After Action’s All-Service Academy Basketball Team
March 17th, 2010 | Air Force Army Basketball Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
This wasn’t the greatest of seasons for the service academy basketball teams. Air Force won only two games against conference opponents. Army and Navy finished with losing records, and both were bounced in the first round of the Patriot League tournament.
Despite the team struggles, there were plenty of outstanding performers at all three schools. So I wondered: Who were the best players out the three schools? Then I wondered: Has anybody ever put together an all-service academy team?
Well, yes. Scout.com does it regularly for football. But not for basketball, as far as I can see (and I really didn’t look too hard). So giddyup. Here’s the (maybe) first-ever All-Service Academy Basketball Team, along with other awards for the 2009-10 season, presented by your friends at After Action:
Player of the Year: Chris Harris, Navy
A no-brainer here. Harris led the Patriot League in scoring, steals and 3-pointers. He had five 30-point games and went off for 40 points in a win over eventual league champion Lehigh.
Coach of the Year: Zach Spiker, Army
Spiker nearly led Army to its first winning season since 1985, which is especially impressive because he wasn’t even on West Point’s staff two months before the season started. Army may have fallen apart down the stretch, but it still managed to beat Navy once and finish a respectable, if disappointing, 14-15 — the best record among the three service academies.
Rookie of the Year: Michael Lyons, Air Force
Lyons averaged 26 minutes per game for the Falcons, and he finished fifth on the squad in scoring (6.9) and rebounding (3.0).
All-After Action Team:
- Chris Harris, Navy (Sr.) First-team All-Patriot selection was the only service academy player to be named to his conference’s first or second team. Averaged 21.1 points per game.
- Jordan Sugars, Navy (So.) Averaged 15.8 points and eight rebounds per game, good enough to be fourth in Patriot in scoring and third in rounding. Got robbed not making second team All-Patriot.
- Cleveland Richard, Army (Sr.) Army’s leading scorer, Richard was the only Black Knight to start every game. Finished 10th in Patriot in scoring (12.6) and second in steals (1.7).
- Evan Washington, Air Force (Sr.) Was named All-MWC Honorable Mention, the only Falcon to earn all-league recognition. Led the Falcons in rebounding per game (4.7) and was second on the team in scoring (10.3).
- Grant Parker, Air Force (Sr.) Led Air Force in scoring with 12.7 points per game and was second on the squad in rebounding. Injuries cost him 10 games, but he came up big in the Falcons’ two MWC wins.
Sixth Man:
- O.J. Avworo, Navy (Jr.). Led Patriot League in assists per game (5.8), had three double-doubles and finished with 10 or more assists in six different games.
Weekend basketball roundup: Everybody loses
February 14th, 2010 | Air Force Army Basketball Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
Air Force's Zach Bohannon puts up a shot during the first half of Air Force's 91-48 loss to BYU on Saturday in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/The Daily Herald,James Roh)
Bad weekend for the academy basketball teams.
Navy’s three-game winning streak ended. Army lost for the fifth time in six games. And Air Force lost in a historic 43-point blowout.
Let’s look at the “Oh No in Provo” first: Air Force’s 91-48 loss to BYU was the Falcons’ worst-ever loss in a conference game. It’s the third-worst loss in the program’s history.
After a respectable start to the season, the wheels have been coming off for the Falcons in Mountain West Conference play, where they’re 1-10 so far (after going winless in the MWC last year). Air Force’s offense averaged less than 50 points per game in the three losses prior to Saturday, and in Provo yesterday, No. 17 BYU pounced all over the Falcons. BYU shot 56 percent overall and 60 percent from behind the 3-point line, while the Falcons once again could not break 50.
The only bit of good news is that Air Force gets a week off before its next game. Unfortunately that next game is a trip to 15th-ranked New Mexico on Saturday. New Mexico won the first matchup in Colorado Springs by 23 points.
Navy’s streak ends
Lafayette brought Navy back down to earth Saturday with an 83-77 win over the Midshipmen in Easton, Pa. The loss ended Navy’s winning streak as well as the team’s short stay in first place in the Patriot League.
Navy’s offense continued to put points on the board; however, leading scorer Chris Harris got into foul trouble and played only 25 minutes. He still managed 25 points, but the Mids struggled with him on the bench for a decent amount of the second half. Sophomore forward Jordan Sugars added 21 points and junior guard O.J. Ovworo finished with 17, which tied a career high.
Army gasping toward the finish line
Yesterday’s 78-66 loss to Lehigh means the Black Knights are in serious jeopardy of blowing a golden opportunity to finish above .500 for the first time since 1985. The Black Knights have lost five of their last six and are now 13-11 overall with four games left to play. Army can guarantee a winning record by splitting those two games. Otherwise, they’ll need to do something in the Patriot League tournament, which hasn’t exactly been the program’s strong suit in the past.
20 assists in 2 games = player of the week
February 9th, 2010 | Basketball Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
Navy's O.J Avworo takes a shot during the Midshipmen's 62-56 win over Army last month. (Tom Brown/ Staff)
Navy has run off two consecutive Patriot League victories, and their offense has been on fire in each of the wins. Junior guard O.J. Avworo has been the catalyst of the Mids’ attack, and his ability to create and put points on the board earned him the first Patriot League Player of the Week honors of his career yesterday.
Avworo had double-doubles in each of Navy’s victories: 14 points and 10 assists in a 100-91 win over Colgate and 17 points and 10 assists in a 81-79 win over Bucknell. It’s the first time in Navy history that a player has recorded consecutive double-doubles in points and assists.
Avworo has had 10 assists in a game three times this season. He’s averaging 5.5 assists per game, which puts him 27th in the nation in that category. Avworo has also been more aggressive shooting the ball from the outside lately, making the slashing guard even more of an offensive threat.
The two wins in a row by Navy put the Mids’ record closer to the .500 mark at 11-12. But more importantly, Navy is now 5-3 in the Patriot, tied for second place with Lafayette with six regular season games to go. Next up for the Mids is a trip to first-place Lehigh on Wednesday. Navy beat Lehigh 94-83 at home in January in the second-highest scoring output for the Midshipmen this season.
Navy drops 100 on Colgate; Army loses again
January 31st, 2010 | Army Basketball Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
Anyone who trekked through the snow to Alumni Hall in Annapolis yesterday was treated to quite the offensive outburst in Navy’s 100-91 victory over Colgate. Sophomore forward Jordan Sugars exploded for a career-high 34 points on a 13-17 shooting performance to lead the Mids. Senior guard Chris Harris added 25 points and junior guard O.J. Avworo turned in a double-double by scoring 14 points and notching 10 assists (Navy had 19 assists as a team). It’s the second time this season that Avworo has had 10 assists in a game.
Navy is now 10-12 overall and 4-3 in the Patriot League.
Here’s the box score.
Here’s a game story.
At the other end of the scoring spectrum yesterday was Army, who couldn’t break 50 points in a 55-48 loss at Bucknell. The scoring-challenged Black Knights went 10:13 without a field goal during one stretch in the second half. Remarkably, Army was not blown out of the gym. Bucknell was nearly as bad on offense, shooting just 1-18 from 3-point range and shooting 33 percent overall.
Army is now 12-9 overall and 2-5 in the Patriot.
Here’s a game story. (worth it for a great quote from the Bucknell coach about the quality of the game)
Here’s the box score.
Images from the Army-Navy game
January 25th, 2010 | Army Basketball Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
Navy's Chris Harris and Army's Eric Zastoupil get tangled up under the hoop during Saturday's Army-Navy game in Annapolis. Navy beat Army, 62-56. (Tom Brown / Staff)
Army's Jeremy Hence (14) blocks a shot by Navy's Chris Harris as Army's Chris Walker (45) plays defense. Hence finished with five points, five rebounds and two blocks. (Tom Brown / Staff)