Posted by dacj501 on 8/25/2013 3:17:00 PM (view original):

Columbia University Lions

Season 63 Outlook:

 

Coach: dacj501 (call me Dac or DAC if you please)
Offense: Triangle
Defense: Man-to-Man

Projected Starting Lineup
Point Guard: Cornelius Cuadrado JR (started all 27 games as a sophomore: 11.6ppg, 3.3 apg, 6'0", 176#, Major: Latin American and Caribbean Studies)
Shooting Guard: Michael Armstrong JR (JUCO transfer. Started 26 of 27 games last season: 2 ppg, 1.5 apg, 6'3", 203#: Major: Mathematics)

Small Forward:   Tommy Harris SO (started all 27 games as a sophomore: 2.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 6'4", 189#, Major: Political Science)
Power Forward: Dan Phillips JR (started all 27 games as a freshman and sophomore: 13.7 rpg, 6.7 rpg, 6'6", 206#, Major: Jewish Studies)
Center: James Rodrigue SR (started all 27 games last season as junior: 7.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 7'0", 243#, Major: English Literature)

Last season's forecast predicted a possible decrease in wins from coach Dac's Ivy inaugural. Instead, the Lions posted their first double digit win season in 6 years, finishing 10-17 (5-11). This season's roster is identical to that of last season, and the game-plan is largely the same, with the notable exception that Tommy Harris and Michael Armstrong will swap starting positions. Armstrong's growth in passing and perimeter shooting make the change logical and allow the Lions to take advantage of Harris modest rebounding skills at the SF. While Columbia has improved nicely, the rest of the Ivy is largely keeping pace, and a .500 conference record in year 3 would be a nice achievement. Coach Dac predicts a winning season with a possible PIT bid.

Next season sees the departure of the last 2 players from before coach Dac's tenure began, and will see the Lions head into recruiting with 3 openings and somewhere well north of $60k to work with. The goal remains NT in 4.  

Season 63 Post-mortem

Prediction was .500 in conference, a winning season and a possible PIT bid. Columbia finished 10-6 (18-11) with a PIT 1st rd loss. Next season's goal is the NT.

Fordham University Rams
Season 64 Outlook
Coach: chapelhillne
Offense: Motion
Defense: Full Court Press

STARTING 5:
PG: Kendall Price 5'11" SR, Brooklyn, NY
SG: Barney Morgan 6'4" SR, Jay ME
SF: Ricky Wiggins - 6'7" JR, Reading, PA
PF: Dustin Riendeau 6'6" JR, Parish, NY
C: Salvatore Esposito - 6'7" SR*, Benedetto, IT

RESERVES RETURNING:
PG: James Jaco - 6'0" SR, Sidney, NY
SG: Jake Leech - 5'9" JR*, Washington, DC
SG: Richard Perkins - 6'2" SO* - New Britain, CT
SG/SF: John Korth - 6'3" JR - Pine Bush, NY
PF/C: John Maker - 6'10" SO - Bronx, NY

Newcomers:
PG Dewei Xaimoungkhoun: A 6'0" PG from Seoul South Korea with a great 99 work  ethic. He should be a very athletic and quick point guard with solid ball handling, passing, and defensive skills. The staff mentioned the possibility of a redshirt during recruiting, and he was open to the idea. His nickname will be "Professor X" because no one on the staff can pronounce his name.

PF Luis Ryan: Mr Basketball of Delaware, as a 1 Star recruit, Ryan has a lot of potential, but his work ethic is a questionable 21. With limited recruiting funds, the staff was happy to land a solid player like this, and is hoping his dedication and desire to improve will get better as he sees decent minutes. The staff had toyed with the idea of redshirting him, but the need for a solid rebounder may make that impossible. He should play a decent amount of minutes at PF and C.

SEASON 64 PRE-SEASON OUTLOOK:
After a 30-2 record, a sweet 16 appearance and a final ranking of #6 in the country last year, it would be hard to imagine that the team could do much better, but this year's squad may be even a little stronger than last year's team. Only two players are missing from last year's team, and it was obvious that the team worked very hard in the off season, as many of them came back showing great improvement. There are 8 upperclassmen on the squad, and the players are very familiar with the offense and defense. The one area that may be the team's weakness is a decrease in the overall rebounding ability of the team. But, the coaching staff will not be satisfied without a second conference championship, a second consecutive CT championship, and at least an appearance in the second round of the NT, but hopefully at least another Sweet 16.