Posts Tagged ‘Jay Greene’
Thursday, April 4th, 2013
Coolidge senior David Kadiri (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
(Catonsville, MD) – While coaches around the country packed their suitcases for the Final Four coaches’ convention, the staff at UMBC continued to pound the pavement, landing their second commitment in as many days and the biggest recruit (on paper) to sigh with the school in a very long time: 6’8” Shot-eraser, backboard-shaker and human-highlight reel David Kadiri.
A human-pogo-stick from the basketball-Mecca of Washington D.C., Kadiri was fresh leading Coolidge High to a pair of championships in the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association and the inaugural D.C. State Athletic Association tournament, which pitted city public, private and charter schools.
A late bloomer who was just beginning to tap into his raw-talents as a senior, Kadiri had been offered – and heavily pursued – by Florida Gulf Coast University until the departure of head coach Andy Enfield to USC. Kadiri had also been offered by Duquesne of the Atlantic 10, America East-rival Stony Brook and North Carolina A&T, Gardner-Webb and Niagara. Several teams from higher-level schools reportedly made late-runs.
According to several college coaches and recruiters, Kadiri is known as a terrific athlete with a tremendous wingspan and a great motor, who is a monster on defense and dunks everything on offense. Kadiri already possesses outstanding timing and instincts blocking shots and pursuing rebounds and should make an impact from Day 1 on defense and on the glass. A raw-athlete on offense, Kadiri runs the floor extremely well for a big-man and is a monster finishing off alley-oops in transition, or skying over defenders for authoritative put-back dunks in traffic.
On his recruiting visit, during an open run with the Retrievers, Kadiri reportedly threw down nearly a dozen dunks over UMBC’s current roster.
Just weeks after having the interim tag removed following his first season at the helm, head coach Aki Thomas has now signed five incoming players, four of them – Kadiri, Bryan Harris, Will Darley and Charles Taylor Jr. – from the Baltimore/DC area.
On paper, Kadiri is easily the biggest recruiting coup during Thomas’ short tenure and the most hyped incoming freshman to land at UMBC in a very, very long time. (more…)
Tags: Aki Thomas, Baltimore, David Kadiri, DC, Jay Greene, John Zito, Metro, recruiting, Retrieves, UMBC
Posted in News and Notes | Comments Off
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
UMBC head coach Aki Thomas served as a master motivator during his first season at the helm at UMBC, now he must become a miracle worker rebuilding the roster (Photo by Sam Perkins)
(Catonsville, MD) – When UMBC’s season came to an end in heartbreaking but heart-warming fashion in the America East Tournament, the real work began for head coach Aki Thomas and his staff: rebuilding his roster from the rubble of a devastated and dilapidated program.
Thomas’ burdensome load may have been lightened, slightly, by jettisoning weight in the form of early departures of four returning players; sophomores Will Wise, Nate Basalyga, Jarrel Lane and Jordan Wejnert have all left the team.
In his first season at the helm, after being named the interim head coach two days before the start of practice, Thomas injected life into a program that had barely been clinging to life support. Two days before the start of the conference tournament, Thomas was official named the head coach – dropping the interim tag – and rewarded with a contract extension.
Two days later, the same Retrievers squad that had spent the last three seasons giving up by the first media timeout, out-worked, out-hustled and out-fought third-seeded Hartford to pull off a 69-62 upset in the Quarterfinal. A day later, running on heart, the sixth-seeded Retrievers showed more grit and guts in their 85-72 semifinal loss to Vermont than they had during their previous three seasons combined.
The final horn of the semifinals marked the end of the careers of seniors Ryan Cook – the team’s heart and soul, leading scorer, best player and hardest worker all rolled into in one –Brian Neller – a long-range sniper who, along with Cook, comprised the teams lone true shooters – and forward Adrian Satchell – who enjoyed a renaissance in his one-season under Thomas.
Now Thomas and assistant coaches (and former UMBC players) Jay Greene and John Zito were faced with the daunting task of trying to overhaul an undermanned – and drastically under talented – roster. (more…)
Tags: Aaron Morgan, Adrian Satchell, Aki Thomas, Brett Roseboro, Brian Neller, Bryan Harris, Charles Taylor Jr., Chase Plummer, Jamar Wertz, Jarrel Lane, Jay Greene, John Zito, Jordan Wejnert, Malik Garner, Nate Basalyga, Quinton Jones, Randy Monroe, Retrievers, Ryan Cook, UMBC, Will Darley, Will Wise
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Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
(Boston, MA) — UMBC guard Jerrell Lane drove down the court, pulled up from behind the arc, and fired up an uncontested 3. As the final buzzer sounded, Lane’s wounded duck struck nothing but the bottom of the backboard.
It was the Retrievers season in a nutshell.
Boston University romped to an 83-48 win Tuesday night over visiting UMBC in a laugher between two teams headed in polar-opposite directions.
The host Terriers hit on all-cylinders, posting season highs in points (83), rebounds (45), blocks (nine), and point-differential (35), while emptying the bench with roughly five minutes remaining in game time. The win moves Boston University to 7-1 in America East play, the program’s best start to the conference slate since the 2003-2004 season.
“I was very pleased with our overall effort, and we got significant contributions from a number of guys,” said Terriers head coach Joe Jones, who saw 11 different Terriers score.
For the Retrievers, who fall to 2-6 in conference play and 3-17 on the season, the wheels appear to have fallen off. UMBC has now lost two straight games by 35 or more points and has fallen in six of their last seven.
“[BU] certainly came out and pushed us around, and I don’t think we responded very well – it’s a little disappointing and a little discouraging,” said UMBC head coach Randy Monroe. “It’s college basketball; you have to compete… we didn’t do it.” (more…)
Tags: Chase Plummer, D.J. Irving, Darryl Partin, Jamar Wertz, Jay Greene, Jeff Pelage, Joe Jones, Joey Getz, Malik Thomas, Mat Piotrowski, Mike Terry Jr., Randy Monroe, Ryan Cook
Posted in One-Bid Wonders, Recap | Comments Off
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
(New Britain, Conn.) – The University of Maryland-Baltimore County fell to host Central Connecticut State Tuesday night in a game that was far closer than the final score of 77-69. The Retrievers fell to 0-5 on the season, but continued to show promise.
Despite playing without three starters, including their best player (senior point guard Chris De La Rosa), the Retrievers battled until the final buzzer, controlled the paint, and displayed a heart and tenacity that was non-existent for all of last season. UMBC out-shot CCSU from the floor (.453 to .429) and from downtown (.467 to .353), while grabbing 13 offensive rebounds to the Blue Devils’ seven.
“I was really proud of our energy, of our tenacity, and of how we fought until the end,” said UMBC head coach Randy Monroe. “We’re really inexperienced, and we need to learn how to win a game – I thought at times we were playing not to lose – but I saw a lot of positives.” (more…)
Tags: CCSU, Chris De La Rosa, Jay Greene, Quentin Jones, Randy Monroe, UMBC
Posted in Recap | Comments Off
Saturday, January 8th, 2011
One-Bid Wonders writer Sam Perkins takes 5 minutes off from the back roads of the America East to check with some early thoughts on each team from around the conference.
The America East has already been one hell of a roller coaster ride,
Sam Perkins: Always watching over the "AE"
and we’re only a few games into the conference slate. We’ve already seen one lowly-regarded team in Hartford knock off a “contender” on its home court in Maine; another devastating injury to an explosive talent in New Hampshire forward Ferg Myrick; and an early-season battle between two of the top-teams in the conference in Vermont and Albany – a battle from which Vermont emerged as the clear “team to beat.” Here are my thoughts on each AE squad. (more…)
Tags: Alasdair Fraser, Albany, Alvin Abreu, Binghamton, Boston University, Brendan Bald, Brian Voelkel, Chandler Rhoads, Chretien Lukusa, Chris De La Rosa, Chris Martin, D.J. Irving, Dane DiLiegro, Evan Fjeld, Ferg Myrick, Gerald McLemore, Greer Wright, Hartford, Jay Greene, Jeff Pelage, Joe Zeglinski, Joey Accaoui, John Gallagher, John Holland, Kevin Fitzgerald, Logan Aronhalt, Luke Devlin, Maine, Mark Macon, Mike Allison, Mike Black, Morgan Sabia, Muhammad El-Amin, Murphy Burnatowski, New Hampshire, Preye Preboye, Randy Monroe, Scott Morris, Sean McNally, Stony Brook, Terrance Mitchell, Tim Ambrose, Tommy Brenton, Troy Barnies, UMBC, Vermont, Will Brown, Will Harris
Posted in Feature | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
In case it wasn’t obvious earlier, the league is down. Forget about the basement; drill deeper. What do you call a league with one legitimately good team, a couple of decent contenders, and a giant mess down below? A lot of teams are scrambling to find solutions, which is causing a bit of a scramble in this week’s edition of our America East Power Rankings:
1. Vermont Catamounts (7-2)
Last week: Lost vs. BYU, 86-58, on Wednesday in Glens Falls, NY; Won vs. Marist, 75-67, on Sunday
This week: Idle
When Vermont played BYU, we found out that Jimmer Fredette can score. Not a surprise. But when Vermont hosted Marist, we learned that Brian Voelkel can score, and that is a surprise. Voelkel had a game-high and career-high 23 points – his first game scoring in double figures, let alone cracking 20 – and Vermont would need all of them to outlast a Marist team that had already lost eight games this year by double-figures and six games by 20+ points. Not exactly an impressive win, but UVM keeps on chugging along, and that alone is enough to sit atop these power rankings. (more…)
Tags: Albany, Binghamton, Brian Voelkel, BU, Charles Jenkins, Dane DiLiegro, Evan Fjeld, Hartford, Jay Greene, Jimmer Fredette, Logan Aronhalt, Maine, Mike Black, New Hampshire, Randy Monroe, Stony Brook, Tim Ambrose, UMBC, Vermont
Posted in Week in review | Comments Off
Saturday, November 20th, 2010
Picture yourself wandering through the empty hallways of the Walter Brown athletic complex on one of Boston’s hot, sticky, sweltering summer nights. Through the stale, molasses thick air that hung in the dark corridors of the old building, you’d hear the sound of leather smacking against hardwood and the squeak of sneakers against floorboard.
The sounds of Matt Griffin.
Griffin was there, practicing in the empty and dimly-lit gym in a darkened building, breathing the stale, humid, heavy air. He set the tone for the Boston University Terriers. He laid the foundation for Boston University head coach Patrick Chambers to build his program.
“Nobody works harder than Matt Griffin,” is a quote that Chambers has uttered more times than he can count, and if you spend any time around the Terriers, you quickly learn it first-hand. (more…)
Tags: Albany, BU, D.J. Irving, Darryl Partin, Dom Morris, Jake O'Brien, Jay Greene, John Holland, Jon Iati, Marist, Matt Griffin, Pat Chambers, Patrick Hazel, Rider, Stijn Dhondt, UMBC
Posted in Feature | 4 Comments »
