MBB: Colonial States Athletic Conference

[Chris Panter, GMC SID]

Jon-
Your call for All-PAC selections is heeded.

Here is the first list:

A pair of first team locks:
Shawell-Alvernia He's just good, and he plays on the top team.
R. Johnson-Wesley: Might be the most dynamic offensive player since Willie Chandler, but I put him behind Shawell in POTY voting because Wesley is underachieving overall.

Two who I think are close to locks:
Boettcher- Arcadia  Double double machine. Arcadia would have to fall off the map for him not to make second team, but I think he will make the first team.
Smith- GMC he has to finish strong, because he was invisible to start, but he is a game changer.

Those four I feel are pretty well cemented in the first team-- One of the following will make the 1st team based on his team's finish. I am putting them in order now, but that could all change  tomorrow.

Etzel- Alvernia. If the Vern doesn't lose the rest of the way, I think they get two first teamers. Etzel is a great competitor and a super shooter.

Johnson-Eastern. It would be a huge upset to see a guy with single figure scoring on the first team, but he leads the league in blocks, is second in assists, first in defensive rebounds, top five in steals, and top ten in field goal percentage. The blocks and assists thing is interesting enough, but the rebounding  and steals make it even more so.

Finger- Alvernia. He is a shoe in for second team and can only make the first team if Etzel struggles down the stretch and Alvernia doesn't. He doesn't turn the ball over and he doesn't miss any shots.

Finklea- Immaculata. The Macs have to finish in the top four, for him to get first team honors, but if they do, I think he will.

Patrick- Neumann. Before tonight I would have thought he was a lock to make the first team, but he did not produce like an all-league performer in a game of pretty significant consequence this evening. Nonetheless, he is a great offensive talent.

DiMaria- Eastern's leading scorer and only senior could sneak into the top five if the Eagles finish top three and the voters refuse to put Johnson on the first team.

Standing at the door looking in: These guys all have a shot at second team.

Baumunk- College Misericordia- He will make it if the Cougars can sneak into the playoffs. Otherwise it will probably be honorable mention.

Jones - Immaculata -- He's put together some great games. Will probably need to have at least two more really big nights to make it.

Volpe- Eastern-- The junior point guard has taken over a greater responsibility for scoring the ball, but it's not likely that the Eagles will get three.

DJ Fritz-- Neumann. Great scorer, but he's in his first year and is the second name on the Knights.

Two on the outside-

Randy Reid and Adam Wildasin will in all likelihood get shut out. They both put up very good numbers, but when the numbers don't lead to wins, they are unlikely to get awards.

POTY Shawell-- He does so many things well, and his competitve fire is obvious. He is probably not the best offensive player in the league (Johnson from Wesley), but he is very complete and he can drop 34 on you if the need arises.
ROY- King from Alvernia-- I'm not sure there is another freshman who starts and makes a measurable contribution.

COY- Still too soon to tell. There are a couple names eliminated, but there are a lot of names still in the running as well. I'd like to see lists from all the usual suspects here pretty soon.

We don't get any love?

[Coach P]

Chris, you have an "almost" lock on first team.

[Jon]

CP, you can't use a 5-word rebuttal for a 600-word quote...it just looks disproportionate.  You do, however, raise a good point.  The Chair gave mention to Smith, which is deserved, but he left out DelBrocco, the only player in the top 10 in scoring in the league to not get any mention.  After seeing him play for four years, I'm pretty sure I would take him in front of most of the players mentioned.

Johnson-Eastern. It would be a huge upset to see a guy with single figure scoring on the first team, but he leads the league in blocks, is second in assists, first in defensive rebounds, top five in steals, and top ten in field goal percentage. The blocks and assists thing is interesting enough, but the rebounding  and steals make it even more so.

I'm not sure I buy into this line of support for Johnson on the first team...he put up rather pedestrian numbers at The Vern.  I'll grant him the blocks and assists, but I'd rather have a guy doing as much work on the offensive glass to keep possessions alive.  I wish I wasn't working on most PAC game nights so I could see the candidates play a little more.  I'm still holding out for that ESPNU contract.

I think you may also be surprised at the support Adam Wildasin gets come voting time.  I've heard more than one league source speak very highly of him.  His offensive abililty certainly put him in the league's top 10.

Okay, I'm gonna crank out some actually work for a bit here, but I will likely return to this topic.  I've working on how to properly celebrate post #100.

[Pat Coleman]

Best attendance board.

[hoopzwiz]

I'm sitting here looking at the PAC standings after tonight's results, and I'm thinking that Neumann might be in a lot of trouble.  They've got 3 consecutive away games, at places that aren't easy to win:  Alvernia, GMC, and Misericordia (is that 6 players on the court or is one of those guys just a ref?).  I think they might find themselves at 8-8 with a home game against Cabrini, and you know Macciocca is going to have fun being a giant killer in his last few hurrahs as a PAC coach.  Then, they play Immaculata, who is going to need every win they can get (like a few others including EU), to get in the tourney.

I could be wrong, but I think Neumann is on a downward slope.

Marywood and Cabrini - their only fun now is in giving losses to unsuspecting teams or those on the bubble.  And I don't blame them.

Arcadia looks to slip into 5th or 6th seed, with a relatively (and I stress RELATIVELY) less difficult conference schedule left.

I think Wesley will be out, but just barely.

The bubble is probably Neumann, Misericordia, and Immaculata.  They are all playing each other, so it will be some fun ball the next two weeks in conference.

And now I submit this to the critics.

Interesting.....as usual.

I was surprised that Neumann didn't give a better effort but not on the outcome.

Chiz, you have any first hand info regarding the Cabrini coach?  Seems like you know something noone else does.

What happened in the Misericordia game for the officiating to be called into question?

As a side note, I've seen alot of games from the MAC this year, those teams are tough.  I think Alvernia would be the only PAC team to contend in the Freedom Conference.

[Chris Panter, GMC SID]

oh it's just some teasing...I'm sure he just slipped your mind

Actually, I was debating whether or not to quote the entire potential all-league picks in my reply

[chairman]

Chris,
DelBrocco did slip my mind. 2:30 in the morning and all. I think he is safely second team. I think Etzel and Finger get the nod as more complete packages, but Chris did a very nice job moving the ball and creating shots for teammates in the first game I saw him play.

John-- From having seen him over the course of the year, I can tell you that the game at the Vern was without question Johnson's worst of the year. I think you would be impressed with he things he does at the offensive end of the floor as well as his ability to create with defense. He's probably on the outside looking in at a first team spot (although if the Eagles get to second or third, he would have to get some pretty serious consideration). Is there a Defensive player of the year award in the PAC? We can have a 517 person all-Academic team for the fall, but we don't have awards for defensive player of the year for Soccer, field hockey, Basketball, or Lacrosse. Maybe something for the SID's to push for.

As for the Widasin campaign, I think that he is probably too limited in other areas of the game (10 turnovers at EU) to get more than an honorable mention nod, but I have only seen him play twice.

[Jon]

chair,

2:30 a.m. posting speaks to either serious dedication to the PAC or insomnia.  DelBrocco always gets our best defender when we face the Griffins...I think those kinds of coaching moves speak volumes to a team's respect for an opponent.

I could give Johnson (EU version) another look...having watched what the Crusaders roll out on offense every night I'm a bit spoiled as far as offensive Division 3 players go.  Opponents would never pick Etzel out of our lineup during warm ups, but he's been sneaky deadly.  Shawell probably sticks out a bit, and now that he's warmed up I think I'd like to see him against some of the non-conference regional competition.

How about the unofficial "PAC Chat Room Defensive Player of the Year."  We can accept votes from anyone with a valid posting ID and 10 or more PAC posts in a season.

[Coach C]

DelBrocco gets my vote

C

[chairman]

For defensive player of the year?


I would assume that you are just putting him up for an all conference spot, because while he is a deadly scorer, he is certainly not an upper echelon defender.

[chairman]

Any idea what we are supposed to be looking for on the best attendance board? Also, just two teams with eight losses in Cabrini and the 'wood. Tomorrow might start to shed some light on things, but I think we need at least two and possibly three more league dates to know anything substantial. Wesley and Misericordia are probably the two teams that need to sweat tomorrow's game most. Getting to eight losses with four games left on the schedule really puts you behind the eightball.

Insomnia is the answer. I can't find any of my Economics textbooks from college.

[Coach P]

DelBrocco gets my vote as well. Second team looks appropriate.

[chizwiz]

Any idea what we are supposed to be looking for on the best attendance board? Also, just two teams with eight losses in Cabrini and the 'wood. Tomorrow might start to shed some light on things, but I think we need at least two and possibly three more league dates to know anything substantial. Wesley and Misericordia are probably the two teams that need to sweat tomorrow's game most. Getting to eight losses with four games left on the schedule really puts you behind the eightball.

Insomnia is the answer. I can't find any of my Economics textbooks from college.

Did they make you read textbooks at your college?

[chizwiz]

Interesting.....as usual.

I was surprised that Neumann didn't give a better effort but not on the outcome.

Chiz, you have any first hand info regarding the Cabrini coach?  Seems like you know something noone else does.

What happened in the Misericordia game for the officiating to be called into question?

As a side note, I've seen alot of games from the MAC this year, those teams are tough.  I think Alvernia would be the only PAC team to contend in the Freedom Conference.

Hoopz, first hand, no.  I am going to respect the rules here and not comment.  As it is, my original quote just looks like I am stating things for fun with no backup.  Let's leave it there.

Nothing happened in the Miseri game.  But, the joke is that when going to Marywood or Miseri, that the officials become a small part of the game, not just the adjudicators.  I have heard several coaches in the conference joke about this.  Although I wouldn't hold it against the aforementioned teams.  They are mostly innocent.

I'm not sure I agree with your statement about Alvernia being the only PAC team that could contend in the Freedom conference.  Miseri, a middle of the PAC team this year, lost by nine against MAC-F's #1 and by 8 against their #2.  Then, DeSales, their #3, barely beat Cabrini and lost to Miseri, then barely beat Immaculata.  None of these PAC teams are top 3, yet the Freedom had significant difficulty with them.  Unfortunately, we don't have any games between Freedom's top 3 and the PAC's top teams, so most of this is speculation.

[chizwiz]

Today's picks:

Macs @ Miseri - Miseri by 4
Neumann @ the Vern - Crusaders by 9 (they're rolling now)
Marywood @ Cabrini - the hot dog guy only sells 2 dogs with stale buns - listen, even the player's mom's don't care about this game - but I'll pick Dzik's old team by 5
Arcadia @ Wesley - this one is the toughest for me today - Wesley by 4