MBB: Liberty League

[Hoaf]

I'm with you shooter, just because a team is a little over .500 doesn't mean it's a good team.

Now if you make the argument that Union's freshman guards hadn't come into their own yet. I might buy that.

[UCAAHoops21]

what does everyone think at the halfway point???

Player of the 1st half?
Rookie of the 1st half?
Coach of the 1st half?

What team will fall from the top 4 & what team will come up from the bottom?

[d3lifer]

Well anyway my last reply to the subject strength of conference was a point I was trying to make and by no means was I saying that because they over .500 that they were good, just simply refuting that it was a week schedule.

On to other topics,

Player of 1st half: TK
Rookie of 1st half: not sure
Coach of 1st half: Chris Downs

Vassar might be the the on to fall, but that may only come down to coaching. They do have a group of players though that play well together and have for a couple of years.

[labart96]

Bart's LL freefall looks likely to continue tonight vs. Union.  It just doesn't seem like Coach Izzy has the talent to compete with most teams in the league.

However, Bart did sweep the series last season against the Pass the Dutchies on the Left Hand side......but that was last year, not this year.

[shooters]

Player of the 1st half: TK I guess, but not by much
Rookie of 1st half: guard from Skidmore
Coach of 1st half: Mike Dutton (how can you go against this team's turnaround?)

[DDirty22]

A few things: b4the3isme you are gonna wish that you jumped on the Vassar bandwagon.  Hamilton was lucky to escape Poughkeepsie with a win.  The brewers lead the entire game and only lost because several calls did not go their way including a three point shot the hamilton made with under 3 minutes in the game even though it clearly hit off the 24 second clock.  Secondly, what a wuss that Hamilton coach is.  It is widely known that going to Hamilton is a difficult place to play but you do not see coaches complaining about the fans.  However, when Hamilton enters a raucous gym, the coach complains the entire game about the support the vassar fans where showing their team.  Third, TK is no joke... without him Hamilton would be nothing.  Fourth, with two more wins this weekend Vassar will prove that they are the class of the league dispite all you doubters.  Lastly, Mike Dutton as coach of the year?  I do not think so, he is just blessed with exceptional talent but in terms of x's and o's he is nothing special.

[b4the3isme]

dd22 - I'm not on there yet...  the Vassar bandwagon yet, that is...  The team that seems to fly under the radar on this map is SLU.  When all the smoke clears I'm of the belief that SLU and Hamilton are the top two and I'm not sure which one is the top dog.  Union is pretty good but not league champion material and Vassar hasn't proven themselves to me totally yet.  If I had to pick a team that backs up it would be Union and a sleeper to sneak into the 4th spot might be RPI.  Clarkson after a promising start in its non-league schedule is stick a fork in them done unless they sweep the table which is unlikely since they only have two home games left. Hobart is too inconsistent to climb and unless something divine happens Skidmore will do well to climb out of the cellar.

[Caz Bombers]

Gonna check out the SLU-Vassar game tomorrow afternoon as part of a Po-Town doubleheader before heading across town to the Marist game.  Will report back with thoughts on the Saints and Brewers.

[clearconceit]

The Coach of the year is Bob Montana.  Period!
He does more with less talet year in and year out than anyone else.  He could take his x's and beat your o's, and then take your o's and beat his x's.

[rjcarter8]

The Coach of the year is Bob Montana.  Period!
He does more with less talet year in and year out than anyone else.  He could take his x's and beat your o's, and then take your o's and beat his x's.

I have to agree clear. Looking at how many players Union had to replace with freshman and seeing the Dutchmen at 7-2 in the league right now, I'd have to give him the nod.

Of course, that could change if everything comes crashing down the rest of the way. Union's got a tough one today — at Hamilton — plus still games against St. Lawrence and Vassar.

[shooters]

Ok I will go with Montana but his teams seem to beat up on the little guys and he doesn't seem to be able to get the big wins in the league. His team got drilled by 40 last year in the conference finals. I mean it just seems his teams are just good enough to make it interesting. And as far as talent and coaching goes who gets the credit for getting the recruits? Vassar and Dutton have good players and if he is average coach and gets above average talent and wins games does that equate to being a good coach? I would like to think so. Its like Montana, ok he doesn't have much talent but finds a way to make it competitive, well if he can't recruit good players then how good of a coach is he? I dont know just some thoughts. Hamilton wins in a close game over Montana this afternoon, so its a two horse race w/ St. Lawrence and Hamilton for the top spot. I am still awaiting a vassar score.

[met_fan]

Got a score on that Hamilton/Union game?

[met_fan]

nevermind - 63-58 Hamilton

[Caz Bombers]

Glad I went to the Larries-Vassar game today, excellent ending.  SLU wins 83-81 in OT as Tom Wopperer hits a 3 with 3.1 seconds left in regulation to tie it and freshman PG Josh Sharlow sliced through the Vassar defense for the winning bucket with 8 seconds left in OT.  VC couldnt get a shot off at the buzzer.  Sharlow had 21 to lead all scorers while Tyson Brazell had 15for Vassar.  St. Law did a good job doubling Avitabile and erasing him offensively late (still had 14 pts) but he had 3 key blocks after halftime and generally was a big disruption to what the Saints tried to do.  Richard Williams also with 19 for St. Lawrence.  This is a team that's really going to rip up the LL over the next 2 years with most all their key guys being rookies or sophs.

Great atmosphere at Vassar and credit to the students for getting involved and loud.  Also, whoever said their girls were ugly...well I guess their, umm, "recruiting" has improved drastically of late.

[rjcarter8]

Ok I will go with Montana but his teams seem to beat up on the little guys and he doesn't seem to be able to get the big wins in the league. His team got drilled by 40 last year in the conference finals. I mean it just seems his teams are just good enough to make it interesting. And as far as talent and coaching goes who gets the credit for getting the recruits? Vassar and Dutton have good players and if he is average coach and gets above average talent and wins games does that equate to being a good coach? I would like to think so. Its like Montana, ok he doesn't have much talent but finds a way to make it competitive, well if he can't recruit good players then how good of a coach is he? I dont know just some thoughts. Hamilton wins in a close game over Montana this afternoon, so its a two horse race w/ St. Lawrence and Hamilton for the top spot. I am still awaiting a vassar score.

Don't forget to take into account admissions standards and financial aid packaging. Union's are a little tougher than some of the other schools in the league — not all, just some. For example, things may have been a little different in the LL if Welchons had gone to Union instead of Hamilton, had he gotten into Union. Just some food for thought.