WBB: Landmark Conference

NEPAFAN · February 24, 2022, 08:32:31 AM

327 at the long center, maybe we can double that for Saturday.

saratoga · February 24, 2022, 07:47:44 PM

Not that it has anything to do with the Landmark but I think Williams College just landed their new head coach whenever/if-ever Pat Manning decides to retire.
Chessie Jackson of TCNJ (Williams grad), has done a great job there & has moved her 8th. seeded team into the NJAC championship game Sat. vs. NJ City.
A serious contrast in styles but TCNJ moved the ball beautifully around to find open looks & then made them.
They have now knocked off the number 1 & 4 seeds.
Just nice to see great basketball this time of year & to see all the kids hard work paying off.

Royals85 · February 26, 2022, 01:45:48 AM

Good Luck to the Lady Royals in the championship game against Catholic tomorrow!On another note what are the chances the Lady Royals lose Ronk,Nepafan,Augie2020 and Saratoga will not complain about the loss?I say very slim

Augie2020 · February 26, 2022, 07:48:10 AM

Lol.Whatever you say a..

saratoga · February 26, 2022, 07:49:03 AM

Royals 85:
You really need to ask your questions in clear English.
To decode your apparent question of what are the chances various people will complain should the Lady Royals lose...I can only speak for myself.
If they play a smart & hard game & just come up short, no complaints.
It's very hard to defeat a team 3 straight in a season & as I've said before, Coach Donahue is a master at adjustments for that third meeting...just ask the Lady Royals from the 2014/15 season or E-town earlier this week.
On the other hand, if they continue to turn the ball over with lazy passes, ongoing illegal screens, blown layups, not getting to the line, and allowing Catholic to crash the offensive boards for multiple second & third chance shots while not getting any offensive boards of their own, then yes...that will be critiqued.
Anything else?

Augie2020 · February 26, 2022, 08:04:09 AM

I have a question Saratoga-What is the line in Vegas and who wins the game?

saratoga · February 26, 2022, 08:12:30 AM

Scranton +1.
I'll let you know around 6:00PM.

NEPAFAN · February 26, 2022, 08:53:39 AM

I won't complain about a loss. Just lack of student section and pep band !

Every other sport was snowed out this weekend so no excuses for kids not to show up!

NJRoyal137 · February 26, 2022, 12:00:28 PM

Quote from: NEPAFAN on February 26, 2022, 08:53:39 AM
I won't complain about a loss. Just lack of student section and pep band ! Every other sport was snowed out this weekend so no excuses for kids not to show up!

It's shameful. I wish the university would invest more in making athletics a big deal for student engagement purposes. Scranton has a top 15 D3 women's program in the country. They deserve more appreciation.

saratoga · February 26, 2022, 01:12:33 PM

Amen to that!
They really need to add a job title to the Athletic Department...Coordinator of Student Engagement.
Get creative with both students & alumni.
Have some business donate giveaways kids would like...pizza, subs (beer probably would be a bridge too far), extra dollars to their meal plan that are offered each home game.
The sky is the limit...just do something.

ronk · February 26, 2022, 01:38:12 PM

There's a brief essay each Sunday by 1 of the Scranton athletes wrt a theme(this year's - reflect and grow as a team member, fellow student, etc); possible theme for next year - how to engage fellow students to support the athletes or is it worth the effort?

Roundball999 · February 26, 2022, 01:38:30 PM

I agree, and that support pays major dividends in recruiting and in other ways. I'm fortunate enough to have a connection with Hope College and I can tell you the engagement makes all the difference in the world; the classic "sixth man" fan support has been a major Hope advantage at home games. Hope has led NCAA in attendance for many years consecutively. University support of course is important, but I think it's really the individual drive and commitment of the coach that makes a huge difference and often catalyzes the broader university support. It's not just the students either, the surrounding community can be drawn in to support the team as well. The coach and by extension the team can engage in community service which can well be returned by support from the community. If the coach views his/her job as mostly just recruiting and coaching, well it's not enough just to have a good record. I don't know the Scranton program at all (other than obvious longstanding success on the court) so this is not meant in any way as a knock on the program or coach. Just an observation/opinion that the student and broader community engagement at Hope seems to start mostly from the proactive actions of the coach, which also gains more support from the university.

ronk · February 26, 2022, 02:07:29 PM

Appreciate your comments.

saratoga · February 26, 2022, 02:37:13 PM

Roundball:
Scranton has never really had difficulty bringing in the fans in past years...if fact, the Long Center as recently as two years ago would be pretty full & really engaged.
However, the past two years have been tough.
No spectators last year & only a conference schedule & this year attendance has really taken a hit.
Hopefully, the students come out today.
I think our women's coach is involved with the campus community...not sure about the men's coach.
You're right though...engagement with the campus & community at large goes a long, long way.
Our former men's coach was terrific at selling his teams at every event he could.

Roundball999 · February 26, 2022, 02:54:13 PM

Quote from: saratoga on February 26, 2022, 02:37:13 PM

Roundball:
Scranton has never really had difficulty bringing in the fans in past years...if fact, the Long Center as recently as two years ago would be pretty full & really engaged.
However, the past two years have been tough.
No spectators last year & only a conference schedule & this year attendance has really taken a hit.
Hopefully, the students come out today.
I think our women's coach is involved with the campus community...not sure about the men's coach.
You're right though...engagement with the campus & community at large goes a long, long way.
Our former men's coach was terrific at selling his teams at every event he could.

Yeah, Covid has been tough for programs. I don't mean to imply it's all on the coach either. Some of it is just circumstances, for example in Hope's case Holland MI is a small, compact town and the campus and Devos Fieldhouse are just a few easy walking blocks from the center of town and some nice shops and restaurants. Makes it easy to take in a game as part of an afternoon or evening out. There is also a large nearby retirement housing complex with lots of Hope connections, it's very common to see a large section of Devos sporting white hair

In other words, there are clearly some situations where it's much easier to get engagement than others. A rural campus outside of town would be tougher I'm sure.