MBB: New Jersey Athletic Conference

[mean]

Truck,

Pony Wilson
ROY
Defensive Player of the Year
John K. Adams

My choices:


Pony Wilson

Top Contenders:
Matt Byrnes
Scott Findley
Winner:
Gian Paul Gonzalez

Y? He was my preseason pick. Besides, he actually did live up to all the hype I gave him. He didn't have much support as everyone else, but he walked the walk and talked the talk on the court. Just about every team had a fit going up against Gonzalez.

Note to Truck: Were you rooting for Wilson to get POY? HAHA


ROY

Top Contenders:
Chadd Barnes

Winner:

Wayne Smalls


Why? Most consistant freshman. And maybe a future POY.


Defensive Player of the Year

Top Contenders:
Devin Davis

Winner:
Quameir Harding

Why? This is a no-brainer! nation's leader. And like the Roadrunners that recieved the award the previous years(Whitted and myself,Wright), he has over 100 steals this season. Not too many done such.


Coach K

Top Contenders

Jose Rebimbas (WPU)

Winner:

Chuck McBreen
Y? Because he simply is!


I ask that you not criticize my picks but instead offer your own predictions for who will get each of these awards.  Let's keep this civil... 

Report to moderator    Logged 

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2004-05 NJAC Champions... Back to do it again this year

"Commitment, Hard Work, No Shortcuts"

Next Game: 2/25 vs. WPU
Champs In: 1

[mean]

I went Down to Stockton.
It was another great battle between the two schools.
What a rivalry this continues to be. Im just happy the Roadrunners came out on top. I got a serious headache from this one. And I still have to get ready for practice in the morning. Good Night!!!
I don't even want to talk about it!

[Truck]

Amin,

Your picks look very similar to mine. It seems we agree not only on the top contenders for each award but also for the winners.

As for POY, I laid out who the most deserving players were and who should get the award. Ideally, I would to see a Ramapo sweep.

I still remember that magical 17-1 season (2002-03). Truck was POY, Tennyson was Defensive Player of the Year and Chuck won coach of the year. 3 out of 4 awards went to Ramapo. 

I would like to once again see Ramapo players dominate the season awards.

[jpl56]

who wins championship game

[Knightstalker]

The team that scores the most points.

[Rhodes Scholar]

2006 NJAC Championship Game

#1 William Paterson vs. #6 Ramapo
Ramapo advanced to the finals by beating NJCU, 89-78, and Richard Stockton, 57-54. Both games were on the road. William Paterson enters the final courtesy of a 67-61 home-court victory over Rutgers-Newark. WPU beat Ramapo twice during the regular season. The Pioneers won, 54-51, in Mahwah and 73-71 in Wayne.
Including tournament games, Ramapo is 11-9 vs. NJAC teams. They are 4-5 at home and 7-4 on the road. Currently WPU is 14-5 vs. conference foes. They are 8-2 at home and 6-3 on the road.
Ramapo has more talent, athleticism and depth than WPU. The Pioneers have more size and may have better outside shooters. Ramapo has been very inconsistent, but they have shown the ability to win on the road and to come from behind. WPU has been solid all year and has been especially tough at home. The Roadrunners have underachieved and the Pioneers have overachieved. Rebimbas has done a very good job with less-than-stellar talent.

[phil]

Knightstalker, Truck, etc.
As far as NJAC POY is concerned – Findlay was the only player in the NJAC to average a double-double. Gonzales scored five more points per game than Findlay, but Findlay led the NJAC in rebounding, was 3rd in scoring and 4th in steals and blocked shots – the latter two categories Gonzales wasn't even in the top ten. Plus Findlay was playing on a squad picked to finish 9th in the NJAC. With two games to go TCNJ was tied for first in the conference. With this in mind (plus Montclair's finish in conference), I'd definitely give Findlay POY. There's no doubt as to his importance to the team.

As for Coach of the year – I'd grudgingly give this one to Castaldo (as COY is voted on prior to the post season). Although, just once I'd like to see a Castaldo led program finish strong and take some momentum to the post season and into an NCAA tournament (That's zero NCAA wins and one NJAC championship for TCNJ in 16 seasons!). I say "grudgingly" because you just can't have a seven game win streak where you beat the likes of Ramapo, Paterson, Stockton, Newark, Kean, Rowan and Camden all by double-digits – and then blow back-to-back-to-back games against Montclair, NJCU and Newark to end your season (the Newark loss being an absolute debacle).

But in the end you've got to give Coach of the Year to the guy who had the team picked to finish 9th in the conference – tied for first going into the last week of the season!

The only problem now is that TCNJ's cupboard is bare and I can see them having the 6 or 7 win season in '07 that I expected this year – unless some recruiting miracles happen.

...and someone might also explain to me how TCNJ managed to complete five seasons without an NJAC tourney win when they had the services of the #2 (Findlay) and #3 (Derick Grant) all-time scorers in TCNJ bball history!

[Truck]

Phil,

I agree with you. Findley is the best overall player in the NJAC and that is why I picked him to be Player of the Year. Other people are only concerned with a player's point per game average but do not see what a contribution Findley made and how much better he was than anyone else.


To all,

Just a reminder. Game time today 2PM. I would get there early, as I will do, to ensure a good seat.

Todd Lowber Update... He is off the team roster

[Truck]

Montclair State University senior forward Gian Paul Gonzalez has been named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year for the 2005-06 season.

A three-time all-conference selection, Gonzalez currently leads the NJAC and ranks fourth In NCAA Division III in scoring with an average of 27.0 points per game. A four-time NJAC Player of the Week selection, he also currently ranks first in minutes played per game (37.61), second in free throw percentage (.883), third in field goal percentage (.573), and fourth in rebounding (8.9 per game). In addition to his NJAC Player of the Year honor, Gonzalez was recently named a finalist for the Jostens Trophy, awarded to an Outstanding Division III player for excellence in basketball, academics and community service.

Rutgers University-Newark freshman guard Chadd Barnes and Rutgers University-Camden freshman guard Wayne Smalls were named conference Co-Rookies of the Year.

A two-time NJAC Rookie of the Week selection, Barnes currently ranks 20th in the league in scoring with an average of 11.9 points per game. In addition, he ranks 12th in the conference in three-point field goals made per game (1.59), and 15th in three-point field goal percentage (.328).

Smalls was selected as the NJAC Rookie of the Week seven times during the season. He currently ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (17.5 per game), third in free throw percentage (.876), seventh in three-point field goals made per game (1.96), eighth in minutes played (32.54 per game), and 12th in steals (1.63).

Rutgers University-Newark senior guard Justin Carter was named the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year. Currently 12th in the NJAC in scoring with an average of 13.6 points per game, he also statistically ranks in the league's Top 10 in field goal percentage (.517), assists (3.30), free throw percentage (.770), and assist-to-turnover ration (1.27). Defensively, Carter is a main contributor to a Scarlet Raider unit that ranks second in the NJAC in scoring defense (61.6) and third in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.411).

The College of New Jersey head coach John Castaldo was named NJAC Coach of the Year by his peers after guiding the Lions to a 17-9 overall record and an 11-7 conference mark. Picked to finish ninth in the coaches' preseason poll, he guided TCNJ to a fourth-place finish and a berth in the NJAC Tournament. In 13 seasons at the helm of the Lion program, Castaldo has compiled a career mark of 188-135.

[Truck]

Congratulations to Ahmad Mosby for making the 2nd Team All-Conference and to Antoine Pryor for making Honorable mention. Harding was snubbed in the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Here are the awards and the all-conference teams:


"PONY WILSON" PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Gian Paul Gonzalez, Montclair State

C0-ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:       
Chadd Barnes, Rutgers-Newark & Wayne Smalls, Rutgers-Camden

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:       
Justin Carter, Rutgers-Newark

"JOHN K. ADAMS" COACH OF THE YEAR:       
John Castaldo, TCNJ


FIRST TEAM

Matt Byrnes    
Scott Findlay
Gian Paul Gonzalez
Luis Martinez    
Mark Washington

SECOND TEAM

Justin Carter    
BJ Hamby
Jermont Horton
Ahmad Mosby    
Tobias Smith    

HONORABLE MENTION

Jonathan Arthur    
Armet Coles
Matt Diamond    
Kevin Holmes    
Antoine Pryor    
Miguel Rodriguez    
Wayne Smalls    


http://njac.net/mbballconf2006.htm

[coach_mcbreen]

Truck and Amin,  Thank you  and all the Ramapo fans for all their support throughout the play-off run. It has been my most frustrating and most  difficult season  in twenty years of  coaching.  I really appreciate the both of you and a select few others others that stood by me and the program through the difficult times because their were plenty of people that jumped off the Titanic quickly when they thought the ship was sinking. It is a credit to the remaing 13 players, that they were able to pull together and truly believed they could win the Tournament witout their 2 leading scorers.  Then to go out and  beat a quality NJCU and Stockton team on the road and advance to the NJAC Championship was just simply amazing. I'm sorry we fell just a bit short, but I have to give a ton  of credit to Coach Rebimbas and the Wm. Paterson players for doing a tremendous job all season long and taking care of business yesterday in the Championship!  I wish them the best of luck in the NCAA Tournament.  Now back to Ramapo.  Amin, we truly missed your great ability as a player this year, but more importantly we missed yours and Derrick's (Holley) leadership in keeping a certain few Knuckleheads in line. In order to win Championships, you definitely need to be talented and somewhat lucky, but most of all you need great leadership and "Chemistry" from your best players. We were definitely lacking in this area.  I would like to thank all my former players who were in attendance in big #'s to support the Roadrunners yesterday. A special thanks goes out to Coach Rich Martin and the Ramapo Baseball Program for bringing down bus loads of players to support us at all 3 road play-off games. We have 11 of 13 players returning and 1 player in college sitting out this year. Hopefully, we can add a few quality recruits and get back into the NJAC Championship next year for the 4th time in 5 years. Good luck to all 59 NCAA Tournament teams.  D3 Hoops, Great job again as always and all the best covering the NCAA'S. Thanks for all that you do for D3 Basketball!! Thanks again to all the people who continue to support me and the Ramapo Basketball Program.  I can guarantee I will be working extremely hard from  today thru next season to try and bring  the  NJAC Championship back to Ramapo next year.  Go Roadrunners!!!!!

[mean]

Phil, "As far as NJAC POY is concerned – Findlay was the only player in the NJAC to average a double-double. Gonzales scored five more points per game than Findlay, but Findlay led the NJAC in rebounding, was 3rd in scoring and 4th in steals and blocked shots – the latter two categories Gonzales wasn't even in the top ten. Plus Findlay was playing on a squad picked to finish 9th in the NJAC. With two games to go TCNJ was tied for first in the conference. With this in mind (plus Montclair's finish in conference), I'd definitely give Findlay POY. There's no doubt as to his importance to the team."
You have a very good arguement. And this is very familiar to me because I was third in scoring, and besides stats such as 3 point % and 3 pointers taken, I was ahead of many players in every other stat. Head to head, as far as the top 5 players of last season, I lead in majority of the stats. So, I guess the POY only has to score points and what he does for his team as far as winning games don't count. But the players don't make the decision, and I'd never take nothing away from someone who has worked to put themselves in a position to be recognized in such matter. They all have my respect. I chose Gonzalez because I felt he was more consistant than Findlay, although Scott averaged more rebounds. haha. Maybe I was even blinded by all the points. Hmmm.. lol Head to head Findlay is ahead of Gonzalez in the statistical area and he has more wins as well. All this snubbing leaves a very bad taste in guys mouths after a season in the NJAC. Both are great players and I enjoyed playing against them last season and watching them this year. They both elevated their games every season. If it was up to me, this season would have ended in Co-P's-O-the-Y!
Hopefully, this years All-Star game will be exciting as last years! NJAC should win it again.
  Congrats to Carter for Defensive POY! Justin Carter is a great defensive player, but Quamir Harding definately got snubbed! I feel bad for the guy. I want to know who didn't choose him.
 

[Knightstalker]

ECAC Selections

[Knightstalker]

Mean, Truck and Coach McBreen are you all ready for NJCU Ramapo IV?  ECAC Metro pairings:
2006 ECAC Division III Men's Metro Basketball Championship
No. 1 Manhattanville College (19-9)
No. 2 Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (17-9)
No. 3 New Jersey City University (17-9)
No. 4 Mount Saint Mary College (21-6)
No. 5 Rutgers, Newark (18-9)
No. 6 Ramapo College of New Jersey (18-10)
No. 7 Lehman College (14-12)
No. 8 Kean University (13-12)

Quarterfinal Games - Wednesday, March 1
Game #1 - No. 1 Manhattanville hosts No. 8 Kean, 7 p.m.
Game #2 - No. 2 Richard Stockton hosts No. 7 Lehman, 7 p.m.
Game #3 - No. 3 New Jersey City hosts No. 6 Ramapo, 7 p.m.
Game #4 – No. 4 Mount Saint Mary hosts No. 5 Rutgers, Newark, 7 p.m.

Semifinals – Friday, March 3 (hosted by highest remaining seeds)
Game #5 - Winner of Game #1 plays Winner of Game #4, 7 p.m.
Game #6 - Winner of Game #2 plays Winner of Game #3, 7 p.m.

Championship - Saturday, March 4, 7 p.m. (hosted by highest remaining seed)
Semifinal winners

NJAC teams have five of the eight spots.

[Truck]

Ira,

Will you be doing the LiveStats for the ECAC game on Wednesday?


Mean,

Gian-Paul is a great player and I am not taking anything away from him. He carried his team, breaking every school and NJAC record in the process. As you wrote, Findley was ahead of Gian-Paul in almost every statistical category - except for points.  He also took his team into the playoffs. This is similar to what happened last year. You were the real Player of the Year and I feel that both you and now Scott, and also Quameir were snubbed in the season-ending awards.

Chuck,

Good luck in the ECAC tournament. You are bringing the championship back to Ramapo!!!

Everyone else,

How interesting the world of basketball is... We are getting a NJCU-Ramapo rematch, in Jersey City. Then, we can also get another rematch - Ramapo vs. Richard Stockton, again down in Pomona. Hopefully, these two games (if they happen) will bring the same result for Ramapo.