MBB: Centennial Conference

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Well all teams are allowed to start on Oct. 15... unless conferences (CC and NESCAC) or schools feel otherwise.

[Gabriel]

In its preseason poll,  D III News ranks Dickinson #16 and F&M #21 nationally.  In the conference, they pick Dickinson, F&M and Muhlenberg to finish in that order.  Player of the Year pick in the CC is Kevin Hargrove.  I can't argue with any of the predictions.  Just hope my Bears upset the crystal ball.

[Reserved Seat]

Don't know if I agree with Hargrove as POY, but Dickinson should be the team to beat.

[Gabriel]

I think it is more likely to be Wixted or Honig, however, Hargrove was a force last year and now plays like he is 6'10".  I suppose Salandra is a candidate and, perhaps, Killing.  Think it depends on which team has the most success,

Ursinus' non conference schedule this year does not seem to be as challenging as previous years with the exception Colgate on December 22.  Mike McGarvey is an assistant at Colgate, hence the connection.  The other opponents are Hartwick and either Messiah or Rosemont at the Messiah Tip Off, then Marymount at home, at Eastern and finally William Peace and either Roanoke or Immaculata at the Roanoke College New Years Tourney.  Very likely, all the games will be challenging for Ursinus this year.

[shoreman55]

can you please post a link to this preseason preview

[Gabriel]

http://www.smallcollegehoops.com/Home.html

The link, however, be aware that this is a subscription service

[centfan]

at 6'10 in this conference (few legitimate bigs) hargrove should be POY, but i am a huge wixted fan. he is a horse night in and night out...reliable, tough, plays the game simply. without him, dickinson is not nearly the same team.

[Gabriel]

Practice starts tomorrow, Go Bears!

Ursinus returns seniors Jesse Krasna, Ryan Adams and Pat Vasturia as well as juniors Mike Marciano, Trey Harry and Jermaine Kamara, and sophomores Trevor Norton, Mark Wonderling and Malik Draper.  Kamara and Harry rejoin the team after not playing last season.

Ursinus was obviously short handed last season with only 10 players in uniform.  This year, barring injury or other issues, they will likely dress 14 with the 9 returnees joined by 5 freshmen.  The freshmen are John Kanas (6'2" guard from Souderton), Matt Knowles (6'2" guard from Scranton Prep), Steve Leonard (6'6" guard from Perkiomen Valley), Patrick Mekongo Mbla (6'7" forward from Pope John XXIII) and Hanif Sutton (5'10" point guard from Neumann Goretti).

It may take a while for the team to jell, but we know they will play hard.  Krasna, Adams and Draper will likely be the leaders and we will just have to wait and see who else will emerge as major contributors.  This year, I think they will be much better defensively, will take better care of the ball and will shoot better.  It think they will be guard oriented again like the championship Ursinus teams of the past. 

[ronk]

What about Washington College?

[CCHOOPS12]

Thanks Ronk!

With the season right around the corner, let me stir up some talk with my pre-season predictions!
1. Franklin & Marshall (15-3) - Still have depth in the bigs and look for Rogo and Lee to have monster seasons. With Beckford gone there is no one to pick on. Can't see them losing that much in the Dip Zone.
2. Muhlenberg (14-4) – Love the experience this team has with seniors Hargrove and Curry. We all know by now how dangerous Killing can be. Btw he is only half way through his career!
3. Johns Hopkins (11-7) – Most surprising team last year with the jump that Hammer made. Their lack of scoring could prevent them from hosting the CC tournament.
4. Dickinson (11-7)- Very talented however I don't believe they have the depth in the front court to keep up with the top 3 teams. I predict for them to have a roller coaster season but play well down the stretch.
5. McDaniel (8-10) – toughness! Lead by the bigs Cranwell and Pupelis (most underrated player in the CC). The question is ...can the guards score ?
6. Ursinus (7-11)- Just too young right now. Can draper play well the entire season? Can krasna be a leader? Have yet to win a playoff game since Shattuck!
7. Washington College (7-11)- Be ready to see a MUCH improved team. Will have big wins that will shock people especially when you have a playmaker like Poarch.
9. Haverford (5-13) - The loss of Cam Baker is going to be heart breaking for the Fords. Cohen will help this team be competitive.
8. Gettysburg (5-13) – Even though the staff has brought in some good young talent (Keifer, Kirkpatrick, and Amolo). Their system seems to only be effective when they have upperclassman. Be on the lookout for them in the years to come but they will struggle this season.
10. Swarthmore (2-16)- Lost the best player in school history. Interested to see how successful they are without Coach Wimberly's players.

First Round
Dickinson 82 McDaniel 53

Semi Finals
Dickinson 61 F&M 58
Muhlenberg 74 JHU 71

Championship
Muhlenberg 88 Dickinson 81

1st Team All CC
Wixted, Hargrove, Killing, Lee, Draper

2nd Team All CC
Salandra, Pupelis, Honig, Poarch, Hammer

Comeback Player of the Year
Gordon Rogo (F&M)

Defensive Player Of the Year
Kevin Hargrove (Muhlenberg)

Rookie of the Year
John Hunter (Muhlenberg)

Coach of the Year
Bill Nelson (Johns Hopkins)

Player of the Year
Gerry Wixted (Dickinson)

[Reserved Seat]

For F&M to finish first, they will need to find a go-to person during crunch time.  F&M has a lot of solid role players, but lack a definitive leader.  Porter possesses the skills to be the potential leader.  He plays shut down defense and has the ability to hit the three.  Last year he got into foul trouble too often early in the game and sat for long periods.  Salandra and Early have solid big man skills and can cover for each other if one has an off night.  Lee has the potential to be the key player when he plays under control. Rogo will need to prove he's capable of playing the point to mesh the skills of the other four.  If Rogo has 'the monster season'(CCHOOPS12), F&M will be hard to beat.  Dickinson and Muhlenberg have more than enough talent to content with F&M.
Actually with Muhlenberg, I fear Curry more than Killing.  You can get in Killing's head and cause him to have an off night when he tries to do too much.  However once Killing gets his confidence in a game, he becomes hard to stop.  Nelson always has JH ready to play.  Haverford, also, always play hard against F&M.  Draper showed a lot of potential for Ursinus and should give Ursinus a shot to win in many games.  They will need more depth than last year.

[CCHoopster]

Anyone heading to the DipZone for the Dips scrimmage vs Messiah Friday night? I went last year, I think at Messiah, and it was a really solid, well coached scrimmage. Messiah seems to return a ton of people and get back the MAC most likely POY Fernandez who missed all of last year. Not sure what happened. Interesting to see what the Dips look like Friday. I also drove down to see Dickinson. I think they will be a top 2 team in the CC. Well coached and Wixted is the best player in the Conference and Honig is so tough. Will be a fun season!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I think some people may be surprised with Dickinson... and F&M has lost a lot in the last few years, with a tougher schedule (which I think is great for the program) they will either struggle or be battled tested for the conference. However, I am just not betting on the Diplomats to finish on top of the conference this season.

[Reserved Seat]

Of course, I'll be at the F&M scrimmage unless I'm potentially fatally sick.  Having not missed a home game in over 25 year and having seen every tip-off and New's Year tournament game involving F&M since they started, I should be there.

[D.B. Cooper]

What time is the F&M - Messiah scrimmage Friday?

Interesting will be to see the possible solutions to the point guard Achilles heel the team could have. Rogo or the only PG listed on the roster rookie Jared Wright who I have hopes to be a good player at least eventually.