Gary George NEW Legacy [Archive]

CincyFan

November 28th, 2004, 06:50 AM

Charl. Southern 95 @ #11 Notre Dame (2-0)93
11/26

Charl. Southern are big underdogs in this game. But with their new coach, can they turn it around. Notre Dame came out firing as they their first 3 shots to give them a 7-0 run. After missing their first 3 by mid-range jumpers Coach George decided it was time for Dane to take over. First touch he gets pounds it inside and puts it up, whistle, and count the bucket, but misses the foul shot. The Buccaneers fell in a hole early, but with their new coach breath in down their necks more than the #11 ranked Notre Dame they stayed with the game plan and finally with 5:47 took the lead by a deep three ball and the foul shot was good to give the Buc’s a 3 point lead. The Buccaneers have a 1 point lead going into half at 37-36.

Player at the Half:
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 14 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds

Second half was a little off. Good game by both but some bad calls from the ref’s gave the Fighting Irish the lead by 11. Then the Buc’s decided to play smart basketball and not worry about these controversial calls and came back in the game and with 58 seconds left tied up the ball game at 88. Again a another shady call when Tommie Bland grabs an offensive rebound and one of the Notre Dame players jumped over his back, and they call a off ball foul on Bland. that’s 4 fouls. So the Fighting Irish get to shoot one and one. They make the first, the second…off, but they get the offensive rebound, Bland runs down sets his feet, the Cornell Bellairs turns jumps up and into Bland, whistle blows. To the surprise of Coach Gary George its on Bland. That’s 5 and he is out with 32. Seconds left. Brandin Walton said don’t worry does a funky running shot from the paint over 2 guys, its good with just 26 seconds left. The Buc’s are now up 1. Notre Dame shot is up, with the big Centers hand in his face, miss Buc’s ball. They foul of course. By why foul the best shooting team in the nation? Cause they think that this time they will miss their foul shots. Makes the first. Second is…GOOD! 3 point lead. Kent Underwood, C for the Irish makes the turn around jumper with 10 seconds left to cut it to 1 again. But Walton is money from the foul line, sinking both to make the lead by 3 once more. This time Underwood said I will make it easy and puts the ball in with a 2 hand slam. With 4 seconds left its back to Walton at the line. He misses the first. Makes the second. 2 seconds left. Full court shot. NOTHING BUT rim, as it bounces off. Charl. Southern comes out with the upset, but with this proven coach at Texas Southern for almost 2 years, is it really count as an upset?

Player of the Game:
PG Tommie Bland (JR) 31 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 18/19 at foul shot

Key Players:
Charl. Southern
SG Brandin Walton (SO) 26 points, 4 steals, 7 rebounds, 9/10 at foul shot
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 20 points, 1 assist, 5 rebounds, 8/10 from field

Notre Dame
PG Cornell Bellairs (SR) 34 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds in 15 mins
PG Kim Deberry (JR) 18 points, 8 assists, 2 steals, 3 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots CHSO-37/44 ND-9/16
Assists CHSO-14 ND-29
Steals CHSO-7 ND-19
Blocks CHSO-3 ND-9
Rebounds CHSO-43 ND-25
[/b]

CincyFan

November 28th, 2004, 05:05 PM

Charl. Southern (1-0) 76@ #9 Cincinnati (3-0) 67
1/28

This is usually the big match up of the year for Coach Gary George and Huggins. George coaching at Texas Southern for the last 2 years has won both meetings against the Bearcats and look to do so with a different team, but critics are saying this Charl. Southern team is weaker than Texas Southern since they only have 8 active players on their team. With the close win over Notre Dame last game, critics though the Bearcats would win with ease. And the first half has been with ease, cruising to a 51-29 half lead but in favor of the Buc's. Buc's shooting 56 percent from the Bearcats 33 percent.

Player at the Half:
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 15 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5 rebounds

The Bearcats like to run, and when they do they get runs on the score board. Having a 20-8 run at the beginning and then a 15-3 run, but in the end the Buc's would hold on to the lead and the win, dispite poor foul shooting that game.

Player of the Game:
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 23 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 8 boards

Key Players:
CHARL. SOUTHERN
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 14 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds
SG Brandin Walton (SO) 11 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 rebounds

CINCINNATI
SF Timothy Fitzgerald (JR) 19 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
SF Collis Lamkin (JR) 18 points, 6 assists, 8 rebounds

Key Stats:
Shooting CSU-41% UC-41%
Foul Shots CSU-24/38 UC-11/15
Assists CSU-11 UC-26
Rebounds CSU-45 UC-39

CincyFan

November 28th, 2004, 08:28 PM

Charl. Southern (2-0) 91 @ Clemson (2-3) 88
12/11

The Buc's were leading half way through half with a 8 point lead until the Tigers started to come back chipping away at that lead until 3 minutes left in half they took the lead and made it grow to 11. Final minute though the Buc's would not be denied as they came back and was down by 1 with the final shot in the half. While holding it out to wait for the clock to tick down the pick and roll wasn't working so the player at half, Brandin Walton, decided to take it into his own hands to call away for the pick and then with 2 seconds pull the three and sinks it to end the half with a 2 point lead, 45-43.

Player at the Half:
SG Brandin Walton (SO) 15 points, 1 assist, 1 steal

After Half the Tigers fell apart and the Buc's decided they wanted it more as they drove home the nail to the coffin. They kept punching it inside, and even thought they were missing a lot of shots they were also getting fouled a lot as half of their second half points came from the line. Biggest lead for the Buc's was 12 with 6:30 left. with 4 minutes left the Tigers went on another run this time being a 11-3 run cutting the lead to 4. 3 minutes left Tigers regain the lead. Again the Buc's answer big with a turnaround J by Galen Bynum and hits it with the foul making it back to a 2 point lead with 2:30 to go. The Tigers drive in get fouled but miss both their foul shots still up by 2 with 2:20 left. Charge is called trying to get thru the screen Tigers ball. Tigers try the tactics of the Buc's get it inside and they find a dunk over to Buc's players. Other side Brandin Walton comes up huge again with a 12 foot jumper to regain the lead once more. Buc's force the ball over now with a 2 point lead and 1:31 minute left they decide to slow the tempo down. Bland calls for the pick it comes up he has a hole to the basket, drives, goes up for the lap-up and is blocked. But the ball falls right in the hands of Walton once more who takes a 9 foot shot from the side and again nothing but net. up by 4 the crowd of the Tigers is becoming quiet now with 56 seconds left. 20 seconds left after a miss Tiger ball, the senior leader for this club, RayShawn Bremer, is fouled with a 4 point lead and sinks both foul shots to get it to a 6 point game and that will win the game.

Player of the Game:
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 19 points, 11 rebounds 7/9 field, 5/6 line

Key Players:
Charl. Southern
SG Brandin Walton (SO) 20 points, 1 assist, 3 steals 1/1 3pt
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 12 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 rebounds

Clemson
SF Collis Hart (SR) 26 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds
PF Booker Birley (JR) 18 points, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 7 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots CSU-26/37 CLEM-8/15
Assists CSU-13 CLEM-32
Rebounds CSU-29 CLEM-31
Steals CSU-9 CLEM-1

CincyFan

November 28th, 2004, 09:22 PM

Charl. Southern (3-0) 91@ #10 Connecticut (4-1) 75
12/18

It started out a little rought as the Huskies took a 20-11 lead in the first 6 minutes of play. Then the tides turned with every starter on Uconn's team getting two fouls from the physical play of the Buc's and they were able to come back at half with the starters out. But look for the starters to play the rest of the game unless they foul out for the Huskies. With the timid play by the Huskies the Buc's were able to find wide open men out side as they shot a perfect 6 for 6 in the first half from 3point range, and not one shot had a hand close by. End of half 54-49 in favor of the Buc's.

Player at the Half:
SG Brandin Walton (SO) 16 points, 6 assists, 7/9 field, 2/2 3pt

With having the lead, UConn decided to run a press and on offense to go down low. It worked as they cut the lead from as high as 11 to 2 points with 5:10 left. That was the closest they would get as the Buc's went on a 5-0 run, bring the lead to 7 and then decided to run the clock out for the rest of the game. With the slower tempo it caught off gaurd the Huskies as then went on a 20-5 run to end of the game.

Player of the Game:
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 24 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 7 rebounds

Key Players
Charl. Southern
SG Tommie Brand (JR) 19 points, 17 assists, 1 rebound
C Dane Zachery (SR) 18 points, 2 assists, 6 rebounds

Connecticut
PF D.C. Washburn (SO) 25 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 boards
PG Dean Havens (SO) 12 points, 16 assists, 1 steal, 1 rebound

Key Stats
Shooting CSU-68 % CONN-58 %
3 Pointers CSU-9/11 CONN-0/5
Assists CSU-32 CONN-27
Rebounds CSU-20 CONN-12

CincyFan

November 29th, 2004, 01:51 AM

Charl. Southern (4-0) 62 @ #9 Georgia Tech (6-2) 81
12/22

So far the best overall team the Buc's will face with an 89 overall rating. The worst shooting ever under the Coach of Gary George was on this night as Georgia Tech had an early 28 point lead going thru the first as the Buc's shot a lowly 11 % thru the first 7 or so minutes. But they turned it around in the last couple of minutes and went on a run and are now only down by 11. (should of been 8 but they YellowJackets hit a long three) The Bucs enter half shooting now 34%, but have came back from letting the Yellow Jackets start out from 80% to now 40%. Score going into half is now 37-26 Yellow Jackets lead.

Player at the Half:
PF Darell Whitehead (SO) 6 points, 1 assist, 5 rebounds

Well it was the opposite story in the second half early when the Yellow Jackets couldn't score and teh Buc's thats all they could do. With 8 minutes left we have a ballgame as the lead is 1 for the YellowJackets. Still all game the Buc's never had the lead. At 7:49 was the first lead change of the game as the score was 44-43 Buc's. But for the next three minutes it was nothing but Yellow Jackets as they went on a 12-0 run. But the Yellow Jackets wouldn't shot shooting the three as they got hot shooting 5 for 6 within a 2 min span to make the lead to 14. The Yellow Jackets give the Buc's first lost on the year.

Player of the Game:
PG Hilton Engle (JR) 24 points, 13 assists, 3 steals, 5 rebounds

Key Players
Charl. Southern
PF Darell Whitehead (SO) 10 points, 1 assist, 8 rebounds
SG Brandin Walton (SO) 14 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 rebounds

Georgia Tech
SG Johnathen Vega (SR) 35 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 7 rebounds
C Ramon Christensen (SR) 9 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 7 rebounds

Key Stats
3 pts CSU-0/7 GT-8/19
Foul Shots CSU-16/16 GT-8/11
Assists CSU- 14 GT-28
Rebounds CSU-41 GT-41[/b]

CincyFan

November 30th, 2004, 12:38 PM

Charl. Southern (4-1) 79 @ #6 Wake Forest 92
12/28

The first half was close until about 8 minutes left in the game as lowly Charl. Southern had the lead by 1. Then the tides turned as the Demons broke through and took the lead and got it to 8. Fast foward to the last 2 minutes of play. Charl. Southern fighting its way back against this powerhouse is only down 3. But with the last 2 means the Demons cause havoc on the Buc's and went on a tear as they ened the half with a 12-2 run and have a commanding lead now with 44-34.

PLayer at the Half:
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 8 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 rebound

Second half play was amazing. The Demons still shooting lights out came in going 11-15 for their first shots and took a commanding 28 point lead. Charl. Southern knows what it takes to beat a ranked team still played hard and smart and cut the lead to 3 with 3:40 left to play. Then Wake Forest said we will just do something no other team has and shot the 3 ball with lights out. making 5 threes out of 6 shots in the closing minutes help propell the Decons to a 13 point win over the Buc's.

Player of the Game:
SG Femi Ward (JR) 37 points, 5 assists, 3 steals

Key PLayers:
Charl. Southern
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 29 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 rebounds
C Robbie Dewitt (SR) 12 points, 3 assists, 9 rebounds

Wake Forest:
PG Raynardo Edwards (SO) 21 points, 13 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds
PF Joe Fray (SR) 7 points, 3 assists, 9 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers CSU-0/3 WF-6/13
Foul Shots CSU-17/24 WF-8/10
Assists CSU-18 WF-35
Rebounds CSU-34 WF-36

BrianG

November 30th, 2004, 01:00 PM

Good legacy!

CincyFan

November 30th, 2004, 01:16 PM

hey thanks brianG. i will have the rest of sportscenter up tonight, but going to play 1 more game here, then i am actually going down to college to play some real hoops. so it won't be posted til later on tonight. hope you keep doing as well as you have in your legacy.

CincyFan

November 30th, 2004, 02:06 PM

Charl. Southern (4-2) 72 @ #3 Syracuse (13-1) 60
1/3

Last Non-Conference game until league game starts, and not what a bad way to end the non-conference play, but to play #3 Syracuse. Again Coach George is 3-0, all the wins with Texas Southern, lets see if he can kept that streak alive, but looks like it might end tonight.

Ohh my can you say blow out when you start the game with a 14-0 run. How do you even answer to that? Well you only hold them to 29 points for the first half. But its not good when you only score 10 in the first half. Why the low scoring you ask? Probably cause both teams have combine shooting in the half for 16 out of 62 shots for a mere 26 %. Whats suprising is how Syracuse isn't in the lead but Texas Southern. The reason they are winning in the first half is offensive rebounds as they got 8 of them and has converted on 7 of them for a total of 14 points out of the 29 in the first half. Add in the 5 more points from the foul line and you actually only score 10 points in the half from your offense.

Player at the Half:
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 8 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds

Second half was completely different from the first as Syracuse went on a 28-6 run to start the second half. The closest they could get to the Buc's was by 6 points and they wouldn't allow it anymore, as the Buc's played strong thoughout the rest of the game even when they had their shooting slumps throughout the second half. They easily walked away with a 12 point victory.

Player of the Game:
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 13 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 12 boards

Key Players:
CHARL. SOUTHERN
C Dane Zachery (SR) 13 points, 2 assists, 3 steals, 12 blocks
PF Galen Bynum (JR) 13 points, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 12 rebounds

SYRACUSE
SG Calvin Richards (JR) 16 points, 1 assist, 5 rebounds
C Jesse Keeler (SR) 12 points, 2 blocks, 10 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers CSU-0/3 SU-3/14
Assists CSU-23 SU-17
Rebounds: CSU-54 SU-33
Bench Pts CSU-27 SU-8

MrLuck

November 30th, 2004, 05:27 PM

Way to knock off 4 ranked teams....keep that up and you'll be top 25 soon enough....Nice job.

CincyFan

November 30th, 2004, 07:20 PM

lol no i won't be ranked unless i go undefeated for the rest of the year. in my last legacy i lost 6 games first year and still wasn't ranked til i won my league tournment. then i was ranked 24 in the nation. so i don't expect to be ranked this year. but thanks for the condifance and gl in your legacy(s).

CincyFan

November 30th, 2004, 09:47 PM

Charl. Southern (5-2) @ UNC Ashville (4-5)
1/5

Finally out of the hard teams and into league play. Will this be as tough as the non-conference schedule? Only time will tell. The game looked close for the first 5 minutes of play as the score was 9-6 UNC lead. Then Coach had a mental lapse and reliezed that he is playing against conference people so he turned up the D, and ran fast pace offense. Which exploded to a huge lead at half for the Buc's, 34-17. UNC Ashville couldn't handle the fast breaks so they had to foul, which the Buc's got 13 points from the foul line almost as much as AShvilles total points.

Player at the Half:
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 10 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 rebounds

Charl. Southern played every aspect of the game perfect as they came away with an easy win in this game. Only 1 double double in the game was to RayShawn Bremer, but 2 other Buc's players scored in double figures and every player on Charl. Southern had at least 3 rebounds in the game.

Player of the Game:
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 25 points, 1 steal, 1 block, 10 rebounds

Key Players:
CHARL. SOUTHERN
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 22 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 5 rebounds
C Dane Zachery (SR) 16 points, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 6 rebounds

UNC ASHEVILLE:
PG Woody Cole (SO) 13 points, 11 assists, 3 steals, 3 rebounds
SG Kashien Milton (SR) 9 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 4 rebounds

KEY STATS:
Foul Shots CSU- 24/31 UNCA- 8/11
Rebounds: CSU-49 UNCA-29
Blocks CSU-4 UNCA-1

CincyFan

November 30th, 2004, 11:20 PM

Charl. Southern (6-2) @ VMI (1-6)
1/8

How does Charl. Southern play so well while on paper they aren't even a average team. You might ask that question as they are 6-2 beaten a couple of ranked teams and now in conference play it looks like they won't lose another game all year. At first the games are always close until the 7 or 8 minute left in half, thats when the explosion comes from the Buc's. Maybe it has to do with the offense it runs as most, usually half of its points comes from the foul line, and gets the other teams starters in trouble like in this game. At half the score is 43-22, but the Buc's have been to the foul line 21 times and have made it 17 times. 3 starters for VMI had to sit the last 7 minutes of the first half with 2 fouls.

Player at the Half:
C Dane Zachery (SR) 12 points, 1 steal, 3 rebounds

Second half was pretty much the same as the first as the Buc's cruise for there second straight conference win. Foul shots and offensive rebounding (10) help the Buc's to this easy win, also with hard nose defense.

Player of the Game:
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 20 points, 5 assists, 5 steals, 2 rebounds

Key Players:
CHARL. SOUTHERN
C Dane Zachery (SR) 16 points, 1 steal, 8 rebounds
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 12 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 9 rebounds

VMI
C Dwight Bain (SR) 18 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 6 rebounds
PF Marvin Herrera (JR) 4 points, 1 steal, 7 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots CSU- 26/31 VMI- 12/12
Assists CSU-17 VMI-14
Rebounds CSU-38 VMI-32
Steals CSU-13 VMI-6
[/b]

CincyFan

December 1st, 2004, 12:57 AM

Foul Shots help in Biggest Blowout in College D1 Ball
Radord shoots season low 16 % from floor

Charl. Southern (7-2) 113 @ Radford (6-4) 29
1/10

The Buc's went on a 10-0 run to start the game thanks to 6 fouls on Radford, 3 which were charging. Radford thinks they are known for there 3's so starts to chuck them up but just lead the lead for the Buc's expand as they only hit 2 three-pointer of out 9 tries. During that 3 point shot attack the Buc's went on a 20-6 run, to run the rest of the clock down in the first half to take a powerful lead so far under Gary George this season by 40 points, going into half with a 53-13 lead.

Player at the Half:
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 21 points, 1 steal, 3 rebounds

Second half was pretty much like the first and the stands was completely empty with 10 minutes still left in the game. All the starters were out and only played sparring in the huge when when the bench people needed a break. When asked why there was always 2 starters though on the court at all times in the second half, Coach George responded with,"...when you have 8 players on your roster, you only have 3 deep in your bench so 2 have to stay out there."

Player of the Game:
C Dane Zachery (SR) 15 points, 2 assists, 4 steals, 21 rebounds

Key Players:
CHARL. SOUTHERN
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 30 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 6 rebounds
C Robbie Dewitt (SR) 8 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 12 rebounds

RADFORD
SF B.J. Watts (JR) 10 points, 1 steal 3 rebounds (10 in first half)
C Devonne Chapman (F) 2 points, 10 blocks, 4 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers CSU-0/0 RU- 2/18
Foul Shots CSU- 39/49 RU- 5/10
Assists CSU-20 RU-11
Rebounds CSU-63 RU-31
Fouls CSU-12 RU-27

CincyFan

December 1st, 2004, 05:11 AM

CHSO Doesn't Disappoint Fans in First Home Game

Every player on CHSO had at least 5 rebounds

High Point (8-3) 58 @ Charl. Southern (8-2) 96

The fast pace offense of the Buc's was too hard for High Point to guard. Charl. Southern grabbed the first 10 of 12 rebounds in the game to jump quickly out of the gates on a 18-3 run. They never looked back after that, even though High Point started to keep them off the boards it was too big off a hole to come back and now sitting with a 22 point lead at half, 48-26.

Player at the Half:
C Dane Zachery (SR) 18 points, 1 assist, 2 steals, 7 rebounds

When you think of rebounding you will think of this team. As they almost double the other teams rebounding. Also games are now being blown out cause of the foul shooting. Now shooting as a team over 75% on the line, and over 83% the last 2 games also gives a big edge for the Buc's. Take away the 30 points from foul shots and it would be a 66-58 win instead of the score now.

Player of the Game:
C Dane Zachery (SR) 24 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 16 rebounds

Key Players:
CHARL. SOUTHERN
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 25 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 5 rebounds
SG Brandin Walton (SO) 13 points, 2 assists, 4 steals, 8 rebounds

HIGH POINT
SG Lee Merchant (SR) 16 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4 rebounds
PF Jakob Gomez (SR) 13 points, 1 steal, 12 rebounds

Key Stats:
FG % HP- 31% CSU- 45%
Foul Shots HP- 7/11 CSU- 30/36
Rebounds HP-34 CSU-56
[/b]

CincyFan

December 1st, 2004, 06:27 AM

CHSO shows why they are ranked #2 in RPI

CHSO starts off league play with 5-0 record, RPI #19

Liberty (6-8 ) 62 @ Charl. Southern (9-2) 111

It started out as a great game as they teams battled for the lead for the first 8 minutes switching back and forth. Then the last 5 minutes came and with sub's coming in and out for the Buc's and then the Flames getting in foul trouble, Charl. Southern beat down the door and went on a 22-6 run to close out the half with a 46-22 lead.

Player at the Half:
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 14 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds

Second half was worst than the first. It was like the Buc's didn't know there was a break and kept at it with the run, and more running as they ran away with this game with ease.

Player of the Game:
SG Tommie Bland (JR) 38 points, 11 assists, 6 steals, 3 rebounds

Key Players:
CHARL. SOUTHERN
SF RayShawn Bremer (SR) 31 points, 2 assists, 3 steals, block, 8 boards
C Dane Zachery (SR) 10 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 9 rebounds

LIBERTY
SF Bingo Demond (SO) 34 points, 4 rebounds
C Lawrence Miggins (SR) 8 points, 2 assists, steal, 2 blocks, 11 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers LIB- 8/30 CSU- 1/1
Foul Shots LIB- 8/15 CSU- 20/24
Assists LIB-20 CSU-29
Rebounds LIB-28 CSU-50
Steals LIB-5 CSU-16

CincyFan

December 1st, 2004, 10:24 PM

Press Conference

Reporter 1: Half way thru the season and your record is 10-2 overall, with a 5-0 league record. Do you think you will lose a game all year? Since the only loses came from top 20 schools?

Gary George: I would like to say yes we can, but we do have 3 other schooles with a 4-2 record in league play, and it looks like its going to be a tough league this year.

Reporter 2: In the conference you outscore the other teams by 244 points, or an average of 48.8 points. You even took on High Point who was second best in conference and beat them 96-58. You seriously think you could lose a conference game?

Gary George: What is beautiful about basketball is that any team can win. Remember in the beginning of theseason for non-conference games we were suppose to go maybe 1-6, or even 0-6 as we faced 5 top 25 ranked teams, and we ended non-confence play by going 4-2. Any given night any club can win even if they are big underdogs.

Report 1: Would you say your reason of winning is from the foul line?

Gary George: I think it has to do more with the foul line. Of course we are shooting above 75% from the foul line. Which is good, but not good enought. Even thought do get sent to the line alot it does give us a better chance of winning. In the end it is about teamwork and doing all the little things right.

Reporter 3: You mean like rebounding? You been outrebounding every team about 1/3 more than the oppents every game?

Gary George: Yes that is one aspect of it, another is our whole team is mentally prepared each game, and we don't try to froce the ball inside or to a single guy on offense, and we play solid D.

Reporter 2: 12 games in and you are 10-2, next 12 are against league, and then league tournment. Right now you are on pace of ending the year on a 25-2 record with the way you are playing. First do you believe you should be ranked? Secondly do you believe you can make the NCAA Tourney?

Gary George: Yes I believe we can go undefeated for the rest of the year. Yes, we can make the NCAA Tournment and with the way we played in the opening games against rank teams, I believe we can advance in the tournment, and pull some upsets.

Reporter 3: Do you think you can win it all then?

Gary George: That would be nice, but that is not my goal or do I think it is possible. You saw what happen when we faced Wake Forest. Wasn't even a match. Hopefully we can just go out and play our games and play the way we want to play. Thats all I ask of my kids. Right now they are just looking to finish the year strong, and win Congerence Tournment.

Reporter 2: With your team captain being RayShawn Bremer, and even though he is having an outstanding year. Don't you think it should of been Dane Zachery and how well he has been playing.

Gary George: I don't see a problem. At the beginning of the year when I came in, he was the proven player on this team in the past so I thought it was only fair to give him the captain since he was it in the past. As for Dane Zachery for the second and third captain on the team, I let the players decided who that is and he was nominated as second team captain, and third was Tommie Bland. All three of these guys step up when the other is having a bad game and propell our team to victory.

Reporters: Thank you Coach, and good luck with the rest of the year.

REDSFAN2004

December 1st, 2004, 11:03 PM

thats some good stuff CincyFan keep up the good work and have fun with playing. :)

CincyFan

December 14th, 2004, 05:51 PM

ok its been like forever since i posted on here for my legacy...about 2 weeks almost, and some big changes in my legacy. When i ended i was in my second year in my legacy with Charl.-Southern. Now i am picking up in the start of my 5th year in Legacy and i have swited teams. some things about the time passed. second year as charl.-southern went 28-5 and again made it to the sweet sixteen and again i lost to #2 Texas Tech. wasn't upset since i like that school. after that year coach george decided his time was up at charl.-southern and decided to test the waters in a mid-major conference in northern illinois. first year was a suprised for coach george with a team that could actually shoot from the ouside and ran away to the final 4 before losing to Connecticut in the final four. first year under nothern illinois finished up with what some people called a nice 30-3 record. But it was a turn-around as the first draft class at a better school landed Coach George 2 five-star players. Next year would be some what of a dissapointment as they went 38-3 to finish out the year and made it to the championship game but lost to michigan state 91-89 with a long buzzer beater shot. well more will come up with this years stuff as i will be update back on a regular bases.

CincyFan

December 14th, 2004, 09:01 PM

Coaches

Head Coach
Gary George
123-14 Record in 4 years
- 55-8 at Charl.-Southern 2 years
- 68-6 currently at N. Illinois
Overall: B+
Offense: B
Defense: B
Teach: A
Recruit: A+
Scout: C-

Other Coaches
Victor Schneiderman
first year under Coach Gary George
Overall: B-
Offense: C
Defense: C
Teach: C-
Recruit: A
Scout: B+
Ambition: B

Lubos Madera
first year under Coach Gary George
Overall: B-
Offense: C
Defense: B-
Teach: C-
Recuit: B
Scout: B
Ambition: A-

Roster and Scouting Report

Starters
PG Javier Underwood sophmore
6'0" 174
Overall: 83
Started last year as a true freshman and was top guy on Coach George's recuiting list first year. Not only is he the best outside shooter on this team he also is the defensive guru who can come up with many steals. Also is a speed demon (90). Was the go-to-guy last year and is a proven one at that.

SG Treg Ngounou freshmen
6'4" 202
Overall: 83
Second best on team for long ball (79), has good hands on defense for the steal, and is the fastest person on the team with a 92 in speed. Best ability is to drive to the basket and then dish it out. Right now is in a role-player spot, but could be a key player on this team.

SF D'Marr Schmidt freshmen
6'6" 198
Overall: 83
High school all-american means his next step is NCAA first-team all-american. He is being looked at as one of the top spots for star player on this team. When they need a big shoot the ball will be in his hands. Is more of a down low player, and Coach George knows how to play the inside game so he should be a great fit for this team.

PF Todd Henderson sophmore
6'10" 231
Overall: 82
Best defensive player down low. Best shot blocker on team (88), and is mostly known for his defensive play. Does have an offensive side and is quiet as a freshman he average 10.5 points a game. One of the most under talked guys on this team.

C Laurence Minter sophmore
6'11" 268
Overall: 86
Best player on team. Best rebounder and scorer on team, but doesn't always need to score to help his team win. Averaged 19 a game last year. Is a beast on the boards and easily will post a double-double every game. Causes teams to double then opens the outside game. Is the star player on this team.

Bench
PF Avery Slattery sophmore
6'8" 203
Overall: 81
Only big man on bench so will come in for both Minter and Henderson. Pretty much a clone of Henderson on offense, and on defense is pretty much the same except for not a great rebounder. Will see lots of playing time as he will fill both spots.

PG Lakeith French sophmore
6'1" 190
Overall: 76
Is listed as a PG, but plays better in the SG role, so that is where he will mostly be coming in at. One of the best ball handers on the team (92).

C Russ Troutman Junior
6'7" 218
Overall: 72
Was already on the team before Coach George came here and hasn't found much playing time since. Only averaged 2 minutes last year. Too small to play C and too weak to play PF.

SF Steve Norwood sophmore
6'6" 198
Overall: 67
Was a walk-on 2 years ago and still is just nothing more than just a body on the court to give a guy to rest. Only thing he is really good at is rebounding as he averaged 2.3 rebounds in 3.7 minutes last year.

SF Salim Hartman freshman
6'5" 202
Overall: 63
Walk-on this year, and the only thing he is walking onto is the bench. Will be lucky to see a minute a game this year with this ball-club.

SG Kenneth Pugh sophmore
6'1" 194
Overall: 62
Hasn't played at all in 2 years for this team. Not even 1 minute in 1 game. Look to see that happen again this year.

SG Aras Barber sophmore
6'2" 198
Overall: 63
Coach loves this guy. So much that he is the six man. Will find double spot like Slattery and will come in at PG and SG. Slim, but has had some time last year in at SF. Even though is rated extremely low plays like an 80 overall. He does it all when the starters are out. Last year in 9 minutes averaged 8 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals a game.

Team Scouting
This team is pretty much the same as last years, except for filling the SG and SF spot. Which is sad when the freshman (Ngounou and Schmidt) are better overall than the seniors last year. This team made it to the finals last year and lost to a buzzer beater by 2 to Michigan State. Coach George has never lost more than 5 games a year, and impressive enought as only lost only 3 each year as Northern Illinois Coach. Again they aren't ranked in the polls to start off the year, but expect them to be in the end of the year, and except this team in the finals. Coach George stated,"this year's its ours for the taking. I know Michigan State is the one everyone is targeting because they won it last year and they deserve to be top dogs, but everyone is over looking us, and we have a tougher schedule this year. Hopefully we will slip underneath the radar and make some noise this year."

qazz22

December 14th, 2004, 09:02 PM

Take 'em all the way this year. Keep up the good work man.

CincyFan

December 15th, 2004, 10:46 AM

First Round of Tournament is a Breeze for Northern Illinois

N. Illinois almost perfect from line tonight, 26 for 27

TXAM-CC (0-0) 44 @ Northern Illinois (0-0) 95

This game was a mismatch on paper (N Illinois 90 overall, to TXAM-CC 78 overall), and was a mismatch in the first half. There was no mercy given as the stats proved the first half easy and breakaway lead for the Huskies. 4 for 23 from the field for the Islanders. 12 fouls. Whole back-court was out from foul trouble. Only thing that TXAM-CC did decently was rebounding as they had 12 rebounds to N. Illinois 19. End of the first half, 50-11.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 24 points, 1 assist, 4 steals, 2 rebounds

Shooting around 40% in the second half the Islanders was not match for them to come back from the 39 points at half. Even shooting that well they could not slow down or even stop the Huskies as they shot 60% from the field and walked away without even batting an eye toward their opponent.
Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (SO) 18 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 17 rebounds

Key Players:
TXAM-CC
PG Najeeb Ferguson (SR) 10 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound
SF Matt Sharp (JR) 8 points, 4 assists, 9 rebounds

N. ILLINOIS
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 24 points, 1 assist, 4 steals, 2 rebounds
PG Javier Underwood (SO) 6 points, 15 assists, 3 steals, 8 rebounds

Key Stats
Assists TXAM-13 NIU-28
Turnovers TXAM-23 NIU-8
Rebounds TXAM-25 NIU-36
Steals TXAM-6 NIU-14

Huskies players were hot last game and it carried over to this game

Huskies too big inside as they prove going to the line more and again missing only 1 shot

Hofstra (1-0) 69 @ Northern Illinois (1-0) 109

When you have three people heating up, and one on fire there should be no way you should be losing. That’s exactly what the Huskies did as they came out hot from the first game and kept it going to run away at half with a 48-30 lead. Only time this game was close was at the tip off. Surprising enough the Huskies haven’t played that shut down D as they did in the first game and let ()()()() shoot 56% from the field.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (SO) 16 points, 1 assist, 3 steals, 4 rebounds

Second half wasn’t any harder has the Huskies actually put on a better shooting show as they scored 61 in the second half to pull away and win comfortably. Hofsta still shot great, shooting 54% for the game. This N. Illinois team looks better each game, and are playing well with grabbing 37 assist in this game, the most ever under Coach George’s 5 years of Coach.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (SO) 30 points, 4 assists, 5 steals, 10 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Javier Underwood (SO) 25 points, 11 assists, 1 steal, 5 rebounds
SF D’Marr Schmidt (F) 19 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, 7 rebounds

HOFSTA
PF Eric Mattox (JR) 12 points, 12 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 rebounds (2 three pointers)
PF Irving Bain (SR) 12 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 6 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots HOF- 7/10 NIU- 23/24
Assists HOF-25 NIU-37
Turnovers HOF-24 NIU-5
Steals HOF-5 NIU-16

CincyFan

December 15th, 2004, 10:20 PM

Huskies outscore Gaels in Paint 82-18

Huskies clearly dominate stats, and the ball game

N. Illinois (2-0) @ St. Mary‘s (4-0)
11/15

Freshman SG Treg Ngounou again was feeling it going into this game. This game however he was a 90 from Biorhytm (on fire) and would show it in the first half on 6/11 from the floor, but an impressive 6/6 from the line, and would help the Huskies take a commanding lead into half 57-28. Surprising enough again Northern Illinois has been to the line more than St. Mary’s. Shooting from the foul line has helped the Huskies and has hinder the Gaels. Huskies shooting 100% from the line going 21 of 21, while Gaels has shot 0% from the line going 0 for 2.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 18 points, 6 steals, 1 rebound

St. Marys would try to scare Northern Illinois as they clawed their way back as close as 14 in the early half, but as they starters came back out for the Huskies it was then a different story as they ran away with the lead and the win. Only thing that St. Mary’s did better than N. Illinois was shooting three’s (NUI was 0/6 and SMC was 2/6 and blocks as SMC won by 1 with a three-two margin). Everything else was dominated by the Huskies.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (SO) 31 points, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 15 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 33 points, 2 assists, 6 steals, 5 rebounds
PG Javier Underwood (SO) 12 points, 17 assists, 5 steals, 3 rebounds

ST. MARY‘S
C Sid Whelchel (JR) 13 points, 2 assists, steal, 2 blocks, 2 rebounds
SG Malcolm Goodson (JR) 8 points, 13 assists, 1 rebound

Key Stats:
Foul Shots NIU- 28/28 SMC- 8/13
Assists NIU-33 SMC-27
Rebounds NIU-36 SMC-24
Steals NIU-15 SMC-2
Pts in Paint NIU-82 SMC-18

CincyFan

December 16th, 2004, 10:15 PM

Tournament Championship game is a show down of last year‘s game

Record high 56 foul shots total this game, Huskies making the most to seal the win

N. Illinois (3-0) 106 @ #5 Syracuse (3-0) 104
11/16

What a battle this game has been. Right now is the first time the Huskies are the underdogs in a game, and they sure look like it, as never having the first half, trailing at one point by 17, but cut it back and ending the half down by 5. 58-53. While scoring the most in a half so far, both teams have been on fire shooting identical 51% from the field. While it’s Coach George’s game plan to get the other team in foul trouble and get a lot of points from the line, they have this game with 15 of 16 from the line, but it looks as if Coach Adama Buckendahl tried it out too as they are 12 of 14 from the line.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (SO) 18 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 7 rebounds

Huskies would battle to be down by 1. Then the Orangemen would go on a 5 or 6 point spree. This went back and forth until 3:20 left in game when finally the Huskies tied it up at 89. With 2:54 was the first time that Northern Illinois would have the lead in the entire ball game. But the Orangemen would make the dream be short as they hit a deep three to go back up by 1. Lead would go back and forth by 1 until Orangemen’s center, Peter Stallworth, picked up his fifth foul and gave the lead to the Huskies by 2 with 1:28 left. With the lead still by 2 with 38 seconds left the Orangemen got a steal ran down and pulled a turn-around 3 and sank it to take the lead once again. Down the court the Huskies ran the pick and roll for the first time and after the screen knowing what it was they stepped up but the backdoor cutter to the basket was wide open and a easy lay-up for the Huskies. Orangemen wanting to take the lead tried for another 3 and miss as Minter grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Huskies missed two foul shots already that tied for what they missed combine the first 3 games. Minter who has been perfect all year shooting 18 for 18, and in this game was 6 for 6 missed the first. Orangemen got the ball, this time trying to take it inside to tie up the game with 22 seconds left, but the defense stood and got a block and again sent Minter to the line. This time sinking both and sealing the game.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (SO) 32 points, 3 assits, 1 steal, 1 block, 18 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SF D’Marr Schmidt (F) 22 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 6 rebounds
PG Javier Underwood (SO) 11 points, 11 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 rebound

SYRACUSE
SF Marc Schneider (SR) 32 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 10 rebounds
SF Jerrold Nicholas (JR) 17 points, 16 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers SU- 7/27 NIU- 1/2
Foul Shots SU- 19/24 NIU- 29/32
Assists SU-33 NIU-30
Rebounds SU-34 NIU-51
Blocks SU-6 NIU-10

CincyFan

December 20th, 2004, 03:33 PM

N/ Illinois holds off Cincy‘s run at end to improve to 5-0

Underwood scores 11 points in final 2 minutes to seal win

N. Illinois (4-0) 106 @ #9 Cincinnati (2-0) 99
11/20

First half was all Northern Illinois as they made 17 out of 18 shots from the charity line to help them gain a 10 point lead going into half. 55-44. First time all year that the Huskies haven’t out rebounded a team, but right now Cincinnati has a 1 point lead 25-24. Northern Illinois has played like a monster in the paint already shelling out 5 blocks and stealing the ball 6 times.

Player at the Half:
DF D’Marr Schmidt (F) 15 points, 1 steal, 1 rebound

Second half was looking like a blow-out as the Huskies ran away to a 23 point lead. Then Cincinnati who’s team is the strongest so far in 5 years starts to claw its way back and gets within 4 with 2 minutes left. From there Underwood came in off the bench due to the second injury of the game for the Huskies as both backup guards are now injured, PG French has a broken finger and SG Barber had shin splints, and took on the role as team leader as he will is shots to go in and will his team to a win.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (F) 18 points, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 21 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SF D’Marr Schmidt (F) 27 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 rebounds
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 23 points, 8 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 3 rebounds

CINCINNATI
SF Darell Wellington (JR) 39 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 9 rebounds
SG Clayton Karron-Clarke (JR) 10 points, 13 assists, 3 blocks, 9 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 1/1 CIN- 5/16
Foul Shots NIU- 31/32 CIN- 8/9
Assists NIU-27 CIN-37
Rebounds NIU-50 CIN-48

CincyFan

December 20th, 2004, 03:39 PM

N. Illinois scores 112 points this season to win number 6

Northern Illinois starters all record at least a double-double

N. Illinois (5-0) 112 @ #7 Duke (0-0) 83
11/21

Looked like the Huskies had one advantage coming into this game. That was already playing five games and two of them were against ranked teams, while the Blue-Devils come in with their first game of the year. At first it was close as Duke would battle back every time N. Illinois would make a run. Finally Duke stepped it up and ran off with a 18-2 run to jump into the lead with a 27-9 lead. It looked pretty bad as if the Huskies were playing their first game of the year and didn’t know how to get an assist. Coach George would call his first timeout of the year and would settle his team down as they came out and went on a 17 straight assist run which help get them to a blow-out status at half, 61-38.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 10 points, 9 assists, 7 steals, 5 rebounds

Second half was on cruise control as the Huskies didn’t have to do much to hold on to the 33 point lead from half. While Treg was close to getting a triple double at half he ended up closer to a quad. Double at the end as he missed it with 3 steals and 3 rebounds for it. While the game was out of reach it was very impressive for the Huskies as 4 starters posted a double-double. The other starter was the player of the game, Javier Underwood, as he was the lone one with a triple double.

Player of the Game:
PG Javier Underwood (SO) 21 points, 16 assists, 10 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
C Laurence Minter (SO) 28 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 12 rebounds
PF Todd Henderson (SO) 10 points, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 14 rebounds

DUKE
PF Duncan Boylan (SR) 31 points, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 9 rebounds
PG Jeremiah Whittington (JR) 9 points, 13 assists, 1 steal, 9 rebounds

Key Stats:
Assists NIU-40 DUKE-30
Rebounds NIU-53 DUKE-38
Off. Rebounds NIU-11 DUKE-10
Blocks Niu-8 DUKE-5
Fast Break Pts. NIU-30 DUKE-12

CincyFan

December 20th, 2004, 03:48 PM

N. Illinois scores record high 137 points in this blowout of Ranked UConn

Pressure D causes easy scoring for Northern Illinois

N. Illinois (7-0) 137 @ #6 Connecticut (1-0) 80
11/23

This game was ugly in the first half. The Huskies of Northern Illinois went on a tear as they made their first 13 out of 16 shots to take an big lead in the first 4 minutes. Minter (Center) only played in 8 minutes and already has a double-double and is honored with player of the half. N. Illinois would finish out the half shooting 69% on 26 of 38 shots. Uconn on the other hand was 15 for 43 for 35%. It got so ugly that the reserves for N. Illinois was getting Uconn in foul trouble. Score at half is a commanding 72-38 lead.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (SO) 18 points, 5 assists, 1 block, 15 rebounds

Second half wasn’t any prettier for Uconn as they hope to just forget this game and move on. Again Northern Illinois shows why they are in talks about going to the Big Dance this year as they are undefeated still this year. Last game all the starters had double-doubles. This game only 2 people had double-doubles, but 7 different players scored double figures.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (SO) 28 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 22 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 25 points, 10 assists, 4 steals, 7 rebounds
PF Todd Henderson (SO) 19 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 7 rebounds

CONNECTICUT
SG Stefan Byrd (JR) 23 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, 8 rebounds (5/15 3-pointers)
SF Jerrold Gordon (JR) 19 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 7 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 0/0 CONN- 5/24
Foul Shots NIU- 37/40 CONN- 13/19
Assists NIU-41 CONN-24
Rebounds NIU-50 CONN-34
Off Rebounds NIU-7 CONN-14

CincyFan

December 20th, 2004, 04:04 PM

Press Conference

November 24

Reporter 1: Congratulations Coach starting out the year 8-0 first off. The last 2 years u also started out the year undefeated until this week and usually lost a game and then another one getting into league play which should be easy with the schedule you assign for non-conference games. What I am trying to say is, does your team relax cause of the hard schedule but coming away with easy wins, or is it a lack of mental preparation on your part?

Gary George: Well like you said it is a hard non-conference schedule and well since all the teams are usually ranked we are usually the upsets. With my track record of scheduling hard games and use to winning them, this year by mostly blow-outs you assume when I use its cause of something on our part. Let me remind you we are mostly always the underdogs. Yes, though it think it is my fault when we do lose conference games. Its from not practicing hard enough or I am looking ahead is when we fall. Also remember that the last two or three years the starters have been usually freshmen, usually 4 starting but this year we have only 2. The other 3 starters are sophomores. If you do look at our roster it is completely young. 6 FR, 9 SO, 1 JR, 1 SR. The sophomores started for us last year and know what it takes to win and how to get to the big dance, and I credit them for the wins and how we been winning this year.

Reporter 2: You use to average around 4 or 5 three-point shots last year a game. This year you only attempted 11 shots in 8 games? Have you changed your gameplan or is this not a strong three-point shooting team?

Gary George: Yes we only attempted 11, but we only made 3. That’s not every good. This is one of the strong three-point teams that I have, but they are very strong inside and mid-range where most of the shots come from. Our gameplan has always been to pound it inside to drawl the foul and to create an open shot from the outside. Apparently it works in our favor as we been winning the games like we have.

Reporter 3: Speaking of foul shots and winning. You have won by an average of 33 win a game. You attempt 29 foul shots a game. Strip all that away and you are only winning on a margin of 4 points. Plus your team is shooting almost perfect from the line making 222 shots for a 94%. And some games have been decided by 5 points or less. If your team doesn’t get to the line, do you think you don’t have a good chance of winning the game?

Gary George: Well I’m glad you know the exact stats. Like I said before, our game plan is to pound it inside. Some of our guys have been playing big all year and Minter is just a beast. When you have players on your team who know their positions and are team players it opens up the court more often and it makes the defense breakdowns look like oceans for our team. Its usually an easy bucket if they don’t foul and we haven’t been really a strong team at the foul line in the past, I believe the best was like 78% from the line and that was last years’ team. I think we scare sometimes, and how we do rebound is a benefit so most people will try to send us to the line instead of getting an offensive rebound for an easy put-back. Even though our offense has been putting up great numbers and they seem to increase every game, there has been some span of a couple minute(s) here or their that we go dry, and can’t hit a shot. That’s were our defense comes in and does its job.

Reporter 2: That is funny that you talk about defense since this team is such an offensive threat. Even looking at the stats they are. Second in the nation in scoring with 112.1 points a night. First time ever to be ranked in the top 30 for assists, and this year you are currently in first with 34 a game, second being a far distance of 25.3 which was Michigan State that you just played. You are shooting a record high 52% from the field which is 3rd in the nation. With this firepower you don’t really need defense the way you play your fast pace game.

Gary George: ok so we are ranked low in blocks a game. We are currently third for steals. Also we are averaging 44.2 rebounds a night which tops the nation and 36.6 of them is from the defensive side. While our offense is putting up strong numbers and has only been getting better with each game like I said before there are lapses when we play for offense, but it doesn’t seem to matter since our defense is usually up to task all game.

Reporter 3: Going back to the schedule of this year. It seems that most, actually about 95 % of your non-conference games are away? Is their an underlying theme for this or is it just the bigger schools don’t want to come to a small gym to play?

Gary George: It’s cause we can’t finance big schools to come in. No, actually its I think it is better to play away games at hostile places, especially good schools, so when you do play at home it is easier, and also when you get to the tournament you are use to playing away from your school. Also we can protect our house, and we love to go in, or I should say I love to go play at other schools. I believe we can win on the road and we feel that away is really our home court. The teams I have taken over haven’t been that good, and people would leave or boo the school. When we play on the road and we are good I just tell the team to think how it was before I came when you played at home. I think it has made our team tougher as we made it to the big dance every year, and we have gotten pretty far, even though we have never won it all. I don’t expect it this year, I demand it. Even though we are young we are too good in talent to not win it.

Reporter 1: Well you have at least 2 days off till your next opponent which is Syracuse who you beaten once in the preseason invitational, after playing four straight days against top 25 teams. Then have 2 more days off until you take on another two top 25 teams in two days. Good luck this week, hopefully you have enough rest. After this week its just conference games.

Gary George: Thank you and I am always willing to stay up and talk about anything you guys want to and hopefully we won’t disappoint you this year.

CincyFan

December 20th, 2004, 04:39 PM

Two Days of Rest Proves to be the Key to Victory for the Huskies

Syracuse scored 24 points under its average

N. Illinois (8-0) 102 @ #17 Syracuse (3-1) 70
11/26

Syracuse has always been a thorn in the side for Coach Gary George. They are the only team to have beaten Coach George’s team 3 times in five years. All those losses came at Syracuse home court. They are the most dangerous when at home as they held Coach George’s team under 40 % shooting from the field. The first half of this one would be a different one in time as it looks like they are playing at a netural site (when they meet up in the preseason tournament or NCAA tournament), but shot only 44 %. Was a close one for most of the half, until Coach George changed his gameplan. Changing guys in and out every few minutes and changing them from their normal spots. Minter who is a beast, and team captain Underwood have seen limited time in this game, looking to be worn out from last week games. No matter is the case as backup Center Troutman has filled in nicely, only scoring 2 points, but dishing out 2 assists and 7 rebounds in 7 minutes. Most of the time we saw a huge lineup for the Huskies at one point for the last 6 minutes of the half the smallest player on the court was 6’4” Treg Ngounou who was playing PG. Big lineup caused trouble for the Orangemen as they couldn’t stop the height and gave up a 18-3 run by the Huskies who scored 12 of those points from the line. Half was a easy lead 48-23 by the Huskies.

Player at the Half:
SF D’Marr Schmidt (F) 16 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 rebound

The Orangemen came out with a passion to play in the second half as they scored 47 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as they allowed the Huskies to score more with 54, to come away with a 32 point win. What helped in this win was the 34 foul shots taken by the Huskies which they made all 34. Again strip the foul shots away and the game would have been 68-70 Syracuse. Minter and Underwood would play more in the second half and showed that they were well rested as they both had a doub;e-double.

Player of the Game:
PF Todd Henderson (SO) 22 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 14 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Javier Underwood (SO) 16 points, 11 assists, 3 steals, 4 rebounds
C Laurence Minter (SO) 16 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 12 rebounds

SYRACUSE
Sf Marc Schneider (SR) 18 points, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 10 rebounds
C DeShaun Wolfe (F) 14 points, 2 assists, 3 steals, 12 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 pointers NIU- 0/1 SU- 1/12
Foul Shots NIU- 34/34 SU- ¾
Assists NIU- 26 SU-29
Rebounds NIU-46 SU-40

CincyFan

December 20th, 2004, 05:40 PM

First ever Meeting between these two Schools, Texas sees the Hype up close

Minter perfect, until injury sets him back for 4 weeks

N. Illinois (9-0) 114 @ #8 Texas (4-0) 80
11/29

Texas has the fastest PG in the nation. Texas showcased his speed the first two plays, once driving past the defender to dish off to the Center for the dunk, second time off of a outlit pass outrunning everyone to get an layup. He would soon find that with speed will only go so far and we need to be a complete player. As the next two times, 2 steals for the Huskies and two easy jams for Ngounou. Dale Evtimov (PG for Texas) would calm down and end the first half with 9 points and 10 assists. Underwood (PG for N. Illinois) would only have 1 point, but had 11 assists and 2 steals to go along with that. While trying to stop the Long Horns star, Texas on the other hand would have no answer to what is apparently becoming clear to be a fore runner to be NCAA Player of the year in sophomore powerhouse Laurence Minter. Minter played probably the best half of his career shooting 13/13 from the field, and 4/4 from the line. Minter being perfect has lead his team to half with a 14 point lead, 54-40.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (SO) 30 points, 1 steal, 9 rebounds

Second half looked like a disaster when Minter got injured within 10 seconds after half from taking a charge, later finding out it was a strained Achilles and won’t be returning to this game and will miss a couple of games. But the offense wouldn’t miss a beat as they cruised to an easy win.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (SO) 30 points, 1 steal, 10 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 22 points, 5 assists, 5 steals, 5 rebounds
PG Javier Underwood (SO) 18 points, 14 assists, 3 steals, 3 rebounds

TEXAS
PG Dale Evtimov (SR) 9 points, 13 assists, 1 steal, 1 rebound
SG Tamal Merriex (SR) 15 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 7 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots NIU- 28/31 TEXAS- 3/3
Assists NIU-30 TEXAS-31
Rebounds NIU-46 TEXAS-32
Steals NIU-16 TEXAS-8

CincyFan

December 20th, 2004, 09:40 PM

Huskies go out in a bang against last ranked opponent

Todd Henderson fills in nicely for injured Minter and collects season high 4 blocks

N. Illinois (10-0) 112 @ #22 Oklahoma (1-0) 81
11/30

Minter who is suppose to be hurt for 4 weeks, came in the next day and even got some playing time in the first half. Even though it was only 4 minutes and 0 for 4 for the field, he ended up with 2 points and 3 rebounds. Ngounou still is on fire as he was named player of the half. This one was never close, as the last game for ranked opponents, it looked like no trouble even with their all-star center Minter out. Half score was 45-33.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SG) 17 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 rebound

Second half wasn’t even a game. Underwood came back in to the role of shooter as he shoot second most on the team with 17 shots (Ngounou had 20), as well second leading scorer in the game after Minter is out for awhile. Again 5 people had double figures for the Huskies as the only bright spot today for the Sooners was PG Stefan Haigler who had a double-double.

Player of the Game:
PG Javier Underwood (SO) 23 points, 8 assists, 4 steals, 12 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 30 points, 10 assists, 2 steals, 3 rebounds
PF Todd Henderson (SO) 18 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 14 rebounds

OKLAHOMA
SF Nouga Danley (JR) 18 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 10 rebounds
PG Stefan Haigler (JR) 16 points, 21 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots NIU- 23/24 OU- 12/13
Assists NIU-36 OU-26
Rebounds NIU-50 OU-42
Blocks NIU-9 OU-5

vandnbyriver5

December 20th, 2004, 09:45 PM

wow yer smoking these guys! :shock: :shock: , keep it up

Good work Cincy,
River

CincyFan

December 20th, 2004, 11:37 PM

Huskies go out in a bang against last ranked opponent

Todd Henderson fills in nicely for injured Minter and collects season high 4 blocks

N. Illinois (10-0) 112 @ #22 Oklahoma (1-0) 81
11/30

Minter who is suppose to be hurt for 4 weeks, came in the next day and even got some playing time in the first half. Even though it was only 4 minutes and 0 for 4 for the field, he ended up with 2 points and 3 rebounds. Ngounou still is on fire as he was named player of the half. This one was never close, as the last game for ranked opponents, it looked like no trouble even with their all-star center Minter. Half score was 45-33.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SG) 17 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 rebound

Second half wasn’t even a game. Underwood came back in to the role of shooter as he shoot second most on the team with 17 shots (Ngounou had 20), as well second leading scorer in the game after Minter is out for awhile. Again 5 people had double figures for the Huskies as the only bright spot today for the Sooners was PG Stefan Haigler who had a double-double.

Player of the Game:
PG Javier Underwood (SO) 23 points, 8 assists, 4 steals, 12 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 30 points, 10 assists, 2 steals, 3 rebounds
PF Todd Henderson (SO) 18 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 14 rebounds

OKLAHOMA
SF Nouga Danley (JR) 18 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 10 rebounds
PG Stefan Haigler (JR) 16 points, 21 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots NIU- 23/24 OU- 12/13
Assists NIU-36 OU-26
Rebounds NIU-50 OU-42
Blocks NIU-9 OU-5

CincyFan

December 20th, 2004, 11:47 PM

Press Conference

December 1

Reporter 1: Coach how does it feel to have 3 people injured this year. In the last 4 years combine you only had 2 people injured. Are they not stretching or is it just a lack of fatigue from a hard schedule? Last is you lost a conference player of the year last year as a freshmen in Minter who has filled a position you really haven’t been strong at and that is a Center. Right now he is in contention for national player of the year, and most likely will make first team NCAA. Does this injury set him back of winning this award or will hamper his chances of winning it?

Gary George: Personally I don’t really pay that much attention to the awards or whatnot. I am more concerned with winning and keeping this program in top shape. He isn’t even worried about it. I know he wants to be out there every night to compete and help this team win, but I know in the back of his mind he wants it, but right now he just wants to get to the NCAA tournament and hopefully make it back to the championship game and this time win it though.

Reporter 2: You have to admit though, Minter is the strongest person at Center on your team and is a force on both sides of the floor. He has double his average from last year in points and rebounds, from 12.3 to 24.6 points a game, and 7.3 to 14.5 rebounds a night. You have to admit this does hurt your team from missing this kind of production.

Gary George: Well the last time I checked, basketball was a team sport. Even though it is nice to have stars on your team its how your team plays with each other and how well the chemsity is between everyone. You can have the 5 best people in the nation on a team, but if they all play their way and not the Coaches way they will never win. That is how I recruit. I might not recruit high school All-Americans or Mr. Basketball of a state, but I will recruit people who understand the game and who are willing to contribute for the team and not for themselves. I will take over the worst people in the nation, but if they play as a team they will be great with good coaching and trust in each other.

Reporter 3: Still having Minter injured will not give you that presence inside, on both sides of the ball. Now you only have 1 center left on the roster. How will you set your lineup since you do like smaller guys in, but now you don’t have a force inside. Are you glad you are in conference games where the competition isn’t that tough?

Gary George: First off I am going to answer the second part first. Our conference is very touch this year. We have 3 undefeated teams right now not including us, and Kent St. is 4-1. Our conference is getting better every year. Secondly I assume you didn’t watch the game last night against #22 Oklahoma. First of all we started two power forwards in the game, which meant that starter Todd Henderson moved to center to give way for Avery Slattery. Henderson is averaging 12 points a game, but when you are the last resort in scoring for the starters and still averaging 12 a night is pretty impressive. Also he is our best shot blocker and I believe is better at Center than at Power Forward. He did block a season high 4 shots last game.

Reporter 2: You been pushing your starters hard, and with the injury’s and all, and now starting conference play, do you think you will sub more and let the bench play more?

Gary George: Yes I believe you will see more of the bench, and our players are getting tired from the long trips we been taking and the back to back to sometimes back games. They need a well deserve rest and they will soon be getting on. Well our time is up, I have a plan to catch so I can talk to a couple of high schoolers I want to attend here.

CincyFan

December 21st, 2004, 12:58 AM

First Home Game and the Huskies don‘t disappoint

Backups start to see more playing time as league play continues

Akron (2-1) 79 @ N. Illinois (11-0) 93
12/6

Zips have no answer as the crowd for the Huskies finally saw it in their own gym. Huskies came out on firing making there first 13 out of 14 shots to take an early lead that they would hold onto until half, 57-35. Fast break points were plentiful during the first half for the Huskies that had 22, and then 14 second chance points. Rebounding seemed to be one sided in the first half as Huskies had the lead in that two 27 to 9.

Player at the Half:
SF D’Marr Schmidt (F) 17 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5 rebounds

Second half wasn’t much different even though the Zips only lost by 14. Problem was that the starters sat the whole second half and watched as the backups take a win at home. Shooting wasn’t that impressive by the Huskies, but the 20 offensive rebounds was.

Player of the Game:
PF Todd Henderson (SO) 14 points, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 10 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 21 points, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 rebounds
SF D’Marr Schmidt (F) 17 points, 1 assist, 2 steals, 6 rebounds

AKRON
PF Aaron Hunt (SO) 18 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, 11 rebounds
SF Rod Olson (JR) 13 points, 15 assists, 2 blocks, 3 rebounds

Key Stats:
Shooting AKRON- 49% NIU- 45%
Assists AKRON-31 NIU-26
Rebounds AKRON-32 NIU-50
Off. Rebounds AKRON-7 NIU-20

CincyFan

December 21st, 2004, 12:40 PM

Shocking first round exit out of the Seasonal Tourament for N. Illinois

Fatigue finally catches up to N. Illinois

#16 N. Illinois (12-0) 105 @ Washington (4-2) 115
12/26

It was a slow night for N. Illinois as they finally took the lead at 3:30 for the first time in the game, after being down by 14 mostly throughout the first half. Minter was listed to day to day and has played about 6 minutes of the first half and was more of a rebounder than a scorer. Washington has limited N. Illinois of getting rebounds early in the game that help jump to out to an early lead. At half the score is 60-48, as Coach George was disappointed in the way his team played defense, but said his team is fatigue and just needs to have a rest.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 18 points, 4 assists, 3 steals

The first 8 minutes was horrible as the Washington was always scoring on what seemed to be every possession, while N. Illinois forgot how to play basketball. With 4:30 left the game was only a 2 point game in favor of N. Illinois. And that is how the second half went as N. Illinois watched their 12 point lead slip away and lose by 10. First time N. Illinois has been out rebounded, and the outcome was a lost.

Player of the Game:
PF Todd Henderson (SO) 16 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 10 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SG Treg Ngounou (F) 26 points, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 rebound
PG Javier Underwood (SO) 11 points, 12 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 6 rebounds

WASHINGTON
PF Theodore Shaw (JR) 24 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 13 rebounds
SF Tommy Anderer (SR) 18 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, 10 rebounds

Key Stats:
Shooting NIU- 38% WASH- 55%
Foul Shots NIU- 32/34 WASH- 17/20
Assists NIU-34 WASH-37
Rebounds NIU-36 WASH-43

CincyFan

December 26th, 2004, 03:46 PM

was out of town, went to cleveland for christmas break so i brought up my xbox to my grandma's house. felt kind of bad because her house is truly throwback, and it was weird to have something modern their. But finished off the rest fo the year. i actually simmed some games for the first time. and it was just my conference games. so out of the 19 remaining games i only played 15 of them, the 4 conf. tourney game i simulated.

Season Recap:
Record: Overall 38 - 1
Won Conference Tournament
Won the National Championship (first time for Coach Gary George)

Played Oklahoma St. for the championship game. Oklahoma St. beat Michigan St. who won it all last year. Ok. St. beat Mich. St. by 4, which gave the underdog (#1 in tournament N. Illionois) a better chance to win which they did. Northern Illinois was ranked number 1, but going into the final week fell to #3, and then moved up to #2 to finish the year.

Gary George for the 5th straight year grabs his Conference Coach of the year, but has failed to be the nation coach of the year.

Laurence Minter (Center) is the first player under Coach Gary George to be conference player of the year. Usually what happens is when they get to league play their starters usually sit out from the blow outs and get to rest for the NCAA tournament, so there stats fall off, which Minter did as before conference play he was averaging 23.3 points, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.1 blocks, and 13.7 rebounds a game. He ended the year with averages of 18.4 points, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.5 blocks, 9.8 rebounds.

For the 5th year year their has been a player under Coach George who has been freshmen player of the conference. This year was no different, but had 2 freshmen fight for it, but in the end it went to Sg Treg Ngounou who averaged 17.5 points a game.

There was a buzz going around that Coach George was going to leave after this year no matter if he won the NCAA Tournament or not, which he did, but he stayed with the Huskies at least for another year. Even though he didn't sign 1 recruit in the season, they still have all 5 starters returning.

CincyFan

December 26th, 2004, 07:40 PM

CincyFan

December 26th, 2004, 07:45 PM

Schedule

11/12 Coaches Vs Leukemia Classic
11/19 @ Connecticut
11/20 @ Syracuse
11/21 @ Oklahoma St.
11/22 @ Cincinnati
11/25 @ Duke
11/29 @ Notre Dame
11/30 @ Michigan State
12/5 Akron
12/25 Great Northern Shootout
1/3 W. Michigan
1/6 @ Miami (OH)
1/10 @ Bowling Green
1/13 Ohio
1/16 @ C. Michigan
1/20 @ W. Michigan
1/23 E. Michigan
1/26 @ Buffalo
1/30 @ Ball St.
2/4 Marshall
2/7 @ Kent St.
2/10 C. Michigan
2/13 @ Toledo
2/17 @ E. Michigan
2/24 Bowling Green
2/27 Ball St.
3/3 Toledo

Press Conference

November 2

Reporter 1: Coach we would like to say congratulations for winning the national championship. Secondly, thank you for staying at our Huskies program. We heard that a big school from a major conference came and asked if you would like to take it over. Maximus Wallace, the A.D., wouldn’t say who it was, but it looked as if for certain you were going to have a go at a major conference. Can you enlighten us which school it was?

Gary George: First thanks it was great for our kids and I since this was my first ring and it took 5 years at two schools. Secondly it wasn’t just one major school but 3. They were Baylor, Virginia Tech, and Virginia. All three of these schools are a great place to coach at, but I have a bond with these kids and I asked for their input for my decision. Although most say to take it since it was offered, I could sense they wanted me to stay so I did. Plus people say we got lucky even thought we made it to the championship game the year before and lost only by 2.

Reporter 2: Yes we saw that you didn’t even lose anyone to the draft or have 1 senior on that ball club. You have all five starters returning and looking a lot better than last year as the freshmen matured. Do you think you have what it takes to repeat.

Gary George: Without a doubt in my mind. Right now we are currently ranked #8 in the ration. First year as a preseason poll my team has been ranked. Even though we only had 1 recruit sign with us, SG Kelyn Love who is an All-American High Schooler, and a Mr. Basketball he is actually being reshirted this year. Even right now the only thing that will stop us this year is probably the decisions I make in the next week.

Reporter 3: What do you mean by the next week. You have all 5 starters returning, you have All Conference player returning C Laurence Minter, you have the bight upcoming, probably one of the best SG in the nation in Treg Ngounou who was actually freshman conference player of the year. Your bench is the strongest is has ever been, and I still don’t understand what you mean.

Gary George: Usually it was easy to tell who the stars were on the team and how to play with them. This year it seems we have stars on the bench. Although we have all five starters coming back from last year, I am thinking about starting different people. Right now I have about 3 different lineups in my mind, and I haven’t decided on which one I want to stick with.

Reporter 2: Do you think you will have more of a threat this year with the outside game.

Gary George: Ah, yes well don’t get me started on that. I am not sure how we are going to set up this team yet, but there will be more of a presence from the outside this year. Well I am sorry, but I have to cut this short since I have a team meeting with everyone, then I am flying out to go to Ohio to recruit some big men since we currently only have one Center on this team right now. I sent out a program of our current roster and scouting report and what might be our starting lineup.

Roster and Scouting Report

PG Javier Underwood (Junior)
6’1” 179
Overall: 87
Even scoring 16.5 points and 6.1 assists last year might not be good enough to hold on to the starting spot. Will start every game, but will come out now more often when he gets tired, but still a leader on the floor and can come up with some big steals in big games.

SG Rodney Butler (Freshman)
6’3” 187
Overall: 84
Looks to be a perfect person to take over the PG stop since that is his position, but since Underwood is a team leader he has been moved to Sg to give more of a three point game offense. One of the best stealers on the team and fit in with this backcourt look for a lot of steals this year.

SF Treg Ngounou (Sophomore)
6’5’ 204
Overall: 94
The best overall player on the team this year. Even though is truly a Sg has moved to Sf to give room to freshman Rodney Butler who is really a PG but might see playing time at the one or two spot. Ngoungou had a steller freshman year as he averaged 17.5 points a game. He is the fastest player, and while for his size can play any spot from 1-3.

PF D‘Marr Schmidt (Sophomore)
6’7” 204
Overall: 89
Had a great freshman year even with Ngounou getting all the stardom. Might be the sleeper of the year. Starting PF to give more for the younger guys. Even though he weights just barely over 200, he is very physical and loves to pound it inside.

C Laurence Minter (Junior)
6’11” 268
Overall: 90
While he didn’t improve that much from his rating from last year is probably one of the most exciting players to watch in college ball. He is truly the best big man in college ball this year even though his rating is just a 90. Will probably leave after this year to go pro. Is unstoppable inside and will grab every rebound that comes off the glass.

PF Todd Henderson (Junior)
6’10” 240
Overall: 86
Will find playing time at either PF or C. Is the best shot blocker and defensive player on the team. While averaging 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds last year. Another sleeper on this team. If the other team has a big lineup except to see this guy starting, if not will be 6th man of the year.

PF Avery Slattery (Junior)
6’9” 209
Overall: 86
Isn’t very strong, and sometimes isn’t that physical. Very streaky player. When he is hot look for him to start and maybe play most of the game. Mostly is cold and will probably be on the bench as last year he had an under par season with only 8.3 points per game.

PF Bradley Wysocki (Senior)
6’10” 245
Overall: 83
Three years ago would have started under Coach George with an 83 rating. Now is 4th on the depth chart at PF. Is a big body and can take up space and will be the only reason to play unless everyone else gets in foul trouble.

PG Lakeith French (Junior)
6’1” 190
Overall: 82
Is a decent player and can fit as a backup and will see playing time this year as he did last year. But is injury prone and can he go a whole season without being injured?

PG Lamarquis Hunt (Freshman)
5’11” 170
Overall: 82
Might find playing time as well as Coach George wanted to go with a 3 guard lineup. Great offensive upside to this kid, but average on the defensive side.

PG Torris Rickert (Freshman)
5’10” 167
Overall: 77
He can dribble and steal decently, has no low or mid shot, but a decent side outside shot. He can be a bust, but will probably still find time as a backup.

SF Steve Norwood (Junior)
6’6” 202
Overall: 73
Another very streaky player. One game can score 22 points the next game only 3. Will mostly play when he is hot, if not he will be warming up his coldness from the bench.

CincyFan

December 26th, 2004, 07:49 PM

Every Single Player for the Huskies Chip in for Huge Win

Starters play sparring in first game

#8N. Illinois (0-0) 110 @ TXAM-CC (0-0) 54
11/12

This Huskies team looks like an NBA team overall. This year as instead of just pound, pound, pound inside always to draw a foul to win. This year they are complete in every aspect of the game to look better than anyone this post season. Their first 3 shots were 18 feet or back. Two of them for three-point land as they take an early 8-0 lead. AMCC had to call a time out to try to stop this madness as the Huskies are hitting every shot they taken so far to jump out 17-4 (7 for 7 shooting so far). The problems would continue for AMCC as they fell deeper and deeper in a whole and when the buzzer went off it was 61-26 half. Suprising fact for the Huskies is 3 three-pointers attempts, 3 three-pointers made.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 16 points, 1 assist

Second half was about as ugly as the first, as the Huskies easly won in the first round of the season tournament. Everyone on the Huskies team got to play. The benched looked good as the overall team did with an easy 50 point win, but had 8 people score in double figures.

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 14 points, 7 assists, 3 steals, 1 rebound

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
C Laurence Minter (JR) 14 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 6 rebounds
PF Todd Henderson (JR) 12 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 8 rebounds

TXAM-CC
C J. Strickland (JR) 13 points, 1 assist, 5 rebounds
PF Tahric Finley (SO) 8 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 4/4 AMCC- 0/2
Foul Shots NIU- 22/25 AMCC- 8/15
Assists NIU-37 AMCC-22
Rebounds NIU-34 AMCC-19
Bench Pts. NIU-42 AMCC-18

CincyFan

December 26th, 2004, 08:47 PM

Huskies Still Manage to Pull Away Despite Shooting 34 %

PG Rodney Butler was 2 assists shy of a triple-double

Hofstra (1-0) 64 @ #8 N. Illinois (1-0) 94
11/13

While Hofstra has turned into a decent club, no one thought they would be within 20 of the Huskies at half. Could they stop the national champions, maybe even be winning at half? Well the winning at half over the Huskies is probably impossible for this team, but they are only down by 14. They had the lead by 7 early in the game, but the Huskies having trouble shooting began to go back downlow to their All-American Center (Minter) and start to gain and then expand their lead going into half with a 48-34 lead.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 18 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 6 rebounds

Second half it was all about Underwood. He didn’t score in the first half at all, but decided to score his 10 points down the stretched when the Huskies needed it. Also it helped him pick up a triple-double when he scored his last points in the final 1:30 to play. Minter lead the way which opened up the three-pointers this game, but they were ice cold firing up 3 of them and not connecting on any of them.

Player of the Game:
PG Javier Underwood (JR) 10 points, 11 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks, 11 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
C Laurence Minter (JR) 35 points, 1 assist, 4 steals, 16 rebounds
PG Rodney Butler (F) 16 points, 8 assists, 10 steals, 2 rebounds

HOFSTRA
PF Eric Mattox (SR) 19 points, 2 assists, 7 rebounds
SG Chris Bryan (JR) 13 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots H- 1/2 NIU- 28/30
Assists H-28 NIU-25
Rebounds H-36 NIU-35
Steals H-3 NIU-19
Fast Break Pts. H-4 NIU-26

CincyFan

December 27th, 2004, 09:48 PM

Belmont couldn‘t find the White Flag for this Game

N. Illinois holds Belmont to 18 second half points

#8 N. Illinois (2-0) 121 @ Belmont (2-0) 48
11/14

This game hurts me so bad to even think back about the first half, and to do would sadden me so I am just going to leave the score for half and move on to the second half maybe that one will be better. 72-30 Huskies.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 21 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds

Second half was worst as the reserves were in and it took Belmont 4:49 seconds to finally score in the second half. This game was ugly. That’s all I have to say about this.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 21 points, 3 assists, 4 steals, 11 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Javier Underwood (JR) 15 points, 11 assists, 3 steals, 5 rebounds
PG Rodney Butler (F) 14 points, 8 assists, 4 steals, 1 rebound

BELMONT
C Ricardo Young (JR) 17 points, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 3 rebounds
PF Micheal Cornette (SR) 12 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 3 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots NIU- 30/31 BEL- 8/13
Assists NIU-38 BEL-17
Turnovers NIU-5 BEL-30
Rebounds NIU-33 BEL-19
Steals NIU-23 BEL-4

Another Year, Same Teams, Same Outcome

Freshman Butler long ball helps propel Huskies to the Win

Syracuse (3-0) 94 @ #8 N. Illinois (3-0) 113
11/15

Usually Syracuse is the one who is ranked and N. Illinois is the one who is the underdog. This year however the roles are switched and it looks to be a good game as always for the championship game of the tournament. The score looks closer than the actual play at half. Huskies up on the Orange 66-39. It seems as if the Huskies so be up more but they are not. Starters are out once again, but still the Huskies are on fire from everywhere shooting a season high 70 % in the first half with 3 of 4 from deep.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 14 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 9 rebounds

Syracuse just on a tear in the second half came all the way back and was down by 4. Then it was the new freshman PG Rodney Butler who hit 4 long three’s to help keep the lead in the Huskies favor and the win.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 16 points, 8 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 19 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Rodney Butler (F) 22 points, 9 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds
PG Javier Underwood (JR) 16 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds

SYRACUSE
SG Major Mendoza (JR) 32 points, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 rebounds
PG Ryan Caskill (SR) 5 points, 20 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 rebound

Key Stats:
3 Pointers SU- 6/18 NIU- 6/8
Assists SU-36 NIU-39
Rebounds SU-23 NIU-45
Off. Rebounds SU-2 NIU-11

Best Two Teams in Nation Square off

Minter first player under Coach George to score more than 40 points in a game

#8N. Illinois (4-0) 114 @ #1 Connecticut (0-0) 91
11/19

Connecticut is like wine just gets better over time, as shown that this year coming into this game with an overall rating of an 100. This could be the matchup in the tournament, but now is the most exciting game on the schedule. 53-44 is the score at half and what an exciting game it has been. The hype was all true in the first half. Lead changes left and right. Finally N. Illinois started to pull away from the shots from the line. Conn. didn’t even go to the line once in the first quarter compared to the 18 times N. Illinois did as they made all of them. Right now Uconn doesn’t look that impressive shooting wise, but they don’t really care if they miss since they have out rebounded Northern Illinois 23-14 in the first half. While 8 of those 23 are offensive.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 20 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 rebounds

This game was exciting for the first 18 minutes. Someone forgot to tell Connecticut that there was still 6 more minutes to be played. That was the last time Uconn would see the lead and then find out how Minter is the best Center in the game. For the last six minutes Northern Illinois went on a 39 to 14 run to end the game.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 48 points, 7 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 21 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Javier Underwood (JR) 10 points, 13 assists, 7 steals, 5 rebounds
PG Rodney Butler (F) 18 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 5 rebounds

CONNECTICUT
SG Alaivaa Skeeter (SR) 21 points, 18 assists, 2 steals, 8 rebounds
SG Stefan Byrd (SR) 13 points, 1 assist, 6 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 3/6 CONN- 4/18
Foul Shots NIU- 29/29 CONN- 15/16
Assists NIU-31 CONN-30
Rebounds NIU-39 CONN-42

Huskies show why Orangemen aren‘t Ranked with a Big Win

Junior PG Javier Underwood will miss 34 days or just 6 games

#8N. Illinois (5-0) 101 @ Syracuse (3-1) 79
11/20

Syracuse always gives problems for N. Illinois at their home court. This year they aren’t ranked will it still be a challenged. Yes it will as they are one of the few teams to hold the Huskies under 50 points in a half. Even though the score at half is 49-33. Big news in the first half is that PG Javier Underwood setting up to take a charge on a fast break got the charge, but broke his finger and is now out for the game and some time. Again the Orangemen hold the Huskies under 40 % shooting in the first half.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 15 points, 1 steal, 2 rebounds

Again the Huskies dominated the second half. But from the stats it looked as if on paper Sycause should have won or would have been close. This was not the case, even after injury fell on Underwood. Everyone was on ice today for the Huskies but still manage to come out with the win. Syracuse falls to 3-2 on the year with both losses coming to N. Illinois.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 22 points, 2 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 15 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 25 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 rebounds
PG Rodney Butler (F) 22 points, 13 assists, 2 steals, block, 2 rebounds

SYRACUSE
SG Major Mendoza (JR) 19 points, 11 assists, 1 steal, 3 rebounds
SF Jerold Nicholas (SR) 10 points, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 9 rebounds

Key Stats:
Shooting NIU- 42% SU- 49%
Foul Shots NIU- 35/36 SU- 8/10
Assists NIU-31 SU-33
Rebounds NIU-39 SU-38

Oklahoma had no answer, but N. Illinois had every answer

SF D‘Marr Schmidt only starter not to get a double-double

#8N. Illinois (6-0) 110 @ #12 Oklahoma St. (1-0) 92
11/21

58-41 Huskies lead at half ending on an 8-0 run. Beginning of the game the Huskies started on a 8-0 run. In between was kind of messy as within 5 minutes it was Oklahoma St. grabbed the lead and one point in the half was up as many as 11. Huskies freshman PG Rodney Butler who has been on fire every game was ice cold so far and is 2 for 8 from the field, and 0 for 2 from deep. He has done everything else great as to keep the tempo up still and keep the team under control.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 23 points, 2 assists, 3 steals, 10 rebounds

Second half at first looked really close. The Cowboys would keep the score low most of the second half and was only down by 6 with seven minutes left. But every run the Cowboys put together, it seemed as if one person for the Huskies would turn it on as every one they went on someone got a double-double. In the end Huskies were too powerful as they walk away with another easy win.

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 16 points, 18 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 11 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
C Laurence Minter (JR) 36 points, 2 assists, 5 steals, 16 rebounds
PF Todd Henderson (JR) 16 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 14 rebounds

OKLAHOMA ST.
PG Gerry Padilla (SR) 29 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds
PF Reyshawn Cooley (JR) 10 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 9 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 1/7 OS- 9/24
Foul Shots NIU- 25/25 OS- 9/9
Assists NIU-37 OS-27
Rebounds NIU-45 OS-40

Huskies Starters all score at least 20 to help defeat the Bearcats

Minter helps improve his icon status as Player of the Year with an unbelievable performance

#8N. Illinois (7-0) 124 @ #9 Cincinnati (1-0) 104
11/22

After the Huskies were up by 27 in the first half they only go into half with a 13 point lead, 65-52. This game as turned into a 3 point contest as a total they are 7 for 17 in the first half, and 10 of those shots were from the Huskies. Big news is that Hunt who is third on the depth chart at PG came in and hit all 3 made three-pointers for the Huskies in the first half and as a total of 11 points.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 18 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 11 rebounds

While expanding the lead to 34 it looked over so they put in their backups with 5 minutes left. Cincinnati went on a huge run to where it was only down by 13 with 2:12 left, so the starters came back on the court and kept the lead and got the win.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 24 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 20 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Rodney Butler (F) 20 points, 19 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 8 rebounds
PF Todd Henderson (JR) 21 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 12 rebounds

CINCINNATI
SG Clayton Karron-Clarke (SR) 31 points, 3 assists, 1 block, 6 rebounds
PG W.M. Hayes (SR) 7 points, 25 assists, 4 steals, 2 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 3/12 CIN- 9/20
Foul Shots NIU- 23/23 CIN- 9/10
Assists NIU-41 CIN-40
Rebounds NIU-47 CIN-37

Guards are too much for Duke to Handle

PG Rodney Butler picks up his second triple-double in three games

#6N. Illinois (8-0) 108 @ #15 Duke (2-0) 87
11/25

Another game on away court and again domination from this Huskies team. Now with SF D’Marr Schmidt (Sophomore) injured for 17 days, another freshman guard will have to move into the starting lineup to give a spark. Last game with some huge three’s down the stretch from the bench comes in to start at SG is Lamarquis Hunt (really a PG) and has been a spark in this game too. Is second in scoring at half with 12 to give an easy 56-39 lead for the Huskies.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 14 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, 6 rebounds

Second half the Blue Devils got within 4 points then it was raining three’s from the Huskies that from under Gary George hasn’t taken more than 7 three’s in a game and in this one had more than 10 attempts in the second half alone. 20 three-pointers were put up by the Huskies, and they made an impressive 9 of them. Hitting 5 out of 11 in the second half alone to give them another big lead and they rode that lead to the end of the game.

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 25 points, 13 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 16 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PF Todd Henderson (JR) 26 points, 1 assist, 2 steals, 10 rebounds
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 17 points, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 13 rebounds

DUKE
SG Lavelle Sanders (SR) 27 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
PG Jeremiah Whittington (SR) 18 points, 16 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 6 rebounds

Key Stats:
Assists NIU-31 DUKE-29
Rebounds NIU-51 DUKE-36
Steals NIU-8 DUKE-12
Blocks NIU-7 DUKE-3

REDSFAN2004

December 27th, 2004, 10:48 PM

thats great stuff. CincyFan keep up the good work man. :)

CincyFan

December 28th, 2004, 12:33 AM

Nothern Illinois stay‘s sharp in the second half to come away with another Blowout

Freshmen rising star Rodney Butler takes over this game with a triple-double once again

#6N. Illinois (9-0) 120 @ #4 Notre Dame (2-0) 86
11/29

While the Huskies go in again at half with at least a 15 point lead and what some people might say is a great way to play ball against the #4 team in the nation, Coach Gary George is actually disappointed in how they played. “Most of the first half we were very impressive. There are some times and a couple minutes here and there where we are just down right horrible. He need to stop having lapses and get our heads into this game or we will lose.” While some people say the Coach might be a little too hard on his team, if you forgot last year when they played Notre Dame was ranked number 1 and kept knocking on the door to only lose by 5 when they had a 22 point lead at half.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 18 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 7 rebounds

Well it looked like Coach George’s halftime speech helped as they expanded the lead and not let it drop like in recent games. Now in the backcourt for the Huskies are two freshmen and they are doing a great job for the two injured players as they totaled 53 points, 22 assist, 10 steals, 13 rebounds between them this game, and looks to be a very deep bench this year as they cruise to an easy win.

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 28 points, 13 assists, 4 steals, 12 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
C Laurence Minter (JR) 28 points, 6 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 16 rebounds
PF Todd Henderson (JR) 14 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 10 rebounds

NOTRE DAME
C Ben Aguko (SO) 23 points, 3 assists, 1 block, 10 rebounds
PG Richie Ramlow (JR) 13 points, 18 assists, 1 block, 3 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 5/11 ND- 10/21
Foul Shots NIU- 15/15 ND- 0/1
Assists NIU-37 ND-31
Rebounds NIU-45 ND-35
Steals NIU-17 ND-6

Battle of upcoming title match again this year, Huskies pull away in the end

PG Butler could he have another triple-double, if u guess so you were right

#8N. Illinois (10-0) 93 @ #3 Michigan St. (3-0) 79
11/30

Treg Ngounou played horrible in the first half. Actually everyone from the Huskies played horrible, while the Spartins were amazing in every aspect of the game and still the Huskies lead at haft 45 to 31. Both teams are shooting under 40 % (NIU- 35% MIST- 39%), Spartins have more rebounds, assists, blocks, pts in paint than the Huskies and still are losing. It’s a messy game so far, but yet at the same time a good game to watch. The difference so far is size. Huskies are quick and can shoot the long ball, while the Spartins can shoot the long ball decently, but can score at will inside.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 10 points, 1 assist, 4 steals, 1 block, 10 rebounds

Spartins go on a 8-0 run to start the second half as still the Huskies are still not playing like they use too. Maybe it was cause the polls dropped them down after starting out 10-0 on the year to back to #8, but they need to wake up to win this game. It started too look scary until the backcourt of freshmen for the Huskies took over like they have been the last couple of games and hit some big three’s. In the end it was a close one as the Spartins were the only one to break over 40 % shooting (they shot 43 %).

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 21 points, 15 assists, 1 steal, 11 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Lamarquis Hunt (F) 21 points, 6 assists, 6 steals, 3 rebounds
C Laurence Minter (JR) 18 points, 2 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 23 rebounds

MICHIGAN ST.
SF Morris See (SR) 18 points, 9 assists, 2 blocks, 11 rebounds
SF Kendrick Russell (SR) 18 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 6/15 MIST- 6/19
Assists NIU-28 MIST-33
Rebounds NIU-52 MIST-49
Steals NIU-14 MIST-5
Blocks NIU-3 MIST-9

CincyFan

December 28th, 2004, 07:07 PM

Conference Looks Weak or its just that Huskies are too Powerful

Teams are tired of hearing about PG Butler getting triple-doubles

#8 N. Illinois (11-0) 119 @ Akron (3-0) 56
12/5

While the Zips are third in conference with an undefeated record coming into this game at 3-0, but some people think this match up between league play is like a varsity team against a freshmen team in high school. No contest at all. Halftime the score is 53-32 in favor of the best team in the conference the Huskies. Starters played 10 of the 13 minutes in the first half and asked why, Coach George said “The Great Alaska Shootout is coming up, last year we had our starters bench this game and we got out tails whipped in the tournament. I just want them to stay in to let them know that our schedule now is not just a cake walk.”

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 18 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound

Second half was just nasty and it did turn into like a varsity game vs. the freshman team. Easily a 50 point win for the first conference game for the Huskies and they proved why they are the only one ranked (3 schools, well now 2) that was undefeated. Again Butler, man this kid is one of the best in the nation grabbing another triple-double, making it 5 in 11 games to start out his collegian career.

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 27 points, 21 assists, 6 steals, 11 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
C Laurence Minter (JR) 25 points, 4 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 21 rebounds
PG Lamarquis Hunt (F) 27 points, 8 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds

AKRON
SG Jose Collison (SR) 21 points, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 6 rebounds
PF Aaron Hunt (JR) 13 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 7 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers AKRON- 3/16 NIU- 3/5
Assists AKRON-21 NIU-37
Turnovers AKRON-26 NIU-2
Rebounds AKRON-33 NIU-47
Steals AKRON-1 NIU-16

CincyFan

December 28th, 2004, 08:12 PM

Rematch of last years first Round Tournament winds up going to the Favorite N. Illinois this time around

Butler once again comes close but misses the triple-double

#2N. Illinois (12-0) 107 @ Washington (3-3) 101
12/25

The game N. Illinois has been waiting for has arrived. Last year was perfect until these two teams met for the first time in the same first round tournament and Washington came away with a huge blow-out victory. Some say the underdogs again who is Washington will win, but lately how N. Illinois has been playing it is highly doubtful. Again the score is close at half with N. Illinois up 51-45. As each team started to pull away early the other would go on a big run to take the lead. First was Washington being up 12-5 until the run from N. Illinois who took the lead 24-18. Washington came back to take the lead 34-27. Last run would be by the N. Illinois who went into half by 6.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 20 points, 1 assist, 2 steals, 9 rebounds

Game would come down to the final minute to decide the winner which N. Illinois hasn’t seen lately would they buckle under the pressure of a close game and have a new rivalry. With 1 min left the N. Illinois had the ball and a 3 point lead. Blocked by Melvin who is the best player probably in a PF spot as he is listed at 200 pounds and 7 feet tall to grab his 3rd block of the game. On the other end they would try to pull off the tie with a three-pointer which they been on target all night long. Blocked this time by the Freshman Stud in Butler. They tried to push it up by Butler called for it and settle the troops down by stopping the flow and running 7 seconds before Nash fouled him to pick up his 5th foul (also he was 6 for 7 for three-pointers tonight) Sends Butler too the line who is 49 for 50 this year and sinks both. Basket at the other end for Washington to cut the lead back to 3. Fouls Butler who actually misses the second shot to have a 4 point game with 33 seconds left. Again Melvin is there to score again to close to lead by 2. Butler back to the line once more and this time does what he does best and drains both of them. 25 seconds left for Washington down back by 4. Ball goes back to Melvin again who does a turn around J on 2 defenders and nothing but net. Tries to foul Butler, but somehow escapes the intention foul and drives the ball to half court and stops. This brings up the last defender as Butler passes to the man running down the court who is Ngounou for a wide open dunk. 13.6 seconds left now still by 4. Again Melvin with a pump fake to get one defender up and the takes his shot as he again sinks it once more to close the lead to 2. Butler is foul, adds 2 more points. 8.4 left now. Hunt who is a freshman comes in off the bench this game to the starter in return from injury Underwood (who fouled out with 4 minutes left to play) comes up with a huge steal on the inbound and is fouled. Game over.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 36 points, 2 assists, 4 steals, 20 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Rodney Butler (F) 19 points, 19 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 6 rebounds
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 25 points, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 rebounds

WASHINGTON
PF Terence Melvin (JR) 41 points, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 14 rebounds
SF Jamon Nash (SR) 21 points, 14 assists, 6 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 2/6 WASH- 11/21
Foul Shots NIU- 25/27 WASH- 6/7
Assists NIU-35 WASH-39
Rebounds NIU-40 WASH-43
Blocks NIU-5 WASH-6

CincyFan

December 28th, 2004, 10:21 PM

Sooners backcourt too good for Huskies as they lose by 3

Miss lay-ups and blocked Dunks cost Huskies the Win

#2 N. Illinois (13-0) 101 @ #8 Oklahoma (7-0) 104
12/26

While being down by 18 for most of the first half the Huskies started to make there way back to making it a game and finally with 1:38 left in the first half took the lead on a deep three from Ngounou. While Underwood has started the last two games he has looked shaky and was bench in the middle of the first half with 3 fouls. Asked why he kept him in for so long, Coach George’s response was “After the injury he is not comfortable being back out there and is just a half second behind everyone. Hopefully he just needed some time to get back in gear but it hasn’t looked that way and with the lead I needed to bring in Butler to lead this group.” Half time is tied up at 52-52.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 23 points, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 rebounds

This game was tight all the way thru the second half with the biggest lead by 6 by the Huskies as they went on a 8-2 run at the beginning of the half. After that the Sooners tied it up and was tied throughout the second half the of the ballgame. Again going to decide with the last minute of play. Down by 2 for the Huskies Henderson hit’s a 12 foot turnaround J. Tied at 95. Sooners score on a 8 foot jumper with 33 seconds left. Minter does a nice spin move goes up for the jam and gets blocked, Sooners ball. Hits both and then the Sooners steal it and go back to the line. Game looking out of hand now for the Huskies down by 6, Underwood comes off the bench for the first time since his 3rd foul in the first half and drains a 3. Foul expected on the inbound and it is. Sinks both, again Underwood calls for the screen and moved off clean and drains a deep deep open three. 14 seconds left and down by 2. Halgler who made all 6 foul shots in the last minute is sent to the line and looked to expand the lead to 4, but misses on the first. Sinks the second though. Three attempts from deep and all three misses as N. Illinois loses for the first time all season. Last year their only lost came to Washington in the first round of this Tournament.
Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 15 points, 3 assists, 7 steals, 21 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Rodney Butler (F) 13 points, 13 assists, 1 block, 7 rebounds
PF Todd Henderson (JR) 22 points, 2 assists, 14 rebounds

OKLAHOMA
PG Filiberto Gal breath (SR) 29 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 rebound
PG Stefan Haigler (SR) 13 points, 19 assists, 2 steals, 4 rebounds

Key Stats:
Shooting NIU- 44 % OU- 53 %
Foul Shots NIU- 18/19 OU- 18/21
Assists NIU-27 OU-35
Rebounds NIU-48 OU-39
Off. Rebounds NIU-18 OU-5

CincyFan

December 28th, 2004, 11:33 PM

Starters for Huskies see Limited Time in League Play Now

Huskies bench scores 60

W. Michigan (5-4) 62 @ #8 N. Illinois (13-1) 115
1/3

First half wasn’t so pretty as the starters stay in till the last couple minutes of the first half. Even while W. Michigan came out strong winning the first 4 games the last 5 games they only won 1. This game looks to add another lost as the Huskies take a 55-25 lead at half.

Player at the Half:
PF Todd Henderson (JR) 16 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 6 rebounds

Second half was even better for the Huskies who expanded their lead and won more than 50 with their reserves in for the whole second half. Now most people would think that is pathetic or bad on W. Michigan to get beat so bad by the bench, but you have to remember this is no ordinary team in the MAC. They are the reining champions and are the only team ranked in the top 25. Plus the last person on the Huskies could start for Broncos. So its not that bad to get beat by this bench. Minter the all-star Center for this Huskies group only had 7 points.

Player of the Game:
PF Todd Henderson (JR) 16 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 6 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Rodney Butler (F) 17 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, 7 rebounds
PG Javier Underwood (JR) 16 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 rebounds

W. MICHIGAN
SG Berry Sanders (SR) 16 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds
PG Raul Sullivan (SR) 13 points, 8 assists, 1 block, 1 rebound

Key Stats:
Assists WMCH-22 NIU-30
Turnovers WMCH-27 NIU-1
Rebounds WMCH-32 NIU-40
Steals WMCH-0 NIU-19
Bench Pts. WMCH-12 NIU-60

Anonymous

December 28th, 2004, 11:56 PM

On your last post it said you lost, but in the score it showed you won by 3. Maybe it was backwards.

Just wanted to let you know.
-J

CincyFan

December 29th, 2004, 01:33 PM

thanks for letting me know about the Oklahoma score i just put them for the wrong team. i did lose by 3 which was stupid i couldn't make a shot forth anything inside and could make at the end of the game 3's without a problem.

CincyFan

December 29th, 2004, 02:11 PM

Another Conference Win by 50 for the Huskies

Backcourt for Huskies (and bench) comes thru huge

#4 N. Illinois (14-1) 120 @ Miami (OH) (4-4) 62
1/6

Another League game another blow out in the first half while the starters again played the first 10 minutes. The Redskins kept it close for the first 7 minutes while the Huskies had the lead 25-17, but then went on a tremendous run and would finally play their shut down D. End of the half came with a 58-29 lead for the Huskies.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 14 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 9 rebounds

Second half was worst than the first. It got out of the hand and well all you need to know in the second half is they won by 50. This team is nasty against just an average team.

Player of the Game:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 17 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 13 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Lamarquis Hunt (F) 18 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound
PG Rodney Butler (F) 11 points, 10 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 6 rebounds

MIAMI (OH)
PG Andry Couisnard (SR) 19 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 rebounds
C Kory Warden (F) 10 points, 2 blocks, 6 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 3/7 M (OH)- 4/19
Foul Shots NIU- 39/39 M (OH)- 6/8
Assists NIU-30 M (OH)-22
Rebounds NIU-46 M (OH)-30

Conference Best‘s Meet for first time in season

Butler gets the last laugh

#4 N. Illinois (15-1) 103 @ Bowling Green (9-0) 51
1/10

Game was started out on a 11 -2 run by Bowling Green. Was it so shocking that the undefeated team in this conference would take the lead? Apparently not when they are not ranked and the Huskies are in the top 5 in he polls. Huskies would then turn on the engines and go on a 21-2 run to take the lead and run off with the lead till half making it 56-26. Treg Ngounou was perfect shooting tonight going 6 for 6 from the field and 2 for 2 from the line.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 14 points, 3 assists, 3 steals

Second half another blow out. The only special thing to talk about is Rodney Butler. Before the game he asked the coach of the Huskies, Gary George, if he could play most of the game. Coach George understood every well the reason why. “Senior year in High School he was looking at three scholarships. One was to Gonzaga, the other was Bowling Green and us. After winning it, all I think helped his choice to come here, but he would of started right away for us, while on Bowling Green they had a all-star PG where he had to sit out a year. The kid just wanted to play, and while the coach from Bowling Green, Rhet Dixon, found out that he was thinking about coming here he said nasty things of what would happen if he did come here and everything and said some nasty things about our program and me. I don’t mind it, cause at the end of the day Butler choose us, and plus that’s what college coaches do to try to recruit they lie to get you to come to their school. I told Butler the truth. Underwood is our leader on the court but last year was a little shaky, but would find starting time at SG. So he decided to come here. Now we meet them in this game and we wants to play. What happens well you know the rest.” What the rest Coach George was talking about was with 4:03 left in the game and while playing 16 out of the 20 minutes so far, he grabbed his 10th assist on the day. Which while everyone thought it was a triple-double was wrong. It was a quadtruple-double. What a way to go out when the Coach who wanted to recruited you said you won’t make it on the starting team until your Junior year and that you would be just average. Guess those 5 triple-doubles, and now this in 16 games is just average, average for Butler at least.

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 25 points, 13 assists, 11 steals, 4 blocks, 11 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Javier Underwood (JR) 15 points, 4 assists, 6 steals, 1 block, 5 rebounds
PF Avery Slattery (JR) 8 points, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 8 rebounds

BOWLING GREEN
SF Noah North (JR) 18 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 rebounds
SG Alaivaa Sharp (SR) 8 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots NIU- 15/15 BGU- 5/9
Assists NIU-33 BGU-19
Turnovers NIU-14 BGU-36
Rebounds NIU-40 BGU-35
Steals NIU-28 BGU-8

CincyFan

December 29th, 2004, 03:05 PM

Slow start means nothing for Huskies as they Finish with Full Steam Ahead

Butler, do we have to mention what this kid does when he plays?

Ohio (4-6) 48 @ #4 N. Illinois (16-1) 114
1/13

Butler playing most of the game last game still continues to be hot as he is the player of the half and already has a double-double. But Coach George said he will sit out the second half, unless a guard fouls out or needs a rest is the only way Butler will come back. First half again looked ugly at the start for Huskies as they fell into a hole early with the score being 9-1. They came roaring back as they again had an easy lead at half which would make the reserves come in with a 60-31 lead.

Player at the Half:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 13 points, 11 assists, 3 steals, 7 rebounds

Well Rodney Butler came back in as Ngounou fouled out and picked up his 5th triple-double on the year. The other amazing thing was the Huskies closed out the game on a 30-7 run to win more than 50 points again for conference play.

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 17 points, 16 assists, 3 steals, 11 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
C Laurence Minter (JR) 14 points, 8 assists, 3 steals, 12 rebounds
PF Bradley Winsock (SR) 12 points, 2 asists, 1 block, 8 rebounds

OHIO
SF Esmond Zaharias (SO) 14 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 rebounds
SG Engin Jenkins (SO) 7 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 rebounds

Key Stats:
Assists OHIO-16 NIU-36
Rebounds OHIO-25 NIU-45
Steals OHIO-6 NIU-14
Bench Pts. OHIO-15 NIU-42
Fast Break Pts. OHIO-0 NIU-42

C. Michigan only conference team so far not to lose by more than 50 to N. Illinois

Freshman Standout on team Standout in Nation

#4 N. Illinois (17-1) 109 @ C. Michigan (5-6) 73
1/16

This time it took a little longer for the Huskies to jump start as they finally took the lead with 6:34 left in the first half to play, but they didn’t take the commanding lead into half this time as they were up only by 6. 45-39 is a low scoring half for this high power offense by the Huskies. What helped Chippewas stay in the game was how they shot the ball. The best first half all year for them at a 74 %.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 18 points, 2 steals, 4 rebounds

While C. Michigan were warming up during the break, the Huskies didn’t come out of the locker room. Some though Coach George was yelling at his players to motivate or to fire them up but this wasn’t true. Instead he was in the locker room making adjustments for the whole second half and it worked as the Chippewas was confused and didn’t know how to handle the full court press or the 1-3-1 mixed with man to man on defense. In turn Huskies win 36.

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 22 points, 20 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 12 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 28 points, 3 assists, 7 steals, 1 rebound
C Laurence Minter (JR) 26 points, 3 assists, 5 steals, 7 rebounds

C. MICHIGAN
PF Dale Collins (JR) 18 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 rebounds
SF Stephon Morrissette (JR) 10 points, 12 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound

Key Stats:
Shooting NIU- 48 % CMU- 60 %
Foul Shots NIU- 20/21 CMU- 0/0
Rebounds NIU-32 CMU-23
Off Rebounds NIU-12 CMU-3

Anonymous

December 29th, 2004, 10:43 PM

What difficulty level are you playin on man?

CincyFan

December 30th, 2004, 03:27 AM

second to the hardest. i think it is all-american. but if u are worried about how i am blowing people out its cause my team is pretty much awesome. i think they are a 96 Overall, and i just pound it inside until the outside game opens up.

CincyFan

January 1st, 2005, 10:57 PM

Huskies make basketball fun again, Broncos aren‘t laughing though

Bench out does starters this game

#3 N. Illinois (18-1) 138 @ W. Michigan (7-6) 75
1/20

After the close conference game a couple days before, Coach George decided to give his boys a break and let them have practice, but just fun and games. I decided I been working these boys to death and we need some time off. It showed in the first half as the Huskies thought it was still just fun and games as they laughed on the bench as they saw the starters jump out early on the Broncos, and held a commanding lead 68-37 at half.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 18 points, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 3 rebounds

Second half was the starters turn to laugh and relax as the bench help expand that huge halftime lead into a bigger one. Coach George was happy after the game and said “maybe we need to have more practices like that before games then.” as he was impressed by the easy win.

Player of the Game:
PF Bradley Winsock (SR) 18 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 7 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
PG Rodney Butler (F) 15 points, 11 assists, 2 steals, 4 rebounds
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 17 points, 3 assists, 2 steals

W. MICHIGAN
SG Darnell Okafor (SR) 16 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 rebounds
PG Raul Sullivan (SR) 8 points, 15 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 2 rebounds

Key Stats:
3 Pointers NIU- 4/9 WMCH- 2/7
Foul Shots NIU- 32/33 WMCH- 15/17
Assists NIU-40 WMCH-26
Rebounds NIU-37 WMCH-23
Steals NIU-16 WMCH-2

CincyFan

January 2nd, 2005, 06:08 PM

Huskies back on Cruise Control

How good is the Huskies bench? Really Good

E. Michigan (8-5) 58 @ #3 N. Illinois (19-1) 121
1/23

Again the starters looked unstoppable in league play as they cruised to an early lead and held it at half with a 67-30 lead. Fast break points were easy as they scored 18 in the first half. First time was prefect from deep, even if it was 1 for 1.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 21 points, 1 assist, 2 steals

Second half wasn’t a contest again. With the starters sitting out another second half of play. Another conference game, another win by 50.

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 12 points, 8 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 6 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
C Laurence Minter (JR) 10 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 7 rebounds
PG Javier Underwood (JR) 18 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 5 rebounds

E. MICHIGAN
SF Amit Allen (SO) 15 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds
PF Pearson Backpedal (SR) 15 points, 7 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots EMCH- 6/8 NIU- 36/40
Assists EMCH-23 NIU-35
Turnovers EMCH-27 NIU-6
Rebounds EMCH-25 NIU-38
Fouls EMCH-22 NIU-11

CincyFan

January 2nd, 2005, 06:16 PM

Huskies hold the Bulls under 50

Bench steps up and only holds the Bulls to 19 points in second half

#1 N. Illinois (20-1) 106 @ Buffalo (8-7)
1/26

Buffalo hosting the number one team in the nation in their gym and everyone walked out within the first 5 minutes as the Huskies looked like the best team in the nation as they had their way in the first half, 58-24.

Player at the Half:
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 23 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 rebound

Bench played like starters as they didn’t allow any kind of offense for the Bulls to run as they out played the starters for the Bulls in the second half.

Player of the Game:
PG Lamarquis Hunt (F) 24 points, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
C Laurence Minter (JR) 16 points, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 9 rebounds
PG Rodney Butler (F) 4 points, 10 assists, 1 steal, 5 rebounds

BUFFALO
SF Boubacar Truscott (JR) 13 points, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 5 rebounds
PG Clint Jacobson (SR) 5 points, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

Key Stats:
Assists NIU-30 BUFF-16
Rebounds NIU-39 BUFF-23
Steals NIU-17 BUFF-5
Fast Break Pts. NIU-30 BUFF-2

CincyFan

January 2nd, 2005, 08:38 PM

Huskies start new trend in league play, Holding Opp. Under 50 a Night

Bulter grabs another triple-double

#1 N. Illinois (21-1) 109 @ Ball. St. (8-6) 49
1/30

This game was just out of hand. 67-27 is the score at half. Apparently Ball St. coaches got a false scouting report because they said too foul the Huskies because they aren’t that good at shooting from the line. Maybe it was a typo, maybe it was from the three-point line as the Huskies are 0 for 7 so far. On the other hand the Huskies have been fouled a lot and been sent to the line 29 times so far in the first half and have made all 29 of them.

Player at the Half:
C Laurence Minter (JR) 13 points, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 10 rebounds

Okay maybe it was the bench for the Huskies who couldn’t shoot foul shots. Well maybe not and they learned fast as they put the Huskies bench to the line 8 times and again Huskies making all of them. Butler had to come in for 4 minutes in the second half from foul trouble on Hunt and French to collect another t.d.

Player of the Game:
PG Rodney Butler (F) 20 points, 14 assists, 3 steals, 10 rebounds

Key Players:
N. ILLINOIS
SF D’Marr Schmidt (SO) 16 points, 2 steals, 4 rebounds
SG Treg Ngounou (SO) 31 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound

BALL ST.
SG Jacoby Modica (SR) 15 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 5 rebounds
C Denver Duggins (SR) 6 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 6 rebounds

Key Stats:
Foul Shots NIU- 37/37 BALL- 10/13
Assists NIU-29 BALL-20
Rebounds NIU-45 BALL-28

CincyFan

January 2nd, 2005, 08:43 PM

tired of posting the scores of the blow out games and since i am winning i am going to just sim the rest of the games in the season till the tournament which is i think 8 games with conference touramanent. i know people are tired of probably reading the same things over so i am not going to post anymore of this year and i am thinking of new things to try for the next season so i will hold off and wait til next season to see what and how i want this legacy to go. and i checked my team is a 98 overall, and the highest is bowling green with a 90 overall. everyone else is a 86 or less.

CincyFan

January 5th, 2005, 12:50 AM

Cowboys Hire Coach Gary George to Turn Their Program Around

October 29, 2011

National Champions back-to-back Coach of the then Northern Illinois Huskies has decided to jump ship and go with an unproven and a shaky Oklahoma State Cowboys team. Many say why leave when you have something good going, but it has been proven in the past that after two good years rocky times are ahead. It couldn’t be for a better team as the best player on the Cowboys is a Senior SF Gerald Sockwell, who if was on Northern Illinois team would be the seventh best player on the team. Irony would be with these two schools as it sort of was a rival, but now is a rivalry. Only four years ago was the first time these two teams would meet, and was in the final four, which Oklahoma State won with ease which was Coach George’s first year at Northern Illinois. Next year they almost met again in the Championship game which Oklahoma State lost to Michigan State by 2, which in turn Michigan State beat Northern Illinois by 2 for the title. Next year they would meet up once again in the tournament which was the title game which Northern Illinois was the power house team and easily walked away with the win. Last year they meet once but was as a non-conference game in the season which Coach George Northern Illinois walked away with an easy win. Now comes the change, which for the first time in two years Coach George’s team hasn’t been ranked in the pre-season poll. Oddly enough neither is Northern Illinois who has won the past two championships. Strangely enough these teams play each other as a non-conference game, but this team Coach Gary George will be on the other bench. Why many people question the movement, there are some key signs of why he would leave. In the past decade or so, no team has ever won three championships in a row. Well not at least with one team. So now we won’t know if it is a curse or bad luck. Next the MAC conference isn’t that strong to begin with which was a walk-thru when Northern Illinois got to the league play. The Oklahoma State conference, Big 12, is exactly that. it’s a big time conference with great teams in it. With five of the twelve teams being ranked in the top 15. Well say sixth knowing the track record of Coach George, and we will most likely see this team crack the top 25 this year. Next with a big school it is easier to bring in more big name recuits as it is with a mid-major school. Ironically Northern Illinois brought with more people than Oklahoma State this off-season. Next is location. Although Northern Illinois was a powerhouse team with Coach George there, and still is now, its still not an attractive place as Oklahoma. Last is Coach George always likes a challenge. Was there a challenge there at Northern Illinois? In the four years he has been there, he has only lost four league games, and the last two years was perfect in league play. Lost only a total of eight games in those four years, and already mention won back-to-back Championships. Now is this the school Coach George will stay at for the rest of his career. No. Will he leave when he turns this team around and becomes the powerhouse school for this Conference. Answer is no and yes answer. No he won’t leave when it becomes the power house team in the conference. Yes he will leave, but it will be for a school that he is highly interested in. Or in other words his dream job. Gary George has been quiet on this matter, but talking to his good friend who is now the athletic director now for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Maximus Wallace, has told the schools he is interested in. With Coach George going to one of these schools he will most likely see Mr. Wallace also going. The list of schools are Texas Tech, Maryland, Ohio State, and yet a mid-major school of Drake. While this might be the compete list or this is it. Talking to Coach George he did say that the next school he will go to is one of his dream schools. So he will find out which school it will be when that time comes. Right now is the present and he is with the Cowboys to try to turn this program back into a winning one, which lost nine players which four of them were starters last year. Time will only tell to see how good this team is and how really good is Coach George at coaching.

CincyFan

January 5th, 2005, 01:02 AM

Schedule for 2011

11/23 @ 16 Connecticut
11/24 @ N. Illinois
11/27 @ 5 USC
12/1 @ 13 Arizona
12/3 @ 3 Georgia Tech
12/8 @ 24 Memphis
12/11 @ 10 Syracuse
12/14 @ 6 Kansas
12/22 UNLV
1/1 @ 7 Missouri
1/7 Notre Dame
1/12 @ 11 Texas Tech
1/15 7 Missouri
1/19 Iowa St.
1/21 @ 15 Texas
1/26 Baylor
1/28 @ Oklahoma
2/3 @ Colorado
2/6 Kansas St.
2/9 @ Baylor
2/11 9 Oklahoma
2/16 @ Texas A&M
2/13 11 Texas Tech
2/26 Nebraska
3/3 @ 6 Kansas
3/6 Texas A&M
3/9 15 Texas

Non-conference Games
Conference Games
Pre-season Rank
Ranked when played

CincyFan

January 6th, 2005, 08:22 AM

couldn't advance the week or play the game so i went to get the disc cleaned and i tired it for like an hour straight trying to sim the game or week and everything froze. got so frustrated that when it finally did sim, thank god i didn't feel like starting a new legacy, i just decided to sim the whole year for it. i went like 27-7 i think on the year and was in the middle of hte conference, 6 schools from the big 12 were in the top 25 poll. did win the conference chmap. by 1, and lost in the final four to which would turn out to be national champions for the 3rd time in the row and Coach George's old school Northern Illinois.

CincyFan

January 6th, 2005, 08:33 AM

Top 25
2012
Preseason Poll
1. North Carolina
2. Louisville
3. Cincinnati
4. Missouri
5. Kentucky
6. Connecticut
7. Notre Dame
8. Wake Forest
9. Duke
10. Florida
11. Syracuse
12. Pittsburgh
13. Texas
14. Memphis
15. Arizona
16. Temple
17. Gonzaga
18. Kansas
19. Michigan St.
20. N. Illinois
21. Georgia Tech
22. Oklahoma
23. Mississippi St.
24. Michigan
25. Oklahoma St.

CincyFan

January 6th, 2005, 09:17 AM

Top 25
Preseason Poll
1. [--] North Carolina ()
2. [--] Louisville ()
3. [--] Cincinnati ()
4. [--] Missouri ()
5. [--] Kentucky ()
6. [--] Connecticut ()
7. [--] Notre Dame ()
8. [--] Wake Forest ()
9. [--] Duke ()
10. [--] Florida ()
11. [--] Syracuse ()
12. [--] Pittsburgh ()
13. [--] Texas ()
14. [--] Memphis ()
15. [--] Arizona ()
16. [--] Temple ()
17. [--] Gonzaga ()
18. [--] Kansas ()
19. [--] Michigan St. ()
20. [--] N. Illinois ()
21. [--] Georgia Tech ()
22. [--] Oklahoma ()
23. [--] Mississippi St. ()
24. [--] Michigan ()
25. [--] Oklahoma St. ()

Overall Record
Ranking of Previous Week
RPI

CincyFan

January 6th, 2005, 09:33 AM

Roster, Scouting Report, and Stats

Starters
PG Haryvey Hammond (Sophomore)
5’11” 171 lbs
Overall: 90

Scouting Report: This kid is probably the best PG ever to play under Coach George and would say he is probably the best in the nation and the only thing that hurts this kids rating is passing (86) and steals (74). Everything else is a 90 or above and the kid can just flat out shoot the three as he is listed at a 95. Might not be that tall, but we have seen in the past that Coach George likes the smaller players and can get them to bring up their game than with another Coach. Most people are saying that he will go pro after this season.

Last year: DNP was re-shirted

SG Blair Dilligard (Junior)
6’4” 196 lbs
Overall: 87

Scouting Report: Truly is a small forward but will only see time at PG or SG. Has a good touch from the court, and is average from shooting deep. Is only 6’4” but is above average in the post and while being a small forward in a shooting guard spot will be able to score at ease down low.

Last year: DNP was re-shirted

SF Sammy Farley (Sophomore)
6’4” 193 lbs
Overall: 91

Scouting Report: Truly is a small forward. Is the fastest player on the team (96), has a good touch from the court and is kind of shaky at three’s, but won’t need to shoot a lot of three’s. Is only 6’4” but is above average in the post so will see time posting is guy down low, that’s if he can’t drive past the defender before that. Rumors have it he will leave early for draft, but most scouts say he isn’t completely ready yet to go.

Last year: DNP was re-shirted

PF Waki Anthony (Junior)
6’8” 214 lbs
Overall: 94

Scouting Report: Weakest player to play at his position. Truly is a small forward making that three people at that position to start this year. Best player on the team, but only weighting 214 lbs. might cause some trouble down in the post. Other than that he is the perfect player to play that position. Best rebounder on the team, and best defender on the team in the post. Is shakly scoring down low, but has a nice touch from the outside so can bring the ball further away from the hoop. Is faster than most people who play the spot (84) so he can use that as an advantage.

Last year: DNP was re-shirted

C Juan Stys (Freshman)
6’9” 216 lbs
Overall: 79

Scouting Report: Is a very skinny guy to play Center and isn’t even that fast for his frame (69). Is a average shot blocker, dunker, and rebounder. Pretty much average overall, but what do you expect from a freshman. Youngest player on the team and beats out three other Centers on the team, while only one is truly better. Is starting cause his upside is better and the talks about this kid was too good to just keep him on the bench.

Last year: From High-school

Bench
SF Jan Ingerson (Senior)
6’7 219 lbs
Overall: 84

PG Danny Goss (Junior)
6’2” 177 lbs
Overall: 71[/]b

PF Ben Macdonald (Sophomore)
6’9” 220 lbs
[b]Overall: 83

PF Erick Platt (Senior)
6’10” 231 lbs
Overall: 80

C Jesse Owen (Sophomore)
6’11” 218 lbs
Overall: 80

PG Steve Macdonald (Freshman)
5’11” 170 lbs
Overall: 71

C Bo Carmichael (Freshman)
6’10” 281 lbs
Overall: 67

C Ernest McDaniel (Freshman)
6’9” 224 lbs
Overall: 66

Team Overall Scouting
Lost four of their starters since they were seniors. The other starter doesn’t even start anymore and has moved back on the bench. The sixth man is still the sixth or seventh man on the depth chart. Many people don’t know if this team will do good this year without any experience, but this time is much better than last year and is already in the polls at 25. Last year they had 4 starters in the 80’s overall, this year they have 3 in the 90’s overall. This team has some good people, and two stars on it, but in the upcoming recuiting there is rumor of 2-3 people that Coach George thinks can be superstars. Right now the talks are this team will win the conference again, even though on the press release they are not the top dogs, and are contenders now to at least make it to the championship game (second year with N. Illinois got them there but lost to Michigan State by 2 at the buzzer).

CincyFan

January 6th, 2005, 09:50 AM

Conference Rankings and Players

Conference Rankings

Preseason
1. Missouri
2. Kansas
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma
5. Oklahoma St.
6. Texas Tech
7.Iowa St.
8. Colorado
9. Baylor
10. Nebraska
11. Texas A&M
12. Kansas St.

(these are the teams that I see fit. Of course my team should be number 1 since every year I won my conference but I will be realistic on this. Places were formed by how good their starting five were and how good their top 3 players on the bench were)

Conference Rankings

Season
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Record of Non-Conference Games
Record of Conference Games
Ranking of Previous Week
Increase/Decrease Change of Week

All=Conference Players
Pre-season
PG Harvey Hammond (Sophomore) Oklahoma St.

SG Howie Whittington (Senior) Colorado
15.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.7 APG, 2.0 SPG, 2.7 BPG

SF Darnell Leslie (Senior) Kansas
17.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.2 BPG

PF Lester Samabaly (Junior) Oklahoma
10.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.7 APG, .7 SPG, 1.3 BPG

C Pierre McNurlin (Senior) Missouri
14.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2.5 SPG, 3.5 BPG

After Season
PG

SG

SF

PF

C

CincyFan

January 6th, 2005, 10:17 AM

Schedule for 2011

11/22 @ 6 Connecticut
11/23 @ 20 N. Illinois
11/26 @ USC
11/30 @ 15 Arizona
12/2 @ 10 Florida
12/7 @ 14 Memphis
12/10 @ 11 Syracuse
12/13 @ Tenessee
12/21 @ 1 UNLV
11/31 @ 19 Michigan St.
1/6 @ 21 Georgia Tech
1/11 @ Texas Tech
1/14 4 Missouri
1/18 Iowa St.
1/20 @ 13 Texas
1/25 Baylor
1/27 @ 22 Oklahoma
2/2 @ Colorado
2/5 Kansas St.
2/8 @ Baylor
2/10 22 Oklahoma
2/15 @ Texas A&M
2/12 Texas Tech
2/25 Nebraska
3/2 @ 18 Kansas
3/5 Texas A&M
3/8 13 Texas

CincyFan

January 6th, 2005, 11:16 AM

November 22
6 Connecticut (0-1) (0-0)
Oklahoma State (0-0) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 113 @ Connecticut 99

Opening Day is here for the Cowboys and they are not Worried

First four minutes were close in this game as the lead went back and fourth. Then it was all about was ready for this season, and while Huskies have already played one game so far, the Cowboys were the better team for their opening season. They went on a 14-3 run to take the lead at 28-17 with 8 minutes left.

Connecticut would make the game be close with 4:28 left only being down by 3, but that was the closest they would get in the half as again they made a run before half to go into the break with a 15 point lead. There was 117 points scored in the first half with the Cowboys leading 66-51.

Player at the Half: PG Harvey Hammond (Sophomore)
15 points, 10 assists, 4 steals, 1 rebound

Second half the starters got to rest and watched to see how the bench would play against the frisky Huskies. They did a good job playing the first ten minutes, before letting the starters came back to finish up the game with a 10 point lead. That was all they needed as the starters closed out the game like they did at the half with the lead and got the win.

Talking to Coach George after the game he responded to how this team had no experience really on the court. “Well most of these guys were re-shirted last year so they got to practice with last years squad. Plus we picked up some good freshman who I think did a good job the first game.” Doing just a good job is an understatement. Stevie MacDonald came off the bench to collect 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, and 9 points. The other freshman who stats at Center received player of the game for collecting a triple-double, the first time a freshman got one in his first game under Coach Gary George.

Player of the Game: PF Stewart Newsom (Senior)
22 points, 12 assists, 4 steals, 15 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State Connecticut
Points: J. Stys 22 L. Blackett 27
Assists: H. Hammond11 S. Carter 15
Steals: 3 People 4 3 People 2
Blocks: 2 People 1 D. Crites 4
Boards: S. Stys 15 O. Annen 8

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Connecticut
FG%: 51/83 (61 %) 35/64 (55 %)
3 Pointers: 4/5 (80 %) 7/16 (44%)
Foul Shots: 7/7 (100 %) 22/25 (88 %)
Assists: 37 31
Turnovers: 8 19
Fouls: 13 4
Rebounds: 29 32
Off. Boards: 6 5
Def. Boards: 23 27
Steals: 19 7
Blocks: 2 7

Crabtooch

January 6th, 2005, 12:04 PM

just curious.

Thanks

CincyFan

January 7th, 2005, 11:44 AM

November 23
20 N. Illinois (5-0) (0-0)
25 Oklahoma State (1-0) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 123 @ N. Illinois 73

Last year Final Four Meet up in Regular Season

Preseason write-ups said that Coach George’s team always does good in the second year and how they are slated to do what he did at N. Illinois the team they are playing today and make it to the championship game. Also in pre-season was how N. Illinois who was 3 time champions were going to play there ex coach twice this year. Once in the regular season and then once in the final four game. While some had the Huskies going undefeated this year, and top dogs in this game how they beat the Cowboys bad last year in the final four.

This year however looks one of two things. Either the Huskies are not as good as everyone has slated them to be, even though starting off the year 5-0 and going 3-0 against top 25 teams, or that everyone is right about Coach George making a team into a powerhouse in his second year. Remember the first game of the year how it was close only by 13. Remember the bench was in for 3/4 of the second half. This game looks to be the same but with much a bigger outcome in score. Already at half the Cowboys are up huge and go into intermission with a 60-28 lead.

Player at the Half: SF Sammy Farley (Sophomore)
17 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 rebound

Even with the starters mostly bench in the second half again, this time the bench held the lead and expanding the lead to get an easy win against one of the top schools in the nation. This team is very aggressive and is made up of all speed on the team. This is like a well oil machine and is going to be very hard to stop or even slow the Cowboys. There schedule consists of two games a week, and the way they been playing it looks like the starters only will play about a total of 1 game a week.

Last week Coach George was disappointed in how is team was timid on offense and how they didn’t drawl fouls or foul shots. They were perfect last game going 7 for 7. “My method is to get everyone on the court in a play on offense, if we don’t have the fast break, and keep pounding it inside until they have to foul to try to stop us. This year however we are made up of a lot of mid-range shooters and that is how they played for the last couple of years so I am trying to break their mold and get an inside-out game this year. So far it has helped for the outside game shooting over 60 % from three’s, but we don’t have a lot of muscle so they like to stay mostly outside. This game was, however, better as we went to the line more, and open the outside to where a couple of shots there wasn’t a defender around for about seven feet.”, Coach George responded about his game plan.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
11 points, 10 assists, 6 steals, 15 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State Connecticut
Points: S. MacDonald22 C. Chan 27
Assists: H. Hammond13 T. DeLeon 7
Steals: H. Hammond 7 T. DeLeon 2
Blocks: C. Chan 2
Boards: S. Stys 15 C. Chad 10

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Connecticut
FG%: 45/83 (54 %) 29/70 (41 %)
3 Pointers: 5/7 (71 %) 9/31 (29%)
Foul Shots: 28/32 (88 %) 6/9 (67 %)
Assists: 43 26
Turnovers: 6 30
Fouls: 10 19
Rebounds: 43 37
Off. Boards: 7 7
Def. Boards: 36 30
Steals: 23 5
Blocks: 0 7

CincyFan

January 7th, 2005, 03:46 PM

Top 25
Season Poll
1. [1] Notre Dame (3-0)
2. [2] Cincinnati (7-0)
3. [3] Louisville (3-0)
4. [6] Pittsburgh (5-0)
5. [7] Gonzaga (6-0)
6. [9] Mississippi St. (9-0)
7. [12] Missouri (4-1)
8. 11] Georgia Tech (5-0)
9. [13] Oklahoma St. (6-0)
10. [5] Kentucky (4-1)
11. [15] Kansas (4-0)
12. [10] North Carolina (3-2)
13. [16] Florida St. (7-0)
14. [4] Duke (4-1)
15. [17] Oklahoma (2-0)
16. [18] LSU (4-0)
17. [22] Wake Forest (6-2)
18. [20] Southern Miss (3-0)
19. [--] Temple (4-1)
20. [--] Michigan St. (5-1)
21. [19] Texas (5-2)
22. [23] Wisconsin (5-0)
23. [25] Texas Tech (5-0)
24. [--] Arizona (7-3)
25. [24] Houston (4-0)

Overall Record
Ranking of Previous Week
RPI

CincyFan

January 8th, 2005, 01:17 AM

Weekly Scouting Report

This Week Game(s)

November 26
@ USC
Matchup:Right now USC isn’t ranked while Oklahoma St. is in the top 25. Ratings show that the Cowboys have the upper edge in this game. While Cowboys are starting three Small Forwards in the starting lineup (SG, SF, PF), the Trojans on the other hand are starting a Shooting Guard at Point. Although a Point Guard is playing at Shooting Guard. Two Centers are also starting in place. Both benches are decent at best.

Keys for USC to Win
1. Pound it inside and shoot around the basketball. Starting two centers, and then having five power forwards on the bench is a good way to not worry about fatigue or foul trouble with this deep bench for big men.

2. Tempo. Need to stay with game-play, and play a half court game. No need to try to run fast breaks with bunch of big guys in there. Limit other team to playing their game and they should be fine.

3. Defense. Stop the Cowboys from scoring. They are averaging 118.5 points this year in two games. Need some big stops on defense, and to have help ready as this Cowboy team is a lot quicker and smaller that this team.

Keys for Oklahoma St. to Win
1. Scoring at will. Defense do win games, but with an offense of this kind of fire power all you have to do is outscore your opponent. This case all you have to do is score at least their average or can go as low are -20 from their average (which would be around 100) to win this game. USC has only scored 85 in their first game of the year.

2. Lapses. While good at scoring, there are times in the game they look powerless, or inferior to the other team. Can go on a three or four minute span without scoring. Need to not falter when in the lead.

3. Fast Break. While starting three small forwards in the game. Two of the three are the fastest players on the team. This team against a bigger stronger Trojan team, needs to jump out at the gun and run a fast break all the way to the end.

November 30
Arizona
Matchup: Arizona comes in at number 17 in the top 25 polls, while Oklahoma St. comes in at number 12. Teams are pretty evenly matched. This can go either way. While Oklahoma St. has the three-point sharpshooter in Hammond, and unproven written superstar Center in Stys who has average a triple-double in both games last week, meets his first challenged against the G. Devance who is six inches taller and 42 more pounds better than Stys. Cowboys have the better bench of the two.

Keys for Arizona
1. Star Performance. Need big games from their stars in this one. Devance needs to put up bigger numbers than in the first 7 games that only consist of 8.4 points and 3.7 rebounds. Also from their team leader and best player Fullove who is only averaging 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds.

2. Bench Help. Needs the bench to step it up when or if they need it. First game for the Cowboys was close as the starters stayed in for most of the game for Connecticut. Second game the Cowboys won with ease with getting most of their starters out. If starters get in foul trouble need a huge performance from bench top player is an 83, then drops to 78 and less.

3. Foul Trouble. Double edge sword right now. Try to get the Cowboys starters in foul trouble, but if you do you will have to stop the bench which steamrolled over then 20 ranked Huskies. At least get some of the starters out, like Stys, or leading scorers Hammond or Farley.

Keys for Oklahoma St.
1. Waki Anthony. Best player on team and is only averaging a dismal 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists a night. Needs to be more of a force inside although playing a position that is not really is spot.

2. Foul Shots. When being sent to the line, Coach George’s team lately have been dead on or close to perfect from the line. Missing 4 shots in one game is not that bad, but when its critical times when you need them (missed all 4 in the last 3 minutes of game) its strangely scary when they don’t fall. Need to be better in crunch time.

3. Bench. This is a lot better than the Wildcats bench. On paper decently match up with most of their starters and the way they been playing lately this Cowboys bench could start for any top 25 team. Need a big game, if and most likely when they play the second half to hold the lead.

Recruiting
Top Recuit for This Week
C Ka‘Ron Hazel
6’9” 242 lbs
Jonesboro, AR

Right now the Cowboys are third on his top 5 schools, which is a good sign with last week wasn’t even listed in that. Has four scholarships offers total. Coach George made a bold statement saying, “This kid is absolutely amazing. For a senior and for his size can move very well, and is smarter than most college players.” His potential is GREAT, and although his shooting is only rated a B, and his Offense is a B+, his upside is what have all the scouts and Coach George raving about

CincyFan

January 11th, 2005, 10:31 AM

November 26
12 Oklahoma St. (2-0) (0-0)
USC (1-0) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 103 @ USC 68

Cowboys stay on Cruise-Control

Right out of the gate was the Cowboys as they took a 13-2 lead over the Trojans. The tides would turn for a couple of minutes as the Trojans came back to be only down by 2, and that was the closest they would be in the first half.

First had was all about shooting deep in this game. They has been a combine 34 shots made, 5 which have been for three land, but about fifteen or twenty shots came from mid-range to right inside the line. Right now the lead is in favor of the Cowboys at 54-35, but only 18 points total has been scored in the paint for both teams. What help expand the lead is the aggressiveness of shooting by the Cowboys that got them sent to the line 13 more times than the Trojans in the first half.

Player at the Half: SF Sammy Farley (Sophomore)
20 points, 1 assists, 1 steals, 2 rebound

The outside game was practically non-existence in the second half for the Cowboys. They at least shoot 100 % from deep which was the first time that a team under Coach George had done that. Even if it was just one shot. Cowboys ended the game shooting 50 % from deep while the Trojans was a horrific 24 %.

“I like it that I don’t have to rely on my starters the whole game and still win the lead in double-digits. This bench overall is a lot better than when I was at N. Illinois. Usually we had to keep the starters in until the last five minutes of the second half to win, although we did have a couple stars on the bench for that team. Don’t get me wrong that was a great team, but overall this is the first year I feel comfortable letting the starters rest most of the second and come in only when a bench player needs a break. Some say it might hurt the kids stats which I am not so sure. Of course we don’t have two people scoring high 20’s or a person in the 30 or 40 point game, but if you look at the stats you will see that 5 people scored in double-figures, two people did have double-double games, and again Stys looking like Butler at N. Illinios collects his third triple-double in as many games. Of couse we don’t have the big name stars come to our school as I had in N. Illinois, but give it some time, as for right now its great that I can say this is truly the best team that has played like a team in my 8 years of coaching.” Coach George said in the press conference.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
15 points, 10 assists, 5 steals, 13 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State USC
Points: S. Farley20 R. Axton 14
Assists: 3 People 10 T. Bro 9
Steals: H. Hammond 5 T. Bro 4
Blocks: 2 People 2 R. Axton 4
Boards: S. Stys 13 R. Kole 9

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. USC
FG%: 42/72 (58 %) 30/68 (44 %)
3 Pointers: 3/6 (50 %) 4/17 (24%)
Foul Shots: 16/17 (95 %) 4/4 (100 %)
Assists: 38 24
Turnovers: 12 24
Fouls: 8 12
Rebounds: 36 29
Off. Boards: 11 11
Def. Boards: 25 18
Steals: 19 9
Blocks: 2 6

November 30
12 Oklahoma St. (3-0) (0-0)
Arizona (6-1) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 118 @ Arizona 116

Cowboys Win by the Three Ball? Oddly Enough, Yes

It started to look ugly for the Wildcats from the tip. Down 10-0 with 2 minutes in. Then it looked bad for the Cowboys as it looked as if it was two brothers playing a game. Arizona being the older brother letting the younger, Oklahoma St., win at first. Then after the younger brother is winning he likes to rub it in, and finally the older brother has had enough and started to play for real. That’s what happened after the first two minutes as Arizona went on a run, a 18-2 run.

2:47 would be the first time since about four minutes into the game that the Cowboys would again see the lead and would be won on foul shots. Shots went back and forth. Doesn’t look like the bench will come in as the Starters are having trouble in this one. Cowboys go in at half with the lead by twelve, 64-52.

Player at the Half: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
19 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 9 rebound

Second half was almost disasters for the Cowboys as they lost the lead, and it looked like nothing was going there way. There were some bad calls and it looked as the refs wanted Arizona to win as an obvious goaltending was made and there was no call. A moving block turned into a charge for the Wildcats as the Cowboys made the running shot and would of cut the lead to 7 with 5 minutes left but made it back to 9.

The Cowboys wouldn’t quit though, as they fought there way back from as bad as 13 to two points with 2 minutes left. With a minute left everything got interesting. Down by five now. Hammand was 2 for 7 from three-point range got a loose ball ran back for the three with no one on him and drained it to cut it to five. Wildcats would sink both on the one-on-one to make it 7 points. Hammond again for three but misses, a rebound, two kick out passes to find again Hammond all alone for three. This time doesn’t miss it to cut it to four. Again Wildcats sink both shots from the line. Now off a screen Hammond passes to Owen who is rolling off the screen to kick it out to Farley who drains the wide open three as there was two people doubling Hammond. Lead is cut to three now with 35.5 seconds left. Again nothing but net at the line for the Wildcats to push the lead to 2 possession game. Time-out at half court for Cowboys. Off of a screen, and a back door cut Hammond again finds just a little space to chuck the three and good! Hammond with 4 fouls comes out now after the Wildcat timeout after now the lead is to two. Again sent to the line now with 28.2 seconds left. This time out of bounds at half court Hammonds runs past two screens to have a wide open three pointer but its an NBA three. No worries as Hammond (95 in three) drains it from deep to make the lead to 1. Again 2 foul shoots from the line doesn’t phase the Wildcats as the lead is push to three. Hammonds now calls for a pick and finds yet once again an open but far three and gets the shooters touch lucky on this one. 19 seconds left ball game is tied. Loose ball with 14 seconds left and there is a foul on the Cowboys. Arizona deadly from the line goes back to it for two. Makes the first and misses the second. 1 point game now. Hammonds with the hot hand gets the ball for the final shot. Calls the screen goes past finds a wide open back-door cutter in Dilligard passes it, and it pulls up for the 9 foot jumper and is fouled. Ball rolls around on rim and finally falls in with .4 second left. Foul shot is good as they win a close one.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
25 points, 11 assists, 2 steals, 13 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State USC
Points: J. Stys25 R. Sato 29
Assists: 2 People 11 R. Sato 20
Steals: B. Dilligard 4 A. Lamptey 5
Blocks: 3 People 1 A. Lamptey 2
Boards: S. Stys 13 3 People 6

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Arizona
FG%: 39/77 (51 %) 47/78 (60 %)
3 Pointers: 9/18 (50 %) 3/7 (43%)
Foul Shots: 31/32 (97 %) 19/21 (91 %)
Assists: 33 41
Turnovers: 16 18
Fouls: 16 18
Rebounds: 35 34
Off. Boards: 11 7
Def. Boards: 24 27
Steals: 12 15
Blocks: 3 4

CincyFan

January 11th, 2005, 10:32 AM

Weekly Scouting Report

This Week Game(s)

December 2
@ Florida
Matchup:Forida is the higher ranked team of the two as they are ranked eight (moving up one from last week), while Oklahoma St. is 13 (although winning both games that week drops a spot). Both teams are evenly ranked for their starters, but the bench for Gators are a little better than the Cowboys. Although Gators are starting a 6‘10“ small forward at shooting guard, and another small forward in the line up, it gives height once again, which was trouble for Oklahoma St. last game.

Keys for Florida to Win
1. Lucious Isham. 6’10” small forward starting at shooting guard. Will be a factor in scoring so that is not the problem for him. Needs to step it up on defense for the match-up he has is against another small forward (Dilligard) at shooting guard, but a lot smaller and faster than him. Dilligard has been on fire of lately averaging a cool 16.2 points per game.

2. Positive Bench. This bench is very active like the Cowboys and puts up big numbers when in. Need to do it especially this night. Cowboys tend to shut down the other teams bench when it is in to only 14 points a night. Two people on Florida’s bench average 13 when they play.

3. Positive Droughts. When Cowboys do go on their drought in the game, and it will be more than once, have to capitalize on it to help gain the lead or a bigger lead.

Keys for Oklahoma St. to Win
1. Defense? Out of ever two games they play a week, one game the opponents average 113.5 points a game. The other game they only allow 70.5 a night. Will their defense show up this game or next game is the question? They need to be consistent day in and day out to help win.

2. Lapses. A tend to every team under Gary George it seems like. Don’t give them easy shots when they fall under this spell.

3. Picks. Need to set a lot of picks and a lot of movement on offense. Last week game again a tall and bigger Arizona team, Cowboys didn’t handle the inside to well other that all-american talks right now in Stys. If to get good shots from mid-range to outside have to run lot of active and picks, and backdoor plays.

December 7
Memphis
Matchup: Memphis falls out of the top 25 after starting the year 1-3. Oklahoma looking strong at times, other times a beat off. Although Memphis isn’t ranked anymore doesn’t mean they aren’t a good team. On paper Cowboys have a slight edge. Bench though Memphis has a laughing lead in that.

Keys for Memphis
1. Fast Break. Needs to run it. Most teams run a slow pace game, but after last weeks game of Arizona who was really big ran a fast pace game and almost won. Memphis still having the edge in height, do however have more speed than most teams with this height.

2. Inside game. Make most of the shots from down low. This is the weakest point of the Cowboys defense. Not very strong shooters from the outside so keep it inside. Also Cowboys do a good job to shutting down the three ball.

3. Foul Trouble. Watch out for the aggressive style of the Cowboys offense. Most teams loss some starters to foul trouble early in the game. Bench is good, but that is what the Cowboys want. They step it up on defense when the other starters are bench from foul trouble.

Keys for Oklahoma St.
1. Juan Stys. 4 games played, 4 triple-doubles. Everytime on offense this kid should get the ball. Will score or get the ball for someone else to hit an easy and/or wide open shot. Each game looks better and better.

2. Foul Shots. Again need to get other team in foul trouble and get sent to the line. Leading to this week has made 82 of out the 88 times from the foul line (93.1 %). Take your points how easy they come by.

3. Outside game. Best in the nation right now shooting 58 % from three point line right now on 21 of 36. Hammonds has been huge from outside, especially in the Arizona game, shooting a total of 24 shots making 13 of them.

Recruiting
Top Recuit for This Week
SG Ismail Schultz
6’3” 184 lbs
Anaheim, CA

Right now the Cowboys is his number 1 choice of school. Is a five star recruit, but isn’t an all-american high school player. Although his Potential is just AVERAGE, and he isn’t a big hustler or a standout in any category. Coach George has shown a lot of interested in him, saying if he does decide to join this team, I see him being very good overall player who will play PG, and looking like a Rodney Butler player. (Butler had 11 triple-doubles freshman year, and was a SG who moved to PG.) Big words coming from how Butler was an all-american in the Nation his junior year and left to go pro.

CincyFan

January 11th, 2005, 06:23 PM

Oklahoma St. 106 @ Florida 93

Rebounding in second Half helps secure the win for the Cowboys

This time around it was the Cowboys would had the slow start in the game, and only even have the lead until 6 minutes into the game. When they took the lead they were on a 11-3 run. Lead was only a short one as they held it for a minute of play. Gators got back on top and held the lead this time till half. “I don’t know what is going on with this team right now. Before we looked great against ranked teams, now we are struggling in the first half. Something has to be changed. If there isn’t improvement next game, I might have to go and change the lineup around and see if I can fire people up or to motivate people to want to play.”, Coach George said at half. Gators lead by 1 at half due to a fast break off of a miss shot with 5 seconds left to make the score 50-49.

Player at the Half: SF W. Anthony (Junior)
19 points, 2 assists, 7 rebound

Second half was all about lead changes as it went back and forth. With 4:20 left in the game it was about to be broken wide open when grabbed 12 of the 24 rebounds in the second half. That was huge for the Cowboys even though they out rebounded the Gators in the second half they still lost in the end of the game.

Everyone was perfect from the line from both teams. Both teams shot 33 % from the line, and the only shooting stat was different was field goal percentage that Gators won by 2 %. Even though Styles got player of the game for team record 5th straight triple-double, it was the Junior Small Forward Anthony, teams best player who turned on the light switch and help win this game. Only averaging 9 points and 7 rebounds a night he came up big this game with 32 points and 15 rebounds.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
16 points, 10 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 13 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State USC
Points: W. Anthony32 V. Morton 32
Assists: H. Hammond14 V. Wright 9
Steals: B. Dilligard 5 2 People 1
Blocks: 2 People 2 L. Isham 4
Boards: W. Anthony15 V. Morton 12

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Arizona
FG%: 43/86 (50 %) 41/79 (52 %)
3 Pointers: 3/9 (33 %) 6/18 (33%)
Foul Shots: 17/17 (100 %) 5/5 (100 %)
Assists: 36 35
Turnovers: 3 20
Fouls: 7 10
Rebounds: 34 45
Off. Boards: 7 10
Def. Boards: 27 35
Steals: 14 2
Blocks: 4 7

December 8
13 Oklahoma St. (5-0) (0-0)
Memphis (2-3) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 114 @ Memphis 70

Rebounding in second Half helps secure the win for the Cowboys

This first half shows up potential this team can reach, and just need to find it every night. They put up a career high 69 points in the first half and )()))() never threaten the whole game. Every starter scored in double figures except for Stys who is always slow at first to get points. Right now is the only game which doesn’t look like he isn’t going to get a double-double, although Anthony has the best shot at getting it, but with he had a cramp in the first half and doesn’t look like he will return.

Coach George was happy about his teams performance so far, but needs to be a little stronger on the inside. “Right now we are just hurting, or our weakness is how physical we are on the inside for everything. Rebounds they are just horrible right now, where they have the same or better shot when the ball comes up on defense side. We are more hungry for offense boards than defense. Plus our defense isn’t that good right now inside. They keep scoring at will when they want. They scored 28 of their 40 points down low.” Coach George was happy to see the lead being 69-40 and in his favor for half.

Player at the Half: SF B. Dilligard (Junior)
25 points, 3 assists, 3 steals

The bench for the Cowboys did their job once again when they played most of the second half. Stys did get some playing team and was total domination getting 11 points, 4 assists, and 8 rebounds alone in the second half to keep his triple-double streak alive. We didn’t see any more of Anthony who had a cramp in his leg and will miss 2 days. Luckily Cowboys have a couple days off so he will be rested and will start next game.

“I liked it how we passed the ball around and we let everyone score. I would like to see more of that, not from the standpoint that we have a true star on our team, but to have it that everyone is an offensive weapon, and you can’t just double one guy. This way it opens more lanes, shots, and everyone plays better since they have more condifance.”, Coach George said as his team shot a career high 64 % from the field.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
19 points, 11 assists, 5 steals, 11 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State USC
Points: B. Dilligard25 K. Ebi 21
Assists: 2 People 11 T. Riggs 14
Steals: J. Stys 5 T. Riggs 3
Blocks: H. Hammond2 2 People 1
Boards: J. Stys 11 K. Ebi 6

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Arizona
FG%: 43/67 (64 %) 30/67 (45 %)
3 Pointers: 1/1 (100 %) 1/5 (22 %)
Foul Shots: 27/30 (90 %) 9/11 (82 %)
Assists: 37 28
Turnovers: 10 17
Fouls: 11 17
Rebounds: 38 24
Off. Boards: 7 6
Def. Boards: 31 18
Steals: 17 8
Blocks: 4 2

CincyFan

January 12th, 2005, 10:46 AM

December 10
@ Syrcause
Matchup:Syracuse isn‘t ranked again in the last two out of three years. Oklahoma moving up after two easy wins last week to number 9. First time all year they cracked the top 10, and most likely will stay there after this game. Again Syracuse has a better overall team, but Syracuse doesn‘t do good against Coach George‘s team, as they only beat him three times, and haven‘t won a game in the last 5 years against Coach George‘s team.

Keys for Syracuse to Win
1. Maurice Fullove. Is mostly a quiet player, but for the last two years has have big games against Coach George’s team. Was hampered early in the season by an injury that has limited his numbers to 3.2 points, and 2.8 rebounds a game. Needs to play like his old self to give a boost to this team.

2. Starters. Other than Fullove its never been a story to factor into the game play. They need to step up big and stay out of foul trouble if they want to stay close to this team. Watch for the quick fouls early in the game and after half to keep their starters on the floor more to warm up.

3. Passion. Led to play with a passion, or a fire. Program has slipped a little in the past couple of years, and although a good team, they have lost the will to win or play. They need to find that back, and this is a good game to get it back.

Keys for Oklahoma St. to Win
1. Defense. While averaging a cool 81 points a night average last week, which is impressive for this team, will it hold up this week starting off with Syracuse. Syracuse offense is good right now, especially with a 7 footer at center who is only a sophomore.

2. Scoring easy shoots. Lately the drought starts from taking hard or difficult shots. When this happens and they try for easy shots it seems not to fall. Concentrate on scoring the easy shoots and will open the outside, mid-range game so its not that hard to shoot further out.

3. Don’t be afraid. Another team with a 7 footer on their team. Last couple of games against this height and higher as cause lots of problems scoring down low. Need to get the big guy in foul trouble, or try another pass to find the open man down low.

December 7
Tenessee
Matchup: First year meeting between these two schools. Tennessee is 1-2 on the year and isn’t ranked. Oklahoma St. is perfect coming into this week, and could still be perfect if winning against Syracuse early in the week. This game on paper and probably when they play will be a blow-out for the Cowboys.

Keys for Tennessee
1. Control the Tempo. If they don’t stick to their game plan its going to get out of hand and quickly. Don’t allow a fast pace game, Cowboys are too fast and can score on the run very well.

2. Inside game. Have to have one to keep the game close. Before this game their inside game is a joke. Need a big game from inside, since the Cowboys defend so well from the outside and its their weakest point on defense.

3. Height. Need to play bigger as what they really are. Tallest starter on the team is signed in at 6’6”. Especially in the post as Stys and Anthony are averaging 31.3 points, 5 steals, 22 rebounds a night.

Keys for Oklahoma St.
1. Juan Stys. Play a normal game and will be victorious on his back. Normal game is a triple-double. Below average is a double-double. Luckily hasn’t played a below average game yet.

2. Inside game. Have the height down low now for once. Anthony has caught on fire lately to average now 13.7 points a game, which is up 6 points from 2 weeks ago. Stys moves up to 18 after starting out the year with 13.6.

3. Outside game. Best in the nation right now shooting 58 % from three point line right now on 21 of 36. Hammonds has been huge from outside and continues to be hot.

CincyFan

January 12th, 2005, 01:17 PM

December 10
9 Oklahoma St. (6-0) (0-0)
Syracuse (4-2) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 106 @ Syracuse 87

Cowboys starters sit all second half and watch the bench control the game

Syracuse isn’t ranked this year, and they deserve that too after the horrible first half they have played so far. Oklahoma St started the game off with a deep three by Farley, and then would attempt six more missing all six. What is impressive about this is that four of those miss three’s was shot in one possession, that included 7 shots total before scoring on that possession.

That is how the game would go. Scouting report had to have Stys play a decent or “average” game. Well he did as he is bench in the second half due to the 25 point lead they have right now in a 55-25 blow out. Coach George said Stys would get a rest with every starter except for Hammonds who he wants on the court still. Stys ends the day at half with a triple-double. Fullove for Syracuse who needed a big game started out big in the first half with 8 points, 7 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 rebounds.

Player at the Half: C J. Stys (Freshman)
11 points, 10 assists, 4 steals, 15 rebounds

The bench played all by 2 minutes in the second half on this one. Stys did come back in by only for 41 seconds, where we scored two points. Bench held there own on the court against most of the starters against Syracuse.

Orangemen didn’t play a good game at home. In the past, playing at Orangemens home court, Coach George always had trouble getting his kids to shoot good. This game would be different as they finally broke the 48 % or better mark at this gym. They shot a collective 54 %, but only 14 % from deep.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
13 points, 10 assists, 4 steals, 15 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State Syracuse
Points: W. Anthony 16 D. McKrieth 21
Assists: H. Hammond 11 M. Fullove 16
Steals: J. Stys 4 3 People 1
Blocks: 4 People 1 M. Fullove 2
Boards: J. Stys 15 P. Brock 12

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Syracuse
FG%: 47/87 (54 %) 34/69 (49 %)
3 Pointers: 1/7 (14 %) 7/17 (41 %)
Foul Shots: 11/13 (85 %) 12/16 (75 %)
Assists: 39 34
Turnovers: 4 16
Fouls: 14 7
Rebounds: 46 32
Off. Boards: 15 5
Def. Boards: 31 27
Steals: 13 3
Blocks: 5 4

December 13
9 Oklahoma St. (7-0) (0-0)
Tennessee (1-2) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 115 @ Tennessee 84

Two Starters for the Cowboys Grab Triple-Doubles in Win

Tennessee started to play strong in the post as they disrupted the shot selections for the first couple shots to take a 11-4 lead. It didn’t last long as Tennessee soon found out that, Oklahoma St. is very good at defense as they stole the ball for two easy jams back to back, and when on a 12-0 run to take the lead.

Tennessee would climb back to make it a one point game and then the inside game just took off for the Cowboys as they ran with the lead to half which turned out to be 50-39 half. Volunteers have been applying good pressure so far as they held the Cowboys to the lowest percentage all year at 43 % at half.

Player at the Half: SF B. Dilligard (Junior)
16 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, 1 rebounds

Second half wasn’t that good for Tennessee. They couldn’t contain the shooting of the Cowboys as they shot a blazing 64 % from the field, and was 2 of 3 from deep. The starters got the first 6 minutes after half to relax and get back into the mind frame to play basketball for the way Coach George wanted it, and it worked.

After every game there is usually a clear cut player for the player of the game award. Mostly, well always so far its been Stys, to have this award with his easy triple-double’s he amasses every game. This game was no differently for Stys has he grabbed another triple double (21 points, 11 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 11 rebounds), but what happends when you have Hammond’s come close to a triple-double, missed it by 2 assists and 3 rebounds. Scored all of his 18 points though in the second half. Or Anthony who was 4 assists shy of a triple-double, and was second in scoring with 27 points and tied Stys with 11 rebounds. None of this would would get player of the game was it would be Blair Dilligard, who got the player of the half.

Player of the Game: SF Blair Dilligard (Junior)
28 points, 11 assists, 10 steals, 2 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State Tennessee
Points: B. Dilligard 28 C. Slattery 20
Assists: 2 People 11 S. Penigar 12
Steals: B. Dilligard 10 S. Penigar 5
Blocks: W. Anthony 2 D. Reyes 2
Boards: 2 People 11 D. Toppert 9

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Tennessee
FG%: 44/83 (53 %) 33/71 (47 %)
3 Pointers: 2/3 (67 %) 3/14 (21 %)
Foul Shots: 25/28 (89 %) 15/18 (83 %)
Assists: 39 27
Turnovers: 14 25
Fouls: 12 15
Rebounds: 40 34
Off. Boards: 13 8
Def. Boards: 27 26
Steals: 22 12
Blocks: 3 4

CincyFan

January 12th, 2005, 08:08 PM

December 21
@ North Caolina
Matchup:North Carolina who had the sixth best recruiting class last season, and in preseason polls was ranked number 1, now comes into this game with a 3-3 record and not even ranked in the top 25. Lost their last game to a 5-2 Loyola (IL). Oklahoma St. moves up three spots in the poll this week, and has quietly been a quiet team lately in the papers, easily winning the last couple of games. On paper it looks as if North Carolina should win, and right now the edge is to North Carolina

[color=red]Keys for Syracuse to Win
1. Twin Towers. Cowboys have played weak against tall players. North Carolina boasts a team that has a 6’11” and a 7’0” in their starting lineup. First the the Cowboys will see that much height all year. They have to disrupt the middle on defense and stop the red hot Anthony and Stys, and be a factor on offense.

2. Starters. Need to stay on the floor. Bench is strong with the sixth man being a 6’8” overall of a 89 player in Carlton Agbai, but after that drops off dramtically to a freshman who is a 78 overall. Need to keep starters and only sixth man to become successful.

3. Power Game. Smallest player on the team with the twin towers out there is the point guard who is 6’4”. Use the height advantage inside to score easy buckets, and on defense use the height on a full court press to cause trouble to pass the ball and get easy steals.

Keys for Oklahoma St. to Win
1. Defense. It has always stepped up big when playing against bigger opponents. Needs a big game against this strong athletic team.

2. Fast Break. Run, Run, Run, has to be the key in this game. Run it up and down to get those big boys tired from the Tar Heels where they have to rely on their bench. They have some of the fastest players on the nation under Gary George they need to use it this game mostly.

3. Rebounds. Have to rebound extremely well. Of couse one game earlier, the Cowboys were outrebounded, but they still got the win against not a good team. This team dominates on the boards, and Coach George will have to make sure his team comes out very physical and crashes on every board, offense and defensive side.

CincyFan

January 12th, 2005, 08:21 PM

December 21
6 Oklahoma St. (8-0) (0-0)
North Carolina (3-3) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 103 @ North Carolina 96

Cowboy‘s are too Strong when it Counts, The Last Minute

What an exciting first half, but let so similar under Coach George’s years as a college coach. They take a lead, and then the team loses it from getting their key players in foul trouble so they have to sit for most of the first half. Well this is how this game went, but was just the opposite of a normal day at the gym. First it was a big lead from the Cowboys. 21-7 to be exact to start the game. Then came the fouls to Hammond so he had to sit with 3 fouls in the first 5 minutes of play. Then was Dilligard who sat within first 8 minutes, but had 24 points in the first half. Both would come back in the first, but Hammond would pick up his fourth foul late so he is done for till late in the game.

Then came back North Carolina. Using the big men as they subbed in the sixth man to make a larger lineup, which proved to work causing 6 steals, and 28 points from the big fellas. Half time though would prove different, or at least the same as most games with the Cowboys winning. Only by a slim margin of 5 points, 54-49.

Stys must have been mad from last game for not getting the player of the game award, and showed his case tonight that he will get it this ball game. Within the first 8 minutes of the ball game already collected a triple-double.

Player at the Half: C Juan Stys (Freshmen)
10 points, 11 assists, 3 steals, 16 rebounds

Again another run by the Cowboys and would get them to be up by 14. Then the bench who was starter for the foul trouble backcourt began to falter when the fatigue came in. Coach George kept them in to the last possible moment which was 4:29 left in the game, when they were losing by 1. Hammonds and Dilligard came in and gave a little spark to regain the lead.

Game would again come down to the final minute of play. Cowboys are winning by 4. With 52 seconds left the big seven footer becomes a factor as the ball is passed down low and he does a sky hook over the little 6’9” Stys. Cowboys still up by 2. No fouling by Tar Heels so, Cowboys decided to run the clock down to 33 seconds before they foul. Hammonds makes the first, but misses the second. (Third foul shot they missed in the second half). Tar Heels grab the miss. Dilligard goes to the line after a steal, and makes both foul shots. Hammonds goes back after a second straight steal. This time makes both to make it a 7 point game. Long two-pointer from the big man. Then on the press the big boys cause a steal and get an easy lay-up to make the game a 3 point game. 14 seconds left. Hammonds back at the line to make sure it’s a 2 possession game and does by sinking the first. Second rolls around on the rim twice before falling in, making the lead back to 5. Roller on the other hand tries to draw contact on the shot and does, but is called for the charge, giving the ball back to the Cowboys with 9.4 seconds left. That would cost them the game.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
19 points, 15 assists, 4 steals, 24 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State North Carolina
Points: W. Anthony 31 J. Lowe 25
Assists: J. Stys 15 R. Winston 17
Steals: B. Dilligard 4 J. Dennehy 5
Blocks: H. Hammond 2 J. Lowe 2
Boards: J. Stys 24 C. Agbai 9

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. North Carolina
FG%: 41/68 (60 %) 43/84 (51 %)
3 Pointers: 0/0 (0 %) 5/18 (28 %)
Foul Shots: 21/25 (84 %) 5/9 (57 %)
Assists: 37 36
Turnovers: 16 17
Fouls: 11 17
Rebounds: 37 33
Off. Boards: 5 9
Def. Boards: 32 24
Steals: 14 13
Blocks: 2 3

CincyFan

January 15th, 2005, 12:35 PM

December 31
3 Oklahoma St. (9-0) (0-0)
9 Michigan St. (3-3) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 98 @ Michigan St. 71

Cowboy‘s are too Strong when it Counts, The Last Minute

Whenever these teams face its all about close games. First time they met was in the champion game a couple years ago when Coach George was at N. Illinois, when Spartians won on a buzzer 3 point shot. Year after they played the first time as a non-conference game in the season. N. Illinois came away with a 4 point win.

Every year it seems as it can be potentially another set-up for the championship game again. This year it is all about defense. Both teams are shooting under 35 %. First time ever all year that Cowboys have shot under 45 % for a half.

Cowboys lead at half by single digits, 38-31. However shooting so low in the field, Cowboys have been perfect at the line on all 9 attempts. Both teams are shooting a lowly 25 % from deep, and only one person has scored in double-figures which is B. Dilligard from the Cowboys. All other stats are pretty identical at half.

Player at the Half: C Juan Stys (Freshmen)
6 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 11 rebounds

Second half would start on an 8-0 run by the Spartians, to take the lead by 1. Then Cowboys would go on an 8-0 run to put the lead back to 7. Next couple of baskets would switch between each team, and then with 10 minutes left it wasn’t a game anymore. Cowboys started to pull away more and more, until the game was over.

Hammonds would be the first player on the Cowboys team all year to foul out of a game. French who was the big PF on the Spartians team who needed a huge impact this game to help win, didn’t do anything and only had 4 points, 1 block, and 1 rebound before fouling out.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
12 points, 11 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 19 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State Michigan St.
Points: W. Anthony 24 3 People 14
Assists: J. Stys 11 T. Osborn 11
Steals: B. Dilligard 7 J. Benjamin 2
Blocks: J. Stys 2 J. Hines 2
Boards: J. Stys 19 J. Hines 9

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Michigan St.
FG%: 35/81 (43 %) 30/76 (40 %)
3 Pointers: 3/8 (38 %) 6/20 (30 %)
Foul Shots: 25/27 (93 %) 5/6 (83 %)
Assists: 26 25
Turnovers: 10 23
Fouls: 8 16
Rebounds: 47 43
Off. Boards: 11 9
Def. Boards: 36 34
Steals: 20 7
Blocks: 4 7

January 6
2 Oklahoma St. (10-0) (0-0)
Georgia Tech (8-3) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 131 @ Georgia Tech 73

Cowboys shows why they are Ranked Number 2 in the Nation

First meeting between these schools, and there might be a problem with your program if…You bring in the top recuit class in the nation and yet you only score 33 points, 20 of them coming in when the bench was playing in the first half, and that you are still losing by 29 at half. Cowboys were predicted to go in the top 3 in the conference, not in the nation.

The starters played a near perfect game in or what they played in the first half. The combine only missed 3 shots out of 25 they took. They out rebounded the Yellow Jackets 12-2. Perfect from deep on 2 shots. Only two turnovers to the Yellow Jackets 16. After the lowest shooting game of this team, the Cowboys came out with a mission shooting 72 % alone in the first half. Cowboys lead at half 62-33.

Player at the Half: SF Blair Dilligard (Junior)
22 points, 6 assists, 6 steals

Second half wasn’t any better for the Yellow Jackets, and wasn’t any worst for the Cowboys. Score showed that. What was exciting to watch, was how this team was almost perfect from every aspect of the game on this given night.

Stys grabbed another triple-double, while Anthony grabbed a double-double, but was a very well rounded performance by the team. Stevie MacDonald came off the bench and had 21 points. “We started out the year on a good run, not like we did tonight to where we were close to perfect, but we played very well. This is what I expect from this team, not only on certain occasions, but day-in and day-out.” Coach George said of his teams performance.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
14 points, 15 assists, 5 steals, 12 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State Georgia Tech
Points: B. Dilligard 28 A. Teague 14
Assists: J. Stys 15 A. Teague 11
Steals: B. Dilligard 6 J. Roberson 2
Blocks: B. Dilligard 2 2 People 1
Boards: W. Anthony 14 A. Teague 6

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Georgia Tech
FG%: 57/85 (67 %) 29/70 (41 %)
3 Pointers: 2/2 (100 %) 7/24 (29 %)
Foul Shots: 15/15 (100 %) 8/10 (80 %)
Assists: 42 23
Turnovers: 8 28
Fouls: 11 9
Rebounds: 41 28
Off. Boards: 5 6
Def. Boards: 36 22
Steals: 22 7
Blocks: 4 2

January 11
2 Oklahoma St. (11-0) (0-0)
Texas Tech (7-3) (0-0)

Oklahoma St. 112 @ Texas Tech 108

Cowboys Pull out a Win in first Conference Game

Waki Anthony. What a story this year. One of the top Small Forwards in the conference. Was suppose to be a beast on offense to lead this team, as he was the team captain. Was ideally suppose to be a late to early second round pick if he decided to leave after his Junior year. Well first couple games was rocky, to the point in the first three weeks he averaged only 8.9 points and 7.7 rebounds a night. Not good enough to help out if he leaves early. Lately though he has been hot, and has shown what he can really do. Last 4 games has averaged at least a double-double, and has scored more than 20 a night. Appartently that’s not good enough this game for him, for he has scored 27 of his teams 58 points tonight.

Cowboys have led the whole game over Red Raiders, but every time the game somehow seemed to be in favor for the Red Raiders the answer would be from Waki Anthony. Not only has he been a surprised tonight, also the three-point shots have been a surprised too. Usually both teams combine for 10 to 12 attempts in the first half, while only making half of those. This game both teams are perfect from deep, but surprisingly enough, both teams only attempted 1 shot. 58-51 in favor of the Cowboys.

Player at the Half: SF Waki Anthony (Junior)
27 points, 1 steal, 3 rebounds

Red Raiders wouldn’t give up, and when Anthony came out in the second half to let some bench players play that’s when Texas Tech made its move. Slowly but surely they came back to tie up the game with 2 minutes left. Buckets would toss back and forth until once again the game came down to the final minute.

One minute left and the score is 103-102 in favor of the Cowboys. Red Raiders ball though. Bucket is made, while Anthony is fouled on a deep 2-pointer. Makes both shots to regain the lead. 49 seconds left. Missed shot at the elbow, Red Raiders tries to tip the shot in off the rebound, misses, Red Raiders grab the rebound once again put it up this time and is blocked. Red Raiders save it and shot the hook shot and made it putting them up by 1 now. 37 seconds left. Hammonds comes in for the first time in the half, and gets it stolen. Cowboys foul, letting the Red Raiders take the lead by 3 with the foul shots. Hammonds drives the lane, kicks it out to a wide open Farley who is in deep three, dribbles up closer and shoots the three to tie….and sinks it. Tie ball game with 25 seconds left. Cowboys return the favor, grab the steal, and not trying to wait for the last shot, push it up and grab the easy layup. Lead for the Cowboys back up to 2 with 13.7 seconds left. Red Raiders don’t feel like going to overtime so shoot the three and miss, while Owens grabs the board and is fouled right away. Hammonds is fouled on the inbound with 5.7 seconds left. Makes both to make it a 2 possession game, and pretty much seals the victory.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
14 points, 15 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 11 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State Georgia Tech
Points: W. Anthony 31 T. Danielson 44
Assists: J. Stys 15 N. Bain 25
Steals: J. Stys 7 2 People 2
Blocks: J. Stys 1 R. Brand 2
Boards: J. Stys 11 R. Brand 13

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Georgia Tech
FG%: 40/78 (51 %) 51/80 (64 %)
3 Pointers: 3/5 (60 %) 2/5 (40 %)
Foul Shots: 29/29 (100 %) 4/5 (80 %)
Assists: 39 43
Turnovers: 8 19
Fouls: 9 16
Rebounds: 29 36
Off. Boards: 10 9
Def. Boards: 19 27
Steals: 18 8
Blocks: 2 5

January 14
12 Missouri (7-3) (1-0)
2 Oklahoma St. (12-0) (1-0)

Missouri 92 @ Oklahoma St. 100

Cowboys come away with their First Comeback Win of Season to Keep them Perfect

48-37 is the score at half. Surprisingly enough Oklahoma St. only has 37. First time they have been more than 5 points at half all year. Coach George had to say this about the first half, “Its kind of hard when your starting point guard and shooting guard have to come out of the game cause of foul trouble. That’s not even an excuse though. Hell I don’t even think you can use that since we had the lead at one point without them there. Right now I don’t care about the score, all I care about is how my guys play in the second half. If they play anything like they did in the first, we deserve to lose. First half was pathetic on our part. We gave them the lead, and are doing things only to hurt us. I don’t know whats wrong, and where is the fire. Maybe we need to lose a game a year since mostly no one goes perfect in a season.”

There hasn’t been a perfect season in at least for how long, but Coach George has come close. Only lost 1 game in three separate years. Again another off night for shooting for the Cowboys since they are only shooting 42 % in the first half, while Tigers are getting their shoots to fall at 55 %.

Player at the Half: SF Waki Anthony (Junior)
12 points, 4 assists, 1 block, 3 rebounds

Would the halftime speech work? Well for the first two and a half minutes still no fire, not even a spark from the Cowboys. Then it jumped into a brush fire. Being down by 15 was the turning point. Stys gets the ball down low, does his little back-in, fakes one side, spins to the other for an easy two handed jam. Then MacDonald steals the ball passes it to Anthony who is up ahead for an easy one handed windmill.

Then the change went back in to Missouri as the starters, Hammonds and Dilligard came back in. Only down by three, they watch the Tigers go on an 9-0 run to push the lead back to double figures with only 5 minutes left. Back comes in the bench and would they be huge as they when they started in the second half. MacDonald would lead the charge. So quick, he would destroy the defense that cause trouble for the Cowboys, by running around circles on them. 3:30 left in the game looked like it turned back over to the favor of the Cowboys when they were only down now by 7, but were getting key stops on defense, and scoring almost every time on offense.

This game would come down to the last 2 minutes. Exactly with 2 minutes left Missouri is only up by 2. They bring up the ball, but MacDonald gets the steal and the easy lay-up to tie it up. 1:55 left. Another steal, Farley with the lay-up and yet MacDonald on the play with an assist. They give the ball to one of their key scorers; Sola to tie the game back up. Up to this point he is shooting 10 for 13 from the field, and is one of three players to score in the 20’s. 1:15 left and MacDonald gets another assist, by driving in the lane and dumping it off to Stys. Miss shot on the other end, and Cowboys have no wanted to stop the gameplay to run the clock down, go back on the fast break and find the man in the second half for an easy baseline jumper 10 feet away in MacDonald to give them a 4 point lead. Last minute of play and they go back to Sola to get the easy shot. 51 seconds left and while to run the clock down now they double Anthony at point and finds the red hot and open MacDonald for a wide open three. Missouri’s guard misses the three, and that would prove to be the game.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
14 points, 11 assists, 5 steals, 11 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Oklahoma State Missouri
Points: S. MacDonald 30 B. Washington 23
Assists: J. Stys 11 G. Huff 25
Steals: J. Stys 5 2 People 2
Blocks: W. Anthony 1 B. Washington 4
Boards: J. Stys 11 D. Dickey 11

Team Stat Comparison:
Oklahoma St. Missouri
FG%: 42/85 (49 %) 43/78 (55 %)
3 Pointers: 5/9 (56 %) 2/6 (33 %)
Foul Shots: 11/11 (100 %) 4/5 (80 %)
Assists: 34 38
Turnovers: 14 21
Fouls: 9 11
Rebounds: 35 41
Off. Boards: 9 9
Def. Boards: 26 32
Steals: 20 6
Blocks: 3 7

January 18
Iowa St. (9-4) (0-2)
2 Oklahoma St. (13-0) (2-0)

Missouri 72 @ Oklahoma St. 107

Cowboys Show up this Game, and Play the Whole Game

First half was all about shooting great for both teams. Cowboys shot 58 % while the Cyclones shoot 52 %. Both teams knocked down shots with ease, even when people were double or sometimes tripled teamed. They even shot a total of 80 % from deep. Cowboys hit 2 for 2, while the Cyclones were the only ones who missed on a double team shot for 2 out of 3.

It was a lot better performance than last game out of the starters, and while MacDonald did come in this game from Hammonds foul trouble he was spotty at best going 0 for 2 from the field in 4 minutes of play. Halftime comes and the Cowboys lead 61-39.

Player at the Half: SF Waki Anthony (Junior)
23 points, 1 assists, 1 steal, 4 rebounds

Some might say that last game was a flute for MacDonald, who is a freshmen and since everyone else got cold, and he was hot that game he got to take a lot of shots. Surprisingly enough, he is averaging 11.9 points a game in only 9.9 minutes of play this year. Well he got a little more time in today’s game with 14 minutes and walked away with 17 points, which was second on the team. “He shows good vision on the floor. He is more of a passer, but lately has liked the role of being a shooter on the team. Plus he fits in better at Shooting Guard, instead of Point Guard. He sometimes gets shaken up when at point when he has to be in control of everything. Plus he is so quick he can get a lot better shots from his first step.” Coach George said about the freshman on his team. He scored all 17 in the second half.

Second half wasn’t any better for the Cyclones as they couldn’t put any water on the Cowboys to slow them down from shooting. A couple of backups saw a lot of playing time, and expect to see more of it against unranked teams in the conference as they are not as strong as the games go on.

Player of the Game: C Juan Stys (Freshman)
16 points, 13 assists, 5 steals, 16 rebounds

Game Leaders:
Iowa State Oklahoma St.
Points: W. Anthony 31 C. Attaway 27
Assists: J. Stys 13 C. Callans 11
Steals: S. MacDonald 5 S. Hobbs 6
Blocks: W. Anthony 2 S. Hobbs 3
Boards: J. Stys 16 P. Ricks 7

Team Stat Comparison:
Iowa St. Oklahoma St.
FG%: 30/66 (45 %) 41/70 (59 %)
3 Pointers: 4/7 (46 %) 3/3 (100 %)
Foul Shots: 8/10 (80 %) 22/25 (88 %)
Assists: 25 36
Turnovers: 26 13
Fouls: 13 14
Rebounds: 29 34
Off. Boards: 7 5
Def. Boards: 22 29
Steals: 12 22
Blocks: 6 5

CincyFan

April 16th, 2005, 01:14 PM

Well i am back to updating this legacy. Lots of changes since i last updated it since it was like a couple months ago. haven't had the time to post lately and with new games coming out, MLB 2k5 Splinter Cell and a couple others sorta didn't feel like posting and everything. Then work schedule changed, but decided now to write back about Coach George and his winning ways. Only going to give an overveiw of what happen lately since i am a couple seasons past from the last time i writen stuff. So hoefully people are still playing and posting about their games. If people are and they still want a SportsCenter back up i will do it, if it has died down cause of baseball or whatnot i won't, but still will be posting mine legacy though.

CincyFan

April 16th, 2005, 01:36 PM

Last time we left off was during the 2013/14 season. Coach George was at his second term at Oklahoma State and the first year was 30-5 with them and a final four berth. Northern Illinois, the team Coach George left, was the powerhouse and won their second back to back championship that year and it was their 4 in 5 years. In the 2013-14 season Coach George had them back on track and the UpperClassmen had their way as they posted a 33-3 record and winning their first National Championship against Northern Illinois by 4. Next year would show there was only 2 teams willing to watch in college basketball and that was Ranked #1 Northern Illinois and #3 Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State went undefeated with another Championship with a 36-0 record as Northern Illinois had went 33-2 with both loses coming to Oklahoma State (reg season then Championship game). In 2014/15 more teams decided to become powerhouses and one was the first coaching jobs for Gary George at Charl.-Southern who made their first playoff berth since George left and went 25-4 on the year. Other Teams were Texas Tech, Iowa State, and Missouri who was all ranked in the top 10. But once again it would be against the undefeated teams for the Championship. Northern Illinois and Oklahoma St. (first time they didn't play in reg. season) and Oklahoma State did win big behind the play of the big men.

Now the year is 2015/16 and everyone knows Oklahoma State is going to win it all, its just they are betting on how much. Record already is 20-0. Coach George is the best Coach in College and hasn't been getting a lot of recuits but gets the best when he does. Ine the last 3 years he only had 4 recuits. First of the Four is Juan Stys the best Center in the Nation, a 6'9" 220 Center, who was the first player under Coach George to win the National Player of the Year award. Next year people thought would cause some problems when the recuited the best Center again in High School which was Nate Spooner. Juan Stys decided to move to PF since he was smaller and it was a good call. Spooner was the best as he showed his first two years that he was the best player not only in High School but in College as he won the National Player of the Year Award twice. (Stys and Spooner have posted a triple-double every time they play, sometimes getting days off as Stys moves back to C when Spooner gets a rest). Last recuiting year it was the best PG and SG in the nation with Harry Eaton, 6'0" 170 PG, and Martell Osborne, a 6'3" 199 SG. Eaton leads the Nation in steals per game with 7.5 while posting 17 points and 4 rebounds a night. Osborne on the other hand was just known for his quickness and his offense ability. Which he hasn't let down Coach George's Staff. Although only averaging 1 assist a game and 3 steals, he does lead the nation in scoring a game with 28.8, and has posted 20 points every game, with 14 games this year posting 30 or more. After having this four out their and the leading Scorer the last two years on the Team in Senior, Stevie MacDonald, who got the nob to finally be a starter in his Junior year has been an exciting player to watch. He doesn't score as much, but does the little things like assisting and scoring when we need it as he posted a double-double in the 14 games he played this year. Averaging still a high 22.4 points this year and 10 assists a game he does come up with 4 steals also. With a team like this most teams can't compete as the closest game this year was when Oklahoma State won by 14.

Will have more later, but i have to work from 5 pm to 4 am. and everyone gl if you still play your seasons.