MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

7express · March 01, 2013, 03:07:31 PM

I have Darius Watson on my NCAA fantasy league team, so hopefully AMC can surprise some teams, get wins, and Watson can score a lot of points.

lildave678 · March 01, 2013, 03:15:44 PM

Saw you take him. I was kinda following the thread to see where he would go. Rooting for you because of the pick haha

7express · March 01, 2013, 03:22:40 PM

I wanted him, but got screwed having the first pick, lol. I thought he'd go in the early to mid second round like 5+ above me. My eyes lit up when I saw he was still there at the end of the second round, haha.

pjunito · March 01, 2013, 03:27:28 PM

7, I think the reason he is there is because most people don't believe Albertus will win their game vs Alvernia. And they may lose, Alvernia is very talented and Athletic and have a lot of scoring options. Not to mention play amazing defense. However, I have not seen Watson more motivated than this past week. This is now his team (It was Askew's team his first two years). He is determined to have a good game, that means he will have points, rebounds, and assists. He may have 5-7 turnover, but should finish with 26 and 8. And if they win, you get him for two games. same numbers regardless of opponents. (maybe more turnovers in second game)

pjunito · March 02, 2013, 04:41:15 PM

Prediction: I won't predict a score, because I want Albertus win!

Alvernia is very athletic and has the best big man in Parker that Albertus will face. Albertus has one of the best scorer's in the country and the leader of the team in Watson. These teams have two very good coaches who have been studying their opponents and will have the team prepared. Both teams have limited benches and it will be imperative to keep their starters on the floor. Both teams get to the foul line and shoot at an ok percentage; experience may come into play at the line. Both teams want to control the glass and play strong defense. Albertus would like to break the 80 point mark and Alvernia will want to play in the mid to high 60's. The team that can do this will win this game. I see this as a tight game, but Alvernia's ability to rebound can help them get numerous second and third scoring opportunities. If Alvernia has over 10 offensive rebounds that lead 14 points they win the game. If Albertus holds Alvernia to less than 8 second chance points, they win the game.

pjunito · March 02, 2013, 04:42:19 PM

Good luck to Anna Maria as they take on Eastern CT State today in semi-final of ECAC.

7express · March 02, 2013, 04:51:00 PM

Quote from: pjunito on March 02, 2013, 04:42:19 PM
Good luck to Anna Maria as they take on Eastern CT State today in semi-final of ECAC.

Just went final, Eastern wins 77-65.

pjunito · March 02, 2013, 05:17:09 PM

Yea, I saw that. Good season for Anna Maria.

pjunito · March 03, 2013, 09:30:06 AM

Albertus falls to Alvernia 97-78 last night to end their season.

Congrats to Jimmy Eco, Jefferson Lora, Arshad Jackson, Zach Dugas, Mike Sweeney, and Kevin Rogers on a fine four years, winning 3 GNAC championship and going 2-3 in the NCAA tournament. Also, having the honor of playing on last year's team that was ranked as high as 12 in the nation at one point.

pjunito · March 03, 2013, 09:47:16 AM

Looking back at the keys to victory, imo, Alvernia executed better than Albertus. Albertus didn't get to 80 points (they also had a lot of points when the game was already over), Alvernia out rebounded Albertus, and they also were able to get to the paint and the free throw line. The first 13 mins of the game was excited to watch, it was back and forth, with good defensive play by Alvernia and strong offensive possessions by Albertus. However, with the score tied at 26 with 8 mins left, the game changed. Alvernia finished the half with a 25-7 run to control the game. They did this by doing what they do best; they used their athleticism to get into the paint. This caused many issues for Albertus; Alvernia was able to draw fouls, get easy looks at the basket, and dish to wide open shooters behind the arc. During the 25-7 run, Alvernia went 12-12 from the free throw line; they made 35 free throws in the game. Now, for some people who didn't see the game and are just looking at the stats, I do have to same, the officials were fair, they were a solid crew. Maybe one of two questionable calls (both ways) the entire game. Alvernia simply outplayed Albertus during that 8 min stretch. Albertus settled for long quick jump shots or fade away looks or rushed passes whereas Alvernia attacked the basket and created easy scoring opportunities that lead to wide open jump shots or a foul. They also played great defense.

In hind sight, probably slowing the game down and going to Lora or Watson down low could have helped the offense.. Jennings was out of control at times shooting 4-17 from the field and had wild passes... And Coach Oliver is a man to man defensive guy, but the pick and roll killed the team. Maybe trying a zone against this team may have slowed down their offense.

Again, give all the credit to Alvernia. They played well on both sides of the ball and deserved the win. Good luck to them.

On a side note, Jimmy Eco did hurt his ankle during practice early in the week and did not play. He is a good player, strong defender, and made big shots during the season. However, imo, he doesn't make a difference. He can't guard everyone on the court.

D3HoopJunkie · April 01, 2013, 09:53:45 PM

Hello GNACers, New member to the forums here but long time D3Hoops fan. Looking forward to talking with some of the GNAC members on the forum about offseason recruiting and then another season of GNAC basketball in 2013-2014. Just to get it out of the way I am an Albertus fan because I'm from the shoreline of CT and really enjoy their style of play. Plus from where they started when Coach Oliver got the job to where they are now is truly amazing. Go Falcons!

pjunito · April 08, 2013, 03:35:38 PM

Welcome Junkie!

The boards have been pro Albertus the last two years. Hopefully, we get more fans from the other GNAC teams.

We also have great regional contributors from the other boards.

D3HoopJunkie · April 09, 2013, 08:10:14 PM

Thanks for the welcome PJ,
I have been reading the boards for a while now and noticed that they are very pro Albertus which for us is a good thing, even though some more healthy chatter from other programs would make the boards more interesting. I heard that the Falcons are going after a lot of JUCO talent this off season with hopes of reloading after losing such a great senior class. Any thoughts on off season recruiting? I know Coach Oliver is a great recruiter and he seems to have found a nice niche in New Jersey the past couple seasons. (Mark Wilson, Rodney Wilson and going back a couple years Mike Torres)

officer cadet · June 02, 2013, 01:33:20 AM

Norwich add to class of 13 kids .
Paul Preziosi(6-2 G/F) from Middlesex Magic AAU Cardinal Spellman High(MA).

lildave678 · July 10, 2013, 12:52:42 PM

Not sure what else is happening on the recruiting front for AMC, but I just saw they have Trevon Gibbs, a 6'7 F/C from Kaynor Tech coming in this fall. According to the New England Recruiting Report he's the 42nd ranked player from the state in 2013 but if you exclude all the prep schools (the likes of South Kent, St. Thomas More, etc) he's in the 8-12 range of regular high school kids. Didn't get a chance to see him play in person but his name was always in the box score for Kaynor, which were the number 2 team in Class M heading into the state tournament. Definitely a solid addition, and I'm assuming there's much more coming from Mitch!