Wow!  Who knew there were so many fans of mediocrity!

MACSouthwest:  Since you are a fan of proverbs think on the one of "better to remain silent and be thought a fool rather than speak....
Doing things on the cheap?? Seems the Girls program was riding those same buses with much different results.  The internal conflicts over his tenure grew and he blamed everyone but the guy in the mirror

Sarantoga:  "Early Christmas"??  About 3  years too late, at least

Team Monix:  What will I do with my life ??  Maybe enjoy Mules basketball as I did in the pre-McClary years.

Funny how McClary's record is on par with Nugent at Washington and I remember cheers over his dismissal.  Alumni of the Mules program are not saddened by this action and they had first hand experience that none of us had. 

I don't disagree.  But who is responsible to get the right players and get the most out of the ones you have?

CentCraze88
Yes the Mules bus broke down going and leaving McDaniel and serves as the perfect metaphor for the Mules basketball program; broken down.  Time for a switch in leadership.  Since McClary took over every season got progressively worse despite having several top quality  players over the past 7 years.  The only reason they finished over all at 12-12 was the quality of the out of conference teams they scheduled.  Most of which would struggled against a good high school team.
Larose and Schreer were in a system that had no one who would command attention to free them up.  LaRose is not a straight up shooter and, Schreer is a spot up shooter and needs wide open looks.  Big numbers for both of them came largely in non-conference games. At the McD game LaRose had 16 in the first half and ended up with 21 on 6 for 16 shooting, Schreer ended up 2 of 7.  Hunter I think was a victim of poor coaching.  One of the few real big men in the conference he was under-utilized and saw his minutes drop from 25/game to 17 despite leading in rebounding and blocked shots.  He joined the growing list of senior players that got blamed for the problems of this program over the past several years.   And McClary is always ready to blame someone else for the poor performance.

Early in the season we commented on how the conference would turn out.  I admit to being surprised   by the high level performance that Ursinus turned in.  Dickenson F&M and JHU could  never be counted out  but I was spot on in seeing that the Mules were a disaster in the making.

Maybe they should do rock, paper , scissors.  There has to be a way to come seedings that doesn't require NASA computers

BeRightOn  great job on the Rubix Cube of playoff schedules.

If Ursinus shots like they did vs the Mules last night they could be trouble no matter where they are seeded.  Williams, Knowles and Quattro were 10- of 19 from 3s for 53% as they crushed Muhlenberg's zone in the second half.  The Bears had 21 assists for the night as well.  After leading by 1 at the half they exploded to beat the Mules 86-59, sweeping the Mules for the first time in 7 years.

For the Mules they are one game away from putting this miserable season to rest.  Bears blitzed the defense and the offense was more of the same; ill-advised shots or missed open looks.  Mules ended up shooting 23% in the 2nd half (21% from 3s).  Time to take a hard look in the mirror

One of the most up & down season in the CC in recent memory.  Outside of SwaT, JHU, Dickinson, F&M ad Ursinus will end up depending on who shows up for the last 2 games.  The only constant has been the inconsistency of the teams.  The rest of the teams are playing for pride (if they have any left) and possibly coaching jobs. 

McDaniel plays tough but has come up short.Gettysburg was the real downside surprise to me. Although they blasted Muhlenburg on Saturday, hard to tell if G-burg improved that much or the Mules just sank lower.  Mules shot 32% from the field (29% 3s) while Gettysburg made short work of the mules zone shooting 47%  LaRose was 1 of 12 for Senior day.  Mules 3 big scorers LaRose, Rindock and Schreer have been mostly ineffective in conference play down the stretch which is probably more an indictment of the offense design than anything. Mules may end up playing .500 ball overall but strength of schedule would not equate to a good high school program

Who wins in the end of this year depends on which team shows up.  All five at times have looked unbeatable and then the next game look like are you kidding me.  I think it comes down to JHU and Ursinus.  Even though I dissed them at the beginning the Bears have been fairly solid. 

Gettysburg seems to be catching life a bit late  as they put up 3 figures on Haverford.  Speaking of Haverford they played the Mules straight up for the first half but were their own worse enemy at the end, losing by 12.  Stats show the game was closer than the board suggests.  Both teams shot low 40%, each had 36 boards, about even in assists but Haverford had 17 TOs ending in 25 Mule points.  Passes and rebounds were literally bouncing off the hands and bodies. 

Garnes took advantage of the Mules zone hitting 6 of 9 3s for 18 points while Sherman was 6 of 12 for 16.  LaRose took advantage of a weak Haverford inside defense going 7 of 10 for 19 pts.  The rest of the Mules offense still struggles.

CentCraze88 Hope you wife is well.  It is a nasty year for sinus problems!

The theory behind Mules zone is too hide some really poor defenders but have them for their offense.  Epic failure on both parts.  Over the past several seasons the Mules had at least one player who received lots of opponents attention.  This year they have none. Over the 7 seasons McClary has had All Region players all conference players and idespite them his record has gotten worse each year.  Even when the schedule includes non-conference cupcake teams.

The CC as least to me is as evenly balanced (kind way to say weaker) and they are struggling.  But I agree an F&M/Dickinson playoff game would be a dog fight

Swat#1 2 simple reasons as to why there was no adjustments.  First for the same reason they switched to all zone; to hide a couple of lazy defenders. Going from man to zone rested on the premise no team could hit from the post and the hope they would go cold on 3s.  Second reason is lack of basketball IQ on the coaching staff and no disciplined fundamentals.  Close outs slow and getting caught out of position make it easy for a team that can pass.

MACsouthwest.  I stand corrected the empty seats confused me. I'm surprised they don't draw more Besides Swat beat them by 32 in the Barn in early December

Swarthmore made short work of the Mules at the Barn beating them by 20.  Game was decided early as McClary keeps hoping the zone will stop a well coached team.  The guards were aggressively guarding Swat 5-7 beyond the 3 line while the middle was open for business.  Swat could have posted up a school bus in the middle  Bourne went 7 for 7 in the paint as part of Swat's 22 points in the paint in the first half.  Bourne finished the half with 15 points and Wiley chipped in with 11 for the half.


McClary also keeps trying to get Maserati performance  from his Ford Pinto offense.While Bourne and Wiley shot the lights out the Mules just shot.  LaRose, Schreer and Rindock went 2-14 in the first half and finished 5 of 29. Rindock finished with more TO (5)  than points (3).

Overall Swat shot 46% overall and 37% from 3s while the Mules,at home shot 27% overall and 19% from 3.  Werheim for the Mules was 4 of 5 to finish with 11. Wiley finished with 22, Bourne 17 and Yonda 13.  Wiley and Yonda were 7 of 13 from beyond the arc.

Swarthmore remains at the top of CC while the Mules may have locked up an early close to their season.

After earlier discussions about the men in stripes I paid pretty close attention and the refs seemed to be very even handed.  Of course that may be easier when the game is somewhat lopsided

The Dickinson/Muhlenberg game was one of the sorriest display of offense I have ever witnessed.  The final score 72-58 belied how poorly the game was played.  5 minutes into the game the Devils did not score a point.  It was 10-0.  For the first half they shot an abysmal 20% and not because of a smothering Mules defense.  Uncontested jumpers and lay-ups clanged off the rim.  Half time saw the Mules up 32-15.  However in true Mules fashion they managed to let a 20 point lead in the first half to fade back to 8 deep into the 2nd half.   Dickinson outscored the Mules 43-40 in the 2nd half . Fortunately for the Mules it turned in a foul shooting contest, the sole area they have executed well.

Romoki had 16 for the Devils while Wright,Allen and Melton hit double digits  as well.  Melton added 12 boards for a double double.  LaRose led all scorers with 17.  Mules shot 45% overall and 26% from 3 while Dickinson shot 30% overall and 24% from 3.  A truly sad day for CC basketball

The Mules snapped their losing streak beating King's College however high fives are not in order.  For King's it was their 11th straight loss and now sport a 4-13 record   King's final shot attempt rolled off the rim to give the Mules a 1 point victory after leading by as much as 9 points.  King's sealed their own fate hitting only 9 of 20 of their free throws while the Mules hit a sizzling 23 of 27.
Offense was in limited supply for both teams.  Rutecki was game's leading scorer knocking in 18 for Kings as Baez led the Mules with 12 going 5 of 7. Rindock was only other Mule in double figure.  LaRose went 2 of 6, with 10 turnovers, to put up 9 on a 2 of 7 attempts.

Mules back at home for conference game against Dickinson Thursday

Mules is same story different day.  Early on it was 16-16 tie.  Hopkins went on a 13-0 run and the game for all purposes was over. McLeod started strong with 11 points for the Mules but got into foul trouble.  Rindock hit 2 3s in the first couple of minutes then 4 for the balance of the night.  LaRose was contained and shot 2 of 7 while Schreer disappeared going 0-6 and 0-4 from deep.

Hopkins had a well balanced attack as Gordon canned 17 to lead JHU 5 players in double digit.  Hopkins had 30 points in the paint and 20 off of turnovers.


Simple story of one team rising and one falling

Unlike their last game the road was unkind to the Bears.  They held a slim lead at half but McDaniel came out with an aggressive man-to-man defense and went up by a couple of buckets while holding the Bears scoreless for the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half.  The Bears never really recovered.

McDaniels turned 14 turnovers in 16 points.  The McDaniel's D held Ursinus to 42% shootong overall but 24% from 3s.  McWilliams had 21 for McD while Cannon added 19.  Knowles Quattro and Janicot had double figures for but Williams coming off a huge games against the Mules was held to 5.

Hard fought game by both teams

GoDiplomats:  If the Mules did this If the Mules did that. I don't think the standings are W-L-Ifs??  So 3-4 of Williams 3s were contested? So 5-6were wide open. Never said Zone was a poor defense.  Poorly played zone is.  Defense is effort plain and simple. 

Better composure and communications but they  outplayed and outcoached??  9 games into the conference schedule with a veteran squad is having a composure and communications problems??   If you outplay and outcoach a team you don't blow a 14 point lead at home