University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass To Face Central Connecticut
December 01, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2002
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Game Day Quick Facts
The Teams: Massachusetts (1-2) vs. Central Connecticut State (1-1)
Date: Monday, Dec. 2, 2002
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: Mohegan Sun Arena (10,000), Uncasville, Conn.
UMass Sports Radio: WRNX 100.9 FM, Holyoke, flagship; Bob Behler, play-by-play; Jack Leaman, color
UMass Student Radio: WMUA 91.1 FM, Amherst
Probable Massachusetts Starters Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. F 2 Jackie Rogers 6-8 217 Sr. F 34 Raheim Lamb 6-6 198 Jr. C 40 Micah Brand 6-11 262 Sr. G 12 Anthony Anderson 5-11 164 Jr. G 50 Marcus Cox 6-4 200 Jr.
Probable Central Connecticut State Starters Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. F 15 Ron Robinson 6-7 215 Jr. F 34 Rob Barrett 6-7 235 So. G 5 Damian Battles 6-3 210 Sr. G 22 Ricardo Scott 6-4 190 Jr. G 23 Jon Popofski 6-2 180 So.
The Game: For the third time in four games, coach Steve Lappas' Minutemen square off against a 2002 NCAA Tournament entrant, as Massachusetts and Central Connecticut State battle for the second consecutive year at Mohegan Sun Arena. UMass, which beat Chaminade, 69-55, in the seventh-place game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational last Wednesday, is 1-2 on the young season. The Minutemen opened their 94th intercollegiate basketball campaign by dropping an 84-71 decision to eventual Maui Invitational champion and 2002 NCAA runner-up Indiana in the tourney's first round, Nov. 25, then lost to another 2002 NCAA Tournament participant in Utah, 69-53, Nov. 26, before beating the host Silverswords. With only two seniors on its 2002-03 roster, Massachusetts is in the midst of a grueling season-opening schedule that sees it play five of its first six games against 2002 NCAA Tournament teams. After tonight's contest, the Minutemen tip-off their 2002-03 home slate against Boston College in the Dec. 7 Commonwealth Classic showdown, then play No. 12 (Associated Press) Connecticut, an Elite Eight team a year ago, Dec. 10 in Hartford. For UMass, tonight's game is also its fourth straight away from home to open the season, the third time in the past seven years it has started a year with four consecutive tilts outside the Mullins Center. The Minutemen played their first four games of both the 1996-97 and 1997-98 campaigns away from home, and earned NCAA Tournament bids each year. Central Connecticut State, meanwhile, is 1-1 this season and has won 20 of its last 22 games dating to last year. The Blue Devils, idle since a 74-63 Nov. 23 homecourt loss to High Point in the Mohegan Sun Classic title game, are the preseason favorite to win the Northeast Conference according to the league's preseason coaches poll. CCSU opened its season with a 77-67 homecourt victory over St. Peter's, Nov. 22. Coach Howie Dickenman's team went 27-5 a year ago and captured both the Northeast Conference regular season and conference crowns en route to the school's second NCAA Tournament bid in the past three seasons. The Blue Devils stood 8-4 after a 94-63 loss at Providence, Dec. 31, 2001, then ran off 19 consecutive victories before losing to Pittsburgh, 71-54, in a first round NCAA game.
Minute-Matters: Trends to consider as Massachusetts aims for its fourth consecutive victory over Central Connecticut State . . .
The Coaches: Massachusetts coach Steve Lappas (City College of New York, 1977) owns a 14-18 (.438) record in his second season on the Minuteman bench and a 244-190 (.562) mark in his 15th season as a Division I head coach. Lappas, who last year became just the third UMass rookie coach to start his career 4-0, and the first since Johnny Orr in 1963-64, has enjoyed tremendous success in year two of his rebuilding projects in stops at both Villanova and Manhattan. In fact, he won an average of eight more games in his second year than he did in his rookie campaign at those institutions. At Villanova, Lappas won 20 games and the school's first NIT championship in 1993-94 after a debut season that produced an 8-19 record, while his second season at Manhattan saw the Jaspers post an 11-17 record after a 7-21 mark in his rookie campaign. Introduced as UMass' 19th basketball coach on March 26, 2001, Lappas came to Amherst after nine highly-successful years at Villanova (1992-93 through 2000-01), where he guided the Wildcats to a 174-110 (.613) record and seven postseason appearances (four NCAA, three NIT). He ranks as the sixth-winningest coach in Big East history (and was the third-winningest among active league coaches when he left the Main Line) with 97 league victories. At Manhattan (1988-89 through 1991-92), Lappas improved the Jaspers' win total every year, going from seven in 1988-89, to 11 the following year, 13 in his third season and 25 in his fourth and final campaign (1991-92) en route to a 56-62 (.475) four-year mark and one postseason (NIT in 1991-92) appearance. Equally impressive as Lappas' on-court record is the classroom performance of his players, as all of his seniors at Massachusetts, Villanova and Manhattan have graduated. Prior to moving to Manhattan, he spent four seasons as an assistant to Rollie Massimino at Villanova, and was a member of the Wildcats' 1985 national championship staff. Lappas is 1-0 against Central Connecticut State and its coach, Howie Dickenman (Central Connecticut State, 1970). The Blue Devils' Dickenman owns a 98-80 (.551) record in his seventh season as a head coach, all with the Blue Devils. His first two teams posted a 12-41 (.226) record, but his teams have gone 86-39 (.688) since then. Among New England Division I institutions, only Connecticut has won more games than Central Connecticut State over the last four-plus campaigns. Dickenman, who spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach at UConn (1982-83 through 1995-96, the longest assistant coaching tenure in the school's history) before returning to his alma mater as head coach April 17, 1996, led the Blue Devils to their first winning season as a Division I institution in 1998-99 (19-13) and has delivered Northeast Conference titles and NCAA Tournament bids in both 1999-2000 and 2001-02, while winning 25 and 27 games, respectively. He is 0-1 vs. UMass as a head coach, but as a UConn assistant, he helped the Huskies to a 6-1 record against the Minutemen.
Chaminade in Review: UMass overcame an early six-point deficit to hand host Chaminade a 69-55 loss in the seventh-place game of the 2002 EA Sports Maui Invitational, Nov. 27. The game was close throughout the first half, with neither team leading by more than six points and Massachusetts taking a 34-33 halftime lead. The Minutemen then broke a 44-all tie with runs of 7-0 and 12-1 push the lead to 16 at 65-49 with 4:33 left in the game, and the Silverswords would get no closer than 12 the rest of the way. Anthony Anderson led the Minutemen with a career-high-tying 20 points and a career-best nine assists, while Michael Lasme added a career-high 14 points. Jeff Viggiano turned in a solid all-around game with career-highs of seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks, to go with a pair of assists in 23 minutes off the bench. UMass hit a season-high 47.2 percent from the field, while holding Chaminade to 38.9 percent shooting and a season-low 55 points.
The Series: This is the fifth meeting in a series UMass leads, 3-1, after last year's 64-49 victory at Mohegan Sun Arena. Massachusetts dropped its first-ever meeting with Central Connecticut State, 68-47, March 13, 1950, in an NAIA Tournament game played at New Britain, Conn., but has won the last three meetings between the schools. The Minutemen beat the Blue Devils, 78-52, during the 1992-93 season and 90-63 the following year, prior to last year's victory. UMass is 4-2 all-time vs. current members of the Northeast Conference.
Last Year Against the Blue Devils: After falling behind by six points midway through the first half at 14-8, UMass used a 17-7 run to take a 25-21 halftime lead, then dominated the second half to post a 64-49 victory over Central Connecticut State at Mohegan Sun Arena, Dec. 15. The Minutemen opened the second half with a 20-3 run that gave them a 45-24 lead with 11:58 to play, and the closest the Blue Devils would get the rest of the way would be 12 on two occasions. UMass shot 63.0 percent from the field in the final half (and finished with a then-season-high 51.9 percent mark), and limited Central Connecticut to 32.1 percent marksmanship in the final 20 minutes. The Minutemen also enjoyed a 41-26 advantage on the glass. Kitwana Rhymer had season highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Massachusetts attack, while Jameel Pugh came off the bench to score a then-career-high 11 points in 18 minutes. UMass returns 18 of its 64 points from last year's game, while Central Connecticut returns 40 of its 49 points from a year ago. A complete box score from last year's game is included in tonight's notes package.
UMass Season Tickets Still Available: With the Massachusetts men's basketball team set to tip-off its 2002-03 home schedule Dec. 7 against Boston College in the Commonwealth Classic, fans looking to purchase season tickets for the upcoming season may still do so. Season tickets, which will be sold through the Boston College game, cost $266.00 each for the Minutemen's 14-game Mullins Center slate. Among the teams scheduled to visit Amherst this winter are 2002 NCAA Tournament entrants Boston College (Dec. 7), North Carolina State (Jan 2) and Xavier (Jan. 18) along with longtime A-10 rival Temple (Feb. 8). Single-game ticket orders are being taken by the Athletic Ticket Office and will be filled once the season ticket sale is completed, according to UMass Assistant Athletic Director for Tickets & Game Operations Bill Chaves. Fans looking for that ideal stocking stuffer this holiday season may wish to purchase a UMass Holiday Pack. The Holiday Packs, which cost $40.00 each, include one ticket for UMass' games against Rider (Dec. 23), Marshall (Dec. 28) and North Carolina State (Jan. 2). The highly-popular Family Day promotion will also return this season for UMass' games in the Mullins Center against Marshall (Dec. 28), Fordham (Feb. 1) and Duquesne (Feb. 23). For $50.00 per game on Mullins Center Family Days, fans will receive four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas. UMass' game against Lafayette, which will be held at the Springfield Civic Center on Saturday, Dec. 21, will also feature the opportunity for fans to purchase four tickets for $50.00. In addition, fans who purchase the Lafayette family package will receive four admissions into the Basketball Hall of Fame's Dec. 21 party to celebrate the game of basketball's birthday. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the UMass Athletic Ticket Office at 1.866.UMASS.TIX.
Preseason Forecasts: Most, if not all, of the preseason magazines have hit the stands by now, and the reviews on coach Steve Lappas' Minutemen have been solid. The Atlantic 10 preseason coaches and media poll pegged UMass third in the East behind Temple and Saint Joseph's, but ahead of St. Bonaventure, Rhode Island and Fordham. Meanwhile, the West Division was forecast as a Xavier, Dayton, Richmond, La Salle, George Washington and Duquesne finish.
Anthony Anderson earned preseason third team All-Atlantic 10 honors, while Michael Lasme was named to the league's preseason All-Rookie unit.
Here's a look at some of the preseason magazines and their season forecasts for the Minutemen:
Athlon: Predicts a second-place East Division finish for the Minutemen, behind Temple, and a return to the postseason with an NIT bid.
Blue Ribbon: Projects a second-place finish in the East and a postseason bid for the Minutemen.
College Basketball News: The forecast here isn't as good, as the publication puts UMass fourth in the East, behind Temple, St. Bonaventure and Saint Joseph's. Senior center Micah Brand was selected as a second team preseason All-Conference pick.
ESPN.com: Predicts a first-place East Division effort for Massachusetts, with Marcus Cox earning A-10 Newcomer of the Year honors. Cox was also rated as the nation's No. 4 impact transfer by ESPN's Dick Vitale. UMass was also listed by two of the web site's "experts" as a potential surprise team in 2002-03.
Lindy's: Tabs the Minutemen to win the East, with Brand earning and Anthony Anderson being selected as third team All-League performers.
Sporting News: Selects the Minutemen to finish third in the East, behind Temple and Saint Joseph's, but rates the program's recruiting class as the league's best.
Street & Smith's: Picks UMass to finish second in the East, with a note for fans not be surprised if the Minutemen win their division.
Another Tough Slate: Challenging schedules and UMass basketball have gone hand and hand for more than a decade, and that beat should continue for the Minutemen in 2002-03. The RPI Report ranked UMass' 2001-02 slate as the nation's 49th-toughest, the 10th time in the last 11 seasons the Minutemen ranked among the nation's top 50 in schedule strength. UMass, 0-2 against 2002 NCAA Tournament teams heading into tonight's game, plays its next three games against teams which earned invitations to last season's Big Dance in Central Connecticut State, Boston College and Connecticut. The only other 2002 postseason tournament team the Minutemen face during the non-conference season is North Carolina State, a program that advanced to the NCAAs for the first time in more than a decade a year ago. In the A-10, Massachusetts will play more than half (nine) of its 16-game league slate against league members that earned postseason bids a year ago. The Minutemen will tackle NIT entrants Temple, Saint Joseph's and St. Bonaventure on a home-and-home basis, while meeting NCAA Tournament team Xavier, and NIT participants Richmond and Dayton once each.
Second-Year Improvement: If history holds true to form for UMass coach Steve Lappas, the Minutemen will likely see a big improvement in the victory column this season. Why? Because in each of Lappas' first two head coaching stops, at Villanova and Manhattan, he won an average of eight more games in his second season on the bench than he did in his rookie season. At Villanova, he posted eight victories in his first season (1992-93), but went 20-12 in his second year and captured the school's first-ever National Invitation Tournament championship. At Manhattan, Lappas went 7-21 in year one, but improved to 11-17 the second season. Improvement in year two has been a trend among basketball coaches in Amherst, too, as eight of UMass' last nine head coaches have won more games in their second campaign than they did in year one. Coach Robert T. Curran engineered the biggest turnaround over that stretch, a nine-game improvement in the win column from four victories in 1952-53 to 13 in his second year, while John Calipari saw a seven-game improvement in his victory total from 10 wins in his rookie season to 17 and a postseason bid (NIT) in year two. Calipari is the only UMass coach to follow a losing rookie campaign with a postseason bid the next season.
Team Captains Named: In voting conducted by the team, the Minutemen selected their only seniors on the roster, center Micah Brand and forward Jackie Rogers, to serve as team captains for the 2002-03 campaign. It marks the fifth consecutive year that UMass will have at least two players serving as team captains.
International Flavor: UMass freshmen Michael Lasme and Alassane Kouyate both played prep hoops in the United States, but claim hometowns on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Lasme, who can speak four languages (English, French, German and Spanish), is a native of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in Africa. He moved to France when he was 12, and has lived in the United States the past two and a half years. Not to be out done by his new teammate, Kouyate, a native of Bamako, Mali, can speak five languages -- English, French, and three African dialects. He has been in the United States for the last three years. In addition, sophomore Kyle Wilson is from White Rock, British Columbia, and junior Paco Kotaridis hails from Athens, Greece, giving the Minutemen a foursome of international diplomats on their 2002-03 roster.
The Baker's Dozen: Over the last 13-plus seasons, Massachusetts owns a 283-143 (.664) overall record, an average of 21.7 wins per season. The Minutemen have made 10 postseason appearances over that stretch, while recording seven 20-win campaigns, 12 winning conference records and 11 .500 or better campaigns in that stretch. After posting no winning campaigns, just two .500 records and a 53-133 (.285) record in its first 13 seasons in the A-10, UMass has gone 144-66 (.686) in regular-season league play over the last 13 campaigns en route to 10 conference crowns (five regular season, five tournament). Eight times over the last 13 seasons the Minutemen have won at least 11 league games. In the Atlantic 10, no program that has called the league home in each of the last 13 years has won more games overall than UMass (283). Xavier, though, does have 287 victories to its credit over that time frame, but the Musketeers didn't join the A-10 until the 1995-96 campaign.
Looking Ahead to 2003-04: Art Bowers, a 6-4, 200-pound shooting guard from St. Benedict's (N.J.) Prep School, signed a National Letter of Intent during the recently completed early-signing period to play for the Minutemen next season. "We are really excited to sign Art," UMass coach Steve Lappas said. "He's a player who will really fit into our system. Art is a tremendous athlete and a gifted offensive player. I'm really looking forward to having him in our program, because he's a special talent. Art's a driver, but he also has the ability to hit the three-pointer, too, so his versatility is a huge plus." As a junior for coach Danny Hurley, Bowers, a native of Wilmington, Del., averaged 16 points per game en route to first team All-State honors. He led St. Benedict's, located in Newark, N.J., to a 22-7 record and the state championship. Ranked as the nation's 32nd-best prep prospect by ESPN.com and the 44th-best by PrepStars, he earned All-Tournament honors at the PowerAid and Slam Dunk to the Beach events as a junior. Bowers is also a two-time Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions Most Valuable Player. Bowers, who selected UMass over Wake Forest, Rutgers, De Paul and Pittsburgh, outscored 2002 Ohio high school Player of the Year and Sports Illustrated coverboy Lebron James, 21-18, in a head-to-head match-up last season, but James' St. Vincent-St. Mary's team pulled out a 67-60 victory. In addition to Bowers, top 100 recruit Rashaun Freeman (Schnectady, N.Y.), who signed with UMass in 2001, is attending Massachusetts this season and will be eligible next year.
Fast Breaks: Chaminade (Minutemen, 69-55)--UMass picked up first win of season behind Anthony Anderson's career-high-tying 20 points and career-best nine assists; Minutemen trailed by six early, but rallied to take 34-33 halftime lead; game was close early in final half, before Massachusetts used runs of 7-0 and 12-1 to push the lead to 16 at 65-49 with 4:33 left in the game, and the Silverswords would get no closer than 12 the rest of the way; Michael Lasme tallied career-best 14 points in third career game; UMass hit season-high 47.2 percent from the field, including 52.2 percent in the second half. Utah (Utes, 69-53)--In first-ever meeting between the schools, UMass had 23-18 lead with 3:15 left in the first half, but Utah scored final 12 points to take 30-23 halftime lead; Utes pushed lead to 16 at 51-35 with 10:55 left in the game, but Minutemen used 12-2 run to pull within 53-47 with 6:11 to go; Down 55-49 at the 4:22 mark, UMass watched Utah score the game's next eight points to put the game away, as Utes closed game with 14-4 run; Jackie Rogers was lone Minuteman to score in double-digits (17 points), as Massachusetts started the season 0-2 for the first time since the 1982-83 campaign (0-4); Nick Jacobson led the Utes, who shot 58.5 percent from the field for the game (68.8 percent in the second half), with a game-high 21 points. Indiana (Hoosiers, 84-71)--Minutemen held four-point lead (11-7) at the 15:56 mark, but 2002 NCAA runner-up Indiana broke 16-all tie with a 6-0 run to take a 22-16 lead and the closest UMass would get the rest of the way would be four points, the last time at 44-40 with 2:29 left in the first half; Hoosiers scored final six points of first half to push halftime lead to 50-40, and Minutemen got no closer than seven in the second stanza; Four Minutemen scored in double figures, led by Raheim Lamb's first career double-double, a 17-point, career-high 12-rebound effort; UConn transfer Marcus Cox had collegiate high 14 points in his UMass debut; All five Indiana starters scored in double figures, led by Tom Coverdale's 20 points and George Leach's 19-point, 16-rebound double-double; Hoosiers went on to win Maui title.
Quick Tips: In 2001-02, Massachusetts ranked second in the A-10 in three-point percentage defense (.317), third in field goal percentage defense (.406) and fourth in scoring (65.9 ppg) defense...UMass was 12-7 last year when holding its opponent under both its season scoring and field goal shooting averages, but 1-9 when its foes exceeded one or both marks. In each of the past 11 seasons, UMass has held its opponents to season marks below 70.0 ppg and 42.0 percent field goal shooting...Massachusetts drained a school single-season record 204 three-pointers in Steve Lappas' rookie season on the bench, 24 more than it made in 34 games during the 1994-95 season. The Minutemen's 587 three-point attempts also ranked as the highest one-season total in school history, 60 more than the 1994-95 team's 527 attempts...Massachusetts was 7-2 a year ago when shooting 48.0 percent or better from the field, with six of those efforts coming outside the Mullins Center...Since David Brown topped the 1,000-point mark as a senior in 1988-89, UMass has had at least one player reach either the career 1,000- or 2,000-point plateau in 13 of the past 14 seasons, including each of the last nine campaigns. Nearly half (17) of UMass' 35 career 1,000-point scorers, and both of the program's 2,000-point men, have come over the last 14 seasons...Just the fourth Minuteman to earn the league's top rookie, newcomer or freshman honor, Anthony Anderson, a preseason third team All-Atlantic 10 selection, follows in the footsteps of Marcus Camby (1994), Jim McCoy (1989) and Edwin Green (1989), a trio that combined to score 5,148 points as Minutemen, earn eight All-Atlantic 10 certificates (including five first team awards) and produce the school's first-ever national player of the year in Camby...freshman forward Arthur Onuora has made the 2002-03 UMass team as a walk-on...Onuora, a native of Baldwin, N.Y., attended Long Island Lutheran High School, where he averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists per game en route to All-Long Island honors.
In the A-10 Tonight: Duquesne at George Mason (7 p.m.); Temple at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m. The A-10 is 20-16 against non-league foes thru games of Nov. 30.
From Here: The parade of 2002 NCAA Tournament teams continues for the Minutemen, as UMass opens its 2002-03 home schedule against Boston College in the Commonwealth Classic, Saturday, Dec. 7, in a high Noon game that will be televised on ESPN. Central Connecticut State is idle until Dec. 11 when it plays host Hartford in the first round of the Phoenix Classic.