MBB: Great South Athletic Conference

[wilburt]

Old Lion

It was nothing personal, but with all due respect to the Lions from Piedmont, I don't see them as having improved all that much from last season.  To me it looks pretty much like the same roster as last season.   Remaining stagnant in a conference where everyone else has improved (at least on paper), doesn't bode well for Piedmont in my book.

BTW, for what it is worth I make these predictions each year and for the most part I have been wrong.   The guys from East Tennessee got very mad at me last season when I predicted their first regular season conference loss (I was one overtime period away from being correct), and that they would win less than 20 games during the regular season (which I believe Murvul did, I could stand corrected though on that point)       

For the record Old Lion, I agree that FISK's gym does need major improvment!

[old_lion]

Lions give DI Troy University a scare!

We are making progress. Last year, we lost to Troy by 47.

In an exhibition this past Saturday, Troy eeked out a 34 point win ... 117 - 83. Had they not been so much quicker, taller, stronger, and not had two 6'8 guys who were money from about 10 feet outside the arc ... they could have been in serious trouble. (smile)

Seriously, we did feel very good about the effort. We are optimistic about playing a couple of DIII teams this weekend.

[mattgrubb]

The Scots look average
They have nice practice uniforms and Nike shoes
Guys with long hair and guys with short hair
One really fat guy and one midget
Pretty Much a typical D3 team
Who knows how they will do, this season, but this could be the year for a gsac team to beat them in the regular season

[Scots06]

Well I think the Scots of 2005-2006 are as unpredictable as the weather in East Tennessee.. Who knows who will show up.. Lack of leadership might hurt them on the road and the kac of depth at the point guard position.. Bo Mason gets hurt, say good night to the season..
No question the Scots will lose their first regular season conference game this season.. I say possible losses at Fisk, at Huntingdon, and at Lagrange...
Mason,Calloway,and Golden must carry the load all season long... Do they have what it takes, will soon find out..

Predictions: Fisk Conference Champs.....Allen White Player of the Year....
1st Team All Conference... Chris Adams..Courtney Ellis..Allen White...Bobby Golden... Monte Calloway..

[mattgrubb]

wow, Scots06 i can't get that harsh
i don't think the season rests on a sophomore PG
CPY-definitely Monte or Bobby
I think lack of leadership is going to be there soft spot for sure and that is a reflection on Monte and Bobby
I think those 2 have the potential to step up and lead if they choose to, but remember that stuff starts with yourself
I know i read somewhere, i think it was Bo Ryan that said, it is a scary thing when your best player is your hardest worker and i can't say that for the scots this year, like a sydney ellis or Josh Tummel
The scots still have lambert and Beaty on the sidelines and that has to count for something, at least 5 points a game for great style

[wilburt]

I think I may have overrated Maryville and underrated Huntingdon in my predictions

[mattgrubb]

Maryville is not overrated, this team has the potential to dominate the gsac like every other MC team has done in the history of the conference.  There problem is not talent.  They have depth and a ton (or tons when referring to Bobby Golden) of talent.  We all know about their studs Monte and Bobby, but what about their depth at the 4, or the handful of perimeter players that you guys don't mention like Andy "Cash Money" Chaney.  JJ is back and so is Quinn.  With Holiday and Blair inside.  They have 8 really solid players, I think their talent will suprise some people and so will their depth.  It is their focus and leadership that are the question.  So it will make tough road games the big question mark, but these kids could have grown up since last year.

[wilburt]

Great points Mr. Grubb!  Even with Ellis and Placeres, Murvul struggled a bit at the beginning of the season last year and at the end of the season last year, in part due to injuries.   

Now that those two leaders are gone, and it is unsure who will or can step up for the Scots, this may be be a struggling .500 season for those of you in East Tennessee based on what I keep hearing.

I must also congratulate Maryville on its 2005 GSAC mythical football championship with its victory over Huntingdon last weekend.

[Scots06]

In losing Placeres and Ellis you lost an All American, Two 1st Team All Conference players, leadership and most of all "Big Play" guys.. I dont know Maryville has a player when the game is on the line you would want the ball in their hands.. Mason although a great shooter has not been "battled tested"
Its easier to be someones replacement then being the main guy. I believe Mason has the ability to do so, I just don't think he is a leader.
  The big thing like all Randy Lambert's team can this team play defense??
I think the Scots split this weekend at LaGrange...

[wilburt]

IMHO, if there is still a question as whether or not Maryville can play defense with the season just days away, then it does look like a .500 season or so for the Scots.

[scottiedoug]

Here is the link to the Murvul Daily Times' article today:

http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/223035

Johnson starting at wing is interesting...he did not play any or much last year (injury).   

[mattgrubb]

Burton
I'll be honest, a .500 record out of the scots is a ridiculous statement.
The worst record lambert has had in 10 years is 16-9 and that is no where near .500
No you could end up being the smartest person on this board ever if your guess is correct, but if past performance is indicative of future results, which it can be in bball, then there is not much chance of the scots going .500 considering they have won 40 consecutive GSAC regular season games and guess what the season tips off in 1 hour...yesssssssssss

[narch]

It was nothing personal, but with all due respect to the Lions from Piedmont, I don't see them as having improved all that much from last season.  To me it looks pretty much like the same roster as last season.   Remaining stagnant in a conference where everyone else has improved (at least on paper), doesn't bode well for Piedmont in my book.

do you need NEW PLAYERS to improve as a team?  what if a young team matures and develops and those same guys who were on the roster the previous year are better...can you be improved then? give me a team that returns almost all of it's nucleus vs. a team that has to replace 2 or 3 parts 8 days a week...returning players don't have to learn the system or the players or the coaches or how to juggle school and college athletics or lots of other things

they may not be much better than your assesment, wilburt, but your reasoning isn't sound, in my opinion

for what it's worth, i think pc will win 14-16 games and be very competetive in the gsac...but what do i know?

[wilburt]

Narch apparently you did not appreciate my full quote. I am assuming that not only Piedmont, but everyone else in the GSAC has returning players that improved to some degree, if not more than Piedmont's players.  So IMHO that leaves Piedmont as having not drastically improved from last season unless some new key players (that I'm not aware of) arrived on the seen to contribute immediately and significantly.

Again with due respect to Piedmont, having the nucleus from a 9-17 team versus the nucleus of a 17-10 team like Huntingdon has returning is a major difference in a starting point in my book!

Grubb we will see about Maryville soon enough, .500 may well be an exaggeration on my part.  I just got through watching FISK play Knoxville this evening (winning 92-78), and they looked fairly impressive.  FISK has one of the quickest backcourts I've seen in a long while, and has better depth than last year. 

Tennessee State Monday night...

[narch]

Narch apparently you did not appreciate my full quote. I am assuming that not only Piedmont, but everyone else in the GSAC has returning players that improved to some degree, if not more than Piedmont's players.  So IMHO that leaves Piedmont as having not drastically improved from last season unless some new key players (that I'm not aware of) arrived on the seen to contribute immediately and significantly.

apparently i didn't appreciate the subtle nuance and things that weren't written, but implied, in your post...i've read and re-read it and still can't find it - i don't know nearly as much about the gsac as you, but i was under the impression that pc was returning MORE of their key players from last season than teams like hc and lc - it's interesting to conjecture that some teams may improve more than others, as well - certainly can be true, but not sure what would lead you to believe that prior to the season - we'll know if you're correct soon enough

both pc and huntingdon lost to g'boro and beat ferrum in the gsac/usasac challenge

m'ville doesn't seem to have lost much with 2 nice regional wins this weekend