MBB: Liberty League

stlawus · December 07, 2024, 08:36:13 PM

Very good weekend for RPI, it's pretty hard to sweep the North Country road trip. They had a good combination of playing well and getting many fortuitous bounces on the offensive side of the ball. Their defense is going to give them a high floor, so we'll see if there's any regression.

As I've said before, Hobart is getting everyone's best game being defending champs. They did well to tie the game in the last 10 seconds to force overtime but Vassar still prevailed. Hobart didn't lose at home last year along with SLU, and both have dropped home games so far. Now with RPI being the current top dog you might see some of that dynamic apply to them, but for now Hobart and SLU are for the most part getting the best from their opponents.

In a normal universe, allowing your opponents to shoot 25% and 29% in 2 home games would result in 2 wins, but SLU goes 1-1 on the weekend as they finally got some shots to fall against Skidmore. Syroka tweaked his previous injury in last night's game so he was out today, hopefully the long break allows him to get fully healthy.

d3hoopstories · December 08, 2024, 06:25:46 AM

Thanks for the recaps!

stlawus · December 08, 2024, 02:53:43 PM

So through this early stanza of the season, RPI and SLU are #1 and #2 in the country in defensive scoring, with 0.2 points in margin separating the two teams. SLU is #1 in country in field goal percentage defense, picking up where they left off last year where they were also #1 in that category for a long stretch. So by any objective measure these are two absolutely elite defensive teams. Pack line and 2-3 zone, very Bennett/Boeheim like things happening in the Liberty League.

stlawus · December 08, 2024, 08:20:44 PM

Talking to myself here, but one thing that's bothering me is that SLU and Clarkson are the only teams that will play 6 consecutive road games 2 seasons in a row. That does not seem equitable.

Greek Tragedy · December 10, 2024, 07:36:36 PM

Quote from: stlawus on December 08, 2024, 08:20:44 PMTalking to myself here, but one thing that's bothering me is that SLU and Clarkson are the only teams that will play 6 consecutive road games 2 seasons in a row. That does not seem equitable.

No worries. Sometimes I feel the same way in the WIAC board. I've been told there are plenty of lurkers that read the boards, so maybe we aren't as alone as we think we are. I appreciate your posts.

stlawus · December 10, 2024, 08:37:49 PM

Yea I can see plenty of people viewing the threads at any given time, just no one wants to post which is understandable as I am prone to shooting my mouth off at times. I have noticed that some new contributors pop up every season which could be due to a constant stream of discussion even if it's just from me, a permission structure if you will. Just feels like someone has to stoke it, heavy lies the crown!

Greek Tragedy · December 10, 2024, 08:44:04 PM

Some of the old school regulars have moved to Twitter X, so whatever...

LLFan23 · December 10, 2024, 10:21:27 PM

I think another issue is that it takes so long to be approved, I know a few folks that have been trying to get on for awhile.

stlawus · December 10, 2024, 10:39:39 PM

Quote from: LLFan23 on December 10, 2024, 10:21:27 PMI think another issue is that it takes so long to be approved, I know a few folks that have been trying to get on for awhile.

Would certainly explain things. I didn't know there was still an approval process.

Greek Tragedy · December 11, 2024, 10:05:49 AM

I didn't know they had one at all. Maybe they didn't back when I started. If they did, I don't remember.

d3d3d3 · December 11, 2024, 09:11:01 PM

Maybe this has already been discussed at length, and if so, please forgive me.

What has happened to Skidmore?
5 LL Championships, last one in 2018-19, six trips to NCAA Tournament.
Then this:

2019-20: 7-18 (6-12) missed playoffs
2020-21: Covid
2021-22: 15-11 (9-8) #5 seed, lost in final
2022-23: 13-13 (11-7) #5 seed, lost in first round
2023-24: 4-20 (2-16) missed playoffs

Adding tonight's home loss to Vassar, Skidmore is 43-67 over the last six seasons, and 28-47 in conference play. They're already 0-3 in league play and RPI is their next conference opponent.

I've only been following LL hoops since 2011 or so, and I just always thought they'd be a perennial power like SLU and Hobart, especially because they have a great coach.

So what's going on?

stlawus · December 12, 2024, 03:52:22 AM

Quote from: d3d3d3 on December 11, 2024, 09:11:01 PMMaybe this has already been discussed at length, and if so, please forgive me.

What has happened to Skidmore?
5 LL Championships, last one in 2018-19, six trips to NCAA Tournament.
Then this:

2019-20: 7-18 (6-12) missed playoffs
2020-21: Covid
2021-22: 15-11 (9-8) #5 seed, lost in final
2022-23: 13-13 (11-7) #5 seed, lost in first round
2023-24: 4-20 (2-16) missed playoffs

Adding tonight's home loss to Vassar, Skidmore is 43-67 over the last six seasons, and 28-47 in conference play. They're already 0-3 in league play and RPI is their next conference opponent.

I've only been following LL hoops since 2011 or so, and I just always thought they'd be a perennial power like SLU and Hobart, especially because they have a great coach.

So what's going on?

Burke did an interview with the Hoop Heads Podcast in the offseason and talked about it a bit. He didn't dwell on it too much but he claims that Covid affected his recruiting pipelines in terms of not being able to identify and bring in the type of players that fit his culture from a leadership standpoint. That could be one explanation but the 19/20 season they were still pretty bad.

The league has gotten a lot more competitive as well. There used to be one or two teams every season and then everyone else. As mentioned Skidmore was usually one of those top teams. Significantly fewer opportunities for guaranteed/likely wins combined with the claimed recruiting issues could explain more losses, but I'm also perplexed at the sheer amount they've suffered. Injuries could be used as an excuse for some results last year, but that can only get you so far.

LLFan23 · December 14, 2024, 09:50:35 AM

There clearly has been a recurring struggle for skidmore in recent years. They haven't been able to find the top end talent that propelled them to success in earlier years. Even the team now doesn't compare at the top end to the strength of that squad that made the Liberty League finals with Kupstus, Green, and the older Skoric.

stlawus · December 27, 2024, 04:47:46 PM

Season is starting back up after the break this weekend, so figure I'd break things in with recruiting updates. From what I've been able to piece together, recruits for next year at this point are as follows:

Vassar- Preston Neuenhaus, 6'8" F, Saddle River Day School NJ

Skidmore- Will Wertz, 6'3" G, Governor's Academy MA

St. Lawrence- Tommy McMahon, 6' G, Deerfield Academy MA
Daniel Hoey, 6'5" G/F, Scarsdale HS NY

Pretty stoked for the SLU commits, 2 really outstanding players. Hoey was coveted by a lot of great programs including in-state rival Oswego. McMahon is flourishing as captain and starting PG at a great program in Deerfield. SLU is after a few more players that have yet to commit who would also be tremendous additions to the team, seems like Downs has hit a recruiting stride post covid.

Jersey42 · December 30, 2024, 12:13:13 PM

Union plays at Emory today. Union would be a huge underdog if there was a betting line. Matt Snyder has them as a 33 point underdog and Massey makes them a 21-23 point dog. Emory is currently ranked #1 in the d3hoops.com poll. According to Snyder's calculation, Emory currently has the best NPI in D3. So a victory over Emory on the road would currently be the best possible way to increase a team's NPI. I hope Union play's well and I wish them luck.