| |
LOCATION: Birmingham, AL
CONFERENCE: Trans America Athletic (TAAC)
LAST SEASON: 24-6 (.800)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 15-1 (1st)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 0/5
NICKNAME: Bulldogs
COLORS: Red & Blue
HOMECOURT: Siebert Hall (4,000)
COACH: Jimmy Tillette (Our Lady of Holy Cross '75)
record at school 38-19 (2 years)
career record 38-19 (2 years)
|
ASSISTANTS: Mike Morris (Alabama-Huntsville '91)
Paul Kelly (Tulane '87)
Lance Richardson (Samford '96)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 16-17-19-14-24
RPI (last 5 years) 187-173-222-225-76
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in first round of NCAA.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
|
Samford was the retro darling of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs made the extra pass. They could shoot the ball from the outside. They made free throws. Their players didn't conduct press conferences to talk about jumping to the NBA. They played basketball like it was drawn up on blackboards in the '50s and '60s and not how it is played today in coast-to-coast, look-at-me highlight films. OK, so Samford got its head handed to it in the first round of the tournament by bent nerves and St. John's, which had better athletes, terrific team work and was very well coached. A tough draw and tough break. Fans still loved the Bulldogs and their Princeton precision offense anyway. There's even more reason to love the Bulldogs this season. All five starters are returning from a team that went 24-6 overall and 15-1 in the TAAC and adds an impressive transfer in 6-4 junior Derrick Jones (Mississippi State). The five returning starters capped their dominance of the 1998-99 season with what might have been the most impressive game in conference history, an 89-61 thumping of Central Florida in the TAAC Tournament final. Samford was grossly underestimated last season. No one is making the same mistake this time around. Every tout who cares about the TAAC is picking Samford to win the league for the second straight season. There will be some consideration of the impressive talent Lefty Driesell has lined up at Georgia State and some are considering Hugh Durham's team at Jacksonville a challenger. But how can you vote against Samford?
|
Blue Ribbon Analysis |
|
BACKCOURT A BENCH/DEPTH B
FRONTCOURT B+ INTANGIBLES A
Some teams might have to contend with some expanded hat sizes after the season Samford put together last season. But this is a team with players who have brains. They know better than to slide into the season looking ahead to a repeat spot in the NCAAs. "I would be shocked if they became complacent and didn't think we had some more to accomplish," Tillette said. "I hope they realize there is a possibility of bigger and better things. Last year was a dream to go to the tournament, but we want to do more." Tillette will convince his team early in preseason, if he hasn't already, that the conference has improved dramatically the last three seasons. There are more Division I transfers in the TAAC, which has improved the balance of power. But no team has more balance than Samford. It is a team that plays well together, which gives it an edge over other teams in the league. |
"They have to be the favorite," Jacksonville State coach Mark Turgeon said. Bulldogs head coach Jimmy Tillette said he is "ambivalent" about the expectations placed on his club. "Since we did win it last year and we have everybody back, I understand how everyone can pick us," Tillette said. "I still feel Georgia State with its athletes and Central Florida and Jacksonville are going to be tough. "Let's face it, in terms of athleticism, we are at the other end of the food chain." Garbage. Tillette knows as well as anyone that athleticism in basketball is more than running and jumping. It's footwork, it's cutting through a defense, it's vision to find the open man, and endurance to help on defense. His squad does those things better than any team in the TAAC. The other thing Samford did better than anyone else in the TAAC was come together. The chemistry was as precise as their Princeton offense. The trick this year is getting Jones into the rotation with the five returning starters and not wrecking the balance. "We'll just try and work him in and not disrupt things," Tillette said. "We'll proceed slowly and see how it goes." Jones has the personality of a leader, plus the intelligence not to barge in and wreck the club. He also worked out with the team last season and has been accepted. Two years ago, Jones played 12 games, starting four times, and averaged 9.1 minutes per game for those other Bulldogs from Mississippi State. He 1.5 points and 0.8 rebounds. The year before, Jones averaged 4.9 points as a freshman. Jones played high school basketball at Catholic High in New Orleans, where he was a three-year starter. The big question about Jones: Will he start? And if he does, who would he bump from the lineup? Or will he become the league's best sixth man? Will Daniel (14.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 68 assists, 33 steals) a 6-4 senior, is the most versatile player on the team. He plays within the system and shares the ball, even though he could easily be a 18-points-per-game scorer. He averaged 14.1 last season. Reed Rawlings (16.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 59 assists, 65 steals, 24 blocked shots), a 6-7 senior, led Samford in scoring last season. He can score outside or explode by you for a dunk. Rawlings is a solid defender for someone his size. He led the team in steals last season. Tillette said center Marc Salyers, a 6-9 junior, "is one of the smartest players I've ever been around." Salyers averaged 12.7 points and 5.6 rebounds last season. He led Samford with 29 blocked shots. Point guard Mario Lopez, (9.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 100 assists, 37 steals), a 6-1 senior, gets the team into its offense and makes the right passes. He doesn't try and grind it out against pressure defense and create more pressure for himself. Lopez, however, may start slow this season after suffering an elbow injury in August. Lopez was out of action until practice started in October. The fifth starter is Boyd Kaiser (5.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 69 assists, 25 steals) a 6-5 senior whom Tillette calls "a no maintenance player." He's a role player who gets more loose balls and rebounds that hit the ground first. Jones may just add to a bench that should be solid. Sebastian Sachese is a 6-8 freshman from Germany who should improve the team's rebounding. Board work is one of the few gripes Tillette had with his team last season. The Bulldogs were out-rebounded on average, 32-29. Another key reserve is Corey Green, a 6-3 junior who averaged 4.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and shot .550 percent from the field last season. Chris Weaver, a 6-2 sophomore guard, made .510 percent of his shots as a freshman and averaged 4.7 points per game. He shot an impressive .476 percent from three-point range (30-of-63). Gabe Skypala, a 6-9 junior, gives the team some more inside depth. He played in just 13 games last season and averaged 2.1 points and 1.6 rebounds. Other players on the roster include Lee Burgess, a 6-1 senior who played two minutes last season; Joey Howard, a 6-6 sophomore (one minute last year); and Will Gardner, a 6-1 freshman guard, who may be redshirted. Gardner comes from Homewood (Ala.) High. The most impressive thing about Samford last season, besides its won-lost record, was its shooting. The Bulldogs were among the top five teams in the country in three-point field-goal percentage (.366). Big deal? It is when you consider that Samford was also among the national leaders in number of threes taken per game (25).
 | The 19th edition of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook is on sale now. To order, call 800-828-HOOP (4667), or visit their web site at
http://www.collegebaskets.com
|
| |
Conferences
America East
ACC
Atlantic 10
Big East
Big Sky
Big South
Big Ten
Big 12
Big West
Colonial
Conference USA
Independents
Ivy League
MAAC
Mid-American
Mid-Continent
Mid-Eastern Athletic
MCC
Missouri Valley
Mountain West
Northeast
Ohio Valley
Pac-10
Patriot
SEC
Southern
Southland
Sun Belt
SWAC
TAAC
WAC
West Coast
|
