Now that Wake Forest has gotten their loss out of the way early in the season, I figure that we will go ahead and run off 10-15 in a row leading into ACC play. HAHA, but in all seriousness, Wake Forest will play the Hampton Pirates Monday night at 7:00 in LJVM to kick off the Preseason NIT.
The winner of the first game will face the winner of the Winthrop-VCU game on Tuesday at 7:00 (ESPNU). That game should be pretty entertaining as well, but VCU should win that game.
Now let's take a look at the Hampton Pirates.
Click through for what you can expect to see from Hampton tomorrow night.
Most people know very little to nothing about Hampton basketball. If they do know something, they probably only remember when the #15 Hampton Pirates upset the #2 Iowa State Cyclones, as head coach Steve Merfield (in pure jubilation I might add) was carried around the basketball court by David Johnson.
Sorry for the video, only one I could find.
Other than that, Hampton has only made the tournament one other time (the next year in 2002), and has an overall record in the tournament of 1-2. The team this year is looking to end Morgan States reign of terror in the MEAC.
Facts about Hampton University
First of all, let's learn a little bit about Hampton University.
Hampton University
Motto
"The Standard of Excellence, An Education for Life"
Established
April 1, 1868
Type
Private HBCU
Endowment
$193 million[1]
President
William R. Harvey
Students
5,000
Location
Hampton, Virginia, United States
Campus
Suburban
Former names
Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute
Hampton Institute
Athletics
NCAA Division I FCS
Nickname
Pirates
Affiliations
MEAC
MAISA
Website
www.hamptonu.edu
Some famous alumni include: Booker T. Washington and Wanda Sykes.
Athletically, Hampton has been a member of the MEAC since 1995. Here is an excerpt recapping Hampton athletics since then from Wikipedia:
In 1995, Hampton joined the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, commonly referred to as the MEAC. Since joining, Hampton has won dozens of MEAC titles in football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's track, and men's and women's tennis. In March 2001, the men's basketball team made NCAA Tournament history, becoming only the fourth 15th-seeded team to defeat a 2nd-seeded team. Hampton defeated Iowa State, 58–57 on March 15, but lost to Georgetown two days later. The win still makes SportsCenter's Top 10 NCAA tournament upsets.
Rivals include Norfolk State University, located across Hampton Roads in downtown Norfolk, and Howard University in Washington, D.C.
But enough about the lessons about the school and its history, let's get down to business.
Hampton Basketball
Hampton Pirates
| Last Season | 14-18 (.438) |
| Conference Record | 8-8 (t-5th) |
| Starters Lost/Returning | 2/3 |
| Coach | Edward Joyner, Jr. (Johnson C. Smith '95) |
| Record At School | 14-18 (1 year) |
| Career Record | 14-18 (1 year) |
Hampton is looking to use last year's campaign as a springboard this year. Things started off slowly last year due to many things, but mainly the shocking death of senior leader Theo Smalling, who was killed in an accidental shooting. After everything got settled, they managed to win their final five regular season games to finish 8-8. They then beat Norfolk State 73-70 before eventually falling to Morgan State 74-67 in the MEAC tournament semifinals.
We can assess what Hampton did well last year by taking a look at the Four Factors of KenPom. Here is the chart and what they show:
Category
Offense
Defense
D-I Avg
Adj. Efficiency:
94.3 273
99.2 139
100.8
Adj. Tempo:
67.5 156
67.3
Four Factors
Effective FG%:
47.2 243
46.0 52
48.8
Turnover %:
22.8 296
24.1 15
20.4
Off. Reb. %:
34.5 108
37.4 324
32.7
FTA/FGA:
42.2 71
39.3 212
37.7
In short, Hampton was not very efficient on offense, but did alright on defense. They held opponents well under the D1 eFG%, but were also under it themselves on offense. The Pirates were one of the best at forcing turnovers, but didn't get as much out of it as they could have because of their own inability to hold on to the ball. They got to the line a lot, but only shot 68% from the line, and failed to capitalize on that. It seems like the Pirates have a good setup on both sides of the ball, but just don't capitalize on it. If they can continue to force turnovers, play sound defense, and get to the free throw line, they could be a very good team in the MEAC this year.
Hampton led the MEAC in points allowed per possession at .91. They finished 5th in points scored per possession at .99. Anything under 1.00 is good on defense and bad on offense, vice versa for anything over 1.00. That means that Hampton was very good defensively, but slightly below average offensively.
Miscellaneous Components from 2010
Miscellaneous Components
3P%:
29.9 317
30.6 29
34.2
2P%:
48.4 147
46.1 103
47.7
FT%:
67.8 216
63.1 2
68.9
Block%:
7.0 35
10.6 90
9.2
Steal%:
8.8 86
12.8 14
9.8
Style Components
3PA/FGA:
32.1 173
31.5 129
32.6
A/FGM:
53.1 179
50.2 84
53.5
Defensive Fingerprint:
Mostly Man
Point Distribution (% of total points)
3-Pointers:
23.4 260
24.7 256
27.1
2-Pointers:
53.4 142
54.0 98
52.0
Free Throws:
23.2 69
21.2 159
21.0
Strength of Schedule
Hampton's Roster
2010-11 HAMPTON PIRATES
NO
NAME
POS
HT
WT
CLASS
HOMETOWN
1
Darrion Pellum
G
6-6
205
JR
Hampton, VA
2
Travis McClenny
G
5-9
175
FR
Portsmouth, VA
4
Danny Agbelese
F
6-8
215
JR
Dallas, TX
5
Brandon Tunnell
G
6-1
185
SR
Wilmington, DE
11
Mike Tuitt
G
6-3
175
JR
Bronx, NY
15
Wesley Dunning
G-F
6-7
210
SO
Washington, DC
20
Charles Funches
F
6-8
210
SR
Bayonne, NJ
21
Orin O'Bryant
F
6-10
215
JR
Reading, PA
22
Christopher Tolson
G
6-0
175
JR
Laurel, MD
24
Emmanuel Okoroba
C
6-8
225
FR
Garland, TX
32
Kwame Morgan II
G
6-3
205
JR
Largo, MD
33
Koron Reed
F
6-7
215
SO
Philadelphia, PA
34
Bakari Taylor
F
6-5
210
SO
Bowie, MD
50
Milade Lola-Charles
C
6-10
220
JR
Laurel, MD
The bad news is that head coach Edward Joyner Jr. has to replace his two best players on offense (Vincent Sampson and Michael Freeman). The good news is that they have a lot of depth and talent to find the replacements. From the Blue Ribbon Preview about guys who could and should step up.
That list starts with 6-6 junior Darrion Pellum (11.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.5 apg). The Pirates' top returning scorer, Pellum averaged 12.5 points against MEAC opponents.
Pellum wasn't the only guy who stepped it up in league play. Six of the nine double-digit scoring efforts by Kwame Morgan II (7.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg) came against conference foes, and Joyner expects the 6-3 junior guard to assume a starting role.
Senior Charles Funches (9.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.6 bpg), a 6-8 returning starter, will be the main man in the paint with the departure of Freeman, who led the Pirates in rebounding and notched 12 double-doubles.
Milade Lola-Charles (2.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg) is back after logging 19 starts at center. The 6-10 fourth-year junior has gained some needed weight and tips the scales at about 240 pounds now.
Here is a look at the the statistics from last year's Hampton team:
GAME STATISTICS
Player
GP
MIN
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
TPG
FG%
FT%
3P%
Vincent Simpson
32
29.1
14.1
2.1
2.6
1.6
0.0
3.1
.404
.738
.305
Michael Freeman
31
30.2
11.6
7.5
0.7
1.5
1.2
2.5
.538
.684
.000
Darrion Pellum
31
29.5
11.5
3.6
1.5
1.2
0.1
2.0
.392
.653
.297
Charles Funches
32
27.3
9.2
6.8
1.1
1.1
1.6
2.0
.468
.727
.250
Kwame Morgan II
27
17.0
7.4
2.5
0.6
0.6
0.0
0.6
.394
.625
.409
Brandon Tunnell
30
16.8
4.0
2.2
2.4
0.8
0.0
1.6
.361
.796
.222
Mike Tuitt
22
18.1
3.8
1.6
2.3
1.0
0.0
2.0
.359
.500
.167
Christopher Tolson
28
12.5
3.1
1.4
0.8
0.8
0.1
0.7
.375
.750
.250
Milade Lola-Charles
27
16.5
2.0
2.6
0.0
0.3
0.7
0.9
.396
.414
.000
Koron Reed
22
9.1
1.8
1.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.3
.600
.333
.000
Jonathan Ntoko
27
7.7
1.4
1.3
0.3
0.2
0.0
0.3
.517
.818
.000
Jordan Brooks
15
8.5
0.7
0.7
1.7
0.5
0.0
0.7
.231
.667
.143
Bakari Taylor
12
3.8
0.7
0.4
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.2
.571
.000
.000
Antwyne Hines
4
1.5
0.5
0.5
0.0
0.3
0.0
0.0
.333
.000
.000
Totals
32
--
66
35
12
9
4
16
.424
.678
.299
Projected Starting Lineup
1
Darrion Pellum
G
6-6
205
JR
205
32
Kwame Morgan II
G
6-3
JR
15
Wesley Dunning
G-F
6-7
210
SO
20
Charles Funches
F
6-8
210
SR
50
Milade Lola-Charles
C
6-10
220
JR
2010-2011 Schedule- KenPom projects the Pirates to go 13-11 (10-6, 3rd in the MEAC)
| Overall | Pct. | Conf | Pct. | Streak | Home | Away | Neutral |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 0 | .000 | 0 - 0 | .000 | --- | 0 - 0 | 0 - 0 | 0 - 0 |
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | TIME/RESULT | DETAILS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off | |||||
| Wake Forest (ESPNU) | Winston-Salem, NC | 7 p.m. | Details | ||
| VCU/Winthrop | WInston-Salem, NC | 7/9:30 pm | Details | ||
| Fordham | New York, NY | 7 p.m. | Details | ||
| High Point | High Point, NC | 3 p.m. | Details | ||
| Georgia State | Hampton, VA | 7 p.m. | Details | ||
| Big Apple Classic | |||||
| * | Howard | New York, NY | 6 pm | Details | |
| Delaware | Hampton. VA | 7 p.m. | Details | ||
| Towson | Hampton, VA | 7 p.m. | Details | ||
| Liberty | Hampton, VA | 7 p.m. | Details | ||
| Hilltop Classic | |||||
| Dominican (Calif.) | San Francisco, CA | TBA | Details | ||
| San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | TBA | Details | ||
| Colorado State | San Francisco, CA | TBA | Details | ||
| * | Coppin State | Baltimore, MD | 4 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Morgan State | Baltimore, MD | 8 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Norfolk State | Hampton, VA | 6 p.m. | Details | |
| * | North Carolina A&T | Hampton, VA | 8 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Bethune-Cookman | Daytona Beach, FL | 4 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Florida A&M | Tallahassee, FL | 7:30 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Delaware State | Hampton, VA | 6 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Maryland Eastern Shore (ESPNU) | Hampton, VA | 8 p.m. | Details | |
| * | South Carolina State | Hampton, VA | 6 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Norfolk State | Norfolk, VA | 6 p.m. | Details | |
| * | North Carolina A&T - ESPNU | Greensboro, NC | 7 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Bethune-Cookman | Hampton, VA | 6 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Florida A&M | Hampton, VA | 8 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Delaware State | Dover, DE | 7 p.m. | Details | |
| * | Howard | Washington, DC | 8 p.m. | Details | |
| Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament | |||||
| 2011 MEAC Basketabll Tournament | Winston-Salem, NC | TBD | Details | ||
Score Prediction (AccuScore, KenPom, RaJohnston)
KenPom predicts the final to be 74-61 in favor of Wake Forest (89%). They also have Hampton being 20 spotsbetter than Stetson in their ratings. This brings up the questions of whether the Stetson game was a fluke, or if we can expect to see a similar game with Hampton tomorrow night? To the first question, I do not believe that the Stetson game was a fluke. They outplayed us, and the final score was indicative of the game played on the court. That being said, I think that Stetson is much better than the media pundits (picked to finish 10th out of 11 teams in the Atlantic Sun), or KenPom has them right now. The Hampton game will be competitive, but I expect to see a Demon Deacon victory.
| Game Projection- Accuscore | PTS |
| Hampton | 64.3 |
| Wake Forest | 77.2 |
J.T. Terrell (WF) 18.9 pts
| Point Spread | AccuScore Probability |
| Hampton +13.5 | 51.5% |
| Wake Forest -13.5 | 48.8% |
| Over / Under | AccuScore Probability |
| OVR 138.5 | 53.8% |
| UND 138.5 | 46.1% |
| Money Line | AccuScore Probability |
| Hampton +371 | 15.8%% |
| Wake Forest -475 | 84.3%% |
| TEAM | WIN % | PTS | BIG WIN | CLOSE WIN |
| HAMP | 15.8% | 64.3 | 4.0% | 7.2% |
| WAKE | 84.2% | 77.2 | 59.7% | 11.1% |
Big Win is by 10 or more pts; Close Win is by 4 or less pts.
|
Hampton
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Wake Forest
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
My Prediction:
Wake Forest-77
Hampton-69
Although it won't be pretty, I think Coach Bzdelik will get his first regular season win at Wake Forest. I expect us to hit the boards hard tomorrow against a decently sized lineup. I would think that coach hammered home rebounding, and that we will see improvements. Turnovers will likely remain about the same due to the lack of offensive fluidity (with the players on the court, as well as the learning curve with the new offense). It is hard to win consistently without a very solid point guard, and as much as I love CJ, he is not to that point yet, but there is no other solution at this point. We should continue to improve in that sector, but tomorrow night should be more of the same.
That wraps up the Hampton preview. I encourage everybody to get out there and support the Baby Deacs, and just enjoy the learning that is going on right now. I honestly believe that this team is going to be very good in the future, and it starts now. As always, comments are always welcome and if anything is requested statistics wise I will do my best to get it up here ASAP.
Go Deacs!!!
Editors Note: Sorry for the formatting of some of the tables/charts/statistics. Some of them do not translate over as well as I would have liked. I will work on getting these into a better format for future previews and recaps.