A weekly round-up of Atlantic 10 men’s basketball.
Tu Holloway among invitees to 2011 USA Basketball Men’s World University Games tryouts
CINCINNATI — Xavier University senior guard Tu Holloway, a 2010-11 Associated Press Third Team All-American and the 2011 Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year, is one of 22 of the nation’s top collegiate athletes that have accepted invitations from the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee to attend the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s World University Games Team training camp. Holloway and Wisconsin’s Jordan Taylor are the only invitees named to one of the top three teams for 2011 AP All-American.
The training camp, which will be held July 29-Aug. 7 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be used to select the 12-member team that will represent the USA at the 2011 World University Games men’s basketball competition Aug. 13-23 in Shenzhen, China.
“This is another great opportunity for Tu to test himself against the best players in college basketball,” said Xavier head coach Chris Mack. “The chance to compete for a spot to represent our nation on the 2011 USA Basketball World University Games Team makes this opportunity even more special. This experience should help Tu be better prepared for a great senior year at Xavier.”
Tom Ostrom named to Archie Miller’s staff at Dayton
University of Dayton men’s basketball coach Archie Miller has announced that Tom Ostrom has joined the Flyer staff as an assistant coach. Ostrom, 41, joins Miller’s staff after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas.
“We are really excited and fortunate to have Tom become a part of our program,” Miller said. “There are very few people in this business who combine his level of experience, talent as a recruiter, and unmatched work ethic. Tom is going to add tremendous value to our program. He is someone our players will relate to and he will be invaluable in their total development.”
“I’m honored to be able work here at the University of Dayton, a place known across the country for its great tradition, fan base, and support,” Ostrom said. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to join coach Miller and be a part of such a talented and energetic staff.”
Duquesne’s Jackson leads Bilbao to ACB finals
PITTSBURGH – Former Duke Aaron Jackson scored a team-high 17 points to lead Bizkaia Bilbao to an 80-72 win over Real Madrid on Thursday night. With the win, Bilbao advances to the ACB Playoff Final for the first time in franchise history where it will face regular-season champion Regal FC Barcelona in the best-of-five Final.
Bilbao, which finished sixth of 18 teams in the regular season, dispatched second-place Real Madrid in four games. Jackson, in his first season in the ACB, averaged 11.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the series that saw the men in black rally from a series-opening defeat to win three in a row. Jackson was 4-of-5 from the field and 6-of-6 from the foul line in the series clincher.
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Xavier’s Lyons listed as one of the most underrated
The glue-guy for the Atlantic 10 champions scored 13.6 points per contest and helped take some of the pressure off of star guard Tu Holloway. The best thing about Lyons?
Temple names Dwayne Killings assistant coach
PHILADELPHIA – Dwayne Killings, who served as the Owls’ assistant director of men’s basketball operations from 2006-09, returns to Temple University as an assistant coach, announced Temple head coach Fran Dunphy. Killings was an assistant coach at Boston University during the 2010-11 season.
“We are very fortunate to be able to have Dwayne Killings rejoin our staff,” Dunphy said. “Dwayne possesses great knowledge of the game, and has the inherent ability to communicate that effectively. The fact that he had been here for three years is an added bonus.”
“I am honored and humbled to be back working for Coach Dunphy and Temple University,” said Killings. “I have huge shoes to fill following Matt Langel, but my experiences working here at Temple along with my time at the NBA and working for Pat Chambers at Boston University have helped prepare me for this opportunity. I am eager and excited to get to work among some familiar faces.”
Four Billikens named Strength and Conditioning All-Americans
ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University’s Paul Eckerle (Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) of the men’s basketball team, Janisha Gearlds (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) of the women’s basketball team, Kristin Nicoletti (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) of the softball team and Justin Kwasa (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel) of the men’s track and field team are among 247 collegiate student-athletes named 2010-11 All-American Strength and Conditioning Athletes of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
Now in its 32nd year, the award program recognizes student-athletes whose athletic accomplishments, in the opinions of their strength coaches, reflect dedication to strength training and conditioning. Student-athletes are recognized also for academic and personal accomplishments as well as integrity. This is the third consecutive year SLU has had four student-athletes selected.
St. Joe’s scheduled for 2011 Charleston Classic
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Saint Joseph’s will be one of the eight teams in a competitive field in the 2011 Charleston Classic. The fourth annual tournament will take place from November 17-20 at Carolina First Arena in Charleston, S.C.
ESPN announced that Northwestern would be the eighth team, joining the previously announced teams – Saint Joseph’s, Georgia Tech, LSU, Seton Hall, Tulsa, Virginia Commonwealth and Western Kentucky.
The 2011 Charleston Classic will feature 12 games over the three days. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in a championship game on Sunday, Nov. 20.
Wheeler to be honored at Rams Legends golf outing
KINGSTON, R.I. — The Annual Fast Break Club Rams Legends Golf Tournament will be held Monday, June 20 at Quidnessett Country Club in North Kingstown, R.I. This year’s honoree is Ram Legend Tyson Wheeler.
Wheeler, who was named an assistant men’s basketball coach at Fairfield University on May 19, finished his four-year career as one of the best men’s basketball players in the history of the program. The starting point guard on the Rams squad that advanced to the Elite Eight of the 1998 NCAA Tournament, he is currently the program’s second-leading scorer (1,918 points) while ranking first all-time in assists (712).
Behind the Wolfpack: Flag Man is the Reilly Center
Junior forward Andrew Nicholson takes a pass in the post, spins under the basket and makes a thunderous dunk. As PA announcer Adam Bennett screams “An-drew Nic-hol-son!” a thin, balding, bespectacled man rises at midcourt and waves a Canadian flag in tribute to the 6-foot-9 power forward from Mississauga, Ontario.
Rex “Flag Man” Marvin has been a fixture inside St. Bonaventure’s Reilly Center since he was a schoolboy and the Bonnies were riding the back of future NBA Hall of Famer Bob Lanier to the Final Four.
That was in 1969, but the flags didn’t come out till 30 years later. During the last 12 years Marvin has waved the flag of every foreign-born player that’s ever filled the Bonnies roster.
Minutemen Gaffney, Lasme invited to Oklahoma City mini-camp
Tony Gaffney and Stephane Lasme will workout today and tomorrow with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder was the team hosts a Free Agent Workout.
Lasme and Gaffney remain two of the best UMass hoops players in recent years
Former UMass basketball stars Stephane Lasme and Tony Gaffney are participating in free agent workouts with the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 8th and 9th, according to UMass Athletics. As an alum of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, I hadn’t seen much of the two players since they left the Minutemen to embark on NBA careers which have gotten off in fits and starts. The recent news brings back fond memories of both players, who still happen to be among the best I’ve ever personally seen in Minutemen maroon and white.
After being drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 2007, Lasme bounced around from the D-League to the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, eventually ending up in the Euroleague in 2008 and Israeli League in 2009. Gaffney followed much the same course, playing in Israel and Turkey after training with the Lakers and Celtics. Both are talented, though whether or not they’ll join former Cs star Kendrick Perkins on the OKC squad remains to be seen.
Beltway basketball battle
There’s a long and sorry tradition in this market of letting blue-chip basketball talent leave.
Well before becoming NBA Hall of Famers, for example, Spingarn High School’s Elgin Baylor and Dave Bing went away to college (the College of Idaho and Syracuse, respectively) because no schools around here wanted them. Notre Dame, never known as a hoops power, once landed three of our first-team All-Mets—Austin Carr of Mackin High School, DeMatha Catholic High School’s Sid Catlett and Collis Jones of St. John’s College High School—in the same year (1967). And in recent years, the local scene has faced such indignities as having to watch Michael Beasley and Kevin Durant, teammates on the P.G. County Jaguars, a local AAU team, win back-to-back NCAA Player of the Year honors while playing for Big 12 schools. There’s also star-in-the-making Kendall Marshall, who declared he’d play for the University of North Carolina—after just his freshman year at Bishop O’Connell High School.
Fordham mourns the loss of Jack Rowland
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham University community lost a valuable member on Thursday with the passing of John M. (Jack) Rowland, UGE ’56, a generous benefactor of Fordham Athletics, at the age of 80.
“Jack was a great Fordham man who had a tremendous dedication not only to the athletic teams but above all, to the student-athletes at Fordham,” said Executive Director of Athletics, Frank McLaughlin. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Carol fro her loss.”
Rowland enrolled at Fordham in the 1950’s after serving in the Navy. Following his graduation from Rose Hill in 1956, Rowland worked as a claims adjuster and attended law school at New York University at night, earning his J.D. in 1962.
Delroy James stresses versatility and shooting range in advance of N.B.A. Draft
When Delroy James looks at the various NBA mock drafts floating around the Internet these days, he chuckles. Then he gets a little mad.
The former University of Rhode Island star sees the names of players slotted ahead of him who he knows he can play with. In fact, he feels he’s downright better than many of them. To prove his mettle, James is on a vagabond tour of NBA cities that stopped in Waltham, Mass., Tuesday for a visit with the Celtics. He was in Sacramento last weekend and Washington, D.C. on Monday and will be in New York with the Knicks Wednesday. He’ll spend next week hopping from New Jersey to Atlanta then to Charlotte and Indianapolis.
A-10 announces men’s basketball conference match-ups for 2011-12
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Conference will once again play a 16-game men’s basketball conference schedule in 2011-12, which allows teams to face each opponent once and three teams twice. The complete 2011-12 Conference schedule with dates and times will be announced at a later date.
Here is a look at each school’s home and away pairings for the 2011-12 season:
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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