Dribblings 1/9/2005 (J.J. Jumper Edition)

West Coast: St. Mary's 66, UMPFN 61 (story) - Well, that didn't take long - now the folks who compile those goofy "mid-major polls" have to pick someone else. Homestanding St. Mary's used Mr. Three to take down the Unnamed Major Program From the Northwest, knocking down 16 of them. Senior guard Paul Marigney scored 30 and was responsible for seven of those treys. UMPFN (11-3, 1-1 WCC) had won 17 straight conference games dating back to an early-2003 loss to Portland, and it was the Gaels' first victory against them after a string of 17 straight failures. The floor was indeed stormed.

America East: Vermont 67, Maine 66 (story) - Rock star Taylor Coppenrath tipped in a layup with seven seconds remaining, and UVM escaped their primary league rivals in a game of extended runs. Guard Ernest Turner, a UNLV transfer, scored 28 points for the Black Bears (7-6, 2-2 AE); but it was not enough to take down the mighty Ultra-Violence Mechanism. Catamount pointman T.J. Sorrentine matched Coppenrath's output with 25.

Shootaround!

Big Sky: We haven't given Portland State any love yet; their 91-78 win home over Northern Arizona behind the long-bomb antics of juco transfer guard Jake Schroeder was their seventh in a row. They're now 3-0 in Big Sky play. And congrtulations to Chicago's Benny the Bull, who won the Bank-sponsored Mascot Of The Year contest - he used to be the Montana Grizzly.

Horizon: The early leader in the Horizon League race is Wisconsin-Green Bay (9-3, 3-0 HL), who went into Butler and held them to 30% shooting while handing them their second straight home loss, 57-50.

Mid-American: After stumbling at Ball State last weekend, Kent State (9-3, 3-1 MAC) has gotten healthy; they never trailed in a 68-49 home beatdown against a good Miami (Ohio) team (7-4, 2-1 MAC).

Missouri Valley: Drake, the one Valley team not given a chance to win the conference, upended Bradley at home, 79-73, on the strength of a late 11-3 run. And Wichita State's (10-1, 3-0 MVC) only loss was a non-conference tilt against the Metro Atlantic's Manhattan last week. They used a three-pointer with 11 ticks left by big Illinois transfer Kyle Wilson (a/k/a "the poor man's Dirk Nowitski") to nip Southwest Missouri State on the road, 63-61.

Patriot: Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said that despite a certain big win against a power-conference school, Holy Cross was still their measuring stick. So their 59-43 dismantling of the Crusaders at home yesterday must mean they're pretty good, right? Chris of the patriotic Hoop Time blog was there to provide blow-by-blow coverage.

Southland: There are three 2-0 teams in the conference so far; the most impressive to this point is Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions are keeping their opponents to 56 points per game (including holding the hot Lamar offense to that number), and they beat Texas-Arlington 57-41 on their home court yesterday.

Southwestern Athletic: Alabama State, they of the (painfully) anatomically correct hornet logo, is 3-0 to start the season (5-7 overall). They won 63-59 yesterday at Mississippi Valley State despite shooting 31% in the first half and 29% in the second. So how the hell did they win? The Delta Devils went 4-for-13 at the free-throw line. Ahh, that's SWAC life.

Game! Of! The! Day!

Southern Illinois (8-3, 2-0 MVC) is at Creighton (10-4, 2-1 MVC) in a battle of Missouri Valley heavyweights (2:00 PM ET, free webcast).

If your school has the stock banners that read "NCAA Basketball: (fill in the blank) Is My Team!" hanging in your home gym, you are - without any doubt - a mid-major. Yes, I can hear the pained groans of recognition from here.

The aforementioned Chris of Hoop Time, I believe, is the first college basketball blogger to use the term "J.J. Jumper" in any context. (He mentioned an appearance at yesterday's Navy-Lafayette game.) Therefore, Chris deserves a small foam basketball thrown in his general direction.

If you are unaware, J.J. Jumper is the official mascot of NCAA basketball. You may not know him because his itinerary doesn't take him to too many power-conference schools, and he spends a lot of time in the lower divisions. So I'll say this as a matter of introduction - J.J. is a green frog-like creature with a shock of orange hair, he appears as if perpetually frightened, there's a backstory, and merchandise is available (of course).

I have no problem with the concept - J.J. Jumper is all about promoting good grades, staying physically active, and maintaining stong friendships... and I could never hate anyone who has the same general hair color as The Official Wife Of The Mid-Majority™. But last year, it seemed like J.J. was stalking me, following my every move during my accidental 82 Game Project. Lafayette. The Patriot League tournament. He even trailed me to Division II Millersville (Pa.).

I finally figured out that seven rubber suits made J.J. capable of simultaneous manifestation, but I became very well-acquainted with his act. He dances a lot. There's a media-timeout skit where he plays a boom box that has a busted tuning knob, and he finds himself having to "get down" to a lot of different musical styles. He'll dance around the aisles and concourses, throwing foam basketballs and attempting to smooth the wrinkled brows of kids' quizzical expressions. At halftime, he'll usually have a dance contest with the home team's mascot, and at the end he'll graciously let the other guy drop a devastating move and win.

As the game goes on, the inevitable dropoff of fan interest will compel J.J. to dance more wildly and crazily, desparately and vainly attempting to win back the attention of an increasingly disinterested assemblage. I found myself feeling real sympathy for him at an American-Colgate game at last year's PL championship. I was sitting directly behind a father and son behind the Colgate bench; the inquisitive little kid asked, "Dad, what's J.J. Jumper the mascot of, anyway?"

Dad's answer, which was technically the correct one, drew a bewildered "huh?". Because a mascot for NCAA Basketball is an abstruse abstraction, as would be a mascot for clean air, or for laundry, or a mascot for unrequited love. It's difficult to represent and embody a concept, and spreading a positive message without a mouth to speak with is an uphill battle to be sure. Probably as difficult, and periodically frustrating, as spending three hours a day on a relatively obscure website about an abstract basketball concept, covering a level of play that the true majority of hoops fans only care about for one week in March.

But like J.J. Jumper, I keep on dancin'.

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