MBB: City University of New York Athletic Conference

[mecfan]

Baruch and Brooklyn will be the teams to beat this year as always....The Brooklyn/Stockton game will be a great game to watch...Looks like Hunters off to a tough start...Had some tough losses to Rutgers, Montclair, and M-Ville...
Even though their record does not show; they are a tough team and they may surprise some teams in the CUNY this year. Just realized that they have 2 d-1 transfers: Rubino from St. Francis College and DuBois  played at Penn State University before redshirting and having injuries (googled his name)...Looks like York  will be a tough team in the CUNY as well with Marcel putting up huge numberswill be on that end of the stick as soon as they start playing good teams),...Heard Medgar Evers ran the score up vs. Pratt (They should'nt bc they  there new coach should be ashamed of himself-disgrace.  CCNY has a new team-anyone see them play yet? How are their bigmen? How does CSI, Lehman and John Jay look? NYC Tech is struggling with the lost of their 2 key players from last year....Next week will be a huge first week with conference play coming up....

[mecfan]

Please be careful about how you characterise people with out meeting them or knowing anything about them  except  hearsay.  I have  worked  at Medgar Evers for 15+ yrs. now, following the basketball program and let me tell you, the new coach is by far the best thing that has happened to that program in a long, long time.  I have no reason to blow smoke either because I'll be the first to say that we have been an absolute joke for a while prior to this season.  He has managed to change to whole culture of this program in a very short time.  He has brought excitement, enthusiasm and school spirit for the basketball program that I have not seen in my entire time here.  I've gotten to know him a little and he's a very likeable, standup guy and his kids love to play for him.  What's impressed me the most about him is that he has come in to a tough situation with some tough kids to deal with( whom it was very hard to root for because of their poor attitudes and lack of giving a crap about anything team oriented  and lack of  respect for authority, the game, or even themselves for that matter) and have turned them in to a team that the whole MEC  community is totally in support of and rallying behind.

  Keep in mind  we were 1-24 the last two years!  Tonight we won our first Cuny game in more than 2 yrs.  We are 4-4 and could have a few more wins but Coach benched a few starters in our opener at Poly and another loss in a tourney in Conn.this past weekend for violating team rules.  We have had the Frosh of the week in the conf. for the first 2 weeks of the season.  He got the job late and didn't have time to recruit much, but the kids he has brought in are good players,students and people.  9 of the 13 kids on the roster are Frosh & Sophs.  They are young, inexperienced and small (our tallest player is 6'3"), but they play really hard and are are fun to watch.  They gave Baruch all they could handle Tues. night, but they ran out of gas, as has been the case with all their losses they are undersized and get in foul trouble and worn down as they game goes on.  If they get a big or 2 at the semester break, they will be a dangerous team. 

...and by the way, about the Pratt game, I was there.  The final score of 123 to 45 was more a testiment of how embarrassingly bad a team they were than coach running up the score.  He is not about that,( he even said after the game his team would have gotten more out of playing a tougher team and losing) the schedule was made long before he got the job by the AD.  His starters played about 12 mins and his top 6 players did not play the 2nd half.  He didn't press, the sad thing about the game is that the score could have been ALOT worse if he wanted it to be.  It is Pratt,'s coach who should be embarrassed and ashamed of putting a team on the floor that could not win against a decent PSAL JV team.  My son is on an 8th grade AAU team that I would be disappointed in if they lost to Pratt.

Sorry for such the long rant but us MEC fans haven't had anything to get excited about in a long time, and we're very happy with our new coach and the future of MEC basketball.

[cunybasketball]

I am happy to hear that Medgar is rebuilding their program and it seems that the new coach is doing a great job with the program thus far...Apologies to MEC Fan....
Queens Fan-I agree with you when you say Hunter's big men are weak...They are extremely soft and it appears that the out of conference schools have been killing them inside...However, besides Marcel at York and Kunkel at Baruch...Do you really need a huge inside presence to do well in the CUNY Conf...I feel the CUNY is an up-tempo gaurd oriented conference with no real inside game on all sides....Which is the reason why CUNY teams cannot do well against NJAC schools and other tough out of conference match ups... ....Great example, look at Brooklyn, they have no real inside presence and they won the CUNY title last year...Brooklyn is a team with quick/athletic gaurds that play well together....With time and progression, Hunter's backcourt could be the best in the conference come February....As for York...York is only a good team when they stay composed as a team, when they are not arguing with one another, and when Lopez does not shoot the ball every time he touches it...Also, since when has York been a team that keeps players for all four years? They are on the same boat as Hunter when it comes to seeing new faces every season except for this year......If you look at Hunter's roster they are young and they will have guys for 2 3 and 4 years if they can retain them in the program...I feel this year's Hunter Team is more athletic and can be more explosive than their team with Smith, DeLuca, and Frantz...DuBois and Rubino may be the two of the best players in the conference along side of Marcel, Baptiste, and Kunkel...If I am wrong then in February after the playoffs I will apologize to everyone on this board...

[Queens]

I understand its a guard league but 2 out of 3 best teams have legit big men who dominate the boards and dominate down low, getting to the free throw line and getting other teams in foul trouble.  Yes, brooklyn has no big men but it also has a all american and 2 time POY.  That can make up for not having a big man.  Hunter is an average team with one very good player (Rubino) and one above average player(Dubios).  Dubios gets alot of his points by shooting 17 times a game and not shooting a high percentage and not looking to get the rest of his players involved.  Hunter will be a step below York, Baruch and Brooklyn all year.


On Medgar

There team is much improved and their coach is doing a great job with them.  Medgar will win a bunch of games this year. Saying that your 8 grade son could have played for Pratt is probably right but he also  could have started for Medgar the last 2 years.  Winning by 80 is never right, so dont try and justify it. 


P.S- Marcel will score 30+ vs Hunter this year

[Queens]

Just for the record,

Marlon Smith and Joe Dulucas Hunter team would beat the current Hunter team by double figures...

[mecfan]

no need for me to justify anything, it was what it was.  I was at the game and it was a tough situation for everyone involved.  All I was saying was that MEC coach handled an awkward situation as well as it could have been handled.  I've seen other so called "well respected" coaches in college and HS handle this situation alot worse: press the whole game and run up the score.  Don't even get me started on some of these AAU coaches and how they run it up to enhance their clubs "rep" to justify that it will get them better players.

Anyway.... CUNY seems a little more balanced this yr. with 8 of the 10 teams already having at least 1 conf. win after the first 2 games.  Some of the favorites could get caught sleeping on any given night if they're not ready to play. Might not be the cakewalk for Baruch, Brooklyn and York like most people thought.

[Rhodes Scholar]

Queens: I find it interesting that you don't even mention Klingsberg. I saw this kid play in high school and he definitely can play. He's contributing immediately as a freshman.

I can't comment on DuBois yet because I haven't seen him play. But it's extremely unlikely that he won't be very good in the CUNYAC.

As far as Hunter's big men go, you're correct. That's the team's biggest weakness. They were killed off the boards last night against City and I'd expect the same to happen throughout the year.

[cunybasketball]

Queens fan, 
Deluca and Smith's team maybe had more talent than this years Hunter's Team; however, they had no chemistry and it was a team of individuals which is the reason why they lost in the semifinals. Plus 2 years ago, overall the CUNY was more competitive with more talent throughout the conference.  I feel as the season progresses and the this year Hunter's team forms chemistry they will be tough...Marcel will probably have 30 and 20 vs. Hunter-I agree with you on that bc right now Hunter's bigmen can't even gaurd a statue-seen them vs. CCNY last night and they are aweful-Hunter's gaurd play makes up for big men... York is a turnover prone team that is only good when they play team basketball and they are too inconsistent...DuBois may be an erratic offensive player at times; however, the kid play's lockdown defense and he will rebound better than most bigmen...You have to remember this-the kid did not play on Penn State/Big Ten for no reason...DuBois is just getting a feel for the game bc i don't think he has played for the past 1 or 2 years...click on the link and read about him... http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/dubois_maxwell00.html
Once this kid gets in the flow I am telling you...he may be a problem for the CUNY and he may be the guy to lock up players like Baptiste or Kunkel...

I also saw Brooklyn play recently...overall they are not playing as well as they did last year...still too early in the season to tell anything yet...I have not had a chance to see Baruch play yet; I do love their style of basketball though...I am looking fwd to checking them out....

MEC fan-I agree with you when you said the CUNY will be no CAKEWALK for teams like Brooklyn, Baruch, and York....

[BubbaChuck3]

All this chatter is very good.. Although I concur the league may be more balanced than what was expected, the top 3... York, Baruch & Brooklyn still have to respected, particularly the defending champions...

My question for Hunter fans..... Does anyone know what happened to Jason Cole and Bobby Kiernan? Both were major contributors last year and were only juniors last season...

[Danny Weismuller]

Whats up,

Caught the BC York game.  It was anyones game, back and forth. Down by 1 with 2 minutes left BC's Nesbitt was called for a questionable foul and then a tech. 4 foul shots for York at that point was critical. I thought BC made a lot of bad decisions when it came to shot selection. I still think overall they will be a stronger team than York down the stretch but a few notes from the game.

- Brooklyns new arena is amazing. It will definetly help with recruiting.
- York's big man Marcel E is a monster and much improved from last year.
- BC's Amil John will be all-conference within the next two years. He  might be the best on the ball defender in CUNY right now and his offensive game is improving.
but

After seeing the BC/CSI score it looks like the division is btw York and BC with CSI and MEC having some potential for the future with some young talent.

I havent checked the board in a while but I was disappointed bubba chuck has been very civil so far this seaon with his posts.

[Zak]

There is a lot of conversation going on here about individuals, but in the end it's the teams that win, and especially those teams that are winning against quality non-conference teams that ought to be the focus of CUNY teams...who is best in CUNY will be determined in February, but for now it's the games out of CUNY that count, regardless of who will be all-conference before barely stepping on the college floor...a few teams have improved quite a bit, but so far Baruch, Brooklyn and York are winning the good out of conference games..congrats to coach St. John on the 300th career win, joining Ray Rankis of Baruch in that club of current CUNY coaches.

[Queens]

Thank you for stating the obvious Zak! The board is ment to spark conversation about the teams and the players on the teams.

but who has Brooklyn and York beaten out of conference that is so impressive?

I think the league is more balanced in the middle but still none will challenge the Big 3 of the conference. ill be stunned if those 3 teams are not in the semis and 2 out of the 3 are in the championships.

Danny, hows your brothers transfer to Brooklyn working out?  I was dissapointed to see he wasent on the roster again.

[Danny Weismuller]

He hasn't been in school for a while now but he's working, doing well, and playing in a bunch of mens leagues.

I think if Hunters team is able to stay eligible for the second semester, they might be a team to watch out for along with BC, Baruch, and York.

BC hasn't beat anyone special yet out of conference but had close games with Elms and Stockton who traditionally would have beat BC with ease. We'll see how they do with some tough non-CUNY games coming up, Old Westbury, NJCU, and then Manhattanville/Franklin Marshall tourney.  At least no one could say Coach P didn't schedule a cupcake non-conference this year. Elms, Stockton, Franklin Marshall are all nationally ranked type squads.

[Knightstalker]

He hasn't been in school for a while now but he's working, doing well, and playing in a bunch of mens leagues.

I think if Hunters team is able to stay eligible for the second semester, they might be a team to watch out for along with BC, Baruch, and York.

BC hasn't beat anyone special yet out of conference but had close games with Elms and Stockton who traditionally would have beat BC with ease. We'll see how they do with some tough non-CUNY games coming up, Old Westbury, NJCU, and then Manhattanville/Franklin Marshall tourney.  At least no one could say Coach P didn't schedule a cupcake non-conference this year. Elms, Stockton, Franklin Marshall are all nationally ranked type squads.

For what it is worth, NJCU just beat Stockton at Stockton.

[Rhodes Scholar]

I watched the Rutgers-Newark @ Baruch game last night. The Scarlet Raiders looked like worldbeaters in the first half, and led by as many as 17 in  the second half before they folded like a lawn chair, allowing the Bearcats to come away with a 77-73 victory. Needless to say, Rutgers-Newark should not have lost this one (they held a lead for the first 39 minutes). But no one stepped up for them down the stretch and Baruch started to put the ball in the basket when it counted most.

Baruch seemed intimidated inside in the first half and their guards looked a bit slow compared to Rutgers, but things changed during the final ten minutes. Kunkel began to assert himself down low and Farid got going as well. All and all a nice win for Baruch and very tough loss for Rutgers-Newark.