maly, too: Unbeaten California Is Drake's Next Opponent

Monday, November 19, 2012

Unbeaten California Is Drake's Next Opponent

Drake Men's Basketball Weekly Update – Nov. 18

Upcoming Events This Week

Competition

Thursday, Nov. 22 – vs. California (DIRECTV Classic) – Anaheim, Calif. – 10:30 p.m. CST – ESPN2

Friday, Nov. 23 – vs. Georgia Tech or Rice (DIRECTV Classic) – Anaheim, Calif. – 8:30/11 p.m. CST

Sunday, Nov. 25 – vs. TBD (DIRECTV Classic) – Anaheim, Calif. - TBD

Coaches Shows/Luncheons

Monday, Nov. 19 – Drake Basketball Coaches’ Show – Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery (West Des Moines) – 7 p.m. CST

The Drake Basketball Coaches’ show returns to the air on KRNT 1350-AM and originating live from Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery (4508 University Avenue, West Des Moines) at 7 p.m. Women’s head coach Jennie Baranczyk leads off the program with men’s head coach Mark Phelps joining host Larry Cotlar on the air at approximately 7:30 p.m.

This Week’s Opponents

California – Nov. 22

Drake faces California in the opening round of the DIRECTV Classic on Thursday evening in Anaheim, Calif. The Golden Bears are 3-0 this season after winning at Denver, 72-61, on Friday evening. The squad also has wins over CSU Bakersfield and Pepperdine this season. The Bears average 76.3 points per game and are shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range. Allen Crabbe, who recently scored his 1,000^th career point is averaging 26.7 points per game and has made 10 of his 17 three-point attempts. Justin Cobbs trails closely at 20.7 points per game.

The Series vs. California

Drake and Cal have met four times, the last in 1985, with Cal leading the all-time series, 3-1. Of those four meetings, half have taken place on neutral courts like Thursday’s game. Drake last defeated Cal on Dec. 12, 1978 in Des Moines by an 86-83 margin.

Rice/Georgia Tech – Nov. 23

Drake faces either Rice or Georgia Tech in its second game of the DIRECTV Classic. Georgia Tech is 2-0 this season with wins over Tulane and Presbyterian. Despite playing less than 20 minutes a game, the Yellow Jackets are led by Kammeon Holsey’s 12.5 points per game with Marcus Georges-Hunt adding 12 per game. As a team, the Yellow Jackets have struggled from three-point range, converting just 17.6 percent of their 34 attempts. Rice is 1-2 with a win over St. Edward’s and a losses to St. Thomas and Temple. The Owls have shot just 40 percent from the field in their three games with Tamir Jackson’s 14 points per game leading the way. In its last contest at Temple, Rice fell at Temple, 77-63.

The Series vs. Georgia Tech

The two programs have never met.

The Series vs. Rice

The Bulldogs are quite familiar with Rice having faced them in the second round of the CIT last season. Rice prevailed in that contest, 74-68, in Houston to end the Bulldogs 2011-12 season. Drake leads the all-time series by a 3-2 margin with two the five games in the series coming during the 1936 season.

TBD – Nov. 25

Drake’s final game at the DIRECTV Classic will come against one of the four teams on the opposite side of the bracket that features Xavier, St. Mary’s Drexel and Pacific.

Last Week

Nov. 17 – at Detroit – L, 85-79

Senior Jordan Clarke recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds but it was not enough to rally back from a 14-point deficit as the Drake University men’s basketball team fell at Detroit Saturday evening, 85-79. Clarke’s double-double came on 6-of-7 shooting from the field as the Bulldogs fall to 1-1 on the young season. Detroit (2-1) was paced by Doug Anderson’s 26 points and 10 rebounds while Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year Ray McCallum poured in 20 points, including a jumper with 13 seconds left to preserve the Titan win.

Team Notes

- Drake again played at a blistering pace with approximately 83 possessions in the contest, its second straight game with 80 or more possessions. Drake’s average pace this season is the third fastest in the country.

- Drake is second in the Missouri Valley in scoring and 17^th nationally at 87.5 points per game through two games.

- The Bulldogs also lead the conference in three-point shooting at 52.4 percent. The team has converted on 22 of 44 attempts. Conversely, the team’s three-point defense is second in the league at 22.9 percent.

- Drake has five players (Simons, Carter, Hines, Clarke and King) averaging 10 or more points per game.

- The Bulldogs’ bench has outscored its two opponents by a 63-27 margin this season.

MVC Player of the Week Nominee

Jordan Clarke

F – 6-8 – 256

Sr. – Rockville, Md.

Led Drake in the loss at Detroit with his first double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds … he finished the game 6-of-7 from the field including a critical three-pointer to help Drake pull within two possessions late … of his 10 rebounds, four came off the offensive glass … also added a pair of assists, two steals and a block.

MVC Newcomer of the Week Nominee

Chris Hines

G – 6-1 – 192

Sr. – Houston, Texas

The fifth-year transfer point guard from Utah made his Drake debut and responded with 14 points off the bench … was 4-of-9 from the field and converted on five of his six free throw attempts … four of those attempts and makes came in the final two minutes of the contest as he helped keep Drake within striking distance … also committed just one turnover in 26 minutes of action.

Player Notes

0 – Kori Babineux – Was scoreless in five minutes of action.

1 – Jordan Clarke – Recorded a double-double with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 6-of-7 and making a critical three-pointer in the final seconds. His double-double was his third in his last 11 games and he has had 10 or more rebounds in four of his last five games … is 9-of-10 from the field this season.

2 – Gary Ricks, Jr. – Was 2-of-3 from three-point range to finish with six points.

3 – Richard Carter – Playing in his hometown, scored 10 points with four assists and two steals.

4 – Chris Hines – Made his Drake debut with 14 points in 26 minutes including four straight free throws in the final minutes to keep Drake’s comeback hopes alive.

10 – Jeremy Jeffers – Hit a three-pointer to finish with three points.

11 – Karl Madison - DNP – Injury (Knee)

21 – Robert Puleikis – DNP – Coach’s decision

22 – Micah Mason – Played five minutes and spent considerable time at the point guard.

23 – Mitch McLaughlin – DNP – Injury (Hand)

24 – Joey King – Scored eight points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line with two rebounds.

25 – Matt Bowie – DNP – Coach’s decision

34 – Ben Simons – Scored 11 points including a three-pointer with less than a minute to play to make it a two-point game. Now has 958 career points.

40 - Daddy Ugbede – DNP – Inury (Concussion)

45 – Seth VanDeest – Scored 10 points in 18 minutes on 4-of-6 shooting with six rebounds and two assists.

[This story was written for Ron Maly by Ty Patton, Drake's assistant athletic director for athletic communications].

JOLTIN' JOE GOT IT STARTED

When Ron Maly was a kid in Cedar Rapids, he wanted to enter an essay contest, and he did. He wrote about Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees being his favorite baseball player. For finishing second in the contest, Ron won a Louisville Slugger baseball bat autographed by DiMaggio. Ron later wanted to be the first person in his family to attend college, and he was. He earned a degree in political science from the University of Iowa, and did what all political science majors do. He became a sportswriter. He had, after all, covered high school football, basketball and baseball games for the Cedar Rapids Gazette while he worked parttime during his university days. Ron wanted to sit in the press box and write about an Iowa-Minnesota football game, and he did. It happened while he was the sports editor at the Albert Lea [Minn.] Tribune, and the game was at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. Ron wanted to cover a World Series, and he did. Also when he was working for the Albert Lea newspaper. Ron wanted to cover Rose Bowls, Sugar Bowls, Orange Bowls, Cotton Bowls, Holiday Bowls, a Freedom Bowl, a Sun Bowl, a Super Bowl and NCAA basketball tournaments, and he did those things after he moved to Des Moines. Ron was a four-time sportswriter of the Year in the state of Iowa [the years were 1977, 1978, 1994 and 1996]. In 2006, he was named a charter member of the University of Iowa's media Wall of Fame in the Kinnick Stadium press box. A photo of the plaque that's displayed in the press box is displayed above this story. Following Ron's retirement from the newspaper business, a publisher asked him if he wanted to write a book about the rich football tradition at the University of Iowa, and he did. The hardback version of "Tales from the Iowa Sidelines" was a best-seller, and so was the revised, softback version. Now he's been asked by his publisher to update the book for a second time. He's in the process of doing that at the present time. Ron considers being asked to update a best-selling book for the second time to be the supreme compliment, considering the Hawkeyes won just four games in the 2012 season. When Ron isn't working on books, he's busy traveling and spending time with his family. Indeed, he attends the athletic, theatrical and musical [both vocal and instrumental] events in which his six grandchildren participate. He also writes about anything that interests him for his many websites. Every chance he gets, Ron proudly wears his America Needs Farmers T-shirt.

The Hawkeyes' Rich Football Tradition, Revisited

I mentioned a while back that I was in the process of updating my Tales from the Iowa Sidelines book. Updating it for the second time. The original hardback edition of Tales from the Iowa Sidelines [pictured at the right] was published in 2003, during the 10-3 season, when coach Kirk Ferentz and his Iowa football team had a 10-3 record that included a 37-17 victory over 15th-ranked Florida in the Outback Bowl and after the Hawkeyes went 11-2 in 2002. That book was a best-seller, so the publishers came to me again in 2005, a season that finished with a breathtaking 30-25 victory over No. 11 Louisiana State in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day, 2005. Because buyers had cleaned out the the shelves in the bookstores, the publishers wanted to know if I'd do an updated version of the book. I agreed, The revised, soft-cover edition [pictured at the left] was published in 2005. Warren Holloway, who teamed with quarterback Drew Tate on a miraculous 56-yard touchdown pass to win the Capital One Bowl, was featured on the cover. That book, too, turned into a best-seller, So I had reason to feel very good about my years as a published author. It's not every day that a the original version is a best-seller, and so is the updated version. Then, imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail from a senior editor at the publishing company last fall, wanting wanted to know if I was interested in doing a second updated version of the book. It came at a time when things weren't going well for the Hawkeyes in the 2012 season. They lost their last six games and finished with a 4-8 record. Frankly, the thought of doing a revised edition of the book during a 4-8 season seemed to be a stretch. "Maybe producing a revised edition in a year or two would be a better idea," I told the publishers. "We'd like to do it now," I was told. "Let me think about it," I said. After a few days of thought, I accepted the idea. I talked myself into the idea that this was the supreme compliment--being asked to do a second book update during a 4-8 season showed strong confidence by the publishers in me and in the Hawkeyes' football program. So I got back into the business of interviewing players and coaches again, going to postgame press conferences, weekly press conferences and a scrimmage in West Des Moines. After a press conference in Iowa City, I did a one-on-one interview with coach Kirk Ferentz, and mentioned to him that I was in the process of doing a revised edition of my two best-selling books. I congratulated him on the excellent things he had done for Iowa's football program--all of which contributed to the success of my books. "I think Coach Fry had more to do with it," he told me, bringing up the name of Hayden Fry, his one-time boss at Iowa and a man who brought Iowa's football program back from the dead in the 20th century. That's modest Kirk Ferentz for you. Even though the 2012 season wasn't something Hawkeye coaches, players and fans will recall with any special feeling, Ferentz has a 14-year record of 100-74 at Iowa that includes two 11-victory seasons [2002 smd 2009], two 10-victory seasons [2003 and 2004], plus he's been the Big Ten coach of year in 2002, 2004 and 2009, and national coach of the year in 2002. Indeed, Ferentz has done some wonderful things at Iowa City, and I fully expect his success to continue. I've concluded my writing for the second update of Tales from the Iowa Sidelines, and the senior editor has furnished me with an early look at the book. Not only are the Kirk Ferentz years included in the updated version, but so is the stuff I previously wrote about Howard Jones, Dr. Eddie Anderson, Heisman Trophy winner Nile Kinnick and the 1939 Hawkeye Ironmen, Ronald Reagan, Ozzie Simmons, Ossie Solem, Randy Duncan, Alex Karras and lots of other legends from Iowa's rich football history. I expect the book to be in stores soon. I hope you like it.