I remember sitting at TCNJ at the end of the year with Gluck's parents, his dad says we're cooked and I said have faith, then with time running out BM10 puts up the winner and it's on the way to the NCAA'S. Waz-up Ben. What have you been up to? We spoke at many games. Hope all is well in your life. You are correct that the team has many similarities, and this time Coach Fiore has a clean young team. I'm afraid to go to a game and put the hex on the kids. Look forward to seeing you soon.
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Those were some good moments you are tracking back to. The TCNJ shot and the NJAC championship game were some of the best moments in my career. I believe I may know who you are but its been a little while since I have been to a game. Believe it or not, I am actually coaching now. I am the head coach at my old high school, Scotch Plains-Fanwood high School.  I was an assistant there for 4 years and this is my first year at the helm. We  have 2 players at NJAC schools that I coached so I have tried to get to as many games as I could to see them. I am planning on seeing MSU play in the NJAC tourney if my schedule allows it.

Congratulations goes out to Coach Fiore and his staff for winning the NJAC North Division!!

Rams1102,

I played in that 2002-2003 season for MSU and that was a special one. This team has many similarities to the team I played on. We may have had more talent and more starpower but this year's edition is finding ways to win.

Ouch... I didn't think my attempt at a sarcastic comment would warrant such a response. I think you took my statement a little too far. All I was trying to infer was that if we were to play the "What if" game, MSU would be one of the top programs in the country right now.  Whatever the reason may be, there have been a number of good basketball players that have put on a Montclair uniform since I started there in 1999 and not return the next year. IF these players year after year were to stay all 4 years, there would not be many teams that I have seen that could have competed with those guys. 

I was not trying to take anything away from you or your teams' accomplishments along the way.  I know personally that I had alot of respect for the guys that I played against that played for Ramapo or any other NJAC team, including you.  I also respected every guy that I played with in my 4 years there.  Whether it be a criminal (like you put him) or a guy who left school because of grades, I can honestly say that I did not dislike any teammate I had there.  I agree that most of these players should have taken care of the academics or check their egos at the doors of Panzer gym;  hence the reason I alluded to the "What if" game.  But I won't sit here and badmouth them or their reasons for leaving MSU. I just wish they would have stayed around so I could have won some national championships   

Mean,

You know just as well as me that you can't play the "What if" game when it comes to NJAC rosters.  If we did play that game, MSU would have a D3 dynasty.

Any news on my Red Hawks this year?

It's nice to see Tennyson giving back to Ramapo. He will be a great mentor to some of the guards that will play there. If there are any MSU fans on here, you will be happy to know that Montclair has some nice players coming in this year.  I have seen a number of the kids play and they are the type of players that will have much success in the NJAC.

I have to commend Coach Rebimbas on the job he has done at WPU this year. I saw them play twice this year and came out thinking that this was one of the worst WPU teams I have seen since I started following the NJAC. For this team to make the Sweet 16 speaks volumes about him getting his kids to buy into his philosophy and the players' desire to win.

I understand your stance on the MSU situation and I do agree with some of your points in your argument. With that said, I think the entire athletic program is going through a rebuilding stage. I have no inside information but something tells me that MSU is trying to make its way up to Divsion 2/Division 1 very soon.  As the saying goes, sometimes you have to break something down to build it back up. Unfortunately, it seems that the wrestling program and the other low-profile sports suffered from this reasoning. If you have been to MSU lately, it is starting to transform itself into a big-time campus. I, for one, was shocked to see how much the campus has changed over the years. Even the athletic teams have a new look. Throughout my years there, the baseball, football, and basketball teams were all NJAC champions at one point or another. Now, those teams have taken a step back and tried to clean up their respective programs academically and even with the type of kid they are recruiting. You are starting to see more 4 year players in every sport. Such was not the case when I was there.  It is funny how MSU was once characterized as a program who only cared about winning first and did not concentrate on academics and now that they have seemed to right the ship, the administration gets knocked for not caring about athletics. 

Quote from: phil on March 10, 2006, 10:00:22 AM
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If you were a high school athlete looking to further your education and athletic career in the NJAC you should have your head examined if you want to go to Montclair – at least until the current administration stops wetting itself in public.



.

You are entitled to your opinion but if I may ask; what is so wrong at MSU that a kid should get his head examined if he were to play at one of the top programs in the NJAC?

Quote from: knightstalker on February 16, 2006, 11:08:57 AM


I think they should use my favorite tiebreaker if MSU and Ramapo tie.  Teddy v Chucky in a steel cage death match.

In that case, Fiore wins by submission with a headlock that Hulk Hogan would be proud of.

Quote from: msufan on February 05, 2006, 09:53:39 AM
When everyone talks about the NJAC Tournament, MSU is never mentioned. A big week comming up (NJCU & Stockton). It's a tall order, but if we are successful, we could be in the hunt. Stranger things have happened. I have not seen any games this year, and if I show up I'll probably jinx them. What does everyone think of MSU this year. It seems like Fiore has righted the ship. Hope all is well with you Ben and the same to Phil.

I have only been to one game myself and this MSU team is not a team that I can see going far in the NJAC tourney; if they even make it. They seem to be inconsistent in their play and do not have much depth. With that said, I also believe that not one team in the NJAC would want to see MSU lined up against them in the 1st round of the NJAC tourney. Gian Paul Gonzalez is the best player in the conference and can dominate a game offensively.  Arthur(?) is a 3/4 that can be a tough player to guard when he is under control. If the MSU team can buckle down on defense and take care of the ball, they can be a dangerous team to play.   

Quote from: knightstalker on January 27, 2006, 02:32:23 PM
It's impact on recruiting is what I meant by lost recruits. A lot of what happened does rest on the players, but people are going to blame the coach. They are going to say he is the one who brought in the players.

The only player I still can't figure out is the one with the alias that ended up being arrested for dealing and then found out he was wanted under a warrant under a different name. That should have been caught by admissions.

I think the recruiting situation is more of a byproduct of Coach Fiore changing his philsophies more than recruits not being sold on MSU anymore or being turned off by what happened a few years back.  I suspect very few high school seniors even know about what happened  a few years ago.  I

Knightstalker,

I do believe the events that happened a few years back hurt MSU's recruiting but I do not believe they "lost" recruits. I feel that Coach Fiore changed his recruiting philosophy and recruited players to try and start to build a program and not recruit to reload year after year.   Coach may have received a bad wrap for that but a coach can't anticipate all that took place that year. The players have to share some of the blame for their actions. With that said, I still believe this year's team has some solid players. It is just not the same level of talent that people have been accustomed to seeing at MSU since Coach Fiore took over.

I also have to agree that the NJAC seems to be down this year. I saw my first NJAC game of the year this past week when I saw MSU-William Paterson.  I came out of the game thinking that both teams were down and had to be in the bottom half of the conference standings but I was surprised to see Willy P atop the conference. That just led me to believe that the NJAC has to be WAY down.  Both MSU and Willy P teams are not close to the level that they have been over the years. WPU still has the disciplined, structured offensive and defensive philosophies but they do not have the athletes to make their team a great one. MSU is lacking a defensive intensity and guards who can break down a defense and get everyone around them better.

Quote from: Truck on January 22, 2006, 11:30:34 AM
Gian Paul Gonzalez dropped 51 on Lincoln last night.


His entire team scoed 88 in a losing effort. He was 19-for-26 from the field and 13-for-18 from the free-throw line. He also added 12 rebounds

Wow.. Things have really changed at Montclair. 2 things really jump out at me about that game.  First, the fact that someone on MSU's roster would score 51 pts, take 26 shots and LOSE!!  Second, an opponent of MSU to top 100 pts.  In my 4 years at Montclair, I do not remember a team scoring 90 pts. against us. IN fact, there were not many teams who appoached that number. Knowing Coach Fiore, he must be frustrated with the points teams are scoring against them. If MSU can buckle down and try to play some defense, they can be a dangerous team to play against with one of the better players in the country in Gian Paul Gonzalez.