Legends Classic preview:
Massachusetts Minutemen
The Legends Classic is a two-day men's college basketball tournament starting Friday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Each day leading up to the event, The Press will preview one of the Classic's four teams (Massachusetts, Rutgers, Florida and Michigan State).
First game: 5:30 p.m. Friday vs. Rutgers
'09-10 record: 1-2 '08-09 record: 12-18
Coach: Derek Kellogg (13-20)
Conference: Atlantic 10
Season outlook: The Minutemen are very young, with five incoming freshmen and two transfers. This won't be their last stop in Atlantic City. UMass should be back in March for the A-10 tournament, also at Boardwalk Hall.
So far this season: UMass has had a rough start, losing its first two games to Central Florida (84-67) and Cornell (74-61). The Minutemen finally pulled out their first win against Division II Arkansas-Fort Smith, 94-68 on Saturday.
Players to watch: Ricky Harris (19.7 ppg) was named to the A-10 preseason first team. The senior averaged 18.2 points a game the past two seasons. Other players to watch are junior Anthony Gurley (16 ppg) and freshman Freddie Riley (12.3 ppg).
Interesting fact: Harris is 11th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,406 career points. He could be 10th by the time he comes to Atlantic City. He's just 22 points back.
Tomorrow's preview: Rutgers
Susan Lulgjuraj
