MBB: Colonial States Athletic Conference

[chizwiz]

Congrats to Chadwin thus far.  COY.  Sorry, Jon, but I'm pulling for the Mighty Macs.  Although I don't think the Vern will have too much difficulty getting in with a 22-5 record and no conference championship, if need be.

On to the game at Alvernia.  EU played like they were playing against Lehigh - shooting percentage went dowwwwnnnnn.  It would be nice to see them shoot better against tough opponents.  Missed layups, missed layups, did I say missed layups?  Rough night.  Gosh Alvernia is good.  And I'm glad I won't see Finger and Etzel next year.  Not that it will matter though as the Crusaders seem to reload quickly, or even immediately.

It's good that there weren't any scorebook problems with lost fouls this time, right Jon?  Just having fun.

7.5 minutes without a point by EU going into halftime.  That's atrocious.  Maybe the juniors will finally come through as a group next year.

Sad game for a great captain, player, and kid last night.  Lenny DiMaria shot poorly last night.  It happens.  Unfortunately for him, it happened on his last collegiate game.  I hope he remembers the good games he had as a player.  What a great kid.  Became the sole captain after Bobby Black basically walked out on the team because Bobby wasn't tough enough to handle the pressure of college and tough games.  He will be forgotten soon.  But not Lenny.  I hope Lenny remembers his second collegiate game, out in Ohio, starting for Copeland (another Bobby Black-type bum) and playing with heart and skill.  Keep your head up, Lenny.

[chairman]

And if he owns him, he will be player of the year. I am a big Mike Johnson fan, but you have to look objectively at his three games agaisnt Alvernia, and Boettcher's game against the Eagles at Arcadia along with the fact that he is averaging under ten a game and say that he is probably a second team guy.

Had Eastern made it to second in the regular season standings, I might be able to revise that idea, but we will disagree. I really think Finklea will wind up on the first team.

You are right about missed lay-ups, but once again the length of Shawell, Bradley, King, and even Finger had the Eastern players looking around when they were trying to finish at the basket. Alvernia, despite Mike's shot blocking ability was able to finish their lay-ups. I do think that the Eagles earned at least a pair of first half free throws. That they shot seven for the game, adn none in the first half is shameful.

[Jon]

Unfortunately, I don't think he will get first team as coaches (who are the ones voting) don't have the time to worry about things besides points.  I'm sure Shawell knows who owns him next year when he goes up for a dunk.  Let's remember that Shawell would have had 1 more dunk last night, but Mike made a collegiate block that somehow got called for a foul.

Chiz, did the Scarecrow take over during this middle portion of your post.  I would say in basketball, more than any other conference sport, the coaches vote on more than just one offensive stat.  I don't know any other sport where EVERY coach puts as much time into studying each conference opponent.  That's the whole point of the tape exchange.  I think you could leave stats off the ballot altogether and the voting would come out about the same.

And please tell that you're not insincuating that Mike Johnson "owns" Terrence Shawell.  He made one nice defensive play, on what video shows was a layup attempt, but his numbers in three games have been Awful.  Twenty-nine minutes per game, 1-for-13 from the floor, 0-for-5 from the arc, 0-for-2 from the line, 3.7 boards, 3.7 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 0.7 points.  Shawell has outscored him for the entire series on dunks alone...and it's a blowout!

And what's up with the consistent mentioning of officials from St. Davids computers.  Maybe you have room for a complaint when you lose a close game, but even poor officiating wouldn't make up 23 points.

[chairman]

Objective statement of fact. The better team won.
Objective statement of fact. Team trying for upset had in their game plan to get the ball inside, earn points from foul line, and make better team's better players play fewer minutes because of the rule in basketball the prohibits further participation after the fifth foul of the game.
Objective statement of fact. The Officials in the Eastern-Alvernia game called just six fouls in the first half. Eastern shot 0 free throws in the opening half.The first half lasted 28 minutes and change. You can make an argument that there was no illegal contact on inside play and scoring attempts throughout the first half, but it is just not so. Almost every time you see a team go 0-0 from the foul line in a half it is because they are standing on the perimeter and jacking up threes. That was not the game Eastern tried to play in the first half.  The officials did not miss the lay ups in the last five minutes, but there were several plays when the game was a 4 and 6 point game that are usually called as fouls and would result in free throws being shot.
Alvernia, being bigger at every position, was more capable of dealing with the way the game was being called. Not implying there was bias in the crew.

[chizwiz]

And what's up with the consistent mentioning of officials from St. Davids computers.  Maybe you have room for a complaint when you lose a close game, but even poor officiating wouldn't make up 23 points.

Jon, in no way was I insinuating that the officials changed the game.  No major complaints here in the officiating, just small ones that don't need to be brought up more as chair has done some, too.  I think you are reading into the St. Davids computers a little too much.  Your team is significantly better than EU's right now.  Favorable officials for EU wouldn't have won us the game last night.

[chizwiz]

It's also not surprising that M. Johnson had 3 bad games against Alvernia.  As Chair wrote, the best way for EU to beat the Vern is to go inside with our less-than-big post men.  Mike is our main guy.  The Crusaders are more than able to stop him, so he won't produce against Alvernia.  Sadly this year, the rest of the team has not shot well with possible assists from post players like Johnson.  Say what you will about his stats against Alvernia, but my points here make sense.  I stand on my previous point that few players in the conference have what Mike has in his other stats.  His ppg is just fine for a first-teamer combined with his other stats.

And I'm just having fun with the "own" comment.  I figured somebody needed to give Mike some props with that block since he didn't get credit for it on the court.  I think you have enough to gloat about with the win that you can let me make a few comments without getting too touchy, Jon.

[Jon]

My statement about St. Davids computers came after what I deem as a disturbing trend following Eastern losses.  I don't have time to go back and find all the quotes, but I recall some commentary about Rashawn Johnson having success at Eastern after he could have fouled out and Willie Chandler getting calls back in the day and now the first thing posted after Alvernia's semifinal win (actually midway through the win) was a comment about officiating.

In other news, I don't think I'm getting touchy with my comment on the Johnson/Shawell relationship.  That descriptor would be used for a hasty comeback to a somewhat sensible comparison...your comparison would make even an unbiased observer scratch their head.

[chairman]

I see the smite fairy has been out and about recently.

For the record, my comments on Wesley were in response to a question asking if they were for real. I said that they would struggle to win in more tightly officiated games. I think that we saw Wesley struggle this year, and in talking to people who saw their quarterfinal game, and people who know basketball, their comments were "After he [Johnson] picked up his third foul he was just passive." I don't have the time or inclination really to pore over Wesley's game reports, but I would venture a guess that there is a strong correlation between games with 20+ fouls on the Wolverines and losses. Some of that could be chalked up to teams having to foul to try to come back, but my point is that they didn't have the depth to endure foul trouble and that they played in such a way that they were vulnerable to it.

Maybe I should have used Michael Jordan instead of Willie Chandler. But then people would say that NBA officials called exactly the same set of fouls and violations on Jordan as they did on Jon Koncak and that I'm just trying to discredit Jordan because I hate him.

As for the game the other night. The facts are what they are. How many college games have you seen with three (I forgot about Etzl's at halftime) foul shots in a half? Your statement that the game was a blowout and that the quality of officiating was inconsequential. My contention is that the quality of the officiating was poor for a playoff game. I stand by my words on this, but will not post any more on the subject.

[WolfPAC]

Unfortunately, I don't think he will get first team as coaches (who are the ones voting) don't have the time to worry about things besides points.  I'm sure Shawell knows who owns him next year when he goes up for a dunk.  Let's remember that Shawell would have had 1 more dunk last night, but Mike made a collegiate block that somehow got called for a foul.

Chiz, did the Scarecrow take over during this middle portion of your post.  I would say in basketball, more than any other conference sport, the coaches vote on more than just one offensive stat.  I don't know any other sport where EVERY coach puts as much time into studying each conference opponent.  That's the whole point of the tape exchange.  I think you could leave stats off the ballot altogether and the voting would come out about the same.

And please tell that you're not insincuating that Mike Johnson "owns" Terrence Shawell.  He made one nice defensive play, on what video shows was a layup attempt, but his numbers in three games have been Awful.  Twenty-nine minutes per game, 1-for-13 from the floor, 0-for-5 from the arc, 0-for-2 from the line, 3.7 boards, 3.7 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 0.7 points.  Shawell has outscored him for the entire series on dunks alone...and it's a blowout!

And what's up with the consistent mentioning of officials from St. Davids computers.  Maybe you have room for a complaint when you lose a close game, but even poor officiating wouldn't make up 23 points.

Boy I wish Dzik was around to hear this crap.   

[WolfPAC]

Lets not be too politcally correct out there.

A win is a win and a loss is a loss.   Always seemed like we got the raw deal at Alvernia with officials as well as quick buzzes.    Never heard about it because Cabrini never lost a PAC championship to Alvernia.

Stop gloating........ Alvernia is the better team at the moment but are nothing to brag about.  Lets see how far they go now and if they deserve our support fine.  Maybe the PAC is the only place they can win.

[WolfPAC]

Easy to sit back after a win and take credit for stats.   Be careful it could come back and bite you in your blank.......

[Jon]

Two straight for the Crusaders and fourth title overall.  Congrats of course to Coach Miller, his staff, and the team, but equal kudos to the Immaculata program.

The Macs showed they are worlds better than their record.  They Pound the glass relentlessly and play with such tenacity...and the crowd that follows them was terrific.  I've never seen the PEC filled to capacity before and we've had some big games with Cabrini and Albright and others, but there are always empty seats in the bleachers...not tonight.  1,500 people makes for a tremendous playoff atmosphere.

Thanks to all involved who treated us to a great experience.

[Pat Coleman]

Fun atmosphere tonight, very underrated. There's not a lot of great crowds in the Mid-Atlantic and I know a conference title game brings out a little extra in everyone, but this was fun.

Yes, Jon, still wide awake.

[Jon]

Pat, thanks for making the trip through Friday traffic to visit The Vern.  We appreciate the extra attention.

Go Mules!

[chizwiz]

Congrats to the Crusaders.  Represent the PAC well in the playoffs.  I would love to see you play Messiah first round and beat up on those softies out there.