Colonial Athletic Association Notebook
Rams Continue to Win
VCU’s win over William & Mary on Monday night made the Rams the second CAA team ever to start conference play with 11 consecutive wins. They join the 1985-86 Richmond team with that distinction.
The Rams will have a tall order to break the record as they play at Hofstra on Wednesday night. That game figured to be a first place showdown before Delaware stunned the Pride on Monday night in Newark, but a Hofstra win would certainly tighten the race again.
Huskies Make Adjustments, Lack Them In Loss
Northeastern went 2-0 last week to end the week’s play at 5-5 in CAA play, something few probably would have predicted. In both games, the Huskies shot 60 percent or better in the second half and won largely with their effort in the latter frame. They were 6-7 on three-pointers and shot over 68 percent in the second half against James Madison on Wednesday, and followed that up by shooting 60 percent from the field in the second half of Saturday’s win over Delaware.
The Huskies did something similar a few weeks ago when they turned everything around in the second half to outscore Georgia State by 29 points to erase a 14-point halftime deficit. That they have made consistent in-game adjustments is certainly a testament to the coaching job done by Bill Coen and his staff, but also how well the players are taking to it. It certainly wasn’t lost on Coen’s opposite number on Monday night.
“He’s done a good job with this team,” said Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint. “Think of what they lost. They’re able to be competitive in games playing young kids.”
Coen is quick to give credit to the seniors, especially for helping freshmen like Matt Janning and Manny Adako along. Both have developed very nicely as the season has gone along, with Adako scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds and Janning scoring a game-high 23 points against James Madison. Janning earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors for last week’s efforts.
On Monday night, the strong second half was nowhere to be found. The Huskies scored the first six points of the half, but Drexel then went on a 25-5 run to take over the game. Nine of their 11 turnovers came in the second half, and the Dragons seemed to wear down the thin Huskies.
Delaware Transition Gets A Boost
This season figured to be a transition year for Delaware with new head coach Monte Ross, and that’s certainly been the case. The Blue Hens have kept fighting despite a 4-18 record, with injuries, a suspension and a roster in flux. Monday’s win over Hofstra only helps.
The Blue Hens have had to deal with suspensions, a lung ailment that has shelved Pau Geli for the remainder of the season, the departure of last season’s starting point guard in Zaire Taylor, and now have three transfers sitting out. They were already thin before all of this, and they’ve had to play a schedule that at one point had eight consecutive road games. It’s meant that players like freshmen guards Brian Johnson and Darrell Johnson (no relation) have been thrown right into the fire.
“He has to play so many minutes, bring up the ball, call out the defense, call out the offense,” said Ross of Brian Johnson. “We put a lot on him as a freshman, but he’s responded admirably.”
Brian averages nearly 38 minutes per game and has a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio running the show. He scored a career-high 25 points in the win over Hofstra. Darrell is fifth on the team in scoring and shows some promise as he matures. The two freshmen join junior Herb Courtney, who leads them in scoring and rebounding, as the only Blue Hens to start all 22 games thus far.
The transition has been one with some struggles, but Ross can see what needs to be done now and where it all must lead.
“What we have to do is establish our persona,” said Ross. “We have to let the kids know, the community know, everybody know what we’re about and how we’re going to do things. Sometimes you lose people in those transitions when you are establishing what you’re about.”
Other Notes From Around the CAA
- The struggles continue at UNC-Wilmington, but on Monday night they picked up a 65-58 win over George Mason at Trask Coliseum. Montez Downey has played well the last two games, scoring a career-high 21 points in Saturday’s loss to Old Dominion and 13 in Monday’s win.
- William & Mary has won its share of games due to a big offensive effort. On Saturday they knocked off Georgia State by shooting 61 percent from the floor and going 12-25 from behind the arc. The concerning thing is that they allowed the Panthers to shoot 51 percent from the floor.
- Gary Neal topped 1,000 points in his time at Towson after he scored 21 points to lead Towson to a 69-60 win over James Madison. That makes him the third player in NCAA history to score 1,000 or more points at two different Division I schools, as he did the same thing at La Salle.
- Frank Elegar gets all the press at Drexel, but don’t forget Chaz Crawford. Known for his shot-blocking, the senior also leads the conference in rebounding by a good margin and has continued to improve throughout his career. His play has certainly helped with Elegar’s emergence.
- James Madison clearly looks better overall, although that isn’t translating to more wins. Pierre Curtis shows good talent at the point, while Terrence Carter has injected more energy into the team. Their youth is the prime reason the improvement may not translate to more wins just yet, but with three transfers sitting out that head coach Dean Keener is high on, there may be some better fortunes before long in Harrisonburg.
