TheWeave wrote:
I can live with Northeastern and Kent State, but Woe-furd...the name just doesn't have much cache.
Wofford Terriers
CHN 2009-10 Projected Overall Rank: #138
Conference Rank: #2 Southern Conference
2008-09: 16-14, 12-8
2008-09 postseason: none
Coach: Mike Young (90-117 at Wofford, 90-117 overall)
Wofford's 2008-2009 campaign certainly ended with everybody feeling unfulfilled. The Terriers ended the regular season winning five of their last six games with the only loss coming by two points in Charleston. But then the group struggled in the opening game of the conference tournament and was sent home early at the hands of Elon. That left Coach Mike Young and the rest of his team looking immediately to the future. And the future looks good.
Key Losses: G Matt Estep
Key Newcomers:Two years ago Cameron Rundles was the Big Sky's Freshman of the Year. While at Montana he averaged 8.3 points per game and shot an incredible 47.8 percent from beyond the arc. Rundles kept getting better as the season progressed and the Grizzlies were certainly disappointed to see him transfer. But that is Wofford's gain as Rundles should immediately step into a starting position. Jamar Diggs, a fellow Minnesotan, also sat out last season as a transfer and the 6-2 guard could provide a nice spark off the bench. The Terriers need some size and they got it with Domas Rinksalis. The 6-9 center is a quality scorer around the basket and tough on the glass. The more minutes he can play, the better off this team will be.
Backcourt:And that is because this group is very heavy on perimeter players. Brad Loesing and Jason Dawson are both quality ball handlers and Corey Godzinski is a quality scorer when he has the opportunity. Yet it is Tim Johnson, who is listed as a 6-6 wing, that should be playing most of the minutes at the three spot. Due to Johnson's size, weight and strength he will spend most of his time at the four spot, but it helps that Godzinski is 6-8 and can definitely help out on the glass from the backcourt. Johnson is emerging as a superstar on a team that already has a lot of scoring prowess. Last year he averaged 10.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Shooting for an average of a double-double is a good goal for him this season.
Frontcourt:The backcourt might have a lot of size, especially if you really consider Johnson as a wing, but Noah Dahlman is the only returning player listed as a forward who has any major experience. Dahlman is no taller than Johnson or Godzinski, but he is a true interior player. He is not as effective on the glass as Johnson, but Dahlman did lead this team with 17.8 points per game last year and should be the leader again. Kevin Giltner, Terry Martin and Drew Crowell all started at least a couple games last year as underclassmen and they should be ready to pick up the slack when Dahlman and Johnson need a break.
Who to Watch:Dahlman and Johnson were not the only double-digit scorers on Wofford last year. Junior Salters, who is ironically a senior, averaged 15.0 points per game during the 2008-2009 campaign and is one of the most prolific outside shooters that nobody knows about. Salters connected on three long balls per game and even started to emerge as a player who could also get to the basket and finish. If he keeps getting more aggressive, the opposition will have a tough time stopping him.
Final Projection:Wofford returns seven players who started at least ten games last year and then added Rundles who very well could be starting from day one. Injuries were a problem last year as Salters and Godzinski missed a handful of games, but the depth in the backcourt is extremely impressive. And this group if versatile enough to move things around and cover for any injuries in frontcourt. With virtually everybody back and a few talented newcomers, Wofford could be the team to beat in the SoCon this year…especially now that Davidson is off the national radar.
Projected Post-season Tournament: none
Projected Starting Five:Brad Loesing, Sophomore, Guard, 5.3 points per game
Junior Salters, Senior, Guard, 15.0 points per game
Corey Godzinski, Senior, Guard, 7.0 points per game
Tim Johnson, Senior, Forward, 10.0 points per game
Noah Dahlman, Junior, Forward, 17.8 points per game
first a review of the upcoming season ...
based on Mr. Pomeroy's computer rankings ... for the 2008-09 season ...
Overall Conf
W-L W-L Pomeroy / Rnk
Gonzaga WCC 28-6 14-0 .9563 / 7
San Diego St. MWC 26-10 11-5 .8858 / 33
St. Mary's WCC 28-7 10-4 .8393 / 56
Kent St.* MAC 28-7 13-3 .8260 / 72
Nevada Las Vegas MWC 21-11 9-7 .7895 / 75
Northeastern CAA 19-13 12-6 .6854 / 101
Portland WCC 19-13 9-5 .6612 / 110
Pacific^ BW 21-13 10-6 .6388 / 113
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Santa Clara WCC 16-17 7-7 .5566 / 142
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UC Santa Barbara BW 16-15 8-8 .4855 / 169
San Diego WCC 16-16 6-8 .4680 / 177
San Jose St. WAC 13-17 6-10 .4280 / 194
Fresno St. WAC 13-21 3-13 .3895 / 207
Wofford* Sou 16-14 12-8 .3155 / 233
Rice CUSA 10-22 4-12 .3098 / 235
Northern Arizona BSky 8-19 5-11 .3008 / 237
San Francisco WCC 11-19 3-11 .2982 / 238
Harvard Ivy 14-14 6-8 .2930 / 243
Cal St. Bakersfield Ind 8-21 0-0 .2380 / 270
New Hampshire AmE 9-20 6-10 .1769 / 274
Pepperdine WCC 9-23 5-9 .1541 / 299
Loyola Marymount WCC 3-28 2-12 .0934 / 320
Houston Baptist Ind 5-25 0-0 .0912 / 324
* possible 2nd game Cable Car match-up
^ Pacific is Home/Home (once in the West Coast Classic MTE)
we play WCC conference foes min. of twice
with a third (or fourth or fifth???) game in the WCC Tournament
D-2 / NAIA / ???
Notre Dame De Namur
Menlo
Dominican (Calif.)
maybe 18 D-1 wins ...
to put into perspective ... last year's preview ...
2008 College Basketball Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) Through games of Sunday, March 16 2008 Overall Conf Overall Non-Conf W-L W-L RPI SOS RPI SOS Stanford P10 26-7 13-5 14 56 58 295 (Nevada Las Vegas) MWC 25-7 12-4 24 63 46 61 Gonzaga WCC 25-7 13-1 30 93 28 12 St. Mary's WCC 24-6 12-2 36 138 17 31 Arizona* P10 18-14 8-10 38 2 5 5 UAB CUSA 22-10 12-4 56 95 96 165 (Belmont) ASun 24-8 14-2 78 229 84 69 (San Diego) WCC 20-13 11-3 94 100 159 33 Texas El Paso* CUSA 19-13 8-8 102 121 102 213 Pacific BW 20-10 11-5 140 269 146 307 Santa Clara WCC 13-16 6-8 186 181 161 171
Pepperdine WCC 10-21 4-10 204 143 137 46 James Madison* CAA 13-17 5-13 215 204 113 288 Montana BSky 12-16 8-8 232 262 185 112 Florida Atlantic* SBlt 15-18 8-10 233 247 256 309 San Jose St. WAC 13-19 4-12 238 224 148 220 San Francisco WCC 9-21 5-9 273 187 278 115 Portland WCC 8-22 3-11 298 249 268 255 New Hampshire AE 8-20 6-10 305 277 319 241 Harvard IVY 8-22 3-11 307 235 263 203 Loyola Marymount WCC 5-26 2-12 308 183 272 164 Sacramento St. BSky 2-24 2-14 335 248 334 182(conference champ)
* -- possible tourney opponent
There SHOULD be 15 (D-1) wins there ... {some where} ...
and the ACTUAL final NCAA version --- and our record (14-17) against it ...
2009 NCAA Men's Basketball RPI Through Games of: Final 2009 Generated: Wednesday 04/08/09 06:04 PM RPI outcome venue/opp. 21 L 95-53 @ Gonzaga 21 L 81-73 Gonzaga 21 L 94-59 WCC Gonzaga 45 L 63-62 @ St. Mary's (CA) 45 W 70-52 St. Mary's (CA) 49 L 69-66 NIT Arizona 52 L 64-61 NIT UAB 72 L 78-66 @ UNLV 82 W 89-88 ot UTEP 95 L 77-69 Stanford 118 W 83-80 Belmont 127 L 53-52 Portland 127 W 67-75 ot @ Portland 138 L 63-57 @ Pacific 186 W 71-69 @ Montana 193 W 59-56 @ San Jose St. 194 L 54-48 @ Georgia 197 L 55-50 @ San Diego 197 W 64-62 ot San Diego 197 W 80-69 WCC San Diego (8-12) ---------------------------------------------- 198 Santa Clara (14-17 vs. D-1) ---------------------------------------------- 201 L 58-54 @ New Hampshire (6-5) 245 L 73-68 @ Harvard 254 W 70-54 San Francisco 254 L 67-66 @ San Francisco 278 W 64-52 Pepperdine 278 L 66-60 @ Pepperdine 312 L 65-61 NIT Fla. Atlantic 313 W 85-59 Houston Baptist 317 W 82-56 Loyola Marymount 317 W 69-64 @ Loyola Marymount 341 W 51-32 Sacramento St. -- SCU will be adding the following for 09-10 09 Conf Opp. RPI ------ ------------------ 31 MWC San Diego St. 84 CAA Northeastern 91 C-USA Houston 145 AmEast Kent St. 176 BWest UC Santa Barbara 177 Sou Wofford 221 C-USA Rice 223 WAC Fresno St. 295 BSky Northern Ariz. 300 Ind. Cal St. Bakersfield
comments:
so in analyzing the record ... it looks like we should have been about an RPI 120 team ... not the 198 that probably came about of those "bad" losses ... especially if you figure in the "7-point-home-advantage" rule ... and we could have been an 18-13 team ... or better ... with a little more consistency ... and that is something I know the coaches have been addressing ...
edited to fix the USD loss/win location & add the final D-1 record
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