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Date Posted: 14:58:43 10/29/04 Fri
Author: J.J.
Subject: MBB Blue Ribbion Preview - CCSU

To get you excited about the upcoming season here is a good analysis posted on ESPN.com.

COACH AND PROGRAM

Riding a five-game losing streak and coming off a 17-point loss to Monmouth the night before, Howie Dickenman needed to do something to wake his team up.
So the CCSU head coach arranged for a 6 o'clock practice at the Hawks' gym -- and he didn't mean 6 p.m. either.

On a chilly winter morning on the first day of February, the Blue Devils broke a good sweat before leaving for Mount St. Mary's campus.

"It was an orange juice special," Dickenman said. "It was a little wake-up call."

It turned out to be quite a wake up.

CCSU beat the Mount in triple overtime and went 8-2 the rest of the regular season to earn a spot in the NEC Tournament. Once the seventh-seeded Blue Devils were in, they kept on rolling, knocking off No. 2 St. Francis (NY) and No. 3 Fairleigh Dickinson before losing in the final to Monmouth.

CCSU accomplished this with only one senior -- Ron Robinson (18 ppg, 9.7 rpg). The 6-7 forward made sure the Blue Devils extended their conference tournament streak to six straight seasons and earned the NEC's Player-of-the-Year honor for his efforts.

Now CCSU has four starters back from that team and a host of talented newcomers, but the one thing missing is a leader.

"Ron did what was best for the team," said Dickenman, who also loses guard T. Ron Christy (transferred to Teikyo Post).

With a 15-man roster, just about everything is up for grabs at CCSU this season.

"You know what they say about competition bringing out the best in you," Dickenman said.


PLAYERS

Two starters return in the backcourt in 6-1 junior Justin Chiera (10.2 ppg) and 6-0 junior Lenny Jefferson (6.7 ppg, 2.6 apg).
Chiera led the team in 3-pointers last season with 66 and ranked third in the NEC in 3-pointers made per game (2.54).

"He's our best 3-point shooter and he has a good work ethic," Dickenman said.

Jefferson came into camp last year out of shape, but still managed almost 25 minutes per game during the season. The point guard arrived at campus in better condition this year and hungry for more playing time.

Three sophomores are in the hunt for minutes, including former walk-on Javier Mojica (7.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg), who played so well his first year he earned a scholarship.

After not scoring a point in November and December, Mojica averaged 11.4 points the second half and became a key player off the bench. He shot 80 percent from the free-throw line (28-for-35) and made 20 3-pointers.

"He's a guy nobody wanted and he came in last August and tried out with us," Dickenman said. "His work ethic is unparalleled. He plays like he wants to prove something to (teams that passed him over)."

The other second-year players are 6-3 walk-on Zach Niland, from Dickenman's hometown of Norwich, Conn., and 6-2 DeMario Anderson (7.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg).

Anderson struggled early in the season adjusting to the college game, but settled in when CCSU went on its run. He sank 13 of his final 24 3-point shots and shot 38.3 percent from long range.

"He had freshman-itis," Dickenman said. "I had to encourage him to shoot the ball more and not pass it."

The Blue Devils brought in a pretty good passer in 6-0 freshman Tristan Blackwood, who played on the Canadian Junior National team and was chosen to the all-tournament team at the World Youth Championships last year. The Toronto native takes pride in his defense and is a solid 3-point shooter.

CCSU's frontcourt is crowded, led by returning starters Rich Pittman (10.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg), a 6-6 senior, and 6-4 sophomore Obie Nwadike (7.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg).

Pittman, the only Devil with an NEC Championship ring, is the early favorite to replace Robinson inside. He started 20 games last season and shot a team-high 59.5 percent from the field. Pittman also raised his game in the tournament and averaged double-doubles in points and rebounds.

"He just a good, solid player for us," Dickenman said. "He has a lot of experience, but he will be pushed by the other kids."

Nwadike was an NEC all-rookie team selection and led the league in offensive rebounds with 95. Despite being undersized, Nwadike is a smart player who has a linebacker's tenacity on the court. He worked hard in the offseason to improve his jump shot but still needs to hone his foul shooting skills.

"He knows what he can and can't do on the court," Dickenman said.

Another sophomore looking to build on last season is 6-7 shot blocker Jemino Sobers (2.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 12 blocks). Sobers' season came to an early end because of stress fractures in his legs, but Dickenman hopes to have him fully healthy this season.

"He took this summer off [to heal], but he's someone that needed to get some experience," Dickenman said.

CCSU added five new players to the mix, including two giants in 6-11 Ingo Beaudet and 7-3 Jermaine Middleton, who will both be projects for Dickenman.

Beaudet (6.0 ppg) is a former tennis standout who has played only one year of junior college basketball, which was last season at Santa Rosa (Calif.) Community College. Despite limited experience, he's agile on the floor, sets screens and passes well.

"I love his attitude -- he wants to be a player," Dickenman said. "He's totally unselfish and has worked hard to catch up [at playing basketball]."

Middleton is also inexperienced. After rarely playing in high school at Crenshaw (Calif.), Middleton went to South Kent in Connecticut last year. He's the second tallest player in NEC history next to former Marist star Rik Smits (7-4).

"He has a ways to go, but I like Jermaine's attitude," Dickenman said. "We are excited about both players. Maybe with time they will develop into good interior players."

Junior Andre Brooks, a 6-6 junior from Hagerstown (Md.) Community College, brings some experience to CCSU after averaging 11.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks last season.

"He's an inside-outside guy," Dickenman said. "He's a wiry type who's a slasher and scorer."

Freshman Jason Hickenbottom (11.5 ppg, 8 rpg), at 6-4, helped lead Simon Fratz (Philadelphia) to a No. 14 ranking in the final USA Today poll last season. He was a second-team Philadelphia Daily News all-public team selection and graduated 14th in his class out of 350 seniors.

"He's an inside-outside banger who plays hard," Dickenman said.


BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

BACKCOURT: C+
FRONTCOURT: B+
BENCH/DEPTH: C+
INTANGIBLES: A
Just when you are ready to write off the Blue Devils after a six-year run, back they come with a loaded recruiting class to mix with five sophomores, two juniors and one senior.

CCSU has been to the league finals four times in six seasons and it appears it will be back again if this year's class can mesh with the current cast.

There's plenty of competition at all of the positions, so nobody can be too comfortable with their spot on this team.

Blackwood has experience in big games and could be a huge asset if he can come in and handle the point. Beaudet and Middleton are interesting projects who might be a year or two away from realizing their potential.

You can never count CCSU out with Dickenman around, and the Blue Devils should be right in the thick of things this year. The one drawback going into the season is that there is no proven team leader, but there are a lot of hard workers on this team who could lead by example.

For the most comprehensive previews on all 326 Division I teams, order the 384-page "Bible" of college basketball, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, at www.blueribbonyearbook.com.

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[> SportsLine.com - NEC preview -- J.J., 12:11:28 11/02/04 Tue

A very brief and generally poor preview of the NEC by SportsLine.com Senior Writer Gregg Doyel.

1. Monmouth
2. Fairleigh Dickinson
3. St. Francis (Pa.)
4. Robert Morris
5. St. Francis (N.Y.)
6. Mount St. Mary's
7. Central Connecticut
8. Wagner
9. Sacred Heart
10. Quinnipiac
11. Long Island

First team
F -- Chaz McCrommon, Robert Morris
F -- Gordon Klaiber, FDU
C -- Jason Osborne, St. Francis (Pa.)
G -- Darshan Luckey, St. Francis (Pa.)
G -- Landy Thompson, Mount St. Mary's

Second team
F -- Blake Hamilton, Monmouth
C -- C.J. Vick, Quinnipiac
G -- Dwayne Byfield, Monmouth
G -- Maurice Carter, Robert Morris
G -- Rob Monroe, Quinnipiac

Player of the year
Darshan Luckey, St. Francis (Pa.)

Newcomer of the year
Garret Farha, St. Francis (Pa.)

Breakthrough player
Obie Nwadike, Central Connecticut

----

College basketball will lose a legend after this season, when Long Island University moves into a $40 million facility that is expected to be ready for 2005-06.

That's good news for the Blackbirds but bad news for anyone who won't get the chance to attend a Northeast Conference game at the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Center, a 1,000-seat gym that wasn't suitable for Division I basketball but was a gem nonetheless.

Back in the day, the gym wasn't a gym but a theater -- the Brooklyn Paramount Theater, a place where the likes of Mae West, Bing Crosby and Little Richard performed. A place where New York DJ Alan Freed helped turn the country on to rock 'n' roll. A place where the Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ played.

In 1962 the theater closed down and was reconfigured to accommodate LIU athletics. The gym got back into showbiz in the 1980s when Nike filmed a commercial that had Michael Jordan dunking and Spike Lee squawking, "It's gotta be the shoes!"

It's gotta be the gym of all gyms. Go see it before it's gone.

1. Monmouth
Top three: G Dwayne Byfield, F Blake Hamilton, G Chris Kenny.

On the rise: The only thing between Monmouth and another NEC title is the health of Hamilton and Byfield. Hamilton is a potential league player of the year if the foot he broke this summer doesn't slow him down too much. Byfield was slowed last season by a knee injury.


2. Fairleigh Dickinson
Top three: F Gordon Klaiber, G Chad Timberlake, G Tamien Trent.

On the rise: The Knights have wonderful perimeter talent in Klaiber, Timberlake and Trent, though the team will have a new face -- most likely attached to freshman Bernell Murray's body -- at point guard. Get solid play there, and get active on the boards, and FDU is a serious threat to Monmouth.



3. St. Francis (Pa.)
Top three: G Darshan Luckey, C Jason Osborne, G Garrett Farha.

On the rise: If you know anything about NEC basketball, you already know about Luckey and Osborne, but get ready to meet Farha, a junior-college transfer who was among the country's leaders last season in assists. If he can smoothly make the transition to Division I, the Red Flash could hurtle toward the top of the league.


4. Robert Morris
Top three: F Chaz McCrommon, G Maurice Carter, F Mark Anderson.

On the rise: The Colonials have to replace two starters in the paint, but McCrommon was the team's best inside player a year ago and probably can be counted on for more than his 5.3 rebounds as a junior.


5. St. Francis (N.Y.)
Top three: G Tory Cavalieri, F Devon Neckles, G Tristan Smith.

On the decline: Smith is a St. John's transfer who was out of his element in the Big East but could become a star in the Northeast Conference. The Terriers already have a solid point guard in Cavalieri. Adding Smith gives St. Francis the best pair of ball-handlers in the league. Too bad Smith wasn't eligible last season, when the overall talent was much higher.


6. Mount St. Mary's
Top three: G Landy Thompson, F Kiel Butler, G Mychal Kearse.

On the rise: The light bulb clicked on late last season for the Mountaineers under new coach Milan Brown. It'll burn bright this season if Brown can find someone inside to balance the perimeter play of Thompson and Kearse.


7. Central Connecticut State
Top three: F Obie Nwadike, F Rich Pittman, G Justin Chiera.

On the rise: Yeah, this is a long drop for the Blue Devils -- maybe too long, if one of the team's two huge newcomers (7-foot-3 Jermaine Middleton or 6-10 Ingo Beaudet) can provide the interior offense and defense that left with the graduation of NEC player of the year Ron Robinson.


8. Wagner
Top three: F Sean Munson, G Jamal Webb, F Durell Vinson.

On the decline: Last season was tough, but this season could be tougher for former Marquette coach Mike Deane, whose program lost its top three scorers. A celebrated freshman class is on hand, so don't heap the dirt on Wagner just yet.


9. Sacred Heart
Top three:F Kibwe Trim, F Joey Henley, G Jarrid Frye.

On the decline: The Pioneers are starting over after losing their top three guards from a year ago, including NEC scoring leader Maurice Bailey.


10. Quinnipiac
Top three: C C.J. Vick, G Rob Monroe, G Craig Benson.

On the decline: Vick and Monroe are a nice inside-outside combination, but the defensive issues that crushed the Bobcats last season might be worse this year without athletic Rashaun Banjo and Kason Mims around any more.


11. Long Island
Top three: G James Williams, F Esa Maki-Tulokas, F Derek Bell.

On the decline: With only one senior (Bell), the Blackbirds are a year away from getting out of the NEC basement. Williams and Maki-Tulokas headline a quality group of young players who need more time -- and more support -- to begin making headway.


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[> [> NEC preview - Central Connecticut State -- J.J., 12:09:19 11/03/04 Wed

A great write-up that provides lots of hope for a strong run at the NEC title!
---
The renaissance of Central Connecticut State basketball since 1998 can be traced the development of cornerstone players such as Rick Mickens, Corsley Edwards and most recently, Ron Robinson, the 2003-04 NEC Player of the Year who finished his career as the league’s all-time leading rebounder and an Honorable Mention All-American. Over the last six years, the Blue Devils captured league titles in 2000 and 2002, reached the NEC Tournament championship game a year ago and averaged 19 wins per season. With Robinson’s graduation, however, ninth year head coach Howie Dickenman will enter the 2004-05 campaign without a true go-to scorer for the first time in recent memory and has just one player on the roster - senior forward Rich Pittman - who wears an NEC championship ring. With that said, enough talent still remains to give the Blue Devil faithful realistic dreams of returning to the NCAA Tournament as Dickenman has clearly assembled a team in his own image. Tough and athletic, CCSU will surely display the program’s trademark blue-collar work ethic, especially on the defensive end of the floor and on the glass, where the Blue Devils have led the league in rebound margin in four of the last five years. Pittman, along with sophomore Obie Nwadike, are the returning starters in the frontcourt. One of the underrated players in the conference, the 6-6 Pittman is a career 59 percent shooter from the field and the favorite to fill Robinson’s void in the low post this season. In his junior year, he raised his scoring average to 10.3 ppg and snared 5.6 rpg. Nwadike did not overwhelm opponents with his stature (he measures just 6-4), but had a linebacker’s ferocity on the boards in his first year of intercollegiate competition. He led the conference in offensive rebounding, ranked seventh overall with 6.6 caroms per game and contributed 7.5 ppg. One of the strongest players on the team, 6-7 sophomore Jemino Sobers was brought along slowly last season, but showed flashes of potential and figures to earn a spot in the rotation. Dickenman will likely continue to mix and match in the backcourt with a number of capable returnees. Junior shooting guard Justin Chiera (10.2 ppg) has one of the best strokes on the circuit as evidenced by his 66 three-pointers (third in the NEC). Classmate Lenny Jefferson took over at the point last season and emerged as a solid playmaker (74 assists, just 45 turnovers) and shooter (team-best 40.5 percent from three-point range), as well as a capable defender on the perimeter. Sophomore DeMario Anderson (7.9 ppg) is a potentially prolific scoring two-guard whose game kept improving as the season wore on in 2003-04. Anderson closed out his freshman year by hitting 13 of his last 24 shots (54.2 percent) from long distance and finished with 31 trifectas, third on the club. The biggest surprise of last season was the stratospheric rise of walk-on guard Javier Mojica, who went from rarely used reserve to key starter in the span of two months. Mojica, who earned a scholarship over the summer, averaged 4.0 ppg from November through January, but raised that figure to 11.8 ppg in February and March and was a vital cog in the Blue Devils’ run to the NEC title game. Dickenman’s incoming class includes two of the more intriguing recruits in recent NEC memory (Jermaine Middleton & Ingo Beaudet), one of Canada’s top young point guards (Tristan Blackwood) and a member of a national high school power (Jason Hickenbottom). At 7-3, Middleton will become the second tallest player in NEC history behind Rik Smits (7-4), who was a two-time NEC Player of the Year at Marist in the mid-1980’s. A second skyscraper at 6-11, Beaudet has only played one year of organized ball (last season at Santa Rosa CC) and was a late addition to the class in July. Armed with a reputation as a lockdown defender, Blackwood has played with the Canadian Junior National Team the last two years and was named to the all-Tournament team at the World Youth Championships (Global Games) between his junior and senior seasons. Hickenbottom, a 6-4 forward, competed at Philadelphia’s Simon Gratz, which finished 25-3 and ranked 14th in the final USA Today poll.

CCSU By The Numbers

Quick Facts
2003-04 Overall Record: 14-14
2003-04 NEC Record/Finish: 9-9/7th
NEC Tournament Finish: Lost in Title Game
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/3
2003-04 Final RPI: 210
Games Decided By 5 or Less: 4-7

NEC Record
Last Two Years: 21-15 (.583)
Last Three Years 40-16 (.714)
Last Four Years: 51-25 (.671)
Last Five Years: 66-28 (.702)

Overall Record
Last Two Years: 29-27 (.518)
Last Three Years 56-32 (.636)
Last Four Years: 70-46 (.603)
Last Five Years: 95-52 (.646)

Leading Returning Scorers
Rich Pittman: 10.3 ppg
Justin Chiera: 10.2 ppg
Javier Mojica: 7.9 ppg

Leading Returning Rebounders
Obie Nwadike: 6.6 rpg
Rich Pittman: 5.6 rpg
Javier Mojica: 2.9 rpg

Leading Returning Assists
Lenny Jefferson: 2.6 apg
Justin Chiera: 2.4 apg
Obie Nwadike: 2.2 apg


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