Atlantic Ten Basketball

St. Bonaventure jovially jumped the gun on Saturday—and it ended up costing the team dearly.

With 3.2 seconds left and the Bonnies trailing the Rams 65-63 in the second half, St. Bonaventure guard Matt Mobley caught the pass from Jaylen Adams and sank it for three. 

Some fans and members of the team thought the successful shot was a buzzer-beater and swarmed the floor in celebration. 

However, they were sadly mistaken. The clock still had 0.4 seconds remaining, so the team received a technical foul. VCU guard JeQuan Lewis made the ensuing free throw, sending the game into overtime.

The Rams ultimately reclaimed the lead, winning 83-77. 

Maybe the Bonnies will pump the brakes on the celebration next time around.

BR Video

There's no doubt Allen Iverson is one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball, but his cousin Kuran Iverson seems to be equipped with skill too. 

Can he make his own path to the NBA? Watch above.

George Washington University announced Thursday that "it is bringing in outside counsel" to investigate accusations that men's basketball head coach Mike Lonergan emotionally and verbally abused his players, according to ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf.

The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore reported earlier Thursday that a basketball player went to a Title IX coordinator in April and said Lonergan had "created an offensive, intolerable environment."

Kilgore described instances in which Lonergan allegedly told one of his players that his child would always be on food stamps and another that he should be playing in a "transgender league."

The alleged abuse reportedly forced one player to attend therapy and mull over the possibility of quitting basketball altogether.

George Washington University released a statement on the investigation (via Medcalf): "The university expects full cooperation and will not tolerate retaliation during the course of the investigation. We will also continue to inform the student-athletes on our men's basketball team of the university's support and of the resources available to them."

Per Kilgore, Title IX coordinator Rory Muhammad told the student who lodged the complaint in April that the issue had been "handled."

"I don't think the guy should be in sports," one former player told Kilgore. "I don't think what he said should be tolerated. I would like to stay at GW. I will not play for Mike Lonergan." In fact, 13 players have transferred out in the past five years.

University officials spoke to Lonergan in 2015, and senior associate athletics director Ed Scott watched him during practice and on road trips throughout the season, per Kilgore.

Lonergan has coached at the school for five years, compiling a 97-70 record while making the NCAA tournament in 2014.

Kostas Antetokounmpo is getting an early start on his college plans, committing to the University of Dayton on Thursday. 

Antetokounmpo made his announcement official in an Instagram post:

Evan Daniels of Scout noted that Antetokounmpo gave Dayton a verbal commitment.

Antetokounmpo is the brother of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was drafted in the first round out of Greece in 2013.

The younger Antetokounmpo is a 4-star prospect, the No. 2 player from the state of Wisconsin, the No. 19 small forward and the No. 102 player overall in the 2016 recruiting class, per 247Sports. 

Daniels praised Antetokounmpo, highlighting his 6'10" height, "massive wingspan," athleticism and huge ceiling. His scouting report is similar to those that helped his brother land at No. 15 overall in the 2013 NBA draft.

Brian Snow of Scout called Antetokounmpo a "huge get for Dayton" and noted his "major upside."

Antetokounmpo's commitment is great news for a Dayton team that was struggling to land impact talent. The Flyers had only one commit in the 2016 class, 3-star guard Trey Landers.

Head coach Archie Miller has had no problems succeeding at Dayton, though, leading the program to 25-plus wins and an NCAA tournament appearance in each of the last three seasons.

Landing marquee talent will only help Miller boost his credentials as well as those of the Dayton basketball program. 

Antetokounmpo will also be in prime position to showcase his skills on a team that doesn't have a lot of players who are as physically gifted as he is. He'll have to put in the work on the court and behind the scenes to reach his full potential, but it should be a perfect marriage between the player and program.

The Dayton Flyers announced Wednesday that they have extended the contract of head basketball coach Archie Miller through the 2023 season and given him a pay increase.   

Dayton's vice president and director of athletics, Neil Sullivan, spoke about the decision:

Our relationship with Archie continues to recognize the exceptional achievement of our men's basketball program under his leadership and strongly affirms our mutual commitment to long-term success. We share a common vision of graduating student-athletes, consistently competing for conference championships and advancing in the NCAA Tournament. I look forward to pursuing those goals together.

Miller, 37, has spent the past five seasons at Dayton, accumulating a 115-55 record in that time. The Flyers have reached the NCAA tournament three seasons in a row and finished 25-8 this season, finishing as Atlantic 10 regular-season co-champions.

The No. 7-seeded Flyers lost 70-51 in the first round of the NCAA tournament to No. 10 Syracuse, however.

It isn't terribly surprising that Dayton locked up its coach for the long term. Once Jamie Dixon left Pittsburgh to coach TCU, Miller's name was one of many floated as a potential replacement for Dixon, along with his older brother, Sean, the coach at Arizona. 

Of course, Miller probably won't stay at Dayton forever. He's one of the top young coaches in college basketball, and as Gary Parrish of CBS Sports wrote on Tuesday amid the Pittsburgh buzz, "Sources have told CBS Sports that Archie Miller will likely remain patient and wait for something better, which he'll surely be offered in the next few years."

So for the time being, the Flyers still have Miller. But if one of college basketball's bigger programs comes knocking in the near future—and if Miller continues to have success at Dayton, those programs assuredly will come knocking—it's likely the coach will head on to bigger and better things.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.  

For every triumphant victory, there is also disappointing defeat. 

In much the same way, for every elated fan who is uplifted by the outcomes of the men's basketball NCAA tournament, there are an equal number who are crestfallen.

Such is the case for this obviously passionate young Dayton Flyers follower.

No. 7 Dayton emerged with a promising start, down only 30-28 at the end of the first half to No. 10 Syracuse. However, the fan's favorite Ohio hoops program lost steam against the surging Orange, ultimately being dealt a decisive 70-51 loss.

The upsets hurt the most.

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry was hitting three-pointers at Davidson College long before he was holding up the Larry O’Brien Trophy as an NBA champion. Those ties with Curry likely helped Davidson land a partnership with Under Armour on Thursday.

According to the Wildcats' official athletics website, the school “agreed to a multiyear partnership with Under Armour.” The company “will outfit 20 of Davidson’s 21 Division I athletic programs with training and game-day footwear, apparel and equipment, effective July 1, 2016.”

The deal will eventually cover all of Davidson’s 21 teams after two years.   

Under Armour sponsors Curry, and the sharpshooter has appeared in a number of advertisements for the company.

David Scott of the Charlotte Observer noted the men's basketball team will not make the switch from Nike to Under Armour until 2018.

Under Armour Vice President Ryan Kuehl commented on the deal, per the school's press release: "Davidson holds a special place in the Under Armour story, as the alma mater of one of our top athletes, Stephen Curry. We are thrilled to continue that story and outfit the Wildcats student-athletes and community in Under Armour for many years to come."

Curry also weighed in on Davidson’s move: “I take great pride in my alma mater. Davidson is such a key part of my history and journey to the NBA, and I'm thrilled that they have joined the Under Armour family.”

Curry is Davidson’s all-time leading scorer and arguably the face of the Under Armour brand. It makes sense from the company’s perspective to further cultivate that relationship by bringing in his alma mater as his 57-6 Warriors chase a second consecutive NBA championship and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ all-time mark of 72 wins in a season.

Curry even took to Twitter on Thursday to promote Under Armour’s #RuleYourself campaign:

Curry first made national waves at Davidson. He won the 2007-08 and 2008-09 Southern Conference Player of the Year awards and was a consensus second-team All-American in 2007-08 and consensus first-team All-American in 2008-09, per Sports-Reference.com. He also led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight in 2008 as a No. 10 seed before they bowed out to No. 1 seed Kansas in a heartbreaker, 59-57.

Davidson could have used Curry on the floor this year.

The Wildcats went 18-11 in the regular season and posted a 10-8 mark in Atlantic 10 play. They earned the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament and were set to square off with La Salle on Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET.  

The Duquesne men's basketball team was stranded on the Pennsylvania Turnpike during a snowstorm Friday night following a victory over George Mason for 30 hours and 24 minutes before the team finally announced it had reached home.

Head coach Jim Ferry sent a text message to Andy Katz of ESPN in the middle of the situation: "We [are] holding up. Bus is warm. Everyone is tired." 

Duquesne Athletics showcased the weather, which had seemingly turned the expressway into a parking lot overnight:

The team was clearly trying to make the best of a tough situation, though:

The game was originally scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday but was moved to 2 p.m. Friday in hopes of avoiding any issues with the arrival of Winter Storm Jonas.

The teams had no problems getting the game in, as Duquesne won 86-75. Micah Mason led the way with 23 points, while L.G. Gill chipped in 18 points and seven rebounds.

ESPN reported the Dukes started their journey home around 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday but couldn't make it back to Pittsburgh from Fairfax, Virginia, before the storm hit.

Either way, it's great news to see the team has finally reached its destination.

Don't tell Fordham head basketball coach Jeff Neubauer that you can't win at Rose Hill.

Four coaches—Nick Macarchuk, Bob Hill, Dereck Whittenburg and Tom Pecora—have had success elsewhere but weren't able to get it done at Fordham. Neubauer is next up. And while he's aware of the past, he's not dwelling on it. Instead, he's using it to help build the future.

"I shouldn't say I'm not spending any time thinking about that because that is part of the process of trying to understand what will work here, what we need to do to be successful," Neubauer told Bleacher Report during an interview in his office earlier this month. "But it's not for me to dwell on the past. It's for me to paint a picture to recruits, and our current players, as far as where I see this program is right now. 

"We're not sugarcoating anything with recruits. Fordham basketball has struggled big time over the last several years. What I need to do is show the young guys in this program, and the guys we bring in, how to win."

It will be a monumental task. Since Fordham joined the Atlantic 10 Conference prior to the 1995 season, it's finished above .500 just once. The Rams' conference record is a paltry 76-246 during that time.

Neubauer isn't the first to think he has the answers, and he might not be the last. He's just the latest to take the Fordham challenge.

"It's my job as the head coach to have answers," Neubauer said. "What that means exactly, I'm not sure, but we're going to find answers as far as how we win games here at Fordham."

You have to admire his confidence. At Fordham, there have been questions about the gym, the budget, the commitment and more. Neubauer isn't buying any of it. In fact, when talking with B/R, he spoke passionately and boldly about all things Fordham.

"People talk about the facilities here at Fordham," Neubauer said. "I love the Rose Hill Gym. It's got so much personality, so much character. There's no need to compare it to any other facility. We can win with this facility."

He added: "Fordham's campus—absolutely incredible. Is there another campus in New York City that even compares to this?"

As B/R previously reported, Neubauer is confident he can land the talent Fordham will need to compete in the A-10.

"I've only been here a month," he said. "We've been very successful already selling New York City, this beautiful campus and the opportunity to compete in the A-10. To me, that's a pretty intriguing package."

When Fordham fired Pecora in March, recurring questions about the school's membership in the A-10, facilities and resources emerged. It's been a familiar storyline in the Bronx, one that Neubauer dismissed.

"So much of that is just absolutely ridiculous," he said. "It's just crazy.

"This campus is awesome, New York City is as dynamic as any city in the world and we're competing in a league that over the last five years has 21 NCAA tournament bids. Let's start with those positives."

He continued: "There's been a lot of talk about budgetary issues here. I have seen every aspect of Fordham's basketball budget. Fordham is doing everything necessary to win. To try to blame it on the budget doesn't make any sense. Fordham is doing the right things as far as winning."

He wasn't done.

"Is this the right conference?" Neubauer asked. "Absolutely, the Atlantic 10 is the right conference.

"It's absolutely ludicrous for anyone associated with Fordham to mention that there should be a different conference. Personally, I would not be here at Fordham if Fordham were in a different league. The great thing that Fordham has going for it right now is that the A-10 is as powerful, and more powerful, than some of the Big 5 conferences. The fact that 21 teams have gone from the A-10 to the NCAA tournament, that's what attracted me here more than anything.

"Am I thrilled to be a coach in New York City? Absolutely. Am I thrilled to take over a program that's struggled and it's a great challenge?

"But the No. 1 reason I took this job is that Fordham competes in the A-10."

Now if only the Rams could win. Neubauer thinks they can.

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Follow Charles Costello on Twitter: @CFCostello. A full archive of his articles can be found here. 

Fordham head coach Jeff Neubauer has only been at the school for a little more than a month, but he's pretty sure of what he'll need to do to win games at Rose Hill.

"In college basketball, when you take a new job, it really can be overwhelming at times because there's just so much to do," Neubauer told Bleacher Report Thursday morning. "My general focus here over the last month has been, No. 1, to develop relationships with the new guys; No. 2, hire a staff. And now we're really spending most of our time recruiting."

On that front, Fordham received some good news Thursday. According to the Sun Herald, Jahshire Hardnett, a point guard from Gulfport, Mississippi, signed a national letter of intent with Fordham and will join the Rams for the 2015-16 season.

Hardnett is the first to buy in to what Neubauer is selling.

"Right now, it's about trying to flip this program really quickly," Neubauer said. "Obviously Fordham basketball has struggled. We're not hiding that from anyone. As we talk to recruits, we're not trying to sugarcoat anything. There have been some tough times here, but our plan is to flip it quickly."

Neubauer has his work cut out for him, but he sounded confident when talking about his plan and where it will all start.

"Our program will be built on defense," Neubauer said. "As we go out looking for guys right now we know we have to defend. I don't know how difficult that's going to be, but the defense here has to improve and it has to improve quickly."

Offensively, Neubauer said he's put a premium on players who can help in specific areas where the Rams struggled last season.

"At the offensive end, last year's team really struggled to value the ball, and it did not shoot the ball well at all," Neubauer said. (The Rams turned the ball over 452 times and shot 41.5 percent from the field.) "As we target new recruits, those are the things we're after."

He added: "If we start with the idea that decision-making wasn't good and the three-point shooting wasn't good, we're going after 1's, 2's and 3's that can make decisions with the basketball and can make open shots."

While there's been a concerted effort to upgrade the talent, Neubauer is confident that some of the pieces are already in place. For example, he's impressed with Ryan Rhoomes, who will be a senior next year, and Christian Sengfelder, who was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week five times in 2014-15.

"There are a few guys that have really proven statistically that they can compete at this level," Neubauer said.

"The foundation for Fordham basketball is already here," he added. "We're going to win because of our foundation. We're going to win because of the guys here. Now, do we need to go out right now and sign some guys that can make an impact in the A-10 immediately? Absolutely. 

"It's a combination. Obviously what Fordham has done here recently has not been enough."

Hardnett should help. The point guard position was an important one to fill. Last season, Mandell Thomas moved there from shooting guard and played well. Hardnett, a natural point guard, would be a better option, one who could send Thomas back to the off-guard position.

Expect Fordham to remain aggressive in pursuing additional talent, no matter where it might have to go to find it.

"Selling New York City is not hard," Neubauer said. "It sells itself.

"There's no question we're going to attract great players here. [But] we're not going to limit ourselves. We're going to do everything we can to recruit this city and attract great local talent. However, we are trying to piece together a winning basketball program. I don't care if we sign a young man from any part of the country. Our job is to win games here at Fordham, and we're going to do that."

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Follow Charles Costello on Twitter: @CFCostello. A full archive of his articles can be found here.