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Bailey's
Take on Conference USA
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 C-USA
Hoops Preview
By Brian Bailey
Sports Anchor of WNCT-TV 9 |
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Bearcats, Memphis Geared for Success
©2001 Bonesville.net
American Division
1. Cincinnati
— The Bearcats are the preseason pick in the American Division.
Cincinnati is competing in its 101st season of college
basketball this year. In one hundred years of hoops, the Bearcats have a
record of 1,401 wins against 824 losses, good for a winning percentage of
.630.
Bob Huggins enters
this season as the ninth winningest coach in the nation. That 'other'
Steve Logan, the Bearcats' gifted senior guard, is the preseason Player of
the Year for Conference USA. Logan enters this season with
1,215 career points.
If the Bearcats play
better down low this season, they should roll to the American Division
title.
Dates to Remember:
January 5th Cincinnati at East Carolina, January 29th
East Carolina at Cincinnati.
2. Charlotte —
The 49’ers should battle for an NCAA berth led by Coach Bobby Lutz, who
holds a 9-1 record in the Conference USA tournament in three seasons,
including two tournament titles.
Charlotte finishes
strong, and is one of only 15 schools that have advanced to the second
round of the NCAAs in four the last five years.
Jobey Thomas is the
all-time leader in three pointers in Conference USA history with 236.
Charlotte was second only to Duke last year with a school and league
record 305 three pointers made.
Dates to Remember:
January 12th Charlotte at East Carolina, January 26th
East Carolina at Charlotte.
3. Marquette —
will challenge for an NCAA berth this season. The Golden Eagles return
five of its top six scorers along with the top four rebounders from last
season. Marquette led the league in free throw shooting last season.
Senior guard Cordell
Henry returns after ranking second on the team in scoring last season.
Head Coach Tom Crean worked with the USA Basketball team trials back in
June.
Dates To Remember:
February 6th East Carolina at Marquette, February 26th
Marquette at East Carolina.
4. Louisville —
picked 4th in the preseason poll, but I think they’ll battle
Cincinnati and Charlotte for the division title. Rick Pitino is the man in
the 14-carat gold tie, and he brings a championship attitude to the
Cardinals.
Pitino has a record of
26-7 in NCAA tournament play. He has coached in four Final Fours, and he
is one of only 11 coaches to lead two different teams to the Final Four.
Louisville’s
recruiting class was ranked in the top 10 by several national
publications.
Dates To Remember:
January 16th Louisville at East Carolina, February 19th
East Carolina at Louisville.
5. Saint Louis
— The Billikens are one of the league’s youngest teams, playing their
first season in 70 years without a senior on the roster. Marque Perry is
the lone returning player to average in double figures last season,
scoring 10.1 points per game.
St. Louis has ranked
among the nation’s Top 25 in average attendance among Division I programs
for the past seven years and ranked as high as sixth in 1997-98.
Dates To Remember:
January 19th East Carolina at Saint Louis, February 2nd
St. Louis at East Carolina.
5. DePaul —
Tied with St. Louis for fifth in the preseason balloting. Former Florida State coach Pat Kennedy
is a master at recruiting, and he needs to be in this division.
Imari Sawyer makes the
Blue Demons tick. He’s one of the most dazzling players in the league and
had 179 assists last season. However, he also had 126 turnovers last year.
DePaul was just 12-18
last year, 4-12 in Conference USA.
Dates To Remember:
January 23rd DePaul at East Carolina, February 9th
East Carolina at DePaul.
7. East Carolina
— The Pirates expect a very difficult year in Conference USA, especially
in this division. The Pirates will face teams with better athletes almost
on a nightly basis.
Pirate Coach Bill
Herrion can’t wait to get Gabriel Mikulas and Moussa Badiane, who are
still waiting to hear from the NCAA about their eligibility.
Erroyl Bing has been
awesome in the early going, and will only get better with a little more
help down low.
National Division
1. Memphis —
John Calipari and the Tigers are the pick to win the National Division
title.
Dajuan Wagner, who
once scored 100 points in a high school game, is the Tiger’s top recruit.
Eight returning letterman and Wagner, along with several other top
recruits, make this a deep, talented team.
Among the new Tigers
are 6’8” forward Chris Massie, a Top 25 junior college transfer, and Top
100 prep recruit Anthony Rice.
Kelly Wise is the best
returning player. He was the only player in the league to average a
double-double, (15.3ppg and 10.1 rpg).
Memphis and East
Carolina are not scheduled to play in the regular season.
2. South Florida
— Altron Jackson and B.B. Waldon should finish this season as the top
two all-time scorers in Conference USA history. Unfortunately, these two
have only had one post-season appearance in their careers. That should
change this season, after the Bulls brought in a Top 50 recruiting class.
South Florida at East
Carolina are not scheduled to play in the regular season.
3. UAB — The
Blazers could cause some problems in the National Division. Only
Cincinnati and Charlotte have more total wins over the last five years.
The Blazer’s
recruiting class was ranked 33rd by one national publication,
plus, the team returns two players who were injured all of last year.
Myron Ransom and Morris Finley both return for the 2001-2002 season. Tony
Johnson also returns, after missing the last eight games of last season
with an injury.
Date To Remember:
January 8th East Carolina at UAB.
4. Southern Miss
— Last year’s Coach of the Year, James Green, returns a very athletic
team that tied for the Conference USA title last year. That run allowed
the Golden Eagles to gain an edge in recruiting.
The team’s top scorer
and top rebounder are gone, but big junior college transfers Ben Lambert
and Carey Rigsby should carry the load down low.
Reed Green Coliseum is
another of the toughest places to play in Conference USA, and a return
trip to the post season is a very real possibility for Southern Miss.
East Carolina and
Southern Miss are not scheduled to play in the regular season.
5. Texas Christian
— Billy Tubbs has already announced that this will be his last season with
the Horned Frogs.
The nucleus of this
team is no mystery — it’s guard Nucleus Smith.
Last year the Frogs
led the nation in scoring at just over 96 points per game. Graduation took
its toll on TCU, but Bingo Merriex averaged over 21 points per game over
the last seven games last season.
Date To Remember:
March 2nd East Carolina at TCU.
6. Houston —
Four starters return from a team that went 9-20 and 6-10 in Conference USA
last year. Big Alton Ford is the lone defector, opting for the NBA after
his freshman season.
The Cougars under Ray
McCallum were still an improvement over the days with Clyde Drexler at the
helm. They shouldn’t compete for the title, but hope to show continued
improvement this season.
Date To Remember:
February 23rd Houston at East Carolina.
7. Tulane — The
Green Wave was very green in running off a 2-14 record in Conference USA.
Shawn Finney will go
about year two of his rebuilding program in much the same way he went
about things in year one. The Wave will look to run, and will look to jack
up the three point shot.
The worst part about
Tulane is that they are not on the Pirate schedule this season. Tulane is
among the teams that the Pirates should be able to handle in the league.
East Carolina and
Tulane are not scheduled to play in the regular season.
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Brian Bailey.
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02/23/2007 01:19:55 AM
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