MBB: Landmark Conference

[ronk]

wow, yes Spatola and EJ had big time games. Congrats to Coach Danzig on win 400. I wasn't able to watch but will do so now and look for Ronk storming the court after the game.

Is CUA bubble burst?

#haters4scranton

Ronk has trouble getting out of his seat these days so there won't be any court storming.  The Royals did it with defense tonite. That was one great defensive play by EJ on Hafemeister in the final seconds then hit 2 big FTs. Nealon who killed us in the 1st game with his 3-pters was 0-3 tonite against Braunstein; Kelly was 3-15. Spatola had a great overall game; he's got confidence in his shot now and gives us another threat.
Still some things I would implement - Royals had 2 fouls to give in last 2 mins of 1st half; instead of fouling drivers and making them start over again, they gave up 2 layups plus fouled a 3-pt shooter. Will and Jackson had 4 fouls apiece late in the game, so I'd also use Hanley in offense/defense situations. Hanley would be a good choice to keep Husted off the offensive boards on Saturday.
  Coach Danzig finally got Will to go to the hoop instead of his fadeaways which eliminate the possibility of his being fouled or getting a follow rebound.
  Met Will's parents before the game and sat with them. Also in attendance were Ross and Ethan Danzig, Marcus Thomas, and EJ's family.
  Don't think the Royals have a chance for a Pool C; they get a boost in SOS with the road victory of Catholic but 3 of their
SOS opponents(Lycoming, Stevens, and Eastern) all lost tonite which will decrease their SOS value.
Coach Danzig gets his 400th career victory tonite.

[NEPAFAN]

I bet EJ's family was pretty fired up. He was feeding off the Catholic fans and had a heck of a game. The small but enthusiastic visiting section was visible on the live stream....but ended a little early so I didn't get to see the full celebration.

Can the research intern tell us the last time that the men and women hosted a Championship game ?

[Tim the Enchanter]

I bet EJ's family was pretty fired up. He was feeding off the Catholic fans and had a heck of a game. The small but enthusiastic visiting section was visible on the live stream....but ended a little early so I didn't get to see the full celebration.

Can the research intern tell us the last time that the men and women hosted a Championship game ?

That would be 2014.  Both teams made the championship in the same year 4 other times since, but the Royals were on the road in '15, '20 and '21, and the Lady Royals were on the road in '17.

(Since the formation of the Landmark conference, they also both hosted in '08 and '09)

[ronk]

 Tidbits while we await results over these 4 days affecting AQs, Pool C, hosting, and bracketing:

Must have been feeling an adrenalin rush from the Royals' victory over Catholic - set a new pr @ my fitness center for 3-pt shots(high school distance) today 23-25, missing #s 14 and 19
  On the way home last nite after the game, caught the beginning of St. John's @ Georgetown on the car radio and the dulcet tones of Hoyas broadcaster and friend Rich Chvotkin(Hoyas WIN! Hoyas Win!.....). Rich has doing the Hoyas' games for over 50 years, starting with the beginning of the John Thompson era. In the Big East early days, Rich did the play-by-play for the whole tournament, not just the Hoyas' games. I mention this because Rich was a year behind me @ Scranton and a member of our crack student basketball broadcasters on WUSR, including John A Walsh, eventual executive editor of ESPN and listed by Sports Illustrated as 1 of the 100 most influential people in sports, and Jim Dyer, eventual chief of staff of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee. Some real heavyweights!
  Talked with Ross Danzig after the game last nite, mentioning the previous time I talked with him was at the Royals' NCAA game @ Gettysburg(Tom Bicknell/Randy Arnold era and meeting D3sports' Pat Coleman) when Ross was a soph in high school; at that time I gave him an old magazine writeup on his grandfather Hal who had been an All-East standout @ Bucknell.     

[NEPAFAN]

The Royals' have a intern doing sports media content whose name escapes me right now, but he has been a real force multiplier to the Sports Information Office.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Co_NJi7MXIo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

This is real cool insight and behind the scenes look.

[ronk]

The Royals' have a intern doing sports media content whose name escapes me right now, but he has been a real force multiplier to the Sports Information Office.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Co_NJi7MXIo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

This is real cool insight and behind the scenes look.

Yes, I thanked him for his photos as I was leaving; was unaware of the locker room video at that time.

[saratoga]

Congrats are certainly in order to the UofS men & their coaching staff for pulling this championship out of thin air.
It wasn't pretty at times this year but they stepped up & got it done.
Jon Spitola is the closest player we've had to Randy Arnold since he graduated.
Runs a great floor game, quick as heck, can shoot when needed, dish, drive & assist to turnover ratio is excellent.
Well done & all the best in the tournament.

[ronk]

Great,
   Hang in there! I perceive that the newcomers who are playing the most, don't care for the taste of losing basketball and will correct some of those ills. Look for 1 loss max in the rest of the schedule. May be hope over experience, though. 

O ye of little faith! The Royals did employ their favorite strength - outshooting the opposition. Got some good minutes from Matt Hanley and Khoza with 2 big 3s. Things got sloppy in the 3rd quarter time area with 3 consecutive turnovers but they survived.
  Nepa should be happy with the 11 students storming the court after the buzzer; probably 11 more than he thought.
  We're setting up for an all-Scranton NCAA pod @ Rowan(Ryan Ems in a reserve role), Scranton, and PS-Abington(Ryan van Zelst) if they win their AQ.
  Hoping to be placed (in order of my travel distance) at Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, or Rowan. New England's 4 pods would be too far for me.

[Great Day to be a Royal]

What a great game, and wonderful how they pulled the season together! Excited to see where they are off to. Nice crowd as well, including a full student section

[NEPAFAN]

What a great game, and wonderful how they pulled the season together! Excited to see where they are off to. Nice crowd as well, including a full student section

These last two games have been a real pleasure to watch. Great atmosphere today for both games, the student section was packed and the Royals hustled, rebounded and shot great. Thank you Coach Danzig!

[Tim the Enchanter]

Royals tweet great day to be a royal - who? the search begins

I discovered the mystery commit from a couple of weeks ago:  Nick Ruisi, 6'5" wing out of Cheshire Academy.

https://twitter.com/EmpireYouthAthl/status/1624202004858806272?s=20

[ronk]

Royals tweet great day to be a royal - who? the search begins

I discovered the mystery commit from a couple of weeks ago:  Nick Ruisi, 6'5" wing out of Cheshire Academy.

https://twitter.com/EmpireYouthAthl/status/1624202004858806272?s=20

So, who comprises the new class of recruits? I never got to meet Coach Frank @ E-town 2 weeks ago(the men's team weren't in the gym during the women's game) or @ Catholic Wednesday(he was busy running pregame warmup drills).
Nick Ruisi grad of Harborfields High School on Long Island, now attending prep school(Cheshire)  Size similar to Jackson Danzig; no quite there yet wrt his basketball game from the video I've watched.

[NEPAFAN]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yrTloI5PXY for the latest recruit.

The only other one the research intern is tracking is PJ Kellachan from Chaminade on Long Island. He collapse at practice earlier this year and had to be resuscitated on the court.

[Tim the Enchanter]

You can add Hamilton Roth, 6'4" G out of River Dell to the list of Scranton commits:

https://www.maxpreps.com/nj/oradell/river-dell-golden-hawks/athletes/hamilton-roth/?careerid=t3hj7fshauk44

[NEPAFAN]

https://www.d3hoops.com/playoffs/men/2023/projected-mens-bracket


Top right quadrant
Case Western Reserve hosts Chatham, while Mary Washington plays Scranton
Stockton hosts La Roche, while Williams plays Nichols
Swarthmore hosts Baruch, while Tufts plays Albertus Magnus
North Park hosts Illinois College, while Carleton plays St. Norbert


Been along time since we had a selection Monday for the men.... Happy Monday!