UMass men's hoop need a win

AMHERST - A win in November against a Division II team doesn't generally mean much.

But University of Massachusetts big man Sean Carter said the Minutemen (0-2) badly need a win in Saturday's game against Arkansas-Fort Smith.

"We have to win this game. There's no question about it," Carter said. "We need to win this game and get our momentum going.

UMass drops home opener to Big Red

AMHERST - University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Derek Kellogg did not like the result or the turnovers, but he left Wednesday's home-opening 74-61 loss to Cornell encouraged.

Harris moves up Minuteman scoring list

AMHERST - University of Massachusetts senior guard Ricky Harris will not pass the Minuteman legend who was in the building Wednesday night, but he put the two most famous former UMass stars behind him on the school's career scoring chart.

Jim McCoy, the Minutemen's all-time leading scorer with 2.374 points, was among the 3,482 fans in the Mullins Center crowd.

UMass hopes to rebound against Cornell

AMHERST - University of Massachusetts point guard David Gibbs is anxious to get back on the basketball court.

The sophomore was disappointed with his play in the Minutemen's 84-67 loss at Central Florida on Friday, and was ready to get back on the court at 7:30 tonight against Cornell at the Mullins Center to put it behind him.

Esho signs national letter for UMass

AMHERST

The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team continues to be a landing spot for members of the DC Assault AAU program as forward Maxie Esho, who verbally committed to the Minutemen last fall, has officially signed his national letter of intent.

UMass loses as Harris struggles in opener

ORLANDO, Fla. - The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team got concrete proof in Friday night's season opener of something it probably already knew. When Ricky Harris struggles to score, the Minutemen are going to have a hard time finding enough offense.

UMass hoop opener features freshmen

ORLANDo, Fla. - Two years down the road, a men's basketball matchup between the University of Massachusetts and Central Florida could be a game between two-veteran laden teams with high hopes.

UMass plays in some odd hoop games

The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team has had an odd tendency in recent years of being the opponent in games that get extra attention for unusual reasons.

In 2005, the Minutemen were in Philadelphia to play Temple when John Chaney suspended himself after admitting sending in "goons" to commit hard fouls in a game against Saint Joseph's.

Reflecting early about Minutemen basketball

AMHERST

For starters, toss out the final score of the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team's exhibition victory Saturday night. It doesn't matter.

Exhibition scores, or even results, never matter. Plenty of bad teams have won by 20 in preseason games and good teams have squeaked out wins and in some cases even lost their tune-ups.

Early reflections on UMass men's hoop

AMHERST - For starters toss out the final score of the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team's exhibition victory Saturday night. It doesn't matter.

Exhibition scores or even results never matter. Plenty of bad teams have won by 20 in preseason games and good teams have squeaked out wins and in some cases even lost their tune-ups.

Lang eager to fulfill his earlier promise

AMHERST - He still has a long way to go to fulfill the promise and hype that accompanied his arrival at the University of Massachusetts as the crown jewel in Travis Ford's 2007 freshman class, but Trey Lang has taken the first step.

Hardworking freshmen set to measure progress

AMHERST - When the University of Massachusetts and Boston University basketball teams meet at an undisclosed time and location for their closed scrimmage on Saturday, senior Ricky Harris will be watching his freshmen teammates.

UMass hoop freshmen earn league praise

AMHERST - The Atlantic 10 coaches and media are optimistic about the future of the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team as they named two of the Minutemen's highly-touted freshman to the league's preseason all-rookie team.

The preseason poll and all-conference teams were released Thursday as part of the league's annual media day.

Correia glad he decided to stay

AMHERST - If things had gone a little differently, Gary Correia could have been watching his University of Massachusetts men's basketball teammates from the opposing bench when the Minutemen compete with Boston University in a closed scrimmage on Halloween.

The junior point guard had decided to transfer from UMass and had planned on becoming a Terrier.

'Big City' working hard to scale down

AMHERST - As the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team completed sprints at the end of Monday's practice, junior big man Hashim "Big City" Bailey was both sweating and breathing heavily.

He didn't mind.

"Practice has been pretty rough, which is how I like it," he said.

Five UMass hoop freshmen bring energy, high hopes

AMHERST

As they practiced free throws and jump shots at the far end of Curry Hicks Cage, the older members of the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team occasionally paused and looked to the near free-throw line where their freshmen teammates were gathered.

Putney's priority: packing on pounds

AMHERST - Raphiael Putney's problem is one many people would envy.

The University of Massachusetts freshman forward is too light. The combination of a long frame, a fast metabolism and lots of time working out has made it hard for him to put on weight and even tougher to keep it on.

Lang could return to Minutemen

AMHERST - The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team could bolster its front line with a familiar face.

Former UMass forward Trey Lang, who left the program after the 2007-08 season but remained enrolled at the school, has been working out with the Minutemen and could rejoin them this season.

Sleep won't come for Gaffney, but an NBA career just might

Since he can't fall asleep anyway, Tony Gaffney is making the most of staying up late.

The anticipation of his tryout with the Los Angeles Lakers has caused a level of insomnia that sheep-counting has been unable to cure.

Kellogg dismisses soph Lynch

The already undermanned frontcourt of the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team got a little thinner Thursday after coach Derek Kellogg dismissed sophomore big man Tyrell Lynch from the program.

Kellogg said that there was not a specific event that led to Lynch's dismissal, but declined to elaborate further.