Your Coppin State basketball preview!

#274 R.P.I. Coppin State #10 R.P.I. Virginia Tech: 

Virginia Tech men’s basketball returns to the Cassell Coliseum hardwood to get that work vs. what appears to be a beatable out-of-conference (O.O.C.), victim. This after a righting homecourt A.c.c. opening win vs. Nationally Ranked Clemson last time out.

The Hokies now face 1 up and 5 down Coppin State who has also gone 3-1 as cancellations and postponements go in order left-to-right. And 4-o on Yikes and Coach God, bless! The Eagles may actually be a little bit better than last time we saw ’em. And yet it would be lying like a rug to type that Virginia Tech is not the big-time favorite here. Nonetheless, what you wanna know is… who is gonna win and by how much; right? So, read on to find… out!

Coppin State Head Coach: Juan Dixon: age=42, 25–77 (.246) overall and at Cop.St. Has a rep’ for: backcourt play a bit of defense and not much else at the moment.
$147,000.oo

Juan Dixon is an American former professional basketball player and the current head coach for Coppin State University in Baltimore.

Hope things go right for this cat. He could stand a great break.

Baller Dixon led the University of Maryland Terrapins to their first N.C.A.A. championship in 2002 A.D. and earned Most Outstanding Player honors of the Final Four. Then went on to vagabond the Association with eight different Professional teams domestic and international combined over a world-tour high-seas interesting nine-season pro’ career. And he got to run ball with some dood returning to ball named: Mike Jordan for the Bullets way back when.

Dixon.edu went back to school and did earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Family Science in 2013 from the University of Maryland. 3-cheers here!

Coach Dixon broke in with the wimminz side at District of Columbia: going 3–25 (.1o7). He is currently 13-52 beginning his third campaign for Coppin State.

On a harsh personal note: Juan’s momma (Juanita) and father (Phil) were heroin addicts, and died of AIDS-related illnesses before Dixon was 17 years old. He was then raised by his grandparents Roberta and Warnick Graves in Baltimore. May St.Phillip super twice bless!

On a further personal note… dating since 1996, Dixon married his high-school sweetheart, Robyn Bragg Dixon, in July 2005. She works in the public relations field and is a cast member in the Bravo reality television show Real Housewives of Potomac.

The two divorced in March 2012 and yet they still live together in Maryland.
They have two sons, Corey and Carter.

{/Godspeed & God Bless sum mo’!}

C.S.U. at a glance:

  • 23rd in Turnover Margin!!
  • 26th in swipes!!
  • 72nd in 3-point makes.
  • 293rd in FT% makes!
  • 314th in FG% makes!!!
  • 320th in Rebounding Margin (17.6 rpg)!!! (third from last)!
  • (not a good team vitals wise… lotta C— to F+++ grades run here).
  • No official injuries listed— although Clayton has been dinged of late. (Godspeed!)

Returning Starters=

Cop.State Strengths:

  • Ahhhhhhh, errrrrrrrr, ahhhhhhhhhh… well, let’s see… there is… Mister Clayton? And the emerging Mister Tarke?
  • There is some experience here as the Top-3 guys all combined for 14 collegiate years.
  • r-Sr., final year, 2nd-string all-Conference: Dejuan Clayton is a 6′2″, 185 lb. Bowie Maryland inner-city native off or lead-G; and he is a legit street hard-looking off or lead-G let me tell you. He is also listed by all of my pre-season magazines as one of a couple of Eagles with any measure of all-conference flight school to his game. In point of fact(s)… a couple have him first-string or 2nd-string all-M.E.A.C. (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) and he is one of now two alpha offensive producers that Coppin State can likely deploy. Although he is down a bit this year —and since we last saw him last as well. 13.7 ppg this year on a relatively paltry 23% long is just not enough making for a shooting diva who loves the long-ball. That said, the reports are that this kid is legit and that when Clayton does get his depth working, he can literally go Atlas and carry a team offensively on his back. He is an outburst scorer in every possible sense of any word; what with not less than eight games ≥23 points tallied last year. The queer thang being… his 3-ball has dropped less and less every single year of his collegiate career. 34% from deep when he broke in, 31% and then 24% last year where he really slumped his way home. As this kid is all frontrunning chalk. Tho’ he can put the biscuit in the basket if he gets his game off early on. And his overall game as suffered a bit of overall, expansion: 5.3 rpg and 3.3 apg fill out his rotisserie contributions. As does the on-again-off-again knee ills that cost him all less six-second season games (St.Nikhon help) a year back. And he does merit serious points for the Amish lambchop face-fro’ beard. I mean somewhere the real Shaft (Richy Roundtree) is LOL or at least SmirkingOL at this. And possibly ROTF at this: “Best Non-athletic talent: Looking sweet.” “Describe yourself in one word: ME.” (taken directly from Dejuan bio’ page) FTP my brother!!!  (tho’ he should describe better shooting overall after netting 27.8% thus far).
  • One #14, Anthony Tarke… is your itinerant vagabond leading scorer (17.3 ppg). Who has literally balled for four, that’s (4) different clubs in the last five years and that’s not a red-flag singular, that’s red-flags, plural. And to add to the curiosity all the mo’ you ask? Honor, Roll, student. Go fig’? Tho’ and still yet, he can put the biscuit in the basket. Just ask: Gaithersburg, then ask N.J.I.T. (New Jersey Institute of Technology), then ask U.T.E.P. and now ask the 6′6″, 22o lb. r-Sr. @Coppin State. Tho’ Tarke can score. Did I mention the scoring yet? The team-leading 7.8 rpg, the decent 2.5 apg, the team-leading 3.0 spg, and the suprising team-leading 1.3 bpg are pretty much on pace for All-M.E.A.C. (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) banner year type numbers. And frankly, if he had better outside shooting (27.3% deep) this kid might be an export overseas baller living the Duty-Free life. Kinda looks a scosche like David Rivers of La.Laker latent Showtime ex-of-Notre Dame fame too. Albeit a stretch version of the same lead-G.

    Dood makes his, point(s)!
  • 6′6″ G/F ‘tweener or Swing and final-year, 1st-string all-Conference: Koby Thomas is third in points with 10.8 ppg dropped and a useful 5.7 rpg scooped up. Tho’ same as above… 27% when dialing long-distance is nearly a disconnect. The lessor Koby is a Robert Morris transfer. However, this Koby can rise, he has some pretty impressive finishes at the rack. He does enjoy a bit of a defensive stopper tag as well… as this Koby will prolly give you total hell at your local Y.M.C.A. in another year or two. As he won a couple of Philly inner-city championships and he did have something of a scholastic outburst scorer label. (more may have been expected, here).

Cop.St. Weaknesses:

  • As you saw above… this is not a good rebounding team on the ‘glass. It is however a nearly terrible team on the offensive backboard. 1-n-done way way more often than not.
  • To throw-up as many 3-balls as Coppin does, they ain’t coppin a super-maker ‘tude. What with 5 of their Top-7 scores only netting between 14% and 28% from beyond the arc!
  • 50% of this team is rebuilt on transfers/portaling. And they tally nearly twelveteen teams already elapsed between ’em.
  • and 60% of the time… this team has been blown out, every time. (actually; pretty close, as C.S.U. is 299th in scoring margin at a 16 ppg).

Eagles Nest: (depth=5’ish)

6′10″, 225 lb., r-Fresh’, P/F Kenan Sarvan (5.8 ppg and 4.5 rpg); and 6′4″, 190 lb., nugget or rookie year SG Nendah Tarke maybe your future and ‘yes’ n.Tarke is the little bro’.

Kenan is by Heeze, Netherlands… and he says his best non-athletic talent is: “reaching the top shelf”. So, there is that and there also is 1.3 bpg. Although the overall floor game and shooting (23.5%) appears to be an Amstel Lyte or a year; or three, away. Tho’ he did average 22 ppg overseas so maybe that shows out eventually down the road? Additionally, you can see the potential for a BIG-line-up from the Eagles if/when they want it here.

The other/younger Tarke went for right at 17 ppg last year in high school ball in/around the District and then up in Jersey. Right now, he has broken in with six mo’ college hoops games than you or I combined at: 5.7 ppg and a helping 4.7 rpg; yet 23% from downtown. So, this one too is a 2023 ask back and wait-n-see.

6′7″, 230 lb., Jr. S/F, Domantas Sakickas don’t play much tho’ he is from: Kedainiai, Lithuania… and Eye thought this article needed/lacked Scrabble Points so there you
(4.6 ppg with 1 rpg on 44% long) go.

Against (seemingly) overmatched Coppin State... Coach Young should do what(s)???

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Illationconclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Eagles who could soar @Tech=2.

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is…

…if you ask me -and you did via reading these very words- if you ask me? This year’s Coppin State could prolly beat last year’s Coppin State.

And that’s something, Eye suppose… as they are picked top-4 or Top-5 by all my preview mag’s this time in the M.E.A.C.


…however, I doubt they can beat much of anything O&M, here.

As it will take a lotta Secret Santa Hokie-help for Coppin State to upset A.c.c. VeeTee in this one.

 ***

Our handy-dandy friend the so-called Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is calling for… another week or three of stats, first. Even though, Coppin State did run to within 10-points of fellow A.c.c. Duke (only falling 71-81 @Cameron).

5:30 PM kickoff!

The annualized year-to-date vitals say that… VeeTee is up a whopping +17% in shooting percentage margin (little mo’ on O, tho’ mostly because of Cop.State’s want for O); with Cop.State up a most surprising +4% in 3-point percentage margin (all of it courtesy balding all Eagles with close shaves while contesting the 3), and yet with VeeTee up a nearly astounding +25 caroms with of rebounding margin on the fiberglass year-to-date (more of which was Co.St. sucking on the ‘glass).

The most recent 5-game metrics say that… in shooting percentage margin, in 3-point percentage margin, and in rebounding margin… or ask back next time out.

VeeTee is up +12% at the charity stripe for the year.
Cop.State is actually up +2 in R&R.

VeeTee is is a .75o host; whereas Co.St. is .ooo (o for 3) as a guest.

The Call

No. 288 Net Ranking Coppin State @ no. 48 Net Ranking Virginia Tech:

Spies say that the ex-Qb1 HenBoss may wanna boss someone, else…

…oh wait, there I ‘rong preview go, again!

oOo

In the mean·time …Coppin State (finally) copped a winning attitude vs. UNCG 86-80 last Thursday. North Carolina Greensboro being none better than an uno win team thus far in the own right— ¿Ya tu sabes?

If you do know what Eye mean, you know that Eye mean that… “aye”, Coppin State has a couple of ballers in their backcourt. Clayton and Tarke are experienced, seasoned and they are not chopped-liver.

They however are not enough.
As the rest of this team looks pretty stiff on film. Inflexible. Unathletic.

(though it was interesting that most of my pre-season mag’s hint or outright say that Coach Dixon had Coppin State moving in the right direction and playing their best ball in a few years to end last season. NOT saying Eye agree; mmm-K? Am saying I am dutifully conveying the same).

As there is no ‘doubt’, that there is quite a gap after the Top-2 or Top-3 Eagles— if you just must count ‘Thomas’ here.

Coppin State may be a little better when they have the rock. As they have recorded a few good offensive outings this season, and yet they’ve been far too inconsistent to trust. As they have also recorded three contests trapped beneath a pretty hard-cap’ of a 54-point ceiling.

🏀👊🏀

So, same as last time… double-nickels is your pet metric here.
If you think the outside shooty/scorey version of Coppin State shows-up then show-out with an over-pick.

Nevertheless, and either way, the only real determination is not whether Virginia Tech wins here —they will, or Eye will eat these very words on the next Podcast.

The only determination is… V.Tech will win by how much?

p.s. same as Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore -if the Apocalypse happens here❓

I likes my crow: “rare yet warm“.

🔥🐦🔥

(94% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech
=77, Coppin State=52

please support the VT F.C.A.!

LETS GO!

Hokies!

 bourbonstreet**

2 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. After reading this and we lose I will be pissed.
    I am not sure why VT plays teams like this especially with no fans as if we win nothing special but if we lose people will go crazy

    1. Oh, no doubt.

      And frankly, they may be a bit better this year than last time we saw ’em.
      (and we gonna miss Mister Diarra sooner rather than, later).

      b.street

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