This week on WRBB
The Holiday Road Trip wraps up with two basketball games in Virginia and the resumption of hockey season in Amherst, Mass.
Monday, January 3
6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies at James Madison Dukes
from JMU Convocation Center in Harrisonburg, Va.
with Patrick McHugh and Jared Shafran
Wednesday, January 5
6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies at Old Dominion Monarchs
from the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va.
with Patrick McHugh and Jared Shafran
Friday, January 7
6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Hockey: Huskies at UMass Minutemen
from the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass.
with Alex Faust, Ben Horner, and Jared Shafran
Saturday, January 8
11:45 a.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
12:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies vs. Hofstra Pride
from Matthews Arena
with Patrick McHugh, Andy Towne, and Brandon Challener
6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Hockey: Huskies vs. UMass-Lowell Riverhawks
from Matthews Arena
with Alex Faust, Ben Horner, and Mari Waligunda
Sunday, January 9
Available on WRBB Sports Extra
2:00 p.m. – Northeastern Women’s Basketball: Huskies vs. William & Mary Pride
from Solomon Court
with Brandon Challener and TBA
We’ve had some time to digest what we heard at media day [read: it's been a busy couple of days, but we're finally getting to post our stuff], so here’s some of the highlights from our interviews in writing, along with the full audio clips. We were able to catch up with 10 of the 12 coaches, missing Towson’s Pat Kennedy and UNC-Wilmington’s Buzz Peterson.
Monte Ross: Jawan Carter needs to be a leader and make sure that everybody else on the team has the same competitiveness that he has. Brian Johnson, who tore his meniscus on Sunday, will only be out for four weeks. The fact that it’s the same knee he tore last year should not be a factor as the season continues. Devon Saddler and Jamelle Hagins should be impact freshmen. Key quote: “Playing time is determined in practice every single day.”
Bruiser Flint: Trip to Turkey was good for chemistry, helped with mental toughness which was a problem last year. Taking some extra precautions to take Chris Fouch healthy, he’s been working on getting his body stronger. Doesn’t expect Bill Coen to give up a home game for special events away from Matthews Arena very often, but Drexel is looking forward to the game at the TD Garden. Key quote: “You can’t worry about what happened in the past. You gotta look forward.”
Jim Larranaga: Lots of inexperience and mistakes lead to last-second losses in 2009-10 (five games on last possession) – don’t blame Cam Long. This year, Cam doesn’t have to carry the load – has four other starters back. Trip to Italy was great for team chemistry. Balance is key – in lives and on court. Lots of injuries in the first couple days of practice – only 8 healthy players for third day, though most were minor injuries. Cornelius, Long, Hancock and Allen will play point-guard-by-committee until someone emerges as primary. Very confident in top 6 (Morrison, Pearson, Long, Hancock, Cornelius, Tate), other positions are question marks. Key quote: “If you ask me, VCU and ODU are two of my favorite places to go because the crowds are into it; there seems to be a lot at stake.”
Rod Barnes: Different type of a team from last year; more of a team concept this year – Jihad Ali could score 15-16 points, but there will be lots of guys around 8-9. He talked quite a bit about Ali, so expect big things from him this year. Trip to Bahamas was “huge” to gain some experience and develop team chemistry. Key quote: “I think Jihad Ali is gonna have a big year.” - based on how much he said that, it’s worth repeating here.
Mo Cassara: Charles Jenkins is “driven, determined, he works as hard as any kid I’ve ever been around.” Is improving pretty much everything (ballhandling, shooting, defense). Greg Washington will be improving his offensive game. Nat Lester’s status is still in question. Loss of football will create a different vibe for basketball on campus. Key quote: “I do embrace [social media]. I love it. I do talk to my team…about how to use that. I think it’s a big part of the society that we live in today.”
Matt Brady: Andrey Semenov hasn’t practiced yet (as of Tuesday) after banging his head in practice – not a concussion, but the team is treating it as one. Heightened expectation within team after underachievement last year – both because of injury and lack of ability to finish games. Defense is the only focus. Key quote: “In order to challenge for a league championship at this level, in the CAA, you’ve gotta be one of the better defensive teams in the league.”
Bill Coen: Complete confidence in Chase Allen’s ability to lead without Matt Janning, Nkem Ojougboh and Manny Adako. Too early to say who’s the starting center, but the sophomore class is important (perhaps a clue?). “[The sophomore class] can’t play as sophomores. They have to play as juniors and seniors.” Will mix it up between flex and running – feels pretty good with ball in Chase’s hands either fast or slow. Rivalry with Boston University means a lot to both schools. Continuity and connection with players is big with bringing Brian McDonald back – “set the gold standard for work ethic [last year].” Key quote: “I can’t thank the student body enough. They really made Matthews a special venue to see a college basketball game. This year, I think it’s gonna be even better…they’re worth points on the scoreboard…”
Blaine Taylor: He likes having more people to talk to at media day now compared to 10 years ago (that’s what he’s talking about at the beginning of the audio clip). He’s a “program director” – losing one top player won’t hurt the team too much. Plenty of other players will be able to fill the void left by Gerald Lee, not just one person. Despite top-ranked defense last year, there’s room for improvement. Old Dominion is at a point where BCS schools like Georgetown, Missouri, etc. will play them because losing to ODU doesn’t hurt and winning really helps. Key quote: “What I tell our guys is if you all are gonna try to be the player of the week, then we ain’t gonna be the team of the week.”
Shaka Smart: Jamie Skeen will benefit from departure of Larry Sanders, since he’ll be a focal point for a lot of what VCU does. Toby Veal will make the biggest impact of all newcomers (since he’s a junior college transfer). Bradford Burgess has all-CAA potential (“this list” that Coach Smart refers to is the all-conference team list). Coaches are not at all involved in decision-making process for location of CAA tournament. There are as many as 5-6 teams that could win the conference. Key quote: “In a lot of ways, [Joey Rodriguez] was our most valuable player last year and I think he can be significantly better this year.”
Tony Shaver: Returning players are the key, not highly-touted freshman class. Kendrix Brown is ready to go, could surprise people with his efficiency. Guarantee games are a part of the future for budgetary reasons, but Coach Shaver looks forward to having the problem of not being able to schedule BCS schools. Key quote: “The important thing for Quinn McDowell is to be Quinn McDowell and not do more than he’s capable of.”
As we creep closer to the start of the basketball season (is it November 12 yet?), we’ll keep going with our CAA team previews. The Hofstra Pride are up next.
March 16, 2010 – Back to the NIT
Despite the outcome of the game, the raucous crowd of over 4,400 at Matthews Arena was the culmination of years of resurrecting Northeastern basketball. An appearance on ESPN2 drew unprecedented buzz leading up to game day, and likely created countless new fans.
October 10, 2009 – Hockey’s win at Colorado College
