Wednesday, December 29, 2010

#1 Duke (11-0) @ UNCG (0-11)

When: Wednesday, December 29 7 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: ESPNU

Duke Athletics
Duke Basketball Report
Duke Forum - Scout
Duke Forum - Rivals

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, Justin Harper's 17 points helped Richmond outlast several pushes by UNCG, 63-53. Aloysius Henry put up 12 points and 10 rebounds. Trevis Simpson led UNCG with 14 points.
- Tonight's game is the 2nd game of a 5 game home stand for UNCG. After the Blue Devils, UNCG will host Samford, Chattanooga and Elon.
- Duke marks the 6th ACC opponent UNCG will face this season. So far the Spartans have lost to Florida State, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest and Clemson. The last 3 of those games were played on the road. Miami (Fla) will visit the Greensboro Coliseum on Feb 15.
- UNCG has found itself with chances late in its last 2 ACC contests. It took a good defensive stand for Wake Forest to turn back UNCG, 69-67. The Spartans then turned around and mounted a furious comeback against Clemson. UNCG trimmed a 21 point halftime deficit down to 2 before before the Tigers were able to hang on to win 71-61.
- Henry leads UNCG in scoring (11.6) and rebounding (6.1). Kyle Randall is averaging 11.4 points and a team best 3.7assists.
- For the year, UNCG is shooting 40.7 from the field, 35.5 from behind the arc and 66.8% from the free throw line.

Blue Devil Notes:
- Last game, Kyle Singler's 24 points help Duke to cruise past Elon 98-72 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. With the win, Duke head coach Mike Krzyewski tied Dean Smith for second on the all-time coaching victories list.
- The Blue Devils come into this season as the defending national champions. Duke defeated Bulter last spring in Indianapolis to capture their 4th NCAA title.
- Duke defeated UNCG 96-62 at Cameron Indoor Stadium to open the 2009-2010 season for both teams. Ben Stywall led UNCG with 19 points and 8 rebounds.
- Tonight's contest could mark a major milestone for Duke's Coach K. A win would give him sole possession of second place on the All-time wins list with 880. That is only 22 wins behind Krzyewski's mentor, Bobby Knight.
- Duke will be playing it's only true road non-conference game tonight. The Blue Devils have played Marquette, Bulter, Oregon, and #4 Kansas State all at neutral sites.
- Duke's super freshman Kyrie Irving is out indefinitely with an injury. Irving is averaging a team best 17.4 points and 5.1 assists per game.
- Nolan Smith is averaging 17.1 points and a team best 5.4 assists. Mason Plumlee leads Duke in rebounding (7.7). Singler is averaging 17.0 points and 5.5 rebounds.
- For the year, Duke is shooting 50.0% from the field, 44.0% from behind the arc and 74.3%from the free throw line.

My Thoughts
Let me start by saying that on paper there is no way that this game should be less than a 40 point Blue Devil win. Duke is the #1 team in the country and in the few years that I've been doing this blog, I've never seen a team shooting this well. They have 3 different players averaging over 17 points per game. Every number I read is just unbelievable. Plus, Duke will want to win this game for their coach.

But every once in a while there are some unbelievable upsets. Little bitty Chaminade beat Virginia and Ralph Sampson. Can tonight be the night where little 'ol winless UNCG steps up and beats the mighty undefeated Blue Devils? Well, they are coming off a break and Christmas holiday. Maybe they will come out flat and UNCG can find some confidence to build on. Anything is possible. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Gop Spartans !!!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Post Holiday Notes

Sorry if my posts have been a little erratic lately. I'll be honest and say that having a new son experiencing his first Christmas (and his first ear infection) has made things crazy around my house. However, I'm working on a bunch of new stuff for the coming year.

First off, I've done some work on my Twitter account and since Verizon has seen fit to hook me up with a nice new smart phone, I'll be twittering from it during upcoming games. Feel free to follow me, or you can just read my tweets from this page (I hope to have a gadget up for it soon!)

Also, I'm trying to get a site up for posting pictures taken at the games by myself and others. I would like it to become a good place for everyone to put up their UNCG basketball, and other sports, pictures. I should have more info on that coming soon.

Until then, I hope everyone enjoys the Duke game tomorrow. FYI ... with the Duke-UNCG, Pizza Hut Invitational and Southern Scuffle all taking place at the coliseum tomorrow, I would advise everyone to get there very early.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Spartans Hang Tough But Still Lose

UNCG 53 - Richmond 63

News & Record
Richmond Times-Dispatch
UNCG Athletics
Richmond Athletics

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Richmond (8-3) @ UNCG (0-10)

When: Wednesday, December 22 12 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: None/Spartan All-Access

Richmond Athletics
Richmond Forum

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG battled back from a 37-16 halftime defecit at Clemson before falling 71-67. Korey Van Dussen led UNCG with 20 points and 6 assists. It was the third straight ACC team that UNCG had faced on the road.
- Today's game marks the first of 5 straight that UNCG will play at home. The Spartans will host #1 Duke a week from today before moving into Southern Conference play.
- Kyle Randall lead UNCG in scoring (11.9) and assists (3.7). Aloysius Henry leads UNCG in rebounding (5.7).
- For the year, UNCG is shooting 40.7% from the field, 36.1% from behind the arc and 67.5% from the free throw line.

Spider Notes:
- In their last game, Georgia Tech pulled away from Richmond in the second half of the "Battle at Atlantis". The Yellow Jackets won by the score of 67-54. Justin Harper led Richmond with 15 points and 5 rebounds.
-The Spiders are 1-0 against the SoCon so far this year. Richmond defeated the Citadel 79-37 to start the season. Richmond also has defeated UNCG's opening night opponent VCU, 72-60.
- Last year, UNCG played at Richmond on December 22. It was also a noon start time for that game. In that game, David Gonzalves helped Richmond come back from a slow start to defeat UNCG 89-63.
- Richmond came into last year's contest sporting the exact same 8-3 record as this year.
- Kevin Anderson leads Richmond in scoring (16.6) and assists (3.8). Harper is averaging 14.0 points and team best 6.0 rebounds.
- For the year, Richmond is shooting 50.3% from the field, 42.0% from behind the arc and 60.7%from the free throw line.

My Thoughts
UNCG again gets to face another tough opponent and has another opportunity to show its improvement from the start of the season. The Spartans have played solid, tough basketball as of late, and it would be nice to see them finally push through for a breakthrough win.

Richmond is off to a great start again and comes in sporting some of the best offensive numbers in the country. UNCG will have to have it's best defensive effort of the year to have a shot at this one.

Maybe the Spartans can catch the Spiders looking ahead to Christmas break and not ready to play at this early start time. If so, it should make for a great present to all of the Spartan fans.

Go Spartans !!!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Spartans Comeback Falls Just Short

UNCG 61 - Clemson 71

News & Record
UNCG Athletics
Clemson Athletics

Positives
Comeback kids - UNCG showed fight on Wednesday night at Wake Forest by repeated coming back from 6 and 8 point deficits to retake the lead. Sunday, the Spartans fought back from being down 21 points at the half to almost force a tie twice. From there, they ran out of gas. However, it was an impressive thing to watch. You could just see the guys gain confidence with every possession.

KVD - Korey Van Dussen played his best game ever as a Spartan. His stat line was impressive. Korey finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal.

Negatives
Rebounds - For the second straight game, an ACC team's size helped to negate what has been a positive for UNCG this season. Clemson held a36-24 advantage on the boards (11-8 offensive rebounds).

Huge hole - UNCG managed to score just 16 first half points. A 24-4 run to finish the 1st half basically won the game for the Tigers. In order to be successful in the future, the Spartans will need a sustain 40 minute effort and not allow teams to get that kind of separation.

Wrap Up
It was impressive to see UNCG almost completely erase a 21 point Clemson lead. The Spartan players honestly have every reason to hang their heads and feel sorry for themselves. Instead that continue to fight through adversity. I have a tremendous amount of respect for these kids and coaches for fighting on.

It's only a matter of time till they break through into the win column.

Go Spartans!!!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

UNCG (0-9) @ Clemson (6-4)

When: Sunday, December 19 2 pm
Where: Littlejohn Coliseum (10,000)
TV: FSN

Clemson Athletics
Clemson Forum - Scout
Clemson Forum - Rivals

Spartan Notes:
- UNCG couldn't get off a shot to beat Wake Forest on Wednesday night. The Spartans fell 67-69. Kyle Randall (15 pts & 5 assists) and Korey Van Dussen (14 points) led UNCG.
- Clemson will be the 5th ACC squad that UNCG has faced this year. UNCG will still host Duke and Miami before the season is over.
- The Saprtans are still in search of their first win this year.
- Kyle Randall leads UNCG is scoring (12.6) and assists (3.8). Aloysius Henry is averaging 11.8 points and a team best 5.8 rebounds.
- On the season, UNCG is shooting 41.1% from the field, 35.7 from behind the arc and 66.8% from the free throw line.

Tiger Notes:
- Last time out, Clemson ran out to a 26-5 lead and never looked back as they defeated Savannah State 61-40. The Tigers were lead by Jerai Grant with 15 points. Savannah State managed to shoot just 22.9% from the field.
- This game will mark Clemson's third against SoCon competition. The Tigers have already defeated Western Carolina (87-64) and Wofford (78-70) this year.
- Clemson finds themselves already at (0-1) in the ACC after failing to earlier UNCG opponent Florida State (75-69) last Sunday.
- Demontez Stitt leads Clemson in scoring this season (13.8). Grant is the leading rebounder (6.0) and Tanner Smith leads in assists (2.8).
- So far this year, Clemson is shooting 43.2% from the field, 32.8% from behind the arc and 67.2% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts
Clemson's offensive numbers aren't very great. In fact they are quite average. It's the defense that new coach Brad Brownell seems to have brought to Clemson. The Spartans will have to take care of the ball just as well as they did on Wednesday in Winston-Salem. Hopefully an early afternoon game close to the holidays will catch Clemson not ready to play.

Every game on TV is another shot at UNCG to impress and gain some good publicity. Let's hope the guys can build off of the positives from the other night and find a way to break through with a win.

Go Spartans !!!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Spartans Come Up Just Short

UNCG 67 - Wake Forest 69

News & Record
Winston-Salem Journal
UNCG Athletics
Wake Forest Athletics

Positives
ACC Foe - UNCG has played a lot of big named teams over the past several years. Last year Wake had a much better team and still barely escaped the Greensboro Coliseum with a win. This year, UNCG took them down to the final shot. Hopefully the guys can carry momentum over from this game.

Turnovers - I was fun to see UNCG turning dumb give aways into easy baskets. This has not been the case through most of the season.

Kyle Randall - That basket near the end of regulation was unbelievable. You can see the maturation of the sophomore guard happen right before your eyes. I think he has real potential to be SoCon POY material in the next 2 years.

Negatives
Kyle Randall - Just breath and make some free throw. Have some faith in yourself. We all believe that you can make them.

Rebounds - as Much as turnovers have hurt UNCG this year, rebounds normally haven't been a problem. Even playing bigger opponents, UNCG has done a good job of holding their own on the boards. That didn't happen in this game (23-38).

Wrap Up
It's a mixed bag for me personally. I was super angry right after the game because G let a great opportunity get away from them. But I guess the positives outweigh the negatives by a long ways. Now, let's not kid ourselves that Wake is a really bad team. UNCG is not nearly as bad as the record indicates, thanks in large part to a brutal schedule. SO, let's just hope the guys can grab hold of the positives and let the negatives go.

Go Spartans !!!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

F*@% !!!!!!!!

At this time, actual words to describe the game... ummm ... elude me.

I will be drinking heavily for several hours.

UNCG (0-8) @ Wake Forest (5-4)

When: Wednesday, December 15 7 pm
Where: Lawrence Joel Veterens Memorial Coliseum (14,655)
TV: ESPNU

Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forum (Scout)
Wake Forum (Rivals)
Blogger So Dear

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG travelled up to College Park and got destroyed by the University of Maryland, 99-56. Kyle Randall led UNCG with 18 points and 7 assists. The Spartans were crushed on the boards and managed to just shoot 32%.
- Maryland was the 3rd ACC team that UNCG has played this season. The Spartans will play 7 ACC school in total before the season concludes.
- The 0-8 start by UNCG is the worst in school history. Unfortunately, things don't appear to get any easier until after the new year. After playing in Winston, UNCG will play @ Clemson, and then Richmond and #1 Duke at home.
- Randall leads UNCG in scoring (12.3) and assists (3.6). Aloysius Henry leads UNCG in rebounding (5.9).
- For the year,UNCG is shooting 41.1% from the field, 34.6% from behind the arc and 67.5% from the free throw line.

Demon Deacon Notes:
- On Sunday, Wake Forest was buried beneath14 UNCW 3 pointers. The Deacs fell to the Seahawks 81-69 at a game played in the Greensboro Coliseum. Gary Clark led Wake with 20 points and 5 rebounds.
- It's been a rough start to the season for Jeff Bzdelik. Bzdelik came over from Colorado and took over for Dino Gaudio, who was let go at the end of last season. Wake has dropped games to VCU, Winthrop, Stetson and UNCW.
- The Demon Deacons were picked to finish last in the ACC by both the coaches and media.
- Travis McKie leads Wake Forest in scoring (13.3) and rebounds (7.6). Ari Stewart is averaging 13.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. C.J. Harris leads Wake in assists (4.7).
- For the year, Wake is shooting 46.2% from the field, 44.7% from behind the arc and 77.1% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts
What an amazing pillow fight we've got here. I bet there will be dozens of people in the LJVM to witness this contest.

If we use transitive properties here, UNCW beat Wake by 12 and lost to NC A&T by 5. UNCG lost to A&T by 12. So, UNCG should beat Wake by 5. Now that I have the whole game broken down, no one even needs to watch. Glad I could help.

Go Spartans !!!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Terps Crush Spartans

UNCG 56 - Maryland 99

News-Record
UNCG Athletics
Maryland Athletics

This broken record is getting old.

At least G held them under 100.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

UNCG (0-7) @ Maryland (6-3)

When: Wednesday December 8 7:30 pm
Where: Comcast Center (17,950)
TV: Comcast SportsNet

Maryland Athletics
Maryland Forum (Rivals)
Maryland Forum (Scout)

Spartans Drop Games to Upstate Duo

UNCG 70 - Wofford 92

News & Record
GoUpstate.com
UNCG Athletics
Wofford Athletics


UNCG 68 - Furman 81

New & Record
UNCG Athletics
Furman Athletics

Thursday, December 2, 2010

UNCG (0-5) @ Wofford (2-5)

When: Thursday, December 2 7 pm
Where: Benjamin Johnson Arena (3,500)
TV: None

Wofford Athletics
Wofford Forum

Spartan Notes:
- With the game on the line, NC A&T went on a decisive 9-0 run to defeat UNCG 82-70 on Monday. Aloysius Henry had his first double-double (12 points & 15 rebounds) at UNCG and Kyle Randall had a career high 23 points.
- UNCG fell to Wofford 3 times last season. The Terriers defeated the Spartans at the Greensboro Coliseum, 79-62. The return game in Spartanburg was also won by Wofford 77-59. The two teams met in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament in Charlotte. UNCG played well, but fell short 59-47
- This game will be the first SoCon contest for the Spartans. Last season UNCG went 6-12 in conference play. That was good enough to tie Chattanooga for third place in the North Division.
- Randall leads UNCG in scoring (12.3) and assists (3.3). Henry leads the Spartans in rebounding
(5.6).
- For the year, UNCG is shooting 41.8% from the field, 35.3% from behind the arc and 67.3% from the free throw line.

Terrier Notes:
- Wofford fell to Xavier in 3 overtimes on Saturday, 94-90. Noah Dahlman led Wofford with 33 points. The Terriers led by 8 in the closing minutes but couldn't stop the Musketeers from forcing overtime. From there, 2 last second baskets continued the game until Xavier could finally pull away.
- Wofford has now been to overtime in its last 3 games. The Terriers fell at home in overtime to Air Force (72-66) and defeated George Mason in overtime (82-79) in the third place game of the Charleston Classic.
- The Terriers went 2-1 in the Charleston Classic. They had wins against USC-Upstate and George Mason sandwiched around a loss to Georgetown.
- Wofford was the Southern Conference regular season and tournament champions last season. They went on to earn a #13 seed in the NCAA Tournament and give the #4 seed Wisconsin a scare. The Badgers held on to defeat Wofford 53-49.
- Dahlman leads Wofford in scoring (17.9). Tim Johnson leads the team in rebounding (8.4) and assists (3.4).
- For the year, Wofford is shooting 43.2% from the field, 34.9% from behind the arc and 68.6% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
This starts a whole new season for the Spartans. Winning the SoCon is the only way UNCG will make it to postseason play. While starting on the road at the defending champion is not exactly the easiest first challenge, it will allow the Spartans to see where they stack up with the best of the league.

UNCG will have to shoot the ball the way they did in the first half on Monday, but will have to do that consistently for the entire game. Also, the Spartans are going to have to get better on the defensive end. Wofford is an experienced team that runs their sets very well. Even though they come into the contest not sporting a great record, they have played very well against solid power programs.

I hope G can at least stay close enough in the contest to make it interesting at the end. Hopefully, the Spartans can find their first win in Spartanburg.

Go Spartans !!!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Aggies Pull Away Late

UNCG 70 - NC A&T 82

News & Record
UNCG Athletics
NC A&T Athletics

Positives
Double-double - UNCG big man Aloysius Henry had his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 15 rebounds in 29 minutes. Henry was a force right out of the gate and it was nice to see him getting those extra minutes. Unfortunately, Henry went out with cramps right about the time A&T started their decisive run.

Super Sophs - Korey VanDussen (10 points & 3 assists) carried the team in the first half. Back court running mate Kyle Randall (23 points & 4 assists) shouldered the load in the second half. It was nice to see these guys continue to mature and hit big shots.

Negatives
Defense ... again - UNCG's awful defense again didn't bother to show up on Monday. A&T shot a blistering 50.9%, while forcing UNCG to commit 12 more fouls. This led to a whopping 20 free throw advantage for the Aggies. Guys have got to get in a stance, keep the hands up and play for the entire possession.

No winning experience - There isn't a player on this team that has experienced any real amount of winning at the college level. The Spartans had plenty of chances to seize this game. Instead they hung their heads the minute adversity struck. The brutal schedule this team has played the last 2 seasons is really starting wear on the team.

Wrap up
The silver lining to this game was that the guys got experience what it was like to be in a close game and hopefully realize the energy they must bring to the floor in order to finish on top. Besides that, it was an out-of-conference contest. UNCG is still 0-0 in the SoCon. The only way that this team is going to go to the NCAA tournament is to win the SoCon. So, that is the most important thing.

The season officially starts on Thursday. So, hopefully UNCG can gather themselves up for a tough trip to Spartanburg. That sounds like the best place to start a Spartan winning streak.

Go Spartans !!!

Monday, November 29, 2010

NC A&T (3-3) @ UNCG (0-4)

When: Monday, November 29 7 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: None/Spartan All-Access

NC A&T Athletics
NC A&T Dawgpound

Spartan Notes:
- UNCG was obliterated by East Carolina on Saturday evening, 81-53. That is all I will write about that game.
- The Spartans are still averaging an astounding 22 turnovers per game. They are giving up over 92 points per game. That ranks 346th in D1.
-This series has been very competitive over the years. A&T leads the overall series 7-6. The teams haven't met since the 2001-2002 season. UNCG won that game 85-67.
- Korey VanDussen leads UNCG in scoring (12.8), rebounding (4.8) and assists (3.3). Cody Henegar and David Williams are also averaging 4.8 rebounds per contest. Kyle Randall and Drew Parker are both averaging 3 assist per game.
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 43.0% from the field, 36.2% from behind the arc and 67% from the free throw line.

Aggies Notes:
- The Aggies enter tonight's game winners of 2 straight. After an overtime win against UNCW, NC A&T beat Greensboro College 79-58 on Friday. Thomas Coleman led the Aggies with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
- A&T has played a schedule that can rival the difficulty of UNCG's. They have played road games at #5 Ohio State and #10 Florida.
- NC A&T are ranked in the top 200 in Divsion 1 in almost major offensive categories. Their problem falls on the defensive side, where the Aggies boast a top 200 ranking in just one (3 point % defense) category.
- The Aggies were picked to finish 8th in the MEAC during preseason by the conference coaches. Coleman was a preseason 2nd team selection.
- A&T has 9 NCAA tournament appearances on their resume. Their last appearance was in 1995, when they lost as a #16 seed to Wake Forest. The previous year, the Aggies only lost by 15 to eventual national champion Arkansas.
- Coleman leads A&T in points (13.4) and rebounds (10.0) per game. Marc Hill leads the team in assists (4.5).
- For the year, NC A&T is shooting 43.6% from the field, 32.8% from behind the arc and 69.6% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts
It's time to shit, or get off the pot. Simple as that.

Go Spartans !!!

0-4

A compilation of all of my thoughts.





















Saturday, November 27, 2010

You've Gotta Be Kidding Me

UNCG 53 - ECU 81




Really? 28 points? You've gotta be shittin' me ?!?

There is no way the UNCG got ran out of Greenville by 28 points. Let me rephrase. There is no reason that UNCG got ran out of Greenville by 28 points. This team has got to get significantly better than what they showed tonight. They have to get better and do it in a hurry.

That's it. I refuse to even comment on the crap I watched any further. It sucked and even continuing to talk about it kind of makes me sick.

Blah ...

Friday, November 26, 2010

UNCG (0-3) @ East Carolina (4-2)

When: Saturday, November 27 5 pm
Where: Minges Coliseum (8,000)
TV: None

East Carolina Athletics
Boneyard Banter

Spartan Notes
- UNCG could not sustain a good opening 10 minutes last Sunday and fell to Virginia Tech 92-70. This was the Spartans second straight home loss to an ACC team. Kyle Randall led the team with 15 points.
- Trevis Simpson made his debut in a Spartan uniform on Sunday and almost immediately went on a 8-0 run all by himself. Simpson, however, failed to score the rest of the afternoon.
- UNCG is averaging a staggering 25 turnovers a game through the first 3 contests.
- Aloysius Henry is leading UNCG in scoring (13 pts) so far the season. David Williams and Aaron Brackett are both averaging 5.7 rebounds per game. Drew Parker leads the team in assists (3.7).
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 45.6% from the field, 41.5% from behind the arc and 68.2% from the free throw line.

Pirate Notes:
- Jontae Sherrod (14 points) and Brock Young (11 points) led East Carolina to a 71-48 victory over D2 Lenior Rhyne College on Wednesday night. The Pirates led 36-18 at halftime and cruised to the win from there.
- 2 of ECU's 4 victories have came against non-D1 opponents. The Pirates opened the season defeating Erskine 74-46. Their other 2 victories have came against Campbell and USC-Upstate.
- ECU had a tough time at this season Charleston Classic. The Pirates lost to NC State (85-65) and Charlotte (74-63) before rebounding to beat USC-Upstate (75-67) in the 7th place game.
- Sherrod lead ECU in scoring (12.2 points). Darius Marrow leads the team in rebounds (5.3) and Corvonn Gaines leads the team in assists (3.7).
- For the season, the Pirates are shooting 43.6% from the field, 33.8% from behind the arc and 69% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts
UNCG has been blasted in their first 3 games against very stiff competition. The point of those games was to prepare the team for games against teams that they have a much better opportunity to beat.

While the first 3 games were a lot less about wins and losses, that is not the case with the next four. UNCG will play ECU, NC A&T, Wofford and Furman in it's next four games. The record after those games will really give a clear indication as to what direction this season is headed.

Go Spartans !!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving


I'll be back with the ECU preview on Friday. Until then, I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Turnovers & Hokies Bury the Spartans

UNCG 70 - Virginia Tech 92

News & Record
Roanoke Times
UNCG Athletics
Va Tech Athletics

Positives
Shooting - UNCG shot 56% from the field and 60% from behind the arc. That's a wonderful shooting percentage against a traditionally stingy ACC opponent. If the Spartans can put that shooting percentage together with a much lower turnover number, they will be very successful in the coming games.

Trevis Simpson - The talented freshman made his debut and almost instantly went on an 8-0 run by himself. While Trevis will have to sustain that kind of effort throughout out the game (he went scoreless after his initial 8 points) moving forward, it was a very nice start.

Negatives
Turnovers - I said before the game that UNCG would have to limit its mistakes to compete with a ranked opponent. Instead the Spartans went out gave the ball away 29 times! It is impossible to turn the ball over that many times and win games.

Live ball turnovers - Virginia Tech totalled 20 steals. Thus, 20 times Virginia Tech had the opportunity to have run outs and make easy baskets. This has been a problem through the first few games this season and it needs to get fixed very quickly.

Wrap up
Well, it's a broken record through the first 3 games. There are good things to point out and bad things to point out. Unfortunately, the bad things have outweighed the good ones enough to make sure UNCG came up on the losing side of things.

The Spartans have played some very tough competition up until this point. While the competition will continue to be strong, the next 4 games will be against teams from outside the power 6 conferences. Hopefully, the team has learned some lessons from those first games that will allow them to be successful in the coming ones.

There is definitely time to right the ship. It's early. I'm expecting UNCG the come back strong after Thanksgiving.

Go Spartans !!!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

#24 Virginia Tech (1-1) @ UNCG (0-2)

When: Sunday, November 21 1 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: Comcast SportsNet/ NESN

Va Tech Athletics
Tech Hoops

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG was blitzed by Florida State's press in a game that was basically lost over an 8 minute span the covered some of the 1st and 2nd halves. The Seminoles defeated UNCG 97-73. David Williams led 3 Spartans in double figures
- For the second straight year, UNCG has opened up the season 0-2. Last season the Spartans started 0-3 before defeating USC-Upstate in their 4th game.
- Returning starter Kyle Randall saw his first action against FSU, although it was in a backup role. Randall did not play in the opening game at VCU for unknown reasons. Randall is the leading returning scorer for UNCG.
- Freshman Trevis Simpson (shoulder) and redshirt freshman Taylor Hoffer (ankle) have yet to play this season due to injuries.
- Sunday's game will be the second of 7 UNCG contests against ACC competition. The Spartans still only have 1 win against the ACC (@ Ga Tech 11/9/07).
- Last season, Va Tech needed a late second half charge to defeat UNCG 59-46 in Blacksburg. Kyle Randall led UNCG with 10 points.
- So far this season, Brandon Evans leads the team in scoring (15.5) and David Williams leads the team rebounding (6.5). Drew Parker leads the team in assists (5.5).
- UNCG is shooting 42.2% from the field, 35.5% from behind the arc and 71.4% from the free throw line.

Hokie Notes:
- On Tuesday, #3 Kansas State used an 8-0 run midway through the second half to create some separation from the #21 Hokies. Kansas State went on to win the game 73-57. Malcolm Delaney led VT with 22 points in a game that saw the Hokies shoot only 34.5%.
- Virginia Tech was picked to finish second in the preseason ACC poll by the media. Delaney was selected to the all-ACC 1st team.
- Last season, Delaney led the ACC in scoring and was named to the All-ACC 1st team. He was picked as a 4th team All-American and was named to ths year's watch list for the Wooden Award (given to the best player in the nation).
- For their first 2 games (Kansas State and Campbell) Va Tech is averaging just 12 assists against 18 turnovers.
- Currently, Delaney (21.0 pts and 3.5 assists) and Dorenzo Hudson (11.0 pts) are the only Virginia Tech players averaging in double figures. Jeff Allen leads the team in rebounding (9.5) and assists (4.0).
- For the season, Va Tech is shooting 38.3% from the field, 27.8% from behind the arc and 67.3% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts
Sunday's game will match up 2 teams that have show an inability to take care of the basketball. UNCG is averaging 24 turnovers a game and VT is averaging 18. The only thing the Spartans can say is that the two teams they have played thus far have trapped and pressed all game long. However, UNCG must do a better job of taking care of the ball. They also must force Virginia Tech to make substantial mistakes.

UNCG played the Hokies tough in Blacksburg last season and have showed stretches of promise this season. The defense will need to get better to play with ACC competition. The best chance UNCG has tomorrow is to get Va Tech into a sloppy and fast paced game. The Spartans have been solid on the offensive end when they have been in situations that allowed their athleticism to shine.

As with all quality opponents from the power 6 conferences, UNCG will have to play mistake free basketball to have a chance. I think the quicker pace, coupled with some fortunate boounces, gives the Spartans their best chance to get the program's second win against an ACC opponent.

Go Spartans !!!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Singleton's Big Day Helps Noles to Rout of Spartans

UNCG 73 - FSU 97

News & Record
Tallahassee Democrat
UNCG Athletics
FSU Athletics

By the time the Spartans got around to taking their first shot from the field, they had already accumulated 5 giveaways. At the under 12 minute media timeout, UNCG was shooting 3 for 12 and had 7 turnovers. But if there was any doubt about the game's outcome, FSU used a 25-5 run over an 8 minute span to put it away. Even though 3 Spartans wound up with double figures, it was the impressive stat line of 2009-2010 ACC defensive player of the year Chris Singleton that stood out. Singleton had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals. He was the first player in ACC history to record a triple-double with steals being one of the double digit categories. David Williams led UNCG with 16 points.

Positives
- Cody Henegar - I really like the determination of this guy. His very first shot attempt got really smothered and yet he continued to take the ball up with reckless abandon. As I was reminded during the game, going aggressively to the basket can only lead to 3 outcomes and 2 of them are good. 12 points and 9 rebounds are a very good stat line for a player making their collegiate home debut.
- Rebounding - UNCG only lost the overall rebounding battle to a much larger FSU team by 3, 42-39. The Spartans managed to get 20 offensive rebounds to the Seminoles 17. Through 2 games this year, the rebounding numbers have been a big positive. Especially considering that UNCG lost Ben Stywall.

Negatives
- Turnovers - UNCG gave the ball away 26 times (13 1st half, 13 2nd half). What compounded the problem is that FSU turned many of those miscues into run outs and easy baskets. To compete with teams on this level, the Spartans can't afford to give away points. These mistakes directly led to the Seminoles shooting over 50% for the game.
- Shooting - I had to go and jinx the team. I went and praised the way they shot the ball at VCU on Friday and it came back to bite me. The Spartans shot just 30% in the first half and couldn't seem to throw a ball in the ocean in the first 10 minutes of the game. Now they did get it together in the second half and shoot a nice 46%, but it was way too late by then. I'm very interested to see how the team percentages look after a few more games. Hopefully this was just a case of first half nerves and not an underlying problem.

Wrap Up
Well, it was a mixed bag that makes drawing any real conclusions tough. I thought the Spartans didn't handle the press very well, didn't play particularly good defense and looked lost during half court offensive sets. I thought some of the player rotations were odd and mismatched, and I thought there were some poor shots taken.

However, I thought UNCG looked much more athletic than they have in the past. I thought they looked very good on fast break opportunities. I was impressed with some of the new guys. Aloysius Henry will be very good when he can avoid foul problems. I can see David Williams turning into a match up nightmare for SoCon coaches.

I also just walked away impressed with Florida State's ability to defend from every position on the floor. I truly believe that FSU can compete for a spot in top four of the ACC.

So, I guess it's hard to criticize UNCG for competing hard and coming up short. Let's hope they can keep taking these experiences and put them to good use when SoCon play comes around soon.

Go Spartans !!!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Florida State (1-0) @ UNCG (0-1)

When: Sunday November 12 3:30 pm
Where Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: FSN-South & FSN-Florida

Florida State Athletics
Scalp 'Em
Tomahawk Nation
FSU Forum - Scout
FSU Forum - Rivals

Spartan Notes:
- UNCG dropped it's opening night game at Virginia Commonwealth on Friday night 101-86. Brandon Evans led the Spartans with 26 points. Korey Van Dussen chipped in with a career high 18 points. Trailing throughout most of the game, UNCG made a late run in the second half to get the VCU trimmed down to 9 with a little over 3 minutes remaining. A 9-0 response from the Rams put the game out of reach.
- Four Spartans ended opening night in double figure scoring. In addition the Evans and KVD, Aaron Brackett (12 pts) and Aloysius Henry (10 pts) scored well.
- True freshman Drew Parker had a very good stat line in his first college game. Facing a ferocious full-cour press, Parker handed out a team best 8 assists with only 3 turnovers.
- Kyle Randall (suspension), Taylor Hoffer (ankle injury) and Trevis Simpson (shoulder injury) did not play in Friday night's game.
- Sunday's game will be the first of 7 Spartan games that will be on TV this season. The FSU-UNCG contest will be carried on FSN-South and FSN-Florida.
- Evans lead UNCG this season in scoring (26 points). David Williams leads the team in rebounding (8) and Parker leads the team in assists (8).
- So far this season, UNCG is shooting 46.6% from the field, 43.8% from behind the arc and 75.8% from the free throw line.

Seminole Notes:
- Florida State used a second half run to pull away from North Florida on Friday night. Junior college transfer Bernard James (15 pts & 10 rebs) led 4 Seminole players in double figures. Freshman Ian Miller led FSU with 3 assists on the night.
- The Seminoles played 2 preseason exhibition games earlier this year. They beat Rollins (95-74) and Mid Continent (108-51).
- The ACC media selected FSU to finish in 5th place in their preseason poll. Forward Chris Singleton was selected 1st All-ACC as well.
- Singleton, the ACC Defensive player of the year last season, was named as one one of the top 50 candidates for the Wooden Award that is given the best player in the country every year.
- Florida State is in the midst of a 4 games on 7 days bonanza. FSU plays Gardner-Webb at home on Tuesday and then plays at Florida International on Thursday.
-So far on the young season, James is leading FSU in scoring (15 pts) and rebounding (10). Miller leads in assists (3).
- For the year, FSU is shooting 42.9% from the field, 27.3% from behind the arc and 65.2% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
A lot like Friday, I really have no idea what to expect in this game. UNCG played a lot better than I expected at Virginia Commonwealth with a lot of youth. However, this is great competition that the Spartans are facing.

FSU had a bit of an off night on Friday. I'm afraid we might see a team that got to shake off it's rust in game #1 and now comes to play UNCG with some serious focus. What I'm really hoping for is that everyone is back playing today. If UNCG can be within single digits with less than 10 to play, this game could be very interesting. I hope there's a good home crowd that can fill up the Coliseum with some energy.

Go Spartans !!!

Rams win Despite Big Night from Evans

UNCG 86 - VCU 101

News & Record
Richmond Times-Dispatch
UNCG Athletics
VCU Athletics

Brandon Evans had a career high 26 points and Korey Van Dussen scored a career high 18 points Friday night against VCU. However, it wasn't enough to overcome 3 VCU seniors combining for 65 points (Joey Rodriguez 22, Jamie Skeen 22, Brandon Rozzell 23). Rodriguez also broke the school record for assists in a game with 17.

Trailing throughout most the game, UNCG managed to ship down the Ram lead to single digits with 3:38 remaining. However, this was as close as the Spartans would get as VCU responded with 9 straight points to put the game away.

In addition to Trevis Simpson and Taylor Hoffer being held out of the game with injuries, starting point guard Kyle Randall was held out of the game for unspecified reasons.

Positives
86 points - I was really scared that UNCG didn't have the fire power to score over 70 points this year. However, it took the Spartans only one game to prove me wrong. This new group of players seemed to not be timid in a very hostile environment. We all know that Evans and KVD have some scoring ability. But it was nice to see Henry (10 pts), Brackett (12 pts) and even David Williams (7 pts & 8 rebs) not shy away from the competition.

Drew Parker - Drew had 8 assists and 3 turnovers in his first college game. VCU pressed UNCG the whole game. So, the fact that Parker was able to show poise and find his teammates often was a great sign.

Shooting - The Spartans were a bad shooting team last year. That's a fact. This UNCG may not be a good shooting team either. Time will tell. For one game, though, UNCG shot very well in all phases of the game. 46% from the field, 44% from 3 point range and 76% is a very good night. These are the kinds of percentages that a team must shoot against a trapping/pressing team to make them pay when they don't force a turnover.

Negatives
Turnovers - Despite piling up 20 assists, UNCG gave the ball away 21 times. With the way UNCG was shooting the ball and getting to the free throw line, just a few extra possessions could have really been big. The bight side is that outside of maybe Maryland or Clemson, I don't think UNCG will see a better press this season. So, to handle it as well as they did (minus the starting PG) is a testament to the raw skill and ability of the Spartan guards.

Offensive Rebounds - Giving up 18 offensive rebounds to a team that's not much taller than UNCG is disappointing. This is another mid-major team, with mid-major size (although they have some bulk to their size). Rebounding is as much about attitude as it is about skill. Just ask Ben Stywall or Kyle Hines. So this year's version of UNCG is going to have to get tougher on the boards or they really will find themselves in trouble when they play some teams with size advantages.

Wrap up
All-in-all not a bad way to start the season. I would be have loved to seen a Spartan win. But realistically this team had too many questions coming into the game to be disappointed with this outcome. Now let's see how it goes on Sunday against Florida State.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

UNCG (0-0) @ VCU (0-0)

When: Friday, November 12 7:30 pm
Where: Siegel Center (7,500)
TV: None

VCU Athletics
VCU Ram Nation
Forum
CAA Zone - VCU

Spartan Notes:
- UNCG finished last season with a record of 8-23. The Spartans won 3 of their last 5 contests, though. 2009-2010 was UNCG's first season playing full time in the historic Greensboro Coliseum.
- Pete Brown, Mikko Koivisto, Kendall Toney, Montel Smith and Ben Stywall are all gone from this year's squad after graduation. Walk-on Mike Hardiman also graduated. Redshirt Sophmore DeAngelo Jackson transfered to College of Idaho.
- Stywall was a 1st team All-SoCon selection last season after averaging 14.3 points and 10.4 rebounds. He set the UNCG single season record for double-doubles (15).
- UNCG has a huge group of newcomers to this year's team. Five true freshmen join redshirt freshman Taylor Hoffer and JUCO transfers Aloysius Henry and Aaron Brackett.
- The Spartans did not play an exhibition game this season. Instead the coaches chose to play 2 closed scrimmages against Radford and UNC. Although the coaches aren't allow to discuss those scrimmages, it was revealed that UNC really got the better of UNCG.
- UNCG will be without the services of Freshmen Trevis Simpson on Friday night. Simpson is still recovering for a seperated shoulder.
- All SoCon freshman selection Kyle Randall is the team's leading returning scorer (9.5) and assists leader (2.6). Senior Brandon Evans is the team's leading returning rebounder (4.3).
- Last season, UNCG shot 38.6% from the field, 28.7% from behind the arc and 69.8% from the free throw line.

Ram Notes:
- The Rams finished last season 27-9. VCU went 5-0 in the post season College Basketball Invitational to take home the title.
-First year coach Shaka Smart did a tremendous job of maintaining the same kind of success that the Rams enjoyed under previous coach Anthony Grant. Smart was hired after Grant left to take over at Alabama. Smart's 27 wins were the best among all first-year head coaches last season. He was previously an assistant at Akron, Clemson and Florida before taking over at VCU.
- 2 VCU players have been drafted in the 1st round of the NBA draft in the previous 2 years. After all-everything guard Eric Maynor was selected by Utah after the 2008-2009 season, Larry Sanders was selected 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks this past summer. Sanders was an All-CAA selection and the CAA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2009-2010 season.
- VCU defeated Virginia Union in their only exhibition game on November 4 in Richmond, 71-56. Jamie Skeen and Brandon Rozzell led VCU with 10 points. Senior guard Joey Rodriguez did not play in the game. The Rams led 41-19 at the half, before watching Virginia Union go on a 16-4 run. However, the Rams righted their ship to hang on and get the win.
- The Rams were picked to finish 3rd the CAA preseason coach's poll. Rodriguez was selected 1st team All-CAA.
- Rodriguez is the team's leading returning scorer (12.9). He also led the Rams in assists (5.8) last season. Bradford Burgess averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds.
- Last season, the Rams shot 46.2% from the field, 36.6% from behind the arc and 70.4% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
So here it is ... "OOC Schedule Gauntlet" version 2.0. I'm afraid this version will be even more of a meat grinder than version 1.0.

After one quick glance at the Rams stats from last season, all I could think of was Richmond. VCU's stats are eerily similar to the same stats the Spiders boasted on their way to getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. I think that if VCU puts up these kinds of numbers in 2010-2011, they likely get the same kind of reward.

Coach Dement has said repeatedly in interviews that this Spartan squad had a lot of growing to do and that he didn't expect them to be very good at the season's start. Ben Stywall will be hard to replace. He always seemed to be in the right place to get rebounds and clean up bad possessions. The Spartans certainly replaced the departed seniors with an upgrade in talent. But with the talent comes youth. That's gonna be a problem.

I expect VCU to hit UNCG with a Dayton/Richmond/Akron style blitz right out of the gate. It'll be interesting to see how the new Spartans handle the blitz with the raucous home crowd. While I don't expect miracles right away, I'm looking for poise and improvement. The Spartans won more games in 2009-2010 than they did the previous season. Let's improve on those numbers this season.

It's been a long summer. Thank God it's basketball season.

Go Spartans !!!

VCU Previews, Scrimmage Notes and Dement's Comments

Sort of a weird grouping of things to post tonight. We've got less than 24 hours before the season gets underway. So let's start with some previews of opponent #1, Virginia Commonwealth.

- Here is a VCU preview from USA Today. This quote is frightening to UNCG fans ...

Deep and aggressive on defense, this is a lineup that can make life uncomfortable for any opponent, no matter the NCAA classification.
- Rush the Court's CAA preview predicted VCU to finish 2nd in the Colonial and get a #12 seed in the NCAA tournament. They also selected PG Joey Rodriguez to the All-Conference team.

-VCU Ram Nation posted this game preview. It is very tough to argue with the author's logic here ...

Friday’s matchup has 2 teams each introducing 6 new players into their lineups and having lost their star all-conference player from last season. The difference is that one team went 27-9, while the other went 8-23.
Coach Dement was on Sports Drive with Taylor Zarzour this morning and talked about his concerns with having a young team and very difficult schedule. He said that the team was young and he thought they would definitely improve throughout the season.

Here is a YouTube video from the Tom Ward Tipoff Luncheon that basically echos those same comments.



And finally, Jeff Goodman had an article leaking some of the info from the UNCG-UNC scrimmage on Oct 30.

UNC Greensboro was overwhelmed talent-wise by UNC, but there were a few bright spots: Junior college big men Aloysius Henry and Aaron Brackett – as well as 6-foot-7 wing David Williams – all competed and showed flashes.
No one from the university is allowed to discuss these "closed" scrimmages. I've recieved no reports from the UNCG-Radford scrimmage (and I don't expect to hear anything about it).

Paulos Sign LOI

Nick Paulos signed his LOI with UNCG yesterday, the first day of the fall signing period. Here is the article from the UNCG Athletics website.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Syndicated Radio Show at UNCG

Taylor Zarzour will be doing his syndicated radio show, Sports Drive, from UNCG this Thursday from 9-12. You can hear this show on 620 AM in the triangle or the triad sports network (1200 AM, 1230 AM, 1320 AM) in the triad. The show can also be streamed over the net here.

Spartans Selected 4th by Coaches; 6th by Media

The SoCon coaches picked UNCG to finish in 4th place of the North Division in their preseason poll. App Sate, Western Carolina and Chattanooga were picked to finish ahead of the Spartans. Elon and Samford were picked to finish behind UNCG. Wofford was the choice to win the South, followed by College of Charleston, Davidson, Citadel, Furman and Georgia Southern. Charleston's Andrew Goudelock was selected preseason player of the year.

The SoCon media picked UNCG to finish 6th in the SoCon North Division in their preseason poll. App State was picked to finish first in the North, followed by Western Carolina, Chattanooga Elon and Samford. In the South division, Wofford was picked to finish on top. College of Charleston was picked to finish second, followed by Davidson, Citadel, Furman and Georgia Southern.

Wofford is the defending Southern Conference Champion. This season's champion will be decided during the first weekend in March in Chattanooga, TN.

The Spartans lost 6 scholarship players from last year's team due to graduation or transfer. That team finished the season 8-23. The 2010-2011 Spartans open the season at VCU on Friday evening.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Jackson Transfers

I have received quite a few emails asking me what happened to DeAngelo Jackson on this year's roster. Well, I came across this a long time ago, but completely forgot to post it.

According to Jeff Goodman, Jackson transferred to College of Idaho.

DeAngelo Jackson, 6-8, F, Soph., UNC-Greensboro – COLLEGE OF IDAHO


You'll remember that this is same school that hired assistant coach Rod Jensen this off season. So, I want to take this opportunity to thank DeAngelo for his effort while being at UNCG and wish him luck in the future.

5 Days and Counting ...

With the season starting Friday night in Richmond against VCU, I will be posting quite a bit this week. It's time to get back into the swing of blogging and I appreciate everyone that keeps up with the site (or that even checks in very infrequently). I know that blog updates have been erratic over the summer and the early fall. However, I've got my infant son on a good schedule and will be able to posts lots of updates in the evening. So, check back often.

Thanks again, and ...

Go Spartans !!!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

UNCG gets 2011 Commitment

According to ESPN.com, 6'-7" F Nick Paulos (Salt Lake City, UT) has committed to play for UNCG starting next season. Paulos is attending prep school this season at Noth Hampton in New Hampshire. UNCG assistant coach Wes Miller also attended this school. He was also looking at Northeastern, Boston College, Utah State, St. Mary's and Creighton.

- ESPN has Nick graded at an 83.

- Here are 2 articles from the New England Recruiting Report. The first article is discussing the talent at North Hampton.

Paulos, a 6’7” forward from Utah, has been one of the team’s most impressive players this fall. Not only does he have an effortless shooting stroke with deep range, but he handles and passes the ball with equal efficiency.
- The second atricle is discussing his recruitment and commitment to UNCG.

“On my visit I had a chance to meet with all of the coaches and I felt really comfortable with the way they’re running things down there,” Paulos told NERR on Thursday night. “They’re starting to allocate a lot of time and money into the basketball program and really making an effort to turn things around.”
- This Deseret News article discusses Paulos and his relationship with former UCLA coach Jim Harrick, who advised Nick to go to prep school to add some weight and mature his game.

- Here are some YouTube videos of Nick.

From Utah Sports



Shooting


Passing


It appears that Nick has a very good stroke from the outside and is very excited to join the UNCG basketball team.

Welcome to the Spartans, Nick !!!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

UNCG's "Secret Scrimmages"

According to Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports, The Spartans will be holding "Secret Scrimmages" against UNC and Radford. Find his entire list is here ...

*I've listed other SoCon games and other teams of interest.

SECRET SCRIMMAGES

Fri., Oct. 29
Samford at Kennesaw State

Sat., Oct. 30
Clemson at Georgia
Virginia Tech vs. Georgetown
Wake Forest at College of Charleston
George Mason at Richmond
VCU at La Salle
High Point at East Carolina

Sun., Oct. 31
UNC at UNC Greensboro
UT Chattanooga at Ole Miss
Wofford vs. Belmont at Maryville College

Fri., Nov. 5
Radford at UNC Greensboro

Sat., Nov. 6
Charlotte at Virginia Tech
Liberty at Appalachian State

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

USA Today Preview

The USA Today has posted a preview of the Southern Conference. Here is a portion of the UNCG section that article. For a good overview of all of the conference, give it a read.
It's a scary thought for UNCG fans. No longer in uniform is All-Conference forward Ben Stywall. Yet even with the conference's leading rebounder and eighth-leading scorer, the Spartans still finished 8-23.

That's exactly the detriment coach Mike Dement is facing in his 10th year in Greensboro. And without a turnaround this season, 2011-2012 may include a new coach.

No coach in the league has a hotter seat than Dement, a coach whose teams have struggled for consecutive seasons despite having some very good pieces to work with.

It led Dement to take a slightly different approach this offseason.

"We have done a lot of defensive fundamental work in the early individual workouts," he said. "But we still may have to be a little simpler in terms of that we put in and how quickly we put it in during this preseason."

The simplistic approach may be a good idea. UNCG has just one senior, fifth-year player Brandon Evans. The junior class is a little beefier, but essentially it consists of Elhanan Bone and a couple of junior-college transfers.

So it appears Dement is building a bridge for the future. Exactly how long he's a part of it, though, remains to be seen.

Not sure I agree with the article's assessment that Dement had plenty of pieces to work with the past few seasons. I think there were certainly some good Spartan players over the past several seasons. However, one the best UNCG teams in recent memory was derailed due to being in a conference with "Elite 8" qualifier Davidson. Also, Dement was forced to deal with some APR issues that were partially not of his fault.

I think it's important to point out to people that it takes several years to get mid-major programs in a position to even make an NCAA Tournament run (with the exceptions of a few places like Winthrop, Gonzaga, etc). After those good teams move on, coaches have to almost completely rebuild. Hopefully this Spartan team has the talent in place for it to be one of those tournament run seasons at UNCG.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Cole's Beats Buzzer for Overtime Win

Gold 56 - Blue 53 OT

UNCG Athletics

Brian Cole hit a 3 pointer as time expired in overtime to lead the Gold squad to a 56-53 win over the Blue team in this year's Blue-Gold scrimmage. The teams teams finished regulation tied at 49.

Walk on Brandon Davis lead the gold team with 17 points. Newcomer Aaron Brackett scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds. Freshman Drew Parker had a team best 7 assists.

Senior Brandon Evans led all scorers with 19 points and 6 rebounds. Aloysius Henry added 16 points for the Blue team. Korey Van Dussen had a game high 8 assists.

Kyle Randall and Trevis Simpson did not participate in the scrimmage.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Blue-Gold Scrimmage

When: Saturday, October 23 1 pm
Where: Fleming Gym (2,320)

UNCG Athletics

Spartan Storylines:

- UNCG finished last season with a record of 8-23 (6-12 SoCon). However, the Spartans won 3 of their last 5 contests.
- The Spartans lost several key contributors from last season's squad, including 1st team All-SoCon selection Ben Stywall. Stywall finished last season averaging 14.3 points and 10.4 rebounds. Stywall graduated after setting the single season record for double-doubles (15).
- Also missing from the 2009-2010 Spartan basketball team due to graduation are Pete Brown, Mikko Koivisto, Kendall Toney and Montel Smith. Walk-on Mike Hardiman also graduated and moved on.
- DeAngelo Jackson has transfered to College of Idaho.
- The Spartans lost associate head coach Rod Jensen in the spring. Jensen is now the head coach at College of Idaho. However, former UNC-Chapel Hill guard Wes Miller was added to the staff.
- Brandon Evans is looking to have a big senior season. Brandon transferred from East Carolina before the 2008-2009 season. Last year he averaged 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in about 20 minutes per game. Evans scored 13 points in the Spartans win against Furman at the SoCon Tournament.
- Also returning this season are a talented bunch of seasoned sophomores. This group is lead by All-Freshmen SoCon selection Kyle Randall. Randall will be the Spartans leading returning scorer (9.5) and assist leader (2.6).
- Also back are Korey VanDussen (4.4 pts & 1.3 assist) and Brian Cole (5.1 pts & 2.3 rebs).
- UNCG will regain the services of Taylor Hoffer who redshirted last season after a knee injury.
- The Spartans new faces include 2 JuCo transfers (Aloysius Henry & Aaron Brackett), freshman David Williams, Cody Henegar, Drew Parker and Trevis Simpson.
- There will be 3 walk-ons with solid backgrounds. PF Tyler McNeely (6'-6" Princeton, NJ), F Isaac Swindle (6'-7" High Point, NC) and G Kendall Bethea (6'-3 Richmond, VA) will all be playing as freshmen.
- Brandon Davis and Robby Dilmore also return as walk-ons.

Single Game Tickets On Sale Now

Men's basketball single game tickets went on sale this morning at 10 AM. They are available over at Ticketmaster.

UNCG is again doing the 4 for $44 promotion (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs and 4 drinks) for all games this season. Also, there is the "Gimme 5" ticket package that I posted about earlier.

Single game ticket pricing for each game is available UNCG Athletics website. You can go there to see the other ticket packages too.

Rush the Court Preview

Rush the Court has posted a preview of the SoCon. Not a mention of the Spartans (their writer appears to be more familiar with the SoCon south division). Here is the predicted order of finish.

Predicted Order of Finish

North Division:
Appalachian State: 21-11 (13-5)
Chattanooga: 17-14 (11-7)
Western Carolina: 16-15 (9-9)
Samford: 14-18 (9-9)
UNC Greensboro: 9-23 (7-11)
Elon: 8-23
(5-13)

South Division:
Wofford: 25-10 (14-4)
College of Charleston: 21-13
(13-5)
Furman: 17-15 (10-8)
Davidson: 16-17 (8-10)
Georgia Southern:
13-19 (6-12)
Citadel: 10-21 (3-15)

Thursday, October 21, 2010

UNCG Basketball Gets New Radio Flagship

UNCG has signed an agreement with the Curtis Media Group to broadcast UNCG basketball games. Curtis Media, who owns stations throughout the triad (WSJS) and triangle (WZTK), recently formed the Triad Sports Network (1200 WSML-AM, 1230 WMFR-AM & 1320 WCOG-AM).

1320 WCOG-AM will serve as the new flagship station for UNCG basketball. FM Talk 101.1 WZTK will carry select UNCG games as it did last season. WZTK currently carries Wake Forest football, men's basketball and Carolina Panthers football. Plus, all of the coaches shows that go along with those sports. So, I would assume that Spartan games will be broadcast on FM Talk 101.1 when it doesn't interfere with those broadcasts.

This is wonderful news for UNCG as it is trying to expand it's brand and its reach throughout the triad and beyond. Don't forget that all UNCG games shown on Spartan All-Access this season are free. Plus, most road games can be found online at places like Channelsurfing.net.

There is no word whether select games will still be carried on UNCG's radio station (103.1 WUAG)

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

UNCG on TV Seven times

Spartan basketball will have 7 games shown on various television networks. This is the most ever for UNCG men's basketball. Below, I have listed the game and network ...

11/14 FSU @ UNCG FSN-South & FSN-Florida
11/21 Va Tech @ UNCG Comcast SportsNet & NESN
12/8 UNCG @ Maryland Comcast SportsNet
12/15 UNCG @ Wake Forest ESPNU
12/19 UNCG @ Clemson FSN-South
12/29 Duke @ UNCG ESPNU
2/19 UNCG @ Elon SportsSouth

SoCon Preview - Rivals

Rivals.com has posted their preview for this year's Southern Conference. They were not very high on what the Spartans could do this season, nor did they pick them to finish up the standings.

UNC Greensboro returns only one senior in G Brandon Evans (8.5 ppg), but sophomore G Kyle Randall (9.5 ppg) could have a breakout season.

ORDER OF FINISH

NORTH
1. Chattanooga
2. Appalachian State
3. Western Carolina
4. Elon
5. Samford
6. UNC Greensboro

SOUTH
1. Wofford
2. College of Charleston
3. Davidson
4. Georgia Southern
5. The Citadel
6. Furman

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Go Blue

This past Sunday, UNCG held a open "practice" that was named Go Blue Preview. Since I wasn't there for the event, I really don't have much I can personally report. But, UNCG Athletics posted several videos of the event.

3 Point Contest


Dunk Contest


Dance Contest


BTW, if you haven't already figured it out by now, UNCG Sports has its own YouTube channel. There are links to several UNCG coaches game comments as well as some highlights. Pretty cool stuff.

Monday, October 4, 2010

UNCG Offering 5-Game Ticket Plan

UNCG is offering ticket plans (called "Gimme 5") for this season in men's basketball. It's an option for people who might not want a whole season ticket package. Here's how it works ...

Everyone gets:
- Duke

Blue Game (pick 1):
- FSU
- Miami
- Virginia Tech

Yellow Game (pick 3):
- NC A&T
- Furman
- Richmond
- Samford
- Chattanooga
- Elon
- Davidson
- Ga Southern
- App State
- Citadel
- Western Carolina

The prices are $45 (upper level) and $65 (lower level) per seat.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

UNC System Business as Usual?

I try to very rarely stray from talking about UNCG (and SoCon) basketball. However, with the crap-storm that's taking place with the UNC-Chapel Hill football program, I thought I'd make a little commentary.

This past April, I was shocked to hear that UNCG's plan to start a new school of Pharmacy had been completely shut down by UNC system president Erskine Bowles. He went against a wonderful proposal and gave the go ahead on a for his alma mater, UNC-Chapel Hill, to start a satellite program in Asheville. It was an obviously ridiculous decision.

The day this decision was made public, I sent Erskine Bowles an email. I wanted to let him know that I cared about my school and that I thought that he was doing favors for his alma mater.

My email ...

Mr. Bowles,

I just read about your decision to not allow UNCG to move forward on its plans to start a School of Pharmacy. I am a proud graduate of UNCG. I must say that I am very upset and disappointed with this decision. It's obvious with the partnership opportunities in the Greensboro and triad community that this would idea should have been given the "green light".

I am equally disappointed and upset that you are going to allow UNC-Chapel Hill to go forward with an obviously thrown together plan to start a satellite campus in Asheville. I think it is quite obvious that politics are being played in this decision.

While I'm very happy to have a wonderful leader UNCG has with Chancellor Brady, I am very sad that you are stifling a wonderful university from growing and progressing.

His reply ...

Thank you for caring. The decision is fully explained in the report on our website that was produced by our independent consultants. Erskine

Now his alma mater is in the middle of an academic scandal. But is the investigation being handled by independent consultants? No. At a press conference yesterday, Bowles proclaimed he was proud of how the UNC leadership was handling the situation. He made no mention of getting independent consultants to handle this investigation.

Let's be clear, the scandal that's happening at Chapel Hill is a damn fiasco. Every single day something new comes out about what has taken place. The reason that Mr. Bowles doesn't want independent consultants to get involved is because it might get in the way of him helping out his alma mater once again.

When is this clown retiring?

*** BTW, if you want to find out more about the Pharmacy School decision, you can start by doing a search on the News & Record website and checking into some of the discussion at UNCGFans.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

New Schedule Released

UNCG has released it's 2010-2011 basketball schedule. There are 15 home games including restarting a rivalry with a crosstown rival. Times haven't been finalized and and I'm sure that TV can move dates if needed. Also, tomorrow is the last day to renew season tickets (which, sorry guys, the new baby is keeping me from doing this year). Single game tickets go on sale October 22 through Ticketmaster.

Nov. 12 @ VCU
Nov. 14 Florida State
Nov. 21 Va Tech
Nov. 27 @ ECU
Nov 29 NC A&T
Dec. 2 @ Wofford
Dec. 6 Furman
Dec. 8 @ Maryland
Dec. 15 @ Wake Forest
Dec. 18 @ Clemson
Dec. 22 Richmond
Dec. 29 Duke
Jan. 6 Samford
Jan. 8 Chattanooga
Jan. 10 Elon
Jan. 13 @ App State
Jan. 17 Davidson
Jan. 20 Ga Southern
Jan. 27 @ Chattanooga
Jan. 29 @ Samford
Feb. 2 App State
Feb. 5 @ Western Carolina
Feb. 7 Citadel
Feb. 12 @ College of Charleston
Feb. 15 Miami (FL)
Feb. 19 @ Elon
Feb. 21 Western Carolina
Feb. 24 @ Ga Southern
Feb. 26 @ Davidson
March 4-7 SoCon Tournament*

* Chattanooga, TN

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Checking in

First off, a little housekeeping ... I've turned off comments on the blog for now. Apparently, some asian spammers have decided my posts are perfect to scatter with virus links. Since I've found myself too busy to clean these up immediately, I'll just not allow anyone to comment. Once the season gets closer and I'm updating the site more often, I'll turn the comments back on.

Second, I didn't have the chance to attend any of the summer league games at the Triad Pro-Am here in Winston. It doesn't seem to really matter, though, as most of the UNCG team went to the NC Pro-Am in Durham to play this summer. Here is the website for the NC Pro-Am. Here is a game-by-game recap blog. There was a ton of talent that played in this event. I'm not sure from reading these recaps exactly how much Spartan players contributed.

With the schedule to be released sometime in the near future, I just thought I'd point out the column to the right with known UNCG home and away games. I'll post the full schedule as soon as it becomes available.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Gipson Promoted, Miller Hired

According to the UNCGSpartans.com website, assistant coach Corey Gipson was promoted by UNCG to associate head coach. Gipson replaces Rod Jensen who left to be the head coach at the College of Idaho. Gipson is a graduate of Austin Peay. He also has an associate's degree from Three Rivers Community College. This is the same school that incoming player Aloysius Henry has attended the last 2 seasons. Corey came to UNCG before the start of last season.

Also from the UNCGSpartans.com website, Wes Miller has been hired to fill the final UNCG coaching spot. Miller comes to the Spartans after serving as an assistant coaching stints at Elon and High Point in the past 2 seasons. After starting his playing career at James Madison, Miller played 3 seasons at UNC-Chapel Hill. He was a member of the 2005 UNC national championship team. He was a team captain on the 2006-2007 squad.

Congrats Corey and welcome to the Spartans, Wes !!!

Jensen Takes Head Coaching Job

First let me apologize for taking some time off from blogging. I've been quite busy with the birth of my first child a few weeks ago. Obviously, the newest Spartan fan has demanded a lot of my attention lately. But now that mommy and new baby are both doing well, I have a few minutes to make some posts updating things that have slipped by me since the end of basketball season.

Associate head coach Rod Jensen has left UNCG to take the head coaching position at the College of Idaho. Jensen had already spent many years in the state of Idaho as an assistant and head coach at Boise State. As you might remember, Jensen was the interim head coach for the Spartans win against Elon as coach Mike Dement was serving his one game suspension after being ejected from the UNCG-Samford game.

Good luck, coach Jensen in your new position and thanks for your time with the Spartans.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Spartans Pick Up 2 JUCO Big Men

The UNCG Athletics website has announced the signing of 2 more players to National Letters of Intent (NLI). Aloysius Henry (PF 6'-9" 235 lbs) is originally from St. Lucia, but has played the last 2 seasons at Three Rivers C.C. in Poplar Bluff, MO. Aaron Brackett (PF 6'-8" 245 lbs) is originally from Virginia Beach, VA and has spent his last 2 years at Allegany College of Maryland in Cumberland, MD.

Henry (Rivals, Scout) helped his team reach the NJCAA finals this season before falling to Howard College. Henry picked the Spartans over Colorado, Iowa State, Wright State, Tennessee Tech, and UT-San Antonio. He is a graduate of Bocage Secondary in St. Lucia and has spent the last 2 seasons playing for Gene Bess, the winningest coach in NJCAA. Assistant coach Corey Gipson also spent 2 seasons at Three Rivers. Henry's brother, Arnold, played basketball at Vermont and North Florida. This season he averaged 11.5 pts, 7.3 rebs, 1 assists & 1.2 blocks per game. This St. Lucia Sports Blog has kept up with Henry's progress.

Brackett (Rivals) is a NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American this past season that attended high school at Kempsville. In his freshman season at Allegany, he helped lead his team to the NJCAA tournament. This past season he averaged 12.1 pts, 10 rebs, 1.1 assists & 0.9 steals a game.

Here is a YouTube video of Aaron from high school.


Welcome to the Spartans, Aloysius and Aaron !!!

This should end this recruiting cycle for the Spartans. In addition to Henry and Brackett, UNCG signed David Williams (SG/SF 6'-6" 200 lbs Jacksonville, FL) to NLI's this spring. Drew Parker (PG 6'-3" 180 lbs Houston, TX), Trevis Simpson (SG/SF 6'-5" 180 lbs Douglas, GA) and Cody Henegar (PF/C 6'-9" 210 lbs Jasper, TN) signed NLI's this past fall. Another fall signee, Mike Liabo (SG 6'-6" 185 lbs Carbondale, IL), is heading to UT-Martin according to this OVCSports.com article.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Williams is Newest Spartan

According to this Indiana basketball blog, David Williams (6'-7" G/F, Jacksonville FL) has verbally committed to UNCG.

Taylor said that David Williams, who verbally committed to Indiana before opening up his recruitment, will play for North Carolina-Greensboro.

- ESPN has Williams rated at 83.

- Rivals & Scout both rate Williams as a 2-star player.

- Williams previously gave a verbal commitment to Indiana, before re-opening his recruitment. He was also receiving attention from Clemson, Florida State and several SEC schools.

Welcome to the Spartans, David !!!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Opponents & Postseason

Here is a list of 2009-2010 UNCG opponents. Beside of the names are the postseason tournament that they are competing in, if they were invited.

Duke (NCAA)
Va Tech (NIT)
Clemson (NCAA)
USC-Upstate
East Carolina
Samford
Charleston (CBI)
Princeton (CBI)
Akron (CBI)
Richmond (NCAA)
Wake Forest (NCAA)
NC State (NIT)
Maryland (NCAA)
Wofford (NCAA)
Furman
Chattanooga
Western Carolina (CIT)
App State (CIT)
Chattanooga
Samford
Elon
Furman
Wofford (NCAA)
App State (CIT)
Western Carolina (CIT)
Elon
Citadel
Davidson
Ga Southern
Furman
Wofford (NCAA)

17 games (out of 31) against postseason teams.

NCAA = NCAA Tournament
NIT = National Invitational Tournament
CBI = College Basketball Invitational
CIT = CollegeInsider.com Tournament

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Terriers Ends UNCG's Run

UNCG 47 - Wofford 59

News & Record
Charlotte Observer
UNCG Athletics
Wofford Athletics

Saturday, March 6, 2010

#4N UNCG (8-22) vs #1S Wofford (23-8)

When: Saturday, March 6 4:30 pm*
Where: Bojangles Coliseum (9,605)
TV: None/SoConTV.com

* This game is scheduled to start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Western Carolina-Elon game. That game will tip at 2 pm.

- The winner of today's game will advance to take on the winner of the 2 pm at approximately 6 pm tomorrow at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Wofford Athletics
Wofford Forum

Spartan Notes:
- Yesterday, UNCG got the benefit of a mistake by Furman's Amu Saaka. Saaka went for a 2 point basket when the Paladins needed a 3 pointer to tie. Even though he made the basket, the Spartans won 66-65.
-The Spartans have now won 2 games in a row and 3 of their last 4 games.
- The Spartan lost both contests to Wofford this season.
- Ben Stywall leads UNCG in scoring (14.2) and rebounding (10.4) . Kyle Randall leads the team in assists (2.6).
- For the year, UNCG is shooting 38.8% from the field, 29.2% from behind the arc and 69.4% from the free throw line.

Terrier Notes:
- Last time out, Wofford lead all the way en route to a win over Citadel, 75-66. Noah Dahlman lead Wofford with 18 points.
- Dahlman was named Southern Conference Player of the Year by the coaches. Wofford coach Mike Young was named Coach of the Year by the media and the coaches.
Wofford will get the SoCon automatic bid to the NIT should they not win the conference tournament.
- Dahlman leads Wofford in scoring (17.4). Tim Johnson leads in rebounds (7.8) and Brad Loesing leads the team in assists (3.1).
- For the season, Wofford is shooting 44.1% from the field, 35.2% from behind the arc and 67% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
UNCG has got to continue to survive and advance. The Spartans haven't played well against Wofford this season. Hopefully, they will this time.

Go Spartans !!!