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April 25, 2008
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Big men shine in CBI action By Matt Florjancic D3sports.com WADSWORTH, Ohio -- With Day Two action from the second-annual Collegiate Basketball Invitational underway, the focus for the eight Division III prospects turned from learning to play against different competition to showcasing the talent and heart small-school players bring to the court. Hardin-Simmons center Mardochee Jean proved in his first game Thursday how important Division III players are in the world of competitive basketball. Jean scored 12 points and pulled down 13 rebounds en route to his Louis Perry and Associates Team collecting a 95-78 victory over MBM Logistechs. The Thursday win gave Jean’s team a bye into the semifinals of the tournament, which began play Friday morning. Though his scoring numbers came down against the City of Wadsworth Team, Jean still made his presence known, hauling in nine rebounds, blocking one shot and handing out three assists in the 106-95 Louis Perry and Associates victory. “By things I wanted to accomplish, No. 1 is rebounding,” Jean said following the semifinals. “That’s the biggest thing. I wanted to be able to average over double-digit rebounds. Everybody in here wants to score. That’s the main key to basketball in everybody’s mind. “I figured I’d do the little things, get down on the floor, get some steals, block shots and get rebounds,” he added. “I think I’m doing (well) so far on the boards. I hope that at the end of the tournament, I can look back and see that I’ve averaged over double-digit boards per game.” Courtesy of the win, Jean, the American Southwest Conference’s all-time leader in rebounds, blocks and double-doubles, was the only Division III player who advanced to the CBI championship. While he may have been the last player standing, Jean believes all of the Division III athletes represented well. “To know that I’m the last one to stand going into the championship, that has me smiling right now,” Jean said. “Yesterday, I saw (James) Cooper from Wooster and he was not backing down at all. When he was shooting his shots, he was looking confident. He looked like everybody else. We blend in as some of the best players in the country. I think we show determination. “Although we don’t have athletic scholarships, we can compete,” he added. “Those are schools we choose to go to. I feel like we can compete with almost everybody on the Division II level and the NAIA level. I saw Troy Ruths play yesterday and he was down there holding his own. I played against Ben Strong from Guilford. He was down there battling too. As a whole, I’m pretty proud to represent Division III in this tournament.” In Friday’s final contest, Louis Perry and Associates fell 87-72 to Team First Merit. Individually, Jean had seven rebounds in the loss. “I’ve never been at something like this in my life,” said Jean. “When I came here, I was amazed and tried to soak in the first two days. After that, it was time to take care of business in basketball. With all the good guys on the court, it’s amazing because there is no area that lacks. It’s the best players in the country. This will be an experience to remember. “We look at our guys and move forward,” Jean added about why his team was successful in the CBI. “We don’t worry about everybody else. We’re playing hard. I have to give credit to my team also. I do the little things and they do everything. We get everybody involved. We have a good nucleus.” Strong played in his final CBI game late Friday afternoon. The two-time Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Year finished the tournament with 21 points and five rebounds in a losing effort against Renacci-Doraty Chevrolet. “It’s a great honor to be out here with some of the best players from NAIA I and II and Division II and III,” Strong said. “Division III doesn’t get a lot of respect. It’s nice to come out here and show some people that Division III guys can play ball as well. “I’m not really sure where I’m going to end up, but whatever’s the best situation possible, that’s where I’m going to be,” Strong added about his future in basketball. Another Division III player who wanted to make an impact in other statistical categories beside scoring was Aurora product Larry Welton. He joined Cooper on the Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital Team. The team struggled with shooting the basketball consistently in the second half of its final game Friday. Though they had a 23-point lead at halftime, Cooper’s 13 markers with Welton’s eight points and eight rebounds were not enough to secure a victory for their team. “I wasn’t really worried about trying to come out and score 20 because everybody here is a good basketball player,” Welton said. “I wanted to contribute to my team, play hard and get a couple steals. “Coop showed his outside guard game,” he added. “Coop (and I) did a real good job trying to play for all the D-III teams because there are a lot of good ball players down there. We just tried to come out and play hard.” Now, Division III will wait until Saturday morning to see if any of the eight players are selected for the CBI All-Star Game. Twenty players get chosen to represent small-college basketball live on ESPNU Saturday night at 8:00PM. Despite good performances from the Division III players last year, only Tori Davis earned a roster slot in the All-Star Game. 2007 Collegiate Basketball Invitational Player Updates College of Wooster All-American forward Tom Port is currently playing basketball in Ireland. After signing a contract to play for Team Thor in Iceland, Port continued his European basketball career in Ireland. Port plays for St. Paul’s, along with fellow D3hoops.com All-American, Matt Hilleary. A 6-foot-6 center, Hilleary played his college basketball for Catholic and was part of the Cardinals' 2001 national championship team. Kerry Gibson is playing for the Baia Mare team in Romania’s 2nd Division. The 7-0 UW-Oshkosh standout started his professional career with Panevezys Techasas in the Baltic League. While in Lithuania, Gibson started five out of 11 games and averaged 3.6 points per game. On the defensive end of the floor, Gibson corralled 8.2 rebounds a game while sending away 1.4 shots each night. Isaac Rosefelt used a productive career at St. Thomas (Minn.) to attract attention from Spain’s 3rd Division. According to Eurobasket.com, Rosefelt, the only American on the Salsa Musas roster, has scored 36 points in 93:05 minutes of action this season. | ||
| Permalink | Apr 25, 2008 | ||
Harrington makes CBI splash By Matt Florjancic D3sports.com WADSWORTH, Ohio -- At the beginning of the week, if someone would have said a 2007 Final Four rematch of sorts would take place and a last-minute alternate would get the call to participate in the second-annual Collegiate Basketball Invitational, the response may have been, "You're crazy." On the first day of the Collegiate Basketball Invitational, an event where NCAA Division II, III and NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) men's basketball players get a chance to play in front of professional scouts, James Cooper from Wooster and Amherst's Andrew Olson met once again on the hardwood. Instead of playing for a national championship berth, the two D3hoops.com First Team All-American guards were opponents in this three-day festival of basketball. Cooper won the battle, but his team lost the game. Olson's MBM Logistechs Team (1-1) defeated Cooper and Team Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital (0-2) 96-87. The second-leading scoring in Wooster Fighting Scot history finished the nightcap with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He knocked down 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. When he was not shooting the basketball, Cooper handed out two assists, grabbed two steals and battled his way to a rebound. "It's a little different," Cooper said of facing Olson one final time. "It's not as serious as the Final Four. It's all for fun here. I wanted to win it all. Obviously, we can't because we lost two games. Now, (I want) to have fun. That's what it's all about. "It's crazy," Cooper said of the competition. "Everybody can shoot. Everybody can run. Everybody can jump. It's great competition here." In his first game of the day, a 99-78 loss to the City of Wadsworth Team, Cooper scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and tallied three assists. Olson was also consistent on the offensive end of the floor. The former Lord Jeff, who helped Amherst win 2007 National Championship, scored six points in each game. He earned three assists in the first contest and had five more in the second. Olson finished the first day of competition with nine rebounds. "At first, you're overwhelmed with how great of an event this really is," said Olson. "Once you step on the court, then it's just basketball. We're all having a good time, trying to win games and we're all out here for the same reason. "It's a great time," he added. "It's a lot lighter note to see some of these guys and actually talk to them. A lot of us, we realize the opportunity to potentially play basketball next year [is there]. That's a goal, but it's kind of a way to end your college career on a high note." Aurora's Larry Welton joined Cooper on the Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital team for the two games. Welton averaged ten points and 1.5 rebounds on Day One of the CBI. While Cooper and Olson were renewing a rivalry, another Division III standout had other plans for the week. A phone call and late travel arrangements allowed Southern Vermont forward Nick Harrington to play against the nation's elite. It also gives Harrington one final shot to impress domestic and international scouts. "They called me Tuesday morning about 11:30 and said, ‘You've got to be here the next day,'" Harrington said. "They told me it was like good news, bad news. I said ‘That's both good news.' I missed practice because my plane came in late, but I got here and I played hard. "There's a bunch of guys here who can really ball," he added. "I see why it's called the best of the best. It's almost like a McDonald's All-American game. Hopefully, come October, I should be in Europe somewhere." Harrington made headlines earlier this season when he scored 37 points and collected 33 rebounds in an 88-77 home victory against Mitchell. He continued putting up impressive totals, tallying 26 points and 12 rebounds in his first two games at the CBI. Troy Ruths from Washington U. and Guilford's Ben Strong were two other D3hoops.com First Team All-Americans who were selected to play in the event. "It's been a lot of fun coming here and playing with players from other divisions," Ruths said following his second game of the day. "It's fun to get out on the court and really push it hard. I'm a different kind of play than this thing requires. We don't spread the floor at all. We really don't have good spacing. It's mainly for athletic slashers and shooters. I don't really fall into those categories. "Coming into this, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to go play afterwards," he added. "I feel like I've accomplished everything I want to accomplish in basketball. I'm really just enjoying myself." Ruths scored 16 points in his first game against the First Merit Team. He added 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting as Team Galaxy (0-2) fell to the Renacci-Doraty Chevrolet Team (1-1) 104-99 in Game Five of the day. Strong took some time to adjust. After struggling in his first appearance, Strong showed why he was voted one of the five best players in Division III during the 2007-2008 season. The Guilford senior scored 14 points, collected eight rebounds and passed for three assists in the victory over Cooper and Team Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital. Earlier in the day, Strong battled against the Louis Perry and Associates Team (1-0). In 22 minutes off the bench, Hardin-Simmons center Mardochee Jean scored 12 points and pulled in 13 rebounds in a 95-78 win over MBM Logistechs. With some players trying to show scouts their ability to shoot from beyond the arc or soar through the air for highlight-reel dunks and offensive rebounds, Anthony Williams of Plattsburgh State wanted to carry the banner for Division III. "It's real good competition," said Williams, a two-time State University of New York Athletic Conference Player of the Year. "I'm just out here trying to represent my school, the community and most of all, represent Division III. "(I'm here) to show everybody that D-III basketball is a very competitive level and that we could play with these guys on the court. I think I'm showing that." | ||
| Permalink | Apr 25, 2008 | ||
Cooper, Williams named All-Stars Wooster's James Cooper and Plattsburgh State's Anthony Williams were named to the Collegiate Basketball Invitational All-Star Game and will represent Division III in the event tonight. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 8 p.m. ET. Cooper and Williams will play for the East squad. Williams averaged 19.3 points in his three games, tied for third-best in the CBI, shooting 6-for-9 from three-point range. Cooper averaged 16.7 points and was 9-for-15 from beyond the arc. Division III basketball got an eighth participant into the Collegiate Basketball Invitational, and Nick Harrington made the most of it. The Southern Vermont standout, who had a 30-point, 30-rebound game for the Mountaineers this season, got the call to participate in the event on Tuesday morning. The Day One action included a rematch from the 2007 Final Four, some of the best big men in Division III and the D3hoops.com Player of the Year. The Division III players are competing with and against players from Division II and the NAIA in a three-day event in front of fans and professional scouts in Wadsworth, Ohio. "It's crazy," Wooster All-American guard James Cooper said of the competition. "Everybody can shoot. Everybody can run. Everybody can jump. It’s great competition here." Matt Florjancic also took us through the opening day of the CBI. | ||
| Permalink | Apr 25, 2008 | ||
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