Quote from: chizwiz on February 14, 2009, 08:51:08 AM

MacFan, seriously, King's has DeSales' number?  Come on!  You guys are 3-10 in conference and in last place.  Don't talk about out-coaching a good coach like the one at DeSales when your coach can either not recruit, not coach his players to win, or both.  So you got lucky once against the current #1 team in the conference.  Here's your badge.  When you have a real season going, then start talking big, until then, have some humility.  Granted, my boys could be in your place next year, but then I won't be talking the way you are.

Congratulations, Chizwiz, you are the dope that got me to break my postin sabbatical.  Let's break down your claim, one at a time.

1.  "MacFan, seriously, King's has DeSales' number?  Come on!"

Well let's see, going in the way back machine we see that King's is 8-4 against DeSales since the 04-05 season.  Not only that, King's defeated DeSales three times in the conference championship game and twice on DeSales home court.  Top that off with the fact that a last place King's team just beat a first place DeSales team.  If King's doesn't own DeSales, they at the least have a long-term lease on them.

2.  "Don't talk about out-coaching a good coach like the one at DeSales"
Now I'm not going to argue who is better Coval vs. JP.  Yes JP has beat Coval repeadetly in the big game, but that's a small sample size.  There both very good coaches.

3. "your coach can either not recruit, not coach his players to win, or both."
Now, you've gone of the deep end.  I'll throw away the 2005 Championship team, cause JP didn't recruit Horgan.  But the 07-08 teams, all recruited by him.

4. "When you have a real season going, then start talking big, until then, have some humility."
Yes, King's is down this year, but they have had some suprising wins.  Inexpierience that's what it comes down to, give it time.

New coach in DelVal?  I'm going to miss Surovec calling all of his timeouts when his team's down thirty late in the second half.

Also, you heard it here first, I predict that Ian Gilmartin has saved his best for last.

MACFan08, you are a true gentleman and scholar, a compliment that I do not give out too often. 

Good luck to our very own Colonel John today in the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby.

The Wilkes uber-fan will be starting from the tenth post position today and is a 4-1 shot to take the roses. 

King's wins by 30 and Jamie "The Role Player" Cousart drops 20.  Now comes the real test against Plattsburgh.

Saratoga has returned to celebrate in the King's Dynasty!

Anyway, first off a tip of the cap to DeSales.  A talented team that just came up a little shor three times.  The Buffalo Bills of the MAC Freedom League.  As a King's fan, DeSales is probably the opponent you respect the most.  Unlike Scranton/Wilkes there's no blinding hatred fueled by a local rivalry.  King's and DeSales have just battled over the past four years, and luckily for the Monarchs, they came out on top more often than not. 

I remember having a conversation with someone at King's who had no tie to the basketball program in the fall of 2004.  This person told me that King's opportunity had passed, that their best chance of winning a conference title went out the door the previous season, when King's lost six seniors and three starters to graduation.  The person told me that Horgan would not be able to carry the team and the freshmen were too much of a question mark.  Well, I think it's safe to say he was wrong now.  Another big win for this senior class, and I think today's Citizen's Voice article sums it up pretty well.

Congratulations King's, good luck in the tournament.

CJ4L, my condolences. I really enjoyed your PTI post last year when King's got knocked off, but I'm not that witty, so I'll leave it at that.

Well that sure sounded like a thrilling victory!  First time I ever had the joy of listening to King's on the radio, real amusing stuff.  Anyway, a great second half comback for the Monarchs and a "quiet" 24 for Big John.

So as for the awards.  I will say that I respectfully disagree with the Accademy's decision.  I'm not like kcxc and into making bulletin board material, but I thought the award was a stone cold lock for Sobo as player and a lukewarm lock for JP as coach.  Stricker's a great player, but look at the numbers, Soboleski had a better year.  The argument could be made against JP that King's was expected to do this, so I can see how that might have played against him.  Either way I have a box of John Soboleski: MVP tshirts that I have to ship to Nigeria now.  So at least the kids will have something else to where other than their brand new New England Patriots: 19-0 shirts. 

The beautiful thing though Soboleski vs. Stricker, Coval vs. JP, it all gets settled on Saturday.  That's all that matters.  We got the matchup that everyone, except CJ, wanted.  The storylines are great.  Will the Monarch seniors put an exclamation point on four years of dominence?  Or can the DeSales seniors avenge the previous championship losses?

I wouldn't be handing out Conference Titles just yet. 

I would say King's is the team to beat but this is the (as Jim Mora would say) "PLAYOFFS!"  One off night can sink the boat.  Last year at this time, everyone on this board was saying the Royals were the team to beat, and they were beatten, in the first round at home.  Assuming King's can get by a tough M'Ville team, I don't think DeSales at Bilera would be a walk in the park.  Obviously, King's is still my pick, but no way that's a guarantee.

So now its awards time,  I've seen all of one MAC Freedom Game in person this year, and based on that extensive research, I pick Soboleski for MVP, JP for Coach, Cousart for first team, Scalzo gets a second team nod. 

Scranton Landmarks:

The Times Tower
The Electric City Sign
Toni The Elephant (RIP)

Just listened to a nice Monarchs W on the webstream of Wilkes Radio.  So correct me if I'm wrong, if the Monarchs and M'Ville win out, King's will be the two seed.  Just did a quick scan of the schedules and it looks like it would go to King's, but someone clear me up if I'm wrong. 

Anyway to add the discussion 2007 MAC Championship Game > 2005 MAC Championship Game.  I'm obviously biased but the one thing I'll remember for 2007 is the entire gym rising to its feet and giving the standing O to both teams during the final Timeout with 16 or so seconds left.  Don't get me wrong 2005 was intense as ever, especially with both student sections, but I'm giving the nod to 2007.  I do like Bilera though, even though I've said some mean things in the past, I loved that refular season game in 2006 when the DSU student section gave the 15 North Crew a welcome... clever, clever stuff.

Well, I hope JP has enough mouse traps to hang from the ceiling for practice tomorrow. (Yeah, I'm calling DVC a trap game even though they have no conference wins).  I've got to go start printing out my Soboleski 4 MVP t-shirts.

Nais,

I think you summed it up pretty well.  I think going into the season, many Monarch fans (myself included) thought with the expierience of these seniors and their history, combined with the fact of a MAC conference that didn't appear as strong on paper as last year, that a Conference champion was nearly a shoe-in.  However, I agree that many of us overlooked what King's lost last year.  I agree totally that  Sobocinski is missed, and I don't know if anyone has been able to replace that energy.  Also, I think Bob N.'s presence off the bench last year is also missed.  However, Conroy has looked good in the games I've seen and I think he might be the gem of this freshman class.

Also, what we forget is King's wasn't leaps and bounds ahead of the field last year.  They squeaked by DeSales twice, they just beat Scranton twice.  This year their losing these games by the same small margin.  So I think this year, a few breaks haven't gone their way that went their way last year.  Also, except for the seniors, the rest of the team is still gaining expierience at the varsity level. 

The homer in me still likes their chances.  Usually, JP finds his go to rotaition before conference play starts, but hopefully they find it before the playoffs.  They just have to win the games their supposed to win, and knock off a DeSales or Wilkes team for their own sanity.  Anything can happen in the playoffs, hopefully the seniors can go out on the right note.

A big Happy Rivalry Day to all you Wilkes Watchers out there in MAC Freedom Land.

Since the 2005-2006 season, here is King's College record against two selected opponents.

Opponent A: 1-2
Opponent B: 3-1

Any guesses on who the two opponents are?  Opponent A would be Baptist Bible College, Opponent B would be THE University of Scranton (the Harvard of the Coal Region as they call it).  Hard to believe that King's has a victory to its name at the Long Center but does not have one in that barn in Clarks Summit.  I hope J.P. doesn't decide to pull a (NAME REDACTED) and refuse to play @ BBC again after King's recent struggles there.

I took a glance at Bob Z's recap and outside of a few exceptions, it didn't look like a particularly great shooting performance.  The biggest shocker for me was seeing Scalzo with only two shots and not a single FG, has this ever happened? 

It's not panic time yet because the letters MAC haven't come into play yet.  I realize that eventually it will be to late for the Monarchs to "turn it around" but that time is not year yet.  Have faith Breezy, the team is talented and they know how to win, it will come around.

Breezy, this seems to be a King's trend of recent years.

Flashback two years:  King's starts 2-6.  Of those six losses one was a buzzer beater by E-Town, two losses to Baruch and Wilkes caused by costly turnovers late, and a shocking upset by BBC. 

Flashback last year:  King's starts 4-4.  Of those losses one came as an OT loss vs. Albright, two of them came from beatdowns handed out by DeSales and E-Town, where they were emberassed on the defensive side of the ball.  Even one of the wins was an ugly one at home vs. BBC.

Now I'm not foolish enough to believe that King's will automatically turn it around because it has before, but the same talent is there with even more expierience.  Like Nais said, things are really hit and miss in non-conference, the players are trying to get into a groove and adjust to new roles.  It was the same stories in the past two seasons and both JP and the players made changes which led to successful years.

Too much talent in this team to dismiss the season after three games.
 

Breezy,

Welcome aboard the, um, Board.  As King's Poster Emeritus, I hope you can continue my legacy of King's Homerism and over-dramatic posts following routine victories against FDU and DelVal.  However, some advice.  Cold Case is not a fan of the Monarchs (I hear it is becaused they refused to name the new addition of the gym in his honor) so expect those replies.  Also, look out for Saratoga, but I think he was deported to the Landmark Board.  The rest of the group, although not rabid Monarch faithful, are good basketball minds nonetheless. 

As for King's, I think anything less than a Conference Title will be a huge disappointment.  However, that doesn't mean its a given.  DeSales will be a formidable foe, I'm sure Wilkes has improved, and as mentioned, the new teams are a wild card (didn't Manhatanville make it to the big dance last year?)

Of course the Monarchs are loaded with offensive threats, but what about the D?  They lost a solid defender in Sobocinski and they struggled early on in that department last year.  Also, who on the team will be able to provide an inside presence when Soboleski is on the bench?  Also, which freshmen can really step up big, not so much the need to contribute this year, but to prepare to take over the reigns of this team after the mass departure via graduation occurs in May.

On paper it looks like an exciting season could be brewing, wish I was still in WB to see it.

To all the Monarch Faithful out there:

http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18351728&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=416049&rfi=6

Landon Gabriel has his first head coaching job.