Good morning!
The UMass basketball season will start in less than three weeks in Bubbleville, better known as the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., where nine teams will play in what’s described as a non-conference “multiple team event.”
The hoopathon is sponsored by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and a sports marketing company called the Gazelle Group.
Matt Norlander of cbssports.com released his rankings on Wednesday, and here’s where each of the teams involved are ranked: St. Bonaventure (85), Siena (92), Stephen F. Austin (105), UVM (113), UMass (133), Delaware (144), Buffalo (151), Towson (150) and Iona (190). Iona, don’t forget, is coached by Rick Pitino. UMass is expected to play games against Delaware and Siena.
Newcomers to the ’20-’21 Minutemen roster include 6-8, 205-pound freshman forward Dyondre Dominguez, who UMass head coach Matt McCall describes as “ready to play.” Dominguez hails from Woodstock (Conn.) Academy, the team’s pipeline after UMass hired Woodstock coach Tony Bergeron to be an assistant two years ago.
Bergeron makes slightly north of $200,000 according to the state payroll database, but he’s been worth the investment. His pipeline includes guards Preston Santos and T.J. Weeks, and center Tre Mitchell who was named the A-10 Rookie of the Year. Forward Dibaji Walker transferred from Cleveland State and averaged 18 minutes off the bench, and Bergeron’s new guys include 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward Ronnie DeGray III, 6-5, 190-pound guard Cairo McCrory and Wichita State transfer Noah Fernandes, who’s been cleared to play by the NCAA.
All these players were on Bergeron’s 36-2 team that was the top seed at the 2018-19 National Prep Tournament.
The Minutemen started 5-0 last season, lost 13 of their next 18, righted the ship and won five of their last eight games. They had high hopes of going deep into the A-10 Tournament, but then you-know-what happened. “Here we are turning the corner with the best kid in the league and COVID hits. You gotta be kidding me,” said UMass alum Marty Maroon, an avid Minutemen fan whose passion is reflected by the $79.95 he paid for his UMass “all access” pass that’s lets him watch on the UMass website what others see on regular television.
Maroon, not his last name of course, expects McCall’s starting five at tip-off will be Mitchell at center between senior captain Carl Pierre and Weeks. “They just offered Ty Weeks’ other son a scholarship,” said Maroon, referring to father Tyrone who started 60 games for coaches John Calipari and Bruiser Flint during his career from 1994-98.
“They let go of Diallo, the kid from Senegal,” said Maroon, referring to Samba Diallo who transferred to Manhattan. “They wanted more from that power forward spot than what he was giving them. DeGray should take over that spot if he’s as good as they think he is.”
“UMass finished well despite not having a true point guard. Fernandes grades out, (Javohn) Garcia not as much, and they’ll be good with Kolton Mitchell.” The aforementioned Garcia played for last year’s national prep champs Brewster (N.H.) Academy.
Mitchell, who was used sparingly his freshman year, has switched uniform numbers from No. 13 to No. 3, perhaps to help improve his 4-for-14 shooting from the charity stripe.
The Minutemen finished 14-17 last year, their fifth straight losing season. The trip to Bubbleville will show if they have the talent to reverse course.
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ON THE GRIDIRON: UMass picked some monsters to tangle with after it decided to return to the gridiron. After they were skunked last month by Georgia Southern, 41-0, UMass coach Walt Bell fired co-offensive line coach Jim Jackson. That leaves the job up to Micah James, who prior to UMass had been a grad assistant at three schools in four years — Arkansas State, Maryland and UCF.
This afternoon the Minutemen play at No. 16 Marshall in Huntington, West Va.(2:30 p.m. ESPN-Plus). The Herd are 5-0 and has outscored opponents 56-6 in the first quarter. Their defense has recorded 17 sacks, the offense is 19-for-22 in the red zone and the kicking game is 22-for-22 on PATs.
Marshall coach John “Doc” Holliday is in the final year of a contract that pays him $755,000 annually. His career record is 83-51 and he is 6-1 in bowl games.
The Thundering Herd are a 44½-point favorite and the over/under is 57½, meaning oddsmakers expect to see a score in the range of 52-7, which sounds about right.
TRIVIA: Here’s an easy one. What do Chad Pennington, Chris Redman, Giovanni Carmazzi, Tee Martin, Spergon Wynn and Marc Bulger have in common? (Answer in Squibbers)
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The Breeders’ Cup continues today at Keeneland Race Course. Coverage starts at 9:45 a.m. on TVG, and will be joined in progress by NBCSN at noon and NBC at 2:30 p.m. The BC began Friday and is composed of 14 races in what will be the sport’s last hurrah until the Kentucky Derby preps begin in January.
Who are the favorites? Good question. When trainers gear their best horses to peak on the first weekend of November, it’s time to get out the dartboard.
Post time for the $6 million Longines Classic at a mile-and-quarter is at 5:18 p.m., and Bob Baffert’s 4-year-old chestnut colt Improbable is the 5-2 morning line favorite. New York-bred Tiz the Law is the 3-1 second choice on the basis of his back-to-back wins this summer in the Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes, Maximum Security is listed at 7-2 off of six wins in eight starts since he was disqualified in the 2019 Kentucky Derby.
Kentucky Derby winner Authentic is listed at 6-1, as is Tom’s d’Etat off a career mark of 11 wins in 19 starts. Their respective post positions are 8-2-10-9-4 for those inclined to wager $12.50 on a 10-cent superfecta box.
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The “biggest little game in America” was scheduled to kick off in Amherst today at Pratt Field between Amherst and Williams. The rivalry’s genesis occurred in 1820 when a splinter group of teachers and administrators left Williamstown and founded Amherst because they didn’t think a school could survive in the hicks. The first game was in 1884, the same year Mark Twain wrote “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
The Ephs (named for founder Ephraim Williams) lead the all-time series, 73-56-5, and beat Amherst 31-9 last year in Billsville.
The New England Small College Athletic has canceled all fall and winter sports, leaving Williams sports information director Dick Quinn to remind readers of former alumni. LA Dodgers CFO Tucker Kain was a 1,000-point scorer, and Astros GM Raf Stone was a backup point guard. “Just keeping you updated as I know sometimes the news does not make it across the Mohawk Trail,” writes Quinn.
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During last week’s Bills-Patriots game, CBS analyst Evan Washburn said Cam Newton hasn’t played the same since Steelers linebacker TJ Watt drove his helmet into Newton’s shoulder in Week 10 of the 2018 season.
Sure enough, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Newton is 2-12 since the Steelers game and has 11 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions. No wonder the Pats got him on the cheap for a million dollars.
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SQUIBBERS: Fred Funk became the oldest PGA Tour player to make a cut with his 1-under par at last week’s Bermuda Open. Alas, he finished tied for 59th and won a meager $9,000. … Team USA soccer player Megan Rapinoe and former UConn hoops star Sue Bird have announced their engagement. … Best wishes to John Daly, who says he has bladder cancer. … As it now stands, the 2-5 Patriots would choose ninth in next year’s draft according to tankathon.com. Let the tanking begin. They’re favored by seven against the winless Jets on Monday night. Let’s go Jets! … Former NY Mets owner Fred Wilpon and Sandy Koufax were best buds growing up in Brooklyn. … Saturday morning on WFAN, hoops scholar John Feinstein told host Richard Neer that the NBA is considering a 70-game season starting on MLK Day and ending the 4th of July. “It’s smart for business and terrific for basketball,” said the author of A Season on the Brink. … As of now, plans are to limit Raymond James Stadium in Tampa to 20 percent capacity for Super Bowl LV. … Charlie Weis to Giants’ announcer Bob Papa after the Giants lost to Tampa Bay: “If I was a fan Giants, I’d be depressed. If I was a Jets fan, I’d be miserable.” … BC play-by-play voice Jon Meterparel, after a bruising three-yard run by 236-pound running back David Bailey: “That’s a weight room run.” …. Nice call by MNF’s Brian Griese in the first quarter of Monday’s Bucs-Giants game: “It’s going to take 25 points to win this game,” said Griese. Final score: Bucs 25, Giants 23. … Trivia Ans.: They were the six quarterbacks taken ahead of Tom Brady in the 2000 draft.
Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for four decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet95@yahoo.com