MBB: Landmark Conference

[lefty2]

bballfan10,

While Smith didn't play, Majors and Cosgrove were both in the starting line-up.

Misericordia accomplished the unusual feat of avenging two non-league losses in four days.

[lefty2]

p.s.  Thanks for showing some respect to the Cougars in your pre-game post. 

It's not embarrassing for any visitor to leave the Anderson Center with a loss. 

[saratoga]

As far as what is going on at Scranton & why they seem to be so inconsistant is really a flip of the coin. Some say the coach just isn't getting it done, some blame the Administration & others just say it's local parity. For what it's worth...I disagree with all three presumptions.
  Personally, I think Coach Danzig works his tail off identifying the talent he wants on his team. I think the real problem begins once that student is recruited and the numbers games begin.
  Regardless how one crunches the numbers, the fact is if you are a full-time resident student at Scranton, your parents are paying at least $43,000 per year. There is not another local school within $6,000 of that pricetag & depending on whether or not you take Intersession...you may be hit for another $2,500. It is at this point Scranton begins to lose the recruiting wars with schools like F&M, Ursinus & the Hamilton's of the world.
  Back in 1998 Scranton conducted a study which tracked the schools students were attending that had seriously considered Scranton as well as which schools those that decided on Scranton had considered. It was at this point that a trend was noticed that Scranton was no longer really in the same market for students matriculating at the more prominate NE Pa. schools with which Scranton had long been associated. A decision was made that the University should begin developing alliances with certain "other" schools that were targeting the same students and at this point the genesis was there for the now famous "like-minded" reference.
  To further elaborate that point, the following is a sample of the high schools incoming freshman & sophmore Scranton students attended. The Gunnery, Germantown Friends, The Hun School of Princeton, Fordham Prep, Wyoming Seminary, Avon Old Farms, The Shipley School, MMI Prep, The Haverford School, The Berkshire School, Episcopal Acadamy , Regis, Poly Prep & Burr & Burton Seminary to name but a few. What these schools have in common is they all cost around $30,000 per year & these kids can generally go wherever they want. My feeling is they end up going to Scranton for any number of reasons but, one very big one is that Scranton comes up with some pretty good financial aid packages for students whose parents are not really getting anything from their state or Federal grants.
  And this is precisly where Scranton loses its players. Because they do not have an endowment to match F&M or Ursinus...even though a great student that happens to play B-ball may get 10,000 off that 43,000 pricetag, Ursinus or Hamilton may have a 24,000 grant in aid waiting in the form of the George & Mary Jones endowment fund so where do you think mom & dad will be pushing junior? Scranton might be able to attract 40 qualified students from all backgrounds while many other privates with a much larger endowment base can cast a far larger net & in that net will be some pretty good ball players as well as students.
  Someone had mentioned earlier that Scranton is doing fine with enrollment etc. and they are...problem for Coach Danzig is they could really care less that the student from Episcopal Acadamy is not interested in basketball...the Administration just wants them interested in the school. And when the UofS is coming up with 9,000 in aid & Hamilton is offering 23,000...unless the circumstances are really tilted & the stars alligned...junior is headed north. Economics right now are & will continue to play a very large role in determining who goes where...especially when the school has made a decision to go in that direction for reasons other than athletics.

[BCannon]

bballfan10,

While Smith didn't play, Majors and Cosgrove were both in the starting line-up.

Misericordia accomplished the unusual feat of avenging two non-league losses in four days.

Man I'm really struggling with my facts then recently. I was looking at the highlighted players on the LIVE STATS that SU offers on their website. Now that I am thinking back to it perhaps it was the players who were in the game that were highlighted which would prob make more sense.

[BCannon]

p.s.  Thanks for showing some respect to the Cougars in your pre-game post. 

It's not embarrassing for any visitor to leave the Anderson Center with a loss. 

NP. While I can't pretend to know much about the individuals in the conference they are in I know Misericordia was a premier team in the league last year and with the returning talent of Baumunk, Little, and Del Prete among others I would look for them to be in the hunt for a conference title and ncaa bid.

[lefty2]

Man I'm really struggling with my facts then recently.

Maybe you're having trouble concentrating because you're up half the night posting on this site.

[TheGrove]

Man I'm really struggling with my facts then recently.

Maybe you're having trouble concentrating because you're up half the night posting on this site.

*snickers*

If I could, I'd give you +k for that one. 

PS - thanks for posting the update, I was at the campus Candlelight Service last night.

[NEPAFAN]

As far as what is going on at Scranton & why they seem to be so inconsistant is really a flip of the coin. Some say the coach just isn't getting it done, some blame the Administration & others just say it's local parity. For what it's worth...I disagree with all three presumptions.
  Personally, I think Coach Danzig works his tail off identifying the talent he wants on his team. I think the real problem begins once that student is recruited and the numbers games begin.
 

Interesting insight. I always thought you were not a fan of Coach Danzig, but it sounds like we agree the problem lies with the School/Administration/Powers That Be (whether it is the delay in the new website or getting athletes to the school). I have a feeling that Coach Danzig is waging a constant battle trying to get prospects A) into the school, and  B) financial assistance. Hopefully, it isn't a futile fight for him.


On your point to endowments and how they are spent...I don't necessarily agree that there is such a disparity between Scranton's endowment and other D3 schools....


BTW.....Scranton wins a ho hum type game last night 70-63 over Messiah.

[saratoga]

NEPAFAN: I think Coach Danzig does his best with what he gets. The million dollar question is: is he getting the right kids & they are doing as well as can be expected or has his recruiting been less than one would expect given his contacts from his Bucknell days. To be honest, I'm not really sure. I have heard he works very hard yet the one & done NCAA visits are getting old. I've also seen him lose more kids from one year to the next at a rate never seen by Bess' teams. Is that the product of the instant gratification nature of todays D-III athlete or his refusal to use his bench? Another question overheard last evening was why no true point or ready to play big had not been brought in over the last two years so they could be ready to fill in for Randy & Tom this season. Lack of effort on his part or lack of a good financial aid package? My vote is on the latter...and for the sake of better days ahead, I hope I'm right.
  As for Scranton's ability to run dollar for dollar with many of the schools competing for the same kids...don't bet on it. Comparing the overall disposable endowments of schools like F&M, Gettysburg & Ursinus & the % of aid they can provide to the general pool of applicants has historically had a far greater reach than what Scranton can put on the table. Don't get me wrong, Scranton is sitting very well financially as witnessed by constant construction on campus...but remember, we are dealing with Jesuits & they like very much to receive & hold. What they offer, at least up to this point in time has been selective at best.

[NEPAFAN]

Lack of effort on his part or lack of a good financial aid package? My vote is on the latter...and for the sake of better days ahead, I hope I'm right.

I don't see how one is more favorable than the other.....



Scranton at PSU Hazleton tonight...are they the new regional rival replacing Wilkes? 

[Warren Thompson]

... but remember, we are dealing with Jesuits & they like very much to receive & hold. What they offer, at least up to this point in time has been selective at best.

Just out of curiosity, does your generalization that "... [Jesuits] ... like very much to receive & hold" also apply at other Jebbie venues, e.g., Gonzaga, Holy Cross, St. Joe's in Philly, and Fordham? (Or do you refer to D3 Jesuit institutions only?)

[saratoga]

Warren: Since the other schools you've mentioned are D-I and offer FULL rides...I think we can safely eliminate them as suspects.

[saratoga]

NEPAFAN: One is really not better than the other...I guess what I really mean is that if you had to pick your poison...I'd at least rather know my coach was working his tail off trying to get the kids. With the financial aid stuff...sometimes you may get the student from one of the schools I've mentioned & getting a serious aid package isn't that big a deal. On the other hand...a lazy coach that does not recruit can wreck havoc on a program for years.

[NEPAFAN]

I believe John Carroll is the only other D-3 Jesuit Institution.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Warren: Since the other schools you've mentioned are D-I and offer FULL rides...I think we can safely eliminate them as suspects.

Though - you may be able to argue they aren't offering full rides to all of their players. I don't know how many scholarships those teams are permitted to carry, but remember, those numbers can be split up. The money for one scholarship may not actually go to just one person. However, there is a lot of information there I don't know!

Interesting thing to think about: all schools are suffering in some way in this economy. Private schools have lost some of their endowments and that is affecting many of the financial aid packages/scholarships they can offer to students. That is forcing some private school students to transfer to public schools. I can't prove anything, since I am not privy to the information, but were a lot of transfers from private Catholic to public schools like Salisbury. I know basketball wasn't the reason - that it was something else. I wonder how much affordability or the lack of aid was a factor.

Now, things are simple for the public schools. Many states are suffering from budget deficits/shortfalls thanks to states suffering in the economy. What does that mean? Funding is being cut from public schools. Not sure how much that is affecting financial aspects similar to private schools, but there is a factor.

Now... that all being said, I think the public schools are in better shape since they tend to be cheaper to begin with!