Double three stars - La Salle and Charlotte

Like last year, for every UMass game this season, I'll be giving out
three stars to the top three performers from the Minutemen and keeping
track of who earns the most three-start points over the course of the
season.

I'm putting a little extra weight on No. 1. So a No. 1
star is worth five points. A No. 2 is worth three and a No. 3 is worth
two.

It seems I forgot to post three stars from La Salle before I left Philadelphia so here's a double. 

Three Stars from UMass vs.Charlotte

No. 1 - Terrell Vinson - In addition to great numbers 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, he made big plays at the end to lead the Minutemen to the win.

No. 2 - Raphiael Putney - His present and his immense potential are getting closer to intersecting.

No. 3 - Chaz Williams - Thought about Sean Carter here, but Williams' 19 points and six assists coupled with his game-sealing free throws earned him the spot.

Three Stars from UMass vs. La Salle

No. 1 - Jesse Morgan - Kept the Minutemen afloat in a game where they almost made a remarkable comeback.

No. 2 - Sean Carter - He's begun adding offense to the rest of his game.

No. 3 - Chaz Williams - Not his best game, but without him, UMass doesn't even come close in the second half.

Season to date points:

Chaz Williams - 30
Terrell Vinson - 29
Raphiael Putney 16
Jesse Morgan 14
Freddie Riley - 14
Cady Lalanne -13
Javorn Farrell - 7
Sean Carter - 8
Maxie Esho -5
Sampson Carter -4

Three Stars X - Delaware

Like last year, for every UMass game this season, I'll be giving out
three stars to the top three performers from the Minutemen and keeping
track of who earns the most three-start points over the course of the
season.

I'm putting a little extra weight on No. 1. So a No. 1
star is worth five points. A No. 2 is worth three and a No. 3 is worth
two.

Three Stars from UMass vs. Delaware

No. 1. - Kyle Havens  - Havens played well enough to give the Minutemen a chance to win with four TD passes.

No. 2 - Tony Nelson - His 250 all-purpose yards helped give UMass good field position all day.

No. 3 - John Griffin - When he's been good, he's been terrific.

Season to date points:

Tyler Holmes - 24
Jonathan Hernandez - 15
Anthony Nelson - 15
Kyle Havens - 11
John Griffin - 10
Mike Mele 7
Shane Viveiros - 3
Charles Thompson 3
Emil Igwenagu -2
Dan Sheeran - 2
Julian Talley 2
Ke'Mon Bailey - 2
Ryan Carter - 1

Three Stars VII - New Hampshire

Like last year, for every UMass game this season, I'll be giving out
three stars to the top three performers from the Minutemen and keeping
track of who earns the most three-start points over the course of the
season.

I'm putting a little extra weight on No. 1. So a No. 1
star is worth five points. A No. 2 is worth three and a No. 3 is worth
two.

Three Stars from UMass vs. New Hampshire

Choices weren't easy this week for obvious reasons.

No. 1. - Anthony Nelson - The senior receiver caught 11 passes for 190 yards. The UMass offense was at its best when he had the ball in his hands.

No. 2 - Tyler Holmes - The junior linebacker had 12 tackles, including a sack. UMass' woes aren't in any way his fault.

No. 3 - Ke'Mon Bailey - The senior cornerback had three pass breakups that kept things from being worse than they were.

Season to date points:

Tyler Holmes - 16
Jonathan Hernandez - 10
Anthony Nelson - 10
John Griffin - 8
Mike Mele 7
Kyle Havens - 3
Shane Viveiros - 3
Charles Thompson 3
Emil Igwenagu -2
Dan Sheeran - 2
Julian Talley 2
Ke'Mon Bailey - 2

Three Stars - Saint Joseph's

For every UMass men's basketball game this season, I'll be giving out three stars to the top three performers from the Minutemen and keeping track of who earns the most three star points over the course of the season.I'm putting a little extra weight on No. 1. So a No. 1 star is worth 5 points. A No. 2 is worth three and a No. 3 is worth 2.

Three Stars from UMass vs. St. Joe's

No. 1 - Terrell Vinson  - The freshman forward had his best game since Memphis. This was one of those games that should make people very excited about Vinson's star potential.

No. 2 - Ricky Harris  -One of his best all around games. Didn't try to force too much and grabbed eight rebounds.

No. 3 - Sean Carter - In his own words, Carter hadn't done much lately. But his nine boards were critical in this one.

Season-to-date points:

Anthony Gurley - 40
Ricky Harris - 33
Terrell Vinson - 26
Hashim Bailey - 15
Freddie Riley - 16
Sean Carter - 10
Javorn Farrell - 8
Sampson Carter - 8
Gary Correia - 5
David Gibbis-2
Matt Hill - 2

Three Stars - St. Bonaventure and some thoughts on the game

Some lingering thoughts from last night's loss to St. Bonaventure.

UMass is a couple baskets or a couple stops from having an encouraging start the Atlantic 10 season, but how many other teams are in the exact same scenario?

What bothered me about the last minute of the UMass game was that a team that is struggling badly from 3-point range attempted two of them with the game on the line. A two-pointer wins the game. So does two free throws. One free throw forces overtime.

The last one didn't bother me as much. Freddie Riley, who is usually a very good 3-point shooter was wide open. But Riley's previous three was a mistake. Either drive to the basket yourself of give it to someone who will.

Saturday's game is mostly meaningless. It's a chance to a win over a ranked team on TV which would be good for perception and the image of the program, but it tangibly means very little.

Wednesday's game at Saint Joseph's however, is huge.

It's still earlyish, but the Minutemen need to beat the struggling Hawks, cause both teams are at risk of missing the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Three stars

For every UMass men's basketball game this season, I'll be giving out three stars to the top three performers from the Minutemen and keeping track of who earns the most three star points over the course of the season.

I'm putting a little extra weight on No. 1. So a No. 1 star is worth 5 points. A No. 2 is worth three and a No. 3 is worth 2.

Three Stars from UMass vs.St. Bonaventure

No. 1 - Ricky Harris - Still isn't making threes, but the senior guard looked more confident offensively, which could go a long way.

No. 2 - Freddie Riley -His shooting was off, but he showed an offensive game beyond just jacking 3-pointers. I didn't like his shot with just under a minute left, but I like his willingness to take a big shot. 

No. 3 - Anthony Gurley - Weren't a lot of great choices for No. 3 here. Gurley was solid.

Season-to-date points:

Anthony Gurley - 40
Ricky Harris - 30
Terrell Vinson - 21
Hashim Bailey - 15
Freddie Riley - 16
Sean Carter - 8
Javorn Farrell - 8
Sampson Carter - 8
Gary Correia - 5
David Gibbis-2
Matt Hill - 2

Three Stars-Temple

Three stars

For every UMass men's basketball game this season, I'll be giving out three stars to the top three performers from the Minutemen and keeping track of who earns the most three star points over the course of the season.

I'm putting a little extra weight on No. 1. So a No. 1 star is worth 5 points. A No. 2 is worth three and a No. 3 is worth 2.

Three Stars from UMass vs. Temple

No. 1 - Anthony Gurley - The junior guard came back to life offensively.

No. 2 - Javorn Farrell - His performance was subtle, but his role in the press and his eight rebounds weren't insignificant.

No. 3 - Terrell Vinson - The freshman was aggressive again and his 10 rebounds were big.

Season-to-date points:

Anthony Gurley - 38
Ricky Harris - 25
Terrell Vinson - 21
Hashim Bailey - 15
Freddie Riley - 13
Sean Carter - 8
Javorn Farrell - 8
Sampson Carter - 8
Gary Correia - 5
David Gibbis-2
Matt Hill - 2

Three Stars XI - James Madison

For every UMass game this season, I'll be giving out three stars to
the top three performers from the Minutemen and keeping track of who
earns the most three start points over the course of the season.

I'm putting a little extra weight on No. 1. So a No. 1 star is worth 5 points. A No. 2 is worth three and a No. 3 is worth 2.

Three Stars from UMass vs. Hofstra

No. 1 - Tony Nelson
- The senior running back was strong in his final collegiate game with 103 yards and three touchdowns.

No. 2 - Victor Cruz - Like Nelson, a strong final game with 11 catches for 55 yards.

No. 3. - Eric Dickson -The unheralded senior had 14 tackles.

Season to date points:

Tyler Holmes - 20
Tony Nelson - 15
Victor Cruz-13
Eric Dickson -11
Jonathan Hernandez - 10
Jeremy Horne - 6
Ke'Mon Bailey - 5
Kyle Havens -5
Armando Cuko - 4
Jeromy Miles - 3
Mike Mele -3
Perry McIntyre - 3
Emil Igwenagu - 2
Jared Chivers -2
Kurt Filler - 2
Chris Zardas -2
Josh Maurer - 2

Three Stars IX - Northeastern

For every UMass game this season, I'll be giving out three stars to the
top three performers from the Minutemen and keeping track of who earns
the most three start points over the course of the season.

I'm putting a little extra weight on No. 1. So a No. 1 star is worth 5 points. A No. 2 is worth three and a No. 3 is worth 2.

Three Stars from UMass vs. Northeastern

No. 1 - Tony Nelson -
The senior running back was healthy again and the Minutemen looked in sync on offense again. It's not a coincidence.

No. 2 - Mike Mele  - After a year that saw him get injured and suspended, the Syracuse transfer finally played football for UMass. With Tyler Holmes out after a mild concussion, he led UMass with 10 tackles.

No. 3. - Armando Cuko - Three more field goals made him the single-season and all-time leader in the category.

Season to date points:

Tyler Holmes - 15
Victor Cruz-10
Jonathan Hernandez - 10
Tony Nelson - 10
Eric Dickson -9
Jeremy Horne - 6
Ke'Mon Bailey - 5
Kyle Havens -5
Armando Cuko - 4
Jeromy Miles - 3
Mike Mele -3
Emil Igwenagu - 2
Jared Chivers -2
Kurt Filler - 2

Chris Zardas -2

Three Stars III - Rhode Island

For every UMass game this season, I'll be giving out three stars to the top three performers from the Minutemen and keeping track of who earns the most three start points over the course of the season.

I'm putting a little extra weight on No. 1. So a No. 1 star is worth 5 points. A No. 2 is worth three and a No. 3 is worth 2.

Three Stars from UMass vs. Rhode Island

No. 1 - Kyle Havens -The junior quarterback was good throughout and amazing early as the Minutemen jumped ahead.

No. 2 - Tony Nelson  - The senior tailback had a strong workmanlike effort that eventually broke Rhody's back.

No. 3. - Kurt Filler - I considered Victor Cruz, but I didn't want three offensive players because the defense did play well. Plus Cruz had a fumble. Filler's interception in the first quarter was a huge momentum boost.

Season to date points:

Victor Cruz-5
Ke'Mon Bailey - 5
Kyle Havens -5
Tony Nelson - 5
Tyler Holmes - 3
Jeromy Miles - 3
Jared Chivers -2
Kurt Filler - 2