Moved!

Just wanted to get a new address.

http://www.doreposts.com/

See you soon!

Vandy's Loss is Looking Better Already

Well, at least Vanderbilt's meltdown against Cincinnati already looks better. The Bearcats took down Maryland 69-57 tonight in the semifinal of the Maui Invitational. Hopefully we'll see them hoisting the trophy tomorrow night. People seemed to think that Cincy was a sneaky threat to win the Big East. Their early results seem to support that.
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Vanderbilt Commodores 68, Chaminade Silverswords 41 - 11/24/09

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As thousands of Commodore fans are itching to leave work and embark on a long Thanksgiving weekend, most are doing a quick check to make sure Vandy took care of business against Division II Chaminade. On the surface, a 68-41 victory is very reassuring. In reality, it was two games rolled into one. At halftime, the 'Dores were clinging to a 6-point lead, and nobody seemed happy about the way things were going. The ESPN guys mentioned that Vandy looked asleep like 30 times. The whole team looked passive and that they were mailing this one in. In front of a crowd reminiscent to a middle school game, you could hear Coach Stallings clearly barking at his players. When Brad Tinsley made a silly decision on a drive, you could hear an audible, "What's wrong with passing to the open guy?" Maybe I'm wrong, but at halftime the Vanderbilt locker room must have been the most miserable place on the entire island.

Things finally clicked with 15 minutes left to play. Leading 38-34, Vanderbilt went on a crazy run and outscored Chaminade 24-0 over the next 10 minutes. With 5 minutes left to play, the 'Dores led 62-34 with the game no longer in doubt. With a renewed defensive effort, the Silverswords were held to only 15 points in the 2nd Half. It's hard to know what to take away from this game. I think we'll know a lot more from tomorrow's game against the winner of Arizona/Colorado. Let's just all agree that a game at 830am in Hawaii against a DII school builds character and leave it at that.

Just a quick note about one player:

John Jenkins

Jenkins led the 'Dores with 14 points, including four 3's. He hit some clutch shots to help the team break away from Chaminade. The freshman's confidence seems to be growing and you are starting to see glimpses of why he never scored fewer than 30 points in any game last season. Also, does anybody wanna bet that he starts tomorrow over Tinsley? If not, it has to be coming soon, right? Tinsley isn't hitting shots and seems to be a reckless in his play. My prediction is that if its not tomorrow, Jenkins will be starting against Missouri next week.
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Vanderbilt Commodores 58, Cincinnati Bearcats 67 - 11/23/09

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You always here about "Big East basketball". I guess Vanderbilt got a first-hand introduction to it tonight. Cincinnati seemed to be annoying the Commodores at every opportunity. The Bearcats got a piece of the ball on seemingly all of Vandy's attempts to take the ball to the hole. Vanderbilt shot an incredible 26.9% from the field. That's...REALLY bad. The rebounding category was also embarrassing. The 'Dores were out rebounded 42-27. In all, Vanderbilt seemed to be bullied/pushed around/dominated in a 67-58 loss in the opening round in the Maui Invitational. After 10 minutes of play, the good guys were only 1-12 shooting. Trailing by 12 at halftime was too much to overcome. Vandy outscored the Bearcats by 3 in the 2nd, but that poor stop was too much to overcome.

I guess every team has games like this. The entire game was simply brutal to watch as a fan. I had to make myself keep watching a number of times. I had to run a family errand at halftime, and I was not disappointed that the 2nd half started while I was in the car. The soothing sounds of Joe Fisher didn't help. How do you explain this feeling to people who don't care about sports? A game that may be meaningless in the long-run, but feels like you got punched in the face while it was happening.

Here are a few quick thoughts about the 5 Commodores that stood out to me:

Jeffery Taylor

He gave an extremely high effort all night. It seemed like he was super aggressive in the 1st Half, almost to the point of forcing things. Taylor started off the 2nd scoring a few buckets and getting to the line. He win 2-7 from the floor and finished with 11/7. The prospect just didn't have it all together tonight.

A.J. Ogilvy

Things looked better tonight. His energy level was higher, which showed in a couple really nice hustle plays. AJ made an incredible block on an open floor dunk attempt. Ogilvy finished with a 13/5 on an efficient 7-9 shooting. Better, but in the end it didn't matter.

Brad Tinsley

Where was he at? 0-5 shooting, no points, and one assist. He did have two turnovers, which is nice. He took three open 3's, but couldn't hit anything. I was hoping he would give the team a spark in the 2nd Half, but no such luck.

John Jenkins

It seemed like the 'Dores ran a few different sets to specifically get Jenkins an open look. In the end, he didn't disappoint. He scored 11 points on 50% shooting, including 3-6 from behind the arc. Excluding his stats, the Commodores only managed 2-13 from 3-point range. For all you non-math majors (including me), that 15%. Where's the button for a cringe face? Yeesh. It seems like JJ is getting more and more comfortable on the floor. A positive sign for the rest of the season.

Jermaine Beal

The 'Dores leading scorer with 16, Beal seemed to take a LOT of bad shots. He was 4-11 from the floor, and only 2-7 on 3's. I know he was trying to jumpstart the offense, but maybe he was trying a little too hard. Sometimes a leader needs to know when to back down and get others involved. He had 3 steals and only 1 assist. When the shots aren't following, its time to turn into Brevon Knight.

Maybe I just got my hopes up too high for this tournament. I'll just say this: If I would have paid for a trip out to Hawaii to watch the 'Dores, I would have walked over and ask Coach Stallings for a reimbursement after this mess. Now we have to go through the motions tomorrow against Chaminade. I mean...Chaminade. That's a no-win situation. Let's just say there's not going to be a preivew of that game. We should win by 30, and that's that.
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Vanderbilt, Welcome to the top 25!

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As Vanderbilt gets ready to face Cincinnati in the Maui Invitational, they will do so as the 24th ranked team in the country. In both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches and Associated Press polls released today, the Commodores made their first appearance in the rankings.

The 'Dores are a 4-point favorite in today's contest.
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Thoughts before tomorrow's Vandy/Cincinnati game

After a fantastic victory over Saint Mary's, Vanderbilt landed in the Aloha State to take part in the Maui Invitational. With Maryland waiting in the semifinal and Gonzaga/Arizona likely in the final, the Commodores first have to get through Cincinnati.

In a deep Big East conference, Cincinnati was picked 7th in the preseason coaches poll. Beyond that, many experts consider the Bearcats a darkhorse pick to win the conference. As of now, they have no national respect, not receiving any votes in the AP or Coaches polls. The buzz however is that growing, especially with the addition of highly touted/controversial recruit Lance Stephenson.

In a complicated recruiting trail, Lance had been linked to Kansas, St. John's, Maryland, Arizona, but somehow ended up at Cincinnati. The New York prep star has two major scandals hanging over his reputation. The all-time New York career scoring leader was arrested for groping a 17-year-old in school. Also, on a recruiting trip to Maryland, he was given a tour of Under Armour headquarters. Since the CEO was a Maryland grad/booster, the NCAA was non to happy. The underlying though seems to be that a lot of teams didn't want to have anything to do with him. Stephenson wasn't cleared to play by the NCAA until November. The team seems to have a general gag order on him, but he said all the right things in a statement.

“I am happy to be able to put this behind me,” he said. “Since I committed to the Bearcats in the summer, all I have wanted to do was get here and start playing ball with my teammates. I want to thank everyone that has given me encouragement and support during this, especially my family, coaches and teammates. They have been with me every step.”

In their first two games, the Bearcats shot horribly from beyond the arc. The team shot 30% on a lot of shots (17-56). If you see a bunch a 3's go down quickly, Vandy may be in for a long night. The Bearcats seem to go about 8-9 deep, so hopefully the 'Dores can wear them down a bit. One of their guards Deonta Vaughn put up a nice line in their last game. He finished with 13 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds. The senior point guard seems to be the floor leader and should be the focus of Beal/Tinsley.

* As a quick side note/rant, the Cincy Athletics site doesn't have updated stats on the team. So when you click on the stats link, it takes you to the 08/09 numbers! Then when you finally find a link to this year's stats, it still says 08/9. How's an unpaid blogger supposed to get by on this?! Thanks for nothing Cincinnati athletic department.

In a fun story from Maui, if life imitates art, er electronics, then Vandy is in good shape in Hawaii. In an EA Sports XBOX 360 promo, Darshawn McClellan defeated a Gonzaga player to win the NCAA Tournament challenge. (Read the full story here) The 'Dores are truly hitting on all cylinders. I was hoping to see Coach Stallings calling plays behind Darshawn, but no such luck.

To be honest, I would be very disappointed with a loss against the Bearcats. This is very winnable, and a loss would cause the Dores to miss out on two addional quality games. A win tomorrow afternoon makes this team better prepared for March. A loss to Cincy results in loser bracket games against host Chaminade and either Colorado/Wisconsin. A win on the other hand means Maryland in the semi and either Arizona/Gonzaga in the Final or Consolation. Regardless of what happens, it will be nice to watch Vanderbilt on national television tomorrow afternoon.

My non-expert pick: Vandy takes care of business: 73-64
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Vanderbilt Commodores 72, St. Mary's Gaels – 11/20/09

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Yeesh, that was close. In a game full of streaky play, St. Mary's missed a 3 at the buzzer to fall to the 'Dores 72-70. Vanderbilt rallied from an 8-point 1st Half deficit to lead by a point at halftime. Coach Stallings played 11 in the half trying to find a lineup that get things started. This team has great depth. Vandy opened the 2nd Half with a 17-4 run, only to be answered by a 13-2 run by the Gaels. Now is a good enough time as any to mention that Omar Samham from St. Mary's is a beast. Samham went for 25 points, 18 rebounds, and was a defensive presence the entire night. He and sharpshooter Matthew Dellavedova almost won the game by themselves. The Commodores held a 5-6 point lead for the majority of the 2nd Half. The most discouraging thing from the game was the Commodore's free throw shooting in the final 90 seconds. Jermaine Beal, Steve Tchiengang, and Brad Tinsley combined for a scary 1-6 from the line to close out the game. Jeffery Taylor had a brain lapse in the final seconds, which allowed the Gaels an open shot for the win. St. Mary's had every opportunity to win. Overall, this was a clutch win for the team. As Stallings said in his post-game radio show, this win will look very good at the end of the year.

Here are a few quick thoughts about the 5 Commodores that stood out to me:

Jeffrey Taylor

Taylor was the clear choice for player of the game. The radio guys kept saying that nobody on the court for the Gaels could guard him. He ended up with 19/7/2 and went 6-12 from the floor. It's hard not to keep getting more and more excited about him. You can hear Stallings get excited when he's talking about him. He dunked a few times tonight that almost gave the radio guy a stroke.

A.J. Ogilvy

When I wrote the last game recap, I thought I was being hard on the big Aussie. I was excited to hear what the radio guys from Vandy would say about him tonight. Well here's a list of things I wrote down as the game went on: "flat-footed, non-factor, giving them absolutely nothing tonight" When Festus Ezeli fouled out late in the game, Vandy announcer said Stallings should put in Tchiengang. No offense to Steve, but you NEVER want to hear that if your AJ. When AJ came back into the game with about 3:30 left to play, here's what transpired in 4 possessions: took an apparent horrible shot, abused on defense, non-factor, had to foul on defense. Stallings pulled him quickly. Is it bad to say that I hope he is still having problems from the concussion? If not, he is regressing. I'm expecting a lot in Maui.

John Jenkins

The freshmen played some key minutes in the 2nd Half. He hit a huge shot to stop a Gaels run midway through the period; then nailed a huge 3 under 6 minutes to give the 'Dores a 6-point lead. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting in 18 minutes. I think we're all watching him closely and he's impressed me so far.

Andre Walker

There was a compelling story written this week about the tragedy that Walker went through last season. (Read it here) Afterword, it's hard not to really root for this kid. He had a fantastic game, finishing with an efficient 14 points on 6-8 shooting. It seemed like Vandy was just hanging on in the 1st, but Walker soon changed things. He jump started the Commodores in the 2nd Half with 8 quick points and put the Gaels on their heels.

Jermaine Beal

Leading by 3 with 90 seconds to play, Beal headed to the line for a 1/1. Last year Beal shot 82% from the line in SEC conference games, so you had the best guy for the job at the stripe. Our floor general, senior leader, you expected him to step up and make the contest a two possession game. Instead he missed the front end and gave St Mary's a chance to tie. Beal was fantastic otherwise. He had 16 points on the night and a few plays that really got the radio crew going. Even though Tinsley led the team with 8 assists, Beal seemed to get other players involved just as effectively.

You have to be impressed with a team that goes on the road and wins in a hostile environment. Especially when the game finishes at 12:30am Vandy time. Now it's time to go to Maui and have a chance to play on a national stage. ESPN2, here we come!
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Thoughts before tonight's Vandy/Saint Mary's Game

Before I get started, for a really good basketball breakdown of tonight's matchup, please visit Vanderbilt Sports Line or the Official Vandy Athletic Site.

Tonight will be the first meeting between the two schools. The Gaels seem to have rebounded well from the loss of premier guard Patrick Mills. SMC opened with two blowout wins over questionable opponents New Mexico State and San Diego State. In his first time in the starting five, redshirt Aussie senior Ben Allen finished with a near triple double. He went for 17/10/9 against NMSU and was named WCC player of the week. The Gaels received a couple votes in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Vandy is sitting 28th/29th in the two respective polls.

If you are trying to watch the game, good luck. You can click here and watch if for about $8. Not a bad price, but I'll just listen for free on 104.5 the Zone.

Vandy scheduled this game to play a quality opponent on their way to Maui. I linked to a blog post by ESPN's Andy Katz that spelled out the importance of this game for Saint Mary's. Vandy can lose this game and still have ample opportunity to impress the NCAA tournament committee. The Gales have much more urgency tonight. After the Vandy game, the only other chance at a signature non-conference win for the Gales is at Oregon or making a run at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii. They'll play Gonzaga twice (maybe 3 if they meet in the WCC tournament), but that's about it. SMC finished last season at 27-6, but that was only good for a NIT bid. Vandy should be good enough this year, that a win tonight might make the difference for them in March. I know its super early to be thinking of March, but mid-majors have to make the most out of every chance they have. Don't be surprised if a motivated team/crowd is too much for the 'Dores to handle.

If Vandy easily handles the Gaels tonight, we know we're on the verge of something special this season. If we fly to Maui with a loss, we have a quick chance to rebound against Cincinnati. Surprisingly to me, Vegas has the Gaels as 5-point favorite! To be realistic, this is a win-win game for Vanderbilt. Even with a loss, you can blame it on a great team and a 10:30 Central start time.

My non-expert pick: Gaels win a close one: 83-80-
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Daily Links

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Barca Blog with a short interview with hyped freshman John Jenkins

Encouraging quote from Jenkins about his role on the team:

“I’m not called upon to score as many points as I did in high school. I'm just trying to play the game and do whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do whether it’s scoring, rebounding, or taking charges. I’ll do all the dirty work. Whatever it takes to win."

Excellent Vandy-St. Mary's preview at Vandy Sports Line

Register through Vandy Official site for 2 free tickets to UK-Vandy

Thanksgiving Tournament for Vandy Women's team is 100% free for all fans

Bryan Mullen on the UT/Vandy Football game
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SEC Basketball Recap - 11/18/09

A few of the story lines from this week in the SEC.

Tennessee barley escaped UNC-Asheville on Tuesday night. UT only managed a 75-point margin of victory. Geez, I don't care if your playing a high school team. 75 points is incredible. The Vols are 2-0 and ranked 10th in the AP poll.

Kentucky on the other hand barley did escape with a victory. Freshmen sensation John Wall hit a last-second shot to help the Wildcats slip by Miami of Ohio 72-20. The Wildcats will get another test on Saturday, as Rider comes to town confident after handling Mississippit State earlier this week.

LSU is off to a fast 3-0 start, with a solid victory over Western Kentucky in the NIT tipoff. Things get really interesting next week, as the Tigers travel to Storrs to face UConn. Connecticut is 12th in the country and will be a good measuring stick for the SEC.

Georiga suffered a seeminly horible loss to Wofford. However, Wofford only lost by 3 at Pittsburgh, so it might not be as bad as it looks. The Bulldogs have a very winnable game against UAB and then two cupcakes. Don't judge this team too quickly.

Overall, the SEC is 17-5 to start the season.
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SI.com - Maui Invitational Preview

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Luke Winn of SI.com wrote a brief preview of 10 holiday tournaments, including the Maui Invitational. A couple things that jumped out to me.
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"The Invitational doesn't have its traditional blockbuster field, and a solid-but-not-spectacular Gonzaga team is the de facto headliner. But the fivesome of Arizona, Cincinnati, Maryland, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin contains at least one surprise team for '09-10 -- I'm just not sure yet which team it is."

I think that sums things up pretty well. You could easily be watching 4 teams that will advance beyond the Sweet 16.

The fun thing for 'Dores fans is his championship prediction.

The Pick: Vanderbilt over Maryland

"The 'Dores should be a bit farther along than anyone else in Maui, given that they were able to take a five-game tour of Australia in August. And whereas the Terps struggle from beyond the arc, in Beal, Jenkins and Brad Tinsley, Vandy has a backcourt that all should shoot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc."

Other than the fact that Maryland and Vandy would play in the 2nd round, I'm exciting about this. As a Vandy fan, you take what you can. Who cares if the writer didn't look at the tourney bracket? At least he giving Vandy some attention.
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Daily Links

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Box Score and AP Recap on ESPN.com

Jeff Lockridge of the Tennessean describes the physical nature of the game

David Rutz of InsideVandy.com described the 'Dores as sluggish, but too talented to lose

Andy Katz of ESPN.com talk about Vandy's next opponent - Saint Mary's (Scroll to 6:32 update)

From last week: Commodores sign guard Kyle Fuller, center Josh Henderson, and forward Rod Odom
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Vanderbilt Commodores 95, Lipscomb Bisons 73 – 11/16/09

Everybody can agree that early season polls really don’t mean anything. That is, unless your favorite team is a part of one. After one week, Vanderbilt was ranked in the top 30 in the coaches and media poll. With local radio debating whether this team is Coach Stallings’ best ever, and ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb picking Vandy as his national sleeper, I wanted to see this team take care of business in its home debut.

According to CBS Sportsline, Lipscomb had been picked second in the league's preseason media poll. The league's coaches took it a step farther, picking the school to win the conference tournament and automatic NCAA tournament bid. Earlier this week, preseason SEC media darling Mississippi State suffered an unexpected loss to Rider. Lipscomb could easily play the role of spoiler and quickly dash the hype surrounding the ‘Dores.

Winning by 22, Vanderbilt officially declared themselves ready for the challenge. Lipscomb trailed by only 7 at halftime, but the game never seemed to be in jeopardy. The Bisons seemed to be a well coached team, but had no answer for the hot shooting of the Commodores. Vandy shot 64% in the 2^nd half to end any hopes of an upset.

Here are a few quick thoughts about the 5 Commodores that stood out to me:

Jeffrey Taylor

Unfortunately we may only be seeing this kid in a Vandy uniform for two more years. He’s becoming a true NBA prospect and tonight was clear indication why. Taylor went for 20/7 and made it look effortless. He’s athletic, graceful, and explosive. Easily the best player on the court. He’ll make opposing teams stay on their heels defensively and should really open things up on the perimeter.

Jermaine Beal

Beal instantly led the team into action tonight. An article in the Tennessean said that Stallings was counting on Beal to establish himself and become the face of this team. Tonight, he scored 12 of his 17 in the 1^st half and helped Vandy get out of the gates quickly. It’s never a bad thing to have a senior leader running the point.

A.J. Ogilvy

I know he’s the guy with all the potential. The problem is that every time I watch him play, the same words come into my mind: Slow, Lumbering, Clumsy, and Lethargic. Don’t get me wrong, I really like him. He just always seems to bring the ball down and get stripped, commit silly fouls, or make uncoordinated looking moves to the basket. Ogilvy didn’t start tonight, with the AP story citing a concussion that he suffered a few months ago. He had 13 points and 9 rebounds, so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining.

John Jenkins

After averaging over 42 points a game in high school, I was extremely excited to see what Jenkins was all about. You could tell that the rest of the crowd felt the same way. I think the biggest ovation of the night was when Jenkins hit his first 3. Jenkins scored 7 points, playing only 16 minutes. The thing that struck me the most was his patience. For a player that routinely scored 50 last season, he seemed very content and stayed within the bounds of the offense. Nothing seemed forced and nothing appeared to be selfish. I’m sure he wanted to start out better than his 1-5 3pt shooting, but his impressive reverse layup will be all that fans remember from his debut.

Brad Tinsley

The ‘Dores started both Tinsley and Beal, which seemed to work out perfectly. Tinsley scored 10 points in a team-high 30 minutes. As a fan, you feel safe when the ball is in his hands. I’m not sure how to explain in any better than that. He shot the ball well (80%) and made a number of effective drives to the basket. He was only credited with 3 assists, but it felt like he created many more opportunities than that.

Photos from InsideVandy.com

On Friday the team has a tough road game against Saint Mary’s, followed by a trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational. In the tournament, Vanderbilt will need to go through Cincinnati and Maryland to reach the championship game. There, they would likely face Gonzaga or Arizona. Either way, the trip gives the ‘Dores a great chance to gain national respect.