Men's Basketball Weekly Notes :: Hopkins Jumps to #14 in National Rankings

Men's Basketball Weekly Notes

Hopkins Jumps to #14 in National Rankings

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Doug Polster is shooting over 51% from three-point range this season.

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Johns Hopkins Men's Basketball Weekly Notes

Hopkins Falls to St. Mary's, 84-81, in Provident Pride Final

Blue Jays Slip Past Salisbury, 54-47, Into Championship Game

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Dec. 12, 2006

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Last Week... Hopkins moved up in the national rankings to #18 in the D3Hoops.com poll. The Blue Jays remained unbeaten at 9-0 overall and 4-0 in the Centennial with wins at McDaniel on Wednesday and Dickinson at home on Saturday.

Senior Danny Nawrocki led the Blue Jays effor last week, averaging 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. Sophomore Phil Beggans lit things up from downtown, connecting on 6-of-8 treys last week and finishing with 27 points. Seniors T.J. Valerio and Matt Griffin and junior Doug Polster all averaged in double figures last week as well. Griffin and Polster have been clutch from the charity stripe recently. Griffin has connected on eight straight, while Polster has hit 14 straight from the line.

The Week Ahead... Hopkins, which moved to #14 in this week's poll, is idle until December 28 when the Blue Jays head out west for the 31st annual Tom Byron Classic. Hopkins will face #12 Mississippi College in the opening round. Host Westmont College and Thomas More (KY) will meet in the second game.

Series History... The Tom Byron Classic will mark the first ever meetings between Hopkins and the three other participating schools - Mississippi College, Thomas More (KY) and Westmont College.

It's Been A While... At 9-0, Hopkins is off to its best start since 1991-92. That season, the Blue Jays won their first 11 games and finished with a 20-8 record.

Second Half Kids... Hopkins has been a second half team this season. In four of their nine games, the Blue Jays have trailed at halftime, but have come back to win.

Hopkins is shooting 56.0 percent from the floor in the second, compared to 45.0 percent in the first. The Blue Jays are also lighting it up from behind the arc, shooting 44.9 percent in the second half.

I'm Honored... Senior Danny Nawrocki is racking up the honors this season. He earned MVP and All-Tournament Team honors at both the Blue Jay Invitational and the Provident Pride of Maryland Tournament. In addition, he earned Centennial Conference and PrestoSports Player of the Week honors on November 27. On December 11, Nawrocki earned his second CC Player of the Week honor.

Second Half Kids - Part II... Senior Matt Griffin and freshman Pat O'Connell have been on fire in the second half of games this season. O'Connell is shooting 77.8 percent from the floor, including 71.4 percent from three-point range. Griffin is connecting on 69.4 percent of his field goals.

In fact, four Blue Jays (O'Connell, Griffin, Zach Armen and Chris Morley) are shooting 60.0 percent or better in the second half.

More Honored... Seniors Matt Griffin and T.J. Valerio were both named to the Provident Pride of Maryland All-Tournament Team. While Valerio was named to the all-tournament team at the Blue Jay Invitational.

Lethal Weapon Three... Seniors Matt Griffin, Danny Nawrocki and T.J. Valerio are averaging a combined 42.6 points and 20.3 rebounds per game. The trio accounts for 56.6 percent of Hopkins points and 52.9 percent of the Jays rebounds so far this season.

Movin' On Up... Seniors Matt Griffin, Danny Nawrocki and T.J. Valerio are making their way up the Hopkins career record lists. Griffin currently ranks seventh in free throws attempted (327), seventh in free throws made (236), 12th in offensive rebounds (156), 20th in defensive rebounds (213) and 15th in blocks (40).

Nawrocki is the career record holder with 527 defensive rebounds. In other categories he ranks: eighth in points (1136), eighth in field goals made (420), third in free throws attempted (413), 12th in free throws made (212), 10th in minutes played (2191), third in total rebounds (728), tied for fourth in offensive rebounds (201) and fifth in blocks (98).

Valerio ranks eighth in three-pointers attempted (310) and fifth in three-pointers made (125). He entered the season ranked fifth in three-point percentage (.402).

Sweet Charity... Senior Matt Griffin, junior Doug Polster and freshman Pat O'Connell have been clutch from the charity stripe this season. Griffin has connected on eight straight, while Polster has hit 14 straight. On the season, Griffin is shooting 84.5 percent from the line, O'Connell is shooting 81.0 percent and Polster is shooting 80.0 percent. Griffin ranks sixth in the Centennial, O'Connel ranks ninth and Polster ranks 11th in free throw shooting percentage. As a team, Hopkins ranks fourth in the conference at 70.5 percent.

Polster, O'Connell Shine... Junior Doug Polster and freshman Pat O'Connell have had solid campaigns off the bench so far this season. Polster, who ranks fourth on the team in scoring, is shooting 51.6 percent from three-point range and is averaging 8.9 points per game. In the second half, Polster is shooting 58.8 percent from behind the arc. O'Connell is averaging 6.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He is shooting 45.0 percent from the floor, including 53.8 from three-point land. In the second half, he's shooting a scorching 77.8 percent from the floor, including 71.4 from behind the arc.

Coach Nelson... Head Coach Bill Nelson, now in his 21st season, is the winningest coach in the history of Hopkins' men's basketball. His record with the Blue Jays stands at 337-194 (.635). Nelson's overall record is currently 442-247 (.642). Entering the 2006-07 season, Nelson ranked tied for 24th among active Division III coaches with 433 wins.