Radford

Big South Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:06:28 -0500

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Conference Rank: 29th

All-BIG SOUTH Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Amir Johnson	Radford	Jr
G	Chavis Holmes	VMI	Sr
G	Anthony Smith	Liberty	Sr
F	Charles Corbin	Winthrop	So
F	Omar Carter	Charleston So.	So
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
none		Points: Chavis Holmes 18.3 Rebounds: Kenny George 7.0 (injured) Assists: Amir Johnson 5.5

BIG SOUTH Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

104	UNC Asheville*	Big South	1	NCAA
139	Winthrop**	Big South	2
164	Gardner-Webb	Big South	3
209	High Point	Big South	4
232	Radford	Big South	5
252	Liberty	Big South	6
276	Coastal Carolina	Big South	7
295	Charleston So	Big South	8
330	VMI	Big South	9
343	Presbyterian	Big South	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Note: A lot has changed for UNCA since this preview was written months ago, and they would almost certainly not be our #1 pick at this time.

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the Big South?

Other BIG SOUTH Content

Conference Media Poll

Big South Poll: Winthrop the Favorite

Other

Rise & Fall: Big South

State of '08: Virginia

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:11:33 -0400

Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

VIRGINIA

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH - VCU is in the middle of a great run that started in 2002. Besides making the 2004 & 2007 tourneys, the Rams also made the NIT in 2005 & 2008. More impressively, 6 of the last 7 teams have finished in the RPI Top 90 as the program has had a lot of success in non-conference play.

GEORGE MASON - Everyone remembers GMU's shocking 2006 Final Four run, but that was not an isolated case of success under Jim Larranaga. In the last decade, the Patriots have made 4 NCAA Tournaments, 2 NITs, and finished at or above .500 in CAA play every season

VIRGINIA - In the last 10 years Virginia has made 2 NCAA Tournaments (winning just 1 game) and a bunch of NITs, but haven't really had a breakout season (at least by BCS standards). Similarly, they've never really been very bad.. expect for now. Last year's team finished below the RPI Top 100 (127th) for the 1st time since the 90's, and this year's team will most likely not even crack the Top 150 or so.

OLD DOMINION - Except for a bad spell in the early part of the 2000s, ODU has been consistently solid over the last 20 years. The '05 & '07 teams made the Big Dance, while the '04 & '06 squads finished in the RPI Top 100. After some slippage last year, ODU is once again considered one of the league favorites (behind VCU).

VIRGINIA TECH - The Hokies have come a long way under Seth Greenberg, making the move to the ACC and making the Big Dance in 2007 (their first in a dozen years). The last 2 teams were also the first in that long gap to finish in the RPI Top 100 or to finish above .500 in conference play. This year's team should once again be competitive in league play.

6. RICHMOND - Richmond has some good history, but the last four years have been rather blah. 2007 was the program's worst year in a decade, and this year's team might have to settle once again for the CBI at best.

7. HAMPTON - The Pirates have been the MEAC's best team over the last decade. In 2001, 2002, and 2006, they won the league tournament and made other close runs in 2003 & 2005 (& were good once again last year before being shocked by Coppin in the league quarters). No surprise that most experts project them to win the league once again in 2009.

8. LIBERTY - Beginning in 2003, Liberty has been consistently solid in the Big South, never finishing below .500. In 2004, they reached the NCAA Tournament after blowing through the conference tournament.

9. WILLIAM & MARY - The Tribe are still looking for that elusive first NCAA trip, but have been making strides the last few seasons. Last year's team made a surprising CAA title game run, after finishing over .500 in league play for the first time in over a decade. They've also dominated the recent series against JMU.

10. JAMES MADISON - A once decent program, JMU has endured a brutal slump that began around '01 or '02. Last year's team won 10 games for the first time since 2003, and also set a high in that period with a whopping 5 wins in the CAA. New coach Matt Brady was hired in the off-season to turn things around.

11. RADFORD - Outside of a mediocre 2006 campaign, the last handful of seasons have been very uneventful for Radford fans. 5 out of 6 seasons seasons below .500 in Big South play, and a pair of consecutive 300+ RPI seasons won't cut it.

12. VMI - VMI is known for high-scoring offenses, but unfortunately they're not known for wins. From 2004-2006, this was one of the country's worst teams. Although the last two years have been better (thanks in part to Reggie Williams), there's been little to write home about outside of a decent run in the 07 conference tourney.

13. NORFOLK STATE - The Spartans have been very consistent over the last decade, hovering around 10 or wins in the MEAC. In that time they never finished below .500 in conference play, but also haven't really come close to making the Big Dance. Last year's win over Richmond was probably their best non-conference win since 2002 (when they beat ODU on the road).

14. LONGWOOD - The Lancers are still trying to find their groove in D1. They've never finished above 300th in the RPI or won more than 8 D1 games. At least they knocked off in-state rivals Liberty & Norfolk State last year.

Last: Utah - Next: Washington

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will win the Big South?

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:51:08 -0400

Big South Preseason Poll: Winthrop The Favorite

Press Release — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:34:53 -0400

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - After a one-year hiatus, Winthrop University’s men’s basketball team has been chosen first in the Big South Conference’s annual preseason poll, as voted by the League’s Head Coaches and media panel. The announcements were made today at the Embassy Suites hotel in Concord, N.C., as part of the 2008-09 Basketball Tip-Off Media Luncheon.

Winthrop, which won its fourth consecutive Big South championship last season, received nine first-place votes and 202 total points to finish first in the 10-team race in 2008-09. The Eagles have won 20 games in each of the last four seasons, and return six letterwinners and two starters from last year’s club. The men’s preseason balloting was highly contested, as seven squads received at least one first-place vote. Radford, which finished seventh in 2007-08, is predicted second this year after receiving seven first-place votes and 189 total points. It is the Highlanders’ highest placing in the preseason poll since being predicted second in 2001-02. New Big South member Gardner-Webb was third in the voting with 188 points (three first-place votes), ahead of No. 4 Liberty (two first-place votes and 148 points).

High Point received the fifth spot in the poll with 132 points and one first-place vote, while Charleston Southern was predicted sixth with 128 points (one first-place vote). VMI received the remaining first-place vote from the panel and finished seventh with 110 points, just ahead of No. 8 Coastal Carolina (107 points). UNC Asheville, which was the Big South’s co-regular-season champion in 2007-08, was predicted to finish ninth with 83 points. New member Presbyterian, which is eligible for the men’s basketball regular-season title, received the 10^th and final spot in the poll with 33 points.

2008-09 Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll (combined points)

Rk Team (first-place votes) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points

1. Winthrop (9) 90 54 24 21 12 -- -- -- -- 1 202

2. Radford (7) 70 36 40 21 12 5 -- 3 2 -- 189

3. Gardner-Webb (3) 30 72 40 21 12 5 8 -- -- -- 188

4. Liberty (2) 20 18 32 21 18 15 16 6 2 -- 148

5. High Point (1) 10 9 16 35 6 35 8 12 -- 1 132

6. Charleston Southern (1) 10 -- 16 21 36 15 20 6 4 -- 128

7. VMI (1) 10 9 16 14 18 15 8 6 12 2 110

8. Coastal Carolina -- 9 8 7 24 25 16 9 8 1 107

9. UNC Asheville -- 9 -- 7 6 5 16 27 12 1 83

10. Presbyterian -- -- -- -- -- -- 4 3 8 18 33

Kenny Thomas is Big South Player of the Week

Press Release — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:26:32 -0500

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Radford junior guard Kenny Thomas (Richmond, Va.) and Charleston Southern forward Omar Carter (Charlotte, N.C.) have been selected as the Big South Conference Choice Hotels Men’s Basketball Player of the Week and New Balance Freshman of the Week, respectively, for games played from Dec. 3-9, it was announced today by the League office.

Thomas had the best week of his career last week as he averaged 23.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in leading the Highlanders to two wins. He took the reigns and led Radford to a double-overtime win at Gardner-Webb with a career-high 24 points, including 11 of the Highlanders’ 14 points in the second overtime period. He also had four assists and seven rebounds in the game, and was 12-of-15 ( =.800 percent) from the free throw line. In Saturday’s home win over Campbell, Thomas netted 23 points on 8-of-14 field goals, including 5-of-8 from three-point range (tying a career-high for three-pointers). He scored 11-straight points for the Highlanders to spur a 13-4 RU run that gave Radford the lead for good. For the week, Thomas was 13-of-26 from the field ( =.500), 7-of-14 from the arc ( =.500), 14-of-18 from the line ( =.778) and averaged 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals.

Carter registered the third double-double of his young CSU career last Monday against Mercer, posting 21 points and 10 rebounds in CSU’s one-point loss to the Bears. He scored 14 points in the second half while missing one field goal attempt, and hit two key three-pointers down the stretch to give CSU a late lead. Carter finished the night 8-of-14 from the floor ( =.571), 4-of-7 from long range ( =.571) and added two assists and two steals.

Other Player of the Week Nominees: Omar Carter (Charleston Southern), Arizona Reid (High Point), Alex McLean (Liberty), Reggie Williams (VMI) and Michael Jenkins (Winthrop).

Other Freshman of the Week Nominees: Earnest Bridges (High Point).

-BigSouthSports.com-

Big South Weekly Basketball Honors

Press Release — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 13:00:32 -0500

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Radford senior forward Chris Oliver (Winston-Salem, N.C.) has been selected as the Big South Conference Choice Hotels Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for games played Nov. 27-Dec. 3, while Liberty guard B.J. Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) received New Balance Freshman of the Week honors, it was announced today by the League office.

Oliver averaged 27.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in two wins last week, including the Highlanders’ first-ever win at Richmond. He tallied a double-double vs. the Spiders, scoring 24 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 56.3 percent from the floor (9-of-16) and a perfect 6-of-6 from the line. He also tallied six steals and a block in the win. Oliver then posted 30 points and nine rebounds against West Virginia Wesleyan, hitting 72.2 percent from the field on 13-of-18 shooting. He also had four blocks, two steals and two assists against the Bobcats. On the week, Oliver shot 64.7 from the floor (22-of-34), 90.9 from the charity stripe (10-of-11) and posted five blocks and eight steals.

Jenkins averaged 14.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals in Liberty’s two wins last week, including a 64-56 victory over East Carolina. He shot 64.3 percent from the field (9-of-14), 42.9 percent from long range (3-of-7) and 77.8 from the line (7-of-9). Jenkins scored a career-high 16 points vs. Southern Virginia, and added 12 points vs. East Carolina. Against the Pirates, Jenkins also grabbed three rebounds, dished out three assists and notched three steals in 21 minutes off the bench.

Other Player of the Week nominees for Week 4: Donnell Covington (Charleston Southern), Moses Sonko (Coastal Carolina), Mike Jefferson (High Point), Alex McLean (Liberty), Vincent James (UNC Asheville), Reggie Williams (VMI) and Torrell Martin (Winthrop).

Other Freshman of the Week nominees for Week 4: Eugene Harris (High Point) and Amir Johnson (Radford).

UWM 72 - Radford 60

Press Release — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:14:07 -0500

MILWAUKEE - Paige Paulsen scored 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a 72-60 win over Radford on the first night of the John Thompson Foundation Classic at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The Panthers also got 12 points apiece from Avery Smith and Allan Hanson while forcing 24 turnovers by Radford.

Chris Oliver led the Highlanders with 18 points.

UWM's led 45-43 with 11:53 remaining before it pulled away. A three by Charlie Swiggett and a basket by Smith pushed the lead to 50-43. Ryan Thornton then followed moments later with a three to make it 55-45, and Radford would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. A jumper by Paulsen gave UWM its largest lead of the night at 66-51 with 3:17 to play and Paulsen added five more points down the stretch to help secure the win.

"I thought we put together a good second 10 minutes of the first half and then in the second half I thought we played well," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "With such a young team, you want guys to just weather some of the ups and downs. I thought we did a pretty good job of that. The effort is there, and the execution is getting better all the time. I know the guys in the locker room feel good, I feel good, and it gets us off to a positive start for this season."

The Panthers recovered from a slow start to build a 30-24 halftime lead. In
fact, Radford scored the first eight points of the game, holding UWM scoreless over the first 5:38. But, Milwaukee broke the ice on a Paulsen tip-in and eventually tied the game at 13 on a three-pointer by Hanson.

Radford scored seven of the next nine points to rebuild its lead to five and
still led 22-18 with 5:08 remaining. But, sparked by three-point baskets from
Hanson and Paulsen, the Panthers finished the half on a 12-2 run to claim a
six-point lead after 20 minutes.

- From UWM Media Relations