Sun Belt Conference 2003-04 Season Recap
If any coach had to guess which team would start off the season 0-5, none would have answered defending champion Western Kentucky. What the coaches did guess was that New Orleans would finish last in its division. By mid-December, the Hilltoppers had gone 0-5. And by March, the Privateers were second in their division and advanced to the conference finals. Basically, it was a goofy year in the Sun Belt.
The 2003-04 season must start with the Louisiana-Lafayette Cajuns. A team with tremendous depth, they represented the conference well with a tough showing during its non-conference schedule. Then they turned it up a notch during conference play, losing only once on its home floor and cruising to the regular season championship with a Sun Belt mark of 12-3.
There were plenty of other good stories to come out of the league. Arkansas Little-Rock won its first share of a conference title since the 1995-96 season, Monty Towe did a terrific job leading New Orleans to a surprise third-place finish and Middle Tennessee State’s backcourt duo wrecked havoc on guards throughout the league.
Of course on the down side, the Hilltoppes struggled all season and looked like a far cry from the team everyone has come to expect. Arkansas State did the least with the most talent, and Florida International lost its head coach and the majority of its games. In the end though, it was an exciting regular season.
Conference Tournament
The quarterfinals provided two thrillers and two blowouts. No. 7 Arkansas State was on the brink of upsetting No. 2 Arkansas Little-Rock, but Brandon Freeman’s three-pointer with three seconds remaining forced overtime, and the Trojans prevailed 83-78. New Orleans needed double overtime to knock off North Texas, 91-89. Also, No. 5 Middle Tennessee State shocked No. 4 Western Kentucky on its home floor, 76-62, while the top seed Cajuns cruised by 26 against South Alabama.
During the first semifinal game, Louisiana Lafayette watched its fourteen-point lead dwindle to one, before holding on to beat the Blue Raiders, 70-66. Freshman Bo McCalebb continued his late-season surge to lead the Privateers into the finals with an 80-65 win. But McCalebb could not get it done during the finals, scoring nine points and shooting 3-of-14 from the field. The Cajuns played well enough to win and clinched a berth in the big dance with a 67-58 win.
NCAA Tournament
Louisiana Lafayette – No. 14 seed in the Phoenix Region
Lost to No. 3 NC State, 61-52
The Cajuns battled the entire game, only trailing by double digits once, but in the end could not make enough shots to pull of the upset. They shot 25 percent during the first half, including only making 1-of-12 from deep during the first 20 minutes. Antoine Landry led the team with sixteen points.
Hardware (Hoopville’s Picks)
First Team All-Sun Belt:
Nigel Dixon, Western Kentucky
Dewarick Spencer, Arkansas State
Tommy Gunn, Middle Tennessee State
Shawnson Johnson, North Texas
J. J. Montgomery, Arkansas State
MVP – Dixon
Defensive Player of the Year – Johnson
Freshman of the Year – Bo McCalebb, New Orleans
Sixth Man of the Year – Dwayne Mitchell, Louisiana Lafayette
Coach of the Year – Monte Towe, New Orleans
Team by team
Louisiana Lafayette (20-9, 12-3)
The Cajuns started off the season with a tough non-conference schedule and almost scored victories at Xavier (78-74) and at Arizona (72-69). Once conference play started, Louisiana Lafayette took off, winning nine of its next ten. They won the regular season title by 2.5 games, then won the conference tournament and hung tough in its NCAA Tournament game before losing to No. 3 seed NC State, 61-52.
MVP – Brian Hamilton
Top scorer – Antoine Landry (13.3)
Top rebounder – Hamilton (6.9)
Top assists – Brad Boyd (3.7)
Starters leaving – Boyd (graduating), Landry (graduating), Laurie Bridges (graduating)
Head coach Jessie Evans left to take the head coaching job at San Francisco. Glynn Cyprien, who spent the last four seasons as assistant coach at Oklahoma State, was named the new head coach. On July 16th, Cyprien was dismissed for falsifying his resume. Former assistant Robert Lee has since been named the new head coach.
Next season – Sure, the Cajuns lose three integral parts of their championship team, but they eight players received more than eighteen minutes per game last season. Hamilton will star and the Louisiana Lafayette will be the early favorite to repeat.
Arkansas Little-Rock (17-12, 9-5)
At the end of January, the Trojans were 11-9 and coming off a heartbreaking-loss to intra-state rival Arkansas State. But February was much kinder, as Little-Rock went 5-2 and clinched the East Division title. Then during the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, they enacted revenge upon Arkansas State, as Brandon Freeman hit a three-pointer with three seconds left to force overtime, which the Trojans won. Their season ended during the semifinals to New Orleans.
MVP – Brandon Freeman
Top scorer – Freeman (13.5)
Top rebounder – Richard Hardman (6.3)
Top assists – Zack Grabar (4.1)
Starters leaving – Jamal Holden (graduating)
Next season – Look for the Trojans to give Louisiana Lafayette a better run for its money next season for the conference title. Four of its starters, along with super sixth man Darius Eason, return and Little-Rock will be a force to reckon with.
New Orleans (17-14, 9-6)
The Privateers were picked to finish last in the West Division by the Sun Belt head coaches during the preseason. Of course, none of the coaches had an idea what kind of freshman Bo McCalebb would be. He only got better as the season rolled along, eventually earning New Orleans a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. They marched into the finals before falling to Louisiana Lafayette.
MVP – Bo McCalebb
Top scorer – McCalebb (13.1)
Top rebounder – Victor Brown (6.1)
Top assists – Johnell Smith (3.0)
Starters leaving – Smith (graduating), Kentrell Martin (graduating), Kyle Buggs (graduating)
Next season – With McCalebb and Brown returning, the Privateers have an exciting inside-out duo. Head coach Monte Towe is a talented coach and even though he has less talent than many in the Sun Belt, his team will be near the top again next year.
Middle Tennessee State (17-12, 8-6)
The Blue Raiders rode their two stars – Tommy Gunn and Mike Dean – all season. The two guards led the Blue Raiders to the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. When Dean went down with a season-ending injury though, it appeared MTSU was done for its quarterfinal match against Western Kentucky on their home floor. But the Raiders played their most inspired game of the season, winning 76-62. They would fall in the semifinals to Louisiana Lafayette, 70-66.
MVP – Tommy Gunn
Top scorer – Mike Dean (16.2)
Top rebounder – Michael Cuffee (5.8)
Top assists – Bryan Smithson (3.9)
Starters leaving – Gunn (graduating)
Next season – Losing Gunn will be difficult, but the Blue Raiders have the horses to make up for the loss. They won four of their last five regular season games and finally gelled at the end. Look for them also to compete for the league title next year.
Western Kentucky (15-13, 8-6)
It was a disappointing season in Bowling Green, right from the get go. Thanks to a brutal non-conference schedule, the Hilltoppers started the season 0-5 and didn’t climb above .500 until the second week of February. Behind Nigel Dixon, WKU won seven of its final nine games to enter the conference tourney hot and as the dark horse, since they were the host school. But Middle Tennessee State stunned them in the quarterfinals to end their year.
MVP – Nigel Dixon
Top scorer – Dixon (15.9)
Top rebounder – Dixon (10.3)
Top assists – Antonio Haynes (4.2)
Starters leaving – Dixon (graduating), Mike Wells (graduating)
News – Three players, Nick Hill, Ryan Lambert and Kevin Massiah, all left the WKU program following the end of the season for personal reasons.
Next season – Even with the loss of Dixon and Wells, the team’s top two scores of a last year, the Hilltoppers return a lot of talent. Anthony Winchester and Haynes will assume role of team leaders.
North Texas (13-15, 8-7)
The Mean Green was one of only three teams to defeat conference champions Louisiana Lafayette. The defeated Arkansas Little-Rock and New Orleans on the road. But they also were swept by New Mexico State and lost to South Alabama. The inconsistent season landed them in the middle of the conference standings. During the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament, they lost a classic, double-overtime thriller to New Orleans, 91-89.
MVP – Shawnson Johnson
Top scorer – Leonard Hopkins (14.0)
Top rebounder – Johnson (8.4)
Top assists – Jerome Rogers (2.5)
Starters leaving – Johnson (graduating), Rogers (graduating), Michael DeGrate (graduating), Will Smith (graduating)
Next season – This is Hopkins’ team now. A junior last year, Hopkins will be the team’s go-to player and team leader. Expect the Mean Green to take a mean drop in the conference standings next year.
Arkansas State (17-11, 7-7)
When you have the top two scores and the second-best rebound in the conference, common sense would say you’re one of the best teams in the conference. That was not the case with Arkansas State. The Indians lost five straight games in January and never clicked as a team. Dewarick Spencer and J.J. Montgomery finished 1-2 in the league in scoring.
MVP – Dewarick Spencer
Top scorer – Spencer (19.0)
Top rebounder – Kim Adams (9.8)
Top assists – Spencer (2.6)
Starters leaving – Adams (graduating), Antonio Rambo (graduating)
Next season – Talent is not the question here, the Indians are loaded with it. The question is, can they play as a team? Spencer and J.J. Montgomery (17.9 points per game) are great scorers, but they need to share better in order for ASU to improve next year.
Denver (14-13, 6-9)
As late as January, the Pioneers were listed in ESPN’s Mid-Major Top 10. The season went downhill shortly after that, as Denver closed out the year losing six of its last seven games. Needing a win to clinch a spot in the conference tournament in their final regular season game, the Pioneers lost 74-73 in double overtime to New Orleans.
MVP – Rodney Billups
Top scorer – Erik Benzel (14.4)
Top rebounder – Brett Starkey (7.1)
Top assists – Billups (4.9)
Starters leaving – Starkey (graduating), Zeljko Zupic (graduating), Carvell McAlister (graduating)
Next season – The Pioneers started hot last year but faded during conference play. They lose three key contributors, but have a strong bench coming back. How the team starts during conference play will determine the course of its season.
New Mexico State (13-14, 6-9)
The Aggies started the year off great, going 4-0 and whipping intra-state rival New Mexico by nineteen. But transfer Duane John had less of an impact that was expected and NMSU struggled during conference play. They hosted Arkansas Little-Rock and Arkansas State during the final week of the regular season needing one win to reach the conference tourney. The win never came.
MVP – James Moore
Top scorer – Moore (15.4)
Top rebounder – Moore (6.6)
Top assists – Kelsey Crooks (2.8)
Starters leaving – Moore (graduating), Crooks (graduating), James Felder (graduating)
Next season – The Aggies never found a working combination last year and it showed. Transfer Duane John showed glimpses of stardom last year, next year he will need to step up if NMSU make some noise in the conference.
South Alabama (12-16, 6-9)
One team beat Louisiana Lafayette on its home court last season: South Alabama. The Jaguars’ slow, deliberate style allowed them to compete in almost every game last year and even pull the occasional upset. South Alabama even overcame a seven-game losing streak to win its last three and sneak into the Sun Belt tournament as the No. 8 seed. The Cajuns awaited them and got their revenge, winning by 26 to end the Jags season.
MVP – Chris Young
Top scorer – Young (12.8)
Top rebounder – Henry Williams (5.8)
Top assists – Shane Spencer (2.8)
Starters leaving – Young (graduating), Williams (graduating), Malerick Bedden (graduating)
Next season – The Jaguars were very similar to the Aggies as they used many starting lineup combinations. Their slow, deliberate style kept them competitive in nearly every game last year and expect similar results next year.
Florida International (5-22, 1-13)
Talk about a year to forget for the Golden Panthers. If not for its 63-58 win against New Orleans, Feb. 21, and Florida International would have been shutout in conference play. From Nov. 9 to Feb. 12, the Panthers won one game, losing fifteen of sixteen in the process. That says it all.
MVP – Carlos Morban
Top scorer – Morban (12.0)
Top rebounder – Byron Burnett (4.9)
Top assists – Morban (2.6)
Starters leaving – none
News – Donnie Marsh was fired as head coach and former Texas-El Paso head coach Sergio Rouco was named the new coach.
Next season – Well it can only get better for the Golden Panthers. Nearly the entire team returns and Rouco proved he was a solid coach at El-Paso, but expectations are low for next season.
Look ahead to 2004-05
After several years of dominance, the Hilltoppers came back to earth with the rest of the Sun Belt. So will they catapult back to the top next year? Don’t count on it. A lot of last year’s talent is coming back, making the league more competitive than ever. The early leaders at the title are the top two teams from a year ago: Louisiana Lafayette and Arkansas Little-Rock. The dark horses: Middle Tennessee State and Arkansas State. In the end, expect the Trojans of Little-Rock to take home the title.
