Jacksonville St. (16-6, 12-0)

Big sigh of relief, as this one went to OT and was close throughout. HCA might need to be toned down just a hair. RPI 23, SOS 65.

Jacksonville St. (17-6, 13-0)

Another sigh of relief. Beat this Sim by 40 at my place. At their place? 4. RPI 26, SOS 78.

Tennessee Tech. (10-14, 6-8)

Nothing flashy, just a good, solid win featuring good games from my main contributors. RPI 25, SOS 75.

Two more wins. We went 16-0 in-conference, and are 20-6 overall. RPI 24, SOS 83. Not even receiving votes, which is a little shocking.

Tennessee, Martin (9-19, 5-11)

A great effort here, with the exception of allowing a ton of offensive rebounds. Still, that's a moot point when eight guys score in double-figures. RPI 24, SOS 92, still no votes, but considered a lock for the NT.

As is the norm, the CT curse hits, and we lose to Samford, who we beat handily twice this season, by 25. Still, we're in the NT as a 7-seed.

Iowa (20-11, 9-7)

Crap. Oh well, still a good season. Senior retrospectives are forthcoming.

not bad making the NT though - can't help a bad shooting night like that

Athleticism	64
Speed	77
Rebounding	43
Defense	99
Shot Blocking	43
Low-post	55
Perimeter	82
Ball Handling	43
Passing	61
Work Ethic	55
Stamina	84
Durability	90
FT Shooting	C+

First impressions (page 6): Ideally, I like my SF's to be strong rebounders. Maness isn't, but he IS a fast scorer with good defensive skills who can also pass it a little bit. I promised him 10 minutes in bumping off Clemson early in recruiting, and he'll get it easily.

Final impressions: Maness was a very solid low-D1 guy. He scored inside and out, played tough defense, and had two good years as a starter. He didn't set records, but was a great complementary guy.

Athleticism	71
Speed	57
Rebounding	97
Defense	64
Shot Blocking	83
Low-post	98
Perimeter	3
Ball Handling	2
Passing	54
Work Ethic	41
Stamina	91
Durability	85
FT Shooting	B-

First impressions (page 6): With his nonexistent outside game and ball handling, he'll be strictly a center. However, with everything else topping out at very high levels, he'll be a very good one. I see him as a guy with similar potential to the recently-departed Wilcox, but considerably faster in exchange for less defense (which will still be at a fine level by the time he's done).

Final impressions: Byrd could have started this past year. However, with speed and wing stats being emphasized a bit more in the new engine, I went with Fiorillo, and instead trotted Byrd out as a #3 big to wreak havoc off the bench. Averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds in just under 20 minutes a game, it's safe to say he did that. He's replaceable, but will still be missed.

RECORDS: 3rd in FG% (54.8%), 6th in FT% (75%)

Athleticism	66
Speed	96
Rebounding	3
Defense	68
Shot Blocking	14
Low-post	7
Perimeter	98
Ball Handling	76
Passing	64
Work Ethic	50
Stamina	86
Durability	100
FT Shooting	B+

First impressions (page 6): There weren't many great shooting prospects this season, so I reached a little bit for this one after getting bumped off a better player by Bradley. McMillan will still be good in the right role; he'll never be a brilliant distributor, but he has high room for growth in a bunch of areas and also has some intangibles going for him (namely, work ethic and FT shooting). The low GPA isn't great for early on, but it's not like he's a threat to leave early, so I'm not concerned. He'll do just fine.

Final impressions: McMillan played behind Jon Hill his first three seasons, but busted out to be a good pure shooter this past season (11 ppg). He wasn't a star, but he had a defined role and did it well.

RECORDS: 9th in FG% (50.3%), 1st in 3PT% (45.7%)

Name	Yr.	Pos.	A	SPD	REB	DE	BLK	LP	PE	BH	P	WE	ST	DU	FT	TOT
Richard Schaefer	Jr.	PG	60	99	2	84	17	2	50	100	99	79	94	69	D+	755
Victor Thompson	So.	PG	37	82	5	94	3	11	42	89	85	36	83	78	B+	645
Elwood McMillan	Sr.	SG	66	96	3	68	14	7	98	76	64	50	86	100	B+	728
Bobby Cosner	So.	SG	64	70	15	78	2	17	75	55	64	38	87	53	B-	618
Albert Maness	Sr.	SF	64	77	43	99	43	55	82	43	61	55	84	90	C+	796
Shen Xia	Fr.	SF	63	54	32	63	20	47	63	55	35	49	70	80	B-	631
Joseph Fiorillo	Jr.	PF	54	56	80	90	83	76	35	22	26	68	89	67	C	746
Dikembe Arambula	So.	PF	56	61	80	71	74	71	32	7	30	23	72	46	C+	623
Michael Boren	Fr.	PF	78	26	70	70	65	67	2	24	33	42	67	40	C	584
Donald Byrd	Sr.	C	71	57	97	64	83	98	3	2	54	41	91	85	B-	746
John Fuller	Jr.	C	88	50	97	67	98	97	13	17	51	71	82	68	A-	799
Stuart Young	So.	C	45	32	87	92	92	94	1	13	40	43	78	77	C-	694

Just a note that I don't know what I'm going to do this offseason. I will surely look at Big 6 openings, and if the right opportunity comes up, I'll try for it. There's a chance I'll be back, but I don't really like recruiting at a small D1 school, especially after this past season where I struggled to land good players. We'll see.

It should also be noted I don't expect Arambula back. He complained about minutes at several junctures this season, and with Byrd doing such a great job off the bench, there was just nowhere to give them to him. If he comes back, great, if not, he wouldn't have started next year anyway (though he'd have been a key reserve).

The news today is mostly good. Our prestige is back to a C+, and Arambula is coming back. The bad news is, there were no Big 6 firings (which was a mild shock). We'll see what's open tonight.

I wasn't qualified for anything, and was downright shocked. Purdue, in particular, turned me away due to a lack of postseason experience. Um, I've made the NT or PI in 4 of the last 5 seasons. The rebuilding/engine adjustment season two years ago killed me, I guess.

Anyway, this year's returning J-State Gamecocks...

Name	Yr.	Pos.	A	SPD	REB	DE	BLK	LP	PE	BH	P	WE	ST	DU	FT	TOT
Richard Schaefer	Sr.	PG	60	99	2	85	17	2	50	99	99	79	95	70	D	757
Victor Thompson	Jr.	PG	38	83	5	94	3	11	42	87	88	36	83	81	B+	651
Bobby Cosner	Jr.	SG	66	69	14	80	2	17	73	57	66	38	85	54	B-	621
Shen Xia	So.	SF	63	56	34	65	21	47	66	56	35	49	67	85	B-	644
Joseph Fiorillo	Sr.	PF	57	57	84	90	87	78	36	23	27	68	86	69	C	762
Dikembe Arambula	Jr.	PF	55	62	79	72	74	70	32	7	30	23	68	47	C+	619
Michael Boren	So.	PF	79	25	72	73	67	68	2	24	34	42	66	41	C	593
John Fuller	Sr.	C	90	50	97	71	99	99	13	18	53	71	82	68	A-	811
Stuart Young	Jr.	C	45	32	92	92	96	92	1	13	42	43	78	81	C-	707