MBB: City University of New York Athletic Conference

[Rhodes Scholar]

I went to the Manhattanville @ Hunter game last night. Tough loss for Alesi in his coaching debut because it was a game that the Hawks definitely could have won. It was the worst effort by Klingsberg that I ever saw: poor shooting, lack of focus and a lack of aggression. On the other hand, Courtien put in a solid performance finishing with 17 points and demonstrating that he's not only an open shooter, but can create his own shot (to some degree) and take the ball to the hoop. Hoffman also looked pretty good, taking better care of the ball and playing more under control than last year. Dubois dressed but did not play--which obviously did not help matters for Hunter.

[mecfan]

Preseason coaches poll from cunyac website;
NorthDiv. 1. Baruch 50 pts 2. Hunter 40pts 3. Lehman 24pts 4. CCNY 22pts 5. John Jay 16pts

South Div. 1. York 48 pts 2. Brooklyn 38pts 3. Medgar Evers 27pts 4. Staten Island 20pts 5. City Tech 17pts

Marcel Esonwune York player of the year.

[mecfan]

Opening game scores

Baruch 79  Stevens 75
M'hatville 64  Hunter 61
Ramapo 70  York 60
Rutgers Newark 81 Medgar Evers 72 OT
Mt St Vincent 70 Lehman 68
John Jay 66 Vaughn 53
CCNY 72 Mitchell 69

[Rhodes Scholar]

I saw Kean beat York, 69-57, last night in Jamaica. The Cougars led by 11 at the half and were in control the rest of the way. I was impressed with Jonathan Jones, the center for Kean. He didn't shoot very well (6-19 from the floor), but he did grab 16 rebounds and had 3 steals. Jones is strong, runs the court well, is pretty athletic and he can post up as well as hit an outside shot. He gave York's All-American center, Marcel Esonwune, all he could handle.

York was led by William Holley, a junior transfer from BMCC, who finished with 24 points and 8 rebounds. Holley can score in a variety of ways and appears to be the second best player on the Cardinals. Esonwune was next with 19 points, 8 boards and 4 blocks. The Cardinals will certainly miss Hamilton-Lopez and Exum from last year's team and they probably have a little less overall talent. In addition, Evelyn was on the bench but did not play.

[BklynBasketball]

Holly played at kingsboro, a great scorer who will have insurance on D with marcel behind him...anyone know where marcel's younger bro ended up?

[mecfan]

Crazy game @ Medgar last night.  Down 27 with 14 min to go against a really good jersey city team.  MEC comes back to win by 3

[Rhodes Scholar]

Holly played at kingsboro

You're right about that one.

I saw Baruch beat Farmingdale State last night. The Bearcats started slowly but got going about midway through the first half. Baruch has pretty much the same team as last year, minus Kunkel (which is a major loss). Hillaire and Beauchamp are All-Conference players, Farid can score but is very inconsistent, Loftus is a decent rebounder, and Abbatiello is an excellent outside shooter. It looks like Baruch should be a top-tier team once again.

Farmingdale had better athletes than Baruch, but struggled when it became a half-court game. Josh Smith was extremely impressive for the Rams and looks like he could be one of the top players in the Atlantic region.

[Coach AG]

CSI has 3 impressive wins to start the season. Wins against Ursinus, Weselyen and Rochester Tech which are all teams that were expected to finish high in there prospective conferences. They are a much different team than in the past. They still get after it on defense but are much more quicker and athletic than in the past. Thomas Tibbs is a legit pg with great leadership qualitys and Bloochy Magloire is a dynamic scorer who comes off the bench for a instant lift. Combined with Jordan Young the Dolphins are out to prove the coaches wrong for picking them to finish 4th in the South Division. Very interested to see how Baruch fairs against common opponent Weselyen.

[Rhodes Scholar]

I saw Hunter beat John Jay, 81-63, last night. The game was tied at the half, but Hunter went on a 30-4 run to break it wide open. Uter, Koutsoloukas and Hoffman all played well for the Hawks, while Courtien and Klingsberg saw limited time due to foul trouble.

John Jay has more talent than last year, but their 4-1 record is deceptive because they've faced some pretty weak opposition. The Bloodhounds have a good trio in Alexander, Harry, and Holman, but not much of a supporting cast.

[mecfan]

Big win for Medgar last night over Bklyn.  MEC jumped out on a 12-2 run to start game and never trailed, winning 74-65.

[Coach AG]

I spoke to Coach Petosa in the summer and he said he was happy with his recruiting class. I don't think he fully expected this however.

The secret's out on the College of Staten Island Dolphins.
"We won't be sneaking up on anybody anymore," admitted junior point guard Thomas Tibbs.
CSI not only snuck up on CUNY Conference preseason favorite York and NCAA Division III first-team All-American center Marcel Esonwune, the Dolphins produced a stunning 76-51 victory Thursday night in Queens.
CSI improved to 5-0 on the season — the program's best start in nearly three decades — by rolling in its conference opener. York dropped to 2-6 and 1-1.
"I feel very good about what we've done so far," said Dolphin coach Tony Petosa, whose squad built a 38-23 halftime lead and never was threatened after intermission. "These kids are tough, coachable and respectful.
"And best of all, they're young."
How dominating was the performance?
CSI's pressure man-to-man defense hounded York into 34 turnovers. The Dolphins had nine.
CSI had 22 steals, led by David Hughes with six, Tibbs five and Dale Taranto four. The Cardinals had three.
"Our success came from our defense," said Petosa, who snapped a five-game losing streak to York, including 75-52 and 102-61 routs last season. "We were able to pressure the ball very effectively. The difference between this team and some very good teams we've had in the past is that we're a little more uptempo."
In other words, the Dolphins turned many of York's miscues into layups.
And figure this into the winning mix: CSI freshman center Matt VanManen, playing his fifth collegiate game, matched up very effectively against the 6-foot-6 leaper Esonwune.
York's big man finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots before fouling out in 27 minutes, but fell far short of his earlier performances.
"(VanManen) plays with a lot of toughness and poise," said Petosa of the 6-4 St. Peter's HS product who scored seven points with three rebounds.
The Dolphins spread the wealth behind Jordan Young's 21-point night. Taranto had 13 points and four assists; Louis Valdes came off the bench for 12 points and three steals; and freshman Hughes added 10 points.
CSI took 70 shots. York took 41. The Dolphins made 13 trips to the free-throw line. The Cardinals made just seven trips.
All in all, it was a CUNY eye-opener.
"We wanted to play a full game and for the first time we did," said Tibbs. "It's no secret we're trying to win the league ... we're playing to win.
"But at the same time, it's early."
Petosa agreed.
"It's just one game," said the veteran coach.
For the Dolphins, what a game it was.
NOTES: Esonwune picked up his third and fourth fouls in the first three minutes of the second half. He sat for six minutes while the Dolphins stretched a 40-27 lead to 57-36 with 11 minutes remaining ... CSI hosts Montclair State Wednesday night.
CSI (76)
Taranto 5-11 1-2 13, Tibbs 3-9 0-0 7, Hughes 4-13 2-2 10, VanManen 3-9 1-2 7, Young 9-14 3-5 21, Magliore 2-8 0-0 6, Valdes 4-6 2-2 12, Frank 0-0 0-0 0, Person 0-0 0-0 0, Maccarone 0-0 0-0 0, Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Pan 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals: 30-70 9-13 76. 
YORK (51)
Zorilla 0-2 0-0 0, Simon 3-9 1-2 9, Lausell 4-7 0-0 8, Wilkinson 5-8 0-0 10, Esonwune 7-10 1-1 15, Abraham 0-0 0-0 0, Fernandez 0-1 2-2 2, Gregoire 1-2 0-0 2, Moujeke 0-0 0-0 0, Norville 2-2 1-2 5.
Totals: 22-41 5-7 51.

[BklynBasketball]

Any word on why Will Holly didnt play? Got to think it would be a different game with Holly out there...


Congrats to CSI and Coach Petosa, after a few "down" seasons I imagine they have to be in the mix this year!

[BklynBasketball]

So the Brooklyn College men's team is 4-5, wins ovwer Potsdam and Marymount are nice, but in region loss to Purchase doesnt bode well for Coach P in the post season...any thoughts on the bulldogs?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

First Regional Rankings: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2011/02/02/ncaas-mens-regional-rankings/

[CityD3]

Any rumblings about coaching changes??