Note: The following piece was prepared by Dean Keener, who provides commentary on Southern Conference men’s basketball broadcasts.
Keener played collegiately at Davidson before embarking on a successful 20-year coaching career. He served as head coach at James Madison from 2004-08. You can follow him on twitter: @DeanKeener1
Keener, along with Darren Goldwater, will call the November 18 matchup between Wright State and Western Carolina on ESPN3.
The Dean’s List - December 17
I. Inside SoCon Hoops
We’re just over four weeks into the season, but we’ve already learned a lot about the new-look Southern Conference. The three newcomers have been pretty much as expected. VMI has proven they can really put points on the board; ETSU has a high-powered offensive attack led by its strong perimeter play and Mercer has confirmed they are going to be a very tough out even though they lost their starting five from a year ago.
As for the others, Wofford is showing why they were the consensus preseason favorite. The Terriers have been terrific. In fact, the win over Iona on ESPN2 (November 18) was an infomercial for the Southern Conference! Chattanooga knew it would take time to get the chemistry right, but should be OK come league play. I’ve felt all along that they would be like a Rubik’s Cube; hard as heck to figure out early, but a thing of beauty when they put it all together. Furman has one of the best players in the league in Stephen Croone, but needs Kris Acox and Kendrec Ferrara as well as their talented freshmen to be consistent. The Citadel is also improved and will make some noise, but need a healthy Marshall Harris III. Scott Padgett has his Samford Bulldogs playing really hard and their pressing / attacking style of play will be a challenge for teams entering in the Pete Hanna Center, but it’s going to take time. Western Carolina simply needs to get home as they have played a brutal road schedule in the early going. UNCG simply needs to refine the little things. While they have struggled, I believe they will be a very tough out as we enter conference play as their upset of ETSU in Freedom Hall last Saturday suggests.
Even though we’ve played some conference games (note: every member except Wofford will play league games in December), the next two and half weeks remain important for the league as it is fighting to capture critical non-conference wins in order to help the league RPI. A quick look at the composite schedule reveals a ton of opportunities for all league members to capture some quality non-conference wins, both at home and on the road.
II. The two-semester sport
College basketball is unique from many other sports as it’s a two-semester sport. Pre-season conditioning begins shortly after the student-athletes step on campus in the fall and practice kicks in around mid-October. Then the regular season starts on November 14 and continues until early March.
But after fall semester exams are done (sometime in mid-December as it varies for each institution) until early January, college basketball coaches have their team for about one month without classes or any other distractions. This is a time when coaching staffs can really evaluate what has transpired during the first six weeks of the season and begin preparing for the grind of conference play. Once conference play begins, it’s really difficult to change the culture of your team. It’s also hard to add a whole lot to your playbook.
Coaches will usually give their players a short period of time to go home and visit family around Christmas. This can be anywhere from three to five days depending on their game schedule. But just before and more importantly after that break, coaches can really drill down on the fundamentals as well as implement new things on offense and defense. Finally, they can spend quality time with their players which can positively affect team chemistry.
While the general student body is home celebrating the holidays, college basketball players are staying in local hotels (usually dorms and student housing are often closed) and working hard on their individual skills and team elements that will hopefully pay big dividends come March.
III. “What I did this summer”
By all accounts, Tom Koopman had a solid freshman year at The Citadel. While his numbers were modest (2.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg), he played in 32 games, making 17 starts for the Bulldogs. He finished second on the team in field goal percentage hitting 46.4 percent from the floor. But he was a true freshman and also dealing with the requirements at The Military College of South Carolina. He was overmatched at times in league play, so he knew that additional time was needed to refine his basketball skills as well as his overall strength and conditioning.
When the opportunity was presented to try out for his national team, he jumped at it. And for the second time in as many summers, Koopman played for The Netherland’s U20 national team. As a native of Holland, he was one of 30 invited to camp and eventually made the team which competed in the European U20 “Division B” Championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina this past summer. He was with the team from mid-May through July 20. There were several Division I basketball players competing in the tournament, including three of his teammates which enabled him to improve his game before and during the Championships.
Koopman started all six games during pool play at the power forward position averaging over 6.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest while shooting 56 percent from the field. Unfortunately, The Netherland’s did not advance to bracket play (with the chance to take home gold), as they lost out in a tie-break situation. But Koopman was able to develop his skills against top-flight international completion. He also caught the attention of others within his country. “My work ethic and the numbers I put up during the championships didn’t go unnoticed,” said Koopman. “I was asked to play for the men’s national team, but unfortunately I was not able to accept the invitation because I had to return to The Citadel to start the new school year. Hopefully, I will get that once one day.”
Regardless, Tom Koopman gained a ton of confidence this summer that should serve him during his sophomore season in Charleston.
IV. New Year’s Resolutions
The Citadel – A breakthrough moment. The Bulldogs are much improved, yet they need a defining win to boost their confidence
ETSU – Regain their touch at the free throw line. The Bucs were one of the top free throw shooting teams in the nation last year hitting 74.8 percent, yet they are currently 69.5 percent with basically the same cast! (A second resolution may be to find some post help with the season-ending injury to Ron Giplaye)
Furman – A Robin. Stephen Croone is one of the best the SoCon has to offer, but the Paladins need someone to step up and be that next “go-to” guy. Freshmen Geoff Beans and Daniel Fowler may just have the ability to do it
Mercer – Focus and togetherness away from home. After three SEC road games to finish their nonconference slate (at Tennessee, at UGA and at Texas A&M), the Bears then play three conference road games in a six-day stretch (at UNCG, at VMI and at ETSU)
UNCG – Defensive mentality. The Spartans have enough offensive firepower to be good, but need to get defensive in conference play. It would help if they also took care of the ball a bit better
Samford – Consistency. The new look Bulldogs have shown flashes but need to smooth out the highs and lows heading into conference play
UTC – Bench play. Will Wade and staff need better production from the bench if they are going to be a top-tier team in the SoCon
VMI – A middle man. The Keydets are small and need to find someone to help anchor the middle, especially at the defensive end
Western Carolina – Home games! The Catamounts are traditionally really good at home, but just two of their first 12 games this season are in the Ramsey Center
Wofford – No disruptions. The Terriers are hitting on all cylinders and simply don’t need an off-court issue or any selfish acts to cause a disruption in chemistry
We will start the SoCon Ladder in our next edition of “The Dean’s List” on January 7, 2015.
Happy Holidays to all!