Monday link: Edenfield Q and A

February 08, 2010

By Drew Champlin

Did THIS Q and A with offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield for you guys to read.

Troy hoops is off till Saturday with a home game against FIU.

Troy baseball opens the season in just under two weeks with a series against Hofstra.

And I’ll try to get some pre-spring position previews up this week and baseball position outlooks next week.

Video - Clint Robinson

February 07, 2010

By Drew Champlin

I braved the cold temperatures for the last couple of hours of the Wiregrass High School Home Run Derby at Rehobeth today. Troy signee Kyle Brown was the winner among the high school kids. Former Trojan standout Clint Robinson hit the most of the professionals.

HERE is the story I wrote. Brown is a big first baseman, maybe 6-4, 230-ish, and Troy coaches have very high hopes for him. He can also pitch, but I believe he’s projected as a first baseman at the next level.

I also did this video with Robinson, a class guy that hopefully will get a chance sooner than later to show he can hit MLB pitching. I put the Royal blue background.

 

Troy falls to WKU

February 06, 2010

By Drew Champlin

Sounds like everything went right for WKU tonight, as the ‘Tops pulled out an 87-69 win over Troy. I suppose that was bound to happen, as WKU has too much talent to be struggling like they are.

Strange thing about it is that Troy can still win the East if it wins out. I’ll link more info when it becomes available. Trojans need to bounce back next Saturday against FIU.

Saturday chatter

By Drew Champlin

Got a lot to talk about today. First, in Dothan the Wiregrass High School Home Run Derby is happening today, actually at Rehobeth High School. One of the 3 professional participants is former Troy standout Clint Robinson, a first baseman expected to start the year in AA ball with the Kansas City Royals Organization. HERE is a story I did on Robinson.

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The Texas vs. the Nation game is today at 1 p.m. in El Paso, Texas. If your cable or satellite provider has the CBS College Sports channel, you can watch it. HERE is the Web site for the game, which has some good stuff. Levi Brown and Boris Lee are playing in the game. Sounds like Lee’s instincts are catching the attention of some people. That’s no surprise, as he’s always had a knack for being around the ball. Brown has shown good arm strength in practices in the wind and rain. Both are playing for the Texas team.

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Troy has a big hoops game at 7 p.m. tonight at Western Kentucky, a place it has never won. However, WKU is really struggling. HERE is my advancer on the game.

I asked Bowling Green Daily News beat writer Nick Baumgardner a couple of questions. I’m sure he will be updating his blog frequently, which you can read HERE. You can read Nick’s story on the game HERE.

To follow the game by listening to Barry and Taylor, go HERE.

1. What’s the biggest reason WKU is down this year, in your opinion?
— Well to be honest, I don’t think there’s any one reason in particular – but the biggest is that this group hasn’t been able to replace Orlando Mendez-Valdez. They’ve replaced his numbers and production to a degree, as A.J. Slaughter has picked up his scoring and so have some other veterans – but from a leadership standpoint, no one has taken over the controls that Mendez-Valdez manned last season. If you recall, last year’s group was ‘supposed’ to struggle – but folks forgot to tell Mendez-Valdez, who basically took the mentality that it was his senior season and he wasn’t about to go out on a downswing.
The current group is still looking for a leader, an unquestioned, no-nonsense guy who leads by example and isn’t afraid to take someone by the shirt and let them know vocally either.

On top of that, with this group having so much hype heading into the season – I think the team as a whole (staff included) bought into that hype a little too much. They probably do have more overall talent on this team than they did a year ago, but they haven’t shown any urgency – especially defensively. They’ve struggled to find consistency at the point guard slot and the newcomers have struggled with overall intensity. They’ve struggled to deal with the fact that every game in league play is tough because every team looks at WKU as a chance to get a ‘big-time’ win. And even further, things have snowballed. One loss all of a sudden became three and four – and right now you see a WKU team out there playing not to lose, rather than playing to win. Something that folks around here haven’t seen in a while.

2. How much will the return of Sergio Kerusch impact Saturday’s game with Troy?
— Well he played about 20 minutes on Thursday, and they lost – so it’s tough to tell. Physically he’s 100 percent, and his effort was definitely there as well – but he’s still trying to get his wind back and find a flow in the game as well.

He most definitely helps them on and off the court – because he’s a positive, high-energy guy who brings athleticism that this team can’t replace. And against an athletic up-and-down club like Troy – a fully-focused Kerusch could be very big.

Troy-MT photo and story link

February 05, 2010

By Drew Champlin

Quick, tell me what’s wrong with this picture

That’s Vernon Taylor, or VT as everyone else calls him, wearing what looks to be Middle Tennessee shorts during the Thursday morning shootaround. The photo was posted to the Troy ISP Sports Network facebook page by Barry McKnight, I believe. Barry told me that VT left his practice shorts at home and was ridiculed to no end by his teammates.

Based on Troy’s performance, maybe he needs to leave them at home for the rest of the year. I’ll wait on Barry to post a photo from the Saturday morning shootaround at Western Kentucky.

HERE is a well-balanced game story from the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro.

Troy’s Saturday opponent, WKU, had a meltdown at UL-Monroe, definitely a game it shouldn’t have lost especially with the return of Sergio Kerusch from a broken foot. You have to wonder if the ‘Tops call it a year after that, or come out more focused Saturday night. The good thing is that they have further to go to get to Bowling Green than Troy does, as WKU played at ULM and Troy’s just an hour and a half away in Murfreesboro.

WKU has some guys that can score and really shoot it, but the Tops have struggled on the defensive end.