Our annual Heritage game – an opportunity to give everyone playing time
When: Tuesday December 10 – 7:00 PM
Where: James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum
TV: ACC Network Extra
Opponent: Coppin State Eagles (MEAC Conference)
Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): Wolfpack 81-52 / Wolfpack 83-52
Wolfpack Snapshot: KP #70 / BT #70 / NET 92
Wolfpack Season So Far: 6-3
Wolfpack Player Notes:
- Mike James had knee surgery on 10/30, doctors (under) estimated 3–4 week recovery.
Opponent Overview:
The MEAC writers picked the Eagles to finish 8th (last) in the league this season.
This is Coach Larry Stewart’s second season coaching his alma mater. He is one of two Coppin State players to ever play in the NBA (5 seasons – Bullets, Grizzlies, Sonics) and is considered one of the greatest players in Eagles’ history. His jersey is in the rafters. Great story, right? So far, that’s where it ends.
CSU went 2-27 / 1-13 in Coach Stewart’s first season and have struggled out of the gate this season.
Their Season So Far: (0-10) KP #363 / BT #363 / NET 363
The Eagles have struggled this season, not yet scoring more than 67 points in a game – or more than an opponent. UVA (who else?) held them to a season low, 45. They have played WF (-15), UVA (-17), and Miami (-30) from the ACC.
They also played High Point (-42), Rider (-11), UMBC (-25), George Mason (-38), St Joseph’s (-29), Loyola Maryland (-11), and Wagner (-13).
Player Notes
- Ryan Archey voted preseason 2nd team All-MEAC has only appeared in 3 games so far this season
- Leading scorer Derrius Ward (12.4 ppg) hasn’t played since 11/14
- Toby Nnadozie is a transfer from UMES
- Camaren Sparrow was voted to last seasons All-MEAC rookie team
- Peter Oduro is a transfer from Odessa
- Cam’Ron Brown is a transfer from Allegany
What Should We Hope to Get Out of This Game?
The outcome of this one is a foregone conclusion, CSU (NET 363 of 364) is (for the moment) on a short list of the worst teams in the country. This is one of our two remaining opportunities (with Rider 12/22) to get significant playing time for the bench. What would we like to see?
- Trey Parker – Give him plenty of time to both run the offense and get his shot falling. Let him make mistakes without getting the hook. He can help us this season.
- Dennis Parker, Jr. – Give him all the minutes he can stand. We’re starting to see hints of him getting his game back for the first time since February, he needs court time to get in shape and to work on his shot. DPJ is a quality player, we need him.
- Mike James – (No info, just wishing. But we do keep hearing he is close) He’ll need to get in shape, these last two easier games would be ideal games to start. If he does play this season, and we assume he will, he’ll be in the rotation. FSU is probably the night in and night out rotation model (BHH & BM may swap) we’ll use, plus we’ll add James. If true, that’s 10 deep, huge for Coach Keatts.
- Bryce Heard / Paul McNeil / Ismaël Diouf – Other than a few free throws, these guys haven’t put the ball in the basket since the first game of the season. Unless they can do something encouraging in these last two tune-up games, we may not see them again this season.