Team Preview: #26 Xavier Musketeers

TEAM: Xavier Musketeers

CONFERENCE: A-10

2006 RECORD AND ENDING: 25-9 (13-3) Lost to Ohio State in NCAA Tournament second round.

KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: Drew Lavender, Josh Duncan

WHAT'S TO LOVE: Junior College transfer Charles Bronson. That’s right: “Death Wish”, Mothra-Facklers! In all seriousness, several of the new starters this year played significant rotation minutes last year, so we’ll say “experience” is what’s to love.

WHATS NOT TO LOVE: The Musketeers lost most of their rebounding to graduation. Hence the addition of the 6’9” Bronson. In addition, Rick Majerus has taken the reins at St. Louis, so the Billikens could be a renewed threat in the conference.

KEY PLAYER: Lavender. He had an excellent 3-1 A/TO ratio last year, and he can score when the team needs him to. But the ability to get his teammates involved has to be the greatest lift the 5’7” dynamo can provide.

BEST CASE: Xavier returns to the dance and doesn’t have to face a one-and-done beast in the second round.

WORST CASE: Xavier returns to the dance and DOES have to face a one and done beast in the second round (USC or UCLA, pick your poison).

STF PREDICTION: 24-6 (13-3). The class of the Atlantic 10 goes back to the tournament with ease.

Word On The Court - October 5, 2007

Want to know what is buzzing in the world of college hoops? Word on the Court will provide links to the biggest and most interesting stories in the world of college basketball.

God this is an amazing idea. Tom Izzo puts the local media through one of his own practices. I would pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars to watch this (FanIQ)

The best mascots from a solid Big 5 blog. No arguments with the Hawk and Keggy (College Hoops Heaven)

Kentucky fans asked not line up more than 3 days ahead of time for tickets. Cmon, it's not like they have work or class to go for (SEC Hoops)

I'm not sure what's more shocking: That Maryland earned a 0% in graduation rates, or that Florida State got a 100% (Rush The Court)

The U goes for a new look on the court (Miami Sports Blog)

I really don't think that the Big East needs your money to view their website (AOL Fanhouse)

ESPNU is heading to Memphis for Midnight Madness (Memphis Edge)

Got a story? Send it to stormingthefloor@gmail.com

TV Week Interviews CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager

I won't write too much about this, just share some quotes, because this is not a source one would usually check for college basketball news. But TV Week interviewed Tom Yeager, who has been the Commissioner of the Colonial Athletic Association for 22 years, and has made incredible strides in building a top Mid Major conference during that time.

The conversation roams into other sports a bit, so here are some highlights that might interest basketball fans:

TVW: Now that you have the markets and television deals in place, what is the next step to increase exposure for the league?

Yeager: It may sound simplistic, but our success is what’s going to help exposure more than anything else. When you can create product that has the public interest, then it’s of greater interest to our broadcast partners and fans. I think at the end of the day, that’s what it runs to. Football gives us a strong presence in the fall, and we’ve had two very successful basketball seasons for both men and women. If we put up a third one, it helps the growth of everything. We just have to not give up the ground that we seem to have gained.

TVW: Of course, success has its downside as well. I continue to see CAA schools such as Hofstra and Drexel mentioned whenever there is discussion of adding schools to the bigger conferences. How do you plan to keep all the schools happy?

Yeager: We are a very homogenous group of schools from the outset, either being predominantly state schools or very large private schools that are located in major metropolitan areas. All of our schools are very attractive institutions beyond athletics and have positive connections between them.

The success we’ve had continues to build equity in the CAA brand. However, the risk is that if a big 1A conference came along, that’s something the schools would look at.

I really do believe we are in the right spot with our programs, and as commissioner I am committed to make the conference grow. Our schools realize that the grass isn’t always greener in the neighbor’s yard.

Of course, everything could change if the Big 10 ever went from 11 teams to 12. That would start some dominoes moving, but short of that everything is stable.

and, later:

TVW: Every year there are sportscasters who seem to go out of their way to denounce the CAA’s inclusion as a contender for at-large teams in the tournament. I’m sure you were happy to quiet the naysayers when George Mason made its run last year and VCU took down Duke last March.

Yeager: Absolutely. That’s one of those things where people form opinions about your teams without ever seeing them play. When the Valley was criticized for having four teams and we took heat for getting Mason in, those guys cranked out propaganda without ever seeing those teams play.

The big thing about basketball is that the decks are so stacked toward the home team, but there are a lot of good teams out there, and a lot of these upsets that you see are because the margin between teams is now more narrow than some people think.

I think sometimes the media gets swept up with the brand names that they don’t look to some of the other stories out there that can be compelling. That comes at the expense of other teams. But it’s a great feeling to see those teams finally get a chance to step up and show the world what they can do.

Yeager seems to be a rather visionary cat. To stay 22 years in what could easily have been a bush-league job, and then to build it into something great by making sensible expansion decisions, is a real template for conferences intent on smart growth.

The Big 10 expansion question is interesting - they would probably grab an MVC school with a Division 1 football program and a solid basketball program, which would result in... what, exactly? I could see a CAA team moving up (slightly) into the Atlantic 10, but everything else is kind of out of their neighborhood.

Which is fine. I'd rather see the current group stick together and see if they can continue to barge their way into the national picture year after year, until they become a fixture.

The proof, as they say, will be in the pudding.

Near Columbia this Weekend? Get an early look at Mizzou.

Here's a bizarre turn of events. The Missouri hoops program is attempting to build off of the popularity of the skyrocketing football program in order to generate some early interest. The Mizzou Arena will be open to the public this Saturday at 4pm, just prior to the Nebraska @ Missouri football game. Back in my day, this would have been the other way around.

In addition to this weekend's open gym, the Missouri basketball will be hosting Mizzou Madness on Friday, Oct. 12 at 9 p.m. Held following the annual Rock Bridge-Hickman high school football game at Faurot Field, Mizzou Madness is free to the general public, but the University of Missouri Department of Athletics is teaming up with the Central Missouri Food Bank and asks fans to donate one canned (food) item per person upon entry. Collection bins will be available at the gates.

[Missouri Athletics]

Since the official Midnight Madness isn't until next Friday, there will probably be precious little opportunity to assess the team itself, but I believe it is always worthwhile to check out the nooks and crannies of the building itself when the chance provides.

Count me also amongst those who believe that Mike Anderson will succeed in turning this team around. This will be a good chance for Tiger fans to show some early support for that mission.

STF's Super Awesome Top 30 Team Preview: #27 Stanford Cardinal

#27 Stanford Cardinal



TEAM: Stanford

CONFERENCE: Pac 10

2006 RECORD AND ENDING: 18-13 Lost to Louisville in first round of the tournament.

KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: Just like UConn, everyone on last year's team is back (C Robin Lopez, F Brook Lopez, F Lawrence Hill, G Anthony Goods, G Mitch Johnson)

WHAT'S TO LOVE: I know what you are thinking: after controversial making the tournament (ask a Syracuse or Drexel fan what they think of Stanford) and they showing their credentials by getting absolutely embarrassed by Louisville in the first round of the tournament, what the hell is there to love about Stanford? Well, if you can chalk up the Louisville disaster to a young team basically crapping its collective pants with 21 turnovers, you'll see that this team really has alot of talent returning. You've got 14 feet of the Lopez twins downlow (take that however you want) and quite possible the most underrated player in west of the Mississippi in Lawrence Hill.

WHATS NOT TO LOVE: Still no idea who is going to be the reliable point that this team needs. The Louisville game really put the Cardinals turnover problem in the national spotlight. So who takes over at point? Goods is a better scorer, Johnson lost the job last season, Fields is unproven and Shiller is a transfer. Good luck fixing that problem.

KEY PLAYER: While Brook Lopez and is triple-double threat every night, we are intrigued by Lawrence Hill. An inside-outside threat, Hill lead the team in scoring last season, and has two game winners to his credit. How many teams can boast two triple-double threats in their frontcourt?

BEST CASE: Stanford's frontcourt plays like the best in the nation, someone figures out how to handle the basketball, Goods and Fields shoot well from beyond the arc, Stanford finishes second in the Pac 10 behind UCLA.

WORST CASE: Turnover problems continue to plague this talented bunch, team once again folds under spotlight just like against Louisville, NCAA investigation leads to the discovery that one of the Lopez twins is actually Ricky Martin.

STF PREDICTION: 3rd or 4th in the Pac 10, Second round of the NCAAs

Howland Reups At UCLA

Really a no-brainer for here both sides.....Ben Howland signed a seven year extension with UCLA for close to $2 million a year. After guiding the Bruins to back-to-back Final Four appearances, Howland has firmly left his stamp on UCLA basketball. People often forget the shape of this program before Howland arrived. He got the Bruins to play tough, physical basketball and returned the program to the top of the Pac-10. An underrated coaching in UCLA, if you can believe that.

STF's Super Awesome Top 30 Team Preview: #28 Connecticut Huskies

#28 Connecticut Huskies



TEAM: Connecticut Huskies

CONFERENCE: Big East

2006 RECORD AND ENDING: 17-14, missed postseason for first time in 20 years.

KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: When I say everyone is back, I mean EVERYONE. All five starters (C Hasheem Thabeet, F Jeff Adrian, F Marcus Johnson, G Jerome Dyson, G AJ Price) and the top four reserves are all back from last seasons squad.

WHAT'S TO LOVE:Last season, Calhoun let the kids run out on to the court to see what they could do, knowing that they would take their lumps. And lumptaking they did (see no postseason for first time in 20 years). The benefit of last season is that this year everyone from this group of former McDonald's All-Americans has one year of Big East play under its belt. With a collective season of experience and growing pains, look for this teams potential to finally show. Not to mention that last year's squad was still pretty solid defensively (12th in rebounding, 1st in blocks)

WHATS NOT TO LOVE: Turnovers and scoring will still be an issue. The Huskies ranked 137th in scoring last season and really never found a go to scorer all season. Jerome Dyson can shoot the lights out (I witnessed this firsthand at Syracuse) but he'll need scoring help from Price and Thabeet if the Huskies want to contend in the Big East.

KEY PLAYER: Hasheem Thabeet. He wisely stayed away from the NBA Draft last season. It's really as simple as this: If Thabeet can develop anything close an offensive game (6.2 ppg), he'll greatly help the guards and UConn will win alot more games then expected.

BEST CASE: Thabeet finds some offense, Price lives up to his potential, Adrien remains a rebounding monster, the experiences from last season pays off with some big road wins in the Big East.

WORST CASE: Dyson proves to be too streaky of a shooter, Thabeet gets a concussion hitting his face off the rim, this group shows that maybe last season wasn't really a fluke and the Mason hangover continues.

STF PREDICTION: Between 4th and 6th in the Big East, return to the Dance.

STF Conference Preview: ACC

STF CONFERENCE PREVIEW: ACC



LAST SEASON RECAP: The ACC was easily the top conference in America last season. Basically every team outside of Wake Forest made some kind of impact. Seven teams went dancing (UNC, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, BC, Maryland, Geroegia Tech) and two others had legit arguments to make it (Florida State, Clemson). Carolina and Virgina would end up sharing the regular season crown with the Heels winning the tournament. One flaw with ACC last season: no teams in the Final Four and only one even reached the Sweet 16.

TEAM TO BEAT: You would have to be a damn fool not to pick Carolina to repeat. Almost everyone is back and ACC looks like it will be down from last season

SECOND TIER: Expect Duke to improve from last season's disaster with the return of Nelson, Henderson, Palulus, and Scheyer (2007 annoying white Duke player to hate). NC State is going to be a major player as Coach Lowe returns the trio powered by Costner, Grant, McCauley. Clemson should finally reach the tournament. Virginia and Maryland lost a bunch but could be interesting.

SLEEPER: Miami - Last season's run in the ACC Tournament showed that this team has the talent. Returning are the ACC's top shot blocker in Anthony King and one of the best shooters in Jack McClinton. Don't sleep on the Canes.

OVERRATED: Boston College - Three starters return, but it's rebuilding time in Chestnut Hill. Gone are ACC Player of the Year Jared Dudley and Sean Marshall. Say hello to the NIT!

WORST TEAM: Wake Forest - Hate to do this in the wake of Skip Prosser's death, but a last place team from last season is losing it's top scorer and rebounder. And not exactly sure who is the veteran leader who will carry this squad through such a difficult time.

STF PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

1. North Carolina
2. NC State
3. Duke
4. Clemson
5. Virginia
6. Maryland
7. Miami
8. Florida State
9. Georgia Tech
10. Boston College
11. Virginia Tech
12. Wake Forest

Skip Class and Still Lose: You, Too Can Be an Iowa State Cyclone

Unless you dig wrestling, it must be really tough to be an Iowa State Cyclones fan these days. The Cyclones hoop program has been in serious decline since Larry Eustachy decided to hit a keg party in Columbia, Missouri, seeing their win totals decline steadily since the 2003-2004 season, which was their last with 20 W's.

Last season they dipped below .500, winning fifteen, losing sixteen, and going 6-10 in the Big 12. That's bad basketball in a premier conference, coming from a team that used to challenge Kansas for the North crown on a perennial basis.

And now comes the news that ISU isn't graduating anyone, either. The Dallas News reports that Ames is by far the worst place to send your student-athlete if you want him to either win or graduate. It's worst in hoops, where ISU graduated only 17 freshmen who entered school between 1997 and 2000. The next lowest number in the Big 12 was Texas' 33, and the highest was a surprising Oklahoma State, with 73.

Obviously, graduation rates are controversial - they don't include transfers, for instance. But seventeen? I mean... that's just bad.

Bruce Pearl Looks To Shoot Down Those Pat Summit Rumors

Well now, here's a quick way end those Pat Summit rumors. From The Big Lead, a few photos of Vols coach Bruce Pearl with an unidentified female this summer. I really don't care about Pearl's personal life, I'm just impressed the man wears a Vol colored bathing suits while on vacation.

STF Super Awesome Team Preview: #29 Saint Joseph's Hawks

#29 SAINT JOSEPH'S HAWKS



TEAM: Saint Joesph's

CONFERENCE: Atlantic 10

2006 RECORD AND ENDING: 18-14, Missed postseason for first time in six seasons

KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: Just about everyone is back from last year's squad: C Amhad Nivins, G Pat Calathes, F Rod Fergurson, G Darrin Govens, G Garrett Williamson, G DJ Rivera

WHAT'S TO LOVE: Included in the returning players are three players who averaged in double figures (Nivins, Fergurson, Calathes), the A10 leader in FG percentage as well as preseason favorite for player of the year (Nivins), a trio of sophomore guards with tremendous potential (Govens, Williamson, Rivera) and a big time transfer (G Tasheed Carr). Throw in the most underrated coach in America (Phil Martelli) and you have a recipe for success on Hawk Hill.

WHATS NOT TO LOVE: The season is going to depend on the trio of sophomore guards to take pressure of Nivins and the frontcourt. While the trio showed promise and even flashes of brilliance as freshmen, there needs to be a dramatic improvement in consistency for this team to be a serious postseason contender. "The backcourt needs physical and mental toughness," Martelli said.

KEY PLAYER: While Nivins is the A10 Player of the Year candidate, the key player for this team will be Pat Calathes. If he can continue his dramatic improvement (3ppg in '05 to 13 ppg in 06) and remain a viable second threat in the Hawk offense, expect big things from this offense.

BEST CASE: The sophomores live up to expectations and show more consistency, Nivins averages close to a double-double, Calathes builds off last seasons dramatic improvement, Carr becomes a vocal leader, they knock off Gonzaga in late November, Hawks steal the A10 from Xavier.

WORST CASE: Nivins struggles with constant double and triple teams, the sophomores struggle with the added expectation and don't live up to their hype, Calathes 2006 season proves to be a flash in the pan and the rest of the A10 teams (Rhode Island, Dayton, Saint Louis and Temple) are better than expected.

STF PREDICTION: 24-6, 2nd in the A10, Big 5 champion, 2nd round of the tournament

STF Conference Preview: The Big XII

STF CONFERENCE PREVIEW: BIG XII



LAST SEASON RECAP: Last year’s NCAA entrants were Kansas, who made it to the Elite Eight, and three of the four Texas teams. That’s a very low four teams in for the Big 12. Okie State and Kansas State won a grand total of one game combined in the NIT.

TEAM TO BEAT: Kansas, Siempre Kansas.

SECOND TIER: Big dogs went to the NBA from Texas and A&M, but the cupboard remains stocked for both. And there’s still Texas Tech and Oklahoma in the south as well. The only north team that might make noise is Missouri, though many favor Kansas State and the remaining Huggins recruits.

SLEEPER: Colorado. Jeff Bzdelik is exactly what they need - he uses defensive intensity to turn teams around fast, and he’s done it at the Nuggets and Air Force before getting this opportunity.

OVERRATED: Texas Tech. Bobby Knight is still a marquee name, but the combination of his temper, his competition for recruits, and the visual appeal of Lubbock will keep Tech perennially middle-of-the-pack. Which is infinitely better than their former position of league doormat, but still...

WORST TEAM: Poor, sad Baylor. They may never fully recover from the depressing Dave Bliss era, which nearly destroyed a program that has never had much success in the first place.

STF PREDICTION: Kansas will romp again - getting Brandon Rush back unexpectedly put them right back on course and gave the Jayhawks the experienced leader that they will need to harness all of the jaw-dropping young talent Bill Self has assembled. The three aforementioned Texas teams will probably be tourney-bound again, and Oklahoma and Missouri could find their stride as well. Six in the tournament? It’s happened before in the Big XII.

1. Kansas
2. Texas
3. Missouri
4. Texas A&M;
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas Tech
7. Kansas State
8. Colorado
9. Oklahoma State
10. Iowa State
11. Nebraska
12. Baylor

Word on The Court - October 2, 2007

What to know what is buzzing in college hoops? Word on the Court will provide links to the biggest and most interesting stories in the world of college basketball.



Well now, Indiana recruit busted with crack (yes crack) in his show. This is why I generally ignore recruiting news. (Inside The Hall)

Excellent article on the rise of big schools heading to mid-major gyms (Kyle Whelliston)

If you didn't already know, the college hoops scene in the Big Apple is terrible (Andy Katz)

This is sorta creepy: The grandson of cult leader Jim Jones will be playing for the University of San Diego (AOL Fanhouse)

I thought I'd never see it, but yes, here is a SWAC preview (Rush The Court)

The top centers in college hoops for the upcoming season. Every other position is also available at MMAS (March Madness All Season)

Looks like we finally know what Duke Crews was suspended for (Yahoo!)


Got a story? Send it to stormingthefloor@gmail.com

STF's Super Awesome Top 30 Team Preview: #30 Clemson Tigers

#30 CLEMSON TIGERS


TEAM: Clemson Tigers

CONFERENCE: ACC

2006 RECORD AND ENDING: 25-11 (7-9) Lost to West Virginia in NIT title game.

KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: Cliff Hammonds, K.C. Rivers, Trevor Booker

WHAT'S TO LOVE: Clemson came on strong at the end of last year, despite being relegated to the NIT. K.C. Rivers is just beginning to realize his full potential after coming off of the bench for most of last season.

WHATS NOT TO LOVE: Clemson has always been a middle-to-lower tier team in the ACC. That’s a hard habit to break. The key is to at least break even in-conference.

KEY PLAYER: You think I’m going to say K.C. Rivers, but I’m not. Nobody, and I mean nobody, works harder than Cliff Hammonds. He is a senior, majoring in the rigorous Architecture program, and he also scores double figures and runs the point for an up-and-coming ACC team. That’s senior leadership.

BEST CASE: Clemson reverses their conference mark from last year, going 9-7, which is enough to earn them a trip to the big dance.

WORST CASE: If the Tigers don’t build on their dominance at home, or at least hold serve, they could be headed back to Madison Square Garden.

STF PREDICTION: 22-9 (8-8) Likely Bubble team.

Everyone Say Hello to Extra P

Very exciting news here at Storming the Floor: Extra P of the The Extrpolater is going to be joining the STF staff. Outside of the The Extrapolater, Extra P is also a writer for the new blog Bus Leagues and is a member of the exclusive sports blogging fraternity known as the Channel 4 News Team. The man knows his college hoops in and out is a fantastic writer to boot. A fantastic addition to STF. Look for Extra P's work this week in the upcoming team previews and conference previews.