MBB: MAC Freedom League

saratoga · January 17, 2006, 06:10:34 PM

First & foremost Pat, I echo CJ's. sentiments regarding "your" brainchild of D3Hoops being first-class and allowing certain b-ball junkies such as ourselves to express various ideas & thoughts about teams & issues. It must indeed be frustrating to put all that time, energy & personal finances into into your passion only to have a few malcontents continually whine about some obscure point. I know I have not said it recently, but; THANK YOU for giving all of us this forum of communication. That said...back to business. Leo, Leo, Leo..."A win tomorrow PROVES the team (Kings) is for real". How? Why? A full Kings team playing a Scranton team decimated by injuries & that proves something? For instance? Look, the Royals can't & won't allow their players to feel sorry for themselves for their current misfortune & a loss is a loss whether at full strength or with only 7 kids dressing, but; you can't imply that should Kings defeat Scranton under these circumstances that it "proves" anything re. the ability of the Monarchs. After all, this current Royals lineup with the exception of Arnold & Bicknell & all the bench players were the 2nd. & 3rd. team 2 weeks ago. The beauty of D-3 is taking place right before our eyes as 5 kids who rarely got off the bench are now starting & getting 15 minutes a game & doing a pretty good job. Kings may certainly win the game, but I'm certainly not convinced it proves anything.

Section J Guy · January 17, 2006, 07:15:15 PM

CJ,

Way to honor the memory of MLK. Classy.

Kings vs Scranton ? Would like to see some injured Royals back for this one, without anyone back , i say flip a coin. Any injury updates?

Warren Thompson · January 17, 2006, 07:23:39 PM

Quote from: saratoga on January 17, 2006, 06:10:34 PM
First & foremost Pat, I echo CJ's. sentiments regarding "your" brainchild of D3Hoops being first-class and allowing certain b-ball junkies such as ourselves to express various ideas & thoughts about teams & issues. It must indeed be frustrating to put all that time, energy & personal finances into into your passion only to have a few malcontents continually whine about some obscure point.

Saratoga:

Agreed.

Until Pat came on the scene with his basketball and football sites, few people, outside of the institutions, players, and coaches themselves, gave a rip about D3 sports. Because of hard work by Pat and his colleagues, D3 now enjoys a ~~considerable~~ . . . a high level of national awareness.

As to the whining malcontents ... hell, just ignore them.

Coach C · January 17, 2006, 07:35:30 PM

I am reguarly amazed at how much there is on this site, and then I realize that I only hang out on really 1/3 of the site, since there is the womne's side and the whole menagerie over on the football side. Plus Ralph's new foray into hardball.

It is truly amazing all that Pat has done!

C

Leo The Lion · January 17, 2006, 08:36:45 PM

Saratoga,

I thought some of those injured players we're going to be ready for this week, must have got my signals crossed up.

As for the "prooves" comment, I think a win would proove that King's is a threat for the MAC crown. They probably should already be considered a threat considering they went down to the wire with the first place team in the conference.

Despite the injuries, The Long Center is still The Long Center, always a tough place for the road teams. And don't kid yourself, despite the Royals injuries they are still a talented bunch. So if the Monarchs do pull off the victory tomorrow night, it will still be a huge victory.

upton · January 17, 2006, 09:40:13 PM

I would say this is a bigger game for King's and all of the other teams at or near the top of the Freedom. When and if Scranton gets healthy, they are going to be a very hard team to beat down the stretch. The other teams are going to want a game or two lead over them before that time comes.

ColonelJohn4Life · January 18, 2006, 02:27:22 AM

Coach C - thanks for the karma. Glad to keep the positive energy flowing.

Guy, SJ - the MAC Freedom board has never been noted for its couth. Never.

That said, I intended the post to be vaguely respectful, hope it came off as such.

Saratoga, can I be a malcontent that whines about a mundane detail?? Your use of the comma and semicolon around the word "but" was, in a word, dreadful.

Quote from: saratoga on January 17, 2006, 06:10:34 PM
I know I have not said it recently, but; THANK YOU for giving all of us this forum of communication.

Upton - you nailed it. The objective is to get ino the playoffs, the top 4 in conference. Rack up the W's while they're available.

saratoga · January 18, 2006, 10:02:01 AM

Sorry CJ...just a case of happy fingers. I'm actually surprised I didn't catch that myself. I've stared many times at some of the spelling & punctuation on the board but figure most people are just trying to bang out an idea. By the way, I was not referring to you in my previous post & I actually gave you some props...not karma, props!

Leo The Lion · January 18, 2006, 11:09:29 PM

Just got back from the Long Center, and it was not a banner night for the Monarchs. Scranton wins by four, Kings would be consistently down 8 or 9, get it back to four or five and then go back down 9 or 10. No big runs and the big play was missing for the Monarchs.

The Monarchs had front row tickets to the Randy Arnold show tonight. Both him and Kirk played well against King's has freshmen last year, but this year it looks like they may be making the move from "solid freshmen" to "Future MAC Stars" especially in Arnold's case.

Frustating loss for King's though, things just look sluggish out there tonight. The Royals were always one step ahead. The Monarch's road record this year has also been a problem, last year they lost only 2 games away from Wilkes-Barre, this year they've lost all but 2 (Marywood and DelVal).

The team still has potential though. Still a long road to go.

wb1313 · January 19, 2006, 02:42:19 PM

Hey CJ,
Are you drinking the Januzzi cool-aid again? Wilkes would have to run the table to get an at-large bid, and we both know how likely that is. The Colonels still have the dreaded road swing through New Jersey and local rivalry games at Scranton and King's. Marywood and Keystone did this teams chances in. If there was a d3 RPI for conferences, the MAC Freedom would be dragging down the entire MAC. I'm sorry but I put away the Wilkes and MAC slushy weeks ago!

Win the conference to get in or play in the ECAC's.

If Scranton didn't lose to Chestnut Hill, I'd say they have a shot, but more knowledgable posters can back me up on all of this.

gordonmann · January 19, 2006, 10:18:27 PM

Pool C for the MAC? I think that's a very, very long shot.

Look, I really like this conference. I like the coaches, the SIDs, the players...even most of the people on this board.

But this conference is having a bad year. How bad? The top 3 have lost to Baruch, Marywood, Chestnut Hill, Keystone, Susquehanna and Baptist Bible. Read that list again.

Even within this region (which is down on a whole), Wilkes would have a tough fight for a Pool C. Their two loses puts them tied with or behind York, CUA, UMW, Widener, Ursinus, Alvernia and Johns Hopkins. Obviously not all of those teams will win their conference.

They would almost have to run the table until a loss in the conference tournament final. CJ, you may want to start smacking your leg with your baseball glove and saying, "Ya gotta believe!"

upton · January 19, 2006, 10:24:32 PM

WB,
I agree that without the Chestnut Hill loss, Scranton would have had the best chance at an at large bid. However, with the poor league we have this year and their lack of a big win over a ranked team, I don't think it would have happened.
On another note, the young and inexperienced players for the Royals are coming into their own. They will be a great benefit come playoff time. The experience they have gotten due to the injuries to other players could pay dividends later on.

ColonelJohn4Life · January 20, 2006, 09:45:39 AM

Jaime Cerda / Marco Scutaro,

I'm absolutely that guy in the dugout with the hat on inside-out chanting something incoherent in the hopes of a comeback.

My pipe dream is this - should a team, for example, Wilkes, run the table and make the MAC-F title game... a win gets the automatic bid, obviously, and a loss still has a shot at a Pool C bid. 20-5, with only 3 losses in region? Possible, right? Given that same scenario, Scranton would be 22-5. Admittedly, running the table doesn't happen often, but hey, that's what message boards are for!

Leo The Lion · January 21, 2006, 05:42:29 PM

King's beats FDU 75-58,

Ho hum game, about what you would expect from these two teams. King's pulled away in the second half.

-Leo

ColonelJohn4Life · January 22, 2006, 04:41:02 AM

King's, Wilkes, and Scranton all rack up W's and get some separation.

Everyone take note of the DeSales / Lycoming matchup on Wednesday. 4th place in the division on the line. As we all know, the key is to make the MAC-F playoffs, and pending a decent shake-up, only one of those 2 gets in.