Preseason Awards
Player of the Year: Randy Culpepper, UTEP, Sr.
Culpepper
could very well be the most exciting player in the country to watch.
He’s arguably the best dunker in the country, routinely soaring for
highlight worthy dunks despite barely pushing six feet. Culpepper is
not a point guard, however. He is a scorer, through and through, with
no conscience whatsoever. Its not unusual to see him pull-up from 25
feet, and when he gets hot, watch out. Ask Central Florida, who saw
Culpepper go for 39 last season, or East Carolina, who was the
recipient of one of the most impressive offensive performances last
year as Culpepper went for 45 points (31 in the first half) on 14-18
shooting, 9-12 from deep. With Caracter and Moultrie gone, Culpepper is
going to be expected to carry an even bigger share of the offensive
workload as a senior.
And a close second goes too: Gary Flowers, Southern Miss, Sr.
The
Golden Eagles have a chance to be a very good team this season, and it
is in no small part due to the play of Flowers, a 6’8″ power forward.
Flowers was fantastic in his first season with USM, finishing among the
league leaders in points (15.0), rebounds (8.3), and blocks (1.8) and
providing Larry Eustachy with his only real consistent threat
throughout an up-and-down season. Southern Miss has a deep and talented
back court, and Eustachy has been vocal about his willingness to play
four guards around Flowers. Flowers should once again be a steadying
force for the Golden Eagles, and if he can improve upon the season he
just had, there is no reason that Southern Miss cannot build on what
was a positive finish to the 2009-2010 season.
Breakout Star: Wesley Witherspoon, Memphis, Jr.
Witherspoon
has not had the smoothest two years in Memphis. As a freshman, the 6’8″
small forward was tried out at point guard, but that test didn’t last
long as John Calipari eventually discovered that it was Tyreke Evans’
natural position. Last year, Witherspoon was expected to carry much of
the workload under new head coach Josh Pastner, but it was an
up-and-down year. Witherspoon had some fantastic performances —
including a two games stretch where he scored 55 points against Gonzaga
and UAB — but also disappeared offensively during some games. This kid
has tons of talent. He’s a lanky and athletic 6’8″ wing that, when he
is at his best, is slashing to the basket and getting to the foul line.
He’s also added a consistent three point stroke, knocking down 43% of
his shots from beyond the arc, although he only took 79 on the season.
Memphis is going to be loaded with talent this year, but the majority
of that talent will be freshmen. Witherspoon, who seems destined to be
a first round pick when he finally heads to the NBA, will be the
experienced leader on this team. Eventually, his talent is going to
take over. Could this be the year? If it is, then I may end up
regretting not picking him as the preseason player of the year.
All-Conference First Team:
- POY – Randy Culpepper, UTEP, Sr.
- G – Brock Young, East Carolina, So.
- G – Justin Hurtt, Tulsa, Sr.
- F – Wesley Witherspoon, Memphis, Jr.
- F – Arsalan Kazemi, Rice, So.
- F – Gary Flowers, Southern Miss, Sr.
All-Conference Second Team:
- G – Aaron Johnson, UAB, Sr.
- G – Joe Jackson, Memphis, Fr.
- G – Will Barton, Memphis, Fr.
- F – Keith Clanton, UCF, So.
- F – Papa Dia, SMU, Sr.
Freshman of the Year: Will Barton, Memphis
Of
the lauded freshman class that Pastner is bringing in, Barton is
probably the best. A wiry athlete, the 6’6″ Barton has everything you
look for in a wing player. Most importantly, however, is that Barton
can really score. He can take a defensive rebound coast to coast, he
can get to the rim in a one-on-one setting in the half court, he can
finish above the rim, and he is a capable shooter in both the mid-range
and from three. His length also allows him to be a good defender, and
Pastner has said that Barton is the best rebounding guard in this
class. Keep in mind, Barton prepped a year, meaning he is coming in as
a 19 year old freshman. There is still plenty of room for this kid to
grow, but he has the talent, and he will have the opportunity to
showcase it this season.
All-Freshman team:
- G – Joe Jackson, Memphis
- G – Preston Purifoy, UAB
- G – Isaiah Sykes, UCF
- F – Michael Haynes, UTEP
- F – Tarik Black, Memphis
What Happened?:
- Tim Floyd finds a place to land: UTEP did what some believed was unthinkable
— they hired Tim Floyd, the guy who built the USC program into a
contender, then left as OJ Mayo’s fallout hit. And it didn’t take Floyd
long to create a stir. Only months after he was hired, Floyd was off making package deals, bringing in three players — one of whom was Rashanti Harris, who has since been declared ineligible — closely associated with two of his new assistant coaches.That wasn’t the end of UTEP’s drama filled off-season. Not only did starting center Arnett Moultrie bolt for greener SEC pastures, but one player Floyd booted off the team, Myron Strong, made quite a fuss on his way out the door.
- Floyd wasn’t the only one with a drama filled summer:
Let’s begin with DJ Newbill, a 6’3″ guard that is currently at Southern
Miss. Newbill, a Philly native, signed a Letter of Intent with
Marquette only to see his scholarship taken away by Buzz Williams when Jamil Wilson decided he wanted to transfer into Marquette.If
that wasn’t bad enough, take Joseph Young’s case. Young signed his
Letter of Intent with Providence, but do to his father’s hiring at
Houston and the illness of one of his aunts, Young decided he would
rather play for Houston. Keno Davis wouldn’t let him out of his LOI, so Young is sitting out this season while waiting to play for Houston.Memphis
may have had the wildest ride. First, it was Will Barton, the talented
Tiger recruit that believed that he was initially ruled ineligible
academically, but once the NCAA received all of the information they
needed, they reversed their stance and cleared him to participate. Another talented freshman, Jelan Kendrick, has been suspended from the Tigers for allegedly threatening a teammate. We don’t have details, but most believe he will back in Tigers uniform at some point. - Floyd also isn’t the only new coach in C-USA:
Conference USA has seemingly become the preferred landing spot for
coaches that lost their chance at a Big Six school. Larry Eustachy is
at Southern Miss, Mike Davis is at UAB, Matt Doherty is at SMU, and Ben
Braun is at Rice. Now, you can add former Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo,
the new head man at East Carolina.Or how about James Dickey? He was the coach at Texas Tech in the 90’s, but lost his job to Bobby Knight. Dickey replaced Tom Penders at Houston.
Believe it or not, I’m still not done talking about new coaching hires. Former Citadel head coach Ed Conroy is taking over the Tulane program, while Donnie Jones (more on him in a second) went to a different school within the same conference, leaving Marshall for Central Florida. Tom Herrion was hired to replace Jones at Marshall.
- UCF is loading up: The future looks bright for Donnie Jones at Central Florida as he is stockpiling talent.
Not only does he return the entire rotation from last season, he adds a
talented group of freshmen this year, headlined by Isaiah Sykes. He
also added three high-major transfers — Jeffery Jordan from Illinois,
Tristan Spurlock from Virginia, and Josh Crittle from Oregon — that
will be eligible to play next season. In addition to those transfers,
UCF also adds two very talented recruits next year in Kamil Wilson and
Rod Days.In case you didn’t notice, Jones now has both of Michael Jordan’s sons — when they aren’t partying in Vegas
— playing for his program. I wonder is they can get His Airness to
come play at practice? That would be a hell of a recruiting tool…There are a few other notable transfers from the league. Desmond Wade, Houston’s starting point guard, has transferred to Fairfield, while Paul McCoy, who averaged 13.4 ppg as a freshman before struggling last season, has left the SMU program.
And Beas Hamga, a seven-footer that was a top 30 recruit coming out of
high school and originally enrolled at UNLV, will be eligible this
season as a junior for UAB. Yea, he’s tall. - Arsalan Kazemi is a player:
He averaged damn near a double-double as a freshman for a bad Rice
team, and the future only looks brighter for college basketball’s first Iranian. Why does the future look bright? Well, maybe its the 14 points he had against Team USA in the World Basketball Championships.
What’s Next?:
- How long will Conference USA be this Conference USA?:
Its not a secret that Memphis wants to join the Big East, and during
the conference realignment madness that happened back in June, it was
rumored that the Tigers, and possibly Central Florida, would be headed
to the Big East. That didn’t happen, but when BYU made the decision to
leave the Mountain West, theories started floating around about how the
country’s second-tier conferences — the WAC, the MWC, C-USA — would
realign themselves. That process if far from over, and we could end up
seeing a major change at some point. - Can Memphis return to the top?:
Its not a secret that Josh Pastner brings in arguably the best
recruiting class in the country. After finishing last season second
place in the league and missing out on the NCAA Tournament, this crop
of freshmen should be good enough to get the Tigers back to the top of
the conference standings. Will it lead to postseason success? - More than a one-bid league?:
Generally speaking, there is pretty good basketball being played in
Conference USA, but with teams like UAB and Tulsa fading down the
stretch last season, C-USA was only able to nab a second tournament bid
when Houston made a run to the league’s tournament title and UTEP was
given a 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament. will this conference be able to
support more than one at-large bid this season? Memphis seems like a
pretty safe bet to earn themselves a bid, but with a number of solid
teams behind them — Southern Miss, UTEP, UAB, Tulsa — will anyone
perform above expectations?
Power Rankings:
- Memphis:
Last season, UTEP took the C-USA title from the Tigers, and while
Memphis loses four of their top five scorers, don’t expect the Tigers
to be down for long. Josh Pastner proved himself to be a force on the
recruiting trail, landing one of the nation’s best classes. It is
headlined by a few potential stars on the perimeter. Joe Jackson is an
ultra-quick point guard with athleticism for days that is a nightmare
to keep out of the paint. Jelan Kendrick is a point forward that could
stand to improve his handle and jumper, as well as adjusting his
attitude. It remains to be seen if Kendrick will play this season after
threatening a teammate.
Will Barton, a 6’6″ slasher and scorer on the wing, may be the best of
the bunch. Junior Wesley Witherspoon, a first round pick in the making,
had a couple of huge games last season, and could develop into a star
if he can become more consistent. Freshmen Antonio Barton and Chris
Crawford, as well as Charles Carmouche, a transfer from New Orleans,
should also get some time in the back court. The Tigers front court
should also be quite good next season. Will Coleman is a freak athlete,
a 6’9″, 245 pound dunker and shotblocker reminiscent of Joey Dorsey.
6’11” Angel Garcia looks like he’ll finally be ready to contribute this
year, while freshmen Hippolyte Tsafack and Tarik Black, who drew high
praise for his play on the Tiger’s trip to the Bahamas, will also get
quite a few minutes. Memphis is a big-time favorite to win the league,
but how good they are on a national scale will depend on just how good
some of these freshmen end up being. - Southern Miss:
USM had a bit of a quirky season in 2009-2010. They started off slow,
losing to Canisius and North Florida during non-conference play before
starting 0-4 in the league. But they finished strong — getting to 8-8
in the conference — and with Larry Eustachy bringing back all five
starters and a quality class of newcomers, the Golden Eagles look like
they can make a push towards the top of the league. It starts with Gary
Flowers, a 6’8″ post player that was USM’s most consistent performer,
notching averages of 15 ppg, 8.3 rpg, and 1.8 bpg, good enough to earn
him a spot on the all-conference team. But Flowers is not all that
Eustachy has on his roster. Juniors Angelo Johnson and Maurice Bolden,
as well as seniors RL Horton and Sai’Quan Stone, all started for much
of last season. Johnson and Horton need to mature as decision makers
and improve their consistency, but they proved to be capable of
handling the back court duties. At 6’10”, Bolden is a perimeter threat,
which should help create some space for Flowers, while Stone is a
tough, physical defender. There will be some depth on this club, as
well. Torye Pelham was a part-time starter up front last season, while
Josimar Ayarza also saw minutes in the front court. JuCo transfer
Aharyo Phillips — who played his freshman season at Nevada before
being kicked off the team
— should also compete for time. In the back court, Eustachy will have
an inexperienced bench, but one that could push the starters for
playing time. JuCo transfer LaShay Page and freshman DJ Newbill, who
originally committed to Marquette, were both rated as three-star
recruits according to Rivals. Four other newcomers — freshmen Kody
Williams, Trency Jackson, and Cedric Jenkins as well as sophomore
Kayland Partee — all will have a shot at earning some playing time as
well. The Golden Eagles aren’t going to win pretty, but with their
experience, their talent level, and a player like Flowers, Southern
Miss should be near the top of the C-USA standings come season’s end. - UTEP:
The Miners will take a big hit to their front court this season, as
Derrick Caracter headed to the NBA and Arnett Moultrie has transferred
to Mississippi State. While that loss will no doubt effect this team,
the good news is that they get, essentially, the rest of their roster
back, including senior guard Randy Culpepper. Culpepper may be the most
entertaining player in the country to watch. Barely reaching 6’0″,
Culpepper is an athletic freak, soaring for highlight reel dunks
while also being unafraid to jack up any shot he deems fit, even if it
is 28 feet from the rim. Also returning for the Miners will be senior
swingmen Christian Polk, Julyan Stone, and Jeremy Williams, who combine
to form quite a versatile group to complement Culpepper. Another
senior, 6’11” Claude Britten found himself buried on the bench behind
Moultrie and Caracter, but he was still able to score a point in every
two minutes of playing time when he did see the floor. The rest of Tim
Floyd’s rotation will likely be made up of freshmen. Michael Haynes and
John Bohannon will see minutes inside, while Michael Perez and DeShun
Watkins should provide depth in the back court. UTEP will once again be
in the mix near the top of the league standings. - Tulsa:
The Golden Hurricane were expected to be a top 25 team last season, but
struggled down the stretch before being eliminated in the first round
of the NIT to end a disappointing season. That disappointment was
compounded by the fact that their two best players — Ben Uzoh and
Jerome Jordan — both graduated. While Tulsa will have no where near
the same preseason expectations, there are still enough quality pieces
on Doug Wojcik’s team that they will once again be at the top of C-USA.
To start, Justin Hurtt returns for his senior season. Hurtt has been
the shooter that spread the floor for Tulsa the last few years — and
successfully, he averaged 14.5 ppg last year — but the Golden
Hurricane will be counting on him to have a big year this year. Joining
him in the back court will be UConn transfer Scottie Haralson, two
players coming off of serious injuries in Donte Medder and Glenn
Andrews, and two talented freshmen in Tim Peete and Jordan Clarkson.
Sophomore swingman Bryson Pope should see time on the perimeter as
well. Up front, Steven Idlet and Joe Richard both return. They split
time starting last season, and while both have proven to be solid
rebounders and post defenders, Tulsa is going to need one, or both, to
become more of a scoring threat. The same can be said for Western
Kentucky transfer DJ Magley, who started half the time during his two
seasons with the Hilltoppers. Freshmen Blondy Baruti and Kodi Maduka
should see minutes as well. - UAB:
The Blazers lose quite a bit from last season’s 25 win team. Three of
their top six scorers graduate, while Elijah Millsap, UAB’s leading
scorer and rebounder, left school to turn pro. This year’s club will be
based around the perimeter. Aaron Johnson, a 5’8″ point guard, returns
for his senior season. Johnson, who made the C-USA all-defensive team,
is a good distributor who will be counted on for more offensive
production. Starting alongside Johnson will be Jamarr Sanders, a senior
that averaged 10.4 ppg in his first season under Mike Davis who will be
the Blazers best perimeter shooter. One player to watch will be
sophomore Dexter Fields. Fields was a three-star recruit last season,
and while he saw limited minutes last year, he had a couple of big
games and was productive when he did get on the court. Freshman Preston
Purifoy, a 6’5″ small forward, should help fill the void left by
Millsap at the three, while Robert Williams and Quincy Taylor, redshirt
and true freshmen, respectively, should also compete for time. The
front court will be a bigger question mark. Junior Cameron Moore and
sophomore Ovie Soko both were in the rotation last season, but averaged
a combined 5 points and 5 boards in just 22 minutes. Freshmen Anthony
Criswell should also see time, but the x-factor could end up being Beas
Hamga. An athletic seven-footer, Hamga — who has a 9’6″ wingspan
— was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. He’s raw, but he
has a ton of potential. UAB has some question marks, but there is
enough talent on this team that they could finish in the top four of
the league. - UCF:
Things are really looking up for the basketball program at Central
Florida. As we touched on earlier, Donnie Jones has a serious influx of
talent coming into the program, and while the addition of that talent
is still a full season away, there is reason to believe that the Golden
Knights will be a factor in the C-USA race this season. In 2009-2010,
UCF played with, essentially, an eight man rotation, and all eight of
those players return. Six of them were underclassmen last season.
Sharpshooting junior Isaac Sosa and 6’9″ senior AJ Tyler led a balanced
scoring attack at 10.3 ppg each. Two sophomores, guard Marcus Jordan —
who really came on as the season progressed, working his way into the
starting line up — and big man Keith Clanton, showed that they can be
impact players at the C-USA level. Senior Taylor Young and junior AJ
Rompza will handle the point guard duties, while Dave Diakite and PJ
Gaynor are role playing forwards. What UCF really lacks — and what
likely won’t be provided by newcomers Jarvis Davis, Dwight McCombs, and
Isaiah Sykes (although Sykes, a 6’5″ swingman, was a fairly highly
regarded recruit that attracted a lot of high-major attention) — is a
go-to scorer. UCF struggled against more athletic and aggressive teams,
but part of that was an overall lack of experience on the roster. With
this group now playing together for a second year, the Knights should
improve. - Marshall:
The Thundering Herd are going to look a lot different this season as
both of their talented big men — Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Wilker son
— and head coach Donnie Jones are all gone. Instead, this is going to
be a team whose strength in on the perimeter. The leaders will be
Damier Pitts and Shaquille Johnson, two junior guards that have the
potential to be very good at this level. Much is also expected of Dago
Pena, a 6’6″ scorer that had some big games off the bench last season.
There isn’t a ton of talent behind them — Justin Howe is a freshman,
DeAndre Kane was a partial qualifier last season, and Johnny Higgins is
a JuCo transfer — but the Herd shouldn’t need a ton of depth as Pitts,
Johnson, and Pena will likely play a lot of minutes. The question is
going to be where Marshall gets their front court scoring from.
Replacing the 27 points, 16 boards, and 6 blocks the Herd lost with
Whiteside and Wilkerson won’t be easy. Tirrel Baines may be the best
scoring option. Baines, a 6’6″ forward, averaged 11.5 ppg as a
freshman, but saw his minutes cut as the Herd improved their front
line. Antonio Haymon returns for his senior year, while 6’10” Nigel
Spikes could also see more time. Joining them will be some new faces.
Orlando Allen is a 6’10” transfer from Oklahoma. Eladio Espinosa
started a dozen games at South Florida before transferring. Aundra
Williams is a big-bodied, 6’10” JuCo addition. Depending on how the
Herd’s trio of junior guards develops, this team has a shot at getting
to 20 wins. - East Carolina:
The good news for the Pirates is that they basically bring back their
entire roster. The key to that roster is going to be Brock Young, a
senior point guard that was one of the more productive players in C-USA
last season (15.5 ppg and 5.5 apg, which led the league). Young is an
excellent penetrator, but he needs to improve on his perimeter shooting
and cut down his turnovers, something that will be helped as he gets
more production around him. And therein lies the problem — while ECU
returns the same team from last season, its a team that was only able
to muster 10 wins, four in league play. There are a couple of kids that
showed potential last season. Junior Darrius Morrow proved to be a
capable post player at this level, while senior Jamar Abrams, who can
really shoot the ball, came on strong down the stretch after a sluggish
start to the season. Jontae Sherrod joins Young to give the Pirates a
solid back court, and 6’11” Chad Wynn will likely get the nod at
center. ECU does have some depth, which will get helped by incoming
front court players Robert Sampson and Darius Morales, but there aren’t
many impact players on the bench. Young is a player, but unless he gets
more help this season, Jeff Lebo will likely lead ECU to another losing
season. - Rice: Ben
Braun has not had much success in his first two seasons at the helm of
a struggling Rice program, but there is reason to be optimistic. Braun
returns essentially the same group of kids from last season. While it
is difficult to get excited about a team coming back that won just
eight games, consider this — the four most important players on the
roster are back, and three of them were underclassmen last year. And
while the Owls went 8-23 last year, they weren’t getting run out of the
gym. This is a group that played hard and played with pride, and as
their talent level increases — and the young talent on the roster
develops — Braun’s club only has one direction to go. They will be led
once again by Tamir Jackson, a 6’2″ sophomore guard, and 6’7″ sophomore
forward Arsalan Kazemi. Jackson had some big games last season and led
the Owls in scoring, but he was inconsistent, especially with his
jumpshot (although, to be fair, it was about what you would expect from
an overwhelmed freshman on a bad team). Kazemi has the potential to be
a star. The Iranian nearly averaged a double-double last year, was even
better in league play, and put 14 points on Team USA in the World
Basketball Championships. Connor Frizzelle, a junior who is probably
the team’s best shooter, also returns, as does big-bodied center Trey
Stanton. Beyond that, there are question marks. Will Lucas Kuipers and
Suleiman Braimoh ever be more than a role player? Can any other
returner develop into a consistent contributor? Will any of Braun’s
freshmen — some of whom look promising, including David Chadwick, a
6’9′ power forward that was a three-star recruit on Rivals, and Omar
Oraby, a 7’1″ Egyptian that had 15 points and 8 boards against the USA
in the 2009 U-19 Worlds — be impact players? Rice is still a long way
from being considered a contender, but I expect more wins from the Owls
this year. - Houston:
The Cougars are going to have some big shoes to fill next season as
their starting back court of Aubrey Coleman, Kelvin Lewis, and Desmond
Wade are all gone along with head coach Tom Penders. The cupboard isn’t
going to be completely bare for new head coach James Dickey, however,
as the Cougar team looks like it is going to be more oriented around
front court players. 6’9″ senior Maurice McNeil had a solid season
after transferring in from a JuCo, while 6’7″ sophomore Kendrick
Washington looked pretty impressive down the stretch last season. Kirk
Van Slyke should also see time inside. Like I said, the back court is
going to have quite a bit of turnover. Seniors Adam Brown and Zamal
Nixon, who both played about 20 mpg off the bench last season, figure
to feature prominently next season. Beyond that, there are going to be
a lot of new faces for the Cougars. San Diego transfer Trumaine
Johnson, a 6’2″ transfer from San Diego that averaged 11.6 ppg in the
WCC in 2008-2009, should see quite a few minutes alongside Brown and
Nixon. Alandise Harris and Mikhail McLean are freshmen forwards, while
JuCo transfers Darian Thibodeaux and Jonathon Simmons should be able to
provide some experience. Overall, it seems as if it will be a
rebuilding year for Houston. - SMU:
The bad news for SMU is that they lose two of their top three scorers
from a team that, at times, struggled offensively. The Mustangs also
lost Paul McCoy to a transfer, a talented guard that struggled to
repeat his impressive freshman season. Simply put, there are a lack of
quality pieces returning for Matt Doherty. Doherty’s most dangerous
weapon is probably third team all-conference forward Papa Dia, a 6’9″
post player that averaged 12.3 ppg and 8.6 rpg. Robert Nyakundi, a
sharpshooting 6’8″ forward, should start full time this season as well.
Beyond that, the Mustangs are going to have some interchangeable
pieces, which works well given the grind-it-out style that they like to
play (they ranked in the 300’s in tempo last season, and were at their
best when the pace was slower than that). Justin Haynes is a tough 6’5″
wing that was a starter last season, while Ryan Harp, Rodney
Clinkscales, and Mike Walker all saw minutes in the back court last
year. North Texas transfer Collin Mangrum should also provide some
depth in the back court. The front court won’t be as deep for the
Mustangs, and Dia and Nyakundi are really the only returners. Freshmen
Leslee Smith and Ricmonds Vilde will compete with seniors Tomasz
Kwiatkowski and Myles Luttman for minutes off the bench. Unless some of
the Mustang’s returners develop this season, or their incoming freshmen
end up being instant impact kids (none of them even received a
three-star ranking from Rivals, it could be a long season for Doherty. - Tulane:
The Green Wave didn’t have much success, or consistency, last season,
as they won just seven games while using 13 different starting
line-ups. The strength of Tulane this season is going to be in the back
court. To start, they return leading scorer Kris Richard, a 6’5″ swing
man that is back for his senior season. Joining him in the back court
will be two sophomores that had promising freshmen seasons. 6’5″
Kendall Timmons led the team in scoring during conference play, proving
to be quite a versatile player, while Jordan Callahan may be the
program’s point guard of the future. He played sparingly to begin the
season, but when starting point guard Kevin Sims went down with an
injury midway through the year, Callahan filled in quite nicely,
proving to be a capable shooter and distributor while posting a couple
of big scoring games. David Booker is really the only returning
interior player for the Green Wave, and as a senior, it would be nice
to see him become more assertive and improve on his averages of 7.3 ppg
and 4.1 rpg. After that, the front court is a bit of a question mark
for new head coach Ed Conroy, who will need Geoff Hogan, Keith Cameron,
or freshman Kevin Thomas to develop into a player he can rely on. When
the Green Wave is hot from the perimeter, they should be able to be
competitive, but expect to see them back at the bottom of the league
standings again this season.
