Empire 8

[Ethelred the Unready]

As for RIT, I have heard that two kids from Oneonta are headed there.  Dan O'brien and Brandon Harter.  O'Brien could have an impact.  He's 6'3"-6'4" and a good shooter.  Harter is taller but needs to put on some muscle.  All prefaced by saying I have not seen either play in a year, so they could both be crippled and blind. 

[TheNextLevel]

I think Harter has more upside potential.  O'Brien was a very good HS player but can be shut down by a good defender and may have trouble handling  the physical play at the college level.  Hopefully I am wrong and they both will excel.

As for RIT, I have heard that two kids from Oneonta are headed there.  Dan O'brien and Brandon Harter.  O'Brien could have an impact.  He's 6'3"-6'4" and a good shooter.  Harter is taller but needs to put on some muscle.  All prefaced by saying I have not seen either play in a year, so they could both be crippled and blind. 

[buck1053]

Pep did not (and will not) ask his source to drop any names. Pep would like to be drawing the salary of an instructional librarian. Library assistants, unfortunately, still carry the stigma of being a "faculty wife" position and are reimbursed as such, regardless of gender and changes in technology over the years.

Even if you didn't ask your source for names, any thoughts on who may be in mix?

[Razor]

The situation at Alfred sounds to me like it's turning into a debacle!  How is it that the position has been open and posted now for over a month and noone has even been interviewed??  Correct me if Im wrong, but isn't their some serious recruiting done over the summer?  How is that getting done when the school has noone as it's face of the program?!  Hopefully the process gets sped up and resolved for the sake of the new coach, the returning players, and the future of their program!  2 other E8 schools (Elmira and Utica) have moved on and I'm sure Stevens will be next to the punch!

[mefor3again]

I am not sure it is as bad as that, Stevens and Williams are currently open and we don't know where either are in the process.  I think Bates has been open for a lot longer.

That being said, I would think that Alfred should be moving to get someone soon, especially if they have already narrowed the list like PEP has offered.

Alfred strikes me as a job for an assistant coach looking to move into the head coaching ranks, a factor that may make the process a little longer too-where a Utica/Stevens job seems more a target for other head coaches.

Would still love to hear some names though

[FROMAFAR]

I have to say, once the new coaches are hired, the fur is really going to fly on the posts....... it should be fun..... Wish I knew some of the candidates as well.....

[Pat Coleman]

The situation at Alfred sounds to me like it's turning into a debacle!  How is it that the position has been open and posted now for over a month and noone has even been interviewed??  Correct me if Im wrong, but isn't their some serious recruiting done over the summer?  How is that getting done when the school has noone as it's face of the program?!  Hopefully the process gets sped up and resolved for the sake of the new coach, the returning players, and the future of their program!  2 other E8 schools (Elmira and Utica) have moved on and I'm sure Stevens will be next to the punch!

I believe today was the application deadline.

[gobombers15]

Welcome back BOMBER, this maks it all worth while........ As far as paragraph control, good luck. As far as the rest, I guess we can argue all summer... we'll have to wait and see. 

As far as Gray POY, I guess my point is, I believe Stevens will be right there ( you can argue that because I don't even know who their coach is). IF THEY ARE, it will be because of Gray and Greco. Therefore my props for Greco. As far as Greco goes, I don't know if you have seen him in person. If the new coach let's him play his game, ( see the 1st game at Nazareth, and the first game against Ithaca, first game against Utica last year) he is right there with the rest...Ask Burton about his defense.(See second Ithaca game.)  But we can go back and forth, and I agree you have more stats and history to win the argument, I guess I am just trying to stir the juices here, which appears I did. After all, that's what these posts are all about. Stevens has two BIG question marks, Who's coaching and who's rebounding.. those two issues can prove you right about where they finish.

What I don't like about Mc Adams are his turnovers. He has a million assists, which is great, but also has a million turnovers.......  I don't consider Herring a guard, he is of the COCO genre. Maybe that will change with a new coach.. No argument about Burton....Newman...... now you lose some credibility....   

New paragraph.. I have not really let my REAL ALLEGIANCE been known in my posts, since I am a bit superstitious, BUT it's killing me... I am an RIT guy..  I just can't figure them out, never could..... any positive notes on next years team?

Again, welcome back Bomber, your one of the best......      

First off, thanks for the kind words. I'm sure some don't share the same sentiments (several Fisher fans, UCgrad, et al.), but I do appreciate it. I try to keep to keep my tone moderate when I talk about Ithaca and their players, even though I have been accused otherwise. I do speak in glowing terms about guys like Burton, but that's only because by the time that he's done, he'll probably break almost every relevant record at IC and be the best PG this conference has ever seen (with apologies to Sean O'Brien, who I've known since we both played at the local YMCA when we were little tikes). In general, I think boards like this get hijacked by those with extreme positions (you know who they are) and I just try to temper that a bit. Glad you appreciate it.

Secondly, re: Newman. I'm not sure how saying that I'd consider taking Newman over Greco makes me lose credibility. Let's look at their conference numbers from last year since that is the best frame of reference:

Matt Newman: 9.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 48% FG%, 34% 3pt%, 78% FT, 1.3 spg, 2.1 assist: TO

George Greco: 7.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, 38% FG%, 32% 3pt%, 73% FT, 1.3 spg, 2.6 assist: TO

Newman was actually better across-the-board with the exception of the minute difference in the assist-to-TO ratios. Along with Corey MacAdam, Newman was the only guard in the top 15 for FG% (considered Gray a SF). He is probably one of the best rebounding guards in the league, if not the best. From seeing both, I don't see a marked difference in their defense. Burton had some success against both guys; Greco bothered him in the 2nd matchup but Burton also got him into foul trouble, while Burton had huge games against Fisher during the regular season, but a terrible game in the E8 Semis. I didn't make a bold statement that Newman WAS better than Greco, only that I'd consider Newman over Greco. Seeing those numbers actually made me more confident in that position.

Third, re: your problem with MacAdam's TO's, I think the concern about "how much" he turns it over is unfounded. As you said, "he gets a ton of assists." The huge assist numbers more than offset those TO's. In fact, MacAdam had the second best assist-to-TO ratio in the conference (Colin Roy was tops). Look at it statistically: say his assists (8.8 per) lead to 19 pts/game for Naz, but his TO's (3.8 per) take away approximately 4 pts/game (and that's prob even too high), MacAdam was still a +15 when he wasn't doing the scoring. We're not even including the amount of passes leading directly to FT's for which he is not given credit for an assist. Now, look at Greco. Say his 3.2 assists lead to 7 Stevens points, and his TO's cost Stevens 2 points. Greco is only a +5. Now, despite the fact Greco turns it over less, I don't think I have to ask which you'd rather have. Throw in MacAdam's scoring ability and he's a heck of a player. I think TO's are one of the more overrated statistics in basketball a la batting average in baseball. It just doesn't tell the whole story.

[AUPepBand]

The situation at Alfred sounds to me like it's turning into a debacle!  How is it that the position has been open and posted now for over a month and noone has even been interviewed??  Correct me if Im wrong, but isn't their some serious recruiting done over the summer?  How is that getting done when the school has noone as it's face of the program?!  Hopefully the process gets sped up and resolved for the sake of the new coach, the returning players, and the future of their program!  2 other E8 schools (Elmira and Utica) have moved on and I'm sure Stevens will be next to the punch!

I believe today was the application deadline.

Debacle? Wow! The position was posted externally on May 7, 2008. They've received 90 applications, narrowed the field to 12 and hope to interview six. Pep will say that he asked his source whether the candidates were all assistants or there were some experienced head coaches in the field. Pep was pleased to hear there are some very good experienced head coaches on the list. No names to drop, however. Sorry, all..... 

[superman57]

gb15, ya know I've got your back

[FROMAFAR]

Bomber, I wrote a lengthy reply and somehow lost it...  Tough getting old. I'll try again. If you see 2 posts down the road you'll know why.

Let me start by saying your right about a propensity for selling our own interests. However I think we all can see through that easily. I enjoy when we talk about the other schools and give credit where it belongs. As you do to Mc Adams and Newman, while it has to rub you the wrong way....

On the Greco, Newman comparison... I've seen them both in person and on telecasts....I first saw Greco ( in person) at RIT in the beginning of the year. He clearly was creating havoc for us (RIT), and seemed to be in complete control. I really didn't know much about him, but heard he had a good run in the NCAA tourney the year before, albeit off the bench.  I believe he ended up with 9 or 10 points, and like a few other Stevens players that night, got into foul trouble, cutting his playing time substantially.

Then I saw him at  Nazareth ( in person).  What a job...Naz led by quite a bit late, and McAdam gave the ball away quite a bit and let Stevens back in. With 12 seconds left, after a time out, Stevens was obviously looking for Farid or Grey and the world knew it. Nazareth had both shut down pretty well, and Greco made a crossover move to the hole and double pumped on the Naz big for the tying layup. He then created a turnover on the NAZ in-bound giving Stevens a chance with 2 ticks left. In the double overtime he had about 7-8 points with some crucial 3's.

In the first Ithaca game. He made a close game get away from your guys, with some incredible assists and hit a few 3's, and stole one after a bomber time out for an easy lay-up putting the game away.

Hey I'm not saying he is the best, I just like his Court Savvy and guts. Clearly McAdam and Burton are the barometers, but I think this kid will have a good year. I think Stevens losing Waleed, or Fareed, ( never knew what they called him) might actually open this team up. While he had some good numbers, they seemed locked into him, and that's why I think Grey will have a much better year as well. Greco and Pasalaqua will get more shots off as well.   The new coach is KEY here....... 

Newman has some nice numbers, but doesn't really dictate the game enough. He's good, but not enough flair for me.

I think you guys will be tough, if your bigs show up every night you'll be even better.

I don't think NAZ will miss Canori as much as most think.. While his points were great, I think a lot of NAZ's late droughts were due to looking to Canori too much. If they actually open up more, Mc Adams may have even better numbers.

If Utica can make Herring more than one dimentional, ( ala Coco) they too will be tough........

RIT will go undefeated and win the National Championship, with a little luck........            

[buck1053]

The situation at Alfred sounds to me like it's turning into a debacle!  How is it that the position has been open and posted now for over a month and noone has even been interviewed??  Correct me if Im wrong, but isn't their some serious recruiting done over the summer?  How is that getting done when the school has noone as it's face of the program?!  Hopefully the process gets sped up and resolved for the sake of the new coach, the returning players, and the future of their program!  2 other E8 schools (Elmira and Utica) have moved on and I'm sure Stevens will be next to the punch!

I believe today was the application deadline.

Debacle? Wow! The position was posted externally on May 7, 2008. They've received 90 applications, narrowed the field to 12 and hope to interview six. Pep will say that he asked his source whether the candidates were all assistants or there were some experienced head coaches in the field. Pep was pleased to hear there are some very good experienced head coaches on the list. No names to drop, however. Sorry, all..... 

I'm guessing you don't want to drop any names lest you upset your source. Want to give up any hints, though?

I heard the head coach from the other Alfred college is among the candidates, heard anything about that?

[mefor3again]

Any new info on Alfred and Stevens?

AUPep seems to have the best news coming out of Alfred, have they interviewed yet?

A coaching friend told me that the assistant at Steven's is the most likely hire there.

[AUPepBand]

Pep was out of town for the weekend but will likely see "the source" sometime this week for an update. No names to drop....but "stay tuned."

[Ethelred the Unready]

In looking at the UR schedule, I noticed that they do not play Fisher this year, unless they match up in the Chase.  Is that unusual?