A weekly round-up of men’s basketball in the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Glover named to Wooden Award pre-season Top 50 list
LOS ANGELES, CA – Iona College men’s basketball senior forward Mike Glover was tabbed on the Preseason Top 50 list for the John R. Wooden Award by the Los Angeles Athletic Club and announced on ESPN this afternoon. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball media members, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year’s individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor.
Glover earned numerous postseason accolades after his first season in Maroon & Gold. He was named to the NABC All-District First Team, the MBWA All-Met First Team and the All-MAAC First Team. Glover was tabbed as Basketball Times NCAA Newcomer of the Year as well as CollegeInsider.com’s MAAC Player of the Year and Mid-Major All-American team. The senior post performer also earned MAAC and CollegeInsider.com Postseason All-Tournament team accolades.
Glover led the Gaels in scoring and rebounding, averaging 18.4 points and 10.1 boards per game. He was the first Iona player since Jeff Ruland in 1979-80 to average a double-double. Glover ranked among the top in NCAA Division I last season in both field goal percentage (61.0%) and double-doubles (21).
To read more and see the complete list click here…
A look at the Griffs’ non-league schedule
JMU, which finished 21-12 overall and 10-8 in the Colonial Athletic Association last season, is coached by former Siena standout Matt Brady, who also coached four seasons at Marist. The Dukes are picked to finish fourth in the 12-team CAA (all predictions come from The Sporting News’ College Basketball preview issue).
JMU’s top players are Devon Moore, a point guard whose 137 assists last season set a school conference record. Small forward Julius Wells , a senior, already ranks 12th at JMU in career points (1,311) and third in career 3-pointers.
Masiello plans to restore Jaspers’ luster
In the not-so-distant past MAAC teams in search of a men’s basketball coach traditionally reached out to youthful assistant coaches from higher-level programs.
That, though, has changed in recent years as three of the more recent coaching searches resulted in the hiring of head men with past experience running a program: Tim Cluess at Iona (formerly at Division II C.W. Post), Mitch Buonaguro at Siena (once a head coach at Fairfield), and Sydney Johnson at Fairfield (previously at Princeton).
News and notes from around the MAAC
Your hoopscribe is very impressed with the two new men’s coaches entering the league this season, Manhattan’s Steve Masiello and Fairfield’s Sydney Johnson.
Johnson has already been identified as one of the better mid-major level coaches nationally, for his previous work at Princeton, by one college basketball guru. Johnson fits the recent method of conference schools of hiring former head coaches from elsewhere.
Isreal named to Loyola staff
BALTIMORE – Former Loyola University Maryland standout Omari Isreal was named the Director of Men’s Basketball Operations today, Head Coach Jimmy Patsos announced.
Isreal, who played two years at Loyola form 2006-2008, will handle many administrative responsibilities for the program such as travel and academic coordination.
“We are very happy that Omari, a part of the Loyola basketball family, is a part of our staff,” Patsos said. “He was a great player here at Loyola, and this is a good opportunity for Omari to start his career.”
Bracketbusters field announced
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The field for the 10th annual Sears Bracketbusters was announced on Wednesday, and Manhattan College is one of a record 142 teams from 16 conferences that will participate in the three-day event. This marks the ninth straight time that the Jaspers’ final non-conference game will be a Bracketbusters contest.
Former Purple Eagle Benn signs with Lithuanian club
Former Niagara University standout Bilal Benn (Philadelphia, Pa.) (’10) has signed a one-year contract with Naglis Palangos of the Lithuania Basketball League (LKL).
Benn averaged 13.7 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game in two seasons for the Purple Eagles. His career averaged of 2.15 steals per game are the most in program history. The two-time All-MAAC team member was an instrumental part of Niagara’s 2008-09 team that went 26-9 and hosted an NIT game at the Gallagher Center for the first-time in school history.
Niagara to participate in Bracketbusters
The Niagara men’s basketball team will play in the 10th annual Sears BracketBusters, which will be held on Feb. 17-19.
Niagara is 5-2 in the event since first participating during the 2004-05 season and has won five straight in the series, including defeating Central Michigan at the Gallagher Center last season. This season’s opponent will be determined on Monday, Jan. 30 and Niagara will be the road team.
The Sears BracketBusters, a three-day men’s college basketball event pitting potential NCAA Championship hopefuls against each other Feb. 17-19, will feature 13 nationally televised games – on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3. The NCAA hopefuls will be selected from a pool of 142 teams from 16 conferences, the largest Sears BracketBusters pool in the event’s history, which includes two team that reached the 2011 Final Four in Houston.
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Rider set for Bracketbusters
The 142-team field will feature teams from 16 conferences: 12 each from Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-American Conference and Southland; 11 each from Ohio Valley Conference and Big South; 10 each from Horizon League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Missouri Valley and Summit League; nine each from America East, Big Sky and Big West; eight from the Western Athletic Association; four from the Southern Conference; three from the MEAC; and two from the West Coast Conference.
MAAC media day to be held in Springfield
The MAAC is ending a two-decade tradition by holding this year’s basketball Media Day at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. on Oct. 25.
It’s the first time the event, where both the men’s and women’s polls and preseason all-league teams are announced, won’t be held in New York City since 1991. That year it was at the Albany Marriott.
The reason is obvious: The MAAC Tournament is being played at the MassMutual Center in Springfield this season, the beginning of a three-year contract.
Audu quick to say “I do” to Siena
Ontario shooting guard Richard Audu took only one official visit, and was ready to commit before it was over.
Audu was eating breakfast at his Albany hotel on Sunday morning, before he headed back to Canada, when he committed to Siena for the 2012-13 season.
“The fan base, I love how people treated me,” the 6-foot-4 Audu said today. “I loved the academic part of the school, the strong academics. Me and the coaching staff, we had a really good relationship coming in already.”
New Jersey guard “intrigued” by Siena
When Teaneck (N.J.) senior guard Chris Jones visited Siena last week, the coaching staff showed him a timeline that mapped out his career at the college.
It showed him getting immediate playing time as a freshman.
“The just told me I can come into Siena and definitely play and get minutes,” Jones said. “They can’t promise me that I can get to the NBA, but they did promise me a college degree, so they were very honest with me.”
Should college athletes be paid?
A lengthy article in an esteemed national publication criticizes the hypocrisies of college athletics. The author details a multitude of scandals involving seedy recruiting, nefarious boosters and academic fraud. The narrative winds to a damning conclusion: “[T]hanks to the influence of the colleges, there is growing up a class of students tainted with commercialism.”
You should use that photo up top for the caption contest. The look on that coach’s mug is priceless.