Nov. 12, 2009
SPORTS NEWS ANALYSIS: 2009-10 Conference USA Men's Basketball Preview
By Cary Estes
Special to ConferenceUSA.com
As we all know, there are certain things in life that you just shouldn't do. Tug on Superman's cape. Spit into the wind. Pull the mask off the Lone Ranger.
The Conference USA men's basketball coaches want to add another item to that list. Regardless of appearances, you should never assume that the Memphis Tigers are not a strong contender to win the C-USA championship.
"Until someone beats them," warns Marshall coach Donnie Jones, "they're still at the top."
Granted, the Tigers are a team in transition following the departure of head coach John Calipari and four players who were taken in the NBA draft. In addition, the league is as strong from top to bottom as it has been in years, with more teams having a legitimate shot at the conference crown.
But Memphis is still Memphis, the winner of 61 consecutive C-USA games dating to March 2, 2006. And nobody in the league expects the Tigers to depart quietly from their accustomed perch.
"Their starting five can beat anybody in the country on a given night," Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy said. "They're not going away by any means."
Still, there is a sense in C-USA this season that the conference race is more open than it has been in several years. Tulsa, Houston and UTEP are considered by many to be the strongest contenders. Behind that trio are a number of teams with talented, experienced players and the potential to break into the top third of the league.
"I think it's going to be as competitive as it's ever been," Tulane coach Dave Dickerson said. "The last few years no one really had a chance because Memphis was such a powerhouse."
UCF coach Kirk Speraw agreed, saying, "The league will be the best it has been from top to bottom since we joined C-USA (in 2005). Teams like UTEP, Houston, Tulsa, Marshall and Rice will all be the best they've been since we came into the league. Memphis is going to be a great team as well. I expect each game to be a battle inside the conference."
Of course, in order to replace the Tigers as conference champs, somebody has to beat them. Memphis is only four league victories away from breaking the NCAA record for most consecutive conference victories, set by Kentucky of the SEC from 1945-50.
The Tigers' new head coach, Josh Pastner, said his players fully understand what awaits them this season, as the rest of the league attempts to be the team that ends the winning streak.
"We realize that, because of our recent success in the conference, we have a bull's-eye on our back," Pastner said. "For us to have success we're going to have to play perfect games, because this is the year more than ever that we're going to get everyone's best shot. People think this is a great opportunity to get us."
But it is not exactly as if the Tigers are going to be devoid of talent. Among the returning players are guards Doneal Mack and Roburt Sallie (who sank 47 percent of his three-point attempts last season) and forward Wesley Witherspoon, who was the league's Sixth Man of the Year.
And though many of the names and faces have changed, the goal at Memphis remains the same.
"The standard of excellence here has been set, and I'm excited for the challenge of keeping it at the highest level," Pastner said. "We don't want to have any slippage. We want to keep it rocking and rolling."
The team with perhaps the best chance of dethroning the Tigers is Tulsa. In addition to having the services of C-USA preseason Player of the Year Jerome Jordan, the Golden Hurricane will play the conference tournament on its homecourt for the first time. That may be important, since Tulsa has lost the past two title games at Memphis.
Jordan, a 7-foot senior center, averaged 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season, and has 251 career blocked shots. He will be joined by senior guard Ben Uzoh, a member of the C-USA preseason All-Conference team who averaged 14.9 ppg and 4.9 rpg.
"That's a nice combination to have," Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik said. "You have so much experience on the perimeter, and then an inside force like Jerome. They've been great leaders, and they'll be even better leaders as seniors. They've won 70 games in three years. Just that in itself, with their skill and leadership, should allow for us to have a good season."
Like Tulsa, Houston boasts two players on the preseason All-Conference team: guards Aubrey Coleman (last season's C-USA Newcomer of the Year) and Kelvin Lewis (a member of the league's All-Defensive team).
Coleman averaged 19.4 ppg and Lewis was close behind at 18.0. They were two of the reasons Houston led C-USA in scoring at 75.8 ppg, a mark that head coach Tom Penders said the Cougars can top this season.
"I believe this is by far the most talent and depth we've had," Penders said. "We have a lot of returning players. We have a very deep and talented club. I think we're going to be capable of scoring 90 points a game, and also be a quicker defensive ballclub. I'm really looking forward to this season."
The final spot on the C-USA preseason All-Conference team went to 6-11 UTEP forward Arnett Moultrie, who averaged 8.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg last season as a freshman last season. Moultrie and guards Randy Culpepper (17.5 ppg) and Julyan Stone (6.4 assists per game) will be counted on to fill the void left by the departure of Stefon Jackson, who averaged 24.5 ppg and was the all-time leading scorer in C-USA history with 2,456 points.
"Obviously we'll miss (Jackson), but we should have great balance this year," UTEP coach Tony Barbee said.
East Carolina is among the teams looking for a breakthrough season. After going 6-24 three years ago, the Pirates improved to 11-19 the following season and then went 13-17 last season. Nine players return from that team, led by junior point guard Brock Young, who was second in the nation in assists with an average of 7.6 per game. "Brock Young has been a prototype point guard," ECU coach Mack McCarthy said. "He became a leader last year and basically the face of our program.
"We have a core of folks coming back who have had some success in Conference USA, and we're adding four freshmen to that mix. How quickly we become a good team chemistry-wise will determine whether we have any success."
Marshall had problems with chemistry last season primarily because seven players missed substantial time with injuries. Leading rebounder Tyler Wilkerson missed 10 games with a broken jaw, and leading returning scorer Chris Lutz battled back problems yet still made 65 three-pointers.
If the team can stay healthy this season, Jones said the Thundering Herd should be able to play the up-tempo style he learned as an assistant at Florida under Billy Donovan.
"We have a lot of versatility," Jones said. "We have guys who can play multiple positions, which is what I like. Guys who can guard different spots and can pass, catch, run and shoot. That's what we want to be able to do."
If Rice can duplicate the increase in victories it posted last season, the Owls will be headed for a 17-win season. Rice improved from 3-27 to 10-22 under first-year head coach Ben Braun. Nine players return from that team, led by guard Connor Frizzelle and forward Trey Stanton.
"Our young players were a big part of our push for our program to improve, and to have most of those players back is great," Braun said.
The Owls also have two intriguing newcomers in highly recruited guard Tamir Jackson, who was the New Jersey high school Player of the Year, and forward Arsalan Kazemi, who is the first Iranian-born player in Division I.
On the surface, this should be a rebuilding year for Southern Miss, which lost three starters who accounted for 64 percent of the team's scoring and 48 percent of the rebounding. But Eustachy seems more excited about the players he has this year, led by junior guard R.L. Horton (12.7 ppg).
"I don't mean to put anybody down, but we've definitely done more than just replace those guys," Eustachy said. "Those guys we lost tried real hard, but they never had the luxury of what I think we have here now, and that's 11 or 12 guys who can really play.
"I really like this group of guys. I think it's a group that when they lose, it will really bother them. We have guys who have come from winning programs. There's a lot of competition. It's very competitive at all the spots. We didn't have that last year."
At SMU, the Mustangs finally are starting to gallop the way head coach Matt Doherty prefers. Four starters and 11 players return from last season, including guard Paul McCoy, who became the first freshman in school history to lead the team in scoring (13.4 ppg).
"Paul came in and really established himself right away as a freshman. He added athleticism and toughness to our backcourt," Doherty said. "He plays with great energy and is a terrific competitor.
"He and Derek Williams (12.7 ppg) in our backcourt gave us a dimension we didn't have. We didn't have that kind of quickness and ball handling and scoring that we needed to have from our guards."
There is also reason for optimism at Tulane, where three starters and nine players return from a 14-17 team that finished strong last season. The group is led by speedy 5-10 guard Kevin Sims, who averaged a team-best 13 ppg and also was tops in assists, three-pointers, free throws and minutes played.
"Kevin is one of the best guards in Conference USA, Kris Richard (10.7 ppg) has emerged to be one of the up-and-coming guards in the league, and Asim McQueen (7.4 ppg and 5.4 rpg) played his best basketball the last four or five games of the year," Dickerson said. "We hope we can take that energy from last season and bring it into this year."
UCF is dealing with one significant departure and one high-profile arrival this year. The Knights must replace C-USA Player of the Year Jermaine Taylor, who was third in the nation in scoring with an average of 26.2 ppg.
But UCF's recruiting class includes Marcus Jordan, the son of the legendary Michael Jordan, as well as highly touted Orlando product Keith Clanton, who logged 22 double-doubles as a high school senior.
"Marcus Jordan is certainly a name that everybody is attuned to and has drawn a lot of interest," Speraw said. "He's a tough competitor. He works very hard, and he has a style about him that we need. And Keith Clanton is of the most skilled big men in the country. He'll be a key ingredient to our team."
The biggest question mark in C-USA will be at UAB, where the Blazers lost seven players from last season who accounted for nearly 90 percent of their scoring and rebounding, and return only four.
The team will rely heavily on Louisiana Tech transfer Elijah Millsap, the 2007 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and brother of Utah Jazz player Paul Millsap. UAB head coach Mike Davis also gains some experience from fifth-year seniors George Drake and Kenneth Cooper, who both received graduate transfer waivers to join the Blazers this season.
"We're kind of starting all over from scratch offensively and defensively," Davis said. "It's going to be a year that's a mystery. The only thing I know for sure is we're definitely going to play hard."
Because, like all the teams in Conference USA, there is one thing the Blazers are not going to do this year. And that's stop believing.
Editor's Note: The season begins Friday, Nov. 13. Cary Estes is a freelance writer from Birmingham, Alabama and a frequent contributor to ConferenceUSA.com. This story appears on the C-USA web site.
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SPORTS NEWS ANALYSIS: 2009-10 Conference USA Men's Basketball Preview
By Cary Estes
Special to ConferenceUSA.com
As we all know, there are certain things in life that you just shouldn't do. Tug on Superman's cape. Spit into the wind. Pull the mask off the Lone Ranger.
The Conference USA men's basketball coaches want to add another item to that list. Regardless of appearances, you should never assume that the Memphis Tigers are not a strong contender to win the C-USA championship.
"Until someone beats them," warns Marshall coach Donnie Jones, "they're still at the top."
Granted, the Tigers are a team in transition following the departure of head coach John Calipari and four players who were taken in the NBA draft. In addition, the league is as strong from top to bottom as it has been in years, with more teams having a legitimate shot at the conference crown.
But Memphis is still Memphis, the winner of 61 consecutive C-USA games dating to March 2, 2006. And nobody in the league expects the Tigers to depart quietly from their accustomed perch.
"Their starting five can beat anybody in the country on a given night," Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy said. "They're not going away by any means."
Still, there is a sense in C-USA this season that the conference race is more open than it has been in several years. Tulsa, Houston and UTEP are considered by many to be the strongest contenders. Behind that trio are a number of teams with talented, experienced players and the potential to break into the top third of the league.
"I think it's going to be as competitive as it's ever been," Tulane coach Dave Dickerson said. "The last few years no one really had a chance because Memphis was such a powerhouse."
UCF coach Kirk Speraw agreed, saying, "The league will be the best it has been from top to bottom since we joined C-USA (in 2005). Teams like UTEP, Houston, Tulsa, Marshall and Rice will all be the best they've been since we came into the league. Memphis is going to be a great team as well. I expect each game to be a battle inside the conference."
Of course, in order to replace the Tigers as conference champs, somebody has to beat them. Memphis is only four league victories away from breaking the NCAA record for most consecutive conference victories, set by Kentucky of the SEC from 1945-50.
The Tigers' new head coach, Josh Pastner, said his players fully understand what awaits them this season, as the rest of the league attempts to be the team that ends the winning streak.
"We realize that, because of our recent success in the conference, we have a bull's-eye on our back," Pastner said. "For us to have success we're going to have to play perfect games, because this is the year more than ever that we're going to get everyone's best shot. People think this is a great opportunity to get us."
But it is not exactly as if the Tigers are going to be devoid of talent. Among the returning players are guards Doneal Mack and Roburt Sallie (who sank 47 percent of his three-point attempts last season) and forward Wesley Witherspoon, who was the league's Sixth Man of the Year.
And though many of the names and faces have changed, the goal at Memphis remains the same.
"The standard of excellence here has been set, and I'm excited for the challenge of keeping it at the highest level," Pastner said. "We don't want to have any slippage. We want to keep it rocking and rolling."
The team with perhaps the best chance of dethroning the Tigers is Tulsa. In addition to having the services of C-USA preseason Player of the Year Jerome Jordan, the Golden Hurricane will play the conference tournament on its homecourt for the first time. That may be important, since Tulsa has lost the past two title games at Memphis.
Jordan, a 7-foot senior center, averaged 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season, and has 251 career blocked shots. He will be joined by senior guard Ben Uzoh, a member of the C-USA preseason All-Conference team who averaged 14.9 ppg and 4.9 rpg.
"That's a nice combination to have," Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik said. "You have so much experience on the perimeter, and then an inside force like Jerome. They've been great leaders, and they'll be even better leaders as seniors. They've won 70 games in three years. Just that in itself, with their skill and leadership, should allow for us to have a good season."
Like Tulsa, Houston boasts two players on the preseason All-Conference team: guards Aubrey Coleman (last season's C-USA Newcomer of the Year) and Kelvin Lewis (a member of the league's All-Defensive team).
Coleman averaged 19.4 ppg and Lewis was close behind at 18.0. They were two of the reasons Houston led C-USA in scoring at 75.8 ppg, a mark that head coach Tom Penders said the Cougars can top this season.
"I believe this is by far the most talent and depth we've had," Penders said. "We have a lot of returning players. We have a very deep and talented club. I think we're going to be capable of scoring 90 points a game, and also be a quicker defensive ballclub. I'm really looking forward to this season."
The final spot on the C-USA preseason All-Conference team went to 6-11 UTEP forward Arnett Moultrie, who averaged 8.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg last season as a freshman last season. Moultrie and guards Randy Culpepper (17.5 ppg) and Julyan Stone (6.4 assists per game) will be counted on to fill the void left by the departure of Stefon Jackson, who averaged 24.5 ppg and was the all-time leading scorer in C-USA history with 2,456 points.
"Obviously we'll miss (Jackson), but we should have great balance this year," UTEP coach Tony Barbee said.
East Carolina is among the teams looking for a breakthrough season. After going 6-24 three years ago, the Pirates improved to 11-19 the following season and then went 13-17 last season. Nine players return from that team, led by junior point guard Brock Young, who was second in the nation in assists with an average of 7.6 per game. "Brock Young has been a prototype point guard," ECU coach Mack McCarthy said. "He became a leader last year and basically the face of our program.
"We have a core of folks coming back who have had some success in Conference USA, and we're adding four freshmen to that mix. How quickly we become a good team chemistry-wise will determine whether we have any success."
Marshall had problems with chemistry last season primarily because seven players missed substantial time with injuries. Leading rebounder Tyler Wilkerson missed 10 games with a broken jaw, and leading returning scorer Chris Lutz battled back problems yet still made 65 three-pointers.
If the team can stay healthy this season, Jones said the Thundering Herd should be able to play the up-tempo style he learned as an assistant at Florida under Billy Donovan.
"We have a lot of versatility," Jones said. "We have guys who can play multiple positions, which is what I like. Guys who can guard different spots and can pass, catch, run and shoot. That's what we want to be able to do."
If Rice can duplicate the increase in victories it posted last season, the Owls will be headed for a 17-win season. Rice improved from 3-27 to 10-22 under first-year head coach Ben Braun. Nine players return from that team, led by guard Connor Frizzelle and forward Trey Stanton.
"Our young players were a big part of our push for our program to improve, and to have most of those players back is great," Braun said.
The Owls also have two intriguing newcomers in highly recruited guard Tamir Jackson, who was the New Jersey high school Player of the Year, and forward Arsalan Kazemi, who is the first Iranian-born player in Division I.
On the surface, this should be a rebuilding year for Southern Miss, which lost three starters who accounted for 64 percent of the team's scoring and 48 percent of the rebounding. But Eustachy seems more excited about the players he has this year, led by junior guard R.L. Horton (12.7 ppg).
"I don't mean to put anybody down, but we've definitely done more than just replace those guys," Eustachy said. "Those guys we lost tried real hard, but they never had the luxury of what I think we have here now, and that's 11 or 12 guys who can really play.
"I really like this group of guys. I think it's a group that when they lose, it will really bother them. We have guys who have come from winning programs. There's a lot of competition. It's very competitive at all the spots. We didn't have that last year."
At SMU, the Mustangs finally are starting to gallop the way head coach Matt Doherty prefers. Four starters and 11 players return from last season, including guard Paul McCoy, who became the first freshman in school history to lead the team in scoring (13.4 ppg).
"Paul came in and really established himself right away as a freshman. He added athleticism and toughness to our backcourt," Doherty said. "He plays with great energy and is a terrific competitor.
"He and Derek Williams (12.7 ppg) in our backcourt gave us a dimension we didn't have. We didn't have that kind of quickness and ball handling and scoring that we needed to have from our guards."
There is also reason for optimism at Tulane, where three starters and nine players return from a 14-17 team that finished strong last season. The group is led by speedy 5-10 guard Kevin Sims, who averaged a team-best 13 ppg and also was tops in assists, three-pointers, free throws and minutes played.
"Kevin is one of the best guards in Conference USA, Kris Richard (10.7 ppg) has emerged to be one of the up-and-coming guards in the league, and Asim McQueen (7.4 ppg and 5.4 rpg) played his best basketball the last four or five games of the year," Dickerson said. "We hope we can take that energy from last season and bring it into this year."
UCF is dealing with one significant departure and one high-profile arrival this year. The Knights must replace C-USA Player of the Year Jermaine Taylor, who was third in the nation in scoring with an average of 26.2 ppg.
But UCF's recruiting class includes Marcus Jordan, the son of the legendary Michael Jordan, as well as highly touted Orlando product Keith Clanton, who logged 22 double-doubles as a high school senior.
"Marcus Jordan is certainly a name that everybody is attuned to and has drawn a lot of interest," Speraw said. "He's a tough competitor. He works very hard, and he has a style about him that we need. And Keith Clanton is of the most skilled big men in the country. He'll be a key ingredient to our team."
The biggest question mark in C-USA will be at UAB, where the Blazers lost seven players from last season who accounted for nearly 90 percent of their scoring and rebounding, and return only four.
The team will rely heavily on Louisiana Tech transfer Elijah Millsap, the 2007 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and brother of Utah Jazz player Paul Millsap. UAB head coach Mike Davis also gains some experience from fifth-year seniors George Drake and Kenneth Cooper, who both received graduate transfer waivers to join the Blazers this season.
"We're kind of starting all over from scratch offensively and defensively," Davis said. "It's going to be a year that's a mystery. The only thing I know for sure is we're definitely going to play hard."
Because, like all the teams in Conference USA, there is one thing the Blazers are not going to do this year. And that's stop believing.
Editor's Note: The season begins Friday, Nov. 13. Cary Estes is a freelance writer from Birmingham, Alabama and a frequent contributor to ConferenceUSA.com. This story appears on the C-USA web site.
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