MBB: Centennial Conference

division3 · March 23, 2010, 10:01:40 PM

hi gabriel
i guess i don't think muhlenberg is looking particularly strong (was weak at end of season without barnes),gettysburg seems up and down though zurn is a big pickup, ursinus loses remy which is huge. seems ike f&m (and i am not a fan) again looks like the leader. the rest of the league might be up for grabs is all i was saying. washington, swat, mcdaniel, hopkins and dickinson seem like they will be down in the bottom half. on one hand i agree with you that muhl, ursinus and gettysburg will be in top half, but maybe it seems like it might be a down year. too early to say.

Swat Fan #1 · March 24, 2010, 08:58:21 PM

I am biased, but I really think Swat will be in the upper half next year. Could I have a run down on the league next year and who will be good?

division3 · March 25, 2010, 12:16:22 AM

you might be right, swat dad, anything can happen, but swat generally does not figure into the playoffs.(i think the basketball gods forbid it!)i know that swat got one good recruit on the rebound for next year who was planning on going elsewhere; maybe he will help their situation. it's hard to win with only two players. what makes you think swat will make the playoffs? they were 7-18 last year, and that was already a huge improvement.

Swat Fan #1 · March 25, 2010, 06:27:05 PM

I think that maybe I am just thinking positively about the possibility of them continuing to improve. I think Jordan M. will continue to improve at the point (he had a great freshmen year), they will have many back next year, I saw improvement over the course of the year, and they have a great coach who is a great game planner. Could you let me know more about the recruit? I haven't heard yet. Thanks for your comments! I loved the basketball gods comment, actually laughed out loud at that one!

Gabriel · March 25, 2010, 06:34:58 PM

Quote from: Swat Dad on March 24, 2010, 08:58:21 PM
I am biased, but I really think Swat will be in the upper half next year. Could I have a run down on the league next year and who will be good?

Swat Dad,

I am biased too so I think Ursinus will be very good----still young but very good. Losing Remy will hurt---particularly his rebounding. Ward, Janowski, Hilton etc will have to pick up the slack. Hopefully--Coach Small will be able to recruit a long wing who can score and play d. We can only pray for another Shattuck.

Gettysburg will be very good as well. They have arguably the best player in the CC in Powers. They lose very little and were tough at the end of the year.

Muhlenberg has one on the best players in the conference in Liddic. I think they were better offensively without Barnes this past year as they had more speed. They will miss him defensively.

Of course, F&M will be the team to beat even if they recruit no one.

Coach Wimberly seems to think Swat will be better next year and we all know they will always play hard. There is not a better coach in the league.

Swat Fan #1 · March 25, 2010, 08:27:57 PM

Thanks Gabriel, that was just what I was looking for! Great analysis!

division3 · March 26, 2010, 08:15:40 AM

hi gabriel,
wimberly seems like a good guy, certainly smart and cares about his kids. i am not agreeing or disagreeing, but what makes you think he is a superior coach in the league? do you like what he runs offensively? is the defense strong and particularly well orchestrated?and who else do you think are the strongest coaches?

Gabriel · March 26, 2010, 10:42:52 AM

Quote from: division3 on March 26, 2010, 08:15:40 AM
hi gabriel,
wimberly seems like a good guy, certainly smart and cares about his kids. i am not agreeing or disagreeing, but what makes you think he is a superior coach in the league? do you like what he runs offensively? is the defense strong and particularly well orchestrated?and who else do you think are the strongest coaches?

division3,

Coach Wimberly is a great guy. He cares about his program and his kids. As we all know, coaching at Swarthmore can be a nightmare-----for a coach who cares only about wins----because of the strict academic requirements. Yet he stays and does a wonderful job----in my opinion. In my observation, he is a superior "X's & O's" coach----strong in game planning and making in game adjustments. He just flat knows the game.

Obviously, GRob is one of the best in the league in all facets of coaching. I have never met him personally but have seen him in game situations many times. I think his strengths are in teaching defense and post players. At least that's how his teams have appeared to me over the years.

Kevin Small has to be mentioned among the best-----4 CC championships in 10 years at the helm. He is a superior recruiter and motivator who, like some of the others, really cares about his players. Game planning and in game adjustments are two strengths he learned----probably from Coach Wimberly while his assistant at Swat.

Coach Petrie at Gettysburg is an excellent coach who seems to be an outstanding recruiter----and teaches sound fundamentals. Seems to give up on his kids too easily during tough games.

There are other good coaches in the CC, but these are my top four.

division3 · March 27, 2010, 09:57:48 AM

my view,
grob wins but i find him highly unappealing.
wimberly is a special person and good coach.
smalls is, as he says, all about the ursinus family and breeds loyalty,commitment and is a winner.
i agree that petrie doesn't get the most from his players.
mules coach is new at muhlenberg...haven't heard good things about him.
mucci cares about his guys and does pretty well with a tough recruiting situation like swat.
thanks for your feedback and sharing your opinions.

Gabriel · March 27, 2010, 04:48:02 PM

Quote from: division3 on March 27, 2010, 09:57:48 AM
my view,
grob wins but i find him highly unappealing.
wimberly is a special person and good coach.
smalls is, as he says, all about the ursinus family and breeds loyalty,commitment and is a winner.
i agree that petrie doesn't get the most from his players.
mules coach is new at muhlenberg...haven't heard good things about him.
mucci cares about his guys and does pretty well with a tough recruiting situation like swat.
thanks for your feedback and sharing your opinions.

d3,

Thanks for mentioning Mucci. I am always impressed with how tough Haverford plays against teams with more talent. His zone defenses are impressive.

division3 · March 28, 2010, 11:53:01 PM

hi swat dad,
doesn't your son know about next year's recruits? sometimes i don' know if you are serious or not.

Swat Fan #1 · March 29, 2010, 04:57:38 PM

I know only about the ones who went Ed1 (Early Decision I) back in December but someone mentioned a new recruit that I hadn't (nor my son) heard about. So, I will leave it at that I am not aware of a recent recruit going to Swarthmore, the only ones I know of are the early signers.

Gabriel · March 29, 2010, 05:11:19 PM

division3 and swatdad,

Some more thoughts on coaches and recruiting.

Like Williams and Amherst---Swarthmore and Haverford attract recruits nationally and internationally. Perhaps JHU and F&M get some national attention too. Ursinus and most of the other CC schools rarely get this kind of attention----the coaches have to work that much harder to attract recruits and sell their schools.

That is why I give Kevin Small all the credit in the world for building a program that was in tough shape in 2000 to what it is today----very good and getting better. He was not even a full time employee of the college for the first six years of his tenure. He became full time just about 3 years ago.

Everyone knows he has had chances to move on to other jobs but has chosen not to do so out of loyalty to the college and his players.

Swat Fan #1 · March 29, 2010, 05:47:41 PM

He is a great coach! His kids play hard, seems to know his X's and O's and recruits great players. As I am just learning this league, did he come from the Swarthmore program (player or assistant coach)?

Gabriel · March 29, 2010, 09:27:17 PM

Quote from: Swat Dad on March 29, 2010, 05:47:41 PM
He is a great coach! His kids play hard, seems to know his X's and O's and recruits great players. As I am just learning this league, did he come from the Swarthmore program (player or assistant coach)?

Swat Dad,

He was an assistant at Swat when he got the Ursinus job. He and Coach Wimberly remain close friends to this day. Prior to that he was an assistant at both Haverford and Ursinus. He knows the conference well.