Atlantic Sun Conference Notebook
by Darren Lowry
UCF dominates early
The Atlantic Sun Conference got some national exposure in the early part of the 2004-2005 season with a number of their teams playing in national tournaments and against some big-name teams, but for the most part, they have been less than impressive against the major programs they’ve faced.
The major exception has been UCF, which scored road upset wins against Utah State and New Mexico State to take the BP Top of the World Classic. The Knights look serious about defending their A-Sun title in the early going.
Overall, The A-Sun has gone a combined 0-4 against ranked squads early on this season, with no club coming closer than 18 points of an upset win in the four games.
Conference play will officially kick off with four games on Dec. 2, with four more scheduled two days after that.
UCF
The defending A-Sun champion Knights (4-0 overall) looked incredibly strong in the early going, sweeping all four of their games, including two big road upsets against Utah State and New Mexico State on back-to-back nights.
UCF began by defeating host Alaska-Fairbanks 74-63 on Nov. 18, and proceeded to shock Utah State 55-52 on Nov. 20 and New Mexico State 62-58 the next night to win the BP Top of the World Classic. The team then destroyed Puerto Rico-Mayaquez 97-52 on Nov. 24.
Guard Gary Johnson was named the MVP of the tournament and joined teammate Anthony Williams on the All-Tournament team.
UCF will begin the defense of their title on Dec. 2 when they host Gardner-Webb before they entertain UMKC on Dec. 4.
Gardner-Webb
The Bulldogs (2-1 overall) began their season with a home win over North Greenville 85-61 on Nov. 20 before scoring a convincing 90-60 victory at home against East Carolina on Nov. 23, and falling at Arkansas 79-63 on Nov. 27.
Despite improving since last year, Gardner-Webb was not expected to blow out East Carolina by 30 points. However, strong defense combined with timely shooting made for a major win. The Arkansas game was much closer than it looked, as the Bulldogs only trailed the Razorbacks by three at the half. However, Arkansas pulled away in the second half, outscoring Gardner-Webb by 13 to put the game out of reach.
Forward Brian Bender has been the best player for the team so far, averaging 17 points and five rebounds per game for the team.
Gardner-Webb has also relied on solid contributions from guard Tim Jennings and forward Michael Jones thus far this season.
If the Bulldogs continue to play solid like they did in their first three games, the team could quite possibly surprise a few people this season.
Gardner-Webb will begin A-Sun play on Dec. 2 at UCF before traveling to face Florida Atlantic on Dec. 4.
Jacksonville
The Dolphins (2-1 overall) opened the season by falling to local ranked rival Florida 81-59 in Gainesville on Nov. 19, then eked out a surprisingly close win in the home opener against North Florida 78-73 on Nov. 23, and another close win at Savannah State 73-67 on Nov. 27.
However, injuries have already hit the Dolphins hard, as preseason All-Conference forward Haminn Quaintance missed the Savannah State game with an injury, and back-up forward Bryan Hipsher was lost for the year to a knee injury of his own. It is unknown how many games Quaintance will miss.
Those injuries forced other players on the team to play a more central role in the team’s offense recently. JuCo transfer starters Antonio Cool and B.J. Surry have combined to average nearly 30 points a game this season In fact, the team as a whole is shooting remarkably well, with the team’s top five scorers all shooting at least 50 percent from the floor this season.
While Jacksonville is clearly a very improved team this year, the Dolphins cannot afford to lose Quaintance for an extended stretch. Their success is largely going to be determined by his performance.
The Dolphins’ next four games are at home, including contests against Eckerd on Nov. 29, and A-Sun match-ups with Georgia State on Dec. 2 and Mercer on Dec. 4.
Lipscomb
The Bison (2-1 overall) are certainly one of the pleasant surprises of the A-Sun this season. In their season opener on Nov. 21, the team put a legitimate scare into host Minnesota, leading the game in the first half by as much as seven points before ultimately falling 83-66. The Bison then ran all over Savannah State 83-64 on Nov. 23 and Fisk University 86-62 on Nov. 27.
The team relied on the strong play of their two young guards, James Poindexter and Brian Fisk, to carry the offense. The two are averaging more than 27 points a game between them.
The bigger news may be the emergence of forward Cameron Robinson. With Lipscomb’s depth dangerously weak in the post, the Bison needed somebody to step up there, and Robinson has, averaging more than 13 points and almost 11 rebounds a game. Lipscomb’s future this season may look a whole lot brighter if he is able to continue that kind of play against other teams.
While the team has looked good so far, it’s difficult to say how Lipscomb will do against teams that are more on their level.
Lipscomb will begin A-Sun play on Dec. 4 at Troy State, then will travel to play Savannah State again on Dec. 6 before hosting Nicholls State on Dec. 11.
Mercer
After witnessing the performance in the first two games, the Bears (1-1 overall) may have thought forward Will Emerson had switched bodies with his recently-graduated All-Conference brother Scott. Emerson leads the league in scoring, averaging 18 points per game, and is also among the league leaders in field goal percentage at around 63 percent.
Mercer relied on his strong play to rally from an eight point halftime deficit to overcome Albany State (GA) 74-60 in the team’s season and home opener on Nov. 20, before falling to the powerful ranked Maryland squad 93-67 in College Park on Nov. 23.
However, the Bears didn’t look strong defensively as a team against Albany, allowing them to shoot 64 percent in the first half and 50 percent for the game.
The Maryland game was an entertaining, fast-paced affair that saw both teams rack up numerous turnovers, steals, and rebounds. In the end, though, the Terrapins were just too strong for Mercer.
The Bears will welcome local rival Georgia Southern in town on Nov. 29 before kicking off their A-Sun schedule on Dec. 2 at Stetson and Dec. 4 at Jacksonville.
Stetson
The Hatters’ (1-1 overall) strengths and weaknesses from last season showed themselves early on in their first two games, including a 63-51 win in their home opener against Flagler on Nov. 19, and a 93-65 blowout loss at South Florida on Nov. 26.
The team’s defense was overwhelmed at times, particularly in the game against South Florida, when Stetson let the game escape early with a 23-2 run by their opponents. South Florida used quick and smart passing to pave the way for their perimeter shots, making 12 of 23 three pointers and, racking up 26 assists to the Hatters‘ 9.
The team’s two marquee players, E.J. Gordon and Anthony Register, showed flashes of brilliance, scoring a combined 58 points in the two games.
However, the Hatters also continued their poor three-point shooting from a year ago, as they were just 8 for 35 from long range in the two games. Gordon has yet to make a three-pointer this season in eight attempts.
The Hatters showed they have plenty of talent, but have a long way to go this season.
Stetson will open A-Sun play on Dec. 2, hosting Mercer, then will welcome Georgia State to Florida on Dec. 4.
Campbell
The Camels (1-2 overall) began their difficult non-conference schedule in an up-and-down fashion this season. The team lost their season opener at Furman 64-52 on Nov. 19, won their home opener against William & Mary 75-62 on Nov. 23, and got pounded by ranked powerhouse NC State 99-44 on Nov. 26.
Sophomore forward Diego Aguiar is leading the team in scoring at 13 points a game, and is one of the early league leaders in field goal percentage, averaging over 64 percent from the floor. However, he is also averaging over four fouls a game. He must become more disciplined in this regard if Campbell wants to succeed this season.
So far, the year has been all-or-nothing for the Camels, as the team led only briefly in the game against Furman before quickly relinquishing it, never trailed against William & Mary, and never led against N.C. State. The team may need to score a come-from-behind win early on in the season, or else they may struggle when playing from behind later in the year.
The Camels only have one game this week, at N.C. Wilmington on Nov. 30. Campbell will get used to playing away from Buies Creek, as their next six games are all on the road. In fact, the team doesn’t play another home game until Jan. 3 against Belmont.
Georgia State
The Panthers (1-2 overall) have had perhaps the most confusing, if not intriguing month of any team in the A-Sun.
“Can’t miss blue chip prospect” guard Travis DeGroot has apparently performed a disappearing act that would put David Copperfield to shame. Expected to anchor Georgia State’s offense in their hunt for an A-Sun title, DeGroot has all but vanished from the Panthers’ program. Nearly all traces of DeGroot in relation to the team have been completely wiped out.
The Panthers faced a difficult stretch of early non-conference games, squeaking out a close road win at Southern Mississippi 70-68 to start the season before falling in consecutive games to Nevada and highly-ranked Kentucky 76-55 and 77-59, respectively.
Forward Marcus Brown has been the Panthers’ best player early on, leading the team in scoring and shooting percentage by averaging 13 points a game and 50 percent from the floor. The bigger surprise, however, has been forward Tikoyo Barnett, who is right behind Brown in scoring despite not starting any of the team’s first three games.
The school announced it is speeding up its impending transfer to the Colonial Athletic Association by one year. The move, which was expected to occur in July of 2006, will now occur in July 2005 instead.
The Panthers will host LA Lafayette in their home opener on Nov. 29, before beginning their A-Sun schedule on the road against Jacksonville on Dec. 2 and Stetson on Dec. 4.
Troy State
The Trojans (1-3 overall) began their season by dropping all three games of a back-to-back-to-back road series on Nov. 20-22 before coming back to blow out Piedmont 111-64 in their fourth game of the season on Nov. 27.
The team fell to Winthrop on the road 89-80 to begin the season, traveled to Arkansas to get pummeled 89-54, then had their home opener spoiled by Saint Louis 63-55.
Troy lived and died by the three-point shot in their early games, putting up a mind-boggling 152 shots combined from beyond the arc in the four contests, including 46 in one game along against Winthrop.
The Trojans will kick off A-Sun action at home on Dec. 2 against Belmont, and will host Lipscomb on Dec. 4 before they start a four game road swing beginning with a Dec. 11 contest at SMS.
Belmont
The Bruins (0-2 overall) kicked off A-Sun play this season in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Nov. 11-12. Unfortunately for Belmont, the team sputtered against both St. Mary’s and UC-Riverside, falling 67-58 and 74-65.
The Bruins clearly were still trying to adjust to the loss of All-Conference forward Adam Mark, as the team was often overwhelmed in the paint, and thus could not get much going in the perimeter in the two games.
However, there were a few bright spots for Belmont. Sophomore guard Brian Collins proved to be more than capable of running the offense, averaging 17 points a game in the early going for Belmont. Center Andrew Preston looked overwhelmed at times, but should become a stronger post player as the season progresses.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise came in the form of freshman guard Justin Hare, who is leading A-Sun freshmen in nearly every offensive category right now, and is currently leading Belmont in rebounding and steals.
The Bruins’ next game will be against local rivals Middle Tenn. St. on Nov. 29, before kicking off A-Sun play on Dec. 2 at Troy State.
Florida Atlantic
The Owls (0-2 overall) bungled away their season opener against Florida International on Nov. 19 65-62 before getting blown out by the Florida Gators 90-45 four nights later.
Florida Atlantic’s abysmal free throw shooting cost them the first game, as the team was just 6-16 from the line. By contrast, their opponents were 25-31 from the charity stripe in the same game.
Although the team was clearly overmatched in every aspect against the Gators, they shot less than 29 percent from the floor in the game.
Mike Bell, who was a preseason All-Conference pick, has gotten off to a terrible start. He went a combined 5-24 from the floor combined in the two games.
Florida Atlantic will try to rebound this week against in-state rival Miami (FL) on Nov. 29, before kicking off A-Sun play on Dec. 4 at home against Gardner-Webb
