MBB: Centennial Conference

[diplomaniac1]

Folks -

I was very impressed with Haverford's new athletic center and arena! It is a fry cry from the old one - much better lighting, more comfortable bleacher seats, a better shooting background, and better HVAC. Congrats on money well-spent.

Eric

[diplomaniac1]

R. W., Swish, Fritzdis, & Warren -

Here is one other item that I left out of my earlier post - quickness. I think that many Diplomats are faster than their opponents and have a quick first step. In my mind, they should utilize it more and drive or slash to the hoop more often. Other than Smith and Outerbridge who have consistently showed their quickness, this group would include Teschke, Leonard, Yost, and McCaffrey. I am still not sure about Hines' foot speed.

This also could be one of those years when the Centennial Conference is moe balanced from top to bottom!

Regards,

Eric

[cc_fan]

Question for FordFan -

Did Bass graduate last year?  I thought this would be his Senior season.

[FordFan]

Bass did not graduate, he is still a senior at the college.  He wanted to play intramural volleyball while in the basketball season and the coaches as well as the team did not think this was an appropriate amount of dedication to the team and as a result, they parted ways.

[Amish Allstar]

that is a very interesting move. Dont see that everyday

[r.w. mcnickels]

Today's major announcement of the new conference involving current CAC, MAC, and Skyline institutions will give a new look to the Mid-Atlantic Region.  The MAC and CAC will have to find new members and/or undergo restructuring with implications for NCAA automatic qualifiers and the like.  It appears that the Centennial's stability is the only sure thing in this region at the moment.

[swish]

Here's a look at some F&M history - to put things in a little perspective I give you the year, overall record, and starters by class.

1995-96 (29-3) 3sr.;1jr.;1soph.

1996-97 (11-13) 2sr.;2jr.;1fr.

1997-98 (14-11) 2sr.;1jr.;1soph.;1fr.

1998-99 (22-5) 1sr.;2jr.;1soph.;1fr. (the freshman was Alex Kraft)

1999-00 (25-7) 3sr.;2soph.

2000-01 (18-7) 2jr.;1soph.;2fr. (this team included Duran Searles,Steve Juskin, Cas Thomas and Alex Kraft- each became an all-american before their carreer was over)

2001-02 (24-5) 2sr.;1jr.;2soph. (this is the same team as the previous year)

2002-03 (25-5) 2sr.;3jr.

2003-04 (26-4) 3sr.;1jr.;1soph.

2004-05 (23-7) 2sr.;1jr.;2soph.

2005-06 (5-3) 1sr.;2jr.;2soph.

Besides this season there has been only one year in the last ten when F&M started only one senior. That other year they had Alex Kraft who was a freshman but I'm sure didn't play like one.

We are a young team. We will get better as the season progresses and should have a very good team next year. We have two very tough games coming up, assuming we beat Mitchell. Alvernia is 5-1 (losing only to Lafayette) and Lincoln who hammered Randolph-Macon and beat two very good D2 teams. Even if we lose those two games I still wouldn't panick.. But I think we will win at least one. Keep the faith. Like I've said it's a long season.

[Coach C]

Intramural volleyball?  See, now that is why so many coaches have drinking problems.

C

[Jin]

Hello,

I am relatively new to this, as I am just moved to America from Korea. However, as a fan of Haverford basketball, I wood just like to say, John Elefterakis is very good,  and Dave Nowacki is very good basketball player. Bucknell very is talented as well.  They beat Haverford by a lott tonight. But that is OK. John Eleftrtakis and Michael Mucci are very good.

-Jin

[Coach C]

Jin -

Yes - Coach Mucci does a great job with what he has at Haverford.  He is a classy guy running a classy program.

C

[cc_fan]

F&M plays Alvernia tonight.  That should be a great game.  Has anyone had a chance to see Alvernia play this year?  Judging from their record, they are good but I don't know too much about their players.

[Amish Allstar]

Dips beat Alvernia last night in a very sloppy game.  Everyone seemed out of sync (first game back from finals).  Big win coming off of a two game losing streak but not going to get it done.  Apparently Alvernia was missing one of its best players.  Any truth to that?

[r.w. mcnickels]

F&M rode a strong second half from Smith to beat Alvernia.  The Dips cut down on turnovers that have plagued them recently but still suffer from defensive lapses and poor shot selection.

Hines seems to be improving in the middle, at least offensively.  Teschke has lost his starting job.  He played only eight minutes, all in the first half.

I've never seen Elefterakis play (and therefore can't contribute to the earlier debate) but Outerbridge could certainly make better decisions late in games.  He's a good scorer, no question.  But he's not the type of floor general I think he could be.  He doesn't take command of the game when things are out of sync - like they were last night.  Maybe he will develop into a better leader on the floor, and maybe I'm being too hard because F&M has had a string of superb point guards.  But he's not there yet.

Alvernia didn't look like a team that gave Lafayette fits a few weeks ago.

[Amish Allstar]

I def. agree that F&M has had some exceptional PG's. and Outerbridge isnt there yet but I dont think you can overlook the fact that he has been the most consistent player F&M has had this year. Smith gets a lot of the publicity but has had a few bad games and has forced many shots as well as been in foul trouble a few times this year (probably trying to hard) but Outerbridge overall (O and D) has been the most consistent, while also playing the most minutes.

Happy Holidays to everyone.  Looking forward to after the New Year when the CC is in full stride.

[diplomaniac1]

Since he did not start the Alvernia game, Teschke apparently must be in GRob's "doghouse". Anyone know why? Please advise. Thanks. Happy Holidays to all.

Eric