MBB: Landmark Conference

[saratoga]

Exactly my sentiments last week. I would caution there is still much work to do for the Royals & presuming they get by Drew this afternoon, next weekends D.C./Towson trip will be as good a test as there is to truly see how far this team has come.
Last night there were flashes of the bad habits that had them stuck in neutral for so long...totally relying on the 3. Once they woke up & got Luke Hawk in the game, numerous different opportunities were presented. He (Hawk) gives the Royals points in the paint, he crashes both boards, can hit the 3, has an explosive first step & will drive to the hoop & just as importantly, he takes pressure off Eli to be a one man interrior presence. Once in the game, he was put on MMA great little point Ryan Samuel & due to the size differential, he totally smothered him with excellent D.  
When the Royals had Eli, Luke Hawk, Dan O'Connell, Zack & the freshman Farrell on the floor, they kicked it in & scored from all over the court. That allows the other young 6'8" kid Matt Swawback to fill in really for anyone & keep things moving.
Right now the Royals are doing some nice things & the revival of Luke Hawk is going to be huge going down the stretch. Eli & Ashworth & so focused right now just get out of their way & keep them healthy.

[saratoga]

Ronk, very observant. A decent record, Landmark playoffs & even another Landmark Championship don't mean very much. The fanbase (those left), are interested in loftier asperations & goals...like finally doing something that was done on a regular basis...winning on the national level.
However, it is what it is & right now winning 3 in a row is far better than where this season appeared to be heading 2 short weeks ago.
As I've said, there is still a ton of work to be done here but, I'll still take an ugly win over a pretty loss.
Rock on Royals, rock on.

[cold_case]

Scranton beats USMMA last night breaking away in the second half. For all those who criticize Danzig for not bringing in talent, you have to give him kudos for having his team 1 game out of first place. They have a nice little run going and Danzig and the players deserve credit for not packing it in.

Nepa,
  I think 'those' have higher aspirations than 1st place in the Landmark. May the run continue.

How many = 'those'?

Don't crack wise with NEPAFAN. He's a Jets fan you know.

[NEPAFAN]

Ronk, very observant. A decent record, Landmark playoffs & even another Landmark Championship don't mean very much. The fanbase (those left), are interested in loftier asperations & goals...like finally doing something that was done on a regular basis...winning on the national level.
However, it is what it is & right now winning 3 in a row is far better than where this season appeared to be heading 2 short weeks ago.
As I've said, there is still a ton of work to be done here but, I'll still take an ugly win over a pretty loss.
Rock on Royals, rock on.

come on , another landmark title wouldn't mean that much? They aren't going to emerge on the national scence overnight, it takes time. A conference title would be three in a row a huge accomplishment!  

[susiddad]

Ho-Hum SU wins @ home vs. the Gophers.  Big win in the playoffs.  I am calling it now.  SU backdoors in the playoffs, beats usmma then loses to CUA @ the Cardinals. 

[hoopit123]

it was basically a battle of who was the more athletic team today in selinsgrove.  basketball wise, pretty so-so.  luckily for SU, they were a little quicker adn little more athletic as a group than goucher.  monstrous numbers for Burke...what sparked him midway thru the season?   i haven't seen 19pts and 18 reb. numbers since last year with JP

[Matt Letourneau]

Man, if CUA takes care of business @ Moravian and Scranton does the same @ Goucher, then we're looking at a heck of a matchup Saturday--and a very important one.  Hopefully we can get a good crowd at DuFour.

[Matt Letourneau]

You know, I wonder if one factor for Catholic is its location.

I'm certainly not trying to insult anybody at all, but quite obviously there's a bit more going on in DC than there is in, say, Selinsgrove, PA.

I know what you mean. Like in Selinsgrove you can walk from your dorm to a local restaurant or 7-11 and not worry about getting fleeced. Or you can drive up Rt. 11 to the local mall and not find what's left of your car on blocks.
Step one foot off CU's campus and you're a memory. Yep that's exciting stuff. DC has the highest crime rate for its population in the world.

Yo Dave, with you being in the media, did you ever hear of Phil "The Thrill" Wood or Al Coker?

You'll never believe this, but in big, bad, DC, they have this thing called Metro--they're like trains, really--google it--and it turns out there's a station right there on Catholic's campus!  I know!  And the kids--they use it and everything.  It brings you to the rest of the city, across the river to Virginia and even to the airport!

And btw--my car spent 3 years on campus and except for a unfortunate incident with a Pepsi truck while it was parked (that could have happened anywhere), it was fine.

But whatever...obviously there's not much to do in DC, and clearly CUA basketball is the most exciting thing going on in the whole city, so I must be wrong about why attendance seems lower on the weekends.  Right?
Cause that was my point---not the relative merits of attending school in Washington, DC, or Selinsburg or Scranton or Towson...

[Matt Letourneau]

Maybe Banzhaf read all the crap and got ticked off.

the crap? what was the crap?  saying he needed to have a big game?he did need to, and he did have one, and they did win.   dunno if that was per say 'crap'.

but what i said early in the season i still believe...he is just not that impressive to watch.  he scores off of plays that his teammates make.  a great drive and dump off to him for a layup.  finishing wide opens bunnies from 5 ft just dont leave you with the feeling like, WOW, gosh, he must get national recognition.  i'm sorry, and you can take as many karma points as you want, but its just my honest opinion! and im not just taking jabs.

catholic very clearly was the better team and deserved to win this game, no doubt about that.  perhaps after saying that you believe that my JB assessment really just is from a non-bias spectaator, basketball fan standpoint.  i could give criticism to many of the SU players as well, but then again, they arent the topic of the 'crap' going on here.

Not from you.  From your friend. 

I don't care if he's impressive to watch or not.  If he's gonna put up a 23-12 in a big game on the road, he can look however he wants.

For the record btw--I never take karma points.  If you've ever lost 'em, it ain't from me.

[saratoga]

NEPA: I'm just speaking for myself & yes, another Landmark crown & then blasted in the first round of the NCAA's would be fairly worthless to me. Probably nice for the kids but, haven't we seen this movie before?
"They aren't going to arrive on the national scene overnight"? My God, they've had 9 years to figure it out & get back there. Patience is beginning to wear thin for many of "those" still out there & "those" in a position to make some noise.
I'm just happy they are winning the games they are playing right now & hopefully, real soon, they can get the monkey off their backs & do something in the tournement. Barely beating Drew is not something which allows one to begin to entertain thoughts of a nice weekend in the winter wonderland that is southern Virginia in late March.

[NEPAFAN]

I am with you on competing nationally, I guess I am just not as harsh as you! We are 6 years removed from the sweet sixteen run, and I will continue to take conference championships and hope that Danzig can land a few blue chips and we get on a run in the tourney.

In the meantime, what does it say about the rest of the conference that this Scranton team is in contention for the conference title?

[saratoga]

NEPA: I gave coach Danzig & his staff all the credit in the world last week for putting together a game plan that his kids were capable of executing & that would give them their best shot against Catholic. It's sometimes much easier to get ready for the really big games than it is for some mid week game against a school you rarely play. However, it's that consistency that seperates the really good teams from the average ones.
As far as the Sweet 16 run...again, that was done with Coach Bessoir's kids that were seniors. I think you & I could have got that group of kids that far. What many of us are all waiting for is coach Danzig to bring in those 3/4 kids every year that can play & fill voids that are about to become open & challenge those kids already on the team for serious playing time. Thus far in his tenure, that has not happened. How long have people been asking when a point like Drew's Mike Mays arrives? How long for some bangers to come in & provide an inside threat & rebounding to compliment the outside game? I'm not trying to be harsh...just a realist.
The Royals are playing some pretty good ball right now. They go into some funks where the defense gets lost & the offense wants to revert back to old habits but, they are making progress & have been able to make adjustments that prevent these lapses from becoming fatal.

As far as your last question regarding what is says about the rest of the conference...to be perfectly honest, I think it speaks volumes...and not necessarily in a good way. And, that is precisely why recruiting quality kids that can play is so important. A few more players on this team which would then allow others to play their natural positions & the Royals would run away with it. Until then, it's anyones for the taking.

[susiddad]

"also, susidad, i think its time you must put the CUA assistant coaches point to rest.   comparing the 4 they had to SUs 3, there really is no room for argument!!
...unless, of course, they dont travel all of their coaches for away games haha"

- I believe they had one at each of the other 3 landmark games going on and a few out for potential matchups in the tourney.  One of the SU "coaches" is a 16 year old manager.  The Golden State Warriors have 4 assistant coaches. 


- In response to Selinsburg
As for the Selinsburg comment...If you have never been to Selinsburg, don't ever come to Selinsburg, because you would not understand Selinsburg, so stay the  ::)out of Selinsburg.

- In response to JB, all I ever said was that he is the best player in the league this year.  I said last year, that he was not, but I always was careful to mention his age relative to those older.  When it is all said and done this year, I believe he will walk away with the first of two consecutive poy awards, although ss might get in his way next year.  He is responsible for bringing CUA a title next year.  If he happens to get anything this year it is all gravy. 

[Matt Letourneau]

With regard to coaches--these are not exactly full time jobs.   Its not like Catholic has some big budget coaching staff---being in a big metro area, there's a lot of basketball around and a lot of guys looking for these kinds of opportunities.  I don't know really know any of the assistants this year but I know in previous years they had some guys getting degrees, some high school teachers, etc.   

I would think that providing opportunities for younger guys looking to get into coaching would be a good thing--for instance, the top assistant at CUA left after last season, and Coach Howes promoted from within.  Another of the guys last year used it to get a video spot with the LA Clippers.  And so on.  Given that Steve got his job after putting in his time as an assistant, I think he's particularly sensitive to that and tries to help out. 

[susiddad]

It is definitely impressive for him to take those guys on.  Nothing wrong with it.  Sorry if offensive, I only see a little humor in it, but since i am the only one who does, I would let it go and look for it my laughter in other places.