Posts Tagged ‘Marqus Blakely’
Monday, February 18th, 2013
By Matt Whitrock and Sam Perkins
Sent Packing! Stony Brook freshman Jameel Warney rejects Vermont guard Josh Elbaum in the first half of the Seawolves 65-48 win on Friday (Photo by Sam Perkins).
(Stony Brook, NY) – Jameel Warney is a force in America East unlike anything we’ve seen in years.
After turning down scholarships from the likes of Iowa, Penn State and Charlotte, the 6’8” 250 pound bruiser from Plainfield, New Jersey had amassed a hype even larger than his massive frame.
“He’s the best big man that will ever play here, absolutely,” Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said at the time.
Over the course of his first season of college ball, Warney has not only lived up to the lofty expectations, but exceeded them.
Through 25 games, Warney currently ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding at 7.6 boards per game, 10th in scoring at 12 points per game, while leading the league in field goal percentage (62.4 percent) and blocked shots (1.6 per game). In conference play, Warney has been even better, averaging 12.6 points per game (8th), 8.3 rebounds (4th) and 1.6 blocks (1st), while shooting an insane 65.9 percent from the floor.
“It’s unbelievable; he has the best hands I’ve ever seen,” raved fifth-year senior Tommy Brenton, the team’s captain and emotional leader. “He makes me look good, honestly, I’ll just throw it up there sometimes [and] he catches it.”
His raw numbers become all the more impressive when considering the defensive attention already being paid to the Seawolves workhorse.
“In high school he would have five guys on him,” said Steve Pikiell following the Seawolves dominating 65-48 win over conference rival Vermont. Warney shrugged off double and triple teams to post 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting to go with 10 rebounds to help the Seawolves secure a resounding win and two game cushion in the conference standings.
Simply put, Warney is already the runaway Rookie of the Year. But he’s more – much more – and much better than his raw numbers. When looking at his advanced statistics, Warney is not only the most efficient offensive player in the conference, but the most impactful rookie to come through the America East in more than half a decade. (more…)
Tags: Brian Voelkel, Dom Morris, Jameel Warney, Marqus Blakely, Nick Billings, Seawolves, Shawn James, Steve Pikiell, Stony Brook, Tommy Brenton
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Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
Sam’s countdown of the top 100 America East dunks of the past season continues, as Air Brenton Airlines takes flight, the America East throws down on the game’s biggest stage, a wide load rattles the backboard and a lay-up line superstar gets his moment to shine.
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Tags: Albany, Bearcats, Binghamton, BU, Catamounts, Chaz Carr, Corey Lowe, Dan Daccarett, Germain Mopa-Njila, Huskies, Jason Siggers, Kirsten Zoellner, Mahamoud Jabbi, Marqus Blakely, Orangemen, Seawolves, Stony Brook, Syracuse, Terriers, Tommy Brenton, Trevor Goode, Upset, Vermont
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Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
On November 11th the America East will once again tip-off its season. It will also serve as a milestone of sorts for me, as it will mark my 11th season of following and now covering the America East day in and day out. My first season, during the 2001-2002 campaign, coincided with the conference realigning into something close to what it is today (with the departure of the CAA-4 and the addition of the SUNY schools). I’ve been through a lot during my time in the America East. What began as a way to spend time with my dad and my brother during the end of my time in high school (and a way to cope with the sheer suckitude of UMass hoops), became a rock of sorts in my life. AE hoops has seen me through the loss of my best friend, my father, my own self-destruction in pro ball, and a host of other defining moments in my life. It’s been the one constant for me.
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Tags: Austin Ganly, Billy Collins, Bobby Kelly, Chris Wyatt, Marqus Blakely, Matt Turner, Nick Billings, Rashad Bell, Tyrone Conley, Warren McLendon
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Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
Boston University small forward/shooting guard John Holland and Maine
John Holland has several NBA invites on his slate
power forward Troy Barnies have scored workouts with NBA franchises leading up to the 2011 NBA draft. Holland, the 2011 America East Player of the Year and a three-time first team All-Conference selection, worked out with the New York Knicks on Tuesday and has future workouts scheduled with the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets, while Barnies, who enjoyed a breakout season as a senior and was named to the All-Conference First Team (the first All-Conference selection of his career), has workouts scheduled with the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
Being invited to NBA workouts is a heck of an accomplishment for any player from a low mid-major like the America East and gives Holland and Barnies a chance to show what they can do in front of NBA coaching staff’s and front office personnel.
However, it is important to note that not all pre-draft invites are equal. There are typically two kinds of players invited to pre-draft workouts with NBA teams: true NBA prospects that NBA teams want to take a very long look at to assess, and players to push them through the workouts and bring out the best in them (in essence, practice players).
Among recent America East Alums who scored NBA workouts, Taylor Coppenrath, Jose Juan Barea, Kenny Adeleke, Jamar Wilson, Marqus Blakely, Nick Billings, Trevor Gaines, Rashad Bell, Errick Greene and Justin Rowe were all brought in for true NBA looks. The likes of Muhammad El-Amin, Mike Trimboli, Chris Holm and Kevin Gardner (to name a few) fell into the second category. (more…)
Tags: Boston Celtics, Chris Holm, Dawan Robinson, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Errick Greene, Jamar Wilson, JJ Barea, JJB, John Holland, Jose Juan Barea, Justin Rowe, Kenny Adeleke, Kevin Gardner, Marqus Blakely, Mike Trimboli, Muhammad El-Amin, NBA, New York Knicks, Nick Billings, Philadelpha 76ers, Rashad Bell, T.J. Sorrentine, Taylor Coppenrath, The League, Trevor Gaines, Troy Barnies
Posted in News and Notes | 5 Comments »
Saturday, April 23rd, 2011
While Marqus Blakely made headlines recently by signing with the Houston Rockets and becoming the first Vermont Catamount to make the NBA, the player who was supposed to have claimed that title, Taylor Coppenrath, continues to quietly carve out one of the most successful careers of any recent America East alumni in professional basketball. The success continued last week, as Coppenrath helped to lead his club, C.B. Murcia, to a championship.
On April 15, Coppenrath scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds in Murcia’s 112-111 overtime victory. The win clinched the regular season Spanish LEB Gold (also known as the “second division”) title. As is the case throughout Europe, the Spanish divisions are cyclical. The regular-season champion and playoff champion from the second division move up to the first division the following season and, conversely, the bottom two teams from the first division drop down. With the win, Murcia, which finished with a 30-4 record, clinched a spot in the Spanish ACB (first division), widely considered to be the best domestic league in the world outside of the NBA, next season. (more…)
Tags: ACB, Championship, EuroLeague, Greece, Houston Rockets, Italy, LEB Gold, Marqus Blakely, Player of the Year, Spain, Syracuse, Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont
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Saturday, April 16th, 2011
Former Vermont Catamount Marqus Blakely signed a three-year non-guaranteed contract with the Rockets on Tuesday, becoming the first Catamount to make it to the NBA.
Blakely, a two-time America East Player of the Year and three-time America East Defensive Player of the Year, was a 6’5” power forward in college who was deemed a “tweener” leading up to the 2010 NBA draft – too small to play power forward in the NBA and without the skills (ballhanding, outside shot and perimeter defense) to play the small forward position at a high level. After going undrafted, he played in the Summer League for the Clippers before being invited to NBA training camp.
Blakely’s energy and enthusiasm made him a fan favorite and made many believers around the Clippers organization and NBA as a whole; however, he was released on the final day before the NBA tip-off as the last man cut by the Clippers. (more…)
Tags: D-League, Houston Rockets, JJ Barea, Jose Juan Barea, Malik Rose, Marqus Blakely, NBA, NBDL, Speedy Claxton, T.J. Sorrentine, Taylor Coppenrath, Trevor Gaines, Vermont, Vin Baker
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Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
John Holland is officially wading into the waters of professional basketball, as he has been invited to (and will participate in) the 2011 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which starts today and runs through April 9th at Churchland H.S., in Portsmouth, Va.
The “PIT,” which enters its 59th year, is the oldest amateur tournament, having been run continuously since 1953, and is a by-invitation-only showcase for some of the best college seniors in the nation. The tournament itself consists of eight teams and 12 games, and serves as the first of two NBA pre-draft camps, the second being in Orlando (previously Chicago). 200 NBA scouts, officials and front office personnel are expected to watch the PIT, as well as numerous European scouts and owners.
While the Portsmouth Invitational likes to bill itself as a big-time NBA camp, citing such former participants as Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, John Stockton, Tim Hardaway, Ben Wallace, Avery Johnson and Rick Barry, to name a few, it is in reality a showcase for marginal NBA prospects. Of the 64 participants in 2009, only six were drafted, none in the first round. (more…)
Tags: Avery Johnson, Ben Wallace, Bobby Martin, Boston, BU, Dennis Rodman, Europe, Jamar Wilson, JJ Barea, John Holland, John Stockton, Jose Juan Barea, Kenny Adeleke, Marqus Blakely, NBA, PIT, Portsmouth, Rick Barry, Scottie Pippen, T.J. Sorrentine, Taylor Coppenrath, Tim Hardaway
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Sunday, March 6th, 2011
For 33 minutes, the No. 9 Binghamton Bearcats gave the class of the conference, the No. 1 Vermont Catamounts, everything it could handle and then some. Less than seven minutes remained, the Bearcats had the ball, a chance to pull within 1 or even tie, and a noticeably pro-Vermont crowd on edge.
And then, in a flash, the game (and the season) were over.
The Catamounts reeled off a decisive 8-0 run to extend their slim one-possession lead to an 11-point margin. From there, Vermont simply maintained their lead and ran off the final few minutes of the clock to secure a 57-46 victory and advance to the America East semifinals. The win was Vermont’s fourth consecutive in the America East Tournament. (more…)
Tags: Binghamton, Brendan Bald, Evan Fjeld, Greer Wright, Mahamoud Jabbi, Mark Macon, Marqus Blakely, Mike Lonergan, Vermont
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Thursday, January 20th, 2011
Earlier this season we checked in on former America East players Rashad Bell and Muhammad El-Amin, who are both competing in the top league in Hungary. At the time, Bell was making a run at another league MVP, while El-Amin was trying to find his footing. Fast forward to today and Bell continues to look like an MVP, while El-Amin played the game of his life a week ago. Here’s a run-down of how both Bell and El-Amin have been doing on the pro-circuit, as well as some updates on several other former America East players competing in the pro-ranks.
Rashad Bell, BU ‘05:
"King Bell" continues to dominate Hungary
Bell continues to excel in the Hungarian A division. Bell has carried Kormend, which sits in fourth place at 12-3, all season long, and currently ranks second in the league in scoring at 21.2 points per game, seventh in rebounds at 9.4, tenth in blocks, while shooting 60 percent from the floor as well as averaging 2 steals per contest. He has been, quite simply, the best player in the top league in Hungary despite facing double and triple-teams every night. When you consider the combination of salary, performance on the court, strength of league and carrying a team to the top of the standings, Bell is having the best year of any AE Alumn playing pro ball not named “Barea.” Bell continues to write the book on climbing the international ladder, and should have some very high level offers on the table next season. (more…)
Tags: Aaron Cook, Alex Adediran, Alex Zimnickas, Andrew Feeley, Blagoj Janev, Chris Holm, Chris Seaborn, Corey Lowe, Eric Gilchrese, Jaan Montgomery, Jamar Wilson, Jason Siggers, JJ Barea, Jose Juan Barea, Kenny Adeleke, Levi Levine, Marqus Blakely, Martin Klimes, Maurice Joseph, Mike Christensen, Muhammad El-Amin, Nick Billings, Olli Avienniemi, Omari Peterkin, Rashad Bell, Reggie Fuller, Sebastian Hermenier, Solomon Bamiro, Stanley Ocitti, Stijn Dhondt, Sylbrin Robinson, Taylor Coppenrath, Valdas Sirutis
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Friday, December 17th, 2010
Everyone knows Albany’s Tim Ambrose can put up numbers. The compact 6-foot-nil guard had solid stats as a freshman despite limited playing time and provided more than his fair share of scoring outbursts in his sophomore and junior year. Despite his point totals, though, Ambrose built a reputation defined more by inconsistent play and wasted potential than big numbers. Unable to shoulder the burden being placed upon him, Albany slipped in the standings, falling from 3rd to 7th, and eventually reaching the cellar last season.
So color this America East observer surprised to see Ambrose as a key figure in Albany’s early-season success, and shocked to see the senior Dane exhibiting a level of reliability that easily exceeds anything we’ve witnessed from Ambrose before. (more…)
Tags: Albany, D.J. Rivera, Darryl Proctor, Ferg Myrick, John Holland, Logan Aronhalt, Marqus Blakely, Mike Trimboli, streak, Tim Ambrose
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