CAA Recruiting News
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Colonial Athletic Association
News & Signings for 2002-2003
Be sure to check back often for the latest recruiting news and rumors from the Colonial Athletic Association, as we bring you the inside scoop on the 2001-2002 season.
(updated: 3/01/02)
The Buzz: The biggest news is of course the hiring of Jerry Wainwright by the University of Richmond...We feel that this move will probably help both Leagues.... Richmond is getting an excellent coach and one of the nicest people you could ever have the chance to meet...The CAA finally gets (they hope) to play a better brand of basketball when they actually get national TV exposure...It is just a fact that in the past two years the CAA, whos biggest problem is alack of media coverage, had a Jerry Wainwright team in their showcase (read ESPN) game...while that was good for Jerry and the Seahawks, it was terrible for the CAA...Very few schoolboy players want to come play that type of basketball and that was the image that the League projected in some VERY ugly games ... Otherwise, League coaches are now out looking at talent for the coming year and some juniors for 2003. The CAA finished ranked eleventh out of 31 conferences this season, according to web site CollegeRPI.com, and also 12th of 31 according to Jim Sukup’s RPI Report. That was the highest ranking ever for the league. UNC Wilmington was the top-ranked CAA team in the RPI at 77, VCU ranks at 84 and George Mason 85. Hoop Scoop also puts the CAA among its Upper Mid-Majors in conference rank...
(See the interesting HoopScoop
report on Conference Rank below...click
here.)
CAA Overall Final
W L Pct. Strk. W L Pct. Strk.
 | UNC Wilmington 14 4 .778 W1 19 9 .679 W1 |
| George Mason 13 5 .706 W3 19 8 .692 W3 |
| Va. Commonwealth 11 7 .588 W1 19 10 .643 W1 |
| Drexel 11 7 .611 L1 14 13 .519 L1 |
| Delaware 9 9 .471 W3 13 15 .444 W3 |
| Old Dominion 7 11 .412 L1 13 15 .481 L1 |
| Towson 7 11 .353 W2 11 17 .370 W1 |
| William and Mary 7 11 .412 L3 10 18 .370 L3 |
| James Madison 6 11 .353 L2 13 14 .500 L2 |
| Hofstra 5 13 .294 L8 10 19 .357 L8 |
Team News:
|
And while the CAA contemplates whether they want or need football, here's a quick peek at who some of the schools signed during the early recruiting season ...
Delaware Blue Hens
Analysis: Delaware has a new coach, off the Duke Blue Devil bench, in David Henderson...he will be trying to keep alive run of three straight 20 win seasons...it will be a rebuilding effort however...Henderson is trying to get an early jump on this season's recruiting, but nothing to report yet...
Drexel Dragons
| Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | Status | Home State |
| Sanchez, Kenell | G | 6'4" | 215 | Signed | New Jersey |
| Tillman, Tim | C | 6'9" | 245 | Signed | Virginia |
Analysis: Drexel coach Steve Seymour signed Kenell Sanchez, a 6'4" guard out of New Jersey...also Tim Tillman, a 6'9" center from Episcopal HS in Lynchburg, VA...
George Mason Patriots
| Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | Status | Home State |
| Davis, Mark | G | 6'4" | 190 | Signed | Virginia |
| Lewis, Jai | F | 6'6" | 265 | Signed | Maine |
| Wurtz, Trent | F | 6'8" | N/A | Signed | Wisconsin |
Analysis: George Mason has letters of intent from 6'6" forward Jai Lewis of Pittsfield-Maine Central, Maine...also from Mark Davis, a 6'4" guard, originally from Jonesville, Va, now at Palm Beach CC... and Trent Wurtz, a 6'8" forward out of Sheboygan, WI...
Hofstra Pride
| Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | Status | Home State |
| Douby, Quincy | G | 6'3" | 180 | Signed | New York |
| Alston, Omar | C | 6'8" | 210 | Signed | New Jersey |
Analysis: Coach Tom Pecora has gotten an early period signing from Quincy Douby, a 6'3" guard out of, no surprise here, New York...and also Omar Alston, a 6'9" center from New Jersey...
James Madison Dukes
Analysis: Dukes signed no one in early period...
UNC-Wilmington Seahawks
| Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | Status | Home State |
| Laue, Mitch | F | 6'8" | N/A | Signed | Texas |
| Mayes, Tim | F | 6'6" | N/A | Signed | Texas |
| Wyrick, Beckham | F | 6'6" | N/A | Signed | Ohio |
| Goldberg, John | G | 6'3" | N/A | Signed | Ohio |
Analysis: The Seahawks have picked up a rash of signings for the early signing period...Former Coach Jerry Wainwright must have liked the weather in Texas before leaving for Richmond, as two more of the recruits are from the Lone Star state...Mitch Laue is a 6'6" forward, while Tim Mayes is a 6'6" forward...also signing early was Beckham Wyrick, a 6'6" forward...out of Ohio...and John Goldberg, a guard also out of Ohio
Old Dominion Monarchs
| Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | Status | Home State |
| Hunter, Isiah | G | 6'2" | N/A | Signed | North Carolina |
| Mrksic, Janko | C | 6'10" | N/A | Signed | Canada |
Analysis: ODU has only two scholarships to give, and both went in the early period...Monarchs signed Isiah Hunter, a 6'2" point guard out of Charlotte, NC...also Janko Mrksic (I tell you every season, there's no way I could make some of these names up if I tried...), a 6'10" 255 lb. specimen out of the back woods of Canada...Coach Blaine Taylor seems to be fitting right in...Hunter also played pro ball in the Kansas City Royals organization...
Towson Tigers
| Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | Status | Home State |
| McCartney, Jacob | F | 6'9" | N/A | Signed | Tennessee |
| Warner, Stephan | F | 6'7" | N/A | Signed | Georgia |
Analysis: After having little luck in 2001, the Tigers are off to a good start signing Jacob McCartney, a 6'9" forward out of Tennessee...and also Stephan Warner, a forward out of Georgia...
Virginia Commonwealth Rams
Analysis: Antonio Hargrove, a 6'4" swingman out of Lawrenceville has left the Rams program...there were no early signings.
William & Mary Tribe
| Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | Status | Home State |
| Jenkins, Jack | F | 6'6" | 230 | Signed | N. Hampshire |
| Mokris, Taylor | G | 6'5" | N/A | Signed | North Carolina |
| Howell, Brett | G | 6'1" | N/A | Signed | Alabama |
| Hutt, Brian | F | 6'9" | N/A | Signed | Colorado |
Analysis: Tribe has two commitments
for the early period, Taylor Mokris, a big guard out of Charlotte, NC...also Jack
Jenkins, a 6'6" forward with a nice scoring touch, out of New Hampshire...Tribe
has also added another transfer, Brett Howell, a 6'1" guard, out of
Alabama...he originally signed with Eastern Kentucky but was given his release
and he will enroll second semester at W&M and be ready for 2002-2003...Brian
Hutt (Wheat Ridge, CO) has signed a letter of intent to play men's
basketball at William and Mary. Hutt currently is a senior at Wheat Ridge High
School, in the Denver area.
| For CAA recruiting questions, email us at BallPark Productions. |
| For info on last years signings CAA Freshman Class 2001 |
| CAA Home Page |
Hoop Scoop Online, the basketball recruiting news mecca, has done a research project to determine which Conferences should actually be labeled "Major", Mid-Major", Low Major", etc. The results are a bit surprising. We summarize them here, for full details, go to www.hoopscooponline.com.
The big winner is the Atlantic Coast Conference, which finished first four out of the five years they analyzed. The Southeastern Conference, which finished first the other year and never has been ranked any lower than #4 in a given year, finishes a strong second, followed by the Big-10 and Conference USA. They feel this should be a surprise, because most people believe the Big-12, Big East, and Pacific-10 are better conferences than Conference USA. However, their study is based on recruiting and not performance during the last five seasons. In other words, the players from the Fall 2001 are still in high school, junior college, and prep school and the players from the Spring 2001 are freshmen and juniors in college. In other words, it's too hard to gauge the college impact for at least 40% of the players on their list.
Noteworthy is the fact that there is a 10-point difference between the Pacific-10 and the Mountain West Conferences and that the Mountain West, Western Athletic, Atlantic-10, Colonial Athletic, and Sun Belt are all pretty much in the same range. So they feel it's safe to say that those teams are just missing the top level, which includes the seven High Major Conferences, and, as a result, they have labeled these High Mid-Major Conferences. Then there is an 18 point drop from the Sun Belt to the Mid-American Conference, which heads their Mid-Major list that also includes the Missouri Valley, West Coast, Big West, Metro Athletic, Horizon, and Ohio Valley. From there they have a seven point drop to the Mid-Continent, America East, Southern, Ivy League, and Big Sky, which form the Low Mid-Major Conferences. And at the bottom of the Division I spectrum are the Northeast, Atlantic Sun, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Southwestern Athletic, Southland, Patriot, and Big South, which form the Low Major Conferences. Also all Division I Independents collectively are included as if they were a conference at the Low Major level.
High Major Conferences High Mid-Major Conferences Mid-Major Conferences
| Atlantic Coast Mountain West Mid-American |
| Southeastern Western Athletic Missouri Valley |
| Big 10 Atlantic 10 West Coast |
| Conference USA Colonial Athletic Big West |
| Big 12 Sun Belt Metro Athletic |
| Big East Horizon |
| Pac 10 Ohio Valley |
Low Mid-Major Conferences Low Major Conferences
| Mid-Continent Northeast |
| America East Atlantic Sun |
| Southern Mid-Eastern Athletic |
| Ivy League Patriot |
| Big Sky Big South |
| Southland |
| Southwestern Athletic |
| D-1 Independents |
Very interesting for CAA fans. The League is getting more respect.
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