A weekly round-up of men’s basketball in the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase expands to four games
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the addition of Fairfield University and Old Dominion to the 2011 Holiday Showcase schedule held at MassMutual Center on Friday, December 9th. The event will include featured match-ups from all three NCAA Divisions, with a Division I doubleheader including UMass, Siena, Fairfield University and Old Dominion.
“We are excited to work in conjunction with three of our neighbor institutions as well as new MAAC friends to develop a great celebration of college basketball for Western Massachusetts,” said John L. Doleva, President & CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “The Hall of Fame hopes that the Holiday Showcase becomes an annual mainstay in our basketball community.”
A “Day in the Life” to debut at MAAC’s preseason awards show
EDISON, N.J. – An idea that grew out of a brainstorming session seeking to identify new and creative ways to showcase the outstanding overall quality of the student-athletes who play basketball in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has blossomed into a showcase video presentation which is part of the league’s exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“A Day in the Life” is a 12-minute long video that gives viewers an insight into a typical day of a basketball student-athlete, and features one student-athlete from each of the MAAC’s 10 institutions. It is a centerpiece in “The MAAC Experience,” a 600-square foot exhibit in the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame annually attracts upwards of 150,000 visitors.
Loyola’s “Road to MAAC-achussetts”
“The MAAC Experience” to debut at preseason awards show
EDISON, N.J. – The MAAC will debut its exhibit, “The MAAC Experience,” at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in Springfield, MA., when the league hosts its Men’s and Women’s Basketball Preseason Awards Show, also at the Hall, on Oct. 25.
“The MAAC Experience” will showcase the league’s 10 institutions and will feature a digital display with the most up-to-date information about MAAC men’s and women’s basketball, as well as historical artifacts and memorabilia from the conference’s 30-year history.
The 600-square foot exhibit will also include the video “A Day in the Life,” which features 10 basketball student-athletes from each of the MAAC institutions, giving viewers an insight to a typical day in their lives. The video was filmed on the league’s 10 campuses and includes many of the MAAC’s rising stars who will compete this season, including:
Signed, sealed delivered: Niagara Purple Eagles
“This is a steal for Niagara. His stock dropped because he was hampered by injuries. He can play both guard positions. He makes his teammates better. He has a good mid-range game.”
Signed, sealed, delivered: Rider Broncs
“He is the most athletic kid coming into the league. He’s a big-time rebounder and shot blocker. Nobody will compare to him as rebounder. He’s going to have to be coached to score. He’s built and aggressive and can jump.”
Signed, sealed, delivered: Marist Red Foxes
“That’s New York City right there. Small guard with a high basketball IQ. You can see how Chuck Martin stockpiled small guys.”
Adding Jones could lift Iona to new level
The rich just got richer with news that likely preseason conference favorite Iona got a positive ruling on the hardship waiver of transfer junior guard Lamont “Momo” Jones, who becomes eligible to play this coming season.
And, now, the question becomes just how good can Iona become?
We’ll speculate a little on that, below.
Jones played the last two seasons at Arizona and averaged 9.7 points and 2.4 assists per game there last year. The Wildcats advanced to the NCAA tournament’s round of eight before losing to eventual national champion UConn.
CoachDempsey.com
It is an exciting time of year because everybody is still undefeated! We are excited about our team again this year. Tonight we will have our fifth practice and the guys have given us a great effort so far.
Once again we will start the year as a “Dark Horse” which is a position that we are very familiar with. A dark horse is a horse that not much is expected from but one that emerges to prominence.
A day in the life with Rider
A look at Siena’s non-league schedule
The Midshipmen were 6-8 in the Patriot League last season and 11-20 overall. They are picked for sixth in the eight-team conference this season. Top players are 6-4 senior swingman Jordan Sugars (16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds) and 6-7 sophomore forward J.J. Avila (11.5, 5.3). Sugars needs 11 more rebounds to become the ninth player in the program’s history with career totals of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Avila was last season’s Rookie of the Year in the Patriot League. Navy also has a new coach in former Penn State head man Ed DeChellis.
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Coleman, Penders, Rothstein among special guests at Fairfield
FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The Fairfield University basketball programs will host two Tip-Off Receptions next week that will include three very special guests – Freddie Coleman, Tom Penders, and Jon Rothstein.
The first event takes place in Springfield, Mass. on Tuesday, October 25 with ESPN Radio’s Freddie Coleman and Coach Tom Penders will attend to discuss the upcoming basketball season. The event will take place at Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, beginning at 6 pm. Fairfield University women’s basketball play-by-play announcer John Cummings will emcee the event.
Coleman joined ESPN in 2004 as a co-host of GameNight, which is carried by more than 300 affiliates nationwide nightly from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. ET (or starting at 7:30 p.m. following the 30-minute radio-version of ESPN’s popular Pardon the Interruption on some stations). Prior to joining ESPN Radio, Coleman was weekday afternoon co-host of FoxSportsRadio 980-AM in Albany, N.Y.
Grasso tabbed as associate head coach at Iona
NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Iona College men’s basketball head coach Tim Cluess announced the promotion of Jared Grasso to associate head coach. Both Cluess and Grasso enter their second season in New Rochelle.
“It’s a pleasure to promote Jared to this position,” said Cluess. “His tireless work since the day I was hired has been instrumental in the success and the direction of our program here at Iona.”
Coach Masiello blog
MAAC announces ESPN deal and broadcast schedule
EDISON, N.J. – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and ESPN announced Monday a six-year rights agreement extension for enhanced coverage of MAAC men’s and women’s basketball across multiple national platforms.
In total, the deal features a record 80 national appearances over 40 scheduled contests, an increase of 25% from last year’s schedule and the most ever for the MAAC. All 10 member institutions will receive a minimum of three men’s basketball and one women’s basketball appearances this year.
The agreement continues to include the men’s championship game on ESPN or ESPN2 and the women’s championship game on ESPNU, two men’s basketball appearances on ESPN or ESPN2, and continuation of a weekly game on ESPNU. The agreement features a new National MAAC Game of the Week on ESPN3, ESPN’s multi-screen network available through an affiliated Internet or video provider online via WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and on ESPN on Xbox LIVE.
Niagara’s Egemonye signs with Hungarian club
Former Purple Eagle center Benson Egemonye has signed with Kis-Raba menti Takarek Soproni KC of the Hungarian A-Division.
Egemonye (’09) played three seasons for the Purple Eagles where he was a part of the 2007 NCAA Tournament and 2009 NIT teams and earned All-MAAC Second Team honors in 2009. Egemonye holds the school’s single season record in field goal percentage (62.6) set in the 2007-08 season and career field goal percentage (58.3). Benson is sixth in career blocks with 113 and has the seventh most blocks in single season (56 in 2008-09).
Ex-Siena standout Ubiles in spotlight
Hampered by injury since his college career ended 19 months ago, former Siena star Edwin Ubiles is hoping to revive his basketball future on an international stage next week.
Ubiles, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound forward who is the Saints’ third-leading career scorer, will play for Puerto Rico in the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Puerto Rico will begin competition against host Mexico on Wednesday at 9 p.m.
ESPN’s MAAC Preview
For the last three years, Tom Parrotta has known what to expect from his players before the season started.
Elton Frazier (12.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg), Greg Logins (11.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg), Julius Coles (10.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg), Robert Goldsberry (6.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg) and Tomas Vazquez-Simmons (4.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, school record 273 blocked shots) accomplished a great deal in their time at Canisius, including graduating early, and the Golden Griffins will certainly miss them both on and off the floor, but Parrotta is also excited about some of the unknowns that lie ahead for his team this season.
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