Latest MU men's hoop practice news/Rickie Crews' suspension continues/From a blogger: Stockton plans for upset
Just talked with Dave.
Crews' suspension for "violation of team code of conduct", which was to have ended today, continues indefinitely. ""His inter action with his fellow students on campus is not the attitude we expect from our student athletes here at Monmouth,''Calloway said. The coach said the suspension will continue until Calloway ""sees a proper attitude and behavior towards his fellow students and everyone else on campus.''
I asked Dave if he thought Crews would ever again play for Monmouth. Said Calloway, "That is completely up to Rickie Crews, not Dave Calloway,'' Calloway said.
My personal take on all this - Rickie Crews' playing time for Monmouth will be the 11 minutes he put in at Seton Hall. It would be nice to be wrong, not only for MU's sake but for his, but I see no evidence to the contrary. It's too bad. He could be making maybe the same or close to the same impact rookie Jhamar Youngblood is making.
Also: Yaniv Simpson (knees) remains out of action. There is no time table for his return.
Calloway said he is considering lineup, role changes, the works, etc. Defensively there will be no changes with the philosophy but I get the feeling any changes on the defensive end will be tied in with how the individuals are performing.
Also... I believe playing time for Jhamar "The Jet" will continue to rise, whether he starts or not.
Calloway said he told the team Tuesday, "'It's almost like we;r'e starting over, It's like Oct. 15th again (first day of practice). We've got a lot of work to do.''
Calloway said MU will practice Wednesday, may take Thursday off. Will practice Friday and Saturday. It hosts Stockton in the exhibition game 1 p.m. Sunday. PLEASE NOTE the time has been changed from the 5 p.m. start time listed on schedules.
This just in from a blogger - sent to MU general comments:
Anonymous said...
Tony ,There are posters all over Stockton tonight about the Monmouth Game offering free bus rides up the parkway to see the Sunday upset.
Hmmm..... do the posters bear the finger prints of Open Gym Legend?
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
Crews' suspension for "violation of team code of conduct", which was to have ended today, continues indefinitely. ""His inter action with his fellow students on campus is not the attitude we expect from our student athletes here at Monmouth,''Calloway said. The coach said the suspension will continue until Calloway ""sees a proper attitude and behavior towards his fellow students and everyone else on campus.''
I asked Dave if he thought Crews would ever again play for Monmouth. Said Calloway, "That is completely up to Rickie Crews, not Dave Calloway,'' Calloway said.
My personal take on all this - Rickie Crews' playing time for Monmouth will be the 11 minutes he put in at Seton Hall. It would be nice to be wrong, not only for MU's sake but for his, but I see no evidence to the contrary. It's too bad. He could be making maybe the same or close to the same impact rookie Jhamar Youngblood is making.
Also: Yaniv Simpson (knees) remains out of action. There is no time table for his return.
Calloway said he is considering lineup, role changes, the works, etc. Defensively there will be no changes with the philosophy but I get the feeling any changes on the defensive end will be tied in with how the individuals are performing.
Also... I believe playing time for Jhamar "The Jet" will continue to rise, whether he starts or not.
Calloway said he told the team Tuesday, "'It's almost like we;r'e starting over, It's like Oct. 15th again (first day of practice). We've got a lot of work to do.''
Calloway said MU will practice Wednesday, may take Thursday off. Will practice Friday and Saturday. It hosts Stockton in the exhibition game 1 p.m. Sunday. PLEASE NOTE the time has been changed from the 5 p.m. start time listed on schedules.
This just in from a blogger - sent to MU general comments:
Anonymous said...
Tony ,There are posters all over Stockton tonight about the Monmouth Game offering free bus rides up the parkway to see the Sunday upset.
Hmmm..... do the posters bear the finger prints of Open Gym Legend?
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
posted by Tony Graham at 9:11 PM
42 Comments:
No one here is afraid of me? Ask T-Roy about me and ask Snoop a loop. Im gonna be nailing j's from my sweet spot like Calloway used to do in his prime. Delic's range is domestic compared to my long range ability. It's on my friends, it is on! Be at Boylan.
This guy is a beauty! But fun to hear from, that's for sure.
Anyone at MU have an idea who this guy might be?
My guess is he's not even a member of the team...
By the way..I am talking with coach Matthews Wednesday night for a story for Sunday.
I will be sure to ask him if any members of his team ever played "open gym ball" at MU..
Okay okay you got me I confess. I am not on the Stockton team, but I was an open gym player from MU and transferred to Stockton. I did not make the team, but I should have. I will be at the game and am torn on who to cheer for. There is a big buzz though for an upset on campus, and that post was not mine. Coach Matthews also gave Bill Gilligan a green light. I apologize for leading the Hawks on, but I still have bitter feelings for gettingcut from the MU walk-on tryouts.
Tony I've got 2 major questions that I would love for you to answer tonight...Seeing as we are all down and wishing for the MU brand of ball of old and a return to winning ways and traditional MU hoops, here are my 2 questions...I would love for you to answer first, but then this could get fun if others have opinions...okay
1. If you had to assemble 5 starters and 1 sixth man for the hawks to play between 1990-present day (excluding current players) who would you pick for a Hawks team? I dont want the five best Hawks of all time, but I want five guys you think would make a great team (and a sixth man). Not always do five stars mesh together, so I guess what I am asking is for to paste together 6 hawks who were great team players and represented what MU was about...
2. Favorite MU team..and why? Simple enough?
Okay you are on the clock my friend...spontaneous!
Just to explain better...I dont think this team would be great
John Giraldo
Dave Calloway
Blake Hamilton
Corey Albano
Alex Blackwell
(maybe 5 best Hawks all time)
I want a role player or 2 on every team. If it's too hard to select one team, try 2, thanks Tony.
By the way, my favorite MU team was 1996!
My next life I'm going to be a detective on Stockton hoops CSI.
Billy Gilligan, now there was a guy who's light was stuck on green.
I hope getting cut from MU walk-on try outs does not scar you for the remainder of your days.
I was kidding when I said that but, actually, this leads to an interesting point..
Here's Rickie Crews, a kid who has a full D 1 scholarship and all the talent in the world....and apparently is not about to make the most of it....
And there you were ..trying like hell to to make the team as a walk on...
By the way, under wacky DIII rules Stockton can't even formally practice for this game.....
Okay clearly im crazy, that team I posted would be great, but I think you understand where I was going with my post right?
Number two before number one...1996 team...the best ever to wear the blue and white.
Could have been Al's senior year team in 1991-92 but suffered devastating injuries to PG Andy Partee and C Alex Sturm .
OK...let me look for a team that combines talent with kids who "knew how to play"
PG - Tyler Azzarelli (solid, steady, tenacious defender)
SG - John Giraldo (moving over from the point)
C - Corey Albano (bcause he was so damn good!)
PF - Alex Blackwell (you just can't have an MU all anything team without the "Chief")
SF - Glenn Stokes (was a center but let's not quibble).
Rutgers transfer was ideal MU player..tough defender and rebounder, a scorer, and intelligent passer. Career was short lived due to a foot injury.
6th man - Steve Bridgemohan..didn't score much but a relentless defender and strong rebounder...
Other possible sixth men: - Jack Gordon. A "nasty" type player was the sixth man on the '96 championship team. Also a challenge to coach: Used to drive Wayne Szoke
a bit nuts.
Russ Anderson: occasionl scorer, good defender and rebounder.
Lable Rickie GONE!
I can almost guarantee you (based on passed experience) that Dave will let him go.
Dave weakest link is patience and dedication to the kids. That's part of the team's current problem. If the Coaching staff would show some compassion and stop treating 18 & 19 olds kids like grown men, they will be able to get more out of them on and off the court. In order to get what they want "on the court", the coaches should do more "off the court".
Did you just read what you said?
Gee, the gall of coaches, treating 18 and 19 year old like grown men.
So...they should treat 18 and 19 year olds..how exactly? Like little children.
Frankly..I feel Dave does his best to keep kids in school and..eligible.
Why is it always a coaches fault (we're not just talking you blaming Dave here) if a player falls into social and or academic difficulty?
18 and 19 year olds should be capable of making their own decisions, and at least knowing right from wrong.
The Chief, Al b. was the greatest hawk ever to put on a blue and white jersey period. There really is no argument.
Tony I like your team alot that you put. It is very hard to pick just 5 Hawks.
Al B. sigh..those were the days....
Ricky probably thinks he has talent beyond Monmouth but from what I've seen when they leave they are never heard from again.
Tony, can you remember anyone going on to better things after leaving MU? - maybe Alpha Bangura for a short time at St. John's.
How do you like these MU teams...FYI, they are balanced Hawk Teams that would have been fun to watch, the teams are not indicative of overall talent...Just trying to play along with the post..
Team 1
PG-Tyler Azzerelli
SG-Dave Calloway
SF-William Lewis
PF-Blake "The Hammer" Hamilton
C-Corey Albano
Team 2
PG-John Giraldo
SG-Chris Kenny
SF-Jason Krayl
PF-Alex Blackwell "The Chief"
C-Glenn Stokes
Team 3
PG-Rahsaan Johnson
SG-Dwayne Byfield
SF-Harrie Garris
PF-Jacky Gordon
C- Kevin Owens
I know there are some other Hawk greats I am missing here, but this was a first stab at it..
Tony,
I agree -- Crews is done here. Another chapter in the woulda-coulda-shoulda's for MU hoops.
Callaway & his staff have had too many of these fiascos thru the years. Guys like Alpha Bangura, Andre Williams, the dopey brother-act that transferred from Drexel (can't remember the names), Brent Stephens, Chris Shovlin, Tyson Johnson, Tyrone Hanson, and now Crews! Probably forgetting a few too. All guys with great potential who have been at the school for the proverbial cup-of-coffee.
Bad luck, or bad recruiting? Sure we've had our success stories too, but too many of these blow-ups have occurred. Now we're starting to feel the effects of the last 3 year's worth of recruiting failures with holes in our roster.
I know you like Dave & the rest of the crew there, but you can't deny we've had more than our share of these bad hombres.
I don't know that Rickie thinks he has talent beyond MU. That doesn't seem to be the issue.
Bangura never made it at St. John's. Andre Williams had a rather mundane career at Clveland State and so on. After that group left..two years later MU went to the NCAAs behind Rahsaan Johnson.
Usually "the grass is always greener" until you get there.
Behind Rahsaan Johnson yes certainly, but with a host of nice role players beside him right?
Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda what? He was a kid that simply didnt make it, or seemingly isnt going to. Talent is just one part of the whole package.
I return with only nominal changes to blogging identity! Tony I had 26 in a 4on4 game last night in open gym and I think Coach Matthews has his eye on me to suit up and rain j's over the Jet Youngblood. Man I schooled a few girls last night and even scored one on a guy, but he was 14. Oh well, lets go Stockton!
First of all..I felt I had to delete a few comments about Rickie...no one really said anything outlandish..but there were some assumptions, even though they might be in the ball park, etc., that were just that, assumptions, that I deemed didn't need to go here.
Remember..he, his parents, friends, relatives, etc., have access to all this.
I don't mind discussing his situation..but let's not further embarrass him either. OK?...
Even though I am not optimistic it's going to happen..I can't help hoping it will all work out.
OK..you list a whole group of players that didn't work out at MU for one reason or another. I am not giving Dave a pass here, but these things do happen in college hoops.
I think "bad hombres" was a little strong but I let it go. I didn't notice Jesse James in that group.
Shovlin and Stephens left on their own as for that matter did Bangura and Williams.
We all know about Tyson, Hanson never qualified academically, etc.
By the "Dopey" brothers I guess you mean the Yoders. They were recruited by Szoke to be accurate.
But looking around college basketball..Wagner just had two kids leave..their best player (Vinson) is on school suspension (though he may be back), one good player a year seems to bolt CCSU, a few years ago FDU kids held up a 7-11..so on and so forth. And that's just a small sampling from the NEC.
My point - stuff happens at many programs (well, maybe not armed robbery!).
Your point - which is well taken - is, when there's too much of it a team eventually has to suffer, and the problems are beginning to show up here with the holes in the MU roster.
This team and season is still very salvagable.
The guards are young and should get better.
They have two recruits, PG Hett and forward DelTufo signed for next year, plus the big kids sitting out, and MU needs to be right on just about all these kids, especially the front court players, with a few scholarships still to go.
I know they are looking to add more front court help.
Re "behind Rahsaan Johnson." Absolutely.
You are definitely a "legend." At least on this blog anyway..!
There was a Tyson Johnson sighting at Taco Bell in Long Island, while he didnt get e-coli, he has ballooned up to 6'4 280, 15 pounds larger than he was suited up for MU last year.
Tony, did you go to practice today, and if so how was it?
This is a blog from "Excited in Stockton." I had to do a little editing of one word but otherwise here it is....
Tony there is a great buzz around the Stockton campus for an upset over MU. Saturday we're having a bon-fire and pep rally and a fan bus will be coming down to counter the Boylan-@@#$#@@ on Sunday. We all believe we can win and this is our big opportunity. But there is a great buzz on campus for this one.
If indeed your are accurate, there is then a whole lot more buzz at Stockton than at MU where, as opposed to a buzz, I suspect more of a zzzzzz..because it is:
a) an exhbition game, b) probably not held quite as high on the "must see" list as Loyola Marymount.
No disrespect to Stockton from me...but, while Stockton players and rooters may consider this game like playing, Oh, Seton Hall, MU fans at least consider this game well, like, playing Stockton.
I think the MU players will be up for the game as they see it as a chance to "get well" after their recent trials and tribulations.
But the fans? I don't think so.
Yes..I was there from about 345 pm on. Practice was rather bland...Dave mixed up the combinations. Everybody practiced except Simpson, and of course Crews was not present.
I didn't notice anything dramatic one way or the other. Deki was hitting shots..actually Barlow (remember him?) had a few bright moments.
Overall, there is not much joy in Hawksville these days.
Coaches are demanding anyone who practices must stand, even if they are not on the floor. I like the move myself.
The next practice will be 3 p.m. Friday.
The Neptune High School boy's hoops team was present along with coach Kenny O'Donnell.
I believe they will play a regular season game in Feb. a few hours before an MU game.
Tony,
Now that we're about 1/3 of the way into the season, is there any thought being given to redshirting Simpson? Do you know the rules as to whether or not it can be done?
I haven't asked Dave or the player about this because: I think all parties hope he can still play this year.
Also...since he has played a little it would have to be a medical redshirt which, in my "expert" medical opinion, they might be able to get.
BUT...I don't know that Simpson, who is 21, plans to spend the next five years at MU, four maybe. This is the gist of my conversations with him a few months ago.
Next time I see him, however, I will ask him about it. It's a very fair question.
Tony,a few high school games before both the mens and womens games would be a great way to build the MU fan base.When is the Neptune game ?,maybe CBA would play a big game at Boylan too.
Tony, Tyson is in Texas at JUCO and is doing fine,the word is he will be at IONA playing in the MAAC. I hope it works out for him,Tyrone is on the NEVADA team now,good for him. If Rickey does not make it at MU thats OK,he will find a new place to start his college ball over,lets wish him luck no hard feelings life is tough enough,give him a brake MU FANS.
It's not official...shhhhh...but I think it might be the day of the Feb. 12 FDU game.
Tyrone Hanson is a 6-6 freshman at Nevada (8-1). Last year played for Bridgeton Academy, Maine where Delic played for one year.
Hanson, a deep reserve for now, has played in eight games for Nevada..averaging 6.3 minutes, and is 1-for-9 from the floor..averaging 0.3 ppg.
He and Johnson would be sophomores at MU.
UN has beaten St. Mary's (which almost beat Seton Hall) and Cal. One loss was to UNLV.
Tony,
Tyson (6'-6" 240) is doing very well and will several options for next year. For the person who made the comment "we all know what happened to Tyson" don't really know unless you were there. There are two sides to every story and you only heard one side.
Some of the top business people in the country needs mentoring. It's not limited to children.
I agree crews most likely will not play again at monmouth. As far as Tyson Johnson goes, you people dont know how he is really doing. I read that he's going to the mac to play for Iona.. Says who? Im pretty close to the Johnson family and he will go on to play at a D1 next year after leaving his juco in Texas. Ive talked to the coaches there and they said he has a list of Big East and SEC schools calling for him. He will move on to something better than Monmouth. It was a mistake of his even signing there. Sure he had his ups and downs but who doesnt?
Tyson wouldnt smell the court in the Big East, SEC, ACC, or wherever. He would have been a good NEC player, but who are we kidding. He was in terrible shape, didnt work hard, and had an attitude. Nice kid? Yes I thought so, but cmon why lie, he's no Big East player.
Tony, you have to agree that TYson could never play at that level. Cmon.
What do you think will happen to Youngblood if he left. I saw in an earlier post the question was raised. What do you think about that. The kids not looking very enthused around campus. Good kid though with a lot of potential. Like the other post said we get a good one and they leave. What do you all think. And no TG, not being paranoid, it's just true and with the looks of things who would stick around if they had the hopes of making it to the next level?
Ok. Let's not go off on another Tyson Johnson tangent here.
No more TJ comments until
his JUCO season is over and then, if someone wants, they can send us his stats.
Then the next news after that I would use would be his definite post JUCO plans.
As I said on this topic or an earlier blog, I don't see many of the MU men's hoops players with big grins these days.
You make it sould like every very good player ever to initially wear an MU jersey traded it in soon after for another.
That has hardly been the case.
Aside from the Bangura group, who didn't exactly shine or make it to the NCAAs after they bolted MU, who else has left for a "bigger time" program, and succeeded for that matter. Am I forgetting anyone? Maybe I am..you tell me.
Blake Hamilton, Corey Albano, all had very good careers and never considered departing, far as I know.
True, John Giraldo did consider leaving.
He told me last year the best decision he ever made was to remain at MU.
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