Cosgrove transfers, Moore signs 2 more

The lineup is changing for the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team.
Tom Moore announced the signing of two recruits to national letters of intent Tuesday while starting point guard Casey Cosgrove has decided to transfer.
Cosgrove’s decision comes on the heels of Moore’s strong 2008 recruiting class. The Bobcats will bring in three guards, including James Johnson, a highly lauded point guard from New York City power Bishop Loughlin High.
Also, Jeremy Baker, who missed last year after transferring from Garden City Community College in Kansas, will be joining the team. Baker can play any of three positions and led his junior college team in assists.
That left Cosgrove clearly battling for playing time next season.
"He came in to my office at the end of the season and expressed his feelings about his future," Moore said.
"I want to thank Casey for the dedication and commitment he made to the program for the past two years. His competitiveness and toughness were integral parts of our success this past season."
Cosgrove averaged 8.0 points and was second on the team with 86 assists as Quinnipiac finished 15-15, 11-7 in the Northeast Conference, in Moore’s first season. He also shot 38 percent from 3-point range making 56.
Cosgrove started 29 games at point guard last year and was fourth on the team in minutes played. Cosgrove also hit several big shots to help the Bobcats get off to a fast start in the conference.
Quinnipiac received letters from DeAndre Bynum, a 6-foot-5 sharpshooter from Memphis, Tenn., and Harold Washington, a 6-2 combo guard from Brandywine, Md.
Moore said that Bynum was very highly rated as a young player playing in the Memphis area and for national power AAU teams. He transferred to Progressive Christian Academy in Camp Hills, Md., as a senior.
"He’s got good size for a wing at this level and can shoot it deep," Moore said. "I think he can be an impact player right away."
Washington was impressed with Quinnipiac’s new facility and their commitment to building the basketball program.
"He’s very quick and a good shooter," Moore said. "He’s got the potential to be a very good defensive player. He isn’t that way right now, but he can be. He was a big part of an undefeated high school team that went to the state final before losing."
Eric Coggins, a 6-8 power forward from Canton, Ohio, also signed with the Bobcats in the early signing period.
"Overall, I’m very happy with the four kids as a group," Moore said. "They’ll improve our athleticism and our ability to defend, which is important. Last year, I found myself coaching the offense a lot when I want to be able to concentrate on defense."
Moore expects the quartet to give his team more quality depth. He said that several of his top players were battling injuries down the stretch and it played a major part in the team’s late-season struggles.
The Bobcats lost three of their last four games and fell to fifth in the NEC, forcing them to open the tournament on the road. They lost to Mount St. Mary’s in that game.
Cosgrove’s decision to transfer opens up another scholarship, which has not been filled.
The team’s biggest loss will be that of senior DeMario Anderson, who led the team in scoring each of the last two seasons. His 21.7 average was among the nation’s leaders last year.
"No one person’s going to replace DeMario’s 21 points a night," Moore said, "but we hope to get more contributions from throughout the team."

Things to do on Tuesday

OK, if a miss a blog tomorrow it’s probably because I am declaring for the NBA draft.
I guess it’s the cool thing to do as seemingly anyone who hit a 3-pointer last year has grand illusions of turning pro.

UCLA’s Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was the latest to declare for the draft leaving the Bruins with a couple of walk-ons and the manager to defend their PAC-10 title next year.

Mbah a Moute will bring his athletic frame and all of his 8.8 points a game to the Association. I’m sure the Knicks are drooling.

It makes me wonder why Stephen Curry didn’t decide to go pro. There’s a guy with the unbelievable talent but will play another year at Davidson.

Hasheem Thabeet has not made his decision yet. He’s unpolished and disappears in many games which obviously makes him a high first-rounder.

Here’s a list of players who have declared for the draft:

Joe Alexander, West Virginia Declared, has not signed with agent
Ryan Anderson, Cal Declared, has not signed with agent
Darrell Arthur, Kansas Declared, has not signed with agent
Jerryd Bayless, Arizona Declared, has not signed with agent
Michael Beasley, Kansas State Declared, plans to sign with agent
Chase Budinger, Arizona Declared, has not signed with agent
Keith Brumbaugh, Hillsborough Community College Declared, has not signed with agent
Derrick Caracter, Louisville Declared, has not signed with agent
Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis Declared, has not signed with agent
Eric Gordon, Indiana Declared, has not signed with an agent
Donte Greene, Syracuse Declared, has not signed with agent
Richard Hendrix, Alabama Declared, has not signed with agent
J.J. Hickson, N.C. State Declared, has not signed with agent
Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin Declared, has not signed with agent
DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M Declared, has not signed with agent
Brook Lopez, Stanford Declared, plans to sign with agent
Robin Lopez, Stanford Declared, plans to sign with agent
Kevin Love, UCLA Declared, has not signed with agent
O.J. Mayo, USC Declared, plans to sign with agent
JaVale McGee, Nevada Declared, has signed with agent
Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga Declared, has not signed with agent
Trent Plaisted, BYU Declared, has not signed with agent
Anthony Randolph, LSU Declared, has signed with agent
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, UCLA Declared, has not signed with agent
Derrick Rose, Memphis Declared, has not signed with agent
Brandon Rush, Kansas Declared, plans to sign with agent
Marreese Speights, Florida Declared, has not signed with an agent
Ron Steele, Alabama Declared, has not signed with agent
Robert Vaden, UAB Declared, has not signed with agent
Bill Walker, Kansas State Delcared, has not signed with agent
Russell Westbrook, UCLA Declared, has not signed with agent

Yale's next hoop stars

Here is a look at Yale’s basketball recruits for the 2008-09 season.
Greg Mangano was the Register’s All-Area MVP. He is strong power forward who attended many of the Bulldogs’ games last year.
Mangano will have at least a year to hone his skills as the Bulldogs’ front line is still young. Forwards Ross Morin and Travis Pinick and seniors but don’t fit Mangano’s role. Paul Nelson and Garrett Fidler are athletic big men and underclassmen. Michaels Sands is a smooth 6-7 shooting forward. Mangano looks like he’ll eventually get a shot at center.
Here’s what Scouts Inc. says about Mangano:
"Greg is a player with good size and athleticism, along with a great skill set. He is a very good shooter with deep range. Defenders are hard pressed to contest his shot thanks to his size and high release point.
Despite good hands, footwork, and arsenal of moves with his back to the basket, Greg often shies away from playing on the block. In order for him to maximize his impact at the next level this will have to change as he has the potential to be a major mismatch problem. When he does go to the post he has a jump hook over his left shoulder with a soft touch and good extension along with a variety of moves when facing up with a Sikma pivot.
Greg has some deceptive athleticism and does a nice job of looking to dunk any potential finishing opportunity he has around the rim. Defensively, he does not have the lateral quickness to guard the perimeter and will need to add upper body strength in order to bang in the post. But he is a very good shot blocker, especially when coming from the weak side of the floor."
The Bulldogs reportedly have also received verbal commitments from Connor Frizzelle, a 6-1 point guard from DeSoto H.S. (Texas) and Reggie Willhite, 6-3 sooting guard from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.
Yale was 13-15 overall last year and 7-7 in the Ivy League.

Another Olympic-size controversy

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Yale's Alex Righi and his quest to earn a berth on the US Olympic swim team this year.
I hope he's got the right equipment.
Yes, it seems that even swimmers are now at a disadvantage if they don't have the right swimsuit.

German swimmers are concerned about a disastrous performance at the Beijing Olympics because they will be wearing the wrong swimsuits. The country’s Olympic trials have been overshadowed by the swimmers’ demands to be allowed to compete in the Speedo LZR Racer.

Twenty-two world records have been shattered in the high-tech suit since its February introduction. The Germans say their medal chances are bleak at the Aug. 8-24 games unless they can wear Speedo instead of Adidas.

“The German swim federation has to seriously consider it, otherwise we will sink completely into mediocrity,” Thomas Rupprath, one of Germany’s top swimmers, said Saturday.

U.S. head coach Mark Schubert is a supporter of the suits. Some feel that every swim record could fall at the Beijing Games because of the suit. But many swimmers, some contractually bound to other sportswear companies, argue that the Speedo is unfair and gives athletes added buoyancy in the pool.

World governing swimming body FINA says no scientific evidence supports the claims and has refused to ban the LZR Racer.

Now the Germans have long since been accused of taking illegal drugs to improve their swimmers' performances. It would be if shocking if they don't turn to these suits but even in Germany, I guess money changes everything.

Cincy's Morin gets the call

Yale selected Ross Morin as its basketball captain for the upcoming season.
Morin, who led the Ivy League in field goal percentage (.642) in Ivy games this season, was perhaps the Bulldogs' most consistent performer over the past year.
“It's a great honor to be elected by my teammates, especially with all of my classmates being great players and teammates,” said Morin, who will be one of four seniors next year. “Leading this group is going to be a collective effort from all of us next year. I expect each senior to play an important role in this coming season's success.”
Morin, a second team All-Ivy selection, started 22 games this season, was second on the team in scoring (10.2 ppg.) and rebounding (5.4 rpg.) and shot 57 percent from the field. In Ivy play, he averaged 11.8 points and 5.7 rebounds and was named the Ivy League Player of the Week after scoring 24 points and grabbing seven rebounds in a home victory over Brown.
“I expect Ross to lead by example and utilize the other seniors to help build a strong team environment,” said coach James Jones
Morin, a Cincinnati, Ohio, native also was the recipient of the Dutch Arnold Award as Yale’s most valuable player on Wednesday. He takes over the captaincy from Eric Flato. “I've been lucky to have three great players and teammates as captain in my first three years,” Morin said. “Josh [Greenberg], Sam [Kaplan] and Eric were extremely hard workers and very confident players. As a young player, I learned just how hard I had to work in order to be successful. Hopefully the young guys now will be able to do the same.”

Awards
Five other players received awards at the banquet. The Stan Smith Senior Award and the Eggie Miles Award as the team’s top free throw shooter were presented to Caleb Holmes. Holmes shot 84.7 percent (50 of 59) from the foul line and his career percentage of .822 is the second best in school history.
Travis Pinick received the George McReynolds Award as Yale’s top defender. Pinick had 48 steals on the season, including 29 in Ivy games, which led the league. He averaged 8.9 rebounds in Ivy games, which also was tops in the league. In a 50-48 win at Dartmouth, Pinick pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds. Chris Andrews was the recipient of the Josh Hill Award for hard work and dedication. Andrews missed all of the 2006-07 season with a knee injury and then was limited to only two games this year after injuring his other knee.
One of the highlights of the season came against Dartmouth when Andrews made his first appearance on the court since his freshman year. He received a thunderous ovation from the John J. Lee Amphitheater crowd, assisted on a Raffi Mantilla basket and then scored his first points when Ari Greenberg passed up a breakaway layup to feed Andrews, who made the basket.
Greenberg received the Richard Derby Academic Award for the third straight year. He played in a career-high 17 games and had 12 assists and six steals. The John C. Cobb Award as Yale’s top freshmen was given to Porter Braswell, who appeared in 27 games.
In a home sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth, Braswell averaged 10.5 points and made 9 of 14 shots from the field. He also scored a team-high 13 points against eventual NCAA champion Kansas. In addition to the awards, Flato was presented with a ball to commemorate his scoring 1,000 career points. Flato finished his outstanding career with 1,193 career points, the 13th most in Yale history. The Bulldogs, who played two of the four teams in this year’s Final Four (Kansas and UCLA) finished with a 13-15 overall record and a 7-7 Ivy mark, their eighth straight year with a .500 or better record in league play.

Yale is scheduled to open the 2008-09 season in November against Stanford at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.