FB: USA South Athletic Conference

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

I am not too sure where you think It will be below average.  If the records are close it might mean that. Or it could mean the league will be more competitive. based on my expected records there are 4 teams at or above .500 just like last season.  There were 3 teams with 7 or more losses last season and I am only expecting 2 teams.  I don't know where you think I mean below average.

I never said that NCWC was going to finish last. Even worse case.

NCWC could easily lose thier first 4 games of the season.  Wesley and Widner are good teams.  USASouth didn't fair well against ODAC (2-6 last year) schools and they play an Emory and Henry team which they lost to last year.  They play an always tough team at home MU and lost a close game to Maryville and play them right after that.  Then they travel to AU who has been great at home. 6 tough games to start the season.

Just because you have just about everybody back doesn't mean anything. In the USASouth you can go from first to last in one year.

[CNU85]

BBALL -

CNU's non conf schedule....

Rowan
@ Mary Hardin Baylor
Salisbury

I think NCW will be better than you think. I don't agree that ODU will cause the "begining of the end" for CNU. That would mean ODU is offering scholarships to a sufficient quantity of  d3 level players that were considering playing for CNU. If that was the case, then ODU would not be competitive - ever.

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

Ok so same as last year, because on the website it says 2006.

No one thought Ferrum was going to be bad.

No one thought SU was going to be that bad after they won the conference.

I didn't say will be I said "could be"

What about those Mount Union guys for football or those mid-west guys for basketball.  Alot of them could go d1 or d2.  Not big time but small time like ODU.  What you could hope for is those new "d1" transfers in a couple of years from ODU. (I believe another posters made the comment about ODU during this past season.)

Another thing about NCWC college, when was the last time a NC team won the conference out right. NEVER.  NCWC, history just isn't in your favor. 

More colleges in NC.  There are now going to be more football schools in the Norfolk area.

Recently, did a school near Methodist add football to their sport programs?  I don't know but I think there was.

[Ryan Tipps]

Just because you have just about everybody back doesn't mean anything.

I disagree. This is usually huge for a team, especially a team like NCW that was very strong last year.

In the USASouth you can go from first to last in one year.

Yup, they sure can, but it's only happened once. Averett won't be all that great this year, but I don't think they'll be last.

Another thing about NCWC college, when was the last time a NC team won the conference out right. NEVER.  NCWC, history just isn't in your favor. 

Nope, no NC team has ever won the conference outright. For that matter, no Va. team has ever won it outright, either. Why is "history" even an issue? It's hardly a sticking point when trying to size up the teams for 2007. Let's measure the teams for what's they're showing on the field, not for what six whole years of USA South history indicates.

[batteredbard]

Can't tell mych from the shorts workouts but the qb race at maryville is leaning toward Lucas Wall (soph. William Blount HS, maryville TN) He's not quite as mobile as Price but he has much better vision and looked a lot more efficient with the ball.
So if that pans out thats an offense returning 9 of 11 starters and I think 18 of 22 on two-deep.

Defense is the question mark but apparently Brad Walker (transfer from Lenoir Rhyne) is working at safety since the backfield is so talented already and doing good things. Linebackers are the question mark, they just dont have a lot of game experience. Despite whats been posted, Colby Townsend was hurt much of last year resulting in a d-line (growing trial by fire against CNU and Averett) that may actually be the strength of the defense this fall.

If they don't go at least 6-4 (4-3) then it will be from a meltdown at linebacker or quarterback.

BTW If you haven't heard MC is playing Birmingham Southern at Legion Field in a preseason scrimmage.

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

WCLegacy there were a few years that were lost back there that didn't have conference records.  I thought maybe CNU or Ferrum won it outright at one point.  I know a NC school never won it.  (I found out that you were right.  Couldn't find the history page up top on USASouth website before.)

It is still not in NCWC favor only one team from NC has ever finished tied for first and that was Methodist last year. I mean the odds are only slightly in VA's favor. There has always been at least 3 NC teams in the conference.

I know that many people feel and I even think so to a certain extent that having most of your players back is helpful, but there has been plenty of cases where it hasn't happened.  USASouth it has happened. NCWC was very strong on offense.

Teams can go from first to second to last as well (FC)  Teams have gone from last to first in one year to (FC)  The point is though the past two years a team has fallen from the top to the bottom or near it.  I don't think CNU or AU is on anybodies mind to do so.

[Ryan Tipps]

Teams can go from first to second to last as well (FC)  Teams have gone from last to first in one year to (FC)  The point is though the past two years a team has fallen from the top to the bottom or near it.  I don't think CNU or AU is on anybodies mind to do so.

For starters, Ferrum wasn't last in the conference, not last year...not any year. Believe me, I know that they weren't at all hot last year after sharing in the conference title the year before, but they still weren't last. Arguably, one could even point out that they were fifth....tied with Methodist and Greensboro.    Shenandoah was last in the USA South this past season. And, sadly, SU was also last in 2005, right after the team was co-champ in '04 and '03. They're the only USA South team to have fallen from top to bottom.

Also, I just don't see the relevance of saying that only one NC school has won the conference. Until two years ago, Ferrum had never won the conference. And until last year, Averett had never won the conference. The part of the USA South history that I will promote is that the top schools are very organic. Sure, CNU is always up there, but look at the fact that there have been a total of five different co-champs in the past three years.

This conference has seen more teams named conference champs recently than most any other conference in the nation. Sure, "only" one of them was from NC. But Wesleyan has only played three seasons so far. Do you really expect them to have won a title so far? CNU and UMHB are just about the only teams that have been good since the moment they walked onto the field.

Where was Averett in its third season? (2-7)
What about Shenandoah? (5-5)

North Carolina will get its time in the conference spotlight. I suppose I don't see this as a state vs. state rivalry as much as you do.

And when has a conference team not had at least the same success it did the prior year when it returned all, or almost all, of its prime players? I'm willing to admit I'm wrong if there's a decent example or two floating out there.

And for the record, a Tennessee team has never won the conference either, though I'm not going to count Maryville out of the running. 

[moshergc9]

Pride Sports Guy,

  I use to hit with the noggin but I remeber being 5-5 a few times.

Up Down

[MU_ftbl51]

Everyone is right there has not been a conference champion in the history of the conference. The conference is always stacked with teams that can play and play well against other teams in the conference.
    I dont know how others feel about this, but i think if it happens again, i think they need to come up with one more game to see who the champion really is. Granit, this is probably like the BCS however i think there should be one team to win it. In 2005 when we split the conference with Ferrum, they had beaten us on a friday night earlier in the year. When we got through with the season they lost to CNU. whom we beat. Now end of the year rolls around you cant say they were better than us but we werent better than them either. Thats where an extra game would come into play. I dont know, maybe some dont agree, i was just thinking out loud so to speak.
    BBALLGUY- What i mean by that was according to your records for everyone it looks as if you are expecting failure except from CNU. I dont want to even think about records because you know for yourself, weird things happen during the season. Look at us in 2005, we had never beaten CNU, we barely got by. SU we never beat, destroyed them. Last year look at NCWC, a 3rd year team. Teams arent supposed to finish that good, that quickly.
    I also differ with your opinion that having kids back does nto mean you will win. That works so well. You knwo you have kids who know the system, know what isexpected of them, and know what type of leadership qualities to posess. I think that is huge. Even in High school right now that is huge.

Any word from NARCH i havent seen him post in a while.

[MU_ftbl51]

Anyone know how to get karma, i dont know if thats a good thing or not. I am the only one with 0, LOL, i feel lonely.

Mosh im sorry you didnt get the job here man, i wish you were a math teacher. We really need a D-C. We have a passing tournament at University of South Carolina tommorow. We are runnign a 4-3 cover 2 look, but rolling into 3 sometimes. But us not having a D-C has taken time away from us teaching the kids, we are just relying on them to know it from last year until we find the right person.

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

WC-

I did say "second to last" for Ferrum.

mosher-

We have finished 5-5.  Never said we haven't but, it still will be a program best. I want at leat that this season.

MC_ftbl-

I will give you some karma.  Karma is good. I just

About having most of your players back.  I agree with all of you like I said, but to say that just because they will have most of their players back they will be a good team, I can't agree with.  CNU lost most of their team and still was at the top.  There was an article in SI a few years ago about teams that kept the same team together with few changes and they actually did worse.

I never rely on that to say the team will be good.  I had a a family friend, who happens to be a basketball coach tell me one time.  "We had one great player and 4 over-achievers." The point is you never know what you are going to get year in and year out.  Even if you have everyone back.

I just don't think coaches should rely on that.  Every player deserves a shot to show what they can do.  Go read a book my Morgan Wotten the greatest high school basketball coach of all time. He will tell you the same thing.

[Ryan Tipps]

WC-
I did say "second to last" for Ferrum.

Fair enough. I had read your post that said "Teams can go from first to second to last as well..." as saying that they can go from first, then to second, then to last over the course of three years. My bad.

However, you did also say that teams "have gone from last to first in one year to (FC)." That's also part of the reason I pointed out that Ferrum has never been last.

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

WC-

Now I remeber why I said "last" for Ferrum.  They actually did.  Greensboro went 2-8 one year in 2004. Ferrum finished 4-6.  However the one conference game was Greensboro, but Greensboro beat the conference winner SU that year. The standings show FC in last place.  That is the tiebreaker apparently

Conference Standings
Through games of Jan 13, 2005



                          Overall   Points
  Team                    W  L  T  For Opp   Pct
  ----                    -  -  -  --- ---   ---
  Christopher Newport.    9  3  0  337 183  .750
  Shenandoah..........    7  4  0  243 245  .636
  Methodist...........    7  3  0  256 203  .700
  N.C. Wesleyan.......    4  4  0  142 184  .500
  Averett.............    6  4  0  317 227  .600
  Greensboro College..    2  8  0  150 261  .200
  Ferrum..............    4  6  0  276 230  .400

[Ryan Tipps]

Actually, I think the official tiebreaker that the NCAA uses in all instances is the head-to-head -- and I couldn't find where the standings you have came from.

Yeah, that was a crummy year, but because Ferrum beat the other 1-5 conference team and had a better overall/in-region record, I wasn't looking at them as the dead last team. But yes, there was a pretty cozy spot for them there toward the bottom.

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

Got the standings right off the USASouth website.  What I do know is that for basketball is that GC and AU finished tied for 1st, but AU got the 1st round bye because they beat the higher ranked team.  (I believe it was FC. Greensboro split with them and AU beat them twice.)  I think that is how they played it out in the USASouth.  Greensboro beat SU that year even though FC and GC both had one win in the conference.