MBB: NEWMAC

[amh63]

Dave M......how did you swing Amherst to play your school?  Now I have study the roster, history, etc. Of Goucher. 

[ronk]

Dave M......how did you swing Amherst to play your school?  Now I have study the roster, history, etc. Of Goucher.

  Easy access to Goucher campus from Balt Beltway(I-695), but usually heavy traffic on a Friday evening(4-6:30) although could be lighter on day after New Year's. Maybe a pre-game bite(team/parents meal?) to eat in Towson would be wise.

[amh63]

  Ronk......thanks for the advice.  Checked out the Townson exit.  Guess B'more has it extended rush hour.  Will be there unless there is a snowstorm.  Care to join me?  Give it a thought. My treat all around.

[ronk]

Amh63,
Tempting idea, but I plan on traveling the next morning to watch the Scranton women up in Elizabethtown, so I'll decline this one; we'll probably get together sometime/somewhere down the line.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

  Ronk......thanks for the advice.  Checked out the Townson exit.  Guess B'more has it extended rush hour.  Will be there unless there is a snowstorm.  Care to join me?  Give it a thought. My treat all around.

I've got it on my calendar, but my attendance will be up in the air until week of, for sure.

[WPI89]

WPI pulled out of their Canada trip due to the attack last week on Parliament.  The Ottawa coach seems none too pleased in this article.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/u-s-college-withdraws-from-ottawa-hoops-tournament-citing-terror-attack

Tough spot for the new WPI President.  My understanding is the team was to head to Canada last Thursday - the day after the attack..........so the decision likely had to be made while there was still an active "search" going on for a presumed second gunman.

Big opportunity missed for the team to get some really great early season tests - I do think they got in the organized workouts (practices) that are allowed because of this trip - so from a hoops standpoint - not a total waste.

I will not comment for or against - being a little too close to the situation.  Any thoughts out there?

[D3HoopJunkie]

WPI89,

I saw the story, had heard that they pulled out and just to give an outside perspective I think the WPI President made the right decision. Certainly a very difficult decision but again I believe the right one. The way the article reads its seems like they thought WPI was overacting because of the US media but unfortunately for them that is the media that we as Americans have to trust. Anytime you potentially put your students and student athletes at risk some type of action must be taken and it might not necessarily be a popular decision but in the end we all have to remember that there is more to life than basketball and while the threat may have been minimal a minimal threat is still a threat.

I think if you asked not just the basketball players parents from WPI but the Universities parents as a whole they would all agree.

[D3HoopJunkie]

As far as basketball is concerned, it certainly would have been nice for WPI to play these games against quality opponents but I have seen WPI a few times over the years and as an Albertus supporter we played in a few scrimmages as well as a tough contested NCAA game last season and I think WPI is a fine program and Coach Bartley will have him team well prepared for any game. In the end from a basketball standpoint this won't hurt WPI at all.

[WPI89]

D3HJ - I know Coach Oliver a bit - and he is a great basketball mind - and I love his passion on the sideline.  Let's meet again this year - hopefully in the 3rd or 4th round - not right away!

[D3HoopJunkie]

WPI89,

Glad to hear you refer to Coach Oliver as passionate because we love him for it to. He is worth the price of admission. (Even though the games are free) I feel that his energy and passion for the game from most outsiders is viewed as over the top but they simply just don't understand how much this guy loves the game and wants to win. He is a proven winner and is without doubt one of the better D3 coaches in the country. I would also argue that if you were to look at the numbers I think you would be hard pressed to find a program in the last I don't know how many years to have a complete 360 degree turn around like Albertus has had and it's all because of Coach Oliver. This school had absolutely nothing before he took over the program and in a very short period of time they are consistently a Top 25 team year in and year out! He is a masterful recruiter and like you said has a brilliant basketball mind.

[nescac1]

A few interesting notes on the WPI roster.  Star guard Marco Coppola, who missed last year with injury, is not back -- I wonder if he transferred?  But, his projected production should be replaced by Clyde Niba, who averaged 19-10 for Lasell last year and figures to be a major impact transfer in the frontcourt. 

[magicman]

WPI pulled out of their Canada trip due to the attack last week on Parliament.  The Ottawa coach seems none too pleased in this article.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/u-s-college-withdraws-from-ottawa-hoops-tournament-citing-terror-attack

Tough spot for the new WPI President.  My understanding is the team was to head to Canada last Thursday - the day after the attack..........so the decision likely had to be made while there was still an active "search" going on for a presumed second gunman.

Big opportunity missed for the team to get some really great early season tests - I do think they got in the organized workouts (practices) that are allowed because of this trip - so from a hoops standpoint - not a total waste.

I will not comment for or against - being a little too close to the situation.  Any thoughts out there?

WPI89,

In case you missed this, WPI did go to Canada for 1 exhibition game. On Sunday, Oct. 26th the Engineers played Bishop's University which is in Sherbrooke Quebec, near Montreal. The Gaiters, which is the nickname for the Bishop's hoop team, almost knocked off WPI as they came back from a 36-23 halftime deficit to close within 2 points at the buzzer as the Engineers held on for a 56-54 victory.

Bishop's returned a number of starters from last year's team and they feature a 6'10" center, a 6'11" forward and a 6'9" forward. All 3 players are 5th year students so they're older than seniors from the US teams plus all of their players are scholarship players as well. Interesting to note that the Gaiters lost that game to WPI, but their leading scorer and rebounder, Mike Andrews, the 6'10" center didn't play in that game. One of their top guards, Jona Bermillo, who is their best 3 point shooter, also missed that game.

Plattsburgh State played Bishop's this past Saturday in Plattsburgh and the Cardinals managed to open up a 14 point lead, 57-43 with 8 minutes left to play. And like the game against WPI, the Gaiters refused to fold, as they closed to within 1, at 65-64. The Cardinals got a pair of free throws to make the score 67-64 and had to withstand four 3 point attempts by Bishop's in the final 23 seconds to secure the win. Once again their leading scorer, Mike Andrews didn't play. I spoke with him prior to the game as he was dressed but didn't participate in the warm-ups. He was recuperating from an injury and was cleared to play, but since their regular season opens up this week they held him out. Their other player that missed the WPI game, Bermillo, made five 3 pointers in 9 attempts and led the team in scoring with 15 points. Plattsbugh's leading scorer for the past 2 years, Shamoy McIntosh (13 ppg), didn't play as he was held out for precautionary reasons. 

Bishop's was an excellent team and will duke it out with McGill University for the top spot in their conference. McGill won that conference
last year and Bishop's was 2nd. Incidentally, last fall McGill played Division I Siena College and beat them 74-72 and has gone 4-5 in their last 9 games against D1 competition from the States so these teams from Canada have shown they can play quite well especially the University division teams. I felt that the matchup between Plattsburgh and Bishop's, despite being an exhibition game, will probably be one of the better games I'll get to see this year in person. 

So I think that WPI got their feet wet against a very good team and the close score helped out as well since the team proved they could pull out a victory.

Clyde Niba led the Engineers with 20 points (8x17 fg, 4x7 3's,) and 5 rebounds. Sam Longwell was next with 16 points (5x14 fg, 0x5 3's, 6x6 ft) and 6 rebounds while Sean Dorcaster had 7 points (2x6 fg, 1x2 3's, 2x3 ft) and 7 rebounds. The other starters were Aaron Todd, 2 pts with 4 rebounds, and Aaron Davis also with 2 pts and 4 rebounds. Bench players that rounded out the scoring were Obi Obiora...6 points and 3 boards in 18 minutes and Zach Karalis with 3 points and 8 rebounds in 24 minutes. As nescac1 mentioned in the above post there was no sign of Marco Copppla in the box score. Chris Rodgers and Ian Converse were the only other WPI players that had any noticeable minutes. Rodgers had 15 minutes of court time with 3 rebounds, no points and 4 fouls, while Converse played 8 minutes and grabbed 2 boards.           
   

[amh63]

Magicman...see you are up early and warming your fingers for the season!  Am a little confused with the Canadian school systems..even more so between the provinces.  Know from talking with some Canadian Hockey players at Amherst...the ones from Toronta area...that they follow the UK school system.  HS can go 5 years...one year past our 12 th grade.  University level colleges is for three years...like Oxford and Cambridge U in England.  Quebec  province is more French in nature...have no idea what heir school systems are.  I think I may have confused myself here...since a number of US students are going up to Canada these days. 
Along a similiar note in the NBA...saw a report where a German combined team upset the NBA Champs in an exhibition game. 
NESCAC schools started formal practice on Nov.1....hope to see Amherst tEams work out this coming weekend as the football season ends.
Really wish that Amherst could schedule games/ meet WPI some time.  Maybe this year in the post season....also with Plattsburgh

[magicman]

Hello amh63,

I think you're correct concerning the Canadian school system. High School has a 13th grade. Then they go to college which is usually a 2 year endeavor and then they head off to University which is 3 more years. That's how they become 5th year seniors in college. Many of these players are 24, 25, or even 26 years old as they reach their final year of eligibility. At least that's how it was explained to me recently. So if you play a Canadian College in an exhibition you're probably playing the equivalent of a junior college in the U.S. whose players are a year older than ours. If you're playing a Canadian University you are matched up against a team that is mostly composed of scholarship players. Bishop's had a 6'11" 5th year  player from France and another player from Luxembourg that was a 6'7" 1st year. The rest of their roster came from all over Canada. 

Maybe we will meet in the post season again amh63, but I hope it's in Plattsburgh this time. If we have to go to Amherst for a 3rd year in a row...well that's just not fair ...and will lead me to believe that the Lord Jeffs have someone on the inside at NCAA headquarters lobbying big time for them, and perhaps it's you.    

[Buzzerbeater]

A few interesting notes on the WPI roster.  Star guard Marco Coppola, who missed last year with injury, is not back -- I wonder if he transferred?  But, his projected production should be replaced by Clyde Niba, who averaged 19-10 for Lasell last year and figures to be a major impact transfer in the frontcourt.

Heard that Marco Coppola transferred to Brandies. Niba will be an impact player in WPI's system. But keep a close eye on FY guard Shane Farley. With his style of play and shooting ability he will fit right in!