Copied to CityD3:

I first saw them against St. Joseph's first off and let me say that it was really bad, my friend.

This team is NOT good and there have been some bad teams in this part of the world...I'm not saying they won't get better in the future or that the coach is bad because this team DOES hustle but as of right now, they are not very good, not at all.

Farmingdale wins handily against MSV...they are just too strong for other Skyline teams this year.  Close games against Hamilton & Randolph Macon but didn't have quite enough to get over the hump there...their other loss came without Matthews in the lineup so i don't really count that one.

Unfortunately, for this team to go somewhere in the NCAA tournament this year, it looks like they are going to need ONE more piece...their squad is good but not very deep and outside of Matthews, it's kind of unspectacular.  If the only had one more explosive 6'4" type guy...a Lance Brown of sorts.  Like I said, put Matthews on this years' WP team and WOW!

Saw NYU-Poly play their last few games...this team is maybe one of, if not the worst basketball team ever assembled at the collegiate level (at least from what i've viewed in my lifetime).  I have no idea where these players come from but it's very unfortunate to watch them play: other teams let them stay in the game for a while due to the "playing down to the level", the very low, low level of NYU-Poly's team.  Hey, on the bright side: at least these kids are going to get jobs! They're all in math & science so kudos to them for that, right?

let's see how they do the rest of the year.  I think by the time they play Purchase, Purchase will have some new guys in and give them a real game...outside of that, do you think they really will lose another NJAC game?

phil,

they just came off a tough game against skidmore (who pushed middlebury to the brink) and mville isn't as bad as their record shows.  The loss can only make that team stronger and it certainly wasn't Chandler & Brown's fault for the loss: if you look at the #'s for the game, the rest of the WP squad didn't show up...

What's funny is the animosity you have towards this team! The funnier thing is I really don't care about WP i just think it's exciting to see a team in the Atlantic that could potentially contend outside of the region for once.

i'm not sure what happened in the TCNJ game but they've proven themselves every other game so far, no?  I'm not a WP fan btw...i attended a school in another atlantic conference and played against WP, just stating an opinion that i think they've got two of the more talented guys in the region, if not the country playing together.

Now if only WP had gone after AJ Matthews from Farmingdale...wow.  That would be a national championship team@!!!

Well, since i can't get an "official" pick in, i'll just say "unofficially" that I don't think NYU-Poly will win a game this year and William Paterson is my undefeated pick.

How does this work?  Could i pick teams or is it too late?

Whoever decided to put William Paterson at #22 : smart move.  Read my post regarding their squad in the Atlantic/NJAC section here: they are a force to be reckoned with right now.

Farmingdale seems to be the top dog in the conference at the moment...7'0" center A.J. "why is not at a d1 school?" Matthews is averaging 26 and 16 right now through the 4 games he's played in...they've got some other decent pieces, nobody too big or super impressive but when you have a 7 footer who can play in the middle, what else do you really need?  They did lose to Hamilton though so that was a sour note...the loss to John Jay was without Matthews in the lineup for some reason.

As for the rest of the conference: MSM, solid but not super impressive.  MSV?  Too small to do any real damage.  Old Westbury isn't strong (they do have one or two very good players but won't contend this year).  Interesting that St. Joe's is undefeated and won the East Conn tourni...they are playing a pretty much wing man game...everyone in their rotation is between 6'1 and 6'4"...no real post presence, just a lot of running and gunning and doing it well with guys who have played together for four years.

Purchase looked horrible against two better teams in Stevens Tech & Williams but has beaten everyone at "their level"...all new faces on their squad and will most likely add new guys in the spring (as most of these teams will).  They are a real "wait and see" team: the matchup with William Paterson should feature any spring transfers they get: that will be the "legit" test for them moving forward as well as their matchup with Farmingdale & St. Joe's.

Team wise, Skyline not looking strong.  Individually however, take the best 5 players from each position in this conference, you'll have a talented group.

Well, it seems that William Paterson is the real deal this year because of major division 1 transfer Corey Chandler (Rutgers) and division 1 transfer Lance Brown (Fordham, then Quinnipiac).  They've also got a Portugese kid whose a 6'3" guard (both parents played pro basketball) who can shoot and is very athletic along with two 6'8" kids who can bang around down low.  The team is pretty deep (9 guys getting over 10 minutes a night) and with the 6'2" Chandler and 6'4" Brown leading the way, this poster believes they can actually go undefeated this season and have a decent run in the NCAA tournament (barring any freak incidents).  Who knows if they get any spring transfers to join in the fray as well?

Let me clarify further here: the difference between this Atlantic region teams' transfers as opposed to other teams in years past: these are both LEGITIMATE division one basketball players.  Both Chandler & Brown were top recruits from NJ high schools and Chandler averaged 11 points a game his freshman year at Rutgers...Brown was a 5 & 5 guy for both Fordham & Quinnipiac, not too shabby.  Most D1 players who come down to D3 are not at the level these two guys are - William Paterson will be a force to reckon with this year (and next, because they are both juniors and the team has all the rest of the important surrounding cast returning next season too).