University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Boston University Tonight
December 02, 1999 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 1999
Amherst, Mass. - Kit is No Pussy Cat Starting center Kitwana Rhymer has taken on the starting role in the middle and flourished so far in this young season. Rhymer is replacing Lari Ketner who is now playing for the Chicago Bulls. Rhymer registered his first double-double Monday night against Marshall with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He also established a career high with six blocked shots, five coming in the first half. The last time a minuteman had six or more blocked shots in a game was in the Rock ?N? Roll Shootout in Cleveland against Cincinnati when Ajmal Basit had six at Gund Arena on Dec. 12, 1997. The last time a Minuteman had six or more blocked shots at the Mullins Center was January 27, 1996 when Marcus Camby had nine against St. Bonaventure. Only three games into the season and Rhymer has already eclipsed most of Ketner?s single game highs from a year ago. Ketner had season highs of four blocked shots, 15 rebounds and 21 points. Rhymer has a season high of six blocked shots (vs. Marshall), 17 rebounds (at UConn) and 12 points (at Iona). Rhymer currently leads the Atlantic 10 in rebounding with 11.3 rpg.
Coaching Debut Associate head coach Geoff Arnold will make his head coaching debut tonight against Boston University. Head coach Bruiser Flint will serve a self-imposed one game suspension this evening following the use of an expletive on his post-game radio show in the aftermath of UMass? 65-55 loss to Marshall Monday night. ?I always tell my players that when they do something wrong, there is a price to pay,? said Flint. ?Obviously, my language on the radio the other night was inappropriate. I caught it right away and apologized on the air, but after thinking about it and talking it over with Bob Marcum, sitting out for a game is the right thing to do.?
WHO?S HOT? Senior Monty Mack has come off the bench the first three games of the season and has provided a much need scoring punch for the Minutemen. So far this season he has scored 21 (at Iona), 26 (at UConn) and 22 (vs. Marshall) points for a 23.0 points per game average. His three consecutive games of 20 or more points is the longest streak of his career and gives him 19 20-point games in 65 games as a Minuteman. The last Minuteman to register three consecutive 20-point games was Marcus Camby in February of 1996.
vs. Boston University This will be the 65th meeting between UMass and Boston University with the Minutemen holding a 35-29 edge. The last timethese two teams met was at Curry Hicks in January of 1993. (SEE BOX). This will be the first time the Terriors have played at the Mullins Center. Only Rhode Island (112), UConn (102) and New Hampshire (92) have competed more often on the hardwood against the Minutemen than the Terriers (64).
Overall Series 35-29
Bruiser Flint vs. Boston U. first meeting
Last Meeting UMass (90-42) on 1/5/93 at Curry Hicks
Last Five Meetings UMass 4-1
Most UMass Points 112, (112-89) on 2/15/72 at Curry Hicks
Fewest UMass Points 19, (19-12) on 1/21/27 at UMass
19, (19-x) on 2/13/31 at UMass
Largest UMass Margin 48, (90-42) on 1/5/93 at Curry Hicks
Most Boston U. Points 91, (91-62) on 1/30/81 at BU,
91, (91-65) on 12/3/81 at Curry Hicks
Fewest Boston U. Points 12, (12-19) on 1/21/27 at UMass
Largest Boston U. Margin 29, (91-62) on 1/30/81 at BU
In Overtime: Boston U. leads 1-0
A Visit with Boston University Boston University was 9-18 last season and 8th in America East. They are 0-4 this year with losses to Northern Illinois, Radford, James Madison and Providence. In five plus seasons at BU Dennis Wolff has constructed an 86-65 (.570) record, two America East regular season titles and a trip to the 1997 NCAA Tournament.
Keep it Going, Little Man With All-America candidate, Monty Mack, out for most of the preseason, head coach Bruiser Flint has had to go down his bench and look for someone to step up. At 5-9 you may not have noticed it but junior Jonathan DePina has stepped up his game and more. After three games he is averaging 7.7 points with four three-pointers in four tries. Last season DePina had five three-pointers in 26 games. A more confident player in UMass? uptempo game, DePina is making the smart plays this season and should continue to get minutes even after Mack is back at 100 percent after a stress fracture in his left foot sustained six weeks ago.
Debut Three UMass players made their collegiate debuts as a Minuteman in a regular season game at Iona...Junior JoVann Johnson, sophomore Shannon Crooks and freshman Micah Brand all saw gametime in their first opportunity in the maroon & white...Crooks started at shooting guardand finished the game with 11 points on 50 percent shooting from the field... for Crooks it was his first regular season game after sitting out a year last season after transferring from St. John?s University...Brand is the only freshman on the squad...he had a team high seven rebounds coming off the bench in 22 minutes of action...Johnson is a junior college transfer from Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, Ill. who failed to scored in only two minutes of play.
Center(s) of Attention It is still very early in the season BUT, while Lari Ketner plays for the Chicago Bulls the 1999-2000 UMass big men did look good in their season debut. In fact, senior Anthony Oates, junior Kitwana Rhymer and freshman Micah Brand combined for a total of 39 minutes of playing time at Iona on Saturday. In that span they scored 18 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked a shot. Rhymer, who foulded out with only 11 minutes of action under his belt, was 6 of 8 from the field for a career-high 12 points to go along with seven rebounds. Brand also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and five fouls in 22 minutes of action. Oates provided much needed depth while scoring two points, grabbing a couple of boards and a critical steal late in the game. Rhymer followed his performance against the Gaels with 17 rebounds and seven points against No. 7 UConn in Storrs, Conn. The 17 boards is the most by a Minuteman since Ajmal Basit grabbed 19 at Rhode Island in the 1997-98 season.
The Stopper Senior Mike Babul is known nationally as one of the best defensive players in the country. In the season opener he picked up right where he left off with a lock-down on MAAC preseason player of the year, Tarik Kirksay. Babul, who had been nursing a lower back strain the previous three weeks, did not draw the assignment at the beginning of the game and Kirksay would score 15 first half points. The high scoring Gael would fail to register a field goal in the second half after Babul took over on the coverage. Kirksay wouldn?t score until 19 seconds left in the game with the final verdict already decided. Babul then clamped down on No. 7 UConn?s Kevin Freeman. Freeman was 1-8 from the field and scored two points in 37 minutes of action. Last year against the Huskies Babul held All-America Richard Hamilton to 11 points on 3-11 shooting from the field.
Player(school) fg-fga 3fg-3fga Pts Avg.
Tarik Kirksay (Iona)* 0-2 0-0 5 13.8
Kevin Freeman (UConn) 1-8 0-0 2 13.3
*second half only
Welcome to the Team Senior Dwayne Early is the latest addition to the UMass basketball family. Early is a 6-4, 205-pound walk-on guard from Springfield Central High School. Early will be wearing No. 24 this season. Joining him is C.W. Post transfer, Dale Menendez. Menendez is 5-8, 180 pound point guard who will not be eligible to play this season due to NCAA transfer rules. At Westhampton Beach high school, Menendez led his team to the New York State Class B Championship after posting a perfect 28-0 record. He pulled double duty for Westhampton scoring 1,000 points while also rushing for 1,000 yards in his career as a tailback. Television Update UMass basketball has been a popular television show in the ?90s and continues to be a prominant TV player as the new millenium beckons. Three more games have been added to the television slate, giving the Minutemen 20 televised games during the regular season. In Detroit against the Titans, Fox-Detroit is producing the now 3:05 tipoff (previously 4:05), and the game will be aired locally by Fox-New England. The New England Sports Network (NESN) has also announced that it will be televising the Commonwealth Classic pitting UMass against Boston College at Conte Forum, and the UMass-Providence tilt on December 30 at the Providence Civic Center.
Any Time, Any Place, Any Team This season, UMass will have 10 teams on their schedule which appeared in the 1999 NCAA Tournament and two teams that competed in last year?s NIT. This schedule includes a game against defending national champion UConn, and games against perennial national powers Texas and Villanova, 1999 NCAA Tourney participants Detroit, Rhode Island, Temple and George Washington, and NIT participants, Xavier and Providence. The Minutemen will appear on television at least 20 times this year, including seven national telecasts.
Climbing the Charts Senior Monty Mack is attacking the UMass career leader boards for three-point shooting. His 86 three-pointers made last season was the third best single season performance in UMass history. He has eight three-pointers on the season and currently sits fourth all-time for three-pointers made at UMass. At his current pace he will pace Carmelo Travieso as the all-time leader in three-pointers made.
3-point Field Goals Made
Player 3FG 3FGA Pct. Years
1. Carmelo Travieso ?97 245 666 .368 1993-97
2. Rafer Giles ?91 221 592 .373 1987-91
3. Lorenzo Sutton ?88 178 424 .420 1984-88
4. Monty Mack ?00 150 414 .362 1997-
5. Derek Kellogg ?95 138 362 .381 1991-95
6. Edgar Padilla ?97 136 431 .316 1993-97
7. Mike Williams ?95 123 406 .303 1991-95
8. Tony Barbee ?93 116 341 .340 1989-93
9. Charlton Clarke ?99 113 339 .333 1995-99
10. Anton Brown ?92 92 218 .422 1988-92
3-point Field Goal Attempts
Player 3FG 3FGA Pct. Years
1. Carmelo Travieso ?97 245 666 .368 1993-97
2. Rafer Giles ?91 221 592 .373 1987-91
3. Edgar Padilla ?97 136 431 .316 1993-97
4. Lorenzo Sutton ?88 178 424 .420 1984-88
5. Monty Mack ?00 150 414 .362 1997-
6. Mike Williams ?95 123 406 .303 1991-95
7. Derek Kellogg ?95 138 362 .381 1991-95
8. Tony Barbee ?93 116 341 .340 1989-93
9. Charlton Clarke ?99 113 339 .333 1995-99
10. Anton Brown ?92 92 218 .422 1988-92
3-point Field Goal Percentage (min. 45 made)
Player 3FG 3FGA Pct. Years
1. Carl Smith ?87 54 122 .443 1983-87
2. Anton Brown ?92 92 218 .422 1988-92
3. Lorenzo Sutton ?88 178 424 .420 1984-88
4. Jerome Malloy ?95 86 215 .400 1991-93
5. Derek Kellogg ?95 138 362 .381 1991-95
6. Rafer Giles ?91 221 592 .373 1987-91
7. Carmelo Travieso ?97 245 666 .368 1993-97
8. Monty Mack ?00 150 414 .362 1997-
9. Tony Barbee ?93 116 341 .340 1989-93
10. Charlton Clarke ?99 113 339 .333 1995-99
Last Game UMass lost its home opener for the first time in the Mullins Center when Marshall came back from a 10-point first half deficit to win by the same margin. With the score tied at 28 at the half, the Minutemen moved out to an early four point lead in the second stanza but the Thundering Herd scored 11 unanswered points and never trailed after that point. UMass cut the deficit to two, 55-53, with 3:20 left in the game but another six point run by Marshall put the game out of reach. Monty Mack scored 22 points for his third consecutive 20 point game and Kitwana Rhymer registered his first career double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots.
Atlantic 10 Commissioner?s Cup UMass sits atop the Atlantic 10 Commissioner?s Cup standings through the completion of the fall sports season. UMass earned 49.5 points during the fall season, six points better than second place Rhode Island. Massachusetts relied on a strong showing from its women?s programs, grabbing 32 of its points on that side of the ledger. The Minutewomen earned first-place finishes in field hockey and women?s cross country to catapult to the lead. Overall Men Women
1. UMass 49.5 17.5 32.0
2. Rhode Island 43.5 19.0 24.5
3. Virginia Tech 38.0 18.0 20.0
4. Dayton 35.5 11.0 24.5
5. Duquesne 32.0 17.0 15.0
6. La Salle 30.5 16.5 14.0
7. St. Joseph?s 28.0 13.0 15.0
8. Xavier 27.0 5.0 22.0
9. Temple 23.0 5.5 17.5
10. St. Bonaventure 20.5 10.5 10.0
11. George Washington 17.5 5.0 12.5
12. Fordham 13.0 6.0 7.0
Exhibition Season The Minutemen wrapped up a challenging exhibition season with #an overtime victory, downing the Converse All-Stars 97-88 at the Mullins Center. Senior forward Chris Kirkland (Timmonsville, S.C.) led the Minutemen with 23 points and eight rebounds, while junior center Kitwana Rhymer (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) added 15 points and 17 rebounds. UMass trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before cutting the defecit to seven at the half. The Minutemen registered their first lead with 3:59 left in regulation when junior JoVann Johnson (Johnson City, Tenn.) hit both of his free throws to put UMass up 71-70. After 40 minutes of play the game was knotted at 78 a piece. In overtime UMass jumped out to an early lead but fell behind by two after five consecutive points by Converse. The Minutemen put the game away with a 12-2 run in the final 2:16 of play for the nine point victory. Junior Jonathan DePina (Boston, Mass.) posted one of the best games of his UMass career with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Also scoring in double figures was sophomore Shannon Crooks (Everett, Mass.) with 17 points while Johnson added 15 points and seven rebounds. UMass opened the exhibition season with an impressive offensive showing, downing the California All-Stars 103-97 at the Mullins Center. Crooks led the Minutemen with 24 points and seven assists, while Kirkland added 26 points and six rebounds. UMass opened the game with a 17-8 run and never trailed in the contest, behind its potent fast-break offense. The Minutemen saw their lead grow as large as 14 points with just under five minutes remaining in the game, before a late spurt by the All-Stars made the final score look close. UMass scored 30 fast break points on the evening, while also totaling 72 points in the paint. Freshman forward Micah Brand (Middletown, N.Y.), playing his first game in a UMass uniform, totaled 16 points and eight rebounds, including an impressive 10 for 10 performance at the free throw line. DePina had 13 points and six assists, while Rhymer added 10 points and nine boards.
Did You Know? The 85-77 win at Iona was the first time UMass has opened a season in an opponent?s home gym with a victory in 22 years. Not since the Minutemen defeated Harvard in Cambridge by a score of 73-66 to open the 1977-78 season under coach Jack Leaman had they accomplished it.
Captain(s) of the Ship Senior leadership has always played an important part of UMass basketball and this year should be a banner year in that department. Seniors Mike Babul and Chris Kirkland were named co-captains this year not only because of their improved play but because of their leadership skills and poise under fire.
Player Updates
#0 Anthony Oates ? Played perhaps the best game of his UMass career at Iona in season opener...in only six minutes of play he scored two points, grabbed a pair of rebounds, garnered his first career steal and played solid defense...missed the Marshall game with a contusion in his left foot.
#1 Jonathan DePina ? Hit a career-best three for three from three-point land and finished with 10 points against No. 7 UConn. Scored 11 points in the season-opener at Iona. Currently third on the team with a 10.5 ppg scoring average...led the team in assists for the second time in three games with four against Marshall.
#3 Ronell Blizzard ? played well in the first two games with five points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in 20 minutes. He hit his first career three-pointer at No. 7 UConn to cut the Huskies lead to three with 8:46 left to go in the game.
#4 JoVann Johnson ? A junior college transfer who has seen only 10 minutes of playing time in the first three games...registered his first career steal against Marshall.
#5 Monty Mack ? Came off the bench and scored a season-high 26 points at No. 7 UConn. Scored 21 points off the bench in the season-opener at Iona. Scored 22 against Marshall to give hime three consecutive 20 point games for the first time in his career. Passed the 1,000 career points total in the Iona game achieving the feat in only 63 contests. He has been the leading scorer for UMass every game this season. In his career Mack has scored 25 points or more in a game five times, 20 points or more in a game 19 times and has scored in double figures 57 times out of 65 games.
#11 Darryl Denson ? Has not played this season
#20 Winston Smith ? Notched his first basket of the season in the season-opener at Iona.
#22 Chris Kirkland ? Registered nine points and five rebounds against the defending national champion UConn Huskies. Scored 15 points and grabbed another five boards in the season-opener at Iona. Registered 10 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots against Marshall.
#23 Mike Babul ? Shut down UConn?s Kevin Freeman holding him to two points on 1-8 shooting from the field. Shut down first team All-MAAC selection Tarik Kirksay, in the second half holding him to five points, all on free throws. Babul did not have the defensive coverage on Kirksay in the first half when the Gaels? leading scorer dropped in 15 points in the opening stanza.
#24 Dwayne Early ? Has not played this season.
#30 Shannon Crooks ? Scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out three assists in his first game as a Minuteman in the season-opener at Iona.
#33 Kitwana Rhymer ? Scored a career-high 12 points in the season-opener at Iona along with a team-high seven rebounds in only 11 minutes of play. Grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds at No. 7 UConn in Gampel Pavilion. The last UMass player to grab 17 or more rebounds was Ajmal Basit against Rhode Island in the 1997-98 season. Swatted away a career-high 6 blocked shots and registered his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Marshall.
#40 Micah Brand ? In his collegiate debut he grabbed a team-high seven boards in the season-opener at Iona. He also registered four points and a blocked shot against the Gaels.
