MBB: Conference of New England

[James]

jj

I don't think RWU needs Gumb at 100% to win the south as long as Barranger stays healthy. They have Wooley, McGinn, Parrish who can post it up with most of teams in the CCC. Enough to win the south anyway. Also Billy Barrett has really come into his game and some good freshman like Loughton and veterans  such as Camobreco will put them on top. Where RWU needs Gumb to be at or near 100% will be down the stretch in the playoffs when every game is a one and done and they face teams with 2,3 or 4 big guys on the roster.

[backboard]

On the docket tonight. (And you'll have to wait on the recaps from me.  I'll be flying all day Wednesday.)


AMC hosts Newbury
CC @ Springfield
ENC hosts Lesley
EC hosts Keene State
GC @ Philadelphia Bible (is this Herr's trip home?)
NEC hosts Rivier
RWU hosts Johnson & Wales
SRU @ Mitchell
UNE hosts Bowdoin
WIT @ Mt Ida (If there was every going to be a Pistons-Pacers type brawl in d3; this would be the game.)

Just somewhat curious why WIT @ Mt Ida would result in a brawl?  If anything, it's a trap game for WIT since Mt. Ida was able to hang with Gordon over the weekend.  Plus if Mt. Ida has any size, it'll be a tough game for WIT.  Prezzie Blue is going to have to carry this team for a while longer.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

WIT has been known to be a bit rough to make up for their lack of size and Mt Ida had four players foul out and another ejected against Gordon the other night, sending the Scots to the FT line 52 times.  Plus in talking to players who have transferred out of Mt Ida, I hear that their players aren't exactly the most, shall we say, law abiding.

I'm not about to make comments or specifics on here, but Mt Ida has the thug rep and WIT can be quite agrivating on defense.  Brawl seems to fit.

I guess Pacers-Pistons is the wrong analogy, because we all know Curry is the most likely place for fans to fight players during a game, but it seems like a few too many handchecks and bumps from the WIT players on defense could result in some trouble.

[backboard]

Thanks for the clarification.

[BBall_AllDay54]

hey i'm new to the post but i wanted tp repsond to the Curry issue's they are looking pretty beat up this year and all with Tim Jones out and Bowers not in the line-up I wonder what's to come in the future.  Also what happened to senior guards Marcus Jones and James Bartelle they we're only juniors last year and they are not on the roster this year I have to do some research on that.

[James]

Any news on Johnson Wales?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Marcus Jones was a senior last year, whether he was listed that way or not.  Bartelle was never really happy there and he got into it a little with the coach.  I can imagine he's playing elsewhere.  Didn't he get an offer from And1 to travel with them for a while?  It sounds like a joke, but I'm pretty sure there was a legitimate chance he was doing that.


Johnson & Wales, I thought, was going to be down this year, but I have heard reports that their exhibitions looked spectacular.  I'm thinking that if RWU can beat up on Salem, they should be able to handle J&W, but you never know.  They lost their two best players from last season, but they have a good mix of returning veterans and young players.  They also have a ton of height.  If they can just throw bodies at Barranger, that might make things interesting.

[number1chargerfan]

In regards to the real CSC team showing or not, let me tell you that the team will not be the same in a couple of weeks. Right now ChrisPatrick Cox, one of the three recruits from Vermont's Spaulding is out with an ankle injury suffered during a practice a couple weeks back. They had intended on him starting at the 4, and he is quite the athletic specimen so expect things to change when he makes his return soon. For now Foti has been trying many different things with his roster and once the freshmen get experience that can only come from getting the PT, expect a big turnaround from the 4 point escape over Newbury. It is true that the loss of St. Clair is devastating, but I wouldn't get down on this year's team quite yet, if they are still playing like this come conference game time, then we can bring this topic back up.

[jj]

James-
I agree that RWU is the best team right now in the South and that is with or without Gumb.  But, without a healthy Gumb teams like Curry and Salve could close the gap by conference time.  WITH a healthy and productive Gumb I believe they are the best team in the South over the long haul. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

If Curry manages to field their entire roster, I think they are hands down the best team out there.  Right now they are struggling mightily, but there is a lot of talent waiting in the wings.

Wynn has them ready to play by February; he's proven that before.  Right now, you're right, it's RWU all the way, but if were speculating, I think Curry will be there unless injuries or grades get to them.

[jj]

Even with the potential added talent, Curry has always shown me inconsistency.  They can beat a great team and then lose to a team much less talented.  RWU typically comes to play every night and wins the games their supposed to.  That is why they have won the South recently.   

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

If we're talking regular season, I'll take RWU hands down, but Curry is always ready to play at the end of the year and they (if healthy and academically elligible) have more talent.

Certainly I expect RWU to have a better record and maybe even beat Curry in the head to heads, but Malcolm Wynn is a hard one to bet against come tournament time.  He always seems to have those kids ready in February.

So in short, I guess it depends on what definition of "long haul" you were referring to in your original post.

[BBall_AllDay54]

Thanks hoops-fan but i just received word that both are still attending Curry and they are just not playing this year, but Bartelle is sitting out from what i hear and might play next year but i'm not 100% sure my little cousin goes there and is friends with Bartelle so i don't really know the whole story.  I can try to get in contact with him if you would like then i can get more info.

[AJ]

Akirk,

Kaufman is a solid free throw shooter.  He shot a little poorly in the first half from the line (6-11) during friday's game but he hit 9-10 in the second half.  The second game he went 6-8 which is solid.  Kaufman has shot well from the line the past two years, so I wouldn't worry about him at the line.

With him shooting the T's, both times he shot them he was already at the line for free throws and its not unusual for a coach to let a decent shooter who is at the line already to shoot the tech free throws as well.  I suspect the Logan will still take the Tech free throws during the regular season.

[dwebbs]

Gordon 79 PBU 76

GC led by single digits most of the first half, then went into half down four. They had four fouls in the first two minutes to start the second, and didn't score until almost four minutes had gone by. They were down ten, then started the come back, and tied it inside of three minutes. They led by 3 with 2.7 left. Marstaller missed the front end of a 1&1, and PBU tied it on a half court buzzer beater. The lead went back and fourth during OT, with contributions from Marstaller and a big 3 by Logan with under one minute.

Box score isn't up yet, but Marstaller lead the way with around 20 (no one could stop him), Kaufman and Logan were in double digits.

However, they still gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, missed too many free throughs. and gave up 70+ in all their games this year. They also only hit a couple of 3's and gave up a ton. They won, but it looks like they're playing at the level of their opponents. If Jon made half the shots he missed, which were make able, and they hit more FT's, they would have won easy in regulation.