Props for Powell after Christian Selection

I first spoke with Jamion Christian in May 2010, days after he lost out on the Mount men’s basketball head coaching job to Robert Burke.

I had sent Jamion a Facebook message asking if we could talk on the phone. He said yes even though we hadn't met. All I wanted to ask was whether he was interested in being one of Burke’s assistants, but he told me more.

"I wouldn’t go for the first assistant job, no disrespect to coach Burke, but my goal is to be a head coach at Mount St. Mary’s one day or be a head coach at some level at some place," Jamion told me nearly two years ago.

At the time he was William & Mary’s second assistant. He added back then: “I think we’ve got something truly special going on here that I’d really only leave to be a head coach somewhere.”

(He left William & Mary to be a VCU assistant under Shaka Smart that offseason, so I guess he was only half-lying.)

Fortunately for the Mount, that day came years sooner than expected. And while Jamion deserves congratulations, I’m also happy to credit one of my biggest editorial targets: President Thomas H. Powell.

It’s no secret I didn’t like the Burke hire. I thought Brion Dunlap or Jamion should have been selected. The Mount not only needs a good coach, but someone who understands the campus. The students, administrators, local residents – the combination of them is unlike anywhere else. We do things “differently.” Mostly with pride, but sometimes with thinly-veiled shame.

So it’s important, not only to passionate alums, but for the good of the university, that we make the most of our limited resources. In 2010, Powell miserably failed to do that, and Burke shamed us on and off the court because of it.

This time, though, was different. We were scared by rumors that Burke assistant Matt Henry, who finished the season as interim head coach, was a shoe-in for the job. Not scared because of Henry himself, but because no one else was going to be considered for the school’s biggest coaching job. But the more days that passed, the less frequent the search updates.

Then, one glorious Friday night in March, word leaked that Jamion had gotten the job. This was great not only because the class of 2004 graduate meets the aforementioned requirements to coach at the Mount, but also because of how he was chosen.

Athletics director Lynne Robinson had a say, as did other prominent, athletic-minded people who care about the Mount. Powell proactively sought their opinion, to the point that they were surprised. Lynne was even included in the initial press release and led the press conference this time.

So I salute you, Dr. Powell, for a job well done. As much as I respect your efforts on the west side of campus, I don’t think you have much to add in the east, and that’s not meant as an insult. There are, however, some great people working in the ARCC, and others who have moved on, but know Knott Arena far better than you. (Again, not an insult.) I thank you for being part of the well-informed group that chose Jamion. I look forward to returning to Jim Phelan Court next season to watch the Mountaineers in action.

By the way, I already donated $100 to the annual fund this year, and that was before you hired Jamion. Just wait until 2013. For the money and the basketball.

As Mount Falls, Colonials Enjoy Continued Success

In 2008, Mount St. Mary's men's basketball won the Northeast Conference championship. Best three weeks of my life.

The next year, we lost the championship to Robert Morris on a BS buzzer-beater. The year after that – my final as head manager – the Colonials beat us in the semifinals en route to their second consecutive title.

That offseason, Mount head coach Milan Brown was hired by Holy Cross while Mike Rice left Robert Morris for Rutgers. Robert Morris replaced Rice with his assistant, Andrew Toole. Brown was replaced by outsider Robert Burke, whose qualities included his "devotion to Catholicism." (I wasn't happy, but I kept an open mind.) Brown's first assistant, Brion Dunlap (yes, my friend), was shunned, and joined his boss in Worcester.

Two years later, Toole's troops will play their fourth consecutive title game Wednesday (this with their best player suspended the entire season). Meanwhile, in Emmitsburg, Burke was placed on administrative leave Feb. 15, and there hasn't been an update since. (UPDATE: Burke's resignation was announced shortly after this post went live.) The seventh-seeded Mount lost a first-round road game by 19 in last year's NEC tournament and didn't even qualify this season.

Funny how Robert Morris, the program that opted for an in-house hire, had a smoother transition, and maintained its success.

Of course, Mount president Thomas H. Powell's quotations were all over the press releases announcing Burke's hire in May 2010, but athletic director Lynne Robinson wasn't even quoted. (Even the video for the press conference has been removed.) Then, when Burke was abruptly placed on leave, only Robinson was quoted.

If Burke doesn't return, maybe Robinson should ever-so-graciously be allowed to lead the hiring process this time. You know, since it's her job.

Weekend from Hell II: Why am I tortured?

Click here to read about Weekend from Hell I in 2007.

It began and ended with coaches fighting for their jobs, these two days from hell. Never has a weekend held so much promise that four of my teams would all be playing significant matchups in a 30-hour period.

Rich Rodriguez led an underprepared Michigan football team to the Gator Bowl, potentially with his job on the line. Although athletic director Dave Brandon may have decided Rodriguez' fate after a resounding loss to Ohio State, if not sooner, it would not have hurt for the Wolverines to beat nationally-ranked Mississippi State to end the season.

Alas, an incompetent, if not apathetic defense allowed more points (52) than the school's basketball team has done on three occasions this year. Here's to hoping the Jim Harbaugh wants to coach at his alma mater.

With the Michigan game scheduled for 1:30 p.m., I was elated that the Winter Classic was delayed until 8 p.m. due to rain. This meant no choosing between my favorite college football team and my favorite hockey team – the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As it turns out, I would have much rather they played simultaneously. Watching Michigan get trounced before the Penguins failed to score more than once on what seemed like 60 shots on goal (actually 33) was like have my wisdom teeth removed then going back a couple hours later for a root canal. Couldn't they just get it over with?

No reason to worry, though, as the Mount's men's basketball team played a marquee matchup at Virginia Tech and the Philadelphia Eagles hosted their bitter rival, the Dallas Cowboys, in a season finale – both on Sunday.

It was only two years ago that I watched as the Mount squandered a six-point lead with two minutes remaining in Blacksburg. Surely this season we could come just as close. But the more I checked the score, the more I believed that there must be a malfunction with my iPhone application.

Halftime score: Virginia Tech 50, Mount St. Mary's 11.

The Mount had four players not make a single shot from the floor on four or more attempts. As a team, the Mountaineers shot 17 percent while the Hokies made a smooth 69.2 percent of theirs. It's not the way I envisioned Jean Cajou making his season debut. And it's certainly not a team I would have recognized had I been watching.

Final score: Virginia Tech 99, Mount St. Mary's 34.

I'll leave it at that, though I will point out that there are still 16 Northeast Conference games remaining, and the Mount is 1–1, a game out of first. There's no time to waste, though, as St. Francis (Pa.), who beat the Mount once last year, visits Thursday, before Robert Morris goes to Emmitsburg on Saturday. Can you say defining games?

My final hope, then, laid in the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. Although Jason Garrett had been unofficially named Cowboys head coach before the game by everyone but the organization, he certainly wanted to beat the Eagles. And Kevin Kolb certainly wanted to prove that he could win, too, even with a slew of second string skill players around him.

But just like Mike Vick the week before, a sack-fumble for a touchdown by the defense tied the game at 7, and sparked an upset. Not as key, though, as the Eagles failure to execute in the red zone, or stop Dallas from staging a late-game touchdown drive to go ahead 14–13, even with the refs botching the spot on a Jason Witten reception that should have been ruled a first down.

So Michigan could very possibly begin a search for a new coach within 24 hours, the Penguins are suddenly not so hot after winning 12 in a row, the Mount has zero momentum going into conference play, and likewise for the Eagles heading into the playoffs.

This Saturday, the Mount, again, hosts Robert Morris. The same day, if not Sunday, the Eagles host the Packers. And wouldn't you know, Michigan's season is over and the Penguins don't play either day. So already it can only hurt half as much as it does right now.

BREAKING: Cajou Rejoins Mount

Jean Cajou has rejoined the Mount St. Mary's men's basketball team, according to an individual who was at the ARCC today.


Cajou left the Mount before the fall semester began for a leave of absence due to personal reasons.


I've seen one game on TV this year, parts of two on the computer, and the Loyola game in person. Although coach Robert Burke is doing well transitioning the program to a new coaching staff, I can only think that Cajou's leadership in the backcourt will help the young team.


I'm not sure how soon Cajou will see playing time, but the Mount travels to Albany for a 7 p.m. game tomorrow. (I would guess they were practicing at the ARCC today, as the individual tells me, instead of in Albany, because it is the last day of finals.) I doubt he plays today or Monday against American at home, but you never know.


As well as Lamar Trice is playing, I wouldn't mind seeing him and Cajou starting at 1 and 2 by the time the Mount plays its third conference game Jan. 6. It is possible, though, that Trice is more comfortable coming off the bench. Regardless, I'd like to see how we do with freshmen Josh Castellanos and Julian Norfleet coming off the bench instead and leaving redshirt freshman David Golladay at the 3.


Shawn Atupem should also remain in the starting lineup, but I'd like to see Raven Barber starting fulltime soon if he's completely healthy. Norfleet has a good stroke, but with only a 30 percent clip from 3, and Castellanos 2–for–17 from deep, maybe they will be more settled after watching the game unfold for a few minutes.


As someone who has been to a team's every practice while other's who simply saw home games thought they new better than coach Milan Brown, I'm certainly not criticizing Burke. It's just that the starting lineup I'd like to see is 1 Trice 2 Cajou 3 Golladay 4 Atupem 5 Barber. If Danny Thompson, however, keeps playing as well as he is, you could start him at the 5 and have a very good defensive post playing with three very good defensive guards, and you wouldn't lose much as far as athleticism.


Whatever Burke decides, though, I support. You can't question the man who eats, sleeps and breathes the program, especially in his first year.


---


That Loyola game, the first one I got to see since leaving the Mount, was an interesting experience for the fact that I was covering the game. I didn't envision my first time watching my alma mater since leaving the school would be as a reporter.


I essentially volunteered because my company, Patch.com, launched a site in North Baltimore – an area that covers Loyola – on Monday. So I got to interview Burke, which was strange, especially after such a bad loss. But I also got to speak with my old nemesis, Jimmy Patsos. Turns out he's not half as evil as Mount students always made him out to be. He's just a passionate coach who turns into a regular guy once the horn sounds.


Here's the men's story I did.
And the women's.


And of course, check out BelAirPatch.com.

Mar-teeny: Kansas State coach calls out Mount

Whether the comment was a shot at Mount St. Mary's, its coach, or just a shot in the dark, it's hard to say. But Kansas State head coach Frank Martin's remark featured on "The Pitch" that, "It's not like we're Mount St. Mary's. We've played these kinds of games before," should ruffle a few feathers.

The quote was used to essentially say that the Wildcats will not be scared of Duke like he suggests our Mountaineers would be. I hate to break it to the polarizing general from Manhattan, Kansas, but the Mount would be plenty comfortable – though still overmatched – in a game with Duke. Under Milan Brown, the Mount played the toughest non-conference schedule in the NEC every single year, and Robert Burke has accepted a beefy slate this year as well.

I don't think this Duke team is so high and mighty that it could not be compared to a matchup with: Cincinnati, Penn St., Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, Oregon, Siena, Old Dominion, George Mason, Winthrop (when there were awesome), Georgetown or, best of all, the Tyler Hansbrough/Ty Lawson (as juniors) North Carolina team. Hell, there's more pressure when we play Robert Morris than there would be against Duke.

So no, this isn't a diss on Martin. And it's certainly not to say that the Mount is as good on paper as Kansas State, but I sure as hell would like to go play them next year. Or better yet, around the third weekend in March.

If I get an update, and you better believe I'm digging, I'll post it. Go 'Cats.

Burke's First 'Dayt'

I have some observations from today's 67-52 loss to Dayton based purely on the box score. In other words, I'm not giving any game analysis – that would be impossible – just pointing out a few statistics of note.


Brown, Krajina didn't play


Pierre Brown and Kristijan Krajina both have a fractured foot. They should be out for a few weeks. The interesting part will be whether Brown plays when he comes back. If the team is struggling, or if coach Robert Burke just believes Pierre would be more useful with a full and more healthy final season, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a red shirt. That's pure speculation.


Barber only took three shots


If Raven Barber didn't have more than two fouls, and if he had played less than 23 minutes, this wouldn't stand out so much. There could be a dozen reasons for this, but it's still pretty curious.


Norfleet led the team in scoring in his college debut/Norfleet took 13 3s


I would be me encouraged by Julian Norfleet leading the team in scoring if he didn't take 16 shots to do it. The kid was either A. a gunner B. highly-trusted by Burke or C. wide open and missed a lot of shots. On the other hand, it's definitely encouraging that he wasn't afraid to put the rock up in his first college game against a very good team. With Pierre out, we will need a guard to step up as our primary perimeter scorer (in my opinion) so maybe Norfleet is the guy.


12 team fouls, only one player with three


I mean, it's about time. In my five years, every time we played a major program (I consider Dayton major) we would be lucky if we only had 12 fouls called on us in a half, let alone an entire game. For the record, Lamar Trice had the three fouls.


Atupem's line


Fourteen points on 5-for-11 from the floor and nine rebounds (Shawn Atupem only has one career double-double to my knowledge.) He was also 4-for-5 from the line; if he can make 80 percent of his free throws this year, he'll score at least 14 points a night. The best stat of all, though, is that Atupem only had one foul in 33 minutes. Early, I know, but it's encouraging.


Point guard play


Trice: Five assists, three turnovers to go with eight points and two steals
Josh Castellanos (freshman): Four assists, no turnovers to go with four points, all from a perfect night at the line.
I heard Trice improved a lot in the offseason (as he did the year before) and this line reflects that.


I could say a lot more about the stats, especially by comparing and contrasting to Dayton (we were out-rebounded 54–31,) but overall the numbers are encouraging. Great point guard play, great game from Shawn and a respectable showing at a tough venue in the first game under a new coach. It doesn't look like Dayton cleared the end of its bench until the very end, either, so it's not like we would racked up a bunch of stats against their walk-ons (as it appears.)


---


-Someone found this site by searching for "mount st marys, md coach brown fired." So just to clarify, he wasn't fired.


-Holy Cross also had its season opener today. The Crusaders lost to College of Charleston, (who just lost to Maryland practically at the buzzer) 93–84. They trailed 48–30 in the first half, so a nice comeback, and definitely not the low-scoring game we're used to seeing from coach Milan Brown's teams.


---


NEC Scores


Fairfield 62 Sacred Heart 45
Kent State 90 Bryant 49
Robert Morris 55 St. Peter's 30 (Think they were going to forget how to play defense without Mike Rice there? Nah. Also, why the hell wouldn't the coaches vote them No. 1? They won the last two NEC titles. Thanks for adding fuel to the fire, everyone.)
Central Conn. St. 64 Hartford 62
Quinnipiac 75 Yale 64 (3:25 remaining in game as I type this)

Mount Signs Fredericksburg Forward Danaher

According to this story from fredericksburg.com, the Mount has signed 6-foot-10 (not 6-foot-6 as an earlier typo indicated) Taylor Danaher from Fredericksburg, Va. He will play his senior season at Fredericksburg Christian School after averaging 24 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks in his junior season in the Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association.

He chose the Mount over Longwood.

Thanks to Richard for sharing this link.

Kevin Robinson Jr. is a father (It's not as scary as it sounds)

Congrats to former Mount assistant Kevin Robinson Jr. and his wife, Trish, on the birth of their daughter last night. Here is KRob's status announcing her arrival.

"Welcome to this world Kathleen Nicole Robinson- 8.45 lbs. Mommy and baby are doing great. 21.75 inches, 13.6 in head."

I vividly remember the night I found out KRob was going to be a father. I was in Ott's with some of the players after a game when I texted KRob to come out for some food. He responded saying he couldn't make it but he also couldn't tell me why.

Slightly alarmed by his sketchy justification for not coming, I began to respond asking if everything was OK. Before I could sent the text, he wrote back telling me he had to "spend some time with his pregnant wife." The grizzly-bearded son of a gun couldn't hold it in for more than two minutes after originally saying he couldn't tell me why he wasn't coming out.

Although I haven't seen him in months since the old staff made its move to Worcester, I have talked to KRob on the phone and I know he was extremely excited to become a father. Hopefully he is as cool of a dad as Kevin Robinson Sr.

Congrats again to KRob, who is like a big brother to me. Looks like coach Dan Engelstad is the last one on staff to become a father! (Just kidding, coach. For now.)

This is why I can't bring the radio team back, buddy

The comment box isn't long enough to respond to the last poster, and he/she asks a valid question, though ignorantly.

Here is what the latest anonymous coward said:

"There are those who only know how to complain and bitch about things. Then someone comes along and actually sees a problem and attempts to get a movement going to solve it.

You say the Mount "radio debacle". Why instead did you not:

a. Try to determine how much it would cost to broadcast the away games.

b. Find a way to use your efforts to raise the money to help the Mount?

Over and over in your rants, there rarely is anything remotely positive or forward looking. You need to make yourself a person who lives by the lessons of his Catholic education. Stop ---, Start +++."

You know what Catholics aren't supposed to do? Judge. You either don't know me, or are too cowardly to say these things with a name on your post, or come to me directly.

Let's look at the subjects of my recent posts before this light-hearted one you complain about:

-An update on a recruit we pursued but lost with nothing negative said about the Mount.

-Praise for a new feature on the athletics site

-Praise for the same site's YouTube page

-A neutral schedule update

-A neutral poll about new coaches

-A neutral schedule update

-A positive announcement of a new recruit

-A positive analysis of President Powell's quotes

-A VERY positive analysis of the new lacrosse coach

Do you see a pattern?

So, how much would it cost to have a radio team?

I leave, everything falls apart

I probably listened to a maximum of two Mount basketball radio broadcasts in my lifetime. I attended almost every game – home or away – in the last five seasons. And before that, the only thing I knew about Mount St. Mary's was that I picked against them in my 1995 and 1999 NCAA Tournament bracket. I never needed to listen to the Mountaineers on the radio.


Now I'm graduated, have a real job, and am still passionate about the program for which I gladly gave thousands of hours of time. I want to follow the team, and not just by looking at a box score. I need live results. To say last month's news that the Mount would be dropping its radio broadcasts is a huge dagger is an understatement.


I understand the reason – all the money we used for radio broadcasts now goes to Lindsey Munday (which is a good thing) – but the timing could not be more unfortunate.


I apologize for the domino effect I have caused by leaving the Mount. Upon my announcement, the coaches decided to take a job at Holy Cross. A significant pay increase may or may not have influenced their decision. As a result of that, our original three incoming freshman recruits decided not to come to the Mount. And now the radio debacle.


I would have much rather the school cut the radio program before I even got there. Not only would I have been oblivious that it ever existed, but there would have been a lot more room on the bus, and one less pizza for me to order. (Though Stof was a good guy to have on trips, and Roy always entertained.)


My hope is to attend some home games when I can, and when I can't, I'll watch them on my computer. But now the road matchups will be waiting games that I can only hope are broadcasted in some form by the Mount's opponents. I just hope that most of the games I do miss turn out to be wins.

JC's Malcolm McMillan chooses CCSU

The Mount lost out on combo guard Malcolm McMillan to Northeast Conference foe Central Connecticut State this weekend, according to Matt Bracken of the Baltimore Sun. McMillan was heavily recruited by the Milan regime as well as Robert Burke and company, who offered McMillan relatively early. I'll get to see plenty of his senior season at John Carroll with Bel Air Patch.


There is one positive about the signing:


'“[The team is] always together and they’re like a family. They made me feel right at home,” McMillan said. “I had a great time with the guys. My host was Shemik Thompson. He did a great job showing me around. They work hard, and their main focus is defense and rebounding.”'


Now Thompson can teach McMillan to turn the ball over eight times a game and we won't have to worry about him when they play the Mount.


Updated note: Thompson only turned the ball over eight times once last year, which makes me an a***ole.


As posted by me in comments:


4 TOs:
1/7/10 vs. Monmouth
2/4/10 @ Bryant
2/11/10 vs. RMU
2/13/10 vs. St. Francis (Pa.)
5 TOs:
1/24/10 @ QU
6 TOs:
12/12/09 vs. Albany
1/30/10 vs. FDU
2/18/10 @ MSM
8 TOs:
3/4/10 @ RMU


That's nine games with four or more TOs, but only five with five or more.

Schedule update - Northwestern road trip right before Christmas

Because I am not perfect, I have yet another schedule update. Word from the academic side of the Mount is that Mount 2000 (you don't want to know) is the weekend of the (incredibly stupid) rivalry weekend with Wagner. Therefore those games have been flipped. (I probably had it wrong with which to begin, but that is the reason we can't be at home that Saturday.)

Additionally, a source close to the team tells me that the Mount will travel to Northwestern two days before Christmas. Traditionally the Wildcats are one of the weaker teams in the Big Ten, but with a holiday fast approaching, an expected lack of students at the game, and the Mount's recent ability to play BCS conference teams tough on the road, I like this addition. Of all the games on our schedule against power teams (Cincinnati, Penn St., Virginia Tech, Dayton) I think this is our best chance to pull an upset.


Note: 2:30 p.m. The addition of the Northwestern game is not tied to the hiring of Lindsey Munday, as the game was on the schedule before she was hired.


Update: 3:40 p.m. As the poster noted, I had the first LIU/SFNY series backward. Guessing the order of some of these conference games was a little tricky after basing it off of Sacred Heart's schedule, so my apologies.

Hopefully this is the final schedule. Updated games in bold.

Nov. 13 @ Dayton*
Nov. 15 @ Cincinnati*
Nov. 20 Savanannah State*
Nov. 22 @ Niagara
Nov. 27 Florida A&M*
Nov. 29 Navy
Dec. 2 @ Sacred Heart
Dec. 4 @ Quinnipiac
Dec. 7 @ Penn St.
Dec. 11 @ Loyola (Md.)
Dec. 18 @ Albany
Dec. 20 American
Dec. 23 @ Northwestern
Dec. 29 @ Vermont
Jan. 2 @ Virginia Tech
Jan. 6 St. Francis (Pa.)
Jan. 8 Robert Morris
Jan. 13 @ Long Island
Jan. 15 @ St. Francis (N.Y.)
Jan. 20 Sacred Heart
Jan. 22 Quinnipiac
Jan. 27 @ Central Connecticut State
Jan. 29 @ Bryant
Feb. 3 Monmouth
Feb. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson
Feb. 9 Wagner
Feb. 12 @ Wagner
Feb. 17 Long Island
Feb. 19 St. Francis (N.Y.)
Feb. 24 @ St. Francis (Pa.)
Feb. 26 @ Robert Morris
*Global Sports Main Event Tournament

Schedule update - Savannah State game moved to Emmitsburg

Savannah State has confirmed what a poster asked recently - the Nov. 20 game will now be played in Emmitsburg. This is a nice break so that we don't play our first four, and eight of the first 10, on the road. Here is the updated schedule:


Nov. 13 @ Dayton*
Nov. 15 @ Cincinnati*
Nov. 20 Savanannah State*
Nov. 22 @ Niagara
Nov. 27 Florida A&M*
Nov. 29 Navy
Dec. 2 @ Sacred Heart
Dec. 4 @ Quinnipiac
Dec. 7 @ Penn St.
Dec. 11 @ Loyola (Md.)
Dec. 18 @ Albany
Dec. 20 American
Dec. 29 @ Vermont
Jan. 2 @ Virginia Tech
Jan. 6 St. Francis (Pa.)
Jan. 8 Robert Morris
Jan. 13 @ St. Francis (N.Y.)
Jan. 15 @ Long Island
Jan. 20 Sacred Heart
Jan. 22 Quinnipiac
Jan. 27 @ Central Connecticut State
Jan. 29 @ Bryant
Feb. 3 Monmouth
Feb. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson
Feb. 9 @ Wagner
Feb. 12 Wagner
Feb. 17 Long Island
Feb. 19 St. Francis (N.Y.)
Feb. 24 @ St. Francis (Pa.)
Feb. 26 @ Robert Morris
*Unnamed tournament


Unrelated sidenote: If you go to Jameer Nelson's Twitter page, you'll see that there is a Mount logo under the people he follows, thanks to Mount assistant coach Mike Farelly, who played with Nelson at St. Jospeh's.

Cleveland's official arrival confirms James not playing for Mount

I do not have any confirmed specifics for the reasoning, but Jeff James will not be coming to the Mount to join the men's basketball team this year. I suspected as much with the arrival of Evan Cleveland, (which was reported her first on Aug. 22) but could not say so for sure.


With the men's basketball roster updated at MountAthletics.com, sans James, it is official. This means that none of the recruits signed by Milan Brown remained with the program after Brown left for Holy Cross. Donte Morales is headed to UNC-Wilmington, Justin Burrell is headed to prep school, then Holy Cross, and James is headed God knows where.


This is actually kind of cool because now Burke will have to wait one less year to say that he has all of his own players. Excluding redshirt freshman David Golladay, everyone in the class of 2014 on will have been recruited by Burke for as long as he remains with the team.


Cleveland joins Julian Norfleet and Josh Castellanos as the other two members of Burke's inaugural recruiting class.

Evan Cleveland to join men's team, via anonymous poster

An anonymous poster wrote this earlier tonight on the Bri Gauthier story:

"Any idea as to who Evan Cleveland (6'6", Fort Wayne, Indiana) is? Looks like he is enrolled at the Mount. Walk on?"

I had no clue who the kid was until A. I saw the post and B. I did a little research. Here's what I can gather:


-He's a 6-foot-6 self-proclaimed point forward, though third parties describe him as more of a wing. (Wouldn't every 6-foot-6 player like to be considered a point forward?)


-He is the most annoying interviewee I've ever watched in my life. Seriously, if I were the reporter in this video (embedded below) I would've knocked the kid out. It's nothing personal, but STAND STILL, Evan. Jeez.


-Apparently he committed to play at the Mount less than a week ago - Aug. 17.


-He threw up in workouts Friday. It's odd that he was on campus that early, but maybe it is something new Burke is doing with the freshmen because I don't know of any upperclassmen that will arrive before tomorrow.


-He's not on the roster yet, but neither are any other incoming freshmen.


Welcome to the Mount, Evan. I'm looking forward to your contributions.


---


In conference news, the Monmouth Hawks open their season Nov. 16 at 6 a.m. hosting Stony Brook, while Robert Morris plays at 8 a.m. at Kent State. The Mount was offered the lone NEC slot in last year's 24 hours of basketball circus on ESPN, but turned it down because of the ridiculous tipoff time. As a manager, I appreciated that very much. Not sure how useful I would have been at 4:30 a.m. warmups.

Scholarship offered to Manny Thomas of Xaverian (N.Y.)

According to this story from the New York Post, men's basketball coach Robert Burke has offered Xaverian (N.Y.) High School senior wing Manny Thomas a scholarship.


Thomas is listed at 6-feet-5-inches and has also received offers from Fairfield (MAAC) as well as Northeast Conference foes Long Island and Robert Morris. The same story notes that he is receiving strong interest from Quinnipiac, Wagner, Princeton (Ivy League), Fordham (A10), Hofstra (CAA) and Drexel (CAA).


GothamHoops.com had this to say about him on Dec. 14, 2009:

"A long player who runs the floor like a guard and can finish in the paint with ease. His long-range jumper is great. Plays defensive with fantastic intensity."

Highlights:

Schedule UPDATE: Albany to round out schedule

According to an outside source, the Mount will travel to Albany on Dec. 18 for the 30th game on its 2010 - 2011 schedule.


The Great Danes play in the America East conference and are coming off of a 7-25 season in which they fell to Stony Brook in the quarterfinals of their 2010 conference tournament. The Mount and Albany had multiple common opponents last season including the New York school's fellow America East member Vermont, who the Mount will face again this season.


Albany beat American 51-50 and Robert Morris 71-66, with losses coming to Central Connecticut State 70-68 in overtime, Vermont 71-54 and 64-46 and Boston U. 79-58 and 68-53.


With the addition of Albany to the schedule, the Mount will still only have three non-conference home games this season - with only one of them coming in December or later - against Florida A&M, Navy and American. Here is the schedule in full:

CORRECTION 9:21 p.m.: Mount men's basketball 2010 - 2011 schedule

CORRECTIONS IN NEC SCHEDULE. St. Francis (N.Y.) and Long Island games were home and away at wrong times on schedule. Teams were also flipped in second meeting near end of February.


Thanks to my previous knowledge of our schedule for next year, a couple Northeast Conference connects, and some friendly SIDs at bigger schools, I've rounded up almost all of the Mount men's basketball schedule for the 2010 - 2011 season.


For those living in the area, it isn't any more pretty than last year as far as home games. I've only confirmed three non-conference home games, but hope we can get one more, though there's not much room left on the schedule.


The ridiculous attempt by the NEC to force a rivalry week down the throat of a bunch of schools that have as much significant history with each other as they would with say, conference newcomer Bryant, continues. And as luck would have it, the conference still finds it appropriate to match us up with the Seahawks of Wagner for back-to-back games in that rivalry week, which is now later in the season. (Whoopie!)


A final note is that the league has returned its women's games to Saturday-Monday instead of Thursday-Saturday, which is the weekly format the men will continue to play, with few exceptions. This is significant because the absence of Thursday doubleheaders now means that men's games will not be at the mercy of a women's game that may go into overtime. Additionally, this makes the amount of time a men's team can take to warm up before a game virtually unlimited, as they were limited to roughly a half-hour in most cases last season. The only situation where this would still apply is Saturday doubleheaders, though most teams will probably still elect for four-hour gaps between scheduled tipoff times.


Without further ado, I give you our schedule.

Henry, Atupem officially on staff

As first reported here, Matt Henry (assistant coach) and Sam Atupem (graduate assistant coach) were officially announced as members of the men's basketball staff on MountAthletics.com today.

Ahmad Dorsett and Mike Farrelly are expected to be announced soon as they probably have to fulfill the remainder of their contracts at Bowie State and Hoop Group, respectively.

It appears the staff has already been to work based on this Tweet by coach Dorsett on July 1 at 12:05 p.m.:

"Lunch time @ Rocky's with the Staff!"

Rocky's, of course, is the pizza place in Thurmont, Md., frequented by Mount students and employees.

MountAthletics.com announces Norfleet, Castellanos, as final two signees

As some of you saw and commented, the final two players of the incoming recruiting class have been announced on MountAthletics.com.


We already knew that Jeff James would be coming after signing when Milan Brown was still the head coach. Now Josh Castellanos and Julian Norfleet have been added to the class of 2014 recruiting class.


Norfleet, from Virginia Beach, was the player I was hinting about in my Dorsett post when I said "I do, however, think that at least one of them will be used and as I get more concrete information on the subject I'll post it." At that point I knew he had been offered but had not heard whether he accepted.


A close friend of his high school coach told me that Norfleet will be able to fill in at point guard when necessary, a la Jean Cajou, and added that he is both a shooter and a scorer. Evidence of Norfleet's shooting ability lies in his Virginia State Beach District tournament record of eight 3s made in a game, which was set during his junior season.


We've had a shooter in Will Holland and scorers in Jeremy Goode, Kelly Beidler, and when necessary Jean Cajou. Hopefully this fills the void of having a player who must be defended beyond the perimeter as well as on the drive. The closest thing we have to that now is Cajou, although his shooting percentage went down last season, and Pierre Brown.


Pierre Brown was 16-for-36 - 44 percent - from 3 last year and as the strongest and most athletic returning guard on the team has the ability to drive and score. Expect a much bigger contribution from Pierre Brown - likely a starter at small forward - this season.


Rivals.com had this to say about the left-handed Norfleet on June 4:


"Landstown (Virginia Beach, VA) 6-foot-2 guard Julian Norfleet has had a host of interest from Division I College Basketball programs, most notably East Carolina, UAB, VCU and St. Francis of PA."


With interest from a CAA school and two Conference USA schools, it appears that we got someone who fell through the cracks in some ways.


As for Castellanos, I know little about him other than what is listed in the press release. Only Norfleet is listed on Rivals, with no rating, and ESPN and neither play is listed on Scout. I do know, however, that Castellanos signed with the team Tuesday*, so my bad on letting that get by. An interesting note on Castellanos is that his high school teammate, Orlando Parker, signed with Wagner.


*I received my job offer Tuesday and have been looking for an apartment/moving some stuff from Emmitsburg since then.


So all three class of 2014 recruits have first names beginning with the letter J. Excuse the corniness and simplicity of my suggestions, but should we call them the Blue Js? The 3 Js? I think we have a lot of options here. Please give better suggestions and I'll put a poll up.



Norfleet on ESPN:


Rating of 80/100, No. 194 shooting guard in his class.


The commentary for non-ESPN insiders: "April, 2009: Julian is a lefty combo guard that is athletic and extremely quick with deep shooting range. He is clearly one of the best shooters/scorers emerging in the 2010 class. Offensively he is equally effective off the dribble or catch and shoot. He consistently knocks it down from 23 feet"


Justin Burrell is rated 74 and the No. 194 point guard in his class. Keep in mind the distinction between their positions. Also note that ESPN is the worst of the recruit rating services.


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I like the enthusiasm on the  new staff, but let's not put them above the old staff - it's apples and oranges. Clearly I have allegiances to Brown's staff, but to say that Burke's guys will be better recruiters is jumping the gun. Brown inherited a 3-24 team and the players he brought in got better and better each year with the most successful class being the one that just left.


I do agree with, John, though, that we have great potential connections with these guys so I'm looking forward to who they can sign this fall and next spring with a full recruiting season under their belt. What looked like a potentially disastrous rebuilding year has turned into a cautiously optimistic one since Burke's hiring.


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Here is a YouTube gallery of Norfleet. Would love to get some more info/highlights on Castellanos, so please let me know if you have something and I'll gladly give him equal pub.


Go to the 1:06 mark for the beginning of commentary on Norfleet and the 1:40 mark for the first comments from Norfleet himself:





Highlights featuring Norfleet:





Music is whack in this one. And why would someone include a bank 3 (1:18) in a highlight tape?





Love the competitive side that comes out in this one (and the music is way better):





Probably the most professionally produced and in-depth one: