A couple notes:

• I tried to chunk it out and provide some interesting tidbits wrapped in key areas of emphasis for the season. I wanted to stay away from “Charles Jenkins is a good basketball player” because you deserve better. Work with me here.
• You get one quote from each coach and one stat gleaned while doing background work for Blue Ribbon. Like it? Go buy it, because there’s 1,500 words on every CAA team, a conference overview, full schedules, and choices for the best backcourts, frontcourts, and All CAA team. It’s worth it.

1st: Old Dominion

What Matters: Personality. Blaine Taylor is always talking about his team being comfortable in their own skin, and having all the oars rowing in the same direction. I’m certain Gary Cooper in Sergeant York, picking off the Germans from behind like he used to do to ducks in his hillbilly town, is in there somewhere. A huge part of ODUs player development strategy is accepting roles. If, for instance, Darius James decides he wants to score 20 ppg, ODU is sunk.

It’s Good If: Trian Illiadis or Josh Hicks can shoot a high percentage of threes. They don’t need to be gunners nor make hundreds of them. However if opponents are forced to guard them, the paint opens up for Frank Hassell, and for slashers.

It’s Not Good If: Hassell decides he’s good enough; Keyon Carter doesn’t graduate from inconsistent role player to bona fide threat, and that includes crashing the glass and providing rebounding help; the Monarchs are inefficient on offense—they can’t afford that.

Look Out For: Kent Bazemore. He’s a suffocating defender and elite athlete. If ODU can open up a defense to give him room to drive and he can shoot just a little bit, Bazemore is first team All CAA material.

One Stat: Frank Hassell was a double figures scorer in 19 of ODUs final 26 games. He scored 30 points and hauled in 17 rebounds in ODUs two NCAA tournament games.

Blaine Taylor, on Kent Bazemore: “He’s kind of like a horse. Sometimes you have to let him run but sometimes you have to keep him in the corral. Some of the better players are going to make mistakes and you have to live with aggressive errors.”

In Summary: As odd as this sounds, even though ODU lost a first team All CAA player in Gerald Lee, I think they can be better than last year. It may not play out to 16-2, but ODU gets the preseason nod and will not play on Friday.

2nd: VCU

What Matters: Sybil. Specifically, Joey Rodriguez’s ability to portray the legendary Sally Field role. VCU is going to need different things from him this season: leadership, shooting, playmaking, defense. It’s going to be different every night and we won’t know until the under 12 media timeout. J-Rod must do everything well, just not on the same night.

It’s Good If: Brad Burgess brings it every night. Burgess put 30 on Drexel and 22 on Towson and had three double-doubles. However he also had one point against Hofstra and two points against Mason and The Pugs.

It’s Not Good If: The Rams play 25 seconds of defense. They are talented enough to beat half the conference playing average defense. The problem: that makes for a nice 11-7 season, and that’s not going to cut it. VCU must grind defensively for the entire shot clock.

Look Out For: Jamie Skeen. You run a play for a post player, only one guy is getting the ball. Are you giving it to Skeen, or first round NBA draft pick Larry Sanders? Note: in VCUs CBI title-clincher over St. Louis, while Sanders sat with foul trouble, Skeen scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.

One Stat: Brandon Rozzell shot 48.3% at home, and 29.8% on the road.

Shaka Smart: “It’s Havoc 2.0. We’re going to press more and get after it more, but we’ve got to play better halfcourt defense. That’s a huge point of emphasis.”

In Summary: Appropriately for this rivalry: “see ODU and change Lee to Sanders.” It’s obvious that Sanders lost respect for the college game, and that took a toll. The Rams are in that 2^nd-5^th spot in my mind, and don’t underestimate the impact of Shaka Smart with a year under his belt, and the VCU players with a year under Smart.

3rd: Mason

What Matters: Boldness. Really, this is all about Cam Long. The kid has got to be that guy, both on and off the court. When Mason was its best Long was a selfish ballhog, and we mean that in a good way. Long must show up, and demand things of his teammates. Luke Hancock taking the frosh to soph jump is important, too, but a distant second.

It’s Good If: Long yells at a teammate during an early season game (then hits a three); Mike Morrison and Ryan Pearson become a consistent Batman and Robin combination on the baseline; Johnny Williams provides a measure of bulk.

It’s Not Good If: Mason has six different leading scorers in its first eight games. Mason is the ultimate in expect the unexpected, and that’s not good; Andre Cornelius starts the season slowly. Jim Larranaga defers to upperclassmen, and the coach will have a decision to make if Sherrod Wright or Bryon Allen are outplaying ACorn.

Look Out For: Wright. He didn’t shoot it well and his assist-to-turnover ratio was horrible (14/34). But that’s typical freshman stuff. I see consistent minutes and three double-figures games down the stretch, when most freshman have hit the wall.

One Stat: Mason played five games against the top three teams (ODU, NU, Pugs). The Patriots were 1-4 in those games, and Cam Long scored 27 total points (5.4ppg), never getting more than seven in any one game. He missed 11 of 12 threes.

Jim Larranaga: “(Freshman) Bryon (Allen) is a powerful guard who can score at the rim and from the perimeter as well as create for his teammates.”

In Summary: The only thing I’m certain of is that Mason will finish somewhere between first and 12^th. I have them third based on talent level and coaching acumen, but nothing would surprise me out of this group. Maturity may tell the tale. Vegas builds casinos on people who think they’ve got a team like Mason figured out.

4th: James Madison

What Matters: Hawkeye. (Pierce). AD Jeff Bourne hopefully hired the country’s best sports doc, and they invested some of that football stadium money in protective equipment for the cagers; That Devon Moore mentally is past his knee injury—that kid is a winner who makes his teammates winners and that’s a mental edge.

It’s Good If: Give ‘Em Hell doesn’t play like he’s tiptoeing on thin ice—a 20/10 will do, kind sir; Moore wipes out, it looks ugly, and he bounces right up laughing; that Julius Wells has equal production with fewer shots; Rayshawn Goins looks like a cheap Charles Barkley, circa 1987.

It’s Not Good If: Trevon Flores continues to drift around the court and waste his skills; obviously if Moore favors his hurt knee; if Goins is a cheap Charles Barkley, circa 2010; if the trainer is voted most improved player.

Look Out For: I read good things about Chad Jackson, but I’ll believe it when the kid gets on campus and adjusts to college life; Give ‘Em Hell, who has reportedly been working hard this summer due to some, uh, encouragement from his coach is POY material.

One Stat: For all his scoring prowess, Denzel Bowles is also a deft passer on the block. His 62 assists were 16 more than any other CAA big man.

Matt Brady, on Andrey Semenov: “He played without pain all summer, and by all accounts he’s a handful and might be the best basketball player on the team. We don’t need 30 minutes out of him, but if he can give us 20 great minutes we’re a much better basketball team.”

In Summary: This bunch is everybody’s trendy pick to “make something happen,” whatever that means. I see a team that will pound some opponents, good ones too. They have the mix: point guard, shooter, big man, tough guy. I buy the trend, but we’ll have them settle into fourth for now.

(INTERLUDE)

I have to say spots five through nine are a giant roll of the dice. OK, it’s a Dungeons and Dragons five-sided die, but you get the point. You are not allowed to get rankled because Your Team is eighth instead of sixth. That falls below our Stupidity Mendoza Line around here and we won’t tolerate it.

(Note to newcomers: if you use the word “sucks” in any description of anything, you fall below the line. Carry on.)

Here’s my general opinion and then we’ll get into the nitty gritty: Towson and Delaware are going to be much better than you think. Hofstra and Nor’easter have huge questions. And the Pugs? I have no idea what to do with them. None.

5th: Hofstra

What Matters: Fun. As much as I like Tom Pecora, his teams rarely looked like they were having a good time. They beat the crap out of you and we love Pecora’s term “rock fight” to describe certain games, but Hofstra always looked more like they were cleaning out the attic than making a 20-foot birdie putt. If Mo Cassara can keep them laughing and smiling and loose, you never know where Charles Jenkins can take them.

It’s Good If: the Pride can establish some balance to take the pressure off of Jenkins. Greg Washington needs to become that 14/8 guy he looks like in the layup line; Nat Lester’s thigh heals up and he’s consistently effective; Brad Kelleher is as good as Pecora said.

It’s Not Good If: Fordham transfer Mike Moore starts to sulk. Note the irony of the Fordham part, and know that Moore was a huge scorer, can flat out fill it up. But if things aren’t going the way of the scorer, sometimes that weapon is removed. Proof: VCUs Jay Gavin went from MAAC frosh of the year at Marist to gonzo in a half-season.

Look Out For: Moore. Yeah, I know. But the kid put 28 on Rhode Island, 25 on Richmond, and 20 on Charlotte in a three-game spree. Crooked numbers in the “TP” column always catch our eyes. Jenkins must be smiling at that.

One Stat: Charles Jenkins averaged more than 42 mpg over the Pride’s final six games.

Mo Cassara: “You’re going to see an exciting brand of basketball,” he says. “I hang our hat on using my experience—a Brian Gregory defense, Al Skinner offense. We’ll take a little of both those styles and mix in my own and adapt to the players we have. We’re inheriting a team that’s in place and you build to your strengths.”

In Summary: The Pride gets the five seed based 90% on Jenkins and 10% Washington. The duo will have the Pride close in every game, and there’s nobody better than Jenkins with the ball in his hands. However HU needs that unexpected guy—David Imes, Dwan McMillian—to solidify the seed.

6th: Delaware

What Matters: Rest. Jawan Carter played a ridiculous number of minutes last year, and perhaps you’ve forgotten Brian Johnson did the same for three years before his injury. The Hens have also been thin up front and Monte Ross has had no choice. There are too many two-possession games with three minutes to go in the CAA to have your best players gassed.

It’s Good If: Fonzie Dawson plays up to his sophomore season, not down to his junior season; the frontline four (Brinkley, McCullar, McNeil, Hagins) all improve and one becomes a reliable force; Johnson is the point guard we all remember.

It’s Not Good If: Johnson is a shell of himself; Dawson doesn’t figure it out; McNeil cannot stay on the court; the Hens get off to a slow start and a feeling of “not again” grips the locker room.

Look Out For: Devon Saddler. I cannot find anyone who will say anything mediocre about this kid, much less bad. Plus, he has a college body—weight room and conditioning time isn’t spent catching up, it’s spent getting better. That’s Frosh of the Year material.

One Stat: Jawan Carter had a 26-game stretch where he averaged 39.9 mpg.

Monte Ross: “We’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We were poised to do that last year but then injuries hit us. This is the year we have to make that jump. This is the year that points everything in the right direction.”

In Summary: Sometimes I think defensive numbers are skewed for losing teams. It isn’t that they cannot play defense. Rather, if you’re on a 5-21 team and given the choice to get into a proper stance and defend or go shoot a three, what do you choose? The Hens will improve on defense and move up the standings.

7th: Towson

What Matters: I don’t know if it’s karma, mojo, voodoo dolls or the ghost of Sam Cassell, but Towson always self-destructs in October/November. Braxton Dupree cannot be Tommy Breaux; RayShawn Polk cannot be Timmy Crossin. They need peace, specifically Jon Pease.

It’s Good If: The Tigers shave 6-8 ppg from what they allow as they were a terrible defensive team; February Troy Franklin appears in November; Brian Morris scores as many points in five or six games than all of last year; Isaiah Philmore doubles his production.

It’s Not Good If: Dupree plays with the spirit that landed him in the Maryland doghouse; if Bob Nwankwo’s production decreases by even five percent. And keep an eye on teamwork in the early season. Lots of individual talent, but they need to play together.

Look Out For: RaShawn Polk. Over the final seven games of the season, Polk led the team in scoring (15.5ppg) and was the only Tigers player to average more than 30 mpg. He stepped on the gas pedal and you didn’t notice.

One Stat: Troy Franklin averaged 13.4 ppg in his final eight games, shooting 12-24 from beyond the arc and 35-39 FT. He torched William & Mary with a 27-point, seven assist, one turnover performance in an upset win in late February.

Pat Kennedy: “Our last phase of this building process is winning, and that’s what this year is all about.”

In Summary: Towson lost three of its top four scorers, and that’s a good thing because the group viewed defense as something to do until they got to shoot again. Coaches always say defense is effort, and perhaps that’s what’s been missing. I think Towson can easily win 8-10 games.

8th: The Pugs

What Matters: Triples. The Pugs were 295-841 (35%) from three last year. Let’s say they only shoot 30%. That’s 252-841, a loss of 43 points. So? Consider the Pugs were 12-4 in games decided by five or fewer points. How many of those 43 points do you think kept that record from being 4-12?

It’s Good If: Tony Shaver gets the freshman to sophomore jump from Matt Rum and Kyle Gaillard. Similarly, Shaver could use more production than “bombs away” from JohnMark Ludwick (though we love his funky-looking shot); that Kendrix Brown establishes himself running the show.

It’s Not Good If: Quinn McDowell doesn’t respond well to being “the guy.” He got a pile of looks due to the attention paid to David Schneider and Danny Sumner; Marcus Kitts reverts back to his roots of being a role player. Shaver will need a post presence to run all that confusing weaving.

Look Out For: Brown. Shaver said Brown was as good as anybody on his team last fall. Brown unfortunately hurt his foot and wasn’t the same player. Offensively he’s a taller Bashir Mason who can also finish at the rim. McDowell should swish a lot of threes when the defense collapses on Brown in the lane.

One Stat: JohnMark Ludwick took 108 shots last year, and 97 of those were threes (39-97, 40.2%).

Tony Shaver, on chemistry: “The whole has to be better than the parts. We work on it and talk about it and we accept nothing less. I’ll tell you this: we won’t win a championship at William & Mary without good chemistry.”

In Summary: I doubt there’s a team in the country that played together better than last year’s Pugs. I think they are a more talented team this year. Brown is better, Kitts is better, that freshman class is very good. They drop because, like a good pot of chili, they need to cook down. Perhaps in two years I pick them second. Perhaps this year they finish top four again. It could happen. But my gut says not this year.

9th: Nor’easter

What Matters: Smarts. Matt Janning, Manny Adako, Nken Ojougboh, and Baptiste Bataille knew what Bill Coen wanted to accomplish and how to do it. Chase Allen has a bunch of talented sophomores who don’t, and who have the added pressure of needing to produce. How quickly they figure it out is paramount.

It’s Good If: Allen averages more than five assists per game, and three are to one player; Alwayne Bigby becomes an offensive contributor, but not at the expense of his defense; Alex Harris is freshman of the year material.

It’s Not Good If: Not one of the non-Allen returnees outpaces their collective 10.7 ppg mark; Allen starts playing for Allen, not Coen; Kauri Black can’t keep himself on the court due to injury or fouls.

Look Out For: Joel Smith. There is nothing in the stats that suggest this, so don’t bother looking. Here’s what’s important: Coen needs a shooter and a scorer, and Smith is the most offensively gifted of sophomore class. The opportunity is Smith’s to lose.

One Stat: Allen averaged 13.6 ppg last season. The other seven returning players combined to average 10.7 ppg.

Bill Coen, on Vinny Lima: “I’m very high on Vinny Lima. He’s been a victim of not getting a full rotation on the court and this is the year he will get that opportunity.”

In Summary: Don’t bet against Bill Coen getting this team to 9-9 or better; he’s one of the best chicken salad makers in the country. However I have to start the Huskies in ninth—other than Allen nobody has proven a thing. You saw glimpses last season, but it’s dangerous to extrapolate full seasons from part time.

10th: Drexel

What Matters: Spirit. You just can’t lose a senior point guard who is also your leading scorer—especially under these circumstances—and expect to rebound easily. It’s easy for a coach to go the “us against the world” route, and I believe that nine times out of 10 that’s a useless, hollow mantra. Drexel is the one in 10.

It’s Good If: Gerald Colds starts swishing threes at Fouchian rates; Derrick Thomas becomes a 12 ppg scorer; the Dragons win tough early season games with seven players—it’s good if my belief that depth is overrated is actually true and not something I say. A little something out of the Darryl McCoy wouldn’t hurt.

It’s Not Good If: Chris Fouch has lingering knee troubles. Flint admitted Fouch favored his knee a little last year; if injuries creep up. Nobody is as exposed to damning injuries as Drexel; Colds cannot shoot. Teams will load up on Fouch and Givens; of course, attitude. If the players get frustrated and begin grousing at each other, it could get ugly.

Look Out For: Thomas. Okay, so he’s a Scott Rodgers clone. The important part about that is that Thomas is a Scott Rodgers senior year clone as a sophomore.

One Stat: Drexel three-point shooting down the stretch in February–Colds (1-14); Thomas (2-16); Fouch (3-18).

Bruiser Flint: “At times we got tired and caved and that’s unusual for my squads. These kids play hard and they’re good kids and they practice hard but mentally the last two years we haven’t finished strong.”

In Summary: More than any other coach, Flint requires his point guard to be the coach on the floor. Drexel will put the ball in the hands of a freshman (Frantz Massenat) or unofficial point guard (Colds). The Dragons were thin before they lost Jamie Harris and Kevin Phillip. The wear-down factor is in play.

11th: The Dub

What Matters: Belief. The Hawks were the most dysfunctional team this side of Mason last year. Buzz Peterson has stepped to the pulpit and is preaching all the right scriptures. The kids need to buy in and see some on-court success.

It’s Good If: Peterson chooses to go four guards plus Keith Rendleman. You are what you are, and UNCW is tiny and thin; Ahmad Grant produces mid-teens; Rendleman develops enough of a post presence to keep opponents honest.

It’s Not Good If: Chad Tomko starts jacking shots as fast as I eat M&Ms; Trevor DeLoach’s end season performance was an aberration; Matt Wilson turns out to be little more than tall.

Look Out For: DeLoach. The kid’s first 21 games: 48 total minutes, 15 total points. Final nine games: 170 total minutes, 67 total points. Put me in, coach.

One Stat: Rendleman and Wilson are only two players on the UNCW roster taller than 6-5, and Wilson didn’t play after January 30.

Buzz Peterson, on Rendleman: “He’s one of the kids that’s oozing with potential. We have to work with him on his skills inside–give him a consistent shot inside that he can count on and be comfortable with, but I think as long as he has confidence he could have a big year for us.”

In Summary: The world changes, and the Teal Nation is not immune. If you could count on anything in the CAA until 2005, it was that UNCW forced you to play your A-game in order to have a chance at winning. It may indeed be changing back to that standard, but it’s at least one year away. Maybe more.

12th: Georgia State

What Matters: Bowling. There are eight new faces on the roster, and two of the four holdovers are transfers. Rod Barnes would do well getting the team into a bowling league to develop some camaraderie. They have to be that rec league team with all the 45-year olds—you don’t know who they are, but they kill you by knowing what to do and where everybody is on the court.

It’s Good If: Jihad Ali pops in the tape of the Mason game last year. Ali hit for 22 points that day but topped 11 points only one other time all year; Marques Johnson just plain produces; James Vincent becomes a load on the block; Devonta White figures it out earlier rather than later.

It’s Not Good If: Johnson is looking over his shoulder at White; Dante Curry continues to play passive; the two jucos (Buckner and McGee) don’t pan out.

Look Out For: Johnson. I got the feeling talking to Barnes that Johnson’s problem was deferring to the older players and they weren’t exactly stellar role models. With White on his back and the freedom to run “his team,” Johnson may quietly be a top 4 point guard.

Stat: The Panthers graduated their top five scorers and rebounders, including third team All CAA player Joe Dukes. They return a combined total of 15.5 ppg and 8.9 rpg

Rod Barnes: “We’re a different team, so different, and hopefully people think we can’t score. We feel like we’ve got presence inside and I’m not worried about scoring. We’re a more talented team overall, and we have more depth, so we can play different and play at a faster pace.”

In Summary: The Panthers are in the cellar because of simple numbers. Where else would you put a 5-13 team whose top returning scorer lit up the scoreboard for five points per game last year? (Ali is also their leading returning rebounder at 2.8 rpg.) I do know Rod Barnes likes this team, which may say more about last year’s team than this one. Georgia State may get to a single digit seed, but I have to see it.

They don’t.

What they do is a far smarter job recruiting.

For reference: it began with this ridiculously smart piece by Basketball Prospectus writer Drew Cannon. That prompted ESPNs Eamonn Brennan to write this piece, then this one with a great Bill Self quote.

My overarching viewpoint: this is far simpler, and far more difficult, than we’re making it out to be.

The reason I believe Cannon’s piece is so intelligent is that it blows up the conventional thinking of traditional positions and those stupid numbers 1-5. Position flexibility, to me, is how mid majors coaches have always looked at players. They need skilled players who don’t fit, as Brennan said, the model of:

Coach X’s point guard graduated, so Coach X needs a point guard. Is that guy a point guard? Maybe? Well, maybe’s not good enough. We need a point guard.

It’s how we ended up with “combo guards” and “face up four men” and other silly terms. (And I admit to using these terms.) As to stocking your rosters with players, better known as recruiting, let me spell it out this way. Hopefully this explains it a little more clearly.

Major coaches always seem to be talking about concepts like chemistry, teamwork, and selfless play, but they never seem to actually recruit that way. They want the best player. They default to talent, and they should. No matter the level of play, every coach will tell you need talent to win games.

Here’s where it falls apart for me.

Now, I admit this is mostly anecdotal evidence because I don’t follow recruiting closely and major college recruiting even less so. However I frequently talk to those who do so I feel informed. (Needed to say that.)

My belief is that majors are recruiting to the chinks. “He can’t guard the 1,” “He’s too small to play power forward,” “He can’t shoot well enough to play three.” Those kinds of things. These top 50 kids can all play. They dominate the AAU circuit. So major coaches are looking for what’s wrong with their game. The de facto position is the talent level is there, so they are best served understanding what these players cannot do rather than what they can do.

It’s the other way around for mid majors, and to an extent that second tier major school Brennan wrote about. They see what a kid is capable of doing for them. It could be shooting, defense, hustle, etc.

The differentiator resides in recruiting the intangibles. One CAA coach is determined to find kids from winning programs and know how to win; another doesn’t like kids who display a sense of entitlement. If you already believe you are very good, the thought goes, how can you improve much? You can teach skills; you cannot change character.

Or, let’s get technical. Maybe a kid can’t guard the point, but if he can shoot well enough to score 15 ppg and you have a complementary wing that can help you gameplan against that weaknesses, I think you have all conference material.

Bruiser Flint admits Chris Fouch couldn’t guard anybody. But Fouch was the freshman of the year because he can shoot and score with anybody. Let’s go the other way. Larry Sanders was a horrible offensive player when he entered VCU. However his length and athleticism convinced Anthony Grant to give him a chance because Sanders could at least make a difference on defense. Three years and probably 100,000 shots later, Sanders was drafted 15th in the NBA draft.

To me, the four-year-kid excuse promulgated by Self is at best a crutch, at worst a dodge. First, if you want them then recruit them. It isn’t like it’s a surprise that most of these kids are going leave early.

I admit the lure of supreme talent is too shiny to avoid. But I don’t buy the “we don’t have four year kids” not even if you are John Calipari.

In this summer’s NBA draft, the number of Big Six major conference players that were underclassmen to be drafted was 25. Let’s pile on kids who made bad decisions and were undrafted. Without looking, that’s maybe 10?

So now we’re at 35 underclassmen that leave school early and deprive their schools of that “four year player.” In the Big Six major conferences there are 73 teams with roughly 13 players recruited and given scholarships. You do the math.

Here’s Self’s quote (thanks to Brennan) that matters:

“The best recruiters in the business from an evaluation standpoint are at the mid-majors,” Self said. “They do a great job evaluating their talent level when they (players) are 16, 17 and projecting them out to when they are age 21. At Kansas, we don’t get the opportunity to do that. The majority of kids we recruit want to be in school goal-wise, one, two, three years. Very rarely do the best of the best stay all four years in college basketball the way the landscape is. The real talent of recruiting is being able to dig those guys out who at age 21, 22 can whip those kids who are 18. The people getting that done are the ones having success.”

I buy Self’s assertion that 21 year olds are whipping 18 year olds. And I’m willing to stipulate that those 35 kids who left school early made a huge difference. (To do this I’ll look past guys like Willie Warren. Ask Jeff Capel if Warren’s absence will help or hurt his team.)

I give you I’m off bsae by a little. Now consider this: 10 of those 20 were juniors, meaning Self’s point falls to 21 year olds beating 20 year olds (with theoretically three years of development).

I wonder if the true problem is that these coaches don’t focus on development with these kids, not because they don’t want to but because they cannot. On one hand you have these kids who are already full of themselves. I’d wager they cannot or will not be taught.

On the other, as a coach, you are compelled to spend your time maximizing current skills and crossing your fingers on the weaknesses. The pressure to win also dictates you game plan your butt off. Not being prepared is the scarlet letter in this business.

It’s an economic thing, too. Let’s use baseball as an example. How hard is it for the Yankees or a big market team to develop into a winner? Not that hard, really: draft a couple of kids, sign a few big name free agents, use your money to sign international talent and reap the benefits of your bulging bank account.

Sure, you’re going to bring in the home run hitter who refuses to take batting practice, or the lefty pitcher who spends as much time in a bar than watching film, but they are the most talented at their position. Your massive fan base demands that kind of investment, and demands that you win.

But sometimes spending that money doesn’t equate into a title, does it? Why? Teams are transient, there’s not enough time for team chemistry, development of relationships and intangibles. There is a cut-throat mentality.

Alternately, it’s a little more difficult for Tampa or Minnesota. They have to get lucky in the draft, consistently, and develop and grow their talent into a cohesive unit. The teams that do succeed, they have guys who have grown up in their farm systems together, grew together, developed together – they understand the system that the team runs, and they run it well.

They may not have the same offensive or defensive approaches as the big market boys, but they drive the big boys nuts because typically they’re fundamentally strong, and they do things (take the extra base, go first to third all the time, force the defense to consistently make plays) that the big boys often times overlook.

The summary: because the pool of talent is so incredibly close, these intangibles are the differentiators.

Smarter.

I’ll tell you this: I’d rather be Kansas, North Carolina, VCU or Creighton. Jobs like Auburn, Miami, and Iowa State must stink. You get killed on both sides.

The two teams also played last year’s memorable CAA tourney game, a quarterfinals thriller won by Northeastern 74-71 in double OT. Charles Jenkins had 24 points, 8 rebounds, three assists and two steals in the game, playing 49 of 50 minutes. For Coen, Matt Janning had 26 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals (in 46 minutes).

Superstars, playing super.

However their most striking shared trait resides in the fact that each coach is looking at a 2010-11 CAA season from exactly the same lens. Both will rely on a returning first team All CAA performer and a bunch of question marks.

Cassara’s Pride (side note: wouldn’t that be a great name for a racehorse?) returns the conference player of the year and seven new players. Outside of Charles Jenkins, Hofstra must replace its next three top scorers and needs points from unknown or unproven sources.

Coen has Chase Allen but lost a senior class that means far more than a  boxscore could depict. Matt Janning, Nkem Ojougboh, and the rest of those seniors were faces of the program. Outside of Chase Allen, the other seven returning Huskies combined to average 10.7 ppg.

What’s more, Hofstra was 10-8 in the CAA and has won 10 or more CAA games in six of the last seven years. NU finished second last year and has never ended a season worse than 9-9 in its five CAA campaigns.

Those impressive marks are in question this year, and we can find two games from last year that shows us why.

Let’s start with this game, the February 23 matchup between–get this–Northeastern and Hofstra. It shows us that a star is needed to carry you, even at home. Hofstra won in Matthews and it was a key road win that carries significance.

Here’s what I mean: Not surprisingly Jenkins played all 40 minutes and scored 20 points. Sure, Jenkins had a whopping nine turnovers, but he posted eight rebounds and seven assists. That’s your superstar doing his thing.

For NU, Matt Janning had an off night, or was forced into and off night. Janning missed 10 of 13 shots and all five of his threes.

It is important to note, and you need to keep in the front of your mind, that Halil Kanecevic had a 16/11 double-double and Corny Vines had five steals and hit three threes for Hofstra. Also, Nkem Ojougboh had 15/7 for NU.

Let’s move back in time to February 6 for NU at Hofstra, won convincingly by the Huskies.

This time Janning played well, scoring 17 and grabbing five rebounds. He took just nine shots. Jenkins missed 11 of 14 shots, grabbed only three rebounds and had three assists.

Worth noting: NUs Baptiste Bataille scored 11 points and had six steals. Chase Allen had 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and only one turnover. Hofstra’s Vines missed four of five threes and Kanecevic had six points.

What in the world does all that mess tell us?

1. Your star needs that second banana, if only to make life easier on him. You won’t win many CAA games with your best player going 7-24 from the field. Jenkins needed Vines and Kanecevic. Janning needed Ojougboh and Allen. You have to make a defense at least pay attention to someone else. More proof? I give you Jawan Carter and the Delaware Blue Hens.
2. Northeastern and Hofstra have an eerily similar makeup this season: a superstar and a collection of question marks. “That second guy” emerging could be the difference in a Friday bye and wearing a road uniform on Friday night. And I mean that.

By the way, the difference in that memorable CAA tournament game? NUs Kauri Black scored nine points and had eight rebounds. Black had scored eight TOTAL points in the month leading up to that game.

Tim Pearrell wrote a very good article detailing the facts of Sisisky’s 28-year VCU career. Sisisky’s passing is very sad on every imaginable level, personal to professional, and whether you knew him or not.

For me, the striking memory is this: All Sisisky ever did was what he loved, and Terry Sisisky was always Terry Sisisky. He lived in the moment. That uncompromising internal manner is why Sisisky brought a smile to everyone he touched, and I believe we all secretly wish we could live like that.

My first memory of Terry was when I was a student at VCU. Junior year. I was living in Gladding Residence Center and a VCU road game was tuned on the radio. Reception was tough in the brick fortress of a building, but we found a way in the days before streaming.

I have only vague memories of the actual game. VCU may have been playing Memphis, and the shot may have tied the game late after a big comeback. I don’t really remember. Shoot, the year could be wrong.

But I do remember T-Man’s call of a Chris Brower bomb. It wasn’t a fallaway three like we all became accustomed to, but “Chris Brower for threeeeeeeeee….it’s good!!…it’s good!!…Chris Brower from the cornerrrrrrr!” stands the test of time.

That I remember Terry’s call but not the details of the game is what you need to know.

Terry was an original. Sure, he set up his radio equipment at 3pm for a 7pm tipoff and checked and re-checked it every 15 minutes. One glance at his game notes and multi-colored hieroglyphics made you wonder if he was calling a basketball game or a bake off.

And yes, no matter where he was going it had to happen right now. There was no time to tarry for Terry. What people never saw was his humanity within the craziness.

Terry Sisisky never had a five-minute conversation in his life. It was either drive-by where he’d flash you that toothy smile and you were lucky to avoid being hit by the mad scientist hair, or you chatted with him for 15 minutes. You always got at least a smile, point, nod, handshake, or treatise on VCUs rebounding woes.

His personality and passion was evident and catching and that’s what people talked about. Sisisky cared–cared deeply–and even though nobody ever said it, that is what was catching, too.

What you also didn’t hear and don’t know are the things he allowed occur that made him uncomfortable.

Though a self-deprecating preparation freak with everything in its place, he allowed those of us that went on the road with VCU to crowd behind him at timeouts and at the end of games.

In the dark ages before we could do everything but cook breakfast on our cell phones, the only access to stats we had were displayed on the press row monitors. If you’re reading this blog, you’re a geek like us and know what I mean. Terry knew this, understood this, and allowed us to peer over his shoulder to see game stats despite the fact that he had a job to do and he was nervous. He always smiled through the discomfort.

Here’s something else you don’t know: Terry was always complimentary to the guys “back at the studio” pressing the buttons. I spent one season alongside Terry doing color, and in every timeout where we had to cut to a commercial or to a taped interview, he thanked the studio board operators for the smooth transition, made sure they knew he appreciated it, and that they were doing a good job for him.

Terry told me he was never scared of calling games. He told me calling VCU games was fun, and that the time he was most scared in his career was the first time he sat down in the office of VCU coach JD Barnett.

We’ve lost an icon in the CAA, man far more important than a torrent of 28 years worth of basketball.

Terry and I last spoke in the middle of an aisle at Target. It was one of those random encounters, and we laughed about all sorts of things for at least 15 minutes. His hair was everywhere and he roared with approval at the fun we were having. As always, I was near tears laughing.

Though he was preparing to call the state basketball tournament, I was in a hurry that day and cut our conversation short.

Damn.

Drexel University’s Department of Public Safety is fully cooperating with the Philadelphia Police Department in the ongoing investigation. All inquiries about the investigation should be directed to the Philadelphia Police Department’s Southwest Detectives.”

As first reported last night, Drexel’s Jamie Harris and Kevin Phillip are wanted by Philadelphia police on suspicion of armed robbery. The pair have reportedly turned themselves in. It is mind-boggling to read the report.

We’re not delving into details and innuendo and speculation here. It’s a pointless chase, and we’re not going to waste your time with a pile of “no comments.” It’s a university matter and we’ll wait word before asking some questions.

We do know, based on the report, that the incident occurred last Wednesday night.

Assuming the facts are proven true, Jamie Harris and Kevin Phillip have wasted, in a profane manner, an opportunity. We’re not talking about anything basketball-related, either. That’s irrelevant right now.

Both kids had an opportunity to get a college degree from a respected university and get on with a productive life. It’s the old saw of one day the clock will strike zero and you will need to move on with your life. This is a reality for most mid major basketball players.

Basketball is a means to and end, a four-year education and experiment in networking. Players finish with sports memories, a degree, and the support system of an entire university. It’s the theoretical “what it’s supposed to be.”

Here’s what burns me up the most: all we’ve talked about this offseason is cheating, agents, runners, rules changes, NCAA tournament and money and teevee and how these kids are being used. Most people are wringing their hands at all of it and despising its hypocrisy and dirt. Here’s my problem: they never seem to write about why they are offended.

Here’s why: because of the random kid at the random university, whose eligibility will expire and he will have to go get a real job.

Whether the NCAA is clean or dirty, the John Walls of the world are not at risk. It’s a pointless argument and discussion. They will get their NBA career. They attend college because it is in the rules that they must. John Wall needed Kentucky and Kentucky needed John Wall. It’s no more, no less. I have no problem with Kentucky making $40 bajillion last season, nor the NCAA, nor John Wall staying one year. Nobody ever was under the impression that it was anything else.

Further, I absolutely believe the disgust at the whole OJ Mayo situation isn’t directed at Mayo or his benefits. Cheaters will cheat and it’s a gamble based on short term reward. We hate it and we want to stop it and we love it when they are caught or fail. Ha!

You do realize that Southern California finished fourth in the PAC 10 and bowed out in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Mayo’s season, right?

Hardly a boon to either party, yes?

But we’re not angry at the cheaters. The disgust exists because kids like Jamie Harris and Kevin Phillip will toil at schools like Drexel University for four years, be handed nothing, and will graduate with nothing more than an opportunity to make good in the world. As opposed to Mayo’s promulgating the bad, these kids can make things better.

It’s what makes us all proud of our university community and puff our chests at hoops success and personal success. It’s the opportunity everybody wants to see for kids and the real reason for the lament.

Yes, the NCAA is hysterically inept at staying in front of the cheating. We’ve brought ourselves past the anger and moved straight into disgust. The cheaters are going to get theirs. We’ve unfortunately all resigned ourselves to that fact.

It’s when the guys who can use the system for its benefits blow it on their own that we are left shaking our heads. That’s our prop; our reason for cheering. Good guys making good and winning games.

It’s downright sad that Jamie Harris and Kevin Phillip appear to have wasted that opportunity on their own.

And that’s what makes us angry.

(You worry about Your Team’s attendance, and I’ll find that JMUs Ben Louis fouled out of nine games and committed 101 fouls last year–interesting because Louis is a 6-3 reserve guard. That’s hackalicious. Stuff like that inspires Drexel’s rollouts.)

We readily admit our geekiness around here, and our fondness for guys like Ken Pomeroy, John Gasaway, and Jerry Palm. They are “our kinda guys.”

So it was while I was uncovering nuggets for Blue Ribbon that this post took shape. I noticed that in seven of Drexel’s nine CAA seasons, they’ve won between 10-13 conference games. That’s darn good, and it got me to thinking about everybody’s CAA performance in the “CAA Expansion Era.”

For the newbies, the CAA added four America East teams for the 2001-02 season—Hofstra, Towson, Drexel, and Delaware. In 2005-06, Northeastern and Georgia State joined up, bringing our total to its present 12 teams.

Now, I have no idea if the following data provides any insight, but it is at its core interesting to read and compare. I’ve parsed everybody’s CAA records at nine years and five years—the two expansion seasons.

Interestingly (or perhaps not), we have an MLB 162-game slate. Teams are ranked based on their nine-year winning percentages. Northeastern and Georgia State, for obvious reasons, are slotted using their five-year winning percentage. For fun, I’ve also included each school’s most impactful player in the expansion era.

VCU (Eric Maynor)

Nine Year Record: 117-45, .722

Five Year Record: 67-23, .744

Best Finish: First (03-04, 06-07, 07-08, 08-09)

Worst Finish: Sixth (05-06)

Old Dominion (Alex Loughton)

Nine Year Record: 108-54, .667

Five Year Record: 66-24, .733

Best Finish: First (04-05, 09-10)

Worst Finish: Sixth (01-02, 02-03)

Mason (Will Thomas)

Nine Year Record: 107-55, .660

Five Year Record: 61-29, .678

Best Finish: Second (01-02, 05-06, 07-08, 08-09)

Worst Finish: Sixth (04-05)

Northeastern (Matt Janning, JJ Barea–one year honor)

Nine Year Record: N/A

Five Year Record: 56-34, .622

Best Finish: Second (09-10)

Worst Finish: Seventh (07-08)

Drexel (Robert Battle)

Nine Year Record: 95-67, .586

Five Year Record: 47-43, .522

Best Finish: second (02-03)

Worst Finish: 11^th (07-08)

Hofstra (Loren Stokes)

Nine Year Record: 90-72, .556

Five Year Record: 57-33, .633

Best Finish: Third (05-06, 06-07)

Worst Finish: 12^th (01-02)

UNCW (Brett Blizzard)

Nine Year Record: 90-72, .556

Five Year Record: 39-51, .433

Best Finish: First (01-02, 02-03, 05-06)

Worst Finish: 12^th (08-09)

Delaware (Harding Nana)

Nine Year Record: 60-102, .370

Five Year Record: 25-65, .278

Best Finish: Fifth (01-02, 02-03, 03-04)

Worst Finish: 12^th (06-07, 09-10)

William & Mary (Adam Hess)

Nine Year Record: 59-103, .364

Five Year Record: 38-52, .422

Best Finish: Third (09-10)

Worst Finish: 11^th (03-04, 08-09)

Towson (Jon Pease Gary Neal)

Nine Year Record: 48-114, .296

Five Year Record: 34-56, .378

Best Finish: Seventh (01-02)

Worst Finish: 10^th (02-03, 04-05, 08-09)

Georgia State (Lennie Mendez)

Nine Year Record: N/A

Five Year Record: 26-64, .289

Best Finish: Eighth (08-09)

Worst Finish: 12^th (07-08)

James Madison (The JYD, David Fanning)

Nine Year Record: 44-118, .272

Five Year Record: 24-66, .267

Best Finish: Seventh (02-03, 08-09)

Worst Finish: 12^th (03-04, 05-06)

***

Let’s do it baseball standings style:

Promise for tomorrow: quotes from Matt Brady, Bruiser Flint, as well as some questions to ponder. Heck, depending how real life plays out today, you may have it by 5:00. (Not a promise.)

Anyway:

Brian Mull finished off his summer preview series with UNCW, part 2. I don’t know where we left off on the linking, but here’s Delaware, William & Mary, Mason, and VCU.

The Mason Bench has made huge strides in the past six months and is recommended if you’re interested in a Patriot’s view of the world. What’s more its boss man is a finalist in the school’s “Mason’s Biggest Fan” contest. You can vote for him at the bottom of the linked post.

Jeff Goodman wrote a nice piece on Charles Jenkins. Money quote:

“We’ve been good and we’ve won 20 games, but we haven’t been champions,” Jenkins said. “That’s all I’m concerned about. Winning a championship.”

Way too much legal wrangling for me, but the news bears reporting a link. JMU (and the Commonwealth) lost its court case to Marist regarding Matt Brady’s recruiting. It’s also way too early to pretend we know the next moves, because the particulars in the case don’t yet know this. What we do know? It’s a long way from over.

As tweeted yesterday, Matt Janning and Larry Sanders weren’t the only CAA brethren tearing up the NBA Summer League. Former Towson Tigers star Gary Neal made an impression.

Jim Corrigan has seen it all for 23 CAA seasons.

Old Dominion associate head coach Jim Corrigan owns the honor with 201 regular season conference victories in his 23 years in the conference. Put in a different perspective: Corrigan’s experience is only two fewer years than the existence of the league.

Most CAA fans see Corrigan as the guy sitting next to Blaine Taylor with the flip cards, chewing in Taylor’s ear during timeouts. However long-time CAA fans recognize him with or without a goatee and others can recall his pre-Taylor career.

Corrigan’s CAA tenure began as an assistant at William & Mary under Chuck Swenson in 1987, and he spent seven years in Williamsburg. When Swenson left, Corrigan packed his bags and headed down I-64 east to Norfolk to join Jeff Capel’s staff. His first ODU team was the one that eventually beat Villanova in the NCAA tournament.

Seven years later Corrigan found himself breaking in a new coach, a man by the name of Blaine Taylor.

“We just finished our 16^th year together and obviously it’s a pretty dramatic change at first,” Corrigan says of his ODU career. Corrigan and Taylor are beginning their 10th year together. “Every coach has his own way of doing things, whether it’s organizing the office or how you play and the whole new vocabulary. So while it’s learning experience you have to be quick on the pickup.”

Other than odd references to western movies and analogies that still at times require head-scratching, the pickup was seamless for Corrigan and Taylor. This is mainly due to a similar belief in the philosophy of developing players.

Old Dominion’s model is one of freshmen and the annual “who’s going to redshirt” question, as opposed to jucos and transfers in an attempt to stabilize a roster or strike quick gold.

“We emphasize and develop each player so that they’re ready when we hand them something,” Corrigan says. “You look at this year’s team. Ben Finney had one division one scholarship offer; Darius James and Kent Bazemore had none. We’ve done a pretty good job, and we’re getting better, at developing each player.”

Corrigan says the staff never earmarks anyone for a redshirt. They may bring a kid in and talk to him about developing and playing time, but the staff gives everybody those first four weeks of practice and an exhibition game before making any concrete decisions.

“We believe in the kids we bring in and we want them to develop,” he says. “The redshirt year gives them a chance to make strides and it’s and advantage to have a year in a program and still be a freshman.”

It all comes together this month. Coaches are on the road recruiting, the life blood of their programs. Corrigan is busy organizing the details of how and where all three ODU coaches will travel and who they want to see.

Considering the Monarchs have recently brought in players from the Ivory Coast, Australia, Finland, Denmark, and Lithuania, Corrigan’s job is far more difficult than the rental car counter at Hartsfield Airport.

Factor in, too, there’s lingering scheduling issues to address, as well as organizing summer workouts and academic plans for current players. It’s a less-glamorous life that most believe and ODU assistant coach Robert Wilkes is a vital cog in that machine performing smoothly.

If anybody can handle the constant juggling, it’s Corrigan. He’s a Dookie, but not the Dookie you immediately think about. He was Bill Foster’s Blue Devils, old school all the way, back when there was still JV basketball and no three point line.

In fact, Corrigan played three years on Duke’s JV team before earning a scholarship and playing on the varsity his senior year. He was a part of Duke’s 1980 ACC championship team led by Mike Gminski and Eugene Banks, and Mike Krzyzewski came to Duke the year after Corrigan graduated.

Corrigan earned the Ted Mann Jr. Award as the team’s most energetic reserve and can boast he finished his collegiate career without ever missing a shot as a varsity player. (He was 1-1 from the field and 2-2 from the line.)

“During that time I had a different coach every year,” he says. “A different assistant was our coach all three years and for three years in high school I had different coaches. So I had seven coaches in eight years. I saw different styles and techniques and I was able to take something from everybody, good and bad, and different ways of communicating.”

You’d think coaching was always Corrigan’s path but you’d be wrong. He graduated from Duke and took two part time jobs—working for a real estate agent during the day and bartending at a Darryl’s restaurant at night. He was still figuring out what he wanted to do when a friend asked him to help coach his high school team. Since Corrigan had the time, he accepted.

Says Corrigan: “It didn’t take long to figure out this was something I wanted to do.”

After two years as an assistant Corrigan moved on to coach his alma mater, Bishop McGuinness in Winston-Salem. After one season as a junior varsity and varsity assistant, he was elevated to head coach. In four seasons he went 90-42 and won a North Carolina state championship in 1987.

“It’s funny because the first year I was a head coach I got a call for an assistant position in college,” Corrigan recalls. “I wasn’t sure. I was kind of wondering if this was for me. Then we went to the state championship for three years and I realized this was something I can do.”

It’s nearly incomprehensible to think in 2010, with Corrigan and Taylor entering their 10^th season together, that it nearly never began.

“One of the best decisions I’ve ever made was one I was advised not to make,” says Blaine Taylor. “When you take a (new) job you always want to bring in (your people), but one of the best things I did was to keep Jim here.”

Taylor is appreciative of the efforts of his second-in-command.

“He’s a great friend, loyal, and talented,” Taylor says. “His local knowledge of the campus, of the league, of the region and of college basketball is tremendous. (Our relationship) was natural once I got to know him and became comfortable with giving him responsibility. He’s so good with (all of it).”

Corrigan, who is married with three children, is currently president of the assistant coaches committee of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and writes a column for Collegechalktalk.com. All of this begs the question: how come you haven’t been a head coach?

“I haven’t (had an opportunity),” he flatly says. “Last year I interviewed at Elon and was one of the finalists there. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s something I want. If the opportunity is there, I would jump at it.”

That program would be lucky. For all the blather, Corrigan is one of those people that simply gets it:

“The bottom lines are the same,” he says. “Recruit, coach, and take care of academics. The important things have the same details.”

Top of my list was Shaver’s admission of how W&Ms struggles affected him, and how he changed his philosophy: “it was probably to save my job, to be quite honest. It was the most difficult time in my life, professionally. It was flat-out scary.”

Shaver also mentioned a concept we all believe, and it reminded me of a comment another CAA coach made. It became the basis for this entire post. His tenet: “Emphasize and build team chemistry. A team will never reach its potential if team chemistry is poor.”

I think we’re going to find out a lot about chemistry this year in the CAA. Its impact on success has evolved to legendary cliche status in interviews. Coaches know everybody needs it, nobody is sure they have it. You know it when you see it. It’s a good thing to talk about when you don’t want to say “we need to rebound better.”

After some thought, it hit me that it impacts every CAA team in a significant way this season. Yes, I know it is important to every team every year, but for some eerie reason it looms especially large this year in The Association.

The other coach told me that last year The Pugs were wonderful to watch play. He said that they had something beyond chemistry; that they played like they were above the floor and nothing ever distracted them from their mission. Things would go wrong and it never remotely impacted them.

Today’s side note: Coaches appreciate these things and you should too. It’s one of the secret reasons you root for the Pugs, even if they are a hated conference rival. If you can’t muster appreciation for folks trying to do things the right way, fighting through struggles and seeing some success, then you are the one with the problem.

Anyway, back to some heavy white coat experimentation with chemistry this year.

Sans David Schneider (and Danny Sumner and Sean McCurdy and Steven Hess), can William & Mary keep it going? One thing you may not realize is how young The Pugs will be. Marcus Kitts is their only senior and they have four freshman who will challenge for playing time. That above-the-floor chemistry will be needed from underclassmen.

Georgia State has seven new faces on its roster and lost its top six scorers from last year’s team. Hofstra has five new faces to go alongside Charles Jenkins–eight if you count Paul Bilbo (injured/redshirt), Brad Kelleher (NCAA clearance), and Mike Moore (transfer from Fordham).

VCU can run waves of talented players at you. It seems Shaka Smart no longer has to worry about flour and vinegar getting together. If so, look out for the Rams. Mason is similar. Kevin Foster could’ve started for about six CAA teams last year and he barely sniffed the floor. He’s gone, but the theme remains–the Patriots appear to be a very talented but rudderless team. If they can put it together, danger Will Robinson.

ODU is the gold standard of chemistry–like vampires they smell blood and attack as a group (not teen angst Twilight vampires). I’ll leak some info to you in order to make my point: I can easily get through my preseason All CAA first and second teams and NOT have one ODU player listed. However ODU will be the preseason favorite, and that opinion won’t change. The Monarchs are the consummate “play better in March” team and that’s ALL chemistry.

Towson annually has a collection of talented players but they never seem to make it to January intact. UNCW has a new coach, a small team, and no reason to expect success. However chemistry can do wonderful things for disjointed and shorthanded teams.

Northeastern has Chase Allen and a bunch of guys you’ve seen and heard a little bit about. You betting against Bill Coen meshing spare parts? I’m not. It’s kind of the same at Delaware. Monte Ross has everybody back, and that includes point guard Brian Johnson.

Drexel’s entire success depends on team play and chemistry. It seems sometimes Bruiser gets the kids all rallying around a distaste for their coach, but it works. The Dragons have reached double figures wins in the CAA in seven of its nine seasons.

And that leaves James Madison, who to me has the best framework of any team this season. The Dukes have a superior point guard (Devon Moore), a shooter (Julius Wells), and the conference’s best big man (Give ‘Em Hell). Parts and roles come together and I can make an argument they challenge for the regular season title.

I guess it comes down to this: in the grand scheme, players come and players go. It’s how they come together in any particular and specific season that makes the difference in 9-9 and 13-5. (Keep in mind the number of two-possession league games at the under 4:00 media timeout.)