MBB: Landmark Conference

[Stretch4]

Another former Landmark / Susquehanna guard playing well ... Matt LaCorte doing a great job with Stevens as a grad student

[saratoga]

Hmmmm.
No votes for the Royals for about the 10th. straight year.
Underestimate the Wizard of the Long Center at your own peril. 

[NEPAFAN]

Scranton-F&M tonight. Two legendary programs probably have the most D3 wins in the Mid Atlantic between them.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Scranton-F&M tonight. Two legendary programs probably have the most D3 wins in the Mid Atlantic between them.

A combined 2958 wins coming into this season.  Albright is third (if we're not counting Western PA).

[ronk]

 S/O to Mason Thompson for getting the offensive rebound in the closing secs of regulation of the F&M game and finding Stephen Braunstein in the corner for the 3-pter to send it into OT. Frequently, the will to win is a significant factor in determining outcomes. Hopefully, Mason's injury won't keep him out too long.

[NEPAFAN]

S/O to Mason Thompson for getting the offensive rebound in the closing secs of regulation of the F&M game and finding Stephen Braunstein in the corner for the 3-pter to send it into OT. Frequently, the will to win is a significant factor in determining outcomes. Hopefully, Mason's injury won't keep him out too long.

Had an off shooting night, but that made up for it.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'm watching Moravian play at Delaware tonight.  Obviously the score isn't close, but I'm quite glad I came.  This Moravian team is really, really young and there's a lot of potential there - good length, confidence, and shooting.  It's a team I probably wouldn't have otherwise gotten to see this year and one to keep an eye on down the road.

[Royals85]

21 years of this same B.S.How the hell did he last?This program went from a powerhouse with Cosch Bessior to an under 500 team with this guy.How long before the program is back ?

[NEPAFAN]

21 years of this same B.S.How the hell did he last?This program went from a powerhouse with Cosch Bessior to an under 500 team with this guy.How long before the program is back ?

I got nothing for ya.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

21 years of this same B.S.How the hell did he last?This program went from a powerhouse with Cosch Bessior to an under 500 team with this guy.How long before the program is back ?

You guys all seem to simultaneously know the answer and not want to hear the answer and I'm not sure what to do anymore.  Just leave the questions hanging out there?  Is it cathartic to just rant a bit?

[NEPAFAN]

21 years of this same B.S.How the hell did he last?This program went from a powerhouse with Cosch Bessior to an under 500 team with this guy.How long before the program is back ?

You guys all seem to simultaneously know the answer and not want to hear the answer and I'm not sure what to do anymore.  Just leave the questions hanging out there?  Is it cathartic to just rant a bit?

Sorry, what is the answer?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

21 years of this same B.S.How the hell did he last?This program went from a powerhouse with Cosch Bessior to an under 500 team with this guy.How long before the program is back ?

You guys all seem to simultaneously know the answer and not want to hear the answer and I'm not sure what to do anymore.  Just leave the questions hanging out there?  Is it cathartic to just rant a bit?

Sorry, what is the answer?

The D3 landscape is a lot different than it was 20 or 30 or 40 years ago.  The context is quite different and the competition is much tougher and deeper.

What kind of money is the school allocating to the program?  What support does athletics have from administration?  How many hours are coaches busy with non-basketball duties during the course of the year - or even in season?  What's the recruiting budget?  What's the average financial aid package compared to similar schools?

I'm not saying your coach can't do better - I don't know enough about Scranton to have any opinion on that whatsoever - but I do know enough about the landscape to know there's not an equivalent comparison to be made across decades.

There were a lot more ways to game the system, a lot more loopholes, fewer regulations, lax enforcement, less competition, more difficulty finding players, more leeway with financial aid, and any number of other differences in the 80s and 90s that really made D3 basketball coaching an entirely different world.

Maybe there's another coach out there who could do a better job - but could you land them with what's offered (I don't know, but its certainly not a given anywhere) - and even if you could, it's very, very, very unlikely they're going to live up to comparisons to Bessoir.  There's not too many programs anywhere in the country right now who could.

[ronk]

21 years of this same B.S.How the hell did he last?This program went from a powerhouse with Cosch Bessior to an under 500 team with this guy.How long before the program is back ?

You guys all seem to simultaneously know the answer and not want to hear the answer and I'm not sure what to do anymore.  Just leave the questions hanging out there?  Is it cathartic to just rant a bit?

Sorry, what is the answer?

The D3 landscape is a lot different than it was 20 or 30 or 40 years ago.  The context is quite different and the competition is much tougher and deeper.

What kind of money is the school allocating to the program?  What support does athletics have from administration?  How many hours are coaches busy with non-basketball duties during the course of the year - or even in season?  What's the recruiting budget?  What's the average financial aid package compared to similar schools?

I'm not saying your coach can't do better - I don't know enough about Scranton to have any opinion on that whatsoever - but I do know enough about the landscape to know there's not an equivalent comparison to be made across decades.

There were a lot more ways to game the system, a lot more loopholes, fewer regulations, lax enforcement, less competition, more difficulty finding players, more leeway with financial aid, and any number of other differences in the 80s and 90s that really made D3 basketball coaching an entirely different world.

Maybe there's another coach out there who could do a better job - but could you land them with what's offered (I don't know, but its certainly not a given anywhere) - and even if you could, it's very, very, very unlikely they're going to live up to comparisons to Bessoir.  There's not too many programs anywhere in the country right now who could.

You make a number of pertinent points. I favor the increased competition factor - Scranton's recruiting coach  finds the prospects but the surrounding state tuitions(SUNY, NJAC, and PSAC) are too much competition for a private school to land them as enrollees.

[NJRoyal137]

Agreed. I would like to see the university invest more into athletics given the value it can bring from a student engagement and brand marketing platform. Also, a larger focus on athletics can help with academics, given the schools growing PT program - as well as the strong media department that can focus on broadcast and journalism. Ultimately, I'd love to see the school reclassify to D1 - but I know that's a pipe dream, so being the best D3 program possible is the next best thing - hopefully the new leadership can help with that - it's about investing - and investing in the right people.

[ronk]

 Great day to be a Royal tweeted by Scranton Basketball; start the search algorithms!