Commercial Appeal Article
Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:13 amI know conference play has yet to begin, but nice to be recognized and hopefully the writer is correct and we will be able to "easily" exceed last year's performance in conference play.
Tulsa, SMU shaking up league predictions
Lance Murphey/The Commercial Appeal
The Tigers' Jeremy Hunt scored 24 points against Cincinnati last week to be honored as C-USA's Player of the Week. And he did it coming off the bench.
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By Dan Wolken
Contact
January 9, 2007
Before the season began, Conference USA appeared to break down into three tiers: Memphis at the top, a fairly well-defined group of three teams that could challenge for second place and everybody else.
It seemed most of the intrigue would reside in the second tier. Would Houston break through and grab the NCAA Tournament berth coach Tom Penders felt he deserved a year ago? Would UAB once again make a national splash with Mike Davis taking over for Mike Anderson? Would Rice be able to ride Morris Almond into the postseason?
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Strangely, none of those storylines developed through non-conference play. Houston fought injuries and a rough schedule, UAB had as many awful performances as good ones and Rice rode Almond's 29.7 points per game to all of six non-conference wins.
As those teams have all struggled, some new and unexpected challengers have emerged, specifically at Tulsa and SMU. Though both teams were a preseason afterthought, their solid performances in non-conference play have built hopes that they can challenge for second place in what appears to be a wide-open league behind Memphis.
Though second-year Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik acknowledged that his team's home-heavy schedule played a big role in its 10-3 record, the Golden Hurricane beat everybody it was supposed to beat and was competitive in losses at Arkansas and Oklahoma.
So why not Tulsa, which finished 11-17 last year, as a contender to challenge Memphis? After all, that's where Wojcik believes his program should be, given its longstanding national reputation earned through several deep NCAA Tournament runs over the past 25 years.
"There's tradition here, but it's like anything; our kids know the tradition but they want a part of that tradition," Wojcik said. "You have to learn how to win, you have to have success to have confidence and fortunately from our standpoint we've been able to increase our scoring, our defense has been solid and our rebounding has improved. When that happens, the results are usually pretty good."
SMU's 11-3 start has been even more surprising and should erase all doubts about Matt Doherty's ability to coach. SMU finished 13-16 last year with only four league victories, but Doherty, former Notre Dame and North Carolina coach, should equal that pretty easily.
The Mustangs did have one bad slip-up -- losing 80-76 to North Carolina A&T -- but solid victories over Dayton and TCU and a close loss at Florida State are clear indicators of improvement.
Doherty said he still thinks Houston and UAB are the top challengers, but SMU certainly belongs in the conversation.
"We openly talk about wanting to be a top-tier team," Doherty said. "Our goals are to win the league and win the league tournament. We'll see, but as the leader of this program, I've got to have those goals, and if I don't they've got the wrong guy for the job."
Feeling frustration
Mike Davis said he was frustrated with UAB's 8-7 record because the Blazers have played to the level of their competition and aren't absorbing fundamental elements of his system.
They were good enough to beat DePaul and Cincinnati and give Florida all it wanted in a 75-70 loss. But they've also lost to Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion and Western Kentucky -- all on the road -- without putting forth their best effort.
"We have a tendency to only get excited about a team like Florida. If we can play with the same intensity we played with against Florida, we'd maybe be sitting here with only one or two losses."
"Maybe it's the challenging schedule we've had, not playing home games that has our guys kind of confused, but it shouldn't be a point in January where you're still repeating yourself from things we went over from Day 1. It's the same things over and over again with so many players, and it's unfortunate because I think we have enough talent to win games if we buy in to what we're trying to do."
Hunt honored
Memphis senior Jeremy Hunt earned the first C-USA Player of the Week award of his career on the strength of his 24 points against Cincinnati in Memphis' 88-55 victory last Thursday.
Hunt went 7-for-8 from the field, including 6-of-7 from the 3-point line, tying his career-best offensive performance. Hunt is 11th in C-USA in scoring at 13.8 points per game.
"He's doing what he needs to do, leading the team, but he's doing it coming off the bench and not said one word about it," coach John Calipari said. "I think it shows that he's been humbled and ready to come back and be the greatest teammate he can be."
-- Dan Wolken: 529-2365
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Game of the week
Memphis at Houston, Thursday, 8 p.m., ESPN: Though Houston hasn't had the start it envisioned, getting a shot at Memphis early in the league schedule could be the impetus for a turnaround. Texas transfer Dion Dowell is now eligible for Houston, but guard Lanny Smith is out for the rest of the season with a foot injury.
Stat of the week
Nobody has played more close games than Marshall. The Thundering Herd has lost six games by a combined 20 points. On the flip side, coach Ron Jirsa's team has won three squeakers, beating Virginia Tech, Morehead St. and UNC-Greensboro by a combined four points.
He said it
Rice coach Willis Wilson on guard Morris Almond, who is second nationally at 29.7 points per game:
"His numbers certainly reflect what he's been able to give us on the floor, unfortunately it's a double-edged sword. At times, we've stood and watched. We've got to get a little more production out of other guys."
Tulsa, SMU shaking up league predictions
Lance Murphey/The Commercial Appeal
The Tigers' Jeremy Hunt scored 24 points against Cincinnati last week to be honored as C-USA's Player of the Week. And he did it coming off the bench.
Story Tools
E-mail this story | Print
By Dan Wolken
Contact
January 9, 2007
Before the season began, Conference USA appeared to break down into three tiers: Memphis at the top, a fairly well-defined group of three teams that could challenge for second place and everybody else.
It seemed most of the intrigue would reside in the second tier. Would Houston break through and grab the NCAA Tournament berth coach Tom Penders felt he deserved a year ago? Would UAB once again make a national splash with Mike Davis taking over for Mike Anderson? Would Rice be able to ride Morris Almond into the postseason?
Advertisement
Strangely, none of those storylines developed through non-conference play. Houston fought injuries and a rough schedule, UAB had as many awful performances as good ones and Rice rode Almond's 29.7 points per game to all of six non-conference wins.
As those teams have all struggled, some new and unexpected challengers have emerged, specifically at Tulsa and SMU. Though both teams were a preseason afterthought, their solid performances in non-conference play have built hopes that they can challenge for second place in what appears to be a wide-open league behind Memphis.
Though second-year Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik acknowledged that his team's home-heavy schedule played a big role in its 10-3 record, the Golden Hurricane beat everybody it was supposed to beat and was competitive in losses at Arkansas and Oklahoma.
So why not Tulsa, which finished 11-17 last year, as a contender to challenge Memphis? After all, that's where Wojcik believes his program should be, given its longstanding national reputation earned through several deep NCAA Tournament runs over the past 25 years.
"There's tradition here, but it's like anything; our kids know the tradition but they want a part of that tradition," Wojcik said. "You have to learn how to win, you have to have success to have confidence and fortunately from our standpoint we've been able to increase our scoring, our defense has been solid and our rebounding has improved. When that happens, the results are usually pretty good."
SMU's 11-3 start has been even more surprising and should erase all doubts about Matt Doherty's ability to coach. SMU finished 13-16 last year with only four league victories, but Doherty, former Notre Dame and North Carolina coach, should equal that pretty easily.
The Mustangs did have one bad slip-up -- losing 80-76 to North Carolina A&T -- but solid victories over Dayton and TCU and a close loss at Florida State are clear indicators of improvement.
Doherty said he still thinks Houston and UAB are the top challengers, but SMU certainly belongs in the conversation.
"We openly talk about wanting to be a top-tier team," Doherty said. "Our goals are to win the league and win the league tournament. We'll see, but as the leader of this program, I've got to have those goals, and if I don't they've got the wrong guy for the job."
Feeling frustration
Mike Davis said he was frustrated with UAB's 8-7 record because the Blazers have played to the level of their competition and aren't absorbing fundamental elements of his system.
They were good enough to beat DePaul and Cincinnati and give Florida all it wanted in a 75-70 loss. But they've also lost to Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion and Western Kentucky -- all on the road -- without putting forth their best effort.
"We have a tendency to only get excited about a team like Florida. If we can play with the same intensity we played with against Florida, we'd maybe be sitting here with only one or two losses."
"Maybe it's the challenging schedule we've had, not playing home games that has our guys kind of confused, but it shouldn't be a point in January where you're still repeating yourself from things we went over from Day 1. It's the same things over and over again with so many players, and it's unfortunate because I think we have enough talent to win games if we buy in to what we're trying to do."
Hunt honored
Memphis senior Jeremy Hunt earned the first C-USA Player of the Week award of his career on the strength of his 24 points against Cincinnati in Memphis' 88-55 victory last Thursday.
Hunt went 7-for-8 from the field, including 6-of-7 from the 3-point line, tying his career-best offensive performance. Hunt is 11th in C-USA in scoring at 13.8 points per game.
"He's doing what he needs to do, leading the team, but he's doing it coming off the bench and not said one word about it," coach John Calipari said. "I think it shows that he's been humbled and ready to come back and be the greatest teammate he can be."
-- Dan Wolken: 529-2365
--------------------
Game of the week
Memphis at Houston, Thursday, 8 p.m., ESPN: Though Houston hasn't had the start it envisioned, getting a shot at Memphis early in the league schedule could be the impetus for a turnaround. Texas transfer Dion Dowell is now eligible for Houston, but guard Lanny Smith is out for the rest of the season with a foot injury.
Stat of the week
Nobody has played more close games than Marshall. The Thundering Herd has lost six games by a combined 20 points. On the flip side, coach Ron Jirsa's team has won three squeakers, beating Virginia Tech, Morehead St. and UNC-Greensboro by a combined four points.
He said it
Rice coach Willis Wilson on guard Morris Almond, who is second nationally at 29.7 points per game:
"His numbers certainly reflect what he's been able to give us on the floor, unfortunately it's a double-edged sword. At times, we've stood and watched. We've got to get a little more production out of other guys."