2007-2008 Opponent News

Collegiate Sports
1

This was in today’s High Point Enterprise, the Panthers come to Charlotte to open the season on Friday, November 9. They currently have 17 players on next season’s roster. :confused:

[QUOTE][B]High Point Panthers sign 6-foot-5 player from Raleigh area [/B]
By Tom Berry, Enterprise Sports Writer

HIGH POINT – Earnest Bridges, a 6-foot-5 forward from Wake Forest-Rolesville High, did not provide one specific reason for signing a basketball grant-in-aid with High Point University on Wednesday.

“It just felt right,” he said. HPU feels the same way.

The Panthers completed their recruiting from the prep class of 2007 by luring Bridges, who averaged 14.8 points and 9.1 rebounds last season. After missing most of his junior season with a broken foot and not playing AAU basketball until last summer, Bridges was considered an under-the-radar recruit until the last few weeks.

That was before he played well during the Rising Stars Evaluation Combines at UNC-Wilmington and Elon in mid-March and began to attract interest from NCAA Division I schools. The 210-pounder picked High Point over offers from Winthrop, Radford, VMI, Buffalo, Coppin State and others.

“I think Earnest and High Point will be a perfect match,” said Bob Smith, chief scout for Preps Plus recruiting service. “He’s physically imposing and very athletic. I think he will become a very good Big South player.”

After committing to HPU more than a week ago, Bridges played for the Carolina Cobras in the Charlie Weber tournament last weekend in Washington, D.C., powering for 28 points and six dunks in his final game. The 17-year-old is considered primarily a power forward who should grow another couple of inches.

“(Bridges) is a good player who has a chance to be very, very good,” said Josh Schertz, High Point’s assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator.

“He’s also a great kid and an honor student.”

Bridges will join two other players as freshmen for the Panthers in 2007-08. The November signees were 6-4 shooting guard Ibrahim Appiah of Champlain-St. Lambert school in Montreal, Canada, and 5-11 combo guard Alquan Mendenhall of Wilcox Central High in Camden, Ala.

[B][COLOR=Indigo]High Point loses only guard Landon Quick from a team that went 22-10 last season and finished second to Winthrop during the Big South Conference regular season.[/COLOR][/B] The Panthers were upset by VMI in the league tournament semi-finals.[/QUOTE]

2

Glad, this is all it is.

Thought you were starting to tell us about teams coming off the 07-08 schedule.

Was trying to figure which 07-08 opponent was close friends with Lute Olson.

3

High Point’s fans are a lot of fun from what I remember. Way better than Davidson fans.

4

A young team opening against a veteran squad for their home opener spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e. High Point was supposed to dethrone Winthrop last season for the Big South crown, and will be the favorite to win it in 07-08. The ghosts of North Texas are beginning to rise. Hopefully, Leemire can exorcise them.

5

[B]HIT AND RUN[/B]-

The race for the Big South Conference men’s basketball championship just got a lot more interesting.

Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall announced Saturday he was leaving Rock Hill, S.C. after nine seasons at the helm to become head honcho at Wichita State.

Marshall, 44, reportedly will earn $750,000 annually – not counting incentives.

I wish him the best, but his exit raises some fascinating questions.

Under Marshall, Winthrop won seven league titles in nine seasons. The Eagles were almost always heavy preseason favorites to capture the Big South crown. They usually lived up to those expectations.

Without Marshall, the Eagles could fall from grace.

And the chase for the Big South Tournament championship – and the precious automatic NCAA Tournament bid that goes with it – could become a wide-open affair.

If Winthrop stumbles under new coach Randy Peele, promoted from his assistant’s role on Saturday night, perhaps:
•Liberty will borrow a page from its women’s basketball playbook and emerge as a perennial league power.
•Coastal Carolina or Charleston Southern will fill the void left by their Palmetto State brethren.
•Radford, VMI or UNC Asheville will develop into a consistent championship threat.
•The conference will feature an entertaining “revolving door” of champions, with no school becoming a year-in and year-out powerhouse.

Perhaps.

But my hunch is that High Point University is the school best suited to step up and be counted as the Big South team to beat.

Bart Lundy is a talented young coach. He and his staff seem to possess a fine knack for recruiting.
With a solid returning cast led by Arizona Reid, HPU appears poised for a strong run next season.

Plus, High Point boasts a storied basketball history. The Panthers were no strangers to success in their NAIA days. HPU could taste NCAA success this season, and for many seasons to come.

It will be fun to see how it all plays out

–MARK McKINNEY, Enterprise Assistant Sports Editor

6

[B]Gator bait?
High Point will play Florida in men’s basketball[/B]
[B][I]By Tom Berry, Enterprise Sports Editor
April 18, 2007[/I][/B]

HIGH POINT – Although struggling to complete its 2007-08 men’s basketball schedule, High Point’s most high-profile game is certain.

The Panthers will play at Florida, two-time defending NCAA champions. [B][COLOR=Green]Road contests against N.C. State and Charlotte are likely.[/COLOR][/B]

“We have a signed contract for the Florida game,” HPU head coach Bart Lundy confirmed on Tuesday. “We’ve talked to their coaches pretty much every year, and it worked out this year. It will be exciting for our players.”

The teams probably will play on Jan. 2, 2008, although Lundy said the date could change. The Gators own a 2-0 lead in the series, the last game a 109-60 rout during the 1999-2000 season.

High Point returns every key player except guard Landon Quick from a team that finished 22-10 last season and placed second to Winthrop in the Big South Conference regular season. Although the Gators have no returning starters since four juniors recently declared for the NBA Draft, Lundy expects to face a solid team under coach Billy Donovan.

“We think they will be a top-20 team,” Lundy said. “Their freshman class is very good.”

There are several connections with the High Point and Florida programs. Lundy and HPU associate head coach Josh Schertz are friends with Gator assistant Larry Shyatt, a former Clemson head coach. Schertz and Shyatt worked together during the 2001 Maccabiah Games. Also, former Florida assistant Nate Dixon coached under Lundy at Queens University in Charlotte. Dixon, a Sparta native, left the Gators for Louisiana-Monroe after the 2004-05 season.

The game at Gainesville, Fla., will be a home-state return for Schertz and assistant Brian MacDonald, both graduates of Florida Atlantic. Rising senior Jerald Minnis (Miami) and rising sophomore Cruz Daniels (Clearwater) are Florida natives.

[B][COLOR=Green]Lundy said High Point’s schedule also will likely include Charlotte in the season-opener on Nov. 9, N.C. State at some point, and a contest as part of the ESPN Bracket Busters series.[/COLOR][/B] The Panthers will play Longwood twice, Savannah State twice and future Big South foe Gardner-Webb once.

The Big South Conference schedule will open on Jan. 12, a week later than normal.

Lundy and his assistants havehad trouble filling out the schedule with nonconference games against NCAA Division I teams from the state of North Carolina. Apparently, many in-state foes don’t see any benefi t of playing and quite possbily losing to High Point, which should have its best team since becoming an NCAA Division I program in 1999-2000.

The Big South is assisting High Point in sending out a mass e-mail looking for contests.

“Scheduling has become harder than recruiting,” Lundy said. “We’re spending so much time trying to find games.”

7

So did HPU come down to earth with their buy requirements or are we paying more?

8

Not sure, I think they felt sorry for us. :hammer:

We may be paying it out for them this year. A decent first-game opponent is needed to prepare for the VI torunament which I think is the next weekend.

9

Guess this is a good place to post the date printed on our raffle prize. Wake Forest is tentative for Saturday November 29th.

10

Their fans were cool, but our fans were (only a couple) were total dicks to them at the womens game.

11

November 29 is a Thursday. And it had better not be on Saturday, November 24 after Thanksgiving when no one would show.

12
Their fans were cool, but our fans were (only a couple) were total dicks to them at the womens game.

Maybe you’re just too nice.

13
Maybe you're just too nice.

We weren’t exactly nice, but using profanity and sexist slurs as much as they did is stepping over the line.

14

[QUOTE=HP49er;233889]November 29 is a Thursday. And it had better not be on Saturday, November 24 after Thanksgiving when no one would show.[/QUOTE]
Well, that’s funny. I just looked at it again and it definitely says “Saturday November 29th, 2007”. I am hoping it is November 29th and not the saturday following Thanksgiving as well.

15
We weren't exactly nice, but using profanity and sexist slurs as much as they did is stepping over the line.

Yeah, that ******** was picking a fight plain and simple.

and I wasnt gonna stand in their way from kicking his ass… hell I think I would of joined

16
We weren't exactly nice, but using profanity and sexist slurs as much as they did is stepping over the line.

I wasnt at the HP game, but if it’s the guy im thinking about, yeah I’ve wanted to beat some damn sense into him before. The skinny asshole who always sits(stands) front row at womens games, yet is nowhere to be found for mens games. That guy is a serious dick.

17

he goes to mens games too…you just cant hear him over the rest of the crowd. i remember at one mens game he yelled “hey #x, stop breathing!” and then repetitively said the same thing over, like “i wasn’t kidding! effing stop breathing!” he said the same idiotic crap all night. i didnt think that was very necessary. he always says stupid stuff at womens and mens games. he also stalked my girlfriend for a while before she ended up blocking him from aim and facebook and telling him to leave her alone…i HATE that kid.

18

[QUOTE=X-49er;232196]A young team opening against a veteran squad for their home opener spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e. High Point was supposed to dethrone Winthrop last season for the Big South crown, and will be the favorite to win it in 07-08. The ghosts of North Texas are beginning to rise. Hopefully, Leemire can exorcise them.[/QUOTE]

Not to mention returning Big South Player of the Year AZ Reid. One memory I have of AZ when I lived in Gaffney is that the worst team in our church league tried to recruit him and he showed up to the game but it was like halfway through the season so he wasn’t allowed to play. Thing about it AZ was one of the only guys I remember in middle school that could dunk at the time at like 6 foot.

19

[QUOTE=NinerLoudNProud;233882]So did HPU come down to earth with their buy requirements or are we paying more?[/QUOTE]

That’s not it.

All of these years, High Point has thought “We will gain nothing by beating UNCC and will lose a lot if they beat us.”

These days they are thinking “UNCC will be a good cupcake to warm our guys up at the start of the season and a sure W.”

20
he goes to mens games too..you just cant hear him over the rest of the crowd. i remember at one mens game he yelled "hey #x, stop breathing!" and then repetitively said the same thing over, like "i wasn't kidding! effing stop breathing!" he said the same idiotic crap all night. i didnt think that was very necessary. he always says stupid stuff at womens and mens games. he also stalked my girlfriend for a while before she ended up blocking him from aim and facebook and telling him to leave her alone..i HATE that kid.

He’s always seemed like a nice enough guy in my interactions with him, but he gets out of hand with the profanity sometimes. He also makes a lot of sexist comments at women’s games, which are in jest I imagine since he’s on the men’s squad that practices with the women, but never make any sense because BOTH teams on the court are comprised of women.