MBB: MAC Freedom League

[ronk]

I am not against transfers... no reason to be and transfers can be amazing assets to any program. Del Val has to be hard to recruit to- facilities, lack of majors and rising costs. They are probably last in the MAC in all three, or bottom 2 now that Manhattanville departed. I imagine recruiting four year players is a major challenge there, my opinion. No sports are team wise successful in recent years with the exception of basketball and football. Wrestling has been with individuals. Again last 5 years talking.

I agree on DeSales. They are the class of D3 Hoops in the area after Swarthmore.

We may find out 12/16 when they play @ Scranton.

[CCHoopster]

I'm referencing Philadelphia area, wasn't thinking NEPA.

[jmcozenlaw]

I am not against transfers... no reason to be and transfers can be amazing assets to any program. Del Val has to be hard to recruit to- facilities, lack of majors and rising costs. They are probably last in the MAC in all three, or bottom 2 now that Manhattanville departed. I imagine recruiting four year players is a major challenge there, my opinion. No sports are team wise successful in recent years with the exception of basketball and football. Wrestling has been with individuals. Again last 5 years talking.

I agree on DeSales. They are the class of D3 Hoops in the area after Swarthmore.

When I look around the MAC Freedom.......................nobody plays in the D3 version of the Palestra. Eastern's gym should be condemned. Manhattanville was even worse. DeSales gym is clean, but looks more like a suburban middle school gym in terms of size. Miser's is odd, old and odd. FDU's is quite frankly dark and a dump. Wilkes and King's are fine (little good that has done King's though). I can't speak to the majors as I know that DelVal's pre-professional programs (med, vet, dental) are exceptionally popular and highly thought of. Their accounting program (2017 data) had the 6th highest "first time CPA Exam pass rate" out of 77 schools in the state of PA.........in front of Pitt, Villanova, Bucknell and any CC school. They do crank out a lot of teachers, principals and superintendents, as well as chemists and biologists, and future psychologists. Boring stuff, most won't become hedge fund managers or work in Silicon Valley.....................but I'd argue MUCH more important and meaningful jobs in a lot of respects.

When I look around at schools with more majors, I see a long list of majors that would never interest me........including many of the soft sciences. Philosophy? Hell no. English? What, no. Foreign Language? say huh. And on and on and on.

Again, no school in the MAC (either conference) is the NESCAC. Debits are debits. Credits are credits. The periodic table is the periodic table. Some kids didn't have the luxury of having parents named Tad and Buffy, with a place in Avalon and private schools through high school. Give me the kid with dog in him, that's who I want in the foxhole....................not the kid who had everything handed to him in life (I say that as a Swat alum by the way, so I know).

On a more important note, I agree with Ronk that Scranton might be a tad better than DeSales. It should be an interesting year.

No more "who's school offers more" talk from me. I'm looking forward to a great season on the court........................and to watch the DelVal football team run it's MAC winning streak up to 30, with a third consecutive undefeated, championship season in MAC play

[jmcozenlaw]

I'm referencing Philadelphia area, wasn't thinking NEPA.

I'd take DeSales this year in the Greater Philadelphia area as well.

[CCHoopster]

Nothing special over the weekend for the Freedom. A few teams beat PSU Branch campuses and Eastern was beaten 100-
70 something by Swarthmore.

Tonight I'll make some picks:

DeSales over Muhlenburg 82-73
TCNJ 79 over Mis 66
Jersey City 74 over Stevens 65
Wilkes 104 over PSU Hazelton 60
Cabrini 83 over Eastern 78
Kings 72 over PSU Scranton 68
St. Elizabeth 68 over FDU Florham 66


Del Val does not play as they play again Friday @ Muhlenburg

[kate]

While i'm on here checking schedules, cchoopster, just want to say that to us, the only thing lacking in the Aggie gym complex is a lack of food!   Just said last Saturday at out first game of the season, how GREAT it was to be back in the confines of James Work Memorial Gymnasium!!!   Guaranteed built better than many other gyms in the MAC!   Also, right in the middle of campus - no need to drive to the gym!!!    Thanks for the comments on majors jm!    All true!!!

[jmcozenlaw]

While i'm on here checking schedules, cchoopster, just want to say that to us, the only thing lacking in the Aggie gym complex is a lack of food!   Just said last Saturday at out first game of the season, how GREAT it was to be back in the confines of James Work Memorial Gymnasium!!!   Guaranteed built better than many other gyms in the MAC!   Also, right in the middle of campus - no need to drive to the gym!!!    Thanks for the comments on majors jm!    All true!!!

Kate - No problem. Sometimes you have to educate those not in the know. I've fired Penn, Columbia, Bucknell, Lehigh and Boston University grads..................and have had great success with grads from East Stroudsburg, Holy Family, West Chester, Millersville, etc. Give the non-elitist with some 'dog' in him or her..........the kid who comes from very little and breaks his back to "make it". I'll go to war with them every day. The 'name' on the piece of paper might open up a few more doors, but it doesn't keep you there. Work ethic is harder to teach than smarts. Most of what many of us do for a living isn't rocket science anyway..................so get the piece of paper and work hard and thrive. The satisfaction is greater when the odds are stacked against you vs. having the odds in your favor based on a variety of factors that you luckily fell into at conception!

[CCHoopster]

A little guessing at tonight- I am traditionally horrible at this! 

Drew over Kings 81-70
Eastern over PSU Brandywine 70-61
Neumann over Mis 84-73
Del Val over Immaculata 75-63
Wilkes over Marywood 78-68

[NEPAFAN]

What is going on at Kings?

[CCHoopster]

What is going on at Kings?

??

[jmcozenlaw]

Caught a little bit of the DelVal game at York (after watching DelVal in the football NCAA quarterfinals) and heard that two of York's better players are transfers, from Merrimack (didn't know that was even a school). York is now going down the transfer path??? They fashion themselves as a school that wouldn't go down that path. What did I tell you. Watch and see more and more of this as the seasons go by, for many reasons.

[NEPAFAN]

What is going on at Kings?

??

They barely got past clarks summit and their record hasn't been too impressive lately.

[ronk]

Caught a little bit of the DelVal game at York (after watching DelVal in the football NCAA quarterfinals) and heard that two of York's better players are transfers, from Merrimack (didn't know that was even a school). York is now going down the transfer path??? They fashion themselves as a school that wouldn't go down that path. What did I tell you. Watch and see more and more of this as the seasons go by, for many reasons.

Merrimack is D2, so it's entirely possible that the transfers had overestimated their ability to play at that level, a not uncommon occurrence these days.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Caught a little bit of the DelVal game at York (after watching DelVal in the football NCAA quarterfinals) and heard that two of York's better players are transfers, from Merrimack (didn't know that was even a school). York is now going down the transfer path??? They fashion themselves as a school that wouldn't go down that path. What did I tell you. Watch and see more and more of this as the seasons go by, for many reasons.

Merrimack is D2, so it's entirely possible that the transfers had overestimated their ability to play at that level, a not uncommon occurrence these days.

I thought Merrimack went to d1 this year.

[ronk]

Caught a little bit of the DelVal game at York (after watching DelVal in the football NCAA quarterfinals) and heard that two of York's better players are transfers, from Merrimack (didn't know that was even a school). York is now going down the transfer path??? They fashion themselves as a school that wouldn't go down that path. What did I tell you. Watch and see more and more of this as the seasons go by, for many reasons.

Merrimack is D2, so it's entirely possible that the transfers had overestimated their ability to play at that level, a not uncommon occurrence these days.

I thought Merrimack went to d1 this year.

They may have; my point was that it was a level "higher" than D3(York).