Archive: September, 2011
Drexel’s season opener also is the earliest game in school history.
The Dragons open at 6 a.m. on Nov. 15 at Rider as part of ESPN’s Tip-Off Marathon.
In other highlights of the schedule released yesterday, Drexel also will play Norfolk State in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands on Feb. 18. The Dragons will play three more games as part of the tournament.
The Atlantic 10 Conference will move its men's basketball tournament from Atlantic City to the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn beginning with the 2013 tournament, a source with direct knowledge told ESPN.com.
The Barclays Center will be the new home of the New Jersey Nets. The A-10 has one more year on its current deal to play the tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
A-10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade is making attempts to get the A-10 more exposure in New York. The league is hosting its media day in Brooklyn on Oct. 13.
Penn released its basketball schedule today and the Quakers will play national powers Duke and UCLA.
Penn will play UCLA on Dec. 10 in Anaheim, Calif., and will visit Duke on Jan. 1 in a nationallly televised game on ESPNU. Penn opens its season Nov. 11 at UMBC. Penn’s home opener is Nov. 14 against Temple.
For the second time in 5 years, Penn will participate in the Philly Hoop Group Classic. The exempt event will allow the Quakers to play four games that only count as one toward the NCAA limit. Thus, Penn will play 31 regular-season games this year instead of the usual 28.
Temple's basketball program has received its second verbal commitment for the class of 2012.
Sources have confirmed that the Owls have landed 6-5 swingman Quenton DeCosey, from St. Joseph's High School in Metuchen, N.J.
He visited Temple last week, and chose North Broad Street over Penn State.
Persistence sometimes does pay off in recruiting. Saint Joseph’s got on Baltimore area forward Isaiah Miles 3 years ago and never got off.
Miles, who averaged 18.8 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.75 blocks for Glenelg Country School last season, is the Hawks' first commitment for the Class of 2012.
The 6-7 Miles will be spending his senior year at Milford Mill High, the same school that produced Craig Amos, the Hawks' fourth all-time leading scorer (1,735 points).
Villanova’s basketball team, which has no seniors back from a team that finished 21-12 and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, will open its season on Nov. 11 at home against Monmouth.
The Big East schedule was released last week. The Wildcats start the conference at West Virginia on Dec. 28.
They have 15 games against teams that were in the NCAA field last season. And they’ll be on national television a minimum of 18 times, beginning with a Thanksgiving Day game against UC Riverside at the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif. They’ll get either Boston College or St. Louis in the second round.
Temple’s basketball team, which returns four starters from a group that finished 26-8, will open its Atlantic 10 season on Jan. 7 at home against Dayton on the CBS Sports Network, one of 11 times the Owls will appear on national television. A minimum of eight will be on ESPN entities, while nine of their 16 conference matchups can be seen on some outlet.
Xavier also visits the Liacouras Center, where the Owls have won 22 straight, on Feb. 11. They're at defending champion Richmond on Jan. 14.
The Owls play Saint Joseph's, LaSalle and Fordham twice. They travel to Saint Louis, Charlotte, Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure. And they'll host George Washington, Duquesne and Massachusetts.
Temple has received a verbal commitment from 6-10 senior center-forward Devontae Watson, of Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter in Midland, Pa., a Pittsburgh suburb. He's considered perhaps the best big-man prospect in the western part of the state, and had also been considering Saint Joseph's, Dayton, Florida State and Duquesne.
He visited Temple this past weekend. Last season, he led his team to the state Class A title game, averaging a triple-double that included blocked shots.
Sources have confirmed the Owls are also a finalist for 6-6 wing player Quenton DeCosey, from St. Joseph's High in Metuchen, N.J. He's also being recruited by Penn State, and its new coach, former Villanova assistant Pat Chambers. He's scheduled to visit North Broad Street this week, and Happy Valley this weekend. The Nittany Lions just beat out the Owls and a handful of other programs (including Miami, Minnesota, DePaul and Richmond) for the services of 6-7 Brandon Taylor, of Trenton (N.J.) Catholic Academy.
