MBB: New Jersey Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

Middlebury and Johnson State fall off the list... 24 schools remain... led by Rust... and SIX NEAC schools....

[hopefan]

Colby and UC Santa Crruz fall off the list... 22 schools remain... led by Rust... and SIX NEAC schools....

22 schools who have not yet posted schedule... and it's almost October!!

Medgar Evers
St John Fisher
Pine Manor
Rust
Goucher
Juniata
Western Connecticut
Green Mountain
Keuka
SUNY Cobleskill
SUNYIT
Wells
Bryn Athyn
Wilson
Lesley
Regis (Mass.)
Wheelock
MIT
Stockton
Cal Lutheran
Eureka
Greensboro

I'll continue to track this, but I'm going to move it to where it belongs... in the NEAC room!!

[NJBALLERZ]

Basketball season is back!! Does anyone know when the pre season rankings come out? I would imagine Richard Stockton, Ramapo, and NJCU should all shape up to be the top three in no specific order. What does everyone else think? I also noticed that NJCU is ranked 18th in the country to start the season...

[gordonmann]

Our poll will be released near the end of the month, I hope. It depends largely on how quickly schools respond to our efforts to gather information for our voters and how quickly the voters cast their ballots (which they can't do until the first part happens).

[Knightstalker]

Hey Ballerz where did you see the number 18 ranking for NJCU?

[hopefan]

D3news shows NJCU as No. 18....  see magicman's post in MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference for the link...

[phil]

I'm sure TCNJ will be largely ignored even though they beat NJCU 2 of 3 times – eliminating them from the NJAC tourney – and made the NJAC finals. Unlike NJCU, the Lions have their entire roster returning from last season – including Bobby Brackett who missed the entire '15-'16 season to injury. It's worth remembering that Mr. Brackett was a 1st team All-NJAC performer who set the program record for rebounds in a season with 327...Ranked 2nd in NCAA DIII in defensive rebounds, 4th in rebounds per game, and 8th in double-doubles. D3News also had TCNJ's Eric Murdock, Jr. as the lone player from the New Jersey Athletic Conference to be chosen to their preseason Top 24 All-American list.

...and besides Brackett and the returning TCNJ roster, they added transfer Corey Stanford, who was a 3-year starter at Catholic University.

[gordonmann]

I think TCNJ will be one of the best teams in that conference, if that makes you feel any better.

Glad you're still alive and kicking.

[phil]

Living & breathing Fastpitch softball here in Texas. Travelled 14,000 miles by car and tour bus during the spring season alone for my daughter who played 3rd base for a Tennessee team that went 70-3 and won a national championship: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Ov04CKglI

Played in 10 states from Georgia to California ... and she's only 11 ... and has won 3 national championships already. She put one over the fence at the college distance of 200 feet at the PGF nationals in California. Still following NJAC hoops from a distance...

[gordonmann]

Holy moly. That's quite a traveling team experience at any age, especially that one. How'd she get connected with a team in Tennessee?

[phil]

She hit a walk off double against the Tennessee team to win the 8U USFA national title in FL two years ago. Then in her first year of 10U ball she was asked to go to the PGF Nationals in CA with an older team here in Texas. PGF is a season ending invitation-only tourney attended by college coaches and broadcast on ESPN this year and FOX Sports last year. We got eliminated earlier in the week and she watched the finals from the stands where she said to me, "Dad, next year I want it to me out there". This year, three girls on the Tennessee team were from Texas. We had kept in touch with the TN coaches after 8U ball and they were lacking some bats to go along with their pitching. Next thing you know we're traveling back and forth on a full-blown tour bus with bedroom, kitchen, bunk beds, living room and 6 TVs (courtesy of the Grandpa of one of our TX girls). Turns out their top two pitchers were from Ohio and Indiana and threw between 56-60mph from 35 ft. Most d3 college pitchers can't throw 60 from 43 ft. Between our pitching and hitting, we were pretty much unbeatable. Turned out our 3 Texas girls hit .200 points higher than the rest of the team at PGF, with my DD leading the way with a .600 average that week. She led the tourney in RBIs. Experience of a lifetime and amazing that she not only made it to the finals after what she told me from the stands last year, but she was named offensive player of the game after going 4-4 with a DBL and 2 RBIs. It's a different world down here ... 120 mile round trip to practice. Three days of Crossfit. Private hitting coach who was a 3-time All American at Baylor. Another night of hitting work at cages. And then tourney weekends ... 10 months/year. In the video link on my previous post, she's the leadoff batter in the bottom of the fifth for the black team at 1:26:00

[jmcozenlaw]

She hit a walk off double against the Tennessee team to win the 8U USFA national title in FL two years ago. Then in her first year of 10U ball she was asked to go to the PGF Nationals in CA with an older team here in Texas. PGF is a season ending invitation-only tourney attended by college coaches and broadcast on ESPN this year and FOX Sports last year. We got eliminated earlier in the week and she watched the finals from the stands where she said to me, "Dad, next year I want it to me out there". This year, three girls on the Tennessee team were from Texas. We had kept in touch with the TN coaches after 8U ball and they were lacking some bats to go along with their pitching. Next thing you know we're traveling back and forth on a full-blown tour bus with bedroom, kitchen, bunk beds, living room and 6 TVs (courtesy of the Grandpa of one of our TX girls). Turns out their top two pitchers were from Ohio and Indiana and threw between 56-60mph from 35 ft. Most d3 college pitchers can't throw 60 from 43 ft. Between our pitching and hitting, we were pretty much unbeatable. Turned out our 3 Texas girls hit .200 points higher than the rest of the team at PGF, with my DD leading the way with a .600 average that week. She led the tourney in RBIs. Experience of a lifetime and amazing that she not only made it to the finals after what she told me from the stands last year, but she was named offensive player of the game after going 4-4 with a DBL and 2 RBIs. It's a different world down here ... 120 mile round trip to practice. Three days of Crossfit. Private hitting coach who was a 3-time All American at Baylor. Another night of hitting work at cages. And then tourney weekends ... 10 months/year. In the video link on my previous post, she's the leadoff batter in the bottom of the fifth for the black team at 1:26:00

God Bless ya Phil. I love my kids to death and would do (and have done) just about anything for them...........but I'm not sure that I could do all that (Daddy is single, and, well, you know, he needs to get fed ) The only thing I've experienced like that was when I dated a woman who's son was (and is) a very high level hockey player. He plays for his $62,000 Prep School (and pays about $6,000 to attend) and a high level club team. The expenses are insane and the travel is horrific. Hockey practice times are God awful given the lack of ice sheets. 4:00am? Screw that!! If not for a very well known, very wealthy person (who's son is on the team) flying the team to Texas, North Dakota, Michigan, Canada, Europe on his dime.......it would almost be undoable for everybody but the well off.

He's a junior now and all of this had better pay off with a big fat scholarship to a prestigious school in the Northeast (at least that was the plan)...............or grants out the ying yang to attend Princeton. He's a wee bit small for a shot at the NHL but one never knows. He'd be playing juniors in Canada if he had more junk in his trunk. Best of luck to your daughter!!

[phil]

Hockey ... ughhhh. I played a little way back when. Ice times are brutal. We had to fill out an info sheet for the broadcasters to use for the PGF finals. While everyone was putting down an SEC school for colleges they want to attend, my DD put down Princeton or Norte Dame. Unless you're a pitcher or catcher, a scholarship will net you a 35% scholarship before an academic package. I might end up being a Walmart greeter until the retirement home won't let me out the front door anymore.

[jmcozenlaw]

Hockey ... ughhhh. I played a little way back when. Ice times are brutal. We had to fill out an info sheet for the broadcasters to use for the PGF finals. While everyone was putting down an SEC school for colleges they want to attend, my DD put down Princeton or Norte Dame. Unless you're a pitcher or catcher, a scholarship will net you a 35% scholarship before an academic package. I might end up being a Walmart greeter until the retirement home won't let me out the front door anymore.

Don't forget the Walmart cheer four times a day in the center of the store.........they fire people for non-compliance!!

[Knightstalker]

That is why I am so happy my daughter has her sights set on Annapolis.  I hope to get out of paying for college.  Right now she is in the High School marching band, playing fall league basketball for the high school JV and Varsity.  Her summer league JV team took second in the league and the Varsity won the league in a very competitive league.  The fall league teams are unbeaten and being coached by the local AAU team the Jersey Blaze who won a 16U title in Myrtle Beach back in July.  She is the teams female Dennis Rodman, defense and rebounding.  Then come spring she has decided to run track instead of play softball.

What really sucks is we have to travel to Rowan tomorrow morning for the US Bands NJ state championships with the marching band.  I hate Rowan.