Some observations/thoughts:

1. As someone mentioned several posts ago Brandon Parrish should break 1000 points soon.  A few years ago he was a much bigger part of the equation for RWU.  It is interesting that at this point of his career as senior and about to break 1000 that he is almost an afterthought to some extent.  He has been a very good player at his particular role and Tully has done a good job of bringing in other very good players over the past 2-3 years.

2. As someone mentioned a few posts ago ENC looks like they will go winless.  Regardless of who is coaching or who's players they are it is still embarrasing.  If they shot FT's better than an average junior high team they would have at least won 4 games which would have equaled last year.  Can you blame coaching for that?  Partially maybe.

3.  EC has gone and will continue to go as Marinkovic plays. It looks like he is bringing his "A" game at the right time which could prove interesting.  They also have some nice other players helping them right now but he is the most complete player in the league.....at least in my opinion.

4.  Sometimes the coaches and players of the bottom dwellers don't get enough respect for showing up and competing hard every night with less talent but UNE and AMC seem to do just that .  I would love to see a big upset or two down the stretch.   

Conn College has slowly become a legit team over the past three years.  They are 9-3 this season with decent wins against MIT, RPI, Wheaton, Springfield and now RWU.  They have Charles Stone who is an outstanding player (I would say better than anyone we have in the CCC) and other seveal other solid guys around him.  I am not sure what this loss says about RWU but probably not much.  They are pretty evenly matched teams.  But Salve did win at Conn earlier this season which does speak to how well they can play on any given night and I have a feeling they will win some big CCC games second semester.   

While I (and probably many of us) am typically annoyed by the EC vs GC banter, the last poster on the topic does make a decent point.  My feelings on the topic are simple.  If Gordon is as good or even great as they thought they were going to be this year, they should have scheduled much tougher opponents non-conference.  

Come on, they hope to be ranked nationally but schedule Mt. Ida and Mitchell in a 2 week period.  Why not throw in Bard and Daniel Webster why they are at it?   If they want to get mentioned in the same breath as some of the big boys they need to step up and play a legit schedule.  Why not schedule Amherst or Trinity (Conn)?  Even a tough loss to those teams would mean more and do more to prepare you for conference and the playoffs than a 30 point drubbing of Mitchell.  We even had a poster say after that win against Mitchell that Gordon was starting to get back on track after a slow start.  How do you know that?  And what if Gordon was to win one of those really tough games, then someone who matters might actually take notice earlier than Feb.          

Funny.  I didn't say throwback "dresser" I said "player."  Meaning he is well-rounded skill-wise, plays both ends and does everything well.  Also he doesn't force his own game like most good players these days and just goes out and plays hard.  Guess I should have been more specific.  Although next time I watch him play I will watch for the Chuck T's!

Just a couple thoughts to add.

Barrett is a definately a point and always has been whether that be HS or college.  Last year he split minutes with Camobreco at the point but seems to be taking that role over this year and deservedly so.  Any basketball fan who sees Barrett play really likes him, he is kind of a "throwback player."  If you have seen him play you know what I mean.  As far as comparing him to Kauffman, in my opinion Kauffman is slightly better but maybe simply because he is a year older. 

As far as ENC goes, you are right they do not have a go-to-guy.  But typically the end of a close game is won by the team with better guard play.  Handle the press, make FT's, create a turnover, etc.... therefore Jasmins influence on the game, as a post player, will lessen down the stretch of a close game.  As far as being in more close games they are simply still young and trying to learn how to win.  This is basically the same team as last year that got better at the end of last season and is continuing to slowly improve.  We'll see if they get over the hump?   

Got a few real interesting and closely matched conference games this weekend:

RWU @ CSC - RWU has got to be the favorite but I have a feeling Foti will really have his guys ready to play.  Never easy to win there.

Curry @ Nichols - Nichols has to be excited about playing Curry at home 1st semester.  Curry will be much better 2nd semester.  Nichols seems to be playing well and has a very good shot a winning this one.

UNE @ ENC - All I have to say is somebody will get their first win of the year and start the conference season 1-0 all in one day.   

I would agree that the overall talent is down a little.  The CCC lost several very good seniors last year so we will have to see if they can be replaced.  Too early to tell.

As far as ENC, I am looking forward to how they fare against Fram State on Thursday.  They have not hung "with any team."  They have hung with three very average or even below average teams and got spanked by a very good team by almost 40.  If they are improved they will be in the game against a solid team like Fram St. as well so we will see.  

On the other hand, one team that has proven to be better than expected is NEC.  They are beating the average teams and hanging with the very good ones.      

Even with the potential added talent, Curry has always shown me inconsistency.  They can beat a great team and then lose to a team much less talented.  RWU typically comes to play every night and wins the games their supposed to.  That is why they have won the South recently.   

James-
I agree that RWU is the best team right now in the South and that is with or without Gumb.  But, without a healthy Gumb teams like Curry and Salve could close the gap by conference time.  WITH a healthy and productive Gumb I believe they are the best team in the South over the long haul. 

CCC Talk-
I think we are seeing the "real" CSC team right now. First it takes new players, and we are dealing with three or four new starters, a while to adjust to new roles or a new system.  Second they are simply not even close to as talented as last year or the past several years.  Foti will make them better by the second semester but they will be significantly down this year.

Roger Williams could be the team to beat in the South but they may have to be without Gumb at 100% all season.  The RWU folks are worried that he may never be 100% after an injury like that which has ended other playing career's before.
For Dan's sake I hope he does come back to 100%.

Lastly Anna Maria will win a game, and probably against UNE.  Mark that game down on your calendars and buy your tickets early.   

I am out.

As far as I remember that is incorrect.  The ENC backcourt for quite a while (2-3 years) was Harvey, Chewning and Cardoso.  In that time Chewning played sub minutes at the point along with the occassional start, but thats about it.

Enough of the past!!!  What's everyone's thoughts on the coaches poll coming out.  Who will be the top 4 vote getters?  I see it as Gordon, Endicott, RWU then Curry.  CSC out of the top 4 is unheard of but they have alot of holes to fill.

   

Hoops,

I don't mind poking fun but I will still give a response back. 

If you read closely I said "true point guard."  If you think Chewning was a true point guard you need to re-think.   If I remember right he played both positions but was much more effective from the wing.  He played alot at the point his senior year due to necessity because again.....they had none.     

I don't think the ENC scrimmage win over Daniel Webster means much at all, BUT the news about a promising young PG is meaningful.  Who was the last good, true PG at ENC?  Been a while I think.  This may allow them to play a little more uptempo without all the turnovers they have had in recent years.

Also, it is early but the last playoff spot in the South may be up for grabs this year.  Nichols has some good players back but it looks like they lost both of their PG's from last year.  AMC has Nunally and Porcaro back and a new coach that gets alot out of his players.  ENC has returned their young players and may have added some more.  We'll see how it plays out.

By the way- looks like the Nichols roster is up.  Few new faces, a couple missing faces.

Even if Foti has has nice freshman/transfer class up his sleeve, what are the chances he can come even close to replacing what was lost? He not only lost his best players, he lost his best leaders.