Chicago College Basketball

What Will It Take to Fix Chicago State?

admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Finishing with an abysmal record of 6 – 26 during the 2010 – 2011 leaves Chicago St. looking for answers. The Cougars have struggled to be respectable for a while now both on and off the court. So, where is this team headed? Will they ever be respectable? Will they ever finish the season with a 20 win season? Will they ever make it to the big dance by winning their conference tournament? In the short term no, but in the long term, there is reason for optimism.

The prospects for the upcoming season are bleak at best. The team loses basically all of its top scorers and rebounders and has no recruits coming in that are projected to set the world on fire. In order to fix their issues, the Cougars will have to slow the game down, play incredible defense and shoot lights out from deep. Even then, the best they can do is a 15 – 18 win season. Let’s face it. Chicago St. has little size, little support, and even less talent. A turnaround will take a while.

The Chicago St. program will take at least 3 to 5 years to turn around. There is talent available in the area, but to mine it recruiting will have to improve. The coaching staff will have to find a few diamonds in the rough and play a tough and aggressive brand of ball in order to rise up and be a decent team.

Former Chicago State Coach Mike Rice Turning Things Around at Rutgers

admin — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

For Rutgers students, alumni, and fans, the hiring of coach Mike Rice was a great welcome, and a hopeful turnaround for the men’s basketball team. After Mike’s success with Chicago State, the Rutgers recently signed him on as the new head coach for the team, and are really looking to turn things around, from a less than sub-par performance last season. Although the team has young talent, Rice believes he can really turn the program around, and give Rutgers basketball fans something to cheer about, and bring some school pride back out onto the court in the 2011/2012 upcoming season, and looking forward.

Although the team has had successful seasons in the past, last season was not to great for the men’s team. So, with the new coach, who has had great success, with younger and senior players, the team is really hoping to build a powerful program, and get their name back into the tournament bracket and on top of the standings once again. So, for all alumni, current students, and Rutger fans out there, watch out for the new coach to really turn things around this season, and really get the players geared up for a great season.

Valpo’s Homer Drew, A Campus Constant

admin — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The faculty and the buildings may have changed, but the one constant at Valparaiso University is Homer Drew, the head coach of the men’s basketball team. Drew first took over as head coach in 1988 and from ’88 to 2002 his teams won 7 conference titles and made the NCAA Tournament 7 times. Drew retired at the end of the ’01-’02 season to work as a Special Assistant to the President in a position for University Advancement.

Drew’s time away from the school known as “Valpo” was short lived though. During the ’02-’03 season the team was coached by his son Scott. Following the season Scott left to be the head men’s basketball coach at Baylor University, so Valpo re-hired the elder Drew.

From the 2003 season until this past season, Drew has been able to keep Valparaiso a household name. They have won the conference title once since his return and they have also made one return trip back to the NCAA Tournament.

On May 17, 2011, Homer Drew announced his retirement from Valparaiso University and it was announced that another of his sons, Bryce Drew (a former Valpo player), would be taking over as head coach. Drew leaves with a career record of 640-427.

Chicago Must Do: In Town for a Game

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Coming into Chicago this year to see one of your favorite college teams play? Whether you’ve got a kid in school or just a major passion for Windy City sports you’ve got to check your favorite team out, although there’s nothing wrong with watching games on your Direct Star TV! Here are a few of the things you can’t miss when you come into Chi-town for a visit…
Cubs Game – Yeah, you’re a basketball fan but you’ve got to take some time out to head to Wrigley Field! If you’ve ever wondered what all the fuss was about when it came to baseball you’ve got to watch the Cubs in action…and don’t forget to get a Chicago style hot dog!
Bulls Game – Obviously you’re going to take in a Bulls game, right? Although MJ didn’t play for a Chicago team in college he did make his legacy right here in the Windy City…catch a game for yourself!
Have Some Deep Dish – Head over to Lou Malnoti’s for a slice (or 5) of the best Chicago style deep dish in town. There are dozens of locations and make sure you ask for extra cheese.

Northwestern Back to Old Habits?

chicagocollegebasketball.com — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Over the past 2 seasons, it at times seemed as if head coach Bill Carmody was actually doing something right in Evanston. The season at hand will ultimately make or break the Wildcat program, determining whether Northwestern is actually ascending the ladder in Big 10 basketball, or simply enjoying a brief rise to mediocrity. After 6 straight losing seasons from 2002-2003 to 2007-2008, Northwestern put together to consecutive full slates of .500 basketball in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, including a 20 win performance a season ago. In fact, Northwestern even returned to post-season play for the first time since 1999, granted it was the National Invitational Tournament, not the prestigious NCAA Tournament. Sadly, the Wildcats have never qualified for the NCAA Tournament.If the Wildcats continue to progress at the a similar rate and can build on the steps taken over the past two seasons, Northwestern has an outside shot to finish among the 65 teams deemed worthy of participation. After going unscathed through their first 8 games, the Wildcats hit their first bump in the road with a loss to St. Johns on December 21^st. Apparently losing is a taste that lingers, as the team proceeded to lose 2 of their next 3 heading into a matchup with cross-state rival Illinois. The Illini quite simply mopped the floor with the men in purple, cruising to an 88-63 victory.Perhaps, however, things haven’t slipped quite as terribly as the numbers indicate. After all, Purdue, Michigan State and Indiana were ranked 11, 19 and 20 at the time of the three consecutive losses. The much bigger issue is how the team will respond to this stretch of losses as the season progresses. Will the Wildcats pack it in and fade to back to the cellar or wade through their quicksand scheduling and come out the other side stronger?

A Look Back: 1998 Valparaiso Crusaders

chicagocollegebasketball.com — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

On the outskirts of Chicago, in Valparaiso, IN, the year 1998 stands out in distinct memory from years before after. “Oh, you’re from Valparaiso?” residents are commonly asked. “like the basketball team?” or some other vague variation soon follows. Valparaiso University, or the town of Valparaiso for that matter, doesn’t get a lot of recognition on a national level. But, for one fleeting moment of fame, the Valpo Crusaders were icons, giant-killers and improbable Cinderellas. An otherwise relatively anonymous program in terms of history, though the school’s basketball days do date back to 1917, for a stretch between 1996 and 2004, Valparaiso was a regular qualifier for the NCAA Tournament, snatching an invite to the Big Dance in every year, save for 2001. One year, however, the Crusaders danced later into the evening than they would in each of their other appearances, capturing the heart and eyes of the nation has they twirled across the floor.Entering the 1998 Tourney as a 13 seed, little was expected out of the Crusaders, with the 4^th-seeded Ole Miss Rebels expected to send the squad swiftly into the off-season. Starring Coach Scott Drew’s son, Bryce Drew, the Crusaders would put their best foot forward in a hotly contested match, going back and forth with the Rebels until the final buzzer. Down 69 to 67 with just 2.5 seconds left to play, Valparaiso was forced to inbound the ball the length of the court where Jenkins caught the long pass amidst a heap of players. He then found a streaking Drew on a quick outlet, affording the sharp-shooter to take one step forward (still 5 feet beyond the arc), before letting go a leaning 3-pointer. As the prayer was answered by the back of the net and time expired, fans and players alike erupted with an unbridled combination of exuberance and astonishment. To this day, the exchange is simply known as “The Shot.”Valparaiso added to the legacy by dispatching of 12^th-seeded Florida State in round 2, before meeting the 8^th-seeded Rhode Island Rams, riding high on momentum after upsetting the 1-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, who defeated the Crusaders by a score of 74 to 68. The Sweet Sixteen appearance is not only the lone one of its kind in Valparaiso program history, but the only season in which Valparaiso has ever emerged victorious in an NCAA Tournament contest.

Can Purnell Exorcise DePaul’s Demons?

chicagocollegebasketball.com — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Some were surprised to see Oliver Purnell leave the basketball promised land of the ACC for the Windy City, quite simply because DePaul, at this point, is no longer a relevant name in college basketball. Yes, the legendary stomping ground of greats like Mark Aguirre , Terry Cummings, Rod Strickland , and George Mikan, even more recent standouts like Quentin Richardson and Bobby Simmons, now sits in disrepair. The Jerry Wainwright era sucked the life out of the program, for lack of a more fitting description. After a successful 3 seasons under Dave Leitao, including two 20-win seasons and an NCAA Tournament win in 2003-2004, Wainwright was hired from the University of Richmond when Leitao moved on to the Virginia Cavalier bench.Wainwright advanced to post-season play only once in his 4 and a half seasons at the helm, the NIT Quarterfinals in his second year, failing to qualify for the Big Dance in any season. Every other season in Chicago was a losing one for the coach, the worst being his last full season in charge, in which the Blue Demons compiled a 9-24 total record, including an embarrassing 0-18 record against fellow Big East Conference opponents. Wainwright would be fired after losing his first 3 conference games of 2009-2010. Following the season, Purnell was brought it from Clemson, to the tune of a 7-year, 15 million dollar contract.With that many zeros next to his name, big things are expected out of Purnell, even if his first year is off to an inauspicious start. During his tenure at Clemson, he turned a 10-18 squad into a .500 unit the following season, continuing to improve the team’s record for 4 consecutive seasons, the last of which the Tigers finished as the NIT runner-up (with 25 wins to show for it). The next 3 years, Purnell took the Tigers to the Touney, including 3 consecutive winning marks against tough ACC conference opponents.Is there a flaw? Purnell has never advanced to the NCAA’s second round, though hopefully he’s saved that milestone for the Blue Demon faithful. Righting the ship in Rosemont is no small task and will require patience by fans, players and alumni, but despite a rocky beginning to 2010-2011, Purnell is still indisputably the best man for the job.