Hoops Haven

Author: Ed Quarry (10 Articles)

Ed Quarry is one of our newest scribes to Hoops Haven, specializing in College Hoops. He grew up in Philly, was a former Division 1 athlete at the University of Florida, and is a huge Philly Sports Fan. He also was a Wall Street derivatives trader, as well as an owner of a beer distributor.

With a week before conference play, the season so far has had a surprising number of upsets. March Madness looks more wide open than in recent years.

Philly Local Teams

 Villanova running with 6 McDonalds All-Americans has jumped out to a 10-1 start. The Cats are an average defensive team at best and not a strong rebounding team thus far. Scottie Reynolds can break down any opponent’s defense and Taylor King is a serious 3 pt. threat, but the program misses its lunch pail players from last season. Jay Wright’s teams usually jell as the year progresses, but right now they are not good enough to return to the final four.

Temple is 8-2 and playing its usually murderous schedule. Lavoy Allen and a bunch of hard nosed role players have been impressive. After upsetting Villanova, the Owls have a nice out of conference resume. Just once before he retires, I’d like to see Coach Fran Dunphy operate with some blue chip recruits, this guy is one awesome coach.

St. Joes is 3-6 having dropped six straight, with a noticeable lack of scoring punch and a serious lack of half court defense. Phil Martelli was preening over the new Hagan Center . Perhaps he should hit the recruiting trail this year. Hey Phil, predicting Eagle scores on WIP radio is not going to bring in players!

LaSalle (6-3) lost to No. 1 Kansas, showing flashes of a tournament team. The Explorers can run and are physical, but have defensive lapses and silly turnovers. Rodney Green and company need to play with more discipline. Coach Giannini has to settle this group down before A-10 Conference play.

Penn (0-7) has shown no signs of life thus far. AD Steve Bilsky should reevaluate this program because the Quakers are lost on both ends of the court.

National Surprises thus far:

Syracuse is undefeated with future NBA player Wesley Johnson and two talented point guards in Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine, who continue to impress.

The Charlotte 49ers going into Freedom Hall and dismantling the Louisville Cardinals behind Dijuan Harris was a shocker.

Wisconsin beating Duke with their trademark man-man, in your face defense. Is there a more underrated coach than the Badger’s Bo Ryan ?

Duke is still struggling in their half-court offense without a true point guard. Coach K. should be accountable, after all he played turnover machine Greg Paulis for 3 years at the position-don’t see the Blue Devils making a serious run this season.

The Florida Gators have reappeared as a team to be reckoned with after a two year hiatus. Guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boyton are lightning quick and with many capable shooters they are a dangerous match up.

West Virginia has brought into Coach Huggins rugged style of play. With all the componets, the Mountaineers are a serious Final Four threat.

Kentucky is the best show in college basketball. Calipari has a stable of future NBA players including freshmen John Wall and Eric Bledsoe. These two guards go end to end faster than any tandem in college basketball. Do I hear Memphis fans gagging? These two were headed there until Cal resigned.

UCLA is 2-6 including loses to Portland , Fullerton ,and Long Beach State . Coach Ben Howland’s roster has been raided by the NBA the past few years, but a losing season in Westwood is a disaster. Ben may be a very lonely guy this winter.

Kansas and Texas rosters might be better than the 76ers. They might need 5 basketballs at once to keep everyone happy.

Finally, when one is basketball fan for many years you have a tendency to think you have seen it all. Sunday at the Temple-Villanova game, I witnessed a first. Villanova color man Whitey Rigsby ,a former player, took off his headset to argue a half court violation with official Jim Burr during a timeout. Are you kiddin me Whitey?