Empire 8

AUPepBand · June 09, 2009, 04:32:02 PM

Pep has it from a reliable source that, indeed, RIT, effective September 2011, will be moving to the Liberty League for all sports, while it appears Ithaca and Nazareth will not. Pep is not sure whether the LL presidents have voted yet but it appears the LL is set on RIT.

Pat Coleman · June 10, 2009, 11:11:18 AM

Those who follow @d3hoops on Twitter know who the other team joining the LL is.

AUPepBand · June 10, 2009, 11:38:29 AM

Pep doesn't Twitter....

...so RIT will go to the LL along with "Bard"? Ho-bard dat?

FROMAFAR · June 10, 2009, 01:53:35 PM

UGH!!!!! I am not happy about leaving..... I'll have to study Stevens real hard this year, so I can stay involved on this site......... PEP I know you are a great source, but I really hope it doesn't happen. OH well, they must know what they are doing........

Caz Bombers · June 11, 2009, 01:13:28 AM

Quote from: Pat Coleman on June 10, 2009, 11:11:18 AM
Those who follow @d3hoops on Twitter know who the other team joining the LL is.

I about fell off my chair in shock when I read that "tweet" - BARD?

Playing sports in an actual conference? Will they ever go .500 in any sport? Will they even win 1 conference game in any sport in their first season? Wondering what the LL was thinking in that decision.

AUPepBand · June 11, 2009, 09:43:57 AM

Pep has to agree....Bard went 1-24 in men's basketball in 2008-09, with the Raptors' first win of the season coming in their "regular season" finale...against Yeshiva.

TheNextLevel · June 11, 2009, 10:41:07 AM

I agree. RIT does seem like the best fit for the LL, but Bard? They can't compete with the low end teams on thier schedule now, how can they be competative in the LL? Unless Bard is going to place a new, well funded, priority on Athletics, this is going to be very ugly.

buck1053 · June 29, 2009, 12:51:01 PM

Any word on the Hartwick vacancy yet? There's been no announcement on a new coach yet, and no chatter here either. It seems like they should be making a decision sometime soon, so at least the new coach has a couple of months to settle in before school starts.

Pat Coleman · July 02, 2009, 02:36:53 PM

I have heard Todd McGuinness, who's an assistant at Case Western Reserve, for the Hartwick job.

buck1053 · July 02, 2009, 03:55:58 PM

McGuinness would make sense, he was an assistant at Hartwick at one time.

buck1053 · July 03, 2009, 09:41:37 AM

Here's the release from Hartwick:

http://www.hartwick.edu/x27566.xml

sjfcards · July 10, 2009, 09:49:21 AM

Does anyone know what the E8 plans to do about RIT leaving? Are they going to stay with 8 teams, and go back to the travel partner system? Are they looking for a new member to replace RIT?

No question the leage is taking a hit athletically and academically with RIT jumping to the LL.

huskiect · August 12, 2009, 10:30:10 PM

Does anybody know who is coming in this yearr?

Quote from: Bombers798891 on March 07, 2009, 08:52:36 PM
Quote from: gobombers15 on March 07, 2009, 08:14:41 PM
57-48 with 7:35 left. Keep hiking 3's, boys. Ithaca just can't adjust. Mullins getting outcoached. The plan for IC's opponent is easy: frustrate them, work the shotclock and then take them off the dribble. It's now or never for the Bombers. Can this group win ONE postseason game of any importance in their careers? We'll see.

Ithaca, down 66-53, mounts a frantic rally over the last four minutes, but just dug themselves too deep a hole. Season comes to a disappointing end as DeSales tops the Bombers, 77-71

It's amazing to me that a team loaded with so many good free throw shooters wouldn't attempt to draw some fouls and get to the line where they would have a significant advantage over other teams and instead just guns threes. Ithaca takes a total of five free throws, and throws up a staggering 41 threes.

Also, what happened to this team's defense? Nazareth turns out a nice little 63.3% and then DeSales goes over 50%. Just can't let that happen.

It's a shame, because this group of kids really could have put together a special season with a nice run here in the NCAA's. It was a great regular season, but unfortunately, this team is going to be remembered more for what they didn't accomplish than what they did.

Maybe that's a cynical outlook, and somewhat unfair to the team, but once the conference slate started, it became pretty apparent that the Bombers were going to cruise through the regular season and their performance in the NCAA's would define their legacy.

41-9 in the regular season, 0-2 in the E8 Tourney, 0-1 in the NCAA's. I wouldn't go so far as to term the a "disgrace"...that's too harsh. However, they were a team unable to perform at their best when it mattered the most, and there's no debating that

So where does Ithaca go from here? Most of the key players graduate, with Cruz, Marcus and Brown being the notables returning. Is it a return to the mediocre seasons of 14-12, 16-13 and the like that plagued the program from 2003-2007 before this group came into their own?

Bombers798891 · August 18, 2009, 01:34:48 PM

From the IC SID:

"Former Ithaca basketball standout Sean Burton has signed a contract to play for the London Leopards of the English Basketball League (EBL)...The EBL is a semi-professional league founded in 2003. The London squad placed third of 12 teams in the 2008-09 season, compiling a 12-6 record. The team advanced to semi-final round of the league's playoffs. "

Good to see he's still playing

AUPepBand · August 24, 2009, 09:28:51 PM

Bombers798891: That's awesome that Burton is continuing his career!

Pep is excited that Coach Wellman has his first recruiting class now on campus. Word has it there's some good talent in the freshman class. Pep is aware of recruits from as far away as Virginia, Texas and California. Go Saxons!