If you surf on over to bgsufalcons.com, you will find a video, in two segments, that features Coach Orr talking about the state of the basketball program.
It is strictly an in-house thing, there are no external members of the media present. Still, I thought it was interesting. I know that there is a lot of concern in the nation about the state of our men's basketball program and that concern has started to focus on Coach Orr...nonetheless, he is the Coach, and the best thing for our program would be for him to lead the program to success.
It isn't that I don't share those concerns, as I wrote here. You cannot hide from the results, and the results are not great.
Anyway, I watched the segments and here is what Coach had to say.
First, on the plus side, both Scott Thomas and Dee Brown graduated. I am always pleased to see the guys get their degrees. I believe that if we keep a player for four or five years, there's no excuse for them not graduating, so good for them.
Our third senior, Torian Oglesby is expected to graduate in August.
All 3 are trying to play next year. Thomas and Brown have been to camps to try and get a contract.
Then Coach Orr talked about how is coming back. While we lost 2 starters, we have 3 coming back.
Coming back: starters
So, this is one of those things I put down on my notes to do during the off-season. Never the time to do it while games are going on, but I perfect thing to do on a hot holiday weekend. (Written on Sunday, published on Tuesday).
I found this article by Ken Pomeroy about determining what is the true home court advantage. What he did was take paired games with a home and home in the same year, and compare the point differentials to see what the home court is actually worth.
I took MAC Men's Basketball and did the same thing. The most obvious caveat is that by definition we're talking just division games in the MAC and we have a pretty small sample. A real analysis would go back a few years and sometime I might get around to that. For now, this is what we have.
First, the AVERAGE difference is 9.7 points, which divided in half is 4.8 points per game. Pomeroy found a 3.76 points per game, which means on average, a team in the MAC had a slightly higher advantage in the MAC than in D1 as a whole.
However, the average actually gives you a slightly distorted view.
The University posted the long-term outlook for football schedules for the years ahead. Just one warning, which is that oftentimes these don't come to fruition. In fact, many times the contracts are worth nothing. For example, if a really good opportunity popped up for you on September 8, 2018, I wouldn't pass it up because you were afraid to miss the Maryland game.
Having said that, the schedules shows two BCS opponents coming to the Doyt. Indiana in 2013 as part of a home and home and Maryland as part of a 2 for 1.
On another note, BG has a home and home with Texas State, which is, in theory, elevating into the WAC for one season before heading to the Sun Belt. I learned on AZZ.com that former BGSU faculty member Denise Trauth is the President of Texas State. Which is interesting.
Note, as well, that BG will play FCS competiton, probably every year. Note Murray State, VMI, and North Dakota.
I like Tulsa coming here next year, that's a nice opponent for us, even if they aren't a BCS team. And, we put our unbeaten record in West Lafayette to the test on September 26, 2015. Or not.
Anyway, FWIW, here is the upcoming schedule as it stands today.
2013
8/29 vs. Tulsa
9/14 at Indiana
9/21 vs. Murray State
10/12 at Mississippi State
2014
8/28 at Western Kentucky
9/6 vs. VMI
9/13 vs. Indiana
9/20 at Wisconsin
2015
9/12 at Maryland
9/19 vs. Texas State
9/26 at Purdue
2016
9/03 at Ohio State
9/10 vs. North Dakota
9/17 vs. Middle Tennessee State
9/24 at Texas State
2017
9/09 at Indiana
9/23 at Middle Tennessee State
2018
9/08 vs. Maryland
9/22 at Louisiana Tech
2019
8/31 at Maryland
9/14 vs. Louisiana Tech
Through the twitter and the Facebook, BGSU has sent out the new helmets which arrived at the Sebo Center for Athletic Endeavor.
The Orlando Sentinel probably has the top MSM blog for college football, at least one that doesn't have four letters in it. They do a thing where they count down the 120 teams in FBS, worst to first. It is kind of funny, you sit and watch everyday to see if it is your turn. Well, it was BG's turn. They have us #91.
You know, it is easy to make too much of these things. They are mostly about last year, not this year. One thing I don't think do as good as job of, as compared to Phil Steele, is looking at schedules and how teams might do better based on an easier schedule. In fact, they cite BG's schedule as a disadvantage while I find it to be working in our favor.
Anyway, they mostly cite our WR graduations as a weakness, but don't mention Stokes, for example.
FWIW, they have Akron at 119 (we play them), CMU at 110, Miami at 106 (we play them), Kent at 89 (we play them) and Ball State at 86. I'm very interested in where UMASS will end up, since they are up to 86 without mentioning the Minutemen.
Off-season fodder.
One of the summer activities as we wait for Falcon sports to resume is to follow the work of Phil Steele, who puts out the best and most informed college football annual in the United States. Remember reading Street and Smith's when we were young and the stories for the minor schools would be so outdated it would be embarrassing? Not so with Phil Steele.
Anyway, he released his top four All-MAC pre-season teams. Here is how the Falcons fared.
He has five Falcons on the first team, starting with Anthon Samuel at RB. The MAC had a major exodus of RBs since last year (check out his first four teams, I would doubt you are familiar with too many of them--8 of the MACs top 10 rushers either graduated, left school early or left with Temple), so while Samuel might or might not end up first team All-MAC, he's as good a choice as anyone else.
On defense, Chris Jones and Dwayne Woods were both named. These are both fitting choices. Jones is set to have a monster year, and if he does, it only helps Woods by occupying blockers.
Finally, Boo Boo Gates is All-MAC first team as a kick returner, and Brian Schmeidebusch is All-MAC as punter. Not sure about Boo Boo--or how big an impact kick returns will have with the new rules--but Schmeidebusch is an absolute beast who is, as Coach says, a football player who happens to punt.
Moving down the line:
Second team: Alex Bayer.
Third Team: Je'Ron Stokes, Dominic Flewellyn. (Stokes gets this ranking without playing a game in the MAC. He is a huge sleeper for the Falcons, especially with depleted receivers. If he has the kind of year he should be capable of, he could do much better than this.)
Fourth team: Matt Schilz, Chip Robinson, Paul Swan, Boo Boo (at Safety) and Cam Truss.
The Schilz ranking is interesting. He is behind Carder, Tettleton and Dysert, none of which you can argue with, but he is ahead of UT's QBs, Alex Gillett and Ryan Radcliffe, all of whom are back and had better efficiency ratings than Schilz did last year. Now, the team is coming together around him, and if he is going to make a big leap, this is the year to do it. But, I'm surprised in the confidence.
Anyway, that's how Phil Steele sees things.
The Falcons have their first verbal of the 2013 recruiting class. It is Patric Hannon who is a RB Lyndhurst Brush High School.
He's unrated on ESPN, which might or might not mean anything. One issue is that is very early, as in before even the summer camps have started, which is usually where you see an unheralded guy show what he can do. Hannon had a nice JR year, with 5.3 yards per carry, if only on 45 attempts. And, he had 71 yards on one play...
As a SO, he only played 4 games due to an injury. He also runs track.
By the way, the nickname for Brush is the Arcs, which is geekycool.
Anyway, welcome to the Falcons, Patric.
Update: ESPN now lists him as an ILB.
Hey, if you are a Falcon basketball fan (and if you are reading this, I think it stands to reason you could be), you could help the school out by completing their online survey about the game experience. I think the game experience was pretty good, could be better, and I don't know if they will fix the things I commented on, but it is a start. Anyway, you could also win tickets to the MSU game and you will get a modest gift certificate from the shop...
http://bgsufalcons.com/news/2012/5/9/MBB_0509124440.aspx
I did a career review of Scott Thomas and Dee Brown a couple of weeks ago and I didn't want to forget about our third senior, Torian Oglesby. We got so used to Thomas and Brown being in the same class and part of the team that you can forget about Oglesby and the significant contribution he made at times for this team.
He was a JUCO transfer and we didn't really know what to expect of him. He came here from Mott CC with a 10/8 line and a reputation for being a good defensive player. I think he actually was a bigger surprise than any player we have had for a long time. He had energy and was pretty athletic and tough, and two of those three things were not in surplus in BG. He finished around the basket better than anyone else we had and have had, with the possible exception of Marschall, going back to the pre-WVU days.
Of course, he will forever be remembered at BG for the NCAA record he set. He made 26 straight field throw attempts, breaking a record set in 1978. Yes, I know they were all close to the basket, that's how you set a record like that, and I'm going to guess that over the 34 years that record existed, there were hundreds of guys who only shot near the basket and none of them made 26 in a row.
He was certainly far from a dominant player. He averaged 4.5 PPG and 4.0 RPG during his Falcon career. That was, however, in 16 minutes per game. He was the 7th most efficient offensive player in the MAC, meaning that he didn't use a ton of shots to get those 4.5 PPG. He shot 74% from the field in his senior season, which was more than twice as good as his FT%, which is something which I doubt has been done very often in NCAA hoops, if ever.
He double-doubled twice this year, against UTSA and KSU. In total, his senior season saw 5 double figure scoring games.
Anyway, he was a role player, there's no doubt about it. He didn't get a ton of minutes, but I do think he was valuable to the team, he had the ability to bring the crowd to its feet and he was tough, and (as mentioned) we didn't have a ton of guys like that.
Best of luck in life, Torian.
Out:
Akron
Michael Green (Chaminade)
6'6" played in four games. 2-star recruit.
CMU
Austin McBroom
All Fr., 10.9 PPG, 2.9 Assists per game.
Trey Zeigler (Pitt)
All-MAC 3rd team
Jorddan Myrcik
2 star. Only played 5 minutes.
WMU
Matt Stainbrook (Xavier)
Probably the best player to leave the MAC. Scored 11.4 points and got 6.8 rebounds.
KSU
Patrick Jackson
Transfer from Rutgers. Never found role, never happy. Will graduate and play next year.
Scooter Johnson
6'6" Lost time due to academics and injuries. NQ
Miami
Brian Sullivan
Leading returning scorer, top 3-FG shooter in the MAC and All-MAC Freshman.
OU
Tyquan Goard (Delaware)
Tyquan had been a verbal to the Blue Hens, then he decided to go to OU, where he played 29 games and then quit just before the NCAA run to decide to go back to Delaware. Godspeed, Tyquan.
Ethan Jacobs
At 6'10", he would get your attention, and yet he only played about a third of the games in two years.
NIU
Zach Miller (Hillsdale)
This one is fairly interesting. Zach was told by Coach Mark Montgomery that he was off the team and off scholarship. Zach and his family charged up to the AD's office, and the AD said that Montgomery could not take away his scholarship and he wasn't off the team. AD apologized, Montgomery apologized, and then the kid decided to transfer anyway.
How's that taste, Coach?
The kid's dad is a big-time Illinois HS Coach, so that might not work out too well for them long-term.
Stien Berg
Jeremiah Jackson
Walk-ons walking on their way out of DeKalb.
In:
EMU
Mike Talley, Duquesne
This is potentially a pretty good get for the Eagles, who might well stock their entire roster with transfers before all is said and done. He's a PG who scored 7.2 and had 2.1 assists in two years for the Dukes.
UT
Justin Drummond, Loyola, MD
A transfer from Loyola-MD (known as the other Loyola) where he was third-team all-MAAC and Sixth Man of a Year. He was a double figure scorer.
OU
Kadeen Green, Missouri
He's a body at 6'8" who didn't play much at Missouri. He will be eligible at mid-year. He played about 11 minutes a game.
NIU
Tommie McCune, WVU
Lest you think the flow in DeKalb is only out, they did pick up this guy. He only played a little as a FR at WVU, but he was a 3-star recruit and is 6'7". Could be a very big player in the MAC.
College Football Zealots is a pretty good website that lives up to its name with zealotry. They asked me to answer some questions as a preview of the Falcons, and I was happy to do so. Check it out, let me know what you think.
The Falcons announced today that they had dismissed LT Kyle Bryant from the football team, citing an unspecified violation of team rules.
The dismissal comes at a time when BG is trying to rebuild its O-line depth. Bryant had game experience, with 6 starts and 8 games played in two seasons. I know he had been mentioned as having an important role on the line next year, especially at the vital LT position. Obviously, if a guy is counter-productive, he's counter-productive...it will be interesting to see how we adjust at T.
Just a quick look back at the men's basketball attendance in the MAC. I was mostly interested in seeing how our attendance changed when BG moved to the Stroh Center.
Granted, the team was a little better than the year before, but the team wasn't a lot better and it wasn't like BG was on a MAC title run at any point, so I will suggest that the move to the new facility was the bigger variable. We also had Toledo at home and a nice home game with Temple, too. Other than that, it wasn't anything too outlandish.
Attendance did improve. For all games, BG drew 2,157 per game, which was a 37% increase over the last season at Anderson. And BG moved from 10th in the MAC to 8th in the MAC. Obviously, that still has a ways to go--we are pretty far behind the next highest team--but we're not going to start drawing like that until the team starts to win consistently. Still, it was a nice improvement.
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