MBB: MAC Freedom League

[old ends]

Congrats to Wilkes Coach Jerry Rickrode. Big game for them this weekend.

I thought Kings would be more of a contender this year. Hope they are not waiting for the playoff's.

[naismith]

Old Ends---Charlie Berry (old end for the 1925 Potttsville Maroons-)-----------

Highly recommend picking up a copy of recently realeased book titled..."The Breaker Boys"--The NFL's greatest team and the stolen 1925 Championship"

As to Kings,

My observations:

For whatever reason, Coach JP has chosen to disrupt 3 years of chemistry and start 2 freshman: Conroy and Hacker.


1) From the team standpoint, the loss of Sobocinski from last season left a void at the 'defensive stopper' position. Sobo was a physical, hardnosed presence who could hurt you with his shooting rebounding and all around hustle. I think the Monarchs miss the 'fire' that he brought to the floor.

Fact is, Vince S, Jamie C, Jimmy W, &  Ryan N, as skilled as they are,  tend to be 'quiet' and compsoed on the floor. Effective but not real demonstrative.

2) Kings plays a pretty disciplined game. They are not extremely quick at any one position. They do match up size wise pretty well with most opponents.
They do not match up all that well with super athletic and quick teams. Kings can be pressured if the opponent has the right personnel. Hence, a very athletic Manhattanville bunch can give a team like Kings fits. Ditto last year in the NCAA 1st round loss. (keep in mind that they led Manhattanville by 15 reasonably late in the double ot loss)

3) Defensively, I think Kings is vulnerable. Opponents seem to be able to get  their shots. The bigs are strong but not overly quick  The guards are capable but each has a defensive weakness.

With all that, (new lineup, quikness issues, defensive issues)  Kings is still in a reasonably good position with a 7 team league this year. They should manage 7 to 8 wins in the Freedom which will put them in the playoffs with the opportunity to make it 3 NCAA tournaments for the core group of seniors.

The freshman experience will help playoff time and you still have a solid core of seniors.  (Kofi, Ryan N and Jimmy W are a pretty nice trio to have on your bench)They match up well with DeSales. Wilkes is always a war. Manhattanville is a wildcard for any of the above three. (those are the 4 teams I expect to see in playoffs).

So, in sum, I think JP has been tinkering this season with the lineup looking for a combo that clicks. Come playoff time, Kings should come together and make their run.
Most fans (like myself) have opinions as to lineups, mionutes etc etc.

But it is Coach JP that has won 2 of 3 Freedom titles with this group....so I think you defer to him. 

Naismith


ought Kings would be more of a contender this year. Hope they are not waiting for the playoff's.
[/quote]

[Leo The Lion]

Nais,

I think you summed it up pretty well.  I think going into the season, many Monarch fans (myself included) thought with the expierience of these seniors and their history, combined with the fact of a MAC conference that didn't appear as strong on paper as last year, that a Conference champion was nearly a shoe-in.  However, I agree that many of us overlooked what King's lost last year.  I agree totally that  Sobocinski is missed, and I don't know if anyone has been able to replace that energy.  Also, I think Bob N.'s presence off the bench last year is also missed.  However, Conroy has looked good in the games I've seen and I think he might be the gem of this freshman class.

Also, what we forget is King's wasn't leaps and bounds ahead of the field last year.  They squeaked by DeSales twice, they just beat Scranton twice.  This year their losing these games by the same small margin.  So I think this year, a few breaks haven't gone their way that went their way last year.  Also, except for the seniors, the rest of the team is still gaining expierience at the varsity level. 

The homer in me still likes their chances.  Usually, JP finds his go to rotaition before conference play starts, but hopefully they find it before the playoffs.  They just have to win the games their supposed to win, and knock off a DeSales or Wilkes team for their own sanity.  Anything can happen in the playoffs, hopefully the seniors can go out on the right note.

[breezy77]

i told everyone earlier in the season that kings didn't look like they were playing hard.  i was assured they would turn it on when conference play started.  i said at the time i didn't think you can "turn it on and turn it off"  whenever you want.  you must build good habits throughout the year.  i think that kings has talent but not the heart and desire of a champion.  we will see.

[old ends]

DeSales has now dropped two in a row, today to Manhattanville at home. This puts a 3 way tie for the lead in the conference with Kings one game back.

Wilkes look like the had a easy one againts Del Val while Kings struggled against Arcadia. Maybe Kings and Wilkes could be fighting for the title in a few weeks.

[ColonelJohn4Life]

Pretty clear which 4 teams are making the postseason.  What's beautiful right now is that anyone could be playing anywhere once the postseason starts.

Sure King's is 4th now.  They just beat DeSales by 8 and FDU by 40+.
Sure DeSales is 1st now.  They just lost 2 in a row.

Can't wait to see how the Manhattanville - Wilkes game plays out.  Looking forward to it.

[naismith]

CJ,

Since Breezy made hsi "I told you so" remarks, Kings has not lost....lol.

On notice: Ryan N is getting a few more minutes and lot more points. Sobo is player of the week and Kofi continues to impress.
My guess: the "Six  Seniors" (Kofi, Cousart, Scalzo, Sobo, Welsh, Nensteil) get a lot of playoff floor time.

Still the pick to take it all.

Naismith

[DSU Backer]

I Have enjoyed reading this forum this season.  Thought I would register and post.  I like DeSales to take the number one seed in the tournament.  Kings, Wilkes, and Manhattenville have a round robin, of sorts, to play with each team having a home and away game.  I think they will beat each other up.  They should be fun games to watch as each game has seeding implications.  DeSales is at Del Val tonight, home against FDU on Saturday and finish league play next Wednesday at Arcadia.  Schedule certainly favors DeSales, but you still have to play the games.  DeSales has not played well in their last two games and Scott Coval will whip them back in shape.

It seems that Kings has turnded the corner on their season and is playing well of late.  Kings and DeSales have played 10 times in the last 4 seasons with Kings winning 7 times, twice in the converence finals.  Once at DeSales in '04-'05 and at Kings last season.  Any of the 4 teams can win the tournament.  That said, I believe Kings and DeSales will be playing in the finals again.  The homer in me says that DeSales wins at home and goes to the NCAA tournament for, this group of seniors, first time.

[Pat Coleman]

Welcome aboard -- the board could always use new posters!

[ljk]

Naismith:  I had heard that King's Coach JP challenged his seniors a few weeks back.  Basicially, telling them that they appeared to have given up, and if that's the case, that he would play the younger guys.  The chewing out apparently has worked and the team has responded.   I agree with your take on Ryan N., we saw what he did last year late in the year in the crucial games.  He's had an up and down year, as has the team, but if he gets hot again, he could carry them again or at least be a big piece.    I agree with DSU Backer that any of the 4 teams has a shot, and even though King's has had DeSales number, I'm leaning toward DeSales.  Whats your guys take on Manhattanville?  I saw them get blown out from the get go at Wilkes.  Although very athletic, they didn't seem to have a clue about team ball.   They must have regrouped and turned it around,  maybe just a bad night at Wilkes, .  I think Wilkes will have a tougher game this time around at their place.  I expect a very physical contest, as things were very rough in the last game at Wilkes.   It will be very interesting to see how it all shakes out.

[DSU Backer]

Manhattenville should not be taken lightly.  They are very quick, aggressive, and athletic.  Their place is very difficult to play in, very small.  I will be interested in hearing what people have to say after playing there.  Personally, I'm pulling for Wilkes over Manhattenville.  DeSales has the tie-breaker with Wilkes, but they split with Manhattenville.

Does anyone know how the tie-breakers work after head to head?  What about a 3-way tie?

[GoValiants2]

We'll have tonight's Manhattanville/Wilkes games (both men and women!) on a live audio feed accessible here: http://www.broadcastmonsters.com/Manhattanville/manhattanville.asx

Live Stats:
Men (8:00) - http://www.cstv.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mbaskbl.html?event=648008&school=manv&sport=mbaskbl&camefrom=&startschool=&
Women (6:00) - http://www.cstv.com/gametracker/launch/gt_wbaskbl.html?event=648010&school=manv&sport=wbaskbl&camefrom=&startschool=&;

[GoValiants2]

...Does anyone know how the tie-breakers work after head to head?  What about a 3-way tie?

In response to tie-breakers, the Freedom (and Commonwealth) work like this, starting with one and proceeding down until the tie is broken:
1) Head-to-Head, in conference games, between teams that are tied
2) Head-to-Head between teams (overall - including any non-conference games, such as at a tournament) that are tied
3) Win-Loss versus conference teams (starting with #1, then #2, etc.)
4) Win % in road conference games
5) Head-to-Head against common non-conference opponents

There are a couple of other ways to break a tie, but that should handle any tie we may see.

[BJ - DSU SID]

This should solve any question anyone has in regards to tiebreakers over the remainder of the season.

Feel free to post questions if confused about how the tiebreakers work.  It up to date as of last night's games.

2007-08 Men's Basketball Playoff Matrix

[breezy77]

it looks like kings is finally hitting it's stride!!!  they are really starting to shoot the ball well.  the seniors may have finally decided it is time to play for real. however, in the playoffs defense usually wins.  does kings play good enough defense to win the conference tournament??  you guys have watched them for years.  what do you think??