MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[JJFlash]

An earlier post mentioned that Trinity lost its 2 top scorers to graduation.  I went and looked at the stats from last year and saw that 71% of their shots taken were lost to graduation.  So is it a case of the players returning didn't need to score or couldn't score?

[frank_ezelle]

Trinity started 5 seniors last year and I don't think there is anything abnormal about a team's starters taking 71% of the shots.  An all new starting lineup makes Trinity a question mark this season but I'm sure they have talented guys waiting in the wings and I won't be surprised if one or two freshmen make the starting rotation--the positive about losing 5 starters is that you might be able to recruit a few hot shots players who like the thought of being 4-year starters.

My gut feeling is that no one will get through the league with a 12-2 or better record like Trinity did last year.  I see 11-3 as the top mark this year with several teams capable of reaching that level.  I still haven't seen the Millsaps team play.  I thought they were scrimmaging Mississippi College last Sunday but the scrimmage is set for Sunday 11/12.

[CW]

Watch out for Oglethorpe.  They are senior heavy and well coached.  Great shooters with improving post play is a good combination.  They play as hard as any team in the SCAC.  

[irion]

Sewanee lost to University of Alabama Huntsville 81-66 on Thursday.  They were without Chris Eddy and Ben Pursell, both injured. 

[frank_ezelle]

A quick update on Millsaps after watching them scrimmage against Mississippi College yesterday.  The bottom line is that Millsaps will be good and MS College certainly looked like a team that is ranked number 2 in the country in one poll.

MS College (MC) dressed 28 players (they have 32 players listed on their website)  and they seem to have more redundancy than NASA has built into the space program.  Maybe I'm wrong here, but if they are a legitimate top 10 team then I think they could split up their roster and come up with 2 top 20 teams.  There just isn't much drop off when they sub.  It is safe to say that it is unlike any program that we have in the SCAC.

All that being said, it made it hard to judge the Millsaps team because Millsaps can't replicate in practice what MC can do in practice.  The MC starters are use to playing against guys who are just as big, just as quick, and probably just as good.  With that in mind, it wasn't surprising that MC dominated the 1st half and Millsaps showed improvement as they got more acclimated to playing against the stronger competition.  The longer they played the scrimmage, the better Millsaps looked and they will be a very solid team this year.  They have added a little more depth at the inside positions and they return a lot of players from last year's team.  They look like a team that will be very competitiive in a very competitive league.

[consultant]

I was in Jackson for the Majors' SCAC football championship win this weekend, and I watched the Majors' basketball practice on Friday.  I agree with Frank that Millsaps has more inside depth this season.  They are bigger and more powerful than the Millsaps teams of the past few years.  They should be able to control the ball and dictate their own style of play offensively.  Defensively, they may not be as feisty as they have been, but with more size they should be able to create more problems for opposing offenses.  The past few years, the Millsaps defense has been a gnat squad....not very big but very much a pest.  Millsaps had 19 guys practicing on Friday. 

[frank_ezelle]

I posted the photos this morning from the Sunday afternoon Millsaps-Mississippi College scrimmage.  Here's the link to the main page and I think most SCAC folks can figure out which links to click on to get to the scrimmage photos:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v283/Millsaps_Majors/

[scaccommish]

DePauw men picked to repeat as conference roundball champs in 2006-07

SUWANEE, Ga. - In exclusive voting of the sports information directors of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), DePauw University has been selected as the team to beat for the men's basketball conference title for the 2006-07 season.

The DU Tigers picked up six of a possible 10 first-place votes and came in with 95 total points to finish ahead of Trinity University's 83 points, which included the remaining four first-place votes.

For the complete release:
http://www.scac-online.org/basketball_mens

[d3bballfollower]

definitely no certainties like in the past...there will we lots of surprises and "upsets" this year in the conference...should be a very exciting year

[carlweathers]

I am confused.  Last year the pre-season poll puts Trinity tied for 3rd when despite losing four starters they returned the two best players in the league and three other seniors that had played a very big part on an elite 8 team.  Four of five seniors last year had started multiple games over the course of their carer despite being a year behind Morris, Devins, Murray, and Stroberg.  This year they are picked 2nd with four first place votes and they graduated all five starters.  Very surprising.

I think this Trinity team COULD be good in the end, but to pick them that high in the pre-season seems crazy.  Brandon York is very, very good and Casey Hill and Mike Gilb are ready to play bigger roles, Barret Koch will prove to be a solid player, but I am not even sure who will even play after that and I am pretty sure that the rest of the SCAC can't know either.   

Good luck to everyone as the season starts tonight.  Hopefully the pre-season poll will prove to be more or less correct. 

[Borat...NOT]

I think Carl hit the nail on the head.  Last years Trinity team had proven players who had started in the past, of the 5 starters off last years Trinity team, 4 had started before last season.  This years team is much less experienced.  Aside from York, no one else saw significant playing time last year.  Gilb, Casey Hill, and Koch all got some playing time last year but I wouldn't call any of them key contributors.  You can count on Coach Cunningham to have his ball club ready to play defense but I see two challenges for this years team, rebounding and scoring.  Aside from Gilb, this team lacks size on the interior.  Last years team also lacked size but had athletic swing men like James Lake and Ross Burt who would attack the glass.  The way I see it, York is the only guy on this years Trinity team who can score the basketball.  I wouldn't be suprised if he is the only player who averages in double figures for the year. 

[frank_ezelle]

I'm glad to see Millsaps ranked 4th instead of higher up.  With the conference being so balanced it will be tough for a team to get to 20 wins but I think Millsaps will finish up with 18 wins or better.  I'm counting on that first win coming tonight and the second win coming tomorrow.  The potential is there, now they just have to find the focus each night and build off the momentum of the football team.

[warriorfan]

Hendrix beat Rhema tonight in overtime.  Matt Secrease, who led all scorers with 28 points, shot a three pointer to move the game into overtime.  Secrease passed 1000 points during the game.  The team, although heavy with freshmen, looked great even with several out due to  injuries and illness. 

[d3bballfollower]

from the scores i've seen the SCAC is 5-0 on day 1...not a bad start

[Ralph Turner]

Hendrix beat Rhema tonight in overtime.  Matt Secrease, who led all scorers with 28 points, shot a three pointer to move the game into overtime.  Secrease passed 1000 points during the game.  The team, although heavy with freshmen, looked great even with several out due to  injuries and illness. 

Rhema is not usually a heavy hitter.  Have they added talent?