Joey Jones Show Recap 2008-12-02
Coach Jones was not on the show today, he is recruiting in his regions of New Orleans. However, Dameyune Craig filled in with Lee Shirvanian from Wings Sports Grill.
The first topic on the show was the buzz going around today about the job security of Coach Tubberville up at Auburn. Today marks the third day of meetings with the Athletic Director without any real press releases or vote of confidence in the Auburn coach. This has led to many people calling the WNSP radio station with rumors, unnamed sources and so forth stating that either Coach Tubberville was out or still in as coach of the Auburn Tigers in 2009. Unconfirmed reports of a 1pm news conference has circulating but at the time of writing, nothing has come out about it.
We are in the midst of recruiting season and that is exactly where Coach Jones is right now. One caller asked if USA was recruiting the quarterback from Leroy, who is playing in the state championship game later this week. Coach Craig would not say anything about it directly, but did affirm that USA coaches are busy recruiting the best quarterbacks in the area and the region to come play for the Jaguars.
Craig also made light that Alabama and Auburn are only recruiting about 5-8 players in Alabama this year. There is no immediate cause for that but that situation would give USA a prime opportunity to try to get some local talent that may be overlooked by those schools.
Another caller asked about receivers and quarterbacks that are on the team right now. Coach Craig said that they have two Division I receivers right now. One is a transfer from UAB that is pretty quick and they hope to have him cleared to play next fall. The other is a transfer from Southern Miss, also with good speed. The Jags currently have a quarterback from Louisiana and they are recruiting more at all positions.
When asked about what kind of responses potential players are giving USA coaches since USA is a new school starting a football program, Coach Craig recounted a question that was asked to the staff. One kid called up and asked how likely the program is to fold before he graduates. It was obviously not a question that came from the kid himself. It was something that other coaches hinted or dropped in his ear during the recruiting process. That’s part of it.
When asked about recruits who have verbally committed to Auburn. If Coach Tubberville is relieved of his duties, how likely is it that they will still go there? Coach Craig said that some players commit to coaches or playing styles. Many commit to the school itself and they are not likey to change their commitment. USA is committed to football. Its very evident in the money being put into top notch facilities and the campus and that is a big reason how we will get good recruits.
Finally, when Lee Shirvanian asked Craig for his SEC Championship pick, he chose Florida over Alabama. I pick Alabama, not because I am an Alabama fan, but because I think Alabama matches up well with Florida. Coach Saban and Coach Steele are very good and devising defensive schemes to disrupt the other teams offense. Auburn has a pretty good defense and the Alabama offense did a good job early of breaking tendencies and keeping Auburn on their heels. Then when the Auburn offense failed to move the ball and give the defense a rest, Alabama’s offensive line just dominated their defense.
With Harvin possibly out it will take away a big offensive threat from Florida but don’t let tha fool you. They have some players and lots of speed. If it gets into a footrace, Florida has the advantage. But if its a smash mouth, dig into the trentches game it is Alabama’s advantage.
Go Jags! and Roll Tide!
Lady Jags Lose to George Washington But Bounce Back In Consolation Game
The Lady Jags struggled to find its offense on Friday against George Washington to lose their first game of the season 64-59. Shakira Nettles led the Jags with 16 points and was closely followed by Jessica Starling who scored 15 and Karina Sproal who scored 10.
GW outscored the Jags 34-14 on the inside and were held to 28% field goal percentage.
In the consolation game of the GW Thanksgiving Tournament, the Lady Jags took on Liberty and won 65-61. Liberty has been to 11 of the last 12 NCAA Tournament and marks a nice win against good opposition. Jessica Starling lead the way with 18 points, Shikira Nettles scored 16 and Sarda Peterson scored 11 to round out the players in double digits.
The first half was a close match but USA hit its stride in the second half with the closest point in the game being 47-46 with 7:56 left in the game. The jags pulled away from there to hold on to the win.
The Lady Jags (5-1) will play again on Tuesday against Houston Baptist at 7:05pm at the Mitchell Center.
Jags win Tournament Title
The South Alabama Jaguars beat Maine and UC Davis to win the USA Basketball Classic tournament title. The win over Maine snapped a two game losing streak by the Jags and the win over UC Davis lifted their season record to 4-3.
USA held a 40-20 halftime lead over Maine and led by double digits for the final 30 minutes of the game. Brandon Davis led the Jags in scoring with 18 while Domonic Tilford scored 15 and DeAndré Coleman scored 11 points coming off the bench to help win the game 71-59.
In the Jags win over UC Davis, DeAndré Coleman had his first double-double of the season by scoring a career-high 19 points and came down with 11 rebounds. Tilford scored 17 and Brandon Davis scored 11 and were named to the all-tournament team. Coleman also received the tournaments MVP award.
This 72-69 win marks the first tournament title for the Jags since 1991.
South Alabama will play next in Hattiesburg when they take on Southern Mississippi on Tueday with tip off scheduled fro 7pm.
Go Jags!