2001-02 SUMMER PROSPECTUS UMASS

2001-02 UMASS SCHEDULE 2001-2002 QUICK FACTS Date Opponent UMass Opp. Institution: University of Nov. 12 EA All-Stars* Location: Amherst, Mass., 01003 Nov. 16 Ark.-Little Rock Founded: 1863 Nov. 24 Marist Enrollment: 23,570 (18,214 undergraduate; 5,356 graduate) Nov. 27 Oregon! Dec. 1 at North Carolina State Colors: Maroon & White Dec. 4 Holy Cross Nickname: Minutemen, UMass Dec. 8 at College Home Court: William D. Mullins Memorial Center Dec. 12 UConn Capacity/Year Opened: 9,493/1993 Dec. 15 Central Conn. State# All-Time Record: 76-22 (.776) Dec. 23 Maine Press Row Phone: (413) 545-6139 Dec. 29 at Marshall Affiliation: NCAA Division I Jan. 9 Ohio State Conference/Year Joined Conference: Atlantic 10/1976-77 (charter member) A-10 Schedule (Dates TBA) Interim Chancellor: Marcellette G. Williams (Michigan State, 1968) Divisional Opponets (Home & Away) Temple Athletic Director: Bob Marcum (Marshall, 1959) St. Joseph’s Athletic Director’s Phone: (413) 545-4086 Rhode Island St. Bonaventure BASKETBALL INFORMATION Fordham Head Coach: (CCNY, 1977) Crossover Games Record at UMass: 0-0 (first year) La Salle Career Record: 230-172 (13 years) George Washington Dayton Assistant Coaches: John Leonard (Manhattan, 1982), Andrew Theokas at Xavier (William & Mary, 1992), Chris Walker (Villanova, 1992) at Duquesne Basketball Office Phone: (413) 545-2610 at Richmond Best Time to Reach Coach Lappas: Contact SID 2002 Verizon Atlantic 10 Championship 2000-01 Overall Record: 15-15 March 6-9 2000-01 Record/Finish: 11-5/Fourth The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pa. 2000-01 Postseason Result: None Lettermen Returning/Lost: 9/3 *-Exhibition Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2 !-Springfield (Mass.) Civic Center #-Mohegan (Conn.) Sun Arena NCAA Tournament Appearances (Eight, 11-8): 1962, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 Note: AP rank, if any, indicated in (). NIT Appearances (Nine, 5-10): 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1990, 1991, 2000 Massachusetts Media Relations Atlantic 10 Conference Championships (Five): 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 255 Boyden Building All-Time Record: 1,010-894 (.531) in 92 seasons Amherst, Mass., 01003 Basketball Contact: Nick Joos Phone: (413) 545-2439 MEDIA RELATIONS INFORMATION Fax: (413) 545-1556 Assistant Athletic Director/Media Relations (Basketball Contact): Nick Joos Fax-on-Demand: 201-947-0299 Assistant Media Relations Directors: 1601 UMass Hoop Notes and Statistics Charles Bare, Stephanie Burchill, Ryan Nadeau 1604 Roster/Schedule Media Relations Interns: 1606 Prior Game Box Score Jessica Blanchard, Misty Cole, Joe Galbriath umassathletics.com Media Relations Secretary: Ruthie Drew Office Phone: (413) 545-2439 Office FAX: (413) 545-1556 Office e-mail address: [email protected] Joos’ Home Phone: (413) 549-0043 Joos’ e-mail address: [email protected] Media Relations Office Address: 255 Boyden Building University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003 UMass Athletics Website Address: www.umassathletics.com UMASS BASKETBALL--PAGE 2 2001-02 MASSACHUSETTS TEAM CAPSULE

MEDIA INFORMATION ETURNING ASS ETTERMEN INE HREE TARTERS N OLD Interviews/Credentials: To arrange interviews R UM L (N , T S I B ) with UMass head coach Steve Lappas or his play- Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG ers, please contact Assistant A.D./Media Relations C 33 Kitwana Rhymer*** 6-10 256 Sr. St. Thomas, V.I. 9.9 7.3 Nick Joos at 413-545-2439 (office) or 413-549- G 30 Shannon Crooks** 6-2 222 Sr. Everett, Mass. 9.0 3.5 0043 (home). Interviews must be requested at F 40 Micah Brand** 6-11 243 Jr. Middletown, N.Y. 8.4 4.7 least one day in advance, and will usually be con- F 2 Jackie Rogers* 6-8 230 Sr. Syracuse, N.Y. 6.6 3.9 ducted after practice. No interviews will be F 21 Eric Williams* 6-8 243 Sr. Brooklyn, N.Y. 3.8 3.5 granted on game day until after the game. F 3 Ronell Blizzard*** 6-8 205 Sr. Waterbury, Conn. 1.6 1.6 Credential requests should be faxed or mailed G 24 Jameel Pugh* 6-4 200 So. Sacramento, Calif. 1.2 0.8 to Joos’ attention. F/G 1 Willie Jenkins* 6-6 200 So. Memphis, Tenn. 0.8 0.4 G 22 Dwayne Killings* 6-0 180 So. Amherst, Mass. 1.0 0.7 Postgame Procedure: The UMass locker room Percentage of 2000-01 Scoring/Rebounding Returning 59.2% 75.3% is closed to the media, however, coach Lappas and requested players will meet with reporters in UMASS LETTERMEN LOST (THREE, TWO STARTERS IN BOLD) the Mullins Center interview room after Lappas Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Hometown PPG RPG has fulfilled his obligation to the UMass Sports G 5 Monty Mack**** 6-3 200 Boston, Mass. 19.5 2.9 Network. G 1 Jonathan DePina**** 5-9 185 Boston, Mass. 5.8 2.2 F 20 Winston Smith**** 6-5 228 Summit, N.J. 3.1 3.2 A-10 Conference Call: Each Monday during the Percentage of 2000-01 Scoring/Rebounding Lost 40.8% 24.7% 2001-02 season, the Atlantic 10 Conference will conduct a conference call from 10 a.m. until noon NEWCOMERS (FIVE) featuring its men’s basketball coaches. To partici- 2000-01 pate, contact Ray Cella at 215-751-0500. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG G 11 Kyle Wilson 6-2 175 Fr. White Rock, B.C. 19.5 3.0 UMass on the Web: Information on Minuteman F 0 Brennan Martin 6-6 190 Fr. R. Santa Margarita, Calif.14.5 4.0 basketball and all 29 UMass varsity sports is avail- G 50 Marcus Cox 6-4 190 Jr. Bridgeport, Conn. 2.7 1.7 able at www.umassathletics.com. A link to UMass G 12 Anthony Anderson 5-11 175 So. Lynn, Mass. DNP DNP basketball radio broadcasts can be found on the F 34 Raheim Lamb 6-5 190 So. Boston, Mass. DNP DNP home page, too. Note: Cox is a transfer from UConn who will sit out 2001-02 season; Anderson and Lamb attended UMass last year, but did not play basketball. A complete roster can be found on page 9. UMass on the Radio: All University of Massa- chusetts basketball games can be heard live on Lappas-Era Begins in Amherst: Former Villanova coach Steve Lappas enters his first sea- the WHMP/Lazer UMass Basketball Radio Net- son on the UMass sideline intent on returning the Minuteman program to the national spotlight it work, with WLZX serving as the flagship station. enjoyed for much of the 1990s. Bob Behler is in his third season as the voice of Introduced as the school’s 19th head coach on March 26, 2001, by Athletic Director Bob Marcum, the Minutemen, while former UMass head coach Lappas’ first UMass team will be built around nine returning letterwinners, including three start- is in his eighth season as the color ers, from last year’s team which finished 15-15 overall and after a 2-9 start, rebounded to finish analyst. All broadcasts begin 30 minutes prior to fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference at 11-5. Those nine returnees provided 59.2 percent of the tip-off. scoring and 75.3 percent of the rebounding for a UMass squad which advanced to the Atlantic 10 Behler also hosts Lappas’ weekly radio show Tournament championship game for the first time since winning the last of five consecutive titles on Northampton’s WLZX 99.3 FM and WHMP in 1996. 1400 AM. The program, which airs from 6-7 p.m., While past Lappas’ coached teams have relied on strong perimeter play, it is likely that his first will originate from Amherst’s Hanger Pub & Grill. UMass team will look inside first. That’s because the Minutemen return a pair of the A-10’s best frontline players in 6-10 senior center Kitwana Rhymer and 6-11 junior forward Micah Brand. PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Rhymer, a third-team All-Atlantic 10 selection as a junior, was named the league’s defensive Ronell Blizzard...... rah-NELL player of the year and shared the league’s most improved player of the year award with Brand. He Jameel Pugh...... JUH-meal was UMass’ second-leading scorer a year ago at 9.9 ppg (10.1 ppg in league games only), and led Kitwana Rhymer...... kit-WAH-nah RYE-mer the squad in rebounding (7.3 rpg, sixth in A-10) and blocked shots (63, 2.10 bpg ranked second in Micah Brand...... My-kuh the A-10). Rhymer’s 63 rejections equalled the ninth-best single-season total in school history, and pushed his career total to 137, good for fourth-place on the school’s career chart. RETURNING STATISTICAL LEADERS A member of the A-10’s 2001 all-defensive team, Rhymer has improved his season scoring Category Name Mark average every year, going from 2.5 ppg as a freshman to 7.8 ppg in 1999-2000 and 9.9 a year ago. Scoring Kitwana Rhymer 9.9 ppg He needs 374 points this season to become the school’s 35th 1,000- scorer. Rebounding Kitwana Rhymer 7.3 rpg Brand, who shared the league’s Chris Daniels Most Improved Player Award with Rhymer, FG% Jackie Rogers .553 averaged 4.3 ppg and 3.3 rpg as a freshman in 1999-2000, but increased those marks to 8.4 ppg 3FG% Shannon Crooks .243 (fourth on the team) and 4.7 rpg (second-best on the squad) a year ago. As a sophomore, he earned FT% Kitwana Rhymer .687 his first career start in the sixth game of the season and would go on to start 22 of UMass’ last 24 Minutes Shannon Crooks 937 games. Brand’s 33 rejections last year ranked second on the squad and seventh in the A-10. Against Assists Shannon Crooks 95 A-10 foes, he averaged 9.0 ppg and 4.7 rpg. Steals Shannon Crooks 47 The third returning starter is 6-2 senior guard Shannon Crooks, who played much of last Blocks Kitwana Rhymer 63 season at the point. He averaged 9.0 ppg as a junior and became the first player since Edgar Padilla in 1996-97 to lead the Minutemen in both assists (95) and steals (47) in the same season. Crooks ranked 12th in the A-10 in steals (1.57 spg), 13th in /turnover ratio (1.15) and 14th in UMASS BASKETBALL--PAGE 3 assists (3.17 apg) as a junior. One of only two Minutemen to record at least one assist in every game last year (he has been ETURNING INUTEMEN credited with at least one assist in 37-straight games dating to the 1999-2000 campaign), Crooks R M nailed 18 treys a year ago, tops among 2001-02 returnees. He had 12 double-figure scoring games CAREER HIGHS last year, and needs 306 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau in his collegiate career (includes Player Pts. Reb. A Stl. 43 points from his freshman season at St. John’s). Ronell Blizzard 9 14 3 3 A trio of 6-8 senior forwards, Ronell Blizzard, Jackie Rogers and Eric Williams, should Micah Brand 23 10 3 2 provide quality minutes along the frontline. Blizzard averaged 1.6 ppg and a like number of re- Shannon Crooks 29 8 8 6 bounds a year ago, while rejecting 27 shots (third on the team), while Rogers contributed 6.6 ppg Dwayne Killings 3 2 -- 1 and 3.9 rpg and Williams provided 3.8 ppg and 3.5 rpg. All three came off the bench a year ago, Willie Jenkins 6 2 1 1 but should push for bigger roles this season. Jameel Pugh 7 5 1 1 Three sophomore swing players, Jameel Pugh (6-4), Willie Jenkins (6-6) and Dwayne Kill- Kitwana Rhymer 30 17 3 3 ings (6-0), round out the returnees. All three saw limited playing time as reserves last year, but Jackie Rogers 18 11 3 2 will be counted on to step up their games this season. Pugh averaged 1.2 ppg and 0.8 rpg in 16 Eric Williams* 17/14 11/10 5/2 4/2 appearances, while Jenkins averaged 0.8 ppg and 0.4 rpg in 18 games and Killings 1.0 ppg and 0.7 *Both Syracuse/UMass career highs listed. rpg in three appearances. UMASS CAREER TOTALS The New Guys: The UMass coaching staff got a late start on spring recruiting, but was still DOUBLE-FIGURE SOCRING GAMES able to sign a pair of quality preps in 6-2 guard Kyle Wilson and 6-6 forward Brennan Martin. Player ’00-01 Career Wilson averaged 24.0 points and 9.5 assists as a senior at White Rock Christian Academy in Shannon Crooks 12 32 British Columbia, and was ranked as Canada’s top point guard. Known as a deadly three-point Kitwana Rhymer 14 25 shooter, he nailed 12 treys in one game last year and hit 42 percent from beyond the arc as a senior. Micah Brand 12 15 UMass’ other prep recruit, Martin, averaged 14.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg for coach Kevin Keates’ 27- Jackie Rogers 7 7 1 Hargrave (Va.) Military Academey team. He shot 53 percent from three-point range, and had Eric Williams 1 1 originally signed with Villanova, but was released when Lappas moved to UMass. In addition, a pair of Bay State preps who sat out last season due to academics, guard Anthony Anderson and forward Raheim Lamb, will be eligible. Anderson averaged 24 points and 10 30-POINT SCORING GAMES assists as a senior at Lynn English High School, while Lamb averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds Player ’00-01 Career for Boston’s English High School. Both players garnered all-state honors, and Lamb was able to Kitwana Rhymer 1 1 practice with the Minutemen last season. Three players who inked with UMass during the Fall 2001 early-signing period, Eddie Basden, 20-POINT SCORING GAMES Mauricio Branwell and Jeremiah King, were released from their national letters of intent last Player ’00-01 Career spring by the University. Shannon Crooks 1 4 Micah Brand 1 1 What’s Gone: UMass lost the second-leading scorer in school history in guard Monty Mack, Kitwana Rhymer 1 1 forward Winston Smith and guard Jonathan DePina, to graduation. Mack, who finished his career with 2,183 points, led the Minutemen in scoring a year ago at FIVE+ ASSIST GAMES 19.5 ppg and earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors for the second-straight season. The all-time Player ’00-01 Career leading three-point shooter in school history (331 made treys), Mack also played more minutes Shannon Crooks 4 9 (4,391) than any other player in UMass history. Smith started 26 games a year ago and averaged 3.1 ppg and 3.2 rpg, while DePina averaged FIVE+ GAMES 5.8 ppg and 2.2 rpg, while dishing out 94 assists (second on the team). Player ’00-01 Career Shannon Crooks 1 2 The Coach: As noted on page 2, a new era in UMass basketball history began on March 26, 2001, when Athletic Director Bob Marcum introduced Steve Lappas as the school’s 19th head FIVE+ GAMES coach. Lappas joins the UMass staff after nine highly-successful seasons at , Player ’00-01 Career where he guided the Wildcats to a 174-110 (.613) record, seven postseason appearances (four Kitwana Rhymer 3 5 NCAA, three NIT), six 20-win campaigns, a Big East regular-season title (1996-97), a Big East Ronell Blizzard 1 1 Tournament crown (1994-95) and the school’s first-ever National Invitation Tournament champi- onship (1993-94). The sixth-winningest coach in Big East history (and the third-winningest among active league DOUBLE-FIGURE GAMES coaches at the time he left the Main Line with 97 Big East victories), Lappas had six players Player ’00-01 Career selected in the NBA Draft, including lottery picks and , and led the Kitwana Rhymer 9 20 Wildcats to their highest place ever in the wire service poll, No. 2, in December, 1995. In the Jackie Rogers 2 2 classroom, every one of his seniors at both Villanova and Manhattan graduated. Micah Brand 1 1 All-told, Lappas owns a 230-172 (.572) record, which includes a 56-62 (.475) four-year mark at Ronell Blizzard 1 1 Manhattan College. At Manhattan, Lappas improved the Jasper win total every year, going from Eric Williams 1 1 seven in 1988-89, to 11 the following year, 13 in his third season and 25 in his fourth and final campaign (1991-92). His last Manhattan team won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regu- DOUBLE-DOUBLES lar-season title, and advanced to the third round of the NIT. Prior to moving to Manhattan, Lappas Player ’00-01 Career spent four seasons as an assistant to at Villanova, and was a coach on the Kitwana Rhymer 8 13 Wildcats’ national championship team in 1985. Jackie Rogers 2 2 Coach Lappas’ staff includes assistant coaches John Leonard, Andrew Theokas, Chris Walker and director of operations Brian Loyd. The five-man staff has a combined 48 years of Division I coaching and administrative experience, and four of the five had successful D-I playing careers. UMASS BASKETBALL--PAGE 4 A Greek Vacation: The UMass basketball team will get a head start on the 2001-02 season when it travels to Greece, Aug. 12-23. The Minutemen, travelling overseas for just the second time ever and for the first time since a mid-season excursion to France and Germany for the ASSACHUSETTS 2001-02 M Buckler Christmas Classic in December, 1994, will play four games in Greece. OPPONENT RPIS/RECORDS UMass is slated to play the Greek National Team participating in the Mediterranean Games on Opponent RPI Record Aug. 14 and 16, the Greek National Team on Aug. 17 and Greece’s entry into the European Cham- Arkansas-Little Rock 184 18-11 pionships on Aug. 19. None of the games, of course, will count on the record for the upcoming ! 9 27-5 season, but they will allow coach Lappas and his staff the opportunity to coach the nucleus of the Central Conn. State 244 14-14 2001-02 team in game situations prior to the official start of the season. #Dayton 61 21-13 Duquesne 224 9-21 Another Tough Slate: After playing one of the toughest schedules in school history a year ago Fordham 148 12-17 (College RPI.com and Jeff Sagarin ranked the 2000-01 schedule as the 17th-toughest, while Col- George Washington 127 14-18 legiate Basketball News ranked it 18th), the Minutemen will tackle another challenging slate in !Holy Cross 90 22-8 2001-02. But that’s really nothing new, as over the last eight seasons, only once has the Massachu- La Salle 150 12-17 setts strength of schedule been ranked lower than 56th in degree of difficulty among Division I Maine 126 18-11 institutions, and four times in that stretch it has had an SOS ranked among the nation’s top 20. Marist 140 17-13 Ten postseason teams from a year ago dot this year’s slate, with UMass scheduled to play eight Marshall 103 18-9 games against 2001 NCAA Tournament entrants (Holy Cross, Boston College, Ohio State, Xavier, North Carolina St. 91 13-16 Temple-2 and St. Joseph’s-2), and five contests against teams that participated in the 2001 NIT !Ohio State 35 20-11 (UConn, Dayton, Richmond and St. Bonaventure-2). Oregon 107 14-14 In addition to playing 13 games against 2001 postseason teams, the Minutemen will play 18 #UConn 59 20-12 games against teams which finished last season with a .500 or better record, and 22 games against Rhode Island 234 7-22 teams which ranked from 1-150 in the final 2000-01 Collegiate Basketball News RPI Report. #Richmond 45 22-7 #St. Bonaventure 75 18-12 New-Look A-10 in 2001-02: In its 26th season of competition, the Atlantic 10 will revert to an !St. Joseph’s 32 26-7 East-West divisional format in 2001-02, with UMass returning to the East along with Temple, St. !Temple 25 24-13 Joseph’s, St. Bonaventure, Fordham and Rhode Island. The West will be comprised of Xavier, !Xavier 48 21-8 Dayton, Duquesne, La Salle, George Washington and first-year member Richmond. Each team will play a home and home series against the other teams in their respecitive divisions (10 games !2001 NCAA Tournament; #2001 NIT total), and face the teams in the opposite division once (three teams at home and three on the road), for a total of 16 league contests. UMASS STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE Final 2000-01 opponent overall records and RPIs for UMass’ 2001-02 non-conference and (1994-2001) league foes can be found in the column on the left-hand side of this page. Final Consistent Success: The Minutemen, who have posted 12-straight winning A-10 records (af- Season SOS Record ter posting no winning marks, just two .500 records and 56 victories in their first 13 seasons in the 1993-94 9 28-7 (NCAA) league) since a 5-13 mark in 1988-89, own a 138-56 (.711) record in regular-season league play 1994-95 24 29-5 (NCAA) since then and have captured 10 league titles (five regular season, five tournament) in that time 1995-96 33 35-2 (NCAA) frame. Last year, after a 2-9 non-conference start, Massachusetts went 11-5 in the A-10 (its eighth 1996-97 14 19-14 (NCAA) 11-win league mark in the last 12 seasons), good for fourth place in the standings, and advanced to 1997-98 19 21-11 (NCAA) the title game of the Verizon A-10 Tournament for the first time since 1995-96, but dropped a 76- 1998-99 56 14-16 65 decision to Temple. 1999-2000 83 17-16 (NIT) Over the last 12 seasons, UMass owns a 269-125 (.682) overall record, an average of 22.4 wins 2000-2001 17 15-15 per season, and has posted seven 20-win seasons and 11, .500 or better campaigns in that stretch. Source: CollegeRPI.com. Rhymer Ready for “Second” Senior Year: Senior center Kitwana Rhymer, the 2001 Atlan- tic 10 Defensive Player of the Year and a third-team all-league selection, will be a cornerstone of 2000-01 UMASS INDIVIDUAL UMass’ 2001-02 team. In addition to those honors, Rhymer shared the league’s Most Improved GAME STATISTICAL LEADERS IN... Player honor with teammate Micah Brand and was named to the league’s all-defensive team. Scoring: Mack (22), Rhymer (4), Crooks (2), Rhymer ranked second in the A-10 in blocked shots (2.10 bpg), a figure (63) which equalled the Brand (2), DePina (1) ninth-best mark in school history. He also led the Minutemen in rebounding last year at 7.3 rpg (sixth in the A-10), and ranked second in scoring (9.9 ppg). Rhymer averaged just 8.6 ppg and 6.4 Rebounding: Rhymer (15), Rogers (6), Brand rpg in 21.2 minutes of work in the non-league schedule, but came back to average 10.1 ppg and (6), Smith (3), Williams (3), Blizzard (1) 7.3 rpg in 31.0 minutes in regular-season A-10 play. In the A-10 Tournament, Rhymer took his game up another notch, averaging 13.7 ppg and 10.7 Assists: Crooks (13), DePina (13), Smith (6), rebounds en route to a spot on the all-tournament team. He shot 52.0 percent from the field in the Mack (2), Brand (1), Rhymer (1). tournament, and averaged 2.0 apg and 1.0 bpg as UMass advanced to the title game for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Rhymer recorded a team-best nine double-doubles a year ago. Steals: Crooks (15), DePina (9), Smith (9), Mack His selection to the All-Defensive team marked the fifth-straight season a Minuteman had been (9), Rogers (4), Rhymer (3), Blizzard (2), Pugh named to that squad, while he was the first player in school history to claim the Defensive Player (2), Williams (2), Brand (1) of the Year honor and he and Brand were the first to win the Chris Daniels Most Improved award.

Blocks: Rhymer (20), Brand (7), Blizzard (5), Chart Climbing with Kitwana: Kitwana Rhymer heads into his senior season with 137 ca- Williams (3), Crooks (2), Rogers (2), Mack (1). reer blocked shots, which ranks fifth on the all-time school chart. First-place ’s 336 career blocks are well out of Rhymer’s reach, but he needs just 86 rejections to climb into second place on the UMass career list. Having improved his scoring average every season he has been in Amherst, Rhymer needs 374 points (an average of 13.4 ppg over a 28 regular-season UMASS BASKETBALL--PAGE 5 schedule) to become the school’s 35th career 1,000-point scorer, and 242 rebounds (an 8.6 rpg average) to crack the UMass top 10 in that category. 2000-01 UMASS RESULTS Brand Hopes to Build on Super Soph Season: Perhaps no Atlantic 10 player stepped up his Date Opponent UMass Opp. game more from the 1999-2000 season to last year than UMass’ Micah Brand, who shared the Nov. 3 Calif. All-Stars* 82 83 league’s Chris Daniels Most Improved Player Award with teammate Kitwana Rhymer. Brand, Nov. 10 Statmaster.com* 82 71 who averaged just 4.3 ppg and 3.3 rpg in 29 appearances as a freshman in 1999-2000, earned his Nov. 18 Iona 67 65 first career start in the sixth game of his sophomore season and went on to start 22 of UMass’ last Nov. 20 at Marquette 64 68 24 games and finish with marks of 8.4 ppg (fourth on team) and 4.7 rpg (second on squad). Nov. 25 at Holy Cross! 65 78 In A-10 play, Brand averaged 9.0 ppg and 4.7 rpg. He tallied 12 double-figure scoring games a Dec. 2 at Oregon# 76 91 year ago, but eight of those came efforts came in Minuteman setbacks. Brand and Rhymer were Dec. 7 Providence 70 85 the first players in school history to win the league’s Most Improved Award. Dec. 10 at Ohio State 51 54 Dec. 12 at UConn% (11) 67 82 To Catch a Crook(s): Senior guard Shannon Crooks has been a steady performer at both Dec. 14 at Boston U. 68 52 ends of the floor during his first two seasons in a Maroon and White uniform, and the UMass Dec. 17 Boston College 65 74 coaching staff is expecting big things from him in 2001-02. The first UMass player since Edgar Hardee’s Tournament of Champions^ Padilla in 1996-97 to lead the Minutemen in both assists (95) and steals (47) in the same year, a Dec. 29 North Carolina^ (14) 60 91 feat Crooks accomplished a year ago, his 9.0 scoring average ranks second among Minuteman Dec. 30 Richmond^ 59 63 returnees. Jan. 6 George Washington 76 60 The fifth-year senior (he began his collegiate career at St. John’s) heads into his final season Jan. 9 at Xavier 75 64 306 points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career (and 349 points to reach that plateau in his UMass Jan. 13 at St. Bonaventure 65 66 career). He needs 105 assists to crack the UMass career list, 29 steals to make the school’s career Jan. 18 Dayton 62 57 theft chart. Jan. 20 Duquesne$ 80 69 Crooks nailed 18 treys a year ago, tops among UMass returnees (the other eight returning Jan. 25 at La Salle 62 58 letterwinners had a combined 13 among them), and was one of two Minutemen to have had at Jan. 27 at Temple (OT) 65 64 least one assist in every game a year ago. He has had at least one assist in 37-straight games and in Jan. 30 at Rhode Island+ 78 46 61 of 63 career games as a Minuteman. Feb. 3 Fordham 85 59 One of four former Bay State preps on this year’s roster, Crooks recorded 12 double-figure Feb. 6 at Dayton 76 89 scoring games last year, including a season-high 20 points against Iona in the season-opener. Feb. 14 Xavier 59 49 UMass owns a 4-0 mark in Crooks’ career when he scores 20 or more points in game. Feb. 17 Temple 52 84 Feb. 20 Rhode Island 82 67 Mack was One of A-10’s Best: First-team All-Atlantic 10 and NABC/Chevrolet All-District Feb. 24 at George Washington 64 56 selection Monty Mack carried a UMass team that was 2-9 in the non-conference portion of its Feb. 27 at St. Joseph’s (18) 69 84 schedule to an 11-5 mark in the A-10, a fourth-place finish (a game out of second-place in the March 3 St. Bonaventure 59 66 standings) in the regular-season race and a runner-up finish in the Verizon A-10 Tournament. Verizon Atlantic 10 Championship A three-time All-Atlantic 10 selection (two first-team awards, one second team) and four-time March 8 St. Bonaventure 79 58 coaches all-district pick (three first team, one second team), Mack became the first UMass player March 9 St. Joseph’s (21) 75 70 since Marcus Camby in 1995 and 1996 to earn consecutive first-team all-league honors. He fin- March 10Temple 65 76 ished his four year career as UMass’ all-time leader in minutes played (4,391), three-point goals made (331) and attempted (910), while ranking second in scoring (2,183), field goals made (766), *-Exhibition field goals attempted (1,879), percentage (.792), steals (154) and games started (119). !-The Centrum, Worcester, Mass. Mack, who averaged 19.5 ppg as a senior in 2000-01, tallied 20 or more points 18 times last #-Rose Garden, Portland, Ore. season, part of 26 double-digit scoring games he turned in over his 29 appearances. Fifty-four of %-Hartford (Conn.) Civic Center Mack’s 110 career double-figure scoring games were 20-point scoring games, eight more than ^-Charlotte (N.C.) Coliseum produced in his two-year, 52-game career, and three shy of Jim McCoy’s school- $-Springfield (Mass.) Civic Center record 57 from 1988-92. He recorded at least one 20-point scoring game against every league +-Providence (R.I.) Civic Center opponent in his career, and had two or more such efforts against nine of 10 A-10 schools. In last season’s Verizon A-10 Tournament, Mack averaged 22.7 ppg and shot 56.0 percent (13- Note: AP rank, if any, indicated in (). for-25) from beyond the three-point line. He was the first player in A-10 history to record career totals of 2,000 points, 300 made treys, 250 assists and 150 steals, while playing 4,000 minutes. INAL TANDINGS No A-10 player nailed as many career treys as Mack, as he made 20 more than No. 2 Tom F 2000-01 A-10 S Pipkins of Duquesne (311). He hit at least one three in 28 of 29 games a year ago, including each Team All A-10 of his last 23 games. Mack’s 95 three-pointers last year were the third-best one-season total in St. Joseph’s* 26-7 14-2 school history. Only the second player in school history to record three consecutive 500-point Xavier* 21-8 12-4 seasons, Mack’s 566 points last year ranked as the eighth-best single-season effort in UMass Temple* 24-13 12-4 history. UMass 15-15 11-5 St. Bonaventure% 18-12 9-7 SWAT Squad: UMass led the Atlantic 10 in blocked shots last year with an average of 5.07 Dayton% 21-13 9-7 rejections per game (a league-best 152 on the season, 19 more than it recorded in 33 games in George Washington 14-18 6-10 1999-2000, and the ninth-best single-season mark in school history). The Minutemen, who re- La Salle 12-17 5-11 corded five or more snuffs 17 times a year ago, return 97.3 percent of their rejections (148 of 152) Fordham 12-17 4-12 from a year ago. UMass had recorded a block in 95-straight games until being held without a Duquesne 9-21 3-13 rejection in a 75-66 loss to Temple in the title game of the Verizon A-10 Tournament, March 10, Rhode Island 7-23 3-13 2001. Kitwana Rhymer led the Minutemen and ranked second in the A-10 Conference with 2.10 bpg *NCAA; %NIT UMASS BASKETBALL--PAGE 6 (63 on the season), while Micah Brand (33, 1.1 bpg) ranked second on the team and seventh in the A-10 and Ronell Blizzard (27, 0.9 bpg) was third on the squad and 11th in the league. Those three players had more blocked shots (123) as a trio than nine other A-10 schools had for the entire 2000-01 UMASS season, and Rhymer’s total by itself stood ahead of one team. STATISTICAL SUPERLATIVES Biggest UMass Lead: On the Inside: The Minuteman frontline played an important role in UMass’ A-10 success a 34 at Rhode Island (twice in 2nd half) year ago, accounting for 49.9 percent of the offensive production (34.6 ppg, compared to 31.9 ppg vs. non-league foes). While packing an offensive punch, the frontline also allowed UMass to Biggest UMass Deficit: outrebound its opponent by +3.2 in A-10 play (compared to a -2.1 margin in non-league games). 35 vs. Temple (3:53, 2nd, 82-47) In UMass’ run to the A-10 Tournament title game, the frontline provided 41.5 percent of the offense and helped the Minutemen outboard two of three opponents and play the third team Biggest UMass Lead in a Loss: (Temple) even on the glass. 19 at St. Joseph’s (3:06, 1st, 45-26) Against league foes, Kitwana Rhymer, Micah Brand and Jackie Rogers did most of the dam- age. Rhymer averaged 10.1 ppg and 7.3 rpg vs. league foes, while Brand averaged 9.0 ppg and Biggest UMass Deficit in a Win: 4.7 rpg, and Rogers contributed 7.9 ppg and 4.6 rpg. In its homecourt win over Rhode Island, the 15 vs. George Washington (1:07, 1st, 37-22) UMass frontline tallied a season-high 61 points, including career-high efforts from Rhymer (30 points) and Rogers (18). Biggest UMass Halftime Lead 18 vs. Fordham (42-24), won 85-59 Getting Defensive: A trademark of the UMass basketball program over the last 13 seasons has been stingy defensive play, and that was again the case last season. For the year, Minutemen Biggest UMass Halftime Deficit opponents hit 41.3 percent from the field (40.3 percent by A-10 foes), 32.0 percent (32.3 percent 17 vs. Temple (47-30), lost 84-52 by A-10 opponents) from three-point range. Massachusetts ranked fourth in the A-10 in scoring defense for all games (68.2 ppg, which Best UMass Half FG Percentage: marked the 10th-straight season the Minutemen held their foe to a season mark below 70.0 ppg) .593 vs. Iona (16-27, 1st), vs. Duquesne (16-27, 2nd) and third in percentage defense (.413), while it was second in scoring defense for league games only (64.9 ppg) and third in field goal percentage defense (.403). Worst UMass Half FG Percentage: .167 at Ohio State (5-30, 1st) The Minutemen at Mullins: Massachusetts, which went 6-4 at the Mullins Center last season (7-4 overall at home, including a win over Duquesne at the Springfield Civic Center), stands 76- Best Opponent Half FG Percentage: 22 (.776) entering its 10th season of play in the building, 54-15 (.783) all-time vs. A-10 oppo- .680 at St. Joseph’s (17-25, 2nd) nents. The Minutemen have posted a winning homecourt record for 19-straight seasons, includ- ing each of the nine seasons they have called the Mullins Center home. Worst Opponent Half FG Percentage: Not only will the 2001-02 campaign mark UMass’ 10th season of play at Mullins, but the Nov. .240 by Xavier (6-25, 2nd) 24th game against Marist will mark the 100th game in the building’s history. UMass is 22-7 (.759) all-time at the Mullins Center against non-league foes. Most UMass Points in a Half: 51 vs. George Washington (2nd) The Comeback Kids: On 17 occasions over the last seven seasons, including twice last year, the Minutemen overcame a double-digit deficit at some point in the game to claim victory. UMass’ Fewest UMass Points in a Half: most-recent double-digit rally to win effort came last year against Dayton, when it overcame an 13 at Ohio State (1st) 11-point first half deficit to beat the Flyers, 62-57, at the Mullins Center, Jan. 18, 2001. In last year’s game against George Washington in Amherst, UMass overcame a 15-point deficit Most Opponent Points in a Half: with 1:07 left in the first half to beat the Colonials, 76-60, at the Mullins Center. The deficit was 56 by Providence (2nd) the largest the Minutemen had overcome to win since rallying from 16 down to beat Maryland, 50-47, Dec. 2, 1995. Fewest Opponent Points in a Half: 19 at Boston U. (1st), at George Washington (1st) Quick Tips: In 14 of its 15 wins last season, UMass out-shot its opponent (the lone exception was in the victory at Temple), and in 12 victories its bench outscored its opponents bench (excep- Most UMass Bench Points: tions were at GW and vs. St. Bonaventure and St. Joseph’s in the A-10 Tounrmanet)...over the last 37 vs. Fordham two years, Massachusetts owns a 21-5 record when scoring 70 or more points, including last year’s 8-3 mark...UMass hit 50.0 percent or better from the field in seven of 30 games a year ago, Fewest UMass Bench Points: and has won 18-straight games when reaching the 50.0 percent mark since an 88-83 loss to George 4 at Ohio State Washington in the quarterfinals of the 1998 A-10 Tournament...the Minutemen were outrebounded in their first six games last season, but outrebounded 17 of their last 24 opponents and for the Most Opponent Bench Points: season were a +1.5 rpg on the glass...in A-10 play, UMass held a +3.2 rpg advantage on the 33 at George Washington boards and outrebounded 10 opponents...in last year’s game at Rhode Island, the Minutemen recorded a +23 advantage on the glass, their largest in a game since a +26 rebound effort against Fewest Opponent Bench Points: St. Joseph’s, Feb. 28, 1996...in 24 of 30 games last season, UMass held its opponent to under 50.0 0 at La Salle, Temple (A-10 Tournament) percent shooting from the field...in 14 of its 15 wins a year ago, Massachusetts opponents hit less than 45.0 percent from the floor, with 11 shooting 40.0 percent or less...UMass used six different Did You Know?: Ten of UMass’ 11 2001-02 non- starting line-ups a year ago, as eight players started at lest one game...the Minuteman bench, league opponents posted at least a .500 record a which scored a season-high 37 points against Fordham, provided 17.6 ppg (18.9 ppg vs. in league year ago, and 10, 2001 postseason tournament en- play), compared to 15.9 ppg (13.5 in A-10 action) for their opponents...UMass was 5-4 in games trants (six NCAA, four NIT) dot the 2001-02 Min- decided by five or fewer points last year, after going just 1-6 in such games during the 1999-2000 uteman slate overall. season...the Minutemen have made at least one three-point goal in 93-straight games, since a 1998 first-round NCAA Tournament loss to St. Louis, while their opponents have made at least one trey in 37-straight games...UMass was 14-0 last season when leading with 5:00 to play, and is 78-9 over the past five seasons when owning the lead after 35 minutes...for first time since the UMASS BASKETBALL--PAGE 7 1985-86 season, UMass had just one player finish the season with a double-digit scoring average, as Monty Mack was the team’s only double-figure scorer for the year...UMass has produced at least one all-conference performer for 18-straight seasons...20 of UMass’ 30 games last season MINUTEMEN IN 2000-01 were against 2001 postseason tournament entrants, and the Minutemen fashioned a 7-13 record in ALL GAMES A-10 STATISTICS those games (5-8 vs. 2001 NCAA Tournament field, 2-5 vs. 2001 NIT entrants)...Massachuetts SCORING was 8-11 away from home last season, including a 5-3 mark vs. A-10 opponents, only the second Player Rank Avg. time in the last 12 seasons it failed to post a .500 or better mark away from home...Ronell Blizzard’s Monty Mack 5th 19.5 seven blocked shots against Boston U., matched the best single-game effort in the A-10 last year, as Xavier’s also turned in a seven-block game...UMass coach Steve Lappas, who led REBOUNDING Villanova to the 1994 NIT title, and Duquesne’s , who guided Nebraska to the 1996 Player Rank Avg. NIT crown, are the only active coaches in the Atlantic 10 to win a postseason NCAA or NIT Kitwana Rhymer 6th 7.3 championship...when UMass beat Dayton in Amherst last year, it marked the 1,000th win in school history...the Minutemen take a 1,010-894 (.531) record into their 93rd season of intercollegiate basketball competition. FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE Player Rank Pct. Fast Breaks: Temple (A-10 Championship)--UMass made first A-10 Tournament title game Monty Mack 12th .386 appearance since 1995-96 season, but arch rival Temple spolied Minutemen’s postseason plans with a 76-65 win. Temple led for entire first half (six times by double-digits), before UMass THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE closed to within 32-31 at halftime. In second half, Minutemen led by as many as five points, and Player Rank Pct. held a 57-56 lead with 7:51 to go before Temple’s 12-3 run put the lead back to eight at 68-60 with Monty Mack 10th .364 3:57 left. Kitwana Rhymer had 15-point, 10-rebound double-double, was named to all-tourna- ment team along with Monty Mack, who had 12 points. St. Joseph’s (A-10 Semifinals)--Mack ASSISTS scored 27 points, and three other Minutemen reached double-digits as fourth-seeded UMass upset Player Rank Avg. No. 1 seed and regular-season A-10 champion St. Joe’s to advance to the tournament title game Shannon Crooks 14th 3.17 for the first time since 1996 and seventh time ever; Minutemen held 16 point first-half lead, but Jonathan DePina 15th 3.13 trailed by five at intermission, and were down by three with 5:00 to play before rallying for their first win over a ranked opponent since the 1998-99 campaign...St. Bonaventure (A-10 FREE THROW PERCENTAGE Quarterfinals)--Mack tallied a season-high-tying 29 points, as UMass won its first A-10 Tourna- Player Rank Pct. ment game for the 10th-straight year; Mack nailed a career-high and school-record-tying eight Monty Mack 10th .781 treys, as UMass advanced to tournament semifinals for the second-straight season and ended a four-game losing streak to the Bonnies...St. Bonaventure--St. Bonaventure swept the season se- THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE ries for the second-straight season with its 66-59 victory at the Mullins Center, and in the process, Player Rank Avg. became just the fourth team to beat the Minutemen twice at the Mullins Center, joining George Monty Mack 2nd 3.28 Washington, Temple and Rhode Island; UMass fell behind 12-2 in the early going, would come back to take only lead of game at 29-28 early in second half, as Kevin Houston and J.R. Bremer BLOCKED SHOTS combined for 46 of Bonnies’ 66 points, Jonathan DePina had career-high 16 points, while Mack Player Rank Avg. added 15, marking first time in A-10 season he failed to reach the 20-point mark in consecutive Kitwana Rhymer 2nd 2.10 games...At St. Joseph’s--The 18th-ranked Hawks overcame a 19-point first half UMass lead and Micah Brand 7th 1.10 a 16-point halftime deficit to beat the Minutemen, 84-69; Jackie Rogers recorded his second Ronell Blizzard 11th 0.90 double-double of the season (12 points/11 rebounds)...At George Washington--The Minutemen scored the game’s first five points and never looked back in posting just fourth win (in 22 games) ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO at the Smith Center and swept Colonials for first time since the 1992-93 season, as Mack tallied Player Rank Avg. game-high 24 points in 38 minutes and became school’s all-time leader for minutes played...Rhode Shannon Crooks 14th 1.22 Island--Rhymer and Rogers record career scoring highs of 30 and 18 points, respectively, but Mack’s string of 20-point scoring games ended at eight-straight, as Minutemen swept season STEALS series from Rams for second straight season and the ninth time in the last 12 seasons, won 10th Player Rank Avg. league game for 10th time in last 12 years...Temple--Owls nailed Mullins Center-record 11 treys Shannon Crooks 12th 1.57 to hand UMass worst loss ever in building, worst in Amherst since 1985-86 season, Mack re- corded eighth-straight 20-point game, finished with 21, Rogers contributed first career double- TEAM double (13 points, 11 rebounds)...Xavier--Minutemen overcame 29-25 halftime deficit to sweep Category Rank Avg. season series from Musketeers, 59-49, hand coach James “Bruiser” Flint 50th regular-season A- Blocked Shots 1st 5.07 10 win as Mack reached 20-point mark for seventh-straight game (23)...At Dayton--Flyers hit an Three-Point Pct. Defense 3rd .320 opponent-high 54.2 percent from field and ended six-game UMass win string, 89-76; Mack be- FG Percentage Defense 3rd .413 came second player in school history to reach 2,000-point plateau on a pair of free throws with Scoring Defense 4th 68.2 2:31 left, Micah Brand had career-high 23 points...Fordham--UMass won sixth-straight, squared Rebound Margin 4th +1.6 overall record at .500 for first time since late November, Mack recorded fifth-straight 20-point Turnover Margin 6th -0.13 game and 100th career double-figure scoring effort, Rogers had 16 points and nine boards as Assists 6th 13.30 Minutemen scored season-high 85 points...At Rhode Island--Minutemen held Rams to 46 points Scoring Margin 7th -0.2 while recording second-best offensive game of season (78 points), Mack tallied season-high 29 Three-Point Percentage 7th .329 points...At Temple--UMass posted first-ever win at Liacouras Center (in four tries), ended three- Assist/Turnover Ratio 7th 0.92 game Owl series win streak with exciting 65-64 overtime victory, as Rhymer recorded 14-point, Steals 8th 6.53 11-rebound effort...At La Salle--Mack scored 17 of team’s final 21 points as Minutemen over- Field Goal Percentage 8th .420 came three-point deficit to win, 62-58; Mack moved past into second-place on UMass Three-Point Goals Made 9th 5.33 all-time scoring list...Duquesne--Returning to the Springfield Civic Center for the first time since Free Throw Percentage 11th .664 the 1994-95 season, Minutemen beat Duquesne for 16th consecutive time, 80-69, and record best Scoring Offense 11th 68.0 UMASS BASKETBALL--PAGE 8 shooting game of season (.552)...Dayton--Minutemen overcame 11-point Flyer first-half lead to win, 62-57, as UMass frontline accounted for 51 points, Rhymer had then-career-high-tying 19 points and Rogers added 16 points in school’s 1,000th all-time victory...At St. Bonaventure-- MINUTEMEN IN THE A-10 Bonnies’ Vidal Massiah hit trey in closing seconds to lift his team to 66-65 win, end UMass’ bid GAMES ONLY STATISTICS for 3-0 A-10 start, Mack hit 20-point mark for fifth-straight game...At Xavier--Minutemen jumped out to 18-8 lead in game’s first 10 minutes, never let hometown Musketeers get closer than four SCORING after that in becoming first visiting team to win at new Cintas Center, 75-64, and improved to 2-0 Player Rank Avg. in A-10 for third time in four years...George Washington--UMass overcame 15-point Colonial Monty Mack 3rd 20.9 lead to record largest comeback win in Flint-era, 76-60, in A-10 opener for both teams, as Mack scored 28 points and Minutemen recorded season-low eight turnovers...Richmond (Tournament REBOUNDING of Champions)--In preview of future A-10 foe, Spiders hand Minutemen 63-59 loss, as UR shoots Player Rank Avg. 20-of-24 at foul line to UMass’ 13-of-17 to get the victory, Winston Smith had career-high 14 Kitwana Rhymer 6th 7.3 rebounds...North Carolina (Tournament of Champions)--Minutemen were within five early in second half, but Tar Heels would hand UMass its worst loss since a 105-74 setback to Duquesne, FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE Feb. 18, 1989...Boston College--Eagles ended Minutemen’s five-year grip on Commonwealth Player Rank Pct. Classic trophy by posting victory in their first-ever visit to the Mullins Center...At Boston U.-- Monty Mack 10th .417 Ronell Blizzard sparked UMass with career-high-tying nine points, career-high 14 rebounds and career-best seven blocks, as Minutemen ended longest losing streak since 1986-87 campaign with ASSISTS 16-point victory...At UConn--Minutmen dropped sixth-straight overall, 10th-straight to Huskies, Player Rank Avg. 82-67, as Mack scored season-low three points...At Ohio State-- UMass shot just 16.7 perecent Shannon Crooks 14th 3.38 from field in first half, finished game at 26.7 percent (lowest-ever in Flint-era), and dropped 54-51 decision to Buckeyes...Providence--Season-high five Minutemen score in double figures, but Fri- FREE THROW PERCENTAGE ars overcame nine-point second-half deficit to beat UMass...At Oregon--Brand tallied then-ca- Player Rank Pct. reer-high 19 points off the bench, but UMass fell, 91-76, at Portland’s Rose Garden...At Holy Monty Mack T-11th .758 Cross--Crusaders overcame eight-point UMass halftime lead to post victory as Minutemen shot just 21.6 percent (after a 52.4 percent first-half effort) in decisive second half and lost at Centrum THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE Centre for first time in nine games...At Marquette--Four players score in double figures, but UMass Player Rank Pct. dropped 68-64 decision to Golden Eagles, despite limiting home team to 32.7 percent field goal Monty Mack 10th .367 shooting...Iona--Minutmen won season opener for eighth time in last nine years, as Shannon Crooks had season-high 20 points and Eric Williams had 14 off the bench. THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE Player Rank Avg. 2000-01 UMASS HONOR ROLL Monty Mack T-1st 3.44 Monty Mack: First-team All-Atlantic 10 (second-straight season) BLOCKED SHOTS All-District (NABC & USBWA) Player Rank Avg. All-Tournament (Verizon A-10 Tournament) Kitwana Rhymer T-2nd 2.19 All-Tournament (Tournament of Champions) Micah Brand 9th 1.19 Second player in school history to score 2,000 career points Ronell Blizzard 13th 1.06 Kitwana Rhymer: ASSIST/TO RATIO Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year Player Rank Ratio Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team Jonathan DePina 6th 1.85 Third-team All-Atlantic 10 Shannon Crooks 13th 1.38 Co-Chris Daniels Award as A-10’s Most Improved Player of the Year All-Tournament (Verizon A-10 Tournament) STEALS Atlantic 10 Player of the Week (Jan. 14-20) Player Rank Avg. Shannon Crooks T-15th 1.38 Micah Brand: Co-Chris Daniels Award as A-10’s Most Improved Player of the Year TEAM Category Rank Avg. Blocked Shots 1st 5.50 Three-Point Pct. Defense 2nd .322 Scoring Defense 2nd 64.9 Field Goal Percentage 3rd .437 FG Percentage Defense 3rd .403 Rebound Margin 3rd +3.3 Scoring Margin 4th +4.4 Turnover Margin 4th +0.56 Assists 4th 13.9 Assist/Turnover Ratio 5th 1.01 Three-Point Percentage 6th .343 Steals 6th 6.50 Scoring Offense 8th 69.3 Three-Point Goals Made 9th 5.44 Free Throw Percentage 9th .684 2001-02 UMASS NUMERICAL ROSTER No. Name Yr. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) 0 Brennan Martin Fr. F 6-6 190 Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (Hargrave, Va.) 1 Willie Jenkins* So. F/G 6-6 200 Memphis, Tenn. (Fairley) 2 Jackie Rogers* Sr. F 6-8 230 Syracuse, N.Y. (Corcoran) 3 Ronell Blizzard*** Sr. F 6-8 205 Waterbury, Conn. (Sacred Heart) 11 Kyle Wilson Fr. G 6-2 175 White Rock, B.C. (White Rock Christian) 12 Anthony Anderson So. G 5-11 175 Lynn, Mass. (Lynn English) 21 Eric Williams* Sr. F 6-8 243 Brooklyn, N.Y. (Robeson) 22 Dwayne Killings* So. G 6-0 180 Amherst, Mass. (Amherst Regional) 24 Jameel Pugh* So. G 6-4 200 Sacramento, Calif. (Grant Union) 30 Shannon Crooks** Sr. G 6-2 222 Boston, Mass. (Everett) 33 Kitwana Rhymer*** Sr. C/F 6-10 256 St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (St. Raymond’s, N.Y.) 34 Raheim Lamb So. F 6-5 190 Boston, Mass. (Boston English) 40 Micah Brand** Jr. F/C 6-11 243 Middletown, N.Y. (Milford Academy, Conn.)

2001-02 UMASS ALPHABETICAL ROSTER No. Name Yr. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) 12 Anthony Anderson So. G 5-11 175 Lynn, Mass. (Lynn English) 3 Ronell Blizzard*** Sr. F 6-8 205 Waterbury, Conn. (Sacred Heart) 40 Micah Brand** Jr. F/C 6-11 243 Middletown, N.Y. (Milford Academy, Conn.) 30 Shannon Crooks** Sr. G 6-2 222 Boston, Mass. (Everett) 1 Willie Jenkins* So. F/G 6-6 200 Memphis, Tenn. (Fairley) 22 Dwayne Killings So. G 6-0 180 Amherst, Mass. (Amherst Regional) 34 Raheim Lamb So. F 6-5 190 Boston, Mass. (Boston English) 0 Brennan Martin Fr. F 6-6 190 Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (Hargrave, Va.) 24 Jameel Pugh* So. G 6-4 200 Sacramento, Calif. (Grant Union) 33 Kitwana Rhymer*** Sr. C/F 6-10 256 St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (St. Raymond’s, N.Y.) 2 Jackie Rogers* Sr. F 6-8 230 Syracuse, N.Y. (Corcoran) 21 Eric Williams* Sr. F 6-8 243 Brooklyn, N.Y. (Robeson) 11 Kyle Wilson Fr. G 6-2 175 White Rock, B.C. (White Rock Christian)

Head Coach: Steve Lappas (first season / CCNY, 1977) Assistant Coaches: John Leonard (first season / Manhattan, 1982) Andrew Theokas (first season/College of William & Mary, 1992) Chris Walker (first season/Villanova, 1992) Director of Basketball Operations: Brian Loyd (first season/Tulsa, 1991) Basketball Trainer: Ron Laham (eighth season / Northeastern, 1989) UMASS BASKETBALL--PAGE 10 STEVE LAPPAS, HEAD COACH FIRST SEASON AT UMASS 14TH SEASON AS HEAD COACH STEVE LAPPAS YEAR-BY-YEAR Year School Overall Conference A new era in Minuteman basketball was ushered in March 26, 2001, when Massachuetts Ath- 1988-89 Manhattan 7-21 3-11/7th letic Director Bob Marcum introduced Steve Lappas as the 19th head coach in the program’s 92- 1989-90 Manhattan 11-17 7-9/T-3rd year history. 1990-91 Manhattan 13-15 8-8/5th Lappas, the first active Big East head coach to move to an Atlantic 10 Conference institution, 1991-92 Manhattan# 25-9 13-3/1st came to UMass after nine highly-successful seasons at Villanova University, where he guided the Four-Year Totals 56-62 31-31 Wildcats to a 174-110 (.613) record. The 47-year-old Lappas owns a 230-172 (.572) mark in 13 seasons as a Division I head coach, including a four-year stint at Manhattan College. 1992-93 Villanova 8-19 3-15/10th “You look for a proven winner, someone who has a high graduation rate among players, and 1993-94 Villanova# 20-12 10-8/T-4th wins against good competition,” Marcum said when introducing Lappas as his choice to replace 1994-95 Villanova! 25-8 14-4/2nd James “Bruiser” Flint. “We really had no set of candidates or set timeline, but something changed 1995-96 Villanova! 26-7 14-4/2nd all that, and what changed it was Steve Lappas. We didn’t think we could improve on that.” 1996-97 Villanova! 24-10 12-6/T-1st In nine seasons as head coach at Villanova, Lappas took the Wildcats to postseason play seven 1997-98 Villanova 12-17 8-10/4th times (four NCAAs, three NITs), including each of his last three seasons. In 13 seasons as a head 1998-99 Villanova! 21-11 10-8/T-4th coach, his teams have made eight postseason trips (four NCAAs, four NITs). 1999-00 Villanova# 20-13 8-8/T-6th Lappas-coached Wildcat teams averaged 19.3 wins per season (20.8 wins over his last eight 2000-01 Villanova# 18-13 8-8/T-3rd seasons), and reached the 20-win mark six times. In addition, his squads won at least 10 Big East Nine-Year Totals 174-110 87-71 games five times and posted a .500 or better record league record seven times during his tenure. Career Totals 230-172 119-105 One of only four coaches in Villanova history to win at least 150 games, Lappas’ 97 career Big East victories (includes 10 conference tournament wins) ranks sixth all-time in league history Note: !-NCAA; #-NIT (and was third among active league coaches behind Syracuse’s and Connecticut’s when he left the Main Line). From 1994 through 2001, no Big East team put together IN 13 SEASONS AS A HEAD COACH, more 20-win seasons (six) than Lappas’ Wildcats. STEVE LAPPAS HAS . . . Not only did Lappas forge an outstanding reputation for developing his student-athletes athleti- Led teams to 20 or more victories six of the cally, but his players record of achievement in the classroom is equally impressive. Every one of past eight seasons, and seven times overall. his senior student-athletes, both at Villanova and Manhattan, left with degree in hand. Six Wildcats were drafted by the NBA during Lappas’ stint as head coach, including lottery Made eight postseason tournament appearances picks Kerry Kittles (eighth selection by the New Jersey Nets in 1996) and Tim Thomas (seventh (four NCAA, four NIT), posting a 10-7 record. pick by the New Jersey Nets in 1997). In his 13 seasons all-told at Villanova, he coached 10 NBA players. Coached the 1994 NIT champions at Villanova. Lappas originally went to Villanova as an assistant coach in 1984 and in his first season was a member of coach Rollie Massimino’s staff that led the Wildcats to their only NCAA champion- Directed Villanova to its highest place ever in ship in 1985. In his four seasons as an assistant at VU, the Wildcats posted an 87-53 (.621) record the wire service poll, No. 2, in Dec., 1995. and twice advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. In 1988, Lappas left Villanova to become head coach at Manhattan College, where he directed Won regular season conference titles in two a remarkable turnaround of the Jaspers’ hoop fortunes. The New York, N.Y., native improved his different conferences (Big East and MAAC). victory total every season at Manhattan, from seven wins in his first campaign to 11 in year two, 13 in his third year and 25 in his fourth and final season (1991-92). He earned Metro Atlantic Led Villanova to its first-ever Big East Tourna- Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in his last campaign, as he led the Jaspers to the ment title (1995). MAAC regular-season title and the third round of the NIT. In the eight seasons prior to Lappas’ arrival at Manhattan, the school had won just 75 games Had six players selected in the NBA Draft, in- from 1980 through 1988. In addition to reaping league Coach of the Year honors in 1992, he also cluding lottery picks Kerry Kittles and Tim Tho- earned National Association of Basketball Writers District II Coach of the Year recognition and mas. was selected as the New York Metropolitan Coach of the Year. From Manhattan, Lappas returned to Villanova on April 14, 1992, as head coach, and after a Averaged 17.7 wins per season; 19.9 victories rebuilding year in 1992-93, his 1993-94 squad finished 20-12, posted the school’s first 20-win over his last 10 campaigns. season since 1987-88, and captured the school’s first National Invitation Tournament title. The Wildcats won 14 of their final 17 games, and Lappas was recognized as the Coach of the Year in Graduated every one of his senior players at the East region by Basketball Times and Big East Briefs for his efforts, and received a special both Manhattan and Villanova. recogniation award from Philadelphia’s Big Five. In 1994-95, Lappas’ third season on the Main Line, Villanova finished 25-8 overall and set a NBA DRAFT SELECTIONS school record for Big East victories (14). The Wildcats won the school’s first-ever Big East Con- ference Tournament (beating UConn in the title game) and returned to the NCAA Tournament for 1996-2001 the first time in four seasons. He was presented with the Harry Litwack Award as the Eastern 1. , Arizona, 12 Coach of the Year by the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association, earned Big Five Coach of the Year and was a finalist for AP and Naismith national Coach of the Year honors. 2. , Cincinnati, 7 The next year (1995-96), Villanova won a school-record 26 games (against only seven losses) Mike Krzyewski, Duke, 7 and again played in the NCAA Tournament. Along the way, the Wildcats reached their highest ranking ever in the Associated Press poll, checking in at No. 2 in December, and Kittles became 3. Steve Lappas, Villanova, 6 the school’s first-ever Big East Most Outstanding Player. Roy Williams, Kansas, 6 Year five (1996-97) of the Lappas era saw the Wildcats claim the school’s first Big East regular- Jim Calhoun, UConn, 6 season title since 1982-83, as Villanova went 24-10 overall and 12-6 in the league. Thomas be- came the first Wildcat in school history to earn National Freshman of the Year honors, as the UMASS BASKETBALL--PAGE 11 school earned its third-straight NCAA Tournament bid. It marked only the third time that the school reached the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons. With the departure of four starters, three of whom went on to play in the NBA, Lappas’ sixth STEVE LAPPAS VS. ALL-OPPONENTS VU team finished 12-17 overall in 1997-98. But, his 1998-99 squad bounced back to finish 21-11 Opponent Record Opponent Record overall and returned to the Big Dance for the fourth time under his direction. Alaska-Anchorage 1-0 Nebraska 1-0 In 1999-2000, the Wildcats won 20 games for the sixth time in seven seasons, but were denied Alaska-Fairbanks 2-0 New Hampshire 2-0 American (P.R.) 1-0 New Orleans 1-1 an NCAA Tournament berth and were forced to settle for an NIT bid. Lappas posted a pair of Arizona State 0-2 Niagara 4-1 career coaching milestones during the season, as he earned his 200th victory as a college head Arkansas 1-0 North Carolina 2-1 coach on Jan. 12, 2000, when Villanova downed La Salle, 80-72. A few weeks later, Lappas Army 2-2 N.C.-Wilmington 1-0 earned his 150th Wildcat victory with a 68-61 decision over crosstown rival St. Joseph’s. Boston College 10-8 Notre Dame 7-1 Bradley 3-1 Old Dominion 0-1 Lappas’ ninth Villanova team, which featured 2001 Wooden and Naismith Award finalist and Bucknell 0-1 Oral Roberts 1-0 unanimous All-Big East pick Michael Bradley, went 18-13 overall, 8-8 in the Big East (third- Butler 1-0 Penn 5-1 place tie in the East division) and played in the NIT. California 0-2 Penn State 1-1 Canisius 7-1 Pittsburgh 11-6 A 1977 graduate of the City College of New York (bachelor’s degree in elementary education), Colgate 2-1 Portland 1-0 Lappas began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at York College for one season, fol- Colorado 0-1 Providence 8-13 lowed by a one-year stint as an assistant coach at Fort Lee High School. He then took over the Columbia 5-1 Purdue 1-0 reigns of the Bronx’ Harry S. Truman High School program in 1979, where he coached until 1984 Connecticut 6-10 Richmond 2-0 Delaware 3-0 Rider 4-0 when he joined the Villanova staff. Lappas compiled a 91-32 record at Truman, including a 27-3 Drexel 0-2 Rutgers 8-2 record in 1983-84 when his squad captured the New York State Class A title. He was a two-time Duke 0-3 Santa Clara 1-0 (1981 and 1984) New York Daily News Coach of the Year selection. Duquesne 1-0 Seton Hall 8-7 Fairfield 5-4 Siena 3-4 A three-year letterwinner in basketball at CCNY and team captain as a junior, Steve and his Fairleigh-Dickinson 2-0 South Carolina St. 1-0 wife Harriet are the parents of two children, Kristen (13) and Peter (10). Coach Lappas and his Florida 1-1 Southern 0-1 wife were active in the Philadelphia area, working with the Coaches vs. Cancer team and Special Florida International 1-0 SW Texas State 0-2 Olympics. Fordham 0-6 Springfield 0-2 Georgetown 8-6 St. Francis (N.Y.) 1-0 In addition to Lappas’ personal involvement in the Philadelphia area, his team was active in the Georgia 1-1 St. John’s 9-9 community, too. The Wildcats made visits to Children’s Hospital, participated in a campus beau- Hofstra 5-2 St. Joseph’s 4-2 tification service project at Olney High School and were a part of the school’s pen pal program Holy Cross 2-1 St. Mary’s (Calif.) 2-1 Howard 1-0 St. Peter’s 7-3 with area middle schools. Iona 4-6 Syracuse 6-10 Kent 0-1 Temple 2-3 Kentucky 0-2 Texas 0-1 QUOTING COACH STEVE LAPPAS Lafayette 1-0 Towson State 1-0 On the University: “UMass has a lot of things going for it academically and athletically. I’m La Salle 5-9 Tulane 1-0 an educator. I started as a high school teacher and coach. My father was a Greek immigrant who Lehigh 1-0 UCLA 0-1 Long Island 1-0 U.S. International 0-1 wanted me to teach. When I told him I was becoming a coach he said, ‘You’re gonna make a living Louisville 1-1 Vanderbilt 1-0 with a ball?’ He couldn’t understand that. But UMass has a great reputation for graduating players Loyola (Md.) 4-2 Vermont 1-0 already in place, I just hope to continue that.” Marist 2-0 Virginia Tech 2-0 Massachuetts 1-1 Wagner 2-0 Miami (Fla.) 8-7 Wake Forest 1-0 On his goals for UMass Basketball: “I’m very excited about this opportunity. Our goal is to Minnesota 0-3 West Virginia 1-0 be in the NCAA Tournament or NIT as often as we can. We’re going to work as hard as we can to Mississippi 0-1 William & Mary 1-1 reach that. Expectations go with the turf. That’s the nature of , and those are the Mississippi State 1-0 Wisconsin 1-1 Monmouth 1-0 Wisconsin-GB 1-0 expectations people have and those are the expectations that I have.” Mt. St. Mary’s 2-0 Xavier 1-0 Navy 1-0 Yale 1-0 On his team’s style of play: “Unselfish. We take good shots consistently. We move the ball. Bold indicates 2001-02 opponent. We usually shoot a very good field-goal percentage. Defensively, we’ve been a very good halfcourt team. Usually, we’re a very good, solid man-to-man defensive team. And we play hard. You can ALL-TIME WINNINGEST take all that other stuff and throw it out the window if you’re not playing hard.” BIG EAST COACHES On the 2001-02 season: “I think the inside game is very, very good. I hear great things about (CONFERENCE GAMES ONLY) Anthony Anderson, who sat out last season, and I’m anxious to see him play in a team situation. 1. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse (261) Hopefully, we’re going to be a good enough three-point shooting team, because that’s one part of 2. John Thompson, Georgetown (231) what I like to do. There are some guys that didn’t play that much last year that say they can shoot, 3. Jim Calhoun, Connecticut (176) so we’ll see.” 4. , St. John's (139) 5. Rollie Massimino, Villanova (123) On recruiting: “The reception I’ve received from kids in the home and everyone here has 6. Steve Lappas, Villanova (97) been tremendous. There’s a lot to sell here at UMass. It’s a great state school with a good tradition and a beautiful new building, so there’s a lot of good selling points. This is a great time to recruit Note: Figures include both regular season and to UMass because when the program was in the Final Four and ranked No. 1, kids you were Big East Tournament victories. recruiting today were 12, 13 and 14, so they know UMass well.” Did You Know?: Steve Lappas is one of only 11 On moving to UMass after nine highly-successful years at Villanova: “This was the perfect coaches in Big East history with a winning record job at the perfect time. It was the perfect time for a change for me and my family and when this in league play. In nine seasons at Villanova, his opportunity came along, I knew it was something special.” teams were 87-71 (.551) in regular season league games, and 10-8 in the season-ending conference tournament for a 97-79 (.551) overall mark against Big East foes. UMASS BASKETBALL--PAGE 11 ASSISTANT COACHES JOHN LEONARD ASSISTANT COACH FIRST SEASON AT UMASS CRUNCH TIME FREE THROWS John Leonard, an 11-year Division I coaching veteran, joins the UMass staff after serving the past (FINAL THREE MINUTES & O.T.) two seasons as Assistant Commissioner/Operations for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Player FT-FTA Pct. At the MAAC, Leonard directed 22 of the league’s 24 championship events, developed league sched- Monty Mack 23-27 .852 ules for several sports and oversaw the conference awards and merchandise programs. Jonathan DePina 28-36 .778 Prior to joining the MAAC staff, Leonard spent three seasons (1996-99) as head coach at Manhattan Kitwana Rhymer 27-36 .750 College, where he guided the Jaspers to a 26-57 record. He served as an assistant to coach Lappas at Shannon Crooks 29-42 .690 both Manhattan (1988-92) and Villanova (1992-96) before returning to his alma mater as head coach. Micah Brand 5-8 .625 “John worked for me at both Manhattan and Villanova, and has a tremendous understanding of the Ronell Blizzard 3-6 .500 way we do things,” Lappas said. “He is a tremendous teacher of the game, too.” Willie Jenkins 1-2 .500 A native of Schenectady, N.Y., Leonard graduated from Manhattan in 1982, where he was a four- Jackie Rogers 2-4 .500 year letterman. A 10th-round draft pick of the NBA’s New York Knicks in 1982, he ranks as the eighth- Eric Williams 3-7 .429 leading scorer in Manhattan history with 1,329 points. Jameel Pugh 2-10 .200 Leonard and his wife, Cynthia, reside in Amherst with their three children, Alyssa, Brianna and Winston Smith 0-4 .000 John, Jr. UMass 123-182 .676 Opponents 143-199 .719 ANDREW THEOKAS ASSISTANT COACH FIRST SEASON AT UMASS SERIES RECORDS VS. One of two staff members to make the move from Villanova to Amherst with coach Lappas, Andrew Theokas enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Minutemen. 2001-02 OPPONENTS “Andrew worked for me at Villanova last year, and did a great job,” Lappas said. “He’s a young guy School Series Standing who has already had some great experiences in college basketball.” Arkansas-Little Rock First meeting Theokas spent the 2000-01 season as administrative assistant on Lappas’ Villanova staff, but will Marist UMass, 2-0 serve as a recruiter and on-the-floor coach at UMass. Prior to his one-year stint at VU, Theokas spent Oregon Oregon, 1-0 two seasons (1998-99 and 1999-2000) as an assistant coach at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J. North Carolina State UMass, 1-0 Before Rider, Theokas served as head coach at Ocean County College in Toms River, N.J. A 1992 Holy Cross Holy Cross, 35-17 graduate of The College of William & Mary, Theokas, who is single, is a native of North Brunswick, Boston College Tied, 17-17 N.J. UConn UConn, 65-38 Central Conn. State UMass, 2-1 Maine UMass, 39-16 CHRIS WALKER ASSISTANT COACH FIRST SEASON AT UMASS Marshall Marshall, 2-1 A former player and assistant coach at Villanova for Steve Lappas, Chris Walker begins his first Ohio State Ohio State, 1-0 year at UMass and his 10th as a Division I assistant coach. Temple Temple, 31-15 “Like Andrew, Chris worked with me last year at Villanova, and did a great job,” Lappas said. “He St. Joseph’s UMass, 25-16 did a great job of recruiting some tremendous classes at both Pepperdine and Vanderbilt, and I’m Rhode Island UMass, 67-49 confidant he will do that here, too.” St. Bonaventure UMass, 29-15 Walker spent the 2000-01 season as an assistant coach at Villanova, and prior to that was the associ- Fordham UMass, 16-6 ate head coach at both Pepperdine (1999-2000) and Vanderbilt (1996-99). He began his coaching ca- La Salle UMass, 8-2 reer at Loyola (Calif.) in 1992, where he worked until moving to Vanderbilt and working with Jan van George Washington GW, 30-19 Breda Kolff. Dayton UMass, 4-3 A two-time All-Big Five selection, Walker started 96 games at point guard for the Wildcats and Xavier UMass, 6-4 coach Rollie Massimino from 1989-92. He led Villanova in assists for three straight seasons and ranks Duquesne UMass, 28-18 10th all-time in that category at the school. In his career, he scored 991 points. Richmond Richmond, 1-0 Born on Christmas Day 1969, Walker graduated from Villanova in 1992. A native of Houston, Texas, he resides in Amherst and is single. RANKING A-10 COACHES BY VICTORIES BRIAN LOYD DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS FIRST SEASON AT UMASS Wins Name, School Yrs. Avg. Brian Loyd, an eight-year coaching veteran, begins his first season as UMass’ Director of Basketball 656 John Chaney, Temple 29 22.6 Operations. 425 , Richmond 23 18.5 “Brian brings tremendous experience to our program,” Minuteman coach Steve Lappas said. “He 368 Danny Nee, Duquesne 21 17.5 has been a full-time assistant coach in a number of quality programs, and his experience will be an asset 230 Steve Lappas, UMass 13 17.7 to our staff. But, more importantly, he relates very well to young people, which is very important in this 211 , Dayton 13 16.2 position.” 206 , Rhode Island 14 14.7 Loyd joined Lappas’ staff from Portland State University, where he spent the past two seasons as an 174 J. van Breda Kolff, SBU 10 17.4 assistant coach. Prior to that, he spent four seasons (1995-99) as an assistant at another Division I 107 , St. Joseph’s 6 17.8 school, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and two years (1993-95) as an assistant at Queens (N.C.) College. 42 Billy Hahn, La Salle 3 14.0 A standout collegiate player at the University of Tulsa, Loyd was a four-year letterman (1986-90) for 26 *Bob Hill, Fordham 2 13.0 the Golden Hurricane and served as team captain. A member of the Missouri Valley Conference’s all- 24 , Xavier 1 24.0 academic team, he was selected as UT’s defensive player of the year. 0 , GW 0 0.0 Loyd received his bachelor of arts degree from Tulsa in 1991, as a double-major in sociology/com- munication with a concentration in broadcasting. Upon graduating, he spent two years as an admis- Note: Hill’s record does not include 257- sions counselor at Tulsa. Loyd is single and resides in Amherst. 212 seven-year NBA record. NOTING THE 2001-02 MINUTEMEN

#0 BRENNAN MARTIN, 6-6, 190, FR., F, RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CALIF. (HARGRAVE, VA., MILITARY) 4Was the second prep recruit signed by coach Lappas and his staff in the 2001 spring signing period. Will challenge for playing time on the wing as a rookie. 4Spent last season at Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy, and originally signed a letter intent with Villanova, but was released when Lappas moved to UMass. 4Averaged 14.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 2.0 spg for coach ’ 27-1 Hargrave team a year ago. 4Shot 53 percent from three-point range at Hargrave. 4One of 11 players from Hargrave’s 2000-01 team that have signed to play Division I basketball in 2001-02. 4“Brennan is a tremendous shooter who will play very well in motion offense,” Lappas said. “We are excited to have him as part of our program. I’m confidant that he will make some great contributions to our program over the next four years.”

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#1 WILLIE JENKINS, 6-6, 200, SO., F/G, MEMPHIS, TENN. (FAIRLEY) 4Appeared in 18 games as a freshman off the bench, but is expected to challenge for more playing time on the wing as a sophomore. 4As a freshman, he averaged 0.8 ppg and 0.4 rpg in 4.2 mpg. 4Tallied career-high six points in a career-long 16 minute stint off the bench at Holy Cross. 4Fourteen of his 22 field goal attempts were from three-point range, while three of his five made field goals have been from bonus distance. 4As a senior for coach Sylvester Ford at Fairley (Tenn.) High School, Jenkins averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds en route to team MVP honors.

JENKINS’ CAREER STATISTICS Total 3-Pointers Season G-GS MP-Avg. FG-FGA Pct. FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. REB.-Avg. PF-FO A TO BLK ST TP-Avg. 2000-01 18-0 75-4.2 5-22 .227 3-14 .214 1-4 .250 7-0.4 6-0 3 5 0 1 14-0.8

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#2 JACKIE ROGERS, 6-8, 230, SR., F, SYRACUSE, N.Y. (CORCORAN) 4Played in 29 of 30 games a year ago (missed BU game with a foot injury), drawing six starts, and is expected to contend for a starting spot along the frontline as a senior. 4Averaged 6.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg as a junior, while shooting a team-best 55.3 percent from the field (61.5 percent vs. A-10 foes). His scoring average was the best among UMass reserves a year ago. 4In A-10 play, Rogers averaged 7.9 ppg and 4.6 rpg. 4Came on strong toward end of 2000-01 season, as he averaged 8.8 ppg and 5.3 rpg over UMass’ last 12 games. 4Turned in second double-double of UMass career at St. Joseph’s, a 12-rebound, career-high-tying 11-rebound performance. 4Tallied career-high 18 points and eight rebounds against Rhode Island, and recorded first UMass career double-double, a 13-point, career-high 11- rebound effort vs. Temple. 4Averaged 7.9 points in UMass’ victories, 5.4 in its defeats. 4Produced six or more points 15 times, including seven double-figure scoring efforts. Six of his seven double-figure scoring games were against A- 10 opponents. 4The Minutemen were 9-6 when he scored six or more points, including an 8-2 mark vs. A-10 foes. 4Grabbed five or more rebounds 11 times, including a pair of double-figure performances. 4Led the Minutemen in rebounding six times, steals four times and blocks twice. 4Began collegiate career at West Virginia, then spent 1999-2000 season at Barton County (Kan.) C.C., before joining the UMass program.

ROGERS’ CAREER STATISTICS Total 3-Pointers Season G-GS MP-Avg. FG-FGA Pct. FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. REB.-Avg. PF-FO A TO BLK ST TP-Avg. 2000-01 29-6 491-16.9 83-150 .553 0-0 .000 25-50 .500 114-3.9 69-2 14 36 9 8 191-6.6

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#3 RONELL BLIZZARD, 6-8, 205, SR., F, WATERBURY, CONN. (SACRED HEART) 4A valuable player off the bench a year ago, Blizzard appeared in all 30 games, drawing two starts, and should push for more playing time as a senior. 4Averaged 1.6 ppg and 1.6 rpg in 10.2 mpg off the pine as a junior. 4His five made three-pointers last year rank second among 2001-02 UMass returnees. 4Scored just five points (0.7 ppg) in UMass’ first seven games of the season, but netted 44 points (2.0 ppg) over his last 22 outings, including a career-high-tying nine point performance at Boston U. 4Also established career bests for rebounds (14), blocked shots (seven) and minutes played (25) at BU. 4His seven rejections against the Terriers were the most by a UMass player since Marcus Camby had seven in a second-round NCAA Tournament victory over Stanford, March 16, 1996. NOTING THE 2001-02 MINUTEMEN, CONTINUED

4Blizzard ranked third on the squad in blocked shots with 27 (nine more than he had in his first two seasons combined), but 26 of the rejections came over the last 22 games. 4Ranked 11th in the A-10 in blocks (0.9 bpg). 4UMass was 3-0 last season when he scored five or more points (wins at BU, Xavier and Temple). 4Led the Minutemen in blocks five times, steals twice and rebounding once as a junior. 4Averaged 2.0 ppg and 1.1 rpg as a sophomore in 1999-2000, 1.8 ppg and 2.1 rpg as a freshman in 1998-99. 4One of four fifth-year seniors on the 2001-02 UMass roster.

BLIZZARD’S CAREER STATISTICS Total 3-Pointers Season G-GS MP-Avg. FG-FGA Pct. FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. REB.-Avg. PF-FO A TO BLK ST TP-Avg. 1998-99 10-0 66-6.6 9-21 .429 0-8 .000 0-3 .000 21-2.1 13-0 0 3 4 0 18-1.8 1999-00 28-4 211-7.5 22-48 .458 4-16 .250 7-10 .700 31-1.1 37-1 7 14 13 7 55-2.0 2000-01 30-2 307-10.2 19-49 .388 5-17 .294 6-12 .500 47-1.6 55-1 18 25 27 8 49-1.6 Totals 68-6 584-8.6 50-118 .424 9-41 .220 13-25 .520 99-1.5 105-2 25 42 44 15 122-1.8

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#11 KYLE WILSON, 6-2, 175, FR., G, WHITE ROCK, B.C. (WHITE ROCK CHRISTIAN) 4The first recruit of the Steve Lappas-era, Wilson should challenge for a starting position in the UMass backcourt as a freshman. 4Averaged 24 points and 9.5 assists as a prep senior, and was ranked as Canada’s top point guard. 4In the provincial tournament, he averaged 28 points and 13.5 assists en route to tourney MVP honors, as White Rock finished second. 4A deadly three-point shooter, Wilson nailed 12 treys in one game last season, and hit 42 percent from beyond the arc in his final prep campaign. 4Averaged 21 points as a junior, and won the world junior three-point shooting contest in France. 4“We are very excited that Kyle has decided to sign with us,” UMass coach Steve Lappas said. “He will really strengthen our backcourt. He’s a very good three-point shooter, too. I believe he will be able to help us as a freshman.”

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#12 ANTHONY ANDERSON, 5-11, 175, SO., G, LYNN, MASS. (LYNN ENGLISH) 4Lightening-quick point guard, who after sitting out 2000-01 season due to academics, should challenge for starting spot in UMass backcourt. 4As a prep senior, averaged 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for coach Ronald Bennett at Lynn English (Mass.) High School. 4Led team to 19-5 record in 1999-2000. 4Most Valuable Player of the Northeastern Conference as both a junior and senior. 4Named to the 2000 Boston Globe All-Scholastic Team. 4Ranked as one of the nation’s top preps as a senior.

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#21 ERIC WILLIAMS, 6-8, 243, SR., F, BROOKLYN, N.Y. (ROBESON) 4One of five seniors on the 2001-02 UMass roster, Williams figures to battle for a starting spot along the frontline as a senior after appearing in 29 games as a junior off the bench. 4Averaged 3.8 ppg and 3.5 rpg in 11.6 mpg off the bench in 29 appearances a year ago, while shooting 54.1 percent from the floor. 4In his Minuteman debut against Iona, had a season-high 14 points and nine rebounds in a season-long 26-minute stint. 4Shot team-best 60.5 percent mark from the field in A-10 action. 4The Minutemen were 8-2 last season when he scored five or more points in a game. 4Grabbed five or more rebounds eight times last year, with a high of 10 at Temple. 4Hit second trey of his UMass career in Rhode Island win (also hit a three against Xavier). 4Led UMass in rebounding and blocks three times each, and twice in assists. 4Transferred into the UMass program from Syracuse, where he played for two seasons, and sat out the 1999-2000 Minuteman campaign. 4As a sophomore at Syracuse, he averaged 5.6 ppg and 3.4 rpg, while he averaged 3.0 ppg as a freshman.

WILLIAMS’ CAREER STATISTICS Total 3-Pointers Season G-GS MP-Avg. FG-FGA Pct. FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. REB.-Avg. PF-FO A TO BLK ST TP-Avg. 2000-01 29-0 337-11.6 40-74 .541 2-8 .250 29-55 .527 101-3.5 46-1 13 26 8 12 111-3.8

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#22 DWAYNE KILLINGS, 6-0, 180, SO., G, AMHERST, MASS. (AMHERST REGIONAL) 4Walk-on who saw action in three games a year ago, averaging 1.0 ppg and 0.7 rpg, and who will add quality depth to the team as a sophomore. 4Scored only points of season on three-pointer against Fordham. Also saw action at Rhode Island (0 points, two rebounds) and against the Rams in Amherst (0 points, 0 rebounds). 4Named to the UMass Athletic Council Honor Roll in both the fall (2000) and spring (2001) semesters. 4Received team’s John Murphy Inspirational Award last year. 4Earned All-Western Mass honors as a prep at Amherst (Mass.) Regional High School.

KILLINGS’ CAREER STATISTICS Total 3-Pointers Season G-GS MP-Avg. FG-FGA Pct. FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. REB.-Avg. PF-FO A TO BLK ST TP-Avg. 2000-01 3-0 3-1.0 1-2 .500 1-1 1.000 0-0 .000 2-0.7 0-0 0 0 0 1 3-1.0

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#24 JAMEEL PUGH, 6-5, 200, SO., G, SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (GRANT UNION) 4After appearing in 16 games as a freshman, Pugh hopes to see more playing time as a sophomore, and should be in the hunt for a starting position. 4Averaged 1.9 ppg and 1.2 rpg in 2.8 mpg as a reserve. 4Ten of his 18 points and nine of his 13 rebounds came in UMass’ losses to nationally-ranked foes Connecticut (a career-high seven points, four rebounds) and North Carolina (three points, five rebounds). 4Ranked as the West Coast’s No. 2 as a senior and as the nation’s 71st-best prep by Bob Gibbons All-Star Report. 4Nicknamed Superman because of his dunking abilities, he was tabbed as the World’s Best Dunker by Slam Magazine.

PUGH’S CAREER STATISTICS Total 3-Pointers Season G-GS MP-Avg. FG-FGA Pct. FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. REB.-Avg. PF-FO A TO BLK ST TP-Avg. 2000-01 16-0 45-2.8 8-28 .286 2-13 .154 2-10 .200 13-0.8 9-0 3 2 0 5 20-1.2

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#30 SHANNON CROOKS, 6-2, 222, SR., EVERETT, MASS. 4Returns for his third season as UMass’ starting point guard, but he could see some action at the off-guard as a senior, too. Hopes to make a run at all- league honors in final campaign at UMass. 4Averaged 9.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg as a junior. 4Needs 306 points (includes 43 points at St. John’s) to reach the 1,000-point mark in his collegiate career, and 349 to reach that milestone as a Minuteman. 4Last year, became first UMass player since Edgar Padilla in 1996-97 to lead the Minutemen in both assists and steals in the same season. Crooks finished with 95 assists and 47 steals. 4Ranked 12th in the A-10 in steals (1.57 spg), 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.15), 14th in assists (3.17 apg). 4Scored in double figures 12 times as a junior, including a season-best 20-point effort against Iona. The Minutemen are 4-0 in his career when he scores 20 or more points. 4Has dished out at least one assist in 37-straight games, and in 61 of 63 career games. 4Needs 105 assists to crack the UMass career list (he has 194), 29 steals (he has 105) to make the school’s career theft chart. 4Collected two or more assists in 26 of 30 games as a junior, with a high of seven against Rhode Island in Amherst. 4Made 18 three-pointers a year ago, tops among this year’s UMass returnees. 4Minutemen were 5-1 in A-10 play when Crooks scored in double figures last season. 4Led the Minuteman scoring attack twice, and also led the team in steals 15 times, in assists 13 times and in blocks twice. 4Averaged 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 23 games as a freshman at St. John’s, then left the Big East program for UMass, sat out the 1998-99 campaign, before averaging 11.6 ppg and 3.3 rpg as a sophomore in 1999-2000.

CROOKS’ CAREER STATISTICS Total 3-Pointers Season G-GS MP-Avg. FG-FGA Pct. FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. REB.-Avg. PF-FO A TO BLK ST TP-Avg. 1999-00 33-25 983-29.8 148-384 .385 28-96 .286 58-106 .547 109-3.3 98-2 99 89 11 58 382-11.6 2000-01 30-29 937-31.2 89-246 .362 18-74 .243 73-107 .682 105-3.5 93-4 95 78 8 47 269- 9.0 Totals 63-54 1,920-30.5 237-630 .376 46-170 .271 131-213 .615 214-3.4 191-6 194 167 19 105 651-10.3

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#33 KITWANA RHYMER, 6-10, 256, SR., C, ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS (ST. RAYMOND’S, N.Y., H.S.) 4Returns for third season as UMass’ starting center, and should contend for first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors in final season in Maroon and White uniform. Figures to be a cornerstone of coach Lappas’ first UMass squad. 4Named the A-10’s Defensive Player of the Year and shared the league’s Most Improved Player honor with teammate Micah Brand. Also earned third-team all-league honors and earned a spot on the league’s all-defensive team. 4Selected to 2001 Verizon A-10 Tournament all-championship team after averaging 13.7 ppg and 10.7 rpg in UMass’ run to the title game. 4Heads into final season 374 points shy of becoming the school’s 35th 1,000-point career scorer. 4UMass’ top returning scorer (9.9 ppg) and rebounder (7.3 rpg) from last year’s team, Rhymer averaged 10.1 ppg and 7.2 rpg vs. A-10 foes. 4Turned in a career-high 30-point effort against Rhode Island in Amherst, the best by a Minuteman last year. 4Ranked second in the A-10 in blocks (2.10 bpg), sixth in rebounding (7.3 rpg). 4Had eight double-doubles to his credit last season (13 career), nine double-figure rebounding efforts (20 career). 4One of seven players in school history to block 100 shots, he has 137 career snuffs, good for fourth-place on the school’s all-time chart. 4Rhymer, who had at least one block in 25 of 30 games last season, ranked second in the A-10 in rejections a year ago (63, 2.10 bpg). His 63 blocks equalled the ninth-best single-season total in school history. 4Recorded 17 multiple-block efforts this season, with a high of five three times. 4Scored in double-digits 14 times last season, grabbed five or more boards in 21 games. 4The only Minuteman to start all 30 games last season, he grabbed his 500th career rebound in the George Washington game, now has 549 in career. 4Earned A-10 player-of-the-week honor for week of Jan. 14-20 after averaging 17.0 ppg and 12.5 rpg in UMass’ wins over Dayton and Duquesne. He was the only Minuteman to earn the honor in 2000-01. 4Started 32 of 33 games as a sophomore, averaging 7.8 ppg and 7.6 rpg, while he contributed 2.5 ppg and 2.7 rpg in 1998-99.

RHYMER’S CAREER STATISTICS Total 3-Pointers Season G-GS MP-Avg. FG-FGA Pct. FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. REB.-Avg. PF-FO A TO BLK ST TP-Avg. 1998-99 29-0 274-9.5 23-42 .548 0-0 .000 26-53 .491 79-2.7 51-1 3 18 21 5 72-2.5 1999-00 33-32 857-30.0 92-172 .535 0-0 .000 73-108 .676 252-7.6 106-6 12 52 53 18 257-7.8 2000-01 30-30 732-24.4 98-194 .505 0-0 .000 101-147 .687 218-7.3 102-4 22 51 63 11 297-9.9 Totals 92-62 1863-20.3 213-408 .522 0-0 .000 200-308 .649 549-6.0 259-11 37 121 137 34 626-6.8

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#34 RAHEIM LAMB, 6-5, 190, SO., F, BOSTON, MASS. (BOSTON ENGLISH) 4Sat out 2000-01 season due to academics, but figures to make an immediate impact in rookie season with the Minutemen. 4As a partial qualifier last year, Lamb was able to practice with the Minutemen, but could not play in games. 4Regarded as one of nation’s top 150 preps as a senior. 4Led Boston English (Mass.) High School to back-to-back city titles in 1999 and 2000, and the 2000 Eastern Mass. championship. 4Captained team as junior and senior. 4Three-time all-conference pick, two-time Boston Herald Dream Team selection and three-time member of Boston Globe All-Scholastic squad. 4Averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds as prep senior for coach Barry Robinson, 21 points and 12 rebounds as a junior.

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#40 MICAH BRAND, 6-11, 243, JR., F/C, MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. (MILFORD, CONN., ACADEMY) 4One of three returning starters for first-year coach Steve Lappas, Brand shared the A-10’s Most Improved Player award as a sophomore, and should make a push at all-conference honors in his first two seasons as a Minuteman. 4Made first career start in sixth game of 2000-01 season, went on to start 22 of last 24 games. 4Averaged 9.0 ppg and 4.7 rpg in A-10 play, while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 69.8 percent at the foul line. Those marks compare to season averages of 8.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 46.0 percent field goal shooting and 66.3 percent foul shooting. 4Had 12 double-figure scoring games as a sophomore (after recording three such efforts as a freshman), and tallied five or more points 21 times. 4Eight of his 12 double-figure scoring games last year came in UMass losses. 4Ranked second on the team and seventh in the A-10 in blocked shots (33, 1.1 bpg). 4Rejected at least one shot in 22 of 30 appearances, including a career-high four rejections twice, and grabbed five or more rebounds 15 times. 4Netted career-high 23 points at Dayton, and pulled down career-best 10 rebounds vs. Xavier. 4Averaged 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 29 appearances as a freshman in 1999-2000.

BRAND’S CAREER STATISTICS Total 3-Pointers Season G-GS MP-Avg. FG-FGA Pct. FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. REB.-Avg. PF-FO A TO BLK ST TP-Avg. 1999-00 29-0 379-13.1 55-106 .519 0-0 .000 16-31 .516 96-3.3 63-3 7 21 15 6 126-4.3 2000-01 30-23 654-21.8 97-211 .460 0-0 .000 59-89 .663 142-4.7 77-1 18 55 33 11 253-8.4 Totals 59-23 1,033-17.5 152-317 .479 0-0 .000 75-120 .625 238-4.0 140-4 25 76 48 17 379-6.4