Hd college basketball

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

College Basketball Preview

The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

1G

2013-2014 Marshall men’s basketball team Page 2G

• MU looks to capitalize on improved team chemistry

Page 7G

• Wildcats reload for 2013-14 season

Page 3G

• MU men’s bios

Page 8G

Page 4G

• UK women have high hopes

Page 9G

Page 5G

• MU women: Daniel has mix of old and new • MU women’s bios

• Four returning starters take floor for Buckeyes in 2013-14

• WVU looks to improve on dismal 13-19 season

Page 10G

• WVU women bringing back four starters from winning season

Page 6G

• McGuff takes over for OSU women in 2013-14

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2G The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

College Basketball Preview

MU looks to capitalize on improved team chemistry

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

Herd men bring 9 new players to 2013-14 season

By RICK McCANN The Herald-Dispatch

hedge@herald-dispatch.com

Please see MU MEN/3G

Mark Webb/For The Herald-Dispatch

Tamron Manning drives past defender Kareem Canty as Marshall competes in a scrimmage during the Night of Basketball event on Oct. 17 at the Cam Henderson Center.

MARSHALL MEN’S BASKETBALL fAST fACTS

LocaTion: Huntington nicknaMe: Thundering Herd conFerence: Conference USA enroLLMenT: 14,000 HoMe courT: Cam Henderson Center (9,043) PresiDenT: Dr. Stephen J. Kopp aTHLeTic DirecTor: Mike Hamrick HeaD coacH: Tom Herrion recorD aT Mu: 56-45, 4th season

career recorD: 136-83, 8th season assisTanT coacHes: Mark Cline, Dino Presley, Josh King.

DirecTor oF oPeraTions: John Janovsky sTrengTH coacH: Joe Varga aTHLeTic Trainer: Tom Belmaggio 2012-13 recorD: 13-19 (6-10 Conference USA) Web siTe: HerdZone.com

Date Oct. 28 Nov. 8 Nov. 12 Nov. 17 Nov. 21 Nov. 23 Nov. 26 Nov. 30 Dec. 5 Dec. 7 Dec. 14 Dec. 17 Dec. 21 Dec. 30 Jan. 2 Jan. 5 Jan. 9 Jan. 11 Jan. 16 Jan. 18 Jan. 23 Jan. 25 Jan. 30 Feb. 1 Feb. 7 Feb. 9 Feb. 15 Feb. 20 Feb. 22 Feb. 27 March 2 March 6 March 11-15

Opponent Concord (exhibition) South Carolina State Rio Grande at Morehead State Stephen F. Austin UNC Wilmington Western Kentucky at East Tenn. State at Vanderbilt at Penn State vs. West Virginia Alice Lloyd Arkansas State at South Carolina at Akron Presbyterian at UTSA at UTEP North Texas Tulsa at Rice at Louisiana Tech FIU Florida Atlantic at Southern Miss at Tulane at Charlotte UAB Middle Tennessee at Old Dominion East Carolina Charlotte at C-USA Tourn.

Location Time Huntington 7 p.m.

Huntington 7 p.m.

Huntington 7 p.m.

Morehead, Ky. 2 p.m.

Huntington 7 p.m.

Huntington Noon Huntington 7 p.m.

Johnson City, Tenn.

4 p.m.

Nashville, Tenn.

8 p.m.

University Park, Pa. TBA Charleston 7:30 p.m.

Huntington 7 p.m.

Huntington 7 p.m.

Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m.

Akron, Ohio TBA Huntington 2 p.m.

San Antonio, Texas 8 p.m.

El Paso, Texas 9:05 p.m.

Huntington 7 p.m.

Huntington Noon Houston, Texas 8 p.m.

Ruston, La. 8 p.m.

Huntington 7 p.m.

Huntington Noon Hattiesburg, Miss.

9:30 p.m.

New Orleans, La. 2 p.m.

Charlotte, N.C. 7 p.m.

Huntington 7 p.m.

Huntington 2 p.m.

Norfolk, Va. TBA Huntington 2 p.m.

Huntington 7 p.m.

El Paso, Texas TBA

MARSHALL MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER No. 0 2 4 12 13 15 21 23 24 25 31 32 34 35

Name Pos. Ht. Shawn Smith F 6-6 Chris Thomas G 6-5 Kevin McNair G 6-1 Kareem Canty G 6-1 Cheikh Sane F 6-9 DeVince Boykins G 6-4 TyQuane Goard F 6-7 Justin Edmonds G 6-4 Elijah Pittman F 6-9 Ryan Taylor F 6-5 J.P. Kambola C 6-9 Tamron Manning G 6-4 Yous Mbao C 7-2 Austin Loop G 6-4

Wt. 220 190 175 180 217 211 206 205 219 227 240 200 249 202

Cl. Hometown Jr. Sacramento, Calif.

So. Denver, Colo.

Fr. Atlanta, Ga. Fr. Harlem, N.Y. Jr. Dakar, Senegal So. Forest City, N.C. So. Charleston Jr. Albion, Mich.

Sr. Covington, Ky. Fr. Indianapolis, Ind. Jr. Toronto, Ontario So. Georgetown, Ky. Sr. Rufisque, Senegal Fr. South Webster, Ohio

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HUNTINGTON — Ask a player, any player on the Marshall Thundering Herd men’s basketball team, and they’ll tell you there’s a different feeling in the locker room this season.

M a rsh a l l h a s bet ter team chemistry, they say. They aren’t saying much about last season when the Herd had a 13-19 record a nd tied for ninth place in Conference USA at 6-10, but the comparison is there.

“Chemistry, unity, togetherness,” said head coach Tom Herrion, who enters his fourth season with a 56-45 record. “It’s something that we’ve built.

We started in the spring.

“They respect each other.”

This is a different Marshall team with a new attitude and nine new players competing in a 16-team conference that has eight new members.

Here’s what a few Marshall players said: n “It’s real different. I like my team. I enjoy playing with my teamates.” — Elijah Pittman. n “I like my teammates and how everybody supports each other. We get along well. We go out to different activities together.

We go to the gym together.

We have no selfish players.”

— Justin Edmonds. n “We’re looking good.

Our team chemistry is getting up to par. We’ve bonded more.” — DeVince Boykins. n “Our locker room is more of a family.” — TyQuane Goard.

C-USA coaches didn’t do a preseason poll because of all the newness.

If they had a poll C-USA new member Louisiana Tech might have been picked first coming off a 27-7 season when the Bulldogs were 162 as the Western Athletic Conference regular season champion and won at Florida State in the National Invitation Tournament before losing at Southern Miss.

Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss will be good again.

So will UAB, UTEP, Tulsa, East Carolina and newcomer Charlotte.

Marshall would have probably been placed somewhere in the middle.

“Nobody believes in us,” said Marshall point guard Kareem Canty.

Herrion said C-USA has great depth and he thinks it’s deeper than it has been from top to bottom despite losing Memphis, UCF, Houston and SMU to the American Athletic Conference.

Marshall begins its 101st men’s basketball season Friday against South Carolina State in Cam Henderson Center.

Preseason practice sessions since Sept. 27 have been lengthy, but Herrion said it hasn’t felt that way.

“This particular group, one of the attributes they have, is they have myself and our staff really excited to go in the gym every day,” he said. “They’ve displayed great attitude, pride and willingness. They want to get better.”

P it t m a n is t he on ly returning starting player and the 6-foot-9 forward from Covington, Ky., was selected as one of the C-USA Players to Watch. Pittman led Marshall in the 2012-13

MARSHALL MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

MU men

n Continued from 2G

271238

season with 16.1 points per game. He was 65-for-175 (37.1 percent) on 3-point shots and also averaged 4.2 rebounds.

Only four other players have worn a Herd uniform in a game.

Com bi n at ion g u a rd Tamron Manning started in five games and can play both guard positions.

The 6-4 sophomore from Georgetow n , Ky. , had 37 points (1. 3 average) and 32 assists. DeVince Boykins, a 6-4 sophomore guard from Forest City, N.C., was used mostly as a defensive stopper. He scored just 14 points in 22 appearances.

Seven-foot-2 Yous Mbao, a senior from Rufisque, Senegal, had four points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots in 13 games while 6-9 junior J.P. Kambola contributed eight points and nine rebounds in 11 games.

Newcomers f ig u re heavily into Herrion’s game plan.

Goard is a 6-7 sophomore transfer from the Ohio Bobcats who practiced last season with the Herd while sitting out games. Canty (6-1, freshman, Harlem, N.Y.) and 65 Ryan Taylor (freshman forward from Indianapolis, Ind.) were academic non-qualifiers and held out of competition.

Chris Thomas, a 6 -5 sophomore guard from Denver, Colo., came to Marshall this year as a junior college transfer from Chipoia College in Florida.

Edmonds, a 6-4 guard from Albion, Mich., is a juco transfer from Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio.

Shawn Smith (6-6 junior forward from Sacramento, Calif.) and Cheikh Sane (6-9 junior forward from Dakar, Senegal) are junior college transfers from City College of San Francisco and Snow College in Utah respectively.

Non-scholarship guards are 6-4 freshman Austin Loop from South Webster, Ohio, and 6-3 Kevin McNair of Atlanta, Ga.

College Basketball Preview

The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

3G

MARSHALL MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYERS No. 15 DeVince Boykins

G, 6-4, 211, So. Forest City, N.C. 2012-13 played in 22 of 32 games. Was used primarily as a defender. ...

2011-12 redshirt. ... East Rutherford H.S. team won a North Carolina state championship. Was named as Most Valuable Player of the state championship game. .... Was an all-conference performer for three years and conference player of the year as a senior. ... Younger brother DeVonte Boykins is commited to sign at Georgia Southern.

No. 1 Kareem Canty

G, 6-1, 180, Fr. Harlem, N.Y. 2012-13 was unavailable for practice and competition because of an NCAA eligibility issue. ...

Attended Westwind Prep Academy in Phoenix, Ariz., before finishing his senior year at Faith Baptist Christian in Brandon, Fla. ... Was ranked as the 25th best point guard and No. 121 overall in his class by Rivals.com. ... Was ranked as the 19th best point guard prospect by ESPN.com. ... Also attended Bridgton Academy in Maine. ... Was an all-conference player as a senior at Bishop Loughlin H.S. in Brooklyn, N.Y. ... Nickname is NuNu.

No. 23 Justin Edmonds

G, 6-4, 205, Jr. Albion, Mich.

Transfer from Owens C.C. in Toledo, Ohio, where his sophomore season was short-

ened because of a knee injury. ...

The No. 76 junior college player on JucoRecruiting. com’s list. ... Averaged 18.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 15 games. ... Was named as an AllOhio Community College Athletic Conference first team player as a freshman.

Scored 18.8 points a game. ... All-Michigan honorable mention selection at Summit Christian Academy Prep.

No. 21 TyQuane Goard

F, 6-7, 206, So. Charleston 2012-13 participated in Marshall practices but didn’t play in games as a transfer from Ohio University. ...

2012-13 at Ohio averaged 1.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 7.2 minutes per game.

Had three rebounds and blocked one shot in a game against Marshall. .... Helped George Washington H.S. win a Class AAA state championship. Scored 19 against No. 1 seed Wheeling Park in the state finals.

No. 31 J.P. Kambola

C, 6-9, 240, Jr. Toronto, Ontario 2012-13 played 38 minutes in 11 appearances. ...

Career best was three points against Tulsa. ...

2011-12 played 13 minutes in nine games. ... Attended

St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey. ... Was ranked as the 17th best player in New Jersey. ... Full name is Jean Paul Kambola.

No. 35 Austin Loop

G, 6-4, 202, Fr. South Webster, Ohio 2012-13 redshirt. ... Was named to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll. ... All-state first team selection at South Webster H.S. Averaged 17.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.8 assists as a senior. ... Received Academic All-Ohio honors.

No. 32 Tamron Manning G, 6-4, 200, So.

Georgetown, Ky. 2012-13 played in 32 games and started five. Averaged 11 minutes a game. ... Scored 12 against Southern Miss. Had five assists at UAB ... Was named to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll. ... All-Kentucky first team player as a junior and senior. ... Helped Scott County H.S. to a runner-up finish in the Sweet 16 state tournament. ... Senior season averages of 15.3 points and 6.4 rebounds. ... Father Terry Manning played at Eastern Kentucky.

No. 34 Yous Mbao

C, 7-2, 249, Sr. Rufisque, Senegal 2012-13 appeared in 13 games.

Missed eight games at mid-season because of a head injury. ...

2011-12 averaged 0.3

points and 1.8 rebounds in 33 appearances. ... A transfer from Marquette where he appeared in 10 games of the 2009-10 season. ...

Attended Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, Calif. ... Full name is Youssoupha Mbao.

No. 4 Kevin McNair

G, 6-1, 175, Fr. Atlanta, Ga. Played as a senior at George Washington H.S. in Charleston. .. Was at Owings Mill H.S. in Baltimore, Md., as a junior. ...

Freshman and sophomore seasons at Dunbar H.S. in Lexington, Ky.

No. 24 Elijah Pittman

F, 6-9, 219, Sr. Covington, Ky. 2012-13 team scoring leader with a 16.1 average, which is the most among Conference USA returning players.

Also averaged 4.2 rebounds.

Led the team with 41 dunks. Onehanded dunk against Cincinnati was No. 6 on ESPN SportsCenter’s top plays of the day. .... Was the 21st ranked junior college player

by JucoRecruiting.com as a sophomore at Lamar State College in Port Arthur, Texas. ... Averaged 13.1 points and 5.1 rebounds as a freshman at Chipola College in Florida. ... Led Holmes H.S. to the 2009 Kentucky Sweet 16 state championship.

No. 13 Cheikh Sane

F, 6-9, 217, Jr. Dakar, Senegal Junior college transfer from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.

Averaged 10.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots as a sopho-

selection. ... Attended high school at SEEDS Academy in Dakar. ... Name is pronounced Shek Saw-nay.

No. 0 Shawn Smith

F, 6-6, 220, Jr. Sacramento, Calif.

Was No. 91 on last season’s JucoRecruiting. com list at College of San Francisco.

Averaged 10.9 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 52.9 percent from the field. ... Was an All-Metro Conference selection at McClatchy H.S. in Sacramento. ... Was an all-conference football wide receiver as a junior.

No. 25 Ryan Taylor

F, 6-5, 227, Fr. Indianapolis, Ind. 2012-13 sat out as an academic non-qualifier. ...

2011-12 played for former Marshall guard A.W. Hamilton at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. Team was 38-1 with a No. 2 national prep school ranking. Only loss was to Brewster Academy in the national championship game.

Averaged 22 points and 11 rebounds. ... Was ranked as the 32nd best small forward and No. 132 overall by Rivals.com. ... Played for Louisville (Ky.) Western H.S. as a senior. ... First three high school seasons were at Lawrence North in Indianapolis.

No. 2 Chris Thomas

more. Was an AllRegion 18 and All-Scenic West Athletic Conference

G, 6-5, 190, So. Denver, Colo.

Junior college transfer from Chipola College in Florida was rated as the No.9 prospect by JucoRecruiting. com. Averaged 9.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists. ... Played high school basketball at Montbello in Denver and Princeton Day Academy in Maryland.

— Information from Marshall Sports Information.

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College Basketball Preview

4G The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

MARSHALL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

sholten singer/Herald-Dispatch

Marshall University head women’s basketball coach Matt Daniel returns for a second year as head coach of the Thundering Herd women.

DaTe Nov. 4 Nov. 8 Nov. 12 Nov. 18 Nov. 24 Nov. 27 Dec. 3 Dec. 7 Dec. 9 Dec. 14 Dec. 19 Dec. 21 Dec. 29 Jan. 5 Jan. 9 Jan. 11 Jan. 15 Jan. 18 Jan. 25 Jan. 29 Feb. 1 Feb. 5 Feb. 8 Feb. 12 Feb. 15 Feb. 19 Feb. 22 Feb. 26 March 1 March 5 March 11-15

OppOnenT Ky. Christian (exhibition) Bluefield College at Robert Morris Morehead State Indiana State Southern Illinois Eastern Kentucky Davis and Elkins WVU Tech vs. West Virginia Wofford Delaware State Navy at NJIT Tulane UAB at North Texas at Rice Tulsa at UTEP at Old Dominion East Carolina Louisiana Tech at Southern Miss Charlotte at Middle Tennessee at FIU Florida Atlantic at Charlotte UTSA at C-USA Tourn.

LOcaTiOn Huntington Huntington Coraopolis, Pa. Huntington Huntington Huntington Huntington Huntington Huntington Charleston Huntington Huntington Huntington Newark, N.J. Huntington Huntington Denton, Texas Houston, Texas Huntington El Paso, Texas Norfolk, Va. Huntington Huntington Hattiesburg, Miss.

Huntington Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Miami, Fla. Huntington Charlotte, N.C. Huntington El Paso, Texas

Time TBA TBA 10 a.m.

7 p.m.

2 p.m.

Noon 7 p.m.

1 p.m.

7 p.m.

2 p.m.

Noon Noon 2 p.m.

TBA 9 p.m.

1 p.m.

8 p.m.

TBA 1 p.m.

TBA TBA 7 p.m.

1 p.m.

TBA 1 p.m.

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TBA 7 p.m.

TBA

Daniel has mix of old and new MU women look to improve in coach’s 2nd year

By GRANT TRAYLOR The Herald-Dispatch

gtraylor@herald-dispatch.com

HUNTINGTON — As the Marshall University women’s basketball team gets set for the second season under head coach Matt Daniel, there will be plenty of things familiar to fans.

However, there will also be many things different about the team as well.

The Thundering Herd women return all five starters from last season’s team which finished 9-21.

Those players got a crash course in what life with Daniel at the helm would be like and they bring that experience to the table for

MARSHALL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER nO. 1 2 3 5 11 12 15 20 21 22 23 24 30 33 35 40

name Leah Scott Orlandria Williams A.J. Johnson McKenzie Akers Aja Sorrells Ashley Lambert Erica Woods Norrisha Victrum Chelsey Romero Kiana Evans Enjonae Chambers Maya Singleton Justine Boerger Chukwuka Ezeigbo Suporia Dickens Talequia Hamilton

pOs. G-F F G G G-F G G G F G G F G C F F

the 2013-14 campaign.

Seniors Erica Woods, Suporia Dickens a nd Orlandria Williams provide a wealth of experience while junior Chukwuka Ezeigbo is a solid post player who asserted herself last season.

HT. 6-0 5-7 5-5 5-6 5-9 5-11 5-9 5-5 6-1 6-0 5-7 6-0 5-10 6-3 5-10 6-0

cL. HOmeTOwn Jr. Detroit, Mich.

Sr. Memphis, Tenn.

Jr. Silver Spring, Md. Fr. Princeton, W.Va. Jr. Athens, Ga. Jr. Woodbridge, Va. Sr. St. George, Bermuda So. Columbia, S.C. Fr. Queens, N.Y. Fr. Huntington Fr. Conway, Ark. Fr. Bossier City, La. Jr. Racine, Wisc.

Jr. Trenton, N.J. Sr. Freeport, Ill. Jr. Huntington

Norrisha Victrum was one of 2012-13’s biggest surprises, though, assuming the point guard role and taking command of the team as a true freshman.

Now, she returns with a year under her belt. Junior guard Justine Boerger is

also a returnee from last season.

While the six returnees form a solid nucleus there are 10 newcomers to the program with seven being eligible to take the floor.

The headliner of the newcomers is Leah Scott, a versatile 6-foot asset who earned National Junior College All-American second team honors while coming off the bench last season at Iowa Western Community College.

S c o t t a ve r a g e d 1 3. 7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while showing the versatility to be able to play multiple positions. At 6-foot tall, Scott will be counted on to rebound, but her ability to handle the basketball will allow her to take the ball off the glass and push it up the floor in Daniel’s

uptempo offense.

Marshall has two other junior college recruits — A.J. Johnson and Aja Sorrells — who are expected to contribute.

Johnson is a 5-5 point guard who will team with Victrum in giving the Herd options at the point while Sorrells is another versatile player that can play wing at 5-9. Both are juniors.

In addition to the junior college signees, Daniel signed five kids out of high school, including a pair of Mountain State products in former Huntington High standout Kiana Evans and former Princeton High sharpshooter McKenzie Akers.

Both players bring a big scoring boost to the court with Akers averaging 24.9 points and seven assists per game en route to being

named the Class AAA allstate captain last season.

Evans also was a Class AAA all-state first team selection, averaging 20.5 points to lead the Highlanders.

Other high school signees include Enjonae Chambers, a 5-7 guard from Conway, Ark., and Chelsey Romero, a 6-1 freshman from Queens, N.Y. Marshall has three players who will sit out this season as NCAA Division I transfers.

Talequia Hamilton of Huntington transferred from the University of Ci nci n nati a nd Ash ley Lambert of Woodbridge, Va., came from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Freshman Maya Singleton from Bossier City, La., will sit out as a prop.

MARSHALL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYERS No. 1 Leah Scott

G-F, 6-0, Jr. Detroit, Mich.

Transfer from Iowa Western C.C. ... 201213 NJCAA All-America second team selection.

Averaged 13.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists. ... 2011-12 played 26 minutes in three games at Central Michigan. ... Was rated as the No. 19 player in Michigan at Inkster H.S.

No. 2 Orlandria Williams

F, 5-7, Sr. Memphis, Tenn.

2012-13 averaged 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds.

Recorded 35 assists.

Had 18 points and eight rebounds against Ball State. ... Has appeared in 81 career games. ...

Graduate of Overton H.S.

Averaged 24 points, seven rebounds, three steals, three blocks and two assists as a senior at Conway High West. ...

Had 1,346 points in three all-conference seasons.

G, 5-5, Jr. Silver Spring, Md. 2012-13 led Northeast C.C. into the national junior college tournament.

Averaged 11.4 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals a game. ... Was a two-time all-state honorable mention selection at Bethesda Chevy-Chase H.S.

No. 5 McKenzie Akers

G, 5-6, Fr. Princeton, W.Va. All-time leading scorer at Princeton High School with 1,800 points. ...

2012-13 averaged 24.9 points, 7.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. ... Class AAA all-state first team captain.

No. 11 Aja Sorrells

G-F, 5-9, Jr. Athens, Ga. Helped lead Hutchinson (Kan.) C.C. to two consec-

File photo/The Herald-Dispatch

Marshall’s Erica Woods (15) looks for an open player against Central Florida during MU’s CUSA basketball game against UCF on March 3 at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington.

Woods returns as a senior this year. She averaged 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds last year. utive Final Four appearances at the NJCAA tournament. ... 2012-13 All-Jayhawk Conference honorable mention selection with averages of 10 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 steals. ... Clark Central H.S. team won three region championships.

No. 12 Ashley Lambert

G, 5-11, Jr. Woodbridge, Va. A transfer from Maryland-Baltimore County. ...

Was named as the Commonwealth District MVP and Player of the Year at Riverbend H.S.

No. 15 Erica Woods

G, 5-9, Sr. St. George, Bermuda

2012-13 started 21 games, averaging 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds. ... 2011-12 averaged 6.7 points and was 14th in Conference USA with 6.2 rebounds. ... Product of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. ... Former player for the U-20 Great Britain National Team.

No. 20 Norrisha Victrum

G, 5-5, So. Columbia, S.C. 2012-13 averaged seven points and 3.5 rebounds a game. Season high was 16 points against Tulane. ... South Carolina Class 2A allstate selection at Columbia H.S.

No. 21 Chelsey Romero

F, 6-1, Fr. Queens, N.Y. Was an ESPN Hoopgurlz prospect at Kecoughtan H.S. Senior averages of 12.5 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.

No. 22 Kiana Evans

G, 6-0, Fr. Huntington Played for Huntington H.S. and the AAU D1 Greyhounds. ... Was a two-time Class AAA allstate first team selection. ... Averaged 20.5 points as a senior.

No. 23 Enjonae Chambers G, 5-7, Fr. Conway, Ark.

No. 35 Suporia Dickens

F, 6-0, Fr. Bossier City, La. Was ranked as the No. 38 power forward by Scout.com as a Riverdale Baptist H.S. senior. ...

No. 72 player in the Premier Basketball Report Top 100. ... Averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds.

F, 5-10, Sr. Freeport, Ill. 2012-13 was second on the team with 8.5 points a game. Averaged 5.9 rebounds and was a 75.3 percent free throw shooter. ... Played at Highland C.C. for one year before transferring to Marshall for the 2011-12 season. ... Freeport H.S. team won two state championships.

No. 30 Justin Boerger

No. 40 Talequia Hamilton

No. 24 Maya Singleton

No. 3 A.J. Johnson

ference mentions. ... Was selected for the New Jersey All-Star game.

G, 5-10, Jr. Racine, Wisc.

2012-13 played for 2.8 minutes per game. ... 2011-12 redshirt. ...

2011-12 Conference USA Honor Roll and Commissioner’s Medal recipient. ... Played for William Horlick H.S.

No. 33 Chukwuka Ezeigbo C, 6-3, Jr. Trenton, N.J. 2012-13 averaged 7.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Shot 50 percent from the field. ...

Graduate of Notre Dame H.S. Earned two all-con-

F, 6-0, Jr. Huntington Transfer from the University of Cincinnati. ... Missed the 2012-13 season after suffering a knee injury in the opening game. ... 2011-12 season appeared in 16 games for the Bearcats. ... As a Huntington High senior received Mountain State Athletic Conference player of the year and Class AAA all-state first team honors. ... Averaged 19.1 points as a senior.

— Information from Marshall Sports Information.

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

College Basketball Preview

WVU looks to improve on dismal 13-19 season The Herald-Dispatch

M O R G A N T OW N — Coming off an uncharacteristic 13-19 season, West Virginia University men’s basketball was predicted to finish seventh in the 10-team Big 12 Conference.

West Virginia failed to make the NCAA tournament in its Big 12 debut and for the first time in six seasons since head coach Bob Huggins returned to his alma mater. Huggins has a 32season record of 723-286 at Walsh College, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State and WVU to rank third among active coaches in total victories.

He is 133-75 through six seasons with the Mountaineers with an NCAA Final Four appearance in 2010.

“What happened last year has never happened to me,” Huggins said. “I’ve never not been able to get guys to play how I wanted them to.

Obviously we had some deficiencies as well. We were going into a league with a completely different style of play in terms of style, officiating, travel and everything else.

“Quite frankly, we weren’t very prepared for it.

Eron Harris, Juwan Staten and Kevin Noreen are returning starters for the Mountaineers.

Harris, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard from Indianapolis, was an honorable mention selection on the preseason All-Big 12 team. He received the same honor last season when he led WVU with a 9.8 scoring average. The only other freshman who led the Mountaineers in scoring was Warren Baker in 1972-73.

Terry Henderson is another sophomore, a 6-4 guard who scored 8.0 points per game and was second in Big 12 games for 3-point shooting at 46.0 percent.

The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

5G

WVU MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

DaTe OppOnenT LOcaTiOn Time Nov. 4 Fairmont St. (exhib.) Morgantown 7 p.m.

Nov. 8 Mount St. Mary’s Morgantown 8 p.m.

Nov. 12 at Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Va. 1 p.m.

Nov. 17 Duquesne Morgantown 4 p.m.

Nov. 21 Georgia Southern-x Morgantown 7 p.m.

Nov. 23 Presbyterian-x Morgantown 1:30 p.m.

Nov. 26 vs. Old Dominion-x Playa Del Carmen, Mexico 6 p.m.

Nov. 27 vs. TBD-x Play Del Carmen, Mexico TBD Dec. 2 Loyola Morgantown 7 p.m.

Dec. 5 at Missouri-y Columbia, Mo. 7 p.m.

Dec. 10 Gonzaga Morgantown 9 p.m.

Dec. 14 vs. Marshall Charleston 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 22 Purdue Morgantown 1 p.m.

Dec. 29 vs. William and Mary Charleston 3 p.m.

Jan. 4 at TCU Fort Worth, Texas 4 p.m.

Jan. 6 at Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas 7 p.m.

Jan. 11 Oklahoma State Morgantown 4 p.m.

Jan. 13 Texas Morgantown 7 p.m.

Jan. 18 at Kansas State Manhattan, Kan. 8 p.m.

Jan. 22 Texas Tech Morgantown 8 p.m.

Jan. 25 at Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla.

2 p.m.

Jan. 28 at Baylor Waco, Texas 7 p.m.

Feb. 1 Kansas State Morgantown 1:30 p.m.

Feb. 5 Oklahoma Morgantown 7 p.m.

Feb. 8 at Kansas Lawrence, Kan. 4 p.m.

Feb. 10 Iowa State Morgantown 7 p.m.

Feb. 15 at Texas Austin, Texas 8 p.m.

Feb. 22 Baylor Morgantown 1:30 p.m.

Feb. 26 at Iowa State Ames, Iowa 8 p.m.

March 1 TCU Morgantown 1:30 p.m.

March 5 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla.

9 p.m.

March 8 Kansas Morgantown Noon March 12-15 at Big 12 Tourn.

Kansas City, Mo. TBA x-Cancun Challenge (Nov. 27 opponent is either Wisconsin or St. Louis)

WVU MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER nO. 0 1 3 5 10 11 14 15 20 30 34 45

name pOs. HT. Remi Dibo F 6-7 Jonathan Holton F 6-7 Juwan Staten G 6-1 Devin Williams F 6-9 Eron Harris G 6-3 Nathan Adrian F 6-9 Gary Browne G 6-1 Terry Henderson G 6-4 Brandon Watkins F 6-9 Richard Romeo G 5-11 Kevin Noreen F 6-10 Elijah Macon F 6-9

wT. 225 210 190 255 195 230 195 200 235 190 250 240

cL. Jr. Jr. Jr. Fr. So. Fr. Jr. So. Fr. So. Jr. Fr.

HOmeTOwn Montreuil, France Miami, Fla. Dayton, Ohio Cincinnati, Ohio Indianapolis, Ind. Morgantown Cupey, P.R. Raleigh, N.C. Decatur, Ga. White Sulphur Springs Minneapolis, Minn.

Columbus, Ohio

WVU MEN’S BASKETBALL fAST fACTS

LOcaTiOn: Morgantown nickname: Mountaineers cOnFerence: Big 12 Conference enrOLLmenT: 32,595 HOme cOurT: WVU Coliseum (14,000) presiDenT: Dr. James P. Clements aTHLeTic DirecTOr: Oliver Luck HeaD cOacH: Bob Huggins The associated press recOrD aT wVu: 133-75, 7th season West Virginia’s Eron Harris goes to the basket during the slam dunk contest as part of career recOrD: 723-286, 32nd season the NCAA college basketball team’s scrimassisTanT cOacHes: Larry Harrison (associate head mage Oct. 18 in Morgantown. coach), Ron Everhart, Erik Martin assisTanT TO THe HeaD cOacH: Billy Hahn sTrengTH cOacH: Andy Kettler aTHLeTic Trainer: Randy Meador 2012-13 record: 13-19 (6-12 Please see WVU/6G Big 12 Conference) websiTe: WVUsports. com

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6G The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

College Basketball Preview

WVU women bring back four starters from winning season

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

The Herald-Dispatch

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University women’s basketball lost Asya Bussie for the entire 2012-13 season because of a knee injury, but she appears to be coming back strong.

Bussie was named as a member of the preseason AllBig 12 Conference team. The 6-foot-4 senior center from Randallstown, Md., was an All-Big East Conference first team selection in 2012 when she averaged 12.1 points with 6.6 rebounds and 73 blocked shots.

Christal Caldwell of the Mountaineers, one of last season’s All-Big 12 picks, received preseason all-conference honorable mention recognition.

Caldwell, a 5-9 senior guard, was last season’s WVU leader with 13.1 points per game.

West Virginia head coach Mike Carey has four returning starters from a 17-14 team (9-9 conference) that made its seventh NCAA tournament appearance in his 12 seasons.

Oklahoma was selected as the Big 12 preseason favorite followed by Baylor. West Virginia and Oklahoma State tied for third in poll voting by conference head coaches. A close race had Oklahoma with five first-place votes, Baylor with three and West Virginia with the remaining two.

“We think we have a lot of pieces, and I’ll be able to really bring people in and out,” Carey said. “I think we’re pretty deep, as deep as we’ve ever

sholten singer/Herald-Dispatch

West Virginia’s Brooke Hampton defends Marshall’s Norrisha Victrum as West Virginia takes on Marshall in the Chesapeake Capital Classic on Dec. 4, 2012, at the Charleston Civic Center. Hampton is one of West Virginia’s returning seniors this year. been, so we’ll be able to keep fresh people in there and do some other things.”

Taylor Palmer, a 5-9 guard, is another senior. She was third on the team last season with 9.9 points a game. Jess Harlee is a 6-1 senior forward coming off a knee injury who posted averages of 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds.

The fifth senior is 5-9 guard Brooke Hampton (1.5 ppg).

Junior Averee Fields, a 6-1 junior, was a steady contrib-

utor with 7.8 points and 4.9 rebounds a game.

Six-foot-one sophomore Bria Holmes and 6-2 junior Crystal Leary provided 5.8 and 3.7 points respectively from off the bench. Leary was also good for 4.8 rebounds.

Point guard Linda Stepney enters the season with 59 consecutive starts, including all 31 games last season. the 5-7 junior led the Mountaineers with 2.3 assists per outing while scoring 3.0 points.

Sophomore Darius Faulk, a 5-9 sophomore, had a 2.3 scoring average.

WVU’s tallest player, 6-5 Lanay Montgomery, was a medical redshirt last season while 6-4 true freshman Lubirdia Gordon and Palmer are from the same Mount Vernon, N.Y. high school. Gordon was the No. 11 center prospect

by ESPN HoopGurlz and 6-1 freshman Teana Muldrow was rated as the 34th best overall prospect.

WVU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE DaTe Nov. 1 Nov. 8 Nov. 15 Nov. 16 Nov. 17 Nov. 24 Nov. 30 Dec. 3 Dec. 7 Dec. 14 Dec. 18 Dec. 21 Dec. 29 Jan. 2 Jan. 4 Jan. 8 Jan. 12 Jan. 15 Jan. 18 Jan. 22 Jan. 25 Jan. 29 Feb. 1 Feb. 8 Feb. 13 Feb. 16 Feb. 19 Feb. 22 Feb. 26 March 2 March 4 March 7-10

OppOnenT Concord (exhibition) Ohio State Mississippi-x Washington State-x Hawaii-x Virginia at Youngstown State Coppin State Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Marshall Delaware State at Duquesne Elon at Kansas at Oklahoma State Baylor Texas at Iowa State Oklahoma at Texas Tech at Texas Iowa State at TCU Kansas State at Oklahoma TCU Oklahoma State at Kansas State Texas Tech at Baylor Kansas at Big 12 Tournament

LOcaTiOn Time Morgantown 7 p.m.

Morgantown 5:30 p.m.

Honolulu, Hawaii 9:30 p.m.

Honolulu, Hawaii 5 p.m.

Honolulu, Hawaii 10 p.m.

Morgantown 4 p.m.

Youngstown, Ohio 4:35 p.m.

Morgantown 7 p.m.

Morgantown 2 p.m.

Charleston 2 p.m.

Morgantown 7 p.m.

Pittsburgh, Pa. 2 p.m.

Morgantown 2 p.m.

Lawrence, Kan. 8 p.m.

Stillwater, Okla.

7 p.m.

Morgantown 7 p.m.

Morgantown Noon Ames, Iowa 8 p.m.

Morgantown 2 p.m.

Lubbock, Texas 7:30 p.m.

Austin, Texas 4 p.m.

Morgantown 7 p.m.

Fort Worth, Texas 8 p.m.

Morgantown 2 p.m.

Norman, Okla.

7 p.m.

Morgantown 1 p.m.

Morgantown 7 p.m.

Manhattan, Kan. 6 p.m.

Morgantown 7 p.m.

Waco, Texas 2 p.m.

Morgantown 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City, Okla.

TBD

WVU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER nO. 1 2 4 5 11 12 14 15 20 22 23 32 35 NA

name Christal Caldwell Taylor Palmer Brooke Hampton Averee Fields Teana Muldrow Darius Faulk Jess Harlee Lanay Montgomery Asya Bussie Linda Stepney Bria Holmes Crystal Leary Lubirdia Gordon Breanna McDonald

pOs. G G G F F G F C C G G F C G-F

HT. 5-9 5-9 5-9 6-1 6-1 5-9 6-1 6-5 6-4 5-7 6-1 6-2 6-4 6-0

cL. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Fr. So. Sr. Fr. Sr. Jr. So. Jr. Fr. So.

HOmeTOwn Charlotte, N.C. Mount Vernon, N.Y. Colts Neck, N.J. Murray, Ky. East Orange, N.J. New York, N.Y. Bel Air, Md. Pittsburgh, Pa. Randallstown, Md. Norfolk, Va. New Haven, Conn.

Norfolk, Va. Mount Vernon, N.Y. Lithonia, Ga.

Conference changes abound in Division I college basketball this year

By The associated press

A look at the changes for Division I conferences this season:

America East Conference

Albany (NY), Binghamton, Hartford, Maine, UMBC, Mass.-Lowell, New Hampshire, Stony Brook, Vermont.

Changes: Boston University left for the Patriot League; Mass.-Lowell begins its transition to Division I.

American Athletic Conference

UCF, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Rutgers, South Florida, SMU, Temple.

Changes: This is the only brand new conference and it’s made up mostly of football schools from the Big East and Conference USA. Don’t get too used to the membership as Louisville leaves after one season for the Atlantic Coast Conference and Rutgers heads for the Big Ten. Replacing them will be East Carolina, Tulane, Tulsa and Western Kentucky.

Atlantic 10 Conference

Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham, George Mason, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, St. Joseph’s, Saint Louis, VCU. Changes: Butler, after just one season in the league, and Xavier left for the Big East while Temple went to the American Athletic Conference and Charlotte moved to Conference USA. There will 14 members in 2014-15 as Davidson moves in from

WVU

n Continued from 5G

“Those guys went from being very shy, skinny little guys to know knowing what to do and kind of being not very assertive to taking a leadership role,” said Huggins. “We don’t have any seniors, and we only have five returning guys, so those five guys kind of have to assume a

the Southern Conference.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest.

Changes: No matter how weird it looks, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse arrive from the Big East and they will be joined next season by Louisville, which is spending this season in the American Athletic Conference. Maryland leaves for the Big Ten after this season.

Atlantic Sun Conference

East Tennessee State, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, North Florida, Northern Kentucky, USC Upstate, Stetson.

Changes: In 2014-15, Mercer and East Tennessee State move to the Southern Conference.

Big 12 Conference

cuse, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Rutgers and South Florida. They kept the name, though, and added Butler and Xavier from the Atlantic 10 and Creighton from the Missouri Valley.

Big Sky Conference

Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, North Dakota, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Sacramento State, Southern Utah, Weber State.

Changes: None this season, but Idaho rejoins the conference next season after being away for 18 years.

Big South Conference

North Division: Campbell, High Point, Liberty, Longwood, Radford, VMI. South Division: Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb, NC-Asheville, Presbyterian, Winthrop.

Changes: The Big South is standing pat.

Big Ten Conference

Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia.

Changes: A year after adding West Virginia and TCU and losing Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M and Missouri, the Big 12 won’t be making any changes.

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin.

Changes: None this season but in 2014-15 Maryland moves over from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Rutgers joins from the American Athletic Conference.

Big East Conference

Big West Conference

Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova, Xavier.

Changes: The basketballonly schools from the Big East broke away, losing Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syra-

leadership role for us.”

St aten , a 6 -1 ju n ior guard, scored 7.6 points and led the team with 3.3 assists. Noreen was a part-time starter. The 610, 250-pound junior contributed 3.0 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Noreen was recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as a member of the NABC Honors Court who excelled in academics during the

Cal Poly, CS Fullerton, CS Northridge, Hawaii, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara.

Changes: Pacific, which capped its 42 years in the Big West with the tournament title last season, left for

2012-13 season.

Gary Browne also made some starts last season when the 6-1 junior guard averaged 5.6 points.

“Eron (Harris), Terry (Henderson) a nd Ga r y (Browne) all played overseas this offseason on a touring team,” Huggins said. “The biggest difference with those guys is their physical strength, that and their demeanor.

They’re so much more con-

the West Coast Conference.

Colonial Athletic Association

College of Charleston, Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra, James Madison, NC-Wilmington, Northeastern, Towson, William & Mary.

Changes: Conference powers Old Dominion and George Mason left for Conference USA and the Atlantic 10, respectively, while Georgia State moved to the Sun Belt. Two Southern Conference schools will join the CAA: The College of Charleston this season and Elon in 2014-15.

Conference USA

UAB, Charlotte, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Mississippi, UTEP, Texas-San Antonio, Tulane, Tulsa.

Changes: Eight schools join the conference: Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Middle Tennessee and North Texas from the Sun Belt, Louisiana Tech and Texas-San Antonio from the Western Athletic Conference, Charlotte from the Atlantic 10 and Old Dominion from the Colonial Athletic Association. Gone from last season are Memphis, which dominated the league for the last decade, UCF, Houston and SMU, who all headed to the fledgling American Athletic Conference. East Carolina, Tulsa and Tulane will join them there in 2014-15 as will Western Kentucky of the Sun Belt Conference.

Green Bay, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wright State, Youngstown State.

Changes: Oakland moved over from the Summit League replacing Loyola of Chicago which joined the Missouri Valley Conference.

Ivy League

Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale.

Changes: No conference has the stability of the Ivy League and it looks like that won’t change for a long time.

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Marist, Monmouth, Niagara, Quinnipiac, Rider, Saint Peter’s, Siena.

Changes: Loyola (Md.) left for the Patriot League and will be replaced by Monmouth and Quinnipiac of the Northeast Conference.

Mid-American Conference

East Division: Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio. West Division: Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan.

Changes: Unlike the MAAC, the MAC won’t have any changes.

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Cleveland State, Detroit, Illinois-Chicago, Oakland, Valparaiso, Wisconsin-

Bethune-Cookman, Coppin State, Delaware State, Florida A&M, Hampton, Howard, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Morgan State, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, Savannah State, South Carolina State.

Changes; The MEAC is

fident. They know what they’re doing and what’s expected of them.

“They aren’t running around wondering what they are supposed to do.

And they are helping the younger guys.

The Mountaineers grew with additions of 6-7, 225 junior college guard Remi Dibo; 6-9, 235-pound freshman Brandon Watkins; 6-9, 255-pound freshman Devin Williams; and 6-9, 230-

pound Morgantown High School product Nathan Adrian.

D ib o i s a n at ive of Montreuil, France, who transferred from Casper College in Wyoming.

“Remi gives us outstanding size and perimeter shooting from the wing position,” Huggins said.

“His size and length should also help us at the defensive end and obviously on the backboards where we

Horizon League

staying with 13 members.

Missouri Valley Conference

Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Loyola of Chicago, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Wichita State.

Changes: Loyola of Chicago moves from the Horizon League to replace Creighton, which headed for the Big East.

Mountain West Conference

Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming.

Changes: The Mountain West adds San Jose State and Utah State from the Western Athletic Conference.

Northeast Conference

Bryant, Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island U., Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (N.Y.), St. Francis (Pa.), Wagner.

Changes: The NEC is down to 10 teams with Monmouth and Quinnipiac leaving for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Ohio Valley Conference

East Division: Belmont, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech. West Division: Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Murray State, SIU-Edwardsville, Southeast Missouri, TennesseeMartin.

Changes: The two-division OVC will be the same as last season.

Please see CHANGES/8G str uggled mightily last year.”

Early this week WVU didn’t have anything to report on eligibility issues involving recruit Jonathan Holton, a 6-7 transfer forward from Palm Beach State Community College in Florida, and 6-9 forward Elijah Macon, who attended Brewster Academy in New Hampshire last year after playing for Huntington Prep.

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE DaTe Nov. 1 Nov. 4 Nov. 8 Nov. 10 Nov. 12 Nov. 17 Nov. 19 Nov. 25 Nov. 27 Dec. 1 Dec. 6 Dec. 10 Dec. 14 Dec. 21 Dec. 28 Jan. 8 Jan. 11 Jan. 14 Jan. 18 Jan. 21 Jan. 25 Jan. 28 Feb. 1 Feb. 4 Feb. 8 Feb. 12 Feb. 15 Feb. 18 Feb. 22 Feb. 27 March 1 March 4 March 8 March 12-16

OppOnenT Transylvania (exh.)

Montevallo (exh.)

UNC Asheville Northern Kentucky vs. Michigan State-x Robert Morris-xx Texas-Arlington-xx Cleveland State-xx Eastern Michigan-xx vs. Providence vs. Baylor Boise State at North Carolina Belmont Louisville Mississippi State at Vanderbilt at Arkansas Tennessee Texas A&M Georgia at LSU at Missouri Mississippi at Mississippi State at Auburn Florida at Mississippi LSU Arkansas at South Carolina Alabama at Florida at SEC Tournament

LOcaTiOn Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Chicago, Ill. Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Brooklyn, N.Y. Arlington, Texas Lexington, Ky. Chapel Hill, N.C. Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Nashville, Tenn.

Fayetteville, Ark. Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Baton Rouge, La. Columbia, Mo. Lexington, Ky. Starkville, Miss.

Auburn, Ala. Lexington, Ky. Oxford, Miss.

Lexington, Ky. Lexington, Ky. Columbia, S.C. Lexington, Ky. Gainesville, Fla. Atlanta, Ga.

x-State Farms Champions Classic.

Time 7 p.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

4 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

4 p.m.

8:30 p.m.

10 p.m.

9 p.m.

5:15 p.m.

Noon 4 p.m.

8 p.m.

TBA 9 p.m.

Noon 9 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

9 p.m.

1 p.m.

7 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

8 p.m.

9 p.m.

7 p.m.

4 p.m.

7 p.m.

6 p.m.

9 p.m.

Noon TBA

College Basketball Preview

The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

’Cats reload for 2013-14 The Herald-Dispatch

xx-Keightley Classic.

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER nO. 00 1 2 3 4 5 13 15 21 22 24 25 30 32 35 44

name pOs. Marcus Lee F James Young G Aaron Harrison G Jarrod Polson G Jon Hood G Andrew Harrison G Sam Malone G Willie Cauley-Stein F Tod Lanter G Alex Poythress F E.J. Floreal G Dominique HawkinsG Julius Randle F Brian Long G Derek Willis F Dakari Johnson C

HT. 6-9 6-6 6-6 6-2 6-7 6-6 5-11 7-0 6-2 6-8 6-3 6-0 6-9 5-9 6-9 7-0

wT. 215 215 218 182 215 215 185 244 190 239 195 193 250 155 205 265

cL. HOmeTOwn Fr. Antioch, Calif.

Fr. Rochester Hills, Mich.

Fr. Richmond, Texas Sr. Nicholasville, Ky. Sr. Madisonville, Ky. Fr. Richmond, Texas Jr. Scituate, Mass.

So. Olathe, Kan. Jr. Lexington, Ky. So. Clarksville, Tenn.

Fr. Lexington, Ky. Fr. Richmond, Ky. Fr. Dallas, Texas Jr. Dumont, N.J. Fr. Mt. Washington, Ky. Fr. Brooklyn, N.Y.

The associated press

Kentucky’s Dakari Johnson, right, looks for an open shot past the defense of Willie Cauley-Stein during the NCAA college basketball team’s Big Blue Madness scrimmage, Oct. 18 in Lexington, Ky.

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL fAST fACTS LOcaTiOn: Lexington, Ky. nickname: Wildcats cOnference: Southeastern Conference enrOLLmenT: 29,400 HOme cOurT: Rupp Arena (23,000) presiDenT: Dr. Eli Capilouto aTHLeTic DirecTOr: Mitch Barnhart HeaD cOacH: John Calipari recOrD aT uk: 123-26, 4th season career recOrD: 526-164, 22nd season assisTanT cOacHes: Orlando Antigua, Kenny

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Payne, John Robic speciaL assT. TO HeaD cOacH: Rod Strickland assOciaTe aTHLeTic DirecTOr/BaskeTBaLL OperaTiOns: Chris Wollard cOOrDinaTOr Of BaskeTBaLL perfOrmance: Ray Oliver sTrengTH cOacH: Mike Malone aTHLeTic Trainer: Chris Simmons 2012-13 recOrD: 21-12 (12-6 Southeastern Conference) weBsiTe: UKathletics.com

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Was there any doubt?

University of Kentucky men’s basketball was ranked No. 1 in the USA Today coaches’ preseason poll — The Associated Press poll was ann-ounced Thursday — and was picked to win its 46th Southeastern Conference championship by a panel of conference and media members.

SEC voters selected Kentucky freshman Julius Randle as the favorite to win the league’s player of the year award.

The Wildcats also have the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class that features six McDonald’s All-Americans, returning All-SEC performers Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress, veteran leadership from Jon Hood and Jarrod Polson. Put it all together and it has the makings of a very special season.

But, head coach John Calipari wants to give it time before declaring just how good the team is.

“Let them get on the court,” said Calipari, whose team won the NCAA championship in 2012 and has 123 victories in four seasons. “We’ve got tough games early. We’ve got one of the best schedules in the country. We’ve got one of the most inexperienced teams in the country. So it will be interesting.”

Maybe only at basketball-crazy Kentucky would a 21-12 season be a disappointment, but that’s how the Wildcats finished in 2012-13. After going 12-6 in SEC games they were relegated to the National Invitation Tournament and lost in the first round at Robert Morris.

Nerlens Noel and Archie Goodwin from last season’s team were NBA Draft firstround picks of the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder respectively.

Poythress and Cauley-Stein are the leading scorers back from last season with 11.2 and 8.3 averages respectively. Cauley-Stein also got 6.2 rebounds per game while Poythress collected 6.0. The 6-8, 239pound Poythress and 7-foot, 244-pound Cauley-Stein are sophomores.

“It was a pretty good freshman year, but it could have been better,” Poythress said.

“I have a whole different demeanor. Just the way I approach the game. I am trying to be more aggressive out there as well as be more vocal and more of a leader.”

Kentucky’s only seniors are Polson, a 6-2 guard who scored 3.1 points, and Hood, a 6-7 guard who scored 1.5 a game.

The Wildcats will lean heavily on nine freshmen.

Randle is a 6-9, 250-pound forward who put up 32.5 points and pulled down 22.5 rebounds a game as a Prestonwood Christian Academy in Dallas. The 66 Harrison twins, Andrew and Aaron, led their Richmond, Texas, high school team to a state title.

Andrew Harrison is on the watch list for the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year award.

Calipari said Marcus Lee, a 6-9 forward from Antioch, Calif., is like a young Dennis Rodman.

“I pride myself on defense and getting the job done, that’s what is needed on the team,” Lee said. “I saw we were extremely great offensively, and I tried to find a place for myself. I knew I could make a big impact defensively. You don’t really have to work on it; you just have to have the pride to do it.”

OtherfreshmenincludeKentucky Mr. Basketball Dominique Hawkins, a 6-foot guard from Richmond, Ky.; 7footer Dakari Johnson from National High School Invitational champion Monteverde Academy in Florida; 66 James Young of Rochester Hills, Mich.; and 6-9 Derek Willis from Mt. Washington, Ky. E.J. Floreal is a 6-3 freshman walkon g ua rd from Lexington.

8G The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

College Basketball Preview

UK women have high hopes

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

The Herald-Dispatch

LEXINGTON, Ky. — DeNesha Stallworth has high expectations for the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team.

Stallworth, a 6-foot-3 senior forward from Richmond, Calif., was a preseason AllSoutheastern Conference selection on a Wildcats team predicted for a second-place finish behind the Tennessee Vols in preseason media voting.

And, what does she expect?

“Everything,” she said. “SEC Champions, (SEC) Tournament Champions, Final Four, National Champions. We are trying to do it all. We have been doing really well in practice and are going to keep getting better daily.”

Stallworth is on preseason watch lists for the John R. Wooden and Wade Trophy player of the year awards.

The preseason All-SEC selection is Kentucky’s leading returning scorer from an allconference junior season with a 12.5 average and the secondleading rebounder (6.0).

Kentucky’s 30-6 record last season established a school record for victories while the Wildcats finished second in the SEC at 13-3 before making a deep run into the NCAA tournament. Head coach Matthew Mitchell’s team scored NCAA tournament wins against Navy, Dayton and Delaware before an Elite Eight loss to the national champion UConn Huskies.

Mitchell, who has a 144-62 record in six seasons with the Wildcats, said the team is focused on a simple concept.

“We just want to try to be our very best, and we talk about that virtually every day,” he said. “If we can become our best, we can have a terrific season here at Kentucky.”

Six-foot-one senior forward Samarie Walker was a valuable contributor last season with 8.7 points and 8.1 rebounds

Changes

n Continued from 6G

Pacific-12 Conference

Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Southern California, Stanford, UCLA, Utah, Washington, Washington State.

Changes: No changes for the Pac-12 a season after adding Colorado and Utah.

Patriot League

American U., Army, Boston U., Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola (Md.), Navy.

Changes: Boston University joins from the America East while Loyola moves over from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Southeastern Conference

Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.

Changes; A season after adding Texas A&M and Missouri from the Big 12, the SEC won’t make any changes.

Southern Conference

Appalachian State, Chattanooga, Citadel, Davidson, Elon, Furman, Georgia Southern, UNC Greensboro, Samford, Western Carolina, Wofford.

Changes: For the first time since 1994-95 the Southern Conference won’t have divisional play and that’s because the College of Charleston left for the Colonial Athletic Association. The big changes come next season when Elon heads for the Colonial, Davidson moves to the Atlantic 10 and Georgia Southern and Appalachian State join the Sun Belt Conference. Replacing them will be VMI of the Big South and Mercer and Tennessee State of the Atlantic Sun.

KENTUCKY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE DaTe Nov. 3 Nov. 8 Nov. 10 Nov. 13 Nov. 17 Nov. 21 Nov. 24 Nov. 27 Dec. 1 Dec. 6 Dec. 12 Dec. 15 Dec. 22 Dec. 29 Jan. 2 Jan. 5 Jan. 9 Jan. 12 Jan. 19 Jan. 23 Jan. 26 Jan. 30 Feb. 2 Feb. 9 Feb. 13 Feb. 16 Feb. 20 Feb. 23 Feb. 27 March 2 March 5-9

OppOnenT Eckerd (exhibition) at Marist at Wagner Georgia Southern Central Michigan Lipscomb at Middle Tennessee Bradley Louisville vs. Baylor at DePaul East Tennessee State Duke Grambling State at Alabama Florida at South Carolina Missouri at Auburn Alabama Arkansas at Georgia LSU at Florida Mississippi at Tennessee South Carolina at Texas A&M at Mississippi State Vanderbilt at SEC Tournament

LOcaTiOn Time Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m.

Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 7 p.m.

Staten Island, N.Y. 1 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 11 a.m.

Lexington, Ky. 2 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m.

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

3 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. Noon Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m.

Arlington, Texas 7:30 p.m.

Chicago, Ill. 7 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 2 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 3 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 2 p.m.

Tuscaloosa, Ala. 8 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 3 p.m.

Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 5 p.m.

Auburn, Ala. 2 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m.

Athens, Ga. 9 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. Noon Gainesville, Fla. Noon Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m.

Knoxville, Tenn.

1 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m.

College Station, Texas 2 p.m.

Starkville, Miss.

8 p.m.

Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m.

Duluth, Ga. TBAt

KENTUCKY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER nO. 0 3 5 10 11 12 13 15 23 25 31 32 50

name Jennifer O’Neill Janee Thompson Kyvin Goodin-Rogers Bernisha Pinkett DeNasha Stallworth Jelleah Sidney Bria Goss Linnae Harper Samarie Walker Makayla Epps Samantha Drake Kastine Evans Azia Bishop

pOs. G G F G F F-C G G F-C G F-C G F-C

The associated press

Southland Conference

Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word, Lamar, McNeese State, New Orleans, Nicholls State, Northwestern State, Oral Roberts, Sam Houston State, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin; Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Changes: Houston Baptist moved over from the Great West Conference and New Orleans joined after being an independent while Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word move up from Division II and won’t be eligible for postseason play.

Southwestern Athletic Conference

Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View, Southern U., Texas Southern.

Changes: No changes for the SWAC.

Summit League

Denver, IPFW, IUPUI, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Western Illinois.

Changes: Denver moved in from the Western Athletic Conference, the league that Missouri-Kansas City left for. Oakland left the Summit for the Horizon League.

Sun Belt Conference

Ark.-Little Rock, Arkansas State, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas-Arlington, Texas State, Troy, Western Kentucky.

Changes; Gone is the two-division format and members Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Florida Atlantic and Florida International have left for Conference USA. Western Kentucky makes that move in 2014-15. Joining the Sun Belt this season

scored 4.3 a game.

Kentucky’s tallest player is 6-3 junior Azia Bishop who played for 11.9 minutes a game, averaging 3.7 points and 3.2 rebounds.

Freshman Kyvin GoodinRogers (6-1 forward) and Makayla Epps (5-10 guard) were teammates at Marion County High School in Leb-

cL. HOmeTOwn Jr. Bronx, N.Y. So. Chicago, Ill. Fr. Lebanon, Ky. Sr. Washington, D.C. Sr. Richmond, Calif.

Jr. Queens Village, N.Y. Jr. Indianapolis, Ind. Fr. Chicago, Ill. Sr. West Carrollton, Ohio Fr. Lebanon, Ky. Sr. Bardstown, Ky. Sr. Salem, Conn.

Jr. Toledo, Ohio

DeNesha Stallworth, a 6-foot-3 senior forward from Richmond, Calif., was a preseason All-Southeastern Conference selection on a Wildcats team predicted for a second-place finish behind the Tennessee Vols in preseason media voting.

Kentucky women’s coach Matthew Mitchell talks with reporters during the Southeastern Conference NCAA college basketball media day in Birmingham, Ala., Oct. 16. a game. She led the Wildcats with 56 blocked shots.

The other starters back this season include 5-6 junior point guard Jennifer O’Neill who had averages of 10.9 points and nearly three assists. Bria Goss (5-10 junior) and Kastine Evans (5-8 senior) also started some games. Goss had an 8.8 scoring average and Evans

HT. 5-6 5-7 6-1 5-7 6-3 6-2 5-10 5-8 6-1 5-10 6-3 5-8 6-3

anon, Ky. Likewise for 5-8 freshman Linnae Harper and sophomore point guard Janee Thompson (4.0 ppg) who played together at Whitney Young High School in Chicago.

Epps is the daughter of Anthony Epps, the starting point guard on UK’s 1996 national championship team.

The associated press

are Georgia State from the Colonial Athletic Association and Texas State and Texas-Arlington of the Western Athletic Conference.

West Coast Conference

BYU, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara.

Changes: Pacific, a founding member of the West Coast Conference in 1952 — then called the California Basketball Association — returns after a long run in the Big West Conference.

Western Athletic Conference

Cal State Bakersfield, Chicago State, Grand Canyon, Idaho, MissouriKansas City, New Mexico State, Seattle, Texas-Pan American, Utah Valley.

Changes; No conference will have as much change this season as the WAC. Seven schools — Louisiana Tech, Denver, Utah State, Texas State, TexasArlington, Texas-San Antonio and San Jose State — are headed for various conferences this season.

There will be six newcomers to make it a nine-team league: Chicago State, Utah Valley and Texas-Pan American from the Great West Conference, Cal State Bakersfield from the ranks of the independents, Missouri-Kansas City from the Summit League, and Grand Canyon, which is making the move from Division II. Idaho will leave for the Big Sky Conference in 2014-15.

Independents

There were two independents last season — Cal State Bakersfield, which went to the Western Athletic Conference, and New Orleans, which will play in the Southland Conference.

NJIT, which was in the defunct Great West Conference last season, will be the only Division I independent this season.

The associated press

Connecticut players and head coach Geno Auriemma celebrate after defeating Louisville 93-60 in the national championship game of the women’s Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament in New Orleans on April 9. With eight players returning from a 35-4 team that won the program’s eighth national championship in April, the expectations for this season are greater than ever.

UConn women expected to do more than repeat

By PAT EATON-ROBB The associated press

STORRS, Conn. — Connecticut is used to dealing with the pressure that comes from consistent success.

But with eight players returning from a 35-4 team that won the program’s eighth national championship in April, the great expectations for this season have exceeded proportions.

UConn is a prohibitive favorite not only to win a ninth title, but to win every game they play — and by a wide margin.

“When you are at Connecticut, you always have the goal of winning a national championship,” senior center Stefanie Dolson said. “So for us, the goal is to go undefeated. For other people to think that, it doesn’t faze us, because we expect to win every time

we step onto the court.”

The scariest part for opponents may be that there is clearly room for UConn to improve.

Senior point guard Bria Hartley suffered through last year with a lingering ankle injury that resulted in her least productive season as a Husky. She says she is healthy again.

“I’ve never had to face anything like that before; not playing and being so inconsistent when I did,” Hartley said. “It helped me grow and mature as a person.”

Sophomore Brea n n a Stewart, named the Final Four’s most outstanding player, acknowledges she slumped in the middle of last season, and should have averaged more than 14 points and six rebounds.

“Freshman year, I was testing the waters a bit,” said Stewart, who was named

the preseason player of the year in the new American Athletic Conference. “But after winning and having such a great summer, I feel there is more of a leadership role for me. Personally, I just want to be more consistent, throughout the whole season.”

Kalena Mosqueda-Lewis, the team’s leading scorer each of the past two seasons, also is back.

“We’ll see if this team is capable of handling (the expectations) or not,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “We’ll see if they are mature enough to deal with all the things that are going to be thrown at them. We, generally as a basketball program, don’t put a lot of stock in what other people think or what other people say.

“And I don’t think you get extra points for margin of victory.”

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

College Basketball Preview

Four returning starters take floor for Buckeyes in 2013-14 The Herald-Dispatch

COLUMBUS — Ohio State anticipates having several players shoulder its scoring load this season.

But the Buckeyes also have four returning starters from a 29-8seasonwhentheyclaimed the Big Ten Conference men’s basketball tournament crown for the third time in four years, finished second in the conference regular season at 13-5 and narrowily missed a trip to back-to-back NCAA Final Fours with a loss to Wichita State in the Elite Eight.

No other school has four consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.

“The makeup of our team this year gives us another opportunity to be successful in the Big Ten and nationally,” 10th-season head coach Thad Matta said. “Once again our league is extraordinarily talented across the board. We are fortunate to have a veteran group this year who have been through the rigors of the conference season and have been successful in postseason play.”

Ohio State is replacing Deshaun Thomas, the 2012-13 Big Ten scoring leader with a 19.8 average, a forward who jumped to the NBA with one year of eligibility remaining and was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs. Thomas also topped the Buckeyes with 5.9 rebounds per game.

“This year we’re going to have a more even attack, because we don’t have that one guy who consistently gets the ball and drops 20 or 30 points,” said junior guard Shannon Scott. “We feel it will make it harder on defenses because they’ll have to pay close attention to all five guys on the court at all times.”

The Buckeyes begin the season ranked No. 10 in the USA

OhiO State men’S BaSketBall FaSt FactS

LocATion: Columbus, Ohio nicknAme: Buckeyes conference: Big Ten Conference enroLLmenT: 53,715 Home courT: Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center (19,500) PresiDenT (inTerim): Joseph Alutto ATHLeTic DirecTor: Eugene Smith HeAD coAcH: Thad Matta recorD AT osu: 250-73, 10th season cAreer recorD: 352104, 14th season AssisTAnT coAcHes: Dave Dickerson (associate head coach), Jeff Boals, Greg Paulus DirecTor of oPerATions: David Egelhoff sTrengTH coAcH: Dave Richardson ATHLeTic TrAiner: Vince O’Brien 2012-13 recorD: 29-8 (13-5 Big Ten Conference) WebsiTe: Ohiostatebuckeyes.com Today Coaches’ preseason poll with four starters and five of the six top six offensive players returning.

Senior point guard Aaron Craft was named to the Cousy Award preseason watch list coming back from an All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defensive Team season. The 6-foot-2 Craft averaged 10.0 points and 4.6 assists.

Lenzelle Smith Jr., a 6-4 senior guard, brings back a 9.2 scoring average.

Scott, LaQuinton Ross and Sam Thompson are juniors.

Scott, a 6-1 guard, also made the Big Ten All-Defensive

DATe oPPonenT LocATion Nov. 3 Walsh (exhibition) Columbus, Ohio Nov. 9 Morgan State Columbus, Ohio Nov. 12 Ohio Columbus, Ohio Nov. 16 at Marquette Milwaukee, Wisc.

Nov. 20 American Columbus, Ohio Nov. 25 Wyoming Columbus, Ohio Nov. 29 North Florida Columbus, Ohio Dec. 4 Maryland-x Columbus, Ohio Dec. 7 Central Connecticut Columbus, Ohio Dec. 11 Bryant-xx Columbus, Ohio Dec. 14 North Dakota State-xx Columbus, Ohio Dec. 18 Delaware-xx Columbus, Ohio Dec. 21 vs Notre Dame-xx New York City Dec. 27 Louisiana-Monroe Columbus, Ohio Dec. 31 at Purdue West Lafayette, Ind. Jan. 4 Nebraska Columbus, Ohio Jan. 7 at Michigan State East Lansing, Mich.

Jan. 12 Iowa Columbus, Ohio Jan. 16 at Minnesota Minneapolis, Minn.

Jan. 20 at Nebaska Lincoln, Neb. Jan. 23 Illinois Columbus, Ohio Jan. 29 Penn State Columbus, Ohio Feb. 1 at Wisconsin Madison, Wisc.

Feb. 4 at Iowa Iowa City, Iowa Feb. 8 Purdue Columbus, Ohio Feb. 11 Michigan Columbus, Ohio Feb. 15 at Illinois Champaign, Ill. Feb. 19 Northwestern Columbus, Ohio Feb. 22 Minnesota Columbus, Ohio Feb. 27 at Penn State University Park, Pa. March 2 at Indiana Bloomington, Ind. March 9 Michigan State Columbus, Ohio March 13-16 at Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Ind. x-Big Ten/ACC Challenge

In this March 30 file photo, Ohio State forward LaQuinton Ross (10) goes up for a shot against Wichita State in the second half of a West Regional final in the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles. With the start of the 2013-14 season, Ross steps into the spot as the Buckeyes’ designated point-producer for departed Deshaun Thomas, who averaged 19.8 points a game a year ago.

no.

2 3 4 10 12 15 23 24 32 33 34 55

Team while averaging 4.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Thompson is a 6-7 forward who was good for 7.8 points and 3.5 rebounds.

The 6-8 Ross, who has never started a college game, scored 8.3 points a game last season.

Ross said he worked hard in the offseason on his lateral movement and getting stronger.

“LaQuinton finished last season on a high note and he has a better idea of what he

Italy, had a productive summer as the Most Valuable Player in the U-20 European Championships. In limited minutes last season he averaged 2.5 points.

“Since I’ve been back I’ve really worked on becoming comfortable with my teammates,” Della Valle said. “I didn’t get a ton of opportunities to play with them last year, so this summer has been important for building our chemistry.”

The Associated Press

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OhiO State men’S BaSketBall ScheDUle

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The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

needed to do and how much we need him to do it this season,” Matta said. “He has a broader view offensively. He is more patient and seeing things. That is his jump from freshman to sophomore year.”

Six-foot-11, 250-pound junior Amir Williams had 2012-13 averages of 3.6 points and 3.6 rebounds with a team-high 50 blocked shots.

Sophomore Amedeo Della Valle, a 6-5 guard from Alba,

nAme Pos. Marc Loving F Shannon Scott G Aaron Craft G LaQuinton Ross F Sam Thompson F Kam Williams G Amir Williams C Andrew Goldstein G Lenzelle Smith Jr. G Amedeo Della ValleG Jake Lorbach F Trey McDonald C

HT. 6-7 6-1 6-2 6-8 6-7 6-2 6-11 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-7 6-8

WT. 215 185 195 220 200 175 250 200 210 190 210 240

cL. Fr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr.` Fr. Jr. Jr. Jr. So. Jr. Jr.

9G

Time 4 p.m.

Noon 8 p.m.

1 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

5 p.m.

7 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

8:15 p.m.

7 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

1 p.m.

Noon 9 p.m.

TBA 9 p.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

Noon 7 p.m.

6 p.m.

9 p.m.

8 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA 7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA

HomeToWn Toledo, Ohio Alpharetta, Ga. Findlay, Ohio Jackson, Miss.

Chicago, Ill. Baltimore, Md. Detroit, Mich.

Marlboro, N.J. Zion, Ill. Alba, Italy Elyria, Ohio Battle Creek, Mich.

A pair of highly-touted freshman recruits will have the opportunity to gain experience and could have an immediate impast.

Marc Loving from St. John Jesuit in Toledo, Ohio, is a 6-7 forward who was ranked as the top prospect in the state by several websites. Kam Williams, a 6-2 guard out of Mount St. Joseph’s in Baltimore, Md., was the second-rated prospect in his state.

College Basketball Preview

10G The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

McGuff takes over for OSU women The Herald-Dispatch

COLUMBUS — Kevin McGuff is the new man at the helm of the Ohio State women’s basketball program.

McGuff was hired to replace Jim Foster, who won 783 games at St. Joseph’s, Vanderbilt and 11 seasons at Ohio State and reached a mutual agreement with Ohio State that he would not return.

The Associated Press reported a lack of postseason production as one of the reasons behind the move.

Foster was hired as head coach at Chattanooga.

“Kevin (McGuff) is the perfect fit to lead our women’s basketball program,” said Miechelle Willis, the Ohio State executive associate athletic director who oversees women’s basketball.

McGuff has 11 years of experience as an NCAA Division I head coach — the last two at the University of Washington and the previous nine at Xavier University — with an overall record of 255-99.

His teams have reached the postseason each year.

His teams at Washington went 41-26 with two berths in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

“My goal is to have Ohio State competing at the highest level of women’s college basketball,” he said.

Ohio State has three returning starters from an 18-13 team that finished 7-9 and tied for eighth place in the Big Ten Conference.

Ashley Adams, a 6-foot-5 senior center, was the second-leading scorer (9.9) and top rebounder (7.0) on last season’s squad. She also led the Buckeyes with 67 blocked shots.

Ameryst Alston (5-9 sophomore guard) and Raven Ferguson (5-11 junior guard) scored 6.5 and 6.3 points respectively. Darryce Moore adds some size at 6-2 and the senior center scored 6.2 points per game while getting 3.7 rebounds.

Courtesy of ohiostatebuckeyes.com

Ohio State’s Raven Ferguson (31) is one of three returning starters this year.

Ferguson averaged 6.3 points a game last year for the Lady Buckeyes.

“Last year was last year,” Alston said.

“It’s a new beginning. We’re taking it one practice at a time, one game at a time.

We’re not thinking about last year.”

Aleksandra Dobranic is a 6-4 senior center from Serbia (3.8 ppg, 2.4 reb) joined by 6-2 senior forward Martina Ellerbe (2.5 ppg, 2.4 reb) on the inside.

Sophomore guard Cait Craft is the 58 sister of Ohio State men’s team point guard Aaron Craft. Cait Craft appeared in 14 games as a freshman, contributing 2.4 points.

Ohio State’s tallest player is 6-6 freshman center Lisa Blair who was redshirted last year.

OHIO STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

DaTe OppOnenT LOCaTiOn Time Nov. 3 Bellarmine (exhibition) Columbus, Ohio 1:30 p.m.

Nov. 8 at West Virginia Morgantown 5:30 p.m.

Nov. 10 Florida Atlantic Columbus, Ohio 2 p.m.

Nov. 14 Va. Commonwealth Columbus, Ohio 7 p.m.

Nov. 17 at Georgia Athens, Ga. 2 p.m.

Nov. 22 Old Dominion-x Columbus, Ohio 8 p.m.

Nov. 23 Marist-x Columbus, Ohio 8 p.m.

Nov. 24 Bowling Green-x Columbus, Ohio 3:30 p.m.

Nov. 27 Lehigh-x Columbus, Ohio 7 p.m.

Dec. 1 vs. Connecticut-x Springfield, Mass.

5 p.m.

Dec. 4 at Maryland-xx College Park, Md. 7 p.m.

Dec. 8 Gonzaga Columbus, Ohio Noon Dec. 13 Army Columbus, Ohio 7 p.m.

Dec. 15 at Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio 2 p.m.

Dec. 17 UT Martin Columbus, Ohio 7 p.m.

Dec. 20 Appalachian State Columbus, Ohio 7 p.m.

Dec. 29 N.C. Central Columbus, Ohio Noon Jan. 2 Purdue Columbus, Ohio 7 p.m.

Jan. 5 Michigan Columbus, Ohio TBA Jan. 11 at Indiana Bloomington, Ind. 4:30 p.m.

Jan. 16 at Penn State University Park, Pa. 7 p.m.

Jan. 19 Iowa Columbus, Ohio 3 p.m.

Jan. 23 at Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich.

7 p.m.

Jan. 26 Michigan State Columbus, Ohio 12:30 p.m.

Jan. 30 Illinois Columbus, Ohio 7 p.m.

Feb. 2 at Wisconsin Madison, Wisc.

3 p.m.

Feb. 6 at Purdue West Lafayette, Ind. 7 p.m.

Feb. 9 Penn State Columbus, Ohio 2 p.m.

Feb. 15 at Michigan State East Lansing, Mich. 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 20 Nebraska Columbus, Ohio 7 p.m.

Feb. 23 Northwestern Columbus, Ohio Noon Feb. 27 at Iowa Iowa City, Iowa TBA March 2 at Minnesota Minneapolis, Minn.

TBA March 6-9 at Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Ind. TBA x-Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge

OHIO STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER nO. 1 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 25 31 33

name pOs. Kalpana Beach F Shelbi Honeycutt G Maleeka Kynard G Cait Craft G Ameryst Alston G Aleksandra Dobranic C Lisa Blair C Darryce Moore C Martina Ellerbe F Amy Scullion G Raven Ferguson G Ashley Adams C

HT. 6-1 5-10 5-7 5-8 5-9 6-4 6-6 6-2 6-2 6-0 5-11 6-5

CL. So. Jr. Jr. So. So. Sr. Fr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Sr.

HOmeTOwn Westlake, Ohio Siloam Springs, Ark. Toledo, Ohio Findlay, Ohio Canton, Ohio Novi Sad, Serbia Brooklyn, N.Y. Youngstown, Ohio Teaneck, N.J. Salem, Ohio Columbus, Ohio Siloam Springs, Ark.

Morehead men vying for OVC championship From staff and wire reports

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Coach Sean Woods has eight players back from his first Morehead State men’s basketball season when the Eagles won 15 games.

Angelo Warner, Bakari Turner, Chad Posthumus and Drew Kelly are all back from a team tabbed for a third-place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference East Division in a preseason poll of head coaches and sports information directors. Eastern Kentucky got the nod for first place followed by Belmont.

“Our goal is to contend for an Ohio Valley Conference championship, and I feel like we have the pieces to do that this season,” Woods said. “We have a very challenging nonconference schedule, but that will help prepare us for league play.”

The non-conference schedule includes a Nov. 17 visit to Johnson Arena by the Marshall Thundering Herd.

Warner, a 6-foot-2 junior guard from Orlando, Fla., is the top returning scorer for the Eagles who had a 15-18 overall record and were 8-8 in the OVC. Warner put up 10.9

MOREHEAD STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER nO. 00 1 2 3 4 12 14 15 20 21 22 24 25 30 31 32 50

name pOs. Drew Kelly F Luke Pajkovic G Jordan Percell F Corban Collins G DeAndre Leatherwood C Bakari Turner G Jared Ravenscraft G Kareem Storey G Chad Posthumus C Jalen Courtney F Angelo Warner G Aary Bibens G Karam Mashour F Greg Dotson F Lyonell Gaines F Brent Arrington G Billy Reader C

HT. 6-6 6-3 6-7 6-3 6-10 6-4 6-2 5-10 6-11 6-7 6-2 6-4 6-6 6-5 6-6 6-3 6-10

points a game and was an 82.9 percent free throw shooter (97 of 117).

Turner is a 6-4 senior guard from Plano, Texas, who averaged 8.2 points. Posthumus (6-11 senior center from Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Kelly (66 senior forward from Franklin, Tenn.) scored 7.5 and 7.1 respectively. Posthumus led the club in rebounds with 6.8 per contest.

The Eagles add 6-6 junior forward Karam Mashour as a UNLV transfer and 6-3 sopho-

wT. 245 200 220 185 185 185 205 190 265 220 195 200 210 190 220 180 260

CL. Sr. Jr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Sr. So. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Fr. So. So. Jr.

HOmeTOwn Franklin, Tenn.

Belgrade, Serbia Campbellsville, Ky. High Point, N.C. Germantown, Md. Plano, Texas Morehead, Ky. Baltimore, Md. Winnipeg, Manitoba Jackson, Miss.

Orlando, Fla. Bennington, Vt. Nazareth, Israel Abington, Pa. Louisville, Ky. Haselthorpe, Md. Lake Oswego, Ore.

more guard Brent Arrington who also sat out last season as a transfer from Mississippi Valley State.

Woods landed a recruiting class that was ranked No. 1 in the OVC by Hoop Scoop Online.

“We have added quite a bit of talent at several positions, which will help the overall depth of our roster,” Woods said.

Junior guard Luka Pajkovic was on a 2012 NCAA tournament team at Mississippi

MOREHEAD STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Valley State that was coached

by Woods while 6-10 junior center Billy Reader played in the same postseason event for the Montana Grizzlies. Junior guard Kareem Storey played at Utah in that season.

Pajkovic, Reader and Storey all came in this season from junior colleges.

Six-foot-10 junior center DeAndre Leatherwood is an other juco import.

The Eagles have more talent waiting in the wings with transfers Corban Collins (LSU), Jalen Courtney (LSU) and Lyonell Gaines (IUPUI) all sitting out the season. All three could be significant contributors in 2014-15, Woods said.

“Our expectations are certainly higher than a 15-18 record, but this program grew

Please see MSU MEN/11G

DaTe OppOnenT LOCaTiOn Time Nov. 2 St. Catharine (exh.)

Morehead, Ky. 7 p.m.

Nov. 9 Mid-Continent Morehead, Ky. 7 p.m.

Nov. 12 at East Tenn. State Johnson City, Tenn.

7 p.m.

Nov. 15 at Xavier Cincinnati, Ohio 8 p.m.

Nov. 17 Marshall Morehead, Ky. 2 p.m.

Nov. 19 at Northern Kentucky Highland Heights, Ky. 7 p.m.

Nov. 22 at UCLA-x Los Angeles, Calif.

11 p.m.

Nov. 24 at Nevada-x Reno, Nev. 6 p.m.

Nov. 28 vs. Chattanooga-x Las Vegas, Nev. 5 p.m.

Nov. 29 vs. TBA-x Las Vegas, Nev. TBA Dec. 2 Wright State Morehead, Ky. 7 p.m.

Dec. 4 at Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Miss.

8 p.m.

Dec. 15 Bowling Green Morehead, Ky. 2 p.m.

Dec. 19 South Dakota Morehead, Ky. 7 p.m.

Dec. 23 at Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn.

7 p.m.

Dec. 30 Asbury Morehead, Ky. 7 p.m.

Jan. 2 at SIU-Edwardsville Edwardsville, Ill. 8 p.m.

Jan. 4 at Eastern Illinois Charleston, Ill. 3 p.m.

Jan. 11 Eastern Kentucky Morehead, Ky. 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 16 Southeast Missouri Morehead, Ky. 7 p.m.

Jan. 18 UT-Martin Morehead, Ky. 2 p.m.

Jan. 23 at Belmont Nashville, Tenn.

8 p.m.

Jan. 25 at Tennessee State Nashville, Tenn.

8 p.m.

Jan. 29 Belmont Morehead, Ky. 7 p.m.

Feb. 1 Jacksonville State Morehead, Ky. 2 p.m.

Feb. 8 at Eastern Kentucky Richmond, Ky. 11 a.m.

Feb. 13 at Jacksonville State Jacksonville, Ala. 8 p.m.

Feb. 15 at Tennessee Tech Cookeville, Tenn.

8:30 p.m.

Feb. 19 Austin Peay Morehead, Ky. 7 p.m.

Feb. 22 at Murray State Murray, Ky. 8 p.m.

Feb. 27 Tennessee State Morehead, Ky. 7:30 p.m.

March 1 Tennessee Tech Morehead, Ky. 7:30 p.m.

March 5-8 at OVC Tournament Nashville, Tenn.

TBA x-Las Vegas Invitational. Nov. 29 opponent is either Gardner-Webb or IUPUI.

Lady Eagles look to turn around 9-21 season The Herald-Dispatch

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Terrice Robinson and Almesha Jones from the Morehead State women’s basketball team were preseason AllOhio Valley Conference selections.

Robinson is a 5-foot-5 senior guard from Fort Pierce, Fla., who topped the 2012-13 team with a 17.5 scoring average during an all-conference season. Robinson was a 34.1 percent 3-point shooter (59 of 173) and an 82.1 percent free throw shooter at 119-for-145.

“Terrice’s stats and accolades tell her story, and I think the success starts with her,” said fourth-season head coach Tom Hodges. “I am excited for her senior season.”

The 5-6 Jones, a junior guard from Cincinnati, was good 11.1 points and 4.1 assists per game.

Morehead State returns all five primary starting players from a 2012-13 team that was 9-21 last season overall and went 5-11 in conference games. The Eagles brought in seven new players — five

MOREHEAD STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER nO. 1 2 4 11 12 13 14 15 20 21 23 32 33 34 45

name Casey Ryans Monique Bunk Almesha Jones Terrice Robinson Madison Jones Allie Turner Shay Steele Billie Hearn Tyler Ituen Natalie Greenwell Shanice Parker Taybreanna Couch Shiloh Murphy Aaliyah Wells Mackenzie Arledge

pOs. F G G G G G F F G G G F F G F

freshmen and two junior college transfers.

OVC head coaches and sports information directors predicted a fourth-place finish by Morehead State in the East Division behind Tennessee Tech, Belmont and Eastern Kentucky.

Returning players also include 5-4 senior Allie Turner (7.3 ppg) who has 121 career 3-pointers.

At the forward positions are a pair of 6-1 juniors — Casey Ryans and Mackenzie

HT. 6-1 5-4 5-6 5-5 5-9 5-4 6-2 6-2 5-8 5-7 5-9 5-10 5-9 5-8 6-1

CL. Jr. So. Jr. Sr. Fr. Sr. Fr. Fr. Sr. So. Sr. Jr. Fr. Fr. Jr.

HOmeTOwn Rogersville, Tenn.

Orlando, Fla. Cincinnati, Ohio Fort Pierce, Fla. Ashland, Ky. Enon, Ohio Salisbury, N.C. Dry Ridge, Ky. St. Louis, Mo. Elizabethtown, Ky. Washington, D.C. Riverdale, Ga. Reynoldsburg, Ohio Shelbyville, Ky. Chillicothe, Ohio

Arledge — who combined to average more than 10 points and 10 rebounds a game.

Tyler Ituen and Shanice Parker are senior guards back for their final season.

Sophomore guard Natalie Greenwell, who had seasonending injuries the last two years, is also back.

Junior college transfers taking the court are 5-10 junior forward Taybreanna Couch and 5-4 sophomore guard Monique Bunk.

T he f resh m a n cl a ss

includes 5-9 guard Madison Jones from Ashland, 58 guard Aaliyah Wells, 6-2 forward Billie Hearn, 5-9 forward Shiloh Murphy and 6-2 forward Shay Steele.

“As with all freshmen, it’s getting them up to speed on intensity and learning the system,” Hodge said. “If we get those invisible stats figured out and their mental state meets their physical state, we will be in good shape.”

Tennessee Tech, last season’s regular season title winner, edged Belmont in a close prediction for first place in the East Division. The Golden Eagles have played in the last three OVC tournament championship games.

West Division preseason favorite UT Martin beat Tennessee Tech for last season’s championship, its third consecutive OVC crown.

UT Martin senior guard Jasmine Newsome collected OVC preseason player of the year honors. Last season Newsome led the league and was ranked fifth in the nation with 22.6 points a game.

MOREHEAD STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE DaTe Nov. 1 Nov. 8 Nov. 10 Nov. 12 Nov. 16 Nov. 18 Nov. 21 Nov. 24 Nov. 27 Dec. 1 Dec. 4 Dec. 8 Dec. 18 Dec. 30 Jan. 4 Jan. 6 Jan. 11 Jan. 13 Jan. 18 Jan. 20 Jan. 25 Jan. 27 Feb. 1 Feb. 3 Feb. 8 Feb. 15 Feb. 17 Feb. 24 Feb. 27 March 1 March 5-8

OppOnenT Ky. Christian (exh.)

Norfolk State at Lipscomb George Mason Ohio at Marshall at East Tenn. State Duquesne at Cleveland State at Western Kentucky at Cincinnati Indiana Berea at Southern Illinois at Eastern Illinois at SIU Edwardsville Eastern Kentucky Austin Peay UT-Martin Southeast Missouri at Tennessee State at Belmont Jacksonville State Belmont at Eastern Kentucky at Tennessee Tech at Jacksonville State at Murray State Tennessee State Tenneseee Tech at OVC Tournament

LOCaTiOn Morehead, Ky. Morehead, Ky. Nashville, Tenn.

Morehead, Ky. Morehead, Ky. Huntington, W.Va. Johnson City, Tenn.

Morehead, Ky. Cleveland, Ohio Bowling Green, Ky. Cincinnati, Ohio Morehead, Ky. Morehead, Ky. Carbondale, Ill. Charleston, Ill. Edwardsville, Ill. Morehead, Ky. Morehead, Ky. Morehead, Ky. Morehead, Ky. Nashville, Tenn.

Nashville, Tenn.

Morehead, Ky. Morehead, Ky. Richmond, Ky. Cookeville, Tenn.

Jacksonville, Ala. Murray, Ky. Morehead, Ky. Morehead, Ky. Nashville, Tenn.

Time 7:30 p.m.

Noon 3 p.m.

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

5 p.m.

2 p.m.

1 p.m.

4 p.m.

7 p.m.

2 p.m.

TBA 7:05 p.m.

5:15 p.m.

8 p.m.

5:15 p.m.

6 p.m.

4:15 p.m.

6 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

4:15 p.m.

6 p.m.

1 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

Noon 8 p.m.

5:15 p.m.

5:15 p.m.

TBA

College Basketball Preview

Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

The Herald-Dispatch — Huntington, WV, Sunday, November 3, 2013

11G

Bobcats look to fill some big shoes in 2013-14

The Herald-Dispatch

ATHENS, Ohio — Replacing do-everything guard D.J. Cooper isn’t an easy task and Ohio Bobcats head coach Jim Christian is leaning on a new crop of senior players to lead the Bobcats, especially early in the season.

Cooper was the leader of Ohio’s all-time winningest class (94 wins) and recorded the most assists in MidAmerican Conference history (934). He is Ohio’s career leader in assists, steals (327), 3-point field goals (274), games started (139) and games played (143).

He also ranks fourth in Ohio history with 2,075 points.

The 2013 MAC player of the year and AP All-American honorable mention selection now playing in Greece had season averages of 14.1 points, 7.1 assists and 2.0 steals during a 24-10 season when the Bobcats earned a share of the conference regular season title with Akron and secured a berth in the National Invitation Tournament.

Ohio also had senior forward Reggie Keely and

OHIO MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER nO. 0 2 3 4 5 11 13 15 20 21 22 24 33

name pOs. Treg Setty F D.J. Wingfield G-F Javarez Willis G Wadly Wompremier F Maurice Ndour F Khari Harley G-F T.J. Hall F-G Nick Kellogg G Ricardo Johnson F-G Jon Smith F Stevie Taylor G Travis Wilkins G Antonio Campbell F

HT. 6-9 6-5 5-11 6-10 6-9 6-8 6-6 6-3 6-5 6-7 5-10 6-4 6-8

senior guard Walter Offutt on the All-MAC third team.

Keely, now playing pro basketball in Croatia, averaged 12.1 points and 4.5 rebounds while Offutt was good for 10.6 points per game.

This season’s seniors are 6-foot-3 guard Nick Kellogg, 6-6 forward T.J. Hall, 6-7 forward Jon Smith, 6-5 swing player Ricardo Johnson and 6-4 guard Travis Wilkins.

“We have five seniors,’ said Jim Christian, the Ohio head coach in his second season. “People always talk about what you lose, and obviously we lost a lot. But we have a lot of guys that

wT. 196 200 175 213 203 170 210 198 207 189 167 192 279

CL. HOmeTOwn So. Maysville, Ky. Fr. Cincinnati, Ohio Jr. Homer, La. Fr. Miami, Fla. Jr. Mbour, Senegal Fr. Egg Harbor Twp., N.J. Sr. Gainesville, Fla. Sr. Westerville, Ohio Sr. Covington, Ky. Sr. Grove City, Ohio Jr. Gahanna, Ohio Sr. Springfield, Mo. Fr. Covington, Ky.t

have a lot to play for. ... those guys will probably be the ones we depend on in the beginning.”

Kellogg is one of the school’s all-time best 3-point shooters. He is 203-for-506 for his career (40.1 percent) and is 72 shy of setting the Ohio record.

Last season Kellogg averaged 8.0 points followed by Hall (4.8), Smith (4.8), Johnson (3.5) and Wilkins (3.4).

Stevie Taylor, a 5-10 junior guard, is back from last season when he averaged 3.4 points and 2.1 assists.

Eligible this season is Texas Tech transfer Javarez

“Bean” Willis, a 5-11 junior guard. Willis scored 8.1 points a game for the Red Raiders in the 2011-12 season.

Another eligible transfer, 6-9 sophomore Treg Setty, had 2011-12 season averages of 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds playing for Southern Illinois.

Senegal native Maurice Ndour is a 6-9 junior college transfer from Monroe College in New York.

“New guy is a new guy,” Christian said. “We have to be patient with them. We have to get them to fully grasp what we’re trying to do.”

Freshman D.J. Wingfield was a three-time All-Ohio high school player in Cincinnati. The 6-5 guard’s father, Dontonio Wingfield, played for the Cincinnati Bearcats and in the NBA. Three other freshmen bring good size to the Bobcats — 6-10 Wadly Mompremier, 6-8, 279-pound Antonio Campbell and 6-8 Khari Harley.

Christian said depth is Ohio’s strength.

“We’re fortunate to have a lot of guys to help us win games,” he said.

OHIO MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE DaTe Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 12 Nov. 17 Nov. 20 Nov. 23 Nov. 26 Nov. 30 Dec. 7 Dec. 14 Dec. 18 Dec. 22 Dec. 30 Jan. 4 Jan. 8 Jan. 12 Jan. 15 Jan. 18 Jan. 22 Jan. 25 Jan. 29 Feb. 1 Feb. 5 Feb. 8 Feb. 12 Feb. 15 Feb. 19 Feb. 22 Feb. 26 March 1 March 4 March 8 March 10 March 12-15

OppOnenT Ashland (exhibition) Northern Iowa at Ohio State Valparaiso at Morgan State Heidelberg Mercer Evansville at Oakland Alabama A&M Massachusetts at Richmond Longwood at UNC Asheville at Kent State Akron Ball State at Northern Illinois Bowling Green at Eastern Michigan Central Michigan Toledo at Western Michigan Miami (Ohio) at Toledo at Buffalo Western Michigan at Akron Buffalo Kent State at Bowling Green at Miami (Ohio) MAC Tournament at MAC Tournament

LOCaTiOn Time Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Columbus, Ohio 8 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Baltimore, Md. 7:30 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Rochester, Mich.

6 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

Richmond, Va. 1 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

Asheville, N.C. 2 p.m.

Kent, Ohio 7 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 6 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 8 p.m.

DeKalb, Ill. 8 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

Ypsilanti, Mich.

2 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

Athens, Ohio TBA Kalamazoo, Mich.

7 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Toledo, Ohio 7 p.m.

Buffalo, N.Y. 2:30 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

Akron, Ohio 6 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Bowling Green, Ohio 7 p.m.

Oxford, Ohio TBA Campus sites TBA Cleveland, Ohio TBA

Boldon takes the reins for the Lady Bobcats The Herald-Dispatch

ATHENS, Ohio — Bob Boldon knows how to build a winner.

Ohio’s new women’s basketball coach came from Youngstown State where he inherited a team that was 0-30 during the 2009-10 season and turned things around in 2012-13 with a 23-10 team that also won a game in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

Boldon was h i red i n March after former head coach Semeka Randall’s contract was not renewed.

Randall’s teams at Ohio were 50-103 in five seasons.

“Bob Boldon is the perfect f it for Ohio,” said Ohio athletic director Jim Schaus.

Ohio finished last season with a 6-23 overall record and a 1-15 performance in the Mid-American Conference.

Eri n Ba i les, a 6 -foot senior guard from Huntington, was last season’s scoring leader at 10.6 points per game. Bailes also led the

OHIO WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER nO. 1 2 3 4 5 10 12 14 15 20 22 23 24 40 42 44

team in 3-point shooting (54-147, 36.7 percent) and free throw shooting (3-37, 89.2 percent).

Bailes has 584 points in three seasons.

The only other senior on the roster is 6-foot guard Olivia McCluskey from St. Albans, W.Va ., who appeared in one game last season.

Juniors on the squad include 5-10 guard Mariah

KCU men, women look to improve on 14 loss seasons The Herald-Dispatch

name pOs. Erin Maldonado G Mariah Byrd G Erin Bailes G Kiyanna Black G Quiera Lampkins G Lexie Baldwin F Yamonie Jenkins G Kat Yelle G Jasmine Weatherspoon F Tmisht Stinson F Hannah Boesinger F Jenna Curry F Ellen Smith C Samantha Buls C Destini Cooper F Olivia McCuskey G

GRAYSON, Ky. — Kentucky Christian University men’s basketball is coming off a 13-14 season as a Division II member of the National Christian College Athletic Association.

Ace Puckett, a 6-foot-3 junior forward was named to last season’s All Mid-East Region team as an honorable mention selection.

Sophomore guard Dylan Genung was a Mid-East Region all-tournament pick.

Other players for the Knights include 6-foot freshman guard Todd Stacy from Boyd County High School and 6-foot junior guard Tyler Farley from Raceland High School.

The Knights coached by Ron Reed opened the season Friday at Cincinnati Christian.

KCU’s women coached by Ron Arnett had a 14-14 record last season.

Several women’s players are from the Tri-State including 5-8 freshman guard Allie Slone from Ashland; 5-6 senior guard Tanya Bowens from Louisa, Ky. (Lawrence County High School) and 510 senior forward Jessica Marshall from East Carter High School in Grayson.

The women’s season opened Saturday against Central Christian College of the Bible in Circleville, Ohio.

For more information about KCU basketball go to www.kcu.edu.

HT. NA 5-10 6-0 5-5 5-9 6-1 5-7 5-7 6-2 5-10 5-11 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-1 6-0

CL. Jr. Jr. Sr. So. Fr. So. Fr. So. Fr. Fr. Fr. So. Jr. Jr. Fr. Sr.

HOmeTOwn Cleveland, Ohio Mannington, W.Va. Huntington, W.Va. Columbus, Ohio Gahanna, Ohio Hattiesburg, Miss.

Reynoldsburg, Ohio Geneva, Ill. Columbus, Ohio Hattiesburg, Miss.

Hudson, Ohio Sissonville, W.Va. Dayton, Ohio New Market, Md. Reynoldsburg, Ohio St. Albans, W.Va.

Byard, 6-4 center Samantha Buls and 6-3 center Ellen Smith. Byard added 6. 3 points a game. Buls and Smith played limited minutes.

K iya n na Black , a 5 -5 guard, scored 9.6 points a game as a freshman.

Other returning players are 6-1 sophomore forward Lexie Baldwin (5.6 ppg, 5.5 reb) and 5-7 sophomore guard Kat Yelle (1.7 ppg).

“We have few players — and I mean few players — that have experience playing in MAC games,” Boldon said.

Ohio signed three promising freshmen in June.

Hannah Boesinger, a 5-11 forward, scored 19.3 points a game as a high school senior in the Cleveland area while 6-2 freshman forward Jasmine Weatherspoon was recruited from Northland High School in Columbus.

The Bobcats also added 5-10 freshman forward Tmisht Stinson from Hattiesburg, Miss., who had averages of 18.0 points and 9.4 rebounds in high school. “ We’re a ver y young team,” Boldon said. “We’ve got nine freshmen and sophomores on the floor.

We are a very energetic team and a team that at this point has a lot to learn.”

The Bobcats have three other freshmen — 6-1 forward Destini Cooper, 5-7 guard Yamonie Jenkins and 5-9 guard Quiera Lampkins.

OHIO WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

DaTe OppOnenT LOCaTiOn Time Oct. 27 Wilmington (exhibition) Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Nov. 10 Xavier Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Nov. 16 at Morehead State Morehead, Ky. 7 p.m.

Nov. 21 at Louisville Louisville, Ky. 7 p.m.

Nov. 23 at Eastern Kentucky Richmond, Ky. 4 p.m.

Nov. 29 vs. Illinois-Chicago-x San Juan, P.R. 2 p.m.

Nov. 30 vs. Maryland-x San Juan, P.R. 2 p.m.

Dec. 5 at Cleveland State Cleveland, Ohio 7 p.m.

Dec. 14 Notre Dame (Ohio) Athens, Ohio TBA Dec. 20 at East Carolina Greenville, N.C. 7 p.m.

Dec. 29 vs. TBA-xx Harrisonburg, Va. 2:30 p.m.

Dec. 30 vs. TBA-xx Harrisonburg, Va. TBA Jan. 4 at Northern Illinois DeKalb, ill.

2 p.m.

Jan. 9 Miami (Ohio) Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

Jan. 12 Western Michigan Athens, Ohio TBA Jan. 15 at Kent State Kent, Ohio 7 p.m.

Jan. 18 Ball State Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Jan. 23 at Akron Akron, Ohio 7 p.m.

Jan. 26 Toledo Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Jan. 30 Bowling Green Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

Feb. 2 at Central Michigan Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

2 p.m.

Feb. 6 at Buffalo Buffalo, N.Y. Noon Feb. 9 Eastern Michigan Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Feb. 15 at Toledo Toledo, Ohio 2 p.m.

Feb. 19 at Western Michigan Kalamazoo, Mich.

7 p.m.

Feb. 22 Akron Athens, Ohio 2 p.m.

Feb. 27 Buffalo Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

March 2 at Bowling Green Bowling Green, Ohio 2 p.m.

March 5 Kent State Athens, Ohio 7 p.m.

March 8 at Miami (Ohio) Oxford, Ohio 2 p.m.

March 10 MAC Tournament Campus sites TBA March 12-15 at MAC Tournament Cleveland, Ohio TBA x-San Juan Shootout. xx-James Madison Tournament.

Wiggins, Parker headed for blue-chip showdown

By DAVE SKRETTA The associated press

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Two of the top freshmen in the country won’t have a whole lot of time to get acclimated to college basketball before squaring off in an early season showdown.

Try just four days each.

Huntington Prep product Andrew Wiggins is the headliner for the most heralded class at Kansas in years, while Jabari Parker is the biggest name headed to Duke. The two of them will face each other Nov. 12 at the United Center in Chicago as part of a doubleheader that also features Michigan StateKentucky.

Two more programs boasting a slew of stellar freshmen.

In an era of one-and-done superstars, the first-year players hitting the hardwood this season may trump any other year.

Along with Wiggins and Parker, there’s Kentucky’s class of Julius Randle, Dakari Johnson, James Young and the Harrison brothers, Aaron and Andrew. There’s also Noah Vonleh at Indiana, Aaron Gordon at Arizona and Kasey Hill at Florida.

All of them have the potential to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft next year. In the meantime, all of them will be trying to deliver an NCAA title.

“We can be great, the best

File photo/The Herald-Dispatch

One of the top freshmen in the country this year, Huntington Prep’s Andrew Wiggins is playing for Kansas this year. team in the country,” Wiggins told The Associated Press. “We have a young team, the chemistry is really good. The first couple weeks of practice were hard for the freshmen, but everything is coming easier now, more fluid.

So the potential is there.”

Potential is a dangerous word in college basketball. There are

no sure bets. Plenty of highly touted players have flamed out before they ever earned a dime.

It happens every year.

But perhaps never before has a group of freshmen promised to make such a statement on the national stage. Just about every program with a chance to compete for a national championship this season will be counting on at least one first-year player to make an immediate impact.

In the case of Kansas, it’s more than one.

Wiggins may be the most recognizable name, but combo guard Wayne Selden and raw 7-footer Joel Embiid have the potential to be lottery picks.

They’re joined by a group of freshmen that includes sharpshooters Conner Frankamp, Frank Mason and Brannen Greene.

“There’s as much hype around this year as any,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said, “and I think it’s a large part because of the unknown. We’ve had other good players and other good teams return and this team hasn’t proven itself at all. But the unknown has everyone excited.”

Kansas opens the season against Louisiana Monroe on Nov. 8, the same day Duke opens its season against Davidson. The two blue bloods — and their blue chippers — collide four days later.

MSU Men

n Continued from 10G

a lot from the beginning to end of my first year at Morehead State,” Woods said. “The combination of some very good returnees and talented newcomers should make for an exciting 2013-14.

“Then, we will add at least three highquality guys for 2014-15. The future is very bright for MSU men’s basketball.”

Eastern Kentucky, which hasn’t won the OVC title since 1979, and coach Jeff Neubauer said he has his best team in nine years with the Colonels.

Fresh off a school-record 25 wins, Eastern Kentucky returns more experience than any team in the league with four starters back, paced by backcourt tandem Glenn Cosey and Corey Walden.

“We do have a very good returning group and that is something we’re excited about,” Neubauer said. “We’ve (been) picked to win the OVC East because of our returners and the fact that we only lost one guy. I don’t think we’re picked dominantly to win because Belmont is still on our side. Belmont is the team to beat.”

Belmont made its OVC debut in grand fashion last season, winning 26 games and sweeping the regular season and tournament championships. In the OVC tournament final, the Bruins knocked off Murray State in overtime for the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid for their sixth trip in eight years.

But Belmont lost three starters, including last year’s co-OVC player of the year Ian Clark. Coach Rick Byrd is back for his 28th season.

Southeast Missouri State and Murray State are co-favorites in the OVC West Division, though SEMO picked up two more first-place votes.

Tyler Stone, a 6-8 senior forward for Southeast Missouri State was tabbed as the preseason conference player of the year.

College Basketball Preview

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