Sports Poets Society

LOCATION   Richmond, VA
CONFERENCE   Atlantic 10
LAST SEASON   21-14 (0.600)
CONFERENCE RECORD   12-6 (t-4th)
STARTERS RETURNING/LOST   4/1
NICKNAME Spiders
COLORS   Red & Blue HOMECOURT   Robins Center (7,201) COACH   Chris Mooney (Princeton ’94)
RECORD AT SCHOOL 187-144 (10 years) CAREER RECORD   205-158 (11 years) ASSISTANTS Rob Jones (Toccoa Falls ’01) - Marcus Jenkins (Air Force ‘04) - Kim Lewis (Tulane ‘94)
WINS (LAST 5 YRS.)    29-16-19-19-21 RPI (LAST 5 YRS.)        33-131-90-71-64 2014-15 FINISH   Lost in NIT quarter finals.

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS:
BACKCOURT B  FRONTCOURT A-  BENCH/DEPTH B-  INTANGIBLES A

Over the last eight seasons under coach Chris Mooney, the Richmond Spiders have become one of the most consistent programs in the Atlantic 10.

The Spiders have a 79-51 conference record in that span, have finished below .500 in conference play just once (7-9 in 2011-12) and have won at least 19 games in six of those seasons. The Spiders play a unique style, on each end of the court, …

No Mourinho, no party per il Chelsea al Britannia Staduium: senza il suo allenatore, squalificato per una giornata e, per lo "stadium ban", impossibilitato anche ad assistere alla partita anche da semplice spettatore, i Blues sono incappati nella settimana sconfitta su 12 giornate di Premier.

Dopo la doppietta di Coutinho nel 3-1 per il Liverpool, è un altro ex interista a punire la squadra di Mou che mai, nell'era-Abramovich aveva perso tre partite consecutive in campionato.

E' successo in questo avvio di una stagione che, almeno in Inghilterra, per i Blues sembra maledetta.

Stavolta senza scuse arbitrali, e di nuovo contro lo Stoke City, che lo scorso il 27 ottobre li aveva eliminati ai rigori, sempre al Britannia, nel quarto turno di League Cup.

A differenza del brasiliano, incrociato da Mourinho solo per sei mesi alla Pinetina mentre il brasiliano si ambientava in attesa di aggregarsi alla prima squadra a luglio con Rafa Benitez, l'austriaco è stato un gioca…

ranking #12
LOCATION   Berkeley, CA CONFERENCE   Pac-12 LAST SEASON   18-15 (.545) CONFERENCE RECORD    7-11 (t-8th)
STARTERS RETURNING/LOST   3/2
NICKNAME   Golden Bears COLORS   Blue & Gold
HOMECOURT   Haas Pavilion (11,877)
COACH   Cuonzo Martin (Purdue ’00) 18-15 (1 year) RECORD AT SCHOOL   142-97 (7 years)
CAREER RECORD
ASSISTANTS Tracy Webster (Wisconsin ’95) - Wyking Jones (Loyola Marymount ’95) - Yann Hufnagel (Cornell ’06) WINS (LAST 5 YRS.)    18-24-21-21-18
RPI (LAST 5 YRS.)   75-45-52-59-93
2014-15 FINISH   Lost in Pac-12 quarter finals.

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS: BACKCOURT A
FRONTCOURT A
BENCH/DEPTH B
INTANGIBLES B

COACH AND PROGRAM Coach Cuonzo Martin knows what you’re asking, and he’s ready with the answer. He even put it on Twitter. “Why not Cal?” Martin said under a photo of him on a May 14 post. Why not keep home Oakland big man Ivan Rabb, who was considering a number of other élite programs before Coach Cuonzo Martin was hired in April 2014? Why not shock the recruiting underwor…

LOCATION   Morgantown, WV CONFERENCE   Big 12 LAST SEASON   25-10 (.714) CONFERENCE RECORD   11-7 (t-4th)
STARTERS RETURNING/LOST   3/2
NICKNAME   Mountaineers COLORS   Old Gold & Blue
HOMECOURT   WVU Coliseum (14,000)
COACH   Bob Huggins (West Virginia ’77)
RECORD AT SCHOOL 175-101 (8 years)  CAREER RECORD 765-312 (33 years)
ASSISTANTS
Larry Harrison (Pittsburgh ’78) Erik Martin (Cincinnati ’93) Ron Everhart (Virginia Tech ’85) WINS (LAST 5 YRS.) 21-19-13-17-25 RPI (LAST 5 YRS.)    21-61-151-92-22
2014-15 FINISH   Lost in NCAA Sweet 16.

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS: BACKCOURT B
FRONTCOURT B+
BENCH/DEPTH A
INTANGIBLES A-

Coach Bob Huggins isn’t necessarily surprised West Virginia won 25 games last season. With a standout like Juwan Staten running the show — “He took pretty good care of the basketball,” Huggins said — and leading the team in scoring (14.2 ppg), a roster that boasted 10 players who averaged at least 13 minutes, and a defense that forced 19.4 turnovers per game,…

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/terps/bs-sp-terps-diamond-stone-0401-20150331-story.html

Maryland fans can get a look at five-star recruit Diamond Stone in the McDonald's All American Game tonight. April, 1, 2015 Don Markus - The Baltimore Sun
John Lucas knew little about Diamond Stone when the Milwaukee teenager showed up at the Maryland legend's summer all-star camp nearly four years ago.

What impressed Lucas from the moment Stone stepped into the Houston gym was not the 14-year-old's size — he was already 6 feet 8 and well over 200 pounds — but his basketball soul.

In an era in which good footwork and solid fundamentals seem as passe for talented big men as hook shots, Stone was definitely old school.

"He knew how to use his body; he knew how to get his shot off, even though the other guys were more athletic; and he had a high basketball IQ,"Lucas said Sunday. "He's a throwback big man."

Lucas recalled how Stone went from being one of the least talk…