MBB: MAC Freedom League

[BJ - DSU SID]

T-Minus 24 minutes till Tiger tees off.

I'll have my feet up in the office watching that action till the King's women get here for a 6 PM tip.

Predictions
Jones Bracket - Woods (DUH!)
Hogan Bracket - Stricker
Player Bracket - Weekley (I'll jump on that bandwagon...dude cracks me up)
Snead Bracket - Kim (makes birdies - key in match play)

One basketball note...if DeSales is a shoebox...what are Eastern and Manhattanville?  Jewelry boxes?

[chairman]

Match Boxes.

[mailsy]

That's good +1.  See Chair we are a friendlier group over on that CSAC thread. 

[naismith]

CJ,

Don't be surprised if DeSales gets Von Bulowed this evening-----A true "Reversal of Fortune"

Wilkes was in turmoil on the Bulldogs visit north.  Steve 'Claus' Kline sat and  and Kendall "Sunny" Hinze was food poisoned to a position on the bench.  On the return trip, Coach JR Dershowitz had yet to change tactics..... DeSales opened on a 14-0 run....game -set- match.......
But, tonight the Colonels have a chance to win on appeal. Coach JRD has made some changes. The offense has been revamped and the defense tweaked a bit. Judge Coval was seen in the building Monday taking notes.

It is a tall order......one might think it is an "Insanity Plea"......but stranger things have happened in the Freedom.

Naismith

If there's one thing I love, it's single elimination tournaments.  This is the best time of the year. No doubt.  And you guys are probably wondering what my predictions are for upcoming matches.  Here we go:
- I like the winner of the Anthony Kim / KJ Choi 2nd Round match to go to the Final Four
- I'll take #13 seed Boo Weekley to win the Player Bracket
- I'll go chalk and take Mickelson to win his regional.
- Give me #15 seed Kevin Sutherland to win Tiger's bracket, and the whole thing!  A #15?  I must be mad!

Oh, you wanted basketball info... eh, I'm not gonna try to top Naismith.  I'll defer to the mustached gentleman.  He knows more about X's & O's, and he's funnier.  I will, however, set a gambling line.  Wilkes @ DeSales last month was 65-50.  Nothing changed.  Set the line at DSU -15...

You miss us CJ???

NEPAFan, Scranton is like Tuberculosis.  If you're forunate enough to get rid of either of them, you don't miss them.  I'd rather a year's worth of days playing playoff games at that shoebox in Centre Valley, than 1 game in Scranton.  Take your "SAT Scores" chants from the student section, and hope that all those "like-minded academic institutions" care about them.

[ColonelJohn4Life]

- Give me #15 seed Kevin Sutherland to win Tiger's bracket, and the whole thing!  A #15?  I must be mad!

Aaaaaand Kevin Sutherland just lost... but he took a 2 seed to 19 holes!  Can I take Anthony Kim now??

On with the hoops.  Nais - let's hope you're on to something.  I saw the game at Leb Val, and wasn't captivated.  That was, however, without DeRojas.  It's a different squad at full strength, which hopefully Wilkes is tonight.

BJ - total non-sequitur here, but congrats on your girl LeighAnn Burke getting a SECOND Jostens bid.  That's damn impressive. 

[Warren Thompson]

CJ4L:

Do you ever pine for the days of Panko and Grabowski 3:16? When Jags was banned -- multiple times -- from this room? When the Burdett brothers rode around in style? When the College of Charleston-to-Wilkes transfer was trying to find the Wilkes campus and Rickrode's office (rumor has it that he's still wandering 'round the Coal Regions)?

Advise soonest ....

[BJ - DSU SID]

CJ4Life...sorry no going back on your picks now.  You pick a #15 seed, you have to stick with him.  Thru thick and thin.  I missed all the results...did our boy Weekley make it thru to Thursday's action.  Hope so.  Tiger looked good.  I wish my game could reach 1/20th of what his is.  For example on #1 today he hits his approach shot and looks as angry as ever as he watches it fly to the green.  Next thing you know its about 6 feet away.  Guess he wanted a tap in.  Later in the round he calls "FORE RIGHT" on I think it was #9 tee.  Ball hits the fairway and bounces 4-5 feet into the rough.  So apparently FORE RIGHT for Tiger is him yelling at the rough...cause usually his ball doesn't find the rough.  UNBELIEVABLE.

OK enough golf (although that statement makes no sense to me cause I can't get enough golf in my life.)

CJ...thanks for the Burke congraulatory remark.  Much appreciated.  She is a terrific player and an extraordinary person.  She'll be a friend of mine long after she graduates from DeSales.  And I'll be proud to be able to call her my friend.  Wonderful kid.  Not sure what her chances of winning that Jostens Trophy is, but she is well deserving if they pick her the winner.

As for tonight...sorry to disappoint the board, who almost 100% picked Wilkes to find a way.  Bulldogs played well, made shots, did the little things and are back in the title game.  Now we just need to figure out the trick to winning that thing they call a championship.

Stat of the night...DeSales has now won nine straight and 11-of-12 over the Colonels.  I know that's gonna make a lot of you "570ers" scratch your head and say really!!!  I was shocked myself when I saw that stat in my preparation for media notes yesterday.

Hope you all continue to conversate with me despite the loss tonight.  I am gonna need someone to talk with.

[chairman]

It's late, and the board is a little sleepy, but I'll throw a quick word out for those who were not able to be at the game in Purchase tonight.

1)  Manhattanville will remain a tough place to play
2) It seems only right that a gym have roughly comparable rims at the two ends.
3) If a crew is going to call 13 offensive fouls in a game, then it seems only fitting that they would protect the offensive players by calling hand-checking and reaching in as well.
4) A college gym should have two scoreboards
5) Trevoy Pointer hit two big three pointers late.
6) I think teams should be allowed to bring a portable lighting unit for the second half.
7)  Eastern is young, and they played like it at times.
8) It was really cool to see a fan bus with 50 kids make the midweek trip to see the game.
9) Free throws are really important late in games, and experience and skill combine to result in effectiveness on that.

[mid-range j]

its only fair for me to back that up now chair..

1. stop crying..if you would have won more regular season games then you wouldnt have to complain about manhattanvilles home gym..because you would have been playing in your own matchbox
2. first half was herendous on both ends (mville 12 TO's, eastern 16TO's)
3. Foul Calls - 23 on eastern 22 on mville - if they werent calling hand checks than why didnt eastern do it right back?
4. Soaries and Tucker are both great players - Soaries hit some unbelieveable shots under pressure and they are both going to be a handful for years to come..jason reels is also a strong player himself but had a lot of turnovers yesterday but hes prob one of the best in the conference at drawing contact and still getting the shot off..
5. Even though those guys are great. TREVOY POINTER proved he should be rookie of the year. LOOK IT UP...2 three's in crucnch time as freshmen?  cmon now, lets get serious!
6. Bring a flashlight next game if you are unhappy..
7. Eastern and mville played young at times


8.  eastern brought  a fan bus which was awesome and it made kennedy a battlefield..the fans were great

9. jus a little advice - you shouuldnt bring a cheerleading squad and circle at center court of the home team before the game..its only going to fire up the the valiants even more
10.. if you want to come on here and trash a school it shouldnt be a bitter time after you cant pull off a semi-final win


now its off to desales in which should be a great match up..

[lefty2]

I'm sure Chairman will have a retort as soon as he wakes up.

He must've hit the snooze button a couple of times after that 2:42 a.m. post.

[G-manWU]

Sorry I haven't been on here much- work and grad school has kept me pretty well tied up, and there's been plenty of news out of the Formula 1 world to follow and write about. I did manage to catch a few Wilkes games down the stretch, including the home game vs. King's and the game at Miseri.

I have zero passion for golf, so I won't even attempt to join that part of the conversation.....

Disappointing to see what has become a familliar ending for Wilkes- it was the same finale in my freshman and senior seasons of working with the team. Despite losing Kilne and Defeo, Wilkes will still have some very good parts returning next year, and hopefully they can finally put a good postseason run together. Since I haven't seen any of the other contenders this year, I won't make any statement about the upcoming title game.

BJ- I remember that last win over DSU quite well., Dave "buzzcut" Christman draining 3's, but we did just enough to hang on. In terms of great road wins from my time with Wilkes, it sits on the figurative shelf right next to the football wins at Widener from 2004 and 2006, along with the 2004 Mayor's Cup game that ended in a score of 12-6. Classic.

[chairman]

I think Herendous coached at Cabrini last year.

Seriously, the gym is very loud, and the intensity of the crowd being right on top of the game is a great challenge. that and a three hour bus ride make Home-court advantage what you work for in season. I am sure the number one lesson of the night is "Let's not drop two games at home and a silly one at FDU next year, and then we can be at home." You are spot on there.

I think Manhattanville will be a tough place to win even with lights, two scoreboards, and non-church league rims (My guess is that the rims will be replaced for next year. If they were both soft, or both rock hard, then fine, but you can't have one that is barely attached and the other that doesn't give at all. It looks a little dubious that the rim the visiting team shoots on in the second half is in the dark end of the gym and is the tough rim. Although maybe it's because all the open gym time--where kids hang on the rim -- is spent at the end of the gym where the lights work.).I would think a program with their success would demand a little more of their facility.

Band boxes are band boxes, and many schools are tied financially or historically to a small facility. Eastern is in that spot, so I understand that completely. On the other hand the facility issues raised, are not issues that haven't been fixed because of lack of funds or the historical significance of the building. It is either a lack of pressure from within the basketball program or from the associations to which they belong, I believe that there will be pressure from the latter forthcoming.

Defense wasn't the issue for Eastern, but I was referring more to the way the game in general went. You said the first half was herendous [sic] and I concur. The game was 14-13 after fifteen minutes because the only fouls the officials were calling were offensive fouls or hacks on guys taking lay ups. I think Eastern did adjust, but the 40 + turnovers in the game were in large part the result of the teams being able to do everything short of pulling a knife on defense. One M'ville defender actually drew blood with a swipe at the ball that hit Tucker in the face.

On the other hand, 13 offensive fouls?
My point on that, is that if you are going to let the defense do that, don't call an offensive foul when a guy pivots to create space for himself. If the officials don't protect the guys with the ball, they should be allowed to protect themselves. Pujols was killing it inside because he was stronger than the guys reaching, but he got called for three offensive fouls and had to sit down.  On each of the three, the defensive player did not take a charge, but was reaching in as he pivoted with strength.

I give props to Pointer-- Thought I did this last night, but I'll do it again-- he hit two big shots from the corner in a big moment. If Basketball works the way the rest of the sports do, ROY is a regular season award. If they beat DeSales in Allentown, maybe he will get MVP of the Conference Tournament.

My opinion on that is that Tucker should get it. That is no slight to Pointer, because he is clearly in the top group of rookie players in the league, but my opinion is that through the year Tucker's length and variety of skills gives him a game-changing dynamic that sets him apart. The coaches vote for it, so we will see what they say, and I think both players have a great future, and any one of the three could be a good choice.

Are you saying the cheerleaders shouldn't have circled center court? Or are you saying they should not have come at all? If they did the first, then I agree with you. If it is their presence you disagree with,  then we have a difference of opinion. I think it was great that they were leading cheers FOR our team. I don't recall ever hearing any anti-M'ville cheers coming from them, and I find it difficult to believe that your crowd would have been quieter had they not come.They made the choice to travel to a playoff game, and I thought they did a great job adding to the environment of the game.

So the bottom line is this. Manhattanville won 12 conference games in the regular season, they earned home court advantage in the playoffs and they executed down the stretch to advance to the Conference final. They earned the home game and they earned the win. The game had tremendous energy and atmosphere, that I thought was diminished by officiating that left players with the ball at a massive disadvantage. I don't believe there will ever be a thirty point game between Eastern and Manhattanville again. Last night's game and the young talent on both sides sets up a nice (terrible word choice, but I'm leaving it in)  rivalry for years to come.

Oh, and Lefty, I didn't hit snooze; I just slept right through it.

[mid-range j]

I'd reply but I have only had time to get through the first couple of paragraphs of this novel so far, so I'll get back to you in a few hours...

I'm gonna go get myself some popcorn..be back soon!

[chairman]

Nice.

[lefty2]

Chair,

I'm bringing you back to even par for the herendous bit. 

I didn't get it until the second reference, then I almost chuckled out loud.