MBB: Centennial Conference

Gabriel · December 03, 2012, 08:11:26 AM

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/11/27/ursinus-senior-ward-continues-to-reach-for-the-stars/

Interesting story about Jon Ward. I've known Jon for 4 years----he is a terrific young man and will excel at whatever he chooses to do. Isn't Division III great!

Reserved Seat · December 03, 2012, 09:39:47 AM

Interesting article.

Gabriel · December 04, 2012, 05:15:25 PM

The Ursinus Bears have played two top ten teams already in #3 Middlebury and #8 F&M. The Bears lost to both teams by 5 points each in closely contested game. Several Bears fans believe both teams are very good with the edge going to F&M due to superior defense and post play. Middlebury has better offensive guard play and perimeter scoring.

Bears have lost four games so far to teams with a combined 19-2 record. Tough early schedule I would say.

centfan · December 05, 2012, 10:38:30 AM

gabriel
definitely some good challenges for ursinus pre-season that they did well with. they still don't have the winners mentality yet, understandable after several down years.i think they will have trouble with f&m (already have),dickinson and possibly muhlenberg. f&m with hayk, other size and porter (athletic, defender). dickinson they have tough matchups with inside with wixted and they dont match up well at the point either. mules have better guards but not much on the inside it seems.haverford got the bears pretty bad last year...that could be pretty even this year. swat is playing better and scoring alot of points. gettysburg seems a bit week but zurn is one of the best in the conference. if you can limit him, i think the bears will win. i think it will be a fight for the 4th and 5th spots in the playoffs once again. it is early.

Gabriel · December 05, 2012, 11:36:52 AM

Centfan,

Agree with most of what you said. Bears chances this year had a set back when they lost Reggie Kamara. Last year he limited Hayk to 10 points in two games with his size and aggressive play. 6'9" 245 pounds of muscle is though to replace. Ward and Janowski are not physical and that showed against Hayk a few days ago. Regarding a winner's mentality, freshmen Draper, Wonderling and Norton, all have it and that seems to be rubbing off on the team----but, they are still freshmen. With the loss of both Walker and Kamara from this year's sophomore class and with Trey Harry still recovering from a knee injury, our depth is not what it should be. You may not have noticed, point guard Jesse Krasna is quietly have an excellent season. Hopefully, as the season moves on, he won't have to dribble quite so much.

Reserved Seat · December 05, 2012, 09:33:05 PM

F&M eked out a three point win over a tenacious Gettysburg. Gettysburg played the best defense so far against F&M without being physical like F&M's previous opponents. Gettysburg showed you can play defense without intentionally mugging the opponent. Gettysburg should/would have won the game with a better performance from the foul line. Gettysburg was only 6 for 15 from the line, while surprisingly F&M was 13 for 15. Porter lead F&M's scoring with 19 points matched by Gettysburg's Zurin 19.(correction-Porter was only credited with 18) Gyokchyan added 14 points including the key 3-pointer as time fan under 30 seconds. Playing outstanding defense on the last shot, Salandra altered the shot selection causing the Gettysburg to double clutch before trying again only to have it blocked by Beckford at the buzzer. Both teams played great defense with Gettysburg playing exclusively a zone and F&M predominately man-to-man.
Salandra added 12 points, while most of the rest of Gettysburg's points came from the bench.

bballgoat23 · December 06, 2012, 10:36:31 AM

Great game at Dickson College last night...Lots of fans jumping around great atmosphere. Good student turnout for DC the crazies were crazy but left unhappy... Is there a more criticized player in the CC than Malique Killing... The lil mamba gets it done again. The Mules lookin tough... Is Hyak really this good? Is there a better freshman than Drapier...Should be a tight race through out the year...UC looking tough FM looking tough. GBerg hanging tough...

Reserved Seat · December 06, 2012, 01:52:26 PM

Killing receives a lot of attention because he's Muhlenberg's focal player: has the ball in his hands most of the time and shots a lot. The type of player the crowd can identify against.

cocoh2oDad · December 06, 2012, 02:46:44 PM

Most CC teams, and for that matter, most ball teams in general, have a player that is the "focal point" offensively. But more so than the guards, the Bigs are even more "abused" physically, by far, because they are doubled and tripled on a regular, game by game basis even though they don't come close to the touches and shots taken that most backcourt "focal points" get and take. Every trip down court, every one, this is a reality and Bigs in general do not get the credit for having to absorb that physicality night in night out especially when it comes down to the powers that be that focus on "stats" as the be all end all of a basketball game performance. Are there exceptions, certainly, Mr. Iverson being one. A bias view for sure by me, a long retired big, but the absolute truth!

onetinsoldier · December 06, 2012, 03:02:33 PM

coco is right, thats what makes officiating so important in basketball. just how much abuse is a big man supposed to take, banging in the paint every night? And for a schedule like what these guys have to play in the CC, teams that rely on big men are going to have it rougher in February than they do today.

bballgoat23 · December 06, 2012, 04:53:33 PM

I agree with the two above points about big men getting fouled in the CC. There is alot of abuse down-low...but take a look at the way certain gaurds are officated in this leauge. its horrible...I dont want to receive a fine from this message board so ill reserve my comments about specific officials. Killing played great last night he gets beat up every game but so do a lot of gaurds in this leauge... With d1 conference realignment in full swing...who do we think the CC should pick up? any thoughts?

centfan · December 08, 2012, 09:12:21 AM

Quote from: onetinsoldier on December 06, 2012, 03:02:33 PM
coco is right, thats what makes officiating so important in basketball. just how much abuse is a big man supposed to take, banging in the paint every night? And for a schedule like what these guys have to play in the CC, teams that rely on big men are going to have it rougher in February than they do today.

Quote from: cocoh2oDad on December 06, 2012, 02:46:44 PM
the Bigs are even more "abused" physically, by far,
Every trip down court, every one, this is a reality and Bigs in general do not get the credit for having to absorb that physicality night in night out
A bias view for sure by me, a long retired big, but the absolute truth!

do we really see the CC as a place where bigs get "abused"? how many hard fouls have you seen? how many physical bigs are there even in the conference? i love the CC but do think we are watching a different conference. the guys definitely play hard but it really isn't a very charged, aggressive area in the paint.
...and a 25-30 game season, 2 games a week for the most part, doesn't seem overly challenging for an 18-24 year old body that is in shape.

Swat Fan #1 · December 08, 2012, 04:59:48 PM

Great win today for Swarthmore at Gettsyburg! Not sure when the last time Swat beat them on the road but it was a big win for a program in need of wins.

centfan · December 08, 2012, 05:56:09 PM

watch out, swat is coming. hopkins, swat and dickinson win games with team play.

diplomatjunkie · December 08, 2012, 08:53:02 PM

"do we really see the CC as a place where bigs get "abused"? how many hard fouls have you seen? how many physical bigs are there even in the conference? i love the CC but do think we are watching a different conference. the guys definitely play hard but it really isn't a very charged, aggressive area in the paint."

I have to disagree with the above comment. I have been following F & M since 1989. It is my opinion that the team plays hard D, by the rules. If they didn't, the key players would be in foul trouble every game. You'd have to be pretty deep to survive that year after year. But, there are 3 gyms in the region where you know it will be a wrestling match every time they meet, and I will not name them. However, that's when you see the guys in foul trouble.... These guys like Hayk and Early, McNally, Juskin, Detz, and more, were often hammered in the paint. One Big that was pretty immovable though was Ed Plakens. Not sure how many people on this thread remember him, but he was a brick wall.