MBB: Little East

[magicman]

7express....still pondering.  Not to good in such play, and many other excuses including not smart enough for such things.  My days War gaming in Newport told me that fact.

You sandbagger!
I wouldn't be surprised if you already had an algorithm for this game, amh63.

I agree with middhoops...I think amh63 is sandbagging us. Watch him join and run away with the  pick 'em title.

[ECSUalum]

less than a month to go before BB season starts, cannot wait!!!

The preseason poll, for what its worth:

D3hoops.com men's Top 25, preseason
Entering the 2014-15 season:

# School (1st votes)      Rec Pts Prev.
1 UW-Whitewater (18) 29-4 614 1
2 Amherst                   27-4 526 4
3 Augustana (6)           20-8 495 --
4 Illinois Wesleyan (1) 27-5 475 3
5 Williams                   28-5 436 2
6 Calvin                      24-6 415 15
7 UW-Stevens Point      28-2 393 5
8 Albertus Magnus        28-3 350 12
9 Washington U.           24-3 322 6
10 Wooster                  26-4 309 10
11 Randolph-Macon      20-7 303 --
12 WPI                        22-5 280 25
13 St. Thomas              22-6 270 --
14 Dickinson                24-7 263 11
15 Emory                     19-9 253 14
16 MIT                         20-9 246 --
17 Whitworth                23-6 232 20
18 Wheaton (Ill.)          21-9 222 21
19 Virginia Wesleyan     24-7 218 19
20 Cabrini                     26-2 164 9
21 Scranton                  24-4 146 --
22 Texas-Dallas             27-4 98 13
23 Babson                     20-7 90 --
24 Christopher Newport 19-9 83 --
25 Centre                     24-5 81 --

Others receiving votes: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 74; Chapman 73; Wesley 73; DePauw 67; Mary Washington 64; St. Norbert 62; Whitman 52; Richard Stockton 48; Springfield 47; Hope 38; Eastern Connecticut 37; St. Olaf 31; Hobart 28; Chicago 19; Brockport State 18; Geneseo State 16; New Jersey City 12; Bowdoin 11; Plattsburgh State 11; Wittenberg 10; Rhode Island College 8; Staten Island 7; New York U. 6; York (N.Y.) 6; Widener 5; Morrisville State 3; Stevenson 3; Carthage 2; Tufts 2; Dallas 2; Grinnell 2; Johns Hopkins 1; Purchase State 1; Brandeis 1; Mount St. Joseph 1

[ECSUalum]

U of Southern Maine beats Bob Walsh's U MAine Blackbears in early exhibition game 78-73:

http://southernmainehuskies.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/2014110199vdoc

[7express]

Ooops!  That's good for USM, not good for Maine.

[AllStar]

Ooops!  That's good for USM, not good for Maine.

No doubt its a good look for Southern Maine, but I think its more of a reflection on the state of the UMaine roster really.  Walsh has a lot of work to do to make that program relevant.  It will be interesting to see how he does.  It's just ironic because he had no trouble beating USM at RIC...but then he goes to a D-I school and loses to them (albeit in an exhibition game).

[ECSUalum]

Ooops!  That's good for USM, not good for Maine.

No doubt its a good look for Southern Maine, but I think its more of a reflection on the state of the UMaine roster really.  Walsh has a lot of work to do to make that program relevant.  It will be interesting to see how he does.  It's just ironic because he had no trouble beating USM at RIC...but then he goes to a D-I school and loses to them (albeit in an exhibition game).

Coach Walsh probably played a lot of guys to ascertain the their quality and work on team chemistry, USM lost 4 seniors, 3 of which were scoring/rebounding leaders, ie Odneal, Sullivan, Penny.  However it loos like they picked up a couple of transfers from D-I or D-II, so we will see.

I hope Coach Geitner gets his 2014/15 roster out soon so I can see if they picked up any impact players.

[ECSUalum]

ECSU's 2014-15 roster:

http://gowarriorathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/roster

From what I can see freshman 5-11 guard Donny Craig from Watertown looks to be a good one!  Saw video of his play in State Championships and he looks to be a great shooter, even better defensive player, and looks to be a real leader.. the real deal!!!

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Donny+Craig+basketball&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=48D5697D161633CF4AB048D5697D161633CF4AB0

Tarchee  Brown from Rockville, a 6-3 200 lb guard also looks be be a key Coach Geitner newcomer.

Here is what was published on Oct 6 2013 in NERR re Brown:

The Hoop Group came into New England this weekend for two of their prestigious Top 100 Showcases.  The New England Top 100 took place on Saturday at Wentworth College in Boston while the New England Academic Top 100 was held on Sunday at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.  Here's a look at who stood out through the full weekend of action with the Hoop Group:

Tarchee Brown Rockville (CT) – The six-foot scoring guard is quick off the bounce with a handle to match, allowing him to make plays both in the open floor and half-court.

Brenden Young looks to be another 3 point specialist similar to Brian Salzillo!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSV8rJLuuOE

will check out some of the other frosh later

[7express]

ECSU's 2014-15 roster:

http://gowarriorathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/roster

From what I can see freshman 5-11 guard Donny Craig from Watertown looks to be a good one!  Saw video of his play in State Championships and he looks to be a great shooter, even better defensive player, and looks to be a real leader.. the real deal!!!

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Donny+Craig+basketball&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=48D5697D161633CF4AB048D5697D161633CF4AB0

Tarchee  Brown from Rockville, a 6-3 200 lb guard also looks be be a key Coach Geitner newcomer.

Here is what was published on Oct 6 2013 in NERR re Brown:

The Hoop Group came into New England this weekend for two of their prestigious Top 100 Showcases.  The New England Top 100 took place on Saturday at Wentworth College in Boston while the New England Academic Top 100 was held on Sunday at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.  Here's a look at who stood out through the full weekend of action with the Hoop Group:

Tarchee Brown Rockville (CT) – The six-foot scoring guard is quick off the bounce with a handle to match, allowing him to make plays both in the open floor and half-court.

Brenden Young looks to be another 3 point specialist similar to Brian Salzillo!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSV8rJLuuOE

will check out some of the other frosh later

Hey Alum, you know what teams Eastern have scrimmaged against??

[ECSUalum]

ECSU's 2014-15 roster:

http://gowarriorathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/roster

From what I can see freshman 5-11 guard Donny Craig from Watertown looks to be a good one!  Saw video of his play in State Championships and he looks to be a great shooter, even better defensive player, and looks to be a real leader.. the real deal!!!

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Donny+Craig+basketball&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=48D5697D161633CF4AB048D5697D161633CF4AB0

Tarchee  Brown from Rockville, a 6-3 200 lb guard also looks be be a key Coach Geitner newcomer.

Here is what was published on Oct 6 2013 in NERR re Brown:

The Hoop Group came into New England this weekend for two of their prestigious Top 100 Showcases.  The New England Top 100 took place on Saturday at Wentworth College in Boston while the New England Academic Top 100 was held on Sunday at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.  Here's a look at who stood out through the full weekend of action with the Hoop Group:

Tarchee Brown Rockville (CT) – The six-foot scoring guard is quick off the bounce with a handle to match, allowing him to make plays both in the open floor and half-court.

Brenden Young looks to be another 3 point specialist similar to Brian Salzillo!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSV8rJLuuOE

will check out some of the other frosh later

Hey Alum, you know what teams Eastern have scrimmaged against??

7, Sorry I don't.  I know last year they played Johnson and Wales

[7express]

Hopefully I'm not busy at work this week after tomorrow so I can put together the Expresses' annual LEC preview which is know everyone looks forward too!  I doubt I'll have it Monday or Tuesday but hopefully I can start it Wednesday.  Will be in my the time Saturday rolls around.  I'll give predictions and 1 game to watch from each team  (1 out of conference and the LEC game), basically all the usual stuff.

I'll have the Saturday schedule out by Friday night but hopefully earlier as well.  For any of the posters here (Alum, Warrior, Allstar) as well as the lurkers if you want to participate in a pick 'em league this year, check out the LEC pick 'em league!

[ECSUalum]

Hopefully I'm not busy at work this week after tomorrow so I can put together the Expresses' annual LEC preview which is know everyone looks forward too!  I doubt I'll have it Monday or Tuesday but hopefully I can start it Wednesday.  Will be in my the time Saturday rolls around.  I'll give predictions and 1 game to watch from each team  (1 out of conference and the LEC game), basically all the usual stuff.

I'll have the Saturday schedule out by Friday night but hopefully earlier as well.  For any of the posters here (Alum, Warrior, Allstar) as well as the lurkers if you want to participate in a pick 'em league this year, check out the LEC pick 'em league!

Anxiously looking forward to the Masters preview

[7express]

Let's start the LEC preview with a breakdown of the team-by-team schedules: Will give each school a grade and the most important of the non LEC games as well as the most important LEC game for each squad.  Usually I do this in what I think my predicted order would be but since I haven't done that yet, we'll go alphabetically instead:

Eastern Connecticut: http://d3hoops.com/teams/Eastern_Connecticut/Men/2014-15/index
Combined 2013/14 record: 223-129 (63.4winning percentage). Punching bags Conn College (9-14) and Newbury (3-22) are the easy ones.  Even though Rochester was terrible (10-15), the Palestra in Rochester is one of the tougher places to win in all of division 3 basketball.  Oneonta state (12-14) wasn't very good but Oneonta is playing right down the road @ Hartwick college while Eastern is playing a couple hundred miles down the road.  The final of the Eastern tip off tournament will be either a 14-11 Colby, a team who defeated Amherst last year or a 26-3 Purchase team again who should be one of the better teams this year.  York (22-8) an NCAA winner @ RIC which was Bob Walsh's last game there is on the opposite end at the Rochester tournament.  There are 3 NCAA tournament teams from last year: Amherst (27-4), Purchase & Hartwick (18-10).  They will get a 4th to that list if they do indeed end up playing York in Rochester.  The schedule includes 5 teams that reached the 20 win plateau in 2014, and 8 teams overall that finished with 18 or more wins last year.  A+.  The only question now is: can Eastern win some of these games this year??  That remains to be seen.
Most important non LEC game: January 6 vs. Amherst.  Getting this one wouldn't get Eastern automatically in the NCAA's but that would be a damn good win for the conference and a badly needed one against a top tier NESCAC team.
Most important LEC game: February 17 @ Western Connecticut.  The previous game to this @ Dartmouth and they open up the LEC season December 6 @ RIC.  If they can get through RIC & Dartmouth, Western maybe the last team standing in the Warriors way of another unbeaten run through the conference.
Keene State: http://d3hoops.com/teams/Keene_State/Men/2014-15/index
Combined 2013/14 record: 164-156 (51.3 winning percentage).  Plattsburgh (24-6) and Springfield (20-8) were the only 2 NCAA teams from last year, Middlebury (17-9) had a down year but should rebound, Castleton (19-9) is a pretty good team, Lasell (18-10) had one of the best seasons in school history last year, while Fitchburg State (2-22) was one of the worst teams in the country.  I'll be generous and I'll give them a C+.  At least they get Plattsburgh & Springfield at home.
Most important non LEC game: November 25 vs. Springfield.  Not as good as the top teams in New England, but still a quality opponent, and likely easier to get a win against than Plattsburgh would be.
Mass-Boston: http://d3hoops.com/teams/Mass-Boston/Men/2014-15/index
Combined 2013/14 record: 85-123 (40.9 winning percentage).  Seriously, how hard can it possible be for Boston to get games??  Let's do the breakdown here: The Beacons have 2 "tweener" games: @ Colby-Sawyer (14-11), vs. Bridgewater State (16-12), 1 game they should lose @ MIT (20-9) and 1 game they probably lose vs Tufts (13-12).  That's it for teams above .500!  As for the rest of the schedule, what a joke!  Newbury & Fitchburg who as I said finished a COMBINED 5-44 last season, and Pine Manor a team that has no official last year........................because it was a club team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm not being generous for the Beacons like I was for the Owls, F!  You're in Boston, I know why you play the city teams because it reduces travel costs, but c'mon, step it up!  Eastern had almost as many wins for 3 teams (Amherst, Purchase & Nichols [75]) then the Beacons did for their entire OOC schedule!  They don't say who's in the Thanksgiving tournament, so hopefully they can snag 1 or even 2 decent opponents.  I'm not saying grab Amherst or Williams, but a school like Husson or Castleton State would be good enough.
Most important non LEC game: I'd like to pick none of the above but since I have to pick one....January 15 vs. Bridgewater one of the 2 tweener games on the Beacons schedule.
The most important LEC game for both Keene & Boston is December 6 @ Keene.  Both the Owls & Beacons struggled last year and both have beatable opponents the following weekend: Keene plays USM at home, Boston plays RIC at home which is a huge wildcard.  The winner of that game has a good to decent chance to start the year off 2-0, Keene more likely to do so than Boston.

Mass-Dartmouth: http://d3hoops.com/teams/Mass-Dartmouth/Men/2014-15/index
Combined 2013/14 record: 167-122 (57.8 winning percentage).  1 really good team, Staten Island (28-3) at home, 1 really bad team, Curry (5-20), 1 pretty good team at home, Salem State (17-9), only 2 true road games @ Brandeis (13-12) and @ Bridgewater.  Play Messiah & Marietta as well in Florida.  I'll go with a B- for the Corsairs.
Most important OOC game: November 16 vs. Staten Island.  This could work for Staten Island too.  The Dolphins won 24 straight games to end last season after starting 1-2 but ultimately fell to York in the CUNY title game and missed out on the NCAA's.  The LEC doesn't get as big of recognition as it's NE counterparts the NESCAC does, but beating the Corsairs last year would have helped their cause.  For the Corsairs, the Dolphins should run through the CUNY once again, and getting a win against a team that's 20-5, 19-6, 21-4 would be a big feather in the Corsairs cap.
Most important LEC game: January 8 vs. Western.  Corsairs start off with 4 of 5 LEC games on the road with Western being the lone home game.  Starting 1-4/0-5/2-3 won't bury you completely for a top 4 spot, but for the top spot you could very well be cooked by the second weekend of January.  Even though the Corsairs end the season with 6 of 9 LEC games at the Tripp which will help them somewhat get out of an early hole if indeed they get into one, they still have to play RIC twice and the return road game @ Western.
Plymouth State: http://d3hoops.com/teams/Plymouth_State/Men/2014-15/index
Combined 2013/14 record: 161-150 (53.7 winning percentage).  10 of the potential 12 opponents finished with 10 more wins, but none really stand out.  Bowdoin (19-6), Endicott (18-10) and Salem State look to be the 3 best opponents.  C for the Panthers.
Most important non LEC game: November 25 vs. Castleton State.  Like the Beacons tough to find one with the Panthers because none of those are of the upmost importance, so I'll say Castleton and the poor man's Grinnell (are they still running parts of it??)  gets the nod.
Most important LEC game: February 21 vs. RIC.  The last few days the last day of the season really hasn't meant all that much.  If RIC struggles this year, this could be for the final home quarterfinal spot, or a quarterfinal preview.
Southern Maine: http://d3hoops.com/teams/Southern_Maine/Men/2014-15/index
Combined 2013/14 record: 155-178 (46.5 winning percentage).  Guilford (17-9), Bowdoin & Salem saved this from being worse than Boston's was!  D.
Most important non LEC game: November 30 vs. St. Joseph's (ME).  Big rivalry as the schools are located only a couple miles down US-202 from each other and last year USM won for the first time in like 4 or 5 years.  The Monks want that trophy back, but the Huskies are determined to keep it in Gorham.
Most important LEC game: February 21 @ Eastern.  If the Warriors have already won the conference by then but lost a game or 2, the Huskies could pick up a sneaky victory on the final day of the season, and a sneaky tiebreaker in the process vs. the rest of the conference, especially if the Warriors aren't giving it 100%.
Rhode Island College: http://d3hoops.com/teams/Rhode_Island_College/Men/2014-15/index
Combined 2013/14 record: 214-121 (63.9 winning percentage).  4 teams with 20 or more wins, 6 that finished 2014 with 18 or more wins.  Brockport (27-4) is a neutral court game, Johnson & Wales (23-7) is a road game but MIT & Amherst are home games.  A for the Anchormen.  Even though RIC's SOS is percentage points better than Eastern's was, the quality of teams are better on Eastern's end (5 teams with 20+ wins; 8 teams with 18 or more wins) as the Warriors schedule gets skewed a bit as 9-14 Conn College & 3-22 Newbury are ruining it.  That's why Eastern gets the A+, but RIC only gets the A.
Most important game non LEC game: November 15 vs. Brockport (@ Marymount).  Michael Brynes gets thrown right into the fire facing a team coming off a 27 win campaign and an NCAA tourney bid.
Most important LEC game: December 6 vs. Eastern Connecticut.  The perennial conference winners battle it out early once again.  Eastern swept them twice during the regular season including an embarrassing loss in the Murray Center, but RIC rebounded to win the 3rd game in the LEC championship.
Western Connecticut: http://d3hoops.com/teams/Western_Connecticut/Men/2014-15/index
Combined 2013/14 record: 149-117 (56.0 winning percentage).  Who would've ever seen the day perennial punching bags & bottom dwellers Vassar (19-8) AND Mitchell (19-8) would actually HELP an opponents SOS??  But that's exactly what those 2 did to Western!  Even taking out the worthless & useless trip to Maine to replace 2 games with a very good team in Plattsburgh that's still a pretty bad schedule regardless.  I know Mitchell and Vassar are greatly improved tams, but you have serious problems when those are your 3rd & 4th "strongest" OOC games.  And Pine Manor??  Seriously???  Danbury, CT is a hot bed for teams to come.  We should be able to get most of New England as well as New York south of Albany AND parts of New Jersey & Penn.  It would take me 700 hours to list all the teams that would be better than Pine Manor.  Since Pine Manor is comprised of ALL freshmen, what does beating a team of freshmen by 50 points prove??  If you're going to go that route, play a CT high school team for Christ's sake!  There's a couple pretty good high school teams in Stamford, Waterbury, Bridgeport & Hartford that have sent kids to division 1 schools and some even high end division 1 schools.  Even those teams would be better than Pine freaking Manor who was a club team last season!  D for the Colonials!  Should have and could have done a lot better especially where they are located.  Adding Plattsburgh and taking off Maine-Augusta & Maine-Presque Isle "improved" them from an F to a D.  Replacing Pine Manor entirely and replacing them with nobody would improve them to a C+.  Replacing Pine Manor with a good high school team would improve them to a C.  replacing them with a decent high school team would net them a C-.  Seriously, why are they playing that game??
Most important non LEC game: November 21 vs. Plattsburgh.  Mitchell & Vassar don't count as "marquee" wins, even though they'll likely be the 2nd & 3rd best wins on our OOC conference slate.  Western isn't beating Albertus, so Plattsburgh is that last chance to bump Mitchell & Vassar to "2nd & 3rd best OOC wins" instead of "best and second best OOC wins."
Most important LEC game: February 10 vs. RIC.  RIC has owned the season series between these 2 schools.  Western has kept most of the games close, but now that RIC doesn't have the pull of the officials anymore (at least for now) it's time to see if Western can turn the tide between the 2.

[ECSUalum]

7, nice job  +k

latest on ECSU:
http://gowarriorathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/mbb-preview14-15

[amh63]

7Express...thanks for the effort.  Will read it in depth tonight. plus K

[7express]

Part 2: my conference predictions and other award winners:

1) Eastern (12-2).  I don't think they'll get through unbeaten again, as they lost Salzillo & Garrow but have good returning pieces like Trachone Preston (the lone senior on the team), Kevin Leumene, Hugh Lindo, who for most of the season was superb and Brandon Kuczenski & David Canny who played well in stretches.  RIC will probably be worse, I'd have Dartmouth & Western about where they were last year, Plymouth improved all of those games will be stuff, but the Warriors still look like the top dog to me
2) Western (10-4).  Last year looked like it was supposed to be another rebuilding year; get out of the 5 win doldrum they had in 2013 replacing Brooks but they played well.  They STILL haven't posted a roster yet so not sure who's coming back/who's incoming, so this is pretty much a "throw a dart blindfolded and hope it hits somewhere on the board instead of hitting someone in the eye."
3) Plymouth (9-5).  I stand by what I said last year: If they can win 6 of 7 at home they only need to finish 3-4 on the road to get to 9 wins which should be good enough to host a quarterfinal.  Last year they got almost nothing from Alex Burt because Logan Kesty & Curtis Arsenault blew onto the stage.  IF Kesty and Arsenault can continue the progress in year 2 and Burt can have a season like he had in 2013 when he came out of nowhere, I have no doubt the Panthers will finish in the top half of the league.  Those 3 will be the engine in the Panther machine this year.
3) RIC (9-5).  Looks like they didn't really lose that many players when Walsh left.  Austin Cilley isn't listed on the roster, but maybe he's just a second semester add in.  Chris Burton is still there (seems like he's been a RIC forever), Victor Smith had a great year, Terrance Tribble showed promise as a freshmen and will only get better.  However, that's a lot of talent lost....most of it via the head coaching position.  Still think RIC will be at or near the top because Walsh left it in good hands but have to replace Tom DeCiantis the outside shooter, Michael Palumbo & Jacob paige were good role players, Nyheem Sanders, even though he missed most of last year anyways is gone as well.  And let's face it, RIC didn't exactly set the world on fire offensively last year, and aside from Burton & Smith they don't return many points.
5) Dartmouth (7-7).  Tucker Bouchard (who won the rookie of the year) & Ryan Walsh combined to average 28.6 points, 5.8 assists per game and each was a sharpshooter from 3 both hitting on over 40% of the 3 pointers they took last season; both are gone from the team this year!  Jake Laga is back, Abi Akanni had 11.6 points a game and Wale Abraham was a defensive presence in the middle with 9.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.4 blocks a game.  John Genkos returns after missing all of 2013 and he averaged 11.4 points a game in '13.  That's a lot of production, but replacing 2 players that averaged nearly 30 points a game is tough.
6) Boston (5-9).  Maybe a bit high considering the same edition went 0-14 last year but....for starters, that '14 team lost like 7 of their top 8 scorers from the previous year.  Two, even though they were winless they played team down to the wire: they had Western down to a 1 possession game inside of 1 minute the final day of the season, they played Dartmouth down the wire along with Eastern both in the regular season and the conference tournament game.  Keene lost Tre Tipton and wasn't that good last year.  USM graduated 3 of their top 4 scorers and finished 7th.
7) Keene State (4-10).  Still have Tom Doyle at guard and the 7 footer Nate Howard in the middle.  I see them being like the Beacons last year; they'll be in most games, but won't be able to close them out.  Unlike the Beacons however, they'll nab a few conference victories.
8) USM (2-12).  Weren't very good last year and lost the 2 best players in Conor Sullivan and James Odneal.  Their always good for stealing a few victories at home, but it looks to be tough sledding for them this year.

Player of the year:
Trachone Preston- Eastern Connecticut

First team:
Preston
Victor Smith-RIC
Wale Abraham-Dartmouth
Alex Burt-Plymouth (I know I gave him the kiss of death last year in this spot)
Carl Joseph-Boston
Kendall Marquez-Western Connecticut

LEC tournament:
Western over Eastern

NCAA teams:
1 if Eastern fails to play Purchase and loses to Amherst AND loses in the LEC tournament; 1 if Eastern plays Purchase and loses to both Purchase and Amherst AND loses in the LEC tournament; 1 if Eastern loses in the LEC tournament and records 5 or more losses against: Amherst, Nichols, Purchase (if they play), York-NY, Stevenson, Messiah, Marietta; 1 if Eastern wins the LEC tournament.
If Eastern can beat Amherst & Purchase than record 1 win against: Stevenson, Messiah, Marietta that will probably be enough to get them.  Going 14-0 in conference again probably gets them a dance ticket as well.
Only team this year I can see beating Eastern in the tournament is Western, so Eastern will decide how many teams go from the LEC.  And in case your wondering, what happens if Western beats Plattsburgh AND somehow beat Albertus and splits with Eastern during the season??  Likely not good enough because that schedule is horrendous and the conference looks bad for the 3rd year in a row.  They'll be this year's Staten Island in that case (inflated record due to playing crappy teams= no tournament)