Tribe's 3s, defense enough to eliminate Elon
BALTIMORE — Marcus Thornton dribbled the ball about 30 feet from the basket on the right side as the clock waned down.
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BALTIMORE — Marcus Thornton dribbled the ball about 30 feet from the basket on the right side as the clock waned down.
BALTIMORE — Seemingly a century but less than two months, actually — the amount of time the Elon University men’s basketball team has to look back to channel the game plan it needs for Saturday.
BALTIMORE — Elijah Bryant isn’t known for being the most talkative individual.
Alva J. Sizemore, Jr. has been hired as the Town of Elon's new fire chief, the town announced Thursday.
Adam Lowry clicked to a PowerPoint slide that showed a picture of him holding a checkbook in a grocery store parking lot.
The thought elicited some wide-eyed facial expressions, a chuckle or two and most certainly some brainstorming to see if it was really true.
A prized basketball recruit makes his visit to Elon University, and as the coaching staff tries to schmooze him and his parents as best they can, the group arrives at Alumni Gym. They walk into the arena where the recruit would be playing his home games for the next four years should he decide to attend Elon. And he’s not impressed. “It’s so much smaller,” the recruit thinks, “compared to the gyms at William & Mary and James Madison.” That’s precisely the challenge Elon faces right now with its move to the Colonial Athletic Association. The schools Elon is competing with play in arenas far larger than Alumni Gym, which in turn are more attractive to prospective incoming freshmen. By building a multi-use convocation center where the Phoenix could play its basketball games, Elon would instantly become a sexier place to play Division I basketball. Alumni Gym has been a serviceable home court for Elon basketball teams for more than 50 years while the Phoenix competed through the NAIA, Division II and ultimately Division I ranks as a member of the Big South Conference and the Southern Conference. The arena’s capacity is 1,607 — by far the smallest in the CAA. The next closest is Drexel University’s Daskalakis Athletic Center, which seats 2,532. The largest is Kaplan Arena at William & Mary, which holds about 8,600 for basketball games. Sure, CAA teams don’t sell out their gyms for most home basketball games. James Madison, which plays at the 6,426-seat Convocation Center, has sold out just one of its 16 home games this year, and that was the season opener against No. 9 University of Virginia. But attendance shouldn’t be an issue. Elon hovers between 1,200 and 1,500 fans for most of its home games. Instead, look at the “If you build it, they will come,” approach. If Phoenix basketball boasts a big arena, recruits will be more attracted to the program. Elon is currently in ninth place out of 10 teams in the CAA in men’s basketball. Elon isn’t necessarily struggling because of its small home gym, but it’s clear its opponents have better facilities in place to assemble high-level talent. To attract the caliber of player required to compete in the CAA, Elonneeds a better selling point than Alumni Gym. It pales in comparison to gyms at other conference schools, giving recruits less of an incentive to play here when other CAA schools have an offer on board. The uses of a convocation center extend beyond athletics. Right now, the rain plan for Commencement moves the ceremony to Alumni Gym, and limits each graduate to two tickets for guests. If Elon had a larger convocation center, the rain plan would be more comfortable. More guests of graduates would be able to attend. The convocation center could also host concerts. Elon could avoid noise complaints and wouldn’t be forced to use a parking lot on campus, since the arena would hold upwards of 7,000 people with additional floor seating for concerts. Elon has made it known it wants to compete at a higher level athletically. No longer is the Phoenix competing with the likes of Wofford College or Furman University. Basketball is one of the more popular spectator sports on campus. For Elon to be competitive once again in those games, building a larger arena is just one step in the right direction.
As the losses pile up, Elon University men’s basketball coach Matt Matheny decided to look to the future.
Through all the dialogue, some soft, some harsh, Rich Skrosky has stayed true to his words in regard to recruiting.
On the day of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft, Elon University senior Casey Jones was at the Luke Bryan concert in Raleigh.
The competitor in Mike Kennedy shone through in something other than baseball last summer.
WILMINGTON — There were turnovers, missed shots and missed assignments. There were errant passes, failed box-outs and sloppy ball control. There was a stifling pressure defense, a disadvantage in the post and a flattening start from which recovering was never quite in reach.
As Christian Hairston rattled off a touching sentiment, Austin Hamilton was to his left with a smirk on his face.
Moments after yet another loss ended with an air ball at the buzzer, Elon University head men’s basketball coach Matt Matheny got emotional.
With a cyclonic ending still on his mind, Elon University men’s basketball coach Matt Matheny chose to start his press conference by talking about the Colonial Athletic Association. Elon had just been handed its third straight loss in the CAA, a 75-72 defeat to James Madison University in which senior guard Austin Hamilton’s 3-pointer missed right before the final buzzer. Instead of talking about that play, Matheny focused on the conference, in which it’s clear Elon is still adjusting. There’s a lot of work to be done, but it’s nothing unexpected. “We are faced with competing in the [CAA], which is brand new to us,” Matheny said. “We’re finding out very, very quickly what we anticipated — that there’s a lot of good teams in this league and a lot of good coaches in this league.” James Madison attacked Elon with a zone defense, something Elon has rarely seen. It forced the Phoenix to either fire up 3-pointers — which were pretty well contested — or go for mid-range jumpers of which Elon made just one of all night. Elon’s post players, mainly senior Ryan Winters and junior Tony Sabato, would get the ball near the free throw line with room to make a play. But the two combined for just nine points, furthering what’s been a tough season for Elon’s forwards. The James Madison loss came on the heels of flattening home defeats to Hofstra University and College of Charleston. The Phoenix is 2-4 overall in CAA play. Not to say that victories against Drexel University and the College of William & Mary were misleading, but Elon shot the ball extremely well both games. The Phoenix has shown it can overcome big deficits — Elon trailed James Madison by 10 with less than five minutes to play before cutting it to one in the final minute — but it has to learn how to win without having its best offensive night. It’s no secret that Elon relies on the 3-pointer, and junior Tanner Samson is the main culprit of that. He averages 12.5 points per game and attempts more than eight 3-pointers per contest. In fact, he’s so locked in on shooting 3s that he’s shooting 36.7 percent from long range but 21 percent from the rest of the field. So when Samson struggles like he did against Hofstra (eight points) and College of Charleston (none), Elon needs a backup plan. It’s a similar situation with freshman guard Elijah Bryant, who averaged 28.2 points in Elon’s two CAA victories but has averaged 11.8 in the four losses while shooting a dismal 28.5 percent. “[Bryant and Samson] are a huge part of our offense,” Sabato said. “I wouldn’t say we tend to struggle when they struggle. They’ll continue to shoot the ball and bounce back.” The uniqueness of James Madison’s zone was something Elon wasn’t used to, but it’s only a precursor of what’s to come for the rest of the CAA slate. Every game, the Phoenix is facing a team it doesn’t know much about. “It’s a different style of play we’re not familiar with,” Matheny said. “I think that’s one of the most difficult things for us is not knowing these things. It’s tough, and it’s every night. That’s difficult.” Even though the Phoenix is six games into league play, the adjustment won’t end anytime soon. That’s why finding some sort of offensive rhythm will help. As his opening statement after the James Madison loss showed, Matheny has the process at the forefront of his mind. But for now, there’s no need for panic.
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Even the one play where James Madison University didn’t play zone defense, the Elon University men’s basketball team still couldn’t execute.
Elon University quarterback John Loughery has left the school and will transfer, team spokesman Chris Rash confirmed Wednesday.
Matt Matheny had to backtrack for a moment when talking about his team’s perimeter defense.
Three times during Thursday night’s men’s basketball game, Elon University freshman guard Elijah Bryant took the ball up the floor, and without looking to pass, stepped up and took a 3-pointer.
From the crossroads of Columbia, Mo., to the treacherous grounds of Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, I’d say the Elon University men’s basketball team passed its tests.