MBB: City University of New York Athletic Conference

[Rhodes Scholar]

I took in the Medgar Evers @ York game last night and needless to say I was very impressed with Medgar's performance. The Cougars came prepared to win and played with great confidence and poise. The game was competitive from the start until about 8 minutes left in the second half when Medgar began to pull away. There was no doubt about this one as Medgar Evers won it decisively, thoroughly outplaying York down the stretch.

After watching last night's game it's very hard to believe that Medgar Evers is 5-6 in the conference. They have athleticism, decent depth and play bigger than their size. Kallai Sharpe is a good point guard. Ronald Holloway can score and defend. And Winston Douglas rebounded and defended very well. Plus Marquis Jones revealed a pretty good overall game.

Marcel Esonwune had a good game for York, and he had 8 blocks, but he did not dominate the game and did not get much help from his teammates. Plus Medgar Evers repeatedly got offensive boards against the Cardinals all night long, which helped seal their fate. Hamilton-Lopez hurt his shoulder about 3 minutes into the game and never managed to get going. Plus Exum was in foul trouble and without him York had no one to step up and direct the offense.

All in all a very nice win for Medgar but it's only one game. It goes to show that York is not invincible, but at the same time one game does not demonstrate that Medgar is as good as the big three either.

[mecfan]

Medgars 5-6 in conference record is deceiving.  If you have followed this team like I have, you have seen a performance like this coming.  What people don't realize is that due to injuries, academic problems and the coach suspending players for not adhering to team rules, this past Wednesday vs Brooklyn was the first day his whole team was together this season.  9 of their 12 players are freshmen or transfers new to the program.  They are young and inexperienced in how to win.  They blew big leads at Lehman(18) and Hunter(14) and have played everybody tough, the brooklyn score was deceiving. MEC was up 10 w/ 4min to go in half, they got into foul trouble and BK's experience to over in the 2nd half.   There was a buzz @ MEC on wed. night that I have never seen, it was a playoff like atmosphere and finally having everyone together Coach felt his team was overhyped and BK is is an experienced team who kept their composure and whethered  the initial storm early in the game.  He feels his team needs to learn to get not to high or low.  That being said it was very impressive to see the poise and composure down the stretch last night @ york.  Sometimes a team gets that breakthrough win late in the season and makes a big run. They have been in position to finish games all year and haven't (even games they won CSI, CTECH). He is trying to teach kids that have never won and kids with no basketball experience at the college level how to win.  They are a year or two away from being a championship caliber team, but after watching them last night, he may be ahead of schedule. That being said, they're probably going to be in a dogfight with John Jay on wed..

  Coach has come in and instilled discipline and organization that hasn't been present @ MEC in forever. He had to change the whole losing culture and attitude at MEC and i am really impressed because I didn't think it could be done in 3 yrs. let alone 3 months. He has sacrificed some short term wins for disciplining players that weren't living up to HIS standards behavioral wise. In doing this he may have sacrified some wins but he established a new standard for the players in his  program. He made rules and stuck by them and he kicked a few talented players off the team to send a message to the others that any behavior or personal agenda not beneficial to the success of the program would not be tolerated, NO EXCEPTIONS. He inherited a program 2-48 in the last two years and has totally changed the culture and expectations for this program going forward. I really hope the athletic dept. supports coach and gives him the opportunity to build this program.

P.S.  If there was any doubt who was coach of the year, after beating St. John @ york it would be a travesty if he didn't win it

Sorry for the long rant  just hasn,t been much to get excited for about MEC b-ball for a long time

[Coach AG]

 Baruch rallies for 89-83 overtime win over CSI men

Pain can be measured by varying degrees, but Baruch's 89-83 overtime win over the College of Staten Island on Saturday afternoon hurt the Dolphins in more ways than one.

For starters, CSI squandered a six-point lead in the final 44 seconds of regulation, then missed two free throws with 4.9 seconds remaining in a 74-74 game.

Ouch.

And the Dolphins did themselves no favors in their quest for a first-round home game in the upcoming CUNY Conference tourney. In fact, they probably can pack their bags for a do-or-die contest on the road.

"It was a great game," said CSI coach Tony Petosa after one of his team's top efforts of the season. "But in my mind, it's not over until you have a 10-point lead with three seconds remaining."

Baruch (9-2 CUNY, 17-6 overall) pulled out the tough road win without injured senior forward George Kunkel and his school-record 1,021 career rebounds.

CSI dropped to 5-6 and 10-12 with its fourth straight loss over a murderous stretch of schedule that concludes Wednesday night at red-hot Brooklyn College (10-1,16-5).

Baruch forced overtime after Lionel Hilaire's 4-point play — a long-range 3-pointer from the right wing combined with Christian Montervino's fifth foul — cut the deficit to 73-71. Tammer Farid followed with a 3-pointer from the top that made it 74-74 with 15 ticks remaining.

CSI sophomore center Michael Ledbetter, who had a dominating 28-point, 14-rebound outing, grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled, and stepped to the line. He missed both shots and Baruch had new life.

Hilaire's three-pointer from the top gave the Bearcats a 84-81 lead with 1:18 left in overtime, and four consecutive free throws from Hilaire and Chris Beauchamp put the game away.

"Good teams find a way to win," said Petosa. "And they found a way to win."

Beauchamp had a monster game for the visitors: 22 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

"He's becoming a high level player in this conference," praised Petosa of the 6-foot-1 swingman from Xavier High School. "He's really upped his productivity."

Hilaire added 20 points, inside man Sean Loftus added 18 and Farid 13.

Sophomore center Jordan Young worked wonderfully with Ledbetter in the paint, finishing with 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

But the Dolphins struggled with 3-for-16 shooting from downtown, and looked sloppy at times with 20 costly turnovers.

At the end, they let a chance at a victory slip away.

And it all added up to a painful afternoon in Willowbrook

[Queens]

CSI game was only close because Kunkel didnt play.  If hes out there its totally different ball game.  He is the heart and soul of the Baruch squad and without him Baruch is going to hard time come playoff time. I saw ledbedder had 28 and 14 monster game, only  a sophmore too.  Him and Young gonna be a force to be reckoned with the next couple of years.  If coach petosa can get a couple of play making guards or wings watch out for the Dolpins.

Kunkel doesnt get much mention on these boards but he has had one of the best careers in the history of the CUNY conference.  1000+ pts and 1000+ rebounds i dont know how many players in the conference history can say that.  His game is not flashy but hes a david lee or tyler hansborough type player.  Every time you check the box score its 14 and 12.  Just wanted to show some love to one of the great players in the conference history.

[BubbaChuck3]

Does anyone know what's wrong with Kunkle? Why he missed the CSI game?

[Rhodes Scholar]

Tonight's the big one: Brooklyn @ York. Both teams are 10-1. Brooklyn has won 12 games in a row, while York has won 13 of their last 14. The teams met earlier in the season at Brooklyn and York prevailed 68-67. In that game York dominated the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs by a 54-31 margin. Ensonwune had a huge game: 25 points and 23 rebounds and Hamilton-Lopez added 20 points. Brooklyn was led by RJB with 17 points followed by John with 14.

Does anyone know what's wrong with Kunkle? Why he missed the CSI game?

Whatever it was it wasn't serious because Kunkle played yesterday against City Tech.

Also the second regional rankings were released on Wednesday. The Atlantic region had no CUNY teams:

1. WPU
2. Merchant Marine
3. Ramapo
4. Rutgers-Newark
5. Richard Stockton

[THE GREAT DEBATOR]

If you weren't at the York vs. Brooklyn game tonight you missed a great game!!! Overtime win for York by 1 point again. Marcel had another monster game: 32 points, 24 Rebs and 12 blocks. His first career triple double.. Big time players step up at big time games. It was for first place and bragging rights. If this was a prelude to the Cuny finals I would be there in a heart beat. Brooklyn and York were slugging it out all night. Baptiste and Marcel wanted to win this game. Not to leave out Amil John who had 29 points and 14 Rebs.. I can't wait to see this game on the Cuny channel.. When does this game come on? Zak?? It was anybody's game and BC had several shots at end of overtime to win but fell short.. The game had a championship atmosphere and the fans weren't disappointed at all..

[BubbaChuck3]

Great Debator:
If this game tonight is a preview of the championship game.. You will be there.. Seeing as you are an assistant coach for York.. (Really think coach's with biased opinions should refrain from posting on the boards)

That being said, it seems that this game certainly did not disappoint. Seeing the box score, Brooklyn certainly seemed to beat themselves in this game. They lost by a single point yet they missed 10 free throws, and were 0-15 from 3 pt range... Hard to win games that way.

On the kid Marcel, with each passing game it becomes clear that York is very fortunate to have him. His athleticism and game changing defensive ability should have him at a much better basketball program than York, he could easily be a Division II player. York should count their blessings, for they would be a mediocre team without him. But then again what would Baruch be without Kunkle, what would Brooklyn be without Baptiste?

Marcel has as much of an impact on his team than anyone in the region, perhaps the nation.

[Queens]

Great points Bubba.

York without Marcel would be a sub par team.  They have bad defensive players that get away with murder because Marcel is back there to protect all their mistakes.  Also, all the missed shots get rebounded.  Marcel had 13 offensive rebounds yesterday.  He will be a first team all american and could be pre season national player of the year next season.

Do you think he could play Low D1 at like MAAC or NEC school?  I dont think there is any doubt that he could.

[Rhodes Scholar]

I also saw the Brooklyn @ York game last night. Both teams are very evenly matched but York has managed to prevail by one point in both games.

I've seen Esonwune play about a dozen times, but last night's performance really stood out. He's the best shot blocker I've ever seen in the D3 ranks because he covers far more ground and is much quicker to the ball than anyone else I've ever seen. I think he's better than Neal Edwards, Joe Henderson and Shacun Malave, all of whom were outstanding shot blockers. He's also an excellent offensive and defensive rebounder. He doesn't rely purely on his leaping ability, but boxes out and has a very good nose for the ball as well. Plus he's stronger than he looks, plays a physical game and is very aggressive as well. The weakest part of his game is on offense and he's not too shabby there either. He's got much better range than when he began as a freshman and his low post game is improving as well. Plus he gets a lot of putbacks and tip-ins. All in all he's clearly an All-American and one of the top players in the country.

RJB is also a legit All-American but he's not as dominant a player as Esonwune. Marcel is a force every second he's out there while RJB does it more in stretches.

Amil John is an outstanding all-around player as well. He's very athletic, super quick and a great defender. He can drive to the hoop and finish. Plus he can rebound among much bigger players. The weakest part of his game is his outside shooting and that seems to be improving.

[Coach AG]

Why is Marcel playing at York and not a NEC school like St.Francis ?  For sure he could play at that level.  He must not have the grades to play anywhere else but York.

[Zak]

I really dislike when people question players' choices of schools, as if basketball is the only reason why a college is chosen! Please stop your stupid and ignorant comments !!! Has anyone stopped to think that no one wanted, recruited or paid special attention to a kid that hails from a foreign country and is quite raw with his talents in NYC? Has anyone considered that perhaps a coach (or a staff) is often the second parent that some kids need to be pushed to achieve academically and on the court? Have you Bubba Chuck thought about the hard work that the York coaching staff put in with Marcel to improve his play to this level in just 2 years? I doubt many looked twice at him 2 years ago.

Could it also be that Marcel LIKES York as a school and what it offers him as an individual??? Do you think that some of those D 1 and D 2 schools in the area are better academically than York or other CUNY schools ? Is it not a fact that most of the private schools in the nation will accept a kid, any kid, if he can walk, chew gum and pay the $35-40,000 annual tuition? And in CUNY we actually have standards for admission, whatever they may be school to school and all student-athletes must have a 2.0 to play sports. I am a little disturbed by AG, you ought to know better as a former player and coach.

These kids are not in D3 and in CUNY for basketball; could it be that they don't want to be playing ball 24/7/365 and actually go to get a degree and have a balanced college life? A shocking concept !!!

It's quite easy to post on here, but a little more difficult to post facts, as you might actually need to know them first.

[Zak]

PS - Assuming that Marcel doesn't have the grades is a low-blow to him as a person. And why would you assume that ?

[THE GREAT DEBATOR]

Here we go again!!! This is why I visit Posting Up Bubba. When folks make disparaging comments, like questioning someones academic abilities without knowing the person, I find it very offensive. I never heard anyone question why RJB is at BC or at a  low level D1 school or question his academic ability to do so.. I'm happy RJB is at BC and Marcel is at York because it brings some light to CUNY when you have All American players at your school. These type of players give your conference a boost, plus it helps with recruiting. Let's keep it about BBall fellas...    

[THE GREAT DEBATOR]

Thank u Zak for setting the record straight.....