Injuries

After this last road trip, I feel the need to talk about some of our injuries.  Unfortunately, senior Josh Bright sprained his right ankle during the game at Colorado and I couldn't feel worse for him.  I cannot imagine how much pain he is after a LOOOOOONG travel day yesterday (Denver to Chicago to Baltimore then bus to Princess Anne - 12+ hours).  Josh is such a trooper however and always in such high spirits.  I don't know many details of the injury, but I'm hoping Josh can make a speedy recovery and misses minimal time in his last season as a Hawk.

Luckily we've only had two other players effected by the injury bug - junior Diyaaldin Kelley and freshman Kevin Williams.  I'm also not sure how long either will be out, but hoping it's not long!

Unfortunately, I've personally experienced the injury bug as I missed my senior year of high school basketball due to an ankle sprain/messed up ankle bones. This is still an extremely sensitive subject for me (and it was almost eight years ago!!!).  I really wouldn't wish any kind of injury on my worst enemy and really feel for our guys.

Look who's in Colorado!

Baseball seniors Elliott Alston and Nick Wiggins both hail from Littleton, Colo. and are home on break, so they decided to come to our game and support their fellow UMES student-athletes.  It was great to see them and I think it was neat for them to see UMES all the way out in Colorado. 

I asked them both how they were enjoying break and what they were doing and got a similar response from both - "sleep until noon-ish, workout for a few hours, play videogames."  Well, at least they're working out.  :-)

Elliott joins Bret on-air during the halftime show - he did a great job!

GAME DAY! UMES @ Colorado - Starters

UMES - Maroon uniform
3 White
11 Burns
23 Bradshaw
24 Haley
32 Hines

Colorado - Gray uniform
1 Tomlinson
5 Relphorde
10 Burks
11 Higgins
33 Dufault

More Colorado photos

Some more photos from our trip to Colorado.  I absolutely love this state and the beauty of it.  I've always said that I want to live there some day.  Below are some photos of CU's campus... all beautiful.  The buildings all have similar architecture and I would love to see campus buried in snow or in the glory of a sunny summer day.

During last night's practice, Bret and I ventured out to stock up on water and Powerade for the team.  Usually Coach Peery and/or Coach Robinson take on this task, but with a long flight and limited time, we decided to go and give them a break.  You'd never think how much liquids it takes to keep 13 basketball players and six staff members hydrated!  We pretty much cleared them out of Powerade (80 bottles).  Just think what it takes for a road trip that is longer than two days and includes more than one game!

 

 My cart was full of water - five cases to be exact. 

Photos - Coors Events Center

 Chauncey's Kids Roundup - The Buffs are very proud of alum Chauncey Billups (current Nuggets guard).  His brother, Rodney, is the Director of Basketball Operations with CU.

These last three photos are images of the new basketball and volleyball practice facility that is currently under construction.  Apparently the construction of this new facility (which I'm told will be amazing) has caused some problems for CU - all entrances to the arena are closed except one and all the heat and hot water has been shut off!  Luckily it wasn't too cold in the arena, but I was told that all the athletes cannot shower there as there is only cold water.  I think it'll all be worth it in the end however!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of our fans, followers, families, student-athletes, students, staff and the list could go on! 

I'm enjoying some time at home in Wisconsin and it's already going too fast!  (And what's this with there being a blizzard in Maryland and not here?  I LOVE snow!)

Hope everyone enjoys their day and their families and friends.  Post your favorite gifts (that you've given or received!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DISHAWN!

Happy 22nd Birthday to junior Dishawn Bradshaw!

I know he was extremely excited to get home for the holidays and celebrate his birthday with his family and friends that he hasn't seen for awhile.

Hopefully you have a spectacular day and break away from the court!

It’s week three of Lasky’s Lounge and I feel like the season is flying by. It needs to slow down a bit so we can all enjoy more basketball. Before you know it, both basketball teams will be in full MEAC mode. Hey, as always, if you have any questions or comments for me, please feel free to email umesbroadcast@gmail.com. Talk to you all on the radio soon!

Shout out of the Week: I want to start this week with my shout out because the term student-athlete gets tossed around aimlessly and the student part is sometimes lost. Last Friday morning, Josh Bright of the men’s basketball team officially graduated from UMES. Josh stayed in Princess Anne on Friday and flew to Pittsburgh on Saturday morning. Josh is a business administration major at UMES. I think it’s important to celebrate academic achievement as much as athletic success. Josh is enrolled in graduate school at UMES and will begin his pursuit of a master’s degree this coming spring. Congrats Josh!

Trivia Time: In honor of Hillary Haley connecting on 13 free throws against Washington College, who is the last UMES player to hit at least 13 free throws in a single game? Keep reading for the answer.

Did that Happen?: Full disclosure, I wasn’t at the women’s game against Towson because I was in Pittsburgh. Here is a puzzling discrepancy from the box score. Towson shot 34 free throws in the second half and UMES shot eight. The Hawks were whistled for 20 fouls in the second half while Towson was called for just eight. The number of fouls is a bit skewed because the Hawks committed five fouls in the final 1:51 trying to come back. Towson shot just 44.1 percent (15-34) in the second half. They were 0-2 from the line in the first half.

Century Mark: It’s not often that a team hits the century mark in a game (100 points). Against Division III Washington College, UMES scored at least 100 points for the first time since a 3OT game against Albany during the 2000-01. The Hawks won 102-96. The last time UMES scored 100 points in regulation was during the 1996-97 season when they scored 112 against Centenary. Through 119 MEAC games this season, only three teams have scored 100 points. North Carolina A&T beat N.C. Wesleyan 100-66, Delaware State beat Philadelphia Biblical 103-41 and UMES beat Washington College 102-86.

Endorsement from Jamie Dixon: Following the UMES vs. Pitt game, Pittsburgh head coach Jaime Dixon uttered this message during the opening remarks of his postgame press conference (and I quote) …

“Maryland Eastern Shore is a good team. I think they’ll be at the top of their league at the end of the season; they just get worn down with all these road games at the start.” The only caveat that I feel obliged to mention is that Dixon said this after Pitt played Delaware State 10 days prior, “I anticipate that Delaware State is going to win their league and make it to the NCAA Tournament.” Not sure what to make of the statements. Is it just coach speak or did he think Delaware State was the best and then changed his mind after seeing UMES?

Jets: Raise your hand if you have stayed at the same hotel as an NFL football team. Yep, probably not many of you can claim that. Last Saturday, many of us (players, coaches, staff) were in the lobby of our team hotel in Pittsburgh waiting for the bus to pull up, when a gathering of people formed in the far corner. All of a sudden, Rex Ryan and the New York Jets begin to appear one-by-one. Oh yea, I’m taking LaDainian Tomlinson, Mark Sanchez, Santonio Holmes, Jason Taylor…all of them. They were checking into the same hotel as us to prepare for their game against the Steelers. Pretty neat to see how they travel and all the fine details that go into travel with an NFL team.

Jackson’s Improvement: Bria Jackson made 13 total 3-pointers in 26 games last season. She has seven after eight games this year. Take it a step further. Jackson scored 83 total points in 26 games last season. She already has 41 points in eight games this season. She has scored eight points in three of her last five games.

Trivia Answer: Ed Tyson is the last UMES player to hit 13 free throws in a single game. He did it on Feb. 2, 2008 on the road at Morgan State. UMES lost the game 67-52. Tyson poured in 28 of the 52 UMES points.

Five-Stars: Time to celebrate the best two players from last week. For the men, my “five-stars” go to Dishawn Bradshaw. The Charm City native poured in 33 points between Pittsburgh (12) and Washington College (21). More impressive in my book was that he handed out nine assists between the two games. He led the Hawks in assists in both games. He adds another dimension to his 3-point game when he puts the ball on the deck and creates for his teammates. On the ladies side, the senior Casey Morton is the recipient. Morton scored 26 points combined in the three games last week. She finished with 13 against ACC foe Wake Forest.

Numbers of the Week: 17 – the number of fast break points the men’s team scored against Washington College, by far the most of the season. In the other 10 games combined, the Hawks scored a total of only 26 fast break points. In the first ten games, the Hawks never totaled more than 4 fast break points. Nice to see the Hawks get out on the break. 94 – The Lady Hawks have hit a 3-pointer in 94 consecutive games. The last time that the Lady Hawks did not hit a 3-pointer in a game was on Nov. 14, 2007 against NCCU. The interesting thing about that game was UMES won by a wide margin, 54-32. That is impressive stuff.

Two for the Road: 1) The men’s team leaves for Colorado on Tuesday with their game set for Wednesday (Dec. 29, 9:00 EST). The Buffaloes have won 19 consecutive non-conference games at the Coors Event Center. Further, the last time UMES made the trek to Boulder was on Dec. 30, 1993. It will be just about 17 years from the day on Dec. 29, 2010. 2) The Lady Hawks are 0-2 all-time against Canisius. It will be the second meeting in Buffalo. The last meeting in Buffalo was on Nov. 17, 2006. Canisius won the game 48-44. Only one player in the whole game scored in double figures (Amanda Cavo, 10 points).

Have a happy and healthy holiday season. Good luck to both the men’s and women’s teams when they resume play.

GAME DAY - Washington College at UMES - Starters

UMES - White uniform
3 White
11 Burns
23 Bradshaw
24 Haley
32 Hines

Washington College - Maroon uniform
4 Bernstein
20 Holcombe
25 Naymick
33 McShane
44 Breslin

More Pitt photos

 During halftime, the Little Panthers dribblers performed... boy were they cute.  Their ages were across the board but there were definitely some 2-3 year olds in addition to middle schoolers.  They did such a great job performing different dribbling tricks!

Pitt had a wide variety of gum lined up along the sideline for everyone's use.  It sure was amusing to see.

 Coach Allen's post game press conference

Pitt has an all-time 140-11 record at the Petersen Events Center... how's that for success?

GAME DAY - UMES @ PITT - Starters

UMES - Maroon uniform
3 White
11 Burns
23 Bradshaw
24 Haley
32 Hines

Pitt - White uniform
5 Brown
14 Gibbs
22 Wanamaker
42 Zanna
52 McGhee

Game day shootaround

We just got back from shootaround... a few photos from the morning.

 Post-shootaround huddle

Coach Allen talks to Brooke Weisbrod and Rob King from ESPN Regional in preparation for the game

After shootaround, a bunch of the guys were having some fun doing some random dunks, they were definitely having a good time!

 Hillary Haley brings one down after an alley-oop from Diyaaldin Kelley

 Pop goes up for another dunk, this time with a pass from Dishawn Bradshaw

 Coach Brown and his son, Gilbert, play one-on-one

 Pop, going up for yet another dunk, this side from the other side of the court

 Tyler now talks to Brooke and Rob about his brother, Kyle, their AAU team and some other interesting stuff bound to make it on the broadcast

Pitt Photos

Photos from tonight's practice at Pitt's Petersen Events Center.  It's a VERY nice facility, I'm excited to see it filled with fans tomorrow night.

 Interview room

 Coach Brown's son, Gilbert, enjoyed the comfy leather seats in one of the suites.

I quickly snuck a peek into their practice gym before we left, I was expecting a lot more photos and glitz/glamour, but it gets the job done!

Welcome to Pittsburgh!

We just arrived in Pittsburgh after about a seven hour drive.  Will get settled in to the hotel for a bit before heading to practice.

Poor quality photo but Coach Brown "won" a UMES "blanket with sleeves" at the holiday party yesterday.  I say "won," because it was the present that he brought and he was determined to leave with it.  He sure was the happiest man I've ever seen to own one.

 Well hello, Westin!

 The view from my room, doesn't look great, but I liked it.  The Monongahela River is in the distance and except for the large building, it was a good view.

Athletic Trainer Randi Kaplan and myself took a walk around the city a little bit after we arrived.  This is a photo of PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  I absolutely love baseball so this was a must stop/photo for me.   The photo is taken from the Roberto Clemente bridge, one of the famous bridges in town.  To the far left you can see a piece of Heinz Field, home of the Steelers.

As we're getting ready to order food for after practice this is the menu... ummm, what exactly are wedgies?!  I mean, I know the obvious, elementary school definition, but I have never heard of food that's called this!