Texas St

Thirty-Two Impact Freshmen, Part Two

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:59:30 -0700

After going over the teams expected to win their regular season titles, we move on to talking about the top freshmen in each conference. Will all automatically take over and become the stars of their respective teams and leagues? It's tough to say at this point in the season, but that doesn't mean that we can't discuss it. Below are the picks for final 16 conferences, and Part One can be found here.

MAC: Kris Brewer (Kent State)
The Memphis native spent last season at Brehm Prep in Illinois, and his presence will add to the options that Rob Senderoff can call upon. The Golden Flashes are expected to contend in the MAC this season due to their returnees, but the ability of a player like Brewer will help as well.

MEAC: Dwight Meikle (Hampton)
Meikle was originally expected to attend St. John's but the school released him from his Letter of Intent in April, clearing the way for Hampton to land a player who could be among the best in the MEAC. Meikle's a versatile wing who can both score and attack the glass, something the Pirates will need if they're to win the MEAC.

Missouri Valley: Christian Kirk (Missouri State)
Kirk had to sit out his senior season due to Missouri transfer rules, but there's no doubt that Missouri State gets a player who is a serious candidate for Newcomer of the Year honors. As a junior at St. Charles (MO) High, Kirk averaged 17.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Mountain West: Hugh Greenwood (New Mexico)
Big things are expected from the Australian, who many expect to slide right into the starting role left open by the departed Dairese Gary. Greenwood averaged 17.1 points per game for the Australian U-19 team at the U-19 World Championships this summer in Latvia, and at 6'3", 209 he's got the size needed to play the point with a physicality not seen in many freshmen.

Northeast: Andrew Nicholas (Monmouth)
Nicholas has the ability to step in and play right away in the first season of the King Rice era at Monmouth. Nicholas can play both forward positions and is a versatile offensive player, something the Hawks need given their offensive issues last season (averaged just 60.5 points per game).

Ohio Valley: Nino Johnson (Southeast Missouri State)
Getting the Memphis native to commit during the early signing period last season was quite the coup for the Redhawks, who get a 6'8" forward more than capable of contributing immediately. Johnson's physical tools have made him the trendy pick to be the best freshman in the OVC, and it would come as no surprise if he were to make good on the preseason praise.

Pac-12: Josiah Turner (Arizona)
The case could be made that the Sacramento native is the best point guard in the Pac-12 before playing a game in college. He's that skilled, possessing the ability to make plays for himself as well as setting up teammates for quality shots. If Turner performs at the level many expect him to, don't be surprised if the Wildcats win the league.

Patriot: Justin Burrell (Holy Cross)
The Crusaders lost their leading assist man in Andrew Beinert, which could open the door for the 5'8" Burrell. The Virginia native averaged 20.0 points, 8.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game as a high school senior and spent last year at Fishburne Military School in Virginia.

SEC: Anthony Davis (Kentucky)
Davis' upside (not going to go into the overused story of his growth spurt during high school) makes him a candidate to be one of the best players in America and not just one of the nation's best freshmen. The power forward can do a variety of things on both ends of the floor, and his play as a senior earned him a McDonald's All-America Game selection.

Southern: Adjehi Baru (College of Charleston)
With returning starter Willis Hall being lost for the season due to a torn ACL it was critical that the Cougars received some good news from the NCAA on Baru. Thursday brought that news, bolstering the frontcourt of a team expected to once again contend for the SoCon title. Baru averaged 19.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game at The Steward School in Richmond, Virginia last year.

Southland: Luke Mergerson (Texas State)
With just two starters returning the Bobcats will likely need to call on some of their nine newcomers to contribute this year. One of those players is Mergerson, who played at Duncanville (TX) High School. At 6'8", 240, Mergerson has the size needed to be an impact freshman in the Southland Conference.

SWAC: LeAntwan Luckett (Alcorn State)
Luther Riley takes over as head coach at Alcorn State with the hope being that he can turn around a program that won just six game over the last two seasons. Luckett will be a key component for the Braves, as he is a slasher who averaged just under 20 points per game as a high school senior. Luckett received offers from BCS programs but chose Alcorn, and the Braves could benefit greatly from his decision.

Summit: Matt Poches (Oakland)
Given the loss of big man Keith Benson, some may not think that Greg Kampe's Golden Grizzlies can win the Summit League again. But they will be right back in the mix thanks in large part to the number of contributors returning on the perimeter. There lies the problem for a talented player like Poches: when and how often can he get on the floor? But the freshman is athletic enough to help Oakland out if he can earn playing time.

Sun Belt: Mychal Ammons (South Alabama)
Ammons led his Vicksburg (MS) High team to a 6A state title last season, averaging 21.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game as a senior. And as Ronnie Arrow looks to rebound from a disappointing 2010-11 without four starters from that team, players such as the versatile Ammons will need to step up.

WCC: Gary Bell, Jr. (Gonzaga)
Mark Few put together a very good recruiting class and the Kent, Washington native is the centerpiece of it. Bell was the state's Mr. Basketball last year, and he also played on the same Seattle Rotary Select team as Washington freshman Tony Wroten Jr. Bell's versatility on the wing will help account for the loss of Steven Gray and allow the Zags to once again contend for a WCC title.

WAC: Shaquille Stokes (Hawaii)
It's probably a safe assumption that Stokes doesn't have issues with homesickness given the fact that the New York City native picked the furthest possible location to attend college. Stokes averaged 18.4 points and four assists per game as a senior at Lincoln (NY) High, helping lead the Railsplitters to a 29-3 record last season.

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the Southland?

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:25:58 -0800

Southland Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:17:58 -0800

Conference Rank: 21st

10 year average: 27th

Southland Conference Page

All-Southland Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Devin Gibson	Texas-SA	So
G	Josh Alexander	SFA	Sr
G	Kenny Dawkins	Lamar	Sr
F	Anthony Vereen	Texas-Arlington	Sr
F	Matt Kingsley	SFA	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans Josh Alexander Devin Gibson		Points: Josh Alexander 16.0 Rebounds: Brandon Bush (Tex St) 7.2 Assists: Eric Bell (SFA) 5.7

Southland Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

84	Stephen F. Austin	Southland	1	NCAA
133	Lamar	Southland	2
150	Texas Arlington**	Southland	3
187	Sam Houston St	Southland	4
230	McNeese State	Southland	5
242	Northwestern St	Southland	6
250	Texas San Anton	Southland	7
257	SE Louisiana	Southland	8
272	TAMU CC	Southland	9
277	Texas State	Southland	10
294	Nicholls State	Southland	11
312	Central Arkansas	Southland	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the Southland? (soon)

Other SLC Content

Conference Media/Coaches Poll

Other

Rise & Fall: Southland

State of 08: Texas

State of '08: Texas

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:15:15 -0700

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.

TEXAS

TEXAS - Easy one here. Texas has made ten straight NCAA Tournaments under Rick Barnes, and have reached the Sweet Sixteen or better fives times.

TEXAS A&M - From 1988 to 2004, A&M was a horrendous BCS program that managed justt one NIT appearance. But thanks to Billy Gillispie, A&M has won at least 20 games and made the postseason in four straight seasons. The future of the program is a bit less certain under Mark Turgeon.

TEXAS TECH - In Bob Knight's six full seasons, the Red Raiders made 4 NCAA Tournaments and reached the NIT semifinals. Last year's team was destined to miss the postseason regardless of who the coach was, and its hard to project what type of coach Pat Knight will be.

BAYLOR - Scott Drew took over a broken program at the start of the 03-04 season, but has managed to turn things around. Last year the team won 21 games and reached the Big Dance. Many pundits expect a Top 25 squad this year. Not bad considering the 21-53 record from '04 to '07.

UTEP - Since 2004, a year after Billy Gillispied took over, UTEP has made two NCAA Tournaments and the CBI. The Niners should once again make a postseason push (probably NIT or CBI) in 2009.

6. HOUSTON - Its been over 15 years since Houston last made the NCAA Tournament, but Tom Penders teams have been consistently competitive. His four teams have all won at least 9 games in Conference USA, and 3 made the postseason (2 NITS and the CBI last year).

7. NORTH TEXAS - Johnny Jones has quietly transformed UNT from a consistent loser into a consistent winner. The Mean Green made the Big Dance in 2007 after rolling through the Sun Belt Tournament, and were solid last year, going 17-11 against D1 teams. Once again in 2008, North Texas should be dangerous in league play.

8. SAM HOUSTON STATE - Last year's Bearkats fizzled out after a great start, and late-season SLC tournament success has been hard to come by recently. But overall, this has been the most consistently solid SLC team over the last decade, and one of the only league teams capable of knocking off big-name non-conference opponents.

9. RICE - The program finally parted ways with 16-year coach Willis Wilson, whose teams varied from good to horrible and anywhere in between. From '03 to '05, the Owls finished in the RPI Top 100, but have gone steadily downhill since. Last year's 3-27 finish was an unfortunate end to Wilson's tenure.

10. STEPHEN F AUSTIN - SFA's great 26 win season, which included wins over Oklahoma and Top 100 San Diego, came out of nowhere considering the Lumberjacks were a sub-200 RPI team the previous three seasons. SFA is the 2009 favorite to accomplish what they couldn't last year, winning the Southland tournament.

11. TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI - Ronnie Arrow did a masterful job in his tenure at TAMU-CC, turning a green D1 program into a 20-win program. But after making the Dance in 2007, Arrow left, and its hard to tell whether the program can regain a decent level of success under Perry Clark.

12. TCU - In six seasons under Neil Dougherty, TCU never finished over .500 in either the CUSA or MWC, although the 2005 team did sneak into the NIT. Former Kent State coach Jim Christian was hired in the off-season to turn things around.

13. LAMAR - In the last 7 seasons, Lamar has finished .500 or better in the SLC six times, but have never really been able to put together a dangerous postseason run.

14. UT-ARLINGTON - After making the NCAAs last year, UTA is once again one of the league favorites. In the previous 9 seasons though, the Mavs won just a single SLC Tourney game.

15. SMU - The last time SMU was any good was 2003, and the last time SMU was Tournament good was 1993. Matt Doherty was brought in to turn things around, but his teams have gone 7-25 in CUSA play.

16. UTSA - Once one of the more consistently solid Southland teams, UTSA simply hasn't been good the past few seasons. A 2009 .500 finish in the league would be a step in the right direction.

17. UTPA - Considering they've been stuck as an independent for a decade now, UTPA's minimal success isn't that bad. They've been able to beat a good amount of the in-state Southland members over the years, but haven't beaten a Top 200 team since December of 2004.

18. TEXAS STATE - In '06 & '07, this was one of the worst programs in the country, with just 8 D1 wins. That makes last year's 10-16 D1 record shockingly good.

19. TEXAS SOUTHERN - After winning the SWAC in 2003, there hasn't been much to cheer about at Texas Southern. The team has hovered around 300 in the RPI.

20. PRAIRIE VIEW - Like Texas Southern above, Prairie View hasn't been good since 2003.. but unlike Texas Southern who has at least been decent in SWAC play, the Panthers have been atrocious.

*Houston Baptist will also join D1 this season

Last: Tennessee - Next: Utah

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