MBB: Landmark Conference

[saratoga]

Understanding position depth & player rotation used at Scranton requires a post graduate degree in nuclear physics and advanced calculus.
My humble opinion...he has.
Seemed much more comfortable against Cabrini with some playing time under his belt.
Funny how those two things seem to go together.

[NEPAFAN]

How bout Columbia sticking with Kentucky...turn to ESPN 2 if you guys have nothing going on tonight....

[saratoga]

The power of "like mindedness"
Fear the Ivy.

[gordonmann]

Nerdball pride!

[nescac1]

Curious for the followers of this region ... have any of you seen Bobby Casey from Scranton Prep play?  He is headed to Williams College next year, the first Eph recruit from that area that I can recall ... (although they've had a few from around Philly).  Would love to hear impressions ...

[ronk]

Curious for the followers of this region ... have any of you seen Bobby Casey from Scranton Prep play?  He is headed to Williams College next year, the first Eph recruit from that area that I can recall ... (although they've had a few from around Philly).  Would love to hear impressions ...

Not me; maybe saratoga has seen him play.

[saratoga]

My daughter just graduated from SP in 2012.
I'll see what she might know.
I'm thinking this might be US Senator Bob Casey's son???

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Early thoughts: don't love this conference this season. I think Scranton has the capabilities of walking away this season. I just don't have the confidence Catholic can put it together every night to compete (they show moments of being a very good team - but can't put it together for 40 minutes or every night). No one else has impressed me as of yet (granted, I have not seen all of the teams). The excitement heading into the final game day last season may only exist to determine who maybe back-doors their way into the conference tournament.

This conference needs a shot in the arm. Except Scranton's interesting run to the Elite 8 and Catholic's short-run to the second round... no team has gotten past the first round in the eight years this conference has existed. I don't know many coaches who would disagree that this conference seems to be one that deserves respect considering the make-up of teams (name recognition), but has yet to earn national respect due to a lack of stepping up and getting it done.

At this point, this is a one-bid league unless Scranton is upset in the conference tournament. Catholic has the pieces... they just don't have the ability to do anything with it, yet. I liked what I saw in game one of the Hoopsville Classic; did not like what I saw in game two or since.

Teams at the bottom need to find a way to step up and improve during the season. Teams at the top need to find a way to step up when post-season opportunities present themselves (and I am NOT talking about ECACs). This conference has been around since 2006 and has had plenty of high hopes... yet in the Mid-Atlantic region it ranks behind the MAC Commonwealth, Capital Athletic, and even the Centennial of only four conferences. Here's hoping things can be figured out.

(Sorry for the rant... this has been bugging me for a very long time.)

[ronk]

 I largely agree with your assessment of the lack of NCAA tourney success for the Landmark although there's been 7 seasons, not 8, MMA's 2010 victory over Wesley was omitted and Catholic's run was unfortunately cut short by the combo of admin benching of 2nd best player and injury to best player in that 2nd round game. Scranton's 4 1st round losses(Hobart,Becker,Brandeis, and Elms) were all winnable games, but they didn't get it done.
  Having a conference of like-minded probably just means a tighter battle from top to bottom within the conference; it's not going to affect NCAA postseason success. On the other hand, I predict the closest battle for conference playoff spots in its history.

[ronk]

Curious for the followers of this region ... have any of you seen Bobby Casey from Scranton Prep play?  He is headed to Williams College next year, the first Eph recruit from that area that I can recall ... (although they've had a few from around Philly).  Would love to hear impressions ...

I just remembered that Scranton Prep is coming down Saturday to my area to play Georgetown Prep. Maybe amh63(who lives nearby) can be talked into attending and evaluating for the benefit of the nescacers; he probably would if Casey were going to Amherst instead of Williams(he did that for a FY Amherst women's bballer last year). There's only a slim chance that I'll go, myself.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

ronk - I was rounding up to this season

I did forget MMA's win... thank you for pointing that out... will keep it in the memory bank from now on.

Listen, "like minded institutions" win all the time. Look at the NESCAC, UAA, CCIW, ODAC, etc., etc., etc. The institutions in the Landmark haven't figured it out and keep getting beat by teams they shouldn't lose to (as you point out with Scranton). I will admit that CUA wins if they don't have an injury to their big guy... but having their second best player (and honestly, at that point in the season I don't think he was second best - maybe fourth) on the bench due to clearly a major problem I don't think would have held them back from beating Williams. However, the facts also are they didn't win.

I guess I am tired of people within and outside of the conference who think some of these teams are better than they proven to be. And as one who has an alma mater in this conference (don't get me started) I want to see it succeed. It just doesn't hold up and that is disappointing.

And as for your prediction... considering all but one team was alive for a playoff spot heading into the last game of the season last year... I don't know if this year will be closer... especially considering I don't think that many teams will be alive by that point in the season.

[NEPAFAN]

D-Mac:

Somewhat related to your rant, I have a question about the status of coaches in D3. Do D3 coaches get fired? I know that some Men's coaches are also AD's at their respective Landmark school, so firing is probably out of the question. My point is what do you expect to change with these struggling Landmark teams?

[nescac1]

Thanks, ronk and saratoga!

[saratoga]

DMac....
Very much agree & I think I've been fairly clear on my less than enthusiastic appreciation of what the Scranton men have been able to do on the court the past 10/12 seasons.
One year resembles the next...win the games you should, lose the games you should, very few upsets on the win side, more than a few on the loss side.
Get to the NCAA's....lose first round.
If not for Matt's unbelievable heave at the buzzer 3 years ago, the Royals would still be looking for their first win in the tournament with a team recruited by the current coach.
I'm sure everyone works their tail off to make things right...just not happening beyond what turns out to be a pretty boring league.
To be perfectly honest, it was much more fun from a fans perspective when they played Friday/Sat. or Sat./Sunday back to backs.
There is zero visible investment under the current AD leadership that leads me to believe the Royals are ready to turn the corner.
No fans from the community until the end of the year, no students till the end of the year, no evening games, no pep band anymore,no coverage in the papers, just a very, very vanilla program.
I mean how many teams these days with hopes of regaining a degree of national prominence must do so with only 1 Asst. coach???
Most teams come into the Long Center with three, four and even five coaches...not the Royals...just 2 coaches.
What that says about commitment from the Administration comes through loud & clear.....just like the support from the community is coming through loud & clear...to the tune of 100 people in the stands for a moronic 5:00pm start for a Scranton women's game.
If I were the tournament sponsor...I'd want a refund.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

D-Mac:

Somewhat related to your rant, I have a question about the status of coaches in D3. Do D3 coaches get fired? I know that some Men's coaches are also AD's at their respective Landmark school, so firing is probably out of the question. My point is what do you expect to change with these struggling Landmark teams?

Yep... often. Doesn't usually make the headlines, but LVC canned their women's coach this off-season (only one off the top of my head in this region). However, there isn't as much push to have successful teams in Division III when other priorities like enrollment come into play. I am not sure if any schools in this conference would get rid of coaches (or if any are on the hot seat) because they aren't winning or being competitive.