Gameday links

December 01, 2007

Drew Champlin

Before I head out to Troy and you turn your tube on, here’s some reading. I wrote on Troy’s game preview..

From the Sun-Sentinel, FAU can take a step forward with a win today.

In the Palm Beach Post, today’s game has a championship feel to it.

Check the blog for in-game updates and postgame commentary.

GAMEDAY: Florida Atlantic at Troy

Drew Champlin

Florida Atlantic (6-5, 5-1 Sun Belt) at Troy (8-3, 6-0 Sun Belt)
Time: 1 p.m. CST
TV: CSS Radio: 94.7 FM WTBF (man that Jerry Miller’s going to sound good on color), more web information available at http://www.troytrojans.com

Key matchups: Troy’s defense against the FAU offense. FAU is led by sophomore and 3,000-yard passer Rusty Smith, a guy who coach Howard Schnellenberger compares to Hall of Famer Bernie Kosar and says will be a NFL first-round draft pick. Smith is probably the best pure passer in the league, but Troy’s front four will need to get pressure on him to try and render him ineffective. If he handles pressure well and gets his passes off, Troy’s secondary will need to be on alert.

Big question: Can Troy, as it has all season, take care of business, or will it be upset like Middle Tennessee was last year? You remember. MTSU was supposed to win. It didn’t. Troy is supposed to win this year. Will it? Give the team credit - it has answered every challenge thrown its way and, so far, has proven that it wants to go back to the New Orleans Bowl. If the Trojans don’t win, at 8-4, they will still likely be home for the holidays. There would be a couple of open spots in bowls across the country (likely the Armed Forces Bowl, perhaps the Humanitarian Bowl), but look for those to take 7-win teams from power conferences. Hey, it’s their choice.

Player to watch, Troy: QB Omar Haugabook. The senior who grew up less than an hour from FAU’s campus plays his last home game after revolutionizing the position for Troy in his two seasons. Without Haugabook, it’s certain Troy wouldn’t be where it is today. Can he keep the magic going for one more game?

Player to watch, FAU: LB Frantz Simeon. The team and Sun Belt’s leading tackler is a leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. He and Cergile Sincere are both very good linebackers and can disrupt any offense.

Prediction: Troy 31, FAU 14. In this conference, Troy’s too good this season.

Hoops look: Troy at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

November 30, 2007

Drew Champlin

What: Troy (1-4) at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-3)
When: 3 p.m. CST Dec. 1
Where: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, TX
Last time out: Troy fell at Ole Miss 102-76. TAMCC fell at DePaul 85-70.

Probable starting lineups
TROY
G-Jerome Odem (6’1, 160, Sr.) - 9.4 ppg, 3.5 apg
G-O’Darien Bassett (6’2, 190, Sr.) - 16.8 ppg, 6.6 prg, 32% FG
F-Justin Jonus (6’6, 221, Sr.) - 19.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg
F-Trayce Macon (6’8, 191, Soph.) - 9.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg
F-Jarvis Acker (6’6, 210, Sr.) - First game of 2007/08 season

TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI
G-Tim Green (6’3, 190, Jr.) 10.5 ppg
G-Shannon Shorter (6’4, 200, Fr.) 4.5 ppg
G-Kevin Perkins(6’1, 160, Fr.) 15.0 ppg
F-Justin Reynolds(6’9, 230, Fr.) 11.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg
C-Chris Daniels (7’0, 265, Sr.) 18.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg

What to watch for: Troy’s Jarvis Acker finally returns after missing the first five games because of an academic issue. He has been practicing with the team from the get-go but was recently cleared. If he doesn’t start, he’ll play at least 25 minutes. The Trojans got reserve forward Mario Telfair back from a broken nose and he had six points and seven rebounds against Ole Miss. O’Darien Bassett continues to struggle with his shot, shooting just 32 percent from the field. This is certainly a winnable game for the Trojans, who desparately need one for confidence’s sake. The Islanders, who make a return trip to Troy on Dec. 15, went to the NCAA Tournament last year and nearly upset No. 2-seed Wisconsin, but lost a lot off that team and start three freshmen. Eight freshmen dot the roster, which is led by 7-foot NBA prospect Chris Daniels at center. The Trojans are at a rebounding disadvantage again, on paper.

Player to watch, Troy: O’Darien Bassett. If Troy wants to win, the senior guard needs to up the shooting percentage.

Player to watch, TAMCC: Chris Daniels. He could have gone to the NBA last year, but the 7-footer provides a size and experience advantage that no one on the Trojans can match.

Troy will win if: The Trojans get 40 points combined from Justin Jonus and O’Darien Bassett. Normally, I’d say 35, but this game is on the road. Take Troy’s first half against Ole Miss and second half against Georgia State and Troy may win, but Troy absolutely has to put together a complete game.

TAMCC will win if: they establish the game down low with Daniels and get him to dominate.

Drew’s prediction: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 87, Troy 81

Basketball note

Drew Champlin

The game preview on http://www.troytrojans.com has senior forward Jarvis Acker cleared for tomorrow’s game at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Obviously, it doesn’t guarantee a win, but what it does guarantee is an extra body that can give you a good, solid 30 minutes a night if need be. Acker’s a high-energy guy who is the most experienced player on the Trojan team. Not a bad shooter, either.

Troy (1-4) has lost three games in a row and will conclude a 4-game road swing. Troy returns home next Tuesday against Shorter College (surely they’re worse than Paul Quinn) and Alabama State on Saturday.

All-Sun Belt team

Drew Champlin

I’ve got a vote on this, but will wait until Sunday to send in my selections.
Regardless, here are the Troy players who are on the ballot.

QB-Omar Haugabook
RB-Kenny Cattouse
WR-Gary Banks, Josh Allen
OL-Chris Jamison, Danny Franks, Dion Small
DL-Shawn Todd, Chris Bradwell, Kenny Mainor
LB-Boris Lee, Marcus Richardson
DB-Sherrod Martin, Terence Moore, Leodis McKelvin, Tavares Williams, Elbert Mack
K-Greg Whibbs
P-Greg Whibbs
Return Specialist-Leodis McKelvin
All-Purpose-Leodis McKelvin

Player of the Year - Omar Haugabook
Offensive Player of the Year - Omar Haugabook
Defensive Player of the Year - Elbert Mack
Newcomer of the Year - Chris Bradwell
Freshman of the Year - Jerrel Jernigan
Coach of the Year - Larry Blakeney

Coaches can’t vote for their own athletes. Media can.

I haven’t looked at the stats or support information, but will do so after Saturday’s games. I think the winning QB of the Troy-FAU game will get more votes for Player of the Year. Rusty Smith of FAU has more passing numbers, while Haugabook’s ahead of him by more than 500 rushing yards.

Defensive Player of the Year, I think, comes down to Mack and Frantz Joseph of FAU. Again, would have to look at the stats of the other guys.

So there’s a lot on the line here. If Troy loses, Haugabook’s likely just the second-team all-Sun Belt selection.

It might be hard for Jernigan to pull out the Freshman of the Year award, unless he has a monster game Saturday. He’s good enough, but Dwight Dasher of MTSU and Giovanni Vizza of UNT have “numbers,“ even though their teams aren’t as good.

Bradwell’s the only guy on the Newcomer of the Year list, as it’s not for freshmen. Surprised me that no other JUCO transfers were on the list.

Needless to say, should Troy win, look for a lot of the guys mentioned above, maybe all of them, to land on either first team, second team or honorable mention.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on who the best players in the Sun Belt are. Maybe that will influence my voting.