MBB: Landmark Conference

[Great Day to be a Royal]

Was nice to see a Royals squad that could break the Susq press. It has given them nightmares in the past, and they looked well prepared for it. The execution was impressive. Team seems to be coming together, and as I said early in the season, they are quite athletic. They weathered every run the River Hawks made at them, something you might not see in previous seasons. Still get nervous watching them try and run with a team, but the athleticism allows them to do that. Overall, nice win over a solid team.

What do you think the difference was? I see Parland had 7 asst/0 turnovers.

More Good News:

Ben Bosland was dressed. Has to feel good for Ben.
Will McLoughlin 20pts, 7rbs, 2 ast, 2 blocks

I think the difference in the simplest sense is again the athleticism, team coming together, and a good mix of veterans and young guys. The bench is showing nice depth.

Parland is fun to watch. He brings the court up, and I liked how he broke the press. He remains calm, scans court. Didn't run into a press. Also not afraid to go in the paint, and love watching him take the ball along the baseline.

McLoughlin looks like a kid we are going to talk about for the next four years.

[ronk]

Was nice to see a Royals squad that could break the Susq press. It has given them nightmares in the past, and they looked well prepared for it. The execution was impressive. Team seems to be coming together, and as I said early in the season, they are quite athletic. They weathered every run the River Hawks made at them, something you might not see in previous seasons. Still get nervous watching them try and run with a team, but the athleticism allows them to do that. Overall, nice win over a solid team.

What do you think the difference was? I see Parland had 7 asst/0 turnovers.

More Good News:

Ben Bosland was dressed. Has to feel good for Ben.
Will McLoughlin 20pts, 7rbs, 2 ast, 2 blocks

Didn't notice but I was distracted by watching the Lady Royals at the same time. Goes with what Ben told me at the Catholic game last month - that he was hoping to play before the end of the season. He should be able to get some playing time in the next 2 weeks before the Royals reach the tough part of the conference schedule.

[Stretch4]

Fun fact on McLoughlin for the Scranton fans ... his father was a former all conference player and athletics hall of famer for Susquehanna.  Actually played under Marcinek. 

[ronk]

 Don't remember his father playing for Susque but impressive that Scranton was able to recruit him successfully in light of his dad's success @ Susque.

[NEPAFAN]

https://suriverhawks.com/news/2019/10/27/baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2019-inducted-over-homecoming-weekend.aspx?path=baseball


Don McLoughlin '90
McLoughlin was a center for the Susquehanna men's basketball team. The Old Bridge, N.J., native helped lead the team to back-to-back Middle Atlantic Conference Northwest section titles as a junior and senior. He averaged a team-best 7.9 rebounds and third-best 13.3 points in his final season, landing him on the MAC All-Star First Team. McLoughlin ended his career as a 1,000-point scorer with 1,121 points.

[Great Day to be a Royal]

After impressive performances last two games, I took a look at the schools the Royals lost to. Combined, they are 56-8. Swarth is 13-1, DSU 13-1, Eastern 11-2, Cath 8-3, and PSU - HB 11-1. So a Scranton team that appears to be getting better has the toughest schedule behind them. I know many on here complain about the non-conf schedule, but looking at the losses, it seems better than many expected. The knock could be good teams find a way to win a few of those games. I do suspect Scranton is better than 7-5. Excited to see what lies ahead.

[ronk]

 Yes, a few weeks ago, Scranton had the highest SOS among regions 1-5(NE,E, and Mid-Atlantic). My complaint on scheduling involves their tipoff tourney where they could specifically invite strong programs; only Swarthmore this year and York a few years ago satisfied that objective.

[Great Day to be a Royal]

Yep, I remember reading that. Does SOS help come tournament time though if you don't beat any of those teams?

I agree on the early season tournament. I am fine with the Friday night game being a cakewalk, but like this year, you should have good teams coming in. It was a fun early season game to watch.

[NEPAFAN]

https://twitter.com/FFTMAG/status/1481983943599661056?s=20


This seems to tell the story as well, Scranton is 4th in the region.

[ronk]

Yep, I remember reading that. Does SOS help come tournament time though if you don't beat any of those teams?

I agree on the early season tournament. I am fine with the Friday night game being a cakewalk, but like this year, you should have good teams coming in. It was a fun early season game to watch.

It's a differentiating criteria for comparing pool C candidates and for hosting consideration, also.

[ronk]

 1st chalk change(losing on your home court to a contender or any loss to a noncontender) yesterday with Drew winning @ Catholic. Only game this week between contenders is Wed Susque-Drew.

[ronk]

 Game tomorrow w Juniata postponed to Feb 7 because of storm.

[NEPAFAN]

Dave,

Can you fill in the board on the issue with the ball during the first four minutes of the game at Goucher this weekend?

Also heard you were on with Dean Corwin is that true? Any good discussion?

[NEPAFAN]

KCHOOPSFAN, your inbox is full my friend!

[Great Day to be a Royal]

Dave,

Can you fill in the board on the issue with the ball during the first four minutes of the game at Goucher this weekend?

Also heard you were on with Dean Corwin is that true? Any good discussion?

They mentioned that it was a women's ball, and had no idea how it got out there. Players shortly realized.

They spoke about the conference, and depth of teams and their benches, as well as teams looking different nearly every time out due to injuries and COVID related issues.