MBB: Landmark Conference

[NEPAFAN]

You do know that this is a basketball board , right?



Saratoga, how about some love for the Royals after two straight victories?

[saratoga]

NEPAFAN: They did look pretty good in those wins. Passed the ball very well, created very good looks & the perimeter D is showing signs of life. The main issue continues to be at the point & E-town's press made that pretty obvious.
  The Royals are now 4-0 against the MAC Commonwealth...with wins against Lyco, Messiah, Albright & E-town. Enjoy the break & Happy Holidays!

[NEPAFAN]

Saratoga,


Agree about the turnovers and rebounding as well. Some alarming stats. On the other hand, Fitzpatrick is top 5 in the nation in 3 point percentage, and Paul Hawk in the top 5 for blocks per game.


Cold Case who is the future of the Landmark?


Merry Christmas to All!

[cold_case]

Cold Case who is the future of the Landmark?

Goucher. That's program with so much aura and mystique.

[BCannon]

While the Goucher program in its current state and under current management will never be a consistent top tier team in the Landmark, I think if the changes were made they could be a top D3 team in not just the Landmark but the country (ballsy prediction but its just a fantasy and will never happen anyway). There is to much talent in the Baltimore area with the BCL, the city, and the surrounding counties that goes unrecruited by Goucher as well as other Bmore Area schools. In addition WCAC, PG County, etc. is a short drive down 95. The school has a lot to sell in my opinion (aside from the ticket price which defn hurts it in some cases I'm sure). If the changes were made Goucher could be a consistent winner in the Landmark.

Eli Londo is having a nice start to the season. I took some flack for that prediction that he would be a good solid impact player for them and looks like he's proving some people wrong early on. While they don't have the 1 dominant rebounder this year it looks like they have everyone chipping in. They are 2nd in rebound margin this year in the conference, however just barely above even against its opponents so not quite what they were last year. The 7 block shots a game as a team is really good making up for the lack of perimeter defense some of you were talking about I'm sure.

Banzhaf's been real good out of the gate to start the season as has CUA. I am interested to see how he and the team do in conference as well as when they eventually face some adversity.

SU looks ok. Patch is having a great year as well. He defn has expanded his game with a nice midrange shot and still hits the boards hard. Cosgrove has had a few solid games didnt look like he was in shape when I saw him. Spencer takes bad shots but is a smooth player and will be an all conference guy before his time is up. My prediction: SU will once again fizzle towards the end of the season, get into the playoffs and lose first round.

Merch Marine has been a big dissapointment out of the gate here. With everyone back from a team who was on the brink of making the playoffs last year and adding a talented freshman in Snead I thought they would be a top team that would challenge Scranton. Perhaps there are some injuries they are dealing with but right now it doesn't look good for them.

Moravians win over Scranton was a fluke I feel. I imagine Scranton went in over confident and didn't take care of the little things while giving a bad team confidence that they never should have had. From boxscores they look like they will be a tough team who will play a lot of people close but in the end not have the talent to win. They have no one who can score on the block.

[saratoga]

bballfan10: I agree with what you've stated about Goucher. First off, it's a great school in a great location. Add the million plus people in the Baltimore/Towson/ Metro DC. area & you've got a recruiting base that's pretty unbelievable within a 40 mile radius of a really nice campus with a great facility.
  As for Eli Londo...the kid is in a zone right now. Too bad the Royals are off till after the New Year...hope it doesn't cool him off too much. Looking forward to the Royals Goucher/Catholic trip next month. I believe the Royals will be staying right in Towson which has some great spots right up the pike from campus.
  The one game that stands out right now against a Landmark team is F&M's 40+ win at Juniata. I know they lost the big kid (Cannon) to graduation...but, as down as they may be, not too many teams roll into Juniata & win by that margin. Not sure what happened in that one...just a really bad game or that plus old Mr. Robinson has loaded up in Lancaster once again. Cheers!

[BCannon]

A lot of great spots toga. Just another one of the great potential selling points for Goucher coupled with the fact you have Towson Univ right there along with Loyola and Stevenson right in the area and you can throw JHU, Coppin, and Morgan St. too. Lotta people lotta places to go unlike some other schools in the conference such as Juniata who easily had the most embarassing loss of any school in the Landmark I will agree with you on that. Although F&M looks to have a better team then in years past losing by 40 is unacceptable especially @ home as you stated.  The Landmark as a whole hasn't done as well as I expected against other conferences. Scranton has dominated the MAC Comm but other then them no significant wins to speak of for the conference as a whole that I can think of off the top of my head.

[Matt Letourneau]

Catholic dominated Pitt-Greenberg in Atlanta today 82-58.  Not terribly surprising, perhaps, but the Cardinals shot 50% and out rebounded their opponents 47-23.  Four players in double figures.

Goucher really hasn't been particularly competitive in quite some time.  I thought they had some talent there this year and they would show significant improvements, but it hasn't happened.  Frankly, I don't mean to be blunt, but I think at this point they probably need to get some fresh blood in there.  The program has really plateued. 

As far as an academic institution, I think it appeals to a certain kind of student, but I'm not sure that many basketball players are really that kind of student.  Its a lot different atmosphere from a Scranton or a Catholic or even a York or a F&M.  They have certainly had some very good players over the years and they always play Catholic tough though.  One other thing in their favor is an excellent facility.  Oh, and they have one hell of a PA announcer.


I am not aware of the current status of the dance team, but suffice to say it was always a highlight of my annual trip up there, though now that I have a kid I'd have to shield his eyes from the action on the floor.  And was there EVER action. 

[Matt Letourneau]

Catholic won the Ogelthorpe Holiday Classic today with a 77-75 win over Buffalo State.  Frankly, doesn't look like the Cardinals played a great--they got outrebounded and didn't shoot particularly well against a relatively weak opponent.  But a win's a win, and for a young team playing back to back games, its a nice way to end the first semester--and with an 8-2 record.

Catholic is back in action when they host the Residence Inn-Greenbelt Classic in January.  I remember when it was the CUA-Coca Cola Classic, but I'm clearly over the hill.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Everyone's points about Goucher are valid. They have the opportunities and the chances to resurrect themselves as one of the top teams in the region and maybe make a run nationally, but they haven't figured it out. I sometimes think their recruiting is aiming at the wrong students. The players they aim for don't fit into the academics of the school, but I don't know enough about the process or the students to make that judgement. We shall see what happens in the future. The athletic program certainly has the facilities to succeed and I do think the Landmark could help that, but time will tell.

And Matt, thanks as always for the comment about the PA at Goucher. I do appreciate it!

As for the dancers... they are okay!

More about Goucher when I get more time after the holidays!

[cold_case]

Everyone's points about Goucher are valid......I sometimes think their recruiting is aiming at the wrong students. The players they aim for don't fit into the academics of the school, but I don't know enough about the process or the students to make that judgement. We shall see what happens in the future.

That's disturbing to hear. If Goucher is bringing in below average student-athletes, why are they in the Landmark?

[NEPAFAN]

The players they aim for don't fit into the academics of the school, but I don't know enough about the process or the students to make that judgement.

Cold_Case,

Welcome back.. it would be distrubing if Goucher was blowing away the competition. Nevertheless, it sounds like it defeats the whole purpose of joining the Landmark? One or two "academic projects" I can understand, but the whole team?

Saratoga,


New royal site is up, before Jan. '09 and no more waiting and waiting and waiting for the website to load.

[TheGrove]

As for the dancers... they are okay!

Pardon the hijack but since I have access to the expert here...    I've always wondered why Goucher has a dance team and not a cheerleading squad. Any insight on that?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Let me restate what I was trying to say about Goucher and their recruiting: I think they are aiming at athletes who end up having trouble maybe getting into the school.

I am not saying the students on the team are struggling. They get students who are academically qualified and there is no question about that - I know many of them and they certainly have some very book-smart guys on the team.

What I am trying to say is that sometimes I think they aim at players that aren't as qualified... thus putting a lot of eggs in the basket that isn't going to work out.

I am not basing my theory on ANY facts. It is COMPLETELY a feeling. I do NOT know the recruiting habits and I do NOT know specifically who they recruit or have struggled with. That being said, in years past I have seen deeper recruiting classes come in that work well with each other. Until this year, I saw an effort to bring in a few good players instead of a group of them.

There is also som trouble getting players that work in the "system" that Goucher uses on offense and defense. You can be a book-smart person, but that doesn't mean you are game smart. I sometimes wonder about the game-smarts with some of the players that arrive at Goucher. Some players never seem to learn in four years how to run things and some players can't handle the pressure of learning the system.

I am sure I have just put my foot in my mouth once again... but the "censor" is not working right now. Long story, but I am in Malborough, MA right now after traveling from Baltimore today (left at 7PM) after a couple hour nap following a 24 hour day. I may not be completely working on all cylinders. I will check back in at a later time to see if I need to once again restate something!

[NEPAFAN]

Happy '09 to all!


Does anyone know is the Radisson Invitational will be broadcast over the internet?  Royals could face a real test against 10-1 Richard Stockton on Sunday at 4:00pm.