MBB: MAC Freedom League

[chairman]

I do what I can.
I didn't get to sleep until nearly four, on many days I see stuff like that and bite my "tongue," but not today.

[ColonelJohn4Life]

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 ....

Warren,
I was at your old grounds on Saturday.  Saw the '94 Title, smiled, and thought about the glory days.  What I miss the most is probably national relevance.  The Wilkes / Leb Val game on Saturday was 10 years, almost to the day, of the '99 MAC (not Freedom... straight MAC) Championship.  Both teams were (a) going to the NCAA's, win or lose, (b) had an All-American, (c) had recent Walnut & Bronze in the house.  Wilkes - Leb Val was always fun.  Wilkes - F&M was always fun.  Wilkes - Scranton was, well, Wilkes-Scranton.  And Wilkes- King's didn't matter. 

Then, there was Saturday.  Wilkes was resting starters for a 4 vs. 5 playoff game.  Leb Val was waiting to end a 4-8 Commonwealth season.  There were 5 kids all decked out in body paint supporting a Leb Val player who wouldn't have made the team 15 seasons ago.  There is still a segment of the population that has the passion for college basketball.  The consistent national irrelevance of the teams causes the fervent fandom to be irrelevant.

Back in '99, there were still legit seasons to come.  Wilkes had 2001 - the 5th MAC / Freedom championship in 6 seasons, and a #1 national ranking for a week on D3Hoops here.  Leb Val still had your boy John David, and some solid years left.  I'm not sure what the solution is - I'm not even sure what the problem is.

To answer your question, Warren, I miss the glory days.  Desperately. 

[ColonelJohn4Life]

As for tonight...sorry to disappoint the board, who almost 100% picked Wilkes to find a way. 

BJ - Re-read my post.  If I picked Wilkes, it was only if I was getting 15.  At last check, we covered. 

As I said above, if there's disappointment, it's not necessarily that Wilkes didn't win the Freedom or make the NCAA's.  The problem is that we're now USED TO not making NCAA's.  Wilkes lost a 1 - 4 game at DeSales for the 3rd time in 7 years.  And, of the smattering of Wilkes fans that made the trip, there were no obscenities... no disbelief.  Comments like, "Well, it's closer than it was last season..." really don't help.

I can't figure the problem is coaching here.  Coach Rickrode was the mastermind behind all the successes from '92 to '02.  And, last night, there were plenty of open looks and free throws that the players just didn't make.  A coach can't make the shots, he can just design the offense that gets you wide open - which happened plenty last night.

I still just miss the days when a 1 vs. 4 playoff game meant King's or Lycoming was coming to the Marts Center for a 25 point thrashing... hope we see it again.

[mid-range j]

They should really get a spell checker on here! 

I'm back and I FINALLY finished reading chairmans post and all i read was      ...

eastern is in the past,so im going to move on..

darnell braswell in my opinion is the conference player of the year, he can do it all..he can score, rebound, has a smooth offensive game, and is very sound on the defensive end.. doesnt need much room to get his shot off..lapinski is always trouble and hunter is very solid..

bj- say mville beats desales..do u think that desales has any chance at an at large bid?

the game should be a good battle..both mens and womens..like ive said in earlier posts i think that desales is a great team who is well coached..

[BJ - DSU SID]

CJ4Life...my bad, you did ask for the 15 points.  So that does make your prediction right.

I guess times have changed.  I was a student during the days of Andy Panko and Dave Januzzi.  And I can't say I've seen players like that in a long time.  I certainly have enjoyed the recent run of DeSales success (men and women).  Would really enjoy seeing them both finish this season off the right way, with the men finding out just how to win that final game.

Mid-Range...thanks for Braswell compliments.  He is a special player.  Has had a great season, but I know if I asked Darnell that question, his answer would be that his season is only as good as the result on Saturday.  He's one of those kids that cares more about a "W" on the scoreboard than the total points next to his name.

Do I think DeSales is Pool "C" worthy this season?  To be honest no one in the DeSales camp is thinking about that.  We've been too close too many times to getting the automatic bid.  We can't start thinking "what if" over these next few days.  Ask me that on Saturday night and (with all due respect to your squad), I hope my answer is we don't need it.

I do know this...on the men's side, DeSales and Manhattanville are both really, really good defensive teams.  1-2 in the conference in points per game and I believe both entered the week ranked among the top 10 in the nation in points per game allowed.  If you want offense on Saturday, you might want to stay home.

[mid-range j]

Wow, did not know that stat about top ten in the nation in points allowed per game. 

Yes we will see on Saturday, and dont worry I dont take offense to that..every team should have that mentality..

[chairman]

Mid-Range ...

I think Braswell will receive POTY honors. I also don't think DeSales will need a Pool C bid. If the game were to be played in Purchase, I'd put M'ville as a two point favorite. My impression is that DeSales is much less of a home court advantage, but the time on a bus alone is an edge.

I also think DeSales will be able to hit free throws in the second half.

Manhattanville at home 55.23 points allowed. Manhattanville on the road 64 points per game allowed. In nine games against league opponents at home they allowed 52 points. In eight games on the road, 62.75.

My guess is that if DeSales hits 70% from the foul line they will win by 12. They can make it closer if they miss their foul shots.

[mid-range j]

Yea those are some good stats, but honestly you can throw all those stats out the window in the playoffs, anyone could beat anyone, you watch the NCAA tournaments every year dont you? 

I can understand you saying that Mville wont score, or they are real young to pull it off, but to put their defense out there?  Thats a little absurd, when that has been their strong point the whole season.  They pressure teams, wear them down and it doesnt matter if it is on the road or if its at home..62 points per game on the road? i'll take that anyday of the week..

Again, I guess only time will tell..and as far bus rides, we dont complain about that..we take over 2 hour trips all season long...but thats your prediciton and thats fine,  i know the guys like the challenge, the valiants will hopefully prove everyone wrong again just like we were picked pre-season #6...

[Jon]

They should really get a spell checker on here! 

I'm back and I FINALLY finished reading chairmans post and all i read was      ...

Mid-Range, I've been keeping up with your back and forth with the Chairdude and have to say I think your assessment of his "novel" is off base...and for that you get smited.

Sure he's biased...aren't we all?  I thought he did a great job of explaining his opinion on the game.  I don't get the sense he was saying the officials cost them the game, he's just pointing to what he felt were inconsistencies in philosophy.

I gotta be honest, I'm in agreement with him on the rim situation.  I'm not sure how that's not addressed.  It's essentially like making one rim four inches wider at one end.

And yes, spellchecker would be nice.

[lefty2]

I gotta be honest, I'm in agreement with him on the rim situation.  I'm not sure how that's not addressed.  It's essentially like making one rim four inches wider at one end.

I've only seen the place on video, but from I've heard and read, I would think they could come up with a donor to splurge for a new rim - or at least a wrench.

I can picture the plaque on the backboard - "This rim a gift of M-RJ."

[mid-range j]

Jon, I didnt assess his novel, if i did i would have spent half my day doing so..but its fine, the chairbro can say whatever he wants, thats what makes our country the best in the world, we all have freedom of speech, or press for this matter...so fine, the rims are bad, the lights are bad, there were 13 offensive fouls, maybe someone can raise some money for a new rim, but its over now, its old news, maybe you should move onto spring sports now and stop worrying about manhattanvilles rims..

lefty - that would be great, but my funds are low right now  ..
we're in the middle of tough economic times..ya know?

just another stat for the chairdoodle, if its so much of a home court advantage why do we score more points on the road then we do at home  66ppg on the road 62ppg at home..?

[MOst7]

Glory Days...hmmmm. is that what they call the years, albeit and congrats to the 10 years, and a few conference titles and one run to the final four...but ok..at that level against a D3 schedule..we can call it , and better said...Wilkes Glory Days.

[Jon]

mid-range,

The schedule has been demanding my attention to spring sports for a full week tomorrow, and with teams en route to their spring break destinations the demand will only escalate.  I believe that I will have at least one more winter sports event in me since I am fairly confident that the women's team will receive an ECAC bid.  Probably not a preseason goal, but I think valuable none the less for a young program.

...so fine, the rims are bad, the lights are bad, there were 13 offensive fouls, maybe someone can raise some money for a new rim, but its over now, its old news, maybe you should move onto spring sports now and stop worrying about manhattanvilles rims..

I'm not sure it's the old news you claim unless there are plans for a remedy.  Unfortunately, rim similarity is only a recommendation at the Division III level.  The NCAA requires at the first division and recommends at the next two that rims be tested once before the season and once before the postseason for rebound elasticity with parameters of 35-50 percent absorption (admittedly I'm not sure how to measure that) and no more than a five percent differential between baskets on the same court.  I'm fairly confident that the latter is not the case in Kennedy.

[chairman]

Jon. The league is aware of the issue with the rims. (The Commissioner was at the games the other night and I pointed it out to him during the Alvernia women's game. I think there will be some recommendations that will be acted upon before next year.

As I look back on it, I feel that if it was accidental, it should have been fixed-- you would think that one of the coaches would have made some demands on plant ops or whoever can fix that. If it was on purpose, well that's kind of embarrassing.

Mid Range-

On the bus ride, I didn't say it was impossible to overcome, but I think it is pretty easy to see that your team is a much better team without the bus ride. No one is complaining it is just a statement of fact.

On to today, Manhattanville can score what they score. They typically put up numbers in the 60's at home and maybe a little bit better numbers on the road. If DeSales scores 70, my opinion is that it is a Bulldog win. I think they will shoot 30-35 free throw attempts, and as I said before, I think they win. Hunter (12-13 fts, 20 pts, 5 assists and 2 to's)  will be player of the game.

On their defense, I saw Manhattanville give up 73 in a game where EU took their foot off the gas late. I just don't think it is quite as good on the road. On referee decides he's going to call hand checking -- I remember when that was supposed to be a point of emphasis-- or tries to clean up the post, and what is called good defense at home is called a free throw fest on the road. Pretty sure your same crew of NY boys won't be working the final.

We are looking forward to the fall.

[lefty2]

We are looking forward to the fall.

Did I miss spring?