Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Navy at Army

by Ray Floriani

WEST POINT, NY- Sparked by an early 15-0 and a charged atmosphere in ‘comfy’ Christl Arena, Army posted a resounding 69-50 victory over Navy on Saturday. The efficiency and four factors in a 71 possession (Navy 69 Army 72) game:

			FTM
	ORtg	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Navy	73	41	13	28	30
Army	96	54	28	24	24

The defense, specifically Army's defense, stands out in this game. Not just the efficiency mark reflects the magnitude of the Cadet defensive effort. The effective field goal percentage and turnover rate are other categories that jump off the charts. Navy’s leading scorer senior guard Chris Harris (21.5 PPG) scored 30 in the narrow win over the Cadets in Annapolis a few weeks back. On this afternoon Harris was not a factor scoring 4 points on 2 of 17 shooting (0 for 7 from the floor from three). As a team Navy shot a horrendous (no other adjective fits) 1 of 19 beyond the arc. That’s 5%. And that is for a Navy team that entered the game relying on three pointers for 35% of their scoring in Patriot League contests.

Army had a strong showing from the field largely on 58% shooting (23 of 40) on two pointers. Chris Walker, a 6-9 senior, was extremely effective in the paint with 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting. The Cadet TO rate, a little high but their offensive efficiency and defensive effort atoned for their turnover ‘sins’.

Navy had two double figure scorers guards O.J. Avworo and Jordan Sugars. Army also had two, Walker and game leader Cleveland Richard with 15 points.

Navy is 13-14 (7-5 in the Patriot) Army is 14-12 (4-8).

In the first game Navy edged the Army women 54-48. The game was a more deliberate 61 possession meeting:

			FTM
	ORtg	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Navy	90	42	19	35	23
Army	79	38	5	26	15

The Army women had an outstanding turnover rate but that was the only positive on the offensive end. They shot 15 of 40 (38%) from two point range and 5 of 20 beyond the arc. Junior forward Erin Anthony was excellent with a game leading 22 points on 10 of 20 from the field. Consistent help though was not available.

Navy led 30-18 at the half before Army got back and made it a one possession game in the stretch. Midshipmen also struggled from the floor shooting 13 of 33 (39%) from two and 6 of 19 (32%) from three. They did get to the line more than the Cadets, and converted, going 10 of 13. Junior point guard Angela Myers was the difference maker leading Navy with 16 points while adding 10 rebounds and four assists. In the stretch, Myers made a succession of big plays.

Navy is 15-12 (7-5 in Patriot) while Army fell to 10-16 (4-8).

“The Army defense has been a trademark and it’s tough again. They guard the ball physically and rotate very well.” - Navy coach Billy Lange

“Navy has a lot of firepower but we were able to get a lot of contributions today from the whole team on defense . Not just one guy.” - Army coach Zach Spiker

Players & spectators stand as
each school's alma mater is played

Comment from greyCat -- Billy Lange should be a familiar name to Villanovans. Billy was an assistant coach at Villanova under Jay Wright from 2001 to 2004, before he left to head the Navy men's program. Army Coach Zach Spiker was an assistant coach under Steve Donahue back in September when he was hired to coach the Cadets literally weeks before Fall Practice commenced. Given the circumstances of his hire, Army alums and fans have to be very encouraged by the team's standings.

Coaching Carousal Part 9: Loose Ends

Army Has a Coach
Army AD Kevin Anderson wanted this search wrapped up quickly, and, having terminated seven year Head Coach Jim Crews on the eve (practically) of Midnight Madness, Anderson has, indeed, identified and, according to the Times Herald-Record, the news outlet that has been on this story from the first whispers, hired Zach Spiker, the 33 year old assistant coach at Cornell. Cornell's head coach Steve Donahue was Anderson's original target. According to the Times Herald-Record Spiker will be introduced as the Army head coach at a news conference scheduled for Tuesday October 6.

Credit the 2009 Offseason?
Are Crews and Spiker the last act in the 2009 season (and off season), or the first fire/hire of the 2010 season? Like most sports these days, the news cycle does not appear to stop, even at the least active point in the off season. Full fall practice does not start for another 2 weeks...though Grambling may not have settled it's own coaching vacancy (teams in the SWAC tend to allow their interim coaches the opportunity to erase the "interim" from their titles), I'm calling Army's hire the last act in 2009 off season. Though I reserve the right to change that if something else pops in the next ten (or so) days. It may have been a relatively inactive off season, logging the fewest number of turnovers in (at least) 4 seasons, the duration has been unusually long. Scott Edgar's (from Southeast Missouri State) termination back on December 31 of 2008 marked the first vacancy, stretching this fire/hire cycle to a full ten months.

By the Numbers
Crews' firing made the Army job the 31st vacancy in this cycle; Grambling, following Army's announcement by two days, became the 32nd vacancy. As in prior cycles, the employer initiated most of the vacancies, and consistent with prior seasons, the employers moved overwhelming in the period between the end of the regular season and the beginning of the spring signing period. While employer-initiated turnovers are unusual at other times (during the season, after the spring signing period ends), they are not unheard of, largely explained by exigent circumstances. Edgars' termination at SE Missouri State came as the culminating act that started with an NCAA investigation into program violations. Both Grambling's Rick Duckett and Army's Jim Crews were terminated as a direct result of alleged player abuse.