You’re killing me Smalls

Sean Smalls is done for the season.

As reported my several media outlets yesterday, the Minutemen’s senior captain will see his college career end early with a cracked hip bone. Smalls reportedly hurt it on a punt return during the Bryant game.

From the Republican:

“That was disappointing, and disappointing for him as well,” UMass coach Don Brown said. “It doesn’t look good. Obviously it’s a crack in the hip bone so it doesn’t matter how big it is, it’s significant.”

The worst part: He got injured by a damn punter.

“On the punt return I was basically jogging in and the punter clipped my ankles and I just came down on [my hip] wrong,” Smalls said.

Oh, and not just any punter: this punter.

Damn you Brian Donnelly.

Honestly though, why the hell has Smalls been returning punts anyway? Smalls is only averaging about four yards a return and has a long of 14. Why couldn’t UMass have left this up to one of the offensive skills player – like say Victor Cruz.

Now we get to see some of the depth for the Maroon and White’s secondary.

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On other football news: Georgia State has purchased land for its practice facility. GSU is joining the Colonial Athletic Conference in 2010.

The foundation bought the land and a building on the site for about $6.6 million, officials said in a news release.

The athletic association plans to construct an artificial turf football field, a 50-yard grass football field and a coach’s office and locker room complex. An existing structure on the site will be incorporated into Georgia State’s plans, officials said.

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Marnie Dacko spoke at the Atlantic 10 media day, and I guess she has been working with men’s assistant Vance Walberg. It appears she might use his dribble-drive offense next season.

I’ve got to take advantage of his expertise, so I’ve been sitting in all of the men’s practices and learning from Vance. He’s made me a believer in the dribble-drive offense, so we’ll see what happens this year.

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La Salle coach John Giannini is comparing Mississippi transfer Vernon Goodridge to Stephane Lasme.

“He would rank with the best players that I’ve seen in the Atlantic 10. He reminds me of Stephane Lasme [Massachusetts] who was a great player or Pops Mensah-Bonsu [George Washington].”

Let them eat cake!

The UMass women’s basketball team scored another recruit – this time using ice cream cake!

Yes, it’s true. The Minutewomen courted Tennessee High senior Danielle Montgomery using ice cream cake that said: “We hope you choose us. Welcome to UMass,” in the icing according to TriCities.com.

Obviously Marnie Dacko used more than frozen deliciousness to convince Montgomery, but I think that part of the story is pretty funny.

Montgomery, the Herald Courier’s Northeast Tennessee player of the year last season, said she considered several other Division I schools, including Virginia Tech and Memphis.

She said she settled on UMass because the school offers a top sports management program and has a strong basketball tradition and because she believes the women’s basketball program has a bright future under coach Marnie Dacko.

Beating out Memphis and an ACC team bodes well for Dacko’s recruiting tactics. Hopefully Montgomery can help turn the Maroon and White around.

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The UMass field hockey team is ranked in the Top 20 for the first time since 2000.

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The Blue Hens won’t be at full strength when they visit Amherst this weekend. Delaware lost Kervin Michaud, its captain and power back, for the season with a broken collarbone.

“Not only he is an outstanding player who played two positions for us, he’s also team captain and he’s a warrior,” Keeler said. “He makes everyone better when he’s out there. That’s a huge loss for us.”

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Newsday had an article about Thomas Pock, the newest member of the New York Islanders.

Williams on campus

Hope the weather is alright in Amherst – Jordan Williams is in town.

The highly touted power forward came to visit UMass, according to the Springfield Republican. Williams has been talked about around here for about a year. Travis Ford started the recruiting process, and Coach Kellogg is staying on top of it.

Despite the proximity of UMass, Williams’ father said the family does not know much about the school or program.

“All we have heard is hearsay, but everything we have heard is good,” LeRon Williams said Thursday. “We’ve spoken to coach Kellogg on the phone a couple of times.

Scout is saying that UMass has made an offer, and so far we’re up against Xavier, Maryland, Saint John’s, URI, Providence, Notre Dame and Fordham.

Some big names on that list – hopefully he enjoys his stay in Amherst.

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Inside Lacrosse had its recruiting recap for men’s and women’s lacrosse, and UMass had top recruits on both lists.

Here’s women’s lax, and here’s the men.

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The Trenton Devils of the ECHL have signed David Leaderer, a former UMass hockey player.

Leaderer, now 22, recently graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Mass., where he was twice named a member of the Hockey East All-Academic Team.

He scored 11 goals and had 22 assists with the Minutemen, and clocked 110 penalty minutes in 149 games.

Celtics come to UMass

Your NBA Champions will be playing some preseason hoops at the Mullins Center.

The Boston Celtics will start its New England tour on the UMass campus, according to ABC 6 News.

The Celtics play the first of eight preseason games on October 8th against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Mullins Center at UMass-Amherst.

I’m interested to see if the attendance for this game will rival – or beat – the attendance for a regular season Atlantic 10 match up for the Maroon and White.

Jeff Howe has the full preseason schedule – with times – on his Boston Metro blog, “In the Paint.”

(I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: How awesome is that picture of him?)

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APP.com had an article about Kristina Danella, the newest recruit for the UMass women’s basketball team.

There was arguably not a player in the Shore Conference under more scrutiny or under a brighter spotlight during the past four years, but Danella was never fazed. While helping the Caseys to an 86-26 record in her four years, including two Shore Conference titles and a trip to the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions in 2007 as a junior, Danella far exceeded the goals she set as a precocious freshman.

The two-time Asbury Park Press Player of the Year and four-time All-Shore first team selection finished her career at RBC with 26 single-game, single-season or career records including points in a career (1,773) and rebounds in a career (1,156).

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The Bangor Daily News had an article about Maine’s new field turf.

Another one bites the dust

Trey Lang, we hardly knew ye.

Lang has transfered out of UMass and is off the basketball team, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Lang saw limited time in Travis Ford’s system and is probably hoping to garner more playing time elsewhere.

Lang follows Papa Lo (Bryant) and Max Groebe (Cornell) out the door.

From the Gazette:

Lang, the 6-foot-7 son of former NBA player Andrew Lang, was a highly-recruited player out of Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., but never cracked coach Travis Ford’s rotation. He played in just five games and didn’t score a point in nine total minutes of play.

I wasn’t 100 percent sure if Lang was going to make in impact for the Minutemen next year, but it certainly hurts to lose more depth in the paint. As it stands, UMass will have to use a combination of Tony Gaffney, Luke Bonner, Matt Hill (maybe?) and newcomer Tyrell Lynch in the post.

Only Bonner is taller than 6′8, and Gaffney (6′8) is hardly a dominating offensive presence down low.

It’s a good thing UMass has some big boys coming for the season after next. As it stands, UMass is going to have to – still – rely on perimeter play in order to succeed.

Thank goodness for Chris Lowe (it’s his birthday today, fyi) and Ricky Harris.

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Kate Mills, a former standout basketball player for the UMass women’s basketball team, is taking her talents overseas.

Mills is going to play for “a team in Pamplona, Spain,” according to Delaware Online.

It didn’t say which team she was going to play for, but I did particularly like this quote from Kate:

“Probably my biggest disappointment from college was not getting to play in the NCAA Tournament.”

(NOTE: For what it’s worth, the UMass women’s basketball head coach is Marnie Dacko, not Marnie Backo as this article states.)

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Karen Healy, a former assistant coach for the UMass women’s lacrosse team, has been named the head coach of Bryant’s squad.

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Winston Smith, a former UMass basketball player, has been named the Director of Basketball Operations for Drexel. Bruiser Flint, the coach of the Dragons, coached Smith at UMass.

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The Andover Townsman had a good story on Matt Hogan, a Merrimack baseball player that has overcome a lot during a short amount of time. Hogan was cut from the UMass baseball team and didn’t really enjoy his time in the Pioneer Valley.

That’s just the UMass connection – he dealt with a lot worse than getting axed by the Maroon and White:

Despite the tragedy, Hogan made the decision to continue with his plan to attend UMass. But further trouble struck when he was cut from the UMass baseball team during fall tryouts, and did not feel comfortable on campus.

“I gave it a shot and it didn’t work out at UMass,” he said. “School-wise, I wasn’t happy there, and then I wasn’t playing baseball. After a year there, I was definitely ready to be back where I could get on the right track.”

Dunphy extended

Fran Dunphy, head coach of the Temple Owls, has had his contract extended to the 2013-14 season.

From the Sports Network:

“We knew when we hired Fran Dunphy two years ago that he was the right man to lead Temple basketball,” said Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw. “Now I am even more pleased to be able to tell the Temple community that he will be leading the program for at least the next six years. We could not have a better person, nor a better coach, at the helm.”

Dunphy led the Owls to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Michigan State in the first round.

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Megan Zullo is transferring from N.C. State to UMass.

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Richmond’s head football coach will wear a mic during the upcoming football season.

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This is so random.