BU to face GW in NIT Season Tip-Off

By René Reyes

Fresh off its first 20-win season in six years, the Boston University men’s basketball team opens the 2010-11 campaign on Nov. 16 against George Washington University in the first round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off, which was announced today by the chairman of the NIT Selection Committee, C.M. Newton.

“This Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off set high standards early on and has consistently showcased the best in college basketball,” Newton said in a statement on the NIT’s website. “This year's field can certainly hold its own against any of the previous 25 we've had. Half of the field is coming off 20-plus win seasons and several fell just below that mark. We look forward to a competitive tournament.”

Under second-year coach Patrick Chambers, the Terriers will compete in the North Regional side of the bracket, along with Villanova University, Marist University and GW. All games in the North Regional will be played at the Pavilion, Villanova’s home floor.

The 16-team field also consists of the likes of UCLA, the University of Nevada, Wake Forest University, Virginia Commonwealth University (the same squad that eliminated BU in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational last season) and the University of Tennessee.

Chambers confirmed this announcement on his Twitter page. 

BREAKING NEWS: Lowe leaves men's basketball team

Link: Lowe leaves men's basketball team

BREAKING NEWS: BU to play Oregon State in College Basketball Invitational

Link: BU to play Oregon State in College Basketball Invitational

BREAKING NEWS: Morris out at least one month with hand injury

Link: Morris out at least one month with hand injury

BREAKING NEWS: Brittain, Bailey to miss season opener

Bad news for the Terriers, as injuries will keep two BU players off the court for Friday's game, and possibly longer.

Senior forward Scott Brittain has been dealing with the effects of his most recent concussion for some time, and this morning head coach Pat Chambers confirmed that Brittain will not play when the Terriers travel to New Rochelle, NY, for their season opener at Iona College. More unexpected was news of a concussion suffered by freshman guard B.J. Bailey, who will also not see the floor on Friday while he recovers. Given the nature of concussions and the necessary caution in allowing a concussed player to return to action, Chambers did not offer a specific timetable for either player's return.

Per Chambers, the minutes Bailey was expected to see will most likely go to senior swingman Sherrod Smith. Smith appeared in nine games for the Terriers last season, including extended playing time against the University of Hartford on March 1, when he produced five points and two steals in 16 minutes. Brittain's absence opens up increased minutes for sophomore center Jeff Pelage, and senior forward Valdas Sirutis may also figure into the mix.

Jake O'Brien is returning to BU

This is big news for the Terriers. Here's the press release.

In case you need a refresher, O'Brien began to openly consider the possibility of a transfer following former head coach Dennis Wolff's dismissal. A week after Pat Chambers was introduced as Boston University's new head coach, the 2009 America East Rookie of the Year was granted his official release. O'Brien spent the better part of two months considering his options before announcing his decision to remain at BU.

Links:
Boston Globe: O'Brien says he's staying at BU
Boston Herald: O'Brien returns to BU
Albany Times-Union: America East Rookie of Year to stay at Boston U.

UMass guard Gary Correia transfers to BU

According to the Northstar basketball blog, point guard Gary Correia has received his release from the University of Massachusetts and has committed to Boston University. Correia, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard originally from Providence, R.I., averaged 11 minutes per game and 2.2 points per game and 1.2 assists per game in his sophomore season. He will sit out a year and have two years of eligibility with BU under new head coach Patrick Chambers.

Incoming guard Daniel Munoz granted official release

Daniel Munoz, a 6-foot-1 point guard who signed a letter of intent earlier this season, has been granted his release by the administration.

Munoz, from St. Thomas Aquinas School in Fort Lauderdale, Fl., was recruited as a true point guard with a high basketball IQ and worked out with BU in early September but will now seek other options.

If Jake O'Brien decides not to return to BU, the Terriers will have three scholarships available for first-year coach Patrick Chambers to use.

Links:
M. Bball recruit Munoz granted release

Jake O'Brien granted official release

The America East Rookie of the Year, Jake O'Brien, was officially granted his transfer from BU on Monday, April 13. He is currently looking at options in the A10, ACC, Big East and CAA.

O'Brien, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 12.5 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game in his freshman campaign.

Links:
O'Brien one and done
WHITROCK: Life after O'Brien

BREAKING NEWS: Pat Chambers will be Boston University's next head coach

According to a source very close to the team, Patrick Chambers, an associate head coach at Villanova University, will be the next head coach at Boston University. Chambers was the longest-tenured member of Jay Wright's coaching staff on the Final Four Wildcats and has a 96-37 record in four years with the team. The job will be his first head coaching position. Chambers is 37 years old and lives in Bryn Mawr, Penn. and graduated from Philadelphia Textile with a degree in marketing. Chambers will be the second Episcopal High School graduate to coach in the America East -- Dan Leibovitz at Hartford is the other.

Chambers will replace Dennis Wolff, BU's previous coach of 15 years. No official announcement has been made by the Athletics Department but one could come as early as Wednesday.

Links:
Chambers to be named next men's basketball coach
Top 'Nova assistant headed for Boston University
Report: Villanova's Pat Chambers to get Boston University's top job
BU finds its coach
'Nova's Chambers to coach at Boston U.

BREAKING NEWS: BU Associate head coach Orlando Vandross retained

Officials within the Athletics Department have confirmed that associate head coach Orlando Vandross -- who's been with Boston University for 12 years -- has been retained by the university. There was no comment made as to the role/title he will assume next season nor to whether or not his name is being considered in the pool of applicants for the open head coaching position.

Links:
BU takes firm approach
Pressures on coaches ease in hard times
Men's hoops coach Dennis Wolff fired
Boston University rumors...
Parker's latest pick at BU a head-scratcher

BREAKING NEWS: Report: B.J. Bailey keeps commitment

According to the website PressofAtlanticCity.com BU's incoming recruit B.J. Bailey has decided to stay with the university after offering a verbal commitment early in the year, but reportedly being "distraught" after the university fired coach Dennis Wolff. Bailey, a 6-foot-4 senior at Holy Spirit High School, averaged 17.6 points this season and led his team to a 26-3 record.

The article also reported that the university has offered the associate head coach position to Orlando Vandross -- the only member of Wolff's staff the university did not let go.

Neither of these reports have been claimed by officials at BU. We hope to receive confirmation regarding one or both very soon.

Links:
Holy Spirit's B.J. Bailey keeps commitment to Boston Univ.

BREAKING NEWS: BU head coach Dennis Wolff fired

In a statement made by the Boston University Athletics Department today, Director of Athletics Mike Lynch announced that men's basketball coach Dennis Wolff has been fired.

The 15-year coach of the Terriers had signed a 10-year contract extension in 2003, which meant that he would have been under contract through the 2013-2014 season.

"We greatly appreciate the contributions that Dennis has made during his 15 years at BU," Lynch said in a press release. "To a man, his student-athletes competed hard on the court, earned their degrees in the classroom and represented BU well in the community. We wish Dennis nothing but the best in his future endeavors.

"This decision was not made quickly or easily. However, after a thorough analysis, I believe that a change in leadership is in the best interests of our men's basketball program."

According to an article on ESPN.com, Wolff was in New York on a recruiting trip when he was asked to return to Boston to meet with the administration. The department asked Wolff to resign and when he refused, his contract was terminated. The article also stated that Wolff is currently negotiating a buyout for his contract, which had four years remaining.

In addition to Wolff, assistant coaches Sean Ryan and Will Seward were released as well as Director of Basketball Operation Thomas Joyce. Associate head coach Orlando Vandross, who's been with the team for 12 seasons, was not fired and could be among what is a "nationwide pool" of applicants to fill the open position. The press release states the search has already started, but no date has been set for its termination.

Wolff, the longest-tenured and winningest coach in BU history, led the Terriers to their first winning season in three years in 2008-09. The team compiled a 17-12 regular-season record before being ousted in the first round of the America East Tournament in a 79-75 overtime loss to the No. 6 University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

Under Wolff, BU won three consecutive regular-season conference titles (2002-04) and made four straight postseason appearances (2002-05). During the course of his coaching career with the Terriers, he led the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances and three NIT appearances.

Wolff was named the America East Coach of the Year in 1997, 2003, 2004, the NABC District I Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2004 and the New England Division I Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2004.

He finished his coaching career at BU with a 247-197 record.

Please continue checking the blog and www.dailyfreepress.com as more information becomes available.

Links:
Men's basketball coach Dennis Wolff fired
A shocking firing at Boston University
Boston University fires coach Wolff
BU Fires Wolff
Boston U. fires all-time winningest coach
Boston University fires coach after 15 seasons

BREAKING NEWS: Jake O'Brien wins Rookie of the Year, Holland and Lowe on First Team, Wolff All-Defensive

The America East announced its end-of-the-season award winners Friday morning. BU sophomore forward John Holland (18.0 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game) and junior guard Corey Lowe (16.6 points per game, 4.1 assists per game) were both selected as members of the All-Conference First Team while freshman Jake O'Brien (12.6 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game) becomes the third consecutive Terrier to win the Rookie of the Year award. Tyler Morris won the award in 2006-07 and Holland won last year. It's the second time in conference history one school has featured three-consecutive ROY's (Siena: Steve McCoy (1985-86), Dwight Walton (1986-87), Marc Brown (1987-88)). Senior forward Matt Wolff also earned a spot on the all-defensive team.

Below are the full awards for the America East 2008-09 season or you can click here for the full release.

Major Awards:

Kevin Roberson Player of the Year
Marqus Blakely, Vermont

Coach of the Year
Kevin Broadus, Binghamton

Rookie of the Year
Jake O’Brien, Boston University

Defensive Player of the Year
Marqus Blakely, Vermont

All-Conference Awards:

First Team

John Holland So. G/F Boston University
Corey Lowe Jr. G Boston University
Darryl Proctor Sr. F UMBC
Marqus Blakely Jr. F Vermont
Mike Trimboli Sr. G Vermont

Second Team
Emanuel Mayben Jr. G Binghamton
D.J. Rivera Jr. F Binghamton
Jay Greene Sr. G UMBC
Tyrece Gibbs Sr. G New Hampshire
Muhammad El-Amin Jr. G Stony Brook

Third Team
Tim Ambrose So. G Albany
Will Harris Jr. F Albany
Reggie Fuller Sr. F Binghamton
Jaret von Rosenberg Sr. G Hartford
Colin McIntosh Sr. F Vermont

All-Rookie Team
Jake O’Brien Fr. F Boston University
Gerald McLemore Fr. G Maine
Tommy Brenton Fr. F Stony Brook
Bryan Dougher Fr. G Stony Brook
Garvey Young Fr. G Vermont

All-Defensive Team
Jerel Hastings Sr. F Albany
Reggie Fuller Sr. F Binghamton
Matt Wolff Sr. F Boston University
Marques Cox Sr. G Stony Brook
Marqus Blakely Jr. F Vermont

Check back later tonight for previews of this weekend's games as well as a live blog of the play-in game between No. 8 Maine and No. 9 Hartford.

BREAKING NEWS: John Holland garners two awards

Boston University sophomore John Holland (18.0 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game) was selected as a member of the District I first team in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District poll.

Here are the full results for District I:

First Team:
Kenny Hasbrouck -- Siena
Edwin Ubiles -- Siena
Ryan Thompson -- Rider
John Holland -- Boston U.
Marqus Blakely -- Vermont

Second Team:
Tyrone Lewis -- Niagara
Bilal Benn -- Niagara
D.J. Rivera -- Binghamton
Darryl Proctor -- UMBC
Alex Franklin -- Siena

Holland was also selected as America East's 2009 "Player of the Game" for garnering the most Player of the Game awards during the regular season. The America East conference will release all of its end of the season awards on Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. It's expected that Holland (among other Terriers) will garner awards in that ceremony as well.

BREAKING NEWS: Matt Wolff cleared to practice

Two days after suffering a severe concussion in BU's win against the University of Hartford senior forward Matt Wolff has been cleared to practice. BU coach Dennis Wolff said that Matt will be in practice Wednesday after sitting out of Tuesday's session and he sees no reason why Matt won't play in the Terriers' opening-round game against UMBC on Saturday. Matt's concussion was the first of his career. BU forward Scott Brittain missed two games at the start of the season with a concussion as well.

BREAKING NEWS: Corey Lowe to play against Maine

According to BU coach Dennis Wolff, Corey Lowe will play in BU's next game against the University of Maine on Thursday (7:00 p.m. at Case Gymnasium) and has recovered quickly from what appeared bad right ankle sprain in Saturday's win over Iona.

Before practice on Tuesday, Wolff said that Lowe was "fine," the swelling had been eliminated and the sprain was a mild one. The junior guard shot around, but didn't fully participate in the practice session. Lowe is expected to run full-speed tomorrow, though he appeared to be favoring the ankle a tiny bit during shooting drills.

The announcement comes as a bit of a surprise given the average recovery time for a sprained ankle as well as the (now incorrectly) presumed severity of the injury, but if he truly is healthy, getting Lowe back into form prior to the start of the America East Tournament could be hugely beneficial for the Terriers.

In addition, freshman forward Jake O'Brien turned his left ankle when he landed on another players' foot after grabbing a rebound toward the end of practice. O'Brien was helped off the floor and had the ankle taped. His status for Thursday's game is unknown.

BREAKING NEWS: Tyler Morris and Carlos Strong out for the season

It's official. Following BU's game against the University at Albany, coach Dennis Wolff announced that both redshirt junior co-captain Tyler Morris and junior Carlos Strong are both out for the season.

Morris tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in practice on Tuesday while Strong tore his meniscus early in the first half against Holy Cross last Friday and will have surgery on Tuesday, January 13th. Strong practiced on Monday and when he got examined, the tear was worse than the doctors previously thought. Wolff said Strong wanted to play against Albany, but the risk of further and more serious injury was far too prevalent to allow him to see game action.

Wolff said Morris was going up for a layup, twisted the wrong way and fell awkwardly. He said everyone knew it was serious the instant Morris landed.

The injuries are certainly a big blow for the Terriers and their recently struggling 3-point shooting game as they turn into a forward-oriented team. Much more to come on the injuries and the state of the team, but we just wanted to officially get the news out there.

BREAKING NEWS: Dennis Wolff to make post-game statement

It has been confirmed with officials inside BU's Athletics Department that BU coach Dennis Wolff will make a post-game statement regarding the "the team and the rest of the season concerning the different rumors."

While nothing has been validated as of yet, it's expected that the announcement will contain two pieces of information regarding injuries to key players on BU's roster: redshirt junior co-captain Tyler Morris and junior Carlos Strong. Wolff is expected to announce that both players are out for the season after suffering different knee injuries -- Strong in the first half of BU's most recent loss against Holy Cross and Morris later that week in practice.

Please keep checking the blog for live coverage of Wolff's press conference as well as tonight's now significantly more interesting game against the University at Albany.

Also, as of 11:00 a.m., there was no official word on whether or not Wolff will choose to bench junior co-captain Corey Lowe (as discussed in the gameday entry) due to the fact that he received two technical fouls in the Terriers' previous game. As soon as we have official word, we'll let you know.

BREAKING NEWS: Carlos Strong starts over John Holland

For this first time all season, BU coach Dennis Wolff went with a different starting lineup against Cornell, giving junior guard Carlos Strong the start over sophomore forward and reigning America East Rookie of the Year John Holland. Holland entered the game with 17:35 remaining in the first half. Still, odd that Wolff chose this as the first time all season to change his starting five. We're not sure what the reason for the switch was, but as soon as we find out, we'll let you know.

Also, related to breaking news from before the Delaware game, Jeff Pelage dressed for the Cornell game and is seeing significant minutes for the third time this season.

Also (again), on an unrelated note. For those of you wondering why there was no live blog, it's only for games we attend live. We figured it'd be silly for us to live blog after listening to the game on the radio or watching online. Sadly, there won't be a live blog for BU's next game against Holy Cross (1/02/09) but we'll be back in full force for the start of conference play when BU travels to Albany.
EDIT (12/30/08): There will be a live blog for the Holy Cross game. Free Press columnist Brian Fadem will cover the game courtside starting at 6:30 p.m.