|
 A
recent brawl with conference opponent Mercer brought
attention to Jacksonville, but not the
attention that is deserved. Something that most
editors missed, while documenting the suspensions
handed down by the Atlantic Sun Conference, is the
revival of the Jacksonville program.
The Dolphins begin the week with 14 wins and their
10-6 conference mark has them alone in fourth place.
Furthermore they are the lone A-Sun school to remain
unbeaten at home (11-0). Still not overly impressed?
Last season the Dolphins finished 1-26.
It has been quite a turnaround for second-year head
coach Cliff Warren. His team was picked dead
last by most preseason publications, behind conference
newcomer North Florida. With two games remaining in
the regular season, Warren’s club has already
established the best single-season turnaround in
school history. The previous best was a 12-game
improvement back in 1992-93 when the JU finished
17-11, one year after posting a 5-22 record.
What’s most encouraging for JU fans is the fact that
Warren is doing this with a young core group. Five
freshmen play ten-plus minutes per game. Warren has
one senior in the starting lineup (Jesse Kimbrough who
leads the team with over 14 points and four assists
per game) and one junior gets run off the bench (Evan
Jefferson is averaging just over six points per
contest). The rest of the rotation is all freshmen and
sophomores.
Not only should Warren be the runaway choice for
conference coach of the year, but he really deserves
strong consideration for national coach of the year
honors. If Cliff Warren were coaching in the Atlantic
10 instead of the Atlantic Sun, he would be tabbed as
the next great young coach. Unfortunately most only
know about the brawl.
 Central
Connecticut State has already wrapped up the regular
season title in the Northeast Conference so it’s easy
to understand how a team like Quinnipiac could
be overlooked. Their nine-game winning streak was
recently snapped, but head coach Joe DeSantis
and the Bobcats are still peaking at the right time.
Junior DeMario Anderson, who is among the
league leaders in points scored, has raised the level
of his game. After averaging nine points per contest
through the first couple months of the season, the
6-foot-4 Anderson has doubled that output over the
last twelve contests. Not bad for a guy that comes off
the bench. Additionally, freshman point guard Casey
Cosgrove has also played much better of late.
After starting the season 2-10, Quinnipiac has won
10-of-12.
 Year
three was not supposed to be an overly successful one
for Loyola (MD) head coach Jimmy Patsos.
After all, Andre Collins and his 26 points per game
graduated. One year removed from posting the program’s
first winning season in twelve years the Greyhounds
figured to be in a rebuilding mode in 2006-07. Enter
Gerald Brown and the ability to defend. The
6-foot-4 junior transfer from Providence has attracted
a lot of attention from pro scouts and helped Loyola
to match its win total of all last year (15). But his
21 points per game is not the only reason for the
success.
After being among the worst in scoring defense (78.1)
last season, the Greyhounds are allowing ten points
less in 2006-07. Last season they lived up to their
nickname, running and scoring. This year they can
still score, but now they are really doing an
outstanding job on the defensive end. Defense has is a
big reason they established a school-record with seven
straight conference wins, earlier this season. And why
they have won a program best eleven league games (and
counting). And why they had the best month of January
in school history, finishing 8-2.
 Despite
being tabbed as the preseason favorite in SWAC,
Jackson State head coach Tevester Anderson
wasn’t sure if his Tigers were in fact the team to
beat. It’s called coach-speak because JSU has been as
good as advertised. With four games left before the
SWAC tournament, the Tigers are tied atop the
standings with Mississippi Valley State, whom they
will face on the road this weekend. It’s no secret
that the Tigers current position is due in large part
to 6-foot-5 senior guard Trey Johnson. However,
despite averaging 28 points per game, Johnson is still
a pretty well kept secret to most fans. Eleven times
this season he has scored 30 or more, including a
49-point effort in December against UTEP.
 While
Butler and Wright State are grabbing all the headlines
of late in the Horizon league, Loyola-Chicago
has quietly crept back into the picture. The Ramblers
won’t win the regular season title, but their current
six-game winning streak means they are peaking at the
right time. Much like their namesake in Maryland,
Loyola is getting it done with defense. During their
recent surge they have held opponents to 34% from the
field.
Of course they can still get it done on the offensive
end. Blake Schilb continues to have a stellar
season, averaging 16 points, five rebounds and four
assists per game. But the Ramblers are all about
balance. Majak Kou (13.5), J.R. Blount
(13.2) and Leon Young (10.0) also score in
double digits. Head coach Jim Whitesell has led
Loyola to back-to-back winning seasons for the first
time since 1984-85 when the Ramblers advanced to the
Sweet 16 before falling to eventual champion
Georgetown.
 Much
like Loyola, High Point has played second
fiddle in its league. With Winthrop en route to
another Big South regular season title, all the
Panthers have done is win 20 games. Head coach Bart
Lundy’s crew hasn’t gotten much respect from the
voters in the mid-major Top 25, but people are
starting to take notice of Lundy’s junior forward
Arizona Reid. A preseason mid-major All-America
selection, Reid has not disappointed. He’s averaged 21
points and nine boards per game. As good as Winthrop
has been this season, High Point will challenge them
in the Big South Conference tournament. The Eagles
escaped with a one-point win earlier this season at
High Point. The rematch is Tuesday at Winthrop.
 It’s
been a while since someone other then Penn or
Princeton won the Ivy League. In fact, you have to go
back to 1988 when Cornell represented the league in
the NCAA tournament. With Princeton mired in last
place it’s up to Penn to continue that run, but both
Cornell and Yale figure to make a final push.
This Friday Yale will host Cornell, with the loser
probably being out of the title chase. At 8-2 Yale is
just a half game behind Penn so this weekend is
crucial for the Bulldogs who will then host Columbia
on Saturday before heading to Penn for a potential
showdown on March 2.
A big reason for their success is junior guard Eric
Flato who has done a terrific job, sliding over
from his more natural shooting guard position to run
the offense (point guard Chris Andrews was lost
for the season with an injury). The Bulldogs leading
scorer and assist man is worthy of league player of
the year honors. The last time Yale was in the dance,
JFK was in the White House (1962).
 Florida
Atlantic’s one-two punch of DeAndre Rice
and Carlos Monroe make the Owls a legitimate
threat to win the Sun Belt Conference tournament,
despite being tied for the fourth-best record in the
league (9-7). It’s been an uphill climb for head coach
Rex Walters after his team dropped its first
four games of the season. But it wasn’t until the
tenth game when their fortunes really took a positive
turn.
Rice, who was the team’s leading scorer last season,
missed the first nine games of this season (academic
issues). Since rejoining the team the dynamic 6-foot-3
guard has teamed with Monroe to help lead the Owls to
10 of their 14 wins. The 6-foot-8 Monroe is only a
sophomore but he is already a force. He ranks third in
the league in scoring (18.3) and second in rebounding
(8.9), making him the only player in the conference to
rank in the top three in both categories.
 Vermont’s
Mike Trimboli and Albany’s Jamar Wilson are probably
the favorites for America East player of the Year,
with Trimboli getting an edge because the Catamounts
swept Albany and won the regular season title. But
where would Vermont be without senior Chris Holm?
The 6-foot-11 senior averaged 6.5 rebounds per game
last season. This season he has nearly doubled that
number, pulling down just over twelve rebounds a game.
That is second only to Rashad Jones-Jennings
(Arkansas-Little Rock) for tops in the nation. Holm
has also become a factor on the offensive end, scoring
nearly twelve a game in conference games. He deserves
some votes for league honors. |