2008 Woodie Awards
Basketball: Getting their act together
Kellogg, team settling in
Scott Feldman, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: Sports
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Just ask Derek Kellogg or Gene Cross what it's like for a first year coach.
Tonight's matchup between the Massachusetts men's basketball team (1-4) and Toledo (1-5) pits two teams with first-year coaches looking to break out of an early season slump. UMass (under Kellogg) has dropped its last four games, most recently 84-67 against Green Bay. The Rockets (Cross) lost five out of their first six games with their only win coming against West Georgia.
The Minutemen will face a serious challenge tonight; Not only will they have to ignore their recent slump, they will also have to contend with an excited Toledo crowd, which will be inaugurating the newly renovated John Savage Arena against UMass. Toledo played its previous six games on the road.
The Minutemen are travel weary, having played four out of five games on the road this season prior to tonight's contest. UMass has never won in Toledo, although the team hasn't played there since 1979.
UMass has had one bright spot this season; the outstanding play of Tony Gaffney. Gaffney has averaged 13.2 rebounds per game this season good for third in the nation In addition, to averaging 5.0 blocks per game, good for fourth in the country. The figure includes his games against Memphis (Nov. 17) where he pulled down a career-high 19 boards and chipped in 16 points and against Jacksonville State (Nov. 24) where he scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked a career-best eight shots.
Gaffney has played at least 32 minutes in every game this season, more than he has ever played in his career. This is partially due to the Minutemen's lack of size in the frontcourt, but also a reflection of the dramatic improvement he has shown since last year when he averaged 3.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
Although he has played well, he would like his numbers to come in Minutemen victories.
"Stats are nice but if your team isn't winning and the results aren't there, it doesn't mean a whole lot," Gaffney said.
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