Campus Watch

By Rodney McKissic

The mass exedous from Niagara in the wake of Joe Mihalich's departure continues with freshman T.J. Cline giving a verbal commitment to attend Richmond according to a source.

Cline, the son of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, visited Charlotte last week and informed the 49ers staff on Saturday that he would attend Richmond. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Cline was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team after averaging 7.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in 33 games. He also led the Purple Eagles in 3-point shooting percentage with 33.6 percent.

Cline must sit out the 2013-14 season per NCAA transfer rules, but will have three seasons of eligibility remaining. The news comes just days after Juan'ya Green and Ameen Tanksley joined Mihalich at Hofstra.

By BOB DICESARE

Niagara coach Chris Casey has landed his first recruit as he strives to stablize a Niagara basketball program that continues to be hit by defections.

Niagara has signed Karonn Davis,  6-2 combo guard from Friends Central near Philly, but sources say the Purple Eagles are losing senior-to-be Malcolm Lemmons, who has elected to transfer. Lemmons, a reserve guard, joins All-MAAC guard Juan'ya Green and rebounding leader Ameen Tanksley on the transfer wagon that's crowding since coach Joe Mihalich was announced as the new head coach at Hofstra. Sources say Green and Tanksley are preparing to visit Hofstra, which was not forbidden when they were granted their transfers by the Purple Eagles.

Could another defection be forthcoming?

Continue reading "The Ins and Outs at Niagara" »

---St. Bonaventure announced the signing of Denzel Gregg, a 6-foot-7 forward from Syracuse, who played his last two seasons at St. Thomas More Prep School in Connecticut.

Gregg helped St. Thomas to a 24-8 record and a spot in the National Prep School Tournament semifinals this past season. Gregg averaged 12 points and six rebounds a game for a balanced team that featured 10 players who received college scholarships.

“We’re most excited about Denzel's tremendous upside,” Schmidt said in a statement released by the school about the 17-year-old Gregg. “He's a long, athletic forward whose versatility will allow him to guard multiple positions at the defensive end and create mismatches on the offensive side of the ball.”

ESPN College Basketball analysts graded Gregg as one the top-125 class of 2013 forwards in the nation, and the New England Basketball Recruiting Report ranked him as the No. 22 overall prospect in his class.

An ESPN analyst had the following to say about the 195-pound senior:

“Gregg is an explosive athlete with incredible leaping ability. He's as quick off his feet as he is high above the rim, a terrific lob catcher and the type of finisher who can instantly change the momentum of a game.”

Gregg is St. Bonaventure’s first commitment this year.

---Rodney McKissic

Niagara named Chris Casey its new men’s basketball coach Monday, ending a 12-day search to replace Joe Mihalich, who departed for Hofstra after 15 seasons.

Casey spent the last three seasons at Long Island University Post, where he took the Pioneers to two Division II NCAA Tournaments in 2012 and 2013, finishing with a 62-25 record.  In 2011-12, Casey was named East Coast Conference coach of the year and the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Division II coach of the year.

This season, LIU Post finished with an 18-9 record and finished tied for second in the conference with a 13-5 ECC record, which was a determining factor Niagara, which returns its core group after claiming the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship.

All of Niagara’s players attended Monday’s press conference to announce Casey’s hiring and Casey has three scholarships to fill. The Purple Eagles last NCAA appearance was in 2007.

---Rodney McKissic

Niagara's Juan'ya Green and Antoine Mason, Canisius' Billy Barron and UB's Javon McCrea were all named to the NABC Division I All-District teams which were announced today.

Green and Baron were named to the District 1 first team with Iona's Lamont Jones, Siena's O.D. Anosike and Stony Brook's Tommy Brenton. Mason was on the second team with Loyola's Erik Etherly, Boston University's D.J. Irving, Fairfield's Derek Needham and Stony Brook's Jameel Warney.

McCrea was on the District 14 first team along with Ohio's D.J. Cooper, Akron's Zeke Marshall, Toledo's Rian Pearson and Kent State's Chris Evans.

---Rodney McKissic

---Below are thoughts from Mark Bortz and Calvin Cage, two of Reggie Witherspoon's former players, on the news Friday that Witherspoon's 14-year era at UB had come to an end. Cage's comments are from his Facebook page while Bortz's are part of an email he sent to me at 3 a.m. Saturday morning:

Mark Bortz, Class of 2005:

I was in the middle of a store when I received the news and was in complete shock.  I wandered around the store for several minutes in a daze before I came to my senses and rushed to be with my family, my UB family.  I was in disbelief only hours after watching UB in a hard-fought battle against rival Kent St. in the MAC Tournament.

I could not believe that the man who brought UB out of the basement of the MAC had been fired.  The same man that made UB a championship contender on a yearly basis, took his teams to two MAC Championship games, groomed multiple MAC Player of the Year winners, won multiple Coach of the Year awards, took the school to its first ever post-season appearances and won a share of the MAC regular season title in a year they were picked to finish last!

How quickly we forget the past and take for granted what we have.  As I sat in silence, I thought about all of the experiences I had on the court with Coach Witherspoon, but equally about our times off the court, especially since I graduated in 2005.  I thought about the basketball family that Coach “Spoon” had created.  What the public doesn’t get to see is how much Coach really cared for his players beyond points, assists and rebounds.  He cares about making his players into men and believed in the importance of education.  Coach Witherspoon helped to mold me into the man I am today and I credit much of my success as a professional basketball player and in life to his mentorship. 

****

Calvin Cage, Class of 2006

11 years ago a 17 yr. old kid sat in Bladensburg High at press conference on national signing day. Several high major offers I sign to go to Buffalo, everyone is (upset)!! The Washington Post my coach, a few teammates, at the time I was turning pro at 19 regardless, I get on campus meet Reggie Witherspoon and he's KILLING me from day 1!!! Tells me that until I mature I won't play. We won only 5 games that yr., but I’m forever grateful to this man because this guy made me a MAN!! I'm not person, friend, son, father boyfriend that I am if it wasn't for Reg. Coming from DC I was homesick the 1st day I stepped on campus, his family excepted me like I was their own, the ENTIRE family!! I'm hurt to hear this news my brother (Turner Battle) is there coaching also like I know I’ll (probably) never be in Buffalo again, my ties to the university are done.

---Rodney McKissic

Catching up on some postseason honors that have been doled out while awaiting the start of the UB women's second-round MAC Tournament game against Miami here in Cleveland:

Ohio senior guard D.J. Cooper was named MAC Player of the Year today and Akron's Keith Dambrot was named Coach of the Year. I voted for both of them.

I was extremely high on UB's Javon McCrea but when the Bulls failed to finish .500 in conference I couldn't bring myself to cast the vote. And Cooper won me over with that go-ahead 3 he hit from Getzville in Ohio's 72-69 win at Alumni on March 5. Plus, Cooper will go down as one of the best guards in MAC history. It seemed kind of crazy he might leave never having won the award. So I'll admit it. Career achievement factored into my vote.

As for Dambrot, when you win the conference and put together a 19-game winning streak you don't leave much room for debate. Plus, I admired the way he responded to the Alex Abreu arrest that's probably going to cost the Zips an at-large if they don't win it all here.

The All-MAC first team consists of McCrea, Cooper, Akron center Zeke Marshall, Kent State forward Chris Evans and Toledo guard Rian Pearson. I believe that's exactly how I had it on my preseason ballot although ultimately Evans didn't make the preseason first-team.

UB's Jarryn Skeete was on the all-freshman team.

On the women's side, UB had two players receive honorable mention: freshman Mackenzie Loesing and sophomore Christa Baccas. Loesing also mad the all-freshman team.

* * * * *

In the MAAC, Coach of the Year Joe Mihalich is one of 20 finalists for the Skip Prosser Award given by collegeinsider.com. The award was initiated in 2008 and goes to a coach who achieves success on the court and demonstrates moral integrity off the court.
Western New York native and former ECC and Canisius coach John Beilein of Michigan also is a finalist.

Also from collegeinsider.com, Niagara's Juan'ya Green and Billy Baron of Canisius were tabbed as MAAC co-MVPs.

-- Bob DiCesare

Game analysis: UB usually finds a way to lose close games but on Monday in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament it found a way to win. Actually, it was more like an escape. Central Michigan rallied from a seven-point deficit to send the game into overtime and had a chance to win but Kyle Randall's 3-pointer bounced off the backboard and the Bulls won, 74-72, to advance to the tournament's second round against Ball State.

How UB won: Javon McCrea who earned first-team All-MAC honors earlier in the day controlled the paint while Will Regan kept some of the pressure off McCrea inside by hitting 3 of 6 3-pointers. Randall went nuts after halftime, but the Bulls came up with a huge defensive stop to win the game.

Turning Point: McCrea gave the Bulls a four-point advantage in overtime when he drove right and flushed in a left-handed dunk with 2:59 left in the game. Central Michigan pulled within a point on a Randall free throw but Watson made 1 of 2 free throws with 3.4 seconds left.

Player of the Game: Randall had three points at halftime but finished with a game-high 31.

Who is that guy?: Raphell Thomas-Edwards career at UB has been nondescript to say the least but he scored a career best 10 points in the first half, all off the bench. Coming into the game, he made a grand total of 10 field goals this season.

Key stat: Watson was 1 of 10 from downtown.

What It Means: UB advances to Cleveland for the 10th consecutive season.

In the House: 2,309 at Alumni Arena.

He said it: "Partly why we didn't want to play Buffalo was because of Javon McCrea. We don't have anybody that can defend him. We have undersized post guys in there as freshman so we were going to try to be as physical with him as possible and limit his touches he got. As special of a player as he is, he kept working and kept fighting." - Central Michigan coach Keno Davis.

Up next: vs. Ball State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Cleveland

---Rodney McKissic

The NCAA has granted St. Bonaventure forward Marquise Simmons, a fifth-year senior from Washington, D.C., a sixth-year of eligibility according to a source.

The return of the 6-foot-8 Simmons will help ease the blow of losing Demitrius Conger, Michael Davenport, Chris Johnson, and Eric Mosley who are all seniors.

Simmons appeared in just one game last season after tearing his Achilles and made two free throws before leaving the contest. He's appeared in 27 games this season and is averaging 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds as a reserve.

On Saturday, Simmons played 12 minutes and scored two points with five rebounds before fouling out. A few fans in the student section chanted, "One more year'' as Simmons walked to the bench. Motion granted.

---Rodney McKissic

Game analysis: Just like last year, when it captured its first Atlantic 10 Tournament championship, St. Bonaventure is playing its best basketball in March. The Bonnies led by as many as 29 points against Charlotte and after the 49ers made a few token runs in the second half, they managed to put them away, 104-83. It is the Bonnies first three-game win streak of the season.

How St. Bonaventure won: Early 3-point shooting helped Bona to an early 22-5 lead which expanded by 29 by halftime. The second half is when Charlotte stopped sleep-walking and cut into the lead with defense, but the Bonnies never allowed the lead to dip under 16.

Turning Point: The Bonnies led 6-5 with 14:48 left in the first when Demitrius Conger jumped started a run that saw the lead grow to 17 points in a matter of minutes.

Player of the Game: Eric Mosely led the Bonnies with 23 points.

Unsung player of the game: You know when baseball teams make a trade for a left-handed pitcher in the heat of a playoff chase? Well, Mark Schmidt is bringing in Dion Wright off the bench for a late-season push and the freshman responded against Charlotte with a career-high 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting. Wright's point total prior to Saturday was 17.

No sleep 'til Brooklyn. No, really: Conger stuffed the stat sheet again with 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists but lately he's played 444 out of a possible 450 minutes.

Key stat: The Bonnies had 22 assists and 22 turnovers.

What It Means: With two games remaining against Dayton and Fordham in the regular season the Bonnies are currently in a three-way tie for eighth place along with Richmond and Saint Joseph's and hold the ninth seed. Richmond lost at Dayton on Saturday while Saint Joseph's won at home against Fordham.

In the House: 3,760 at the Reilly Center.

He said it: "We talk about curbing and it's an (Irish Republican Army) term about knocking a guy down, open his mouth, step on his throat and knock his teeth out. That what you try to do when you have someone down and we didn't curb 'em. We gave them life." - St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt.

Up next: at Dayton at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

---Rodney McKissic