Often in college basketball, particularly at the mid-major level, it takes a core group of seniors with ability and leadership to achieve something special. If you reflect back to the Mason and VCU Final Four squads, those were senior-dominated teams. Here’s our list of the top 10 seniors poised to make noise in their final CAA go-around.
10) Andrey Semenov: The oft-injured forward at JMU is looking to build off of a strong junior campaign in which he finished second in the CAA for three-point accuracy (.440%) while leading the Dukes in rebounding and blocked shots. If Semenov can stay healthy and put all the pieces of his game together in the last year of Matt Brady’s contract then he could have quite the successful season (imagine a poor man’s Dirk Nowitzki). At 6’8 and 200 pounds Semenov is very much a lean, mean, Russian three-point shooting machine, who can also battle the bigs in the paint.
9) Daryl McCoy: The 6’9 and 280 pound starting center for preseason favorite, Drexel. Despite being a dominating force on the fifth-ranked scoring defense in the nation, McCoy is perhaps most notable for his internet fame as “the guy who was pantsed during the CAA title game” last season. Look for McCoy to transition into the shoes left by Samme Givens, the Dragon’s best big man and the team leader in rebounding and blocked shots last season. The question is, can he pick up some of the scoring load?
8 ) Chris Fouch: This former AAU star, who was teammates with Kemba Walker, has been Drexel’s offensive weapon as a sixth-man spark from off the bench. As a freshman, Fouch came off the bench in 30 games and finished second on the team in scoring with a little over 11 points per game as he won CAA Rookie of the Year. Fouch is a 6’2 sharp-shooting guard who can drain three-pointers with the best in the CAA. He is set to be a major factor as the Dragon’s attempt to defend their CAA championship with four starters returning from a squad that set a school record with 29 victories last season.
7) Devon Moore: Moore will enter his fifth and final season with the Dukes as a redshirt senior after a rollercoaster ride of injuries, ineligibility, and occasional impressive play from the point guard position. Last season, Moore shared point duties with Humpty Hitchens as he was academically ineligible for the first half of the season before then also being hampered by wrist injuries. Expect a fully healthy Moore to return to his sophomore season form as he led the Dukes in assists and ranked second on the team in scoring. The Dukes will feature a dynamic starting backcourt with natural chemistry in cousins Moore and A.J. Davis.
6) Joel Smith: Northeastern guard, one of the leaders in the CAA for three-pointers. He started every game last season and there’s no reason to believe this year will be any different. Joined by Jonathan Lee, Smith can be expected to lead the team offensively this season.
5) DeShawn Painter: This 6’9 forward is joining the Monarchs this season after transferring from North Carolina State, which made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Last season Painter was a key reserve while starting seven games and averaged roughly six points and four rebounds with the Wolfpack. Painter is expected to pick up some of the slack and provide leadership in the front court. For an ODU squad always built upon tough defense and rebounding, he will be a key component.
4) Jonathan Lee: The 6’2, 200 pound guard from Northeastern started every game and averaged over 35 minutes a game last year. He ranked in the top 15 in the CAA for scoring, steals, assists and six other major categories. Having led his team in points for a majority of the games last season, Northeastern will rely heavily on Lee to perform just as well as last year and carry over the success alongside our #6 senior, Joel Smith.
3) A.J. Davis: After finishing fourth in the CAA for average scoring with 15.9 points per game and leading JMU with 24 games of 10+ points and 11 games of 20+ points, redshirt senior A.J. Davis looks promising for the Dukes. He was a redshirt during the 2012-11 season as a transfer from Wyoming. As one of JMU’s six seniors, Davis will be an integral part of the offense and a key to the Dukes’ hopes for a breakthrough season.
2) Jamelle Haggins: This 6’9, 240 pound forward from Delaware is known for being UD’s lead with rebounds. With an average of about 31 minutes a game last season, Haggins will be a rock for the rest of the Delaware team to form around defensively. He forms a commanding presence in the paint and, along with our No. 1 pick, is as close to an automatic double-double each night as you’ll find in the league.
1) Keith Rendelman: He’s a boss. Rendelman made First Team All-CAA last year with an average of 15.3 points per game. Simply put, he is an all-around great player with averages of 33 minutes, 10 rebounds, and 11.3 field goals a game. Early reports from the beach’s hoops guru indicated the kid was fighting through triple teams in workouts and still couldn’t be stopped. If the Seahawks can identify some complementary pieces to take the load off, look out.
October 25th, 2012 at 12:36 am
Here is my reason why Hagins is the best post player in the CAA…not Rendleman and should be #1. Hagins shooting % was better, ft% was better, had more rebounds/per game 11 to 10 for Rendleman with 2 less minutes player per game and blocked 95 shots compared to 33 for Rendleman. The only statistic that Rendleman has Hagins on is pts/game 15.3 to 12.4 but Hagins also has Saddler and Threatt taking shots.
Dont get me wrong…I appreciate the list and the work. Quite good..just feel Hagins is the more complete post player.
October 25th, 2012 at 8:00 am
[...] – Michael Litos of CAA Hoops provides his list of the top-10 seniors in the conference [...]
October 25th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Glen, the problem with that thinking is that better players around Hagins allows him to appear better. Better players create hesitation to double on the catch, do a better job of boxing out and rebounding so he doesnt have to rebound over multiple players, etc. UNCW did not have the players Delaware did last year. Rendleman is tough… Hagins got blocks from the weakside, but is not as good defensively as Rendleman either. He also lit up Delaware last year. Went for nearly 20 and 20 if my memory serves correct.
October 26th, 2012 at 12:31 am
Obviously have a bias for Rendleman, but I agree with Joe that Hagins gets a bump in his numbers because he has a much higher level of talent around him. Also, don’t forget that Keith was also watching a lot of jump shots last season, specifically from Adam Smith.
There is also the fact that like Joe said Hagins didn’t receive the defensive attention Rendleman did. For Keith it was extremely rare for him to get the ball and not be doubled or at least have someone ready to help out. Hagins was surrounded by more threats so the defense was kept a lot more honest.
Also, if you look at raw efficiency numbers Rendleman lead everyone in the CAA last year.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:16 pm
Better players around Hagins allows him to appear better? Hagins got his blocks from the weakside?
Are you really going with this as your argument? Lets break this down. Hagins is being penalized in your eyes because he has better players around him? Your comment suggest that Hagins is an average player and its the other guys who make him better? Ok, Jim…you lose me there. I am going to invoke the Harding Nana rule here…you see, Nana, while putting up very good stats never got much respect because he played on bad teams…the argument being he was UD’s only option so of course he is going to put up stats even though he had good %’s. Hagins saw plenty of double teams…I know because I watched every game. DUB says Hagins got a bump because he has better talent around him…I saw his numbers take a hit because he has better players around him..if it was just Hagins, his scorign avg would be higher due to more shots, his rebounding would not decrease nor his blocks. Regarding the blocks…Hagins had blocks from the weakside..of course, all players do and he had blocks on his own man (just ask Rendleman or Reddic who got their stuff stuffed by Hagins more than once). I dont get your point…Should Hagins not block those weakside shots? Where are Rendlemans blocks? YOu discount Hagins’s blocks because you think they are all weakside yet dont recognize Rendlemans LACK of blocks. By the way, in the 2 head to head last year, Rendleman took 27 total shots, Hagins 21. They both made 13 attempts. Who was more efficient? The game you reference where Rendleman had 28 against Delaware….Hagins had 21….again, Hagins over the season had more rebounds, a better shooting %, better FT %, more than double the blocks. Remove one of the 3 guards on Delaware and Hagins is getting more shots..thus scoring avg would be higher. Neither of you provided a valid argument as to why Rendleman is the better post player.
Im not trying to discount Rendleman..he is a top CAA player…in my opinion, I feel Hagins is a more COMPLETE post player..pts, boards, blocks, fg%, ft%
October 29th, 2012 at 6:36 pm
Was Amare better with Nash around him? Will Dwight put up better numbers with the revamped Lakers? Rendleman put up 24 and 18 on Hagins, leading his team to a victory even with a worse team. Im not even a UNCW fan, but its clear Rendleman is a better player. Blocks aren’t the only defensive category. Often, a player gets a block because he was beaten off the dribble. If you’ll watch the game, Rendleman is a better positional defender. Hagins has the reputation of being a little soft. Not saying he isnt a great player, because he is.
Don’t forget, Rendleman had a few guards last year who tended to jack up shots as well. Adam Smith took a ton of shots – like thirteen a game. To me, there is no argument who is more complete. Rendleman has the ability to take the ball off the dribble from both the trail and high post spots, has a better mid range and face up game, and finishes better. Give him a better perimeter player, and the double teams will be a step slower. Thats the advantage Hagins had. Just wait and see what happens this year. He is a talented player.
Either way, neither of them were better than Pearson last year!
October 30th, 2012 at 2:57 pm
Reputation of being soft? ok…first I have ever heard Hagins being soft. Hagins is a post player….so now we move from Hagins only has all those blocks due to them being weakside to Hagins is getting beat off the dribble thus the high number of blocks.
Joe…there is nothing clear about it…again, I am not trying to knock Rendleman down here. He is one of the elite post players in the CAA but not the most complete or well rounded player. Rendleman may have better range and score more points but in the post, Hagins has better moves, is bigger, rebounds better and blocks/alter a ton more more shots thus being a more COMPLETE post player. For you to say he is soft ruins your credibility.
Regarding the upcoming year…Rendleman will probably have a very good year. So will Hagins and will be in contention for POY… plus be playing in some sort of post season that was a result of his play. Rendleman would be sitting home regardless of the post season ban.
October 30th, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Maybe Hagins appears soft because Delaware tends not to double in the post. Just has always appeared soft to me, and I have a few friends around the league who agree. Again, Hagins is a heck of a player – Im not taking anything away from him. He just isnt the player Rendleman is.
Rendleman rebounds just as well, is a better shooter, can defend multiple positions (something Hagins can’t do), and the dude finishes everything.
As for the post season ban, you have to commend him for staying. That is truly surprising and refreshing in today’s day and age. The team will be better this year, so I think you will see his numbers rise. In my opinion, the POY race depends on how UNCW does this year. If they have a decent year, I feel as if he has a good chance at it. He will certainly post the numbers to merit strong consideration, but not if the team finishes in the lower half.
Hagins will be in the running too, but Sadler may be a stronger candidate. The second best post player in the league wouldnt win it anyways. (just a jab at you Glen – dont worry)
November 8th, 2012 at 7:34 am
Guess there’s not many Drgaons reading this site. Went to Mason, but I know Fouch could easily be #2 or 3, and should be. Was injured much of last season. What a season this can be for Drexel.