Dec. 31, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Tipping Off: Johns Hopkins has wrapped up the 2008 portion of its schedule and is now idle until Jan. 2. The Blue Jays will travel to Orlando, FL for the ECAC Holiday Festival after the new year. Hopkins will open on Friday, Jan. 2 against Roger Williams. JHU will then face either Neumann or Penn State Altoona on Sunday, Jan. 4.

ECAC Holiday Festival: The ECAC Holiday Festival marks the third tournament that the Blue Jays have participated in this season. Hopkins opened the 2008-09 season with the 18th annual Blue Jay Invitational, finishing as the runner-up to Whitworth. JHU then participated in the fourth annual Provident Pride of Maryland Tournament. The Blue Jays finished as the runner-up in that tournament as well, falling to the Seahawks of St. Mary’s.

Series History: Johns Hopkins takes on new opponents to open the new year, as it has never faced Roger Williams, Neumann or Penn State Altoona on the hardwood.

Centennial Opener: The Blue Jays opened up Centennial Conference play last week against the Diplomats of Franklin & Marshall and the Garnet of Swarthmore. JHU heads into the holiday break with a 4-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the Centennial. The Blue Jays sit in a six-way tie for third place in the conference at 1-1.

These are the Facts: The 2008-09 season marks the 84th season of men’s basketball at Hopkins. The Blue Jays enter this week’s action with an all-time record of 802-906-1 (.469). JHU has won four conference tournament titles (two Centennial, two MAC) and made nine NCAA Tournament appearances.

On Tap: Johns Hopkins returns home from Orlando and jumps right back into Centennial Conference action. Hopkins hosts defending conference champion Ursinus on Wednesday, Jan. 7 before traveling to Haverford on Saturday.

Number 800: JHU’s win at Frostburg on Nov. 25 not only put Hopkins in the semifinals of the fourth annual Provident Pride of Maryland Tournament, but it was also the 800th win in program history. Hopkins is now 802-906-1 (.469) all-time.

Double-Digits: Junior forward Andrew Farber-Miller has punched up double figures in every game so far this season, a string of six straight. In fact, Farber-Miller has scored in double figures in 19 of his last 25 games.

A Look Back: Despite the loss of five seniors, Hopkins posted its 13th consecutive winning season in 2007-08. The Blue Jays went 16-10 overall and 12-6 in the Centennial Conference. Hopkins advanced to the Centennial Conference Tournament for the sixth consecutive season, falling in the semifinals.

On the Road Again: Johns Hopkins has played just three games within the friendly confines of Goldfarb Gym so far this season. In fact, Hopkins has played one its home court just once in its last five games.

At home, the Blue Jays are 1-2 while away from Goldfarb, they are 3-1. By the time Hopkins returns home on January 7 for its Centennial Conference match-up with #12 Ursinus, JHU will have played six of its last eight games away from home.

Hittin’ the Boards: Johns Hopkins has outrebounded every one of its opponents so far this season, with an average margin of +5.9. The Blue Jays lead the Centennial Conference in rebounding defense, holding opponents to 28.3 rebounds per game, but rank fifth in the conference in rebounding margin.

Pickpocket: Senior guard Collin Kamm and junior guard Pat O’Connell have been steadily climbing the ranks of the Johns Hopkins record book for career steals.

Kamm had a season-high four steals on Wednesday in the loss to Franklin & Marshall and now has 94 career swipes. He is now tied for ninth in program history with Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Famer Jay Gangemi ‘92. Kamm needs eight more steals to move into a tie for seventh place all-time with Dave Wilson ‘86 and Michael Rotay ‘94.

O’Connell had one steal in the win at Swarthmore on Saturday, pushing his career total to 83 and ranking him 14th all-time. He needs just one steal to move into a tie with Collin’s older brother Brendan ‘03 for 13th on the all-time list.

Around the Centennial: The Centennial Conference statistical rankings are dotted with Blue Jays, as senior guards Collin Kamm and Scott Weisenfeld, senior forward Ryan Purcell, junior guard Pat O’Connell, junior forwards Andrew Farber-Miller and Adam Baumgartner and freshman forward Tim McCarty all rank in the top 10 in the Centennial Conference in atleast one statistical category.

Hot Shooters: Blue Jay shooters have had the hot hand this season, averaging 47.7 percent from the floor. Hopkins has shot better than 44.0 percent from the field in six of its seven games this season. In addition, the Blue Jays shot better than 50.0 percent in two of those games.

Eight is Enough: Junior guard Pat O’Connell dished a career-high eight assists in Hopkins’ 86-61 season-opening win over Moravian on Nov. 19. The eight helpers are the most by a Blue Jay since Jeff Thompson gave out eight assists in a 68-63 win at McDaniel on Feb. 9, 2005. O’Connell leads the Blue Jays with 26 helpers on the season, just under half his season total from 2008-09 (53). He has led the team in assists in four of the Blue Jays’ seven games this season.

No Charity Against the Dips: Hopkins went to the charity stripe just seven times in the loss to Franklin & Marshall on Dec. 3. Three days later, JHU went to the line 34 times in its win at Swarthmore. The last time the Blue Jays attempted that few free throws was against the Diplomats on Nov. 28, 2007 in Lancaster, PA. In fact, it is the fourth time in the last nine meetings that Franklin & Marshall has held Hopkins to just seven free throw attempts for the game.

From the Charity Stripe: Despite their 5-of-7 showing from the line in the Dec. 3 loss to the Diplomats, the Blue Jays rank second in the Centennial Conference in free throw attempts (153) and free throw percentage (.745).

Dishing the Rock: Senior guards Collin Kamm and Scott Weisenfeld are climbing the career assist list in the JHU record book. Kamm dished out seven assists in two games last week and now has 152 career helpers to his credit. He is tied with Danny Nawrock’ 07 for 18th in program history. He is also just two assists shy of moving into a tie with T.J. Valerio ‘07 for 17th all-time.

Weisenfeld tied his career-high with seven assists against the Diplomats and followed that with four assists against the Garnet, giving him 11 for the week. He now has 20 on the season and 145 for his career to rank 20th in JHU history.

On the Bench: Head coach Bill Nelson is in his 23rd season on the Blue Jay bench. The longest tenured coach in program history, he is also the winningest with a 372-212 (.637) record. Nelson has coached Hopkins to 15+ wins in each of the last three seasons and 11 of the last 12. Hopkins has won two Centennial Conference titles and made eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including five straight from 1990-1994, during his tenure.

Nelson is the second longest tenured coach in the Centennial Conference behind Franklin & Marshall’s Glenn Robinson. He ranks second in the conference history in conference wins (151), conference tournament wins (9) and NCAA Tournament wins (6).

JHU in the Centennial Conference: Since the inception of the Centennial Conference in 1993-94, Hopkins has been one of the most successful programs in the conference. JHU is 151-71 (.682) in Centennial Conference games, the second best record in the history of the conference.

The Blue Jays have advanced to the Centennial Conference Tournament 11 times in 15 seasons and made seven title game appearances. Hopkins is 9-9 (.500) all-time in the conference tournament, the second most wins of any team in the Centennial. Only Franklin & Marshall has won more tournament games (12) or made more title game appearances (8) than Hopkins.

324 and Counting: Johns Hopkins has made a three-point field goal in 324 consecutive games. The streak began on Feb. 17, 1996 and is the 10th longest active streak in all of NCAA Division III. The University of Puget Sound boasts the longest active streak in the nation at 508 consecutive games, breaking the previous record of 500 held by Salisbury (1986-2006).

Provident Pride of Maryland: Johns Hopkins won its first two games of the Provident Pride of Maryland Tournament to advance to the championship game for the third time in the four-year history of the tournament. Hopkins went on the road in the first round and came back with a 69-66 win over Frostburg. In the semifinals, Hopkins beat Salisbury 54-47 before falling in the title game, 84-81 to St. Mary’s.

Provident Pride of Maryland - Part II: Hopkins is 9-3 (.750) all-time in the Provident Pride of Maryland Tournament, with three title game appearances (2005, 2006, 2008). The Blue Jays are tied with the Green Terror of McDaniel for most wins (9) and best win percentage (.750) in the four-year history of the tournament. Hopkins has also made more title game appearances (3) than any other team in the tournament’s history. In fact, no other team has made more than one championship game appearance.

Oh Captain, My Captain: Seniors Collin Kamm, Ryan Purcell and Scott Weisenfeld will captain the Blue Jays in 2008-09. Kamm is averaging 8.3 points, 3.14 assists and 2.00 steals per game so far this season. He’s shooting 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the floor. Weisenfeld is averaging 8.3 points and 2.85 assists per game so far this season, while Purcell is chipping in 3.6 points per game on 54.5 percent shooting. He is also shooting 55.6 percent from three-point range.

Coaches’ Pick: Johns Hopkins has been picked to finish fourth in the Centennial Conference in 2008-09 in a poll of the conference’s coaches and Sports Information Directors. The Blue Jays garnered 107 total points.

© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | About Us | Advertise | Feedback | XML RSS Feeds