MBB: Conference of New England

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'm not sure if Curry has a January term or if they can do an independent study thing.  The wierd part is he played in at least one game alongside Lamb, which means that second semester had already officially started.  It all sounds a bit fishy to me.

[Big Hoss]

With all of the emphasis being placed on Curry and Gordon one might be lead to believe that they are winning their respective divisions, which they are not.  Although RW lost Gumb ealier this season, they've been playing better basketball and lead the south.  In the north Endicott seems to be mopping up the competition.  I realize that they still have some tough road games in the league, Gordon and Colby Sawyer, but they have to be the favorites at this point.  I was at the game on Tuesday night and was impressed with their talent level and depth, they play 10 deep.  I realize UNE is not the cream of the crop, but they did beat Curry last week so they are a solid club.  I can't wait for next tuesday's rematch at Gordon, could be the best matchup of the year.  Oh ya, Gordon has some work to do if they want to avoid another embarassment like the game at EC earlier this year

[24/7/365]

Gordon has some work to do if they want to avoid another embarassment like the game at EC earlier this year

Hate it!  I hate it when someone makes a broad generalization and has absolutley NOTHING to back it up with.  I am excited for the game this Tuesday too.  But come on.  How can you say such a bold statement and leave it out there with no basis for it?

[buddy]

Enough talk about Bartelle.  Sure, he's not playing now & if it's because of grades, then he's let himself down & his team.  Let's focus on what the team is really about-it's about people that step up that try to put together wins for the team.  Sure, it's known all around the league that Lamb is the # 1 player for Curry. Opposing teams go into games knowing they have to  double team him & he still is getting it done.  With Tim Jones out too, it doesn't make things easier for the team. Now you have a good point guard in Marcus Jones, who brings it up & unselfishly distributes the ball. You have a freshman shooting guard in Deryk Largesse, who can shoot the 3 with the best of them & can drive. Let's not forget   Mike Mohrin, a G/F who can play any position and be effective. Then you have one of the most tenacious small forwards in Steve Prescod. This guy can jump out of the gym & run balls down & play great D. The point is, this is what your lineup is & these guys give it their best offensively & defensively each time they play.  So, let's see how it plays out down the stretch. I'm sure Wynn knows what he wants to achieve & how he wants to achieve it.

[Big Hoss]

Relax buddy, its a posting forum.  Based on your response I'm assuming your an avid Gordon fan, so you saw the first matchup.  In that game, Gordon had very little success stopping EC in the paint, Marinkovich was strong as usual and clutch down the stretch.  For the past few years this is how EC has beaten them, and Gordon has shown no sign of looking to change their approach defensively, such as no longer fronting the post without ANY weak side help.  Secondarily, besides Marstaller, the majority of their points come from perimiter play.  EC did a pretty good job keeping the guards out of the lane and defending the shooters, who didn't shoot well at all.  SO, if they wan't to beat EC for the first time in a few years, they "have some work to do", as I stated previously

[akirk]

Once again I will make this statement...Marinkovich is not the key to EC success.  It is the people around him.  He can put up all the points he wants as long as the rest of the team is limited, they will not win.  Also the more you make him play defense the less effective he is on the other side.  GC needs to take it to him.

[akirk]

One more thing:  I don't understand how you can say that EC is mopping up the North.  If you look at the standings EC, GC & CSC still all have legitimate chances to grab the CCC North regular season Championship.  Basically none of them needs help from anyone else (except for CSC).   If they take care of their own business then they will win.  CSC is the only one that would need EC to lose an additional game.

EC 7-0
GC 6-1
CSC 6-2

EC is the favorite but you can not just give them the conference this early.  Lets see where they stand in two weeks.  As resent history has showed, this will be a great ending to a great season.

[24/7/365]

I have no qualms with a statement that has something to back it up with.  I just can't stand the broad generalizations newbies tend to throw up there and assume that that will be sufficient.  With that being said, while GC did struggle with EC down low last game, their low post defense, and low post presence in general has improved dramatically.  That can be seen in their rebound margins and the better use of the paint by Herr, Marstaller and some of their guards like Kauffman and Vogelzang.  This in no way negates the fact that GC can still be very vulnerable down their, but they have shown, as of late, that they have the ability to not allow that to be the area that hurts them.

Echoing akirks sentiments, Darko is a good player, yes.  He is not the heart or pulse of this team however.  While he does possess a decent display of post moves, a lot of his buckets come from put backs or transition play.  With GC utilizing their bench more recently, they will have more bodies to throw at him both offensively and defensively.  Marino, who did a phenomenal job against The Saint, will be called upon to step up and make Darko a non-factor.  If that becomes the case, perimeter play, and Herr who will be guarding George, will need to step up and try to make EC settle for bad shots, or ill-advised individual play.  If GC can do these things, as well as a multitude of other aspects, they have a great chance of getting one back from EC and forcing a tie atop the CCC North.

Way too early for anyone to be mopping anything anywhere.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

OK, for onee, Hoss, it's pretty bad form to bash one team (which, sadly, is playing lights out right now) based on one game that happened over a month ago.  That just makes no sense.  I still agree that Endicott is the cream of the crop right now and that GC will not truly have arrived until they get one over this year's EC team.  And Kirk, Marinkovic is not the key to EC, but he has been the key to the last three EC victories over Gordon, so he deserves some mention.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Tonight's match-ups:

RWU hosts Coast Guard
NC hosts Clark
SRU hosts ENC
NEC hosts EC
GC hosts Newbury
WIT hosts UNE

Both of the NEWMAC games will give us an idea of where RWU and NC are at in terms of play level right now.  ENC actually takes over 4th place in the South with a win tonight.  Endicott gets a slightly tougher challenge tonight.  WIT and UNE both need a win tonight to help their playoff chances.

[john]

 if i had to make a bet right now with todays standings, i would put my money on gc to win it all..but its still several more games till the end of reg season..good odds on ec and csc if they keep winning though.....

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

EC controls their own destiny.  They play at Gordon and at CSC, but if they win, they get the homecourt and a big advantage for the tournament.

There's still a lot to play.  Frankly, I can't tell who is playing better right now, but we'll know on Tuesday.

[akirk]

Hoops Fan,

I think you would have to agree that GC controls their own destiny also.  If they win out (beat EC at home) they end with a 15-1 record tied with EC if they only loose to GC.  Then correct me if I am wrong but the tie breaker is out of conference record.  I think!  This would give GC the #1 seed with a better record.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Oh, we'll get to tiebreakers later in the year.  The CCC tiebreakers are rediculous.  If they both finish with just one loss to each other, then the first four tiebreakers are moot.  The fifth is non-conference record versus common opponents, which they don't have.  THen it goes to overall record vs teams with a .500 winning percentage or better, which we can't know until the end of the year, but since EC lost to a lot of them and GC didn't play too many, it might work out in GC's favor.

Still, I think you'll agree, The team with no losses in conference is in a better position than a team with one loss in conference.  Gordon controls their own destiny assuming a bunch of tiebreakers work out.  So I guess that's true in a sense, but CCC tiebreakers are never sure things.  I remember a few years ago I had to call the AD at Curry and pretend to be a fact checker from the Quincy Sun in order to get the final verdict on the #4 playoff spot.

On the other hand, all they can do is win.  Ironically, I think only one team will finish with one loss, so it probably won't be an issue there.

[24/7/365]

I'll make a bold statement and say no one's record will be the same at the end of the season as it is today.  Well at least not in the "L" column.  How many times have we seen GC, EC and CSC just get flat out beat during the seasons last regular season week.  Assuming that the 3 records a-top the North stay as tight as they are, the last week, I don't care what teams they play, all of a sudden become very interesting.  All the lower tear CCC teams can sneak up on someone any given day and even more so when they have nothing else to play for.  

Again, I think GC still has to prove they can beat EC and beat CSC at their place.  The NC game worries me as does the CC game.  If GC can muster up wins in those four games, and win the games they're suppose to... man, they become the odds on favorite pretty quick.  But we'll just have to wait.