Coaching search update: Tony Jones could be the guy

According to Mark Blaudschun at the Boston Globe, Tony Jones, the associate head coach at the University of Tennessee will be the next head coach at Boston University.

Here's the article:
BU's choice appears to be Jones

And here's more on Jones:
Jones interviews at Boston University
A look at Tony Jones

WNIT Live Blog: Boston University vs. Boston College

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

Women's Basketball Live Blog: America East Tournament Championship

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.

Women's Basketball Live Blog: America East Tournament (Semifinals)

Coaching search update and links

Here are some links to pass along that have been trickling in over the past few days regarding the recent firing of BU coach Dennis Wolff. There will be an article in Monday's edition of the Free Press as well as an extended feature piece that will be released at a later date. Please keep it here for everything regarding this ongoing situation.

Links:
Younger Pitino on BU list
BU axes head coach
Holy Spirit's B.J. Bailey upset over firing of Boston University coach

Women's Basketball Live Blog: America East Tournament (Quarterfinals)

Women's Basketball Tournament Preview: Quarterfinals

Despite the fact that the men's season has come to and end, Full Court Press has you covered with everything happening regarding BU women's basketball, which went 16-0 in conference and boasts AE Player of the Year Jesyka Burks-Wiley. Beat writer Scott McLaughlin will be live at the tournament to provide analysis and commentary on all the games. Here's a preview to get things started.

No. 1 Boston University vs. No. 8 University at Albany/No. 9 University of Maine

Friday, 2 p.m.

The Terriers (22-6, 16-0 AE), who captured their first regular-season crown since 1988, will begin their bid for an automatic NCAA Tournament berth against the winner of Thursday night’s play-in game.

There’s no reason to think BU should run into any obstacles in this first game. It has steamrolled the Great Danes (4-24, 3-13) by a combined 53 points in the team’s two meetings this year, including a 95-72 demolition in Boston in the regular-season finale on Saturday.

Although the Terriers’ two wins over the Black Bears (5-24, 3-13) have been tighter (15- and 14-point margins), Maine has never been closer than 12 points of BU in the second half of either game.

BU features the conference’s top offense, averaging 73.3 points per game. Seniors Jesyka Burks-Wiley (18.1 ppg), Kristi Dini (12.9 ppg), Christine Kinneary and Amarachi Umez-Eronini (11.3 ppg apiece) are second, seventh and tied for 13th, respectively, in scoring.

Terriers can be found up and down the rest of the league’s stats page as well. Burks-Wiley, a Player of the Year candidate who has collected five Player of the Week awards this season, ranks second in rebounding, pulling down 7.5 boards per game. Dini leads the conference in 3-pointers (3.3 per game), Kinneary is best in assists (5.3 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2), and Umez-Eronini is the top thief with 2.6 steals per game.

The guard tandem of sophomore Janea Aiken and junior Britney McGee carry Albany, as they rank seventh and 11th in America East in scoring with 12.9 and 11.6 points per game, respectively. Junior forward Brittany Boser is Maine’s only double-digit scorer, averaging 10.2 ppg.

No. 2 University of Hartford vs. No. 7 Stony Brook University

Friday, 6 p.m.

The Hawks (19-10, 14-2), who have the benefit of defending their conference title on their home floor, swept the season series from the Seawolves (6-22, 4-12) with an 81-67 triumph in West Hartford and a 79-56 pounding on Long Island.

If Stony Brook is going to have any shot at quieting the home crowd, it will have to slow down freshman guard Ilicia Mathis, who led Hartford in scoring in each of the first two contests, including a career-high 20 points two Saturdays ago.

After coming off the bench in out-of-conference play, Mathis has emerged as one of the best young guards in America East. She leads the veteran-laden Hawks with 12.6 points per game in conference play.

Slow her down and the Seawolves will have to deal with the inside attack of junior forwards Erica Beverly (11.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game) and Diana Delva (11.7 and 6.4), the best 1-2 post punch in America East.

Stony Brook will also need a big performance from sophomore forward Kirsten Jeter if the game is going to be close at the end. Jeter ranks ninth in the conference in scoring with 12.2 points per game and is tied for sixth in rebounding with 6.2 boards per game.

Complementing Jeter’s inside game is the play of Misha Horsey at the point. The sophomore is averaging 10.4 points and 3.5 assists per contest, and she rarely turns the ball over, ranking fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0).

No. 3 University of Vermont vs. No. 6 University of New Hampshire

Friday, 8 p.m.

As is the case with a potential BU-Albany matchup, there’s nothing to suggest that this game should even be close. The Wildcats (8-22, 6-10) have found themselves on the receiving end of 21- and 22-point beatdowns courtesy of the Catamounts (18-11, 12-4) this year.

Senior guard Sy Janousek came off the bench to score a career-high 19 points for Vermont in the first meeting, and junior guard May Kotsopoulos led the way in the second clash with 21.

Although Janousek and fellow senior guard Amy Rosenkrantz are important contributors, it is the backcourt duo of juniors Kotsopoulos and defending Player of the Year Courtnay Pilypaitis that carries Vermont.

Pilypaitis and Kotsopoulos place fourth and fifth in America East with 14.4 and 13.8 points per game, respectively. In addition, Pilypaitis is third in the conference and first among guards with 7.3 rebounds per game and second in assists with 5.2 per game. Kotsopoulos comes in second in America East with 2.4 steals per game.

Unlike fellow underdogs Albany, Maine and Stony Brook, UNH has that one player who can step up and take over a game – junior forward Candace Williams. She is the conference’s best rebounder (8.2 per game), and her 16.0 points per game are good for third.

The Wildcats’ upset hopes could also be greatly aided by a lights-out shooting performance from junior guard Amy Simpson (11.5 ppg), who has attempted the most treys in the conference this season (244). Unfortunately for UNH, she’s only made 24.6 percent of them.

No. 4 Binghamton University vs. No. 5 University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Friday, 12 p.m.

Not surprisingly, the 4-5 matchup promises to be the most even first-round game. It’s the only quarterfinal showdown featuring a pair of teams that split their regular-season series. Oddly enough, though, neither contest was all that close. The Retrievers (14-15, 6-10) downed the Bearcats (13-16, 8-8) in Baltimore, 78-63, on Jan. 24. Binghamton returned the favor with a 70-50 trouncing at home two weeks ago.

In the first meeting, junior guard Carlee Cassidy, the conference’s leading scorer (20.8 points per game), led UMBC with a game-high 27 points. In the second encounter, senior center Laura Franceski paced the Bearcats with 15 points, 15 rebounds (a career high) and three blocks.

Cassidy and Franceski will be the key players in Friday’s tilt as well. Cassidy will shoot from anywhere at anytime, as evidenced by her conference-high 489 shot attempts. Her 2.8 trifectas per game are second most in the conference. Franceski is one of the most intimidating defensive presences in the league. Her 3.1 blocks per game peg her over a block a game better than anyone else in America East.

The Binghamton offense runs through the guard combo of junior Erica Carter (10.2 ppg) and freshman Andrea Holmes (9.9 ppg). Like Mathis for Hartford, Holmes has really matured in conference play, averaging 11.4 ppg since its commencement.

But when it comes to America East freshmen, the Retrievers take the cake. Rookies Michelle Kurowski (13.3 ppg), Katie Brooks (9.4 ppg) and Erin Brown (9.4 ppg) have garnered a combined eight America East Rookie of the Week awards. Kurowski, who ranks ninth in the nation in freshman scoring, leads the way with four.

BREAKING NEWS: Burks-Wiley earns BU’s first Player of the Year award, Terriers take over awards banquet

The women of Boston University continued their dominance of the America East Conference at Thursday’s awards banquet at the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.

Senior forward Jesyka Burks-Wiley became the first Terrier in the conference’s 25-year history to garner Player of the Year honors. She led the America East with 19.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in conference play and won five Player of the Week awards.

Kelly Greenberg was named the Coach of the Year for the first time in her five years at the helm for BU. She becomes the first Terrier coach to earn the award since Christine Basile in 1987. Greenberg and the Terriers became the fifth team in America East history to complete an undefeated conference regular season. BU has won 22 games this season, a program record.

Senior guard Amarachi Umez-Eronini, who led the conference with 3.0 steals per game in conference play, won the Defensive Player of the Year award. She becomes the first BU player to win the award in its seven-year history.

Burks-Wiley, Umez-Eronini and senior point guard Christine Kinneary, who led the America East with 5.3 assists per game and a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, were all named to the America East All-Conference First Team. It marks the first time that three players from the same school were named to the First Team since Vermont’s 1992-93 squad.

In addition, senior guard Kristi Dini, who made a conference-high 92 3-pointers this season, was named to the All-Conference Third Team. Umez-Eronini and Kinneary were both named to the All-Defensive Team as well.

Below is the complete listing of the 2008-09 season awards.

Individual awards:

Player of the Year

Jesyka Burks-Wiley, Boston University

Coach of the Year

Kelly Greenberg, Boston University

Rookie of the Year

Andrea Holmes, Binghamton

Defensive Player of the Year

Amarachi Umez-Eronini, Boston University

All-Conference Awards:

First Team

Jesyka Burks-Wiley, Sr. F Boston University

Christine Kinneary, Sr. G Boston University

Amarachi Umez-Eronini, Sr. G Boston University

Erica Beverly, Jr. F Hartford

Courtnay Pilypaitis, Jr. G Vermont

Second Team

Diana Delva, Jr. F Hartford

Lisa Etienne, Sr. G Hartford

Carlee Cassidy, Jr. G UMBC

Candace Williams, Jr. F New Hampshire

May Kotsopoulos, Jr. G Vermont

Third Team

Laura Franceski, Sr. C Binghamton

Andrea Holmes, Fr. G Binghamton

Kristi Dini, Sr. G Boston University

Ilicia Mathis, Fr. G Hartford

Kirsten Jeter, So. F Stony Brook

All-Rookie Team

Andrea Holmes, Fr. G Binghamton

Viive Rebane, Fr. F Binghamton

Ilicia Mathis, Fr. G Hartford

Erin Brown, Fr. F UMBC

Michelle Kurowski, Fr. G UMBC

All-Defensive Team

Christine Kinneary, Sr. G Boston University

Amarachi Umez-Eronini, Sr. G Boston University

Erica Beverly, Jr. F Hartford

Lisa Etienne, Sr. G Hartford

May Kotsopoulos, Jr. G Vermont