MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[frank_ezelle]

It's unlikely that anyone will see this post in time, but there are live stats available for the Millsaps exhibition game this evening with UL-Lafayette.  The "RaginCajuns" are a D1 team in the Sun Belt Conference with 9 players who are 6'7" or taller so it will probably be a tough night for the Majors.  Here's the link:

http://www.ragincajuns.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15400&LIST_SPORT_ID=M_BASKETBALL

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps lost their exhibition game with the "RaginCajuns" of UL-Lafayette 87-57 Tuesday evening.  I was surprised and pleased to see that this was just a 10-point game with 9:02 to play but at that point the size and depth of the D1 home team took over.  I wasn't surprised to see that the much larger UL-Lafayette team finished the night with a 45-24 edge on the boards.  Here are some links:

Story:  http://www.ragincajuns.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15400&ATCLID=1618326

Box Score:  http://www.ragincajuns.com/fls/15400/stats/mbasketball/2009/mex1.htm?SPID=7575&DB_OEM_ID=15400&SPSID=67311

[awadelewis]

Attended the Millsaps-UL game last night (I'm in grad school at UL).  The Majors were able to keep up with the Cajuns early in the game due to some lackluster play on UL's part early, a well played zone defense, and some good outside shooting.   From what I saw I think the Majors will do well against D3 teams this year.

[frank_ezelle]

Thanks for that eye witness account.  One of the best coaching jobs I've ever seen in my life was the job Coach Wise did in his first year as head coach at Millsaps.  He was starting 5 guards, none taller then 6'1", because he really didn't have anything much besides guards.  They also had very little depth and really not much scoring firepower.  Somehow he pulled 5 wins out of that squad and was competitive most of the season. 

It was rather amazing to watch and I can tell you that the Millsaps coaches (Coach LeBlanc was a player on that team) will get every ounce of potential out of the players and team this year. 

[jekelish]

jekelish, did you have a chance to see Austin vs. Tarleton St. exhibition?  I'd love to know how that turned out, as Tarleton St. is usually a very solid D2 team.

I didn't see the game, but from what I understand they hung with Tarleton for a good portion of the game before Tarleton pulled away.  From reading the Tarleton recap, an 18-4 run late in the first half and a similar run in the second half pretty much made up the difference.  I believe it ended up being a 27 point game, but the 'Roos played pretty well.  Tarleton, fromwhat I've been told, should challenge as one of the top D2 teams this year, so hanging with them for as long as the 'Roos did is a good sign.

[Walter17]

wow, the SCAC looks like it is getting even more recognition as the preseason all-american list has come out with Mike Moore and Danny Noll on the 4th team. 

Do we have any predictions on preseason all-SCAC?  My top five would probably be Moore (POY), King, Noll, Smith, and Pursell (he was a junior last year, right?).

[tarheelfan]

I was VERY surprised by Danny Noll making 4th team with Andrew King, the SCAC's leading scorer and rebounder last season, not making even the Honorable Mention squad.  Danny is a very nice player but I thought the committee would look more at the stats in their decision.

[pbrooks3]

Danny Noll is going to be counted on to be big in a lot of ways this season. He's physically bigger, probably close to 6'7" now. He's continually improving on the inside as both an offensive rebounder and defender. When he arrived at Centre he was considered a single-dimension player - a 3-point shooter. My opinion is Noll has a nice upside. He's smart and dedicated.  If he shows the same improvement this year that he did last season, I think 4th team is clearly warranted.

[tarheelfan]

Noll is most definitely a good player, but selecting him over players like King and Ben Pursell is questionable.  It is absurd that the leading scorer and rebounder in a competitive conference does not make at least honorable mention.

[pbrooks3]

Tarheelfan, I am only speaking to the merits of Noll; I like both King and Pursell. I suspect because of Centre's basketball success the past 2 seasons Noll got more attention than the other two because their respective teams didn't perform as well. Doesn't make it right but a successful team draws attention to individual players. I would have rated King for some recognition because of his consistency and polished improvements year after year. Pursell, while a tremendous player and good athlete, has been prone to be injured which may also have taken away from his being recognized. With a new Tiger coach, decent guard play and a healthy Pursell, Sewanee has a chance to win a few more games this season.

[frank_ezelle]

Ditto on what pbrooks3 said.  We touched early on a subject that has been discussed often in the past and will be much discussed sometime this season--do the awards go to the best players on the best teams or the players with the best stats on lesser teams?

I'm not going to get into that discussion before the season even starts, but I think we can all agree that once again the SCAC will be loaded with a lot of talented players.  There was a time not too long ago when the SCAC conference games included a few "easy" games for the top teams.  It seems that this is no longer the case and everybody needs to bring their best every night, especially when they are on the road.

[FlightofthePetrel]

wow, the SCAC looks like it is getting even more recognition as the preseason all-american list has come out with Mike Moore and Danny Noll on the 4th team. 

Do we have any predictions on preseason all-SCAC?  My top five would probably be Moore (POY), King, Noll, Smith, and Pursell (he was a junior last year, right?).

I think you would have to include Oglethorpe's Todd Ward in this list.  He came in after the first semseter last year and was the conference's newcomer of the year.  He hadn't played competitve ball in a few years so the player you saw last year was shaking off rust.  In the GA State game he looked pretty good (despite foul trouble and taller matchups).  He's one of the leaders on the OU team and I'd expect an even better season from him this year...

Not sure about Austin but I keep hearing good things about Kola Alade... he may be another one to put on the list.

[pbrooks3]

Concur with FlightofthePetrel; I too like Todd Ward.  He's potentially the best player in the SCAC.  He'll need to develop a lot more consistency his sophomore campaign to make a dent for league honors.  I saw him take over a game at Rhodes last season for about 15 minutes.  Also witnessed a few of his games where he was a bit lost.   

[Walter17]

what schools are kicking their season off this weekend?  Trinity doesn't have their first game until next weekend, but it is a great way to kick off the season.  They start off Friday, Nov. 21 against Schreiner (whose head coach was recently one of Trinity's assistants) and Saturday, Nov. 22 against Wisconsin - Stevens Pointe (who are preseason ranked 6th in the country and were also the spoilers of Trinity's '04-05 National Title run).  Oh and the following Tuesday, they face off with Mary-Hardin Baylor (preseason #10) at Trinity! 

Anyone else have some great matchups coming in the first weeks of play?

[jekelish]

Austin College opens up on Monday down at UT-Dallas at 7:30, and then next weekend will be hosting the Bob Mason Classic at Hughey Gym.  They'll be playing East Texas Baptist on Friday and then Hardin-Simmons on Saturday.  That kicks off a string of nine straight home games from 11/21 to 1/3.