Conference hbahba::cam_sports

         Last night's results, UMASS 84 URI 72.  UMASS now stands at 9 and
    4, going into Thursday's rematch with Temple.

    TREMENDOUS first half by the Minutemen, who stormed out to a 24
    point lead at halftime!  They seem to be adjusting better to life
    without Harper.  Impressive tenacious defense allowed URI no open
    shots for the last ten minutes of the half.  Kellogg had a nice game
    at the point, Malloy rebounded as well as scored, Mike WIlliams was
    exciting at both ends of the court.  An excellent win.
    
    UMass grad and current URI coach Al Skinner has never won a game
    as a coach in the Cage, and since it's closing next month, never
    will!
    
    NAZZ

This is day 5 of me waiting for Nazz or ACCrock to show me where all them
Atlantic 10 teams in da top 25 are.  After all, if its such a superior
conference, it must have at *least* 3 teams in da top 25

JD

    re: .3 (JD)
    
    I'll show you after you answer NAZZ's legitimate question:
    
    "Why won't BC play UMass?"
    
    
    - ACC Chris

re: .4

Obfuscating again! JD's question is easily answered by any Objective sports
analyst. Your question requires contact with the 2 schools - not
at all comparable.

The Crazy Met

Accrock -

I loathe BC.  If you remember past renditions, I used to ask why BC stopped
playing Northeastern during the Reggie Lewis years.  

I axed my question about the Altantic 10 a few weeks ago, but got no response
either.

Again, please help me locate an Atlantic 10 team in da top 25.  

JD

         Nope, I can't find an A-10 team in the AP Top 25.  Of course
    they have their opinion of how the top teams stack up against one
    another.  As does USA Today/CNN, as does Jeff Sangarin, as does the
    RPI ratings.  (you may be surprised how the latter two computer 
    services rank the two leagues)
    
         Seems to me that a lot of folks put a lot of stock in the head
    to head matchups in the BE-ACC Challenge of a few years back, when
    debating the merits of those leagues.  Anyone care to harbor a guess
    on how the A-10 has fared in games against BE teams over the last 
    couple of years?
                    

    re: JD
    
    The A10 might not be better than the BE, but it ain't a whole lot
    worse, either.  The fact that we're even arguing about this proves just
    how far the BE has fallen.
    
    
    re: .8
    
    > People is always tellin' ACChris (sp)
    
    That's "ACC Chris" fella.  Pronounced your way would be "ACC HRIS", and
    that just doesn't make sense.  HTH.
    
    BTW, a Top25 ranking is most definitely important if for no other
    reason than it helps define where you'll be seeded come tourney time. 
    A bad seed goes a long way in determining how quickly a team is gonna
    exit-stage right.
    
    Speaking of seeds, a good 'un is even more important this year than
    normally.  Most folks seem to agree that there's an upper-echelon of
    six (6) teams (Indiana, Michigan, Duke, Kaintucky, UNC, & Kansas).  Two
    (2) of these teams will NOT have to play any of other 4 prior to the
    Final4.  So, ... being ranked 1 or 2 at season-end could be VERY, VERY
    important.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    
     Well Acchris, last I heard the tourney committee weren't not using the
    January USA Today rankings to determine seedings. Of course, thangs
    could have changed.

    Obviously the point isn't which rankings get used.  The committee ends
    up developing their own.  What does matter is that you're ranked closer
    to the top of that ranking than the bottom, otherwise you're gonna be
    gone but_quick.  
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    
>>    Speaking of seeds, a good 'un is even more important this year than
>>    normally.  Most folks seem to agree that there's an upper-echelon of
                 ^^^^
    <set mode = Missouri - Da "Show Me" State>
    
    		Please provide dastistical proof to validate the selection
    of the word "most".
    
    Thank you
    Doubtin' Thom
    
    
>>    six (6) teams (Indiana, Michigan, Duke, Kaintucky, UNC, & Kansas).  Two
>>    (2) of these teams will NOT have to play any of other 4 prior to the
>>    Final4.  So, ... being ranked 1 or 2 at season-end could be VERY, VERY
>>    important.
    
    
  
      - ACC Chris

Kev,

I gotta agree with ACC Chris on those 6. Course it will be that much more
painful when UNC gets knocked out of the tournament in an early round.

The Crazy Met

         UMASS played yet another of their frustratingly inconsistent
    games last night, and narrowly escaped with a 52-50 win over Temple at
    the Cage.  Temple's matchup zone and slowdown offense and a woeful
    shooting night (1-13 from 3 pt. land, 25% FT) by UMASS, contributed
    to another ugly UMASS-Temple confrontation.  The only good news other
    than UMASS advancing to 10 and 4, was the return of Harper Williams,
    who checked back in with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
    
         Next up, Depaul at the Centrum!
    
    Russ

    Can anyone confirm the rumor of Minnesota Gophers assistant coach
    Mark Mazzoleni being offered the UMASS hockey coach position ?
    
    UMass is tentatively sceduled to begin play nexted season.
    
    Dave

    There is a great article in todays Boston Globe about the 
    history of the Cage - The last game in that building is Friday
    @ midnite.
    
    Who else went to the game on Sunday.  UMASS sure looked sluggish
    and could have easily lost if not for some clutch play by Loe Roe.

    MIDNIGHT MADNESS - TONIGHT THE LAST GAME AT THE CAGE!!!!!
    
    A lot of great memories associated with that old dump, but it sure 
    will be nice to step into a state of the art facility like the Mullins
    Center - which I will do a week from tomorrow to see UMass vs Rutgers.
    
    NAZZ

    
    Could someone from that area send me the article about the cage?
    
    Marc
    

    Marc, 
    
    send me mail, I'll send ya the Woostah paper's version too.
    
    I remain,
    a occasional reporter becoming a post office worker?
    Kev
    

    Marc, send me you mail-stop or home address.
    
    The Crazy Met
    

    UMASS beat St. Bonaventure by 15..I believe it was 93-78...On
    to Mullins and a game vs West Virigina on ESPN @ 9pm Thursday.
    The CNN rankings have them just after G'town @ 26.  I still don't
    understand how the rankings have BC 5 spots behind G'town provided that
    they beat them twice this season...
    
    Larry

         I took in the Thayer Academy - Lawrence Academy b-ball game 
    yesterday, so as to get a look-see at UMASS recruit Carmelo Traveiso,
    a 6'3" SG originally from Dorchester, Ma.  While I admit the ISL
    is not exactly the equivalent of the NYC Catholic League, nonetheless
    Mr. Traveiso put on a pretty good show.  35 points in a 64-45, Thayer
    victory, 7 out of 10 from 3 point land, and not rinky-dink 20' treys
    either, but honest to goodness 23'+ NBA three pointers!!  According to
    the parent of one of the Thayer players, Traveiso is shooting "about
    60% on his three-pointers, this season".
    
         While the jury is out on his ball-handling and quickness, there
    is no question in my mind that he is a major league shooter!
    
    Russ
                                          

         A very solid win last night on the road, for UMASS, against 
    a good St.Joe's team, 81-69.  UMASS now has a two game lead in the
    A-10 standings, and a 16 and 4 overall record.  St.Joe's falls to 
    14 and 6.  According to the Globe, the keys to the victory for UMASS
    were dominating the boards, and tough perimeter defense on St.Joe's 
    excellent backcourt duo of Benard Blunt and Rap Curry.  Blunt was
    held to a 6 for 19 shooting night.
    
         UMASS must now turn right around within less than 48 hours,
    and play George Washington in their building.  It will be interesting
    to see how Harper Williams fares at 6'7" matching up against one of
    the top freshmen in the land, GWU's 7'1" Yinka Dare.
    
         Following GWU, UMASS has Buffalo, URI, and West Virginia,
    consecutively on the road, and then finishes the season at the Mullins
    Center against St. Bonaventure and St. Joseph's.  Another 20 win
    season is within reach with a strong finish!
    
    Russ
                  

     My name is Tommy and I'm a bandwagon jumper. I admit that I didn't 
    root for my state university when they were 4 and 21 and the only 
    thing less aesthetically appealing than a UMass basketball game was
    naked pictures of Estelle Getty. Yes, I never cheered for them when
    the Sweet Sixteen was the team groupie. I admit it and I'm ashamed.
    I'm ashamed that even though the school is fifty miles away and be-
    fore this year, Cameroonian skiers got more air time, I never watched
    them play. And now that they're successful, now that they're the best
    college team in the state and now that they're entertaining, and now
    that they even play on national tv, I watch 'em and I root for 'em. Yes, 
    I root for 'em. I realize I don't deserve to because I wasn't there for 
    'em in the lean years, the PC years (Pre-Calipari). I realize that when
    the Tenn. College of Pharmacy was kicking their ass, I should have been
    in the Minutemen's corner, but I was out on some other local school's 
    bandwagon then because that's the kind of slut that I am. I always cheer 
    for my local teams and athletes, especially when they do well, and I could-
    n't be more ashamed.
    

    Must feel good to get that off yer chest.  Unfortunately it sickens me
    almost as bad as that rough ferry ride from Nantucket did a few years
    ago.  (The one where I watched the young, the old, the beautiful, and
    the ugly RALPH breakfast over the side of the boat.)
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    
    Alright Tommie, we'll just have somebody whack yer pee pee!
    
    Hawk?  you around?
    
    I remain,
    sure the punishment will fit the crime!
    Kev
    

Welcome Brother Tommy...

   >> -< Next Up: He's a URI fan, a Rutgers fan, a GWU fan, a ..... >-
    
      Ack Chris, I said I root for LOCAL teams and athletes. I didn't
      say I adopt a half assed program from a university I never attended,
      in a state I don't live in.

    	That's okay Tommy, for you see I too have a "UMASS" problem,
    but with the proper help we can overcome this together.
    
    				/Don

>    	That's okay Tommy, for you see I too have a "UMASS" problem,
>    but with the proper help we can overcome this together.
    
I went to Junk Noter's Anonymous one time.  That helped me.

Perhaps there's a 12-Step Program that can help you.


Remember,

	You're good enough.
	You're smart enough.
	And, doggone it, we like you!


'Saw

         Foul trouble (by H. Williams and Roe) and some shakey free throw 
    shooting down the stretch resulted in a three point loss to URI, 71-68,
    at the Providence Civic Center on Saturday.  UMASS had a one point lead
    and the ball with 30 seconds to go, but turned it over, and then missed
    the front end of a one and one, and that was all she wrote.  During
    their 12 game winning streak, UMASS won 4 of those games by 5 points
    or less, so the law of averages was bound to catch up with them.
    
         In his post game interview, Calipari was very complimentary
    towards URI, and not all that disappointed about the close loss.  He
    feels that the loss may be good for the team, and cause them to refocus
    on the three remaining league games and then the A-10 Tournament.
    
    Russ
    
    - Three technicals were called on UMASS, and URI hit all six free
      throws awarded! 
      

         For those of you who missed it (wish I did), the UM'ies were
    reamed, steamed and dry-cleaned in Morgantown, WV, by the Mountaineers
    on Saturday, to the tune of a 79-54 drubbing.  After an uninspired
    first half, which saw UMASS take a 2 point lead into the locker room,
    WVU came out in the second half and shot in the 60% range, while UMASS 
    couldn't throw the ball in the ocean from the beach!
    
         For UMASS, Mike Williams, their one and only creative guard, went
    down with an injury in the first half, and Jerome Malloy, normally a
    12 ppg scorer, continued in a major league slump, going for the goose
    egg.  Teams have figured out to get right in Malloy's face at the three
    point arc, and have taken him right out of his game, as he's pretty
    much a one dimensional player ... bomb from long range or else.
    
         UMASS remains pretty much a lock for the big dance, probably
    as about an seventh or eighth seed or so, but given the way they are
    playing, I forsee an early exit.  This team really misses Will
    Herndon's athleticism, and McCoy and Brown's outside shooting!
    
    Russ
        

Callin Nazz,  Calling Nazz.  So, Nazz, is UMASS still better
than any Big East team, and is the A10 still better?

Haw Haw Haw.

Umass Theme Song "They call me the Great Pretender..."

JD

    
    
    	To be fair, Morgan-hole (i.e. Morgantown, W.VA.) is not a real
    hospital place to play.  I've been to a few games down there and
    the fans are as rabid as anywhere.  
    
    	So, WVU has the ability to pull off an upset.  Although I'm still
    not in UMASS's camp, they should get an invite to the dance.  But
    just wait till nexted year...just remember the name Edgar Padilla.
    He's in Puerto Rico right now instead of playing for Central HS here
    in Springfield, and if he would have stuck around for his senior year,
    he would have been the Mass state player of the year.
    
    bill..g.
    

>    	To be fair, Morgan-hole (i.e. Morgantown, W.VA.) is not a real
>    hospital place to play.  I've been to a few games down there and
>    the fans are as rabid as anywhere.  

Can't let this one slide. There is most definitely a real hospital in
Morgan-hole, which is definitely a real hole. Rabid or not, hospitable or
not, UMass failed to show up, pure and simple.

To the Mountaineers credit, they carped the diem, fer sure.

TTom

>To the Mountaineers credit, they carped the diem, fer sure.

I heard the coach was buyin' them all news sets of false-teef to celebrate
the victory......


[sorry, couldn't resist]
'Saw

         UMASS clinched the regular season A-10 Title last night in 
    Amherst with a 86-62 win over St.Bonaventure.  The UM'ies will wrap
    up the season on Thursday night with a game at home versus St.Joe's,
    and then will meet 8th seeded St. Bonaventure in the first round of
    the A-10 Tournament at the Palestra on Sunday.
    
         In the bad news department, guard Mike Williams broke his hand
    in the game with West Virginia on Saturday, and will be lost for any
    post season action.  This is a significant loss, as Williams averaged
    12 ppg in a sixth man role, and was UMASS' best transition player.
    UMASS has had trouble scoring points all season (rebounding and defense
    has been their strengths), so the loss of Williams will only compound
    their offensive deficiencies.  
    
         Coincidentally, Mike Williams is the third UMASS player to break a 
    hand this season.
    
    Russ
        

    
    re: TTom
    
    	Thanks for the correction.  Usually I check over what I write, but
    this time I didn't and when I read the note as entered, I had a feeling
    I was going to hear about it.
    
    bill..g.
    

    Calipari hopes to have Williams back in time for the first round
    of the NCAAs, but he's definitely out for the A10 tourney, which 
    starts Sunday.  Several big contests in the league tomorrow night
    determine seeding for the first two rounds at the Palestra.  There
    are two very hot teams right now who I wouldn't want to play early:
    Temple (especially at the Palestra) and West Virginia.  Here's the
    conference standings going into the final regular season games
    tomorrow:
    
    	1. UMass	10-3    19-6
    	2. St. Joe's	 8-5	17-8
    	3. GW		 8-5	19-6
    	4. Temple	 7-6	14-11
    	5. URI		 7-6	16-9
    	6. West Va. 	 6-7	15-10
    	7. Rutgers	 6-7	13-13
    	8. St. Bona	 0-13	10-15
    
    George Washington plays at URI, Rutgers is at Temple, St. Joe's is
    at Umass, and West Virginia is at St. Bonaventure.  It is reasonable 
    to assume UMass, West Virginia, and Temple will win.  If URI beats
    GW, there would be a four way tie for second place!  If GW wins, they
    clinch second, St. Joe's and Temple tie for third, and URI and W Va
    tie for fifth.  So as you can see, it's wide open in the A10!
    
    NAZZ

         UMASS advanced to the A-10 Tournament Finals, to be played in
    Amherst on Thursday evening against Temple, with a dominant performance
    in the semi's over URI, in a game that wasn't as close as the 76-50
    final score!  UMASS shot the ball poorly throughout, and their final
    shooting percentage of around 40% was bolstered by numerous fast break
    layups.  HOWEVER they owned the boards, outrebounding URI by a 53-24
    margin, they picked up nearly every loose ball, and defensed URI into
    a 33% shooting performance.  Soph Lou Roe was a monster, scoring 24
    points and grabbing 10+ boards!
    
         The game became very chippy near the end as the large group of
    UMASS fans at the Palestra taunted the URI contigent and team with
    chants of "NIT", "NIT".  One particular ugly moment came when URI's
    best player, Abdul Fox, while passing Lou Roe in working off a pick, 
    wound up a bolo punch, and caught Roe roughly 6" below the navel, 
    if you know what I mean.  Roe collapsed to the floor and later had to 
    be helped to the bench, but looked fully recovered by games end.
    Luckily for Fox, the game was well in hand, and Calipari didn't 
    return Roe to the game, as Roe probably outweighs Fox by 30 pounds!
    
         Temple comes to the Mullins Center on Thursday evening for the
    Championship, playing their best ball of the season.  I look for Harper
    Williams to have a big game as he was passed over for the A-10 POTY
    Award (awarded instead to Temple's Aaron McKie), in a somewhat 
    surprising decision.  Temple's zone has frustrated UMASS in year's
    gone by, and given this club's inconsistent shooting, well, it
    should be a very competitive game!
    
    Russ
    

    >> The game became very chippy near the end as the large group of
    >> UMASS fans at the Palestra taunted the URI contigent and team with
    >> chants of "NIT", "NIT".  
    
       In part, this was in response to what went down at the Providence
       Civic Center last month when these two teams met. During the game 
       and after the URI players and fans were talking a lot of trash and
       this was the payback for that.    
    

         The voice is hoarse, I have a serious case of eye baggage, and by
    3 p.m. today I'll be even more of a basket case (pulled into the
    driveway at 1:15 a.m.) but it was worth it, as Nazz, his son Joey
    and I watched a good college basketball game, for the A-10
    Championship in Amherst last night.  The game had just about
    everything, momentum swings, good individual performances, killer "D"
    and an absolutely ELECTRIC atmosphere, especially in the 2nd half
    when UMASS made their run.
    
         For a UMASS-Temple showdown, the game was an artistic masterpiece,
    as I was fully expecting a 48-45 UG-LY.  For Temple, Eddie Jones and
    Salem, Ma. native Eric Brunson stood out.  UMASS effectively shut down
    A-10 POTY Aaron McKie in the second half, which in my opinion was a big
    key to the game.  For UMASS, Jerome Malloy (4 for 7 - 3 pt'ers), Lou
    Roe (10 pts., 14 rebs.) and Harper Williams (20 pts, 8 rebs) came up
    big.  Harper in particular went into his "will not be denied" routine
    in the second half and cemented his Tournament MVP position.
    
         It will be interesting to see how UMASS gets seeded for the NCAA
    Tournament.  Some of the speculation on the radio last night and in
    USA Today has UMASS going to Winston-Salem, NC, as a no. 4 seed in
    the East (and sets up a potential matchup with UNC).  Given last year's
    controversy regarding UMASS' "home court advantage" in Worcester, I
    wouldn't be surprised to see UMASS sent to one of the other Regionals,
    though I would think that banishment to Tobacco Road would be
    punishment enough for a New England school ;^)!!
    
    Russ
     

    It will be a true pleasure to see Penn beat UMass. Unlikely, but it
    would prove how good the Atlantic 10 is - hah!
    
    The Crazy Met
    

         I was spinning the AM Radio dial after the NCAA Selection show
    last night, and picked up a talk show (not sure which one) where a
    caller was questioning how Temple at 17 and 12 could be a No. 7 seed,
    and Providence with a similar record was left out (a typical Big East
    Moonie ;^)!)  Well the consensus of the B-ball pundits out there is
    that its a tossup whether Michigan or Temple played the toughest 
    schedule this year.  
    
         Temple's non league schedule is as follows:
    
                      BC               NIT-bound
                      Lasalle
                      Florida          NIT
                      Fla. St.         NCAA #3
                      Penn St.
                      Cincinnati       NCAA #2
                      Penn.            NCAA #14
                      Kan. St.         NCAA #6
                      UAB              NIT
                      Wake Forest      NCAA #5
                      Tulane           NCAA #11
                      Memphis St.      NCAA #10    .......... plus,
    
                      UMASS (3)        NCAA #3
                      URI   (2)        NCAA #8
                      GWU   (3)        NCAA #12
                      WVU   (2)        NIT
                      St. Joe's (2)    NIT
    
         Not a St.Leo's or Wagner in the bunch!
    
    Russ

    Hate to burst any bubbles around here, but does anyone *really* believe
    UMass will be favored to beat Virginia in Round 2?
    
    Not saying they can't do it, but IMHO they should be considered a 'Dog
    when battling the Cavaliers.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

         C'mon Chris, those rose-colored ACC glasses are blinding you,
    my man.  Where did UVA finish in the ACC this year, 6th or there
    abouts?  Surely you recall UMASS' Excellent Loss (ACC Tm) in their
    first game against FSU on FSU's home court?  A game in which the UM'ies
    were ahead in the 2nd half, and clanged a trey at the end which would
    have put the game into OT!
    
         Any responsible bookie, would favor UMASS by 2, UVA's Tobacco
    Road "homecourt" advantage notwithstanding.
    
         Actually it's Penn that I'm worried about.
    
    A10Russ
           

    RE:  "UVA's "Tobacco Road" homecourt advantage notwithstanding"
    
    The top 10 reasons for Russ's faux pas, confusing Syracuse, N.Y.
    and Winston-Salem, N.C., in Note 77.50:
    
    No. 10   Lightheaded from all the snowshoveling.
    
    No. 9    Was a business major in college and never took a geography
             course.
    
    No. 8    Worcester, Syracuse, Winston-Salem, .... you've seen one 200,000
             person, 2nd tier U.S. city, you've seen them all.
    
    No. 7    Deep in his heart, he really believes UMASS should be a No. 4
             seed and hence in Winston-Salem.
    
    No. 6    Really wanted to use "Tobacco Road" in 77.50.
    
    No. 5    Is a closet Holy Cross fan, and they are the ones in Winston-
             Salem.
    
    No. 4    ACC Chris gets him so ticked off at times, he says irrational
             things.
    
    No. 3    Has a secret stash of Sportshrooms (tm) in his bottom drawer
             at work.
    
    No. 2    Has a male hormonal imbalance brought on by the onset of
             March Madness.
    
    and the number 1 reason for his faux pas in 77.50:
    
    No. 1   He really doesn't know what he's talking about, but
            occasionally can fake it.
         
    
    Since UMASS will have the "Northern Yankee" homecourt advantage, any
    responsible bookie will favor them by 3!!!
    
    
    Russ

    Great "Top Ten" list, Russ!!!
    
    Actually, I'm worried how the Minutemen will fare Sunday vs the
    Jaspers of Manhattan.
    
    NAZZ         

It would be GRRREAT if Penn beat UMass.

The Crazy Met

    I'll grant you UMass's Excellent Loss to FSU grants you and all Hourmen
    comfort, like my 2-year old who grabs his pacifier at the slightest
    hint of trouble, but the reality is that loss was while the Seminoles
    were struggling without Charlie Ward.  With Ward the northerners 
    would've been starring at_a Wake@Temple 30+ point masacre, FSU's inability 
    to hold a lead notwithstanding.  Heh heh!
    
    Sorry folks, but I like Virginia in the Sweet 16 fer sure.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    I guess ACChris has jumped off the A10 bandwagon.  At least for now...

Nazz,  you're not treating Penn with the proper respect, so I figure it's my
job to teach you some :-).

Penn went undefeated in the Ivy League this season, only the sixth time that
was done since the formation of the league.  They had more wins this season
than the 1978-1979 team that went to the final four at Salt Lake City (I'm
probably in the minority of people who remember that as the year Penn got their
clocks cleaned by Michigan State and not as the Bird-Magic matchup).  Their
starting five are:

F Barry Pierce (6-4 Jr., 14.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
F Shawn Trice (6-8 So., 6.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
C Eric Moore (6-7 So., 7.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg)
G Matt Maloney (6-3 So., 16.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
G Jerome Allen (6-4 So., 13.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg)

They are one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, hitting 40%
as a team, 12th in the country.  Maloney hit 88 of 195 (45.1%) and was ranked
9th in the nation in 3-pointers per game with 3.5.  Allen hit 49-124 (39.5%).

Penn's offense is 12th in the nation, with a 40.7% FG%.  Anyone tuning in
looking for a Princeton-like team will be disappointed.  This is a great
man-to-man team.  And they've got some very strong momentum, having won 12 in a
row and 16 of their last 18.

The problems are obvious.  Four of the starters are sophomores and the fifth is
a junior.  They're too small in the middle.  And they tend to lost interest
when they have a big lead (though I suspect this won't be so much of a problem
against UMass).

The Minutemen should definitely not make the mistake of looking past this game. 
They should be able to wear them down and beat them down the stretch, but they
don't want to get caught sleeping.

j.

    re: Mac
    
    Was never ever on the A10 bandwagon.  Only point I've ever made in my
    unyielding attempt to access The Truth is that A10 > BigLeast.
    
    HTH,
    
    
    - ACC Chris

I rmember that 1978-79 season well. St. John and Penn were 39th and 40th in
the rankings of teams in the NCAA and they played each other to get
to the final 4.

Princeton 2 years ago went undefeated in the Ivy League.
Penn's last game this year was a 1 point win over Princeton in
Princeton, a great game from start to finish.


I disagree with Jeff on one point. If UMass really comes out and takes
the game seriously then Penn could get blown out early. Next year Penn
could be good enough to get into the top 25 - ala Princeton early in the
1990-1991 season; of course Princeton then got blown away by UNLV, but so
did everyone that year until the Final 4.

The Crazy Met

No disagreements here, TCM.  It's pretty likely that Penn will get their
clocks cleaned as long as UMass is ready.  The matchups are just too strong
for the Quakers.  But that won't stop me from taking the day off to watch
it anyway (shhh, don't tell Dale :-) ).

j.

         Sorry folks, our system is working a bit on the funky side
    today.
    
         I only wanted to comment on Calipari's substitution scheme late
    in the game.  First he sits down Harper Williams with three minutes
    to go and UVA up by 14, because Williams doesn't dive after a loose
    ball.  The guy is a four year starter, has averaged 14 pts./8 rebs/
    game over his career, has led his team to 90+ wins over that period,
    and all the while playing center at 6'7", 220 lbs., against the 
    Jamal Mashburns and Yinka Dare's of the world.  He's won an A-10
    POTY award and two A-10 Tourney MVP awards.  The guy personifies the
    words "heart" and "over-achiever".  And he broke his hand earlier in
    the season diving for a loose ball DURING PRACTICE!  I think Coach
    Cal blew it big time by benching Harper Williams in his last college
    game.
    
         Secondly, during the last minute, down by 15, I can't understand
    why he didn't clear the bench.  UMASS has several walkons on the team
    this season, who likely won't be back next year with the large group
    of recruits coming in.  I'm sure they would remember for the rest of
    their lives the thrill of playing in the NCAA Tourney, even if it was
    only garbage time.
    
    Russ 

Classiest example I saw of a coach/manager putting players into a game was
Tony LaRussa in game 5 of the 1988 World Series. Dodgers led by a bunch; 
Hershiser was pitching and it was top of the 9th. LaRussa made a few pitching
changes in the 9th when there was no real threat so that all the A's who
were on the WS roster got a chance to play in a WS game.

The Crazy Met
 

      Hi,
    
        As a UMass alumni, all I can say is bummer about the loss.
    
        I only got to see bits and pieces of the game because I had
        to take my mother in law to lunch (unbelievable!).
    
        But, anyway, my thoughts...
    
        They missed shots by such a large margin in the first half 
        that if they were just standing in a gym shooting, not one
        in a hundred would be off by that much.  In other words, it 
        was all _mental_.  If there's one thing I hate its when the
        team is tight.  man, did they look tight!
    
        I don't understand why UMass doesn't shoot better.  It seems
        to be too psychological.  Like this aspect of performance is
        something UMass sometimes suffers from to a large extent.  I 
        mean how could their shots have been that far off?  And Kellog...
        man does he epitomize the extreme opposite of looking for the
        shot.  That's one thing I like about Williams.  He LOOKS for
        the shot.  Speaking of psychological, its hard to explain Barbee.
        So poor shooting in the 1st half, but so good in the second.
        (???)
    
        The only other thing I thought was that UMass probably had three
        glaring weaknesses.  One, they do not have a big center.  Two,
        they do not seem to ballhandle well.  Three, they don't shoot
        well.  That's a lot of shortcomings and of course in every other
        facet of the game, they are probably superb.
    
        For the next couple years.  Man, if they can recruit a big 'big
        man' and simply learn to not be tight and take a few hundred 
        shots a day.  I don't know...they ought to be alright what with
        the guys coming back + Donta Bright + the recruits.
    
         Oh well...
    
                                                        Tony

    Tony,
    Well even minus a big center, goodballhandling, and shooting, UMass'
    superbs must have been quyite superb because I'm quite impressed
    with both Temple and GWU in the tournament and UMass won the A10.
    Small solace I know....
    
    MikeL
    

    	You wonder about Caliperi, on Friday his team carves out a 10
    point lead by playing their style of ball then he tries to sit on
    the lead by calling off the dogs with lots of time left.  It almost
    cost them the Penn game and you have to wonder if it didn't carry
    over to Sunday.  The guy's done a great job with the UMASS program,
    but coaches can make mistakes too.
    
    				/Don

	Even though the A-10 has 2 teams in the sweet 16, I'm not overly
impressed. A 7th seed Temple beat a 10th seeded Missouri, then beat a
15th seeded Santa Clara. The only quality win was GW a 12th seed upsetting
the 5th seeded New Mexico. They then beat the 13th seeded Southern. Southern
and Santa Clara came off of big upsets. Tough mentally to come off a big
upset then play 2 days later.
	I don't think Virginia beating UMASS is that big of an upset. Looking
at all the #3 seeds, UMASS would be the lowest ranked #3 seed IMO. Behind
Duke, Vanderbilt, and Florida St. Sure you can argue that the A-10 did
better than the Big East this year, which is true. Looking at the totals,
the A-10 has gone 6 - 2 thus far, they were favored to win 6 times the
underdog twice. GW upset win counters UMASS being upset by Virginia. The
Big East went 2 - 3, with them being the favoritie 3 times, underdog twice.

/Ron

    Maybe I should clarify in stating that I am impressed with Temple and
    GWU now because I expected nothing from them. Temple looks like they
    can give people fits. And I agree that UMass losing to UVa is no upset
    to me anyhoo. Just lissen to Dickie V., he'll tell ya BABEEEEEEE!
    
    MikeL
    
    

    Doesn't UMass have Big man Marcus Camby, a 6'11" C from CT coming in
    next year?  Then, they'll be no excuses.
    
    Redmen Phil
    

         That's right, John Calipari will have no excuses in coming
    years.  He has won 90+ games over the past four years, with teams
    that included only one high school "blue-chipper", that being Loe
    Roe.  One recruiting service that I subscribe to had Roe rated as a
    top 50 coming out of Atlantic City H.S.  Jerome Malloy was rated
    in the 180 range, and Harper Williams as the 199th "best high schooler"
    his senior year.  (Bob Gibbons Recruiting Service)  Street & Smith
    and Dick Vitale had similar ratings)  Granted predicting how high
    school'ers will fare as collegians is an inexact science, but clearly,
    Calipari has not had "UNC type talent" to work with.
    
         Next year things change, as Donta Bright will be eligible and
    he is a concensus top 10, the aforementioned Marcus Camby has been
    rated by most as a top 50, and the three remaining recruits, Tyrone
    Weeks, Carmelo Traveiso and Edgar Padilla, show up on most top 100
    lists.  Whether Calipari can successfully merge this talented group
    of newcomers, with the five freshman and sophomores from this year's
    team, remains to be seen.
    
    Russ

    Calipari will have to do his best GAME coaching of his career next
    season to blend the recruits with thereturning players to gain a proper
    mix of talent.  This will be especially tough since none of the
    projected top ten players for the Minutemen nexted season will be
    seniors.  Here is a thumbnail sketch of the newcomers:
    
    1) Donta Bright:  6-6, 190 F.  Currently enrolled at UMassa as a Prop.
       48 student.  Will be a sophomore next year.  Consensus first team
       HS All-American last year.  Can play down low or on a wing.  Great
       leaper, excellent finisher on break, nice medium range jumper.
    
    2) Marcus Camby:  6-10 205 C.  Projected as starting C next season,
       replacing Harper Williams.  Will be named Connecticut player of
       the year.  Had a quadruple double (18 pts, 14 reb, 10 ast, 10 blk)
       in a game this season.  Rarely plays much more than a half because
       his team is so dominant.  Went for 32 pts and 14 reb in the title
       game to lead his school to the Conn. state championship.  Eligible.
    
    3) Tyrone Weeks:  6-7 245 F.  Quintessential power forward.  Averaging
       27 ppg, 15 rpg in tough Philly HS league.  Dominant of the boards
       at both ends.  Can score up to 12-14' with jumper.  Has a chance to
       start right away.  Not yet eligible.
    
    4) Edgar Padilla:  6-3 180 G.  Started as a freshman for Springfield
       team that lost in state finals, but won next year as a soph.  Great
       defensive player, 3-point range on his shot, makes excellent
       decisions on the floor.  Currently finishing HS in his native 
       Puerto Rico, while also playing in a men's league.  Not yet
       eligible.
    
    5) Carmelo Travieso:  6-2 175.  Currently at Thayer Academy.  Great
       3-point shooter with unlimited range.  Played on Boston AAU team
       that won national champiopnship last summer.  Also played on
       Boston Shootout team.  Eligible.
    
    So here's how the team looks for next season:
    
    C - Camby; Jeff Meyer (in cetain situations only)
    PF - Roe, Weeks. Cottrell
    SF - Dingle, Bright, Nunez
    SG - Malloy, Travieso, Berry
    PG - Kellogg, Williams, Padilla, Chris Robinson
    
    Robinson is the only senior in that group.
    
    NAZZ
    

                      '93 Mens Lacrosse Schedule
                      --------------------------
    
    
               Mar. 24          @UVa.               L   10-9
               Mar. 27          @St.John's          W   25-4
               Apr. 3           @Hofstra
               Apr. 4           Duke (@Hofstra) 
               Apr. 7           @Providence
               Apr. 10          @Yale
               Apr. 14          @UNH
               Apr. 17          Delaware
               Apr. 21          @Harvard
               Apr. 24          Rutgers
               Apr. 28          BC
               May  1           Syracuse
               May  5           Brown (make-up of early season snow
                                       cancellation)
               May  8           Army
    
    - First team All-American Mark Millon returns at one of the attack
      positions for UMASS.
    
    Russ
        

         Two of Calipari's recruits have been recognized by USA Today as
    their respective state's High School Player of the Year, 6'2" 2G
    Carmelo Traveiso in Massachusetts, and 6'10" C Marcus Camby in
    Connecticut.  Donta Bright was so recognized last year, for the
    State of Maryland.
                                               
    Russ 

>    6'10" C Marcus Camby in
>    Connecticut.  Donta Bright was so recognized last year, for the


I also think that Camby is a 2nd Team PARADE HS All-American......

'Saw

    Looks like UMass won't rebuild, they'll just reload!
    
    Could it be three straight A-10 titles for the Minutemen?  Considering
    how good teams like GW, Temple, West Virginia, and St. Joe's will be
    next year, it will be a tall order, but Calipari will have them in the
    midst of the battle for top honors.
    
    NAZZ

         In the old news department, UMASS tapped BC Assistant Coach, Joe
    Mallen (I think that's the name) to be the school's Head Hockey Coach,
    at a salary of $83K/yr.  The other candidates were Durocher (a B.U.
    Asst.), Leach (Spfld. Indians Head Coach), and the Head Coach from
    last year's NCAA Champ, Lake Superior State.  Personally I would
    snarfed the guy from Lake Superior.
    
         Surprisingly, the salary at UMASS would have been a significant
    increase for the Lake Superior Coach.  This once again highlights the
    significance of national TV contracts, as I would imagine that $83K
    represents "beer" money for the likes of Dean Smith and Rick Pitino.
    
    Russ

         I took in last weekend's lacrosse game in Amherst, matching No.3
    Syracuse and No.7 UMASS.  In a game of many momentum swings, Syracuse
    prevailed 17-14.  UMASS controlled much of the play in the first half,
    but went into the half trailing as they blew several in close scoring
    opportunities.  Then early in the second half, Syracuse opened up
    a seven or eight goal lead, and it looked like a blowout was in the
    cards.  Then with about 6 minutes left UMASS made a charge, closing the
    gap to 16-14 with about a minute to go.  Syracuse closed out the 
    scoring in the final seconds, for the final three goal advantage.
    
         For you Orangemen fans, Syracuse has been croaking people since
    two close losses on the road (one at No.1, UNC) to begin the season,
    and is a legitimate contender for another National Championship.
    Although their attack is not anywhere as strong as the days when the
    Gait brothers played, their defense, goalie, and especially their
    faceoff man looked very strong.  Syracuse wraps up their season with
    Johns Hopkins today.
    
         Since last weekend, UMASS has knocked off No.5 Brown University,
    in a 8-6 defensive struggle, and ends their season with No.11 Army,
    at West Point.  Things look rosey for the future, as UMASS loses only
    four seniors from their 40 man roster, although one of the graduates
    will be All-American attackman and leading scorer, Mark Millon.
    
    Laxfan,
    
    Russ
    
         

    I saw the SU @ UNC lacrosse matchup on SportsSouth.  The Heels are in
    deep do-do now though, cause their goalie is injured.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

         Staying on the subject of lacrosse for a moment, it seems the 
    NCAA Lacrosse Tournament Committee has given the royal shaft to Brown
    University, by leaving them out of this year's tournament.
    
         For those unfamiliar with NCAA lacrosse, 12 teams are invited,
    with the top four seeded teams getting a first round bye.  This 
    year, Brown University finished the regular season ranked 7th in
    the country (just ahead of 8th ranked UMASS).  The NCAA invited the
    1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, AND 15th
    ranked teams, number 15 being the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame!!!
    
         Brown spent most of the season ranked in the top 5, but finished
    the season with a couple of losses, one of which was to UMASS.  The
    Brown coach was a tad upset with this slight (to put it kindly), 
    according to today's Boston Globe!
    
    Russ
    
    - Could it be that there is an unwritten rule that only one New England
      school can participate in the Nat'l Lacrosse Tourney? 
     

    
>>    - Could it be that there is an unwritten rule that only one New England
>>    school can participate in the Nat'l Lacrosse Tourney? 
  
 the unwritten rule is invite Notre Dame at all costs.....   

    Dat's right Mikey,
    Glad you finally see the light. You know that by inviting the Irish,
    a major network will want to pick up the vaunted lacrosse tourney,
    and the paying gate will automatically double from 6 to 12 wherever
    they play. Faultless logic by the committee, eh?
    
    MikeL
    
    Seriously tho, did ND get in by pewrhaps securing a_auto bid by
    winning a conference?  
    
    

            <<< Note 77.83 by CTHQ::LEARY "I don't do ND spandex" >>>
                        -< Don't know nuttin' about it >-
                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

   neither do I but I'm not gonna a little thing like knowledge stop me
   from slammin' ND....

 mike

MikeL,

Is ND in a conference in any sport??

The Crazy Met

    
    Only ND football and men's BBall are independents. Hopefully only
    football will remain as such...
    
    Now about lax... anyonwe have the Nc2A schedule?? And how did ND
    qualify. What about UMass' chances?
    
    MikeL
    

    I think ND qualified because the tournament committee HAS
    to invite on WESTERN team a year and this year it is ND.
    
    Usually this team gets blown out in the first round.
    
    Larry

    
    Did the tournament committe go the the Mr. T school of geography?  Or
    maybe they have some of those NC alums and their 700 combined SAT
    scores helping them out.
    
    brews

	For lacrosse, the NCAA interprets "west" as west of the
	Appalachians.  Michigan State was another recent "west" invitee
	to the lacrosse tournament, as was Air Force (a legitimate western
	school).  I'm not sure if any other schools that qualified as the
	western team since they got an automatic bid once the tournament
	expanded from 8 to 12 teams.

         A couple of UMASS Basketball tidbits:
    
    1.  In a surprising move, Jerome Malloy has withdrawn from school and
        will transfer to Jackson State.  Malloy was to be a junior, and 
        started at 2G for the Minutemen.  He averaged 11 ppg last season
        and was UMASS' primary 3 pt. threat.  Malloy had no better than
        average skills as a defender and ballhandler, and seemed to have
        a "slow release" on his shot, which resulted in having many of his
        shots blocked.  He also had an alarming tendency to disappear in
        big games.  However he did play significant minutes both as a
        freshman and as a sophomore, and his experience will be missed.
        Both Nazz and I are at a loss over why we would leave a starting
        position in a program on the rise, for a relatively obscure school,
        a great distance from his Waterbury, Ct. home.
    
    2.  Recruit Edgar Padilla, a 6'2" pg/2g from Springfield, Ma. has
        passed his SAT and will be eligible next season.  Both Bill Gusic
        and Nazz have seen him play in high school and are very, very high
        on his abilities.  Padilla spent his senior year in his native Puerto
        Rico, where he averaged 28 ppg for his high school team, and played
        in a men's league which includes most of the players from the
        Puerto Rican Olympic Team, and in which he was named "Newcomer of
        the Year".
    
    3.  Recruit Tyrone Weeks is awaiting word on whether he passed the SAT.
    
    4.  Recruit Marcus Camby, a 6'10" center from Hartford was listed as
        the 15th best high school senior in the country, in the final
        recruiting report put out by recruiting guru and NIKE Camp director
        Bob Gibbons.
    
    Russ

    re: Jerome Malloy
    
    Maybe they plan on playing Donta Bright at 2G?!  Doubtful I realize,
    but my hunch is this kid sees the writing on the wall (i.e. UMass
    talent level rapidly rising which likely leaves him on the outs lookin'
    in) and is taking pro-active measures.
    
    Could also be_a Billy McCaffery-type move that's intended to increase
    his exposure with his eye on the NBA.  McCaffery was guaranteed to
    start at WG for Dook but left anyways, thinking his only shot at
    NBA-bucks was at the point.  Fuel cain be added to this idle
    speculation when you consider that Jackson State produced
    lottery-selection Lindsay Hunter.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

Malloy isn't NBA material and if he thinks that transfering to Jackson State is
suddenly going to make him an NBA caliper guard then he'd better prepare for a
long career flipping burgers at Mickey D's.

He was assured of significant playing time this season (junior year) and
probably a decent shot at PT his senior year with a still young minuteman squad.

Is he eligible this year or does he have to sit out a year after transfering?

This is puzzling,

Metz

    He has to sit.
    
    I think there may have been a personality conflict between him and
    Coach Calipari.  There was a string of games near the end of the season
    where Malloy saw his playing time decrease, just before Mike Williams
    got hurt.
    
    The upcoming Minuteman roster will feature no more than one senior, who
    won't get any playing time.  Their top nine players should feature four
    freshmen (Camby, Weeks, Padilla, Travieso), two sophomores (Bright and
    Dingle) and three juniors (Roe, Williams, and Kellogg).
    
    BTW, I saw Roe play on an NIT All-star team with the likes of Sharone
    Wright and Lawrence Moten, and he played great.  It was against the
    Puerto Rico Olympic team  and the All-Stars only lost by 2, 92-90.
    Roe had 16 points and 13 rebounds.  Moten had 22, and both of them
    looked great.
    
    NAZZ

    RE:  Jerome Malloy
    
         My impression of Jerome Malloy after watching him for two years
    is that he is a quiet, inwardly intense individual, who may not have
    responded well to Calipari's style of coaching.  Malloy rarely spoke
    to his teammates during games, didn't talk trash to his opponents, and
    didn't seem to smile much or show much of any emotion on the court.  
    My guess is that Coach Cal is not the easiest guy in the world to play for.
    If you watch Calipari on the sidelines he's the opposite of Malloy ....
    highly animated and not at all reluctant to get in the face of his
    players if they screw up on the court.  I imagine his practices after
    a loss are rather intense and rather loud!
    
          That being said, Malloy clearly suffered from a sophomore slump
    the second half of the season, and Mike Williams became a much more
    valuable contributor at this time.  For example, in the NCAA games,
    Malloy scored 2 points in 21 minutes against Penn and 7 points in 17
    minutes versus UVA.  Williams (also a sophomore) scored 13 points in
    21 minutes against Penn and 15 points in 30 minutes versus UVA.
    Factor in the arrival of two good swingmen in Dingle and Bright, and
    the recruitment of two highly rated guards in Carmelo Traveiso and
    Edgar Padilla (Traveiso at 6'3" would seem to be an almost identical
    player to Malloy, and is reputed to have a better 3 pt. shot) and
    the emergence of Mike Williams, and as ACC-Chris has speculated,
    perhaps he was worried about decreased playing time.
    
         Still, at this point, Donta Bright and the freshmen are unknown
    quantities, and I am disappointed to see Jerome Malloy leave.
    
    Russ
        

 Has UMASS scheduled a game at the Centrum again this year???

 mike        

    If UMass were in the BigEast they'd not only be favored to win the
    league (by a lot) but they'd also be on the cover of just about every
    college hoops rag in the USA.  (Most of 'em have regional cover shots.)
    
    As is, the media will flaunt them as_a "Cinderella Story" when
    they reach the Sweet16, and they'll be a downright "shock to the
    country" when they play in a Regional Final.
    
    blah,
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    Re: .96
    
         I don't know where UMASS would be positioned if they were
    competing in the Big East this season, but I dare say they will be
    ranked no better than 3rd in A-10 preseason polls, behind Temple, the
    sure #1, and either WVU or GWU as #2.
    
         For UMASS to play up to ACC Chris' expectations, no less than
    three of the newcomers will have to emerge as immediate stars.
    
    Russ
    
    - keep in mind with the loss of Harper Williams, Tony Barbee and now
      Jerome Malloy, UMASS loses 41 ppg in scoring!
                                                   

    re: .-1
    
    Nice job of lowering expectations Russ.  MrT'd be most proud of you!
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    BTW, if the Hourmen really are preseason 3rd in the A10 it shows just
    how superior that league is to the BigLeast, cause they'd be (IMHO) 
    picked to win that league.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

>    BTW, if the Hourmen really are preseason 3rd in the A10 it shows just
>    how superior that league is to the BigLeast, cause they'd be (IMHO) 
>    picked to win that league.					  ^^^^^^
    								    ^
    					    any guesses how much this is worth?
    - ACC Chris

 Rasheed made a big mistake. Him, Harrington and Spencer could've dominated! 

    > Rasheed made a big mistake. Him, Harrington and Spencer could've
    > dominated!
    
    Boo hoo!!  Tears are rollin' down my cheeks, ... really!  Boo hoo!
    The BigLeast loses out on another one!  WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!111
    
    
    (Insert the obligatory thousand or so Haw haw's!)
    
    
    - ACC Chris

      I like to think UMass will do really good this year, but
      I think they are a tad young.  I think it'll be them or
      Temple for the Atl. 10 though.
    
      My hope is that they are a legitemate final four threat the
      year after next.
    
                                               Tony

         The Globe reported over the weekend that Tyrone Weeks, one of
    UMASS' recruits, did not receive the required score on the SAT/ACT's
    and thus will be ineligible for the coming season.  As of now, he plans
    to enroll at UMASS and not go the prep school route.  Weeks, a 6'7",
    245 lb. power forward, probably would have provided significant minutes
    in relief of starting forward Lou Roe.  In a year when the city
    of Philadelphia produced an exceptional crop of big men, such as
    Rasheed Wallace, Marc Jackson and Jason Lawson, Weeks was considered
    the best rebounder of the lot.
    
         In other news, it was reported that departed 2G Jerome Malloy is
    headed towards Jacksonville, and not Jackson State as previously
    thought.
    
         Also, 6'10" center Marcus Camby was named to the all star team at 
    the Olympic Festival in San Antonio.  This is a prestigious honor as
    some of the finest high school and early college basketball talent in
    the country, participated in this tournament.
    
    Russ
                         

    I caught some of the OlympicFestival on SportsSouth (main do I love
    this channel - among other things it gives me The Dean Smith Show
    during hoops season, which surpasses even Seinfeld as my favorite show
    on the toob.
    
    Anyhow, the underachieving East had Camby on the front line with
    Rasheed Wallace, and let there be no doubt that this kid Camby cain
    play!  Easily outdistanced Rasheed in virtually every phase of the
    game.  Wallace went the whole tourney with a total of one (1) blocked
    shot.
    
    It's time to jump on the UMass bandwagon people.  They will be a Top10
    team in the USA by seasons end IMHO.  A 7-footer with skills to go with
    their returning talent haul?!!  Awesome, baby.  (On a more somber note
    though, Donta Bright looked downright terrible.  The scoop on him is
    that his year away from basketball has really cost him.)
    
    I'm seriously hoping Wallace will benefit from Dean's unparalleled
    tuteladge, cause right now his game needs *work*.  Needs to hit the
    weight room, too.  Jerry Stackhouse will be the only frosh to
    contribute significantly for UNC this year.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    > "On a more somber note though, Donta Bright looked down right
       terrible."
    
         I have seen Donta Bright play in two All-Star games, once live and
    once on the tube, and I've yet to be overly impressed.  I hold out hope
    that his forte is "team play", and that he'll come into his own after a
    couple of months of practice and games.
    
         My fear is that he developed his game and his rep at an early age
    and hasn't really improved that much since he was 15!  Bright was
    Baltimore POTY as a soph, and then the following summer lit it up at
    the NIKE Camp and was named MVP there as well!  As a senior he was
    named Baltimore POTY again, and led his Dunbar team to the mythical
    H.S. National Championship, but was surrounded by a stellar supporting
    cast, and a couple of his teammates could easily have won the award.
    
         Clearly though, the Sports Festival is not a good barometer for
    projecting his college performance, as he admitted to being very rusty
    after a year away from topnotch competition.  BTW, as I may have
    mentioned in a previous note, Bright's intramural team finished
    RUNNER-UP in the UMASS Intramural Hoop Championship, this past winter!
    
         Given his buildup, I fear UMASS fans will be disappointed if he's
    not the second coming of Dr.J at small forward, or at least succeeds 
    Calbert Cheaney as the tops at that position.  I, on the other hand,
    think that a career more on the order of that turned in by Tony Barbee
    is more realistic.  (12 to 14 ppg/6 rpg)
    
         What's more fun to speculate on is the career of Marcus Camby.
    Over the course of his senior year and the all-star games that
    followed, he has elevated his reputation to where he is now considered
    among the top two or three center recruits in the country.  Supposedly,
    though parts of his game are still undeveloped, his speed and overall
    athletic ability, set him apart.  Many folks compare him to a young 
    Danny Manning!
    
         Where's that season ticket application?
    
    Russ
    
    - to carry on the discussion in another note, I expect big things from
      BC this season.  They are alot like the Jim McCoy led, UMASS team
      that went 30 and 5 two seasons ago.  A senior dominated team that
      has turned in winning records, dotted with numerous close losses 
      each year.  Now they've added a couple key recruits, and with the
      accumulated experience, they should walk away with the Big East.
      Coach Jimmy O'Brien might be their only "achilles heel".
                                                              
         
    

    Here's some UMass information for you:
    
    1) UMass is one of three schools in the running for 6-8 PF Dan Forsten
    from Pittsburgh.  Other two schools are Cincinnati and Wisconsin.
    Forsten is supposed to be one of the top 5 prep players in the country.
    
    2) Jerome Malloy allegedly had a drinking problem, and he refused to go
    for help to deal with it.  This led to his split with the university.
    
    3) In addition to the preseason NIT, here is UMass' non-Atlantic 10
    schedule (in the order in which they are played)
    	1) at Oklahoma
    	2) home vs Central Connecticut
    	3) at Holy Cross (in the Centrum)
    	4) Abdow's Classic (UMass vs Hartford; Hofstra vs Maryland)
    	5) at DePaul (Rosemont Horizon)
    	6) at Cincinnati
    	7) home vs Florida State (Feb. 3)
    	8) vs Kentucky at the Meadowlands
    	9) home vs Manhattan (Midnight Madness)
    
    That's got to be one of the toughest non-conference schedules around!
    
    NAZZ
    	

    	Hey NAZZ, is there a date on the Holy Cross game at the Centrum
    yet, and is that the only game UMASS will play there?
    
    				/Don

    I should have the exact date by Monday, but I know it's a weekend
    day in December (maybe the 12th?).
    
    NAZZ

    	Thanks NAZZ, I had a great time at the Centrum watching your
    Minutemains lasted year.  Maybe I can talk Waddle into getting tickets
    for the Kaintuck game.
    
    				/Don

         I have come across two bits of interesting news regarding the
    '93-94 UMASS Men's Basketball Team:
    
    1.  The "Midnight Madness" opening practice at 12 midnight on Halloween
        will be televised live (portions thereof) by ESPN.  UMASS will
        share the stage that evening with UNC and Kentucky.
    
    2.  It was reported in Amherst that the Dick Vitale Basketball Preview
        Magazine will name UMASS Recruit Marcus Camby as its "Newcomer of 
        the Year".  The last two hoopsters so named were Glenn Robinson of 
        Purdue and Chris Webber of Michigan.  
    
    Russ
         

 great recommendation for Camby but somebody else must pick those guys for
 him cause Vitale ain't that smart.........

 the only part of the NCAA I don't miss or look forward too...

 mike

    C'mon how tough was it to pick Robinson or Webber.  Maybe Camby
    will smarten up and transfer to the one BIG TIME program in N.E.
    
    Too early to hype the Huskies????
    
    Jimbo

         Northeastern??  They haven't been big time since the late Reggie
    Lewis graduated. ;^)!
    
    Russ

 For Vitale???? dam tough after all they weren't playing for FSBD or CoachK..
 Besides given his love of ball wizards I'd thought he'd pick Kidd....

 mike

    Having seen Camby sparkle during the Olympic Festival I cain definitely
    vouch that he's gonna be a force, but Webber/Robinson material?  Wail
    we'll just hafta wait and see.
    
    Suffice to say that with Camby UMass is the clear-cut A10 favorite and
    should be Top10 in the USA.  Clearly the best team in the NorthEast.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    
    >Northeastern?? They haven't been big time since the late Reggie
    >Lewis graduated. ;^)!
    
    Depends on how you define big time.  I seem to remember Northeastern
    winning 10-8 after about 10 minutes of the game against North Carolina
    in '91 before sucumming in the final few minutes to lose by 40 or so
    points 8^)
    
    Marc
    

    
    	Yabbut ya gotta love those whatevers over in Amherst.  Latest
    story has the Pres (or somebody) reviewing petitions/protests/etc.
    to have the school nickname changed from the "minutemen" to some other
    PC thang.
    
    I don't remember the logical (ha!) arguement 'cept that some loonies
    find "Minutemen" offensive.
    
    
    I remain,
    lovin my tax dollars at work!  Whatta country!
    Kev
    

    Seems people out there are offended by a white man carry a gun...
    
    
    REK

         Speaking of our tax dollars at work, an article in the Globe this
    week discloses that some State engineering team has found that the new
    Mullins Center has some structural deficiencies that could make it
    unsafe in hurricane force winds or in a moderate earthquake.  A
    structural consultant hired by UMASS refutes those charges.
    
         Given the sorry record of construction contracts awarded by UMASS
    over the years (the falling bricks from the facade of the world's
    tallest library, the structural cracks and perpetually leaky roof at
    the Campus Center), you have to wonder about payoffs changing hands.
    
    Russ
    
    - who well remembers the collapse of the Hartford Civic Center roof,
      just hours after a UMASS-UCONN b-ball game

I think the University of Massachusetts Calipari's has a nice ring to it....

Metz

 Ever think that just maybe it's the players themselves that ain't too
thrilled about being called Minutemen?

    Should it be Minutepeople?
    60 Minutemen?
    

    
    That's almost as bad as Marquette changing its name because Warriors is
    offensive.  It's a good thing animals and physical objects can't talk,
    or we'd not be able to have any team nicknames.
    
    brews

AS T said why waste 59 minutes when you can get in over in less than 1???

mike

speaking of nicknames, If Memphis gets a football team they're going to
call them the Hound Dogs and play up the Elvis angle to the max...Sounds
like the perfect place for Jerry.....

mike

    
>>    Should it be Minutepeople?
  		   ^^^^^^^^^^^^
    
    
    Mr. Moderator, I strongly object to the use of this word here!  Since
    I resemble that remark ;^) I feel that the author has insulted me,
    degraded me and generally tried to discriminate against all those who
    don't resemble that remark!
    
    I DEMAND that you have someone whack his pee-pee!
    
    I remain,
    life's little pleasure for more than 1 minute!
    Kev
        

 Kev, I think you ought to switch to decaf.

> Kev, I think you ought to switch to decaf.

look who's talking.

The Crazy Met

    
     Thank you, TCM for that scathing I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I? note.
    In the future please refrain from trying to post with the big boys in
    the UMass note and stick to that blessing to insomniacs everwhere - 
    baseball.

wattsa matter Tommy, can't take the heat??

The Crazy Met

    
    Seems there's a trouble brewin' out in Amherst these days, with some
    students protesting the use of the word "Minuteman" as the nickname
    of the school's sports teams. This comes on the heels of Marquette
    University deciding to drop the nickname "Warriors" because it might
    offend our First Americans. Now I wasn't aware the the term (in
    whatever language) was endemic to Amerinds. Throughout time immemorial,
    the term "warrior" connoted a person to be respected and revered for
    defending his/her tribe or society; a universal symbol for all
    races. But I'll get off that soapbox.  At UMass, students feel that
    the Minuteman character( you know, the stolid colonial holding a gun)
    connotes violence. The Minuteman, according to one student protestor,
    is nothing more than a "white man with a gun". The student group claims
    that this logo is a symbol of oppression and a reminder of the
    slaughtering of an Indian tribe in Amherst by the local militia. They
    want to call the teams "Liberators" The spokesperson goes on "If the
    school really wants to achieve multiculturalism it will have to make
    some sacrifices. We need a mascot more approriate to higher education,
    not something that symbolizes violence."
    
    Now I won't comment on this quote but Gerry Calahan, a Boston Herald
    columnist and UMass alum sure does. Gerry just assumed that the name
    Minuteman was a trivute to the sexual prowess of the average boy.
    Gerry goes on to offer some alternatives:
    
    Minutepersons
    UMass Debators
    UMass Holes
    Of course these might offend
    
    He continues
     
    The UMass Bloated Bureaucrats- 
    UMass Chancellor David Scott,Callahan suggests, could do something
    useful for his $150K salary, by leading the cheers at the football
    games and wrasslin' with Fightin' Blue Hen at halftime.
    
    The UMass Cows
    Reflecting the agricultural history of the region and honor an
    oppressed and underappreciated species. Unfortunately, Callahan
    writes, it might offend some of the fat chicks on campus.
    
    The UMass Masses
    This would be an inclusive nickname, inoffensive and thoughtful. It
    might be tough to come up with a logo, Callahan continues, for such
    an abstract name. Maybe they could just go with the hammer and sickle.
    
    The UMass Trojans
    The logo can be a condom and they could pass them out at halftime.
    Callahan thinks the best thing about it, of course, is that the
    Catholic Church will hate it.
    
    The UMassGredy,Insensitive,Meanspirited,Good-for-Nothing White Guys
    Callahan states "Who could this possibly offend? I can't think of a
    soul."
    
    Callahan wraps up "Of course, there is a simple,inexpensive solution
    to this whole silly problem. The UMass teams can keep their logo
    with the same old Minuteman. All they have to do is tell
    everyone he's gay."
    
    
    Well I believe Callahan has just about offended everyone. So now
    he can go home and have a homebrew, just like those students should.
    
    MikeL
    

    
    	Yabbut I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, and even if it has,
    tough doo-doo it's slow here today so I'll just gobble up s'more disk
    space.
    
    Da magical tee vee weaving of John Calipari, head basketball coach, has
    gotten the UMass <hold while we try to figure out a non-offensive, PC
    name> scheduled to be on ESPN tee vee at midnight, Oct. 31.  This is
    what they call "Midnight Madness" and since NCAA rules say that the
    earliest time basketball teams can begin practice is November 1, at
    ezzactly 00:01 they'll be practicing.
    
    Since this is also Halowwen night, does anybody know if the ghosts and
    goblins are required to be back at midnight?
    
    I remain,
    thinkin it may be time to start our DROOD stuff......
    Kev
    

    According to a news report on the Minuteman thing I saw last night,
    this whole ruckus is being caused by around 30 students.

yabbut they could start on saturday 10/30 if they want cause anytime that
Nov 1 falls on a monday you can start practicin' the saturday before like
BK will do but Calpari's more interested in image and selling the program
which is fine. BK's above that as Patheon dweller.....

mike

      Just wondering,
    
        Where are the eastern regionals at?  How about the eastern location
        that pares the eastern from 8 to 4?
    
                                                     Tony

> that pares the eastern from 8 to 4?

I know you meant 4 to 1.

The Crazy Met

      re -1
    
      yeah.  I was thinking of the total teams left and not exclusively
      to the east.

which would make it 16 to 4.

The Crazy Met

    
    	Yabbut and oh by the way,
    
    The President of UMAss decided not to change the school's nickname.
    
    It shall remain the Minutemen (until the PC fanatics think of something
    else).
    
    I remain,
    shaking ma haid
    Kev
    

 Hey Craze, do you have an answer for the guy or not?

> Hey Craze, do you have an answer for the guy or not?

come on Tommy, you would be real disappointed if I did.

The Crazy Met

    Re:  77.135
    
    Tony:
    
         NCAA First and Second Rounds
    
           East  Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y.
                 USAir Arena, Landover, Md.
    
         NCAA Regionals
    
           East  Miami Arena, Miami, Fl.
    
         Final Four
    
           Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, N.C.
    
    Russ
    

>         Final Four
>    
>           Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, N.C.

    I just received my Nassau Coliseum Eastern Regional tickets in the
    mail.
    
    Redmen Phil
    

    Hey Redmen Phil:
    
         If St.John's gets by Towson and UMASS defeats Cleveland St. in the
    First Round of the Preseason NIT, the Redmen and Minutemen will meet in
    the Second Round.  The winner of the Second Round game will receive the
    dubious honor of meeting, in all probability, defending NCAA Champ
    North Carolina.
    
         Could establish early season bragging rights between the BE and
    A10!
    
    Russ

    > of meeting, in all probability, defending NCAA Champ North Carolina.
    
    My that has a nice ring to it!
    
    
    - ACC Chris
    
    BTW, Carolina has no cakewalk in the NIT.  We got Cincinnati at home
    in the first round, and a win brings on somebody else that's tough but 
    I can't remember who.  On the plus side though, both games are in the 
    Dean Dome. :^)

>  BTW, Carolina has no cakewalk in the NIT

already setting up the excuses.

The Crazy Met

    re: Cincinnati
    
    I recognize that the Bearcats are a preseason Top10 club, but I'm not
    crazy about their chances of coming into the Dean Dome minus 6 of their
    top 7 players from last year and coming away with a 'W'.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    Re: 145
    
    That's true, a second round game vs. UMass.  My SJU season tickets
    arrived yesterday, and lo and behold, tickets were included for a 
    second round NIT game at Home (Alumni Hall), which could be UMass.
    
    Redmen Phil
    

    Yesterday's USA Today gave out the TV schedule for one of the
    networks.  I think it was ABC.  Two of the nationally televised
    games:
    
                       Feb 6 (Sunday) UMass/Kentucy at the Meadowlands.
    
                       Feb 13         Temple at UMass
    
    I wonder who is picked to win the Atl. 10, UMass or Temple?  Temple
    looked awful good last year in the tourney hanging tough with Michigan
    (but then again, didn't everybody?)  I think they're returning most
    of their players.
    
                                                      Tony

    re: Tony
    
    Temple is not only picked to win the A10, but to challenge for a Title. 
    Seems everybody has 'em in the Top 10.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

And if channel 5 in Boston sticks to form, those 2 games will not be 
televised in the Boston area.  ABC does not let channels pick and choose
games from their Sunday college basketball schedule. The last 2 (more?) years,
WCVB has not carried ABC's college basketball games.

The Crazy Met

      Chris,
    
        Yeah, I kind of thought so.  It'll be tough for UMass to beat out
        Temple this year.  I like Temple, but I like UMass better.
    
                                                     Tony

    If ch. 5 doesn't televise those UMass games, look for ch. 25 or 27 to.
    
    					Steve

         I think Temple is a Top 10 Team but not of Final Four Quality.
    They have one of the best perimeter threesomes in the country in McKie,
    Jones and Brunson, but their two big men Cunningham and Battie, while
    talented, are a bit too inconsistent.  Chaney is also famous for his
    seven man rotation, and this lack of depth always seems to bite him
    during at least one game during the Tourney!
    
         An A-10 Team that is not getting much recognition in the Rags is
    West Virginia.  Four years ago the recruiting class of PV Greene, Ricky
    Robinson, Marcellus Basey, Phil Wilson and Mike Boyd was one of the 
    top ranked incoming groups in the country.  Since then, they've put
    up several 18 win seasons, but have been largely a disappointment.  Now
    they are seniors, and this is last call.  Much like BC in the Big East,
    I expect WVU to be a very tough team this season.   
    
         I think UMASS, GWU and WVU will all be in the running for second
    place in the A-10 this year, with the edge going to WVU.  UMASS and GWU
    are just too young.
    
    Russ
    
    Russ

re: .155

You missed the problem. channel 5 has in the last 2 years asked to televise
games that had local interest. ABC said you can show all the Sunday college
hoops games or none of them. Presumably 25 or 27 would run into the same
problem.

The Crazy Met

    The solution is obvious, TCM.  You don't like the Boston media, you
    want to see more coverage of teams from outside of the Boston area
    (particularly NY teams).  So, move back to New York!

I don't really give hoot if channel 5 covers college hoops. just doing a public
service of preparing all those folks who expect to see UMass-Kentucky that
they may be out of luck.

The Crazy Met

    I'd bet a paycheck that UMass/Kentucky will be on the tube here in the
    Boston area, one way or another.
    
    					Steve

    No FSU-Miami football game; blacked out college hoops; no 'The Dean
    Smith Show' ....
    
    As if I needed even more reasons to move oughta the NorthEastCorridor!
    
    
    - ACC Chris

the reason the idiots at channel 5 avoid the games is because they generally
tend to be Big 11 games so they don't feel there will be any interest. What
idiots. thank somebody that channel 27 isn't so stupedo!!

mike

who televised FSU-Miami?? why wasn't it on 5 (BC game???). Usually 25 or 27
picks that Sat. game up - I think.

The Crazy Met

    
     Channel 27 out of Worcester televised the Miami-FSU game.

did we? could be, I don't remember.

The Crazy Met

      I missed it...how was the midnight madness show?  How did UMass
      look?
     
                                                    Tony

         The ESPN Midnight Madness Show was in my opinion, largely
    disappointing.  It featured Dick Vitale, doing his "off the wall"
    thing from Chapel Hill, a reserved Kentucky Wildcat grad commentator
    reporting in from Lexington, and Bill Raftery reporting from Amherst.
    
         Hardly any time was spent showing the three teams scrimmaging.
    Considerable time was spent on the UNC and UK Dunking Contests
    (patterned after the NBA All Star Weekend Dunking Contest) and less
    time was focused on the UMASS Contest, which was in reality a John
    Calipari fitness drill (ie. how many consecutive dunks can be made
    from a standing two-footed start under the basket, before the player
    collapses).   
    
         Calipari was interviewed and he had nice things to say about
    Lou Roe and Derek Kellogg.  Roe has added 10 lbs. and looks to be
    in mega shape!  On a humorous note, during the dunking drill, freshman
    Marcus Camby was up to 8 or 10 in a row, and starting losing his
    shorts.  He fumbled the ball going up his next dunk and missed it,
    pulled up his shorts, and turned around and gave a big smile for the
    camera!  During the closing credits, Camby was shown going in alone
    on a fast break during the scrimmage and doing a reverse jam.  No
    mention was made of Donta Bright.
    
         Clearly the event is a made for the fans, made for TV
    extravaganza.  Dean Smith seemed to let his assistants run the
    practice, and was interviewed sitting in the stands.  Clearly, the
    serious practices started on Saturday, as evidenced by all the injuries
    Carolina suffered during the "real thing".
    
    Russ

what night was Midnight Madness??

The Crazy Met

oh yeah is UMass still playing a midnight game this year or are they
too big for that these days.

Crazy,

I thought the question was when does the Midnight Madness start?

TTom

    UMass has a Midnight Madness game scheduled against Manahattan on
    Friday, February 18.
    
    NAZZ

    Anyone have the ticket number? For that matter, anyone interested
    in getting a group together for a game? I am interested in seeing 
    Kentcuky or FSU if they aren't sold out.
    
    Murph
    

         The number for the UMASS Athletic Ticket Office is 413-545-0810.
    The Kentucky game is not being played in Amherst, but rather at the
    Meadowlands (NJ).  The game with Florida State is being played on campus 
    on Thursday, February 3rd.                                     

    I assume, then, that tickets are available for UMass-UK in the big
    arena? I think it is a Friday, would be a good combo with a NYC trip.
    Can you get a train from Manhattan to the Meadowlands?
    
    Murph
    

>    I assume, then, that tickets are available for UMass-UK in the big
>    arena? I think it is a Friday, would be a good combo with a NYC trip.
>    Can you get a train from Manhattan to the Meadowlands?
>    

I don't think so. 

I'm not from the area so don't hold me to this, but one time a guy
came to Giantsmania from up in the city.  He had to go on the subway
for a while and took a cab part of the way.

Maybe JoJ_NOT or /Don know.....


'Saw    

    	JoJ called the TicketPro/TicketMaster (whatever they're called now)
    in Joisey and they told him one could purchase tickets for the Kaintuck
    game from the Massachusetts TicketPro/TicketMaster.  I haven't tried
    yet.
    
    				/Don

    The Kentucky/UMass game is on a Sunday afternoon in the Meadowlands,
    followed by the Nets/San Antonio at 6:00.  Not a bad doubleheader!!!
    
    NAZZ

      Cleveland State at UMass tonight on ESPN.  First chance to
      see Marcus Camby and Donta Bright.
    
                                                  Tony

    I hope everyone realizes that UMass & UNC could be headed for a
    collision in the NIT semifinals next weekend.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    The Redmen may have sometihing to say about that.
    
    Redmen Phil
    

      What bracket is Minnesota in?  They might have something to
      say about things too.

    at the half UMASS has a 36-31 lead over CVleve St

    St Johns lose lasted night...
    
    REK

    
    Yabbut damm  :*(
    
    Oh well, I suppose we needed to get that one under our belt just to
    avoid the pressure of going through the entire season undefeated  :^)
    
    I remain,
    still 50% of DEC's SJU fan club
    Kev
    

      I saw most of the UMass game.
    
      Its' just a first game and I suppose that is the cause of a lot
      of the poor play (such as ~37% from the free throw line!!!!!!)
      That is a disgrace.
    
      I have to wonder...why does UMass so consistently not be able to 
      shoot the basketball where it belongs (in the rim)?  Is this
      a statistical anomaly or is it a coaching problem or does UMass 
      tend to recruit people who can't shoot in the first place?  I
      simply don't understand it.  The few times I see them, one thing
      they cannot do is shoot the basketball.  They just can't do it!
    
      Why?
    
      UMass looks real strong at the center position.  Camby and the 
      reserve both looked good.  And I thought Donta Bright showed huge
      potential.  Typically, I see Umass get one of two type shots on
      a half court offense.  Either a perimeter shot or a type of close
      shot where there is a lot of banging underneath, the shot is thus
      usually not in, and the guy goes to the line.  Bright was creating
      for himself 5 to 10 footers where there was noone to block it, it
      was just up to him to knock it in.  And I know they weren't going
      in, but he was the only guy creating that sort of shot and I believe
      they will go in.  So that leaves a real nice starting five.  Camby
      and Roe banging inside.  Kellog running the show at the point,
      Williams mainly at the perimeter, and Bright creating from that 5 to
      10 feet area.  If it clicks it would seem they can score in a lot of
      versatile ways.  After seeing Bright, I have a lot of hope for him
      to be a real offensive force in a unique way.
    
      Of course, defensively UMass is all set.
    
                                                       Tony

         There has been a lot of discussion about the fact that shooting
    percentages, especially from the free throw line, have been declining
    in recent years.  There are two popular explanations for this.  One,
    that players such as Michael Jordan and Dr. J have popularized a style
    of play that put a high emphasis on taking it to the hoop and dunking.
    In this style of play, shooting from the outside is less glamorized,
    thus it is not practiced.  Secondly, the players that have the physical
    skills to excell at the college level, often come from the inner city
    or from poor rural backgrounds.  The highest level of play in high
    school is not typically found at your middle class and upper middle class
    suburban high schools.  Often times these kids spend much of their time
    playing on outdoor courts, where environmental factors such as the
    wind, poor lighting and bent rims affect the trajectory of outside 
    shots.  In such an environment, the in close shot or the drive to the
    hoop really becomes the high percentage shot.  If you read the
    recruiting rags, all college coaches are bemoaning the lack of quality
    long range shooters.  It's just not a UMASS problem.
    
         I will agree that the above does not excuse a free throw
    percentage of under 50%, such as UMASS turned in last night.  I mean
    even a no talent 6'1" forward playing high school ball in the late
    '60's (me) could knock down free throws at a 70%+ clip!
    
         I didn't see the game last night, but listened to parts of it,
    and was encouraged to hear about the play of Mike Williams, Jeff
    Meyer, Donta Bright and Edgar Padilla.  Clearly the team played
    sloppily, but the defense is there, and there is a lot of room 
    for improvement on the offensive end, especially if some of the open
    shots start to fall!
    
    Russ
               

    UMass vs. UNC, Wednesday night.  Be thare!
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    UMass, after a lethargic opening night win over Cleveland St., trounced
    Towson St. 82-55 in a game that wasn't that close.  Towson obviously
    was emotionally spent after beating Big Least power St. John's.
    
    Freshman center Marcus Camby sparkled against Towson, with 16 points,
    13 rebounds, and at least a half dozen blocks.  Lou Roe led UMass with
    24 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman starpshooter Carmelo Travieso
    hit three 3-pointers among his 11 points.  The duo of Dana Dingle and 
    Donta Bright were steady at small forward, combining for 16 points and
    13 rebounds.
    
    Coach John Calipari was asked if he thought UMass had a legitimate
    chance to beat North Carolina Wednesday in Madison Sq. Garden.  He
    replied:  "We have no chance to win this game, none at all.  North
    Carolina is too strong, too deep, too talented.  There is absolutely no
    way we can hope to win this game; I just hope we don't get
    embarrassed."
    
    NAZZ 

    Nazz, did Calipari go to the LouHoltz school of Psychological
    preparedness?  
    
    Sheesh, the guy's recruiting big-time studs (including a kid Dick
    Vitale apparently rates higher than Wallace/Stackhouse) and now he's
    got "no chance".  Obviously he plans on having his charges play
    loose-as-a-goose basketball, with absolutely nothing to lose.  
    
    Toward that end, me and Dean are worried.  In addition to Calipari's
    clever ploy, the game represents a homecoming affair for Derrick 
    Phelps & Brian Reese, and usually kids play lousy with all the 
    distractions.  Strike 3 may be the fact that the last time Carolina
    played in Madison Square Garden (2 years ago) we got bested by a VERY
    undermained Notre Dame squad who played the game of their lives.  (They 
    did have LeRon Ellis though ....)
    
    Ugh.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

Re.

> we got bested by a VERY
> undermained Notre Dame squad who played the game of their lives.  (They 
> did have LeRon Ellis though ....)

Interesting that Boeheim would let Ellis leave Syracuse for the night
(or was he already with the Clippers by that point?) to play alongside
LaPhonso. ;)

Ken

    Ken,
    	I have to give Chris absolution on this one as even a straight 800s
    guy cannot possibly keep the LaPhonsos and LeRons straight along with
    all the Smiths,Walkers,Jacksons and Williams.
    
    	I mean he'd have to have a guidebook or something at his desk to
    sneak a peek at and I know Chris does all this in his head.
    
    	But ACC did have the same thought I did - Cal'p'i doth protesteth too
    much but the guy he reminded me of was more the original poor mouth
    from the mid-south (hint-His picture is the 8x11 in ACC's office next
    to the snap shot of wife and family)(2nd hint - note caps).
    
    	And never let it be said that a big east fan can't give ACC-C some
    credit
    

             
>    Toward that end, me and Dean are worried.  In addition to Calipari's
>    clever ploy, the game represents a homecoming affair for Derrick 
>    Phelps & Brian Reese, and usually kids play lousy with all the 
>    distractions.  Strike 3 may be the fact that the last time Carolina
>    played in Madison Square Garden (2 years ago) we got bested by a VERY
>    undermained Notre Dame squad who played the game of their lives.  (They 
>    did have LeRon Ellis though ....)
>    
>    Ugh.
    
    In other words, Calipari did such a marvelous job of sandbagging that
    it presented quite a challenge requiring all your creativity for even 
    *you* to outdo him...
    
    glenn
    

         I think Nazz left out a couple of important words, when exerpting
    Coach Cal's comments after the Towson game.  I think he said something
    to the effect "we have no chance of winning a game with North Carolina,
    AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR."  In the articles that I've read in which he
    has spoken of this year's recruits, he absolutely raves about their
    potential, and he admits he has more physical talent on this team than
    on any of its predecessors.
    
         I think he's being realistic, in that, of his current 9 man
    rotation, 4 players are in their first year, and have only fifteen or
    so practices and two games under their belts.
    
    Russ
    
    - a good buddy of mine is a judge in Atlanta, and bleeds baby blue,
      just like ACC Chris.  I think a wager's in order.  What's the spread,
      15 or so?  I should be able to get 20 pts. from hizzoner!
                                                     

    The line in todays Atlanta Constipation has UNC by 14.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

      I don't think UMass can win and the reason is (of course)
      inexperience.  The best example is Montross versus Camby.
      Now I figure Camby might actually emerge as a better collegiate
      player, but we're talking a guy who has played 2 whole college
      basketball games and is maybe 18 or 19 years old.  And he's
      battling against a guy who has played probably 70+ ACC games
      as well as played an entire NCAA tournament.  Plus he's probably
      a lot heavier partly due to being 22 or so and not 18.
    
      The experience factor should weight heavily.
    
      But, still...behind closed doors, with just my players I'd tell
      them the game is VERY WINNABLE!
    
                                                   Tony

    	If UMASS could beat the talent laden Tar Heels is would surpass
    BC's momentous upset at South Bend last weekend.
    
    				/Don

    I gotta agree with Tony on this one.  UMass is every bit Carolina's
    equal in the talent department, but in terms of experience (especially
    the experience of Carolina's HeadMaster, Dean Smith) UNC has a huge
    edge.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

>                   -< Carolina to win, but UMass to cover. >-

A little lapse there, eh?

So much for the idea that wagering should have no place in college
athletics.

Course, he may have hallucinated Dean sharing a_inside tip with him.

TTom

    Me and Dean *do* agree that wagering has no place in college athletics,
    and for that reason we like to occasionally point out the folly of it
    all.
    
    HTH,
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    Re: 77.200
    
         I think Chris is stretching the bounds of reason a bit when
    making the statement that UMASS is the equal of Carolina in talent.
    Most folks think that Montross, Williams and Salvadori will be NBA
    first rounders after this season, and that Reese and Phelps will go in
    the second round, or at least get a free agent look-see.  On the 
    other side of the ball, UMASS' best player Lou Roe, is too small at
    6'7" to play his natural position of power forward in the pro's, and
    probably lacks the offensive skills to move to small forward in the
    Big Show.  I'm sure he'll at least be invited to camp, but it remains
    questionable whether he'll ever draw an NBA paycheck.  Mike Williams seems 
    destined for Europe or the CBA.
    
         Of the freshmen, it's way too early to make any judgements.  Let's
    just say that none of the recruiting rags rated Calipari's recruits as
    the best class in the country.
    
         I'm hoping that UMASS can make a bit more of a game of it than did
    Cincinnati.
    
    Russ
    
    - actually, IMHO, where UMASS matches up best with Carolina is behind
      the bench.  
                  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
            

    Does anyone know if the UMass vs. UNC game is the early or late game?
    
    thanks,
    
    
    - ACC Chris

         USA Today reports that Michael Williams sprained his ankle on 
    Monday, has been on crutches, and probably will not play tonite.
    
    Russ

    Re: 204
    
         It's the 9:15 p.m. game, Chris.
    
    Russ

    
    
    Yabbut I'm gonna be trekking to Brrrmont tonight and probably won't
    get to the I-L's in time to see the game.  Does anybody know *any*
    radio station that is broadcasting the game?
    
    t.i.a.
    
    I remain,
    ready to gobble
    Kev
    

    UMass had no chance before WIlliams went down.  Now they're gonna
    get slaughtered.  Williams was their best player in their first two
    games.  Now the backcourt consists of Derek Kelleogg, two freshmen, and
    a walk-on.  Carolina will press and UMass will get destroyed.
    
    I predict 114-52 for the Heels.  Dean will remember to put in his bench
    with 45 seconds to go - gotta run up the score to keep the top ranking.
    
    Then the Minutemen travel to Oklahoma on Sunday to meet the Sooners.
    It'll be next to impossible to return after the Thanksgiving break
    and have UMass be anything but 2-2.
    
    NAZZ

    My guess is that Calipari is pulling a classic LouHoltz and Williams
    will not only play but throw in around 25 first half points before
    Deano puts Derrick Phelps on him and all of a sudden he starts limping
    around like he just got shot or somethin'.
    
    Haw!
    
    
    - ACC Chris

  So basically, you think Deano is so stupid that it'll take him until half-
 time before he figures (or his assistants figure for him) that he'd better put
 Phelps on Williams? No wonder you don't think Deano with the number one team
 in the country can thoroughly whup outmanned UMass. You're as much as calling
 him incompetent.

    Yes, it will take Deano until halftime to switch
    {our_best_defensive_player} onto {their_best_offensive_player}.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    UMASS busy the next few days-- remember the consolation game for
    NIT if by chance they do not win, then the Oklahoma game on Sunday!!!
    
    FYI- UMASS is ranked #18... 
    
    Monday Umass will be 4-1... 
    
    /w

      I think if you factor in the inexperience with the Williams
      status, it looks really dismal.  That first game, they just
      couldn't hit an outside shot and the only guy doing anything
      from the perimeter was Williams.  It suggests a high probability
      of North Carolina being able to 'pack it in' on defense and get
      away with it.  And if they can do that...FORGET IT.
    
                                                Tony

         With Williams out, I bet Donta Bright will draw a starting 
    assignment at 2G.  As others have pointed out, during the first two
    games he has displayed the offensive moves necessary to make a shot
    for himself just about whenever he wants.  The problem is he's been
    shooting about 30% both from the field and from the charity stripe!
    With Williams injury, UMASS loses a very creative offensive player,
    one of their best ballhandlers, the team leader in steals on the
    defensive end, and perhaps most importantly, one of their few
    experienced players.
    
         I also think we may see Meyer defensing Montross, with Camby
    playing one of the forward positions.  With Montross weighing in at
    290 lbs. and Camby tipping the scales at 215 lb. after a big
    Thanksgiving meal, that matchup would be no contest.  My biggest
    fear is that Camby will draw three early fouls, the shooting will
    remain poor, and Carolina will start a track meet, not unlike their
    game with URI in the NCAA Tourney.
    
         Given Williams injury, a 30 point loss seems inevitable.
    
    Russ
              

         A wild, wacky, wonderful, roller coaster ride of a weekend for
    the UMASS men's basketball team.  All the positives that go along with
    a four and one record before December 1st, after having played four
    tournament teams including the defending national champ, and Oklahoma
    in Norman, could be washed away depending on the severity of Marcus
    Camby's knee injury.  Reportedly, his knee will be scoped today in
    Worcester.  The MRI over the weekend was inconclusive, however the 
    doctors fear a torn meniscus.
    
         So far, I'm very impressed with the quickness of UMASS both 
    defensively and going to the offensive boards.  Even in the loss to
    Kansas, UMASS was able to throw a couple of nice, counterpunch runs
    at the Jayhawks, both keyed off of defensive intensity.  Ultimately,
    their inability to hit free throws (Lou Roe in particular) cost them
    the game.
    
         Lou Roe has really stepped up his game at the offensive end, and
    is rebounding as well as ever.  Over his first two season's, he's
    better than a 70% free throw shooter, so his disasterous shooting from
    the stripe this year is something of a mystery.  Donta Bright has
    looked great one minute, and totally out of control the next.  He
    clearly needs more practice time and a few more games under his belt.
    Dana Dingle has been very solid ... perhaps the team's most improved
    player.
    
         The backcourt of Derek Kellogg and Mike Williams, with rookies
    Edgar Padilla and Carmelo Travieso, has been pretty solid.  The good
    news is that they are not turning the ball over too much.  Their
    scoring and creativity has been a bit inconsistent.  I am very
    impressed with the play of Edgar Padilla in a back up role at point
    guard.  Defensively, he might have the quickest hands on the team.
    Against Carolina, he stripped either Phelps or Williams, on one 
    occasion as neatly a pickpocket working a NYC subway!  Calipari
    has to find away to get Travieso in the game, and to run an offense
    that will get him some shots.  He's definitely a major league shooter!
    
         Here's hoping for a successful surgery and a rapid convalesence
    for Marcus Camby!
    
    
     

	After watching the UMASS-UNC game I couldn't help wondering how
	good this team might be if the could only sink a free throw.


	billl

    
    
    		I HATE DICK VITALE'S NON-STOP INCESSANT BABBLING!!!!!
    
    
    Sorry Bernie but I was so absolutely pissed at that *sshole's crap that
    I turned off the game about 5 minutes into the second half.
    
    I'd contribute to the fund to "off" him too!
    
    grrrrrr
    
    I remain,
    thinking UMass might practice free throws a million times
    Kev
    
    

    
     Edgar Padilla was certainly a pleasant surprise. I expected
    Camby to be good after all the press he's gotten but Padilla
    looks like he could eventually beat Derrick Kellogg out of a 
    job. The kid has great instincts, a nice shooting touch and 
    quickness. And unlike Kellogg, he'll take the open jay. And 
    stick it, too. Although, Kellogg looks like he's a little more 
    relaxed about taking the shot hitting a few treys over the week-
    end. Last year Kellogg wouldn't hoist it up at gun point. Still,
    by next year I'd like to see Padilla as the starting PG.

    YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!
    
    HHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
    RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    22 years of agony avenged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    It's been a long time coming, but it was oh so sweet!  It would be
    ironic, however, if UMass lost freshman sensation Marcus Camby for
    the season to an injury incurred during the greatest basketball
    victory in the school's history.
    
    But back to the game - did John Calipari outcoach the Legend or
    what?!?!?  Please explain to me what sense it made to leve Montross on
    the floor with four fouls and 11 minutes left?!?!?!?!?  And, why sit
    back in a zone with 30 seconds left up by three, allowing Mike Williams
    to get a great look at the basket on his 3-pointer?  Williams has
    cahunas the size of Chicago - he's never afraid to take the big shot!
    
    Which brings me to the seconds victory of the weekend - 84-83 over the
    hated Billy Tubbs AT Norman!!!!!!!!  Donta Bright gets his first start
    as Coach Cal goes with a small line-up (Lou Roe at center), and Bright
    responds with a career high 28 points on 13-15 shooting.  Roe adds 27,
    Derek Kellogg hits three threes among his 11 points for the second game
    in a row, and Mike Williams darts down the baseline for the winning
    layup with 1.2 seconds left in the game!!!
    
    Congrats Minutemen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    NAZZ
    
    PS - 22 years refers to UMass' last meeting with UNC, where Julius
    Erving picked up four fouls in the first half, fouled out with 17
    minutes left in the game, and UNC turned a 37-28 halftime lead into
    an embarrassing 90-49 rout, in case you were wondering. 

    
    
    Great job by UMass (both games) this weekend.
    
    I've got to believe that this winter's sports season is going to be
    dependent on the colleges to provide any entertainment at all. Judging
    from the way the Celtics and Bruins have been playing, and the disarray
    that the Red Sox are in, the college basketball scene is going to get a
    lot of press time.
    
    
    

    re .217
    
    Amazing.  Had they hit their free throws, the NC game would have
    been an absolute BLOWOUT!!!
    
    I was unable to see the Oklahome game.  How did Bright look?  What
    kind of shots was he taking?  Was he basically unstoppable??
    
    Oh man...I sure hope Camby is ok.
    
                                                    Tony

         Don't forget that UNC wasn't a whole lot better from the free
    throw line last Wednesday night.  UMASS went 24-42 and Carolina hit
    27 out of 43, subpar shooting for both teams.
    
         Supposedly, Donta Bright hit numerous follow-ups and tip ins
    of missed shots, on the offensive boards against Oklahoma, including
    two tip ins during the last 90 seconds.
    
    Russ
    
    - ditto on Camby

    I didn't realize Camby's injury was that serious.  Friday morning's
    paper said it was just a bruise.

 IMO, it was a cheap legwhip by Phelphs that injuried him too....

 course dean wouldn't teach dirty play now would he???????

 mike

    Some ramblings:
    
    o Nazz is correct in pointing out that this is the biggest win in
      UMass basketball history.  Of course, practically any team that
      beats UNC out-of-conference could make the same claim, and for some
      in-conference schools a season can be made just by beating Carolina.  
      Face it folks, if Carolina wins it's just another win.  If they lose, 
      it's party-time.  
    
      Reminds me of some Celtics dynasty stories.  When the C's would win
      they'd just walk off the court as if business had been taken care of.
      In fact, Red used to tell 'em that, after a game, act like you
      *expected* to win.
    
    o UMass outplayed, outhustled, outcoached, and outrebounded Carolina.
      Forget about the bad foul shooting for the Minutemen, cause UNC's
      was just as bad.  Senior forward Brian Reese clanged his last 4
      attempts.  Even Donald clanged a couple.
    
    o Donta Bright looked awfully good to me.  Roe was on a mission. 
      UMass's backcourt didn't crack.  Our huge frontline got absolutely
      destroyed on the defensive glass, causing UNC fans to recall with
      fond memory George Lynch's blue collar approach to rebounding.
    
    o Forget about not taking Montross out.  That was pure Dean almost
      hoping the AA *would* foul out so he could give crunch-time minutes
      to less experienced players.  Forget also our lack of going for the
      jugular after starting the game 11-0.  Dean's always gonna sub alot
      in the 1st half.
    
      However the decision to go zone up 3 was inexplicable.  I commented
      on this after the Western Kentucky game, only this time it was even
      more bizarre.  A very bad decision - without a 3-point shot at that
      point in the game UMass, in all likelihood, comes away with an 'L'.
    
    o Dean always says you can learn just as much from a win as a loss, so
      it's tough to put a positive spin on the game except to say at least
      we didn't suffer any injuries.  (No cheap shot intended, Minutemain
      fans.) 
    
      Fortunately the ship got righted and 'The Donald' poured in 28 to
      knock off Top 10 Minnesota in a game I know virtually nothing about.
      (Nothing in the paper 'sept for a one-sentence 'article', no box score,
      no TV.)
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    Rick Pitino praised UMASS on his weekly coaches show last night.  He
    said that he thought UMASS was the best offensive rebounding team he'd
    seen in the last ten years.  
    
    Looking forward to UK meeting UMASS this February!  Should be a great
    game.
    
    - Rope

      re 223 and ACC Chris' reply (forget which number)
    
      Yeah, you guys are absolutely right on the free throw thing.
      I didn't realize NC clanged as many as they did and I would
      expect generally a NC team to shoot better at the stripe than
      UMass so given the actual stats, the free throw state actually
      favored UMass.
    
      Two other things...
    
      Any more news on Camby?
    
      Chris, was it your reply awhile back that said Bright looked awful?
      What do you think now (serious)?  Do you think maybe it was just
      inexperience?  Think he's looking like he'll be a real force?
      I HOPE so!  
    
      Come to think of it...Dean Smith mentioned favoring an 8-deep team
      rather than too many deep.  Sounds good to me!  UMass is solid at
      least to 8 people.
    
                                                 Tony

    re: Tony
    
    It wasn't me who said Bright looked bad.  I thought he looked awfully
    good for a kid who supposedly couldn't lead his intramural team to a
    Title.  (Ha!  Forget who told me that story, BTW ...)
    
    
    re: /Don (banners)
    
    Obviously you haven't been to the DeanDome.  The rafters are chalk-full
    of banners and retired numbers.  On the other hand, I *have* been to
    that hell-hole called 'The Boston Garden' (easily rates as the *worst*
    SPORTS facilities I've ever been in, although admittedly the place the
    Pats play is awful bad) and when I look up at the roof all I see are
    stupid Boston Bruins divisional banners, like anybody really cares.
    
    Haw!
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    stupid Boston Bruin Divisional banners=ACC champ banners

Here we have a leetle banner banter and I get slurred along with the rest
of the conference. 

Knorr would get excited if they put Dean's boxers in the rafters of his
Dome. 

TTom

         In case anyone missed the newspaper reports this morning, the
    arthroscopy performed on Marcus Camby's knee revealed nothing more
    than a bone bruise.  Boston Red Sox Team Physician Arthur Pappas
    performed the surgery.  It is expected that he will return to the UMASS
    lineup in time for the Abdow's Holiday Tournament in Springfield on
    December 28th and 29th.  Participants in that Tourney will be UMASS,
    Hartford, Hofstra and Maryland.  During the interim, he will miss
    games with St.Bonaventure, Central Connecticut, Holy Cross, and an
    exhibition game with an International Team.  
    
         A huge sigh of relief was heard echoing through the halls of the
    Mullins Center, emanating from the office of John Calipari!;^)
    
    Russ
        
     

      re -1
    
      Yeah, I caught that news brief in the Globe sports today.
      Needless to say, I was relieved!
    
      By the way, the Atlantic 10 once again flexed some muscle
      as Temple beat then #2 Kansas convincingly *in* Kansas.
    
                                             Tony

    I believe that xmas tourney in Hartford where in circa '75 Cornbread
    Maxwell and Robert Parrish met in a NC Charlotte/Centenary game won by
    NC.  I believe it was the season prior to NCC making the NCAA semis and
    their classic tilt with Marquette.
    
    Bill

    The Cornbread-led 49ers made the Final4 in '77 ('L' to Marquette in a
    game they should've won), so placing them in a '75 Christmas tourney
    one (1) season prior sounds correct.
    
    Who won the game?
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    RE.  .236 & .237
    
         During December of 1974, the Springfield, Ma. Hall of Fame
    Tournament featured Dartmouth, UNC-Charlotte, Centenary and UMASS
    as host.  UMASS won the opener over Dartmouth 74-59, but then was
    trashed one night later by UNC Charlotte by a score of 85-57.  I don't 
    know the score of the UNC Charlotte - Centenary game.
    
         I remember knowing at the time of Robert Parish, and expecting
    to see a UMASS-Centenary matchup.  I was unfamiliar with Cedric
    Maxwell.  As I recall UNC-C absolutely dominated a perimeter oriented
    UMASS team, by controlling the boards at both ends.

    re: .237
    
    Didn't UNC also lose a game they should have won to Marquette in the
    1977 NCAA's??
    
    The Crazy Met
    

    Marquette beat NC in the final but I personally never considered that
    an upset.  In fact I recall that NC beat ND in the other semi and that
    was a mild upset and in fact a late comeback won it for the heels.
    
    I always liked that Laimbeer,Tripucka, Tracey Jackson, Hanzlik bunch
    but was a minority of one in a crowd of upwards of 6 or 7 basket fans
    who hated the notredame hype.
    
    As I recall there was a guard, Jimmy Boylan(I hope I got that right)
    who had a tremendous ncaa tourney for Al McGuire.
    
    And how did Al ever get phased out of doing the college hoops - he was
    far and away the best ever at that "color" thing

    RE: -1  Are you sure?  I thought that was the year that UNC beat a
    good UNLV squad and Marquette lucked out on a last second shot to
    advance to the finals.  I also thought that UNC was favored over
    Marquette...  In the words of Mr T. "It was an exellent loss for
    snuffy smith".
    
    Frank Mendez

    UNC had to beat Notre Dame *IN SOUTH BEND*, ..... *** ON ST. PATRICK'S
    DAY!!! ***, ...... just to reach the Final4.  
    
    This team had no business reaching the finals (in Atlanta) in the first
    place.  Walter Davis was playing with a broken finger, our center was
    OUT (Tommy LeGarde, who played a lot of years in the NBA), and Phil
    Ford hyperextended his elbow early in the tourney and was never at full
    strength.
    
    Nevertheless Carolina knocked off UNLV in a wild affair before losing
    to Marquette in Al McGuire's last game.
    
    BTW, the last-second shot by Marquette to beat UNC-C was a full-court
    pass that was laid in by Jerome Whitehaid with only a couple of ticks
    left on the clock.  UNC-C was up by a point and poised to win the
    game.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

The answer to the question is YES.

No Carolina was favored to beat Marquette. This was with full recognition
of any and all problems the Heels may or may not have had. Everyone knew
the physical status of the baby blue team and judged that the state
University of No Carolina at Chapel Hill *SHOULD* beat Marquette.

The Excuse Bible would have you believe that no one this side of the
Carolina Blue knew anything about the physical status of the players and
that now we're supposed to apply historical revisionism and ignore the
very splendid choke job.

TTom

 Don't forget the excellent coaching decision to go 4-corners.....

 mike

    Thanks for remindin' me of another underachieving Digger-led
    Irish squad, there Chris.
    
    However my opinion could change a bit if'n someone *neutral*
    could tell me who was favored in that ND-UNC game at ND?
    Was ND's chances for the champeenship that year considered
    good? Ah honestly have blocked it from mah memory ( like the
    '73 or '74 Irish squad losing to Michigan the same year NCState
    beat Marquette, the ND team that let Danny Ainge do the fandango
    through, the Kuharich and Faust years...).
    
    MikeL
    

    > However my opinion could change a bit if'n someone *neutral*
    > could tell me who was favored in that ND-UNC game at ND?
    
    Finding that "neutral" person could be a tough nut, MikeL.  Most folk
    in this conference who are likely to offer "expert" advise on the
    subject have yet to consider North Carolina a 'dog for *any* game!
    
    Ha!
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    All we need Chris is someone with "The Line" on the game in '77
    Be tough to find, but I'll believe that. Ain't doubtin' ya, but
    ah needs to know so's I can keep that 30th dart in mah picture
    of Richard Phelps
    
    MikeL
    

What would being on St Paddys day mean to a bunch of african-american students?

It's stupid unless they're handing out free beer to the students before th
game..


Metz

No Carolina has been a dog on several occasions but it happens about as
often as Florida St getting points in football.

In the Laettner hay-day at Duke, the Heels were getting points at Durham.

What this is trying to imply, however, conveniently without addressing
the real issue, is that No Carolina wasn't favored to beat Marquette
cause, well, y'all know all them excuseful reasons.

Save it, Chris. The Heels were favored and they choked.

TTom

    Who sdays they was all AA's??
    
    And it wasn't free beer.. but nickel green beer comes close.
    
    MikeL
    

    TTom,
    
    I certainly remember UNC being favored over Marquette, there's no
    denying that. I'm just looking to reinforce a belief_a_my own
    regarding ND and Digger.
    
    MikeL
    
    

As to who was favored, perhaps the Dean of anti-Dean stats, Cap, might
know.

TTom

    re: .246
    
    Hey Chris I'd call the tarheels dogs!!!!!!^8
    
    Frank Mendez
    

 And all of this has exactly *what* to do with "UMass Athletics"?

It helps put things in perspective for UMASS fans. mainly that beating UNC
ain't no big deal. lesser teams have been doing it for years......

haw! haw!

mike
    

  No, I don't want to be a mod although you lollipops sorely need it. If'n
 I were a mod I'd make Mac look like a pushover.

Hail, Tommy, take a tip from Chris Knorr. Talk and act like you actually
are a moderator.

TTom

    Hey I thought this was the sports notes where just about anything
    goes???????
    
    Frank
    

>    
>    You've been gone a long time, haven't you Frank.  Please check through
>    Topic 2 (I think) for conference and corporate policies and procedures.
>

And if ANYONE in here follows them, I'm the Queen of England......

    Well I, for one, follow them.
    
    How's yer son, Charlie, yer majesty???
    
    
    JaKe
    

    Well, Tommy, the UNC discussion belongs here as much as that
    Pats discussion belonged in the Steelers note - I'm pretty sure
    you were a long-winded participant in that discussion.
    
    The Crazy Met
    

    
    >>Well, Tommy, the UNC discussion belongs here as much as that
    >>Pats discussion belonged in the Steelers note - I'm pretty sure
    
    Not to mention that FANTASTIC (yawn) literary discussion in the JaJ
    note, too.
    
    JaKe
    

    Correct JaKe,
    Anythang literary in the JAJ note must be anathema, no?
    
    8^)
    MikeL
    

 >> Well, Tommy, the UNC discussion belongs here as much as that
 >> Pats discussion belonged in the Steelers note - I'm pretty sure
 >> you were a long-winded participant in that discussion.
   
    At least the Pats discussion came about because of a game against
    the Steelers. This discussion came about because of a question about
    a tourney in Hartford that had nothing to do with UMass. UMass hasn't 
    played any of the teams being discussed for the last thirty replies 
    here except UNC and that was three weeks ago. What's more is I ain't 
    saying that I'm not guilty of the same behavior, Hulkster, just pointing
    out that it's in the wrong place. If Jake had done that in the Steelers 
    note he'd have been well within his rights.
  

    Back to the topic:
    
    UMASS plays its only breather on its schedule tonight when Central
    Connecticut comes to the Mullins Center for a thrashing.  Saturday
    night the Minutemen will punish the Crusaders of Holy Cross for past
    indescretions, then they play some international squad at Mullins next
    Wednesday.  After that, it's R&R time until the Abdow's classic after
    Christmas, when Marcus Camby may be ready to return to action.
    
    NAZZ

My Alma Mater will get their asses handed to them I'm afraid.

It all started when they moved the anatomically correct Blue Devil (nice
package) out of the Student Center, in favor of an abstract sculpture
representing the Blue Devil.

No doubt bowing to pressure to be "politically correct"....8^(


'Saw

    'Saw, your Blue Devils did you proud.  THey almost won the second half,
    losing by a single point.  THey have some talent - a shifty little PG
    who can shoot, a bulky Rooskie who hit 5 3-pointers, and a couple of
    decent wing players.  UMass did toy with them for most of the game, but
    if they compete at their level, they'll win some games.
    
    Doesn't get any easier for them - they play UConn tomorrow night at
    Gampel.  You gonna catch that game, 'Saw?
    
    NAZZ

>
>    'Saw, your Blue Devils did you proud.  THey almost won the second half,
>    losing by a single point.  THey have some talent - a shifty little PG
>    who can shoot, a bulky Rooskie who hit 5 3-pointers, and a couple of
>    decent wing players.  UMass did toy with them for most of the game, but
>    if they compete at their level, they'll win some games.

Now, see, if they moved the anatomically correct Blue Devil statue BACK
into the Student Center, CCSU might have won!  8^)
    
>    Doesn't get any easier for them - they play UConn tomorrow night at
>    Gampel.  You gonna catch that game, 'Saw?
    
I think they have CCSU at the Civic Center in the afternoon.  My brother
has tickets as part of his package, but UNFORTUNATELY, he's chosen to
take a girl instead of me.  Can you imagine that?  My own brother dissin'
me for some girl who probably don't know nothin' 'bout hoops....8^)


Look for a BIG UCONN win.....


'Saw

    Does he need the lure of college basketball to acquire female
    companionship?
    
    NAZZ

>    Does he need the lure of college basketball to acquire female
>    companionship?
    
No.  

I think it's more akin to what Maverick said in 'Top Gun'


	I had the shot, there was no danger, so I took.



The opportunity presented itself, and it seems fairly obvious to me that
he must figure that he's got a fairly good chance of her expressing
her appreciation in new and unusual (or even old and tried and true) ways.

For that, I'll forgive him -- maybe......


'Saw

    For you brothers sake 'Saw it's encouraging that a girl would want to
    go to a college hoops game (i.e. shows good taste).  And in his
    defense, you yourself have admitted you don't know squat 'bout college
    hoops, although one would think you've received a purty good education
    over the last few years.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

>
>    For you brothers sake 'Saw it's encouraging that a girl would want to
>    go to a college hoops game (i.e. shows good taste).  And in his
>    defense, you yourself have admitted you don't know squat 'bout college
>    hoops, although one would think you've received a purty good education
>    over the last few years.
    
    
You've got a good point.

I guess I won't say that I don't know squat about college hoops, but I'm 
not a huge follower of college hoops.

At any rate, if my bro' can score a trey on Saturday, more power to him!

8^)

>    
>    And after all those software and computer shows you took him to as
>    well.  What an ingrate.
>

Yeah, and after doing all his software installations for him too.

I'll tell you, hormones is stronger than blood these days.....


'Saw

    
    
>>    Does he need the lure of college basketball to acquire female
      companionship?
    
      NAZZ
    
    
    Yabbut how 'bout these 'trons?
    
    	"Nazz, Does he need the lure of Celtic basketball to acquire female
    	companionship?"
    
    i.e. - Annual Lap Sitting Contest
    
    <major grins>
    
    I remain,
    nevah one to enter that contest!
    Kev
    

    'Saw I told you that you shoulda been watching rugby instead of going
    to those silly software things.

>    'Saw I told you that you shoulda been watching rugby instead of going
>    to those silly software things.

Well, they helped me out anyway.....


'Saw

    Kev - I'm always on the lookout fer young ladies interested in a
    tryout.  Special hours can be arranged.  (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink,
    know what I mean?)
    
    NAZZ

    
    
    Any thoughts on the comments made by the coaches of UMass and BC
    basketball about whether or not they'll play one another anytime soon?
    
    Seems John Calipari is quoted in the Globe as saying, "Well, the shoe's
    on the other foot now. The game then was for New England basketball,
    and when you thought about it, it seemed like a good idea then...We
    used to be the threat, but what's happened now is that we're not the
    threat anymore; they're a threat to us."
    
    Apparently, when BC had something to loose by playing an improving
    UMass team, it was "a good idea." Now that UMass is, and I admit it,
    clearly the better team, Calipari says, "I just don't know if it's a
    good game for us to play."
    
    BC coach Jim O'Brien echoed what Calipari said, "I really have no
    interest in playing them. Just because UMass has gotten good, now
    people want us to play them?"
    
    Any thoughts? In the past I've read in this note about how BC was
    "chicken" to play UMass. While O'Brien's comments may lead one to
    believe that that hasn't changed, what about what Calipari is saying?
    
    Any comments....?
    
    
    

         It appears to me that John Calipari is being a bit vindictive
    these days, in his attitude about scheduling BC or UCONN in basketball.
    From the recent Globe article and in interviews as far back as just
    after the 30-5 season of two years ago, he seems to be saying that
    "BC and UCONN snubbed us when we were on the way up, so the hell with
    them now".  Clearly, substituting BC/UCONN today, for any of Kentucky, 
    Florida State or Cincinnati, would, if anything, weaken UMASS' non-
    conference schedule, so its not really an issue of being afraid to play 
    the BE schools.  In my opinion, Calipari would schedule Da Bulls or the 
    Supersonics, if ESPN or ABC would agree to put him on television.
    
         Just being a fan of college basketball, I would love to see yearly
    games involving UMASS, UCONN, and BC, on a neutral site such as the
    Worcester Centrum if need be.  The three schools compete in just about
    every men and women's sport except football and basketball.  It's time
    the basketball rivalry was reinstituted.
    
    Russ 
           

    As a UMass alum, I have no interest in seeing UMass play BC.  The game
    is a no-win proposition for the Minutemen - if they win, they were
    supposed to win; if they lose, they're the farmers from the western
    part of the state and they're just basketball frauds.  Until BC
    upgrades their non-Big East schedule, they should remain a second
    class basketball citizen in Massachusetts.
    
    As for UConn, I'd love to see that annual matchup, but Jim Calhoun
    (wisely) still wants no part of UMass.  For his part, Calipari is 
    still miffed that UConn chose not to fill an open date last year 
    with UMass and open the Mullins center in style, but Coach Cal should 
    forget that snub and think of basketball first.  The UMies may be better 
    than UConn right now, but the talent level is relatively close. 
    Calhoun resents the fact that Calipari has recruited several prize 
    prospects out of Connecticut right under his nose.  However, UConn's
    basketball tradition would be a nice contrast to UMass' recent
    success.  If they met once a year at alternating sites, it would be
    great for New England and great for college basketball in general.
    
    NAZZ
    

And ESPN would love it as well - heh heh

The Crazy Met

    How about a mini big east - atlantic 10 challenge with bc,prov/uconn vs
    RI-umass-rutgers played at prov or centrum
    
    

    Makes too much sense, so it'll never happen!
    
    NAZZ

    
    
    Nazz,
    
    The shoe really is on the other foot now, isn't it.
    
    When BC was acknowledged as the better of the two, the prevailing
    sentiment was that BC should play UMass and that BC was afraid to get
    it on. Now BC is "unworthy" to play UMass.
    
    Your logic may be correct, but your words sound an awful lot like what
    was said in Chestnut Hill in the past.
     
    The fact of the matter is that teams with something to gain in terms of
    local recruiting will always call for a game with the premier team in
    their recruiting "homeland." In this case, UMass should be commended.
    BC avoided playing them for years hoping they would simply be a flash
    in the pan. They aren't. Calipari has done a superlative job recruiting
    in the Connecticut/New York/Rest of New England area. He's done a very
    good job with the talent once he's landed it, too.
    
    What's interesting is that BC doesn't feel it has anything to gain from
    playing UMass. Recent recruiting results would seem to bear this out.
    BC has recruited weel this year. No Marcus Camby's, but they're doing
    OK.
    

    
    I think that more neutral fans from the region who really don't have
    the knowledge of the political history of this in-state feud between
    UMass and BC (and maybe some who do) would like to see this game on a 
    yearly basis.  I'm not all that turned on by Big East or Atlantic-10
    basketball per se but I'd be very interested in this matchup.  If both
    of these schools remain as nationally ranked teams it makes too much
    sense not to do it, and a lost opportunity if they don't...
    
    glenn
      

    > Rivalries, even bad-blood rivalries, are the crux of sports
    
    You said a mouf-full there, Waugamain.  And the bad-blood doesn't get
    any worse than Duke/UNC, located a mere 8 miles apart.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    I gots no interest in seeing My State U play those pretty boys
    from Chestnut Hill.
    
    NAZZ

C'mon NAZZ,
Has it been that long since you beat up a wuss?
Sometimes it can be quite pleasurable!

dr.a

         UMASS defeated the University of Hartford by a score of 91-62
    last evening to advance to the finals of the Hall of Fame Tournament
    in Springfield.  They will meet the Maryland Terrapins who knocked
    off Hofstra in their semifinal by a similarly lopsided score.
    
         The Minutemen were bolstered by the return of freshman phenom
    Marcus Camby, who scored 13 points and blocked 8 shots, in just over
    15 minutes of PT!
    
    Russ

Get in here Nazz and apologize for UMass playing Hartford.

Only cause you be raggin on St. John's for their pitiful opponents.

TTom

      Is tonights UMass/Maryland game on TV?
    
      Good to see Camby back!!
    
                                           Tony

 If you can pick up channel 22 out of springfield the game is on at 8:30...
 I know I'll be watching cause 22's on my cable....

 mike

         UMASS knocked off another of the weak sisters on its girlie-mon
    schedule ;^), as it defeated the 7 and 1 Maryland Terrapins, by a 
    94 to 80 score in Springfield last night to win the Abdow's HOF
    Tourney.  The Minutemen can pull off a noteworthy ACC Trifecta on 
    February 3rd in Amherst, if they can defeat Charlie Ward and the Fla.
    St. Seminoles at the Mullins Center!
    
         The big guns for the UM'ies last night were Lou Roe (30 pts., 8
    rebs., 4 blocks) and Tourney MVP Mike Williams (25 pts., 10 assts, 7
    rebs.)  Freshman Joe Smith led Maryland with 22 pts.  Cousins Donta
    Bright and Keith Booth, did little to help their respective teams,
    as Bright talleyed 4 pts for UMASS, and Booth was held to 2 points
    for Maryland.   Marcus Camby with 12 blocked shots in the two games
    and Dana Dingle (17 pts. last night) both made nice contributions for
    the Minutemen.
    
         With an average of 24 pts. and just under 10 rebounds a game, 
    there can not be too many power forwards in the land playing better
    b-ball than Lou Roe.  It's hard to believe that the one college
    basketball reference I have close at hand (Sporting News College
    B-ball Preview) lists him as the 17th best power forward in the land,
    behind people like Billy Curley, Devin Gray, Jeff Webster, and
    Dana Jones (who?).  I wouldn't mind Bill Curley on my team, but
    Jeff Webster?  Roe saves his best games for quality opponents,
    the mark of a true competitor.
    
    Russ
    
    - the ride home from Springfield, in last night's moderate snowstorm
      was exciting.  Having tandem trailors going by at 65 mph on the Pike, 
      when visibility is down to about 10', makes for a thrilling late
      evening!  

    Thanks for the update, Russ.  I only caught the score on the radio this
    morning.  When is a Boston tv station (or Ch. 27 in Worcester for that
    matter) gonna throw a little support around the most exciting basketball 
    team (pro included) in New England, and show a game now and then?  The 
    lack of publicity this team gets from the Boston media is sickening.
    
    					Steve

    Russ,
    
    I hear ya on Lou Roe.  Reminds me of the traveling All-Star team Donald
    Williams played on this summer.  The coach (who I'd never heard of) was
    starting and giving maximum playing time to some 2G I'd never heard of. 
    Basically The Donald, fresh from a Final4 MVP award, was sitting behind
    some stiff!
    
    And if there was any thought that Williams was somehow a fluke, forget
    about it.  He's picked up this year exactly where he left off last
    year.  Namely, with as sweet as stroke as you'll see, with a knack for
    knocking down shots at crunch time.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    	ACC, please don't sully the UMASS note with your incessant BabyBlue
    chatter!
    
    				/Don

    /Don it's people like you that start unknown stiff's ahead of Carolina
    Blue All-American's like Donald Williams.
    
    Huff, huff, huff, puff.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    	So ACC, are you saying that North Carolina has talent?  Dare you
    say a plethora of talent?  Dare you say Final Four talent?
    
    				/Don

    What newspaper have you been sleeping under, /Don?  I've admitted we've
    got talent - lots of it.  Dean has too - in fact he laments that we've
    got "too much" this year.  Heh heh!
    
    We've got Final4 talent all right, but like me/Dean always say, ya
    gotta be both lucky and good come NCAA Tourney time.  One Derrick
    Phelps ankle turn, one broken bone on Williams' shooting hand, one game
    day flu by Eric Montross, .....  and it's see ya later.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

>    gotta be both lucky and good come NCAA Tourney time.  One Derrick
>    Phelps ankle turn, one broken bone on Williams' shooting hand, one game
>    day flu by Eric Montross, .....  and it's see ya later.

You seem to be stuck on the same page of the Excuse Bible.

You forgot to mention that stuff about the other team being hot, having
a_end o' year peak, etc., et.al., et.tu....

TTom

    
    Yabbut did anybody mention the "academic exam effect" either?
    
    ;^)
    
    I remain
    lucky 'cause I just found another $.02!
    Kev
    

    
    
       ....also forget to mention TIMEOUT, Freddy Brown... etc..
    
    
    
    Chappy

    	ACC you slay me!  Starting excuses for a possible March Madness
    choke and it's still 1993.  I wish You/Dean a Happy New Year, 'cuz once
    March rolls around, if there's no Freddy Brown/Chris Webber...
    
    				/Don

    Yea but /Don, but what if there *is* a Freddy Brown/Chris Webber....
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    
    re: "that killer schedule really slays me."
    
    Yabbut NAZZ,
    
    	Excuse me but could you kindly explain (your way out of this) what
    Central Connecticut State was doing playing UMASS?  I'm sure it was an
    oversight on your part to forget that lasted year they were 8-19.
    
    	Whether or not this is fair, even though this is conference
    opponent, St. Bonaventure (0-14 lasted year) might also be considered
    part of your "pot calling the kettle black" stuff.
    
    	IMO, you're just jealous cause SJU gets more press coverage in one
    day (cause they're in the "capital of basketball- NYC) than the UMass
    Minute<politically OK gender description> does all season.  Don't
    despare, my condolences.
    
    ;^)
    
    I remain,
    kinda skeered of those Central CT. teams too  (NOT!)
    Kev
    

    Let's get real here.  UMass' non-conference schedule includes the
    playing the following teams this year:  North Carolina, Kansas,
    Oklahoma, Maryland, DePaul, Cincinnati, Kentucky, and Florida State.
    No Big East team plays anywhere near this tough a schedule.  And,
    out of all those games, only Florida State is at the Mullins Center.
    
    UMass doesn't need to apologize to anyone for who they play.
    
    NAZZ 

    
    
    <--------
    
    
    
    Yabbut hoozat?  The 1994 kindler_and_Gentler NAZZ?????
    
    

    Dat's ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    NAZZ

         UMASS escaped from Piscataway last night with a solid, if
    uninspired, 71-59 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.  Lou
    Roe led the way with 20 points, and super frosh Marcus Camby added
    13 points, 8 rebounds and 8, count them, 8 blocked shots.  Camby
    could very well be leading the nation in blocked shots per game, 6 games 
    into his collegiate career!
    
         Next up are two difficult road games at Duquesne and West
    Virginia.  Duquesne might have the best center that no one has ever
    heard of in Derrick Alston, and West Virginia in Morgantown, is
    always tough.  Duquesne stands at 6 and 3, and West Virginia at 6 and
    1, prior to last evenings competition.
    
    Russ

      I read the Worcestor Telegram this morning and Calipari really
      praised Camby's play.  He also was chuckling over the Camby 
      blocked shot stat-line saying that he had AT LEAST twelve blocks
      in that game!!
    
                                                   Tony

    Is West Viginia in the Big East conference in basketball as well?
    
    					Steve

      By the way, did anyone note the coverage of the UMass/Rutgers
      game in the Boston Globe?  Talk about PATHETIC!  What a rag!!
      Massachusetts State U and it looked to me to be nothing more
      than an AP news clip.  What a total rag.

    I think it was an AP news clip!  That paper is beginning to really piss me
    off, but the other one is even worse.  Even the sports reports on all
    the stations refer to "the 3 New England teams in the top 20, BC,
    UCONN, and UMASS" like UMASS is of no interest.
    
    I think it's time to mail off a few letters to these imbaciles.  Anyone
    else care to join me?
    
    					Steve

    I am getting ready to drop my subscription. After Madden's disgusting
    column about the 40 reasons FSU should be number one (that alone made
    me root for NU) and the column yesterday BC and ND, I am convinced the
    paper has nothing but junk for sportswriters - perhaps even including
    McDonough (I like Gammons, I guess).
    
    I'd even take Bernie Lincicome (Trib) - his existence is justified by a
    classic column he wrote prior to the AFC championship game vs. Cleveland that
    led Denver to the massacre vs. SF.
    
    "There is a doom over the city of Denver. And it is not the smog. Grown
    men can feel fear throughout their bones. People hide in their homes,
    afraid to walk the streets. Little Children tug at their mothers and
    cry - asking to be told that it cannot be true. But alas, their fears
    will not be assuaged - their is no stopping fate - the Broncos are going 
    to the Super Bowl again. Only one thing stands in their way - the 
    Cleveland Browns - just like the welcome mat in front of my door."
    
    Murph

    I've seen plenty of stuff on the UMASS basketball team from the Boston
    TV stations.

    I think what UMass needs to do is schedule a game at the garden
    (Boston) to focus beantown attention on the program.  Btw there has
    been attempts to get Boston, its media and fans to pay attention to
    college basketball including garden doubleheaders featuring Umass and
    BC, not to speak of home and home games thruout the 60s between bc and
    umass but Boston and vicinity is just not non-Celtics basketball
    territory and never has been.
    
    But those letters will help a lot and the better UMass does in
    generating basketball excitement in greater boston the more it will
    help BC and other Boston programs.
    
    The biggest excitement this area ever had basketball-wise were the
    Michael Adams/BC wars with Georgetown and Cambridge's own Patrick Ewing
    at Boston Garden in the mid 80s.

    re: 77.322
    
    True 'nuf.  I saw Carolina play in the Boston Garden in the early 80's
    in a double header.  We pounded BU; can't remember who Boston College
    played.  
    
    Those were the days when Dean still smoked.  I remember after the game
    (we played first) he was sitting up in the stands and I caught him
    sneaking a butt.  
    
    
    - ACC Chris
    

    I saw BC play Georgetown play at the Garden during the Ewing era.  The
    place was packed and quite hostile toward Patrick.
    
    Mac, Boston television treats the Minutemen like an ugly sister.  No
    respect at all, especially for a top 10 team in their own backyard.
    
    					Steve

         I have about written off Boston as a totally "pro sports focused"
    town, that will never be too excited about collegiate sports, other
    than BC.  I could understand the media's interest in the professional
    teams in 1986, when all four teams were of championship calibre, however
    given the mediocrity today of the Red Sox, Pat's, Celtics and Bruins,
    I can't see why the media always leads with stories on the pro's and the
    collegians are an afterthought.
    
         The exception to this is Boston College.  The Globe regularly
    devotes a couple of columns (if not more space) to their football and
    basketball teams, and Channel Five and Mike Lynch have to be in Chet
    Gladchuk's back pocket, given the time they set aside for the Eagles.  The
    other Boston teams, Harvard, Northeastern and BU, get little or no 
    mention.  I used to think that it was related to alumni power, however
    when you stop to think that UMASS has been graduating 3500 students
    a year since the mid'60's, 75% of whom live inside of Rt. 495, well,
    you would think the media would recognize the numbers and power of 
    that alumni base.
    
         I have written letters to the Globe, and I have called WCVB
    looking to chastize Mike Lynch, however I can't say that it has made
    a bit of difference.  But by all means, write your letters.  Then,
    maybe, when UMASS makes the Final Four next season, they will rate
    better than a wire service story in the Globe!
    
    Russ
                                                                        

    One exception - I have never seen a paper devote so much (wasted) space
    to College Hockey. 
    
    I guess I may have to attend a game or two - when in Rome, as they
    say...
    
    Any opinions on prime games to see, and at whose home base (aside from,
    of course, the Beanpot). Looking for rowdy crowds with druken coeds.
    
    Murph
    

    Not sure about Hockey Least.  I know going to see RPI at Harvard's
    normally an exciting game with SRO.
    

    I used to go to the BC games when I was in high school during the early
    70s.  Our coach was an alumnus.  Obviously, this was way before Conte
    Forum, but the place was always packed.
    
    					Steve

    Murph,
    Go see BU and BC play each other. Always a blood bath no matter the
    venue. Then you can hit all the college bars up and down Beacon and
    Comm Ave. Good mixture of BC/BU coeds.
    
    A_course if ya want real college hockey decadence, take a trip to
    Orono to see the BlackBears of UMaine. They got nuttin' better to
    do in that frozen tundra but drink, watch hockey, and you know
    the third thang.
    
    MikeL
    
    
    

    Beanpot tournament is very big in Boston.
    
    re: Mike Lynch. Channel 5 led off a sports broadcast earlier this week
    that UMass fans were complaining that no one paid any attention to the
    Minutemen and then led off the segment with UMass' win over ???
    
    The Crazy Met
    

   How much coverage do UMass fans expect when the Pats were on 
  a five game winning streak, the Celtics are having major troubles
  and the Bruins are finally getting untracked? And last I checked, 
  Amherst was 70 or so miles from Boston. Up in these parts 70 miles 
  is a long ways. Because while UMass *is* the state university, the Globe
  isn't the state newspaper. It's the metropolitan Boston newspaper and
  for now BC is metropolitan Boston's college team - in all sports. UMass
  has a HUGE following in central/western Massachussetts. They will get
  a lot more recognition from the Boston media come tourney time but for 
  right now, I for one don't feel like they're getting slighted. This is 
  Massachusetts not Kentucky.

    Mr. Brydie couldn't have summed up any better why Boston is a *lousy*
    college hoops town.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

 Chris, care to name a major US city with 4 pro sports teams that is also a
great college hoops town? 

                                           
    And who cares, in any case, as if not being a college hoops town is
    some great crime?  Has Boston had much reason to become one, over the
    long haul, based on the histories of BC/UMass/BU/Northeastern or 
    anyone else?  Providence certainly has had more college basketball 
    success, and therefore tradition.  The same applies for the oft-heard
    criticisms of Boston's provincial obsession with baseball, and its 
    disdain for watching out-of-town NFL and NBA games, etc., as if these 
    are bad things, that when not following the hometown boys people might
    actually be reading a book or something...
    
    glenn
    

    Imagine that.  Boston is being slammed for having more things to do
    than being a community that revolves around one thing.

    Never said it was a crime to be a lousy college hoops town.  Just
    stating it as fact, which it is.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

      <<< Note 77.330 by CTHQ::LEARY "Corporate Telecom Technology
    Solutions" >>>
                 -< UMaine, school's fight song is a beerhall melody >-
                                                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    
    But then again, so is "The Star Spangled Banner"
    
    Back to Boston and College Basketball...
    
    Tommy is right on this one; in the Northeast Providence and Mid-Conn.
    are avid college basketball areas but Boston and I contend NY are not.
    The NIT had to abandon the round of 16/8 and go to semis only and
    anyone can get a seat to NY NIT on game day.  And same goes for
    Chicago, Detroit...  LA still seems hot for Bruins though.
    
    And Roberts center in the 70s with its 4000 seat capacity only rarely
    sold out in 70s but 2800 would fill the side rafters and speckle the
    bleachers.  Georgetown would sell out, perhaps St. Johns or Conn/Prov
    but for the latter half the crowd was visitor rooters.
    
    But if Calipari does continue his success the Globe will finally come
    around, and it's support of BC is mainly football with BC basketball -
    I doubt for example that coverage compares with coverage in Atlanta of
    Georgia Tech basketball.

    I will say that DePaul is on WGN and UofI is only on some smaller 
    independent channel. But the fact remains that all UI games are 
    televised in Chicago, and they get a lot of press. In fact,
    Northeastern Ill gets more space in the Trib than UMASS does
    in the globe it seems. Pre-game box for all games, small story for all
    games, and a spot in a 2-3 times weekly hoops roundup section. Most
    Illini games (all B10 games) warrant front page space and quite a 
    few columns unless
    1) Bears just played
    2) BOTH Bulls and Hawks played
    3) A major story (Super Bowl, NY Day Bowls, Jordan retires, Hawks make
    cup, etc...)
    Same goes for DePaul. Attention, of course, is drawn mostly to the
    program making the most noise. The college basketball page(s) will 
    have a separate section with capsules of all the B10 games.
    
    Now - why is this. Part of the reason Boston is not a big time college
    sports town is that most of its residents did not go to big time
    colleges 8-) Er, well, colleges with big time programs. They went to 
    the Ivies, Bentleys, Northeasterns, and Babsons of the world. If I
    asked any of the NE alums here how the hoops team was doing they
    couldn't tell me. I can tell you the whole Illini schedule by now.
    And I know who plays who this weekend in the B10. Chicago is full of
    Big 10 alums. I know of 4 bars in Lincoln Park alone that have rooms
    reserved for UM alums on Football Days. So coverage of B10, primarily
    Illinois, will sell papers. 
    
    The Globe is a business and is run as such. If hundreds of UMASS fans
    called and wrote threatening to cancel their subscriptions is UMASS
    didn't get more coverage, it would increase it's coverage. But more
    people here grew up on the Celts, so they get the space.
    
    IMHO.
    
    Murph
    

    With the state of the professional teams at this time in Boston, what
    better time than now to trumpet the state university?  It may even
    install a little pride in a few people.  People don't care about
    college basketball because it gets no press!  
    
    The Celtics are mediocre at best, the Bruins are a half dozen guys, 
    plus a goalie, away from competing, the Pats are done (maybe gone) 
    and Lou Gorman's in hibernation.  Now is the time to devote space to 
    a young, talented and well coached UMass team.
    
    As I said before, I'm surprised that even ch. 27 out of Worcester
    doesn't offer up more games.
    
    					Steve

Yea, Holy Cross and WPI - now there are two athletic powers.  No wonder teams 
Western Mass, like UMass can't compete.

That bastion of sports knowledge, the Worcester T&G must devote most of their 
space ot HC tennis and WPI lacrosse, when they aren't making those rock-solid 
NBA picks.

=Bob=

 >> Yea, Holy Cross and WPI - now there are two athletic powers.  No 
 >> wonder teams Western Mass, like UMass can't compete.

    Holy Cross has a much richer athletic tradition than UMass does and
    it's right in the city of Worcester. A lot of old timers remember when
    the Cross was a national power and it still holds a place dear in their
    hearts. Bob Cousyplayed of rthe Cross and still lives in the city. Tom
    Heisohn, Togo Palazzi and Bob Perry all played for the Cross. Still, UMass
    could unseat Holy Cross and build a fan base amongst younger folks which
    may be why they've taken to playing a game a year in the Centrum.
    

 >> That bastion of sports knowledge, the Worcester T&G must devote most of 
 >> their space ot HC tennis and WPI lacrosse, when they aren't making those 
 >> rock-solid NBA picks.

    What's this beef you have with the T&G, Bobcat? Its sports page may not be
    as good as the Globe's but, personally, I think it's as good or better than
    the Herald's. And even if it isn't, it's more than adequate for a city the
    size of Worcester.


    BTW - speaking of sportspages, does anyone else think that the Globe's
          Dan Shaugnessy got slam dunked by St. Louis' Phil Dine, in this
          morning's Globe, for that idiotic article where Shaugnessy ragged
          all over the city of St. Louis.

Having lived throug some of the later "glory days" of Holy Cross sports, (Ron
Perry Jr., and some great football teams which featured guys I played with in 
HS), I know that they have a great sports tradition, and that they dominate the
sports scene in Worcester.  My point is that right now they are not making the 
effort in sports that UMass is, and I would think that Worcester would be close
enough to UMass to develop a following.  I guess the problem is that they 
(UMass) are new to the scene, and aside from alums, have to build a following 
from scratch, without the tradition (unless folks consider the Jack Lehman 
teams a legacy).

While I don't follow them with a passion, I think it's great to have a real 
college hoops team in the area.

re: the T&G

This goes back to the revelation by a certain Worcester resident we all know, 
who came out with "The T&G is picking the Suns".  Yea, they are a good local 
sports section (certainly better than, say the Lowell Sun), but lets recognize
them for what they are - a second string paper from a second string city.

=Bob=

    Re: Shaugnessy - ah yes, I remember this column too. I read it and
    could not figure out how anything in the column had anything to do with
    Journalism. I stated somewhere else that I felt the same about a recent
    Madden column. I really think their writers stink.
    
    Murph
    

    When I was growing up in the '70s, I pretty much ignored UMASS and
    followed Da Cross on TV and went to quite a few games.  They had some
    decent teams in the late '80s.

    Murph,
    You've obviously spent more time in Chitown than moi (my 2nd favorite
    city), but tell me, do the Trib ansd Sun Times still devote mucho
    space and time to ND football? Seemed to me that ND football always
    grabbed more space than both UofI and NU, but I could be wrong.
    Ferget ND BBall. And hail, you could fill the Sears Tower with
    Chicago area alums for ND football games.
    
    IMO,
    MikeL
    

      Actually, I think the Worcester Telagram already covers
      UMass reasonably well.
    
      The one Globe sportswriter I really like is Bob Ryan.  I
      know he seems a bit pompous, but man does he write excellent
      basketball columns imho.  I also like his other columns.
    
      I don't care for Shaughnessy either though.
    
                                               Tony

         The UM'ies are now ranked 7th in the AP Men's Basketball Poll
    and even drew one(1) first place vote!  Things could change by the next
    poll, as UMASS travels to Morgantown to play 9 and 1, West Virginia,
    on Thursday Night.  This same WVU club defeated UMASS by 25 last year,
    after UMASS took a one point lead into half time!  West Virginia starts
    five seniors who have been somewhat the underachievers during their
    careers, and now have something to prove.
    
    Russ

    UMASS basketball finally makes it to the NCAA tournament after years of
    mediocrity and folks all of a sudden want every newspaper and TV
    station in the land devote headline stories to them.

    That's not the point Mac.  The point is that the professional winter 
    sports teams in Boston now suck.  There is a window here for the media 
    to put the spotlight elsewhere, that being Amherst.  Make people feel
    good.  Do a couple of stories on a top ten team.  I can't remember the 
    last time a team from Massachusetts has been in the top 10 in basketball.
    
    I do know this.  Last night the sports report on Ch. 5 in Boston
    (biggest 6:00 news program), consisted of 3.5 minutes of nonsense about
    Nancy Kerrigan, and 1 minute for the rest of the sports world.  30 seconds 
    of that one minute showed a fight that took place at a press conference, 
    for an upcoming boxing match in England.  Don't you think they could
    spend some of that 3.5 minutes on something a bit more substantial?  I
    don't want to sound too uncaring, but I've had about enough news about
    Nancy Kerrigan's knee!  And I have a feeling the worst is yet to come.
    
    					Steve

    Re. a city that's a good college sports town with four major pro
    teams:  Philadelphia obviously is one (about the same size as Boston).
    I would add New York to that mix, and what about Dallas?  College
    sports are HUGE in Texas.
    
    As for UMass, I guess I would like more coverage in the local rags on
    college sports in general, and their response always is there is not
    enough interest in college sports to warrant coverage.  But of course
    if you don't cover it, there won't be any interest generated.  It's a
    classic Catch 22 situation.
    
    NAZZ

    The issue about UMass getting sufficient publicity becomes VERY
    relevant when you consider Calipari's future.  Will he stay at a
    program that he basically built from scratch knowing that New England
    isn't developing into a college hoops haven?  [no]
    
    
    - ACC Chris

  >> Re. a city that's a good college sports town with four major pro
  >> teams:  Philadelphia obviously is one (about the same size as Boston).
    
     I don't know how big college basketball is in Philly but the city is
     *considerably* larger than Boston and has a tradition of great college
      ball what with Temple, Seton Hall, Villanova, etc. Boston doesn't have
      anything close to that.
 
  >> I would add New York to that mix, and what about Dallas?  College
  >> sports are HUGE in Texas.
    
     The Knicks didn't sell out all of their games last year in the biggest 
     city in the country. One could reasonably argue that New York isn't a
     very good pro sports town much less college sports town. As for Dallas, 
     what's the big college basketball team in Dallas? SMU? Are they really 
     that big down there? I don't think so.
     
      I just think it's a little early in both the season and in UMass' rise
     as a national power to be expecting large statewide fan support and press
     coverage, especially with the pro sports teams as entrenched as they are in
     the hearts of the populous. Hardcore sports fans like the folks in here
     appreciate the team and crave more coverage but casual fans will take longer
     to win over. Patience, dude.   

    re: .352
    
      I don't know where you're coming from.  I complained that after
      a game, UMass got an AP news clip.  To conclude that my expectation
      is that they make front page headline news is to read into my
      reply what simply wasn't there.  I just expect some coverage, that's
      all.
    
      Being from Milwaukee which is sort of a three sport city (Green Bay
      plays three games in Milwaukee and while definitely belonging in
      Green Bay, gets substantial coverage), they cover the Wisconsin
      Badgers A LOT.  But, to be fair, there are not a whole lof of other
      colleges to cover.  I guess their coverage of the Wisconsin football
      team was bigger news than even the Packers if you can believe it.
    
      My feeling is that the University of Massachusetts is the main state
      university and the Globe is the main state newspaper.  It is utterly
      bizarre for the newspaper to sometimes relegate AP wires to its
      coverage of the team especially when they are top 10.
    
      I'll bet if any other state in the country had a top ten state 
      university basketball team, that state's major newspaper would cover
      that team much much more than the Globe covers UMass.
    
                                                      Tony

    Well, Steve, Nancy Kerrigan is a local.  Isn't that what you want --
    more stuff about locals so you don't have to dwell on the poor
    performances of the pros?

   >> The issue about UMass getting sufficient publicity becomes VERY
   >> relevant when you consider Calipari's future.  Will he stay at a
   >> program that he basically built from scratch knowing that New England
   >> isn't developing into a college hoops haven?  [no]
    
      Calipari isn't stupid enough to expect New England to "develop into
      a hoops haven" simply because of the success of his program. He may
      be able to generate enough in-state support to land himself a nice
      fat deal but nobody with a modicum of common sense envisions this 
      entire state going ga-ga over the state university's b-ball team the 
      way they do in Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana or one of them other 
      states where hog callin' is considered a cultural event.

    Come on Mac, you're a pretty sharp guy - but you're acting dead from
    the ass up on this one.
    
    It seems pretty warped to me that Mike Lynch can devote 70% of his sports
    report to tell us that Nancy Kerrigan may be skating in the next week
    to 10 days!  I don't even think the majority of the time spent on this 
    story be clogging up the sports report.
    
    It only makes sense to me that they explore other avenues when looking
    to fill sports reporting time during lulls in sports activities. 
    
    					Steve

    
    Tony,
    
    >My feeling is that the University of Massachusetts is the main state
    >university and the Globe is the main state newspaper.
    
    You may want to define these.  I *think* UMASS is the THIRD largest
    university in Massachusetts behind Northeastern University (the world's
    largest private school) and Boston University.  Now if by state
    univeristy you mean state subsidized, then you may be correct.
    
    While the Globe easily has the largest subscription in the state, I'd
    bet that in the western parts it does not compete with the Springfield
    and Worchester papers.  The Globe is written for people who live in and
    near Boston.
    
    Marc
    

>> There is no H in Worcester!!!!!

	Yeah, save it for Pittsburg(h)!


	billl

    Again, I would like an objective look at college basketball (current)
    interest in former hotbeds NY and Philly.  I have my doubts.  And what
    are the four cities with hockey,fb,baseball,baskets?  
    boston,
    ny
    philly
    dallas
    la
    detroit
    chicago
    
    Miami is now on that list I guess or am I wrong ?
    
    And the Kerrigan story is what sells papers and builds tv ratings and
    exactly illustrates the umass-bglobe issue...
    
    

    I have a UMass question (sorry to get back on the topic!).  Is Tyrone
    Weeks on scholarship while sitting out as a prop 48 student?  How does
    that rule work?  Are you allowed to keep your scholarship even if you
    aren't playing basketball, as long as you're enrolled in school?
    
    If he is not on scholarship, do they have two scholarships available
    for nexted season?  I think they have 10 guys on scholarship on the
    team now, and I would think Rigo Nunez would earn one for the way he
    has played this season.  That would mean they could only give out one
    scholarship for nexted season, which may explain why they went so hard
    after the 6-8 kid from Pittsburg, Danny Fortson.  Are they looking at
    any other seniors, or are they concentrating on juniors who will have
    to replace Roe, Williams, Kellogg, and Meyer?
    
    NAZZ

      re: .361
    
        I thought about it some more and I think I'd lose that
        bet too!  I guess Massachusetts ranks up there with
        a few other states that have a lot of things going on.
    
        There just isn't nearly as much activity in say Wisconsin
        and this probably biased my thoughts.
    
        You're right though...I can't see California or New York
        or perhaps Florida giving a lot of coverage to all their
        state schools or whatever.
    
        I still wouldn't mind seeing a little more coverage though!
    
                                                  Tony

Only college team in NYC that gets coverage is St. Johns basketball. Even
that often depends not only on how well they are doing but also what
the Knicks and Rangers (sometimes Islanders/Devils/Nets) are doing.

The Crazy Met

         UMASS came away with perhaps their second most impressive
    victory of the season last night, as they thoroughly dismantled
    one of the better teams in the east, West Virginia, with a 70-56
    win in Morgantown.  By all accounts the game was not as close as the
    final score indicates.  West Virginia, ranked 23rd in the Nation,
    had brought a 15 game home winning streak into the game, and hadn't
    lost this season since their first game in late November.  In the
    meantime they had registered victories over Ohio State, Pittsburg and
    Temple.
    
         For UMASS, Dana Dingle, Derek Kellogg and Mike Williams played
    solid games.  According to John Calipari, team defense and rebounding
    were keys to the victory.
    
         Two things are becoming absolutely scarey about this team.  First,
    there are no seniors on the roster, so this current group will have 
    approximately 45 to 50 more games together.  Secondly, UMASS has really
    not developed a cohesive offense yet.  Calipari and his assistants in
    their post game comments always complain about the lack of "crispness"
    on the offensive end.  Even so, they haven't been in a close game since
    the NIT in November.  They will need better offensive output in coming
    weeks, as over a two week span at the end of the month, they play
    Cinncinnati, Florida State, Temple, Kentucky, and URI (twice).
    
    Russ
                                                                 

    And the Globe had a staff reporter cover the game.  He was either there
    in person, or watching on a dish.  Somewhat encouraging.  
    
    WBZ radio still found it necessary to give the scores of Northeastern
    vs. Vermont and Hartford vs. ?, before giving the score of the 7th
    ranked Minutemen.
    
    BTW, Dana Dingle had 17 and Mike Williams, 16 points.  Lou Roe had only
    9.  Don't have any rebound or shots blocked stats.
    
    					Steve
    
    					Steve

    The second story on Mike Lynch's Channel 5 sports report this morning
    was the Minutemen complete with highlights.  The first story was the
    Bruins getting embarrassed in Philly.

    ESPN announcer/color - don't pay attention enough to know who's
    commenting - mentioned "why not umass for #1?"
    
    Sounds good to me.
    
    Duke had good chances in the last 10 secs; Hill missed a jumper and
    someone simply dropped the putback.
    
    It seemed obvious live that it was a 3 but refs,scorers all took choke
    except opposite ref(on replay) signaled a 3.
    
    plenty of upsets / comebacks.  I slept thru cal-Ariz.  
    
    Billb

    
    
      You may be thinking of Digger Phelps, Bill. I know he said last night
     before the Cal-Arizona game that they were legit Top 4. WVU's coach
     predicted that the Minutemen would make the Final 4. I have to admit
     to being a little surprised at how incredibly successful UMass is. 
     After losing Harper Williams to graduation and another player to disc-
     iplinary problems, I figured on another tourney appearance but not
     much more, especially being as young as they are. I was really looking
     forward to next year as far as national title hopes go. Now, they have 
     a real shot at being ranked number one and who knows from there.

>    ESPN announcer/color - don't pay attention enough to know who's
>    commenting - mentioned "why not umass for #1?"
    
   they'll get more consideration but I figure it'll be Kansas...
    
    
>    It seemed obvious live that it was a 3 but refs,scorers all took choke
>    except opposite ref(on replay) signaled a 3.
    
 
   homecourt advantage?????

 Kidd is the real deal. I've seen him 3 times and he always impresses me..
 As smart as they come....

 mike

 They proved they were legit final 4 when they beat UNC, despite Phelps'
 cheapshot....

 I hope they get a chance to trash UConn someplace down the road....

 mike

    I got to see the first half of the game at Jade East in Tewksbury on a 
    satellite dish.  There are a bunch of guys there who have recently
    been converted to UMass fans!
    
    The most amazing thing about the first half was how completely UMass
    dominated W Va defensively.  There was not a shot that wasn't
    contested, and UMass simply outquicked them on the boards.  For a team
    that starts 6-6 6-6 and 6-7 up front, UMass rebounds exceptionally
    well.  Derek Kellogg was outstanding at the point, contolling the tempo
    on offense and playing great defense.  He is one of the most improved
    point guards in the country, and combined with Mike Williams makes up
    perhaps the best backcourt combination in the country.
    
    NAZZ

    The biggest problem with Kellogg last year was that he was afraid
   to hoist it up. He passed up so many open shots that teams started 
   laying off of him. I think it was just nerves because he definitely 
   has the range and touch. I can see Padilla taking Kellogg's spot next
   year, though. Padilla's quicker, a better scorer and plays really heads
   up, poised ball for a true freshmen. Mike Williams is my favorite UMass
   player. The kid is going to light it up for 40+ one of these nights and
   he's always around the loose ball. A bit streaky but a true scorer.

         The "wasteland" of high school basketball, the Commonwealth
    of Massachusetts, turned out a pretty good graduating class of point
    guards in June of 1991.  Travis Best is the main man on a pretty good
    Ga. Tech team, Rick Brunson is playing the point for Top 10 Temple,
    and the biggest surprise, Derek Kellogg is playing very respectable
    ball for Top 10 UMASS.
    
    Russ

    It will never happen Mikey!
    
    final four team?  Please....They'll be lucky to make the 16 round.
    
    Jimbo

 side bet: who goes farther.....

 mikey    
   

      I caught the ESPN comment as well...about UMass deserving 
      consideration for #1.  I can't see Kansas not being rated 
      higher than UMass especially when they beat UMass already.
      Also, how does UMass climb higher than UCLA or perhaps
      Kentucky?
    
      What's this about UMass starting 6'6, 6'6, and 6'7???  How
      tall is Camby anyway??  He's gotta be starting, right??
    
      Its something UMass is playing as well as they are what with
      their youth.  Camby is such a presence.  Man, to have Camby and
      Roe for the inside game...wow!
    
      But, next year ought to be really something.

    Camby has not started (except perhaps once) since returning from his
    knee injury.  Calipari starts Roe at center with Dingle and Bright at
    the forwards.
    
    NAZZ

    IMO, Roe would be no better than a late first round pick if he comes
    out this year, but he would have a chance to be a lottery pick if he
    plays his senior season and continues to improve.
    
    Saw the Minutemen crush the Bonnies Saturday night.  Game started out
    slowly, and Coach Cal, deathly afraid of a letdown after the big win
    at Morgantown, yanked the entire starting five after only two minutes
    of play.  Camby, Meyer, Padilla, Travieso, and Nunez didn't play much
     better, but the move certainly woke up the starters, who exploded for
    a 22-6 run midway through the first half to turn the game into a
    laugher.  
    
    Roe tallied his 1000th career poipnt, the 23rd UMass player to reach
    that plateau.  BUt the real star of the night was Camby.  This kid is
    special - he runs the break, passes the ball, has some great offensive
    moves, and of course is incredibly quick on defense.  If anyone is
    gonna cut their college career short to enter the pros, it'll be Camby.
    
    NAZZ

   UMass vs. DePaul will be on WGN tonight at 8:00 PM.

      Not that it really matters, but I wonder if UMass jumps ahead 
      of Kansas following their loss against Kansas State.
    
                                                   Tony

    nope...they lost last night....
    
                   stig

         Yup, UMASS ran into a white-hot Tom Kleinschmidt last night 
    and suffered a 78-76 loss to unranked Depaul.  The game was a seesaw
    affair throughout, as Depaul had as large as a 6 point lead at one
    point in the first half, and UMASS went up by as many as 7 points in
    the second half.  Down the stretch however, Kleinschmidt went
    unconscious, despite whomever Calipari assigned defensive
    responsibilities to (Dingle, Williams, Roe, doubleteams).  UMASS did
    have the last chance to pull out a win with two seconds left, and
    actually did run a well conceived play, but Lou Roe clanged a three
    point attempt from the left side, and it was lights out.
    
         For UMASS, it was a bit of an inconsistent effort all the way 
    around.  They were badly outrebounded by Depaul in the first half, 
    perhaps the first time all year that they were trashed on the boards.
    Roe and Williams were no shows in the first half, and Kellogg didn't
    do much throughout.  Camby was the story in the first half, scoring
    11 points.  In the second half Mike Williams attempted to take over,
    and he did score well inside, but continued to shoot poorly from long
    range.  Despite their shooting problems from outside, strangely, they
    had a clutch performance from the charity stripe, hitting something
    like 16 out of 19 attempts.
    
         With other losses within the Top 10 this week, I expect UMASS to
    fall back a bit, but to remain in the Top 10, perhaps at number 9 or
    10.  Next up, Rutgers on Thursday, and GWU on Saturday, both at
    Mullins.
    
    Russ
        

    Did you notice there were maybe only about 1000 people there?  Depaul
    has a pretty good team, but NW and Illinois easily outdraw them on a
    consistant basis.  Depaul plays a pretty good schedule too.
    
    
    Spud

DePaul is on WGN a lot so I've seen 'em play a couple of times this year.
They look to be developing a pretty solid team. The win over UMass wasn't
a big surprise.

TTom

    The good new is that UMass is on the front page of today's
   Boston Globe sports section. The bad news is that they lost
   to DePaul last night. UMass looked really flat last night.
   They didn't have the usual defensive intensity. They didn't
   really press until late in the second half. They didn't
   crash the boards like they usually do. DePaul, on the other
   hand, came ready to play. They were as pumped as though they
   playing North Carolina or Indiana or one of the other more
   traditional powers. In the closing seconds of the game, the 
   DePaul fans and players were celebrating just as UMass did 
   when they knocked of #1 earlier this season. They were brought
   back to earth, however, when UMass almost erased a five point
   deficit in the final 15 or so seconds. Some good did come
   of this game. UMass learned that they have to come to play
   every night. They learned that other teams will be getting up
   for them, that's part of the price of being a top ten program.
   UMass is a little road weary but with their record, a loss 
   at this point in the season doesn't mean all that much.


    BTW- there were *only* 1,000 or so people there becuase it was -25 
         outside. -60 with the wind chill. They were expecting a sellout
         but with the game being televised it really was wise to stay
         home and watch instead of venturing out in that kind of weather.
    

    I've noticed UMASS's strength since Calipari took over has been their
    intensity on the boards.  I've never followed a college team that has
    been so relentless on the glass.  Sounds like they may have coasted
    last night in that area, but that's to be expected every so often.
    
    					Steve

    Me and Dean are of the opinion that you should never learn more from 
    a loss than a win.  It all depends on proper evaluation of game execution, 
    and being honest with your assessments regardless of whether you won or 
    lost.  Simply put, it's possible to play extremely well and lose, and 
    vice versa.
    
    No, the real story for UMass getting beat is the simple reaction of the
    DePaul players and fans after the game.  They went crazy, cause they'd
    knocked off a Top5/Top10 team.  Schools like North Carolina face this
    kindof struggle constantly.  Everybody's geared for ya.  You cannot
    have an off-night and win.  You'd better come to play each and every
    night, otherwise you're gonna be in the headlines the next day.  (If'n
    ya win though, it'll be a small ho-hum footnote.)
    
    Toward this end I always remember Red Auerbach's arrogance that
    naturally rubbed off on his players and helped build the Celtic legacy. 
    He'd tell his players that, if they won, to act as if you *expected* to
    win.  Hence the C's would walk calmly off the court after a 'W'.  Just
    another day at the office.  I always thought that was cool.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    Re: DePaul not selling out...
    
    If I were a DePaul student, I'd probably go to the games, except
    the Rosemont isn't even near campus - it would be kind of like BC 
    playing at the Centrum. Not as many miles away as Worcester, but it
    requires travel on the Kennedy at rush hour, so the time and trouble is
    about the same. 
    
    If I were a Chicago resident... I might have Bulls/Hawks/Theatre
    tickets, or want to go downtown. If I were a Decatur or Danville
    resident, I would go to the Illinois basketball game.
    
    DePaul easily gets more space in the Trib than UI or NW. And they sell
    more tix than you saw last night.
    
    Murph
    

    	So ACC, what are you saying?  That if North Carolina loses to an
    inferior opponent in the NCAA's they should walk off the court like
    they expect it?
    
    				/Don

    Acutally I don't think it reached -20 here last night.  At any rate
    that is cold, but up in MN that didn't stop Gopher fans from attending.
    This city practically shut down and there wasn't even any snow
    involved.  I'd hate to see these people have to deal with this on a
    regular basis.  They couldn't handle it.
    
    
    Spud

-21 in Chicago lasted night.

HtH

The Crazy Met

    -19 in my area, but what's the difference at this point?  I guess if we
    look at the Purdue game - being on ESPN and all, they seemed to have a
    sellout and they're right down the road.  My question being, do you
    really think there were 15,000 no shows at the Horizon last night due
    to the weather?  DePaul may have drawn in the past, but I don't think 
    they're doing as well this year anyway.
    
    Take a look at the MN crowd on Thursday night against Michigan.  It's
    on ESPN and I doubt it'll be any warmer than -10 at gametime.
    
    
    Spud

    
      The announcers last night said that a sell-out was expected but
     that the attendance was severely impacted by the weather. And as 
     Murph said, the Rosemont Horizon isn't on or even all that close 
     to the DePaul campus. I've seen DePaul play against unranked teams
     on WGN and the attendance is quite good; it should have been better 
     last night and the only plausible explanation, as to why it wasn't
     better, is the weather.

    I was told at lunch that most the fans that attend the Depaul games
    live out this way anyway and aren't students.  In other words, probably
    a lot of yuppie crowd.  
    
    ...and we know what that means.  :*)
    
    Still, that horrendous turnout last night is really a surprise to me.
    I don't see other schools (especially in the Big10) suffering from this
    problem with cold temps.  
    
    
    Spud

Spud, that p_name looks a bit hokey after last Saturday's game.

The Crazy Met

    Maybe it's my sick way of getting back at the Giants.  (Not really)
    I'll change it now.
    
    One last thing on this attendance deal.  I shoulda done this in the
    first place... those announcers who said it was a sellout - or near
    sellout must've been given real bad information.  Paid attendance was
    7,199.  Now that makes sense and is more in line to what Depaul has
    been drawing this year.
    
    
    Spud

    
     If you've ever wondered what Mike Heiser looks like (goodness knows
    why) and you watched the DePaul-UMass game last night. Mike Heiser
    could be Tom Kleinschmidt's older, can't-play-basketball brother. 

    Tommy, I'm real honored that I'm on your mind enough to keep posting
    these notes about me, but you better be careful before I downright
    embarass you on the hardwood.

    yeah...talk on the court...
    
               stig

    UMASS won by about 20 or so last night.  They were down by three at the
    half after two 3 pointers in the last minute by Rutgers (the 2nd a 35
    footer!).
    
    Camby banged up his knee again.  I didn't see much of the 2nd half so I
    don't know how much he played.  Calipari must have given them hell at
    halftime, cause they came out and put the screws to Rutgers on defense.
    
    Roe was high scorer with 17.
    
    					Steve

When are the UMass-Temple games ?

    
    
    Yabbut they play each other on  Feb 13 (home game for UMass) and Feb 24
    in Philly.
    
    snort
    
    I remain,
    letting ya know that Temple plays Duke 2/27
    Kev
    

>When are the UMass-Temple games ?

On the Sabbath?

8^)

         Important game for UMASS tonight, as they take on No. 20
    Cincinnati, on the road.  The UM'ies have played three very ordinary
    games in a row, and will have to snap out of their slump tonite
    if they want to remain a Top 10 Team.  Game time is 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
    
    Russ
    
    

    There was a very nice article in the Northwest Weekly section of the
    Sunday Globe on Rigoberto Nunez.  He is the walk-on from Lawrence who
    is currently seeing some decent minutes for the Minutemen.  Coach Cal
    is rewarding his play by placing him on scholarship for nexted season.
    Since he's only a sophomore, he'll get two years with a free ride.
    My 12 year old read the article and was impressed by how hard Rigo
    worked to get better.  He was 6-7, 168 lbs when he walked on lasted
    season.  Calipari told him he needed to get stronger to earn some PT,
    so he worked out religiously over the summer and changing his body
    type from anorexic to wiry, and reported in this year at 195.
    
    Rigo now is a regular member of Coach Cal's 10 man rotation.
    
    NAZZ

    You gotta like Nunez.  The kid is pumped from the minute he takes the
    court and goes after it.  I cringed a bit last week though when he sent
    Camby sprawling after putting in a 2nd chance hoop!
    
    Russ is right on in saying tonight's a biggie.  They can't expect to
    play like they did last week and come away with a win on the road
    against Cincy.
    
    					Steve

 >> There was a very nice article in the Northwest Weekly section of the
 >> Sunday Globe on Rigoberto Nunez.  

    The UMass-GWU game was also covered on Page 1 of the Sunday Sports 
    section. The closer we get to March ,I imagine, the more coverage 
    that we'll see of UMass in the Boston papers.

    I don't remeber Nunez that well but if I had my druthers, Padilla
    would be starting ahead of Kellogg. Kellogg just doesn't strike me 
    as a big time PG. He doesn't create well at all - not his own shot 
    and not shots for others. He's a fair but unexceptional ballhandler 
    and defender. His saving grace is his hustle and heads up play which 
    are two admirable qualities in a backup player. Padilla is rough around
    the edges but he's quicker, a better ballhandler and can create better
    than Kellogg.

    Any chance of umass being on local tv prior to ncaas?
    
    I think this more than any boston globe added coverage would get
    attention directed at that program.
    
    Also, I didn't quite recall who knocked off UConn?

>     If you've ever wondered what Mike Heiser looks like (goodness knows
>    why) and you watched the DePaul-UMass game last night. Mike Heiser
>    could be Tom Kleinschmidt's older, can't-play-basketball brother. 
    
    I meant to ask, who does this guy play for?  I don't follow the NCAA
    game until the tourney.  Does UMASS get national coverage?

    He plays for DePaul Mike.
    
    - Rope

    U-Mass lost by 2 last night. It was a good comeback coming from 20 or
    more pts behind but they came out on the short end...
    
                        stig

    What's the story with Mike Williams?  He collapsed about halfway
    through the game.
    
    Helluva comeback by the Minutemen, but it's tough overcoming that kind
    of deficit on a hostile court.
    
    					Steve

    I heard he went to the hospital for tests and found out that he was
    OK...Sound Familiar????
    
                   stig

         For perhaps the fourth time in the last six games UMASS put forth
    a Jekyll and Hyde effort, and came out on the short end of a 76 to 74
    score with Cincinnati.  Down by as much as 22 points in the first half,
    they began the second half with an 18-5 run, and climbed back into the
    game.  Down the stretch Cincinnati hits some threes and 90% of their
    free throws and held off UMASS.
    
         More so than the loss, UMASS fans this morning are very concerned
    about the health of second leading scorer, Mike Williams, who collapsed
    in the open court, midway through the second half.  Later he was able
    to walk from the court, but was taken to a local hospital for
    observation.  The whole episode was frightingly similar to the tragic
    collapse of Reggie Lewis during last years playoffs.  According to 
    newspaper reports this morning, Lewis complained to attending doctors,
    of "suffering dizziness on the court", just prior to his collapse.
    About five minutes prior to going down, Williams had been hammered on
    a drive to the basket, and perhaps the hard foul led to the later
    problems.
    
    Russ
    
    - almost ready to cast his vote for UCONN as the No.1 in New England.
      BTW have they played a Top 20 yet?

    Williams was dehydrated, he will be just fine...
    
    REK

      Someone at work told me that some radio station this morning
      said that Mike Williams suffered from dehydration.  Sure hope
      thats all it was.
    
      I still find it hard to believe that UMass sometimes shoots so
      poorly.  I can't help but think the problem is something between
      the ears and coaching ought to improve this kind of thing.  I mean
      its not one game, its a pattern I've seen for awhile - even going
      back to Syracuse two years ago in the tournament when they couldn't
      get a shot to go down to save their lives!  Then Kentucky in the
      1st half.  I don't know...I never heard of a team so repeatedly
      have tremendous shooting slumps.
    
      But, the second half comeback sure was enjoyable to behold.  They
      were on a mission and just ran out of gas.  (Dirden didn't help.
      He had at least 9 pts in the last 2 minutes including that three
      pointer...he wouldn't let Cincinnatti lose.)
    
      I noticed a couple things...just observations, maybe some are
      incorrect...
    
      1) Paddio has incredibly quick hands.  He could probably steal the
         ball from me at my end and go down for a layup before I even
         realized I no longer had the ball!!!
         By the way, was it just me or did it seem that later on the
         umps simply disallowed Paddio from trying to steal.  There were
         times he'd reach in and I swear I couldn't see that he touched
         ANYTHING sometimes (ball or hand) and they just kept blowing the
         whistle.  (I might be talking about Traveiso...I get them mixed
         up.  I'm talking about the reserve guard that knocked in the real
         long three.)
    
         One other thing...he can flat out shoot.  Sometimes UMass ought 
         to design plays for him to hoist threes.
    
         By the way...I'm not sure I agree with Tommy (Brydie) because of
         the experience factor, but I kind of like this guy better than
         Kellog too, although Kellog played a good game.  But, I still
         just feel that Kellog doesn't want to score.  I think there's
         a difference between not wanting to score and being a ball-hog
         and Kellog almost pervades an atmosphere that he flat out doesn't
         want to score.  That's the way it feels to me anyway.  Besides
         that though, this guy Paddio is lightning quick.  That quickness
         on the floor can only help.  
    
      2) Camby can PASS!!!  Man, he had a few good ones.  UMass definitely
         went to some x's and o's at halftime because they were consistently
         finding Camby down low at the left baseline and typically some-
         one (usually Roe) was wide open just to the right of the basket.
         Really nice execution there with real good passing from Camby.
    
         Too bad Camby isn't massive, but hey...you can't have everything.
         Going off on a tangent...being from Wisconsin (but liking UMass
         more as I went to school there) Rashard Griffith is a force at 
         7'1" and he's big!  not sure why I mention this, but I saw Wisconsin
         against Illinois this week.  I guess I mention this because Griffith 
         was one of the other few real good high school recruits out of 
         center last year.
    
      3) Bright is coming along!
    
      4) UMass is still as scrappy as a team can be and probably just 
         about as athletic.
    
         I figure UMass drops out of the top 10.  Louisville is sure to
         go above them at least.  They don't belong in the top 10 when
         they consistently play as they have the last four games; De Paul
         (loss), Rutgers (pathetic first half at home), George Washington
         (pathetic first half, should have lost, at home), Cincinnatti
         (pathetic first half, loss).  Excuse me, but what are these
         teams ranked anyway???
    
         Well, here's to Williams truly being ok and UMass somehow finding
         a way to improve mentally.  I really think its mainly between
         the ears!  And I have to believe that coaching plays a part in 
         determining the number of times a team goes into these shooting
         funks.  There's some kind of pattern here.
    
                                                         Tony

    Cincy was at #20 and GW is probably a top 25 team.  THE GLOBE said that
    Calipari will be making some changes in the starting lineup.  Mentioned
    something about Roe starting out on the bench.  This would probably
    open up a slot for Nunez to start.
    
    The commentators were talking about the "solid game" Kellogg played last
    night, but you need more than 5 points from a guy that probably plays
    30 minutes a game.
    
    					Steve

    Spectacular performance by UMass yesterday as they rolled over URI
    76-47.  Marcus Camby continues to show that he's the real deal, with
    15 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 blocks, some of which were simply
    breathtaking!  He also had 3 assists, including a nifty feed in the
    middle of a 3-on-2 fast break, where he hit Donta Bright on the fly
    for the jam.  Then Camby had an incredible alley-oop jam, one handed,
    where he grabbed the ball over a defender and thundered it in with
    the same motion.
    
    This win was even more impressive considering Lou Roe was a non-factor
    most of the game (didn't start, got 3 quick fouls when he went in) and
    Mike Williams is still undergoing tests at UMass Medical Center. 
    Padilla started and had a terrific game, and fellow fereshman Carmelo
    Travieso played well off the bench.
    
    Tough stretch coming up for UMass:  
    
    	Thurs. 2/3	Florida State
    	Sun. 2/6	Kentucky (at the Meadowlands)
    	Thurs. 2/10	at URI (where UMass lost last year)
    	Sun 2/13	Temple
    
    NAZZ

      Well, thanks to Russ having two tickets available to me, I
      was able to see the Minutemen yesterday.
    
      It was a nice game to watch.  It was fairly close until about
      midway through the first half at which point the defense really
      rattled URI and Camby was just awesome.  As Nazz said, he had
      a couple good jams with the alleyoop being incredible.  He was
      simply all over the court playing every facet of the game.  I
      can't imagine any other player of his height moving as we as 
      he does.
    
      As mentioned, Williams didn't dress.  Boy, I sure hope he'll 
      be ok.  Clearly, it is not for sure that it was just dehydration.
    
      Padilla again really impressed.  So quick.  You can't leave him 
      alone.  Good passer.  He had some nifty passing with Roe.  Bright
      also looked really good.
    
      It ws just a real good effort with defensive intensity pretty
      much continuous.
    
      Roe got three early fouls and wasn't that much of a factor.
    
      The only negatives were Williams not suited and foul shooting 
      which was absolutely horrendous.
    
      A very enjoyable game to watch.
    
                                                 Tony

      Today's Globe says that Williams is undergoing further
      tests.  It also said that where some of the tests showed
      indication of heart abnormality in the cases of Reggie 
      Lewis and Hank Gathers, tests have shown no abnormality
      for Williams.  Also mentioned was that Williams ran into
      the base of the basket after going for a layup prior to
      his collapse.  The doctor's are wondering if the impact
      to his chest may have somehow caused the collapse.
    
      One thing I meant to mention about the UMass game against
      URI...Calipari substituted a lot.  He seemed to substitute 
      about every minute.  Hey, what do I know, but I think he
      oversubstituted.  I mean, doesn't that work to the detriment
      of continuity on the floor when you're substituting like
      mad?  I mean leave the same five (or at least the same 4 out
      of five) for a good 6 to 8 minutes now and then!
    
                                              Tony

    re: Tony
    
    Ya win by ~30 and you're complaining about the coaching?  Sounds like
    the Dean-bashing I've grown accustomed to over the years ....
    
    
    - ACC Chris

      re: ACC Chris
    
        Just one aspect of his coaching and I left myself the open
        that I might not know what I'm talking about.
    
        Sure you have to sub a lot in order to retain defensive 
        intensity and so there's a balance, but I still have a notion
        that once in awhile its beneficial to have the same group
        play continuous minutes.
    
                                                 Tony

    Tony you are correct in the "Just One Part" analysis.  I've been down
    this "over-substituting" route a thousand times.  At times I've been
    critical of Dean for this, but then I look at his record and have to
    come to grips with the fact that I'm in absolutely no position to
    criticize the man.
    
    I suggest the same applies for you and Calipari.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

      Chris, I just don't know.  I'm just not certain I'm wrong!  ;-)
    
      By the way, during the game, the announcer said that Calipari
      has his own radio show.  The next time its on is Wed. evening
      I think at 8, but I'm not sure of the time.  Its on at 99.3 FM.
    
                                                    Tony

    Seriously though Tony, ain't it great to know you've got a guy at the
    helm who you can confidently state knows more about the game
    than you do?  That you can fully put your trust in?
    
    I have confidence in a bunch of A10 coaches to "do the right thing",
    but I'm having a darned time of it trying to think of *any* 
    BigLeast coaches deserving of similar trust.
    
    Haw haw haw!!!!
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    I think substituting a lot can benefit in some ways. It can keep
    everybody mentally ready...
    
                 stig

      re: .436
    
        Chris,
    
          I don't know much about the Big L(east) coaches, but I
          was at the UMass/Syracuse tournament game two years ago
          and Boeheim is just one of the biggest looking cry-babies
          I have ever seen!!  It was beautiful to behold him as UMass
          carried the victory!!
    
          Boeheim's pretty incredible.
    
          My bet is that Calhoun is probably a real good coach though.
    
          And, yeah...I'm sure those coaches know things about the
          game that we have never even conceived of.  What we know and
          what they know must be like apples and oranges.
    
                                                Tony

    
>>          My bet is that Calhoun is probably a real good coach though.
  
 better recruiter than coach like the majority of the lot....

 mikey

>> better recruiter than coach like the majority of the lot....

 and of course Smiffy is the primo example of this.

The Crazy Met

I don't know where Calhoun is such a bad coach.

He's got 400 victories under his belt, and he's turned UConn COMPLETELY
around during his tenure there.  I can remember the days of Dom Perno
where the team sucked big time.  

Now they're competitive and nationally ranked and in the hunt.

No complaints here....


'Saw

      re: -1
    
        Yeah, I agree.  That UConn team the year they miraculously
        beat Clemson and barely lost to Duke had one awesome defense;
        the kind of defense that cannot be only talent-driven, but 
        must reflect some mighty fine coaching.
    
                                                   Tony

    
>        Yeah, I agree.  That UConn team the year they miraculously
>        beat Clemson and barely lost to Duke had one awesome defense;
>        the kind of defense that cannot be only talent-driven, but 
>        must reflect some mighty fine coaching.
    
 
 Yabbut (to steal Kev's line) if that awesome defense was a sign of his
 coaching why did it disappear the next few season when he lost the 
 athletes to run that system? This year he's got those type of athletes
 back and the defense has improved again for him. 

 He's not a terrible coach but anybody who can be outcoached by Thompson
 continously has to be suspect imo......

 mikey

    UMASS nipped FSU last night by 4.  They didn't take the lead for good
    until there was about a minute left in the game.  They'll never get by
    Kentucky Sunday unless they pretty much play a perfect game.  Things
    wouldn't be so dire if Mike Williams were available.  Hope for the best
    on Sunday.  It's on ABC at 1:30.
    
    					Steve

 
 and all the tests they've ruin on Williams so far have come up negative,
 thanks the stars above. He may play sunday they said....

 both teams sure missed alot of bunnies last night. UMASS better get a
 whole lot better at the foul line or it's going to kill them in March.
 Good thing they hit the glass like to do to vercome this shortcoming.

 mike

         A few thoughts on last night's game:
    
    - Due to the tough driving conditions, I arrived three minutes after
      tip-off, and Nazz didn't make it to his seat until nearly half time.
      Supposedly the crowd (which was in March Madness form) serrenaded
      Charlie Ward with "CFL", "CFL", "CFL" during the warmups.  Later,
      during the player intro's however, they gave him a wonderful ovation.
    
    - Amen to the free throw shooting.  9 for 24 just doesn't cut it in 
      the Top 20.  In way of comparison, I watched the second half of a
      local high school game the other night on cable (Groton-Dunstable
      and Lunenburg), and witnessed player after player step to the charity
      stripe and drill free throws.  Two nights later, I watch these
      great athletes in Amherst clang freebie after freebie.  How do you
      figure?
    
    - I thought the refereeing was very shakey throughout, although neither
      team seemed to derive an advantage from it.  Nazz remarked that the
      crew was regarded as one of the NCAA's better trios, but that they
      couldn't get a job in the NBA.
    
    - Although there has been some call within this note to start Padilla
      in front of Kellogg, its a sentiment that I never have agreed with.
      In my opinion, Kellogg was the key to the win last night, as he 
      played very nice "d" on Ward, hit a couple of threes, and didn't
      make many bad decisions when running the team from the point. 
      Padilla is a very good freshman, and more flashy than Kellogg, but
      he makes his share of freshman mistakes.
    
    - Calipari commented on the post game radio show, that he thought the
      team played flawless basketball over the last three minutes and that
      was the key to the victory.  Also he mentioned that since Florida St.
      only plays 7 people, they wore out down the stretch (plus Reid fouled
      out), and Camby and Roe were finally able to get some inside baskets.
    
    - Both Nazz and I couldn't understand why Pat Kennedy didn't put UMASS
      on the free throw line in the final minutes, given their horrid
      shooting percentage.
    
    - Calipari said there was a very small chance that Williams could play
      against Kentucky, but both announcers discounted his remark. 
      Williams had two angiogram procedures which involved inserting an
      instrument into the major artery in the thigh, and running it up into
      his heart, and as a result is very sore from the procedure.  Calipari
      did say that while it is reassuring that the doctors found no
      problems with the heart, there remains concern over the lack of
      explanation for the fainting episode.
    
    - The line before the game last night, favored UMASS anywhere from
      12 to 19 points.  The oddsmakers in Vegas must not have been on top
      of the Williams injury or the shooting slump UMASS has been mired in.
    
    - Now that the UMASS crowd is finally rounding into form, I can't wait
      for the Temple game on Feb. 13th.  Now that's a team UMASS really
      gets up for.  We stood for much of the second half last night. 
      Against Temple, no one will sit down from the time the players are
      introduced.
    
    Russ 
    
             

         Oh yeah, one other thing.  UMASS now has a 3 and 0 record against
    the ACC this season.  Given how shakey UMASS plays, that record alone
    tells me that the Big 10 is the premier B-Ball conference in the
    country this year, with the Great Midwest a close second ;^)!!
    
    Russ

    ABC must have changed their rule since it will be on channel 5 in
    Boston which usually does not carry College hoops on Sunday.
    
    The Crazy Met
    

    Just to amplify on a couple of points my good buddy Russ said:
    
    What was Pat Kennedy thinking with 51.9 seconds left, down 4?  He let
    UMass run down the entire 35 second clock rather than send them to the
    line.  Was he afraid of an offensive rebound/basket?  The way UMass was
    shooting free throws, FSU coulda fouled ANYBODY and expected at least
    one miss.
    
    Paparo, Lembo, and Donato were absolutely horrendous for both teams
    last night.  Only Bobby Sura for FSU was allowed to use a head fake.
    Anybody else got called for a travel.  The called guys out of bounds
    who never even touched the end line.  They let FSU's big guys manhandle
    Marcus Camby all night, but only call stupid touch fouls.  Paparo
    called an offensive foul on Kellogg (his 4th) for leaning in with his
    shoulder on a shot, but it was his right shoulder!  How can you clear a
    guy out and shoot at the same time?  Finally, they screwed FSU out of
    two seconds at the end of the game.  Since the clock stops after every
    basket in the final minute, they could have reset the clock after the
    UMass clock violation to 16.9 seconds, but they never even bothered,
    and FSU got the ball with only 14.7 seconds left.  IF Ward or Sura made
    one of those desperation 3-pointers, that 2.2 seconds could have been
    meaningful.
    
    I'll say it once again:  as bad as the NBA refs are, they are
    lightyears better than the best the NCAA has to offer.
    
    NAZZ

    UMASS was on ABC last year for one game. Channle 5 wanted to broadcast
    that game. However, since they did not show the hoops every Sunday, ABC
    refused to let them show just that one game. It makes perfect sense for
    channel 5 to show the game, we are in agreement on that; ABC must have
    changed or amended its position from last year.
    
    The Crazy Met
    

    Nazz and Russ, glad you were able to make a very exciting game even if
    the pace produced some awkward basketball.
    
    As for the ref'ing - totally awful I agree and I made same observation
    that refs are watching everything but the feet for traveling.  I gave
    up even thinking about them as my blood pressure would have gone off
    the scale.  nba refs are indeed much more highly skilled (there's a but
    deleted since it's another note discussion entirely).
    
    Is Calipari so rigid in his game plans that his players are simply
    frozen to his instructions.  Padilla had several open 10 footers which
    he passed up only to see Kellogg throwing the 3 pointers.  Of course
    umass outside shooting is awful and kennedy knew it so he packed the
    middle and baseline daring Padilla to shoot which he finally did and
    fsu had to come out - but this finally took place in the middle of the
    half.
    	At which time I had to go pick up young Phil at babysitters but I
    had decided that umass would prevail despite hopeless foul and outside
    shooting.   The cause?
    
    	They are too hyped up  - Calipari has to slow their tempo down,
    make them work for shots and relax them somehow.
    
    	Even though the players had all the div 1 skills the game played a
    lot like high school with bumping, missed 12-15 footers, .40 foul
    shooting (or was it less).
    
    	Good news - Roe is back but against the packed defense fsu played
    it was impossible for him to display many skills early but he "had it".
    
    	Russ, can you imagine a team giving bc all those open < 15' shots. 
    
    	I'll throw a smile in on that one :-)

    Bill,
    
    I don't know where he stands now, but prior to this week, Kellogg led
    the A10 in 3-point FG %.  For the past two years Calipari has wanted
    him to shoot MORE, which has also been the cry in here.
    
    It would be nice if they had their only consistent outside shooter for
    Sunday's game.
    
    					Steve

    Re: 452
    
         Going into this season, I thought UMASS' inexperience (youth) and
    lack of an unabashed scorer would be its longterm downfall.  I have
    been pleasantly surprised by their grittiness and refuse to lose
    attitude.  Now, I think their achilles heel(s) is/are their lack of
    a scorer and their lack of a widebody inside who can rough up the
    opposition a bit to make Roe's and Camby's lives a bit easier.  I 
    think Roe's recent slump has resulted from the load he has been asked
    to carry.
    
         Regarding Padilla passing up open short jumpers ..... I think
    high schoolers making the transition to Division 1 are consistantly
    amazed at the quickness necessary to be able to pull the trigger at
    the the higher level, and not have the ball swatted back in one's face.
    Case in point is Carmelo Travieso.  Travieso was the Massachusetts High
    School Player of the Year last year, and regarded as one of the better
    long range shooters entering the college ranks.  I saw him play last
    year, and watched him score a cool 35 points, most from NBA 3 point
    range, in about 25 minutes of playing time.  To watch him this season,
    he's like a different person.  He's more hesitant to shoot than
    Padilla, his ball handling is suspect, and he generally appears not
    to have a clue regarding UMASS' offensive scheme.  Of course I could
    make the latter statement about most of the team ;^).  I attribute it
    all to his inability to deal with the quickness of the people guarding
    him.  Down the road, I expect him to be a quality collegiate basketball
    player.
    
         I have heard Calipari state in interviews that he has been
    surprised by this teams poor shooting percentage .... the implication
    being that they must shoot better in practice.  One of these days
    they will have a breakthrough game, where they hit 65% from the floor
    and 85% from the line.  It would be very nice if it happens on one
    or both of the next two Sunday afternoons.  (Kentucky & Temple)
    
    Russ
    
    - Bill, I'd love to take in a BC-UMASS matchup with you from high
      above courtside.  You would not believe how worked up I get when
      viewing the Eagles in person.  I would do John Hendry proud!

   >> Although there has been some call within this note to start Padilla
   >> in front of Kellogg, its a sentiment that I never have agreed with.
   >> In my opinion, Kellogg was the key to the win last night, as he 
     
      I think I'm Padilla's biggest booster in here and my opinion has
      been that *eventually* Padilla should edge Kellogg out for the
      starting PG job (probably next year). Kellogg *was* crucial last
      night. He had a few of good dishes in the lane. He played his
      usual scrappy defense and he was careful with the ball as always.
      But, other than William's who is out, Padilla strikes me as the
      only guy who can score from anywhere on the floor. Kellogg sure
      can't. John Bobbitt can penetrate better than Derek Kellogg can.
      And Kellogg may lead the A-10 in three point % but I think that
      may be largely because he doesn't take one unless he's completely
      wide open. I hope Williams is alright because he is my favorite
      UMass player but his injury will give Edgar Padilla some valuable
      playing time and I think the kid will start to shine.
    
      
      BTW - when you watch UMass and UConn, I see what a real hoops
            hotbed the state of Connecticut is. UMass has gotten where 
            they are due largely to players from Insuranceland and so
            has UConn. Connecticut high school b-ball doesn't have the
            rep or the attendant hysteria that you expect from Ken-
            tucky or Indiana but the state doesn't have to take a backseat 
            to anybody in terms of bonafide-studs-per-square-inch.
    
             
    

    Russ,
    	You make a good point about adjusting to quickness in college. 
    Padilla though was not being challenged but had a different strategy in
    mind.  Good to see Kellogg shooting, its obvious that its become the
    strategy for dealing with umass - make the guards beat you from
    outside.
    
    	UCONN-BC next Wednesday at Conte.  Should we make the kp plans?
    Don't know about tix availablity.  I'll oil up my pacemaker and stock
    up on the bp pills.
    
    bill

Tommy,  you're right about HS hoops down here in CT.  There's a lot of
fine players and some really good teams.

I cannot elaborate, because I'm not as much of a hoops fan as I am other
sports, but I do know that much....


'Saw

    It was far more obvious when the old New England Basketball tourney was
    held after the old tech tourney finished.  But that ended in the early
    60s.
    
    Last ne tourney I recall feature a tremendous guard from pittsfield
    mass that disappeared somehow and never made the big college or nba
    splash we all would've expected.
    
    

It was nice to see the team play last night. Both my wife and I were disgusted
at the low free throw shooting %. If they don't start hitting some more of
those they'll just get hacked to death come March by the teams that have plenty
of fouls to give.

They also missed a lot of bunnies. They really need 1 consistant outside
shooter that they can kick the ball out to to make the defense play them honest.

Does Calipari sit down for even 1 second during the games?

The out-law squad is going to MSG for the game. Sometimes it's not fun to be 3k
miles away from the family. Mother-out-law is springing for the tickets for the
family...ugh...

Metz

    Chalk that one up for the experience.  Padilla played an excellent
    game as did the whole team.  Definitely missed Mike Williams but the
    time Padilla logged in his place will only help down the line.  Roe was
    unstoppable.
    
    You could say that the FT shooting killed them again, but Kentucky
    clanged their share as well.  But it is frightening to watch these guys
    trying to shoot a 15 foot shot.  Reminds me of some of Jim Boheim's
    teams.
    
    Two losses in four games, with URI coming up next at Providence, and
    Temple on Sunday.  I'd be dissapointed if they didn't win these two
    games.  They need to beat a team like Temple, after a loss like
    yesterday's.
    
    					Steve

Tough Loss but in a refreshing change of politics, Calapri took the blame
for the loss. He noted that not only did he have Kellogg and Padilla playing
the wrong posistions at the end of the game (Kellogg with his experience
should have been at the point, Padilla with his hot hand at the SG) he
also saw with about 13 seconds that Padilla was confused and should have
grapped a TO. If Lou Roe played all his games on national TV people would
be talking about him in lottery instead of a late 1st or early 2nd rounder.

mike

      I didn't get to see the game having had to go to a wedding,
      but it sure looks like UMass plays to the level of the competition,
      doesn't it?
    
      Since I didn't see it, I don't have anything to offer except to
      say that Bob Ryan's article in the Globe today on UMass is 
      an example of why he is my favorite columnist.  Really excellent
      article on our good 'ol State U.
    
      Tommy, I think I pretty much agree exactly with you on Padilla.
      Its no knock on Kellog who must be good to be a starting player
      on a top 15 team.  Basically, as a freshman, Padilla seems to me
      to be incredibly composed and I feel that he is more of a shooting
      threat.  The other thing though...he strikes me as being incredibly
      quick; probably the quickest hands on the team.  I figure maybe he'll
      edge Kellog in minutes at some point, but right now with his 
      experience, Kellog's the man.
    
      By the way...as far as a big physical body...why not throw Meyers
      in there?  Let him just pound and pound and pound until he has
      3 fouls.  (I don't mean play every minute, but be in there now and
      then and POUND.)
    
      Who cares if he's at three fouls with three minutes to play?
    
      Say, if UMass did shoot well (field and at the line), they might
      be frightening!                                     
    
                                                      Tony

    There is plenty of blame to go around (if assigning it is an issue;
    it's still early and I don't think the "L" is that big a deal) as UMass 
    parlayed a very comfortable game position with ~2 minutes to go into
    the worst stretch of basketball they played all game, and hence the
    loss.  Some poor shot selection after they reached that point...
    
    glenn
    

   >> UMass parlayed a very comfortable game position with ~2 minutes 
   >> to go into

      Naturally, I'd rather be up by 4 than down by 4 with ~2 minutes to
      to go but that's hardly a "very comfortable game position" against a
      team that hoists up the threes like Kentucky does. UMass made some
      mistakes at the end of this game but all of them are correctable and
      some will correct themselves with experience. All in all, there really
      were more positives than negatives from a UMass fan's standpoint. Edgar
      Padilla showed glimpses of just how good he'll eventually be. He made
      some ballhandling mistakes near the end of the game but he probably 
      shouldn't have even been put in a position to make them. Camby looked
      huge on the defensive end. Marcus has a real shot blocker's instinct.
      His block on what Rhodes (?) thought would be an easy layup was too
      sweet. These two freshmen get better and better with every game and
      these games with tournament atmosphere can only speed their develop-
      ment. The rest of the team was solid as usual but they really needed a
      perimeter shooter to step up and neither Traveiso or Kellogg did. I
      have to agree with whoever said that Traveiso looks like he may not 
      have the confidence right now to play well at this level. He really 
      looks lost at times out there. I like Meyer the backup center, though. 
      He's awkard and a bit ham-handed on offense but he's a scrapper and has
      decent timing as a shot blocker. He gives good hard minutes whenever
      he's out there. This team is going to wrealk some havoc in this year's 
      tourney but next year I expect them to be a preseason Top 5 and to make 
      a run at the whole enchilada.

 Oh No!!! Please delete .464 quick Tommy. Your KOD is reaching Dismore-ian
 proportions....

 ;^)

                      
   >> UMass parlayed a very comfortable game position with ~2 minutes 
   >> to go into
   >
   >   Naturally, I'd rather be up by 4 than down by 4 with ~2 minutes to
   >   to go but that's hardly a "very comfortable game position" against a
   >   team that hoists up the threes like Kentucky does.   UMass made some
   >   mistakes at the end of this game but all of them are correctable and
   >   some will correct themselves with experience.
    
    Yeah, I didn't mean to make it sound like a lock, but teams in that
    position win the game probably 80+% of the time.  But, as you say,
    UMass may actually learn as much from the end of this game as if they'd
    won.  Such a loss in the NCAAs would have to be characterized as a
    heartbreaker, though... 
    
    glenn
      

    UMASS apparently ran into the same kind of drought (sp?) at the end of
    the game as UK did in the first half.  UMASS was held scoreless the
    last 3 minutes of the contest.
    
    - Rope

so this was an excellent loss??

The Crazy Met

    Some amazing stats for this game:
    
    FG:  UMass 24-59; Ky 24-60
    FT:  UMass 14-22; Ky 14-21
    OR:  UMass 17     Ky 17
    DR:  UMass 23     Ky 23
    Tot: UMass 40     Ky 40
    TO:  UMass 16     Ky 17
    
    Jeff Brassow was a real killer, going 3-3 in 3-pointers.  I thought
    Kellogg and Padilla played terrific defense on Travis Ford.  One thing
    Camby has to learn is that once the guard recovers after he
    jump-switches out, he's got to hurry back down low.  Twice he got
    caught wandering at the top of the key, and the second time it cost him
    when Prickett hit the lay-up all alone underneath.  But that's
    something he can learn; his shotblocking ability is a natural gift.
    
    With Mike Williams, this is a game UMass could have won.
    
    NAZZ

    > With Mike Williams, this is a game UMass could have won.
    
    Now if I were to make a statement like this every noter in the
    Northern Hemisphere would be jumping outa their keyboards, claiming it
    was yet another "excuse" from some devilish "bible".
    
    Personally, I'd much rather have UNC face UMass again than Kaintucky. 
    The 'Cats scare me; I honestly couldn't see the HourMen beating us
    twice in a season.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

      I heard on WEEI over lunch that its a lock that the Big East
      is going to add four teams to its conference; Temple, West
      Virginia, Rutgers, and Virginia Tech (for basketball).
    
      What would that do to the Atlantic 10?  (Kill it.)  What would
      that do to UMass?   Where would UMass want to go if the Atl. 10
      folded?
    
                                              Tony
    
      

      re: .469
    
      That was pretty safe to say figuring that without Mike Williams
      they could have won!
    
                                                  Tony

     Re: Big East Gobbling Up Atlantic 10? 

      I've heard the same thing from a number of sources.  They say its
      the football schools driving the decision, but it seems like an
      obvious move to eliminate the increasing basketball competition the
      Atlantic 10 has been giving them the last few years (dirty pool ?)

      I've heard (and I hope its true) that UMASS will join the Great Midwest
      which would be a much better option than staying in a league
      that is destined to sink into oblivion (another "north atlantic" type
      conference). But its hard to imagine the GM taking too many of the
      remaining teams from the Atlantic 10, besides
      maybe George Washington (who would probably make a nice replacement
      for Virginia Tech in the Metro). The other teams will probably be 
      forced to jion other weaker leagues. 


						K.B.
				
      

   >> -< Wonder if Calipari's got his resume up to date?  Heh heh! >-
    
      Coach Cal was given a contract extention through the year 2000
      just recently. He's going to be here for a while. Amherst is in
      a really beautiful part of the state and he says he loves the
      area. And not every coach is a greed head like certain a Jimmy
      Durante look-alike I could name. Outcoaching Deano this year
      had to show coach Cal that he could actually get to the prom-
      ised land from here, he just wouldn't be paid as much to do it
      as he would at North Carolina or Kentucky or other places where 
      their priorities are way out of whack.
    

    I've heard a couple of possible scenarios:
    
    1) The remaining six A-10 teams join the Great Midwest, making that
       the second strongest basketball conference behind the Big Ten.
       Here's how that would look:
    	
    	A-10 Teams	Great Midwest
    	UMass           Ala.-Birmingham
    	George Wash.    Cincinnati
    	Duquesne	DePaul
    	St. Joseph's	Marquette
    	St. Bona.	Memphis State
    	URI		St. Louis
    
    2) The remaining six A-10 teams join the six remaining teams in the
       Metro conference.  Virginia Tech going to the Big East would leave
       them with six teams.  Here's how that would look:
    
       A-10 Teams	Metro
       UMass		Louisville
       George Wash.	NC-Charlotte
       Duquesne		Southern Miss.
       St. Joseph's	South Florida
       St. Bona.	Tulane
       URI		VCU
    
       Another very strong conference, not quite as strong as the first.
    
    3) A-10 remains as is, but adds individual teams.
    
       Some of the teams considered for inclusion (not in the two leagues
       listed above):
    
    		1. LaSalle (Midwestern Conference)
    		2. Xavier (O) (Midwestern Conference)
    		3. Manhattan (Metro Atlantic)
    		4. OLd Dominion (Colonial)
    		5. Richmond (Colonial)
    		6. Marshall (Southern)
    		7. Cleveland State (Mid-Contintent)
    		
    I sincerely doubt that the A-10 will dissolve, but will continue to
    provide top quality basketball for many years to come.
    
    NAZZ
    	

    I think Chris was sarcastically referring to the alleged
    "blackballing" of Calipari in the Big East, no??
    
    Back to his days at Pittsburgh under Evans when he stole that kid
    from Villanova.. what was his name?  Supposedly, the Big East don't
    like Coach Cal too much..
    
    MikeL
    

      re: .476
    
        My first thought with UMass should this happen was for them
        to jump to the Great Midwest.  That's a pretty good looking
        conference.  But, without West Virginia, Rutgers, and Temple,
        I think the Atlantic 10 is too weak.
    
        I think part of the Big East agenda is to go after the Atl 10
        including UMass.  BTW, I heard that UMass is going to go to
        1-A football (not reliable source - someone from work).  Why
        not them go to Big East?  Of course, playing Miami in football
        would be a tad ridiculous, but no more ridiculous than Temple
        playing them.
    
                                                      Tony

    	I'll give the BigLeast credit for not being stupid.  They realized
    the Atlantic 10 is a better conference and by gutting it now can
    eliminate trouble down the road.  Too bad because the Temple/UMASS
    games the last three years have been great to watch.
    
    				/Don

 >    
 >    1) The remaining six A-10 teams join the Great Midwest, making that
 >       the second strongest basketball conference behind the Big Ten.
 >       Here's how that would look:
 >    	
 >    	A-10 Teams	Great Midwest
 >    	UMass           Ala.-Birmingham
 >    	George Wash.    Cincinnati
 >    	Duquesne	DePaul
 >    	St. Joseph's	Marquette
 >    	St. Bona.	Memphis State
 >    	URI		St. Louis
 >


    I find it hard to believe that the Great Midwest, which seem like THE
    up and coming conference in the country, would want to pick up 
    "dead-weight" teams like St. Bona and Duquesne (I was amazed when the 
    A-10 took Duq. back). I would classify St Joe's and URI as argueable.  

   And I've also heard that Notre Dame is an additional possibility for
   both the Great Midwest or the Big East

					K.B.

    Notre Dame would not join the Big East beacause they will remain
    independent in football, and the Big East wants football/basketball
    schools.  
    
    Adding teams like St. Joe's and Duquesne to the Great Midwest gives
    them something they don't have now:  television markets in the East.
    Opening up New England, Philly, Pittsburgh, and Wasington instantly
    makes a Great Midwest TV package an easy sell, and for more $$$ per
    minute for advertisers.  It's a natural combination.
    
    NAZZ

    Managed to see quite a bit of umass - kentuck.  redmen are providing a
    lot of entertaining basketball this year with Camby one of the most
    exciting players in years.
    
    Interesting comment about Roe possibly trying for 3pt play at end with
    foul but I don't see how he could count on it since by letting him lay
    it in the game is over for 'cats.  
    
    My other comment is that umass (contrary to rope) may have been better
    off with faster tempo and their run in 2nd qtr was on a fast tempo. 
    The predominant defense used against them is a packed zone and Cal
    likes to use all his players.  I didn't see the last 15 minutes but I
    suspect that it was kentucky that slowed the pace not umass and this
    strategy payed off.
    
    And a comment about NC "fearing Kentucky more than umass".  Well Deano
    would still be at 1 if he had to play ku last year.

    re .482
    
    UK defintetly didn't slow the pace.  If they wanted to slow the pace,
    they wouldn't have pressed the entire game :-).  Here are Pitino's
    exact comments after the game.
    
    "What I didn't like was the tempo of the game," Pitino said.  "But
    that's going to happen.  We could get an Alabama-Birmingham come
    playoff time.  You can get a team that's going to let you play in the
    60s.  Our style did not win out."
    
    Jared Prickett added the following:
    
    "We played their style and we came out with a victory."
    
    Someone earlier listed some of the stats.  It indeed was an extremely
    close game.  Here's a more detailed listing of the stats:
    
    FG's          - UK (24-60)  - UMASS (24-59)
    3-Pts         - UK (5-15)   - UMASS (2-9)    
    FT's          - UK (14-21)  - UMASS (14-22)
    Assists       - UK (15)     - UMASS (13)
    Turnovers     - UK (17)     - UMASS (16)
    Blocked Shots - UK (6)      - UMASS (7)
    Steals        - UK (8)      - UMASS (10) 
    
    1st Half FG%  - UK (12-34 35.3%)  - UMASS (14-36 38.9%)
    2nd Half FG%  - UK (12-26 46.2%)  - UMASS (10-23 43.5%)
    Game FG%      - UK (24-60 40.0%)  - UMASS (24-59 40.7%)
    
    1st Half 3-Pt% - UK (2-7  28.6%) - UMASS (2-6 33.3%)
    2nd Half 3-Pt% - UK (3-8  37.5%) - UMASS (0-3 0.0%)
    Game 3-Pt%     - UK (5-15 33.3%) - UMASS (2-9 22.2%)
    
    1st Half FT%   - UK (3-8 37.5%)   - UMASS (6-10 60.0%)
    2nd Half FT%   - UK (11-13 84.6%) - UMASS (8-12 66.7%)
    
    Halftime - UK 29 - UMASS 36
    Final    - UK 67 - UMASS 64
    
    Several interesting points:
    	- UK shot 11% better from the field in the 2nd half - UMASS
          improved by 5%
    
        - UK shot 47% better from the FT line in the 2nd half!
    
        - UK hit 3 more 3's which appear to be the difference in this game
    
    One thing UMASS has to be proud of is the way they handled the UK
    press.  I thought they did a good job of getting the ball up the court. 
    Both of these teams have the potential to make some serious noise in
    the NCAA tournament.
    
    
    
     - Rope

    Well UK certainly crumbled against Arkansas after they had a 17 point
    lead. tsk. tsk.
    
    The Crazy Met
    
    

    Michael Williams has been cleared to play tonight against Rhode Island
    at the Providence Civic Center.  He will not start, but will get some
    time, how much depends on how he reacts on the court.
    
    NAZZ

      re: .483
     
        Do any of you remember how UMass handled the Kentucky press
        in the tournament game of two years ago?
    
        They just gave the ball to their 6'3" power forward and he
        dribbled it down the court.
    
        What a beautiful player he was!!!
    
                                                   Tony

    Donta Bright has to be the unsung hero of this team.  He's not a
    spectacular player, yet anyway, but he's constantly doing things to help
    his team win.       
    
    					Steve

    I heard that after the game Chaney interrupted Calipari's press
    conference and started screaming obscenities. Anyone  have the
    background on what what happeded/led up to the incident?

    This was on espn and other news.  Chaney objected to Cal's criticism of
    refs and made a show of going after him at news converence.
    
    I concluded that this was chaney's attempt to set up the ref'ing for
    the final acc showdown game and get himself posited as the defender of
    "good" ref'ing.
    
    He may have been genuinely peeved at anyone winning a game at home and
    then criticizing officials - very poor form on cal's part but he then
    seized on that to try to create an image in refs mind.

    When is the rematch?
    
    Mike

    From what I understand, Chaney interrupted Calipari, and was
    supposedly upset at how Calipari was "intimidating" the referees
    (I guess Calipari had a conference with the refs post-game.
    Chaney screamed 'I'm gonna kick your ass." Chaney was also
    screaming about UMass' "rough tactics" and instructed his
    player to "smash the UMass player in the mouth". He continued
    to scream "Next time we meet, I'm gonna kick your ass." Chaney
    then rushed the stagew to get at Calipari but was prevented by
    security and both UMass and Temple players.
    
    Chaney actually came back in the room after his press conference
    to disrupt Calipari's.
    Not a pretty sight. Chaney was way out of control. He looked like
    a madman.
    
    MikeL
    

         There has been bad blood between Chaney and Calipari for years.
    Temple won the FIRST 18 games between the two schools, a streak the
    predated Calipari's hiring.  While that streak was still ongoing, there
    was a triple OT game at the Cage (1990?), during which a verbal
    confrontation between the two during a timeout, ended with Chaney
    grabbing Calipari by the neck, and Calipari responding with an open
    fisted punch thrown in Chaney's direction.
    
         Last season, things escalated further over the recruitment of
    Rasheed Wallace (now at North Carolina).  UMASS was on Wallace's
    original long list, and UMASS assistant Bruiser Flint (a Philly native)
    became close with the young man.  Wallace eventually pared his list of
    school's down to UNC, Villanova, Temple and one other.  Evidently,
    Wallace consulted with Flint over his final choice, and by all accounts
    Flint wasn't too keen on Temple.  
    
         During the press conference in Philly after the first UMASS-Temple
    game last year (a 54-42 Temple victory), a shouting match developed 
    between a Temple Assistant Coach and Calipari, about this alleged
    interference by UMASS in the recruiting of Wallace.  What was
    interesting about this incident was that Calipari had just finished
    answering a question in which he was very complimentary about the
    Temple program, and how he had patterned the rebuilding of the UMASS
    program on the Temple model (playing the toughest schedule possible,
    getting on TV at all cost, ie. playing at midnight)
    
         Yesterday's confrontation was precipitated by a loud conversation
    Calipari had in the tunnel after the game with the officials, in which
    he complained about some of the calls.  Supposedly Chaney met with 
    reporters first, and was cool, calm and collected.  When Calipari got
    his chance, either Chaney had hung around, or else reentered the
    interview room.  When a reporter asked about the officiating, Calipari
    was in the midst of giving an answer, when Chaney started yelling from
    the back of the room.  The conversation escalated, and before you know
    it, Chaney was threatening to "kill Calipari", "kick his ass", and
    do other unpleasant things.  He eventually charged the podium, and had
    to be restrained by a combination of UMASS' Mike Williams, Temple's
    Eddie Jones and a Temple Assistant.  In the process he had Williams
    in a stranglehold.  A very unsportsman like scene, and one deserving of
    an investigation by A10 officials!
    
         All of which gives a black-eye to a very exciting basketball game,
    which was won by UMASS 56-55, on a last second shot be none other 
    than Mike Williams.  Now Williams won't make any All-American teams,
    and probably won't be drafted by the NBA, but there is no one, not
    Jason Kidd, not Donald Williams, not Glenn Robinson, not Donyell
    Marshall, that I would give the ball to in crunch time with the game
    on the line, over Michael Williams.  He has now taken game winning
    shots with under 10 seconds to go in five games over the last two years
    and make all of them, and has salted away numerous others, just ask
    Dean Smith and ACChris.  The guy has ice water running in his veins.
    
         UMASS goes to 10 and 0 in the A10, and Temple registers its 3rd
    loss in the A10, just about sewing up home court advantage in the
    A10 Tourney.  An important win!
    
    Russ 

ESPN said that the UMass-Temple rematch was next Thursday. Channel
7 said they would only meet again in the A10 tourney. I tend to
believe ESPN.

The Crazy Met

    Channel 7's gotsta be wrong. Conf.  opponents play home and home and
    UMass has yet to play at Temple.
    
    MikeL
    

    
    Apparently John Chaney is just trying to build up his credibility for his
    on-going battles with the NCAA college presidents.  Clearly, more young
    men need to be turned over to the likes of this lunatic...
    
    How many times has Chaney been involved in physical altercations over
    the past few years, not just with Calipari (with his own brash style, no
    saint himself, perhaps)?  College coaches who repeatedly take to
    fighting with their opponents should be fired, period.  When you think
    about what they're fighting about it's almost humorous, in the absurd... 
     
    glenn
    

    Thursday, February 24 at McGonigle Hall.  On ESPN.
    
    Chaney totally lost it.  He was an embarrassment to himself, and his
    school.  The school president should suspend him for the rest of the
    year before the A-10 or the NCAA do it for him.
    
    NAZZ

         According to a recent article on John Chaney, he has had
    physical confrontations with two other A10 Coaches over the years.
    It is interesting that Temple athletes are known for their discipline,
    and the fact that they don't trash talk or cheap shot their opponents,
    virtues that are instilled by the teaching of John Chaney.  Chaney
    himself in the article admitted that he would dismiss from his team
    any of his players who resorted to physical retaliation or cheap
    shots.
    
         Calipari, in my view, is notorious for working the officials, a
    tactic which has backfired on him upon occasion.  He has also achieved
    a great deal of success in a short period of time, somewhat at the
    expense of Temple.  Given his cocky demeanor, and UMASS' two
    consecutive A10 regular season and tournament titles, I'm not 
    surprised that he has gotten under Chaney's skin.  From the replays I
    saw of the incident with Chaney, he took the high road, choosing not
    to comment on Chaney's erruption.
    
    Russ

    I think the big problem is the stringent standards they expect students
    to uphold and then these bobby knight imitators pull these stunts.
    
    I mean some thirsty kid takes a few extra buds outta the packy and the
    school suspends em for a game, or was it two?  

    John Chaney thrives on intimidation.  His ego is boundless, so the fack
    that Calipari can match him ego-for-ego undoubtedly goes right up his
    u_know_what.
    
    BTW, UMass' tactic to stear Wallace out of the A10 once they knew they
    wouldn't get him is not only smart but a fairly common practice.  Dean
    used his friendship with John Thompson to try and get players to go to
    Georgetown instead of Maryland when Lefty was still with the Terps, once 
    he knew he wasn't gettin' 'em.
    
    Good "skinny" on Wallace, BTW.  Tanks .....
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    And now back to the game...

    I have to agree with Russ about Williams, come crunch time he's
    as good or better than anyone in the country. A rather foolish 
    move by Chaney to go man, I think, because no one can handle 
    Mike Williams one-on-one. The kid can score from any where on
    the floor. When they spread the D, it was over. His backcourt 
    mate, Derrick Kellogg, had a good game, too. Nice to see Kellogg 
    finally start hoisting up that three. It's within his range, it's 
    there, take it!. There's such a thing as being too unselfish and I 
    think that's the case with Kellogg alot. I'd like to see him shoot 
    alot more and give the team another dimension but this is a start. 
    I still wish he could score going to the hoop but you can't have
    everything. They could have dumped it in and kicked it out for the 
    trey all day long. 
    

    You can intimidate, and you can be upset of one coach is getting his
    way (in his opinion) with the ref's.  Sounds like Chaney was also upset
    because Calipari met with the refs after the game and Chaney wasn't
    invited.  By the rules, but coaches should be there.
    
    BUT, there's on excuse for going after another coach and screaming "I'm
    gonna kill you."  Not sure why he was wound that tight, it was a big
    loss.  But you can't do that, I'm sorry.  Someone has to step in on
    this one.  If he's on the bench when UMass comes to town, something
    stinks big time.  I hope there's enough security on campus and the refs
    take control EARLY for this game.
    

Who let Kevin Johnson coach Temple for a day?

Ken

    KJ was busy at the All-Star game.  You know, the one all the Lakers
    were watching on TV.

    > A rather foolish move by Chaney to go man, I think, because no one 
    > can handle Mike Williams one-on-one. 
    
    Hmmmm.  Maybe I was too quick to criticize Dean for going zone with us
    leading by 3 with ~ :30 seconds to go & UMass with the ball.
    
    Thanks,
    
    
    - ACC Chris

>         According to a recent article on John Chaney, he has had
>    physical confrontations with two other A10 Coaches over the years.
>    It is interesting that Temple athletes are known for their discipline,
>    and the fact that they don't trash talk or cheap shot their opponents,
>    virtues that are instilled by the teaching of John Chaney.
				^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Maybe that's why Chaney lost it so badly.  He said Calipari had his kids
cheap-shotting the Temple kids the whole game.  Maybe he sees Calipari
as teaching the opposite values that he teaches, and it contributed to
his team losing a big game.


BTW, is the A-10 tournament a real home-court tournament (ie: if UMass
ends with the best regular-season record, they play on their home floor
throughout) ?

         In the A10 Tourney, the quarterfinals and semi's are played 
    in Philadelphia at the Palestra (although not Temple's or St.Joe's
    home court, still a bit of an advantage, wouldn't you think?)
    The Championship Game is played on the homecourt of the highest
    seeded remaining team.
    
         I attended yesterday's game, and didn't see any of the cheap
    shots that Chaney was so incensed about.  I did think that Temple's big
    three (Jones, McKie and Brunson) were jumping into UMASS defenders
    all day on their jump shots, to draw fouls, and that never once 
    were they called for creating the contact.  On the flip side, while
    Temple had a big edge in foul shots during the first half, it was
    at least partially deserved because UMASS was unable to work the ball
    inside to Roe and Camby with any regularity.
    
    Russ       

    >     In the A10 Tourney, the quarterfinals and semi's are played 
    >in Philadelphia at the Palestra (although not Temple's or St.Joe's
    >home court, still a bit of an advantage, wouldn't you think?)
    
    That happens with a lot of tournaments though.  Big East is at MSG
    (St. Johns advantage?)  I know the MAAC is in Albany (Siena plays
    3-4 games there a year).  I'm sure there are others...
    

> Big East is at MSG (St. Johns advantage?)

Not really.The teams in the BE are all close enough to NY that going there for
a weekend of basketball is not that tough. SH is real close as well.

The Crazy Met

    Miami?  Syracuse isn't that close vs. UMASS and the Palestra...

SH, Villanova, SJU, G'town, BC, UConn Providence are all close. And heck Miami
is a 2+ hour plane ride; folks do that for a long weekend. Syracuse, well I
suppose if you could fly it would be a quick trip. Not sure if Syracuse
has an airport :-)

The Crazy Met

    What's the poop with UMass-Amherst hockey?
    Is Joe Mallen tryin' to pull together a contendah for HockeyEast
    in a few years?
    
    MikeL
    

    Cheney only got suspended for one game for that tantrum he pulled. From
    what I see he and Bobby Knight should go into the loonietoon bin
    together. These are kids that you are modeling yourself after. Its sad
    to see this type of stuff..I wouldn't blame the coaches totally because
    college basketball is big business also...a lot of stress is involved
    to be a coach but if you can't act proffessional about it you shouldn't
    be there to begin with....
    
                          stig
    
    

    Suspended for a single game when it's documented on film that he
    threatened to *KILL* somebody?!  Weak.  Very weak.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

    One game by the school.  The league may take further action.

    Some possible background from WFAN yesterday:
    
    Cheney supposedly was told that Calipari was blasting the
    refs during the press conference.  Cheney got in some trouble
    after the West Virginia game for getting on the refs.  That could
    be why he blew up.
    
    The worst thing Cheney did was to threaten the UMass players.
    The first hard foul in the rematch could set off a brawl.
    
    Mike

>    The worst thing Cheney did was to threaten the UMass players.
>    The first hard foul in the rematch could set off a brawl.
    
I would think him saying very clearly "I'll kill you" to Calipari, 
on tape, would be the worst thing he did....8^)


The A10 has to take some action on this, without a doubt.  I'm not upset
with Temple suspending him for a game, but it's not really up to them, IMO,
to suspend him for more than that.  I do feel it's up to the league.

I'd bet he gets 5 games.  Ten games would be excessive, but it's got to
be at least 5.......


'Saw

    
    
      John Chaney ought to very seriously think about taking some time
     away from the game of basketball before it kills him. He looks like
     he gets about fifteen minutes of sleep a night and subsists on Maalox
     milk shakes. No doubt he's a very good coach and definitely cares
     about his players, but when you're wound up tight enough to actually
     threaten to kill someone, it's time to take a step back for some
     serious self-examination. A suspension is definitely in order, but
     it probably isn't going to cure what really ails Chaney. The peri-
     pheral issue here is the pressure of big-time college athletics.
     When on the one hand you talk about "scholar-athletes" and on the
     other hand you have Dean Smith and Rick Pitino making millions of
     dollars, it doesn't take a Fullbright scholar to see that somehow
     our priorities got seriously out of whack. It's win or walk and
     for some coaches that coupled with their own self-induced pressure
     is too much.

>      John Chaney ought to very seriously think about taking some time
>     away from the game of basketball before it kills him. He looks like
>     he gets about fifteen minutes of sleep a night and subsists on Maalox
>     milk shakes. No doubt he's a very good coach and definitely cares
>     about his players, but when you're wound up tight enough to actually
>     threaten to kill someone, it's time to take a step back for some
>     serious self-examination. 


Arnold Dean said the same thing on the WTIC-1080 sports talk show last
evening around 6:30.

There was lots of talk on WFAN about this, but no one over there mentioned
that he should take a vacation (so to speak).



>     When on the one hand you talk about "scholar-athletes" and on the
>     other hand you have Dean Smith and Rick Pitino making millions of
>     dollars, it doesn't take a Fullbright scholar to see that somehow
>     our priorities got seriously out of whack. It's win or walk and
>     for some coaches that coupled with their own self-induced pressure
>     is too much.


That's a good point, Tommy.  So many programs are just the farm system
for the NBA, it seems......


'Saw

    Spare me the association between Chaney's wacko-blowup and
    colleges being the bush leagues for the NBA.  The later is
    a by-product of the big-time programs that are doing it right,
    not their reason for existence.  Carolina graduates ~ 98% of
    their men's basketball players, which doesn't quite sound like
    a school hiring some guns for the sole purpose of generating W's
    and apprenticing for the NBA.
    
    I suspect there's a whole lot more going on with this Chaney vs.
    Calipari thing than just ref-baiting.  The Rasheed Wallace story
    perhaps gives us a glimpse into what's *really* under John's skin.
    
    
    - ACC Chris

I don't think I've ever seen a coach get a 5-game suspension.  I doubt
we'll see it here.

    
    Remember when the A10 was Temple, Temple, and Temple. Not anymore.
    A few years back I believe the A10(Temple and Chaney) were looking
    for some prime TV time. Me sources tell me that Chaney approached
    some of the other coaches (Cal at UMass) looking to politicize and
    bargain the networks for some prime time TV. Calipari said he
    had no time for this BS and quickly jumped on ESPN's midnight
    madness foer quick exposure. Remember that ESPN televised
    UMass in Alaska and continued its midnight madness. All this
    has equated for some nice exposure for UMass the last coupla
    years (hasn't UMass been on national TV several=8 times this year?)
    Hadn't hardly seen Temple on da tube.. Maybe Chaney's po'd at
    Calipari for goin' out on his own, TV-wise.
    Only a thought...
    
    MikeL
    

    I wonder if the French Department considers how well the person is at
    French when they give out scholarships ....
    
    
    - ACC Chris

>    I wonder if the French Department considers how well the person is at
>    French when they give out scholarships ....
    
I think they take into account whether it's kissing or speaking.....

 > I wonder if the French Department considers how well the person is at
 > French when they give out scholarships ....
  
     They give degrees in basketball at UNC? No wonder that they graduate
     98%.

    
    
    	Yabbut I think Chaney is a bit too serious.  Maybe he should take a
    1 year sabattical.
    
    	Failing that, Temple should hire Bill Cosby as a_assistant coach,
    just to balance Chaney.
    
    	good idea?
    
    

>    	Failing that, Temple should hire Bill Cosby as a_assistant coach,
>    just to balance Chaney.
>    
>    	good idea?
>    


Actually, late on the FAN last night the idea was brought up that perhaps
Cosby could mediate before the re-match, as he's a Temple grad and holds
an honorary degree from UMASS......    

    Re:  77.512
    
         And now for something completely different ......
    
         The UMASS Hockey Team currently sports a 15 and 7 record in this,
    their first year of competition since being disbanded as a varsity
    sport during the late '70's.  Joe Mallen fields (or is it ices) a team
    made up of all freshmen except for one senior defensemen, who also
    started on the football team.  They have played 6 or so Division One
    opponents, and I believe their only victory at that level was against
    Army.  Mallen comes highly regarded as a collegiate hockey coach and
    provided he can successfully recruit in Eastern Massachusetts against
    the BU's, Harvard's and BC's, he should become competitive in Hockey
    East in a relatively short period of time.
    
    Russ
                                     

    
    
    >> "...holds an honorary degree from UMASS."
    
    	Yabbut just a nit, Dr. William Cosby earned a bona fida PhD. in
    Childhood Education from UMASS.  T'aint honorary - them's reserved
    for politicians  ;^)
    
    I remain,
    the Nit_Cadet!
    Kev
    

Well, bust my buttons.

I didn't know that, but then, as I said, I was repeating what I heard on
WFAN.....

At any rate, he'd probably be a good choice.....

    I doubt seriously the A-10 will take any disciplinary action against
    Cheney.  It's sad, but my money's on them washing their hands of it.
    
    - Rope

  Was this the 1st time it happened?

  If so, then the 1 game suspension by the President of Temple should be
enough.

  George

    Couldn't there be criminal action takin from cheney threatening to kill
    someone?? 
    
                   stig

    UMASS lost 81-80 to St. Joe's last night.  They shot something like 37%
    from the field.  
    
    The school is also asking that next Thursday's game with Temple be
    played off Temple's campus, and that limited numbers of fans for each
    team be allowed admission.  I don't see how they can limit the number
    of fans, but it may be a good idea to play it at the Spectrum.
    
    					Steve

         Even though Calipari gave credit to St.Joe's for playing a
    very good game last night, he can't be happy with his team as he
    gets ready for the stretch run into the league tourney and the NCAA's.
    As an earlier noter so aptly put it, this team plays to the level of
    the competition.  There is no way this team will make an NCAA run
    given their current level of play.
    
         One of the hallmarks of earlier Calipari teams was their ability
    to "jell" in February and to put together impressive late season
    winning streaks.  This team has performed just the opposite .... even
    though they are young and relatively inexperienced, they came out of
    the blocks fast, and were playing their best basketball in January.
    Since the one point win over George Washington, every game has been a
    struggle, regardless of the opponent.
    
         Another bit of interesting news has come out about the John Chaney
    outburst.  The post game "meeting" that Calipari had with the refs
    that Chaney was so concerned about, consisted of a single comment or
    statement by Calipari as one of the refs passed him in the
    hallway.  The ref responded to the comment, and kept walking, so
    it couldn't have been all that offensive.  This, according to A10
    Commissioner Ron Bertovich, who was with Calipari when the referee
    walked by.
    
         The more I think about the incident, I believe that John Chaney's
    sole intent was to "prepare" his team for the rematch(s) to come with 
    UMASS, and in the process he became overly excited, and went a bit too 
    far.
    
    Russ
    
    - I loved the scowling John Chaney photo's that the St.Joe's students
      were waving when UMASS players shot free throws last night!     
                                                                 

      Chaney:
    
        I really think deep down he's a good guy, but sure he's not
        perfect.  He's probably irked by most all the things mentioned
        here; from the success of the young 'whippersnapper' Calipari
        to the Rasheed Wallace situation to UMass' TV coverage to Temple
        just losing a big game by a single point to him perhaps misunder-
        standing Calipari's conversation with the ref.
    
        My feeling is that all of Chaney's words were just that...words.
        EXCEPT, the part about having the UMass player be hit.  THAT's 
        the part that is real inexcusable.  The killing part is a crock;
        he'd never do that.
    
        There's a friend in my facility from Philly who told me a couple
        years ago that Chaney's "a certified lunatic!"  He says I'm too
        nice in my perception of him.  I really feel that he wants to 
        prepare young men who may have had some disadvantages in life for
        the rest of their lives and he instills really good qualities.
    
        But, he sure looks wound up tight as Tommy says.  I feel that 
        Chaney is a Temple icon.  With his eyes sticking out and the
        big black rings around his eyes, and the look as someone said that
        he lacks sleep (surely he is nocturnal)...he is THE TEMPLE OWL.  
        HE LOOKS JUST LIKE AN OWL!!!!!  ;-)
    
        The quintessential coach of the mighty Temple Owls.  He can never
        be replaced!
    
     UMass:
    
        How does a teal lose to Saint Joes?  Correct me if I am wrong, but 
        don't they finish at GWU and at Temple?  These are the two teams
        they beat by a single point AT Umass.  They better get by GWU!
    
        I hate to say it, but they look a year away from making serious
        inroads in the tournament.  When they've played the money games, 
        they basically lost all the away ones and barely won the home
        ones, i.e. Florida State, GWU, Temple.  Losses at Cinci, at DePaul,
        Kentucky.
    
        I just have the premonition that if they play a Virginia in the
        2nd round, you can flip a coin on the outcome and flipping a coin
        on a second round game can't be considered to be a real strong
        contender.  I hope I'm proven wrong, but the games against merely
        good teams have been too close.
    
                                                        Tony

The A-10 says that Temple's suspension of Chaney for one game is good enough
for them and will not punish him any further according to my paper....

mike

         The A10 and the NCAA have the balls of the USOC.  The fact that
    the A10 Commissioner witnessed the game and the hallway scene, and
    has downplayed Calipari's actions, makes their inaction all the more
    questionable.
    
    Russ

>        There's a friend in my facility from Philly who told me a couple
>        years ago that Chaney's "a certified lunatic!"  He says I'm too
>        nice in my perception of him.  I really feel that he wants to 
>        prepare young men who may have had some disadvantages in life for
>        the rest of their lives and he instills really good qualities.
    
    That may be your and others' impression but the way I hear it Temple
    basketball's student graduation rates have been pretty poor over the
    years.  This was coincident with scandals which decimated the football 
    program several years ago, most notably around star RB Paul Palmer. 
    Palmer was being compensated nicely in his time at Temple and eventually 
    was ruled ineligible, and later after his short pro career with the Chiefs 
    ended it was further revealed that he was unable to read.
    
    I've never had this favorable impression of academic standards in the
    athletic department at Temple, including the basketball program under
    Chaney.  The words and the intent may be commendable but if most kids
    aren't leaving with that diploma at absolute minimum then this
    "instilling qualities" stuff is still just talk, and hypocritical talk 
    at that.  If it has to be, so be it, but let's just be up front about
    it and say that 4 years of semi-pro basketball in a semi-eductional 
    setting is better than nothing at all, because that's generally what's 
    been going on at Temple... 
    
    glenn

    Umass is considering appealing
    
    Local DA Office did investigate but amid much verviage seem willing to
    let colleges handle it but did condemn the action
    
    I agree with Russ; Cheney had "a plan" but lost it.  He must have a
    very deep seated hatred of calipari.
    
    Since everyone else has refrained from making some very obvious
    comments I will too

    It's a federal offense to threaten to kill the President even if you
    didn't really mean to say it.  You'd think that a threat against even a
    lowly college basketball coach would warrant more than a 1 game
    suspension!  A-10 leaders must have conferred with the Big-10 before
    issuing any statement.
    
    - Rope

RE                   <<< Note 77.537 by SALEM::STIG "Dogman" >>>

>    Couldn't there be criminal action takin from cheney threatening to kill
>    someone?? 
    
  In a trail that lasted 7 months, two separate juries failed to convict Lyle
and Erick Menendez for gunning down their parents with shotguns in cold blood.
They couldn't even convict them of manslaughter. Any prosecutor that tried to
convict a basketball coach for mouthing off would get laughed out of court. 

  Considering the typical behavior of college basketball coaches, one coach
complaining about officials and yelling at another would never be taken
seriously by the courts. 

  George 

     Does anyone have any numbers on Temple's graduation rates or
   just a bunch of "from what I hears"? The Palmer situation while
   sad has absolutely nothing to do with John Chaney. And while
   Chaney may envy Calipari his success don't forget that it was
   Chaney who drafted the blueprint that all the other A-10 coaches
   are following to quickly build A-1 programs. It was Chaney who went
   out and scheduled the toughest competition he could find instead of
   padding his record and schedule with creampuffs. And it was Chaney
   who managed to get quality players to see the A-10 as a viable option.
   When Calipari came to UMass he followed that example. Chaney may be 
   jealous of Calipari (but probably not) but Calipari owes Chaney a debt 
   of gratitude. John Chaney as much as anybody was instrumental in making
   the A-10 one of the best conferences in the country. So can the hearsay.
    

    
>   Does anyone have any numbers on Temple's graduation rates or
>   just a bunch of "from what I hears"?
    
    The latest reference to my comments comes from WFAN's Mike Francesa, who
    specifically cited the low graduation rates of the Temple basketball
    program (I say Temple basketball because I don't hold John Chaney
    solely or even primarily responisble for that).  While I don't
    have the hard numbers at the moment, I consider that to be a reliable 
    source.  The last overall numbers I *do* have are from a 1991 study 
    that Temple declined to respond to.
    
    The Palmer situation indeed has nothing to do with John Chaney, but it
    does have to do with Temple.  I bring it up because it speaks
    to the credibility of the Temple athletic department and its higher-ups,
    and statements such as that released the other day speaking to the 
    high character of John Chaney and the basketball program.  I take it 
    all with a huge grain of salt, and I don't think that's unreasonable.
    
    None of this says that athletics at Temple or John Chaney's performance
    is markedly different from that anywhere else, by anyone else.  I've
    always been consistently jaded about the importance assigned to college
    sports towards life (beyond the entertainment value).  I'm merely 
    disagreeing with that flowery language around Chaney's merits expressed 
    in a previous note, because I really don't believe that there's been 
    anything particularly special or exemplary about Chaney or Temple sports 
    over the years.
    
    glenn
    

    The Paul Palmer payments have absolutely nothing to do with Temple,
    either. Palmer took money from agents Norby Walters and Lloyd Bloom
    prior to his senior season. When the Temple athletic department found
    out he had taken the payments, the forfeited every game from that
    season and had any stats that Palmer compiled that season removed from
    their records. Palmer was one of about 50 players (from schools such as
    Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Notre Dame) that were part of the
    scandal. Chris Mortenson (sp) from TSN and ESPN wrote a book about the
    whole matter.
    
    Regarding Chaney's graduation rate, he also takes chances on alot of
    kids and does make a committment to them getting an education. He's had
    some that flunk out and several leave early for the NBA. If you want to
    take shots at Chaney for his actions Sunday, that's one thing, but to
    take shots at him as an educator is way off base. 
    
    Dennis Faust
    

    The University of Massachusetts has graduated 15 of the 18 student
    athletes that have been on the basketball team since John Calipari
    joined the school six years ago.  Two of the three who did not graduate
    are on track to receive degrees this spring.
    
    As for their remaining Atlantic 10 schedule, it's not an easy one.
    UMass has not played well (except for the URI game at home) for the
    past month.  Since their destruction of West Virginia in Morgantown on
    January 13, the Minutemen have struggled in almost every game.  I
    suppose it's to be expected when you play 3 freshman, 3 sophomores, 
    4 juniors and no seniors in your ten player rotation.  However, they
    need to step up their level of play, for their final stretch of games
    is not easy.  Here's what they have left after the Midnight Madness
    game with Manhattan on Friday:
    
    	Sunday 2/20	West Virginia
    	Tuesday 2/22	St. Joseph's
    	Thursday 2/24	AT Temple
    	Sunday 2/27	AT George Washington
    	Wednesday 3/2	Duquesne
    
    The West Virginia game is critical.  The Mountaineers will be out for
    revenge after the way UMass humiliated them at home last month.  A win
    vs UMass would certainly guarantee their entry into the NCAA
    tournament.  The Temple game may be impossible to win.  The GW game
    will be almost as tough.  GW coach Mike Jarvis is no fan of Calipari,
    and would love to knock him out of first place, especially after the
    heartbreaking one point loss he suffered in Amherst.  Duquesne and GW
    are both in the hunt for post-season berths and a defest of UMass would
    look very impressive to the selection committee.
    
    NAZZ

>    Regarding Chaney's graduation rate, he also takes chances on alot of
>    kids and does make a committment to them getting an education. He's had
>    some that flunk out and several leave early for the NBA. If you want to
>    take shots at Chaney for his actions Sunday, that's one thing, but to
>    take shots at him as an educator is way off base. 
    
    That's a matter of opinion, Dennis, that lies at the question of what
    the role of college athletics is.  I happen to believe that for the
    most part they are a money-making professional endeavor, including at 
    Temple, that have little to do with education.  Taking chances and
    consistently failing at a higher-than-average rate only serves to 
    deprive more deserving candidates of actually attaining a useful 
    degree, if we're indeed talking about education as the primary goal 
    (and not the business, which I'm also perfectly willing to accept in the 
    absence of the hypocrisy, with some standards in place).  And I 
    don't consider saying so to be "taking shots" at John Chaney; just 
    the truth. 
    
    FWIW, I know that Palmer was nailed for payments from Walters, and I 
    also believe that Temple's coaches had knowledge of what was going on 
    which is the reason they decided to forfeit all those games.  Your 
    account makes Temple sound almost completely blameless, which is not 
    what I remember.  I remember a scandal.  The kid went through, what, 
    3 or 4 years of college without being able to read?  Was this "taking 
    a chance"?
    
    glenn
    

  >> The University of Massachusetts has graduated 15 of the 18 student
  >> athletes that have been on the basketball team since John Calipari
  >> joined the school six years ago.  Two of the three who did not graduate
  >> are on track to receive degrees this spring.
    
     Nice to see some hard numbers and attendant explanation instead of
     'Joe Pickynose on WACK says it's low'. Whatever 'low' is. Is it 60%?
     2%? Is it low relative to Duke or relative to UNLV? And this stuff 
     about "deserving candidates" ignores what coaches like Chaney and 
     Thompson feel to be a large part of their mission which is to give 
     inner city, primarily black kids a shot at a first rate education. 
     If that means taking chances on kids that might not be willing or
     able to do what it takes to graduate then I can't fault him for
     that. Because 'deserving candidates' almost certainly does not include
     Prop 48 kids. Until now, I've never heard a single negative thing 
     about John Chaney. I knew he was volatile but I also knew/know him 
     as someone who is a well respected leader in the BCA. The man has
     had a great career as a coach and we never heard anything about him.
     Now, he goes overboard (yes, *way* overboard) and we have people
     impugning his program, his commitment to his kids and damn near
     everything he stands for. Tell Francesa to spit out some actual data 
     or shut up.

    

	Man I got to get back in here or ::SPROTS will sink into a terminal 
AlanAlda state.  I think you guys are making a big thing out of nothing 
with this Chaney incident.  I've seen much worse in my neighborhood after 
the Tankard and Elbow Lounge had last call.  Now he should't have done it, 
but a one game suspension is fair and just.  Personally I wouldn't be 
surprised if ESPN wrote the script for Chaney and Calipari to promote next 
Thursday's game on their station (just like 'rasslin).

				/Don

      re: .552
    
        The reason I think it'll be tough for them to go far because
        they play to the level of their competition is that this makes
        for a higher probability that the earlier games in the tourna-
        ment would be closer to 'coin flips' as far as who will win 
        instead of almost guaranteed victories.  A lot of teams, you 
        are real confident they'll make it through the first two rounds
        fairly handily and then maybe there will be close ones the rest
        of the way.
    
        With a team that plays to the level of competition, they have a
        much better chance of falling early.
    
                                                     Tony

    
 >> Gee, I guess I missed the part on all those college entrance exams that
 >> asked for verticle leap, shooting percentage, and assists/game.

    I'm sure that you have a point, Mac. I mean they say there's a first
    time for everything. But still, I haven't a clue of what you mean.
    

    How's this, Tommy:  Why should adeptness at basketball skills guarantee
    someone a free education?

    or whatever happened to academic scholarships?

    As far as I know, Mike, academic scholarships are still available.

    I realize that Mac.  for once I'd like to hear of an athlete going to
    college on an academic scholarship.  

>     If that means taking chances on kids that might not be willing or
>     able to do what it takes to graduate then I can't fault him for
>     that.
    
    Why wouldn't you fault a coach for taking on a kid not *willing* (as
    opposed to not able, the other part) to do what it takes to 
    graduate?  Isn't this sort of an absolute minimum assumption with a 
    student, that he'll at least try in the classroom?  I suppose you 
    mean me as one of those persons impugning Chaney's program, but if 
    this is part of the philosophy (and I'm not sure that it is), I call 
    it honest disagreement.  I would rather see the kid who is the lesser 
    ballplayer but who will give it the effort in the classroom get the 
    scholarship.  Maybe this is idealistic, but I do believe there is no 
    shortage of such disadvantaged kids willing to do so...
    
    FWIW, again without precise attribution but which I believe to be
    factual, I understand that Georgetown's basketball program has a very
    good graduation rate.  John Thompson and the Georgetown faculty put 
    major effort into this.  I have no problem with programs dependent on
    Prop-48 kids (I do think that Prop-48 or some better standard is needed
    to contain abuse and should be retained) if the honest effort is put in, 
    in both directions.  Perhaps my impressions of Temple are bogus.  Even 
    if they're not, this is still no larger condemnation of the BCA and its 
    viewpoint, because while I still believe college athletics to be generally
    exploitative and hypocritical with regard to education, that's certainly
    not because of the BCA (not when college sports are run by 90%+ white
    coaches and administrators). 
    
    glenn
    

>    How's this, Tommy:  Why should adeptness at basketball skills guarantee
>    someone a free education?
 
It's pretty simple.  Universities exist for two reasons.  One is to educate
people.  The other is to make money (for a variety of reasons).

One of the biggest ways that a university makes money is through it's
athletic programs.

Now, say you want your athletic program to make good money.  To do that you
usually have to win games.  To win games, you need good athletes.  So
you have to get them to come to your school.

Kind of like a business will give out free samples to get you to try
something, a University will give out scholarships -- ie, you play hoops
for us, you go to school for free, quid pro quo.


Now,  I supposed the idealistic view of it would be that the youth (or
yewt if your from Brooklyn) gets an education by parlaying his Gawd-Given
talent in hoops.  But realistically, the University is buying his services,
but instead of money, they give out classes.


Not necessarily nobel (or even inert) but it's the way it is.....


'Saw

    Cheney publickly apologized today in a prepared statement (from the
    ms/work-bench for college coaches - apology function box - icon 32)
    
    One point made by a fellow worker, non-avid fan.  Calipari knows just
    how to aggravate, I've known a few like that.
    
    re. scholarships for athletes.  The scholastic level of athletes will
    be maximum achievable while still filling those 80,000 seat stadiums
    and getting those tv $bucks.  Those schools that can afford it (like
    Yale) can improve their standards.  The Temples at their peril.

    I know that's the way it is, 'Saw.  But like glenn said, do they have
    to be so hypocritical about it?  Just admit you're the NBA's farm
    system and try to at least make sure the kid can read, write, and has a
    marketable skill by the time he leaves.

>    system and try to at least make sure the kid can read, write, and has a
>    marketable skill by the time he leaves.


The marketable skill they try to give him is basketball, and from the prices
it seems the market will bear these days, it's a high paying skill.....


Course, when you hit your mid-30s, you ain't so marketable any more....


'Saw

    Just got through listening to Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN talk about
    the Chaney apology.  Apparently, he said that his wife has moved out of
    the house after the incident and his daughter refuses to speak to him.
    Francesa read his statement on the air - took about a minute.  Then
    they had a radio guy from Philly on who was at the press conference and
    he said it took Chaney over five minutes to read the same statement. 
    He was really emotional about it.  He said he realized he went over the
    edge, and was truly sorry.  He apologized to Calipari, the fans of both
    schools, and everyone else he could think of.
    
    Despite the apology Mike and Chris both felt the suspension was way too
    light, and they blasted A-10 commissioner Ron Bertovich.  Among the
    things they called him were gutless, a coward, and a small time guy who
    makes his league a small time conference.  They said he is completely
    intimidated by Chaney and that's why the A-10 would never be a big time
    program.  
    
    Bottom line was both Chris and Mike feel that Chaney may have warranted a
    lighter suspension with his apology, but he should still sit out until
    after the UMass game.
    
    NAZZ

>    
>    Despite the apology Mike and Chris both felt the suspension was way too
>    light, and they blasted A-10 commissioner Ron Bertovich.  Among the
>    things they called him were gutless, a coward, and a small time guy who
>    makes his league a small time conference.  They said he is completely
>    intimidated by Chaney and that's why the A-10 would never be a big time
>    program.  
>    

You should've heard them light into Eli yesterday too, when he started
his regular bs.....

> You should've heard them light into Eli yesterday too, when he started
> his regular bs.....
    
    I didn't hear this, but to be fair, I was hearing some crap earlier 
    about what would have happened had this been Calapari tearing into 
    Chaney, and what the Black Coaches Association would have to say 
    about it, etc., that pre-supposed a lot of things in order to set up 
    a racially-based opposing strawman that wouldn't necessarily exist.  
    That's not fair...
    
    I have respect for Francesa, who I consider to be a knowledgeable guy, 
    but that other Mad Dog idiot was seriously challenging Chaney himself
    in the hysteria department.  Maybe he was looking for an A10
    suspension.  There definitely appeared to be some untold history
    involved with Bertovich.
    
    glenn
    

>    I didn't hear this, but to be fair, I was hearing some crap earlier 
>    about what would have happened had this been Calapari tearing into 
>    Chaney, and what the Black Coaches Association would have to say 
>    about it, etc., that pre-supposed a lot of things in order to set up 
>    a racially-based opposing strawman that wouldn't necessarily exist.  
>    That's not fair...

Well, Eli's whole point was that Chaney was just being picked on because
he was black.  Things got so intense that it was tough concentrating
on who was saying what (and trying to drive at the same time).   Eli,
who is more properly known as Eli from Westchester, has the rap of 
being a racist.  He's a regular caller and while lots of folks bash him,
sometimes he has good points.   I think he was a bit off yesterday though.

    
>    I have respect for Francesa, who I consider to be a knowledgeable guy, 
>    but that other Mad Dog idiot was seriously challenging Chaney himself
>    in the hysteria department.  Maybe he was looking for an A10
>    suspension.  There definitely appeared to be some untold history
>    involved with Bertovich.
    
Russo gets worked up but I've grown to enjoy him.  He's definitely a
character, and in some ways he reminds me of Jim Dinsmore.   But he's no
dope and he does a fairly good job.

As to what might have happened with Bertovich, I know that most of the
sports hosts have been calling for a 5 game suspension, so I don't know
any more than that.


I missed something, btw.... How much did Chany get?  Just the one game?

    >Well, Eli's whole point was that Chaney was just being picked on
    >because he was black
    

                                                            
    >Well, Eli's whole point was that Chaney was just being picked on
    >because he was black
    
    Well, I've heard this guy before, and I may be dead wrong about this,
    but I consider Eli to be about 95% an act, who predictably sets people
    off with the mere mention of his name.  I get the impression that 
    because he can create some controversy he's WFAN's most valuable caller
    in the evenings.  They sure as heck don't try to dissuade or downplay
    the guy; exactly the opposite.  It's usually "well, you know what Eli's 
    going to say about this" and of course he takes the bait.  I wouldn't
    be the slightest bit surprised to learn that he's on the payroll, or
    at least has been slid a few gratuities over the years...
    
    glenn
    

    Did Doc Midnight move to Westchester?

Eli is for real.  He played lineman on a team in the NFL, and he's
a bit like Doc.  Although he'd probably say Willis Reed > Russell, instead.

He stirs things up no doubt.


Did anyone catch Bernard McGirk pulling a fast one on Salsberg the other
afternoon?  It was hysterical....


'saw

                      
> Eli is for real.  He played lineman on a team in the NFL, and he's
> a bit like Doc.
    
    Doc is a leg-puller extraordinaire, though.  We BS'd for about three
    hours at that last get-together and while I couldn't remember many of 
    the specifics the next morning, he's really pretty conservative, maybe 
    even a Republican (don't tell him I said that).  ;-)  Other than that 
    Wilt business he's pretty straight...
    
    glenn