Rutgers Scouting Report

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RUTGERS SCOUTING REPORT


Published in the Home News Tribune 3/03/04

WHO: Rutgers (16-9, 7-7) vs. Virginia Tech (12-13, 5-9).WHEN/WHERE: Today, 7 p.m.; Cassell Coliseum, Blackburg, Va.RADIO: 710 AM, 1450 AM, 88.7 FMVIRGINIA TECH STARTERS: Zabian Dowdell (Fr., 6-2, G, 10.2 ppg., 3.0 rpg.); Jamon Gordon (Fr., 6-3, G, 9.9 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 4.3 apg.); Markus Sailes (So., 6-5, G, 5.1 ppg., 3.7 rpg.); Bryant Matthews (Sr., 6-7, F, 22.7 ppg., 9.0 rpg.); Coleman Collins (Fr., 6-9, F, 8.3 ppg., 3.8 rpg.).VIRGINIA TECH RESERVES: Philip McCandies (So., 6-9, F, 5.3 ppg., 3.2 rpg.); Allen Calloway (So., 6-8, F, 3.8 ppg., 3.0 rpg.); Shawn Harris (So., 6-4, G, 5.3 ppg., 2.0 rpg.).RUTGERS STARTERS: Marquis Webb (Fr., 6-5, G, 6.8 ppg., 3.6 rpg., 3.0 apg.); Ricky Shields (Jr., 6-4, G, 15.2 ppg., 4.5 rpg.); Juel Wiggan (Jr., 5.3 ppg., 2.8 apg.); Herve Lamizana (Sr., 6-10, F, 13.9 ppg., 8.2 rpg.); Sean Axani (Sr., 6-8, F, 5.6 ppg., 6.3 rpg.).RUTGERS RESERVES: Adrian Hill (So., 6-8, F-C, 6.2 ppg., 4.7 rpg.); Quincy Douby (Fr., 6-3, G, 11.4 ppg., 1.8 rpg.); Byron Joynes (Fr., 6-9, C, 2.3 ppg., 2.5 rpg.); Justin Piasecki (Sr., 6-8, F); Eric Hazard (Fr., 6-5, F); Shayle Keating (Fr., 6-0, G); Jon Mimmo (Fr., 6-1, G).SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH: Don't expect to see the same Virginia Tech team that left Piscataway two weeks ago humbled by a 33-point defeat. The Hokies are a much better team at home, winning their last four games in Blacksburg, including a 53-49 decision over West Virginia on Saturday. Bryant Matthews, who scored 29 of Tech's 52 points in the Rutgers defeat, leads the Big East in scoring by more than three points per game over Syracuse's Hakim Warrick (19.7). Jamon Gordon leads all Big East freshmen in assists and steals (2.9). The Hokies lead the Big East in turnover margin (plus-4.76). The five league victories is the most since Tech entered the league three seasons ago and all but assures the Hokies of their first-ever berth in the Big East Tournament.SCOUTING RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights are looking to climb over the .500 mark in Big East play and keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive tonight. Rutgers has lost its last three Big East road games by an average of 20.3 points and can't afford to have a 1-7 road mark on its NCAA resume. While Rutgers coach Gary Waters is well aware of his team's road woes, he attributes much of the problem to the Scarlet Knights simply playing better competition away from Piscataway over the past month. That shouldn't be the case with Virginia Tech, the team Rutgers matches up with better than any other in the Big East. The Scarlet Knights have had a tendency of shutting down their opponents' best player and if they can limit Tech's lone offensive threat in Bryant Matthews, a similar outcome from two weeks ago can be expected.SERIES HISTORY: This is just the third time these teams have met in Big East play, but the second time in the span of two weeks. Rutgers defeated Virginia Tech 85-52 on Feb. 15.Keith Sargeant

 

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Rutgers in need of win


Published in the Home News Tribune 03/03/04
By KEITH SARGEANT
STAFF WRITER

If Rutgers coach Gary Waters could bring the Louis Brown Athletic Center with him on the road he would.

Unfortunately, he can't, but he's going to do the next best thing: bring some of his home-court flavor with him on the road.

"We might bring a giant block R and put it on (Virginia Tech's) floor for (today's) shootaround," Waters said.

It's that kind of psychological warfare that Waters is using to brainwash his team. He admits that his players have a mental block about going on the road, where their 1-6 Big East record haunts them like a Scarlet letter, and he is doing everything possible to change that mindset.

"I want change," Waters said. "We've become too routine, so we're going to change some things up."

One of the changes, Waters said, was the way the Scarlet Knights (16-9, 7-7 in Big East) prepared for tonight's pivotal road clash at Virginia Tech (12-13, 5-9). Instead of their normal routine of practicing at the Louis Brown Athletic Center before departing for the road, he took his players out of their element and into the unfamiliar gym on the Rutgers-Newark campus.

"That's just a way of getting them in another element. It's a similar facility to theirs (with both courts under a dome-roof)," Waters said.

The team then chartered a plane to Blacksburg, Va., rather than its normal routine of flying coach. It was the first time this season Rutgers flew by charter, although Waters said they would've done it regardless of the road record.

"We usually do it for three trips a year -- Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Notre Dame," Waters said. "It's a big cost, but the reason I do it is for academic reasons. If we didn't charter, we'd be out of school three days. By chartering, we're only out for one day."

Still, anything to get out of the routine that has seen Rutgers play so poorly away from the friendly confines of the LBAC.

"We're going there to win," Waters said. "That's the No. 1 focus in our mind. Forget about the road, this is a game we have to win."

It's a game the Scarlet Knights desperately need to win in order to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

"We pretty much know that this game will make or break our season," Rutgers forward Sean Axani said. "We're not going to fool ourselves and say it's just another game because obviously the stakes are higher now. The good thing is, as bad as we've been on the road, we have the chance to make up for that with a good showing (tonight)."

Axani recalled the situation from two years ago, when the Scarlet Knights, then 18-9, traveled to Virginia Tech for a must-win game to get them in the NCAA Tournament.

"In a lot of ways, that game ruined our season," Axani said of the 63-49 loss at the hands of the Hokies that day. "We went into that game not believing we were a tournament team. This is a different team. We have different expectations now. We know we're close (to an NCAA Tournament bid) and we know we can't afford to lose."

The Scarlet Knights don't expect to see the same Virginia Tech team that left Piscataway two weeks ago humbled by a 33-point defeat. The Hokies have won four straight games at Cassell Coliseum, including a 12-point decision over Big East leader Providence in early February.

"They're a different team at home," said Waters, who could've just as easily been referring to his own team.