MBB: Landmark Conference

[saratoga]

Decent points Matt, however, there is no way I'm leaving work in New York & making it to a Royals game at Susquehanna, Moravian or Drew on a Wednesday night.
Conversely, when they were played on Sat./Sunday...they were all easy to attend.
I guess the mid-week games may be nice for the locals, not so much for those driving a distance to see an away game.

[Matt Letourneau]

Well, presumably the students on campus aren't exactly driving that far!  It was always easier to get students to come out to a weeknight game than a weekend game, at least at Catholic.  The reality is that most of us are outliers...we are alumni or otherwise interested parties who might drive to come to a game.  Now that I've got two jobs and three (soon to be 4) kids, even going to home games isn't exactly easy (thankful for the vastly improved webcasts) so I don't really factor myself into the equation.

The goal should be getting students and the whole campus involved.  We had some memorable games at DuFour against CAC rivals when the students really created a home court advantage, but you don't see that much anymore.  From what it sounds like, its the same thing for Scranton.

Beyond that, from a competition standpoint, I really think this was the right move.   

[ronk]

  Maybe a hybrid would be preferable where the longest trips(Scranton/Moravian-Catholic/Goucher and MMA/Drew-Susque/Juniata are the same weekend and the others are single trips. The fly in this plan might be MMA not liking to spend the extra day away from the Academy.
  Scranton's low attendance is mostly the January intersession when many students are off-campus. I'd expect they'll be back for the Catholic game in February. Hopefully, there will be a big crowd in 2 weeks for the game at Catholic, also. I remember too many Scranton-Catholic games in the pre-Landmark days when it was held Thanksgiving weekend in front of me and 50 others.

[Pat Coleman]

Those are the ones I attended.

[TheGrove]

In my experience, students didn't flock to mid-week games... too many meetings, group projects, night classes etc. Then again, they weren't always so hip to the Saturday afternoon games. Gotta get that extra sleep, you know. Friday nights always had the best attendance.

Matt, I'm trying to flash back to my Marymount (CAC) days... I think it was much of the same, a weekend game was better attended than a weeknight game. Unless it was the Catholic game. 

[Matt Letourneau]

For a few years there, I think the Marymount-CUA games were always well attended no matter when they were played.  Same for Mary Washington games for maybe a 2-3 year period after that.

Obviously, there are many variables and it probably varies by school.  Obviously, Catholic is in a bit of a different position because the campus is in a major city--lots of competition for things to do on a Saturday.

One tradition that I'm going to miss this year is the annual Saturday night Goucher game.  That started in the CAC days and held for Landmark.  I understand why it was moved to a weeknight--it makes sense given that the two schools are fairly close (though with traffic they better leave early!) but I have fond memories of making that trip.  Of course, that was mostly in the pre-parenting days...

The good news is that my oldest son (6) this year has developed into a huge sports fan.  In previous years he didn't like the noise and the crowd (such as it was) and didn't have the attention span.  I took him last week though and he loved it--watched every minute intently, cheered "defense" at the right time and wants to go back.  Over the summer he did 18 innings in back to back days at Fenway park, so I think I trained him well.

[cugrad]

Catholic has looked quite good thus far! Shawn Holmes is the heart and soul of this team.  He does everything well on both ends of the court. The freshman point guard from NC is very good.  He plays like an upper-classman.  Kearney has been solid throughout, but sometimes struggles with bigger, more physical players. Limberiou has been outstanding in all aspects of the game. He scores inside, as well as from beyond the arc. Additionally, he plays tough defense against opponents. Nate Koenig has played very well. He is capable of igniting the team with big plays on both ends of the court.  The bench needs some improvement, lthough the twin freshmen from Florida have contributed good minutes off the bench. However, Catholic started off strong last year with a 12-1 record entering conference play. That didn't turn out all that well in the end! Hopefully they will win a few more conference games this year, including at least one victory over Scranton, who seams to own the Cards throughout the existence of the Landmark!  BTW, the USMMA looks very good in my opinion.  They are very big and play tough defense.  I don't think the score indicates their ability   

[NEPAFAN]

Toga,

Point taken about Wilkes-Scranton not being what is used to be. But this week's match up was a classic. From Chris Shovlin putting up 35 points ( no confirmation if he said that was for Cold_Case in the post game interview) to the back to back long range 3's. Love the Cross County challenge, but again no point to having them the day after new years in an empty gym.


Catholic looks good, and Goucher knocking off Moravian is huge. Looks like it is very competitive for the conference title this year.

[ronk]

Wed conf games:

Scranton-MMA    which MMA team shows up? the 1 that beat the Royals on the road or the 1 that lost the other 3 games by an average of 19 points.

Susque-Goucher   can Susque climb back into the race with the return of Harley Sellinger against the surprise co-leader Goucher?

Catholic-Juniata   can CUA win on the road?
Moravian-Drew

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Well... as the lone Goucher alum on these boards these days... I am sure some have wanted to hear my take on the Gophers - while I am sure others don't care to hear . I am sorry to have been absent... I have been very busy and even under the weather recently.

Goucher has both impressed and disappointed me this season. They have been a bit inconsistent. They embarrassed themselves against Johns Hopkins earlier this year in a game dedicated to Damon Brooks. But then they rattle off an impressive streak that saw them nearly beat Eastern Mennonite (coming from 12 points down twice), rally from 20 points down against Salisbury but didn't have enough time to rally all the way back, and then beat Ferrum. They beat Merchant Marine at Kings Point, only to see the Mariners then beat Scranton at Scranton. Then Goucher lays an egg in Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands especially against a Muhlenberg team they probably should have beaten (they also lost to Albright, but I can't knock them for that).

They return home and I talk to Coach Walker of Moravian before the game and he says last year Goucher struggled with the up-tempo-pressure and thinks it will work again. I actually couldn't help but say... maybe not this year. While the team has been inconsistent at times, I knew that the up-temp pace wasn't something they were struggling with too much this year... and low and behold they didn't mind it a bit and walked away with an impressive victory.

Goucher's schedule as certainly been a stronger one this year (I wonder if the fact Coach Trevino is on the regional committee has changed his tactics on this) and with a lot of youth on the team, they seem to be responding. Only one player left during the break (no idea why) and finally the upper classmen like Trae Lindsay are playing well again (Lindsay is finally being pushed in practice by another talented played, Julian Livingston). Richard Harris is playing well (conference player of the week), Alex Noble is finding his spots off the bench, Brian Morton seems to be taking control of things on the court, Dylan Chaney certainly seems to be comfortable running things when he is on the court, and other guys seem to be finding their rolls and fitting the pieces together. Goucher did also tweak its offense - though I am not sharing how - and their defense has had a make-over.

Can they win the conference? Meh... probably not. Can they make the final four? Possibly - I think there is a real chance this season for a change. And certainly they are showing they can compete. The key, they have to get the inconsistent play out of their system. If they can start gelling and go out each night as the same unit as I have seen against Moravian, Ferrum, Eastern Mennonite, etc.... then yes, they are going to be a challenge this season. But as Catholic and others have shown us in the past... get some inconsistent nights... and you are going to be forgotten about.

As for Catholic... they have been a team I have liked since the preseason. I was going to vote for them in my preseason poll but was actually talked out of it. Then when I saw them at the Hoopsville Classic... I was sold. They are playing as a unit far better than in past years even if they only go about 8 deep. The guys certainly seem to have gelled well and are playing very well with one another. I think the only question mark is their lack of depth, however, those 8 are playing at a very high level so there is no drop off... but one key injury or a team that wears them out could be their undoing. However, they have beaten Transylvania, St. Mary's, Randolph-Macon, and smoked a pretty good Merchant Marine squad. They have also been pretty dominate in their play all season. Even another person who has seen them thinks they may be a Top 5 team. However, the key now is that they keep playing this well. If they stumble, they have been known for not fixing it quickly and rattling off a few questionable games. They are right now in a great position come the post-season... but we are half way through and they can not rest on their laurels. They have to keep going and keep focused. I wish them the best.

[onetinsoldier]

As for Catholic... they have been a team I have liked since the preseason. I was going to vote for them in my preseason poll but was actually talked out of it.

How can someone talk you out of your own opinion for a preseason poll?  Goes back to the whole concept of preseason polls, in any sport, they serve absolutely no purpose if it can be swayed so easily.

[ronk]

Well... as the lone Goucher alum on these boards these days... I am sure some have wanted to hear my take on the Gophers - while I am sure others don't care to hear . I am sorry to have been absent... I have been very busy and even under the weather recently.

Goucher has both impressed and disappointed me this season. They have been a bit inconsistent. They embarrassed themselves against Johns Hopkins earlier this year in a game dedicated to Damon Brooks. But then they rattle off an impressive streak that saw them nearly beat Eastern Mennonite (coming from 12 points down twice), rally from 20 points down against Salisbury but didn't have enough time to rally all the way back, and then beat Ferrum. They beat Merchant Marine at Kings Point, only to see the Mariners then beat Scranton at Scranton. Then Goucher lays an egg in Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands especially against a Muhlenberg team they probably should have beaten (they also lost to Albright, but I can't knock them for that).

They return home and I talk to Coach Walker of Moravian before the game and he says last year Goucher struggled with the up-tempo-pressure and thinks it will work again. I actually couldn't help but say... maybe not this year. While the team has been inconsistent at times, I knew that the up-temp pace wasn't something they were struggling with too much this year... and low and behold they didn't mind it a bit and walked away with an impressive victory.

Goucher's schedule as certainly been a stronger one this year (I wonder if the fact Coach Trevino is on the regional committee has changed his tactics on this) and with a lot of youth on the team, they seem to be responding. Only one player left during the break (no idea why) and finally the upper classmen like Trae Lindsay are playing well again (Lindsay is finally being pushed in practice by another talented played, Julian Livingston). Richard Harris is playing well (conference player of the week), Alex Noble is finding his spots off the bench, Brian Morton seems to be taking control of things on the court, Dylan Chaney certainly seems to be comfortable running things when he is on the court, and other guys seem to be finding their rolls and fitting the pieces together. Goucher did also tweak its offense - though I am not sharing how - and their defense has had a make-over.

Can they win the conference? Meh... probably not. Can they make the final four? Possibly - I think there is a real chance this season for a change. And certainly they are showing they can compete. The key, they have to get the inconsistent play out of their system. If they can start gelling and go out each night as the same unit as I have seen against Moravian, Ferrum, Eastern Mennonite, etc.... then yes, they are going to be a challenge this season. But as Catholic and others have shown us in the past... get some inconsistent nights... and you are going to be forgotten about.

As for Catholic... they have been a team I have liked since the preseason. I was going to vote for them in my preseason poll but was actually talked out of it. Then when I saw them at the Hoopsville Classic... I was sold. They are playing as a unit far better than in past years even if they only go about 8 deep. The guys certainly seem to have gelled well and are playing very well with one another. I think the only question mark is their lack of depth, however, those 8 are playing at a very high level so there is no drop off... but one key injury or a team that wears them out could be their undoing. However, they have beaten Transylvania, St. Mary's, Randolph-Macon, and smoked a pretty good Merchant Marine squad. They have also been pretty dominate in their play all season. Even another person who has seen them thinks they may be a Top 5 team. However, the key now is that they keep playing this well. If they stumble, they have been known for not fixing it quickly and rattling off a few questionable games. They are right now in a great position come the post-season... but we are half way through and they can not rest on their laurels. They have to keep going and keep focused. I wish them the best.

  I think you have a responsibility as a D3hoops principal to reveal this tweak to the rest of the D3 hoops community. If the press is going to cover up, what is this world coming to?

[TheGrove]

Wed conf games:

Susque-Goucher   can Susque climb back into the race with the return of Harley Sellinger against the surprise co-leader Goucher?

It's January, Susquehanna's traditional time to get hot. Then again, Goucher tends to trip them up.

[Pat Coleman]

I suppose I need to come clean and mention that I'm the one who talked Dave out of CUA in the preseason. He had asked me to request preseason info from Catholic and I decided not to, based on the Cardinals' 10-0 start and 7-8 finish to the season last year and their failure to make the conference tournament. I decided that fifth place and a .500 record in the league didn't translate into the top 60 or so cutoff I request information from. Every team I get info from requires an additional 10 or so minutes of work on my end to process, so I drew the line.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

As for Catholic... they have been a team I have liked since the preseason. I was going to vote for them in my preseason poll but was actually talked out of it.

How can someone talk you out of your own opinion for a preseason poll?  Goes back to the whole concept of preseason polls, in any sport, they serve absolutely no purpose if it can be swayed so easily.

If a voter talks to others and what they hear changes their mind... so be it. I talk to other voters and non-voters along with plenty of coaches during the year and off-season and what I learn from them does sway how I decide to vote - it can also lock my mindset in. So, it isn't that surprising for a voter to decide, "well, from what I am learning from others, I might be off on my thoughts with that team." And furthermore, we are talking about one voter, me, not everyone voting. It wasn't an easy sway... even after not getting the info I was debating strongly about putting Catholic in my poll... but it came down to too many question marks per Pat's point of the previous season, questions about who was on the roster and how they would perform, and what I knew was going to be a challenging start to the season. Remember, ultimately, I am the one who votes on my poll (and 24 others vote on theirs) and if I decide to change my mind or not per someone's guidance or input... that is my choice. Thus... nothing is "swayed so easily." (Plus the fact, do you know how many hours I worked on my poll and how many different versions I had? If any voter was easily swayed it would make our lives a lot easier in October, I assure you.)