The Daily Dive is your deep dive into the news and notes from around the NAIA Hoops World. Every day we will highlight some of the top headlines, conference updates, player accolades, coaching milestones and more. This used to be our Morning Bullet Points series. We went away from it this year, as others were doing similar things and we didn’t want to step on any toes. At the request of many, we have elected to bring it back for the second half of the season. Feel free to DM us on Twitter (@NAIAHoopsReport) or send an email to naiahoopsreport@gmail.com to recommend stories to be included into this segment.
Random thoughts while watching games last night:
We talk about it often, the beauty of the game of basketball. Part of the beauty of the sport is that there are many ways to play the game and be successful. That goes for both players and teams. There are players at every level of basketball who make a living being simple and making smart, efficient plays. There are also players who have great success being specialists. Players who have honed a skill and are so good at that skill that it makes them an asset to their team. You see teams who take the air out of the ball, run a ton of sets and make you guard a lot of actions. You also have teams who play fast, up-tempo basketball that push in transition, and run quick hitters in the half court. There are a lot of successful “old school” coaches and there are lot of successful “new school” coaches. No matter what side of the fence you are on, try to understand that the beauty of basketball comes from the fact that, while the game continues to evolve, there is no single way to play the game that is ultimately better than another way. It’s okay to be a purest, or think that players “play the game the right way”, but also understand that “playing the right way” means different things to different people. That, at least to me, is the beauty of basketball. The beauty of watching different players, with different playing styles and abilities, coming together to form a cohesive unit. The beauty of coaches facing one another with different playing styles and philosophies. Then watching those coaches work their game plan to try to make sure their team comes out victorious. Basketball is poetry in motion, and truly beautiful to watch.
Review of yesterday’s Games of the Day:
Central Baptist 81 @ Williams Baptist 63 (Full Recap)
Central Baptist has now won 9 of it’s last 10 ball games. They continue to lead the American Midwest Conference and have the talent to run the table. They still have some tough road games left, but this CBC team is really starting to look like a tough team to beat! Tedrick Wolfe continues to lead the charge for the Mustangs. Wolfe dropped a game high 23 points for the Mustangs, while Zach Hudson finished the game with a 12pt, 12reb double-double to help in the win.
Lyon 63 @ Columbia 74 (Full Recap)
With tonight’s win, Columbia stays one game back of Central Baptist in the AMC standings. Tony Burks led five Cougars in double figures with 19pts. The Cougars will hit the road for two tough games in a row as they play Williams Baptist and Central Baptist to finish out this week.
5 Loyola 72 @ Mobile 57 (Full Recap)
Loyola bounces back from their first loss of the season to beat University of Mobile on the road last night in SSAC play. Tensley Aldridge is back playing for Loyola, and had 17pts to pace Loyola. SSAC Player of the Week RJ Kelly finishes with 16pts, 7rebs in the loss.
Top Performers:
– Really nice 28pt,10reb double-double for Grant Smith last night.
– Florida Memorial 7’0 big man Mubashar Ali finished with 24pts, 17reb, 5assts and 3blks last night in an OT win over St Thomas in the battle of Miami.
– Grant Peters of Hannibal-LaGrange scored 30 points to go with 6 rebounds in HLG loss to Missouri Baptist.
– Markell Turner is really having himself a great Sophomore campaign for Union. He goes for a game high 37 points in Union’s loss to Montreat.
We didn’t think NAIA players were skilled or athletic enough for these type of plays?!?
Awards:
Congrats to Talladega Head Coach Chris Wright for winning the HoopDirt.com NAIA Coach of the Week!
Congratulations to Jaquan Daniels of Ottawa (KS) on being named the NAIA National Player of the Week!
Milestones Hit:
– Kyle Blankenship of LSU-Shreveport got win # 200 last night!!
– Shoutout to Brandon Durnell of Spring Arbor who passed 1,500 career points yesterday! Just an outstanding career he has had!
RIP to a LEGEND:
We end this segment with some sad news. Legendary coach Tony Ingle passed away. He won a National Title with Dalton State and was a great guy and coach!
