2008 Colonial Hoops Preview

A year after shocking Duke in the NCAA Tournament, the Rams were relegated to the NIT despite a 24–8 season that saw them win the CAA’s regular-season crown. A semifinal loss to unheralded William & Mary likely cost the team a return to the Big Dance.

For the second straight season, the Rams managed to retain the services of up-and-coming coach Anthony Grant, who drew interest from LSU and South Carolina before signing a lengthy contract extension that could keep him in Richmond through the 2013-14 season.

Grant’s return is big. Eric Maynor’s is huge. The senior guard is the favorite for Player of the Year in the CAA this season.

“Eric is one of those guys who has the ability to make other players around him better,” George Mason coach Jim Larranaga says.

“At the same time, when the game’s on the line, he has the ability to take it over with his scoring, penetrating, hitting threes. I think that’s why he’s been so effective.”

Maynor finished second in the CAA in scoring, averaging 17.9 points per game. He also led the league with 5.5 assists and connected on 39.4 percent of his 127 3-point attempts.

“When you have a point guard of Maynor’s stature, his basketball ability and moxie, he can orchestrate and handle a game wonderfully,” Hofstra coach Tom Pecora says.

However, key members of his supporting cast are gone. Guard Jamal Shuler averaged 15.5 points per game last season and is now playing professionally in Germany. Forwards Michael Anderson and Wil Fameni also were seniors. Anderson averaged 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while Fameni chipped in with 4.5 and 3.8.

“Eric Maynor’s the premier player in the league,” Larranaga says. “But I think those three seniors they lost are also very good and very important to their success. They may have to find a few pieces.”

Last year’s solid freshman class — the best in the CAA — was led by forward Larry Sanders and point guard Joey Rodriguez, who have a year’s worth of college experience now.

Sanders proved to be a stout defender as a freshman, blocking a conference-best 2.97 shots per game while also grabbing 5.2 rebounds per outing. The 6'9" Florida native will only be better with a year of experience under his belt, which is a good sign for what is an already dominating defense at VCU.

The quick, athletic Rams’ defense allowed a league-low 58.8 points per game while holding opponents to 38.1 percent shooting from the floor. They also led the league in the steals, averaging 7.9 per contest.

“They always get high-octane athletes,” Pecora says.

2. Old Dominion (18–16, 11–7); Postseason Prediction: NIT

Last season was a rebuilding year for the Monarchs. This time around, Old Dominion hopes to reap the benefits of an 18–16 campaign that served as valuable experience for a young team that rattled off six straight wins near the end of last season as things began to come together. A berth in the new College Basketball Invitational — and a loss to Virginia — only expedited the learning process for ODU.

This year’s squad has one senior in forward Jonathan Adams, but the team might have the league’s best frontcourt, led by talented forward Gerald Lee, who could challenge VCU’s Eric Maynor for CAA Player of the Year honors.

“I think they have the best inside scorer in the league in Gerald Lee,” George Mason coach Jim Larranaga says. “Gerald is a multi-dimensional player. He can play inside and outside.”

Last year, Lee averaged 12.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the field.

And Lee will be far from alone in the paint. The Monarchs also return Frank Hassell and Ben Finney, along with Adams, at forward. Hassell averaged 5.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while Finney scored 7.0 points and grabbed 5.0 rebounds per game.

ODU’s frontcourt power will be helped by the fact that some of the league’s top big men from last year have graduated, including Drexel’s Frank Elegar and George Mason’s Will Thomas.

The question mark for Blaine Taylor’s bunch is the backcourt, which lost Brandon Johnson (7.5 ppg, 4.6 apg) and Brian Henderson (9.5 ppg).

“When you lose the Defensive Player of the Year (Johnson) in our league and lose a couple of pretty good shooters, we’re going to have to develop some guard play,” Taylor says.

“Our schedule is such that they’ll be challenged by some good players, good teams before we get into the league race.”

Darius James slid into the starting point guard role after Johnson moved to shooting guard midway through the season. He played in all 34 games, starting 17, and averaged 6.9 points and 2.1 assists per game.

Taylor will look to a pair of returning guards — Marsharee Neely and Etoile Imama — and possibly some newcomers — redshirt freshman Kent Bazemore and true freshmen Trian Iliadis and Marquel De Lancey — to help cement the backcourt. Imama is raw but talented after playing in only two games last year. 

ODU hopes Iliadis can follow in the footsteps of Alex Loughton, another Australian who starred for the Monarchs.

Old Dominion also locked up Taylor, who has produced five straight winning seasons, with an extension that keeps him in Norfolk through the 2014-15 season.

3. Northeastern (14–17, 9–9)

Coach Bill Coen brings back all five starters from last year’s team, including one of the league’s best shooters — and scorers — in Matt Janning. Nkem Ojougboh returns to give the Huskies a presence inside. Chaisson Allen, a member of the CAA’s All-Rookie team last season, will be a year more experienced running the point, and the entire group will benefit from the lessons learned through a tough non-conference schedule. Forward Manny Adako added 10.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per outing.

4. George Mason (23–11, 12–6)

Once again veteran coach Jim Larranaga’s squad was hit hard by losses, with Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell, its top two scorers, both graduating. But once again, the Patriots appear poised to be a contender. The backcourt of John Vaughn and Dre Smith is as good as any in the league offensively. Smith can take over a game with his outside shooting. Louis Birdsong was the team’s leading shot-blocker last season and — with Thomas and Campbell gone — should emerge as a force in the paint. If Mason gets contributions from its freshmen, perhaps the best class in the CAA, it could challenge for a league title.

5. Delaware (14–17, 9–9)

Herb Courtney is gone, but Marc Egerson will play a full season this year. Last year, after transferring from Georgetown, Egerson did not become eligible until December. He missed the first seven games but averaged 13.4 points per game over the next 24, second only to Courtney’s 14.1 mark. In fact, Delaware returns three of its top four scorers from last season, with guards Alphonso Dawson and Brian Johnson joining Egerson. All three have all-conference potential but will have to learn how to become go-to guys.

6. Hofstra (12–18, 8–10)

The Pride are coming off a woefully disappointing season and lose sharp-shooting guard Antoine Agudio, the CAA’s leading scorer last year. Still, Hofstra brings back almost everyone else, including Charles Jenkins, a talented young scorer and defender. He will team with point guard Greg Johnson to give the Pride a very effective and potentially dynamic backcourt. Greg Washington and Darren Townes combine to give Hofstra a potent frontcourt.

7. Georgia State (9–21, 5–13)

Former Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes will enjoy an infusion of transfer talent this season. How seamlessly he can blend the new blood with his returners — Georgia State brings back four of its top five scorers — will determine if the Panthers can be the darkhorse many expect. Shooting guard Leonard Mendez is back after averaging 16.0 points last season, as is forward Rashad Chase (7.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg). They will be joined by five major college transfers, including forward Xavier Hansbro from Ole Miss and guard Joe Dukes from Wake Forest.

8. UNC Wilmington (20–13, 12–6)

In his third season, coach Benny Moss has assembled the kind of team he envisioned, an athletic, up-and-down squad. But while the Seahawks have completed the transition from a grinding, half-court style, they’ll have to play this season without T.J. Carter, who averaged 15.8 points per game while leading UNC-W to a surprising second-place tie in the CAA and a 20–13 overall record.

9.  James Madison (13–17, 5–13)

Former Marist coach Matt Brady inherits a program that hasn’t seen success in nearly a decade, but he isn’t getting a completely bare cupboard. The Dukes return four starters and six of their top eight minutes-earners from a team that started the season 9–3 before finishing with an eighth straight losing campaign. Though turnover-prone (4.2 per game), senior guard Abdulai Jalloh averaged 15.5 points per game to lead the Dukes in his first year after transferring from Saint Joseph’s. Former CAA Rookie of the Year Juwann James is also back for his senior season.

10. William & Mary (17–16, 10–8)

The often-disrespected Tribe stunned the many naysayers by advancing to the CAA championship game with a thrilling run that included three last-second, game-winning shots. They still probably won’t earn much preseason hype with stars Laimis Kisielius and Nathan Mann both graduated along with swingmen Chris Stratton and Kyle Carrabine. The Tribe still have unorthodox but effective point guard David Schneider (10.9 ppg, 3.8 apg) and athletic swingman Danny Sumner (10.5 ppg), along with Arkansas transfer Sean McCurdy and a slew of powerful forwards.

11. Drexel (12–20, 5–13)

The Dragons came into 2007-08 knowing that they wouldn’t win much if center Frank Elegar carried too much of the load, and the results proved them exactly right. Elegar averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, but Tramayne Hawthorne (11.2 ppg) was the only other player who averaged double-digits. Now Drexel doesn’t even have the graduated Elegar to lean on, and with stalwart Randy Oveneke also gone, the Dragons need several of their now-experienced but still unproven guards to step up and score just enough for their typically stout defense to matter.

12. Towson (13–18, 7–11)

Pat Kennedy will be relying on transfers, including guard Josh Thornton (Georgetown) and forward Junior Hairston (College of Charleston). Thornton, a laser-locked shooter, led the team in scoring last year with 13.2 points per game, shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. The 6'8", 205-pound Hairston averaged 12.0 points per game while snaring 8.9 rebounds. Among the new additions from elsewhere are guard Brian Morris (Richmond) and twins Jarrel and Jimmy Smith, who left Colorado State to come to the Colonial.