Empire 8

gordonmann · July 15, 2008, 04:27:39 PM

QuotePep has met the new coach and was also impressed with his enthusiasm.

Oddly enough, I think I also met him several years ago. Channeling Dennis Green, if he is who I think he is, I met Wellman when he was an assistant under Dave Kunka at Kenyon.

buck1053 · July 15, 2008, 07:13:21 PM

Quote from: gordonmann on July 15, 2008, 02:33:24 PM
Actually the Saxons announced their new men's coach today:

http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/viewrelease.cfm?&ID=4854

Must have been just after I last checked the college's news releases.

And, as of 7:12 p.m. the coaches section of the basketball page still said it was vacant.

It will be interesting to see how Wellman does, I know he part of the group seeking the Utica and Elmira jobs, and also interesting he wasn't headed to Bucknell with Paulsen.

AUPepBand · July 16, 2008, 05:00:34 AM

Quote from: buck1053 on July 15, 2008, 07:13:21 PM
Quote from: gordonmann on July 15, 2008, 02:33:24 PM
Actually the Saxons announced their new men's coach today:

http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/viewrelease.cfm?&ID=4854

Must have been just after I last checked the college's news releases.

And, as of 7:12 p.m. the coaches section of the basketball page still said it was vacant.

It will be interesting to see how Wellman does, I know he part of the group seeking the Utica and Elmira jobs, and also interesting he wasn't headed to Bucknell with Paulsen.

If he was among the candidates at Utica and Elmira as well as Alfred, Pep would guess that he had some time ago decided he wanted to get a shot at running his own program....or that he was partial to purple and gold.

Paulsen has quite a group of assistants at Bucknell, including an IC grad and a UR grad...and, oh, lest I get smited by the guru, also a Catholic U. grad!

http://bucknellbison.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061008aab.html

buck1053 · July 16, 2008, 03:59:50 PM

Quote from: AUPepBand on July 16, 2008, 05:00:34 AM
Quote from: buck1053 on July 15, 2008, 07:13:21 PM
Quote from: gordonmann on July 15, 2008, 02:33:24 PM
Actually the Saxons announced their new men's coach today:

http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/viewrelease.cfm?&ID=4854

Must have been just after I last checked the college's news releases.

And, as of 7:12 p.m. the coaches section of the basketball page still said it was vacant.

It will be interesting to see how Wellman does, I know he part of the group seeking the Utica and Elmira jobs, and also interesting he wasn't headed to Bucknell with Paulsen.

If he was among the candidates at Utica and Elmira as well as Alfred, Pep would guess that he had some time ago decided he wanted to get a shot at running his own program....or that he was partial to purple and gold.

Paulsen has quite a group of assistants at Bucknell, including an IC grad and a UR grad...and, oh, lest I get smited by the guru, also a Catholic U. grad!

http://bucknellbison.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061008aab.html

Ah, the basketball operations guy is the former Paulsen assistant that gets to go with his old boss to D-1. I was kind of surprised Paulsen wouldn't take anyone from his Williams staff with him, but Kelly was at Williams two years ago. ast year he was an assistant at Clarkson. Interestingly, Clarkson is where new women's coach Jay Murphy spent the 12 years prior to coming to Alfred as its men's coach.

AUPepBand · July 23, 2008, 05:46:39 PM

While Pep is excited about the coming football season, Pep also got acquainted with a good number of AU's women's volleyball players during Sunday afternoon play during spring semester and is hopeful the Lady Saxons can be more competitive in 2008.

And with Coach Dale Wellman on the recruiting trail, Pep is equally hopeful that the new mentor can get off to an encouraging start with the Saxons.

On Saxon Warriors!

Shooting Star · August 15, 2008, 08:46:48 PM

How does Alfred project with their new coach and Hartwick for next season?

AUPepBand · August 18, 2008, 06:55:32 PM

Pep is encouraged if only for some new life in the program; would say it's gonna take a few years for Wellman to make his mark. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how his returning players respond to his leadership style (whatever that might be).

FROMAFAR · September 17, 2008, 11:49:47 AM

test..........

FROMAFAR · September 18, 2008, 09:03:52 AM

OK gang, 26 days to mid-night madness, let's get the juices flowing. remember as I always say "what do I know

.. I apologize up front if I forget someone, or offend an alumn, I am too old to be yelled at... Here's the way the saeson looks FROMAFAR.

My order of finish...

1...ITHACA.... Burton repeats as POY.. needs to get others involved and help Bostic become a factor early in the season. Leahy streaky and needs to bulk up. Brown should be one year smarter in the post.

2... UTICA... Only lose Munch, not a big deal. Too slow at the point may have cost them over the long run. I think Connoly will be a huge asset, and get Herring to be less COCOESQUE, and get McClendon and Maxwell more involved.

3. STEVENS TECH... My second favorite team. ( work in the city and have Stevens Alumn friends who follow team.) They will miss Williams inside play, but the loss of Farid ( did I spell that right

) may not be a problem. They seemed to be too methodical at times last year, New Coach Hurley may let them go. it appears Grey and Greco are at their best when improvising. ( Those two destroyed Fisher, Ithaca ..without Burton.. at home, and Nazareth home and away.) GRECO MAY BE SMARTEST PLAYER IN LEAGUE, Passalaqua can shoot from anywhere...Those 3 need to stay out of foul trouble and remain on the court for 30+ minutes each. Baker is physical and should replace Farids rebounds,,, Be careful of this team, they may sneak up on everyone.

4. Nazareth... it all comes down to Daley. he needs to give some of the starters rest.. late game collapses due to TOO MANY MINUTES. C. Mc ADAM giveth and taketh.. can be one of the best when he cuts down on turn overs. Look for Miranda and Dehimer to step up, life after Canori should be interesting.

5. RIT... AH MY FAVORITE TEAM... WE PLAYED EVERYONE TOUGH LAST YEAR AND CAME CLOSE TO THE TOP TEAMS. THIS MAY HAVE BUILT OUR CHARACTER. LOOK FOR CARSON TO TAKE ANOTHER STEP FORWARD..WILL PUSH FOR POY... MAYBE.. HOPEFULLY...

, NATE KORNICHAK, AND RICK WHITWOOD ARE KEYS, THEY NEED TO GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN THEIR GAMES, WE COULD MAKE PLAYOFFS......

6. FISHER... I know I will take heat on picking them 5, rememebr RIT is with my heart. Fisher could make playoffs if Kornaker has some immediate help from recruits, and knowing him he does...Ozelle Franklin may break out this year, and Newman and Coyne are veterans, however the loss of Beigel, McKeever, and Beardan is an issue...

7. ALFRED... New coach.. Wellman, and return of veterans.. Embury, Patt, Smthgall, and Walsh, give him a start at this school.. could surprise one of top 3 along the way.

8. ELMIRA.. Coach Torgelsk ( did I spell that

correct).. will ahve a tough start here, I have no idea how he goes, not much there.

9. HARTWICK.. COCO, COCO, COCO.... did Culpo straighten out the house??

Who do they have coming in.... They need help....

1st TEAM ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM

CARSON... RIT K. MCADAM NAZ
BURTON... ITHACA GRECO STEVENS
C. MCADAM...NAZ BOSTIC ITHACA
GREY... STEVENS COCO HARTWICK
HERRING.... UTICA PASSALAQUA STEVENS

PLAYERS TO WATCH...

McClendon..... Utica
Newman.........Fisher
Leahy.... Ithaca

AGAIN, MY APOLOGIES TO THOSE PLAYERS I MISSED, THOSE ALUMNI I OFFENDED...... BUT MEANT TO GET THE BANTER GOING...........

Ethelred the Unready · September 19, 2008, 07:59:48 AM

While I am not an E8 guy (though I have followed some of the players and am somewhat acquainted with a few coaches), I admire your committment and didn't want your post to go un-noticed. I am soo ready for the season to start. Football is nice but merely a diversion until hoop starts.

FROMAFAR · September 19, 2008, 09:03:41 AM

Thanks Ethelred, you seem ready to me....... Feel free to join the E8 gang... There are a lot of knowledgeable guys on this site, and some fun stuff going back and forth. Like you, football is not my forte, although some of these guys will say either is basketball. It's easier to dissect the games and players performances in hoops, and the games come quickly, not too much time between games to harp on issues, and issues change rapidly.

BUT WHAT DO I KNOW

Ethelred the Unready · September 19, 2008, 09:15:22 AM

I'm somewhat forced to follow E8 and Liberty League as there is not a great deal of chatter on the UAA board. But like I said, a lot of the E8 kids are ones I either saw in HS or read about so that makes it a little easier. And of course with the Chase, it's always good to keep tabs on the competition!

scooterman · September 30, 2008, 02:05:49 PM

Enjoyed the synopsis of this upcoming season--Thanks for your viewpoint--I am SUNYAC fan but always enjoy info on the E8--I am partial to RIT too--Coach McVean is a great guy-Thanks

gobombers15 · October 01, 2008, 01:50:13 PM

Here's what I posted back in March for 2008-09 predictions.

Quote from: gobombers15 on March 09, 2008, 10:25:41 PM
Proving it's never too early to look forward, here's my guess at how they finish in 2008-09.

1) Ithaca: The Big Three return and the Bombers don't lose a ton to graduation. Bostic and Burton will both be E8 POY candidates. The Bombers will lose starting center Louis Kail but Tom Brown will fill in capably in the pivot. Ithaca also loses Ruffrage and Scanlon, who seemed to regress in his senior year. Freshman Chris Cruz came on at the end of the season and played well in two games against Fisher. He'll be the sixth man. I think Mullins will spell Burton a bit more next year as freshman Matt Ruger will be ready to take on more of the ballhandling duties.

2) Utica: Nice mix of a talented veteran (Herring), quality bigs (McClendon, Goodman), and a lot of good, young players. One of the top teams in the league at the end of the season. They will be good next season.

3) Nazareth: The McAdam brothers return. That is enough to give them a chance each night. The graduation of Joe Canori leaves a void of about 18-20 points per night. Rayvon Higdon will likely step in to fill some of that void, but I think they'll miss Canori's scoring ability.

4) Fisher: Call me crazy, but I think they have enough to do well next year. This team will definitely be guard-oriented but that wins a lot in college basketball. Not a bad nucleus in Newman, Baltz and Franklin. I like Witte and Wopperer (who came on at the end of the season and looks like a more-than-serviceable big), too. We know Kornaker will recruit and will bring in a couple of freshman who can contribute immediately. Coyne and Cornett will contribute, as well. Kornaker has become a better coach over the last few years and I think he gets them to the E8 Tourney.

5) Stevens: The loss of Farid really hurts. Williams could have been one of the top bigs if he had more of an edge to him and/or he was used correctly, but too late for that. Like Fisher, will have to hope someone steps up down low on the blocks. Also like Fisher, will very much be a guard-oriented team with the return of Gray, Passalacqua and Greco. Higgins and Baker move into starting roles. However, team will be lacking depth. Stevens needs to become a better road team, too. However, they will be in contention for the E8 Tourney until the end because of how adept they are on their home floor.

6) RIT: I thorougly believe if McVean just cut his rotation down to 8 players, RIT would be two games better each conference season. Or, just maybe, they can figure out how to avoid being swept by Hartwick and just be two games better that way. Gethers and Colin Roy are gone. Returning are Mark Carson, Whitwood, Korinchak, and E8 Co-Rookie of the Year Shane Foster. RIT can beat anyone on a given night but they can lose to almost anyone, too. Until consistency appears, I'm going to slot them here each year.

7) Elmira: Young team that made significant strides this season. Twice put a scare into a good Stevens team and played well at Ithaca late in the season. Team's ability to play hard defense will allow them to stay close in a bunch of games. I think this team can win 5 or 6 games in the conference next season.

8 ) Hartwick: Unfortunately, Coco just never had any help during his career, an excellent player languishing on terrible team. He should have pulled a Pierre Garcon and transferred to a top program. He could've been a great 3rd option on a very good team. If Carson brothers return, they could possibly overtake Elmira. I'm not betting on it, though.

9) Alfred: If any D3 coach should ever be fired, Jay Murphy should. A bunch of players returning, but not all that much talent in that group. I think they have the basement on lockdown until Coco graduates from Hartwick.

FromAfar, don't agree with your assessment of Bostic as a 2nd Team player. I know you're an RIT guy, thus have a soft spot in your heart for Carson, but I don't see Bostic (a guy who has made 1st Team the last two years) giving up his spot on that team. Additionally, Bostic is spending this fall dedicating himself to basketball. Unlike the past two years, he is not playing football this year. He won't have to spend time getting himself into basketball shape and rounding into form. I expect huge things from him this year.

Other than that, thanks for the synopsis. Makes for a good read.

FROMAFAR · October 01, 2008, 02:26:00 PM

Once again Gobombers makes sense. I have to agree, Carson is with the heart and Bostic has shown he could be first team...His only problem may be Ithaca is picked not only by you and me, but will be by the coaches, so he has to keep them there OR he will be blamed, and lose that 1st team.. IF RIT improves off last year, Carson will be given the credit and it could get him there. Other than your Fisher pick 4th, we basically are on the same page...

HEY 14 days to midnight madness....... This could be another year where the conference winner has at least 4 losses.....

Good to hear from you Bomber, and you too Scooterman.... should be fun....