MBB: City University of New York Athletic Conference

[xalva66]

Chris Bernard is a serious boost to Hunter College but this is bigger than Chris. Yes, it was a difficult time for Hunter without Chris Bernard, a record like that shows how important one player can be to a time and he is not just a scorer, he is a great talent and all-around player.

[sixfour]

thats my gripe with the cuny. one semester a team is a beast and the next they lose players and stink, or they gain players and are strong. often playing a cuny school in the first semester and the second is different. transferring mid season inter-conference seems ridiculous to me too. I would love to see a cuny team sans transfers and players becoming ineligible win.

[xalva66]

The big announcement is .....

Former Penn State PG and Archbishop Molloy standout Marlon Smith will be joining the Hunter Hawks for the rest of the season.

[Rhodes Scholar]

Marlon Smith playing for Hunter--that's pretty big news. If it's true, and I have no reason to doubt your word, he would be--by far--the biggest D1 transfer ever to transfer into the CUNYAC.

A couple of questions: Is Smith completely healthy? Why didn't he play at Fordham after transferring from Penn State? Is he a junior?

[xalva66]

I really don't know the answers to those questions. That's someone from an administrative standpoint would know and I am not here or there. But I am very excited to see him play. Right now Hunter is 6-6 with a 3-1 CUNY record. Let's see how this all pans out.

[D3HOOPSCOOP]

wait now, is Bernard also returning for Hunter, will there be a Bernard-Smith backcourt in the CUNY? or was those whispers of a Bernard return just a fabrication?

[xalva66]

I did not say anything about Chris Bernard returning to the team. Someone else mentioned it and I just said that it was bigger than Chris Bernard returning.

[D3HOOPSCOOP]

so the answer to my question would be no?

[Rhodes Scholar]

I did not say anything about Chris Bernard returning to the team. Someone else mentioned it and I just said that it was bigger than Chris Bernard returning.

so the answer to my question would be no?

I think xalva66 should answer your question. He's the one with the inside knowledge. His comments regarding Chris Bernard are somewhat cryptic, but if I had to guess I'd say that only Marlon Smith will be playing, and that--by itself--is pretty big news.

[xalva66]

No Chris Bernard is NOT going to be coming in the second semester. I didnt mean to be critic. Nothing on the Hunter website yet but I will keep you all posted.

[old school baller]

thats my gripe with the cuny. one semester a team is a beast and the next they lose players and stink, or they gain players and are strong. often playing a cuny school in the first semester and the second is different. transferring mid season inter-conference seems ridiculous to me too. I would love to see a cuny team sans transfers and players becoming ineligible win.

Amen to that. What is up with all of these roster moves and why does it seem that so few of these teams can build a program (with some exceptions, most notably Baruch and maybe York as well) and keep kids for more than a semester or 2? This is so far from the true intent of D3 sports. And these "BIG" moves always seem to end up backfiring on the teams that pull them. I remember John Jay brought that scorer from Iona in mid-semester a few years ago. They were already (arguably) the best team in the conference but adding this kid killed them and they got blown out in the 1st round of the CUNY tournament.
Hunter looked like they were really moving in the right direction last year and had a lot of solid young talent on their roster, even after losing Bernard. But then virtually the enitre roster turns over for this season. Where do the kids from last year's team go - do they stay in school? Why do they leave? Is it academics? How many of this year's roster will return? How long will Smith stay?
And who are the guys with all the "inside information"? How do they get this info? I have heard the argument that the sdchools can't have any continuity because they are primarily commuter schools, but then why can Baruch and York seem to keep so many guys for more than a semester or 2. It just doesn't look good and can't be good for the kids involved.
Anyway, just chiming in with sixfour on his take.

[xalva66]

and there it is:

http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/athletics/teams/mn-bb/roster.shtml

[Rhodes Scholar]

thats my gripe with the cuny. one semester a team is a beast and the next they lose players and stink, or they gain players and are strong. often playing a cuny school in the first semester and the second is different. transferring mid season inter-conference seems ridiculous to me too. I would love to see a cuny team sans transfers and players becoming ineligible win.

Amen to that. What is up with all of these roster moves and why does it seem that so few of these teams can build a program (with some exceptions, most notably Baruch and maybe York as well) and keep kids for more than a semester or 2? This is so far from the true intent of D3 sports. And these "BIG" moves always seem to end up backfiring on the teams that pull them. I remember John Jay brought that scorer from Iona in mid-semester a few years ago. They were already (arguably) the best team in the conference but adding this kid killed them and they got blown out in the 1st round of the CUNY tournament.
Hunter looked like they were really moving in the right direction last year and had a lot of solid young talent on their roster, even after losing Bernard. But then virtually the enitre roster turns over for this season. Where do the kids from last year's team go - do they stay in school? Why do they leave? Is it academics? How many of this year's roster will return? How long will Smith stay?
And who are the guys with all the "inside information"? How do they get this info? I have heard the argument that the sdchools can't have any continuity because they are primarily commuter schools, but then why can Baruch and York seem to keep so many guys for more than a semester or 2. It just doesn't look good and can't be good for the kids involved.
Anyway, just chiming in with sixfour on his take.

Both sixfour and old school baller make legitimate points. sixfour is correct in noting that there are a lot of roster changes in CUNY and a fair amount of players who flunk off the team. I also find the mid-season interconference transfer rule to be strange, but since it almost never occurs the point is more or less moot.

old school baller makes the valid point that very few schools keep players for two years much less four. I'd say Baruch does the best job in this area, although a few of the other schools do an OK job as well. Some reasons why Baruch is successful are the following: Baruch is a business school and will be able to get players who are looking to go into accounting, business, finance, etc. Baruch has an established program and gets a lot of players from the CHSAA, and these players tend to be more mature and academically inclined than their PSAL counterparts. Plus, Baruch doesn't really go after the D1 retreads who play for one year or half the year.

Another problem with player turnover is that some players simply can't cut it academically. They simply cannot do the classwork. Another problem is financial: some of the players work or can only play for a year before they go back to work full time. Also some are married and/or have children, which means they can only play a year before going back to work out of financial necessity.

I agree that wholesale roster changes are not in keeping with the spirit of D3. The same goes for midseason transfers and going after D1 retreads. But all of these things are legal actions.

[knight_life]

I think it is just the evolution of Division III Basketball. The idea of mid-season acquisitions or losses are nothing new to the CUNYAC or any local Division III Institution. As the Rhodes-Scholar pointed out, there are many factors other than just academics that hinder these student-athletes from keeping themselves on the court and in many cases, basketball not the top priority in their lives.

However, there are some situations where basketball is the top priority and where the student-athlete is willing to transfer to another school based solely on the fact that they have a better team, than these are the types who diminish or tarnish the foundations of Division III.

When it comes down to it, none of these athletes are playing for money, contracts or fame. 99.9% will not go on to play in Europe, let a lone the NBA or D-League. So they have four-years to enjoy and play some ball, actually two-three years because by their fourth you would hope that life after basketball is becoming more of a focus than just the game.

For those who do not prepare for the future and focus solely on the game and not go to class or study, well  those are the ones I truly feel sorry for. Those are the ones who are one and done and go from being player of the week to employee of the month at mcdonalds!

[Rhodes Scholar]

I watched Baruch crush NYC Tech, 95-65, earlier this evening at Baruch. The Bearcats were in control from the opening tap and were never really tested by the visiting Yellow Jackets. Tammer Farid, George Kunkel, Mike Dietz and Phil Schatz all put in solid efforts for Baruch. Baruch's defense, especially Eric Quintero and Laurence Smith, did an excellent job on City Tech's Jamaal Hall, holding him to only 11 points. Coming into the game Hall was the seventh in the nation in scoring, averaging 25 points per contest.

Here's an oddity I noticed from the program: City Tech's roster includes seven players who are 5' 11" or shorter.