2003 TEAM OVERVIEW ARTICLE (Released June 10, 2003)

Brackets Announced for 2003 Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament

Edmonds, Wash. - Six Division I men’s basketball programs will converge on the Virgin Islands Nov. 21-24 to compete in the fourth annual Paradise Jam Tournament hosted by the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas. Post-season NIT participants Boston College and Wichita State lead the six-team field, which also includes Hampton, La Salle, Appalachian State, and Monmouth.

Round-robin divisional games will take place the first three days of the tournament to determine pairings for the final round of games on Nov. 24. The two winners from each division will meet in the final round to determine the tournament champion. In the St. Thomas division, Boston College, Appalachian State, and Monmouth will compete for the right to play the winner from the St. John division, consisting of Wichita State, La Salle, and Hampton. Two games (one from each division) will be played daily from November 21-23 at 6:30pm and 9:00pm. Three games will be played on the final day, Nov. 24, at 4:00pm (5th & 6th place) and 6:30pm (3rd & 4th place) with the championship game at 9:00pm. All games will take place at the state-of-the-art University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

Boston College and Wichita State University look to be the early tournament favorites as both advanced to post-season play during the 2002-03 season. Boston College ended the season with 19-12 overall record and a 1st round loss in the NIT to Temple. The Eagles, lost 3 seniors including Big East Player of the Year Troy Bell, but will counter with 6-7 sophomore forward Craig Smith (19.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and 6-2 senior forward Ryan Sidney (12.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg). Smith was chosen to the Big East All-Rookie 1st Team and earned 1st Team All-Tournament honors at the Big East Championship. Wichita State ended their year with an 18-12 record (3rd in the Missouri Valley Conference) and an opening round loss in the NIT to Iowa State. With the loss of only one player from last year’s team, the Shockers look to make a strong run at an MVC title during the 2003-04 campaign. A talented trio of players will be returning to lead the squad, including 5-11 junior guard Randy Burns (15.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 apg), 6-5 junior forward Jamar Howard (14.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.2 apg) and 6-6 senior Aaron Hogg (12.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg).

The Appalachian State Mountaineers, 19-10 overall, won the North Division of the Southern Conference but lost in the tournament quarterfinals in the 2002-03 season. The team will lose four seniors but will be lead by 6-5 junior guard Chris McFarland (11.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and 6-6 senior forward Jonathan Mitchell (8.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg). Also finishing with nineteen wins last season, the Hampton Pirates (19-11) will be struggling to replace the loss of six seniors who led the squad to a 2nd place finish in the MEAC in 2002-03. With MEAC championships in 2001 and 2002, the team is no stranger to winning and will be lead this season by junior forward Devin Green 14.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.4 apg).

The La Salle Explorers have high expectations for the 2003-04 season, thanks to two outstanding sophomores who garnered several rookie honors last year. Gary Neal, 6-4 sophomore guard, was voted the Atlantic 10 "Rookie of the Year" thanks to an 18.7 scoring average and 4.2 rebounds per game. He scored 30 or more points five times last season. Joining him on the A-10 "All-rookie" team was 6-8 forward Steven Smith. The Explorers finished 12-17 overall, 4th in the Western Division of the Atlantic 10.

The Monmouth Hawks will also anticipate an exciting and successful season with all but two players returning to a squad that was 15-13 overall in 2002-03. The Hawks finished 2nd in the Northeast Conference regular season but were upset in the Quarterfinals of the conference championship. Dwayne Byfield, a 6-2 junior guard, will lead the team, averaging 15.1 points per game last season.

During the 2002 tournament, BYU held on to beat St. Bonaventure 66-57 to take the 2nd annual championship trophy. Following the tournament BYU continued their winning ways, earning a share of the Mountain West Conference championship and a trip to NCAA post-season play, where they lost in the 1st round to Connecticut. In the inaugural tournament in 2001, Miami beat Clemson for the championship, then went on to win thirteen straight games following their tournament victory. La Salle, who will be returning this year to the Paradise Jam, placed third.

For more information about the tournament, or to download a tournament bracket, visit www.ParadiseJam.com.

Contact:
Jennifer Ashby
Paradise Jam Tournament Director
Basketball Travelers, Inc
425.776.2775
425.776.4094 FAX
Email: Jenn@BasketballTravelers.com

Read the 2005 Team Overview.
Read the 2004 Team Overview.