Men's Basketball

This Week in Men's Basketball

1.22.2001

This Week in Men's Basketball


THE RPI
Through games of January 21
Conferences             Team    
1.      Big Ten         24.     Cincinnati
2.      SEC             39.     Southern Miss
3.      ACC             45.     South Florida
4.      Pac-10          67.     Charlotte
5.      Big East        69.     Saint Louis
6.      Big 12          71.     Marquette
7.      Atlantic 10     77.     Memphis
8.      Conference USA  94.     DePaul
9.      WAC             105.    UAB
10.     Mountain West   116.    Louisville
11.     MCC             196.    Tulane
12.     Missouri Valley 201.    Houston

SAGARIN RATINGS
Through games of January 21
Conferences             Team    
1.      ACC             20.     Southern Miss
2.      Big Ten         33.     South Florida
3.      SEC             36.     Cincinnati
4.      Pac-10          41.     Charlotte
5.      Big 12          63.     Saint Louis
6.      Big East        78.     Memphis
7.      Atlantic 10     92.     Marquette 
8.      WAC             115.    DePaul
9.      Conference USA  122.    UAB
10.     Mountain West   155.    Louisville
11.     MCC             216.    Houston
12.     Missouri Valley 235.    Tulane
RANKED WINS
Nov. 17 Southern Miss 65, @ (15) Arkansas 54
Nov. 29 (17) Cincinnati 82, @ (24) Dayton 75
Dec. 9 @ South Florida 87, (25) Texas 69
Dec. 22 (20) Cincinnati 77, (17) Alabama 74 (San Juan, P.R.)

20/10 CLUB
The following Conference USA players have posted at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game this season

LeDaryl Billingsley (TUL)       
        22 points, 16 rebounds vs. Nicholls State,11/17
        20 points, 11 rebounds at SMU, 12/2
        24 points, 17 rebounds vs. Loyola (N.O.), 12/9
        22 points, 10 rebounds vs. UAB, 1/20

Kelly Wise (MEM)        
        22 points, 14 rebounds vs. Miami (Ohio), 11/23
        20 points, 12 rebounds at Arkansas, 12/2

B.B. Waldon (USF)       
        27 points, 10 rebounds vs. Texas, 12/9
        28 points, 11 rebounds vs. Central Florida, 12/15
        28 points, 11 rebounds vs. Tulane, 1/13

Rodney White (CHA)      
       23 points, 11 rebounds vs. Charleston Southern, 12/6

David Walker (UAB)      
       20 points, 13 rebounds vs. Hawaii, 12/23

Bobby Simmons (DPU)      
        35 points, 15 rebounds vs. Northern Illinois, 12/23
        21 points, 10 rebounds vs. Charlotte, 1/17
        24 points, 15 rebounds vs. Temple, 1/20

Linton Johnson (TUL)    
        22 points, 12 rebounds vs. Florida, 12/28

Elvin Mims (USM)        
        20 points, 13 rebounds at UAB, 1/13

Vandarel Jones (USM)    
        22 points, 13 rebounds at La.-Lafayette, 1/18
CLOSE CALLS
Here is a look at how Conference USA teams have fared in games decided by six points or less (Through January 21):
Charlotte        1-2
Cincinnati       2-3
DePaul           3-2
Houston          2-2
Louisville       3-2
Marquette        5-3
Memphis          3-3
Saint Louis      1-2
South Florida    0-3
Southern Miss    1-2
Tulane           1-2
UAB              2-1
EARLY SIGNEES
Below is a list of each Conference USA school's early signees. According to the December issue of Basketball Times, Clark Francis of Hoop Scoop has rated Memphis and DePaul the top two fall recruiting classes in the nation. In addition, two other C-USA programs have recruiting classes among Clark's Top 40: Louisville (21) and Marquette (35).

1. Memphis      7-t. Virginia
2. DePaul       7-t. Kansas
3. Missouri     9-t. Minnesota
4-t. UCLA       9-t. Arizona
4-t. Auburn     21. Louisville
6. Florida      35. Marquette
Charlotte
Mitchell Bittle, G, 6-2, 175, Rural Hall, N.C. (R.J. Reynolds)

Cincinnati
Jason Maxiell, F, 6-7, 230, Carrollton, Texas (Newman Smith)

DePaul
Sam Hoskin, F/C, 6-9, 260, Livonia, Mich. (Schoolcraft Junior College)
Drake Diener, G, 6-5, 180, Fond du Lac, Wis. (Goodrich)
Kenny Adelke, F/C, 6-8, 225, Brooklyn, N.Y.( Robeson)
Eddy Curry, C, 6-11, 285, South Holland, Ill. (Thornwood)
Quemont Greer, G/F, 6-7, 215, Homestead, Fla. (Berkshire)
LeVar Seals, G, 6-4, 180, Chicago, Ill. (Providence St. Mel's)

Houston
Rickey Huckaby, G, 6-1, 175, Mexia, Texas (Mexia)
Darrius Brannon, F, 6-9, 205, Port Arthur, Texas (Lincoln)
Bryan Shelton, G, 6-4, 180, Friendswood, Texas (Clear Brook)

Louisville
Dennis Coutee, G/F, 6-6, 215, Jeffersonville, Ind. (Jeffersonville)
Carlos Hurt, G, 6-2, 180, Alief, Texas (Elsik)
Leroy Davis, G, 6-4, 200, Wadley, Ala. (Southern Union Community College)

Marquette
Travis Diener, G, 6-0, 180, Fond du Lac, Wis. (Goodrich)
Ron Howard, G, 6-5, 175, Chicago, Ill. (Whitney Young)
Kevin Menard, F, 6-7, 205, Frankfort, Ill. (Lincoln-Way)

Memphis
Duane Erwin, F, 6-9, 215, Hunstsville, Ala. (Lee)
Chris Massie, C, 6-8, 280, Arcola, Texas (Oxnard College)
Anthony Rice, G, 6-4, 190, Atlanta, Ga. (North Clayton)
Dajuan Wagner, G, 6-3, 185, Camden, N.J. (Camden)

Saint Louis
John Seyfort, F, 6-9, 235, Stevensville, Mont. (Stevensville)
Kenny Brown, C, 6-10, 250, St. Louis, Mo. (Hazelwood West)
Randy Pulley, G, 6-2, 205, Raleigh, N.C. (Word of God Christian Academy)

South Florida
Brian Swift, G, 5-10, 185, Warrensville, Ohio (Warrensville Heights)
Brandon Brigman, F, 6-9, 230, Philadelphia, Pa. (St. John Neumann)
Marlon Bryant, G, 6-2, 180, Wildwood, Fla. (Leesburg)
Greg Brittan, F, 6-6, 210, Dora, Fla. (Central Florida CC/Mt. Dora)

Southern Miss
Jasper Johnson, G, 6-7, 230, Hollandale, Miss. (Simmons)
Ben Lambert, C, 6-9, 240, Mobile, Ala. (Leflore HS/Okaloosa-Walton CC)
James Pattman, G, 6-1, 191 Lilburn, Ga. (Berkman)
Carey Rigsby, C, 6-9 , 230 Houston, Texas (Willow Ridge)
Dante Stiggers, G, 6-2, 160 Houston, Texas (Alief-Hastings)

Tulane
Ben Benfield, G, 6-4, 175, River Ridge, La. (John Curtis Christian)
Karl Hollingsworth, G/F, 6-5, 220, Jonesboro, Ga. (Mt. Zion)

WAGNER'S 100
Memphis signee DA JUAN WAGNER became the 14th high school player in history to score 100 points when he reached the century mark in Camden (N.J.) High School's 157-67 win over Gloucester Township Technical School on Jan. 15.

 
CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES
35      DeMarco Johnson, CHA (1995-98)
29      Quentin Richardson, DPU (1998-2000)
28      Kenyon Martin, CIN (1996-2000)
28      Carlos Williams, UAB (1995-97)
27      Danny Fortson, CIN (1995-97)
21      Kelly McCarty, USM (1995-97)
20      Galen Robinson, HOU (1995-97)
20      BOBBY SIMMONS, DPU (1999-)
19      KELLY WISE, MEM (1999-)
18      B.B. WALDON, USF (1999-)

CAREER STATISTICAL LEADERS
Through January 20
SCORING
Player, School            Yrs.            G       Pts
DeMarco Johnson, CHA      1996-98 91      1763
Nate Johnson, LOU         1997-2000       125     1513
Brian Wardle, MAR         1998-           97      1410
Marques Maybin, LOU       1998-           102     1399
Danny Fortson, CIN        1996-97         66      1367
B.B. Waldon, USF          1999-           75      1286
Kenyon Martin, CIN        1997-2000       116     1279
Aaron Hutchins, MAR       1996-98         89      1259
Carlos Williams, UAB      1996-97         62      1236
Cedric Dixon, UAB         1996-98         94      1232
DeJuan Wheat, LOU         1996-97         69      1210
Jerald Honeycutt, TUL     1996-97         63      1194
Damon Cobb, UAB           1996-99         127     1175
Quentin Richardson, DPU   1999-2000       64      1147
Tony Williams, LOU        1997-2000       120     1133
Kenny Younger, HOU        1998-2000       87      1131

THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE
Player, School            Yrs.            G       3-pt FG
Damon Cobb, UAB           1996-99         127     234
Virgel Cobbin, SLU        1996-99         122     217
Diego Guevara, CHA        1998-           101     198
Aaron Hutchins, MAR       1996-98         89      195
Darnell Burton, CIN       1996-97         64      183
DeJuan Wheat, LOU         1996-97         69      175

ASSISTS
Player, School            Yrs.            G       Ast
Aaron Hutchins, MAR       1996-98         89      491
Sean Colson, CHA          1997-98         60      427
Mel Cauthen, USM          1998-           103     354
Jamall Walker, SLU        1996-99         123     350
Chris Garner, MEM         1996-97         61      298

BLOCKED SHOTS
Player, School            Yrs.            G       Blk
Kenyon Martin, CIN        1997-2000       116     292
Lawrence Nelson, TUL      1996-98         89      176
Kelly Wise, MEM           1999-           74      146
Faisal Abraham, MAR       1996-97         61      142
C-USA VERSUS THE NATION'S CONFERENCES
Here's a look at Conference USA's record against each of the nation's Division I Conferences in 2000-01 (Through January 21):
Conference               Rec.    Conference            Rec.
America East             0-0     Missouri Valley       1-2
Atlantic Coast           4-2     Mountain West         2-2
Atlantic 10              9-8     Northeast             1-0
Big East                 1-7     Ohio Valley           4-1
Big Sky                  2-0     Pac-10                2-4
Big Ten                  0-5     Patriot               0-0
Big 12                   4-7     Southeastern          3-10
Big South                1-0     Southern              4-0
Big West                 2-2     Southland             3-0
Colonial                 4-0     SWAC                  6-1
Independents             1-0     Sun Belt              7-4
Ivy                      0-0     Trans America         2-1
Mid-American             3-1     Western Athletic      2-7
Mid-Continent            4-0     West Coast            0-1
Mid-Eastern Athletic     1-0     Non-Division I        6-0
MCC                      3-0     Total                 81-64
Metro Atlantic Athletic  1-0                           (.559)
LEAGUE ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE CHANGES
Please note the following changes in the Conference USA composite schedule:

The dates for both DePaul-Saint Louis games have also been moved. The Blue Demons and Billikens squared off at Allstate Arena in Chicago on Dec. 19 and will meet at Savvis Center in St. Louis on Jan. 31 at 7:10 p.m. CST.

The Marquette at Memphis game, originally scheduled for 3 p.m. CST on Feb. 3 on ESPN Plus, has been moved to Friday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. CST on ESPN.

The Feb. 3 UAB at Southern Miss game will be televised by ESPN Plus at 3 p.m.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES (Through January 21) The following Conference USA players have each recorded more than one double-double this season.

Player, School                  Season Total    Career Total
Kelly Wise, Memphis             8               19
LeDaryl Billingsley, Tulane     8               15
Bobby Simmons, DePaul           7               20
Linton Johnson, Tulane          6               6
Cam Stephens, Charlotte         5               5
Patrick Okafor, Houston         4               4
David Walker, UAB               4               10
B.B. Waldon, South Florida      4               18
Will Campbell, UAB              4               4
Imari Sawyer, DePaul            3               3
George Williams, Houston        3               15
Brandon Brown, Tulane           2               2
Brandon Spann, Tulane           2               2
Maurice Jeffers, Saint Louis    2               3
Elvin Mims, Southern Miss       2               2
Earl Barron, Memphis            2               4
Oluoma Nnamaka, Marquette       2               5
Chris Heinrich, Saint Louis     2               4
Vandarel Jones, USM             2               8
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The following players have earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors during the 2000-01 season:
Nov. 20 Rodney White, Charlotte
Nov. 27 Imari Sawyer, DePaul
Dec. 4 Demon Brown, Charlotte
Dec. 11 B.B. Waldon, South Florida
Dec. 18 Leonard Stokes, Cincinnati
Jan. 2 B.B. Waldon, South Florida
Jan. 8 Brian Wardle, Marquette
Jan. 15 Altron Jackson, South Florida
Jan. 22 Jobey Thomas, Charlotte

HOME COOKIN
Here is how each Conference USA team has fared at home in 2000-01 (Through January 21):

       
Team            Venue                   Record  Pct.    Win Streak
Charlotte       Halton Arena            4-2     .667    L 2
Cincinnati      Shoemaker Center        6-1     .857    W 3
DePaul          Allstate Arena          7-2     .778    W 1
                United Center           0-2     .000    L 2
Houston         Hofheinz Pavilion       2-5     .286    W 1
Louisville      Freedom Hall            3-6     .333    W 1
Marquette       Bradley Center          7-3     .700    L 1
                US Cellular Arena       0-1     .000    L 1
Memphis         The Pyramid             6-3     .667    W 3
Saint Louis     Savvis Center           8-1     .889    W 4
South Florida   Sun Dome                7-0     1.000   W 7
Southern Miss   Reed Green Col.         8-0     1.000   W 8
Tulane          Fogelman Arena          5-1     .833    W 6
                New Orleans Arena       1-2     .333    L 1
UAB             Bartow Arena            6-2     .750    L 1
                Total                   70-31   .693
                Non-Conference          52-19   .732

COACHES RECORDS - (Through January 21)
Coach (School)          School  Career 
Bobby Lutz (CHA)        50-34   231-125
Bob Huggins (CIN)       288-91  456-163
Pat Kennedy (DPU)       55-56   381-247
Ray McCallum (HOU)      4-12    130-88
Denny Crum (LOU)        669-288 669-288
Tom Crean (MAR)         23-21   23-21
John Calipari (MEM)     10-8    203-79
Lorenzo Romar (SLU)     30-21   72-65
Seth Greenberg (USF)    67-66   172-136
James Green (USM)       79-57   79-57
Shawn Finney (TUL)      7-10    7-10
Murry Bartow (UAB)      82-60   82-60
TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL
Through Jan. 21, seven Conference USA players have assist-to-turnover ratios of 1.5 or better.
OVERALL
Team                    Assists Turnovers   Ratio
Rashon Burno, DPU       62      30          2.07
Mel Cauthen, USM        58      29          2.00
Shyrone Chatman, MEM    75      38          1.97
Cedric Smith, USF       56      29          1.93
Demon Brown, CHA        76      45          1.69
Josh Fisher, SLU        54      33          1.64
Bobby Simmons, DPU      51      32          1.59

LEAGUE GAMES
Team                    Assists Turnovers   Ratio
Brian Wardle, MAR       12      1           12.00
Cedric Smith, USF       21      8           2.62
Shyrone Chatman, MEM    26      13          2.00
LeAndrew Bass, UAB      35      19          1.84
Rashon Burno, DPU       20      11          1.82
Linton Johnson, TUL     17      10          1.70
Reece Gaines, LOU       20      13          1.54
2001 CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT
The 2001 Conference USA Tournament will be held March 7-10 at Freedom Hall in Louisville. All 12 teams will compete for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. First round games are scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, second round for Thursday, March 8, the semifinals are slated for Friday, March 9 and the championship for Saturday, March 10. The first and second rounds and semifinals will be televised by ESPN Plus, with the championship to be televised by CBS at 12 p.m. EST on March 10.

PRESS ROW NUMBERS
Charlotte       (704) 687-4999
Cincinnati      (513) 556-3800
DePaul          (847) 296-6999
Houston         (713) 743-9477
Louisville      (502) 852-5567
Marquette       (414) 227-0580
Memphis         (901) 527-9942
Saint Louis     (314) 589-5832
South Florida   (813) 974-3287
Southern Miss   (601) 266-5428
Tulane          (504) 862-8122
UAB            (205) 934-0722
WOODEN AND NAISMITH AWARD NOMINEES
Cincinnati guard KENNY SATTERFIELD has been nominated for the Naismith and Wooden Award, while South Florida junior forward B.B. WALDON has been nominated for the Wooden Award. The Atlanta Tipoff Club, which founded the Naismith Awards program, annually recognizes the nation's top men's and women's college basketball players. The Naismith Board of Selectors, comprised of top coaches and basketball media members, chooses the 30 men's and women's preseason candidates for the Naismith Award. A panel of voters from across the country select the top 50 players as potential finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, presented to the nation's top player. Former Cincinnati star Kenyon Martin received both honors last spring.

PRESEASON POLLS
AMERICAN                NATIONAL
1. Cincinnati           1. South Florida
2. DePaul               2. Memphis
3. Charlotte            3. UAB
4. Louisville           4. Southern Miss
5. Marquette            5. Houston
6. Saint Louis          6. Tulane
INTRIGUING TREND
Through Jan. 21, South Florida, Tulane and Saint Louis are the top three field goal percentage leaders in Conference USA. However, they are also the three lowest three-point field goal percentage shooting teams. Furthermore, Louisville, the league leader in three-point field goal percentage, is ninth in field goal percentage overall.

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Team                    FGM     FGA     Pct.
1. South Florida        478     1021    .468
2. Tulane               456     981     .465
3. Saint Louis          446     967     .461
9. Louisville           460     1089    .422

THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Team                    FGM     FGA     Pct.
1. Louisville           110     285     .386
10. Tulane              73      228     .320
11. Saint Louis         53      167     .317
12. South Florida       85      279     .305

NCAA STATS Through Games of Jan. 15
Scoring                 31. Rodney White, CHA, 19.9
Assists                 18. Imari Sawyer, DPU, 6.4
Field Goal Percentage   18. David Walker, UAB, .594
Free Throw Percentage   19. Dominic Smith, HOU, .889
Rebounding               7. Kelly Wise, MEM, 11.1
                        23. LeDaryl Billingsley, TUL, 9.9
Field Goal & Defense    11. Saint Louis, .381
Three-Point Field Goals 
         Per Game        8. Charlotte, 9.3
Steals                  16. Brandon Spann, TUL, 2.7
Scoring Defense          4. Southern Miss, 59.3
                        13. Marquette, 60.2
MEDIA TEAM LINK
Updated notes and statistics for Conference USA and each of its 12 schools are available on Media Team Link. You may have Adobe Acrobat PDF documents delivered directly to your e-mail address or fax machine the moment the documents are updated. Documents may also be viewed online. Simply log on to www.mediateamlink.com and click on the "Sign Up Here" button to start a free account. The only fees incurred are if a fax is requested automatically each time it is updated, and that is sent at $0.15 per page. This site is free and for accredited media only.

3- THE MAGIC NUMBER
When Cincinnati's STEVE LOGAN hit 7-of-9 three-pointers at Louisville on Jan. 13, it marked the third-best single-game performance in league history. Logan and Charlotte's JOBEY THOMAS have each tied the Conference USA single-game record for three-pointers in a league contest. Thomas had seven treys at DePaul on Jan. 17.

.875    (7-8)   Patrick Lewis, TUL, at Saint Louis              2-14-96
.857    (6-7)   Troy Robertson, SLU, vs. Eastern Illinois       12-21-96
        (6-7)   Cedric Dixon, UAB, vs. South Florida            2-22-96
.778    (7-9)   Steve Logan, CIN, at Louisville                 1-13-01
.750    (6-8)   Brian Kiser, LOU, at UCLA                       1-27-96

CONFERENCE USA SIDs
Conference USA        (312-553-0483)   Brian Teter     (bjteter@c-usa.org)
                                       Pete Rhoda      (pjrhoda@c-usa.org)
Charlotte             (704-687-6310)   Tom Whitestone  (tewhites@email.uncc.edu)
Cincinnati            (513-556-5191)   Tom Hathaway    (tom.hathaway@uc.edu)
DePaul                (773-325-7525)   Scott Reed      (sreed1@wppost.depaul.edu)
Houston               (713-743-9410)   Rick Poulter    (rpoulter@uh.edu)
Louisville            (502-852-6581)   Kenny Klein     (kenny.klein@louisville.edu)
Marquette             (414-288-5287)   John Farina     (john.farina@marquette.edu)
Memphis               (901-678-2397)   Ron Mears       (rmears@memphis.edu)
Saint Louis           (314-977-3462)   Doug McIlhagga  (mcilhad2@slu.edu)
South Florida         (813-974-4092)   Mike Hogan      (mhogan@admin.usf.edu)
Southern Miss         (601-266-4503)   Regiel Napier   (regiel.napier@usm.edu)
Tulane                (504-865-5506)   John Sudsbury   (jsudsbu@tulane.edu)
UAB                   (205-934-0722)   Jack Duggan     (jackd@uab.edu)
Click here For TELEVISION SCHEDULE

COACHES TELECONFERENCE
Conference USA holds its weekly coaches teleconference each Monday at 11:00 a.m. EST/10:00 a.m. CST. The phone number to participate is (913) 981-5508. A replay will be available throughout the week by calling (402) 633-6900.

11:00 a.m. EST/10:00 a.m. CST - Announcements
11:05 a.m. EST/10:05 a.m. CST - Bob Huggins, Cincinnati
11:12 a.m. EST/10:12 a.m. CST - Denny Crum, Louisville
11:19 a.m. EST/10:19 a.m. CST - Bobby Lutz, Charlotte
11:26 a.m. EST/10:26 a.m. CST - Seth Greenberg, South Florida
11:33 a.m. EST/10:33 a.m. CST - Shawn Finney, Tulane
11:40 a.m. EST/10:40 a.m. CST - Ray McCallum, Houston
11:47 a.m. EST/10:47 a.m. CST - Pat Kennedy, DePaul
11:54 a.m. EST/10:54 a.m. CST - Tom Crean, Marquette
12:01 p.m. EST/11:01 a.m. CST - John Calipari, Memphis
12:08 p.m. EST/11:08 a.m. CST - Lorenzo Romar, Saint Louis
12:15 p.m. EST/11:15 a.m. CST - James Green, Southern Miss
12:22 p.m. EST/11:22 a.m. CST - Murry Bartow, UAB
12:29 p.m. EST/11:29 a.m. CST - Media Notes Exchange