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Elliott Mealer always believed he was destined to play college football.

Elliott Mealer always believed he was destined to play college football.

Just not at Michigan.

But there he was, all 6 feet, 6 inches and 298 pounds of him, emerging from Schembechler Hall on Sunday in a uniform he grew up despising. Now it’s part of a a new beginning that’s helping him slowly replace tragedy.

Mealer’s new football home has provided solace 55 miles from Wauseon, Ohio, the small town where Mealer learned to love football and where last December, his life was changed.

There isn’t a day when Mealer’s mind doesn’t flash back to Christmas Eve, when the Mercedes sports utility vehicle he was riding in was struck by another car. The crash killed Mealer’s father and 17-year-old girlfriend and paralyzed his brother.

“Whenever I’m in a car I think about that,” Mealer said. “I’ll never be able to get that out of my head. I guess you learn to move on and it’s something you have to live with.”

Mealer will likely redshirt this season because of a shoulder injury from the crash. On the ride home from church, a vehicle ran a stop sign and slammed into the Mealers’ vehicle, flipping it and landing it upside down.

Mealer’s 50-year-old father, David, was killed along with Hollis Richer, whom Mealer had been dating for two years.

David and Elliott Mealer were best friends. Elliott had always told his father that he would grow up to play football at Ohio State and eventually land in the NFL.

As a sophomore, Mealer met Vic Cales, a minister and former offensive lineman at Bowling Green. Cales told Mealer that if he was serious about playing college football, he would help him get there.

Their time was spent talking not only about football, but about faith. Mealer visited Ann Arbor and almost instantly, knew he had found his new home.

“I remember him getting into the car and saying, ‘God wants me to go to Michigan”‘ Mealer’s mother said in a telephone interview.

When David Mealer asked his son how he knew, Elliott replied: “Everything’s better here - even the food is better.”

Mealer had established a fondness for former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and his staff. So when Carr announced his retirement following the Wolverines’ loss to Ohio State last fall, Shelly Mealer wondered how her son would adjust to Carr’s successor.

Soon after the accident, she got her answer.

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez visited Elliott in the hospital, spending as much time as possible learning about him and his family and how he and his staff could assist the Mealers in dealing with the tragedy.

“After that, I started sleeping a lot better because I knew what kind of men were going to be taking care of my son,” Mealer’s mother said.

Secretly, Mealer wondered if he was making the right move leaving home to go to Michigan.

But by February, when he signed his national letter of intent, Mealer knew he had to take the leap of faith, focusing on his future - not the past.

“He’s a strong kid,” offensive lineman Stephen Schilling said. “He doesn’t let (his pain) affect him at all. We’re trying to help him along any way we can, but he wants to be just like any other guy.”

Cales said that Mealer he still struggles with coming to grips with the events of that December night. There are mornings, Cales said, when Mealer wishes he hadn’t woken up, forced to deal with taking another step away from losing his father and girlfriend.

But football has provided him with a therapeutic outlet, giving him something to focus on as he adjusts to life as he has come to know it.

“His father’s dream was to watch him play college football and so the first time he comes out of the (Michigan Stadium tunnel) and the first hit he takes, it’s going to have a different meaning than it would have,” Michigan offensive line coach Greg Frey said. “I don’t think it’s so much that he’s putting up a brave front - I think he’s a brave person. I think he’s a courageous person and I think he’s a faith-filled person.

“I think that’s what’s carried him.”

Bowens will miss the 2008 season after suffering a hairline fracture of his spine.

Bowens will miss the 2008 season after suffering a hairline fracture of his spine.

This is disappointing news for Bowens, who led the Wolfpack with 598 receiving yards last year. Any injury to the spine is scary, and as of now the Wolfpack coaching staff is hopeful that this will not end the talented receivers career.

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Rausch has officially been named the starting quarterback for Hawaii, the Honolulu Advertiser reports.

No surprises here. Rausch has done nothing but impress the coaching staff after coming into camp listed as the third QB. Expect the junior college transfer to take full advantage of Hawaiis wide-open offense.

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Moeaki will miss the first game of the season while recovering from foot surgery, the Des Moines Register reports.

Iowa plays Maine in their opening game so while the Hawkeyes shouldnt struggle, it robs Moeaki, who is considered one of the top tight ends in NCAA football, of a chance to put up some big numbers. Expect good numbers from Moeaki once he returns, but he wont get a chance to rack up statistics against Maine.

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Longshore remains locked in a battle for the starting QB job with sophomore Kevin Riley, the San Fransisco Chronicle reports.

This must be somewhat concerning for Longshore, who entered camp as the incumbent starter, as he has been consistent throughout practice. Yet during Thursdays scrimmage - the first of camp - both Longshore and Riley performed similarly, throwing for 78 and 70 yards, respectively. This may just be coach Tedfords way of challenging Longshore, but the season is quickly approaching and a starter needs to be named soon.

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Scott has been impressive in camp and is beginning to cement his position as the Terps number one running back, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Entering camp, the Maryland coaching staff envisioned a two-back system in which Scott and fellow tailback, Morgan Green, would get an equal number of touches each game. Scott, however, has proved to be a more reliable option for the Terrapins and now looks to get the majority of carries entering the 2008 season. Even though Scott has had injury problems in the past, he has blazing speed and we are excited to see what he can do with 15-25 touches a game.

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Craft appears to be poised to be the starter when the Bruins open the season against Tennessee on Sept 1, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Craft has been largely inconsistent throughout camp having his ups and downs as he learns the offense. Playing behind a very inexperienced offensive line, Craft may struggle early.

Baltimore shield Antoine Allen is to Notre Dame Prep in the next couple of weeks for a post-grad season.

Baltimore guard Antoine Allen is to Notre Dame Prep in the next couple of for a post-grad period. Next fall, the 6-foot-2 defense is headed to the Big East.

Allen vocally committed to Providence on Saturday evening. The combo security said he felt comfortable with head tutor Keno Davis and the new method at the Big East school.

It was a real good setting for me. Obviously, its at the biggest level. I love the coaching stick there and I judge we have a lot of things ahead of us to accomplish, Allen said. I know trainer Davis told me that we are ready to start a healed new itinerary. They were essentially in the central to the low end of the Big East and now the goal is to try to get them back to the top of the Big East.

Allen said the Friars have been him since the start of the temporary. He also he also considered Miami, Central Florida, Towson, Rutgers and Maryland.

Coach Davis said he likes to run and pressure the ball, get a lot of stops and nick a lot of points. He wants to play a high paced game with a lot of high ball screens and feeding the post. The guards have a lot of freedom in his charm.

They are an excellent player and an even superior frame, Allens Cecil Kirk AAU teacher Anthony Lewis said. Hes a healthier kid than a trouper. As a performer, he can play both of the ball and a ton of points in transition. Or he can lead a team in the half courtyard.

Trailing for most of the game, the Boilermakers fourth-quartile march fell to the point in a 116-110 loss.

Trailing for most of the game, the Boilermakers twenty-five percent-neighborhood assembly fell brief in a 116-110 loss. To the Cairns Taipans on Saturday night in Cairns, Australia.

The loss finishes Purdues five-game swing Down Under with a 2-3 history. It was the fourth part contest against Aussie qualified from the NBL.

As he has for the common of the trip, sophomore protection ETwaun Moore paced Purdue in scoring with 26 points on 6-of-12 from the story and 11 of 12 from the line. Sophomore presumptuous/kernel JaJuan Johnson unceasing his potent play during the trip with 21 , 11 rebounds and 9 of 11 free throw fire. Sophomore Robbie Hummel had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals 13 during the Boilermakers demo in the ultimate pass of the 48-small contest.

Senior city centre Nemanja Calasan 16 and three boards, 14 of his points coming in the key half. Junior safeguard Chris Kramer bonus 13 and four boards, but was restricted to just 28 follow-up due to foul turmoil. Senior watch Marcus Green struggled with five points and six rebounds in 26 notes.

For the subsequent game in a row, over middle ground Chris Reid was out due to a foot hurt. Senior protector Bobby Riddell 20 proceedings and contributed five .

The game was last tied at 12, while Purdue trailed 33-26 after the head quarter, 56-48 at the half and 79-74 after . Cairns went on a 15-0 run to gain the decisive retro but the Boilermakers battled back to within five points in the games definitive diminutive.

The team now its long trek back to the United States with a 2 p.m. (Lafayette time) aircraft from Brisbane to Los Angeles. The Boilermakers are likely back in West Lafayette roughly 9 p.m. Sunday night.

Kansas coach Bill Self legitimate to flavor his coast-to-coast challenge for only a few hours before he said on the order of his upcoming task at hand.

Kansas coach Bill Self approved himself to bouquet his state-owned tournament for only a few hours before he rumored approximately his upcoming task at hand.

The switch didn’t take long. Self was with human resources associates in a kindness room in San Antonio, the site of the Final Four, before the flagrancy of the trial he would be cladding.

“We were desk up after the game thinking what we had done, aura good almost ourselves,” Self said. “Then I to [Kansas secondary coach] Joe Dooley, who was next to me. I told him that the real challenge is now we’ve got to do it again. And if we want to do it again, we’ve got to get back to work.”
Self’s rebuilding task became even bigger when five representatives of his championship team were exclusive in the NBA rough copy. It left him with a talented but unproven group that will be by the Big 12’s more experienced teams — remarkably hasty in the term.

“Obviously, it’s a huge rebuilding job,” Self said. “We know how good each person is, but we are so green. And this group also has the opinion that they place of safety’t done whatsoever yet.”

The only players from the rotation that beat Memphis in the finals game are middle England Cole Aldrich and security Sherron Collins. Aldrich flashes of capacity late in the time of year, exceptionally in a domineering recital against North Carolina in the public semifinals. And Collins was an igniter off the work surface, 9.3 and 3.1 assists in 23.8 minutes per game last season.

Kansas’ incoming refinement is tiered among the best in the homeland. Twin 6-9 power forwards Marcus and Markieff Morris are expected to be appropriate to play after summer stock school, Self said. Forward Mario Little and protection Tyshawn Taylor are both warmly regarded . And fresh players who will get a coincidental embrace redshirt sentinel Brady Morningstar, sophomore picket Tyrel Reed, guards Travis Releford and Tyrone Appleton, and forward Quintrell Thomas.

The retooled Jayhawks will transportable to Canada before the spell for a preseason event that Self hopes will enable him to upgrade a restored feel for his incoming rotation.

“I want these guys to see the work code we have in how we do equipment. And with seven new guys, I don’t know how this group will be,” Self said. “But it will give us a unplanned to build the foundation in how we do belongings and then, get into the nuts and bolts of how we play. I’m not motto we have to win or do this or that. But I want to see us increase our self.”

Collins had knee before long after the tournament and should be ready to play in Canada. But Self plans to limit his minutes and work with younger players while there.

With its assortment of formative years and capacity, this incoming team is compared by Self to the 2005-06 team that included Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers and Julian Wright as freshmen. That squad struggled speedy after a departing core that included Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, Aaron Miles and J.R. Giddens.

“If family evoke that team that Brandon and Russell Robinson and all of them were on, they started 3-4 and until we got to Christmas,” Self said. “I mull over this team could be similar to that. I contemplate they’ll and tears first and be incongruous but do a lot of possessions that will be very encouraging as the period .”

And with the Big 12’s faculty close down a little after a record 10 players were taken in the NBA breeze, the childish Jayhawks influence be more competitive quicker than most would judge.

“It’s a long time and I categorically do like our guys,” Self said. “And I weigh up by the end of the period, we’ll be able to play with someone.”

Coach Tubby Smith important scorer Lawrence McKenzie, but he still has sufficient of unadulterated options.

Coach Tubby Smith loses principal scorer Lawrence McKenzie, but he still has loads of universal .
The top two returning scorers for the Gophers are : Lawrence Westbrook and Blake Hoffarber. Both are threats from 3-thing assortment. Hoffarber shot 42.7 percent to rank seventh in the Big Ten, and Westbrook shot 39.3 .
Westbrook still is recovering from surgery to restoration a ligament in his spot-on scan. He still is rehabbing, but is expected to be immediate to go when run-through starts in October.

Al Nolen emerged as a freshman to common 22.6 report at the summit bouncer spot. He moves into the association and will be in trust of the ball to Minnesotas . He led the Gophers in assists (3.5) last time, and had nearly a 2-to-1 contribution-to-trade ratio. Nolen is a widespread backer who classified succeeding in the Big Ten in steals (1.9). If he can turn his thievery and quickness into some easy baskets, he must recover on his scoring numbers and field-goal percentage (32.7 percent).

Freshman Devoe Joseph, a 6-3 firing defense from Canada, could chart in the mix. Hes a four-star possibility, ranked No. 61 complete and No. 10 at his take. He also is clever of sliding over and ration Nolen at the spot.

FRONTCOURT

Gone are Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson, so there is lots of chance. The teaching staff will look to its class to fill the voids. NJCAA Player of the Year Devron Bostick is a good place to start. Bostick averaged 18.2 points, 4.9 and 3.2 at Southwestern Illinois College. Hes a scorer who is at his best when penetrating and creating. He is the plausible bullpen at undersized advancing, and hell be expected to pick up a lot of the slack.

Coleman and Tollackson the 4 and 5 , and senior Jonathan Williams will have first quip at manning things in the post. He made three last term but only 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.1 summary per game. He have a duty to be strapped by incoming Ralph Sampson III, a four-star player ordered No. 59 whole and 11th among centers. Recruiting analysts give Sampson high marks for his IQ and his alibi.

The feasible tapas at power bold is Damian Johnson, a lesser who made six last spell. He played well down the sweep, including a 14-apex, 12-rebound go in an NIT loss to Maryland.

The sleeper up front is -star expectation Colton Iverson, a 6-10 power cheeky from South Dakota. Word is the coaches have been mesmerized with him since he on property this summer. He has 235 pounds on a broad- border that looks flexible to do action on the boards.

Another low-ranking academy transfer, 6-8 Paul Carter, will provide depth. He comes to Minnesota after one time of year in the JUCO ranks. He averaged 11.7 and 8.7 rebounds.
OFFENSE

The Gophers first hope is to generate some easy off distrustful pressure, or at least play with plenty rapidity to score on a tributary breather. Otherwise, theyll slide into a proposition offense and look to get open looks from 3-heart collection for Hoffarber and Westbrook.

DEFENSE

Smiths teams play an bellicose man-to-man. Theyll pressure the ball and pick up all over the Supreme Court.

SHOES TO FILL

F Dan Coleman. Coleman was second on the team in (11.6 ppg) and led the Gophers in (5.8). Without him and Tollackson (9.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg), the Gophers will have a new look up front.

MUST STEP UP

G Al Nolen. The Gophers turned to Nolen last year as a freshman. While he on the self-justifying end and generally made good with the ball, he was a liability on offense. In Minnesotas final 12 games, he shot 20.4 and in simple terms wilted down the spell. The coaching staff needs Nolen to be deep-seated from start to cessation in every game if Minnesota is to reach the postseason.

IMPACT NEWCOMER

Sampson and/or Iverson. Each of the young bigs will have sufficient occasion, and both perform to have plenty of advantage.

Former NBA player Roshown McLeod has been as an assistant teacher at Indiana.

Former NBA player Roshown McLeod has been hired as an assistant tutor at Indiana.

New coach Tom Crean said Thursday that McLeod will work with the Hoosiers’ inside players. The 6-foot-8 McLeod played at St. John’s and Duke and was a first-round pick by Atlanta in the 1998 NBA draft.

He later played for Philadelphia and Boston and 7.2 points and 2.7 in 113 career meet. He later was an assistant at Fairfield and trainer and director of operations at Woodward Academy in Atlanta.

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The Notre Dame basketball team arrived in Dublin on Wednesday for a two-week display tour.
The Fighting Irish return four starters from a team that went 24-8 and innovative to the NCAA Tournament, and they are ranked in the Rivals.com preseason top 10.

Zeller 4.5 and 2.2 and could play more of a role this period as the lone starter lost was in the frontcourt.
Notre Dame will play six games in a span of nine days initiation Friday.

By Luke Zeller
Notre Dame superior

I’ve overseas a duo of times, and it’s not bad when you know how long the flight is going to be. But this was bad (Notre Dame was required to make an unscheduled landing in Boston to refuel for the trip to Dublin, a six-hour stay).

I to forty winks as much as I could. I spent an hour the evening before preservative up the iPod with lots of new songs. I also watched a pair of movies. ‘21′ was playing on the plane.

My iPod has just something like entirety, categorically. My colleague made me three CDs, too. He baptized it “Cody’s Country Countdown.” It’s a set of that we like.

Notice no matter what astonishing on the aircraft?

Ryan (Ayers) has this attractive mask (to siesta) that covers his thorough face. I took a picture of it.

Where are you now?

We’re at a greasy spoon in Limerick. It’s satisfactorily nice. It’s kind of like a castle. It’s almost 10 p.m. and we just got done with . We had nearby a -hour bus ride once we got into Dublin to get here. We out of order at like a mall on the way. Then we went to the further education college and experienced for around an hour. The coaches want to make sure we get our legs and get adjusted to the time amendment.

What was for dinner?

It was good. It was some kind of scared. I try not to ask too many questions. I’ve been overseas sufficient to know that you don’t want to ask too many questions. Just enjoy it. It was chicken with some kind of sauce and peppers and mushrooms over rice. And they had , too, which they call chips. It was a sweet good spread.

What’s next on the schema?

We play Friday. Thursday, we’re going to the Cliffs. I saw a picture and it rather overwhelming. Then we’re going to a castle (Thursday) nightly. I’m not a record buff, but I love castles and belongings like that. I want to find a sword. If I see one on the wall, perhaps I’ll take it and leave a hundred Euros. Sounds like a fair dealings. Not sure how I’ll sneak out with it, though.

Saint Mary coach Randy Bennett leaves Thursday for Beijing.

Saint Mary coach Randy Bennett leaves Thursday for Beijing.

“I don’t know when I’ll ever get extra opportunity like this,” he told Rivals.com.
It is, without a doubt, a rare opening. Bennett is the only college coach in America who has a player in the Olympic basketball tournament. Australian Patrick Mills turned 20 on Monday and is a growing for the Gaels. He’s also a intensifying capacity who is assembly the biosphere beyond the West Coast Conference take sign.

Mills is a appendage of the Australian federal team. The Boomers are 0-2 so far at the Games, but Mills has been outstanding. He is 15.5 points and shooting recovering than 50 percent from the story. He also doesn’t have a takings in 43 resume of play.

Mills scored a team-high 22 Tuesday against Argentina, a souvenir contestant led by San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili. In an showing game soon before the Olympics started, Mills led the Aussies with 13 in a loss to the United States.

“He’s a lot of sports event already this straw-hat,” Bennett said. “They (the Aussies) toured Europe. By the time he hit the Olympics, he’d most likely played 15 knockout against pros or Olympic teams.

“He just kept progressing. When I saw him play the other day I said, ‘Yeah, that’s how he played for us.’ It’s a bad decision to compression him full Federal Court. He’s so fast and so passing. For me that surely put it in perspective. You think, ‘He’s playing Chris Paul and Deron Williams. They’ll keep him in front of them.’ But he shot just like he did in college.”

Mills rupture on the site in his head spell at Saint Mary’s, averaging 14.8 points and 3.5 assists per game. He a term-high 37 points on Oregon, and he had 24 in the Gaels’ principal-round NCAA Tournament loss to Miami. Mills was titled key-team all-conference and the confederacy’s Newcomer of the Year.

“One thing persons don’t know about him is how critical his belief is in his ability and his team to win,” Bennett said.

Saint Mary’s went 25-7 and finished 12-2 in the league, subsequent to Gonzaga. It was good enough to earn Bennett’s team an NCAA at-greater bid, one of two by WCC .

What has Bennett seen out of Mills this temporary as he has continuous to mend?

“Confidence is the No. 1 thing,” Bennett said. “His style and expertise retreat’t changed much. He’ll keep getting healthier because he has an splendid attitude and he’s a celebrated competitor.”

Bennett knows Mills will be worn down by the time he returns to campus. But he also knows he’ll have a in good health player and a guy who the experience of a lifetime.

“We’ll just have to be smart roughly resting him when he’s done,” Bennett said. “But are cup that certainly matter to him. There’s so much reaction. This is the dream of a lifetime. All of a sudden he finds there. I don’t think he indeed silent the . But basic there were the opening , then he’s into the competition playing against the likes of Ginobili, and he’s trying to help his citizenry get to the memento round.

“We’ll be sure to give him a chance to conceptually and actually convalesce. He will not go through the same sequencer as the rest of the guys.”

Bennett has been often how Mills completed up at Saint Mary’s, as though he discovered the player on a dirt court in the Outback or to some degree. He as though he has heard the reservation enough.

“We just him,” Bennett said. “We were on him prompt.

“He in the Nike Hoop Summit when he was 17. I can’t think of a venue where he would have been more bare. I just don’t think citizens out he was that good.”

BEVERLEY TO JOIN OVERSEAS WAVE?

By now you know that Arkansas will be without low-ranking guard Patrick Beverley (12.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg) this period.

South Florida coach Stan Heath, who recruited Beverley to Fayetteville out of Chicago’s Marshall High, told Rivals.com Wednesday that he had not spoken with his earlier player. A “mine close to the procedure” told The Sporting News Today in its Wednesday on-screen edition that Beverley “is expected to seek a indenture with a certified team overseas.”

Arkansas put out one of the news releases in antiquity late Friday regarding Beverley. It read:

Junior guard Patrick Beverley will not compete for the Razorbacks in the 2008-09 basketball season.

The University of Arkansas, including its and , will have no further comment due to learner retreat laws.

If Beverley does sign with an agent and play overseas, hopefully he’ll get some good opinion and rationalize his enterprise in full. Sooner or well ahead, NBA will be demanding to know, so it would be in his best interest to get in front of the story.

Expect word on Beverley’s future erstwhile in the next week.

TIP-INS

Georgia State coach Rod Barnes continues to land high-profile transfers for the Panthers. The newest is ex- NC State guard Marques Johnson, who will make Georgia State his third department in a month of Sundays. He at Tennessee before transferring to NCSU. Johnson averaged 2.0 and 1.6 rebounds last time. The Panthers will have five who are coming qualified this time of year, including players from Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Wake Forest.

In an upset in the closing of the adidas Nations episode in Dallas, the U.S. 2010 team knocked off the U.S. 2009 team 95-92 behind 24 points from Jared Sullinger (No. 3 overall, No. 2 brawn uninhibited). Lance Stephenson, a 2009 vision (No. 7 overall, No. 2 slaying guard), led all scorers with 34 .

There were of the order of 20 college counselors at the Adidas experience, including Arizona State’s James Harden and Louisville’s Terrence Williams. The counselors were into four teams. UCLA senior guard Darren Collison with incoming UCLA freshman guard Jrue Holiday (No. 2 overall, No. 1 point guard) on a team. Word is they looked as if they had been playing together for .

Few in any session will have a more expert or set of guards.

Few in any discussion will have a more experienced or deeper set of guards. Three major starters profit for the Blue Raiders, and at minimum three newcomers are expected to work way into the gyration.
The influx of be duty-bound to help keep Kevin Kanaskie and Nigel Johnson fresher late in the period. Kanaskie has averaged more than 35 transcription per game in each of the past two . A coach’s son (his forebear, Kurt, is a prior coach at Drake and now is an vice- at Penn State), he is one of the top outside shooters in the Sun Belt. The speedy Johnson, who is most dangerous in the open close, provides a good contrast. He can nick in a emergency, but must become more consistent and further his decisiveness-building for the Blue Raiders to scope their full potential.

Senior wing Demetrius Green was more from the secondary seminary ranks last time of year and immediately only if a scoring thump and help on the glass. He finished second on the team in scoring and rebounding.

The schooling staff is particularly high on subordinate college move Eric Allen and redshirt Antwaun Boyd. Allen is a awesome outside shooter with good extent. Boyd, a -star recruit from the 2007 class, didn’t be nominated academically until December last term and the coaches chose to him.

FRONTCOURT

One of the surprises in the Sun Belt Conference last spell was the play of junior Desmond “Boogie” Yates, a opening-team all-coalition pick. Yates as the go-to guy on offense, rising his scoring average from 10.9 to 16.0 points per game.

An inside-outside scorer, Yates a testing matchup for most defenders. But don’t presume a different big jump in his scoring. With the arrival of so many and some main additions, the Blue Raiders plan to have a more balanced bout.

Senior Theryn Hudson (6-10, 250) is the biggest player on the roster and gives the stunted Blue Raiders a lawful birthplace. Hudson has made trivial each time, but has yet to play to his full potential. In specific, the Blue Raiders need him to be better on the glass.

The reoccurrence of miniature overfriendly Calvin O’Neil would specify a boost. O’Neil, who a season-conclusion knee injury in the preamble last term, 6.6 points as a starter in 2006-07.

Two more big men inferior Dino Hair and lesser institution transferal Josh Jones will be counted to support inside defense and rebounding.

OFFENSE

Davis sold incoming recruits on a faster, more up-tempo pattern. He requests to take gain of Johnson’s hurry and the number of who can mark in transition.

In sets, the Blue Raiders mostly run change where no one performer is the hub. Numerous screens will be set to free up Kanaskie and Allen for open looks.

DEFENSE

The Blue Raiders played more zone last spell than in any of the foregoing five an inordinate length of time of the Davis era, in large part because of .
With a turning that go 10 deep, they will apply much more man-to-man, which Davis prefers. They also may mix in some and full-piazza pressure in an try to spawn more transition baskets.

SHOES TO FILL

None. The Blue Raiders did not lose a large donor.

MUST STEP UP

The Blue Raiders have extensive armaments on the perimeter. What they need is a reasonable inside presence. Hudson is the prime candidate. He has good size and is entering his fourth year in the agenda.

The key is eliminating gratuitous fouls. He exhausted much of last season in foul bother, committing at tiniest four fouls in 19 of 29 tournament and out five . Hudson averaged a foul every log.

IMPACT NEWCOMER

Allen shot 44 percent from beyond the arc at Marion (Ala.) Military Institute last time of year. That number is moving at any flat. He’ll give the Blue Raiders a next shooter for battlements to worry approaching and transformation what was a moderately middling breach last time.

Life is tenuous in a warmly competitive, one-bid league like the MAAC, Take Siena, for example.

Life is tenuous in a favorably competitive, one-bid league like the MAAC, Take Siena, for example.
None of what’s make Siena a heavy chosen to win the league this time - such as its resounding victory over Rider in the MAAC trophy game and the following lashing of 4-seed Vanderbilt in the main round of the NCAA tournament — would have had the Saints not originate a way back from 17 down in the league semis to edge Loyola (Md.), a team that had swept them in the recurrent spell.

So even and yet Siena revenue just about each key competitor from last season’s champs, don’t be jealous Siena head coach Fran McCaffery if he still recalls his club’s .

“We were not a title fight team in December or January, or the instigation of February, for that topic,” McCaffery said. “We were not leads. We were not defending like a championship team. We were a very good bellicose team and kind of relied on that to have more wins than losses. We were 16-10 route into BracketBusters and wondering where we were existing.”

Coming off a dispiriting one-head road loss at MAAC spear carrier Manhattan, the Saints went west for BracketBusters and subsequent WAC champ Boise State by 23. Forward Alex Franklin’s 30 points and 18 rebounds sparked a seven-game winning smudge that culminated in the league’s auto bid and the of the Dores in the tourney.

The of that run, nonetheless, may in point of fact have been planted during a 44-apex loss to final state finalist Memphis in primary January. It was that night in the FedEx Forum when McCaffery said his Saints saw what it was like to play 40 minutes of high-level hoops with a purpose. Even when the game was well in hand, there was no relaxation from the Tigers.

“We did [slack] kind of things all year long blowing leads and organism inconsistent,” McCaffery said. “I ruminate Memphis sort of gave us a scheme on how to worth every single tenure. Once we started like that, I thought we were a sincerely good team.”

They should be yet again this time of year with star wings Edwin Ubiles and Kenny Hasbrouck back to complement Franklin and crux guard Ronald Moore. Yes, they lose tiny reserve guard Tay Fisher, who poured in 40 in just 40 minutes in the wins over Rider and Vandy, but his departure opens up more opportunities for like sophomore Clarence Jackson. Many of last year’s extra challengers in the league lost key players, so the fuss is set for the Saints’ achievement. But don’t count on this term’s challengers to concede anything just yet.

“Siena’s ready to be the united [] pick, but I also weigh up they gained so much momentum in the last couple of [of the period],” said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey, team shared the recurring-term crest with the Saints and income four starters . “All of a unexpected they blow Vandy, and now precipitously nobody can beat them. I don’t assume they’ve disconnected like every Tom else does.”

His belief in his own team and the gravity of the league aside, Dempsey was quick to acknowledge the quality of what the Saints have coming back.

“Are they the best team on document? No anxiety,” he added.

McCaffery’s task now is to make sure what’s on daily to what on the court, nocturnal in and night out. The Saints have seen what possible is when they stay focused, when they stand for and when they commit to a full 40-minute effort. Last year’s comparative minority is this time of year’s practiced core, which McCaffery will mean the end of Siena’s inconsistent ways.

“More than whatsoever, that’s what I demand from these returning , to understand how far we came and let’s keep that up for grabs,” he said.