MBB: Centennial Conference

ddm1027 · November 04, 2009, 12:54:17 AM

F&M seems to have a young team almost every year. They have only one senior again this season. They have struggled with players leaving, especially given the relative strength of the program over time. I guess if you are not playing a lot, G-Rob would probably be a lot to handle.
This season should be a good one in the CC, although I think the league as a whole is a bit down this year. I think games will be closer this year than in most years so road wins will be big. Does anyone know when the SID/coach preseason poll comes out? Outside of F&M, it seems hard to predict. Powers should be enough to keep GC in the picture. McDaniel returns some solid talent as does Ursinus, so they should be in the playoff hunt. I think Haverford could be down after losing some quality players but I think Mucci probably does more with the talent he has than any coach in the conference. JHU returns most of their key players as well and Swarthmore has 4 of 5 starters from last year. New coaches always make things interesting as well. Should be a good season although I'm not envisioning sending two teams to the tourney this year (unless F&M has a strong record and is upset in the CC tourney).

division3 · November 06, 2009, 12:43:02 AM

F&M seems pretty loaded this year and alot of the players have played together in high school (a don bosco reunion). Ursinus also seems strong, with Muhlenberg following. The rest seems up for grabs with surprises bound to happen throughout the conference. F&M seems to be way ahead of all other teams with Ursinus maybe the only team even in the vicinity. There are at least 5 teams whose seasons are very hard to predict. I am looking forward to the action.

ddm1027 · November 07, 2009, 12:07:52 AM

Do people really see Ursinus being a threat to win the conference this year? They had a losing season in conference and overall last year and lost their best player in addition to another double figures scorer. I think they'll contend for the playoffs and probably make them (having Hilton healthy all season will help) but as good a coach as I think Small is, it is likely wishful thinking for nearly as many people to pick them in the poll to win this year as F&M.
Also, is there any indication of why so many Don Bosco guys are going to F&M? That high school is a force athletically (it actually has one of SI's top high school athletic departments) and it is a bit surprising for a guy like Milligan (who was a 1000 point scorer there) to go D3.

r.w. mcnickels · November 07, 2009, 10:21:29 AM

Quote from: ddm1027 on November 07, 2009, 12:07:52 AM
Do people really see Ursinus being a threat to win the conference this year?

I think the backcourt of Hilton and Cousart will keep Ursinus in the mix. Maybe they won't win the regular season title, but I could see them giving F&M some trouble if the threes are dropping, and if Janowski is as good as advertised.

Quote from: Reserved Seat on November 03, 2009, 09:29:33 PM
F&M's new roster posted today. A lot of changes for a team that had only one senior last year.
Six freshmen are listed on the roster including two 6'8" freshmen. From the looks of things, F&M should be as talented as last year with more height off the bench. Repeating last year's accomplishments will be difficult, but should be possible. It sound like several teams have also made significant improvements. It will be interesting to see how the year turns out.

Reserved-

Have you heard if either of the 6-8 freshmen can play? If they get contributions from one of them, and either Beckford or Valencia turn out to be good, they should have a solid eight- or nine-man rotation.

ddm1027 · November 07, 2009, 10:56:22 AM

Beckford will likely contribute. From what I have heard he is a big, athletic guard who had a leg injury keep him out of some games as a senior. He won't have the impact Milligan did, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was in the rotation quickly.

I will be interested to see Gyokchyan play. He did a post-grad year, so physically he should be ready to play. Additionally, he has experience playing with Lebanon's U-18 team.

I wish F&M's schedule was a little stronger outside of the CC so we could see earlier on how they stack up. They should swap with Haverford who could have a tough time playing D1 Elon and Middlebury and Catholic, who are just outside the D3 top 25.

Gabriel · November 07, 2009, 02:49:39 PM

Quote from: ddm1027 on November 07, 2009, 12:07:52 AM
Do people really see Ursinus being a threat to win the conference this year? They had a losing season in conference and overall last year and lost their best player in addition to another double figures scorer. I think they'll contend for the playoffs and probably make them (having Hilton healthy all season will help) but as good a coach as I think Small is, it is likely wishful thinking for nearly as many people to pick them in the poll to win this year as F&M.
Also, is there any indication of why so many Don Bosco guys are going to F&M? That high school is a force athletically (it actually has one of SI's top high school athletic departments) and it is a bit surprising for a guy like Milligan (who was a 1000 point scorer there) to go D3.
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ddm1027,

We shall see how good the Bears are at the Hamilton tournament on Nov 20-21. They open against a good Keystone College team and, hopefully, will play a very good Hamilton team for the title. Coach Small does not like easy non conference opponents and seems to prefer to play on the road to toughen the team up for the conference schedule.

Ursinus will be a contender this year, make no mistake about it. Last year was an aberration for the Bears. First---their top recruit did not make the admissions cut even though he was accepted by both Brandeis and John Carroll. He was the post player they needed. Then they lost two starters to injuries during the preseason---Matt Hilton and Matt Howell. Howell did play some games but was not effective because and could not practice after December. His injury turned out to be a micro fracture of the knee cap, I believe. He had surgery in June and may not play until late in the season, if at all. He is not listed on their roster. I think you referred to John Noonan as their best player last year. He was good offensively, but Matt Hilton was their best player and will be again this year and next year.

Ursinus has an excellent nucleus returning this year in Cousart, Hilton, Page and McGarvey together with sophomores Walther, Rapczynski, Meindl and Niewiadomski. I understand that the three freshmen are the real deal. The two bigs, Janowski and Ward will likely start and guard Donahue will be in the rotation.
With only a 12 man roster, look for all to play in the preseason to see who will emerge as the top 8 or 9. Look for them to be in the hunt all season long.

r.w. mcnickels · November 08, 2009, 08:45:03 AM

Quote from: ddm1027 on November 07, 2009, 10:56:22 AM
I wish F&M's schedule was a little stronger outside of the CC so we could see earlier on how they stack up. They should swap with Haverford who could have a tough time playing D1 Elon and Middlebury and Catholic, who are just outside the D3 top 25.

I agree. Since the CC went to a double round robin—limiting non-conference games to seven— I've been thinking that F&M should beef up its schedule by dropping one of its two home tournaments and traveling to a difficult tournament (like the Dips did on occasion in the past when they had more non-conference games).

But since that probably won't happen, they should dedicate the other three games to playing very strong teams on the road. Maybe one team each from the ODAC, NJAC and NESCAC. The CC does an excellent job preparing its best teams for postseason play, but I do think F&M could benefit from a better non-conference slate.

Reserved Seat · November 08, 2009, 05:06:42 PM

r.w. mcnickels,
From what I hear, Hayk has a game similar to McNally's. The players seem to be very high on his play.
Henry, the other 6'8" player, has the reputation of being very athletic but probably a year away.
I might be able to get a better impression after tonight's intra-squad scrimmage.

Gabriel,
I agree with your comments. Last year was a bad fluke. I expect them to be much better this year.

ddm1027,
I think that poll is still from last year.

division3 · November 09, 2009, 10:17:09 AM

elon is huge size wise...i think haverford will definitely have a very hard time with them. haverford beat catholic last year and i am not sure middlebury is as strong this year without rudin...don't know who is running the point for them. but f&m should definitely test themselves...the conference (CC) doesn't seem that challenging for them. i think that milligan opened the gates at don bosco and now his friends are coming to join the party...big fish in a small pond to some degree. low D1 or D2 players playing D3. winning is more fun, safe to say, and not many kids play together in college who played in high school, so f&m got something good going on now. they are deep.

ddm1027 · November 09, 2009, 12:08:07 PM

Reserved Seat, what were your impressions of the new guys at F&M in that scrimmage? Will they be ready to be in the rotation?

Gabriel · November 09, 2009, 04:34:29 PM

Quote from: division3 on November 09, 2009, 10:17:09 AM
elon is huge size wise...i think haverford will definitely have a very hard time with them. haverford beat catholic last year and i am not sure middlebury is as strong this year without rudin...don't know who is running the point for them. but f&m should definitely test themselves...the conference (CC) doesn't seem that challenging for them. i think that milligan opened the gates at don bosco and now his friends are coming to join the party...big fish in a small pond to some degree. low D1 or D2 players playing D3. winning is more fun, safe to say, and not many kids play together in college who played in high school, so f&m got something good going on now. they are deep.

commish · November 09, 2009, 05:36:04 PM

The Centennial Conference men's basketball coaches will hold an interactive preseason "chat" on Tuesday, Nov. 17, beginning at 1 p.m. EST. Each of the 10 head coaches will be available to answer questions from the moderator and from the "audience." Join us LIVE on the 17th at at http://centennialconference.blogspot.com or send your question to us in advance. We'll try to get it in front of your favorite coach.

Reserved Seat · November 09, 2009, 05:41:39 PM

It's hard to judge talent while watching an intra-squad, but F&M's starters looked ready to go, and the subs will give F&M much more depth. The freshmen looked decent-all of them.
F&M scrimmages Messiah on Thursday, and then prepares for their opening tournament.
F&M opens with City Tech(12-13 last year), and then plays one of the teams in the first game between St. Lawrence(22-7) or Gwynedd-Mercy(23-9). Sounds like it should be a good eary test for F&M.

Gabriel · November 09, 2009, 09:23:00 PM

division 3,

From your posting, you seem to think F&M is bored with the ease that they breeze through the CC. Where are you coming from? F&M has not won the conference since 2004 and only twice since 2000. They were 14-4 last year, good but not great. Many of their conference wins were very competitive. Don't get me wrong, F&M was good last year----but, not great. You lose sight of the fact that, since 2000, F&M has won the conference twice, Gettysburg three times and Ursinus four times. Don't anoint F&M anything yet, they still have to earn it. I thing the CC will be very competitive this year and don't be surprised by anything. F&M is the team to beat for sure but I don't think it will be a cakewalk for them.

ddm1027 · November 09, 2009, 10:12:12 PM

Reserved Seat, I think you are right that F&M will have some solid tests and didn't do badly scheduling the opponents themselves. The other thing F&M does that is smart is scheduling teams from the region. St. Mary's, Susquehanna and probably Gwynedd-Mercy, who lost its best player but will be solid and deep, should all be good games. Brooklyn could be the best team they will play (they are ranked 10th in the preseason by Sporting News).

City Tech, Lebanon Valley, and Juniata are all sub .500 though. Regardless, the schedule itself is fine, but I still don't think it is the best way to prepare for a tough season and post-season, particularly because of all the non-conference games this year only sub .500 Lebanon Valley will be away from Lancaster. Hosting 2 tournaments a year is very rare and makes it hard for F&M to get any quality road tests outside of the CC.