2011-12 CAA Team Previews: William & Mary Tribe
The second in this season’s series of CAA previews is the William & Mary Tribe.
2010-11 in Review: After a 2009-10 season that saw Tony Shaver’s team go 22-11 before losing David Schneider and Danny Sumner, the Tribe went 10-22 with a 4-14 record in conference play for an 11th-place finish. William & Mary was hampered by 3 losing streaks of 4 games or more in CAA games, including one that was part of a 7-game overall losing streak from December into January. After opening the year with a pair of 24-point losses to Virginia and Richmond, W&M traveled to upstate New York where they gave #10/11 Syracuse a scare, taking a 4-point lead with 3:08 to go before eventually falling by 3. At the conference tournament in March, the Tribe squeaked out a 4-point victory over 6th-seeded James Madison and dropped their quarterfinal contest to Hofstra.
Against Northeastern: William & Mary traveled to Matthews Arena for the only matchup between the two teams in 2010-11 and left with a 3-point loss on January 24, despite Quinn McDowell scoring his 1,000th career point. Coming off of 3 straight games in which the team shot better than 47% from long range, the Tribe managed just 3 triples out of 18 attempts from beyond the arc for the game, including 0-for-10 in the first half. Despite cutting an 11-point deficit with 1:36 remaining to a 5-point hole with 24.7 seconds to go, W&M could not finish as a last-second timeout was not granted before the clock expired.
Key Losses:
- Marcus Kitts: The only member of the 2010-11 squad who will not be returning, the 6’9″ forward provided leadership, experience and efficiency on the court. Over his 4-year career in Williamsburg, he was among the best players in program history. He made more than half of his shots, both for the season and throughout his career, while his 60 blocked shots (1.9 per game was 3rd in the CAA) marked the 4th-most in a year for a William & Mary player and he became just the 4th member of the Green and Gold to record 100 career blocks. He wasn’t necessarily great at any one aspect of the game, but was a well-balanced player that could shoot, pass and defend.
Key Returns:
- Quinn McDowell: If not the preseason favorite for the CAA’s Player of the Year award, he will certainly be in the discussion all season after earning 3rd-team all-conference honors as a junior in 2010-11. The senior guard was the only player to start all 32 games, leading the team in minutes (33.7/game) and points (15.5/game) while ranking 2nd in rebounds (5.4/game), assists (2.1/game) and assist/turnover ratio (1.43, 67/47). He’s a very good shooter (47.5%) with excellent range (45.5% beyond the arc), and will be key for William & Mary’s success this year. For what it’s worth, he was also recognized with the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award at last March’s end-of-season banquet.
- Brandon Britt: An all-rookie selection, Britt was given opportunities right out of the gate and took advantage. He solidified himself as one of the main threats on the team early in the season, though he left room for improvement. He was 2nd on the team in scoring, at 10.9 points per game, despite shooting 38% from the field. Britt has three years to improve on that, and there’s no reason to think he hasn’t been working on that over the summer.
- Julian Boatner: After a very good first year, he fell just three points behind Frantz Massenat (Drexel) in the vote for the final spot on the all-rookie squad. He led all CAA freshmen in 3-point percentage, ninth overall, on his way to sinking a school-record (among freshmen) 58 triples. Tony Shaver doesn’t really need him to develop an inside game, but if he gets more aggressive it could help both him and the team down the road.
- Tim Rusthoven: He didn’t have an overly impressive stat line, but will need to step up to fill the void left by Marcus Kitts in the paint. A rising sophomore, he showed flashes last season and will need to be consistent both offensively and defensively down low to help balance out the team’s guard-heavy lineup.
- JohnMark Ludwick: As a 6’8″ 230 pound junior, he did most of his damage from beyond the arc. He’s a forward, but wasn’t found in the paint very often. If he can add strong inside play to his game as a senior, he’ll be even more valuable. Even if he doesn’t, it won’t hurt to have a big guy that can elevate over his defenders from outside and make the shots.
What to Expect: Not a whole lot has changed on this team, as the coach has been around for quite some time and there isn’t too much roster turnover. With just two freshmen and 3 seniors, the Tribe looks built to keep its storied ‘window’ open for a couple years. This year’s sophomore class is going to be key. If they got better over the summer and benefited from the experiences they gained last season, the Tribe could end up being a scary team. If they take a step back, it could be another tough year – but the safe bet is that there will be improvement. The club suffered a handful of close losses, and they can be hopeful that more experience will turn those into close wins. It’s hard to tell where they’ll finish in 2011-12, other than to say they’ll be somewhere in the middle. Tony Shaver’s team could finish anywhere from 5th-8th, but a little higher or a little lower wouldn’t come as a complete shock, either. No matter what, it won’t be a team that others want to see in Richmond.
22nd Annual Baseball Beanpot – Consolation Game
Wednesday, January 26
7:15 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
12:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
11:45 a.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
Available only on WRBB Sports Extra
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.”
