MBB: Coast 2 Coast Athletic Conference

[huskiect]

York is looking tough this year. I have not yet had a chance to see them play but hope to catch a game in Jan. I think the other post talking about Jeremy is spot on. I think he understands that. He had an awesome game against Wesley and if you watch the post game on the York web site he speaks well about his role as a leader on the team. There is a lot of good chemistry on the club.

[spartanfan13]

Saw York beat Rosemont last night. Hope it was just the holiday doldrums. It was the second five who finally brought a little enthusiasm to the gym.  If they play that way tonight, Gettysburg won't let them get away with it.  I don't want to take anything away from Rosemont, because they only had 8 guys suited up, but they were ready to play.  It seemed like York "played down" to the competition.  Kevin Whaley knows how to rise to a challenge, but he didn't seem up for the game.  Paul K. seems to be playing more confidently and Jeremy let the game come to him, especially at the end.  So there were positive signs.  Again, it might have been just the rust of the layoff, but get ready for tonight because Gettysburg will want payback for the previous last minute loss.

[spartanfan13]

Well the doldrums only lasted one day.  YCP played its best game that I've seen this season.  Paul was a monster on the glass and Jeremy did a nice job on the offensive boards.  It seems like they've been taking lessons from the Nick Brady school of rebounding.  Everyone was also playing good defense.  Every time Powers got the ball down low, our defender had help on the backside.  He didn't score many points down low.  We also were very aggressive.  Kovaris got called for a foul after pulling down #10 (who flopped) because he was making a statement that he wasn't going to take #10's crap.

Nick got the offense going early and everyone followed.  I did notice that Dylan was taking more shots than he usually does. I don't want him to go overboard because he can't shoot like Brady, Whaley or Skoloda,  but he does need to take a shot when it is given to him, just to keep them honest.

We now enter the tough part of the season.  Good teams win conference games on the road.  We will soon know how good this team is.  Go Spartans!

[Spartan Radio]

Fans can listen to Saturday's York at Hood doubleheader on YCPSpartans.com.  Here are the direct links:

Women = http://broadcastmonsters.com/YorkCollege/WBasketball/york010910.asx

Men = http://broadcastmonsters.com/YorkCollege/MBasketball/york010910.asx

Webcast will start roughly five minutes before tip, 3:55 p.m. for the women's game and 5:55 p.m. for the men's game.

[spartanfan13]

Spartans overwhelmed an inferior opponent last night.  A couple observations.  Paul Kouvaris couldn't get his shots to fall, but I love the way he is becoming a more aggressive rebounder.  Jeremy Keefer has been doing a nice job of letting the game come to him and taking what the defense gives him.  He also did a nice job denying entry passes at the beginning of the game and getting some steals.  Matt Moley does the little things that don't show up in the scorebook and last night he had to deal with a few ticky tack fouls called against him.  Dylan Hoffman played one of his better games, because he (like Keefer) didn't try to force the action.  It was nice to see Mitch Kemp hit a couple rainbow three pointers, should help his confidence.  For those of us who watched him in high school, we know he is capable.  Hopefully gives Coach Gamber another weapon.  Skoloda struggled with shot last night, but we didn't need it.  Brady and Whalen were solid as usual.

Couple road games coming up and we need to find a way to win.  Big advantage to finish in the top 2 of conference come playoff time.  Go Spartans!

[CACsportsnut]

Well we are 2/3's through the season (barring playoffs) and after tonight will be half way through the conference schedule. How about some predictions to help"liven" up this board a little? Regular season predictions, cnference tournament predictions? CAC selections, Player and Coach awards? Anything really, this used to be the most active board!

Half way through the season I feel that four teams have put themselves in the upper tier of the conference, while a few remain sleepers, and well, two might be fighting for that final spot in the 8 team playoff.

York and St. Mary's look very impressive so far, York at 13-3 (5-2) and St. Mary's at 13-2 (6-1). Hood has been a pleasent suprise, playing every team very tough and also, like St. Mary's, holding a 6-1 conference record. They battle tonight however, and one team will roll on to 7-1, while the other falls to 6-2. The fourth team in that "upper-tier" is Marymount. Rough start to the season, but have bounced back and played exceptionally well in conference.

Salisbury is a sleeper team who can beat teams if not taken seriously (i.e. York, Mary Washington)
Mary Washington puzzles me, but they are young besides Altmann and I am sure Coach Wood will have them as a team to "wreckon' with come February. Big test tonight at home against York.
Wesley is also a tough team to over look because of their athleticism through their whole lineup and their up-tempo style.

Gallaudett and Stevenson are both still looking for an identity and that big win. They are fighting for what seems t be that final spot.

Basically the story is the same old in the CAC, tough competition throughout the entire conference...if you take a night off, there is a good chance you will garner an "L" for that night.

To make things interesting as I have the past few years I am going to predict how I feel it will shake out. Now I am no Andy Katz from ESPN so take it easy on me with the critiques.

Regular Season finish I feel will shake down to:

1.) St. Mary's
2.) York
3.) Hood
4.) Marymount
5.) Wesley
6.) Mary Washington
7.) Salisbury
8.) Stevenson
9.) Gallaudett

CAC Conference Tourney champs I feel that York might take that, grabbing the automatic bid, and St. Mary's getting an at-large. Wishful thinking that 2 CAC teams make it...Should have been two in last year(Wesley and St. Mary's).

Predictions on CAC Selections:

Freshman of the Year - Jeremy Skoloda, York..Josh Sisco, Gallaudett..also to mention, Bart Reese, Mary Washington
              Skoloda is York's best scorer off of the bench, and maybe the best overall freshman scorer in the conference. Plays big minutes for one of the top 2 teams in the conference, and with those minutes along with scoring, defends opposing teams top scorers. Sisco is the leading rebounder and scorer among all freshman in the CAC and has been solid all year long. However, playing for a in-conference winless team does not help. I said keep an eye on Bart Reese because he exploded the other night and that was really his first game playing big minutes. He couldd be a real impact player with the more minutes he gets.

Prediction - Skoloda or Reese

Coach of the Year - Tom Dickman, Hood...Jeff Gamber, York...Chris Rodgers, Marymount
              Dickman has a taken a team that had a decent year last year, lost 2 starters (one to graduation, another removed himself from the team) and went under everyone's rader, and has transformed that team into the best defensive team in the league. They are 6-1 in conference, 11-5 overall, and probably will not be an easy out in any of the 16 games they play in conference all year. Gamber's Spartans went 9-17 last year, and lost their reigning Co-CAC Rookie of the Year for the season. The response? 13-3 overall at this point, 5-2 in conference, and for some weeks were on the brink of joining St. Mary's in the D3hoops.com top 25 poll. Rodgers has come to Marymount after a Final 4 run with Franklin & Marshall, which he was the assistant coach. He has Marymount playing arguably the best basketball in the CAC and has made them into a sure fire contender, all with only a sumer and a pre-season under his belt.

Prediction - Dickman

Player of the Year - Camonte Griffen, St. Mary's...Nick Brady, York...Brandon Altmann, Mary Washington...Alex Franz, St. Mary's
            For starters lets just open up with 51 points. And that was not in a blow out win against a poor defensive team. That was against a 11-5 team, and the best defensive team in the conference, in a 7 point margin victory. St. Mary's needed all 51 of those points. Camonte Griffen is the best scorer in the CAC (22.1 per clip), and does it shooting good percentages as well. 87% from the line, 46 from the field. He adds ins 2.2 assists per game along with 2.4 steals per game.  It hurts that he plays with another fantastic player like Franz, who may be the best all-around player in the conference. 12 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals per game. That is efficiency. He is the floor leader on the top team in the conference and may also be able to boast about himself being the brightest player in the CAC. He never gets flustered, which is tough to not do when you have a bullseye on your back and get every teams best game. It Is hard however to ignore what Nick Brady has been doing as well.  If it were not for Franz he would maybe have the label as top all around player. He not only is scoring 19.3 per game while shooting 86% from the line, 49 from the field, and 43 from 3, but he also is arguably the best rebounding guard in the conference (6.0 rebounds per game) along with Franz. Also, he is leading the conference in 3 pointers made.Brandon Altmann has been wodnerful, but has flown uner the radar a tad due to Mary Washington's struggles. He is the premir big man in the league, is a double double machin at 19 points and close to 11 boards a game, shoots high %'s, and defends the rim well. He is so important to Mary Washington and without him, I fear their struggles would be more serious.

Prediction - Griffen or Brady

All-Conference

1st Team

Camonte Griffen - St. Mary's
Nick Brady - York
Brandon Altmann - Mary Washington
Alex Franz - St. Mary's
Tarek Ammoury - Marymount

2nd Team

Kevin Whaley - York
Greg Palmer - Salisbury
Rudy Thomas - Wesley
Kevin Johnson - Wesley
Tyler Snoots - Hood

[huskiect]

Nice Job. I think you have got a handle on things. It would be nice to see two CAC teams make it.

[Brett Adams]

CACSportsnut,
great commentary.... just one clarification.... CAC play-offs (as of last year) include only the TOP 6, not the top eight.  No. 1 and No. 2 get a first round bye and a host for the semi's.  No. 3 host No. 6 and No. 4 host No. 5.... No. 7, 8, and 9 prepare for next year.

Great competition in the conference.  Love being in the CAC.

[huskiect]

I wish more people would discuss on this board. If you look at the ODAC board that board is always buzzing.

[spartanfan13]

CACsportsnut.  Wish I could comment on your post, but since I only see York College home games I am not familiar enough with opposing players.  I enjoyed your commentary and based on what I know, agree with your assessments.  Should be interesting as we enter the final weeks.  York had a big win against Hood today.  They are undefeated at home this year, so if that continues they would have the inside track on getting the number 2 seed for the playoffs.  Since they have struggled a little in the conference on the road, they will be an underdog in the finale at St Marys, but would probably be favored on their other 2 road contests at Stevenson and Gallaudet (but being the favorite doesn't mean they can't lose).  They have 2 tough home games this week with Marymount and Salisbury (lost to both on the road) so if they let down to either of them, the number 2 seed could slip away.  Lots of time left, for interesting things to happen.

[spartanfan13]

YCP played one of their best halfs of basketball today.  Their offense was sizzling in the first half as led by Nick Brady who had 22 points and 6 three pointers at the break.  I know this sounds contradictory, but I thought #42 was playing tough defense on him too.  Nick was feeling it and no defense was going to stop him in that first half.  He cooled down in the 2nd half and finished with 30.   I always like the way Matt Moley plays and today it was outstanding.  Things were falling his way and he was capitalizing.  He didn't force anything (maybe one shot from the deep corner). He was getting some rebounds and playing good defense (like always).  Nice game.  The Jeremys, Kevin, Paul and Dylan all played well.  Kevin always seems to be in control of his game and knows how to take advantage of matchups.  Paul didn't put up big numbers and was in a bit of foul trouble, but continues to improve.  I continue to be happy that Jeremy K and Dylan are doing a good job of letting the game come to them and take what it gives you.  Dylan didn't shoot much so he wasn't forcing and Jeremy scored when opportunity was there.   Jeremy S hit some big threes especially when Hood was making a run late in the second half.  Good win today.  Defend the home court this week.  Go Spartans!

[spartanfan13]

York wins a big one last night. They trailed most of the game and were not making many shots.  It kind of reminded me of their win over Gettysburg where they pulled out a victory at the end of the game.  With the victory, the Spartans can now look forward to another big one on saturday against Salisbury. Once again we need to defend our house. 
Nick Brady struggled with his shot last night, but came up with some huge points down the stretch.  Even though Paul had a double double and a tremendous rebound at the end, i thought that Kevin and Jeremy K were the keys to this win.  Kevin is so quick up the court when he gets a defensive rebound and creates lots of scoring chances.  He also exploits matchups as evidenced by his beatiful jumper out of the timeout late in the game that gave us a little breathing room.  He and Nick are great compliments to each other.  Jeremy K didn't miss many shots (one of the few last night) and seemed energized out of the halftime locker room.  He wanted the ball and then created nice opportunities for himself.  Jeremy S struggled with his shot. Matt Moley didn't have one of his better games.  Dylan did a solid job on defense and kept #42 in check.
Was a huge win as we fight for playoff position.  Saturday is just as big.  Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves and follow the cliche  "one game at a time"  Go Spartans!

[ycp]

The York College-Salisbury University doubleheader is now going to be played on Monday evening. The women's game kicks off the action at 6:00 pm followed by the men's game at eight. Both games will play large roles in determining playoff seedings for the upcoming CAC tournament. Also, all CAC games scheduled for Wednesday, February 10 will now be played on Thursday, February 11 as announced by the conference office earlier today.

[huskiect]

Good post, I heard the game between York and Marymount on the radio. That was a big win for York and a needed win. They need to hold serve on thier home court. I may get to see the York St Mary's game on the 20th.

[spartanfan13]

I said once before that it is difficult picking the POY when you only see opposing players once a season, but I can't imagine anyone playing much better than Nick Brady right now.  Last night he carried us, like he has done numerous times this year.  Some of the 3 pointers he made last night were made from way beyond the arc.  If I thought his game was just shooting, that would be one thing, but he also an awesome rebounder.  The desire he shows on the court is so much fun to watch.  He usually has the other teams best defender(s) on him, but he creates his own shot and is really quick off the dribble.

I admit to YCP bias, but Nick Brady has led YCP to a much better season than I expected.  He has my vote for POY (even though it doesn't mean much).