MBB: Little East

[ECSUalum]

ECSU...Contrats to your team for making the top 25...somewhat late I know.
Should also congrat. your school for beating WCSU tonight.  Seems that your team's balanced offense overcame the 33 points from Mr. Brooks.  Does anyone else on the WCSU team ever get the ball?
Yes, I'm hoping that ECSU will play Amherst at Amherst....as Amherst host one of the regional NCAA sites....like WPI did last year. 
Wishful thinking since Amherst lost to Wes. at Wes. by 1 tonight.  Amherst needs to work on its foul shooting if it wants to win their conference and host a post season game.

Thanks Amh63,
Just arrived home from Willi, it was a great game to watch, and we had a packed house at the gym, with lots of western fans as well.
It will be a VERY interesting game at Weslyan this Feb!!!  Would be fun to come up to Amherst to watch a reg or post season game  in what looks to be a great facility and against a team with a great Basketball history, men and women!! Would be good experience for the Warriors.
Good Luck to the Lord Jeffs down the stretch!!

[7express]

LOL just lost a whole message because my internet sucks, and since I don't remember and don't feel like writing it again, I'll leave it at that.  Since all star already posted the games today, I'll just leave it with the schedule Saturday:

Keene @ Dartmouth
Boston @ Western
Plymouth @ RIC
Eastern @ USM (the dreaded road sandwich game; bonus points because it's an overnighter for the Warriors; this has Plymouth vs. Western written all over it).

[AllStar]

7express:

I'm sorry if I'm steeling your duties.     Let me know if you'd rather post the results and I will stop.

[7express]

Nah go for it, I usually post them as well, but I had a long paragraph written up, and then my internet crashed before I posted it, so I lost it all, so I just posted the schedule instead.

All I was going to say about West Conn is this (and LECFan mentioned most of this already so this will be short).  I knew and LECfan knew the problem of this team this year was going to be Brooks playing 1 on 1 basketball; that's not the strength of the team, and everyone needs to get involved.  Until this team gets a CONSISTANT (not 1 game good next game ok, next game terrible) 2nd or 3rd scoring option, this team will finish a step behind RIC & Eastern this year since both of those teams have a balanced scoring attack, and while those 2 teams are resting the Tuesday after the regular season in preparation of the LEC semifinals, this team will have to play that opening round game because we couldn't get a 2nd consisant scorer after Brooks, and also because the defense is a lot worse then those 2 teams are.  Hopefully we can get Jensen back in time for the RIC game next Tuesday, because he was shooting the ball extremely well before he went down.  I also think with more game action Spud (Jengodji) Gates could be that other scoring option.  Taking out Brooks who had over half the points this evening (never good when 1 player has over half your teams points), Gates (10 points-majority in the first half) and Briddter (8 points, most in the 2nd), were the only other 2 people that knew there was a game going on, the rest of the team was invisible (10 combined points of the other 7 people that played in the game), and also, taking out Brooks, the rest of the starting 5 contributed 3 (that's right 3!!!) points.  THAT'S what I'm talking about getting consistant scoring.  And also, the late game possessions have got to be better then Brooks taking a couple dribbles around the perimeter, then launching an off balance 3 pointer with a hand in his face.

[warrior]

PS  Our game had a very strange and rare call - Jamie Kohn was given a technical foul for hanging on the rim! He had just made a great baseline move to the basket and finished with a dunk.  With players beneath him, he was forced to pull himself up and change direction to land safely.  The ref felt he was up there too long and called the T.  The crowd went crazy, but the call stuck!  (Fortunately for us, Western only hit one of the free throws.)  With dunks pretty rare in our league, I thought it was a shame to  ruin the moment, especially since Jamie wasn't 'rubbing it in' , but just looking for a safe landing - but I guess the ref was just calling it as he saw it.   

7express - I agree, Gates and Briddter are excellent players who made some tough shots. 

[7express]

yah, even I can admidt that technical was an absolute joke, and should not have been called: 1) There were players beneath him and 2) He didn't slap the backboard, didn't pull himself up, or didn't hang on and taunt the Western players.

I think I was listening to Doug Gottleib on ESPN talk earlier this year about technical fouls on dunks.  He said something to the effect of: "as long as you don't taunt the opposistion (being hanging onto the rim for an incredibily long time I'm talking 15+ seconds), or slap the backboard, then a technical should NEVER be called on a dunk attempt, because you risk serious ankle/knee injuries on the dunker with him wanting to get down, and got that tech for the "hanging onto the rim too long" even if there's players beneath him."

[mass_d3fan]

"Until this team gets a CONSISTANT (not 1 game good next game ok, next game terrible) 2nd or 3rd scoring option, this team will finish a step behind RIC & Eastern this year "

From I saw when WCSU played WPI, this is the common trap most teams fall into when they rely on one guy to carry them as Western does.  Brooks played a great game here in Worcester, BUT when he decided it was time for him to take over, you can just see the effort level and intensity leave his teammates on the offensive end.  They know he is not going to give up the ball and it becomes one guy trying to do his thing and 4 guys watching.  Works great when he is hot, or your opponents open the door with turnovers or poor shot selection, but when the opposition is playing better or is an outright better team, it just becomes bad basketball.

[wcsu91]

@ 7Express:  Being a West Conn fan very frustrating right now with Brooks being the only guy who seems to shoot. If I am not mistaken Gary Robinson played 38 minutes last night and has 2 points and that is it. SMH. Pellitier no points. Do who know why Robinson very rarely seems to step up in big games and be a physical player for his 6'7" size? And any explanation as to why Peliteir looks afraid to shoot the ball at times. Seems like he has a lot of potenial from 3 point land but is always looking to pass it off instead of taking the shot. Hopefully Jensen comes back soon. Let me know your thoughts on Robinson and Pelitier please.
Thanks and hopefully we rebound on Sat against Boston with a HUGE came coming up on Tuesday at home against RIC.

[7express]

Regarding Robinson: I'd like him to be a force in the paint more, but his game is shooting from the outside.  He didn't even have a lot of shot attempts last night either.  Late game possessions last night I would have liked to see WCSU set a screen for Robinson on the wing or at the top of the key and give him an open look where he's deadly, much better then Brooks taking an off balance 3 being face guarded.

Regarding Pelitier: He seems to take a lot of shots earlier in the game (first 5 to 10 minutes).  If those shots aren't falling then he becomes afraid to shoot and looks to pass it, if he makes them he'll continue to shoot.  Like Robinson, the outside shot is his game, but even if your missing them, keep shooting, its your shot and you'll start to hit it sooner or later.

@mass_d3fan: Just as you said, the Brooks shooting show works against teams like Boston & USM who aren't very good, or against a team that leaves the back door open with stupid turnovers/poor shots like Keene & WPI did, but when were playing a very good team like RIC & Eastern, teams that play good defense and have high basketball IQ's, there just going to leave a man on Brooks and make him take off balance jumpers because those teams know he's not giving up the ball.

As for Jensen, I heard he's going to try to be back for the Boston game on Saturday but is 99% likely to return for the RIC game on Tuesday; that would be a big help if he is.

[LECFAN32]

im surprised that robinsons game hasnt evolved a little more during his career as he is largely the same player as he was when he got here. 6'7 forwards with long arms should make a killing in this league, im surprised that at least a faceup game in the post was never added - eastern clearly saw where his strengths were and gave him little room to breath on the perimeter, and when your shooting mechanics start at your hip and have very little lift, its almost impossible to get a shot off.

pelletier is prettymuch a poor mans jensen,  shoots the open 3 well, not so much when contested, and not much going on off the dribble (some to the right, nothing to the left). good spark off the bench, not a legitimate starter on an ncaa tourny team. getting mark redding back will improve the ball movement a bit and at least give somebody who will attack the basket from the middle of the floor, and in a zone.

as expected luis bridtter has started to develop and looks like hell be a nice scorer in the coming years and a tough machup as he gets stronger. also gates being able to score in bunches without being in the flow of the offense or being in shape (judging by his speed with the ball and lift compared to last season) is encouraging.

[7express]

Saturday predictions:

Keene 75 @ Dartmouth 72. 
Tough 3 day stretch for Keene; have this game, than play in Willimantic 3 days later in what could shape out to be a game for first.  Keene absolutely destroyed them in New Hampshire last month; it will be a lot closer, but Keene has a lot more weapons, and they'll win a close game.
Boston 53 @ Western 85.
Here's the 2nd half of our LEC schedule after this game: vs. RIC, @ USM, @ Dartmouth, vs. Eastern, vs. Keene @ RIC vs. Plymouth.  With the exception of Conn College in our lone non LEC game there is not ONE GAME on that schedule where I can confidently point to and say, "yah, that game will definitely be a win.  We don't have to worry about losing that game."  We should beat USM, but that's on the road, it's an extremely long trip, and they play tough at home.  We probably should beat Dartmouth, but the last 2 meetings (both at home) have been decided by 4 points.  We could beat Keene at home, but they always play us tough, and have a great offense.  We should beat Plymouth at home, but they already beat us once this year, and who says they can't do it again??  The point I'm trying to make is, we have to gain some sort of momentum going forward, so we have to play a full 40 minutes of basketball.  Boston is a team we should be able to beat by double figures easily, let's go out there, play some team basketball, and get the train rolling again for the 2nd half of the season.
Plymouth 62 @ RIC 85.
Another team that hasn't played well it's last couple game.  I think Plymouth keeps it close for a while, but RIC will run away at the end.
Eastern 73 @ USM 72.
The dreaded "road sandwich game."  In between home games against Western & Keene, Eastern has to take the long trek up to Gorham, Maine and play a not so good USM team.  Last year about this time a week and a half earlier, USM knocked off RIC in a home contest, and they'd love to hand the Warriors their first loss of the season.  The only reason I'm not picking USM (and let me tell you I really want to), is the Plymouth win over Western last week woke up the rest of the conference in how you can't overlook teams.  if I'm coach Geitner, I print out 20 copies of the Western/Plymouth boxscore, hand them to each player as they get on the bus, make the players look at it on the ride up tonight, and the first thing I talk about tomorrow in the pre-game speech is that game last weekend.  This will be another game which will be a lot closer then it should be, but Eastern prevails in the end.

[gordonmann]

Check out Around the Nation for a nice piece on West Conn and DaQuan Brooks.

http://www.d3hoops.com/columns/around-the-nation/2011-12/eliminating-the-negative

[7express]

Yup, it has to snow on the one Saturday were home in a stretch of 4, we're on the road 3 times.  Driving from my house to Danbury in the snow is 1,000 times worse then driving from my house to USM in the snow, just because there's no highways from here to Danbury, and I risk getting my stupid car stuck on that hill.  Could end up watching my first LEC conference game live on the computer today 

[7express]

Boston a 20-8 run to take a 24-20 lead 6:20 left.
RIC up 14-0 12:53 left
Keene 17-12 13:17
Eastern 12-9 13:21.  Early scores in the LEC so far.
RIC up 11 27-18 3:01 left
Keene and Dartmouth tied at 32 4:52 left
USM up 21-18 2:37 to play
RIC up 34-23, Akrinrola with 14 on 6-7 shooting
Dartmouth up 41-36.  Lance Greene with 18, Ryhan Martin has 22 to lead the Owls
USM up 26-22.  Nick Nedwick with 9 for the Warriors.
RIC 51-34 7:36
Dartmouth 57-51 9:02
Eastern has taken the lead over USM 49-44 4:42 to play
RIC wins 61-43
Keene up 1 69-68 8 seconds left shooting free throws
Eastern has outscored USM 36-18 in the 2nd half and are running away with a 14 point lead 20 seconds left

[7express]

Western up 28-27 3:27.  Needless to say this hasn't inspired much confidence with RIC coming in 3 days.
Western ends half on a 21-8 run to go up 41-33 at halftime.
52-45 Western 14:50 left in the half.
60-52 Western 12:06.  2 straight 3's by Robinson.
65-61 Western 5:49 left. 
72-65 4:19 left.  Brooks had hit our last 4 field goals.
Final: Western wins 82-73