A weekly round-up of Atlantic 10 men’s basketball.
Polishing for picking: UR’s Justin Harper
Justin Harper returned to the site of last summer’s improvement to prepare for the June 23 NBA draft.
Harper, a recent University of Richmond graduate (marketing degree), trained in Boston for four weeks before his senior year with Bobby Martin, a former University of Pittsburgh post man (1988-91) known for his knack for developing big men.
Harper, a 6-foot-10 225-pounder from Meadowbrook High, made a notable production jump during his final season as a Spider, averaging 17.9 points and 6.9 rebounds, while shooting 44.8 percent from 3-point range. As a junior, Harper averaged 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and shot 34.4 percent from beyond the arc.
So as Harper tunes up for the draft, in which he is projected by many analysts as a late first-round pick or early second-round choice, he is back in Boston. During the past couple of weeks, he trained with Martin and a handful of other players who are potential NBA draftees. Among them is Temple’s 6-9 Lavoy Allen.
“We get up in the morning, go to the gym, and kind of have a shoot-around, like a short workout where we get up some shots and learn a few techniques,” Harper said from Boston on Sunday night. “And then we play in some two-on-two, or three-on-three situations to work those techniques in.”
Weight-lifting sessions follow in the afternoons.
The San Antonio Spurs auditioned Harper last week. “I shot the ball pretty well,” he said. “It was my first (workout for a team), so I was kind of nervous at first. But as it went along, I got more comfortable.”
UR basketball notes: Terry returns favor
On June 11, 2002, Jerry Wainwright hired Rodney Terry as an assistant on the University of Richmond’s coaching staff.
Terry returned the favor.
Terry, named Fresno State’s head coach on April 7, on Tuesday named Wainwright one of his assistants. Terry, 43, has spent the past nine years on the Texas staff.
He worked for Wainwright, 64, for four seasons at UNC Wilmington before Wainwright was hired by UR.
Alex Gavrilovic signs with Dayton basketball
New University of Dayton men’s basketball coach Archie Miller has landed his first recruit. Miller has announced that Alex Gavrilovic has signed with the Flyers. Gavrilovic had announced his intentions on May 12, but it could not be announced by the University until after he signed his financial aid agreement.
“We are very excited to add Alex to our basketball program,” Miller said. “His skill set is really good and he has a really high IQ for the game. He’s a high character kid, who will fit really well in our University’s community.”
Gavrilovic is a 6-9, 230-pound power forward from Strasbourg, France. He committed to Providence to be part of its 2010 recruiting class, but was unable to play there due to complications in transferring his French scholastic credits. Because of this, he is considered an international transfer and has four years to complete his four years of eligibility. He will turn 20 in November.
He sat out the 2010-11 season and worked with Dan Barto at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, to improve his basketball skills while taking academic coursework to insure his eligibility.
Barto, the head trainer at IMG, has high praise for Gavrilovic. “Alex is a true inside-out player who can play comfortably with his back to the basket and can shoot consistently beyond the college three-point line. He had the opportunity to play professional basketball overseas, but because of his upbringing he has displayed a desire to compete in college basketball and gain a top-notch education at the same time. This is a good get for Dayton.”
Flyers to play home and home series with Alabama
The University of Dayton men’s basketball team has signed an agreement to play a home-and-home series with the University of Alabama beginning next season. The Crimson Tide will visit UD Arena on Wednesday, December 7. The game time will be announced at a later date, as will the return game in Tuscaloosa during the 2012-13 season.
The game will be a homecoming for Alabama head coach Anthony Grant. Grant played four seasons for the Flyers from 1983-87. Team MVP and co-captain as a senior, Grant played on two NCAA teams and an NIT team in his college playing career. After three seasons as head coach at VCU, Grant just completed his first year as the ‘Bama head coach, taking the Tide to a 25-12 record.
Another familiar face will join Grant on the visiting sidelines on December 7. Alabama Associate Head Coach Dan Hipsher was an UD assistant coach on Don Donoher’s staff from 1980-89.
Dayton well above national average in latest APR
INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Dayton Division of Athletics has traditionally been one of the top academic performers in the nation and that was backed once again by the NCAA with the release of the latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) reports.
Of the Flyers’ 17 teams, 12 had an APR score of 985 or higher (out of a perfect score of 1,000), well above the national average : women’s soccer (994), women’s track and field – indoor and outdoor (991 for both), volleyball (995), men’s golf (1,000), women’s basketball (1,000), women’s rowing (1,000), women’s tennis (990), women’s cross country (994), women’s golf (1,000), men’s basketball (985) and softball (985).
UD men’s and women’s golf, women’s basketball and women’s rowing all had perfect scores for 2009-10.
Dukes making their mark overseas
PITTSBURGH – Five members of the 2007-08 Duquesne men’s basketball team – the same squad that ended a 13-year streak of sub-.500 seasons with a 17-13 record – are excelling professionally overseas.
Guards Aaron Jackson (Spain), Reggie Jackson (United Kingdom), Kojo Mensah (Venezuela) and forward/centers Shawn James (Israel) and Kieron Achara (Italy) have all either completed, or are in the midst of completing, highly-successful seasons around the globe.
All five played major roles in the turnaround of the DU basketball program in head coach Ron Everhart’s second season.
Aaron Jackson has led Bizkaia Bilbao to the final four of the Spanish ACB Playoffs. Bilbao faces Real Madrid in the best-of-five semifinals beginning Thursday, May 26. Jackson, who has played in all 36 games, leads the men in black in scoring (11.4), assists (2.9), steals (1.3) and minutes per game (26.1). He is shooting 48.2 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from 3-point and 84.6 percent from the foul line.
Duquesne excels in NCAA 2009-10 APR
PITTSBURGH – Duquesne’s men’s cross country, men’s outdoor track and lacrosse programs all scored a perfect 1,000 for the 2009-10 academic year and 14 of DU’s 16 athletics programs scored above the national average in its sport according to the latest multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) report released on May 24.
The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes both retention at an institution and academic eligibility in its calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. The current multi-year APR report covers the 2006-07 through 2009-10 academic years.
The men’s basketball program showed an APR jump of 45 points to 960 for the largest multi-year rate improvement among Duquesne’s athletics programs. The 960 total is well above the men’s basketball four-year national APR average of 945. Six programs scored 990 or above including women’s lacrosse (994), men’s outdoor track (992), men’s cross country (991), women’s basketball (991), women’s rowing (991) and women’s outdoor track (990).
Mike Lonergan names Hajj Turner new associate head coach at GW
WASHINGTON, DC – Hajj Turner has been hired as Associate Head Coach for men’s basketball at The George Washington University, head coach Mike Lonergan has announced. The hiring of Turner marks the first addition to Lonergan’s staff.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Hajj join us as we strive to take the GW men’s basketball program to the next level,” Lonergan said. “Hajj has tremendous experience both playing and coaching college basketball, and I am excited about what he will bring to GW.”
Former Owl Mark Karcher inducted Baltimore Catholic League Hall of Fame
PHILADELPHIA – Former Temple University great Mark Karcher was inducted into the Inaugural Class of the Baltimore Catholic League Hall of Fame. Karcher was among 14 former BCL standouts honored at a dinner held at the Rolling Road Country Club in Catonsville, Md. on May 19.
Karcher, who played at Baltimore’s St. Francis Academy (’97), is the one of only two players to be named Catholic League tournament MVP in three consecutive years, and is the league’s only four-time all-tourney selection. He also led the Panthers to tournament championships in 1995, ’96 and ’97.
Isaiah Philmore ready for wins
There are a lot of things about Xavier that impress Isaiah Philmore, but he considers the program’s winning history among its most appealing aspects.
Consistent victories have eluded the 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward thus far in his college career. He spent two years on a Towson team that went a combined 14-47 (6-30 Colonial Athletic Association) before deciding to transfer.
Late Wednesday, he chose Xavier as his next destination. He’ll have two years of eligibility with the Musketeers after a red-shirt season in 2011-12.
Spearman moves to JUCO program
He’ll be playing before much smaller crowds against lesser competition, but Brandon Spearman believes he has a better chance of reaching his goal of being an NBA point guard by transferring from the University of Dayton to a junior college.
The 6-foot-3 sophomore-to-be will play next season at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, one of the top JUCO’s in the nation.
Past UD star lends a helping hand
A lot has happened since Anthony Grant agreed a while back to be the featured speaker at Wednesday night’s Agonis Club athletic awards banquet.
Originally, the talk was going to be mostly about the life lessons that come from sports. Grant, after all, was a Dayton Flyers hoops star in the 1980s. He played in 105 games, three postseason tournaments and was UD’s leading scorer, leading rebounder, team captain and MVP his senior season.
Temple aims for blue-chip hoops recruits
Temple’s four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances under coach Fran Dunphy and renovations to the Pearson/McGonigle Hall Complex make the Owls a more appealing choice for recruits.
The $48 million renovations, which will include state-of-the-art practice facilities and basketball offices, are scheduled to be done in by next season.
“You take Florida, Florida State, Syracuse. If you go to those facilities, they will blow you away,” said Lamont Peterson, an adviser to some of region’s elite high school and college basketball players.
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Coming soon
Stay tuned for the first annual Pickin’ Splinters rundown of the A10′s incoming class. Fans can get an in-depth look at the new student-athletes to play next season in the Atlantic 10.
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