MBB: Centennial Conference

[Reserved Seat]

F&M's scrimmage with Messiah was closer than I expected, as Messiah rode some deadly 3-point shooting the first half.  They must have hit around 7-8 threes.  F&M played a tenacious defense stealing the ball on numerous Messiah possessions.  Georgio handled the ball well.  F&M was much more athletic than Messiah.
Messiah had good ball movement on the perimeter.  F&M opened up a 15 point lead in the second half, as Messiah didn't get as many open looks on threes.  The only downside of the scrimmage was several injuries on F&M's part.  Hopefully, they are minor and the players will be ready for the opening game.

[commish]

On Tuesday, Nov. 17, beginning at 1 p.m. EST, the Centennial Conference men's basketball coaches will hold an interactive chat to talk about the upcoming season. Each coach will be available for a 10-minute block to answer questions from the moderator and take a question or two, if time permits, from our audience.

1:00-1:10 Alan Seretti, Dickinson
1:10-1:20 Glenn Robinson, Franklin & Marshall
1:20-1:30 George Petrie, Gettysburg
1:30-1:40 Michael Mucci, Haverford
1:40-1:50 Bill Nelson, Johns Hopkins
1:50-2:00 Kevin Curley, McDaniel
2:00-2:10 Scott McClary, Muhlenberg
2:10-2:20 Lee Wimberly, Swarthmore
2:20-2:30 Kevin Small, Ursinus
2:30-2:40 Rob Nugent, Washington

If you would like to ask a question, please submit it in the comment box prior to 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday, or join us live.

http://centennialconference.blogspot.com/2009/11/mens-basketball-preseason-coaches-chat.html

[r.w. mcnickels]

Enjoyed the chat, commish. I didn't know about Hilton's waiver, which makes him eligible to play through 2010-11. It appears that F&M is struggling with injuries. Robinson said the starters have yet to play together. Even if they are healthy, I don't see the Dips cruising through the schedule. Their preseason ranking is deserved after that amazing run to Salem, but I could see them losing a few games in this conference. Here are some questions I have about F&M (not health-related):

- Do they have a legitimate 3-point threat?
- Will they improve their 66.8% mark from the charity stripe?
- Will Milligan cut down on the turnovers?
- How will they respond to being the favorite?

We'll start getting the answers this weekend. Good luck to all teams.

[old ends]

Just saw this about Gettysburg's Andrew  Powers.

http://www.gettysburgsports.com/news/2009/11/6/MBB_1106091519.aspx

enjoy

[Reserved Seat]

- Do they have a legitimate 3-point threat?
- Will they improve their 66.8% mark from the charity stripe?
- Will Milligan cut down on the turnovers?
- How will they respond to being the favorite?

Hopefully, after the weekend we can assess these questions(concerns).  Possible answers:
-Tolliver
-hard to do worse
-maturity and experience should help
-maybe they'll beat Gettysburg(tired of eating crow after last year-a good friend is a Gettysburg grad)

I'm planning on being in Mayser for 8 games from Friday to Sunday(men and women's), and squeeze in a football game outside.

[Swat Fan #1]

I am so excited for the season to start! Good luck to everyone and may we all enjoy the season! I can honestly say I have been waiting for this for many many years. All the hard work and now college season tips off!

[diplomaniac1]

Fellow Diplomat Fans -

Here is the link to the annual pre-season preview article on the Diplomats that appears today in the Lancaster Newspapers. Enjoy!

//http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/245213

Regards to all.

Eric

[tjackson]

Hey guys, first post.

Just wanted to pass along another preview for the F&M basketball team:

http://www.fmcollegereporter.com/men-s-basketball-tops-preseason-cc-rankings-1.930836

I wrote the piece, and I cover the basketball team for the school paper. I'm also at pretty much every game. I talk a lot with Coach Robinson and the players as well, so if you are ever interested, just ask away, I can answer most questions. And if I don't know the answer, I can probably find out.

I look forward to talking basketball with all of you! I'll definitely be checking in throughout the season.

BTW: F&M is playing New York City Tech right now. NYCT didn't score until the 11:22 mark, and that was on free throws. At almost halftime, they're up 37-12. They look pretty good right now. I'll post some more thoughts following the game.

[Reserved Seat]

Mismatch.
Ugly game.
Not much to learn except some of the freshmen have potential.
F&M 102 City Tech 40

[lizalan07]

First night of the "Pride of Md." tourny down. Hopkins- easy win over Stevenson 75-53, while giving a lot of the freshmen extended playing time. Washington lost to Hood 58-55, and very surprising score of the McDaniels game. St Mary's college defeated McDaniel's 83-56.  St. Mary's is probably the cream of the tourney, but, I thought that McDaniels could either beat them, or be a close game.

[ddm1027]

I was at the McDaniel game. The guards from St. Mary's really disrupted McDaniel a lot and dominated the game at both ends of the floor. The St. Mary's- F&M game could be a very good one coming up. Swarthmore put up a good fight losing by single digits against last year's NESCAC champ. Haverford also came to play and got a nice win. Both Swat and Haverford look like they have freshmen who are ready to step in right away. This year looks to be a good one in the CC.

[tjackson]

Reserved Seat hit it on the head...New York City Tech was grossly overmatched. For the most part, F&Ms second string team was better than their first string team. Freshman Brandon Beckford looked good, as did freshman forward Kevin Henry, but it is difficult to tell, as NYCT I think quit in the second half. Literally everyone on F&M looked like all-stars.

Talking to Coach Robinson following the game, it sounds like these freshman are going to get some decent playing time throughout the season, and that he was generally pleased with pretty much all of them. I also talked to Anthony Brooks, and he commended them as well.

I think we'll get a much better idea of just how good this freshman class is tonight when they play Gwynedd-Mercy, who won a good game against a pesky St. Lawrence club.

I'll check back in following tonight's game against Gwynedd-Mercy.

[Reserved Seat]

Much better game for F&M tonight.  Gwynedd-Mercy gave them all they could handle.
F&M was down by 10 at the half due to some hot shooting by GM especially by Jon Hogga.
GM controlled the boards in the first half.
Fortunately, for F&M, they stepped up their defense and contested more of the shots in the second half.  F&M got more aggressive on the boards.  Two freshmen, Beckford and Henry, contributed quality minutes and key points to F&M turn around as a 10 point deficit became an 11 point victory.  Brooks and Milligan played tight defense and keyed the offense for the second half.  Baker and McNally improved their positioning in the second half, and Tolliver had several key shots.  Beckford and Henry look like they will fit in nicely with the team.
F&M, hopefully, can find a few more players to add to the mix. Driver and Salvati played well enough to give some of the others some rest.
GM did not go quietly.  Johnson, Hogga, and some good freshmen gave F&M a run for their money.
LVC in next.
Go Dips.

[stamolpid]

The superstat^TM for F&M's win over Gwynedd-Mercy...F&M had 19 assists and only 9 turnovers.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Here at the Pride of Maryland Tournament, getting a chance to see Washington, JHU, and McDaniel... and mixed reviews for now.

Hopkins certainly has size, but Hood was able to control much of the game and simply didn't let Hopkins play the game they wanted. It was a battle, but with JHU's size I expected them to win.

McDaniel was good, but not great against Goucher. The Green Terror should have dominated Goucher, but after getting a sizeable lead against the Gophers, they let them back into the game - and getting into an OT situation. If Jones (#23) doesn't hit a ton in the second half, McDaniel might be playing in the 7th place game. Heck, Jones missed five or so FT's in the OT to ice the game, giving Goucher a look to tie the game - though they missed. If people are excited about this team, they need to come to grips with the fact they are inconsistent and struggle with their game. If they get it together, they could be pretty good... but they are not a F&M beating team.