at all times. "I've been watching him his whole life," Mike Battle said. "It's definitely a good thing to see how he developed over the years into the player he is now. He's put a lot of work in, and the hard work has paid off."

Lamberth and Mike Cole, Battle's AAU head coach for the Southern Maryland Mustangs, helped him make his decision on Gannon, along with his mother, Sheila, and father, Michael.

Sheila Battle mentioned that her son will do just fine on the next level, but just has to continue to develop and step it up even another notch. "At the next level I think he will do well," she said. "There is always room for improvement and Stephen was more like a team player in high school, but I told him at the next level, ‘You have to go,' and when the game is on the line and the coach tells you to take the shot, you have to do it. Having the green light is hard to get at any level."

Battle noted that he is undecided about his major, but wants to get into the marketing and advertising field.

While going through battles in high school practices, Battle now will go up against teammate Kendal Smith, who signed with Bloomsburg University, also in the PSAC. "It's going to be fun playing versus Kendal," Battle said. "On the court, we won't like each other, but after it's all said and done, we will still be friends."

GU Recruit: Kyle Servance PG 6-0 jr.

2010-07-03T22:23:00.003-04:00

If I had to pick a player on the current Gannon roster who would be the starting point guard when the season opens Nov. 26, I'd put my money on Kyle Servance (on the far right in this photo). The juco transfer from from Howard Community College in Maryland is unlikely to sit on the bench after ranking the NJCAA top 10 in assists (6.9 avg) and three-point percentage. Yes, I know James Bryant came in highly touted last year and that worked out about as well as BP's deepwater drilling plan. But Bryant didn't have the luxury of spending all off-season with the team and the pre-season with the coaching staff. Point guards are rarely plug-and-play.

Here's some info I uncovered on Servance, much of it thanks to Gannon SID Dan Teliski:
* Averaged 16.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals last season at HCC
* A threat from the outside, he hit 50 threes on the year
* Named second team all-conference in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference
* In a 107-98 loss at Monroe College, Howard hit for a game-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 on threes
* Here's the cover of a Howard CC game program featuring Servance (with ball, on the left).

* Led Reservoir High School (Md.) in scoring (15.8 ppg) and assists as a senior, earning team MVP honors. (Personal note: Reservoir's nickname is "Gators." Man did they miss an opportunity to nickname themselves the Bulldogs so they could call themselves the Reservoir Dogs. But maybe the self-proclaimed "Friendliest School In The Country" didn't want to be associated with Quentin Tarantino's violent movies.)
* Earned all-Howard County honors, ranking 5th in the county in scoring, 8th in assists (3.2 avg), and 8th in three-pointers made (47)
* Played in the Maryland-vs.-Pennsylvania All-Star Basketball game, which I bet you didn't know existed until just now

That's Servance as an athlete. Now let's talk about the kid as a student.
* I'm not sure if he'll be a Communications/TV major, but this video, which appears to be directed and produced by him, would get him a front row seat in Gannon's Comm/Arts program.
* Looks like he was a member of the HCC Times, the Howard Community College student newspaper. (Scroll to page 4 of this link.) Could he be a guest contributor to Gannon Hoops?

On Facebook, Servance lists his interests as "chillin" and "ballin." Let's hope he's stellar at the latter so Gannon fans (and Coach Reilly) can do more of the former this season.

GU Recruit: Kareem Brown G 6-2 sr.

2010-06-22T21:44:00.006-04:00

Today was like Christmas for us Gannon fans. Not to make student-athletes sound like a commodity, but we got a bunch of gifts today -- so many that we can't focus on all of them at the same time. Maybe the race car game will be more fun than it looked in the JCPenney catalog. Or maybe it will be like electric football; fun to look at and fiddle with, but frustrating beyond all get out when the game actually starts.

Two members of the recruiting class weren't a surprise to us. We shared information on Kelvin Agee on April 22 and provided details on Stephen Battle earlier this month. The most intriguing of the rest of the class is Kareem Brown, the 6-foot-2 senior transfer from Division I Coppin State (Md.). DI transfers are always attention-getting, but making Brown even more interesting is that he was Coppin's leading scorer last year at 10.0 ppg and made the most threes (57) on the team.

I've heard some folks speculate that Coppin must be dreadful because their leading scorer averaged right at double figures. Of course those folks are speculating without having any facts, a centuries long tradition for us sports fans. Coppin State was just 8-22 last year (3-13, last place in the MEAC), but I think the main reasons for the low point totals are:
1. The Eagles rotated all 10 players on their roster; nobody averaged fewer than 15 minutes per game and nobody averaged more than 29.
2. The stats make me speculate that Coppin State played deliberately on offense and then on defense forced opponents to move the ball. The Eagles scored just 61 ppg and allowed only 67 ppg. Their 3-point field goal defense (opponents shot just 28.8% from beyond the arc) ranked in the top 10 nationally.

The burning question is why would a kid transfer from a school for his senior year after being the leading scorer as a junior? (I'm sure Augusta State fans are asking the same thing about some kid named George Johnson who their program just landed.) I was hoping that Coppin just experienced a coaching change, but that couldn't be further from the case. Ron "Fang" Mitchell -- why can't I have a nickname like that? -- will be on the Coppin sidelines for the 25th consecutive year this winter. And you don't stay around that long without winning. My man Fang is the six-time MEAC coach of the year, winning several league titles, and earning 4 NCAA bids. You might recall in 1997 when 15-seed Coppin State shocked #2-seed South Carolina in the first round of the NCAAs.

That was 13 years ago, but it might seem like longer for Eagles fans. For the past 5 years (maybe longer, Coppin's web site isn't as good as Gannon's), the Eagles haven't had a winning record. In fact, they're averaging 20 losses per season since 2005. They had a 13-game losing streak last year. Maybe Brown was sick of losing and jumped at the chance to win his final college season. Maybe John Reilly's Maryland connections kicked in. Maybe he talked with former Knight Joe Lindsey, who, like Brown, played his juco ball at Monroe (NY) Community College. We'll have to wait for Reilly's explanation when he appears next on Jim LeCorchick's radio show.

Here's more info on Brown, much of it thanks to Gannon SID Dan Teliski:

* Here's a game-by-game breakdown of Brown's 2009-2010 season at Coppin State
* He scored 23 at Navy on 8-for-15 shooting, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range.
* Other high scoring games were 18 vs. Florida A&M and at Morgan State, 17 vs. Maryland-Baltimore County and vs. Division II West Virginia Tech
* Against the big schools he had 11 at USC, 8 at Colorado, 7 at West Virginia, 7 at Oklahoma State, and 0 at Michigan
* He hit for 7 against Washington Adventist, the school formerly known as Columbia Union. That alone should have earned him the scholarship at Gannon!
* Transferred to Coppin State after spending two seasons at Monroe CC (2007-2009)
* As a sophomore, averaged 15 ppg, leading Monroe CC to a 30-7 record and a berth in the national tournament, where he was named to the national all-tournament team
* Participated in the NJCAA All-Star game
* As a freshman, averaged 12.6 ppg
* At New London (Conn.) High School, he was a two-time New Haven Register All-State selection and scored over 1,400 points
* Here's a photo of Brown in action at West Virginia
* This is him going in for a layup against Maryland Eastern Shore

Want to follow Kareem on Twitter? You can at http://www.twitter.com/kareem24. (Warning: Web page contains some offensive language.) The Coppin State logo is all over his page, so he's going to have to get that updated. And I hope Gannon has #24 available for him so he doesn't have to change his Twitter handle. I searched many of his 1,880 Twitter posts and didn't glean anything about his situation. I thought he might have said something about playing time or something like that. I do know now that he loves Kobe and the Lakers, he watches tons of basketball, and he has some sort of insomnia issue.

That was a ton of information, but the still unanswered question is, "What can Brown do for GU?" We'll find out in about 5 months.