When you think of college sports, bowling might not come to mind. However, Men's' and Women's' Bowling are both sanctioned sports of the NCAA.
Last week, Fairleigh Dickinson University, a school of 6,000 students located in Teaneck, NJ, won a National Championship in Women's' Bowling by defeating Nebraska in a best of seven game series. The match was televised by ESPN. The Knights won the last two games of an extremely tight best of seven match to win their first title since 2006.
In the NCAA Championships, the Baker system was used. It's a system in which a team's five bowlers rotate through frames. The second game was tied until Nebraska left the seventh and eighth frames open. FDU took advantage and rolled two strikes to win that game 209-167. Nebraska won the next two games. Nebraska "rolled" the Knights 221-167 in the first game. That prompted FDU Head Coach Mike LoPresti to instruct his team to use different balls to adapt to the lanes.
The Corn huskers went ton to win the next two games and game 5 by the score of 221-201. FDU won the next game tying the series 3-3. In the deciding game, FDU Sophomore Kristina Mickelson, who entered the match in the second game, rolled two key strikes. Her teammate, Canadian Vickie Calberry, did the same thing. FDU Senior Erica Perez closed out the match and sealed the victory for the Knight s as she knocked down the last three pins, sparking a jubilant celebration last Saturday night for FDU. Perez is a native of Carteret, NJ, about 10 miles from the Brunswick Zone Caroller Lanes where the Championship was being held. The final score in game seven was 208-174 in favor of FDU.
"It was a perfect ending to a dream come true," Perez said. This was only the second time in the tournament's seven year history that the championship match went to seven games. "What a privilege everyone had here tonight," FDU Head Coach Mike LoPresti said. "This was, in my opinion, the best NCAA match ever."
Minor collegiate sports like bowling are hardly noticed by the fans and the media. Yours truly would not have known about it had he not watched some of the replay on ESPN last Sunday, April 11. The student-athletes who participate in these sports deserve to be recognized just as much as those who play the major, high visibility sports. We aim to do that here at kgussports.blogspot.com. For more info on this story, the reader can go to www.ncaachampionships.com.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
NCAA Stands For "No Celebrating Athletic Achievement"
Yesterday, the NCAA made it official that they would penalize any player who makes a "taunting" gesture while running to score a touchdown. This can be things like high-stepping into the end zone and other gestures of celebration. Most of you have watched NFL games and seen those celebrations. Those displays of celebration won't be tolerated in NCAA College Football.
I don't have a problem with penalties for "hot doggin it". I don't like it. It's silly. The Miami Hurricane teams of the late 80s and early 90s started all of this in my opinion. However, I do have a problem with taking away the touchdown. The NCAA is saying they will nullify the touchdown if the player, while running to score, does a celebration display before he reaches the end zone. They call it a "Live Ball Penalty".
Come on now! They earned the TD. No one could catch them. Just penalize them on the next kick off like they've already been doing.
The NCAA is also giving the officials the freedom to make a "judgement call", meaning if they feel it warrants a penalty, they can call it. Pointing in the air to thank God for the touchdown, as one player did during last year's Georgia/LSU game, does not in my mind define a celebration display. However, if the official sees it differently, he can rule that it does and take away the rightly earned touchdown. Just penalize on the kick off. Don't become the "No Celebrating Athletic Achievement Association".
I don't have a problem with penalties for "hot doggin it". I don't like it. It's silly. The Miami Hurricane teams of the late 80s and early 90s started all of this in my opinion. However, I do have a problem with taking away the touchdown. The NCAA is saying they will nullify the touchdown if the player, while running to score, does a celebration display before he reaches the end zone. They call it a "Live Ball Penalty".
Come on now! They earned the TD. No one could catch them. Just penalize them on the next kick off like they've already been doing.
The NCAA is also giving the officials the freedom to make a "judgement call", meaning if they feel it warrants a penalty, they can call it. Pointing in the air to thank God for the touchdown, as one player did during last year's Georgia/LSU game, does not in my mind define a celebration display. However, if the official sees it differently, he can rule that it does and take away the rightly earned touchdown. Just penalize on the kick off. Don't become the "No Celebrating Athletic Achievement Association".
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Pitcher Throws Perfect Game
It is an event in Baseball that rarely happens even at the Major League level. But for Senior Trey Krier, a pitcher on the Mount Marty College Baseball Team, the rare event became a reality. Last Saturday, Krier became the 19th pitcher in NAIA history to pitch a perfect game as he led the Lancers to a 5-0 shutout of Briar Cliff College (IA). Mount Mary went on to sweep the two game series as they won game two 15-11.
One amazing thing about the perfect game performance is that Krier drew 10 fly balls on a day when the wind was blowing straight out to Center Field. During game two, 5 home runs were hit and 26 runs were scored between the two teams. Mount Marty catcher Josh Wenande described it this way: "That’s definitely not the way you would draw it up with the wind blowing like it was, but he, with his change up, he was getting a lot of balls,” Wenande said.
Being that it was a DH, both games only went 7 innings. MMC's Josh Damewood led off the top of the second inning with a home run. Krier struck out two of three batters in the bottom frame, and Mount Mary scored two more runs in the third. As the fifth inning rolled around, Krier still had not allowed a hit or walk. The Briar Cliff team sensed they were about to be on the wrong end of history. "The first time I really thought about it was the fifth inning. Briar Cliff was kinda getting wound up about being no-hit,” Mount Mary Catcher Josh Wenande said. “In the sixth, they were really talking.”
When the game reached the bottom 7th , both pitcher and catcher began to realize just what was taking place. “I’ve never really been nervous out there pitching, but I was pretty shaken out there for a little bit,” Krier said. Wenande had caught no hitters before, but the highest level was Pewee League. He wanted to make sure he made the right pitch calls. “I never had any trouble until the last hitter, just with pitch-calling,” Wenande said. "Here is the perfect game, and I want to call an inside fastball, but things are going through my mind. Is (the batter) going to hit it? Is (Krier) going to leave the ball over the middle of the plate and the guy get a base hit or something?”
After the final out, Wenande didn't know how to celebrate. "I’m kinda running out there not really knowing ... Do I jump up and down? Do I scream and yell, knowing with that second game was coming up,” he said. “The coaching staff did a good job of keeping us focused.” Unfortunately for Briar Cliff starter Nathanael Olson, he would get the loss in spite of striking out 10 batters in the game.
As mentioned earlier, Mount Marty went on to win game two of the DH 15-11, thus sweeping the two game series against Briar Cliff. Mount Marty, an NAIA school in Yankton, SD, competes in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). They have an overall record of 20-8 and 7-1 in GPAC play. They travel to Blair, NE Saturday for a DH against GPAC opponent Dana College. For more information on this story, you can go to www.naia.org.
One amazing thing about the perfect game performance is that Krier drew 10 fly balls on a day when the wind was blowing straight out to Center Field. During game two, 5 home runs were hit and 26 runs were scored between the two teams. Mount Marty catcher Josh Wenande described it this way: "That’s definitely not the way you would draw it up with the wind blowing like it was, but he, with his change up, he was getting a lot of balls,” Wenande said.
Being that it was a DH, both games only went 7 innings. MMC's Josh Damewood led off the top of the second inning with a home run. Krier struck out two of three batters in the bottom frame, and Mount Mary scored two more runs in the third. As the fifth inning rolled around, Krier still had not allowed a hit or walk. The Briar Cliff team sensed they were about to be on the wrong end of history. "The first time I really thought about it was the fifth inning. Briar Cliff was kinda getting wound up about being no-hit,” Mount Mary Catcher Josh Wenande said. “In the sixth, they were really talking.”
When the game reached the bottom 7th , both pitcher and catcher began to realize just what was taking place. “I’ve never really been nervous out there pitching, but I was pretty shaken out there for a little bit,” Krier said. Wenande had caught no hitters before, but the highest level was Pewee League. He wanted to make sure he made the right pitch calls. “I never had any trouble until the last hitter, just with pitch-calling,” Wenande said. "Here is the perfect game, and I want to call an inside fastball, but things are going through my mind. Is (the batter) going to hit it? Is (Krier) going to leave the ball over the middle of the plate and the guy get a base hit or something?”
After the final out, Wenande didn't know how to celebrate. "I’m kinda running out there not really knowing ... Do I jump up and down? Do I scream and yell, knowing with that second game was coming up,” he said. “The coaching staff did a good job of keeping us focused.” Unfortunately for Briar Cliff starter Nathanael Olson, he would get the loss in spite of striking out 10 batters in the game.
As mentioned earlier, Mount Marty went on to win game two of the DH 15-11, thus sweeping the two game series against Briar Cliff. Mount Marty, an NAIA school in Yankton, SD, competes in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). They have an overall record of 20-8 and 7-1 in GPAC play. They travel to Blair, NE Saturday for a DH against GPAC opponent Dana College. For more information on this story, you can go to www.naia.org.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Duke Wins Fourth National Title For Coach K, But Butler Comes Oh So Close
It will go down as one of the greatest national championship games in the history of College Basketball. You had the classic Hoosiers, David v Goliath, whatever you want to call it match up. Unfortunately for Butler, Reality bit them, but barely.
Gordon Hewyard's half-court heave very nearly banked in at the buzzer, but the blue Devils of Duke survived to win Coach K's fourth national title. Coach K is now tied for second all time in number of national championships won along with Adolph Rupp, who won four with Kentucky. By winning his fourth title, Coach K passes his mentor, Bobby Knight, who won three while at Indiana.
Many people hate Duke and wanted nothing more than for them to fall to reality's version of Hoosiers. But as ESPN's Dick Vitale said, Duke does everything right. They play team basketball. They share the basketball. They play great defense, and the players go to class above all else. "I cant understand why so many people hate Duke except for the fact that when your on top of the mountain, they always want to knock you down", Vitale said. He's right. I also wanted Butler to win. As I mentioned in previous articles, Butler represents the underdogs, the Mom & Pop businesses, the average Joes, which includes 95% of America. But if it cant happen, I would rather have Duke win because they represent what college sports is all about: the athletes are students first. They are truly "Student-Athletes" at Duke.
Butler has shown the nation that you can win with defense. They played great team defense through out the whole tournament including Monday night's national title game. The experts at ESPN: Dick Vitale, Digger Phelps, Hubert Davis and others, thought Butler couldn't hold Duke under 70 points and would have to score more. they did hold the Devils under 70 and they controlled the tempo of the game. they played great defense and they shot 13-18 from the charity stripe. That's 75%, which is what you are suppose to shoot. Butler showed the nation that you don;t have to have McDonalds All-Americans or one and done guys to win.
We know that Duke is the champion, but where does Butler go from here. The Bulldogs' coach, Brad Stephens, said it best: "We were one shot away from winning a national championship. I don't know how much more that furthers the program, but not very much", Stephens said. In other words, you cant get any closer to the top than they did. Coach K said that this game was a "bench mark" game. He said people will get to know Butler not just as a basketball program but as a school. They will know Butler in a way they wouldn't have had the team not made it to the title game. He said that was "scary good".
I mentioned earlier that Butler shot 13-18 from the free throw line. It was a good shooting percentage. But for one player from Snellville, Ga in Gwinnett County, two of those 5 misses must be painful. Senior Avery Jukes, the pride of South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, missed two free throws in the second half which proved to be the difference, although three other free throws were missed. However, it can be argued that Butler wouldn't have had the chance in the end had it not been for the play of Jukes in the first half as he scored 10 crucial points to give his team a chance. We of Gwinnett County, Georgia salute you, Avery Jukes. You've done us proud! Interestingly enough, another former Gwinnett basketball star will be trying to win a national championship Tuesday ngiht as UCONN's Maya Moore, the pride of Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, GA in Gwinnett County, will try to lead the Huskies to another title to go 78-0 in two years.
With the exception of Jukes, Butler returns everybody from this year's squad and will certainly be in the pre-season top 5. Now that they have reached the Finals and come so close to winning it all, quality recruits will take notice. Actually, Butler has been a solid program dating back to 2000. In 2003, they beat Mississippi St. and Louisville to reach the Sweet 16. The Hoosiers comparison might ware off in a few years just as it has at Gonzaga. Higher expectations will be in order, but that is what Butler wants. Go Dawgs!
Gordon Hewyard's half-court heave very nearly banked in at the buzzer, but the blue Devils of Duke survived to win Coach K's fourth national title. Coach K is now tied for second all time in number of national championships won along with Adolph Rupp, who won four with Kentucky. By winning his fourth title, Coach K passes his mentor, Bobby Knight, who won three while at Indiana.
Many people hate Duke and wanted nothing more than for them to fall to reality's version of Hoosiers. But as ESPN's Dick Vitale said, Duke does everything right. They play team basketball. They share the basketball. They play great defense, and the players go to class above all else. "I cant understand why so many people hate Duke except for the fact that when your on top of the mountain, they always want to knock you down", Vitale said. He's right. I also wanted Butler to win. As I mentioned in previous articles, Butler represents the underdogs, the Mom & Pop businesses, the average Joes, which includes 95% of America. But if it cant happen, I would rather have Duke win because they represent what college sports is all about: the athletes are students first. They are truly "Student-Athletes" at Duke.
Butler has shown the nation that you can win with defense. They played great team defense through out the whole tournament including Monday night's national title game. The experts at ESPN: Dick Vitale, Digger Phelps, Hubert Davis and others, thought Butler couldn't hold Duke under 70 points and would have to score more. they did hold the Devils under 70 and they controlled the tempo of the game. they played great defense and they shot 13-18 from the charity stripe. That's 75%, which is what you are suppose to shoot. Butler showed the nation that you don;t have to have McDonalds All-Americans or one and done guys to win.
We know that Duke is the champion, but where does Butler go from here. The Bulldogs' coach, Brad Stephens, said it best: "We were one shot away from winning a national championship. I don't know how much more that furthers the program, but not very much", Stephens said. In other words, you cant get any closer to the top than they did. Coach K said that this game was a "bench mark" game. He said people will get to know Butler not just as a basketball program but as a school. They will know Butler in a way they wouldn't have had the team not made it to the title game. He said that was "scary good".
I mentioned earlier that Butler shot 13-18 from the free throw line. It was a good shooting percentage. But for one player from Snellville, Ga in Gwinnett County, two of those 5 misses must be painful. Senior Avery Jukes, the pride of South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, missed two free throws in the second half which proved to be the difference, although three other free throws were missed. However, it can be argued that Butler wouldn't have had the chance in the end had it not been for the play of Jukes in the first half as he scored 10 crucial points to give his team a chance. We of Gwinnett County, Georgia salute you, Avery Jukes. You've done us proud! Interestingly enough, another former Gwinnett basketball star will be trying to win a national championship Tuesday ngiht as UCONN's Maya Moore, the pride of Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, GA in Gwinnett County, will try to lead the Huskies to another title to go 78-0 in two years.
With the exception of Jukes, Butler returns everybody from this year's squad and will certainly be in the pre-season top 5. Now that they have reached the Finals and come so close to winning it all, quality recruits will take notice. Actually, Butler has been a solid program dating back to 2000. In 2003, they beat Mississippi St. and Louisville to reach the Sweet 16. The Hoosiers comparison might ware off in a few years just as it has at Gonzaga. Higher expectations will be in order, but that is what Butler wants. Go Dawgs!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Former Gwinnett Prep Star Going to the Final Four
When former South Gwinnett Forward Avery Jukes transferred from Alabama to Butler University back in 2007, he probably never thought he would reach the Final Four. But the Hoosiers miracle happened. The Bulldogs are in the Final Four, which is being held in the University's home town; Indianapolis. Jukes is certainly glad he made the move from Tuscaloosa to Indy.
Jukes was a former high school teammate of Lewis Williams at South Gwinnett. Williams went right into the NBA with the 76ers. He was also a teammate of Mike Mercer, who went to Georgia but transferred to South Florida. While at South Gwinnett, Jukes earned All-State honors as well as being named to the Nike All-American Team his Senior year. He signed with Alabama out of high school but played in only three games his Freshman year. It is most certain that the lack of playing time factored in his decision to transfer to Butler.
Although he doesn't start, Jukes is a key man off the bench and performs his role well. He has played in everyone of the Bulldogs' contests and started 1 game. He averages 2.8 points per game and has 5 steals and 4 blocked shots on the year. Jukes will be part of NCAA Tournament history this year in that for the first time since UCLA in 1972, a school from the city where the Final Four is being held will actually be in the Final Four itself. The semis are in Indy this year and Butler University is located in Indiana's capitol, about 7 miles from the site of the Final Four, Lucas Oil Stadium.
However, Jukes will not be the only Gwinnett player in the classic. Michigan State's Chris Allen, a former star at Meadowcreek High School in Gwinnett County (GA), is making his second straight appearance in the Final Four as a Spartan. In fact, the two will face each other as Michigan St. will take on Butler in front of their home fans. To my knowledge, this may be the first time more than one player from Gwinnett County, Georgia will be participating in the same Final Four.
Jukes was a former high school teammate of Lewis Williams at South Gwinnett. Williams went right into the NBA with the 76ers. He was also a teammate of Mike Mercer, who went to Georgia but transferred to South Florida. While at South Gwinnett, Jukes earned All-State honors as well as being named to the Nike All-American Team his Senior year. He signed with Alabama out of high school but played in only three games his Freshman year. It is most certain that the lack of playing time factored in his decision to transfer to Butler.
Although he doesn't start, Jukes is a key man off the bench and performs his role well. He has played in everyone of the Bulldogs' contests and started 1 game. He averages 2.8 points per game and has 5 steals and 4 blocked shots on the year. Jukes will be part of NCAA Tournament history this year in that for the first time since UCLA in 1972, a school from the city where the Final Four is being held will actually be in the Final Four itself. The semis are in Indy this year and Butler University is located in Indiana's capitol, about 7 miles from the site of the Final Four, Lucas Oil Stadium.
However, Jukes will not be the only Gwinnett player in the classic. Michigan State's Chris Allen, a former star at Meadowcreek High School in Gwinnett County (GA), is making his second straight appearance in the Final Four as a Spartan. In fact, the two will face each other as Michigan St. will take on Butler in front of their home fans. To my knowledge, this may be the first time more than one player from Gwinnett County, Georgia will be participating in the same Final Four.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
It's the Most Wonderful time of the Year
It's finally here again, the NCAA Tournament. to me, this is the most exciting annual sporting event in the country. While realistically about only 8-10 teams have a real shot of winning the national title, the other teams in the tournament provide a plethora of excitement and entertainment.
Since the field was expanded to 64 teams back in 1985, there have been several buzzer beaters, a few low seeds toppling the giants of the game, and great individual performances. This year will be no exception. My favorite part of the tournament is seeing a 13, 14, and sometimes even a 15th seed knock off a 4, 3, or 2 seed in the first round. I route for a lower seeded team to go further, like UT-Chattanooga did back in 1997 when the beat 3 seeded Georgia in the first round and then Illinois in the second round. The Mocs lost to God Shamgod and the Providence Friars in the Sweet 16, but it was still a great run for UTC.
George Mason, an 11 seed, shocked the nation by making it all the way to the Final Four back in 2006. I don't see anyone Mid-Major doing that this year, but I would love for it to happen. I think the Panthers of Northern Iowa can get by UNLV. The have great guard play, a good inside game and they play great defense limiting their opponents to around 60 points a game. San Diego St., an 11 seed, has a good chance to knock off the 6 seeded Vols of Tennessee. They have one of the best scorers and rebounders in the country in Freshman forward Kawhi Leonard. Houston is making its first appearance in the Big Dance since 1992. This is a program that has been irrelevant for the past 25 years. However, back in the early 80s, they were in the Final Four three years in a row and losing in that epic championship game to Jimmy V's NC. St. team on a last second dunk by Lorenzo Charles. Ironically, Houston was known as Phi Slama Jama due to their prowess with the slam dunk. Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, Hakeem "The Dream" Alojouan were the stars. The Cougars play Maryland in the first round. Houston can put up points. They are won of the highest scoring teams in the country. However, they are also one of the worst defensive teams. They may be a tough out for Maryland, but I think the Terps will prevail.
As for my Final Four picks, I have Kansas, Kansas St., Duke and Kentucky. Yes, you heard me right. The Sunflower State rivalry on the biggest stage of the game, the Final Four. The Jayhawks will prevail again though and will move on to the national championship where they will beat Kentucky and cut down the nets Monday Night April 5. I have filled out my bracket. In fact, I have filled out several. The first day of the tournament (not counting the Tuesday play in game), Thursday, is like Christmas Day to me. It's the most wonderful time of the year.
Since the field was expanded to 64 teams back in 1985, there have been several buzzer beaters, a few low seeds toppling the giants of the game, and great individual performances. This year will be no exception. My favorite part of the tournament is seeing a 13, 14, and sometimes even a 15th seed knock off a 4, 3, or 2 seed in the first round. I route for a lower seeded team to go further, like UT-Chattanooga did back in 1997 when the beat 3 seeded Georgia in the first round and then Illinois in the second round. The Mocs lost to God Shamgod and the Providence Friars in the Sweet 16, but it was still a great run for UTC.
George Mason, an 11 seed, shocked the nation by making it all the way to the Final Four back in 2006. I don't see anyone Mid-Major doing that this year, but I would love for it to happen. I think the Panthers of Northern Iowa can get by UNLV. The have great guard play, a good inside game and they play great defense limiting their opponents to around 60 points a game. San Diego St., an 11 seed, has a good chance to knock off the 6 seeded Vols of Tennessee. They have one of the best scorers and rebounders in the country in Freshman forward Kawhi Leonard. Houston is making its first appearance in the Big Dance since 1992. This is a program that has been irrelevant for the past 25 years. However, back in the early 80s, they were in the Final Four three years in a row and losing in that epic championship game to Jimmy V's NC. St. team on a last second dunk by Lorenzo Charles. Ironically, Houston was known as Phi Slama Jama due to their prowess with the slam dunk. Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, Hakeem "The Dream" Alojouan were the stars. The Cougars play Maryland in the first round. Houston can put up points. They are won of the highest scoring teams in the country. However, they are also one of the worst defensive teams. They may be a tough out for Maryland, but I think the Terps will prevail.
As for my Final Four picks, I have Kansas, Kansas St., Duke and Kentucky. Yes, you heard me right. The Sunflower State rivalry on the biggest stage of the game, the Final Four. The Jayhawks will prevail again though and will move on to the national championship where they will beat Kentucky and cut down the nets Monday Night April 5. I have filled out my bracket. In fact, I have filled out several. The first day of the tournament (not counting the Tuesday play in game), Thursday, is like Christmas Day to me. It's the most wonderful time of the year.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Richmond's Anderson Weaving a Web of Winning Basketball
This year the Atlantic 10 Conference is slated to have maybe 5 or 6 teams get at large bids into this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, more commonly known as "The Big Dance" or "March Madness". The Spiders of the University of Richmond are one of those teams, and Suwanee, GA native Kevin Anderson is a big reason why.
Anderson is one of many former high school student athletes from Gwinnett County, Georgia, about 25 miles northeast of Atlanta. The Peachtree Ridge High School product is leading the Richmond Spiders in scoring with 17.5 points per game and is an 82% free throw shooter. Earlier today, Anderson scored 17 points in a double overtime loss to Xavier at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, where the Musketeers are 27-1 over the past two seasons. Anderson had 29 points leading the Spiders to a win against Xavier in their first meeting in Richmond. Richmond came into today's game against Xavier ranked #24 in the country having won back to back games against ranked opponents. That is the first time since the 1957-58 season the Spiders have won back to back games against ranked teams. Before today's loss to Xavier, Richmond was in a three way tie for first place in the Atlantic 10 with Xavier and Temple University. It is safe to say that Kevin Anderson is a major reason for Richmond's success.
Anderson, a junior, is already 13th on Richmond's all time scoring list with 1,419 points and 21 points away from 10th all-time. With three or four games possibly in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and possibly the NCAA Tournament, Anderson is bound to surpass that mark. With one more year remaining, Kevin Anderson has a very good chance of becoming Richmond's all-time leading scorer before his career as a Spider is over.. Here is a list of some of Kevin Anderson's accomplishments while at the University of Richmond:
During his Sophomore Year:
Named Second-Team Atlantic 10 All-Conference
Two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
Became the fourth Spider sophomore to reach 800 points and finished the season with 930 points
Finished the season with 598 points, which ranks ninth on the school's single-season list
Anderson is one of two sophomores to make the single-season scoring list, along with all-time leading scorer Johnny Newman
Scored in double-figures in 34 of the 36 games and has scored in double-figures in 45 of his last 47 games going back to his freshman year
This year, his Junior year, Anderson is 5th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring with 17.5 PPG, 6th in Field Goal Percentage (46%), third in free throw percentage at 82%, second in steals with a total of 55 (2.0 per game), and third in the conference in minutes played at 36.7 per game.
Richmond is currently 22-7 overall and 11-3 in A-10 play and sitting in second place. They have wins over SEC opponents Mississippi St. and Florida and a win over Missouri, out of the Big Xll. Kevin Anderson, out of Suwanee, Ga in Gwinnett County and Peachtree Ridge High School, has a lot to do with the Spiders' success. It is amazing to me how Georgia and Georgia Tech missed on this young man, one of many young male and female student-athletes from the athletic-talent rich area of Gwinnett County, Georgia.
Anderson is one of many former high school student athletes from Gwinnett County, Georgia, about 25 miles northeast of Atlanta. The Peachtree Ridge High School product is leading the Richmond Spiders in scoring with 17.5 points per game and is an 82% free throw shooter. Earlier today, Anderson scored 17 points in a double overtime loss to Xavier at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, where the Musketeers are 27-1 over the past two seasons. Anderson had 29 points leading the Spiders to a win against Xavier in their first meeting in Richmond. Richmond came into today's game against Xavier ranked #24 in the country having won back to back games against ranked opponents. That is the first time since the 1957-58 season the Spiders have won back to back games against ranked teams. Before today's loss to Xavier, Richmond was in a three way tie for first place in the Atlantic 10 with Xavier and Temple University. It is safe to say that Kevin Anderson is a major reason for Richmond's success.
Anderson, a junior, is already 13th on Richmond's all time scoring list with 1,419 points and 21 points away from 10th all-time. With three or four games possibly in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and possibly the NCAA Tournament, Anderson is bound to surpass that mark. With one more year remaining, Kevin Anderson has a very good chance of becoming Richmond's all-time leading scorer before his career as a Spider is over.. Here is a list of some of Kevin Anderson's accomplishments while at the University of Richmond:
During his Sophomore Year:
Named Second-Team Atlantic 10 All-Conference
Two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
Became the fourth Spider sophomore to reach 800 points and finished the season with 930 points
Finished the season with 598 points, which ranks ninth on the school's single-season list
Anderson is one of two sophomores to make the single-season scoring list, along with all-time leading scorer Johnny Newman
Scored in double-figures in 34 of the 36 games and has scored in double-figures in 45 of his last 47 games going back to his freshman year
This year, his Junior year, Anderson is 5th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring with 17.5 PPG, 6th in Field Goal Percentage (46%), third in free throw percentage at 82%, second in steals with a total of 55 (2.0 per game), and third in the conference in minutes played at 36.7 per game.
Richmond is currently 22-7 overall and 11-3 in A-10 play and sitting in second place. They have wins over SEC opponents Mississippi St. and Florida and a win over Missouri, out of the Big Xll. Kevin Anderson, out of Suwanee, Ga in Gwinnett County and Peachtree Ridge High School, has a lot to do with the Spiders' success. It is amazing to me how Georgia and Georgia Tech missed on this young man, one of many young male and female student-athletes from the athletic-talent rich area of Gwinnett County, Georgia.
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