MBB: Centennial Conference

[Leo]

Well, it is time for my predictions. I have poured over the stats and tried to remember the games that I saw to assist me in who will the Conference Championship. So, let me start of easy and say ... any one of these teams could win it all  . Let me first list the key (or keys) for each team:

Hopkins - Coach Nelson is the key to Hopkins success. How he decides on his guard substitution among Valerio, kamm, Beggans and Polster throughout the game will determine how far they will go. Hopkins has the best group of guards, but how long does Nelson stay with a Valerio who is not hitting his shots, or does Nelson make quick substitutions and affect the team's flow.

Ursinus - turnovers, turnovers and turnovers ... the key for the Bears will be how they handle the ball. The youth of Cousart, McGarvey, Page and Noonan will be tested. The Bear's strength lies with their inside game of Furey, Shattuck and Fabian, which I believe is the best front court in the Conference. The front line needs to set the tone, hold onto the ball, and show these young guys that the winning tradition can continue. They need to limit their number of turnovers to around 10-12 and not an average of 17.

Gettysburg - No doubt that Gettysburg's future is bright with the play of Capkin, Spierenburg and Dorsey (2 sophs and a frosh). Their key will be poise, and not let the Hopkin fans intimidate them. Their first meeting against Hopkins was relatively even at half, but their shooting in the 2nd half was terrible. Their win against Hopkins was based on playing a solid 40 mins. Against the Mules on Wed., they did not get rattled when they were down by 5 with 5 mins or so to go. But the Mules are not Hopkins. I think Gettysburg has to play a perfect game to get by Hopkins, but they have the talent for the upset.

Haverford - Chaz Thomas needs to lead Haverford and play a fantastic game to have Brown and Nowacki ride his co-tails for the upset. I see Thomas's role the same as it was for Tom Scott and the Mules. Their team play is based on how they perform.

The envelope please ..........

Hopkins over Gettysburg.
Ursinus over Haverford.

Championship Game:   Ursinus over Hopkins

It will be a physical, inside game of Furey, Fabian and Shattuck over Nowacki and Griffin that will be the difference in the game. I think it will be a great battle to the end, and the Bear Warriors will be the last ones standing.

Leo

[commish]

Goldfarb Gym at Johns Hopkins University will be rocking today for the men's basketball final four. The host Blue Jays take on Gettysburg in the first semifinal at 2 p.m. on Saturday, while Ursinus and Haverford square off in the other semi. The title tilt is slated for 3 p.m. on Sunday. You can watch all three games on CCTV - the Centennial Conference's streaming video setup. Haverford will also stream video of its contests. Finally, you can listen to the Johns Hopkins games and the championship game via D3hoops.net.

You can also get live stats and play-by-play from Johns Hopkins. Enjoy your Saturday!

http://www.centennial.org/cctv/ - CCTV
http://stream.haverford.edu:8080/ramgen/broadcast/live.rm- Haverford video
http://webhost5.nts.jhu.edu/wjhu/remote.pls- Johns Hopkins audio
http://www.hopkinssports.com/- live stats

[r.w. mcnickels]

It looks like those who made it to Goldfarb Gym this weekend saw an excellent tournament.  Congrats to Bill Nelson and the Blue Jays on their second CC title.  The trio of Nawrocki, Griffin, and Valerio should give Hopkins a chance to advance a few rounds into NCAAs.  At 23-4, they deserve at least one home game -- we'll see what the committee thinks when the brackets are announced this morning.

Haverford's Chaz Thomas sounds like he could be a force in this conference and region the next couple of years.

[diehardfan]

Hey guys, we're collecting previews for each team in the tourney on one of the multiregional boards. If I get them by Friday I may even be able to stick them in one document for people to peruse. A fun little tourney resource of sorts. Would someone here be willing to do one for Johns Hopkins? Thanks much!

http://www.d3sports.com/post/index.php?topic=5147.0

[r.w. mcnickels]

As Goldfarb Gym gets ready to host the regional this weekend, some pre-tourney info:

Broadcast
Dave McHugh will call the Hopkins regional.
http://www.d3hoops.com/audio/

Manhattanville (23-5) vs. Guilford (21-4)  6 p.m.
Villa Julie (20-7) at Johns Hopkins (23-4)  8 p.m.


• Interesting Around the Nation feature on JHU forward Matt Griffin:
http://www.d3hoops.com/nation/

• Baltimore Sun preview of JHU, Villa Julie, and Hood:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/basketball/bal-sp.d302mar02,0,3858846.story?coll=bal-college-mbasketball

• Nice breakdown on the Jays by Gordon Mann over at the Tourney Preview board:
http://www.d3sports.com/post/index.php?topic=5147.msg691813#msg691813

[r.w. mcnickels]

Hopkins rebounds from an 18-point deficit to defeat Villa Julie in the NCAA first round, 84-72, in a packed Goldfarb Gym.

The Blue Jays get the NCAA hex off the Centennial's back by becoming the first non-F&M team since 1998 to win a tournament game (JHU won a first-rounder in 1998).

JHU faces Guilford (22-4), which smoked Manhattanville, 101-81.  The Quakers are led by 6-11 Ben Strong, the ODAC Player of the Year - 23.6 ppg and 11.1 rpg.  Challenging matchup for Griffin and Nawrocki.

[diplomaniac1]

Centennial Fans -

Please see the recent news article in the Lancaster Newspapers to which I have provided a link below:

http://www.local.lancasteronline.com/4/206095

Perhaps this will start some discussion over the remainder of the summer since this room has been quiet since early March.

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer. Regards to all.

Eric

[ycpfinal4]

www.GOTathletes.com

All,
      A former CAC player on the best York College of Pennsylvania team of all-time, Padraic K. Lee #33, has created a websire to help develop an easier way for athletes, fans, coaches, and sponsors to connect off the feild.  This could be very beneficial for top rated college players also.  We plan to have a myriad of oversea's coaches and scouts as part of our network.  For all the D3 players, like myself, to have a network to communicate with oversea's coaches would be great.  I know that making the NBA would be to lofty of a goal.  This website could help those collegiate players of any sport be able to network effectively to continue their athletic career anywhere, or anytime. 
      If you support the Division III sport world, please check this site out and create a profile.  ITS FREE!!!!!!!  If there are any questions or comments, please feel free to e mail the president of www.GOTatheletes.com, Pad Lee at patrick@GOTathletes.com.  Thank you,


#54

[diplomaniac1]

Fellow Centennial Conference Fans -

Well, the colleges have been back in session now for almost two weeks. I just wondered if anyone had any interesting information to offer or to report on recruiting, new arrivals, transfers, or unexpected non-returnees around the Conference, etc? Who are freshmen who could be the next stars? Which teams will be at the top this year? Predictions? Scuttlebut? Suggestions? Surprises? Disappointments? Please advise.

Welcome back to all. Let's get this room going again! I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait until pratice begins and November rolls around! Regards to all.

Eric

[Coach C]

I guess something has changed in lancaster if they're waiting for November to begin practice ...

[r.w. mcnickels]

Fellow Centennial Conference Fans -

Well, the colleges have been back in session now for almost two weeks. I just wondered if anyone had any interesting information to offer or to report on recruiting, new arrivals, transfers, or unexpected non-returnees around the Conference, etc? Who are freshmen who could be the next stars? Which teams will be at the top this year? Predictions? Scuttlebut? Suggestions? Surprises? Disappointments? Please advise.

Welcome back to all. Let's get this room going again! I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait until pratice begins and November rolls around! Regards to all.

Eric

Eric-

It looks wide open.  For years, you could usually say F&M was the favorite heading into the season.  But given how the Dips have resembled the Hindenburg more than CC contenders the past two years, I don't see how anyone can say they're even in the top few teams.  I don't know how good Scovill will be, but let's face it: the Dips had no talent on the roster last year.  It looks like such a different program from just a few years ago.  I don't know what Robinson's recruits look like, but it's the most important class he's had in a long time.

I think Chaz Thomas will emerge as a POY contender for Haverford.  Hopkins should come back to the pack with the losses of Griffin and Nawrocki.  Ursinus will probably be there in the end.  And we'll see if the CC can improve its usually mediocre non-conference record.

[diplomaniac1]

Fellow Diplomat Fans -

The F&M 2007-2008 schedule has been posted on the F&M website for about one month. I see the new roster has also just been posted on the site within the last week. A link to it is provided below. I will provide a link to the schedule in a subsequent posting.

ftp://http://godiplomats.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/frma-m-baskbl-mtt.html

It looks like there are many changes afoot for this year at Mayser for the Diplomats. The roster indicates that only eight players from last year are returning.

If the roster posted is accurate it appears as if rising seniors Adam Leonard, Mantas Paulaskas, Evan Hamme, and Brandon Yost; and rising junior Pat Pryzb are all not returning to the squad! This is in addition to last year's three graduates - Logan Outerbridge, Brian Teschke, Mike McCaffrey. Seems to be quite a roster shake-up. I don't know if any of the apparent departures are injury-related. Leonard, Hamme, and Yost all played significant minutes at different times last year. I would think the biggest losses mught be Leonard and Hamme.

Aside from transfer Scovill, does anyone know anything about any of the eight new recruits? Looks like there is another transfer listed in addition to Scovill. Should be quite a different look this year. GRob will apparently have have his work cut out for him and plenty of coaching to do this year.

Is there any other news from around the conference? Please advise. Bring on the season!

Eric

[diplomaniac1]

Fellow Centennial Conference Fans -

See the link below for more interesting reading on another Conference Member:

ftp://http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2007/10/23/sports/esports102307.txt

Enjoy. Regards to all.

Eric

[Reserved Seat]

Drastic changes at F&M, not injury related.
Last year's players indicated that their priorities have changed.
New players should be exciting.  Several of the freshmen look like they have potential.
Hines and Scovill have played together previously.

[pizzashop]

You can now watch all of Franklin & Marshall's home games live, including non F&M games played in Mayser during the Rotary Tip-Off and Sponaugle New Year Tournaments...

http://godiplomats.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102007aaa.html