Quick hitters as we reach the middle of the week:
- Not surprisingly, Dartmouth wasn’t saying much regarding the sudden resignation of Terry Dunn a day before they opened Ivy League play at Harvard. About all that was offered up was senior guard Robbie Pride saying, asked about a report of a player revolt, “That part is completely untrue.” The Big Green traveled down the day of the game, so the resignation didn’t come just before they were slated to head on the road. Mark Graupe was the most active of the three remaining coaches, so at first glance he appears the likely interim head coach when the school makes an announcement later in the week.The simple truth is that this team is not good – talent and experience are both lacking. There isn’t a scorer now that Alex Barnett is gone, and none of the shooters has been able to consistently hit shots on the season. We won’t even get to the frontcourt.
- If anyone wondered if Providence players got the message that they needed to rebound better, Saturday night’s game answered that. Head coach Keno Davis hinted after the Louisville game that the lineup may change, but the starting lineup was no different.”We had two of our best practices of the year,” Davis said. “After the Louisville game, I told them I would not start the same group, that the rotations would change, and whoever practiced up to that level would be our starters and would deserve the minutes. The starters that we had, had their best efforts for those two days. Even though I had threatened that, I had to reward the hard work that we had.”
- In the win over Rutgers, Jamine Peterson had 29 points and 20 rebounds, nearly becoming just the fourth player in school history to score at least 30 points and grab at least 20 rebounds. That came after he didn’t get a single rebound in the second half against Louisville on Wednesday night.”I just think Greedy understands what can make him a great player,” said Davis. “Although knocking down the three-point shots and some of the moves he has are great highlight material, the rebounding can affect the game. When he’s rebounding at his best, he can play anywhere.”
- In UMass’ 80-74 loss to La Salle in Springfield, Freddie Riley was the biggest bright spot. The freshman shooter, who missed time with knee surgery during non-conference play, came alive to lead a second-half comeback and finished with 22 points on 6-14 shooting from long range.”Freddy did tonight what I envisioned him doing while he’s a UMass Minuteman,” head coach Derek Kellogg said.
- Boston University continues to ride their big three of Corey Lowe, John Holland and Jake O’Brien. They also seem to have the M.O. of starting slowly, but then being solid the remainder of the game, as Tuesday night’s win over UMBC was not an isolated case. The Retrievers scored the first seven points of the game and still had the lead a few minutes later, but in the second half they never got within a possession of the Terriers.In particular, Lowe’s improvement to become a more well-rounded player is notable. He’s no longer a gunner like he was earlier in his career; instead, he’s leading the team and also playing off the other two stars, and he’s become a tough, clutch player. It’s been a steady development that hasn’t happened all at once.”You know what Corey’s done a good job of? Letting me get after him, and not backing down,” said head coach Pat Chambers. “I wanted him to be a pit bull. He’s not relying on his three as much – now he’s getting in the paint, now he’s pulling up.”
