BRACKETS ANNOUNCED FOR 2004 MEN’S PARADISE JAM
BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Six Division I Men’s Basketball teams, from six different conferences, are gearing up for the fifth annual Paradise Jam Tournament hosted by the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas. Three 2004 post-season NIT participants Saint Louis, Austin Peay, and Troy University will compete for the tournament crown along with Arkansas, Eastern Michigan and Winthrop University in this competitive six-team tournament.

Play begins on November 19 with three days of pool play competition in two separate divisions, the St. Thomas division and the St. John division. The St. Thomas division includes Arkansas, Troy University, and Winthrop while the St. John division consists of Saint Louis, Austin Peay, and Eastern Michigan. The final day of play on November 22 will be a showdown between the divisions, pitting the winners from each division to determine the tournament champion. Cross-divisional consolation games will determine 3rd & 5th place. Two games (one from each division) will be played daily from November 19-21 at 6:30pm and 9:00pm. Three games will be played on the final day, Nov. 22, 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. All times are Atlantic Standar Time (one hour ahead of Eastern Standard.)

The St. Thomas Division will include some strong talent. The Arkansas Razorbacks (12-16) in 2003-04 travel to the Virgin Islands with an impressive recruiting class ranked in the nation’s top 20 for the 2nd consecutive year. The Razorbacks have added six new players from this highly anticipated recruiting class, who are expected to make some big contributions to the 2004-05 season. Leading the team from last year are returning players Jonathon Modica, a 6-4 junior forward, and Ronnie Brewer, a 6-7 sophomore guard. Both players had a significant presence in the 2003-04 season. Modica lead the team with a 16.5 ppg scoring average and 4.5 rebounds per game. Brewer contributed 12.2 points per game and averaged a team high 5.5 rebounds per game.

Troy University enters the Paradise Jam tournament with an impressive 24-7 record from last season, and momentum from an NIT appearance at the end of last year. Losing all five starters, the Trojans will look to incoming junior transfers Ransom Antoine and Leon Woodstock. Antoine is a 6-4 wing player and was the 2004 Alabama Junior College player of the year. Woodstock is a 6-5 forward from Chipola JC in Florida who earned first-team Florida CCAA all-conference honors. Both new transfers are expected to be a big asset to the Trojan team this next year. Leading the returning players will be Ryan Heck, a 6-7 senior forward who averaged 8.0 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Rounding out the St.Thomas Division will be the Winthrop Eagles. The Eagles finished last season with a 16-12 record under head Coach Gregg Marshall, who has lead the Eagles to four Big South Conference titles and NCAA appearances in his six years at Winthrop. Winthrop will also look to a strong recruiting class led by 6-6 forward Scott Draughn, who was named to the Top 100 Freshman Nike All-American team.

The St. John Division includes two teams with NIT appearances: Saint Louis and Austin Peay. The Saint Louis Billikens made an impressive run to the 2nd round of the NIT tournament and posted a 19-13 record for the 2003-04 season. The Billikens add six new players to their roster including: Luke Meyer, a 6-5 guard, and Bryce Husak, a 7-0 center, both of whom were respective all-state picks. Another addition is junior transfer Vas’shun Newborne, a 6-6 forward who was a FCCAA Panhandle All- Conference selection . Returning senior Reggie Bryant (16.4 ppg), a 6-2 guard, is expected to lead the squad from last year.

Austin Peay Governors participated in first-round NIT play and posted an impressive 22-10 overall record last season. After losing four starters from last year’s team, the Governors will look to returning 6-2 senior guard Anthony Davis (12.8 ppg , 4.3 rpg) and Maurice Hampton, a 6-2 junior guard (6.5 ppg). Coach Dave Loos also boasts an impressive recruiting class.

Eastern Michigan University rounds out the St. John division. The Eagles head coach Jim Boone has once again scheduled strong opponents to prepare his team for a hopeful post-season run. The Eagles finished 13-15 last season and just missed hosting the first round of Mid-American Conference tournament. Boone will look to retuning 6-6 senior forward Markus Austin (13.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and 6-8 junior forward John Bowler (13.3 ppg , 2.8 rpg) to lead this year’s squad. The Eagles add six new freshmen to the 2004-05 roster.

In the 2003 Paradise Jam tournament, Boston College defeated Wichita State in a close 84 –81 contest to claim the championship trophy. Both Boston College and Monmouth earned invites to the 2004 NCAA tournament. This keeps alive the streak of Paradise Jam champions advancing to the NCAA tournament play in each of the three years of men's Paradise Jam competition.

Now entering its fifth year, the University of Virgin Islands Paradise Jam tournament is stepping to new heights with four games being broadcast back to the U.S. mainland for the first time. Basketball Travelers Inc. has recently secured a partnership with a broadcast partner to televise this intense pre-season competition to fans back home who are not so fortunate to make the trip to beautiful St. Thomas.

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 2003 Team Overview.