MBB: New Jersey Athletic Conference

[Truck]

Ramapo suffered their second consecutive loss at the hands of Scranton on Saturday evening. The final was 70-67.

For the second straight game, Ramapo did not start the game looking like the team that was picked to finish first in the North Division. The team looked lethargic. I think they missed about 3 layups and shots that should have went down. The team shot 40% from the field and 2/9 from 3 Point range in the first stanza. The teams went into the half with Scranton up 33-30.

In the second half, Ramapo's play drastically improved. In the first part of the second half, Scranton outplayed the hosts, running up a double digit lead at one point. However, with about 10 minutes left, Ramapo really began to play with energy and effort. I was really proud at the way they battled back from this deficit to take a one point lead 64-63 with about 2 minutes left.

They didn't give up, but rather played excellent stifling defense to create turnovers and claw their way back into the game.

However, what confused me was Ramapo's unwillingness to foul Scranton as time was running out. Scranton got the ball off of a turnover with about 30 seconds left. Ramapo let the clock run down to 17 seconds before fouling. At this stage, with the shot-clock off and a one point deficit, the only option is to foul the player if a steal cannot be made.

The Scranton player that was fouled on 3 different occasions got the job done for his team, sinking 5/6 free throws. His only miss ensured that Ramapo had the final chance to tie the game, but with 0 timeouts remaining, the last second heave from 3/4 of the court fell way short.

Interesting to note:

Ramapo shot 56% from the field in the second half, but only 40% in the first. For the second game, the play in the first half has been rather lethargic and boring. A basketball game consists of two twenty minute halves, not 10 minutes in the second half.

Tim Wesley had 20 pts for Ramapo, mostly from layups and easy baskets. Omar took over in the second half, finishing with 14 for the game and dominating on the blocks. He was calling for the ball and with his ability and size, the defender's are hard pressed to find an answer for him.

The attendance was much better today, in terms of filling up the gym, but........ The Bill was filled mostly with Scranton fans who made the trip. I would say it was about a 50-50 split with Scranton/Ramapo fans and I was surrounded by these folks.

Nice to see Rob Anderson and John Wojcik at the game. Rob was really animated, urging the team on. I still remember that time he broke the backboard in the Midnight Madness when he was a player.

Anyway, Ramapo's next challenge will be on Tuesday against NYC Tech.

[Ralph Turner]

Montclair requiring GPS cell phones.

[Truck]

"What it does is allow students to have an extra pair or group of people watching over them when they're going from one location to another," Montclair Police Department Chief Paul Cell said.




And how old are these people we are talking about? 18-22 years old? This is an absurd invasion of privacy. These are adults, preparing for the "real world".

What is this big brother watching over you nonsense... And to make it mandatory where the students have to pay to have a nanny follow them around? Just absurd but maybe I'm out in left field on this.

[phil]

Uhhhh, Truck... as a father of two daughters all one need do is Google "campus murder" to find hundreds of reasons why it's a good idea. Having seen you on the court, I have no doubt that you would be able to handle yourself in a difficult situation. That's not necessarily the case with some kids who are 18 and out on their own the first time in their lives. While I'd be the first to say life is a journey where one must live by the decisions they make, as a parent I wouldn't mind a little extra peace of mind.

Now, if someone were savy enough at MSU, they'd launch a PR campaign and secure some corporate and private funding to make these phones free. But that would be asking a bit much from the higher-ups at MSU. Their legacy will be that monolithic parking garage which towers over the football field.

[Truck]

Phil,

I just don't see how a GPS system will help prevent a murder, rape, etc. How would this work? The article says that there is "student activated emergency GPS tracking." Would there be a button one can press to summon help?

Or does a phone call have to be made and then the campus police would be able to track the caller's location using the GPS? 

I just don't see how this can prevent a crime, unless one is able to physically get away from an attacker and make the call to public safety. In that case, it would still take several moments for officers to respond. I guess this is like a portable "blue light" system for students to carry. However, I doubt the effectiveness of it and I question the privacy implications of having students tracked via GPS.

[Knightstalker]

Caught the NJCU Farmingdale game last night.  The Knights looked decent and should improve.  A couple of freshmen, Derrick Miller and Tom McDermott are getting a lot of playing time and both look pretty good.  Miller has a nice shot and McDermott looks to be a good rebounder and defender.  Dana John broke the schools 3 point record last night and should go over 1000 points for his career before the semester ends.

Farmingdale has a pretty good team it appears.  Santana is the real deal, he does shoot his free throws from the middle of the circle.  Lipka and Shannon are both good players and all three are good shooters.  They have good depth and as the season progresses should play some good defense.  They used the press but they need to improve it if they expect to be effective later in the season.  I think the Rams should contend for the Skyline title.  They have done a very good job of building a competitive program and are getting players from good HS programs.

There was a crew there from ESPN filming some of the game for a piece they are doing on Dana John which I believe airs on December 11.  This is what a reliable source told me.

I was also told that Kevin Tucker should be back next semester.

[Lefty]

It was good seeing you at the game last night Knightstalker. 

In my opinion NJCU looked a lot better last night then they did against Curry a couple of weeks ago.  I agree with you about Miller.....he has a real nice touch from the outside and should really help this team.  The Gothic Knights are a small team this year but they sure can run the floor.  They will create match-up issues for bigger teams that don't run.

I am glad to see another hoops season has started and can't wait to see how the NJAC shakes out this year.       

[Rhodes Scholar]

I watched the Richard Stockton @ Baruch game yesterday, which the Ospreys won 67-65. This game was close the entire way and could have gone either way.

Stockton is led by Jon Greene, Jerome Hubbard and Fran Kelly. Greene has a good low post game and he can rebound. Hubbard can hit NBA threes and Kelly is also a solid three-point threat.

Stockton's main weakness is a lack of size. The Ospreys also have less talent then they've had in the past and aren't particularly deep.

[njlincolnlion]

MSU Red Hawks Fans:

I see freshman James Williams is getting alot of playing time for the Red Hawks.  I saw him play a few times in high school and he's a good solid player, and a great young man.  His mother was a neighbor of mine growing up, and his parents have done a wonderful job in raising him.

Good luck this season Red Hawks.

[Knightstalker]

Today let us remember our Soldiers and Sailors who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor and those who survived the attack in our prayers and thoughts.

[Truck]

Congrats to Ahmad Hassan who garners Rookie of the Week honors for his stellar play for the Roadrunners.

Against Salisbury, kid shot 8-10 from the field (2-2 from 3) for 22 pts.

Good to see Ramapo run off wins against NYC Tech, Salisbury and Rutgers Camden, scoring 91, 91 and 87 points in those victories.

To me, the point production is really what was lacking from the 2 games I went to - against John Jay and Scranton.

I vividly remember the teams of years past when Ramapo would lead the NJAC with about 85 points per contest. They would run the opponents out of the gym.

And in the two losses that I witnessed, the offense did not click - scoring 75 one game and 67 in the other. Good to see Ramapo playing better offensively. I am optimistic this will continue.

[Knightstalker]

Just got back from the NJCU John Jay game.  NJCU pulled the game out in the end.  John Jay is a scrappy team that did not let up and played hard the entire game.  I would like to see how Hakeen Assad plays with two good legs, he had a very heavy wrap on his left knee (I believe it was the left) but still had a great game.

NJCU was still a little sloppy but better than against Farmingdale, Mark Brown is playing a more up tempo style than his father, and the players are adjusting to it.  DJ took over the game at the end and was the difference.

The NJCU student fans are wearing green and yellow wigs and cami t-shirts that say Knight Stalkers. 

[Knightstalker]

DJ got 1000 against St Joes, I missed that game, just followed it on live stats.  Go to www.njcugothicknights.com and Ira has a story posted for the game, or you can probably link to the story from the scoreboard page here.

[CityD3]

john is a great story but he is NJCU's whole team. They gotta get more production form somebody else. After a close call with small college St. Joe's (a freshman scored 32 on them), they were losing  to john jay after the first half this week. It may a long season knight,  especially once conference play starts.

[Knightstalker]

The Knights already took out Rowan who is one of the favorites this season.  I did not see the Rowan game but a couple of reliable people said they played their best game against them.  The Knights also played down to their competition the last few years.  Hopefully that will change.