I guess there is something to be said about having a system, but I know I would want as many guys ready as possible in case of misfortunes (i.e. injury, foul trouble, etc). Also, playing more guys will help out the program in the long run. If they have guys that could start on other teams in the conference and they are not playing something is wrong. I guess that is just my opinion. I just could see that team playing 10-12 guys a night, running up and down the floor, and blowing teams out of the gym. Also, Blakey played 40 minutes the other night, do they have a back up PG? The one game I saw them play this year it didn't look like they had a guy on the bench that could run the team. Anyway, good luck to both teams.

Unfortunately I could not be in attendance last night, but congratulations to Widener. They earned the first seed, got a home game and pulled out what sounds like a great game. Rollingthunda is right though, expectations were not very high in Etown in the beginning of the year due to the loss of 8 seniors, but they pulled it together and got in the playoffs and almost pulled off a great victory.

As for Widener being an uptempo, fast break team I think your assessment is right RT. Looking at the box score from last night only one WU sub played more than 10 minutes and that was Tidswell. In fact, the Pioneers only played 8 guys in the whole game with two of them playing less than 10 minutes. That has to be the reason why they don't play more uptempo. However, the wear-down factor could come into play as the postseason rolls on. With four guys averaging 35+ minutes a night over an entire season, legs become tired especially at the end of games. I still think Widener beats Messiah on Saturday however. Thereiis, is the Widener bench that bad that Duda can't extend some of the subs minutes to give the starters more rest? It looks like they have some talent on the bench, but most of them never get to take off their shooting shirts? What's the deal?

Warren,

I think you misunderstood thereis' last post. He was saying that a D-3 school cannot give athletic scholarships. Therefore a coach can tell as many kids as he wants that if they come to his school that they will play right away.  When a kid is told this he most likely feels good about the situation because many college coaches are like used car salesmen. Then when he commits to the school and goes for his first day in August he finds out that the coach has brought in him and 5 other guys at his position. This is commonly known as over-recruiting and it goes on at the D-3 level in all sports.

At D-2 and D-1 schools recruits know that there are a certain number of scholarships that the school can give. If a kid is offered one of those scholarships that is telling them they truly are wanted. There is no way of knowing this at teh D-3 level, everybody pays their own way. A walk-on at a D-1 or D-2 school knows that he has no chance to ever play (with exceptions in certain situations, see Kansas' Christian Moody) because there are guys on the team that the school is paying to be there.

Hopefully this clears it up, sorry to step on your toes thereis.

Etown= got pimps and hoes

Widener= don't got pimps and hoes

It's all true thereis. That was one of the best dunks I've ever seen in a D3 game considering the fact I've seen maybe 10 dunks total in four years. Clarkson is a good D3 player and he deserves 1000 points, but after watching him today it is evident that he is playing at the right level. A lot of his points come off of steals and rebounds that he would simply not get at a higher level. Widener was very imprresive today and it is hard to imagine them losing to Etown at home and Susquehanna. If they play the way they did today in the 2nd half (defense in the passing lanes and pushing the ball) then they will be hard to beat. The only person that could screw that up is Duda. When he tried to control the tempo in the 1st half and run half court offenses they let Etown in the game. If he would loosen the reigns a little bit and let his kids play they would run teams out of the gym just about every night. With all that athleticsm it doesn't make sense to slow the game down. Malcom Thomas is a stud, he's the one that should be playing at a higher level. Also, Brandon Blakey did not attempt one field goal today in 35+ minutes but completely controlled the game on both ends, pretty impressive. I still think they are succeptible to a let down in the playoffs, but I could see them getting an at large bid especially with the expanded tournament.

Oh. my Bad for referring to they're playe'rs names. And Your the expert I sea. Thanks for you're enput; i really appreciate you're opinion. Atleast spell names right.....c'mon

sleepercell: Know how to spell your teams names. It's spelled Blakey not Blakely. And the Brian you were asking about it is the one who scored 7 points in the last 2 minutes to seal the deal the last time Etown and Widener met. Just to clear that up.

Speaking of the Etown/Widener game, the start time got moved up incase of inclement weather. Women at 12, Men at 2. Can't wait to see Duda whine alllllll day tomorrow.

Sorry for the hiatus. Anyway, the Jays got a huge win last night at Juniata which is always tough for any team in the conference due to the long ride. However, I would not say that the conference is locked up by any stretch. The game on Saturday should be another dandy. Which Widener team will show up? Which Etown team will show up? It should be very interesting. I'm predicting an ETown win in OT. As for the playoffs, I agree with you rollinDiesel on the order of finish. Widener definitely does not want to see Etown in the playoffs!

what gives this year in the commonwealth? I think I'm pulling my name out of the hat as far as predicting games goes. The first seed in the playoffs could end up with four and possibly five losses! Everybody is beating everybody up this year and there is clearly no favorite to run away with the first seed or the conference title for that matter. As a matter of fact it is going to be very intersting to see who even gets in the conference tournament.  My head hurts just trying to think about it. All I can say is, Lets go Jays!

PS. Great performance by the Adams Family last night.

Sounds like a great game tonight in Grantham. Did Juniata slow it down? It was a pretty low scoring game. A four way tie atop the standings is now possible. All the different tie breakers could come into effect by the end of the regular season. It is going to be very interesting to see how this shakes out.

Etown by 3 over Albright at Thompson Gym today. Jays held a 10 point lead with 4:41 to go and Albright cut it to 1. Etown managed to hold on with a pair of Mike Schatzman free throws with 5 seconds left. Trevor Deeter appeared very hampered by a herniated disk and could only play in 3-4 minute spurts at the most. That could prove fatal for Albright as conference play rolls on. Etown looks very good again.

I can't blame rollingthunda for his line on the SusqU/Widener game, but SusqU looks like they could be a force to be reckon with the rest of this season. What has happened to Widener? How do you lose to SusqU at home? Att: Dave Duda you need to win some games to even get into the playoffs at this point.

[quote author=Coach C link=topic=607.msg468157#msg468157 date=1138296363\

Ok - I should have checked the info.  But you have NO business talking about poor coaching and not being able to hold a 6 point lead.  You were not there to evaluate what Coach Duda did or didn't do.


Coach C,

Maybe I don't have the right to say what I said since I was not there. However, I would put some of the blame on any coach (including Coach Schlosser) for a team giving up a 6 point lead with 2:30 to go. That is part of the coach's fault isn't it? Rollingthunda is right also, my other point was that they always have the most talent and continue to flounder. I know they won back to back titles in '00 and '01, but they have not made a lot of noise since then. I was not personally attacking Coach Duda I was just pointing out the fact that a coach plays an important role in game and clock management especially down the stretch.

As for sleepercell.....can you start typing your post in modern English maybe even with some punctuation so that the rest of us can read what the heck you're trying to say?

Coach C,

Rollingthunda is right, the game was at Widener and unfortunately I was not in attendance. However, I did hear that it was almost like a home game as Etown fans about doubled Widener fans in number. It was the Jays first conference road win of the season, something the team is surely glad to have off their back. They have been playing well since winter break with the exception of the SusqU game and all indications point to all out war on Saturday at Thompson Gymnasium between Etown and Albright. Hopefully, the loss to SusqU dpes not come back to haunt the Blue Jays, however a win on Saturday would pretty much exorcise that loss.

On a lighter note....Where are all the Widener fans?

I'm not going to say I told you so because I knew it all along. It is always the same story with those two teams. In my opinion you can chalk this one up to two things:

1. Widener's weak non-conference schedule

There is something to be said about being in close games and players being able to respond to tight situations. Widener's average margin of victory is about 13 points a game which can be directly linked with the bad teams they played before the conference season opened up. They have not been in many tight situations this year and they showed it by floundering a 6 point lead with 4 minutes to go.

2. Poor Coaching

As a coach you have to be able to help your team hold onto a 6 point lead. Widener is always the most talented team in the conference and the last few years they have not got the job done. A coach needs to be able to get the most out the talent he has (i.e. Coach Schlosser). Duda does not seem to be able to do that. You said it Widener fans and us Etown fans agreed you have the most talented team, but we have the best coached. Close games come down to clutch players (Brian Schreiber, 60% from the field, 95% from the line, 7 points in the final four minutes tonight) and coaching. Is it time for a chaning of the guard in Chester?

I knew the public school system in Chester was bad, but apparently that college they stuck in the middle of that town isn't much better. The true academic standards of Widener University are shining through on this message board.

As for the Blakey/Arnold argument, I don't really think it is fair to compare the two. Even though they are both PG's, it is like comparing apples and oranges. Their comparison dates back to each of their high school days in the Suburban One League. Blakey (Abington HS) has always had great players around him and has not been asked to score much since the time he started at Abington as a 9th grader. He has had guys like Dave Brooks (1,000 point scorer at Abington and at Niagara University) and Kevin Oleksiak (2nd leading scorer in Abington's history as well as the starting SF at UNC-Greensboro). At Widener he has had guys like Clarkson, Schaeffer, Stitzle, and Ford to fill up the basket. His job is to get the ball in those guys hands in good situations to score.  As for Arnold, he has never really had good players around him. At CB West he was asked to bring the ball up, make something happen, and score. So far in his career at Scranton he has had to do the same thing. Blakey is the better PG, he would give Arnold fits with his defense too.

Anyway, tonight should be interesting. Somebody indeed will be having a nice meal of crow which seems like a staple menu item at the Windener cafeteria.

Holla at a playa when you see em in the street....pimps and hoes