MBB: Coast 2 Coast Athletic Conference

[purpleheart22]

Big 4-0 start by Salisbury.  Nobody predicted that but congrats to Merkel and the team.  They will probably receive votes now for top 25 after defeating number 1 team, and Hopkins who defeated St Mary's.  Cant wait for conference play to start.  Glad Gamber is retiring maybe now York will get more diversity on its roster next year.  Maryland is a great state for D3 basketball lots of quality student athletes to recruit that can play at a high level. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

York is in PA and they recruit from there... no rule states York has to recruit from Maryland. Furthermore, saying Gamber's departure will maybe mean more diversity is a bit of a dangerous comment.

As for Salisbury, I think the jury is still out. I personally did not put them on my ballot after considering them. They are certainly off to a great start with the Pride of Maryland win and a win over then #1 Virginia Wesleyan, but we are hardly a month into the season and personally, they have to keep winning and prove the start is a sign that they are a Top 25 team.

Also, the win over Hopkins who beat St. Mary's might not say as much as you think. Hopkins has trouble scoring and unless they can keep teams under 70, they will struggle. And St. Mary's is plagued with injuries to some very key players off of a team that already lost a good amount from last season.

Finally, Salisbury is certainly running a new offense. I will be interested to see how teams start to game-plan against them after DVD's start to make their rounds and especially when they enter the second round of conference games.

Again... I think the jury is still out.

[purpleheart22]

DMac its a dangerous comment but its true.  Everybody knows it but people are afraid to say it. Guess what this guy isnt.  you sound like a
Salisbury hater. Give credit where credit is due. They have earned a top 25 ranking.  Whether they keep it is up to them but they have earned that ranking. last time i checked rankings arent made on the future its the present.  St Mary's will be fine they just need to fine tune some things and they will be ready to roll once conference play starts. They have a really hard out of conference schedule this year.  Glad to see Mary Washington getting votes as well. Been a long time since CAC had three teams getting votes.  The league sounds like the good ole days.  Hopefully it brings back some life to the board.  Miss the old Catholic fans. 

[Pat Coleman]

You can help out by making more than two posts a month.

I agree with you about Salisbury. But rankings are made on both the future and the present. And the past.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I am in no way a Salisbury hater... I miss the days of the team being at the top of the conference. However, I am also a realist and in my years of being a Top 25 pollster, I have learned not to jump to conclusions, especially early in the season. I have put teams in my Top 25 based on a win (and in my opinion, Salisbury has one win of note) only to see them drop two or three games in a matter of a week or two and I end up wishing I had never jumped to an early conclusion.

The same can be said about teams I have put in based on expectations I had in the pre-season, only to have them turn out to be duds or heroes and I projected it the wrong direction.

Salisbury is on my not-so-short-list to get on my ballot. But, being they have a new coach and a new system, I would rather see more on their resume before I place them in my Top 25 ballot. Once I see it, they will be there.

[Reserved Seat]

d-mac, looks like you were right about Salisbury.

[jams0325]

Even more of a reason to believe that the polls don't mean much until after the New Year. Don't sleep on York this year...they are always a tough out and the guys will be motivated to have Coach Gamber go out on a high note. Conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance are very realistic for them this year...but again, very early still and lots of games yet to play.

[CACaddict]

SMCM ekes out a close victory over visiting Guilford, although with the students away from campus it seemed more a neutral site contest than a genuine home game.  The teams looked very evenly matched and neither was able to pull away from the other.  The final score may have been the biggest lead enjoyed by St. Mary's.

On a lob play, one of Guilford's big men appeared to take a knee to the chest or arm from the defender covering the backside.  He went down in obvious pain and never returned to the game.  I noticed afterwards he was cradling one arm during the postgame handshake, offering his opposite hand for the gesture.  He still looked to be in a bit of discomfort.

[CACaddict]

SMCM got up early on Marymount and stayed there.  The game idled at a 10-15 point SMCM lead and the Virginia players never threatened.  Marymount may have pulled to withing six at one point but were quickly repelled.  Chris Hutchinson was the player of the game, offering smothering defense and nifty moves in the paint, including an impressive dunk off an alley-oop that I first assumed was one of the St. Mary's big men. I didn't know he could up like that!

St. Mary's plays again Saturday . . .

[watcher]

I think this is the most open the conference has been in years with no team really looking that dominate as in years past with St. Mary's just being heads above everyone else. It's going to be interesting to see who takes the conference championship this year

[SUADC]

Salisbury still above .500, good to see. I am very hopeful for the future of this program. I believe the new coach and his staff are doing a great job. I can see them doing well in the next year or two. Also, the transfers are helping out a lot and with Salisbury University growing with new the education building, business building, library, and new sports complex in the near future, we can land some good recruits and snag some good transfers.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Since this room has been dead this season, this might not be worth it... but just in case, we had Coach Jeff Gamber on Hoopsville tonight. You can check out the archive here: www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2011-12/feb12

Coach Gamber is on around the 30 minute mark.

Enjoy!

[Pat Coleman]

Thought this would happen years ago.

http://www.d3sports.com/notables/2012/02/cnu-withdraws-from-usac-for-cac

[CNU85]

Just checking out the various CAC boards. Mostly trying to find them. Different regions for diff sports. Are all the CAC boards dead like this one and baseball?

[jams0325]

Pretty much...