MBB: Landmark Conference

[Salem, VA]

It is nice to see old foes changing roles.

Hopefully Catholic continues to struggle, at York we are loving it.

[TheGrove]

TheGrove - the best answer I can actually come up with right now is that at least 70 coaches have achieved the feat... with plenty more I can't account for.

According to the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book - 70 coaches have won at least 275 games in Division III alone - heading into this season. But, they don't go past 70 on the list. I will continue to try and find the exact answer for you. But if someone else comes up with it, feel free to post it.

Thanks, D-mac. I can't pull up that PDF (it keeps timing out), but I think it's a site problem, because I tried to pull up another PDF on the NCAA site and that's not working either. Anything else you find is greatly appreciated!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Try the site again - I pulled off a few PDF's today to save.

And Matt, yes... Goucher has three seniors, but their best players aren't necessarily those guys. Some of the underclassmen are the guys hitting the big shots and making the big plays.

[Matt Letourneau]

I know, but at least they've played more than once in their own building, unlike 9 of Catholic's players until last night.  And remember, we only see a tiny percentage of what goes on on a basketball team. Veteran leadership doesn't just happen during games, it happens during practice every day.  Sometimes its those upperclassman who never really play in big situations and don't fill up the stat sheet that are important players to team chemistry and leadership in practice.

I agree with your take on Goucher, I'm just saying that even for a young team, Catholic is very extreme this year due to the situation with the coaching change a few years ago.  They're going to have bumps on the road, as evidenced by last night, but even in that game...some of those guys were showing great promise out there. 

[NEPAFAN]

Where to begin? I won't start with the Royals blowing an 11 point lead with 7 minutes to play against E-town. Or their poor effort against Moravian on Wall of Fame Day.

How about scoring 4 points in the first 10 minutes against Moravian? Several bad passes to no one, turnovers left and right, ice cold shooting. Calling a few timeouts did nothing to shake up the team....so how about benching all 5 starters and seeing what the bench can do? Isn't that why these Freshman were recruited?

Royals look great for 4 games, awful for 3.


In another note...I see Susquehanna lost to Misercordia..and is 0-2 in NEPA ( they also lost to Wilkes)..mild upset it you ask me.


Somewhere Colonel John is smiling.

[MR. PAC]

Wasn't Paul Hawk injured in those losses.

[NEPAFAN]

Wasn't Paul Hawk injured in those losses.

Yes I believe so. His little brother is also out for the year. Tough break.

[saratoga]

I've recently read where the Radisson Hotel in Scranton gave the UofS $5,000 as the corporate sponsor of the upcoming Radisson Invitational Tournament. No offense to the schools coming in(Lancaster Bible, Lycoming & Wesley)...but, one would think that with that kind of seed money as well as the discounts on the rooms at this magnificent hotel...Scranton should be able to bring in much bigger names in D-III basketball. Last year they brought in a team that played about 15 games a year as well as a team(SUNY-Morrisville) that was in only their 1st. or 2nd. year of d-III competition. Whatever happened to trying to get schools like Hamilton, Rochester, F&M, Ursinus, Johns Hopkins, or Williams & the like that have great academics & great basketball histories as the competition? Since most of the tournaments are held when the students are home on semester break, one would think that the best way to get the local alums out over the Holidays would be to schedule teams with a certain tradition. If it's just about the chance for at least one Regional win...carry on. However, if it's about trying to put together a truly 1st. class tournament...one that befits both the UofS and the Radisson...then there is some work to do.

[cold_case]

Whatever happened to trying to get schools like Hamilton, Rochester, F&M, Ursinus, Johns Hopkins, or Williams & the like that have great academics & great basketball histories as the competition?

toga, you mean like the good old days when Bess used to bring in D-II's like King's, Mansfield, Slippery Rock, Kutztown, Hartwick, Philadelphia Textile, Buffalo, along with D-III powers like Hamilton, William Patteron led by Clinton Wheeler, Muskingum with the Dalkowski Brothers, Buffalo St., etc.? You mean those years? Remember the Kodak Classic Scranton played in back in 1987 when all four teams were highly ranked? How about the East Stroudsburg Holiday Classic back in 1975-76 when Scranton and Amherst were the lone D-III schools out of the eight competing schools?
By the way, you being an alum of yesteryear, do you honestly think F&M would ever come to Scranton for a regular season game? Check the host sites of the Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament history to see what I mean. Record books don't lie.

[NEPAFAN]

Guys-

I can't get that upset about the field at the Radisson Invitational.

1) Isn't it alumni weekend for the team? Alums want to see a win.
2) Recruits showed up last year for the tourny according to Saratoga. Recruits want to see a win.
3) Tough year for scheduling with the move to the Landmark.


My bigger long term concern is getting a Center to replace Bicknell next year.

Anyone know anything about Hartwick?

[saratoga]

CC: You nailed it. Those were some pretty hotly contested games with no cupcakes allowed. Good call on the Dalkowski brothers...I believe Myron was the bruser who could have auditioned as another Hanson brother from "Slapshot". As for me, I'll take a tough hard-earned victory over a walk in the park vs. a team not ready for prime time any day. I'd much rather see the Royals win by one against Williams than beat the Sisters Of The Poor by 30 any day of the week. CC, you are correct...F&M does not like to venture outside of Mayser unless court ordered...especially in recent years. NEPA: Hartwick has a guard from Jersey that never received a pass that couldn't be turned into a shot. They also have a freshman that's been helping them out on the boards & scoring a little as well. Scranton won by around 15/20 up there last year...they should win at home...should. My rating of the current Radisson field...D-... the only saving grace is Lyco. If I were representing the Radisson, I'd demand a refund & an audit.

[cold_case]

If I were representing the Radisson, I'd demand a refund & an audit.

That's a good one.
Good story about the Dalkowski's. I was at the 1983 Final Four in Grand Rapids, MI, when Scranton beat Wittenberg for the title. There was a guy sitting next to me that looked familiar but I couldn't place him. He was into the game like a die-hard and rooted so hard for Scranton I thought he was going to have a heart attack. Everytime a foul was called on Wittenberg the guy would get up and yell at the player mercifully. The guy knew their players better than I knew Scranton's and you know that's amazing.
Anyway, Scranton wins and this guy, like all the fans, ran onto the court to celebrate. He was so fired up over the win it was incredible. About an hour or so later when he and everyone else finally calmed down, I asked him if he had a relative playing for Scranton and how he knew the Wittenberg players so well.
Ready for this? He was Mr. Dalkowski, father of the twins at Muskingum. He hated Witt with a passion and travelled to Grand Rapids just to see them get beat, even though Musky bombed them twice during the season. Now that's hate.
I later realized I saw him during Scranton's Holiday tourney back in December and we talked briefly at halftime of the tourney final. He said he remembered me which is why he sat next to me but was puzzled why I didn't say hello to him or talk with him. I really couldn't remember him until he told me afterwards. Funny stuff.

[saratoga]

CC: I'm sure there is a degree of mutual distaste in the Ohio Athletic Conference to this very day. Those kids were players & say what you want...Bess never ducked anybody.

[saratoga]

NEPA: Just a little more on the Royals next opponent...the Hartwick Hawks. In their most recent game vs. RIT, they(Hartwick) were down 25 points with just over 12 minutes left in the game & went on a 21-0 run over the next 4 1/2 minutes to cut the lead to 59/55. After a back & forth 3 minutes, Hartwick made their free throws as well & put RIT away for a huge conference victory. As for the Wick guard I mentioned a few posts ago...well, he finished the night with 43 points with 31 coming in the second half. This player...Jan Cocozziello nailed 6 of 9 three-pointers & hit 12 of 17 free throws down the stretch. Now that's a player putting the rest of his team on his back & getting it done. As the stats would indicate...he not only lets them fly from the outside, he drives to the basket as well & is more than happy to get the reach-ins & go to the line. Considering Scranton's Horrible & that is Horrible with a capital "H" perimiter defense...(please refer to Moraivian game) the Royals need to be vastly improved or they may be lit up once again like the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center.

[cuabigdog]

The Catholic University men's basketball team (5-5) defeated the Villa Julie Mustangs (2-7) Sunday night in its final game of 2007. CUA faced the Mustangs at Towson University in a neutral meeting of the two teams. The Cards led from the opening minutes and carried the comfortable lead to the end getting the 75-60 victory.

The Cards tok the lead in the first half and never looked back as their strong defense didn't allow the Mustangs to get into double digits until less than four minutes left in the half. Strong shooting and impressive defense allowed the Mustang to shoot just 17 percent in the half. Wes Parker (Germantown, Md./Northwest) had an outstanding half for the Cards leading the squad in both points and rebounds. Parker had 14 points, including a 4-5 performance from beyond the arc, and four rebounds. His classmate Jason Banzhaf (Livingston, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) added eight points for CUA. The Cardinals shot 48 percent, commited just three turnovers and held a 23-19 advantage in rebounds. The Mustangs were allowed no offensive rebounds as the CUA big men pounded the boards. The Cards went into half leading 36-14.

The second half was much like the first and though the Cardinals continued to dominate, the Mustangs began to shoot better attempting to close the gap. In the fast-paced contest a layup, foul and turnover cut the Cardinal lead to just 11 as theMustangs started to hit. Just as Villa Julie gained momentum trapping the backcourt, the Cards countered by drawing fouls and scoring at the line. Holding on to a 16-point lead with two minutes remaining the Mustangs were forced to foul and CUA sailed to the 75-60 win.

Parker finished with 22 to lead all scorers he also had a team-high nine rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal for the all-around performance. Banzhaf finished with 12 and Danny Quinn (Annapolis, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had nine points in the contest. The Cards finished strong shooting 51.9 percent for the game to Villa Julie's 31.8 as well as outrebounding the Mustangs 43-35. The only category where the Mustangs outperformed the Cardinals was in turnovers as CUA commited 17 and Villa Julie had 14.

The Cardinals will break for the holidays but return to action to host the CUA Classic at the DuFour Center on January 5-6. The Cards will play Salve Regina in the 4 p.m. game on Saturday.