MU men's hoops advance story for Thursday Press
By TONY GRAHAM
STAFF WRITER
WEST LONG BRANCH … Any Monmouth University men's basketball fans clamoring for changes in
the wake of Monday's blowout loss to Seton Hall University now have a few to consider. They
are, however, apparently more the result of circumstance than design.
Monmouth coach Dave Calloway said sophomore point guard Mike Shipman will not start in tonight's Northeast Conference opener for the Hawks (3-6) vs. LIU (3-4), ""because he was late
for class,'' Calloway said.
He also said freshman Rickie Crews ""has been suspended from all basketball activities for
one week for violation of team code of conduct.
""He will go to class and study hall. Then the suspension will be lifted and we'll move
forward and he'll move forward.''
Crews, a raw but talented 6-foot-7 player, made his season debut Monday night against the
Pirates. He scored six points in the final 11 minutes.
The Hawks appeared to be a somber group at Wednesday's practice.
""I think we are one very ticked off team,'' senior forward Dejan Delic said. ""We want to
get on the court and win some basketball games.
""This whole season it has been hard for us to win games. We've won games on some crazy
finishes.''
Monmouth is actually doing better over nine non-conference games this season than last
season when it began 2-7 en route to a 3-8 non-league record.
Tonight the Hawks will be shooting for their seventh consecutive NEC season-opening
victory.
""We have to win this game,'' Delic said. ""It's a conference game, we're picked to win the
league. We can't allow teams to come here and beat us.''
Senior guard James Williams has scored 1,359 points, 12th on the all-time list at LIU, with
which Monmouth split two games last season.
LIU burned Monmouth with 16 3-pointers, six by Williams, in a regular season loss for the
Hawks last Feb. 11 in Brooklyn. LIU was picked No.‚3 in the 2006-2007 NEC Coaches preseason
poll.
""They really spread you and look to shoot the 3,'' Calloway said. ""They return everybody
from last year, so we've got to be ready to go.''
Yaniv Simpson (knees) did not practice Wednesday. Marques Alston (knee tendinitis) and Delic (knees) practiced lightly. John Bunch participated in a full practice.
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
STAFF WRITER
WEST LONG BRANCH … Any Monmouth University men's basketball fans clamoring for changes in
the wake of Monday's blowout loss to Seton Hall University now have a few to consider. They
are, however, apparently more the result of circumstance than design.
Monmouth coach Dave Calloway said sophomore point guard Mike Shipman will not start in tonight's Northeast Conference opener for the Hawks (3-6) vs. LIU (3-4), ""because he was late
for class,'' Calloway said.
He also said freshman Rickie Crews ""has been suspended from all basketball activities for
one week for violation of team code of conduct.
""He will go to class and study hall. Then the suspension will be lifted and we'll move
forward and he'll move forward.''
Crews, a raw but talented 6-foot-7 player, made his season debut Monday night against the
Pirates. He scored six points in the final 11 minutes.
The Hawks appeared to be a somber group at Wednesday's practice.
""I think we are one very ticked off team,'' senior forward Dejan Delic said. ""We want to
get on the court and win some basketball games.
""This whole season it has been hard for us to win games. We've won games on some crazy
finishes.''
Monmouth is actually doing better over nine non-conference games this season than last
season when it began 2-7 en route to a 3-8 non-league record.
Tonight the Hawks will be shooting for their seventh consecutive NEC season-opening
victory.
""We have to win this game,'' Delic said. ""It's a conference game, we're picked to win the
league. We can't allow teams to come here and beat us.''
Senior guard James Williams has scored 1,359 points, 12th on the all-time list at LIU, with
which Monmouth split two games last season.
LIU burned Monmouth with 16 3-pointers, six by Williams, in a regular season loss for the
Hawks last Feb. 11 in Brooklyn. LIU was picked No.‚3 in the 2006-2007 NEC Coaches preseason
poll.
""They really spread you and look to shoot the 3,'' Calloway said. ""They return everybody
from last year, so we've got to be ready to go.''
Yaniv Simpson (knees) did not practice Wednesday. Marques Alston (knee tendinitis) and Delic (knees) practiced lightly. John Bunch participated in a full practice.
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
posted by Tony Graham at 9:35 PM
4 Comments:
Simpson knees were bad before he got to MU ,my understanding he has not played for two years,what were they thinking ? or did GB bag them as a going away gift? When will we see him play ? again more HYPE with no results.Tony you reported his was a big east prospect? Who BS you. Same old story Dave hypes us and then NO results..Tyson Johnson ,Tyrone Hanson,John E,Chris Shovlin,Brent S,Brent F,add a few more drop outs and we get nothing but BS HYPE.
Well, you know more about Simpson's medical history than I do.
All I can tell you is I saw him playing in the gym in Sept. and Oct. and he looked super as a shooter, I mean really good.
I interviewed him when he was coming to MU and he said Seton Hall had recruited him, then asked him to wait a year..he mentioned a few other schools too, said he was steered to MU by Billett.
I talked to Tom Kaplan at the SHU game. Said Simpson was a great talent but had injury problems.
At MU's level sometimes you have to reach.
Tyson Johnson, talent wise, definitely was a top prospect.
I don't know of any coach who won't tell you his/her recruit isn't the second coming of somebody.
With the kids they have coming in...Dave has compared Hett to Azzarelli and Del Tufo to Russ Anderson.
I also talk to recruiting guys about MU prospects. They raved about Johnson.
As for the two signed for next year...they weren't near that that high on Hett and DelTufo but were complimentary. On the record, they always are.
You sort of have to read between the lines. I would say they feel these kids are MU level players, but no higher.
Very disappointed with the latest recruiting. In a year where we have 4 seniors, we bring in 5 kids, and only ONE is playing. The others are either continually injured (maybe the reason other schools passed), head cases (maybe the same reason), or red shirts (not ready - perhaps never will be). Most of these kids (not just Youngblood) NEEDED to get at least some D1 minutes this season (even with the 4 seniors) to prep them for the burden they'll have to carry next year.
In a year after an NCAA tourney appearance which should have given MU access to at least a few guys of above NEC-type talent, this is where we stand.
The cliff is straight ahead folks, and MU is racing toward it. And for those ready to answer me with those 'sooner or later all teams hit a bump' or 'we can't expect to continue having winning seasons forever' or 'wait until the MAC is buit built, then they'll come' lines, that's garbage!! If you can't recruit after where we were last season (and, oh yes, the 5 winning ones before it!) don't expect help after the program starts to nosedive.
I'm not usually a pessimist, just a realist. I still have high hopes for THIS season. I'm just VERY disappointed with what's staring us in the face -- all MU fans should be!
I don't totally disagree with your stance..certainly some things have gone awry but don't grab your parachute just yet.
Red-shirting Adam and Dutch was the right thing to do, and I beleive they will be productive players.
Overall ,see what this year brings...and then more recruiting for next year, and what the roster looks like in Sept....or better yet November.
The point being, as this year has proved, it's a long way from Sept. to Nov.
But give the coaching staff a chance and benefit of the doubt..they have earned that..haven't they?
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