Friday, November 13, 2009

News On The Horizon 11/13/2009


2009 - 2010 College Basketball Season Preview: Preseason Tournaments Presser--Ballin' is a Habit

Name: 76 Classic
Date: Nov. 26-29 (Anaheim, CA)
Teams: West Virginia, Butler, Clemson, Texas A&M, UCLA, Minnesota, Long Beach State, Portland

Breakdown: Butler is loaded this season, but with West Virginia, Minnesota, and Clemson in this field, this field is wide open. Minnesota and Butler in the first round should be a classic, but Clemson and Texas A&M is also a great match-up. The match-up everyone is hoping for is to see West Virginia and Butler take on each other in the finals, but with the depth of this tournament, don't be surprised to see one of these two teams go down early.

BIAH's Pick: We don't expect that too happen, and our guess is that the Mountaineers take down the Bulldogs in the final as Devin Ebanks gives Gordon Hayward fits with his length.

Detroit's blowout loss misleading--Indy Star Butler Insider
Bulldogs Open Basketball Campaign Against Davidson--ButlerSports.com

Butler Opens Season At Kentucky--ButlerSports.com

Norris Cole back for Vikings, but with new role: leader--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland State men's basketball starts tonight--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Join Let’s Go Vikes @ Cornerstone Brewery For Saint Bonnies Game--Let's Go Vikes!
Cleveland State Basketball Back in Action Against Saint Bonaventure Tonight--Let's Go Vikes!
Vikings Open Season At St. Bonaventure--csuvikings.com
Vikings Add Two During Early Signing Period--csuvikings.com

AM 1220 Remains Home of the Cleveland State Vikings on the Radio--Let's Go Vikes!
Viking Basketball Returns To WHKW, 1220 AM--csuvikings.com

Women Vikings Hosting Ohio Bobcats Tonight--Let's Go Vikes!
Vikings Open Regular Season Against Ohio--csuvikings.com
Vikings Sign Three to National Letters of Intent--csuvikings.com

Thursday's Shootaround: UNC rolls, Syracuse's defense dominates, and Cal's three point shooting comes alive--Ballin' is a Habit

Cal 95, Detroit 61: The Bears looked much more impressive last night against Detroit than they did in their opener against Murray State, but there is still a lot that Monty's group needs to work on.

Detroit had this down to a four point game early in the second half, but that is when the Bears finally found their range. Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson, inparticular, both knocked down a couple threes as Cal used an 11-0 run to open up a 17 point lead and start to pull away. The Bears showed a killer instinct they didn't have on Monday, when they opened up an 18 point lead only to let the Racers back in it.

My biggest issue right now is with Jerome Randle. Yes, he is averaging 20 ppg right now, but he hasn't looked as dominant as he did last season. The biggest issue in my eyes is his inability to effectively use the high ball screen. Randle is not quick in the same way that Ty Lawson is - what Randle excels at is his stop and go quickness. He is deadly when he can get up a head of steam, because he can stop on a dime and hit a pull-up with three point range. Take note, Pac 10 teams. Both Murray State and Detroit crowded and pressured Randle out by half court, which has forced him to be more of a penetrator. Sure, he is able to draw fouls against this level of competition, but will he be able to get by an Isaiah Thomas or a Malcolm Lee in league play?

The other issue I noticed was how poor he is at setting up ball screens. Markhuri Sanders-Frison and Jamal Boykin are both big bodies. Given Randle's ability to shoot the three, a defender is not going to be able to go under those ball screens. But Randle has not really been able to turn the corner off the screen and get into the paint as well as I expected him too. When he did last night (I remember two times specifically), both ended up with open looks for shooters on the wings.

Detroit Signs Two Top Hoops Prospects--detroittitans.com

OU women set to host Detroit Mercy in opener--The Oakland Press
Kids Get In Free At Titans' Sunday Doubleheader--detroittitans.com
Women's Basketball to Open 2009-10 Campaign at Oakland on Friday--detroittitans.com
Detroit Women's Basketball Inks Two--detroittitans.com

Short-handed UIC Flames have plenty of work ahead--Daily Herald
Read Chicago Tribune's Players Only Blog With JB & Robo--uicflames.com
Men's Basketball Receives Signed Letters Of Intent From Kenny Stevenson & Eddie Denard--uicflames.com

Women's Basketball Hosts Eastern Michigan in Season Opener--uicflames.com

Basketball is back, for real--ChicagoNow.com

Loyola (Ill.) at Kansas State:
Where: Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kan.
When: 7 p.m. CT
TV: Fox Sports Kansas City, ESPN360.com
Records: Loyola 0-0, Kansas State 0-0
Game Notes: Loyola, Kansas State
Summary: Kansas State is Loyola's most difficult game of the non-conference season by a wide margin. The Wildcats are expected to be in the running for an NCAA Tournament berth behind Denis Clemente (15.0 ppg) and Jacob Pullen (13.9 ppg, 3.7 apg). Connecticut transfer Curtis Kelly and 7'0" freshman Jordan Henriquez-Roberts just give K-State two more players to attack Big 12 opponents. Jordan Hicks is out of this game, according to the Loyola athletics department, so the scoring burden once again falls on the shoulders of freshman forward Ben Averkamp and senior forward Andy Polka.
Three Keys for Loyola: Stay in it early, Find efficient offense, Limit offensive rebounds and lock down on defense

Scouting: NIU, Illinois, Loyola men's basketball--Daily Herald

Loyola at Kansas State

When: 7 p.m. Friday at Bramlage Coliseum

Pay TV: ESPN Full Court; DirecTV Ch. 672

Internet: ESPN360.com

Radio: WAUR 930-AM, WNTD 950-AM, WLUW 88.7-FM

Skinny: The youthful Ramblers, who'll trot out four starters with little or no Division I experience, jump into the deep end against a K-State team that's "Also Receiving Votes" in the Top 25 preseason polls. The Wildcats retain four starters from a 22-win team that went to the NIT's second round. Junior guard Jacob Pullen (13.9 ppg), a Proviso East grad, is the team's No. 2 returning scorer. K-State also unveils a terrific freshman class that features McDonald's All-American Wally Judge. The upside for Loyola? It gets a return game from Kansas State next year.

Kansas State Preview--Ramblermania
Big Joe's Horizon League Preview--Ramblermania

Loyola Women's Basketball Inks Three In Early Period--LoyolaRamblers.com

Men's basketball: Phoenix signs first two 2010 recruits--Green Bay Press Gazette
UWGB men's basketball: Experienced backcourt shoulders burden--Green Bay Press Gazette
Phoenix men joust Knights--UWGB Fourth Estate
Men's Basketball Starts Season at Hispanic College Fund Classic--uwgbathletics.com

UWGB women's basketball: Freshman Eichler cracks starting lineup--Green Bay Press Gazette
Recruit signs--UWGB Basketball
Not so mighty power Rangers, Phoenix roll--UWGB Fourth Estate
Women's Basketball Signs First Member to 2010-11 Roster--uwgbathletics.com

What The Magazines Are Saying--Panther Blog Zone

Panthers Sign Three To National Letters Of Intent--uwmpanthers.com

'Out with a bang'--The Post-Tribune
5 key VU games--The Post-Tribune
5 keys to VU's season--The Post-Tribune
Valpo Women Tip-off Season #39 Saturday Evening--valpoathletics.com

Canterbury's Gerardot & Liles Sign--WANE.com
Valparaiso at Ball State--The Post-Tribune
Live from Worthen Arena: Valparaiso vs. Ball State (MBB)--The VU Beat
Help Hilltop and Save at Valpo Hoops Games--valpoathletics.com

Raiders losing no sleep in Seattle--Dayton Daily News
Wright State trip all about hoops--Dayton Daily News
Preview: 
Wright State at No. 14 Washington--Dayton Daily News
Raiders looking for way to win--Mark Katz's Blog

Interview with Coach Williams--RaiderRoundball.com

YSU BASKETBALL \ Tonight’s games--Youngstown Vindicator
Men's Basketball Opens Campaign at Xavier Friday Night--ysusports.com

Many New Faces Set to Debut in Penguins' Opener vs. Elon--ysusports.com

Men's Basketball Signees for 2010-11--The Horizon League

The 2009-10 Horizon League women's basketball season is here--The Horizon League
Women's Basketball Scoreboard -- Nov. 13--The Horizon League
Horizon League Network to air more than 240 basketball games in 2009-10--The Horizon League

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