MBB: Great South Athletic Conference

[wilburt]

The Oglethorpe accreditation issue is a carryover from the previous year.  Essentially SACS continued the probation for another year.  The timing of the economic downturn was unfortunate for OU and their efforts to get off probation.

pbrooks, I have heard that the economic downturn and its effects on financial issues inside the SACS accreditation profile will make the reviewers' jobs harder.

Strong leadership at the Presidential level will help OU.

I tried to find something on the Oglethorpe web addressing the funding/accreditation issue and was unsuccessful.  The only thing I did find was a page listing facility rentals which I guess could be one way to close the gap.   

I searched my inbox for the most recent letter the President of the University had sent out to all students and the few alumni who still check the Oglethorpe E-mail on a regular basis.  Somehow the letter must have been deleted but from what I gathered from it was- The review board noted that Oglethorpe had made great progress over the past 2 years and that the SACS was satisfied with their progress but they wanted to make sure Oglethorpe maintained that level of performance over another years period before they were to award full accreditation.  I don't know all the specifics of our dire financial situation other than it was bad... real bad.  Unfortunately Dr. Schall had to inherit this mess.  Luckily for us at OU I believe that he was the right man for the job and boy did we need him badly.  Pbrooks noted that strong leadership at the Presidential level will help OU... well I believe we have extremely strong leadership at the Presidential level and each year more and more people are buying into Dr. Schall's plan.  I believe he will, in time, lead Oglethorpe out of this hole they are in and in the future will build OU into a stronger University.

Next time I receive any information I'll try to post it on since it seems to be a topic of interest each time it's brought up.


While the idea of Oglethorpe leaving the SCAC to join the GSAC and the likes of Huntigdon, Lagrange etc. would make much more sense economically and geographically it does not make sense for the overall goal of the University.  If we were to move to the GSAC it would be a huge step back rather than a huge step forward.  Being a part of the prestigious SCAC is an honor and definitely an attractive feature that helps attract students.  Right now OU is at the bottom of the conference in nearly every aspect (minus Women's bball and Men's Golf) and seems to drag the conference down.  I have hope that with the new leadership in place at the school we can improve our standing in the SCAC and be an asset rather than a hindrance.  Right now OU needs the SCAC more than the SCAC needs Oglethorpe.

Interesting Comment from the SCAC board regarding Oglethorpe.

Happy New Year everyone!  Nice win for Piedmont and Old Lion.

[bballlover]

After seeing Piedmont & Maryville play this week let me give those of you that have not seen them play yet a warning for when you do.Be sure to pick up a roster sheet.In The Lion's case this was expected.You have Coppage, Rubio, & a lot of new faces.Lampl, Martin, & Sloan you might recognize from last year. All three are now playing larger rolls.In The Scots case they at times had 5 guys on the floor that I can hardly remember playing at all.( And yes that includes that number 50.This has to be the biggest change in appearance from one year to the next that I can remember.)Yes they still have Laverdiere,Blakely, Orr, Watson, & Shumate.Jared is playing about the same amount of time, Eryk a little more, but the other three have seed their minutes decline.I don't know why as this is the first I have seen them this year. Maybe somone else can tell us.

[mattgrubb]

i think we all need to give old lion more credit for piedmont's weekend, maybe they actually started reading his posts and put them to work on the court

[old_lion]

i think we all need to give old lion more credit for piedmont's weekend, maybe they actually started reading his posts and put them to work on the court

You are much too kind, Grubby One.  Insightful as some of my posts may be,    I seriously doubt the Young Lions have read anything useful on here that they haven't heard repeatedly in practice.

Big game Saturday Vs. Methodist ... we've pulled of a couple of upsets recently.  Now we need to go out, execute, and beat a comparable team.

Go Lions!

[Spencer Beaty]

a very good win by the Scots at Bryan College.  The Scots had a good overtime after letting Bryan back in the game late in the second half.

[old_lion]

OK, somebody better give Alan Greenspan a heads up ... I'm about to engage in irrational exuberance.

Nice win for the Lions yesterday ... may be about time to abandon the Young Lions moniker, this team is maturing rapidly.  We all knew that early schedule was going to be brutal for a young, inexperienced bunch, not used to playing with each other.  Well apparently, they have survived it with their confidence intact and are definitely trending in the right direction.

I think yesterday's 10 point win over Methodist (after losing to them by 16 early in the season) is indicative of how far this team has come.
http://www.mumonarchs.com/custompages/MBasketball/2008-09/mum0103.htm

While Methodist's 6-10 shot blocker did a good job of containing Herebia, our veteran guards (Coppage and Rubio) both stepped up with big games.  Also big, Chatman's 4 assists, 2 steals, and 15 points (while missing only one shot) off the bench.

Other observations ...
*Solid, understated game from Gardner ... 2/2 from the field, 8 rebounds.
*Very good ball movement and held turnovers in check. For instance, twice Sloan reversed the ball from the low post for wide open 3s.
*Overall depth is outstanding ... this team has 12 or so guys capable of solid contributions.
*Shooting 51%, 56%, and 86% (on FGs, 3s, and FTs, respectively) will win a lot of games for you.

The one glaring negative ... while the D has improved and our guys play hard most of the time ... the consistency is not there yet.  In spite of our depth, there are still stretches where some guys are standing and watching, as opposed to helping on D.

Now for the irrational exuberance part ... the gsac lost some outstanding seniors last year and I believe is down in over all talent level.  With that said, because of our outstanding depth, if we continue to improve ... I think we have a legitimate shot at the gsac title.   

I know, a strong statement for a 4-8 team ...  we'll see ...

[Big Dog]

Old Lion,

Your irrational exuberance needs to be refuted. The GSAC crown will be in Maryville. Four things are certain in life,  (1)death (2) taxes (3) The GSAC title in Maryville and (4) the Grubby one having a hot chick on his arm when he is out and about. If the Scots were being coached by Lane Kiffin you might have a chance-but their current coach could cut down an Old Lion with a kitchen knife and a pocket knife. Until further notice, enjoy being the second best team in the conference.

Big Dog has spoken

[old_lion]

Big Dog,

You are probably correct.  Lambert's coaching/ team building ability is one of the constants of the gsac ... exceeded perhaps, only by the extreme confidence/arrogance of some Murvul fans. For instance, Killer and Grubby One are extremely confident.  My disdain for "talking smack" prevents me from listing the arrogant ones ...    Here's a hint ... most people refrain from "talking crap" coming off a 1 - 4 streak. 

Also, I think Huntingdon is going to have a hand in determining the second best (or best) team in the gsac.

[KnoxCounty22]

Old Lion has spoken, and that was very well said.

Old Lion, Im going to try to make it to the Maryville game on the 31st of Jan. You should stick around later on that night. Florida plays at Tennessee @9, and I could get you some free tickets. I've networked with the people at Webb.

[old_lion]

Also, I think Huntingdon is going to have a hand in determining the second best (or best) team in the gsac.

I have a couple of buddies at LaGrange, so I'm pulling for them.  But things are looking sort of bleak right now ...
http://www.lagrange.edu/athletics/basketball/schedule.htm

[old_lion]

Old Lion has spoken, and that was very well said.

Old Lion, Im going to try to make it to the Maryville game on the 31st of Jan. You should stick around later on that night. Florida plays at Tennessee @9, and I could get you some free tickets. I've networked with the people at Webb.

Sounds good to me ... I'll have my people call your people ... 

[mattgrubb]

The Big Dog is a prophet,
in a few weeks Randy will have this edition of fighting scots on the right track and they will be tough.
They better win the GSAC or they will never be able to walk around murvul without hearing about it.

The Grubby one

[scottiedoug]

GrubbyOne's comment ("They better win the GSAC or they will never be able to walk around murvul without hearing about it") may turn out to be the key, since this may be more of a pride year than a best team year. 

[scottiedoug]

Our friend and wise man Ralph Turner on the Bumblin' B's board has noticed that the Scots are not looking like their usual sure thing for a Pool B bid to the NCAA.  They really do need to rip off a whole bunch of w's in D3 play and may as well start with Averett.

Old_lion's bunch could get there instead if they keep up this winning thing....

[old_lion]

Our friend and wise man Ralph Turner on the Bumblin' B's board has noticed that the Scots are not looking like their usual sure thing for a Pool B bid to the NCAA.  They really do need to rip off a whole bunch of w's in D3 play and may as well start with Averett.

Old_lion's bunch could get there instead if they keep up this winning thing....

I don't know, Scottie ... there are a lot of losses already on the books.
http://www.greatsouth.org/m_basketball.html

At this point, it doesn't seem very likely that any gsac school is going to get a Pool B bid this season.  What do you think, Ralph?