Sleeper bus = trouble

Since this road trip takes us to North Carolina, we have a sleeper bus. Immediately when I got on the bus I thought, "uh oh, trouble." Somehow I saw fighting over the couches and who gets to sit where. Surprisingly, nothing really seemed to faze them, they were actually excited to have the couches and try to scrunch into the tiny sleeper beds on the top. Kevin White was the first on the bus and since he's one of the smaller guys... he fight very nicely into the top beds. And then proceeded to hide from all his teammates. It's safe to say that he scared a good 75% of them as they got on the bus. It was actually quite hilarious, I wish I would've had the video camera out.

Like usual, he wanted me to take pictures. I'm pretty sure he loves his pics plastered all over the blog.

A pic I held off on taking was the one of Hillary Haley sleeping under one of the couches. How he fit his large body under there is beyond me, but he was so cute, looked liked a little kid all curled up in a tight spot.

NORFOLK STATE GAME TIME CHANGE

Just an FYI...

Tomorrow's game against Norfolk State has been moved up to 2 p.m. due to impending weather. For more information, visit umeshawks.com

Recruiting Day 2 (More work, less travel)

As I entered day 2 of a whirlwind blitz for UMES Basketball, I realized how fortunate I am in a lot of areas. First and foremost this morning, I realized how fortunate I was to snag one of the last rooms at the Holiday Inn South Kingstown. With 29 different schools competing at the National Prep School Invitational, hotel rooms around the University of Rhode Island are at a premium! A 6 AM wake up call leads to a quick workout and allows a couple more hours to watch film on North Carolina A&T. In scouting, you have to be as prepared as you can for any possible contingency and watching as many game films as possible gives you a chance to see a lot of the finer details in a team’s approach. The extra time before our 10:00 AM tipoff proved to be most valuable.

The order of the day was evaluating talent, and fortunately at an event like this, there was plenty! NCAA rules prohibit me from publicly commenting on a prospective student-athlete before he signs a National Letter of Intent. What I CAN tell you is that I saw a lot of good young basketball players that could be excellent future Hawks!

After a busy day in the gym, I jumped back in the car to begin making my way back to Princess Anne before our Friday departure for Norfolk State. I’m very fortunate to have a brother and sister that live in New York City, which dramatically shortened my drive home last night!

Here’s some facts and figures from Day 2…

Tipoff of Game 1: 10:04 AM

Number of Basketball Games Watched: 8

Number of Trips to the Concession Stand: 3

Number of States/Countries Represented by Competing Teams Yesterday: 9 States and 1 Foreign Country (New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Arizona, and The Canary Islands)

Final Buzzer of Game 8: 10:23 PM

Departure Time: 10:29 PM

Miles Traveled: 175.7

Water Consumption: 40.0 fl. oz

1^st Radio Song of the Night: U2, Vertigo

States Traveled Through: 3 (Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York)

Shell Gas Station Fill Ups: 1

Number of Billy Joel Songs that were heard on the radio: 3 (Piano Man, My Life, You May Be Right) – New York LOVES Billy Joel!

View of the Day/Night: The lights of New York City at 12:30 AM as I crossed the Whitestone Bridge

Last Radio Song of the Day: Usher, Papers

Food Suggestion: No great culinary experiences here, but the concession stand workers at Keaney Gym were very hospitable, and it’s always great to find a McDonald’s right before your exit to I-95!

Arrival in Brooklyn, NY: 1:17 AM

Tomorrow brings an early rise and a full day of driving ahead! More stories from the road coming soon…

-Coach Blaine

Coach Blaine on the road

Today begins a very busy 7 days for the UMES Hawks. With a stretch of 3 away games in 5 days looming on the horizon, it's a busy time for our program. However, during the stretch run of our season, recruiting also takes a high priority for the staff as the spring looms and we are a little over two months away from the spring signing period. As such, we take every opportunity we can to combine practices, games, team travel, and recruiting to be as efficient and effective as we can be as a coaching staff.

With a day off from practice today, I took advantage of the time to make my way up to Kingston, Rhode Island a day early to prepare for the National Prep Invitational. Ordinarily this might be a trip that I would make a plane flight for, but with time being such a pressing issue for us over the next few days, and many more recruiting trips ahead of our staff this week, it was in our best interest for me to drive, thereby allowing us the freedom to make travel adjustments along the way.

Here's some early information about the 1st day of a busy week ahead!

Departure Time: 7:45 AM

Miles Traveled: 427.9

Water Consumption: 69.7 fl oz

1st Radio Song of the Day: Garth Brooks, Friends in Low Places

States Traveled Through: 6 (Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island)

Number of Times "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga was heard on the radio: 7

Starbucks Stops: 1

Number of Different U2 Songs that were heard on the radio: 6 (I Will Follow, Bad, The Sweetest Thing, One, With or Without You, Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own)

Shell Gas Station Fill Ups: 1

View of the Day: Looking into New York City as I crossed over the George Washington Bridge on a clear afternoon

Last Radio Song of the Day: Kid Rock, All Summer Long

Food Suggestion: Upon the recommendation of a Rhode Island native and friend of the UMES basketball, if you ever find yourself in Wakefield, RI, you must make your way over to Mews' Tavern. The large neon shamrock on the top of the restaurant makes it hard to miss! Ask for Sandra, who provided prompt and efficient service, and try the Shepherd's Pie. It's a great classic and a staple of their menu!

My night ended with some film study for our upcoming game against North Carolina A&T. They will be a tough test, especially on the road. Make sure you tune in and check it out Monday night on ESPNU! Time to get some sleep and be ready for a busy day of basketball tomorrow!

-Coach Blaine

Recruiting Trips

Coach Blaine left today for a whirl wind of a recruiting trip. He will be posting details hopefully nightly of his CRAZY week.

COACHES' CORNER RADIO SHOW

Don't forget to join us live today for a daily food special only for our listeners!

Today's Guest: Josh Bright

Coaches' Corner Details

Who: head coach Frankie Allen, players and other guests

What: Radio show, hosted on WGOP 540 a.m., live audio at www.umeshawks.com and live video streaming on www.umeshawks.com

Where: Hawks Nest (inside the Student Services Center on Campus)

When: Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to noon

GAME DAY! Hampton @ UMES

Just stuck my head into the gym to check on something and the guys just wrapped up shootaround in preparation for tonight's game against Hampton at 7:30.