Hofstra Blog Swap! Loyalty of Towson fans never wanes

Greetings Defiantly Dutch Fans! My name is Gary Moore, and I am the author of the blog The College Hardwood . This is my sixth year covering the CAA Tournament for my blog. Jerry and I thought it would be a great time again to do our second annual blog swap. Our first blog swap was at the same time last year. I have to give Jerry credit for the idea for today’s story. As most of you know, Towson went through the entire CAA regular season winless. 0-18. No CAA team had ever gone through the regular season winless in conference till the Tigers accomplished it this season. Jerry thought it would be a great idea if someone could write a story about sitting in the Towson student section behind their basket during their first round CAA Tournament. Since Jerry wasn’t going to be down here at Richmond until Friday evening and I was going to be there for the afternoon session, I offered to write the story. The first concern I had when I got to the Richmond Coliseum around noon time was would I be able to sit in the Towson student section. As I sat in my seats in Section 31L for the UNCW-Georgia State game, I would find out very quickly the answer. Tieff and I became friendly with one of the fans sitting in the row in front of us, Tom, a very knowledgeable East Carolina fan who loves college basketball. It turns out that Tom knows Rob Goodman, who works for the CAA and who just happened to come by to say hi to Tom. I introduced myself to Rob and told him about my blog and that I wanted to write a story about sitting in the Towson student section and what it was like rooting for the Tigers today. He kindly told me that the CAA has a strict policy that only students of that school can sit in the designated student section. But Rob was kind enough to say that I could interview Towson students for the article. That certainly worked for me. Hopefully there would be Towson students to interview. After Georgia State had defeated UNCW, the Seahawks band, dance team and student section cleared out and the Towson band, dance team and cheerleaders made their way in. Sure enough, three Towson students were sitting together in the front row, the only three non band, dance team and cheerleader students sitting there (a fourth would show up much later). I went down and talk to the security attendant at the end of the aisle to let him know I wanted to interview the students. Before I could finish, one of the students in a black Towson shirt came up near me. I got his attention and asked if he and his friends would be interested in being interviewed. The student, Randy replied that he had to go somewhere first, but he told me that he would be glad to talk to me. Sure enough, he came back to his seat and motioned me to come over. Randy introduced me to his friends Drew and Eric. Randy, Drew and Eric are all seniors at Towson and have gone to the NCAA Tournament every year that they have been at Towson. Drew stated to me that there wasn’t enough student interest for the school to pay for a bus to bring students down to Richmond. So Randy, Drew and Eric all drove down together. As Drew said to me, “This is my school, so I have to show my support.” I asked them about how the season has been for them. They commented that they had played a lot of close games and that beating LaSalle (an A-10 team) was the highlight of the season. And they are correct, coming into the game, twelve of the Tigers twenty five losses were by six points or less, including nine games in conference. I asked them who their favorite player was on the team. Both Drew and Randy said Isaiah Philmore, who has led the Tigers in scoring. Eric said Brian Morris due to his commitment on defense. I then asked them if Towson won against Drexel, would they rush the court. They all laughed and one of them commented they hadn’t thought about it. I believe it was Drew who said he would like to be back for tomorrow’s game, so he didn’t want to get thrown out. But if I could assure them they had the CAA’s permission, they would do it (later I asked Rob Goodman about it and it gave him a good chuckle). I thanked them for their time, told them I had my Tiger towel that I purchased at the souvenir stand and that I was rooting for their team. Then I took a picture of three and went back to my seats. After that interview, I really wanted Towson to win. Towson definitely did have a chance against Drexel. Despite losing both games to the Dragons, the Tigers could have won both games. Towson lost at Drexel by six points, and then lost at home to the Dragons by three points. And knowing they could beat the Dragons, with the support of the Towson band, cheerleaders, dance team and Drew, Randy and Eric, the Tigers came out inspired. Nine minutes into the game, Towson was up 11-7 on Drexel, much to the approval of their support behind their basket. But the fifth seeded Dragons, a team that had upset Louisville on the Cardinals home court earlier in the season, would rally in typical Drexel style, scoring inside and Chris Fouch outside shooting. Dartaye Ruffin, Samme Givens and Fouch combined to score 11 points during the Dragons’ 13-1 run. Drexel was up 20-12 with 6:41 left and seemed to be ready to blow the Tigers out of the Richmond Coliseum. But Towson responded with a run of its own. In a little more than four minutes, the Tigers outscored the Dragons 14-3. Rashawn Polk’s two foul shots gave Towson a 26-23 lead with 2:27 left in the first half. Drexel would end up tying the score and the game would go to the half at 28 all. While Josh Brown and Rashawn Polk did most of the scoring in the first half, the Tigers needed to get Philmore, their season leading scorer, going as he only had four points in the first twenty minutes. And sure enough, Towson got the ball to Philmore who scored five of the Tigers’ first seven points. The problem was during this time, the Dragons were putting a serious run on the Tigers thanks to the inside presence of Givens. Drexel outscored Towson 22-9 over the first eight minutes of the second half as Givens scored eight of those points. The Tigers had no answer for Givens post moves as the Tigers’ Braxton Dupree picked up his third and fourth fouls not even three minutes into the second half. Drexel was up 50-37 with twelve minutes left in the game. The lead remained between twelve and thirteen points for the next six minutes. The score was 60-48 with a little over six minutes left in the game. At that point, the fans in my section and myself thought the game was over, figuring Drexel’s defense would be too much for Towson to overcome. But Randy, Drew and Eric, along with the dance team and the Tiger Mascot continued to cheer their team on. And perhaps due to that support and the Tiger Pep Band’s great version of Frankenstein, the Tigers seemingly rose from the grave. Over the next three minutes, led by Brown and Polk, the Tigers outscored the Dragons 14-4. Polk’s three pointer capped the run and Drexel’s lead was only two, 64-62 with 3:15 left, much to the chagrin of the always animated Bruiser Flint. The band, the dance team and the three friends cheered loudly and they had the support of the rest of the Richmond Coliseum sans the Drexel fans. As they implored “DE-FENSE”, the Tigers’ played tough defense at Drexel’s end. But as the shot clock neared zero, Gerald Colds launched a long three point attempt and it hit nothing but net. The Dragons had the momentum back and led by seven, 72-65 with one minute left. But again Towson’s support didn’t give up on the Tigers and with some help from the Dragons’ Dartaye Ruffin missing four free throws (and missing would be a kind word for his free throw attempts), the Tigers crept back into the game. With the score 72-69, Josh Brown had a chance to cut to the lead to one with a layup attempt. But despite it looking like he was fouled, Brown missed. Drexel would hold on and win 75-69. The Tigers played so hard as a team and gave it everything they had, but again they couldn’t get over the hump and get a win. There would be no miracle upset, no rushing the court. But the Tigers showed heart and gave their supporters every reason to believe they would win. As the Tigers left the court, there was Randy, Drew and Eric by the gate, high fiving the Tigers’ players, thanking them for their inspired play against a now 21 win team. The three friends who share a love of Towson college basketball never wavered for their support of their team. As Kyle Whelliston would say, Towson’s season ended with loss. But their season never ended without support. Especially from three soon to be graduating students named Randy, Eric and Drew.

Just The Facts 2011: Trying to beat a team three times in a season

The final scene here from His Story III is the best Janitor moment ever. Happy Saturday from the palatial Hilton Garden Inn in Richmond (Loyal Reader NUHF hooked us up with this room, it is awesome beyond words and so is he) and welcome to an unprecedented fourth installment of Just The Facts, in which I actually use a clip from a third installment in a series for reasons that will be obvious in the very next graph! The Flying Dutchmen will face William & Mary—i.e. the College of Bill Lawrence—for the third time this season when the two schools face off in the final quarterfinal tonight at 8:30. William & Mary, the 11th seed in the CAA Tournament, advanced to the quarters by upsetting sixth-seeded James Madison 72-68 last night. The Dutchmen’s third meeting against William & Mary is a, pardon the horrendous pun but I’m fried after driving seven hours, slam dunk for the Just The Facts treatment. The Dutchmen beat the Fighting Bill Lawrences twice during the regular season—the second win, of course, was highlighted by Charles Jenkins’ multiple YouTube moments—and the common belief is that it is particularly tough to defeat a team three times in one season. Good news for the Dutchmen, though: School and CAA history is on their side. Hofstra has swept an opponent in the regular season and then played it in the conference tournament eight times. The Flying Dutchmen are 6-2 (.750) in those tournament games (whoohoo!), but 6-0 since 1991. (Oh no! They’re due!) P.S. The previous paragraph was almost entirely and shamelessly cut-and-pasted from what I wrote in 2009, when I conducted most of this research for a piece that appeared two years ago yesterday as the Dutchmen prepared to open play in the CAA Tournament against UNC Wilmington, whom the Dutchmen knocked off twice in the regular season. If only I was this organized in every other facet of my life. That said, the Dutchmen have never faced for a third time a team they beat as narrowly as this year’s edition beat William & Mary. The Dutchmen won each game by three points. More good news, hooray! The other three times the Dutchmen have faced a team they beat twice by a combined margin of less than 20 points, they have won the tournament game by double digits. Here’s a list of how the Flying Dutchmen have fared when facing in a conference tournament an opponent they have beaten twice during the regular season, followed by their combined margin of victory in the regular season and their margin of victory (or defeat) in the tournament tilt: 2005: Beat UNC Wilmington, CAA 2001: Beat Vermont, America East 2001: Beat Maine, America East 2000: Beat Boston U., America East 2000: Beat Drexel, America East 1992: Beat UMBC, East Coast Conference 1991: Lost to UMBC, East Coast Conference 1984: Lost to Lafayette, East Coast Conference Margins of regular season victory 2008-09 UNCW: 9 pts (1 OT), win tourney game by 13 2000-01 Vermont: 18, win tourney game by 13 2000-01 Maine: 11 (1 OT), win tourney game by 12 1999-2000 Boston U.: 43, win tourney game by 18 1999-2000 Drexel: 32, win tourney game by 18 1991-92 UMBC: 27, win tourney game by 3 1990-91 UMBC: 25, lose tourney game by 1 1983-84 Lafayette: 11, lose tourney game by 20 In the CAA, meanwhile, a team that has won two regular season meetings has also experienced great success when meeting that foe for a third time in the conference tournament. Since the CAA first expanded prior to the 2001-02 season, teams that sweep an opponent during the regular season are a robust 28-11 (.718) against said opponent in the tournament (see the full list below), including 8-2 in the last three seasons (counting yesterday’s wins by Delaware over Northeastern and Drexel over Towson). In addition, at least one team has beaten an opponent three times every since since 2001-02 except 2007-08. 2011: Drexel beats Towson, Delaware beats Northeastern 2010: Drexel loses to JMU, ODU beats W&M, ODU beats Towson 2009: Hofstra beats UNCW, VCU beats Georgia State, JMU beats W&M, Drexel loses to Towson, Mason beats Towson 2008: VCU loses to W&M, UNCW loses to Mason 2007: VCU beats Georgia State, VCU beats Mason, Mason beats JMU, ODU loses to Mason, Drexel beats Northeastern, Northeastern beats Delaware, W&M loses to Georgia State 2006: VCU beats W&M, Northeastern beats JMU, Towson loses to Georgia State, UNCW beats Delaware 2005: VCU beats Delaware, ODU beats W&M, Drexel loses to Hofstra 2004: VCU beats Towson, VCU beats ODU, Mason beats UNCW, UNCW beats JMU 2003: Mason loses to Delaware, UNCW beats Hofstra, UNCW beats Drexel, UNCW beats Delaware, JMU beats Towson 2002: VCU beats ODU, Mason loses to Hofstra, W&M loses to JMU, UNCW beats JMU Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch .

Georgia State 58, UNCW 52

Brian Mull’s game report Georgia State head coach Paul Graham’s postgame presser: UNCW head coach Buzz Peterson’s postgame presser:

The Official All Conference Awards…And Votes…

2010-11 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS First Team All-CAA Chaisson Allen, Northeastern Denzel Bowles, James Madison Frank Hassell, Old Dominion Charles Jenkins, Hofstra Cam Long, George Mason Second Team All-CAA Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion Samme Givens, Drexel Ryan Pearson, George Mason Jamie Skeen, VCU Chad Tomko, UNC Wilmington Third Team All-CAA Jawan Carter, Delaware Chris Fouch, Drexel Luke Hancock, George Mason Quinn McDowell, William & Mary Joey Rodriguez, VCU 2011 CAA Player of the Year – Charles Jenkins, Hofstra 2011 CAA Coach of the Year – Jim Larranaga, George Mason 2011 CAA Rookie of the Year – Devon Saddler, Delaware 2011 CAA Defensive Player of the Year – Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion 2011 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award – Quinn McDowell, William and Mary CAA All-Rookie Team Brandon Britt, William & Mary Frantz Massenat, Drexel Ryan Pierson, Northeastern Dartaye Ruffin, Drexel Devon Saddler, Delaware CAA All-Defensive Team Chaisson Allen, Northeastern Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion Jamelle Hagins, Delaware Frank Hassell, Old Dominion Greg Washington, Hofstra *** VOTE TOTALS ALL-CAA TEAMS Charles Jenkins, Hofstra 655 Denzel Bowles, JMU 571 Cam Long, George Mason 555 Frank Hassell, ODU 525 Chaisson Allen, Northeastern 414 Jamie Skeen, VCU 407 Ryan Pearson, George Mason 401 Chad Tomko, UNCW 314 Kent Bazemore, ODU 264 Samme Givens, Drexel 258 Quinn McDowell, W&M 240 Jawan Carter, Delaware 148 Joey Rodriguez, VCU 125 Chris Fouch, Drexel 118 Luke Hancock, George Mason 98 Bradford Burgess, VCU 96 Isaiah Philmore, Towson 93 Mike Moore, Hofstra 91 Ben Finney, ODU 43 Keith Rendleman, UNCW 40 Devon Saddler, Delaware 23 Devon Moore, JMU 18 Braxton Dupree, Towson 14 Julius Wells, JMU 5 Gerald Colds, Drexel 4 ALL-ROOKIE Devon Saddler, Delaware 204 Dartaye Ruffin, Drexel 155 Brandon Britt, W&M 139 Ryan Pierson, Northeastern 49 Frantz Massenat, Drexel 36 Julian Boatner, W&M 33 Tanner Milson, UNCW 30 Rob Brandenberg, VCU 16 Alex Harris, Northeastern 10 Donte Morales, UNCW 10 Javonte Maynor, GSU 3 Shemiye McLendon, Hofstra 3 Dre Connor, Towson 1 Vertrail Vaughns, Mason 1 ALL-DEFENSE Kent Bazemore, ODU 172 Chaisson Allen, Northeastern 105 Jamelle Hagins, Delaware 91 Frank Hassell, ODU 52 Greg Washington, Hofstra 52 Ed Nixon, VCU 32 Samme Givens, Drexel 31 Charles Jenkins, Hofstra 30 Ben Finney, ODU 25 Andre Cornelius, Mason 18 Cam Long, George Mason 18 Joey Rodriguez, VCU 16 Chad Tomko, UNCW 16 Daryl McCoy, Drexel 14 Derrick Thomas, Drexel 6 Denzel Bowles, JMU 4 Eric Buckner, GSU 2 Luke Hancock, Mason 2 Marcus Kitts, William & Mary 2 Josh Micheaux, GSU 1 Keith Rendleman, UNCW 1 PLAYER OF THE YEAR Charles Jenkins, Hofstra 41 Cam Long, George Mason 2 Chaisson Allen, Northeastern 1 Frank Hassell, ODU 1 Ryan Pearson, George Mason 1 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Devon Saddler, Delaware 36 Dartaye Ruffin, Drexel 6 Brandon Britt, W&M 2 Donte Morales, UNCW 2 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Kent Bazemore, ODU 23 Jamelle Hagins, Delaware 6 Chaisson Allen, Northeastern 5 Frank Hassell, ODU 5 Ed Nixon, VCU 2 Andre Cornelius, Mason 1 Ben Finney, ODU 1 Samme Givens, Drexel 1 Charles Jenkins, Hofstra 1 Joey Rodriguez, VCU 1 COACH OF THE YEAR Jim Larranaga, Mason 26 Mo Cassara, Hofstra 11 Buzz Peterson, UNCW 6 Matt Brady, JMU 1 Monte’ Ross, Delaware 1 Blaine Taylor, ODU 1

Colonial Athletic Tournament Round 1 UNC-Wilmington Seahawks vs Georgia State … – Sports Chat Place

StarNewsOnline.com (blog) Colonial Athletic Tournament Round 1 UNC-Wilmington Seahawks vs Georgia State … Sports Chat Place North Carolina-Wilmington had high hopes coming into the season but finished at just 7-11 and in eighth place in the CAA but a 4-7 start had the team scrambling early in a very top heavy league. The Seahawks dropped three straight to close the year as … UNCW women fall short in bid for CAA title StarNewsOnline.com Jerry Wainwright to become CAA Legend WECT-TV6 all 15 news articles

Just The Facts 2011: Three seeds in the CAA tourney

I’ll be the blogger that you’re dreaming of! (Yeah I know, Dragnet is supposed to be here, but you’ll see why that guy from Chicago is here instead of you just read on, damnit!) Good afternoon and say hello to Just The Facts Part II, in which Elisabeth Shue breaks up with me off-screen and Peter Cetera sings a schmaltzy chart-topping ballad that momentarily makes him look brilliant for leaving Chicago and which some dorkus in northwest Connecticut may or may not always associate with his first slow dance. Where was I? Oh yeah. Anyway: As you may know by now, the Flying Dutchmen will be the third seed in the CAA Tournament when it gets underway tomorrow. So below you will find the historic raw data of three seeds in the CAA Tournament. But first the pertinent info! The no. 3 seed has won the championship just twice (George Mason in 2007-08, Richmond in 1997-98—is this a year that ends in an “8?” No? Crap) but has reached the finals six times since the CAA expanded in 2001-02 and 12 times overall. The six championship game appearances for the no. 3 seed in the expansion era are second-best behind only the top seed (eight times). More good news: Since expansion, the no. 3 seed is 7-2 in its quarterfinal game. More bad news: The no. 3 seed has alternated losses and wins every year since 2007 (Hofstra and Northeastern lose in 2007 and 2009, George Mason and William & Mary win in 2008 and 2010). Is this a year that ends in an odd number? Yes? Crap. In those nine games, the average margin of victory for the no. 3 seed is 5.5 points, which lends credence to the argument that teams that play on Friday begin tiring on Saturday, never mind Monday. Lastly: The no. 3 seed in the CAA tournament is 35-26 all-time. Let’s make it 38-26 this year, what say you? Here’s the rundown on how the no. 3 seed has fared since the CAA was founded as the ECAC South in 1982-83: 2010: William & Mary 2-1, L Finals 2009: Northeastern 0-1, L Quarters 2008: George Mason 3-0, W Finals 2007: Hofstra 0-1, L Quarters 2006: Hofstra 2-1, L Finals 2005: UNCW 1-1, L Semis 2004: George Mason 2-1, L Finals 2003: Drexel 2-1, L Finals 2002: VCU 2-1, L Finals 2001: VCU 0-1, L Quarters 2000: Richmond 2-1, L Finals 1999: Richmond 0-1, L Quarters 1998: Richmond 3-0, W Finals 1997: East Carolina 0-1, L Quarters 1996: UNCW 2-1, L Finals 1995: James Madison 2-1, L Finals 1994: UNCW 1-1, L Semis 1993: Richmond 0-1, L Quarters 1992: American 1-1, L Semis 1991: American 1-1, L Semis 1990: American 1-1, L Semis 1989: American 0-1, L Quarters 1988: George Mason 2-1, L Finals 1987: Richmond 1-1, L Semis 1986: George Mason 2-1, L Finals 1985: George Mason 1-1, L Semis 1984: William & Mary 1-1, L Semis 1983: Navy 1-1, L Semis Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch .

UNCW women fall short in bid for CAA title – StarNewsOnline.com

WWAY NewsChannel 3 UNCW women fall short in bid for CAA title StarNewsOnline.com Led by a career-high 31 points from senior center Lauren Jimenez, JMU held off a late Seahawks run to win 79-77 and claim the Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball regular season title outright. The Dukes (23-7 overall, 16-2 CAA ) wiped out a … Jerry Wainwright to become CAA Legend WECT-TV6 all 6 news articles

Former UNCW hoops coach Jerry Wainwright will be honored as “CAA Legend” on … – WWAY NewsChannel 3

StarNewsOnline.com (blog) Former UNCW hoops coach Jerry Wainwright will be honored as ” CAA Legend” on … WWAY NewsChannel 3 RICHMOND, VA (WWAY ) – Former UNCW men’s basketball coach Jerry Wainwright will be recognized on Thursday by the Colonial Athletic Association during the league’s CAA Legends program prior to the 2011 Men’s Basketball Championship. … UNCW’s late burst to first title came from interesting background StarNewsOnline.com all 3 news articles

UNCW women to take shot at first CAA crown – StarNewsOnline.com

UNCW women to take shot at first CAA crown StarNewsOnline.com Not many people thought the UNC-Wilmington women’s basketball team would enter its regular-season finale with a chance to claim its first Colonial Athletic Association Championship. Yet, the Seahawks, picked eighth in the preseason, … and more

Our All Conference Teams…

It seems only fitting to get these released the day after The Oscars. There’s some commentary and reasoning sprinkled in as well. And as mentioned last week, we’re staying away from All Defensive team. It’s way too subjective. Player of the Year Charles Jenkins, Hofstra: Do I actually need to detail the reasons? First Team, All CAA Jenkins Denzel Bowles, JMU Frank Hassell, ODU Cam Long, Mason Ryan Pearson, Mason (huge February) Second Team All CAA Chase Allen, NU (razor thin margin between Allen and Pearson for the final spot) Samme Givens, Drexel Kent Bazemore, ODU Jamie Skeen, VCU (was first team until around Valentine’s Day) Chad Tomko, UNCW (lots of rebounds for a short guy) Third Team All CAA Quinn McDowell, William & Mary Chris Fouch, Drexel Jawan Carter, Delaware Luke Hancock, Mason Mike Moore, Hofstra Others close, or, the fourth team: Keith Rendleman, Brad Burgess, Devon Saddler, Isaiah Philmore, Ben Finney. All Freshman Team Devon Saddler, Delaware (frosh of year and considered for third team) Dartaye Ruffin, Drexel (this is a 1b pick. I’d have them share honors, but I’m not weenie-ing out) Brandon Britt, W&M Ryan Pierson, NU Frantz Massenat, Drexel (razor thin over Donte Morales from UNCW. I went point guard being difficult and he has 94 assists) Coach of the Year Mo Cassara, Hofstra This isn’t to take anything away from how Jim Larranaga has his team playing. Mason’s head man is a close second here, and I’d wager wins out when the votes are compiled. However, here’s why I give the edge to Cassara. Hofstra finished 14-4–that’s 14-4–despite: the mess that Cassara walked into. That he didn’t get to start recruiting until May. That he lost Nat Lester completely and Brad Kelleher for eight games. That he lost his point guard (Dwan McMillian). That his second best player is a transfer. That Hofstra was pummeled in three January games but rallied to finish tied for second. Oh, and the hammer reason: Cassara got them to 14-4, despite those obstacles, and Cassara is 37 years old in his very first year as a head coach.

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