MBB: Centennial Conference

[diplomaniac1]

Folks -

The following is a link to the F&M website's coverage of The Sporting News article and rankings that Reserved Seat referenced earlier. Enjoy.

http://www.godiplomats.com/sports/m-baskbl/2010-11/releases/201009295skrdh

Regards to all.

Eric

[Swat Fan #1]

Wow this is really good stuff! Congrats to a very deserving team! It is only September, but I won't be surprised if they didn't win it all. I predict an undefeated conference season for them.

[Gabriel]

Wow this is really good stuff! Congrats to a very deserving team! It is only September, but I won't be surprised is they didn't win it all. I predict an undefeated conference season for them.

Swat Dad,

They will be really good but I don't think they will run the conference schedule this year. They will be ambushed somewhere during the season.  There will be no "gimmes" in the Centennial Conference this year.  All victories will need to be earned.

The one player they lost (Brooks) was a very good and will be missed.  Has anyone heard about their recruits?  You Dips fans have really been quiet.  Maybe you don't know. 

[diplomaniac1]

Swat Dad -

Thanks for the kind compliments. However, I have to say that I agree with Gabriel. I don't think the Dips will win all 18 in-conference games, which is a very tough task! There is always a unexpected team that will jump up and bite you. You also can never tell when injuries or illnesses will impact a team. But, taking care of business and sweeping the Conference is the only way that the Dips can assure themselves of some home tournament games, in spite of the weakness of their non-conference schedule.

Eric

[diplomaniac1]

Gabriel -

I do agree with you. Especially, given the familiarity that Conference teams have with each other! Most opposing coaches know GRob's preferred offensive style pretty well.

I also agree that Brooks will be missed. In addition to his scoring and tenacious defense, he did alot of little things for the squad and was one of its emotional leaders.

As far as recruits go, there are just alot of rumours. As far as I can tell, nobody outside of the team and the coaching staff is knowledgable about new recruits and they are not talking! GRob always plays this close to the vest and the Athletic Department always delays posting the roster. It is usually the last thing to go up on the website. That is why most of us Dip fans have been fairly quiet. However, I would expect us to get busy now that the season is less than seven weeks away.

I don't know about you, but I can't hardly wait for the season to begin. Regards,

Eric

[Gabriel]

Eric,

I agree.  Let the games begin.

[diplomaniac1]

Fellow Diplomat Fans -

The following is a link to an interesting article about a former assistant coach at F&M.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sixerville/76ers_Add_Tom_Sterner_As_A_Scout.html

It is good to see him continue to work in the NBA. However, he sure has his work cut out for him with the Sixers. Enjoy.

Regards to all. Bring on the DIII season!

Eric

[Swat Fan #1]

Brooks was more than just a good defender, I feel he was the best Division III defender I have ever seen! Many a good conversation this past summer was how good Brooks was. I know that there are let downs and off nights, but I stand by my prediction they will run the table in the conference.

[Gabriel]

Brooks was more than just a good defender, I feel he was the best Division III defender I have ever seen! Many a good conversation this past summer was how good Brooks was. I know that there are let downs and off nights, but I stand by my prediction they will run the table in the conference.

Swat Dad,

I agree that Brooks was more valuable to the team than many fans realize.  He made some absolutely amazing plays (defensively and rebounding) against Ursinus at F&M.  Milligan is a very good perimeter defender but Brooks was better.

Too hard to run the table.  Ursinus did it in 2003 when the league was still divided, not as balanced and there were only 13 conference games.  Ursinus did it again in 2008 but they were lucky a couple of times---especially against Swat at Swat when they came from far behind on the shoulders of Nick Shattuck.  Lee Wimberly's game planning will suck the life out of more than one team in games at Swat this year and we all know how tough it is to play on the road in the Centennial.  To beat the Dips this year, teams will have to control the boards and run.

[r.w. mcnickels]

It is only September, but I won't be surprised if they didn't win it all. I predict an undefeated conference season for them.

I agree with Eric and Gabriel that the Dips won't run the table. A couple of losses in the conference would not surprise me. The CC is much stronger than it was when the Dips ran the conference table in 1993-94 and 1994-95. The double round-robin also makes it more difficult for teams to go unblemished, as Gabriel said.

F&M still doesn't have a reliable 3-point threat. They should be the CC favorite and highly ranked in the nation, but I think they need a perimeter threat to be a national title contender.

I agree that Brooks was more valuable to the team than many fans realize.  He made some absolutely amazing plays (defensively and rebounding) against Ursinus at F&M.  Milligan is a very good perimeter defender but Brooks was better.

Brooks will be missed at both ends of the court. To me, the most exciting play of last season was his one-handed dunk off the opening tip in a very raucous Helfferich Hall that set the tone for the game. It will be interesting to see who becomes the emotional leader of the Dips this year.

[Gabriel]

r.w.

I saw that dunk and agree but remember the over the backboard rebound in the game at F&M.  Wow!!!

[diplomaniac1]

One final thought on how difficult it is to win-out in the Centennial Conference. The "Mule Barn" is a very tough place to play and more times than not has been very unkind to superior Diplomat squads that made it to the Final Four, even when both schools were in the old MAC division structure!

Eric

[diplomaniac1]

Fellow Diplomat Fans -

For those of you who haven't seen this article on the Athletics page of the F&M website, the following is a link to an article on the Dips' trip overseas during late August.

http://www.godiplomats.com/sports/m-baskbl/2010-11/releases/20101001o9x59b

It is particularly intersting because the bulk of the content was written by Mike Baker and James McNally. Their writing shows that they are good students in addition to being very good athletes. Way to go guys! Thanks for sharing.

Regards to all.

Eric

[Reserved Seat]

Brooks will certainly be missed.  He was a very emotional player,  and it was infectious for the whole team.
There's a lot of chemistry with current seniors, and they are excited about the season.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of excitement about the freshmen, but a few names are bouncing around as possible contributors off the bench.
The team seems to be looking forward to going back to St. Mary's and out to St. Louis.
Still trying to figure out how to get there.

[D.B. Cooper]

Hello. It looks like F&M's New Years Event is set. Old Westbury (22 wins last year) vs. F&M (Elite 8 last year) plus Wesley (19 wins & an at large NCAA appearance) against Ithaca (20 wins & an ECAC title). Looks like a talented group.