MBB: Liberty League

[ronk]

 A worthwhile effort on your part - may possibly spread to others doing the same with their favorite conference. Interesting from an strength(weakness) of schedule perspective.

[stlawus]

Thanks for the compilation, that no doubt took some time to compile. 

From a tentative standpoint Ithaca likely has the top SOS and Union has the weakest.

Hard to believe it's almost October already.   No rosters have been posted yet so it's hard to make a definitive prediction.  However, I've been able to put bits and pieces together for some teams.   It seems that Angbazo is back for a 5th year for RPI which definitely helps.  I think the Engineers will have another solid season, probably at least top 3.  Losing Black will hurt but there's one or two very good first years coming in.

I thought Ithaca would be returning Spellman and Stern for 5th years but it appears that both have moved on.  That leaves one starter returning for the Bombers.  Not ready to say it's a rebuild year since you can never count the Bombers out.

Skidmore graduated all but one starter, which includes Kupstas.  Time will tell how their incoming class shapes out.

Vassar it seems graduated literally every single senior from last year which included basically the entire starting rotation.

All SLU seniors graduated including 2 starters.  2 transfers incoming for the Saints, one who will likely immediately slot in for Engelhardt's spot, and on paper is an upgrade at the stretch 4.

Hobart actually just posted their roster, and looks like they graduated all seniors eligible for a 5th year this season.  Big shoes to fill with the graduation of Jackson Meshanic.

Union lost quite a few 5th years who did most of the scoring, and it appears Justin Regis also graduated.  The Garnet have the league rookie of the year returning along with at least one solid incoming recruit.

Not sure if Clarkson has any 5th year returners, but they do bring back some good players like Dalgety.  2nd leading scorer Ryan Miles-Ferguson might be coming back for a 5th but no confirmation.  Would like to see the Golden Knights put together a consistent slate of performances this season, they have the ability to beat anyone with their defense and 3 point shooting.

RIT, I just don't know even if they bring back 5th years. Until they play defense I don't think you can count on anything until proven otherwise. 

Bard brings back a lot including who I thought should have been rookie of the year.  Another coaching change so we'll see how they handle that.  Bard has had a couple good seasons in years past, but were never a threat to beat any team in the league like they are now.  There is no easy out in the Liberty League these days.

[Caz Bombers]

for Bard, the Columbia game is an exhibition (real game for Columbia) and they are playing Russell Sage not Albany Pharmacy.

[Jersey42]

for Bard, the Columbia game is an exhibition (real game for Columbia) and they are playing Russell Sage not Albany Pharmacy.

Good catch on Pharmacy/Sage. I started pulling this together several weeks ago when Pharmacy was listed on the schedule.  I missed the update to Sage.
Even though neither Bard or Columbia lists the game as an exhibition, what you say makes total sense.  If I remember correctly, the D3 limit is 25 games.  A real game would put Bard one over.

[ronk]

 As an exhibition game for Bard, the Columbia game will take the place of one of their 2 allowed preseason scrimmages.

[warriorcat]

Just an additional data point for St Lawrence on their OOC schedule.  They will definitely face an NCAA tournament team in their second game at the Williams Tournament because Worcester State was an NCAA team last year  It would be either Williams or Worcester for SLU.

[Jersey42]

Here is an updated list.  No guarantees that I did not miss something else.

Bard
SUNY Delhi
@ Columbia (exhibition)
@ Hudson Valley Classic - Mount St Mary
@ Hudson Valley Classic - SUNY New Paltz
Russell Sage
@ Old Westbury
@ Oglethorpe Tournament - Oglethorpe
@ Oglethorpe Tournament - Belhaven

Clarkson
Plattsburg State
@ Hilbert Tournament - Hilbert
@ Hilbert Tournament - Allegheny or Lancaster Bible
@ Oswego State
@ SUNY Potsdam
Vermont State Lyndon
SUNY Canton

Hobart
@ St John Fisher
Morrisville State
Brockport
@ Rochester
Wells
@ Florida Sunshine Shootout - Immaculata
@ Florida Sunshine Shootout - St. Scholastica

Ithaca
@ Cortland
@ Hamilton
@ Bridgewater State Tournament - Bridgewater State
@ Bridgewater State Tournament - WPI or Johnson & Wales
Utica
Rochester
@ Carnegie Melon

RIT
@ Wells
@ Crosstown Shootout - St. John Fisher
@ Crosstown Shootout - Nazareth
Alfred State
RIT Tournament - Gallaudet
RIT Tournament - Elmira
Rochester

RPI
@ Oswego State Tournament - Keuka College
@ Oswego State Tournament - Oswego State or SUNY Poly
@ SUNY Poly
@ SUNY Delhi
SUNY Cobleskill
@ Utica Classic - Connecticut College
@ Utica Classic - Utica or Colby Sawyer

St. Lawrence
@ SUNY Potsdam
Plattsburg State
@ Williams Tournament - St. Joseph's (LI)
@ Williams Tournament - Williams or Worcester State
@ Oswego State
SUNY Geneseo

Skidmore
SUNY New Paltz
@ SUNY Potsdam
@ Emmanuel Tournament - Wesleyan
@ Emmanuel Tournament - Emmanuel or Endicott
Hartwick
@ Middlebury

Union
Mount Saint Vincent
@ Sarah Lawrence
@ SUNY Cobleskill
Union Tournament - Elms
Union Tournament - Hartwick or SUNY Maritime
Farmingdale State

Vassar
Gallaudet
Haverford or SUNY Purchase
Williams
@ Hudson Valley Classic - Mount St. Mary
@ Hudson Valley Classic - SUNY New Paltz
@ Western Connecticut Tournament - The College of New Jersey
@ Western Connecticut Tournament - Western Connecticut State


edit - Added Hamilton and SUNY Delhi as 2023 NCAA tournament teams.

[Greek Tragedy]

Nicely done everyone. Scooby snacks for everyone!

[stlawus]

Well it's almost that time.  Board was not as active last season as it usually is, but wondered if anyone had preseason thoughts in terms of league polls, rosters etc.   League lost quite a bit due to graduation last spring, so league's fairly open from my perspective.  Would imagine SLU and RPI will be picked in the top 3 since they bring back the most.  Ithaca lost a ton, Vassar lost every single starter, Hobart lost 3 starters including the league POY and Skidmore lost 4 starters.     RPI has Angbazo back for a 5th year and should still be solid.  Losing Dom Black hurts but I can't imagine their defense suffers much if at all. 

SLU loses Trent Adamson and Will Engelhardt.  Adamson was an offensive and defensive threat and Engelhardt was clutch down the stretch last year.  SLU is hoping the few transfers pick up where those guys left off.  SLU will have the entire backcourt back which will help matters.

Will be curious to see how Clarkson fares.  Beat SLU twice last season and could have won some games against good competition (played Oswego incredibly close for 30 minutes) due to good defense and 3 point shooting.  They have a 5th year back in Ryan Miles-Ferguson and Dalgety is a very solid player. 

Can't imagine it gets much worse for Union after last season.  They lose a lot of scoring but have a pretty good incoming class and reigning league ROY. 

[Jersey42]

I believe only three of the All Liberty League players from last year are returning. Angbozo and Syroka are definite and I understand that Kevin Ryan is enrolled at RIT so I assume he will play.

ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
Trent Adamson, Sr., F, St. Lawrence
Dom Black, Gr., G, RPI
Tautvydas Kupstas, Sr., G, Skidmore
Jackson Meshanic, Sr., F, Hobart
Luka Radovich, Gr., F, Ithaca

ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
Jonny Angbazo, Sr., F, RPI
Riley Greene, Sr., G, Skidmore
Avni Mustafaj, Sr., G, Vassar
Trey Syroka, Jr., G, St. Lawrence
Logan Wendell, So., F, Ithaca

ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION
Blake Gearhart, Sr., G, Clarkson
Jack Rothenberg, Sr., G/F, Vassar
Kevin Ryan, Sr., F, RIT
Greg Skoric, Sr., C/F, Skidmore
Patrick Walker, Sr., G/F, Hobart


edit - Logan Wendell returning, Kevin Ryan not returning

[stlawus]

Wendell is back for Ithaca, he's only a Jr.   He's the only Ithaca starter that's returning.

[Jersey42]

Wendell is back for Ithaca, he's only a Jr.   He's the only Ithaca starter that's returning.

Good catch.  The Liberty League all league release mixed up both the position and class for Wendell and Radovich.  I only noticed part of the mistake.

https://libertyleagueathletics.com/news/2023/2/27/liberty-league-unveils-2022-23-mens-basketball-awards.aspx

[thebear]

Nice Job, You have inspired me to do the same for the SUNYAC.

Two notes:  SUNY Delhi made the tournament last year from the NAC, and Hamilton from the NESCAC - so I believe should be in red.

Thanks for all the hard work.

[Jersey42]

Wendell is back for Ithaca, he's only a Jr.   He's the only Ithaca starter that's returning.

Nice Job, You have inspired me to do the same for the SUNYAC.

Two notes:  SUNY Delhi made the tournament last year from the NAC, and Hamilton from the NESCAC - so I believe should be in red.

Thanks for all the hard work.

I was able to modify the the two posts.

[stlawus]

Looks like everyone has their rosters up besides Skidmore.  Thought RPI would bring back more 5th years than just Angbazo but he's the only one, so they have 2 starters returning from last year.   No Kevin Ryan for a 5th year at RIT either, and the other big man they played last year transferred to Case Western.   League got pretty decimated by graduation losses now that the rosters are in. Looks like the coaching change affected Bard as well since a couple key underclassmen from last year are not on the roster.

I've compiled a list of teams and the amount of starters lost from last season:

Vassar- 5
Ithaca- 4
Skidmore- 4
RPI- 3
Bard- 3
Union- 3
Hobart- 3
RIT- 2
SLU- 2
Clarkson- 2

60% of starters from last season have either graduated or moved on.  Some teams are rough figures as starting lineups changed, but for the most part it's accurate.