Colonials Corner

Early portion of the week conflicts have kept Colonials Corner from personally attending many of the non-conference home games, including Sunday’s loss to Duquesne.

So, if you’re looking for a scapegoat for a lackluster start to the season, you can pin the blame on me. We can even get Mike Rice in to have me run suicides by my computer.

This is one of those games where you have to find some humor, because otherwise it’s just too depressing. The 88-62 loss has very little within that can be salvaged: No Rob Robinson, who was out with a knee injury suffered against CMU; worst shooting night of the year; worst defensive performance of the year statistically (Dukes shot 58.1); out-rebounded; out-muscled; out-hustled.

“When you don’t shoot and you don’t defend, that’s what happens,” Mike Rice said after the game on the official RMU website. “Defensively, we did some bizarre things, and when we decided to do those bizarre things, Duquesne did a good job in getting open and hitting three-pointers. Give Duquesne credit. They came in with a solid game plan and executed it perfectly.”

A rivalry game like this is nice to win, but maybe this is a year where Robert Morris wins around 17-18 games and gets it done late in the year in the NEC. Perhaps hoping for a strong non-conference schedule and a cakewalk through the conference, only to see them collapse late, is the wrong thing to wish for. It certainly seems that teams in the NEC that win the conference usually have a lot of things to fix early in the season.

In the meantime, Colonials Corner is going to be playing close attention to the trip to Xavier. We have a sneaking suspicion that Jeremy Chappell’s homecoming is going to provide for some interesting fireworks. Plus, we should be in attendance for the start of the NEC slate on the 3rd.

Moving into a new apartment has taken more time, energy, and responsibility away from my schedule than I would like.

You know that the Colonials won handily against Central Michigan. Know also that they’re not in action until after Christmas. Mike Rice said that they won’t practice during the holiday. So with little RMU news to work with, Colonials Corner is going to continue to take it easy while trying not to think of a return trip to Erie.

Seriously, have you seen that place recently? Mother Nature and Old Man Winter have conspired to turn it into the upper reaches of Siberia. Practically impassable.

So, Colonials Corner leaves you warm and snug in the Pittsburgh area with these holiday pieces of news:
- Chris Shovlin reported in the post-game show that Rob Robinson tweaked his knee on Saturday. No idea how severe it is. He’ll have time to rest, thankfully.
- Expect more minutes out of Dallas Green as time goes on. He had his coming out party on Saturday.
- Thomas Jefferson running back Brian Baldridge is one of several players being looked at by the Colonials. Brad Gore, a member of the McDowell Trojans in Erie, is a potential defensive lineman/linebacker being recruited by RMU.

Happy Holidays to you and yours. We’ll see you for Duquesne.

You might consider the win over Lafayette last year the official springboard for an impressive Colonials run en route to a 26-win season. They were 7-5, coming off a disappointing and lethargic loss to Duquesne. They didn’t have much of an identity.

And then, they went inside to AJ Jackson, let Jeremy Chappell work on the wings and shoot often, and piled up 23 assists in an 88-76 win.

Deja vu Wednesday night, this time in Lafayette. Chappell went 9-12 (3-4 from three-point range) for 24 points, Rob Robinson dumped in 15 despite shooting 1-8 from the charity stripe, and the Colonials won 83-70.

Perhaps it will be another springboard. Robert Morris has Central Michigan next at the Palace of Auburn Hills, followed by Duquesne and #9 Xavier. The Colonials should have beaten CMU last year but were without Chappell, and Duquesne is struggling after losing a lousy game to Old Dominion last night.

That leaves Xavier. Can the Musketeers be the Colonials’ 2008 Boston College? It’s a lot to task, especially on New Year’s Eve and considering Xavier is among the best teams in the country. But you never know.

Couple other tidbits from tonight’s game:
- Dallas Green played 7 minutes, and it’s pretty clear that he’s being slowly worked back into the rotation. His absence in the first semester had to do with Robert Morris and NCAA rules, and while he’s eligible again, you have to figure he’s still working his way out of Mike Rice’s doghouse. The good thing is that Dallas has the right type of personality to do it. While he does tend to pick up quick fouls, it’s because of his aggressive nature and tireless defending. He’ll be a key component once the calendar switches to 2009.

- Speaking of big men, Josiah Whitehead had another quiet but effective game. 18 minutes, 10 points, and he and Robinson combined to shutdown anyone over 6’3 on Lafayette’s roster.

- How in the world does the smallest guy on the floor, Jimmy Langhurst, finish with the second highest rebound total on either team? Langhurst had six, just behind Robinson’s 7, and the Colonials won the board battle 34-29.

- Saturday’s game versus Central Michigan is a 1:00 tipoff and is on 660 AM rather than 730 AM.

This may be the last time that the Colonials see an ACC opponent for a while. Two years running, they’ve taken a team to the brink. Only this time, Robert Morris couldn’t finish the job.

Jimmy Langhurst hit a late three pointer to pull Robert Morris within 2 points of the Miami Hurricanes and complete a comeback from 12 points down, but the #25 Hurricanes pulled away and withstood the late rally to win 70-62 in Miami.

RMU upset Boston College last year, and it looked early like they might pull a similar feat against the Canes. They led by 3 midway through the first quarter, but Miami went on a 24-9 run to finish the half and carry a 12 point lead into the break. But the Colonials closed within 2 with just over 6 minutes left in the game following Langhurt’s trey, only to get burned by a run of free throws by Jack McClinton.

The foul situation hurt the Colonials late, as not only were the Hurricanes at the line often, but RMU had to sit Rob Robinson, Gary Wallace, and Langhurst for much of the second half. Robert Morris tallied 26 total fouls, somewhat expected considering the home-court advantage for the ‘Canes. Miami had just nine, meanwhile had the opportunity to go 20-31 from the line.

Langhurst and Gary Wallace each had 13 to lead the Colonials. Jeremy Chappell had 12 but was just 5-18 from the floor. RMU fell to 4-5 on the year, Miami is 7-2. RMU travels to Lafayette on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, back at home, the Lady Colonials welcomed back Sade Logan but said goodbye to a 15-point lead as they dropped a 63-59 loss to Duquesne. Logan started, scored 20 points, played 39 minutes, but was just 7-22 from the floor (3-12 from three) in her first game back after shoulder surgery. Monet Johnson had 11 points, Monica Jones had 10, and the Colonials had a 40-26 lead at halftime. But unforced errors and a 22.6% shooting percentage in the 2nd half allowed Duquesne to crawl back and eventually take the lead.

RMU is now is now 3-5, while Duquesne is 7-3. The Colonials take on Akron in Ohio on Wednesday.

Lijah Thompson is switching high schools for the rest of senior year.

The new Colonials recruit left Monsignor Bonner for Communications Tech in Philadelphia. The Philly Daily News explains:

It didn’t take Thompson long to travel to CT, located in deep Southwest Philly. He lives within footsteps.

“I almost went there out of eighth grade. Everybody wanted me to,” he said. “I know all their players and coaches, and I’ve followed them through the years.”

Thompson said he was experiencing ongoing problems at Bonner over a personal issue.

“It was hard for me to deal with, and I didn’t want to put my mom through it anymore, either,” he said. “It was just time to go. Switching to a school real close to home just made the most sense. I talked with the Robert Morris coaches, and they were in favor of this, too.”

Thompson is immediately eligible to play for Communications Tech, which is a defending champion. The paper considered Thompson the #2 senior in the Catholic League before the transfer.

Couple things to get to:
- Sade Logan is still a week or two away. She had hoped to be back in time for the Duquesne game this weekend, but Eric Hall of the Beaver County Times reports that she’s not quite there yet. Might be looking towards after Christmas.

- That bit of news is at the bottom of Hall’s article on Rob Robinson, a quality read. Goes back to the last post, about remembering the progress and steps players need to take and complete before they become complete basketball players. Takes time, takes patience, and it takes dedication, from the players, the coaches, and the fans.

- Dallas Green might make his debut this weekend against Miami after missing the first semester due to academics. He’ll be needed – Miami has some quality big men – but he may only be used sparingly to start. He’ll be a bit rusty.

Commenter Bill asked about the negativity in the recent comments, wondering why fans on this site have been focusing on other factors rather than the awards being handed out to Robert Morris athletes.

A response:

Bill -
It’s the nature of sports fandom circa 2008. We are a critical society when it comes to sports, so over saturated with opinions and analysis that we forget what we actually enjoy about sports.

We live to break down those in front of us. Sure, in the sheer moment of something amazing happening, we’re ecstatic. Our team wins a championship – or even just a close game – or an athlete pulls of a phenomenal play. We go nuts (unless you’re in the press box, in which case you’re drawing blood as you bite down on your tongue).

And yet, when we sit back down in our chair or retrieve the dog from his hiding spot following our moment of ecstasy, we become critical.

Nowhere was this more evident than the hours following the Pittsburgh-Dallas NFL game on Sunday. Steelers fans and media members focused not on the fact that they won a remarkable game on Sunday, but on what went wrong. Roethlisberger holds on to the ball too much, where was Hines Ward, who the heck is Tashard Choice and why is he allowed to run on our #1 defense like that?

Never mind that Roethlisberger showed off his moxie by leading the comeback. Never mind Townsend’s remarkable interception. Never mind the fact that the Steelers showed remarkable poise in the final moments, something my Cowboys should be studying all week.

I watched the game on tape last night after being gone all day. I already knew the score, even knew what had happened to create the loss. Naturally, as a lifelong Dallas fan, I was disappointed. But as I watched, I saw a lot of good things that Dallas can build on and try and make a run. Won’t be easy, but there are things there.

Those aren’t being focused on today.

ESPN had an article up in a prominent spot on their website about the Dallas loss, saying the Cowboys were in horrible position to win a playoff spot now. Yet Dallas actually moved up into a playoff spot with the loss, as Atlanta also lost, freeing up the sixth and final NFC playoff spot for the Cowboys. Sure, the Cowboys have a tough schedule and will be hard pressed to stay in their spot, but for the time being, Dallas is in.

Doesn’t matter, says our sporting society. It’s not going to “stay” that way. It’s bound to “come crashing down”.

We are writing people, teams, and organizations off before giving them a chance. If they don’t produce immediate results, we are no longer patient as a sports viewing society – as a society in general – to allow them to grow and mature.

As I’ve watched this Colonials basketball team get off to an inconsistent start and observed the tepid reaction at the Sewall Center and here on Colonials Corner, I keep coming back to one question.

What happens next year? Better yet, what happens in two years? How will people react when Bateko Francisco and Jeremy Chappell leave next year? How will they react when five scholarship players depart the following year? Will they allow Karon Abraham, Russell Johnson, Lijah Thompson, Brad Piehl, Velton Jones, and five yet-to-be-determined players grow?

Or will there be an immediate demand for another run at the NEC? Sure, Robert Morris will contend in those years. But will they be as good of a team as they could be two years later, when those players are juniors and seniors? Highly doubtful. Will you be willing to wait for their development?

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if all of us were covered and discussed at the same level of athletes. Would we be as patient as we are now for a law student to acquire all the tools and experience she needs to become a successful lawyer? Or would we say, “She’s a selfish and ‘me-girl’, she doesn’t deserve it.”

Would we allow the young journalist to make some mistakes, turn in some weaker and less effective articles, even if it’s against the New York Times or Washington Post? Or would we say, eight articles in, that “he’s a disappointment. Not what I expected at all.”

How you answer that could probably say a lot about your perspective. Which sports fan are you? The Tampa Bay Rays fan who exploded in joy when his team made the World Series after years of losing? Or the disgruntled Steelers fan calling talk shows, yelling about Bruce Arians being a moron despite being a fan of the best team in the AFC?

The first is in the vast minority right now. The first is being drowned out by the second. That’s why there’s a rash of negativity, Bill.

A commenter in the last day or so was clamoring for Rob Robinson to force himself onto the scene for the Colonials.

He may have taken the first step tonight.

Robinson scored 15 points to lead the Colonials to an 81-70 win over Long Island. The junior transfer from the Globe Institute had been quieter than expected in the first couple weeks of the season. He sat out the first two games while serving a suspension, and he didn’t seem quite comfortable on the floor. It was most evident in his shooting percentage. Despite getting shots close to the basket, Robinson still struggled to get the ball to drop in.

Not so last night. Robinson was 7-10 from the floor and sparked several runs for the Colonials, who led 39-27 at halftime. Gary Wallace and Jimmy Langhurst each added 13 points, and eight of the nine Colonials to play scored.

Perhaps the most striking stats? Jeremy Chappell shot the ball four times – 3 of 4 – for 9 points and the team shot 56% as a whole.

The things Mike Rice wanted to see change?

Fewer turnovers – only 11.
More ball movement – 24 assists.
Better shot selection – again, 56% shooting, including 50% from beyond the arc.
Fewer fouls – 16, no one with 4.

Updates:
Tribune Review recap.
Mike Rice credits Bateko Francisco with shutting down LIU’s Jaytornah Wisseh in the Post Gazette.
“Wisseh thrives on getting to the paint. He’s so quick, he beats your [defensive] help. But Bateko flattened him out. He contained him. We’re a much better team when we take away the point guard and he’s not creating.”

And Robinson in the PG on his game so far this year:
“I really needed this game,” Robinson said. “I haven’t played to my full potential yet.”

Gary Wallace looked up at the assembled media in the press room and summed up the event’s proceedings.

“He was shooting from the volleyball line and hitting nothing but net. He would’ve shot them from half court if they let him.”

“He” was Stefan Perunicic, and after a 10-14 shooting night that included a 7-11 performance from three-point land, the Colonials will have nightmares of awkward yet flawless threes dropping in over their heads.

Perunicic and the rest of the Terriers rode an astonishing 68% three-point night to a 87-79 win over RMU at the Sewall Center. RMU falls to 3-4 on the year, 0-1 in the NEC with Long Island awaiting on Saturday.

Remember the NHL’s marketing campaign last year, featuring a bunch of NHL stars messing around in a hotel room? Alexander Ovechkin orders a bunch of room service meals and sends it to Penguins’ star Sidney Crosby’s room. Crosby gets the order, turns, and utters “Ovechkin!”

The Colonials felt Crosby’s pain.

“I’ve never seen 3′s hit like that before,” Mike Rice said after the game. “Out of his 7, maybe 5 were on great defense.”

Indeed, the Colonials often challenged St. Francis shooters. Terriers coach Brian Nash said that his team focused on driving into the paint to try and free up shooters, and while they certainly had opportunities, they were uncannily red hot from beyond the newly lengthened stripe.

Perunicic was the main culprit. He shot over Jeremy Chappell. He shot over Gary Wallace. He shot over Josiah Whitehead. With one foot out towards the basket, the ball high over his head, and his lithe 6’6 body sprawling backwards, Perunicic looked like he was a 4-year old attempting to do ballet. Yet the shot fell nearly every single time, and it had the Sewall Center in disbelief.

Of course, Robert Morris didn’t help their cause. Jeremy Chappell scored 22 points, but led a cavalcade of rushed shots in the second half. The Colonials shot a respectable 48.3% – 55.6% beyond the arc – in the first half, but watched it plummet to 37.1% and 21.4% in the second half. Poor shot selection and the sheer number of St. Francis 3′s – again, 17-25 for the game, 8-11 in the 2nd half – combined with a few untimely fouls to spin the game away from RMU.

Jimmy Langhurst added 11, Mezie Nwigwe added 11, and Josiah Whitehead added 12.

No surprise to the names, but they are finally official.

Karon Abraham, Lijah Thompson, and Brad Piehl all signed letters of intent to play hoops for the Colonials in 2009-2010.

You can read Mike Rice’s comments on each player in the official release.

That should wrap up the scholarships for 2009-2010, as Russell Johnson will get one as well. Velton Jones already has one and will be ready for the start of the year.

That leaves depth as looking a little like this:
F – Rob Robinson (Sr), Brad Piehl (Fr)
F – Josiah Whitehead (Sr), Will Royal (So), Lijah Thompson (Fr)
F – Dallas Green (Sr), Mezie Nwigwe (Sr), Russell Johnson (So.)
G – Jimmy Langhurst (Sr), Khalif Foster (R. So)
G – Gary Wallace (Jr), Velton Jones (So.), Karon Abraham (Fr)

Very much a senior laden team next year, so I think the Colonials tried to finish 2009 recruiting now so they can go out and and focus on the five scholarships that will open up for 2010-2011. If they signed LOIs, that means the three new Colonials are in strong enough academic situations to be approved and accepted into RMU. They just need to make sure they finish classes on time and continue doing well with their academics in order to avoid any snafu’s with the NCAA Clearinghouse like Velton Jones unfortunately experienced late in the fall.