Cohen’s pace helping unravel Wildcats’ opponents

Bob McKillop has an anomoly at Davidson that most of the 338 NCAA Division 1 head coaches would probably trade a couple of future scholarships for.  Jake Cohen, his ace in the hole, is a 6-10, 235-lb. center with polished post moves, who can also go to the perimeter and consistently make the threes. Cohen then sprints back to the defensive end and functions as a shot blocker in the middle.

Cohen was prominently on display Thursday night in Davidson’s impressive 87-69 dismantling of Charleston as he scored 24 of his 29 points in the first half where he totaled eight of his 14 rebounds.

“In my tenure, I don’t know that we have had a frontcourt player that has done what Jake has done over four games,” said McKillop after Davidson’s seventh Southern Conference conquest, “He got every key rebound and has done a good job defensively.”

Cohen has averaged 26.3 ppg. and 9.8 boards per game in his last four after struggling with three single digit outings where he was only 6-of-18 from the floor in those three games.  Over these alst four, he is 33-of-50 from the floor and has made 9-of-14 triples.

“We’re doing a good job of taking what they give us, going inside-out,” he explained, refusing to take any credit for his output, ”I think we are doing a good job of being patient on offense and not forcing anything.”

The Berwyn, Pa. native is DC’s second leading scorer behind De’Mon Brooks as five Wildcats net double figures in an offense that averages over 86.1 ppg.  McKillop stresses that type of unselfishness and Thursday night, Cohen was able able to get his rhythm easily as he scored 13 points in the game’s first nine minutes.  This allowed the Wildcats to sprint to a 22-13 lead which only saw Charleston able to close to six on one occasion the rest of the way.

For Cohen, who rolled his ankle midway through the first half, the win over Charleston was about getting out in transition and rebounding the basketball, a fundamental that McKillop had challenged his Wildcats to improve upon.

“Our rebounding is something we always focus on,” noted Cohen, who leads the Wildcats in rebounding with 6.1 per game,  ”Coach has not been happy with our rebounding and tonight I think we did a good job executing that.  We got a lot of second and third shots.”

- Ken Cross

 

Rebounding is anything but ‘bored’ work for Davidson

The Davidson Wildcats lead the Southern Conference in rebounding at plus-6.3 rebounds per game, yet coach Bob McKillop has been imploring his squad during practice on the art of rebounding. College of Charleston has struggled on the boards all season as the Cougars are 10th in the Southern Conference at (-4.5), so it figured that aggression on the boards would give Davidson a huge upper hand.

And for one miniscule time, logic prevailed on the basketball court as the Wildcats had 22 points on 14 offensive boards while outrebounding the Cougars 48-34.

“The work that our assistant coaches get them to do in break down drills make them hungrier everyday,” noted McKillop, not only about rebounding prowess, but other game fundamentals as well, “They are relentless with our guys every day to get better.”

Jake Cohen pulled down a career high 14 boards as he tied his career high of 29 points in Thursday night’s 87-69 win over College of Charleston, but McKillop was also hoping to see his guards get involved in the fray on the glass as well.

“Guards are understanding that they need to stick their noses in there,” said McKillop, “We need to rebound by committee.  This needs to be gang rebounding and the whole gang was there tonight.”

The gang included sometimes forgotten 6-10 senior Frank Ben-Eze, who had only averaged 3.9 minutes in nine games played this season.  Ben-Eze grabbed five boards of his own while blocking five shots and going 3-of-3 from the floor in 15 minutes. Maybe, his most impressive possession came on the defensive end when he blocked a shot by Charleston forward Trent Wideman; then, turned and blocked Antwaine Wiggins, the Cougars’ leading scorer, off a recovery.

“Frank is a beast,” commented guard Nik Cochran, who scored 16 points, all in the second half as he made eight of nine free throws, “He scored in the post and it is great to have him in the back line where he is able to block all those shots and make up for us guards making mistakes.”

The rebounding efficiency and defensive stops are allowing the Wildcats to accumulate points in waves.  Davidson averages 86.2 ppg. and shoots 51% from the floor while outscoring opponents by 16.7 ppg.

“Things were going well for us offensively and defensively, said Cochran, “When we get stops on the defensive end, we get out and get in transtion.  We are able to get a lot of easy and open baskets.”

-Ken Cross

 

High Five: These Guys are Trouble in March

Earlier in the week, I spent a portion of Secondary Break discussing the prowess of the Long Beach State 49ers of the Big West Conference as I outlined the toughness of schedule and superlatives.  LBSU, non-with standing, “High-Five” takes a look at five teams from the non-traditional Super Six Conferences that could play the role of VCU this March and make a run past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

1.) St. Louis (9-1) - While I do not consider the A-10 a “mid-major,” the Billikens fall into this pack as they have raced to nine wins in their first 10 as Washington, Villanova, and Oklahoma were victims.  Winning the 76 Classic in Anaheim put SLU on the map.  Defense is the Bills’ calling card as they hold opponents to 55.8 ppg. while giving up 41% from the floor and they force 16 turnovers per game. Brian Conklin could become a household name come March as he leads three Billikens in double figures and shoots 64.3% from the field. Guard Kwamain Mitchell is a resilient catalyst for SLU as he leads the team in assists with 3.8 per night. Rick Majerus, in his fifth year at the helm, recently picked up his 500th career win.

2.) Murray State (11-0) – The Racers checked in at No. 24 this week as their 11 wins in a row are the fourth best in the school’s history. First-year coach Steve Prohm has taken up where Billy Kennedy left off when he exited for Texas A&M.  Murray State has a veteran lineup that sees three seniors and two juniors as starters. The Racers knock down the three-ball with regularity as they shoot 42.6% behind the arc.  Murray State’s two leading scorers, Isaiah Canaan and Donte Poole shoot the triple at right around 45% each.  MSU already owns wins at No. 20 Memphis and at UAB as they rolled over Dayton at home.  Nine Racers average double figures in minutes as depth is a huge asset.

3. Middle Tennessee State (10-2) – Veteran coach Kermit Davis may be on to something this season in the Sun Belt.  The Blue Raiders solidified national notoriety with a 20-point win at struggling UCLA in November; however, a win over UCLA is well…a win over UCLA.  MTSU is another squad with upperclassmen playing key roles as four starters are juniors next to the leading scorer in senior LaRon Dendy.  Davis has four of the top seven shooters in the SBC, led by Shawn Jones, who shoots 61.5% from the floor in an offense that averages 77 ppg. The team shoots 53.5% and 43% from behind the arc and has outscored it’s first 12 opponents by 135 points in the paint.

4.) Charleston (8-1) – After it’s second consecutive win over Tennessee in as many years, the Cougars look like a major player in the Southern Conference with a very athletic squad.  If the jury is still out, then the verdict will be in next Tuesday when they visit Louisville.  Antwain Wiggins and Andrew Lawrence are the go-to players on veteran coach Bobby Cremins’ squad.  Wiggins has scored double digits five games in a row and leads the SoCon in scoring at 18.1 ppg. while Lawrence is number one in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.53. Freshman center Adjehi Baru of the Ivory Coast bears watching as he averages 7.9 points and 5.2 rebounds in 26.7 minutes.  

5.) Harvard (9-1) – Every year there seems to be a feel good story coming out of the Ivy League (See Cornell’s Sweet 16 run two years ago). This year it is Harvard’s turn. Tommy Amaker’s squad is another defensive minded outfit, holding opponents to 55 ppg. while placing only three players in double figures with Kyle Casey leading at 11.9 ppg.  This team values the basketball and executes in the half-court consistently.  Harvard jumped into the Top 25 after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island as Florida State was it’s major victim.  The Crimson played reasonably tough at UConn before dropping a 67-53 decision.  All five starters return and 12 players who were there last season are back. Believe it or not, last year’s Ivy League championship was the first in school history as the Crimson entered the NIT when Princeton won the tie-breaker and the NCAA bid.

-Ken Cross

 

Around the nation: Tuesday edition

Austin Peay was the coaches’ preseason pick to win the Ohio Valley Conference, but stumbled out of the gate by losing its first nine games. The Governors finally stopped the slide with an overtime win over Arkansas State on Dec. 5, then pulled a huge upset of in-state rival Tennessee on Saturday. Coach Dave Loos’s team was helped by the return of starting center John Fraley, the OVC’s fourth-leading rebounder from a year ago, who missed the previous nine games with injury until returning to get 12 points and five boards in 29 minutes vs. UT. … Two of Peay’s losses have come to 9-2 Middle Tennessee State, which is surprisingly the NCAA’s leader in field goal percentage (53.5 percent). The Blue Raiders ranked 243rd in Ken Pomeroy’s effective field goal percentage last season, but neither of its two leading scorers, transfers LaRon Dendy (14.2 ppg) and Marcos Knight (13.6) were on campus a year ago. … Kansas point guard Tyshawn Taylor played through pain in KU’s win over Ohio State on Saturday, and passed out a career-high 13 assists, though also committing seven turnovers. But the damage was done: Taylor was playing with a torn meniscus and a sprained MCL, and now is expected to miss three weeks. If the timeline is correct, that should put him back in time for the Jayhawks’ next really-tough game, which comes at home against 6-1 Kansas State on Jan. 4. Kansas has nine days between the OSU win and a game with Davidson on the 19th. The Wildcats will play KU in Kansas City in a rematch of the classic Elite Eight game between the two teams, which Kansas won 59-57. Davidson lacks a big-time play-maker like it had in Stephen Curry that year, but DC has given both Vanderbilt and Duke all it wanted already this season behind 6-foot-7 sophomore forward De’Mon Brooks, who’s a load for anyone to guard. … UCLA coach Ben Howland finally kicked last year’s leading scorer, Reeves Nelson, off the team after a suspension earlier in the season. Nelson had already been suspended twice this year, and was averaging just 5.7 points per game for the 3-5 Bruins. … Patric Young, the one non-guard in Florida’s starting lineup, was named the Southeastern Conference player of the week after consecutive double-doubles last week. The biggest performance was a 25-point, 10-rebound effort over Arizona in what is UF’s only real quality win so far. The problem with getting Young the ball more is that he’s hitting 53.3 percent of his free throws. Of course, the Gators aren’t much better as a whole, ranking 317th nationally with a 59.3 percent mark.

- Chris Lee, VandySports.com

 

Vintage McKillop Squad Gives SoCon a “Cat Fancy”

Throughout the 22 seasons that Bob McKillop has graced the sidelines at Davidson College, the Wildcats have developed a reputation of playing with pride and poise and a sense of relentless enthusiasm.

The 2011-12 edition is going to be no exception. DC has been picked to win the Southern Conference by most all of the major publications as the Wildcats are young, but experienced; fast-paced, but disciplined; and a consistent blend of inside prowess followed by outside scoring punch.

“We have great players on the perimeter and inside, so we will take our looks where we can get them,” said versatile 6-10 forward Jake Cohen, “Alot of times all I had to do was make a layup so that is a credit to them.”

The Wildcats used all of the above attributes Monday night as they downed A-10 foe Richmond, 74-61 in Belk Arena on the DC campus.  Davidson hit an 11-0 run late in the first half to take a 32-23 lead as they held the Spiders without a field goal for the last 7:55 of the half.

Davidson is a matchup nightmare.  First, you have to match their intensity.  They came out Monday night hurrying the ball up the floor, looking for the open man, and making the extra pass.

Then, their inside-outside combinations are tricky with Cohen, who can step out and hit the three or post up on the boxes and draw fouls.  McKillop’s guards in J.P. Kuhlman, Nik Cochran, and Tom Droney get transition off the miss and run their lanes precisely, therefore the opportunity always presents itself for a skip pass for an open three-point shot.

Kuhlman is a steadying force in running the offense while Swedish marksman Chris Czerapowicz follows in a long line of Wildcats’ sharp-shooters.  DC doesn’t worry whether to push the ball on a miss or a turnover, it puts pressure on the other team to stop the continual assault towards the basket.

“We came in really well prepared and moved the ball really well got great looks all game,” said versatile 6-10 forward Jake Cohen, “Being able to get stops first allowed us to push the ball int ransition to get good looks.”

This recipe sets Cohen up perfectly.  He scored 11 of his 22 points in the first half , but none of those may have been as important as his reverse layup with 6:26 remaining the stopped the Spiders’ momentum as they had cut DC’s lead to 57-52.

“He made shots,” said McKillop, “He has grown up and matured and that growth and maturity was shown as he had only one foul in the first half and he picked that up early.  I think he understands how much I value his ability to hit the 12-14 foot jumper in the first half.”

De’Mon Brooks is the latest Wildcat to garner attention as he had 24 in DC’s opening win over Guilford and then was 5-of-12 from the floor for 14 points with seven boards in the win over Richmond.  Brooks might be the most gifted athlete in the Southern Conference as his leaping ability around the basket makes him ever-present. He scored six quick points inside to give DC a 45-31 lead early in the second half.

“He has a great capacity to find rebounds that a lot of guys don’t get because he has two jumps in him,” said McKillop, ” That nose for the ball gives him a lot of opportunities.  It’s a great asset to have when you have players as rugged as Clint, De’ Mon, and Jake.”

Despite the convincing win over the Spiders, McKillop says his squad has a long way to go, but loves his team’s maturity and endurance.

-Ken Cross

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEC’s tournament hopes take another hit

Mid-majors across the nation received yet another gift from the SEC on Friday.

The College of Charleston’s 91-78 thumping of Tennessee in Knoxville was an additional black eye for a basketball conference that has been battered and bruised throughout two months of nonconference play. Let the SoCon, the Atlantic 10, the West Coast Conference, the Mountain West and all the rest of the mid-majors pop champagne at midnight tonight. They’re all in better position to send multiple teams to The Big Dance thanks to efforts like the ones the Cougars made on Friday, and they’ll do so at the expense of one of the Big Six.

As 2010 turns to 2011, it’s not too early to sneak a peek at the RPI rankings. March is just two short months away. That is, sneak a peek unless you call the SEC – particularly the SEC West – home. Covering your eyes might be the better course of action.

The SEC is currently No. 7 in the RPI and falling fast. The league’s teams won’t be able to receive much of a boost by beating one another, making it likely that its ranking will continue to fade as the season wears on. Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Florida might end up being the only three schools that will be able to make a serious case for at-large berths to the NCAA Tournament, repeating their selections of a year ago.

How did this happen? How has the SEC’s chance to make a run to Houston’s Reliant Stadium this spring already taken a hit? Let’s review this scenario on a case-by-case basis, with each school’s respective RPI ranking appearing in parenthesis.

– Kentucky (No. 5)
John Calipari has the young Wildcats purring on all cylinders, as evidenced by the 78-63 road blowout of Louisville on Friday. Kentucky under Calipari is basically an NBA prep school, a talent-rich environment filled with future lottery picks who will put in their mandatory one year of service before heading off to greener (and cash-filled) pastures. Not that anyone in Lexington will complain – wins against Notre Dame and Washington and a difficult schedule to date also help to bolster the Wildcats’ résumé.

– Vanderbilt (No. 13)
The Commodores’ one-point win over Marquette on Wednesday night, added to a victory against a young North Carolina team that figures to improve as the season progresses, was a nice way to end 2010 for Kevin Stallings’ crew. A pair of three-point losses to West Virginia and Missouri (in overtime) are hardly a reason to be ashamed.

– Tennessee (No. 25)
Don’t expect the Volunteers to stay here for very long. Those victories over Villanova and Pittsburgh must seem like they happened eons ago after losses to Oakland, UNC-Charlotte, USC and Charleston. Beating Belmont by one and needing to come from behind to beat Tennessee-Martin by six isn’t exactly the best way to follow up last season’s run to the Elite Eight. Speaking of eight – Bruce Pearl’s pending suspension at the start of conference play won’t do much to right the ship.

– Florida (No. 28)
The Gators are an interesting case in that they just might end up being the best of the rest. Florida is an extremely talented team stocked with blue-chip recruits, which makes losses to Jacksonville and UCF pretty difficult to explain. Throw in a home blowout against Ohio State and the Gators will need a consistent effort the rest of the way to secure the 11th NCAA bid of Billy Donovan’s tenure in Gainesville. Snapping’s Xavier’s lengthy home winning streak on Friday at the Cintas Center was an excellent start.

– Georgia (No. 55)
The Bulldogs’ 11-2 record is impressive until you consider that their three true road wins against Saint Louis, Georgia Tech and Mercer came by a combined six points. Still, Georgia will be in the hunt if it can avoid any bad conference losses. Its only defeats are to Notre Dame (by six) and Temple (by seven), two teams who certainly figure to be included in the NCAA Tournament field.

– Mississippi (No. 59)
Which team has the top current RPI ranking in the SEC West? It’s Ole Miss, which is seeking to end the conference’s longest tournament drought. The Rebels haven’t played in the NCAAs since 2002 and seem to have an opening if they can string together an impressive league run. And they’ll need it – losses to Dayton, Miami and Colorado State aren’t going to do much to help Mississippi’s cause.

– South Carolina (No. 113)
Losing by 22 at Ohio State can almost be deemed acceptable – the Buckeyes have been a wrecking machine thus far, crushing just about everyone put in front of them to date. Losing by 16 at home against Furman? Not so much. The Gamecocks will pretty much have to run the table and go deep into the SEC Tournament to make their first NCAA appearance since 2004.

– Arkansas (No. 140)
The only glaring loss on the Razorbacks’ nonconference résumé is a defeat against UAB, an NCAA regular from Conference USA. How is Arkansas this low in the rankings? There can only be one answer – the Razorbacks’ strength of schedule is currently No. 307 in the nation. There are only 345 teams in Division I.

– Alabama (No. 211)
The Crimson Tide can attribute their position to a lost weekend in the Virgin Islands. Alabama suffered three straight defeats to Seton Hall, Iowa and St. Peter’s at the Paradise Jam, a miserable stretch that continued when the Crimson Tide lost to a Providence team that was picked to finish near the bottom of the Big East standings.

– LSU (No. 228)
Where have you gone, Big Baby Davis? Tyrus Thomas? Home losses to Nicholls, Coastal Carolina and a 20-point thrashing by North Texas never would have happened on their watch. Another defeat at Rice undoubtedly has Tigers’ fans counting the days until spring football.

– Mississippi State (No. 231)
The Bulldogs have lost to Virginia Tech by 31, Washington State by 26 and Saint Mary’s by 22. They’ve also led SportsCenter thanks to the Renardo Sidney-Elgin Bailey MMA matchup in the stands in Hawaii. These aren’t happy times in Starkville.

– Auburn (No. 333)
Tony Barbee has a serious rebuilding job to do with the Tigers after four solid years at UTEP. Auburn’s spanking-new, $92-million arena is going to be full of empty seats if the Tigers continue to struggle like they have this season. Losses to Division II Columbus State, UNC-Asheville, Samford, Campbell, Jacksonville and Presbyterian are a pretty clear illustration of how far Auburn has fallen, and its young roster (four freshmen, five sophomores and just one senior) is going to have to take its lumps.

– Bill Koch