UMBC Basketball's Rally Monkey Blog

This Blog Has Moved

neilballofrubber — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 12:05:01 +0000

I said it before, and now it’s happening. This site will move to a new domain. Enjoy the new site.

http://retrieverbasketballrallymonkey.com/

Another Recruit For Next Year

neilballofrubber — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 23:49:51 +0000

This recruiting season just keeps getting better and better for UMBC. The Hoop Group has reported today that 6’8″ forward Will Wise has given a verbal to play for the Retrievers next season. Hoop Group’s Alex Kline wrote a great story about his history, which mirrors Baltimore Ravens’ tackle Michael Oher, of the movie The Blind Side. After spending his first two years in Abington Friends School in the Philadelphia area, he went to a prep school for his junior year of high school at The Hun School in Princeton, NJ. This is where he got noticed by scouts from New Hampshire, Fordham, Virginia Military Institute, Manhattan, Western Kentucky, Colorado State and Providence. ESPN’s take on him says that while he has a great mid-range jumper, something that UMBC lacked since the graduation of Darryl Proctor, the two-star prospect (same rating as Jay Greene) needs to improve on his rebounding in his senior year of high school.

My guess now is that Ryan Cook will not be on scholarship, unless I have miscounted.

Predictions for the Season

neilballofrubber — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 20:05:10 +0000

I like playing this game, because you get to look back on yourself and laugh. Like last year; when I predicted that it would have been New Hampshire’s year. Wow, was I way off on that! Anyway, while it’s still the preseason, as college kids are donning their costumes for Halloween, and coaches are doing their interviews trying to drum up interest, fans and media around the country are making random predictions on how their team is going to run the table and go to the Final Four. My predictions are after the jump.

This Year Won’t Be As Bad As Last
Seriously, how can this squad have less than four wins this year? There was a ton of talent on the squad last year, but something wasn’t clicking. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that there was more talent on last year’s squad than in the 2007-2008 championship year, but again, something wasn’t clicking. This year’s squad has three seniors, and although two are new, well, recent history shows that wasn’t too bad. Just ask Mike Lonergan. Ever since Laurence Joliceour joined the squad as a graduate student from Manhattan, there has been a decidedly growing feeling that UMBC will be climbing out of the cellar. Add in grad transfer Travis King from George Washington, and the return of Justin Fry, the last remaining player from the championship season, clearly, five wins is achievable.

Boston University Will Finally Not Disappoint
For five seasons, Boston was predicted to finish first, but for five years, Boston disappointed. It could be said that it was due to one common factor: coach Dennis Wolff. Wolff, who was fired following the 2009 AE Quarterfinal loss to UMBC, was known as a good recruiter who couldn’t coach and would lose good players. Last year, the Terriers hired Villanova assistant Pat Chambers to be their head coach. While I thought insisting that he would lead the Terriers to a championship last season was too much, it was obvious from the start that he would revive that program, and it couldn’t have been clearer after Boston’s upset over regular season champions Stony Brook in the AE Semifinals. This year, with preseason All Conference picks John Holland and Jake O’Brien, along with some high-profile recruits out of Chambers’s native Philadelphia, BU will most likely win its sixth AE title, and finally stop disappointing in the coaches poll.

De La Rosa and Satchell Will Win Multiple Players of the Week Awards
Last year, Chris De La Rosa scored 11.7 points per game, and Adrien Satchell grabbed and average of 5.1 rebounds. Simply put, there is no reason why these two players cannot improve on these stats. Though neither players garnered POW awards last season, Satchell landed on the All-Rookie Team. Chris De La Rosa, however, was controversially left off of any All-Conference Team.

I Will Make Money Off This Blog
Stay tuned for changes to this blog. The season starts in two weeks, but before then, I will be moving to a new domain where I can have ads. Some software issues need to be taken care of first, but within the next two weeks, be prepared to change your bookmarks.

So Who is This Ryan Cook Fellow?

neilballofrubber — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 05:57:32 +0000

Those who attended Midnight Madness this past weekend were introduced to a 6’2″ player that ran away with the dunk contest, finishing ahead of freshman Matt Conway. So who is this guy?

Laurel native Ryan Cook was a Division 2 walk-on at Chestnut Hill College in suburban Philadelphia. As a freshman in 2008-2009, Cook started in 16 games and was the second leading scorer for the Griffins with 11.8 points per game, and had 42 steals during that season. As a sophomore, Cook upped those numbers to 13.7 ppg, 51 steals, and a nice little D1 scholarship. Due to transfer rules, Cook will not be eligible to play until next season.

This will bring next year’s total to thirteen players, the first time UMBC has had the maximum number of scholarship players used since the 2008-2009 season.

Miss Me, Yet?

neilballofrubber — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 03:43:44 +0000

So what really sucks about not having your computer for nearly a month is that you get cut off from the outside world sometimes. But thankfully, that stage in my computer’s life is over.

During the time my motherboard and power-switch failed at the same time, plenty of stories took place. Ever since Laurence Jolicoeur joined the squad, giving added skill for UMBC’s biggest weakness from last season, rebounding, there’s been chatter about UMBC climbing the ranks in the conference. However, the coaches did not agree in Thursday’s AE Media Day, unanimously giving UMBC their last-place vote.

Just like the Conference Preview stated, however, UMBC will be relying on the seniors to climb out of their funk from one year ago, and as I’ve stated already, the biggest wild card will be what condition will Justin Fry return to. The grad student spend his senior year as a medical redshirt, and like Randy Monroe stated, “Last year, just sitting out watching what the team had to go through, he had a chance to see the game from a different perspective.“ Will he play erratic from the year off, or will he be the most mature player on the court? The other big question is the shooting ability of sophomore Brian Neller. The guard shot 1.000 in high school, mostly from beyond the arc. But once he moved up to college and that arc went back six inches, his shooting in his freshman year went down to .300. The big question around Neller will be how much has he improved during the offseason. His speed on the court was his biggest downfall; if he’s rushed when he shoots, he’s off, but if he has all the time in the world to shoot, he banks it.

With Midnight Madness going on as this post is being typed up, the America East has announced their season schedule (it only came out right before preseason), with UMBC opening up at home against Stony Brook on Sunday, Jan. 2 and ending at home against Albany. Pretty interesting that there’s such a gap between the regular season finale and the post-season. It’s possible that I could attend the conference opener (as most readers know, I now live on the west coast), however, I do plan on being at the non-conference closer against Niagara.

In other news, stay tuned over the next several weeks, there will be some major changes to this blog.

Retrievers Get Another for Next Season

neilballofrubber — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 13:15:52 +0000

Point Pleasant Beach, NJ native Jordan Wejnert, currently due to begin playing post-grad prep-ball for Worcester Academy in Massachusetts, has accepted a scholarship to play for the Retrievers next season, according to the Ashbury Park Press. The 6’5″ guard averaged 18.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.7 steals per game in his senior season at Point Beach High, the only school year he attended there. During his first three years of high school, he attended Ramsey High in North Jersey, where he was the only player carrying a low-winning squad. However, since transferring, he has garnered Third Team New Jersey All-Group 1 from New Jersey Local News, as well offers from New Hampshire, Cornell, NJIT and several D2 schools.

Another Grad Transfer To Play This Year

neilballofrubber — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 01:36:51 +0000

UMBC has rounded up their twelfth player for the year, and just in time. Both the UMBC Sports Blog and the Athletic Department have reported that graduate student Laurence Joliceour was given an added year of eligibility by the NCAA. Joliceour, who played three years for the Manhattan Jaspers of the MAAC, was injured during his freshman year of 2006-2007. Upon graduation from Manhattan last school year, Joliceour enrolled in graduate school at UMBC. This will be the second player this year who is playing his graduate-ball for UMBC after three years at another school; the other player being Travis King, who graduated from George Washington; and he will also be the third overall graduate player for the squad. Justin Fry took a medical redshirt last season after suffering an MCL tear near the end of the 2008-2009 season.

The 6’9″ forward averaged 4.6 points in 68 games he played for the Jaspers. He also scored in the double figures in 12 games. Even though those stats are not as impressive, given the inexperience of last year’s squad, this will certainly help. Where Joliceour will contribute to most is at the free throw line. One of the bones of contention last season, the Retrievers averaged .692 from the stripe, including key misses late at home against New Hampshire. During his Jasper tenure, Joliceour shot for .732.

Publications Predict Last Place

neilballofrubber — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 16:00:22 +0000

I’ve already put in my two cents into where the team will finish this upcoming year, and as of right now a prediction of sixth through eighth seems fair. Major publications, on the other hand, do not. The overall consensus, all predict UMBC to finish in last place. A bit harsh, I think.

New RAC Floor

neilballofrubber — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:37:35 +0000

I don’t know if anyone has seen it in person yet, but the Athletic Department’s Dawg Blog has released a video of how the RAC Arena floor was changed this past summer.

This Upcoming Season

neilballofrubber — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:55:15 +0000

It’s the time of year kids love to hate…the start of school. It’s also the time of year the college kids move into the dorm, and fall sports are beginning, and even before that starts, UMBC has already fired its first shot towards College Park in the form of a soccer ball. It’s also the time of year when some publications begin making their predictions towards the college basketball season.

Around the blogosphere, predictions for this coming year include problems with shooting accuracy, two predictions of eighth place, and a player to watch. While more mainstream publications usually wait until Midnight Madness approaches before their predictions, this blog will be one more place to get a prediction.

Following two straight trips to the conference championship, UMBC practically fell to the bottom of the college basketball world, with a record of 4-26. Three of those wins were against conference opponents, keeping UMBC out of ninth place, and while no one had any delusions of a third trip to a championship, no one could have foreseen how bad last season went. Over the course of the season, it seemed like the team was getting better, topped off with the regular season finale in Durham, NH, beating New Hampshire 79-50.

The most logical prediction going into the season is that most of UMBC’s key players from last year showed notable improvement and will return to the squad. However, four departures were even more key, as the Retrievers lose Matt Spadafora (graduation) Chauncey Gilliam and Shawn Grant (transferred out) and Robbie Jackson (academics). I don’t see a fast rise to the top like I would hope, but I would not be surprised at all to see UMBC climb out of the cellar at all. As I see it, the starting lineup should look as follows:

Chris De La Rosa
Travis King
Chase Plummer
Adrien Satchel
Justin Fry

I know what everyone’s thinking…why start with two players who are wearing a UMBC jersey for the first time? Well, it’s logical about King, the former GW player using his final year of eligibility as a grad student brings experience to the squad, something that was severely lacking one year ago. While playing against UMBC last season for the Colonials, King shot 3 for 4, 2 for 2 from the line for 8 points and nabbed 3 rebounds. Pretty impressive for just a 16 minute outing. As for Chase Plummer, he should be a serviceable replacement for Grant, and Brian Neller should continue to be a threat from the bench at his position. Throw in redshirt freshman Jamar Wertz, that whole spot on the floor will be a big threat.

The biggest question mark every Retriever fan should either be nervous or excited about is Justin Fry. The big man officially listed as a forward makes his return after taking a medical redshirt last season following an MCL injury suffered late in the 2008-2009 season against Maine. During his first three years on the court, he has frustrated some in the stands, but it wasn’t until last year that fans really realized how much he brought to the table. It would have been nice to see him as a twin-threat with Jackson, but in what’s now considered an A-List school by Parade Magazine, SEC Football shenanigans do not apply.

You read Parade Magazine? Ugh!

Fortunately, Fry can be spelled by freshman Matt Conway, out of the John Zito Pipeline. What was most anticipated when Fry returned was having two big guys on the court at the same time. Now that’s still a possibility, but the freshman would need more experience. Fortunately, he has one year of prep experience under his belt.

Another player I would like to see get more playing time is Bakari Smith. Hopefully, he is out of Randy Monroe’s doghouse, because the few minutes he played last year, as well as the previous year, his sophomore year, was extremely productive. It has been mentioned that he is the most athletic player on the squad, and this despite the year he took off between his one JUCO year and his first year on the Retrievers’ squad. He should be a stronger cog in UMBC’s rebound year.

Finally, there’s the strongest point on the squad for the past five years…the point guard position. After an initial struggle early on last season, De La Rosa has become one of the players to look after in the league. It’s a good thing that he has two more seasons remaining. His backup, Nick Groce, needs more experience on the court, and also needs to show more confidence in his shooting like he did in high school. At that level, he wasn’t afraid to shoot, highlighted by the MIAA B championship in front of his future teammates, and I think at this level, he shouldn’t be afraid to pull the trigger like he was last season.

I don’t envision a 24-9 season, nor do I envision a 4-26 season either. It’s funny how a team can go from a high to a low so quickly, but this year, UMBC should be shooting up the conference ladder.