University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Hoops Season Begins at Home Against Howard Saturday
November 12, 2015 | Men's Basketball
| University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Weekly Release | |
| Game One | Massachusetts (0-0 Overall) vs. Howard (0-0) |
| Date | Time | Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015 | Noon ET |
| Location | Mullins Center (9,493) | Amherst, Mass. | Directions | Travel |
| Live Statistics | GameTracker |
| Watch | Atlantic 10 Digital Network |
| Listen (Radio) | 105.5 FM WEEI (Western Massachusetts), 830 AM WCRN (Worcester), 95.9 FM WATD (South Shore) |
| Listen (Online) | WEEI Streaming Player | TuneIn App (mobile devices) |
| Series History | First meeting |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts  | Howard | Atlantic 10 | UMass Media Clips Packet |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Howard |
| @UMassAthletics | @UMassBasketball | #GoUMass | |
| UMass Athletics | |
| Buy Tickets | Available through Ticketmaster.com or 866-UMASS-TIX |
UMass-Howard Scouting Report
University of Massachusetts men's basketball hosts Howard University for the first meeting between the sides in the history of the programs on Saturday, Nov. 14 in the Mullins Center at Noon. It marks the season-opener for both squads.
Howard finished even at .500 last season with a 16-16 mark, including a 10-6 ledger in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action. Leading scorer James Daniel III returns for his junior season after the then-sophomore paced the squad in 2014-15 with 16.7 points and 2.7 assists per game. Overall the squad struggled from beyond the arc at 29.7 percent (149-of-501) and went 695-for-1621 on field goals overall (.429).
The scoring margin was nearly as even as the team's record as Howard gave up 63.7 points per game with 63.5 scored on the other end. The team controlled the boards with a 34.7-to-31.5 margin on average but committed 517 turnovers against 270 assists dished out (0.52 assist-to-turnover margin).
Follow UMass Athletics And UMass Basketball On Twitter
Instant information on the basketball program, including an inside look at key points and statistics in each game as well as updates from practice and other team events are available via the Twitter handle @UMassBasketball. Follow the Minutemen there and catch information about each University of Massachusetts Athletic Department program through @UMassAthletics.
Highly-Touted Quartet Fill Out Latest Recruiting Class
University of Massachusetts men's basketball and head coach Derek Kellogg brought four new members to the program on Wed., Nov. 11, as Chris Baldwin, DeJon Jarreau, Brison Gresham and Unique McLean signed their National Letters of Intent to compete for the Maroon and White beginning in 2016-17. The quartet combined to earn a top-25 class ranking across the three major recruiting services as it earned 22nd in the nation from 247Sports and 25th from ESPN and Rivals.
In addition to the praise heaped on the individual student-athletes, Kellogg's signees represent the top ranked class across all Atlantic 10 programs according to ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals.
Baldwin, the No. 2 ranked player in Massachusetts and a four-star recruit via ESPN, hails from Springfield, Massachusetts, and currently attends Notre Dame Prep.
Gresham, who is teammates with Jarreau at McDonogh 35 High School in New Orleans, is the fifth-ranked player in the state of Louisiana according to 247Sports with an overall grade of 90.
ESPN also touts the abilities of Jarreau, who is a four-star player ranked No. 62 overall in their top-100 listing with more than 20 offers from NCAA Division I programs across the country.
McLean, who plays locally at the MacDuffie School in Granby, chose the Minutemen over Rutgers and a trio of other Atlantic 10 institutions in Dayton, Fordham and Rhode Island.
Davis Turning It Up
Trey Davis dialed up his performances during the final two months of the season and averaged 11.8 points, 4.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds during the second half of the campaign. He has made 35 of the team's 102 3-pointers during the stretch, which encompasses the last 21 games.
The East Dallas native had been automatic at the free throw line, where he made 33 consecutive attempts prior to a second-half miss at Rhode Island on Feb. 18. His streak tied Chaz Williams for the UMass record of consecutive makes against a conference opponent. Donta Bright holds the school record for consecutive made free throws from when Bright knocked down 40-straight from Jan. 10-Feb. 1, 1996. Davis made 43-of-47 (.915) taken during the final minute of play in 2014-15.
Davis notched 15 double-figure scoring games as a junior, with nine in Atlantic 10 play, and he finished the year third among Minutemen in scoring at 10.8 points per game.
Freshman Success Story
Donte Clark provided one of the best recent rookie season success stories in UMass basketball history in 2014-15 as the true freshman produced 9.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 23.2 minutes per game. Clark started the final 18 games and appeared in all 32 contests while he scored in double figures during 15 contests.
Clark led the team in scoring during five games while he provided an additional threat from outside with 29 made 3-pointers and had at least one in 18 games. The Charlotte, N.C., native set a career high with 25 points, including a 3-of-4 line from outside the arc in Springfield against Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 7 while he added a team-high 23 points with four assists on a career-best 5-for-7 performance from 3-point range during a 66-59 win over La Salle at home on Feb. 8.
Clark led the team over the final five games with 14.4 points scored on average and capped his season with 23 points and six boards against La Salle during the Atlantic 10 Tournament Second Round on March 12.
UMass In The Mullins Center
UMass was successful in the Mullins Center during 2014-15 and finished with a 10-5 record. Over the past four seasons, the Minutemen went 45-13 overall (.776) and 23-10 in Atlantic 10 contests (.697)in the facility.
UMass completed its 22nd season playing at the William D. Mullins Memorial Center and holds an all-time record of 211-92 (.702) at the facility. The Minutemen also own a 118-58 (.680) historical mark in regular season Atlantic 10 Conference games at the Mullins Center, and a 4-2 ledger in Atlantic 10 Tournament contests. The first game was played on Feb. 4, 1993, when UMass bested West Virginia, 64-59 in overtime.
UMass To Honor John Calipari
As part of a 20th anniversary of the UMass men's basketball 1995-96 Final Four team, the University of Massachusetts Athletic Department will honor former head coach John Calipari during the 2015-16 season with a banner raising ceremony before the contest against New Orleans on Dec. 16.
Calipari, who is expected to be on-hand for the pregame ceremony, led UMass to five consecutive Atlantic 10 titles and as many straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Calipari, who guided the Minutemen from 1988-96, finished his tenure with 193 victories, including 91 versus league opponents. Calipari's banner will join the retired jerseys of five all-time Minuteman greats: George "Trigger" Burke (No. 32), Marcus Camby (21), Julius "Dr. J." Erving (32), Lou Roe (15) and Al Skinner (30).
Basketball Moves In To Champions Center
The University of Massachusetts men's and women's basketball program moved into their first dedicated team facility during the Summer 2015 with the introduction of the John Francis Kennedy Champions Center for UMass Basketball. The 53,000-square foot building offers a state-of-the-art facility for the Minutemen and Minutewomen that will benefit generations of basketball student-athletes to come.
The structure is named in honor of longtime athletics support John Francis Kennedy, who donated the lead gift of $11 million toward the project. The 53,000-square foot facility houses the daily operations for the UMass men's and women's basketball programs. The $22-million facility features dedicated practice courts for each team, office space for the coaching staffs, locker rooms and areas for strength and conditioning along with athletic training services. It also contains Legacy Hall, which will display the rich history of UMass basketball along the building's Eastern corridor.
The creation of the facility has several additional benefits for the University, the community and other programs within the athletics department. Current space utilized in the Mullins Center for basketball will be converted to additional support areas for athletics. The dedicated practice space for the basketball program will allow more open dates for the Mullins Center to schedule entertainment groups such as concerts, theatrical productions and other performers. The teams will no longer need to schedule practices in the Curry Hicks Cage as well, which will allow more time for other athletics programs and University-related organizations to use the space.
John F. Kennedy holds multiple degrees from a pair of University of Massachusetts campuses, including a bachelor's in mathematics UMass Lowell (then known as Lowell Technological Institute) in 1970 and a master's in accounting from the flagship campus in Amherst in 1976. The Naples, Fla., resident is the retired President and CFO of Nova Ventures Corp., of Woburn, Mass. Kennedy founded the Kennedy Foundation, which supports academic efforts at the University of Massachusetts and UMass Lowell. In the Spring 2014, he was awarded the UMass Amherst Distinguished Achievement Award. Additionally, he is the Past President of the UMass Amherst Foundation.
