Colonials Corner

New feature here on the Colonials Corner is the public answering to any questions you may have about Robert Morris sports.

BobbyMo left a comment and wants to know about transfers for football…who might be coming in and who might be coming out.

Well, so far that’s fairly quiet, BobbyMo. For example, when Mario Hines left to go to Akron in 2005, he left after just one semester. He went up to Akron for a semester and took part in spring practice, but he realized RMU was home. He was back in time for the 2005 football season, but the Colonials had to do without him because of eligibility. But Hines did practice with the team and he is back on the team now, readying for a potentially explosive senior year.

Transfer decisions are usually made late. Anyone of note will be announced by the school on the RMU Football page. Same with any signings and National Letters of Intent.

As far as people leaving RMU…so far, it’s pretty empty. A few freshman that received minimal or zero playing time might look for greener pastures, but no one that will hurt this squad. It’s a young team that has to say goodbye to a good senior crop, while also realizing that they can do great things together. A united, talented Robert Morris squad will be a force to reckon with next year.

If you would like to submit a question for the Q+A, just leave a comment in the most recent posting, even if your question has nothing to do with that post.

The Goucher College Gophers know now why many people picked the Robert Morris Colonials to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in over a decade. The D-3 school out of Maryland was no match for Tony Lee and the Colonials, as Bobby Mo rolled to an 83-38 victory at the Charles L. Sewall Center Saturday afternoon. Lee scored a career high 27 points in just 23 minutes of play and swiped six steals to boost his NEC leading average even higher.

Redshirt freshman Kelvin Bright scored a career high 13 points in 20 minutes, the most action he’s ever seen as a Colonial, while true freshman sharpshooter Jimmy Langhurst dropped in 14, his highest total. Also impressive off the bench, as always, was Iffy Ehirim, who stood his ground defensively with four rebounds, a steal, and two blocks while pitching in five points.

The performances by Bright and Langhurst were the most encouraging, as they were two players Coach Mark Schmidt wanted more out of to deepen his bench. With freshman guard Mezie Nwigwe, junior forward Colson Senat, and Ehirim already chewing up decent minutes off the bench, Schmidt wants more out of Bright, Langhurst, and 6’8 freshman forward Dallas Green as the season progresses. Green, a Dennis Rodman style player without the wild side, yanked down seven rebounds in sixteen minutes and chipped in five points from the free throw line.

Next up for the suddenly deeper Colonials: NEC foe Quinnipiac, as the Bobcats stroll into the Sewall Center Thursday night at 7pm. I’ll be there, so expect a full analysis after the game. If you can’t make it, listen live on WPIT 730AM or Yahoo!Sports.

Boxscore:

I hope everyone has recovered from Christmas, Boxing Day, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and the like – even if they’re still going on – and preparing for a brand new year. The Colonials are certainly raring to go, and they’ll get a pre-conference schedule tune-up with a matchup at the Chuckie Sewall Center on Saturday against D-3 Goucher College.

Some news and notes from the Sewall Center hardwood:

• Aaron “The House” Agnew will not play this season. The 6’10, 360 pound junior transfer from Iowa State broke his foot and will be out for the season. The Colonials are hoping to pass through a medical redshirt for the big-man, but for Agnew, eligibility is quickly becoming a factor. He’ll need to ease up on his credits to ensure he can play two full years at Bobby Mo.
• Redshirted seven-footer Bas Rozendaal is picking up the system in practice and should be a force next year. The gangly freshman is being pushed to the weight room to add some muscle to his lanky frame. An increased physical presence and a renewed focus on defense will help the Flying Dutchman makes his soft shooting touch even more important next year.
• With a win against Goucher, Colonials will be 8-1 in non conference play. That would tie a school record for non-conference wins.
• Since the game is against a D-3 team, expect to see A LOT of Iffy Ehirim and Mezie Nwigwe, as well as solid minutes from the likes of Jimmy Langhurst, Dallas Green, Eric Anthony, and Colson Senat. If the starters play more than 20 minutes a piece, I’ll be stunned.
• Listen live, as always, on WPIT-730 AM or the Robert Morris Colonials page on Yahoo!Sports

Finally, a shout out to a fellow blogger. The bottom link in the links section on the side of this page is to the “Black and Gold Blog,” one of the funniest all-purpose sports blogs out there. Adam Gretz is an accurate, humorous observer, especially about the Steelers. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

It took them nearly the whole month of December, but the Robert Morris Colonials seem to have finally found their shooting touch again. Bobby Mo shot a Canisius College arena record of 61.2% from the floor en route to an 81-77 victory over the Golden Griffins. AJ Jackson and Tony Lee both had 17 points to lead the Colonials, who improve to 7-3 with just one non-conference game left in the season before they try and right their 0-2 mark against the Northeast Conference. Lee shot a remarkable 100% from the floor, hitting all eight of his shots, including one three pointer. The high-flying junior also snagged 7 rebounds and two more steals to add to his league leading steals per game.

Mezie Nwigwe and Iffy Ehirim both played 20+ minutes off the bench, adding 12 and 7 points respectively. Robert Morris had the lead the entire game.

Box Score:

Robert Morris Colonials senior defensive end Ray Gensler was named to The Sports Network’s I-AA/FCS Third Team All American team today. Gensler was one of only four mid-major players named to the national teams. Duquesne WR Bruce Hocker joined Central Connecticut State running back Justise Hairston on the 2nd team, while QB Josh Johnson from mid-major champion San Diego was named to the third team.

I-AA/FCS champion Appalachain State had four players on the first team, which was headlined by New Hampshire wideout David Ball and Wildcats QB Ricky Santos. Ball broke the I-AA records for receptions and touchdowns held by some guy named Jerry Rice. Santos won this year’s Payton award recognizing the best player in I-AA/FCS football.

P.S. Those unaware of what FCS stands for…as of the playoffs, which just ended with App. State winning over UMass, I-AA and I-A football no longer exist. There’s now the BCS eligible teams – self explanatory – and the FCS teams. FCS stands for Football Championship Subdivision.

Just call it FCS, although no one will get in a tizzy if you continue to call it I-AA football.

Congratulations to Robert Morris Colonials junior guard Tony Lee for being named the Northeast Conference’s Choice Hotels Player of the Week. From the mothership:

Lee has stepped up his game considerably this season, and has been one of the key contributors in the Colonials’ 6-3 start. Last week, he tallied 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists as Robert Morris extended its non-conference home winning streak to nine with a 79-78 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday. Lee hit 9-14 shots from the floor, including 1-2 from three-point range, in the contest. The 23 points was one shy of his career-high 24-point effort against Monmouth on January 5, 2006. After the Penguins closed the lead to 71-70 with 3:16 left on the clock, Lee answered back with a conventional three-point play to push the lead back to four, then helped seal the win by hitting two free throws with 33 seconds remaining to make the score 79-74. A Boston, MA native, Lee leads the NEC with 2.8 spg, and also ranks second in field goal percentage (.587), sixth in assists (4.2 apg) and seventh in scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg).

Lee’s award is the third for the Colonials this season, following up two straight awards for F AJ Jackson. Colonials are back in action Wednesday in Buffalo NY to take on Canisius.

It’s not a conference win, but it’s a win, as Robert Morris hung on to defeat Youngstown State 79-78. The Colonials will take it, especially to partly wash out the nasty taste in their mouths after losing their first two NEC games. Robert Morris (6-3, 0-2) led by as much as 14, but the Penguins made things close late with a 9-1 run in the final few minutes.

Even more encouraging than the win was the fact that Bobby Mo found their shooting touch again. Tony Lee dropped in a team high 23, while Jeremy Chappell added 15. Freddie Harris played his most complete game, scoring a career high 16 points in thirty minutes of play.

The one dark cloud is the continued struggles of AJ Jackson, who fell into foul trouble early and ended up with just 7 points and 24 minutes. He did grab 7 boards though to lead RMU.

Iffy Ehirim also got into foul trouble, so the Colonials used Colson Senat and Dallas Green in place of those two, as well as the minutes Harris received. Mezie Nwigwe also snagged 10 minutes off the bench.

Next game is in Buffalo, NY versus MAAC opponent Canisius on December 20th.

Full stats:

A few tidbits related to the Colonials inside game prior to the home game tonight against Youngstown State:

• Iffy Ehirim’s four minute cameo against Wagner was just an aberration in an otherwise impressive first year at Robert Morris. The transfer from Birmingham Southern should continue to contribute quite a few minutes for Coach Schmidt’s Colonials.
• Freshman Dallas Green, a prized recruit from Indiana with an awesome afro, will start getting more minutes for the Colonials. He’s done well in practice and the Colonials could use his scrappiness when they go to a larger set with Ehirim, Jackson, Green, Chappell, and Coleman. He will need to bulk up as he progresses throughout his college years, but he possesses a Dennis Rodman style ball hawkishness that can only help Bobby Mo.
• The other prized big man recruit won’t be seeing action until January. Seven footer raw freshman Bas Rozendaal has already been red-shirted for the season, but 6’10 360 pound junior transfer Aaron “The House” Agnew has battled a host of injuries. He has not seen any action this season due to a hamstring injury suffered in preseason, and he’s now sidelined with a shoulder injury. Finally explains why the Colonials didn’t stick him in against Aaron Gray against Pitt. Agnew is expected to be fully healthy in time for the full slate of conference play beginning in January

After the game against Youngstown State on December 16th, Colonials Corner will remain relatively quiet over the break, well into January. The Colonials have games on the 21st and 30th of December, and I have no guarantees that I’ll be able to comment, let alone follow, those respective games. Full-fledged coverage will pick back up in January. Vacation comes rarely, and I’m taking it.

For the football freaks among you, I will keep an eye on the TSN All Americans, set to be announced this coming Monday. TE Jarvis Powers, KR Mario Hines, DE Ray Gensler, and DT Matt Brunck are all in contention. We’ll see if they make either of the three teams.

Until the YSU Penguin recap, I bid you all adieu.

The latest CollegeInsider poll has Robert Morris hanging on by their fingernails to their first ever Mid-Major national ranking. After storming into the national ranking at #14 last week, the Colonials lost two straight to NEC foes Sacred Heart and Wagner. The rankings come out every Monday.

http://www.midmajortop25.com/ to see who missed the cut or is gaining recognition. Full poll below: