Primarily a collection of news links about all 11 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
7. Norris Cole: Such a ranking above proven veterans might be a reach, but the second-year point guard provides the type of energy so essential amid the monotony of an 82-game marathon. There will be nights when a spark is needed, and Cole is nothing if not a sparkplug.
7. Norris Cole: Such a ranking above proven veterans might be a reach, but the second-year point guard provides the type of energy so essential amid the monotony of an 82-game marathon. There will be nights when a spark is needed, and Cole is nothing if not a sparkplug.
Not after Pat Riley seized the moment early during free agency by snapping up Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis.
Riley and Spoelstra essentially have acknowledged promising starter's minutes to Allen in a reserve role. That could mean less Mike Miller, perhaps less Norris Cole and possibly even less (if that's possible) James Jones.
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5. Who will benefit most from camp?
For Cole and Harris, this will be their first true NBA training camp, with last season's camps reduced to a week in December due to the lockout. The extra teaching, and conditioning, time also could benefit Pittman.
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7. How's the health?
With a veteran roster, this will not be an issue reserved solely for camp.
For now, Wade enters promising a gradual return from his July knee surgery. Similarly, Allen is returning from July ankle surgery. Then there is Miller's skeletal bag o' misery and Cole's lingering groin issue.
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10. Where does the roster currently stand?
Whenever there's an undertaking as easily debatable as this one, at least a brief explanation of the formula used is required. Let me first clarify that for these rankings I did not consider pro potential. The only two factors utilized were past performance and predicted future performance, with more emphasis placed on the latter.
The first 50 players on the list do not get little blurbs. I'm trying to get you all to work on your bing-ing before the start of the season.
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64. Ray McCallum, JR, G, Detroit
Other notable names coming off of injuries: Josh Benson (Dayton), Sampson Carter and Cady Lalanne (UMass), Jon Horford (Michigan), Mike Marra (Louisville), Paul McCoy (St. Mary's), Nick Minnerath (Detroit), Kevin Noreen (West Virginia), JP Olukemi (Oklahoma State), Chris Otule (Marquette), Kourtney Roberson (Texas A&M), Terrance Shannon (Florida State), JT Thompson (Charlotte), Marc Trasolini (Santa Clara)
Men's college basketball fans can get a jump start on the upcoming season by spending Halloween morning with head coaches Rob Senderoff of Kent State, Keith Dambrot of the University of Akron, Gary Waters of Cleveland State and Jerry Slocum of Youngstown State at the first Coaches vs. Cancer of Northeast Ohio 2012 Tip-Off Breakfast.
And there is a real chance that at least one of those four teams loses in the first two rounds. How?:
- Michigan: The Wolverines may be one of the top teams in the country heading into next season, but Cleveland State will be a tough matchup for them in the second round. The Vikings lost some key players to graduation last season, but they bring back quite a bit of young talent — including potential star Anton Grady — and athleticism, which, when combined with their full-court pressure, could be enough to get Michigan out of a rhythm.
No. 1 - Michigan. They'll tune up with a win over IUPUI, who lost three starters off a team that went 12-18 against Division I opponents. Then they'll get the winner of Cleveland State vs Bowling Green. Last year, Cleveland State would have given Michigan a run, but now they've graduated three starters who all took more than 23% of the shots when they were on the floor. In the early season, Cleveland State will still be searching for an identity.
Of the other mid-majors in the field, it is unlikely that any will advance to MSG. Delaware should get by Penn, but taking down Virginia will be difficult. And Cleveland State will likely run into Michigan in the second round.
Joining Temple and Syracuse will be Alcorn State, Canisius, and an NCAA tournament participant from last season, Detroit.
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Dec. 17: Detroit at Syracuse
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Dec. 27: Detroit at Temple
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Dec. 29: Canisius at Detroit
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Detroit returns former McDonald’s All-American guard Ray McCallum, Jr., from a team that finished 22-14 and lost to Kansas in the Round of 64 of the NCAA tournament.
Horizon T-118. Valparaiso T-138. Detroit 149. Loyola (Ill.) T-150. UW Milwaukee T-152. UW Green Bay T-166. Wright State T-193. Cleveland State T-193. UIC 283. Youngstown State
Freshman points per game: 8.5 Freshman minutes per game: 21.2 Percent of team possessions used: 22.9 Offensive Efficiency Rating: 105.9
Cleveland State coach Gary Waters has already referred to Grady, a much larger cousin of Earl Boykins, as "our future." With the Vikings' three top possession-users gone from last season, it would seem that the future is now. Grady was a monster in short spurts as a freshman, leading CSU in offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, block percentage, and posting a usage/efficiency ratio that suggests he can assume a go-to-guy role if called upon. Waters told Grady during his recruitment that he'd be used as a wing forward, but he's been so good in a pure frontcourt role that it doesn't seem wise to push him to the perimeter. (And selfishly, I don't want anything to interfere with his breakout.)
A brief analysis of the Panther's non-conference schedule provides little excitement, particularly at home. Valparaiso, rumored to be a late home addition, did not make the cut.
