Feb. 12, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THE WEEK IN REVIEW... Johns Hopkins is now in sole possession of third place in the Centennial Conference after wins over Franklin & Marshall and Haverford last week.

Hopkins never trailed in Wednesday's 64-59 win over Franklin & Marshall. The Blue Jays never led by more than nine points, as the Diplomats answered every Blue Jay scoring run. Senior Doug Polster led three Hopkins players in double figures with 15 points. While senior Kevin Roach pulled down a game-high 11 boards.

On Saturday, it was a back-and-forth affair as there were 14 ties and 18 lead changes. The last came with just four seconds remaining in overtime as junior Scott Weisenfeld hit a jumper to give the Blue Jays the 64-63 win. Polster forced the overtime when he hit a trey with 34 seconds remaining in regulation. Sophomore Andrew Farber-Miller led Hopkins with 21 points.

THE WEEK AHEAD... Johns Hopkins has a tough week ahead as the Blue Jays face Gettysburg and Muhlenberg. The Bullets are sitting in second in the Centennial and have already clinched a playoff spot with a 12-2 record. The Mules however, are in a tie for fourth and are fighting for a playoff spot with an 8-6 record.

COUNTDOWN TO 800... Johns Hopkins needs just five wins to hit the 800-win mark. This is the 83rd season of basketball at Hopkins and the Blue Jays post an all-time record of 795-898-1 (.469).

The Blue Jays also post a Centennial Conference record of 147-69 (.681), ranking second behind Franklin & Marshall (159) for most conference wins.

LAST FIVE... The Blue Jays are 4-1 in their last five outings, including 2-0 on the road. Senior Doug Polster (19.0) and sophomore Andrew Farber-Miller (12.6) have led the team in scoring during this stretch. Senior Kevin Roach has paced Hopkins on the boards, averaging 8.8 rebounds in the last five games.

Hopkins opponents are averaging 16.8 turnovers per game and shooting 44.1 percent from the floor, including 23.9 percent from downtown. While the Blue Jays are shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three-point range. Hopkins is also winning the battle of the boards (33.2/29.6).

HITTING THE BOOKS... Senior guard Doug Polster has been rewarded for his work in the classroom. With a double major in psychology and Spanish, Polster boasts a 3.41 cumulative GPA. On February 7, he was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team. He is the third men's basketball player in the last two seasons to earn the honor.

I'M HONORED... Sophomore forward Andrew Farber-Miller was named the PrestoSports/Provident Pride of Maryland Player of the Week on Monday. He is the second JHU player this season to earn the honor, joining classmate Pat O'Connell. Farber-Miller led the Blue Jays to crucial Centennial Conference wins over Franklin & Marshall and Haverford last week. He averaged 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 64.3 percent from the floor and 86.7 percent from the free throw line.

300 AND COUNTING... Johns Hopkins has some outstanding three-point shooters in its history. In fact, JHU has hit atleast one three-pointer in 312 consecutive games. A streak that dates back to February 17, 1996. It is the 11th longest active streak in NCAA Division III. Salisbury holds the record for consecutive games with a three-point basket - 500 - from 1986-2006.

Senior guard Doug Polster had his streak of consecutive games with a trey snapped at 18 in the loss to McDaniel. That streak dated back to February 25, 2007 and was the eighth longest in school history. Polster got back on track just three days later, hitting 4-of-8 from downtown, and he has hit atleast one three-pointer in the last five games.

T.J. Valerio `07 holds the individual record for consecutive games with a three-pointer. He hit a trey in 35 straight games, a stretch from January 8, 2005 to February 1, 2006.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP.. After seeing limited playing time in their rookie seasons, Adam Baumgartner and Andrew Farber-Miller are having solid sophomore campaigns.

Farber-Miller is second on the team with 12.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He's shooting 50.7 percent from the floor and 79.0 percent from the free throw line. In the triple-overtime win over Muhlenberg on January 16, Farber-Miller played a school-record 49 minutes, including the final 24 minutes of the game. He's grabbed two double-doubles so far this season. In the last five games, Farber-Miller is averaging 12.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 65.6 percent from the field and 84.0 percent from the free throw line.

Baumgartner averages 4.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He ranks third on the team in blocks (8) and is shooting 43.6 percent from the field.

PICKPOCKET... Junior guard Collin Kamm broke a school record in the win against Eastern in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. He had nine steals, including six in the first half, breaking the program single-game record of seven - held by both Dave Wilson (02-05-1986) and Bill Zahn (11-27-1989). Kamm's nine steals are also tied for the third most in Centennial Conference history. For the season, Kamm has 40 steals, the most in a single-season since Kamau Coar had 53 in the 1997-98 season.

As a team, Johns Hopkins had 15 steals in the win over Eastern - the most in a game in exactly seven years. The Blue Jays last had 15 steals in a game on January 5, 2001 in a 67-50 win over New York University.

FREE BASKETBALL... Johns Hopkins played back-to-back overtime games on January 16 and 19, for a total of 25 extra minutes of basketball that week. On the season, the Blue Jays have gone to overtime five times and are 4-1 in those games. JHU lost its first overtime game of the season, 78-74 to Richard Stockton, but has won the last four, including a 64-63 win over Haverford on Saturday. Hopkins last played back-to-back overtime games on November 20 & 23, 1999. That season, the Blue Jays played a school-record six overtime games (3-3).

COACH NELSON... Head coach Bill Nelson, now in his 22nd season with the Blue Jays, is the winningest coach in program history. He posts a 365-207 (.638) record entering this week's action. Nelson ranks second in Centennial Conference history in conference wins (147), conference tournament wins (9) and NCAA Tournament wins (5).

MOVING ON UP... Senior guard Doug Polster is climbing the ranks in the Johns Hopkins record book. On Saturday at Haverford, he broke the school single-season record for three-point attempts and now has 169. Polster enters this week with 336 career three-point attempts and ranking seventh all-time. For his career, he has nailed 127 treys and now ranks sixth all-time. Averaging 8.0 three-point attempts per game, Polster is on pace to finish the regular season with 201 three-point attempts. He also ranks 20th in JHU history with 151 free throws made.

Also making a move in the Hopkins record book are senior forward Kevin Roach and junior guard Collin Kamm. Roach enters this week with 232 career defensive rebounds and ranking 18th all-time. He also has 46 career blocks, which is good for 16th in school history. Kamm currently ranks 17th all-time with 73 career steals and is just one shy of moving into a tie for 16th all-time.

AROUND THE CENTENNIAL... Senior guard Doug Polster leads the Centennial Conference in three-point field goals (2.71). He also ranks fifth in free throw percentage (.813) and eighth in scoring (15.5). Senior forward Kevin Roach is eighth in the conference in rebounds (6.8), while sophomore forward Andrew Farber-Miller ranks eighth in field goal percentage (.507) and 10th in free throw percentage (.790). Roach averages 1.05 blocks for game and ranks sixth in the Centennial.

Junior guard Scott Weisenfeld is averaging 2.89 assists per game, good for fifth in the Centennial. He also ranks second in assist/turnover ratio (1.41). Junior guard Collin Kamm and sophomore guard Pat O'Connell are tied for fifth in the conference in steals with 1.90 per game. O'Connell is shooting 44.7 percent from three-point range, which ranks fourth in the conference. Kamm ranks fifth in the Centennial in assist/turnover ratio (1.29).

CHARITY STRIPE... The Blue Jays have six players who are shooting better than 64.0 percent from the charity stripe this season. In fact, four of those six are shooting better than 75.0 percent. Senior Doug Polster leads the team, connecting on 81.3 percent of his shots from the free throw line. As a team, Hopkins ranks fourth in the Centennial with a 71.5 free throw percentage.

In the Blue Jays triple-overtime win against Muhlenberg, the team broke school and Centennial Conference records for free throw attempts (57) and free throws made (46).

COACHES' PICK... The Blue Jays were picked to finish fourth in the Centennial Conference in the coaches' preseason poll. Hopkins received 111 points and was the only team in the top-five to not receive a first place vote. Ursinus is the conference preseason favorite, earning seven first place votes and 137 points.